By view whereof it plainly may appear,

That still as every thing doth upward tend,

And further is from earth, so still more clear

And fair it grows, till to his perfect end

Of purest beauty it at last ascend;

Air more than water, fire much more than air,

And heaven than fire, appears more pure and fair.

Yawning, Tonks stood in front the mirror, her hair changing colours and lengths. It had been a long few weeks, everyone was now in pairs for all Order missions, and no one was to arrive alone, or leave alone. Partners were being rotated, no two shifts in a row were the same. No one had set days anymore, which meant for Tonks, who stood there changing her hair, was now chronically yawning. They were trying to pair anyone who was was on duty with the prophecy with an Auror, or have one on either end, so perform undetectable disillusionment charms. Settling black curls, she grabbed an elastic hair tie, and pulled the hip long hair into a pony-tail.

Normally she wouldn't care what she looked like, but tonights partner, was her favorite. Remus Lupin. At first she had merely thought they could be fantastic friends, and they already had a close relationship, but now, now there was something else, something she had never truly felt about anyone. He would elicit butterflies in her stomach, at the easiest of smiles. He was easy to talk to, and she started looking for excuses to spend time with him. At first it was helping clean Headquarters, and she hadn't really realised she was doing it. But then, she was getting more and more excited to be paired with him for missions, and started taking a bit more pride in how she presented herself. Her hair, trying to find the one style, that he mentioned, or paid extra attention to. But then there was the day she spent with him, recovering from the moon, the most wonderful day, she got to see a part of him that she was sure it was something he reserved for his friends.

Then they fell asleep in the same bed, and she woke up curled into his warm body, and she knew then, that whatever this was, it was not a schoolgirl crush, it was something more now. Sure she romantically involved with a few boys, being a whole 23 years old, she knew very well that what she had, wasn't love, because if it was, she'd be with them still. She went through a lot of life events with her previous boyfriends...

Her first boyfriend, at the age of 13 was a fellow Hufflepuff, Eli Dickson, he was a year older than her, and at the time, she loved him, oh did she love him. They dated for two years, and everyone knew that Eli and Tonks were an item-until he cheated on her with that awful Charlotte March. After Eli, there was Sam Harper, a Ravenclaw, he was in 7th year when she was in 5th, and she thought they were more in love than Eli. Their relationship started hot and heavy, right off the bat. After she finished her OWLs and he his NEWTs, thinking that at the end of this year he would leave her, she slept with him, knowing that she wouldn't see him next year all the time. She never really regretted giving up her virginity to Sam, because gosh she loved him, but he didn't last past that summer. Sixth year, she there were two, Amiens Joffrey and Scotty McKindrict, neither of them lasted long. Then in the last year, Dicky Pierce, he asked her out in August, his family lived over the hill, and she had grown up with him as her friend. He was the only one who never really asked her to change parts of her, to suit their wants and desires. Sam was like that, asked her to change her body to suit his fantasies. Dicky wasn't like that all. So they started dating, it was a bit awkward at first, and he gave her butterflies. They went through the most together….They would get detentions together, ended up once in Professor Dumbledore's office, were caught skiving class to shag, her idea, and Professor Sprout caught them, down to their knickers. She got two howlers for that. They studied for hours on end together, she would help him brew potions, and they would spend their spare hours working through herbology greenhouse, mostly in detention from Professor Sprout. Then school ended, they went back home for the summer, and owls started to arrive with their NEWT marks, they sat in the corn field. She received outstandings in Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Astronomy, and Ancient Ruins. Dicky wasn't so lucky, and they had laid in the corn field for hours, talking options, promising that they were going to do whatever they had to, to be together, if Dicky didn't get high enough marks, they would find something else to do, to be together. That evening, Rufus Scrimgeour arrived at her house's front door, followed by Alastor Moody. She remembers that day like it was yesterday.

"Mr and Mrs. Tonks? Is Nymphadora in?" a voice asked, and Tonks groaned at the use of her name. "I'm Rufus Scrimgeour, this is Alastor Moody, we're from the Ministry of Magic."

"Of course, come in," Ted said welcoming the two into the house.

"Nymphadora Tonks?" Scrimgeour asked as the young woman nodded, her orange hair being twirled by her finger.

"I'm Rufus Scrimgeour, head of the Auror Department, this is Alastor Moody," he gestured to the older gentleman. "May we sit?"

"Yeah, of course," Tonks replied sitting back on the couch, staring at the two, as Andromeda and Ted stood in the doorway.

