Summary: It is the first meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. Remus Lupin expected to hear news about Voldemort's return. He didn't realize that he would see an unexpected guest. He also didn't expect that he would have feeling for her.
Final fic for Professor Mar's Animagus Studies Class by tc015 of Gryffindor
Categories: Remus/Tonks Characters: None
Warnings: None
Challenges: Series: None
Chapters: 1
Completed: Yes
Word count: 4093
Read: 2228
Published: 06/27/07
Updated: 06/28/07
1. Chapter 1 by tc015
Author's Notes:
Thanks to my professor, ElectronicQuillster. Also to Kumy, who saved this fic from the dumps.
Remus Lupin yawned loudly as he sat down at the kitchen table. Today was day eight in the search for a new apartment and a new job. The apothecary he had been working for had realized he was the werewolf professor “ soon after, his landlord asked him to leave. His children were conspicuously hidden in the house. He must have believed that Remus would have reacted violently.
Another long night and another long day for an old werewolf like himself. He looked down at the worn wood; its decrepit condition seemed to match the state of everything else in the house.
Sirius Black slumped into the chair next to him. Even the owner of the house, though he refused to admit it, was getting worn out.
“How have you been?” he asked.
Remus sighed tiredly. “As well as could be expected, considering we have a war on our hands.”
“Too bad no one seems to notice it. Wizards these days, they don’t know more than what’s right in front them “ the paper. They seem to believe the lie that is twisted out for them. It’s disgusting.”
Remus nodded in agreement as he looked around the room. Mad-Eye had just walked in. He looked around the room carefully as though there might be a Death Eater waiting to pounce on him. His magical eye looked every which way at Remus, making sure the werewolf wasn’t ready to eat him. Once he felt that Remus was fine, he sat down next to him.
“Lupin, what have you been up to?” asked Moody gruffly.
“I’m fairly well for the time being,” he said.
“Still looking for a job?” he asked.
“Yes…and now an apartment as well.”
“What happened?” growled Moody.
“The owner of the apothecary seemed to realize I was always absent from work around the full moon. He asked me what was going on, so I told him the truth. That’s when I lost the job. The owner seemed to think that he needed to warn the landlord of this fact, so he politely asked me to leave. Said that he didn’t want a werewolf transforming in there every month, though I always make sure I find a safe place to go. I’ve staying where I usually transform “ in that old shop.”
“Make sure your place has a good security ward,” Moody said, fierce passion lighting his eyes, “Better to be alive and jobless than dead with the Dark Mark above you, you know.” Moody looked around once more. “The wards on this place need some work, Black. You’ll have to let me work on them sometime.”
Sirius arched an eyebrow. “My father charmed Grimmauld Place to be hidden from wizards, Muggles, even dogs for Merlin’s sake. What hasn’t he covered “ the dragon one? Because I have odd feeling we won’t be needing one of those.”
Moody shrugged. “Well, the place is one of the better guarded locations I’ve come across,” he admitted grudgingly. “But it still needs some work. A few of the good old spells from Africa and the one I found in Southeast Asia and we’ll be set.”
Remus and Sirius glanced at each other and shook with laughter. Sirius swallowed once before answering Mad-Eye.
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to let you have a look around.”
The rugged old Auror nodded in approval.
Remus nodded. Moody was a good man, even though he was a bit eccentric times. He had an valid reason being so extremely cautious. If Remus had seen half of what Mad-Eye had… He shuddered at the thought.
“That’s why I always say, ‘constant vigilance.’ It’ll save your life someday, both of you.”
Remus hoped that Mad-Eye wasn’t right. He didn’t plan on being in a life-threatening situation quite yet. He knew this was a war he was entering, but it was still early on. He didn’t want to be the first casualty; no, that was an innocent seventeen-year-old boy named Cedric Diggory. His poor parents; he knew they were so upset. They should be, after all; their son was just murdered.
People were filing into the room in one by one. He noticed a flash of pink hair among the blacks and browns. The owner, an attractive young lady, sat down next to Sirius. When she realized who Sirius was, she jumped.
“Sirius Black,” she exclaimed. “What are you doing here? This is a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix.” With a flick of her wand, Sirius was tied up to his chair. Mad-Eye seemed very amused by this.
