Author's Note:
I hope you like this chapter. This and probably the next chapter are what I consider build-ups, I hope it doesn't get boring. Oh and I realized I have a habit of foreshadowing some things with slight and very minor details, so pay attention to that, especially the relationships. ^_^ That's a hint right there haha. Thank you so much for reading and review. Thank you to all those people who reviewed, I really appreciate it. Though I don't personally reply to your reviews, rest assured I read them and really try to improve my writing with them so thank you so much. I hope you'll continue reading and reviewing. Thanks for the support, even after Harry Potter ended, us fans will still be here ^_^
Chapter 04 – Try Out This Friendship
It was as if time has rewound itself. Tonks found school life to have its ups and downs, just like she did a few years ago before she became an Auror. She was beginning to think that maybe she was given a chance to repeat her third year again, and the chance was taken with open arms as she found school to be less of a drab. For the other Aurors and Unspeakables assigned there, they were more than happy to take a break from paperwork.
The weather was beginning to get colder as they drew closer to the end of the month of September. It was two weeks before the full moon that month, and Tonks was looking forward to the Autumn Festival at Hogsmeade. On a particularly chilly Saturday morning, Tonks found herself grinning goofily as she ate breakfast with her old and new friends. She was laughing as Hermione continuously beat Ron Weasley with her book, nagging at him for eating things whole.
"I can't wait to go to Hogsmeade next week," Ron smiled after Hermione settled down.
"We should pay a visit to the Shrieking Shack," Hermione suggested.
"Either way, you better familiarize yourself with the town before the Full Moon Festival the week after," Fred and George Weasley spoke together.
"Why is that?" Hermione asked.
"Because the festival is so big," one twin spoke.
"You could get lost and end up somewhere you don't know," another twin finished.
"And because often, mischief makers use this festival to try out new pranks they don't get to do in school," Alexis added, smirking. She then winked at Fred and George and Hermione. "I'd stay away from Fred and George if I were you."
"Hey, how did you know what we were planning?" the twins asked together.
"Because she is a troublemaker herself," Tonks replied, smiling as Alexis pushed her playfully. "We've seen more pranks than any of you kids combined."
"Really?" one twin spoke, looking at each other as if ready to challenge the girls.
"Yes really," Marrick added. "These two have more tricks up their sleeves than anyone."
"We'd like to challenge that," one twin announced.
"Let's see who can pull off the best prank on each other…"
"…without getting caught."
"Challenge accepted," Lexi smirked.
"Alexis Bl…" Tonks paused as she cleared her throat and stepped on Lexi's foot instead.
"Come on, just a little fun. I'm tired of this prat breathing down my neck," Lexi teased.
The group continued chatting for a while longer during their breakfast, Tonks worrying about what kind of crazy prank the infamous Weasley Twins would pull off. Lexi was caught in an animated conversation with Marrick, Fred, George, and Hermione while Tonks spoke with Ginny and Ron about Quidditch and their support for which teams. As they chatted, Tonks couldn't help but glance over at Harry who sat uncharacteristically quiet. She felt bad for him after he told them his aunt and uncle wouldn't sign the permission slip for him to go.
"Hey, before I forget, take this," Alexis whispered as she handed what looked like a glass crafted compass with a red tipped needle over to Tonks. "It's a locator."
She was confused and couldn't help raising an eyebrow. "What do I need it for?"
"I have two and Dumbledore found out so he asked me to give you my second one. Uh…he said quote, 'when you're lost it will guide your way', unquote," she whispered.
"How in the world do you have two?" Tonks asked.
Alexis had a guilty expression on her face and smiled at Tonks for a moment. "I nicked it from the Department of Mysteries…"
"You what? Lexi you could get arrested!"
"Technically…I can't get arrested, as long as I have my job as an Unspeakable."
"Alexis, it's still not right," Marrick suddenly chimed in, earning a glare from Lexi.
"Kingston what did I say about you butting into other people's business?" she asked.
"So I'm back to Kingston now? I thought we finally got on a first name basis."
"Wait, what do I do with it?" Tonks asked.
