Disclaimer- I do not own any of the characters in this piece. They all belong to J.K. Rowling

Remus Lupin looked down into the face of the woman he loved. She wore a brown cotton dress, the colour of chocolate, cut a little too high, with simple accessories. A thin, black 'Alice' band in her hair, which today fell to rest on her shoulders matching the colour of the dress. A chunky necklace of smooth black stones lay around her delicate neck and a matching bracelet decorated her right wrist. She had a small silver watch on her left; lately she always wore a watch, as if she was trying to imitate his keenness for punctuality. She wore no earrings, except for a small silver hoop halfway up her left ear which she never removed, except, of course, when hygiene required it.

The small heel on her faux biker boots gave her a slight height boost, but she still stood several inched shorter than him, and was consequently glowering up at him giving Remus the impression of a stubborn child. This only reinforced his worry that she was too young to have to cope with his "furry little problem." He loved her dearly, achingly, but at this moment he doubted whether that would be enough to make their relationship work.

Nymphadora's dress lifted slightly higher on her legs as she placed her hands on her feminine hips. She had curves, but wasn't too large or too slim. In Remus' eyes at least, she was perfect. Except, the dress she currently had on seemed to display her perfection all too overtly for his liking.

She would not change her clothes, they both knew it. But the air seemed to crackle where their eyes met with the electricity of an argument long overdue. He hated to argue with her, especially when she cried as it was so unlike her outer, confident self. But right now, it gave him a strange rush to feel the anger rising in his chest. It gave him an excitement to feel his breath quicken, blood pumping in his ears and cheeks, and the energy held between their gaze seemed to goad him to lose control. It was so unlike Remus to lose control, except for during his monthly transformation, but lately he seemed to be lured more and more easily into recklessness.

Remus looked down to his watch. They were running late, and this argument could not be allowed to escalate if they wanted to avoid Mrs. Weasley's stern words and reproachful glances (punishment enough!)

"Please Dora. It's just that..." He faltered slightly at the sight of her pout, simultaneously chastising and hilarious, "...well, everyone will look at you."

If he has thought this would clarify the matter, he was mistaken. Nymphadora replaced her pout with a look of utter bewilderment.

"Wouldn't want that now, would we?" She said confusedly.

Remus looked up from the floor, trying to piece together his thoughts into a coherent string of words.

"I don't, I... I don't want you to, well, realise there's someone, you know, better. And if you wear that dress, then something better will notice you."

He looked down, expecting to see Nymphadora's face expressing an understanding, a resignation to the truth that she could do better than the poor, scruffy man stood in front of her. Instead, her face clearly expressed something along the lines of 'you are a giant prat'. Dora rolled her eyes and walked into the bedroom. She crossed to the other side, and Remus could not see what she was doing through the open door. He heard drawers open and close, and a minute later she emerged with short, scarlet hair, her bare legs now covered with red tights, and had replaced her sombre black jewellery for a pair of large silver earrings shaped like butterflies.

"Better?" She asked in an exasperated tone.

Not waiting for an answer Nymphadora grabbed her bag from the settee and crossed the room to the hallway. She wheeled round to Remus and cocked her head to indicate they were to leave now. He moved across to her in a stunned silence and she pulled on her jacket. She shrugged it onto her shoulders and looked up at him. She gave him a soft smile, one that seemed to quieten his anxieties, if not for ever, then just for tonight. Remus brushed his fingertips along her jaw line, from her earlobe to her petite chin. He pushed her chin up ever so gently and raised her mouth to meet his. Nymphadora moved her hands from his lower back up to his shoulder blades and pulled him to her, tightly embracing him.

She mumbled into his chest, "Now we really are late. Molly will have kittens if we don't get a move on."