Title: The Kettle Whistles
Rating & Warnings: PG-13
Word Count: 4,175
Pairing: Remus/Tonks
Summary: He begins to whistle a tune, a chilling, haunting, familiar tune, and Tonks begins to sob silently.
Author's Notes: Written for the Lover's Moon Fic Jumble at metamoficmoon over on LJ. Winner of Best Mystery/Suspense, Best Use of Verb Prompt (Whistle), and Best Characterization-Snape. I don't want to ruin the story by giving you warnings for what happens, as it is mystery/suspense. I'll just say the rating is due to the situation they find themselves in. Takes place post-HBP. Please don't hate me for the outcome! ) Thanks to kerrymdb, gilpin25 and photiphonetics for their help. Feedback is greatly appreciated, as this is my first attempt at mystery/suspense.
"It doesn't make sense to me," Tonks whispers, and rests her tired head in the crook of Remus' neck. He lets his hands run through bubblegum pink hair, savoring the moment between the two of them. They ignore the dusty, depressing dress of the sitting room, ignore the rain clouds and thunder, and simply sit and hold each other. They can barely find the energy to breathe, to talk, let alone find enough energy to kiss.
It has been two weeks and five days since they last got a chance to say more than just "wotcher" and "hello" to each other, and twenty-six excruciating days since their last hurried snog in the darkened kitchen of number twelve, Grimmauld Place. Tonks has been working double shifts, triple shifts even, at the Ministry, and Remus has only just gotten back from the pack of werewolves he has been trying to persuade into joining the Order. He smells like dirt, wild and natural, musky. Tonks inhales deeply, trying to get the smell to stick in her mind forever.
He pulls her in closer. "It doesn't make sense to me, either," he tells her. "The Fidelus Charm should have ended when Albus died. No one seems to be able to explain it."
"Harry thinks he had a Horcrux," Tonks responds, snorting at the absurdity of the mere thought. "He thinks Dumbledore, of all people, had a Horcrux."
Remus is silent for a moment. "It's possible, I suppose," he finally says. Tonks stares at him in disbelief. "If part of the Secret-Keeper's soul is concealed somewhere, the secret would be concealed, too. I think. It's not as though it's been done before. Not that I know of, at least."
"Dumbledore would never create a Horcrux," Tonks defends vehemently. "Never."
Remus' hand leaves her hair and traces her cheek, finally resting on her chin. He turns her head to face him, makes her look up at him. Her eyes are fierce, exhausted but beautiful and so fierce, and he can't seem to find words for her. Instead, he leans in to kiss her softly, to reassure her, to do whatever he can just to make things seem right, if only for a moment. They ignore the room, ignore the weather, ignore everything until Ronald Weasley crashes into the room.
It's obvious something is wrong immediately. Ron is pale and makes no immature comment about walking in on the two of them kissing. Tonks and Remus stand up simultaneously.
"Blimey, I'm glad you're here," Ron blurts. "I was afraid no one was here."
"What's wrong?" Remus asks.
"Harry's gone," says Ron, his voice shaking. "He went to find a Horcrux, and something's wrong, he's in trouble."
"How do you know?"
"I… well…" Ron looks torn between telling them the truth or remaining loyal to Harry.
"Ron, do you want to have a living Harry who's angry at you or a dead one that you remained loyal to?" Tonks shoots at him. Ron's eyes widen.
"The DA coins," he mutters. "Harry told me n' Hermione that he'd use the DA coins to let us know if he was ever in trouble. And mine just went off and Hermione's in the hospital and Harry's gone!"
"Where is he?" demands Tonks, pulling her wand out and advancing on Ron.
"I don't know!" cries Ron, backing from her frantically. "I got to our flat and he was gone, just left a note saying he'd found another Horcrux."
Remus pulls Tonks back by the shoulder and she tries to calm herself down. He is almost as pale as Ron, albeit slightly calmer. Rational, reasonable, responsible Remus. He forces Ron to sit down in a green chintz arm chair, forces him to calm down and be rational, reasonable, responsible.
"Hermione would know," Ron says sullenly. "Hermione always knows."
"Why would Hermione know?" asks Remus.
