Disclaimer: The characters, settings, etc. of the Harry Potter series are
not mine. I just play with them.
Remus Lupin was exhausted. There were two weeks before the next full moon, yet he could feel the beginnings of his transformation taking hold. He was growing lethargic and snappish. His lower back was often sore, too. He felt bloated and was suffering intense cravings for all things salty and all things sweet (chocolate, in particular). He had always hated the week preceding the full moon, and he was positively irked that this month his symptoms were starting two weeks beforehand.
He woke up earlier than usual on the morning of the tenth due the fact that someone was crashing around in the kitchen. He was certainly not in the mood to deal with anyone this morning and definitely not with such loud, inconsiderate people.
He hopped out of bed and ran to his door, feeling more energy than he had in days. It was all in response to his anger, of course, but nobody needed to know that. Remus flounced down the stairs, across the hall, and into the kitchen of the home that belonged to his late friend.
"YOU HAVE A LOT OF NERVE!" he roared at the unsuspecting inhabitant of the kitchen. He was still too bleary eyed to focus on the criminal who had so carelessly awoken him.
"Wotcher, Lupin," came the reply. Looking around the kitchen, he saw that Tonks was piling mixing bowls and various boxes, bottles, and jars on top of all of the surfaces she could manage. He saw a large book in the middle of the kitchen table. It looked very much akin to the cookbook Molly had left here at the last meeting of the Order.
"Nymphadora," Remus said suspiciously, "what are you doing?"
"Cooking," she responded in a simple tone, suddenly appearing from behind the pantry door.
"COOKING?!" Remus roared in disbelief, despite the fact that he knew perfectly well she truly was cooking. All evidence pointed to this. He was just being a complete moron, but his symptoms were causing him to be snappish and overtly angry.
"Yes, Remus," Nymphadora replied calmly. "I'm cooking."
"Oh," Remus said softly and walked over to the kitchen table where she had begun to work. "What are you cooking?"
"Well," she began, carefully avoiding his eyes, "I noticed that your symptoms seemed to have started a bit earlier than usual this month. So I asked Molly and she said she knew of some home remedies."
"Home remedies?" Remus asked. He could hear the steel in his voice and knew Tonks would certainly not miss it.
"Er, yes," she glanced up at him quickly before returning her attentions back to her endeavors. "To improve your mood."
"WHAT'S WRONG WITH MY MOOD?!" Remus bellowed, causing Tonks to grimace.
"Well, you are a bit snappish, Remus. And you're awfully prone to mood swings. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing," she paused looking for the right words, "but I am afraid it may affect your ability to work with the order. If we could find a good remedy, it may make you feel better. Don't you want to feel better?"
Remus frowned. His back did hurt quite badly, and his slacks had been terribly difficult to button with the extra water weight. And there was the intense desire for chocolate that was threatening to take over his mind, body, and soul. "Yes, Tonks. I suppose I wouldn't mind feeling better."
"There's a good lad," she said, smiling at him. "Now help me make this concoction."
Remus nodded and stood from his seat at the table. He walked over to her side and peered down at the cookbook. It looked a bit complicated. "You know, I was never very good at potions."
"Right," she replied. "Lucky for you I was. Doubt you'd want to see Severus when you're not in your best form." He watched as she measured out some ingredients, pouring it into the mixing bowl before her. He was surprised to see it was already quite full of what looked like a rather nauseating collection of spices and potions ingredients.
"How did you manage to be good at potions? Didn't you spill everything and drop cauldrons on peoples' toes?" Remus teased, moving closer to her.
"No, amazingly," she responded. He was happy to observe that she was smiling. "I found Severus intimidating enough to scare me into keeping my hands steady."
"Hmm," he whispered, shifting even closer to her. The symptom he hated most and did his best to ignore was an increase in sexual appetite. It was the most difficult symptom to explain. No books about werewolves contained information on it, and no wizard had been able to explain it to him. Sometimes he supposed he was just a sexually frustrated man, bent on blaming his increased desires on an affliction instead of the real reason: a complete and utter lack of action. "Tonks, why are your hands shaking now?"
"Maybe because you're standing so damn close to me that you're taking up all of my available oxygen leaving me with no choice but to inhale these potentially harmful fumes!"
Remus laughed and took a few steps backwards. "Are you really going to give me something that emits harmful fumes?"
She continued to measure out ingredients and dump them into the bowl. "Yes."
"Hmph," Remus replied. He felt terribly witty.
