A/N: Hey guys, I know I usually put the author's note at the end of the chapter, but I wanted to say a couple things. Firstly, I am so sorry I haven't written in so long. College kind of kicked me in the gut, and things haven't been going well, so I kind of had to put writing on the back burner, which I really regret because I love it. But finals are coming up, and after that I should be churning out chapters.
Secondly, I originally intended for this story to go back and forth between Tonks and Remus's POV, but I'm having difficulty, so I've decided that this story will be primarily Tonks, with Remus whenever I feel he'd work better.
Thirdly, I'm planning on putting out a bunch of oneshots that have been running through my head that wouldn't really fit into this story, so let me know if you'd be interested in me doing that.
And finally, thanks to anyone who's read, thanks for the comments, and thanks for the lovely people who are sticking with me through this story. Love you guys.
Tonks stifled a groan, carefully rearranging her legs beneath her. The chilled stone floor and the confined space inside the invisibility cloak combined were doing nothing for her taxed muscles.
It had been a long week. Tonks had been taking both extra shifts at work and extra shifts for the Order, which was an absolutely horrible idea in hindsight. She really used to enjoy work, but too many things had changed. Her training years were her fondest memories. Even though it was three years of intense, stressful training, she was actually doing work. She saw real action. But ever since she received her qualification, all she'd really done was sit in a cubicle and fill out paperwork. Occasionally they went out on false alarms, but Tonks rarely got to go, because she was a novice.
And then, with Potter's claims of Voldemort's return, she thought she'd see action, that Fudge would come to his senses and realize the need for preparation. But no. Instead, the Auror office was forced to focus on one thing and one thing only: Sirius Black.
So Tonks had spent a week trapped in her cubicle, compiling possible hideout locations for her dangerous cousin for Kingsley. But as it took very little time to write down random locations across the globe, she mostly listened to the WWN and threw pencils at her ceiling until Dawlish threatened to have her sacked.
Of course, she also had her undercover job for the Order: casually listening on conversations around the Ministry, smuggling files, and generally collecting all the information she could on odd happenings or suspected Death Eaters. However, Tonks was finding it harder and harder to go unnoticed.
Tonks winced under the cloak, remembering an incident that morning.
Tonks had been killing time until lunch break, her feet up on her desk, tossing a little plush kneazle up into the air over and over again. Her eyes were glued on the clock. She was just considering sneaking out anyway when there came a knock at the door of her cubicle, and the Head of the Auror Department stepped in.
With all the grace of a Confunded squirrel, Tonks scrambled to her feet, catching her foot on a drawer and about knocking over her chair in the process. She righted herself and chucked her kneazle behind her before saying, "Auror Scrimgeour, sir."
"Auror Tonks." He glanced lazily at her messy office.
"What can I help you with, sir?" she asked carefully. While Rufus Scrimgeour was not a stupid man, he was very loyal to the Ministry, and she and Kingsley had been walking on eggshells around him.
He still gazed around at her assorted paraphernalia; her signed Weird Sisters poster, her stuffed kneazle. After a moment he returned his eyes to her.
"I just wanted to address your work." Tonks held his gaze apprehensively, her mind racing to come up with where she might have slipped. "Why, may I ask, did you request access to the Lestrange files yesterday?"
Shite. She could not blow this. She could not let Dumbledore down. She willed herself to be an Auror, not a nitwit. Choosing her words carefully, she said, "Shacklebolt was concerned that other Azkaban inmates would be able to follow in Sirius Black's footsteps, so I wanted to compare the details of their imprisonment to see if there were any possible flaws in their separate incarcerations." Yes, that sounded believable.
Scrimgeour looked at her a moment longer, then picked up a folder off her desk and began skimming through it. "Why did Kingsley ask you to cover this project?"
Tonks shrugged nonchalantly. "Everyone else was busy."
"Miss Tonks, how do you feel about the Ministry?"
Tonks wasn't sure about the direction this conversation was headed. "I think it's a well-run institution, sir."
"Have you been making many friends?"
"I haven't really had the time, sir." She willed him to leave.
Scrimgeour looked thoughtful, then set the folder back down on her desk. "Good day, Auror Tonks." He swept out the door.
Tonks let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding and dropped into her chair, collecting herself before grabbing a quill and paper, and penning a memo to Kingsley.
Tonks rubbed her eyes and willed herself to stay awake. The ninny she was, this was the second night shift she had taken that week, having felt so useless in the office. She was seriously regretting the choice.
She hadn't been to Headquarters in a while. The last time she'd been she'd been roped into helping the kids take down a very violent ghoul they had found in an upstairs toilet. She'd come out of the endeavor soaking wet and reluctant to help clean the place again. But she wanted to go back. She hadn't gotten to see Sirius or Remus the last time she was there, and she was going mad without anyone to talk to (about important things, that is).
She stifled a yawn and checked her watch. Only a couple more minutes until the Ministry would fill up with employees. Rearranging the cloak, she stood up and began making her way down the hallway. She could barely hold in her subsequent yawns as she waited for someone to come down on the lift.
When she reached the Atrium, she hid behind a potted plant and pulled the cloak off, stuffing it in her bag. She stretched and ran a hand through her hair. It was long, blonde, and curly today. She thought it fit her look of utter exhaustion. When she thought the coast was clear, she sped to the Disapparation point to go to Grimmauld Place.
When she tiptoed into the kitchen at five am, she was a little surprised to see Molly and Arthur seated at the table in conversation. They looked up when she walked in.
"Tonks, what are you doing here this early?" Molly asked kindly. "You looked exhausted."
"I am. I just c-c-came to drop off the cloak," she yawned.
