A/N: And here's my happy birthday to Remus! ^^ I hope you guys like this chapter because I certainly loved writing it. xD
Thanks to LupinFamilyFan91 for reminding me of letting you lot know about my edited chapters. The list hasn't changed since I last posted because I recently got a beta and we're going through them together and that takes time. But I'll be sure to keep you updated on what's going on from now on. Also, on that note, I'd also like to thank Alex for betaing this chapter for me! Thanks, love! I got the epeolotry idea from a blog on Tumblr with that url, all the words I got there, but not all the meanings.

And a special thanks to all my reviewers who are brilliant human beings for taking time to write a little something and I do hope you guys do it again at the end of this page. So that's it, guys! Enjoy!

CHAPTER 36: Magnetic Poles

Tonks's hands were in her pockets, her eyes moving from right to the left searching for any activity out of the ordinary. She entered the Hall of the Prophecy humming Blinding Spell by The Weird Sisters. She had been waiting for that moment the whole day, counting the hours from when she would finally be free from the Auror Office and would take the stairs to the Department of Mysteries. The moment she heard the steps, she knew any Auror in her situation would shove the end of their wand on the stranger's nose and demand an answer for a question only the right person would know. However, Nymphadora Tonks simply took her wand out of her pocket pointing it to the row from where the footsteps were coming from, leant on the nearest shelf, smirked slightly and waited.

Having realised someone had entered the Hall of the Prophecy, Remus went to meet them with his wand held tightly in his hand. Soon he saw Tonks casually standing by a shelf of prophecies and pointing his wand at her, noting her smirk.

'Where did I tell you I supposed the name Nymphadora came from?'

'You had to choose my name, didn't you?' Even though she was troubled, Remus noticed that she never stopped pointing her wand to him. 'From Andromeda's mum – I forgot her name, being some sort of enemy of the nymphs. Honestly, she should have chosen another enemy, that way maybe mum would've named me after something better. Oh yeah, and then, after she was saved from the monster, Andromeda sort of didn't marry the bloke she was supposed to –' she stopped herself having seen Remus already lowering his wand.

'How are you, Dora?' he asked amused.

'I haven't even got to the actual answer.'

Remus shrugged.

'You've proved to me that you're you,' he told her. Truth to be told, he had recognised the twinkle in her gaze from the moment he laid his eyes on her. The question had been a mere formality he was sure she would have liked for him to follow, which he cut short when it had become too obvious.

'Remus, me hating my name is not news to anyone,' she informed him. 'I could be anyone – I could kill you.'

'Why don't you?'

'Because I'm me and you're you and –' I like you.

'Exactly how much time you've been spending with Mad-Eye, did you say?' he teased.

Barely any at all, she thought. A certain lycanthrope seemed to have claimed all her attention lately. Maybe she was exaggerating a bit.

'All right ...' She exhaled heavily.

'How was your day at the Office?' He tilted his head upwards and they started to walk to the 97th corridor.

'The usual. No one's got any proof that the escapees had any sort of help from the outside yet.' She sighed. 'We can't prove the Dementors left on their own and basically everyone believes Sirius is somehow behind everything. If only they knew the truth ... When will that daft git see reason?'

'When he sees Voldemort himself, or when that is incontrovertible proof he's back.' Remus stopped looking at the row with the number 97 on it and sitting down. 'When someone gets hurt.'

'But we won't let that happen,' she affirmed. 'After all, that's why the Order exists, isn't it? To fight, to stop him from hurting other people.'

'We'll certainly try,' he assured her, his voice getting lower, 'but this is war, Dora. You saw what happened to Arthur. We simply cannot guarantee everyone's safety.'

Tonks made a low sound, clearly in disbelief.

'Always the pessimist.'

'Not pessimist, realistic,' he began. 'Don't tell me you signed up for the Order unaware of this, you're just too smart. People will die, whether they are innocents or members of the Order. Could be me. Could be you.' He realised, feeling his heart tighten and made a silent pray in case there was someone listening to that old werewolf. Please, don't let it be her.

'Blimey! I'm not a little girl. This is what I do for a living, Remus, in case you've forgotten. I'd be honestly surprised if none of the other Aurors would want to join. We're paid to catch dark wizards! I wonder how Savage would react if I invited him to do his job in our free hours.'

