Jrose - I'm sorry it took a little while to get the next few chapters up, I fixed a few glitches and got me self a different reader so i hope you enjoy my next few installments. As always please read and review. Thanks.
Chapter thirteen - 'Years of Charming Remus!'
"Sirius, where the hell are you?" Lupin called heading into the living room and wondering where the wagging tailed dog had gone off to in his absence. He was just beginning to get slightly worried that Sirius had gone out on a jolly or something but soon found him soaking wet in a bath robe striding out his bedroom.
"Oh your home? Where you bin, got you're message?" He answered heading back into his room, pulling the plug out the bath and leaving his door half open while he dried off. Lupin came in and sat down on the bed pulling his cloak off to wait for Sirius to get dressed.
"I've bin to see your dear cousin, don't worry, she soon worked out I was in touch with you and sent you a doggy bag!" He called through to get a slightly muffed reply as Sirius dried his hair with a towel.
"You told her I lived with you!" He asked a little shocked.
"No she guessed and Tonks explained that I sort of spend a lot of time with you and stuff. She was extremely happy to hear about you and Ted seemed to guess you were here in the impenetrable fortress he calls a shit hole. Even made a few comments about your drunkard father that couldn't find his way back in half the time." At this Sirius merely nodded in agreement with Ted and let the mention pass quiet un-noticed.
"Oh well, I guess she's not likely to tell anybody, thinks a lot of me she does but still, you should be careful what you say to her." Sirius added warningly, he loved his weird cousin and he didn't want the fact that she was any relation to him, causing her problems. Tonks however would easily point out that Andromeda already had a whole range of sisters, parents and brother-in-laws that were far more dangerous and murderous than he was even believed to be and therefore he shouldn't worry so much.
"I know, I will, for her own good really, she doesn't know where you are exactly." Lupin replied as he handed Sirius a clean pair of trousers from the side in the hopes he'd put them on soon and sat back down on the chair.
"How did you like her?" He asked brushing his hair so it actually looked more lopsided than when he started and laid down lazily on his bed.
"How the hell did you manage to produce a relative that after all these years still is totally besotted by ya? I mean, it was worse than trying to be offensive about you two Harry, he just gives killer looks but she'd beat the crap out ya with a frying pan given half the chance for saying you were a looking a bit ragged these days or something obvious like that." Lupin asked blankly as Sirius barked his laugh out.
"Years of charming Remus, I've been working on her since I was about five or six years old. Did you like her?" He asked grinning away almost as happy as when Harry talked to him.
"Yeah, I'm not sure I made a brilliant first impression though but still, she seemed to warm up to me when Tonks told her what a good friend I was to you. I get the feeling that's me only asset as far as she's concerned!" Lupin sighed blankly.
"Oi, don't you dare go spoiling my brilliant reputation with her, besides what's this goody bag you've got me anyway?" He asked sitting up and quickly grabbing the tin and bag to pull it open like a little kid on Christmas morning.
"Ted seems really odd but ever so funny. I mean, he's really sarcastic about everything and I was kind of expecting him to be a bit more, err, difficult that's all."
"Why, he's a lovely bloke, his humours about as a dry as a dessert but still, he's an easy going sort of bloke? Why did you think he would be difficult with ya?" Sirius asked pulling out a box of home made biscuits and smacking his lips hungrily.
"No reason. Just I get the impression I'm the only bloke Tonks has ever taken home in her entire life that's all." Lupin tried to explain off hand, glad Sirius had the lure of home made biscuits to distract him a bit. Honestly if he didn't look so old on the outside he could easily pass as about seven sometimes.
"Oh ok, but still, I bet you he doesn't care about you been a werewolf, one time James mentioned you at Christmas dinner and he made a load comments about hot werewolf sex, and what a randy bugger you must be, went way over Tonks's head and she kept asking questions about it all when Andromeda went out the room.' Sirius added casually digging further in his bag to find an odd looking book. At this though Lupin suddenly coughed and almost chocked on his own breath.