"I don't know," Lexi replied. "Dumbledore found out…he seems to know everything. So he asked me to lend my second one to you for the school year and he'll keep this secret for me."
Tonks turned to Marrick. She knew of his honest nature and raised an eyebrow.
He shook his head. "No. If you get caught…" He was suddenly silenced when Lexi snuck out her wand and hexed him with a charm that left her wand in a small flash of violet light. Tonks didn't recognize it, and it definitely didn't help when Lexi casted it non-verbally. She noticed that when Marrick tried to speak about the second locator Lexi got again, his voice went mute. "What did you hex me with?"
"The Confidant Charm they used on us Unspeakables to prevent us from revealing our work," Lexi smirked. "Now you have to keep this a secret." she smiled in a mock devil way.
Marrick pouted, the sight causing Tonks to laugh uncontrollably. Lexi laughed as well. Tonks recognized the genuine smile on her cousin's face that even she rarely got to see then noticed that Marrick was gawking at her and Tonks felt like something had blossomed between them without her knowing. Tonks nudged Lexi a bit but the girl seemed completely clueless.
"Well I have to go," Tonks smiled, finishing her drink as she grabbed her bag and got up.
"Where are you going?" Harry asked. "It's a Saturday Tonks."
"She has a Saturday morning detention with Professor Lupin, still from that time with the girl's bathroom and dung bombs," Hermione smiled and winked.
"You make it sound like it's a good thing," Tonks smiled.
The group watched as Tonks left, soon followed by Fred and George as they too had to serve their share of detention for it. Alexis couldn't help but notice that Hermione and Ginny seemed to have a special liking to Professor Lupin, a liking much different from the boys.
"You look like you'd trade places with her," Lexi commented upon the distant look in both Ginny and Hermione's eyes. "Is Professor Lupin really that…awesome?"
"He's so adorable," Ginny sighed.
"What?" Harry and Ron both gasped, nearly spitting up their water.
She immediately cleared her throat as Ginny began to blush intensely. "Nothing."
Lexi smirked. "You and Hermione have a teacher student crush on Professor Lupin."
"No we don't. We just…think he's a really great teacher. Besides I have a crush on someone else," Hermione defended, only to end up blushing just as red as Ginny.
Harry and Ron joined in with Lexi as they laughed at the two girls. "There's nothing wrong," Lexi smiled. "I had a crush on my fourth year astronomy teacher."
"You had a crush on Professor Anderson?" Marrick teased. "He's twice your age!"
"Age is just a number," Lexi smiled and stuck out her tongue. "Besides, after taking Tonks' advice and breaking it off with all my…partners, I'm lonely and available now."
Ginny and Hermione made goofy noises while Harry whistled and winked at Marrick.
After sitting down and having a proper conversation with Remus Lupin, Tonks found that he wasn't that bad a bloke after all. In fact, Remus turned out to be the sweetest man alive as he had deliberately tried to make his lessons less of a strain for her since she practically knew everything already. Whenever she saw him, Tonks still couldn't believe how amazing it was that simply having a conversation with someone could make such a difference. She finally found even grounds with him, and no longer felt the need to glare at him in class. Instead she focused most of her attention on her morph and the rest on not falling asleep on the young professor. It really felt like school again as their misunderstanding before had disintegrated into nothing. School made them forget easily, and Tonks was reminded of that all over again.
"Good morning Nymphadora," Remus greeted, walking down from his office with a large glass tank in his hands.
Tonks narrowed her eyes, but her glare surprisingly lacked the ice and malice she usually had. "I thought we made it clear you could only call me Dora when we're alone."
"My bad," Remus smiled without a hint of remorse.
"Professor Lupin, I'm still trying out this friendship with you, you know," she smirked. "Keep calling me Nymphadora and I'll end it quicker than lightning," she threatened.
"I am very sorry Nymphadora," Remus smiled and nodded as Tonks stormed up to him.
She was tempted to smack that tank out of his hands just because he had called her Nymphadora twice in one minute without a hint of remorse. She glared at him, her eyes narrowed down on him but only managing half of her usual animosity. "You're asking for a hex, professor," she spoke, dragging out the title in mockery.
