Present Stranger, Future Folk

[Nymphadora Mara Tonks]

When: September 4th 1976 - Afternoon
Where: Hogsmeade Street
Who: Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin, Open
OOC Notes: Open to any and all (both eras)

---

It was a Saturday and it was the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year. Actually it was the first weekend of the school year and special to many students because of that alone. Nymphadora, though no longer a Hogwarts student for three years now, had some good memories of that village and her smile reflected them as she walked and saw the different sights that were now reaching her eyes. A lot of Hogwarts students had fond memories forged during Hogsmeade weekends, so it wasn't that special that she did as well. What was different for the half-blood metamorphmagus witch at this moment was that she shouldn't be here as she walked down the street from the Three Broomsticks Inn where she was staying for only God knows how long. The few galleons she had in her pocket wouldn't last forever anyway…

Tonks had no idea what had happened to her exactly. She knew that time had reversed itself somehow and that she was one of the people affected by such phenomenon. She found that out after a conversation with Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts headmaster and Leader of the Order of the Phoenix a few days ago, who did seem to look a lot like the one she is used to talk to in her time twenty years into the future from now, but just didn't recognize her at first for the simple fact she doesn't exist yet. That was an awkward experience. She had been instructed to continue acting on her future orders from the Ministry and keep vigilance of Hogsmeade against future Death Eater versions, so people in the village, specially the visiting students, wouldn't be harmed by enemies most of them couldn't identify yet as threats to themselves. He had also asked her to return on Monday for a new conversation.

Nymphadora could only hope that Dumbledore would give her a job at Hogwarts as an assistant teacher of some kind. They almost never showed up in class. Well.. she had never seen any of hers during her seven years of education anyway and they seemed to only help the main teachers behind the scenes or on their absence, to her knowledge. It would be the perfect job for Tonks because there was no chance anyone in their sane mind would ever hire her as a waitress or bartender. She was just too clumsy and would be a certain cause of huge money loss filling such kind of job positions. She though was very good at her own job, but she couldn't just go to the Ministry of Magic and say that she was already an Auror in the future to get her job and paycheck here at this timeframe. She'd have to adapt her skills to her current situation. Assistant DADA professor wasn't such a bad idea. Maybe she should slightly suggest it to Dumbledore during their Monday talk.

There was no doubt that Nymphadora's mind was elsewhere as she walked down that street. She was thinking if more people she knew were brought to this timeframe with her. Honestly, she was thinking if 'her' Remus was brought back as well. She hadn't seen him yet, nor did Dumbledore at Hogwarts. There was also the weird fact that her beloved would be here anyway. Lupin should be about 16 years old now, almost 17, about three years younger than her technically. So he couldn't complain about being too old for her now. Maybe he'd then complain to be too young for her. She had a clear notion that Remus just wanted to sabotage himself due to his condition and thus would always find a way and a reason to do so. Not that she would let his fears win. She was stubborn enough to fight for what she wanted or believed in. Though she didn't actually know how she'd react to younger Remus if they ever came face to face, she knew she would never betray the love she felt.

Her eyes and ears where scanning her surroundings for anything weird happening as her thoughts filled her mind, yet when she turned to give some visual attention after hearing a noise nearby, without stopping her forward motion, she inevitably ended up bumping into someone at a corner and they both fell to the ground. "Sorry. I'm so dead clumsy. I should look where I was going and not elsewhere." She apologized with a smile, not moving at first, her hair immediately changing its color from its mousy brown one, which she used now rather than her usual bubblegum pink one not to call too much attention to herself, to that of her 'victim's'.

[Remus John Lupin]

Remus had been walking in Hogsmeade, a book in his hand, waiting for the dubious duo (James and Sirius) to hurry up and meet him here. They had planned to have a some fun this Hogsmeade weekend, and while Remus wasn't a master prankster, he was looking forward to pulling some of their pranks on the unsuspecting villagers of Hogsmeade.

Remus was worried about the full moon in four days, sure, and he was feeling a bit under the weather because it was nearing closer and closer. Over the years the three other Marauders had convinced himself not to let his condition rule over his life, and he had been trying his best not to worry as much. Remus was still worried anyways, and had yet to really date anyone, no matter how hard James, Sirius, and even Peter tried to set him up. It was a little sad.

Sure, Remus had a couple crushes over the years, but he never had actually asked them out. Well, there was one time when one of the Marauders set him up on a blind date. He apologized to the girl and left her there alone. He didn't mean to be rude or anything, it just was that he wanted to protect her. At this point, he had no way to control himself once a month (rarely twice, but it had happened), and if anything happened to anyone, he would feel really bad for them.

As it turned out, Remus was a little too absorbed in his book, All Quiet on the Western Front, which was a very interesting book on a muggle war not long ago. One second he was reading about Stanislaus Katczinsky bringing food to the troops, and the next he was on the ground, with his book next to him.

