The tree-lined street was silent and dark and seemed to be completely deserted. The air was thick and heavy, still stiflingly hot even though it was well past midnight. Nothing was moving, not even a stray cat in the shadows or a curtain in a window, and there was no noise whatsoever, not even the sound of distant muggle traffic or a rustle of trees in the non-existent wind. The street appeared to be completely deserted. But it was not.

Outside a grand-looking house with a sweeping gravel driveway, a figure skulked in a cluster of trees. This figure seemed to be invisible, but any time it moved, a ripple went through its surroundings. This ripple would be almost undetectable to anyone unless they were looking for it, and the figure was hoping against hope that no one was looking for it.

Remus, hidden by his own Disillusionment charm, continued to wait in the shadows, just as he had been waiting for the past two hours, just as he had been waiting for most the past week: waiting, hiding, watching for a sign of Avery, the Death Eater he was tailing.

Avery had been in Remus's year at school and had always been a thoroughly unpleasant man, strongly suspected by the Order, and indeed the Ministry, of working for Voldemort all those years ago. However, no evidence against him had been found and he was acquitted of all charges after Voldemort disappeared by claiming he had been acting under the Imperius curse. But Harry had named Avery as one of the first Death Eaters on the scene when Voldemort returned in June, a certain clue that he was part of Voldemort's inner circle. Severus Snape, in his capacity as spy for the Order, had been subtly trying to find out the identity of all Voldemort's current followers, but unfortunately he was having some trouble: Voldemort did not like to entrust too much information to any one person and as such, Severus had not yet heard any mention of Avery. There was very little chance that Avery had left Voldemort's service and not been murdered for it, so it was more likely that Avery's work for Voldemort was so important, so deadly, that hardly any Death Eaters knew about it.

Each day, Remus had followed Avery home from his job at the Comet Trading Company factory where Comet Broomsticks were manufactured, and so far Avery had returned to his shabby block of flats every night, showing no sign of any dubious activity or suspicious liaisons. Tonight, however, Avery had left his flat in the late evening and travelled by broomstick to a large house almost fifty miles away, closely tailed by an almost-invisible Remus. This house was where Remus was currently waiting: hoping, but at the same time dreading finding something going on, from a meeting with another Death Eater, to Voldemort himself hiding in the house.

The sound Remus had been awaiting for the past several hours came, and his skin prickled. Footsteps crunched on the gravel path as a figure emerged from the house, looking warily around before continuing towards the front gate. The person's secretive manner roused Remus's suspicion that they must be up to no good. Remus pressed himself against the large tree and hoped the Disillusionment charm he had cast on himself was good enough. He could not match Alastor Moody's expertise with that tricky spell, and had been known to miss an elbow or a nose on occasion.

As the person moved closer to him, Remus realised that this was not the tall, wiry figure of Avery. This was a much shorter person, one who seemed to shuffle rather than walk. Remus squinted, trying to make out who it was, but the figure was shrouded in a hooded cloak which covered even his face. He was slightly stooped and there was something in the awkward way he moved that seemed vaguely familiar to Remus. He waited to see where the person would go, praying they would not apparate away before he had the chance to discover the identity of what may be another Death Eater.

The cloaked figure passed the cluster of trees behind which Remus hid, giving not so much as a glance in his direction. Feeling slightly bolder, Remus moved cautiously out of the shadows, ready to follow him.

Then as the figure reached the gate, it stopped very suddenly and whipped around. Remus resisted the wrenching urge to leap back out of sight, knowing his best chance of remaining unseen was to stay still, although he felt excruciatingly visible. He watched as the silhouetted figure raised his wand slightly and took a half step towards where Remus stood. Remus stayed perfectly still, trying not to breathe quite so loudly and to stop his heart thumping so hard. The person stood for a second, wavering on the spot, before lowering his wand and appearing to shake his head. The sound of a quiet, wheezy chuckle reached Remus's ears, a nervous laugh which was horribly familiar. Then as the figure turned away, his hood slipped back slightly and Remus felt his blood run cold with revulsion as he recognised the wispy hair and rat-like features. Wormtail.

