JUST FRIENDS

Hi everyone! I'm really, really sorry that I've been kind of inconsistent with updating! I've been watching small children for a couple weeks, and it's starting to get to me. It's like that scene in Finding Nemo (yes everything in life can relate to a Disney movie) where the little turtle is trying to talk to the fish and they can't understand him because his voice is so high-pitched. They're really cute, but you have no idea what they're saying, and it kind of makes your brain go a little fuzzy. So long story short, sorry I've been so inconsistent, and I'll try to be better! Here's another chapter. I hope you like it! Don't forget to Review, please!

Tonks

Hestia, Harry, and I flew away from the fight, but I could still feel the adrenaline coursing through me. I shouldn't have left. After all, it really didn't take two of us to deliver Harry. Hestia could have managed on her own. I should have stayed to fight. They were outnumbered, and they would have needed all the help they could get. All these thoughts kept spinning and replaying through my head as we approached our destination.

None of us said anything as we neared Grimmauld Place. There was eerie silence between all of us, and I knew that the ambush was still fresh in everyone's minds.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of flying, the shape of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place began to materialize below us. I dipped my broom down sharply toward the ground, landing softly on the cobbled streets. Hestia and Harry soon followed suit, and I led them into the old house in a rush.

I burst through the door, Harry and Hestia close on my heels. I pushed them further into the house while I removed my cloak and prepared myself to go back to the fight.

"What happened? Where are the others?" Sirius inquired, sensing my urgency. He and the other Order members began flooding into the narrow entry, each of them glancing at us with worried eyes.

"We were ambushed," Hestia explained, waving her wand around Harry's head to remove the Disillusionment charm. "The others stayed back to fight."

I gripped my broom more firmly in my hand. "I have to get back there," I reasoned as I turned back to the still open door. Hestia moved to stop me as I began to step out onto the street, but I had already paused dead in my tracks. One by one, members of the Guard began materializing on the front steps just beyond the tip of my nose. First came Dedalus, then Sturgis, then Kingsley and Emmeline, still recuperating from being Stunned, followed by Elphias, then Mad-Eye, and finally, Remus.

We moved out of the already very crowded entryway and into the slightly larger library so that everyone could fit inside the small house. The seven newly arrived members of the Guard sat in some of the armchairs that lined the room. They looked exhausted—safe, but exhausted.

Molly left the room for a few moments, and I could hear her moving about the kitchen. She returned with a large tray of mugs in her hands.

"Thought everyone could use a bit of tea or coffee," she explained. I knew that she was trying to keep her voice steady, but her nervousness leaked through ever so slightly.

"What happened?" Hestia inquired once everyone had a large cup of coffee in their hands.

"Well, just after you left, we started winning," Kingsley explained after taking a long drink.

"Some of them had started falling back," Sturgis added. "Once we had enough time, we Apparated here so that they wouldn't be able to follow us."

"You're all safe," Sirius enthused, "and that's what's important."

Suddenly, Mad-Eye rose from his place on the lumpy sofa. "I thought we were supposed to be having a meeting here," he urged, resuming his usual pushy tone.

I rolled my eyes and let the others file out before me. "Should've known he would never let us rest long," Remus teased as he passed me.

"Mad-Eye?" I played along. "No, never. Have you learned nothing from his training sessions? 'You never know which break will be your last'," I joked, putting on my best Mad-Eye impression.

Remus laughed, but it turned more into a wince as he grabbed his left shoulder. I glanced at his back, and I could see the faintest trace of blood beginning to seep through his sweater.

"What happened to you?" I asked worriedly, turning back to him.

"It's nothing," he dismissed. "It'll probably be better in a bit."

I shook my head and rolled my eyes. "You better let me take a look at that," I insisted, pushing him up the stairs and into one of the bathrooms off the main hallway.

I shoved him inside, flipped on the switch, and shut the door closed behind me, not wishing to worry anyone that should happen to pass and see the large gash in Remus' shoulder.

I turned back into the room to glance Remus still clutching his arm as if it were going to fall from his body.

"Take off your sweater," I ordered, fishing through the dusty cabinets for some kind of first-aid materials. I could see the pink beginning to rise up in Remus' cheeks. "Ugh, it's not like that," I groaned. "I just need to see how bad the cut is so that I can heal it," I rolled my eyes.

Remus nodded, but still didn't look any more comfortable with the situation. He begrudgingly removed his sweater as I fished through the dusty cabinets for some kind of first-aid materials.

"Doesn't Sirius keep anything for this kind of thing," I complained, moving toward the medicine cabinet. "You'd think at least Molly would keep a stockpile of it, the way she's always calling this place a deathtrap. Oh here we go!" I enthused, pulling out a box of gauze. I turned back to Remus, "Now let me see the—"

I stopped speaking almost without knowing I had done so. Remus was much better built than I would have imagined. That's not saying I thought he was weak, but I would have thought that someone in his condition would be more, I don't know, not looking like that! He had defined muscles through his arms and chest, and although there were several large and faded scars around his torso, they made him look stronger somehow.

Remus eyed me intently, drawing my attention to my open mouth and the silence in the room. "Turn around so I can see what happened," I continued, though not as authoritatively as I had before.

He turned and revealed a very large gash in his left shoulder. The wound spread from just below the tip of his shoulder down past his shoulder blade, and blood had begun to inch its way down his back.

"Is it bad?" he asked, trying to crane his neck to see better.

I felt my breath catch in my throat, "No," my strained answer clearly revealed the truth. I cleared my throat loudly, "You'll be better in no time," I continued, trying to sound more convincing.

I waved my wand over the wound, and it shrunk down to about a quarter of its original size. I would still need to bandage it up, but now at least, it wasn't as gruesome-looking.

"Just let me clean it up a bit," I instructed, running a gauze pad under the tap. I proceeded to dab the areas where blood had run down his skin. Once everything was cleaned, I took one more gauze pad and placed it over the remnants of the wound, holding it secure with medical tape.

"There you go," I finished. "Just leave it alone for a few days, and it should get better."

Remus turned back around to face me. "Thank you," he enthused. I could only smile as I gazed into his deep blue eyes.

Just then, the door burst open. "Hold on a second," Sirius shouted down the stairs, "I think I may have some extra—oh!" he broke off upon seeing us. My face and hair glowed scarlet in embarrassment, and I made my way for the open door.

"Well, Remus, I think your shoulder will be alright," I said hastily without making eye contact. I shoved my way down the stairs without seeing the glare that Remus was now giving Sirius. I didn't understand what was the big deal. I mean after all, I was just helping a friend. That's all Remus was—a friend. Right?

I hope you all liked this chapter! It was a lot of fun to write :) Sorry again for the super long wait! Let me know what you thought in a Review!