A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed so far. I hope my characterizations are going alright so far. This is turning into a much longer fic than I first envisioned, so I'm skipping ahead about a month, until near the end of January.
Chapter 6The next few weeks were some of the happiest of Tonks and Remus' lives. They were at a happy and comfortable spot in their relationship, and there were no significant problems that they encountered at the Ministry or through Order work. The rest of the Order gradually found out that Tonks and Remus were a couple, and most of them took the news in good humor, only ribbing them gently. Only Mundungus made no attempt to hide his confusion, and a certain greasy-haired Potions master just sneered.
On one of the rare days when she could leave work on time, Tonks was sitting with a mug of tea in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place as Remus walked in. "Good afternoon." He greeted her with a kiss.
"Wotcher. Tea?" He nodded. He seemed a little on edge. "Is something wrong?"
"It's only that I have to go away for about a week. I'm not looking forward to this mission, but I have no choice."
"I'm sorry. If it's any consolation, I'll miss you." He smiled at her.
"That's a very great consolation. I'll miss you, also." They kissed again, but broke apart as soon as Molly bustled in.
"Hello, dears."
"Wotcher, Molly. How's everything going?"
"As well as can be expected. Arthur's really much better, though. He's almost back to his old self. But, still, every hand on our clock at the Burrow points to mortal peril."
"Well, I suppose the whole Order is in mortal peril at any given time." Remus was trying to comfort Molly, but his words came out sounding rather apocalyptic. Tonks wondered, not for the first time, what kind of secret missions he went on periodically. "The best we can do is stick together and protect one another."
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Several days later there was an Order meeting. Remus had already gone away. The meeting was fairly standard. People gave reports on their missions, guard duty was assigned, and Moody continually warned them about constant vigilance. As usual some people stayed for dinner after the meeting, but, much to everyone's surprise, Severus Snape also chose to stay. They lingered over conversation while Snape sat quietly, smirking in Tonks' general direction.
When Tonks got up to help Molly clear the table, she predictably tripped over the rug and landed on her butt. Snape said, "It's a pity that your werewolf is not here to catch you, Nymphadora." The malice in his eyes and the way he drawled her name really irked Tonks, but she fought to keep her composure. The others, especially Sirius, glared at him.
"I can manage just fine on my own, but thank you for your concern, Sev-er-us." She said, with sarcasm to match his. She then smiled brightly and continued trying to help Molly.
Just as everyone was relaxing again, Snape made another untoward comment. "Although I know Elphias Doge is around somewhere. Perhaps he can help you, considering your penchant for older men." He had clearly remained only to annoy Tonks about her relationship with Remus. She was tempted to let Sirius hex him, as he looked about to do, but she decided that it wasn't worth the animosity, so she restrained him.
Everyone else at the table seemed to be waiting to react if the situation got out of hand. However, there was no need for apprehension because Snape stood up several moments later. Before he left in a swish of long black robes, emphasizing his similarity to an overgrown bat, he delivered a parting shot. "Although perhaps Walburga's lovely portrait has a point. Seeing as your both freakish shapeshifters, maybe you belong together." They all stared after him; they couldn't believe he had said something so blatantly cruel, as opposed to his usual subtle insults.
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The next day, Tonks was not in the best mood. Her situation was only compounded by mountains of paperwork. However, she was moving through her job just fine, until about two in the afternoon when none other than Barry Pruce decided to bother her.
"Why, hello, Tonks." She just glared at him, hoping the force of her stare would repel him. "I know you must be tiring of our little game. Besides, rumor tells me that you haven't dated anyone in quite some time. But you will be glad to know that I am prepared to end your dateless misery by taking you out tonight." He was preening as if he had offered her immortality or world peace.
"You shouldn't trust all the gossip you hear, Pruce. I have a boyfriend, so bugger off! I have a lot of work to do." She turned her head to her reports and ignored him.
"It's alright, Nymphadora. You don't have to lie. I won't think less of you for being single. I can fix all your romantic problems." As usual he didn't respect a thing Tonks said, but she forced herself to continue to ignore him. However, he didn't take the hint. "I'll take your silence as acquiescence, honey. I'll meet you in the Atrium after work."
She snapped her head up. "Don't call me honey, and certainly don't call me Nymphadora. As I told you, I have a boyfriend. Even if I didn't, I wouldn't condescend to go out with a talentless, self-important, pompous arse like you." He didn't even have the grace to look a little ashamed.
"How come I've never met this so-called boyfriend of yours?" Pruce grinned slyly, as if he had called her bluff.
Tonks knew that they were getting into dangerous territory. The Ministry was already asking questions of her and Kingsley, and she knew that they couldn't find out whom she was dating. "He doesn't work at the Ministry," she replied.
"Oh, and what does he do?" Tonks had an unconscious fear that he already knew, but she forced the thought to the back of her mind.
"That's none of your business." She answered as evenly as possible. "Unfortunately, I really have to focus. I have four reports due by five." She fell back to her old standard of putting a silencing charm on her office. Pruce frowned at her, but he eventually left.
That evening Tonks brought take out to Grimmauld Place and spent time with Sirius. He asked her, "So, cuz, how was your day?"
"You don't even want to know," she grumbled.
He looked mildly sympathetic. "Humor me."
"First of all, I was still a little peeved at Snape's comments from last night. Then, I was given enough paperwork for a week. Finally, dear old Pruce decided to pay me a visit and save me from my 'dateless misery.'" She grimaced and recounted their conversation.
"I think you should hex him."