"I brought you a gift, Remus," Tonks said as she began mixing all of the ingredients together with a wooden spoon.
"Oh?" He stepped forward eagerly. She often brought him chocolate in the week before his transformation.
"Yes, it's over on the counter." She gestured towards the space behind her, and turning Remus beheld what was probably the most beautiful sight he had ever encountered.
A two layer chocolate cake sat on the counter waiting to be devoured. "Oh, you goddess," Remus groaned, rushing to the cake. He picked up the plate of cake and brought it over to the table. He set it down, rushed to the drawer of silver, grabbed a fork and rushed back to the table. Sitting himself before the cake, he began shoveling it into his mouth.
The sensation was much like that which he experienced after his first cup of coffee. He could feel the cocoa fusing with his blood, making everything seem better. Everything was now absolutely wonderful. The birds chirped a little more harmonically, Tonks smelled like a bouquet of fresh flowers, and the sun streaming into the room was warmer and more pleasant. Life was good. The chocolate was great.
"Tonks," he said, pausing in his shoveling. "Have I ever expressed my love for you?"
"No, Remus," she said as she continued to stir, standing beside where he sat. "Not verbally, at least."
"You're divine, Tonks," he said between bites. "An absolute goddess. You are perfection." He paused to devour a few more bites. "I have never met a more beautiful, interesting, or attractive creature in all my life."
He was too busy consuming cake to notice the faint blush tingeing her cheeks. "Right."
"It's true!" he insisted. "I mean it!" And the small part of his brain that was not intently focused on the chocolate brought to his attention that he really did.
He dropped the fork onto the plate and looked up at Tonks. He noticed she was avoiding his gaze. "Something wrong, Remus?"
"No, everything's perfect," he replied, while a two tiny voices battled in his head. One screaming 'EAT THE CAKE, DAMMIT' and the other insisting he explain his feelings to Tonks.
"Perfect, eh?" she smirked. "A few moments ago you were positively miserable, screaming your head off. A little chocolate is all it takes to solve that problem?"
"Yes," Remus admitted. "A little chocolate and you."
They were both blushing now.
"Right," Tonks said, again. He noticed she was now ladling the potion into a glass. It looked rather thick and was a horrid shade of chartreuse. "Well," she said, handing the glass to him. "Drink up."
Grimacing, Remus downed the concoction in as few gulps as possible. It was only after he had drunk all of it that he noticed it, in fact, tasted like chocolate. Within seconds he felt his symptoms vanishing. The bloated feeling disappeared and he was happy to note that the pain in his lower back subsiding. Suddenly, all of the anger and crankiness he had been experiencing left him, and he felt quite happy. Looking at the cake before him, he felt only horror that he had managed to devour over half of a double layer cake in a matter of minutes.
"Goddess!" he exclaimed, taking her hand and kissing it gently. "Goddess, goddess, goddess!" He paused to look up at her and grin, still holding onto her hand. "I owe you my life."
She rolled her eyes, but smiled at him. "That's not necessary, Remus. I'll settle for your help in cleaning up. I need someone to mend the plates after I break them."
Remus nodded and stood up, clearing the table and bringing them over to the sink. Together they washed up, and within a short amount of time they had cleaned the entire kitchen.
"Well," Tonks said, glancing at her watch when they had finished. "I suppose I had better get going. I have quite a bit of work this afternoon. Remember, the rest of the potion is in the refrigerator. You shouldn't need any more for a few days, though." She paused and looked up at him. He could easily tell that she was nervous.
"Thank you, Nymphadora," he replied softly. "Thank you very much. For everything."
She blushed. "Making potions isn't that difficult. I am sure anyone would have done the same, even Severus. But he can't be bothered, what with school and all." She paused, "I mean, what are friends for?"
Lupin smiled. "Friends?"
She cleared her throat nervously and stepped away from him. "Well, friends, yes. Or whatever we are. It's not important. I just wanted to help, Remus."
"I know," he said gently. "Thank you." He paused and smiled at her. "I am glad we're friends, Tonks."
She smiled back. "Me too, Remus." She glanced at her watch again. "Oh, I really have to go. I will see you tomorrow, maybe." With one last smile, she disapparated from the kitchen.
Remus sighed and sat down at the kitchen table. He cut himself a small slice of the cake that still sat, half eaten, on the table. Eating his cake, Remus allowed his thoughts to drift to Tonks. They weren't exactly friends, but he decided he was pleased with what their relationship was becoming. In fact, he decided as he took a bite of the cake, he was quite pleased.
