Tonks' ears pricked up as she shuddered out of sleep. Her body suddenly tensed like a coiled spring. The huge silence was speared by a creak below her. She froze under her quilt.

Her heart began to thud in her chest, the organ throwing itself against her ribcage and echoing in her ears. Her cold hands were soaked in sweat. Her accelerated breathing sounded a million times louder. She crushed her hand over her mouth; surely whoever it was would be able to hear her.

Her ears strained against the silence, searching desperately for another sound to tell her she wasn't imaging it. Listening, for anything.

Another creak. They were on the stairs. She could hear the shadow of whispers. The swish of cloaks.

Death Eaters? Had they come for her? Fear coursed through her veins like an icy poison.

In her mind's eye she saw herself being tortured by Bellatrix for information on the Order. The Cruciatus Curse. A ring of Death Eaters around her, laughing. No escape.

The darkness overwhelmed her and she could see shapes all around her room, was that a white hand curling around the door? A figure creeping towards her from the corner of her room? Steps across the corridor to her room? She had never felt fear like this.

She threw her hand out of bed, blindly searching around her bedside table for her wand. She heard her glass of water crash to the floor as her hand dashed over the wood. When she found it, she grasped it tightly and disapparated to the first place she could think of, as the creaking got closer and closer.

She appeared outside Number 12, Grimmauld Place still wrapped in the quilt that she'd been clinging desperately to. She swayed on the spot, her heavy breaths were clouds of steam in the cold air. She held out her shaking hand and tapped the door with her wand. Then she frantically tried to tug at the old wooden handle. Fear was all she could feel.

"C'mon, c'mon," she whispered, glancing anxiously behind her. The shadows in the street looked menacing. She felt like she was standing in a wide open space, completely unprotected.

Finally the door opened and she fell forward. It shut silently behind her as she lay face down on the floor, a mess of quilt and limbs. She breathed in the musty smell of the house and waited for her breathing to return to normal. Warmth began seeping into the space between her and the quilt which was still wrapped tightly around her. A dull pain was creeping into her head after the mounting pressure had ceased. Silent tears of relief dripped down her cheeks. She was safe. She could easily have laid there forever.

"We're in the third living room," Sirius' voice floated down the hall. Tonks tilted her head to look down the hall, there was no head poking out of a doorway, it was dark and empty. Had she imagined the voice? Was the house empty and she was still caught in this nightmare?

She pushed herself up and leant against the wall. Her brain felt incredibly faint, the release of pressure had left her quite dizzy. She heaved herself up onto her knees and then used the wall as a support to raise herself onto her two feet.
She made her way slowly down the corridor towards a doorway with a faint orange glow tickling the door frame. She swayed into the room to see Sirius and Remus sitting cross legged on the floor playing cards. A joyful fire was bouncing in the grate, pushing the shadows back to the corners of the room. They looked up as she entered.

"Thought we heard you crashing around Tonks -" Sirius stopped and the cards he was holding fell from his fingers.

The men jumped up as Tonks collapsed to the floor, her face submerged in her quilt.
"Tonks, Tonks!" The voice sounded far away, as the living room became blurry. She felt arms lift her and place her gently in an empty high backed chair. Someone began tucking her quilt in around her.
"Tonks," Sirius whispered urgently to her, his hand on her cheek, his sharp hazel eyes became the clearest things she could see. "What's happened Tonks?"

"There was someone in my house while I was sleeping," she whispered, "I heard noises in my house."

With every word she spoke, she felt herself returning to reality, like waking up from a dream, and she felt more and more stupid at her childish fear. Before she could stop it tears began flowing again, "can I stay here tonight, please?" Emotion racked her body as she hugged her quilt around her, how could something so small cause her to feel so drained and terrified.

"Of course, of course", said Sirius, his eyes filled with sympathy. He used his thumb to wipe away her tears. She tried to look around him for Remus, what must he think of her? Turning up crying like a baby over bumps in the night, but he was nowhere to be seen. The heat of embarrassment burned in her cheeks.

"I'm an Auror for god's sake, I need to pull myself together," she heard anger in her voice. "…so stupid."

"It's okay," murmured Sirius, looking into her face. "It's definitely okay."

