A/N: For everyone who asked for more Remus/Tonks, here you go!

I'm hoping to have the next chapter up before Christmas. Thanks again for your patience!

patsfan1254: Yes, it's in the book: "Greyback specializes in children. . . . Bite them young, he says, and raise them away from their parents, raise them to hate normal wizards. … It was Greyback who bit me." (Remus Lupin, HBP, pages 334 – 335, American edition) By the way, we need to talk about this support of the Pats… Are you talking New England?

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Enjoy!

I don't own Harry Potter.

Tiptoeing

Tonks stumbled into the sanctuary of her office with a sigh of relief. Normally, she loved going to Order meetings. She loved being a part of the movement against Voldemort. She loved talking to Remus.

But now, after her conversation with Sirius, she was a bit afraid to talk to Remus. She knew herself well enough to know that she wouldn't be able to be in the same area with him without striking up a conversation or responding to something he said. So, in an effort to remove herself from the temptation of socializing with him, she had arrived at the meeting only moments before it began, and had left as soon as it had ended. Considering the relatively short amount of time she had spent there, she was amazed by how drained she felt.

"It's staying away from him that's got me like this," she whispered to herself. "I just want to talk to him, but, according to Sirius, I shouldn't."

She flushed as she realized that she was talking to herself. Thank goodness this was her "paperwork shift," the one shift that each Auror was required to work alone. As a general rule, she hated this one-a-week ritual. Sociable by nature, she didn't like to be locked in her office alone working on reports and memos. She much preferred the rest of the week, when she and Kingsley were scheduled together, and when they were generally out in the field. But, tonight, she was sure that the paperwork shift was exactly what she needed. It gave her the time to be alone with her thoughts, to sort out exactly what she felt for Remus and how she was going to handle the restrictions Sirius had given her.

She knew that she had feelings for Remus. That much was easy to admit to herself – she had known how she felt since the day she had met him. Admitting it to others, though, was proving to be more of a problem. It had taken everything in her to tell Sirius how she felt, and she knew that he was one of the few people who never judged her. Even telling Kingsley seemed impossible, and he was, as he had said himself, one of her best friends.

She felt a renewed thankfulness that she was working alone. Kingsley knew that she was keeping something from him, and he never allowed her to keep secrets long. Had he been in the office with her, he would have been pestering her like a little boy, trying desperately to make her give up her secret. She shook her head. She couldn't tell him. As much as she loved him and thought of him as a brother, she just couldn't bring herself to tell him what was troubling her.

"I just have to keep this to myself," she said, shifting some papers so that she would have free space to work on her reports. "That won't be too hard, considering how little time Remus and I will be spending together. No one will ask me what's going on between us if they never see us talking to one another."

Feeling slightly better about the impending "separation" from Remus, she turned back to her work. Now that she had worked through part of her issues, she felt more like talking to Kingsley. She always had fun with him, and was sure that he would brighten up her workday with humorous stories, teasing that bordered on harsh, and entertaining conversation. Suddenly, she remembered anew how much she hated working alone. Maybe she wasn't glad she was working the paperwork shift after all.

Her certainty about being able to deal with the situation faded as her shift drew to a close. By the time she got home, Tonks was sure she'd never be able to live with the restrictions that Sirius had placed on her. She wanted desperately to talk to Remus, to see him smile, to hear him laugh, to feel his light touch on her arm. Even though they were certainly no more than friends, she wanted to spend time with her friend again.

What shocked her even more than her desire to spend time with Remus was her need to talk to someone. She wanted to discuss her situation, to tell someone else how hearing Remus laugh made her want to laugh with him, how seeing his smile made her day a bit brighter. She wanted to talk about her infatuation with this man who was fourteen years her senior, to admit that she found him attractive, and to try to find a way to make him want her as much as she wanted him.

But whom could she possibly talk to? Sirius, wonderful though he was, seemed to want to distance himself from his friend's romantic entanglements. He was out of the question, which meant that she had to find someone else to confide in. She sighed, wondering how she would ever choose another confidante. And exactly how long would it be before the pressure of keeping this secret made her explode?

Knowing that she'd only make herself crazy sitting up thinking about it, she went to bed as soon as she got home. She wanted to be at work early the next morning. Somehow, even with eight hours alone, she hadn't managed to get her work done.

"Hey, Tonks."

