Okay, here is chapter five…It has some great flirting in it! This chapter is about 2,000 words long and I have worked very hard on it.

Thank you to all that have reviewed, I now have sixteen! That and the 600 hits my story have received make me feel extraordinary.

Last, but certainly not least, thank you to the most awesome BETA in the entire world, not just Chloe, THE CHLOE!

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Cleaning Talks

A couple of weeks later Tonks stood staring at a room at 12 Grimmauld Place standing next to Remus. The room looked as if a grenade had exploded in it. There were unidentified animals and plants inhabiting and weaving in and out of every surface and the ceiling had rain clouds on it. To put it in different terms it was a small zoo. It looked as if Regulus had liked animals. In the middle of the room was a large four poster bed that looked as if it had not been touched since Regulus had died.

I glanced at Remus and grinned, he looked better now than the last time I saw him. His blue eyes looked brighter and his grin was quicker to grace his face. His hair even seemed to have some extra sheen in it. I blushed at the thought of running my hands through its brown mane. Remus glanced over at me and saw that I had turned red in the face which probably clashed horribly with my hair. Lucky for me he did not question why I was so red, he simply said, "Man this should be fun to clean."

I nodded my head In agreement, "Lets get started," I said.

'How do we go about removing these plants,' I thought to myself. It shouldn't be that difficult.

"I think a simple cutting and banishing charm should do the trick," I said to Remus.

"Yes," he said, "I believe that would work just fine."

"Let's get to it," we both pulled out our wands and set to work. It was dirty and disgusting work, but at least she was getting to do it with Remus, that alone made the entire experience more pleasurable. While they worked she asked him some questions trying to figure out a tasteful way to ask him what his problem was.

"Sirius told me that you worked at Hogwarts for a year as Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. Did you enjoy it?" I asked with a small smile.

"Yes, it was a great job. It allowed me to reconnect with Harry, even though he did not know who I was at the time," replied Remus

"So, what do you do now?"

"I research books regarding defense for the order," he said as if it was not really a matter of importance.

"Wow that sounds fun!" I said with excitement, you get to learn about new spells and the inner workings and defense of them."

He looked at me as if I had lost my mind, and normally I would have agreed whole heartedly, except that what he was doing seemed so perfect for him. He had research written all over him.

"You think that is exciting? Tonks, you need to get out more," he said stunned.

"It is just that research seems so perfect for you. It has got to be better then sitting behind a desk doing paperwork all day."

"Okay," he agreed, "Yes, I like it, and it is perfect for me."

"But," I said softly, "I have a feeling you liked teaching more," I said as I shot a sly look at him.

"Yes," he replied softly, "I loved it when their eyes would light up when they got something correct. Some of the questions they asked astonished me. They were so grown up."

We had stopped working and I sat on the ground and patted the floor next to me and he sat down. His eyes were a piercing blue as he talked about teaching; they were filled with light and excitement. I could tell that he really had loved it.

"So, why did you leave?" I asked and daringly placed my hand over his as he looked down at my hand and then back up to my face.

"I was forced out," he said softly, "Parents thought I was a danger to their children," he turned his hand over and entwined his fingers with mine while he was talking; I made no comment about it. I looked into his eyes and knew he was being serious.

"How could anyone think that you were dangerous?" I asked with a grin, "You couldn't even hurt a fly if you tried."

"Oh Tonks, there are things you don't know about me," he said in a strained voice, a voice that begged me not to ask anymore questions, but, I was a persistent witch and did not stop my questions. I wanted to know, after all we were supposed to be friends and friends tell each other their secrets.

"Well, then tell me. I'm a good listener and it's not like we have anywhere we have to be," I said lightly. I had a feeling that the reason he lost his job was because of the same reason my dear cousin would not tell me. "So talk Remus," I pressed.

He pulled his hand from mine and I missed the warmth, but I said nothing about it. He sat back a few inches and started telling me about his lycanthropy. In simpler terms he was a werewolf. It had cost him his job; the best job he had ever had. The year that he was Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor was one of the happiest times in his life, but because of his ailment, that to was taken away from him. He had already lost so much, because at the time he thought all of his friends were dead.

I looked at him as he finished telling his story and saw the gut wrenching sadness in his eyes and knew he was expecting me to react with pity or revolution or a combination of both. I said lightly, "Is that all? I thought it was something serious. Those people are idiots if they wanted you out for that. I mean, you only go hairy once a month for a day or so, and then you are back to normal. So what if you are a little furry for a couple of days, the rest of the time you are just you, right? Each of those individuals should be ashamed of themselves. You probably taught their children more about defense then their other Professors combined," I finished loudly, ashamed of the prejudice that existed in our world.

He stared at me as if I had acquired an extra head. I guess he had not expected me to be this livid on his behalf. I assumed few people had ever defended his honor.

Remus just sat staring at this beautiful witch, angry on his behalf. When he had told her of his quandary he had expected revulsion or worse, pity, not anger or the tirade she had gone into. When she had placed her hand over his and asked why he had left he had had to take a deep breath before answering. He had not wanted to tell her about his lycanthropy, but knew it was time to before she found out about it from someone else. While he had told her he had been forced out, somehow his hand had ended up entwined with hers and much to his surprise she did not pull away. He did not want to be touching her when he told her why he had lost his favorite job, not only because he feared that she would jerk her hand out of his, which would hurt him to much to bare, but because that would mean that she was afraid of him, and he did not want that. He could do nothing but stare at her, taking in the angry flashing eyes and tight fists that were balled so tight she looked as if she was aching for a fight with anyone who moved. When she had wound down from her tirade she was blushing scarlet much as she had done earlier and again he did not question her. He did not want to embarrass her. This felt like the beginning of a great friendship. There were few people who were not repulsed by his kind and he was always grateful to find another person who was not prejudice. He smiled and said, "Thank you. Let's get back to work."

They finished the room and headed downstairs to lunch. When they rounded the corner close to the stairs Tonks tripped over the rug and he caught her before she could hit the floor.

"Are you okay?" He asked still holding her close.

"Yep," she said and looked up to see his lips a breath from her own. Wow, he had great lips. She wondered what it would be like to taste them. She angled her head a little more and so did he, he slowly bent his head, his lips but a heartbeat away, when they heard a voice downstairs yell, "Remus, Tonks, lunch is ready!" They jerked apart quickly and looked away from each other blushing, neither uttering a word as they moved downstairs and into the kitchen.

Before she left that afternoon she scouted out Remus in the sitting room reading. He looked up from his book to see her standing in the doorway, she walked over to him and said simply, "Thanks for telling me," and bent and kissed him on the cheek then she walked out of the room and Remus moved his hand without realizing it and covered his cheek, holding on to the warmth of that innocent kiss.

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Read and review please… I am evil so close to a kiss and they had it ruined guess you will have to keep reading to see what happens…