"Oh, no it's my fault; I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I'm really sorry," Remus said looking at the woman with mousy brown hair, before hurrying to pick up his book off the ground, looking back up to her, seeing her hair now the same shade as his hair. "Are you... Are you a Metamorphagus?" She was a very beautiful woman. She didn't look like she was that much older than he was, and all he could think when he saw her was wow.

This woman seemed really great already. Clumsy, beautiful, and a Metamorphagus. There was just something about her that he just couldn't get out of his mind. He smiled at her and couldn't help but think how amazing she already was in his mind.

[Nymphadora Mara Tonks]

Nymphadora gave a good look at the also fallen young man in front of her. The much younger face, still not so influenced by time and his condition was definitely his. The same facial structure, the same sad eyes, the same hair. There was no doubt in her mind who this person was. Tonks was so not ready for this encounter yet. It was him. Remus. Yet not her Remus. He wasn't just younger in age. He seemed also way less emotionally scarred than the Remus she knew. Tonks now understood that years with his condition and the loss of his closest friends had taken a greater toll on her beloved than she had ever guessed before.

She just stayed there on the ground looking at him as he picked up his book. Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front. She knew he liked this author, but he didn't know that she did yet. This was going to be awkward… Better begin with the easiest part, right? "Yep, I am." Tonks friendly replied to Lupin's question about being a metamorphmagus. She was just so used to it that it didn't seem such a big deal to her anymore.

Tonks knew she was starting to get on the nervous side with this situation when a strand of bubblegum pink hair fell on face. She put it back behind her left ear and let it stay that color. She wasn't currently on a mind frame to fine control her natural metamorphic ability. She'd just let her hair stay as it wanted for now. "I've read Arch of Triumph from the same author. He's great. Dad equals muggleborn, so…" She replied excited and smiling while pointing at the book, trying to offer an explanation for her literary tastes. The same one she had offered his older self before.

They were still on the ground. She didn't seem to mind about it, keeping a smile on her face. It was better to acknowledge his apology before it was too late. "It's alright. Looks like both our minds were elsewhere… I'll accept your apology if you accept mine. Mara Dora Tuk is the name… You are?" She said keeping her bubbly ways going. It was somewhat difficult to give Remus, out of all people from this time, her chosen alias instead of her real name. It didn't matter that she deeply disliked her real name. She knew it was needed though and did so without showing any kind of clue to the slight lie she was telling him, even when she asked the question to which she already knew the answer.

[Remus John Lupin]

Remus held his book a little in front of him in his lap and smiled slightly embarrassed that he hadn't been paying enough attention to not knock into her. He ran his free hand through his hair, trying to make his heart stop pounding so fast. There was just something about this woman that just made him feel... different.

"That's really cool," Remus said with a small smile. He wanted to smack himself internally, feeling like he was such an idiot. Here he was meeting a very nice Metamorphagus and all he could think to say was 'that's really cool'. He was so smooth. Just wait until Prongs, Padfoot and Wormtail got a hold of how smooth he was. They would be so proud. Not.

He was still on the ground, but he didn't actually mind that much. He was smiling meekly and slightly nervous for no reason he could find. When she mentioned one of Erich Maria Remarque's other books, his smile grew and he looked almost excited to meet another person who liked to read books like this. Especially since they were muggle books. "I love Arch of Triumph, though my favorite of his books is The Road Back. There's no need to explain good literary tastes," He already liked her even more than when he first saw her. Gosh... what was getting into him?

"Oh, I'm Remus Lupin. It's a pleasure to meet you Mara," Remus replied before looking around, "Apology accepted. Though, we probably should get off the ground, someone might run us over." He pushed himself up and offered her his hand to help her off the ground as well.

[Nymphadora Mara Tonks]

It was interesting to see how this Remus was reacting to her. Was he actually embarrassed? That was something she had seen in his older counterpart when she was more overt about her feelings towards him. He was so adorable when embarrassed! Such thought brought a bright smile to her face.

"Most people say that as it is sort of a rare gift. I'm kinda used to it since birth, you know… So it doesn't seem that special to me… I do have a lot of fun with it though..." Tonks said nonchalant while musing on the subject. Her eyes were curious, but also dispersed their gaze as she was thinking on her perceptions of her magical birth gift.

"I didn't have the chance to finish reading The Road Back yet, but I have it borrowed from a… friend. Two chapters in only, so no telling me the story…" Tonks said with a bright smile as her thoughts went back to his older self lending her the book. They really did have a similar taste in this and many other things. There was no doubt in her mind that Remus was her soulmate. She just had kind of a hard time convincing him of the obvious. Thankfully she had fallen sleep with the book over her chest, so it did come back with her when the time switch happened. A small memento of her beloved.

