Burned

Oh Merlin, thought Nymphadora Tonks. He's at it again.

She had just walked into 12 Grimmauld Place to find Remus Lupin doing the same thing he had been doing for the last few months whenever the full moon was near. It had turned into some sort of ritual. He sat in the drawing room, on an old sofa that faced the fireplace, just staring at the fire and feeling sorry for himself. Tonks suspected he wished Sirius' head would appear in the fire to talk to him. Tonks wished that Sirius' head would appear for once, so he could yell at Lupin to stop doing this to himself.

But Sirius was not coming back, and so that duty became hers.

"Wotcher, Remus!" Tonks said cheerfully as she walked in the room, her pink curls bouncing.

"Hello, Nymphadora," Lupin answered, but without even lifting his head, much less turning to even look at her.

Irritated both by his reckless usage of her first name and by the fact he wouldn't look at her, she walked around the couch and stood directly in front of him. Her presence didn't seem to register at all on his features.

Tonks noticed this time, however, something was different. He wasn't staring into the fire. He was reading a book. She leaned down to look at the title.

Burned by the Moon: A Werewolf's Tragic Story.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake!" Tonks grabbed the book straight out of Lupin's hands and thrust in the fireplace.

"I was reading that," he replied tonelessly, finally looking at her.

"Why?" Tonks pleaded. "I'll have you know I've read that book, and it's horribly depressing rubbish. The werewolf's family hates him; his girlfriend leaves him; he becomes an alcoholic--and then he kills himself. Oh yeah, I think there's a part where he gets peed on, too. It's awful. Why were you reading it?"

"Well thanks, Tonks, for ruining the ending. I was only on chapter two."

"Remus! You are avoiding the subject!"

Lupin sighed and watched as the fire consumed the book. He had found it on a bookshelf upstairs. "I don't have to explain myself to you, Tonks."

She gaped at him. "No. I mean yes. Yes, you do. I want to know why you're always moping around here feeling sorry for yourself. I know you miss Sirius. We all do. But I can't stand watching you do this." She paused and took a deep breath. "You know, I've admired you for so long. Everyone I know, including me, takes so much for granted. We take it for granted that we can go to bed every night and never worry about transforming into a dark creature. We take it for granted that it doesn't make any bloody difference to us what kind of moon it is outside, or that our joints don't pop in and out of place on a monthly basis.

"But you, Remus, you don't take anything for granted." A smile unknowingly spread across Tonks' face. "I've seen how happy you get just because the sun is shining, or when you're with Harry, or when you're devouring Molly's spaghetti. You make the most out of every day--well, except for when you're sitting around moping like this--you're always there whenever someone needs you, and you hold on to every little joy that enters your life, even if it's as simple as a steaming mug of hot chocolate. It's all about the little things for you. On top of all that, you're the kindest, most thoughtful, and most patient person I know." She sighed. "Besides, do you really think Sirius would want you acting this way?"

"This has nothing to do with Sirius," Lupin replied shortly, still gazing at the fire.

Tonks' eyebrows shot up. "This is about the whole werewolf thing, then, isn't it." She wanted to grab him and shake some sense into him. "Have you been paying attention to anything I've just said? So what if you're a werewolf? The other 353 days of the year, you are the best human being I have ever met. And that is what matters. Do you hear me, Remus?" By now she was practically yelling at him.

Lupin kept staring into the fire. Finally, he said, "You sound like you put a lot of thought into all this."

"I have, actually," Tonks replied quietly, suddenly looking down and fidgeting with her hands. "I'd been wanting to tell you all that for a long time now."

Lupin slowly got up from the sofa. "You're wrong. I have taken one thing for granted."

She was still looking at her hands. "What would that be?"

"You." He lifted her chin and slowly kissed her. Tonks' eyes widened in surprise, but quickly closed as she deepened the kiss.

In the fireplace, the book turned to ashes.