Instant Attraction
Tonks looked around the interior of number 12 Grimmauld Place with interest. Suddenly a middle aged woman with red hair came bustling down the hallway towards her.
"You must be Nymphadora," the woman said warmly.
"Yes, and you're Molly, Arthur's wife?" Tonks asked.
She couldn't help but like the kind, friendly woman despite having only just laid eyes on her.
"That's right dear now the rest have still to arrive so if you just make your way down to the kitchen through that door there, my children will keep you company."
Tonks followed the dark hallway deeper into the house, shivering as she did so. This was the first time she had set foot in the building since joining the Order of the Phoenix and the first time she would be meeting the rest of the members.
She reached the end of the hallway and pushed open the door. Light spilt out from the bright kitchen revealing a group of red headed people sitting around a large table as well as a dark haired man.
"Hello," Tonks said cheerfully gazing around at them all. "Sirius!" she exclaimed at the dark haired man. "Haven't seen you since we were both kids!"
"Yeah, Sirius laughed. "Oh everyone this is my cousin Nymphadora."
"Tonks! Only my mother calls me by my full name these days."
Tonks stepped into the room and took a seat at the table.
"Hey I'm George," one of the twins spoke up and held out his hand across the table.
"Hi George!" Tonks reached out her hand to shake his and knocked down a bottle of butterbeer. "Woops!"
"You're not George, I am!" the other twin interrupted.
"Oh yeah, sorry. It's hard to remember sometimes!" the first twin said. "I'm Fred."
Tonks laughed before gazing at the younger boy sitting beside them.
"Ron," he grunted.
"Hello, I'm Ginny," the only other girl at the table said. "You're hair is amazing," she added as she pointed to Tonks's bright pink hair.
"I'm a metamorphmagus," Tonks said casually. "I can change my hair or any other part of my body any time I feel like it."
To demonstrate she closed her eyes and a few seconds later her hair had turned a dark shade of green while at the same time her nose expanded a few inches then shrunk back again.
Tonks's eyes opened and rested upon the final person sitting at the table. Her heart seemed to stop for a moment and the laughter surrounding the table seemed to fade away. She was looking at a young man of around the same age as herself with hair colour the same as the rest of the Weasleys although longer, from his ear dangled a fang earring. He returned her gaze through his blue eyes with increasing intensity. Tonks could not drag her eyes away. It was as if she was stuck by some spell that was getting stronger by the second.
All of a sudden though the door was flung open and a group of people entered the kitchen - Arthur Weasley, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Mad-Eye Moody and a few other people she recognised from the ministry followed by Mrs Weasley, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, another red haired young man and an older man.
"Right kids, out!" Mrs Weasley instructed.
There was a murmuring of protest before the twins, Ron and Ginny slowly departed.
"Welcome," Dumbledore said pleasantly once everyone was settled at the table. "Now shall we have some refreshments before we begin? Bill perhaps you would do the honours?"
Bill. The name sent shivers down Tonks's spine.
Bill obliged and emerged from the cellar after a few minutes with his arms laden with bottles of butterbeer, gillywater and firewhisky which he laid on the table for everyone to help themselves to.
"So this is our first meeting," Dumbledore stated, looking round at them all. "We eventually managed to find a suitable headquarters thanks to Sirius here," he nodded to Sirius. "And I'm sure that after a good few weeks hard work this place will be sparkling clean!"
Tonks listened to the first part of his speech then slowly began to tune out. She looked over at Bill who was keeping his eyes anywhere but near her. She wondered if he too had felt the connection back then. She tore her eyes away and instead watched the slightly ill looking wizard seated beside her cousin. 'Remus' she had thought she had heard Sirius call him.
Without warning Tonks felt a prickling sensation in the back of her neck. She felt like someone's eyes were burning into the back of her, perhaps it was Bill's she thought. She glanced over at Bill but he was watching Dumbledore with a look of concentration on his face. She could not help but notice that his cheeks were rather pink though. Maybe he had been looking at her but had turned away when she had noticed. She tried to concentrate on what Dumbledore was saying but found it impossible to do so as her thoughts kept drifting back to Bill. What was wrong with her? They had only just met. They had not even spoken to one another.
"And that concludes our meeting for today."
Tonks was brought back down to reality with a start. All around the kitchen witches and wizards were getting up and moving towards the door.
"You are all welcome to stay for dinner you know," Mrs Weasley called.
"I regret to say that I have to dash," Dumbledore said before promptly heading out of the kitchen.
Most of the Order followed but a few remained in their seats – Lupin, Moody, all of the Weasleys and Sirius. Tonks too stayed where she was.
