-1"C'mon Moony, Prongs. It'll be fun." He tried, tossing the two boys a lopsided grin as he propped his legs up on the arm rest of the chair.

Sirius Black, resident sweet heart was attempting to pester his two best mates into attending Christmas at the house of one of his relatives. Though his attempts seemed fruitless as the other two showed no signs of budging.

"Fun!? I've heard about your family mate and I highly doubt that a week with one of 'em is going to be fun." James frowned, glancing at Remus as if to make sure he didn't agreed.

"But Ann isn't like the rest. And I haven't got a choice in the matter an' I already told her I'd be bringin' some extras! You can't refuse now." He cried, exasperated as he waved off a group of giggling girls. Obviously annoyed by their very presence.

"Please?" He finished sighing dejectedly. It wasn't often that Sirius Black stooped to a low enough level so as to beg. But at the moment he felt as if it were the perfect time for begging. He needed their support when dealing with his family, even if she were one of the nicest. And besides, it was bound to get awfully boring if he went alone.

He could see it though, Remus' resolve was beginning to crack. He was starting ever so slowly to give into his plea, and by the way James continued to glance from one to the other he could tell that he didn't want to be left alone during Christmas.

"I don't see why not, it could be fun…" Remus said, glancing at James who's eyes had widened in shock. Though he nodded dejectedly giving a short 'hmpf' of displeasure as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"What about Peter?" He asked, glaring around the common room as if to catch the boy beneath his scorching gaze.

"You gun'na make him come to?" He asked and Sirius shrugged.

"I dunno." He admitted.

"I haven't seen him around a lot. Hell he wasn't even here for the last full moon the bloody prat." Sirius said, leaning forward so that nobody else would hear. Though he was silenced by a raise of Remus' hand and looked up curiously.

"Don't remind me." He moaned, leaning back miserably into the chair.

The full moon was only a night away, meaning that this time tomorrow he would be undergoing a painful transformation with only a stag, a dog and (hopefully) a rat for company and comfort.

He still didn't like the fact that James and Sirius insisted on going with him, for fear of hurting them. But he knew it was for the best, they were able to keep him calm and he had never hurt them too bad before so he assumed it was safe enough to let them tag along.

--

The full moon came and passed without any problems, though he was sore and weak by the time morning rolled around he was generally alright. And the thought of seeing Sirius' cousin, husband and their child the next day was comforting enough. He had met them once when the baby was born, having been with James and Sirius at the time. He and the latter had gone to St. Mungos to welcome the baby, after Sirius claimed he was probably the only family that would go. He was right, nobody else showed up except for Teds' parents.

A few hours later after they had all showered and dressed they were being ushered onto the train. Swept along in the small crowd of students, they automatically made their way to the back. Finding an empty compartment they sat discussing matters such as strange dreams they had had and even (on occasion) bringing up the odd fantasy. Remus, of course, stayed silent when these were brought up. He tended to stay away from girls because of (what Sirius had quaintly named) his 'furry little problem'. He thought it made it sound like he had some rabid rabbit hidden in the dorm room. But then again that was probably for the best, he would rather people think he was a bunny lover than a werewolf.

Needless to say, the train ride didn't seem nearly as long as it was and now was when the phrase 'time flies when you're having fun' might come into play. And before they knew it they were stepping off onto the platform and looking for Sirius' cousin.

"How old did you say the girl was?" James asked, looking almost hopefully at Sirius.
"Three Prongs, shes three. Don't get your hopes up." Remus chuckled at this, shaking his head at the look of disappointment etched across James' features. Though his laugh became louder as he watched the girl in question dart toward them only to cling tightly to Sirius' legs.
"'Ello Dora." He said, tossing her into the air and catching her.
Contrary to popular belief Sirius Black had nothing against children, and he was particularly fond of Nymphadora seeing that she seemed to share his love for mischief.

A look of glee filled the girls' face and seemed to spread into her hair. For as she latched onto Sirius' neck a tinge of bright green began to expand through the tips.
"Is she -" Remus started, but was cut off by a dark haired witch whom he presumed to be 'Dora's' mother.
"A metamorphous? Yes, hello boys." She said, nodding at the three as Ted took his daughter from Sirius' arms and Andromeda wrapped him in a bone crushing hug.
"Long time no see." She murmured before Ted began to usher them through the crowds toward the beat up old station wagon they had managed to obtain for the trip. They didn't particularly enjoy aparating

with a small child after all.