'It's not the same, not the same at all. Look, I know you were young the last time, Dora, but –'

'All right, all right! I've had enough, OK?' She raised both her hands in redemption. 'Seems like everywhere I go is doom and gloom and Voldemort and casualties and "No, he's not back!" and "Of course he is!". Well, I've decided I've had enough. I don't want to talk about it anymore. Not here. Not with you.'

Remus saw the frankness in her eyes, the desire to live the moment, to stop fearing the future for it would do them absolutely no good and nodded. He couldn't find it in his heart to deny her that wish. One of the things he enjoyed the most about being in her company was that whenever she around, it was almost as though they were not at war at all. She brightened the day. She talked about nothing and everything and it seemed to him that it was just another happy, peaceful day. She erased his worries. She brightened the room. The name Nymphadora seemed to not be enough for her. He would not be surprised to learn that she was, in fact, a heroine, a daughter of Apollo. As though all those myths were real, he mused and stopped himself from grinning when he remembered that said god was in love with a nymph.

'What do you want to talk about then?'

'Something fun!' she begged, grinning. 'I don't know, um, oh! Tell me one of the Marauders' best pranks. Then I can share some of mine.'

'One of our best pranks ... Not an easy choice, you know. Lots of them to choose from.' He thought for a few seconds, watching her face as if she did not believe him, surely thinking she had better ones to tell, even though he knew that was not true. 'Oh, um, once we had got Severus locked in a broom cabinet for a couple of hours, not much, we set him free afterwards. However, he wanted revenge and we realised he had been after us, trying to get us unprepared. But we had an idea, a perfect one. One too good to let it pass.'

Amazed, he watched her face light up with curiosity for a couple of seconds.

'He had always looked like a bat, you know, that's not something from his adulthood. And Hallowe'en was coming.'

'Merlin ...' Tonks bit her bottom lip in anticipation.

'We spent hours upon hours in the library looking for the right spells and calculating every move.' His eyes focused in the darkness of the room as he lost himself in the memory. 'We waited for him to finish his dinner and did our best to hide ourselves under James's cloak – Have I told you about his invisibility cloak?'

'You've mentioned it.'

'All right, so there we were, just around the corner with our wands ready for him. The second Severus appeared we transfigured him into a giant bat.'

'Get away! You didn't!'

Tonks's eyes widened and Remus confirmed.

'He must hate bats nowadays,' she supposed. 'Me and a couple of mates shoved a hundred of those Hallowe'en bats they put in the castle in his chambers once.'

'Oh my ...'

Tonks nodded emphatically.

'But do tell, what happened?'

'He kept squeaking and flying around the corridors for a while. Problem is we didn't realise that bit of magic is a bit too advanced for four boys who had just started their fourth year.' He paused as she chuckled. 'Yeah, thank Merlin nothing bad happened to him. I mean, he was making some ultrasonic sounds for a couple of weeks, but that was all. We, on the other hand, had the misfortune of being caught laughing our arses off the moment Filch came and saw him going back to human. What are the odds, I ask you. Bet Mrs Norris had something to do with it ...'

She was interested. She was. She really was. She could swear to any living soul that his story was remarkable. But there was something ... something in the way his voice accompanied the story's timbre perfectly, something in the way he told the story, something in the way his lips moved, curling upwards, smiling, opening and closing. Oh! She wanted those lips opening and closing on hers, pressing down, kissing her, wetting their way with the marvellous tongue that articulated his words. By Merlin, she wanted to be the only thing in his mind; she wanted him to be as lost in her as she was in him. The thought of him snogging her senseless against that row of prophecies was oh so hot!

'Well, you're smiling now, but I can assure you it wasn't funny then.' Remus nodded.

Tonks guilty chuckled to hide the fact that she was smiling for a reason completely unrelated to his boyhood mischief.

'James had to jinx the wardrobe behind Filch's back to get us out of his office unharmed. Of course later on McGonagall found us in the common room and we all had detentions for a month anyway. In hindsight, if we already had the map, we might've avoided being caught.'