'What's the matter with you?" He asked putting his book aside and looking curiously over at Lupin choking next to him, he was sure that couldn't be a healthy thing for Remus, the urge to slap on the back to help though had long since drifted out of his memory.
"Nothing, just feel a bit sick from my first potion that's all." He mumbled and for a moment he was sure Sirius could smell Tonks on him, but he merely shrugged and went back to his tin that the weird old-man-looking-seven-year-old soon worked out had a few roll ups of home made stuff in it.
"Oh god, that women knows me so well!" He sighed almost dreamily, shoving the tin in his bedside cabinet and starting on a biscuit.
"I hope you aint gonna have one of them near Harry! I saw what you're so suddenly chirpy about!" Lupin asked sounding very serious and boring again, like when he was always so skeptical about James and Sirius's next big adventure.
"I wasn't going to but now you mention it, he'd probably like to have a try wouldn't he!" Sirius grinned showing a very evil looking glint in one eye that Lupin knew from numerous past experience never led to anything good.
"Don't you dare, his mother would go mad!" Lupin snapped shocked at Sirius's sudden stupid chirpy idea.
"Yeah but he's a young man now, he can make his own decisions about things, besides, it's gonna be months yet before I see him again.' He added then grinned broadly.
'I might have finished them all by then. Anyway, this is 100 home grown stuff knowing her, it's not gonna have anything too strong or dangerous init. Andromeda would never give her dear sweet little Sirius something dodgy, now would she?" He decided looking forward to maybe rubbing Molly's nose in it if she caught him and Harry smoking in the living room. Despite Remus, Sirius had no intention of letting Harry anywhere near his tin, having quickly decided that James may not approve of Sirius helping Harry on the way to debauchery and would most likely insist that Harry find his own way there. Lupin however thought to change the subject to Harry for a while seen as he was the main purpose for leaving the house today.
"Harry seemed ok when we saw him, I'm pretty sure I saw a pissed off ministry person outside Zonker's but we took them somewhere out the way and I'm sure we weren't followed."
"Oh, ok, who was with him?" Sirius asked putting his school boy ideas away for the moment to be more of a responsible adult.
"Just Ginny, she wanted to talk to Tonks. Anyway, Tonks was telling him about the Nargel pub on the edge of Hogsmade." Lupin started.
"She best not of told him how to get there, I warned him whatever he heard he wasn't to go anywhere near that dratted place." Sirius snapped sitting up a little more straighter making Lupin smirk.
"Yeah he said you did and no, she didn't, but still, Ginny mentioned something about you having your own personal comments board on some toilet door."
"She did?" He asked suddenly very confused.
"Apparently all those girls you tried to seduce in school gave you marks out of ten and graffitied it in some toilet and it's still there now!" Lupin explained as Sirius started laughing again. Lupin had only told him because he knew Sirius would have some weird vanity in him that found it funny.
He liked to see Sirius laugh, he'd been so much better this year now he regularly talked to Harry over the mirror. There was always that dark side to him though and Lupin was sure he'd been sulking in the bath for a good few hours and probably banged around the house all day because he was lonely. But still, the face of Azkaban was leaving him drop by drop to reveal a far kinder, healthy man that actually enjoyed banging around and causing an argument rather than doing it because he didn't know what to do with himself.
"Where's Tonks?" Sirius suddenly asked realising she wasn't there and that he hadn't heard her banging around in to things any where yet.
"She's, err, having words with her mother and I think I might be the topic." Lupin explained quietly.
"Arr, I see now, you went back to her mum and dads house uninvited and she suddenly saw you sitting in the living room drinking tea and biscuits all cozy-like on the sofa." He laughed mockingly and Lupin was beginning to wonder if Sirius some how knew the truth and was just teasing him as a sick joke. It would be the sort of thing he'd find funny too, to torture and humiliate Lupin about Tonks as punishment for fancying her.
"Err, something like that, I think she was just surprised to see Tonks at home with a bloke that's all. Ted made a few jokes about Tonks never having a man about and something about wondering if she was gay or not. Well at least I assume that was what he was on about." Lupin explained cautiously.
