A/N Ok, so I have not written in ages (and this is the first time I'm publishing something on here) so I'm not entirely happy with this, but I've tried to polish it over and I'm sort of stuck. So I'll publish this, see how it goes, maybe I'll make a few changes later on, but we will see. Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I am not J.K. Rowling and I do not own any of these characters, I only play with them =D
Nymphadora Tonks often thought that her mentor was somewhat mad (where else would he have gotten his nick-name?), but this time she was absolutely sure of it. Standing in a grubby, deserted square somewhere in London, she sighed and turned on her heel to look at Mad-Eye Moody.
"Mad-Eye, why are we here? It's 6:30. I'm hungry. I'm cold. I'm drenched. And I'm positive that whatever you think is going to happen here, whoever you think is going to meet here, it's not. They're not."
"Hush, girl," Mad-Eye hissed. He was scribbling something down on a scrap of parchment. "Just shut your mouth for one blessed moment and be patient for once in your life. You'll see why we're here in just a few moments."
Tonks heaved another great sigh and turned around again to stare at the houses. She had nearly burst into tears when Moody approached her that afternoon with what he described as "an extremely important mission" for which he thought she was particularly well-suited and that she wouldn't want to miss. She was running on three hours of sleep, having stayed up late catching up on work she had missed while getting over a bad cold, and she could hear the London rain lashing the window panes violently. All day she had been nodding off and feeling terrible, and as work was drawing to a close she could think of nothing but going home and falling asleep on the first surface upon which she collapsed. The last thing she wanted to do after such a dreadful day of work was to go on another one of Mad-Eye's crazy missions. It especially frustrated her how mysterious he was being; not that Mad-Eye wasn't usually mysterious, but he had hardly said a word to her since they had left the Ministry. He usually gave her at least some kind of objective before a mission; for this one, he had just given her a sly look and told her sternly that it was imperative she go.
Closing her eyes in exasperation, she pushed her dripping pink hair off of her forehead. The driving torrents of rain that had fallen on London all day weren't showing any signs of stopping soon, and as she had forgotten her umbrella and hadn't worn any kind of raincoat, she was soaked through to her underwear. Moody didn't seem as if he was bothered by the rain; he was concentrating too hard on whatever he was doing, shielding the parchment from the drops. Her teeth chattering, she prepared to plead with Moody once more when he stepped closer to her and pushed the piece of parchment into her hands.
"Read this," he growled in a low voice, "memorize it, and then think it over in your head."
She read it slowly, still feeling completely lost. This was probably already the strangest mission she had ever been on, and barely anything had happened yet. "Mad-Eye, there's no twelve—"
"Don't say anything! Read it in your head! Surely you're capable of that?"
Clenching her teeth so she wouldn't retort, Tonks reread the parchment. When she was sure she could remember every word, she gave it back to Moody, who promptly destroyed it.
"Now recall the words, exactly as written."
Tonks closed her eyes, concentrating. The only things that filled her mind were the words that she had just read, scrawled in a hurried script on the recently destroyed parchment.
When she opened her eyes, she was astounded to see a house appearing quickly in front of them. Moody shot her a look that warned her to hold her tongue, and they walked up to the front door. Tonks, now extremely curious and forgetting her earlier exasperation, ran her finger over the heavy looking knocker but Moody grabbed her wrist.
"Don't touch anything. You don't know what you're doing yet," he snapped, glaring at her. Tonks, who was used to being told off by Moody, shrugged her apology and watched as he drew his wand and tapped the door, which slowly opened, sounding as if its hinges were in dire need of oiling. It opened into a dank, musty hallway. She quickly followed Moody inside, and as soon as she was over the threshold he pushed the door shut.
"Now, girl, listen carefully. I've brought you here because I think you have a lot potential. Don't ruin it by interrupting with questions every five seconds. Everything will be explained in time."
Tonks, who had been about to ask where they were, quickly closed her mouth and nodded vigorously, wanting answers.
"I've brought you here because this house is headquarters to a secret organization called the Order of the Phoenix."
"Secret organization, this sounds bloody brilliant," Tonks said enthusiastically. Moody shot her a warning look, then continued.
"Our goal is one that must be taken extremely seriously—to take on the task of fighting Lord Voldemort and his forces, because the Ministry denies and most likely will continue to deny that he has returned. And he has returned, don't believe any of the Ministry codswallop. It's all propaganda. This is a reorganization of the group—the first Order fought Voldemort and his allies during the first war. Some members of the original Order died, some of the members are the same as in the original Order, and we are trying to gain new members—such as you.
