Chapter 5- Reaching for the Moon

Tying the laces of my trainers, I thought the same thing I did every morning I managed to drag my indolent arse out of bed. I hate exercise. Going through my routine of warm-up stretches, the litany of supposed benefits my father had constantly repeated throughout my teenaged years played in my mind like an old record on an enchanted player.

Running lessens stress, releases endorphins that avert depression, makes your heart healthy, and prevents you from looking like our cousin Big Bertha.

The Big Bertha prevention was my main reason for tagging along with my dad on his morning jogs until Auror training gave me a more pressing one. A burst of speed helped you catch a Dark wizard or saved your arse when the bad guys were after you. I'd already proven it several times in simulated encounters during training. If the higher ups would let me do more than answer lonely old jossers' imagined sightings of Sirius Black, or false reports of Dark magic, I'd prove it as Auror.

Opening my front door, I laughed when I saw Morty shuffling down the corridor toward me. "Coffee's on the kitchen counter."

Rumpling his salt and pepper spiked hair, unshaven, and bleary eyed, my uncle mumbled something that sounded like "bless you, my child" and stumbled into the flat. Smiling, I made my way downstairs. Begrudging my body every bloody endorphin, I exited the building and began the run. Out of habit, I varied my route. Dark wizards, and even the garden-variety misusers of magic were known to track Aurors down from time to time, and following a pattern made it easy for disgruntled persons to plan a nasty surprise.

During the run, my eyes constantly scanned the terrain, looking for things that were different, or out of place. No one had ever tried to attack me for being either an Auror or a woman running alone along mostly deserted streets. I liked to think if someone did, I'd see them coming and they'd be the one to get an unpleasant shock. A delivery guy wearing a brown uniform reminded me of Lupin. Last night, I'd followed my heart instead of my head. I'd asked, "Who?" when Remus had told me that he was interested in someone other than Hestia. A rush from something besides endorphins made me pick up the pace.

I knew the answer, but I wanted to hear him say it.

"You…would you care to go out with me?"

His smile was amused and a little uncertain. I felt the same way, stammering, "Go out…like on a date or something?"

"Yes…tomorrow night?"

"All right."

After forty minutes of remembering the way Remus had kissed my hand when we'd parted, and preventing last night's celebratory 500ml of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough from heading straight to my thighs, I headed home. Next door to the Blue Moon, my neighbour, Jan Rocher, was arranging a new display in the window of her shop, Chocolat . Her husband Alan exited while I slowed my steps to sigh over the sight of so much chocolate temptation.

"Want to go in? Jan told me she saved a few truffles just for you."

Meeting the twinkling gaze of the forty-something, sandy blond antique shop owner who claimed he had the soul of a gypsy, I accused, "You're sleeping with the devil, did you know that?"

Alan chuckled. "Must be why I'm so damned happy."

Waving, he Apparated. The Frenchwoman greeted me with her customary salut, and then scolded, "Why do you have to be tempted with chocolate to come visit? I haven't seen you in a week!" Smiling, she said, "I miss your company more than ever since Anouk returned to Hogwarts."

Leading the way to the kitchen at the back of the shop, Jan brushed back short brown hair that always looked enviably chic. Dark-chocolate brown eyes assessed shrewdly, while she waved me to my customary stool at a central marble-topped work table. I picked out a hazelnut truffle from the plate set in front of me and took an ecstatic bite before replying, "I visit, and you know I'd hang round all day if my jobs didn't keep me so busy."

"Jobs…a girl with as much joie de vivre as you should have more than work in her life." Slapping the flat of her hand against the marble, Jan said, "You should have a man."

I thought of Remus and my cheeks became warm. Across the table, the older woman's mouth fell open in shock. "Tonks! You've found someone?"

"Maybe. I just met him a few weeks ago. We haven't even had a first date yet, but…maybe…" My goofy smile probably told her more than my words.

Jan grinned. "Maybe doesn't put roses in your cheeks and a sparkle in your eyes. What's his name?"

"Remus."

A peal of melodic laughter filled the cheerful space decorated in accents of blue, white, and yellow. Holding up an apologetic hand, she said, "Pardon, my friend, it's just that you sounded like my daughter sighing over her boyfriend. That's good to hear, I'm so happy for you!"

During schoolgirl days, my sighs over Evan hadn't been dreamy; they'd been full of angst. I'd never known if he was really protecting me from the prejudice of his fellow Slytherin by keeping our relationship secret, or if the aristocratic pureblood was just ashamed of a clumsy witch who had a Mudblood father. To this day, I didn't know. Thankfully, I no longer cared.

