Heya

Dear faithful readers, the wait is finally over, and what a long wait it was – sorry for that. So after much ado, even more excitement (mostly on my part) and some melodrama (on behalf of my fav reviewer) I finally present to you – the Guard Duty chapter.

As always – thanks to all the people who've read my story and even more thanks to the people who inspired me to write with their reviews, much love guys. SO - Mrs. Weasley the Kataang Luver, heyyodude, Bookish Brownie, Juine –umathurman-, Flo M Nimo, kk11819, PhoenixDreamer55, pet-munchkin, vampiratelycan, ivonne910, Death's-Razor-Blade, Cooperboombaby8, Shadowlark71, firelily28, Megan, EragonandArya, ClashChick, RemusJ and krynn – here's to ya.

(Extra Hugz n Kisses – and much love – go to pet-muchkin who gave me extra reason's to update faster, guess the universe is going to be okay now Jord :D Her fic Riddikulus also inspired the first part of this story before the actual Guard Duty part so thanks muchly for that. Go check it out it's pretty funny.)


Guard Duty

The hot water cascaded over Remus' body, relaxing his tortured muscles as he stood under the forceful spray in the 3rd floor bathroom at Grimmauld Place. He'd been going through transformations for many years but the rigidness that took hold of his body before the impending moon always seemed to sneak up on him and catch him by surprise. The bathroom on the second floor had lovely deep tub and he'd have given his last Knut to soak it in for a while but he knew he couldn't, he was confined to dingy bathroom with Sirius, at least until the kids went back to school. Not that he had the time to soak anyway, he was due to start his guard duty with Nymphadora soon.

His hair smelled refreshingly of wolfberry, due to all the shampoo and conditioner he'd massaged into his scalp, and the soap suds that had once been lathered over his skin had long since disappeared down the drain, but he just couldn't bring himself to leave the warm comfort of the stall shower. He flexed his hands and impassively watched as the skin pulled taut before he relaxed them and watched the skin grow wrinkly again, he really had been in there far too long.

Grudgingly, he reached forward and turned the taps off, stepping away from the spray as it turned bitingly cold before ceasing completely. He shook his head vigorously to remove the excess water clinging to his hair as he opened the shower screen and stepped out onto the cold floor, water dripping off his naked body and puddling on the ground as he reached for his towel. It was then that he heard it, an almighty crash followed by the high-pitched shrieking sound of a woman's scream.

It didn't take long for the crazed screaming of the Black family portraits to join the mix and the effect on Remus was instantaneous. Confusion and worry filled his once calm face as he seized his wand off the vanity and charged out of the bathroom door in search of the commotion, tying the fluffy white towel haphazardly around his waist along the way.

The crazed screaming's of Mrs Black had ceased by the time he was half-way down the stairs but he lifted his wand higher and continued to sprint the rest of the way down, unsure of what he would be 

greeted with when he reached the bottom. He had just approached the first-floor landing when he heard a sound so curious that it made him stop, his brows furrowing in confusion. The screams that had once disrupted the house had now ceased, instead the sound of jubilant laughter filled the dank hallways. The sound piqued his interest and he trotted down the stairs leading to the foyer, stopping suddenly about half-way down by the peculiar sight before him.

At the bottom of the stairs, sprawled arbitrarily across the entryway, were two bodies. A young witch with stunningly pink-hair lay at the bottom of the stairs, clutching her side as tumultuous giggles wracked her lithe body. Remus merely shook his head and chuckled slightly, it was no surprise that she was there. He recognised her infectious little laugh before he even saw who it was, and it really wasn't astonishing to see her on the floor either.

He tore his gaze away from the giggly young nymph as he heard a slight groan of pain and turned towards where the other body lay, a mass of dark clothes and hair that was sprawled on the ground in front of the upturned Troll Leg umbrella stand. The man in question sat up slowly, his unkempt black hair falling messily around his face as he rubbed the back of his head. Remus' eyes widened in shock when he recognised the shaggy man before him, for there sitting on the worn carpeted floors, tentatively rubbing his sore head, was Sirius Black.

