Dumbledore

Remus struggled to hold in a snicker when he felt Tonks give a little jump next to him as her head hit his shoulder. Snape had just been giving his latest report at the Order meeting and given that he was the last speaker and the meeting was nearing a close, the attention span of the room had gone down drastically in the past few minutes. Remus was not surprised to find Tonks struggling to keep her eyes open as soon as Snape started talking.

Tonks blinked a few times and tried to act casual as she looked around the room. McGonagall and Molly were staring daggers at her, Dumbledore was focused on Snape but had a knowing look of amusement on his features, Moody was too caught up on Snape's words to notice anything, and James and Sirius were shaking from silent laughter. Remus smiled when Tonks gave them a dirty glare and then tried to act interested in what Severus was saying, but failed miserably.

Snape came to a stopping point and Dumbledore cut in calmly, "Thank you Severus that was quite informative." Snape just nodded and sat down in his chair. "Well that concludes the meeting, it's late and we all need sleep." Dumbledore added with a smile as he got up from his chair. "Remus, could you please stay a few minutes and help me clean up these papers?" Dumbledore said gesturing to the mess of documents, maps, and plans strewn across the long wooden table.

"Sure, not a problem Professor," Remus said.

Tonks came up to him and said quietly, "Do you want me to wait?" as she stifled a yawn.

"No it's fine, you're tired, you should go home," Remus answered her in a low voice.

"You sure?" she asked. Remus nodded. "Okay, love you," she said and kissed him softly on the lips.

"Love you too," he said and watched as she left the dark kitchen of Grimmauld Place with the few remaining Order members. Remus moved toward the table and started to get some of the papers in order when Dumbledore broke the silence.

"You and Nymphadora really have something special, Remus." Remus looked up into his intense blue eyes that felt like they were reading into his soul.

Remus nodded and said, "She's an amazing woman."

"What you two have, your love, could be the thing that saves you and gets you through this war. I hope you know that and you cherish it."

Remus nodded again. "I will, sir." He gathered together some more papers and gave them to Dumbledore to put in a folder.

"I also want to you to stop all of this rubbish that you're not good enough for her, and that you'll hurt her."

Remus looked up, confused. How had he found what Remus agonizes over day and night? Well, he shouldn't be that surprised. Dumbledore had an uncanny knack for knowing exactly what people were up to.

"You are a very kind person, with a good heart and I know you care the world for Nymphadora and would never even think of hurting her. We have advanced magic, Remus. Magic that would never let you hurt her, no matter what state you're in. I have a lot of trust in you," Dumbledore continued as he took a heavy breath, making him suddenly look very old and tired. "Therefore, it is my wish that you take my place as leader of the Order of the Phoenix when I am gone."

Remus looked at Dumbledore with disbelief in his eyes. "Are you serious?" Dumbledore just nodded and smiled at him.

"I have complete faith in you. And I know that with the help of Nymphadora and your friends you will be an amazing leader," Dumbledore said.

"Wow, sir, that's incredible…thank you, so much. It'll be an honor," Remus said, stunned.

"My pleasure, Remus. Now, it is all written out formally and in detail in my will, but I would care not to think about that for a while now, even though the time will come inevitably. For now, I would really like a cup of hot chocolate and a good night's sleep," Dumbledore said as he gathered up the last of the papers in his arms.

Remus stood in the kitchen and watched as Dumbledore walked toward the staircase that lead upstairs.

"Ah, one more thing before I forget. I do wish you and Nymphadora the best of luck in your…future plans. I'm confident that she will give you the answer you want. As for now; go. Live your life to its fullest, for you never know when it will be over, and you can't do it over. You have an amazing thing Remus. Don't let it go."

Maybe he was right. The mortality rate was pretty high for Aurors, and Order members weren't known for their long life spans. Maybe Remus just needed to lighten up a bit, just accept his circumstances and learn to live with it. He suddenly felt very stupid. How much life had he wasted, missed out on, because of his paranoia?

Dumbledore turned and started to go up the stairs. He was almost out of sight when he turned around and spoke to Remus again. "Oh, and mark me down for a chicken dinner for the reception. I never really cared for fish."

Disclaimer

Anything that is recognizable from any of the Harry Potter books is property of J.K. Rowling and I make no profit from it.

A/N: keep the reviews comin'! I want to know what you guys think of this. Hope you enjoyed!

-sailor's delight