It was the first time any of the Order had seen Peter Pettigrew since he assisted in Voldemort's rebirth in June, though they had been searching for him at every possible opportunity. Remus could scarcely believe that he had finally managed to track the wizard down, and without even trying. He felt a desperate urge to rush at Pettigrew, and his fingers closed automatically around his wand, gripping it so tightly his finger nails cut into his palm. He felt his blood pounding in his ears, overcome by the memory he had relived again and again over the past month, of the chance he had had to kill Pettigrew a year ago. This time, watching Pettigrew walk away, the memory was ten times more vivid and Remus could barely think due to the crippling regret he felt. Every fibre of his being wanted to curse Pettigrew from where he stood: it would be easy enough, Pettigrew had no idea he was there, would have no chance to defend himself. Remus could kill him before Pettigrew could even reach for his wand.

But Remus's orders were very clear. No Death Eaters were to be confronted, nor to discover they were being followed. Remus would die rather than disobey Albus Dumbledore. So slowly, he let his pulse return to normal and loosened his grip on his wand. Pettigrew was now disappearing along the road. With any luck, he was not going to apparate at all, and if Remus pulled himself together and followed, Pettigrew might lead him to some important information. Quickly assessing the situation, Remus considered whether waiting at the house to see if any more Death Eaters emerged would be more useful than following Pettigrew. It was not an easy choice: Pettigrew was likely to apparate, making following him redundant. But Remus could not resist the need to know what Pettigrew was up to.

So he found himself trailing after Peter Pettigrew, watching his lopsided gait and seeing his head dart this way and that, looking out for trouble. After a while, Remus began to wonder where exactly Pettigrew was heading. They had walked along a series of quiet streets, possibly even going in circles, almost as though Pettigrew was choosing their route at random. It was growing light now, and Remus felt dead on his feet from lack of sleep.

Then, as they reached the most rundown, deserted street so far, Pettigrew stopped suddenly, and Remus heard somebody behind himself stop too: he had been so intent on following Pettigrew that he had not even noticed the other set of footsteps following them. Remus stayed completely still. Pettigrew turned and faced his direction.

'Who's there?' Pettigrew called out. Remus had no idea whether Pettigrew was talking to him or the person that had followed them both. Or whether that person was following him or Pettigrew. If only he could turn round to see who it was.

'Yes,' came a low voice that Remus recognised as Avery's. 'Who is there?'

'We've got you cornered,' Pettigrew said shrilly, a look of nervous glee on his face. 'You might as well show yourself!'

Remus's heart sank.

'So what is it?' growled Avery. 'An invisibility cloak? Some kind of concealment spell?'

Remus felt himself flinch involuntarily as Avery's voice grew gradually closer behind him, and Pettigrew let out a slight laugh.

'A Disillusionment charm!' Pettigrew exclaimed excitedly. 'I see the outline moving, he's bewitched to take on the appearance of his surroundings! You can't escape, we'll see your every move.'

'You have two choices, friend,' Avery said dangerously. 'You can try to run and be killed before you take two steps. Or you can show us who you are, and maybe we can all reach some kind of … agreement.'

Remus shuddered, knowing that any agreement which didn't end in his death would involve capture, torture, and a choice between voluntarily joining Voldemort's side, or being forced to.

But as Pettigrew and Avery drew menacingly closer to him, and Pettigrew's sick smile widened, Remus had an escape route ready. With one hand clamped on his wand, the other snaked into his pocket and clutched a handful of coarse powder. He waited for the opportune moment, when Pettigrew was drawing just close enough to touch him and Remus could sense that Avery was right at his back, and he threw the powder into the air and yelled an incantation. Instantly, they were all plunged into complete blackness, so dark the air seemed thick with smoke. Remus ducked out of the way as Avery and Pettigrew began to shout, and as curses flew in all directions and sparks shot past his head, Remus disapparated.

