A/N: Thank you to DarylDixon'sgirl1985 and HufflepuffBanana for beta reading.
Word count: 3,271
Tonks itched to stay and speak with Sirius and Remus. She had so many questions, both about the Order and their lives beyond it. With the war likely only beginning, she had no idea when she'd be able to ask them again.
But she was self-conscious about bombarding them with questions when they hardly knew each other. Most likely, they wouldn't be as enthusiastic about answering as Tonks was about asking, and the last thing she wanted was to come across as an overeager child who couldn't stop pestering the adults. Her age weighed heavily on her mind as she scanned the kitchen and noted the years of experience many of the others had compared to her.
Sure, there were a couple of people not much older than she was. Bill Weasley, who she remembered from Hogwarts, was chatting with his father and a man Tonks didn't know who looked as if he hadn't had a proper night's sleep in ages Still, Bill was surrounded by family, an advantage Tonks didn't have herself as Sirius hardly counted as such.
After adjusting to life in the Auror Office, she'd never expected to feel like a new recruit again. She loathed it even more the second time around.
Needing to escape the kitchen, where the warm air was beginning to feel stifling, she excused herself and set off up the staircase to the parts of the house she had yet to explore. It was clear which parts of the house had once been for the family and visitors as opposed to the house elves. The rest of the house was nothing like the sparsely decorated kitchen below. With most of the house's current occupants still gathered around the kitchen table, Tonks let herself inspect every aspect of the interior of the entrance hall as she headed for the set of stairs that would take her to the upper floors.
Though her steps sometimes sent up puffs of dust from the carpet, the former grandeur of the decor couldn't be ignored. Her mother's voice echoed in her mind. Tonks had once rolled her eyes when her mother spoke of her relatives because they couldn't be as gaudy as Andromeda implied. After all, Tonks had seen what Bellatrix Lestrange looked like when she was shipped off to Azkaban for life. The images from the Prophet were forever seared into her memories. Any shreds of dignity the woman had possessed were long gone.
Tonks shouldn't have been sceptical though. She also knew what the Malfoys were like, and Narcissa was as much of a Black as Bellatrix was. Though she had never seen Malfoy Manor for herself, Tonks could easily imagine that it was a cleaner version of Grimmauld Place or worse.
If she were to hazard a guess, though, the Malfoys wouldn't have gone as far as mounting house elf heads to their walls. Tonks averted her eyes from the decorations in question as she travelled upwards.
On the first landing, she heard two voices drifting through a cracked doorway. Tonks stuck her head in, eyes landing on Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger sitting on a sofa in front of an empty fireplace.
She'd seen them at dinner, but they'd been at opposite sides of the table, which had prevented them from speaking to one another. Tonks regretted that, as she was curious about the teenagers who were good friends of the famous Harry Potter. It wasn't every day you met people like that, though Tonks supposed that not having met the Boy Who Lived was another way she was in the minority when it came to the Order.
Stepping fully into the room, her eyes trailed over the decor as they had in the entrance hall. The far wall consisted of a set of large windows that Tonks knew, despite the curtains being drawn, looked over the London street below. The sofa and chairs that sat in the room were covered in a dark green velvet that Tonks would have expected to find in the Slytherin common room. But the most curious objects were the unidentifiable ones that lined two large cabinets against the far wall and a tapestry that Tonks could tell from one glance was a family tree.
Tonks felt like she'd been dropped into a Gothic horror novel, but the furniture wasn't as interesting as the two girls watching her with curious eyes.
"Does this place creep you out?" Tonks asked, not bothering with introductions. They'd learned her name during dinner when she'd learned theirs.
"It is a little dark in here," Hermione said hesitantly, though her frown hinted at stronger feelings.
"I think this place is kind of neat," Ginny said with a smile.
Tonks gave a short laugh. There was an infectious energy within the youngest Weasley that made Tonks like her instantly.
"If we were at the Burrow all summer," Ginny continued, "we wouldn't know a thing about what was going on. I'd much rather be here exploring a house that's probably older than the Statute of Secrecy. Merlin knows how illegal some of the stuff in here is."
