Summary: During HBP, Tonks tries to seduce Remus. What if something more than his condition stood in the way?
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Random Instincts
"You know I don't care about any of that", Tonks pleads, yet again. She has no idea that Remus' refusal of her isn't due to the reasons he keeps giving her. She truly believes Remus is doing this because of his moral decency.
Remus grimaces slightly. Of course, Tonks barely notices this, since she thinks he wants her to continue her appeal. Truth is, he doesn't. He might not have the moral values Tonks thinks he has, but he isn't rude enough to tell her to give up, for the sake of his sanity.
Tonks rustles her hair and attempts to pull on her "sad" face. She looks like a puppy, and Remus feels worse than ever. The girl bites her lower lip slowly. She now thinks she's close to making him give in to his emotions. The only emotion Remus feels right now, though, is exasperation.
The kitchen in the Burrow is so quiet it is unbelievable to think Molly Weasley has ever cooked in here. Dinner ended a while ago, but Remus was held back by Tonks to hear more of her incessant pleading.
"It's getting late, I should leave…" Remus whispers hoarsely. He had been hoping to say a more intimate good-bye to Molly… Tonks had interfered as usual, and his patience was running out.
He turns around without waiting for a reply and leaves by Floo Powder. Alone in the dark kitchen, Tonks grunts loudly in anger and pulls a face. She is a feisty woman, as the Auror job requires this, though she pretends to be easy-going around friends.
***
The night at the Burrow passed peacefully. Tonks having left, the house was quiet, except for Arthur's snores. Molly didn't have a very good night again, since Arthur's nightly noise has been getting on her nerves recently. Worse, of course, was not being able to sleep and having to spend the night staring at his balding head.
It's early, and Molly is already in the kitchen, preparing a hearty breakfast for her children. Her children are the reason she still pretends to endure her Muggle-obsessed husband. She suspects he wouldn't keep the marriage up either, if he had a choice. His eyes don't linger on her like they did when they were recently married. Instead, they wander to the pretty Muggle-born living under their roof.
Molly gets shivers down her spine every time she notices Arthur's eyes wander to Hermione. Not because she wants the man's attention, but because she wants Hermione for herself. And she shivers even more fiercely when Remus' eyes wander to herself, because she knows the time is coming to end her affair with him.
Arthur comes down to the kitchen. His wife notices this just as much as she notices that life at the Burrow has been transformed into a Muggle soap opera by a bored Muggle adolescent. Meaning, she notices nothing at all.
"Morning! Any breakfast yet?" greets ever cheerful Arthur. He wants to get by morning routine as soon as possible, because today he has some interesting work at the Ministry. Some "pens" - writing instrument Muggles use instead of quills – have been enchanted to write smut on their own about Lord Voldemort and his snake.
Molly starts and rubs her eyes. "Yes, here you go", she hands him a bowl of the Muggle goo – Cap'n Crunch, he calls it – he usually has for breakfast and then pecks him on the lips.
After a few minutes of more silence in the Burrow – the exception being Arthur again, now munching loudly – Hermione comes down to the kitchen. Her hair is still untamed. It has so many knots and is so frizzy it barely falls to her shoulders. She smiles sleepily and greets Molly and Arthur, who in turn smile warmly at her.
Arthur finishes his bowl of Cap'n Crunch and gets up looking at his watch. Molly lets out a deep breath. She doesn't notice she has been holding it since Arthur started chewing away on his breakfast.
"Well, I'm off, now!" Arthur says, in a sing-song voice that seems to Molly like nails on a chalkboard. He kisses his slightly tight-lipped wife on the cheek and hugs more tightly than necessary the dazed Hermione. Before his victim can breathe easily he is out the door and gone.
"Good morning, Mrs. Weasley", Hermione says as she sits down on the kitchen table, where Arthur had been, and scratches her cheek lazily. She wishes she could talk to Harry and Ron in the mornings, but they usually wake up later than she does. She sighs, bracing herself for more chores. Mrs. Weasley has been trying to keep the three friends separated lately, and has been pretty successful.
Smiling, Molly offers some breakfast, but the girl promptly refuses. She's not much of a morning eater. Molly knows this, obviously, but she is always trying to please the girl. The woman sits on the chair across from the girl and smiles once more.
Hermione shifts uncomfortably in her chair. She has noticed Mr. Weasley's gaze often wander to her chest and thinks his wife is suspicious of something. She wants to reassure Mrs. Weasley that nothing inappropriate is going on, but has no idea whatever how to breach the subject. She isn't confident it would help to say something like: 'I'm not sleeping with your husband. He is balding.'
"So, honey… Any boys your age you might be interested in at school?" Molly asks. She wants Hermione to think of her as a friend. Well, at least for now. To Hermione, she doesn't sound like a friend. She sounds like a lioness protecting her territory. Hermione's mind floods with National Geographic's images of leopards running after prey, and she shrinks in her chair.
