A/N: I am so, so, so incredibly sorry about the wait! For some reason, this chapter was terribly hard to write. I think I rewrote every section individually at least once. Such a mess. Hopefully, the next one will be easier (and quicker)!

Thanks for reading and reviewing, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

I don't own Harry Potter.

Awkward Moments

"Arthur will be released today," Molly said to Sirius as he walked into the kitchen. "I was thinking of having a special dinner tonight for him. What do you think?"

"I think that would be great," Sirius smiled. "The kids will want to celebrate their dad's recovery, I'm sure."

"We all do," Molly said with a happy sigh. "I can't believe how long they've kept him."

"But he's going to be fine," Sirius said encouragingly, sitting down with her at the table.

"No thanks to his own interference," she said a bit harshly. "Stitches! I still can't understand what he was thinking!"

Sirius grinned. "Well, it turned out all right in the end."

Molly shook her head. "That man and his fascination with Muggles will be the death of me."

"I think it's a good thing," Sirius said quietly.

"Oh, I'm not trying to say that it's a problem, generally speaking . . . but, aside from this incident with the stitches, there was the car, and –"

"But look at what it's taught your children," Sirius interrupted.

"My children?" Molly frowned.

Sirius nodded. "Molly, I didn't know that 'Mudblood' was an insult until I went to Hogwarts. I'll never forget the first time I used it in front of James, Remus and Peter. They were shocked. They were the ones who taught me that it's wrong to say things like that, Molly. Not my family. My friends were the ones who showed me that purity of blood doesn't matter and that Muggles aren't inferior to wizards, they just don't do things the same ways we do." He paused. "I think you should be glad that Arthur is the way he is. He's taught your children far more about tolerance and acceptance of others than my father ever taught me."

"Sirius – I never thought –"

He shook his head and waved his hand as if to wave off her comment. "Most people don't think about it. Just – just be glad that your children have you and Arthur for parents. You've raised some amazing children, Molly. You should be proud of them – and of yourselves."

Tears stood in her eyes. "I think they're pretty special, too."

The door to the kitchen opened, and they both looked up, Molly blinking back her tears. Snape walked into the room, looking bored and annoyed at the same time. Molly and Sirius exchanged a look of surprise.

"What are you doing here?" Sirius asked a bit rudely. "We don't have a meeting today."

"I've come to talk to Potter," Snape replied.

"To Harry?" Sirius asked. "What do you want with him? Don't you have enough opportunities to torment him during class?"

"Believe me, Black, if it were any choice of my own, I would not be here to see him." He pulled a piece of parchment from his robes and slid it across the table. "The Headmaster has asked me to teach him Occlumency. He explains everything here – I'm sure he used small words with you and your lack of ability to comprehend his meaning in mind."

"I'll be sure to thank him," Sirius said sarcastically.

He skimmed over the brief missive from Dumbledore. The letter stated that the headmaster had, indeed, managed to obtain Snape's agreement to teach Harry Occlumency. Snape was visiting to talk to Harry privately, to explain the lessons, their urgency and their secrecy to him.

"Very well," Sirius said at last. "I'll call him."

"Let me," Molly said, standing to her feet. "I need to go collect my own children to get them ready for Arthur's arrival."

"Right," Sirius agreed.

Molly hurried from the room, and Snape turned to Sirius with a sneer.

"I suppose you'll be leaving, then?"

"Where exactly do you expect me to go?" Sirius asked.

"Well, certainly not outside the house," Snape replied a bit smugly. "But, as you can see, Dumbledore has asked that I speak to Potter privately. That, Black, means alone. It means that Potter and I should be the only two people in the room. We hardly need an audience."

"I will not leave you alone with Harry," Sirius said harshly.

"What exactly do you think might happen to him if you do?"

"I've known you for too many years to even try to venture a guess."

Snape rolled his eyes as though bored. "Do you really think I would harm Harry Potter? The savior of the wizarding world? Dumbledore's favorite student? Perhaps you have been in this house too long, Black. You seem to be losing your mind."

"Do I think you would hex him? No," Sirius said. "But I don't even want to think of the psychological damage you would inflict upon him." He paused, thinking of what Remus often said to him. "He's just a child, Snape."

