Disclaimer: Hezza P and all his chums aren't mine, they belong to Madame Rowling.

To my reviewers:

Thank you so much for reviewing!

Dreamy-crazygirl – Don't worry, I wasn't too terrified by the guitar threat lol. I'm glad you think it's cute, I love cuteness! I'm a total cheese-fest, I love gooey stuff! Mwahahaha!

I'm totally on a roll with this story lol, I'm stuck at work in a supermarket behind the customer service desk and it can be really boring at times. (Well, loads of the time) so I just kind ponder what to do next in my wee tale while I'm meant to be looking like I'm working. And when I make wee notes on my pad, people think I must have very important work-like things to do. So my boss doesn't ever ask me if I have anything to do…-cackle-

Anyway, on with the tale! It's gonna move a bit faster now that we're getting into stuff that's happened in the book!

Chapter 4 – The werewolf

Two months had passed since Nymphadora Tonks had joined the Order of the Phoenix, and her life had certainly taken a turn for the more exciting. Although she still went to her daily job in the Auror office, she had discovered an unlikely companion there in the shape of Kingsley Shacklebolt, whom she'd originally thought saw her as a bit of an typical newly qualified type. Of course, that was before she discovered he was actually in the Order. Naturally, neither of the two showed any extra interest in each other at work; it would seem rather suspicious if two people who'd hardly known each other started talking all the time. Still, it was nice to know he shared her secret, and when she saw him, it always reminded her of the important work she was doing.

As for the rest of the Order, well, they were indeed a mismatched crew, but one who she admired greatly. She learned of the original Order of the Phoenix, and how some of the present members had fought against He Who Must Not Be Named before; in fact, she was one of few new members, something she felt very proud of.

At the present moment, she was sitting at a large wooden table in the kitchen of the Headquarters. She looked around her fellow members and felt a warm sense of belonging, in such a short space of time, these people had become so dear to her. She smiled and leaned back in her chair to stretch, only to find herself lying flat out on the floor a split second later, to floods of raucous laughter from the Weasley twins.

'Oi! Whatcha think you're playing at!' Tonks jumped up, pointing her wand at the offenders.

'Hey hey! No need for wands ma'am! We just thought….what with you looking so relaxed there…..'

'Yeah, we just thought maybe a nice little lie down would do the trick!' finished George.

'FRED! GEORGE! What have I TOLD you only about a million times recently? Just because you're ALLOWED to use magic now doesn't mean you can use it to play tricks on people! Poor Tonks could have really hurt her back there! Honestly!'

Mrs Weasley was standing facing the two boys, her hands firmly planted on her hips, her face flushed with annoyance.

Tonks threw a glare at the twins before turning to smile at the red faced woman.

'I'm ok Molly, really. They can't help being immature I suppose, they are MALE!'

Of course, this comment automatically drew a lot of mutters and grumbles across the room, due to the fact that the majority of its inhabitants were indeed male.

'That's a bit of a generalisation, is it not Tonks? I mean, surely we're not all that bad!' smiled Remus, trying his best to look innocent.

'Hah!' she snorted, 'you can be just as bad as them. I saw you and Sirius sneaking down here last night to 'sample' Molly's famous fudge cake!'

Mrs Weasley gasped. 'So that's what happened to it! I thought we must have some Warples in here! I suppose it's better that I was wrong…but really Remus….I thought a little better of you!'

'Not of me?' piped up Sirius indignantly.

'No Sirius dear, not really. That's EXACTLY what I'd expect of you.'

Sirius pretended to look wounded.

'Anyway, not to worry, there's plenty left! Who wants some?'

There was a resounding chorus and a display of greedy hands all shooting up in the air. After a few minutes, everyone was happily tucking in to the cake.

Suddenly Tonks heard Ron Weasley muttering to his rather bushy haired friend Hermione Granger, who Tonks had gotten to know while visiting the Headquarters regularly.

'Harry would love this….he loves mum's cooking….when we gonna get him anyway?'

'I don't know Ron, it's really not up to us….' whispered Hermione, looking around nervously.

Tonks frowned.

'Hey everyone, Ron here's got a point. When are we going to get Harry? It's a bit off leaving him stuck at his Aunt and Uncle's 'specially if they're as bad as you say! Plus, I want to meet this kid!'

