Disclaimer: I am not Jo Rowling. I thank her profusely for allowing me to play with her work, but that is all this is.
And now that that's done, I invite you to enjoy!
*****
Remus sat in the hospital wing with Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood and Tonks, all grouped around a bed at the end of the ward. In it lay Bill Weasley, badly mauled by Fenrir Greyback. No one knew if he would recover.
Remus cursed silently and fluently, all those words he had learned from Sirius and James all those years ago, all those words he had never used that seemed to apply so aptly now. He felt guilty, as if he himself had somehow done this to Bill. His friend had been attacked by a werewolf “ the same one that had attacked Remus himself, though in human form this time. Remus felt a terrible kind of connection to all werewolves. It was not one he normally treasured, despite its usefulness to the Order. Right now he hated it more than ever.
Tonks sat silently, as had been so unusual for her in times past and as was so normal for her now. She felt sick every time she looked at Bill. As an Auror, she had been trained in basic Healing, but this was different. This was werewolf damage. This was one of her friends. This was another reason for Remus to remove himself from her.
***
Almost two years previously....
One fading afternoon, two long shadows waited on a dirty London street. One belonged to a tall black man; the other, to a woman with a pale, heart-shaped face, dark eyes, and short spiky hair in a bright shade of green. The woman seemed to be concentrating on something; her eyes were closed and her lips were moving silently. A moment later, a large house appeared directly in front of them. The man tapped on the door, it swung open, and they entered.
The inside of the house was dark and foreboding, and only succeeded in making the woman more nervous than she already was. In trying to stand out of the way and appear professional, she backed into a waste bin and both she and it fell over.
The hallway exploded as portraits lining both sides of the hallway and awoke and began screaming curses at the intruders. The tall man rolled his eyes at his companion and set off down the hallway, Stunning the paintings.
Two other men hurtled into the hallway, pulling out their wands. One joined in Stunning the portraits; the other yanked a set of curtains shut over the largest one. When the house was silent again, the one who had shut the curtains reached down to pull the woman off the floor.
Sirius Black grinned at his cousin. “Well, Nymmie, you’ve changed since I saw you last. Maybe not so much, though.” He indicated the waste bin she had tripped over.
Nymphadora Tonks laughed as she hugged him. “It’s so good to see you again!” She looked at the waste bin and did a double-take. “What is that?”
“What, you’ve never seen a troll’s-leg umbrella stand before?” He laughed at the look on her face. “Here, let me introduce you. This is Remus, my oldest friend. Remus, my cousin Nymmie.”
Tonks grimaced. “Please, not Nymmie. I haven’t been called that since I was nine. Not Nymphadora, either,” she added hastily as Sirius opened his mouth again.
Sirius smirked. “What do you go by now, girl?”
“Just Tonks.”
“Suits you. Tonks, my friend Remus. Remus, my cousin Tonks.”
Tonks looked at the man. He was older than she, with grey streaks in his brown hair and a look in his eyes that said he had suffered. But there was also intelligence and great kindness there; and, she thought, a sense of humor. Remus… This was the one Kingsley had said was a werewolf.
Remus saw those dark eyes sizing him up. She was younger than she looked on first glance. Twenty-three, did Sirius say? Doesn’t look dangerous, but she will be, she’s an Auror. Doesn’t look fazed to see me, either. That was the best part. He reached out and shook her hand. “Good to meet you, Tonks.”
Sirius led them down the hallway, talking nonstop. “I’d show you around the place if I liked it at all.” Tonks murmured something about “interesting.”
“It is interesting, I’ll give you that, but I’d rather have less interesting and more portraits that say something besides ‘disgusting’ and ‘blood-traitor.’”
They seated themselves at the long kitchen table, Sirius still talking nineteen to the dozen. “I see you finally learned to control your Metamorphosing.”
Tonks made a face at him. “Don’t remind me.”
As the two of them laughed and talked about old times and childhood jokes, Remus conversed quietly with Kingsley about Ministry doings and the latest from Dumbledore. He had some trouble focusing -- Tonks’s neon green hair kept catching his eye. It wasn’t that he disapproved of it, it was just...different. Once, when Remus looked over, he caught Tonks in the act of looking away and knew that she had been staring at him. Most people did when they learned that he was a werewolf, but Remus was used to it. He hoped that she wasn't one of those people who would avoid him like the plague a week away from the full moon.
He looked deliberately at her “ she wasn’t looking back this time “ and abruptly decided that a green-haired woman who chatted so calmly with a somewhat atypical (convicted-murderer) cousin and participated in an (illegal) organization opposing a Dark wizard (who wasn’t supposed to exist) would not be afraid of a mere werewolf.
Tonks listened as her cousin described his time avoiding Ministry capture. She was slightly ashamed that her cousin's friend had caught her staring. She hadn't meant to be rude, but she had never met a werewolf before “ but no, that wasn’t it. Tonks decided that had she known why she found him interesting, she wouldn't have been staring.
***
An hour later, Tonks watched as about two dozen people filed in. She recognized a few: McGonagall, Snape (easily the least welcome person in the room) and Dumbledore, of course. She had hoped that Sirius would tell her who everyone was and what role they played in the Order. Unfortunately, Snape made a snide comment two minutes into the meeting that put Sirius in a very unpleasant mood for the rest of the night. When Dumbledore asked him to introduce their newest member, Sirius said only, “This is my cousin, Nymphadora Tonks,” and sat down again. Tonks glanced around, lost, before Remus took pity on her, explaining quietly who each speaker was and his or her part in the Order.
