Chapter 37

(A/N: )

December 26, 1995 10:30pm

"So, Remus... what'd you get for Christmas?" asked Tonks. They were in the library, and Remus was trying to read. This was rather difficult, considering Tonks was combing his hair through her fingers, and distracting him greatly by just being there.

"Somebody gave me a beautiful set of new coloured pencils," he told her, deciding to give up on his book, which was less interesting than Tonks anyway. "I wonder who that could have been..."

Tonks grinned cheekily. "I thought you'd like that. And let's see... that slutty lingerie you got me was quite nice as well...

"What...?!" exclaimed Remus, after he was done choking on air. "I got you pair of fluffy bunny slippers." The bunny slippers had been Sirius's idea; considering that he was paying for everybody's gifts, and all Remus was doing was going out to get them, he found it appropriate to go with the items Sirius wanted to give. Well, actually, the bunny slippers had been his second choice for Tonks... the first was... well...

"Yes, Bubbles enjoys chewing on those greatly." Tonks said absently. "It sure is dark out, isn't it? No stars... I guess the clouds cover them up. We're going to have one hell of a snowstorm tonight."

"Hm." Remus was tired, and not really listening to what she was saying.

"Are you sleepy?" Tonks cooed.

"Must you talk to me like I am a kitten?" snapped Remus.

"Yes, I must," Tonks replied. Must you be so adorable when you're sleepy, just like a kitten?" She stopped messing up his hair and flopped down on the sofa next to him.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Sitting here, what does it look like?" she said.

"Hm."

"Do you have a problem with that, Remus? Is there anything that you would, perhaps, like me to do instead?" She smiled at him cheekily (it was so annoying when she did that) and moved a bit closer to him. Knowing what she was going to do next, Remus stared at here intently. Unfortunately, a loud bang, presumably from the twins' room, made him blink, and when he opened his eyes, Tonks was a bit closer... a bit closer... until she was literally right on top of him, kissing the tip of his nose.

"Moony..."

"Honestly, Sirius, do you have some sort of weird powers that help you detect exactly when to interrupt us?" Tonks shouted.

Sirius just grinned, the same annoyingly cheeky grin that Tonks always had. "In case you two have forgotten, the order meeting is about to start. So you should probably stop snogging, and come back downstairs..."

"The Malfoys have recently put up better security around their house," Dumbledore said. "This might mean that they are aware of the few times we have spied on them, using the ingenious invention of extendable ears; We have learned valuable information from this, such as the fact that the death eaters are planning some sort of attack, and that it is unlikely they will attempt to have Voldemort steal the prophecy; he may be able to do it, but he won't risk it. We should still continue to guard it, just in case, however..."

"Such a boring meeting." Tonks complained after it was over.

"Be thankful that it was boring," Remus told her. "It means nothing is happening, and you're less likely to die."

"Hm," Tonks mumbled, hugging him tightly.

"You didn't hear a word I just said, did you?" he asked.

"Not really," she murmured. It was quite late by then , and she was practically falling asleep.