33. And the Door Burst Open
A week ago, Tonks had been discharged from St. Mungo's.
She had gone down to the first floor to talk to Bruce Claris, who had told her with a very knowing smile that a gentleman by the name of Remus Lupin had taken Adrian home for her. She had given the Healer a gigantic hug and left for Grimmauld.
There, Sirius had snidely told her that Remus wasn't home, but that she could pick Adrian up. She had obligingly gone to Remus's infuriatingly neat room and taken her owl home. Sirius had not stopped teasing her.
Remus had visited plenty while she was in the hospital, but the first and only time she had seen him since she was discharged was when the two of them had gone with Mad-Eye, Sirius, Molly, and Arthur to knock some sense into the Dursleys. Unfortunately, she and Mad-Eye were required to head back to the Ministry right after, so the most she could do was send Remus a smile.
Apparently, Molly was hosting an outdoor party. Remus had told her during one of the days he had sat beside her at St. Mungo's, and she had received the invitation for it shortly after. She looked at it now, the fancified scroll that had been sent to her by Molly Weasley.
Dear Tonks,
I hope this letter finds you well.
We are excited to announce that we will be hosting a party, and we would be delighted if you could join us at noon this Saturday. We will have lunch outside, and an inflatable pool (courtesy of Arthur) will be set up in the yard. I look forward to seeing you there!
Love,
Molly
It was a good thing that she had heard from Sirius more about the details of the party. An outdoor party, which ruled out robes. And it was supposed to be fancy, too, which meant she would have to dress up.
She took her time getting ready. Her hair was straight, icy blue, and shoulder-length, and she was wearing a short, floral dress. Fancy or not, it was bright, and that was enough for her. She glanced around at the room, where things were scattered leisurely. Sure, it was messy, but it was home.
With a crack, she apparated to the outskirts of the Burrow and headed towards the yard, where she could make out the noises of distant laughter.
Kingsley apparated there right after she did. "Hi," he said.
"Wotcher," she greeted, waving at him. "How are you?"
"Good," he replied. "How're you feeling?"
"I'm fine," she grumbled. "Everyone keeps asking me. I got out a week ago."
He smirked. "I know. I like to tease you."
She gave him a warning glare. "There are certain things you are not going to tease me about today."
He put a finger to his lips. "Yes, Auror Tonks."
She smacked him playfully, and the two of them made their way to the yard.
Ginny came out to greet them. "Hi, Tonks! Hey, Kingsley."
"Hi, Ginny," Tonks replied, grinning. "How are you? How's the party going?"
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Mum's been driving us mad for a week about cleaning the house! Now it's finally here, and she can't stop fretting over every tiny thing. Oh, well. That's how she is. A few people are here, Mum's getting lunch ready inside. I expect more people to be here soon. Professor Lupin is already here, by the way."
Tonks felt her face grow hot. "Did Molly really find the need to tell you?"
Ginny smirked. "Well, I mean, she didn't really say it to me directly. But she's been blabbering about it forever, and everyone in the family knows by now."
"What exactly has she been blabbering? Kingsley, stop laughing!" Tonks chided, as Kingsley fought to maintain a straight face.
"I mean, she was telling Dad exactly what happened in the bedroom on the night of the Order meeting at dinner. Naturally, everyone at the table heard."
Tonks put her palm to her forehead. "I'm sure it was a very steamy story."
"Yep."
"If it makes a difference, no steamy stuff was involved."
"I believe you."
Tonks grinned. "Thank you. See you around."
"Bye!"
Tonks waved at her and found Sirius coming out of the Burrow.
"Hey, Sirius," she acknowledged.
"He's inside, talking to Arthur," Sirius said immediately.
"I… Sirius, I didn't even ask! Quit it! You're just as bad as Molly!" she protested.
Sirius grinned. "But I'm sure you wanted to know."
She smacked him. "I was actually going to ask you how you were. How has freedom treated you?"
"I love it! I love going outside for walks. It's so nice to be able to have ice cream again," Sirius said gleefully.
She snorted. "You're still a child."
"That's coming from you, Nymphadora."
"Don't call me that."
He grinned. "But you let Remus call you that."
"No, I don't."
