"Pinkie, are you going to sleep your whole day away!" bellowed Sirius, his black hair held back today, walking by and noticing his cousin still asleep in her bed, still wearing her working robes. It was twelve in the afternoon and not seeing Tonks at all, wondered what was up.
"Go away," came a muffled voice as Tonks, now half asleep, pulled her pink afghan over her face to block out the light and Sirius.
"What time did you turn in last night?" Sirius questioned walking over to her bedside and looking down at her.
"Four this morning," moaned Tonks removing the blanket from her face to look up at Sirius. "We caught a death eater trying to break into the Ministry. People who catch death eaters get to sleep in," Tonks told then replacing the blanket back over her face. Sirius again told her to wake up. A hand came out from under the blanket and with a vertical fist, hobbled back and forth a few times.
"What are you doing?" questioned Sirius, surpassing a laugh, knowing what she was trying to do.
"Stunning you," came another muffled sentence as Nymphadora pulled the blanket more close to herself, wishing he would leave her to have 'just ten more minutes.'
"There's nothing in your hand," her cousin laughed. Realizing this, Tonks reached out to her small wooden nightstand on the left hand side of her bed and groped for her wand, but ended up knocking it off. Dropping her hand to the floor, she searched for her wand, and upon finding it, pulled it under the blankets.
Seeing as Tonks was not going to be getting up anytime soon, Sirius muttered 'Aguamenti' almost inaudibly and sent a small jet of water upon the Auror.
"What the hell Sirius!" screamed Nymphadora, not very angry but cranky, throwing the now drenched blanket off the bed and pointing her wand at Sirius. She muttered 'Densaugeo' and Sirius's teeth started to rapidly grow in front of him. Sirius left the room quickly to take care of the problem.
When Sirius and Tonks entered the kitchen, Sirius with teeth shrinking back to normal size and Tonks with her hair drenched, Lupin took one look at the two of them and muttered, "I don't want to know." Tonks flicked her wand and dried off and the both of them sat down.
"Says here in the Prophet, Avery was caught late last night trying to break into the Ministry of Magic, but was caught and detained for questioning," Remus informed showing the article on the front page of the newspaper with a large picture showing a vague image of the Ministry's outside. Tonks took the paper and read the article.
"He put up a tough fight," snarled Tonks. "Nearly broken twenty windows to various offices, shooting all sorts of curses in many directions. It was nothing Kingsley and I couldn't handle though," stated Tonks, all confidence showing.
"How impressive," smiled Lupin, preparing Nymphadora a cup of tea.
"Thanks Remus," she smiled, taking a sip and sighing.
Lupin took one look at the exhausted Auror and questioned, "All right there?"
"Your friend over there woke me up," said Tonks pointing a finger at Sirius who grinned, making himself a cup of tea.
"It was about time Pinky woke up," he laughed. "Sleeping her day away, honestly."
"I got in at four," she wined. Then she started laughing at a dull expression on Lupin's face that suggested humor in her whining. Sirius looked from Lupin to Tonks and started laughing himself. She enjoyed just being able to laugh and keep everyone's mood up. Sure awful events made the paper everyday; being able to laugh and share a little cheer gave them a positive outlook. Even though Sirius was confined to the place where he had a terrible childhood, seeing him playing around and laughing gave him some happiness.
Later that afternoon, Nymphadora went to Molly's to pay her a visit and to see if Errol had returned with a reply from her parents. Knowing Errol's track record also gave her incentive to visit the house.
Upon apparating to the burrow, Tonks knocked on the door, when a gnome caught the corner of her eye. The little creature ran over to the bush near the doorstep and glanced up at the Auror with its little beady eyes. During the summer, Fred and George would de-gnome the garden by swinging the gnomes and tossing them far, but Tonks stopped them, scrutinizing them about being cruel. The little gnome staring up at her was one that was saved from being tossed at that moment during the summer. Tonks knew once she left, Fred and George returned to their method. When she knocked at the chipped oak door again, a voice behind it sounded.
"Who is it?" it questioned.
"Wotcher Arthur, its Tonks," she replied and Mr. Weasley opened the door. "How's work lately?" Tonks questioned politely.
"A nightmare," sighed Arthur, running a hand through his red hair. "More attempted break-ins, except now they won't even bother to wait until after hours, they're trying to blend in with Ministry workers and try midday. I have to return to work this evening." There was an audible sigh in one corner of the room and Tonks looked to see an agitated Molly. "I'm sorry Molly," he apologized. Nymphadora concluded Mrs. Weasley must be lonely now that all her children were at school and her husband was working more and more hours. The older woman stood up and gave Tonks a small hug and greeted her with a 'hello dear.'