"I'm Charlie," the only Weasley that Tonks did not yet know the name of introduced himself.
"Oh you're the one that works with dragons?" Tonks deliberately kept her eyes away from the corner in which Bill was sitting. "I remember your dad talking about it at work."
"You work with dad?" Bill interrupted.
Tonks's head spun around to look at him so fast that she felt it crack.
"No I don't work with him but I bump into him from time to time. I work with Kingsley."
"So you're an auror?" Bill asked.
Tonks was pleased to see that he looked impressed.
"Yep that's me! So what do you do?" Tonks tried to keep her face from going red. It felt like she was a schoolgirl with a crush.
"I work with Gringotts," Bill said confusedly. "Didn't you hear Dumbledore saying I was trying to get the goblins on our side?"
"Oh, I, well I kind of stopped listening after a while…" Tonks mumbled.
Bill's handsome face broke into a smile. He leaned closer to her over the table.
"Me too. Just don't let dad know!" he whispered.
"Nymphadora you couldn't nip upstairs and fetch the children for dinner could you?" Mrs Weasley asked as she stirred soup in a large pot.
"It's Tonks, mum," Ginny said.
"Right. Sorry dear, Tonks then. Could you possibly?" Mrs Weasley said.
"Yeah of course."Tonks jumped up and knocked her chair over in her eagerness to leave the table to get away from Bill.
It was not until she was out once more in the dark hallway that she realised she had no idea where the younger members of the Weasley family were. She set off anyway, vaguely remembering a set of stairs near the front door. Once she reached them she began to climb and stopped on the first landing. It was almost pitch black as there were no windows to let any light through and just the one lonely lantern hanging on the mouldy wall.
"Boo!"
A pair of arms appeared from nowhere and grabbed her around the waist before spinning her around to reveal Bill Weasley.
"You nearly have me a heart attack!" Tonks exclaimed her heart still pounding with fright.
"Sorry," Bill said rather sheepishly. "I couldn't resist!"
Tonks suddenly became aware of his arms that were still wrapped around her waist. She looked down at them and he hastily removed them.
An awkward silence fell between them during which Bill fixed his eyes on his fidgeting hands.
"So what are you doing up here?" Tonks broke the silence.
"I realised you didn't know your way around here so I came to help," Bill look relieved that Tonks had spoken.
"I don't really know my way around here either though. We only moved in a few days ago to keep Sirius company."
"Well I am sure we will find our way around together," Tonks said positively.
Her heart was still pounding but with nerves now rather than fright. Now that he was standing so close to her she could see how handsome he really was.
"Are you all right?"
Tonks blushed, he must have realised that she had been staring at him.
His blue eyes bore into hers and once again she experienced the feeling of not being able to move. The tension crackling through the air was unbearable.
"This is crazy," Bill said after a few minutes.
"What is?" Tonks whispered.
She was fighting the urge to step closer to him and plant a kiss on his lips.
"Us," Bill said. "Whatever it is that is going on between us. Surely you must have felt it?"
Tonks felt herself go numb. "Of course I felt it… I don't understand it either. We have only known each other for an hour at the most."
Bill nodded. "So why then do I feel like I've always known you?" he asked.
Tonks shook her head, dimly aware of anything else but her and Bill.
"I feel the same," she said quietly. "I- I couldn't stop thinking about you all through the meeting."
"Me neither," Bill told her. "I mean thinking about you, not me," he said awkwardly.
He took a step closer to Tonks. "When you stepped into the kitchen you just seemed to glow. I couldn't take my eyes off of you. It was like I had been paralysed or something."
Tonks shivered. He was so close now that he was almost on top of her. The urge to kiss him was getting harder and harder to fight. "I can't take it any longer," she said softly.
"Me neither…"
He brought his face closer to hers and gently kissed her on the lips. He made as if to pull away but Tonks wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back with enthusiasm. The kiss deepened, becoming more and more passionate. Bill's arms snaked around Tonks's waist once more while her hands became entwined in his long hair. He lifted her up and spun around, his lips still fixed on hers.
After what felt like hours they pulled apart both breathing deeply.
"Wow," was all Tonks could say.
"Yeah." Bill placed Tonks back on the ground. "Em, I have a girlfriend," Bill admitted.
"Oh," Tonks looked down at the dusty carpet. Her moment of blissful happiness ruined.
Bill gently lifted her chin up so he could look her in the eye.
"Well I have an ex-girlfriend now," he corrected himself.
Tonks felt herself sag with relief as he pulled her towards him for another kiss.