Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. It would be nice though…

"That's rough, Tonks. It has to be."

Tonks smiled slightly. "Sorry. I didn't mean to start firing all my problems at you, but I haven't really had the chance to talk to anyone else."

"I don't mind at all. It's always nice to have someone you can talk to, right?"

She smiled again. "Right."

Tonks breathed in deeply. Her nose was appreciating the delicious aroma of Molly's onion soup, simmering away on the stove.

Molly seemed to have disappeared for a moment.

"Now Charlie, since I just bored you out of your mind with all my career issues, why not return the favor?"

They both laughed heartily.

"Well, I'm sure my career issues won't seem too boring to you, but they get…well…tiresome, I suppose. After a while anyway."

Tonks just nodded, silently encouraging him to say more. She could tell he really wanted to talk.

"I'm in Romania, about as far away from the people I love as I can get. I rarely keep friends that aren't professional because I'm always busy with the dragons. I'm…lonely. And now, to add to everything else, we've got Voldemort gaining power again and almost my entire family somehow involved with those fighting him. I worry about them, you see. They mean so much to me and even though I'm with the Order, I rarely get to come here to Headquarters and see them all. It just seems so wrong."

Tonks laughed. "Hey, that's my line."

Charlie smiled. "It feels great to talk with you, Tonks. You make it so easy to open up."

"Well, it seems so, because I think you told me a little more than I told you."

They both laughed, and then, without warning, Molly placed bowls of think, hot soup in front of them. They looked in each other's eyes and knew that neither one of them had noticed her come back into the kitchen. They had been too fixated in talking and listening to each other.

Tonks suddenly felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

"There you go now sweeties. I'll get you both a bottle of butterbeer to go with it, but as soon as you're both done, it's to bed with you."

Tonks' cheeks went pink, and if she wasn't mistaken, Charlie's went a little pink too.

The easiness that had been flowing between them moments before was now clogged with tension that said two lonely people were seeing each other as appealing forms of the opposite sex.

They finished their soup in silence.

Molly came and gathered their empty bowls and bottles.

"Alright now," she said with a smile, "time for sleep. Goodnight."

Tonks rose slowly, then looked at Charlie and nearly whispered, "Night."

"Night," was all he said in return.

That had certainly been interesting.