Tonks stared across the table at Dumbledore. There wasn't a chance in hell she'd misheard him, especially since she could tell he was grinning beneath the cover of his beard and mustache. It seemed the idea of a mission where she had to pose as Remus' wife was quite amusing to the Headmaster.

She glanced at Severus, whose mouth was set in a very McGonagall-like line, and back to Dumbledore. "Can't Severus be my husband?"

"Oh, I'm afraid not," Dumbledore replied. His pleasant manner was usually comforting for Tonks; at the moment it was irritating. "From the intelligence he's gathered, we can assume he will soon be quite busy."

There was no doubt in Tonks' mind that she wanted to shake some sense into Remus and convince him their relationship wasn't as fraught with peril as he seemed to think it was, but she wasn't counting on having to negotiate a mission with him so soon after their emotional split. Particularly not a mission that required them to pretend to be newlyweds.

"Is there a problem?"

Tonks looked up from her perusal of her coffee and realized she was scowling. She quickly schooled her features to a neutral expression. "Of course not." There was no way she'd let her feelings get in the way of an Order mission.

"Splendid," Dumbledore said as he poured himself more tea. "Now, on to the details."

She listened dutifully as Dumbledore explained that Charlie had been picking up helpful bits of intelligence from wizards abroad, but couldn't spare the time away from work to travel all the way to Ireland from Romania to check out the latest tip he'd come across. She and Remus were to impersonate a young couple on their honeymoon whilst visiting the local pubs to determine whether it would be useful to dig further for contacts. According to what Charlie had heard, there were groups of resistance coming together in parts that were away from the reaches of the British Ministry. It was heartening to know the Order's mission of informing as many as possible of the truth was showing results from their efforts. Tonks had to admit that by the end of Dumbledore's explanation, she was intrigued by the mission, even if she wished she could be partnered with Kingsley or Bill.

Once Dumbledore had left—Remus hastily leaving along with him—Tonks thumped her elbows on the table and placed her head in her hands.

"I'm right, aren't I, that he's not gone senile?" Tonks asked.

"You are correct," Severus said. "What you didn't count on was Albus Dumbledore being the most meddling man in all of wizarding Britain—possibly the entire wizarding world, come to think."

Tonks groaned.

"Spare the theatrics and get on with the bloody mission."

"I will," she said turning to glare. "I just need a moment to—"

"Throw a tantrum? Whinge like a first year denied a broomstick?"

"Yes." Tonks sat up and refreshed her coffee. "And then I'm going to go complain to my mother because she's one Slytherin who'll properly feel sorry for me."

Severus slid his mug towards Tonks and said, "Then she's a Slytherin who's been too long influenced by a Hufflepuff."

Tonks smiled as she refilled his mug. "Does that mean that I'll eventually influence you to be fair to the Houses that aren't Slytherin?"

"Unlikely," he replied with a smirk.

Tonks rolled her eyes as Aberforth slid into the chair Dumbledore had vacated. "What fool thing have you volunteered for this time, girl?" he asked gruffly.

"This time it's your brother that's set a task for me," Tonks replied. She took a deep breath and quietly told Aberforth about the upcoming mission, scowling when his shoulders shook with unconcealed mirth while she spoke. "Why is this all so bloody amusing?" she asked, uncaring that her tone was verging closer to the whinge Severus accused her of.

"Because it's very much like Albus to meddle where he ought not to," Aberforth said.

Tonks looked over to Severus, who merely raised an eyebrow at her in what she took to mean 'I told you so' regarding Dumbledore's meddling ways. She took one last gulp of her coffee and stood, checking her watch to make sure her mother's garden club meeting was finished. Her new assignment had put her in a foul mood she hoped her mother's company would fix.

"Oh, don't be in a nark," Aberforth said. "Aren't you goin' to stay for something to eat? It's not like you not to need feeding when you're in here."

