Tonks woke the following morning feeling at least moderately refreshed after the madness of the previous days; she'd reserve further judgement of how she was feeling until after she'd had coffee. She switched on her coffee maker and went to wash her face and brush her teeth while it brewed. As Tonks rummaged through her clothes, she also thought she should find some time to work on her laundry. Maybe her mum could help her catch up once they got Harry where he needed to be. Tonks settled on a pair of black trousers she rarely wore, usually favoring blue jeans, and cast a Cleansing Charm on rumpled concert t-shirt. Not wanting to endure the day grumpy and hungry again, she rifled through her cupboards as she sipped her coffee, looking for something that was edible. Tonks sighed as she realized she should put a stop to pick up some groceries on her to-do list. She settled for putting an egg to boil, hoping it hadn't been sitting in her fridge—another gift from her father— for too long. She threw on her cleanest set of navy blue Auror robes over her clothes and shoved her feet into her boots. As she finished tying her laces there was a loud knock at her door.

"Who is it?" Tonks called.

"Open up, lass."

She recognized Mad-Eye's gruff voice and opened the door to find him with his wand out as if he had been prodding her door handle. "Isn't it a bit early to be making me angry? I haven't even had a second coffee yet."

"I was checking to see if you followed my instructions," he grumbled.

"It's only been a few days since you told me to rework my wards," Tonks said with a huff. "I've been a bit busy."

"You didn't even bother with a security question," he said accusingly.

"I knew it was you."

A door across the hall opened. The nosy witch who'd snooped out her door when Remus had stopped by stuck her head out to peer into the hall. "Mind your business," Mad-Eye growled at her before pushing his way past Tonks into her flat.

"You're certainly in a charming mood this morning," she said as she closed the door. She grabbed her coffee mug from the counter and downed the rest. "The kettle's empty if you want tea." Tonks knew better than to offer Mad-Eye a cup of coffee. Not only did he prefer tea to coffee, but his habit toward paranoia wouldn't allow even Tonks to prepare a drink for him. She refilled her coffee while Mad-Eye drew a tea bag from the pocket of his robes and went about boiling water. As Tonks sipped her coffee, Mad-Eye reached back into a pocket of his robes and pulled out a small paper sack and held it out. She took the sack and opened it to find a croissant. "Thanks, love," she said brightly. "Thought I was going to have to survive the day on a single egg."

"You left in a hurry yesterday," Mad-Eye said as he poured water from the kettle into his mug. He looked up expectantly.

Tonks gave a small shrug as she rested her hip against the counter. She tore off a piece of croissant and popped it in her mouth. "I wanted to get home for a run," she said, earning her a grunt from Mad-Eye. He narrowed his non-magical eye at her for a few moments before she broke the silence. "Have you got something to say?"

Mad-Eye took a breath as though getting ready to speak. Apparently deciding against making his opinion known, he closed his mouth and remained silent for a few more beats before answering, "Not just yet."

"Good," she said. Tonks was sure Mad-Eye was thinking of asking her about Remus. He had never hesitated to say anything on his mind before, but this was uncharted territory for them. She had been single for almost the entire time she had known Mad-Eye; therefore, he'd never needed to share his opinion on anyone in her life. She took another bite of her croissant and finished the rest of her coffee. "I'm guessing you didn't stop by just to bring me breakfast."

"Aye." Even though he had prepared his own tea, he took a suspicious sniff before taking a drink. She shook her head a bit at his action before reminding herself that if she'd spent the better part of a year locked in a trunk she'd likely sniff everything that came close to her lips as well. "You left yesterday before I could tell you to contact me first if you get a response from Dursley. I'll be working with Albus today, so just send your Patronus when you hear word."

"All right, boss," she replied around the last bit of croissant she'd stuffed in her mouth. "I'd better get going. Especially if I'm going to have to sneak out early."

Mad-Eye drained his tea and placed his empty mug in the sink. "Fix your wards, lass. I'm going to keep checking, mind."

