Fic: 31 Flavors
Title: 31 Flavors
Author: roh_wyn
Rating & Warnings: PG/mild profanity
Prompt: ice cream
Word count: 3032
Summary: On their first date, Tonks takes Remus somewhere for ice cream.
Author's Notes: This is easily the longest Remus/Tonks fic I've ever written. Although this is a stand-alone fic, it also works as a sort of lead-in for Explanations. Many thanks to the lovely mods for the deadline extension!
31 Flavors
He checks off a mental list of all the women he's been with, from the glossy, ambitious girls of his youth to the weary companions of his near-middle age. He's trying to peg her, put her into one of those boxes. But she's a stubborn one, this Nymphadora Tonks. She defies classification.
She's like nobody he's ever met before. She's…she's….
She simply is. It's strange and existential and somehow life-affirming, and that's why he's here. On this date, watching her eat ice cream.
August 1, 1993 | Hogwarts
Lupin shuffled, and kept his eyes trained on his feet. He'd never really warmed to being called into Dumbledore's office, and the fact he was now a professor didn't make much of a difference. Still, he was certain he wasn't in any sort of trouble-at least not this time-so he settled back in his chair and waited.
It wasn't long before he was ushered into the Headmaster's presence, and to Lupin's surprise, Dumbledore wasn't alone. There was a woman, really just a girl, with him. She had black, mirror-shiny hair and a friendly smile, neither of which complemented the absolutely dreadful clothes she was wearing.
"Ah, Remus. Come, come…sit." Dumbledore waved him into a chair and gave him an indulgent smile. "This is Nymphadora Tonks, of the Auror Department. She'd like to have a word with you."
Lupin drew in a sharp breath, wondering whether the Ministry was on to him. He chanced a glance at the girl and noted she was watching him with a mixture of curiosity and determination, but very little malice.
"I promise it'll be a very short interview, Professor." The girl's spoke in a lilting and playful way that put Lupin immediately at ease. Good trick, that.
He'd just started debating his next move when Dumbledore rose out of his chair suddenly. "I'll leave you two to it, then. I have…some other matters to attend to." He spoke the words plainly, but with just a tinge of mystery, leaving Lupin to wonder what the old wizard had up his sleeve this time.
He turned his attention back to the girl. "So…what can I help you with, Auror Tonks?"
"Well…" She bit her lip and seemed a bit doubtful, but then gave him the most cheerful shrug he'd ever seen. She leaned forward and whispered in an exaggerated way. "I should tell you…I'm not really an Auror. At least not yet."
Lupin raised an eyebrow. "Mad-eye sends trainees out on missions now?"
"It's not a real mission. Sort of a recon thing."
"So I gather I'm not special enough to warrant a real mission?"
She smirked and Lupin caught the most interesting twinkle in her eye. "I'm sure you're very special in your own way, Professor."
Lupin gaped at her for a moment, but recovered quickly. She was obviously just teasing him, and, well, two could play at that game.
"Well, Auror-in-training Tonks…perhaps we can conduct this interview elsewhere." He pulled at the neck of his robes, feigning discomfort. "Being in the Headmaster's office makes me nervous."
"Oh, me too. Merlin knows I was here often enough!"
Lupin smirked. "Were you, now? That's interesting. Why?"
"Well, you know how it is. I was always…" Her voice trailed off. "Wait a minute, I'm supposed to be asking the questions."
"Indeed."
He took in the sight of her cheeks turning pink in embarrassment, and suddenly felt a little sorry for her. "I'll tell you what. Meet me at The Three Broomsticks in two hours, and I'll answer any questions you might have." He inclined his head politely in her direction. "Within reasonable limits, of course."
"Of course." She nodded, in a very curt and official sort of way. "I'll see you in two hours, Professor."
--
He nursed his glass of Ogden's Old, remembering with amusement the look Rosmerta had given him when he asked for it. He allowed it was probably too early in the day for Firewhisky, but if the Auror Department wanted answers, then it was best to be prepared. And if he wasn't prepared, then he could always blame it on intoxication.
Meanwhile, as far as Lupin could tell, the Auror Department-or at least its representative in Hogsmeade that day-was busy wringing water out of the hem of her robes. The girl gave him a sheepish smile as she made her way over to his table.
"Wotcher."
He raised an eyebrow. "Hit a spot of bad weather, Auror Tonks?"
"No," she said, as she gave him a wet hand to shake. "There was…er, a puddle at the Apparation point."