“Yes, I am a member,” Sirius replied coolly.
“You’re a convicted Death Eater, and I don’t care what my mother says on the contrary.”
“Please,” said Remus politely, “I know he is not a Death Eater. He’s a good man, accused of a crime he didn’t commit.”
“I don’t believe you,” she said.
The woman tried to Levitate the chair, but was having a difficult time because Mad-Eye had his peg leg twisted around the leg of the chair.
“Moody, what are you doing?” asked the woman incredulously.
“Nothing,” he replied coolly.
“This man is a convicted Death Eater. He killed thirteen Muggles, and a wizard.”
“Oh,” said Mad-Eye sarcastically. “I didn’t realize this.”
“What?” she asked. “Is this man really Sirius Black?”
“Of course he is.”
“Then why aren’t you helping me arrest him? I thought you would have done something already.”
“He’s not a Death Eater,” Mad-Eye said.
“How is he not a Death Eater?”
“It’s a long story,” said Remus. “Please, just untie him.
“No,” she said. “Moody, please examine him carefully. I want to make sure he isn’t a Death Eater.”
Moody found this entire thing amusing. He pretended to examine Sirius very closely.
“I don’t think he’s a Death Eater -- doesn’t have the Dark Mark, anyway. Do you have some Veritaserum?”
“No,” said the woman.
“I don’t think you’ll need it anyway; he’s definitely not a Death Eater.”
This seemed to settle the woman’s worries. “My mother is worried sick about you, Sirius Black,” she said.
“Tell Andromeda to relax for once in her life. It might do her some good.”
Andromeda, that name sounded familiar. Remus didn’t think that they went to school with an Andromeda. Even so, the girl seemed too old to be the child of one of their classmates.
“I forgot,” said Sirius, “you probably don’t recognize her. It’s been years since you’ve seen her. This is Nymphadora, my cousin Andromeda’s kid.”
Remus remembered now. When Nymphadora had been born, Sirius had been staying with the Potters for a few days, along with the rest of the Marauders.
James was fumbling in the small shed.
“I can’t find my old broom,” he muttered.
“That’s fine,” said Sirius. “We can take sitting out.”
“I still don’t know why your parents never bought you a broom,” said Peter.
“Anything that involved enjoying yourself had no place in the Noble and Ancient House of Black,” Sirius said.
Mrs. Potter entered the yard. She held a letter in her hand.
“Sirius,” she yelled, “I got a letter from your cousin, Andromeda. She said that she had the baby. It’s a girl, and they named her Nymphadora.”
“Really?” said Sirius. He had jumped off his broom, and looked absolutely star-struck.
“She’s says you can come see her anytime,” replied Mrs. Potter.
Sirius’ face drop suddenly.
“What’s wrong?” asked Remus. “You look like Christmas was cancelled.”
“No,” muttered Sirius, “there’s just no way I can see her. My parents will never let me go.”
“If you want, Sirius,” said Mrs. Potter, “we can take you there.”
“I don’t want to cause any trouble,” said Sirius.
“Great,” said Mrs. Potter, “then all four of you better get ready.”
Mrs. Potter went back into the house. All four of them looked overjoyed.
“I’ve never seen a baby after they were born,” said Peter. “When my aunt had my cousin, we were on a cruise with my dad’s family.”
“I was two when Regulus was born. Don’t remember a single moment of it.”
Remus didn’t say anything. He was too excited to put it to words. He was going to see a newborn baby.
“Oh,” muttered Remus. Andromeda Tonks, Sirius’s cousin, was a blood traitor like Sirius. It didn’t surprise him that the two were close, considering that each other was the only connection that had left to their families.
“Hello, Nymphadora. How have you been?”
“Very well,” she said, smiling. “I got a job as an Auror.”
“That’s great. Congratulations.”
Tonks smiled brightly. “It’s not Nymphadora these days,” she said. “Call me Tonks, Mr. Lupin.”
“Please call me Remus. Mr. Lupin makes me feel older than I already am.”
”Okay…Remus,” she said, boldly trying out his name and grinning.
“Do you like the job? Have you caught any Death Eaters yet?” Remus asked.
“If paperwork involves Death Eaters, then I must have met a couple dozen. Trainees always get the worst jobs.” Tonks rolled her eyes.
