A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing! Enjoy!

I don't own the Harry Potter universe.

Changes, or Lack Thereof

Promptly at seven, Tonks Apparated into the Weasleys' yard. She smiled as she looked up at the house. She still wasn't sure why Molly had invited her for dinner, but she wasn't about to refuse a meal with the Weasleys. She adored them all, and knew that she would have a fun evening with them. Besides, she was eager to see the interaction between Fleur and her future brothers- and sister-in-law. She quickly made her way up the walk and knocked on the door.

"Who's there?"

"Tonks," she replied.

The door opened a crack, and a smiling face peeked around it. "Prove it."

She smiled. "You don't believe it's me, Bill?"

"Hey, you can't be too careful these days," he grinned. "Prove to me that you're Tonks."

She sighed, and changed her hair from the pink it had been for several days to jet-black. "Good enough?"

"Perfect," he laughed. He opened the door all the way to admit her, hugging her as soon as she crossed the threshold. "Hi, Tonks."

"Hi, Bill," she grinned. "I hear that congratulations are in order."

He beamed. "Yeah, Mum said that she told you."

"You know, you could have told me yourself," she said, playfully hitting him on the arm. "I thought we were friends! We spent way too much time together at Hogwarts for you to keep things like your engagement from me now."

Bill laughed. "All right, all right, I'm sorry! I'll never do it again, I promise."

"Bill, I definitely hope this is the only time you're ever engaged," she laughed.

"Fair enough," he grinned. "Come on in and say hi to everyone. Mum would kill me if she knew that I was keeping you in the foyer when there's an entire houseful of people who will want to see you."

Laughing, Tonks followed him down the hall into the living room. The entire Weasley clan, with the obvious exception of Percy, was gathered for the evening meal. Even Fred and George were there. Tonks grinned as she surveyed the scene, from Ron, who was staring at Fleur as though he had never seen a girl before, to Arthur, who was begging the twins not to tell their mother something.

"Hey, everyone!" Bill yelled. "Tonks is here!"

"Tonks!" Ginny yelled, her face lighting up. She jumped up from her spot next to Fleur, and ran to greet her. "Hi! Mum said you were coming tonight."

Tonks grinned at her. "How's everything, Ginny?"

Ginny made a face. "Great. Just fantastic."

Bill gave her a frown. "Try, Ginny," he begged.

"You try!" she exclaimed. "I'm so over her."

Bill sighed. "Ginny's having a bit of trouble with the idea of being a bridesmaid," he informed Tonks.

"You're going to be a bridesmaid in Bill and Fleur's wedding?" Tonks asked. "That's great, Ginny! Congratulations!"

Ginny shook her head. "The things I do for my brothers."

"You don't want to be a bridesmaid?"

"No, I think it's great to be a bridesmaid." She lowered her voice. "I just don't want to be her bridesmaid."

"Ginny," Bill sighed, "you're killing me."

"Hi, Tonks," Fred said, joining them. He flashed her a winning smile. "How's things?"

She looked at him curiously. "What exactly do you want from me?" she asked warily.

"What make you think I want something?" Fred asked innocently.

"Honestly, some people are so suspicious," George said, stepping up beside his twin.

Tonks shook her head. "How's the joke shop?"

"Fabulous," George said with flourish. "Actually, Tonks, that's what we wanted to talk to you about –"

"Ha!" she exclaimed. "I knew there was something!"

"It's these hats we've been making –"

"Enough," Arthur said, his expression weary. "Hi, Tonks."

"Hi, Arthur," Tonks smiled, accepting his kiss on her cheek. "How are you?"

"Worked half to death," he smiled. "You?"

"Same," she grinned.

"Tonks, hi," Ron said as he crossed to join them.

Tonks grinned, rather impressed that he had taken his eyes off Fleur long enough to notice that she was there. "Hi, Ron. How's my future coworker?"

Ron grinned, the tips of his ears turning pink. "Fine."

"Tonks, this is Fleur," Bill said from her other side. "Fleur, this is Tonks. She's an old friend of mine and Charlie's from Hogwarts."

Tonks turned to greet Bill's fiancée, trying to smile brightly. "Hello."

"'Ello," Fleur said with a smile, holding out her hand.

Tonks reached out to shake Fleur's hand; in the process, she somehow managed to trip over her feet, falling into the other girl. Bill, who apparently had excellent reflexes, caught Fleur before she could fall. Tonks didn't have a savior in the room; she managed to catch herself on an end table.

