7. Not With the Eyes, But With the Mind

-A Midsummer Night's Dream

Tonks knocked on the door of her parents' house, shivering.

It was the twentieth of December, with snow falling merrily to the ground. The Hogwarts Express had departed the previous night, with all but a handful of the students. She was secretly glad that the castle was so empty; it meant that there was less to do, fewer people to protect, and that meant that she could spend more time with Remus.

Andromeda opened the door, and a smile graced her face when she saw her daughter. "Nymphadora. How are you?"

"Fine, Mum," Tonks replied, trying not to recoil at her mother's prolonged use of her first name. "Can I come in?"

"Come in," Andromeda said, opening the door further and stepping to the side to allow Tonks entry. "And do try not to drip snow on the carpet, please."

Tonks walked in cautiously, treading lightly on the carpet so as not to leave wet footsteps. She shrugged out of her coat and hung it up neatly, and followed her mother to the sitting room.

"Where's Dad?" Tonks asked, looking around at the house, which was devoid of her father.

"In the shower, I expect," Andromeda answered dismissively. "Have a seat, Nymphadora. How long are you staying?"

"A couple of hours?" Tonks suggested, sitting down onto the sofa and fiddling with a pillow. "I have to return to the castle tonight."

"Alright, then," Andromeda agreed, seating herself neatly across from Tonks. "Any particular reason you're here?"

"Yes," she admitted, fiddling with her robes. "I have a question for you."

"Ask," Andromeda said, looking apprehensive.

"Well, I'm not actively on the Sirius Black case, but I was curious... You knew him, didn't you? What do you think about all this?"

Andromeda took in a deep breath and let it out. "What do you want to know? What do you want to hear?"

"I just… I think there's more to this whole thing than it seems. There's got to be a reason behind why he escaped, and how. Why now. What's he trying to do, Mum? He could've thought that Harry was dead, or abandoned. The Ministry is insisting that Black is going after Harry, and that's why he escaped, but I don't think so. And I wanted to come to you, since you knew him."

Andromeda sighed. "What should I tell you, Nymphadora? There is fact as well as emotion involved in this. Not to mention assumptions. Do you want to hear what I think, or do you want to hear what I know?"

"I know what you know, Mum. Everyone knows what you know. I want to hear what you think. I want to hear this from your perspective."

"Nymphadora, what I have to say is probably far from the truth. What I believe is tainted with emotion. My perspective is not impartial."

"We've already heard the ones that are impartial, Mum," Tonks said gently. "It's time to hear the ones that aren't."

Andromeda looked tense. "I always believed he was innocent."

Tonks watched her mother, making no reaction.

"I could never believe that Sirius- my cousin Sirius- could do such a thing. He was always on the mischievous side, the rebellious side, but I could never fathom Sirius murdering anyone. I could never fathom him betraying James. The two of them were best friends. Best friends, Nymphadora. I have never seen anyone closer than the two of them. They were like brothers. They were brothers. To me, Sirius was never guilty. There must be some mistake, some mistake in the system. Sirius is innocent."

"How can he be?" Tonks asked gently. "How could those Muggles have died if Sirius didn't kill them? How could James and Lily have been betrayed if Sirius didn't betray them?"

"I don't have answers," Andromeda said primly. "But that doesn't mean there isn't a way. There still could be a possible explanation for what happened that I haven't thought of."

That nobody's thought of, Tonks thought. With the entire Ministry of Magic involved in the incident, someone must have thought of it.

Instead, she asked, "Tell me more about Sirius. You said he was best friends with James Potter?"

"Absolutely," Andromeda said in a convinced tone. "The two of them were inseparable. You wouldn't find one without the other. They would do everything together. Sirius visited here a few times with his friends; they came here just after you were born, actually."

"His friends?"

"Yes, there were four of them in all. Sirius and James, obviously, and there were two others. I do remember that one of them was Peter Pettigrew, you know that man who was killed with all those Muggles?"

Tonks nodded.

"Yes, so you have Sirius and James Potter, and then you have Peter Pettigrew. They would come over all the time, before and after you were born. They would stay for tea, games, occasionally dinner… Nymphadora, you're going to tear your robes, please don't pick at them."

