Chapter 9
The day after the attacks in Devon, the Auror Office had finally deemed Tonks recovered, she suspected more out of necessity than any actual assessment of her health. It had been a relief at first to get out of the office and she had looked forward to being able to throw herself back into her work and put the thoughts of Remus' rejection, Sirius' death and Bellatrix's determination to destroy her, from her mind.
However, her job did not seem as interesting and exciting as it once had. Whereas before she had largely been dealing with unsolved mysteries and petty criminals, the Death Eaters doing their best to remain concealed, the Wizarding World was now engaged in a fully-fledged war. Now, her duties mostly consisted of clearing up after attacks, trying desperately to limit damage and always feeling several steps behind You-Know-Who and his followers.
Four days had now passed, but Tonks found herself spending another chilly, overcast, July morning in the West Country, where three more mangled corpses had been discovered in the wreckage left behind by what the Muggles now believed had been a freak hurricane.
"This poor fellow's got some pretty clear signs of magical damage, Tonks. We'll have to tidy him up before the Muggle authorities get hold of him."
Tonks mentally braced herself and clambered over a fallen tree to where Dawlish stood over the corpse. It was covered in scorch marks and swellings that had obviously been raised by some nasty hexes. She set to work transfiguring the damaged skin, trying to ignore the way it bubbled grotesquely as it returned to a more normal looking state. She wondered who this man had been, who he had left behind. And whether his family would actually believe a hurricane in the South of England could have killed him and so many others.
"Hey what do you think you're doing? This area's unsafe, can't you see it's been roped off?"
Tonks glanced up at the introduction, but Dawlish had already pointed his wand at the new arrival and muttered, "Obliviate." The Muggle police officer wandered off in a daze for the third time that day and Tonks felt a bizarre urge to laugh.
"We'd better finish off here before she gets back," said Dawlish. "She'll end up addled if we keep wiping her memory."
"I'm done here. That's the whole street, isn't it?"
"Yes, I'll send word to Shacklebolt, see where he wants us to cover next."
Before Dawlish could finish writing a memo, however, they spotted Kingsley heading up the street towards them.
"Wotcher," Tonks called out. "We're finished, is everyone ready to move onto the next town?" As he got closer, however, she saw that his face was clouded with worry. "Kingsley, what's happened?"
"I need you two to go back to London," he began slowly. "There's been a murder. Scrimgeour will brief you when you get there.
Tonks and Dawlish nodded shakily. Tonks bent down to pick up her rucksack and heard a crack as Dawlish disapparated.
"Tonks…" Kingsley put a hand on her arm as a sign for her to wait. She looked up and saw concern in his dark eyes and her stomach dropped.
"Who is it?" The question came out as a whisper.
"I don't know for sure, I haven't been told details. But I do know the murder took place in Westminster and I haven't been able to get in touch with Emmeline Vance. I know the two of you were close and I wouldn't ask but… If it is her and there's any chance they procured information from her I need someone who can alert the Order straight away. Are you going to be able to do that?"
Tonks felt completely dead inside but somehow managed a nod. She turned on the spot and instantly found herself in the Ministry's Atrium. What had once been a place of cheery greetings now had a palpable air of tension as Ministry workers from every department bustled about with a harried look. She spotted Fudge himself across the hallway talking with desperate looking hand gestures to the Head of the Department of Magical Transportation. Both men looked exhausted. She had no time to wonder what fresh disaster they were discussing though, and caught up with Dawlish just as he got into a lift.
The Auror Office was in chaos when they arrived, and Tonks could tell they were dealing with more than just one murder. Rufus Scrimgeour strode up to them. Tonks had to admire his stony attitude and sense of control in contrast to almost everyone else around him.
"Shacklebolt sent you to help with the Vance murder, yes?" The tiny bubble of hope Tonks had been holding on to vanished at his blunt question. "The Muggles found her first and it's all over their television news. It doesn't look like we'll be able to get anywhere near the house today without possibly causing a scene. Robards will let you know what's happening, please excuse me."
He strode out of the room and Tonks found herself chanting inside her head, you can think about her later, you need to concentrate on work, you can think about her later. She hoped the more she repeated her advice to herself, the easier it would be to follow, but the next couple of hours still were incredibly difficult.
Kingsley appeared back at the office mid-afternoon and Tonks apologised for not being able to do what he asked.
"It happens," he replied calmly. "It's important not to do anything that panics the Muggles too much."
"Well, do you need me back down in the West Country? There's not really much I can do here."
Kingsley smiled sympathetically and Tonks knew he understood that she had meant she needed a distraction from thinking about what had happened to Emmeline.
"I'm not working there any more either, I've just been reassigned."
"Why? Has something else happened?"
"I'm to guard the Muggle Prime Minister. The Death Eaters have attempted to place one of his ministers under the Imperius Curse so security surrounding the Muggle government is being increased."
"Okay. Well, good luck." Her words sounded rather feeble and insincere, but that was simply because she felt exhausted. As soon as Kingsley was gone, she slumped down in her desk chair and held her head in her hands.
She felt so powerless. An Order member had just been killed, people were being attacked left right and centre, and she had no idea what to do. She was in the Auror Office and the Order of the Phoenix, she was supposed to be on the front line of this war but it was starting to feel more hopeless than ever. If the Death Eaters were trying to infiltrate the Muggle government, it wouldn't be long before they tried the same at the Ministry, if they hadn't already. She was out of her depth.
She thought of Emmeline and Remus coming to collect her from St. Mungo's just weeks before, struggling to believe that she would never again see Emmeline's kind features and look of maternal concern. And Remus… She needed him so much at this moment, more than she could bear. She wanted nothing more than his comfort, to hear him tell her it would be okay, that they were in this together.
But her needing him clearly didn't mean he wanted her.
