Summary: A brief interlude between Remus and Tonks during a game of Wizard's chess. Fluff.

Nymph vs Wolf
Checkmate

Grimmauld Place

It was early evening on a soft summer night as the moon shone over number twelve Grimmauld Place. Sirius Black, the heir of the Noble house of Black, was with Buckbeak in his mother's old tower room as had been his habit for the past few days. Thankfully, there had been no signs of ill effects from the gloriala seeds, but Sirius didn't want to expose the Weasleys, especially the young ladies in the house, to any aberrant behavior.

Fred and George were also holed up in their room because they preferred working on their latest creation in private--and out of view of their mother. Unbeknown to the adults, the twins had stumbled over a very peculiar magnifying glass and were testing its properties. But that's for another story.

The rest of the company at number twelve could be found in the drawing room. Arthur was getting trounced quite severely at Wizard's chess by his youngest son. Although Ron kept his demeanor respectful to his father, one could easily discern his glee. He kept shooting glances at Hermione to see if she was taking note of his success, but the young lady was determined to ignore him after he made a derogatory comment about SPEW. Hermione, like Ginny, gave her full attention to Molly and her knitting lessons.

Remus Lupin sat in his armchair pretending to be absorbed in a book. In reality the Professor was covertly watching Molly trying to teach a certain young lady how to knit. Luckily the tome served a dual purpose. a shield.

Twang! Thunk!

The knitting needle hit the cover of his book. Ginny and Hermione stifled a giggle, Molly rolled her eyes in exasperation, and the culprit merely tottered over on her knees.

"Sorry, Remus, the needle just slipped out of control," said Nymphadora Tonks with a sheepish grin.

Lupin leaned forward and murmured, "Are you sure you didn't take aim and fire? You were dead on target."

"That's me, I can turn anything into a weapon. Serves me well in my chosen profession, actually," replied Tonks. She leaned forward and flashed her eyebrows. "Get the point?"

"And the punishment," said Lupin quietly. He deliberately brought his book up to shield himself from further puns, but he could hear her soft chuckle as she left.

Lupin managed to watch as Tonks scampered back to Molly and the girls. He listened while Molly and Tonks spoke.

"Just keep your attention focused on the spell, dear, you'll get it," assured Molly. She was thankful that Lupin was such a forgiving, mild-mannered gentleman. It wouldn't have served Molly's agenda to have Tonks running out of the house in tears.

"You're very patient, Molly. My own Mum banished me from knitting needles after I kept cracking her flower pots with them," confessed Tonks.

The Auror then threw a glance at Lupin to find that he was shaking his head at her from behind his book, but it didn't keep her from clearly mouthing, "Crack pot," at him. She could see Lupin lightly tapping his forehead against the book. She smiled, then turned her back to him so she wouldn't be tempted to taunt him further. Or to shoot another needle his way.

Molly was unaware of the covert communication between Lupin and Tonks. She gave some more suggestions about knitting, then casually asked, "You've spent a lot of your evenings with us, Tonks. I'd hate to think you're depriving a young beau of your company on our account."

Tonks had her attention focused on her task, so she answered absently, "Me? I haven't been on a date in over four years."

"Oh, well, perhaps things will change," offered Molly.

"Yeah, change is good. I like change. Oh, look, I've knitted a whole row!"

"Good job, dear." Molly now tried to nonchalantly insert, "I'm so glad that Bill's in London now. Perhaps you could show him around?"

The Auror was intent on repeating her success with the knitting needles so she missed the undertone as she responded, "Bill knows London well enough to show Fleur Delacour the sights. I think he'll manage."

Lupin, who had been listening to this exchange with an oddly beating heart, almost didn't take defensive action in time.

Twang! Thunk!

"Oops." Tonks once again waddled to his side. Again they kept their conversation quiet. "I don't know how that happened, Remus. I swear I'm just trying to knit a little jumper for Wimples."

"Wimples doesn't need a jumper, he's got fur," observed Lupin as he peered at his book cover that now had a noticeable dent on the cover.

"It's decorative."

"He's a were-rabbit, not a Christmas tree. Leave him a little dignity," said Lupin mildly. "On second thought, this is Wimples."

"Wimples is a noble pet! Why he's, he's--" Tonks realized that she had a lost cause. Dignified was the last term she'd use to describe her vorpal bunny. "Fluffy."

"My point exactly," muttered Lupin as he lifted his book again. Tonks was about to turn away when he added, "Can you imagine the static cling? He'll look like a chia pet."

Tonks burst out laughing at the image of the were-rabbit with his hair standing stiffly on end. Molly and the girls looked over at the two, but Tonks just continued to make her way back to the women. She knew that although he wasn't laughing out loud, Lupin would have that half-smile on his face that had become so familiar to her.