Tonks grudgingly ceased picking at her robes. "Wait, Mum, you mentioned Sirius, James, and Peter, who's the fourth friend?"

"I don't remember his name," Andromeda said dismissively, brushing a hand aside in impatience. "He used to visit with the other three all the time. Anyway, the last time I saw them, it was only the three- that is, Sirius, James, and Pettigrew. It was a few months before James and Lily died. It was a normal visit, as far as I could remember, though both Sirius and Pettigrew seemed more subdued. You see, war has that effect on people, Nymphadora. James was excitable as always, he had a son, and he was married to the woman he loved, I don't think he could've gotten happier."

Tonks wished her mother had remembered the fourth name. There was no way to figure out more about Sirius from James, Lily, or Peter, seeing as they were all dead, but she had been hoping that she could've traced down the fourth friend to get more information.

At that moment, Ted Tonks came down the stairs, his face brightening considerably when he saw his daughter. "Dora!"

Tonks hurried over to her father and gave him a hug. "Hi, Dad."

"I'm so glad you've come!" Ted said jovially, clapping her on the back. "What's the occasion?"

"Nothing, Dad," she replied. "It's… just been a while since I visited. I've been at Hogwarts all year, and I haven't gotten a chance to leave since I first arrived."

"So the term's over?" Andromeda asked curtly. "How have things been going? Found anything interesting? Anyone interesting?"

"Er, not really," Tonks lied, not wanting to reveal to her parents that she had been dating the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for the better part of a month now.

Andromeda tutted while Ted brought over a tray of chocolate biscuits, grabbed one, and sat down next to his wife on the couch. "You haven't met anyone?" Andromeda asked. "None of the students?"

"Oh, Mum. Of course I've met the students. Harry Potter's nice enough, but he can get really confused at times. Draco Malfoy, well, he's an arrogant prat. But he's pretty nice to me. And there's a ton of the others, too. I know a lot of the students. I've been at the school since August, I know quite a few."

"That's not what I meant," huffed Andromeda.

Tonks wanted to roll her eyes at her mother's antics. Was she really trying to set her up with a student? "Mum, they're still in school."

"It doesn't hurt to keep a good relationship with them until they graduate, does it?"

Oh, yes. Andromeda Tonks was definitely a Slytherin.

Tonks sighed. "No. I'm not interested in any of the students, neither now, nor in the future."

Andromeda pursed her lips. "Fine, then. Anyone from the Auror Office?"

"I heard you had a good relationship with Auror Robards," Ted offered.

Tonks rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure Gawain's already seeing someone." So was she, but she wasn't going to say it.

"Darn," Ted muttered. "So he's taken. What about the other Aurors? Who else is at Hogwarts with you?"

She reached for a biscuit. "None of them are… available, Dad."

"Someone's got to be," Ted mumbled. "What about that Dawlish bloke?"

"Yes, he did seem nice when we met him," Andromeda commented.

Tonks groaned. "No. Not Dawlish. He's not even really my friend."

"Wasn't there some man who we met at Dora's initiation, Andromeda?" Ted asked his wife. "He was really polite, a third-year Auror, I think…"

"Oh, I remember," recalled Andromeda. "He had that funny-looking hat. I can't seem to remember his name, though, was it Franklin?"

"Or maybe Poppins," suggested Ted.

"I don't think it was Poppins… Nymphadora, you have a smudge on your face! Could it have been Martin?"

Tonks scowled and wiped the chocolate smudge off her face. "Guys, please…"

But neither of them paid her any attention, and they spent quite a few hours trying to figure out who they could set their daughter up with. Thankfully, neither of them broached the subject of Hogwarts faculty.

Andromeda had even written down a list of possible people for Tonks to check out. Tonks didn't know if she wanted to scream or to laugh, but she managed to keep her emotions under control as she gingerly accepted the piece of parchment and glanced down at it, making a mental note to burn it in the fire when she got back.

An affair full of biscuits, warm tea, and lively conversation did prove to be an enjoyable visit. And when Tonks finally got ready to leave, clutching that accursed list in her hand and fastening her cloak, it was late afternoon.

