The next morning, Tonks popped into a small coffee shop near the Daily Prophet building to meet with her contact. Luckily, he was eager to print anything—especially when Tonks told him there may be more business of this kind in the future—that seemed like it had a conspiracy twist to it. On her way out of the Alley, as Tonks was passing by the second-hand bookshop owned by the man she'd fought at the Hog's Head the night before, she noted that his windows were still dark while Emmeline had an open for business sign in her front window. Hoping to have a quick chat, Tonks decided to chance making Kingsley angry by being late to work and pushed the door open to the fussy shop.
The dainty tinkling of the charm she used to indicate the arrival of customers along with a quick glance around the store told Tonks that everything she assumed from the outside of the shop was correct: it was pretty, upscale, and everything inside was far too breakable for her to be able to spend any amount of time inside.
A young woman who Tonks assumed to be Emmeline's assistant greeted her as Emmeline swiveled on the stool behind her register counter, the pleasant smile on her face never faltering.
"Hello, dear," Emmeline said. "May I help you?"
"Erm, I'm looking for a new tea set for my mum," Tonks said, casting a glance around. "But these are all too…" Ridiculous? Girly? Flowery? Tonks struggled for a moment to come up with something polite to say about the tea sets. "...delicate for my mother's taste."
Emmeline's lips turned up slightly as she rose from her stool. "I think I have something more her taste in our inventory in the back room," she said as she waved a hand for Tonks to follow her down a short corridor with a door at the end.
Once the door was closed behind them and Tonks had cast a Silencing Charm, Emmeline adjusted the green shawl she always had wrapped around her and said pleasantly, "Since our time is limited, and I know you're not here about a tea set, let's get right to it."
"The shop two doors down," Tonks began, impressed at Emmeline's no-nonsense attitude.
"The used book shop."
Tonks nodded. "I need you to watch it for me. Take note if the shop opens today and if the owner shows up."
"Consider it done," Emmeline said with a decisive nod. She stared at Tonks for a moment before continuing. "Might you have time for a question of a...personal nature?"
Tonks grinned—unable to pass up the chance to tease the normally quiet woman—and hoped her instincts were right that she was getting ready to ask about her cousin. "Of course I have time for a question about Sirius." Pleased at the slight color that fused into Emmeline's cheeks as she looked briefly down to the floor with a smile, Tonks continued. "I reckon he fancies you, if that's what you want to know."
Emmeline laughed lightly as she fidgeted with the hem of her shawl. "You must think me a silly schoolgirl."
"Not at all," Tonks said, thinking for the second time in two days that new feelings and relationships never got easier to navigate. "I told him to ask you over for tea."
"And I'd like to accept, it's just…" Emmeline took a deep breath as she hesitated. "I knew Sirius Black at a time when it was rumored he would cast a woman aside for the next pretty thing that caught his eye."
Tonks crinkled her eyebrows, hoping her next words came out kinder than they sounded in her head. "Do you honestly think he has time for that sort of thing now? That he'd want to waste any opportunity at friendship or anything else after his time locked away?"
Emmeline stared at Tonks for a moment before she squared her shoulders and raised her chin. "You're absolutely right. I'm going to read the...novel," she said with a small smile, "he loaned me last week and show for tea before the meeting tomorrow."
Thrilled that she'd been able to give relationship advice—something she hadn't been able to properly give in...well, never, really—to two people in one week made her day so much brighter that she didn't even mind the questioning look Kingsley gave her at showing up to work more than an hour late. Her good mood even survived the news that she was being paired with Dawlish for the morning while Henry worked on a case he'd previously worked with Millie Bennett.
Unfortunately, listening to Dawlish's prattle for the better part of three hours tempered her spirits, driving Tonks to the cafeteria for a mediocre cup of coffee to get her through the rest of her day. While waiting in line to pay for the coffee Tonks was hoping would also be enough to get her through her guard shift that night, she heard a familiar, albeit annoyed, voice behind her.
