Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed/Alerted/Favorited this story, you have made me very happy! Also a Massive thank you to ThisLoveHasNoCeiling for reading though this and just generally being a massive help and support. All you Lupin/Tonks fans go and check out her stories immediately if you havent already! xxx

Anyways, I shall keep you waiting no longer! Enjoy :)

Dora

'Beth! Where are you?' Tonks muttered to herself, her concern for her friend now growing by the minute.

Tonks had been to Beth's house, back to her own flat, work, even Beth's parents' house and finally The Three Broomsticks. She was nowhere to be found. Deciding to take a rest, she sat down on a wall and looked around the village of Hogsmeade. The air grew colder as she skimmed the street with her eyes, not quite sure what she was searching for. However Tonks took no notice of the chill, her mind was far too occupied with anxiety for her friend and, of course, Remus Lupin.

She knew she shouldn't have run off like that. But she was really, really starting to worry about Beth. Also Lupin had kissed her! He had kissed her! Her! She didn't think she'd be able to handle acting even remotely normal for a while. The cold began to raise goosebumps on her skin as she searched.

After a few minutes she stood up abruptly. She was being silly. Beth was fine. She knew how to look after herself and if she wanted to be on her own for a while, then there was nothing wrong with that. Just to be sure though, Tonks made a mental note to write her an owl. With this decided she thought it time to go home. Walking through the now, dimly lit village she was distracted by a window display in a jewellery shop. She stopped and stared at the impressive collection of dazzling necklaces and bracelets, teeming with jewels. However, it was none of those things that had caught her attention. In the corner of the display shelf, looking as if it had been left there by accident, was a fragile looking silver chain, hanging from it, a single honey coloured jewel in the shape of a water droplet. The gem twinkled at her. It looked odd in the shadows, almost as if it glowed of its own accord. Tonks dragged herself away from the curious necklace, smiling at her own childlike wonder over a simple piece of jewellery.

Yawning widely, Tonks hauled herself up the stairs towards her flat door. She was freezing cold; her thin cloak was no match for Hogsmeade in September. She was just beginning to think about the warm bath, waiting for her inside when she reached her flat door. It was then that she spotted the person sitting outside it. He stood up.

'Remus?'

His eyes were full of a burning restlessness. The look, in Tonks' opinion, made him extremely sexy.

'Hi' He replied, a little breathlessly for somebody who had just been sitting down. He paused, then blurted out '-Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you like that and if- if' He was beginning to fumble over his words. Why did she have to be so distractingly beautiful? '…it made you feel uncomfortable in any way then I…' But it was his turn to be interrupted.

'Why would you think it made me uncomfortable?' She demanded. Lupin looked taken aback, and if she wasn't mistaken, relieved.

'Well you left…' He said pathetically. 'I just thought that…'

He felt himself being pushed backwards. The door clicked open and they stumbled through it. He could see none of this however, though the haze of pink hair that seemed to suddenly surround him. Tonks was kissing him furiously, her hands slowly clutched a fistful of his shirt as he pushed her backwards onto the couch. Lupin ran his hands through her hair, lost in the moment. However, in between breathless kisses, the voice at the back of his mind began to speak to him. She's too young. Tonks pulled him towards her, his hands moved up her waist, You're too poor. She began to unbutton his shirt. You're a bloody werewolf! He found himself not caring as he moved even closer to her. Mad-Eye is going to kill you…

Lupin stopped abruptly.

'What's wrong?' She asked him, breathlessly. Her hair was now a fiery red.

'It's too soon.' He answered . There was a long pause.

He sat upright on the sofa and she followed suit, her chest still rising and falling heavily. 'Okay…' She answered slowly. '…Would you like a drink?'

