AN: Here is a new chapter! I finally have a moment to breath and I thought I would use it to keep the story going. The next chapter may be a while coming though. So hope you enjoy, this chapter is light, darker things will be coming soon. I do not own Harry Potter or anything associated with it.

"Nymphadora don't just shove those in your trunk, they'll wrinkle horribly."

Andromeda left her post by her daughter's bedroom door and crossed to the bed, where she proceeded to cause all her daughters clothes to fold with a neat flick of her wand.

Tonks rolled her eyes, but not so her mother could see. Their relationship had become strained of late and she didn't want to add another reason for her mother to be disapproving.

"See isn't that better?" Andromeda asked with another casual flick, sending the clothes into the trunk. "You never could get those household spells." She looked at Tonks then, her lips curving slightly.

Tonks grinned brightly back, "Well it's a good thing that Cally is expert at them isn't it?"

Andromeda sighed and sat on the only vacant spot left on the bed. "Do you really want to do this?" she asked quietly. She sounded almost defeated and Tonks felt her resolve crumble slightly.

"Yes mum, I'm sure." She answered resolutely. "Cally needs someone else to rent out the flat with her, plus it's closer to the ministry."

Andromeda latched onto the last detail just like Tonks knew she would. They had been having this argument since she had come home almost a month ago.

"But you don't know if you've even been accepted for Auror training Darling. What if you don't make it?"

Tonks had completed her aptitude tests two weeks previous and was now waiting, in barely concealed nervousness, to find out if she would be allowed to continue on. She thought it had gone well, the Auror who tested her had seemed pleased, but She had been scrutinized by at least four Auror, including Alastar Moody, about her abilities and her connection to the Death Eaters. Her Aunt Bellatrix had been mentioned more than once.

"We won't have to worry about that because I'm going to be accepted," she said with far more confidence than she felt. "And if I'm not, well, I'll figure something out won't I?" In truth she had no idea what she would do, being an Auror was the only thing that she could ever see herself doing.

Seeing that her mother was about to protest more, Tonks said quickly, "It's better than me moving in with Remus isn't it?"

She eyed her mother shrewdly. That was one thing that Andromeda refused to budge on. She said that as much as she thought Remus was a "fine" young man, she didn't approve of couples living together before marriage. When Tonks had informed her parents of her intention to move out, Andromeda had become very rigid thinking that her daughter planned on moving into her boyfriend's house. It wasn't until Tonks had assured her Parents that she was only planning on moving in with Cally that Andromeda had calmed down.

It had made Tonks feel guilty to see the relief, then the confusion on her mothers face. Ted seemed fine with the whole situation, but Andromeda was having a hard time adjusting.

If she knew the real reason I was leaving she'd skin me and feed me to a hippogriff, Tonks thought as she threw a pair of trainers into her trunk, right on top of her freshly laundered shirt. Or the fact that I'll probably end up living with Remus half the time despite her constant speeches on propriety.

This last thought caused her to fight a grin. Her mother was one to talk, hadn't she run away, got pregnant and married all at 18? Tonks could count; knew that either she was born two months early and had just been a really big baby or her parents got married only after she was conceived.

"Yes well," Andromeda folded a pair of socks absently. "I still think it would be better if you lived at home. You'd think you were trying to hide something from us, the way you've been acting." A look of dawning comprehension appeared on her beautiful face.

"You're not pregnant are you?"

"Mum!" Tonks stopped shrinking items to put in her trunk and stared at her mother incredulously. "Merlin's balls, yes I'm pregnant and due to pop out any moment. I decided it would be a smashing idea if the Potters kid had a playmate and Remus, sensible bloke that he normally is took complete leave of his senses and agreed with me!"

Andromeda gave her the "Black" look, and raised a brow. "It was a simple question. And don't use that language in this house, I won't tolerate it. I raised you better than that."

Tonks sighed, pushed a spot clear on her bed and sat beside her mother. "I'm sorry mum, but really? Pregnant? Do you really think I'm that thick?"

"Then why?" she asked completely ignoring Tonks question. "You have been acting strangely darling, disappearing at random hours, getting owls at 2 in the morning." She looked into her daughter's eyes as if searching.

"Mum, I'm not a little girl anymore ok? I'm sorry if I'm worrying you, and of course I'm not trying to keep something from you and Dad," she lied. "I'd be daft to try. Nothing gets passed you."

Andromeda smiled slightly and Tonks felt a little less guilty.

"It's just, I need space yeah? I mean I'd be moving out eventually anyway and this way I can help Cally out. You don't know how glad she is to get away from all her brothers and sisters."

Andromeda laughed slightly and wrapped her arms around Tonks. "I can imagine. I just never thought this day would come so soon. You've grown up so quickly, I feel as if I blinked and missed half your life." She straightened up and stood smoothing out her dress. "You'll understand what I mean when you have your own children I suppose." She moved to the door and then stopped and turned back.