"We are here because of your application to join the Auror program. Pomona Sprout, head of your house, submitted your application prior to graduation from Hogwarts, with all your current grades. Your application essay was of superb quality, we also recieved your NEWT marks this morning. They were, the highest we have seen in years, I spoke with your examiners, to see exactly what marks you achieved. Miss Tonks, you should be incredibly proud of yourself, you received 100% on all your written and practical examinations."

"I was the last person to achieve those types of marks," the other wizard spoke, as Tonks looked at him.

"That being said, Miss Tonks, we would like you to begin Auror Training, at the start of August. We have four slots opening for training alone, and would like you to take one of those."

"What?" Tonks asked, her eyes wide and her chair changing colour on its own, out of shock.

"What did you just do?" Scrimgeour asked looking back at Tonks' parents.

"She's a metamorphangus," Ted said from the doorway. "Born."

Moody looked back at her parents, his magical eye focussing on her. "You will report to the Ministry of Magic at 5am, August 1st."

"Alastor?" Scrimgeour asked, ignoring the comment.

"Never."

"Miss Tonks, we know this is a shock, but we will need an answer by tomorrow evening at the latest."

"Listen Kid," Moody spoke, finally to her. "You are damn special, damn talented, and damn smart, I read your exams, and I spoke to your examiners, said you could do things with a wand that no one in your year could. You have something in you, don't waste it."

She had told Dicky that night, snuck out of the house, and ran through the corn fields, and up into his climbed up the trellis, and into his bed, and told him everything. She knew that if he told her to go, she would, if he told her not to go, she would go. She left two days later, knowing that they couldn't be together if she was going to be an Auror.

Dicky married over a year later, she was sent an invitation to the wedding, and never went. Her heart hurt too much to attend. She had lost the first boy she was in love with, or at least thought she loved, Dicky never made her feel the same way spending time with Remus does. Somehow, Remus easily worked his way into her heart, and connected with her, on a level, she had no idea was even possible.

So here she was, changing her hair, for a boy, who never once asked her to change her appearance for his gratification. She wasn't purposely trying to garner his attention, she just, for once, wanted to look pretty for a boy...a man.

Pulling herself from the bathroom mirror, she walked back into the busy Auror office, the 24 wizards that occupied the cubicles were all talking to one another, about something or other.

"Oo, who's the bloke?" Ethan Proudfoot asked looking up from his desk.

"There is no bloke Ethan," Tonks groaned as she slid back into her desk, and picked up a map.

"Sure sure," Proudfoot grinned widely. "Tonks got herself a bloke!" he announced loudly to the other men in the office. Being the only single woman in the office, meant that Tonks took her share of being picked on by the rest of the men. She knew it was all in good fun, as she would dish it right back but this time, this time, talking about Remus, she felt a blush rise over her face.

"Who is he?" Stephen Savage asked, as he leaned over his cubicle wall, wagging his eyebrows. "She's blushing!"

"Leave her alone," Matilda Astaire groaned rolling her eyes, being the only other female in the Auror office, who was at least twenty years older than Tonks herself, and was married to Savages' partner, John Astaire.

"I'm with them," the male Astaire grinned, as he dodged a quill being tossed at him from his wife.

"Who's the bloke?" Savage repeated. "Tonks does not change her hair for no one other than Moody, and lets be honest, we'd all change our appearance for that manky git."

"You know he's in there with Scrimgeour?" Kingsley said gesturing to the office behind them. Savage went white, as Tonks burst out laughing. If it was one thing she knew, as well as the entire office, she was the only one who could say anything negative about Alastor Moody. "Now leave Tonks alone, and get back to work. I'm sure she'll blab who the gentleman is tomorrow," he winked at her. In fact, Tonks was quite aware that Kingsley knew who she was spending the night with.

As if on queue, the door opened, and in a great wave, everyone in the office grabbed their quills and pretended they were working.

"Hey...uh...Tonks, can I borrow that map?" Savage awkwardly requested as he reached taking the map from her hands, and sinking back behind his cubicle, as Moody's eye whizzed around the room.

"Nymphadora," Moody grumbled as he walked over to her desk.

"Yes," Tonks started, rolling her head back and looking up at him, "Ally?" A smirk making its way upon her features, as all the others in the office, awkwardly tried to watch, and not be seen.

"There is suspicious activities in my neighbourhood," he grumbled. "You will infiltrate the houses tonight."

"She can't, she has a date," Savage grinned. "A hot smokin' date."

"Shut your trap," Tonks said grabbing her paper weight and throwing it at him. It stopped mid-air, as her eyes moved towards Moody, who had his wand pointing at it. "Fine, I'll be there, you owe me, big. Huge even. I'll make a list of what I need, and want. You can pick from there." Moody grumbled, something inaudible, and whipped his wand, tossing the paper weight back to Tonks' desk, before walking out of the office.

