Remus Lupin had never been one for relationships, he had a hard upbringing and along with his slightly big and hairy problem, they made for a terribly long and complicated explanation to the poor Witch who had shown him the slightest bit of interest. But as he sat in his usual place in the kitchen of Grimmuald Place, which allowed him to see into the front corridor, he couldn't help but smile at the clumsy but adorable Auror by the name of Nymphadora Tonks, of course he would never call her Nymphadora to her face, he had learnt his lesson quickly after seeing the young witch cast a quite painful biting jinx at Sirius who ultimately was bit by a tea cup.

No matter how many times she visited, she always managed to forget about the awfully loud and shrill portrait of Mrs Black, which would then surprise her and cause her to lose her footing on the troll foot umbrella holder. This regular occurance may have grown old with the other Order members but not Remus, he had grown to appreciate the young girl's clumsiness. Between that and her ever changing hairstyles he had grown quite fond of her and they had managed to find themselves on the same shift together a few times, but not as much as Remus would have liked.

Tonks scurried into the kitchen, taking her place at the table ensuring not to look at anyone as she quickly apologised for being late and for causing so much noise. Her eyes caught Remus' for a moment and he quirked an eyebrow slightly as he saw her cheeks turn pink, but it was only for a moment before Tonks turned her attention to Moody who was standing at the top of the table.

"There's been a change of plans, the Ministry have sent an Owl to Potter's address telling him he's been expelled for using magic on front of a Muggle"

"That's preposterous!" Sirius slammed his hand on the shaky wooden table, "He was defending himself! Those dementors had no right to be in that Muggle village. Harry could have been killed"

Remus stayed silent, he knew when Sirius had heard about the attack he had been not too pleased, he had been close to running out to go save Harry himself but Remus was able to speak some sense into him.

"We know Sirius" Moody growled, "That's why Dumbledore is on his way to the Ministry to speak to them. He's going to try and get the expulsion reversed but knowing how Fudge like's to hold a grudge, they'll be in for a trial at least. Moving on, Dumbledore has tasked us to retrieve Harry from his Aunt and Uncle's house as soon as possible. I've set up a squad of myself, Kingsley, Nymphadora..."

"Don't" Tonks cut in, her eyes narrowing at her mentor, "Call me Nymphadora" Her words were harsh, which matched the new colour of hair she sported as she grew angry, it was harsh and violent red but Moody ignored her and carried on.

"Lupin, and two new recruits called Windfell and Winchester. Any objections?" Moody glanced around the room.

A word wasn't spoken, and with that Moody moved onto some other important matters they had to attend too. As Remus slowly lost his concentration, which often happened when Moody went on for too long, his eyes wondered to Tonks who was captivated by every word Moody said. She knew he looked up to him, appreciative of the skills she was learning from him. Remus felt himself smile again, he couldn't help it. For some reason Tonks stirred up feelings inside of him which he had not felt in a long time. But he couldn't allow himself to feel them for too long, he knew he was too old for her and he didn't want to burden her with his condition for fear of hurting her. He sighed to himself when he felt a kick against his leg.

He glanced over to his right and found Sirius grinning at him, a twinkle in his eye which Remus knew meant trouble.

"Meeting adjourned. And remember everyone, we leave tomorrow night at 7pm. We have it under authority that the Dursley's will be leaving for the weekend"

The order members nodded before finally being able to disperse, almost immediately Tonks flew from the table to be beside Moody, asking him questions about the extraction and what problems could happen. It then occured to him that Tonks reminded him of someone very familiar. A young, bushy haired girl who was the brightest witch of her age and always eager to learn.

"Drool much more Mooney and she'll know whats up" Sirius chuckled, ignoring the sudden steely glare his friend was directing his way

"I don't know what you're talking about" Remus sniffed

Sirius rolled his eyes, sipping on the glass of fire whiskey in his hand, "Don't play coy Remus. You could barely keep your eyes of Tonks the whole way through the meeting. You didn't think anyone was going to notice eventually did you?"

Remus felt his cheeks flush, he actually hadn't thought of that, he found himself to be the least interesting person in the room especially when Mad Eye was speaking. "Actually no" He admitted much to the surprise of Sirius

"Just talk to her for crying out loud instead of sitting her like a lovestruck teenager!"

"I can't Padfoot, and you know why" Sirius rolled his eyes, setting his glass on the table and leaning towards his friend

"Listen to me Mooney, you don't know how she feels. You don't know if she'll say yes or no. All you have to do is take the change. You deserve to be happy my friend. After the years of pain and torture you've had to endure, you deserve the chance"

Remus pursed his lips, staring at Sirius for a moment while absentmindedly stroking the slightly faded scar on his right cheek, a gift from Frenrir Greyback whom he hoped to repay the favor someday. "It's not that easy" He grunted, he hated feeling confused. Especially about a girl. "I can't risk hurting her Sirius. She deserves someone her age, someone who has prospects and won't get turned away from a job when they find out what I am. She doesn't deserve the pain I would bring"

"But you would bring her so much happiness Remus, and I know she would bring you so much happiness too. Take the chance. If she doesn't feel the same then fine, you will know that and can move on and let her be happy. Or, if she feels the same as you, you can finally be happy with someone else who truly cares about you. Take the leap of faith and see where it leads you" Sirius smiled, seeing the resolve in his friend slowly starting to crumble.