'No' He said abruptly. Tonks looked at him in surprise. He stood up. 'Sorry' He said, he looked like he meant it. The buttons on his shirt were still half undone so Tonks was having trouble focussing on his face. When she did however, she saw something complicated happening in his kind, hazel eyes. 'I don't mean to be rude. I have to go, I have to…' He made his way towards the door then turned to look at her. 'I'm not very good for you, Nymphadora. And you're very …addictive. It's too soon' He repeated

'Don't call me…' She began but Lupin interrupted her with a gentle laugh. Her stomach did a happy summersault.

'I'm sorry' He said '…Dora' He added cheekily.

Tonks looked into his eyes. Was he… flirting with her? 'Do you have to be so bloody Noble?' She asked him, frowning.

There was only one word Lupin could think of at that moment. Werewolf. He didn't say anything. He couldn't decide what to do. He wanted her, more than anything, and yet he knew he should stay away from her. His mouth acted before his brain had a chance to decide.

'Do you want to go on a date with me?' He blurted out, cringing at how these words sounded. He could practically hear Sirius laughing at his lack of tact. Tonks broke into a wide smile. It was the most beautiful thing he'd seen all day.

Tonks sat shakily down in front her fire, her heart pounding furiously. She couldn't quite take in what had just happened. After a couple of minutes of disbelieving staring, she decided that a cup of tea was always best for those in shock. It was when she stepped into her kitchen that she spotted the letter on the side. She recognised Beth's handwriting at once, Tonks seized it and began to read.

Tonks,

You're an amazing friend and I'm sorry. The Ministry has been watching me for too long. Target all of the bastards while I'm gone.

You're the best Auror around so they'll tell you everything. In all honesty, I'm pregnant and worried they'll arrest me. Danger is something you understand so forgive me.

Get together with Remus while I'm gone. Away from you is going to be lonely and that thought will cheer me up. And I'm not a spy, honestly. Hide this letter when you've read it.

I'm only lying low for a little while. Sorry to tell you like this.

Beth xxx

Tonks stared at the message. Her excitement over Remus was ebbing away slowly as it was replaced with a very different feeling. She had to read it a few times through before it made sense. From the looks of it, Beth was being spied on by the Ministry (more than usual) and still had no idea why. She had fallen pregnant and had now run from the Ministry for a while, just in case they tried to arrest her. Tonks frowned. It wasn't like Beth at all to run away from anything. She felt a pang of fear go out to her Friend. Beth must have thought she was in serious trouble to actually run away, Tonks prayed with every fibre of her being for Beth and her baby's safety.

There was one more thing that was bothering her. The letter was written very strangely. It didn't sound like Beth at all, but it was definitely her writing. She must have been in a hurry. Tonks this, she still tapped the message with her wand to see if she could reveal any magically hidden messages. Nothing happened. She sighed, read the letter again and then put it down. Tonks still couldn't shake the feeling that Beth had intended another message with her words. A lump rose in her throat, tears began to gather in her eyes and before she knew it, they were tumbling down her face.

Her friend was far away, pregnant, terrified, possibly in huge amounts danger and she had left Tonks alone at an ever growingly corrupt ministry. Tonks was very scared, things were changing. A war was coming and not even the promise of a date with Remus Lupin could lessen that feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach.

Well ok, maybe a little bit.

It's not going to be awkward. It's not going to be that awkward. It won't be too bad. Just act like normal. It's not going to be that awkward.

It was going to be awkward.

Tonks was furiously trying to convince herself to go to Grimmauld place. She needed to go there that morning. Dumbledore and Kinglsey both needed to talk to her and she also wanted to tell Mad-eye about Beth.

"You're an amazing friend and I'm sorry"

Tonks had memorised her friend's letter word for word. But Tonk's biggest concern at that moment was what to do if Lupin was there. She was fairly sure they would have to keep last night a secret. She grinned despite herself. It was going to be awkward.

She drained the water from her hair with a towel, shook it out and to her surprise it had turned healthy, bouncy and a light shade of maple brown. Tonks touched it gently with her fingers; Remus Lupin was beginning to have an obvious effect on her. She squeezed her eyes shut and it turned pink once more.

