All Wrapped Up

All Wrapped Up

It hadn't been a quiet day at Order headquarters. People had been coming and going quite constantly and that had kept Mrs. Black's portrait awake and cranky. Of course, she needn't have been quite so out of sorts but for the efforts of Fred and George Weasley.

The twins had arrived only the evening before to greet their two younger siblings, Hermione and Harry, now at Grimmauld Place for the holidays. The evening had passed in relatively quiet good cheer so, naturally, the twins decided that had to be changed straight away. True to their reputation for stirring up 'excitement' they'd turned everything around by breakfast time. They began with Mrs. Black's portrait. Feeling she was lacking in festive cheer, they'd put a clever paint charm on her canvas. When she awoke to find her portrait self wearing a bright red Father Christmas cap complete with jingle bell, she was beside herself. It took Mr. Weasley, Remus Lupin and Tonks to settle her down enough to draw her curtains shut again.

Despite the dressing down they'd received from Molly Weasley, they hadn't stopped there. With every new arrival and Mrs. Black's resulting caterwauling, the twins made the most of each new distraction. By lunchtime, all the drapery in the house had been charmed to sway gently to Christmas carols played by the moldings. By tea time, fairy lights had appeared in the loo, dancing in dizzying circles over the toilet while the mirror calmly recited 'A Christmas Carol' on a continuous loop. The real mischief, however, didn't take place until nearly dinner time.

Mundungus Fletcher had just left, rousing Mrs. Black's portrait from an uneasy catnap. Mr. Weasley and Remus were still grappling with her, her screams causing all the windows to vibrate.

"Half-breeds! Foul, wretched merrymakers! Besmirching my very self! Wretched season! Foul cheer! Filth! Traitors! Red-noses! You'll never join in any of my reindeer games!..."

Wincing, Tonks rounded the corner to flee down the hallway, her fingers stuffed firmly in her ears, eyes screwed tightly shut. This, of course, proved to be a mistake to cap all mistakes to date. As she passed the doorway leading into the dining room, she felt the sharp tingle of a spell slap her across the cheek. Her eyes popping open, Tonks whirled toward the doorway.

"What in bloody - ? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" Tonks' mouth gaped in a horrified 'O' as she felt her hair wiggle ominously. She could tell by the identical maniacal grins the twins were up to no good at all.

"Just a mistletoe charm, Tonks," chortled Fred, "Nothing to get your knickers in a twist over." George grinned and nodded gleefully.

"What sort of charm, Fred?" Tonks asked, willing her voice to remain calm.

"Simple animating charm," George answered, surprised. "Why? Won't do anything to you."

"Merlin's beard. Great Neptune's toe!" Tonks slumped back against the doorjamb, her eyes closed in resignation. "Don't you two idiots have any idea what a charm like that can do to a metamorphmagus?" She opened her eyes and peered at them. "Look, just undo it, okay? Before there's any trouble." The twins looked guiltily at one another and George dug the toe of his trainer into the faded carpet. Tonks glared at them suspiciously. "What? You can remove it, can't you? Surely you can counter an animating charm?"

"Of course we can," Fred bristled at her tone. "It's just not quite so simple, now is it?" He looked to his twin for help but George was staring pointedly the other direction. "Well, see, there is a special element woven into the charm." Tonks growled low in her throat causing Fred to hurry on, his voice tightening defensively. "It wasn't supposed to hit you! It was for the mistletoe." He pointed to the sprig hanging in the doorway. "It's just supposed to grab the person who passes under it and hold them until they've been properly kissed. The animating charm vanishes as soon as there's a kiss."

"Bloody hell," swore Tonks fervently. "You two idiots have me in a right mess, you know? NO! Stay back, both of you." The twins had stepped toward her but a warning wiggle from her scalp made her call out. "Look, you've charmed my hair, you great prats! My hair is animated until there's been a kiss! My HAIR is the mistletoe now!"

Realization swept over the two sets of freckles followed by evil grins. "Well, that is even better than we had hoped for, isn't it?" Fred remarked casually. "Not to worry, Tonks. George or I will be happy to help you out just as soon as we've a suitable audience. The others'll be in to dinner any minute now. We'll just wait over here until then, right?" Before Tonks could hiss out her disagreement, the unthinkable occurred.