The silence rang in his ears. Standing in yet another quiet, empty street, relief washed over him. At least this street was familiar. As he stood in Grimmauld Place, a few houses down from Number Twelve, Remus glanced down over himself to check for any wounds from close-flying hexes. All he could see was the pavement: he was still Disillusioned. Shaking his head at how slow his brain was working at the moment, Remus raised his wand arm to remove the charm and winced at a stinging pain above his elbow. Once his body was visible again, he realised his sleeve had been slashed and his arm was bleeding heavily. He quickly repaired the damage and examined his work. It was not a perfect job: his arm still bore a mark and was slightly tender, but it would have to do for now. After hurriedly fixing his torn robes and siphoning off the blood so that no one would know he had let himself get injured, he headed into the house

He was not expecting to find anybody up so early in the morning, but as he descended to the kitchen he heard quiet chatter, and walked in to find Molly and Arthur holding cups of tea and talking worriedly by the door.

'Oh, Remus, you're back! Come in and have a cup of tea,' Molly exclaimed kindly, looking relieved to see him.

As Molly ushered him in, Remus noticed a dark-haired woman sitting at the kitchen table, but before his tired brain could begin to wonder who she was, the dark head turned around to reveal a familiar face.

'Tonks! Hello, I almost didn't recognise you there!' he greeted the young woman, who looked rather different without her trademark pink hair. As Tonks smiled at him warmly and Molly placed a steaming mug of tea in front of him, Remus suddenly felt very happy and comforted to be around friendly people again.

'Wotcher, Remus. You look almost as knackered as I feel,' Tonks greeted him cheerfully, rubbing her eyes. 'I've been working all night. Just had to pop round and speak to Arthur.'

It was the first time Remus had seen Tonks since that early morning two weeks ago when they had talked in the kitchen. He had been so busy lately that the conversation had barely entered his head, but now, as he looked at her, the memory of it made him feel more at ease with Tonks than he felt with many people he had known for a lot longer. Something in her eyes had made him open up to her without thinking anything of it, telling her things he would usually never tell a soul, never mind a girl he had only met a handful of times. She had been understanding and kind, listening without judgement or fear, and he was grateful for that.

'How did your night go, Remus? Did you find out anything about Avery?' Arthur enquired. He, too, looked very tired and Remus suspected nobody else in the room had been to bed that night either. He wondered how long it would be before this war was over and they could all sleep normally again.

'Actually, I just had a rather near miss,' Remus told them. 'Avery must have realised someone had been following him and he cornered me. I'm positive he can't have seen who I was, though, I was still covered by the Disillusionment charm. And you will never guess who I ran into along with Avery!'

Remus recounted the night's events to a wide-eyed audience, the three of them gasping when he reached the part about Wormtail.

'So if Wormtail was there do you think that means it was You-Know-Who's hideout you found?' asked Tonks.

'Exactly, Wormtail was with V-Voldemort –' Molly winced as she spoke the feared name: it was the first time Remus had ever heard her say it '– all last year while he was growing stronger, do you think he's still with him now?'

'It's certainly possible,' Remus replied. 'Though I'd bet that whatever the house is, how it appeared to me wasn't its real form. I couldn't see anyone through the windows, the whole place was in darkness. I suspect its true nature was hidden somehow. Possibly a Fidelius, or maybe some dark spell of Voldemort's own invention.'

Remus continued the story, feeling embarrassed when he admitted how he had allowed Pettigrew to lead him on a wild goose chase, and that he had not noticed Avery sneaking up behind him.

'still don't know how they sensed I was there. But it was really quite stupid of me to let myself be noticed – I could have put all the Order's work in jeopardy had I been captured. I should have been more vigilant.' Remus sighed wearily, resting his chin heavily on his hands.

'Nonsense, Remus,' Arthur disagreed.

'Yes, it sounds like you were being very careful. Don't beat yourself up over it,' Tonks assured him.

Their kind words did little to ease Remus's conscience, but he appreciated the reassurance.

'Well, I'd better get home and get some sleep,' said Tonks, her words muffled by an enormous yawn. 'I'm working again tonight.'

'You'll come round for dinner before work, won't you, Tonks?' Molly asked eagerly. 'Bill's coming too.'

'Thanks Molly, that would be nice,' Tonks replied, yawning again as she said goodbye to them and headed up the stairs.

