No Ordinary Love

Sirius wouldn't want her to mourn, Tonks decided firmly as she reached her bedroom above the garage of her parents' house and kicked off her trainers.

On the way from Grimmauld Place, she had stopped at a muggle liquor store and bought a pack of twenty-four 12 ounce bottles of Oatmeal Stout. As soon as she peeled her tight black jeans from her frame, Tonks popped open a bottle and drowned a little less than half of the alcoholic drink in one go.

After putting the rest of the bottles away in her mini bar, Tonks cast a silencing charm about the room, turned her stereo on, then up, and raised her drink into the air.

"To Sirius, the bravest and most loyal wizard I've ever met!" Tonks exclaimed, staring up at her roof. "I will miss you, Cousin, and I hope to see you again some day," she said, this time quietly.

She looked down at her drink, and promptly burst into tears.

Plopping down on her bed with nothing on but her Batman knickers and gauzy white shirt, Tonks drank the last of her drink, curled up into a ball, and fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Tonks decided to do anything and everything to get her mind off of Sirius. She took a shower and got dressed while listening to a new wizard rock group called Stroke of Midnight, and afterward, Tonks focused on finding her leather jacket in the messy bedroom she currently occupied.

"I need to find a new place, damn it," Tonks muttered under her breath, wildly throwing articles of clothing over her shoulders.

Giving up with a frustrated grunt after nearly fifteen minutes, Tonks slipped into her boots and made her way out the door while cramming her Auror necessities into her magically enlarged pant pockets. But before she could even make it half way down the stairs, she bumped straight into Remus Lupin.

"Oh! Sorry!" There was a pause, and then Tonks realized who she was standing in front of and exactly where at. "What are you doing at my house?"

Remus smiled pleasantly, and Tonks found herself grinning back. "Good morning to you, too, Tonks."

Tonks shrugged sheepishly. "Well, what did you expect...?" she murmured.

Remus shook his head and thrust out his arm. "You forgot this at Headquarters," he stated.

Tonks beamed and bounced up onto the balls of her feet, teetering on the stair steps. "My jacket! And my lighter! I was looking for those!" She took the heavy jacket and put it on over her thin, striped top immediately, feeling much more comfortable now that it was on.

Stuffing the lighter in her jacket pocket and starting to transfer all of her jean pocket items into it as well, Tonks said, "You know, I would've found it eventually."

Remus smirked. "Yeah, right, eventually meaning a year from now?" he teased.

Tonks nudged Remus and laughed. They started to descend the rest of the stairs.

"So, did you find a place to stay yet?" Tonks asked, feeling curious.

"No, I was going to start looking for a flat somewhere in Diagon Alley today, and maybe I'll try Hogsmeade tomorrow morning."

"Merlin, I wish I could just get up and leave sometimes."

"Why can't you?"

Tonks paused at the foot of the stairs, and turned to look at Remus. He stood on the last step, towering above her. Tonks pondered his question while she studied the stubble on his chin and his thin and soft-looking lips.

Why can't I leave? Tonks thought. Well, for one thing, the ministry is within walking distance. She voiced this, only for Remus to respond with, "You know, you could always Apparate or Floo." Then, she thought, I'll be close to my family in case of an emergency or something. She told Remus this, too, and he laughed.

"A little too close, don't you think?"

Tonks nodded, rolling her eyes. "Touché," she muttered. "It's not that I don't like them--"

"You don't have to explain," Remus said. Tonks furrowed her eyebrows, and caught a spark of light in the werewolf's eyes. "I remember when James and Sirius were holed up in the Potters' house. It was a nightmare. Mr. Potter would always wait up for them if they went out to a party; it caused many arguments. They usually didn't return until three in the morning."

"Ha! I came home at about midnight last night, and I'm beyond surprised I didn't get the Inquisition on my arse." They laughed, and Tonks grabbed Remus's arm, pulling him down the last step and towards the driveway. "My father usually waits up. He sits in a chair by the window that looks out to my staircase." She pointed to it. " He probably fell asleep with his cheek smudged against the glass. He looks pretty ridiculous in the morning."