She raised her eyebrows wondering how they had got to Filch's office in the first place. Her right hand gripped her wand, the left, a piece of parchment she had begun taking with her everywhere she went. Great, tough Auror Tonks completely head over heels for an older, bookish bloke!, it read. It's love, petal. It's love. To what she had promptly denied on the letter she had sent back to her friend. Liv would never be satisfied. Hadn't Tonks just admitted that she liked him? Now she was demanding a declaration of love. Couldn't she give it a break? No. Not the L word. Not yet. One person can like another that way and not be in love with them. His birthday's coming up though, and I've got something planned.

'Bit hot in here, isn't it?' she commented hoping it would not seem too out of the blue.

'You think so?' Remus glanced around the room with uncertainty. 'To be honest I think it's somewhat chilly.'

Tonks did her best to hide her face, wondering what his reaction would be if she wrote him the kind of note that would work a treat if he were any of her old boyfriends:

Dear Rem,

My body's temperature has got nothing to do with this 'lost and buried a 1000 ft in the ground' place's temperature. You should come and check.

Love,

Dora

'It's your birthday tomorrow!' Molly clapped her hands together.

Remus eyed Sirius, who shot him a bright grin back. He wondered if he should ever forgive his best friend for casually letting slip that crucial bit of information right in front of Molly. He must have waited all dinner to mention it, as if he thought Remus would not mind he had said it just when they were preparing themselves for a game of three-dimensional wizard's chess.

'Yes, Molly, it is,' he assented however tempted he was to lie, he could not, not with Sirius there ready to prove him wrong.

'And?' she demanded. 'What do you want?'

'Me?' Remus leant back on his armchair. 'I want nothing, Molly, really.'

'Oh, but we can't let it go without at least a tiny celebration,' she argued.

'She's right, Moony,' Sirius added promptly. 'A tiny celebration, come on.'

'There's no need for any of that, Sirius,' Remus responded with a reprimanding look. 'Thank you, Molly.'

'I'll just bake you a cake then,' Molly insisted.

'I'm tired –'

'All you'll have to do is sit on the chair and eat some of it,' she resumed.

'Come on, Moony, I'll see if I can dig up some The Weird Sisters albums to play for you.'

Remus sighed, looking from her to his best friend and nodded. He finally agreed for not having the strength to argue any longer; his body still craved the sleepless hours of the past moon. He figured it could not be so bad, he would stay in bed all night long and proceed to the kitchen. No candles, he decided. He would smile as Molly would cut him a piece of the cake and eat it with a bottle of Butterbeer before heading back to bed. Simple as that. He could do it.

'Great!' Molly smiled pleased with herself. 'I'll get the boys –'

He did not want to make any comment, but Remus wondered who she meant by "boys" as Bill was her only available son, since he doubted she would make Charlie cross the continent for his birthday, Percy remained loyal to the Ministry and all her other three boys were still at Hogwarts.

'I hope Arthur doesn't have to work late tomorrow, they've held them once this week already.' Suddenly, she stopped eyes lost as though she had just remembered something. 'Remus, would you invite dear Tonks? I'm afraid I won't be able to. I know you're tired, but she told me earlier has to work a bit later than usual and she'll be seeing you at night, I'm sure she won't hold you for long,' she finished with a warm smile and left to find Arthur before Remus could find a nice way to give her a negative answer or ask why they would all be working on a Sunday.

Seeing his glare, Sirius approached him.

'Come on, old Moony, don't pretend you wouldn't like going there.'

'Going there is not the point.' Remus frowned.

'Oh, bet seeing her is, right?' Sirius crossed his arms over his chest challengingly. 'You don't get to see her enough, do you?'

'She's a member of the Order and a good friend of mine, Sirius.' Remus reached over to retrieve a copy of the Prophet from the coffee table as if to give himself something to do. 'I see her frequently enough.'

The next second, Sirius had moved to sit on the sofa beside him.

'Moony, I'm your friend, all right?' He placed his elbows on his knees, gesticulating towards himself. 'For old time's sake, let's be honest with each other here.'

'I'm being honest,' he promised trying to find something salvageable in the paper. 'I've got no idea where you're trying to get at, though.'

'Oh, now you're gonna tell me you don't wanna shag her too?' Sirius threw himself on the back of the sofa before adding, 'I know I would.'

Remus blinked staring at Sirius, not quite believing what he had just heard. Nymphadora was a great woman and he held her dearly, but Sirius had just crossed the line. It had not been the first time he was assaulted with the need to protect her.