The volume of customers and the fact that she didn't want to draw attention to their table prevented Tonks from flashing Aberforth a rude hand gesture. Instead, she said, "I'm going to see my mother, who'll give me proper sympathy along with food."

Ignoring Aberforth's chuckles, Tonks marched to the fireplace, grateful her feet didn't fail her as she made it the short distance without incident. She decided not to spare a glance back at the traitorous men she was leaving behind and called out her destination. Her mother would surely sympathize, even if Tonks couldn't tell her the details about her upcoming mission.

Tonks' entrance into her parents' sitting room wasn't as incident-free as her exit from the Hog's Head. One step onto the carpet and she collided directly with one of her mother's friends who'd been holding a small potted plant in her hands. Tonks grabbed the back of one of the arm chairs to keep herself from falling on her rear, but couldn't draw her wand in time to stop the plant from falling to her mother's carpet.

"Buggering buggeration," Tonks said before she could stop herself. Her mother would likely be unimpressed by the language in front of one of her garden club friends. "Sorry," she said before crouching and using her wand to repot the delicate plant.

"You should know by now your language doesn't offend me, dear."

Tonks stood abruptly—dropping the plant once more—and stared incredulously at her neighbor, Edith. Edith Abbott had forcefully introduced herself to Tonks in the fall when the older woman had spied Lucius Malfoy poking about Tonks' flat. Edith not only became her regular partner for weekend tea, but also began spending a fair amount of time with Mad-Eye.

"Nymphadora, I wasn't expecting you until later."

Her mother's voice broke Tonks' silent appraisal of Edith standing in her parents' sitting room. "Since when are you part of Mum's garden club?"

"Since she invited me," Edith replied with a smile. "I'd not heard from you in nearly a fortnight and you'd not bothered to answer your door. I was worried, so I owled your mother."

"I was busy," Tonks grumbled as she attempted again to repot the small plant.

"Busy avoiding people and volunteering for extra shifts?"

It was true, and Tonks couldn't deny it; she had certainly been avoiding company. Extra shifts at the Ministry and any Order duty that came her way was how she preferred to spend her time at the moment. She had even gone so far as to volunteer for a stakeout where she'd been partnered with Mundungus. It wasn't just Edith's company she'd been avoiding, though that thought would likely be of little comfort to the older woman. Tonks had been avoiding everybody—Sirius, her best girlfriend Lucy, the other woman in the Order who had invited her for another ladies' night.

Tonks pruned back a damaged tendril of foliage and added a little water to the pot from her wand and handed it back to Edith, purposefully avoiding her question. "There, right as rain. Don't forget Flitterbloom likes a bit of sunlight."

Edith raised her eyebrows. "I wouldn't have thought a plant would last more than a few days in your care."

"When your Head of House is the Herbology professor, you're expected to do well in her class," Tonks said, unable to argue against Edith's opinion of her domestic skills—they were mostly deplorable. "And anyway, isn't it daft to have a garden club meeting in January?"

"Today's meeting was about creating an indoor garden to cheer up your space in the winter," Andromeda said, Summoning Edith's cloak.

Edith handed Andromeda the pot while she donned her cloak. "I'll have to be sure to warn Alastor to take a close look before he blasts the poor thing to bits since it looks so like Devil's Snare."

"Certainly Mad-Eye knows all there is to know about a villainous plant. Devil's Snare hates the sun, so point out that you've got it placed in a sunny window," Tonks replied, scowling at Andromeda's indulgent smile. "And if that's not enough, the fact that it doesn't attempt to strangle him when he's near should be a clue."

"Quite right," Edith said with a grin as she took the Flitterbloom from Andromeda before tossing a pinch of Floo powder into the flames crackling merrily in the fireplace. "Now, I must dash—I don't want to interrupt." Edith turned to Tonks. "And I certainly don't want to go weeks and weeks without seeing you again. We need a proper chat soon."

