A/N: Wotcher, everyone!

Wow, this was really fun to make and I couldn't believe how easy it was to write! I just love all the characters to pieces :'D And Remus/Tonks ftw?

Though note that this is my first HP story, so if anyone is out of character or some errors make your eyes bleed, feel free to tell me. Criticism and comments would be awesomely awesome!

Disclaimer: No matter how much I want it, Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Nymphadora Tonks and the Love Potion of Eternal Doom

Part One: The Plan

"Go! Evil pillow of doom!"

"Argh!"

Flaming red hair whipped around her face as Ginny Weasley dodged yet another pillow from Nymphadora Tonks, who had on a triumphed smile that clearly said: 'Victory is mine!'

"Give it up!" said Tonks as she reached over for another pillow.

Ginny laughed and put on her best serious face, though it only lasted for half a second. "Bring it on!" she challenged. Hermione Granger watched from the sidelines, rolling her eyes but smiling all the same.

It was the night of Christmas Eve at number twelve, Grimmauld Place. The clock struck eleven and the sound of crickets making a racket outside was heard faintly from the windows. The girls, who were over for the holidays whilst waiting at the same time for Arthur Weasley to heal at St. Mungo's, were having none other than a slumber party. It was not much of a surprise when Tonks announced that she was going to join them.

Small Christmas lights hung up on the ceiling of the room they shared. Pillows were strewn all over the floor, though some were flying through the air. Tonks had even bewitched the ceiling to snow softly, and the lights reflected off the shining snowflakes, making them into a spectrum of colors. Other than that, the bedroom was rather dark and shadows played over their faces. But it was a festive activity, and the three girls were having a jolly good time.

Hermione was sitting on one of the beds, her back against the wall as she wrote a letter to her parents with aid of the glowing lights above. She seemed deep in thought, tapping the quill against her chin before continuing. The other girls, on the other hand, were far from calm. Tonks and Ginny were having an epic and breath-taking pillow fight that had lasted for over half an hour. Ginny grabbed a pillow and used it as a shield. The older woman laughed and chucked another one at the Weasley girl, who easily blocked the attack and continued her barrage.

"You shall never defeat me!" said Ginny, rolling out of the way quickly; Tonks had lunged for her. The Auror let out a defiant yell as she grabbed empty air. Ginny hopped onto her feet and was just about to let out a "whoop!" before she was actually tackled onto the floor by said Auror.

Hermione rolled her eyes again at the sight of the two girls, in the pile of pillows, attempting to throw punches and kicks at each other. Please, she thought. Can't Tonks just act her age for once? Though she didn't argue. The mood was merry and playful, and they both made rather good company. Hermione dipped her quill tip into the ink pot. Her hand hovered over the parchment filled with her neat handwriting as she thought for a bit. Then she continued, smiling a bit at the thought of her parents reading about a fully grown woman in her 20's playing a pillow war— until a large and cushy pillow was flung her way and crashing into the ink pot, causing it to tip over.

Hermione screamed. She stared at the dark, deep ink sink into the letter and seeping into the fabric of her pajamas. "Tonks!" she cried, grabbing the parchment and waving it wildly.

"Oh, sorry, Hermione! I didn't mean to—"

"Sorry, Hermione!" said Ginny apologetically.

"That was stupid of me…Here—!" Tonks retrieved her wand from the bedside table and seconds later Hermione's letter was as good as new. Hermione, after assuring the pink-haired Auror that it was all right, continued her writing while Ginny threw another pillow at Tonks, signaling the start of another war.

A few minutes later, the clock struck a quarter to 12. Hermione smiled widely, rolled up her parchment and set it on the table. Ginny and Tonks grinned, hoping that Hermione would join them, but instead they found her pulling out a few pieces of paper and setting off to work… again.

"Hermione!" said Tonks and Ginny together, clearly exasperated.

"Mm. Yeah?"

"You're not finished yet?" said Ginny.

Hermione looked up. "Well that last one was for my parents. This one's different. I got to have these done before Christmas, right?"

Tonks hugged a pillow to her chest, sitting on the floor with her legs crossed. Ginny was in the same position next to her. "Who's this one for?" asked Tonks.

"For Victor Krumm."

"Ohh…" Ginny nodded before a grin spread gradually across her freckled face. "He's nice, isn't he?"