"We... Harry... there was the whole thing with the crepés..." stutters Ron. He shakes his head as if to regroup his thoughts. "He's mad at me. I screwed up on the last mission and now Hermione... Hermione's the smart one... and... she always knows, you know?"
Tonks fidgets nervously. Hermione would know, of course Hermione would know. Just like Remus would know, if Remus was Harry's sensible best mate. But Hermione is, most regrettably, lying in the hospital wing at Hogwarts recovering from Harry's last adventure to retrieve a Horcrux. Tonks eyes the fireplace, wondering if perhaps Hermione is alert enough to give them some idea of where Harry might be, how they might find him.
She voices this idea to Remus, who shakes his head.
"Do you have a better idea, then?" Her voice is high-pitched and panicky and Tonks knows she needs to calm down before she can even consider doing anything about the situation. I am an Auror, she thinks. Aurors do not panic. Aurors do not get frightened. She takes a deep breath and refocuses. "Remus, if Hermione can help us at all…"
"I'll go," he interrupts, standing up reluctantly. "I… if Harry…" Tonks knows what he means and nods at him. He smiles thinly at her. "Both of you, stay here." Tonks nods again and Ron protests about being treated like a child, but they don't pay any attention to him as Remus lights a fire and takes the Floo to Hogwarts.
She watches him leave and then collapses onto the chair Ron vacated the second Remus left. He paces the room, bites his nails, and avoids looking at her.
"He just left?" Tonks asks raspily, trying to puzzle things out. Think like Hermione, she tells herself, and her inner monologue snorts. Ron nods and continues to pace. "Without telling anyone?"
"We had a ton of information," Ron tells her, stopping at the window and staring out into the rain. "I thought he was going to wait until we made a plan."
Tonks leans back in the chair and closes her eyes, thinking. "You haven't any idea where he is, then?"
"None," answers Ron. "He could be anywhere right now."
"What did the note say?" she presses.
"'I've found another. I've gone for it. Everything's okay. Harry,'" Ron says from memory.
"'Everything's okay?'"
"I've no idea what that means." Tonks opens her eyes.
"We should tell Minerva," she says. "She should know about this. And the rest of the Order… We…"
"No!" Ron turns to face her. "Harry'll be furious enough having you and Professor Lupin knowing about it." Tonks is confused, and it shows. Ron just shrugs. "It's just Harry's way."
Tonks starts to respond but is interrupted by Remus falling through the grate. He stands up and brushes himself off.
"Hermione knew where he went. There's an emergency Portkey," he tells them, already halfway out the door. Ron and Tonks hurry after him, up a flight of stairs and into the room Harry always stays in. Remus grabs a small, empty flower pot that sits atop the wardrobe.
"Come on, both of you, we're going to find him," Remus demands.
"You can't!" Ron shouts in frustration. "Harry…"
"You can't go alone," Remus interrupts. "You need backup…"
While they bicker, Tonks conjures her Patronus and sends it to find Minerva, Molly – anyone. Ron is stuck between yelling at her for doing exactly what he said she shouldn't, and yelling at Remus to listen. She smirks almost arrogantly at the level of maturity Ron is demonstrating.
"Every moment you waste yelling at us is another moment Harry could be in danger!" she reminds him. Ron looks defeated and Remus holds the Portkey up. Tonks and Ron grab on, and Remus activates it. There is a tug at her navel and Tonks is flying through the air, unsure of where she is going.
She crashes to the ground, followed by Ron, followed by Remus, who is gracefully floating out of the Portkey. Ron groans and Tonks shoves a hand over his mouth, and motions for him to be quiet. She pulls out a wand and takes in her surroundings quickly.
They are in a muddy, wooded area. It's dark, and it's wet, and it's cold, and Tonks can see a mansion on a hill just past the trees in front of her. There is a dim light in one of the windows. Remus grabs her hand and helps her off the muddy ground. His hair is wet and Tonks is scared and unsure and wondering how things went from a relaxing moment with Remus to being unsure of where she was and what was going on. Ron starts to move out of the woods, but Remus grabs him by the back of his robes.
"We have to be careful," he murmurs. "You don't know Harry's in there." You don't know who's in there, Tonks silently adds. She scans the woods, but her opinion lies with Ron – Harry is inside the mansion, if he's here at all.
