Visits to the Burrow became commonplace after that. Tonks found the house more welcoming than her own flat, which now held traces of the time Remus had spent there with her. Well, not really. It was remarkable how little of him remained once he was gone, but Tonks' memories of those short days were sharp.
The Burrow didn't have that baggage. Instead, Tonks found a lot of warmth there even when Molly threw sharp looks Fleur's way and made pointed attempts to get her to leave. Exactly who Tonks talked to while there changed each time Tonks visited. Most of Molly's children wandered in and out. Ginny in particular liked to sit with them a while, but Fleur was always there without fail any time that Tonks came over. Tonks didn't mind, though Ginny would probably have stuck around more if it weren't for Fleur's presence.
Whatever the Weasleys thought of her, Tonks liked Fleur more each time they spoke with each other. She was never anything but kind, and she was engaging in conversation. Tonks was more confused than ever why Molly and Ginny seemed to have it out for her.
She even listened to Tonks' long vents about Remus without once making her feel like she was ridiculous, and that in and of itself was enough for Tonks to feel loyal to the other woman.
"I understand a little how he feels, though I've never met him," Fleur said one evening, leaning in close to Tonks like she wasn't comfortable with Molly, who was standing at the kitchen counter, hearing what she was saying. "I'm sure it's very different for werewolves and veelas, so I won't compare too much. But…" She sighed, losing herself in her thoughts for a moment before she continued. "Men always like veelas until they don't. People often change when they find out about my heritage. It made dating rather difficult when I was in school. I'd given up on it until I met Bill."
She cast a quick glance at Molly, but her future mother-in-law didn't seem to have heard. She was busy chopping up some vegetables.
"There was an incident just last week," Fleur continued. "The seamstress who was supposed to make my dress dropped out after she learned about my grandmother."
Tonks did her best to offer a smile. She didn't want to admit out loud that she'd never considered the possibility of Fleur being treated that way. If anything, she'd have thought Fleur's traditional beauty would have made dating easier. It felt a little like when she'd first realized what Remus faced and had felt embarrassed for not realizing it sooner.
"That's awful," she said. "I hope you're able to find someone else soon."
Fleur leaned back in her chair with a sigh. "Planning a wedding is stressful during the best of times," she said. "I understand that. But it's worse than ever now. Bill insists that we research every person we hire, and I understand. Of course I understand, but it takes such a long time."
"I can't imagine," Tonks said, as Molly sat a pot down too forcefully on the stove. "I've never planned a wedding myself, but one of my mates from school got married a few years back, and I listened to a lot of her complaints while she was planning."
"I know how she felt."
Before Fleur could say anything else, Molly turned around.
"Should we really be talking about weddings now?" she snapped, glancing warily at Tonks like she might start crying over the reminder that other people had happier love lives.
"I think it's a great time to talk about a wedding," Tonks said before Fleur could. "It would do us all some good to think about something happy for once."
Molly hesitated, thrown off by Tonks' forceful support of Fleur, who smiled at her. Molly shook her head and turned back to the counter, though Tonks was pretty sure that she'd finished whatever it was she was doing.
"If you need any help with the wedding," Tonks told Fleur, "feel free to ask. I'm pretty busy between work and the Order, but I wouldn't mind filling the rest of my time with something else. It beats sitting around at home."
"I'll keep that in mind," Fleur promised.