"Are you two alright?"

Remus asked the question with a slight smile that completely betrayed the sincerity in his eyes. Sirius answered him gruffly.

"Oh I'm fan-bloody-tastic mate, thanks for asking."

Remus rolled his eyes at his friends' blatant attempt at sarcasm but the sight of Sirius in such a humorous predicament forced a loud chuckle to escape from his lips. He soon found himself the center of attention as Sirius and Tonks focused on him, identical looks of unbridled shock taking up residence on their faces at seeing Remus. J. Lupin in a towel.

-/ Oooh, I saw it... and it was good. There's not enough Galleons in my Gringott's vault to pay for that/-

A satisfied smile flitted over Remus' face as he stood up straighter, feeling a little bolder, and he looked up to find Tonks staring at him, her tongue slowly darting out of her mouth to tantalisingly lick her upper lip before she softly bit her lower lip, a look of abject pleasure on her bright young features, lust filling up her youthful eyes. Her rapturous laughter had long since ceased and when Remus caught her eye and she abruptly looked away, a pale pink tinge appearing on her cheeks.

-/ MMMM – so good/-

A small blush was working its way up his own neck at her more than generous thoughts but he was brought out of his stupor by Sirius' gruff voice.

"Geez mate if you needed money that bad you could have just asked. I mean I know young Tonks here, said she'd pay money to see ya in a towel but that's no need to extort her."



Remus couldn't help but blush at his friends jibe. He knew Sirius didn't mean the cruel things he said, that he was retaliating to being put in a potentially embarrassing situation, but having his poor monetary situation thrown in his face still hurt. Especially when it was brought up in front of a certain cute metamorphagus.

-/That was a little rough/-

She muttered something that sounded like 'prat' as she pushed Sirius hard in the shoulder and he fell backwards towards the ground again, his head making a loud thud with the floor. He lay sprawled out on the floor grumbling for a while before he pulled himself back up into a sitting position ready to retaliate. Remus watched as a disappointed expression flashed across his friends face as he stared at the blank space next to him which used to be occupied by Tonks. The disenchanted look on his face only lasted momentarily before a mischievous glint stole into Sirius' eyes, Remus knew that he'd get Tonks back for shoving him somehow and if it wasn't physical then it could only be –

"Despite the fact that my little cousin appears to greatly enjoy seeing you half-naked mate, not all of us find it as appealing. Do you mind?"

The effect was immediate, Tonks looked completely mortified as she turned away from Remus' gaze once again, her mouth open in shock at the previous statement.

-/ BLOODY WANKER – /-

Whilst Tonks appeared to be now obviously uncomfortable with the whole situation, Sirius on the other hand had a satisfied smirk on his face as he rested gently back on his elbows, too lazy to get up off the floor, or maybe he thought Tonks was less likely to attack him if he was still on the ground. Sirius shot an expectant look his way and it brought him back to reality where he remembered that he was still standing on the stairs in a towel, dripping water all over the floor.

He flicked his wand gently and softly muttered 'Ocius Siccus' and a swift wind whipped around him, leaving him completely dry. Another flick, and a quiet 'Induviae Appario' and suddenly a blue button up shirt appeared on his once naked torso, the fluffy white towel gently slid off his hips and landed in a heaped pile at his feet, revealing neatly pressed brown pants.

-/ Of course it works perfectly when he does it, he's amazing. Whenever I do it I end up with half a skirt and half a pair of trousers. I do wonder though if he managed to conjure underwear or is he going 'au naturel'/-

In a desperate attempt to avoid Tonks' lewd thoughts, he straightened up and instead sent Sirius a you-happy-now expression but before his friend could bite back with another derisive comment he held up his finger to stop him. He languidly flicked his wand again and the white towel sprung to life and mopped up the slippery mess he'd created before it disappeared into thin air.

-/ And he cleans up after himself, no wonder I like him/-

A smug smile flitted onto Remus's face as he watched his friend roll his eyes at him.



"What you doing down here in just a towel anyway, decided you wanted to show off your scrawny excuse for a body?"