A few of the older members of the Order exchanged glances, but before they could say anything, Sirius spoke up.

'I've been saying that for a while Tonks, but not everyone here is of the opinion that he should come here.' He frowned. 'But to be honest, I think he'd be perfectly safe, I mean, there's always someone from the Order around, in fact most of the time there's lots of us here.'

Remus nodded.

'He's right; it is getting to the point where he needs to be here. Besides, I'll bet he'd love to see everyone, especially you Sirius.'

Tonks looked around, trying to understand who all of this was directed to. It was obvious they weren't really telling this for her benefit. She turned her head at the sound of a sigh, a sigh of defeat, coming from Mrs Weasley.

'I suppose…I mean, I feel he'd be safer at the Dursley's, but since we are all going to be here….'

Sirius jumped out of his seat in triumph.

'Right! I'll go get him right now!'

'No Sirius! No. I'm so sorry, but there's absolutely no way you can go. You're still a wanted man; even the Muggles know to look out for you.'

Sirius sat down, his face fallen. But he knew she was right.

'Besides, we can't just go raining down on Privet Drive, we need to think of a way of getting Harry out while his Aunt and Uncle aren't there, because I doubt they'll be very helpful.'

Tonks half closed her eyes for a second to think. 'Is there no way to, well, lure them out of the house? Obviously it'd be a lot easier to run in and get him if the Muggles weren't there….'

A harsh, ragged voice now entered the conversation, belonging to Mad-Eye Moody, an ex-Auror who, although occasionally being a little extreme about things, Tonks had a lot of respect for.

'It'll need to be a realistic reason. We can't run any risk of the Muggles realising it's from Wizards, otherwise there's no way they'll take it seriously. And I don't want us to arrive to find they've not actually gone, you never know who they could tell about us.'

Remus Lupin smiled slightly. 'I do agree it needs to be realistic and Muggle-like, but I doubt they'd go running to tell You Know Who if they saw us, they like to pretend the Wizarding world doesn't exist. They'd be more likely to try their hardest to pretend the whole incident wasn't happening.'

He laughed.

'From what I'd have heard about them, they'd just love it if a bunch of witches and wizards in cloaks came storming up their perfectly manicured lawn….'

He raised an arm lazily to scratch his head. 'We need to get them away from the house for a day, that's for sure…..any ideas Tonks?'

Tonks' eyes opened wide and she felt a blush hit her cheeks as everyone turned to look at her.

'Wha….me? What makes you think I'll know what to do?'

Without realising it, she pouted slightly, which Remus instantly noticed and tried to cover up his amusement.

'I'm sorry Tonks, I just thought you had a good imagination, and isn't your Dad a Muggle? Thought you'd be the best person to know.'

This time Tonks felt her face heating up for a different reason. Why did Remus have so much confidence in her? Inside, she realised she was feeling just as warm as her face. I have to come up with something good now; I can't let his trust in me be wasted…

Suddenly, she heard one of Remus' previous comments repeat itself in her head.

'The lawn! They're totally house-proud, right? How about I send them a letter through Muggle post telling them they're shortlisted for like….I dunno….The 'All-England Best Kept Suburban Lawn' competition or something.' She grinned. 'And the prizegiving ceremony just happens to be the day we go and get Harry,' she added slyly.

'Fantastic Tonks! That's a great idea! cried out Sirius. 'They're obsessed by that lawn, completely, back when I was wandering around Privet Drive as a dog, I must have seen that Dursley man out trimming the sides of it at least a dozen times. Sad really! That's bound to work….they wouldn't miss that….' He laughed loudly at the thought.

Tonks couldn't help but smile, secretly feeling very pleased with herself. She was just enjoying this feeling when she became aware of being watched, when she glanced up she saw Remus looking at her, he looked somewhat surprised to see her looking back. But he caught himself in an instant and winked his 'well done' at her, before turning to talk to Sirius.

It was now Hermione's time to pipe up. 'When will you go then? It's only fair we get him soon! He must be going crazy stuck up there, and besides, me and Ron are fed up with Hedwig pecking us to pieces cause we can't send proper replies to his letters!' She looked down at her heavily bandaged fingers.

