chapter two
the marauders
"And let us extend the warmest of welcomes to our newest member, Nymphadora Tonks," Dumbledore said, closing the Order meeting.
I shuddered. "It's Tonks, Professor," I said, looking up into his twinkling blue eyes. "You know I hate that name."
"Yes, but it's the only name you could expect, with Andromeda for a mother," Sirius acknowledged, and the entirety of the room burst out laughing. I grinned sheepishly and leaned back in my chair, already feeling quite at home here. It was strange. I didn't feel at home easily; I supposed that it was natural with being an Auror. Forced to move around so much, tracking and hunting and sometimes killing or even debasing yourself with ridiculous paperwork, it was hard to find a place that you could call home.
For a moment, my eyes drifted back to Remus, who was looking out the window, a weary frown on his face. I followed his gaze to see the waxing moon was nearly full; another week would do it. I glanced back to Remus. His shaggy brown hair, streaked with grey, shifted again as he moved, his chair scraping back as he rose. For a moment, his blue-grey eyes rested on mine, and I offered a shy smile. He returned it with his weary one. As he turned away, I frowned at the mystery that surrounded him. I had known him for barely more than a few hours, but there was still something there that intrigued me.
I pushed my chair back and got to my feet, and Sirius appeared at my elbow. "Come and meet some of these fine people, Tonks," he said, placing a hand on my shoulder and steering me toward a group of people. I couldn't help but smile. My cousin still made the women of the group bat their eyes and whisper behind their hands like schoolgirls, even though he would never quite be the man he had been, before Azkaban. I got lost in the chatter of these members of the order. One of them, Emmeline Vance, said to me, "Dumbledore said you're a Metamorphmagus, Tonks…"
I smiled. "Yes, I am." I screwed up my eyes, a firm image of her fixed in my brain, and thought, Vance. When I opened them, the circle of people burst into generous applause. I was an exact, living, breathing copy of the woman before me. Sirius laughed and clapped me on the shoulder. I morphed back to my real self, with pink hair again.
As the conversation wore on, I glanced behind me, an odd prickling feeling at the back of my neck. Remus Lupin, unnoticed by any of the groups that stood around laughing and talking, was making his way toward the door. In the politest voice I could muster, I said, "Excuse me," and slipped away from the group, stealthily following him. I caught up with him right when he reached the stairs in the foyer.
"Remus, there's dinner after," I said quietly, and I took a moment of pleasure in his surprise. "Oh-ho, so you didn't think I could be stealthy, could you?" I said, in a mock-indignant tone.
"Well, at least I'm aware of it now," he said, turning back to face me.
"Why aren't you staying?" I asked, leaning against the banister of the stairway.
He smiled, sweeping a strand of his light brown hair from his eyes. "I'm tired, and I don't think I would live to see daylight again if I stayed in that room with all of those bursting spirits." He nodded back towards the door.
"They'll be leaving soon," I said firmly. "You should stay, you look like you could use a good meal…"
He raised his eyebrows at me, but couldn't deny that it was true; under the baggy, patched robes he wore, I could tell that he was several sizes smaller than what they were. "See?" I said, triumphantly. "Stay, I'm sure Sirius'll be happy."
Almost as if on cue, Black emerged into the foyer and frowned at his friend. "Moony, honestly, what other company do I have in this world if you keep slipping off?" Then he saw me and smiled. "Ah, I see Tonks is of the same opinion."
"I was just telling him that he looked as though he could use a good meal," I said, nodding to Sirius.
"I've been saying it for ages, but he doesn't listen to me," the convict said grudgingly.
"Sirius!" called one of the voices from the kitchen. He scowled.
"Excuse me, friends, but duty calls…" Sighing, he vanished back into the kitchen.
"See?" I said, and drew my arm through Remus's, pulling him back toward the kitchen with me. "Stay, eat, drink, and be merry…"
I could tell that he couldn't suppress a smile as he allowed me to pull him back into the kitchen, and I smiled, too. Molly spotted us and smiled gratefully at me; perhaps she had experienced this before, Remus slipping away and leaving without getting a decent meal before heading home. As close to his side as I was, I could tell that he was far too thin to be healthy.
I led him back over to the group I'd been talking to and Sirius immediately clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Moony, good of you to join us," he said, taking a swig of whatever drink he had in his hand, and then his eyes flickered to mine, the smile there saying thank you for keeping his friend from leaving.
I frowned slightly at Sirius, however. "Why do you always call him that?"
"Oh-ho!" Kingsley Shacklebolt said. "Has Nymphadora Tonks never heard the story of the infamous Marauders?"
"Spare me the theatrics," I said dryly, turning to look back at Sirius. "Would you care to tell me what he's talking about?"
"Have a seat, dear cousin, and Remus and I shall do our best to recount to you all the misbehaving moments of our teenage years," my cousin said, grinning wickedly, and I saw Remus sigh, knowing now that he would have no chance to slip away. I grinned as wickedly at him as Sirius had, and even though he shook his head at me, I saw him hiding a smile.
As the members of the Order that weren't staying walked out with goodbyes floating after them, those of us left gathered again at the table and Molly bustled in and out of the kitchen, heaping tray after tray of food before us. "Now, you may not believe this, Tonks, but Remus was a real troublemaker in his day." Sirius paused here to wink at Remus, who looked mildly amused at this announcement.
