9. The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth

-A Midsummer Night's Dream

January, and then February, and then March passed by. Tonks had been desperately searching for a clue about Sirius Black, or who the fourth friend was, but she hadn't found anything. It was possible that the fourth friend was dead by now. But she needed to know more about Sirius in order to figure out where he could be hidden.

She got her break in mid-April.

She was in the back of the Potions classroom, watching Snape teaching a bunch of third-years, including Harry. He was boring, and dry, and obnoxious as ever, and Tonks really wished she was watching any other class. She had decided not to watch Remus's classes too often, since that would lead people to the already-started rumor that she was dating the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

"Mix the fluxweed into your potion after forty-six seconds," Snape continued in a bored voice. "Stir thrice... counterclockwise, Longbottom, how many times must I tell you?"

One of the boys, Neville Longbottom, whimpered under the Potions master's gaze, and quickly shifted his stirring direction.

Tonks noticed Harry and his friends, Ron and Hermione, cursing under their breath and shooting Neville sympathetic looks. Hermione kept glancing over at Neville's cauldron, as though she desperately wanted to help him fix his potion.

After a few more minutes of reciting instructions impatiently, Snape addressed his class, his eyes glittering. "Time's up. I will inspect each of your potions now."

He moved across the classroom swiftly, looking into every student's cauldron, snapping feedback at them under his breath. Finally, he approached Harry's cauldron, looking at the boy with a look of intense hatred.

"How confident are you that your Confusing Concoction could successfully confuse any student in this class?" he asked, his tone dangerous.

Harry glared back with the same look of hatred. "Confident enough."

"Arrogant as your father, Potter," Snape snapped, his face twisted into an ugly sneer. "As for your potion, it won't confuse a fly. You may need to start taking remedial potions, Potter, if you continue to perform at this rate."

Harry opened his mouth to make a comeback, but Hermione put a hand on his shoulder, warning him not to. Tonks watched apprehensively; it was common knowledge that Snape hated Harry. But why was that so?

And how did Snape know James Potter?

As soon as the last student had left the dungeon, sulking, Tonks called, "Professor Snape!"

Snape addressed her with a sneer. "What is it, Nymphadora?"

"Did you know James Potter? Like, when you were at school?"

Snape's face was impassive, and for a second, Tonks thought she might have encroached on a very personal subject.

"Know him?" whispered Snape coldly. "He was my greatest nemesis."

She frowned. "How come?"

"Miss Tonks, is there a certain reason you are inquiring about this subject?"

"Yes, Professor. It's important that I know."

He gave her a piercing stare. "Then it is important you know that I was the victim of over ninety percent of his foolish pranks. Would it surprise you to know that I was bullied as a child? A few slimy Gryffindors tainted the image of Slytherins, permanently, and evidently, it has stuck."

Poison was dripping from his words as he gestured towards the empty classroom.

"Harry Potter…" she began cautiously.

"Precisely," spat Snape. "Potter has made his own opinions over House supremacy, and he is rather inclined towards picking a fight with any Slytherin he comes across."

"I'm sorry to hear what they've done to your House, Professor," Tonks said, finding that she was, indeed, sorry. "But we were talking about James. He bullied you?"

"He wasn't the only one," Snape drawled, anger glittering in his eyes. "There was a gang of them. There were four of them. James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin."

She staggered back, unable to process what he had just said.

Because this meant that Remus Lupin was the fourth friend.

And suddenly everything came flooding to her, as though it was the surge of a violent storm, threatening to inundate her memory completely. How Snape hated Remus, how Remus always looked tense at the mention of Sirius Black, how the timeframe fit, how everything was justified. It all made sense, it all fit. And she had been a fool not to notice it.

"What happened, Miss Tonks?" asked Snape wearily. "Feeling giddy at the mention of your boyfriend?"

"Wait, Severus," she interrupted. "Remus was friends with Sirius Black?"

"Friends?" asked Snape icily. "The four of them were inseparable. Never could you find one without one of the others. Constantly pranking, constantly fooling around, being the morons that they were. And most of the time, I was the victim of their cruel pranks."

"Remus was… friends with Sirius Black?"

