A Beautiful Day
"What a day!" Tonks exclaimed as she walked into the gloomy, dark kitchen where her brooding cousin sat. "It's gorgeous outside Sirius! Have you seen it?"
"I don't see how I could have if I'm not allowed out." he spat.
Tonks froze, feeling very stupid. She kept forgetting Sirius wasn't allowed outside now since the incident at the train station. "Oh well…" she said in a casual voice. "It's nothing special anyways."
Sirius gave a grim smile. "You're the fourth person this morning Tonks who has told me how nice it is I can only imagine how extraordinary it is."
Tonks sat down opposite her cousin and looked at him. His skin was ghostly white, his cheeks and eyes were slightly sunken in his bony face. His dark hair was long and untidy and his eyes had that deadened, fathomless look Azkaban had put there.
Dumbledore is trying to keep him alive by having him stay in here, but all he's doing is slowly killing him. Tonks thought sadly.
"I can't stand it Tonks," Sirius said restlessly. "It's better to die upright on your feet as a man rather than dying on your hands and knees, crawling along as a coward."
"You're not a coward Sirius. Don't lose hope, one day Dumbledore is going to have you out of here." She said firmly.
"And until then…?" Sirius asked bitterly. "I've lost hope Tonks, I lost it within five minutes of walking inside this house."
Sirius sounded so depressed, Tonks found herself seriously concerned for her cousin.
"Sirius…" she said.
Sirius drew his wand out of his robes and placed the tip of it on his temple. "You know, I really did consider the idea of blowing my brains out at one time-"
Tonks's eyes widened in horror. "Sirius! You can't think like that! What about Harry?"
"What about him?"
"Harry is coming to regard you as a mixture of father and brother. He looks up to you...he loves you more than anything else."
"And the person I care most about right now in this whole world is him, hence why that plan fell through."
They both stared at each other. Suddenly there was an odd shuffling noise in the corner. Tonks turned to see Kreacher moving towards the doorway to try and leave the kitchen.
"-Kreacher hears his Mistress's swine of a son and the dirty half blood talking of the Potter boy. Then it's true then that the Potter boy loves my Mistress's horrible son?"
"How the hell did you get in here?" Sirius angrily asked the house-elf.
"-Kreacher is ashamed he must serve such dirty products of-"
"Get out of the kitchen you filthy piece of dirt!" Sirius said loudly.
"Sirius!" Tonks said. "Don't bother, he's not worth it."
Kreacher gave a mock bow to Sirius before creeping, hunchbacked out of the room. Tonks saw a strange, almost triumphant gleam in the elf's eyes but she blocked it from her mind and turned her attention back to her cousin.
"Sirius, I know it seems hopeless now, we all despair at sometime or another but you need to hold out…Sometimes I find it hard too but I've held out hope…Remus, he's held out hope through the years."
"Remus is a unique case. I'll confess when I escaped from Azkaban I was amazed to discover that he was still alive. He's had more than a thousand excuses to end it all but he hasn't done it. He's either afraid to or he's still cling on for god knows what."
Tonks said nothing.
Sirius leaned back in his chair and began using the spoons on the table as a pair of drumsticks. He began using his pewter mug as a surface to play them on.
Tonks stood up suddenly, a dangerous and exciting idea forming in her head. "I'm going out, I'll be right back." She said.
Sirius gave a bitter smile. Tonks could tell from his expression that he didn't expect her to return. "Goodbye." He said.
"Don't blow out your brains until I get back." Tonks said sternly. "I have an idea."
"What the hell is that?"
"It's a dog collar and lead." Tonks said as she held it out to Sirius.
Sirius raised a dark eyebrow. "What exactly are you suggesting here Tonks?"
Tonks rolled her eyes. "You transform, I'm going to take you for a walk."
"Tonks, Dumbledore said-"
"I know what he said Sirius, but it's a crime to have you stuck in here all alone on a day like this. Put the collar on." She said angrily.
Sirius stared at her. Slowly, his face broke into a genuine smile. The effect was startling, he looked like an entirely different person.
Tonks shut her eyes and transformed into her disguise. When she opened her eyes she had turned into a batty looking, elderly woman. "I'm going to go change into some proper clothes." She said in a warbly voice.
"Tonks, I really don't think-"
"That's Miss Mopsy dear." Tonks said picking up her carpetbag she had brought along as well. "And you'd best think of a name for yourself." She shuffled out of the room to change her clothes.
When she returned dressed in an ugly, flowery skirt and sweater, complete with dreadful makeup and a mad, hideous hairstyle, she found Sirius wearing the collar and examining the lead.
"Did it really have to be pink?" he asked.
"Of course." Tonks laughed. Sirius looked quite strange wearing the dog collar.
"And the rhinestones? Are they really necessary as well?"
"Yes. Now what's your name?"
"How about Snuffles?"
"Didn't you use that the last time you went out?"
"Oh right…"
"And it can't be anything too obvious." Tonks mused. She looked up at Sirius who was trying to rip a sparkly rhinestone off of his collar. "Transform!"
"But we haven't picked out a name yet-"
"No matter, I'll think of one."