"Even if I change them, you'll likely be able to break them since you taught me most of the protective enchantments I know." Mad-Eye gave another grunt in response. Tonks picked up her wand and slipped it into a pocket inside her robes as she moved towards the door. "The post is set to arrive before noon, so hopefully we'll have a response early in the day." They said their goodbyes, Mad-Eye Disapparating while Tonks walked down the stairs to leave her building for the short walk to the Ministry.

Tonks arrived at her desk a short time later, still early enough that the Auror office was nearly empty. She began sifting through her in-box that had been neglected over the past few days and caught sight of an inter-department memo stamped "Urgent" across the top. She scanned through the memo quickly. Bugger. Starting the following week, Scrimgeour was going to conduct individual interviews of the Auror department as ordered by the Minister. She peeked over the wall of her cubicle to look at Kingsley's door. She noticed that the door was ajar and stood from her desk to cross the room, the memo crushed under her clenched fingers.

Tonks gave a swift knock once she reached Kingsley's door, and pushed it open, relieved to see him sitting alone in his office. "Have you got a minute?" Kingsley motioned her in. Tonks turned to close the door and pulled her wand to cast a Silencing Charm. "Did you see this load of tosh?" she asked, tossing the memo on the desk.

"I did." Kingsley picked up the memo and gave it a look over. "Looks like Fudge's paranoia is going to start rivaling Mad-Eye's."

Tonks snorted. "Merlin help us."

"We're heading out on patrol today," Kingsley said as he checked his watch. "It's still pretty early yet. We'll leave after I meet with Scrimgeour."

"Are you to report back on whether or not I'm in league with Sirius Black?"

Kingsley chuckled. "Something like that. I get the impression that they want to know how close you still are with Mad-Eye."

"Well, if anybody thinks I'm going to chuck him over just to make Fudge feel better, they should think again." Tonks crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'd never ask you to chuck over the so-called love of your life," Kingsley said with a smile. "I'll come get you when I'm ready to leave."

Tonks left his office and went back to sorting through her paperwork until it was time to leave. Two hours and another cup of coffee later, Kingsley and Tonks headed out for their patrol. As they strolled through Diagon Alley, Tonks surreptitiously checked the response card in her pocket every few minutes once the time hit noon. Just as they were headed down the street to Knockturn Alley, Tonks pulled the card out and noticed with a start that she had received a reply; there was a small check mark indicating that one of the Dursleys had accepted the invitation. She put her hand on Kingsley's arm to stop him and handed him the card. Tonks pulled her wand from the inside pocket of her robes, conjured her Patronus and sent a message to Mad-Eye.

"We'll have to finish our patrol before we head off to Headquarters," Kingsley said quietly. "Let's head down Knockturn Alley, then we'll make our way back."

Tonks nodded and followed as Kingsley continued walking toward the shabbier buildings of Knockturn Alley. They patrolled for a while without incident, until they were forced to break up a heated argument between two angry wizards—both of whom reeked of stale drink—who were holding each other at wand-point. As they were separating the angry men and sending them on their way, Tonks saw Lucius Malfoy striding down the street in their direction. She nudged Kingsley, nodding toward Lucius, who entered the Poison Quill.

"I'd love to know exactly what's going on in there," Tonks murmured. "I mean, I know they're recruiting. But there's something more to it." She turned to face Kingsley. "Remus found residual magic in the back hallway, but didn't have time to search any further." Tonks thought for a moment, deciding now was a good chance to follow-up. "Let's check it out."

"We're on patrol, and we have no cause to enter and search anything."

Kingsley was right; they had no cause to search and no solid reason to enter the pub in the middle of their work day. "Let's bring in Dung, then." She knew Mundungus would certainly not look out of place in the shabby pub; she'd detained him there before.

"Unfortunately, Albus is keep Dung occupied for the time being," Kingsley said, shaking his head.

Tonks stood in thought again. Everyone else from the Order was at work for the day and she didn't think she should call Mad-Eye away from whatever he was doing with Dumbledore. "What about Remus?"

Kingsley eyed her thoughtfully. "What would we have him do?"

"He and I can pretend to be meeting up for a quick chat." Tonks pulled Kingsley into the alley next to the building. "You keep the barman occupied asking him about the break—"

"We've already interviewed him about the break-ins in Knockturn Alley," he interrupted in a low voice.

