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It had been a long time since Nymphadora Tonks had seen Remus Lupin. Years, fourteen or fifteen she guessed. Not since her mother's cousin, Sirius Black, had been free. Remus had been his friend, just like Peter and James. Cousin Sirius had sometimes brought them around to hang out; none of them liked staying at Sirius's family home.

Of course not, they were sane. Sort of, in Sirius's case. He had been a wild man, driving his parents up the wall. He had told her in secret he would love to set fire to the family's house, and she had laughed and promised to help.

It had never happened. The house still stood.

Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. How she had not missed thee.

Lupin was leading Tonks towards stairs. She frowned, absently tugging on a lock of her currently sea-green hair. She liked wild hairstyles, why should she limit herself to the typical and respectable? She had been blessed with Black family's good looks naturally, but anything Black was a black taboo to her way of thinking. They wanted nothing to do with her, a scion of filth.

Either way, she was not welcome at Grimmauld Place. Why were they going there? Great-Aunt Black hated for her mother, Andromeda, to call on her. She always made a fuss and had Kreacher put tarps and covers over the furniture and forbade the girl to taint her home. Eventually Andromeda had given up and stopped visiting. So much the better, to her daughter!

With a waist-length, sea-green braid falling down her back, and big, curly bangs framing her heart-shaped face, her great-aunt was sure to die on the spot. While Tonks was not entirely convinced that was bad, she felt an odd sense of kinship with her Black relatives. She hated them, and they her, but she still wasn't eager for them to die.

Except maybe that damned Cousin Draco… she smirked a Black smirk unconsciously. The spoiled brat was probably still griping about that incident with their great-aunt's wand, and the boy losing most of his hair… boy, had Aunt Cissy been mad!

Cousin Sirius would have approved...

"Nymphadora, would you mind keeping up with me?" Lupin called, stirring her from her thoughts. He didn't look angry; quite the reverse, really. More amused than anything, she grinned. He probably remembered her habit of mussing things up by getting her head lost in thoughts and her own clumsiness.

She had been surprised when Lupin had showed up at her family's home, at noon on a sunny Sunday, with no full moon in sight. She had been even more surprised when he sat them all down and explained young Harry Potter's story of You-Know-Who's return.

But what had not surprised her was that she believed him.

After all, he was Remus Lupin. Generally a truthful guy. She like him well enough, from what she remembered. She remembered her mother's cousin Sirius speaking well of him, but… then again, Sirius was a mass-murderer, wasn't he?

Leveling a glare at him for using her birth name, she hurried up after him and up the steps to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. Grimmauld Place.

"Don't call me Nymphadora," she reminded him, in an annoyed voice. "My name is Tonks."

"That's your last name," Remus corrected. He sighed wryly, smiling in an amused sort of way. "When did this foolishness come up? Refusing to be called by your given name?"

Tonks frowned. "After I started Hogwarts, maybe in my third year. All the other girls had such nice names… Hazel and Lillian… I like my aunts' names, even if I don't like them at all. Nymphadora is such a stupid name!"

"It's elegant," Remus said. "But I'm sure Andromeda's told you all of that…"

Tonks snorted. Every single time she didn't answer to 'Nymphadora.'

"Anyway, Remus, what are we doing her?" she asked. "Half-bloods like me aren't allowed in the land of Toujours Pur. Aunt Black's gonna kick me out. You, too, you're also a Half-blood."

"And a half-breed, trust me, I know," Lupin said with a bitter chuckle. He sighed again. "Well, I'm sorry to have to tell you, Nym, er, well…" he cut himself from pronouncing her name, to his credit. "Well, your great-aunt's dead."

"Really?"

"That's all you can say?"

Tonks nodded. "It's not like she sent me Christmas cards religiously or attended my christening or stuff like that. She's family, but that's all, and she hates me for tainting her family's good name and blood status. Didn't even put me on her family tree; she blasted my mum off after she married my dad."

Tonks exhaled slowly, screwed her face up, changing her hair to a more somber, navy blue color. She still kept the braid and length. "I mean, I'm sorry she's dead, but it's no great loss, but…" She narrowed her eyes. "If Aunt's dead, who manages the house?" she asked curiously.