“I can remember some of the early Order meetings. Needless to say, everyone was a lot younger then and a lot more energetic. I probably cleaned up enough firewhisky bottles to fill the entire Auror office.”
Tonks laughed. “I hope I don’t have to do that.”
“Don’t worry,” Remus assured her, “people have grown up since then.”
Sirius gave him a sideways glance. “Are you talking about me behind my back?”
“No,” said Tonks. “Don’t be so paranoid. We don’t need another Moody around,” she teased.
“You know,” said Mad-Eye suddenly, “you remind me of Dorcas Meadows. Great young woman, talented Auror herself. It was horrible that she had to be murdered like that.”
“She does, except for that fact that Tonks is alive,” said Sirius.
Tonks looked uncomfortably at Mad-Eye. Remus could understand how she felt. What Mad-Eye thought was polite conversation was not necessarily pleasant. Being compared to a dead Auror was not exactly encouraging.
Hestia Jones sat down across from Tonks. “I see you’ve met Mad-Eye,” she said. “Such a pleasant fellow, isn’t he?”
Tonks began to smile, her shoulders relaxing. “Yes, being compared to a dead Auror is always interesting,” she said, laughing softly.
Remus smiled. Hestia was always the one to make sure everyone felt welcome at the Order.
Tonks leaned over across the table after a few minutes. “Do you know where the bathroom is?”
“I’ll take you “ don’t want you to get bitten by something in this house,” he said seriously.
She frowned, not sure whether to believe him or not. “I think I’ll get enough bitten out of me during the last bit of Auror training,” she joked. “That is, if Moody gets his way with me.”
He chuckled. “I thought you were an Auror “ training still not finished?”
Tonks smiled. “I still have a week or so to go. It’s supposed to be a simple internship, but Moody doesn’t think paperwork is enough for us. He wants us to be prepared for the horrors we’ll find in the field. Our group was already better off than most others, but Mad-Eye wants to make sure we are completely safe and prepared.”
“Typical Mad-Eye.”
They arrived at the bathroom and she slipped through the door with a final smile for him. Remus quietly waited for her. After she had finished her business, they left for the kitchen.
“This house is so gloomy,” she muttered.
“I know. I feel like I should being a box of tissues around with me, waiting for crying old ladies to come over to me.”
Tonks laughed. “Whose house is this, anyway?”
“Sirius’ parents used to own the place. It’s his now.”
“No wonder he left. It must have been so depressing growing up in a place like this.”
“I can only imagine.”
“I would love to do bit a cheering up in here. Put up some posters, paint the walls.”
“I think you would do a great job. I’ve only been in here once or twice; that was years ago. Sirius would always have us over when his parents went away. But most of the inhabitants of this house have been gone for years.”
“Didn’t Sirius’ cousin or something die in the war? I remember my mother talking about that.”
“Yes. Sirius’ brother, Regulus, was killed after he abandoned the war. The first war was horrible; I thought I lost all of my best friends.”
“Well, you still have Sirius,” said Tonks.
Remus sighed. She was so young; she had that hope that everything would be alright. As young as we all were when we first joined the Order. His hope had gone years ago.
“I guess,” he muttered, turning to her, a fluttering feeling in his stomach. “Listen, Tonks, are you sure you want to do this?”
“Fight? Yes! This is what I have been trained to do, and this is what is right.”
He sighed. Tonks reminded him so much of himself when he first joined the Order. He and the other Marauders thought that they were doing the right thing, fighting for a good cause. If he had realized how much pain war would bring to him, he would have stayed on his couch and read about it in the paper.
Tonks was so young; she didn’t deserve to have her life ruined like Sirius and him. Then there was Harry; he was only fifteen. He shouldn’t have to worry about all of this, yet somehow he was right in the middle of it all. No one that young should have to deal with that kind of pain. He should be able to enjoy his teen years; they are best years in a person’s life.
He recognized that light in her eyes, and knew he would never change her mind.
“Then be careful, Tonks. It’s too easy to lose everything when you fight. I don’t want that to happen to you.”
Tonks smiled gently. “I’ll be fine; I know how to protect myself. Mad-Eye was my teacher, and he knows almost everything there is to know about war.”
“Yes, but you still don’t understand what comes along with fighting. There’s unhappiness and pain. You shouldn’t have to deal with it.”
