Tonks now often spent time at the Grimmauld place. First of all because of her great-cousin, Sirius Black. She remembered him from her times as a little girl and how much she had liked him (how much she had had a crush on him, to be fair). They had a lot to tell each other, though Sirius' stories weren't quite as pleasing as hers. But they found many similarities, for instance both of them liked the Weird Sisters ("I've been to two concerts of them already!" told Tonks proudly) and both of them had an interesting past in Hogwarts. Tonks' time at the school hadn't been less exciting, only because she hadn't been a marauder or animagus, no! No, Tonks really had a lot to tell. She had spent a lot of time with a Hufflepuff called Timo Stapes, a Ravenclaw called Angie Simpson and two Gryffindors of which one was no one else than Charlie Weasley. The other one had been his best friend Marc Murphy, with whom Tonks had had a stable relationship until year seven. Everything had been chaotic between them, Charlie and Angie had been having an on-off-relationship while Timo had been head over heels in love with Angie. He had never told her, though.
But besides that, they had gone through many adventures, went to the forbidden forest in the middle of the night, had swum in the great lake, had caused confusion with Tonks metamorphing into teachers.
But Sirius wasn't the only reason, the bubbly young witch was staying at the dark and mysterious house so much. No, the second and probably main reason was the quiet and shy werewolf she grew to like a lot.
It was fascinating to watch him, no matter what he did.
He looked at her a lot but whenever she looked at him, he turned his head to look away. And when she talked, he closed his eyes. It seemed like he would just enjoy the sound of her voice. Tonks knew it was crazy but she wished that it was true.
She liked him too much.
His soft blue eyes, in which lay so much gentleness, even though the bags under his eyes made him look older than he really was and if he was about to fall asleep any minute.
His soft smile, his gentle hands.
Yes, oh yes, his hands!
Tonks adored them.
They weren't big like the other men's, because he wasn't working with his hands, they were rather delicate and small. Which meant they weren't rough, they were soft and tender. At least she thought so. She hadn't touched them before.
He was such an interesting man and Tonks yearned to know him better - that was the main reason she spent time at the Grimmauld place.

And eventually that day came.
Tonks was doing her work at the auror office, as her boss, the tall and bald Kingsley Shacklebolt, stepped inside. "Good morning, Nymphadora," he said with his smooth voice. "I have a task for you."
Tonks jumped up, making the chair fall to the floor. "I'm on it, no matter what!"
Kingsley laughed. With a snip of his wand he made the chair stand again. "Go to the headquarter. There you will find Remus Lupin, who will tell you more."
"Is it for -" Tonks sank her voice, "the Order?"
"Yes, indeed. I suggested you for this special task." The black wizard winked at her mysteriously.
"You suggested me for a task of the Order?" Tonks was stunned. "Wow - thank you!"
"Don't overreact, it's not that special," Kingsley laughed again. "Anyway, Remus knows more. I can't tell you here, you know - some walls have ears."
Tonks nodded. She understood, not everyone of the auror office was trustworthy.
She grabbed her stuff and said goodbye to Justus and Flora in the other room.
"Where are you going?" Flora asked in surprise.
"Nymphadora still has some overtime hours she needs to consume," Kingsley explained and Flora's face went dark.
"Overtime hours? Tonks, when did you work overtime?"
"Yeah, seriously," Justin agreed.
"During your holidays, dear Flora," Tonks shot back. "Exactly those two days you were sick, dear Justus."
Tonks' colleagues rolled their eyes.
"Well then - see you tomorrow." She took her bag and walked out of the office. Flora had always had a sharp eye on her, since day one. Only because Tonks could metamorph, only because she was a better auror, only because she was younger than her but more successful. A better fighter. Her ability of disguising was out of this world.
She went to the chimneys to vanish to the Grimmauld place, as she realised something - Remus would be there. Again.
Excitedly she squeezed her eyes shut to change her hair, making it dark brown, curly and long this time. Maybe he would find her more interesting with dark hair.
Then she stepped into the chimney.

"GOOD LORD!" Sirius shouted as Tonks stepped inside the living room. "Are you out of your mind, Tonks?!"
"What?!" Tonks called back.
Sirius was clutching his chest.
"You gave me a fucking heart attack!"
"Sirius, I swear, I have no idea why you're shocked!" Tonks looked at Remus, seeking for help.
"Your hair," Remus replied with a light smile. "You kind of look like -"
"Bellatrix," Tonks moaned. "Shit. I forgot that. I'm so sorry." She quickly changed her hair back to pink.
"No. You don't look like Bellatrix, you look better," Remus replied, his eyes widening. "I mean ... uh ..."
"She looks way better than Bellatrix looks now, Moony," Sirius shouted. "But Bellatrix looked exactly the same way around that age. She looked good before she went to Azkaban, same as me."
"Right," Remus said, obviously still confused about the way he had flattered Tonks.
"Okay. Okay, I got it." Tonks tried to calm the guys. "Sorry, I won't do it again, I promise."
"Pink suits you better anyway," Sirius said, "and even though Moony doesn't say anything, he thinks the same. It's very Tonks-y."
'Moony' was too shocked to say something, so Tonks quickly took the initiative.
"Kingsley told me something about a special task only I could fulfil?"
"Yes!" Remus immediately gathered himself. "He couldn't tell you at the ministry because of various spies. Has he told you about his suspect Flora Dunfermline?"
"What about Flora?" Tonks grunted.
"He's not sure about her. She might be a death eater."
"I can imagine that," Tonks sighed. "So what am I going to do, spy on her?"
"No, Kingsley himself will spy on her. You will observe someone else."
"Oh, who?" the young witch asked curiously.
"Can I say it? Please?" Sirius was grinning broadly.
"Alright," said Remus, smiling as well.
Sirius stood up. "You may spy on - Mr and Mrs Dursley!"
"Who?" Tonks asked but then she remembered. "Wait, the muggles? Why would I want to observe them?"
"Because, Nymphadora, we need a way to get Harry away from there and we thought you were the best person to find out how. And it's not only about observing the muggles, it's also about having an eye on Harry."
"Don't call me Nymphadora, Remus," Tonks sighed.
"Sorry. Anyway, it was Kingsley's idea to send you, he said there's no one else who can hide himself better than you." Tonks caught another one of his gentle smiles. "Your task will start today and for the beginning ... I will join you."
"Why?" Tonks asked promptly and Sirius snickered.
"Yes, Moony. Why?"
"Because, Padfoot, I know where those muggles live and how to approach them, if one of them sees a witch with pink hair wander around their house."
"I thought that's why you chose me? I can easily turn myself blonde and jump into muggle outfits. I have some at home, you know? My father is a muggleborn, as you might have heard already." Tonks wiggled her eyebrows at her cousin.
"Of course, sorry," the former professor muttered, while Sirius obviously tried hard not to laugh loudly.
"No big deal," Tonks replied. "I'll get my muggle clothes, then."
Remus nodded and watched the young witch leave the room. As soon as she was out of sight, he slapped his friend. "You're such a traitor. Why did you do that?"
"Oh, come on, you know why," was the answer of the other wizard. "I know you like her."