"Dumbledore is the head of the organization. As for the rest of our group, most of whom is here tonight for the meeting, you'll be introduced to them in a little bit. This house belongs to the Black family, your relatives. It is Sirius Black's old house."
As an apparent afterthought, he added, "And there's a thing you should probably know about Sirius Black—he's here tonight, and he is innocent."
Tonks' jaw nearly dropped. The cold-blooded criminal who had killed 12 people and who had somehow escaped from Azkaban, the criminal the Ministry had been searching for fervently and without end, her beloved cousin of which only childhood memories remained-he was innocent? Yet, somehow, she had always wondered how Sirius Black could be capable of such a crime—she had known him when she was young, and he had seemed like such a funny, kind, carefree person. He had been her mom's favorite cousin, and he and his friends—including James Potter, she remembered—had been around to the house a few times. She had assumed that he had changed as he grew older, as most people do—except that he had gone down a darker and more ominous path. But as Moody went on to quickly tell the story of Sirius' innocence, Tonks felt her excitement at seeing her older cousin again start to grow. But another one of the names in the story struck Tonks as oddly familiar.
"Peter Pettigrew—" she murmured, thinking. "Wasn't he one of—?"
"Sirius' friends," Moody said shortly. Tonks nodded, remembering faintly a small, nervous looking boy visiting her house with Sirius as well.
"Now that you have at least a tad of an idea of why I brought you here—and I know there are things you still don't understand, but those will be addressed in due time, you must attend some of the meetings to truly understand how this works—tonight's meeting is to start in a few minutes."
With that, he led her down the passageway, down a flight of cold stone stairs that led to a large, well-lit kitchen. The kitchen was full of a delicious smell, and Tonks spotted a small, plump, red-haired woman at the stove briskly chopping potatoes and dropping them into a large pot with her wand. Behind her, there was a long table full of people that Tonks could only assume was the rest of the Order. They were talking and laughing amiably, and although most of them seemed not to notice her or Moody enter, she noticed that a few of them allowed their eyes to flicker towards her. She scanned the table eagerly and noticed with a jolt the man who must be Sirius, who did not seem to have noticed the appearance of the newcomers. He was talking animatedly with an oddly familiar looking man who appeared as miserably exhausted as she felt, but who was laughing at Sirius' story all the same. Sirius was much thinner than she remembered, and obviously older. But though his face was gaunt, she could still see that look of boyish glee and mischief that had she remembered had always been present on his face.
Moody drew her attention away from the table and gestured to the woman at the stove. "Molly Weasley," he said gruffly. Molly turned around and when she saw Tonks, a large smile spread across her face. "This is Nymphadora Tonks."
"You must be our newest member?" she said, setting down the potatoes and her wand and embracing Tonks. "Welcome, dear, it's so lovely to meet you. I hope you're hungry?" she asked, in a warm, motherly tone that Tonks found comforting. She immediately took a liking to the woman. "And you're soaking wet! What were you doing outside for so long, Mad-Eye?"
Tonks shot a pointed look at Moody, who merely rolled his eyes.
"Yes, starving," she said, and shivered. "And a bit chilly." A sudden thought hit her. "Weasley—as in Charlie Weasley?"
"Ah!" exclaimed Molly, grabbing her wand. "Yes, you two are probably about the same age? Twenty three?"
Tonks nodded, grinning. "Yeah, I haven't seen him in ages! Will he be here?" Her voice was eager. She and Charlie, although in different houses at school, had been close and had even dated for a stretch of time.
"Yes, he's not here tonight, but you can chat with him some other time, he will show up at some of the meetings," replied Molly a bit absentmindedly as she surveyed Tonks' robes.
"Well, this simply won't do, your teeth are chattering—remove your robes, dear, please."
Tonks peeled off her soaking wet robes to reveal her equally soaking clothes underneath. She flushed slightly as she saw Molly taking in her canary yellow Weird Sister's t-shirt, tight, dark jeans, and her combat boots. She suddenly wished she had opted for something slightly more grown-up as her wardrobe choice that morning. But Molly merely smiled as she used her wand to siphon some of the moisture from Tonks' clothes. "I'm afraid that you're so wet, dear, that that is the best I can do—would you like it if I found you some other clothes to wear, Nymphadora?"