"If you must know, I was just stepping out of the shower when the sound of your crashing fall reverberated up the stairs. I thought there an attack or something from the sheer sound of it and then I heard Nymphadora scream, so I came down to see what was wrong."

He walked the rest of the way down the rickety stairs as he gave his explanation. Upon hearing it Sirius grumbled slightly and turned away, muttering 'bloody excuse for everything' under his breath. He gave a small breath of laughter at his friends' childish antics before turning to look at Tonks, finding her watching him with a satisfied smile on her face.

-/ Aww, he came running down the stairs half-naked just to make sure I was OK. That's sweet! /-

Her smile fell a little and an annoyed look flashed in her eyes.

-/ Now if only he'd stop calling me that stupid name /-

He knew instinctively what was coming before she even said it, she'd been saying the same thing almost every day since they'd met.

"My names Tonks, Remus," he was prepared for that but what she said next surprised him, "and it wasn't me screaming."

She looked pointedly at Sirius when she spoke and Remus noticed the satisfied smile slide back on to her face as she looked at her cousin. He turned his attention back to Sirius and shook his head incredulously.

"No, Padfoot? It wasn't really you was it?"

He asked the question with a slight smile and Sirius suddenly found something interesting to stare at in the carpet. He turned his head again and looked towards Tonks for confirmation and saw her with her hand covering her mouth, eyes crinkled at the corners, face red with the effort of suppressing her giggles.

-/ Yeah it was, he screams worse than me /-

Remus let out a bark of laughter as he turned back towards his friend, shaking his head once again in disbelief.

"But it was such a girly scream."

"Yeah well you'd scream like a bloody girl too if it happened to you."

Sirius' face hardened and he abruptly pushed himself up from his elbows so that he was sitting on the musty old carpet.

"I was just walking along the hallway, minding my own business, when that stupid umbrella stand," as he said this he violently kicked the ugly troll leg so that it rolled pathetically against the wall, "sprung to life, jumped out of nowhere and tripped me over."

Remus simply rolled his eyes at his best friends farcical story, because really what other way was there to respond to that. Why was it that all Black relatives felt the overwhelming need to blame their clumsiness on inanimate objects?

-/ See, I said it all along and now there's conclusive proof – the umbrella stand is evil."

He closed his eyes briefly and let out a small chuckle at Tonks' inner triumphant cheers. But he quickly realised that things just didn't add up. The story was plausible, although he was sure Sirius falling was more to do with one-too-many firewhisky's than natural clumsiness, and it explained the crashing sound, the girly scream and why Sirius was on the floor, but it didn't answer why Tonks was there beside him.

"Sirius had the umbrella stand covered, so how'd you fall over then?"

He directed his question at Tonks but it was Sirius who answered.

"The little blighter fell over laughing after she shut up my dear-old mum."

-/ It's still funny. That image will keep me smiling forever, and if not that one than surely the one of Remus in a towel will/-

Her infectious laughter once again filled the entryway as she walked towards Remus.

"I've just got to grab something from my room upstairs and then we'll be off, yeah?"

She brushed past him gently before making her way up the stairs, it was only brief contact but it left her light flowery scent on his crisp new shirt. He smiled slightly as he inhaled it in before shaking himself out of his stupor and moving towards Sirius and offering his fallen friend his hand.

"Come on Padfoot."

Sirius grudgingly accepted his hand and hoisted himself off of the ground before bending slightly and brushing the copious dust off his slacks. Meanwhile Remus shifted about nervously, an uneasy expression sliding onto his face.

"Sirius I'm not so sure about lying to Tonks about this whole mind-reading thing. I think I might just tell her, she has a right to know."

Sirius stood up straighter and looked at his friend incredulously.

"Trust me Moony, don't tell her anything."

-/Sounds ominous/-

Remus abruptly spun round on his heel and found Tonks walking back down the staircase towards them.

"Don't tell who, what?"

Sirius looked away suspiciously, feigning disinterest in the conversation, whilst Remus was left to shrug his shoulders in a non-committal manner, shaking his head as if to acknowledge the unimportance of their previous conversation before completely changing the subject.