"Well he would, he must have started when she hit puberty and continued ever since.' Sirius explained biting into another biscuit, annoyed that he'd missed so much the last few years that he couldn't even say for sure what Ted's behaviour would be to his little girl.
'Andromeda's very nice really but I think she's just a bit disappointed that Tonks has turned out to be a bit of a tom boy. She's probably quiet happy about you though. I mean you're quiet a boring sort of old fashioned fart aren't you. Well, maybe not that old, but it's not as if your ever going to pull up on a Harley and drive off into the sunset or anything cool like that. Or shag her brains out the minuet her backs turned!" Sirius explained but Lupin couldn't help but rise despite being extremely pink in the face now.
"Oi, I'm not boring nor am I old fashioned, just a bit poor that's all!'
'And I'm not so sure she's so happy about me?" He muttered afterwards.
"Pardon?" Sirius asked innocently being too interested in his goody bag to listen properly.
"Are you happy about it?" He suddenly asked trying to think of something easy to cover it with.
"It's not that bad, your ok I suppose, if she must like you like that. And I guess I do know you well enough to know what your gonna be like and things which is better than some sort of randy Weasley or something going after her that I'm not particularly fond of. But I don't want to hear about it, I don't want to see it and I really don't want to know what you do behind a closed door, if you ever manage to get that far that is. So, as long as you don't upset her then I'm quiet happy to be ignorant of the entire business." He smiled firmly as Lupin definitely got the point. Sirius was not the person to talk to about his rather embarrassing introduction to Mrs Tonks however funny he may have found it had it been somebody else.
"Oh well, at least your honest!" Lupin sighed as Sirius merely grinned again and went back to digging in his bag.
"I managed to get that broken mirror off Harry's wall but I can't for the life of me stick it back together!" Sirius explained changing the subject and bringing Lupin back from his naughty day dream with a slight bump.
"Oh well maybe there's something in Molly's house keeping book?" Lupin asked absentmindedly.
"I refuse to have to stoop to that level, anyway, what have you been doing all day you don't half smell like Tonks you know?" He suddenly asked making Lupin feel very guilty as his heart skipped a beat at her mention, he'd been sat with Sirius hardly even half an hour and he was already missing her.
'God that was a weird feeling to have after so many years of loneliness.' He found himself wondering when really he should be listening to Sirius.
"Well I was in her house for ages, any way I think I'll go and have a bath. I'm tired." He decided getting up and hoping he's out and clean by the time Tonks got home, so he could welcome her back properly.
"Sure knock yourself out, I've got cookies to eat." Sirius replied laying down on his bed and pulling out the book and pulling his first tin closer.
It was several hours later when Lupin had long since drifted off in to sleep did the muffled sounds of Tonks trying to shut curtains over a once sleeping portrait did he realise she was back and it was late. Waking up and climbing out the bath to get dried off and quickly rubbing his hair dry, putting some clean clothes on, Remus was just pulling a pair of socks on when he heard Sirius stop Tonks on the stairs.
"What's the matter with you? You look all flustered!" Sirius asked plainly stepping into Tonks way and making her stop.
"Nothing, nothing, just had a bad evening?" She mumbled trying to get past as Sirius stepped aside to keep in her way.
"Hay, you don't get past me that easily, what's the matter with you?" He pestered grabbing her by the arm and poking her towards her bedroom.
"Nothing, just my bloody mother wouldn't shut up for ages!" Tonks grumbled rubbing a tear out her eye before it had time to form properly.
"Can't be that bad your mothers never been in mine's league. What was she so annoyed about?" Sirius asked kindly plonking Tonks down on her bed next to him.
"She's not sure about Remus, thinks he's too old." Tonks muttered determinedly looking away from Sirius.
"Remus isn't that old, he's just old fashioned and a bit out of date that's all." Sirius explained gently trying to put his arm around Tonks's shoulder although not quiet sure he'd done it right as it didn't seem to be helping much yet.