"Nymphadora Tonks!"
Tonks turned to see her best girlfriend from Hogwarts, Lucy Hale, pushing her way through the queue. Lucy had changed the pink streaks in her blonde hair to black, but she was as forceful as ever, shoving past an older wizard Tonks recognized from Arthur Weasley's office to finally reach where Tonks stood.
"So this is how I finally get to catch up with you?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips, ignoring the indignant voices of the people behind her she'd pushed aside. "A chance meeting while waiting for a cup of shit coffee? I've sent you probably a dozen owls. Where the bloody hell have you been?"
Smiling at her friend's typical colorful language and nearly squealing in delight as the woman eyed her with a scowl, Tonks threw her arms around her and said, "Don't be such a dramatic cow. You've only sent two owls I haven't answered."
Lucy hugged her tightly. "Well, now I have you here, I'm not letting you go until you sit long enough to drink the coffee I'm buying you and tell me what you've been up to since Merlin knows when."
Tonks happily let her friend buy her a cup of coffee, justifying the long break away from the office by thinking that she wouldn't be leaving the Ministry that night anyway since she had guard duty. She let Lucy chatter on about her Muggle family and her job—specifically complaining about the idiot they'd just transferred to her department from Magical Sports that "couldn't find his own knob with both hands and a flashlight"—letting her dominate the conversation since there really wasn't a lot Tonks could tell her friend about what she'd been up to lately. She wasn't even sure how much she should tell her about Remus.
"So," Lucy said, finally taking a break from her stream of chitchat. "Tell me what's new with you."
Tonks shrugged and offered a tiny smile. "There's not much to tell, really. Working too much, that's for sure."
"Shame," Lucy said with a mischievous glint in her eye, telling Tonks that she should be wary of what was going to come out of her mouth next. "Here I was hoping you'd met a man and were having it off day and night."
Tonks shook her head and laughed—hoping she wasn't going to blush—as she took a sip of her now-cold coffee simply to avoid looking her friend in the eye. Lucy had an uncanny knack for knowing things. "If wishing made it so," Tonks said, repeating what she'd said to Professor Sprout when she'd asked if there was a man between her thighs. Unfortunately, she didn't have much news to report on that front even weeks later.
"There's something you're not telling me," Lucy said with a grin as she leaned forward, leaning her elbows on the table.
"I have nothing new that I can tell you right now," Tonks said, hoping to put off her friend for a little while—at least until she knew exactly what was going on between her and Remus. She knew how she felt, of course, but it was so much harder to know what he was thinking.
Lucy hummed in response. "Clever words. Nearly Slytherin of you, really." She eyed Tonks critically. "You're really not going to tell me if you've met someone?"
"Nope."
Lucy growled in annoyance. "Fine. But you have to tell me one thing."
Tonks raised her eyebrows at her friend in question.
"Are you truly shagging Mad-Eye, or is that just a mad Ministry rumor?"
Tonks laughed loudly and wondered incredulously just how far that rumor had spread through the Ministry. She enjoyed the rest of the little time they had left before they had to return to their work, making sure to reassure Lucy that she was not having a secret love affair with Mad-Eye. Feeling slightly guilty that she couldn't tell her friend why she was unavailable for the rest of the week for a proper girly talk—between guard duty, the Order meeting and the possible Friday night mission to the Poison Quill, not to mention hoping to see Remus at some point, her week was as mad as usual—she reassured her that if her "work commitment" for Friday ended up being canceled, they would go out for a drink.
.
The following evening, Tonks entered Headquarters feeling both exhausted after her night of guard duty right in the middle of her work week and giddy at the thought of seeing Remus again after not seeing him since Sunday. She pushed through the doors of the kitchen and was momentarily disappointed that Remus wasn't sitting at the table. Her disappointment was quickly forgotten at the sight of Emmeline sitting across from Sirius, two mugs and a plate of biscuits between them.