There was a crunch of gravel behind Remus, and he and Tonks swung around, wands at the ready. A man dressed in black slacks and a white button-down shirt stood before them, looking cool and composed. Tonks caught Remus's quizzical look as she lowered his wand hand.

"That's my dad," she said, nodding towards the unexpected visitor.

"Nymphadora," her father said, his tone reprimanding. He only called Tonks that when he was upset with her. "Care to explain what you're doing, bringing this man down from your flat?"

Tonks ignored her father's question. She was a grown woman! Even if she was doing things with Remus, it wasn't any of his business; it wasn't like Ted Tonks could stop her.

"Daddy," Tonks said, sweet as could be. "I'd like you to meet Remus Lupin." Tonks still had her hand on Remus's arm, and pulled him forward to shake her dad's hand. "He's a friend of mine, from the Order. Remus, this is my embarrassing father, Ted Tonks."

"Embarrassing?!" Ted exclaimed, dropping Remus's hand abruptly. "I'm just bloody looking after you!"

"Well, I can take care of myself," Tonks huffed, crossing her arms in front of her and glaring at her father.

"You still haven't answered my question, Dora" Ted Tonks said after a few seconds of a staring competition.

Remus cleared his throat, and Tonks looked up at him, wondering why she liked how awkward he looked. It's sweet, Tonks thought as Remus explained to her father that he was just bringing back her jacket from Headquarters. It's like he's trying to get my dad's approval.

Ted listened to Remus's account and nodded. "That's good and fine," he said. Ted turned back to Tonks. "Don't let me see you bring a man down from your flat ever again, do you hear me, Nymphadora? You've done it twice already--"

"I can make my own decisions--!"

"And I will not allow it under my roof!

Tonks tried to respond again, only for her father to Apparate on the spot. Tonks let out a frustrated growl and turned on her heel, angrily stomping away, her hair switching from a mass of brown curls to spikes of fiery red.

"The nerve of him, saying all of that stuff in front of you!"

"He was probably, you know, trying to scare me off," Remus said quietly.

His tone of voice stopped Tonks mid-rant. She turned towards him. "How come you aren't... incensed?"

"Because, I've been in this situation plenty of times, whether it be because my then girlfriend's father didn't like the thought of his then little girl dating me, a werewolf, or because he didn't like his then little girl dating anyone at all." Remus shrugged. "It's nothing new."

Tonks could see it in her mind. A young Remus Lupin, standing straight and taking in all the harsh words and negativity, listening outside the door as his then girlfriend's house. Did he stand up for himself? Or did he walk away? Tonks didn't know Remus well enough to know the answer, but she knew he had always been a fighter.

And that was enough.

"You know," Tonks said, her heart beating wildly, "I really like you."

~

Tonks stared uncertainly at her reflection in the ladies lavatory of the Ministry of Magic. So this is what the real Nymphadora looks like. Mousy brown hair, dark brown eyes, boring. She looked like her father, but in girl form- except for the nose, of course. The nose was from the Blacks, snooty and upturned.

She wondered if Remus saw Nymphadora Tonks, as she was, and liked it, or if he saw Nymphadora Tonks as just some girl whom could be any girl he wanted.

Tonks sighed. It didn't matter. Remus had already seen her once before in her normal and plain state.

The reason why she was so insecure at the moment was because she and Remus were going to have a lunch date, and for every first date Tonks ever went on, she transformed back to Boring Nymphadora Tonks, to make sure the person knew what they were getting into.

Tonks looked down at her watch and gasped. Fuck!

"I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" she puffed as she ran out of the loo and towards the Atrium. When she got there no less than 3 minutes later, Tonks was devastated; the lines were so long at lunch time. She got behind the shortest queue and was out of the Ministry after five lengthy minutes of waiting.

Tonks spun out of the fireplace and into The Leaky Cauldron and dusted herself off. She looked around the crowded room and saw Remus Lupin in a corner booth, absentmindedly staring out of a nearby window as he swirled his butterbeer. Tonks made her way towards him, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

"Hello," Tonks said, smiling down at Remus.

He looked up, a little startled. "Hello," Remus said. He stood up abruptly and cleared his throat. "I didn't think you were going to make it."