"Amazing how the rest of us managed to miss it then."
She rolled her eyes at him, and sat down in a chair across from his own. He laughed and motioned at his own glass. "A drink?"
"No, thanks." She smirked. "I have to be a bit more steady than you just now, I think."
"Fair enough, Auror Tonks."
"You shouldn't call me that, Professor. I told you…I'm not really an Auror."
He nodded. "I'll tell you what…you call me Remus, and I'll call you…" What was it Albus had called her? "Ah, yes…Nymphadora."
She cringed and made a face. "No! If you're going to call me that, just keep calling me 'Auror' instead."
"It is your name, isn't it?"
She looked doubtful and suddenly very young. "Yes, but if you had a name like that, you wouldn't want it to be your name, would you?"
"So what do people call you then?"
"Just Tonks."
He laughed. There was something about her that invited laughter. Not the derisive finger-pointing sort Sirius and James had used against Severus Snape. This was different…it was the laughter of companions, of friends, perhaps even lovers. Lovers? Lupin pushed the thought away, and quickly changed gears.
"Right. So…Just Tonks. What can I do for you?"
She looked thoughtful. "I suppose I should start with why Mad-eye sent me, and not one of the others."
"I assume because of your superior Apparation skills?"
"Your mockery is duly noted." She pulled a small notebook and a quill out of her pocket. "I'll have you know, I do have some very useful skills as well."
Lupin was about to tell her she was undoubtedly special in her own way, but he stopped short. In the blink of an eye, her hair had gone from jet black to the tawny golden-brown of Firewhisky, and her eyes changed to match the hair. Comprehension began to trickle in.
"You're…you're a Metamorphmagus!"
She gave him a knowing smile and bowed her head. "In the flesh."
Lupin was too stunned to speak, and she left him in silence for a few minutes.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to spring it on you like that, Professor…er, Remus."
"No, it's…" He shook his head and forced himself back to some sort of composure. "It's all right." He stumbled around in his mind, trying to find something clever to say, but nothing really came to him. "It's just…metamorphmagi are…well, it's a rare gift you have."
She shrugged. "So they tell me." She fell silent and, after a long moment, she fixed with a frank gaze. "I have to tell you, sometimes it's more like a curse than a gift."
He nodded, and felt a sudden rush of sympathy for the girl. If there was ever a wizard who knew how it felt to be a freak of nature…
"Anyhow," she began as she rummaged through her pockets and produced a small notebook and a quill, "back to why Mad-eye sent me. See, we have something in common, you and I."
He laughed, the sheer improbability of her comment catching him off guard. "I assure you, I'm not a Metamorphmagus." He preempted her retort. "But yes, I am rather special in my own way."
"No doubt." The expression on her face changed, and just as in Dumbledore's office, she was suddenly not a girl, but an official of the Ministry, an Auror.
"If we could be serious for a moment, Remus." She waved at the quill and it positioned itself expectantly over a blank page in her notebook. "Mad-eye thought I should be the one to talk to you…because of Sirius Black."
Lupin was instantly on guard. "Sirius Black? What of him?" Ever since he'd heard the rumours of Sirius's escape, he'd expected questions, but this was the first time anyone had actually asked them. "And why are you the one to talk to?"
"Sirius was…is…my cousin." She watched him closely, and Lupin guessed she was trying to gauge his reaction. But after a moment, she dropped his gaze and sighed. "Look, I'm not here to interrogate you. Merlin knows I've had to answer a million questions about my illustrious cousin already!
"It's just…Mad-eye thought…because you and Sirius were friends, he might…"
"Come to find me?" Lupin bristled. "I assure you that's not the case. I haven't had any contact with him in years. And that's how I prefer it."
She recoiled at the tone of his voice, but recovered almost instantly. "In that case, you won't mind answering a few questions."
--
August 3, 1993 | London
He had no idea how he'd gone from answering questions about Sirius to asking her to dinner. It had made perfect sense at the time, and to his surprise, she had accepted. That was about when it all stopped making sense.
They were polishing off an ordinary meal in a once-trendy Muggle restaurant. It was a bit too dark, but Lupin thought that was a good thing. It meant she couldn't really see how he had not stopped smiling all evening. Or how his heart leapt in his chest whenever she laughed. He felt like he was fifteen years old, when surely, that had to be how much older he was than Tonks.