'She's your –'

'Think of those legs, Moony,' he suggested, 'those fine, strong legs of hers wrapped around you keeping the blood just where it ought to be. And those tits! Those tits on your face. Reckon she would make them bigger if I asked her nicely?'

Smirking, Sirius saw his friend's features and shook his head as The Daily Prophet fell from Remus's hands, but his face was in utter shock and he did not seem to notice.

' 'M not buying it, Moony, I know you're an actor. Tell me exactly what you were doing when you suddenly agreed to cheer for her Quidditch team, or just last week when you offered to take all the shifts with her, or when you threw a paddy when she volunteered for that werewolf mission with you.'

'Protecting her!'

Sirius's eyes looked deeply into his, their piercing blueness questioning him if he was sure of what he had just said or if there was ... something else.

'You remember that time James was almost giving up on Lily?' Sirius was looking at the fireplace. 'Sixth year, around April, I think. He said that he wouldn't let that tit-head Snivellus get those wrong, Dark Arts ideas in her head. She wasn't like that. He said that if he couldn't have her, he would at least protect her.'

Had he just insinuated that –? No, Sirius was out of his mind. All those years in Azkaban had finally kicked in and he had lost it completely. He could not feel for her what – No. That was absolutely insane ... wasn't it? Someone had to come and tell him that it was insane. Comparing what James felt for Lily with him and – James was utterly, completely, madly in love with Lily for years. Remus just wanted to protect Tonks. From the beginning he just wanted to look after her. All these months he just wanted to protect her. She was Sirius's little cousin, he was entitled to protect her, to care for her. That was bright, smart, funny, colourful Nymphadora he was thinking about for Merlin's sake! Could someone please come and tell him that he was losing it?

Remus barely noticed Sirius had looked back from the fireplace to him and smirked. He hardly felt the sympathetic pats on the back Sirius gave him as he walked out.

'Yeah, mate.'

Sleeping precisely four nights after a full moon had always been easy for Remus Lupin, especially after he had entered his thirties. He was becoming more and more tired after his transformations, needing much more time than the one or two days he needed when he was an adolescent at Hogwarts. On that night however, his sleep was troubled to say the least. For most of the night he rolled in his bed recalling what seemed to be every second he had spent with her over the last several months. From the moment she was Andy and Ted's daughter to the girl scowling after he voiced her first name, to Just Tonks, to the young woman to whom he presented his mother's bracelet, to Dora who assured him he was one of her closest friends.

When he actually managed to drift off, though, his dreams were filled with disconnected images, some real and some created by his disturbed mind. Tonks with a way too short skirt crossing her legs and exposing much more skin than what was needed. Tonks under the mistletoe. Kiss me, Remus. Tonks laughing so unworriedly that he wished just for a split second he could forget all his problems and enjoy life as she did. Tonks grabbing him and kissing him full on the mouth. Tonks at some familiar room he could not quite place talking to and being watched in awe by him until he interrupted her.

'Smile for me,' he had requested.

And she had. Opening that easy, beautiful, tender smile of hers before leaning over and pressing her lips upon his as though they were in some sort of relationship and that was something that happened on a daily basis.

He went downstairs and had breakfast before anyone in the house. He tried not to listen to Kreacher's murmurs about his condition as he ate the burnt eggs and sausages. Back in his room, he realised that the sun had come from behind the grey clouds. After months of snow and heavy rains, London finally had a beautiful, warm day.

Remus shaved, waved his wand to cut about half an inch of his hair, which was starting to get long and he donned one of his best robes.

'You could use a new set robes, couldn't you?' shot his reflection in the mirror.

Yes, he could. But then again, he could also use a new brain that did not think of Tonks every second of his life since Sirius had mentioned her the night before and a new heart that did not nearly jump out of chest whenever he was reminded of her smile.

