"…Some of you may remember that, back when the wizarding world was dealing with Grindelwald, the muggles were waging a war of their own. In their war, groups of people were consistently singled out by an evil leader. When one group fell to his followers' wrath, he would begin to vilify another. Eventually, had he not been stopped, the evil leader would have killed nearly everyone just to conquer the world. And though many did not really agree with his ideas, they sat idly by because they weren't the ones being hunted- it wasn't their problem. One very intelligent muggle described best like this:
"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
"Because I was not a Socialist.
"Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
"Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
"Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
"Because I was not a Jew.
"Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
"Voldemort has already come for the muggleborns and the so-called blood traitors. He is coming for other magical creatures and races. My friends, you cannot afford to wait until he comes for you. Speak out now, even if it scares you, because it is your only hope- our only hope.
"Thank you for your time. Miss Tonks and I will be here for the next hour or so to answer questions and provide you with contact information if you would like it."
Remus sat back down at the well-scrubbed kitchen table to thunderous applause. He fought not blush at his open display of passion, but he was pleased that it was so well received.
Tonks elbowed him in the ribs. "Bloody hell, Remus! This is the fifth night in a row you've had the whole lot of them riled up and ready to fight. They oughta give you a permanent job doing this!" she said with a genuine grin.
Despite his best efforts, Remus couldn't help but think how beautiful she was when she smiled like that. And the way she always made him feel good about himself? Priceless to the werewolf. A million butterflies took flight in his stomach. Get a grip, man, he thought to himself, she's a full decade younger than you!
He and Tonks milled about, taking donations and passing out pamphlets to those who were interested. By the time all the guests had left, it was after ten p.m. and the two friends were exhausted. They collected their suitcases from where their party host had temporarily stashed them and Apparated to the next town.
In a small village outside Leeds, Remus threw open the door of the motel room that had a "pay-by-the-hour" option. Shady muggle motels were their best chance at moving about unnoticed, and magic gave them the advantage of at least knowing it was clean. Shaking the rain from his hair, Remus took two steps into the room and dropped the two suitcases he held, speechless.
"Shove over, Moony," Tonks grumbled as she elbowed past him. "Why are you stopped in the bloody doorway? It's pouring out here!"
Barely managing to get around the large man blocking her path, she stumbled with her usual grace and fell onto the bed… the only bed in the room.
"Bloody hell," he muttered under his breath.
"Blimey, what was the old man at the check-in getting at?" Tonks exclaimed. "I don't mind bunking with you, but this was a bit presumptive of him, dontcha think?"
"It was the only room left," Remus explained with a roll of his eyes, "and there's no way that sleaze-bag will give us our money back."
Tonks considered the situation for a moment. "I suppose we could always transfigure a bed. Might not be as comfortable, but looking at this mattress, I can't say for sure. Plus we'll need to enlarge the room. Won't be able to fit more than a dog bed in here otherwise," she teased lightly.
"Shut up," Remus playfully groused, and then he shook his head. "The amount of magic it'll take just to tidy this place up will be in danger of overloading the muggle electrics even if they have been updated since the fifties – which doesn't look likely. There's no way they could handle a transfiguration as large as a bed on top of the cleaning charms. And I'm not staying here without the cleaning charms."
Tonks froze. "So we're actually going to have to share a bed?"
Heaving a deep breath, Remus nodded. "It won't be that bad," he muttered. Compared to his impassioned speech just minutes earlier, that sentence wasn't exactly a rhetorical triumph.
Together, the two travelers began cleaning the room, which took even more cleaning charms than Remus had anticipated. Finally finished, the werewolf picked up the suitcases and placed them on top of the battered, rickety dresser, unsure what to say to dispel the awkward tension.
Tonks had no such problem. "Well, if this is going to be as awkward as we're making it, we can at least go get drunk. Plus, if we're passed out, we can't roll over on top of each other."
As much as he tried not to take his alcohol to extremes, it sounded like a pretty good idea to Remus. "I think I saw a pub a few streets down. Let's check it out."
The two quickly exited the motel room and hustled down to the pub, exchanging few words in the process. They snagged a table, flagged down the haggard barmaid, and sat in silence until she poured the first round and they found a seat.
"Well," Tonks began, "this is not how I envisioned spending this trip."
Remus snorted. "That makes two of us. When I volunteered for this gig, I figured we'd be staying with Order members or well-known allies or something, but noooooo. 'Stick with muggle motels' Albus said, 'they're virtually untraceable'. After five nights of this, I'm ready to tell the headmaster where he can stuff his untraceable lumpy motel mattress," he finished, waving for another round.
The former auror threw back her head in a fit of laughter. "Yeah, I feel pretty much the same. I was expecting a little more intrigue and adventure and glamour. Instead we're staying in shitholes that have got you pulling out obscure cleaning charms just to make them livable."
Remus retrieved the next set of pints as well a few shots of whiskey each. "Needless to say, this is not a luxury holiday. But I do feel pretty good about the meetings," he commented.
"You should!" Tonks cried as they tossed back the shots and, grimacing, chased it with half their new beers. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she continued. "You've completely stolen the show every night. I honestly don't know why I was even necessary," she joked.
The pleased smile fell from his face. "Because no one wants a werewolf around without some sort of supervision or protection," Remus said darkly.
"Pish tosh," she replied, waving away his comment. "The people we've seen don't- or at least shouldn't- care about that kind of thing. And from the way they keep giving you standing ovations and shaking your hand like you're the bloody minister, I'd say they feel the same. You're really an incredible speaker, Remus."
