Summary: This one's about Lupin...

Pairing: Remus/Tonks, Charlie/Tonks friendship.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and co belong to J.K.Rowling. Wish I was her though…

A/N: Anyone else a procrastinator here? I wrote this while I was supposed to be doing a paper. Oh well, the idea had been in my head for ages – glad that I could finally type it down. Hope you all enjoyed it.

Chapter 3: Bum and Biscuit

Lupin was sitting in his attic, enjoying a break from cleaning, when Hedwig flew in with Harry's letter. He offered her an owl treat as a sign of gratitude and was given a hoot of thanks before she took off through the window.

He was about to open the note when he heard a loud crash from his living room downstairs... followed by a colourful array of swearwords.

Feeling alarmed that an intruder had managed to break-in (albeit not very discreetly), Lupin dashed off downstairs to find–

"Tonks, what on earth are you doing here?"

Tonks, who today sported shoulder-length blonde ringlets, was sprawled on the mess that was Lupin's living room floor.

"Bloody hell, Remus! What's with all the boxes?" She looked around at the assortment of boxes and books cluttering his floor. Broken pieces of china indicated that Tonks had apparently apparated right onto his box of plates, stumbled on a stack of spellbooks, and finally collapsed onto a cluster of boxes. Her bum, in particular, was particularly stuck in a box of used robes.

Still astounded at the metamorphmagus' sudden appearance in his flat, and trying very hard not to cringe at the mess she made, Lupin repeated his question, "Tonks, always pleasant to see you of course, but what are you doing here?"

Tonks's reply came in short, gasped sentences as she tried, and consistently failed, to get up – her bum was refusing to come unstuck.

"Dumbledore just owled–"

nudge, nudge

"Emergency meeting at Headquarters in half an hour–"

heave, heave

"Thought I come by to get you–"

push, push

"No time to owl–"

kick, kick

"Kingsley and Arthur are going straight there–"

wiggle, wiggle

Puffing in frustration and wriggling helplessly in the box, Tonks looked at Lupin in annoyance, "A little help here, Remus?"

Lupin, who had been watching Tonks with much amusement, was suddenly jolted into action, "Of course."

He quickly made his away through the crowded floor, careful not to knock out anymore things, grabbed hold of Tonks' arms, and pulled.

It seemed that her bum was rather attached to Lupin's box of robes, however, for it did not come off immediately.

While Lupin tugged, Tonks looked around, "So what's with all the boxes anyway?"

"Oh… I'm moving out of my flat."

"What?"

Unfortunately, Tonks' bum chose that particular moment to dislodge itself from the carton. The momentum, combined with the force of Lupin's pull, was enough to send both of them keeling backwards. Lupin ended up falling on some more of his unfortunately-fragile possessions, while Tonks conveniently flopped on top of him.

For a second or two, they stared silently at each other. It was indeed a very awkward position to find themselves in, with barely inches separating their faces. Neither of them could think of anything to say to each other. Seeing her from up close, he suddenly realised how pretty she was.

Seemingly dazed, they continued to stare at each other for a few seconds before Lupin broke the moment.

"Tea?"

"Huh?"

"Would you like some tea before we go? I could make you some, er, as soon as you get off of me."

"Oh, of course!"

Feeling rather embarrassed, Tonks scrambled to stand and offered a hand to Lupin. He quickly ambled to the kitchen, apparently to prepare some tea, but not before she noticed a slight tinge of pink creeping up his cheeks. Thinking that it was rather cute, Tonks followed. She saw that his kitchen floor was also littered with boxes, piles of old newspapers, and rubbish bags.

"So, why are you moving out?"

Lupin reached into his near-empty cupboard for two sets of cups. "Oh, I got evicted last week. My landlord increased the rent and I just couldn't afford it. But I was thinking of moving out anyway. This place is much too big, especially with me being away most of the time. It would make much more sense to move into a smaller flat."

Having no stable of source of income since Hogwarts, Lupin had indeed been having trouble holding on to this place. As soon as he got his eviction notice a few days ago, he began cleaning his attic for things to chuck away. Good thing too, since he discovered several things belonging to James and Lily, which he had kept after they passed away, hidden among his junk. Feeling that Harry would appreciate a bit of cheering up after much of what had happened, he decided to send Lily's diary promptly. The rest, he figured, he would save for the boy's Christmas present.