Remus chuckled and shook his head. "I'm glad we could try out this friendship then. Today for you detention this morning, I was wondering if you could help me with something?"
She set her bags down but continued to glare at him, eyeing the glass tank curiously as she forgot about hexing the professor. "I always help you with something for my detention. What's the difference this time?" she asked him, remembering the past week of detention with Remus that ended up in her sorting through his endless piles of paperwork for the lazy bloke.
"Instead of having you file papers for me, I was wondering if you'd like to help me catch a grindylow for our lesson on Monday. Or you could continue filing."
"Grindylow," she nodded, helping him lift the tank again. "It's less boring."
Remus chuckled softly. "Great then, some help would make it easier," he smiled and gestured for her to let him handle the tank. After knowing Tonks on a more pleasant side for one week, Remus had also discovered that she was dead clumsy when she wasn't fighting. He'd learned it the hard way after asking her to reorganize his bookshelf for him and ended up having to clean up the shelf she broke while Tonks rubbed her ankle and smiled apologetically.
"Professor Lupin, how exactly are we going to get anywhere near a grindylow? The Black Lake is way too cold, even for you."
"You can call me Remus, Dora," he smiled, enjoying the way her name so easily rolled off his tongue. "And we're going to a lake near Hogsmeade. There is a small colony there."
"Hogsmeade? But we can't leave castle grounds without permission. Or I can't."
"I've got that handled too," Remus smiled and led her to a large bookshelf of his sitting in the corner, stock piled with volume after volume of boring encyclopedias. Tonks watched as Remus ran his long finger through a few books on the shelf and settled at the middle one on the third row down. He placed his finger on the top of the spine and pulled it. Then the shelf suddenly opened up, revealing an entrance into a long, damp tunnel. Tonks gaped at the sight, never knowing that there had been a tunnel there. "I was a Marauder you know," he smiled.
"But how did you guys find this tunnel? It's so well hidden. No one would ever touch those encyclopedias," Tonks gawked, following Remus as she held up her wand in front of him, lighting the way with a non-verbal Lumos while Remus held the tank.
"We didn't actually find it," Remus clarified and continued once he glanced back and saw the cute bemused look on Tonks' face. "We dug it," he smiled. "It was a funny story. While making the Marauder's Map, we found out that there was an underground tunnel that led from a cave near Hogsmeade through the castle grounds. But it didn't reach any point in the castle. So we found the closest point and dug our way in. We happened to reach the entrance point back there in the DADA classroom. So to get through, James decided to tell Professor Merrythought that the astronomy teacher Professor Anderson, whom she fancied, wanted to speak with her up in the astronomy tower. So while she was there, we quickly made the entrance and set the moving bookshelf there to conceal it. I felt really bad since Professor Merrythought was up there all night with false hope, but I didn't think at the time."
When he finished, Tonks let out a loud sound of laughter that made his face brighten. "I didn't know you had Merrythought for DADA and Anderson for astronomy as well," she laughed. "I never knew she fancied Professor Anderson. She's old enough to be his granny!"
Remus chuckled. "Yes, that was probably why he didn't return her feelings."
"The Marauders were a legend! You know if you told the kids about your status, they'd think you're the best and coolest teacher alive?"
"I wouldn't want them to see me as a prankster. That's what we were known for."
She nodded. "Which one were you then? I know Sirius is Padfoot, that's all. You guys came up with really odd nicknames for each other."
"I was Moony," he replied, smirking at all the memories that flashed back in his mind. "It's sad to say that those days were the best days in my life. James was always prone to trouble and Peter just liked to follow us everywhere. Sirius was the coolest bloke of the group and thanks to him I also didn't feel like a complete outcast in our year. They were my closest friends," he smiled sadly and Tonks noticed. "My parents no longer played a large role in my life ever since my accident when I was five. So the three Marauders were like my family. James, Peter, and even Sirius." Remus' words suddenly turned sullen as he reminisced on his happy memories. Feeling his grief in the air, she took his hand and held it tight. Once again, she didn't know how to comfort him. What do you say to a man who practically lost all of his family in one night?
