Just Desserts
Based (sort of) on a true story.
Nymphadora Lupin looked up from her book at the sound of footsteps in the corridor. Her Auror training immediately kicked in. Analyzing the situation, she came to the conclusion that Remus was working late and the footsteps weren't heavy enough for a fully grown man. Which meant one thing: Jonathan was out of bed.
"Mum?"
"I'm in the library, Jonathan," she called. Tonks marked the page in her book as her eight year old son stumbled into the room, bleary-eyed.
"Mum, I just remembered…I need fairy cakes for tomorrow."
"What?" she asked, a feeling of dread growing in her stomach.
"Miss Luna asked us to bring in something for everyone for our small Christmas party and I said I'd bring in fairy cakes."
Tonks blinked. "You need fairy cakes…for tomorrow."
"Yes."
"Jonathan, its nine o'clock at night! Where am I going to get fairy cakes?"
Her son regarded her with his big blue eyes that he had inherited from his father. "You can cook them."
"Cook?" Tonks parroted.
"Yeah…Grandma Molly gave you that cooking book last year for your birthday."
She groaned. Jonathan was too young to understand the concept of a gag gift. Sure, she could whip something up to survive for evenings such as tonight, but Remus did most of the cooking. Tonks groaned again.
"You all right, Mum?" he asked, looking anxious.
"I'm fine, darling. You run off to bed and Mummy will start on your fairy cakes."
Jonathan beamed at her. "You're the best, Mum!" He scampered out of the library, down the corridor, and upstairs.
Tonks headed out of the library towards the kitchen. She approached the door with trepidation. Pushing it open, Tonks headed towards the cupboard where she remembered she had stashed the cookbook.
Pulling it out of its draw, Tonks coughed as she blew the dust off the cover. "Sweet Merlin, I hope there's a fairy cake receipt in here!" Thumbing through the book, she was relieved that there was a desert section. "Molly does think of everything."
Tonks scanned the ingredients list, and then breathed a sigh of relief: eggs, flour, milk, sugar, butter, and vanilla. Everything that was listed they should have stocked.
She rummaged around the cupboards, gathering what she would need, then set to work. Charming the mixture of eggs, butter, vanilla, and sugar to stir itself, Tonks began to measure out the flour and milk.
Everything was going too perfectly. As she made her way back to the cupboard to replace the flour, Tonks tripped over her daughter Evangeline's toy broom. The flour sack flew out of her hands. Landing on the floor several meters away, it exploded and settled over the kitchen like snow.
"Bugger!" she swore.
Sighing, Tonks collected the empty flour sack. Returning to her bowl, she added the milk and flour that she had thankfully already measured out. After it was done mixing itself, Tonks poured it into the pan, making a total mess of stovetop. She popped the pan in the oven, and then turned back to her cookbook, sighing over have to now make icing.
However, the only icing recipe in the book was a chocolate one. Double cream they had, but Tonks panicked slightly as to where to get chocolate at ten o'clock at night. Then, she remembered Remus' secret stash of Honeydukes Finest.
She dragged a chair over to the cupboard. Teetering precariously, Tonks managed to reach the bars of chocolate set way back. Jumping off the chair, she ran over to the stove and smashed three of the bars up. Adding it to the double cream, Tonks set the pan over the fire to melt. Once it was done, she grasped the pot handle with a dishtowel.
Tonks was lucky enough to set the pot down on the counter before the dishtowel burst into flames. Summoning her wand, she quickly doused the fire. Sighing, she used the crispy towel to remove the fairy cakes from the oven.
Casting a Cooling Spell on them, Tonks began to remove one when she remembered that she hadn't greased the pan. Rubbing her forehead in frustration, she removed them as gently as possible, on destroying two cakes in the process. Next came the icing. Smearing each fairy cake liberally, Tonks made a mess out of her hands.
She was just finishing up the last of the cakes when she heard the front door open and close.
"Dora love?" Remus called.
Tonks heard the telltale plonk of his briefcase being set on the ground. "In here, Remus," she called.
Her husband of ten years broke into a grin as he took in the scene that lay before him when he opened the door. "You…baked?"
"Your son informed me an hour ago that he needed fairy cakes for school in the morning. Apparently, Luna's having a holiday party for the children."
"Sounds like Luna," Remus chucked. "She might be a little, er…off, but you have to admit, the idea of her and Hermione setting up a primary school for magical children was absolutely brilliant."
"Yes, it was."
"You made a right mess out of the kitchen, my love," he said looking around. "Chocolate icing…yum! Wait…we're did you get chocolate this late at night?"
Tonks bit her lip. "I, um, I used yours."
"My secret stash of Honeydukes Finest was used to make icing for fairy cakes?" Remus looked absolutely appalled.
"It's for your son's fairy cakes!" Tonks shot back. "He gave me less than ten hours notice, what was I supposed to do?"
Remus sighed, running a hand through his grey hair. "I can always get more chocolate."
"Yes, you can. Now, I have a problem."
"What is it, sweetheart?" He looked a bit concerned.
"I did make a right mess out of the icing," Tonks said. She held out a chocolate covered finger. "Could you help me clean it up?"
She giggled at the Marauderesque grin that split across his face as he crossed the room towards her. Remus took her hand and proceeded to lick all the chocolate off of it.
"You taste absolutely divine, Dora."
"Good enough to eat?" Tonks asked flirtatiously.
"Absolutely. I plan on it."
"Well, I'm baking more often if this is my reward."
He licked a spot of chocolate on her neck while lowering her to the floor. "Don't worry, my love, you'll get your just desserts."
FIN