Tonks' heart was racing. 'I know you like her'? She had not eavesdropped, she simply had good ears. One of her many advantages. She left the house, walked over to the small woods and disapparated.
While she looked through her closet, her hands were shaking.
He liked her?
How had Sirius meant that? Tonks of course hoped that everyone of the Order liked her (besides Snape, she didn't care about him), but with Remus it was a bit different ...

She returned, dressed in jeans and a black shirt, her hair short and dark blonde. She had stuffed her wand into the back pocket of her jeans, even though Mad-Eye had told her not to do so, he really liked to tell that story about the wizard who had lost a buttock because his wand had fired a spell all of a sudden. Sadly Tonks still hadn't found out who that wizard was.
Happy and nervous she apparated back to Grimmauld place number 12, entered and went straight back to the living room, where Sirius was waiting alone.
He whistled, as he saw her. "Damn, Tonks. If you weren't my cousin -"
"Don't you dare to end that sentence!" Tonks raised her finger, making her great cousin laugh even harder.
"Don't worry, dear, I would never do that to Moony."
Tonks squinted her eyes at Sirius. "What does that -"
"Are you ready, Tonks?"
The young witch turned around, facing an displeased looking Remus Lupin dressed in muggle clothes.
Who now looked at her, totally taken aback.
"I'm ready," Tonks replied, ignoring the look on Remus' face. It satisfied her.
He was looking at her, finally he was really looking at her. And the look on his face was more than positive, it was more like he was totally in awe.
"Like the muggle outfit?" she asked as she walked in front of him, well considered that he could check her out even better from behind. If he even did that. He wasn't like the other men, he wasn't like Sirius.
"It's perfect. Outstandingly unobtrusive," he replied, again proving his peculiarity.
Tonks laughed. "I wanted to get dark hair but after what you've told me ..."
Remus didn't say a word until they left the Grimmauld place. As they crossed the path leading to the small forest, he spoke slowly.
"I never meant to hurt you."
"Hurt me? Are you crazy?" Tonks stared at him.
"I said you looked like Bellatrix Lestrange."
"And? She's my aunt! I look like my mother and she looks like her sister. Nothing bad about that."
The thoughtful man smiled again. "You're right. Besides that, you really do look way better than her. Incomparable."
That left her speechless, which didn't happen many times.

They only started talking again on their way to privet drive.
"You said you've been here already?" Tonks asked. "When? Why?"
"Same as now - observe Harry's relatives. After what has happened to Harry I needed to make sure they wouldn't be all too horrible to him. They weren't, luckily, Dumbledore keeps writing letters to Harry's aunt. He even told her that Voldemort's back."
"Ugh - Don't say his name, Remus!" Tonks clutched her heart.
They continued walking until they reached the house of the Dursleys, number four.
"What a ... clean house," Tonks said. "Remarkable. And just look at that garden! I bet it's really important for those muggles what neighbours think of them. I don't even need to observe them, I already have an idea!"
With twinkling eyes she turned to Remus. "Ever heard of the All-England Best Kept Suburban Lawn Competition?"
Remus squinted his eyes at her. "Uhm - No. Sorry."
Tonks grinned. "Good, 'cause I just came up with it. We'll write them a letter and send it by muggle post, telling them they've won that competition. As soon as they're gone, we'll get Harry."
"That is ... genius," Remus said and stared at Tonks.
"Surprised? I might be a bit silly sometimes but I'm not stupid."
"Of course not. No, I'm not surprised, I'm just ..." Remus took a deep breath. "Kingsley said you would need about a day. I'm impressed."
Tonks grinned but then she gasped lightly. "What about Harry? I can't stay away from work to look after him, I'm not in position to do that!"
"Don't worry, we'll figure that out. I can keep an eye on him, Mad-Eye can -"
"Keep a magic eye on him," Tonks chuckled.
Remus smiled. "We are a few. Kingsley, Emmeline, Hestia, Dedalus, Mundungus, ..."
"You can't let Dung watch Harry," said Tonks doubtfully.
"I know." Remus sighed. "But there's no better solution. Let's go back and write that letter, hm?"
Tonks grinned at him while they walked back to the underground station they had apparated to.
"So ... you're impressed by my idea."
Lupin smiled back.
"Very impressed."