The kitchen was still relatively quiet with only the pair at the table and Molly and Arthur tending to tea and preparing an unnecessarily large amount of sandwiches for the meeting. Hoping not to disturb her cousin, Tonks walked to where Molly was neatly lining up rows of bacon on pieces of bread at the counter.
Just as Tonks was wondering about the likelihood of Molly asking her about Sirius and Emmeline, Molly leaned in close and whispered, "Do they fancy one another?"
Smiling and shaking her head, Tonks was glad Arthur fielded the question and interjected, "Let's let them be to give them a chance to figure it out."
"But—" Molly began to protest.
"Molly, dear, we can serve tea and sandwiches to the starving members of the Order in the drawing room, yes? Tonks," Arthur said as he handed her a tray full of mugs before picking up the kettle, "I'm leaving you in charge of the mugs. Molly, you bring the food."
Tonks admired Arthur's ability to handle his wife. Due to Arthur's laid back personality, she knew it likely didn't happen often, so she amusedly watched as Molly wordlessly Levitated the platter of sandwiches she'd finished with a huff.
Tonks pushed through the door of the kitchen and called over her shoulder, "You're taking a risk, you know, trusting me with something breakable."
"Precisely why I charged you with the mugs rather than the sandwiches," Arthur said genially as he followed Tonks out of the kitchen. "The mugs can quickly be repaired, but nobody wants sandwiches that have been on the floor of this house."
As she was rounding the corner into the drawing room, Tonks nearly upset the entire tray of mugs as she stopped short before running into Molly. "Going to make use of the twins' Extendable Ears?" she teased.
"Actually, I was going to allow the two of them some privacy and post a sign on the kitchen door directing everyone to enjoy tea up here before the meeting," Molly retorted, holding up a piece of parchment.
Tonks giggled and set the tray on the coffee table as Molly marched out of the room.
"Don't let her corner you alone," Arthur said as he enlarged a coaster to serve as a trivet for the tea kettle. "She's dying to ask you about a certain Order member. And this time it's not Bill or Charlie."
"Thanks for the warning," Tonks said with a roll of her eyes.
"She's desperate enough to have tried chatting up your cousin," Arthur said as he sat in one of the wing-backed chairs and stretched his legs in front of him. "Though, you'll be glad to know he revealed nothing."
Tonks looked at Arthur thoughtfully for a moment before deciding to ask a question before Molly returned. "How does she really feel about Sirius?"
Arthur gave Tonks a wry smile. "I believe, from what Remus told me, you were correct with your assessment that she's jealous. Harry is like a son to us."
"What's one more when you've six sons already?" Tonks said with a grin as she poured herself a cup of tea and sat on the sofa.
With a nod, Arthur took large bite of his sandwich as footsteps echoed from the hall.
"...having tea. Just the two of them."
Tonks couldn't help but grin at Molly's voice carrying up the stairs as she spoke to a new arrival about the situation in the kitchen.
As more Order members trickled in and helped themselves to sandwiches—all except Severus, who entered and poured himself tea while ignoring the food Molly had prepared—Tonks wondered what could be keeping Remus; it had been days since she'd seen him, and despite her exhaustion from her grueling schedule that week, she was anxious to see him. She resisted asking anybody where he was. Even Sirius, who appeared to be in a very good spirits after sitting for tea with Emmeline. The last thing she needed was the entire Order gossiping about their relationship.
Dumbledore arrived and declared that the drawing room was a welcome change from the kitchen for their meeting and called them all to order once everyone had found a seat. Ready to nod off to sleep, even in the middle of her lengthy report on the witness—leaving out any mention of the Quill—that had been transferred that week, Tonks perked up when the door opened and Remus, Bill, and Mundungus walked into the room, Mundungus dressed in black robes with lace trim at the cuffs and collar and holding a black hat with a veil.
Tonks couldn't help herself in her exhausted state. With a poorly concealed giggle, she said, "Wotcher, Dung. Good to see you're in touch with your feminine side."