"Very," replied Hermione absently as the sound of her quill scratching against the paper filled the room. Then she stopped suddenly as Ginny's expression became more and more peculiar. "Oh, Ginny…"

"What? I think you two were great during the Yule Ball!"

"I—er…thanks…" Hermione looked away, color rushing to her cheeks. "How about you then?"

"Oh, you know. He's all right. I just hope Ron'll stop worrying so much."

"You know Ronald, it'll take some time."

"A long, long time,"

"Who're you talking about?" piped in Tonks, who tilted her head to the side, puzzled. "Who's 'he?'"

"Ginny's boyfriend," said Hermione playfully.

"And Hermione's boyfriend," said Ginny with the same tone.

"He's not my boyfriend, we're just writing to each other…as pen pals!"

"Then why is your face going red?"

Eyes widening ever so slightly, Hermone reached a hand up to her cheek. A mistake; it was burning. "W-Well…" she stammered.

Ginny grinned.

"Well..I-I…Oh, honestly!" Hermione grabbed a pillow from the floor and threw it to Ginny, who caught it and tossed it to Tonks, who wasn't ready and was smacked full in the face.

"Oh, sorry…" said Ginny as the pillow fell onto the floor next to Tonks.

"That's all right. Oh." She chuckled, pink hair shaking as she did so. "Teenage love! How sweet! Oh wait…Victor Krumm…of the Bulgarian National Quidditch team?"

Hermione, looking quite flustered indeed, nodded.

"That's amazing! How did you—No, you can tell me later. So how's your relationship with him at the moment?"

"As I said, we're just pen pals!"

"Really now?"

"Reeaaally now?" echoed Ginny in a lofty voice.

"Tonks!" said Hermione so suddenly and loudly that both girls jumped. "How about you then?"

Tonks froze in place, her smile melting. She clutched the pillow to her chest. "Er…me?"

"Sure, of course!" said Hermione. "Who are you interested in now?"

"Er…Er…I, uh…" Tonks was stammering, and that brought a smile to Hermione's face this time. Ginny leaned in, obviously curious to the change of the Auror's calmness. When Tonks didn't answer, Hermione voiced out her thoughts.

"Is it Lupin?"

"MERLIN!" screamed Tonks. Her nose popped out into a pig's snout and she snorted loudly before burying her face into the pillow. Before doing so, however, Hermione and Ginny noted the pink shade that had swarmed itself onto Tonks's cheeks.

Ginny's eyes widened and she clamped a hand over her mouth. Hermione kicked her legs off the bed and crouched down on the floor next to Tonks. She reached out and patted the older girl's shoulder sympathetically. "I'm happy for you."

"I never said that I liked Remus!" said the Auror, her voice muffled by the pillow.

"Oooh…" said Ginny, who had recovered from the shock. "'Remus…'"

Tonks whipped her head up, her eyes flicking dangerously toward Ginny. "It's not like that—!"

"Well he can't take his eyes off you, can he?" said Hermione, smirking kindly. She was greeted this time with Tonks's glare swishing to her direction.

"What—No…When?"

"During meals, when you change your face into those silly ones…" said Hermione, resting herself onto the floor in front of Tonks. "He smiles…he laughs…"

"And he even snorts into his coffee sometimes, doesn't he, Hermione?" said Ginny.

"Yes, he does," answered Hermione jokingly. Tonks was wondering whether she was serious or not.

"He's only laughing because I look ridiculous," she blurted out.

"No, no…" said Hermione. Her voice was gentle. "It's different."

"Re-Really?" Tonks asked carefully yet hopefully.

"Yes."

Her heart swelled and began banging against her chest until she was sure that the two young girls could hear it. Butterflies starting raging war inside her stomach and Tonks was ready to pass out right on the spot. Remus was watching… her?

"That's…that's nice to know…" she said.

Ginny and Hermione both smiled at this. Their eyes shined with the thought of their older Auror friend falling in love.

"But…"

Their smiles faded.

"I'm not sure if Remus would feel the same about me…"

Their reactions came quick and firm.

"Don't say that!" said Hermione.

"Didn't you hear what we just said?" Ginny yelled, though she lowered her voice, afraid she might wake the other occupants of the house.

"Remus has a persona and history that makes it hard to become truly close to him sometimes," said Tonks, now staring at the ground, her eyes empty. "It's quite hard to see if he actually cares…"

"What do you mean?" asked Ginny.

