AN: Hi everyone! After the failure that was my last attempt at fanfiction (22 hits and not a single review- come on people!) I decided to have another attempt at writing, and came up with this. I do read quite a lot of fanfiction though, so if I've accidentally copied a bit from one of your stories, then please accept my full apologies for doing so. If my doing so has offended you in any way, then please send me a PM and I can edit this accordingly. On a different note, whilst this story is mostly canon, I have fudged the timeline a bit. Arthur's attack now takes place slightly earlier, meaning that the Weasley kids, Harry and Hermione have been sent back to Hogwarts for a bit before the Christmas holidays.

PLAGUE UPON THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS! FILTHY BLOOD TRAITOR SCUM! HALF-BLOODED SHAPE- SHIFTING FREAK!

"Bugger" came the grumbled reply from Junior Auror Tonks as she dragged the curtains back in front of the screaming portrait.

"We're in the library, Nymphadora". Tonks was too tired to object to the use of her first name as she made her way to Grimmauld's dusty library- besides, she recognised it as Remus' voice, and if she was totally honest with herself then she almost didn't mind him saying it. At the very least she was too busy being distracted by the teasing glint in those beautiful blue eyes… Those same blue eyes were now currently looking down at her in concern as she flung herself down next to him on the faded sofa with a vague "Wotcher".

"Bloody hell Tonks, you look awful"

"Thanks Sirius. You really know how to compliment a girl. 'Sides, you'd look this crap if you'd been working the last 48 hours pretty much solid like I have. I faked ill at work so I could grab something to eat before I have to do guard duty at 10"

"Speaking of which, I was just about to make some hot chocolate. Do you want some?" Remus stretched as he rose from the dusty sofa.

"No thanks, better make it coffee. Hot chocolate always makes me sleepy, and it's hardly vigilant to fall asleep on duty"

"Are you hungry? Molly saved some of the stew for you if you want it, or there might be some apple pie left if Sirius here didn't eat it all"

"Hey! I resent that! I'm only following Molly's orders, I'm sick of being constantly told that I'm too thin"

After shooting Sirius an amused look (after all, he was regularly given the same lecture by the Weasley matriarch), Remus left the library, returning a few minutes later with coffee, hot chocolate, a bowl of apple pie for Tonks and a sober-up potion for Sirius, who grumbled a bit before sighing and swallowing it down in one.

"So, what were you two talking about when I came in? Anything good?" asked Tonks as she prodded her pie with her spoon. She'd been starving a few minutes ago, but now that the adrenaline had worn off she didn't really feel like eating, not even Molly's apple pie.

"Nothing much, just looking forward to having a full house over Christmas again. It'll be good to see the kids again. Well, I guess they aren't really kids anymore"

"Is Hermione coming? I know that at one point she was thinking of going back to her parents?"

This, however, proved to be the extent of Tonks' socialising abilities as she fought to stay awake. Finally sensing defeat, she figured that a quick nap wouldn't hurt. After all, she reasoned, you can't keep constant vigilance if you're half asleep, can you?

Remus was suddenly jolted out of his conversation by a sudden weight on his shoulder. Twisting in his seat in order to keep his shoulder as still as possible (after all, one could never be entirely sure what was in some of these rooms), his expression softened at the sight of the young Auror curled up on the sofa with her head on his shoulder, the odd breath tickling the nape of his neck. Curled up like that, she looked almost…vulnerable…especially as her morph dropped to reveal the dark shadows under her eyes.

Remus was startled out of his reverie by a loud snore. Sirius- he'd know that sound almost anywhere after seven years of sharing a dorm, and he should've remembered that sober-up potions knocked him out like that after all the times he'd forced Sirius to take them, especially in the last few months. Sighing, he reached for his book, but it appeared to have fallen into the floor. He couldn't reach his wand either, thanks to the sleeping witch pinning his other arm to the sofa. After musing that the full moon had only been two days ago, Remus stretched out as best as he could, and shut his eyes.

~~~A few hours later~~~

The floorboards creaked as Molly Weasley stepped into 12, Grimmauld Place. With the children either back at school or working, and Arthur still in hospital, the Burrow was too quiet for Molly's nerves to cope with. She'd already been over earlier in the evening to cook dinner, but there was always the excuse of cleaning or something. Grimmauld Place being this quiet wasn't a cause for worry, though- nobody wanted to accidentally wake up that infernal portrait.

After pausing to make herself a cup of tea in the kitchen, Molly walked through to the library, one of the few habitable rooms in the house, expecting to see Sirius nursing yet another bottle of firewhiskey. Instead, he was snoring his head off in the armchair by the fireplace. But what really caught her attention was the couple on the sofa. Tonks was curled up against Remus, her head apparently having slipped down from his shoulder to his chest. It seemed that she had been the first of the pair to fall asleep, as Remus' arm had been pinned to the back of the sofa, but as she was leaning so far forwards the lower half of Remus' arm had been freed to rest gently on her waist. Talking of Remus, it was shocking how, well, young he looked. Maybe he always looked like that when he slept, maybe it was the presence of a certain Auror, but the tired lines that usually surrounded his eyes had disappeared, leaving behind the face of young man old before his time.

Smiling to herself, Molly backed quietly out the library and returned to the kitchen, intending to drink her tea there instead. At least, that had been the plan. Her eye had caught sight of the guard duty roster that had been left on the table from the last meeting, and Tonks' duty for tonight with Alastor in particular seemed to stand out. Not wanted to wake the sleeping girl, Molly scribbled a quick note to anybody that came into the kitchen and apparated away. There really was no peace for those in this seemingly eternal battle against Voldemort.

AN(2): Thanks for reading! I just thought I'd mention that I'm considering a second chapter for this fic, despite the fact that it's marked as complete- nothing much, probably just a kind of "morning after" type thing. Please let me know your views on this by clicking on that little button below. Or just leave me a review anyway, I don't mind!