"You ready then?"

Tonks eyed him curiously before letting the subject drop.

"Yeah, I've just got to drop these documents off in my office," as if to prove her point she held up the coloured files she was holding, " so I'll just meet you in the corridor outside OK?"

With that she disapparated away with a slight pop, not even bothering to wait for an affirmative answer. Sirius lightly nudged Remus' shoulder.

"If it'll make you less edgy, I'll try and figure out how the spell works while you're away."

Remus shot his friend a thankful smile before he too disappeared into thin air with a slight pop.

-RLNT-

He reappeared again with a faint pop, deep in the bowels of the Ministry of Magic. An unintentional shiver ran down his spine as he walked down along the dark, deserted corridors towards the plain black door at the end of the hall, his footsteps echoing as he went. He hated this place, he hated it with a passion, it made the hairs stand up on the back of his neck and his stomach tie in knots. Normally werewolves weren't allowed in Ministry buildings but he remembered coming down here once as a child, just after he was bitten. He remembered the looks that everyone gave him, the way half of them turned away when they saw him, as though they couldn't even bear to see him. He remembered what happened to him that day in the Department of Mysteries, the tests they put him through, the way they poked and prodded him, the way they treated him just like an animal - all in the name of research. He hated this place.

Without any warning at all, Tonks appeared beside him with a soft pop and a loud 'Wotcher'. He jumped slightly at her sudden appearance, his hand going to rest on his chest as his heart sped up at the shock.

-/Someone's a little jumpy tonight/-

"Are you alright?"

Remus shifted nervously beside her and shot her a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, this place is just –"

"It's creepy right, especially when there's no-one else here."

He nodded his agreement and they continued their way down the corridor. If it was even possible, this place was even worse without the hustle and bustle of other people, at least since he'd discovered the holes in the Ministry's wards they could use apparition inside the building now. As if reading his thoughts, Tonks spoke .

"It's so much easier now though, that we can apparate inside instead of sneaking around hoping not to be caught. I'm not so good at the sneaking."

He chuckled slightly at the idea of Tonks trying to sneak around a deserted Ministry.

"Now I thought it would have been easier for you to sneak around here seeing as though there's no evil Umbrella stand to jump out and trip you up."

She pushed his shoulder lightly as they approached the black door.

"Prat"

-/You'll see how evil the umbrella stand is. It's already got Sirius, it'll get to you eventually/-

Remus laughed at her antics as he reached a hand out to the grip the doorknob and gently pushed the door open. He held the door open and gestured for Tonks to walk in first. He watched her raise her wand before brushing past him, rubbing up against him lightly again as she walked in.

-/ If I keep rubbing up against him, he's got to react eventually right /-

Remus' jaw dropped open in shock as he followed her into the circular room, he couldn't believe it, she was driving him crazy deliberately. She turned around when she reached the center of the room and casually dropped to the ground, watching him curiously as she sat cross-legged on the highly polished floor. Her face was bathed in the soft blue light that the candles were emitting and he watched as she scrunched her eyes up and her spiky hair grew longer, lightly brushing her shoulders as it changed colours from pink to blue.

"I was just about to mention that your pink hair was clashing horribly with the candle light. Glad you changed it, don't know if I would have been able to concentrate otherwise."

She laughed softly as he walked across the room and sat down near her, his back lightly touching hers, the walls shifting suddenly as he sat. They didn't know exactly which room they were meant to be guarding, it was kind of difficult to judge when the walls kept moving around, so they had to keep a constant watch on all of them. Constant vigilance as Moody would say.

-/ Knew he'd notice it if I changed /-

Remus suddenly realised the difficultness of his new position, with his back to her it was going to be difficult to tell if she was actually saying the things that he heard of if he was merely hearing her thoughts.

"I see you got through the werewolf-protection wards alright, Moody said it might have been a bit more difficult this close to the full-moon."

He took a while before he answered her, he had to be sure she was actually asking it, he didn't want a repeat of last night. He must have took too long because he heard her give out a small agitated sigh and he felt her turn her head slightly to look at him.