Tonks listened to Remus’ commentary with interest. Despite his earlier conclusion, Remus found himself almost surprised that the young Auror didn’t seem nervous about sitting with a werewolf. Tonks in her turn was startled to find that she had nearly forgotten Remus’s lycanthropy. She had been apprehensive about meeting him, despite her Auror studies, but he seemed perfectly normal, not to mention thoughtful.
After the meeting, Tonks found herself munching Molly Weasley’s excellent apple crumble while various Order members introduced themselves. She liked Emmeline Vance, whose dignified stateliness did not prevent her from having an unexpectedly off-colour sense of humour. McGonagall, on the other hand, still had the ability to make her feel as though she’d done something wrong. Tonks heaved a very quiet sigh of relief when McGonagall moved on “ being told to call her former teacher by her first name was almost as unnerving as simply meeting her outside of school “ and was promptly caught by Mad-Eye Moody.
“So you’re the newest one, are you?” It was a friendly growl, but a growl nonetheless. Tonks stood somewhat in awe of the ex-Auror, as did most of her department, but managed to say, “Yes sir. I’m Tonks.” Oh, wildly intelligent. Well done, Tonks. She was finding it very difficult not to stare at the electric-blue eye swivelling in its socket.
“I’m Alastor Moody. You know that, most people do these days; makes it hard to slink around after Dark wizards when they all know who you are. Better to stay anonymous.”
Slightly bemused at the change in topic and still trying not to stare at Moody’s eye, Tonks blurted out, “Of course, Mad-Eye “ sir.”
She stopped, appalled. Oh, no.
One brown eye and one electric-blue looked down at her for a second “ Tonks quailed “ but Moody’s face was inscrutable. A sudden gruff laugh escaped him; Tonks thought she was going to melt in relief. “That’s the way, girl. Not many who call me that to my face. That’s the right spirit.”
He stumped off, chuckling. Tonks slumped against the wall, face burning, and hoped no one else had heard.
“That’s an interesting way to introduce yourself.” Remus stood next to her, his face a little too straight.
Tonks shook her head. “I completely lost my head.”
“I could tell.”
Caught off-guard, Tonks glared at him. Remus’ face was definitely twitching now. Tonks grimaced. “Oh, fine. Laugh.”
“I’d hate to insult you.” His eyes were laughing, though. “Alastor has that effect on most people. He knew about you already, but he did want to meet you.”
“He already knew about me?”
“Of course. You’re an Auror, and an impressive one at that, from what I’ve heard.”
Tonks rolled her eyes. “I was lucky to qualify. This was the only reason I got through.” She wrapped her finger in a bright pink lock of hair.
“It’s a nice colour,” Remus said, “but I think you needed more than that to pass.” There was an almost-embarrassed pause.
Remus extended his hand. “I didn’t really meet you earlier. I’m Remus Lupin, as you already know, I’ve known Sirius since Hogwarts, and I assume you know about me.” The tone of his voice changed significantly on the last phrase. It was as if he had suddenly pulled his lycanthropy out from behind his back and shoved it into a spotlight.
Tonks was caught off-guard. “Er “ well, yes, Kingsley told me. But you’re normal ninety percent of the time, and, er, you seem nice enough to make up for the other ten percent.”
There was another uncomfortable pause. “I’m sorry,” said Remus at last. “I shouldn’t have made you do that. Most people just tend to “”
“I know,” Tonks said hastily. “I can guess, anyway.”
A third pause followed in which both parties wished they could alter the last five minutes. Finally Remus asked, “So how did you learn to really use your Metamorphosing?”
Tonks leaped gladly on the new topic and was soon gesturing enthusiastically at her rapidly flickering hair as she demonstrated. Remus was heard to ask more questions in an hour than he usually did in a month. By the time the crumble, and most of the guests, were gone, the two were competing: Remus would come up with a new and highly implausible guise for Tonks to try, and she would do it. Their corner exploded with muffled laughter every time she succeeded.
They were broken rudely up by Mad-Eye Moody, who tapped Tonks’s shoulder on his way to the door. “Not bad, girl, but the hair sticks out a little more than that. Comes with having it constantly standing on end, see.”
He stumped off. A chagrined Tonks clapped her hands over her face, which was rapidly turning beet red. Remus tried manfully to swallow his laughter. He might have, but Arthur Weasley looked over then and spotted Moody’s face, beet-red, atop a slender, feminine body. “Merlin’s beard, what--!”
Remus collapsed into the nearest chair, howling with laughter.
*****
A/N: This story, begun in August of 2005, is undergoing its (hopefully) final rewrite in preparation for the long-awaited ending. If you have been reading from the beginning, I cannot thank you enough for your patience and reviews! If you are a more recent reader, I am thrilled that you have chosen this story. Know that it is, after long months of extended waiting, it is finally nearing completion.
Immense thanks for this first chapter goes to my editor-friend Alison (Scribbly, in the MNFF world).
Transformations by Starmaiden
Story Notes:
This story has been racked with growing pains for a long time now. Old chapters have been reworked multiple times; they are now in what is hopefully their finished state. However, the rest of the story has stalled, and am forced to admit that the finish is not in the foreseeable future. I apologize to those who have been waiting!
Chapter Notes: This story, begun in August 2005, is undergoing its (hopefully) final rewrite in preparation for the long-awaited ending. Keep checking for updates! Chapter One is officially finished!