"You don't entirely hate him do you?" she asked in a softer voice at the way the conversation abruptly turned. "There's definitely hate…but there's something else as well."
Remus' mind was screaming at him to pull his hand back from her touch, but he couldn't bring himself to do it, not when he needed the comfort and reassurance so much. He really did judge her too quickly as Tonks wasn't what he'd expected at all. Sure she was childish and clumsy, but she was also reassuring and kind as well. Besides, he couldn't pull back when his hands are holding onto the giant empty tank and she was holding onto him.
He was quiet for a long while, hesitant to admit what he truly thought. She was right though. Yes, he hated Sirius, yes he wanted to kill the bastard, but there was also something else as well, something he didn't want to admit for a man who had betrayed his trust. Remus nodded even though he wasn't sure if Tonks could see it. "If you think about it, he's my only living friend left. It's nice to know that you're not completely abandoned," he admitted solemnly.
"You're not alone. You can always make new friends," she smiled. "You said we're friends, didn't you? Even though we haven't been friends that long, with time it'll change and we'll get to know each other better," she smiled in such an angelic way, Remus nearly fell over.
He wanted to believe her, and for a second he thought he did. He wanted to believe that they could become great friends, but he was afraid that once she learned the dark truth about him, like all the other friends he'd met over the years, she would run away from him. Everyone always did run away, and he thought he was used to it. But somehow, looking at Tonks, he didn't want her to run away. Remus hoped to conceal the dark truth about himself from her for as long as he could go, even if it meant deceiving her, because he felt like he needed her as a friend.
"We're friends, Nymphadora. Thank you," he smiled ever so gently and genuinely.
"What happened when you were five? The accident?" she asked after a long silence.
Remus suddenly stopped and looked at her with gentle but fearful eyes.
"Sorry. If you're not comfortable don't say it," Tonks tried to smile as they continued on.
"Thank you." Remus' voice was so soft; it was like a sad melody to her ears.
When they arrived at the small boat Remus had set up just outside the mouth of the cave, Tonks realized she had been holding onto his hand the entire time and forgot to let go. Blushing, she tried to morph it away but to no avail when Remus suddenly gave her a comforting and grateful smile. Tonks discreetly let go of his hand while he got on the boat and bent down to carefully place the grindylow tank on the bow of it.
"Do you need any help getting in?" Remus asked.
"I'm good," Tonks smiled, taking a step. "I'm an Auror after oaf," Tonks replied, suddenly tripping over the stern and fell face first into Remus' chest. Luckily his arms were there to catch her and the man chuckled while Tonks pulled apart in embarrassment.
"You can let your morph slip to normal if you'd like," he spoke through fits of laughter.
Immediately, Tonks grinned and scrunched her face up as she allowed herself to lose her morph of a thirteen year old and returned to her natural self. Remus found it amazing how she could do that as he watched her increase in height and age. Tonks had clearer, softer dark brown eyes, a cute, slightly upturned nose and nice red lips of a twenty year old woman. Remus was amazed as he looked at her, taking in her beauty.
During the morning, Alexis had grudgingly agreed to skip her preferred weekend nap and patrolled the grounds with Marrick due to Mad-Eye Moody's request. They wandered the grounds near the Quidditch Pitch with their brooms in their hands.
"You seem really lazy," he teased her. "It's as if your only hobbies are sleeping and picking up shallow blokes everywhere you go, and occasionally causing mischief with Tonks."
"Well, sleeping helps relaxes me, picking up blokes keep me from being bored, and causing mischief with Tonks is just fun," she smiled.
"Don't you do anything else?" he asked, swinging his Nimbus 2000 over his shoulder.
"I write and I like muggle photography. Other than that, I don't really have time to do much outside of work. Though I guess if you say drinking is a hobby, I'm the best in that area."
He chuckled while silently offering to carry her black and silver Nimbus 2001 on his other hand. Lexi happily gave it to him as they walked. "I've heard of your drinking abilities from school. You were pretty infamous for that," he smiled.
"I'm sure it runs in the family. Tonks and Andromeda are wicked."
"But I didn't know you like to write and muggle photography as well."
"As well? Don't tell me you like them too."