"When will you see him again?"

I had to stop smiling idiotically. Julia would take one look at me during our enrichment session/ excuse to inflict more training on Aurors who hadn't used what they'd already crammed into their brains and hound me mercilessly until I spilled all. I wasn't quite ready for that. Jan was happy that I was finally dating again, but she would never pry. Unlike my best mate, who practically slapped her wand against her palm threateningly whenever we had our girl talks. I pressed my lips together, but the corners of my mouth turned up. I gave in and grinned. "Tonight." Looking at the clock on the wall, I jumped up. "Ack, the time, got to run!"

Following me back through the shop, Jan teased, "I thought you just finished that!"

Two customers were waiting impatiently for my friend to open the shop. Pausing behind the counter, she filled a take away cup with steaming hot chocolate and deftly snapped the lid on before handing it over with a small paper bag. "Chocolate croissants, my number one seller in the mornings, and a few truffles…share with Morty, s'il vous plait!"

Backing out of the door, I shook my head. "Non… I'm doing him a favour, making him get out of the office to buy his own. Really, it's good for him!"

One of the little old ladies bundled up in sweaters and scarves nodded her agreement. "All's fair in love and chocolate, dearie."

I laughed. "See, Jan, the customer's always right! Merci...a bientôt!"

"De rien, Tonks. Au revoir…!"

Inside the Blue Moon, Lisa was manning the desk for Bubbles, Morty's receptionist who was always late. Almond eyes in a delicate asian face were riveted by my bag. Brushing back her long fringe, my gossipy friend all but drooled. "What'cha got?"

Smirking, I taunted, "Take a whiff. Maybe you can smell, because you'll never taste, tattletale."

She laughed, no doubt hoping that I was joking.

"Chocolate croissants…and two…no, three truffles…tiramisu, amaretto, and…raspberry."

I whirled around to face Remus, simultaneously elated to see him and wishing that I wasn't wearing a sweaty t-shirt and shorts. Behind me, Lisa gushed, "My, what a good nose you have."

A brief, wolfish smile lit his face. Brown eyes filled with quiet mischief locked with mine while he stepped closer and said in a low voice, "The better to smell you with, my dear."

He inhaled. My pulse pounded like I'd just hit target heart rate. Trying to lighten the suddenly tense atmosphere, I kidded, "Did your mum teach you fairy tales, along with Latin and an appreciation of irony?"

A shadow darkened his gaze. "Yes."

Not caring to chat any further in front of Lisa the gossip, I held out the cup and offered, "Here, I'd rather have coffee. Want to come up and talk?"

Nodding, he lifted the cup and smiled. "My favourite, hot chocolate."

Relenting enough to place a raspberry truffle on Lisa's outstretched palm, I led Remus down the corridor. I couldn't say the number of times I'd climbed the stairway to the second floor. Too many times, and none of them memorable experiences…until this man followed me up the steps. Using willpower dragged out of some dusty corner of my psyche, I refrained from turning and snogging him on the stairs. Heaving a sigh over the lost opportunity, I unwarded my flat by drawing the correct runes on the wood with my fingertips. I opened the door, promptly shut it again, and leaned back against the carved oak surface to warn, "I'm no domestic goddess, so enter at your own risk."

"All right."

It's strange how content with my space I'd been until he entered. Now, I wondered if the red sofa was too loud and if the multicoloured floor rug, gothic wall sconces, and stacks of newspapers and post I meant to sort one day looked overly eccentric. Trying not to let my awkwardness about having a man invade my sanctuary show, I headed for the small kitchen. Placing the Chocolat bag on the tiny, fortunately cleared off bistro table, I waved him toward one of the two seats. While filling a mug with the last cup in the enchanted coffee pot, I tried to sniff my underarm covertly after a horrifying thought occurred. What if my elfin, ever-lasting deodorant had exhausted its magical properties?

"You smell fine, better than fine, actually."

Scrunching my eyes closed, I grimaced at being caught acting like a teenager before turning round. "That's good to know."

Our knees touched under the table. My skin tingled, but I acted as though I didn't notice while setting out the chocolate croissants and truffles. Accepting a croissant, but smilingly refusing a sweet, he said, "It will be hard enough to concentrate on work without a sugar high impeding my concentration further."

Curiosity won out over good manners. "What kind of work do you do?"

Remus's eyes were pensive. "Up until several months ago, I taught." His tone became determinedly light. "Over the years I've had an eclectic assortment of positions. I've been a teacher, bookseller, translator, and researcher. Currently, I authenticate and translate Latin texts, mostly for clients who hope they've found a rare edition." Noticing my attempt to suppress laughter, he grinned. "Rather dull compared to being an Auror?"

