Thanks to all who have reviewed! I hope you find the ending to your liking.
Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. Cyrano de Bergerac belonged to Edmond Rostand. My apologies to both.
"Go away!" Remus shouted at whoever was knocking at his door this time. James, probably, or his wife Lily, perhaps. James was his most persistent visitor, and a few weeks back he'd apparently decided that Remus, who had already refused visits from James, Peter, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and both Prewetts, might respond better to a woman's touch – or rather, knock. When – if – Remus ever got over his sulks, he would have to apologize to the poor woman, once they had been properly introduced, of course.
Sure, it had been more than a month since Tonks had … abandoned him in Romania, and some people would think that was plenty of time to move on, or at least leave one's flat to go out to the pub on occasion. And they were right, of course, but that didn't keep Remus from feeling like he'd just rather stay at home with a good book than face the world again. It might have been June, outside, but Remus clung to the chilly snows of February, rather than let his heart thaw.
At least Sirius understood. Apparently, or why else hadn't he stopped by? Remus might even have let him in.
The knocking hadn't quit. James was getting more tenacious. "I said, BUGGER THE FUCK OFF!" Remus shouted.
The knocking stopped, only to be replaced, moments later, by the sound of the door being splintered apart. Bloody fuck. Who had ever heard of Dark wizards who only attacked you after pounding on the door for five minutes, first? Remus drew his wand.
"I'm warning you," he growled as the door collapsed, revealing not the expected posse of Dark wizards, but just Severus Snape.
"You're warning me what?" he sneered without missing a beat. "Don't come any closer, or you'll cry on me?"
"Snape?"
Snape gave his flat a cursory glance, but even a cursory glance was enough to take in the empty take-out containers and other detritus, not to mention Remus's own rumpled robes.
"I see everything is just as Nymphadora predicted," Snape said.
"Tonks? You've seen her? How is she? What do you mean, 'just as she predicted'?"
"Of course I've seen her, Lupin. We work together, remember? And she's doing well, lucky her. I, meanwhile, have been sent here to interfere in your – apparently pathetic – love life, and I am not at all happy."
"She sent you to play ruddy matchmaker for me?"
"Something like that, yes."
"I can't believe the nerve of the woman," Remus groused, but of course he could, actually. Hadn't nerve been part of what he liked about her?
"Nor can I, but you must admit that she was entirely correct in the supposition that you wouldn't do anything to help yourself in that regard," Snape replied.
"The only way she could help me 'in that regard' is to come back to me," Remus retorted, "and she sent you, so I assume that's not her plan."
"Oh, will you get over yourself, Lupin? You met a woman, you dated for a few months, she took a job overseas and broke it off. It's not a tragedy; stop moping about like young Werther."
"Was that a Muggle literary reference, Snape?"
"Well, if you caught that, perhaps there's still hope for you."
"What in Merlin's name does Tonks want me to do, anyway?" Remus suddenly asked. "Forget her letters? Forget everything that made me fall in love with her?"
"No indeed," Snape replied. "In fact, she sent me to deliver this not-so-cryptic message: 'Wotcher, Remus.'" He grimaced. "'If you fell in love with the beautiful, brilliant person who wrote those letters, maybe you should go find him. Cheers, Tonks.'"
"Him? Who? What the-"
"There. That look on your face - the one of utter cluelessness – that's the only reason I agreed to deliver Nymphadora's ridiculous message. And now, my work here is done."
"Wait!" Remus called to Snape. "That's it?"
"Yes, that's it, Lupin. What were you expecting?"
"Tonks didn't write those letters?"
"Evidently."
"But- but who did? Why would someone else write me love letters claiming to be from Tonks?"
"I do not know, Lupin, and I do not care. Now, if you'll excuse me, I do have better things to do than be questioned by a lovesick fool all day."
With that parting jab, Snape turned smartly on his heel and strode (with more dignity than Remus could've mustered) through the remains of the door. The effect of his stalking off was spoiled a bit when he immediately bumped into James and Peter.