Tonks looked up from her desk as Kingsley walked into their office. "Morning, King."

"You're here early," he commented, glancing at his watch. "I thought you didn't believe in coming to work until five minutes after you were supposed to be here."

"Usually I don't, but I wanted to finish this report before things had time to get crazy today."

"We're Aurors. Things are always crazy."

She smiled. "I suppose that's true."

Kingsley looked at her for a moment, then closed their office door. He crossed the room, and sat down on his desk, facing her. "Okay. Out with it. What's wrong?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Tonks. You've been working like the devil is chasing you for two weeks. I know you love this job and I know you're one of the most talented Aurors we have, but I also know that you never need this much time to get your work done. Something's bothering you, and you're using work as a way to escape it."

She looked at him for a moment without speaking. "You're worse than my mother," she said at last.

He grinned. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"I'm not sure you should."

"Are you going to answer my question?"

"Are you going to get your own life so you can stay out of mine?"

"Now, now. Verbally attacking me isn't going to do you any good."

She smiled. "Probably not, but it's making me feel better."

Kingsley smiled, then ran his hands over his face. "Tonks, please, talk to me."

"Fine," she sighed. She knew that she had to tell him everything. She wanted to confide in someone, and he was the logical choice. He was going to find out eventually anyway. He always knew too much about her for his own good.

"Well?" Kingsley asked, looking at her expectantly. "Confession is good for the soul, you know."

She drew a deep breath. "You were right, okay? You were right."

"About what?" he asked with a frown.

"I – I sort of have a thing for Remus."

A grin spread across his face. "I knew it. I could tell just by watching you." His smile faded as quickly as it had come. "Did you two have a fight?"

"No," she said, clearly bewildered. "Why would we?"

"I don't know . . . I mean, you've been upset, and I just thought . . . How long have you two been together?"

"Whoa, now," she said quickly, holding up her hands. "We're not together."

Kingsley frowned. "You're not? Then why . . .?"

"Why what?" Tonks frowned. "You're confusing me."

"Wait," Kingsley said, clearly trying to sort through everything in his head. "You've talked to him about this, haven't you? You've told him how you feel, right?"

"No!" she exclaimed, looking scandalized. "I haven't said a word to him, and I'll thank you to do the same!"

"But, Tonks, you have to tell him!" Kingsley exclaimed. "You two would be great together! You need to tell him how you feel!"

She shook her head. "I've already talked to Sirius about this, and he said that I should go slowly. He said to back off and not push Remus. He said something about Remus's scars from his past being an issue."

"So you're just going to ignore your feelings because of something that Sirius said?"

"I don't think I have much of a choice. Sirius knows Remus better than anyone; of course, I'm going to take his advice." She paused and bit her lower lip. "I really like this guy, King. I can't do anything to screw this up."

He gave her a devious grin. "That much is true. What would your mother say if she knew that you were this close to a meaningful relationship, but blew your chance because you took my advice?"

"Leave my mother out of this," she said, rolling her eyes. She threw her quill at him. "Can't you be serious for ten minutes?"

He sobered, putting the quill back down on her desk. "I think you're doing exactly what you should doing," he said quietly. "You're right – Sirius does know Remus better than anyone. Listen to him, and do what he tells you to do. He adores you, and Remus is like a brother to him. He's not going to tell you to do anything that could potentially blow up in your face."

Tonks looked up at him, her face reflecting the complete trust that she had for him, and a bit of fear. She knew that Kingsley would always be brutally honest with her, no matter how much the answer would hurt. "Do you think I have a chance, then?" she asked in a small voice.

Kingsley jumped down from his place on his desk, and knelt down in front of her. He took her hands in his, and looked up into her eyes. "If he refuses you, he's an utter fool," he said quietly. "And from what I know of Remus Lupin, he's certainly not a fool. Yes, Tonks, I think you have an excellent chance. Just play the game according to Sirius's suggestions." He smiled, and squeezed her hands. "And remember, if he breaks your heart, I'll break his face."

Tonks had to admit that she was apprehensive about the next Order meeting. She didn't have to work immediately after the meeting, so there was no reason for her to skip out of the socializing. She always chatted with Remus after the meetings; how would she manage to avoid it this time? Sirius had been quite clear about the need to go slowly, and Kingsley had agreed whole-heartedly with that approach. She needed to keep her distance. How could she do that if she spent an hour talking to him?