"Hi, Remus. My pleasure really." Nymphadora replied and observed as he looked around. Auror instincts kicked in, but there was no immediate threat to them. She relaxed and smiled brightly. It was strange, but she did feel comfortable with this Remus. She didn't think she would be. Maybe that whole pheromone thing really existed and this was Remus, he had the same body chemistry today as he would have in the future, including the condition that she was sure was what was keeping them apart.

"Here too." Tonks replied about accepting the apologies offered. "With my luck and tendency to be a walking disaster waiting to happen, we better do so…" She said and then laughed as she accepted the offered hand to raise herself from the pavement. Obviously she had to trip on something once she was standing again or it wouldn't be Nymphadora Tonks. Yet, she did not fall again, regaining her balance fast enough. "Gosh, what is wrong with me?…" She asked to the heavens and then her attention went back to the young man in front of her.

Should she ask if he was waiting or going to see someone and just reading to pass the time until then? That was a lot like something Remus would do. He didn't seem to have changed at all when it came to it. Dates, that was usually what Hogwarts students went to do in Hogsmeade. Tonks thought it better to say nothing and let him talk first, even if it was to do what she was used to by now, reject her presence and send her away politely. The thought that he could be there to meet a girl brought a hint of jealousy to her semblance and her smile closed for a moment. She knew, at her time, that obviously Remus had dated other women by then, possibly the one he might have been going towards right now before her intrusion on his path.

[Remus John Lupin]

Remus chuckled as Mara had almost fell again, and instinctively tried to help steady her just a little bit after she regained her balance all by herself. If James, Sirius or even Peter found him here acting like this around a woman, he was sure they would try to set the two of them up. Well, he wasn't sure about that, but he would probably get teased or at least talked to about it. He just hoped that those three were going to keep him waiting just as long as usual. Given, he was usually early, so there was time there he waited.

"Of course it's special! It makes you unique. It makes you different. And different is good," Remus stated with a smile. The fact that she was Metamorphagus meant that she was probably treated differently than everyone else. It meant that maybe, just maybe, she would understand what he went through when people found out what sort of creature... no, what sort of disease he had for much of his life. His fellow Marauders always got onto him for calling himself a creature.

And the way she said friend, well that made him almost think that she already had a boyfriend that lent her the book. It almost made him feel sad. He really did like her, but then again, he could be wrong right? He began wondering what she could be doing in Hogsmeade. Not that he would be nosy about it and ask, because that would be really rude. Remus had a feeling that she was already taken by someone. But, it wasn't like he was actually going to ask her out. She didn't know about his problem, and if she ever found out, she would probably cast him out. Though, Remus did find that others did not hate him for it, such as the Marauders.

"You'll love it, Mara; I'm sure!" Remus replied, thinking that maybe the two of them could be reading buddies. The other Marauders didn't really like reading as much as he did, and if one offered to read a book, he became worried that they were going crazy or something similar. Remus was just one of those people who was always nervous about asking pretty much anything to those he didn't know well, and sometimes even those he knew well. The only four people in the world that he actually trusted with his whole heart was Peter, James, Sirius, and Lily. Sure, Lily wasn't a Marauder, but she was so nice to him, even if she hated James and Sirius especially.

"Nothing at all is wrong with you, Mara," Remus replied to her question, "We all have our little quirks, and actually, it's actually quite cute the way you seem to be a big klutz." Dear Lord, what was wrong with him? He was already under the impression that she was taken, she was older than him, and the fact he could kill her each month without realizing it, but he couldn't help but feel something that was pulling him to her. From what he already knew about her he loved everything about her, including her klutziness and her book tastes. He had a feeling that even after he left Mara here when he would have to leave, which was inevitable, he would still be thinking about this meeting.

[Nymphadora Mara Tonks]

The first thought in Tonks' mind when Remus helped steady her from falling again was how fast he was to react. As an Auror, her reaction time was trained to be the best possible for a Human, but she was sure to be slower than he was just now and had shown himself to be on occasion in the future. The full moon must be near. She felt for him and the pain she knew would come to him then. She smiled at his kindness to help whom to him was still a complete stranger. If something she knew about Lupin, it was that he was a kind man who had ended up with the short stick in life. "Thank you, Remus." She said simply with a smile.

Now it was her time to chuckle, not because of his words nor because she was embarrassed by his flattering. It was because it seemed that she was finally getting the attention she had always wanted from Remus, though it was from the younger one. It was confusing, but at the same time it was a nice sensation to feel. She had a clear impression that he was trying to flirt with her and at the same time send her signs that he was different too to gauge if she would accept it. That was really cute. "Yeah. I guess you're right. Different is good. Everything too equal makes life boring." She replied to him, hoping that he would get the message that she wouldn't mind to be friends or more with 'different' people.