They had been perfectly comfortable all evening, making small talk, sharing their stories, and at one point even gossiping about the professors at Hogwarts. But the meal was almost over, and tension was starting to creep in.
"Fancy some afters, Remus?"
He chuckled, and catching his meaning, she colored spectacularly, her face so pink it nearly matched her hair. He cursed himself, and cleared his throat to speak, but she cut him off with a laugh and a raised eyebrow.
"I'm game if you are, Professor." She was deadpan and matter-of-fact, but her smile was all suggestion. It made him just a little nervous, so he steered the conversation back on track.
"We should get some…er, ice cream."
"Oh." She looked disappointed but perked up just a moment later. "I know just the place." She stood up suddenly and pulled him to his feet. "Hold on tight!"
He laughed. "I hope there are no puddles this time." She said something in response, but he didn't hear it as the familiar sense of being pulled up through space took over. He barely had time to worry she would get him splinched before they arrived at their destination with an audible pop.
"So…here we are."
Here was a nondescript parking lot behind a low concrete building with a red-and-white striped awning.
"Where are we?"
"Hmm. Glendale, California…if I got it right."
Lupin scoffed. "We came all the way to America? For ice cream?"
She smiled. "Yes. Any objections?"
"I suppose I'm just wondering what happened to all the ice cream places in Britain."
"Well, it wouldn’t be much fun to just pop into Hogsmeade for ice cream, would it?" She put her hands on her hips as she spoke, making her look like a petulant child. Remus chuckled, enjoying all this more than he'd expected.
He conceded. "Fair enough. But why this place?"
"Oh, because it's home to the place with 31 Flavors, of course!" She pointed at a neon sign hung in the door that proclaimed the ice cream did indeed come in thirty one different flavors.
"Thirty one flavours? Really?"
She pondered for a moment. "You know, it's probably not exactly thirty one. Just lots of different ones." She started walking towards the door of the shop. "Sort of like Bertie Botts' Every Flavour Beans, really."
"Well, I hope Muggles have the good sense not to make vomit-flavoured ice cream."
She laughed, her eyes twinkling in the bright afternoon sunlight. "Where's your sense of adventure, Remus?"
"I think I lost it when we Apparated here."
She swatted him gently in the shoulder. "You know, it hasn’t been all that long since I learned how to Apparate properly. You're lucky we didn't get splinched."
"That's not inspiring confidence for the return trip, Nymphadora."
"Don't call me Nymphadora!"
--
It took nearly an hour for Tonks to decide what sort of ice cream she wanted. Although there were not nearly as many flavors as with Every Flavour Beans, she seemed to be having trouble picking one that matched her mood just so. Lupin was amused at first, but after watching her taste nearly everything in the shop for a third time, he was closer to exasperation.
"You know, it's not like taking a N.E.W.T. You don't have to think so much about it. They don't haul you off to Azkaban, if you pick the wrong one."
"Don't be mean. It's just…important to me." She tasted a few more flavours and finally settled on what Lupin guessed had probably been her first choice anyway: bubble gum.
She showed him the cone with a flourish. "See? Matches my hair."
They took their treats and made their way over to a small park at the end of the street. Tonks' ice cream was starting to melt and every now and then, she would stop to lick the bit that dribbled down her wrist. Lupin was mesmerized by the sight and shook his head to break the spell.
"You could just put a freezing charm on it, you know."
She scoffed. "Pfft. The whole point of ice cream is that it melts before you can eat it!" She frowned. "Did you finish yours already? Want some of mine?"
She held the cone out so close to his face that it was impossible to refuse. He took it from her and tasted gingerly. It wasn't too bad, but he was left with a completely different sort of sensation. He felt like they'd shared more than ice cream, something like a precursor to a kiss. The thought was disturbing, so Lupin shoved the cone back at her quickly.
She looked surprised for a minute, then shrugged and sat down on a bench, finishing her ice cream in silence. Lupin tried to think of something to say, something meaningless and trivial that would make her laugh, but it wasn't coming to him.
She threw away the paper her cone had been wrapped in, wiping the stickiness from her hands on her legs. She gave him a long and searching look, and after what seemed like an eternity, she spoke.
"I was seven…when we first heard about Sirius…and all that."
She pulled her legs up to her chest, a young woman telling a little girl's story. "Things were horrible for us, especially for Mum. She'd always liked Sirius, defended him to everyone else.
