First Door on the Right

10:13 PM

After a truly tiring day at work, coupled with work from the Order, Tonks wanted nothing more than to get a very good night's sleep. She had been on night duty for the past week with Emmeline, and she was so exhausted now.

But her roommate's boyfriend was coming over, and they had asked for the flat that night, which meant that Tonks was going to have to find somewhere else to stay the night. It wasn't a tough decision; Sirius had told her she was always welcome at Grimmauld Place, and that was where she was going to go for the night.

"H-Hi, Sirius," she yawned, as she knocked down the umbrella stand in her sleepiness.

"Nymphie?" Sirius asked, surprised, coming into view. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm so sleepy," yawned Tonks, staggering. "Can I stay the night?"

"Yeah, sure," Sirius said. "Do you want me to walk you up? You know which room it is, right?"

"Uh-huh," Tonks mumbled blearily. "Up three floors, first door on the left."

"Okay," Sirius said. "Sure, you can stay the night. I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

"Sure," Tonks answered, hugging her cousin sleepily. "Good night. Thanks, Sirius."

"Sure, Nymphie," Sirius replied, smoothing out her raspberry pink hair. "Go get some sleep."

She gave him a tired smile and started slumping up the stairs up to the third floor. When she got to the landing, she turned to the first door on the right and walked into the room, collapsing on the bed with a tired sigh. She slipped off her shoes, tossed them over near the wall, snuggled into the bed, and pulled the covers over her head. It was impeccably soft, and warm, and the room smelled a little different today… almost like pine trees, and rosemary. It was a sharp, natural smell. And it smelled incredible. She snuggled deeper into the covers, relishing the scent, and fell asleep with a smile.


11:29 PM

Reading Snape's reports about various potion ingredients was perhaps the most boring thing Remus had ever done in his life. It was dry and boring and repetitive. Why did he have to be the one to read through the report and make changes?

After more than two hours' worth of reading it, Remus slapped the pages onto the table. He was done. He could read through the rest tomorrow.

The house was quiet, so he could assume that Sirius was asleep; he left the library, turning off the lamp, and headed up to the third floor, turning into his room, the first on the right.

"Lumos," he muttered, and the tip of his wand was illuminated. He headed to the tiny bathroom, brushing his teeth and changing into a grey t-shirt and pajama pants. Reemerging into his bedroom, he mumbled a quick "Nox" and got into bed.

Why did it smell like oranges?

He told himself not to think about it further, burying his face into the pillow.

Why did it smell like oranges, though?

He took a tentative sniff. That was definitely oranges. A very citrus-y smell. Huh. Lemons?

What the heck?

He turned around carefully, so that he was facing the center of the bed. He couldn't see anything, since the room was dark, but there was definitely…

Something…

In his room.

Maybe?

Tentatively, he reached his arm over to feel around the other side of his bed, and he came in contact with…

Skin?

A body?

What on earth was this?

He sat up, reaching for his wand, jerking the covers away, eliciting a yelp from the person who was in bed next to him.

"What the-" he cursed. "Tonks?!"

"Remus?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. "What are you doing in my room?"

"Tonks, this is my room," he told her gently.

"Huh?" she asked, sounding genuinely confused. "But… but this is my room?" She looked around. "It's… It's not?"

"No," he said patiently. "This is my room. Remember? First on the right."

"Oh," she said, sounding upset. Her raspberry-colored hair was a mess, but frankly, it looked adorable. "Sorry. I was just s-sleepy, and I think I c-came to the wrong room…"

"It's okay, Tonks," he assured her. "You just scared me, that's all."

"Sorry," she repeated miserably. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's honestly okay, Tonks, it's alright," he told her, placing a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "You've had a long week, I know. It's okay."

"I'll leave," she said in a small voice, looking down. "Sorry again."

"Why don't you stay here?" he offered. "I can take a different room."

"But… but it's your room," she said quietly. "My room is right across the hall."

"But you're tired, Tonks," he told her. "Stay here, please."

"But Remus-"

"Tonks, really. You were already sleeping comfortably here."

"Can you stay with me?" she asked in a timid voice.

He blinked. "Are you sure?"

"Only if you want to," she added quietly. "I can leave if you want."

"No, I'll stay," he answered sincerely. "Er, how do you want to do this?"

"Anything," she told him sleepily.

"Okay," he said slowly. "How about…"

But she was already asleep against the pillow again, breathing softly. He smiled, and tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, settling into the pillows next to her and hesitantly draping an arm around her.

"Thank you, Remus," she mumbled, burying her face in his chest.

He didn't know what to say to that, so he settled for hugging her closer to him.

In the months that were to come, Remus would find himself intoxicated by that citrus smell of hers.

And as for Tonks, she would find that there was nothing better than slipping into Remus's bed, intentionally, whenever she just wanted a cuddle.


A/N: Random thought that popped into my head, and couldn't help but get it down into a oneshot! Review if you liked it! :)