A/N: I apologize this chapter took an extra day for posting! See the end notes for fun facts on film releases in 1994.
...
Remus walked downstairs to the kitchen, unsurprised to see Dudley Dursley unwrapping another Chocolate Frog. Of the many magical marvels Dudley had been introduced to in the last few days, only wizarding sweets seemed to interest him, with the singular exception of Cockroach Clusters. Remus suspected Dudley was terrified of all things magic, but he could hardly blame the lad, as Grimmauld Place was not built with Muggles in mind. After being accidentally cursed by a few objects in the Black family library, Dudley resorted to avoiding everything but the kitchen, the loo, and the room he was staying in.
"Hello, Dudley," Remus said pleasantly. "I have some things for you."
"Huh?" Dudley peered up over a small mountain of Chocolate Frog wrappers and unwanted cards.
"You mentioned yesterday you've been a bit bored?" Remus sat down and took out a stack of books. "I'm sorry that we can't have your Muggle devices in the house – the magic would ruin them – but I thought you might like to read? These are all Muggle books. New releases, in fact." He pushed the stack towards Dudley, who eyed them scornfully.
"I don't like to read."
"Oh…err. That's okay. I'm sure we can figure something out for you." Dudley opened another Chocolate Frog, dropping the wrapper onto the floor. The wastebasket was only a few feet away, but Remus had learned Dudley had little in the way of basic manners or courtesy.
"If you wouldn't mind taking those wrappers to the wastebasket," Remus said politely.
"Can't you just magic them away?"
"I can, but it's easier to manage when it's all in one place."
Dudley grunted, half-heartedly picked up most of the wrappers, and tossed them at the wastebasket. A few landed on the floor, creating a bigger mess than there was before.
"Here's an idea," Remus said, lifting his eyebrows lightly. "How about a film?"
Dudley actually looked excited over the idea, and Remus smiled at him. "Good. I'll ask Harry when he—" Remus's speech was cut off when the Floo lit up. Dudley shuddered upon seeing the emerald licks of fire that painted the sides of the fireplace, and he scowled when he saw that Harry stepped out, followed by Ginny and Ron.
Ginny took Harry's hand in hers right away. Remus suspected there was more to the "relationship" than they let on, but as Harry was blushing and stammering around her lately, he decided to enjoy watching Harry become a miniature version of a lovesick James Potter.
"Dudley," Harry said curtly. Ron stood on one side and Ginny stood on the other, giving Harry's hand a light squeeze. Remus bit hard on the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at Harry's dazed expression.
"It's good to see you, Harry. Dudley and I were just discussing going out to see a film."
"Together?" Harry said, confused. "All of us?"
"I think that would be nice, yes," Remus replied drily, watching Dudley squirm in his seat. "My coworkers mentioned something called The Flintstones. How does that sound?"
"That's a kids' movie," Dudley said, offended.
"Sounds good to me," Ginny said coolly. "I don't know what flintstones are but they sound lovely."
"It's based on a television show," Harry explained. "It's about a family that lived at the same time as dinosaurs."
Remus pulled out a clipping from the Muggle newspaper, which listed current films. He scanned the list, looking for the circled titles. "There's another one called The Sandlot. It's new and it's American – seems to be about their Muggle sport, baseball."
"They've got more sports than the footie game?" Ron said, confused. Dudley jeered at him.
"They've got loads of sports. Better than the broomstick one you people have."
Remus cleared his throat loudly. "We can discuss sports another time. If this Sandlot film sounds good, I'll get the others to come with us. Ron and Ginny, Harry mentioned your dad might want to come too?"
"Dad's dying to go to the Muggle cinnamon," Ron said seriously. Dudley sniggered and Harry glared.
"It's pronounced 'cinema,'" Harry muttered into Ron's ear. The Floo lit up again and out came Tonks, followed immediately by Sirius. Tonks kissed Harry's cheek first, making him blush even more furiously than before.
