How Do You Do?, a harry potter fanfic

It's been a long damn time, I know. I FINALLY had time (and inspiration) to write again! Who knew!

Disclaimer: Whatever happened to the Umbridge-toad, anyway? I'm free again to claim the rights of the Harry Potter universe. No, really guys, this is getting old.

I wish everyone of you a belated happy happy Christmas!

How Do You Do?

He's standing just behind the door to the mouldy kitchen of Headquarters, smiling quietly to himself. Heartfelt laughter drifts through the crack in the door, a sound that's not been heard in this grim old house for weeks. He wonders what they're joking about, what it is that's making his old friend laugh without restraint. Is it the memory of their shared schooltime? Or is it actually a tale from his friends' cousin? The two people in the room gasp for air and she barely manages to utter the next few words. So she is telling whatever makes Sirius laugh like that, he muses.

He hopes they will notice him standing by the door and beckon him in. He doesn't want to intrude on their comradeship if they don't want him to. It has been a while since Sirius has cracked so much as a smile, let alone laughter. So he stands in the hallway, listening to their conversation and revelling in the sounds of joy, which have become so rare in this time of war. The two are immersed in their chat and they don't notice him, don't beckon him, and eventually he slips back upstairs to his cold, empty room.

Winter comes early and hard that year and Remus wonders if nature somehow knows about the grim times the world is facing and accommodates. He watches Sirius grow more miserable by the day and can't even find the strength to blame him. Life has gotten dark around them. Sirius and he sit in the library, drinking old dusty red-wine and paging trough books haphazardly when Nymphadora Tonks staggers in, lips blue, cheeks red and pink hair full of snow where her head isn't covered with a shrill red hat. They jump up immediately, stripping her of her coat, her soaked sweater, scarf, hat and gloves and Sirius clads her in an old, too big pair of his sweatpants. When they wrap her in a blanket and huddle with her in front of the fireplace, her lips regain their respective colour.

It's not long before she tells her tale about standing in the snow for hours keeping watch for only Mad-Eye knows what. The order member replacing her never showed and so she stood in the freezing cold for another three hours before her Patronus reached Mad-Eye and he sent Hestia to relieve her. She manages to tell all of that with an amused undertone and Remus wonders how exactly she manages to warm both his and Sirius' heart when really it should be the other way around.

Sirius summons her a Butterbeer to warm up and they all fall asleep in front of the fireplace, him and Sirius with their backs to the sofa and Dora with her head in Sirius' lap and her feet in Remus'.

Christmas Day is full of snow and laughter and even Sirius forgets to be miserable in favour of enjoying his time with Harry. Remus tries to catalogue every little detail in this mind because this year is special and he hasn't had a Christmas with company – let alone presents – for so many years. So he sits back and lets the images and hugs and smiles and everything wash through him.

"'s nice, isn't it?" a voice beside him suddenly says. "Being care-free and happy, even if it's for just a short time."

Sure enough, such optimism and live-the-day attitude can only come from Dora and Remus turns and smiles back at her, his insides fuzzy and warm. She falls into the empty chair beside him, resting her head on his shoulder and sighing contentedly. Together they watch the celebrations.

They're heading home from a mission. The ground is frozen, with a hard layer of stamped snow, which is extraordinarily slippery yet she manages to walk on it without slipping and instead with a grace that is most unusual for her. He is alert however, their mission gone almost too smoothly and leaving him rather reluctant and somewhat sleepy, but now he is cold and giddily awaiting the return of her clumsiness and is prepared to react and catch her, should the need arise. They stroll towards Grimmauld Place and she talks about everything and nothing and he is smiling gently because she confides and trusts him so much that it makes him feel special.

They turn the corner on Grimmauld Place and Remus is not so surprised that finally, eventually, unavoidably, her foot catches on the curb stone and she falls but he's there and he's prepared and his hands reach for her but then he slips and they land on the ground in the soft, cold snow. And suddenly he isn't that cold anymore because she's practically lying on top of him and giggling furiously and it is not long at all before he joins in her laughter, lying in the snow and holding her to him.

Since the Death Eater breakout, Sirius has gotten immensely edgy, only visits from Dora brightening his day. Remus knows it's hard for her, too, she's working too much and spends every free minute she has cheering Sirius up. He wishes he were able to help her but Sirius has long become immune to his attempts. Despite the dark shadows under Dora's eyes, she keeps visiting and Remus finally admits to himself that she is his bright spot in the dark, grey world, too.

Hufflepuffs really are unafraid of toil, he thinks.

So when late at night, Sirius is dragging himself upstairs after three hours of tale telling, Remus orders Dora to stay put and makes her a hot chocolate. They sip in companionable silence and when Dora's eyes begin to droop, Remus gently takes her hand and leads her upstairs. He chooses the room opposite his own because he likes to be near her and the other one beside his own is inhabitable. He casts a warming spell on the neatly made bed and hands her an extra thick blanket.