"What the hell are you doing here, Snape?" James growled.
"What you couldn't manage, it appears," Snape replied, gesturing at Remus.
Peter and James took in the state of Remus's door. "Well, that's one thing we didn't try," Peter finally admitted.
"That's because friends don't go around using the Reductor Curse on their friends' doors," James said pointedly.
"Well, perhaps it's a good thing I'm not Lupin's friend then, isn't it?" Snape retorted. "I'm leaving. You may bill Dumbledore for the new door, if you wish."
"Thank you, Severus," Remus called after him, enjoying the answering growl. The man positively detested gratitude in any form.
"So, mate," James said awkwardly, turning his attention to Remus. "How've you been?"
"Lousy," Remus pithily replied.
"Yes, well-"
"But it's about time I got over that, isn't it? Sorry I've been treating you so shabbily."
"You were going through a rough spot. Just as long as you know we were only trying to help," James said.
"In fact, it seems I owe apologies to practically everyone I know but Sirius, in fact," Remus continued. "He was the only one with sense enough to stay away from me, eh?"
"Er. Well, you see-" James looked uncomfortable.
"Is something wrong with Sirius, James?"
"Oh, he's sulking too," Peter answered before James could open his mouth. "He got hit by a nasty curse a few weeks ago – can't imagine how that happened to him, of all people-"
"I hope it wasn't a serious curse," Remus worried.
"Nah, it was just a Furnunculus, but ever since he's been hiding in his flat, as well. At first we thought it was the boils, but they'll have healed by now, and he still won't come down to the pub or anything."
"He's even taken off work," James put in.
"That doesn't sound like Sirius at all. He's usually so full of life and excitement. And he loves being an Auror."
"Well," James said, "I know he'd want to hear that you've, well, emerged, and maybe I can even coax him out with the news, too. It's about time he rejoined us in the land of the living."
"It'd be nice to see him," Remus replied sincerely. "In fact, I could use his help with something."
James gave Remus an odd, questioning look. "Well, I'll be sure to tell him that. It might help."
Once James had left for Sirius's flat, Remus invited Pete in for a cup of tea.
"What'd Snape say to you, anyway, to snap you out of it?" Peter asked as Remus put the kettle on.
"He actually gave me a message from Tonks that, well, it won't make things all better, in fact it makes them even more complicated, but it sure as heck shocked me out of it."
"Tonks! I grew quite fond of her, you know, when we were traveling together. Oh, not like that," he put in quickly, "but she's a great girl. Rather reminds me of Sirius, actually. Is she doing well?"
"Yeah, Snape says she's flourishing as a spy," Remus answered, but his thoughts were elsewhere.
If Tonks hadn't written those letters, who had? What man would be interested in him – or interested in playing a joke on him – like that? Well, Sirius would be the place to start, since he was the one who'd picked all the letters up at the post.
James was getting very sick of pounding on doors. Maybe Snape had had the right idea after all.
"Sirius, I know you're in there! And I know the boils are gone, so you've no excuse!" he hollered through the door. "Now, Remus is asking for you, so either open this door or I'll Reductor it down!"
Now he could hear footsteps approaching the door. He wondered if it was Remus or the curse that had done the trick.
"Remus?" Sirius asked through the door. "I thought he wasn't talking to you?"
"Yeah, well, he's talking again. Snape broke down his door and snapped him out of his funk. And you were one of the first people he asked about."
"What was Snape doing breaking down Remus's door?"
"Open your own bloody door and maybe I'll tell you."
Sirius opened the door. "So?"
"Can I come in?" James asked, pressing his luck.
Sirius scowled, but stood aside and let him in.
"I like what you've done with the place," James remarked, glancing around the flat, which looked in much the same state as Remus's, minus all the door splinters.
But Sirius wasn't in the mood for small talk. "What was Snape doing at Remus's?" he growled.