"As a matter of fact I do," he smiled. "How about on the next or the first Hogsmeade weekend, you join me while I try to capture a picture of Hogwarts at sunset? Then we can visit the Three Broomsticks and duke out to see who can drink better?" Marrick's voice was casual but when she listened deeper, Alexis sensed a kind of shakiness in it. She didn't care however. He wasn't some bloke she was hooked up with at the bar. They were just co-workers going out and having a drink, it was completely normal with no romance involved.
"That sounds like a plan then Marrick," she smiled and nodded. "Now what do you say we get up in the air before my legs fall off? Moody did say it's better to patrol from up high."
"Alright," he nodded and handed her the Nimbus 2001. "Are you sure you can fly well?"
She winked. "Best chaser of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team my friend."
"Marrick! Lexi!" familiar voices suddenly called out to them. They both turned around, Alexis sighing once she saw that a group of teenagers with broomsticks were running up to them. Noticing that they all had a broom, only one thing could happen afterwards.
"Oh, what are you two doing together out here?" Ginny teased.
They had forgotten to think of an excuse for that. "Yeah Marrick, what are we doing out here?" Alexis asked, hoping he had some excuse in mind. Unfortunately, the look in his eyes told her otherwise and she sighed, leaning on her black and silver Nimbus 2001.
Harry Potter looked at the two and grinned. Hoping to free them from embarrassment, he offered, "Since we all have brooms, why don't we play a game of Quidditch together?"
"That's why we're out here Harry," Ron added dryly. "But with Lexi and Marrick it would make the teams more even." He looked at them, waiting to see their reply.
"That sounds great," Marrick smiled a bit forcefully. "What are we going to do?" he whispered to Lexi as they followed the kids over to the pitch.
"What? So it's my responsibility to get us out of this mess now?" Lexi replied and then rolled her eyes with the look he gave her. "Just play. We'll use a time turner when we're done."
"Time turner?" he questioned.
"Unless you know of some other way we can be in two places at once."
"Whatever floats your boat," he sighed and nudged her along with her small strides.
"Here are the teams," Ron announced as they all mounted their brooms. "Harry, me, Fred, and Marrick against Ginny, Hermione, George, and Lexi."
"That's hardly fair," George commented, earning himself death glares from Ginny.
"Don't worry, they have Ron, Marrick, and Fred," Lexi teased, reassuring George, Ginny, and Hermione jokingly. George leaned on her shoulder and laughed while Marrick shook his head and hid a smile. Ron mock scowled at her but ended up grinning.
"Marrick, Lexi, we've never seen you play Quidditch before," Harry smiled as they climbed up in height. "I'm really looking forward to this. Which position do you play?"
"Keeper," Marrick smiled and raised an eyebrow at Lexi.
"Chaser," she smirked, challenging him, much to the other's amusement, especially Ginny and Hermione who were convinced Alexis and Marrick both had a crush on the other.
Tonks remembered her one time coming to Hogwarts on a boat in the late evening. It had been one of the scariest boat rides of her life, especially when she was placed with Charlie Weasley who wouldn't stop shaking the boat, much to her discomfort. That day had been her second time on a boat anywhere near Hogwarts, and she was lucky she had been with Remus. He rowed out gently, allowing the water to carry them and she felt at peace, relaxed. When they got to the middle of the lake, Tonks sat confused at first. Remus began taking his shabby jacket and jumper off, testing the water.
"You're not going to catch a grindylow alone," she spoke to him in a stern voice.
He smirked, a familiar Marauder like smirk she'd seen on Sirius many times before. "I've been down this lake before. I can take care of myself," he spoke as he unbuttoned his jumper.
"Still," Tonks spoke, mainly because she wasn't content with just sitting and waiting, especially as an Auror. "I'm going with you," she added, beginning to take off her school robes. She knew that she could keep her jumper and pants on and then use a drying spell when they get up. That was what Remus seemed to have planned as well as he kept his own pants on.
He sighed and shrugged. "Fine," he smiled, grateful for her persistence. "I only wanted your company so I wouldn't feel so lonely, but it'd be nice to have company all the way then."
