Sorry it took so long! I've had this written and just never had the time to upload. But here it is! Hope you like it! Feel free to leave any constructive criticism.
"So I hear that Tonks stayed at your house all day yesterday," Mad-Eye said, taking a sip of his firewhiskey. "Care to elaborate on that?"
Remus rolled his eyes and glanced around the Weasleys' small, cozy home that he was sitting in. "Well, honestly, I slept the whole time. I woke up to see her dancing, and then she left."
Mad-Eye raised an eyebrow. "Why was she dancing?"
Remus shrugged and tapped his foot, nervously glancing at the door every few seconds. More people were supposed to be coming sometime soon, and he wasn't looking forward to seeing Tonks.
"I think she's a nice girl, Remus," Molly said as she trotted into the room carrying fresh-baked cookies and pie. "Why don't you get to know her a little more? You might like her too." She smiled graciously and rushed back out of the room.
Remus looked at Mad-Eye with a look that clearly showed he was confused. Why did it seem like everyone was against him all of a sudden?
"I agree, Remus," Mad-Eye said, taking a cookie from the plate and shoving it in his mouth, his eye swiveling the whole time. "Get to know her a little more. She seems pleasant enough. And she must like you, too. There are not many people that would spend a whole day with you, especially if you're asleep the whole time."
Remus twiddled his thumbs a little and thought the whole thing over. Of course she liked him. She had made that fairly obvious. It was the idea that everyone wanted him to give her a chance, and he might be attracted to her as well. That was never going to happen. "Do you think you might be able to work with her for the next couple of weeks?" he finally asked. "You'll end up working with her anyway, to help her train to be an Auror. I don't know why she needs my help."
Mad-Eye shrugged and coughed a little. "Well, I don't know why she needs your help either. But it sure seems like she wants your help." He looked up at Remus for a moment and sighed. "Alright, I'll do it. But I can't promise to completely keep her away from you. That's her choice."
Molly breezed into the room almost soundlessly and sat down next to Mad-Eye, accompanied by the only girl she had, Ginny. "She's the only one that's still at home," Molly explained, wrapping an arm around Ginny's shoulder. "Ron just left for Hogwarts in September."
"Wouldn't that mean that this is Harry Potter's first year as well?" Remus asked, suddenly interested in the conversation.
Molly glanced at Mad-Eye in questioning, and he nodded. "Yes, he's eleven years old now. I'm grateful that he's made it this far. There's still Death Eaters wandering around out there, you know."
Remus opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by a noisy knock on the door. Molly gave him an all-knowing look and smiled widely before brushing past him and rushing toward the door. Remus craned his neck to see who was standing at the door, and he saw someone that resembled Bellatrix Lestrange so much that he had to glance twice to make sure it wasn't her. Standing next to that woman was a taller man with pale hair and a big belly. He resembled someone that might be a part of the Malfoy family. And standing between them was Tonks, with brown hair and bright blue highlights and a frown on her face.
"Come in, come in, Andromeda! Ted! How are you Nym-" Molly paused and shut the door. "Tonks. How are you?"
Tonks smiled graciously, showing off perfectly pearly white teeth, and stepped into the living room, careful not to trip over anything on her way to sit down. She waved at Ginny and glanced over to see Remus, who was trying his best not to make eye contact with her.
"This is supposed to be a happy home!" Molly exclaimed as she stalked back into the living room, Andromeda and Ted trailing behind her. "Why isn't anyone happy?" She glared at Remus, who was staring down into his butterbeer and swirling it around in the cup.
"Nymphadora, move over to the couch, will you?" Andromeda said, pulling her black hair away from her face. The same curly black hair that belonged to her sister, Bellatrix. "There's not room for all of us."
"I will if you don't call me that name again," Tonks retorted, glaring up at her mother.
Andromeda sighed. "Fine, I won't call you by any name then. Just please move." She shooed Tonks away and took her place in the chair next to her husband.
Tonks looked over at the couch where Molly was sitting next to Ginny and Remus, and Molly was slowly inching away and leaving a space between herself and Remus. Tonks peered at him from under her stringy hair and looked at the floor, unsure of how she was supposed to act now that she had advanced on Remus so quickly.
Remus continued to stare into his cup, while Tonks twirled her hair nervously. Molly and Andromeda were exchanging looks from across the room, confused about what they were supposed to do. The tension in the room was so high that no one said anything, scared to make the feeling much worse.
Molly coughed after a few seconds and smiled in a friendly manner. "So…" she began, glancing around the room at every individual person. "Nice weather we're having, yes?"
Tonks nodded and forced a smile. "It is. In fact, it is such nice weather that I think I might take a walk." She got up from the couch and started to walk out, but her mother motioned for her to sit back down. She did, reluctantly, and scooted as far away from Remus as she could.
A few minutes later, Molly was able to break the tension in the room and make casual conversation with everyone. Andromeda was a very spirited woman, and she seemed carefree and innocent when she talked, just like Tonks did. She also seemed very inquisitive and intelligent. She was incredibly fascinated in getting to know Remus, and Remus wondered if maybe Tonks might have said something about him. It seemed like it, since Tonks was beside him biting her nails and shifting uncomfortably.
"Are you feeling any better today?" Andromeda asked. "I heard you were sick yesterday."
Remus nodded. "Much better than I did yesterday, but still not very well."
"Dromeda, I think we probably need to get going," Ted said, placing his hand on his wife's arm tenderly. "We still need to finish up in the garden."
"Nympha-" Andromeda said as she stood up, gazing at her daughter with curious eyes. "Dora, do you want to stay here and go with us?"
Tonks stared at her mother for a second and shrugged. "I guess I can go with you, if you need help."
"We do. We need to catch those gnomes running around destroying our flowers," Ted said, draping his arm around his wife's shoulders. "You can do that er…Dora?"
Tonks inconspicuously glanced at Remus, who looked almost ready to pass out, and then she nodded. "Alright, I'll come." She got up and tried to act nonchalant and cool, as if she had never done anything wrong, but she ended up spilling a glass of firewhiskey all over Mad-Eye.
Molly jumped up as fast as she could and flitted into the kitchen so she could clean it up, and then returned seconds later. Andromeda and Ted were acting as if this was a normal occurrence, and it was. Mad-Eye seemed unaffected by the spill. He just sat there and let Molly clean off his shirt.
Remus coughed. "Nice job."
Tonks shot him a glare and smoothed out her skirt that she was wearing. "Oh, and now you talk to me?" she hissed.
Remus shrugged as if it was no big deal. He might as well bury the hatchet while he could. That was the Muggle saying, right? "You don't have to get upset," he said, smiling. "I was only joking."
Tonks narrowed her eyes and glared at him, unable to think of anything to say. Instead of saying anything to him, she just strutted off, barely missing a coat rack beside the door.
As soon as they had left, Remus felt like the room was oddly empty. Well, of course it was emptier than what it was, but he felt kind of…lonely. It was a strange feeling, and he wasn't sure what brought it on. Did he miss her sitting next to him? No, that wasn't possible. He had only known her for two days, and she wasn't even in his age range. But he found that the more he thought about her, the more unusual he felt. It was as if a part of him was missing. He almost regretted handing her over to Mad-Eye. No, he couldn't possibly feel regret for that. It was for the best, right?
"I think I need to get going," Remus announced only a little while later. "I'm not feeling well."
"Of course, dear," Molly said in understanding. "Go get some rest. We can meet up anytime. If you need anything, you know where to find us."
Remus nodded and headed out the door, knowing that he was not going to be getting any rest.