"Well let me get you some breakfast, dear," Molly jumped out of her chair and headed to the stove.
"N-no thanks Mrs. Weasley, I really should go home and get some sleep."
"At least have some tea or coffee to wake you up a little bit, I don't want you Splinching yourself."
"All right," Tonks resigned, and took a seat at the table. She noticed that while Molly was still in a dressing gown, Arthur was dressed in an odd combination of a Muggle bomber jacket and pinstriped trousers.
Before she could comment, Molly had set a steaming mug and a plate of toast in front of her, and Sirius burst through the door.
"Hey, Tonksie," he said, ruffling her hair on the way to the stove. "You look terrible."
"Thanks." Tonks turned to Arthur. "What's with the Muggle outfit?"
"Harry's hearing is this morning," he explained.
"Oh I'd nearly forgotten about that. Poor Harry. I hope it goes well."
Sirius asked him a question about the hearing that Tonks didn't hear. She rubbed her eyes, but they shot open when the kitchen door opened again and Remus walked in, his hair still damp and stuck to his neck. He looked surprised that there were other people down so early.
"Good morning, Molly," he said, reaching past her to get a cup of tea.
"Remus, dear, what are you doing up so early? You need more sleep," Molly admonished.
"I have a few errands to run this morning. Besides, Tonks looks like she needs sleep more than I do," he said, sliding in next to her. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'm just v-very tired," she yawned. "Just came off my shift."
"Did anything happen?"
"No, completely uneventful." Her eyelids drooped.
"Tonks, did you go in to work yesterday?" he asked suddenly.
"Well, yes…"
"No wonder you're exhausted," he said, shaking his head.
"That's not the first time I've done that this week, either," she admitted sheepishly.
"Tonks."
"Sorry. It's not like I wanted to. Work hasn't been a thrill." Suddenly, she remembered the Head Auror's visit. "Oh, Remus, I almost forgot. Something odd happened at work yesterday."
"What happened?" he asked concernedly.
"Well, you see, Scrimgeour came in yesterday and he–" Tonks broke off as the door opened and Harry walked in, looking scared and anxious. Molly immediately jumped up and rushed to the fire, muttering to herself.
"M-m-morning, Harry," Tonks yawned again. "Sleep all right?"
"Yeah," Harry replied.
"I've b-b-been up all night," she yawned once more with a shudder. "Come and sit down." She tried to pull out a chair for him, but she just ended up knocking over the one next to it.
"What do you want, Harry?" Molly called from the stove, listing out every breakfast item possible.
"Just–just toast, thanks," Harry said.
Tonks wasn't sure he'd be able to get it down; he was looking pale. Remus must've thought the same, because he watched Harry carefully before turning back to Tonks. "What were you saying about Scrimgeour?"
"Oh…yeah…well, we need to be a bit more careful, he's been asking Kingsley and me funny questions. Gave me quite a fright yesterday, came right into my cubicle yesterday. I sent a memo to Kingsley after he left and the same had happened to him. I think he suspects us of something. And then I had all day and all night to worry about it, which made me feel even worse, and I'll have to tell Dumbledore I can't do night duty tomorrow, I'm just t-t-too tired," she yawned unattractively.
"I'll cover for you. I'm okay, I've got a report to finish anyway," Arthur said, and Tonks smiled her face. He turned to Harry and began to reassure him. Tonks thought it was a good idea; the poor boy looked like he was going to vomit. Her ears perked up when Arthur mentioned Amelia Bones. She knew Amelia Bones, she was a well-respected witch.
"Amelia Bones is okay, Harry," she said reassuringly. "She's fair, she'll hear you out."
"Don't lose your temper," Sirius added. "Be polite and stick to the facts."
"The law's on your side," Remus said quietly. "Even underage wizards are allowed to use magic in life-threatening situations."
Harry just kept nodding, looking overwhelmed, until Molly went at his hair with a wet comb, lamenting at its wild nature. Tonks grinned at that.
Finally Arthur looked at his watch and stood up. "I think we'll go now. We're a bit early, but I think you'll be better off there than hanging around here."
Harry stood up, and Tonks patted him on the arm bracingly. "You'll be all right, Harry."
"Good luck," said Remus. "I'm sure you'll be fine."
"And if it's not, I'll see to Amelia Bones for you," Sirius said, not entirely joking.
Mrs. Weasley hugged him one last time before they left. After the door shut, she clapped her hands together, shaking away her worry. "Now, I should be getting the children up soon, before breakfast gets cold. We're going to tackle the library today. Sirius, Remus, care to join?"
"While that is a cause I can get behind," Remus smiled, "I still have a few errands to run."
"Oh, that's right. Sirius?"
Sirius nodded absentmindedly, his focus clearly still on Harry. Tonks didn't like to think of what his reaction would be if Harry got cleared; she'd seen that dangerous spark of hope in Sirius's eyes at the thought of his godson living with him.
"Tonks, are you okay to Apparate?" Remus asked, bringing her out of her thoughts.
"Oh, yes, I should be fine."
"You certainly are not, go by Floo, there's a tin on the mantel," Molly said authoritatively.
"Or I could walk you home," Remus said mildly. "I have to go out anyway."
"Don't be ridiculous," Molly snapped, not unkindly. "Her flat's several blocks away, she'll faint before she gets there."
"Molly's got a point, Remus," Tonks admitted, stretching and ruffling her own hair. "I'd better go before I fall asleep at the table."
Remus squeezed her shoulder. "Get some sleep."
"Oh, I p-p-plan to," she yawned.
*Much of this chapter's events and dialogue come from Ch 7 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
*Sorry it's not my best work and sorry it took so long.
*I wrote this half-asleep, so if you see typos or have suggestions please inform me.
