Reminder: I do not own Harry Potter, the genius in charge of that is J.K. Rowling.

...Chapter Two: Pink Hair and Name Tags

Nymphadora Tonks was off colour. And for a metamorphmagus, that meant something very literal. Her normally cheerful face was the colour of cold ashes and her vibrant, bubblegum hair had faded out to a drab brown that fell limply in her eyes.

No one had ever accused Tonks of being a stick in the mud until after Sirius's death. But now it was the only way that people ever seemed to think of her.

She walked down Diagon Alley in a daze. It seemed strange that no one besides her appeared to know the truth about what had happened in the last few days.

She shook herself, trying to remember why she was in Diagon Alley in the first place.

Oh yes, McGonagall had given her "time-off" from the Order, supposedly to recover from the battle. But Tonks translated it as "time to avoid Remus." Not that the werewolf had done anything wrong. In fact he was too damned perfect.

Tonks had planned to ask him out again when she realized that she would live through the battle. But ever since the dust settled, he had been at Hermione's side.

He was too busy to even look at her, and that hurt more than him yelling ever could have. Remus was not a very expressive person, but the fact that he had not even sought her out to make sure that she was alright told her more than she needed to know.

She meant nothing to him, besides being a fellow member of the Order.

Tonks felt her skin go completely white at the thought of the girl in the Hospital Wing of Hogwarts.

Perhaps it was better for everyone. After all, Tonks could only give Remus family. But Hermione could give him something that he had not had in a very long time, a pack.

A loud explosion shook the buildings.

Within a moment, years of Auror training took over. Wand in hand, Tonks advanced on the entrance of the building she identified as the source of the noise. She registered the words "Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes" over the door before she crept inside.

The throng of people inside seemed perfectly happy and there was not a Death Eater mask in sight. With a sigh of relief, Tonks sheathed her wand on her left forearm. One could never be too careful these days. Or maybe Moody's paranoia had finally just gotten through to her.

Two young wizards stood behind the counter wearing horrid brightly coloured robes.

"Please remember, folks," began one, "everything on the shelves is one hundred percent guaranteed –"

"—it's the stuff on the spinners ya gotta look out for!" The other twin finished.

Tonks recognized them instantly as Fred and George, but she was not sure which was which. Not that their own mother could tell those two doppelgangers apart.

Laughter greeted the twins' proclamation and Tonks reluctantly joined in. The day was only going to get worse, she might as well laugh when she had an excuse for it.

The smallest tinge of pink crept into her hair and face. Laughing always made her feel better. She realized that she had missed it over the last few months. No one had given her an excuse to laugh, and Remus least of all.

That was what she needed, a wizard with a sense of humour. Not that she would turn down a muggle if he asked her. But being an Auror meant giving up a large part of one's time. She knew that a muggle would never be able to understand her work.

After her seemingly suitable morose thoughts, she was startled to realize that she was standing next to a shelf of hot pink packaged items labelled as "Wonder Witch" products. She flinched away from the obviously girly display.

But her hair had taken it upon itself to morph to match the colour of the packaging.

Two pairs of mischievously glinting eyes focused on her in an instant.

"Tonks?" The young wizards chorused.

"Ladies and gentlebeasts, may we introduce—"

"—a real heroine of our time—"

"—a woman who fights Death Eaters—"

"—and looks good doing so—"

"—the wise, the beautiful, and mostly innocent—"

"Nymphadora Tonks!"

Her face turned scarlet. Not just from blushing, but from her wayward emotions as well. Sometimes being a metamorphmagus had its advantages. This was not one of those times. Never before had she wanted an invisibility cloak to fall from the sky and cover her up...

People in the store clapped politely, as if wondering if this was another of the twins' jokes. A few smart ones even started edging towards the door.

But before Tonks could get away, the twins hurtled the counter and landed beside her.

"Any news on Herms?" Tonks noticed a badge on the front of his robes stating "Hi, My Name Is: Gred." While his twin's matching badge said "Forge. " She tried to make sense of the names instead of thinking about the question.

"As long as she doesn't mind getting bushy brown hair all over once a month..." Tonks knew that the comment was beneath her, but it still made her feel a bit better.

She was a prankster after all. Not that anything having to do with lycanthropy was a prank. Try as she might, Tonks could not feel sorry for the girl. So what if she was a werewolf now? That meant that she got to spend time with Remus, one of the most caring... gentle...

Damn it! She felt like she was about to cry.

She noticed the twins look nervously at each other. The one marked "Gred" looked like he might want to say something. But "Forge" stepped on his foot.

"Pomfrey says should heal in time. But it's fairly certain that she has joined the ranks of the terminally fuzzy." The words rushed out of Tonks's mouth before she could quell the flow. The twins looked suitably shocked at her behaviour.

"I'll just be going." She commented drily before slipping out of their clutches.

Walking down Diagon Alley with twin sets of reproving eyes on her back, Tonks felt her hair shift to dull brown.

...Author's Notes:

I could not have this story without at least giving Tonks some time to get her feelings about the whole thing out. Seeing as how she seemed depressed for most of HBP, I figured it would carry over a bit now that Lupin has no time at all for her to convince him to be with her.

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