Tonks thought for a moment. 'Well, I'll need to write the letter, but that shouldn't take too long. And it'll need to go through Muggle post, I don't know how fast that is, so we need to give some time. How about…..not this Saturday, but the next?'

There was a brief moment of murmuring, and then Remus spoke up. 'Ah….no, no I don't think that Saturday is going to work for me really. How about….later in the week?'

There was a split second of silence, before everyone else began to agree with Remus.

'Yes, I think you're right, Saturday isn't such a good idea…..maybe Wednesday?'

'Mmhmm. Yep, Saturday, nope, no good. Can't do that.'

'I like Wednesday, how about we go with Wednesday?'

The young witch followed the chorus of agreements around the table, her confusion growing with each reply. 'Erm…if you don't mind me asking, I'm a little confused. What's the big deal with Saturday? It would be better if this kind of thing was done at the weekend…..are you doing something that day Remus?'

'Well…ah….well, you could say that, yes, I will, most unfortunately, be doing something.'

'At night though!' piped up Ron, and everyone at the table shot him a look that could have burned a hole in him.

'What's going on?' Tonks wailed. 'This isn't fair, I'm quite obviously being left out of the loop here, I'm in this Order! Why is something being kept from me? What's everybody's problem?'

'Well,' began Remus, 'It's not really everybody's problem. It's more….my problem.'

'His furry little problem,' added Sirius.

'What problem?' pressed Tonks. 'Stop talking in riddles!'

Remus sighed, his head bowed, before looking straight at the frustrated young witch.

'It's a full moon that Saturday, Tonks. And I'm a werewolf.'

Tonks felt a little like that time she'd been kicked in the stomach by a rather rebellious hippogriff. She felt her breath catch in her throat as she went to speak, but managed to recover herself in the nick of time.

'Is that all?' she joked. 'And here's me thinking it was something big you were keeping from me.'

She forced herself to paste a fake pleasant smile on her face; she wasn't feeling up to arguing. She was hurt, really hurt – she didn't care about Remus being a werewolf –well, ok, that was a lie. Of course she cared, she wouldn't inflict that on anyone, let alone someone she'd grown to like as much as him. But what she was really hurt about was the fact that he'd kept it from her. Something as major as that! Everyone else had known. And she'd felt like he was really beginning to open up to her. But obviously she'd read him wrong….The witch now felt a new emotion bubbling up inside her – embarrassment. Why should she have expected him to tell her? She must have been imagining that they'd been getting closer. He'd probably been seeing her as an annoying kid the whole time, no wonder he kept it secret. She swallowed, trying extremely hard to fight back the lump of hurt and embarrassment now forming in her throat.

Using her porcelain doll smile as a mask, she stood up from the table, pretending to stretch and yawn.

'Ah well, I'm really tired. I think I'll head to bed.'

Suddenly, she caught sight of Remus' face, and realised that her sudden decision to go to bed looked horribly like she was disgusted by the fact that he was a werewolf and wanted to get away from him. If only he knew it was something so different! But all the same she couldn't leave him thinking that, two wrongs didn't make a right. She took a deep breath, again pushing down the ever growing lump, and turned to him.

'Honestly, I am tired. I don't care that you're a werewolf, in fact I knew a friend of a friend who was a werewolf, nice guy, well, most of the month. Anyway, bed. Night!'

She smiled at everyone with a false brightness, she could feel the lump rising and she knew if she didn't leave now she'd make a scene. So, turning on her heel, she sprinted out of the room, and ran up to the second floor where a room had been made hers.

---------------------------------------------------

The table downstairs remained quite silent for a few moments after Tonks' departure.

Finally, Ron spoke up. 'You know, I think she might have been lying about being tired…..'

Hermione groaned. 'Really, you think Ron? Honestly, you can be so dense sometimes!'

Ron opened his mouth to protest, but was beaten to it by his mother.

'Remus…' she sighed. 'I really wish you hadn't asked us to keep this from Tonks…'

'I didn't! I only asked you not to….tell her straight out. I didn't really think it mattered….if she'd guessed and asked, you didn't have to lie!'