But as she Apparated to Hogsmeade and started journeying back up to the castle, Tonks couldn't help but wonder that there was more to the Sirius Black case than she thought.

"How many more?"

It was evening, and Tonks was sprawled onto a small sofa in Remus's room, drumming her fingers impatiently on a pillow. Remus was sitting at his desk, immersed in his students' midterm exams, which he was grading.

"For today, you mean?" Remus asked, scribbling something on a student's paper.

"Yes."

"I don't know. A few more, maybe."

"How long will that take?" she asked, flopping onto her back and staring at the ceiling.

"An hour, maybe longer."

Tonks groaned. "What am I going to do for an hour?"

"I'm sure you can find something."

"Will talking to you count as distraction?"

He glanced over at her. "Anything to do with you distracts me, if I'm being honest."

She pouted. "So you want me to leave?"

"Dora, I'd love to be distracted right now, especially by you, but I really have to grade these."

She didn't answer, instead picking at a seam in her woolen red sweater.

"How about this," he offered. "I'll grade whatever I can in half an hour. Then I'll make myself available for distraction."

She nodded. "Okay."

So Tonks listened to the sound of his quill scratching against the parchment for what seemed like many hours. She could almost envision him making tiny notes on the side whenever a student got a question wrong, although she couldn't see why some people were dumb enough to get things wrong when their teacher was so exceptionally good.

"Remus?" she asked.

"Yes?"

She groaned and turned back into her stomach, burying her head into the couch cushion. "How long has it been?"

"You have twenty-five minutes more to wait, Dora," he answered, without turning away from the exam he was grading.

"It's only been five minutes?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes."

"Remus," she complained, "I'm bored."

"You can leave if you'd like. You're in no way obligated to give me company while I grade."

"But that's the whole reason I'm here!" she proclaimed.

"But I really need to get these graded," he reasoned. "The sooner I finish, the more time I can spend with you."

She scowled. She needed attention, now.

"Can you come and grade here?" she offered. "On the sofa?"

He turned to look at her. "You're overestimating my self-control."

"I won't do a thing," she assured. "I'll just sit next to you."

To her delight, Remus obligingly walked over to the sofa with a quill and a stack of parchment and seated himself on the end. She closed her eyes and leaned against him, taking in his warmth and inhaling his scent.

Taking advantage of the situation, Tonks lowered her head into his lap and lay down, stretching across the sofa. She thought he would say something, but instead, he started stroking her hair gently. It really was amazing, being the girlfriend of such a gentlemanly Professor.

"Dora, can you help me?"

She looked up at him. "Yeah?"

He held a piece of parchment in front of her face. "What is this word supposed to say?"

"Oh," she said, looking at the word he was pointing to. "It says 'unfortunately', I think."

"Thank you," he said, taking back the parchment and resuming his stroking of her hair.

Tonks waited patiently for a few more minutes until her patience ran dangerously low. "Remus?"

"Ten more minutes."

"But I want to distract you."

He placed his arm around her back and pulled her towards him so that her face was now against his chest. He gazed down at her.

"Just ten minutes, Dora."

Ten minutes. She could do this.

Or not.

In an attempt to get him to leave his exams, she started tracing circles on his collarbone. She knew she had obtained the desired effect when he closed his eyes and leaned back.

"You really don't want me to get these graded, do you?" he asked.

"Not a chance, Professor." She raised her face so that it was in line with his. "And I think you rather like it."

He snaked an arm around her waist, drawing her towards him so that she was in his lap and her face was mere centimeters away from his. "Well, then, I wouldn't want to disappoint you."

He lowered her gently so that her back was against the sofa, her heart rapidly beating as he settled on top of her, his arm still around her back. Shivers ran down her spine as his other hand brushed her thigh.

"Remus," she moaned, as his hand made its way to her waist and began caressing the skin there.

"I love you, Dora."

"Show me."

He did, and Merlin, he did it well.

A/N: Well, this was one of the first scenes I pictured when I thought about writing a Remus/Tonks POA. Hope you enjoyed reading it!

Chapter one and two of our Jily/Remadora epic, The Clock Starts Now, have been posted! Thanks for your support, you guys! :)