"And? Tell him you're following up." Tonks conjured her Patronus. She murmured, "Meet immediately—where we departed from our favorite pub" and sent the message on its way. She thought Remus was likely to be at Headquarters, but wanted to keep her message cryptic just in case. Tonks pulled Kingsley in front of her, blocking her completely from view, closed her eyes in concentration and morphed into her old lady disguise. She removed her badge, placing it in a pocket, and transfigured her Auror robes into simple robes in deep purple. "Tell Remus I'm his old Auntie Dora today and that I'm sitting in the same spot as before. If he's busy and can't come, I'll just leave after a bit." Before Kingsley could argue, Tonks turned the corner, opened the door, and stepped into the pub.

"Can I help you, ma'am?" the barman asked gruffly.

"Oh no, dear," Tonks answered, waving her hand airily. "I'm meeting my nephew. I'll just find myself a seat." She made her way to the back of the pub and slid into the far booth, choosing the bench facing the door.

Tonks had only been waiting a few minutes when Remus entered the pub and walked back to where she sat. He slid into the booth next to her, avoiding her gaze. "Good afternoon, my dear auntie," he said coolly. "Your companion said you were in need of assistance today."

Tonks glared at Remus. "My colleague," she whispered, "will be in shortly to distract the barman. Being the expert in defense against the Dark Arts, I thought you could check out that hallway again."

Remus turned his head slightly towards Tonks. "I must confess I prefer your previous disguise to this one."

Tonks gave a small smile at the thought of the pretend snog they'd had the last time they sat in the booth. "Tragically, we don't have time for Auntie Dora to sit on your lap," Tonks replied, reaching to pat Remus' cheek. "Now," Tonks started in a business-like tone. "We watched Malfoy walk in, but he's nowhere in sight, which leaves me to guess he's behind whatever that wall is hiding." She turned her head as the door opened and watched Kingsley walk to the bar to engage the barman in conversation. "Here's your chance."

"Very well," he replied with a sigh. He rose from the booth and walked to the hallway, where Tonks saw him disappear as this Disillusionment Charm took effect. After about five minutes, Tonks heard Kingsley loudly say goodbye to the barman. A few moments later, Remus walked back over to the booth and held out his hand. "Let's go, dear auntie."

Tonks took Remus' hand and let him help her from the booth. They exited the pub and rounded the corner to the alley. Kingsley was leaning against the building waiting for them. Tonks stood behind him, again letting him shield her from view and morphed her features and Transfigured her clothing, attaching her badge once more to the front of her robes.

"Well?" Kingsley asked, casting what Tonks assumed to be a Muffliato spell around them.

"There's definitely a door," Remus answered. "Not as heavily warded as it should be. I believe I could get it open if I had a bit more time."

"I'd love to know what they are up to," Tonks said. "They can't just be recruiting if you ask me."

Remus nodded. "Mad-Eye wanted me to pass on that you two should come to Headquarters as soon as you can break away from work." He suddenly turned and Disapparated.

Kingsley looked taken aback at Remus' quick exit. "That was unlike Remus," he said with a frown. He gave a small shrug as he peered at his watch. "Let's finish up. Then we can stop by the office and write a quick report that we stopped in the Quill for follow up."

They turned out of the alley, where Tonks stopped short of running straight into Lucius as he exited the pub. He looked down at Tonks, a grin spread across his face that belied the malice in his stare. "Well, well. If it isn't Andromeda's little freak."

"Hello, Uncle Lucius. Out for a stroll, are we?"

"Indeed," he replied coldly. "Look at you." His appraising eyes swept over her with contempt, finally raising up to meet hers, holding her gaze. "All grown up, protecting the world from Dark Wizards."

Refusing to let him intimidate her, Tonks maintained eye contact. "Some of us have to work for a living," she said sweetly. "We don't all have a family fortune to fall back on. Come along, Kingsley," she turned to her partner, who was watching the exchange with a bemused expression on his face. "Apparently, we have Dard Wizards to catch."

She took one last look into Lucius' glaring face before she and Kingsley set off down the street to finish their work. "Lovely man, your uncle," Kingsley mused once they were out of earshot.