At a quarter to nine he figured it would be late enough to start his way to Tonks's flat. He Apparated into one of the alleys nearby her building that was usually empty and walked the rest of the way. He could not recall ever climbing those staircases, but he used the time to think of the exact words he should say to her. He could start by saying Molly was being silly. Perhaps mention Sirius had forced him into it. He would not be lying. Molly will be baking a cake tonight. No. Molly's going to cook dinner tonight at the Headquarters. She asked me to invite you. I want to – Sirius wants – They want to celebrate my birthday. No. Not even close to one of your knees-up. No. I told them not to bother. No. It's nothing really just a usual dinner. Kreacher won't be cooking so I suppose it's not the usual dinner. No. It's one of Molly's usual dinners. No. Should he tell her it was his birthday at all? She would never know if he didn't tell her, would she? He knew he wanted her to know.

Too soon he had reached the fifth floor and spotted the maroon door at his right. Silently, he approached and took in a deep breath as if to give himself the courage to do so before knocking. The seconds passed, but no answer came. He knocked again and waited to see if any noise came from across the door, but all he could hear was the silence. He knocked one more time and called, 'Dora?' As once again, Remus received no answer, he let his head fall waiting a second to take a step back. All the preparations had been in vain.

'Maybe she's not home,' spoke a breathless voice behind him.

Taken aback, he turned around to see a young woman catching her breath and trying to smile at him. She had a straight, bubble-gum pink hair tied in a ponytail that ended around the middle of her back. Her fringe was glued to her forehead by sweat. She was wearing a plain, white T-shirt, bright orange shorts, scarlet trainers and socks going almost half-way to her shin. Strong legs indeed. All the vivid colours in her attire defied combination and would drive any fashion designer insane, but somehow they fitted her perfectly. She had leant her shoulder against the wall and had crossed her arms over her chest. Remus suspected that the way her heart-shaped face shone to him was not at all related to the sheen of sweat that covered her skin, but to the maddening way she was chewing on her bottom lip.

All the doubts Sirius had planted in his mind the previous night were gone at the sight of her baby blue eyes.

What he felt for her was not friendship. Not anymore.

And he had never felt anything remotely close to what he felt at that moment for another woman.

'Wotcher,' she said eventually.

'Oh, um, Tonks.' He rubbed the back of his neck disconcertedly. 'Hi.'

'I'd much rather Dora,' she remarked.

'Right,' he breathed, 'Dora.'

'Sorry, I just had to enjoy a run,' she explained. 'First beautiful day in yonks.'

'Yeah ... I, ah, didn't know you run,' he commented, regretting the words almost instantaneously. Such a stupid – Completely stupid thing to say. Was he really supposed to feel like a teenager in front of a pretty girl?

'Many things you don't know about me, Lupin,' she grinned and Remus tried to return the smile, but he was sure all he managed was an awkward grimace.

She passed by him, nearing the door.

'Listen, I've got to take a quick shower and go to work,' she told him. 'But do you want to come in? I could make you a cuppa.'

'Oh! No! Thanks, but I ...' Why was he so nervous? He pocketed his right hand, trying to calm himself. 'Quite silly to be honest, just ...' He swallowed hard, looking around before focusing on her again. 'Molly insisted on baking a cake. Si – Padfoot says he'd try to find some albums of T-The Weird Sisters to play some good music to, um, change a bit from that Celestina Molly loves. It's not much. At least I hope it's not much, but if you could ... you know ... go.'

'Um ...' Tonks looked at her fingers raising one to each item on the following list. 'Good food and good music. I'll be there,' she promised.

'Great,' he said relieved.

'Headquarters, isn't it? And dinner, not lunch, right?' she asked drawing out her wand. How did she hide it in her clothes?

'Yes.' Remus nodded a few times. 'Yes.'

'Brilliant!' Tonks opened the door, but kept her back to it still looking at him and grinned. 'Present now or present later?'

Remus blinked, staring at her face. He did not remember telling her earlier and tried to recall exactly what he had said to her a couple of minutes before. Part of him beamed with pride that she knew even though he had not reminded her.

'Thought I had forgotten, didn't you, birthday boy?'

Tonks winked at him and he felt his heart skip a beat. She stepped back entering her flat, but her ankle tripped on the threshold and she found herself falling backwards the next instant. Remus rushed forwards and grabbed both her hands pulling her to an upright position. They stood hand in hand, breaths coming in small pants, eyes looking deeply into the other's and hearts beating strongly in their chests. Too close for comfort, but at the same time unable to move away as though their bodies were opposite magnetic poles, being pulled together by a powerful force beyond either of their control. Seconds might as well have been hours for their breathing had already returned to normal when the idea of answering a question long ago asked went through Remus's mind.

