Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They belong to the literary goddess known as JKR.
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Chapter 2 A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing
"No Nymphadora."he said for the tenth time.
"But why not? You know you'll enjoy it."she said.
That's how his day had started. It had been a few weeks since their impromptu dinner together and they had not spoken much about it since, but to his credit, he no longer avoided her at Order meetings. She had come to tell him that the next meeting was postponed, something which he was already aware of. But it provided an excuse for her to come and he found that he didn't much care because he liked the fact that she had come to see him.
"I'm not a doll you can dress up Nymphadora."he answered.
"No, but you need new clothes. Your old ones are nothing but patches!"she told him and he sighed heavily.
She was right, of course, but he didn't have the means to afford new robes. "Maybe after Christmas I'll look into it."he shrugged.
"Christmas! Remus that's months away. Your old robes can't wait that long."she pointed out.
"Unfortunately Nymphadora, I do not have money to spare, especially not for robes."he told her.
Her hands went to rest on her curvy hips and she tapped her foot impatiently. He knew what that meant.
"No Nymphadora I'm not going. I can't afford new robes and I don't want you paying for them. I told you before, I don't want charity."he reminded her.
"I want you to have decent robes. Why is that such a bad thing?"she asked him.
"It's not a bad thing, but I do not like other people paying my way. I'm a stubborn old man when it comes to that."he told her.
"You're not old! Stubborn yes, old no."she told him.
"Even so, I don't want you paying for me. I feel guilty already for eating your food."he told her.
"I offered it and you need to eat. You need robes and I'm offering to buy. Besides, it will make me feel better to know you have enough to eat and decent clothes."she told him.
He sighed. He was loosing this battle and he knew it. "And I haven't had a shopping day in ages. Shopping is therapeutic, well, that and chocolate."she giggled.
Remus shook his head. "I know I'm going to regret this…."he muttered.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Only if you fight me on it."she threw at him.
"I surrender."he sighed.
It would be easier if he just went along with it. I was pitiful, really. He was a marauder! And he had given up. But it would make her happy, right? Wasn't that a good thing? She smiled at him and grabbed his hand.
"That's a good wolf."she teased and before he could fix her with a proper glare, she disapparated them from the flat.
It took a moment for his surroundings to register once they apparated in Diagon Alley.
"First stop, Madam Malkin's."she grinned at him.
He rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Oh come on, it'll be fun."she said.
"I don't enjoy clothes shopping the way you seem to Nymphadora."he told her.
"Hmmm….We'll just have to change that then, won't we?"she smirked.
He gave her a questioning look but she only smiled and headed off for the shop. He shook his head and followed behind her, knowing that she was concocting something under that cap of vibrant pink hair.
"You have got to be joking Nymphadora!"he exclaimed a half an hour later as she held out a putrid green robe with a dragon sequin design embossed on the back.
"Not for you, silly! This one's for me. I thought this one was more your style…"she grinned and she pulled a dark blue robe with crimson trim from behind her back.
"Really Remus, the look on your face was priceless."she giggled.
He sighed heavily. "I see that Sirius rubbed off on you…"he muttered.
She shrugged. "Bound to happen, cousins after all."she said and she handed him the blue robe.
"Do you really like that color green?"he asked curiously and he motioned to the offending article.
"Hmm…well, I like that it gets people's attention. Does that count?"she said and she didn't wait for his answer before heading off to look at another rack of robes.
"Why do you need to see it?"he questioned as she dragged him back to the dressing rooms.
"To see if it needs to be tailored. Come on, I'll try mine on too."she told him and she pushed him unceremoniously into one of the cubicles.
"Wha'dya think?"she asked, giving a whirl.
He peeked his head through the curtain of his cubicle and took in her appearance. The bright green and silver sequins mixed with her pink hair were quite something to see.
"You'll definitely get attention."he smiled. "You think so?"she asked, spinning around in front of a mirror and taking in her own appearance.
"Indeed."he assured her.
"Alright, your turn."she said. "I um…."he said.
"Come on, just come out and let me see how the robes look."she said. That was not something he wanted to do…
Slowly he moved the curtain aside and came out of the cubicle and sighed. He felt like an idiot. No one had taken him clothes shopping since he was a small boy and he suddenly felt like a child again, and not in a good way either. He thought he looked rather stupid, even though he hadn't seen what he looked like yet.
Her eyes widened when he came out.
"What?"he asked her.
He knew it! He looked like a moron.
"You look…wow."she smiled.
He arched his eyebrow at her.
"Take a look."she said and she stepped away from the mirror and pulled him in front of it. His hair was less than what he would consider neat and he looked tired but the robes…
"That is definitely a good color on you and these robes fit you perfectly."she said as she walked around him and then she took a step closer to him and smiled.
"They make you look younger too."she added.
"It's not nice to pull someone's leg, Nymphadora."he cautioned.
"I'm being serious. And you're getting those robes. Now lets see… That cloak of yours is getting rather old…"she said.
"Nymphadora…"he warned.
He didn't want her buying him a new cloak as well. Too late. She was already back in her cubicle changing back into her clothes. He changed out of the blue robes and back into his old brown ones and when he came out again she was holding a heavy black cloak with etched silver fastenings.
"It's cashmere wool. It'll be very warm. Try it on and see if it fits."she told him and he shook his head.
"That's too expensive Nymphadora."he told her.
"Don't be a spoilsport Remus. Just try the cloak on, please?"she said.
"It doesn't get that cold around here."he tried to reason with her and he knew the fault in his argument before he had said it. It got very cold and they both knew it. It wasn't exactly warm outside as it was. There would be snow on the ground before long. Se gave him a 'don't even try that pitiful excuse' look and handed him the cloak. He rolled his eyes and tried it on, knowing that he had lost.
A smirk instantly came to her face when she saw what the cloak looked like on him.
"Damn!"she muttered with a grin and he looked at her curiously.
"Dare I ask?"he said.
"You look good Rem, really good."she told him.
"Right…"he said unbelievingly.
She pursed her lips, narrowed her eyes at him, and put her hands on her hips.
"Madame Malkin?"she called and the clothes witch came bustling over.
"Yes dear?"she asked.
"What do you think? Does that cloak look good on Mr. Lupin?" Tonks inquired and Madame Malkin turned her gaze.
"Goodness yes! I was wondering who would try it on… Is there a problem with it?"inquired the witch.
"Mr. Lupin does not believe that it suits him."explained the younger witch.
"I have seen many robes and cloak and many wizards and witches. None have ever looked so suited for each other as that cloak looks for you, Mr. Lupin."smiled the elder witch.
"A female conspiracy to make me agreeable to a new cloak and set of robes… Are you being paid extra for this service, Madame?"he laughed.
"You sound like Mad-Eye. Conspiracy this, vigilance that…."sighed Tonks.
"Will you be buying the cloak and robes then?"asked the elder witch.
"Yes and the green ones too."said Tonks before he could say any more.
"It's cold out. Why not wear your new cloak?"she asked him as they exited the shop, arms full of bags.
"I'll wait until the weather becomes harsher, besides, I'm still quite fond of my old cloak."he smiled.
"But thank you. I really do like the new cloak and robes."he told her.
"I'm glad you like them, but I want you to wear them too. Don't just hang them up and look at them."she said.
"I promise I'll wear them soon, alright?"he said and she nodded.
"It's getting late. Want to grab a bite at the Leaky Cauldron?"he asked her.
"Sure."she grinned.
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A/N- A little humor. It's short, but the next one will be longer, I promise.
