It was a day like any day, really, but Remus felt entirely too self-conscious in a way that had little to do with the moon (waxing gibbous, an excellent time of the month for him). He spent at least ten minutes planning out his day, five more minutes than usual trying to fix his hair (an absolute mess), and did a quick swipe to clean out the room he was currently using (then proceeded to spend maybe two entire minutes scrutinising it to make sure it was agreeable). He was a methodical man, he had never pretended he wasn’t. He disliked changes (most of the time), enjoyed order (though not so much that it would bring boredom), and, despite being a decent enough occlumens, hated the idea that anyone might see through him.
That was why, as he locked his bedroom this morning, he nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Hermione Granger’s voice right next to him.
“Good morning, Professor!”
Remus's heart seemed to stop briefly, but he managed to maintain a cool exterior and feel relief when he noted it was only Hermione and Ginny in the corridor.
“Good morning, Hermione, Ginny,” he said. “You may drop the Professor, you know.”
He had reminded them — all of his former students, really — but the title seemed to have stuck for some reason. He didn’t dislike it really; it was simply untrue nowadays, no matter how he wished it wasn’t.
“Right,” said Hermione with a laugh. “We were wondering if you’d be around today. I wanted to go over a few topics on DADA before we leave tomorrow.”
“I should be back before dinner. We can meet in the library if you’d like,” he offered.
“Thanks, Remus,” Ginny said with a smile.
They proceeded to walk past him down the stairs, and he let out a breath. It was fine. Nobody noticed—
“Hey, Remus,” Ginny said again, walking a few steps back up slightly as Hermione watched. “D’you know if Tonks will stop by today? I wanted to see her before we went back to school.”
He startled at the question. Why would he even know that? “Uh, I’m sure she’ll come by to say goodbye to you.”
“Cool. See you later!” Ginny said, and she and Hermione were off for good.
Now he sighed. It was all good. He was reading too much into things; unless someone probed his mind, no one would know a thing. He certainly wouldn’t say a thing, either.
With a deep breath, he went downstairs. It was the first day of the year, and despite having the entire day planned out, he felt he ought to plan some of the year too in some way, however hard it was to plan for life amidst war. By the time he reached the kitchen, he was mentally going through February (full moon on the 4th, giving him plenty of time to recover for the second week of the month, when he might have some commitments) and wasn’t surprised when he saw Molly there.
“Good morning, Remus, dear,” she said, clearly in a very good mood. “Breakfast should be ready in a jiffy.”
“Good morning, Molly. Smells fantastic, but I’m afraid I’ll have to pass,” Remus said quickly, looking at the parchments kept in the cupboard. Enchanted, of course, or he was sure Fred and George would have got them already. “I have a meeting to get to.”
That, and he had got to headquarters late enough to have an early morning snack merely four hours ago. His schedule was surely off, but he didn’t mind it now.
“Dumbledore should truly give you some time off,” Molly commented. “Always sending you in his place. It’s the first day of the year, and you cannot even get a lie in. I know you got here quite late last night.”
Be cool.
“Oh, I did try to be quiet,” Remus said lamely.
“You did. I never heard you. We must have stayed up until about one. The children set off some fireworks. It was quite nice, though you shouldn’t share that with Fred and George,” Molly noted. “I don’t want to encourage them, you see.”
“My lips are sealed.”
“You are so good with them. I know the children want some help with their lessons, and I’m glad you’ve taken the time to indulge them,” Molly said softly. “You and Tonks are truly heaven-sent. I thought I’d see her this morning too.”
She gave him a questioning look, to which he answered with what he hoped was a clueless expression. Hard to tell. Mothers seemed to have an inherent nature for this sort of thing, even if Molly was close enough to his age. He ignored the blush he felt creep up his neck and pretended to check the parchment once more.
“So, uh, did you have a nice evening last night?” He asked instead, hoping to evade further questioning. “I was sorry I missed New Year’s Eve with everyone.”