"Ouch," she said, straightening up. "Sorry about that, Fleur. I really know how to make a first impression, don't I?"

Fleur was looking at her as though she had grown a second head. Tonks was about to comment further when Molly appeared in the doorway.

"Dinner's ready, everyone," she smiled. Her face lit up when she saw Tonks. "Tonks, dear, I'm so glad you could make it!"

"Thanks for the invitation, Molly," she smiled.

"Well, come in, everyone, and sit down." She ushered her children ahead of her, and paused to squeeze Tonks's arm. "What do you think of our new girl?" she whispered.

Tonks grinned. "I think she hates me."

"Oh, Tonks," Molly laughed. "I'm sure she doesn't hate you."

"You didn't see me knock her over," Tonks grinned. "Fortunately for me, Bill caught her. I don't even want to think about what would have happened if she had hit the floor."

"She would have burned you with her eyes," Ginny said with a knowing nod.

Tonks laughed. "I didn't know anyone but Molly heard me say that."

"Oh, I hear everything," Ginny grinned.

"Do you, now?" Molly asked, raising an eyebrow. "Is that why you didn't hear me ask you to clean your room yesterday?"

Ginny heaved a sigh. "Come off it, Mum. You know I was standing right here when Tonks started talking. Can I sit next to her at dinner?"

Molly shook her head. "Of course."

All in all, Tonks could see why Molly was so frustrated with Fleur. By the end of dinner, Tonks wasn't sure if anyone but Fleur had spoken. She had manipulated the entire conversation, monopolizing it with wedding details. Tonks watched the others at the table closely, trying to see how they took the conversation.

Bill, obviously, hung on Fleur's every word. Ron, too, appeared to be captivated. Tonks shook her head as she watched him. While she was eager to help him in his pursuit of a career as an Auror, he would need to find a way to deal with this veela issue before she would do anything for him. The girl wasn't even a full veela! She shouldn't have such an effect on him.

Fred, George and Arthur seemed oblivious to Fleur's conversation. Fred and George were engaged in their own conversation, while Arthur appeared to be mentally a million miles away. Molly and Ginny both glared at Fleur the entire time she spoke. Tonks wanted to laugh when she looked at them. It was going to be very difficult for them to give Bill up to another woman.

At last the meal ended. Tonks smiled as everyone pushed their chairs back from the table.

"Let me help you clean up, Molly."

"Thank you, dear," Molly smiled.

"I will 'elp, too," Fleur declared.

Ginny fumbled with the plates she had already stacked to carry to the sink. She looked at her mother, her eyes wide with surprise. Molly, too, looked shocked.

"Well, thank you, Fleur," she said. "That would be lovely."

Tonks grabbed the nearest items, an empty platter and a half-empty gravy boat. "Where do you want these, Molly?"

"On the counter, please, dear," she replied.

Tonks started for the counter, and tripped over the rug. She fell forward, losing her grip on both the platter and the gravy boat. The platter flew across the room and crashed against the wall. The gravy boat didn't make it nearly so far; it crashed into Fleur, splashing gravy all over her.

Fleur shrieked as though she had been stabbed, her hands immediately going to her hair. Shaking her head, Molly went to undo the damage.

"Nice one, Tonks," George laughed.

"Did you know Tonks's middle name is Grace?" Fred asked.

"You know, I did hear that," George grinned. "Did you know she was supposed to be a ballerina, but realized the Auror gig would pay more?"

"Oh, funny," Tonks said dryly. "You're just comedians, both of you."

"Why, thank you," Fred grinned. "Coming from you, that's quite high praise."

"Tonks, why don't you come with me," Bill offered. "Mum and Ginny can handle this."

"Oh, thanks, Bill," Ginny said sarcastically. "I'll remember this!"

"You're my favorite sister, Gin," Bill grinned. "Come on, Tonks."

Tonks gratefully left with Bill. Fleur was now rambling on and on in French. Tonks was a bit afraid that she was cursing her – or, at the very least, calling her horrible names.

"Thanks," Tonks said as he led her outside. "I'm sorry to be such a problem. Your mum probably regrets inviting me now."

Bill laughed. "Mum knows how you are. I don't think she's upset at all. Fleur, on the other hand …"

"I'm sorry, Bill," Tonks sighed. "She'll probably give you an earful tonight about what horrible friends you have."

Bill grinned. "If that's the case, chances are, I won't understand half of it. She usually goes into French when she's really upset."