-/Again with the indecisiveness to answer a simple question/-



He gave a small chuckle at her impatience.

"It was fine, no harder than usual. Mostly due to the fact that the wards are actually faulty, only work when a transformed werewolf crosses them."

Tonks craned her head further around to gage whether he was telling the truth, Remus turned his head to the side and noticed her eyes grow wide in disbelief.

-/No wonder the Ministry doesn't want to admit You-Know-Who's back, the whole bloody department's completely useless/-

"You know since I'm an Auror it's my responsibility to tell the ministry if there's a security issue, but I don't think I'll tell them about this one."

Remus waited patiently for her to think of the reason why she wasn't going to tell but when he didn't hear anything he realised he was going to have to prompt her for an answer.

"And why exactly would you shirk your official responsibility like that?"

The question was simple but he heard Tonks breath catch in her throat as she sought for an answer.

"Well if I told them then they'd fix it and you wouldn't be able to get in to do guard duty."

-/Oh yeah that's the real reason. Merlin why am I such a coward, why can't I just tell him the real reason, it's not that hard to do.../-

Remus listened as Tonks inwardly chastised herself but he couldn't help but feel a little frustrated at it because she wasn't thinking what the real reason was, and he really wanted to know. He moved slightly from where he was sitting so that he could see her better and he caught her eye, she was staring at him too, her bottom lip caught gently between her teeth. Their heads were so close that when she spoke, he could feel her warm sweet breath on his face.

"And that would be a real shame because there's no one else I'd rather do Guard Duty with."

Remus noticed the smile that took over her face after she'd said it, a genuine smile – mixed with a little embarrassment at her own honesty. Her smile was so wide that it crinkled the corners of her eyes, that irresistible dimple appearing in her cheek. He looked into her now hazel eyes and he knew that she wasn't lying, her eyes were so wide and the truth shone through them, it was enough to melt his heart. He knew that they were meant to be 'constantly vigilant' but he just couldn't tear himself from gazing into Nymphadora's beautiful eyes, he could spend an eternity looking into them and never get tired of it.

A glint of colour to the left caught his eye and he looked away to notice that Tonks' hair had returned to the pink colour he was so fond of. He looked back at her, a questioning look in his eyes but he noticed that she was no longer staring into his eyes. Her gaze had drifted down and had since settled on his lips, she was watching them with rapt attention. He was about to say something when she looked back up at him, her head slowly moving closer towards his. He found himself staring at her lips this time as he unconsciously began to move closer to her as well, he'd only just realised how much he wanted to kiss her, how much he wanted to feel her lips against his, to find out if her 

lips were as tantalisingly soft as they looked, to see if her kisses were as good as they were in his dreams.

Her lips had only just lightly brushed across his, sending shivers down his spine at the contact, when the sound of footsteps echoed into the room. They both jumped apart suddenly as though burned and were on their feet within seconds, wands drawn high ready for battle. This was why they were here, why they were guarding the doors to the Department of Mysteries, but it still scared him a little that someone would try to break in.

He flicked his wand gently and a musty old cloak appeared in his hands, the fabric sliding slightly between his fingers as he moved behind Tonks and enveloped them both in it. The fabric of the old garment was so thin that they could see through it and he sent up a silent thanks to Merlin that the invisibility charm was still holding strong as he moved closer to Tonks and adjusted it carefully so that it covered them completely.

He heard Tonks take a sharp intake of breath and he could faintly hear her heart beating faster, or was that his own heartbeat he could hear thudding in his ears.

-/ Ok breathe, just breathe Tonks/-

Her breathing was shallow and she was standing rigid as a board, and even though the butterflies were swarming in his own stomach at her closeness, he thought her reaction was merely because of their impending visitor.

-/ So he's standing just behind you, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter that he's standing so close that I can feel that heat coming off his body, that I can smell him, that I can still feel his lips on mine/-

He watched on transfixed as she lifted her hand up to her face and touched lightly touched her fingers to her lips, the intruder just beyond one of the doors almost completely forgotten.