Tonks chuckled. "Thank Merlin we're only related by marriage."

Two hours later, Tonks and Kingsley walked through the front door to Headquarters and down the entry hall, Kingsley grabbing ahold of Tonks' elbow as she tripped on the rug. As they walked past the stairs, Tonks noticed that the Weasley kids and Hermione were sitting half-way up the steps leading to the upper floors. She stopped to say hello, letting Kingsley go ahead down the steps into the kitchen. "Wotcher," she said, using a Sonorous Whisper only they would hear. "Are you lot trying to spy on the meeting?"

"We want to know what's going on with Harry," Hermione replied in the same manner, clever girl. Everybody nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry about Harry," Tonks whispered with a smile. "He'll likely be here soon."

"Will you tell us what's going on after the meeting?" George asked.

"You two aren't really in a position to ask for favors now, are you?" she retorted, looking between Fred and George.

"That doesn't mean we won't try," Fred replied with a smirk. "If you won't tell us what's going on in the meeting, why don't you tell us why you had a row with Professor Lupin yesterday."

Tonks raised her eyebrows at the twins. "I'd much sooner tell you what's going on in the meeting today than tell you that."

"He's been in a foul temper all day," George said.

"Knickers in a twist and everything," Fred said with a wink.

Tonks rolled her eyes, realizing she should have cast a Silencing Charm along with her Locking Charm when she slammed the boys' door shut the previous day. "Stop being nosy," she said, heading for the stairs down to the kitchen. She was quite keen to head to the kitchen and see Remus again, now that she'd heard his bad mood wasn't just being directed at her. Her run the previous day had helped a bit, but she was still feeling unsettled after their row. After his departure from their impromptu mission that day, Tonks wanted to see for herself how Remus was acting.

She pushed the door open and stopped in her tracks. "Well," she said. Her eyes moved over the table with a curious expression. "Somebody's been busy." The table was covered in platters of sandwiches, plates heaped high with at least four different kinds of biscuits, and bowls of crisps. She looked over to see Molly standing at the oven, taking baking sheets full of even more biscuits from the racks.

"Molly's been keeping herself occupied today," Remus said quietly from his spot at the table next to Sirius. His eyes flicked quickly up to Tonks' hair—which she had pointedly worn black for the day—and back down to meet her eyes. She met and held his gaze for a few moments.

"I can see," Tonks said. She turned from the table to address Molly. "Did you think you were feeding a small army this evening?"

"Just trying to keep busy, dear," Molly replied. "Here." She turned from the oven and placed a plate of biscuits in Tonks' hands. "Put these on the table with the others."

"You're a brave woman, trusting me with a plate of food." She turned to take the plate to the table and ran into a chair someone had left pushed away from the table. Biscuits—ginger by the look of them—slid off the plate and scattered on the floor. Tonks caught her balance, sighed and drew her wand to Summon the dropped treats back to the plate. She handed the plate to Arthur, who was sitting at the table with Kingsley. "Set this aside for Fred and George," she said with a wink. Arthur answered with a broad smile.

Molly placed another baking sheet in the oven. "Tonks, would you please call the children for tea?"

"This is afternoon tea?" Tonks looked incredulously at the table covered in plates of food. "I thought you were serving early dinner."

"I thought we could have a hearty tea and then have a late supper once we need a break later."

"Looks to me like an excuse for you to prepare more food," Tonks said over her shoulder as she left the kitchen. She walked up the stairs to where the kids were still sitting on the steps. "Your mother has granted you access to the kitchen for now so you can eat." Tonks heard footsteps from the stairs behind her and turned to see Sirius walking towards her. "Did you think I needed help fetching this lot?"

"Your mother is serving tea and enough biscuits to feed all of Hogwarts," Sirius said to the kids. He jerked his head in the direction of the kitchen. "Off with you." The kids all filed past, watching them speculatively. "Come on," he said, pulling Tonks by the elbow. "Have a chat with me."

"I thought I told you to bugger off," Tonks hissed at him as he dragged her through a door she'd barely noticed before. He pulled her into a room that appeared to be a formal dining room, with a large table and two grand light fixtures suspended from the ceiling. Distracted from her annoyance, she asked, "Why don't we eat in here rather than the kitchen? This room is huge."