"No he's not, he's just a bit scruffy around the edges that's all! I think his scruffy tweed jacket makes him look cute. And he's not old, I think he's lots of fun! You can't be old fashioned and fun it doesn't work!" Tonks snapped back at him making Sirius a little surprised by the strange girly outburst.
"Oh ok, you think he's fun and I think he's over mature lets leave it at that. But what's the matter with your mother, she's never normally the over reacting type, is she?" Sirius asked as sweetly as he could.
"No well, some times, she didn't like me going to be an Aura and she doesn't like me doing things for the order." Tonks explained dumbly twiddling with the hem of her cloak.
"She knows about the order?" Sirius asked a little shocked again by the strange information his cousin seems to get hands on so easily, really though he shouldn't be surprised she always got the best bits of information out of Sirius with the greatest of ease.
"Not exactly, but she knows I've been sort of doing things for Dumbledore in my spare time. I didn't tell her but she has a way of always getting it out of me. I worked really hard at my training and did well at all the tests to keep quiet about information but mum, she always gets it out of me and I can't help it!" Tonks began to sob softly on Sirius's shoulder as she quickly rubbed tears out her eyes.
"Yeah well some mothers are like that. Why doesn't she like Remus?" Sirius continued gently not exactly sure what the problem with him is, he'd given his vague consent so Sirius was struggling to see way anyone else would have a problem with them.
"It's not that she doesn't like him, it's just she thinks I'm ashamed of him and that's why I never told her about him, and she thinks he's too old for me and that I was only bothering with him because he was your friend!" Tonks whined trying her best to stay in one piece but struggling terribly.
"Do you think any of that's true?" Sirius asked glad for once he could put in to practice his affectionate love for Tonks again even if he wasn't sure that she was noticing much.
"No, I care about him, he's really nice and he makes me feel girly. I like been girly but I'm never very good at it and when I'm around him it's sort of easy and he doesn't care when I knock things over. Even when it's him!" Tonks snapped quietly, at this Sirius had to agree, for some reason, Remus actually liked it when Tonks accidentally knocked into him.
"Yeah well sounds like you do really like him for some stupid reason, I think he's a bit of an old fart these days but when he's around you he seems to be less of an old fart, he's more like he used to be, a young fart!" Sirius pondered carefully.
"Like you are?" Tonks put in encouragingly.
"I'm not like that silly, I'm emotionally retarded there's a difference!" Sirius repeated plainly making Tonks laugh.
"Why does mum like you so much? Even now she thinks the world of you, more than me anyway!" Tonks asked plainly.
"Yeah well, I'm just a wonderful person like that and your mum notices it! Now stop being so depressed about Remus, he seemed dead chirpy when he came home, I think he liked having tea with you lot." Tonks smirked uncontrollably knowing full well it had nothing to do with the tea, although she was pleased that he seemed pleased to Sirius when he came in especially seen as Sirius seemed so blind to it all.
"Where's he now?" She wondered hoping he wasn't asleep so he'd be able to remember when she snuggled up close to him for a kiss before bed.
"In the bath I think, I've got to go down and bolt the house up and stuff and give Kresher a little kick good-night before bed, so I'll see you in the morning, ok?" He added getting up and disappearing outside the room. No sooner had he reached half way down the stairs had Lupin crept across the landing and into Tonks room.
"You ok, I heard Sirius stop you on the stairs?" He asked softly coming into the room and closing the door behind him.
"Yeah I'm fine. Mum was just a bit cross about finding us err, otherwise engaged when she came home." Tonks explained carefully but found her self been pushed against the closed door for a long kiss by Remus to make her feel better (and for the tongue action of course).
"Hmm, well it was a bit of a shock seeing her standing there, I was enjoying myself, why'd she have to come home so early?" Lupin mumbled moving around to kiss her neck.
"Behave you, Sirius will be coming back up the stairs soon." Tonks whispered but Lupin never stopped and this seemed to be driving Tonks's entire body mad with excitement.
"Can't, too horny!" He mumbled kissing her softly as he could.
"Yeah well, just don't get any worse, I've just had a right drilling from my mother about contraceptive potion's and all sorts. I don't want to have to deal with him too!"
