Thank you to DarylDixon'sgirl1985 for beta reading.
Word count: 716
Tonks scanned the gathered Order members as she took her place at the table. Unlike last time, her late arrival had been an accident. There'd been a scam artist masquerading as a potioneer by selling what he called the Draught of Living Death, and several people had died. After several days of working nearly nonstop, Tonks had been the one to take him into custody.
She'd come to the meeting straight from Azkaban and was still fighting off shivers as she sat down at Grimmauld Place's kitchen table.
On the way over, she'd been unable to stop thinking of Remus. If there was one thing that would vanish the Dementors' effects, it was him, but he was nowhere to be found once she arrived. Instead, her gaze found Sirius seconds before Dumbledore stood at the head of the table and began to speak.
"Thank you all for coming tonight," he said, prompting Tonks to nod as if she was paying attention.
She couldn't focus as she observed the frown that lined Sirius' face. The chair beside him where Remus typically sat was empty, as if the other members had been expecting him too and hadn't dared to claim the seat as their own.
When Sirius looked at her, she struggled to smile. He smiled back, but it didn't reach his eyes. Tonks looked away and did her best to tune back in to the meeting as Dumbledore began speaking about what mattered the most to her.
"As some of you have noticed," Tonks swore Dumbledore's eyes lingered on her for a second too long, "Remus isn't with us today. He's visiting the werewolves in Cornwall once again. Just yesterday I received a letter saying that all was well. He'll have a more detailed update for us at our next meeting."
Questions ran through Tonks' mind, but she bit her lip to hold them inside. Dumbledore had told them everything he would reveal to the Order. There was no use asking in front of everyone and looking too eager for news. It would do nothing but embarrass her.
The rest of the meeting dragged as she waited anxiously to speak with Sirius, her knee bobbing beneath the table.
The second Dumbledore dismissed them, Tonks shot up from her seat and hurried to where Sirius still sat alone. She took the seat that should have been Remus'. Sirius glanced at her, not bothering to put on a cheerful face. Tonks glanced at the people filing out of the room, ensuring they were more or less alone before she spoke.
"How are you doing?"
Sirius shrugged, a small smirk on his lips. He leaned back in his chair with a sigh and tilted his head to look at the ceiling.
"As fine as can be expected," he muttered in what was little more than a whisper.
Tonks watched him for a moment, waiting to see if he would elaborate. He didn't. She knew he'd probably been alone since Remus had left, and she began to fiddle with the hem of her robes as they spoke. She pushed aside her worries of Remus and focused on the dark circles under Sirius' eyes and the way his body sagged as he sat in the chair.
"Would you mind if I spent the night?" she asked suddenly, surprising even herself.
Sirius slowly raised one eyebrow. His smirk grew amused.
"Why would you do that?" he asked. "Don't you have a perfectly fine flat of your own here in London?"
Tonks shrugged, allowing herself a small laugh that was more at her own audacity than anything else.
"Sometimes living alone gets lonely. You know I'm a people person."
Sirius watched her closely, nodding as he considered her words. Her heart raced in her chest as she waited for an answer. She half expected to be shooed away, so Sirius could continue to stew in his misery, but in the end, he shrugged.
"That's more than okay with me. Merlin knows I could use some amusement."
He stood from his chair and glanced at her over his shoulder as he walked towards the door.
"Do you want to go see if Kreacher has bothered to clean any of the rooms since the others left?"
Tonks laughed as she followed him out of the kitchen.