Author note: Just before finally sitting down to write this one-shot I watched 'Superbob'. Thanks go to the ever amazing Oh My Gold for buying it for me as a Christmas gift. Needless to say I am now in a Ronks kind of mood. Thanks and gratitude again go to Oh My Gold for helping me develop most of this fic idea. I hope you all enjoy this. Also; Merry belated Christmas!
As the big day grew closer Remus felt more pressured to deliver the perfect gift. He couldn't help but think that it was just his luck to blindly select her name for the secret Santa that was taking place amongst the Order. What the bloody hell was he supposed to buy her with his meagre income?
Sirius was being of no help; suggesting inappropriate gift ideas.
"No offence Padfoot, but when was the last time you bought a young lady a Christmas gift?" Lupin scrunched up the newspaper in his hands in frustration at his nuisance of a friend.
"You hurt me Moony;" Black mocked clutching his supposedly broken heart.
"Just eat your toast and let me think;" the werewolf nodded at the marmalade toast on the worn kitchen table.
"Fine; don't say I never try to help you." The Animagus ripped off a bite of toast in a very canine like fashion before chomping down on it noisily.
Lupin blew on his tea and ignored the man sat next to him.
Time past in almost silence as Lupin struggled to pull a gift idea out of thin air.
"You could always just ask Molly;" Black interrupted as he polished off his breakfast.
"That will never do. Plus she'd asked too many questions;" the werewolf began to mildly panic.
"What, like why does it have to be so special? Moony, I'm pretty sure half the order knows how you feel about her." Black held back a chuckle once he saw his friend's distress.
"What!?"
The distress couldn't stop the Marauder from playing with his friend entirely though; "come on Moony, you do well... moon over her."
"I do not!" Lupin insisted with desperation.
"Fine; whatever you say;" Black mumbled into his glass of orange juice.
"Maybe I should just go out and look for something instead of wasting time here thinking." The werewolf stood from the table as if to say he had made up his mind.
"I'd love to join you and offer a helping hand, but unfortunately I'm a fugitive. Maybe next time though." Black stretched his arms above his head and yawned while his fellow Marauder looked on with slight amusement.
"Pity;" was Lupin's retort.
Though, as the werewolf stood in the middle of Diagon Alley, he now thought of how much he did indeed need that helping hand. He had no clue as to where to begin plus he had to be mindful of which shops he entered; some store owners didn't take too kindly to his kind. After looking in his fifth shop of the morning he gave up and headed out to muggle London instead. Maybe he could try his luck in muggle stores; at least they wouldn't turn away his custom.
It was as he made his way down Charring Cross Road that he found a small quirky shop jam packed full of clothes. It had just been last week when he found himself and Tonks taking a walk after escorting the Weasley's to St Mungo's that she had mentioned about the very item he was now staring at in the shop window.
"Merlin, it's freezing!" Tonks declared as she buried her hands further into her coat pocket as the wind ripped though the pair.
"Why haven't you got anything warm on?" The werewolf asked as he mimicked the metamorphmagus' action.
The witch turned and grinned at him; "I did have this really warm scarf, but me being me; I lost it."
Lupin shock his head to show his disbelief at such a Tonks action; "you seem very cheerful for someone that lost their scarf."
She shrugged before replying; "you have to laugh about these things. Plus it's only a scarf; there are many more precious things that can be lost."
"Especially at a time like this;" Lupin spoke before thinking.
She couldn't help but smile at his frankness; "exactly. Though that's not to say that I don't miss the scarf; it wasn't half warm."
"You could use mine if you'd like;" he stopped walking and looked at her shivering.
"I could never deprive a man of his warm scarf, and definitely not on a day like today."
"I'm a werewolf Tonks; you need the scarf more than I do;" he pulled the green and blue tartan scarf from around his neck and held it out to her.
"You always feel the need to tell me that you are a werewolf every time we speak. And you use this tone as if to warn me of the fact. Consider me warned; now do you see me running away screaming? No, so please stop trying to make me; it's not going to happen. Now keep your scarf, those colours would never suit me anyway." The metamorphmagus proceeded to clasp the scarf removing it from Lupin's hand and carefully strung it back around his neck."Come on; let's go and get a hot chocolate;" the witch called over her shoulder as she left Lupin standing there almost dumbstruck.
He had found what he was going to get her for Christmas.
"Merry Christmas Tonks; here's your secret Santa gift;" Lupin spoke quickly as he caught the witch at the end of the night's Order meeting at Grimmauld Place.
The metamorphmagus looked up at the werewolf as he blocked her path in the small hallway."Wow, Remus; thanks! Merry Christmas to you too;" she replied as she took the offered wrapped parcel.
Once his hands were empty, Lupin shoved them into his trouser pockets. They felt at home here, their scars hidden from view. He watched the young woman in front of him as she ripped open the present.
"Oh Remus, this is so nice. I love it!" The witch beamed as she clutched at the pink and orange tartan scarf.
Lupin looked to the floor to hide his satisfied and relived grin; "I'm glad."
"Now I feel bad"
This caused him to snap his head up to look her in the face; "that was never my intention!"
She nodded as if in to assure him she knew that; "but you remembered about my scarf and I still haven't gotten you anything yet."
"You got my name too?" Lupin asked.
She nodded before looking him in the eye and saying; "I've thought of something I can give you."
Before Lupin could respond the metamorphmagus had stretched up onto her tip toes and placed a light kiss to his lips.
"Merry Christmas Remus;" the witch whispered into his ear before moving to the front door, throwing her coat around her and leaving through the front door.
Lupin's mind was reeling. Had she just kissed him? That was the most precious gift she could have given him. The werewolf was pulled from his thoughts by someone walking up to him.
"Ah, Remus; there you are. Here is your secret Santa gift. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas."
A small sized wrapped package was being offered to him. Lupin looked up to see Dumbledore with a smile.
Lupin snapped out of his daze and took the offered gift; "thank you. Have a merry Christmas too."
The wizard nodded and followed Tonks' path from before until Lupin was once again alone in the hallway. His hands moved of their own accord and tore open the wrapping paper to find a pair of thick woollen socks. 'But if Dumbledore was my secret Santa, why did Tonks think she was?'
"You alright Moony?" Black asked his Marauder friend as he came to stand behind him.
"I think so;" Lupin replied still puzzled by the events of moments ago.
"Did Tonks like her gift?"
"I think so."
"Is that the only sentence you can say? Look what Tonks got me; a bottle of Firewhisky." The animagus held up the bottle in question.
Lupin gave a blank faced reaction to his friend.
Black threw his arm around the shoulders of his friend; "come on; you look as if you could use a glass or two." The sound of barking laughter followed the pair as Black led his friend into the kitchen clearly amused.
Author note: over Christmas one of my friends got engaged and another broke up with her boyfriend. I found out about the second of the two as I was writing this fic. This made me smile (not that she got her heart broken, of course) these two people are experiencing real life events and here I am writing about a fictional couple. I'd also like to point out that yes, this is the first bit of Ronks ff that I have uploaded in over a year, but I have seven fics all partially written. These will hopefully make an appearance in 2016. I have added descriptions and titles to my ff bio so you can see what I have in store for you if you care.