Despite her terrible mood, Tonks couldn't help but smile at Edith's words. She certainly didn't leave any room for arguments. "My evenings are pretty free these days, if I'm not working," Tonks said with a sigh. "I'll stop by later this week for tea."

"Dinner," Edith argued, pointing a finger at Tonks. "And I'll not settle for less."

Tonks and Andromeda bid Edith goodbye, Tonks—not one to ever turn down food—promising to stop by one night for dinner.

Andromeda kissed Tonks on the cheek and steered her towards the kitchen. "Come. There's leftovers from the meeting and I'll make fresh tea."

Tea and her mother's food was exactly what Tonks had in mind when she'd left the Hog's Head. She sat at the kitchen table, relaxing in the comforting familiarity of the kitchen while her mother chatted about how she'd come to invite Edith to her group and how odd it was that they'd never met before as involved as Andromeda was in the Ministry Women's Guild. Tonks wasn't sure she was entirely comfortable with Edith and her mother being able to gang up on her.

"I suppose you two sat round with tea and discussed how terribly stupid I am to have fallen in love with a werewolf."

Andromeda didn't miss a beat at Tonks' words. Instead, she continued to pour them both tea, sat, and took a sip. "I suppose there's a reason for your mood?" Andromeda asked as she placed her delicate teacup back on its saucer.

Tonks stared into her teacup for a moment before she took a fortifying sip and said, "I had to see Remus today."

"Hmm," Andromeda replied.

Her noncommittal response had Tonks pursing her lips and exhaling irritably through her nose. Just because her mother was a Slytherin who would show her sympathy didn't mean she wouldn't be, well...Slytherin about it. She had an uncanny way of quietly drinking her tea, appearing quite unphased, until Tonks couldn't help but tell her what was bothering her. Not that Tonks disliked her mother's tactics, really; if nothing else, it gave her a few moments to gather her thoughts. She much preferred her mother's Slytherin ways to the tactics of, say, Molly Weasley, who would likely bolt her to a chair and question her until she spilled. This was the another reason she'd avoided Headquarters during the holidays.

"And I have to work with him next weekend." Tonks paused and placed her head in her hands before continuing in a rush. "An overnight mission where I have to pretend to be his bloody wife—better yet, I have to pose as his new bloody bride and pretend to be all happy and newlywed and it's all rubbish."

"I see."

Tonks peered through her fingers to see Andromeda take a sip of tea before once more placing her teacup in its spot and giving Tonks a piercing look.

"And how does Remus feel?"

Tonks' head shot up. "Remus? How does Remus feel about what?"

Andromeda raised an immaculately groomed brow. "About any of it, dear."

Unable to comprehend that her mother was asking after Remus' feelings, Tonks furrowed her brows and said, "How does Remus—what does that—I thought you'd be on my side!"

"Rest assured I'm always on your side, darling," Andromeda started. "But I…sympathize somewhat with what Remus is trying to do."

"How is it you know what he's trying to do? Because I'm still trying to figure it out."

Andromeda cocked her head to one side and asked, "Are you?"

"Mum," Tonks said with a groan. "Will you stop with your Slytherin ways and just say what you want to say?"

"Remus is afraid."

"Told you that, did he?" Tonks asked with a huff.

Andromeda ignored Tonks' cheek and continued. "And rather than constantly worry for your safety, he's decided to distance himself from you."

Tonks picked up her steaming mug of tea and inhaled, hoping the familiar scent of her mother's favorite brew would ease her irritation. It didn't. After a sip of her tea and a deep breath, she asked, "Did your tea leaves tell you that?"

"Don't be silly," Andromeda said, reaching across the table to place her fingers gently under Tonks' chin. Tonks grudgingly raised her eyes to her mother's. "I know because your father and I were in a similar situation."

Tonks batted her mother's hand away. "Dad broke your heart, so you know how I feel?" She couldn't help but sound completely unconvinced—from the little she'd heard of her parent's courtship, she thought it highly unlikely Ted would have broken her mother's heart.

