Chapter 1

Beckoned by the smell of something delicious cooking—the kind of smell that can only come from something homemade—Tonks came into the kitchen of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. Indeed, Molly Weasley was standing over the stove, adding sliced carrots to what looked like a rich, savory stew. This was a perfect ending to a long day of work, and Tonks, who was not much of a cook, felt her spirits lift instantly.

"Wotcher, Molly!" she said, "What's cooking?"

"Hello, dear," beamed the older woman, "So good to see you. This is something Muggles call a 'campfire stew.' Arthur found the recipe in some Muggle magazine, and you know how excited he gets when he has his heart set on something."

"Yeah, my dad's like that too." Tonks nodded. "Mum always says that all men are like little boys, including him."

Molly laughed. "Can't argue with that. How was work, love?"

"Not too exciting; mostly just boring paperwork. Not that I want Death Eaters on the loose or anything, but I am an Auror. It's kind of my job."

"Oh, I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities for catching Death Eaters," said Molly, "After all, that's what the Order is for!"

"True," Tonks smiled, "Speaking of which, is anyone here yet? Or am I the first to arrive?"

"You're the first," Molly answered, "But the meeting starts in fifteen minutes, so everyone should be here shortly. In the meantime, would you do me a favor?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Would you mind taking this Defense Against the Dark Arts magazine to Remus' room? I think he'd like it."

"No problem, Molly. I'll be right there."

"Thanks, dear," said Molly, turning back to the stew.

Tonks climbed up the stairs, not without a sense of curiosity. She's been a member of the Order for two weeks, and has been interested in Remus since that first meeting. Of course she tried to talk to him, but Remus was very quiet and introverted, and she hasn't been too successful at getting him to open up. Tonks tried to tell herself to give up—she was in the Order to defend the Wizarding world, not to pick up guys—but she just couldn't get over herself.

Remus wasn't like the young men she knew from work or through friends. He was intelligent and well-read, and Tonks just felt with as much certainty as she knew her own birthday that Remus was a very kind man, no doubt haunted by some secret that made him this reticent. And he was handsome too, Tonks thought. Not traditionally handsome because he was thin and tired-looking, and had graying hair and a prematurely lined face, but his eyes were a beautiful shade of blue-gray. And when he smiled, rare as it was, the smile lit up his whole face and made him look years younger.

Tonks opened the door to Remus' room and stepped in. The room was small and neat; there was a dresser and a desk with a bookcase near the window. The bed was made up perfectly, in such a way as to make Molly Weasley proud. On the dresser, were some photographs. One of them showed four boys sitting on the grass outside of Hogwarts, and Tonks understood that to be Remus and the other three Marauders. James was wearing his Quidditch uniform and throwing the Snitch into the air and catching it, with a cocky smile on his face. Sirius was grinning playfully at James and kept bopping him over the head, as if begging him to put the Snitch down and stop showing off. Peter was laughing heartily at the whole scene, and Remus was also laughing…but he didn't look as happy as the others. Yes, even back then, he looked sad, as if something was deeply troubling him.

The other pictures were of James and Lily on their wedding day, where they both looked truly radiant, ignorant of the tragedy that would soon befall them; James and Lily together with Sirius, their best man (no lie, Azkaban really changed him!); and a baby picture of Harry, instantly recognizable by his lightning-bolt scar and his bright green eyes. Tonks stepped over to the desk, where she put the magazine that Molly gave her, and as she did so, her eye scanned the books. Defense Against the Dark Arts, A View on Grindylows, Werewolf: Man or Beast?, and a few Muggle authors, whose names sounded familiar: Shakespeare, Balzac, Dickens, Hugo, and others.

Preparing to leave, Tonks suddenly caught sight of a shallow crystal bowl on one of the bookshelves. It contained a clear fluid, and Tonks instantly recognized it as a Pensieve. She's seen plenty of those during her Auror investigations; indeed, Pensieves have been highly useful to them a number of times, providing them with the necessary evidence to imprison or acquit wizards and witches.

"I have to take a peek," Tonks said to herself. "What could it be that makes Remus look so miserable? An unlucky romance? We've all had one of those!"

She looked at the clock. It was ten minutes to five, ten minutes until the start of the meeting. Plenty of time to travel into the past and satisfy her curiosity, without anyone even noticing she's gone. Risk-taking was always exciting to Tonks, and she just couldn't pass up an opportunity like this.

Taking a deep breath, Tonks lowered her face into the cool liquid…