Sirius glared at her. "If its something stupid that only you are going to get a kick out of, I quit right here."
Tonks poked him with the end of her wand. "Transform, you git."
Sirius obliged and seconds later a large black dog was by her feet. Tonks thought of the spell that she had planned on using and trapped Sirius on the head.
The shaggy black dog became a snowy white.
Sirius looked furious…as a dog, of course.
"Well you really didn't think that I could let you go outside looking like yourself did you?"
Sirius bounded into the front hall and stood by the front door, his tail wagging furiously.
Tonks bent down and picked up the lead. She opened the door and stepped out into the sunny, breathtaking autumn day.
Sirius jumped past her, breaking Tonks's hold on the leash and began running around in circles chasing his tale like a maniac.
"Calm down!" Tonks laughed. She shut the door behind her. "How about we go for a walk in the park first?"
Sirius barked enthusiastically. Tonks assumed this meant, 'yes'. She pulled her mothball smelling sweater closer around her, adjusted her flower hair clips and smoothed down her long skirt.
"Lead the way then." She said cheerfully.
They went nearly everywhere it seemed. Sirius led the way, his tail wagging happily, barking with excitement. The streets of London were packed full of muggles. Tonks had decided earlier that going to Diagon Alley was far too risky, but the busy streets of London made up for it all. The sights, sounds and smells were driving Sirius wild with happiness.
They spent a long time in the park where they ran into a young couple who asked Tonks what her beautiful dog's name was. When Tonks replied, "Twinkles", it took all of her will power not to burst out laughing when Sirius began to growl angrily.
They stopped at an outdoor food stand where Tonks bought her cousin some vanilla ice-cream. He devoured it ravenously and then attacked Tonks for hers. She sacrificed her own and watched in amusement as her cousin happily licked his chops.
Halfway through the day as they walked the crowded streets, Tonks bumped right into Kingsley Shacklebolt who apologized and picked up her carpet handbag for her without noticing who she and Sirius really were. They walked on, watching muggle street performers and encountered a muggle family with four kids who all wanted to pat Sirius.
They spent the rest of the day walking to wherever their feet would take them. For dinner, they went to an outdoor café where Tonks verbally abused the manager into letting Sirius sit with her. She let Sirius order whatever he wanted and soon after a long, filling dinner-they headed back home together to #12 Grimmauld Place.
The white dog looked slightly dejected as he walked up the front steps but once they were inside and Tonks shut the door behind them, Sirius transformed and Tonks saw he was smiling.
"Thank you Tonks." He said softly.
Tonks transformed herself back into her normal state as well. "Don't mention it. Perhaps we should do this more often."
Sirius pulled her into a crushing hug.
"Awwww….cut the mushy crap, Twinkles." Tonks said as she felt her eyes start to tear up.
"It really means a lot to me." Said Sirius. "Really…"
Tonks sniffed, "Damnit, you're making me cry."
Sirius let out a soft barklike laugh, "Sorry."
"I'm going to change." Tonks said as she unclipped Sirius's lead from his collar.
"Do you want some tea?"
"Sure." Tonks said, "That would be-" Suddenly she tripped backwards and realized to her dismay that she had fallen over the troll leg umbrella stand for about the 50th time.
CRASH.
The moth eaten curtains flew open and the portrait of Sirius's mother began to predictably scream.
"I'm sorry!" wailed Tonks. "I always forget that it's right there!"
"-Shame of my flesh! Blood traitor! Lover of half-breeds, mudbloods and pureblood traitors-"
Sirius gave his mother a dirty hand gesture and helped Tonks off the floor.
"-Dirty blood brat strutting the hallowed halls of my forefathers!"
"WILL YOU SHUT UP YOU MISERABLE BITCH?" Sirius roared as he yanked the curtain's shut with Tonks's help. They went around stunning the rest of the yelling portraits and the hall became deadly quiet.
"I'm so sorry." Tonks said, feeling awful over her clumsiness.
"Don't be. It's not your fault the wretched woman put up a life size portrait of herself in the house. Go up and change-"
Tonks nodded and carefully ascended the stairs. She changed into her usual robes as quickly as she could and headed downstairs after trying to decide if she should have her hair bright bubble gum pink or shocking neon orange. She settled for a combo of the both and went downstairs with it pink, stripped orange.
When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she paused. The front door had opened up and Remus Lupin walked in quietly, looking very peaky and pale.
"Hello, Tonks." He said in a hoarse voice.
"Wotcher Remus." She replied taking cautious steps around any potential hazards that would cause Mrs. Black to wake up again. "Sirius is in the kitchen."
Remus hung up his patched and ragged traveling cloak. "It was a beautiful day today, wasn't it?"
"Yes it certainly was." Tonks said cheerfully.
They headed into the kitchen together where Sirius was humming a song from the 'Screaming Skulls' as he made up the tea.
"You're in a good mood today." Remus remarked to his friend as he put his dilapidated suitcase on the table.
Sirius grinned. "You can thank cousin Tonks for that."
Remus looked at Sirius and frowned. "Er-why are you wearing a pink dog collar?"
Remus looked completely nonplussed when Tonks and Sirius both burst out laughing.
The End