"What?" Tonks said, mock-offended. "Isn't this what parents do? Embarrass their kids, even if they're practically half their age?" She peered down at the space where Ginny and Harry were holding hands and added, "I hope you two are being careful. I wouldn't want to be a Gran before I'm 30." Harry choked on air, Ginny's cheeks grew as red as her hair, and Ron stammered incoherently.
Sirius howled in laughter, holding himself steady on the fireplace's mantle, and Remus held his mouth in the palm of his hand, struggling not to laugh at Harry's expense.
"Anyway," Tonks said, tussling Harry's hair affectionately, "what's going on?" She walked over to Remus, kissed him on the cheek, and picked up the newspaper clipping.
"The cinema near the park is showing The Sandlot tomorrow at seven." Remus pointed to the circled title. "I'll let Arthur know. Ron and Ginny, are you staying for dinner?"
"No – we just wanted to see Harry off," Ginny replied. She hugged Harry tightly and Ron gave him an awkward pat on the back.
"See you tomorrow, Harry!" Ron said brightly. He and Ginny went through the Floo, eyeing Dudley suspiciously, and disappeared into the fire.
"I'm going up to shower," Harry announced. He dashed up the stairs and Sirius followed him, leaving Remus, Tonks, and Dudley in the kitchen.
"Ooh, new books," Tonks said, setting her eyes on the little stack in front of Dudley. "Remus has the best taste in books. Did he get these for you?"
Dudley nodded; of all the people in the house, the boy got along best with Tonks. Remus reckoned it was due to her bubbly, warm personality, or simply her unending generosity and goodness. She flipped through the books, nodding appreciatively at the synopses on the back covers. Remus watched her, wishing nothing more than to take her in his arms and lavish affection on her. However, Dudley's presence in the kitchen effectively killed any romantic notion Remus felt towards his girlfriend.
His plans to propose to her had been put on hold while Dudley stayed with them. As much as he wanted to ask her to marry him, he felt awkward about having a virtual stranger intrude upon the family moment. Consequently, he was waiting until the few precious days after the Quidditch World Cup but before Harry went off to school to ask Tonks to marry him.
"These look great, Dudley," Tonks said enthusiastically. "Which one will you read first?"
Dudley winced and Remus replied for him. "Dudley tells me he's not much of a reader."
"You're not?" Tonks frowned. "I suppose that makes sense. You're 14 and you've probably got other things going on. But while you're here, take the time to relax! There aren't any bulldogs to care for, but I'm sure Sirius wouldn't mind if you took him on a walk."
Dudley looked decidedly against the idea. He mumbled a hasty "no, thank you," and excused himself with his new books up to his room. Tonks watched him go up, and as soon as he closed the door at the top of the stairs, she vanished the mess he'd made.
"He is one tough nut to crack," Tonks lamented. "He doesn't like magic, books, or much of anything. At least he's agreed to the film tomorrow night."
"I think he wants to go back to whatever 'normal' he had before," Remus surmised. "I'm looking forward to that myself – by the way, what was all that with Harry and Ginny?"
Tonks giggled and planted a kiss on his lips. "You know they're only pretending they're in a relationship to make Dudley jealous. I reckon if they're going to do that, they deserve to be teased a little."
"I believe Harry might actually like her, though."
"Oh, he's head over heels. I don't think he knows that yet, but he will. Until he figures it out, I think I'm enjoying this 'embarrassing mum' business." She winked at him and he felt the erratic flutters in his stomach welling up within. "In fact, I propose we sit in between them at the cinema. Dad told me once that teenagers liked to snog during films."
Remus snorted humorlessly. "The only ones we'll need to separate are Harry and Dudley. We're not even a week into a month long visit and they can hardly stand to be in the same room with each other."
"I should talk to Harry about that."
"About what?"
"Being the bigger person. I think I've got an idea of what's on Dudley's mind."
