Tonks has been having a great time talking to all of the Order members. She happened to talk to Remus Lupin more often then the rest of them. They simply sat at that table and talked the night away. It was so easy to talk to him, just as if they were long lost friends reunited. It wasn't just that night, she talked to him constantly, every chance she got. Maybe it just seemed like she was talking to him more, but really she was talking to everybody a lot. Maybe she just wanted to focus on the times she talked to Lupin in particular. 'This is crazy,' she thought, 'I have known the man for barely a week, and he is the only one I want to talk to, the only one I want to think about. But, no, how can this be? He surely doesn't feel the same way. Perhaps I am over thinking things, perhaps I merely see him as a good friend, something like a brother. But that doesn't explain the feeling I get in the pit of my stomach whenever I see him.'
Her thoughts went back and forth, unable to understand how she really felt. One thing was clear: He certainly thought of her as nothing more than a friendly acquaintance. After every meeting, she would walk out of the room, and catch Lupin's eye. She would give him a small smile, which he would never return. It's not that he was ignoring her, no, he was very kind. He only caught her eye for a split second, and by the time she had smiled, he had turned away again.
It wasn't long now until the Order would go to Harry Potter's house on Privet Drive and bring him here. Today, however, was not that day. It was simply another meeting day. Tonks walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table as usual. They talked about the same things: Voldemort, what he was trying to get, how to stop him, and how to protect Harry. The meeting ended and Molly quickly went to whip up some dinner for everybody. Tonks glanced across the table and saw Lupin. She got up, trying not to draw attention to herself, and walked over to where he was sitting. It didn't seem too suspicious that she was doing this. Sirius and Mad-Eye were sitting alongside Lupin, and they were deep in discussion. It would simply look as if she was trying to enter the conversation. She listened intently, catching a few words here and there. She wasn't at all interested in what they were discussing. She was waiting for them to stop talking, so she could talk to Lupin herself.
"Sirius!" called Molly, "Could you come here and give me a hand?"
Sirius looked up from Mad-Eye, who was currently talking, and called back, "Of course!"
He scurried over to her, and Molly whispered something in his ear. Sirius smiled, and Tonks could have sworn he gave her a quick sideways glance and winked. What he was smiling about, or what Molly said, made her a bit suspicious at first, but Mad-Eye had just got up from the table. He headed for the door, and entered the hall. Sirius followed him and Molly continued to prepare dinner. Sitting not too far away from Tonks was Hermione, Ron, and Ginny, laughing. She then saw Fred and George whispering, away from the table, in a corner. She smiled to herself. They were always getting into trouble. She could only imagine what they were up to now.
"What are you smiling at?" asked Lupin, curiously.
"Oh, nothing. Just thinking about what Fred and George are planning." she replied with a laugh.
"Yes, probably something to do with that joke shop I heard about. They do need to work on talking about certain things quietly and alone." said Lupin, looking at Fred and George. He smiled in their direction, and Fred looked up, startled. He hit George, who saw Lupin, and they quickly disapparated. Luckily Molly was too busy preparing dinner and didn't notice. She doesn't appreciate the amount of unnecessary magic they do, now that they are of age.
"So, how exactly are we going to get Harry here again?" questioned Tonks when Lupin turned back to her. She still didn't understand the plan.
"Well, tomorrow we will be heading off to Number 4 Privet Drive," he started, "Of course, we will have made his Aunt, Uncle, and cousin go somewhere else. Then we simply take him here. Nothing too hard."
"Oh!" exclaimed Tonks, "Nobody mentioned how we were getting the muggles out of the way. I was a bit confused about that."
"Nobody mentioned it to you? I would think somebody would, seeing as you are the one who is going to get them away."
"Why didn't YOU tell me?" she asked, in a quiet yell.
"Like I said, I thought someone else was bound to tell you. The whole thing was mostly Mad-Eye's idea." shrugged Lupin.
"So, what am I doing?" said Tonks impatiently. She wasn't only mad that Lupin hadn't told her, but the fact that Mad-Eye knew, and planned it all, yet didn't tell her, made her a bit agitated.
"You will just have to send a letter to them saying they entered a Lawn competition. I forget the exact name of it, you are going to have to ask Mad-Eye. Just a simple letter by muggle post." said Lupin calmly, "He was probably going to tell you about it tomorrow morning, or later tonight." he added, quickly.
"Well, that seems simple enough." said Tonks, just as Molly called out from the kitchen that dinner was ready. Everybody who was currently in the house, came to the table. Fred and George appeared in the kitchen, and this time Molly noticed.