"But he calls you that all the time!"
"No he doesn't."
"Yes he does."
"Well then, I'll scold him the next time he does."
"Don't scold him!"
"Well, what do you want me to do?"
But Sirius did not answer, for at that moment, Hestia ran up to them. "Hi, Sirius!"
Sirius gave her a flashing smile. "Hey, Hestia."
Hestia turned to Tonks and pursed her lips. "Hi."
Tonks nodded stiffly. "Hi."
Hestia turned back to Sirius. "I heard you're free! Finally, huh?"
As Sirius began to respond, Tonks cut in. "I'll talk to you later, Sirius."
Sirius nodded, and she started walking towards where Bill, Fleur, and Charlie were talking when she saw Remus and Arthur walking out of the Burrow, and her heart quit then and there.
He was wearing a light grey T-shirt and jeans, with a smile on his face, which grew wider as he sighted her. He muttered something to Arthur and strode over to her.
"Hi," she said, a little breathlessly.
"Hello," he replied, smiling. "You look lovely."
"Thanks," she mumbled. "You look nice too."
He snorted. "Yeah, right. Has Sirius gotten onto you yet?"
"Yep. And apparently all of the Weasleys were told Molly's version of the bedroom incident."
Remus sighed. "It was bound to get out at some point. Even if it didn't happen that way."
She giggled. "True. How have you been?"
"Fine," he replied. "You?"
"Pretty good. I know you wanted to talk to me, and, well, seeing as we're probably going to be here all day…"
He smirked. "Very likely, knowing Molly. Maybe we can squeeze in some time during the party, then?"
She grinned. "I like it. But we have to make sure Molly doesn't interrupt and cook up some story about what Remus and Tonks are doing in the kitchen…"
Remus laughed. "Fair enough. We can…"
But what they could do, Tonks never figured out, for at that precise moment, Molly Weasley herself came bustling over to the two of them. "Tonks, dear! When did you arrive?"
"Oh, just about ten minutes ago," she responded sweetly, trying very hard not to laugh at the expression of utter amusement on Remus's face.
Molly tutted. "It's wonderful to see you! You're feeling better?"
Tonks scowled. "I was discharged a week ago, Molly, I'm completely fine."
"Ah, I see," Molly said. "I think lunch will be ready in another fifteen minutes or so? After that, Arthur's planning to inflate that ridiculous thing."
She gestured to a large, flat expanse of the yard, where a deflated, Muggle inflatable pool was located.
"Oh," Remus said, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice. "Do you mean to tell me that people are going to be swimming in that thing?"
"Unfortunately," Molly explained. "Arthur insisted, and the kids were begging. I really didn't want to, but they assured me they could handle it."
"How big can it become?" Tonks asked, interested.
"I don't know," replied Molly darkly. "We'll have to wait and see. I'll see you later, dears."
After she had walked off, Remus turned back to Tonks. "I think we need to get used to being interrupted."
She stifled a giggle. "I agree. And I think that someone is going to comment soon on our abnormally long conversation and our close proximity, so I'll catch up with you later."
He smirked. "Good idea. See you."
She smiled and found Charlie, who was standing alone in the middle of the lawn. "Hey."
He grinned and enveloped her in a hug. "Hey, Tonks! It's been so long."
"Yeah," she replied. "How are your dragons?"
"On fire," he joked. "They're doing really well."
"Glad to hear it," Tonks said, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. "How long have you been here?"
"I got here two weeks ago," he answered. "And that's when Mum decided to have a party. And so we've been working our tails off for a week now. Merlin, I'll be glad when this is over. Er, no offense."
She laughed. "You're not the only one being tortured by Molly, I've received my fair share of it."
His eyes glinted. "I heard. What is going on between you and Remus?"
"We… don't know," she explained. "We were planning to talk over the future two weeks ago, only that was the exact day the entire battle thing happened. Naturally, I was in St. Mungo's for a week after that, and I've been overloaded by Ministry stuff this past week. So we haven't really sorted it out yet."
He frowned. "That's a lot for two weeks. What's your equation with him like right now?"
She tilted her head to the side. "I sent him a letter after our talk at Grimmauld, asking if we could, you know, retain our friendship. He replied saying we needed to talk after that, but I guess he's okay with... friendship. He's acted completely normal since then."