"I child with more arrogance and less respect for his elders than most that I've taught," Snape shot back. "He's quite like a few classmates of mine in that regard."

Sirius looked as though he would have loved nothing more than to hex Snape into a million pieces. He opened his mouth to reply, but was silenced by the sound of Harry's footsteps coming down the hall.

"You'll be going, then?" Snape asked.

"I will not," Sirius said fiercely.

"Defy Dumbledore, then," Snape taunted. "I knew you'd have to break and go against his orders sometime. Such . . . bravery."

The door opened, and both men averted their eyes as Harry walked into the room. Despite the interruption, they both knew that the conversation was far from over.

Remus walked down the hall as quietly as possible, hoping to slip away before anyone saw him. In reality, he had never intended to come to Grimmauld Place today. He had planned to spend the entire day and evening with his parents. Even though he would be "relaxing" away from the Order, he still needed to get some work done. He wanted to review his maps of the werewolf colony, but had realized that morning that he had left them at headquarters. He had no choice to return, but wanted to slip in and out of the house undetected.

His true goal was to be gone before he was spotted by one of the Weasley children. He knew that Arthur was being released and that Molly was sure to have a celebration planned, and was certain that the children would want him to be there. However, he knew that he could not leave his parents again after promising to spend time with them. Unable to face disappointing one of the children, he had every intention of leaving before they knew he had been there.

"Remus!"

He stopped dead at the sound of her voice. This was one person that he didn't mind finding him. He turned slowly, feeling an uncharacteristic grin spread across his face. "Hello, Tonks."

She, too, was grinning brightly as she caught up with him. "I haven't seen you in ages."

"I know," he said. "We've both been busy."

"That's true," she agreed.

Indeed, the last time Remus had seen Tonks had been on Christmas, the day they had had their encounter under the mistletoe. As much as he hated to admit it, the mere memory of that moment was enough to make his heart beat faster. But – had it meant as much to her as it had to him? He knew that the only way to find out was to talk to her about it. Unfortunately, he was terrified to bring it up. He was afraid that she would tell him that it had been a lovely moment, but that she wasn't interested. For all that he had said to Sirius about not wanting to enter into a relationship with her, he knew that he would be horribly disappointed to learn that she didn't think of him as anything other than a friend.

As Remus was lost in his thoughts, a rather awkward silence fell, something that had never happened between them in the past. Remus looked at Tonks for a moment, wondering if she would be the one to break it. She looked at him quizzically, but did not speak as the seconds became an eternity. Finally, he decided to take the situation into his own hands.

"Listen, I think we need to talk," he said without preamble. "I was on my way to the library. Will you come with me so we can talk?"

"Sure," she said. She bit her lip nervously. "What exactly do you want to talk about?"

He looked at her as though wondering if she were completely sane. "What happened between us on Christmas."

She nodded, still chewing her lip nervously. "We do need to talk about that."

"What did you think I was talking about?" he asked in confusion.

"No – that's what I thought, too – I just was afraid that you were – I don't know." She sighed. "I'm babbling. Let's just have this conversation before I get us both completely confused."

Remus smiled. "I don't know about you, but I feel pretty confused already."

"Yeah," she said quietly.

Remus looked at her, hoping to read something in her eyes, but she looked away. "Well, let's wait until we get to the library to start, shall we? I don't want to be overheard."

"Good idea," she agreed.

They walked through the house in silence. Remus didn't dare to look at her, fearing what he might see in her face. Was she really that horrified by the thought of kissing him? He knew that most girls didn't want to kiss a werewolf, but it wasn't as if she hadn't known about his condition when she grabbed him. And, from somewhere in the back of his mind came the unbidden thought . . .

Laura never minded kissing a werewolf.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he opened the library door, holding it so that she could pass ahead of him. She murmured her thanks as she walked into the room. Lost in his rather depressed thoughts, Remus didn't realize she had stopped walking until he ran into her. He reached out instinctively to grab her before she could fall, and she turned to him with a grateful smile. Remus returned the smile, then looked past her to see Sirius seated by the fire. He looked up at them and attempted to smile.

"Hey, Moony. Hi, Tonks."