“Oh, it was lovely. Or as well as it could be, with Arthur still at the hospital,” she sighed.
“I’m sure he will be released soon,” Remus placated. “I’ll be off, then. Until later, Molly.”
“Have a nice day, Remus!”
He left without another word and heard Kreacher mumbling somewhere upstairs. Soon, the house would be bursting with energy — the lads would be up, a few members of the Order would show, and Remus would be mercifully away from it all. He just had to avoid—
“Hey, Moony!” Sirius’ voice found him just as he reached the front door, and he felt an ice cold feeling drench him from head to toe. If there was anyone who could realize just what had changed, it would be his best friend, and Remus wasn’t sure if that was something he wanted to face so early today.
“Good morning, Sirius,” Remus said in what he hoped was a completely cool voice. “You’re up early.”
“Last day of the holidays for Harry,” Sirius replied. “Don’t tell Molly, but Hestia’s said Arthur might be released today. Planning a party of sorts.”
“More than enough reason to celebrate,” he said appeasingly. Merlin knew Sirius needed the company the past few weeks, what with the house being mostly empty after the children had gone back to school and himself leaving often on missions. “Listen, I need you to stop by Ogden’s and get my order for the party. Heard you’re going to Scotland today.”
“Didn’t I just get your usual order two weeks ago?” Remus frowned.
“Yeah, there’s been parties, Moony,” he rolled his eyes. “Come on, this one’s for the grownups tonight. Dung’ll be here. Mad-Eye too.”
“Alastor doesn’t drink Ogden’s.”
“Well, he doesn’t drink anything that’s not from his flask. Can’t say I blame him after last year.” Sirius arched his eyebrows, then he appeared to look at Remus for the first time today. “You look different. Did you try a Weasley potion today?”
Remus did his best not to change his facial expression; he knew better than to fall for this trick. “No. I’ll stop by Ogden’s and get your firewhiskey. I’ll be in the same village anyway.”
“Atta boy,” Sirius said, patting his shoulder. “Who’re you meeting, anyway?”
“My contact with the pack,” Remus said quietly. “Then I have a few visits to make.”
“Don’t let me keep you from your missions,” Sirius said, and Remus didn’t imagine the bitter tone in his voice. He couldn’t blame him, not really; this house was just another prison. “Don’t forget about dinner tonight, Moony.”
“I’ll see you later, Padfoot.”
Remus turned and opened the door. He only realised he was holding his breath when he crossed the street outside, certain that no one would recognize him and stop for conversation. The worst was done anyway; Sirius was always his weakest point in this sort of situation. He took a deep, cleansing breath and went on his way. All would be fine.
It was mid-afternoon when Remus returned, and by then, the house was bursting with activity. He managed to help Ginny and Hermione with their research (and even got into a discussion about house-elves and werewolves rights) and turned down Harry and Ron’s offer of a chess match, all without a hitch. Having devoted himself to his work certainly made things a little normal again, and Remus felt confident that he was no longer being watched as profusely as he thought he was.
He decided to get himself a cup of tea and saw Fred and George in the kitchen, talking to Sirius. Greeting them with nods, Remus decided to go on with his task; there were a few maps he should be looking at before taking the children back to Hogwarts tomorrow, and he briefly wondered who would be his partner for the mission. Alastor had initially volunteered to do it, but since Kingsley and Tonks’ latest surveillance and Severus’ latest report, Remus wasn’t sure Moody wouldn’t be tracking former Death Eaters down himself.
There was much to do, and the fact that Remus was running on little sleep did not help matters much. It was lucky that in the days preceding the full moon, he felt more disposed than ever.
“…right, Remus?”
Remus had been in the process of stealing a few biscuits to take with him to the library when he realized he had no idea what the conversation around him was about.
“Sorry, Sirius, my mind was elsewhere. You were saying?”
"The lads here have concocted some potion for women,” Sirius said, “and think we bachelors might want them.”
“Not for women,” said Fred. “For everyone.”
