Tonks dashed down two flights of stairs, almost knocking a vase over as she turned the corner into the hallway of the first landing. She then flew down one more set of stairs and turned to the first door on the right. She hammered her fist on it. When no one answered, she yelled, “Remus, I know you’re in there. Open this door n-’’
The door opened, and standing in the doorway was the tall and stunning figure of Albus Dumbledore.
“Ah, Nymphadora,” he said, smiling and staring down his long, crooked nose toward her, his blue eyes piercing her.
“Wotcher, Professor,” Tonks said in a small voice, ignoring the fact that her first name was being used. “Sorry for all the racket. I was just going to- Have you seen Remus?” She flushed a deep red as she said this. ‘Oh, stop it,’ she thought. ‘You’re acting like a child.’
“Ah,” Dumbledore said again, smiling more widely, his electric blue eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles. “Yes, Remus has just left. I believe he is home, at his flat, or he is in Diagon Alley. Or-’’
“Thank you, Professor,” Tonks said, even though she knew she shouldn’t have interrupted Dumbledore. But she was in too much of a hurry. She had to see Remus, now that she knew the cold hard facts that Molly had just given her. So, she hurried down the stairs that ended on the ground floor. In the process, one of the house-elf heads and its plaque fell off the wall. (The tradition of cutting off old house-elf’s heads when they were too old had been started by one of her evil, distant cousins.) Tonks turned back and, with a shudder of disgust, quickly thrust it back onto the nail off which it hung. She then jumped the last few steps, sprinting down the hallway and wrenching open the front door. As she flew down the front steps, Tonks tripped over the hem of her robes and fell onto her stomach on the parched, dry lawn outside of the house.
Tonks groaned in pain as she leapt to her feet. She wondered whether she should try Diagon Alley or Remus’ tiny flat first, knowing it was very likely that he could be at either. She finally decided on the flat, and Disapparated with a loud crack that echoed around the square of houses.
Seconds later, she found herself out of breath and outside the very shabby-looking flat that belonged to Remus. “Wow,” Tonks said under her breath as she walked forward. “This is even worse than the last time I was here.”
She cautiously approached the front door, stuck out her right hand, and tapped on the door. There was no reply. Tonks tried again, this time knocking louder, and calling out, “Remus. Remus, are you home?” She bent down and peeped through the keyhole. But, all she could see was the entrance to Remus’ living room, and nothing looked as if it had been stepped upon in the past half hour. (Being an Auror, Tonks was highly trained to recognise things like this immediately.)
Knowing now that there was no one in the small flat, Tonks stepped away from the door and began to walk to the sidewalk. She looked down both directions of the street, checking that no one was sticking their heads out the windows. Seeing that no one was around, she turned on the spot and Disapparated, a large crack filling the air like a firecracker as she went.
She landed just outside the Leaky Cauldron, and slipped inside as quietly as she could. As she was walking, old, friendly Tom the Landlord spotted her and greeted her with a toothless grin. “Hello, Miss Tonks,” he said, stepping from behind the counter to shake her hand. She smiled at him and grasped his hand quickly. “Hello,” she said. “How are you?”
“Just fine,” he answered. “Might I get you something to eat or drink today, my dear?”
“Not today, Tom,” she said, smiling at him. “Erm, you haven’t seen Remus about here today, have you? Remus Lupin?”
“Yes,” Tom said. “He passed by here about fifteen minutes ago. Was in a bit of a hurry though, don’t know if he wants to talk at the moment. You might want to check the tea shop, he murmured something about that on his way out.”
“Thank you,” Tonks said, hurrying to the back of the pub. She pushed open the door and stepped out into the alleyway. Taking out her wand, she tapped the third brick from the left and stood back as the bricks turned into an archway that opened up into Diagon Alley. She stepped forward and began to walk down the cobbled street as the arch transformed into a brick wall once more.