Tonks heard a slight lack of confidence in his voice, and blushed when he waited for her to sit down before taking his seat again. So chivalry isn't dead, Tonks thought, pressing her lips together to keep from grinning wildly as she settled in.

"How's the Auror Department going?" Remus asked conversationally.

"We're terribly busy at the time, but that much can be expected," Tonks replied after a pimply teenager took their orders. "The guides on elementary home and personal defense were owled today, Kingsley was finally reassigned for the Muggle Prime Minister's security, and now the Auror Department is trying to adjust to Rufus Scrimgeour and his attempt to replace Fudge."

"If he becomes Minister, he'll still be the Head of the Auror office?"

Tonks nodded her head. Just then, a cherry syrup and soda fell onto their table, along with a new butterbeer for Remus.

"Yum," Tonks said, taking a sip from a crazy straw. She took off her fingerless gloves and dipped two fingers into the iced drink. Remus looked at her quizzically.

"What?" Tonks asked after catching his stare. "There are two cherries at the bottom; it's my favorite part about the drink. Have you ever had one of these? They're brilliant."

Remus smiled. "I can't say that I have."

"Here," Tonks said after scooping out a yellow cherry. She slid her drink to him as she popped the cherry into her mouth. "Have a taste."

Remus did. His eyes lit up, and Tonks found herself incapable of looking away. "This is great," he said. "One question, though: why are the cherries yellow?"

It took Tonks a few seconds to realize Remus had asked her something; she was far too busy staring at his broad shoulders

"Oh," she gasped, shaking her head. "I'm sorry. What did you say?"

Remus repeated the question, looking bemused.

"Oh," she said again. "They change the color every season. In the summer," she explained, "the colors of the cherries are charmed to be yellow, in autumn they're red, in the winter they are charmed blue, and in spring, they're charmed green." Tonks shrugged. "I guess they wanted to appeal more to children."

"And they appealed to you, of course," Remus said.

They both burst into laughter as their food flew over to their table. As soon as the plates landed, they dug in hungrily; Tonks was positively exhausted from the Auror paces she was put through that morning.

"What's tha' you're havin'?" Tonks asked Remus through a mouthful of pork chop and mashed potatoes. "Fish 'n chips--oh, sorry!"

Tonks blushed, embarrassed when some food flew out of her mouth.

What're you thinking, Tonks! This is a date! Slow down! The food isn't going anywhere.

But it's Remus. He'll understand.

"It's all right, Tonks," Remus said, laughing. Tonks was reassured, but became more subdued almost immediately.

"So," Tonks said after swallowing a smaller bite of food. "How was the house hunting?"

"It was mad," Remus said straight away, biting into another strip of fried fish. He scooped some mushy peas into his mouth before continuing. "Flats in Diagon Alley are pricey. After lunch, I'm going to head over to Muggle London and have a look in the paper, see what I can find."

"Didn't you say you wanted to check out Hogsmeade?"

"There's no way Hogsmeade is less expensive than Diagon Alley."

"True," Tonks said, her brain working overtime.

What if I casually mention that I'm looking for a flat, too? Maybe he'll suggest moving in together.

Yeah, right, another part of Tonks thought. There's no way Remus will be up for that; he's too old-fashioned.

"I've kind of decided to find a new place soon, too," Tonks said casually, hiding some pieces of broccoli under her mashed potatoes. "You know, with family being all close..." She trailed off.

"That'll be good for you," Remus replied to her revelation.

They finished their meal with small talk, and then the most dreaded part came up. Tonks bit her lip as the check flew over to their table. She snatched it out of the air before Remus could blink.

"Hey!" he protested.

"Now, now, Remus, I asked you to lunch," Tonks said.

"Yes, but I should pay," Remus said.

Tonks smiled in triumph. "Ha!" she declared. "You're sexist!"

Remus stared at her, flabbergasted. "No, I'm not! I have utmost respect for women trying to advance in fields men usually dominate."

"So, you think men dominate?"

"I didn't say that!"

"Then, let me pay."

Remus sat back in his chair, defeated but wearing the most amused smile. Tonks beamed.

"Well," Remus said on their way out of The Leaky Cauldron. "At least let me pay for dessert?"

"Deal," Tonks said.