"All of you, get back to work," Scrimgeour said from the doorway to his office, before closing it with force.

"Does anyone have any droobles?" Tonks asked, looking around at her co-workers. It was going to be a long hour until she could leave. There were several chuckles, and three packs flew to her desk.

The next sixty minutes, Tonks was having a hard time concentrating, as she worked on tracking death eaters in the North of Scotland. Remus kept creeping up into her thoughts, his laugh, his dry wit, everything they did together. She had to admit to herself, that she was in love. Not forty-five minutes later, she stood up, and groaned. "I'm going, if Scrimgeour comes out of that office, tell him anything."

"Got it," Sebastian Robins winked, as everyone else grinned to themselves. Tonks heaved a large breath, and left the office, dragging her boot clad feet. It wasn't like it was a date, it was a mission, simple as that. She shouldn't be as excited as she was to spend an evening in his company.

It was moments like this, that Tonks wished she had more female friends, but as it was, there was really only two people in the world she would want to talk to about this: Remus, and Johannah Thompson, the only friend from Hogwarts who she was able to keep in touch with over the years of Auror training-while she was doing Healer Training. Checking her watch, Tonks sighed, knowing that a trip to see Johannah was not the best idea, she would be late for meeting Remus. Exiting the ministry, she walked to the Safe Area, and disapparated immediately. Entering Grimmauld place, glancing at her watch, she realised she still had an hour and a half, and she walked through the main hallway, towards the kitchen, hoping to find someone. The kitchen was empty, minus Kreacher who was wiping the table with a dirty cloth.

"You know, the cloth needs to be clean," she told the elf.

"Kreacher does not listen to the blood traitor's daughter, Kreacher knows she is unnatural filth," the elf spoke to himself.

"Whatever," Tonks mumbled rolling her eyes, and leaving the kitchen. She moved into the library, and smiled at the sight in front of her. Remus and Sirius were sitting across from each other, Sirius had his elbows on his knees, as he was leaning over the chessboard. Remus, across from him, legs crossed, had a book open, and his eyes moving over the pages, evidently waiting for his friend to make a move. She stood there and watched as Sirius moved his Knight.

"Your turn," Sirius spoke, as Remus closed his book, placing his finger to hold the page. Looking at the board, a small smile stretched over his lips and he reached over, moved his queen to capture Sirius' knight.

"Check," and with that, Remus lifted his book back up to his face. Tonks watched in the doorway for a few moments longer, before she felt Remus' eyes on her, and her heart began to pound widely in her chest, the butterflies in her stomach started swarming, and she felt heat rise up her cheeks. "Hi."

"Hi," she breathed.

"You know, I forgot why I only played chess with Wormtail," Sirius bitterly remarked as he leaned back in his chair. Tonks smiled as she walked into the room, taking her customary seat on the couch, next to Remus. She sat closer to him than she had five months ago, but when he didn't shift away, but laid his book on the table beside him. Sirius was concentrating on the game, his face scrunching up.

"I didn't expect you for a few more hours," Remus spoke softly to her, turning his head to look at the woman. Tonks never realised how much she loved his voice, the velvet smoothless of it, the softness of his words when it was directed at her, in a private moment.

"Nothing to do at work, so I left," she replied. "I thought maybe you wanted to have supper before, you know, our shift," she tentatively said, her fingers playing with each other. She could feel the heat in her face rise again. Did she actually just ask him that, ask him out for supper, on a date. Was it a date? They were two friends right, and that doesn't always mean that a meal shared together was a date.

"Sounds delightful," he smiled at her, as he glanced over at Sirius who quickly removed Remus' queen from the board.

"Ah hah! Beat that Moony," Sirius grinned wickedly stretching out his arms, and resting his hands behind his head. "

Remus turned fully away from Tonks, and she felt her heart pitter patter in her chest, as he looked at the board. "I would like to finish this game, before we go," he spoke moving a rook to an empty space.

"Of course," Tonks grinned. She noticed one thing when it came to Remus, he never referred to her as Tonks, in fact, he rarely said her name directly to her. He skirted around it, and she didn't know why, but she had ideas, albeit, girl in love ideas.

"Can I come?" Sirius asked, looking at the pair.

"Sirius," Remus' voice spoke softly. "We can't let you leave, it's too dangerous." Before Sirius could retort, a Lynx burst into the middle of the library, and Tonks' Auror communicator started to wail.

Breakout at Azkaban. Ministry lost control of Dementors.

Tonks stood up, as she drew her wand from her holster, and disapparated, leaving Remus and Sirius to sit and stare as the Lynx who repeated the message again, before vanishing.