-/NO – I won't let this affect me, not now, I'm a god-damned professional for Merlin's sake/-

Despite her inward thoughts, Remus felt her move back closer to him until her back was completely crushed up against his chest, until there was no space left between their bodies. His hand instinctively snaked itself around her waist to pull her closer and he had to repress the urge to groan at the contact but he could have sworn he heard Tonks gasp as his fingers splayed out further across her belly.

-/I only moved closer to him for strictly professional reasons, to make sure the cloak completely covered us. Not because I wanted to feel his skin on mine. NO – professional. /-

He smiled slightly as she tried to reason her motives with herself but the smile quickly slid off his face when the door directly in front of them swung open, all Tonks thoughts stopping as well, they both understood how serious this was. If it was a Ministry worker than they'd both be charged with trespassing and would end up in Askaban, and if it was a Death Eater, he shuddered, he didn't even want to think of what would happen then.



They both seemed to hold their breaths as a dark hooded figure appeared in the doorway, he raised his wand up high and muttered 'Lumos'. He looked suspiciously around the small space, the light emitting from his wand spreading into the dark circular room, and Remus quickly looked down to make sure their feet weren't peeking out the bottom of the cloak.

The intruder was either satisfied the room was empty or knew of their presence and didn't want to contend, because after a few moments he muttered 'Nox' and the light emitting from his wand ceased, plunging the room into almost darkness again, lit only by the bluish flame of the candles. He then retreated from the room without a word, leaving the door slightly ajar in his hasty exit.

Remus waited until he could no longer hear footsteps echoing in the hall before attempting to remove the cloak and stepping away from the pretty witch in front of him. His movements were halted however when Tonks put her hand on his, the one that was around her waist, and motioned for him to stop.

-/Ok think Tonks, think. Damn I'm an Auror and I can't think on my feet. C'mon plausible reason why we shouldn't move apart and go back to sitting away from each other on the floor. Erm – coz I like your touch/-

Satisfied that there were no pressing reasons for her sudden death grip on his hand, he relaxed a bit and waited for her to creatively come up with a reason for not wanting him to move.

"It, erm, it might just be a trick. He might disillusion himself and come back down, see he left the door open a little, maybe he's hoping to catch someone."

Even though he knew that she was simply making it up, she did have a point. And since they couldn't risk being captured they'd just have to stay put, at least that's how he reasoned it to himself. Ultimately though, he was just as reluctant to let go of her as she was of him to let go, so he tightened his hand around her waist and bent closer so that when he spoke, his warm breath flitted dangerously close to her ears.

"Yeah, you have a valid point there. But I must admit that my back is already protesting from having to crouch down, it's not as easy to fit under here as it was when I was young."

He couldn't help the old comment that slipped from his lips, it was a habit, and it was the truth. But he immediately regretted his words when Tonks pinched the loose skin on the back of his hand. He winced slightly as the sting spread across his skin like a burn and he went to remove his hand but she held it firmly in place.

"I warned you about those getting old comments. You should just count yourself lucky that I'm not so good at aiming behind my back, otherwise that sting would have been covering your whole body and not just your hand."

Although she chastised him for his 'too old' comment, she soon began backing towards the outskirts of the circular room, stopping when they reached the edge and motioning for Remus to sit. He followed her instructions and his back slid down the stone wall until he was sitting on the cold ground again, feet flat on the floor, knee's just out from his chest. Tonks slid down with him and 

settled herself gently between his legs, pushing his knees out lower as she went until they were both comfortable with their new seating arrangement.

When she was finally seated, her body gently fell back against Remus' chest, her head nestling just below his chin. He rested his chin on the top of her head and propped his elbows up on his knees, both hand coming to rest on her belly, smiles flitting across both their faces at how comfortable they felt in each other's arms. He couldn't help himself as he dipped his head lower to inhale the sweet smell of her hair, wolfberry – had she been using his shampoo.

-/ Hmm – I might just give you a massage later to relax your aching back muscles/-

Remus was so lost in his own musings that he responded to her without thinking.

"You know I really wouldn't object to a massage later."