"I'm going to miss you Dora," she said softly. Her eyes were over bright and Tonks could tell that she was just holding off the tears until she left the room.

"I'll miss you too mum."

Andromeda smiled and left the room with a grace that Tonks could only envy.

Feeling sullen, she stood and began throwing the rest of her belongings into her trunk. It's for the best, she told herself. I can't have them knowing about the Order, it would just cause a fight.

***

"So, what d'you think?"

Tonks watched anxiously as Remus looked around the flat. She loved it, had fallen in love with it as soon as she had laid eyes on it after a long day of seeing rental locations. It was small, she had to concede, but it was better than the one that smelled like cabbage. She had been sure Cally would go for that one for price alone. Thankfully she hadn't.

"It's small." He said and she huffed.

"Yes I know it's small. But really, what do you think?" she asked significantly.

Remus knew that she was asking about the paint job she and Cally had just done, but he couldn't resist teasing her more.

"I mean really if I stand here and stretch my arms out I can touch both walls." He demonstrated still with a completely straight face.

Tonks sighed and flopped back onto the sofa. "You're standing in the kitchen entry way." She crossed her arms and glared at him.

Remus looked behind him exaggeratedly. "Is that what this room is supposed to be?"

"You're taking the piss right?" she raised both brows and looked at him like she couldn't believe what he had just said.

Remus grinned and was rewarded with a well-aimed pillow to the face.

"It looks great Dora, really," he said when she eyed him skeptically. "Off white is such a great colour. What's with that name anyways?" he asked, knowing it would cause her to smile. "I mean, why not just call it beige and be done with the whole thing? Why give it such a passé name as off white?"

Tonks rolled her eyes, but she was indeed smiling. "I think we've been spending too much time together, either that or you switched brains with Sirius. You're starting to sound like me."

Remus crossed and sat beside her and she immediately stretched out so she was leaning against him. "It's the only colour the landlord would let us use, you should have seen the walls before we painted. I thought Cally was going to have a tantrum. She hates mess."

She could feel him chuckling. "And she's living with you why?"

Tonks elbowed him in the ribs but said nothing. It would be interesting to see how Cally dealt with her cleaning habits, or rather lack there of.

"What's this?"

"Hmm?" she asked sleepily. It really was comfortable lying there with him and they had both been up late at an order meeting the night before.

Her answer came in the form of a hoot as a large barn owl landed on the coffee table. It stuck its leg out to Remus and then took off out the open window after he took the parchment tied there.

They were quiet as he read and Tonks closed her eyes thinking that if it were anything really important he would have said so already.

"We have to go."

"What?"

"We have to go." He shifted her over and stood. Tonks shook herself out and looked up at him questioningly.

"Is someone hurt? Dead? What's going on?" she asked a worried feeling coming over her.

"Its Lily" he started to say, but Tonks cut him off.

"What happened?" now she was really worried.

Remus laughed at the look on her face and she scowled. "How can you laugh? Is she hurt, dead, what the hell is going on?"

"If you had let me finish Dora, I was just about to tell you that the note is from James. Lily is in labour at St. Mungos."

Tonks jumped up. "Why are we still here then? Lets go."

Remus shook his head in silent wonderment. Sometimes he just didn't understand her.

When they arrived they found James pacing the waiting room looking harried and keyed up. From the looks of it he had been running his hands through his hair again. It was standing straight up. Sirius was lounging in a chair watching James pace with a grin. Apparently he found his best friends situation amusing. Peter sat opposite him looking normal.

"I thought you'd never get here!" James exclaimed when he saw them come in.

Sirius rolled his eyes at Remus and shook his head. "He needs you told hold his hand Moony, figuratively and probably literally. He's a bloody wreck."

"You would be too." Peter piped in.

Sirius snorted. "Maybe, I wouldn't have yelled at three mediwitchs though."

"Yes you would," Tonks said easily as she sat beside him. Remus was now trying to calm James down and was assuring him that yes his child would know who he was, and that nothing was going to happen to Lily. "No one dies in childbirth any more James, really this isn't the middle ages. It's 1980."

"He didn't really yell at the last one." Peter supplied. "More forcefully demanded to know what was happening."

"They're probably used to it anyway. Cally says the Healer that's training her was physically accosted once by a man who wanted to know what was going on with his wife. Turns out that this wasn't even her healer though."

Sirius laughed at that, his bark like laugh echoing in the room. The Witch at the desk shot him a dirty look and he winked back causing her to blush, which only caused him to laugh harder.

"Don't know what Prongs is so worried about. If he's lucky the kid will come out looking like Lily and if he's not it'll look like him. Either way it'll all be good."

They waited another hour and Remus actually managed to convince James to sit down when a mediwitch came from a room at the end of the hall and approached them.

"Mr. Potter?"

James stood looking anxious. The woman smiled. "You can come in now."

Sirius jumped to his feet and propelled a stunned looking James down the hall leaving the rest of them to follow.