"I have, very minorly. It doesn't do any good. Plus, the Ministry's already suspicious of Kingsley and me. I can't draw more attention. Umbridge would just love an excuse to fire an 'unnatural shapeshifter' like me." Tonks shrugged. "All past experience has proven me wrong, but I keep thinking that he will eventually give up."
"Maybe you should slip him a love potion and have him go after someone else."
"That would only work for about a month."
Sirius tried again. "Maybe you could morph yourself really ugly. It seems like he's a superficial bloke."
Tonks shook her head. "I tried that, too. He thought it was part of my playing hard to get." She sighed. "I'm pretty much resigned to his harassment. It's only ten minutes or so once or twice a week." Sirius looked like he wanted to interject, but he apparently had no more ideas.
"Well, if we make it through this war, whatever Ministry replaces Fudge's is bound to fire him."
"That's very comforting, Sirius," Tonks said with more amusement than sarcasm. "Care for a game of chess?" He nodded assent, and they whiled away the evening cheerfully.
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The next several days passed uneventfully. The weather was very cold, but there was not much snow. Tonks spent most of her time at Grimmauld Place, keeping Sirius company. She was worried about Remus, but he was supposed to come back soon.
When Remus walked into the kitchen one evening, Tonks ran to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, and he returned her embrace. She pulled back to look at him. He was haggard and his skin had a grayish tinge. "Remus, are you okay?"
"I will be," he replied simply.
"You look like you haven't slept or eaten for days."
"I'm fine, Nymphadora." She didn't believe him, but she let the matter drop. She went about making tea and warming up some of Molly's leftovers. She brought them over to him without even dropping anything. "Do you need anything else?"
"No, thank you." Tonks sat down next to him as he ate hungrily. "How have you been?"
She shrugged. "I've been okay. I was worried about you, but at least work kept me busy." As Remus was finishing his meal, he looked at Tonks intensely. Then he kissed her passionately. When they broke apart, she was flushed. "Wow! What was that for?"
"I missed you," The complex swirl of emotions playing across his face, desperation, fondness, longing, and some feeling that she could not quite place, belied the brevity of his words.
"I missed you, too." She hugged him, and then she took his hand and led him up to the library. They sat down on the sofa, and Tonks massaged Remus' back, where his muscles were still tense. They didn't speak, but their physical closeness gave each other needed comfort and relaxation. They fell asleep after some time simply lying there.
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When Tonks went to her flat the next day after work, she had a guest at her flat. Andromeda Tonks was tired of her daughter's infrequent owls, so she decided to check up on her. "Hello, Nymphadora."
Tonks cringed slightly at the tone with which her mother said her name. "Wotcher, Mum. What are you doing here?" She tried to ask as gently as possible.
"Well, you hardly ever owl. We only saw you once during the holidays. I just wanted to make sure that you weren't dead," she said with not a little bitterness.
"I'm sorry, Mum. I've been really busy with the Ministry and…my quidditch association." It was the term that they had decided on to refer to the Order. "I think I'm free this Wednesday, though; I could come for dinner."
"Yes, that would be good," Andromeda said this with great dignity, as if she were condescending to have her daughter come and visit. "Your father and I have missed you, and you know how we feel about your quidditch association." They had heavily discouraged Tonks from joining the Order because they thought it was too dangerous. "There is one other thing." Tonks knew that her mother had to have an ulterior motive for coming.
"What's that?" she asked with slight trepidation.
"I ran into Molly in Diagon Alley the other day." Damn, Tonks thought; she knew where the conversation was headed. "I only spoke with her for a few minutes, but she mentioned an interesting tidbit of information." She paused for effect and Tonks braced herself for her mother's cold displeasure. "She told me that you have a boyfriend…of almost two months. Were you ever going to tell us about him? I think this is one of the longest relationships you've had."
Tonks wanted to joke to lighten the mood, but she figured it would probably only make the situation worse. "Of course, I was. It's just that our relationship is still relatively new. We're just getting comfortable as a couple."
"Ah, I see." Andromeda clearly did not believe her. "Is it anyone I would know? Someone from the Ministry?" she asked hopefully. Despite what Andromeda went through with her family after marrying Ted, she still valued respectability in a significant other for her daughter.
Tonks shook her head. "No." She didn't say which question she was answering. Andromeda was looking at her to elaborate, and Tonks thought she should tell her mother something. "He's in my quidditch association, and he complements me very well."
Andromeda ventured, "Did you get back together with Charlie Weasley? Molly did seem very happy when she told me that you were seeing someone." Tonks and Charlie had dated for a year and half, their seventh year at Hogwarts and part of Tonks' first year of Auror training.
Tonks just laughed. "For one thing, Charlie is still in Romania. For another thing, we don't complement each other at all. If you don't remember, we fought all the time after we left Hogwarts. We're both too loud and opinionated."
Andromeda did not deign to shrug. "Well, if you won't tell me, I have to guess." An awkward pause fell around them. "Well, I must be getting home," she said briskly, but then her expression softened slightly. "We have missed you, Nymphadora. I know that you think I'm overbearing, but I just want you to be safe and happy."
Tonks sighed. "I know, Mum. And I am happy. I don't know about safe, but I'm happier than I've been in quite a while." They embraced, only a little stiffly, and then Andromeda was gone with the crack of apparition.
A/N: I don't think this is my best chapter, but I found the flow a little difficult and I'm trying to update quickly, so I hope it's alright. I just think that Snape would be really snarky about Tonks and Remus' relationship, so I had to include it. I also imagine that Andromeda Tonks was still very reserved because of her patrician upbringing. It seems that she and her daughter have a somewhat strained relationship, but they still love each other a lot. I took some artistic license with Tonks and Charlie having dated because superficially it doesn't seem like that bad of a match.