A/N: Me again. Them again. The story has taken its own unexpected twist on me. Let's hope it pays off, shall we?
So we're aware, these guys aren't mine. If they were mine, I'd be selling my old handbags on eBay for charity.
He'd never felt quite so awkward in all his thirty-five years. For all his shyness, Remus was rather sure-footed and relatively confident. He'd always carried himself well, and spoke properly, and, his condition not withstanding, had been pretty sure of himself.
But standing there in front of a girl-a woman, he had to correct himself-who he was almost sure had feelings about him that she truly shouldn't... He never should've gone down when he'd heard her walk in. When he heard her greet Sirius, he should've turned and taken off in the opposite direction. Instead, he'd slipped down the stairs, Sirius' words and his promise to his friend running through his head. Taking a deep breath, he flashed her a smile, but it faltered slightly at the expression on her face. Tonks looked angry and ready to take on the world.
She flopped herself into a chair in the corner of the sitting room, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. Concerned, but unsure of how exactly to show it, Remus took a few hesitant steps in her direction, pausing near the fireplace. "Everything all right, love?" he asked cautiously, bending his tall frame until he was seated at the hearth. Despite the fact that it was only late October, the air had taken on an almost bitter chill, and the fire blazed strong.
"Oh, just peachy," was Tonks' more than slightly sarcastic reply.
Startled, Remus sat up a bit straighter, watching her from his position. He felt almost vulnerable with her so much higher than he, but he thought it might help her. "Want to talk about it?" he questioned.
For a moment, her eyes narrowed, as if suspicious of his offer. It was only seconds, though, before she sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "It's that Umbridge woman," she muttered, annoyed. "I thought things would ease up a little with her at Hogwarts, but instead it seems to be getting worse."
Dolores Umbridge was a name Remus knew all too well. Lifting his eyebrows, he watched her a moment before speaking. "What's going on with her? Giving you a bit of trouble at the Ministry, is she?"
"You could say that," Tonks replied bitterly. "Though I think in the end she's making more trouble for you than me."
His stomach dropped and his eyes lifted to hers slowly. "Oh?" he asked, trying to seem as nonchalant as possible.
Her cheeks coloured and she nodded slowly. "Yeah," she murmured. "We had it out yesterday. Ended with me telling her to blow goats and get back to the school and butt into someone else's business."
Despite the fact that a part of him already knew, Remus watched her carefully as he asked, "May I ask what about?"
"Werewolf laws and control." Her voice came out in a soft whisper. Tonks seemed to be purposely avoiding his eyes, and he studied her face carefully.
Swallowing hard, he bit his lower lip. "Why's that?"
Tonks looked surprised, her eyes-light blue at that moment-widening slowly. "Why wouldn't I? You know how she is. Evil woman, against anyone less than her idea of perfect. Who's she to say what's right and what's wrong?"
With a small sigh, Remus leaned back against the worn black brick, the scratchy feeling almost soothing rather than uncomfortable. "Unfortunately," he began slowly, "Fudge has given her plenty of say. And her fight is a strong one. You'd be fighting a losing battle if you continue, Tonks."
"But why shouldn't I?" she countered, unfolding from her ball and leaning forward so she was somewhat closer to him. "You can't possibly find her theories about...about..."
"My kind?"
"Not what I was going to say, Remus," Tonks concluded, though there was a small smile on her face. "Anyway, you can't possibly agree with her. She'd have you all tagged and rounded up and banished to Romania like the dragons if she could."
He couldn't argue that. For a while, he'd tried to join in the fight against Umbridge and those who agreed with her himself. It was harder, though, when it was obviously a matter of defending himself, and he found it somewhat easier simply to do the writing and the research from behind the scenes. "No," he finally admitted slowly. "I definitely don't. But it's my fight, not yours."
Almost immediately, he knew he'd said the wrong thing. Her eyes flashed a darker blue, and she glared at him. It was one of those moments where she looked eerily like Sirius, especially with her hair so dark that day. "Your fight, Remus?" she challenged. "Because there's no other werewolves in Britain? Because this affects only you, somehow?"
"I just meant that-"
"Well, you're wrong. Besides which, who's to say that I can't stand up for my friends when I need it? I'd defend Sirius the same way if Kingsley hadn't put his foot down about it." As she finished her rant, she lifted her chin, which set her even further above him.
Remus groaned quietly, hanging his head for a moment. "I only meant that you needn't be involved in a battle you can't win. Fighting Umbridge's ways will only jeopardize your position in the Ministry." His voice was soft, gentle, and he reached out a hand.
She seemed to be staring at the hand skeptically, as if afraid he were going to mutter a curse and a spell would fire from it. When nothing happened, however, she slowly got to her feet and reached out her hand to his. At his gentle tug, she allowed him to guide her to his side, her shorter legs folding more easily than his long ones.
"I want to," Tonks protested quietly. "I...it's the least I can do, you know."
His smile was somewhat wistful as he shrugged his shoulders. "You don't need to be doing anything. Not for me, at least." It'd be selfish of him to want it. Just like it was selfish of him to want anything else from her.
But the girl next to him shook her head with a small smile of her own. "You don't get it, Remus. This is something I want to do. You don't deserve to be treated like that." Reaching up, she held up a long piece of her own dark hair and waved it in his face, making him laugh. "I'm not exactly normal, either, you know."
"So I've noticed," Remus agreed, his voice taking on a teasing tone. "Incredibly abnormal, from what I've seen. Oh, and you're a metamorphmagus, too."
"Mean!" Tonks declared, smacking him lightly in the upper arm.
Laughing, Remus grabbed at his arm, shaking his head. "And violent, too. But honestly, Tonks, don't put yourself on the line for me. Or," he added quickly, "any of the rest of us, either."
Slowly, her eyes narrowed again. "Remus," she began, but he cut her off.
"Discussion closed. And I didn't mean to infuriate you, honestly."
Her lips turned to a pout, but she let the subject drop. For then, at least. "Well...you did. But you can make it up to me."
Despite the fact that he knew where it was going, he didn't argue. Despite the chill that ran through him, he turned his head so he was facing her more directly. "Oh?" Remus questioned. "How's that?"
A cheeky grin crossed her face. "Have dinner with me. And don't fight with me the entire time that I don't have to do it."
But this time, he had no intentions of arguing. Instead, he smiled somewhat serenely. "Would you believe that's the reason I came to find you in the first place?"
Eyes widening in surprise, Tonks paused before she could reply. "I'm sorry, what?"
"I wanted to find you and ask you to dinner," Remus replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "That is, if you want to."
She laughed at that, shaking her head so her hair fell over her shoulders. "Remus Jerkface Lupin, you're impossible. I just told you I..." Her voice trailed off as she caught sight of the mischievous look on his face. "You're a right prat."
"And you're right gullible," he concluded. "Tomorrow night, perhaps?"
Tonks watched him for a moment before nodding. Her eyes seemed to be flickering over his face, and he held back the urge to cover his scars with his hand. Instead, he met her stare firmly. "Good," she agreed. "Tomorrow night it is."
Remus knew from the snickers he heard nearby that they'd been overheard. And for once, he found himself not caring if that was the case at all.
