𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐫 | n. tonks

xviii

Tonks and Hadley were quiet for a moment, the dark purple-haired girl's forehead resting against the redhead's as they listened to the sound of the other's breathing and the faint voices downstairs. She brushed her nose against Hadley's cheek before kissing it softly.

"Did I ever tell you you're adorable when you blush?" Tonks asked in a whisper, grinning when Hadley's cheeks turned even more red.

"What the devil...?"

Tonks quickly stood up, brushing herself off as Remus looked between the two girls with furrowed brows. "Uh, I..." she chuckled awkwardly, "I tripped, and, uh...accidentally knocked Hadley down."

"Well, I figured that much," Remus said as Tonks helped Hadley up off the floor. They put some distance between them, the younger of the two lowering her gaze, resisting the urge to touch her still-tingling lips. Remus raised a brow, but walked to his room instead of asking questions. "Tell Mad-Eye he owes me 5 galleons," was the last thing he said before the door closed behind him.

─── ⋆·✧·⋆ ───

After lunch, Hadley was forced to sit in a boring meeting that seemed to be dragging on forever. She could barely focus on the Intro to Auror Training presentation Mad-Eye and Kingsley were showing her because all she wanted to do was escape upstairs to Tonks' room so that they could talk privately about their kiss.

Her knee bounced, and her quill moved sloppily across the parchment as she scribbled down notes. She doodled small hearts in the corners of the page, her thoughts wandering. She remembered how soft Tonks' lips felt against her own, a lingering taste of coffee and chocolate from that morning's breakfast. She could still smell her sweet perfume, and her cheek tingled from where her gentle hand had held it.

She wished that Remus hadn't interrupted. She wanted to crash their lips back together the moment Tonks pulled away. Just knowing that she felt the same things she's been feeling for the last few months made it impossible to even try to concentrate on anything else.

"Hadley, you're not listening." Mad-Eye's voice brought Hadley out of her daze. She blinked and looked up at him.

"Y-Yes, I am, sir," she lied.

"Really? Then what did I just say?"

"'Hadley, you're not listening'," the teenager replied cheekily, and Kingsley stifled a laugh.

Mad-Eye sighed and shook his head.

"Look, I know this isn't the most interesting part of the job, but it is important," Kingsley told her. "We just have a few more slides to go over, and then you're free for the rest of the day. Please try to pay attention."

Hadley leaned her chin into the palm of her hand, glancing between the presentation and her notes. She did try to stay focused, but her wrist was beginning to ache from how much she'd been writing. She sipped her tea, the natural caffeine keeping her going for the final minutes of the meeting.

When Mad-Eye dismissed her, she drank down the rest of her tea, gathered all her notes, and rushed upstairs. She placed her parchment, quill, and ink on the desk in her room before heading down the hall to Tonks' room, the door opening before she had the chance to knock.

"Hi," Hadley said dumbly, looking like a deer in the headlights.

"Hi," Tonks replied, smirking a little at the blush creeping onto her cheeks. She grabbed her arm and pulled her into the room, shutting the door. "I was just coming to find you. How was the meeting?"

"Boring," Hadley blurted before she even had time to think of another response.

Tonks chuckled and sat down on her bed. She patted the spot next to her, and Hadley sat down. "It'll get more exciting when you start training. Mad-Eye's assigned each of us to train you in specific areas."

"Like...alone?"

This made Tonks' smirk grow. "Yes. Alone. But don't go getting any ideas, Haddie. Remus already had a talk with me."

"I still can't believe he saw that," Hadley mumbled, shaking her head.

"Better him than my mum. That would've been awkward." Tonks chuckled. "'Hey, Mum, don't mind me. Just snogging the newbie.'" Hadley laughed. "I wouldn't be able to look her in the eye for at least a week."

"Fred and George would make fun of us if they were here." Hadley smiled at the thought of her brother's. "They were already teasing me quite a bit last year. I'd dig a hole and bury myself in it if you knew half the things they said."

"Awe, does someone have a little crush...?" Tonks teased, playfully poking Hadley's cheek, "on little ol' me?" She batted her lashes and pouted her lips, smiling as the blush on Hadley's face grew.

"Uh...m-maybe?"

Why does admitting feelings have to be so awkward?

"Maybe." Tonks hummed.

"I-I mean..." Hadley looked down and anxiously twisted the rings on her fingers, "y-you're just, like...kinda really pretty...a-and funny...and nice."

Tonks grinned, slowly inching closer to Hadley. "Go on and say it, Ley," she whispered.

"Um..." Hadley swallowed nervously and took a shaky breath, her eyes flickering down to Tonks' lips. "M-Maybe I...like you..."

Tonks cupped her cheek and whispered against her lips, "Maybe I like you, too," before connecting them.