Remus tugged nervously at the collar of his robes as he strode up the walk. The door loomed before him – solid, unwavering, reminding him that this was not a dream, a hallucination, or the after-effects of a Confundus. He was at Nymphadora Tonks' door. For dinner. At her invitation.
Steady, Remus. They had buried Dumbledore mere days before. The world was topsy-turvy and their lives hung in a balance so delicate he dared not consider the ramifications of tonight. It was against his better judgement. This was not the time for courting. Already his feet were backtracking, his hands shifting the flowers and candy he had foolishly decided to bring.
The door opened partway, then rebounded to the frame, accompanied by a oomf from within. Remus reacted immediately, crushing the bouquet in his left fist as his right yanked his wand from within his robes. Tonks had been discovered by the Death Eaters. He made it to the door in three quick strides and shoved at the door, ready to duel whatever lay within.
A head of spiky pink hair nearly smacked into him as Tonks dove upward from the floor. Her face was bright red. Her whole torso heaved as she attempted to breathe. His heart stood still.
"Where are they?" He demanded. She was wandless. Unarmed, preparing for a nice dinner, and caught unawares. He stepped into the doorway, shielding her with his body. "Who did this?"
She laughed.
He turned to face her, wand falling slightly. She was actually laughing, cheeks returning to a more normal shade of pink, eyes dancing in fun. There was a lump swelling on her forehead.
"I did it to myself."
He reached for her elbow, casting one last glance down the hallway. She seemed steady enough on her feet.
"What happened?"
She threw up her hands. "What didn't happen? I spent all afternoon cooking with my mum in the Floo giving advice. I chopped right through a cutting board when I started cutting the meat, set my robes on fire when I put the vegetables on, and managed to hit my own face with the door when I saw you coming up the walk."
"Do you need to sit? Are you alright?" Remus gestured around wildly, looking for a place to let her sit.
The flowers tumbled out of his hand. They both reached for them, resulting in another near-disaster as they each managed to snag a portion of the daffodils and freesias, nearly destroying the bouquet he had agonized over bringing.
"Great flowers," Tonks said with a giggle, conjuring a glass vase to put them in.
Lupin grinned nervously, surreptitiously flicking his wand at the vase to set an Unbreakable Charm on it, and once more when Tonks let it go to organize the flowers. It was levitating where she left it when she turned to place the bouquet inside. She set the vase on the hall table and turned back to look up at him.
"Really, they're lovely."
Merlin's beard, why did she have to look at him like that? Remus' mouth went dry as he met those dark blue eyes. They were sparkling, their expression softer than he had ever seen them. She was happy – truly, deeply happy. It was intoxicating.
"Dinner's nearly finished, you know," she blurted. "Just follow me and I'll –"
She broke off suddenly, hand going to her hair. "Oh, and I haven't even gotten ready yet. Stay right there, and I'll be back in just a minute…"
Crack! With no more warning than that, she Disapparated, leaving Lupin to pick at the bow of the large candy box in his hand and do his best not to feel as if he should run for her sake. She deserved so much better…
Before he could continue his litany of reasons, she was back, and all excuses fled from his mind. Her hair was long, rich-brown and caught up in a curling knot on the back of her head with a few long curls around her face. Her robes were deep crimson, pulled in at the waist by a golden belt.
"Gryffindor colors," Remus stammered out the first intelligent words that came to mind. Or not so intelligent.
"Well, it did seem appropriate," Tonks rejoined with a wink, though her voice was slightly anxious. "Gryffindor would have been my next choice of House."
"You look wonderful, T-" Remus broke off suddenly. What was he to call her now that… now? "Truly," he covered with a grimace.
Silence. He focused his gaze on the curl by her right ear. She was picking at the wrist of her left sleeve.
After several long seconds, he thought of a question. "What House were you in?"
"Hufflepuff – loyalty, justice, hard work and fun," Tonks said, eagerly taking the new topic. "Everyone thought I'd be in Gryffindor because I wanted to be an Auror, but Hufflepuff was best for me. Loads of fun – and I'd take Professor Sprout over Minerva McGonagall in a minute if it came to a talking-to."
