Hi all!

This is a prequel to my previous story "Unlikely Soulmates", I had too much fun writing about Tonks and Remus that I had to do another one. This is my take on how they met and it will probably be much longer than my previous HP stories.

The rating for this story will probably change later on.

Enjoy!

Failte

Tonks slowly opened the front door and peered inside. The house was quiet. For a moment, she was afraid she was too early. What if no one else was here yet? What if Sirius didn't remember her? What was he going to look like now?

It had been several years since she had last seen him and he has had to endure so much. What was he going to be like? She had heard such horrible stories about Azkaban and what happened to the people who had been there.

She entered the house and gently shut the door behind her, listening for any signs of life. Moody had warned her about Mrs. Black's portrait. She had faint memories of Sirius' mum from when she was younger, but her own mother hadn't stayed close with her family, so Tonks hadn't known Mrs. Black that well. After Sirius had left home when he was a teenager, he would come and visit Tonks and her parents. She had been quite young, but she had been drawn to him. He made her giggle and he was always bringing her dolls and toys.

Standing in the dusty old foyer, Tonks looked around trying to figure out where she should go next.

"Oh, hello, I didn't hear you come in."

She jumped at the hoarse whisper that invaded the silent room. Standing at the bottom of the stairs was a gentleman dressed in old trousers and a well-worn brown jumper. His light brown hair was peppered with grey and fell over his forehead in a casual, unkempt way. His face was young behind a few old scars and his eyes crinkled pleasantly when he smiled. She realized why she hadn't heard him enter when her gaze traveled down to his feet, which wore a pair of overly patched socks.

"Oh, uh, sorry," she nervously twirled a lock of her bright orange hair. "I, uh, I guess I'm early."

He tucked the book he was carrying under his arm and offered her his right hand. "I'm Remus Lupin."

"Oh, uh, Tonks." She took his hand, a bit surprised by the warm, firm grip.

"Tonks?" He furrowed his brow. "Is that your first or last name?"

"My last, I hate my first name, it's just hideous. I swear, I think my mother was smoking something strange when she came up with it. Either that or it was her dream to make her daughter resent her for the rest of her life. Any way, everyone just calls me Tonks, that's what I prefer."

Smiling, he released her hand. "All right then, I guess I'll call you Tonks as well. You can call me Remus. And, yes, you are a little early, but that's all right, I know Sirius is looking forward to the company."

"Is he here?"

"Of course. He's upstairs tending to…some things."

"I haven't seen him in years."

"You know Sirius?"

"We're cousins, well, second cousins, my mother is his cousin actually. Andromeda? She's my mum. She said she and Sirius had been friends when they were younger, well, she's older than he is, but they had been close. I haven't seen him since I was much younger, I think I was seven the last time I saw him. I don't know if he'll even remember me or what he'll be like." Tonks didn't know what was coming over her, but she found herself babbling to this total stranger. Maybe it was because he had the kindest brown eyes she had ever seen or the patience he wore so plainly on his face, but she found herself wanting to talk to him.

Remus raised his eyebrows. "You're Nymph?"

She scowled. "That was his nickname for me."

"So you're Nymphadora?"

"Yes, but please don't call me that, I absolutely hate that name."

"I think it's a lovely name, exotic and different. It seems to fit you, somehow."

Tonks silently cursed herself as she felt the blush flood her cheeks.

"I was about to have a cup of tea, would you like to join me?" He asked, nodding toward the doorway at the end of the hall.

"Uh, yes, that would be nice." She followed him down the hall toward the kitchen.

"Siruis should be down soon. He's been talking about seeing you again."

"Really?"

"Yes, he's been talking about it almost as much as he's been talking about seeing Harry again."

"Harry? Harry Potter?"

"Yes. Have you met him?"

"No. What's he like?"

"He's like…a teenage boy." Remus set a tea kettle on the stove and searched out tea cups. "He's a good kid, looks exactly like his father, James, but he has his mother's eyes."

She noticed the hint of sadness in his voice. "Did you know them? The Potters?"

