Chaser 3

Appleby Arrows

Round 9, Season 9

Prompts: The number 13

(Creature) Cat

(Dialogue) "Can you honestly tell me this is what you wanted?"

(Word) Absence

Word Count: 2,744

A/N AU in which no one knows Lupin is a werewolf. Also, I allude to NT and RL sleeping together. Huge thanks go to DaughteroftheOneTrueKing and Ikuni Hattori, without whom I wouldn't have any inspiration.

Tonks had always considered thirteen her lucky number. She always joked and said it was because she was the living embodiment of bad luck.

The first time she regarded thirteen as her lucky number was when she was five and finally managed to pull a prank on Sirius. She had been trying for months to get one over on her favorite cousin. Then, on her thirteenth try, she had succeeded in dousing him with water while he was babysitting her one evening.

When she was on Hufflepuff's quidditch team during her final three years at Hogwarts, her jersey number had been thirteen. Hufflepuff hadn't won the Quidditch Cup in nearly a century before then, but they won it each of the three years she was a part of the team. They haven't won it again since.

So, when Tonks found out her new Order partner was thirteen years older than her, she considered it a sign of good luck.

Moody sat down at the kitchen table and took a sip from his hip flask, steeling himself for his briefing with Remus and Tonks. He purposely avoided giving them any information on the mission aside from each others' profiles because he feared they would storm his office.

To make matters even worse, Sirius was joining the briefing. Dumbledore had been allowing Sirius to join Order meetings because he felt bad for him. Moody knew that having Sirius there was only going to add fuel to the ensuing flame, but there was nothing he could do about it.

The door slammed open, revealing a grumpy Sirius and an exhausted Remus. Moody almost felt bad for springing this mission on Remus so soon after the full moon, but then he reminded himself that war isn't a time for coddling.

As Remus sat down heavily in his chair, Sirius made a beeline for his liquor cabinet.

Tonks was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Nymphadora?" Moody asked.

Sirius snorted. "Don't let her hear you calling her that."

They sat in silence as they awaited the arrival of the vibrant witch.

A sudden crash, followed by a string of curses, grabbed the men's attention. Moody's magical eye swiveled around to find his protege struggling to get her leg free from what had ensnared it.

"Is she alright?" Remus asked, concerned.

Sirius laughed. "She's a walking hazard, that one."

Tonks entered a moment later and took a seat across from Remus. "Wotcher, Sirius, Moody. Nice to meet you, Remus," Tonks said with her usual charm.

"You're late," Moody grunted before the others could respond.

Tonks rolled her eyes. "I got held up at the Ministry. Scrimgeour is being a thorn in my arse."

Moody grunted again but didn't comment further. "You two are going on a mission."

"Right. Because I totally didn't get that from the memo you sent us," Tonks muttered.

Moody threw her a look. "Now's no time for your sarcasm, Nymphadora."

"Sorry."

"As I was saying, you two are going on a stake-out mission."

"Who is our target?" Tonks inquired.

"A suspected Death Eater couple in Bath. We want to keep a close eye on them."

"And what will our cover be?" Remus asked, leaning his elbows on the table.

This was the part Moody had been dreading since he'd drafted the mission. "A married couple."

"Why must our cover be a married couple?" Remus asked. "Surely we could-"

"I've thought of everything, Remus, and this is the most suitable course of action."

Tonks glared at her cousin. "Not a word, Sirius."

Sirius held his hands up in defense. "I didn't say a thing," he said as he actively held back his laughter.

After the meeting, Sirius pulled Remus aside. "Look, I know this is just a cover and all, but she's my baby cousin. I love her more than life itself. If you hurt her in any way, I promise there is no corner of this world I will not hunt you down to."

Taken aback by his friend's protectiveness, Remus vowed, "I will not hurt her, Sirius."

Sirius clapped him on the shoulder, perhaps a little harder than he should have. "Good. Then we won't have any issues. Oh, and do be careful. She has a nasty habit of wearing her emotions on her sleeve."

As Sirius walked away, Remus murmured, "Duly noted."

Tonks and Remus stayed at Grimmauld Place that evening because they were leaving for the mission first thing in the morning. This arrangement allowed for the two to get to know each other, seeing as they had never met. The two of them were sitting in the library, each with a cuppa, as they got to know each other. They asked all of the usual questions before starting to get into the deeper discussions.

"So, you and Sirius have been friends for a while?" Tonks asked as she brought her mug to her lips.

Remus nodded, a smile forming on his face. "He was my first friend at Hogwarts."

Tonks snorted. "I'm not so sure that's a good thing."

