A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed chapter 1!

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Chapter 2

Sent by Molly

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Since the evening Lupin came back from that utterly draining mission for the Order, the days flew by. He made a few more minor investigation trips for Dumbledore, but nothing as exhausting as the first. When he wasn't out of his small home, Lupin busied himself with cleaning, gardening and cooking. He found that these simple house chores really gave him something useful to do with his time and took his mind off of James and Sirius.

But when the sun set and his hands were too tired for weeding or cleaning, Lupin found himself brooding almost every night. He suffered from insomnia with all the guilt and anger would come rushing to him in torrents and often had to perform a charm on himself to give him sleep.

He spent his days alone, apart from the rest of the world except through letters. And everybody wrote to him, especially those from the Order. It was as if he were a little boy, living alone in the wild forest lurking with dangerous beasts (as if he wasn't one himself). Dumbledore, Tonks, Harry, Mundungus, Arabella, the Weasleys (Molly kept on sending chocolates, too, which Lupin appreciated greatly) all endlessly wrote parchments of letters, asking him how he was, informing him on anything and everything, making sure he was still functioning. The wizard didn't mind though. Lupin took a lot of time to reply to these letters. He could usually be seen at the kitchen table, chewing absentmindedly on his quill and then scribbling away like mad on a parchment. Writing letters was like a much more enjoyable way of homework.

He was always delighted to hear especially from Harry. In the weeks that passed, Lupin was updated on practically everything in Harry's life. How the young wizard was doing, what was happening with Ron and Hermoine, the outcome of the first Quidditch game (Slytherin vs. Gryffindor, and Lupin was tremendously glad to hear that Gryffindor creamed their opponents)...all this and more poured out from Harry's eager letters. And every once in a while, Harry would ask an academic question or ask about a problem and Lupin would give his best advice, as he felt Sirius would have done.

Life was solitary, but going along relatively smoothly. So after not seeing his few colleagues and friends for a while, Lupin was quite surprised one Thursday morning, when the first thing he saw was an attractive, red-haired witch casually studying her nails (painted a deep purple with silver stars) sitting at his desk and humming under her breath.

"Tonks!" Lupin exclaimed louder than he intended as he immediately sat up, causing the witch to look up and accidentally bang her elbow on his bureau. Hard.

"Wha - ow! Ow...oh, that hurts like a-"

"What're you doing here?" the now-awake wizard interrupted a very foul word that slipped out of Tonks' mouth. "I'm still in my nightclothes!"

"Ow...oh...don't worry, I've seen worse...nice pajamas...ow...just wanted to see if you were still alive...ow...what kind of wood is this thing made of?" she rapped the desk with her knuckles, causing a few papers to slide off.

"No seriously, tell me why you came, is it something for Dumbledore?" Lupin demanded, getting up and starting to make his bed.

"No, nothing..."

"Did you come here to give me my Wolfsbane potion, then?" he persisted, smoothing the corner of his blanket.

"Er, no...Snape told me he was going to send a package through the post..."

Lupin sighed. "Then that leaves us with one more answer. Molly sent you."

Tonks looked suddenly very alert. Her voice raised a couple of octaves and she managed to squeak out very quickly, "Molly? Send me? Uh, no! No, what are you talking about, Remus? Molly would never-"

"Okay then, Molly sent you," Lupin gave another exasperated sigh. "But why? I've replied to all her letters, assuring her that I'm fine..."

Tonks turned as red as her hair. Lupin was reminded instantly of Ginny Weasley.

"What is it?"

"Well, uh, Molly wanted to make sure you ate all her uh, chocolates," Tonks muttered very quickly.

For the first time in many weeks, Lupin laughed, disbelieving the ludicrous reason Tonks flew halfway across Britain for.

"Well," Tonks gestured to the empty chocolate boxes stuffed neatly in the wastebin, "Looks like you did your job. I'll have to send her an owl, or she might just tear my right arm off. Still addicted, huh?"

"Yeah, I try to eat as much as possible when I'm human, because I can't eat chocolate as a wolf," Lupin smiled. "Poisonous. Say, are you in a hurry to go anywhere after this? Why don't you stay here for a while? I'd love some company."

"Sure," Tonks beamed. "Well, if chocolate's so poisonous, remind me to give you some when you transform for laughing so hard. Mmmmm...I'm hungry. You go get dressed. You know, you should wear that color more often. Brings out your eyes. I'm going to make breakfast."

Lupin looked down at his faded, comfortable sky blue pajamas.

"What are you talking about? I don't have blue eyes."

Tonks shrugged. "Meh, beats the heck outta me. Potato, pahtatah. Boy do I need coffee. Au revoir, monsieur." She exited the bedchamber in a flurry of red hair, leaving Lupin laughing behind her.

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Lupin and Tonks spent a very enjoyable day together. After a slightly burnt breakfast (Tonks had never used a toaster before), they shed their cloaks and pretended to be Muggles as they walked down Lupin's street, catching up on all the news.

"So have you talked to Severus?" Lupin asked at one point, walking briskly alongside Tonks, who was grumbling after she tripped over her boots ("Stupid Muggle boots...they look awesome and cost me my right arm but are so effing uncomfortable!"). The walk was very relaxing...the weather was pleasantly chilly and there were no Muggles outside on this Thursday morning.

"Snape? Oh, yeah, told me to tell you he'd be sending the potion. Not a very friendly guy," Tonks wrinkled her nose. "Needs to shampoo," she added with an afterthought.

