Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Tonks had enjoyed dinner with Bill the right before. Bill had spoken about meeting a new girl, who he seemed hopelessly in love with. Tonks had smiled at the conversation. It was good to talk to someone her own age. Being the youngest on the team, in addition to her new role and responsibilities she didn't really have anyone her age she could talk to anymore.
The next day she slugged through work, did her paperwork and yet she was still assigned desk duty while her former partner was recovering. She wasn’t able to go on duty until her partner returned. ‘Old Boys Club’ she thought grumpily. She was able to leave work on time, but then with guard duty it wasn't really leaving the ministry early. Kingsley was her saviour while waiting for her partner. He couldn't show her favouritism but he gave her interesting things to research and write about to do with open cases under the pretense that this was the perfect opportunity for her to develop her investigative skills but she still hated desk duty. This wasn't what she trained to be an Auror for.
When she finished for the day, she decided to go and visit Sirius and maybe Remus, maybe to have a grumble about work. When she arrived she saw Sirius had been cleaning again but his mood was even more sullen than the day before.
“Hey, I brought you some Honeydukes chocolate, well I've had it for a week but not eaten any.” She said with a small smile. “Man, I’m so glad my desk duty is almost over. There's only so much reading and investigating skills I can learn from older cases. I miss walking the streets.”
“Must be nice to go out and buy yourself a bar of chocolate or go on walks through the streets, I can’t do anything when I’m on house arrest! Snape came by today, and offered to bring me an apron! I’m so sick of being stuck in this house, while others get to go to work, go to the pub, buy a bloody bar of chocolate themselves!” He said testily making Tonks wince slightly, she’d misfired rather spectacularly “Remus might like some, he's up in the library, first room we cleared”
“Oh, OK.” She answered quietly, making her way to the library as directed. She knocked before slowly entering the library. Remus was in the corner pouring over some papers, seemingly troubled by something. ‘Must be one of those days’ She mused.
“Hey, everything OK?” She asked heading towards the table that Remus was leaning on.
“Sorry, I've just seen the rota for the next duties…it's right after a full moon. Why would Moody do that?” Lupin said with a sigh “I’m going to be useless, plus being in the ministry after a full moon…”
“What day?” Tonks asked quietly, mentally making a note to check the luna calendar in the future.
“Sunday night…” Remus answered
“That's a tricky one. I'm guessing because most of the Order work on Mondays…” Tonks suggested
“No doubt you are right. Not like I can get any work anyway like everyone else.” Remus said in a frustrated tone “Bloody Umbridge.”
“I'm sorry, I'd offer to swap but I'm on the earliest Auror shift on Monday, and my partner is back so no more desk duty. You could ask Mad eye to change it?” She suggested again
“No one else is available, as you've pointed out. It will be fine. What’s one duty after a full moon? I can sleep the day away.” Remus said, accepting defeat but still appearing sullen.
Tonks sighed trying to think of something else she could do that was kind since she couldn't switch shifts with him.
“I know it doesn't help, but do you want some chocolate? Honeydukes finest?” She said, pulling the bar out of her pocket and getting ready to open it. I mean, Sirius had said Remus liked chocolate and it was Honeydukes.
Remus looked at the bar on offer. The most expensive single bar of chocolate in Honeydukes, completely handmade from scratch with no magic. Natural ingredients. He's never splurge on the good stuff with his limited funds and suddenly felt something he’d not felt for ages. Envy.
“Must be nice “ He said bitterly looking at the chocolate bar then at Tonks who looked confused
“What must be nice?” answered Tonks
“To have the funds to buy the expensive stuff, having sufficient funds to do anything like go out with friends, buy high quality food, new clothes rather than patching stuff up.” He looked at her t-shirt, which she had to admit was new. She’d treated herself the other day which she rarely, normally opting to transfigure or redesign her own clothes. She loved being thrifty.