'Been a very long time since I last got a birthday present, s'all.'

'In that c-case,' Tonks stuttered, clearing her throat, 'can I have the honour of being the first?' She smiled tentatively.

'Sure.'

Remus released his grip from her forearms and hesitantly, she stepped away from him. He made an effort not to follow her with his eyes, staring at his shoes instead and making no movement. So he did not see her going to her desk and getting a hold of an envelope she had put there previously. He did not see her curse herself for not inviting him to sit or to offer him a cup of tea one more time or just being a decent host in general.

'Here.'

Tonks handed him the item and he opened it. Inside the envelope there was a folded piece of parchment that read:

Here's hoping the Order or the Auror Office doesn't stop us. Making plans a week beforehand has become quite risky these days, but it's worth a shot.

The third step of your long way to go.

He saw a white piece of paper inside the folded parchment and got it in his hand.

Appleby Arrows vs. Montrose Magpies
17 March 1996
Ilkley Moor Quidditch Stadium
Black Zone | Block 223 | Seat 256

There was an empty space underneath it where he figured the ticket's price must have been before Tonks magically concealed it. Remus looked at her and saw that with her arms folded in her front, she held an identical ticket between her index and middle fingers.

'You in?'

'Of course,' Remus assured her.

'Wonderful!'

She grabbed his face and pulled his head towards her, placing her lips fiercely on his cheek.

'There! You also got a sweaty kiss. Happy birthday, Remus! I do hope you have a wonderful day. Now I really need to take that shower,' she reminded him after checking her watch. 'The kettle's –'

'No, I'm leaving, Dora,' he told her and stepped outside before raising the ticket in his hand. 'Thank you. I'll see you tonight.'

'Cheers!'

Tonks waited until she heard his footsteps going down the stairs to search for a spare piece of parchment and scribbled a note to Molly.

If it's not too much to ask could you please bake this cake for tonight? It's just something we did together some time back and I'm sure he'd appreciate. I'd come and help you, but I've got to work like I told you on Thursday. Please?

Tonks

P.S: Thanks, Molly! You're the best!

She summoned her mother's recipe for the Tonkses' cake and waved her wand to scribble out the 'strawberries'. She reached for her quill and wrote 'cherries' on top of them before attaching both to Penates's leg and finally heading for the toilet.

Remus was surprised by Sirius throwing himself on him as he entered the Grimmauld Place. Cautiously, he returned what he realised it was supposed to be a bear-hug.

'Happy birthday, Moony!' he yelled having released him.

'Thanks, Pads.'

'Look,' Sirius got a parcel from a nearby table, 'got this for you. And don't you forget: I was the first.'

'Thanks,' he repeated unsure of what he should say. 'You didn't have to.'

'Belt up and open it!' he grinned.

After the piano he had received on Christmas, Remus was relieved to see that this gift was a regular book. In unwrapping, he read the title on the front, Epeolotry, and then on the first page, Epeolotry (n); the worship of words.

'It's basically a dictionary of difficult words,' explained Sirius. 'Thought you'd like. I mean, even I found it interesting.'

'Let's see ...' Remus went to the first page with actual meanings and read, 'Abligurition, noun, prodigal expense for food.' Something he would never do. Then, he opened it around the middle and read a random word. 'Mundivagant, adjective; wandering over hills and mountains.' He opened a third page near the end. 'Titillation, noun; the act of tickling or stimulating with touch.'

At that last word, Sirius's eyebrows rose nearly disappearing under his shaggy hair and he opened a wild smirk.

'You were at Tonks's, yeah?' he asked, but did not wait for an answer. 'How did it go?'

Remus shrugged.

'Not out of the ordinary,' he lied. 'She says she'll be here.'

'Because of you, eh?'

'It's my birthday, Padfoot!' he alleged. 'It's clearly because of me.'

'All right ...'

Remus spent nearly the rest of the day in his room, avoiding unnecessary time with his best friend and flipping through his new book to keep himself from thinking of her. However, every now and again, his plan backfired for a word would send his mind straight to her (basorexia, noun; an overwhelming urge to kiss someone).

