August 5, 1995

The entire day was spent in the board room on the first floor, planning the mission to extract Harry from Privet Drive and bring him to Grimmauld Place. Nymphadora and Remus inadvertently choose to sit at opposite ends of the table. While their situation was certainly confusing, and warranted a conversation, there was no time – everyone's main priority was Harry. Even Sirius, who normally would relish in having material to harass them with, was laser-focused on the issue at hand.

Nymphadora, perhaps overzealous to prove herself as a new member, offered to provide the diversion to lure the Dursleys from their house. She had little time to fabricate and deliver the letter in time, so she rushed out of the meeting about halfway through. Hours later, she returned to Grimmauld Place just in time for the meeting to wrap up. When she opened the double doors into the board room, all eyes, including Remus's, turned to her. She felt herself flush and immediately turned to nod at Mad-Eye, indicating that the job had been done.

Sirius had been oddly quiet throughout the whole process. As Order members began to file out of the room, Nymphadora approached him. He caught her eye, scowled, and followed the crowd out of the room and continued up the stairs.

"What's his problem?" she asks Mad-Eye.

"What's always his problem? He's not allowed to leave and get Harry."

Nymphadora releases a breath, secretly relieved that he wasn't blowing her off because of what had happened last night. "I see."

"Go get some rest," Mad-Eye instructs. "We have a big day tomorrow."

She nods, following his orders and starting up the stairs to her bedroom. As she enters the room, she glances down at her watch and realizes it's well past midnight. She quickly gets ready for bed and settles down for an uneasy sleep – this night, alone, in stark contrast to how she had gone to bed last night.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The mission goes off without a hitch, and by dinnertime the next the day, Harry is safely at Grimmauld Place. As Molly prepares the meal, the Order convenes for a meeting and the children are sent upstairs. Without the stress of figuring out how to get Harry, Nymphadora and Remus nervously exchange glances throughout the meeting. Sirius, overwhelmed with the joy of Harry finally being at Grimmauld Place, again doesn't notice.

The children are brought back downstairs for dinner, where a lively discussion about Order matters is cut short by Molly and Remus. As the children file back up the stairs to bed, Molly gives Sirius a glare that could kill. They begin arguing, and Nymphadora takes this opportunity to head upstairs to bed.

A little while later, she is, again, interrupted by a knock on her door – also again wearing a silk robe and pajama bottoms. As the door swings open, she feels as if the wind has been knocked out of her when she meets a pair of amber eyes.

"Can we talk?"

Stunned, she fumbles over her words before blurting out "About?"

He huffs and looks down at the floor. "You know."

"I suppose…" She steps back and lets him enter the room. He stands awkwardly, eyeing the contents of her room for the first time with sober vision. "What exactly do you want to talk about? We just…hooked up. Yanno, like adults do."

"I know," he replies. "I just wanted to make sure we could…uh…continue to work together professionally."

She quirks an eyebrow. "You doubt we could do that?"

He smiles awkwardly. "I didn't know. That's why I'm asking."

"I've dated people I work with before."

"Who said anything about dating?"

She blushes, realizing what she had just said. "Well…you did call me beautiful."

"And I stand by that," he replies confidently. "Even more so now."

The space between the pair begins to feel magnetic, almost unwillingly pulling them together. They meet in the middle, where they lock eyes and brush fingertips.

"You didn't come here to ask if we could still be professional."

He chuckles, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. "No." They kiss, this time not tasting the alcohol on each other's breaths, minds completely steady. "I wasn't so bad then?" he laughs.

She blushes. "My ex couldn't even make me cum. It was a low bar."

He smirks at her, leaning into the playful mood he had created. "We'll see about that."

In one fell swoop, he picks her up and throws her down on the bed once again.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx