Authors note: This is a very, very short, but very important chapter. I am freakin exhausted these days, and so therefore I know this one is written more 'crappily' written than the others, maybe I'll go back and edit it in the future- but I think the basic idea is down at least. The plot isn't what I'm having an issue with-it's the freakin way I write it. Arghhhh…By the way, the next chapter is going to be…LONGGGGGGG…Be prepared. :)

Chapter Eight-More than friends

Although Christmas was still aways away- Nymphadora Tonks was in a festive mood. Even Sirius seemed less gloomy these days when she occasionally dropped by and she suspected that the one thing that would really make Sirius's Christmas would be if Harry came to visit.

Upon flooing her way to #12, Tonks stepped unsteadily out of the hearth and boldly began singing with her eyes screwed shut, to the turned back of the dark haired man she had just glimpsed in the corner of the kitchen.

"Oh, I just want you for my own! More than you could ever know! Make my wish come true! BABY, ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS….. ISSSSSS YOUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!" Tonks screeched, her hands over her heart. She opened her eyes to see Severus Snape standing there, his cold black eyes narrowed in disgust.

"Oh- er, sorry." Tonks said as she felt her face start burning with embarrassment. "Er, you know how it is…holiday cheer!"

Another second longer with that man and her in the same room and he would undoubtfully murder her on the spot.

"Right well, I'd better be going." She said hurriedly as she all but ran towards the door. Why the hell do I always end up in ridiculous situations like that? she wondered.

She was almost up at the top of the stairs, and had her hand on the door when it suddenly opened and she found herself face to face with a pale, tired-looking Remus Lupin.

"Wotcher, Remus!" she said happily going to his left to get by. Remus had just taken a step to his right so they nearly collided- he took a step in the other direction, but Tonks had just stepped that way herself. Now, awkwardly off balance- Tonks stumbled forward but Remus caught her.

"Are you alright?" His voice was rather grim and the smile that was so customary upon seeing him wasn't there.

"F-fine." Tonks said, looking at him curiously. He was staring at the floor and didn't seem to be able to bring himself to look in her eyes. "Are you?"

'Yes. Quite, thank you." There was a short pause. "If you'll excuse me. I have to go out soon…you know, tracking."

"Oh, right now? I have to go tracking later with Emmeline myself, but not until much later."

"Ah," he said, looking about distractedly. "Well, I'll see you later perhaps or maybe tomorrow."

And he had just gone by her without a single glance in her direction.

"Remus!"

He turned his eyes on her for the smallest fraction of a second before flickering to the ground again. "Yes, Tonks?"

She blinked. "Nothing."

He headed back down the stairs without another word. For a moment she could only stare blankly after him before leaving the kitchen and making her way up to the top rooms of the house.

Upon reaching Mrs. Black's old bedroom room, she didn't even knock. She walked in and preformed the quickest of bows to the hippogriff in the corner before going over to her cousin.

"Tonks!" Sirius said. "Good to see you. Is that slimy git still downstairs?"

"Yes, Snape's still here and I just professed my undying love for him through singing." Tonks said.

"Ha. Good one." He laughed.

"No, I'm not kidding. I really did just sing to him of my undying love in a Christmas song."

He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I thought it was you, and was fooling around and singing with my eyes shut-"

Sirius's mouth dropped. "You thought that Snape was ME?"

"His back was turned!"

Sirius turned away with an angry huff. "You thought I was Snape…" he growled.

"My vision was blurred through the floo powder, and I was dizzy!"

Sirius looked incredibly sulky.

"Oh come'on Sirius, I should be the one moping! Snape's going to think I'm madly in love with him now and to top it off, Remus is mad at me!"

Sirius's head shot up at this. "What? Why?"

Tonks sat down on the dusty floor as Buckbeak came cautiously over to her, eyeing her pink hair. "I don't know why, but he is."

Sirius shook his head. "Impossible. I just was talking to him. He was fine."

"Well I just encountered him on the stairs and he seemed angry."

"Why? Wha'd he say? How was he acting?"

Tonks sighed. "He kept avoiding my eyes, and he wasn't saying much at all…I don't know. I could just tell something was wrong."

"Is that it?"

Tonks bit her lip nervously. "He called me 'Tonks'."

"As opposed to…?"

"He never called me Tonks!" she cried. "He always called me 'Nymphadora' when its just us two by ourselves!"