Lily was lying in a bed at the end of the ward, looking absolutely exhausted. She smiled weakly when she saw them, but her green eyes were sparkling.

When Sirius pushed James up to the bed, her smile widened. "Would you like to see your son?"

James still looked dumbfounded, as if he couldn't really believe this was happening. Then something seemed to register, "It's a boy?"

Lily nodded and James turned to his friends, "It's a boy! I have a son!"

Nobody said anything although Sirius lips were twitching and Tonks had turn away for a moment so she wouldn't be tempted to laugh.

James carefully took his baby and stared wonderingly down at him. Sirius looked over his shoulder and grinned. "Well, we know who this ones going to look like. No doubt about it with hair like that. Poor kid."

Lily glared at him but her lips twitched slightly.

"Do you want to hold him?" James asked Sirius who suddenly looked nervous.

"Sure," he said but didn't sound all that sure. James carefully shifted him into Sirius's arms and Sirius looked like he was holding a bomb.

"For Merlin's sake Sirius." Remus walked forward and adjusted his arms so that Sirius had a better hold. "It's a baby, not a ticking time bomb. Support his head."

Sirius did as instructed and then grinned at James. "So are you going to name him after me?"

Lily snorted and James shook his head. "One Sirius is enough I think mate."

"You're right, how could he ever live up to a name like that. Too much pressure. Well then I guess I'll just have to wait for Tonks kids."

Tonks snorted derisively. "More like a curse you mean. No kid of mine is getting named after you, that would just be cruel."

"Oy! I resent that, here Moony its your turn, watch his head," he mocked as he handed the baby to Remus.

"What are you going to call him then?"

Lily was watching her son move in his sleep and a dreamy smile lit up her face. "We thought Harry James would be good."

"It does have a certain ring to it." Remus looked down at little Harry and smiled, Sirius was right; he probably would look like his father. "Do you want to see him Peter?" He asked turning to face his friend. Peter shook his head vehemently. "I'm not good with babies, besides I can see him without holding him. I'd probably drop him."

Remus shrugged as if to say suit yourself and turned to Tonks who immediately blanched. "Me hold him? You think Peter will drop him, I definitely will." She shook her head. "I'm not going to be the one that causes the kid life time damage thank you very much. Besides babies and I have never got along. They always cry when I hold them."

Remus smiled. "Come on Dora, I'll stand beside you. He won't be in any danger, just stand still."

Tonks glared at him, but reluctantly took the baby awkwardly into her arms. "There see and he hasn't tried to attack you and he's not crying." Just as Tonks was starting to relax, Harry let out a wail.

"See, babies hate me." She grouched as James took his son and settled him in Lily's arms.

They only stayed a little longer, until a mediwitch came in and told Lily she could try breast feeding, which caused all the men, except James who seemed enthralled in the whole new process, and Tonks to vacate the room.

"We want to talk to you later." James told Sirius as he left. "Come over tomorrow."

"They seem so happy," Tonks commented as she and Remus strolled down the London streets some minutes later. It was now evening and the sky had a pink hue; perfect walking weather.

"This is all James has ever really wanted you know. To be married to Lily and to have a family. That and to be an international Quidditch star, but I think he's given that one up."

Tonks glanced at him, she wanted to ask if that was something he wanted too, not to be a Quidditch star, Remus preferred his feet firmly on the ground, but to have a family. But she didn't, instead she laced her fingers through his and they talked of non-consequential things as they walked the blocks back to her flat.

When they arrived and Tonks had fought with the door, which stuck when you tried to turn the lock, and finally made it inside after Remus had calmly unlocked the door with his wand causing Tonks to blush for forgetting she could use magic; they found Cally lounging on the sofa.

"There's an owl for you." She said right away when she saw them. "It left a letter on the table."

Tonks crossed over to the table pulling Remus with her and pushing him down in to a chair before she opened it.

"Oh Merlin." She breathed seeing the official seal on it. "It's from the ministry."

Their rejecting me, she thought in dread as she unfolded the letter. All it's going to tell me is that I'm not good enough.

Remus was watching her curiously so she began to read quickly wanting to get it over with.

Dear Ms. Tonks

A review of your performance in our aptitude tests, as completed on July 6, has been conducted by the Office of Magical law enforcement as well as the Auror office.

We are pleased to inform you that our findings were adequate and you have been accepted into Auror training.

Please Report to the Auror Offices, located in the Offices of magical Law enforcement, on August 1st at 7 a.m.

Yours sincerely

Amelia Bones.

For a moment Tonks stared at the parchment unblinkingly. She had been accepted…

"Dora? What is it?"

Tonks slowly pulled her gaze away from the letter. Both Cally and Remus was eyeing her curiously.

I've been accepted, she kept thinking. A huge smile broke out over her face, and she let out a giddy squeal before she could stop herself. She felt like dancing around the room, but restrained herself, knowing that Remus and Cally were waiting to find out what the letter said.

"I've been accepted! I've bloody been accepted for Auror Training!"