Strangeways, Here We Come

Crosswords…

Arriving at the table for breakfast, she bade everyone a good morning – taking care to catch Remus' eye and smile in his direction. A sly grin crossed Sirius' face at that, and a feeling of unease abruptly blossomed in Tonks' stomach. Oh dear, that undoubtedly meant he was up to something…

She suddenly began to regret swiping the last of Sirius' Firewhiskey the previous night. Her roguish cousin had become much testier lately (probably due to cabin fever), and no doubt relished the opportunity for a bit of mischief. Or, that was what she told herself – she'd rather he had an actual reason for causing mayhem. At least when it affected her!

She worriedly took a bite of the delicious omelette Molly set in front of her, but by then his attention was engrossed in the Daily Prophet. She thought perhaps Moody's paranoia was finally rubbing off on her, but then Sirius unexpectedly asked, "What's a word for 'a lover's secret meeting'?"

The witch nearly choked on her toast. "What?"

He looked at her innocently, long ago having adapted Snuffles' puppy-dog eyes for use in human form. "A five-letter word for a lover's meeting. I'm doing the crossword."

"Oh," she said, but still looked at him rather suspiciously.

Remus did as well, but then quietly answered, "It's a tryst."

"Right, of course!" Sirius exclaimed happily, his quill scratching away at the parchment. "Thanks, mate."

The question did nothing to interrupt the chatter of the room, which continued unimpeded until a few minutes later when he queried once more. "Anybody know a five-letter 'minor divinity' ending in a 'ph'?"

Tonks' head shot up to glare at the man, but Hermione had overheard, and piped in before she could say anything. "A nymph!"

"Ah yes, of course," Sirius grinned. "What about 'a purple-blue flower', starting with an 'l'?"

"A lupine, dear," Molly responded from over his shoulder, shovelling some more bacon onto his plate. "I've got some in the garden, they're quite lovely."

Glancing over at Remus, Tonks could see him shifting in his seat, clearly uncomfortable. There was no way all these clues were a coincidence – her cousin was toying with them! "I thought you were good at crossword puzzles, Padfoot," he mentioned to his friend in a pointed manner.

"Yes, well, I've been out of practise," came the flippant and utterly unrepentant reply. "Now, how about 'canine infatuation', two words?"

"Puppy love!" Fred and George shouted simultaneously, apparently the entire table now becoming involved in solving the puzzle.

By then she'd had enough. They had yet to connect all of his hints together, but it was only a matter of time – Sirius wasn't known for his subtlety, and she was loathe to find out what else he could come up with. Besides, poor Remus was now struggling not to blush, and even though she thought he looked adorable, Tonks figured she ought to help him out.

Getting up, the Auror walked over to the counter and poured herself some more tea. Then on the way back to her seat, she accidentally stumbled, just happening to spill her drink on Sirius' lap. It certainly was a morning for coincidences! She almost felt bad for him as he jumped up in shock and pain, but then decided he deserved it; besides, the tea was nowhere near as hot as it could have been. "Oh, bloody hell! Sorry about that," she apologized, doing her best to sound sincere. "Here, let me take that before it gets wet too." With that, she snatched the crossword from his hand as he flailed around.

Things settled back down after Sirius dried himself off and everybody stopped laughing; then Remus shot her a grin, knowing exactly what she had done. She returned it, but it slid off her face when she read over the puzzle she held. "Unbelievable… All those clues were actually on here?" It really was a morning for coincidences then. That, or fate.

"Of course!" Sirius laughed, cocking an eyebrow smugly. "Why would you think otherwise?"

Bugger, now the kids were all looking at her curiously, waiting for an answer. What could she say? "Oh, no reason," she shrugged casually, deciding to go with the classic brush-off approach. Then she beamed as another wonderful coincidence caught her eye. "Sirius, you should know this one – what's a three-letter word for a 'morally reprehensible man' beginning with a 'd'?"

Please review, I'd love to know what you think about it!

Toodles,
- ish -