Charlie nodded thoughtfully. "Well, good luck. I'm going to be nice and drop the subject, only because I'm sure that you're going to be asked about him all day."
She snorted. "That I am."
"Charlie!" called Molly, who was standing at the back entrance of the Burrow. "Come here and help me serve!"
"She's stealing everyone I talk to," Tonks remarked, smirking. "Go help her."
"Coming!" Charlie called, rolling his eyes and sprinting over to his mother.
Tonks found Emmeline, who had just arrived, and the two of them started a conversation.
"Did you know Harry's supposed to be coming?" Tonks asked.
"He is?" asked Emmeline, shocked.
Tonks nodded. "Sirius somehow managed to convince Dumbledore that, as his godfather and guardian, he has the right to spend time with Harry and take him to certain places. Sirius was going on about Paris, but I think that Molly's tea party will have to do."
Emmeline laughed. "Paris? Sirius, I tell you. Only he can come up with an idea like that."
"Yeah. Well, that's Sirius for you."
"Yeah. Oh, by the way, I spoke to Remus yesterday," Emmeline added.
Tonks sighed. Was she going to have a conversation today without someone bringing up Remus? "And?"
"Well, I originally planned to sto by to ask him about our next guard duty, but we ended up talking for a while, so I asked him how he felt about you."
"You didn't," Tonks said, blushing.
"I did," Emmeline said with a smile. "He… well, basically, told me everything. Only, he probably doesn't want me telling you what exactly he said, so my lips are sealed."
Tonks gaped at her. "He told you everything?"
"Oh," Emmeline explained, "we're childhood friends. We went to Hogwarts together. We've known each other for a while. I think he can trust me enough. Either way, he did tell me everything, and I can assure you, he's really smitten by you."
"Your point being…"
"I'm not done! Anyway, I've been trying to help him get past his thoughts. He thinks he doesn't deserve love, that he doesn't deserve you. I've been trying to convince him otherwise."
"Wait, wait, wait. He told you this too?"
"No, but I know him well enough. These are exactly the kind of things he will tell himself."
"You're right," Tonks mused.
"Remus isn't used to happiness, Tonks," explained Emmeline. "I've seen him do the exact same thing before. You know, give up his happiness to protect the people he loves."
"Yeah, I've seen it," she mumbled. "So do you think he's convinced?"
Emmeline shrugged. "Possibly. He's getting there, but I don't think he's a hundred percent persuaded. He's going to take some time."
"I appreciate it, Emmeline," Tonks told her, smiling. "You're amazing."
Emmeline grinned. "Don't mention it. Shall we go have lunch?"
Tonks nodded, and the two of them walked to the other side of the yard, where a magically-enlarged table awaited them. Many people were already seated there, eating.
Just then, Molly arrived and pushed a plate full of lasagne into each of their hands. "Here you go, dearies."
"Thank you, Molly!" exclaimed Tonks, knocking the plate out of her hands to give her a hug. Emmeline levitated it up to prevent any damage with a lazy flick of her wand. "Thanks, Emmeline," Tonks said, grinning sheepishly.
"No problem," Emmeline replied, smirking. "Thanks, Molly."
"Of course," Molly responded kindly, and she bustled off towards the kitchen.
Tonks and Emmeline approached the end of the table, where it looked like Sirius was describing something in excessive detail. Remus, beside him, was listening with an exasperated, but amused expression on his face.
"Hi, Sirius, Remus," yawned Emmeline, sitting across from Sirius. Tonks sat next to her so that she was directly across Remus.
"Hi, Emmeline," Remus replied politely, while Sirius nodded vaguely in her direction. "Hi, Nymphadora. How are you?"
She smiled at him. "Fine, you?"
He nodded. "The same. Sirius was just telling me about what he did the first time he ran into a…"
"See!" interjected Sirius triumphantly. "He does call you Nymphadora! And you do let him call you that!"
She rolled her eyes. "Remus, don't call me Nymphadora. Happy, Sirius?"
"But you needed me to remind you!" Sirius exclaimed gleefully. "So I was right!"
