June, 1995

(Tonks is twenty-three, Remus is thirty-six)

"Why is that there?" Tonks asked exasperatedly, assessing the dank, musty house from her position on the floor.

There was this ugly troll-leg umbrella stand sitting right at the door. Tonks had never had the best relationship with the ground and things on it, which is why she figured she was on the floor.

She groaned, trying to figure out what was the best way to get back up without hitting the umbrella stand and falling back over again.

"Are… you okay?"

She looked up to the source of the voice. He was peering over her in concern, and suddenly, she felt really stupid; this was her first Order meeting, and she had already made a bad impression.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she mumbled.

"Do you need help getting up?" he asked, though in a kind manner, which only made her feel even more stupid. "Here." He extended a hand, which she accepted, managing to pull herself up.

"Thanks," she murmured, looking more closely at his face.

"Don't mention it. Are you someone's child, or…"

"No," she replied, feeling a bit annoyed. "I mean, yes, I am someone's child, but no, that's not why I'm here. I've been recruited to the Order of the Phoenix."

His eyes widened. "Oh, Merlin, I'm sorry. I didn't realize… it's just… you look so young."

"That doesn't mean I'm incompetent, though," she countered, crossing her arms over her chest.

"No, no, that's not what I…" He took a deep breath. "I'm just messing everything up even more. Can we start over?"

"You want me to get back on the floor?" she asked, but it came out a little snappish.

A look of hurt crossed over his features. "I didn't mean that, either. I didn't mean to belittle you for being on the floor, or being young. I… You know what? I'm going to go and get Sirius. I think he'll handle this much better than I can." He turned to leave, but Tonks grabbed his arm.

"Wait, no, I'm sorry," she whispered earnestly. "I'm just… I don't want people to think of me as that girl who tripped over an umbrella stand."

"Woman," he corrected gently. "I'm really sorry, I judged, and I know I shouldn't have."

"It's okay," she said, smiling. "Let's start over, shall we?"

"Yeah, sure. Hi, I'm Remus Lupin. Are you the new Order recruit?"

"Hi, Remus," she said, "I'm Nymphadora Tonks, but I go by Tonks, and yes, I'm the new Order recruit."

"Pleasure to meet you, Tonks," Remus greeted, extending his hand out and shaking her hand firmly. His hand was warm and soft. It wasn't smooth; it was rough, but it was still soft. Wait, why was she analyzing his hand?

"You too," she said, brushing a lock of pink hair out of her face. "Do you know where the meeting is gonna be held?"

"Yeah, the kitchen. I'll show you, come." He gestured courteously for her to head down the hallway, and he followed close behind her. "This is my friend Sirius's house-you know, Sirius Black?-and I stay here, actually."

"That's nice," she replied. "Do you two… live together, then?"

"Yes, but… not in that sense," he answered shyly. "We're just friends, and since I'm… a little low on funds at the moment, he graciously offered to share his house with me."

She nodded. "That's alright." She had been going to ask where he worked, but if he didn't have much money, she sensed that wasn't the best question to ask.

"Yeah. Okay, and here's the kitchen." His hand brushed her back as they turned a corner, giving her a pleasant tingling sensation, but she didn't have time to ponder it as she saw a multitude of faces in the kitchen. "Feel free to get to know everyone. The meeting's probably going to start in twenty or so minutes."

"Okay," she said, observing the people in the room before turning to face him directly. "And Remus, thanks."

He gave her a small smile. "Pleasure. See you around, Tonks."

Pleased that he had gotten her name right, she grinned and turned to the large sea of people in the kitchen who were chatting amiably. She approached Molly Weasley, the person who seemed the most welcoming of the crowd. "Hi, Mrs. Weasley. I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Tonks, Charlie's friend…"

"Oh, Tonks!" Molly swept her into a hug. "Of course I remember you! I never would've imagined you would join the Order one day!"

"Yeah," she said, trying to laugh. "Who would've imagined?"

"It's a small world, truly," Molly tittered. "And you were so young when I first met you, dear! Only twelve or so! Just beginning your journey of magic… and now you've finished your education already! What are you currently doing?"

"I work at the Ministry," Tonks said proudly. "As an Auror."

Molly's mouth dropped open. "An Auror? No way! That's such a hard position to get! You must have been one of the last to qualify, dear! That's mind-blowing! I would never have believed it!"

"Thank you," Tonks managed, attempting to smile. Was it really that hard to believe that she could make an Auror?

"Yes, dear, I'm proud of you," Molly said affectionately, patting her on the back. "If you will excuse me, I have some children to attend to. I have to make sure they're not trying to eavesdrop on the meeting again, you see."