"Not at all, Mrs. Weasley! Books, that's what I'm interested in", Hermione answers, giving Mrs. Weasley what she thinks is a significant look. "No boys. No men. None… at all."
Molly flushes. Yes, she thinks, she's aware of her own fondness for women! Hermione isn't, of course. She really does only care for knowledge, not allowing her sexuality to manifest itself. Sometimes she feels weird tugs in her belly when she's around Ron, but she herself doesn't recognize that for what it is.
This scene repeats itself almost every morning at the Burrow, Hermione feeling each day that this will be the day when Molly pounces on her. Molly thinks the same. Different meanings of "pounce" being used there, though.
Usually, one of the kids would interrupt the "dialogue" around now. I wouldn't consider this exchange a dialogue, but for the sake of storytelling, I'll leave it at that. But maybe today is, after all, the day of the pouncing. Molly extends her arm and rests her hand on Hermione's. "You might find this unusual, but married people sometimes have relationships outside of marriage. In wizard world it's normal." It isn't. Molly must be desperate for the girl.
Hermione gulps. In her head she screams denials. She would never engage in sex with Mr. Weasley. She has no idea how Mrs. Weasley herself manages to do so. She has no idea, of course, that Mrs. Weasley does not manage, and goes to virile Remus for that.
She understands the reason for Mrs. Weasley's suspicion, though she correctly guesses that Arthur will look but never touch. Hermione knows Mr. Weasley has morals, like she herself has. She tries laughing to sound aloof, sounding slightly choked instead. "Well, I was raised by Muggles. I like the idea of following traditional marital laws." She gives another one of what she hopes is a significant look to Mrs. Weasley.
Hermione is clenching her jaw, wondering just as much as us where the rest of the prolific family is. The house is never empty, how can this sort of conversation be going on at the Burrow, the house of no secrets and no privacy? Hermione curses her luck, remembering how she often finds Extendable Eyes – Fred and George's adaptation of Extendable Ears – in the bathroom while bathing. Where are the interruptions now?
While Hermione prays to Muggle God for a chance to leave, Molly tries to work out in her head a way to get the message across to the girl. But Hermione gets what she wants first: there's a knock on the front door. I've never believed in Muggle God, but this surely can be called divine intervention. Hermione scrambles back to her room silently, trying not to wake Ginny up.
It's still a quarter to eight. It's awfully early for usual visitors, but clever Hermione thinks nothing of this. However, Molly opens the front door knowing who it'll be: puppy-man. Molly sometimes wonders if Remus turns into a wolf or into a cub in full moons, because he acts awfully needy towards her.
"I never got the chance to say good-bye last night," whispers Remus huskily into Molly's ear. She closes her eyes and now remembers why she still gives in to his entreaties despite knowing it's time to end the affair. Remus closes the front door and drags Molly roughly to the kitchen, throwing spells around it so no one can enter or hear them.
Molly smiles, flustered. Remus always makes her forget everything. Maybe werewolves have sex pheromones that make a woman's mind go haywire, because as long as he isn't near, Molly doesn't feel so strongly towards him. When he talks huskily in her ear, however, the proximity makes heat accumulate between her thighs and her brain seems to malfunction.
Remus holds Molly by the waist and hoists her so she's sitting in the kitchen table. He kisses her lips hungrily, feeling her arms rest around his neck. He starts moving his lips to her neck, while lifting up her robes.
Soon enough, Molly is moaning softly into Remus ear, scratching lightly at his back. Remus snarls, not being able to control his more primal nature around Molly. Their movements quicken and their breathing becomes erratic until Molly sinks her nails deep into Remus' back and both of them cease moving, clutching tightly at each other.
The couple separates with a gentle kiss and Molly begins the routine of cleaning spells around them. Remus unwards the kitchen and turns back to Molly. He smiles widely. "Good morning."
Molly laughs and tries to rearrange her hair, which has turned into a mess of curls around her head. "Very good morning, Remus." She always loves how Remus springs up for unexpected sex whenever he feels like it. Most of the time, she feels like it too. Not anymore, though, because she's aware she has to stop this affair.
Soon enough Ginny comes down for breakfast, followed by a still hesitant Hermione. No one notices how disheveled Remus looks; they're focusing on how extra-clean the kitchen looks right now. After the girls have eaten, Molly sends them on more random chores.
"Did you stay up late with Tonks yesterday?" Molly asks Remus now that they're alone again. Molly sends everyone on chores so that she can manipulate their time. She always manages to find herself alone with Remus according to her will, and she has recently been trying to keep Hermione apart from any of the boys.
"You know it's not her I care for. I'm just not sure how to let her off."
"She's a very attractive young woman."
