A/N: As most other fics say… these characters are not mine but J. K. Rowling's.

~I have chosen to ignore HBP, Sirius's death, and possibly a few other minor things.~

Tonks strode down the hallway to her cousin's bedroom with a look of worry on her face. She knocked on the door and pushed it open, not thinking to wait to be admitted. "Sirius," she said before realizing music was blaring in the room.

Sirius sat on a rug with his back to her, bent over something on the floor in front of him. He was bobbing his head to the loud music, clearly unable to hear her.

"Sirius," Tonks yelled. She didn't want to walk up on her cousin and scare him. The last time she had done so he had swung at her, hitting her nose and making it bleed.

Sirius still didn't hear her over the music.

Tonks was about to yell again, even louder, but she stopped to listen to the music.

Every memory of looking out the back door
I had the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor
It's hard to say it, time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye

Every memory of walking out the front door
I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for
It's hard to say it, time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye

I miss that town
I miss the faces
You can't erase
You can't replace it
I miss it now
I can't believe it

So hard to stay
Too hard to leave it

If I could I relive those days
I know the one thing that would never change*

Tonks edged closer and peeked over Sirius's shoulder. He was fooling with the photo album Hagrid had given Harry, putting some more pictures into it.

Sirius suddenly laughed loudly.

Tonks jumped and decided she needed to announce her presence. "Sirius," she bellowed.

Sirius jumped himself and squeaked - Tonks was sure that he did although she would never mention it - making her giggle.

She leaned over and paused the music. "You know Siri…"

"Look at this picture I found," Sirius said, ignoring that he had just cut her off. "Merlin, no matter how short James's hair was, it was still all messed up. I suppose it was his fault though, always running his hands through it."

Tonks chuckled. She looked at a few more pictures on the floor and said, "Harry will like these, and you look like you are enjoying yourself adding them to the album."

"I am." Sirius ran his eyes over the floor. "Oh yeah, by the way, I borrowed your PC Delayer. Thought I might need a bit of music."

"CD player, Sirius, CD player," Tonks corrected. "You know, I've been looking for that thing for hours. I thought I'd lost it again."

"Sorry cousin, I didn't mean to worry you." Sirius shifted his gaze to the CD player. "I think something is wrong with it though, maybe the magic has gotten to it. It'll only play this one song, not that I mind."

"I'm not worried about the magic because Hermione charmed it to work off of the magic. I'm more worried about what you might have done to it."

"I didn't do anything to it," Sirius insisted, "honest."

Tonks rolled her eyes at him and picked up the CD player. She pushed a couple of buttons and then stated, "It will play more than one song now, but I'm going to want it back before too much longer."

"Alright," Sirius muttered, clearly not wanting to give it back anytime soon.

"You know Hermione might be able to get you one too if you really want."

Sirius shook his head. "I'd never be able to work the thing properly."

He pushed the play button and music blared out of the speakers once again. He said something else but Tonks was no longer able to hear him.

She reached toward the speakers meaning to turn them down, but before she could get to them, Remus walked into the room with his hands over his ears. She took in the aggravated look on his face and smiled inwardly, knowing that he wasn't aggravated at all, merely toying with Sirius. Tonks also took the opportunity to drink in the shape of Remus's lips as he spoke. Not being able to hear what he was saying made the experience all the more exhilarating because she could pretend he was saying whatever she wanted to hear. At that moment he was telling her… Tonks shifted her eyes off of Remus before her mind could slide all the way into the gutter. What in the bloody hell have I let this man do to me, she thought.

Remus bravely took his hand off of his left ear and fumbled with the buttons on the CD player for a second, causing the music to cut off abruptly. "That's better," he sighed. "Do you really need it that loud Sirius? You know I love music, but at that decibel, I was really beginning to hate that song."

"I was just going to turn it down a little when you walked in," Tonks said, startling Remus.

"T-T-Tonks," he spluttered. "I didn't see you when I came in. I didn't mean to interrupt you from listening to your music, I-I-I…."

Sirius tried to stifle his laughter unsuccessfully. "I-I-I," he mocked. He winked at Tonks before saying, "I've never heard you at a loss for words before Moony. Tonks got your tongue?"

Remus flushed brightly and averted his eyes to the pictures in the floor.

"Sirius," Tonks hissed. She punched him in the shoulder roughly. "Fuck off."

"I'll see you later Sirius. Tonks," Remus whispered. He turned and fled from Sirius's bedroom.

"Look what you did! I should kick your arse," Tonks yelled at Sirius.