"I think so too for the little I've read so far. This book became sort of a memento from someone dear to me who has stayed behind when I've moved here. I may never see that friend again or things may be much different when I do, so I'll keep it as a reminder of our friendship. By the way, I guess it's obvious that I'm new in town. I have walked around, but don't know the place too well yet. I think I'll have time to get used to it though." She said just as much as she was allowed to say about her situation. It was all true as she just omitted the time traveling part. It was better not to dwell too much yet on how odd things could turn out because of what happened. As long as they turned out for the better, it was already preferable.

"That's kind of you, Remus. Really." Tonks replied with a smile at his comment of nothing being wrong with her due to her klutziness. The feeling that she had before about him trying to flirt with her just got stronger and she did her best not to laugh at her luck. That sort of made sense. She knew Remus felt the same way she did in the future, it was just that his younger self was less scarred by life and more willing to take a chance at happiness maybe.

Why did it have to be this way? It wouldn't be right to fool this Remus nor to give him hope. What if they returned to the future? It could devastate him even more. What if they didn't return? She'd be stealing her own soulmate from herself. Why complication had to lie in every angle she tried to look at her situation? Because it was indeed complicated. It could get worse, though, if her Remus also came back and was just lying low so far due to not wanting to be recognized, specially by his younger self.

[Remus John Lupin]

Remus couldn't help but smile, a very dorky smile, but still a smile that couldn't seem to be wiped from his face. Five years ago, he would've been locked up in the Gryffindor Common Room a whole week before the full moon, but here he was 4 days from the full moon, not even worrying about his heightened senses and reflexes being noticed by the general public, as it was a good sign of lycanthropy. He was having a perfectly normal conversation with someone he just really liked right now. "It's no problem," Remus answered looking at her eyes for just a second before looking shyly at the ground.

Remus looked back up when she said that different was good. Maybe she could be like James, Sirius and Peter, but... he couldn't trust her quite yet, even if he saw her as someone he really liked, in a much different way than his three great friends, and even Lily, who he did consider a good friend. "Oh," Remus said almost dejectedly, having a feeling this someone dear to her was some sort of past boyfriend who she wasn't over yet. She may have just said this person was a friend, but Remus had a very strong feeling it was something more. "I-I could show you around," Remus noted in a much happier tone than before, wanting to at least be around this woman and get to know her a little better, "I know this place extremely well. My friends and I know this place better than most people." Sure they knew it so that one of them knew the perfect spot to pull off a prank, which he did join in on occasionally. But, Remus would admit they knew Hogwarts so much better than anyone else in the entire world, at least he thought that the four of them did.

"It's just the truth, Mara," Remus responded rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "You're very cute... and beautiful... and funny..." He cleared his throat a little, having a feeling he was coming on extremely strong with all of these compliments, "Sorry, I probably sound like some sort of idiot..." Sirius did this sort of stuff a lot, with all these compliments, and to him Sirius sounded like a complete idiot sometimes. Maybe he should stop listening to Sirius' dating advice.

[Nymphadora Mara Tonks]

Nymphadora, being perceptive enough to see the obvious, noticed Remus constant smile. Her own smile could not leave her features, but the reason was probably a little different. She had to confess that she liked the seemingly unworried attention young Remus was granting her. His older self seemed to be in a perpetual state of worry when it came to her or them. She could never pick one from those two. They could be friends anyway and Tonks certainly wouldn't be anything less than nice to the Lupin now in front of her.

Dora smiled again at his shyness. That was something that did not change in him with time. She refrained from saying that there was no problem if he looked at her eyes directly because that could send a vibe that she was trying to avoid for now. Tonks could not help but feel a little sad at the way he said that oh so dejectedly. "Well… I have to say you're a lot like my friend, Remus. Similar literary taste, similar kindness, similar gentle smile… Gosh… thinking about it you two could be the same guy…" She just blurted out in her usual bubbly way to raise his spirits.

Then she immediately regretted saying those words, especially the last sentence, but what was out was out. There was no way to unsay what was said. It just could be explained now. "I mean… I think I've found another good friend who shares interests with me by accident in the middle of an unlikely event. That will help cope with all the craziness of moving, leaving everything behind, the adaptation period and all that…" She offered as an explanation to her previous words.

Tonks could not help but smile at how Remus was the one who became bubblier when he said he could show her around. It's true that Hogsmeade did not change too much from now to when she used to walk around it as a Hogwarts student, but there were places she could not find maybe because they didn't exist yet. Dora also knew about the Marauder's Map due to her friendships with future Lupin and Harry Potter. It was fact that no one knew the school grounds and this wizarding village better than those four boys even as time went by.

"I'll accept the kind offer, Remus. I'm still trying to find a good place to get a book ordered. Any kind of book if you know what I mean… It's not like I can write home to ask mum or dad to send me any. They are too far away now…" She said honestly. The truth was that her parents were actually very near, probably walking about the village right now as well. They just didn't know that they were the parents of a 20 year-old woman. They only knew about the baby that was already coming by now.