"Oh no, this is fine—thank you, Mrs. Weasley. And please, call me Tonks," she said, grimacing at her name but thankful all the same for the woman's helpfulness.
"Alright, dear, and call me Molly," she said, smiling again at Tonks. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must finish this stew and get it simmering before the meeting starts—" and with that, she bustled back to the stove. Moody now led her over to the table where everyone else was sitting. There were a few empty chairs, but it appeared that most of the table was filled. He banged on the table to call everyone to order, and Tonks flushed slightly as all eyes turned on her.
"I'd like to present to all of you our newest member, Nymphadora Tonks. If you'll all introduce yourselves?"
Everyone waved enthusiastically at her and called their greetings. Tonks again started to glance eagerly at her cousin but her attention was almost immediately drawn back to the nearest end of the table, where a short wizard had stood up to introduce himself.
"Dedalus Diggle, miss," he said, taking her hand and shaking it enthusiastically. She smiled at him as he sat down and the dark-eyed witch next to him stood up.
"Hestia Jones, and this here is Emmeline Vance." Hestia had thick black hair pinned back into a bun, and a plump, pretty face. Emmeline was a proud, friendly looking witch who nodded and winked at Tonks.
"Arthur Weasley," said a tall, balding wizard whose remaining hair was as red as his wife's, Molly, and whose smile was equally as warm. "Pleasure to meet you."
Finally, she came to Sirius' side of the table, and he immediately stood up to wrap her in a tight hug, a large grin on his thin face.
"Little Tonksie! It's been so long! You remember me?" he said excitedly, releasing her and holding her at arms length to get a good look at her. "You're so much older than I remember, Tonks. But of course, it has been…what…13 or 14 years?"
"Nice to see you again, Sirius," she said, grinning. She had been eight years old the last time she had seen him, and she could hardly believe she was setting her eyes on him again. Sirius still had the same dark, liquid, almost black eyes—eyes that she and her mother, as Blacks, shared. His eyes now held what could only be described as a haunted look, but they also held the same glint that they always had.
"How's your mum?" he asked. "She was my favorite cousin, you know; I don't know if you remember, but I came over to visit quite a few times, as your house provided a sort of haven from mine; and my friends came with me every once in a while."
"Of course I remember," she said, "Mum was always preparing for you to wreak some sort of havoc when you came over."
He gave a loud, barking laugh and grabbed the shoulder of the man he was sitting next to, who was smiling politely at their eager exchange.
"I don't know if you remember my good friend, Remus Lupin?"
The sickly looking man stood up and extended his hand, his smile growing wider. "A pleasure to meet you again, Nymphadora," he said, his voice hoarse, as though his throat was bothering him. She took his hand and returned his smile.
"Please, call me Tonks, Remus. Remus Lupin…your name does sound familiar, actually. Were you friends with Sirius back at Hogwarts, too? Did you come with him to visit my mum?"
"Yes, he was the goody two-shoes who always offered to help your mum with house-cleaning and cooking while the rest of us were busy making ourselves at home," interjected Sirius, clapping his hand on Lupin's shoulder again. "Weren't you, Moony?"
This jolted her memory, and she suddenly remembered that Sirius and his friends had all had strange and rather cryptic nicknames for each other. "Moony!" Tonks exclaimed. "Yes, I do remember you!"
"Although I believe I was…in my early twenties the last time we met? So it's been quite a while, as Sirius said," he replied. She faintly remembered seeing at her house a thin, tired-looking boy with brown hair and brown eyes, and noted that he still resembled that boy a bit. But now his brown hair was mixed with grey and his face, although still fairly young, was more tired and ill-looking. His eyes were the same, though; dark brown and friendly, if not with a few more lines surrounding them.
"I do remember," she said, smiling at him. "What did those nicknames mean, anyway? What was yours again, Sirius?"
Sirius snorted. "Mine's Padfoot. That's—er—a story for another time," he said, shooting her a quick grin. "Alright there, Remus?" As his friend eased himself back into his chair, Tonks wondered what was wrong with him—she noticed a grimace flicker across his face that belied his short "fine," and Sirius quickly glanced down at him worriedly before turning back to Tonks.
"You staying for dinner tonight? I'd like to catch up a bit," he said. She nodded and grinned in reply, his contagious excitement catching onto her. Moody stumped over and took her by the elbow.
