Yeah! Chapter 2!! Thank you, reviewers, I probably wouldn't have gone on without you!! I'm glad you noticed that Tonks already likes Remus.

Disclaimer: If I owned these amazing characters, the books wouldn't be a quarter as good as J.K. Rowling's. And, as this is strictly canon, there are parts in this chapter, and later chapters, that are taken right from the book. So it may get a bit boring, but hopefully Tonks' reactions will lighten it up!

2. As the Friend of a Shapeshifter

Tonks steadied herself on her Comet Two-Sixty, wild with excitement. In a couple of minutes she'll have met the most famous boy in the world, Harry Potter. Wind whipped at her hair and cloak as the small group of Order members flew towards Little Whinging.

She swooped delightedly and nearly unseated herself, narrowly missing the corner of a tall building. The reproachful remark from Moody about her behavior just floated right through her ears; nothing would dampen her spirits.

"Begin descent!" Came Kingsley's voice from somewhere to her left. Seconds later Tonks pulled from a steep dive, her hair a tangled mess of shocking purple, positively skipping with happiness. They were in the backyard of a small house, encircled by neat rows of flowers and a low fence. Remus' hand weighed down on her shoulder, in an effort to stop her skips. He looked very amused.

"Tonks, try not to die of ecstasy here," he said, "Harry's just a boy."

"A freakin' awesome boy," murmured Tonks, as the group of rescuers filed into a strikingly clean kitchen. Tonks looked admiringly at all the neat appliances lining the counter, arranged in perfect order. Large plates hung in rows on the walls, each with a different painted picture. Moody began to stump toward the stairs, looking for Harry. Hestia nodded appreciatively in Tonks' direction.

"Looks like they believed your letter, Tonks. Well done, for your first job."

Tonks grinned proudly, and jumped up on the counter. Unfortunately for her, her elbow hit one of the plates on the wall, and a resounding crash, it hit the marble and broke into hundreds of pieces.

Tonks stared down at the mess, but before she could even say 'Oops," it had repaired itself and flew back to the wall. Remus sighed deeply as he stowed his wand back in his pocket.

"Always on the lookout for me, eh?" she said to her recently aquired friend, who just smiled resignedly in her direction.

A movement on the stairs suddenly caught everyone's attention. There he was on the landing, his wand held out in front of him, silent and still in the darkness.

Tonks hair rapidly changed colors as she stared at Harry Potter's silhouette. This was the boy, the Boy Who Lived, and is still living nearly 14 years later. Her heart thumped uncontrollably with excitement, and she restrained the urge to hug him.

"Lower your wand, boy, before you take someone's eye out," advised Moody, staring up the stairs suspiciously. The silhouette of Harry didn't move. Instead, he said, uncertainly,

"Professor Moody?"

Tonks frowned. When had Mad-eye ever been a professor?

"I don't know about 'Professor,'" Moody replied, "never got round to much teaching, did I? Get down here, we want to see you properly."

Harry still didn't move. Tonks was beginning to get a little impatient. What was wrong with him?

Remus, realizing Moody's inability to budge Harry, moved up to the foot of the stairs, saying, "It's all right, Harry. We've come to take you away."

"P-professor Lupin? Is that you?" came Harry's reply, again, it seemed to Tonks, using the word professor incorrectly. Determined to let Harry see that they were not Death Eaters, and a chance for her to see him, she raised her wand.

"Why are we all standing in the dark? Lumos."

Harry's face was lit up by her wand light; a spitting image of his father, James Potter. He gazed, shocked, at them crowded below him, his bright green eyes wide under his untidy jet-black hair.

"Oooh," Tonks said, still feasting her eyes on him, "he looks just like I thought he would. Wotcher, Harry!"

Harry merely stared at her obnoxious shade of hair. Kingsley, who had never seen Harry before either, but evidently had seen his father before, said, "Yeah, I see what you mean, Remus. He looks exactly like James.

"Except the eyes," added Elphias Doge, "Lily's eyes."

For some strange reason, Harry still had not moved one inch. Moody was taking this as very suspicious.

"Are you quite sure it's him, Lupin? It'll be a nice lookout if we bring some Death Eater impersonating him. We ought to ask him something only the real Potter would know. Unless anyone brought any Veritaserum?"

Of course! Thought Tonks, I have a whole pint of that stuff in my pocket.

Remus contemplated for a moment, then looked back up at the still motionless Harry.

"Harry, what form does you Patronus take?" he asked. Still clearly shaken, Harry replied, "A stag."

"That's him Mad-Eye."

Tonks heart jumped, for Harry had decided they were safe to approach. He was introduced to the group of Order Members by Remus, Tonks shuddering at the mention of her first name, and shooting icy retorts to no one in particular that her mother was an idiot to call her that.

