Nymphadora Tonks and the Seven Deadly Sins

Disclaimer: I do not make a dime off this story. The characters and the world they inhabit are the property of J.K. Rowling, Scholastic, Warner Brothers, etc.

A/N: I'm glad you all found Molly's behavior vindicated. Thanks for all the reviews!

Chapter 5 "Greed"

Deciding to speak to Remus Lupin was one thing. Actually speaking to the said Remus Lupin was another thing. It was quite possibly, Tonks decided, impossible to get him alone. Every time he ventured into a room alone, one of the children, Sirius, Arthur, or Dumbledore would wish to speak to him. It was quite annoying, actually. How was she supposed to open her heart to him if everyone kept him occupied!

She considered giving up. She stomped into the kitchen with a frown imprinted deeply on her face.

"What's the matter, coz? Can't talk to Remus today?" Sirius laughed.

She shot him a look. "No! And I don't want to just talk to him; I want to talk to him alone!"

Sirius batted his eyelashes. "About what, dear coz?" he asked in a very bad falsetto.

"Very funny. Stuff it before I hex you."

"Oh no, Nymphie is playing the scary Auror now."

"I'm not Nymphie anymore, Sirius! Unless you have any ideas, leave me alone. I'm going to drink my tea and fume."

"Don't spill it."

Sirius suddenly found himself turned into a ferret.

Tonks eyed the ferret, which seemed to be in shock. "I've learned a lot of tricks from Mad-Eye, Sirius, so you'd best leave me alone if you know what you're doing. This is the least of what I could do."

With a wave of her wand, Sirius was once again sitting in the chair. "Merlin, Tonks. Touchy!"

"I told you."

"Next time I'll listen."

"Good. Now how can I get Remus alone?"

"You're being greedy, Tonks. Let him come to you. He will."

She stomped her foot. Patience was definitely not one of her virtues. Of course, it seemed like she had done more sinning than being virtuous as of late. "You're telling me I should wait around for Remus to seek my company and my company alone?"

Sirius nodded vigorously. "Yup."

"Yeah. Because that's happened ever!"

Sirius grinned mischievously. "Oh, he's just more subtle about it than most. He'll sit down with us and then mention that Buckbeak hasn't been fed. So I, just like he wanted, go feed him. And you two are left alone."

Tonks stared blankly at her cousin. "What? Are you trying to tell me he's getting rid of you?"

"Yes, I am." He got up from the table. "You see, Tonks, Remus is a very clever man. He always has been. One just has to get used to the fact that he is also devious. He's just much better at hiding it. Why do you think he got prefect and less than a third of the detentions I got at Hogwarts. Moony was always the subtle one." He thought for a moment. "Now, it may be that he has to be to survive, but I think most of it is that he's, well, a Marauder."

"You, Sirius, are most notably not subtle."

"Ah, but that position in our group was already filled. I am the thoroughly unsubtle one."

"That makes no sense, Sirius."

He looked at her. "I know."

"You realize that Sirius rarely makes sense until you learn how to make sense of what he's saying," a voice from behind her stated.

"I resent that!" Sirius cried. "I always know what I'm saying."

"Yeah. Because you're you. And I'm not you, so I don't understand."

Tonks shot Remus a look. "I'm confused."

He nodded. "Good. Any sane person should be."

He sat down beside Sirius. "Finally, I have escaped."

"Hey, you like the kids."

"I meant from Mad-Eye. If I get told to be constantly vigilant ever again, I think I might turn him into a ferret."

"Nah, bad idea," Sirius said, shooting Tonks a glare for her giggle. "It's quite disturbing."

Remus looked at Tonks most curiously. "Do I want to know?"

"No!" Sirius cried. He crossed his arms over his chest and sighed dramatically. Then he eyed Tonks mischievously. "I'll just leave you two alone, then. Just talk about me, your best friend and favorite cousin." He got up and made to leave the room.

"Given a choice of you and Draco, how could you be anything other than my favorite cousin?" Tonks called after him.

"That was cruel, Nymphadora," Remus said, but his sparkling eyes belied the statement.

"It's Tonks, remember."

"Of course. How forgetful I am." Another smile. Damn him.

"Listen, actually I'm glad he left us alone. I've been meaning to talk to you."

He arched an eyebrow. "Oh? About what?"

Every eloquent thing she had planned deserted her. She was beginning to panic. Then she remembered that actions were supposed to speak louder than words. She grabbed him by his robes and pulled him in for a kiss. A nice, long kiss.

To her satisfaction, he kissed her back. When she finally pulled away, he was grinning at her.

"Well, Nymphadora, I do wish you'd told me that sooner."

He then proceeded to haul her in for another kiss.

A/N: Sorry for the delay. I turned in a paper today, which always delays me. There are other reasons, but they're a little too complicated to list as of now.

Thanks to my beta jwoods471 for keeping me sane and coherent. Read her stories, Opportune Mistake and Forgotten Memory.