"He likes you, you know. I told him he needed to tell you, many times in fact, but he kept on refusing, so yesterday I told him I would tell you if he didn't. I was just fulfilling my promise, that's all."

Tonks gritted her teeth. "Did you even see his face? He was horrified that you said that!" Tonks shook her head and crossed her arms. "I bet you used to do that to him all the time at school. You did, didn't you?"

"Of course I did, only this time, I'm not going to fail. I don't care how obstinate he is, I will not fail. He's thirty-seven and never been shagged for Merlin's sake," Sirius shouted.

"Bloody hell, don't broadcast it through the house," Tonks said angrily, "you don't even know if that's true."

"I know Moony. It's true."

Tonks huffed and snatched the CD player from Sirius's hands. She bent down, picked up the speakers and CD case, and stated coldly, "I don't think a jackass like you needs to listen to my music."

Sirius growled, "You're only this mad because I'm messing with your boyfriend."

"I wish he was," she snarled back. She stalked toward the door, and slammed it as loud as she could manage when she got into the hallway.

Tonks rapped viciously on Remus's door. He better let me in. I'll be pissed if he doesn't. After half a minute of waiting, she tried the knob and was surprised when it turned. It's odd that he didn't lock or ward it. She stuck her head in and glanced around the room, it was empty. Where in the bloody hell could he be, Tonks wondered.

Tonks checked for him in the kitchen, the living room, and the library to no avail. Frustrated and more than a little worried, she began looking in every single room of the house. A half hour passed before Tonks found him in an unused bedroom on the third floor. He was sitting on the dusty window ledge with his forehead on the glass, staring out into the night. She sighed and steeled herself for a conversation with him.

"Wotcher Remus," she said brightly. "What are you doing in here?"

Remus looked at her forlornly and gave her a weak smile. "Tell Sirius I have had the pleasure of a woman before," he breathed out. "He has no reason to worry."

Tonks stared at the dirty carpet at a loss for words. It was too much to hope for that he didn't hear that.

"Tonks I…"

"I'm sorry for Sirius's behavior," she said suddenly, not wanting him to say whatever he meant to.

Remus chuckled lightly. "You don't have to apologize for him. I know how he gets when he's restless, as he is now."

They grew silent. Tonks was still thinking hard about what to talk about, when suddenly she exulted that's it, perfect. "What was she like Remus? The woman that you…"

He sniffed. "She was great. We had a wonderful time together, had a lot in common. We were always talking and laughing about something. We were together for four months before we…" Remus went silent.

"Shagged," Tonks supplied, trying to get him past embarrassment.

Remus grinned and started speaking again. "Yes shagged. It went on like that for a while, a couple of months at least. We talked and laughed, and then we would crawl in bed together and… Well eventually she asked me to move in with her. She said that she had never met anyone like me and wanted us to stay together indefinitely. Then the guilt set in…"

Engulfed by silence again, Tonks prodded, "Guilt over what?"

"Not telling her that I was a werewolf. So I fixed it, I told her that before I moved in with her she had to know something." Remus picked at his sleeve and cleared his throat. "I haven't seen her since."

"I," Tonks started. "Well I," she started again.

"It's okay Tonks, it's been ages since that happened. I'm over it and her."

"I wish there was something… We could listen to some music." Tonks held up the CD player and speakers, which until then had been forgotten. "I have a song I like to listen to when I'm feeling off my mark."

Remus nodded.

"Good," Tonks stated. She started flipping through her CD case. "Here we go."

As the music started, Tonks sat down on the floor beside the window ledge and crossed her legs Indian style, listening to the song.

I wanted you to know I love the way you laugh
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away
I keep your photograph and I know it serves me well
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain**

Tonks shifted herself and leaned back against the wall. She glanced over her shoulder at Remus, and gently rested the back of her head on his thigh.

'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel like I am strong enough
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away

You've gone away, you don't feel me here, anymore**

"You know Remus, next time Sirius does something like that to you, you should tell him off."

"What should I say to him? Fuck off you soddin' wanker?"

Tonks snorted and screeched, "Remus." She giggled and turned to look at him. "I didn't know you used words that dirty."

Remus winced, knowing he wouldn't like the words coming out of his mouth, and said, "Or I could say… Fuck off you nancy boy."

"He really pissed you off didn't he?"

"Very much." Remus reached down and fiddled with a strand of Tonks's electric blue hair. "I feel better now though."

* Photograph by Nickelback from All The Right Reasons

** Broken by Seether feat. Amy Lee from Disclaimer II