Tonks woke up with a start the next morning as her alarm clock went off at six am. “Ugh,” she groaned, slapping her hand on it to make it shut up, then climbing slowly out of bed. She shuffled over to her mirror, examining her reflection. Her pink hair was tousled and messy at the back and top; she ran her brush through it, yawning. She then turned to her closet and grabbed one of her Auror robes. She changed into them, throwing her tank and shorts on the bed.
Stretching, Tonks walked to her kitchen and grabbed a box of cereal from the pantry; she turned to the fridge and grabbed the bottle of milk. She poured the cereal and milk into a bowl, spilling some of the milk. She cleaned the mess with her wand, returned things to where they belonged and sat down to eat. A few minutes into her meal, however, she heard a tap on her window; an owl was fluttering outside.
Tonks stood up and walked over to the window and threw it open. The owl flew inside and stuck out its right leg, to which a copy of the Daily Prophet was tied. She untied it from the leg and then, prompted by the hoot of the owl, dropped a sickle into the little leather pouch tied on its leg. She stroked it, and then brought it over to the window again, sending it flying off into the slowly brightening sky.
Tonks turned back to the table, flipping open the paper and scanning it, then sitting down and eating again. There wasn’t anything of too much interest. Just the same load of horridness they’ve been coming up with ever since the Ministry incident, Tonks thought to herself, rolling her eyes and tossing the paper aside onto a pile of the last couple of days’ Daily Prophets.
Quickly, she finished her breakfast, then grabbed her favorite pair of Converse from her closet and tied them on. Then, making sure she had her wand in her pocket, she went to the front of her flat, made sure that the door was locked and then Disapparated to the Ministry of Magic, where she spent the rest of the day in her cubicle, doing tedious work for the Ministry, as well as annoying Kingsley, who, to his dislike, was in the cubicle right next to hers. Other than that bit of fun, she would’ve much rather been out doing proper Auror work, but there was nothing for anyone to do today.
Finally, five o’clock came, and Tonks practically ran out of the Ministry in her haste to get home and, possibly, the chance to see Remus. Once outside, she turned on the spot and Disapparated to her flat. Landing clumsily outside the front door, Tonks stumbled, unlocked it with a tap from her wand and stepped inside. The usual sight of her small, cluttered flat greeted her, but with one small difference; Remus was standing in the center of the room, holding a small bouquet of freshly picked flowers. Tonks nearly squealed with delight.
“Remus!” she exclaimed, running to him, hugging him tightly. “I didn’t expect to see you here.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Wait a minute,” she said, puzzled. “How did you get into my flat? And, more than that, how did you know what time I got off of work?” She stepped back, eyeing him skeptically.
Remus laughed at the expression on her face. “Why do you try and make me feel guilty about doing something for you?”
“I’m not,” Tonks answered, laughing as well. “I just want to know why I come home and find you standing in my flat, holding flowers.” She stepped forward. “Which are lovely, by the way,” she added as an afterthought.
“Okay, well, first of all, Tonks, do you honestly think that it is that hard to get into your flat when I have a wand, and all I have to say is Alohamora?” Remus asked. “And, as to knowing the time you get off work,” he added, staring at Tonks. “I heard somewhere that it’s always around five, usually, for the day time, unless something comes up, so I thought it might be nice to surprise you after your first day back at work.” He stepped forward, handing Tonks the flowers. She took them and held them up to her face, burying her nose into them and inhaling deeply.
“They smell lovely,” Tonks said, closing the last gap between her and Remus, tip-toeing to kiss him softly. Then, she raised her wand, pointing it towards a vase sitting on the cluttered table to the left of her couch. “Accio!” she said, sending the vase flying in her direction. She stretched her fingers out to try and catch it, but it missed by centimeters, hitting the wall and shattering into a thousand tiny pieces.
“Damn!” Tonks exclaimed, walking over to the pieces. “Reparo!” she said, flicking her wand, and the pieces flew back together, repairing the vase as if it was brand new. She reached out to grab it again, but Remus’ hand beat her to it, enclosing around the neck of the vase. He stood up with it, offering his free hand down to Tonks, who accepted it, pulling herself up. She set the flowers into the vase, and Remus took it to her sink, filling it with water, then bringing it back and setting it onto the table where it had previously resided. Then, he turned to Tonks.
“So, Nymphadora,” he said, smiling, enjoying having free use of her usually hated name. “What would you like to do?”
Tonks smiled, tapping her wand, sending sparks flying. “Ow!” she gasped, and quit tapping immediately. “Well,” she continued, rubbing her chin. “I was thinking… have you ever been to a skating rink?”
“A what?” Remus asked, surveying her expression to see if she was joking.
“A skating rink,” Tonks said, laughing at the expression on his face. “It’s a Muggle place where people go to have fun; and, in my case and many others, fall flat on their bums as well.”
