you're the light in my dark. (remadora)

the daily prophet;

Remus arrived at the Grimmauld Place before everybody else. Because he didn't have something important to do, he sat down on the couch and began to read a book.

The time was passing slowly, Remus noticed after reading some pages, but right then, somebody slammed the door. He looked up from the book and saw a silhouette with pink hair. In the kitchen, Tonks was studying a newspaper.

"Hello..." he said, getting closer to her.
She mumbled "Hi", but she continued to read the newspaper.
"What happened?"
"Rita Skeeter..." Tonks whispered.
"Rita Skeeter? Wait, are you reading one of her articles?" he asked, confused.
"Read this, Remus!" Tonks fluttered the Daily Prophet under his nose. He took it and started reading:

"Cornelius Fudge thinks that his employees are plotting against him..."

"Oh God..."

"She has a whole article about the Ministry!" she continued turning a page, pointing at another paragraph. "Rita mocks everyone that works at the Ministry, even the auro-"

Remus took the newspaper from her hands. Nothing annoyed him more than that prat, Rita. He remembered the day when he appeared in one of her articles, too.

"I almost forgot about Nymphadora (what a lovely name). Her mother betrayed her family for a muggle-born, and now her daughter thinks she's so interesting just because she's a metamorphmagus.
The clumsy girl with hair like a unicorn... She's still dropping plates in the sink at her age. At her age, I was already a successful writer. Nymphadora also trips in her fights with the Death Eaters: that's why Voldemort is back. I wonder how she became an auror."

Remus stared at the newspaper with wide eyes.

"Everybody loves to mock me for being clumsy. Even when I was a kid, they... When I went to Hogwarts, all the girls were... were so... graceful!" she blurted. "But I wasn't. I hate myself for being clumsy. Now I try to do my job perfectly but I try in vain. I have no idea why my clumsiness is still bothering them, but I'm fed up, Remus, I'm..."

Remus put the Daily Prophet on the table and hugged Tonks tightly. She buried her face in his sweater.

"Some people are just too blind to see the true beauty in others..." he muttered.
Tonks sighed.
"Let them speak. They're just jealous!"
"Yeah, jealous of my clumsiness!"

Remus ripped the newspaper to pieces, and then, using his wand, he made it disappear.
Tonks looked at him, surprised.

"Dora... You know Rita says something horrible about every single person she writes about. A few years ago, she wrote the most disgusting things about me-"
"Please don't tell me that woman wrote an article about you too!"
"Well, that was a long time ago, and I don't want to think about it anymore."

He paused for a second.
"I admire you a lot, Tonks. I admire your beauty, your bravery, your strength... You are the only reason that I live for you know that, and I love you the way you are. You are the one who told me to stop worrying about what people think about me. That means Rita's words about you have no value. So what if you're clumsy? It's not like Rita is flawless. You're so cute when you're clumsy. Your clumsiness makes you perfect."

She flushed, and her hair turned red.
"And now you blush, and that makes me fall in love with you again..."
Tonks' cheeks were burning. His hazel eyes were fixing hers.

"So remember this, Dora," he took her cheeks in his hands, "everybody is beautiful in their very own way. This is what you told me when we stayed together for the first time after the full moon."

Remus kissed her forehead gently, and then Tonks rested her head on his chest again.
"I love you so much... I don't know what would I do without you..." she said.
He closed his eyes and smiled.

Their hug was interrupted by noises and voices from the hallway. Both of them took their wands and walked carefully to the door. They saw the members of the Order there, except the kids, and everybody was trying to look busy and indifferent.

"What are you all doing here?" Tonks asked.
Embarrassed, some of them went in other rooms.
"Were you spying on us?"
Almost everybody avoided eye contact. Only Dumbledore winked.
"Did he-"
"Yes," Remus responded, giggling, "he did..."

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