"You do? How?" Remus asked, stunned. He'd barely gotten anything out of Dudley, other than his interest in wizarding sweets.
"He's really jealous of Harry," Tonks said matter-of-factly. "They've both lost their parents, you know, but Harry's got a better life now. He's got us, Sirius, magic—"
"He hates magic," Remus countered, but Tonks shook her head.
"I don't think he does. It's easier to say you don't want something if you pretend you hate it. Harry's got a huge house, people who love him, good friends, and a 'girlfriend.'" Tonks made the quote gesture with her fingers, rolling her eyes dramatically. "He didn't need to do that, but I understand where he's coming from. You should've seen how furious he was with Dudley when we came to get him. There's a lot of hurt there, but if I'm a good judge of character – and I think I am – Harry and Dudley might need to talk it out."
"Talk it out?" Remus sighed into his hands. "I know you're hoping for the best, but teenage boys aren't 'talk it out' sorts of creatures."
"That's a shame…I'll figure something out." Tonks sat next to Remus and took one of his hands in her own. "I just want to make it better for them, you know?"
"I do, and it's one of the many things I love about you."
"I try." She laced her fingers with his and rubbed her thumb on his palm. She looked at the newspaper clipping on the table and asked, "What's baseball?"
"No idea."
"I hope it's appropriate for them. I am not explaining to Molly Weasley why I took her kids to see something naughty."
"Think I should take them to this other one instead?" Remus pointed to The Flintstones, but slumped over when he saw that it had the same rating as The Sandlot. "Never mind. They've got the same rating."
"PG? What's that?"
"I think it means 'pretty good.'" Remus rubbed his chin thoughtfully, wondering if he could ask his coworkers what the ratings meant before they saw the film the following night.
"If it gets bad, we'll just Obliviate them, yeah?" Tonks said, half-jokingly. She climbed into his lap, straddling him, and placed her lips on his, gently biting his lower lip in a way that drove him wild. His body responded instantly and he moaned softly under the sensation.
An impatient tsking sound came from the stairs. Remus looked up, startled and embarrassed, upon seeing Harry there.
"Do you mind? I'd like to have dinner and not throw it up immediately."
Tonks rested her head on Remus's shoulder and wheezed in laughter.
"Too – cheeky – for – his – own – good," she gasped, leaning against Remus. She extracted herself from his lap and tussled Harry's hair on her way to the stairs.
"You're going to be the death of me, you know that?" she said, winking at Harry. "You're making my hair grey!" She scrunched her eyes together and the pink curls she had were replaced by long, grey-white locks.
Harry sighed irritably, but let Tonks pat his cheek on her way up the stairs.
"I'm sorry about that, Harry," Remus said sheepishly. "We weren't expecting you. While you're here, though, could I ask you something?"
"Can I eat first?"
"Of course. I'll eat with you."
Remus quickly heated leftover Indian food they'd gotten the night before and set two almost overflowing plates on the kitchen table. Harry was ravenous, as he demolished half his plate in the time it took for Remus to make a dent in his. When he saw that Harry slowed in his eating, Remus decided to broach the difficult topic.
"How do you think things are going with your cousin?"
"Fine."
"I notice you haven't spent much time together."
"We don't like each other."
"Perhaps he's changed?"
"He's still a prat."
"You've changed, haven't you?"
Harry chewed his last bite slowly. He set his fork and knife down carefully and stared up at Remus with his almost-unsettlingly bright, emerald green eyes.
"I didn't need to change. He does."
"I don't think your parents would've wanted you—"
"They're dead, so it doesn't matter."
Remus's mouth was set in a thin line. He'd tried to be patient with Harry for weeks. He'd tried to brush off Harry's attitude as hormonal, grief-stricken teenage behavior, but dismissing James and Lily outright was unlike him.
