"Say again?" In a strange way, I found it funny that I was asking my second cousin to repeat what he'd said a second time. In fact, I was feeling very odd, almost as if I were in shock. His lips seemed to move in slow motion.

"I think I'm in love." Sirius leaned forward to say in a tone that made me lean heavily against Remus to absorb what felt like a verbal blow to my plans to help my friend find a new partner. "That was the best night of my life. Cami is the most caring, giving woman." His expression became…oh gods…moonstruck. "She gave me a bath." He held up hands to display his fingers. "She clipped my nails, and then we spent hours in front of the fireplace, watching the flames, and talking while she brushed my fur and petted me."

Elbowing Remus in the side when he began to cough to hide his amusement, I asked, "How could you talk? Bark for yes, growl for no?"

Frowning, Sirius looked down his elegant nose at me. "Dogs communicate through an extensive range of vocalizations combined with body language, I'll have you know."

"Oh, right, excuse my ignorance. I'm sure Cami's a canine Dr. Dolittle, but what did you have to talk about?"

Remus's head was in his hands. His shoulders were shaking.

Sirius said, "I don't know who the hell Dr. Do-nothing is, but Camillia's had a rough time of it, what with her bastard father disinheriting her and her ex finding a new drinking partner when she went into treatment, the rotter." After taking a deep breath, his features smoothed out, his voice marvelling, "We've got so much in common. She's never felt good enough for her family or been able to open up to another human the way she can with me."

I said, "You mean with Snuffles."

He stood. "I am Snuffles! I feel the same whether I'm a man or a dog. Half the time I like being a dog better. Less bloody complicated."

Beside me, all traces of humour had vanished from Remus's face. He said gently, "Sirius, you can't start a relationship now. It wouldn't be fair to Cami."

Bitter laughter escaped before Sirius mocked, "Oh, right, a werewolf is such a better catch."

"I never said I was a good catch," Remus replied, "but I'm not a wanted man, either."

"I want you," I said fiercely, before I turned to Sirius and employed the steely tone learnt from my mother. "All right. Cami goes jogging in the afternoons. She can take Snuffles to the park for exercise. If she asks to dog-sit again, we'll let her, but you will promise not to shift back and declare your feelings, Sirius, and you will apologise to Remus. That remark was totally uncalled for."

Nodding, Sirius faced Remus. "I was upset and out of line. Forgive me, mate?" Sirius grinned when Remus nodded and clapped him on the back. "Good old Moony, never holding grudges. Always the peacemaker."

A shadow crossed Remus's face. He shrugged. I wrapped my arms around him and told Sirius, "Yeah, well, he may not hex you when you deserve it, but I will, so watch your tongue, or I'll have it swelling up like a balloon."

"Fair enough."

Reaching into my pocket, I handed Remus a brushing/flossing mint and told Sirius, "Why don't you use a Disillusionment Charm, go down to my flat, and make some coffee. Conjure something to eat if you feel adventurous. We'll be down in a few minutes." If I hadn't been chewing my own mint when he said, "Yes, Mum" like a bratty schoolboy before following instructions, I would've said something vulgar to go along with my hand gesture. As his bark of laughter faded away, I kissed Remus good morning. Melting against him, boldly gliding my tongue along his, I told myself it was to ensure he knew without a doubt that I really, truly did want him.

"Thank you for defending me. It's not something I'm used to, but it feels good," he said a few minutes later.

I wasn't used to feeling good about caring for someone so much, but as we went to go see what Sirius had scrounged up for breakfast, I was thankful to have Remus holding my hand.

While the morning started off dramatically, my day at work was uneventful. None of the reports Julia and I investigated turned out to be substantiated. On the bright side, I got to climb a tree to retrieve a kitten.

The pet owner had sworn out a complaint against a neighbour, claiming that the wizard was trying to steal her cat with the aid of Dark magic. Jul had offered to use a retrieval spell, but the old woman had demanded her precious Persian be brought down by hand. I climbed up while my partner interviewed the neighbours. While I gave the musically named Magical Mr. Mistoffelees back to his owner, Julia broke the news that it was the neighbour's four year old that was luring the kitten with yarn. She liked to play with him.

I traded my Auror robes for a denim jacket before I left my cubicle at the end of the day. Declining Tom and Julia's invitation to go have a drink, I laughingly told them that as much fun as it was to watch them kiss and cuddle, I had a Gran to visit. I Apparated to an alley near the closest tube station to the Muggle neighbourhood and walked toward Gran's block of flats.

A long, sleek car pulled up beside me. The rear window lowered. I looked in to see Rory Farrell, in a suit that cost more than most people in the neighbourhood made in a month. He said, "Get in. One of my boys caught the bloke who'd been asking about you and your Gran nosing around the neighbourhood again. Jimmy was a bit…overzealous…restraining the man, but he ought to be conscious by the time we arrive."

Sliding onto the leather seat and closing the door, I asked, "Did you tie him up or handcuff him?"

A glint of admiration lit dark eyes. "Cuffed. He won't disappear handcuffed to a chair."

No he wouldn't, manacled to an object too large to Apparate. I nodded, grimly satisfied. Rory asked, "You want to do the questioning?"