She motions for the two to follow her, and she begins to creep slowly towards the house. Her heart is pounding wildly, but Tonks tries to ignore it and the terror that is currently festering in her stomach. Aurors are fearless, she tells herself, Aurors are brave. I am brave. The inner monologue doesn't seem to be working, so she glances at Remus and tells herself that she can't look like a prat in front of him and it slows her racing heart slightly. Her eyes dart madly from left to right, from up to down, and she tries to take in every detail of the situation. The mansion is old; there are vines creeping up the side and the brick is cracked. Rain drips from the eaves trough into a barrel next to the dimly lit window, which is grimy and cracked. The ground is muddy and slippery and more than once Tonks has to steady herself to keep from sliding down the slope.
They arrive at the window and Tonks motions for them to crouch. She morphs her hair into a much less distinct color, mentally kicking herself for not doing it before, and slowly raises her eyes to peer through the window. She squints, tries to make out details through the dust-encrusted glass, but sees only shapes. Remus touches her shoulder and she moves from the window, turning to face him. He pulls her so her ear is directly next to his mouth.
"We have to go in," he whispers, so quietly that the rain nearly drowns him out. She nods and turns to Ron.
"You don't have to come," she tells him softly. "It could be…"
Ron pulls away from her and shakes his head violently. She raises an eyebrow and shrugs, then starts to crawl along the side of the mansion to the door.
Remus silently unlocks the door and she reaches for the handle, pushing the door open slightly. A quick charm tells her that there is no one behind the door, so she peers in. What lies in front of her is a vast darkened corridor, dusty and void of any sign of Harry. Tonks lifts herself off the ground and beckons for Ron and Remus to follow her. When they are safely in the house, Remus closes the door behind him and nods for Tonks to continue. She takes two silent steps and trips on the edge of a rug.
Ron catches her by the elbow and Tonks feels like she is about to puke from the sensation of nearly blowing their cover. The feeling of terror in her stomach rises to her throat and she swallows hard, wills her heart to slow down before it beats out of her chest, tells herself she looks like a prat and Remus is right there, and stands against the wall, listening intently.
There is a whistling noise coming from the kitchen that Tonks immediately recognizes as a kettle. It is loud, and shrill, and confirms the fact that there must be someone in the house, somewhere. Tonks breathes in and out and tries to focus.
There is another noise, more whistling, but it is coming from above them. The tune is haunting, chilling, echoing in the cavernous house. Tonks is sure she recognizes it from somewhere, sometime, a memory she's long since forgotten. It makes her want to cry, to leave, to believe that there's no saving Harry. The shrill whistling of the kettle plays to it like an off-key bagpipe (though she's not sure if there's such a thing as an on-key bagpipe) and she wants to turn it off and listen to the lullaby coming from above.
Ron prods her and she shakes herself off and stops listening. The kettle is an alarm, she realizes, in reverse: when it goes quiet, it alerts the inhabitant. They studied these, she remembers, during Auror training. Stealth and Tracking. She had to do the best she could with the theory since she was hopeless at the practical. She looks back at Remus, who is looking at her with concern, and she smiles thinly at him, terrified and embarrassed that the kettle entranced her.
There is a doorway a few feet away from her that has a dim light creeping under it. Tonks moves towards it, her wand at the ready, trying to keep track of her two left feet. The whistling of the kettle grows louder from behind the door, piercing through her senses, and demanding to be shut off. She wills it to stop, wills herself to stay out of the trance she knows it can cause, and pushes the door open an inch.
Nobody is in the room, which turns out to be an immense kitchen space. Tonks enters and sees the kettle on the stove, steam billowing out from it in a strange, misty cloud that fogs up her mind and disintegrates into the air. The whistled tune above her is quieter now, but she can hear it play in her mind over and over and the feeling of sadness and hopelessness is still there. She turns to Remus, wishing he would explain it to her. He stares back at her, eyes sad and worried and she remembers they are supposed to be trying to find Harry and wonders why her mind seems so clouded, like steam.
