-1Chapter Eleven

DC: I don't own Harry Potter

"Be good, okay?"

"We will! We always are!"

Lily smiled at Sirius's comment. They were not always good, not everyday did she come home with a nice report. Sometimes she saw messes and unidentifiable things on the floors. Once she came home and saw her makeup smeared on the walls. Though it was nothing when you had magic on your side and you can clear it up with a flick of the wrist.

She said her goodbyes to the boys and the babysitters, and left in a flurry of magic. Alice and Emmiline turned to the three boys standing in the living room. They looked slightly bored with the inside of the house. "Seems like they've gotten taller," Alice said to Emmiline after a good examination.

"I wondered about that, too," Emmiline replied.

"What are we doing today?" Remus asked taking a few steps forward. The boys took his lead and followed him.

"Well, I suppose we've been inside too much, and it is a good day outside…" Alice glanced out the apartment window just to make sure the sun was still out. "Why don't we go outside, to the park? It's nice enough."

James, Remus and Sirius beamed at one another. "Really? We've never been to the park!" James said excitedly.

"Get your trainers on, and we'll get going," Emmiline said, and almost stumbled as the boys rushed past her.

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"Look a tree!" Sirius exclaimed, as they walked through the pathways.

"And another!" James added, pointing to them as they past by.

"I don't like this light." Remus held Alice's hand. He used the other to rub his eyes.

The day was bright and sunny, a perfect almost end to the summer. Other parents and their children walked and played in the various spots in the park surrounding the Marauders and their babysitters. James, Sirius, and Remus wondered at the sights of the park, trying to edge away from Emmiline and Alice. They'd pull the boys back, saying they were trying to find the perfect spot for them to play at. They past by a little ice-cream man pushing his little cart. James watched it as it passed by, hoping that he could get some.

"Can I get some ice-cream?" he asked, tugging on Alice's skirt and pointing to the man behind them.

"No, not now." Alice pulled him along.

They came to the perfect spot. There were benches for the babysitters to sit on and swings and other things for the boys to play on. Alice and Emmiline let the three boys go, then went to sit down themselves on one of the benches. "I'm surprised Lily hasn't brought the boys to the park yet," Emmiline exclaimed, settling down in the nice shade the tree behind them provided.

"Well, she has been quite busy," Alice reminded her. "Suddenly having children isn't what someone really expects of anyone. Unless…" Alice paused and shook her head. "No, never mind."

The boys claimed the swings before any of the other kids came by. Remus swinging the closest to the ground while James and Sirius made up a race to touch the sky. As they did this, they teased Remus about how he was afraid of heights.

"Oh, come off it!" Remus complained as he hopped off his swing. He landed safely in the grass. "I don't want to be barmy like you and try to touch the sky! Don't you know it's impossible?"

"No it isn't!" Sirius called, swinging a little higher than he did the time before. "I know for sure that if we keep on trying we'll get there!"

"Are you off your rockers?"

"No, we're perfectly on straight," James countered. "Why don't you bug off and do something else, RJ?"

Remus growled at the little name. He crossed his arms, and stomped off. He'd go find something even better to do, or someone better to play with, and then the other two would be jealous and stop the ridiculous quest of touching the sky. He knew there was no way they could, it was just impossible, though he couldn't explain why. He walked around the edges of the playground and watched everyone else as they played their games. He was too afraid to walk up to a new kid and ask to play with him or her. So he sighed in frustration and sat down in the nearb9 sandbox. It was when he did that that he saw her. A girl with bright green hair.

She noticedM him, smiled, and walked toward his sandbox. Remus became a little nervous. He had never talked to a girl before, and what more, with green hair. The girl sat next to him and held out her little hand. "Ello, Mr. I'm Nymphie Tonks!"

"Nymphie?" Remus asked, shaking her hand. "I'm Remus Lupin. It's…nice to meet you."

"You look lonely. Are you lonely?" Little Tonks waited for Remus's answer.