“You’ve been there?” Remus asked.
“Of course!” Tonks exclaimed. “The skating rink is so much fun! My dad took me before when I was younger, and so, since I always make sure to have some Muggle money on hand, I treat myself to a few Muggle ways of entertainment every once in a while, and the skating rink happens to be one of my favorites.” She shrugged.
“Is it really that much fun?” Remus asked skeptically; he couldn’t understand how Tonks thought that falling on your bottom was at all fun.
“It is extremely fun!” Tonks said enthusiastically. “And, as long as you’re in jeans and a shirt, you blend right in with everyone else that is there.”
“Well, I guess that it is pretty lucky that I wore jeans again today,” Remus answered. “But you-”
“On it!” Tonks said. “Wait here for one second.” She hurried to her room, searching through her drawers. After a few seconds, she found a pair of ripped jeans and a shirt with the Muggle band The Beatles on the front of it. She threw these on, grabbed her robes and tossed them into the dirty laundry basket by her door, then went back out to the sitting room where Remus was still waiting.
“You look nice,” Remus said automatically. He read what her shirt said. “The Beatles; I think I may’ve heard of them before.”
“You probably should’ve,” Tonks answered. “They’re an old Muggle band from the sixties, and probably the biggest rock legends in the world; I can only imagine that some of the wizard rock bands, like the Weird Sisters, got their inspiration from them.” She shrugged. “Any who, are we going now, or not?”
“Yes, we are,” Remus answered. “Where is this skating rink at?” he added, holding out his arm; Tonks slipped hers into his.
“It’s actually just a couple blocks’ walk,” she answered, checking her pockets for the money. “Oops; it might be smart if I grab the money we will be needing before I walk out that door.” She slipped her arm from Remus’ and darted to the counter, where she opened a cookie jar. “See, this here is where my stash of Muggle cash is,” she said, reaching in and grabbing two twenty pound notes, slipping them into her pocket. She put the lid back on, then went back over to Remus, who held his arm out for her again. She slipped hers back where it was before, then said, “Now we can leave.”
“Alright,” Remus said, and he opened the door for the two of them, and they stepped out into the hot and muggy air. The sun was near setting to the west of them, but it was still pretty high in the sky; their only hint to it was the light pink tinge to the clouds. “Which way?” Remus asked, once Tonks turned around from locking the door.
“To the left,” Tonks said, and she and Remus began walking down the street, arm in arm still. “Oh, by the way, you might want to stuff your wand down your shirt, since it’s tucked in, so there’s less chance of it slipping out that way, and so the Muggles can’t see it.”
“Good point,” Remus answered, and he took it out of his back pocket; he was wearing long sleeves, though, so instead, he stuck in up his sleeve, above his elbow and up to his shoulder. “Do you need me to hold your wand as well?” he asked, looking down to Tonks.
“Sure,” Tonks said, and she pulled hers out of her back pocket, handing it to Remus. He unlaced his arm from hers for a second, slipping the wand up the opposite sleeve from his; he then slipped his arm back under Tonks’ and continued walking. They turned another left at the corner of her street, onto A Street, which led into a spot where there were a couple of bars, a few restaurants, a theater and the skating rink. Tonks quickened her pace, so Remus quickened his as well, and they were at the skating rink in about five minutes.
“So,” Tonks said, checking her reflection in the window outside it. “Are you nervous?”
“Should I be?” Remus asked, his nerves now beginning to get to him since Tonks pointed it out.
“No, not really,” Tonks answered. “You might fall down a few times, but not nearly as much as I’m bound to, more than likely. Trust me,” she added, seeing Remus’ skeptical look. “It is tons of fun! And, if it makes you feel better, though I don’t know how it will, children and older people come skating here all the time; it’s kind of a universal form of entertainment for every age, so… and I’ve never seen anyone too awfully injured.” Seeing his look becoming more doubtful, Tonks grabbed his hand and strode forward through the doors. “Oh, come on Remus!” she said. “I promise you, it’s a lot of fun.” She and Remus were now inside, and they could see the wooden floor in the middle of the room. “Look, there’s hardly anyone here, which will make it a lot easier, trust me!”
Remus was beginning to be intrigued by Tonks’ excitement, so he allowed himself to be dragged the rest of the way in, then used his own two feet. “Alright, Tonks, I believe you now,” Remus said over the music, some form of punk-rock that seemed like it would be fun to dance to. “So, what do we do now?”
“Come on,” Tonks said, making a beeline for the counter, behind which were long shelves with shoes that had wheels on the underside of them; Remus guessed that these were the skates and now he saw what Tonks meant about the falling part.
Tonks turned to him, tapping him lightly, bringing him out of his thoughts. “What size do you wear in shoes?” she asked.
“Oh, um, a twelve,” Remus answered. Tonks told the man behind the counter, “I need a twelve men’s and an eight women’s, please.”