Suddenly she is pulled out of the way and into a pantry. She nearly vocalizes her surprise but feels Remus' dry hand over her mouth. Ron is between them, squished so his bicep is pressing against her breast, and Tonks prays to whoever is listening that his raging teenage hormones don't kick in. Remus' hand drops and looks at him. A line of dim light from the kitchen is splashed across his face, and he is staring at her. She hears it then: footsteps, having missed them before due to the whistling. The whistled tune is coming closer and closer until a door bangs open and Remus' eyes tear away from hers and watch whatever is happening in the kitchen through a crack in the pantry door.
The tune is enchanting. Tonks knows she has heard it before and if it weren't for the infernal whistling of the kettle, she would know where.
Remus looks back at her, and she forces herself to focus on his eyes. He knows whoever is in the kitchen, and whoever is in the kitchen is not a friend. The footsteps pound against the tile, and the tune comes chillingly close to the pantry. Tonks stops breathing and focuses, focuses on Remus' eyes.
Ron's arm suddenly moves and Tonks is guilty of not being aware of his presence for a moment or so. It takes her a moment too long to realize that he is bewitched by the tune and there is no way he could just throw it off like she could. His wand is out and a Freezing Charm on his lips before she can do anything but gasp.
The spell leaves his wand and the whistling stops and whoever is in the kitchen fires a spell towards the pantry before Tonks can react in any way but to grab Ron and pull him out of the way. The spell hits the pantry door and the noise is deafening. Ron is much taller than she is but she manages to push him to the side before getting trapped underneath a pile of rubble that crashes from the ceiling. Her left arm is pinned under a heavy shelf and her right arm makes a sickening crack as a heavy jar of what looks like pickled newt crashes onto it and the majority of her body – including the pocket that contains her wand - is trapped under a mixture of wood and stone and canned goods. A jar of preserves shatters and the sticky substance inside tangles itself in her hair.
Ron is beside her somewhere, trapped like she is, but she focuses again on Remus. There is a space between the rubble and she can see him lying on the floor. He opens his eyes and sees her, and there is a split second where he points his wand at her before someone kicks it away. Tonks opens her mouth but realizes she can't speak. He Silenced her.
"Well, well, what have we here?" drawls a silky voice that can only belong to the greasiest Death Eater of them all.
"Hello, Severus," Remus replies calmly. "We've been looking for you."
Tonks watches helplessly as magical ropes wrap themselves around Remus' arms. "I daresay you have found me, though I assure you it shall do you no good."
"Why did you do it? How could you do it?" asks Remus, his voice stony and cold and the epitome of everything Remus is not.
There is a cold laugh. "Surely you have noticed that you are in no position to be questioning me," Snape says. Tonks finally sees the man's face, as he bends over to bring himself closer to Remus. "I am hoping that the Dark Lord will allow me to personally see to your – ah – handling." He sneers and Tonks wants to scream.
Snape straightens and there are footsteps away from Remus, who turns his head to look at Tonks. She tries to scream, tries to tell him to get himself out of there, but he simply shakes his head and looks sadly at her. He silently mouths that he loves her and Tonks realizes what he is going to do and she tries to scream again, tries so hard that she thinks her throat scratches itself raw from the mere effort.
"I would suppose they didn't send you alone," comes Snape's voice from somewhere to Tonks' right.
"You would be wrong," Remus replies.
"How very touching," sneers Snape. "Who are you protecting? The Mudblood? Boy Wonder? One of the infinite and stupid Weasleys?" Remus does not answer and Ron's lack of reaction tells Tonks that he is probably knocked out cold. "I shall assume you are simply remaining noble, Lupin, as you know I will find whoever it is that is with you – " there is a pause and Tonks can imagine the smirk on Snape's face " – and simply kill them."
Tonks hears Snape talking to someone, and though she can't figure out how, she can assume who, and all-too-quickly his footsteps come back towards Remus.
"Being in favor with the Dark Lord has its perks," Snape says in a velvet voice. "For instance, in most cases it would be required that any member of the Order be taken directly to him. In this case, however –"
Tonks is screaming but the words aren't coming and she can't move and it's like some kind of trapped alternate reality. Snape begins to whistle a tune, a chilling, haunting, familiar tune, and Tonks begins to sob silently when he takes the Freezing Charm off the kettle. His footsteps are everywhere, echoing through her foggy mind. She prays and wishes and screams silently and hopes that Ron will wake up because he can make noise and if he gets Snape's attention, then Remus can get away. If Ron wakes up, he can move the rubble and get his wand and kill Snape.