Tonks smiled as they both began undressing in companionable silence. Remus hadn't been too much of a prick she'd noticed. Sure he wasn't as wild or rebellious as she'd like, in fact he was gentle and subtle, but his subtlety was much appreciated for someone who already has enough energy for two people like herself. Tonks noticed that when Remus took his jumper off, his body was crossed with faint scars; a few very visible while a few were light like the one across his face. She wondered where he had gotten them. Remus Lupin was too gentle a man to get into that many fights, and besides, they looked like scars from wrestling with a beast. She was about to question him, but Tonks sensed Remus' discomfort in showing that much of his body to her. Tonks smiled understandingly and tried not to stare. She personally wasn't too happy with her own body either, but as one wise witch known as Alexis Black once said, no one is ever satisfied with their body. They always want to look better and better.
"Ready?" Remus asked her as Tonks tossed her tie into her bag and the locator that Lexi had given her on Dumbledore's request fell out.
Tonks nodded and decided to leave the locator lying outside. Perhaps it could guide her the right way, somewhere, even though she wasn't lost just yet.
"What's that?" Remus asked, quirking an eyebrow.
As they both slipped into the water and casted the bubble-head charm upon themselves, Tonks explained to him. "It's a locator. The Unspeakables were working on it before and Lexi said the Minister rushed them to put it to use in finding Sirius. It seems to be working alright so far, but a little slower than we'd like," Tonks explained in her professional voice.
Remus nodded and they began diving under, their wand tightly grasped in their hand. "When you catch Sirius, does that mean your group would pull out of Hogwarts then?" Remus asked, his voice slightly muffled by water as his nose and mouth were enveloped by a crystal clear bubble, but Tonks could still hear him just fine.
She nodded as they swam deeper, into the lake. She was beginning to feel the pressure upon her skin as they got deeper below ground and towards the bottom of the lake. "That was the plan. Although I'm not too sure when we'll catch Sirius though. We've been preparing and waiting but he still hasn't been spotted anywhere near Hogwarts just yet. He's on the road here though according to our sources."
"What do you think will happen to him when you catch him?"
Tonks pushed a little harder to swim beside him. "I don't know. I just hope they won't do anything cruel or chuck him back into Azkaban again. But that seems pretty impossible."
"You still care about him don't you?" Remus asked in a very soft voice she could barely hear him. "You still see him as your cousin, family."
She didn't even need to think to answer him. "Of course. He's one of the three Blacks who don't want me dead…at least I don't think he does," Tonks added, suddenly remembering she was an Auror now, not little Nymphie from years ago. "I know you don't like him, but my opinion on Sirius won't change. To be honest, when I was told of what he's done, I didn't quite believe it. Don't hate me, but I always thought Peter would be the one most likely to…" she didn't even have to finish as Remus understood her clear and well.
They were both silent for a moment. Remus seemed to have sighed inside his bubble and looked at her. "It was times of war then. Trust was so hard to come by, even amongst your best friends. I knew Sirius didn't trust me. It was just such a confusing time. But…if I am to be completely honest with you, I'd say I have mixed feelings for Sirius. I hate him and can't forgive him for what he did to us, to James, but I also couldn't forget the fact that he was the only living friend I have left. Wherever Padfoot is right now, at least that bloody git is still alive. When you're me, it's good to know that you're not completely abandoned."
Tonks remained quiet and gave him a look of understanding that she knew he saw and comprehended once he looked at her again. She had noticed that Remus still considered Sirius a friend, if not a normal kind of friendship, he still said that Sirius was the only living friend he had left. Then he referred to Sirius as Padfoot, proving Remus Lupin hadn't forgotten about him and their memories of mischief together. Tonks shook her head and smiled a bit, seeing how Remus can't completely despise someone or wish death upon them, no matter what heinous crime they've committed. He was such a gentle man and Tonks found herself wishing she knew more people like him in her life. It would certainly do her some good. As they swam, they'd wander off into various small talks and she was glad they were blossoming into a friendship.
"Looks like we've found what we're looking for," Remus suddenly smiled.