"It's only been half decontaminated." He glanced around. "It needs a bit more work before it's ready to be used."

"Right. Did you need something? I'd like to go eat, if you don't mind." Tonks crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Sirius.

"You and your bloody food," he mumbled. "How do you eat so much and stay so small?"

"First of all, I run," she answered, arms still crossed defensively. "Second, I think it has something to do with my morphing. Madame Pompfrey had a theory about my cells always changing and burning energy. Not that it matters," she said in exasperation. "What do you want?"

"Are you going to cut Moony some slack?"

"Why should I? He's acting like a prat." Tonks said. "I don't answer to him about my friends, and it was out of line for him to wonder whether I'm shagging Kingsley."

"I don't deny that he was a bit out of line," Sirius said, raising his hands in surrender. "But can't you see this from his point of view?" Tonks gave him a quizzical look, causing Sirius to roll his eyes at her. "A young and handsome dragon keeper has been fortunate enough to possibly see you naked," he said, looking at her with eyebrows raised as if what he was saying was obvious. He heaved an exasperated sigh before continuing. "He doesn't feel like he can compete with that."

Tonks gave a huff of laughter despite her attempt to contain it. "Charlie has not seen me starkers." She sighed heavily, uncrossing her arms to place her hands on her hips. "We're just friends. Barely that anymore since he lives about a thousand miles away. And I'm not—nor have I ever been—shagging Kingsley."

"You called him 'love'," Sirius said evenly.

Tonks looked at him, her brows furrowed in confusion. "And? I call Mad-Eye 'love' all the time. I certainly hope Remus doesn't think I'm shagging him too."

"Merlin's bollocks, that's an image I never needed," Sirius said with a shudder. Tonks shook her head and tried to fight the grin that threatened. "Just give him a break, would you?" he asked pleadingly.

"Why are you being so meddlesome?"

"I'm trying to keep myself busy rather than go mad stuck in this house worrying about Harry," he said with a shrug. "Molly's coping by preparing enough food to feed the entire Wizarding world, and I'm coping by trying to save my mate from being his own worst enemy. And," he started tentatively, rubbing the heels of his hands over his eyes, "maybe after twelve years of rotting in a cell I want to see something good for a change."

Tonks thought that was hard to argue with. She looked more closely at her cousin's pensive face. With the stress of the previous few days subduing his usual joking manner, Tonks could see the toll on his face that years of imprisonment had taken. His skin was even more pale than usual, and his eyes had shadows beneath them.

"I'll think about it," Tonks muttered. She turned to leave the dining room, saying over her shoulder, "Because I think he's a decent bloke, not because of your interfering." She stalked off toward the kitchen.

She sat at the crowded table and ate, talking to Ginny and Hermione, sneaking looks at Remus as he sat and brooded at a cup of tea. Tonks watched him covertly, noticing that he didn't eat much of his sandwich, but ate at least five biscuits—choosing only the varieties that contained chocolate, ignoring the ginger and oatmeal. She smiled to herself, despite still being annoyed with him. She thought he looked quite adorable pouting over their row. He set down his tea and crossed his arms at his chest, one hand free to continue eating his biscuit. His handsome face was set in a slight scowl. It made her wonder what he must have looked like as a boy, pouting over some childhood slight. Tonks really didn't know much about his past. She wasn't sure when he'd been bitten or whether his parents were still living. She knew he had three good friends during his Hogwarts days, but little more than that. These were all things she realized she'd like to learn if they could get back to speaking freely to one another.

Molly directing the kids to clean up jolted Tonks from her thoughts. She grabbed two half-empty goblets of pumpkin juice that looked to be left-over from lunch and stood. She turned to take them to the counter, and ran directly into Remus, splashing the remainder of the contents of the goblets down her front. Tonks froze, locking eyes with Remus before a small smile turned up the corners of her lips. "At least it's me this time covered in juice, not you."

"Shall I help dry you off, Tonks?" he asked pointedly, the hint of a smile on his lips.