"There are a few more members set to arrive any minute, now; you should know that Kingsley's one of them," he said, to which Tonks grinned, perfectly able to picture her colleague taking part in such activities. "Take a seat and wait for the meeting to begin."
She sat in an empty chair next to Sirius. Within the next few minutes, Kingsley came strolling in; when he saw her, he winked and gave her a little wave and she smiled in response. She had a feeling that he already knew that Moody was going to bring her. But just then, the door to the kitchen abruptly opened and none other than Severus Snape came striding in.
"Snape?" groaned Tonks in a low voice. She noticed Sirius stiffen as he came into the room.
"Yeah, unfortunately," he growled, and Tonks noticed Lupin give him a look. "Because—"
But she never got to hear what was so unfortunate because right after Snape entered, Moody stood up and called for everyone's attention.
"Albus will not be coming tonight—so we're going to go ahead and start. First things first; you've all met our newest member, Nymphadora Tonks?"
She managed a weak smile as all faces turned towards her again, almost all of them smiling, with the exception of Snape. Sirius clapped her on the back as Moody called everyone to attention again.
"Now, to business." Moody cleared his throat and, shuffling some papers, began to discuss the idea of patrols. Tonks, finding everything extremely new and interesting, paid rapt attention. Once or twice she glanced sideways to see Sirius scratching elaborate doodles onto a piece of parchment, and she saw Lupin, who was attempting to take notes on said piece of parchment, shoot him reproving looks, causing her to bite back a smile.
"We need to start keeping a closer eye on Potter," Moody said. "I realize that we have already been increasing our patrols in Little Whinging, but we need to do more. We are certainly capable of doing more." Tonks raised her eyebrows. Harry Potter? The Harry Potter? Then again, she supposed that if this was a group that was dealing with Voldemort and his crew, Harry Potter would somehow be involved, too. But before she had a chance to dwell any longer on this, Sirius sat up in his chair, artistic ambitions suddenly forgotten, and spoke up.
"I think that's a good idea, Mad-Eye, but why not take it to the next level? We need to just get him away from those damn Muggles and—"
"Because, Sirius," Moody said, "we can't have him leave the house just yet. He must stay there. It's under Dumbledore's orders—"
"Haven't we been over this quite a few times?" Snape cut in coldly. "I'd like to know why Black keeps bringing up the same complaint at each meeting, even when he knows it's to no avail."
"Because, Severus," Sirius sneered, "this is my godson we're talking about. I just want what's best for him. Of course you wouldn't understand. Is that okay with you? Is that allowed?" Tonks saw Remus lay a hand on Sirius' arm.
"Sirius—"
Sirius brushed his hand away. "No, Remus, I'm not going to take it anymore. All I'm trying to do is look out for my godson and every time—every time-I say something, this git here—"
"Excuse me—?" Snape looked livid.
"That's enough!" roared Moody. "Both of you, that is enough. Act like grown men, for god sakes. Sirius, I know you are concerned about Harry; but you must realize that Dumbledore knows what's best for him. He has reasons. Severus, Sirius has a right to be heard at the meeting, just as everyone else, including you, has the right to speak."
Snape sneered. "Of course. Since it's the only thing he can do for the Order, being on house arrest."
"That's enough, Severus," Remus cut in quietly. "Let's just get on with the meeting."
"I'm only saying what the rest of the Order members don't want to say. And I don't believe that anyone asked for your input, Lupin, so it would be appreciated if you'd stay out of things that don't concern you," Snape snapped.
"Don't you dare speak to him like that, you—" Sirius was cut off by Moody.
"BOTH OF YOU!" he bellowed, his face livid. Tonks cringed; she had been on the receiving end of Moody's wrath before, and it wasn't an experience she particularly enjoyed. But she could see why he was angry; she hadn't expected to witness an argument like this at her first meeting. Even if she didn't exactly know the depth of what they were arguing about, she noted that Snape was even fouler than she remembered, which was saying something.
"Black, sit down. I want one meeting to go by where you don't provoke Severus. And please realize that we are doing all we can for Harry; your protests are not going to change Dumbledore's word. Severus, Sirius is a contributing member of our team; you know that. And Lupin is right; we need to stop this foolishness and get a damn move on. Now will you two idiots shut up and act like adults so I can continue?" He glared at Sirius and Snape, both of whom were flushed with anger. Remus had his head in his hands and was rubbing his temples, and the rest of the Order members were either staring at Sirius or Snape in shock or were looking down at the table. Tonks heard Arthur Weasley, who was sitting on her other side, heave a quiet sigh.