"Molly, things at the Ministry are starting to become chaotic," supported Tonks.
"I'll try to be home as soon as possible," Arthur reassured as he kissed his wife and fastened his traveling cloak.
"Be safe dear," reassured Molly as she hugged her husband and he took off. When he was gone, Molly turned to Nymphadora.
"Two days ago, I received a message from Andromeda," she told her young friend, making her a cup of tea. "This little tawny owl was scratching my window one evening so I let the little one inside. Obedient one he was, came right over to my shoulder and held out his leg. I wondered who it would be from, naturally because I had never seen the owl before, so I took the letter and read. Turns out it was from your mum and dad. Sorry if I invaded your privacy, dear," she apologized.
"No problem," smiled Tonks waving it off.
"Turns out, Errol made it to their home and collapsed right in the front yard. Coincidently, Ted was outside taking care of the landscape and brought the owl in immediately. That was when they read the letter." Molly then went to retrieve the letter from the top of an untidy pile of various letters and handed it to her. Both of them sat down at the scrubbed kitchen table. The pale parchment read:
Nymphadora! (Ignoring it.)
It's great to hear from you!! It's been a while. The other night, your father rushed into the house with a very weak owl and immediately took care to help it. That was when we noticed a letter tied to his leg. Not knowing if this was for us or not, I took the letter off and read it anyway. It was wonderful to see it was from our precious daughter. We are nursing your owl to health at the moment and sent our owl instead. Her name is Cocoa. We are currently living in Tani Range, a small mountainous town on the far outskirts of London. Lovely little cape we have. You really must visit us. Your father is still a slob as ever. I hope you are a bit tidier. Please send word you have received this letter. Missing you so much, love Mum and Dad (Ted and Andromeda)
After reading the letter aloud to Molly, Tonks folded it back into a quarter of the original size and put it into her pocket. Handing her a cup of tea, Mrs. Weasley took a sip of a cup she prepared for herself. Nymphadora took a sip of the hot liquid, enjoying the warmth spread throughout her body. The unseasonal chill was masked only by the glowing fire in the fireplace on the Northern wall of the room.
"Awful chill we are experiencing?" started Mrs. Weasley looking at the vague expression on the Auror's face that suggested she was lost in thought.
"Oh," Tonks replied, snapping back to reality. "It's very unusual for this time of year. I rather enjoy it, though. The humid weather does not suit me that well," she smiled.
"So, are you going to visit your parents soon?" wondered Mrs. Weasley.
"I really want to, but I have to see if I can take the time off from work," sighed Tonks. "It'd be nice to have a little time off. Wonder what Rufus Scrimgeour will say."
"You're a very hard worker dear; you should be able to take a little time off."
The two of them then composed a letter stating they received the reply and a thank you for taking care of Errol, which was Mrs. Weasley's old owl and she was going to try and take some time off to visit them because she too missed them very much. Afterward, Molly and she sat and talked for what seemed to be two hours before Tonks bid her goodbye and thanked her for her help.
The night was beautiful. The cold air seemed to clear the air and the stars seemed to twinkle brightly under the dark, velvet sky and the moon, in its first quarter glory, sat confidently among the stars as if to be a large star itself. Looking out the window, she did not curse the moon for its appearance, but rather basked in its brilliant illumination. It was forty five minutes until midnight and Tonks found herself in the kitchen, searching its surfaces for something sugary or chocolaty. It was an odd craving at that hour, but she just had a sweet tooth. Upon hearing footsteps and knowing it had to be either Sirius or Remus, she kept looking, and said to the person lurking, "There's nothing to eat around here."
"I suggest you cook then," came the voice and immediately she recognized it to belong to Lupin. He lit a candle on the table, but did not sit down. "How could you find anything in here, its pitch dark?"
"It's not pitch dark in here," she defended, pointing a thin finger toward the window where the moon cast a soft, dull glow that seemed to give a miniscule amount of light, so it was not "pitch dark." Realizing the moon and Remus do not fend well together, even though it was not full, lowered her finger with a guilty expression upon her face.
The expression didn't go unnoticed for Remus simply replied, "First quarter, a simple marvel. You want to take a walk with me?" he questioned simply.
"Isn't it a bit late?" she questioned, not really denying the invitation.
"It doesn't bother me," he replied just as simply as his question.