"The Ministry have been watching me for too long"

Tonks climbed the steps to the front door of number twelve Grimauld place, her mind still on Beth's letter. For an old, abandoned house, it always seemed to be buzzing with activity she thought as she stepped through the door to the smell and sounds of bacon sizzling in a pan.

'May God bless you Molly Weasley' Lupin's voice drifted into the hallway from the kitchen. Tonks froze as she heard Molly laugh.

'Have another slice, go on, you look practically skin and bone' She heard Sirius laugh at this.

'I don't know Molly, he's been livelier than I've seen him in a long time recently. I don't know what you're feeding the man…'

There were more laughs at this, but a much closer voice made Tonks jump out of her skin.

'Do you mind getting a bloody move on?' Came a gruff voice from behind her 'There's a queue.'

Mad-eye came into the house from behind her and saw the expression on her face.

'What's wrong?' He said at once.

Tonks quickly tore her mind away from Lupin. 'Mad-eye…' She was the only one who was allowed to call him that to his face 'It's Beth. She's gone.' She told him the whole story, there and then in hushed tones, as not to wake Mrs Black. She told him about Beth's letter and about the bit that told her to keep an eye on Fudge's lot.

"Target all the bastards while I'm gone"

Mad-eye looked apprehensive. 'She shouldn't have run off' He growled 'Whatever they thought she was up to, they'll be sure of it now.'

Tonks knew he was right. What had Beth got herself into?

'We need to look for her, right?'

'No.' He barked at her 'Don't bring any attention to the girl. Hopefully the ministry will be too busy lying about Dumbledore to chase a junior Auror. Now go get some breakfast.' He patted her roughly on the back. 'You look bloody terrible'

Tonks stared resolutely at her toast as she ate. The colour that she knew was rising in her cheeks would only get worse if she looked at him.

Kingsley had now joined them and was speaking in between mouthfuls of porridge 'You see, if Voldemort gets the giants under his thumb, it'll be a lot harder to prevent-'

'Shhh' Molly hushed him as Harry and Ron walked in.

'Hello Proffe- Lupin' He corrected himself

'Good Morning, Harry' Lupin replied good naturedly, smiling at him above his cup of tea.

'Hi Tonks'

'Wotcher, Harry' Tonks looked up and winked at him, catching Lupin's eye in the process. Her stomach lurched. Lupin quickly busied himself by pulling a copy of the Daily Profit out of Harry's grasp.

'What's the point in filling your head with rubbish the day before you go to school?' He too winked at Harry. Tonks thought that Harry probably didn't realize how much Lupin cared for him; he practically had two godfathers. Kingsley interrupted her thoughts.

'Tonks, you know that day off you had today?' He asked 'Well…' but she cut him off.

'What time to you need me there?' She asked abruptly, Lupin laughed.

'How fast can you eat toast?' Kingsley replied with a smile.

Tonks stood up and shoved the rest of the toast into her mouth, thinking of the mess that Beth's disappearance would make in the Auror department. It was going to be a long day.

Mad-eye's normal eye watched Lupin as his gaze followed Tonks out of the room.

'You look tired.' He said gruffly, it sounded more like an accusation than an observation.

Lupin swallowed his mouthful. 'I am' he replied, chuckling gently. Mad-Eye didn't return the laugh.

'Late night?' He asked, taking his hipflask out of his coat pocket and flipping open the lid.

'Yes' Lupin replied politely

Mad-eye grunted and took a swig from his flask, all the while his eyes were boring into Remus. There was a very long, very awkward silence where Mad-eye just glared at him. Then, without saying another word, he got up and left. Sirius shot Lupin a look that clearly said What was all that about? Lupin shrugged back, he had no idea.

