Chaser 3

Appleby Arrows

Round 6, Season 9

Word Count: 3,015

Prompts: Voldemort, I chose to pair him with Nymphadora Tonks (as a cause/effect relationship). The chain for my team goes as follows: Oliver/Penelope, Penelope/Hermione, Hermione/Cedric, Cedric/Cho, Cho/Voldemort, Voldemort/Tonks, Tonks/Remus, Remus/Lily.

(Action) Tripping over something

(Trope) Fake dating

(Object) Blanket

A/N Thank you so much to DaughteroftheOneTrueKing, without whom I would have absolutely no inspiration.

Nymphadora Tonks could not believe that her life had come to this, yet here she was, asking for a huge favor from her best friend and Order partner- and the man she had been secretly in love with since she first met him.

Remus's eyebrows were raised so high they were hidden by his shaggy hair. "Come again?"

Tonks pinched the bridge of her nose, annoyed with this whole situation. She had never hated Voldemort more than she did at that moment. "Mum is nagging me to get married, have kids, and the like. She's worried about Voldemort coming to power."

"So how do I fit in? I'm not trying to upset you; I'm just trying to understand how I'm supposed to help you."

"I want Mum to get off my back, and the only way to do that is to get a boyfriend. If we pretend to date, I will succeed with my endeavor. I know it's a lot to ask, but I would be eternally grateful."

His face was inscrutable, a feat that she always found endearing. "What exactly would this deal of ours entail?"

"Does that mean you're agreeing?" Tonks asked, clearly surprised.

"Not yet. I just want to know what I'd be getting myself into if I were to agree."

"We'll have rules, of course," Tonks stuttered. She was struggling to speak, as she hadn't expected she'd even get this far with him.

"Of course," Remus repeated, his lips quirking upwards mischievously. "What sort of rules?"

Tonks anxiously picked at her nails. "What kind of rules would you want to have?"

"Hm. Let me get back to you with that."

Tonks was startled by a piece of paper being slammed onto the table in front of her. She looked behind her, only to see Remus standing in the doorway of Grimmauld Place's kitchen.

Tonks raised an eyebrow at him. "What's this?"

Remus smiled shyly. "Just read it."

Tonks shrugged and looked at the piece of paper.

The Rules of Dating

No one will ever know the truth of our arrangement.

Neither of us will develop feelings for the other.

We will remain friends after our arrangement has ceased.

Only previously agreed-upon forms of PDA will be allowed.

"Is there anything you would like to add?"

Tonks looked over the contract once more, then shook her head. "No. I think these will work fine."

Remus joined her at the table. "Then let's sign."

There was an Order meeting that evening, and Remus and Tonks thought it would be the best place to make their debut as a couple there.

They made their entrance with a literal bang, thanks to Tonks tripping over a chair. She very nearly fell to the floor, but Remus caught her just in time.

"Easy there, sweetheart," he said as he helped her stand back up. "I'd much prefer to keep you in one piece."

Tonks smiled and felt butterflies in her stomach, but then she remembered that this was all just a show for the people around them. She pulled away, feeling shame and hurt from thinking this was real. "Good job," she whispered so only Remus could hear her.

Remus seemed perplexed for a moment, but then resignation dawned on his face. "Right. Well, I'm just glad I was here to catch you."

"I'm not. You two are being disgustingly adorable. What is with this?" Sirius grunted from his spot at the table.

Everyone looked at them from their respective places at the table.

"Well, this seems as good a time as any to share our happy news," Remus began, but, Tonks being Tonks, was too impatient to wait for him to make the announcement.

"Remus and I are dating!"

The room went dead silent at her proclamation before everyone erupted in joyous congratulations and well-wishes.

Suddenly, Tonks was having second thoughts about this hair-brained idea of hers. When Tonks and Remus's fake relationship inevitably ended, she would be hurting more than just her mother- she would be breaking the hearts of everyone she loved.

Tonks was sick to her stomach. She and Remus were about to have Sunday brunch with her parents, where the couple was going to announce their relationship to her family. The night before, Tonks and Remus had stayed at Grimmauld Place, as they'd had Order business that night and had gotten in late.

For once in her life, Tonks had actually woken up early. She had risen with the sun, and instead of staying in bed, she started getting ready for the daunting task ahead of her.

About fifteen minutes before they needed to leave, there was a knock on Tonks's room door. When she told the person to come in, Remus stuck his head through the door. Tonks couldn't help but smile at how shy he was being.

"Something I can help you with, Remus?"

"Yeah. I was just…," he was fidgeting with the buttons on his jumper. "What's your Mum going to think of our relationship?"

"She will be happy to see me happy, which means she'll approve of our relationship."

"Even though I'm over a decade older than you, and a werewolf?"

"Is that why you're so anxious all of a sudden?" Tonks asked as she walked over to him.

"Well… yes."

"Why? There's nothing dangerous about you when it's not a full moon. As for your age, well, she knows I've always been into older men," she said with a smirk.

