Chapter 6 Dances with Wolves

Walking down the stairs, Tonks knew that her decision to wear flats had been the right one. There was no way she would have made it down them in heels. At least not upright. As she reached the last stair, she rolled her eyes at herself. She had already scanned the room twice for Remus. Not seeing him in the living room, she headed to the kitchen where Molly was busy fussing; clad in a beautiful glittery black and silvery dress, covered with a messy apron.

Approaching the Weasley matriarch, Tonks smiled, "Mol, you look lovely. Well at least you would… come here." Tonks undid the bow at Molly's back and lifted the apron carefully over Molly's perfectly coifed hairdo. "There. Perfect. Molly you look absolutely beautiful. Stop fussing and go enjoy your party."

Molly looked uncertainly around the kitchen, "Oh well, I was just going to pop one more cherry pie…"

Tonks took Molly by the shoulders and walked her towards the kitchen door. "You've already cooked plenty of pies and lots of other delicious food. Now go and enjoy the company of your guests, who have all come to see you. Molly relented and took the apron from Tonks and hung it on the back of the kitchen door. As she was about to leave the kitchen, she saw Tonks looking into the garden.

"If you're looking for Remus, he isn't coming dear."

Tonks twirled to look at Molly, "What do you mean he isn't coming? He hasn't left has he?"

Molly shook her head, "No, he's in his room. Arthur and I invite him for Christmas ever year, we've always said he needn't let us know if he can make it, just show up. We were pleasantly surprised when for the first time this year, he did just that! When he and Arthur were tinkering in his shed the other night, he ask Arthur if it was all the same to us, whether we'd mind if he stayed in his room during the party, said he had some reading and marking to catch up on." It didn't go unnoticed to Tonks that Molly was fussing with the food on the kitchen table again.

"I've tried to persuade him of course and Arthur had a chat with him about it, but I supposed it is understandable from his point of view. Though awful for anyone to go through – for someone as sweet as Remus to be treated the way he has in the past and for something that has never been in his control." Molly tisked.

Tonks thought back to the first night they'd met. Had it just been a week ago. It certainly felt as though she had known Remus a lot longer. She had seen the pain he'd felt when he'd told her he used to be Sirius' best friend. She knew how dreadful people could be. Suddenly she was hit with a wave of anxiety that Arthur would surely have invited other ministry employees to the party. Was she about to experience the very judgement she had hoped to escape for a few weeks? As Molly left the kitchen to mingle with her guests, Tonks felt selfish as a wave of sadness washed over her. Why couldn't Remus have come to the party and they could have been judged together?

Stuffing a vol-au-vent in her mouth, Tonks pushed the kitchen door open and stepped back into the crowded living room. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked up at the stairs and saw Remus walking down them. His clothes looked slightly nicer than any she'd seen him in so far, he was wearing black trousers and a jumper which fit him much better than any he'd worn over the past week and Tonks couldn't help but think how handsome he looked.

As he walked down the last few stairs, their eyes locked and he walked across the room, directly towards her. "Hi." She said in a breathy voice she didn't recognise.

"Hi" he smiled, looking her up and down, "You look lovely. The dress… your hair. It's perfect. You're perfect."

Tonks didn't try to hide the blush that spread across her face, liking as she saw the same happen to Remus, that at least she wasn't alone.

"I was worried for a minute there, Molly told me you weren't planning on gracing us with your presence tonight?"

Remus looked around at the crowd assembled in the Weasley home, "truthfully, I had planned to stay in my room and read."

Tonks nodded, "but?"

Remus smiled, "But, I decided that a little social discomfort was worth the risk if there was a possibility I'd get to dance with you."

Tonks eyes widened in horror. "Oh no Remus, I'm so glad you're here, really I am, but I should never be allowed to dance in public." Seeing the smirk on his face, Tonks continued in earnest, "Remus I'm serious! You saw me on that ice today, I'm a menace to myself and all those around me."

Remus offered his hand to her, still smiling confidently, "I'm asking you to dance Tonks, not ice skate. There's no snow on the Weasleys living room carpet." Seeing the uncertainty on her face, he continued, "Come on, you wouldn't disappoint an old professor on Christmas eve would you?" Leaning in he said in a quieter voice, "I promise not to let you fall, or injury anyone around us."

Wondering if the fall earlier had resulted in a brain injury of some kind, Tonks watched in horror as she placed her hand in Remus' and he led her to the makeshift dance floor.

In true Molly Weasley fashion, Celestina Warbeck warbled her latest Christmas ditty and Tonks looked at the throngs of couples around them who made moving their bodies in time with the music seem like no big deal. Hesitantly she followed Remus' lead and did as he instructed, placing her left arm on his shoulder and her right hand in his. After the first dance was over, his hand on her waist made Tonks feel steadier than usual and she believed him when he'd said he wouldn't let her fall. Not that she was scared for herself, more about who she'd take with her.

At some point during the second song, Tonks had relaxed enough to realise how good of a dancer Remus was. He wasn't flash or daring, but he held her close and led her around the dance floor, he made her feel safe.

She gawked at that realisation. Nymphadora Tonks, Auror, dark wizard catcher had never felt like she wanted or needed a man who would make her feel safe and she still didn't need it, but she admitted rly to herself, it was a nice feeling all the same.