'You look as though you haven't slept all week, Remus!' Molly said, turning on him imperiously.

'That's actually not too far from the truth,' he admitted. Remus had been snatching fragmented hours of sleep during the day while Avery was safely at work, and it had been a while since he had even seen a proper bed.

'And I bet you haven't been eating properly either,' Molly tutted. She turned towards the stove. 'Well, I'll make you some breakfast and then you can go up to bed. Honestly, nothing for the Order is so important that you can't all take care of yourselves. Between you and Tonks, I don't know who's worse for taking on too much.'

Arthur smiled conspiratorially at Remus, a half-amused, half-apologetic expression on his face. 'I knew it wouldn't be long before Molly started clucking over you the same way she does with myself and the children, Remus.'

Remus returned Arthur's rueful smile, but secretly thought it was rather nice having someone worrying about him and taking care of him. It had been a while since anyone had fussed over him.

After Molly had fed him a large breakfast, she sent Remus upstairs to bed. It really was like he was one of her children, or perhaps a younger brother. Not that much younger, Remus reminded himself. It was strange. He still felt like a relatively young man and his life seemed a hundred miles away from Molly and Arthur's world of a twenty-five year marriage and grown-up children. Yet he was closer in age to Molly and Arthur than he was to the younger generation, to Tonks or Bill. When did I get so old?

Despite the many thoughts circling in his head, Remus only lay awake thinking for a short time and the next thing he knew, the sun was low in the sky and it was almost evening. He had slept for twelve hours and still felt exhausted, but thoughts began to chase each other in his mind again and he was too keyed up to sleep any more.

Not long after he awoke, there was a knock at his door and Sirius poked his head into the room.

'That's dinner ready, and Bill's brought his new girlfriend round to meet Molly and Arthur. Just wait till you see her! Apparently she's part Veela.'

Remus groaned inwardly. A Veela! He hated the way all men, including himself, reacted to those creatures. Remus hated anything which threatened his composure. He steeled himself as they descended the stairs to the basement, getting ready to face a woman with the power to entrance every man in a ten mile radius.

A young woman with long, silvery hair sat at the kitchen table with her back to the door. As Remus and Sirius entered the kitchen, she turned and gave them a dazzling smile, and even though he had prepared himself for it, Remus was still struck by how beautiful the girl was. Bill introduced his girlfriend as Fleur Delacour, and when she said hello, it was in a low, throaty voice with a thick French accent.

As they settled themselves at the table, Sirius kept shooting furtive glances in Fleur's direction and his eyes looked a little glazed over. Bill looked as though he could not quite believe that this girl was there with him. Even Arthur seemed mildly distracted by the presence of this stunningly beautiful woman in their kitchen. Molly and Tonks, standing at the stove, looked rather unimpressed, and Molly gave the rest of them disdainful looks as the pair served dinner.

'Where are the others? Ron, Hermione and the twins?' Remus enquired.

'They've already eaten,' Molly replied. 'I thought it would be nice if it was just the adults for this meal.'

'Fred and George put up quite a fight though. They wanted to stay to get to know our guest,' said Sirius, raising his eyebrows pointedly at Remus.

'Yes, thank you, Sirius,' said Molly disapprovingly, and Remus could not blame her for sending the boys away. Three hormonal, teenage boys in the same room as a Veela could not be a pretty sight.

Fleur talked an awful lot throughout the meal, and everyone else had trouble getting a word in edgeways, though none of the males seemed to mind listening to Fleur very much. Molly did not look terribly pleased, though, and even Tonks, who was usually very easy-going, looked a little disgruntled when Fleur repeatedly interrupted her.

After a while, Remus was pleasantly surprised to realise he was not reacting to Fleur's Veela charm quite as strongly as the others. While Sirius and Bill seemed rather oblivious to the conversation going on around them, Remus was finding it quite easy to concentrate on what Tonks was saying about her and Kingsley's efforts to recruit more Ministry employees to the Order.

Perhaps it becomes easier to resist it with age, Remus wondered. Although you wouldn't guess it from looking at Sirius.

