Evil Angel

Pansy counted the pages she'd filled in the two days since she'd gotten the journal. Since there were no more torture sessions to recount, it was filling up slower than the last one. She glanced at her watch. 11:30, and Tonks still wasn't home. She rubbed the scar on her arm, a nervous habit she'd developed in the past few months. With one last glance at her bedroom door, she snuggled into the blankets and closed her eyes.


"Pansy!" Tonks yelled.

Pansy jolted awake, panting. She was shivering and drenched in sweat. "I…I can't… breathe…"

"Sit up, you're okay. Deep breaths."

Pansy continued to go through the breathing exercise. She leaned back against Tonks as her breathing slowed again. "I'm… I'm sorry. I—" Pansy shivered again.

"Calm down. You're all right." Tonks held her tightly and asked, "You ever gonna tell me what these nightmares are about?"

Pansy rubbed her arm again. When she took her hand away, Tonks gasped.

"How long have you had that?"

"Ever since before Azkaban. It's fine. I'm fine." Pansy didn't move from Tonks' arms. Her breathing was almost normal again, but she was still shaking.

"You're not," Tonks said, hugging her. "Please talk to me. I know something's bothering you. Please talk to me." She ran her finger along the scar, which went from Pansy's wrist to her elbow. "How'd you get this?"

"Bellatrix. I don't remember what happened. I fainted during training and when I woke up, Rodolphus was wrapping my arm."

"Are your nightmares going away at all?"

"A little. This is the first one I've had in a while."

"That's good! Do you think you can get back to sleep?"

"I think so," Pansy said. She jumped when she felt the older witch move. "Don't leave!" she said. "Please, just…stay."

"Okay," Tonks said. She slid into bed next to Pansy and ruffled the Slytherin's hair. "Good night."

Pansy said nothing, but hugged Tonks and closed her eyes again.


The next morning, as per usual, Tonks said nothing about Pansy's spaz attack. When Pansy emerged from her room, Tonks had made breakfast and was reading the Daily Prophet.

"Hey," Pansy said.

"Wotcher."

"Something's…different," Pansy said, looking around. "Where'd the T.V. go? And…there's furniture missing…"

"We're moving. I've been sending stuff to our new place this morning."

"Moving? Why, what happened?"

"A few things. First, Harry and friends broke into the Ministry, which sent things into a shit storm. That led to the second thing, more Death Eater patrols in magical areas. Which led to three, the fact that Rodolphus and another Death Eater spotted you yesterday. They know we're here. They'll probably try to get in again in the next hour or so."

"Wait, again?" Pansy asked. "When did they…how did you…?"

"They saw you when I made the mistake of taking you to the store with me in the morning. Thank God, Kingsley was tailing them and notified me. I spent the afternoon just outside the apartment strengthening the protective spells on the place, but when I left that evening it was because they were trying to get in."

"So you just went out to face them???" Pansy shouted, impressed and pissed off all at once.

"I disguised myself and hid. Kingsley and I threw up shields every time they broke threw one. They finally gave up around two in the morning, that's when I came back and found you." She folded the paper and waved her wand at the couch. It disappeared, and she went on vanishing things.

"When do we leave?" Pansy asked.

"As soon as I moved the stuff in your room."

Pansy turned to leave, but stopped. Something was wrong. "Tonks?"

"Shhhh!" Tonks said. She'd obviously noticed it too. She threw a shield at the door and vanished a lamp. Grabbing Pansy by the arm, she rushed into the younger witch's room and threw up another shield. While she vanished things she said, "It's going to take them about ten minutes to break through all the shields on the apartment. Do you have everything?"

All Pansy had to take were her journals. She nodded as she put them into a bag. Immediately after taking Tonks' arm, she felt herself Disapparate. The first thing she registered when they landed was that they were somewhere cold. Opening her eyes, she saw why. "Tonks?" she whispered.

The room, filled with all their things, was metal and there was a slight breeze coming in from the open window. It looked like a jail.

Pansy went to the window and looked out. They were on a cliff overlooking a lake. "Tonks?"

"Wotcher," Tonks said behind her.

Pansy turned as she heard something cracking. Tonks had lit a flare and was putting it in a corner. "Where are we?" Pansy asked, teeth chattering.

"It's one of the Order's temporary houses. Basically, it's just a bunch of metal sheds put together, but it serves. Sorry it's so cold," she said, waving her wand. The furniture flew into place. "The flare'll warm this place up in no time. That'll be our light too. It's low, so no one should be able to spot it. I'll be putting up blackout curtains just in case." She sat down on the couch and pulled a blanket up to her chin.

"How long do we have to stay here?" Pansy asked.

"Not sure. Everything's…a little crazy right now. It's going to be crazy for a while, I think."

Pansy sat next to her, and Tonks unfolded the blanket a little. Pansy slid over next to her.

"There's one other thing," Tonks said. "I'm going to have to teach you…defensive procedures. Real, Auror quality defense against the Dark Arts. If I have to…if something happens…you need to be ready."

Pansy flinched. The thought of starting any kind of training was horrifying.

"This won't be like before, with Bel…with my aunt. It's going to be hard, but I'm not going to hurt you."

Pansy nodded, but stayed silent. "Are there new rules for this place?" she asked after a few minutes.

"If I'm not home by dark, you have to stay in the bedroom. I'll teach you how to pick up on the alarm system, but you've already got it basically. That's what you felt before we left. If anything happens, you have to Apparate to the place that's in your journal."

Pansy looked oddly at her.

"I wrote it down this morning."

"Oh. Alright."

"We'll be okay, Pansy."

Somehow, Pansy didn't believe her.

LbN: Send reviews!!!