With her thoughts focused on Remus and their post-meeting conversations, Tonks was completely distracted during the meeting. She missed a considerable amount of what was said. It was a mark of how distracted she was that she wasn't really concerned by what she had missed. She was sure that Kingsley would fill her in if it were something that she really needed to know. The only thing that she actually registered from the meeting was that Hagrid had finally made it home to Hogwarts. Relief washed over her as she heard those words. She had been more worried about Hagrid than she wanted to admit.

Once the conversation turned from Hagrid to other Order business, Tonks let her thoughts drift again. She stared down at the table or at Moody, who was chairing this evening's meeting. She was terrified to look anywhere else, not wanting to accidentally meet Remus's eyes. As he was sitting across from her, this was more challenging than she would have thought. She could feel his eyes on her more than once during the meeting; it took everything in her not to look up and smile at him.

Sirius said to back off. You have to distance yourself.

She missed Moody's adjournment announcement; Kingsley nudged her to make her stand up. She gave him a half-hearted smile as thanks.

"Are you okay?" he asked in a low voice.

"Fine," she said with a falsely bright smile. "I'm just doing my best to back off."

"Tonks," Kingsley sighed, "I don't think Sirius meant you have to completely avoid him."

"I told you, King, I don't want to screw this up," she said, nervousness creeping into her voice.

"Yeah, but –"

"Tonks, Kingsley, hello."

They both turned quickly as Remus himself greeted them with a smile. Tonks's eyes grew wide, and she just barely refrained from squeaking.

"Hi, Remus," she said.

"Hello," Kingsley grinned. "How have you been, Remus? It seems like ages since we had time for a proper chat."

"That's true," Remus replied. "You two are always far too busy with work."

"Ah, the life of an Auror," Kingsley said with an exaggerated sigh. "They make you believe it's going to get easier when you're done with training, but it's all an elaborate lie."

Remus laughed. "That's what Sirius and Olivia said, too, back when they finished their training. I think that Olivia's finally getting to the point where she feels like her life is her own again, rather than property of the Auror department."

Kingsley laughed with him. "Well, Olivia's pretty high ranking. If she still felt like they owned her, I'd probably lose all hope. I'd have to start looking for another job."

"Somehow, I have a feeling you don't mean that."

Kingsley grinned. "Fair enough. This job isn't something you go into unless you really love it." He paused and smiled again. "Not unlike teaching, I suppose."

Remus smiled and nodded. "True." His eyes drifted from Kingsley to Tonks. Her eyes were darting around the room and she was chewing her lower lip as though she were nervous. He frowned slightly.

"Tonks? Are you all right?"

She jumped slightly, and finally let her eyes come to rest on him. "Yes, I'm fine," she said in a rush.

Fine? No, I'm not fine! My knees are going weak just from looking into your eyes, and I want to throw my arms around you and kiss you right here in front of all these Order members! Backing off has made me want you more! Damn Sirius and his advice!

"Are you sure? You look a little out of sorts," Remus said, concern flickering in his eyes.

"I'm just a little tired," she said. She glanced at her watch. "I should probably go home and get some rest."

Remus's frown deepened. He had never known Tonks to complain of fatigue. "Maybe you should see a Healer. You might be coming down with something."

"I'm sure I'm fine," she said. "I'll see you at the next meeting. King, I'll see you at work tomorrow."

Remus and Kingsley both said their goodbyes, and Tonks made her way out of the room. Alone in the hallway, she began to take deep, calming breaths.

"You have to control yourself," she whispered. "You're an Auror, Tonks. You don't show emotion. That's how it works. Just be an Auror around him."

Nodding to herself, she left the house.

"Have you spoken to Tonks recently?" Remus asked as he and Sirius cleaned up after the meeting.

"How recently?" Sirius asked.

"I don't know. I'm not sure when it started, really. She's just been acting a little funny, and I wasn't sure if she had told you what's wrong."

"What do you mean by 'funny?'" Sirius frowned.

"Just – withdrawn, I guess. She isn't herself at all. She barely spoke to me today. I would say she's avoiding me, but I can't think of any reason why she'd do that."

Sirius groaned inwardly. Apparently, Tonks had gone a bit overboard with his "go slowly" advice. "I'm sure she's fine," he said at last. "You know how things are for her right now. She has to put up a constant front at work so that no one will guess that she's working with us. That's got to take a toll after awhile."