By the fourth song, Tonks wasn't even mortified when Remus spun her around, enjoying the way the skirt of her dress fluttered as she twirled. Mortification still didn't come as she crashed into Remus' chest as they came back together. Instead the pair laughed as they continued dancing. Being there, in his arms, felt so easy, so natural. It was something she truly hadn't felt before.

Tonks was mortified however when some young bloke interrupted them during the fifth song, asking to cut in and dance with her. Before she could turn the nice-looking young man down, Remus had stepped away and disappeared into the crowd. Tonks stumbled her way through a song with the handsome stranger, not wanting to seem rude, then excused herself and followed in the direction she'd last seen Remus head in. Pushing her way into the kitchen she didn't find any sign of Remus, but she did see the twins about to escape to the back garden.

"Excuse me… where do you think you two are going?" Tonks raised an eyebrow at the teenagers before her.

"Tonks please don't tell anyone where we are. Mum is all tipsy and she keeps grabbing our cheeks and calling us chubby cherubs." Said Fred with a scowl.

"Yeah!" added George, looking every inch a sulking teenager, "and she keeps trying to dance with us."

Fred winked at Tonks, "Come on, let us sneak off into the garden, Mum won't even notice we've gone. We'll be back to help tidy up."

Tonks looked at the pair of them and for a moment she was taken back by how much they had both grown. They really weren't little boys anymore, instead they were gangly teenage boys trying to sneak out of their parents Christmas party. With the number of her Mothers New Year's Eve parties she had snuck out of, she really would be a hypocrite if she stopped them from doing that. "I have no intention of telling anyone that you're skulking off," Tonks' tone turned more serious, "But you have got to be kidding if you think I'm going to let you take those with you."

"Take what?" Both twins said simultaneously.

"The beers. Come on hand them over. Now. Or I'll shout Molly in here and she can deal with you both."

Begrudgingly they handed her the opened but untouched beers and slowly trudged out into the garden. As the door swung close behind them, Tonks caught a glimpse of someone sitting on the wall outside. Taking the two beers the twins had helpfully opened for her, she went and joined Remus on the wall.

"Curtesy of the twins," Tonks said as Remus raised an eyebrow at the beer she offered him. "I caught them trying to sneak them out here, I though I'd save them from the Wrath of Mol and we'd drink them instead."

Remus chuckled and clinked his bottle against her own. "Wise decision. I can just imagine the frosty Christmas morning we'd have all had to sit through if she'd caught them…"

Tonks took a swig of her beer and laughed, "I don't know. They've got Mol wrapped around their little fingers really, I doubt she would have stayed mad at them for long."

Remus smiled and nudged Tonks' shoulder with his own. "Speaking of getting on the wrong side of Molly, how do you call her 'Mol' and get away with it?"

Tonks nudged him back, "I think it's just my infinite charm. Means I get away with anything." Tonks laughed, "No, it started years ago. When I first started coming here with Charlie, Molly of course insisted that she couldn't possibly call me by my last name, she kept calling me," Tonks shuddered as she uttered the next word, "Nymphadora."

Remus laughed, "It really isn't that bad you kno…" Seeing the stern look on Tonks' face, Remus stopped.

"I tried to reason with her, suggested that I call her by her second name too, but she wouldn't consent to that. So, after a few Christmases of living through the torture of being called by my given name, I convinced her that I could come up with a nickname for her too. Mol was as adventurous as she'd allow me to be."

Remus chuckled, "I'll bet you had some other suggestions though didn't you."

Tonks smiled at the memory, "A few. Let's see, there was, MW, Big M, Fiery Mol…"

Remus laughed, "Let me guess, um, Mollykins?"

Tonks covered her mouth, "I'd love to see you run that one past her."

As the pair of them laughed, continuing to suggest possible nicknames for their host, Tonks marvelled once again at just how easy it seemed to be around Remus. She felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach each time their thighs or shoulders brushed against each other as they sat on the wall, but at the same time, she felt utterly comfortable being around him.

The silence between them was heavy and Tonks felt suddenly very warm, leaning in towards him she was sure he was going to kiss her, only he didn't. Instead he pulled away and took a long swig from his bottle of beer.

Tonks tried to hide the hurt she felt. Of course, he hadn't been interested in her in that way. He's a serious man. A Professor. Her Mother had always told her she'd never find someone to settle down with if she insisted on dressing like a teenager and fashioning her hair in silly colours. Though Tonks did want to find someone to settle down with, she wanted it to be without someone who liked her the way she was – obnoxiously bright hair and all.

"Tonks…"

The sound of his voice pulled Tonks from her musings. "mmm?"

"I'm sorry."

Tonks turned and looked at him. He was fiddling with his hands which sat in his lap. Decidedly not looking at her. "Sorry, for what? You've nothing to be sorry for, I was one who lent in, I'm sorry, I just thought…"

Remus looked up and held her gaze suddenly, "Tonks, I'm a werewolf."

Tonks looked at the kind, quiet, mild mannered, handsome professor in front of her and tried to marry that with the words he'd just spoken. He was a werewolf.

"Oh." She said lamely, feeling like she should say something.

At that moment Fred or George – it was hard to tell in the dwindling light – sent a charmed firework whizzing just over Tonks and Remus' heads. Tonks jumped off the wall and took off at a sprint, chasing them round the back of the shed, her wand flailing above her head.

"That was dangerous, you idiots! I could arrest you both you know!"

AN - Thanks so much for the lovely comments everyone and the favs and follows. They all mean so much! GinnyWeasley09 - you figured correctly! Now how will Tonks react? ...