(Untitled)

[cursebreaker_]

Bill Weasley stands in the living room of the Burrow, very handsomely dressed, yet looking slightly nervous. He has a bouquet of flowers in one hand, and keeps looking at the watch on his other wrist. He has no reason to be nervous, he tells himself. He's gone out with many girls before, and this date will be the same as usual, right? Wrong.

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[metamorphette]

Tonks Apparates into the yard of the Burrow, not far outside the fence, and takes a moment to straighten herself out. Conjuring up a small hand mirror out of a leaf picked up from the ground, she nervously checks and re-checks her appearance, with the usual primping and adjustments one might expect of someone moments away from a date - although, the adjustments in hair length, nose shape, eye colour, are rather more extreme bits of primping than most. Finally, apparently, satisfied with her reflection, she transfigures the mirror back into the leaf it had been - gives a guilty start when it somehow fails to oblige, and becomes a very surprised looking snail, instead - and marches up to the gate, through said gate (rather painfully literally so, banging her knee on it with a resigned expression), and up to the door.

It takes her nearly as long to lift her hand and rap on the door as it did to leave off primping in front of the leaf-mirror-snail.

Knock, knock.

[which_is_which]

She probably didn't expect the twins to answer, but that's the Burrow for you. Everyone is into everybody else's business. While Bill was busy being nervous in the living room, they happened to be coming down the stairs, and heard the knock on the door.

George opened the door, and Fred peered out. "Oh! Hello, Tonks. Bill's been expecting you." He grinned.

George waved to her, as well. "Come on in!"

Luckily, they weren't teasing her about Bill. Yet.

[metamorphette]

"Am I to expect the rest of the family just inside, preparing to jump out at me like you two?" Tonks asked, stepping inside and matching the twins grin for grin - despite her words, their light-hearted friendliness did go rather a ways to calming her nerves.

[cursebreaker_]

Bill, having heard the commotion at the front door, stepped out from the living room and immediately broke into a huge grin. "Tonks, I see you've survived the terrors." He said, ruffling the twins' hair, to their dismay. "I'm just about ready to go. How about you?"

[metamorphette]

"Ready," Tonks replied with a grin. "See you two later, unless you get killed in one of your escapades," she added to the twins.

[cursebreaker_]

After the twins made a few jokes (which Bill didn't really hear) and said their good-byes and "have fun"s, he walked outside with her, holding the door open for her. "So, how should we do this? Side-Along Apparation I should think, right? After all, I'm the only one who knows where the restaurant actually is." He mused. "What do you think?"

[metamorphette]

"Unless you have a pair of broomsticks handy, and the place isn't too far, that seems the best idea," Tonks agreed.

[cursebreaker_]

He laughed, carefully taking her hand into his. "Well, ready? Here we go." And then he Apparated, keeping the location of the restaurant in mind.

As they arrived, he didn't let go of her hand at first, looking around at the front lobby area instead (the restaurant was a fairly fancy one). Then, realizing what he was doing, he smiled awkwardly and let her hand go, going to talk with the host about reservations instead.

[metamorphette]

Tonks half-smiled back, curling her hand rather pleasedly when he'd (eventually) dropped it. She wandered after him, half-listening to his words with the maitre d'.

[cursebreaker_]

After being seated at their table by the maitre d' and ordering their food (the typist wanted to skip the logistics of this date, just to move things along), Bill gave Tonks a smile that was both happy and slightly nervous at the same time.

"So." He said, with all the charm and nervousness of a person out on a date with a girl he really, really liked. "What do you think of the new Minister of Magic?" It was a stupid question, really, but the first one that came to mind.

[metamorphette]

"He seems to be... Working very busily to get things done," she answered cautiously, half-looking up through her eyelashes at Bill, as if to gauge his reaction. With all her own nervousness, for the same reason but reversing genders, Tonks fiddled with her napkin in her lap.

[cursebreaker_]

"Do you think?" The question isn't meant to be sarcastic; merely inquisitive. "Granted, he's certainly loads better than Fudge ever was. I just don't think th-- The Ministry in general-- ... Well, I suppose I should watch what I say in public. Wouldn't want Dad getting in trouble on my account." He gave her a small grin.

[metamorphette]

Tonks laughs. "Politics, one of those things one isn't supposed to speak about over dinner, right?"

[cursebreaker_]

"Right." He grins amusedly. "Let's leave that topic for the Ministry officials to argue over, shall we?"