Sirius put up his hands in front of him. "Whoa, steady on. Too much information."

"Not like that." She said irritably, swatting at him. "I meant when no one else is around he calls me 'Nymphadora'. Always. He does it to tease me. He only calls me Tonks when you're around or other people."

Sirius rolled his eyes.

"What's wrong with him?" Tonks asked sadly.

But Sirius didn't answer and instead began slowly walking around the dusty room, appearing to be in deep thought. There was a sharp poke on her head and Tonks looked up to see Buckbeak who seemed fascinated by her pink hair and was attempting to poke it with his beak.

She reached out and stroked his feathery head to keep him from attacking her hair again as she waited for Sirius's answer.

"It could be two things." Her cousin finally said, his back turned to her. "One, he's being a total bastard and is pushing you away because he wants nothing to do with you and he's completely uninterested in you."

Tonks grimaced. "Not a very comforting notion at this point. Option two?"

"Option two…" Sirius said, as he turned around to face her with a very sly smile on his waxy face. "The breaking point is night. The fall of Remus John Lupin is imminent."

Tonks talked to Sirius for a few hours and by the time she checked the time again, she realized she was already late. She tore out of the room and ran down through the house at a breakneck sprint, hoping Emmeline wouldn't be furious with her.

Upon reaching the top of the main stairs, she accidentally stepped on the front of her robes and before she could do anything- felt herself pitch forward.

'Bur-ump-pa-pa! Bur-ump-pa-pa!'

Tonks went rolling down the stairs like a rag doll. She tried unsuccessfully to stop herself as she started somersaulting down the stairs.

'Bur-ump-pa-pa! Bur-ump-pa-pa!'

To her surprise- it suddenly stopped as Tonks fell upright straight into someone's arms- her spinning head up against a warm, tweed jumper.

"Arghhhhhh…" she moaned. She looked up at her rescuer and of course it was Remus, looking just as startled as she felt.

Remus stared at her, and she stared at him- neither of them had moved. The seconds were lengthening but time seemed to have strangely lost all of its meaning. He looked dazed- like he was the one who had fallen down a long flight of stairs instead of her.

Then, to Tonks's utter amazement (at first she thought that she was hallucinating from her fall) Remus leaned forward ever so slightly and softly grazed his lips against hers for a fraction of a second before suddenly pulling back.

It was just grazing, but the spark- the feeling that had shot through her entire body like lightening when their lips had touched was so wonderful, so magical….realizing that it was no hallucination she threw her arms around him and was ready to place her lips back on his when she realized it had been a terrible mistake-

Caught completely off balance as Tonks had put almost all her weight on top of him- Remus put a foot back to steady himself, but it was already too late-

'Bur-ump-pa-pa! Bur-ump-pa-pa!'

Both Tonks and Remus ended up falling down the rest of the stairs- Tonks's leg went flying out when she hit the bottom and it knocked over a small table with a glass vase on it.

SMASH! Glass went flying everywhere, showering her trapped under the fallen table and Remus who had landed on his back a little ways away. The portraits hanging all around the walls woke with a start and immediately began making the usual screaming racket.

The door leading to the downstairs kitchen flew open and Sirius, Bill and Hestia all ran into the hall looking worried.

"WHAT HAPPENED?" Sirius asked loudly over all the noise.

Her face had to be burning like a red beacon. "I fell-" she said lamely.

Hestia was running around stunning the angry portraits with her wand.

"Reparo." Bill said casually, pointing his wand at the broken vase. The pieces flew together and rearranged themselves so they were whole again.

Sirius looked over at his friend who was getting up off of the floor rubbing the small of his back.

"I, I- bumped into Remus." she continued as felt her face grow even more crimson.

Remus nodded his agreement, his ears, she noticed-were rather pink. He looked over and saw her watching him from the floor, turned and coughed.

Sirius looked very sour, he stormed over to the portrait of his mother that Bill and Hestia were now trying to pull the curtains over and helped them. Tonks stood up and stared at Remus who was looking back at her with an unreadable expression on his face.

Within seconds, the hall was quiet again.

"Are you alright?" Hestia asked her kindly.

She nodded. "I'm fine. Thanks."

Bill gave her an encouraging smile before following Hestia down to the kitchen. Sirius was nowhere to be seen now.