"Me either," smiled Tonks as the pair went to don traveling cloaks and left the house. Walking a few steps, Lupin stopped, held out his hand and told her to grab his hand and he would take her somewhere nice. She agreed and clasped both her hands in his left hand and he apparated by means of side-along, since she did not know where he was taking her, but trusting him.
When they reappeared, the view was spectacular; even though the countryside was dark and all the trees and shrubbery were hued heavily by the darkness, the heavens glowed with what seemed like a million more stars then could be seen in the city and the moon seemed to glow more there. Dark branches swayed and leaves shivered in the night's brisk winds. Nymphadora let go of Lupin's hand and they started walking.
"Where are we?" questioned Tonks looking around.
"About an hour's distance of Hogsmeade," Lupin told as he too admired the stars. "I like to come out here to relax. It is especially nice in the dead of night. About a fifteen minutes walk will lead to a small lake that stands like glass." The two of them then walked in silence for a few minutes.
"You call for me/Alone under the stars/I'll be there for you/because I know you're not far," sang the young woman softly. The man walking alongside her couldn't help but smile.
"I thought you would forget that song, seeing it was stuck in your head a short while ago?" he questioned.
"Well, I did, but a short while ago, I found out the song's name was 'Night Tide' and it just brought the song back into my head. Plus, this view reminded me of it," she informed her Werewolf friend smiling. They continued walking, long into the midnight hour, chatting about various topics and enjoying each other's company. Upon arriving to the lake, they found it as Lupin had described; the lake stood still as though the wind was shielded out and mirrored, transparent as glass, the forest and night sky around them. The two of them sat down near the edge of the lake and Lupin told her there was nothing that would disturb the lake.
Having a curious nature, Tonks picked up the nearest stone and threw it into the lake. The lake only swallowed up the stone without any cases of rippling.
"I told you," he smiled. Tonks then proceeded to take out her wand and pressing the tip to her chin, thought a moment. With a flick toward the ground and a swish forward, she sent a whole slew of rocks into the lake, only to have them swallowed up without much insult. There was a smirk on his face and she knew, even if she wasn't looking at him. Turning her head to see his smirk, he quickly changed his features to appear expressionless, but let out a laugh in the process. Then, he put his knees to his stomach and folded his arms around them. Nymphadora mimicked his pose, feeling a bit cold and held her cloak closer to her small frame. This also went unnoticed by Remus, who took off his traveling cloak and placed it around his companion like a shawl. She felt a sense of comfort with his cloak and knew he was there for her, but felt distraught by the fact that he would be cold.
"You didn't have to do that," said Tonks reluctantly starting to remove the cloak, but Remus stopped her.
"I noticed you shivering a bit and I'm not all too cold. C'mon, let's start heading back," he suggested, standing up and offering his hand to her. She accepted and he helped her up, noticing her hands was cold, but felt warm in his and did not want to let go. Nymphadora felt the same way for her hand remained in his as they stood there a moment and just glanced at their hands clasped together.
Remus pulled away, realizing what he was doing. He had wanted to hold her hand, had wanted to put his arm around her and shield her from the cold and any harm that would come her way, but couldn't. The part inside him wanting to be with Tonks was blocked out by thoughts of his werewolf form; he was not going to get close to her only to end up hurting her. Recalling the many quarrels they had about wanting a relationship, he actually wanted one with her. There was just always something holding him back…
They walked back in silence, only because Tonks wanted to walk the ways back instead of just apparating on the spot. Her mind swam with many thoughts after he took his hand back. She wanted to stay like that; walking back, hand in hand. Maybe then, he would see she was serious about him and all the arguments were not in vain. Why did he linger with her hand anyway? Was he starting to let her in? She wanted to talk about it with him, but thought otherwise, knowing he took his hand away for a reason. When they got to the spot in which they apparated to earlier, Remus stopped and Tonks clasped both hands into his left hand and they apparated together to Number 12 Grimmauld Place.
Afterward, Tonks did not let his hand go yet right away as they appeared on the doorstep. Noticing the pleading look in her eyes, Remus looked away, muttered, "I'm sorry," and opened the door, letting her hand go. He went upstairs while she went to the living room and sat down on the couch, sighing. The room did not hold much comfort as it had the last time she was there late at night. Not a candle was lit and Nymphadora was not about to light one. Disappointed and sadness weighed her down and was her only company at the moment. 'He felt it too,' she tried to reassure herself. 'He held on so I know he felt it.'
'Might as well go to bed, got a shift in the morning,' thought the disappointed Auror as she slowly stood up and went to bed.