"We based this one on Tonks anyway,” continued George. “For someone who can change her appearance at will, it is funny that she gets a glow around a certain someone.”
Sirius let out a loud laugh, and Remus tried hard not to roll his eyes.
"Has she tested it yet?” Sirius wanted to know, clearly very amused.
"We offered. She threatened to hex us, said she doesn’t do that glow on purpose,” George said. “So we asked that she help us name it.”
“It was only fair,” Fred said. “But then she threatened to hex us if we named it after her.”
Sirius laughed out loud again, even smacking the table. Remus wondered if he had drunk any of the firewhisky he had brought home just two hours ago.
"What does it do anyway?” Sirius asked.
"Quite simple. Just a glow that serves to make your features fresher,” Fred explained.
“Fresher?” Remus asked, slightly skeptical.
"More inviting,” George said.
“Like a makeup item, you mean?” Remus asked. “I doubt Tonks would need that.”
"You would say that, of course, Mr. Moony,” Fred laughed. So did Sirius. Remus squirmed slightly from where he was standing. “Moon…”
George clicked his fingers. “Moonbeam!”
"Twilight Moonbeam,” concluded Fred. “Thank you, Mr. Moony.”
Remus merely nodded, unsure if he wanted to know any context of how he helped.
"Anyhow,” George went on, “any of you want to test our finest twilight moonbeam serum?”
"I’ll pass,” said Remus.
"I’ll test it. Not like anyone will see it, but Merlin knows this skin needs some glow after this prison,” Sirius joked.
“Wicked. You won’t regret it,” George said, handing Sirius a bottle.
“We’re working on a little something called midnight moon madness too,” Fred remembered, looking at Remus. “It would be great if you tried it when it’s ready.”
“With that name, I’m sure I won’t want to,” Remus assured him.
“Oh, but you will,” George said, standing up.
“Where’s your sense of humor?” Fred mimicked his brother.
That was enough to send Sirius into a fit once more, and Remus had to admit it amused him; the twins were far too talented for him not to feel at least a little curious about it. They left not a minute afterward, promising to send him whatever product they were working on once it was ready, just in time for Remus’s tea to be ready.
“Tea?” Remus offered.
“Nah,” Sirius shook his head, looking amused. “You’re looking distracted today.”
That was because he was distracted. No point denying it to himself. The problem, of course, was Sirius knowing. And with Sirius, it was always best to act clueless instead of trying to explain anything.
“Hmm?”
“Not like you to be distracted, that’s all,” Sirius said, narrowing his eyes. “Moon isn’t for a few days, is it?”
Remus nodded. “On the fifth.”
“Not like you at all,” Sirius continued. “You didn’t even try to defend Tonks’ honor against this silly potion.”
“She doesn’t need me to defend her honor, Sirius,” he retorted.
“That’s new,” Sirius snickered as his eyes flickered to meet his. If Sirius was searching for clues, it was not good. “Hey, didn’t you go to—”
Remus was saved from Sirius concluding his thoughts when the kitchen door opened and in strolled Severus.
Saved by their school nemesis. Who would have thought? Not Remus.
“Lupin,” he greeted. “Black.”
“Severus,” Remus said back. Sirius remained silent. “I wasn’t aware we should be expecting you.”
“You shouldn’t,” Severus said, not sitting down. “Special mission from Dumbledore. Molly has gone to fetch Potter.”
“If it’s got anything to do with Harry, I have a right to know,” Sirius said promptly.
“Suit yourself,” Severus sneered. “Perhaps you’d like to use that potion now, make sure you’re presentable for the meeting.”
“I think I can get Fred and George to do a special one to take all that grease off your hair,” Sirius barked. “Since you can’t be bothered to do it, however amazing you are at potions. Is it a medical condition you have?”
“You’ve always been very vain, Black,” Snape rolled his eyes. “For someone who’s inside this hole you call a house a hundred percent of the time, you care a lot about looks.”