They had arrived upon a small pack of about nine or ten grindylows as the water demons clung onto a large rock. Tonks gripped her wand a bit tighter, firmer, and began following Remus closely and they closed in on the unsuspecting pack.
"Remember; the trick to catching a grindylow is breaking their grip. Their long tentacle like arms are strong but very brittle," he reminded her, something Tonks would have forgotten.
"How about I fight them off while you pick a specimen?" she asked him.
Remus nodded. "I think a body-bind spell would work fine on them as well."
"Here they come," Tonks announced as the pack noticed them and began attacking.
Beside each other in the water, Tonks was firing weak stunners one after another as the grindylows latched onto her and Remus, their suction cup arms leaving red imprints on her neck and arms. Tonks noticed that Remus had found the specimen he liked and already petrified the water demon after about five minutes of being under. Once he was done, they were trying to get all the grindylows that have latched itself onto them off. She couldn't help but help him, seeing some of Remus' newer scars get particularly redder from the grindylows' bound on him. Tonks was helping Remus while he helped her in return, both pulling off tentacles and holding onto the single petrified one. After another ten minutes once they were both freed, Tonks motioned for Remus and luckily he seemed to have understood her. She grabbed onto his arm tightly while he held onto the bounded grindylow. Tonks raised her wand up towards the surface of the water and muttered the spell ascendio.
As if they were being pulled, Tonks, Remus, and the frozen grindylow were launched out of the water and high into the air. Remus luckily regained his sense of balance and landed upright back into the water while Tonks had struggled and wounded up doing a very unwanted belly flop, much to her displeasure. They swam up towards the surface again and as the gentleman that he was, Remus helped Tonks back up into the boat before he hulled himself up with ease while still holding onto the grindylow.
"Well that could've been better," Tonks sighed, gasping for air while rubbing her belly.
Remus laughed an honest and pleasant laughter echoing from his open mouth. He placed the grindylow into the glass tank which he had quickly filled with water by a wave of his wand. Tonks watched him for a moment, taking the time to relax on such a beautiful Saturday morning. The sun was up high in the sky now and the weather was warmer. It wasn't as enjoyable as summer, but it was the best autumn could give.
"Thank you Dora for accompanying me," Remus smiled.
Tonks nodded and grinned but at that moment, she realized that they way Remus had called her name was so soothing, so enjoyable that if he had used the same tone with Nymphadora, she might have allowed him to slip by without a warning or even a glare.
"You don't think we could relax now, could we?" Tonks asked.
Remus chuckled and shrugged as he slipped his jumper back on and they both leaned back on the side of the boat. "I suppose some relaxation couldn't be helped when the weather is this nice and we're at such a perfect, serene place."
"In a lake filled with grindylows and who knows what. Yes, very serene Remus."
"Say Tonks, your job as an Auror, how is it? Good? Bad? I'm just curious."
"It's good, I like it. The paperwork portion wasn't exactly what I signed up for, but I could live with it," she replied, placing both arms behind her head. "What about you?"
"I've had many jobs, too many for one lifetime. But my favorite one I'd say would be this teaching job I have. I enjoy the company of rowdy kids," he chuckled.
"Why did you have so many jobs?" Tonks questioned casually.
"Some…health related problems," Remus answered her.
His tone was something she could read and knew not to press on that subject any further. "So what do you do in your free time? I've always wanted to ask a teacher that. My cousin Lexi and I always had the impression that teachers lock themselves in the closet at night to grade papers and such," she smiled.
Remus laughed. "Well I don't lock myself in a closet," he clarified teasingly. "But you could say I'm pretty boring. I like to read and study upon things that I don't know or randomly interests me. Reading is tops for me though. I'm a bookworm," he admitted, smiling.
Tonks smiled and turned to look at him, able to see that quality in him. When she looked a little closer at him while he smiled, Tonks noticed something else about him though, something odd. When Remus grinned, it looked a little, for lack of better word, wolfish. She ignored it and could remember seeing so many people actually looking more like an animal than he did. Remus didn't even come close to having any traits of a beast.
"I like reading, I do it in my spare time. But when I'm reading I'm usually listening to music as well. I'd say music is the main thing for me though."
"What do you listen to?"