The room began to return to normal, and she saw that they had been playing Exploding Snap. Next to the pile of discarded cards was a half-finished bottle of Firewhiskey and two glasses, one half full, the other empty. The room was filled with several elegant emerald green settees with silver feet, and in the centre of the furthest wall was a magnificent fire place. The mantelpiece had a layer of dust resting on the top of the assorted Black family heirlooms. A large painting hung on the adjacent wall in which stood an empty handsome wooden chair, it's occupant obviously away in another painting.

Remus entered with a steamy cup of hot chocolate, he handed it to her, and then stood opposite her and Sirius, who was still kneeling next to her.

"She heard someone in her house," said Sirius.

"Did you see anyone Tonks?" Remus asked, his eyes never leaving her face. She tried to drag her eyes away from him but it was so easy to watch the lines of his body moving. But with it it brought the familiar dull ache of pure need.

She shook her head. It had all seemed so real at the time.

"Do have any security enchantments around your house?" Remus asked. "Ones that would alert you to an intruder?"

She shook her head again. How stupid she was, she was an Order member, an Auror in the Ministry, and yet she didn't have the brains to cast simple enchantments around her house to stop things like this from happening. She had always felt safe in her home, but now she realised that unless she protected it, it wasn't safe.

"I'm so stupid," she moaned into her hands. "How did they ever let me become an Auror?"

"Stop that," said Sirius, squeezing her hand.

"Right," Remus straightened up. "Accio." His old brown coat flew in through the doorway.

Sirius frowned, "Where are you going Moony?"

"I'm going to check if there's anyone at her house, and then I'm going to set up some enchantments for her. No, you stay here," he said to Sirius as he rose to grab his own coat. "You have to stay with her, make sure she's okay."

"Be careful," the words fell from her lips before she could stop them. She hoped she hadn't let anything go.

"Drink that," he said, "the chocolate will help." His brown eyes burned into hers, and then he was gone.

The front door clicked shut and she heard the bolts and chains relocking themselves.

She sipped the hot chocolate and could not help finally feeling completely comfortable in Headquarters. Remus was right, it did help. There was something about this house that just felt like everything that encompassed the word home. It was not the Black family furniture and obvious Slytherin artefacts. It was the people here. The members of the Order that made you feel safe. Walls, fire and loved ones. That was home. She began to feel a bit sleepy.

Sirius hadn't moved for a while, his eyes staring into space. It seemed he had forgotten she was there. He looked like he was thinking about something.

"Sirius," she whispered. His head snapped towards her.

"Are you ok?" She wasn't talking about right now. She knew it was a pitiful question to ask when she knew above all Sirius wished to be a bigger part of this world than he was. She knew that even now he wished he was out with Remus.

"I'm doing ok," he said getting up. He picked up the bottle of Firewhiskey and drained it dry. He then walked over and sat on the arm of her chair. He leant into her and his shaggy hair rested on her forehead, the sweet fiery smell of alcohol on his breath. "I'm doing ok," he repeated.
The cousins sat together staring into the depths of the fire for a while before Remus returned.

She leapt to her feet.
"Are you ok?" She asked.

"I'm fine," he said with a faint smile. "Your house is empty, I'm not sure what you heard but it's gone now. Nothing has been taken, or broken. I've set up every security charm I know of. But I wouldn't advise you go home tonight."

Tonks turned to look at Sirius.

The Firewhiskey had gone straight to his head. He had fallen asleep in the chair Tonks had been sleeping in. His head leant back; he looked like the young man from Lily and James' wedding photos.
She picked up her quilt and laid it gently over her cousin. She heard Remus collapse onto the settee behind her and give a large yawn.

She turned around to see him twirl his wand and summon another bottle of Firewhiskey and two clean glasses. "I think we need to get some more fire back in you," he said indicating that she should sit down next to him.

"I think I may have to agree with you," she said falling heavily onto the settee. She was suddenly acutely aware that she was still in her pyjamas. She noticed that as he handed her a full glass, his body instantly turned in towards her, giving her his full attention.

"I can't believe I was so stupid and scared. I'm sorry you had to go over to my house and do that," she said quickly, not quite making eye contact with him. The last thing she wanted was for Remus to think that she was a coward, not after how impressed he'd been that she was currently the youngest Auror at the Ministry.

