Disclaimer: All JKR's really. I'm just playing.

It wasn't my finest hour admittedly, and as my mother has always pointed out subtlety is not one of my strong points. I couldn't help it though. That's why I became an Auror: to stand up for people who seem unable to help themselves, and there's something about the slight figure of Arthur Weasley defending what he believes to the thugs of MLE that just inspires you to join in.

"Tonks get in here."

Oh great. I try to avoid too much eye rolling and sidle up to Kingsley's cubicle. I do not lean on the edge. Not after what happened last time: it took him ages to re-pin all those pictures of Sirius Black back in place.

"Wotcher," I manage, but it's lacking any real oomph.

"Sit down Tonks," Kingsley looks up from his parchment, "if you can find room."

I move paperwork from one pile to another and then sit down trying to avoid the eyes of my mum's cousin that are staring down at me from every angle.

"Look," I take a deep breath, "I'm sorry, but that guy from MLE was out of order, and Arthur Weasley may be a bit nutty with the Muggle stuff, but he's allowed an opinion…."

"I know what happened Tonks," he's looking back at his parchment again. I swear if he wasn't so trendy with the Muggle clothes and everything we drones would think he was a proper swot, "actually after your 'Dumbledore is the best thing since sugar quills' outburst most of the canteen knows. Was Scrimgeour hard on you?"

"Not really. How I'm a Ministry representative even before my shift starts, He Who Must Not Be Named has not returned, blah blah blah."

"I can see you listened carefully."

"It was hard to with my ears burning," I wrinkle my nose, "besides heard it all before, haven't I?"

He finally puts the parchment away and gives me a grin which makes me feel heaps better, "yes it's best not have your own opinion these days. Want to talk about it?"

"Nah," I lie. I mean it's not like I haven't talked about it, but everyone else seems happy just to file it away; job done. Kingsley is looking at me and I can feel the gap he's creating in the conversation so I sigh and give in, "I was just one of the first to get to Hogwarts after the Triwizard Tournament, and I spoke to some of those kids, including Arthur's, and it just all seemed so real. I don't see why anyone would lie about something like that."

I still think about them sometimes. I've never seen the twins so quiet before; it was all so surreal, so many shocked white faces among all that bunting and a brass band. I shiver and Kingsley nods slowly.

"Unfortunately we don't get to make Ministry Policy. It wont be like this forever Tonks, hang in there."

"Trying to. Worked too hard to get this far and then crash."

I stand up slowly trying not to catch my feet on anything and retrieve my manila folder from Kingsley's desk.

"What you got there?" he asks.

This time I give the eye rolling full reign, "Scrimgeour's little joke," I pass the folder over.

"The Order of the Phoenix?" Kingsley reads. He takes a moment and then looks up at me with raised eyebrows, but apart from that I can't really gauge his expression.

"Oh come on you must know about them. Sirius Black was a member I think."

"Yes," he says carefully, "I know all about the Order of the Phoenix."

"Well even though He Who Must Not Be Named has absolutely under no circumstances returned Dumbledore believes he has and may be reforming them. I have been given the absolutely fascinating job of researching those who are still about and might be inclined to re join."

"And any potential recruits I suppose?"

I nod limply.

"Lucky you," Kingsley opens the folder his eyes flicking as he looks at the pitiful amount of information that's in there. "You realise most of these people are now dead?"

"Yes. I'm sure Scrimgeour thought it would make things more interesting."

He hands the folder back, "don't waste too much time on it; you have proper work to be getting on with. Don't think I've forgotten about Mrs Swithering."

I let out a mirthless laugh and then drag myself back to my own cubicle. Mrs Swithering has been seeing Death Eaters since The Triwizard Story hit The Prophet. Apparently they are using her husband's allotment shed as their headquarters. Given the choice I think I'd rather research dead wizards from a secret organisation. I'd even take the dead wizards over the current illegal trade in Class C Substances. Why MLE passed that up here to us I'll never know. I look up at my Weird Sisters Poster and the photo of me and mum and dad at my graduation. I even have a picture of Sirius, but that's in my drawer. It's one of him and his school friends, one of the few that I liberated from my mums obsessive clear outs. I'm not sure why I have it. It's not that I believe he was innocent or anything; not really. I try not to think about it too much if I'm honest. I do know he fought in the First War though, and well, it reminds me why I'm here in a strange way. The Sirius I remember, the one in the photo, was brave and confident and doing what he believed in even though it was dangerous and his family had disowned him. If I'm honest I can't quite associate that with the pictures of the mass murderer in Kingsley's cubical. I take one look at my report on impounded Venomous Tentacula seeds before grabbing the manila folder and heading down to the Department of Mysteries.