"As I was saying before, we need to start keeping a much closer eye on Harry. We need to step up the efforts. Constant vigilance is always—always—necessary."
Knowing Moody, the efforts were probably already at their maximum. Tonks knew from experience that Moody was always trying to push things to seemingly impossible levels. Yet that was what made him so good at his job, and at the same time, what made him so paranoid. And even this paranoia contributed to his making as a devastatingly talented auror.
Moody finished discussing the watches they were going to set up to patrol the neighborhood where Harry lived, and how they would set up a more precise schedule at the next meeting. He also briefed the Order on how affairs were going at the Ministry, with input from Kingsley. As Tonks listened, the information the Ministry fed the public started to appear more and more like the transparent lies Moody said they were.
When he finally wrapped up the meeting, Molly reminded everyone that anyone who wanted to do so was welcome to stay for dinner. Tonks was starving, and she stayed in her seat as some of the members of the Order, including Moody and Snape, filed out to leave. Sirius remained in his chair as well, even though it appeared that he was still stewing over his argument with Snape.
"Do meetings always go like that?" Tonks asked in a low voice to Arthur. He chuckled.
"That was actually quite a bit more than we're used to here at the Order, but yes, arguments are frequent. And not just between those two, either. Everyone in the Order means well, but we also all have different ideas on how things should be done. But in spite of this, I think you'll find that we make a good team." He smiled reassuringly at her.
"Oh, I'm not worried," she laughed. "I think it's fascinating so far. I was just a bit surprised, that's all."
"Yes, well, there's always been some animosity between those two, anyway," Arthur said, frowning slightly. "And Severus has always been rather hostile towards Remus as well, for some reason; I'm not sure why, because while Severus and Sirius do antagonize each other quite a bit, Remus has never been anything but polite towards him. But I suppose it's not my business to know. Anyway, it's Snape. Dumbledore tells us to trust him, so of course we trust him, but he has his own little quirks."
"He has his quirks, alright," Tonks muttered. She was observing Sirius, from whose face the anger had faded and who now simply appeared to be tired. He and Remus were discussing something in low voices but stopped and settled back into their chairs once Molly came over with the pot of stew.
"You two could use some more nourishing," she said brusquely as she ladled incredibly generous amounts of stew into their bowls. "You too, dear," she added, smiling at Tonks as she poured about three servings into her bowl.
As Molly moved on to serve the rest of the remaining members, Sirius turned towards Tonks, apparently ready to hold conversation again. "I don't mind extra nourishing when it comes to Molly's food," Sirius said, ladling stew into his mouth. "I think you'll find that she's quite an excellent cook. Anyways, how have you been, Tonks? I still can't believe I am finally seeing you again after all these years! I know it doesn't make sense, but I still pictured you as a little girl; but you're a big, bad auror now, I hear."
She snorted. "Oh yeah, big and bad, alright. It takes a lot to handle all of the paperwork that comes my way."
"You're an Auror?" Remus asked, joining the conversation and looking genuinely interested. "That's quite a career, Nymphadora. Do you get out into the field often?"
"Please, Remus, it's Tonks. Oh yeah, I do get a lot of missions; honestly, I shouldn't complain, I'm not stuck in the office as much as some poor blokes. But the paperwork really is a drag. But I shouldn't complain, I suppose; I do love my job, I wouldn't want to be doing anything else. What do you do, Remus?"
He flushed slightly. "Ah. At the moment, I'm unemployed. But I've been searching. Generally I do odd jobs here and there if I can find them, but there aren't many out there. I do what I can."
"Don't be so modest, Moony," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "He forgot to mention that he was a professor at Hogwarts for a year."
"Really? You were a Hogwarts professor?" Tonks said, impressed. In all honesty, Remus did strike Tonks as the professor-type. "Only for a year? Did you like it?"
"I loved it, but I had to resign due to extenuating circumstances," he said bluntly. "What type of mission does your job usually entail?" It was clear that he did not want to continue talking about his former employment, and Tonks didn't press the issue, feeling her face turning slightly red at what she hoped he didn't take as her prying.