She renewed her knitting efforts with fervor, but silently added a barrier around her so that she would not impale the innocent. Lupin, on the other hand, had to continue to fend for himself.

Twang! Thunk!

"I think you're finding your rhythm," murmured Lupin.

"But not my needle." Tonks was rummaging below his chair as she looked for the projectile. Then she felt the light tap on her head. She didn't realize how close she'd come to having her rump swatted instead. Luckily given their present company, the gentleman in Lupin had prevailed over the Marauder.

Lupin extended the needle to her, so she happily went her way to resume her task. One would think she was fully absorbed in her lesson, but Tonks knew the moment that Lupin left the room. There was something she wanted from him, and tonight, she fully intended to get it.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Lupin walked down the stairs to the kitchen to make a cup of tea when he felt his shoulders being grabbed.

"Hold on, Professor. You're coming with me." Tonks was a couple of steps above him so that her head was just at his shoulder. Her voice was right at his ear as she leaned in to give her directive.

"Is this an arrest?"

"More like a kidnapping actually," said Tonks as she grabbed his arm and pulled him back up the stairs. "We have the rest of the night ahead of us and my flat is just a moment away if we apparate."

"Rather impatient, are we?"

"You know what I want, Remus." Her eyes were bright as she looked into his and her smile was inviting.

Yes, Lupin understood exactly what was on her mind. "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"Try me," she taunted.

"I fully intend to."

- - - - - - - - - -

Tonks' Flat

They apparated just outside her flat and Tonks practically pranced up the stairs in her glee. She flung open her door and said, "You get things set up in here, I need to get comfortable."

"Comfortable?" asked Lupin, but Tonks was already closing the door to her bedroom.

Snerf, snerf.

He heard the snarl directed his way from the vicinity of the sofa, but merely grinned at the creature. "And hello to you, too, Wimples. Wait until you see your Christmas present this year."

Wimples twitched his nose at Lupin rather suspiciously, but did not snarl further. Obviously the were-rabbit found the grinning werewolf to be a bit offputting. For his part, Lupin was satisfied that he had established the social hierarchy for the evening.

In anticipation of what was to come, Lupin took off his suitcoat and removed his tie. The throat to his shirt was open, his sleeves were rolled up and off came the shoes. The Professor sat on the sofa just as the bedroom door opened.

Tonks was wearing a short-sleeved peasant blouse with a scooped neck and black capris. There was something inviting about the gauzy white material, but Lupin was determined not to let his thoughts wander.

"You might as well surrender now, Remus. This is my lucky shirt," said Tonks as she walked toward him in her bare feet.

"Lucky shirt?" asked Lupin.

"I've never lost a match when I wear it," said Tonks brightly. "I beat Flitwick, Moody, and even Snape once."

"How did you get into a chess match with Severus?" asked Lupin with great curiosity.

"Chess tournament three years ago at the Leaky Cauldron. That's where I beat all of them."

"Then I shall be particularly vigilant. Let me set up the board. I'll be black tonight."

Tonks nodded her agreement, so Lupin began to set out the game of Wizard's chess on the coffee table while she sat on the floor across from him.

Wimples hopped over to supervise the Professor at his task and flicked one ear back as he reviewed the chessboard. The bunny moved a paw forward to test a black pawn, but leaped back when the piece drew its two swords.

"Don't harass my bunny, you big bully," admonished Tonks as she tapped the shell of the pawn. It snapped shut to resume its covert stance while she consoled her pet.

"You move first." Lupin studied her face while she made her decision, but when Tonks leaned over the board, he got an entirely new appreciation for the peasant blouse. Because of his height advantage, it required no effort to see a bit of cleavage. Creamy skin, smooth curves, just the lightest taunting color.

Tonks called her first move as Wimples assumed his position. He had his paws on the edge of the coffee table as if to get a good view of the pieces.

"Remus? Aren't you going to move?"

Tonks' voice didn't bring him out of his reverie, but Wimples' snort did. Lupin cleared his throat, prayed that Tonks hadn't noticed he was ogling her, and tried to focus on the board.

"I'm not given to hasty decisions," said Lupin in defense.

Lupin made a chivalrous attempt to avert his eyes as the match continued. This was Tonks, his colleague, his friend. His brain, however, had long been deprived of such a view and really appreciated the opportunity to refresh its memory. And in the back of his mind was the thought that Snape had been in the same situation. He was her teacher, for Merlin's sake! For some reason that made him even more disgruntled.

"Ha! I think I've got you," cried Tonks, but refused to look his way.

She was telling herself to only focus on the game. She had analyzed their first match against each other and came to a rather shocking conclusion. She had been too distracted by peeping at Lupin during their first game.