"Hay I may be horny but I'm not stupid.' Lupin replied stopping to look in Tonks face.
'Is that what she was so annoyed about?" He asked quietly, sure the prospect of grandkids at Tonks age might not be such a bad idea. It was never going to happen Lupin was absolutely sure but as a motherly sort Andromeda might find it a nice idea.
"Err, a bit and some other things she's err, mixing some stuff for me and well it's a bit of all sorts. She err, thinks you might be using me for easy sex." Tonks explained as Lupin looked back shocked and suddenly let go of Tonks's body.
"Do you think that's all I'm after?" He asked feeling rather hurt.
"No I don't, you had no idea that's what I was err, planning this afternoon that's why your so sweet. You don't think like that do you?" Tonks quickly soothed pushing her body back up close to his and trying to get him to go back to the cuddling kisses.
"Err, no not really. I err, thought we were just gonna have some tea or something." He mumbled wondering why Tonks was even looking at him, he suddenly had this horrible feeling that she just wanted to get a werewolf in the sack to see what they were like and move on. It wouldn't have been the first time that had happened but he was sure Tonks was sweeter than that, she was the sweetest thing he'd ever seen with her natural little ears poking out her hair.
"See you are nice. That's why I like you so much and when I tried explaining this to mum, she just went blank and didn't understand, or maybe I didn't explain it very well?" Tonks mumbled half to herself the last bit.
"Oh, so you don't think that's what I'm after?" Lupin wondered still a bit insecure and confused.
"No silly, I like you for you, I don't care about the rest of it. Besides Sirius said such nice things about you and you've got that cute hurt soulful thing going for ya!" She smiled kissing him gently on each cheek. Lupin had no idea what 'that cute soulful thing' was but if it got him kisses like this then he really didn't care.
"Sirius said nice things about me?"
"Enough talk about him, I want a cuddle." She decided leaning her body in closer to Lupin's and laying her head down on his chest as she rapped her arms around his middle.
Lupin however had very little idea about what an earth Tonks was on about, but she was hugging him warmly and letting him smell her sweet strawberry hair so it didn't really matter. All he could think about now was how cute she looked when she fell asleep in the chair after coming in late from work and the way she some times pouted when she concentrated. He would always cover her up with the blanket and pull her boots off for her so she would be comfortable. She had no idea it was Remus doing this and it wasn't until Sirius mentioned it did she realise and started to notice him and all the good things he had to offer.
"What's this I hear about you telling Harry about the Nargel pub anyway? How would YOU even know it exists?" Sirius asked several days later when Tonks had come back early for tea with Sirius and Lupin.
"Well I do work with Podmore and I found out about it though work and had to go in when me and Arnsley were tracking some tear away troll dealer." Tonks replied casually.
"It's a right horrid dive that you shouldn't be in and now stupid curious Harry is going to want to have a look." Sirius snapped.
"Sirius I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself and besides I didn't tell him how to get there and from what Ginny's been telling me there's some girl he'd much rather sneak off with than go looking for some dive of a pub he'd never get into." Tonks explained knowing full well this would get Sirius's full attention and off the fact that Tonks actually quiet liked going to The Nargel pub after hours for an interesting drink with Podmore was kept out the conversation.
"He's got some girl. He never said." Sirius wondered losing interest in his food again and pouring another healthy glass of red wine for himself.
"No, apparently he's kept it very quiet and I think he knows you would pester and pester him if you found out about her." Tonks explained taking a small sip form her glass.
"No I wouldn't, not if he didn't want to tell me." Sirius answered feeling a little hurt but in reality he would, he just didn't realise it.
"Yeah you would. You'd go on and on and on and be really annoying until you found out every little detail." Lupin explained speaking from recent experience after Sirius had done it to him to find out who it was Lupin kept looking at in the Order meetings.
"Who is she anyway?" Sirius asked ignoring Lupin.
"Ginny didn't say, just that it was some girl in Gryffindor and that Ron didn't know about it yet for some reason and it wasn't Hermione." Tonks replied off hand successfully managing to keep it quiet that she knew full well it was Ginny Harry had been sneaking off as often as he could to see.