“You say that as if you wouldn’t love it to have a family home as gloomy and dark as this one,” Sirius retorted.
“Alright. Harry will be down in a minute,” Remus interrupted, pointedly looking at Sirius. “Do try to be civil while he’s here.”
There was silence, and Remus sighed. If the mission was from Dumbledore, then it was the right thing to do, no matter what Sirius had against Snape. He had no business being there and was in no mood to play referee between them.
“I’ll leave you, then,” Remus said. “Severus.”
“Lupin.”
Another bullet — or perhaps two — dodged.
Luckily for him, things were easier afterward. Arthur arrived from the hospital, which was joyful in itself, and Sirius seemed too preoccupied with whatever went on between Harry and Snape to do more than glance at him during dinner. Alastor and Dung arrived as well, and it was a merry affair all in all. Remus suspected it was undoubtedly a better party than the New Year had greeted them, but he was still somewhat behind on his work, so he left the kitchen as soon as the dishes had been cleared, retreating into the library to ponder over the Azkaban map Kingsley had brought barely a week ago.
It was better to work than to be distracted , as Sirius had put it.
And distracted by work he was, for he didn’t hear a thing before smelling lavender and a distinctive scent very close to his nostrils…
“Wotcher,” Nymphadora’s voice said, very close to his ear.
It was enough to make Remus jump — a right feat, considering how jumpy he had been the entire day and how he managed to avoid jumping whenever someone surprised him.
“Hello,” he said somewhat shakily, turning his torso towards her as she rounded him by the table and leaned against it.
“Whatcha doing?” She asked, glancing at the parchments at the desk. He noticed she was almost sitting on top of one of them.
“Wondering how anyone could stage an Azkaban breakout without the Ministry knowing,” Remus said.
“You mean, if it happens,” she reminded him. Her hair was pink today, a paler shade than yesterday’s. Despite her pale complexion, he thought it complimented her rather well. She was wearing her usual combat boots, patched-up jeans, a t-shirt with the name of a band that he did not recognize, and a gray oversized cardigan. It suited her.
“Severus hasn’t been wrong before,” he pointed out. “How was work?”
“It’s hard to be okay during meetings and going over meaningless cases when we have this sort of intel now, and the Ministry does nothing about it,” Tonks sighed. “I’ve got the day off tomorrow, though. How’re you?”
“Uh, I’m fine,” he stuttered. “How are you?”
“I’m fine. Great, even,” Nymphadora added. Her eyes appeared to be shining with mischief.
He couldn’t help but smile fondly at her.
“Yes?”
“Yeah.”
He held her gaze for a moment, and he looked briefly at the door — closed — before looking at her again. It all happened very fast, really — and it seemed that was just their style, because they hardly had to communicate with words during missions and whatnot, of course it wouldn’t be very different in other aspects of their lives… because then his hands touched her waist and she lowered herself onto his lap and his lips met hers in an almost desperate kiss. He tasted peppermint on her tongue, and she ran her hands through his hair much like the way she did last night. The kiss subsided after a few seconds, and they seemed to be of one mind; past the desperation, there was cherishing the softness of lips together, the feeling of being close once more. She adjusted herself further onto his lap, and he put a hand on her thigh to support her. They parted for breath, but he couldn’t resist pressing his lips against hers once, twice more, chastely. She was smiling down at him.
“Now that’s a proper hello,” Dora said, her chest heaving slightly.
“I’ve been thinking about doing that since this morning,” Remus admitted.
She frowned slightly, the smile never leaving her face. “We did that this morning. More than that, even.”
“I mean after you left,” he clarified.
“Oh, right. Yeah, me too,” she joked. “I’m glad you feel that way.”
“How about you?”
“Well, I did wonder if you’d feel that I might regret it if I didn’t show up today,” she said. “Hence why I made the sacrifice of showing up tonight. And telling you I have tomorrow off so you could do something about it.”
“I’m taking the students back to Hogwarts tomorrow,” he had to stop himself from groaning. “I’m yours after that.”
