Title: Luck

Word Count: 999

Rating: G

Summary: Tonks find a reason to enjoy Valentine's Day.

Author's Notes: Thanks to my sister and my roommate for the beta. Also, the usual disclaimers about not owning Harry Potter and such.

This was written for the Love Hearts round of the Lover's Moon Fic Jumble at Metamorphic moon at LiveJournal. There's a master list of all the fics over there. Brilliant stuff.

Luck

Tonks had always hated Valentine's day. Not only was it a totally pointless holiday, it seemed to be worse luck for her than Friday the 13th. This year's wasn't looking any different. It started early, and the only thing she had to look forward to was a mission for the Order.

"TONKS!" Rufus Scrimgeour's voice filled the corridor and Tonks briefly considered going back home and owling in sick. "Auror Tonks, if you're not in my office in the next five seconds you can go home for good!"

Tonks winced, but poked her head around the door frame into the Head Auror's office. "Yes, sir?"

"You are late, Auror Tonks, and you haven't turned in a report in four days."

"No, sir."

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Scrimgeour asked.

"I'm sorry, sir. My….grandmother has been ill, sir, and I've been Apparating back and forth taking care of her. It's put me a bit behind," Tonks had developed a knack, in the last few months, for lying fast.

"Will your grandmother be requiring your attention forever, Miss Tonks?"

"No, sir. She's much better, now."

"Good. Get your reports finished. I want them turned in tomorrow. And don't be late again."

"Yes, sir," Tonks nodded.

"That's all."

"Thank you, sir." The young auror turned on her heel and grumbled her way back down the corridor to her cubical. She sat down at her desk, and pulled out her pile of reports, working away, musing about paperwork until the single hand on her small clock pointed to lunch time. She opened the bottom drawer of her desk to extract her lunch only to find none. She looked up at the coat stand in the corner. No purse.

"Bollocks," she muttered. Her lunch and purse were still sitting on the kitchen counter. She pushed her drawer shut firmly and stopped at the clinking sound as a small pile of coins toppled over in the drawer. She pulled the drawer further open and counted the coins. Five sickles and a knute. Enough for a sandwich and pumpkin juice. She quickly gathered up the coins and ran to the lifts to go to the dining room to buy lunch.

The rest of the day passed very slowly. No calls came in and Tonks wrote report after report. The sound of her name had her looking up from her paper work to see Kingsley Shacklebolt and a very small owl waiting for her attention.

"Wotcher, King,"

"Hello, Tonks," Kingsley said, looking over his shoulder for eavesdroppers. "I'm really sorry about this, but I'm going to have to cancel our plans for the night. I just got an owl from my Grandfather in Scotland. You understand, don't you?"

Tonks looked at him quizzically for a moment. Was he canceling the mission?

"You probably need to get to Hogsmeade right away, then?" she asked.

"Precisely. We can reschedule, yeah?"

Tonks grinned. Kingsley was a better liar than she was. "Of course."

"Alright. See you around then." And Kingsley disappeared down the hallway.

The little owl hooted at Tonks and she untied the small scroll attached to his foot.

My interview was canceled, and I'll be staying with my brother. If you get off work early, you should drop by.

Remus

Tonks picked up her scroll and tore a piece of parchment off her roll.

King canceled our date. I'll be there.

Tonks.

She patted the owl on the head, and sent him on his way, turning her attention back to the reports on her desk. She worked the rest of the afternoon with no interruption and as she glanced at the small clock on her desk again, she realized that not only was it time to go home, but she had also finished her paperwork.

Tonks grabbed up her wand and her coat, and made for the exit, dropping her pile of reports in the box by Scrimgeour's door. She waved to the wizard at the security desk and slipped out the door, apparating directly to the front step of Number 12. When she opened the door, Mrs. Black was already screaming about something, so Tonks knew that when she tripped over the troll foot, it wasn't her fault. Remus was in the hall before Tonks could pick herself up off the floor, and she helped him pull the curtains over the portrait.

"Wotcher," she said, turning to hang her coat on the stand by the door.

"Hello, love," Remus answered, pulling her into a hug. "No date with Kingsley tonight?"

Tonks giggled. "Yes, well, after the first time he showed up in my cubical talking about our 'plans' for the evening, some one started a rumor that we're having a torrid affair. It's convenient."

Remus raised an eyebrow.

"Jealous?" Tonks teased.

"Not if it's been cancelled," Remus said, lacing his fingers through hers, and leading her to the sitting room. "How was work?"

"I think somebody spiked my tea with Felix Felicis," she answered.

"Wow, that good?"

"I found enough money for lunch after I forgot mine at home, I did paper work all

day, and both of our missions got cancelled. Apparently it's my lucky day."

Remus stopped "Paper work is lucky?"

"I didn't have to bring it home with me. It's lucky," Tonks answered. "I get to spend my Valentine's Day here, with you, instead of out in the cold and writing reports."

"Ah," Remus started back down the hall. "Sounds lucky to me."

"Remus, Where's Sirius?" Tonks' voice was concerned.

"Upstairs sulking because I won't let him floo Harry. But since he won't come down, we can have a quiet evening for two, with wine," Remus conjured two goblets beside the bottle that was sitting on the table in front of the fire place. "And chocolate," he finished summoning a large heart shaped box of sweets from the desk across the room.

Tonks smiled. "Very lucky indeed," she said, raising on tip toe and kissing him soundly.