So, this is my first attempt at a Lupin/ Tonks story, and i expect you to send in comments/criticisms etc. :-P
I hope that you like it ( as i assume that you will)
This takes place right before Order of the Phoenix through the end, it's a bit random at times. But that's me.
So he was there- always there. Standing off to one side, smiling that strange half-smile of his. It wasn't exactly a friendly smile, but it was kind and gentle.
This was always what Tonks saw of him, the calm almond eyes, set in a pale and unassuming face.
He always seemed a bit tired, and unkempt- shabbily dressed and quietly intelligent- either keeping Sirius in touch with his level head, or calmly giving advice to anyone that happened to pass through Grimmauld place.
He and Harry seemed to have a deeply loyal connection, as she'd never seen the boy disagree with the man.
That, didn't happen. Harry although willing to take advice, was as much his own man as anyone she'd ever known. He wore power like a robe, without having the annoyance of being conscious of it.
But so did Lupin. For a worried looking man- he reeked of intelligence and well controlled aura of hidden might.
Tonks thought back to the time when they'd first met.
۞
She had just been invited into the Order; Mad-Eye had actually looked proud of her as she agreed to keep their secret above all else.
The first meeting was something that she had looked forward to for weeks, it was supposed to be held at Hogwarts.
It was summertime; half of the Order lived in the giant old school during the weeks when no students traversed the hallowed halls. Tonks herself hadn't been back to the school since graduating several years ago, so this would be like a homecoming for her.
But then Dumbledore (yes, Dumbledore) had sent a note that Hogwarts was no longer the insurmountable fortress that it had once been- and had requested ideas for another place of meeting.
Tonks had no where to suggest- her own tiny apartment was most likely watched by the Ministry... it had never bothered her before- but now that she was starting to see the corruptness of the Ministry it rankled that they kept such a close eye on those who they called their friends and employees.
So the meeting was delayed yet another week. Tonks was quite sure that she would crawl out of her skin if it was delayed again.
But it wasn't.
Mad-Eye Showed up late one Tuesday evening, looking even more disgruntled than usual- checking over his shoulder at least five times before he finally spoke to her.
"Nym-"
"Tonks," She replied instantly, giving her trainer a frosty glare.
"Young lady, I am your boss... I can call you whatever I want."
Tonks eyed him irritably.
"Yes sir."
He seemed uncomfortable with her cold gaze- punching her lightly in the shoulder and frowning deeply.
"Away wit' ye girl- we've got a meeting with the Order.... though I don't know why they're scheduling it so haphazardly... you'd think they'd be more careful with all the Death Eaters deciding loyalties... they should practice more-"
"-Constant Vigilance" Tonks finished for him.
Moody regarded his favorite trainee with a fond dark eye.
"Come on girl."
And with that they disappeared into the night.
۞
When number 12 came into view Tonks about dropped her broom.
"Bloody-"
"-Watch your tongue girl." Moody interrupted tersely.
The house smelled like decay... and if it weren't so ridiculous.. she would say that it smelled like evil had lived in the house.
But that was dumb...
Someone was in the room... standing as far as she could tell in the stairwell, watching them enter.
She crept down the hall- ignoring Moody's warning hiss; moving with incredible stealth (for her), that is until she met the troll-leg umbrella stand in the hall.
It would have been better had she fallen just into the floor- perhaps brained herself on the wall... but no.. she had to take someone down in the process.
"Lumos!" Roared Moody and someone else at the same time.
A tall weathered looking man was standing on the stair- tattoos showing through his tattered shirt which was several decades out of date- holding his wand carefully in his hand- the end glowing brightly.
"Sirius! Warn us next time you wait for us at the bloody door!!"
But she would have known who this was had Moody never said the name.
Sirius Black- the most dangerous fugitive and only man to escape Azkaban prison.
Not to mention a member of her family.
"Can you blame me Alastor? With all the spying and body-snatching going on in the world- I should really be asking you what my cat's name is, or some other such ridiculous question to which only a true Order member would know the answer." Sirius grinned down unabashed at the fuming Moody.
He looked less menacing than on the wanted poster and Moody was making no move to attack- but still. She went for her wand, and found someone's hand instead.
That's when she remembered that she was laying on someone....
"Good Grief Lupin... always getting the pretty girls... you dog."