"Have you found a new place?"

Tonks was gazing at him from across the kitchen counter.

"Not yet. I'll put this lot into storage and see if I could check in to an inn for a few days while I hunt for a new flat."

"Oh. OK then."

Tonks was mysteriously silent after that.

He finished his job and handed her a cup of steaming tea.

"Please, sit down." Clearing the clutter off his breakfast table, Lupin set down his cup and took a seat. "Sugar?"

"Cheers." Tonks stirred her cup absent-mindedly, looking like she was deep in thought.

Lupin suddenly remembered something. He started searching the floor.

"I recall a biscuit tin somewhere around here… You do have to forgive me about the mess, mind you I wasn't expecting company… Aha!"

Looking victorious, he popped his head from underneath the table and offered her a chocolate biscuit.

Tonks took a bite, her reverie interrupted as she tasted the snack, "Hmm, this is really delicious, Remus! Where'd you get it from?"

"Ah! I have my sources."

When she appeared to have gone back to her trance, Lupin continued, "But, really… I only bring these out especially for you, Tonks. If it were someone else, I would have given them the boring old biscuits without the chocolate…"

Tonks had the decency to sheepishly smile before carrying on with her silence. Lupin had no choice but use his last weapon.

"What's on your mind, Nymphadora?"

Scoffing at the sound of her name, but letting Lupin off the hook this time, Tonks queried, "I was just thinking… Can you really afford a new flat? I mean, being a member of the Order doesn't exactly keep you on the payroll, does it?"

"I do have a bit of savings to sustain me. I shall hope that I'll be fine."

"But you don't have any money coming in, do you?"

"Well, no, not really."

"OK. This is going to sound completely mental, but just hear me out… Why don't you move in to Grimmauld Place with me? I wouldn't mind another hand to help me out. I'm a sod when it comes to housekeeping and Kreacher's not exactly the most cheerful housemate, is he? Plus, there's still Buckbeak to look after and I'm just going completely bonkers trying to manage everything. Some of the Order members, like Molly, do brilliantly to help out of course, but there are times when I'm completely alone. You can move in as soon as you sort these out. And you won't have to pay rent. The place is much too big anyway…" She paused, "What do you reckon?"

Tonks had said all this very quickly that Lupin needed time to digest everything. It was true that Tonks had been having an absolute dreadful job of maintaining Headquarters alone after Sirius died.

He knew that Tonks only agreed to move in upon Dumbledore's request – and insistence – that a Black family member dwell in the house to keep an eye on Kreacher. As it happened, the Order leader was able to summon an ancient form of magic, which would revive Kreacher's traditional loyalty bind to his master family and, more specifically, to anyone whose veins run the blood of Black. It was a type of magical servitude contract which Dumbledore did not ordinarily advocate, but it was effective in compelling the elf to obey Tonks' commands.

Meanwhile, Lupin had moved back into his flat after Sirius died. He needed some time alone to deal with his grief. For a short while, he would even dread going to Headquarters because so many things reminded him of Padfoot. He knew, however, that he could not fall apart as the Order needed him to be strong. So he dealt with his grief by convincing himself that his work was of the utmost importance. Time eased the burden, naturally, and Lupin gradually found himself able to spend more and more time in the house.

As if she had read his mind, Tonks added carefully, "You spend most your time there anyway, Remus."

He studied her face, thinking that it was not such a bad offer, but resisted from fully accepting it, "I don't know… Can I have a think about it first?"

"Sure! But it's a bloody brilliant offer, if you ask me. When else are you going to have a spunky, bright – if not too graceful – housemate like me?"

The corners of Lupin's lips twitched a little at that. Then a worrying thought came over him. "Aren't your parents going to mind if you have an older, unmarried man living with you?"

"You are so conservative, Remus. You'll get along corkingly with my dad." Tonks rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Hey, what's that?"

She was pointing at a slip of paper peeking from underneath his robes.