Imagining Farrell's methods, I said, "Absolutely."

He offered me a drink, so I accepted a bottle of water. We chatted about inconsequential things. I asked how Audrey was doing. He shrugged. "Fine, I suppose. We parted ways. I'm currently seeing Melanie O'Neil. What about that bloke you were with at the club, Lupin?"

"I'm still with Remus."

"Good. He seemed like a decent sort, if a bit old and grey," Rory said while flashing his trademark roguish grin.

"He's in his prime and suits me perfectly." I changed the subject, asking about a few people I remembered meeting back when we used to go together. He filled me in while the driver took us to our destination. I stared. It was a Laundrette. Rory chuckled. "What were you expecting, an abandoned warehouse?"

OK, maybe I had seen a few films on Gran's telly that gave me lurid ideas. We entered at the back. The wizard was shaking his head groggily. His looks were perfect for enquiry work; no one would remember his features. I went through his pockets, found a wand, and gave it to the muscular giant standing guard.

"Between whiles since I seen you, Tonks. You doin' good?" Jimmy smiled amiably for a bloke who regularly made grown men cry.

"Pretty good. How's your Granny? Could you break that please?"

Snapping the wand like a twig between beefy fingers, Jimmy Durbin tossed the pieces aside. "Granny's good. She fell and broke her hip a few months ago, but they gave her a new one in hospital and she's back at Bingo now."

"I remember her scones fondly, tell her hullo for me." It felt surreal to chat politely with Rory's main enforcer, but Jimmy had always been nice. The wizard gazed at us warily. I told him, "You won't be going anywhere without answering a few questions. Who sent you?"

"A client."

I darted a glance at Rory. He'd taken off his tie and suit jacket and was rolling up his shirt-sleeves. He gave a chilling smile. "Want me to persuade him to talk?"

This was rather like good Auror/bad Auror. I shook my head. "He'll come around." I began asking a barrage of questions, constantly returning to who had sent him. For someone who looked like a weakling, the agent was strong in his denial of doing more than walking through a neighbourhood.

Jimmy handed me a camera. It was a goblin super-spy, the newest model. I exposed the film and said casually, "Nice camera, it yours or the agency's?"

"Agency's." He immediately winced over the slip.

I held the expensive equipment out to Jimmy. "Would you break this next?"

"Sure."

"No!" Tugging at the restraints that kept him from Apparating, the wizard said, "I was assigned to take pictures of you and the old lady and bring them back to the office, that's all."

"What office?" I demanded. Rory nodded to Jimmy, who cracked his knuckles and moved forward.

"In the Rosier Building."

The hasty answer caused me to stare. I asked, "In September, a claim was made against the company, a little old lady pulling a disability scam. Why weren't you there to get a picture?"

His eyes darted around. Seeing no escape, the bloke admitted, "I was there. I took pictures of you."

"On whose orders?" Rory demanded.

I wasn't surprised to hear, "Rosier himself." I told the wizard to behave before asking Rory, "Would you mind keeping him restrained for another hour? I've got to get to the bottom of this, and I don't want him ruining my surprise visit."

"Consider it done. Jimmy will keep him company, won't you, mate?"

Broad shoulders shrugged. "I'll find some way to pass the time."

The wizard smiled nervously. "I play draughts."

Back in the car, Rory proved Aurors weren't the only ones who used silence to get answers. I said, "Rosier's my ex-fiancée. I'm not sure what he's playing at, but I'm going to find out."

"Could be that's just what he wants."

My shoulders slumped. "Could be." Another thought jerked me upright. "Gran!"

"I'll stop by and give your excuses." A boyish smile crossed his face. "She still baking those pukka biscuits and watching EastEnders?"

"Yeah, and if you're lucky, you'll get the biscuits without having to watch the programme." I smiled. "Thanks for everything. I owe you one."

"My pleasure."

He exited the car in front of Gran's and told the driver to deliver me downtown. I slid out. "Thanks again, but my way's faster."

Rory called when I said goodbye and started to walk away, "Don't worry about owing me forever, Nym. I'll think of some way you can repay me."

A couple of teenaged girls sitting on a bench nearby had been watching us. Hearing the Irish accent that could make a café menu sound insinuating, they broke into giggles. I shook my head and kept walking.

Apparating to the Rosier Building, I breezed by the security troll in the entry with an airy, "Hi, Sendak, I'm going up to see the boss." He scratched his head, but allowed me to pass. I stepped into the Victorian lift that Evan's family favoured over Floos and smiled politely at a non-human resources manager I remembered meeting at a Christmas party. He clearly wondered what I was doing there.

Once out of the gilded lift and striding toward the coveted corner office, I told the icy blonde executive assistant, "Wotcher, Catherine, Evan's expecting me."

She opened her mouth to protest until my expression convinced her to rise and nod. "I'll let Mr. Rosier know that you've arrived."

"I'll do it myself." My smile was hard as I pushed through the double doors and entered the posh shrine to the god Mammon. Evan had always chuckled when I'd half-jokingly accused him of worshipping money, but he hadn't refuted it.

