"What's troubling you dear?" Molly Weasley asked Nymphadora Tonks as she offered her tea.
Tonks sighed as she took the cup. "I think I'm in love."
"With who?"
Tonks looked nervous as she took a sip of her tea. She had to answer. "Remus."
"Remus Lupin?"
"Yes." Tonks put her cup down. "I remember him always being so kind. Before and during the last war, he would often visit with his friends. Later I learned that was because Sirius was Mum's only relative who didn't disown her, and didn't pity her." She stared into her cup, "And later, we were his only blood relatives who didn't disown or pity him." She looked back at Molly with a smile that was both happy and sad, "After the war, he would come alone for long visits at Mum's insistence. He would always calm my nightmares."
"Well that's kind of him." Molly offered, "Are you sure your love is romantic?"
Tonks bit her lip. "Well, until recently, I thought I just loved him as an uncle or cousin. But, but, that changed after I visited him while Sirius was lying low at his place."
Molly sighed and gently put her hand on Tonks's, "Mind telling me?" Her voice was gentle and soothing, it would make nearly anyone trust her with their secrets.
Tonks took a breath and her hands turned into paws. "I was visiting, just to say 'Hello', as I often do. And, things started off normal, but, for some reason, the affection Sirius showed him, which never bothered me before, somehow did." The Metamorphmagus suddenly morphed her hands back to normal, "I've only felt jealousy a few times before, and what I felt that day was definitely jealousy." The poor woman looked at the table as her eyes became hot, "I don't know why, and I don't want to come between them, but, I'm in love with Remus. I wouldn't have felt jealous if I weren't." She looked up to Molly with shiny eyes, "Would I?"
"No you wouldn't." Molly answered in a motherly tone, "You're in love, and that's perfectly fine. Love is a strange form of magic no one has been able to fully understand. I'm glad you don't want to ruin his current relationship due to your own feelings," Molly grabbed Tonks's and gently squeezed them, "however, if you don't reveal them, they may eat you up."
"That's what I'm worried about." Tonks sadly replied.
"So I told Remus how I felt." Tonks told Molly during tea.
"How did it go?"
Tonks's hair grew streaks of brown and blue as she bit her lip, "Better than I thought." She took a sip of tea before adding, "We were on a mission, a dangerous one. There was a real fear that we wouldn't make it, and so I asked Remus if he had any regrets. He said that he trusted Peter Pettigrew too much."
Molly instantly grew furious. "Oh that Pettigrew!" Molly almost shouted, "That traitorous coward! Betraying his friends like that, and making everyone think that he was a hero while successfully framing Sirius for his crimes. And to think he lived in my household as a part of the family! He could've done anything to poor Percy and Ron!"
Tonks nodded in agreement, "We all trusted him too much. Although, I don't think he'd risk anything that would get him caught."
Molly calmed down a bit and agreed. Then she asked, "Did you tell him your regrets?"
Tonks nodded, "After he said his, he asked me about mine. I-I said that I never told my crush how I felt. I tried to be vague about who he was, so that I could see how he would respond before I made a move."
"That's smart."
"Thank you. However, me being me, I accidentally gave it away."
Molly took on a look of shock, concern, and sympathy. She gently placed a hand on Tonks and gently asked, "How did he respond?"
Tonks took a breath, and her hair became mousey, "He said that, even if he weren't with Sirius, he was too poor, too old, and too dangerous to be with me. I then told him that Sirius didn't find him too poor and dangerous, and he replied that my cousin thrived on danger. Also, Sirius always had an answer to money problems, which he didn't want to drag me into."
"Well at least he's concerned about you." Molly gently said, "At least he cares."
Tonks let out a groan, "I know, but I want him to love me as he loves Sirius, not as a friend or sister."
Molly frowned as she thought of what to say next. She wanted to tell her that there were others out there, but the clear love she felt made that difficult for the caring and loving mother.