Emmeline looked like she was going to say something, but evidently thought the better of it.
"Sirius, could you keep your mouth shut for once?" asked Remus.
"But then you won't get to hear what happened the first time I ran into a hippogriff!" said Sirius happily.
"What did you do?" asked Emmeline, sounding unsure whether or not she wanted to hear the answer.
But they never got to figure that out either, because at that moment, Fred appeared at the side of their table, wearing a sloppy grin.
"Remus," he said, "Dad wants your help with the inflatable."
Remus looked extremely amused, and Tonks found it adorable. "I'll be there in a minute."
Fred nodded and ran away.
"What is he planning to do with that thing?" Emmeline asked, appalled.
"Done properly, it should expand to become really big," explained Tonks. "And then you'd fill it with water and sit in it. Typically what little children do."
"So then why's he setting one up in the first place?" queried Emmeline. "Does he expect us to go swimming or something?"
"You both haven't even dressed for swimming," Remus noted, looking up and down Tonks's dress.
"Maybe it's for the kids?" suggested Sirius, who had gotten over his initial frustration that he couldn't tell his tale about the hippogriff.
"Possibly," said Remus, though it was dripping with sarcasm.
"Maybe Harry wanted to swim, all right?" Sirius defended.
The three of them snorted.
"What?" Sirius demanded. "Maybe he does!"
"You're such a drama queen, Sirius," muttered Remus, rolling his eyes. "Okay, I'm going to go help Arthur with this… mess."
Tonks smirked. "Have fun."
Remus smiled at her and then turned to his friend. "Sirius, please behave."
"It's like I'm his house-elf," Sirius muttered, turning to his lasagne.
But Tonks was no longer listening; in fact, she was watching Remus help Arthur with the inflatable, patiently, kindly, gently, like he always did things, the sun highlighting his amber eyes. Being a Metamorphmagus, Tonks paid exceedingly close attention to detail, more so when it concerned him.
She vaguely registered in the back of her mind that Emmeline and Sirius had started their own conversation about the lasagne. In a couple of minutes, the inflatable had expanded properly, and it was gigantic. Tonks finished up her lunch, thanked Molly, and headed over to stand by Remus.
"Hey," he greeted.
"Hi," she said. "You're done with this?"
"Yeah," he replied, smiling. "Sorry to keep you waiting."
"Not a problem."
There was a stagnant pause.
"Look," he began softly, "I've been thinking- quite a lot, actually- about the… the future. Our future. But can we establish something before this all begins and we end up in a messy situation that we can't seem to extricate ourselves from?"
He was so thoughtful. Oh, Merlin.
"Of course," she managed.
He nodded. "If things don't go, er, a certain way…"
"HARRY!" shouted Sirius, flailing his arms up and down and running towards them. "Moony, Harry's here!"
"Can't you see we're in the middle of something?" Remus snapped, obviously irritated at being interrupted.
"I don't care! Harry! Come on!" And with that, Sirius grabbed Remus by the arm and pulled him away towards where a very overwhelmed Harry was standing.
Tonks rolled her eyes and carefully tread the path to the entrance of the Burrow, taking care not to trip over any weeds. The magical ones were especially a menace.
"Wotcher, Harry," Tonks said, when Sirius finally released Harry from his bone-crushing hug.
"Hi, Tonks," croaked Harry, though he was grinning. "Hi, Sirius, Hi, Professor Lupin."
"Remus," corrected Remus with a smile.
"Sorry, that's what I meant," said Harry, though Tonks couldn't once remember him calling his former Professor Remus.
Just then, Hermione rushed in, panting. "Harry, I told you to wait!"
"Sorry," said Harry with an apologetic glance towards her. "I couldn't resist the urge to run."
"Hermione's parents dropped them both here," Remus explained to Tonks.
"Muggles are always a little more understanding towards other Muggles," Tonks muttered.
He smirked. "It appears so. Come, let's go somewhere more… private."
She smirked as well as he took her hand and led her across the lawn, into the kitchen, which was now empty.
With a lazy flick of his wand, the door closed instantly, and he leaned against one counter while she propped herself up onto the counter across from him.