"Right." She said quietly to Remus. "I should probably go. I'm late as it were."

"Of course." He said, stepping aside so she could pass.

She took a step forward and stopped. "Remus?"

"Yes?"

She opened her mouth, but had no idea what to say. There was so much she wanted to say, so much she wanted to know, and so much bloody confusion- but she ended up just shaking her head and walking forward towards the door without another word.

And suddenly she felt a cool, firm hand gently grab her own. She turned and saw Remus standing there behind her, holding her hand. He looked paler than usual in the dark entrance hall.

"I know you have to go, but I just…I mean, I just wanted to say before you did…"

She waited on baited breath.

He couldn't seem to find the right words. He looked at her helplessly for a moment before raising her hand to his lips and lightly kissing it.

Oh…my…god…that has got to be the sweetest thing-

She wanted to blow off the mission entirely and throw herself at him right there on the spot and snog him madly.

"Good luck." He said quietly, as he opened the door for her.

"Thanks." She forced herself to take a step outside into the cold night before she stared into the darkness for a moment. Just turn around and kiss him back- do it now! She took a deep breath before turning around, "Remus-" she said. Her puckered lips met the dark door that had suddenly closed behind her. She frowned. She wasn't sure if she should scream with happiness or scream with frustration. In the end, she ended up doing neither. Emmeline was probably furious, or very worried- she'd have to find Remus and talk to him later. Reisisting the terrible temptation to break down the door right then and there and throw her arms around Remus Lupin, she grit her teeth and apparated away into the night with a loud crack.

Remus stared at the shut door, his hand still on the handle- wishing he was six feet below the earth and with a cold, grey slab ontop of him. I...am…such…a…prat. he thought. Way to go…really, bloody brilliant that was.

Before he could think of what to do, or how to kill himself and end his misery, he heard a familiar voice from behind him.

"Well, well, well…"

Remus turned to see Sirius leaning against the parlour doorframe, a smile on his face. "Just friends, still?"

"I swear that we-"

"Come in and have a drink- we need to talk."

Remus followed his friend into the room and Sirius, still wearing a friendly smile, gestured to one of the parlour chairs before locking the door and clearing his throat,

"Alright, there's something I got to clear up…." He said, the friendly smile quickly becoming pained.

Remus waited for the explosion and sure enough, it came.

"YOU KISSED HER ON THE HAND?!?!?" his dark-haired friend shouted. "WHAT KIND OF AN IDIOT ARE YOU?!?!"

Remus sat down in one of the chairs with a sigh. "I beg your pardon?"

Sirius slapped his hand to his head looking completely aghast. "WHO DOES SUCH A THING?!?!"

"Well, I just did. I believed that it was in order-"

Sirius let out a scathing snort. "Oh my god. It's worse than I thought. I've been in prison for thirteen years and I'm still better at understanding women than you are. What time period do you think this is Remus? 1895?"

"Sirius, please-" Remus said rolling his eyes. He noticed the Daily Prophet lying off to the side and he picked it up, reading the headlines in order to distract himself from the current situation.

"Ah!" Sirius exclaimed dramatically, raising his grey eyes to the ceiling and placing his hand over his heart. "He shall woo the fair lady Tonks-he shall sing her love songs on his mandolin and compose her beautiful sonnets that describe of his undying love for her!"

"That's enough."

"-He shall sigh up to the starry sky and think of how they reflect his true love's eyes-he shall sigh but again as he thinks upon what his pink-haired lady may be stumbling over as he thinks of her at that very moment-"

Remus sighed and buried his head behind the paper.

"'Alas! The love of women! It is known to be a lovely and fearful thing!'" Sirius said loudly falling to his knees- his arms outstretched comically towards the ceiling. "Woe to my pitiful werewolf hide that I am suffering from such an affliction!"

"You have made your point." Remus said dryly.

Sirius got up from off the ground and dusted himself off. "Seriously Moony, what the hell were you thinking?"

Remus ignored him.

"I mean really! Why would you do that?"

Remus continued to hide his face behind the paper.

Unfortunately Sirius wouldn't give up so easily. "Moony, mate- listen to me. I'm her cousin and I am giving you full permission to go snog her senseless. You know you want to do it-"

"Sirius-"

"I'm not finished yet." Sirius said dryly. "Kissing her on the hand may be all noble and everything but its hardly the modern way of suggesting a possible relationship."

