Remus stopped in the doorway for a moment, watching Tonks brush off her robe. She looked up at him, and summoned up a weary smile for him. Now that she was actually here, in front of him, he was at a loss as to what to do. She said, "Wotcher, Remus. How are you?"

Her voice broke the spell and he stepped fully into the room. He decided to start with a neutral topic. "Hi. I'm glad to see that you're back okay. Can you say anything about your assignment, or is it all under wraps?"

She smiled ruefully. "Well, I can't give you any details just yet, although it is related to this dragon egg smuggling business. Your present came in really handy." Remus noted that she had her smart work hairstyle in place, with a few wisps curling down, framing her face.

He nodded at her reply. "Just like when we used to hang round with the old crowd, operational security and all that."

"Yeah." Her face lit up as if she had just been struck by a funny idea. "It must be you. I bump into you and suddenly my life is full of bizarre plots and secret missions."

Remus did not really care for the observation, and could not think of anything to say for a moment. Instead, he looked at her again. Was her face less heart-shaped than usual? She opened her mouth to say something, and Remus quickly decided to bite the bullet. "I've been thinking about the other night, and ..."

Before he could complete his sentence, Tonks interrupted. "Me too. Remus, I like you, you like me. We both know these things, but we're both older than we were." Even though Remus had been just about to say that the whole thing was a bad idea, he felt a sinking disappointment at her 'but'.

Tonks continued. "I'm not going to chase you this time. For once, Remus, you're going to have to decide what you want. What happened the other night wasn't some reaction to all the clandestine stuff going on. I'm here now, and maybe tomorrow I won't be; maybe you won't be. This time it's up to you. And now, I'm off to Quidditch."

"But you must be exhausted." It was all he could think to say, and all he got in response was a little smile. Then, she was out of the living room.

He heard her moving about upstairs, and then she clattered down the stairs, before shouting, "Bye." The door slammed shut behind her.

Remus sat down slowly in the armchair, a bit perturbed by her ultimatum. Rationally, he knew that it was perfectly reasonable. That did not stop him feeling upset. He sprang to his feet, suddenly filled with a terrible nervous energy. After pacing round the house fruitlessly, he decided to go for a walk. Picking up his jacket, he Apparated to a deserted house in the Lake District. On arrival, he staggered forward a step, hit by a blast of fatigue. The long-distance Apparations to Yorkshire were obviously taking their toll.

He put his jacket on and stepped outside. The sky above was grey and overcast; quite normal for the region. A nearby track led up towards Illgill Head, a hill covered in grass. It was one of the easiers ascents in the area, but the view from the high ridge was good nonetheless. Remus had been here several times before.

Just as the track started to climb, a light drizzle started, but Remus stoutly ignored it. He rather thought it suited his mood in any case. As he walked, he went over all his arguments as to why starting something again with Tonks was a bad idea. They had broken up before because of his refusal to consider having children, or even adopting, and his objections to that still held.

He reached the top, and paused to catch his breath. As he straightened, agap in the cloud cover opened, just below the sun. Shafts of bright light illuminated the hillside, even as the rain continued to fall. Remus felt a shiver run along his arms and up his spine at the beauty of the moment, and then he knew what he had to do. The sunlit moment was fleeting, and the clouds soon covered up the small patch. Remus started to make his way down via a different route, this time with a cheerful smile despite the weather. He could still remember the shiver from that small moment of sunlight.

His smile diminished when he slipped in the mud on one of the steeper parts of the descent. He fell onto his bottom and careened downhill for a few metres. He made it back onto his feet and brushed ineffectually at the mud clinging to the back of his trousers, and then laughed at the absurdity of it all.

Once he had reached the deserted house, he Apparated to the hallway of 54 Mulligan Street; after all, it would not do to track mud all over the carpet. As he was removing his shoes, he heard someone coming down the stairs. He looked up to see Tonks, obviously just out of the shower. Her hair was short, wet, and unbrushed, with tufts sticking out in all directions. She looked him up and down and started to laugh. "Where have you been?"

He grinned back. "Oh, I went for a short walk."

"Where to? You didn't get that much mud on you in London."

"I popped over to the Lake District, and, er, I slipped. It was raining." He was fumbling for an excuse.