"Oh," Tonks said, unsure of how to reply. She decided to change the track of the conversation. "When's the wedding?"

"Next summer. We want to get married right after the kids get back from school."

Tonks smiled. "A summer wedding will be nice."

Bill nodded. "Yeah, we think so." He paused, and glanced sideways at her. "Charlie will be there."

"I would hope so," Tonks smiled. "He is your brother. Will he be your best man?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

"I just … I thought you might be excited to see him."

Tonks turned to look him in the eye. "Bill," she said, "of course I'm excited to see Charlie. We were … very close. But, anything between us ended when we broke up. We're friends now, but it ends there."

"Oh."

She smiled. "We were just kids, Bill. I don't see you marrying the girl you dated when you were at Hogwarts."

"No, of course not," he smiled. "I'm sorry, Tonks. I guess it's a problem everyone has when they get engaged. They want to see all their friends happy, too."

"I am happy, Bill," she smiled. "Can't you tell?"

He shrugged. "Not really."

"Bill!" she laughed. "What a horrible thing to say!"

"Tonks, we're friends, right?"

"Of course."

"Right. Then, tell me something."

"Anything."

"Why were your eyes stuck blue the other day?"

She bit her lip. "You heard about that, huh?"

"Yeah."

She sighed. "I have no idea why my eyes were stuck blue."

"Really?" Bill asked dubiously.

"Well …"

"Tell me."

She sighed. "It's too complicated to explain."

He looked at her closely. "Make your hair match mine."

"What?"

"I want you to look like you belong in this family. Let's pretend you and Charlie had an incestuous relationship."

"You are completely sick. You know that, right?"

"Just do it."

She sighed, and looked at his hair while concentrating on her own. After a moment, he looked at her with a frown.

"What's wrong?"

"Your hair – it's not the right color."

"What color is it?"

"Sort of magenta."

Her eyes widened. "Oh, that can't be good."

"Tonks, what's wrong?"

She shook her head. "I'm not sure."

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Bill, I love you for your concern, but don't worry about me," she said, forcing a smile. "I'm sure everything is fine. I've just been working a lot lately, and stressing myself out over this Hogwarts assignment. Stress can affect my abilities. Don't worry about me."

"Are you sure you're all right?"

She smiled. "Positive."

"So, we're really ready?"

"We are," Dana smiled. "Laura and I finally have everything boxed up. Are you?"

"Yup," Olivia said cheerfully. "How did Laura take packing?"

Dana made a face. "I'd rather not revisit it."

Remus laughed. "Let's just say that it's a good thing she's still underage. If she weren't, I'm afraid Dana would be missing some limbs right now."

Olivia smiled. "She's awfully moody, isn't she?"

Remus shrugged. "She's that age. Don't you remember what it was like?"

"I think I blocked out that period of my life," Olivia grinned. She looked at both of her friends, her eyes sparkling. "Can you believe we're doing this? Going home?"

Dana shook her head. "I don't think it's really real to me yet."

"It will be at this time tomorrow, when you're in the Leaky Cauldron," Remus replied. He grinned. "I'm so excited that you girls are doing this. I can't wait to have you back in home with me."

"It's going to take us some time to get settled," Dana said.

"True," Olivia said. "When do we start looking at houses?"

"Day after tomorrow," Dana replied. "Tomorrow is our travel day."

Olivia yawned. "Well, I should get home, then. We'll have a lot to do tomorrow." She stood up and hugged Dana. "Thank you for a lovely dinner."

"You're welcome. You'll be over tomorrow morning when you're ready to go?"

Olivia nodded. "Expect me by ten."

As soon as she left the Weasleys, Tonks Apparated to Kingsley's flat. Fortunately, he was home, flipping through a Muggle magazine that he had picked up at work.

"Hi, King," she said.

He looked up in surprise. "Hey, Hogwarts Master."

"Don't tease," she said, sitting down next to him on the couch.

He closed his magazine, immediately realizing that she needed his full attention. "What's wrong, love?"

"King - I can't morph."

Kingsley's eyes opened wide. "What?" he whispered. "You can't change your appearance at all?"

"No, I can some … but not like I usually can." She picked up a strand of her hair. "This is supposed to match Bill Weasley's hair."

Kingsley frowned. "Has this ever happened before?"

"No."

"Do you know why it's happening?"

She bit her lip. "Not exactly."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that I'm not sure."

"But you have an idea, right?"

She sighed. "Well, I've been really stressed over this whole job thing."