"You know that it was always you and James who loved it most, Padfoot…"
"Don't pretend you didn't enjoy it, too!" Sirius said sternly, taking another swig from his goblet.
"James Potter?" I asked in interest, scooping up a mouthful of potatoes and then adding, when my mouth was still full, "This food is delicious, Molly."
"Thank you, dear," she said, smiling at me as she sat down.
"Yes, we were the Marauders who called themselves Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs; me, Peter, Sirius, and James, in that order," Remus acknowledged. "You have to admit that we were rather full of ourselves, Sirius…"
I couldn't suppress a snort. Most unfortunately, I still had a mouthful of mashed potatoes, and the result did not bode well. In short, the rest of the table roared with laughter while I, bright red in the face, excused myself to the bathroom very hastily for just a moment.
When I returned, my skin morphed back to normal, the table was still in an uproar, particularly Sirius and the three red-headed boys, while Ginny sniffed with barely contained laughter and Hermione looked on in disapproval, even though the corners of her lips twitched occasionally, obviously quite against her will. "And then," Sirius choked out, barely able to speak through his bark-like laughter, "If you'll believe it, boys…"
I slid into my seat across from Remus and he smiled at me. "All better, I hope?"
Damn that blush. I managed a smile in return and said, "Yeah, thanks." My gaze travelled down the table to where Sirius and the others had given up on talking, giving themselves over fully to their laughter.
Remus followed my gaze. "I can't deny that I miss those days, as well," he said softly, turning his mug of tea in his hands. "It was the best time of our lives, even though we sometimes made mistakes that we regret."
"So you were friends with James Potter," I mused, leaning back and looking at Remus. His eyes darkened eerily. "What was he like?"
"The last person you'd expect to die at the hand of Voldemort, for one," he said quietly, and I raised an eyebrow at how easily he used the name. "He was so insistent on life. It was like he lived for nothing but to live." He smiled wanly. "Almost like Sirius, but they were still a bit different, in a way."
I nodded and sipped my drink. "How do you like the Order so far?" he asked me.
I shrugged. "I'm glad that I'm finally doing something. Being an Auror isn't excitement day after day, you know. At the moment I'm in a so-called 'paperwork phase' until my superiors decide that I'm worthy to do more."
Remus smiled encouragingly. "I'm sure that once they realize Voldemort is back, you'll have much more to do."
I sighed. "But will they ever?" I asked quietly. "They're so engrossed with ignoring the havoc breaking out right under their noses that it's going to be almost impossible to pick up the pieces by the time they are forced to admit that something's going on."
"That's why we're here," he said gently, "to make sure that some of the pieces are already put back into place when they realize that everything has blown up in their faces."
I smiled weakly. Suddenly, it felt as though I'd known Remus for ages, as though we'd been friends our entire lives. Sitting this close to him, I could see thin, faint scars crisscrossing his features in some places, and scars on his hands as well. Deciding not to ask, I said, "I guess that's why the idea of this whole Order attracted me so much. I got so sick of not doing anything for good, like I thought I would get to when I was made an Auror, and so when Shacklebolt and Mad-Eye told me, I just jumped on it."
He nodded. "I imagine that we'll have a lot of people joining for the reason you did."
We lapsed into a comfortable silence for a moment, watching the group at the other end of the table. "Who are all the red-heads?" I asked Remus, feeling a pang of jealousy for the shade of vibrant red hair that they all had managed. "I wish I could make my hair that red…"
He laughed softly. "The two identical ones are Fred and George, both Molly's children, they're going into their seventh year this fall. They've caused more problems at Hogwarts than James and Sirius, I'd wager." It was my turn to laugh. "The other one is Ron, he's Hermione's age, and then Ginny is a year younger than them."
"You seem like you know them well," I remarked, closely watching his face.
He nodded. "I taught at their school, during Hermione and Ron's third year."
"Why didn't you stay?"
He gave me a twisted smile. "It was the Defence Against the Dark Arts position."
"Ah. That explains everything. The curse got you, too?"
He laughed again, that soft laugh that seemed to be both happiness and sadness. "Yes, the curse managed to drive me out as well."
"Just out of curiosity, how were you driven out?"
Something shifted in his eyes. He shrugged, an attempt at casualness, but it didn't succeed. "Things change. I didn't feel much like staying anymore. Old memories…and James not even alive anymore…one year was enough."
There was something he wasn't telling me; I could sense that much. For the time being, though, I just nodded, accepting the explanation, knowing that someday, perhaps, I would know the full truth. Thoughtfully, I screwed up my eyes and thought, Weasley red, then grew my hair out longer so that I could survey the new colour. "Not bad," I said aloud, examining the ends, "but it's still not the same…"
Remus looked at me, startled, and as he began to laugh, my heart lifted again, although I was quite unable to explain why.
A/N: And now, to my reviewers...
Mrs.OBLack: Thanks for your review, and sorry you had to wait this long for the update, I usually update much faster than this. I was finishing up Blurred, but now that it's finished, I'll have much more time for this story.
the singer: Thanks for your review, as always, and I'm glad you like my new story.
Ange de l'eau: Thanks for your review. How did you like the ending of Blurred? lol
Pheo: I don't know if this update classifies as "soon", but usually I update faster than this. I hope you continue to enjoy the story!
Meriwether Weslar: Big sis ;). I like how Tonks met Lupin, too, it seems just right for them to just kind of stumble into meeting one another, lol. Thanks for your review.