"Funny, is it?" Mundungus asked defensively as he plopped into an open seat at the other end of the sofa. "Been undercover."
Her giggles continued as Tonks tried her best to remember where she'd left off before the three men had walked in. "I'm sorry, sir," she said to Dumbledore around her laughter. "I can't remember what I was saying." She turned to Sirius, who was sitting next to her on the sofa, and buried her face against his shoulder to attempt to stifle her now out of control laughter.
"In't that funny," Mundungus grumbled as other Order members chuckled.
Taking a deep breath in an attempt to control her laughter, Tonks looked up and saw Remus watching her with his shy smile. She let one last giggle slip out and covered her mouth with her hand as she attempted to regain control. Reluctantly pulling her eyes away from Remus' gaze, Tonks turned to the Headmaster and saw that his blue eyes were twinkling with suppressed mirth.
"Quite all right, Nymphadora," he said with a nod of his head. "I dare say you've both filled us in properly and provided us with a bit of merriment for the evening. Moving on."
The rest of the Order gave their reports: Emmeline disclosed that the man from her skirmish at the Hog's Head had yet to return to his shop, Remus cryptically reported that he'd have more to say as his mission developed, and Bill said that he successfully relieved the UK of their witness.
Once the meeting had come to a close, Bill kicked Sirius from his spot on the couch next to Tonks and plopped down so he could speak with her.
"The love of your life told me to give you a hug since he didn't get to do it in person," Bill said as he leaned over and gave Tonks a hug before settling back on the sofa. "He was disappointed it was only his brother delivering Murphy."
Even though she could only see Remus' profile as he spoke quietly to Dumbledore, Tonks noticed him stiffen at Bill's words. "Don't be an arse," she said as she shoved Bill's shoulder. "Charlie's no more the love of my life than Dung is yours."
"I wouldn't underestimate the appeal of Mundungus Fletcher," Bill said with a wide grin. "Right, Dung?"
"Eh?" Dung said, looking around and rubbing his eyes. Apparently dressing as a witch was taxing work since he'd fallen asleep in the time since he'd arrived.
"Never mind, go back to sleep." Bill reached into his robes and pulled out an envelope. "Seriously, though, I have something Charlie wants you to read. Some questions about your witness, and he also wants you to send copies of some of your reports."
"That I can do," Tonks said around a wide yawn. She glanced up to see Remus eyeing the envelope she'd taken from Bill. His gaze flitted up to hers and Tonks realized in that moment just how much she'd missed Remus in the few days they'd been apart. Even from across the room, his intense gaze made her heart race and her cheeks flush, the effect even more intense when images of their encounters from the weekend flashed through her mind. Once Remus turned his attention back to Dumbledore after their brief eye contact, Tonks took a deep breath hoped that the look he'd given her said he'd missed her just as much.
As Bill moved on to pester Mundungus some more, Tonks disappointedly watched Remus cross the room to stop a scowling Severus to speak to him before he could leave. Since it was obviously going to be a while before she got to talk with Remus alone, Tonks heaved herself from the couch and stretched before using her wand to collect a few plates scattered across the coffee table.
Mentally congratulating herself on making it to the kitchen without upsetting the small stack of plates she was carrying, Tonks pushed through the door to see Emmeline and Hestia standing at the sink washing dishes amidst a whispered conversation. Tonks grinned as she added the plates to the sink full of soapy water before leaning against the counter.
"Enjoy your tea?" she asked Emmeline.
"As a matter of fact, I did," Emmeline replied primly.
Hestia sighed. "Too bad all of your dates will have to be in this terrible house."
"I told you," Emmeline said as she waved her wand over the sudsy water, changing it to clean rinsing water before she vanished the water all together. "It was simply tea, not a date. And anyway, aren't we a little old for calling it dating?"
Tonks watched, amazed as Emmeline gave another wordless flick of her wand and dried the dishes before stacking them and placing them on the counter. "All right," Tonks said holding up her hand. "First of all, if Mad-Eye can have a date, I reckon you're not too old to call it dating. Second, I need you to teach me whatever you just did with the dishes."