It wasn't that she thought the Professor was a Greek God, but her eyes kept tracing the faint scars on his forearms since he had rolled up his sleeves. Her eyes also kept returning to follow the line of his throat beneath the unbuttoned shirt. She had even found herself absorbed with the material draping his long body. Even now she found herself absently considering that Lupin's long legs were actually quite nice.

Then they were both distracted for a time by Wimples antics. He became fascinated with the chess pieces, although his attention was given only to the black. The bunny first became intrigued with a black rook. The little man in the tower kept raising his fist at the vorpal bunny every time the lepine would cause the tower to totter with his paw. The were-rabbit would then dart around the board to get to the other black rook to repeat the maneuver.

"You'd think all that zipping about would make him dizzy," declared Lupin.

"It's part of his training as a sentinel, keeps him on his toes," explained Tonks as she arched her back and pulled her arms back in a stretch.

That did it. Lupin made up his mind to act before he lost his mind. "I think I need to adjust my view and my strategy."

Lupin pushed the table forward a little as he moved to sit on the floor. He propped his back against the sofa and smiled in satisfaction. The adjustment took care of most of his peeping problem and made him feel less like a lecher. The match went in his favor for the next few moves even with Wimples' antics, although Lupin had to adjust his strategy when the rook refused to move into place where the bunny could freely harass him.

Tonks frowned at the turn of events. She needed to regain her advantage. She muttered, "I think I need a new perspective, too."

Before Lupin understood her intentions, Tonks tossed herself lengthwise on the sofa with her head peering over Lupin's shoulder. In fact, she propped her chin on him. He felt her warmth at his back and could smell the light perfume she wore quite easily.

Lupin quirked an eyebrow and gave her a sideward glance. "Nymphadora, why do I feel as if I've grown a second head?"

"Shush, I'm thinking," Tonks admonished.

Actually, the position was very distracting for her, too. She was very much aware of his body and had to fight the impulse to bury her face in his neck. But then the imp in her realized that this was a good opportunity for some innocent touching. She was a rather clumsy witch, wasn't she? She nudged her cheek against his neck and immediately said, "Uh, sorry."

She moved her head away so that he wouldn't hear her sigh. Lupin smelled very nice...Discipline! Constant vigilance! She could almost hear Moody chiding her for her behavior. Right, she had a match to win.

Tonks reached around his shoulder to point to her king as she called her move. She let her arm fall across his back, then squeezed gently and said, "Your move, Professor."

Lupin released his breath when Tonks moved away from him for a moment. He tried to focus on his next move and rein in his imagination. There was no denying that he had enjoyed her brief contact. What he wanted to do was reach back and take that warm body into his arms. What he actually did was make another bad move on the chess board.

Luckily for him, Tonks seemed to be making decisions just as poorly. The Professor knew that he could complain, but any time he made up his mind to ask her to move, his body refused to comply. He found the were-rabbit far more bothersome.

Wimples was now interested in a black pawn. He flicked his ears forward quickly to tap their shells. The swords would come out, but by that time he was darting around the table again to harass the other side. His ultimate move was to taunt the black knights. He'd slip a paw forward and move it back when the knight tried to trample him with his horse. And every maneuver would be cheered by the white queen.

Tonks could have put a stop to it, but the witch refused to abandon her perch behind Lupin, although she did tell her queen to behave appropriate to her station. Her vantage point meant she could peek down his shirt just a bit, which was again unbuttoned at the throat. But rather than be repulsed by the signs of scarring, Tonks began to wonder about their extent. She told herself it was just professional curiosity, just before she made another bad move.

Lupin managed to take advantage of her poor move, but that was his last glimmer of hope for victory before the personal assault by the vorpal bunny began. Wimples, having found chess rather tiring, the game pieces rather violent and not at all edible, had lost all energy. He settled into a comfortable position by flopping across Lupin's ankle.

"Shove off," murmured Lupin as Wimples once again decided to use his ankle as a pillow for his belly. He twitched his foot, but the vorpal bunny only rolled over to his other side.

"Checkmate!" called Tonks as she called for her knight to move.

Lupin was not surprised she had won the match. His glance flicked to the were-rabbit who suddenly decided it was a good time to perk up and clean his face. Wimples was completely innocent of trying to disrupt the game, of course.

The Professor was about to enter his complaint when, to add insult to injury, Tonks rose to do a little victory jig.

"I won, uh huh, I won..." She waved her hands over her head just like she had when Lupin had first thought her a water nymph. The exposed belly button, shimmying hips, and the bouncing perky bits of the jubilant witch managed to divert Lupin's attention from his loss to his libido. Yet, it was her spontaneity that brought a smile to his lips. His complaints vanished to be replaced by another thought: Perhaps he should lose more often?

Tonks was really getting into her victory dance before she realized how immature she must appear to Lupin. She dropped her hands, opened her eyes, and cleared her throat. "I guess this isn't very sporting of me?"