"So I see," said Tonks drily. "You'd better get changed and dry up, or you'll catch a cold."

"Yes, I should. I've got something to say first, though." Tonks looked rather wary at that. Remus shrugged, steeling himself, and then lunged forward, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her into a kiss. After a moment's surprise, she responded.

When her roaming hands encountered the slippery mud covering him she broke away. "Remus! I just took a shower." She did not manage to inject any venom into her voice at all, and he knew that she did not mind one bit.

He rubbed his own hands on his trousers so that they were also covered in mud, and then cupped her face with them. It was definitely heart-shaped. He murmured, "Oh dear, silly me," before kissing her again.

Some time later, he said, "I made up my mind. I thought that times would change, and that my situation would change. This might not be the best time. There might never be a best time. But I can hardly do worse than most of the people out there." It was not his most eloquent speech, but he hoped that she understood what he was trying to say.

Apparently she did. "That's what I tried to tell you all those years ago, Remus."

"Well, apparently my aged brain processes things very slowly." He hesitated. "I don't know if it will work out; we're both different now. But I'll do my best."

They were still in the hallway when Cal arrived home. They had sprung apart at the sound of a key in the door, but the splotches of mud were rather incriminating. Cal was speechless for a few seconds, but then started to laugh. His whole face lightened, and Remus was strongly reminded of his resemblance to Sirius. Tonks looked at the floor, blushing in embarrassment. It was obviously up to Remus to salvage some dignity from the situation. "Good day, Calvin? I went for a walk in the Lake District, and fell over."

Cal arched an eyebrow. "Indeed? And I suppose my cousin was just helping you get clean?"

Remus could see that Tonks was also about to start laughing. She said, trying to keep a straight face, "Oh no. We were comparing. I had a close encounter with a lot of mud on the Quidditch pitch."

Cal nodded and then splayed his hand against his cheek, spreading his fingers, mimicking the pattern on Tonks' cheek. Remus could feel a chuckle developing. Cal said, "I see. Well, Drake wants to go shoot some pool. I was going to invite you, but it's a high-class joint. They don't really go for mud-covered savages."

"Cheeky varmint," sputtered Tonks. Cal smirked and then slipped past them to dash upstairs.

Not long after, he was ready to leave. He gave Tonks a quick rundown on his itinerary, and then added quietly, "You haven't forgotten about tomorrow, have you?" Remus ony just caught this sentence, and did not think that he had been supposed to hear it. As he walked out the door, Cal said loudly, "You two can get back to cleaning each other up now."

After the door had shut, Tonks shrugged, "Sorry about him, Remus."

Remus stepped forward. "Oh, I don't know, seems like a perfectly reasonable suggestion to me."

The next morning, the couple were enjoying a late brunch alone in the kitchen. To Remus' relief, Cal was elsewhere. Remus had decided to cook up a full English breakfast, with bacon, sausages, eggs, black pudding; the works. After some inconsequential chatter, Tonks said, "Have you got any plans for the day?"

Remus stretched lazily, and said suggestively, "No. Any ideas?"

Tonks blushed lightly. "Actually, I have some visitors coming round this afternoon, about three. I'm sorry I didn't mention it before."

Remus immediately remembered Cal's quiet question the previous evening. "Who's that then?"

Tonks took a moment before replying. "Some Muggle family friends. I see them about twice a year or so. I'll have to go round the house to check that theres nothing obviously magical lying around. Wouldn't do for an Auror to get charged under the International Statute!"

Remus could not remember any such friends, and he had the distinct impression that Tonks was omitting some important fact. Still, she would tell him in the fullness of time, of that he was sure. "Do you want me to stick around? Or be elsewhere for a couple of hours?"

She said, straight away, "It's up to you, although if you want to, you'll have to dress a bit more Muggle." Although her face was placid, and he had no indications that she was lying, Remus had the distinct impression that she would be more comfortable if he were absent.

"Nah, I think I'll go outside and enjoy the sunshine. Cal was badgering me the other day to come with him to go to the 'cinema' this afternoon, now that I come to think of it. I've never been before."

Tonks smiled, "Has he now?"