"He certainly kept me on my toes. I'm fairly certain Dumbledore made me a prefect because he thought I would be able to keep James and Sirius in line. Oh, how wrong he was."

Tonks full-on laughed that time. "No one can tame Sirius. That man is a category all his own."

"That is too true."

"What was your time like at Hogwarts?"

Remus looked away. "Alright. Sirius and James would constantly get us in trouble, so I spent more time in detention than I did in class."

Tonks chuckled. "Sounds about right."

"How about you? What was your Hogwarts experience like?"

Tonks looked down at her mug to avoid his inquisitive eyes. "It was… fine, I suppose."

"I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's okay. It's just that I was haunted by Sirius's imprisonment and spent most of my time trying to figure out how to prove to the Ministry that he was innocent."

Remus gave her a small smile. "It's touching that you never gave up on him. I'm afraid I can't say the same for me."

Tonks reached over and gave his hand a quick squeeze. "I have a feeling you will never make that mistake again."

They spent the rest of the evening in comfortable silence, simply enjoying each other's company.

In all of her life, Tonks had never been a morning person. So, when Remus pounded on her door at five a.m. the next morning, she nearly hexed him into oblivion. Her hair was in its natural state, the way it always was when she woke up in the morning, and she didn't bother to fix it before she stormed over to open her door.

Smoke was practically coming out of her ears when she asked, "Is this some kind of sick joke?"

Remus bit back a smile. "No. We just need to get going soon."

"I don't see why."

"Remember Moody telling us we needed to pretend to be muggles?"

"I don't see how that's-"

"Muggles move into places using moving vans."

"Oh. And what makes you the Muggle Expert?"

Remus was quite enjoying this I-know-more-than-you game, not that he would ever admit it to anyone. "My mother was a muggle, and she and father raised me to be competent in their ways."

"Fine. I concede. I'll go get my things packed."

Ten minutes later, she came back down the stairs with two trunks and a cat in her arms.

Remus looked up at her from where he was sitting. "What are you doing with that creature in your arms?"

"You mean my cat?"

"Yes, the cat. Why are you bringing it?"

"First of all, her name is Fairy. She comes with me everywhere because Lord knows Sirius cannot be trusted to look after any living things- not even himself. That's why Molly is over here all the time."

"No cats."

"She'll help us look more domestic."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"But she's the love of my life," she said as she lifted the cat next to her face.

"I highly doubt your life is pathetic enough that a cat is the love of your life, but fine. She can come."

Before she could think better of it, she gave him a hug, then pulled away when she realized what she was doing. She awkwardly cleared her throat and thanked him.

They spent the majority of their first day unpacking their boxes.

When they finished, Remus asked Tonks what she would like for dinner.

"You mean, you can cook?"

Remus smiled sheepishly. "Yeah."

"I never would have guessed. Then again, you do fold your socks, so I suppose nothing about you will surprise me."

"It's not something most people know about me."

"Why?"

Remus shrugged. "Not many people want to be around me when they find out-" he quickly stopped himself. "So, what'd you like?"

"Find out what?" Tonks inquired.

Remus nervously rubbed at the back of his neck. "Nothing," he mumbled.

Sensing his unease, Tonks decided to drop the subject. For now.

They decided to share a bed. For the mission, of course. They figured that they were both grown adults who could platonically share a bed. That, and it'd help their cover… if the suspected Death Eaters just happened to look in their window while they slept.

Definitely just to keep their cover.

When Remus woke up the next morning, he discovered that Tonks had somehow entwined herself around him during the night. He watched her sleep for a few minutes before he realized he was being weird. He gently began to unwrap her limbs from his own.

Once he managed to get out of bed without waking his sleeping partner, he went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. He woke Tonks up after he finished preparing the meal.

Through a yawn, Tonks said, "You snore."

Remus rolled his eyes. "Sirius constantly reminded me of that when we were in school."

Tonks laughed. "Why am I not surprised?"

Over the next few days, they settled into an easy routine. They were both surprised by how comfortable they were around each other, but they just chalked it up to them each being close to Sirius. However, both could feel the chemistry and connection they shared. They simply just ignored it to the best of their abilities.

While they were eating dinner one night, Tonks decided that she had left the subject of what Remus was hiding alone for long enough.

"So," Tonks started, "what are you so afraid of people finding out about you?"

Remus just about choked on his bite of food. He reached for his water and took a huge gulp. "I've no idea what you're referring to," he rasped out.

Tonks gave him a look. "Really? Because you choking would say otherwise."

Remus sighed. "Just… leave it be."

"I don't know if Sirius told you, but I'm not the best at dropping things."