"Yes. I went to Hogwarts with them and Sirius. James, Sirius, and I were inseparable in school. Along with Pete…another student, we were called the Marauders."

"I remember Sirius telling me stories about you guys. It was before I went to Hogwarts and I kept bugging him with questions about it."

The corner of Remus' mouth quirked up in a half smile. "I'm going to guess that Sirius exaggerated a few stories."

"Maybe, but they were great stories."

He set a steaming cup of golden liquid on the table in front of her. "Would you like anything for your tea? Milk? Sugar?"

"No, thank you, this is fine."

"The others should be arriving in another half an hour. I hope you're hungry. Molly Weasley brings her whole brood and makes wonderful dinners." He returned to the stove to prepare his own tea.

"That sounds great, I haven't had a real, home-cooked meal in weeks, not since I last visited my parents. I usually eat out or grab something quickly. How many…oh bloody fucking hell!" Tonks jumped to her feet and pulled her robes off as the hot tea began to seep through the fabric.

Surprised, Remus turned quickly to see what had caused her to curse. "Bring it here, run it under cold water, we should be able to keep it from staining."

"I am such a damn klutz," she muttered angrily. Tonks ran the robe under the stream of water, soaking it through. She noticed that Remus stood next to her, closely, helping to pick the tea leaves off the fabric. Becoming very aware of his closeness, she could feel the heat from his body and inhaled his musky scent she found comforting and attractive. Tonks was shocked to feel a pleasant tingling in her stomach and she knew her cheeks had once again blushed bright red.

"There now." He lifted the dripping robes. "We can hang it by the fireplace and let it dry, it'll be fine. If there is any stain, ask Molly about it, she'll know what to do."

"Oh, yeah, thanks."

"There's no need to be embarrassed," Remus said kindly. "We've all spilled tea on ourselves at one time or another."

"Yeah, well, it happens to me more often. You wouldn't believe what a klutz I am." Tonks thanked Merlin that she had had the good mind to change the Weird Sisters shirt she had been wearing earlier to a green blouse over her black jeans. At least she would look semi-professional when the others arrived. She tensed when he reached out and touched her hair, her face burning even more.

"Leaf in your hair," he murmured, holding up the tiny wet tea leaf.

"I…I don't know how that got there when the tea ended up in my lap."

Remus chuckled and turned back to the stove. "Here, take mine, I can make another cup."

"No, please, I can get my own."

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you safe around hot stoves?"

Her mouth fell open. "For your information, I haven't burned down any houses."

"No but you've singed your own hair a few times."

They both turned to see Sirius standing in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest and a playful smile on his lips.

Tonks felt her heart sink a little at the sight of him. He didn't resemble the handsome, robust young man she remembered. He looked old and beaten, frighteningly thin with long, black hair and sunken eyes. "Sirius?"

"Nymph, how are you?" He crossed the room in three strides and swept her up in a tight hug.

She noticed how he clung to her like a lifeline, hugging tighter than necessary. Tears welled up in her eyes as she returned his hug. "I…I'm good. How're you?"

"Much better now." He held her at arms length. "Let me look at you. You've certainly grown up, you're the spitting image of your mother, at least I think you are."

"Everything is mine but the hair color," she said.

"I like it. How are your parents?"

"They're both fine."

"Geez, Nymph…"

"Tonks."

He laughed, his loud barking laugh. "Okay, Tonks, you look great."

"Wish I could say the same for you," she replied, the words coming out before she could stop herself.

He laughed again. "Merlin, it's good to have you here. I can't believe you're an auror. How did you manage to get through training without falling on your face?"

"I did a few times, but my top marks in Concealment and Disguise helped cancel that out."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and turned to Remus. "I take it you and Moony have met?"

"Moony?" Tonks asked.

"That's my nickname from our day in Hogwarts," Remus explained.

"What was your?" She asked her cousin.

"I'm Padfoot and James was Prongs."

"Those are some odd nicknames, where did they come from."

The two men exchanged a look and Remus shrugged.

"Have a seat, I'll let Remus tell the story while I fix my own tea," Sirius said as he crossed to a cupboard and pulled out a bottle of firewhiskey.