"That's a good point," Remus said. "I hadn't thought about it."

Sirius nodded. "Just – just be a friend to her, Remus. No matter how withdrawn she is, don't let her pull away completely. Let her know that you're there for her, and that you care for her."

Remus looked at him warily. "That I care for her?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "As a friend. I know how you feel about that. You've made your position abundantly clear. I promise, I won't say another word about how great you and Tonks would be together."

Remus knew that he should feel relieved that Sirius was willing to get off his back about Tonks. He wanted to feel relieved. But, for some unknown reason, he was a bit disappointed.

Tonks –

We need to talk. NOW. Come over as soon as you can.

- Sirius

Tonks read the message with wide eyes. She didn't need to be told twice. She climbed out of the nest of blankets she had made for herself in her bed, threw her clothes back on and Disapparated.

Sirius was sitting in the drawing room of headquarters when she arrived. He smiled at her.

"Hello."

"What's wrong?" she replied.

"What makes you think something's wrong?"

"Perhaps your rather dire message?" she shot back.

Sirius grinned. "Look, I wanted to talk to you, and I figured now was the best time, since Remus has guard duty at the Ministry. I didn't want to chance him walking in on us."

"Oh," she said, taking a seat. "What's up, then?"

Sirius drew a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for what he needed to say. "I think you've taken me a little too literally."

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Tonks, I told you to go slowly with Remus, not to act like you've never met him."

"I backed off!" she exclaimed. "I did what you told me to do!"

He shook his head. "You went a little further than I had intended."

She groaned, and buried her face in her hands. "What did he say?"

"He thinks that something's wrong with you. He even went so far as to suggest that you're avoiding him."

"Oh, no. What did you say?"

"I told him to be a friend to you. I made up some story about how stressful it is for you to live a double life as a Ministry Auror and an Order Member."

"Did he buy that?"

"Of course," Sirius grinned. "Why wouldn't he?"

"So he's angry with me?" she asked forlornly.

"No, not angry. Just a bit confused, I'd say."

"Well, what do you want me to do?" she exclaimed. "I tried to follow your directions, but it didn't seem to work so well!"

"Look, I didn't mean for you to completely back off. I just meant that you shouldn't push him to go forward with a relationship yet. You just – you need to be his friend, Dora.
Be like you were that weekend when the two of you arranged for Olivia to visit me. I know he had a great time with you."

"What, drag him out to Muggle stores?"

"No, not necessarily. Just be that same girl – basically, sweetheart, be yourself."

"Are you sure it's good enough?" she asked in a small voice.

Sirius smiled at her, wondering how such a pretty, lively, sweet girl could be so insecure. "I'm more concerned it'll be too good."

"Too good?" she repeated with a frown. "How could anyone ever be too good for him? He deserves the very best girl alive."

Sirius smiled again, leaning forward to cover her hands with his. "He deserves you."

With affirmation that Remus would indeed be interested in her from both Sirius and Kingsley, Tonks felt a bit of her old confidence coming back. She knew that she was ready to talk to him again, to be, as Sirius had said, his friend. She still wasn't entirely sure that she had a good chance of winning him, but she wasn't about to give up without a fight.

The next day, she went straight to headquarters after work. As she had hoped, Remus was there, sitting alone in the library with reams of parchment spread around him.

"Are you busy?" she asked, pausing in the doorway.

"Tonks!" Remus said, giving her a warm smile. "Come in, please."

"You're sure I'm not interrupting anything?" she asked as she walked into the room.

"Nothing that will explode in my face in the next few hours. Honestly, I could use a break."

"What are you working on?"

"I've been going over my notes from my last few visits to the werewolf colony. I'm trying to decide what areas I need to concentrate on next."

"Dumbledore's making you go back there?" she asked, taking a seat on the couch, facing where he sat at the desk.

Remus was a bit surprised by her comment. She didn't know about Greyback; only Sirius and Dumbledore knew about that, and Remus was certain that neither of them would ever tell anyone his story. He knew that she really was just concerned about him entering into the colony itself.

"It's my job, Tonks," he said quietly, but with a firmness that surprised her. "There's no one else in the Order who would be better suited to do this."

"But don't you have enough information already? You've been there several times, haven't you?"

