Chocolate Milk
Nymphadora was in the kitchen of Grimmauld place, standing on tip toe and rooting through the cabinets. It was just after midnight, and the house was mostly quiet. Mostly, as every so often there would be a resounding crash as the young Auror knocked plates, glasses, or similar dishware to the floor. These crashes were always followed by a string of expletives, and a muttered 'reparo' spell.
Luckily, the house was empty, save Sirius Black, who was deeply asleep in his room, and Remus Lupin, who was equally asleep in the library.
Well, perhaps Remus Lupin was not so asleep, or maybe it was his proximity to the kitchen, but the fifth crash (it had been a loud one) woke him. He abruptly sat up, sending the book he was reading (which just so happened to be The Picture Dorian Gray) further down his lap.He had obviously fallen asleep reading. Again.
Remus shook his head, and ran a hand through his greying brown hair. He debated getting up from his position on the couch to investigate, but wasn't quite convinced he hadn't just been dreaming. Unfortunately for Remus' sleep patterns, he heard another crash (slightly quieter this time), and an exclamation of 'bloody hell!' and it was decided by the werewolf's conscious it might be in the best interests of the objects being destroyed to get up. If that was indeed the notoriously klutzy Nymphadora Tonks, she would make waste of whatever she was handling entirely if he didn't intervene soon.
He sighed, swung his long legs back onto the floor, and stood up, stretching a little. He walked down the short, dingy hallway from the library to the kitchen, and pushed open the heavy wooden door. He saw Tonks surrounded by a sea of cereal, some broken glass, and milk. Actually, Remus noted with some amount of amusement, she was drenched in milk.
"Dammit all!" She growled, not seeing Remus as her back was to him. "Blast it!"
The young woman put her hands against the counter, and took a deep, steadying breath.
"Need some help there, Nymphadora?" Remus asked, thinking it a good time to intervene before she killed something out of frustration. He tried very hard to keep the amusement out of his voice, but didn't completely succeed.
"Oh, bloody – Remus! I'm just trying to find something, and, obviously made quite a mess – don't call me Nymphadora!" Tonks said very quickly, as she spun around. She shot Remus a glare, and gave her wet shirt a wring with her hands.
"What are you looking for?" Remus asked, making his way slowly across the kitchen closer to her and the disaster area. "Did you need to destroy the entire kitchen to find it?" He teased, flicking his wand so that the broken dish repaired itself.
"Thanks." Tonks said, but still continued glaring at him, "You couldn't have, you know, dried me off first?" She indicated her drenched-in-milk self.
"I thought you could do that one on your own." Remus said mildly. Besides, he was rather enjoying the slight spectacle. He tried to keep the teasing glance and smirk to a minimum as he continued speaking, "Where's your wand? Didn't Moody teach you anything?"
"Upstairs." She muttered, "I know, I know, not very vigilant, but I just wanted some –"
She was interrupted by the closing of a door, and the sound of slightly odd footsteps thumping down the hallway.
"Oh no. Oh no." Tonks groaned, and grabbed Remus' wand from his hand, her skin brushing his as she retrieved it.
"Hey!" Remus squawked in indignation, snatching his hand back like she had burned him.
Tonks did not reply, but with a wave of her stolen wand she was completely dry. The milk had all disappeared by the time Alastor Moody stumped into the kitchen.
"What's going on in here?" Moody growled, as he threw his weathered body into a chair at the table, and surveyed a slightly flabbergasted Remus, an irate Tonks, and floor full of cereal.
"Nothing Moody, you know me, klutzy as always." Tonks replied lightly, changing her hair color from a dark brunette to a lively green. Moody grunted and muttered something about failing Stealth and Tracking as he conjured some tea bags.
Remus said nothing, but got a cup, a tea kettle, and glared at Tonks until she hurriedly produced some hot water with his wand.
He expected Tonks to make her escape, before she could demolish the kitchen further, but she didn't. She looked around the kitchen a little desperately, actually.
"What's the matter?" He whispered to her, "You know, it's not so bad – your klutziness, I mean, you only killed the milk and cereal. That's not as bad as last time you tried to help Molly…"
"I know!" Tonks unexpectedly wailed, making Remus jump and Moody glare up from his newly found paper. Moody rolled his eyes and took his now ready tea, and left the kitchen with his irregular footsteps echoing behind him.
"Nymphadora –" Remus stopped at her death glare, then started again, "Tonks, what is the matter?"
"I smashed the milk!"
"Um, why is that such a big deal?" Remus asked, tentatively. Milk was replaceable, but she wasn't acting like it. He didn't think it was that earth-shattering regardless – surely she was used to her failings at lifting dishes and walking over flat surfaces by now?
"I wanted some chocolate milk!" She exclaimed, looking at him like he was an idiot, which Remus thought perhaps he was. Figures she would be upset over a lost craving.
"Oh. Of course. Well. We can remedy that. Come on," Lupin grabbed her sleeve with his hand and led her to the front door, grungy and foreboding. After muttering a few spells, he opened it, and pulled Tonks outside. The night was cold, and Tonks shivered slightly. She thought she should've grabbed a coat, since she was only wearing pyjama pants and her favourite bright purple Weird Sisters t-shirt. She gripped Remus' wand and cast a warming spell over both herself and Remus.
He looked round at her as he felt the spell take effect, and smiled his thanks, "I do need my wand back," Lupin said teasingly¸ glancing down at the woman beside him. She grinned, handed his wand back to him, and hooked her arm with his.
"Hold on to my arm tightly. I'm going to side-apparate you."
Tonks complied and gripped tightened to his right arm, and Lupin felt the squeezing sensation of apparation push them closer together. They landed, and Remus had to grab Tonks to keep her from falling. He laughed as he righted her, and she muttered, "I haven't ever done side-along."
He simply grinned in response, and, arm in arm, he led her over to a convenience store. Inside, he led her straight to aisle where they kept the milk. Tonks grinned at him. She pulled the door open, and a bell jangled, announcing their arrival. They laughed at the absurdity of it and wandered down the aisles, commenting on this and that quietly to each other.
"Look there's even ready-made chocolate milk!" Tonks exclaimed, "My dad always made me some whenever I wanted it." She frowned suddenly, then rolled her eyes and laughed. "My dad is such a liar. Now I know where he got it. Complicated potion my ass."
Remus laughed, and they walked to the cashier at the front. The young man eyed them warily, his gaze lingering on Tonks' slight disarray and weird hair colour. Remus pulled out a ragged wallet, and pulled out the necessary change.
The couple left the store, and Remus steered her to a nearby park, where they sat on a cold bench. Remus noticed her arm was still intertwined with his, even as she dug deftly grabbed his wand from its hiding spot under his sweater. Nymphadora grinned at him, and conjured two identical pink glasses, and poured the chocolate milk. Remus took the passed cup and raised his glass to her.
"Cheers!" She said, smiling at him cheekily, pocketing his wand. He smiled back, and they clinked glasses before taking a long gulp of their prize.