"Have you a need to do dishes for a crowd?" Emmeline asked with an amused expression.
"The need has...come up recently," Tonks said.
"Can we return to the part where Mad-Eye has a date, please?" Hestia hissed.
"You're like an old woman with your gossip," Emmeline chastised as she opened a cabinet and sent the dishes to their place with another wordless spell.
The three women turned when the kitchen door opened and Professor McGonagall walked through. "Ah, Tonks, just the girl I was hoping to see on my way out," she said as she reached into her robes and handed her the copy of Forbidden Love, the romance novel she had given Sirius when she first joined the Order. Apparently the book was making its way through the group.
"Did you enjoy the book, Professor?" Tonks asked as she tried to suppress a giggle.
"Quite," McGonagall replied tartly. "What is it you ladies are gossiping about down here?"
Hestia crossed her arms over her chest. "Emmeline and Sirius had tea, and Mad-Eye has a date."
McGonagall pursed her lips and eyed Tonks. "Hmm. I was hoping for information on the goings-on between you and Mr. Lupin. Poppy and Pomona only know so much."
"Oh, yes," Hestia said, clapping her hands, her usual pink cheeks even pinker with excitement of further gossip. "That's another thing we've been wondering over."
Tonks closed her eyes rubbed her temples, thinking either the exhaustion was finally catching up with her, or the ladies of the Order had gone mad. "How do any of you know anything's going on?"
"Don't be silly, dear," Emmeline said, patting Tonks' arm. "You two are obviously quite taken with each other."
McGonagall sighed. "I really must return to the castle. I don't trust Severus not to hex Umbridge if they pass in the corridor. Hestia, when is the next ladies' gathering?"
"Well, we really need to plan one for a night other than a Friday so Tonks isn't busy with her mysterious mission," Hestia replied. "Molly wants to host this time. I'll look at the duty roster and come up with a night."
"Ladies' gathering?" Tonks asked. She decided that her head really was becoming fuzzy with sleep. The thought of McGonagall sitting around with a glass of wine was almost too much for her sleep deprived brain to contemplate.
"Hestia will inform you of the next gathering," McGonagall said as she stepped toward the fireplace. "Go home and get some sleep after your long day. Though, I wouldn't leave without seeing Mr. Lupin first as he was looking for you."
Tonks shook her head as the Professor stepped into the Floo. "I really do need sleep. McGonagall reading romance novels and having a lady's night is too much."
"I'll teach you the charms you were interested in another time," Emmeline said with another sympathetic pat to her arm. "You look practically asleep on your feet."
After refusing to tell Hestia anything about how her and Remus began seeing one another-—she was more amused than annoyed and decided that she was glad to have spoken to the women longer than it took to switch at guard duty or converse amongst reports—Tonks left the kitchen and walked up the steps, watching each step carefully so she didn't trip. As she neared the landing, she ran straight into Sirius as he was exiting the drawing room.
Grabbing the front of his robes, Tonks steadied herself as Sirius held onto her shoulders to keep her upright. "Thanks for the catch, mate."
"I thought you'd left," Sirius said. "If I let go, you're not going to fall down the steps, are you?"
Tonks gave a half-hearted giggle and shook her head. "Is Remus still in there, or did he go upstairs?"
Sirius took a breath and held it for a moment before he spoke, his words cautious. "Moony thought you'd left to read your correspondence, is how I believe he put it."
"Sorry?"
"The so-called love of your life sent you a letter," Sirius said, speaking to her slowly as though she was dumb as a troll and having trouble understanding his words.
"What? No!" Tonks growled in frustration. "I got stuck down in the kitchen by a pair of gossiping hens."
Suddenly not feeling as tired as she had just moments before, Tonks took a breath and started to let her temper direct her words before she remembered Sirius' words of wisdom about Remus the last time Charlie's name had been brought up. He doesn't think he can compete. Rather than get angry, Tonks was determined to act.