Remus Lupin was exhausted. There were two weeks before the next full moon, yet he could feel the beginnings of his transformation taking hold. He was growing lethargic and snappish. His lower back was often sore, too. He felt bloated and was suffering intense cravings for all things salty and all things sweet (chocolate, in particular). He had always hated the week preceding the full moon, and he was positively irked that this month his symptoms were starting two weeks beforehand.
He woke up earlier than usual on the morning of the tenth due the fact that someone was crashing around in the kitchen. He was certainly not in the mood to deal with anyone this morning and definitely not with such loud, inconsiderate people.
He hopped out of bed and ran to his door, feeling more energy than he had in days. It was all in response to his anger, of course, but nobody needed to know that. Remus flounced down the stairs, across the hall, and into the kitchen of the home that belonged to his late friend.
"YOU HAVE A LOT OF NERVE!" he roared at the unsuspecting inhabitant of the kitchen. He was still too bleary eyed to focus on the criminal who had so carelessly awoken him.
"Wotcher, Lupin," came the reply. Looking around the kitchen, he saw that Tonks was piling mixing bowls and various boxes, bottles, and jars on top of all of the surfaces she could manage. He saw a large book in the middle of the kitchen table. It looked very much akin to the cookbook Molly had left here at the last meeting of the Order.
"Nymphadora," Remus said suspiciously, "what are you doing?"
"Cooking," she responded in a simple tone, suddenly appearing from behind the pantry door.
"COOKING?!" Remus roared in disbelief, despite the fact that he knew perfectly well she truly was cooking. All evidence pointed to this. He was just being a complete moron, but his symptoms were causing him to be snappish and overtly angry.
"Yes, Remus," Nymphadora replied calmly. "I'm cooking."
"Oh," Remus said softly and walked over to the kitchen table where she had begun to work. "What are you cooking?"
"Well," she began, carefully avoiding his eyes, "I noticed that your symptoms seemed to have started a bit earlier than usual this month. So I asked Molly and she said she knew of some home remedies."
"Home remedies?" Remus asked. He could hear the steel in his voice and knew Tonks would certainly not miss it.
"Er, yes," she glanced up at him quickly before returning her attentions back to her endeavors. "To improve your mood."
"WHAT'S WRONG WITH MY MOOD?!" Remus bellowed, causing Tonks to grimace.
"Well, you are a bit snappish, Remus. And you're awfully prone to mood swings. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing," she paused looking for the right words, "but I am afraid it may affect your ability to work with the order. If we could find a good remedy, it may make you feel better. Don't you want to feel better?"
Remus frowned. His back did hurt quite badly, and his slacks had been terribly difficult to button with the extra water weight. And there was the intense desire for chocolate that was threatening to take over his mind, body, and soul. "Yes, Tonks. I suppose I wouldn't mind feeling better."
"There's a good lad," she said, smiling at him. "Now help me make this concoction."
Remus nodded and stood from his seat at the table. He walked over to her side and peered down at the cookbook. It looked a bit complicated. "You know, I was never very good at potions."
"Right," she replied. "Lucky for you I was. Doubt you'd want to see Severus when you're not in your best form." He watched as she measured out some ingredients, pouring it into the mixing bowl before her. He was surprised to see it was already quite full of what looked like a rather nauseating collection of spices and potions ingredients.
"How did you manage to be good at potions? Didn't you spill everything and drop cauldrons on peoples' toes?" Remus teased, moving closer to her.
"No, amazingly," she responded. He was happy to observe that she was smiling. "I found Severus intimidating enough to scare me into keeping my hands steady."
"Hmm," he whispered, shifting even closer to her. The symptom he hated most and did his best to ignore was an increase in sexual appetite. It was the most difficult symptom to explain. No books about werewolves contained information on it, and no wizard had been able to explain it to him. Sometimes he supposed he was just a sexually frustrated man, bent on blaming his increased desires on an affliction instead of the real reason: a complete and utter lack of action. "Tonks, why are your hands shaking now?"
"Maybe because you're standing so damn close to me that you're taking up all of my available oxygen leaving me with no choice but to inhale these potentially harmful fumes!"
Remus laughed and took a few steps backwards. "Are you really going to give me something that emits harmful fumes?"
She continued to measure out ingredients and dump them into the bowl. "Yes."
"Hmph," Remus replied. He felt terribly witty.
"I brought you a gift, Remus," Tonks said as she began mixing all of the ingredients together with a wooden spoon.