"You really don't have to apologise, it wasn't a problem at all," he smiled. She smiled back, finally lifting her eyes and feeling slightly better about the whole thing.

"Do you have work tomorrow?" He asked her, taking a sip from his glass.

She tipped her head back with a sigh. "Yes," she groaned with her eyes closed. "I was supposed to finish a report for Kingsley in the morning before I got to the Ministry."

"I'll talk to Kingsley, you should stay here tomorrow, you need lots of sleep. I don't think it would do you any good to go in." She opened her eyes and looked into his perfectly calm face.

"We've got so much work to do that I don't think even Kingsley would be happy about me taking tomorrow off," she sighed.

"You make it sound as if I have no powers of persuasion?" He said quietly, taking a drink.

"Do you?" She smiled.

A silent fire erupted in his eyes that startled her. Were they flirting with each other? She took a long drink.

"Well I can't reveal all my secrets, I have to keep something back don't I?" He said.

She wondered for a moment how much he was keeping back, not just from her, but from everyone. His face looked young and happy now as he laughed at her. But when the fire flickered and cast a shaft of light onto his face, she could still see the faint lines around his eyes, and the grey lining the hair at his temples.

The room was silent but for the crackling of the fire, yet their voices never raised above a whisper. The air between them had become steadily less as they had been talking. It froze now as his eyes travelled from her eyes to her lips. She saw it too, how could she miss it, when his eyes had held her captive for so long.

Her chest was rising and falling faster and faster. What was going on? The orange flames melted his chocolate eyes and illuminated the soft stubble on his cheeks.
It looked to her like he was leaning in, she could almost feel his warm breath on her skin. Unless she was imagining it, unless it was the Firewhiskey playing tricks on her.

"No, Snivellus!" Sirius moaned in his sleep.
The sound awoke them from the bubble they were in. Sirius rolled over and was silent again. Tonks yawned heavily, "I really can't be bothered to move from here now."

Remus flicked his wand and a moment later a quilt and several pillows came gliding into the room. He handed them to her.

"Here, you take these two pillows and I'll have this one and the end of the quilt."

She took the pillows and placed them on arm of the sofa and curled up with her feet next to Remus. He moved his wand again and the quilt settled gently on top of her like a blanket of snow. Remus pulled the end of the quilt over his chest and lap and snuggled down in the seat.

"Comfy?" Tonks looked up at him as he settled down into the sofa and closed his eyes.

"Mm hmm," he hummed.

For some reason the sight of him cuddled under and so low in the sofa he looked half his normal height was very funny. She giggled into the quilt.

He looked over at her with raised eyebrows, "something funny?"

She shook her head with a big grin on her face. Suddenly he grabbed one of her feet and began tickling it.

"Stop, stop!" She squealed as she squirmed. But he didn't stop. "I will kick you," she whispered viciously through clenched teeth.

"Oh well I'm terrified now," he whispered back with a huge grin on his face.

"You should be," she said as she pressed her face into the quilt. She heard his muffled laughing. "It's not funny!" She said. She could feel her body jerking as she tried to get away from the tickling.

"Oh I very much disagree," he said.

Finally it got to the point where she couldn't stand it any longer, the quilt ballooned up as she kicked her left foot out into his leg.

"Ooff!" He said, but this only made him laugh even more. When he had finally recovered he turned to look down at her, "I am sorry. But at least now I know how tolerant to tickling you are." He grinned.

"Not very," she said, suddenly overcome by a large yawn.

"Let's get some sleep," he tucked the quilt around himself and her feet. She nodded, her eyes feeling heavier and heavier.

She settled down and now realised how close she was to him. She could breathe him in. His heady scent made her want to cry with longing. She could barely believe that this had happened. That only a quilt now separated them. She wondered what had happened as she watched him point his wand at the fire. The brightness dimmed but the heat intensified. Despite the warmth all the hairs on her arms stood on end. She must have imagined him leaning in, he thinks of you only as a friend, Tonks. Yet she had never seen him be this intimate with anyone before, she had barely seen him touch anyone.

She let her breathing become slower and gentler. And she fell asleep like that; with the fire crackling and Remus Lupin by her side.