Now it was Tonks' turn to look at his eyes, but unlike Remus had done she did not bring hers down afterwards. "Really!?" She half said, half asked a bit surprised. That kind of honesty about his feelings was not something Nymphadora ever came to expect from her beloved without a lot of work done beforehand by her off course. She really didn't know what to do now and as if in front of a mirror, she also rubbed the back of her neck. Rarely a situation could get Tonks really nervous, but this one was getting there.

Should she just break his hopes and stay away or should she continue to try to be his friend? Those two options were the only thoughts in her mind for a few seconds until she finally spoke being honest. "No. I don't think you're an idiot, Remus. I think you're very brave to be so… forward? This is something I generally have to do, but rarely got myself." It was better to just get his mind elsewhere before things got really awkward. "Can we walk about or are you waiting for someone?" She asked him and she had to confess she was a bit curious as to the answer she'd get. Was he waiting for the Marauders or someone else?

[Remus John Lupin]

This was going much better than he expected for a conversation with someone like her to go. There hadn't been one thing about her that made him dislike her. The Marauders had several moments where they annoyed him, but he still loved them. But Mara seemed to be extremely kind, and was very cute, even with her clumsiness. Plus, she liked the same books as he did. That was something that was extremely cool.

At first when she was talking about him being like her friend, it almost sounded like he and this friend of hers were the same person. However, when she explained it afterwards, he understood what she meant, and was a little down still, but he tried his best to hide it. He still couldn't help but think that there was something else there, but he let it go. There was no point in coming up with conspiracy theories regarding someone he just met, unless they claimed to be one of his friend's family, like that one kid he'd heard about that was somehow related to James. Well, really he would only start thinking of conspiracy theories if it turned out that guy wasn't related to James.

"Yeah, I-I understand," Remus said trying to force his dorky smile back on his face, "You're friend seems really nice." Just wait until the Marauders here about this. Him, possibly crushing on a woman who already had someone she loved or at least liked in her life. Why did his luck have to be so terrible? But, it wasn't like he was going to ever get married, or even have a serious girlfriend after they heard his secret, and even if they didn't care, he couldn't have children (even though he had given it thought, and when he heard about Sirius' cousin having a baby, he actually thought that he would like to be a father; he shot that idea out of his mind remembering his condition), and he couldn't ever make them happy. Though he had a feeling that James, Sirius, Peter and maybe even Lily could convince him otherwise.

However, just because he had a crush on Mara right now, which was slightly different than usual, because he just met her and already liked her a lot, that didn't mean he couldn't be her friend. It didn't mean that he couldn't be there and comfort her when she was down. It didn't mean that he couldn't be the one who helped her through things. It didn't mean that he couldn't hold her hand and look into her pretty eyes and tell her that he loved her... wait... that one he couldn't do, and he didn't love her, they just met; he simply really liked her. Remus mentally slapped himself for even thinking that. He wanted to be her friend. He couldn't be more. Though, he could simply pretend that she liked him back and harmlessly flirt right? Though that may make him like her even more than he did right now. Oh, why did it have to be so hard?

"Hogsmeade is one of the worst places for book lovers, unfortunately. There is one shop that sells books and it normally sells mostly textbooks and readings for further individual study on a subject at Hogwarts. It's just down the street a bit, Tomes and Spells. They do hold some very interesting books," Remus explained pointing a little bit down the street at an old building next to a couple of other stores, "If you want, I'm sure there could be some interesting reads there." Truthfully, Remus hadn't ever bought a book from the store. However, the shopkeeper there did know Remus quite well because when he wasn't with the Marauders on a Hogsmeade weekend, he usually looked through the books there and learned quite a bit. Remus had heard that others tried to do just as he did and got yelled at that it wasn't a library. He supposed the shopkeeper had a soft spot for him, or just felt bad for him not ever having much spending money.

Remus' cheeks reddened ever so slightly, before soon, within a few seconds returned to their normal pigmentation. Remus softly chuckled at himself before giving her a very nervous grin. He wasn't usually as forward as he was, but he got a bit carried away, and had immediately regretted it. He really hoped that he wasn't being very strong with his affection towards Mara, who he really just met, but he could feel some sort of connection to her that was so new and odd to him. "Er, yeah," Remus replied before swallowing, still feeling like he probably sounded even worse than Sirius (or James, when it came to Lily). That wasn't something he ever thought possible, but here he was. "It's n-not really bravery," Remus shrugged, "It's just something my friends tend to do. I guess their forwardness has rubbed off on me a little bit." He loved all three of the Marauders, but sometimes they were just stupid. Apparently their stupid tendencies were slightly contagious. "But, that doesn't mean that I like you that sort of romantic way. I mean, we just met and... er... yeah." He didn't want to mention the disease that made him think twice before even befriending someone. Remus bet that the reason he was feeling that stupid connection he thought about before was because of the moon less than a week away. It always made him feel a little stronger than he did at any other time.

