The Mission

"Where will you stay on the way?" Remus who was accompanying her to the Ddraig Goch's backyard sounded concerned.

Tonks just shrugged her shoulders. "I must not leave any traces, which is why I will avoid any magical areas as much as possible. I think I should be going to Muggle hotels and just in case," she knocked on her full backpack, "I still have Mr. Perkins' tent with me. It suffered a bit during the last Quidditch world Cup, but it'll be allright."

Remus nodded. On the one hand he seemed relieved about her soon departure, on the other hand he also seemed worried about her well-being.

"Why don't you apparate? Or use the flea network? Flying seems very unsafe to me, all alone."

Tonks climbed her Comet 260 and replied: "I don't even know exactly where I want to go. And Alastor says the flea network will most likely be monitored by the ministry. Kingsley can't know that I disappeared under any circumstances."

Unsatisfied Remus agreed. He reached out to her to say goodbye, but then pulled her into a firm embrace that almost took Tonks' breath away. "Take care of yourself," he whispered insistently.

She laughed. "Who is spending the week with werewolves, you or me?" When she saw Remus' tense facial expression, she got serious again. "I'll come back at the end of the week and see how things are going, okay? I really don't want to miss this meeting. Save me a seat!"

"Always," Remus replied dryly.

Tonks smiled at him one last time, trying to look encouraging, and pushed herself off the floor.

Her backpack, which she had attached to the lower end of her broom, shook alarmingly, but remained where it was. She quickly gained height and soon could only spot Harbwr Hudol as a small, dazzling spot underneath her feet.

Tonks' heart beat like a drumset as she, bent over her broomstick, accelerated and raced north.

It was already late afternoon when Tonks reached her temporary destination - a small town near the Scottish border. She had covered almost the entire distance above the clouds so as not to be seen. She could have used a disillusionment charm but keeping it up for so long would have weakened her even more than the cold that surrounded her above the clouds.

As she landed, she felt an uncomfortable pressure on her ears, and once on the ground, Tonks had to sit down on the mossed forest ground to recover from the strains.

Flying and Quidditch were her biggest passion, but for longer journeys the broom as means of transport was not really suitable, as she had to admit to herself once again.

After drinking some big sips of pumpkin juice, she sat up and looked around. The forest she had chosen to land hidden from muggle eyes turned out to be a light pine grove. Tonks could make out a few fields and meadows through the rare tree trunks and, not too far away, a church tower.

She stood up, shouldered her rucksack, hid her broom in a fetch tree and, as a precaution, covered it with a simple muggle defence charm. Also, she checked her face and hair once more in her hand mirror - she looked as boring as she did on her subway ride with Alastor - and then made her way to the town.

A country lane with wide tracks, which - if she wasn't mistaken - had to come from some kind of very large car - led Tonks in just over half an hour to the centre of the village, which was called 'Loarshire' according to a sign.

To Tonks' great relief, there was at least one pub that also offered beds for strangers.

"Without breakfast and bath. Heating's charged extra," mumbled a bored boy with acne who squatted behind the scratched bar and shoved a chewing gum around his mouth. Tonks just nodded, why would she need a heater in summer? After she had handed him the ridiculous bills, which Muggles called money, he rose and shuffled his way into a musty-smelling back room, where he built a fragile sofa bed and covered it with a flimsy sheet. "There you go, Lass," he murmured and sneaked out again.

Tonks didn't waste any time on unpacking but immediately searched her backpack for the bag with the fake markers of Sirius' presence. Of course, she found the collection of hair strands, beard stubbles, Buckbeak's feathers and other unappetizing traces of her grand cousin somewhat disgusting herself, but they were indispensable if Tonks wanted to create a convincing hideout for a wanted mass murderer.

With her wand and shoulder bag, Tonks left the pub again and followed some signs pointing to the nearby Loar Gorge. This place seemed suitable to Tonks to look for a lonely cave or an abandoned hut. On her way through the small town and later along the narrow footpaths that looped on a dull plateau, Tonks met only a few Muggles, all carrying briefcases that shared the same strange sense of ambition, speaking into small apparatuses, pushing strollers, dragging around dogs on leashes, and swinging strange walking sticks wearing the most colourful and ugly sportswear.

As the area became more and more inhospitable and fewer and fewer people were on the road, Tonks began to deviate from the path and climbed rapidly rising rocks and boulders. Finally, she reached a small mountain from where she could see both the village and the rather unimpressive Loar Gorge. She began to look for a hiding place. In a small dip she actually found a wide crack in the dry earth crust. Roots of the surrounding pines almost covered it and it seemed to be almost completely filled with the needles of the trees and animal dirt.

With a few smaller explosive spells, Tonks emptied the gap and enlarged it so she could crawl in. Inside she began her work: she cleared out the cavity, set up a provisional sleeping place where she generously distributed the tracks from her evidence bag and left both hoof and huge bird tracks around the now clearly visible hole which should prove Buckbeak's presence.

As it already dawned, Tonks crawled into the cave one last time and examined her work. It looked as if Sirius had spent at least a few nights here. The clues were a bit too obvious - she was sure that a wanted mass murderer would have been more cautious in blurring his tracks - but all in all she was satisfied. Someone who didn't know Sirius had help from someone within the ministry certainly would fall for the red herring.

Tonks shook earth and moss off her clothes, rubbed her hands on her pants, and finally covered her own tracks with a concealment spell. Then she set off for the descent.

About an hour later Tonks returned to the village sweaty and covered in pine needles. Darkness had settled over the deserted streets and there was not much going on in the pub where Tonks had found the room. Behind the counter the boy's jaw dropped at the sight of her.