"Sirius, I didn't know you'd be in here," Remus said.

Sirius gave another half-hearted smile. "I'm sorry. Were you two looking for a place to snog in peace?"

Tonks's face turned a tomato red that matched her hair. "Actually, I was just leaving," she said quickly. "Remus, can we continue this later?"

"Sure," he said, wondering how much "later" that would be.

"Great," she said. She leaned up to kiss his cheek, then practically ran out of the room.

"What was that all about?" Sirius asked.

Remus slowly moved his fingers up to touch the place she had kissed on his cheek. "We were going to talk about what happened on Christmas."

"Oh," Sirius said irritably.

"What's got you in such a mood?" Remus asked, walking fully into the room.

"Snape," Sirius said, poking at the fire.

"Snape?" Remus repeated. "What does he have to do with anything?"

"He was here a bit ago."

"Why?" Remus asked. "The man hardly ever even comes to meetings. Why would he come on a day when nothing's happening?"

"He wanted to talk to Harry."

"To Harry?"

"Yes. About Occlumency."

"He's agreed to teach him, then?" Remus asked, sitting down across from his friend.

"So it would appear."

"I wonder how Dumbledore managed that little miracle."

"I rather wish he hadn't," Sirius said savagely.

Remus raised his eyebrows. "Sirius, we agreed that this is for the best. Harry may not like Snape, but he's one of the best there is when it comes to Occlumency. He's already a teacher, so he knows how to convey information to students. And, he's at Hogwarts, so there's no need to come up with elaborate cover stories when he meets with Harry. It's perfect."

"Aside from the fact that Harry hates him."

"We all have to work with people we dislike," Remus said.

"And he hates Harry."

"Don't you think that's going a bit far?'

"No," Sirius said bluntly. "You didn't hear him, Remus. You didn't hear what he said about how much Harry reminds him of James. You didn't hear the way he reacted to the past. You – you know what it was like back then. You know how much he hated James and I. He's taking that hatred for James out on Harry now. I don't like it, Moony. I don't know the idea of him spending all this extra time alone with Harry."

"Don't you think your own feelings about Severus might be playing a rather large role in your opinion?"

"Well, I can tell you right now that he hasn't changed a bit since we were students. You should have heard the things he said to me!"

"Did Harry hear them?" Remus asked quietly.

Sirius nodded. "Some."

"So Harry now knows of your animosity toward him?"

"Yes, I suppose so."

Remus sighed. "Well, that doesn't help matters."

"What do you mean? You told him before that we didn't get along with Snape when we went to Hogwarts together."

"Yes, but that only affirmed what he already knew. Dumbledore had told him before that James and Snape didn't get along. But this – this showed him firsthand the bitter anger that still exists between the two of you."

"I don't see your point."

Remus sighed again. "Sirius, it's as though you've given him permission to hate Snape."

"But he already does hate him."

Remus pinched the bridge of his nose. "This is as bad as talking to a fourth year."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." He paused for a moment. "Are we in agreement that Harry needs to learn Occlumency?"

"Of course. It's the most important thing for him right now."

"And are we in agreement that he should learn it from a master of the art?"

"That only makes sense."

"And are we in agreement that he should do this in the manner that provokes the least number of questions?"

"Yes."

"Then, the logical thing is for Snape to teach him."

Sirius looked at him for a long moment. "Moony, I know that in my head. I just have a hard time convincing my emotions that it's true."

Remus smiled slightly. "Well, try harder. You have to set a good example for Harry."

"I know. Harry is the most important thing. He has been since the day he was born."

"I know," Remus agreed quietly.

Sirius looked into the fire for a moment, then back at Remus. "I'm sorry that I interrupted you and Tonks."

"That's all right," Remus replied. "We'll talk eventually."

"Tonks, I have a mission for you."

Tonks nodded as Moody closed her office door behind himself. He crossed the room to sit down across the desk from her. "Is Kingsley coming, too?" she asked.

"No," Moody replied. "I want you and Lupin to take Harry, the Granger girl and the Weasleys back to Hogwarts tomorrow."

Tonks struggled to keep the color from rising in her cheeks. She still hadn't managed to talk to Remus about what had happened between them on Christmas, but the mention of his name was enough to make her feel weak in the knees.