"That's enough," Remus said curtly. "I know you're angry and upset, but I've had enough of this. You agreed to have Dudley here for your safety – and his. You don't have to like each other, but I'm through with seeing you take out your anger on everyone else."
"Why are you being so nice to him?"
Remus quirked an eyebrow at Harry. "Nice?"
"He doesn't deserve it," Harry spat. He stood from his seat, his slight frame shaking with rage. "Why should he get everything he wants? 'Poor Dudley, losing his parents! Ickle Diddykins has to live with his Aunt Marge! Dinky Duddydums has to clean up after dogs!'"
"Harry—"
"NO! WHY DOES HE GET EVERYTHING HE WANTS?" Remus stared at Harry, at a loss for words. "WHY SHOULD HE GET TO BE HAPPY NOW?"
"I don't think—"
"HOW COME I HAVE TO BE NICE TO HIM WHEN HE'S BEEN NOTHING BUT AN ARSEHOLE TO ME?"
"I can talk to—"
Harry shoved his chair aside and thundered up the stairs, refusing to finish the conversation. Remus hastily cleaned up the remains of dinner and went after him, unwilling to let the matter go. Harry's overwhelming anger – while understandable – wasn't healthy to hang onto.
Remus followed Harry's scent up to his room, but it appeared that Sirius beat Remus to the punch. He waved Remus off, mouthing "I've got this," and closed the door to Harry's room.
Annoyed and feeling left out, Remus stomped towards the end of the corridor to his own room. He threw himself into bed, noticing a moment too late that he'd fallen on top of Nyx, their half-kneazle, which earned him a loud, spitting hiss and a swipe of an angry paw against his jumper. Nyx ran under the bed, seething, and Remus sighed loudly into his pillow.
"I wasn't expecting you yet," Tonks said, as she opened the door to the bedroom. She was drying her hair with a towel, having come from taken a shower, and she sat down next to him. "What's wrong?"
Remus proceeded to tell her everything that happened in the kitchen after she'd left. She listened patiently, asking only a few clarifying questions, and every so often, glanced in the direction of either Harry or Dudley's rooms.
"So that's all of it," Remus said tiredly. "I shouldn't have lost my temper."
"You're allowed to lose your temper every now and then, as is Harry," Tonks said sympathetically. "But it's probably better for Harry to have Sirius to listen to him."
"Why?"
"If anyone should be angry at the world, it's Sirius. He was wrongly imprisoned for over a decade and the man who put him there escaped? Pettigrew gets freedom, just the same as Sirius, but only one of them deserves it." Remus stared at her as her face lit up. "Impressed? I'll have you know I've got a secret weapon."
Tonks dug into her nightstand and pulled out a dog-eared, worn book. "Once I thought I might want to adopt Harry, I got this book from a Muggle bookshop near my parents' place. It's really good." Remus read the front cover: Parent Effectiveness Training: The Proven Program for Raising Responsible Children.
"You got this for Harry?" Remus asked, dumbfounded.
"Well, I know I'm not his mum," Tonks said, blushing slightly, "and I don't want him to call me 'mum' or anything. I'm not much older than he is and I didn't want to fuck it up, you know? This copy's not the newest edition but it's working all right for me, I think."
"Please marry me," Remus blurted, unthinkingly. He clapped his hand over his mouth as soon as the words spilled out. "Oh sh—"
"Do you really mean that?" Tonks said, her lips curling up into a grin.
"Would you say yes?" Remus cursed himself for his eagerness, but Tonks's grin stilled the erratic beating of his heart.
"Of course I would…but are you proposing to me or are you just making a demand?"
Remus lifted himself off the bed and strode to the drawer where he kept his mother's rings. It was too late for a romantic, well-thought proposal. Instead, he'd ask her again nicely and hope for the best. He found the faded velvet box easily and walked back to the bed.
Tonks's hair was still damp; fuchsia strands were stuck to her forehead and Remus gently brushed them away.
