Waiting

Author: Sam (buggie21)

Pairings: Remus/Sirius, Remus/Tonks

Rating: M for language and sexual references

Genre: Romance/Angst

Summary: Tonks continues to pursue Remus, but what she doesn't know is that his heart belongs to his best friend, even in death. Set at the end of the summer of HBP.

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to the great JK Rowling. I am nothing.

Author's Notes: My first official fanfiction! Please review, and don't be afraid to be truthful! If same-sex pairings aren't your cup of tea, however, I suggest that you don't read my work.


Chapter Three

"Remus? Remus!"

An overly optimistic tone roused the werewolf out of a pleasant slumber. He stretched as he elevated his upper body, looking in the direction the voice came from. He mumbled a hello to the currently purple-haired woman who stood in the doorway to the living room.

"Breakfast's almost ready. Just a heads up."

Remus inwardly grumbled. He could have easily fixed himself up a meal. Besides, he absolutely hated when others cooked for him. There was no need to go through the trouble because he was perfectly capable.

"Thank you, Tonks."

The woman bounced on her feet, nodded, and made her way back toward the dining room. On the way, however, she misjudged her turn out of the doorway and clipped her shoulder on the wall, knocking her back a little. Face bright red, she sheepishly smiled in Remus' direction. The man simply shook his head, which had always been his reaction to Tonks' clumsiness.

Once the Auror successfully managed to make her way around the doorframe without another collision, Remus flopped back down on the loveseat, rubbing his tired eyes. Why had she had to wake him during a most pleasant dream, albeit an awkward one? That didn't matter – he being the slightest bit uncomfortable during the memory didn't trouble him. What mattered was that the image was one of Sirius, something the man could recall as if it had only been the previous day. He smiled to himself, letting his eyes drift shut again.

***

Why was it that whenever she was assigned to do anything that had to do with Remus, Tonks always made an absolute fool of herself? All right, she was obsessed with the man. Tonks was completely infatuated and head-over-heels for him. Why was it that he simply didn't see it himself?

"Tonks, where's Remus?"

The woman turned her head to the right and spotted Harry in the doorway. The Auror let her head fall onto the table, forehead smacking the wooden structure. "On the loveseat," she said with noticeable misery.

If she had been looking, she would have seen Harry raise a dark eyebrow in her direction. The tousled-haired boy shook his head, turned, and headed for the other room.

***

"Erm, Remus?"

For the second time that morning the man was awoken from a lazy sleep. His heavy eyelids lifted rather slowly, eyes blinked a couple times, and then they found the new figure in the doorway.

"Oh, hello Harry," the older man greeted, much more whole-heartedly than the first time he was taken out of his pleasant dreams. "Did I miss breakfast?"

The raven-haired young man walked further into the room, stepping with incredible care, afraid he would further disturb his old professor if he made too much noise. "No, but it's on the table. They're starting to worry about you."

As Remus sat up he snorted a laugh, rubbing his eyes for the second time that morning. "Oh, please," he commented, still half asleep, "I'm fine. Only trying to catch up on my rest."

Harry, who had grown more comfortable with the man within the previous months, had a seat on the edge of the oversized piece of furniture. "Remus, may I ask you something?"

The older man was certainly awake at this point. His ears pricked up at the boys' inquiry, which had been so similar to the one spoken by his godfather in Remus' flashback. Mentally shaking his head, he closed his slightly gapped mouth and straightened his furrowed brow. "Why yes, Harry. Go right ahead." He smiled reassuringly at his young friend.

"I don't mean to be nosy, but I've been worried about your, well, routine change." When Remus sent him a questioning glance, the boy continued. "Well, the last few months you've been acting quite differently. I mean, we've all changed after," he paused, obviously uncomfortable with Sirius' death. Instead of plainly stating it, he supplied, "recent events." Harry shuffled his feet a little while Remus looked down at his own hands.

Harry continued, "W-well, I just wanted to let you know that you can talk to me about it." When Remus looked slightly startled, Harry added, "Only if you wanted to."

The older man smiled wearily. "I thought, being the professor I, erm, was, I should be looking out for you." He patted Harry on the shoulder comfortingly, almost as a father would a son. Harry grinned in return, but looked back to the floor rather quickly. Remus was a little nervous with where this conversation was heading.

"You know, I know how close you were to him. My dad, too." Remus absently nodded, a flood of memories of the great Marauder days swimming in his mind. "I can't imagine what it's like to lose someone so close to you."

Lupin looked up, question masking his features. "Harry, you lost your own parents and – "

Harry shook his head. "Remus, you lost someone so very important to you. Yes, I lost my parents, but I had barely knew them." The man was about to protest when Harry held up a hand. "You knew Sirius for the majority of your life. There's no doubt in my mind that the two of you were," he hesitated a moment, "very close with one another."

Remus squirmed on the loveseat, thrown-off by how much Harry had picked up on. How should he explain himself? Just as he was about to open his mouth, Harry awkwardly changed the subject.

"Now I bet we missed breakfast."

He must be embarrassed, Remus thought to himself. That's understandable.

They stood simultaneously, laughed awkwardly, and headed toward the dining room.

***

Breakfast turned out to be an odd meal. Remus and Harry had taken their usual seats next to one another. Tonks eyed the two suspiciously. Exactly what had taken them so long in the living room? When the werewolf looked up and accidentally caught her eye, she could see a faint pink coloring to his cheeks. Harry was looking as awkward as ever, something that Tonks picked up on the moment he had entered the room. The two males were speaking in low voices, something they rarely did in front of company. How odd, thought the witch. Her eyebrows knit together in confusion, but she continued her meal.

***

In the corner of the room, near where she had put her own belongings, Tonks spotted a rather large chest that looked as if it had recently been rummaged through. Being the curious witch she was, Tonks summoned the chest and settled it directly in front of her. She knelt down, easily undid the latch, and was intrigued with her findings.

She carefully began shifting the items around, at first finding nothing but odds and ends and a bunch of old robes. Something near the bottom of the bin caught Tonks' attention. She picked up the old moving image with great care, not wanting to damage it. She scrunched her face in concentration, not understanding what was depicted. As she watched the reoccurring scene before her, she finally caught on. The witch could even place faces. Bodies. Realizing what she was watching, whose privacy she was invading, Tonks let the photo fall to the floor. A lone tear trickled down her cheek.


Well, I finally managed another chapter. I've been trying to get all my things together, basically packing my life in boxes, for my move to school tomorrow morning. I don't know how chaotic my first week will be, but I'll update both my stories as soon as I can. Anyway, I liked writing this chapter a lot. Let me know what you think!

Sam