Hello, and thank you for reading!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me, only J.K. Rowling. Also, the song "Something To Talk About" is Bonnie Raitt's, not mine. I'm just borrowing their creations.

I'm a big fan of Remus/Tonks but also a fan of them having fun, not just all doom-and-gloom. This fic will be a mixture of the two, but mostly fun because why not.

Chapter One: People Are Talking

"Tonks, dear? Is that you?"

Molly's voice echoed throughout 12 Grimmauld and reached Nymphadora Tonks in the entrance hall. She unwound her scarf, side stepped the troll's foot umbrella stand, and found the source of the older witch's call in (where else?) the kitchen.

"Yes, Molly. Sorry I'm later than I said I would be," Tonks sighed. "Scrimegour dumped some last minute paperwork on me."

In response, she received a motherly smile and a quick hug. The Weasley matriarch was orchestrating knives, wooden spoons, spices, and other culinary supplies to prepare dinner, but everything was moving as gracefully as a choreographed dance.

"Would you mind running upstairs and fetching me a hand towel from that linen closet on the second floor? I would do it myself, but…" she called over a whistling teapot and a simmering pot.

Tonks dodged a congo line of onions, potatoes, and carrots to navigate her way upstairs. The auror passed by several spare bedrooms, the bathroom, and finally reached the closet that Molly kept stocked with a wide variety of towels. Grabbing a red and white checked hand towel, she turned to head back downstairs. Laughter sounded from one of the bedrooms that Tonks had previously thought to be empty. Unable to resist herself, she leaned against the rough wood of the door and listened in.

"Just think, Krum would lumber around your house, putting 'Vs' in everything, and he'd probably demand to only eat raw meat to connect with his barbarian ancestors."

A few snorts of laughter erupted at Ron's prediction.

"Honestly, Ronald. We're not that serious. While he was at Hogwarts, we were quite casual. Now, we're really no more than pen pals."

"You can't be serious, Hermione," Ginny's voice was tinged with slight disbelief at her friend's statement.

"And why not?"

"Well, it's just… you seemed so happy. And it was your first relationship, we aren't ever supposed to really get over that, right?"

Silence filled the room. Tonks guessed that it was the awkward sexual tension that everyone saw between Ron and Hermione that they were oblivious to.

"You know who else is an odd couple?" Harry spoke quickly in an effort to push the past conversation aside.

"Harry, we were not an odd couple, just a little bit -"

"Professor Lupin and Tonks," he clarified.

Tonks felt her ears prickle and quietly shifted her weight from one side to the other. Where on Earth would they get the idea that she and Remus were together? It's not like they're snogging and holding hands during dinners, she mentally retorted.

"They do spend a lot of time together, after Order meetings and just lounging around here," Hermoine mused.

"Whenever she's clumsy, he makes sure she's fine and she blushes like crazy," Ginny added.

Harry piped up to say, "She's clumsy all the time, Ginny."

"Well then I guess that means they're always flirty, thank you for making my point," the youngest Weasley smugly replied.

"Ron, you've been really quiet."

Ron exhaled loudly in frustration and then spoke. "I just don't think that they're a couple."

"Even if they're not together yet, they're at least working in that direction. It's a process," Ginny explained.

"Right, like you'd understand. You're-"

"Younger? I'm also a girl, so I have a soul and understand these things."

Tonks couldn't help but grin at the brother-sister exchange. Growing up with six older brothers benefited Ginny, if her excellent sense of humor was any proof.

"There's no way they'd ever be together. Ever. They have nothing in common!"

Hermione was right; that boy does have the emotional range of a teaspoon.

"Haven't you heard the phrase 'opposites attract', Ron?"

"Hermione, that's just to make girls think they have a hope with whatever guy they fancy, even if they are different."

Before they could begin their usual bickering and arguing, Harry stepped in and brought the attention back to the important topic they had been discussing. Namely, the love life of the curious woman still eavesdropping at the door.

"Don't you guys think that it is kind of awkward? I mean, he was our professor."

"Well… just throwing this out there, don't have a hippogriff, but from a female perspective, well - Hermione? You, you understand what I'm getting at, right?" The girl in question gave a nervous giggle before responding.