Without looking up from his desk, my ex drawled, "Come in, Nymphadora. Make yourself comfortable while I finish this report. You'll note that the sofa hasn't changed. I told Priscilla that it had too many good memories for me to let it go."

I heard Catherine's sharp intake of breath as she closed the doors. I knew that the comment would rapidly become company gossip. Avoiding the leather sofa, and the couple of memories I had no wish to recall, I slouched in a chair and admired my manicure. Shankira, of the shop down the street, had a sister who did nails. I'd allowed her to shape and buff mine.

"I always wondered how your hands could be so slender and yet so capable."

Meeting the blue eyes of a man that could teach Rory a thing or three about innuendo, I smirked. "Good genes."

His lips curved upwards. Elegant in a charcoal business suit, he stood and moved around the desk to sit in the chair next to mine. He shifted to look me full on. "I see Perkins was finally obvious enough for your Muggle friends to apprehend him."

"Then you admit you sent him to Gran's just to get me over here?"

Amusement warmed his wintry gaze. "Of course."

My eyes narrowed. "Your owls fly off and not return or something?"

"Some things you don't put on paper."

I was getting tired of his cryptic Slytherin act. "What do you—?"

His wand was out before my lips had finished moving. As I sat, body rigid from the Petrificus Totalus, staring straight into his face, he said, "I want you to listen to me. I'm in a spot of trouble, and my own agents won't do. After all our recent meetings, I realised you'd never willingly take me on as a client, so I arranged to…as you so eloquently put it...get you over here."

Uncharacteristically mussing blond hair with agitated fingers, Evan unbuttoned his sleeve to show me his inner left forearm. "Look, no Dark Mark." He smiled ruefully. "I've been called ruthless, and I've never denied it, but I won't risk meeting the same end as my father." His fingertips traced the mouth that had been frozen before I could finish the last word. I wished I could bite his finger when it began rubbing my bottom lip. "You almost made me want to be a better man, to change with the love of a good woman."

For a tense moment, I thought he was going to kiss me. Thankfully, he pulled back. "My leadership of Rosier Industries is being challenged. One of my board members is threatening to give the Ministry proof that I've been colluding with Dark wizards unless I step down." He said dryly, "I doubt they'd agree I've merely formed a lucrative and politic limited partnership with a special interest group."

I'd bet the group had a special interest in bringing Voldemort back to power.

Evan said, "If this proof is not recovered, an unfortunate audit of finances will result and both the company and my position jeopardized."

I was supposed to care why, exactly? He answered my unspoken question. "In return for your assistance, I'll forgo bringing to a certain group's attention the fact that my ex-fiancée has been snooping into their business on at least three occasions, which will protect your Gran, your parents, your uncle and your werewolf from paying the price of your spying."

The Body-Bind Curse had petrified me in a position that Evan used to his advantage, brushing my parted lips with his. "You temporarily convinced me that you were Priscilla, but something bothered me." His hand wrapped around my neck. "When I said that only one woman had ever said she loved me, I saw pity flash through my fiancée's eyes, and that is an emotion Prissy feels for no one other than herself."

His thumb pressed against my throat, feeling the rapid pulse. He smiled like a cat playing with a mouse. "I took Priscilla out to lunch as promised and slipped her Veritaserum." His lips grazed my cheek before breathing in my ear, "I asked her point blank if she'd ever told me that she loved me." Helpless to respond with anything but a fixed stare, my heart jolted when he looked into my eyes and murmured, "She said, "No." His mouth settled over mine. I couldn't help but think it must be like kissing a shop mannequin. I was just as unresponsive. His fingers sifted through my hair. "I've missed your colour and passion, Nymphadora," he whispered before kissing me again.

"This stupid cow told me that you were unavailable. Evan!" Priscilla's voice rang with irritation and then horror. I could imagine her and Catherine gaping, bug-eyed.

Evan said, "I'll be with you in a few minutes, my dear, when my meeting is over." He stood. "Fetch her some water, Catherine, and shut the door behind you."

They filed out silently, more like automatons than I was in my present condition. Evan sat in the chair across from me once more and said, "That was poetic justice, I suppose." He shrugged. "Before I counter the curse, let me remind you that should you refuse to co-operate, or attempt to attack me in some display of feminine outrage, it is the ones you care about who will pay dearly for it."

When I sat glaring in front of him, Evan handed me an invitation. My shaky fingers couldn't hold it, so he opened it and said, "If you've already made plans for Bonfire Night, break them."

A/N: I wish I could've had Tonks sing a few lines from 'Cats' to make Julia cringe, but alas, lyrics are not allowed. Hum amongst yourselves, lol. If anyone wonders what 'Bonfire Night' is, you'll find out next chapter! Special Note: I couldn't resist Sirius begging for one shot about his night with Cami, so I've posted A Dog's Life, and hope you'll all R&R! As usual, here's the summary, given in hopes of enticing you to go read...Mother always said he'd live a dog's life, wretched and ignoble. Lying before the fire with a lovely woman running her fingers through his hair, Sirius made a sound of deep contentment. The battleaxe had been dead wrong. It was good to be Snuffles.

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