Lupin made sure his face held its normal composure by the time Tonks finished her celebration. He gave her his best scholarly mask and said, "Your display was a bit exuberant."

"Yeah," agreed Tonks as she rubbed one bare toe against another. "How about I offer you a consolation prize?"

"What did you have in mind?" asked Lupin. Oh, he wished he didn't have such a rich imagination! For a moment his mind created an image where Tonks would actually lean into him and--

"Here," she said as she handed him an apple. "I, uh, I noticed you like apples."

Tonks made her offer shyly and hoped she hadn't misjudged his preferences. Lupin was actually quite a finicky eater, but her meals with the Weasleys at Grimmauld Place had revealed that the Professor really enjoyed apples. She had bought a whole bagful and had even deprived her precious pet from access.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do," confirmed Lupin.

Tonks smiled in relief, the began scolding her pet. "No, Wimples, you can't have the apple."

The vorpal bunny was trying with all his might to leap up to her hand, but gravity refused to comply. The furball made his ears droop while he gave her a wide-eyed plea as his body shivered in deprivation--or deceit.

"Oh, he's good. You'd think he hadn't been fed for days," observed Lupin as he rose to accept the apple from her. So, Tonks would actually deprive her spoiled pet to indulge his whims? The Professor felt quite special.

Lupin smirked down at the vorpal bunny who snarled with bared teeth in reply. Then the furball seemed to swish his tail in disgust at the turn of events and loped off into his top hat to sulk.

"Wimples is just sensitive," explained Tonks patiently, but she punched Lupin's shoulder lightly.

"He's a charlatan in bunny's clothing," said Lupin, "but I think I need to get back to number twelve rather than argue the point."

"Just owl me if you need any help tomorrow. I'll be off and the only thing on my agenda before guard duty is doing my laundry."

She said the last with a real grimace while Lupin tossed the apple deftly and caught it with one hand. He tucked it into his pocket and said, "I'll keep that in mind." Then just to be a tad annoying, he said, "Good night, Nymphadora," and disapparated before she could chastise him.

Tonks just shook her head in exasperation before closing her door. She walked to the top hat and pulled out a sulking Wimples. She carried the bunny with her to the kitchen. "At least you'll obey me, won't you Wimples?"

Wimples leaned out of her hands to try to get to the bag of apples on the kitchen counter. "No, Wimples, those are for Remus, you silly bunny. Here, have a nice radish. Don't give me that face. I know you love to nibble their innards."

Tonks watched the lepine attack the radish with gusto and smiled. But it wasn't the sight of her pet wrestling with the vegetable that was the source of her contentment. It was the warm feeling that being with Lupin had left in her. For a moment she let herself wonder what he would have done if she had leaned in and kissed him as a consolation tonight.

"No, none of that," she told herself. "Remus would die of embarrassment if I snogged him. Hell, I'd die of embarrassment if I snogged him."

But in the back of her mind, she was beginning to think it would be a wonderful way to die.

- - - - - - - - - - -

When Lupin got back to number twelve, he set the apple in a bowl in the drawing room. He'd often read there and it would be easy to find. He touched the apple lightly, but thought about the pink-haired woman instead. Valkyrie, water nymph, friend. He bit back a groan at the thought of her being the apple of his eye. "Nymphadora Tonks, I've been around you far too much."

But try as he might, he found he lacked the energy to truly distance himself from her. And in truth, the warm friendship she offered him was a rare gift. As long as he kept his perspective, he could afford to nurture this relationship. She'd find a young man soon enough and not have time for him.

Or this new war would be the end of him and the end of his curse. Lupin smiled as he wondered what words Sirius would have to say for him in eulogy. If death was waiting for him around the corner, why not allow himself a harmless fantasy? It was nice to feel like a normal man for once, a man who was wondering what it would feel like to kiss Nymphadora Tonks.

And in his dreams, he did.

End of Chapter

Minor Edits

Author Note:
Just a short, fluffy interlude after the darker chapter previously. I had considered starting this as a new story, but decided to simply add on to keep this characterization in one string. So, I've adjusted the ending in Ch 7 and give you Ch 8. I hope to be able to do this in about 15 chapters. I do want to span the fifth year.

I don't have much time this week or next, so it will be about 10 days between postings unless I get some time. In response to a question about illustrating the stories. I have no talent for drawing and no one with such talent has been inspired to render the scenes, so I reckon they'll just have to stay in our minds. But if anyone wants to dabble in a scene based on any work I've done, please let me know where I can see it.

I don't think there's anything I have to explain in this story. You've gotten to know Wimples by now and yes, I do think Tonks and Lupin are both a bit innocent in sexual experience. Their own issues with self-esteem prevent them from realizing their growing infatuation is mutual. But that's fine, because it gives them more time to learn to love each other.

Thanks for reading. I appreciate the nice comments that folks have left.