Tonks watched Remus carefully over supper. It had been Fred's turn to cook but despite that the meal was edible. It was nothing special so it could not have been the food which caused Remus's changed attitude. The shift was very slight but Tonks was not an auror for nothing. She was very observant. There were five of them living at No. 12 Grimmauld Place, ancestral home of the Black family and former Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. The house was owned by Sirius Black who was believed by the public to be a mass murderer but had actually been framed by his and Remus's one time friend Peter Pettigrew. Sirius had spent twelve years in the wizard prison Azkaban before managing to escape. He was on the run for a year before he almost caught Pettigrew and in doing so was able to convince Remus and Albus Dumbledore that he was innocent. After Voldemort's return he had offered his house to Dumbledore for a headquarters.
After Voldemort again lost his body the Order had disbanded. Sirius was unable to leave the house safely and so his cousin Nymphadora Tonks and his friend Remus Lupin had elected to move in permanently to keep him company. The Weasley twins, Fred and George, who were just setting up in the joke shop business had jumped at the chance to live in London with the on hand advice of two of their heroes. When Sirius and Remus had been at school they had been part of a group known as the Marauders who played a lot of practical jokes. The house was still hidden with Dumbledore as secret keeper partly for Sirius's safety and partly so that the Order could move back in the moment Voldemort returned yet again.
The five had initially been six, the addition being the mad Black family house elf, Kreacher. The elf had however kicked the bucket a month after Voldemort much to everyone's guilty relief. Life in the house was never quiet, but that was a good thing for its owner since he was unable to go outside for his excitement. The legacy of his time in Azkaban and his godson Harry's insanity and later death had made Sirius very depressed. He had spent much of the previous year alone in the house while the Order members where out on missions, but now that he was surrounded by lively people he was much better. Harry's fate had hit Remus hard too.
Tonks was extremely surprised to hear Remus laughing at the twins. She had not heard him laugh naturally since before Harry's trial. She shared a perplexed look across the supper table with Sirius. Yes, something had definitely happened to Remus, something good. After supper she and Sirius discussed Remus. Tonks was a bit put out when Sirius stated that the changes had begun three weeks previously. She was the auror not him, but she did grudgingly admit that he knew Remus better than she did.
"I thought at first he had come across a particularly good book, but when I asked him what he was reading he said he'd not got hold of anything new for a while," said Sirius.
"This is a wild guess, but do you think he's met someone?"
"As in romantic? This is Remus we're talking about. He resisted all our attempts to get him involved with someone at school. Once James had started seeing Lily he had this notion that we all needed someone. In the end Remus told him to f off. Only time I've heard him swear other than on the full moon. And he definitely hasn't been seeing anyone since the Order regrouped."
"Okay, so what do you think it is?"
"No idea. He won't tell me, but I really want to find out."
Over the next few weeks Sirius and Tonks observed Remus. He had a set routine, on Monday and Tuesday he worked in the garden trying to rescue it from years of neglect. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday saw him leave the house for his job in the muggle library (except the week of the full moon when being a werewolf he was out of action on the Tuesday and Wednesday and so worked the other three days). None of that was different to before, but his weekend habits had changed. Fred and George were complaining that Remus no longer dropped in on their shop on Saturdays to see their new products and help in their development. He also disappeared every Sunday afternoon and did not return until eleven at night.
He continued to be evasive about what he was doing; merely stating that he was spending time learning more about muggle culture. Learning about muggles did not explain his change in mood. He was the happiest the two cousins had seen him for years. On the fourth Sunday Tonks planted a tracking device in one of Remus's shoes and got ready to follow him. She morphed her appearance to that of a respectable woman in her mid thirties and dressed in appropriate muggle clothing.
Remus left the house and apparated away. Tonks checked the tracker and followed him to South London. She appeared in time to see Remus disappear round the end of the street. She followed him towards a cinema and saw him greet a red headed man.
Back in Grimmauld Place Sirius waited impatiently for Tonks to return. When she did at half past nine he was surprised that Remus was with her. They had been rumbled. Remus looked upset and disappeared upstairs without saying a word. Sirius propelled Tonks into the sitting room for an explanation. She went to the cabinet and poured herself a shot of firewhiskey and downed it before sitting down opposite him. This did not bode well.
"I screwed up," she said mournfully. "Majorly screwed up."
"What happened?"
"I followed him to a cinema and saw him meet a man and go to get tickets. Unfortunately Remus spotted me and recognized the hairdo as one I had been practicing. So he decides to get revenge on me for following him. He introduces me to the man, David, as a police officer. They get me to go to the film with them and then down to a pub where I have to make muggle conversation." She paused.
"So he wasn't a muggle?"
"No. He asked me if I'd worked on any well known cases, and the only muggle case I can think of was your escape because Fudge told them about that. So I said I worked on that. And he asks what I would do if I caught you, because if I'd been sent to Azkaban without a trial wouldn't I to break out too. He said he hadn't known anything about your case until you escaped but thought it looked a bit fishy."
"You telling me he was trying to find out about me? And now the Ministry knows you and Remus are hiding me?"
"No, no, nothing like that. Neither of us said anything about having seen you, though I will be telling Kingsley that someone is asking questions since it may be that the Ministry aren't trusting him with the case anymore. But I think David was genuine. Anyway we talk a bit more and I mention that I live with Remus and Fred and George – oh it turns out he knows Charlie Weasley, worked with him in Romania. See here, he gave me his card." She passed Sirius the card with the picture of David and the dragon.
"Well then, why is Remus so upset?"
"Somehow David got the impression that I'm Remus's girlfriend and he had been neglecting me to spend time with him, and he told Remus that he hadn't meant to cause any problems and he would like to get to know me too, but that he would leave us to sort things out first. And then he left and put a spell on Remus so that he couldn't get up from the table to stop him. When I returned from the bar I found Remus. It took me a few moments to work it out, but I think basically Remus is very attracted to David and because of what David said has come to the conclusion that David is not interested and may not even want to be his friend anymore. And you know what Remus is like about not pushing himself forward."
"So we contact David and tell him that you're not going out with Remus and then ask him if he wants to."
"Sirius. You have no subtlety whatsoever. If David is not interested in Remus he might feel either pressured into pretending he is, or uncomfortable with being Remus's friend knowing Remus wants more. We have to be very careful, Remus is the first wizard David has socialized with for a long time; he's been a bit of a recluse."
"So you're saying that we need to push them together gradually?"
"Yes, I was actually thinking Molly might help. The Weasleys are having that party next weekend to mark the start of the summer holidays and since David knows Charlie and Remus we could probably persuade her to invite him."
"I'm not sure Molly will go for the idea of inviting a strange wizard over."
"What do you suggest? Remus is obviously going to try to keep in contact with him, so it would be a good idea to check him out and the party will be swarming with Ministry and Order people so who better to do so? There will be plenty of people to help if he causes any problems. And since he's a red head who's had contact with Remus, Mad-eye will want to get a look at him somehow. This way David won't know we're checking into him."
"Okay then, let the plotting begin," said Sirius rubbing his hands in glee.