A/N: The prompt here was 'compass', which I kind of struggled with at first. So I looked up whether the compass points symbolis anything, and this is the Celtic interpretation, which is one of several. To find it, type 'compass symbology' into Google. I know the directions go in an odd order, but I wanted to correspond them to R/T's journey.

Also, I'm afraid this hasn't been beta'd, because I've been very distracted this week and forgot to send it to my beta reader. You'll have to trust me. Thank you to all readers and reviewers!

Compass

East: air, communication, new beginnings, new growth

With her, it isn't just talking. Talk as they might, she is always finding new ways to speak to him, whether they be sign language ('Nymphadora' gets a backward peace sign), faces (no one could beat her at those) or silly little notes ('When I die, I want to go in my sleep like my granddad, not screaming and terrified, like his passengers').

Then one day, her foot brushed against his leg during a particularly tiring meeting. He looked up at her as if to acknowledge it and apologise, and she blew him a kiss. The air between them seemed magnetic, and the pleasurable squirm from somewhere inside him told him their relationship was beginning to change.

South: fire, energy, passion, creativity

The last person he saw to paint with their fingers was his baby sister, but Tonks seems to like it too. To look at her one would assume a savage style (the stripes of paint across her cheeks adding to her effect) and after a quick glance at her wild, earnest treatment of the stuff he leaves her to whatever messy craft she has in mind. He is stunned, therefore, to come back to an odd but beautiful piece of artwork two hours later. Hearing his impressed noises, she turns with a look of surprise, and he tells her his thoughts, though omitting 'odd', and she offers him her canvas. There isn't a moment's hesitation-her paint covered arms are holding it out and there's a smile on her face. She is not the only one with colour in her face at that moment.

West: water, emotion, psyche, movement

He's never seen her cry like she did the day he left her. He had never imagined she would react this badly; she's an Auror, he has a mission, surely she should understand. But her heart was heavy with grief before this happened, and she doesn't stop moving, whether to grab his robes or march away in exasperation or to throw herself against the door to hold him in. None of them work. He hates seeing those tears in her eyes, but they go with him when he leaves.

North: earth, home, security, fertility

Bathilda Bagshot's memorial service has depressed him, but she never fails to lighten his mood. When he comes home that evening, she is curled up on their sofa, wearing the magenta pyjamas he bought her a while ago which aren't as loose-fitting as they used to be. The firelight dances in her loving, sympathetic eyes. When she welcomes him into her outstretched arms, his hands are drawn to her...to them. Though their baby has not yet been born he feels that they are already a family. Her body is warm, life itself is coursing through her with particular fortitude. Winter is never cold when you're indoors, and you're home.