Remus Lupin found himself laughing at Tonks' innocent wit many more times as they played a game of chess after the walk (Lupin would've won if Tonks hadn't 'accidentally' knocked over all the pieces after 'accidentally' dropping her bishop), grabbed a quick lunch, and found themselves after the meal at the local library.

"Remus...why're we here?" Tonks asked loudly as they stepped in the large, quiet building. A few students sitting nearby shot her contemptuous looks. "Oooh, look, Muggles!" she pointed excitedly at them, causing them to exchange raise eyebrows with each other and giggle.

"Shhhhhh..." Lupin grabbed her arm and steered her away from the students. "This is a public place for Muggles, you can't point and 'Oooh!' at them every time you see one, Tonks! And talk quietly, because people are studying."

"Oh, okay," said Tonks, still in a very audible voice. "But why're we here?"

Lupin smiled sheepishly. "I kind of like reading Muggle books, they're very interesting. I wanted to show you some."

But Tonks was already immersed in a selection. "Wow," she stared at the cover of Les Miserables. "This is wild...the pictures don't move! Man, that must be so incredibly boring...can't they even blink?"

"No, of course not. Yes, that's an excellent book...one of my favorites, in fact. Why don't you check it out?" Lupin offered.

"Wow, you can take these home?" Tonks' eyes widened, still staring at the cover, as if the girl on it would blink if she happened to turned away.

By the end of that evening, Lupin and Tonks walked away from the library, each holding a fairly large amount of books, videos, magazines...Tonks was interested in everything the library had to offer.

"So I guess you liked the library, huh?" Lupin remarked casually on their way to his house.

"Mmm hmmm. Do you go there a lot?" she asked, steadying a copy of Time magazine that was threatening to drop.

"Once every month or so. It's quite relaxing. You know, you should really try to visit these Muggle places, they're actually quite fascinating if you appreciate Muggle intellect without magic. I think it's dull to just live in the world of wizarding when there's a whole other culture right on your street," Lupin said pensively as they headed up the steps to his small home (it was hidden from Muggle eyes).

"Okay, well, I'll send these books back by owl as soon as I finish them," Tonks replied as Lupin held the door open for her and she dumped them onto his couch.

"Alright, that sounds good," Lupin replied.

"Listen, Remus," said Tonks, turning to look at Lupin. "Thanks so much for everything. For taking me to the library, especially, that was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed your company."

"And I yours," Lupin smiled at her.

"But I've got to go. I really do, and it's urgent-"

"Where?" Lupin asked curiously.

"Oh, um, just some uh, business stuff, ya know?" Tonks said uncomfortably. "I can't hang around here longer, though I'd personally love to stay for a few more days."

"Well, could I tempt you with some dinner? I'd hate for you to fly on an empty stomach..."

Tonks smiled. "Remus, you're so nice sometimes that it amazes me. But I can't, I have to go."

Lupin nodded thoughtfully and helped Tonks stuff the last novel (a copy of the Lord of the Rings) into her bag. Tonks grabbed her Nimbus 2001 and Lupin carried the load of borrowed materials for her as they stepped out his door.

"Well, bye, I guess. Fly safely, Tonks," Lupin said to her. "And if anything happens, come right back here-"

Tonks laughed. "Don't worry about me. I know I'm clumsy, but I've gotten better at flying than the last time you saw me. Thanks again, Remus. Goodbye."

Tonks wrapped her arms around Lupin briefly for a friendly embrace, and then she mounted her broom and slung her laden bag over her shoulder. Within seconds, all Lupin could see was a flaming bright red speck of her hair in the darkened night sky before it blended into the deep blue expanse above him.

After a quiet and silent solitary dinner, Lupin's high spirits were slowly sinking again. All he could think of Tonks, and how much fun he had today with her. He missed her bright eyes and her silvery laugh, even the way she tripped over everything imaginable. Lupin finally head back into his room to do some serious reading and to his great surprise, found a letter from Severus and a Hogwarts owl on his desk. The words were written in Snape's small, drawn handwriting.

Remus,

Dumbledore has informed me that I cannot send your potion by post in case it would be intercepted. I therefore urge you to come to Hogsmeade tomorrow the 31st to pick it up, as I do not have the time nor the patience to travel to your home to personally deliver it. I do believe you shall need it tomorrow night, for obvious reasons.

Severus Snape

Lupin was taken aback immediately after reading Snape's letter. The thirty- first? October? Already two months or so had passed? He could hardly believe it-the days flew by so quickly! He hastily scribbled back a note.

Yes, I shall be at Hogsmeade. How about we meet in the Three Broomsticks?

Sincerely, Remus

After sending his note off with the owl, Lupin got ready and dressed for bed. He turned on his lamp and picked up the book he was reading, but after a few minutes, found his mind wandering to Hogsmeade several times. For the first time in many weeks, he'd be seeing Harry, Hermoine, Ron, Snape, Hagrid, Dumbledore...Lupin hadn't realized how much he missed everybody's company, even cold, distant Severus.

The idea of seeing Harry, especially, made him feel a lot better. He'd thought of the young wizard a lot

The wizard set his book down and with a flick of his wand, turned off the light. He settled into a light and relaxing sleep, and for the first time in many nights, didn't dream of Sirius Black.

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A/N: Did anybody like that chapter? Personally, I had a great time writing it...it was really fun, especially with Tonks' spunky personality. Speaking of Tonks, you may be thinking about possible potential for a slight romance. Hmmmm...is there anybody who would object or like that? Please review and let me know, I'd really appreciate it! Merci beaucoup.