CHAPTER 11: Pink and Tweed

Remus sighed and rolled his neck, wincing at each popping joint. The last full moon had been particularly draining. The coming of the colder months wasn't helping. Every time he had to cross the chilly expanse from the physed building to the apartments made him feel as old and weathered as dumbledore.

"Mr. lupin!" a student called out. Remus let his eyes flutter closed in surrender before forcing a smile onto his face.

"Yes? How can I help you miss."

"Erm…" the girl began, looking terribly flustered. A small gaggle of other girls was whispering and snickering behind her. As Remus narrowed his eyes in their direction they started to blush and titter. "Here!" the teen finally cried before shoving a small stack of letters into his hands. Then she dashed away. Even still Remus could hear their squealing. He wasn't sure if that was just werewolf hearing or not. Remus rolled his eyes. Teenagers. Finally, he got into the glorious heating of the apartments. A few minutes later and he snuggled up sipping a hot chocolate in one of his lovely charming throws. Life wasn't complete with warming charmed throws. As he sipped his cocoa he picked up one of the letters the student had shoved at him. As he read them his face bloomed crimson. Good gracious this was raunchy! He wondered if this girl's parents knew what went on in her mind. A quick scan of all the other letters revealed that they were all much of the same. Remus shuddered in disgust before he flicked his wrist and they all curled away into a small ash pile which he vanished an instant later. Then he cursed himself. He should have used those as evidence to have the girls punished! Then he took a deep breath. He was being dramatic. This was probably just a schoolyard bet. Now that it was fulfilled it would never happen again. He nodded to himself and pulled out a mystery novel. This was a much less stressful read.

It wasn't just a schoolyard bet.

Remus knew that now. He received dozens of love notes now, each more graphic than the last. He was at his wit's end. Some of there were very unsettling. One even mentioned watching his sleep, which had him double and triple-checking his wards nightly. This was really getting out of hand, but he wasn't sure how to proceed. The last phys ed teacher had been terminated and arrested for pedophilia. And Remus actually liked this job. It might have started on a lie, but he found the experience enjoyable. And Greber was so very accommodating. Remus groaned and rubbed his eyes. He was starting to get a headache.

"I feel you." Constance Harper, the girls phys ed teacher. Remus gave her a wary look. He desperately hoped she didn't 'feel him'. "Goodness you look terrible!"

"Just a bit of a flare-up," Remus muttered in exhaustion. It wasn't technically a lie. He was still sore from the last moon.

"Why don't you go take a short nap." Constance insisted worriedly. "You're no use dead on your feet." Remus sighed and nodded. His knees popped loudly as he stood. Constance grimaced in sympathy. "Try ginger tea. Should help with that. My mum swears by it." Remus nodded even as he hobbled out of their office and through the growing chill to his apartment. But when he got to the door his wards were gone. The man was instantly on alert. So far his presence at Smeltings had kept him out from under the dark's gaze. But there was always a chance. Recruiters had been known to target werewolves. He threw caution to the wind and drew his wand. Then he slammed the door open. The man on his sofa jumped and whipped his own wand towards him.

"Sirius!" Remus snarled angrily. He slammed the door behind him. But by the time he turned back around his anger had turned to confusion. "What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be at Hogwarts with Harry."

"I wanted to check up on Dudley." Sirius said, "so I had Harry say I was getting my boosters today."

"Dudley's class is on a trip to Stonehenge today," Remus said. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Yes I figured that one out." then he lifted up a very familiar letter. "What's all this then?" Remus groaned and flopped down on his sofa in defeat.

"They're love notes,'' Remus admitted. Sirius rose an eyebrow with a wide grin. "From my students." Sirius' smile turned into a disgusted grimace. "I don't know how to stop them. It's been going on for two weeks now."

"A teenager wrote this?" Sirius demanded with slight horror "bloody hell."

"My thoughts exactly," Remus grumbled. Suddenly Sirius looked contemplatively to the sky before his smile returned.

"I think I have a solution to this problem."

"Am I going to like it?" Remus asked wearily.

"Probably not at first." Sirius offered "but eventually yeah." Remus gave Sirius a suffering look before sighing in defeat. It would be inevitable anyway. Somehow Sirius always got his way.

A group of girls were sitting on a snowy bench by the school's entrance.

"He did not say that!" one said angrily.

"He did! I'm telling you! He said he was going out."

"He doesn't have a girlfriend." another argued "How could he! He's always here!"

"I heard him talking to someone. It sounds like maybe she's a police officer."

"A police officer? Dating, Mr. Lupin? Sorry, Gemma. I don't buy it." the first said.

"I'm telling you-" the girl hissed. But the rest of her sentence was cut off by a loud rumbling. The girls all turned towards the gates. Suddenly a hot pink Harley Davidson motorbike zipped around the drive, screeching to a halt in front of the gates. The driver dismounted the bike and unclasped and removed her helmet. A full head of equally pink hair emerged from the polished plastic. The woman then glanced at her watch before looking at the school again. The girls looked at her with curiosity. Then suddenly a smile bloomed over her face, turning her arguable plain features into a truly beautiful sight. The girls turned towards her gaze and gapped. Mr. Lupin was walking down the path dressed in a pair of pressed grey slacks, and a patched tweed jacket. His salty hair was combed back.

"Remus!" the young woman cried with a smile. The man smiled back and opened the gate with his card.

"Dora." the pair embraced. "It's good to see you again."