“Remus Lupin,” said Tonks, “I am a big girl. I can take care of “”
There was a crash, and Remus felt something flop onto his arms. He helped up Tonks quickly.
“Are you alright?” he asked worriedly.
“Just fine,” she replied. “I tripped over one of those boxes. I’m too clumsy for my own good; don’t have a graceful bone in my body.”
“Don’t worry; I remember,” said Remus. “Do you remember when you were four, and fell down the stairs.”
“I was going to show you my toy broomstick. The stairs were crooked, so I fell.”
“I don’t think it was all the stairs,” replied Remus.
“Can’t a blame a person for they can’t control,” said Tonks. “My clumsiness is something I cannot control.”
Remus laughed. It was amazing how she could make him laugh. The last time he had laughed seemed like years ago. It was amazing how she could make him just a little better.
Remus sat down next to Sirius. Sirius was giving him one of his classic smirks.
“Look at you, Mr. Moony,” he said silkily.
“What do you mean?”
“Flirting with my cousin,” he replied. In a high pitched, he continued, “‘Let me help you up.’ I didn’t think she was your type.”
“I wasn’t flirting with her,” he said, though his face was beginning to match a ripe tomato.
“You’re a worse liar than Harry,” he replied.
“Stop acting like you know everything. I was just talking to a woman. I didn’t think that was flirting. Even so, I doubt she would be interested in me.”
“Wrong, my friend,” whispered Sirius. “I was talking to Andromeda last week. She told me that she didn’t think her lovely daughter had a boyfriend.”
“Don’t tell me that you went in broad daylight,” said Remus worriedly. “I don’t want you to get killed.”
“No. I went out as Padfoot to give her a visit. If I hadn’t disguised myself, she probably would have murdered me before the Ministry could get word of my appearance, anyway. So I asked about little Nymph. Apparently, she hasn’t been dating anyone lately. She thinks all the men her age are immature. I reckon she’s looking for someone older, someone like…”
“Shut up, Sirius,” said Remus tiredly. “I’m too old for her, anyway.”
Sirius laughed. “See, you practically admit it.”
Remus rolled his eyes.
“She seemed to be checking you out, mate. Ask her out after the meeting. Sure she’d love a cup of coffee.”
“I’ll ask her out for coffee,” Remus conceded. “But,” he continued, “only as a friend, and only because I’m not letting her near you so you can put ideas in your head.”
“Fine with me.”
Everyone went silent. Remus caught a flash of familiar purple robes. Remus smiled. He loved seeing Dumbledore again; it was one of the reasons he loved working at Hogwarts.
“Everyone,” Dumbledore said, “I have called you here today to discuss a matter of great importance. Voldemort returned to power exactly one week from today.”
Remus looked around, seeing who from the original Order was still there. There was him, Sirius, and Mad-Eye, along with Hestia and Emmeline. He also saw several new faces, including Tonks, Molly and Arthur, and a man he recognized as the Auror in charge of the investigation into Sirius’ escape, Kingsley Shacklebolt. He had gone to interview Remus as soon as Sirius broke out of Azkaban, as Remus was a friend of Sirius. The Auror had not acted very kindly in the meeting. It shocked him that someone like him would have joined the Order.
“Harry Potter was the one of the few witnesses to his return. Luckily, he managed to get out of the graveyard alive, though he was greatly shaken. He is safe with his aunt and uncle at Privet Drive. Thanks to him, we are aware of and can begin to prepare for Voldemort’s full return to power. We have an advantage right now. No one was supposed to know about his return, let alone myself. But we do, and it’s a good first step.”
Molly Weasley looked around nervously. “Excuse me, Professor,” said Molly nervously, “but is it possible for Harry to come to stay with Arthur and I at the Burrow? Ron and the other boys get along so well with him. He doesn’t cause any trouble; we love having him around.”
“What about me?” asked Sirius. “I am his godfather.”
Molly looked hurt.
“Molly,” said Dumbledore calmly, “we plan on having Harry come to stay at Grimmauld Place later this summer. You are also invited to stay here with your family, if that is alright with Sirius.”
“Fine with me,” he said casually, thought Remus could tell he was feeling a bit defensive.