"I think I'll manage all right on my own, Professor." She turned from Remus with a frown. Although she had been the one to demand that he call her 'Tonks', she couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed to hear him say it. She had actually—not that she would admit it to anybody—grown to like hearing him call her 'Nymphadora' with his hoarse voice; it sounded down right sensual. Tonks sighed and walked over to the girls to ask if one of them had a t-shirt she could borrow; even if she used a Drying Charm on her current shirt, it would still be sticky and smelling like juice for the rest of the night. She followed Ginny upstairs to their room, took the Chudley Cannons t-shirt she offered, and went to the loo to change. A few minutes later, she reentered the kitchen, where Molly promptly took her soiled t-shirt and promised to launder it for her.

The table had been cleared and readied for the meeting by the kids, who were now grudgingly leaving the kitchen. Once the meeting got underway, Tonks realized it was going to be more of a brainstorming session for the next day when the detailed planning would begin. She mostly listened, giving her opinion when asked. Although her attention was to the task at hand, she was also aware that she and Remus interacted far less than they usually did when around one another. Tonks sagged in relief when the group voted to eat dinner and start again the following day. She glumly decided to skip dinner at Headquarters, opting instead to make a much-needed stop at the corner shop before retiring for bed.

Tonks purchased a few essentials—eggs, milk, bread, and a cup of tea to-go. She had barely stepped into her flat before she dropped her tea and groceries to the floor and drew her wand at the person sitting in her chair. Tonks lowered her wand and glared at the wizard—dressed in head to toe black—seated casually in her sitting area with a copy of the Quibbler in his hands.

"You owe me a cup of tea and some eggs if they're broken," Tonks told him.

Severus Snape lowered the magazine slightly and gazed at her with an impassive expression. "I wouldn't say that I owe you anything."

"Mad-Eye put you up to this, did he?" Tonks asked as she used her wand to siphon the tea off her floor.

"Your esteemed mentor wants you to learn a lesson in following his instructions," Severus said, closing the copy of the Quibbler and setting it on his lap. "And I'm loath to disagree with him in this instance. It took me less than a minute to enter your flat."

"I'll tell you the same thing I told him," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'll work on it as soon as I have some time. Now." Tonks reached down and picked up her grocery sack and examined its contents. "Are you here for a reason or just to prove a point?"

"I obtained a copy of the guest list for our upcoming mission. It contains a name I thought you would find interesting." Snape reached inside his robes and pulled out a sheet of parchment.

Tonks placed her groceries on her coffee table and snatched the parchment out of his hands. She sat on her couch, scanning the list while Snape turned his attention back to the Quibbler. She reached the name William Murphy and looked up. "Well, it looks as though I'm going to have a chat with my friend from the MLE office at this fancy party."

"Indeed," Snape said, who had resmued perusing his magazine.

Tonks rolled her eyes again. His indifference to conversation was certainly going to make their mission to Malfoy Manor interesting. "I didn't take you for a Quibbler reader."

"The editor is the father of one of my students," he said as he closed the magazine again and placed it on the coffee table. "She feels the need to supply me with a monthly copy." Snape fixed his gaze on Tonks. She felt transported to her days in the Potions classroom as his intimidating stare bored into her. "I spoke with Lucius Malfoy today."

"Did you?" Tonks asked with a smile. "And what did my dear uncle have to say?"

"Owing to his temper, he was amusingly short for words. Lucius did manage," he added with a sneer, "to voice his displeasure that you seemed immune to his intimidation tactics."

"I wouldn't be very good at my job if I let every over-inflated git I come across reduce me to floods, now would I?"

Snape held her gaze for a moment before he stood, edged around her coffee table and moved towards the door. "Now that you have been properly chastised," he said dryly, "I'll take my leave."

"Will you be helping fly Harry to Headquarters Sunday?" Tonks asked.

Snape paused in the doorway. "If I turned up on Potter's doorstep, it would likely result in him receiving yet another warning from the Ministry about the use of underage magic."

"Not his favorite professor, then?" Tonks asked with a smile.

Snape gave her a smirk. "I'm no one's favorite professor."

