Just The Way You Are: A Ronks Story

Imagination

"Mmmmm!" Tonks bounced around on the bed. "Mmmmm!"

"Hold still," said Remus, gripping her firmly and wondering if he could shut her in the closet again.

"Mmmm!" whimpered Tonks. "Mmmm!" A thermometer hung out of her mouth, and bounced around. Remus was getting extremely annoyed with Tonks.

"Look, I know you don't feel good, so why don't you just settle down?" asked Remus hopefully.

Beep Beep Beep! went the thermometer. Remus, losing his patience, yanked it out of Tonks's mouth, who whimpered. "Yeah, you're sick, all right." Remus stroked Tonks's head.

"I'm fine!" Tonks's voice sounded hoarse.

"No, you're not," said Remus. "Actually, maybe you aren't, sick and the thermometer is faulty."

Tonks nodded vigorously, and then laid her head on Remus's shoulder.

"Let's ride bikes," said Remus, getting up. Tonks, who had been leaning against him, fell over.

"No, I don't want to." Tonks gripped the blankets on the bed, just in case if Remus was going to try to drag her out the door.

"Okay, well, then, do you want some spaghetti? There's some left over from last night," said Remus, smiling slightly.

"No, I'm not hungry." Tonks burrowed deeper into the pile of comforters.

"But you love spaghetti," said Remus, furrowing his brow in mock concern. "Are you, let's see..." Remus stared absently off into the distance. "I've got it! Are you... sick?"

"No!" whined Tonks. She hesitated, then sighed, like a balloon without air. "Yes."

"I knew it!" crowed Remus triumphantly. "I knew it!"

"I don't feel good."

"I know," said Remus. He bent down to give Tonks a hug. Tonks  buried her face in his chest. After the rescue mission to grab Harry, no one was feeling very good, having fallen into a swamp and eaten some mud and pond slime.

"I'm thirsty," said Tonks after a minute or so. 

"I'll get you some water," said Remus. As soon as he was gone, Tonks flopped over, and grabbed Sneakers. The little dog squirmed, and licked Tonks's chin. Tonks giggled. Remus suddenly reappeared. "Tonks, that dog isn't allowed on the bed."

"Well she should be!" argued Tonks.

"Fine. Just today." Remus rolled his eyes and handed Tonks a glass of water.

"Wuf!" panted Sneakers.

"She wants you to hug her!" said Tonks.

"Um, no, she doesn't." Remus backed away. "I've never really been a fan of her." Sneakers whimpered. 

"You made her sad," said Tonks. "Hug her. Now."

"Fine," sighed Remus. He reached over and gingerly wrapped his arms around Sneakers, who licked his face. "Yuck!" Remus pulled away, wiping his face on his sleeve. 

"Again!" cheered Tonks.

"No. Not again!" Remus looked like he'd rather kiss a porcupine. 

"Pleeeease?" begged Tonks.

"No way I'm hugging that ball of slobber again!"

Sneakers growled.

"Or, on the other hand, maybe I will?" Remus said it like it was a question. "Come here, doggy, nice doggy!"

Sneakers wagged her tail, and jumped on to Remus's head, growling.

"I can't seeeeee!" wailed Remus, spinning around wildly. "Get it off meeee!"

Tonks was laughing so hard that she had started coughing. "That *cough* is what *cough cough* you get! *cough cough cough*."

"Aieeeeee!" Remus twirled first one way and then the other, but Sneakers held on tight, grinning a doggy grin. She licked Remus's eyeball. "Did it just lick my- Ahhhhhh!" Remus spun faster. Sneakers went flying off and hit the door, yowling. "Never mind. I don't want to know!" The werewolf raced into the bathroom to wash his eye.

"I think - haha - that - hahahaha - Sneakers wanted her -haha - revenge!" Tonks was rolling around on the bed, and shaking with laughter.

"It's not that funny!" 

"Yes it is!" Tonks clapped her hands together gleefully. "Again!"

"Noooo!" moaned Remus, scurrying out of the room. Tonks sank back against the pillows. She felt sick and irritable. 

"Sneakers? Why doesn't Remus like you? I mean, I know you can't talk, but it would be a big help if you could." Tonks patted Sneakers on the head.

"But I do!" Sneakers barked.

"YOU TALK?" Tonks yelped.

"Not only can I talk, but I'm also made of donuts! My paws are actually Rice Krispies!"

"No way!" gasped Tonks.

"Yes way! I  can also dance!" Sneakers jumped up on her hind legs and did the floss, wagging her tail enthusiastically. 

"This is so cool!" Tonks peered down at her pet, who was doing a tap number. "Can you actually do all that?"

"No, because you're in a dream," said Sneakers, giving Tonks a sweet doggy smile.

"I'm what?" 

"Is she dead?" Remus's voice came from above her.

"No, you idiot, she was just sleeping, look, she's waking up!" Sirius and Remus were bent over her.

"You mean Sneakers doesn't dance?" asked Tonks sadly.

"What? Of course she doesn't!" Remus looked at Tonks in a have-you-lost-it-? kind of fashion.

"Oh. And she never attacked your head?"

"Um, I hate to say this, but that part was real." Remus sighed. "Let's go play ping-pong, Sirius. Bye, Tonks. Don't die. I'll be back to see how you're feeling soon." Remus and Sirius trooped downstairs.

"I could've sworn you talk," said Tonks, squinting suspiciously at Sneakers, who rolled over and scratched behind her ear. "Ah well. My mother said I have a very active imagination."

"Did Tonks actually believe Sneakers could talk?" asked Sirius, chasing after a ball. They were in the rec room, or, in Sirius's words, the wreck room.

"I don't know!" Remus threw his hands up in the air. "Tonks believes a lot of stupid things, I'm sure she thinks potatoes can talk!" Remus raised his paddle and whacked the ball back at Sirius. "I'm just surprised that she didn't think Sneakers could do anything else."

"She said Sneakers danced."

"Oh, well... that's her problem." Remus shrugged. 

"I used to think that if I tried hard enough, I would turn into superman," said Sirius dreamily, leaning on a pool stick. "Of course it never happened." The ball smacked Sirius in the face.

"Well, duh."

"No, but it could've!"

"Well it didn't."

Back upstairs, Tonks was attempting to get Sneakers to dance. "And I thought that you wore a little top hat and held a cane," she was saying as she handed Sneakers a foam microphone.