Kingsley shook his head. "I don't think that's it."

"Why not?"

"What was the most stressful period of your life – up until now?"

She looked thoughtful. "Auror exams," she said at last. "You know how it is. They're 'do or die' tests. If you can't pass them, you can't work as an Auror."

Kingsley nodded. "And did you have problems then?"

She shook her head. "That's what got me through some of that stuff."

He nodded again. "Tonks, I think this goes beyond job-related stress."

"What do you mean?"

He sighed. "When was the last time you saw Remus?"

She frowned. "Last night. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Work with me. Did you two discuss your relationship?"

"No. He helped me with some Hogwarts stuff."

"Did you try to morph while he was there?"

"No …" she said slowly. "But, my eyes finally changed color while he was there. They had been blue all day and I had been trying to change them. When he was there, they finally turned brown."

Kingsley took her hand in his. "Tonks, do you love him?"

"Do I … King! What kind of a question is that?"

He smiled. "Tonks, do you know what can drain a wizard's powers quicker than anything else?"

"No."

"Unrequited love."

"What does that have to do with me?" As soon as the question had left her lips, the significance struck her. "Oh."

"Yeah. 'Oh.'"

She bit her lip. "God, King. What am I going to do?"

He shrugged. "I don't know that I'm the one to answer that, love."

She thought in silence for a moment, then sat straight up. "I know what to do."

"What?"

"I'm just going to have to talk to him again. I'm going to have to convince him to give us a chance."

"I don't know, Tonks …"

"I do," she said stubbornly. "Don't give me that look, King. This is going to work. I'm sure of it."

"How long do we have to stay here?" Laura asked, looking around the small room she and her mother shared.

"Until we can find a house," Dana replied.

Laura crossed her arms. "I don't understand why we're here at all. We could have stayed in our house in France until we found a house here."

"It's a bit difficult to look for a house when you're in a different country," Dana replied, dropping a stack of robes on Laura's bed. "Put those away, darling."

Laura turned angrily, and yanked the closet door open.

"Laura, stop acting like a child," Dana said sharply. "If you break that, you'll be the one paying the Leaky Cauldron for it."

A light knock sounded on the door.

"Come in," Dana said wearily.

"Hi, ladies," Olivia said as she entered the room. "Are you ready for a break? Remus suggested that we all go for dinner together."

"That sounds great," Dana said enthusiastically. Anything for some adult conversation! She desperately needed a break from her moody daughter.

"Remus is in the lobby," Olivia said. "He said to come down when we're ready. He thought we could go to that Muggle restaurant we all loved back when we used to live around here."

"Tony's?" Dana said, her eyes lighting up.

"Right," Olivia smiled. "Are you ready to go?"

"I am," Dana said. She picked up her purse, and turned to Laura. "Are you ready, darling?"

"Yes," Laura said. She brushed past Dana to join Olivia at the door.

Dana reached out to brush at Laura's hair, trying to straighten it.

"Stop it, Mum," Laura said, swatting her hands away. "I don't have anyone to impress here."

Olivia looked at Dana in surprise. Dana shook her head.

"Let's go meet Remus."

When they arrived in the lobby, they saw Remus talking to a young witch who had magenta hair and was wearing a Weird Sisters t-shirt and flared jeans. Olivia and Dana looked at one another with raised eyebrows.

"Oo, Mum, who's that?" Laura asked, her own hands flying up to fix her hair.

"I don't know," Dana replied. She looked at Olivia, and knew in a heartbeat that she, too, had noticed how closely this unknown woman and Remus were standing to one another.

They crossed to join Remus and the mystery woman. Remus's eyes lit up when he saw them.

"These are the girls I was telling you about," he informed his companion. "This is Dana McKinley and her daughter, Laura, and this is Olivia Alexander. Ladies, this is Nymphadora Tonks."

"Just Tonks, please," she said, reaching out to shake their hands. "It's great to finally meet all of you. Remus talks about you all the time." She grinned as she shook Olivia's hand. "And, I have to tell you that Mad-Eye talks about you all the time."

Olivia's eyes lit up. "You're Sirius's cousin, right? The Auror?"

"Oh!" Dana exclaimed. "Andromeda's daughter?"

"That's me," Tonks said cheerily.

"Well, then, I'm thrilled to meet you," Olivia said, shaking her hand again. "John was just telling me what a great job you've been doing."

Tonks flushed slightly. "I just do my best."

Olivia beamed. "I'm so excited that we'll be able to work together, now that I'm back in the UK."