Tonks spent the rest of her evening collecting laundry scattered around her flat while listening to a Leonard Cohen disc, absorbing the melancholy of some of the songs. Her time spent at Headquarters that day included very little contact with Remus. Luckily, she had been slightly distracted from her lack of Remus by the madness of planning the mission to Privet Drive. She fell asleep thinking that at least she would have the excuse of mission planning to keep her at Headquarters over the weekend.

After a long run and a shower, Tonks spent nearly the entire day Saturday—and late into the evening—in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place. Mission planning ended up being a frenzied affair of developing a flight route, reading weather reports, and task assignment interspersed with Molly yelling at the twins and confiscating their Extendable Ears, Tonks arguing with Mad-Eye about the likelihood of Death Eaters being present in the Dursleys' garden, and Sirius becoming increasingly surly due to his being left behind for the mission. Tonks certainly didn't complain when Molly broke out the wine to serve with the roast and potatoes for dinner Saturday night.

Once Mad-Eye began pondering the need to change their route again for the return trip—just in case the route they'd decided on was too easy to track—Tonks decided it was time to leave before she cast a Silencing Charm at him. She bid goodnight to the rest of the Order Members still present and rose from the table with a stretch.

"I'll walk you out," Remus said. "I'm relieving Dung at Privet Drive in a bit."

"Is that where old Dung has been the last few days?" Tonks asked.

"Albus has had him guarding Harry almost non-stop since Wednesday," Sirius said, eyeing Remus with poorly concealed glee. "He gets to leave for a bit of sleep here and there."

"Serves him right," Tonks grumbled. "I still don't quite understand why he's in the Order."

"He's loyal to Dumbledore," Remus replied as he held the kitchen door open for Tonks. "And he serves a purpose. I'm sure you know that Dung has contacts that can provide valuable information."

Tonks nodded her head in agreement as Remus guided her quietly up the stairs and through the entry hall to the front door. Much to Tonks' delight, Remus' hand rested on her lower back as usual. Once they had stepped off the stoop to the sidewalk, Remus broke the silence.

"Your hair hasn't been its usual color the last couple of days," he commented hesitantly.

"Very observant, Professor." Tonks smiled a bit at his comment. She had worn her hair black the previous day and deep purple today as a means of pouting a bit; she had wondered that morning if he would take notice. They turned from the street into the alley, stopping after a few paces.

"Would it be out of line to put in a request for pink?" Remus asked.

"Out of line?" Tonks asked, looking up with a puzzled expression.

Remus stared down at his boots and shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers. Tonks thought he looked adorably awkward; like a fifth year asking a girl for a date to Hogsmeade. "I recall what you said about men asking you to alter your appearance for them."

Bugger. Tonks knew her comment from a few weeks ago would come up eventually. She wanted Remus to know that she wasn't bothered in the slightest that he asked to see her hair pink. In her mind, she likened it to him asking her to wear sexy knickers—a promising thought, indeed. Now, if Remus were to ask her to fill out those knickers differently, that would bother her. But, Tonks was almost certain that Remus was not the type of man to ask her to alter her appearance in that way. Looking at him standing close to her, unsure of himself and his request for pink hair, his hair falling across his forehead in the manner that she loved, Tonks realized that she fancied the pants off Remus Lupin. She knew she had been intrigued by—and attracted to—him immediately upon meeting him. But, the last few days of uncertainty between them had made her feelings clear and she couldn't help but hope that he felt the same.

Tonks simply smiled at him in response to his statement, reaching her hand up to sweep his hair across his forehead. "You can request all you like, Professor." Remus met her eyes and gave her his shy smile.

"But will my request be granted?"

"Only time will tell, I'm afraid." Tonks stepped back, holding his gaze. "I'll see you tomorrow." She heard a slight chuckle from Remus before she turned on the spot, landing moments later at her front door. Tonks was feeling drained after the long week and decided to ready herself for bed. She drifted to sleep, happier now that she and Remus had broken their tension a bit and pondering over when she should give in and morph her hair pink again.

A/N: Sorry for the wait! Real life and all...I hope to never make you all wait two weeks again for a chapter:). I hope people are enjoying the story. If you are, please say so with a review. It would make my day.

As always thanks to Kerichi for her time and reviews!