"Oh, it's Harry's letter. He was just thanking me for sending him his mum's old diary." At Tonks' puzzled look, he elaborated, "I found it in attic the other day. I've been keeping some of their stuff since, well, you know…"

Thinking that she should steer the topic away from such depressing things as death, Tonks piped up, "Ooh, I just remembered! Arthur told me to tell you that he and Molly are having a party on Christmas Day at their house. I think all of the Order members are invited, and some of their kids are probably going to bring friends, so it's bound to be a cheery lot. I can't wait to see Charlie – he's finally coming home this year. I haven't seen him for ages!"

Lupin raised his eyebrows, "I didn't know you and Charlie Weasley were close."

"Didn't you? Yeah, we were best mates at Hogwarts, same year, same house. He was the ruddy brilliant Captain of the Quidditch team and I was his – well, one of his two – loyal sidekick Beaters. Mind you I was never terribly terrific at it - I think I just have a natural knack for knocking things out."

"Anyway, that's why Molly's never keen on me to help out in the kitchen. She probably still remembers all those times I broke her plates and the sort, whenever I came around for a visit."

She paused as if recalling a particularly amusing episode before continuing on, "I haven't seen him much since he moved to Romania and since I got so busy with Auror training, but we kept in touch by posts."

Lupin didn't know what to say except, "Oh." As odd as it sounded, it was rather odd to hear her talk about friends her age. It made her sound so young. Of course, Tonks was never 'elderly' in spirit, but what with her position as an Auror and her work in the Order, Lupin often forgot how young she actually was; how much younger she was to him…

His thoughts were once again interrupted by Tonks' loud musing, "Actually, Remus, now that I think about it, don't you remember meeting Charlie the first time you met me?"

"Really?" He was sure that Charlie wasn't around when he first met Tonks one-and-a-half years ago.

"You don't remember, do you? You've met me once before the Order. Let's see… I'm pretty sure it was Christmas during my second year. Sirius, who was mum's absolute favourite cousin, dropped by on Christmas Day, like he did every year, to wish us all a very 'Happy Holiday' – I think that was actually the last Christmas before he got sent away…"

Tonks allowed herself to feel a bit sad about this before continuing on, "Anyway, that year he also brought along one of his best friends from Hogwarts; the one he called 'Moony'?" She raised her eyebrows at him and he could only smile.

"Yeah, well Charlie also happened to be there visiting me. We both thought you were the most polite git we'd ever met. You didn't stay long, but I remember you, being ever proper, when you introduced yourself to us."

It did sound familiar. Lupin wondered why it never occurred to him before, especially having work with her for over a year. He decided to tease her a little, "Yes, I do recall meeting Sirius' little cousin and I must say, Tonks, that you looked rather cute with bright red pigtails."

"I was keeping up with the jolly season… Anyway," she glanced at her watch and set her cup down on the table, "Shall we go then? Mad-Eye'll have my neck if I'm late again."

"Yes, we better," said Lupin, standing up and pulling on his cloak.

Tonks looked at him with a slight amusement on her face.

"It's rather odd, isn't it, that we should be working together now… And maybe be housemates?"

"Tonks, I haven't said yes."

"But, really think about it, Remus. Maybe take a look at the rooms after the meeting tonight?"

"You're really not enjoying Kreacher's company, are you?"

"No, not particularly."

After some pause, he replied, "All right then."

"Good!"

With a wink and a 'pop', Tonks disapparated and Lupin immediately followed suit.

A/N: There was supposed to be some more on this chapter, but I decided that it would have made it way too long. I've written 80% of the next part, so chapter 4 shouldn't be too long…

In the meantime, what do you all think of Remus/Tonks? Good on you Lindsey-31 for liking it! I personally adore it – I think their different personalities complement each other. But I know that some people think he's too old for her and that she'd be better matched with Charlie. And since I actually like the idea of Tonks and Charlie knowing each other, I decided to include that brief lil' history between the two of them. What do you think? This way, Tonks would be Charlie's age which, as someone had calculated, was 28 in Harry's 6th year. That means she and Remus only had 8 years of difference. I don't know, tell me what you think, ok?

The next chapter should have a bit more Tonks-Remus-Charlie and more crazy pairings. So, review away!

One more thing, I've decided to include little bits of references to Love, Actually in each chapter. For example, the one from the previous chapter was very subtle: Lily's best friend's name, Juliet, was taken from Keira Knightley's character in the movie. So anyone can tell me the one in this chapter?