Fear and Jealousy
Chapter Two: Personal Planning
"Oh what are we going to do with you two, eh?" Molly smiled, handing Tonks a plate of small triangular cheese sandwiches. Tonks half chuckled, half sighed.
"I for one, need to get thoroughly pissed." Molly couldn't quite tell if Tonks had been joking.
"Do you know what the date is?" Molly asked, inspecting the use-by date on some bacon.
"No idea, sorry," Tonks reply was muffled by the sandwich.
"Hmm," Molly walked over to the calendar and peered at it. "Oh it'll be fine for tonight," she thought aloud. As she stood by the pages of the dilapidated Witch Weekly Calendar Special, Molly spotted something.
"Tonks dear, why didn't you say anything?"
"Er, about what?"
"It's your birthday tomorrow!" Molly explained to a bemused Tonks.
"Oh, so it is," she replied. "I've got my mind on other things at the moment."
"Even so, you should celebrate."
"You know what?" Tonks said. "You're right, Merlin knows I need cheering up. We'll have a few drinks and a bloody good laugh for once."
"That's the spirit dear," Molly beamed. "I'll let everyone this end know about it, you'd best be getting back to work."
"Thanks Molly," Tonks said, hugging her. "For everything."
&&&
Back at the ministry, Tonks was having trouble concentrating on her paperwork. She was positively bouncing, and really not in the mood to compile her reports on attempted wand thefts in Greater London from the last three weeks. Her mind wandered onto Molly's suggestion and a thought struck her. She took out a fresh piece of parchment from her desk draw and wrote in her worst scrawled handwriting.
Severus,
I'm having a birthday do tomorrow night, nothing special, just a few drinks in the Hog's Head, and I'd love it if you came. See you seven-ish?
Tonks
She rolled it up and walked to the small out-tray sat on the window sill and popped it in. An owl wearing a ministry logo ribbon appeared promptly at the window. Tonks tied the letter to it's leg and off it went. She sighed and returned to her desk, wondering why the ministry had refused to install a staff email system. Owl mail rivalled snail mail at the best of times, she thought. She sighed and picked at the dried ink on her quill. She rocked on the short leg of her office chair. She began to hum. The young AO(1) opposite her gave her a look.
"Sorry," she whispered, and promptly stopped. She had just begun examining the ceiling tiles when a reply arrived through the window.
'Nymphadora,
I'm afraid I have a prior engagement tomorrow evening, though I do appreciate the offer.
Severus'
Oh no, that won't do, she thought.
'Severus,
Cancel it, D-Man's orders.
Tonks'
'Nymphadora,
One can only assume that by that you meant Professor Dumbledore. Very well, I shall grudgingly oblige.
Severus'
"TONKS!" Came a holler from the other end of the office. She looked up.
"Kindly keep personal mail to a minimum?" Kingsley ordered in the nicest possible way.
"Sorry boss," she mocked. "Guess that means you don't want an invite?"
"Oh I've already got one thanks, Molly's way ahead of you."
"When'd she do that?" Tonks asked.
"Just after lunch," he said. "Moody and Lupin got one as well."
"Oh and I suppose that doesn't count as personal mail?" she teased across the office.
"When you're an HEA(2) you can be a hypocrite too," Kingsley grinned. Tonks laughed.
"Wait, Remus is coming too?" She had just registered what Kingsley had said.
"Apparently, why, any reason he shouldn't?" He enquired suspiciously.
"S'pose not," she evaded, quickly hiding behind her stacks of paperwork. It suddenly seemed much more interesting, and definitely favourable to torturing herself about Remus all afternoon.
&&&
Points of reference:
(1) Based on the logic that the ministry is very much like the civil service, I changed the grades (ranks) slightly. AO meaning Auror Officiate, and not Admin Officer, the lowest grade (I myself am an AO :D). For the purpose of this fic I am assuming that Tonks is an EA, Excellent Auror, ie. the next grade up. Out equivillent would be an EO, Executive Officer
(2) HEA- Higher Excellent Auror, one grade up from EA, same as our HEOs, Higher Executive Officers. Hope that's not too confusing lol.