"Look, it's for both of our protection that I-"

"I can protect myself just fine, thank you," Tonks scoffed.

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what do you mean?"

Remus scrubbed a hand down his face. "I'm not safe, Tonks," he whispered.

Tonks resisted the urge to snort. "You couldn't hurt a fly, Remus. You're the gentlest person I have ever met."

Remus slowly shook his head. "There are things you don't know about me."

"Then tell me."

"I can't."

Tonks nearly growled with frustration. "Why. Not?"

"I just can't!"

Tonks couldn't explain why she did what she did next. Maybe she wanted to convince him she could be trusted, or maybe she was just fed up with the ignored chemistry between them. She leaned forward, grabbed him by his shirt collar, and kissed him over the table.

When she finally realized what she was doing, she tried to pull away with the intention of apologizing for her actions, but he just pulled her back in and kissed her more determinedly.

Surprisingly, Tonks woke up before Remus. It took her a moment to remember what happened the night before, but then she smiled to herself.

Then she remembered that that day was their thirteenth day on the mission, and her smile grew impossibly larger. Thirteen really was her lucky number.

Remus began to stir next to her. He groggily sat up.

Tonks could tell the moment he remembered the night before because he covered himself with the sheets and jumped out of bed.

"Did we really…?" he asked, still not meeting her eyes.

"Yes."

"That's what I was afraid of," he mumbled under his breath.

Tonks quickly grew defensive. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"We shouldn't have slept together, Tonks."

"Why? And don't give me some bullshit story; be man enough to tell me the truth."

He flinched at her harsh words, but he couldn't blame her for getting angry. "I'm a werewolf."

Tonks's eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

"Now you see why we can't be together."

"No, I don't, actually."

"I'm too dangerous."

"That's not true."

"When I'm transformed-"

"Fine, you're dangerous when you're transformed, but we could take precautions."

"I'm not going to put you in harm's way just to entertain my selfish desires!"

Tonks glared at him. "You're being selfish right now by only thinking of yourself. What about what I want?"

"I'm doing this to protect you, Tonks."

"I've already told you I can protect myself just fine," Tonks huffed.

"What we did can't happen again," he continued. "I can't risk hurting you, Tonks." He quickly left the bedroom.

The door closed behind him with such finality that Tonks flinched. The weight of Remus's sudden absence was too much for her to bear, so she curled herself into a ball and cried.

A few minutes later, Fairy jumped onto the bed and rubbed her head against Tonks until she pulled her in to snuggle.

Tonks and Remus hardly spoke to each other for the rest of the mission. When they did, it was with one-worded questions and responses.

They arrived back at Grimmauld Place the day of the full moon. Once they finished briefing Moody and the rest of the Order, Remus quickly excused himself. Tonks sighed and went to find Sirius; she desperately needed the advice of her favorite cousin.

Instead of finding Sirius, though, she found Remus nursing a bottle of firewhiskey in the library.

"Funny, I never thought of you as someone who drowns their sorrows in liquor," Tonks joked.

Remus looked at her, his eyes clouded. "Normally, you'd be correct."

"Then what's different tonight?"

"What do you think?"

Tonks sighed and walked towards him. Grabbing the bottle from his hands, she took a long swig from it. "Can you honestly tell me this is what you wanted, Remus?"

Remus shook his head. "We can't be together, Tonks. I'm too dangerous."

Tonks scoffed but decided against picking that argument again. "So what are we going to do? We can't avoid each other forever."

"I don't know."

They silently passed the bottle between them until all of the liquor was gone.

"I suggest we pretend nothing happened whenever we're around someone," Remus eventually said.

"And when we're alone?"

"I'll be sure to bring plenty of firewhiskey."

She swore she could hear her heart cracking.

After a few more minutes of silence, Remus asked, "Can you do me a favor and not mention this to Sirius?"

"Let me guess- he threatened to beat you to a pulp if you hurt me?"

Remus nodded hesitantly.

"When is that man going to get it through his thick skull that I can look after myself just fine? And yes, I will keep this from Sirius. It'll be our little secret."

Tonks no longer considered thirteen her lucky number. Sure, it had been fun to joke about it as a kid, but now it felt like a punch in the gut for her.

After she had pulled that prank on Sirius, she hadn't been able to get him again before he was sent to Azkaban. Just thinking about him being there sent waves of emotion through her; she had lost her closest ally and confidante that day.

Tonks convinced herself that Hufflepuff had won those three consecutive years because of her jersey number, but in truth, she knew it was because their team had been exceptional those years.

Worst of all, thirteen would always remind her that her heart had been broken by the man who was thirteen years older than her.