"How many times do I have to tell you!" she said. Although she wasn't exactly yelling, there a definite tone of anger in her voice , "You are of age, yes, but that doesn't mean you have to use magic for every little thing! You can simply walk down the stairs, what's so hard about that?" she went on for about five minutes and Fred and George mumbled an apology and sat down to eat. Tonks knew that wouldn't be the last time Molly would yell at them for apparating and disapparating in the house.
As everybody was eating, random conversations could be heard around the table. Soon, one by one, everyone got up and walked out of the kitchen to go to bed. Eventually, the only one's left at the table were Lupin, Tonks, and Sirius.
"Well, I should be getting to bed," yawned Tonks, "Good night."
"Good night," they replied, as she headed upstairs.
She went into her room, and laid down on her bed. She was instantly lost in thoughts. She was certain of one thing, however. She was definitely developing strong feelings for Lupin. She was kept up for hours thinking about him, her developing feelings, and whether of not he would ever feel the same way.
The next morning, Tonks was about to go downstairs to breakfast, when she saw a piece of paper, a pen, an envelope. and a stamp sitting on her desk. Today was the day that they were to get Harry, and Tonks had to send a letter to the muggles in Harry's house. A slip of paper was put on top of the desk as well and she saw that is was Mad-Eye's instructions about what to do. Lupin was right; he was just waiting until the morning. She regretted making such a big deal about it. The instructions said that she was going to write a letter saying that the Dursley's were to go to the prize-giving of the All-England Best-Kept Suburban Lawn Competition. After she finished the letter, she put it in the envelope, took the stamp sitting on the desk, placed it on the envelope, and headed downstairs. She mailed it using muggle post, and returned to the kitchen to see if she could help Molly with breakfast.
"No thank you my dear, it is almost ready," replied Molly. She had gathered up two trays and headed out of the kitchen to a table full of hungry people. Tonks grabbed the last tray, determined to help. She was just about out of the kitchen when she tripped, sending the tray flying through the door. She quickly got up, and saw a few people rushing over to the fallen tray. She knew she must be blushing, for she was most definitely embarrassed. One of the few people who came to help happened to be Lupin. She could feel that her cheeks were fiery red now.
"I'm sorry! Really, I was just trying to help. I'm so sorry!" Tonks repeated over and over again. She felt awful. That tray was filled with eggs and pumpkin juice, which were now splattered the floor.
"It's quite alright," mumbled Molly as she pulled out her wand and muttered, "Scourgify," The juice disappeared, as well as the eggs. Tonks couldn't decide whether she was furious, or very upset, perhaps both.
Soon the floor was spotless, and the broken glass was thrown away. Molly had filled more glasses with pumpkin juice, and made some more eggs. Tonks ate in silence, and once everyone was done, Fred, George, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were ushered upstairs. Another meeting occurred, in which they went over the plan to get Harry, one last time. They were to get him later tonight, so there was currently nothing else to do. Tonks simply went back upstairs to sleep, as she has had a restless night.
In what seemed like hours, Tonks was awoken by a loud crash downstairs. She sprung up, ran down the stairs, and opened the doors to the kitchen. She saw a few frying pans and some utensils on the floor and Molly standing there, her face red with fury. Standing a few feet away were Fred and George, and Tonks knew they must have disapparated for dinner. Not wanting to here her start to yell, Tonks left the kitchen and went upstairs to change into her robes. There was barely a difference from being upstairs versus being downstairs. She could clearly hear Molly, as her screaming was heard everywhere in the house. It wasn't long until her screams were mixed with those of Sirius' mother. Her portrait was hidden behind torn up curtains, and she was the reason everyone in the house was supposed to be quiet. In about five minutes, there was silence. Both Mrs. Black and Mrs. Weasley had ceased their yelling, and Tonks headed down the steps for dinner.
After everyone had finished eating, it was time to go pick up Harry. Molly would stay behind. The Advance Guard consisted of Tonks, Mad-Eye, Lupin, and Kingsley. There were also a few new faces Tonks had not yet seen. They included Elphias Doge, Dedalus Diggle, Emmeline Vance, Sturgis Podmore, and Hestia Jones. After introducing herself to all of them, Tonks was ready to go, as was everybody else. Molly said goodbye to each of them as they left the house. Tonks was the last to leave, and as Molly said goodbye, Tonks saw Lupin standing outside amidst all of the Order members. He caught her eye, and smiled.