"The Weird Sisters," Tonks chuckled. "But also anything that catches my interest. You?"
"Same, I listen to anything that catches my interest. I'm actually pretty open," he smiled.
"You should listen to some of my music then. I may not look like it but I'm a pretty good musician," she smiled.
"I'd love to. Whenever you're free I'd like to hear," Remus replied genuinely, beaming when he noticed that Tonks was practically glowing when he replied. "Wait. What's that sound though?" he asked when they suddenly noticed a noise that sounded like thin metal grinding against each other. "That's certainly not the joy of your excitement," he laughed and teased.
Tonks sat up and noticed that the locator Lexi gave her was the one emitting the noise. As it sat on the bow of the boat beside her bags and the grindylow glass tank, the red needle inside the compass-like instrument was spinning rapidly. It didn't stop in one direction however and only continued spinning and spinning.
"Lexi's locator," Tonks replied. "I wonder if it's broken. It's not pointing to a particular direction and certainly is no help like this."
"Isn't it set to look for Sirius?"
"It's set to look for anyone you want but yeah right now it's looking for Sirius."
"Do you suppose we should walk around and check? It could have sensed him."
"It wouldn't hurt to check," Tonks replied as she picked it up. "But I think it's broken. All the other locators, I've never heard of them spinning like this…bloody hell!" Tonks shrieked when the locator suddenly emitted circles of bright, solid blue lights in waves. It looked ethereal almost, as if she could touch it. Remus sat up and looked at the locator with her, both wondering why it was suddenly acting so weird. The next thing that happened, the locator suddenly stopped working and the arrow seemed inactive, moving lazily like that of a normal compass.
"What just happened?" Remus wondered, sitting very close to Tonks but they didn't care.
"Bugger, I think I need to ask my cousin this," Tonks sighed. "Should we go back now?"
Remus nodded and began rowing the boat quickly back to shore. "You can use my office to meet up if you don't have any other places," he offered. "If you don't mind, I'd like to know why it reacted so oddly as well."
"I'm sure Lexi wouldn't mind at all. Besides, we won't be meeting with Mad-Eye again until Wednesday in Professor Dumbledore's office and I don't think a broken locator will be of much use during the time," Tonks nodded, sitting still as Remus rowed the boat back.
"Tonks!" she suddenly heard her name being called by an airy, playful, familiar voice. Tonks turned around to see her cousin Alexis and fellow Auror Marrick standing at the dock, waving at them. They both looked as if they'd fallen down a hill with disheveled hair and grass stains all over their body, a few bruises forming here and there. "Hey cuz!" Alexis called again.
"What are you doing here? How did you find us?" Tonks asked quickly.
"Afternoon, professor," Marrick and Alexis greeted at the same time when they noticed Professor Lupin helping Tonks get off the boat and onto the dock.
"Please call me Remus," he smiled a bit shyly when he remembered he hadn't apologized to Alexis about their first meeting yet.
"Remus," Alexis nodded. "Anyways, we came here because while we were playing Quidditch with the kids the locator went off but when we got here, it suddenly lost trace."
"That's sort of what happened just now!" Tonks replied. "Did your locator emit waves of blue light as well? Because the one you gave me did and when it was done it just suddenly went dead," Tonks spoke quickly, comparing the two almost identical compass-like locators.
"What did you say?" Alexis asked in a surprised tone as she took Tonks' locator and looked at it closely. Remus and Marrick were watching them bemusedly, keeping quiet and hoping an explanation would come up soon. "Yours emitted blue waves? Did you see anything else when it did that? Like did you see Sirius Black?"
Tonks shook her head. "But I think I broke it. Instead of pointing us to a direction again like yours did right here," she pointed out, looking at Alexis' locator. "The one you gave me went dead. Now the needle just moves like a normal compass."
"That can't be right," Alexis mumbled to herself as she examined the locator closely. "I need to get my tools to take a look at this. Apparate back to Hogwarts."
"We'll meet in Remus' office," Tonks added. "There's more room there."
Alexis nodded immediately after she finished and within the blink of an eye, the raven haired girl vanished from where she stood with a pop from the tell tale sound of apparition.