"But he'd finally done something nobody could defend…and for some reason, everyone blamed Mum." Her cheeks reddened with indignation. "Like Mum had anything to do with Sirius turning out to be a murderer!
"One week, things were really bad, and Dad said we should just get away from it all. So we came here...for ice cream, and because this place seemed about as far away from Sirius and Azkaban as you could possibly ever be."
Lupin felt his chest tighten. She was right. They did have something in common. Her life was tied to Sirius and his downfall as much as his own, and she must have known-as he did-no matter how much you wanted to get away, no matter how far you went, Sirius and the terrible shadow he cast would always follow close behind.
He reached out and took her hand, threading his fingers through hers. She seemed both surprised and sort of grateful.
"Thank you for not thinking I'm a stupid bloody idiot…"
"No. Not an idiot." He smiled at her. "Trainee Auror."
She laughed and then, without warning, she leaned over and pressed her lips to his. And Lupin promptly forgot all the clever things he had planned to say.
--
August 3 1997 | London
Lupin sighed as he watched Tonks put her feet up on the table. She was more tired than she had ever been before, even though she had done nearly nothing in the past few days. But between being sick at the mere sight of food and being fast asleep on her mother's sofa, there had been no time for her to do much else.
"Are you alright?"
She gave him an exasperated half-smile. "Yes, Remus, I'm fine. Or I will be…in about seven months time."
Worry gnawed at him. It had been a bad idea, bringing her into his world, filled as it was with uncertainty and danger. And now, to bring a child into it as well? That was just madness.
"Dora, do you…"
"Oh, not that again, love. Please." She snuggled up to him on the sofa. "I promise you, it will all turn out fine in the end."
"It's just…alright, no more."
"Look, Remus…I'm not saying you're wrong to be worried. But we can't know anything for certain, not until the baby comes." She gave him a quick hug. "So we should try our best to enjoy what we have, don't you think?"
He nodded, unconvinced but determined not to upset her further.
"In fact, you know what?" She shuffled off the sofa and held her arm out to him. "Let's go get some ice cream. Hold on tight!"
--
She's like nobody he's ever met before. She's…she's….
She simply is. It's strange and existential and somehow life-affirming, and that's why he's leaving. Tomorrow, he'll go find Harry and join the fight against all the evil in the world. Because ice cream can't make everything better, but he can.
Author: roh_wyn
Rating & Warnings: PG/mild profanity
Prompt: ice cream
Word count: 3032
Summary: On their first date, Tonks takes Remus somewhere for ice cream.
Author's Notes: This is easily the longest Remus/Tonks fic I've ever written. Although this is a stand-alone fic, it also works as a sort of lead-in for Explanations. Many thanks to the lovely mods for the deadline extension!
31 Flavors
He checks off a mental list of all the women he's been with, from the glossy, ambitious girls of his youth to the weary companions of his near-middle age. He's trying to peg her, put her into one of those boxes. But she's a stubborn one, this Nymphadora Tonks. She defies classification.
She's like nobody he's ever met before. She's…she's….
She simply is. It's strange and existential and somehow life-affirming, and that's why he's here. On this date, watching her eat ice cream.
August 1, 1993 | Hogwarts
Lupin shuffled, and kept his eyes trained on his feet. He'd never really warmed to being called into Dumbledore's office, and the fact he was now a professor didn't make much of a difference. Still, he was certain he wasn't in any sort of trouble-at least not this time-so he settled back in his chair and waited.
It wasn't long before he was ushered into the Headmaster's presence, and to Lupin's surprise, Dumbledore wasn't alone. There was a woman, really just a girl, with him. She had black, mirror-shiny hair and a friendly smile, neither of which complemented the absolutely dreadful clothes she was wearing.
"Ah, Remus. Come, come…sit." Dumbledore waved him into a chair and gave him an indulgent smile. "This is Nymphadora Tonks, of the Auror Department. She'd like to have a word with you."
Lupin drew in a sharp breath, wondering whether the Ministry was on to him. He chanced a glance at the girl and noted she was watching him with a mixture of curiosity and determination, but very little malice.
"I promise it'll be a very short interview, Professor." The girl's spoke in a lilting and playful way that put Lupin immediately at ease. Good trick, that.
He'd just started debating his next move when Dumbledore rose out of his chair suddenly. "I'll leave you two to it, then. I have…some other matters to attend to." He spoke the words plainly, but with just a tinge of mystery, leaving Lupin to wonder what the old wizard had up his sleeve this time.