Quickly, she sat up straighter and turned slightly in his arms to look at him, a bemused expression flitting across her face as she stared. It was then that Remus realised that she hadn't actually spoken out loud and he fought the blush that tinged his cheeks, he couldn't believe it had happened again and this time there was no Firewhiskey to use as an excuse. He stuttered slightly and tried to find a way to explain but Tonks merely turned back around and rested against his chest again, a mischievous twinkle lighting her eyes.

"Maybe if you're lucky."

-/Right - this is strictly professional my .../-

-RLNT-

The masked man never did return but they stayed sitting wrapped up like that until Bill Weasley and Hestia Jones came to relieve them at midnight. Initially they sat up rigid upon hearing the footsteps in the hall outside, sure that the intruder was back again. It certainly didn't feel like 6 hours had passed already and although he'd never admit, he wasn't ready to let go of her just yet.

He felt her relax against him as their relievers stepped into the spinning circular room, leaving the door open so that they'd know the way out. He watched as Bill lit his wand with a quiet 'Lumos' and moved his wand around the room and Remus knew that their time was up. He reluctantly reached a hand out to grasp the silky material of the cloak and slid it away from them both, letting it pool on the floor beside them.

-/Time's up/-

-/Oooh, talk about interrupting. Now why don't I ever get this shift with Sturgy so we could do.../-

Remus' face blushed a little at Hestia's racy thoughts, the woman really did have a one-track mind. He put his palms flat against the stone wall and pushed himself up to a standing position behind Tonks. He brushed the dirt on his hands off on his trousers before offering his hand to Tonks. As he helped her to her feet as well he noticed that Bill was watching them both suspiciously, one of his ginger eyebrows arched high on his forehead in a questioning look, a curious smirk on his handsome 

face. Remus ignored the knowing look of his young friend and instead bent down to pick the silky cloak up from the floor, clearing his throat loudly as he stood up straight, trying to find the right words to explain why they were basically cuddling together on the ground.

"Someone came down here earlier tonight and we both stood under the cloak so we wouldn't be seen. Whoever it was, was wearing dark robes and a hooded mask so we couldn't get an ID, but they looked around the room and then headed back out."

The grin on Bill's face stretched wider and his other eyebrow rose to complete the sceptical look.

"So if it happened earlier than uh, why were you still under the cloak then."

-/Why do all Weasley boys have a one track mind?/-

Remus quietly thought that Tonks would be horrified if she knew that Hestia and possibly Minerva McGonagall and Emmeline Vance should be added to that list also. He fought the urge to grin as he thought of her reaction and he was just about to answer Bill when Tonks beat him to it.

"Well he left the door ajar so we thought that it might be a trick, that he might disillusion himself and then come back. We didn't want to expose ourselves or the Order so we thought the best idea was to stay under the cloak. And then Remus back got sore so we sat down."

The smile disappeared from Bill's face in light of the simple, yet plausible explanation, and he shook his head lightly in acknowledgement.

-/Well then perhaps we should too/-

Remus wasn't exactly sure what Hestia's thoughts meant until she walked forward and took the invisibility cloak out of his hands. Turning slightly and shooting a devious smile, and a curt wink, in Bill's direction.

-/What Sturgis doesn't know, won't hurt him/-

Remus let out a bark of laughter as Bill's eyes widened at Hestia's insinuation. He watched the oldest Weasley boy shoot him and Tonks a filthy look that clearly stated that he was not amused at the situation before he turned his wand on himself. He must have cast a disillusionment charm because soon they couldn't see him at all, could barely even make out the blurry outline of the tall boy, but they could hear his boisterous laughter.

"You're an Auror and you're a bloody professor and you didn't think to cast a disillusionment charm yourself."

Before Remus could even formulate a response, because they really should have thought of that, Tonks had grabbed his hand and practically ran out of the room, Bill and Hestia's laughs echoing behind them. When they'd reached the corridor beyond the room, Tonks sent him a quick smile before she dropped his hand and disapparated. Even though she was gone he could still the warmth of her hand in his, he could still feel the tingles he felt when she'd first grabbed his hand. With a smile on his face, he disapparated as well.