"When will he be back?" Tonks asked, placing her hands on her hips.
"Dunno," Sirius said with a shrug. "He went of to check some tip Snivellus gave him."
Tonks squared her shoulders, ignoring for the time being the use of the terrible nickname he'd used for Severus. "Right. Have you an extra toothbrush?"
Sirius rolled his eyes. "You act like you two haven't had your tongues down each other's throats. Just use his toothbrush," he said with a laugh. "Are you going to kip on the couch?"
Tonks gave her cousin an impatient look at the comment about the toothbrush and pushed past him to climb the stairs to the next level. "No. Remus can easily avoid me if I sleep on the couch," she said over her shoulder. "I'm too knackered to stay up until he gets home, so I'm going to take over the jealous arse's bed." Honestly, if Remus was upset when he came home and found her in his bed, she didn't really care; she was determined to show him he had nothing to be jealous of.
After washing her face and taking Sirius' suggestion of using Remus' toothbrush, Tonks stood next to Remus' bed, uncertain of her next step. What she really wanted to do was slip into his bed completely starkers, but she discounted that thought with a sigh; she'd said she would let him set the pace for their physical relationship. Turning up in his bed naked would likely make him anxious, which was not Tonks' goal.
Still without a real plan, Tonks kicked her boots under the chair in the corner and began to undress. She got down to her bra and knickers before inspiration struck and she crossed to the chest of drawers standing between two large windows. As orderly as the rest of Remus' room was, Tonks didn't think she'd have any trouble finding what she was looking for.
Ruling out the top drawer as likely holding boxers and socks, Tonks pulled open the second drawer and found exactly what she was searching for: a drawer full of t-shirts. She sifted through the shirts until she came across a soft, faded Gryffindor shirt. With a smile, she tossed the shirt on the bed before removing her bra, flinging it across the room to her pile of clothes, and pulling the shirt over her head.
Tonks pulled back the covers of Remus' neatly made bed and climbed in, inhaling deeply as she turned her head into one of the pillows and enjoyed the lingering scent of Remus. Feeling both excitement and nervousness at lying in the dark room waiting for Remus to return, Tonks settled on her side and thought of how he would react. Would he ask her to leave? Unlikely. Leave her to sleep in his bed while he slept on the drawing room sofa? Not the worst scenario, but a definite possibility. Slip under the covers and join her in bed? This—along with other things she hoped would happen—were the thoughts that were running through her head as she tried to settle for sleep.
Tonks pressed her thighs together to relieve the ache that was quickly becoming hard to ignore the more she thought of Remus. His tender yet passionate kisses, his clever hands, his hoarse voice whispering in her ear. The ache only intensified as she let her mind wander to the memory of his hands on her body and thoughts of Remus allowing her to return the favor.
Exhaustion finally won out over her amorous thoughts and Tonks drifted off to sleep. What felt like only moments later, she woke to the sound of her name being whispered into her ear by a familiar voice. She smiled sleepily and opened her eyes to see Remus leaning over her, his face illuminated by the soft glow of the bathroom light spilling into the bedroom.
"You're back," she said as she pulled a hand from under the covers and ran it across Remus' lightly bearded cheek. Her smile faded as Remus stood frozen over her, staring at her intensely. She drew a deep breath and held it as she wondered which scenario that had run through her head earlier was going to play out.
He stared at her silently for a few moments—his expression frustratingly giving away nothing—before he said, "There seems to be a problem here."
A/N: *gasp* You only had to wait a week for an update!? It likely will be longer than a week until the next chapter unfortunately. The health issue I was dealing with in the spring has not resolved, so it's another surgery for me tomorrow. Boo! But, this time the issue will definitely be resolved:). Everybody think positive thoughts for the hubs as he takes over the household and our brood of children while I recover!
In other news, I have inspired a lurker to review-hooray! Thanks to all of those who have reviewed, I truly appreciate it! Have a great weekend:).