"He brought him a message from Tonks," James answered.
"Oh." Sirius looked downcast.
"They're not back together, or something like that," James appended.
"But still," Sirius replied mournfully, "it was word from Tonks that cheered him up, wasn't it?"
"How do you know hearing from you wouldn't've cheered him up, too, when you didn't even try talking to him?"
"It's too soon."
"And you'll keep saying that until it's too late," James asserted. "He's talking to us now, and he specifically said it would be good to see you. No more excuses; get your arse over there."
When Sirius looked reluctant, he added, "You don't have to propose to him today, mate. Just talk to him again."
"Okay," said Sirius shakily. "Okay. I think I will."
Sirius was the one who'd picked up all the letters at the post. Remus almost spilled the hot water from the kettle all over the counter when the realization hit him. Sirius, who had been particularly insistent that he drop off and pick up the post. Sirius, who was, he knew for a fact, bent. Sirius, who reminded him (and Peter) so much of Tonks.
Remus flashed back to the afternoon before that disastrous night at The Three Broomsticks. He'd thought he had simply reacted to an innocent gesture when Sirius had demonstrated that line on him. But what if Sirius had been attracted to him even then?
Why wouldn't he have said something, then? Why would he have been so willing to help get Remus and Tonks together? And why would he have written love letters on Tonks's behalf and never said anything?
Remus had thought Sirius just liked seeing people in love. Could it be that he had hidden his own feelings and done all he could to support their relationship, even going so far as to misguidedly send Remus extra letters from Tonks, all because he wanted to see two people he loved happy? How loyal and self-sacrificing could a bloke be?
Well, Sirius certainly had opportunity, and Remus was suspecting more and more that he had motivation. But what about means? Remus remembered when Sirius had given him the foolproof "Brilliant Plan to Make Nymphadora Tonks Fall in Love with Remus Lupin." He had said something about penmanship charms, hadn't he? Peter would know.
"Peter," he said as he brought the tea out, "you used to help James and Sirius with their pranks, right?"
"Oh yes," Peter replied. "We were a terrible trio. Tormented the Slytherins constantly."
"So, without breaking the prankster's code, can I ask you: if I gave you, say, this note from Moody-" he picked said note up from its spot on the table- "could you make it look like I had written it?"
"Change the handwriting, you mean? Nah," Peter replied. "But Sirius could, for sure. Penmanship charms were one of his specialties."
Remus was pretty quiet once he brought out the tea, Peter noticed, but he guessed he was probably still feeling a bit down. And Peter didn't mind. It wasn't often he got to tell the tales of his Hogwarts day without interruption from Sirius or James.
Sirius. Sirius sent me the letters and now he's coming here. Will he know that I know? What should I do? Do I say something? Do I wait for him to say something?
Tonks seems to think this is like an Arithmancy equation. Remus loves x, where x is the sender of the letters, whether x equals Nymphadora Tonks or Sirius Black. But it can't possibly be that simple.
But I do like Sirius. He's been a good friend – even better than I knew, if he was putting aside his own feelings all this time. He's smart and impulsive and cool, just like Tonks. And I am definitely attracted to him.
So should I be mad at him for lying to me, essentially, in sending these letters? Probably. Am I mad at him? Not really. Knowing Sirius, there's some convoluted logic that leads to a good reason behind it all.
He and James will be here soon. What do I do now?
James noticed that Sirius was unusually silent on the walk to Remus's flat, but he did have a lot to think about, after all. And it wasn't so bad, for once, to be able to just enjoy the fine spring day, without Sirius bounding about like a puppy.
I'm going to see Remus. What will I say? What will he say? What did Tonks say? What if she told him about the letters?
He might be mad at me. He'd have every right to be. I spent a month lying to him, handing him letters I claimed were from Tonks. I didn't do it to be cruel, though. I did it to make him happy. And they did make him happy, those letters.