Suddenly, she heard Sirius laugh, and she looked at him, confused, as his laugh seemed to be directed towards her. "What?" she said, frowning. "What'd I do?" She noticed that Remus was now looking at her curiously, as well.
"The tips of your hair are now red, dear cousin," Sirius said, grinning. Tonks realized that when she blushed, she must have unconsciously allowed her hair to morph slightly. She frowned, twirling a strand of her hair around her fingers to find that the tips had, indeed, darkened from raspberry pink to cinnamon red.
"That's right, I had completely forgotten you were a Metamorphmagus, Nymphadora," Remus said. Great, she thought, seeing the fascination on his face, here's another bloke who thinks I should be an exhibit in a bloody museum.
"Yeah, she used to do little displays for us every once in a while. Andromeda wasn't always a huge fan, though—"
"Yeah, I remember. What would you like?" she asked tiredly. Both men looked confused.
"What do you mean, what would I like?"
"People usually have a—a request," she explained. "They like my novelty, I guess. They usually want me to rearrange my face or something as a demonstration."
"You don't have to demonstrate anything, Nymphadora, I just think it's interesting you have that ability because it's rather unique. Sorry, I didn't mean—I hope I didn't offend you," Remus' face was now slightly pink, and Tonks realized that he really had only been expressing genuine interest.
"Oh, no, don't worry about it—" she said hurriedly. "Here, look—" she suddenly felt herself wanting to show her ability to Remus and Sirius. Screwing up her face in concentration, she turned her nose into that of a cat, whiskers and all. Mewing slightly, she nudged Sirius' arm, tickling him with her whiskers. He lost it, his shoulders shaking with laughter.
"Oh, I've missed you, Tonksie." She flashed him a smile as she stood up, balancing her empty dishes precariously in her hands in order to bring them to the sink. As she started to walk away, she seemed to suddenly remember something. Glancing at him over her shoulder, she raised her eyebrows at Remus.
"And please, Remus—for god's sake, call me Tonks."
Later, after the rest of the Order had left, Remus and Sirius remained at the table. They chatted and bantered casually, and the conversation turned towards that night's meeting. "Your cousin has turned out to be quite a nice young lady, Sirius," Remus said, taking a sip of his tea.
Sirius gave him a sly grin. "Checking her out, were you, Moony?"
Remus choked slightly and turned pink. "No! You know that's not what I meant. I'm just saying she's grown into a very well-rounded young woman, that's all."
Sirius' smile grew wider. "So you were checking her out—enjoyed her well-rounded bottom, did you?"
"No!" cried Remus. He could feel his face burning, and took another long swig of tea to try to hide it. "You know that's not what I meant," he muttered, setting his cup down. "I was talking about how successful she is now."
Sirius sniggered. "Don't worry, mate. I'm just messing with you. You always get your panties in a bunch so easily. You're right though. I remember Andromeda being worried about her messing around in school, but I always had a feeling she did take her studies seriously. She's got a good sense of humor, too. And she really is quite pretty. She's hot, really."
"She's your cousin, Padfoot."
"I know that, mate, I'm not saying I want to shag her or anything. It's just an innocent observation. Don't worry, I know I complain about being lonely, but even I wouldn't go that far."
As Sirius laughed at the grimace on Remus' face, Remus couldn't help but think to himself that Tonks really was quite a lovely woman, even if the color of her t-shirt had made his headache worse, and he thought that he wouldn't mind seeing her around again. He also thought to himself that yes, it was possible that he had seen her bum when she bent down to help Molly pick up the shards of glass from the cup that she broke, and that maybe he did, in fact, think it was quite nice. But that was something he would never, ever admit to Sirius. No, thirty-seven year old Remus Lupin was not going to be caught ogling his best mate's twenty-three year old cousin, thank you very much. He certainly would not allow those thoughts to go any further.
A/N It's a bit long but there it is. I didn't want it to turn out to be a whole clichéd "they fell for each other right away" thing, so I sort of tried to downplay Tonks' attraction to him and even of her noticing him, because that'll obviously come along later on. I could picture Remus checking her out, though, because honestly, I always sort of thought as Tonks as kind of sexy in her own way, and what man wouldn't notice that? So there we go. Please leave a review and let me know what you think, how I could improve it, etc. Hopefully if enough people are interested in reading I'll get a second chapter up fairly soon. Thank you =)