He stops whistling and Tonks watches Remus stare calmly at him. "Normally, I would simply kill you. Avada Kedavra. Simple. But I don't think I can do that, you see, because I loathe you, Lupin." His words float across the floor and drip through Tonks' mind. "I will enjoy every moment of this, and mark my words, I will make it last."
How long can a Silencing spell last? Tonks wonders. There are tears slipping down her face and into her hair, where they stick to the preserves.
She can only see Snape from the waist down but his face sticks clearly in her mind and she can see it smirking and sneering and twisted. She is imagining his face so clearly that when a large knife comes down in Remus' stomach she doesn't even have time to shut her eyes. Tonks' face contorts painfully and she is screaming again. Remus just stares and stares at Snape and does not even flinch, and his blood drips on the floor like rain in the eaves.
Tonks can't bring herself to even think of what Snape is doing to Remus. She sees it all happen but the defiling things Snape is doing do not process through her mind. He brandishes a knife for most of the torture but when Remus finally makes the smallest indication of pain, Snape puts him through the agony of the Cruciatus Curse. Remus' broken body writhes on the floor and when the curse is finally lifted, he is left looking through the space in the rubble. His eyes are glazed and almost blank but for a throbbing ache that rests there.
The kettle whistles and Snape whistles a short melody before standing directly over Remus and forcing the werewolf to look at him. "I always knew I would kill you one day," Snape growls. "The last of the famous Marauders."
Tonks knows what he is about to do and she can't help herself from trying to cry Remus' name. She says it over and over and over and over and Snape points his wand at Remus and she tries so hard to say the word and move the rubble but only manages to send a shock of pain up her right arm.
"You'll never win," croaks Remus. Snape merely sneers at him.
"I already have," he drawls. "Avada Kedav-"
The final part of the curse is drowned out by Tonks' renewed voice screaming Remus' name and it mixes with the whistling of the kettle like a cacophonous orchestra. She watches as a flash of green light ends Remus' life and she refuses to believe it. She screams his name again and again and again and again but Remus doesn't move. His blank eyes stare back at her, black and glazed and dead.
Snape moves away from Remus' body and steps over the pile of rubble to look straight into Tonks' face.
"You killed him!" she shrieks. "You bastard! You…"
"Shut up, Nymphadora," Snape tells her. "No one can hear you." He points his wand at her. "Foolish girl."
She sobs loudly and a jumbled string of curse words fly from her mouth. Snape chuckles softly. The kettle whistles louder and louder as the Killing Curse forms on his lips. Tonks screams until her throat is hoarse and a curse is shouted but it's not by Snape and it's not Avada Kedavra and there is red light and Snape starts to crumple and someone shouts her name and she sees Minerva rush over to her and Ron is okay and Remus is dead and the kettle whistles and Tonks wakes up.
The kettle is whistling and she is not under a pile of rubble. She opens her eyes and she is lying in a bed and Remus is not beside her but Molly Weasley is dabbing her forehead with a warm, damp cloth.
"Tonks, you're finally awake! Tea, dear?" Molly asks, her voice too high-pitched and too worried.
There are blankets wrapped around Tonks and they make her feel like she is safe and protected and nothing can harm her, even if they are just musty old blankets. She is awake now, and it is okay. "Where's Remus?" Her voice is scratchy and it hurts to talk.
Molly's face looks pained and she doesn't answer, just charms the kettle off and pours a cup of tea for Tonks.
"Do you remember much, dear?" Molly murmurs, picking up Tonks' left hand and wrapping it around the cup of tea. The warmth of the china stings her hand, which is cold. Tonks moves to wrap her right hand around it to warm it up but it won't move. She looks down to find it in a sling.
"My arm…"
"We couldn't heal it until you were awake. I'll have Minerva come up and do it for you," says Molly. "I have to see to Ron… he's… his head." She chokes on the words and clears her throat. "Harry's back, he's fine, too." Tonks' breathing comes quicker as she sits up and puts the cup down and raises her left hand to her hair.
It is caked with dirt and sticky with dried preserves and tears.