He smiled sadly. "That would be like saying that the Aurors have enough information on the Death Eaters. There's just always more to know, always more to uncover."

"But, isn't it dangerous for you to keep going back?"

"Not particularly," Remus shrugged. "What could they do to me that hasn't already been done? I can't become a werewolf again."

She shuddered slightly. "Don't, Remus. I don't like to think of them hurting you."

He was surprised at the emotion in her voice. "I'm always careful."

She nodded.

"Hey, Tonks," he said, leaning forward, "don't worry about me. I've done this before, remember? This is my second time to battle Voldemort and the Death Eaters."

"I just don't like to think of what could happen to you."

Remus was completely shocked by this little girl vulnerability. This side of Tonks was so different from the laughing, teasing side that he had known since they had met. Unable to think of anything else to do, he crossed to sit next to her on the couch.

"I'll be fine," he said, covering her hands with his. "Nothing is going to happen to me."

She nodded again.

"You're an Auror," he said, smiling in a bewildered sort of way. "You face evil every single day."

"But I always have backup," she replied. "King and I always go on our missions together. It's not the same for you. You're completely on your own."

"And completely able to summon the Order to my side in a moment's notice," he replied. "Listen, Tonks, I can't promise that everything will be fine. I can't promise that I'll never get hurt. But I'll do everything in my power to stay safe. I always err on the side of caution."

"I know that," she sighed. "It just makes me nervous sometimes, thinking about what we're doing. We're really putting our lives on the line everyday, Remus. I mean, I signed up for this when I became an Auror. But you – you just want to be a teacher."

He smiled sadly. "I signed up for this the day I became an Order member." His eyes took on a far-away look. "Do you know how old I was when I joined the Order?"

She shook her head.

"Eighteen."

"You were eighteen?" she exclaimed. "Why were you allowed to join when you were so young?"

"I wanted to," he said simply. "It wasn't like now. Voldemort had been gaining power the entire time I was at Hogwarts. I had watched so many people suffer, so many people lose loved ones . . . and, then, in my seventh year, one of my best friends was killed by Death Eaters."

Tonks gasped. "Why?"

"She was a half-blood," Remus sighed. "They killed her entire family."

"That's horrible."

Remus nodded sadly. "After Kathleen died, we became obsessed with fighting Voldemort."

"We?" Tonks repeated. "You and Sirius?"

"And James, Lily, Olivia, Dana . . ." He paused and swallowed. ". . . Laura . . . and Peter."

"Peter," Tonks repeated quietly. It was fairly obvious who James, Lily, Olivia and Dana were. She was sure that she had heard Laura's name before, but she couldn't place it; she repeated the one name that almost scared her.

"The more I think about it, I'm sure that was the beginning of the end for Peter," Remus said softly. "He was dating Kathleen when she died. He really loved her – I'm sure he would have married her, had she lived. I think that she could have kept him from joining forces with Voldemort. And then . . . Well, everything would have turned out differently."

"You can't change the past, Remus," Tonks said softly.

"I know that," Remus sighed. "But I can do everything I can to make sure that history doesn't repeat itself. And to that end, I'm doing everything I can for the Order."

"You have so much more invested than I do."

He shook his head. "The fact that you're here, that you've joined, that you're putting your career and your life on the line – that speaks volumes, Tonks. You're exactly the type of person we need in the Order."

She smiled. "Coming from you, that means a lot."

"Well, it's true."

She looked deeply into his eyes. "Why are you so sweet to me?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked. He smiled. "You're a sweet girl. Of course, I'm going to be sweet to you."

"You think I'm sweet?"

"You don't?" he asked, trying not to chuckle at the rather obvious plea for a compliment.

She grinned. "Of all the adjectives used to describe me, 'sweet' is not usually one of them."

"What do you usually hear?" he grinned.

"Colorful," she laughed. "Energetic. Fun-loving. On the rare occasion, bubbly. But sweet is almost unheard of."

Remus smiled. "Well, I think that you're sweet. But I agree with all the others, too."

"What else?" she asked, rather enjoying this game.

"I think you're very intelligent. You're caring and you're compassionate. You want to do what's right. You have a soft spot for teenagers – specifically the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione. And you're tough," he finished with a grin.

"Tough?" Tonks laughed. "You really know how to flatter a girl, Lupin."

He laughed. "All Aurors are tough. It's in the job description."