"But..."

"No buts!" Sirius yelled, ignoring the confused looks he had received in return, "Either you do it yourself or I'll do it for you" He smirked

Remus' eyes widened, he remembered all too well the last time Sirius had tried to help him find a girlfriend. He shivered at the memory, sometimes the smell of that potion still haunted him. But he knew Sirius was right, even though he knew he wasn't right for Tonks, he couldn't deny himself the shot of happiness. That's what he had always dreamed of.

Slowly Remus nodded, his eyes glancing back at Tonks who he found was no longer speaking to Mad Eye but instead making her way back over to the table, and more importantly heading for the vacant seat beside himself. Sirius chuckled and leaned back in his seat, eager to watch the love unfold between the two.

"Remus, Sirius" Tonks smiled as she sat down beside Remus, her heart fluttering with excitement as her arm accidentally brushed against Remus. Something which did not go unnoticed by Sirius.

"Tonks" They both greeted

Remus glanced over at Sirius, quirking an eyebrow and giving him a look which ultimately told him he was no longer welcome for this part of the conversation.

Sirius sighed and stood up, "I can tell when I'm not wanted in a conversation. So, I bid you both farewell and if you need me I will be in the living room, trying to get our uptight friend Kingsley to have a drink with me" He grinned before disappearing through the kitchen door, but not before yelling one last thing to his friends. "Don't do anything us Marauders wouldn't do!"

Remus chuckled, noticing the puzzled look on Tonk's face, "Inside joke. It's a long story, something which can be told another day. It's getting rather late" His eyes flickered to the watch on his wrist

Tonks nodded, "It was an interesting meeting wasn't it?" He could see the excitement in her eyes as she spoke, relaying the information from the conversation she had been having with Mad Eye. "I just hope Harry's okay. I'm excited to meet him! How strange is it to care about someone you've never meet before?"

"Not weird at all I think, I'm sure with the amount of stories you've heard from everyone it feels like you already know him"

Tonks smiled, "You're very wise Remus"

"Well, I am quite old" He remarked, a faint blush on his cheek.

"Not that old, you seem to make yourself appear older than you are. Or maybe that's just because you're so wise and knowledgeable"

Remus felt the heat increasing in his cheeks, his palms were now sweaty and he was vigorously rubbing them on his trousers to get the wet feeling away. "T-Thank you, Tonks" He smiled. Now it was Tonks turn to blush, her eyes glancing at the table as her hair turned a rather lovely shade of pink.

"Pink suits you"

Tonks looked up at him in surprise, wondering if this was really happening or was she making it up in her mind, was he actually flirting with her? Or attempting to?

"Thanks Remus" She smiled, playing with her hands as they fell into a nice silence

It was Remus to break it, "Listen Tonks, I..."

"Remus if you dare say about being old again I shall bring back the biting jinx" She grinned, a teasing twinkle in her eye

"No, I...I wasn't going to say anything like that" Remus scratched the back of his head nervously, "I was going to ask if you would like to accompany me out to the Three Broomsticks at the weekend. After we get Harry here I'm sure we'll have some free time" He took a deep breath and looked her in the eyes, not being able to gauge what she was thinking he began to panic. Before Tonks knew what was happening he had stood up so suddenly he knocked the chair backwards and onto the floor.

"Nevermind, it was silly of me to assume you'd even want to go out with someone like me" Remus coughed, straightening up and fixing his tie as his eyes glued to the front door. Time to make a hasty escape. "Let's just forget I said anything, shall we?" He tried to move round the table but found himself incapable to do so as Tonks was not grabbing onto his wrist

"Remus, don't be so silly. And don't jump to conclusions" Tonks patted his hand, "If you had of let me speak you would have heard me telling you that I would love to go with you to the Three Broomsticks" Tonks grinned, surprising Remus once again.

"You would?" He asked, he couldn't believe it. He had actually gotten a date.

"I would" Tonks grinned and placed a soft kiss on the scar on his cheek

"I'm not promising anything will come of it Tonks, I still think you could do much better than me. But I will try, and I look forward to our date this weekend"

"I look forward to our date too" Tonks grinned

A happy and comfortable silence fell between the pair, only being broken by a shout that emitted from the living room and sounded suspciously like Sirius Black. "Yes! Go on Mooney! You've got the girl!" Remus and Tonks glanced at each other, just wondering how in earth he had their conversation but all too soon it was followed up with another audible comment.

"I really do have to thank Fred and George for these Extendable Ears, they work wonderfully!"

Remus chuckled, seeing the confused look on Tonk's face again made his smile only grow bigger. "Marauders will be Marauders"