HEYHEY. I'm so sorry I'm really supposed to be updating my two other stories but they're on my other computer, which decided to overload its poor minute circuits and crashed. And anyway, I have no plot. So here this is! I suppose Remus/Tonks is one of my favourite pairs. Just a filler though because I'm bored, and I can't think straight because I WANNA WATCH HBP. REVIEW AND I LOVE YOU. DON'T REVIEW AND… I still love you.
Remus Lupin was decidedly bored.
He was decidedly bored of listening to Sirius Black grumble on and on about being cooped up in Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. As if there were no other shaggy, chained-up mutts in the world.
Sirius wasn't actually a shaggy mutt, most of the time, but Remus was feeling rather uncharitable.
He was decidedly bored of listening to Sirius Black's mother yell on and on about how her good-for-nothing son was besmirching the house of their ancestors.
From what he had gleaned, the place had apparently been filled with some kind of wholesome, pureblooded air until the Order had rudely barged in and besmirched it.
Huh.
He was decidedly bored of counting down to his next little rendezvous with the moon, listlessly ticking off the days on a pocket calendar.
As if he needed to be reminded of his… issues.
Then the front door banged open, footsteps thudded across the wooden floorboards and Nymphadora Tonks made a spectacular entrance into the dining room by tripping over her feet, toppling a chair and landing in a dusty heap on the floor.
Sirius stared. So did Remus.
This staring was interrupted by Alastor Moody, who clunked down the stairs and nodded gruffly to them, simultaneously hauling Tonks up by the collar.
"How," asked Sirius at last, "can someone with one leg and a crazy eye be less clumsy than a person with two feet and normal eyes?!"
Apparently this was supposed to be a rhetorical question, because no one responded, though the crazy eye swiveled to glare at him.
"Wotcher, guys," grinned Tonks breathlessly, her face tinged red. "I'll be going with you to rescue Harry Potter from his awful Muggle relatives! Don't be fooled by that, er, accident just now, I can actually fly rather well!"
And she gestured to the Comet Two Sixty lying innocuously on her overturned suitcase, knocking over Sirius' silver goblet in the process.
The resulting clatter was jarring as they lapsed into a deafening silence.
"Why didn't we know of her induction, Alastor?" asked Lupin mildly, making a stab at casual conversation.
"Why did you even induct such a klutz, Alastor?!" demanded Sirius less mildly.
"Shut up, Black, you're no ballerina yourself," growled Moody. "It probably runs in the family anyway, so don't make such a big fuss about your cousin."
"My WHAT?!"
"My cousin is Sirius Black?! The mass murderer?!" Tonks sounded rather impressed.
"I thank you not to call me a mass murderer, long-lost relative."
Remus decided it would be best to interrupt before Tonks could retaliate. "Guys, guys," he sighed, holding up his hands in resignation. "Let's not get too carried away with the family bonding, okay? The meeting starts in an hour, I think we should concentrate on clearing up this… mess."
He motioned vaguely at the dining table, which boasted an insurmountable pile of leftover food, Butterbeer stains and a nest of spiders. Sirius couldn't be bothered with cleaning, and as he seemed to enjoy dragging Kreacher out by the ears everytime the house-elf made an appearance, Remus supposed he wasn't obliged to help either.
"D'you think we can finish in an hour?" said Sirius dubiously.
"Of course we can, we've got four wizards!" reassured Tonks earnestly.
"Actually, we only have three, because you're going to sit outside and behave."
Groaning inwardly at his friend's social skills, Remus deliberately turned away from the pair, rolling up his sleeves. Tonks glowered at Sirius, then turned heel and stalked up the stairs.
"And make sure you don't wake dear Mummy!" Sirius shouted after her.
***
One hour, three quarrels and six dozen Cleaning Spells later, the Grimmauld Place was transformed.
Well, at least the kitchen was.
The Order members began to filter in, looking exhausted and rather uncertain. Sirius and Remus took their places beside each other, and Tonks came to sit in the conveniently empty seat next to her cousin.
Sirius nudged Lupin unceremoniously in the ribs, causing him to stifle a gasp of pain, and made him change seats as discreetly as possible.
Which was really not discreet at all, because Nymphadora was eyeing them despairingly.
Remus flashed her a weak, almost apologetic smile and felt slightly guilty when she beamed back happily.
"I'm Nymphadora Tonks, but call me Tonks. We weren't introduced just now, Moody's not exactly good with pleasantries, obviously, but anyway, what's your name?"
"Remus Lupin," he said, and shook her proffered hand warmly. "Nice hair," he added lightly.
Tonks grinned and ran a hand through her bright pink hair. "Thanks! I couldn't decide between purple and pink for today." Catching Remus' puzzled expression, she laughed. "I'm a Metamorphagi, it really helps when you're an Auror."
"How did Clumsy over there become an Auror?" muttered Sirius, disgruntled. Remus turned and gave him a severe look.
"You're not supposed to be eavesdropping, Padfoot, especially when you just refused to make conversation with your own cousin."