"What makes you think your father was the one to break my heart?"

Mouth open in shock, Tonks stared at her mother.

"Your aunt had just married Rodolphus Lestrange—I'm sure I needn't tell you why their union made me nervous—your other aunt may as well have been engaged to Lucius Malfoy, and anti-Muggleborn propaganda was constant in my family's circle of acquaintances." Andromeda paused and refreshed her tea, taking a sip before continuing. "I was so sure I was doing the right thing. Sure your father would be far better off."

"And you think that's what Remus thinks?" Tonks asked, willing her voice not to shake. "That I'm better off without him?"

"I have it on good authority that's exactly what he thinks."

Tonks should have known that Sirius would have spoken to her mother. "What'd he say in his letter?" she asked with a heavy sigh.

Andromeda smiled, picking up her wand and Summoning a folded sheet of parchment that sailed through the kitchen from the pile of neatly sorted mail under the telephone Ted insisted they keep in the house to be able to speak with his family.

"Let me be sure I get it just right," her mother said, unfolding the parchment. "Ah yes, Sirius wants you to know that his friend is 'a buggering git and wouldn't know a good thing if it hit him in the head like a bloody Bludger'."

Tonks couldn't help the shaky laugh that escaped at her mother uttering the words that had likely never left her mouth before. "Have you ever said 'buggering' in your entire life?"

"Not until today," Andromeda said, setting the letter aside before taking another delicate sip of her tea. "He goes on to say that he hopes you 'give him hell'."

Tonks silently sipped her tea for a moment, marveling how even though she'd acted like a petulant teenager for most of their conversation, her mother's words were still a source of comfort—even if she was secretly annoyed that she knew she was right. She looked up to find her mother quietly adding milk to her mug as if there weren't a thing on her mind and rolled her eyes.

"Since you and dad ended up married, and all," Tonks began, "you must've figured it out somehow."

"We did—at least your father did. Might I suggest you use some of that stubborn Tonks determination to your advantage?"

It wasn't the first time Tonks had been called stubborn, and determination had certainly gotten her farther than naysayers had predicted she would. She drained her tea and sat up straighter. "How?"

Andromeda's lips turned up in what Tonks thought was probably a smile of triumph. "You could start by being his friend."

Tonks scowled. "I've got plenty of friends."

"Yes, but does he?" Andromeda asked. "For a man who has allowed himself so few friends in his life, your friendship would truly be appreciated, I'm sure."

"He wants to be friends—I'm sure he'd be happy to keep it that way," Tonks said with a shake of her head. "He seems pretty sure about his decision."

"So was I, once upon a time."

There was a hint of mischief in her mother's eyes. Warring between wanting to ask how exactly Ted changed her mind and not wanting to know disturbing details about her parents, Tonks silently considered the possibility of friendship with Remus. It was true that he had few friends, and offering her friendship was something she wasn't entirely opposed to—not that she'd admit it to Remus.

Resigned to a plan of sorts to rekindle their romance through friendship, Tonks sighed heavily and asked, "Didn't you say you had leftovers?"

Andromeda rose from the table and kissed Tonks on top of her head. "Indeed, I did."

.

At the end of the week, Tonks found herself once more at the door to 12 Grimmauld Place, this time feeling at least slightly less dread at the thought of entering, though she still wasn't happy about the situation. She would much prefer a simple reconnaissance mission to the ridiculous situation she was currently preparing to endure. In an act of rebellion towards Dumbledore, Tonks was currently morphed as a woman who had married later in life rather than a young bride: age lines on her face, iron grey hair pulled into a bun, shapeless grey trousers, and a black cardigan.

The drawing room was blessedly empty save for Remus and Sirius when Tonks walked in. Sirius was draped casually in one of the chairs in front of the fireplace, twirling his wand in his fingers while Remus sat on the couch with a stack of parchment in his lap. Both men had looked up when she entered, and Sirius burst into a loud fit of laughter.