"What Ginny is trying to say is that most women wouldn't find the idea of a relationship with Professor Lupin all that repulsive."

Tonks could imagine the bulging eyes and startled looks upon Ron and Harry's faces. Hermione's statement was slightly inaccurate, though, because -

"I think most women would be repulsed when they find out that he's a bloody werewolf!"

"I suppose it's lucky for the Professor that Tonks isn't most women."

Ginny did have a point there. Sirius had shared (to Remus's horror) stories of past relationships that ended abruptly once his secret got out. She was also correct in assuming that Tonks didn't care; she and Remus were good friends - and nothing more - even though she was aware of his monthly transformations. But Ginny and Hermione were not quite done trying to convince the boys yet, to Tonks' amusement.

"Could you imagine meeting such a gentleman, and then discovering that he's a Dark Creature? He's the most polite wizard I believe I've ever met-"

"-and not that terrible looking-"

"-and obviously brave-"

"-and, well, can you imagine the wolfish side in… in bed?" I blushed and felt the roots of my hair turning scarlet as well. Ron immediately let out a groan, but Harry and Hermione were both stifling laughter.

"Ginny!"

"Well, you know you were thinking it!" Hermione couldn't seem to deny this, and the laughter increased.

"And Tonks, she could look like anyone you wanted her to. Merlin, the possibilities!" Ron added, a hopeful tone in his voice. The woman shuddered a bit; oh, how many boys she had hexed for having the same fantasies.

"I still can't see them together. I wonder what Mum's cooking for dinner. I'm starved."

"Aren't you always?"

Tonks realized with a start that the creaking of floorboards and shuffling feet meant that they were leaving, and that she should probably move before the teenagers caught her eavesdropping. She managed to hasten down the stairs and into the kitchen before the friends exited the room and credited her Auror training for the needed moment of agility.

"Oh, thank you dear." Molly took the towel and continued preparing dinner, and Tonks went upstairs to take a quick shower before mealtime. When she returned to the dining room, she noticed that the only empty seat was next to Remus. Upon sitting down, Tonks mumbled a halfhearted greeting in response to his weaken-your-knees smile and 'good evening'. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny exchanged smirks, and she resisted the desire to blend into the wall behind me.

"Nymphadora? Are you alright?"

Tonks became alert once again to her surroundings as Remus sank into the library sofa next to her. She had been replaying the conversation she overheard earlier in her mind.

"You know who else is an odd couple?"

"Professor Lupin and Tonks."

"Well then they're always flirty."

"They have nothing in common!"

"…can you imagine the wolfish side in… in bed?"

"It's Tonks, Remus. And, yeah, I'm alright."

He didn't seem convinced, but nodded anyway.

"You were unusually silent at dinner. Something's bothering you."

"I, well, you- you're going to think me foolish." Tonks sighed, and sank back further into the upholstery.

"You forget that I grew up with your cousin," he replied with a laugh. "Surely whatever you're upset about isn't nearly as loony."

Tonks bit her lip in hesitation. It was just teenagers' gossip, right? It wouldn't hurt to tell him.

"I was on the second floor when I heard voices from one of the rooms. I listened in, and it was Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny. They were talking about… us."

"Us?" he questioned with a raised brow. "You mean, us individually, or us as a-"

"-couple, yeah. Ron was saying he couldn't ever see us together, but the other three- oh, it's stupid. They think we're together."

He said nothing, and looked down at his folded hands. We sat like this for a few moments until Remus ventured a thought.

"Where would they get that impression?"

"I think, I mean I'm not totally sure," Tonks began, "but I think they see the amount of time we spend together, and eating dinners here, and connect that to dating. Their view of relationships is still kind of limited, you know?"

"We haven't been that close though," Remus shook his head slightly before lifting his eyes to meet Tonks' dark brown pair. "Or at least, that has not been my intention."

"I know, I know," she nodded quickly, but her eyes and forehead gave away a small twinge of disappointment. "I just thought you should know what they were saying."

Remus chuckled most uncharacteristically. When he looked up, his blue eyes held a mischievous glint that Tonks had never seen before. "My intentions aside, that sounds a bit like a challenge, don't you think?"

Thanks for reading! Any reviews are appreciated.