"Oh?" He stepped forward eagerly. She often brought him chocolate in the week before his transformation.
"Yes, it's over on the counter." She gestured towards the space behind her, and turning Remus beheld what was probably the most beautiful sight he had ever encountered.
A two layer chocolate cake sat on the counter waiting to be devoured. "Oh, you goddess," Remus groaned, rushing to the cake. He picked up the plate of cake and brought it over to the table. He set it down, rushed to the drawer of silver, grabbed a fork and rushed back to the table. Sitting himself before the cake, he began shoveling it into his mouth.
The sensation was much like that which he experienced after his first cup of coffee. He could feel the cocoa fusing with his blood, making everything seem better. Everything was now absolutely wonderful. The birds chirped a little more harmonically, Tonks smelled like a bouquet of fresh flowers, and the sun streaming into the room was warmer and more pleasant. Life was good. The chocolate was great.
"Tonks," he said, pausing in his shoveling. "Have I ever expressed my love for you?"
"No, Remus," she said as she continued to stir, standing beside where he sat. "Not verbally, at least."
"You're divine, Tonks," he said between bites. "An absolute goddess. You are perfection." He paused to devour a few more bites. "I have never met a more beautiful, interesting, or attractive creature in all my life."
He was too busy consuming cake to notice the faint blush tingeing her cheeks. "Right."
"It's true!" he insisted. "I mean it!" And the small part of his brain that was not intently focused on the chocolate brought to his attention that he really did.
He dropped the fork onto the plate and looked up at Tonks. He noticed she was avoiding his gaze. "Something wrong, Remus?"
"No, everything's perfect," he replied, while a two tiny voices battled in his head. One screaming 'EAT THE CAKE, DAMMIT' and the other insisting he explain his feelings to Tonks.
"Perfect, eh?" she smirked. "A few moments ago you were positively miserable, screaming your head off. A little chocolate is all it takes to solve that problem?"
"Yes," Remus admitted. "A little chocolate and you."
They were both blushing now.
"Right," Tonks said, again. He noticed she was now ladling the potion into a glass. It looked rather thick and was a horrid shade of chartreuse. "Well," she said, handing the glass to him. "Drink up."
Grimacing, Remus downed the concoction in as few gulps as possible. It was only after he had drunk all of it that he noticed it, in fact, tasted like chocolate. Within seconds he felt his symptoms vanishing. The bloated feeling disappeared and he was happy to note that the pain in his lower back subsiding. Suddenly, all of the anger and crankiness he had been experiencing left him, and he felt quite happy. Looking at the cake before him, he felt only horror that he had managed to devour over half of a double layer cake in a matter of minutes.
"Goddess!" he exclaimed, taking her hand and kissing it gently. "Goddess, goddess, goddess!" He paused to look up at her and grin, still holding onto her hand. "I owe you my life."
She rolled her eyes, but smiled at him. "That's not necessary, Remus. I'll settle for your help in cleaning up. I need someone to mend the plates after I break them."
Remus nodded and stood up, clearing the table and bringing them over to the sink. Together they washed up, and within a short amount of time they had cleaned the entire kitchen.
"Well," Tonks said, glancing at her watch when they had finished. "I suppose I had better get going. I have quite a bit of work this afternoon. Remember, the rest of the potion is in the refrigerator. You shouldn't need any more for a few days, though." She paused and looked up at him. He could easily tell that she was nervous.
"Thank you, Nymphadora," he replied softly. "Thank you very much. For everything."
She blushed. "Making potions isn't that difficult. I am sure anyone would have done the same, even Severus. But he can't be bothered, what with school and all." She paused, "I mean, what are friends for?"
Lupin smiled. "Friends?"
She cleared her throat nervously and stepped away from him. "Well, friends, yes. Or whatever we are. It's not important. I just wanted to help, Remus."
"I know," he said gently. "Thank you." He paused and smiled at her. "I am glad we're friends, Tonks."
She smiled back. "Me too, Remus." She glanced at her watch again. "Oh, I really have to go. I will see you tomorrow, maybe." With one last smile, she disapparated from the kitchen.
Remus sighed and sat down at the kitchen table. He cut himself a small slice of the cake that still sat, half eaten, on the table. Eating his cake, Remus allowed his thoughts to drift to Tonks. They weren't exactly friends, but he decided he was pleased with what their relationship was becoming. In fact, he decided as he took a bite of the cake, he was quite pleased.