"No, I'm not waiting for anyone," Remus replied, feeling a bit bad because technically he was ditching his friends to walk with a girl, but he was sure they would get over it, "I would love to walk about."

[Nymphadora Mara Tonks]

Tonks did not like to lie all that much, though she understood that sometimes, like now, it was needed. She was being as honest as possible to young Lupin while being in accord with Dumbledore's previous guidance. She believed blindly in the older and wiser wizard. A thought started to inhabit her mind then. What if she could somehow make sure that Remus wouldn't loose such willingness to be happy? She'd try by being his friend and by letting him know that someone special, just like her, actually her but he wouldn't know that until the right time, is waiting for him in the future.

Nymphadora noticed that his smile had lost a little of its spontaneity and reinforced the fact that all was fine with a shinning one of her own. "Yes. He is one of the nicest men I've ever met and the most frustrating one too…" She revealed with a sigh, deciding if she should just get that out of their way. She looked up for a second as she seemed to think on a remark Remus had just made. "Hogwarts is that magic school nearby, right? Do you study there?" She asked nonchalant. "I've heard great things about it. Should be nice to study there…" She said bubbly knowing for a fact that it was so, but not being able to actually say it.

"You know, Remus…" Tonks began, trying to find the right words as she looked for any passerby. "When I tripped as we were standing up and you tried to steady me… I've noticed another something you might have in common with that friend of mine…" She stopped for a second, but hoped he would not run away as she took a deep breath. "You… howl sometimes… too?" She asked as if she didn't know the answer was positive. "Don't worry, Remus. I don't mind and I can take care of myself." She was fast to add in order to reassure him that she was not about to run away because of that.

"People think I'm crazy because I like to do funny things with my face just for the sake of it… or for fun." Tonks said and to reinforce her words she turned her nose into that of a dog for a moment and then back to normal. "Some people just want to find ways to point fingers at others, but I always try to never judge people before I get to know them." She said truthfully. "Now that that is out of the way…, if you promise me not to be extremely frustrating and keep being nice and courteous, I'd love to be your friend. In my current situation I gotta say I kind of really need some new friends… and we like the same books! That's a great bonus for a beginning." She said smiling. She could deal with almost anything but the constant frustration older Remus put her through due to his personal fears. Hopefully that was something that would change now.

Tonks shook her head negatively as she smiled. "No." She said emphatically in her bubbly way. "I actually disagree with that statement. It was very brave of you, considering everything. You are not afraid to seek out new friends and the company of other people. You're special, Remus…" She said to him, her eyes on his for a moment. "I agree with the rest…" She confirmed as she knew that it was true. They had just met… kind of. She smiled, though, as she thought on the possibility that Remus could have fallen in love with her at first sight in the future, it wasn't that much different with her. Their first conversation was enough for her to know that she'd like to spend a lot of her scarce free time with him. That feeling only grew stronger with subsequent encounters until it reached its final and current shape.

Nymphadora noticed he was feeling a bit bad. That slight wrinkle on his brow when that happened was there. "Since you're not waiting anyone… I don't have to feel bad about stealing you. So what about if we begin checking the books at Tomes and Spells? I have a couple of galleons on me. It's really just a couple…" She said with a smile, picking the two coins from her pocket and showing them to Remus to emphasize the fact. "But nothing a Geminio spell can't help with…" She offered and then chuckled. "Oh… I must warn you that sometimes I fail to behave as expected…" She said with a smile and feeling more comfortable with the situation now, she managed to get her hair back from bubblegum pink to the mousy brown color.

[Remus John Lupin]

Now Remus was very curious about who this friend of hers was; he wanted to meet this guy. Remus was sure that they would get along fairly well. This guy almost seemed like himself, besides the frustrating part. Well, actually, according to his friends he was occasionally frustrating, especially when it came to girls. He was sure that he would know if he wanted to be with a person when he saw them, and even then he would refuse to be with them because he was too dangerous for them. If he cared enough about the girl, then he would stay away from her to protect her from him during the times he was dangerous. For now there were the Marauders to help him out, but he couldn't place the burden of protecting another on them forever. And if anyone found out what he was... there would be a lot of bad stigmas cast upon him, and he didn't want another to bear it because of him. For now at least, the Marauders were enough, even if he did want a companion like what James would have when he and Lily finally were together (if they ever did, but Remus knew that James just needed to deflate a bit, heck they all did).