"As I was saying," he began quietly, "if this leads to some sort of… argument, or disagreement between the two of us, and things just won't work between us, can we agree to remain friends?"
She took a second to process what he had just said. "So if this just gets us into a huge spat, we're going to just leave it alone and just be friends?" she repeated slowly.
He nodded, seeming slightly anxious.
"I'm okay with that," she asserted, biting her lip.
His face softened. "Okay. Because… because in the period of time in which I thought you were the spy, when I thought we would never see each other again, I was just broken, and I... I don't want that to happen again."
She managed a smile. "If you want to know, it was one of the hardest things I've ever gone through."
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I really am. I thought without analyzing, without considering your side of the entire ordeal. You were going through so much, but you were being genuine, and I thought it was real."
"Remus, it's okay," she whispered. "Really, it is. You were doing what you would've done had it been anybody. You weren't letting your feelings get in the way. And besides, everyone except for Mad-Eye believed it, it wasn't just you. It's okay."
"Yeah, but… I don't want to be like all the others, you know?" he asked, smiling slightly. She grinned at his use of the phrase she had originally used.
But of course, the moment was ruined as the door burst open to reveal Fred and George, who were apparently smuggling their sweets into the house. They stopped short when they saw Tonks and Remus already in the kitchen.
"Sorry," said George, his voice an octave higher than usual. "We didn't mean to interrupt."
"Not a problem," Tonks said, attempting another smile. "We were just having a chat."
It was true, but the twins looked disbelieving. Nevertheless, they crossed the kitchen cautiously and deposited handfuls of merchandise into a drawer that seemingly opened from the wall. Remus crossed over to where she was standing and leaned against the very counter she was sitting on, though he was still just as tall as her. He seemed to notice this, for he smirked and ruffled her hair affectionately.
This did not go unnoticed by the twins, who seemed to be convinced at this point that they were together. Thankfully, they had the decency not to ask, or worse, make some sort of comment about it.
"Please don't tell Mum," Fred pleaded, looking guilty.
"She'll murder us," George added. "And we've only got a few months before we open up our shop in Diagon Alley."
Tonks's face broke into a smile. "You're really opening a shop in Diagon Alley? Congratulations!"
"I'm sure it will be a hit," Remus remarked. "People need to lighten up. Now that Voldemort's back and they all know it."
"We won't tell anyone," Tonks promised.
"Except Sirius," Remus added.
"Sirius is fine," Fred and George said in unison. "Thanks."
At that moment, the door burst open again, and Molly stormed in. "Fred! George! What are you two doing in here?"
"Why can't we be in here?" Fred asked defensively. "This is our house too!"
"There's a party going on!" she hissed. "You should be outside, interacting with the guests!"
"We are interacting!" George countered. "We were talking to Remus and Tonks!"
"They are," assured Remus, a smile gracing his face. "It was, er, getting hot outside, and Nymphadora wanted to come in for a minute."
Tonks elbowed him.
"Oh," said Molly, now smiling sweetly. "I'm sorry. It's just, you know Fred and George. You always have to keep an eye on them. Who knows what… Barf Beans they're going to make next."
Tonks chuckled. "I get your concern. But don't worry, they're in good hands."
"Of course," Molly replied, looking delighted. "I'm glad you two are enjoying yourselves. All right, then, I'll leave you to your things."
She left the kitchen and George breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thanks for covering for us," Fred said.
"No problem," Tonks said, grinning. "Stay out of trouble."
Fred, and George snorted. "Right. Sure."
"We'll be leaving, then," George said. "Thanks. Bye."
A few moments after they had left, Remus looked towards her. "We should probably head back outside. Before the rumors get out of hand."
Tonks grinned cheekily. "Come on, Professor."
She slid off the counter, landing ungracefully, but she managed to regain her balance. "Not a word," she warned an amused Remus.
"Everyone knows you're clumsy, Nymphadora."
"Don't call me Nymphadora," she muttered.
He grinned. "Sirius is getting to you, huh?"
"Nope. I don't like the name in general. You know that."
"Yes, but it's really a lovely name."
"That's precisely the problem. Do I look lovely to you, in any way?"
"Yes," he replied promptly. "Really, you do."