Tonks returned to her seat while Remus sat across from her, stirring two large spoonfuls of sugar into his teacup.

"I'm a werewolf," he began.

She jumped and fought the urge to run from the room. Everything she had ever been told about werewolves did not add up to equal the man sitting across from her. "You are not."

Sirius snorted.

"Yes, I assure you I am," Remus answered, smiling sadly. "This isn't something I would make up or joke about. I was bitten when I was very young and my parents never thought I would be able to get into Hogwarts with my…condition. But Dumbledore was able to work it out so I could attend. He planted the Whomping Willow over the entrance to a tunnel that leads to the Shrieking Shack. Each month, just before I transformed, the school nurse would help me to the tree, I would go to the shack, and transform there. When it was over I returned to the castle."

"But isn't the Shrieking Shack haunted?"

"No. When I transformed, I was alone, and in my wolf form I had no control over my behavior. I tore the building apart, I bit and scratched myself. All the noises that came from there were caused by me. The rumors about it being haunted started and Dumbledore did nothing to dissuade them, he knew no one would bother me if they were afraid to go there."

"How did you get past the Whomping Willow?"

"There's a knot at the bottom of the trunk, push it and the branches stop moving long enough to get through."

"Okay, I get the whole Moony nickname, where did the others come from?"

Sirius sat beside her carrying his warm mug of firewhiskey with a drop of tea in it. "We noticed that Remus kept disappearing each month. We had all become close friends from the first year and when one of your best mates disappears once a month, you get to thinking and we figured out what it was. So James, Peter, ruddy bastard, and I studied hard and learned how to become animagi. Well, James and I learned, then we helped Peter because he is a helpless, spineless piece of shite."

"You're an animagus?" Tonks asked, surprised and impressed.

"Keep it quiet, we did it all in secret and we never officially registered ourselves. As humans, we couldn't be around Remus in his wolf form, but if we were in animal form, he wouldn't be alone when he transformed. I transform into a big black dog, hence the nickname Padfoot, James was a stag, we called him Prongs, and Peter turned into a rat, which should have been a huge clue to us all about what a rat he really was, and we called him Wormtail."

"Wormtail? Peter Pettigrew? Dumbledore told me about him. But…but he's with Voldemort now."

"Peter was the one who told Voldemort where to find the Potters," Remus said quietly.

"How could he!" She gasped and slammed her fist on the table, overturning her mug of tea.

Remus pulled his wand out and cleaned up the mess with a flick of his wrist. "I don't think you should have any more tea tonight, Tonks."

"Peter was a spineless coward who was seduced my evil. Bastard." Sirius grumbled. "Worthless piece of shite. Asshole. Jackass."

"Sirius, that's enough," Remus sighed.

"Fucking wanker."

"Sirius!"

"He deserves it."

"True, but it isn't going to change what happened. We need to find better ways to stop him."

"I don't understand," Tonks spoke up. "What happened? Why did he turn them over?"

"James and Lily wanted me to be their Secret Keeper," Sirius explained, staring angrily at his mug. "I thought that it would be too easy, everyone knew James and I were close, so it would be obvious that I would be their Secret Keeper. We knew that someone in our group of friends was sharing information with Voldemort. At the time, I thought it had been Remus, it was hard to know who you could and couldn't trust, and I had allowed old bigotries to cloud my judgment." He sounded terribly upset.

Remus spoke lowly, "You've long since been forgiven, old friend, there was a time I thought you were the one."

Sirius cleared his throat and nodded. "Any way, I thought Peter was the one to go with. He had worshipped James and me in school, I didn't think he would have turned them in. It was all my fault."

"It was not," Remus insisted. "It was Voldemort's fault, Peter's fault, but not yours. James and Lily would have never blamed you, Harry doesn't blame you, and it's time you stopped blaming yourself."

Tonks was touched at the obvious depth of their friendship. They were more than friends, they were brothers. She had plenty of friends, most of them from her days in Hogwarts, but she hadn't been this close with any of them.