“All mine?” her eyes shone slightly.
“All yours,” Remus said quietly. “And tonight too, if you’ll have me.”
“Oh, I’ll have you.”
“Though we should probably get some sleep,” he added.
Dora pretended to think about it. “We can do that too.”
He made an involuntary noise from the back of his throat, and Dora apparently thought it was very good because she kissed him slowly again. It was easy to get lost in her kiss; in the back of his mind, he remembered that the house was filled with Weasleys and Order members, and he had wanted to write a report to Dumbledore about his meetings today. It all was forgotten, he knew. The report wasn’t urgent. He could do it tomorrow.
“I’ve been called distracted today,” he mentioned when they pulled away, his nose touching hers softly.
Dora snickered, resting her elbows on his shoulders so she could play with his hair some more. “Yeah, that’s not like you.”
He laughed, too. The entire situation was surreal.
“I feel a bit delirious, actually,” Remus admitted.
Dora put her palm against his forehead. “No fever. I’ve been like that all day, too. Whatever you’ve got, I’ve got it too. Should we call for a healer?”
“I’m not sure if you’re quite there yet.”
“Oh, I am,” she nodded seriously. “You have no idea how hard it is to keep a straight face to everyone else when everything’s changing on the inside.”
“I think I might have an idea,” he said, not resisting sliding his palm up under her cardigan and her t-shirt, caressing her lower back softly. Her sigh was not lost on him. “Sirius asked me if I tried a Weasley potion this morning. Wait, is this one of my cardigans?”
“Maybe,” Dora retorted. “Hey, aren’t Fred and George working on some love potions?”
“Exactly.”
She bit her lip to stop herself from grinning, and he leaned his head back against the chair.
“Do go on," he urged her.
“No, I’m fine.”
“I know you’re dying to.”
“I’m good, honestly.”
“Nymphadora.”
“We were having a nice moment, and then you go and say that,” she rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “Alright, then. So I have the same effect on you as a love potion.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do.”
“No, I dare say your effect on me is much more everlasting,” Remus said, her gaze growing softer. “More collateral damage, though. Long exposure and such.”
“How’s that?”
“Still studying it,” he explained. “I’ll let you know when the first results come back.”
“It’s a good thing you’re a scholar,” Dora noted, her hand playing with the top button of his shirt.
“You’re a good subject,” he added.
“Maybe we should take this upstairs for further study?” She undid the button and slipped her hand on his neck. Not much of his skin could be seen, but it seemed to be enough for her to move things along.
He didn’t mind it in the slightest.
Before he could answer her, however, a knock interrupted their thoughts. In an even quicker way than before, they moved apart. Dora, back in her previous position, leaning against the desk. Remus ran a hand through his hair to tame it.
The door opened before either of them could answer.
“Tonks. Lupin,” Moody’s gruff echoed in the library. “I’m doing some surveillance work tomorrow. Tonks, take the kids back to school with Lupin.”
“Alright,” Dora replied, cool as ever.
“We’ll take the Knight Bus,” Remus said after clearing his throat. “Should be fine.”
“Hm,” Moody said, his electric blue eye gazing at them back and forth. “Be vigilant. Things aren’t looking good this week.”
“We’ll be alright, Mad-Eye,” Dora said. “Have a little faith.”
“I’m just saying, no distractions,” he said, and this time, he looked right at Remus.
“Yes, si—Alastor,” he corrected.
There was a moment of silence before Moody nodded at both of them and left. Remus rubbed his eyes tiredly, then looked up to see Dora looking at him, biting her lower lip.
“He knows,” Remus said lamely.
“Yeah, he definitely saw us snogging with that eye of his. We should be thankful he knocked. I'm surprised he had the sense to do that,” she arched her eyebrows. “So?”
“It seems a bit… early for someone to know, that’s all,” he tried to explain. “I mean, we’re still figuring this out, right?”
Dora pondered his words, moving her boot-clad foot from one side to another.