Remus briefly closed his eyes. "I don't think this is a good idea, Tonks."

"You can't bail on me now, Remus. We signed a contract and everything," She said teasingly, trying to lighten his dour mood.

His eyes shifted, and she knew he wasn't telling her the entire truth. Tonks stepped closer to him so that they were nearly chest-to-chest and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Tell me what's really bothering you."

"I don't want you to get hurt because of this deal of ours."

"I'm a big girl, Remus. I can handle myself in the real world," she assured him.

"I'm not so sure you can," he whispered under his breath, but she heard him.

For the first time in a long while, Tonks had no idea how to respond.

Andromeda greeted the couple at the door, a wary look on her face. "Glad to see you on time for once, Nymphadora. Though if I had to guess, I would say your early arrival is because of your new beau," Andromeda said as she glanced at Remus.

"Mum," Tonks groaned. "Don't start, please."

Remus chuckled and took Tonks's hand in his own. "It's been quite a long time, Andromeda."

"Yes, I believe since the time we ran into you and Sirius in Diagon Alley, right?"

"That sounds about right."

Andromeda sighed sadly, then quickly put her mask back on. "Come on in. Ted is already waiting for us at the table, so why don't we join him?"

"That sounds like a splendid idea," Remus responded as he followed Andromeda into the house, still holding Tonks's hand.

When they got to the dining room, Tonks greeted her father with a big hug. She had always been a daddy's girl, after all.

"You look wonderful, Dora," Ted said indulgently as he pulled away from the embrace and held his daughter by her shoulders. He quickly looked at Remus, then back to Tonks. He leaned in and whispered in her ear, "I'm so glad to see that you've finally found a boyfriend. You look happier than I've ever seen you."

Tonks blushed. "Thank you, Daddy."

Ted patted her. "Let's eat, shall we?"

Two nights later was the full moon. Tonks had always worried about Remus when he transformed, but now that they were "dating", she felt like she should be doing more than she had been. She knew it wasn't her place, but she felt more responsibility for him now.

Tonks was once again at Grimmauld Place, sitting at the long table. She had decided to come here after her shift even though she had the night off from her Order duties because she needed to be distracted from her worries. Now she wasn't so sure that she had made the right decision. The room was lonely without the usual crowd gathered for meals.

Sirius was sitting across from her. He was in one of his moods, but he was being worse than usual because Remus wasn't there to keep him in check.

Finally, after Sirius had made one too many wisecracks about Tonks and Remus's relationship, Tonks snapped. Between her fears and her annoyance, she wasn't paying any attention when she snapped, "We're not even dating, so you can drop this sour attitude of yours!"

Sirius was stunned silent. Once he regained his bearings, he asked, "What?"

"Huh?" Tonks tried to stall, realizing she might have made a big mistake.

"You and Remus aren't really dating?"

"What? Of course we are!"

"But you just said you weren't."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"You're going crazy, Sirius."

"True, but that doesn't change the fact that you said you aren't really in a relationship with Remus."

Tonks sighed and buried her face in her hands. "Okay, fine. I surrender."

"So you two really aren't dating?"

"No."

"Why are you guys doing this?"

"Because of Voldemort."

Sirius's brows knitted together in confusion. "How's that?"

"Mum is worried that I won't get married or have kids if Voldemort comes to power."

"So you and Remus are pretending to date to get Andromeda to leave you alone?"

"Yes."

Sirius snorted. "Good luck with that. Andromeda has always had the uncanny ability to tell when people are lying."

"Don't I know it," Tonks muttered.

Hours after the sun had risen, Remus arrived in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place through the fireplace, only to find his best friend and "girlfriend" asleep at the table. Remus was thankful that they weren't awake to see him in his current state. That night had been one of his worst ever, and he had a feeling it had everything to do with his growing feelings for the snoring witch in front of him.

As quietly as he could, Remus made his way to the study, which was only a few doors down from the kitchen, and collapsed onto the couch. He fell soundly asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Tonks woke up in a pool of her own drool, and her neck was incredibly stiff. She sat up and started to roll her neck in every direction, hearing several satisfying pops.

Sirius was soundly asleep next to her, so she got up as quietly as she could and made her way out of the kitchen. Her plan was to go to her room to read while she waited for Remus to arrive and her mopy cousin to wake up, but then she remembered that she left her book in the study.

When she entered the room, she saw Remus tossing and turning on the couch. His eyes were closed, but he did not look at all peaceful. Tonks also noted the new wounds that were visible on his face, and she suspected that there were many more that were covered by his sleeves. She made a mental note to pester him into letting her tend to them once he was awake.

Then Tonks saw a blanket lying on the floor that she assumed he had fallen asleep with. She crept closer, picked up the blanket, and gingerly draped it over him. Tonks watched with love as one of Remus's fists curled around the edge of the blanket and his restlessness ceased.

Tonks grabbed her book, sat down in an armchair in the back of the study, and began to read as she waited for Remus to wake up.