"Mudblood! Filthy scum! Tarnishing the good name of my fathers! Dirtying their home!" Mrs. Black's voice burst through the air causing the three of them to jump.

"Fred! George! You get back here and help! Oh! When I get my hands on you!"

"Sounds like the Calvary have arrived," Sirius said, jumping to his feet to go help.

"The Weasleys," Remus told Tonks. "Molly and Arthur come with four of their seven children, Bill, their oldest, is also a member of the Order, but he doesn't live at home any more and he'll come later."

"I know Arthur from the Ministry and I attended Hogwarts with Charlie Weasley. They all have red hair and freckles, right?"

"That would be them. They're an amazing group."

"Oh, I swear to Merlin that if those boys don't clean up their act I will…will…oh! I don't know what I'll do." Molly Weasley bustled into the kitchen, a sack of food clutched in one hand. Behind her came two girls, one a petite redhead and the other a pretty girl with bushy brown hair, each carrying a bag, and a tall, gangly redheaded boy carrying three bags. "Oh, Remus, I didn't see you there, how are you?"

"Just fine, Molly, thank you. Can I help you with those?"

She shook her head. "No, thank you, I have enough help. Oh, hello."

Tonks held her hand out to the older woman. "Hi, I'm, uh, I'm Tonks, new to the Order. You must be Mrs. Weasley."

"Oh please, Tonks, dear, call me Molly. This is my daughter Ginny, my son Ron, his friend Hermione, and the twins, Fred and George will be in here when they finish helping Sirius deal with his mother's painting. Arthur will be along soon, he had some work at the Ministry to deal with. I had hoped to get dinner done before the other's arrived."

Tonks watched as she began a whirlwind of activity preparing the meal. Within moments, three pots were on the stove, each being stirred by their own spoons. A large pot boiled over the fire in the fireplace. Wonderful aromas swirled around them and filled the kitchen, causing Tonks' mouth to water.

"This would be so much easier if I didn't have to keep tripping over you all," Molly said, stepping over a ginger cat that had followed them in. "Why don't you all go to the parlor? No, Remus, dear, I appreciate the offer, but it would be easier for me to do this alone. I'll call you all when dinner's ready."

"Come on," Ginny whispered to Tonks. "She really means it. Mum likes to be in charge, taking care of everything. If she needs help, she'll call for us."

"Oh, ew," Hermione groaned as they entered the hallway to a rancid smell.

"The twins set off a dungbomb," Ron said unnecessarily.

Shaking his head, Remus pulled out his wand again and waved it. Moments later, the scent of dungbombs was replaced with the pleasant aroma of lilacs.

"Oh, come on, Professor Lupin, what's the fun in lilacs?" A tall redhead met them in the parlor, followed by an identical young man.

"Professor?" Tonks whispered.

"Professor Lupin taught Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts," Hermione explained.

"Yes, I taught if for one year, two years ago," Remus said, sitting in a chair by the fireplace, ignoring the cloud of dust that rose from the cushion. "There is no need to keep calling me Professor."

The twins flopped back on the sofa. "Fine, Remus," one of the twins said.

"And what is the fun in dungbombs, George?" Remus asked.

"The way they make Mum's face turn bright red and cause her to lose the ability to form complete sentences," he replied honestly.

Ginny giggled, Hermione sighed angrily, while Ron snorted.

"With all that's going on right now, I would think you would want to help, not stress out, your mother," their former professor pointed out.

"We just want to break up the stress," Fred explained. "Without some laughter, we'd all be as good as dead."

"Good point. But there are other ways to break stress and bring about laughter without angering or upsetting your mother. It's never right to get enjoyment out of other people's suffering."

"What about getting enjoyment out of Voldy's suffering?"

"I would hope you would find enjoyment in ending Voldemort's reign, not in his suffering."

"Wow. I guess once a professor, always a professor," Tonks muttered.

Remus smiled.

The twins jumped to their feet, having not noticed her earlier.

"Hello, I'm Fred and this is George. Or rather, I'm George and he's Fred, we've forgotten which is which. And you are?"