Tonks shifted uncomfortably in her position. "In other words, he won't just say yes that easily. You can't see it, but…there's this…this barrier...A barrier between him and others. He seals himself in and won't let himself out…It's…"

Hermione gazed intently at Tonks, waiting for her to continue.

Tonks shook her head, her pink hair whipping from side to side. "But I won't give up. No matter what."

Ginny grinned and clamped a hand onto Tonks's shoulder while Hermione pulled her into a tight hug. "We know you can do it," said the Granger girl quietly into the Auror's ear.

Tonks nodded."Though there's a lot to go through to break that barrier, huh?" she said with a grim smile.

"We know you can do it," repeated Hermione encouragingly.

Ginny held up a fist and shook it in the air. "Tonks for the win!"

Laughing, Tonks ruffled each of the girl's hair. "Thanks, you two. I'll do my best."

Crack.

The girls screamed except for the oldest one, who had learned from her Auror training not to be surprised easily. Though Tonks did give a slight jump. Fred and George Weasley were now standing before them, leaning casually against the wall. They both had rather smug looks on their faces.

"We heard…" said Fred.

"…that somebody's having a little love problem," finished George.

Ginny was quick to argue. She said angrily, "You both know you aren't allowed to—"

"Oh, but we just want to help," cut in Fred, cleaning out his nails and ignoring Ginny's terrifying glare. "For our favorite Auror, of course."

Tonks raised an eyebrow. "…Um…"

"Behold," said George. He dug into his pockets and pulled out a small, round glass jar. He held it up for them to see, pausing dramatically. It was filled with a shining liquid that gleamed and reflected the colorful lights above, giving it the impression of a small disco ball. After a few seconds of suspense, he finally said, "Love potion."

"For our favorite werewolf, of course," said Fred.

"No!" Hermione whispered fiercely. Her bushy hair whipped around her face as she stood up to glare at the two twins. "We are not going to have Lupin drink—"

"Where did you two get that?" asked Ginny suspiciously and rather loudly.

Fred and George exchanged sneaky glances. "Oh you know," they said together. "Just here and there…"

"There and here…" concluded George. "Might have made it ourselves…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ginny demanded, standing up as well.

"You both are just trying to take advantage of Tonks!" said Hermione hotly. "And how much will that cost? Galleons, I presume? I won't allow—"

"Oh, but it's free," interrupted Fred, looking quite innocent.

"Why on earth would you think of us to put a charge against such a dear friend?" said George as he faked a pained expression. "It hurts right here." He pointed a finger to his heart. "Very deeply."

Fred whipped out a tissue from his pocket. "I feel like crying, George."

"Me too, Fred. Hand me a tissue—"

Hermione stepped up to them. "You two—"

"That's enough."

All eyes turned to Tonks, who had finally spoken. "Look, I appreciate what you lot are doing…" she said slowly. "But…"

Fred and George looked crestfallen.

"…I'm fine how it is right now…"

Ginny crouched down and gave her a hug. "You'll do fine, Tonks. I'm sure you'll do absolutely fine— " She glared at her twin brothers. "— without a love potion."

"Although…"

Fred and George, who were staring at each other with overly dramatic expressions, whipped their heads towards Tonks hopefully as she spoke.

"…It may be amusing to see Remus with different emotions…"

Hermione's mouth dropped open; Ginny blinked; Fred and George whooped and slapped each other high-fives, chanting: "We did it, we did it, we did it—"

"Tonks!" said Hermione incredulously.

"I'm just kidding!" said Tonks quickly. "Oh wait, am I? Oh a love potion, I'm so curious!"

"We did it, we did it, we did it—"

"But, Tonks…" pleaded Hermione. "Do you know the effects of a love potion? I've read all about them and I heard that it causes the drinker to become incredibly obsessed—"

"We did it, we did it, we did it… Come on, Ginny, join us!"

"AS IF!"

"—and the side effects are just terrible…" continued Hermione. "Not to mention how complex the antidote is—"

"Hermione," Tonks said firmly, and the girl stopped mid-sentence. "Look, I'm not being serious. See? Ugh, tell those two to pipe down or they'll wake somebody up…"

"We did it, we did it, we did it—"

"SHUT UP!" Ginny had gotten to her feet.