"This wasn't how I planned on doing this, but seeing as I've made my intentions clear," Remus said carefully, as he got down on one knee before her and opened the box to reveal the rings, "will you marry me, Nymphadora?"
Tonks's eyes flew open upon seeing the delicate, simple rings inside the box. She squealed, her hair becoming a softer, bubblegum pink, and she threw her arms around his neck, kissing him repeatedly.
"I will – absolutely I will!"
Remus thought he might die of happiness. He took out the glittery engagement ring, sliding it onto Tonks's left hand ring finger, and murmured a charm so it would fit properly. She lifted it up to the light, her dark eyes twinkling with unrestrained joy upon seeing the sparkling gem.
"I've always loved this ring," Tonks said admiringly. "I saw it that one Christmas and thought it was beautiful. It was your mum's, wasn't it?"
"Both of these were. When we're married—" Remus grinned giddily, realizing the next step would mean making Tonks his wife "—you can have the wedding band, too. My dad didn't wear one but I can get one if you'd like."
"I'll get it for you," Tonks offered. "I want everyone to know you're mine."
Remus's chest swelled with pride. He brought his lips to capture Tonks's for a kiss. His hands ran down her waist and hips; his body responded with want for her. As he began playing with the hem of her shirt, there was a knock at the door and he groaned, having been interrupted twice now.
"We can finish this later," Tonks murmured. She kissed the tip of his nose, wrapped a bathrobe around her, and got up to answer the door.
"Sirius! What's up?"
"Could I come in? I hope Moony's decent."
"I'm fully dressed, thanks," Remus said irritably. Tonks opened the door and Sirius came in, plopping himself on the bed where Tonks had been laying previously.
Sirius said, "I've had a little chat with Harry. To make it simple, he's been frustrated that his cousin keeps complaining about his life with Marge, has been condescending and cruel to Harry and his friends, and none of us have stepped in to reprimand Dudley. It sounds like Harry wants to see consequences for Dudley…not filling him up with sweets and taking him to see films, I suppose."
"So what should we do?" Tonks asked, darting her eyes between Sirius and Remus.
"I'll talk to Dudley now," replied Sirius, surprising Remus. "I don't know if anyone's ever sat down with him and talked to him one-on-one like that. I know he gets on well with you, Tonks, but I think the kid needs a father figure and I think he's scared shitless of Remus after sundown. Harry told Dudley that Remus is a werewolf, but failed to mention that transformations only happen at the full moon, rather than every night." Sirius rolled his eyes, but his jaw twitched in amusement.
"That's a good idea." Tonks nodded enthusiastically. "We should probably tell him the truth about the werewolf business."
"I'll mention it when I see him." Sirius cocked an eyebrow at Tonks, staring at her left hand for a moment. "Is that what I think it is?"
"Remus proposed!" Tonks shoved her left hand in Sirius's face and Remus felt slightly flushed under the attention.
"Well, would you look at that!" Sirius grinned conspiratorially. "Looks like I owe Harry five Galleons."
"What?" Remus yelped. Sirius was already out the door. Tonks poked her head out into the corridor as Remus heard the pounding on two doors.
"COME OUT, KIDS! FAMILY MEETING!" Sirius bellowed.
"This isn't my family," Dudley said from afar. Remus heard his heavy footsteps behind Harry's quick ones. Harry slid inside the bedroom, followed by Sirius.
"Dudley, what are you doing? Get in here," Sirius said, beckoning for him to join.
Dudley stammered and Harry popped his head out into the corridor to say, "Did I not mention that he's only a werewolf at the full moon? Next one's not till the 21st. I wonder how I could've forgotten that tiny detail."
Harry stepped back into the bedroom, looking as alarmingly smug as James Potter, and leaned against Remus's dresser. A still-terrified Dudley came into the room but sighed in relief upon seeing that Remus was, in fact, human.