But they also are part of why Tonks broke it off with him. She should have been mad at me, too, but she wasn't. Instead, she relinquished her hold on Remus, as if she could just hand him over to me. It's not that simple, cousin.
I should tell him. He might already know, but if he doesn't, I'll tell him. I shouldn't expect anything to come of it, though. He might be angry at me, he might not want to even be friends with me anymore. But telling him is the right thing to do. It's a place to start.
Oh Merlin, we're here. Now what do I do?
Despite all the time he'd spent worrying about what to say to Sirius when he got here with James, Remus still jumped in his seat when a knock at the doorframe and a call of "We're here!" heralded their arrival.
"That's James and Sirius," he told Peter, rather unnecessarily, he supposed. Nerves.
Sure enough, a moment later the two Aurors in question appeared in the kitchen, where he and Peter were having their tea.
"Hullo again, James," Remus said with a nod. "Sirius," he added awkwardly. He then rushed to fill the pause that followed, certain that Sirius would suspect he knew if he didn't stop acting strangely. "Can I get you some tea?"
"Sure," Sirius replied quietly.
"I think Peter and I actually have to be going," James answered.
"We do?" Peter asked.
"Yes," James hissed. "You have to check on the shop, and I should tell Moody he'll soon have two of his best Aurors back on full-time duty. That is, if that's all right with you two?"
"Absolutely," Sirius answered, while Remus nodded.
"Speaking of Moody," said Peter, "don't forget to ask Sirius to change that note for you, Remus."
"What note?" Sirius asked at the same time Remus winced.
"It's a note from Moody. Remus was asking me if I knew how to change it so it was in his handwriting, and I said it was your specialty."
Sirius blanched, and Remus winced again. James, too, looked abashed. "C'mon, Peter," he said, "let's go, and let Remus and Sirius take care of that."
Once they left, the awkward silence returned again. Remus poured Sirius a cup of tea, and they both sat there, sipping and not meeting each other's eyes across the table.
"So," Sirius finally ventured, "you want this note from Moody to look like you wrote it?"
"Not … not really," Remus replied, then hastily added, "I was more interested in the theory of the thing. Could you-"
"Demonstrate? Yeah. Yeah, um, you just – well you need a sample of the writing you want it to look like - then you just tap both parchments with your wand, and what you say is, you say 'Scriptumalitra,' and there you are."
"I see."
"Dead easy, really."
"Ah."
More silence.
Sirius broke first. "I'm really sorry. I mean, I'm guessing from this that – that you know about the letters, and I'm so sorry, it was a stupid idea, I was just trying to help, but I screwed it all up, and I don't blame you if you don't want to be friends anymore. In fact, maybe I should just go." He made as if to stand.
"No!" Remus said. "I mean, no, I'm not mad at you. Stay. You're not done with your tea."
Sirius settled back into his seat. "No, I suppose I haven't."
This time, the silence was less awkward, though still heavy with tension.
"Was that really why?" Remus asked.
"What?"
"You were just trying to help? Was that really why you wrote the letters?"
Sirius looked away. "That should've been why," he said.
"But?"
"But it was more than that," he admitted. "I- I really like you Remus – liked you before Tonks told me about seeing you at Quidditch – and I thought I would be all right, being your friend, helping you and Tonks both, but then we went to Romania, and Tonks wasn't there, and everything was such shite, and I – they made you smile. The letters made you smile - I made you smile – and it was a better way of pretending – pretending I meant more to you than I did, and I guess I got carried away."
"Yeah, I guess you did."
"Sorry," Sirius said once more.
"But that's one of my favorite things about you, after all: the way you throw yourself into everything you do," Remus continued.
"Really?" Sirius looked stunned.
"Really. I'm not mad at you, Sirius. I just wish you'd said something – to Tonks, to me – before it got to that point."
"What good would that have done? She fancied you, you fancied her – where did my feelings come into it?"
"So it was better to let us both treat you like a disinterested bystander – making you our confidante, breaking your heart by inches – then to speak up?"