The way that Sirius emphasized dog struck Tonks as odd- but her mind was already consumed with getting off of the poor man that she had slammed into the wall... and floor.
She struggled and managed to scuttle off of the man below her- pulling herself clumsily up- then there was Sirius Black's hand reaching down to help her up- making a face that oddly enough, reminded Tonks of when her family dog did something particularly brilliant and terrible.
Ignoring that random thought Tonks turned to help the man she had crushed, up- and found herself inches away from a pair of worn Almond eyes.
His unkempt hair hung into his face- he flicked it out of his eyes with a swift twist of his head. Effectively breaking the eye contact.
That's when she realized that she was still holding tightly onto Sirius' hand.
He bent swiftly- they smile still in his eyes and kissed it gallantly.
"Welcome beautiful maiden to my humble abode."
Tonks laughed despite herself, bowing just as deeply and ridiculously. Remembering why he had always been her favorite cousin.
"Thank you kind sir."
Moody looked more pleased than she'd seen him in years.
Sirius turned to Moody and gave a small, mildly repentant smile.
"How goes it in the land of living?"
Tonks- normally would have immediately latched onto the the information that her boss and the famous murderer was having- but inexplicably she found herself turning to the pale man standing forgotten- off to one side.
"Wotcher." She started... he stared blankly at her. "Hello?" She tried again..
He seemed slightly distracted.
"Hi."
One word... his voice was surprisingly hoarse.
"I'm Tonks..." She tried again... surprised at her own inability to stop talking to a man that clearly did not want to speak to her.
He looked surprised to- and apparently the surprise made him speak without thinking.
"Lupin." He replied. "Remus Lupin."
She knew that name... from somewhere.
"Oh!" She replied, her eyes brightening "You're the-"
"-Werewolf." He filled in
"-Old Defense Against the Dark Arts............ professor..." She continued.
Tonks stared at him in shock... but not over the fact that he was a werewolf- it was the intensely bitter note in his voice when he said the single word.
There he was, pale and livid looking... after only speaking to her for about thirty seconds.
"I heard you taught for a year or two..." She concluded lamely. "That, was my favorite class. You know when I was in... school"
The lines on his face seemed to lighten slightly, he stuck his hands in his pockets and looked shyly upward.
"Yeah... I taught for a year... then I retired on account of me being a-"
"-Werewolf." She supplied helpfully.
"Yes." He answered shortly- the shuttered anger covering his face again "A werewolf."
"Well... I'm a Metamorphmagus- so I understand the odd changes thing.."
He regarded her curiously for the first time since they met.
"Really?"
He had seen her klutziness in full action... there was disbelief in his voice.
She grinned and her hair color went from its normal purple to a pale green.
His eyebrows raised to above the hair hanging in his face, which she noticed was pale like the rest of the man. A light brown littered with gray.
She thought it made him looked distinguished.... which was a random thought to have about a man that she had only met a few minutes before
"I just thought that you had.... eccentric taste in hair colors."
She giggled.
"No wonder you looked so worried that I was talking to you."
Lupin grinned sheepishly and looked about to reply when Sirius loped over- looking like a dog with a bone.
"Guess what Moony!!"
Lupin assumed the patient face of a father with an overeager son.
Suddenly they were 14 again- Tonks could almost see this scene being replayed at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall.
"Just tell me Padfoot..."
"It's more fun if you guess."
"Padfoot..."
"Harry's coming to visit." Sirius crowed- and Tonks was amazed at how the years dropped away from the man as he smiled.
Remus Lupin beamed in response to this news. Tonks noticed how handsome he was when he smiled.
Another random thought. This was getting worse...
"Good news then Sirius, I've been missing the boy myself."
Sirius' face softened- and they were men again. Men with the weight of the world many times over on their shoulders.
"He adored you Remus. Talks about you like you're some sort of god... if I didn't know you so well I would have been insanely jealous, you pompous idiot."
Lupin stuck his hands even deeper in his pockets than before- ducking his head like a child caught doing something he shouldn't have been.
There was a moment of camaraderie between the two men- Tonks could practically see the unbreakable bonds of friendship materializing between them.
Sirius was suddenly aware that there were other people in the room too.
"Now Moony- you haven't introduced me properly to this villainous beauty of the spearmint hair."