"Is that a problem?" Moody asked when she didn't immediately respond.

"Of course not," she said quickly. "I'm off tomorrow."

"Exactly," Moody replied. "I was going to go myself, but Dumbledore asked me to – well, I'll be otherwise employed tomorrow." He looked at her closely. "Do you think that you and Lupin can handle the kids?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I think we can. He's a teacher, and I – well, I'm trained for this sort of thing."

"Hm," Moody said. "Just make sure you two keep your hands to yourselves, all right?"

Tonks couldn't keep her emotions in check this time. Her mouth fell open in horror. "What did you say?"

"You heard me," Moody said, lifting himself to his feet. "Make sure you take my advice, Tonks."

She felt as though she had been struck dumb. She merely stared after him wide-eyed as he crossed to leave the room. The door opened before Moody had reached it, and Kingsley walked into the office.

"Hi, Moody," he said cheerfully. "Were you looking for me?"

"No, I found the one I was looking for," he said. "I'll see you, Shacklebolt. Tonks – remember what I said."

As the door closed behind Moody, Kingsley turned to see Tonks with her face buried in her hands.

"What was that all about?"

"He just told me that Remus and I are responsible for getting Harry, Hermione and the Weasley kids back to school tomorrow."

"And this is a cause for severe embarrassment? I'm sorry, Tonks, but I haven't seen your face that color of red since – well, ever."

She grabbed a quill and threw it at him. "What did you tell him?" she yelled.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, ducking out of the way of the quill.

"He just told me to make sure that Remus and I keep our hands to ourselves when we take the kids to Hogwarts!"

Kingsley laughed. "Well, it's good advice."

"King!"

"I'm sorry," he said, trying to stop laughing. "Come on, Tonks, do you honestly think I would tell Moody of all people about you and Remus? Aside from the obvious ick factor of Moody knowing something like that about you, it's career suicide – he hates it when the Aurors have relationships. You're the best partner I've ever had. There's no way I'd do anything to jeopardize your position."

She smiled at the compliment. "Then how did he find out? You're the only person I told."

"Do you think that Remus told him?"

She rolled her eyes. "Remus hasn't even discussed it with me. If he told anyone, I'm sure it was Sirius."

"Maybe Sirius told him."

"Sirius knows Moody too well to do something like that."

"Well, look, love, I don't have a clue how he found out." He paused. "Maybe you're looking at this the wrong way. Maybe he hasn't heard anything from anyone. Maybe he's just going on observation."

"Observation?"

"Yeah. Come on, Tonks. Moody was an Auror for decades – one of the best Aurors the Ministry ever had. He's trained to look at things. You know that. Maybe he's just seen you and Remus together and noticed the sparks."

"Sparks?"

Kingsley smiled tolerantly. "Listen, darling, I don't mean to burst your bubble of secrecy here, but it's pretty obvious that you and Remus are interested in one another. Anyone who's seen you together knows, I'm sure."

Tonks face turned even redder as she buried it in her hands again. "Oh, God, this is so embarrassing."

"What? The fact that everyone in the Order pretty much knows how you feel about a certain former professor?"

"Yeah, that would be it."

Kingsley grinned. "Ah, cheer up. I don't think anyone has a problem with it."

"Oh, yes, that makes me feel so much better."

"He's a great guy, Tonks. You shouldn't be embarrassed to have a crush on him."

"I'm just embarrassed that everyone knows about it."

His grin widened. "Well, let's say everything worked out for you. Would you be embarrassed to have everyone know that you were dating him?"

"Of course not – but then it would be mutual attraction."

"Tonks –"

"No, King, I'm seriously worried about this," she said, cutting him off. "Why do you think that I haven't tried harder to make time to talk about our Christmas kiss with him? I just can't face the fact that he might not feel the same way about me as I do about him."

Kingsley looked at her in surprise. "Are you telling me that you're afraid of rejection? You're afraid that Remus will reject you?"

Tonks sighed. "He's so much older, King. I'm sure he just sees me as a little girl – or, maybe even worse, as a little sister."

"I really don't think that's the case, Tonks."