“Maybe you are,” she said at last, glancing back at him and winking. “I’ve got it all figured out.”
“You do?”
“Yeah,” she stated as if it was obvious. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell you anything so you won’t freak out. There’s still time for you to catch up.”
“I can keep up with you, I’m sure,” he said as he nudged his foot against her boot.
“That’s the spirit,” she nudged his foot back. “I’m gonna go upstairs, if you don’t mind. Freshen up a bit.”
Remus vaguely remembered the Twilight Moonbeam serum.
“I’ll just get these in order, then I’ll go up too,” he said casually, though his heart was beating rapidly against his chest.
Was this how it was going to be between them? He didn’t pretend to know a lot about women, but it did seem like they had got everything covered this morning and just now. Perhaps things could be simple after all. That was precisely what they talked about last night, before everything.
“Take your time. I’ll wait up anyway,” she winked at him again, stood up straight and gave his cheek a soft kiss.
Dora crossed the library quietly, and he knew she knew he was staring at her just by the way her hips moved. She looked back at him just before reaching the door, and her foot caught at the end of the carpet, making her stumble slightly just as the door opened to reveal Sirius.
Thank Merlin it had been Moody five minutes earlier and not him. Sirius certainly didn’t knock on most of the rooms in this house.
“Hey, Tonks,” Sirius said morosely, steadying her with a hand on her shoulder.
“Night, Sirius,” she said, waving goodbye to both of them.
The door clicked shut behind her as Sirius made his way towards the bar in the corner of the library (all refilled with Ogden’s best). Remus flickered his wand towards the parchments as they rolled one by one neatly.
“Didn’t know Tonks was here,” Sirius commented, filling a glass with firewhisky and downing it in one large gulp.
“She’s replacing Alastor tomorrow when we take the children back to school,” Remus said quietly, pretending to be focused on his task of organizing the parchments. In truth, his spell already got them in the right order.
Sirius conjured another glass and filled both glasses with whisky, offering him one. Remus declined.
“Suits you. To the start of a new year,” Sirius said, drinking the entire content of one glass again. “Hopefully not another for me to stay indoors the entire time.”
“I’d drink to that if I could, Sirius.”
“Yeah,” Sirius said bitterly. “I don’t like these lessons with Snape.”
“Me neither,” Remus admitted. “But you know it’s necessary.”
“He hates Harry just like he hated James,” Sirius rolled his eyes. “Harry will hate it. I mean, anyone’d hate it. Can you imagine it, Snivellus prying into your brain?”
“Well, Harry’s a teenager. I dare say there are few things he doesn’t hate at the moment.”
“I’d rather sleep with a hag than face that myself,” Sirius continued.
“No need to go into such absurd notions, Padfoot,” Remus rolled his eyes, flickering his wand at the now rolled parchments and storing them in the cupboard. “I don’t need that image in my head.”
Sirius let out a barked laugh, which was better than him simply insulting Snape and complaining about his current prison. There was nothing to do with any of that, and he had Remus’s sympathy most of the time, but it was different when one had a lovely witch waiting up for them in one’s bedroom.
“Cheers, mate,” Sirius said, drinking some more rather loudly. Remus bowed his head in commiseration, meaning to put away his wand in the pocket of his cardigan, only to realize he was only wearing a shirt today. The motion was, unfortunately, not lost on Sirius, who looked at the door for what seemed to be a long moment.
Remus knew better than to let him think on the matter and stood up. “I’ll go then—”
“You sneaky bastard,” Sirius said, shaking his head, laughing. “You had sex, didn’t you?”
Remus gulped. This was precisely what he had been avoiding the entire day.
“I—”
“No wonder you were so starry-eyed this morning. So that's where you got to last night! You spent New Year's with her. Ha!” Sirius added another good amount of firewhisky to his glass. “Can’t believe I didn’t see it before. You planned it all out.”
“I really didn't—”
“You and Tonks finally did it,” Sirius concluded, taking a generous sip of his glass. “Cheers. Good for you, mate. Finally.”