Tonks finally threw herself down into her desk chair. She had been on her feet nearly all day. A quick glance at her watch told her it was ten past ten at night. She buried her tired face in her hands. It was two days until her date with Remus, she felt her cheeks blush with pleasure at the thought. She was about to leave when Zain entered the office. He looked as he always did; not a silvery blond hair out of place, his clothes looking exactly as they had that morning and his pinched nose turned up at everything around him. Anyone would have thought he'd been doing nothing all day and Tonks wouldn't be surprised if he had. He sat down at his desk as Tonks stood up.

'Leaving so soon?' He asked in a drawl, rival only to that of Draco Malfoy. Tonks didn't answer.

'She shouldn't have run away, you know. She'll only be in more trouble when they catch her.'

Tonks couldn't help herself as anger at the arrogant man welled up inside her. She knew that Zain wanted a reaction. She decided to give him one. 'Shut up, Zain. She's innocent. She's not working against the bloody Ministry'

Zain smirked. 'No, that's us, isn't it?'

'Shut up!' She looked around even though they were alone before adding in a hiss 'I'm not sure what side you're actually on' He laughed in her face.

'Sides?' He said scathingly 'Picking sides is a sign of weakness. I'm looking out for me, Nymphadora. Nothing else'

'But you're in the Ord-' She began before stopping mid-sentence, she couldn't talk about that in the Ministry.

'Safest place to be.' He replied simply 'But seriously. You must know that some secret cake and pumpkin juice round the kitchen table isn't going to save the world.'

'You're a bastard' She spat at him 'Dumbledore…'

'Dumbledore can throw his toys out of the pram as much as he likes' Zain replied, sounding bored 'But he needs me.'

'Well I don't trust you one bit' She shot back

'I'd have never of guessed' He said without even looking at her. He picked up his quill. 'You're in my light' He added. She ignored him.

'What was that the other day then? You didn't seem so smooth when you were begging me to tell you about-'

'Please, Nymphadora.' He chuckled 'I know what his secret weapon is. We don't just meet up to compare tattoos you know' Tonk's eyes automatically shot to Zain's left forearm

'Then why did you…'

'I was testing you.'

'Testing me for what?' She asked, getting more and more frustrated with him. He didn't answer her question, instead he dropped his quill onto the desk and looked up at her.

'Fresh out of Hogwarts, the best trainee the department's seen in years, impeccable duelling skills with a temper to match. You know, if it wasn't for the little blip in your bloodline, you would have made an excellent Death Eater, Nymphadora'

She had been insulted enough. Picking up her bag, she looked at Zain in disgust. 'Stop calling me that' she made her way to the door. 'No' She heard him reply as she left the room.

She didn't look back. Fuming, she made her way down to the Atrium and out into the freezing London night air. Deciding that she couldn't wait two days to see Lupin again she made a split decision and turned on the spot. Less than a second later she was standing outside his house and nearly all of her anger seemed to have evaporated on the journey.

Her heart rate calmed as she walked slowly up the garden path to his front door. Just the thought of seeing him again was making her happy, especially after the day she'd had. The night was quiet and the brilliant stars and full moon shone down at her from the jet black sky as she walked. Lupin's house was quite small, but very pretty. It stood alone down a county lane, just outside of a small village. Surrounding the outside of the house and lining the country lane was a large forest, too overgrown for footpaths that stretched out eventually to fields and farmland. Local rumour was that the forest was haunted. She was moments away from his front door when she heard it.

There was a rustle in the trees, a snap of a twig and then a muffled thumping was getting gradually louder and faster and louder and faster. She heard a branch splinter. Tonks whipped around, her heart beating furiously in her throat. She strained to see in the moonlight. Something was moving amongst the trees…

The moonlight.

It hit her like a ton of bricks. It was full moon. A heart stopping growl told her she had remembered too late. Tonks felt her blood turn icy cold. There was a single second's silence.

A huge hairy, terrifying beast erupted from the forest behind her. Snarling and spitting and growling, it headed straight for her. Tonks screamed and stumbled backwards, tripping up over her feet. She landed painfully on her back on the ground.