"The house-elf," Lupin muttered. "He's mad."

"Kreacher?" Tonks asked. "That… rat?" She could not think of another word for him. He wasn't like Aunt Cissy and Uncle's Lucius's house-elf, Dobby. Dobby was actually kind to her, whenever her mother attempted to cultivate a relationship with her sister, Narcissa.

Kreacher was meaner and almost cruel. Cousin Sirius hadn't liked him, either.

Tonks tugged on Lupin's sleeve. "Hey, Remus."

"What?" the werewolf responded.

"What's up?" she asked. "Why are we here, at Twelve Grimmauld Place? Why would anyone even want to be?"

And why did Cousin Sirius keep coming up in her thoughts?

Lupin exhaled heavily, running a hand through his graying hair. "Did… you believe me about Voldemort's return?" he inquired.

Tonks recoiled slightly, without noticing it. That name was too frightening… "Well, yeah," she said. "Got no reason not to, you know?"

Lupin nodded. "Well, Dumbledore had a group for fighting him back in the first rise, called the Order of the Phoenix."

Recognition flitted through the young woman's mind. "I… think I remember you and my mum's cousin, and you guys' friends…"

"Sirius?"

And that name again, too.

"Yeah."

"Well, Dumbledore's recalled us all. We use your great-aunt's home as a headquarters," Lupin said. "Dumbledore's planning to put the Fidelius Charm on it soon."

Tonks snorted. "That's unnecessary. My great-uncle jinxed that place within an inch of its life." She shuddered in remembrance of a dresser in the room her mother's sister Narcissa stayed in on visits. That dresser had tried to jump on her and crush her like a cockroach. Apparently Aunt Cissy didn't like her sisters and cousins getting into her things.

A wry smile tugged at Lupin's lips, accenting the creases forming along his mouth. The time elapse in their acquaintance had not treated werewolf kindly, the one refusing to be known as Nymphadora noted.

"We noticed," he said dryly. "Anyway, my ulterior motive is to recruit for the Order," he explained. "I can't help but say you'd be an asset; working at the Ministry, and as an Auror, no less… It's a good position."

Tonks raised an eyebrow. "And if I say no?"

"I Stun you, modify your memory, and drop you off at home."

"Well, can't let that happen," she grinned. "I know it's dangerous, but You-Know-Who is a Dark, dangerous wizard. It's my job to join you, isn't it?"

"That's the spirit," Lupin affirmed, as they got to the door. Tonks screwed up her face absently, thinking.

"Think I should turn it back to the green, or maybe a nice ice blue?" she asked her companion.

"I think your natural color is perfectly nice," the werewolf said politely, knocking gently on the door.

"Sea-green it is, then," she smirked. The concentrated, pained expression returned briefly as she ditched the mournful blue.

Footsteps were heard through the door, Tonks suspected some Order person was going to answer. It didn't occur to her at the moment to question how Remus and his fellows had gotten possession of the home; she was busy congratulating herself for going up the steps to 12 Grimmauld Place without skinning her knees or elbows for the first time in her memory.

The knob turned; the door creaked open ominously. Tonks later described the sound as perfectly fitting.

"Remus, I could kiss you, you're the only one who remembers not to ring the doorbell and wake up that portrait of my mad old mum," an oddly familiar voice said.

Tonks leveled her eyes – currently an eerie tawny hue – at the man who had spent the day occasionally popping into her thoughts.

And he stared back.

"Nymphadora?" he questioned, surprised, but keeping it in check.

"Cousin Sirius Black!" the girl all-but yelped.

"And my name is Tonks," she added as an afterthought.

---

To Be Continued in the sequel: Reunion.

I've written a couple other HP one shots about the various people found (or burned off) the Blacks' family tree. I'm thinking of turning it into a series, so you may want to check that out.

Lupin being a half-blood wizard; JKR said he was in a World Book Day chat. The Harry Potter Lexicon has a link to the chat transcript somewhere on their site...

And the only reason I started writing HP fic was to find an excuse to call Malfoy's mother, Narcissa, "Cissy."