--

They had been at the Tonks' house for half a week and every night had been the same. Remus, James and Sirius would crowd around the fire place with mugs of hot cocoa at their sides and Nymphadora would toddle over. Often choosing to curl up in Remus' lap and listen to them talk about their adventures at Hogwarts. And every night that was where she would fall asleep, and every night he would kiss the top of her head before he carried her to her room and placed her in her bed. He had always had a way with children.

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"I thought I told you to hurry up!?"

"You told me no such thing."

"Well I'm telling you now, get your lazy arse out here or you're not coming!"

"But you promised!" The yelling match was over, and a fully dressed Nymphadora stood in the door way of her bedroom, pouting up at her cousin.

"Damn you, you were ready all along?"

"Of course I was you didn't expect me to let you leave without me? You did promise after all." She said with a playful wink as she reached over to grab her bag before walking past the baffled man and into the living room where Remus sat waiting.

"You two finally ready to go?" He asked and she bit her lip and nodded in reply.

"We would've been ready a hell of a lot sooner if your git of a friend and my git of a cousin wasn't being such an arse." She said coolly, seating herself on the arm of the sofa.

"Nymphad-"

"Sorry mum!" She called sheepishly, raising a hand and holding it over her mouth. It was amazing what they learned at Hogwarts these days, for the fourteen year olds vocabulary was more colourful than his ever was.

It wasn't long before Remus was gripping her tightly and they were aparating side-along style to where the quiditch game was to be held. Dora (as she still didn't like her full name) had managed to convince Sirius to talk her during the summer, and had managed to convince Remus that he was the proper one for the aparation job seeing as she didn't trust her cousin not to splinch her.

The ground rushing to meet her feet wasn't expected, and the fact that aparation was graceful for most people. For Dora this was not the case, she found herself stumbling forward as her weight slammed onto her legs.
"Argh!" She cried, resisting the urge to swear as she grabbed clumsily onto the older mans sleeve. Looking up at him sheepishly as she straightened herself and brushed the non existent dust off of her outfit.

She was a pretty girl at fourteen, and he a handsome man at twenty eight. Though if you were to tell either that they would end up together in the future they would think of the idea as absurd. She was, after all Sirius' cousin. And he was her cousins friend. No chemistry, right?

The quiditch game was innocent enough, she sat between the two men while Sirius lectured her on self defence and protection. He had grown rather protective of the girl, despite the fact that he didn't see her often. And as he proceeded to teach her about a painful little curse that "might come in handy when you reach the age to go out on your own" the tips of her light brown hair turned a wicked shade of red. Be it from embarrassment, annoyance or simply dangerous thoughts of what she could do with said curse no one would ever know.

And as the day wore on Remus found that he could relate to the girl in many ways despite their difference in age. She was wild and took after Sirius in many ways, but she also held a sense of confidence. Defiance of the world and all those ignorant enough to look down on her for her morphing abilities. She was still young and hadn't mastered them completely, so as her moods changed often times her hair would to. But she had a way of keeping her cool that astonished him and he found that, in that sense, he admired her greatly.

"I had fun today, thank you." She said as the three of them stood on her door step later that evening. Their team lost the quiditch game, but that didn't seem to put a damper on her spirits in the least. She had screamed with the crowd and swore angrily along with Sirius, and it was only then that their family resemblance really began to show itself. But as they stood now, she beaming and he giving her a confused, questioning look. All of that seemed to fade away.

"I didn't think you would actually take me." She said with a shrug as she turned to enter the house, ducking out of the way of Sirius' hand as it raised to ruffle her hair.
"Why don't you two come in for dinner?" She asked over her shoulder, quirking a brow in a way she would carry with her through her years.

--

It didn't take much convincing before Ann, Ted, Dora, Remus and Sirius were seated around the table. With a dinner of chicken, potatoes and broccoli (which both Dora and Sirius attempted to hide beneath their plates) set before them. Dora was sitting directly across from him, and often times he would catch her sending a glance in his direction. It wasn't until he had aparated back to his flat with Sirius that he asked the ruggedly handsome man what was up that he got a reply.

"She fancies you. My 'baby' cousin fancies you" he stated, his bark like laughter filling the room as he watched Remus turn a violent shade of red.

"That explains a lot." He said, shaking his head and laughing before he left for the kitchen. Shooing Sirius

out the door.

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Three years later, seventeen and thirty one. He knew he didn't stand a chance but he couldn't help but notice her as he and Sirius entered the house. Ann and Ted were gone, on vacation visiting some of Teds relatives. And they had asked if the two men would be interested in watching the house and making sure Dora didn't get into any trouble while they were gone.