They finished their breakfast, and then lazed about a bit more until Cal appeared at about one o'clock. With his assistance, they tidied up the house and tried to spot any egregious wizarding items. Cal informed Remus soberly that the film he was thinking of going to see would be starting at three-thirty, and that they should probably leave at about quarter-to-three, as Drake was also coming along. Remus groaned at the thought, as he as sure that Cal would have not kept silent about his discovery the previous evening.

Just before they left, Tonks morphed. "With Muggles, I always have to look the same." She looked completely different to her usual self. Her new form was very tall, with a long face, non-descript looks and shoulder-length blonde hair. Remus blinked uncertainly, and Tonks turned to Cal, "Can you see any errors?"

Cal checked her over carefully. "No, I think you're good."

She nodded, and then said, "I'm sure Cal can give you the lowdown on my visitors, Remus."

They arrived just in time for the start of the adverts, mainly due to Draco having spent twenty minutes faffing around in his apartment, 'getting ready'. The film itself was very dramatic, and laden with special effects. Remus was very impressed with the ingenuity of the Muggles, and said so afterwards.

They decided to decamp to a café for post-film discussion, and Draco then managed to get in his obligatory teasing, for Cal had, indeed, told him that he had caught Remus and Tonks in the hallway. Remus suffered through it with a small smile; Draco was actually quite funny occasionally.

Eventually, Remus decided to ask about Tonks' friends. Cal said slowly, "I thought you'd never ask."

Remus shrugged. "I don't want to push. If it's none of my business, it's none of my business."

Cal then launched into a story, interspersed with the ocasional comment from Draco. Apparently, about five years ago, Tonks had decided to take up the Muggle sport basketball. Cal was not quite clear on the why. He suspected that it had been related to some sort of Auror business originally, but in any case, Tonks had continued to go to the weekly practices, with matches on Sundays. Although Cal did not claim to be an expert, he had thought that she had 'played quite well'.

Over the next couple of years, she had been courted by one of the players on the men's team, and they had eventually started going out, although it had taken Tonks forever to realise his interest. Draco had added, "She was amazed! She thought she looked like a horse in the morph she was wearing!"

Anyway, they had been going out for one or two years, when he proposed to her, and Tonks had accepted immediately. At this point, Remus needed to clarify something. "She accepted a proposal from a Muggle? Not a Muggleborn, but a Muggle? No magic at all?"

When Cal nodded, Remus said, "But that's unheard of. Nobody ever does that. It breaks the ISS for one thing, doesn't it?"

Cal shrugged. "I don't know. I imagine you can get a dispensation."

"Had she told him she was a witch?"

"Of course not."

"When did she tell him?"

Cal pulled on his left ear uncomfortably. "I don't think she ever did."

"So she was planning to live as a Muggle? But that's unbelievable. It's ..." Remus bit off the words he was about to say, horrified at them himself.

Draco looked vaguely sympathetic. "I know that nobody marries Muggles, but it must happen occasionally. If I'm not wrong, you were about to say it would be like crippling yourself, or, worse, crippling your children."

Remus angrily denied that that was what he had been about to say, although it was suspiciously close to what had been in his thoughts. Still, now that he knew he had this instinctive reaction, he could act to counter it.

Draco leaned forward, "Whatever. Most wizards think that way, that living like a Muggle would be a terrible hardship. It's not, really. In fact, it's pretty good in a lot of ways. Plus, Danny was really nice. He was friendly, patient, solid as a rock."

"I'm sure he was. I'm not the one with a history of anti-Muggle prejudice," Remus responded hotly.

Draco shrugged. "Whatever. I admit, it's a shock the first time you hear about it. Cal here did some research, and he could only find seventeen registered wizard-true Muggle marriages in the records, so I think it's safe to say that most wizards feel the same way. Anyway, Cal hasn't got to the key part of the story yet."

Ca quickly took up the conversation again. About a two and a half years ago, not long after his proposal, Danny had been run over by a car and been killed. Remus felt a chill then, and bitterly regretted his earlier words. He had been an only child, and his parents kept in touch with Tonks, hence the visit.

Remus nodded numbly at the end of the story. "Oh. That's a lot to take in."

"Anyway," said Cal, "it's a way back in the past now, but Tonks doesn't really like to talk about it too much. Not to mention that some of her 'friends' thought it a great relief that she was avoiding such a terrible mistake."