As a matter of thanks she raises up on her toes and kisses him on the lips and he can't get an hours sleep that night because she is all he can think of anymore and the feel of her soft lips touching his.

When he enters Grimmauld Place that evening, he is greeted by a quiet "Wotcher" from the darkness. He breathes in the dusty air of the hallway and after his tired eyes adjust to the dim light – or rather lack thereof – he can make out her figure, sitting in the middle of the dark, steep staircase. She smiles at him, and offers a mug of hot chocolate, too, and he wonders how on earth she always knows what he needs. He slowly takes the offered mug and sinks down next to her onto the hard wooden step, covered with an ancient and faded carpet, blowing gently on the steaming mug. He's frozen through and his muscles ache – the full moon took its toll on him – but one gulp of the hot liquid warms him instantly.

They move to the library because she already has a fire burning there and it's wonderfully cosy. Dora tells him that Sirius went to bed early, due to a severe lack of certain beverage and while she talks he is quiet and grows regretfully tired because he loves to hear her voice. He eventually falls asleep with his head resting in her lap – however it got there – and her hand softly brushing through his hair and his last thought is about how wonderful it would be to always have her waiting for him after a full moon and that he really should have taken a shower first.

He suspects something is going on when he finds Sirius in the kitchen, grinning like the mad, notorious mass murderer he clearly isn't and Dora sitting opposite him and blushing. He helps himself to a cup of tea and Sirius grins even wider when he sinks down on the chair next to Dora.

"Speak of the devil." He says.

As Remus tells him that this is a weird thing to say, Sirius mentions they were just talking about him and when Remus raises his eyebrows in astonished question, Dora blushes even harder and excuses herself.

Sirius doesn't elaborate any further and Remus isn't sure he even wants to know so he just leans back in his chair and sips his tea. He can't even say he's ever seen Dora blush before and it strikes him as odd. Why was talking about him making her-

Oh.

And it all settles into place.

All the little things he should have noticed but didn't, all the times when she touched him on the arm which he liked very much but thought completely unnecessary. All the late night visits even when she knew it was unlikely to find Sirius still awake and the things she did for him after the full moon, bringing him tea or hot chocolate and letting him lean on her and when she – very rarely – hadn't been able to be present herself, he'd always found a huge bar of chocolate sitting on his bedside table.

Sirius laughs when realization finally hits and Remus almost panicks, because how on earth could he ever deserve her? His heart feels like a thousand butterflies are pacing each other inside his chest and he wonders what to do, because clearly, he hasn't done this in so long but the sudden realization that she likes him – really likes him – makes his own longing boil and it feels so good.

The clock ticks as Remus wonders what to do and Sirius finally rises and suggests they go find Dora because she's been gone quite some time and apparently Remus has something to tell her. They catch up with her in the hallway, already dressed and obviously preparing to leave and Remus can't help wishing she wouldn't because he might just have enough Gryffindor courage left to get rid of Sirius and back her up against a wall and-

She's already said goodnight and the door shuts behind her with a hollow clunk.

The following days he is very jumpy, starting every time the front door opens and listening for the telltale "thunk" and "bugger" and every time torn between relived and disappointed when it doesn't come. He's sitting in the library more often because it's warmer here and he would be able to hide should the need arise. He vaguely wonders what he will do when Dora finally comes by. Will he be a coward and hide from her or will he listen to his instincts, grab her, pull her close and-

The front door opens and silence follows… stretches… and then he hears the high voice of Hestia Jones and feels his body relax. He suddenly feels very warm in his shirt and jumper and resolves to get rid of the latter and undoing the first three buttons on the former. He feels edgy and when he hears a muffled sound just outside the library he tenses but there's no time to hide and the door creaks open to reveal an utterly dishevelled Dora and Remus reacts exactly like a Gryffindor and offers a cup of tea and his abandoned but still warm blanket on the couch. Dora accepts gracefully, only tripping over the edge of the rug once, and soon she is asleep with her head in his lap and his hand softly combing through her hair.

Sirius bakes a cake for his birthday and Remus marvels that it's actually edible. Dora comes in late but she comes and again brightens the day for both of them with a tale about the Auror Squad and a hinkypunk. Sirius talks her into staying the night because she already owns the room across from Remus' anyway and because he says they could get drunk. Which they really can't because the alcohol is long gone and the only drinks remaining since neither Dora nor Remus are game to go midnight-shopping for firewhiskey are pumpkin juice and butterbeer.

Dora stays anyway, because they talk and laugh for hours and when they finally agree to get some rest and Sirius is trudging to the third floor and Dora and Remus are standing outside their rooms in the hallway, facing each other. He panicks because there is his chance and he has his heart in his throat and what if she'll give up on him and then he swallows hard and says she is his sunshine and he means it and then he kisses her.

When he actually really backs her up against the wall and slides his arm around her waist while burying the other in her pink hair he can feel that he will never ever let her go.

And it feels so damn right.

Inspired by Roxettes "How Do You Do?"

Reviews welcome!