"It wasn't any worse than speaking up," Sirius answered. "It hurt sometimes, yeah, but it had its moments."
"Like when you demonstrated seduction technique on me?" Remus asked.
"I didn't mean for that to happen. It was a momentary lapse, that's all."
"I liked it," Remus said bluntly.
"You- what do you mean, you liked it?"
"I mean, from that moment on I realized I was attracted to you. But I thought that was all it was, just a passing, physical thing."
"Do you not think that anymore?" Sirius looked hopefully.
"I don't know," Remus replied honestly. "Tonks seems to think that if I fell in love with those letters, it shouldn't matter who wrote them, but I don't know that it's that simple."
"That makes sense. I think Tonks oversimplified this whole mess a bit, yeah. She was all but ready to shove me into your arms right there in Romania!" Sirius laughed nervously.
Remus snorted. "Somehow, I don't think that would've worked out as well as she apparently hoped! What is it with you two and matchmaking, anyway? She even sent bloody Snape here to try and give us a push in the right direction."
"Well, that's something. I may have forged letters from Tonks, but at least I never sicced Snape on you!"
"Very true." Remus grinned.
Sirius paused, looking nervous again. "Okay, so despite Tonks's, Snape's, and even my own efforts, you aren't already in love with me. But would you say 'yes' to a date?"
Remus smiled at him. "I would definitely say 'yes' to that. What did you have in mind?"
"I thought we might pop down to The Three Broomsticks tomorrow evening, actually. There's dancing, you know, and I know this line that's guaranteed not to fail…."
A few weeks after she had sent Snape as an unwilling messenger to Remus, Nymphadora Tonks was finally able to return to England herself.
The second thing she did (after a nice, hot shower) was stop by her cousin's flat, to see how he was. She was curious to know what effect her note to Remus had had. He was a bright fellow; surely he had figured it out?
There was nobody home at Sirius's.
There was no answer at Remus's flat, either, so she decided to try the pubs.
She didn't see them right away at The Three Broomsticks, but settled in for a pint anyway. Damn, it was good to be back in Britain.
Eventually she spotted them on the dance floor, where Sirius was attempting a passable lindy hop, while Remus, out of breath but grinning like a fool, tried to keep up. They both looked like they were enjoying themselves immensely, and she subtly shifted her facial features. She didn't want to interrupt their night out with awkwardness; there'd be time to catch up tomorrow. She just wanted to see for herself whether they had worked things out, and it certainly seemed they had.
The band, in typically capricious style, switched abruptly to a slow number, but Remus and Sirius didn't leave the dance floor. As she watched her cousin and her ex sway in harmony, looking for all the world as if they weren't aware anyone else was in the pub, Tonks felt both a twinge of bitterness and regret and the urge to sigh with contentment to see them so happy together.
As the number drew to a close, Sirius pulled Remus in close to him and whispered something in his ear. Remus nodded, and they made their way back towards a table in a secluded corner.
Hey now, something about this seems awfully familiar, Tonks thought, grinning. If Remus had got the idea from Sirius in the first place, it was only fair.
Back at the table, after a quick glance around, the two men shared a kiss that was clearly not their first, as it clearly involved generous use of tongue, and Tonks had to look away.
She was happy for her cousin, She was happy for Remus. There were plenty of other eligible blokes out there. Plenty of them out at The Three Broomsticks tonight, in fact. She hadn't come here to mope, had she? Nope, so why shouldn't she have a fun night out, now that she knew Remus and Sirius had worked everything out? She concentrated, shifting her hair from the muted, natural shade of black it had had to remain while she was undercover to something more fun. Pink was always a good choice.
Turning around, Sirius caught her at it (of course), but he made no move to come over, merely gave her a knowing wink and a wave as he followed Remus to the door. Tonks returned the wave with a thumbs-up and a cheeky grin, and settled back in her seat to watch them disappear out into the night, hand in hand.