Tonks doubted the house was that old only because London wouldn't have held many townhouses at the time the Statute was written. She wouldn't have been surprised, however, if Grimmauld Place had been one of the first such houses to be built in the city.
"We may be here, but we don't know a thing about what the Order's actually doing," Hermione pointed out. She turned to Tonks. "We're not allowed in the meetings, and none of the adults will say a word about what they talk about."
"They treat us like little kids," Ginny explained, crossing her arms against her chest. "Mum especially acts like we won't be able to handle whatever they tell us. It's like none of them remember that I've faced Tom Riddle before and survived. I'm not going to run off and cry in my room because they tell me something scary."
Tonks observed the girls in silence for a moment. Whether the Order was being forthright with information or not, she was sure the teens had got ahold of more information than they were letting on to Tonks. That night's dinner had proven that they were more than capable of such feats, especially with the help of the twins, who Tonks knew were capable of impressive magic after seeing some of their sweets in action.
Tonks didn't push for their illicitly obtained secrets.
"I don't know much yet either," she said instead.
She sat in a chair adjacent to the sofa Ginny and Hermione had claimed. It was every bit as uncomfortable as it appeared, with a back that forced her to keep proper posture.
"Being in the Order is like joining the Auror Office all over again," Tonks continued. "Everyone except you knows what's going on, and they're all too busy to stop and fill you in on everything. It sucks."
"Yeah," Ginny said with a wry smile. "But the difference is that they'll tell you anything you want if you ask, won't they? Mum won't let us on the ground floor during meetings in case we hear something through the door."
Tonks had heard stories about what happened with Ginny Weasley and the Chamber of Secrets a few years before. It had spread through the Auror Office, with many expressing frustration that the Aurors hadn't been part of the ordeal. Several stories involving Hermione had spread in a similar fashion. Her exploits with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley always made people talk at the Ministry. Few Aurors could believe that the children were still relatively unscathed.
"I wish I could tell you what I've heard," Tonks said, "but something tells me that getting on Molly Weasley's bad side isn't a good idea."
Ginny scoffed.
"She treats us like little kids," she complained again.
Her pout did nothing to prove her mother wrong, but Tonks bit her lip to keep herself from saying such a thing out loud.
"Fred and George are nearly finished with Hogwarts!" Ginny continued, throwing her head back against the couch and letting out a huff.
"To be fair, Gin," Hermione said, "you're three years younger than Fred and George. And neither of us is of age."
Ginny directed a glare at her friend, and Tonks made a mental note to never get on her bad side.
"Do you want to know what's going on or not?" Ginny asked.
"Of course I do!" Hermione exclaimed, scowling back. "I'm only saying that I get why your mum doesn't want to tell us. The Ministry hasn't even acknowledged that You-Know-Who is back yet, and look at how bad things already are."
"That doesn't mean she should talk to us like we're kids." Ginny rolled her eyes. "It doesn't make the war go away or keep us out of trouble. She acts like knowing the truth would put a larger target on our backs."
She turned to Tonks again.
"You're the only one who talks to us like we're capable of thinking," she said. "Except maybe Sirius and Lupin."
Tonks smiled at the names before she could stop herself.
"Really?" she asked. "They meet your approval?"
Ginny and Hermione shared a look as if they needed to consider the answer. Hermione's lips pressed together, but she didn't share her opinion, letting Ginny speak instead.
"I think they'd tell us whatever we wanted to know if Mum let them," Ginny said, ignoring Hermione's sceptical expression.
"Sirius is my cousin," Tonks said, not sure why it burst from her like a secret she'd been holding in.
Both girls smiled.
"We know," Hermione said. "He's been talking about you since Moody said he wanted you to join. He was excited to see you again. He kept saying that your mum was his favourite cousin growing up and that he'd always known you'd grow up into a good one."
"He never thought he'd see you again," Ginny added, her voice much softer than it had been while complaining. "He was pretty shocked when Moody mentioned you."