Outside, they could hear the faint sound of footsteps coming down the stairs…

Fred and George shared a quick glance before Disapparating. Two loud cracks echoed throughout room and the door opened. Sirius Black barged in, looking quite ruffled indeed.

"What in blazes is going on here?" he exclaimed. "Trying to wake up the whole house?"

"Oh, it's nothing!" said Tonks a little too brightly, looking away from him. "Just having a little chat."

"A little chat on what?" asked Sirius.

"You know...just...er...girl stuff…"

There was a slight pause. Then Sirius spoke.

"You?" he said, raising an eyebrow. He leaned against the door, his dark hair falling over his face. "Talking about girl stuff? You, Nymph—?"

"Don't call me that."

"You just don't seem like the type."

"Oh, leave me alone…"

"No, no, no…I care about my favorite cousin here…" Sirius closed the door softly behind him and entered the room, much to Tonks's dismay. She made sure to avoid eye contact as he crouched down beside her. "It's Remus, isn't it?" he whispered.

Tonks felt her face turn the same color as her hair. How did he know too? "Don't be ridicu—"

Crack.

Crack.

The twins were back in the room, looking triumph. Fred had his chin resting on a hand. "Ah, come to join the party, Sirius?" he said casually.

"It sure is getting rather crowded," commented George.

"Indeed it is, my fair brother."

"What are you two doing here?" asked Sirius, eyebrows raised.

Fred shrugged. "Oh just…"

"…helping out our dear friend," said George, his voice thick with the air of innocence.

"Hm. Oh, alright then…So what's been bothering you, eh?" urged Sirius as he tried to get Tonks to look at him. The latter buried her face into the pillow, blood rushing to her head.

"It's nothing—"

"Oh come on…"

"It's nothing, Sirius."

"If nothing means giving a love potion to Lupin," piped in Fred.

George nodded seriously. "But since that's the case, then…"

"Aha!" Sirius clasped his hands together, his eyes bright. "I knew it!"

"You two!" hissed Tonks, her face emerging. Fred and George looked away, whistling off-tune.

"She wasn't really going to do it…" said Hermione quickly.

"Yeah, you changed your mind, didn't you, Tonks?" asked Ginny after shooting Fred and George another death glare.

The young Auror gave a short nod. "It's stupid…"

"Well I think it's brilliant!" Sirius interrupted, holding out his hands. "It'd be great to see Moony happy once in a while…By all means!"

"Sirius!" gasped Hermione.

"What?"

She shook her head helplessly.

"You really think so?" asked Tonks uncertainly.

"Absolutely!"

Ginny narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the older man. "You just want to do it for the laughs." Sirius turned away immediately, but Tonks didn't notice.

Fred tapped his finger against the door. The bells that hung on the wood jingled happily. "So… shall we do it then?"

Tonks didn't answer. She stared at the ground, her brow furrowed.

George grinned. "We'll take that as a yes!"

Sirius clapped his hands giddily. "Brilliant! I can't wait to see the look on Moony's face when—" He shut his mouth when both Ginny and Hermione shot him terrifying looks. "When he…er…sees me chugging down barrels of firewhisky in the morning." Awkwardly, Sirius climbed to his feet, giving his little cousin a few pats on the back. "Well, I must be off then…"

"Us two," chimed in George. He stretched his arms and gave out a dramatic yawn. He ignored Ginny's petrifying aura. "Boy, am I tired…"

"Me too…" Fred gave an equally exaggerated yawn.

Tonks finally snapped herself to it. "Wait a sec…"

But footsteps could be heard heading towards the room. With double cracks, the twins fled. Sirius gave Tonks another comforting pat before Disapparating himself.

The girls only had a split second to drop down and appear to be sleeping before Mrs. Weasley barged into the room. Silence followed while the plump woman examined each of them with motherly eyes. Tonks was on the floor along with Hermione. They slept in rather odd positions, their arms and legs sprawled. But Ginny was what really caught her eye. The little Weasley was sleeping with her head drooping dangerously over the bed, flaming red hair all over her face. Mrs. Weasley let out a brisk "tsk, tsk" before entering the room and helping the girls tuck into bed. They had expected her to leave right then, but instead, Mrs. Weasley took a seat next to Ginny and stayed there.

Not wanting to appear suspicious, Tonks said nothing and found herself falling asleep.

And just as the clock struck twelve.

x

A/N: And Happy Christmas for those who are celebrating it!