"Tonks." She took the hand the first one offered. "Nice to meet you."

"Are you in the Order?"

"Yes."

"You don't look old enough."

"I suppose that's a compliment."

"The twins are upset because they aren't old enough to join," Ginny explained.

"But that doesn't stop them from eavesdropping," Remus pointed out.

"We have no idea what you're talking about," they said in unison, returning to the couch.

"What do you do?" Fred asked.

"I'm an auror," she told them.

"Really?" Ron's interest was piqued.

"Don't get too excited Ronnikins,' George teased. "You could never make it as an auror."

:Oh, I don't know," Tonks said. "No one thought I would be, but then I..ow! Bloody hell."

"Are you okay?" Remus asked, standing to help when she bumped into the corner of the table.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she mumbled, rubbing her shin. "I'm such a klutz, it's a miracle, sometimes, that I am still standing."

"Was it difficult becoming an auror?" Ron asked.

"It is a lot of hard work, but it's something I believe strongly in, something I love doing. I did well in school, not great, but well enough. The fact that I'm a Metamorphmagus helped a great deal."

"You're a Metamorphmagus?" Hermione asked excitedly.

"Yup."

"You can change any part of your appearance."

Tonks nodded and, to prove her point, scrunched up her face. A moment later her bright orange hair turned as red as the Weasley's, her nose long and narrow, like Ron's, and freckles popped up across her face.

"Oh, wow," Ginny gasped. "That is so cool!"

"Yeah, it's been known to come in handy." Tonks scrunched up her face again. Her hair shortened into inch long, pink spikes, her nose shortened and upturned a bit, and, when she opened her eyes, they were a sparkling lavender. "This is my favorite look."

"What's your natural look?" Remus asked.

She scowled. "Boring."

"Nah, you were always cute," Sirius said, entering the room. "Tonks wasn't cursed with the Black looks."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Yeah, who wants to be cursed with gorgeous looks, beautiful hair, and a great body?"

"You got the Black eyes."

"Let's just say I'm glad I can change my looks. It's more fun that way, and it helps me mess with people."

"I wonder," Fred began, scratching his chin. "If we could figure out how…"

"That's a great idea," George muttered.

"No, it's not," Hermione said.

"You don't even know what we're talking about, Hermione."

"You're talking about a new product for your mail order catalog…"

"Sh!" Both twins shushed her.

"Mum doesn't know they're still doing that," Ron whispered to her.

"Doing what?" Tonks asked, leaning over to join the conversation.

"We are the proud purveyors of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes," Fred explained proudly. "A line of fine magical items intended for comic relief."

Sirius laughed.

Remus smirked. "If only you would put that much effort into your schoolwork."

George scowled at him. "You sound like Mum."

"Would you like to see our catalog?" Fred asked Tonks.

"Sure, I'd love to."

"No you wouldn't," Hermione murmured.

Ginny grinned. "Just don't volunteer to be a tester for their new products and you should be fine."

The front door opened and more voices could be heard as more people entered the house. Sirius and Remus both stood to greet them. Tonks watched them leave, Remus stopped by the door and slipped a pair of loafers on.

"Sounds like the rest of the Order is here," Hermione said.

Ron sat back and laid a hand over his stomach. "Good, I am so hungry."

"You're always hungry, Ron," Ginny teased.

Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and Mad-Eye-Moody all entered the front parlor, chatting quietly. The greetings were barely finished when there was a knock on the front door and Mrs. Black started shouting. Sirius went to attend to that while Dumbledore and Remus went to answer the door. Emmeline Vance, Hestia Jones, Sturgis Podmore, and Dedalus Diggle arrived.

"Come on down to the kitchen," Mrs. Weasley announced. "The food is ready. The others will be arriving soon."

"How many other?" Tonks muttered to herself.

"There should be about eighteen of us." A voice whispered in her ear.

She jumped and bumped into whoever was standing beside her. Tonks laid a hand over her heart and glared at Remus. "You startled me."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to. Come on, let's see if we can grab a couple of seats before the twins start booby-trapping the table."