"No…it's just that…the first night I met you, I didn't know your name, so I thought of you as 'the professor'." Feeling my cheeks heat, I admitted, "After we'd talked for awhile, I thought that if you'd been my teacher, I would've mooned over you so bad…" His eyes widened slightly over my words before becoming smoky. Nervously, I licked my suddenly dry lips. His eyes focused on my mouth. Hurriedly, I asked, "What kind of Latin texts?"

"Recently, I've been working on a text that the client hopes is the ninth book in Valerius Flaccus' epic poem Argonatica."

"You don't think that it is?"

His hair slid forward when he shook his head. I wanted to smooth it back. Instead, I listened, as he explained, "No. The epic concerning Jason and the Golden Fleece breaks off abruptly in the eighth book, and no proof has been found that any other exists."

"Too bad."

"That's what I'll have to tell my client."

We exchanged smiles. Finishing the last of my croissant, I said, "Remus?"

"Yes?"

"Did you…er…drop by just to see me, or…" I attempted to sound casual, while gripped with apprehension. "Did something come up? Are you breaking our date?"

Remus must have read the anxiety in my face, because he reached across and held my hand, softly assuring, "I would never break our date, but something has come up. The Underground will be meeting tonight, same time and place." Grinning boyishly, he confessed, "I volunteered to give you the news because I didn't want to wait until later to see you."

"Thanks." I really had a way with words sometimes. Relief threaded my voice. "Did you want to go out afterwards? I could wear a dress underneath my robes if we're going someplace I should wear a dress to…"

Remus caught my indirect question and nodded while rising to his feet. "We're going to a jazz club."

I stood and walked him to the door, telling him in a voice that sounded absurdly shy, "I'm looking forward to it."

In the outer corridor, we stood looking at each other, like couples do when they don't want to say goodbye. I asked impulsively, "Could you…say something in Latin?"

His slow smile made the butterflies that had taken residence in my stomach from the moment I saw him flutter about madly. Stepping close, he cupped my cheek with a warm, gentle hand and bent to whisper against my mouth, "Pace tua …with your consent…"

Parting lips gave him my answer. Remus's mouth moved over mine in a kiss that was so sweet, I almost cried. No man had ever kissed me with such tenderness before, and the feelings it invoked were overwhelming. I backed away, murmured, 'bye', and almost fell into the flat in haste to put some space between us.

.

For the rest of the day, I attempted to put the upcoming date out of my head, focusing only on getting the most out of the retraining thinly disguised as enrichment. Julia and I practised administering Veritaserum on a fellow Auror playing the part of a captured Dark wizard. When the time came for me to take a turn as the prisoner, my pal winked at Tom Fenton, her fellow questioner and current boyfriend before saying, "State your name."

"Tonks."

"Full name."

Glaring at the two blondes that thought they were so amusing, I gritted, "Nymphadora Tonks."

My interrogators took turns asking questions, basic at first, and then intrusive. My role was to try and circumvent giving the truthful answer that the serum compelled me to give. Theirs was to learn to phrase questions in a way that excluded prevarication. After the session was over, and the Recordbrall was deactivated for us to evaluate later, Julia slipped in a final query, "Are you seeing someone and hiding that fact from your best mate?"

I tried not to answer, until my face turned red and my stomach cramped unbearably. I gasped out, "Yes."

"I knew it! I knew you were pining for some guy, you liar! What's his name?"

"Remus."

My friend exchanged a laughing glance with her partner.

I scowled.

Julia grinned. "What's this Remus fellow look like?"

"A man."

Tom laughed and was promptly punched in the arm. He chuckled. "Would Jul here think he was hot?"

"No."

After giving her boyfriend another love tap, Julia smiled. "Do you think he's hot?"

"Oh yeah."

"Have you kissed him yet?"

The potion had worn off. "None of your business."

I refused to answer any more questions, regardless of how Jul threatened or pleaded. She pouted the rest of the day. I smirked. Before Apparating home, I took pity on puppy-dog eyes and admitted, "Yes, and it was fan-bloody-tastic."

Thinking about how extraordinary Remus and his kisses were kept doubts about my romantic judgment at bay while I shared Chinese takeout with Uncle Morty. Leaving his flat, I hummed off-key while entering mine. After a shower, I searched through my closet for a dress that would encourage more displays of affection. One daring outfit caught my eye. Taking out the short, raspberry-coloured ribbon dress, I fingered one of the many thin silky ribbons that tied on the side. Once I slipped on the nude under slip and the overdress with ribbon shoulder straps, any qualms about the sexiness of the dress faded. I stepped into matching slides and fastened on a bracelet of quartz teardrops.