-RLNT-



They both arrived back at Grimmauld Place seconds later, loud pops that sounded like whip cracks disrupting the silence and announcing their arrival. Normally their apparition hardly made a noise but they were both too tired to concentrate on lessening the sound, Tonks because she'd just worked almost 15 hours straight and Remus because of the impending moon.

-/ Sweet Merlin, why must everybody apparate in this house. Has no-one ever heard of a door?/-

Remus looked up from where he was standing and was greeted with the sight of an angry Molly Weasley. Her arms where crossed across her chest and a stern look was on the Wealey matriarch's tired face but when he smiled weakly and muttered a quiet apology, her angry look affronted look faltered.

"That's alright dear, you both look dead on your feet. There's some dinner under the warmer in the kitchen, then you both might want to head up to bed toot sweet."

She smiled at them both, lightly grasping Remus' arm and patting Tonks' cheek before she bustled past them and up the stairs. Remus was just about to head down to the kitchen with Tonks when he heard Molly call him back.

-/Almost forgot/-

"Oh Remus dear, Albus is upstairs waiting for you. Said he wanted to speak to you as soon as you got in."

"Thank-you Molly."

Remus nodded his head in acknowledgement and Molly continued her way up stairs. He watched her for a second, wondering what on earth Dumbledore wanted to discuss at this hour, before he turned back to Tonks, loving the disappointed look that he saw on her face.

-/Guess we won't be eating together than/-

"Guess we won't get to eat together than."

Remus gave her a small smile, mostly because she spoke her thoughts, but he was actually a little disheartened as well, he'd been looking forward to a late meal with her.

"I guess not, never know how long I'll be."

"I'll save you some then."

He watched as she gave him a sad little smile before moving to lean against the wall, only she wasn't as close to it as she thought she was. She crossed her legs and went to lean and then stumbled a little when she realised that there was nothing solid to hold her up. He put his hands out instinctively to help her but she waved him off, muttering a quiet 'I'm fine' as she blushed yet again.

-/Way to look cool Tonks, he's going to think I'm a complete retard – way to seal the deal/-



When she'd finally stabilised herself she looked up and shot him a sheepish grin and let out a nervous giggle.

"Well I had fun tonight, even if it was guard duty."

"Me too"

Her sheepish grin turned into a full-blown smile as he spoke the words and he couldn't help but grin like a fool as well.

"Well, erm...," she looked all geared up to say something but then her face fell, "night Remus."

With that she brushed past him and started walking down the hall towards the basement kitchen. He shook his head slightly in disbelief at himself as he started towards the stairs, Sirius was going to kill him. He had the opportunity right there, they'd had a great night and he already knew that she liked him – she'd been dropping hints all night, all he had to do was ask her out. He scrubbed his hand roughly over his face before running it through his hair and starting up the stairs only stopping when he heard Tonks' voice again.

-/ How could I not say it, I set it up and everything. All I had to say was – 'Maybe we should do it again sometime'. Just seven little words, it's really not that hard to say. It's just a date, the worst he can say is no right? I can do this, I'm an Auror for Merlin's sake - I can do this/-

"Remus - "


AND THE PLOT THICKENS – will Tonks work up the courage to ask Remus out, how did Bill go at fending off Hestia's obvious advances and what on earth does Dumbledore want? Guess you'll have to find out in the next chapter. Mwa-ha-ha-ha-(cough)(cough)

Ok, just a few things – absolutely no idea what Wolfberry is but yes it is a real world. I typed wildberry into WORD and it came up with 2 spelling corrections – wild berry and wolfberry. So I went with wolfberry because I thought it was cute and it kinda fit.

Toot Sweet means quickly, I think. I heard it on an episode of Kath and Kim (Australian TV show, wicked funny). Anywhoo, Kath reminds me a lil of Molly Weasley so I put it in. It think that's all I had to say.

HATE IT/LOVE IT – leave a review. Even if it's just a one-word review, I just like knowing that people are actually reading my story (although I do love long reviews, wink Jord wink.) PLEASE REVIEW

Til I update next

HUGZ N KISSES

EllaQueenB