"And you'd know all about that wouldn't you?" Remus snapped.

"Well I'm still better than you as I pointed out earlier. What are you getting her for Christmas?"

Remus frowned. "I'm not sure- I was thinking of buying her jewelry or something."

"Oh good." Sirius said flopping back down into his chair.

"Why 'good'?"

"Because that at least shows that you're really serious about her and you are taking the right steps to suggesting a possible romantic relationship between you two. I'd have to kick your arse if you said you were going to buy her some personalized stationary or something."

"That was my next option." Remus admitted.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Stupid wanker."

Remus set aside the paper. "And out of sheer curiosity Sirius, when have you EVER been in a serious relationship?"

"Never." Sirius said proudly. "I like women- enjoy women but can honestly say I was never in a serious relationship."

"Why?" Remus asked curiously. He had honestly not expected that type of an answer.

"Why?" Sirius repeated. "Because I'm a coward Remus."

Remus was startled by his friend's bold, honest answer. "What?"

"You heard me- I'm a coward. Do you want to know why? It's because with every women I've ever been with- as soon as I knew things were getting serious between us…I backed off. Because that's what love is Remus- its jumping into something where your vulnerable to having yourself broken or held captive by someone else. It's reaching beyond the physical and entering something deeper and more profound. You have to surrender your entire self and take a chance that you'll find something wonderful-you might not ever find it, but that's the risk of love...the real beauty of love actually. And as for me, despite all the mad things I've done, I'm too afraid of the possible, painful consequences of love to take that real risk."

Remus was stunned, but not for the first time by Sirius's honesty and baffling logic.

Sirius grinned. "And I just thought of that without a single drop of alcohol. Impressive, huh?"

"Sirius…" Remus said firmly. "I can't do this."

"Of course you can. You won't. There's a difference."

Remus ran his hands through his graying hair. "I'm far too old-"

"It could be a May-December romance." Sirius suggested. "Nothing too unusual about that." His dark haired friend stopped suddenly and looked critically at his reflection in a dirty mirror. "Do you think I look like Snivellus from behind?"

"What?" Remus asked in surprise.

Sirius frowned and ran a hand through his long, untidy hair. "Never mind." He said, as he turned his attention back to Remus. "Moony…listen to your wild, inner voice-"

"Funny." Remus said coolly. "My 'wild' and rebellious inner voice always sounds like you."

"That's ironic, because my inner voice of boring reason and rationale always sounded like you." Sirius grinned. "And what's even more ironic is that I always ignore you both, the inner voice and the real one."

"Hilarious." Remus dully remarked. He still had no idea what to do and his head was swimming with confusion and many jumbled thoughts. He was alone on this. He had no sensible help or advice from anyone. All of Sirius's suggestions were excluded. Following Sirius's advice most always led on to bigger problems and lots of painful humiliation.

He stood up and headed towards the door.

"Where is the penniless sitar player going off to?" Sirius asked.

"I thought I was playing a mandolin earlier."

"Whatever you play, you'll still sing like a eunuch."

Remus sighed in exasperation. "I need to think for a while…"

"And I need a drink. Preferably a very strong one. " Sirius grumbled. "I'm getting sick of this ridiculous relationship of Tonks and yours that seems to be going nowhere but in circles."

"So you two had better be careful because your women and if you need anything, you can just- Tonks? TONKS?"

Tonks snapped herself out of her tumultuous thoughts and forced herself to stare at Mad-Eye. Since she had left Grimmauld Place, and found Emmeline where Moody had been waiting with her-and it still was all but impossible to think of the work they had to do at hand. All she could think about was Remus…on the stairs…he had basically kissed her. Or started to kiss her-but he had pulled back. Why?

"Yeah?" she finally said to Moody who had been watching her closely.

"If anything happens to you two ladies, will you just shove aside your stubborn female pride and get help?"

"Hm? Oh yes, of course."

He looked surprised at that. Most likely because he hadn't received an argument that normally would have followed his words. He'd probably end up testing her later for being Imperiused or something. She looked up into the dark, starry sky and smiled. Though the winter night was quite cold and her breath could be visibly seen- she had never felt warmer before in her life.

Author's note: Huzzah for 'Moulin Rouge' references! haha. Couldn't resist.