Disclaimer: Not mine.
Summary: Tonks is drawn to the wolf. R/T.
Nymphadora Tonks bit her lower lip anxiously. The rest of 12 Grimmauld place was asleep and rightly so; it was half past two in the morning and much too late to be wandering.
But she wasn't wandering. She walked silently, carefully, but with a purpose. Now she stood outside the door of Remus Lupin's bedroom. Should she go in?
She thought of earlier that evening, at dinner. Remus had taken a smoking goblet full of potion, potion to help his transformation. She had recognized the liquid- it would turn him into a regular wolf later that night, but she hadn't given it much thought. At least, not at first.
Once she had fallen into her bed, pulling up the covers, she hadn't been able to sleep. Staring out her window, she seemed drawn to the image of the full, yellow moon. An idea came to her, silly and dangerous. She had ignored it, turning her back on the sky. It hadn't worked. It had pestered her, buzzing at her while she tried to fall asleep. Finally, Tonks realized if she wanted any rest, she would have to go see Remus. Remus the wolf.
Now she stood outside his door, her hair yellow as the moon, her eyes as dark as the night sky. She reached out her hand, expecting to find the door locked. It wasn't, and the knob turned easily in her palm.
This is ridiculous. Go back to bed, she instructed herself. Yet, somehow, the door was creaking open and she was walking inside.
Her eyes strained to take in everything at once- the tattered curtains, the mounds of books, the open and practically bare wardrobe.
After a few moments, she became aware of the bed. Curled on the blankets was a large wolf, its coat a majestic blend of browns and reds.
Her breath caught in her throat and she took a step forwards; her foot nudged the bottom of a stack of books, and she watched them fall in slow motion. She shut her eyes, as if it could somehow block out the echoing noise of the heavy tomes hitting the wood. It didn't, and when the room was finally quiet again, she cracked open an eye hesitantly. She knew what was wrong immediately- the wolf on the bed had opened his yellow eyes, twin circles glowing in the shafts of moonlight crisscrossing the room.
He stuck his snout into the air, inhaling deeply. Tonks froze, straining to stand perfectly still- it was doubtful that Remus the wolf would remember Tonks the girl.
The wolf leaped from the bed to the floor gracefully, still sniffing at the room as he approached her. Bullocks, she cursed silently. She couldn't help but notice the long white teeth, or the sharp claws on each paw.
She braced herself for the attack, but it never came. The wolf was two feet away from her, looking up at her with the same rich, warm eyes of Remus. He let out a whine, before licking at the bare skin below her knee. He stepped back, wagging his tail playfully.
Tonks was about to reach out her hand before she caught herself. This didn't make sense. She had studied the differences between werewolves and regular wolves back at Hogwarts, and she still remembered some of the defining qualities. This was not normal wolf behavior towards intruders- this was behavior of affection.
Suddenly, the room felt too small. Stepping away from the wolf, she eased herself out the door and hurried back to her room. Lying back down on her bed, she realized that instead of allowing sleep to come easier like she had expected, visiting Remus had the opposite affect. She stayed awake until sunrise, contemplating what had happened, both her mind and her heart racing.
A/N: Thoughts?