Remus doesn't answer. He has no idea where Molly is going with this. She couldn't be jealous, that's not like her.
"Maybe you should give it a chance," Molly ventures into the silence.
"Give – what?"
"Tonks. She's crazy for you."
"She's too young," Remus gives his standard reply. The werewolf is infatuated by Molly. She might not be gorgeous, but she has spirit and vivacity like no one he knows. "I don't think of her in that way."
"Maybe you should," Molly repeats. As much as Remus lights her candles in all the right ways, she knows this relationship means more to him than to her. It isn't fair to get his hopes up, especially when she can't stop thinking about Hermione. Never mind what's fair concerning poor cheated Arthur, though. Never mind that she's attempting to end a relationship minutes after mind-blowing-kitchen-table sex, either.
"Molly, are you doing this out of guilt?"
"I just don't think this should go on. And maybe she will be more appropriate for you. What with being single and all."
"I'm too old"
"No, you're not. You're wonderful, Remus, and you deserve a woman like her," Molly presses on. She is trying to convince Remus that she's thinking about what's best for him. I hope you understand she's actually thinking about what's best for her.
Remus' throat feels like sandpaper as he contemplates a future without his Molly. He can't even remember right now what it was not to have her. Werewolves develop blind devotion to those whom they consider their mates. Even when their supposed mates are married to someone else, being legally this someone else's mate.
He turns around and leaves, passing Fred, George, Harry and Ron on the way to the front door without so much as a 'hi'. The boys look at each other in amusement and walk into the kitchen.
"Hey, Mum. Who are you trying to convince Remus to date? You know he's gay right?" laughs Fred.
"Yeah, Mum. Don't you know Remus and Sirius were secret lovers? That's why they've got nicknames," goes on George, much to Mrs. Weasley's dismay. Fred and George always joke about Remus and Sirius, a joke that's become quite distasteful since Sirius' death.
Harry's lips thin and he sulks away. Mrs. Weasley hits the twins on the back of their heads, while Ron stifles a laugh in the corner. He stands up stiffly when Hermione walks in asking what's happened.
Ron flashes a smile at Hermione. It's the first time he uses it, the smile he's been practicing in the mirror. In his head, he looks irresistible. If not irresistible, he feels he must look at least better than Krum.
"You look like you're in pain, Ron, you okay?" Hermione asks. Fred coughs violently. Oddly enough, it sounds like he's said 'blue balls'.
"Maybe if he takes a long shower he'll be better, Hermione," George says.
The twins start laughing and Ron looks sheepishly at them. He isn't even embarrassed anymore, he's gotten used to the jokes. Almost everyone has worked out his fondness for Hermione. Super-Mom, though, is only realizing this now.
Molly feels a knot in her stomach. Ron is interested in Hermione. He may even be in love with her. By the look on his face as he stares at the girl, he's in love. Molly has been trying to separate Hermione from the boys to prevent this from happening. But now it's happened, she can't indulge herself with thoughts about the girl.
"Ron, Hermione, I need you to trim the garden around the house. It's grown wild again," Molly says with a forced smile on her face. She won't stand in the way of what could be Ron's first love. If it seems right now as if Molly's developed sense of 'right and wrong', I assure you it's only her motherly instinct kicking in.
Ron smiles his mirror smile again. This time it is more successfully, it appears, because Hermione is now flushing and smiling gleefully herself. They walk out of the kitchen in an upbeat pace.
"When are you going to aid our sex life, Mum?" asks Fred.
"Yes, Mum, I've got emotional gaps to fill, here. Oh, and this one too," George adds, pointing at the hole in his head where an ear should be.
"Don't be silly, boys. Remember those garden gnomes? Get Harry to help you, but get rid of them for good this time!" Molly barks. She's feeling grumpy because she no longer has Remus, and the prospect of Hermione is far away now. Remus might take her back, but her speech about how appropriate Tonks was had convinced her if not him. Again, it's not a sense of 'right and wrong'; it's her match-maker instinct.
A day that had started well now seems the opposite of prosperous. Molly's absolutely lonely now. She walks into the living room and notices Arthur's head on the fireplace. He was reaching her through Floo powder.
"Hey, Mol. Are the kids there?"
"No, is something wrong?" Molly asks, nervously. Everyone fears that Voldemort is getting stronger by the minute.
"Not at all. I just want to tell you to be ready for tonight."
"What for? Is something wrong?" Molly repeats, kneeling on the floor in front of the fireplace.
"Be ready, I've got plans for us," Arthur says in a low voice, waggling his eyebrows in a very obvious manner. Apparently, the smutty pens he's worked on today have given him ideas. The smut may've been about the Dark Lord and a snake, but bestiality turns everyone on nowadays. By the look on your face, though, it probably doesn't turn you on.