Tonks laughed softly. "Yeah, go ahead. See you, Molly."

Molly smiled and headed to the foot of the stairs, where a redheaded boy (was that Ron? He was so grown up already!) was hiding behind a wall. Tonks felt a nagging sense of worry in her stomach. People were already making such assumptions about her. Molly couldn't believe she had become an Auror, and what would Remus think? She had made such a fool of herself in front of him! First she had fallen on the ground, and of course, he had thought she was someone's child…

"Let us commence," came a voice, which she found to be of none other than Albus Dumbledore, who had entered the house quietly. Everyone took their seats, and Tonks found that she was next to Molly Weasley on one side and some disgusting-looking guy who was smoking a pipe. She made a face and scooted away from him as much as she could. Across the table she saw Remus give her an apologetic look; next to him she saw whom she could only presume to be Sirius. She offered him a smile, which he returned.

People talked about the pending issues that the Order had; it was a very enlightening meeting for her, but most of the other people looked bored; Tonks found herself repeatedly glancing at Remus, who seemed bored as well, though he smiled at her, and she couldn't help but notice that he looked gorgeous when he smiled.

"And now, before we conclude," Dumbledore announced, "let us assign the guard duty roster for the next few weeks. Mundungus and Emmeline were on this week, correct?"

"Yes, sir," said a woman from across the table, as the filthy guy next to Tonks nodded lazily.

"I see. So for next week, let us have Remus and Dedalus."

"Okay," Remus said, as Dedalus nodded.

"Perfect. For the week after, how about Hestia, and… Nymphadora, would you be up for guard duty?"

"Absolutely," Tonks answered, without a moment of hesitation.

"But… Albus, be reasonable!" cried Molly from her right. "She's just a child! Guard duty is dangerous! Camping out outside the Department of Mysteries is not to be taken lightly! She's too young for this, Albus!"

"She signed up for this," came Remus's voice from across the table; gentle, but firm. "And she's not too young for any of this. Molly, I started when I was eighteen, and I did guard duty when I first joined. She's not a child, Molly."

"I know, but isn't there something else she can do?" Molly asked helplessly.

"Let her do it," came a rough voice. It was Sirius. "Tonks knows what she's doing."

She shot him a look of gratitude across the table.

"Yes, but…" Molly began.

"It's okay, Molly," Remus interrupted gently. "Hestia, if you don't mind, can we switch shifts? I can take the week after to help Tonks adapt and get used to all of this." He met her eyes. "Only if you're okay with it, of course."

She gave him a wide smile. "Yeah."

Remus turned to Dumbledore. "Can we change that to Hestia and Dedalus next week, and Tonks and me the week after, Professor?"

"Absolutely," Dumbledore affirmed. "Nymphadora, is this good with you?"

"Yes, Professor," she answered. "Thanks."

In a few minutes, the meeting ended, and people started departing the house. Tonks walked over to find Remus, who was laughing at something Sirius had apparently said. "Hi."

He turned to face her, still grinning. "Hey. How's everything?"

"Good. Hey, thanks for… that. It means a lot to me."

"Not a problem," he replied sincerely. "I felt bad about earlier this evening, and I didn't want other people doing what I did."

"Hitting on my cousin, are you?" commented Sirius snidely. "Moving fast, aren't you?"

"Shut up," Remus muttered, as Tonks turned pink. "I'm not hitting on her, I'm just being nice!"

"I'll leave you two to flirt, then," Sirius said with a wink. "Nice meeting you, Tonks."

Remus looked mortified as Sirius walked away. "Sorry about him. He loves teasing me. I don't know why he thought I was flirting with you, though. Honestly."

"I wouldn't mind if you were," she blurted out, her eyes widening a second after she realized what she had just said. She clamped a hand over her mouth. "Oh my god. Ignore me. I didn't say anything."

"I'm not ignoring that," Remus said, his eyes twinkling. "There's no way I'm ignoring that."

"No, you should just ignore me and my fat mouth entirely. I'm just terrible when it comes to meeting people. Sorry." She gave him an apologetic look.

"I have a feeling we're going to get along very well, Tonks," Remus said, grinning. "Don't worry about it. See you for guard duty?"

"Y-Yeah," she managed. "See you then."

He tilted his head to the side, still smiling. "All right, then. Good night, Tonks."

"You too," she said weakly. He nodded and walked past her to the staircase, his shoulder brushing hers as he did so.

Oh, Tonks knew that a lot of things had gone wrong that evening, but she did know one thing: this was going to be a very good night.

A/N: Well, that seems to be it! I hope you enjoyed these three oneshots! Please leave a review if you enjoyed it! :D