“Yes, I caught that part—”
“We’ll have to celebrate properly, to the end of your self-forced celibacy,” Sirius added, making Remus cringe. “So how was it?”
“I’m not telling you that—”
“That good, huh?” Sirius winked. “Seriously, we should celebrate. Let's do it tomorrow night. Invite your girl, we know she can handle her whiskey. Can't believe I'm calling Tonks your girl."
He ended that line with a snicker, and Remus pondered that he and Tonks hadn't actually talked about what they are to each other like that.
"I'll, uh, talk to her."
"Do that," Sirius urged him. "Well, then, I doubt she’s bunking up with the girls tonight. What are you waiting for?”
“Uh…”
“Go on, Moony,” Sirius shooed up, motioning the door. “We both know you’re dying to get out of here. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to tease you endlessly for the next few days.”
“Goodnight, Padfoot,” Remus rolled his eyes and walked towards the door.
“No clever retort?” Sirius taunted him. “Ah, young love. I did miss witnessing it.”
Remus shook his head, closing the door behind him and hearing Sirius’s laugh echoing up the stairs. He reached his door soon enough — he occupied one of the habitable guest rooms on the second floor and sighed as he finally entered it. Dora had taken off his cardigan since arriving, and her boots were neatly next to his dresser. She was lounging on his bed like she belonged there.
Maybe she did belong there.
"That was quick," Dora noted.
“Sirius knows,” he told her, sitting down next to her legs and taking off his slippers.
“You know he’d notice eventually,” Dora said softly. “Is that a problem?”
“No, it’s fine. He’ll just be annoying about it for a week,” he told her. “I can take it. He wants us both around for drinks tomorrow night.”
“Sounds good. Also, it’s not like he or Mad-Eye will go on telling everyone,” she said. “I don’t mind it, though.”
“What?” He half-turned to face her.
“I don’t mind it if people know,” she shrugged. “Do you?”
“No, I just… I guess I thought I’d have you to myself for a while.” Remus shook his head, his hand finding her leg and caressing her skin through a hole in her jeans. “It’s silly.”
“It’s not silly. If people know, it makes us vulnerable in a way,” Dora concluded. “We’re at war, after all.”
He hummed his assent. “Nobody likes to flaunt their weaknesses.”
“Exactly,” she smiled. “We just have to find a way to be each other’s strength, too.”
He mirrored her expression, shifting so he could lean over her. “And you say I’m the one who has a way with words.”
“It’s all that collateral damage you talked about,” she said, hands slowly creeping up his shoulders and neck. “Long exposure to you and such. I’m a fast learner. Be sure to add that to that report on our study.”
He caressed her cheek with his thumb and planted a kiss against her hair, shifting closer. “I don’t mind that people know. I guess I’m just coming to terms with change. Also, just… you know, protecting you.”
“Ah, yes, protecting me,” Dora said, rolling her eyes. “I don’t need that, you know.”
“I know. Terribly animalistic of me,” he admitted.
“Nah," she caressed his cheek softly. "That’s just the man in you.”
Remus kissed her then, his lips finding hers naturally, as if they’d been doing this for far longer than the oh less than twenty-four hours that they had. She sighed against him, bringing him closer so he was almost on top of her, and he inched his hand around her waist and his knee between her legs.
And then she snickered into his mouth.
“What is it?” He asked amusedly.
She opened her eyes and laughed harder.
“You almost called Mad-Eye ‘sir,’ ” Dora said between laughs.
He groaned and lay his forehead on her chest slowly as she continued laughing.
“I did, didn’t I?” Remus cringed.
“It’s going to be priceless when you meet my parents,” Dora continued laughing.
He shook his head. “Let’s cross that bridge when we get to it, shall we?”
She nodded, still smiling. He let out a laugh, too.
It didn’t matter that his life had changed overnight. He knew a lot more changes would come.
And, in truth, he couldn’t wait.