"I don't know. I mean, he's never been anything but a perfect gentleman around me. He's never given any indication that he cares about me as more than a friend and colleague."

"Except for the fact that he's always talking to you after meetings –"

"Hence the friend and colleague," she interrupted.

"And the fact that he's kissed you twice now," Kingsley finished as though she hadn't spoken.

"Well, to be fair, I kissed him the second time."

"But he kissed back. He could have pulled away and shoved you off him, but he didn't."

She sighed. "I wish there was some way I could be sure."

"Where is this lack of confidence coming from? Believe me, sweetheart, you can be sure."

She looked at him hopefully. "Do you really think so?"

Kingsley smiled. "Aside from all the other evidence I've presented, I've seen the way he looks at you. I know so."

She smiled. "Well, at least I have your vote of confidence." Her smile faded. "But all this still does nothing to help the fact that Moody knows."

"Ah, cheer up," Kingsley grinned. "I think that retirement means that he doesn't have the power to fire Aurors anymore."

She wrinkled her nose, then threw another quill at him.

Moody had instructed Tonks to be at headquarters by eight the next morning. Determined to get as much sleep as possible, she decided to skip breakfast. After showering and dressing, she Apparated to the house.

Molly was the first person she encountered; she was on her way up the stairs to wake the children. She gave Tonks a bright smile when she saw her.

"Good morning, dear," she said. "If you're hungry, go ahead down to the kitchen and have some breakfast."

"Thanks, Molly," Tonks replied, suddenly realizing that she was starving.

"I'm just going to wake the children," Molly said. "Sirius is probably down there eating – he wanted to be up in time to see the children off. If you need anything, I can get it for you when I come back downstairs."

"I'm capable of feeding myself," Tonks laughed.

Molly smiled and touched her cheek. "I'm used to boys," she said. "They take a different sort of mothering."

They separated, Molly going upstairs to wake the children, and Tonks going downstairs to have breakfast. She had to admit to feeling rather warm and fuzzy after Molly's last comment. Although her own mother fussed over her far too much for her liking, she rather enjoyed Molly taking the time to mother her.

She walked into the kitchen and stopped in surprise. It wasn't Sirius who sat at the table, but Remus.

"Good morning," she said a bit hesitantly.

"Tonks!" Remus said cheerfully. "Good morning. How are you?"

She finally found herself capable of movement again, and made her way across the room to pour a cup of coffee. "I'm fine. You?"

"Fine," he repeated. "Moody said that you would be on hand to take the kids back to school."

She nodded. "Harry still needs Auror protection."

Remus sighed. "After all that's happened, I think they all do."

"I'm glad you're going," she said, hoping to take some of the heaviness out of the mission ahead of them. "I'm going to need someone used to dealing with teenagers along to help."

He laughed. "You're great with the kids, Tonks. Don't sell yourself short."

She smiled as she sat down. "They're great kids."

Remus glanced toward the door, then back at her. "Do you think we should try now?"

"Try what?" she asked in complete confusion.

"Try to talk about – about Christmas."

She felt the nervousness flood her entire being at the thought. "We still have some time before the kids come downstairs," she said slowly.

"Are you sure?"

"Molly was just going to wake them when I came in."

"All right, we should be good, then," he said.

Watching him, Tonks realized that he was as nervous as she was. He folded and unfolded his hands, and licked his lips several times. Finally, he spoke.

"I guess we should start with . . ." He paused and drew a deep breath. "Tonks, did that kiss mean anything to you?"

She wanted to kick him. He had put her on the spot and asked her to confess her feelings without admitting any of his own. It was so unfair of him to do that! She bit her lip and hesitated, trying to decide the best response to give. Finally, she took a deep breath of her own.

"I never kiss without meaning it," she said softly. "You?"

He bit his lip in an action that mirrored her own before answering in a voice just above a whisper, "Neither do I."

Tonks felt completely elated. He had all but admitted that he had feelings for her. Now, if she could only get him to say the words . . .

The kitchen door opened, and the children walked in. Tonks and Remus looked at each other, both acknowledging silently that their conversation had to be shelved – again.

But not for long this time, Tonks vowed silently. I won't let this wait forever.