Tonks hadn’t been in Diagon Alley for a little over a year. There were a few new shops that had just opened, one of them being Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. It stood out, being very colourful on the outside, with the colours changing every few seconds. Impressed, she walked up to it, anxious to see if Fred and George’s business was doing well. Then, she spotted a sign on the front of the building, making her burst out laughing. On it, in large letters, were the words:
“WHY ARE YOU WORRYING ABOUT
YOU-KNOW-WHO?
YOU SHOULD BE WORRYING ABOUT
U-NO-POO
THE CONSTIPATION SENSATION
THAT’S GRIPPING THE NATION!”
Shaking her head and still giggling, Tonks slipped into the shop, and was immediately greeted by Fred. His shaggy, shoulder-length hair bounced around his face, and he was dressed in fine robes of a royal blue color.
“Hello, my fine lady!” he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and smiling brightly up at her. “How might I help you today, Nymphadora?”
“Shut up,” Tonks said, punching him lightly on the arm. “Don’t use the ‘N’ name around me. It’s disturbing!”
“Ouch! And just when I was going to give you a free Patented Daydream or love potion of your choice! Too bad for you.”
“Ha ha,” Tonks laughed, sarcasm lining every inch of her voice. “Actually, I was just dropping by to see if business was doing well, or if you and your brother are bloody horrible salesmen.” She smiled, looking around. There looked to be around one hundred people crammed into the tiny shop. “I’m pleasantly surprised,” she said. “I thought you and George would be terrible in the sales business. Apparently, you two aren’t that bad after all. I’ve never seen any other shop doing this well, at any time of the year.”
“Thank you, Tonks,” said a voice behind her, making her jump. She turned around to see George emerging from a curtain. He too was dressed in royal blue robes, his hair pulled back into a very poorly done ponytail at the nape of his neck. “And, just to let you know, we have about another fifty or so people in the back of the shop. Feel free to look, if you wish.” He flashed her a smile.
“I really wish I could look, but I…”
Fred and George put on begging faces and surrounded her like two little puppy dogs. “Please,” Fred said. “We’re not asking you to buy anything-’’
“-Though it would be nice!” George jumped in.
“Just examine our little inventions for us. It would be nice to hear an old detention buddy’s opinion on our products.” He and his brother smiled wickedly, trying to recall her old memories of school.
Tonks glanced from Fred to George and back. “Okay, fine. I’ll look at them, but only for a minute. And,” she added, a grimace on her face as they led her to the back room. “Might I remind you, I was in detention with you five times in our entire two years of school together, whereas I am sure you two were in at least twenty times in those two years, though probably more.”
“Well, still,” George said. “It counts that you were still there with us. That was five times more than, say, Charlie was ever in with us.”
Fred smiled. “Oh, yeah, and for us, it was way more than twenty times.” He put an emphasis on the way.
Tonks was about to open her mouth once in response, but the sight in the room caused it to close and open several times in a row. She was speechless. All around her were some of the most ingenious products she had ever seen: hats that made your head disappear, shield hats, -“The Ministry has put an order of about two hundred of these so far!”-, Instant Darkness Powder, and Decoy Detonators, which gave a diversion if needed.
“Wow,” Tonks said. “These are amazing. I can’t believe y’all have done all this.” She took a watch out of her pocket and glanced at it. “I will have to stop by here some other time. But now, I really do need to get going. I have- I’m meeting someone.”
“Who?” Fred chimed.
“Yes, do tell,” George said, a look of curious mockery on his face.
“That is personal,” Tonks said, emphasizing her words. “It really was wonderful seeing you again, though. I hope business stays great. Bye! I hope to see you two soon.”
Tonks waved her hand as she swept out of the curtain and out the door. Behind her, Fred looked at George and said, “And she honestly thinks we don’t know what’s going on?”
George shrugged his shoulders, and the two went back to their business.
Love Keeps Us Together (Sometimes Apart) by DontCallMeNymphadora
Chapter Notes: Okay, now that I finally know how to stop the italics, it can be put up!!!!! This has a lot of Fred and George, so I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter. As soon as this one gets validated, chappie three will be put up!!