The laughter eased the tension. "I must confess I would tend to agree. Minerva was the terror of Gryffindor wrong-doers – probably still is."
Tonks glanced at the bow he was mangling on the box in his hand. "Is that for looking at or did you expect dinner to be so bad you brought your own?"
Remus held out the box with a laugh. "I couldn't remember which candy you liked, so I picked an assortment."
"Even better," she said as she tugged the ribbon off. "Honeyduke's must have been pleased with your business."
Remus smiled quietly, trying not to remember just how much lighter his pockets were after that purchase. It was worth it to see the excitement on her face. Three flavors of Sugar Quills, a bag of Fizzing Whizzbees, Chocolate Frogs, some of Honeyduke's famous fudge, and two licorice wands lay nestled in the signature gold-striped tissue paper.
"Licorice!" Tonks had selected one of the wands and was beaming as if it was made of gold. "I thought you said you didn't remember."
"I didn't," Remus admitted, though it cost him. Her face was glowing.
She bit off the end of the licorice. "My dad always said black licorice tastes like tar – or my mum's cooking when they first got married – but it's my favorite. When I was at Hogwarts, the Honeyduke's workers would hold a box for me with each shipment. I had to pay them off with shifts as a street vendor."
"Street vendor?"
Tonks nodded. "I would transform my head into a Chocolate Frog head or a Pepper Imp and pass out samples of new products. Loads of fun – and it got me all the licorice wands I could eat."
"Duly noted," Remus said. "Next time I won't have to spend two hours in the sweet shop."
Tonks' eyes were glinting saucily. Lupin could see the retort about to be released when her expression changed to one of absolute chagrin.
"Oh no!" she wailed, taking off down the hall.
Remus followed at a trot. "What is it?" She dashed into a room on the left, making no answer. "Tonks, what's wrong?"
When he reached the doorway, a roll of charred smoke greeted him. Through the haze, he could dimly see Tonks fanning at something and muttering indistinctly.
"Can I do anything?" he called in.
She swiveled toward him, face near-panicked. "Don't come in here!"
It was that frightened tone that did it. Remus cast a Clearing Charm to get rid of the smoke and stepped into the kitchen. Tonks was standing by the stove, mourning over a scorched pan.
"Mum said if I left the flames low enough, the steak could just cook for a while until we were ready to eat. She suggested doing it this way so –"
"It doesn't matter," Remus interrupted. She jumped at the brusque tone, so he softened it as he continued. "It was a mistake, and I'm sure there's something here we can still salvage."
She blinked, one tear threatening in the corner of her right eye. "It wasn't meant to be 'salvaged,' Remus. It was supposed to be perfect. This was our chance to finally have a normal -"
She clamped her lips shut as several tears fell. Her hair drooped from its fancy bun, falling into a mousy-brown bob Remus recognized all too well. He crossed the room and took her in his arms. She rested her head on his chest, letting the tears come. He rubbed his thumb across her shoulder blades.
"We're never going to have a normal anything, Nymphadora."
She lifted her chin in protest. "Don't call me –"
He laughed. "Then what should I call you? Am I really going to stand and say, 'I take you, Tonks, to be my wedded wife'?"
Her smile blossomed through the tears. "You mean - ?"
He leaned back to meet her eyes again, reveling in the joy there. "Do I get to call you Nymphadora?"
The spark reignited in her eyes. She wiped her cheeks and stepped back. "No."
Remus blinked, not sure how to react. She opened the paper package on the counter and pulled out two more cuts of steak. She dropped them into a new pan and turned to face him.
"You can call me 'Dora. Now, how do you like your steak?"
She grinned sassily at him, one hand on her hip. He pulled her in for a kiss. She smelled like summer breezes laden with rain. For one glorious, perfect moment, the world stood still as their lips met.
Remus leaned back to breathe. "Rare," he murmured in her ear.
Tonks looked up at him, confusion crossing her face despite the happiness. "What?"
"Rare," he repeated. "I like my steak rare, 'Dora."
"Ah," she said. She pulled away and walked over to the fireplace, reaching for the Floo Powder.
"Where are you going?"
She grabbed a handful from the jar. "Mum didn't tell me anything about cooking a steak rare."