He turned his attention back to the girl. "So…what can I help you with, Auror Tonks?"
"Well…" She bit her lip and seemed a bit doubtful, but then gave him the most cheerful shrug he'd ever seen. She leaned forward and whispered in an exaggerated way. "I should tell you…I'm not really an Auror. At least not yet."
Lupin raised an eyebrow. "Mad-eye sends trainees out on missions now?"
"It's not a real mission. Sort of a recon thing."
"So I gather I'm not special enough to warrant a real mission?"
She smirked and Lupin caught the most interesting twinkle in her eye. "I'm sure you're very special in your own way, Professor."
Lupin gaped at her for a moment, but recovered quickly. She was obviously just teasing him, and, well, two could play at that game.
"Well, Auror-in-training Tonks…perhaps we can conduct this interview elsewhere." He pulled at the neck of his robes, feigning discomfort. "Being in the Headmaster's office makes me nervous."
"Oh, me too. Merlin knows I was here often enough!"
Lupin smirked. "Were you, now? That's interesting. Why?"
"Well, you know how it is. I was always…" Her voice trailed off. "Wait a minute, I'm supposed to be asking the questions."
"Indeed."
He took in the sight of her cheeks turning pink in embarrassment, and suddenly felt a little sorry for her. "I'll tell you what. Meet me at The Three Broomsticks in two hours, and I'll answer any questions you might have." He inclined his head politely in her direction. "Within reasonable limits, of course."
"Of course." She nodded, in a very curt and official sort of way. "I'll see you in two hours, Professor."
--
He nursed his glass of Ogden's Old, remembering with amusement the look Rosmerta had given him when he asked for it. He allowed it was probably too early in the day for Firewhisky, but if the Auror Department wanted answers, then it was best to be prepared. And if he wasn't prepared, then he could always blame it on intoxication.
Meanwhile, as far as Lupin could tell, the Auror Department-or at least its representative in Hogsmeade that day-was busy wringing water out of the hem of her robes. The girl gave him a sheepish smile as she made her way over to his table.
"Wotcher."
He raised an eyebrow. "Hit a spot of bad weather, Auror Tonks?"
"No," she said, as she gave him a wet hand to shake. "There was…er, a puddle at the Apparation point."
"Amazing how the rest of us managed to miss it then."
She rolled her eyes at him, and sat down in a chair across from his own. He laughed and motioned at his own glass. "A drink?"
"No, thanks." She smirked. "I have to be a bit more steady than you just now, I think."
"Fair enough, Auror Tonks."
"You shouldn't call me that, Professor. I told you…I'm not really an Auror."
He nodded. "I'll tell you what…you call me Remus, and I'll call you…" What was it Albus had called her? "Ah, yes…Nymphadora."
She cringed and made a face. "No! If you're going to call me that, just keep calling me 'Auror' instead."
"It is your name, isn't it?"
She looked doubtful and suddenly very young. "Yes, but if you had a name like that, you wouldn't want it to be your name, would you?"
"So what do people call you then?"
"Just Tonks."
He laughed. There was something about her that invited laughter. Not the derisive finger-pointing sort Sirius and James had used against Severus Snape. This was different…it was the laughter of companions, of friends, perhaps even lovers. Lovers? Lupin pushed the thought away, and quickly changed gears.
"Right. So…Just Tonks. What can I do for you?"
She looked thoughtful. "I suppose I should start with why Mad-eye sent me, and not one of the others."
"I assume because of your superior Apparation skills?"
"Your mockery is duly noted." She pulled a small notebook and a quill out of her pocket. "I'll have you know, I do have some very useful skills as well."
Lupin was about to tell her she was undoubtedly special in her own way, but he stopped short. In the blink of an eye, her hair had gone from jet black to the tawny golden-brown of Firewhisky, and her eyes changed to match the hair. Comprehension began to trickle in.
"You're…you're a Metamorphmagus!"
She gave him a knowing smile and bowed her head. "In the flesh."
Lupin was too stunned to speak, and she left him in silence for a few minutes.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to spring it on you like that, Professor…er, Remus."
"No, it's…" He shook his head and forced himself back to some sort of composure. "It's all right." He stumbled around in his mind, trying to find something clever to say, but nothing really came to him. "It's just…metamorphmagi are…well, it's a rare gift you have."
She shrugged. "So they tell me." She fell silent and, after a long moment, she fixed with a frank gaze. "I have to tell you, sometimes it's more like a curse than a gift."
