Tonks breathed out a cloud of icy breath and tucked her hands deeper into her armpits as she hurried along.
Not for the first time, she thought longingly of coating all of her exposed skin with a thick layer of polar bear fur. Her mother had absolutely forbidden her from ever trying it, or any other transformations bordering on the bestial, stating the effects could be irreversible.
Tonks was fairly sure it was more down to snobbery than anything else (her pig snout was fine, after all). But Dad would always roll his eyes fondly and say, "Dora," in that patient way of his, and the temptation to argue further would usually fizzle out,
Besides, as she took a sharp right past The Crooked Sickle, she had nearly reached her destination. She could brave the cold a little longer.
Maybe next time, though.
Brushing past a few carousing revellers, who smelled like they'd been drinking enough to be ejected from the pub, she finally saw it.
"Thank Merlin!" she announced, as she stepped through the weathered blue door to the cheery tinkle of the shop's bell.
"Tonks?"
A very pale girl, perched on a stool at the counter was staring at her in surprise.
"Wotcher, Celeste."
Tonks didn't look up, concentrating on stamping her feet on the doormat without tripping.
"Goodness. Is it snowing?"
Tonks scowled at the innocent white substance already melting away into the mat's material.
"No. Someone thought it'd be funny to enchant the entrance to the Alley with a Blizzard charm. I had my own flurry chasing me halfway down the street before I figured out the counter charm. It wouldn't have been so bad, but, well, you know how I can be about running and diagnostics at the same time."
Celeste nodded. Multitasking was not her strong suit. It was a drawback for an Auror.
"What can I do for you?" she asked instead, changing the subject.
Surprisingly, Tonks blushed and looked at the floor.
"Actually, I was looking for a present for a friend."
Celeste raised one delicate eyebrow. It was finely sculpted and elegant, like everything else about the half-Veela.
"A friend? Let's see. What area of research is she interested in? Runes? Talismans? Folklore? Bestiaries? We have everything here." There was a note of pride in her voice as she spoke. Quills was a family-run academic bookshop. It was the only reason Celeste had a job on Diagon Alley.
Tonks blushed harder.
"Actually, he has more of an interest in Dark Creatures. I suppose that would be under Bestiaries, wouldn't it?"
Celeste's face remained blank. Any of Tonks' ex-school friends would have been giggling and asking embarrassing questions by now. Like Claire Fairweather, working in Flourish and Blotts. Coming here instead had definitely been a good decision.
"That's right," she replied, without skipping a beat. "This way."
She hopped down off her stool and led the way into the bowels of the shop. It was much bigger than it looked, with lines of bookcases arranged higgledy-piggledy reaching, apparently infinitely, into the gloom. Tonks could never be sure if that was a trick of the dim lighting, a deliberate magical illusion or a truly impressive Extension charm.
Eventually, Celeste took a left to skirt a stack dropped haphazardly across their path to create an improvised junction, and stopped.
"There it is," she announced. "The Bestiary Section."
Tonks gaped.
They were standing before a gigantic dragon's skull, completely blocking their way. Its jaws gaped wide enough to allow even someone Hagrid's size to step through. The back of the skull had been removed, and through it they could see more bookshelves, some carved into the wall, the only evidence Tonks had seen so far that the back of the shop actually had any.
She would have to step into the dragon's mouth and walk through its skull to reach them.
"We also stock some books on Zoology and Crypto-zoology in there, if you're interested. Will you be all right? I need to get back to the counter now," Celeste was saying. Tonks managed to nod and watched as Celeste glided away, leaving her alone with the dragon.
Tonks swallowed. It was hard not to be a little uncomfortable stepping into its mouth. The tips of its fangs reached her lower thigh.
It was almost as if Celeste's family were actively trying to deter visitors to the section. Though considering their mixed ancestry, they might have been.
Stepping gingerly through a gap in its teeth, managing not to wobble and impale herself, she reached her destination with a sense of triumph.
Only to be confronted with shelves and shelves of books looming mercilessly, reminding her she had no idea what she was looking for.
Harry and the Weasley kids had mentioned Remus teaching Magical Creatures during his tenure at Hogwarts, but she had no idea what books he might have, or what might interest him.
An overview or encyclopaedia would surely be too basic. She pointedly ignored The Monstrous Moon and Lunar Lunacy: Lycanthropy and Other Disorders.
Perhaps something related to Dementors? He was constantly fussing over Sirius, after all. Maybe there would be something here about recovering from the effects of Dementor exposure? And she was sure Celeste had mentioned an Indexing spell her family had invented.
Grabbing a few likely looking titles, Tonks navigated the skull again and headed in the direction (she hoped) of the front of the shop. The distant tinkle of the shop bell called to her like a beacon, and, with some relief, she spotted Celeste shelving.
"Celeste! Do you remember that spell you were telling me about? You know, the indexing one you mentioned at – ."
"Nymphadora?"
A pair of calm, grey eyes blinked at her in surprise.
"Remus!" she squeaked. She knew without looking that her hair had flushed a vivid pink to match her cheeks.
Two loud, clattering thumps informed her that Creatures Vile And Cruelle and Fiends and Faeries: A Guide had slipped from her grasp. She cursed inwardly.
"W-what are you doing here? And don't call me 'Nymphadora'," she added, as an afterthought. "I told you to call me Tonks!"
She saw Celeste shoot him a speaking look and ignored her.
"Sorry," he replied in the quiet, almost shy tone that always made her heart flutter. "Tonks, then."
Her hair flared into a rainbow.
"Curses," he added.
Tonks jolted. "What?"
He smiled, his eyes crinkling with amusement. "I'm researching curses. For our friends." He winked conspiratorially. Her mind was blank for a second – too thrilled with the fact that they were sharing a secret – before she remembered he meant the Order.
Celeste, standing to the side, cleared her throat. "If you'll follow me, I'll show you our section on Curse Breaking and Crafting." She hesitated, before adding. "It may interest you to learn, we also have a private library, not open to the general public. You may find its contents more… extensive than anything you'll find at Flourish and Blotts."
She meant they stocked books on Dark Magic. A slight crease appeared in Remus' forehead, and Celeste tutted (as much as a half-Veela could).
"My family have a motto, you know," she said. "Nosce Inimicum. Know Thine Enemy. I would have thought someone like you would appreciate its wisdom."
Remus shifted uncomfortably, glancing at Tonks.
"These are dangerous times we live in," he said guardedly. Celeste inclined her head graciously and swept away.
Remus started to follow her, then stopped by Tonks, leaning in close. She could feel his breath on her neck. He smelled of soap and a darker, musky scent she couldn't identify. Her brain froze.
"I'll see you at the meeting." His voice was warm and, it seemed to Tonks, toe-curlingly intimate, as if they were conspiring against the world together.
She must have said something in reply, or made some kind of noise of agreement, because he smiled and turned to follow Celeste.
In a daze, Tonks wandered out of the shop.
She had almost reached The Leaky Cauldron before she remembered.
She still hadn't bought his Christmas present.