A/N- This is my new fanfic, set during Harry's 5th year at Hogwarts. What went down with the Order while Harry was away at school?
Hope you all enjoy!
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The Order Chronicles
Chapter One
Close Quarters
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"Where is she?" Lupin looked at his watch for the hundredth time, pacing around the room.
"Would you calm yourself? She'll be here." Sirius said, looking bored with the proceedings.
"People could be dying, Sirius!"
"I'm aware. And as you all keep reminding me, there's absolutely nothing I can do about it."
"Oh, spare me the pity party. Not right now, all right?"
Sirius rolled his eyes.
Just then, the front door to Grimmauld Place banged open.
"Lupin?"
"In here."
Tonks came through the door, looking flustered.
"I'm sorry, I got here as fast as I could."
"Were you in the middle of something?"
Tonks looked down at her low cut white dress and black leather jacket.
"Er…no. No, it's fine. What's up?"
"Hot date?" Sirius grinned, looking pointedly at Lupin.
"Just out with some friends. What's going on?"
"Can you work in those clothes?" Lupin said.
She sighed.
"Yes, dad, if you'll let me out of the house."
Sirius snorted, trying to cover it with a cough.
Lupin grabbed Tonks' arm, leading her into the hallway.
"There's been reports of Death Eater activity in a small Muggle neighborhood in South London. I think we should go check it out."
"Of course." She said, pulling her long blond hair back into a ponytail.
"Blond today, then?"
"Time for a change."
"Right. Let's go."
She gave him a little salute as he grabbed her elbow, and they apparated on the spot.
--
As they ran up to the neighborhood, they could already hear screams.
"Green lights already." Tonks pointed as they ran together down the street.
"Voldemort's out for blood. He's getting impatient." Lupin said as they skidded out of the side street into the main square.
They saw none of the higher-up Death Eaters like Bellatrix or Malfoy- this was obviously just practice for the new recruits. Half of the people in black cloaks looked no older than twenty.
But that didn't make them any more innocent.
"Sorry to interrupt!" Tonks said, she and Lupin cutting a pretty impressive figure as they stepped out of the shadows of the alley.
"How's your first time going, then?" Lupin called out to them.
Flashes of red and green light were immediately fired at them, and they split up to cover more ground. At one point, Tonks was fighting off six Death Eaters by herself. It turned from merely a wand battle to a physical fight.
As she was fighting a huge Death Eater who had to be half-troll, Tonks heard a low growl behind her.
The Death Eater smiled.
"You like working with werewolves, pretty girl?"
"What?"
"See how you get on with ours."
She spun around to see Fenrir Greyback, in some kind of horrible half-transformation. His teeth were fanged, his arms were covered in fur, his fingers were extended into claws, but he was still part human.
"How old are you?" Greyback asked, practically licking his lips.
She didn't respond, throwing a nonverbal Cruciatus curse. Greyback threw up a shield, and with a boneshaking growl, jumped towards her.
She fell on her back, barely able to hold him off. He was clawing at her clothes, trying to sink his teeth into her cheek, his horrible stinking breath hot on her face. Her wand was knocked out of her hand by the impact, and her fingers scrabbled for it uselessly.
Suddenly, Greyback recoiled in her agony.
"How does that feel, you son of a bitch?" Lupin growled as Greyback fell to the ground, shaking and whimpering.
Tonks looked up at Lupin, standing tall above her. She had never seen him look so angry. He looked down at her, and his eyes softened slightly.
"You all right?" He held out his hand.
"Y-yeah. Thanks." She took it, and he helped her to her feet.
Greyback howled in misery.
Apparently, Lupin's Crucio curse had hit the mark.
The other Death Eaters watched as Lupin tortured their apparent leader, unsure of what to do.
Some of their number had already fallen, lying unconscious or dead at Tonks' and Lupin's feet.
Greyback opened his eyes when the spell finally wore off.
"Remus…I remember you well…"
Lupin said nothing.
"What are you doing with her? Why would a werewolf protect a human? You belong with us, Remus. With your own kind."
