These Things Take Time


"Tonks, open the door right now!" A loud voice could be heard throughout her small apartment. Tonks groaned. She didn't want to see anyone. Near the top of that list, was Michael and Imogen, who were at the moment drumming an incessant rhythm at her front door. She rolled over, dragging her pillow stubbornly over her head to drown them out. In consequence, she didn't hear the two cracks as the intruders apparated directly into her bedroom.

"Nymphadora, this is absolutely unacceptable," Michael said as he pulled the pillow off of her. Tonks lifted her head only long enough to stick her tongue out at him.

Imogen glanced at Michael. She sat down on the edge of the bed. "Tonksie…" she purred quietly, "What's wrong?" she asked. Tonks didn't look at her, but mumbled something into her pillow. Imogen continued, "You've been missing work for over a week and a half now. And when you do bother to show up, you're not yourself!" she said, stroking Tonks's back comfortingly.

Tonks sat up reluctantly. She didn't like keeping anything from her two best friends, especially when they were so worried about her. But somehow, she didn't want to tell them. "I just haven't felt good recently," she said quietly.

Michael snorted. "Bullshit! Look Tonks, I know that whatever is up, it must hurt. Because believe me, there isn't much that knocks you out. But you have to remember, Rufus "I'll-Fire-Your-Ass" Scrimgoeur may have been promoted, but Bates can be just as bad. You have to come back or you'll lose your job! I mean, even Shacklebolt's been asking after you. And if any of the seniors know you're not at work, you can bet Bates knows you haven't been at work either."

Tonks groaned. "Whatever happened to unconditional sympathy?" She leaned against her headboard as Michael sat down on the other side of the bed.

Imogen smiled. "Well its hard to sympathize when we don't even know why you're moping about," she said plainly.

Tonks flushed. It had been two weeks since the morning she'd left Remus's house and she hadn't really thought about anything else since then. And her work for both the Ministry and the Order was suffering because of it. She hadn't told anyone what happened. This was what confused Michael and Imogen. Usually if something good or bad happened to any of them, they informed the other two immediately. But Tonks hadn't said anything.

Part of her had tried to forget it had happened. She felt wretched about it and the letters that Remus had sent her hadn't helped. He had sent her an owl that same day, after he woke up alone. When she didn't reply, he'd sent her another owl the next day. They all remained unopened on Tonks's desk in her bedroom. For awhile, she was terrified that he would come by and see her after she hadn't answered him, but he never did. And half of her was annoyed that he hadn't called, and the other half was terribly relieved. It was a feeling she was getting used to now, this split down the middle feeling. As if things hadn't been confusing and complicated before, it was ten times worse now. Or ten times better, depending on which half she was listening to that day.

Imogen narrowed her eyes as she watched Tonks. "You had sex didn't you?" she asked suddenly.

Tonks, who had been taking a sip of water, spluttered horribly. "What!" she exclaimed, but her face turned even redder. "I-I Well, that is to say I um…" she trailed off quietly as Imogen raised an eyebrow.

Michael grinned. "With that guy, right? That one you were talking about before? But this is good new isn't it? I mean, this is what you were aiming for, right?" he asked, unsure as he saw the miserable look on Tonks's face.

"I suppose I was hoping for a few dates or something first maybe," she said sullenly. "I mean, it was kind of sudden."

Imogen shook her head. "Oh Merlin! Look here missy, from what you've told me, the two of you have been dancing around this relationship for far too long. It's about time something happened. Now at least you'll be moving in some direction."

"But that's just the problem! Nothing has happened. I left that morning and that's it! Its just done, over!" Tonks wailed.

"You mean you haven't seen him since?" Michael asked. Tonks nodded. "But why not?"

"Because it's weird. It's confusing and complicated and I don't feel like having to talk about it with him," she said, finally getting off her chest what had been pressing on her for days.

"The two of you are attracted to each other! What's so complicated about that? So you shagged without commitment, who cares? Guys certainly don't!" Imogen said.

"There's more to it than that," Tonks replied softly. She hesitated. Neither of them knew Remus was a werewolf. Or that they were both heavily involved in a war where romantic entanglements were the least of their problems. Perhaps she would tell them eventually, but with these things, timing is everything.

"Well, has he at least tried to talk to you?" Michael asked. Again, Tonks felt her face grow hot. She knew she was acting silly by letting Remus's letters pile up unopened. She nodded slowly and pointed to her desk. Michael stood up and walked over.