He nodded, and felt a sudden rush of sympathy for the girl. If there was ever a wizard who knew how it felt to be a freak of nature…
"Anyhow," she began as she rummaged through her pockets and produced a small notebook and a quill, "back to why Mad-eye sent me. See, we have something in common, you and I."
He laughed, the sheer improbability of her comment catching him off guard. "I assure you, I'm not a Metamorphmagus." He preempted her retort. "But yes, I am rather special in my own way."
"No doubt." The expression on her face changed, and just as in Dumbledore's office, she was suddenly not a girl, but an official of the Ministry, an Auror.
"If we could be serious for a moment, Remus." She waved at the quill and it positioned itself expectantly over a blank page in her notebook. "Mad-eye thought I should be the one to talk to you…because of Sirius Black."
Lupin was instantly on guard. "Sirius Black? What of him?" Ever since he'd heard the rumours of Sirius's escape, he'd expected questions, but this was the first time anyone had actually asked them. "And why are you the one to talk to?"
"Sirius was…is…my cousin." She watched him closely, and Lupin guessed she was trying to gauge his reaction. But after a moment, she dropped his gaze and sighed. "Look, I'm not here to interrogate you. Merlin knows I've had to answer a million questions about my illustrious cousin already!
"It's just…Mad-eye thought…because you and Sirius were friends, he might…"
"Come to find me?" Lupin bristled. "I assure you that's not the case. I haven't had any contact with him in years. And that's how I prefer it."
She recoiled at the tone of his voice, but recovered almost instantly. "In that case, you won't mind answering a few questions."
--
August 3, 1993 | London
He had no idea how he'd gone from answering questions about Sirius to asking her to dinner. It had made perfect sense at the time, and to his surprise, she had accepted. That was about when it all stopped making sense.
They were polishing off an ordinary meal in a once-trendy Muggle restaurant. It was a bit too dark, but Lupin thought that was a good thing. It meant she couldn't really see how he had not stopped smiling all evening. Or how his heart leapt in his chest whenever she laughed. He felt like he was fifteen years old, when surely, that had to be how much older he was than Tonks.
They had been perfectly comfortable all evening, making small talk, sharing their stories, and at one point even gossiping about the professors at Hogwarts. But the meal was almost over, and tension was starting to creep in.
"Fancy some afters, Remus?"
He chuckled, and catching his meaning, she colored spectacularly, her face so pink it nearly matched her hair. He cursed himself, and cleared his throat to speak, but she cut him off with a laugh and a raised eyebrow.
"I'm game if you are, Professor." She was deadpan and matter-of-fact, but her smile was all suggestion. It made him just a little nervous, so he steered the conversation back on track.
"We should get some…er, ice cream."
"Oh." She looked disappointed but perked up just a moment later. "I know just the place." She stood up suddenly and pulled him to his feet. "Hold on tight!"
He laughed. "I hope there are no puddles this time." She said something in response, but he didn't hear it as the familiar sense of being pulled up through space took over. He barely had time to worry she would get him splinched before they arrived at their destination with an audible pop.
"So…here we are."
Here was a nondescript parking lot behind a low concrete building with a red-and-white striped awning.
"Where are we?"
"Hmm. Glendale, California…if I got it right."
Lupin scoffed. "We came all the way to America? For ice cream?"
She smiled. "Yes. Any objections?"
"I suppose I'm just wondering what happened to all the ice cream places in Britain."
"Well, it wouldn’t be much fun to just pop into Hogsmeade for ice cream, would it?" She put her hands on her hips as she spoke, making her look like a petulant child. Remus chuckled, enjoying all this more than he'd expected.
He conceded. "Fair enough. But why this place?"
"Oh, because it's home to the place with 31 Flavors, of course!" She pointed at a neon sign hung in the door that proclaimed the ice cream did indeed come in thirty one different flavors.
"Thirty one flavours? Really?"
She pondered for a moment. "You know, it's probably not exactly thirty one. Just lots of different ones." She started walking towards the door of the shop. "Sort of like Bertie Botts' Every Flavour Beans, really."
"Well, I hope Muggles have the good sense not to make vomit-flavoured ice cream."
She laughed, her eyes twinkling in the bright afternoon sunlight. "Where's your sense of adventure, Remus?"
"I think I lost it when we Apparated here."
She swatted him gently in the shoulder. "You know, it hasn’t been all that long since I learned how to Apparate properly. You're lucky we didn't get splinched."