Remembering how she had said that she may never see him again, he refrained from asking to know where he was, but it didn't decrease his wonder when it came to her friend. "If you see him again, I would love to meet him," Remus said smiling back at her, gaining a bit more confidence from her smile. He had forgotten for a second that she hadn't been from here. She just seemed so comfortable, but that was probably just a part of her personality, to not seem lost or worried in a new place. "Oh yeah, you didn't go there. You're right though, Hogwarts is the school here. Really, it's been my home since I was eleven. My parents aren't the most supportive in the world, and fight all the time, but when I went to school, I met the best friends I could ever ask for; they don't care about what anyone is, as long as they don't support Voldemort." Remus had just recently began saying Voldemort's name, so it was a bit shaky, but he and his friends were among the few who did.

Remus's eyes went wide when she asked if he "howled" sometimes. Did she really mean that her friends was what he was? Could she really like a-a monster? No, that was just the Marauders and Lily, right? He stumbled back ever so slightly in surprise, staring at her with surprise and stun. According to his father, the sorts of people who would accept him for him would come rarely, but he already had 4, and there could possibly be one more standing right in front of him. Could there really be anyone else in the world? There was so much negative feelings towards creatures- no, humans who had the misfortune of such a terrible disease.

"I-I don't k-know what you m-" Remus began, but sighed, knowing it was stupid to think that he could fool her after his idiotic stammering just then, and his obvious surprise, "Yeah... I do, and I will in a few days... if you want to leave, you can go; I won't stop you. Just... don't tell anyone, please?" He was expecting her to run away after his confirmation of what he was, having expected it after many years of hearing his father tell him that it would be that exact reaction unless they were that rare soul who would accept him. His mother seemed more right, having said that when he found those he could trust and care about, they wouldn't care. But he didn't want to be kicked out if anyone spread the word. His smile had faded and his head was looking towards he ground, expecting Mara to be gone the next time he looked up.

Remus was surprised when she had refuted his statement. It was hard to contain the fact that he was liking her even more each second he spent with her. "I am, actually, afraid of seeking out new friends... it's something about you that makes me feel so much more daring, or brave, and at the same time nervous," Remus replied with a nervous chuckle, "I'm not that special; I think the special one is you, Mara." Truly it was something about her that made him feel a lot better about himself, and make him feel more confident than he usually felt without his friends. Even when Lily was around, he still felt alone, and feeling alone was something he feared probably the most right now.

Remus chuckled about her comment on her using the Geminio spell on her money. He decided not to kill the mood by stating that was illegal, though it did occur to him that she was new, and perhaps didn't know about the law. He figured it was just a joke anyways, if it wasn't he'd inform her later. "Sounds like a plan... Here," Remus reached in his pocket and pulled out a few sickles, knuts, and one galleon, "Don't worry about it," Remus added, anticipating her not wanting to take it, placing the money in her hand with her two galleons, "I have some money in my dorm." He was lying, but the money was supposed to get him through the rest of the month, and he wanted to help her out here. He could survive a full moon or two without chocolate, or anything. "I'm used to it," Remus laughed slightly, "My friends tend to be like that." He looked at her hair changing into her mousy brown hair. He actually preferred the pink. It seemed to suit her the best.

"Mara..." Remus began curiously wondering about her hair, "Do you like that brown?"

[Nymphadora Mara Tonks]

Nymphadora could notice that Remus was intrigued about the friend she had been talking about. What would he think if she told him that it was him from the future? Probably he'd think she is a bit of a nutcase or a complete one. Though his reaction would probably be fun to see, she obviously decided against it doing the sensible thing instead which was just keep going as it was. The only outer sign of her inner thoughts was a big smile that later turned into a smaller one when younger Remus said that phrase which made her mind travel back to his future self and his current whereabouts. Was he also affected by whatever happened that brought her back in time?

"I'll remember that. I think you two would be of the same kind really… Easy to make friends. I'll certainly tell him about you, Remus, if I can. I just have to tell you that he is a bit on the older side compared to us. Not that I care about his age any." Tonks said smiling. Off course, only she understood the inner joke as only she knew they were essentially the same person. Just the thought of seeing younger and older Remus face to face was somewhat hilarious to Nymphadora. She was sure they would end up trying to help each other though simply because that was who they were. It could actually lead to some interesting developments maybe. She let her mind wonder a couple of scenarios for a few seconds before she returned to the conversation.

"Sorry to hear the bit about your parents…" Tonks said in a somewhat deflated tone. That was not something she knew about Remus. Actually he never talked much about his family. "Your friends seem to be really nice. I'd like to meet them someday. Who knows? Maybe they want to be my friends too. I also had great friends at my school. Like minded people generally find each other." She said knowing well who his friends were. The infamous pranksters James Potter, Sirius Black and that traitorous rat Peter Pettigrew.