"We'll explain werewolves to you another day," Tonks said coolly. "But for now, look! Remus asked me to marry him – and I said yes!"
"You owe me five Galleons," Harry told Sirius, before allowing Tonks to wrap him in a hug. Remus was on his feet now and Harry shuffled over, looking slightly guilty from their row earlier, but Remus hugged him and assured him that everything was all right.
"When did this happen?" asked Harry. "I didn't see a ring earlier?"
"About ten minutes ago," Tonks replied. "Spur of the moment thing, I think, but I'm so happy."
"It was very quiet, Harry," said Remus. "I'm sorry I didn't give you much of a warning…it happened sooner than I expected or planned."
"We should celebrate!" Sirius announced. "Kreacher!"
Kreacher arrived with a soft pop in the middle of the bedroom. He growled lightly at Dudley, who backed himself into a corner, and bowed before Sirius.
"Master calls for Kreacher?"
"Kreacher," Tonks interrupted, "can you fix up the family tapestry? I want to make sure that Remus's name can go on it when we get married."
Kreacher's tennis-ball sized eyes grew even wider upon hearing the news. "M-master Remus and Mistress Nymphadora—"
"Yes, we're getting married," Tonks said. "But before you repair the tapestry, please make us a double chocolate cake and bring a bottle of champagne up here. Five glasses—"
"Four," Dudley grunted. "I don't tru—"
"You know what? Bring up five glasses and I'll pop the bottle for us," Sirius interjected. "You're ordered not to put anything in the cake that would endanger anyone's life or health." Sirius glanced at Dudley, who had already been on the receiving end of one of Kreacher's gas-inducing chocolates. Accordingly, Dudley only ate sweets from sealed wrappers. If only he knew those could be magically opened and sealed, Remus thought wryly.
Kreacher popped away, leaving the others inside the room to celebrate.
"We should have an engagement party sometime!" Tonks said happily. "Let's see – Sunday's is Harry's birthday party…in two weeks will be Ginny's…the World Cup's in three weeks. On second thought, maybe we'll wait until the holidays to celebrate."
"I don't mind if you celebrate at my birthday," Harry offered. "All the same people would be there, except maybe Mad-Eye, but he can come too."
"No," Remus said firmly. "Your birthday is your day. We'll wait until it's the right time for us."
Kreacher popped back inside the room with a bottle of champagne and five glasses. Sirius took it from him, tested all the glasses for any traces of magic, and popped the champagne open, tasting it to ensure Kreacher hadn't left any surprises within. After pouring five glasses' worth, Sirius toasted to the newly engaged couple, and took a sip.
Dudley didn't touch his champagne, but Harry downed his quickly, as did Sirius. When Remus and Tonks set theirs down, Sirius cleared his throat lightly.
"Now, boys, why don't you come with me? The lovebirds here will want to celebrate and I don't believe their activities will be open for viewing."
"Eww, Sirius," Harry said, disgusted. Dudley turned a delicate shade of purple and ran out the door on his heavy legs.
"I'll be having a chat with them while you two have a 'chat' of your own," Sirius said, winking at Remus and Tonks. He closed the door behind him and Remus heard him cast a Silencing Charm on the door before stepping away.
"I guess this means we have the night to ourselves," Tonks said, after a flash of silence. "You heard him! Let's chat away!"
Remus, momentarily speechless by the strange, but joyful turn of events that evening, decided to let go and celebrate while he had the chance. With a few more strategically placed Silencing Charms, he took his fiancé to bed, eager to share his love with her.
...
End A/N: Fun facts for you: I did a lot of research on the films that came out in 1993-1994 for this chapter. I really wanted to have the kids see The Lion King, but it wasn't released until the end of 1994 in the US and not till '95 in the UK.
In July '94, The Flintstones and The Sandlot were released in the UK. Other notable films that were released in '94 include Naked and Black Beauty, both of which star David Thewlis, the actor who played Remus Lupin in the HP films.