With the commotion in the dining room, neither Tonks nor the twins had noticed when Mrs. Black ceased screaming in the entry. Now, with no warning but a low, cheerful whistle, Arthur Weasley strolled into the dining room smiling. He stopped in amazment however as Tonks squealed and backed away from him, falling over a potted plant in the process. Naturally, he leaned forward, hand outstretched to help her up. "Tonks, what in goodness' name are you -"

"NO! Arthur, get back!" Tonks scrambled ungracefully backwards on her bum, horror on her face. "Stay back, I mean it!"

"What the - REMUS!" Arthur yelled over his shoulder. "I think you'd best come!"

He advanced slowly on the distraught Tonks, murmuring some gentle sounding nonsense words. Tonks was still scooting away from him, babbling warnings about coming too close and what she intended to do to Fred and George when she got her hands on them. The room had become bedlam. The twins were propped helplessly in the far corner of the room, totally without the power of speech as their laughter overcame them. Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny appeared from the door leading to the kitchen, amazement on their faces. Molly Weasley surged in like the Cutty Sark in full sail.

"Fred! George! What have you done now?" shrieked Mrs. Weasley, sizing up the situation in a glance. "Take that charm off Tonks this instant!"

As Fred and George gasped out their explanations between shouts of laughter, Tonks was still backing frantically away from the persistent Mr. Weasley. She'd regained her feet and was backing toward the door so as to flee to the attic when she slammed into a solid block to her path of retreat. Whirling, she screamed, horrified, into the surprised face of Remus Lupin.

"Remus, run! Get back!" she shrieked, trying to sidestep the man and make for the hallway and freedom. Her hair, animated by the ridiculous charm, clearly had other ideas. With a strange swishing sound and a very odd wriggly sensation in Tonks' scalp, three tendrils of hair swung forward, hooking themselves around the neck and shoulders of the still speechless man in the doorway. Too late, Remus saw the danger and tried to run. The hair, having gained a hold, slid all the way around his shoulders and neck, drawing him in close to the dismayed Tonks. More tendrils of hair swished about until the two were wrapped tightly to one another, his right cheekbone pressed firmly against her left.

The room fell deathly silent for the span of roughly five heart beats. Then, the noise and chaos erupted greater than before. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley both turned on the twins who had now collapsed to the floor howling with laughter. The others were in a similar state, draped over the furniture choking and wiping at their eyes. It was Remus who finally restored some sense of order and calm. Lifting his wand, he aimed a jet of purple sparks at the ceiling which let off a report that jarred plaster dust from the moldings.

"Look," he began mildly, "I can see the humor in this. Really." Here, he smirked, his face somewhat misshapen, pressed against Tonks'. "But, would someone mind telling me what in the name of Merlin is going on?" After a moment's confused chatter from the others, Remus nodded, hand raised placatingly. "Okay, okay. I think I get it. The twins aimed a spell for the mistletoe and Tonks intercepted." Everyone nodded, grinning. "The spell won't release until there's been a proper kiss, right?" At this, there was more nodding and grinning. Tonks offered a distressed squeak. Drawing her farther into the room with him, Remus tried to shift so he could look around a bit, but the hair only drew tighter. "Right. Well, then there is just one answer, isn't there?"

Depsite the proximity, unease and embarrassment kept Tonks from noticing the otherwise disturbing glint in the mild brown eyes. Twisting slightly to face her properly, Remus took a deep breath and leaned in. Brushing his lips gently across hers once or twice to give her a chance to catch up to him, he moved in for a kiss of truly show-stopping proportions. The room fell silent and when he pulled away at last, the hair slipped down and off his shoulders as if overwhelmed by it all.

Tonks stared, mouth still gaping and, truth be told, tingling with the treatment it had just received. She wasn't sure how long she'd stood there before Remus broke eye contact, turning to the room with a grin. "So, dinner about ready then?"

Conversation resumed with chuckles and some residual scolding for the twins as Tonks bemusedly took her seat. She watched as often as she dared throughout the meal but she was never able to catch any look or gesture to back up what she was sure she'd seen as Remus crossed to sit beside the twins.

As he scooted his chair up to the table, she was quite certain she'd seen him wink at the boys and mouth silently, "Owe you one."