"Yes, but you don't count," she replied, blushing. "You're too nice. In honesty, I'm nowhere near ladylike, or graceful, or elegant, or any of that stuff. Which is why my name doesn't suit me. It's not a bad name, but it just doesn't fit me."
"But you are ladylike and elegant and graceful and lovely," he protested, frowning slightly. "Why would you think you're not?"
She raised an eyebrow. "You literally just said I was clumsy!"
"Yes, but any lovely woman can be clumsy."
She snorted. "And graceful?"
He hesitated. "All right, I take back the graceful. Happy?"
"Yes," she decided.
Remus laughed. "You know, Molly's really going to be wondering where we are."
She sighed. "In that case, let's go see what's happened with that inflatable pool."
To their great surprise, the inflatable pool was actually being used.
Harry and Ron were splashing around in it, yelling and screaming and shouting. Tonks collapsed to the ground, laughing. Remus was staring at them in shock.
"Hi!" greeted Arthur, approaching them. "Look, I finally got the infratable to work!"
"Inflatable," corrected Remus politely. "C-congratulations. It looks like they're having fun."
"Yes, they are," Arthur said happily. "Oh, hi, Tonks, what are you doing on the grass?"
She tried her hardest to hold the giggles in. "I, er, saw a ladybug," she lied blatantly.
At this point, Remus started to laugh too, and Arthur was staring at them as though he had never quite seen them before.
"A… a ladybug, you say? Oh, there are plenty of them out here," Arthur said.
"Nymphadora is quite fascinated by them, you see," Remus explained to the red-headed man. Tonks slapped his leg.
"No, I'm not," she defended. "But I, er, wanted to see where it went."
Remus knelt down beside her. "Do you want me to help you look for it, Nymphadora?"
She scowled. Thankfully, Arthur declined to go ladybug hunting with them and left.
"I hate you," she muttered to Remus. "Did you really have to portray me as someone fascinated by ladybugs?"
"You were the one who brought up ladybugs," he replied with a playful look in his eyes. "I was just helping you sell your story."
"In that case," she said, standing up, "you can look for the ladybug."
"But there is no ladybug!" he protested.
"But Arthur doesn't know that," she said, a wicked gleam in her eyes.
Just as he opened his mouth to protest, Ginny ran up to them. "Hi, Tonks. Hi, Professor Lupin."
"Please," said Remus patiently, "call me Remus. If you can call her Tonks, you can call me Remus."
Ginny shrugged. "Remus sounds weird. Anyway," she continued, ignoring Remus's affronted look, "what are you two doing?"
"Ladybug hunting," replied Remus immediately.
"We are not ladybug hunting!" Tonks protested, but Ginny didn't seem to have heard her.
"Ooh, ladybugs! Can I help?" Ginny asked. Tonks shot Remus a glare.
"Of course," Remus said, and Ginny crouched down too.
"Come on, Tonks, it'll be fun!" Ginny exclaimed. "Have you seen one yet?"
"Tonks saw one earlier," Remus explained, "but we don't know where it went."
"Oh," said Ginny. "Maybe we can try and find it."
"Nymphadora, come on," Remus coaxed, an innocent look in his eyes.
She scowled, but she somehow couldn't refuse the look on his face, so she knelt down next to both of them and pretended to be searching the grass for ladybugs.
"Ooh, I found one!" Ginny cried after a few minutes. On her finger was a little red ladybug.
"There are actually ladybugs here," Remus muttered to Tonks. "Who knew?"
In spite of herself, she smiled. "Nice, Ginny. Are we going to name it?"
"Knarlnonder," Ginny decided, and Tonks snorted.
"What?" Ginny asked. "You want a different name?"
"No, no, it's a very beautiful name," Remus assured her. "Very unique."
"Can we nickname it Knarly?" Tonks asked. There was no way she was going to be able to say Knarlnonder.
"Sure," Ginny agreed. "Let's look for more."
After about twenty minutes of searching for ladybugs, they had found and named six ladybugs: Knarlnonder, Willywormen, Chiprender, Oliviosa, Chauncey, and Leborioretta. Ginny had named them all, and these names were not surprising, given that she had additionally named Ron's owl Pigwidgeon.
