Some Luck

Some Luck
by Augurey

Nymphadora Tonks approached number twelve Grimmauld Place apprehensively. She had received word from Dumbledore that there was work to be done at headquarters; she had apparated from her flat in the middle of London immediately.

It was near three in the morning as she neared the front door, which was swinging on it’s hinges, wide open. Gaping at the awkward state of the house, she slowly ascended the front steps and peeked inside. Everything was dark except for a few candles that seemed to be lit down the hallway. All the portraits on the wall were silent.

“Hello,” she called out nervously. “Is anyone here?”

There was no reply, however. “That’s strange,” she noted casually, walking inside and closing the door. She used her wand to magically seal it shut, and muttered “Lumos” under her breath. Light poured from her wand tip, and she held it above her head, trying to see all that she could.

A loud “thud” came from the basement, shaking Tonks so badly that she managed to trip on the rug beneath her feet. “Bugger!” She shouted, “bugger, BUGGER!”

Her voice echoed throughout the entire house, and suddenly she clapped her hands over her mouth in shock. There was someone downstairs, and she was shouting. She slowly rose to her feet. Holding her wand out in front of her, she approached the basement door.

Imagining all sorts of foul wizards and witches who might have been able to enter, she pushed the door open slowly.

To her surprise, she did not find any dark wizards or witches. Instead she saw Remus Lupin. He was hunched over the kitchen table with his head in his hands. His face was only half-illuminated by the flickering candle he had placed nearby. He looked dreadfully pale, and he was shivering.

“Wotcher, Remus!”

He looked up, and nodded. “Tonks, hi, didn’t hear you come in.”

“I was trying to be quiet,” she began slowly, sitting down beside him. “I thought you were a Death Eater, who had broken in...”

Remus laughed, but it was not a real laugh. He sounded hollow and empty. Then he looked at Tonks. His eyes were sparkling by the candlelight. He pointed to a bleeding gash on her arm. “What happened?”

“Oh, I had a right nasty run in with a rug upstairs,” Tonks informed him brightly. “You know.”

Remus nodded, ripped a small bit of cloth off his old cloak, and carefully wiped off the drops of blood that had trickled along her arm. She watched intently as he picked up his wand and whispered a short spell. The cut began to glow a soft blue colour; the skin on her arm seemed to bind itself back together slowly. After setting his wand on the table, he ran his fingers along where the cut was and smiled at her.

“Good as new,” he said.

Tonks was still staring at him, though. She had a silly sort of smile on her face. For a while she didn’t say anything. Remus was unsure of what she was thinking, so he waited patiently.

“Thanks,” she finally said. “What are you doing here all alone, anyway? And why was the front door wide open?”

Remus opened his mouth, as if to speak. He sighed shortly thereafter. He raised his eyebrows at her. “I was just thinking about...”

“Sirius,” Tonks whispered to finish his sentence.

Remus didn’t have the heart to look at her face. He knew full well exactly how she felt. He knew exactly what she was going to say to try and console him on the subject. He was staring at his hands, afraid to look anywhere else but down. He was afraid that at any moment, a tear would fall from his eye.

Tonks reached over and took his hand into hers, folding her fingers around his. She ran her thumb along his cheek and lifted his chin, so he was looking directly at her. Their noses were almost touching. She seemed to be smiling.

“I miss him, too,” she said. “I know you would do anything to bring him back. I would, too. You can’t change the pa-” she paused, as if thinking about something very delicately. “You can’t bring him back. No one can. I know you know that.”

His breath caught in his throat and he closed his eyes. He could feel a sharp pain in his chest, and his whole body was tense. “I know.”

“You’ll be all right,” Tonks told him. “We’ll be all right. We’ve got to be strong, Remus. There’s so much more to be done.”

He looked at her intently, as if to ask if she was sure. She nodded kindly. “Everything happens for a reason, my friend.”

She stood up and kissed his forehead lightly. As she turned, her feet got caught in one of the legs of the chair she had been sitting in. She ended up falling flat on her face.

“Tonks!” Remus jumped out of his seat, alarmed. He knelt down beside her while she rolled over and she looked up at him, grinning.

“Some luck I’ve got, eh?”

He held out his hand and helped her to her feet. “Some luck.”

“Like a three-legged chair, I am!” She exclaimed. “Always falling one way or another.”

Remus laughed loudly at this comment, but stopped abruptly. He had helped her up but would not let go of her hand. They were standing less than inches away from each other. She raised an eyebrow at him and pursed her lips. “Nice to meet you,” she said, shaking his hand.

“Tonks, I -” he began but could not continue. Remus was never one to stutter, although he was exceedingly quiet. Some things just took a little longer to say because of this. “I wondered if you would - I want to - I was just -”

“Come on now,” she touched his nose with her finger. “Out with it!”

Without a moments notice, he lifted his hand to her cheek and kissed her full on the lips. At first, Tonks was thoroughly shocked. She blinked wildly. Seconds later, he had only pulled away a little bit. He distanced himself enough so she had space to breathe.

”I’m sor-” Remus began to apologise but was silenced as Tonks threw her arms around him and captured his lips with hers. The room began to spin - or so it seemed - and everything was a blur.

When they finally broke apart, Remus brushed his nose against hers and laughed. He felt as though it was the first time he had smiled in ages. She grinned widely in response to his smile.

“Some luck I’ve got,” she said breathlessly.

He pulled her closer and rested his forehead against hers, murmuring quietly, “Some luck.”