Hermione nodded.
"He couldn't say anything at first. Professor Lupin had to snap him out of it."
The title she'd used before Remus' name caught Tonks' attention, making her promptly forget about anything to do with Sirius.
"'Professor'?" she repeated, raising an eyebrow.
Hermione's face scrunched in frustration, and she rubbed a hand over her brow as she answered.
"Sorry. I still slip up and call him that sometimes."
"Professor Lupin used to teach us Defence at Hogwarts," Ginny added when Tonks' confusion didn't disappear. "He quit a year ago because Snape's an arsehole and threatened to tell the parents that he's a werewolf."
Tonks hummed as she filed the information away with the other curious things she'd learned about Remus Lupin in the few hours she'd known of him.
"How was he as a professor?" Tonks asked, hoping her voice didn't betray how curious she was to know the answer.
"Amazing," Hermione gushed, surprising Tonks with her passion. The younger girl leaned forward, clasping her hands together as she spoke. "He's the only decent Defence professor we've had. Quirrell was okay, I suppose, before we found out he had You-Know-Who on the back of his head, but he never wanted to answer questions. And Lockhart just wanted to talk about himself. The only worthwhile thing I learned that year was to be careful with memory charms."
"And the fake Moody last year..." Ginny added. "Barty Crouch, Jr.? He freaked me out from the beginning." She shuddered at the memory. "But Professor Lupin was the best," she concluded. "We learned loads, and he was always really cool. Everyone liked him."
"Everyone but the Slytherins," Hermione muttered.
Ginny narrowed her eyes at Hermione as if she were the one who had been rude to Remus.
"They hate everyone worth liking," she retorted.
Neither Hermione nor Tonks were inclined to argue otherwise.
"Well," said Tonks, steering the conversation in a somewhat different direction, "Remus certainly seems like a great guy from what I know about him. I can't imagine most people would easily welcome a friend back after more than a decade of believing they're a murderer."
Hermione and Ginny shared a look that told Tonks they knew a lot about that particular event.
"Harry, Ron, and I were there when they saw each other again," Hermione admitted.
Tonks raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out how three children could get themselves in such a situation. She remembered that a lot of talk in the early days of Sirius' escape from Azkaban had been about him possibly going after Harry. She'd never stopped to wonder why the focus of the search had shifted away from the boy; she'd just assumed that Kingsley had come across new evidence. And she supposed that was what had happened. That evidence had just been more ironclad than Tonks could have known.
"How did you get wrapped up in that?" Tonks asked.
She leaned forward, ready for what was sure to be an interesting story. Hermione mirrored her, pressing her elbows into her thighs. She was more eager to share the story than Tonks had expected.
"Professor Lupin taught us the same year that Sirius escaped from Azkaban," she began. "Sirius came to Hogwarts to confront Peter Pettigrew because he was hiding as Ron's pet rat Scabbers."
Tonks, who hadn't yet heard that particular detail, let out a low, involuntarily whistle at the news.
"Ron's pet…"
She shook her head. That might have been the scariest thing she'd heard all day. An apparent Death Eater living with a child while the child was none the wiser to it. It sent shivers down her spine.
"How did he know the rat was actually Pettigrew?" Tonks asked.
"Has Sirius told you yet that he's an Animagus?" Ginny piped up, eager to contribute something to the conversation.
"Yeah," Tonks said slowly, thinking back to her conversation with Sirius and Remus in the kitchen. "He turns into a dog. He mentioned that Pettigrew was one too, but I didn't know he was a rat. All I knew was that he framed Sirius somehow."
"Yep," Ginny said. "He cut off his finger before he transformed to make it look like he'd died. Sirius recognized him in a picture from the newspaper when our family went to Egypt. Scabbers was missing the same finger on one of his paws as Pettigrew. So Sirius came after him."
Hermione picked the story back up. "He dragged Ron and Scabbers—or Pettigrew really—down a passage in the Whomping Willow that leads to the Shrieking Shack. Harry and I followed. We still thought Sirius was a murderer, but then Professor Lupin came. He'd seen us on the Marauder's Map."