A little makeup, an extra brushing/flossing mint, and I was ready to go and looking fine. It was a shame to cover the dress with black wizard robes, but I wasn't trying to impress anyone other than my date. Apparating to the warehouse district, I walked to the meeting place and was quickly ushered inside.

The same diverse group of wizards and witches milled around chatting. I waved to Kingsley and Emmeline. One man intently watched my progress as he listened politely to the fair-haired wizard I'd stood behind at the last meeting. I crossed to Remus's side and said, "Hi."

There are times when I can breeze through any social or professional situation with a bright patter of conversation. This wasn't one of them. Remus smiled. "Hello. Tonks, this is Sturgis Podmore."

The wizard looked to be in his late thirties. He greeted absently, "Hullo, Tonks, is it? Should be easy enough to remember…my memory is almost as bad as old…" Breaking off, he frowned. "Sorry, shouldn't speak ill of the dead, should I?"

Before I could decide whether the question had been rhetorical or not, the saccharine-sweet voice of a domestic goddess scolded, "Sturgis, how could you be so insensitive? You know how many friends poor Remus has lost!"

The man blanched. "Ahem, I say, sorry, Lupin."

"No apology is necessary, Podmore."

While I listened to the men exchange words, Hestia Jones sidled up to Remus and placed her hand on his arm proprietarily. The sight of that plump, perfectly manicured hand caressing his sleeve made me try an experiment with wandless magic. Eyes narrowed and fixed on the woman's hand, I concentrated, body stiffening with effort.

She exclaimed, "Ouch! Something just bit me! Do you see a spider or a bee anywhere?"

The mark did look rather like the result of an Aranea Hex. I wondered whether it would swell. I hoped so. Glancing smugly from the witch rubbing her hand to the wizard considering me with an arrested look on his face, I hastily assumed an expression of innocence. His rumble of amusement made me grin when Remus edged so close to me that our arms brushed and whispered, "Miss Spider, I presume?"

Emmeline cleared her throat to get everyone's attention, saving me from an embarrassing confession. It was bad enough that I'd acted out of…dislike…did I have to admit it, too? The warehouse was huge and rather chilly. Leaning against Remus's side kept me toasty warm. He also smelled really, really, good.

"Thank you, the admiration is mutual."

Chagrin over unwary speech couldn't prevent the glow I felt, hearing that our feelings were mutual. Mrs. Vance was assuring the assembly that the stolen information had been regained and that investigation proved that the code had not been broken. Sighs of relief echoed in the cavernous space. Several approving glances were thrown our way.

After several more items on the agenda were discussed and resolutions were made, the meeting was adjourned. Cami joined us and offered to fetch me coffee since she was headed to the coffeepot herself. I declined with a smile. My laughter over her pretended shock stilled when I heard, "Would you care for a cup of tea? Oh, dear, how terribly clumsy of me!"

The expression on Hestia's face was anything but sorry while she dumped her mug of tea on my robes. Luckily, only the hem was drenched. Cami said, after a scathing look at Hestia, "Good thing the chill in this room cooled that tea or you'd be scalded for sure. Let me take those robes and I'll do a cleaning charm quick as a wink. Oh, wow!"

I was thinking something else. Oh Shit! The dress, in all its beribboned glory, was unveiled and I could tell that Hestia thought it scandalous. My friend complimented the raspberry colour as gorgeous, but Hestia sniffed disapprovingly.

"That's hardly appropriate attire, unless…you have a date after the meeting?" The woman's tone changed from sour to sweet at the end of the hopeful inquiry. Seeing Remus slip his arm around my waist wiped the smile off Hestia's face. She looked as though her biscuits had burned.

I smiled at Remus, who said, "Yes, she does. With me."

.

A/N: Couldn't resist adding a little Chocolat to the story- it's a great film, and if you haven't seen it, you should! I bet Hestia 'rues the day', snicker, snicker, that she dumped that tea! Thanks to those who made me bless the day they reviewed! 40/16 Camillia Vincent Carnivalgirl cupcakeswirl ElspethBates Embellished Flavagurl FNP Funnykido GraceRichie heartdamoose homestar-fan iamafairy ishandahalf JassXOXO Jedi Knight Padme kathaania Loz NazgulGirl Nutsaboutremus OceansAway Quicksilver Foxx Slipknot-3113 Slytherin Love Goddess sunny9847 Super Kawaii Lamb The Demonic Duo