"Moony, what are you doing in the grass?" asked Sirius, wading towards them.
"He's looking for ladybugs," Tonks told him.
"You're looking for ladybugs?" Sirius asked, looking appalled. "Why?"
"It's cool!" exclaimed Ginny. "We've found six so far."
"What's going on?" asked Sirius. "Moony, are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Remus said, a smile playing at his lips. "What do you want?"
"I was just looking for you," said Sirius, sounding concerned. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"He's fine, Sirius," Tonks assured him. "Ginny, are we done ladybug hunting?"
"Yeah," replied the girl. "See you guys."
"What's going on?" Sirius asked, once Ginny had skipped off to talk to Charlie.
"You want the whole story?" Remus asked, sighing.
Sirius nodded.
"Nymph... Tonks was laughing at the sight of the stupid inflatable pool Arthur set up," he explained. "And when Arthur came along to ask her why she was on the grass, she said she saw a ladybug. Then Ginny came along and offered to help us look for ladybugs, so we did. End of story."
Sirius himself had sunk to the grass, laughing. "Did you really?"
"Yes," Tonks said, annoyed. "We did, really."
"Lovebirds," sang Sirius.
He received two slaps.
"But it's true!" Sirius protested. "You two are rolling around in the grass together!"
"Sirius," Remus warned, "you know that we haven't sorted it out yet. Please leave us alone until we do."
"But why not?" asked Sirius, pouting. "You've had plenty of time to talk since that Order meeting!"
"We haven't, actually," Tonks corrected him, "because people like you and Molly keep interrupting us!"
"Speaking of Molly," asked Remus, frowning, "do you know what rumor she's started to spread now?"
"As a matter of fact, I do," Sirius said, a wicked gleam in his eyes. "But I don't think you want to know."
"Fair enough," mumbled Tonks. "Part of me feels like she only held this party to set us up."
Remus snorted. "I wouldn't put it past her."
"Well," said Sirius, "I'm going to leave you two to each other's company. Meanwhile, I'm going to go for a swim."
"Are you actually?!" Remus asked in shock, as Tonks started laughing uncontrollably.
"I might," he replied cryptically.
"Enjoy yourself, Sirius," she told him, giggling.
"Oh, I will," he assured, winking, before he sprinted across the lawn and dived into the inflatable.
They were still laughing when Molly came around and asked them if they wanted tea.
"Please?"
Sirius was back, with his pouty face, begging Remus to cast a Drying Charm on his clothes.
"Please, Moony?" he repeated. "I'm all wet!"
"This was your idea," reminded Remus. "You wanted to dive into the inflatable at your own leisure, so you have to cast your own Drying Charm."
"But I don't remember how to do a Drying Charm!" he protested, frowning. "Please, Moony?"
Remus tutted and shook his head. "You think every time you say please, Moony, I'm going to relent. No. This is not how it works."
Sirius turned to Tonks, who was watching this display of events while sipping tea with a smile. "Tonks. Come on! Help me out here! Tell your boyfriend to dry my clothes! Please!"
She shared a look with Remus, and then turned back to Sirius, still smiling. "Say that again?"
He groaned. "Fine. Tell the man you love who loves you back but is too self-deprecating to accept a happy relationship with you to dry my clothes!"
She looked at Remus quizzically. "Should we help him?"
He walked over to where she was standing and brushed a lock of hair out of her face, a simple gesture that sent her heart flying in about twenty different directions.
"But you have to tell me to do it first," he said, his voice husky.
"Remus," she whispered sweetly, "please cast a Drying Charm on Sirius's clothes."
In an instant, all of the water had been removed, and Remus was twirling his wand between his fingers lazily.
"Show off," muttered Sirius.
"Seen yourself lately?" asked Remus, taking a sip of his own tea just as Hermione entered the kitchen.
"Hi, Hermione," Tonks greeted cheerily. "How are you?"
"Hi, Tonks," Hermione said. "Er, have you seen Ginny?"
"Last I saw her, we were collecting ladybugs," Remus offered, as Tonks glared at him.
The girl looked very confused, and Tonks couldn't blame her. "Ladybugs?"
"Don't," Tonks warned, as Sirius opened his mouth to speak. "She doesn't know, and it's going to stay that way."