In response to Tonks' furrowed brow, she rushed to add, "It's a map that Sirius, Lupin, Pettigrew, and Harry's dad made while they were at Hogwarts. It shows where everyone in the castle is. So, Professor Lupin could see that Sirius was with us, and he could see that Pettigrew was there too. He followed us, and long story short, we all found out the truth."
"It must've been a shock," Tonks said. "Finding out that the best friend you thought was a murderer was innocent, while the friend you thought dead was a traitor."
"He apologized that night for thinking Sirius had betrayed everyone," Hermione said, "and Sirius forgave him right away."
"Of course he did," Ginny added. "Wouldn't you be glad to have a friend again after a decade of being alone in the worst place on earth?"
Tonks hummed in agreement. In the five years she'd been out of Hogwarts, she'd already lost touch with a number of her friends from school. Even with the ones she still spoke to, their communication had become sporadic as their lives outside of Hogwarts took over. She couldn't imagine any of her friends still being around if she spent twelve years in prison, whether she was innocent or not.
"Enough about that," Ginny said. "I've never gotten to talk to an Auror before. What's it like?"
Tonks laughed.
"Isn't Moody here every week?" she asked.
That week, at least, he'd stayed for dinner, giving the youngest Weasley plenty of time to talk to him if she desired.
"Fine," Ginny said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Technically, I have, but it's not the same. When I talk to Moody or Kingsley, they act like I'm a kid who they're humouring with answers. Moody may say stuff that makes Mum mad, but he still talks like I don't know that much. I can tell you're not like that. You're cool."
Tonks smiled, but internally, the comment stung. It was another reminder that she was closer in age to these two Hogwarts students than she was to most of the people who'd been gathered around the kitchen table at the meeting. Even with her Auror credentials, she felt like the others would focus on her inexperience more than anything else. None of that was something she planned to share with Ginny or Hermione.
"I'm glad," she said, using her Auror training to make the sentiment sound as authentic as possible. "There's a war going on. I don't think it's a good idea to belittle anyone."
The comment earned her beaming smiles from both girls, and Tonks quickly answered Ginny's original question.
"Being an Auror is everything you'd imagine it to be but with more paperwork."
"Paperwork," Ginny repeated to herself, her nose wrinkling in distaste.
"Do you want to be an Auror?" Tonks asked, settling herself further into the sofa. It had become a tad bit less uncomfortable.
Ginny hummed as she considered the idea, but a shrug quickly followed
"I don't know," she said. "It sounds cool, but so does becoming a Curse-Breaker like Bill or a Dragonologist like Charlie. But I'm not sure any of those are for me. I'd love to play Quidditch professionally, but not many people make it. It's not the smartest choice. Mum would have a fit..."
Tonks laughed before she could help herself.
"Being an Auror isn't the smartest of choices either," she said quickly in response to Ginny's raised eyebrow. "I've never seen you play Quidditch, so I can't promise you that you'd make it, but I think you should go for it if it's what you want to do."
Hermione pressed her lips together and picked up the book beside her on the sofa, fiddling with the pages. Ginny's head tilted to the side as she considered Tonks like she was seeing a new side of her.
"You'd get along well with Charlie," she said, her eyes narrowing as if such a thing was suspicious.
Tonks laughed again.
"I know I would," she said. "Charlie and I went to Hogwarts together. We were friends."
Ginny gasped, her eyes widening.
"Really?" she asked, leaning forward with an excitement that she hadn't shown at any other point in the conversation. "You mean you actually knew him when he was at school? Do you have any embarrassing stories? I have to know!"
"Of course I do," Tonks said with a laugh. "He was always getting into trouble."
She launched into her favourite story about Charlie: the day he'd tried to transfigure a suit of armour into a miniature dragon during their second year. The girls hung on her every word, though Ginny had a far different attitude towards the story than Hermione.
For the first time since arriving at Grimmauld Place, Tonks forgot about her insecurities and felt like she was among friends.