"You too." the woman said before she stretched up to her toes and whispered something in his ear before giving him a peck on the cheek. The man blushed crimson and cleared his throat. "Shall we?" the woman offered before he pulled a second helmet out of one of her saddlebags. Remus blinked before he nodded slowly.

"Right," he said. He took the helmet somewhat robotically. Once it was safely stapped to his head the woman started the motorbike with a loud rumble. And then they were gone, leaving three heartbroken girls and a smug but disappointed one in their dust.

Remus' legs were still shaking when they finally parked the bike near Piccadilly. That and the rest of him really. The entire heart-wrenching drive from Smeltings to the inner city Dora had constantly talked. To his face. By practically turning around to speak to him. His voice was a bit hoarse from constantly, rather forcefully, reminding her to keep her eyes on the road.

"Sirius took me for a ride on his bike when I was about six!" she had shouted "Mum was furious! But since then I'd always wanted to get a bike!"

"Why am I not surprised." Remus had replied with deadpanned. He remembered Sirius dragging him along for a ride. He had the same habit of ignoring road safety laws.

Then of course he charmed his bike to FLY

"It's not a charmed bike it is?" Remus suddenly asked as they walked towards the theatre. Dora blinked at him then smiled.

"Oh like Sirius'? No no! No that would get me in all sorts of hot water at work!" she snickered "Can you imagine? Kingsley would bite my head off."

"Well at least someone in your family is sensible," Remus said quietly. That made Dora snort and chuckle.

"You do not want to see my school records." she said, "you might change your mind bout that sensible comment."

"Can't be worse than mine." Remus reasoned with a grin.

"Oh right!" Dora cried as the two stepped into the line for the ticket booth. "Your one of the 'mauraders'" Remus rolled his eyes.

"James and Sirius came up with that ridiculous nickname," he complained. "I didn't mind the others so much, but that one was just because of James' unhealthy fixation with alliteration."

"Was it really that bad?" Dora questions.

"'Padfoot and Prongs are proud to present'." Remus quoted flatly.

"Oh wow that is pretty bad," Tonks said with a wince. Remus shook his head.

"He wanted to name Harry 'Jeremy'."

"Jeremy James Potter?" Tonks demanded with horror "Lucky kid."

"Lucky Lily had sense." Remus finished dramatically. Finally they arrived at the ticket booth. "2 for Camelot please." he said sliding a hundred-pound note across the counter

"Here you are, sir." the young woman said with a smile, passing back the ticket. Remus nodded before holding out his arm for tonks. The woman grinned.

"Why! Such a gentleman," she said with a grin. Remus smiled back before the pair of them went to their seats.

"You know.'' Tonks suddenly said "you didn't have to actually take me out. As long as we left together I'm sure the students would think what you want them to think."

"But that would be terribly unfair." Remus parried "besides. This is how I pay you back. A favour for a favour."

"Right," Tonks said with a smile. Then the band began to strike up the overture.

Remus took a step and winced on his way back towards his seat. He'd managed to lose his cane under the chairs. He'd have to ask an usher to look for it for him. It really did help with his weak knee.

"Remus!" Tonks suddenly cried through the crowd. Then she gasps and grabbed his elbow "what happened to your cane?"

"I dropped it in the seats." Remus said with a weak smile "What did you come rushing over for?"

"Oh!" Tonks cried before holding out a napkin "I got you a brownie." Remus smiled.

"Thank you Dora."

"Let's get you back to your seat before you keel over." Tonks insisted with an indulgent grin. Remus grunted in agreement.

Dora laughed as she and Remus walked down the street arm in arm.

"I'm telling you. Donadan's mustache was fake! I saw it! It was moving around his face." Remus insisted again with a grin.

"Oh!" Tonks cried before dashing towards a cart in the courtyard. She returned to two steaming cups of hot cocoa. "You know, Your chocolate addiction really makes it easy to buy things for you."

"It's not an addiction!" Remus argued with a blush.

"That's not what Sirius said," Tonks said with a coy grin. Remus scoffed. But he still sipped at the offered beverage which made Tonks's grin widen further. Then she sighed and settled her head on his shoulder. Remus stiffened slightly before he smiled himself and continued at a casual pace enjoying the gentle peace of the night.

Tonks brought the bike to a slow stop in front of the school gates once again. Remus dismounted the bike and Tonks did as well, following him towards the gates.

"I had a great night tonight," she said

"As did I," Remus responded with slight shock. It was surprisingly nice to get out for a change. And he'd completely forgotten about why it was he'd gone out in the first place. Until now of course.

"Well," Tonks began, "have a good night."

"Right," Remus said as he opened the gate with his card. After a few moments, Tonks turned back towards her bike. Remus paused at the gate.

"Dora!" he suddenly cried.

"Yes?" she asked, turning back.

"I think," Remus began before he cleared his throat to dislodge the annoying lump that had formed. "That we should go out again sometime. Just to make certain that the rumour gets around completely." Dora's smile was beaming.

"I'll pick the next venue?" she asked.

"Certainly!" Remus responded with a smile. Tonks then clipped on her helmet and with a rumble, she was gone. And Remus went back to his apartment with a little pep in his step barely noticing the usually biting winter chill.

A/N: Hello!

Decided to give you all an extra large dose of some fluff this week!

It really is so sweet seeing Tonks and Remus actually dating. Sirius being the wingman is really the icing on top.

ILoveGeorgeEads: Thanks!

See you all next week!

Don't forget to keep in reading!

-TTC