James and Lily? Sirius had to be gone barking mad. It did not make any sense. No sense at all. James and Lily completed each other, they brought up the best in each other. Remus had never seen James happier than when he was with Lily. And Lily as well, had never been happier than when James was by her side. They had had Harry, Lily's soul in James's body. He could not deny that he liked her any longer, but to compare him and Nymphadora to James and Lily, honestly ... Nice one, Padfoot! He shook his head in amusement.

James ... who would be celebrating his birthday exactly seventeen days after his if Voldemort had not – He sighed. Great way to celebrate a birthday.

Eventually, Molly arrived and sent Arthur to 'drag him downstairs if need be.' He went willingly and Sirius put The Weird Sisters albums he had promised.

As if hearing the song, Tonks arrived shortly after.

'HA! What did you get him?' demanded Sirius before she had even stepped inside.

She blinked, staring at her cousin, but soon caught a glimpse of Remus behind him mouthing, Nothing! and shaking his head, telling her to not worry about it.

'Nothing,' she said.

'Pathetic!'

'All right.' She walked past Sirius and wrapped her arms around Remus's neck briefly before placing a small kiss on his cheek. 'A hug and a kiss. Better?'

Sirius exhaled heavily, rolling his eyes before leaving.

'What was that all about?' she asked as they made their way to the kitchen.

'He's been too happy since I got here this morning and I didn't want to ruin it,' he admitted fetching two bottles of Butterbeers for them. 'Let him believe it,' he asked.

'Fine by me,' said Tonks sipping on her bottle and grinning at Bill across the table playing Exploding Snap with Mundungus.

Nobody bothered with Mrs Black's portrait. With the loud music, silencing her would only last for a second. But Sirius had thought of a smooth way out: keep the music louder than her. Perks of living in an Unplottable house, no one could hear you.

Molly served the roast beef with potatoes at seven, incredibly tasty just like everything else Tonks had tried. The Weasley glanced at her and the Auror made a silent enquiry about her earlier request and Molly gave her a nod, smiling. Tonks was just mouthing 'Thanks,' when Remus, sitting at her right, looked at her.

'What?'

'Nothing,' she promptly dismissed him and returned to her food.

Remus furrowed his brows, thinking for a few seconds, but did the same. The continuous glances Molly kept shooting at him after that left him slightly uncomfortable. Perhaps she was looking at the desperate way Sirius had been eating his food. Who was he kidding? He had never been used to people paying a lot of attention to him, especially when he was doing naught to get it. Thus his humour did not get better when, as soon as the empty plates were gone, Molly brought the cake with bloody candles on it!

He told her he didn't want candles, didn't he? Didn't he? Brilliant. He had forgotten. He had had a good reason to forget about the silly candles on the cake though, argued a bit of his own brain.

When the only lights that illuminated the kitchen were the trembling flames on the candles, Remus allowed himself one second to look dreary. Was it 1980? The last time a group of people had gathered around to celebrate with him. He didn't get the need to celebrate another year gone. Another twelve transformations done. Who knew how many more were there yet to come.

'Make a wish,' murmured Tonks beside him when the song had finished and the sound of clapping hands had died.

He gazed at her, smiled faintly and looked back to the candles before blowing them. Maybe, just maybe ...

Hands clapped once more as Molly got the cake and started cutting the pieces. She handed him the first piece and he slid it a few more inches towards Tonks. The Weasley stopped for a second looking at them before resuming her task.

'Thank you,' mumbled Tonks.

'Don't mention it,' he replied sliding a second piece to Sirius, on his right.

Remus only stopped to eat his piece when the other six already had full plates in front of them. Tonks waved her wand to the stereo so The Weird Sisters resumed singing and she hummed along with a mouth full of cake. Albums he had no idea that were in fact hers for Padfoot had owled his cousin on that afternoon, asking for that favour.

He wondered how someone could not like her in that way.

'Stuffed,' declared Bill pushing his half-eaten piece of cake away. 'Absolutely stuffed.'

Tonks summoned his plate and filled her fork with a nibble of his cake.

'This cake doesn't require hunger,' she stated pointing at him with the fork full of cake before shoving it in her mouth.

Remus laughed along with everyone else in the table. He wished he could thank her. He wished she would understand just how much it meant for him to have her by his side. He wished she knew she was by far the main reason for the very best birthday he had had in sixteen years.