Molly frowned. 'That's really just technicalities, Remus. You didn't want her to know, it's as simple as that. And I don't really understand why, because you know none of the rest us of took the news badly.'

'I know, I know.' Remus closed his eyes and massaged his aching temples. 'She was…ah, I don't know. This sounds ridiculous, but she was someone I got on well with, she's easy to talk to, and I suppose I was worried that might change if she knew the truth.'

'You thought she wouldn't like you if she knew you were a werewolf? Come on now Moony.' Sirius leaned across the table to speak to his old friend. 'She still liked me even though she had no proof I wasn't a convict!

'I know, you're right. I didn't really think it through, I just thought maybe…I could just never get round to telling her.'

'She was always going to find out, Remus,' Molly said gently, and reached out to touch his arm lightly. 'Maybe you should go and speak to her; I think she needs to hear all this from you.'

Remus winced. 'I'm not really good at stuff like that….'

'Just explain! That's all you need to do. On you go now….'

------------------------------------------------

Tonks went to slam the door shut behind her, but caught it quickly as she realised she'd told everyone she was fine. After closing it over silently, she paced around for a second, breathing fast. She had to do something, anything, if she didn't she'd just allow herself to be upset, and she knew she was stronger than that. Doing the first thing that came to her head; she went over to her desk and picked up a quill and piece of blank parchment. Might as well make a start on the letter to the Muggles….

'Dear Mr and Mrs Dursley,' she began.

'Good start,' she muttered under her breath. But before she could get down to any more creative genius, there was a soft knock on her door. She sighed inaudibly; to be honest, she'd known this was likely to happen.

'Tonks….it's Remus. Can I come in?'

She chewed her lip, before taking a deep breath to steady her voice.

'Yeah, ok.'

Remus pushed the door open gently, and stood in the doorway looking sheepish.

'You can come inside the room, you know,' Tonks shot at him, instantly regretting her harsh tone.

He sighed, and moved in, closing the door behind him. Moving over to sit on the edge of the bed, he cracked a few fingers nervously before finally looking up and meeting her eyes.

'I'm sorry Tonks, I should have told you,' he sighed.

'No no, that was up to you. It's a personal thing; it's your call who you confide in.'

He smiled slightly. She really did have the wrong end of the stick.

'Tonks, it has nothing to do with not wanting to confide in you. It was actually….well, to be honest, your opinion is important to me, and we were getting on so well….I just assumed that you'd start to distance yourself from me once you knew the truth, you know, talk to me less, be in my company less, that kind of thing.' His tired face was troubled.

'I knew you'd never be rude about it, but it's happened to me a lot in the past. It's not the obvious prejudices that hurt the most, it's the ones from people who you know just can't stand being around you, but would never say it to your face. That's a horrible feeling.'

'And you thought I'd be like that.' Tonks responded, bitterly.

'No…well, I supposed I just assumed….' His face looked sad, realising his mistake.

'Well, you know what they say about wizards who assume, don't you? They make an ass out of u and me.' She was smiling slightly now.

Seeing this, Remus decided it was safe to smile back. 'I had a feeling you weren't the same as any of the other young, successful witches and wizards I've met…'

Tonks instantly felt her heart lifting, relieved to know that his reasons for not telling her didn't really have anything to do with not liking her. In fact, more the opposite.

'Of course I'm not!' she replied, smiling widely. 'I'm unique!'

She winked at him playfully, happy to see how relaxed he now looked.

However, a small frown crossed his face, indicating there was something bothering him.

'Just promise me this though Tonks. Don't get around me when it's a full moon. I don't know what I'd do if I ended up hurting you. I'm dangerous; I can't control myself when I'm like that. Just promise me, ok?'

Tonks nodded firmly. 'I promise. Now, fancy helping me write this letter?'

Et voila! That's all for today! I'll be writing more soon though, I'd intended to put more into this chapter but I like to keep them all round about the same length, so I'll move on in the next one.

I'm going away to Spain for a month next Sunday so although I'm hoping to have maybe one or two more chapters up before then, after that it'll be a while before there's anything new! But I'll plan some stuff out while I'm there, I've got plenty of ideas buzzing about!

Thanks for reading folks, please review and let me know what you think! Adios!