Mad-Eye was keen to get going, but Harry really needed to be tuned into what all was going on. Even Tonks herself wasn't too sure how exactly they had planned the trip, because that part of the meeting didn't include her. Hestia had forced Mad-Eye to let her go with the advance guard, for she knew how keen Tonks was to see the Potter boy.

Brightly, Tonks strode upstairs with Harry to help pack his things and get ready for the journey. Her eyes were transfixed on his back as they walked up the stairs, hardly believing. Words couldn't describe just how much she felt for this tall, thin boy. Again, she restrained herself from jumping onto his back, and squeezing him, putting thoughts into that hug; I'll be with you 'till the end, or, keep fighting, you're doing a superb job, or even, oh, my gosh, Potter, you saw the Dark Lord rise again?

They entered his room, and she paused to stare at her reflection in the door mirror. Her face looked unnaturally white beneath her dark shade of purple hair.

"You know, I don't think purple's really my color," she said, tucking at a spike near her ear, "D'you think it makes me look a bit peaky?"

"Er—" said Harry, looking at her full in the face for the first time. He didn't look as though he really cared that purple made her peaky.

"Yeah, it does," Tonks said, and careful to let Harry see what she was doing, she screwed up her face, thought of a pink bubble gum color and her hair, and seconds later, her hair became that exact shade.

His shocked expression was exactly what she wanted. Finding his voice, he croaked, "How did you do that?"

Tonks, satisfied, resumed tugging at her now pink locks of hair. "I'm a metamorphmagus. I can change my appearance at will. I was born one," she smirked, "I got top marks in Concealment and Disguise during Auror training without any study at all, it was great."

"You're an Auror?" asked Harry, sounding very impressed. Tonks felt proud of herself, as she turned to look into his awestruck face.

"Yeah. Kingsley's as well; he's a bit higher up than I am, though. I only qualified a year ago. Nearly failed on Stealth and Tracking, I'm dead clumsy, did you hear me break that plate when we arrived downstairs?"

Harry didn't answer, but instead changed the subject back to Metamorphmagi.

"Can you learn how to be Metamorphmagus?"

Tonks chuckled sadly. "Bet you wouldn't mind hiding that scar sometimes, eh?"

Her eyes sidled up his face to fall on the lightening shaped scar in the middle of his forehead. It was dark red; a scar that hadn't quite healed.

"No, I wouldn't mind," mumbled Harry, turning his head away. Tonks felt troubled the rest of the time she remained alone with Harry, although she did a good job covering up, and nearly forgot those troubles when she was shown Harry's Firebolt, one of the fastest brooms ever made.

In no time at all, the group of wizards, with Harry in the midst of them were flying over the countryside, heading for Grimmauld Place. Harry really was a good flyer; Remus wasn't mistaken when he told them.

"ARE YOU MAD, MAD-EYE?" Tonks shouted in response to Mad-Eye's theory of doubling back to make sure they weren't being followed, not realizing the weirdness of her sentence. "We're frozen to our brooms! If we keep going off course we're not going to get there until next week! We're nearly there now!"

And sure enough, a moment later they were in front of Grimmauld Place, and Harry was reading a piece of paper. Tonks reminisced the day she read that note of paper, set fire to it, and entered the house. But, it seemed so long ago.

Molly Weasley approached them, smiling broadly at the sight of Harry, as they marched through the door.

"Oh, Harry! It's lovely to see you…" she hugged Harry tightly like he was her own son, then whispered to Tonks and the others, "He's just arrived: the meeting's started."

Tonks looked inquiringly at Remus. No one told her anything about a meeting. And who was he? She followed the Order members into the kitchen. Mr. Weasley and Severus Snape were sitting at the table, watching them file inside. Professor Dumbledore was pacing around the room, looking somewhat troubled. But before Tonks could take a seat, Remus took hold of her arm.

"I need to tell you something," he whispered urgently in her ear. Confused but curious, Tonks let him lead her into the pantry room, not noticing everyone's gaze fixed on the pair as they left the kitchen.

Remus lit his wand and wedged the stick under a block of cheese so that it kept a steady light on the two of them, and closed the door, looking extremely uncomfortable.

"Tonks…I," he began, looking at the floor. Tonks just stared at him blankly. Remus tried again.

"There's something you need to know before tomorrow night… to keep you safe," he hesitated, and glanced into her face for a fraction of a second, before resuming his stare at the ground. Tonks prompted him to go on; she had no clue as to what he was going to tell her.

"Well…I don't know whether Dumbledore warned you about this, but…" he took a deep breath, and permitted himself to gaze into her blue eyes.

"I'm a werewolf."

…………………

What will Tonks' reaction be? Shocked? Freaked? Mesmerized? Not caring? Next chapter will be her first night on the full moon! Please R&R.