Remus glared in mock irritation at the grinning idiot in front of him. Sirius turned to Tonks with a look of false rapture on his weathered face. "My dear Moony was attempting to woo you away before I got a chance-" Tonks could hear the joke in her cousin's voice- apparently he had realized who she was.
"-Sirius you wanker- leave the poor girl alone..." He turned apologetically to Tonks. "Excuse the poor sod... He hasn't left this house in several weeks... and the romance at Azkaban was a bit limited, since most of the women there were his own family..."
Sirius gave a very dog like growl- Remus was the only person who got away with making Azkaban jokes, but only just barely.
"Remus..." He began warningly.
But Tonks butted in before he could finish- her eyes gleaming oddly.
"If you're meaning Aunt Bella, I truly doubt that she would have a problem with something as trivial as incest, Mum was always saying that she fancied you Sirius."
Sirius' face took on a decidedly pale pallor and he wrinkled his nose in disgust.
"Oh don't say that Ny-" He caught her glare. "Sorry luv- Tonks, Bellatrix is perhaps the most disgustingly Black creature to have ever haunted these hallowed halls."
Lupin looked a bit pale... alright... paler.
"You're related?" He asked
Tonks grinned unhelpfully at him and nodded.
"My two aunts are quite formidable in their old age... There's Aunt Bellatrix and Aunt Narcissa. Yeah... that's what I did when I found out..." She said, in response to Lupin's face "Let's just say that I am no stranger to having skeletons in the closet. Look at Cousin Sirius here, up until about five minutes ago I thought that he was among the Death Eating scum that the rest of my family seem to be." Tonks gave a soon-to-be familiar grin. "Thank God someone isn't as evil as we thought."
Sirius flashed the same Black grin.
"Haven't seen you in a wizard's age, my dear Tonks." He grinned, "Last time I saw you, you were just an annoying little girl with an eerie obsession with changing your face up to scare all of your parents' guests- speaking of them, how are dear old Andromeda and Ted?
"About the same- mum's always fussing about me bein' an auror and dad's always fussing about mum's fussing," She laughed. "It's always the same when I go back."
Sirius listened to her story a bit wistfully. He had truly liked Andromeda growing up.
"Well next time you see them, could you maybe mention that I'm not a raving, homicidal lunatic."
Tonks smirk widened.
"I don't know how often that will crop up in our usual conversations- but I'll try to shove it in. Here now, what happened to the professor?"
She couldn't help it... she had noticed his absence almost as soon as it had happened, Sirius regarded her curiously, but mopped all expression off his face when she turned back to him,
"Professor? Oh you mean old Moony, ah well, he ran off halfway through our reminiscing. You really caught him out with him not knowing that you were part of the Ancient and Noble House of Black... he probably thinks that he offended you or some such rot... Poor Remus, off to read some Muggle Sci-Fi book. He avoids company like the plague.. I think that he thinks that he's going to go all wanky and Call of the Wild." Sirius regarded the empty stairwell with some thought. "He's not been the same since he changed that night at Hogwarts... still feels responsible, that he might have killed Harry, or me even." Sirius turned away, all humor drawn from his face. "Moony's a bit paranoid about being a werewolf... always has been, he's always been slightly amazed that people want to talk to him or be friends with him. Once James and I discovered his "Hairy Little Problem" we never let him away from us." Sirius smiled fondly, unsure of why he was sharing these old and dilapidated memories with his young cousin. "Remus needs friends who care more than anything else, and there's only me left to go now... I worry about the idiot." Sirius seemed to snap out of his reverie- thoughis eyes continued to watch her seriously, as if he wanted her to understand the underlying meaning in his words."Ah well, It seems I'm getting a bit nostalgic in my old age... I bet you're hungry... Mad-Eye already went down to talk with Dumbledore; the meeting won't start for a bit yet... and Snivel-" He caught himself. "Snape is always late, the git."
Tonks turned back to the stairwell, still slightly consumed with the man that she had only briefly met.
"Don't worry fair cousin, Moony'll be down soon as he's remembered that there is a world past the pages of his books. Come on then, I think that Molly left us some Bangers when she was here last."
Well, so- how do you like it?
i haven't finished the story yet... so i still have no idea what's going to happen.
So yeah, read and review, join the Reviewlution (which isn't a word i know). :-P
Aloha,
Red