"All these?" he asked as he held up a small stack of envelopes. She nodded again.

Imogen turned to look at her, horror written all over her face. "You haven't read any of them?" she asked, thunderstruck.

"Oh stop looking at me like that! The situation's not as simple as all that," Tonks snapped, snatching up the letters.

"So you said, well if you're not going to read them, I will. Give them here," Imogen said, reaching for the letters. She took the one from the bottom of the pile, the one Remus had sent that first day. She slid her nail underneath and opened it easily. Tonks and Michael watched her eyes flit from one side of the parchment to the other as she read. Tonks thought about opening one of the other ones, but stopped as Imogen put down the letter.

They looked at her expectantly, but she said nothing. Finally, Michael sighed loudly. "Well, what does it say?" he asked, exasperated. Imogen looked at him, then tossed him the letter. She turned her gaze to Tonks, who shifted uncomfortably at the serious look on her face.

"What?" she asked as Imogen continued to watch her. "Oh give me that! This is ridiculous!" she said as she grabbed the letter from Michael's hands.

Dear Tonks,

Nothing can make up for what I did to you last night. I'm sorry I put you in such a position. I wasn't myself last night and I foolishly let my feelings take over my reason, hurting us both more than I could imagine. I need to speak to you in person. You left this morning without any word at all and I can't help but feel that this was my fault. Please reply soon.

Remus.

Tonks sucked in a breath. She didn't want to cry. Not anymore, she was so tired of it. From the sound of things, Remus seemed to regret what they'd done and that didn't make her feel any better. And of course, just like Remus, he placed all the blame on himself. The letter was as she expected and, if it was possible, made her feel almost worse about what had happened and she had become angry with the part of her that had enjoyed it.

"They're all like that," Imogen said and Tonks looked up to see that she had opened the others. "Well, basically. Tonksie, I think you need to talk to him. Yes, I know things are complicated between you," she said hastily as Tonks opened her mouth to speak again, "but you can't keep this up forever, you know. I think if the two of talk to each other, it might not be so bad."

'That's because you've never tried talking to him,' Tonks thought bitterly. These days, talking to Remus was like talking to a wall. An attractive, self-effacing wall and talking to him never seemed to simplify anything between them. Mostly because as they spoke, Tonks would find something else she liked about him, or she'd become preoccupied with a memory of kissing him or some silly little thing like that, which just made what he was saying to her all the more painful.

"And get your ass back to work!" Michael said. "We can't keep covering for you and I'll be damned if you get fired these days and leave us to deal with the mess," he added. He glanced at his watch and grimaced. "Speaking of, we have to get back. I promised Dawlish we'd be back in an hour and you know how he gets when we come back late."

Imogen groaned. "Dawlish has such a large stick up his butt." She sighed. "Remember, these things take time, you just have to stick it out. And if you need anything at all, just let us know, ok?" she asked as she leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Tonks nodded. She got out of bed and stretched before giving them both hugs and escorting them out. She heard them apparate away as she went into the kitchen. As she pulled down the tea, she sighed. She knew she would have to talk to him eventually. And maybe in time, she would get over this horrible mess she'd made of their lives.


Remus took a deep breath as he set foot into the store. He looked around for a minute before he spotted one head of flaming red hair. He walked up to Fred or George and tapped him on the shoulder.

Fred or George turned around. "Lupin! What a surprise, what can we do for you?"

Remus looked at him. "I need to talk to you. Both of you."

In a moment, the other twin had joined him and they were making their way to the back room where the twins kept their defensive line.

Remus shoved something under their noses. "What did you put in this?" he asked immediately. It was the empty daydream charm box.

Fred took it from him. "It's the daydream charm Tonks got you for Christmas. Did you use it? How was it?" he asked eagerly.

Remus laughed humorlessly. "Oh everything was great until I realized she was actually there! Or maybe it was the point where I realized she was wearing a Hogwarts uniform and I was her professor! I'm not sure which, but it doesn't matter."

Fred and George exchanged looks. "We just thought we'd help her out a bit," George said slowly.

"You should have seen her, she was looking miserable," Fred added.

"It's quite simple really," George continued. "You just take one hair from a person and add it to the charm with some of this," he picked up another small bottle, "and poof! That person has a starring role in the daydream!"