Sirius was currently gazing unashamedly at Fleur, his dinner barely touched, and Remus considered nudging him out of his stupor before Bill noticed. Even Arthur seemed to be having some trouble dealing with Fleur's effect, concentrating very hard on his lamp chop, completely avoiding looking in Fleur's direction.

So perhaps it's not age then.

'How is your lamb, Fleur?' Molly asked politely, with a smile that did not quite reach her eyes.

'Eet ees quite nice, Molly, thank you. Of course, I would never normally eat like zis, it is far too 'eavy. Zis kind of food is why so many Eenglish people are overweight'

Molly's cheeks coloured and she looked very taken aback. 'Right, I see. Well perhaps some time you would cook us something French? Something more to your tastes?' Her manner was friendly, but Remus knew enough to sense a sarcastic tone. Fleur seemingly had not sensed that tone.

'Oh, but I'd be 'appy to, Molly! I think I could teach you a lot about cooking, we do it so differently in France, it's much more … 'ow do you say … sophisticated,' said Fleur enthusiastically, unaware of the look Molly was giving her.

Remus was a little startled: perhaps it was merely the language barrier, but Fleur's words had verged on downright rude. Molly's cheeks turned an even darker shade of red and she opened and closed her mouth a few times, unable to respond. Finally she forced a smile and said 'Lovely!' a little too loudly. Fleur beamed at Molly and then at Bill, who looked so dazed that he may not have even heard the exchange. Molly looked at Arthur pleadingly, but Fleur's words seemed to have drifted over his head as well and he looked back at his wife with a glassy, questioning expression. Tonks appeared to be the only other person to share Molly's outrage, throwing Fleur a dirty look. Remus tried to smile at Molly sympathetically, but she did not acknowledge it.

Although Molly was polite to Fleur for the remainder of the meal, her face grew gradually more stony. Fleur seemed oblivious to Molly's expression as she continued to voice her opinion at every opportunity, in a manner that made it hard to believe she was only eighteen years old. Remus always tried hard to see the best in people but he could not help thinking that Fleur was just a little too arrogant and opinionated, especially for one so young. At one point, while Fleur was describing in great detail the differences between Sirius's dreary house and her enormous home in France, Tonks caught Remus's eye and rolled her eyes, and he had to work hard to suppress a laugh. He found that he was barely aware of Fleur's effect anymore, and he was not sure whether he was becoming acclimatised to being in the room with her, or being put off by her personality, or if there was another reason.

Tonks rushed away to work immediately after dinner, and right after she left Bill and Fleur stood up to go as well. Remus's head was beginning to cloud slightly and suddenly he found his gaze drawn to Fleur again, which he could not understand. He had barely been aware of her throughout the meal but now his brain was becoming fuzzy again, the long blonde hair seeming to hypnotise him whenever it swung over her slender shoulders. A couple of times he realised Molly was trying to speak to him, but he could not quite focus on what she was saying and despite her frustrated expression, he found he did not care terribly much.

As Bill and Fleur headed out of the kitchen, Sirius, Remus and Arthur all shook their heads slowly, blinking, adjusting to normality.

'I'm really not sure about this Fleur,' Molly muttered after Bill closed the door behind them and the remaining group began to clear the table. 'There's something about her … she's just so haughty, and more than a little rude.'

'Don't be silly, Dear, there was nothing wrong with her,' Arthur chided, then flinched as she threw him an angry look.

'She seems like a nice enough young woman, Molly. A little outspoken, yes, but Bill seems quite happy with her,' said Remus tactfully.

Molly tutted. 'Bill's in a daze whenever she's in the room. That's no basis for a relationship.'

'Bill's an adult, Molly,' Arthur reminded her gently. 'He has to make these choices for himself.'

'I know,' Molly sighed. 'But why can't he pick a nice, down-to-earth girl like Tonks?'

Remus looked up sharply, a strange sensation rippling through him.

'Bill and Tonks?' He laughed nervously and turned back to the dishes he was supervising washing themselves. He had never pictured Bill and Tonks together, it had never occurred to him at all.