"Know?" Hermione looked to her inquiringly.
"Don't say a thing, Sirius," warned Remus.
Sirius paid no heed to their warnings. "They're in love!" he exclaimed gleefully.
Both Tonks and Remus smacked him.
Hermione went bright red. "Oh. Er, congratulations!"
How embarrassing.
They both looked at each other awkwardly. "You would've found out, anyway," Remus said finally. "Molly Weasley won't stop talking about it."
"Oh," repeated Hermione, apparently unsure of what else to say. "That's great! Anyway, er, if you see Ginny, let me know."
"Sure," managed Tonks, who was trying very hard to morph away the blush that overtook her face.
As soon as she had left the kitchen, Tonks rounded on Sirius. "Do you know how embarrassing it is to have to face a sixteen-year-old about things like this?"
Sirius grinned. "I can only imagine."
Remus sighed. "Sirius, we're not going to tell you what happens between us from now on if all you're going to do is blurt it out to random people."
"But Hermione isn't random, she's Harry's best friend!" protested Sirius.
"Do it again, and no mercy for you."
Sirius pouted. "Okay."
"Now, Sirius," began Remus, "get out of here. Tonks and I need to have a discussion."
"Can I stay and watch?" suggested Sirius.
"Discussion. There's nothing to watch."
"Can I stay and listen, then?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Please, Moony?"
"My answer has not changed."
"Please, Moony? Please, please, please?"
Remus raised an eyebrow, and Sirius slumped out of the door, muttering something under his breath.
"Where were we?" asked Tonks, revelling at his touch.
"Right," started Remus. "As I was saying, we've decided to be friends, no matter the outcome of whatever happens with this… talk."
She nodded. "Okay."
"Look, Nymphadora," he began softly, "I don't want to endanger you. What if… what if it's full moon, and I accidentally bite you? I'll never be able to live with myself."
"Remus, please," she said quietly. "We're going to have to take precautions. I'm not going to be lazy about it. But…"
And, for the millionth time that day, the door burst open again, and in sauntered Harry, who stopped abruptly as he saw the two of them staring at him warily.
"Er, hi," Harry said, looking confused.
"Did Sirius put you up to this?" asked Remus, sighing.
"No… why?"
"What are you doing here?" Tonks asked.
Harry had the decency to look ashamed. "I asked Mrs. Weasley, and she said Sirius was in here. I was looking for him."
She sighed too. Why did everyone interrupt their conversation because they were looking for someone?
"He's outside," Remus answered calmly.
"Oh. Okay. Sorry."
He left the room.
"I don't think this is getting us anywhere," muttered Remus.
"Remus, I honestly don't think we need an organized talk over this," Tonks said softly. "What I think we need is just some time to collect ourselves and think about both options. And possibly things other than yes and no. There are millions of things in between, you know."
He seemed to be contemplating it. "That's not a bad idea. When do we make a decision, then?"
"Whenever we're ready," Tonks told him quietly. "But for now, and until we've made our decision, we remain friends."
"Okay," Remus said softly. "Until we're ready, just friends."
It was so different to see Remus Lupin in this way; unsure, and scared, and… tender. It was something that she exclusively witnessed, and she was glad she did. Even if they were just friends.
"Okay," she whispered, and she leaned up to kiss his cheek. His face flushed fuchsia, but he smiled, and enveloped her into a warm hug which she cherished for days to come.
A/N: This was actually written at my sister's insistence, but I felt like you guys needed a complete fluffy chapter! So here it is, long and (hopefully) enjoyable! Coming up in chapter 34: Remus has three conversations with people about his relationship... each weirder than the next!
Thank you guys so much for sticking with this! I'm so happy to hear that so many of you are enjoying it!
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! This is for you Harry Potter fans out there, no matter what you ship or who you like! My sister and I are writing a POA epic, centered around Jily/Remadora, but including many other ships! So if you like Ginny, or Neville, or Snape, or heck, if your favorite is Winky, this fic is sure to have you covered! First two chapters being released in just two weeks! Head over to our profile to learn more!
THANK YOU SO MUCH YOU GUYS! The world needs more people like you! :) :) :)