"Oh well, I'll rib him about it next time he gets in touch.' He decided, apparently Tonks didn't know enough and there was no point guessing he didn't know enough about the current girls at Hogwarts to be able to guess properly.
'Anyway have you seen your mother recently?" He continued.
"Yeah she err, seems to be a bit better, I think she's been talking to one of her friends. I told her not to talk about you to anybody and apparently she's been talking more about me and my failings according to dad than 'sweet wonderful little Sirius'." Tonks sighed with a roll of her eyes when she mentioned 'sweet wonderful little Sirius'
"But she's coming around a bit and not chiding you every five minuets then." Sirius pushed on a little confused about his beloved cousin, he may love her to pieces regardless but she never seemed to make very much sense to him.
"To be honest I've been keeping out the way, but she seems ok at the moment. Keeps ranting on about clearing my room out a bit but that's all."
"Yeah well, this house is full of enough junk already I don't want you filling it up with all your stuff from over twenty years." Sirius dryly teased.
"Oi, I don't have too much stuff!" Tonks snapped back.
"Err, yeah you do. How many pairs of jeans does one person need?" Sirius asked sarcastically.
"So, I had a few problems getting the sizing right when I made them but I have hardly any clothes, you know Hermione's got a walk in wardrobe full of clothes." Tonks snapped back at him.
"I don't care, she doesn't live here, just, I know your like your mother, you horde things and never through owt out." He snapped back over the table.
"I'm not like her, at least I don't keep things from thirty years ago."
"You're not thirty yet and I'm sure you will when you get old enough to be." Sirius snapped back.
"Anyway so what if I have a variety of clothes, you wear the same old ragged clothes that you yanked out some cupboard in this old place. I know you don't get out much but at least make an effort Sirius before complaining about me! Soap isn't on a ration or anything we can get you plenty of it!" She snapped back.
Sirius went quiet at this and Lupin wondered if she'd over stepped the line mentioning his unfortunate lack of freedom but he soon recovered and started back.
"I wash and besides Remus hardly makes any effort and you seem happy enough with him, why do I have to be the only one making an effort to look a little cleaner?"
"Oi, don't bring me into your domestic!" Lupin suddenly put in hoping not to get between the two as they argued. It was never a safe place to be no-man's land between them two, you usually ended up blasted to pieces and some times literally two.
"Then I will take him out and get him some new clothes so he can show you up and maybe even tempt you to make an effort."
"What, no, I hate clothes shopping I never have any money?" Lupin quickly explained looking from one black haired determined face to another.
"I'll pay and you can pick up a new wardrobe for me while your at it, if you think I'm so useless at dressing myself." Sirius snapped back but Lupin noticed it didn't seem to have the same venom he had for Molly it just seemed a little forced that's all.
"Good, maybe it will drag you out of you sulks. It's one thing to mooch about on your own when you have no body to talk to but it's another to hide when we come see you."
"I do not hide!"
"Yeah you do, your frightened Molly's going to take Harry away from you but you're too stupid to see he cares too bloody much to let that happen. Why do you think he spends all his time talking to you?' She snapped through half gritted teeth.
'Now I'm taking Remus shopping on Friday so if you still think your man enough to let me buy you some clothes then I suggest you tell me how big your fat arse is by then so I can at least get the right size." She snapped standing up pouring the last of her wine down her neck and walking off.
Sirius who bellowed 'fine' after her picked up the remaining bottle and sulked off in a different direction leaving Lupin alone half way through eating.
"What a lovely pair they are? It's so nice to have the family together for dinner isn't it Remus." He muttered finishing off his dinner on his own.
Later on he tidied up and went off in search of whoever he first came across, it ended up being Tonks getting ready for a late night shift and he managed to enjoy some rather nice moments on the bed before she disappeared off. Sirius however didn't show his face until morning and when he did, he seemed to be perfectly ok, although Remus decided he did seem more diligent in cleaning the sink and toilet out in Harry's future room than he needed to be.