“Here you go,” the man said, lifting two pairs of skates from the shelves and placing them on the counter. “That will be ten pounds.”
“Here you go,” Tonks said, handing him the money over the counter. He gave her back a ten-pound bill in exchange. “Thanks,” she said, and, grabbing both pairs of skates, motioned Remus over to a table.
“Here you are,” she said, and she handed him his pair. He took off his shoes, setting them onto the seat next to his, then pulled one of the skates on; he laced it up, then pulled on the other. In the time it took him to do that, Tonks already had both of hers on, and was standing to his side. “Hurry up slowpoke,” she said jokingly.
“I’ve never done this before,” Remus replied. “Sorry if I’m an inconvenience.”
“No worries,” Tonks said, smiling. “Here, let me do it,” she said, kneeling down, grabbing the laces and tying them up quickly. “There you are. Now, stand up and try to wheel out to the floor; if you fall, you’re already a hopeless case… but I think we’ll still make it.” She held out her hands to him; he grabbed them firmly, pulling himself off of the seat.
“Whoa,” he said, as he stumbled.
“Don’t tell me I’m going to have to catch you!” Tonks said teasingly. “Here, hold my hand, and grab the wall; it isn’t that bad, don’t worry.”
Remus laced his fingers into hers, grabbing the wall with his other hand; slowly, he began to wheel forward, becoming very slightly steadier with every step. Once they reached the floor, Tonks said, “Here, let go of the wall, now. Just keep your hand in mine; but, as a warning, when I fall, or if you fall, both of us are going down.”
Remus nodded and cautiously and slowly took his hand away from the wall. He held it out to his side, then nodded, and Tonks stepped onto the floor; Remus followed her, a bit slower, and managed to set foot on the floor without falling down. With Tonks’ nodded encouragement, he began to skate slowly across the floor, Tonks keeping her hold on his hand and going at his pace.
“There you go!” Tonks said. “You’ve got-” She winced as he fell, nearly toppling herself over, and he let out a laugh mixed with a groan. “I suppose I spoke too soon,” she mumbled quietly, reaching down her other hand and helping Remus pull himself to his feet. “Are you all right?” she asked as the two began skating again. Though, you can’t exactly call this skating, she thought to herself.
“I’m perfectly fine,” Remus answered, smiling. “It wasn’t all that bad; besides, I knew I was bound to fall, considering I’d never even so much as heard of skating before.”
“You’d never even heard of it?” Tonks asked quizzically. “Well, I suppose that makes sense, considering you grew up in a family of Wizards, and you are a werewolf.”
“Hush!” Remus hissed to her. “Anyone could hear you.”
“Believe me, they’re all having too much blasted fun to care about what other people are saying,” Tonks assured him. “Besides, I don’t think they actually could hear over this.” She raised her hand, indicating the music flowing from the speakers, now a sort of techno-dance genre.
“Okay, fine,” Remus said, realising that she was probably right. They continued skating together, Remus falling down four more times in the next five minutes, pulling Tonks down with him twice, both times apologising continuously, only for them to be waved away by Tonks.
“Don’t worry about it,” she said, laughing. “I don’t mind falling, honestly; I do it all the time, myself. Come on, let’s just have fun.”
Remus agreed, and they continued skating for the better part of three hours, hand in hand; it resulted in them falling over together a total of twenty-two times, Tonks falling ten times and Remus falling over sixteen other times. But, it had them laughing harder than they’d ever laughed before, and they were still laughing about it when they stood outside in the doorway to Tonks’ flat, saying goodnight, shielded from the rain that had begun to pour.
“Thank you so much for taking me there, Nymphadora,” Remus said, one hand around her waist, the other brushing her hair back behind her ear. “I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun before in my entire life.”
“It was nothing,” Tonks said, pulling him to her and hugging him tightly. “Besides, like you said, it was the most fun of my entire life as well.” She stretched herself up, kissing him lightly on the lips; he returned her kiss, feeling happy and elated, like never before.
“Well,” Tonks said after a few seconds. “I suppose I should probably be getting inside; I’m not an early person, and I have to get up early, and I don’t need to be getting to bed late again.”
“All right,” Remus said, squeezing Tonks to him one last time. “I suppose I’ll see you again in the next few days.”
“You will,” Tonks said, smiling. “Well, goodnight, Remus.”
“Goodnight, love,” Remus said, kissing her once more, and then stepping back, watching her step through her door. Once she was inside, he heard a squeal of delight from her, and, laughing, turned on the spot and Disapparated home.
Love Keeps Us Together (Sometimes Apart) by DontCallMeNymphadora
Chapter Notes: I'm sorry this is still taking so long, you guys! I hope you are still reading... I'm terribly sorry.
I hope you like this one.
Please read and review, lovelies.