"I'm not like you." Lupin said, his jaw tight.
"Of course you are," Greyback looked back at his followers, "What are you waiting for? You call yourself Death Eaters? Attack them!" And with that final request, Greyback apparated away.
"Fucking coward." Lupin said under his breath as Tonks quickly picked up her wand.
What was left of the Death Eaters encircled them, looking like nervous little children.
"Let's do this." Tonks grinned.
Tonks and Lupin were often tasked to do missions together; Dumbledore himself had called them an "ideal team." They did work well together- and it showed that night.
Tonks always took the offensive; Lupin covering for her. In a flash of spells and fists and screams, it was over quickly.
The Death Eaters who were still conscious apparated away. Tonks and Lupin chained up the stunned, and sent a message to the Ministry to have them picked up. They quickly went to the watching Muggles and did some quick memory-modification.
After their work was done and the Death Eaters were taken away, the Muggles returned to their night as if nothing had ever happened. It was always amazing to watch them return to normal life so quickly.
"Wouldn't that be nice?" Tonks sighed, leaning up against the wall of the alleyway, still breathing hard.
"Are you hurt?" Lupin said, taking her face in his hands and looking her over as he always did.
There was a long cut running down her cheek. He traced it with his thumb. His hand was shaking slightly- she knew the feeling. They were still a little drunk with adrenaline.
"Remus, I'm fine." She said.
"When I saw Greyback…I thought…"
"I'm fine. Really." She smiled.
"You were great out there."
"Oh, come on."
"I'm serious."
She laughed, suddenly feeling nervous. He let go of her, shaking out his hands.
"You want to go get a drink or something?" He asked.
"I can never just go sit somewhere after we fight. I always feel really wound up."
"I know what you mean."
They stood there in silence for a moment, both breaking out in laughter.
"So…what do you want to do?" Remus asked.
"I don't know." She said, still laughing.
They were standing very close to each other.
"Tonks…"
"Yeah?"
"You really do look good in that."
Without really thinking about it, she grabbed his collar, pulling him close towards her.
"Remus?" Their lips were almost touching.
"Yes?"
"Thanks for saving my life."
He kissed her hungrily, lifting her up off her feet. She wrapped her big black boots around his waist as they stumbled back against the alley wall.
They made out like teenagers for a long time, their hearts pounding, pressed up together.
"Oi! Take it inside at least!"
They broke apart, seeing a Muggle police officer standing at the end of the alley.
"S-Sorry, Officer." Lupin said, looking flustered as he let go of Tonks, rather abruptly dropping her to her feet.
The officer shook his head, walking away.
Tonks crossed her arms over he chest, her heart still thudding painfully in her ears.
He looked at her briefly.
"It's getting late." He said in an odd, businesslike tone.
"Lupin--you don't have to--I didn't think that this meant-"
"I really should be going." He said, putting his hands in coat pockets.
She stood there for a moment, dumbfounded.
"Okay. Whatever."
And without another word, he apparated away.
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1 week later…
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Tonks and Lupin had not spoken since that night.
She tried to act like she didn't care. They were just friends anyway. Friends who had been stupid idiots turned on by adrenaline and too much time spent in close quarters.
She didn't love him. I mean, sure, maybe as a friend.
But nothing more.
She apparated to Grimmauld Place for the Order meeting one week after their little encounter.
She heard Snape's slow, drawling voice coming from the dining room, and fixing her windswept purple hair, she walked inside.
"Tonks! You're here!" Mrs. Weasley stood up, smiling.
Snape looked over at her, obviously annoyed at being interrupted.
"Were you confused about the time of the meeting, Nymphadora?" He asked.
Tonks rather felt like a student getting in trouble in class.
"No…sorry." Tonks said, blushing.
"Just leave her alone, Snivellus." Sirius said, examining his fingernails.
"Everyone! Let's keep focused on the task at hand." McGonagall said, looking somewhat nervously between Sirius and Snape who were at opposite heads of the table.