She saw a pair of haunting, yellow and unfamiliar eyes. The wolf lifted itself onto its hind legs and the backdrop of the full moon illuminated its huge, terrifying figure. She could see each hair of its tangled, mangy fur. Tonks was too frozen with fear to think to do anything but scramble to her feet as she broke out into a cold sweat.

It happened in less than a second.

Three, razor sharp claws slashed excruciatingly down her right forearm. She screamed in agony then, finally finding her feet, did the only thing that made sense in her terrified mind. Instinct took over logic and she ran as fast as she possibly could.

Tonks sprinted faster than she had every done in her life, straight into the dark shadows of the forest. Branches and brambles snapped and cracked under her feet. Some whipped her across her face and body. She could barely see anything as she darted between trees, gasping desperately for air.

As she tore through the trees she felt her arm becoming fast drenched with blood, she was losing a lot of it. She could hear nothing in the woods other than the bounding of paws behind her, getting ever closer, and the furious beating of her own terrified heart. Her arm was burning with pain; she clutched it to her chest, gasping when her foot smashed against a rock. Tonks was sent flying forward.

Every single second she had spent training as an Auror gave her quick thinking to spin around as she fell. Tonks prayed with every bone in her body that it would work. She caught a fleeting image of huge teeth and blood, heard a petrifying howl and felt the pain from her arm ripple through her body before it was all gone.

Tonks smashed into the front door of her flat and slid, limply to the floor. She knew she was being stupid, irresponsible, and irrational. But she couldn't go to Mungo's, she couldn't go to Sirius. Nobody could know what she'd done. He could never know. Gasping, wheezing, trembling and crying she staggered to her feet. Blood began to drench her clothes, it flowed freely onto the floor and door. With an uncontrollably shaking hand she fumbled and rattled the door handle which was slippery with blood. Finally the door opened and she lurched inside, clutching her wounded arm to herself, she was immediately sick on the floor.

The pain from her wound seared through her arm. She cried out in agony. She needed something to stop the bleeding. Her face had gone completely white and she began to feel very, very dizzy. She grabbed a shirt from her laundry as her legs gave way. She collapsed onto the floor, struggling to stay conscious.

I can't black out. I have to stop the bleeding. Stay awake, Tonks. You FUCKING IDIOT.

She lay on the floor and stared across the room. Black spots were appearing in her vision. She felt as if she was going to be sick again. Gathering all the strength she possessed she dragged herself across the floor into the kitchen. Pressing the shirt down hard and painfully onto her wound, she stopped for breath, taking deep gulps of air and trying to keep enough oxygen in her to stay conscious. She was sliding around in her own blood now, it was smeared across the floor, her clothes and her face.

Crying out in pain again, she lifted her good arm and felt desperately around on the kitchen side until her hand clasped around her first aid kit. She gasped for air again. Tonks pulled it clumsily down onto the floor, spilling out its contents. She fumbled desperately for the bottle she needed. She began to cry when she realised she would need both hands to open it. She grimaced in pain as she tried to get off the lid. A fresh wave of blood oozed out of the gash in her arm. It was far too slippery to open and she was getting weaker and weaker. She could smell the sickeningly sweet, metallic smell of blood. Eventually she got the lid off the bottle and with a shaking hand she closed her eyes and emptied the whole thing onto her arm.

'AAARRRGGGHHH' She yelled out loud. She could hear the hiss as the potion began to burn her arm. Her vision has started to become blurry. She dared a look. The wound hadn't healed, she hadn't expected it to, but it was better. She turned even more pale and she grabbed the shirt off the floor. She curled up on the ground, using her entire body to push the fabric against the wound. She winced with every shaky breath. She could taste blood. Then, finally her sore, red eyes flickered shut and everything became black.

There you go! Sorry for the bit of a cliff hanger (revenge). Please, please let me know what you thought in a review! I love hearing your opinions and I want to know if anyone spotted it ;) Untill next time, take care xxx