EDIT JULY 13: Hi! long time no see! I'm back! I'm re-writing the chapters before I continue on with the story. As I read them over to begin again I realized they were jumblely and confusing so these new ones should be better. If you've read them before i suggest you read them again, I've changed them dramatically. If you're new, welcome! PLEASE, leave a review and give it a follow. I plan to finish this story before the end of summer.
The spell zoomed across the room hitting a girl who had been looking the other way. She stumbled forward as a blinding pain began in her leg and slithered up her body. Gritting her teeth she attempted to ignore the pain and keep fighting. This was about Harry and his friends, she needed to be sure that they were safe and at back at Hogwarts before she focused on herself. She latched onto the sounds around her in an attempt to fight through whatever spell had hit her. However the yells and screams that echoed around her didn't help the pain that was continuing its way through her body.
Across the room she spotted Remus holding onto Harry as he screamed. She stared in confusion at the two and began towards them. Making it only a few steps until she stumbled forward, the throbbing pain that began in her leg making it close to impossible to walk. Falling forward onto her hands she hissed at the new pain from the contact of her palms hitting the rough floor.
She pulled her head back to look at the two only to find Remus alone.
"Remus!" She called out hoping to gain his attention. Her yell hurt and she had to close her eyes to block out the pain that was now beginning in her head.
"Nymphadora!" Someone was yelling her name. "Nymphadora!" They yelled again, this time much closer.
"Wha?" She mumbled and opened her eyes. The sudden light blinding her for a moment.
"Get up! Tonks we need to move!" Slowly Remus Lupin came into focus. He looked panicked and rushed. He was pulling her up and trying to get her to move, but she couldn't figure out why.
"Where's Harry? He was just with you."
"We need to leave. Now." Remus paid her words no mind as he pulled her to her feet and began running.
Groggily, she stood and began to stumble after the older man. Glancing around quickly she saw why he had been so desperate to get her to move. Two big Death Eaters were heading in their direction. Widening her eyes she picked up her pace only to fall over and pull Remus down with her. Her leg hurt too much for her to put too much pressure on it. Remus quickly jumped back up and fired a spell in the direction on the Death Eaters before pulled Tonks to her feet yet again. He wrapped one of her arms across his shoulders while latching onto her hip, supporting most of her weight.
They began running again, leaving the large room the Order had found Harry in. As they trudged through a long hall way Tonks found herself lost. She may have worked here but the pain in her leg was distracting and she had no clue where they could be heading.
Tonks was now breathing heavily, and was eager to get away from the death eaters following them. "Lupin," she gasped. "Let's hide." They couldn't keep running forever, she wouldn't make it much farther.
"Where?" He growled, frustrated.
Tonks looked about desperately trying to figure out where they were. "Left?" Her direction coming out much like a question.
Remus followed her instructions, taking a left and continuing down the long hallway.
"Uh…" Tonks blinked rapidly, trying to gather her surroundings.
Remus however spotted a door halfway down the hall and hurried towards it. Quickly he ripped it open and threw both of them in before slamming the door shut. He gently put Tonks down on the ground of what looked like an abandoned storage closet, then rushed to the door and placed his ear against it.
Tonks squeezed her eyes shut. The Death Eaters either have no clue where they were or they were just outside the door. She braced herself for the worst.
"What hurts?" Lupin whispered causing Tonks to jump.
"Uh, m-my leg. My entire body actually, but the spell hit my leg."
Remus gripped his wand and brought it closer to her leg.
"Woah, woah, woah. Do you even know what you're doing?" Tonks was slightly weary about Remus' healing skills. It wasn't very long ago that she'd met him, she wasn't sure how good he was at this.
He only gave her a look, "Do you want to continue to sit there in pain?" He raised an eyebrow as if daring her before continuing. "I know healing spells, I do them on myself all the time."
Tonks only blinked realizing that he was talking about being a werewolf, a fact that she had forgotten in the heat of the moment. "Okay," she gave a nod.