"All right, I'll buy that," she said. "And how do people describe you?"

Remus looked thoughtful for a moment. "Serious. Quiet. Reserved. Studious."

"Do you realize how boring you're making yourself sound?" she laughed.

He laughed with her. "Well, if you don't like it, come up with something else."

She tilted her head to one side, regarding him for a moment. "Funny," she said at last. "Caring. Loyal."

"Ah, yes, loyal," he smiled. "I'll always be a Gryffindor at heart."

"You don't like to see yourself as others see you, do you?"

A pained expression crossed his face. "Why would I? Others see a monster."

She reached out tentative fingers to touch his cheek. "Not me, Remus. I don't see a monster."

Almost, but not quite, against his will, he leaned into her hand. "What do you see?" he whispered.

She swallowed hard, gently caressing his face. "I see a kind, gentle, beautiful soul that lives behind a very guarded exterior. I'm having so much fun getting to know that man, and I learn something new about him every day."

Remus raised his hand to cover hers, then reached out to touch her face as she touched his. They looked into each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity. Then, as if being moved by a force quite outside themselves, they began to slowly lean toward one another.

"Tonks," Remus whispered.

"Yes?"

Closing his eyes, he gently touched his lips to hers. Tonks was stunned by the kiss; but before she even had time to respond, he pulled away.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, jumping up off the couch. "I'm sorry –"

"Remus, don't ­–"

"I'm sorry," he said again, stumbling from the room.

Tonks stared at the door in wonder for nearly ten minutes before she felt collected enough to leave. She stood slowly, knowing very well that this was not the time to go home to sit alone. Nodding as she realized her destination, she Disapparated.

Remus stumbled all the way up to his bedroom, where he closed and locked the door behind him. He paced around the small area, his agitation obvious in his every movement.

"What was I doing?" he asked himself. "How could I – Tonks is Sirius's little cousin! She could never – I could never . . ."

He paced for several more moments before stopping.

"No," he said firmly, decisively. "She deserves so much better than me. It can't happen. I won't let it."

"Well, this is a surprise."

Tonks grinned at Kingsley as she appeared in the middle of his living room. "Hi, Kingsley."

"What brings you to my humble abode?" he asked.

"I needed to talk to someone, and since you know all my secrets, I figured you were a good choice."

"I'm all ears," he replied. "Have a seat."

Tonks curled up on the couch and gave him a goofy smile. "I've just come from Remus's."

"Oh?" Kingsley asked with a grin, raising his eyebrows. "And? What news do you have to report?"

"He kissed me."

Kingsley sat bolt upright in his chair. "He what?"

"He kissed me," she repeated.

"What kind of kiss was it?"

"On the lips."

"Continue . . ." Kingsley prompted.

"It was really quick, King," she sighed. "I didn't even have time to react."

"Oh," Kingsley said, sounding rather disappointed. "And then?"

"He apologized and ran out of the room," she finished miserably. "You're a guy. Explain this one to me."

"He thinks he took advantage of you, I'd say," Kingsley said slowly. "You two aren't together, and he knows it. He doesn't want you to think he's going to treat you as his shag buddy."

"I can't imagine Remus with a shag buddy," Tonks grinned.

"No, neither can I . . . Tonks, Remus is a very honorable man. I can't see him doing anything with you until you're in a committed relationship. And that includes gratuitous snogging."

"You really do know how to suck the fun out of life, you know that, don't you?"

"You asked me for an explanation. If you don't like it, that's your own fault."

She smiled, and drew her knees up to her chin. "What should I do, O Wise One?"

"As much as I hate using old material, go slow. Don't push him into anything. But don't completely fade away, either. He has to know that you're there, and that you don't think that you're too good for him. I'm sure that right now he's grappling with your age difference, on top of whatever other issues Sirius seems to think he has."

Tonks nodded. "I guess you're right. He probably comes with a lot more baggage than I do."

A worried expression crossed Kingsley's face. "Tonks, are you sure about this? I mean, really, really sure? Because Sirius is right – Remus has been through far more than you have. He's bound to have more issues that you may want to consider."

She smiled. "Don't you get it? Those issues make him the man he is – and that's the man that I want."

Kingsley nodded slowly. "If you're sure . . .?"

"I'm sure. I'll be patient. I'll do whatever he needs. This is going to work out in the end, King. I can feel it."