Tonks placed her hands on her hips and waited for Sirius' laughter to fade. "You don't fancy my disguise?"

"I think it's brilliant, actually," he replied, still sniggering. "Although I don't think that's what Albus had in mind."

"Well he's not here to tell me otherwise," Tonks said, tossing her overnight bag onto the couch and flopping into the chair opposite her cousin.

"Sorry to disappoint," Remus said, looking as though he was fighting a smile as he reached into the faded black pea coat he was wearing in lieu of a cloak. He produced a sheet of parchment which she leaned forward and snatched from his hands. As Tonks read through Dumbledore's note, she scowled. It clearly detailed that the small bed and breakfast hosting them that weekend was expecting their guests to be a young couple, Mark and Holly Kettleburn, both fresh out of apprenticeships so their families were chipping in to provide them a honeymoon.

With a huff, Tonks stood and tossed the parchment on the coffee table. She closed her eyes in concentration and morphed away her disguise, releasing the shoulder-length hair from its bun and changing the color from iron-grey to black and shortening it to her chin. She drew her wand and Transfigured her matronly black twinset back to her black motorcycle-style leather jacket and fitted black jumper and the grey trousers back to her frayed black denims.

"Happy?" Tonks asked as she settled back in her seat.

"It certainly fits your part much better," Remus said as he folded the parchments in his lap and placed them in his rucksack.

"I'm not sure I like being subjected to Dumbledore's rather odd sense of humor," Tonks said as she picked up Dumbledore's instructions once more—regardless of how much she disliked the mission, she would never sabotage it by not knowing the necessary details.

"After many years, one tends to get used to him, Nym—"

Tonks' head shot up from her perusal of their respective apprenticeships. "Don't you dare!"

Remus stopped and pursed his lips. He was silent for a moment before he shook his head and said, "Very well. What shall I call you?"

"For the weekend, call me Holly," Tonks said, giving the parchment from Dumbledore a little shake. "After that you can call me Tonks like everyone else."

"Severus doesn't," Remus said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Tonks stared at him for a beat, recognizing the jealousy in his words. "Neither does Dumbledore, but you're not jealous of him."

"I'd prefer not to call you Tonks," Remus said quietly.

She wanted to tell him if he stopped being an absolute prat, he could call her anything he wished. Instead she let her temper get the better of her. "Then I suppose I'll have to get used to answering to 'hey, you' when you speak to me."

Sirius, who had been watching their exchange like a spectator watching a tennis match, coughed in an ill attempt to cover his mirth.

Remus stared wordlessly at her for a few moments before he said, "Since I prefer 'Tonks' to 'hey, you', I suppose you win."

Tonks did her best to convince herself that the chagrined expression on Remus' face didn't affect her in the slightest as she settled back in her chair. Annoyed that her instinct told her to say something to make him smile, she kept her eyes focused on the notes in front of her. Friendship. The idea brought feelings of both hope and dread—hope that their friendship would once again turn to more and dread that Remus would settle for friendship and want nothing more.

Unable to stomach reading about Holly and Mark Kettleburn and their supposedly happy union, Tonks sat up and crumpled the parchment and tossed it into the fire. "I'm ready when you are."

"Enjoy your honeymoon," Sirius taunted from his spot lounged in the chair.

Remus rose from the sofa and shouldered his rucksack. Tonks' gaze followed him as he slowly walked over. A quirk of his lips as he extended his hand gave her hope that their weekend wouldn't be the longest and most painful weekend of all time.

"Ready, Holly?"

Tonks grasped his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. She couldn't help the small smile at the familiar comforting feeling of his long fingers curled around her hand. "Ready, baby."

A/N: Hello, friends, and happy Friday! I wrote as furiously as possible this week while my brood was all home for spring break—even hiding in the laundry room this morning with my computer to finish, as I told a few of you I would resort to if necessary. I sincerely hope this little update starts your weekend off right, and I promise there will be some fun in the next chap:)