Somehow she always knew what to say to make him feel better. He could feel the blood creep into his cheeks and began to study the table beneath his fingertips, trying to hide his face. He wasn't quite quick enough.
"I never thought I'd be able to make a Marauder blush!" Tonks declared with a chuckle. "I thought I'd at least have to make a filthy sex joke or talk about my cycle to ever get one of you. I'm a bit disappointed, to be honest."
Remus tuned out everything after "sex". He couldn't help it, really, being celibate for far too long would do that to a bloke. His companion seemed to notice his wandering mind.
"Been a while, huh, stud?" Tonks winked.
The man's flush deepened. "You have no bloody idea," Remus mumbled, shocked at himself for being so open with her. She just had a way.
It was Tonks' turn to look uncomfortable. "I probably understand better than you think."
Both thoroughly embarrassed, they grabbed another round of beer and shots, draining both quickly. True to form, Tonks was the first to recover from the discomfort.
"Remus, I really don't understand why you don't date- and don't give me that 'furry little problem' shit either," she began, slamming the yet another two pint glasses onto the scarred table top. "You are an amazing man, and any woman worth her salt would be happy to have you, 'problem' or not."
Oh, this woman was dangerous, Remus thought. He could get addicted to the positivity and kindness that seemed to come so naturally to her.
"As much as I'd like to thank you for the compliments, I have to disagree," he argued. "The fact remains that I'm a wer- a you-know-what. I'm miserable to be around three days out of the month, I can't keep a steady job, and I'm covered in hideous scars. No woman in her right mind should want me."
Tonks rolled her eyes. "To be so intelligent, you're an idiot."
"Whatever. While we're on the subject, I haven't exactly seen you bringing any boyfriends around lately," Remus shot back, slurring slightly.
"At least I have a good reason," she grumbled. "I can't go on more than two dates with a guy before he starts asking me to change things. My hair, my nose, my bra size, my butt. No one ever seems to want just Tonks," she said sadly.
His eyes softened with understanding. "I'm so sorry, Tonks. That's just… that's just terrible."
The woman shrugged. "That's how it's always been. Honestly, I think you're one of the few people that's never asked me to change anything about myself, not even in humor." She looked up from her glass, all traces of alcohol-fog gone from her eyes, and pinned him with the sincerity of her gaze. "Thank you for that, Remus."
For a few fleeting moments, they were the only two in the pub.
The sound of raucous laughter from a few tables over broke the spell, and the two silently agreed to leave the hard topics for later and speak only of happy things. The more they drank, the more they learned about the other- favorite colors, childhood pets, silliest memories.
Remus couldn't help but feel buoyed just by Tonks' presence. Every smile, every sweet word, every gentle touch was like a wave washing up against his heart, soothing some of the pain held there and quietly breaking down his defenses.
They exited the pub laughing and propping each other up as the proprietor flipped the sign to "Closed" and shut the door behind them. Hand in hand, they stumbled back to their tiny motel room, all thoughts of the lone bed forgotten.
Until they opened the door.
"Bollocks," Remus cursed under his breath, grabbing the door frame for support.
"Yeah, I'd- hiccup- forgot about this bit too," Tonks said- or at least that's what Remus understood from her garbled speech.
"Ughhhh, IIIIIIII'm gonna change in the bathroom," Remus continued. "Youuuu"- he pointed shakily at his companion- "can change in heeeere. I'll knoooock before I come out."
He staggered into the bathroom with his old Gryffindor shirt and favorite holey sweats. A few moments later, he knocked to announce his exit, and he heard a giggling "All clear, Wolfie!" from Tonks. He walked back into the bedroom and his jaw dropped.
Tonks lay stretched across the bed in a short, black knit night dress, drinking directly from a bottle of Ogden's Finest. Any other night, the man would have found the dress a bit sexy but not too distracting. Drunk Remus couldn't keep his eyes off the long, toned legs it revealed or the supple hips it stretched across.
"Like whatcha sheeee, Moony?" Tonks said with another pull from the bottle.
Uninhibited for once, Remus simply nodded, allowing his eyes to roam the length of her body a few more times before moving to sit on the bed with her. Taking the bottle from her, he took a long swig and silently hoped this night would never end.
"I propose a little game," Tonks drawled. "It's called Never- hiccup- Haf I Ever. All you hafta do is- hiccup- say something you'f done. If I hafn't done it, I hafta take- hiccup- a drink. If I haf, you haf to drink. Easy peasy- hiccup."
Remus the Rational Thinker didn't like where this was going- it could make things very (ital.) complicated. Remus the Drunk and Randy Man told him to shut the hell up.
"Oooookay," he agreed. "Never have I everrrrrr… played real Kw-Quik-Quidditch!"
Tonks grinned and took a drink. The game continued innocently for half an hour, and each was ruthlessly trying to get the other drunker.
"You're more- hiccup- experienced than I thought, M-M-Moooooony," Tonks said, getting a mischievous look in her gray eyes. "Hummmmmmm… Never haf I ever kissed a werewolf."
Remus stilled, trying to get a read on the situation through his drunken stupor. Fuck it, he thought. "Neverrrr have I everrrr kissed a metamorphagus."
Tonks' eyes darkened to a deep pewter, and Remus felt his heart begin to race. "Well, why don't we fix that?" she purred, leaning in.
Her lips crashed into his, and Remus eagerly returned the kiss. This he could get used to.