As Moody left the hospital, Kingsley had just arrived. He caught sight of Moody just as he disapparated and he guessed he had gone to see Tonks as well. He hesitated outside the door, unsure of whether she would want more visitors, then thought she was probably still unconscious and headed into the building. He located the ward he had been told she was on and braced himself, knowing she wouldn't look particularly well when he saw her.

He had always made it his business to protect her and look after her whenever he worked with her because she was young, rather clumsy and she was the best female Auror in the whole of the Ministry.

He pushed open the door and closed it silently behind him before walking round the bed and sitting in the chair there. He looked at her limp body and frowned, thinking that it seemed to be missing the usual life that flowed through her every day. Her hair was a dull brown which was a rather unusual sight and he hated the way her whole body just lacked its usual energetic demeanour.

Unlike Moody, he didn't speak to her. He had always felt awkward in situations like this and he had a feeling that she knew he was there, even if she was unconscious. He gently picked up her hand and held it in his, watching her body make small movements with every breath and he felt as though he had let her down.

He thought back to the last time he had seen her and realised he hadn't looked after her as well as he had thought. He couldn't remember seeing her in any duels for a good half an hour before the end of the fight and he supposed she had probably been lying there unconscious for some time before they had found her. He thought they could have moved her faster than that to the hospital as well and he frowned, now completely lost in trying to remember what had happened.

He was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he didn't hear the door open and he didn't see the Healer enter the room. He didn't even notice he was there until he heard someone talking.

"You brought her in, right?" the voice asked and Kingsley snapped out of his thoughts, looking up at the man and nodding.

"Yes, I did. How's she doing?" he asked, noticing his hand was still clasping hers and he let go, gently placing her hand back where it had been.

"She's a little more stable now," he replied, "Although for how long, we're not sure. It seems like she took quite a few curses before she fell."

This only made Kingsley feel guiltier than he had done before. He hated knowing that he had put her in that situation, especially when it was his job to look after her. She deserved to live a long, happy life, not one which was significantly shortened because he didn't do his job properly and didn't look out for her as well as he should have done.

The Healer then added, "It seems as though she's doing well, though, so hopefully she'll be awake soon."

Kingsley felt rather relieved that Tonks would wake up and he smiled a little for the first time that day. He hated the thought of having inadvertently killed one of his colleagues. "Okay, that's good to know," he said to the Healer. "I should probably be off now, could you send an owl to me if she deteriorates?" he asked. The Healer agreed and Kingsley left, deciding he'd go and see the Order for a while.