Disclaimer: The plot is mine, the characters are not.
In Which Remus Lupin Wins the Lottery
By: Azareth Sakura
Remus Lupin was a lot of things. He was intelligent, patient, loyal, gentle, and a myriad of other good qualities. He was not bad looking. He was not the mysterious and sexy type like Sirius Black had been, nor was he the joking athletic charmer as James Potter had been. He had been, and still was the quiet enigmatic sort of handsome. He was clever and witty, sarcastic at times, but rarely in bad humor. He was mischievous in such a way that one would never think to blame him for some wayward prank or the like. But he was a mastermind, often the mastermind of many a trick back when he had attended Hogwarts.
Now, however, his brilliance was used for another form of planning: offensive and defensive strategies to help the Order of the Phoenix. He did not mind so much that his talents were used for such a fashion, because in reality, that was more or less the only occupation he had the luxury of having.
Remus Lupin was a werewolf.
That was common knowledge these days, and even though magical society was tolerant of who dwelled within their communities, they were still very prejudiced towards certain species. The werewolf was among these. Fear was a great motivator, and because of it, no one wanted to hire a werewolf. It did not matter that Remus Lupin was one of the kindest men one could find. Because once a month, he'd find himself with a "furry little problem," and though unlikely due to his intake of Wolfsbane, there was still the off chance that he could attack someone or destroy things if for some reason he didn't take the potion, or it was faultily brewed.
Therefore, Remus Lupin was very poor.
But that was going to change soon. Very soon.
The lottery in the wizarding world was not too similar to the lottery of the Muggle world. In the Muggle world, if no one wins the lottery when the numbers are announced, then the winnings amount rises. So too was it for witches and wizards. Except, each time they purchased one of those tickets charmed with all sorts of enchantments to restrict cheating, a percentage of the money they paid went to the pot. This week's sum was high. Astronomically high, in fact. See, the lottery hadn't been won in quite a few weeks, and many witches and wizards, eager to win the large sum, had paid for a decent amount of tickets, just to raise their chance of winning.
Remus Lupin never really cared much about things such as the lottery. In fact, he thought the lottery idea was kind of silly, and therefore was not keen on spending whatever small amount of money he managed to make on purchasing a ticket. A lesser man might have given into the temptation of the winnings amount and bought a ticket with his savings, but not Remus.
There was an important mission that night.
Remus was sitting on a barstool in the corner of the Hog's Head, sipping at his firewhisky. He was currently dressed in a dark, grayish colored cloak which helped him blend into his surroundings better. The hood was drawn over him, so that his sandy-colored hair was not visible. Across from him sat a fidgety female whose features were not discernable, because she too donned a hood.
This woman was Nymphadora Tonks. Nymphadora, or Tonks, as she preferred to be called, was the half-blooded daughter of Ted Tonks (a Muggle) and Andromeda Tonks (previously Andromeda Black, of The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black). She was an Auror, and a Metamorphmagus. And she was fidgeting slightly, an act most of the other patrons did not partake in at the current establishment.
Remus noted that she was not particularly suited towards this sort of task because she was still sometimes more of a child than an adult. He supposed that was why he fancied her so much. He was almost twenty years older than she, but somehow she had managed to fall for that beautiful soul Remus carried around with him.
And somehow she had managed to ensnare him along the way.
It was kind of funny. Remus had always figured that he was never meant for love. Not since the only other person he had truly loved had died in the first bout of the Voldemort business. The two of them had been classmates at Hogwarts, and she had been a good friend of then Lily Evans. She was killed in a Death Eater attack almost a year after she had become an Auror.
But that had been before his current situation. His current situation being the life of meager wages (if wages at all) he lived. Most of his work involved the Order in some way or another, for Dumbledore was one of the only few who cared not that he was a werewolf. He knew very, very deep down somewhere, that Tonks did not care about his lifestyle, that all she really cared about was him, but he refused to acknowledge the mutual attraction, because he knew he would never be able to provide for her. He would never be able to take her to nice places, buy her pretty little gifts, or even get her flowers and chocolate for any anniversaries he'd forget.
So he said nothing about his attraction to the pretty witch, and ignored as best he could her sometimes not-so subtle hints at her feelings for him.
He took another sip of his firewhisky, and looked at the clock. Just enough time had passed that it would now be safe for the two of them to leave without it looking like they were following the person they had been eavesdropping earlier in the evening. Remus finished the last of his drink, and stood, informing Tonks that they could return to Number 12 Grimmauld Place now.
They placed their payment on the table and began to walk to the door. On the way, a slightly rotund, grey-haired man bumped into Remus. He had kindly, wizened looking eyes, and a fair countenance. In fact, he looked very out of sorts for someone of this establishment.
"Sorry about that," he said, sounding exactly like the kind of person who wouldn't be in a shady place such as the Hog's Head. "Here. Take this," he continued, before handing something to Remus. "Take it as a token of my apology, my dear boy, don't refuse a gift from an elder." He said, in an attempt to put an end to Remus' protests against taking the slip of paper.
"Lead him home, lass." The man said to Tonks. "Make sure he holds onto that there piece of paper, it's mighty valuable." And with that, he turned and was lost in the sea of people at the bar.
Tonks grabbed onto Remus' hand, and led him outside while he looked at the paper held in his other hand.
It was a lottery ticket.
Once outdoors, the two separated and looked at each other before two distinct cracks of disapparation where heard echoing about the deserted streets.
The two entered Sirius Black's old home and gave their report to Alastor Moody, the head Auror of the time. This information would eventually be given to Dumbledore, but right now it was late, and everyone was tired.
Remus walked up the stairs to his room, followed by Tonks, who was chattering endlessly about something that had gone on during the day at work. Remus found this both amusing and comforting. Rather, he found the tale to be amusing and the sound of her voice to be comforting. Either way, they soon found themselves at his door.
Somewhere, the sound of the Wizarding Wireless Network could be heard. It was just about time for the announcement of the lottery numbers to come on the broadcast. Remus, however, paid no heed to it. He was not so interested in money.
"Goodnight, Nymphadora." He said in a teasing manner as he turned the knob behind him.
Tonks scowled and reminded him not to call her Nymphadora. She then bit her lip and looked down, as though she were contemplating asking him something. Just as he was about to ask her if she was alright, she looked up again, her face set in determination.
She stood up on her toes, reached up, and kissed him once, very lightly, on the lips.
"Goodnight, Remus," she said simply before turning to go to her own room.
Well, he very well couldn't ignore her not-so subtle hints anymore, he figured, seeing as it doesn't get much more not-very subtle as a kiss. That kiss had felt nice, he mused. He wished the circumstances were different, so that they could kiss more often, but they weren't.
As Remus entered his room and closed the door behind him, he heard the final numbers of the lottery called out. The ticket the man had given him was lying on top of a bureau that he had taken from Sirius' room, as a sort of reminder of his old friend.
He smiled to himself and thought that even if he didn't win the lottery, that night he had won something far more valuable to him. He had finally realized that maybe they could pull off a relationship. They'd never know until they tried, right?