Tonks's eyebrows shot up. "Are you being assigned to Hogwarts?"

"I don't know yet," Olivia confessed. "Is that where you are, then?"

Tonks nodded.

"I'll see if I can talk John into it," Olivia smiled.

"That would be great. I need as many competent people as I can get." She paused. "Right, so I'm sure I know who you are, but let me see about you two." She turned to Dana and Laura, her eyes resting on the younger girl. "You must be Remus's goddaughter."

"Right," Laura grinned. "I love your shirt."

"Thanks," Tonks smiled. "I got it at the last concert."

"No way! You went to the concert?" Laura squealed.

"Of course," Tonks grinned. "I haven't missed a show in the UK yet."

"Oh, that is so, so unbelievably cool!"

Tonks smiled. "You're a fan?"

"You have no idea!" She frowned. "I wanted to go to Paris for their concert last summer, but someone wouldn't let me." She shot a glare in her mother's direction.

Tonks grinned at Dana. "Sounds like you have a very good mother, Laura. Those concerts can be crazy. I wouldn't want to go alone, and I'm an Auror."

"I wouldn't have gone alone. My friends were going."

"Your friends aren't Aurors," Dana said, shaking her head.

"Well," Remus said, attempting to end the conversation before things got ugly, "we were just off to dinner. Would you like to join us, Tonks?"

"I'd love to, but I can't," she said regretfully. "I'm meeting John to go over some Hogwarts details in about five minutes."

"He's meeting you here?" Olivia asked.

"No, in Diagon Alley," Tonks said. "I was just on my way through to the other side."

"Right. Well, tell him hello for me."

"Of course. It was really nice to meet all of you. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon."

"I'm sure," Dana smiled.

"Hopefully, I'll see you at work," Olivia said.

"And what about you, Laura?" Tonks asked, grinning at her. "We'll have to get together to talk music."

"Yeah, definitely," Laura grinned.

"Excellent." She looked up at Remus. "So, your offer to help me move still stands?"

"Absolutely," he smiled. "You said Tuesday?"

"Is that all right? That's my day off this week."

"That's perfect." He glanced at the others. "Maybe I'll even be able to convince these ladies to help us, too."

"The more the merrier," Tonks said with a smile. "Or, in this case, the more the quicker."

"You're moving?" Dana asked.

"To Hogsmeade," Tonks affirmed. "I'm trying to be closer to the assignment."

"Makes sense," Olivia said. "You're there for the year, then?"

"Right." She smiled at them again. "Well, I'd better run. I don't want to keep the new boss waiting."

"Just tell him you were with me," Olivia grinned. "That should get you out of trouble."

"Thanks," Tonks laughed. "There's no shame in name dropping, right?"

They all laughed and parted ways, Tonks going into Diagon Alley, and Remus and the others heading into Muggle London.

"She's sweet, Remus," Dana said as they walked down the street.

"Sweet?" Laura repeated. "She's awesome! I can't believe how dedicated she is to the Weird Sisters!"

"I had rather pictured her to look more like Sirius," Olivia said quietly.

"She changes her appearance every day," Remus said. "She actually looks like Andromeda when she lets her real face show through."

Olivia smiled. "She does look a bit like him, then."

"Hey," Remus said, taking her hand. "Will you be okay working with her?"

She looked at him with a bittersweet smile. "Remus, this is quite possibly the most wonderful thing that could have happened. It's going to be like having a little piece of him working with me every day."

They reached the restaurant, and Remus and Laura immediately launched into a lengthy discussion about the differences between French and British food. Taking advantage of the fact that they were both occupied, Dana turned to Olivia.

"Well?"

"Well, what?" Olivia asked.

"Remus and Tonks?" Dana hissed.

Olivia smiled slowly. "Are they together?"

Dana shrugged. "I was hoping you'd know something."

"He hasn't said anything to me."

"Well, they should be together. Did you see the way they were looking at one another?"

Olivia bit her lip. "I don't know, Dana. Sirius always told me that they were perfect for each other, that they had crushes on one another … but, to my knowledge, nothing ever came of it."

Dana raised her eyebrows. "Shall we give them a little nudge?"

"What exactly are you proposing?"

"Nothing major," Dana assured her. "But, I'll tell you right now that all three of us are busy on Tuesday."

"What are we doing?"

"I don't know yet – but it's going to keep us away from their moving party."

Olivia grinned. "Sounds like a perfect private party to me."