Remus dug a little hole in the sand with his fingers. "I don't know…"

"Come on then!" Tonks hopped out of the box, almost hurting herself. "Lets explore!"

"But…what if we get lost?" Remus started to get out of the box, following Tonks. "I'll get in trouble…"

"Oh nonsense! Blimey aren't you the worrywart!" She grabbed Remus's hand and dragged him away from the sand. They headed towards the play area across the road. They stopped, looking both ways for people or other things, and ran across. She took him across the other sandboxes and towards the swing sets. These ones were broken, but there was still one left. Remus let Tonks on the swing first. "Why thank you. You're the proper gentlemm…gentie…gent, aren't you?"

"I suppose." Remus went behind the swing and started to push her a little. "Why is you're hair so green?"

"I'm a metamorphagus," she replied

"You can say that but not gentlemen?"

"I've had practice," Tonks said, dragging her feet on the ground. Remus stopped pushing as she did this. Tonks twisted herself around in her seat. "Watch!"

Remus watched as she crossed her eyes, concentrating on her nose. After a moment her hair turned from green to bright pink. Remus almost fell over. He had the sudden urge to reach out and touch it. "How'd you do that?"

"I concentrated on my nose and picked my hair color! Mummy said that it's only something I can do. Daddy was real proud of me, too." Tonks untwisted herself and got up. She dusted her shorts and pointed to the swing with her hand. "Your turn."

"I wonder what my mum is doing right now…" Remus said quietly, as he climbed onto the swing.

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"Remus?" Alice checked around the swings, and slides. They didn't see the little Marauder anywhere. She tugged on her hair, a little frustrated. It was time to gather the boys up and take them to lunch, but Remus had snuck away, and no one saw them anywhere. Lily's going to murder me! Where did the boy go? she cried in her head.

Emmiline rushed over. "Do you see him?"

"No, not anywhere," Alice replied.

"Is he dead?" James asked, more amazed then scared.

"His bones buried in the sand?" Sirius added, clasping his hands together. He started to inch his way to a sandbox.

"You sound more happy then worried," Emmiline commented as she pulled him back in place.

They searched around their area a little longer before stopping to sit. Sirius and James were getting excited and a little restless about the idea that Remus was lost forever (which was Sirius's idea). They had to get to lunch and back home before Lily got back. The two of them didn't think to write a note or leave any hint that they were going to be gone for the afternoon. And now it was getting later and they couldn't find one out of three.

"Ice-cream!"

"Please, not now James," Emmiline sighed.

Alice jumped up, momentarily leaving Emmiline to the boys, and did a quick check up the little park street. No little boy. Where could that little troublemaker have gone?

Alice walked backwards, going back to where she left the three, still searching for any sign of the light-brown haired boy. As she did so, she bumped into someone. "Blimey--I'm sorry! Miss, are you okay?"

"Oh, yes, yes!" The woman was a little older, and looked just a worried as Alice had felt. "I'm just searching for my daughter…I can't spot her anywhere!" She then added as an afterthought, "Which really shouldn't be that hard…"

"You're looking for someone, too?" Alice asked. The woman nodded.

"A little girl about this tall." She lifted her hands about four feet off the ground. "She answers to Nymphie, or Tonks, and has bright green hair…"

With that kind of hair it wouldn't be hard to spot a girl like that, and with any luck finding the little girl will help them find her little boy. Alice took the mother to where the others were, and the mother introduced herself. "I'm Andromeda Tonks and I'm looking for my daughter, Nymphadora." She then described her, and the little search party began.

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"Wow, you could almost catch something at this height!" Tonks cried, as she came to a halt at the top of the jungle gym. Remus took a seat next to her, wiping his face from the heat. "Or at least it would seem like it."

"Do you think you can fly towards the sky if you swung hard enough on a swing?" Remus asked.

"No." Tonks shook her head, her pink hair whipping this way and that. "It's impossible, but if you had your mind set on it, you can almost do it. Do anything, really."

