Tonks strode slowly and carefully through the narrow hallway of the shadowy flat, doing her utmost care to keep her clumsiness in check for once in her life. Photos and small paintings hung on the wall, some topped with a thin film of dust. She paused a moment when she came to the largest painting, the oil figures of young teenagers waving from their eternal home in the Clocktower Courtyard. She smiled at the waving figures of Barnaby Lee and Ben Copper, tears welling slightly.

"Wotcher," a voice behind her said, and she whipped around, sending a stunner that was deflected. The light from the spell illuminated the face of the friend she was seeking, and she slipped into a defensive stance, keeping her wand trained on the figure also aiming at her as he spoke. "I had a kneazle I wasn't supposed to have at Hogwarts. What was his name?"

"It was a crup," she replied, "and her name was Sally." He lowered the ebony wand, and she took a deep breath as he strode into a stream of moonlight pouring in through a gap in the curtains. "In Herbology, I forgot my earmuffs when we were learning about mandrakes. What did I use instead?

"Jelly slugs."

Brenin Llywelyn looked far more haggard than he ever had during their years of searching for the Cursed Vaults. It had been nearly three years since she had approached him days after the re-founding of the Order, and convinced him to lead a branch consisting of their former crew, focusing on finding any sources of dark or primal magic the Death Eaters might utilize. It had been nearly a year since that branch had disappeared.

His blond hair had grown to his shoulders, and a scraggly blond beard fell just above his Adam's apple. He was dressed in distressed black jeans, a pair of biker's boots, and a blue jumper underneath a dark brown trench coat. He looked a decade beyond their twenty-five years; going into hiding had taken its toll on him. If she had seen him on the street, she would have mistaken him for a tramp. His throat quivered slightly as he stared at the photo of Remus and Teddy, and he swallowed hard as he handed it back to her. "You have a beautiful family," he told her.

"How's Merula?" she asked gently.

"Pregnant," he responded, and he drew a flask from within his coat. "We fought horribly over what to do. Her parents were released and rejoined the Death Eaters, so in the end, I managed to convince her to tell them that she left me, and she's under their protection now." He unscrewed the cap, and the strong smell of gin tickled her nose. "With any luck, I won't bring her down with me." He took a long swig. "Like I did with Barnaby."

"I… I heard that he didn't make it."

"Tougher, sweeter bastard I don't think I've ever met," Brenin replied, taking another long swig. "Managed to fight off four Death Eaters while Ben and Penny got everyone away from our hideout. Severing Charm took his arm as we Disapparated. Bled out in my arms." The flask definitely had an Expansion Charm, and the size of his next swig must certainly have been testing its limits. "Ben got caught by Snatchers while on patrol three days later. Fought hard. Bravely. They strung him up. Left him for the crows."

Tonks felt the tears stream down her face as she watched him break down, his shoulders shaking before he finally allowed the floodgates to release and he cried, himself. She rose, circling around the table and hugging him fiercely, and they cried together over their lost lives and precious dead. In that dark flat on the coast of Swansea, she finally allowed herself to mourn.

The rest quickly had descended into a frantic blur of communication and activity; Bill had appeared, and told them of the impending battle, of the entry to the castle from Aberforth's pub. A fire lit in Brenin's eyes, and in that moment she had seen the life come back to him. He had disappeared into a room, and five minutes later, had come out a warrior. His beard was short and styled, and his hair was drawn back into a tail, the sides and back of his head shaven. As he left with Bill, Tonks went home to set her own affairs in order, and take her sleeping child to her mother.

She couldn't leave Remus alone tonight.

She found him in a shattered hallway after having got separated from Remus. She realized with a jolt that he was propped up against the door of what had once been his brother's Vault-hunting workshop.

There was a vicious grin on his face, and a large, almost animalistic gash where his right eye had been. There was a mix of Death Eaters and Snatchers lying dead around him. Her throat constricted when she saw that one of the Death Eaters was wearing what had once been Barnaby's rings. Brenin was a mess; apart from the missing eye, he was covered in burns and lacerations. His breathing was ragged, and his remaining eye was unfocused as he tried to speak. "M...Me...Mer..."

Tears welled in her eyes, and she gently ran a thumb under the hole marring his face. Closing her eyes, she focused on the image of the young Snyde woman, feeling the slight tingle as her features shifted into those of Merula. "Brenin," she said, trying not to cry as she did her best to mimic the woman's voice. "Brenin, I'm here."

"Merula," he said, his voice a blood-soaked gurgle as he turned to look at her with his remaining eye. Bloody foam flecked his teeth as he kept that victorious, gut-wrenching grin on thin, pale lips. "I got them… I avenged… avenged Barnaby… avenged Ben..."

"I know, I know," she replied, tears falling as she gently cupped his cheek. "I'm so proud of you." His breaths were beginning to rattle, and she pressed her forehead to his. "I'm so proud of you."

"Lo… love… you..." he managed to gurgle, and Tonks began to sob harder as the rattling stopped, and she felt his body grow still. She held her dear friend as she sobbed, feeling the warmth from someone who had once burned brilliantly with life fade away and grow cold. She felt the tingle of her face shifting back to itself as her body shook with emotion. She slowly, gently leaned him against the door, and closed his eye.

She could hear the click of heeled footsteps down the hallway, and a moment later, heard the familiar, crazed laugh of her aunt preceding the arrival of the woman. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she rose to her feet, and gripped her wand tightly as she strode to face the duel to come.