"Did yah get mugged, Lass?" he asked in shock.

Tonks shook her head and ordered a large glass of water and something to eat.

"Only fries," the boy said apologetically.

Tonks thought for a moment. Was this a Scottish national dish or were these 'fries' something quite normal in the Muggle world? The boy seemed to assume the latter, which was why she nodded shrugging her shoulders.

As she chewed around on the labile, fat-soaked chopsticks, remotely reminding of potatoes, the boy looked at her with a mixture of compassion and distrust. After Tonks had eaten, he leaned towards her and said quietly, "If you want, you can use the bathroom upstairs. I'll get you some proper bedding in the meantime." Apparently, he was better suited for his job than Tonks had assumed. Gratefully smiling, she followed the boy up a staircase to a small clean bathroom where she even received a fringy towel and a piece of curd soap.

Under the thin trickle, which the boy had called a shower, Tonks relaxed a little. Her limbs hurt from the long flight and her arduous climb. At the idea of going on like this for several weeks, perhaps months, she lost her courage. She had to cover shorter distances in order not to overdo herself, but at the same time she had to make sure that Kingsley got as far away from London as possible on his hunt for Sirius.

As the water jet cooled noticeably and the water pressure from the pipe began to resemble that of a soft drizzle, Tonks climbed out of the small tub and dried off.

She wondered what Remus was doing. Was he already building relationships with the werewolves of Cardiff to infiltrate them? Had Phillenew already noticed her absence? What explanation had Remus come up with for this?

Without an owl or a fireplace connected to the flea network, Tonks was unable to contact him, not to mention that they had decided only to notify each other in case of an emergency.

All alone in the dark room on the uncomfortable sofa, now at least freshly upholstered with blankets and pillows, Tonks felt very lonely. Without Bill or at least Remus in the room next door, she felt as if she had not a single friend in the world.

She almost longed for the werewolf meeting to which she would return to Cardiff. Although, she was a little concerned that Remus would fall out with his kind until then. Would it change him if he spent so much time with the pack? Tonks hoped not. Remus might have his sensitivities and grumpy moments, but he was also funny and smart and one of the most decent people she knew. Like Sirius, he had grown close to her heart over the last few days …

Yawning, she turned around and closed her eyes. Slowly sleep overpowered her and released her from her loneliness.

The breakfast the next morning was just as disappointing as the 'fries' from the previous day. Angus - Tonks now knew the name of the boy who worked here - had generously shared the colourful curls he ate with milk, but that didn't make them any less disgusting. Eating them to her felt like chewing on artificial sweet mud.

After Tonks had finally eaten her portion, she gave Angus a - as she hoped - generous tip. His eyes widened with joy, as if he didn't get much praise for his work usually. Greedily, he grabbed the coins and accompanied Tonks to the exit.

"Safe travels! Can I ask you something? Are you doing 'Work&Travel'?" he wanted to know when he said goodbye. "I've thought about it myself ... I've finished school for a year already. But it's not easy to get out of this dump for Lads like me ..." He sounded depressed.

Tonks had no idea what he was talking about but put her hand on his shoulder encouragingly and advised him: "Why don't you go abroad! You really learn a lot and even if it's mainly 'work' in my case, I think this trip will take me further. Try it!"

They shook each other's hands. Tonks shielded her eyes with her hand against the bright sun, which had already developed an extraordinary radiance so early in the day. Angus, leaning with a broom in his hand in the door of the small pub, watched her. "Beautiful weather, isn't it?"

Tonks nodded and disappeared waving behind the next corner.

But her work in Loarshire wasn't done yet. First, she had to cause a bit of a stir. She hid behind a few trash cans and began to change her shape. She grew a few inches, widened her shoulders and grew both a long dark hair mane and a three-day beard. In her pocket mirror she checked the result. She didn't look one hundred percent like her grand cousin as she lacked the many fine scars and his rings under his eyes. But someone who saw her only fleetingly would not be able to tell the difference.

She knew that Kingsley had informed and warned the Muggle Prime Minister of the possible danger posed by Sirius Black. The image and name of the alleged mass murderer were therefore also quite famous among Muggles. If they received anything like information from the outside world in this deserted area at all.

Carefully Tonks peered around the corner to see if there were enough Muggles around to make the action worthwhile. On the market square, where Angus' pub was located, vegetable sellers were setting up their stalls. A few passers-by apparently on their way to work and at the windows some older women appeared here and there shaking out bedding or carpets.

That would have to do. Tonks prepared herself internally to violate the Statute of Wizarding Secrecy in the worst possible way. She aimed her magic wand at the street, careful not to accidently hit a Muggle.

She sent a weak blasting spell to the half-empty square and jumped out of her cover. The people screamed as suddenly a hole burst among them, dust and stones were scattered in all directions, and Tonks apparated in the epicentre of the chaos. Green sparks surrounded the tip of her wand, which could not actually harm anyone, but still looked impressive and frightening. Tonks felt miserable when she saw the people draw back from her in panic and point their fingers at her. But she had to finish what she had begun. To complete the show, she apparated to one of the half-assembled stands and grabbed a few apples and eggs from the baskets. Now she felt wicked enough and with waving hair turned on the spot to disapparate.

Seconds later she arrived in the small pine grove where she had left her broom stick. Hastily she lifted the spell on her hiding place and pulled out the Comet 260. She shook herself and looked down. The slim body had transformed back into her won. Relieved she swung herself onto the broom to bring as much distance as possible between herself and Loarshire. When the Ministry of Magic learned of the incidents in a few hours and arrived with a bevy of Obliviators and other officers from the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad, Tonks wanted to be away as far as possible.