“I'm sorry, that was thoughtless of me..” She said looking down at her feet “I'm honestly not trying to show off, I just, I really like sharing stuff. Like what's mine is yours…I forget it's not for everyone…I think it’s unfair that you can’t work and it's unfair Sirius is stuck in this house. Here I am moaning about being on desk duty when I can at least leave and work, I’m going to head off before I offend anyone else.” She said quietly. She didn’t have the fight in her tonight to argue back, she was embarrassed and hurt. She turned, stumbled then left, shutting the library door. She walked into the kitchen, saw it was empty and left the bar of chocolate under Remus’s book he left in the kitchen. She didn’t feel like eating the chocolate anymore. She was going to head home, though she was going to make one stop on the way and sent her protonus. She knew work affected her moods, and she was bored of not being able to go out, so hopefully things would be better next week and with that she disapated from the spot.
It was the next morning when Remus came down the stairs and found Sirius getting his breakfast.
“Morning Padfoot, did you see Tonks last night?” Remus asked
“Yes, she dropped in to offer me some chocolate and company, but I wasn’t in the mood so I sent her up to you…I know you like chocolate…I may have been a bit short with her” He said as an afterthought “Snape really annoyed me yesterday and then she arrived.”
“Not you too!“ Remus moaned “I was in a bad mood with the rota, then she offered me some chocolate, and I pretty much lost it with her. Regretted it shortly afterwards. She was only trying to be kind but by then she’d gone.”
“Wow, so we both screwed up last night?” Sirius answered “I thought I was doing her a favour sending her to you.”
“She doesn’t have to spend time with us Sirius, I realised that yesterday, most evenings she comes to us, she’s got lots of friends and she’s got funds to do what she wants but she chooses to come here…why do I keep messing up with her? I know she’s really trying…”
“I don’t know mate, but I think next time she comes over we should do something nice, I mean I’ve got the funds, you could go out and buy some good quality meat and food, we could cook for her? I don’t think she really eats much unless she's here and she doesn’t strike me as being someone who enjoys household things like cooking…”
“Yeah, that sounds like an idea…” Remus answered
“She’s having a hard time at work too, I should have been kinder, she got in trouble for helping that Werewolf and not her partner.” Sirius said and Remus looked interested
“Really?”
“Yeah, she went on about unfair the treatment of dark creatures was and how we would ultimately end up driving then to Voldemort's side unless we showed kindness and understanding”
“She’s a wonder.” Remus muttered “So open minded…”
They heard an arrival in the corridor, Mad Eye appeared at the kitchen door.
“Remus, I made an error on the rota, I’ve switched your duty and my duty around, I’ll do Sunday night, you do Wednesday. I forget to check for the full moons. Are you happy with that?”
“Yes, you know I’d have done it…” Lupin answered “Thanks Alistor”
“I can’t have anyone falling asleep or not being on their guard, there's been more movement in the area recently. I need everyone ready to take action when required. Constant Vigilance is vital, as Tonks reminded me last night, turned up late, bit of a mess and angry at me, but that’s about right. I keep telling her, her empathy, understanding and kindness are her greatest assets, but also her biggest weakness…unless you piss her off, then even I’m disappearing. Anyway I’m off…Oh, one more thing you two, especially you Remus, give Tonks a break. I know she’s young but I trained her, She spirited but it doesn't take much to knock the spirit out of someone like her. I vouch for her, she’s tough on the surface, puts on a good act…but there's more to her than that which everyone seems to overlook.”
Mad Eye finished gruffly before turning to leave. He’d never been comfortable dealing with emotions.
“I will” Lupin promised after hearing the words Mad Eye didn’t say.
Lupin and Sirius looked at each other guiltily once again.
“I forget she’s half a Black” Sirius muttered before leaving the kitchen to feed Buckbeak.
Lupin looked at him confused and feeling even worse than he had done previously for upsetting Tonks. She must have been upset if she said something to Mad Eye but had still asked him to change the rota to help him. He picked up the book on the table and found the chocolate beneath. No note, though he knew who it was from. He turned the bar over in his hands. He couldn’t accept it. He’d slip it back to her next time…though maybe an act of kindness would be to share it like she had offered to him. Maybe the three of them could share it when they invited her over for dinner? He was normally very patient with new people, but for whatever reason he kept messing up with Tonks. She ignited something in him, set him on edge and brought forth a feeling he was unfamiliar with. He'd try harder next time.