'They're a lot better suited than Bill and Fleur,' Molly insisted darkly, beginning to sort out a pile of laundry. 'I really don't know what he sees in that little madam beside her looks. Mind you, she'd be a lot better-looking if she didn't wear a face like there's a bad smell under her nose all the time.'

Sirius sniggered.

'What did you think of her, Sirius?' Arthur asked. They all looked expectantly at Sirius, and Remus flinched, waiting for Sirius's crude appreciative comment of Fleur's best assets.

'I agree with Molly, actually,' Sirius said, surprising everyone. 'Fleur's got her looks, certainly, but that's all. She was really rather boring to listen to.'

Molly smiled smugly. 'Well, I'm glad someone can see past her looks. Honestly, you all looked too befuddled to notice a word that came out of her mouth.'

'You didn't seem very bothered by Fleur, Remus,' said Sirius. 'Did you have something else on your mind?'

'Perhaps Remus is just a little more mature than that,' said Molly in a bit of an icy tone, and stalked out of the kitchen with a pile of clean laundry for the children.

'I doubt it has anything to do with maturity,' Remus murmured thoughtfully, and Arthur nodded at him in agreement.

'Age and experience might help you control your reactions, but it doesn't lessen the effect. Sirius is right, you did seem rather oblivious to Fleur's, er … charms,' said Arthur with a smile.

'What was it then?' asked Sirius interestedly.

Arthur looked very thoughtful, his brow furrowed intently. 'Well … it's not common, but I have heard that a Veela's effect can be lessened by the presence of another woman to whom a man is very attract— ' Arthur broke off and looked at Remus with surprise.

Sirius let out a snigger. 'Anything you'd like to tell us, Moony? Got the hots for Molly, have you? Better watch out, Arthur – you've got competition!'

Remus jumped up from his seat immediately. 'I have to, er … go and … well, I could do with an early night.' He walked swiftly out of the room, the faint sound of chuckling following him up the stairs.

Just over a week later, on a Monday evening, Remus returned to Grimmauld Place after a rather dull day's work for the Order. He had spent the day standing guard over Harry's house in Surrey, although the only sign he had seen of the boy was his outline in his bedroom window a few times. Pacing the street in the sweltering sunshine, he wondered who was more fed up in their environment – Harry or himself. He quickly realised things must be much worse for Harry, ostracised from all his friends and in the dark about what was happening. If Harry was anything like James – and Remus had seen personally that the similarities went further than just looks – then he would be driven crazy, stuck in that house with no contact with those he cared about.

Remus had finally been relieved of duty by Mundungus Fletcher, who had turned up just before six o'clock (almost an hour late) muttering something about cauldrons.

Tonks was sitting in the kitchen with Sirius and the pair were chatting, although Sirius did not appear to be saying an awful lot. Since Tonks had joined the Order, Sirius had not said much about her to Remus, but Remus knew any link to Sirius's family was bound to upset him. He supposed it would take a while for Sirius to accept that Tonks was, like himself, something of a black sheep in the Black family. Remus admired Tonks's tenacity: no matter how brusque Sirius was with her, she continued to be friendly and would not give up on getting to know him.

'Got to go and feed Buckbeak,' Sirius announced gruffly not long after Remus appeared, and did not even give Remus the suggestive grin he had expected.

'I see you two are getting on all right, then,' said Remus, smiling uncertainly.

'Yes, I finished work a little early and for once I didn't have anywhere else to be, so I thought I'd pop round so we could have a proper chat while everyone else was out,' Tonks explained. 'I got the feeling he found it strange having me in the Order – he's kind of bitter about how his family treated him, isn't he? But we've had a nice chat about my mum and stuff. He's a good guy, isn't he?'

'Yes he is, Sirius was always a good friend to me. It'll be good for him to get to know a family member that's a little more like him,' said Remus carefully, and Tonks nodded enthusiastically.

'Cup of tea?' she offered, aiming her wand at the kettle, which started to whistle.

'Yes, please,' Remus replied.

After placing the fresh cups in front of them both, Tonks settled back comfortably in her chair, looking very at home.