Dumbledore continued on with his speech. “Lucius Malfoy, according to Harry, was there, along with countless others. We cannot confront them just yet; it’s too early and we are not ready. But we have some minor precautions set up to monitor their behavior.
“Lucius Malfoy,” whispered Mad-Eye. “I remember him. I knew the Auror who caught him. I have never been angrier than the moment when I heard he got off after the first war. Imperius Curse, yeah right. More like he paid his way out of Azkaban. The Ministry could care less as long as they had their gold.”
The meeting continued. Remus was beginning to doze off when billowing black robes went to stand where Dumbledore had been.
“Snape,” whispered Sirius incredulously. “What’s this about?”
“Dumbledore came to defend him at his trial “ he never went to Azkaban. He’s a spy for us.”
“Rubbish. The man oozes evil.”
“Dumbledore says that he fully trusts Severus.”
“If Dumbledore is that certain…”
Severus had already started his speech. “The Dark Lord is already growing very strong. Most of his followers have come back to him, except for a few. Most of them have been taken care of already. The Dark Lord also plans on gaining control of the Dementors again, and letting out the imprisoned Death Eaters…”
“The last thing we need is for Voldemort to have the Lestranges,” muttered Moody.
“You think I’m looking forward to my cousin’s homecoming?” whispered Sirius.
The rest of Snape’s speech went by in a blur. Remus hadn’t been attention to most of it. Dumbledore got back up to speak. A soft hand was nudging him the shoulder.
“Doesn’t he creep you out?” whispered Tonks. “Snape was always my least favorite teacher.”
“He’s never been a pleasant fellow,” Remus agreed.
“Weren’t you a professor?” asked Tonks.
“I taught for a year; it was the best year of my life. Teaching is a wonderful profession.”
“I’m sure you were a great teacher,” said Tonks.
“Thanks,” whispered Remus.
Tonks looked over at Remus. “Is it me, or is Sirius is in a foul mood?”
“He is,” whispered Remus. “He’s been acting very grumpy ever since Dumbledore had a private conversation with him. I guess he doesn’t want Sirius doing anything too big for the Order. Wants him to stay put.”
“Dumbledore has a point, though. All the Aurors are after him. I just tried to arrest him earlier.”
“Sirius doesn’t see that,” he said. “He sees himself being pushed away.”
“He’s always been a bit rash,” whispered Tonks. “I hope he doesn’t do anything stupid.”
“I’ve been trying to hide the firewhisky. I know what it does to a person; it’s horrible.”
Remus knew the horrors of firewhisky. After the First War, right after all his friends had vanished from his life, Remus had become very close to the firewhisky. He hated how he acted around that time. He was mean and irritable half the time, and depressed the other. No one needed that, especially not Sirius. Harry needed his godfather whole and sober, not mean and drunk.
“I hope that he doesn’t go for the firewhisky either,” muttered Tonks. “I don’t want to see my cousin like that.”
“He’s already drank some. Just a bit, but I afraid it’s not going to be just a bit for much longer.”
“I’ll talk to him,” whispered Tonks. “He shouldn’t be drinking. It’s not good for him.”
It was amazing how much Nymphadora had grown up. Just a few minutes ago, she made him smile for the first time in a while. The next minute she was able to talk war and her cousin’s wellbeing. Remus really liked her. She was a nice person, and a good friend. Someday, she would find an amazing man.
The rest of the meeting continued on in silence as Remus’ mind began to wander. When everyone started moving around, he figured the meeting was over. He got up to leave, but Sirius stopped him.
“Remember your promise,” he whispered.
“It wasn’t a promise,” said Remus reasonably. “It was more of a concession to your insane idea that I like her.”
“Whatever you’d like to believe.”
Remus considered sitting back down and not moving until Tonks had left. He knew that Sirius, though, from the glint in his eyes, would never let this go. Sighing in resignation, he made his way over to Tonks, who was standing close to where the two of them had been sitting during the meeting.
“Nymphadora,” he said blushing.
“Tonks,” the Auror corrected as she turned around. “Yes, Remus?”
He swallowed. “It was nice to see you again,” he finally said. “Tell your mother that I said hello.”
“I will,” she replied. “Bye, Remus!” she said brightly.
“Goodbye, Nymphadora,” he said as she turned to leave the room.
Maybe next time he would ask her.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.