"REMUS!"

With a soft thump and a flash of hot pink, Nymphadora Tonks slammed into Remus's with the force of a small cannon, nearly toppling him over in the doorway of her family's home. He laughed and patted her shoulders warmly, "Good morning, Dora," he said.

She held up a very worn-out looking stuffed rabbit.

"And good morning also to you, Mr. Bunny," Remus said, smiling at the rabbit and reaching out to shake his worn out paw.

"Nymphadora!" Andromeda Tonks came 'round the corner, "How many times do I have to tell you to control your hair color, please? It's unnatural!"

Nymphadora sighed and crunched up her eyes and her hair turned mousey brown from the roots to the ends. "Remus, Remus, come play with me! We're about to go on a very long adventure and fight the evil Frog King and --"

"Nymphadora, calm down, the poor boy's only just got here!" Andromeda smiled at Remus. "Good morning, Remus, have you eaten?"

"Yes m'am," Remus replied respectfully.

"Well come and have a sausage anyway," Andromeda said and she bustled off to the kitchen.

Remus looked at Nymphadora. "We'll play with Mr. Bunny and the Evil Frog King when your mum and dad leave, alright?"

"Really?"

"Yes, I promise."

"I got a new rat," she declared, following Remus as he walked through the house toward the kitchen, "I named him Nibbler. He tried to eat Mr. Bunny's ear! Look." She held up the end of the bunny's ear where it was, indeed, a bit frayed and a tiny tuft of stuffing was coming out.

"I can fix him," Remus offered.

Nymphadora shook her head, "I love Mr. Buny even if he isn't perfect."

The confidence in her tone as she said the words warmed Remus right to his core and he smiled at her and they had a seat at the Tonks's kitchen table, where Mrs. Tonks loaded a plate full of food and put it down in front of Remus, despite his protests that he'd already eaten and didn't need a second meal. "Nonsense," she said, "You're scrawnier than a bowtruckle." She looked at her daughter and sighed with exasperation. "Nymphadora, your nose!"

Nymphadora had turned her nose into a duck bill and was laughing uproariously.

Remus smiled.

He was very thankful for the Tonkses. Since his teaching program didn't begin until August, he had two full months of free summer time. He'd been baby-sitting for Andromeda and Ted to make some money, hoping to help offset some of the costs of the over the top wedding Sirius was planning

Remus hated the idea of the Potters paying for everything, even though Sirius seemed quite alright with it, it really bothered Remus. He was thankful, of course, but it seemed to him that Charlus, Dora, and James had done far more for him than they ought ever have to, being that he wasn't their actually blood family. Whatever the Potters said to the contrary on the topic, Remus couldn't shake the idea that everything they gave to him was charity. Above all things in his life, Remus did not want to be considered a charity case... even though in his heart of hearts, he knew that he needed every kind act that came his way. He was up against the odds, of course, being a werewolf, and an orphan, and a gay -- the fact that he'd made it as far as he had so far was stunning, and, he knew, because of the charity of others. But damn it he needed some pride. And so he worked.

If you could call it work, that is.

Taking care of Nymphadora Tonks was Remus's favorite thing in the world. There was something about her open and loving personality that made his heart feel so warm, and she just adored him. He was the only person, he realized quickly, that let her be completely herself. Adromeda was forever correcting her, making her keep her hair "natural" colors, when all Tonks was doing was trying to express herself. He completely understood the pressure of not being accepted for who you were or wanted to be, of being held back by a parent who thought they knew better for you than you knew for yourself...

It was as though Nymphadora could sense that about Remus, and she clung onto it, and together they were a pair of misfits, and they had adventures in the Tonkses backyard.

Which is exactly what they set out to do when Andromeda had left a little while after she'd stuffed Remus with three whole sausages.

The backyard at the Tonkses seemed to go on forever and ever with nearly no end in sight. There were loads of trees to climb and fields to run through and a creek in a small wood at the far edge of the property. But of all the things in the backyard, Nymphadora's favorite was the duckpond.

The duckpond was murky and brown, with dirty water that smelled a bit thick, but it was the perfect place to find frog spawn and slugs. Nymphadora ducked between the long reeds and splashed about up to her ankles in the edge of the water, turning over rocks and sending small water life scuttling for safety. Remus followed her, though he was secretly grossed out by the stench and the mire in the thick of the water's edges, which were green and nasty.

"EVIL FROG KINGGGGGGGGG!" Nymphadora cried out, seeing a giant toad that leaped from a rock into the water with a great big plop of splashing water. Mr. Bunny was about her shoulders as though he were riding her piggy back, his limbs and ears flopping about as she ran. "GET HIM REMUS!" she pointed.

Remus pretended to shoot a spell at the frog, really just setting sparks off the end of his wand, which crackled loudly, and made Nymphadora clap heartily. She stopped when she nearly dropped Mr. Bunny into the water, catching him just in time before he spilled over.

"I think he got away!" Remus said in mock frustration. He looked around, "There, he's going that way!"

"Where?!" Nymphadora looked around, her hot pink again hair turning orange as her excitement grew and she turned frantically.

"There!" Remus pointed at a random spot in the middle of the field, and Nymphadora tore off, running across the grass as hard as her little legs would let her, leaping through the taller grasses that were nearly so high they brushed her chin as she went, so that all Remus could see of her ahead of him was the dash of fuschia amid the green grasses. He laughed and rushed to keep up, his knees and hips aching and keeping him slower than he would've liked to be going.

Of course there was no evil frog king in the grasses to capture, but they had a jolly good day chasing after him just the same. They fell on the grass panting by midafteroon, laughing and staring up at the clouds going by.

"That one there looks like Mr. Bunny," Remus said, pointing at a cloud going by.

Nymphadora giggled.

Suddenly, she rolled over and crawled closer so that she was looking down at Remus's face, framed by the grass, the sunlight playing over his scars, creating a reflective, almost shimmery effect across his cheek and nose. She stared at him, her little face hovering and eyes wide. "I love you Remus," she declared.

Remus smiled up at her, "Love you, too, Nymphadora."

"Don't call me Nymphadora!" she said, and she pushed her little palms against his chest.

"Sorry, Dora," he said. "Better?"

"Better."

Remus took a deep breath and closed his eyes, but Nymphadora stayed staring at him, then, "Remus, will you marry me?"

He blinked in surprise. "Oh Dora, I'm already going to be married."

She frowned so that her lower lip puckered out. "You are?"

"Yes," he said.

"To who?" she asked.

He hesitated. Then, "Do you remember Sirius?"

"Yes," she said.

"To Sirius," Remus said.

Nymphadora's pout was even bigger, then she rolled over onto the grass and she lay there quiet for a moment. "What if I growed my hair long and brown like Sirius?"

"I'm afraid you're too young for me, Dora," he said, "And besides that, I would never, ever ask you to change for me. Nobody that really loves you ever would, okay? You remember that, always."

Nymphadora nodded, and picked grass with her finger tips.

After a long pause, during which Remus was very, very afraid he had hurt her feelings so much that she would hate him forever more, she suddenly squeaked and held up her hand, pointing at the sky. "THAT one looks like a doggy!"

"It does!" Remus agreed.

"Arooooo!" Nymphadora cried out, imitating a howl.

Remus smiled. "AaahhhrOOOOooOOoOooooo!"

Nymphadora giggled. "You howl good!"

"It's my secret talent," Remus answered.