'So … you're not working tonight, then?' he asked airily. Something clicked in Remus's head. Something like … anticipation? He tried to shake it off.

'Nope! It feels so good to actually have a night off for once. It's been a bit mad recently, hasn't it?'

'Yes it certainly has, I know how you feel.' Pleased, Remus looked forward to a night of company. Sirius was obviously in one of his sullen moods, and Remus would almost have preferred to spend an evening with Kreacher than with his moody friend.

'So what did you think of Fleur, then?' Tonks asked with a slightly sarcastic tone.

'Fleur? Er, yes, she's a nice young woman. Bill seems quite taken with her,' Remus replied nervously.

Tonks wore a slightly amused expression, knowing perfectly well what all men thought of Fleur. 'I see …' she replied slowly, and seemed to be waiting for him to continue.

'Did you, er, not like her?' he asked innocently. Tonks exhaled rather loudly.

'She's all right. Bit full of herself. Completely full of herself, actually. I can imagine her being a pain in the arse if she was around all the time,' Tonks replied bluntly.

Remus nodded and, unsure whether laughing was an appropriate response or not, he ended up making a strange wheezing sound that was halfway between a laugh and a cough.

'Oops, look at the time! I'd better be off!' Tonks exclaimed suddenly, jumping up and reaching for her cloak.

'You're going out?' Remus asked, surprised.

'Yes, I'm going for a drink with Bill, Fleur and Hestia,' Tonks explained. She clocked his expression and her face fell. 'What's wrong? You don't think I should be going out?'

'No, no, of course you should!'

'I mean, I know things are pretty serious just know and we all have to be careful, but we should still all try to have some semblance of a normal life, don't you think?' she said earnestly.

A normal life, Remus thought bitterly. I wonder what that's like. But he smiled broadly and said 'Absolutely! Have a good time!'

'You don't … I mean … do you want to come along?' Tonks asked, worry clouding her face. 'Sorry, I just didn't think to ask you …'

'No, no, not at all … lots of things to be getting on with here … and someone has to keep Sirius company of course.' He smiled a little too widely. She cast him one last doubtful look and headed out of the room, giving him a weak wave and an apologetic smile.

When did I get so old? Remus found himself thinking once more. It did not seem like so very long since it was he, James, Sirius and Peter who were the ones heading to the pub after Order meetings and receiving disapproving looks from the older generation. Surely Tonks did not think him so old that he would frown on her doing the same now?

He tried to imagine the scene if he had accepted her (albeit grudging) invitation to join them, tried to picture himself sitting with the young group: with haughty Fleur, giggly Hestia and her nervous-looking muggle husband; with Bill, who admittedly was actually a rather decent, down-to-earth guy; and Tonks … silly, fun, lovely Tonks. Instead he found himself picturing only himself and her, and rather than a loud, smoky pub it was a quiet restaurant where the two of them would whisper together over a nice meal. Or an evening chatting by the fire, as he had dared to hope for tonight … maybe their hands would accidentally brush each other as they both reached for their glass of wine, or she would grow tired and her head would rest on his shoulder when she fell asleep. Or one night after an Order meeting, when everyone else had gone home, a heated discussion between them about the Order's work would turn into a passionate kiss. Or –

Remus groaned. Those kind of thoughts had been forming in his head with alarming frequency over the past few days, seemingly out of nowhere. Was he really so lonely that he would fantasise about the only eligible female in his life?

But it's more than that. He shook off that thought. It was not more than that. He would not allow it to be more than that. It was a fleeting fantasy, the product of a lonely existence, the result of it being a few years since he had been in anything resembling a relationship, and a hell of a lot longer than that since he had really been in love.

And since when are Bill and Tonks so friendly, going to the pub together?

Stop it, Remus.

But the next time he saw Tonks, at an emergency Order meeting the following morning, his stomach jumped into his throat and his heart began to hammer.

Oh, how inconvenient, he lamented as he tried to smile neutrally at her. This is going to make working with her so much more difficult.

Sure enough, now that he was aware of his feelings for Tonks, all he wanted was to avoid her all the time. Unfortunately, now was a time when the Order, and more importantly Harry, needed them both.