"Well, I'm not exactly a people person," Sirius defended. "I've spent twelve years in Azkaban with Dementors, two years hiding in caves with a Hippogriff, and the past few months in this house with my raving mother's portrait! And they're not what you'd call good company."
The room suddenly hushed as Dumbledore himself entered, complete with long, flowing beard, deep purple robes and benign smile.
The benign smile always infuriated Sirius, who couldn't understand how anyone could be so… benign.
"Good evening, my friends," began Dumbledore, his piercing blue eyes sweeping the room, "I must confess, I'm most grateful to see such a surprising number of people gathered here today. Once again, your loyalty never ceases to amaze me.
"As you know," he continued, "a number of you will be making a trip to Privet Drive next month. Kingsley, Emmeline, Dedalus, Elphias, Hestia, Sturgis, Alastor, Tonks, Remus," and here each of them inclined their heads as their name was mentioned, "once again, thank you for agreeing to undertake such a task."
"Will you be here when Harry arrives, Albus?" blurted Tonks, earning a glare from Sirius.
Dumbledore waved an airy hand.
"I'm afraid not, Tonks."
As the group began to examine the various stacks of important notes strewn across the table, Remus noticed Sirius sulking.
"You're sulking, aren't you."
Sirius glared balefully at him.
"Am not."
"Oh, come on, Padfoot, it's not like you won't get to see Harry, you know he misses you too! And you look pathetic when you pout."
"Shut it, Moony," grumbled Sirius, "And stop being all sentimental. I don't know he misses me too. Heck, I wouldn't miss me, if I weren't me. But then I am me, so–"
"Hey, Remus, don't listen to Mr Black Face over there, c'mon, we've got plans to discuss!" Tonks bounced over and grabbed Lupin by the arm, pulling him eagerly towards the table. Lupin glanced helplessly at Sirius, whose face had further lapsed into lines of misery.
"Tonks, just because he's not nice to you doesn't mean you have to behave just as badly."
Tonks sniffed. "He doesn't even want to be related to me. Not that anyone would want to be related to him." She pulled a roll of parchment towards them. "Oh, look, Kingsley's even planned out our flight formation! Wow! It looks really–"
"Tonks, as much as I hate to interrupt you, you can let go of me now," chuckled Remus, watching with some amusement as she enthused over Kingsley's diagram.
To be honest, it looked like a group of squiggly triangles, but Kingsley, talented Auror as he was, was not famed for his drawing skills.
Tonks turned the same shade as her vibrant hair and hastily released her grip on his arm.
"Oh sorry, I, er, forgot," she muttered, raising her head tentatively only to be met with his keen gaze, raised eyebrows and the hint of a smile playing on his lips.
Her face was now as scarlet as the Hogwarts Express. Clearing her throat loudly, Tonks turned away and snatched up another map, this time of the Department of Mysteries.
"Mysterious place, isn't it, this Department? I suppose that's why it's the Department of Mysteries. I've never spoken to anyone working there, but I guess that's because they're all Unspeakables. They Unspeak. Uh, that is, I mean–"
"Relax, Tonks," grinned Remus, ruffling her spiky hair. "Think rationally."
Tonks, who had just thought she was beginning to breathe normally again, fumbled suddenly and knocked over a candleholder.
"Thanks a lot, Nymphadora, you just succeeded in charring a hole in my table," hissed Sirius, and they whirled around to find his gaunt face inches from their own.
"Well, Padfoot, this shows you can actually be quiet," said Lupin, with an air of astonishment. "When you want to be. Which is only when you're trying to sneak around."
Sirius ignored him and turned on Nymphadora.
"You aren't trying to flirt with Moony here or something, are you? As a way to infuriate me? 'Cause it isn't working."
"No," she fired back, looking affronted, "That wouldn't be a good way to get back at you, anyway. Not unless you have a secret crush on your best frie–"
"Both of you are ridiculous," muttered Remus under his breath, though his stern expression seemed to twitch. "Don't try and drag me into this. I'm not planning to interfere in your family business. But Moody's right, the resemblance in immaturity is… unmistakable." He moved towards the other end of the table, then paused.
"Oh, and Nymphadora," he said pleasantly, "I'm not not straight."
Sirius and Tonks watched him go.
"Ridiculous indeed," Sirius snorted. "I'll show him who's ridiculous! I'm not the furball with monthly problems."
And off he marched, leaving Tonks to ponder the wealth of information in that last sentence.
Her eyes widened.
He's not a–
"Werewolves, yeah, they'll be joining You-Know-Who as well, right?" Bill asked.
"'Spect so," his father answered gloomily. "They're Dark creatures by nature, mostly. But you should talk to Remus, he's over there…"
Tonks groaned and swept aside her fringe, which accordingly turned a bright, vivid green.
Oddly though, the shocking revelation that Remus Lupin was a werewolf wasn't what was at the top of her mind.
It was the image of his sharp, dark grey eyes, pale features and tawny hair.
It was the sound of his amused laughter and warm, kind voice.
It was also the fact that he was not not straight.
Tonks hid a slightly bemused grin.
The road to reconciliation with her cousin looked to be a rough and bumpy one.