"You know I'm always ready to handle you," Molly replies, having picked up on Arthur's intentions and very much liking them, despite already having had a good round of werewolf sex today. There is a reason Molly has so many kids. Hint: It isn't related to fertility.
Molly giggles girlishly. Suddenly, after leaving the influence of manly Remus' pheromones, Arthur seems like an okay guy after all. His voice actually makes her smile right now, with its ever-present cheerfulness, and his incapacity to allow silence to exist seems endearing.
Arthur's head smiles in the fireplace briefly before disappearing, and Molly smiles to herself once again. A sense of satisfaction is rising inside her heart. She has always loved being the wife of a loving man who comes home to her at night. For some time, she hadn't been. Neither Arthur nor she had been emotionally available for each other. But now she is back in the house wife position she loves, and hopefully she'll be in an even better position this night.
***
Night has fallen and Molly has indeed found herself in an enjoyable position. Remus is walking silently around the Burrow, feeling sad for himself. I ask you to feel sad for him too, he looks like he's in actual physical pain. Try to picture Remus Lupin right now, with the facial expression of Edward Cullen kissing Bella Swann. Try not to feel revulsion like you would towards Edward and Bella, though.
Being a werewolf means he has acute senses. His eyesight might be a bit lacking – which explains his relationship with Molly – but his sense of hearing and smell is highly developed. Walking around the Burrow he hears the light sounds of everyone's sleep, but doesn't hear Arthur's deep snoring or Molly's pattern of breathing.
Remus is used to hearing these two sounds, the latter usually filling him with expectation of the next time he'll see Molly. The lack of these two sounds indicates either a Silencing Charm or the absence of the couple from the house. But Remus can smell Molly distinctly. Furthermore, he can smell her arousal and, worst of all, sex.
This is the first time Molly and Arthur have sex ever since Remus began patrolling the Burrow at night. Meaning, it's their first time since Molly and Remus began their affair. Meaning… Meaning the affair is really over. Remus looks more like an animal than ever – excluding moments when he actually is an animal. He looks like a wounded animal.
If Remus were to follow his instincts, he would rush into the house and rip Arthur's throat open for copulating with his mate. He knows, however, that Molly was never really his mate, she had always been Arthur's. He feels like a wounded animal.
Remus walks away from the Burrow but sees Tonks sitting by the fence, near the front door of the Burrow. He walks up to her, out of politeness and maybe some curiosity. Remus always indulges in curiosity. Curiosity might've killed the cat, but never the wolf.
"Everybody's asleep," Remus lies.
"It's not them I came for, Remus"
Remus furrows his brow. The loss of who he thought was his mate is starting to wear off. Werewolf devotion is animal instinct; because it's not complex it heals fast, especially with the aid of human logic. "Did you know I'd be here?"
"Yes," Tonks smiles. It looks a bit lopsided. "You come here every night. I do, too. You've never noticed me before. I suspect… I…"
Tonks suspects that Remus' reason to patrol the Burrow at night no longer exists, making it possible for him notice she watches him from the fence as often as he watches someone in the house. She also suspects that the reason for the patrolling is the reason for his refusal of her. She's right, of course.
"I.... I hope that…" Tonks goes on. It's not really 'going on', since she can't seem to finish one sentence to start another one. I'd help her if I could, I would. Anyway, she hopes that something has changed, since Remus can notice her here now, and hopes he'll have no more reasons to refuse her. She really believes that the problem can't possibly be her, that there must be something standing in their way. Well, there used to be.
Remus no longer looks like a wounded animal. He looks like a proper, though confused, human being. You'd be confused, too, had I not provided explanations for Tonks' half sentences. He comes nearer to Tonks, because a sudden urge to listen to her has come upon him.
"Remus, I love you," Tonks whispers, meagerly. She doesn't look like a puppy, nor is she biting her lower lip. She's given up on dramatizing her feeling and is just showing her true emotions. She's looking up at Remus; her eyebrows show worry, but her lips smile slightly, still lopsided. Her smile is resignment to the outcome of this encounter, whatever it turns out to be. Her eyes are big and their color keeps shifting out of her control between green and grey… Hopefulness and hopelessness.
Tonks looks suddenly fragile, and Remus knows instinctively he must embrace her. He wraps his arms gently around her and runs his fingers through her brown hair. She closes her eyes and he lowers his head to her face, kissing her tenderly on the lips.
"I'm here for you, now."
Ah, the beauty of having primitive emotions.
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A/N: I'm sorry if I killed Molly and Remus in your hearts. I came up with this based on a quiz in owlgirl16 's profile. It's supposed to be humorous. I know, too, that George loses an ear in DH, but I couldn't resist a cheesy little joke.
Review, even if to say I shouldn't have written this. I'll like you whatever you say, as long as you say it.