For a moment Nymphadora felt like just saying that Remus shouldn't trust so much someone who could transform into a rat, maybe that would help somewhat with his occasional future paranoia, but that could somehow make the future even worse than it already was and there was the fact that she couldn't explain how she knew about the whole rat thing without talking about the future. It would be great though to meet a younger and less suffered version of her late cousin Sirius and Harry's father too. People were always saying that Harry was so much like James and she was curious to finally meet the guy and see for herself. She also still needed to meet her young parents and convince her mother to somehow change her name to just Dora or something else entirely. Hopefully she'd stay here long enough to do all that. Get into Hogwarts was another problem, one that probably Dumbledore would solve for her soon in the form of a job, even because she needed money to live in the past just as much as in the future.

Nymphadora noticed his voice get shaky as he spoke Voldemort's name. That was something that would disappear in the future, or better, it would be replaced by a whole different tone and sentiment. "I heard about this Voldemort around here. He is some sort of deranged pureblood supremacist, right?" She asked, knowing well the answer. She spoke the name normally like any other name. Members of the Order were told not to fear it and she did not. "Senseless thing. People are either gifted or not. If you're gifted, it doesn't make a difference where you came from. My father is a muggleborn and he is just as good a wizard as any and sired a metamorphmagus to top it off." She said disgusted at the idea as she remembered the rest of her family setting her parents and her aside because of that. Not to mention her insane aunt Bellatrix desperately trying to prune the undesirable branches of her family tree lately.

Tonks had to confess that Remus' reaction to her question about his condition wasn't unexpected. Though she did think it was a little too overboard. Maybe it was because she didn't see as much a problem with him being a werewolf as he did himself. When he tried to scape by the tangent she gave him that Tonks look. The one that says as if I'd believe that, Remus. He quickly understood and changed his strategy toward honesty. She smiled at him and replied, sounding truly outraged. "What do you see me as, Remus? I guarantee you that I don't go about telling everything I know about other people as some do and I do understand about prejudice. I wouldn't place anyone in a position to get it if I can avoid it…"

Nymphadora opened a big smile again. Wasn't her future husband to be, because she just wasn't giving up on him, the cutest guy ever? He was already liking her or in love with her. So the future him was just fighting against his feelings for the sake of it as she had known for some time now. "You're a nice boy, Remus. You don't need to be afraid. Just keep in mind that other people know how to defend themselves too. I have the full training of someone you call an Auror for example. I know how to deal with things that might threaten me. You don't have to protect everyone yourself and certainly you don't have to hide in the shadows. Also… huh… There are worse kinds of conditions like lack of respect for life or a prejudiced mind… They tend to cause way more widespread damage, especially when they come together. Ah… Don't think a Voldemort is just a British trend. Unfortunately it isn't. Worse or less worse, people like him are everywhere on the globe, Remus." She guessed the last part from talks she had heard at the Ministry during her Auror training. Other countries had their own Voldemort wannabes. They just weren't as bad as the original, it seemed.

"By the way, I'm not special. OK, maybe a little due to the whole metamorphmagus thing, but not more than you, surely." Tonks said to reassure Remus that he was OK and didn't have to feel like being scared in a corner at all. "Maybe we are both equally special…" She offered smiling. She kept the rest of the sentence in her mind. It wouldn't be prudent to say what she was thinking, which was basically '… and that's why we will eventually belong together, Remus.'

Nymphadora figured that on the verge of the First Wizarding War, some conflicts were already happening out there right now, the Ministry and its employees would have bigger fish to fry than arrest her for duplicating her money once or twice. "Great! Let's go then…" She said excited to spend some relaxing time with Remus, even if it was his younger version. Then he gave her his money. Tonks knew he had never been rich and it just got worse with time and his inability to hold a job because of the prejudice towards lycanthropes.

"Sorry, but I can't take it. It's kind of you, but I just can't." Tonks kept her hand opened so he could take the money back and then added to make sure he knew she was going to be OK. "By the way, I'm in talks with your school's headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. I may get a job there as soon as this Monday. That's why I've asked your opinion on the place. Maybe I'll be your Defense Against The Dark Arts Assistant Professor. Wouldn't it be odd and fun at the same time?" She said pondering on the idea with a smile. She would feel great to know that she'd be able to give him something of herself to take to the future with him as he grew older, some of her knowledge, which right now was bigger than his. To simply think that made her feel happy.

Tonks followed him in his laughter. "Oh… So you're used to strange antics and I don't have to worry. By the way, it was a joke. The whole Geminio spell deal. I know it is not legal. It's the same in America." She said, knowing it to be true due to a person she corresponded with from the U.S. during school. At first, it took a couple of seconds for the coin to drop for her as she didn't expect Remus to be paying so much attention to her hair, though most always did. "Ah… You mean my hair? I actually prefer it pink or purple really. Though since I'm going to be a professor soon, I thought I should look more… uh… normal? At least for a small while until people get used to me being around as I am." She revealed to Remus and then laughed. Well, she really couldn't say that she was depressed because his future self had rejected her approach again, could she?