She watched him wave his wand and mumble a few spells with expertise. After a moment the throbbing pain subsided and she breathed a sigh of relief.
"It was just a spell that causes pain, I reversed it. You should be fine." Remus breathed, giving her a tight smile before moving back to the door.
Tonks feel back onto the cool floor as her breathing began to even out. From her spot she studied the small room she was in, she frowned at the amount of dusty boxes that were stacked carefully around the room. The ministry wouldn't fill up such a small room with boxes, this must be a forgotten room. Tonks sat up and opened the nearest box.
"What are you doing? Don't mess with that." Remus commanded.
Tonks ignored him, reaching in and pulling out one of the many necklaces the box was full of. It was very plain, just a chain with a charm on the end. The charm was an hour glass, and as Tonks glanced back into the box she noticed that all the necklaces where the same. "Huh, how strange."
"You don't know what that does, don't mess with it." Remus hissed, reaching forward to take it from her. Tonks glared and held it out of his reach. "Nymphadora," he scolded.
"I'm only curious," she explained. "What if it can help us?"
"You found it in a random box," Remus pointed out. "It could be dangerous."
"So? Outside that door are two death eaters waiting to kill us."
Remus reached forward again to take it from her. Tonks held it in her fist, trying to keep it safe when a sharp pain cut through her palm.
"Ahk!" She exclaimed and opened her palm, more intrigued than worried about the pain. The hour glass was spinning wildly, almost out of control. She glanced up at Remus, whose eyes were wide.
"Drop it, drop it!" He shouted, but it was too late. In shock she watched Remus disappear. She was now alone, with nothing put her wand and a Time Turner.
Her breathing picked up as she began to panic. She shuffled backwards until her back hit the wall. She stood there for what seemed like hours until she finally controlled her breathing and forced herself to calm down. Running a hand through her short hair, she looked down at her hand. Blood dripped out of a large cut in her palm. The Time Turner was in pieces, the glass shattered and the sand mixing with the blood pooling around the cut. She stared at it for a few moments before placing it in her pocket and heading for the door.
When her hand touched the door knob she paused. Turning back to the box of Time Turners she reached in and grabbed a handful before finally leaving the room.
Peaking around the corner, Tonks saw it was empty so she quickly began walking down it. She was alone at the ministry at an unknown time. If someone spotted her and noticed that she didn't seem to belong they would take her to the main desk and see that her wand wasn't checked in. She had basically snuck into a government building, she could get years and years in Azkaban for this. Tonks knew what Azkaban did to a person, she only had to look at her cousin to know that.
Finally after carefully peaking around corners and seeing only empty halls, Tonks entered the main room in the Ministry. The bustling people paid no mind to her despite her disheveled appearance. She awkwardly shuffled towards the nearest Flo. She was half way there when someone in particular caught her eye.
Albus Dumbledore.
The man himself walked right past her, giving her a small smile. She watched him, even turning around so she could keep her eyes on him. Her mind began racing.
What time was she? She didn't know. What was she going to do? She didn't know. Could she get help? She didn't know. Could anyone help her? One man could.
Tonks' hands flew to her hair and she quickly untangled the nots. She began after the man as she smoothed her shirt and adjusted her cloak.
"Excuse me, Professor?" Tonks called after the older man.
He turned to look at her and gave a small smile, "Yes?"
"Hi! Um… I'm uh, Nova… Tank. Nova Tank. And if you don't mind me asking Professor, do you happen to have any openings at Hogwarts?" Tonks stumbled through her words, mentally scolding herself.
"I do in fact." The older man nodded at her.
"I'd like to apply." Tonks stood taller, willing herself to be more confident than she felt.
"You don't even know the position." Dumbledore replied softly.
Tonks faltered but quickly gathered herself. "Security?" From her days at Hogwarts she remembered that the school was always short staffed when it came to security and discipline. How the teachers often complained of the lack thereof.
"I look forward to your application Ms. Tank."