Dangerously in Love.
A/N: My first published fanfic on this site. Any criticism would be appreciated, but don't be too harsh... Please? Don't want to bore you into oblivion, so thanks for reading. Review, if you have the time :3
I do not own any of the characters or places you recognise. They're all JK Rowling's work. I just like playing the puppeteer with them! Anyone who thinks they're mine is Siriusly misinformed. I've kept you reading long enough. Enjoy!
Tonks sat in her office, tapping her pen against her desk. No matter how many times she told herself: "It's only ten more minutes, you're not going to go mental. Ten minutes and you'll be back at Grimmauld Place. Ten more minutes…" the hand on the clock seemed to be mocking her. It was refusing to move, staying at 7:50. Tick. Tick. Tick. It was driving her insane. The constant ticking, matching the beat of her pen. The hand was moving, slowly. The second hand was approaching the twelve. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. The ten minutes turned to nine. The nine turned to five. The five changed to one… Finally, after what seemed like hours of waiting, a bell rang and there was the sound of a thousand running footsteps outside. She pushed back her chair and sent papers flying across the room. She grabbed her bag and ran out of the room towards the lifts, finally being able to go home. She flushed herself out of the ministry and apparated to Grimmauld Place.
"Finally!" she muttered as she arrived on the doorstep. Tapping on the wall, the bricks parted and revealed a hidden door, which she opened and ran inside. As usual, the troll-leg umbrella stand was in the hall, and as usual, Tonks was in such a rush to sit down, she knocked it over.
"SHIT!" she screamed, before continuing her run to the living room. The second the sofa was in her sight, she flopped down and landed on it, sighing as she did so.
"I'm home! Seriously, that place bores me to tears! Why don't they give me an interesting assignment? Any longer and I might've actually exploded! I hate sitting in that bloody office all day. I mean, really. I can barely breathe in that cramped little cubicle!" Tonks said, as she turned to look round the room. Realising that no-one was in the room with her, and feeling pretty foolish, she got back up and looked around for signs of life around the house. After not too long, she saw a few people, who she recognised all too well, sat huddled around a table. They were whispering. Not wanting to feel left out, Tonks went and sat in the empty chair next to Remus.
"What's up?" she whispered softly into Remus' ear.
"It's Sirius. He's been missing since Tuesday… We're all worried. Mad-Eye wants to organise a search. We're discussing the pairs. It's too dangerous for us to go alone, so he wants us to go out in partners. Shh… We'd better listen up," he whispered back. Tonks nodded and turned her attention to Mad-Eye. Hearing this news hit her like a tonne of bricks. Sirius was her cousin. They were so close; they were as good as brother and sister. Tears sprung to her eyes at the thought of something happening to him… What if he had been killed? What if he had been captured, and was being tortured as they spoke? No. He was stronger than that. He would have kicked their sorry arses. Listen Nympha- Tonks! Pay attention!
"Right. As I've already said, you'll all be going out in pairs. We don't want any of you getting lost, or killed on your watch, now. Do we? Anyway. Remus, Nymphadora, you'll be going together. Bill, Fleur, you two will go together. Molly and Arthur. Kingsley, you'll be with me. I think together we'll be unstoppable. Let's just say I'll keep a watchful eye out while we're on watch," Mad-Eye said in his deep, gruff voice. A few people picked up on his attempt at a joke, raising their eye-brows and snorting slightly.
Tonks turned to look at her "partner" and gave a weak smile. He returned it and held her hand under the table, as if to reassure her everything was going to be alright. She squeezed his gently, not wanting to let go. He knew something was wrong, she wasn't her normal, chatty, vibrant self. As soon as the meeting was over, she excused herself and ran up the stairs. They head a crash and a swear from the hallway, causing Bill to chuckle slightly. Mad-Eye's glare soon caused him to stop, and put on a straight face. Remus decided he was going to know what was wrong, so followed her up the stairs and picked up the umbrella stand. At last, he reached the third floor, sixth door across. He rapped his knuckles softly against the door.
"Nymphadora? Do you mind if I come in?" Remus said, softly. He waited for two minutes, and when he didn't hear a reply, he turned the door handle. She was lying on her bed in a ball, her knees at her chest. Tears were running down her cheeks and her hair was a dull grey. This was worse than he thought…
"Don't c-c-call me that… You kn-know I hate it…" she murmured to him, not lifting her head. Remus closed the door and went to sit down on her bed beside her. He put a warm, comforting hand on her shoulder and she turned her head to look at him. As soon as his amber eyes met her icy blue ones, her hair went from grey to its usual bubble-gum pink. She sat up and wiped her nose on her sleeve.
"Sorry… It's just… Sirius has always been like a brother to me. I've been so close to him over the past few months. I must look like a right idiot…" she said, tears still slipping down her face.
"Hey! It's all going to be fine. Sirius is too tough to get caught. You know that. Look at me, Nymphadora. Don't tell me not to say it, because you know deep down inside you that it's almost as beautiful as you are. Sirius is going to be fine," Remus said, smiling softly at her. She wiped her hair away from her eyes and smiled. No-one had ever called her beautiful before. It made her feel warm and special inside, a feeling she had never experienced before. She rested her head on his shoulder and drifted off to sleep. He stroked her hair, which, he noticed, changed colour as she slept. One minute it was pink, the next purple, the next aqua blue. At about two in the morning, Remus laid her down in her bed and pulled the duvet up to her chin. She stirred slightly in her sleep, which made him smile. Slowly, he pulled the door shut and walked off to his own room. Not too long after getting into bed, he fell fast asleep, awaking early the next morning.
Heavy footsteps could be heard running down the hallway. The door to his room burst open and he was greeted by Molly Weasley, shaking him violently.
"REMUS! REMUS! WAKE UP! WAKE UP, REMUS!" she shouted.
"Wh- What's up? Quit shaking me! I'm awake!" he said, opening his eyes and propping himself up on his elbows.
"Tonks is gone!" she said, a terrified expression upon her face.
"WHAT?" he screamed.
Well. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Review if you haven't already? Thanks!