"I'm glad we agree on that subject," Remus said with a smile. He watched as other kids across the park road were eating lunch with whoever they were eating with, and he realized how hungry he was. He hadn't had a bite to eat since this morning. "Are you hungry?"

"A little, but I'm going to wait until my mummy is here before I eat." Tonks looked around. "I don't see her yet."

"I don't see my friends either," Remus replied. He shrugged. "I'll just wait here with you."

"That sounded so romantic!" Tonks said with a giggle. "It's weird coming from a boy. Usually they say the most disgusting things!"

"I know! Well, at least I know some who do," Remus laughed. "I guess I didn't mean it…really. To be romantic and all…" Remus felt little fluttering in his stomach as he rambled on. It felt as if his face was on fire, but Tonks didn't take any notice at all.

There was a silence between the two filled with the laughing of other kids and other little sounds. Tonks fiddled with her shorts as Remus watched out for any sign of anyone. It was peaceful, being on the top of the jungle gym. Tonks turned to Remus with a smile on her face. "It's as if I'm the Queen of England herself, and you are my Prince!"

"There's a Queen of England?" Remus asked, astonished.

"Yes of course! Usually we magic people don't know about it, but my daddy was a muggle-born and tells me all sorts of things that happen to muggles!"

"Oh! So you are a witch!"

"Of course!" Tonks said, pulling at her hair. " I wouldn't have been able to make my hair turn colors if I weren't! Where have you been at most your life? In that lavatory?"

Remus laughed. Tonks giggled. When they stopped, there was silence between them again. They didn't find the awkward at all. Remus still didn't see James or Sirius, which made him a little worried. Tonks was now pulling back her hair, when she noticed it was still pink. She crossed her eyes again, staring at her nose, and Remus watched as it flared back to the green she had on before. "I forgot mummy said to keep it green so that she could see me from far away."

As if that was cue, Andromeda found her daughters' hair color right as soon as she changed it. "Nymphadora!" she called.

Tonks looked around at the sound of her name. Remus looked behind them, and tugged on her shirt. "Lookit, behind you."

Tonks saw and waved to her mother with a smile on her face. Remus saw James and Sirius and started to climb down the jungle gym. "Hello, where did you come--"

"Remus Lupin!" Alice cried, out of breath. It looked as though she had run a mile. Behind her came Emmiline, a little flushed, but ultimately happy to see Remus alive.

"Remus Lupin!" Alice repeated. Remus walked over to Alice and beamed up at her. "Why are you smiling?"

"I met someone new today!" He pointed towards Tonks, who was now in her mother's arms. "Her name is Nymphie and she is a metam…metamo…meta…"

"Metamorphagus." Tonks said without any trouble. The two of them laughed.

"Ooh, looks like RJ has a girlfriend!" Sirius teased.

"You'd best be quiet Sirius Black," Remus argued, stomping his foot in the dirt.

"Sirius Black?" Andromeda gasped and looked down on the little boy. To her, he did look slightly familiar. "There is no way--"

"Uh, excuse us for the moment!" Emmiline pushed the Marauders toward the jungle gym. She and Alice would have to explain what happened to Andromeda's first cousin and his friends. "Stay here and don't move."

"Can I get some ice-cream?"

"Hold on a tick, James!"

Tonks climbed out of her mothers grasp, and went towards the boys. The two babysitters talked to Andromeda as Remus introduced the two boys to Tonks. Tonks showed them the hair change from green to a light blue. They gasped. Sirius gathered his courage to touch her hair.

"It's real all right!" Tonks said with a grin.

"That is the coolest thing I've ever seen!" James cried, excitedly.

"Remus, you have the coolest girlfriend!" Sirius added.

That earned Sirius another good knock on the arm.

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Lala Rue here, and you have no idea how sorry I am right now.

Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry! I am deeply sorry for not updating! Life has gotten hard from a point, and I'm trying to get through school on top of it.

I am soo soo sorry! Please, people, forgive me.

Please?

I'll update soon...

Love, Lala Rue.