Tonks quickly scanned the table, finally seeing Lupin. He wasn't looking at her, and was now muttering something to Sirius.
Sirius grinned, nodding in agreement.
Slightly stung, Tonks took her seat between Kingsley and McGonagall.
I mean, she hadn't expected some huge declaration of love, but good grief. This was brutal.
"So…Remus, Nymphadora, how did the Death Eater raid go?" McGonagall asked.
Lupin finally did look at her, eyebrows raised, as if expecting her to answer.
She couldn't find her voice for a moment. Finally-
"Fine. Good."
McGonagall's eyebrows went together.
"Any more information you'd care to impart to the group?"
Snape shook his head.
"Oh, Minerva, I think monosyllabic drivel's about the best you can get out of these two."
McGonagall shot him a warning look, as if she was about to give him detention.
Lupin interrupted before any more drama could take place between the Hogwarts staff.
"It went very well- Greyback was there, and I was able to perform the Cruciatus curse effectively enough to scare him off before he could hurt or change more Muggles. Tonks and I fought off the remaining Death Eaters, who all seemed very young and inexperienced. Heavy recruiting must be going on- half of them looked like they didn't know which way to point their wand. Clearly, Voldemort doesn't care for skill, he's just acquiring as massive an army as he can manage."
"Thank you, Remus. Is that all to report?"
"Pretty uneventful other than that." Lupin said, giving Tonks the most fleeting of looks.
What the hell? Did he think she was going to tell the whole Order the rest of the story?
"Yeah. That pretty much covers it." Tonks said.
"They're lying." Snape said, looking between them.
"Excuse me?" Remus blinked.
"You two are lying about something."
Tonks looked determinedly down at her plate. She had always been rubbish at Occlumency, and knew that Severus definitely was not rubbish. He'd read her mind in a second if she looked at him.
He looked at Lupin instead. Lupin met his eyes steadily.
"I assure you, that's all there is to report."
Lupin and Snape stared at each other for a good ten seconds before Sirius clapped his hands together, breaking the moment.
"All right, you two, as lovely a moment as this is between you…I'd like to know what else is going on?"
McGonagall nodded.
"Kingsley- give us the Ministry update."
Tonks excused herself while Kingsley was talking, feeling her heart pounding in her chest. Snape knowing anything about…well, whatever that had been between she and Lupin was just too weird. What a freak. Why was he so good at that stuff?
She walked into the kitchen, absently making herself a plate of salad.
"Tonks." She turned around to see Lupin in the doorway.
"Hey, Remus." She said as casually as she could manage.
"How are you?" He said abruptly, getting more wine out of the cabinet.
"I'm good. You?"
"Very busy."
"Yeah. Me too."
He sighed.
"Look, Tonks, that whole thing was just-"
"A mistake. Totally. I agree."
"You do?"
"Yeah. Of course. Why- do you think it wasn't?"
"No, no. Huge mistake. I agree completely." He said, trying and failing to uncork the wine with his wand.
What was wrong with him?
"Do you want me to do that for you?" She asked, reaching for it.
"No, I'm perfectly capable." He snapped, finally uncorking it.
"Okay." She held up her hands in mock surrender.
He shook his head, looking at her.
"I'm sorry. I'm just a little on edge this week."
"But we're okay, right?" She asked.
"Of course. We're friends."
"Yeah. Good."
He held out his hand, and she shook it with a laugh.
She walked back into the dining room, still grinning.
The whole table looked up at her arrival.
"Everything all right, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"Of course." Tonks said, sitting down again.
She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
Lupin came in a little bit later, a good amount of the wine already gone from the bottle.
She watched him pour himself another glass, and he looked up at her.
He smiled tentatively. She smiled back.
Friends.
Right.
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A/N- Please review if you want more! Expect way more in coming chapters from Sirius, Snape, Lupin and Tonk's drama, Kingsley, etc. I figured this chapter takes place about right when after the kids went off to school, so expect Harry, Ron, Hermione to pop up around Christmas of course.
Hope you all liked it! Until next time…