"So we just thought we'd give you a little dose of Tonks. You know, help you see you're being a bit of a pillock when it comes to the two of you," Fred said unabashedly.

Remus gaped at the two of them for a moment. "Is there any member of the Weasley family that doesn't know what's going on between us?" he asked incredulously.

Fred and George grinned. "Ron," they answered together.

Remus snorted. "And I suppose that's just an insult to his intelligence. I swear, there are no secrets." The twins nodded. Remus continued. "No, really. Nothing stays a secret for long. Pretty soon you'll all know-" But he stopped short before he could say anymore. "Look, next time you go adding people to fantasies, you should put some kind of warning label on it," he finished.

"It couldn't have been that bad, right?" George asked, winking at Remus. Remus merely rolled his eyes.

"Have you seen her lately?" asked Fred. Remus coughed loudly but shook his head.

"Maybe you should talk to her. Look, we're throwing a large birthday party here for ourselves on April 1st. We were planning on inviting the both of you anyway, you can talk to her then," George said matter of factly.

Remus sighed. "I don't think she has any interest in talking to me. Well, you said it, I've been acting like a git. But I have reason to!" he added at the look that the twins exchanged.

"Well, whatever the case may be, there's a party here on the first. It starts at six. We expect to see you here," Fred said as they filed out of the small room. Remus nodded and waved good bye as he made for the exit.

"Wait! Don't you want another daydream charm?" George asked with a twinkle in his eye.

Remus turned around then and did something he hadn't done in quite some time. He grinned widely as he gave the onlooking twins the bird. He chuckled on his way out.


Tonks sat at her desk and glanced at her inbox. It was overflowing. She tried to pick up the first few papers but only succeeded in knocking them over instead. She groaned loudly as she got down on the floor and started to pick them up.

"Well that's what happens when you let things pile up like that," someone said behind her. She turned around to see Kingsley smiling down at her. She smiled back.

"Hey, King. How ya been?" she asked as she sat back down in her seat and started flipping through the papers.

"I'm fine. How're you? You've been gone for awhile. We were getting worried," he said, sitting down in the spare chair. "The Order didn't know what was up with you either. You gave us a bit of a scare," he added quietly. Someone passed by her cubicle and Kingsley straightened up. "It's good to see you back at work, Tonks. Its been crazy around here," he said loudly so that there was no mistake they'd been talking about work.

Tonks smiled and waved him off as she shifted through her desk to find a file. A moment later, a small letter was dropped onto her desk. She sighed. The last thing she wanted on her first day back was more work. She picked up the letter and opened it quickly. A small card fell out of the envelope. Tonks laughed out loud. It was an invitation to the Weasley twins 18th birthday party. But even as she read it, she felt a small knot in her stomach. They would surely be inviting Remus. Tonks shifted in her seat. After Imogen and Michael had left her house the day before, she had tried to write a letter to him, explaining how she felt. No sooner had she sat down she realized that she couldn't find the words. She'd sat at her desk for an hour as the waste bin had started to overflow with unfinished drafts of a letter and in the end, she'd given up, telling herself she would try again later. Now she would see him in person. And she would have to think of something to say and pretend as though everything was fine because there would be other people there as well.

Tonks glanced at her calendar. The party was in a week. She had one week to prepare herself. One week until she knew for sure she would see him again. And if she was truly honest with herself, she'd know that really, she couldn't wait.


Remus sighed heavily. He missed Sirius dearly. Of course he missed him often, but it was even more pronounced when Remus found himself in need of someone to talk to.

Even if it was a horrible place, he missed sitting in the front room of Grimmauld Place with Sirius, just talking, because he knew that they were both in the same boat. Sirius was confined to the house, self-proclaimed useless to the world and Remus was unemployed and they could seek comfort in each other.

But now Sirius was gone and could not be there for Remus when he needed him, and it made Remus feel very alone.

Remus sank down into the couch and closed his eyes. He didn't want to think about it. He was tired of thinking about that night, tired of waiting for Tonks to reply to his letters, tired of pushing her away from him. But he had to, right? This is the right thing to do isn't it? He asked himself constantly.

Well, in a week he'd know. The twin's party was in a week and he had a strong idea that if he didn't show up, one of the Weasley clan might just drag him anyway.


A/N/Yay! I have 100 reviews! that made me very happy and motivated me to try and get the updates out sooner! Thanks to everyone who reviewed and even those who don't but are still reading, thank you too! Cheers!