Hours later, Remus began to stir, then finally awoke. He looked over and saw Tonks, who was watching him amusedly.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Tonks teased. "I'm glad you're awake. Now I can take a look at those new wounds of yours."

Remus wrapped the blanket tighter around himself. "No. I'm fine."

Tonks gave him a look. "Yeah, right. Let me tend to your wounds. We both know I won't relent."

Remus sighed. "Fine."

Remus scrubbed a hand down his face. He couldn't believe that he was falling in love with his best friend's little cousin. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. He wasn't supposed to fall in love with anyone, let alone a woman who was 13 years younger than him! He had vowed years ago, after nearly hurting a girl he had been dating during a full moon, that he would never risk anyone's life like that again.

Unable to clear his mind, he decided to talk with Sirius to try to get some clarity. The prospect of a little firewhiskey didn't hurt, either.

"Wait, explain this to me again," Sirius said, looking perplexed.

Remus sighed. "Tonks and I aren't really dating. We're only pretending to be in order to get Andromeda to leave her alone."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I think I'm falling in love with her." He swirled his drink, thinking deeply. "Actually, I am falling in love with her."

"And that scares you, doesn't it?"

"Well, yes. After what happened with Veronica-"

"Veronica knew what she was getting herself into when she started dating you. You explained it to her, and she knew the danger. So does Tonks."

"I could have killed her!" Remus snapped, then quickly composed himself. "If you hadn't been there, nothing would have stopped me from killing her."

Sirius sighed as he took another sip of his firewhiskey. "It was an accident, Moony. You need to forgive yourself for what happened."

Remus buried his head in his hands. "How can I when it was my fault?"

Changing tactics, Sirius said, "But now you know better. You know how to keep others protected, so Tonks will be perfectly safe."

"I'm not as certain as you are, Padfoot."

The next full moon came too quickly for Remus. He felt as though he hadn't recovered from the last one when the next one came around. Then again, that was more often than not the case.

Tonks had managed to convince him to let her stay the night in his apartment, using guilt and skewed reasoning. "You were in such bad shape last time, Remus. I was worried about you, and to see you as you were really scared me. I want to be right by your side when you come back to yourself this time," she had said. In the end, he really had stood no chance, so he relented.

Remus had made Tonks promise to not come into the cellar, where he always went during his transformations, no matter what. It was the only way she would be allowed to stay, so she had accepted his terms.

Tonks was in the living room alone, trying to keep herself distracted, to little avail. She had tried reading for a while, but gave up after reading the same sentence several times.

Suddenly, there was a loud wailing sound. Tonks tried to ignore it, she really did, but the sound continued, becoming more pitiful with each passing moment.

With her heart in her throat, Tonks ran to the entrance of the cellar and threw it open. What she saw inside made her heart stop altogether. The Wolf was inside, lying on his side and howling in pain. The side that was facing up had a huge gash that was bleeding profusely. Tonks gasped in horror.

Without thinking about the consequences and not caring about the promise she had made to Remus, she ran to the Wolf's side. She applied pressure to the gash on its side, and the Wolf growled in pain.

"Oh, hush," Tonks scolded, and that seemed to do the trick, for the Wolf just laid his head back down.

The Wolf's sides were rising rapidly, and its blood covered Tonks's hands. She knew that if she didn't stop the bleeding soon, he would bleed out. The thought very nearly paralyzed her, but she shook off her fear and focused herself. Tonks pulled off her flannel shirt, ripped it into strips, and then began to wrap the strips around his sides. She breathed a sigh of relief when the bleeding stopped.

Tonks stayed by the Wolf's side for the rest of the night, gently stroking his fur.

Finally, after what felt like years, the sun began to rise over the horizon, and Remus transformed back to himself. He seemed dazed and confused when he first saw Tonks, but they quickly gave way to anger.

"What are you doing here?!" He tried to sit up, but the pain and Tonks kept him from doing so. "You promised you wouldn't come down here!"

This was the angriest Tonks had ever seen him, and she became furious herself. "If I hadn't come down here, you would have bled out!"

"And what if I had had enough strength to bite you? Then you would have been cursed like me."

"Then that's what would have happened. I couldn't let you die, Remus. I-I can't lose you," she whispered as she looked down at her hands.

Remus felt bad for a moment, but he steeled himself for what he knew he needed to do. "I think this arrangement of ours has gone on for too long, Nymphadora. It's time to end it."

Tonks's head snapped up. "W-what? Why?"

Remus reached out to stroke her cheek but quickly stopped himself. "I'm too dangerous, Tonks. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything ever happened to you because of me."

Tonks blamed Voldemort for everything. If Voldemort hadn't come to power, Fenrir Greyback wouldn't have turned Remus into a werewolf. If Voldemort hadn't come back from the dead, she wouldn't have had to fake date him to get her mother off her back. But most of all, if Voldemort hadn't forced Sirius into hiding, she would have never fallen in love with Remus.