"That's not inspiring confidence for the return trip, Nymphadora."
"Don't call me Nymphadora!"
--
It took nearly an hour for Tonks to decide what sort of ice cream she wanted. Although there were not nearly as many flavors as with Every Flavour Beans, she seemed to be having trouble picking one that matched her mood just so. Lupin was amused at first, but after watching her taste nearly everything in the shop for a third time, he was closer to exasperation.
"You know, it's not like taking a N.E.W.T. You don't have to think so much about it. They don't haul you off to Azkaban, if you pick the wrong one."
"Don't be mean. It's just…important to me." She tasted a few more flavours and finally settled on what Lupin guessed had probably been her first choice anyway: bubble gum.
She showed him the cone with a flourish. "See? Matches my hair."
They took their treats and made their way over to a small park at the end of the street. Tonks' ice cream was starting to melt and every now and then, she would stop to lick the bit that dribbled down her wrist. Lupin was mesmerized by the sight and shook his head to break the spell.
"You could just put a freezing charm on it, you know."
She scoffed. "Pfft. The whole point of ice cream is that it melts before you can eat it!" She frowned. "Did you finish yours already? Want some of mine?"
She held the cone out so close to his face that it was impossible to refuse. He took it from her and tasted gingerly. It wasn't too bad, but he was left with a completely different sort of sensation. He felt like they'd shared more than ice cream, something like a precursor to a kiss. The thought was disturbing, so Lupin shoved the cone back at her quickly.
She looked surprised for a minute, then shrugged and sat down on a bench, finishing her ice cream in silence. Lupin tried to think of something to say, something meaningless and trivial that would make her laugh, but it wasn't coming to him.
She threw away the paper her cone had been wrapped in, wiping the stickiness from her hands on her legs. She gave him a long and searching look, and after what seemed like an eternity, she spoke.
"I was seven…when we first heard about Sirius…and all that."
She pulled her legs up to her chest, a young woman telling a little girl's story. "Things were horrible for us, especially for Mum. She'd always liked Sirius, defended him to everyone else.
"But he'd finally done something nobody could defend…and for some reason, everyone blamed Mum." Her cheeks reddened with indignation. "Like Mum had anything to do with Sirius turning out to be a murderer!
"One week, things were really bad, and Dad said we should just get away from it all. So we came here...for ice cream, and because this place seemed about as far away from Sirius and Azkaban as you could possibly ever be."
Lupin felt his chest tighten. She was right. They did have something in common. Her life was tied to Sirius and his downfall as much as his own, and she must have known-as he did-no matter how much you wanted to get away, no matter how far you went, Sirius and the terrible shadow he cast would always follow close behind.
He reached out and took her hand, threading his fingers through hers. She seemed both surprised and sort of grateful.
"Thank you for not thinking I'm a stupid bloody idiot…"
"No. Not an idiot." He smiled at her. "Trainee Auror."
She laughed and then, without warning, she leaned over and pressed her lips to his. And Lupin promptly forgot all the clever things he had planned to say.
--
August 3 1997 | London
Lupin sighed as he watched Tonks put her feet up on the table. She was more tired than she had ever been before, even though she had done nearly nothing in the past few days. But between being sick at the mere sight of food and being fast asleep on her mother's sofa, there had been no time for her to do much else.
"Are you alright?"
She gave him an exasperated half-smile. "Yes, Remus, I'm fine. Or I will be…in about seven months time."
Worry gnawed at him. It had been a bad idea, bringing her into his world, filled as it was with uncertainty and danger. And now, to bring a child into it as well? That was just madness.
"Dora, do you…"
"Oh, not that again, love. Please." She snuggled up to him on the sofa. "I promise you, it will all turn out fine in the end."
"It's just…alright, no more."
"Look, Remus…I'm not saying you're wrong to be worried. But we can't know anything for certain, not until the baby comes." She gave him a quick hug. "So we should try our best to enjoy what we have, don't you think?"
He nodded, unconvinced but determined not to upset her further.
"In fact, you know what?" She shuffled off the sofa and held her arm out to him. "Let's go get some ice cream. Hold on tight!"
--
She's like nobody he's ever met before. She's…she's….
She simply is. It's strange and existential and somehow life-affirming, and that's why he's leaving. Tomorrow, he'll go find Harry and join the fight against all the evil in the world. Because ice cream can't make everything better, but he can.