Summary: LupinxTonks. Lupin is partnered with Tonks on her first Guard Duty at the Department of Mysteries.
Author's Notes: This is part of a longer story arc spanning from just before the start of OotP until just past the end of HBP. For more information and past and future episodes, see my profile.
Disclaimer: All these characters and settings belong to JKR, Bloomsbury et al etc. I'm just playing.
Guard Duty
"Tea."
Tonks plonked the mug down on the library desk in front of Lupin.
"I even managed not to spill any on the way up." she grinned.
Lupin snorted with laughter. The last three weeks of working with the young Auror had, as he suspected, been interesting. She was a nice enough girl, clever and sunny and enthusiastic with a wicked sense of humour, but how she ever became an Auror was beyond him. 'Pinball woman', Charlie called her, forever walking into things and tripping over things. Stealth and concealment could hardly have been her strong points. Neither, it would seem, was tact nor subtlety, her conversation liberally peppered with random observations and innuendo, and one foot permanently in her mouth.
"Shouldn't you be off home soon?" he asked "The meeting finished almost an hour ago and it's getting late."
"Yeah, I will," she said, flopping into the battered settee opposite him "when I've drunk this tea and regained the willpower to move."
She winced and kneaded her thigh, flexing the leg.
"Hurt your leg?" he asked.
"Nah, it's nothing, just girl stuff. For reasons inexplicable I get really stiff joints when I'm hormonal."
"Oh dear, I thought you weren't your usual ebullient self earlier". He paused with a thoughtful look on his face. "Hang on," he said "I know what might help", and vanished from the room.
Tonks couldn't help but feel amused when she realised this was not the reaction she had expected from him. What she had expected was a mildly disgusted too-much-information face when she said the word 'hormonal', and for him to go back to whatever he was writing. He seemed a nice enough bloke, sweet and shy and self-depreciating, but kind of up-tight, old fashioned and overly serious. Certainly not what she'd expected of an ex-Marauder anyway.
When he returned he handed her a small brown-glass jar of ointment.
"Knitbone. It's for sprains and things really, but it's rather effective on achy joints in general."
"You're being remarkably understanding about this, the boys usually just go 'ewww' and run away at the mention of girly stuff unless they can blame my bad mood on it."
"Well, if anyone's going to understand being sore and grumpy one week in four…"
Tonks looked away, embarrassed.
"Sorry, I forgot about that."
"Glad someone can."
"You're hardly what you'd call your typical werewolf," she answered defensively "I mean, from the lectures we had as trainees, when Bill and Kingsley said about your condition I was expected someone hairy-scary and feral, bites the heads off bunnies and eyebrows meet in the middle. Like that Greyback bloke. Not a mild-mannered professor who's more civilised than the guys you live with."
"I see the training received by Aurors is as accurate and unbiased as ever." Remus mused bitterly.
An awkward silence fell between them. Tonks fiddled with the pot of ointment.
"So are you actually living here?" she asked.
"Yes," he replied "funds are a little tight at the moment, thanks to Umbridge and her oh so helpful Employment of Dark Creatures Bill, so the offer of somewhere to stay rent-free was most appealing. And anyway, someone has to keep the Incredible Sulk company."
He smiled with a sort of tired affection and nodded in the general direction of Sirius' room. Tonks sighed. Sirius had stormed out of the earlier meeting in an almighty strop when Dumbledore had once again turned down his request to visit Harry.
"Will he be ok?" said Tonks with concern "I mean, I know it must be horribly frustrating for him, not being able to see Harry, but he did sort of blow it out of all proportion."
"Such is Sirius." sighed Lupin "He'll have forgotten all about it by the morning. He's always been … changeable." Concern furrowed Lupin's brow for a moment, and Tonks wondered just how much Sirius had changed.
Not that she had long to wonder, because at that moment the library door swung open and Alastor Moody stumped in.
"Tonks! Are you busy?" he demanded
"Um, not really"
"Excellent! I've got a job for you. Bill Weasley has just cried off guard duty, something about a chance of a lifetime and someone called Delcott."
"The big tart!" laughed Tonks.
"So, we'll need someone to replace him and it would make sense to get you doing something useful."
Tonks perked up instantly.
"Wicked! I'll go get my cloak, I assume you want me to go straight away. Level Nine, isn't it?"
"I'm not done yet." interrupted Moody gruffly "As you've not done guard duty before, Lupin here will be going with you to keep an eye on you…"
"Oh come off it!" she interrupted "I mean, I'm pretty sure I know my way around the Ministry, I only work there and everything. And, y'know, I can see why it would make sense to send the civilian members of Order in pairs, but I am an Auror, you trained me for pity's sake, so it's not like I can't look after myself…"
"Nymphadora Tonks! For once in your life will you shut up and listen girl!" Moody was intimidating enough at the best of times, positively terrifying when he chose to be, and Tonks fell silent. "This has nothing to do with your ability - although I might point out that you are barely a year out of training and twenty-two - this is standard practice. Everyone is paired up with a more experienced member on their first guard duty, and you are no exception. Have you actually ever been down to the ninth floor, may I ask? Do you actually know what's down there?"
Tonks shook her head.
"Alastor has a point, Nymphadora," Lupin cut in (Tonks scowled at him) "guard duty isn't as simple as it sounds, having someone to look out for you to begin with would be advisable. That said, Alastor, isn't there someone else who can do it? I've still got to finish putting tonight's minutes into coherent sentences, and Sirius unearthed a book on Dementor life-cycles earlier that I'd like to have a look at."
"Don't argue with me Lupin." said Moody with a tone of finality, and stumped back out of the room.
Lupin looked over at Tonks, who was now wearing a sullen expression that was unsettlingly reminiscent of Sirius when he got in one of his moods.
"I still don't see why I need a baby sitter" she huffed.
Lupin sighed. It was going to be a long night.