"Yes, Lupin was friends with Black. Personally, I believe that Lupin has been helping Black into the castle. I don't know what Dumbledore's thinking, nearly all of his staffing arrangements are just dreadful. First Quirrell, who was a Death Eater, and then Lockhart, Merlin knows why that moron was appointed here, and now Lupin…"

She held up a hand to silence him. "Wait, Severus. There's… something I need to do."

Snape rolled his eyes, and Tonks practically ran out of the room, all the way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts office.

"Remus!" she called, pounding on the door furiously. "Remus Lupin, open the door!"

He did, looking confused. "Dora? What happened? Is everything alright?"

"Absolutely not," she spat, marching into the room. "Shut the door already."

He closed the door gently, which only irked her even more. "Dora, what happened?"

"You never bothered to tell me. You never were going to tell me, were you?" The rage was boiling in her blood and she didn't know if she could get it to subside.

"Tell you what?" he asked, looking perplexed.

"It was a relevant point," she hissed. "Something important, something that could've saved lives, something that could've helped us find him earlier. You never told me that you were friends with Sirius Black. All this time! It's been months, Remus."

His face was impassive. "I know, and I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? You're sorry?" she spat. "We could've found Black by now! For all I know, you've been helping him into the castle! We could've found him through you, and you never bothered to mention it to me?"

Something in his face changed. "You think I've been helping him into the castle?"

"I'm starting to think that's what it is!" she shouted.

"You think I've been helping him into the castle?"

"Yes! I do! There's no other reason for you not to tell me such a big fact! It's a big deal, Remus, why did you even try concealing it from me?"

"Because it was personal," Remus responded calmly. "I was friends with Sirius Black, yes, but I don't go flaunting it around to people."

"So that's all I am?" she asked coldly. "A person? Have these last few months meant nothing to you? You couldn't trust me enough to tell me?"

"Well, look at how you're reacting!" Remus snapped, his anger finally letting loose. "Of course I trust you! I trust you with my life! But just because you're my girlfriend doesn't mean I would tell you all of my personal secrets!"

"But it's important for me to know!" cried Tonks, who was on the verge of tears now. "Because I work at the Ministry, and every single person in this country is on the lookout for Sirius Black! And you… you knew him, you could have known where he is or what he'd do!"

"If I knew, I would've told you!" he replied angrily. "Darn it, Dora, I love you, I would've told you if I had known anything! The fact that I knew Sirius Black is a personal matter, and it's something I wasn't ready to tell you!"

"Why not?" she shrieked. "Why couldn't you tell me?"

"Take a second, Dora, and look at it from my perspective! Being a werewolf is bad enough! Would you have wanted to be with me if you knew that I had been friends with an escaped convict?"

The tears broke free and started streaming down her face. "Yes! I would've loved you no matter what! Did you think I would just leave you because of that? How could you think that?!"

"YOU HAVE NO IDEA!" he roared, and Tonks flinched at his tone. "You have no idea how many times I've been rejected because of what I am! Dozens of times I've been shunned because of what I am! Dozens! Everyone's like that! How was I supposed to know that you're any different?!"

"Shut up!" she shouted. "We're not here for me to join your pathetic pity party! We're talking about Sirius Black! Sirius Black, Remus! You should've told me as soon as I entered this darned school! This isn't something that you can tell and hide at your leisure! We're protecting the world from him! He's a mass murderer, darn it! I'm really starting to think that you've been helping him the entire time, hiding this from me!"

"Enough!" he yelled. "Do what you want, say what you want, but don't accuse me of being a murderer! Don't accuse me of helping him kill James and Lily!"

A cold, tense silence hung in the air between them. They were both breathing heavily, the fury evident in their eyes. Tonks took a deep breath, willing herself to calm down, and when she spoke, it was with a surprisingly steady voice.

"You will be formally investigated by the Auror Office. I'll send Gawain to come around and investigate you. Nobody can believe you on account of what you say." She stood up and made to leave.

"Dora," he began hoarsely.

"It's Auror Tonks," she informed him coldly. "Only my father calls me Dora."

A tinge of hurt flickered across the cold fire in his eyes. She turned to face him, took a deep breath, and made her decision.

"We're done. I'm done. I don't want to be involved in a relationship with a filthy man like you."

She expected him to fight back, to beg, to plead, but he didn't.

"Get out of my office," he told her coldly.

She did, slamming the door behind her.

A/N: I am so sorry.