Originally they had wanted just Sirius to come, but upon hearing tales of his after-school naughtiness they decided another, more responsible figure was in need. And who better than Remus Lupin himself? At this time they had no idea of their daughter lingering affection for the /much/ older male. And even if they did know it probably wouldn't have changed their minds. They knew dear Dora would do nothing to put either into 'awkward' situations. Intentionally…

The week, however, was full of awkward surprises. The worst having happened on the first day he arrived, he could remember bidding the older couple good bye and sitting in the family room with Sirius. Music blared loudly, Remus decided he needed an escape from the noise. So, rising from his chair he excused himself to use the loo. And assuming that Nymphadora (who was now going by her surname) was either out or in her room, he had opened the door without thinking.

Of course he had left mere seconds later, and he doubted she had noticed but the damage was done. The image of her near naked figure was burned into his mind like a brander on cattle. Her skin was pure, milky and looked as if it would be perfectly smooth to the touch. Her muscles were toned and her stomach flat, legs long and clad only in a pair of violently green short shorts. She wore a dark blue bra that left little to the imagination and had been bent over the tub with her head beneath the tap.

"Oh god."
"I shouldn't of seen that." He groaned as he made his way toward the family room once more and found Sirius sprawled on the couch with a copy of witch weekly hovering above his face.
"Quite an interesting magazine, a bit girly for my taste though. Did you know cucumber is good for your pores?" He asked with a smirk, sitting up as Remus approached.

"You alright moony, you look like you've seen a ghost" he mused, drawing a half hearted chuckle and a vicious shake of the head from Remus.

He had only an hour to relax though before Tonks stumbled into the room. Chunky heeled shoes on her feet causing her steps to look awkward and clumsy. Though he had to admit she looked good, in an odd, cheeky sort of way. Her hair was long, reaching her waist and was pink streaked with blonde in colour. It fell in loose curls and framed her heart shaped face with bubble gum pink lashes lining violet eyes and blonde eye brows sit in a curious fashion above said eyes. Though it wasn't her face nor her hair that shocked him the most. It was her outfit.

Complete with fish net stalking, a short skirt, tank top and various metallic necklaces that hung low against her clevage. He was oddly surprised as Sirius let her out the door to go god knows where and do god knows what with god knows who. He was worried to say the least, weren't they supposed to be making sure she stayed /out/ of trouble?

Though his worries proved to be without cause as she returned home a few hours later perfectly safe and in good health to boot. It was then that he remembered the hex Sirius had taught her so many years ago, she would have been well prepared for pretty much anything. Or so he thought.

It wasn't until a few days later that she returned home drunk and giddy wearing nearly the same outfit that he began to worry. Sirius had been out for the night, leaving a rather anxious Remus at home. And as he helped the girl to her bed he realised he had reason for his anxiety. It hadn't escaladed far, he had set her down and removed her shoes. Covered her up and prepared to leave before she called him back, he knew he should have shook his head and continued on. But he didn't and the damage was done. That was the night they shared their first kiss, despite the fact that she probably wouldn't remember it in the morning.

And remember she did not, all she knew was that she had a raging hang over and he was right by her side from the spilling of her stomach contents to the tea and potions to clear her head ache. They never spoke a word about what had happened the night before, and eventually he had forgotten. Until the day she turned up at the order head quarters as an auror and a new member.

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"So you really do remember me after all those years?" She asked with a smirk as he nodded and laughed in reply.
"How could I forget? You're the type of person who seems to burn herself into ones' memory."

"Oh? Is that so?" She asked as they made their way down the hall after her first meeting with them.

/She really doesn't remember that night/ He thought, breathing a sigh of relief as he ran his fingers through his hair. Smirking at the look of awe on her face. She obviously hadn't expected him to remember her. And in her stupor she hadn't been paying much attention to where she was going. Needless to say the end result was not a pleasant one.

Tripping over the umbrella stand and swearing loudly. It clattered to the floor with a loud crash and sent Mrs Blacks portrait to wailing.

"HALF BLOOD, TRAITOR, FAMILY DISGRACE" She cried until Remus was able to shut her up with a flick of his wand.

"Thanks." She had muttered, flushing a deep red that was quite a few shades darker than the bubble gum pink of her braided hair.

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Snapping back to the present he shuddered and opened his eyes, though he was met with darkness a horrible imposing black that pressed down on his eyes and made him feel oddly claustrophobic.