Reminder: All characters, places, concepts and ideas either belong to or were influenced by J.K. Rowling.

...Chapter Ten: Teatime

Tonks sipped gingerly at her tea. She was at least half-certain that Moody had tipped something into it on his last walk around the room before leaving Grimmauld Place for the evening. The reassuring burn that wound its way to her stomach helped her realize that at least this time it was not a poison. She would not have put it past Moody to poison her on a normal day to test her reflexes and skill at identifying and neutralizing the potion. But it was the night of the full moon, and even if he had wanted to "train" her as he called it, he would have had to contend with Molly.

It was strange for Tonks to think of Molly Weasley by her first name, after all, Charlie Weasley had attended Hogwarts the same year she had. She would always remember seeing the fearsome red-haired woman yelling at Bill and Charlie to behave themselves and to not cause their professors any trouble. If only she had given the twins the same warning. From the twins' arrival at the school in her sixth year, things had gotten interesting.

Not that she as a Hufflepuff had known them personally, but everyone knew that Charlie Weasley's younger brothers were some of the worst pranksters in the school. Tonks had not expected such behaviour after knowing that Percy Weasley was another of Charlie's brothers.

Tonks's thoughts were interrupted by a small, feathery form bashing itself into the side of her head. She caught Pigwidgeon to prevent him from flattening himself into her hair.

She was slightly surprised to find that the winged creature in her had was not the miniature owl, but instead a faintly orange canary.

With an explosion of feathers, one of the Weasley twins sat in her lap, smiling roguishly.

"Hullo, Tonks, m'dear." His smile was winsome and despite herself, she found a smile on her face as well. "I don't suppose you would share a sip or two of that delightful tea with me?" The young man gazed longingly at her teacup, as Tonks wondered how many other people had seen Moody slip the brandy into her drink. The gruff man was either losing his edge or trying to comfort her in his own strange way.

"Wotcher, Gred." She said, taking a chance by using the joke name she thought went with this particular twin.

His eyes lit with amusement that she took to mean she had gotten the name right.

"You can have the rest of it." She waved a dismissive hand at the teacup. He extracted himself from her lap and procured the cup from the side table. Taking a seat, the impish young man sighed with theatrical delight as he sipped at the tea.

"Mum locked all the good stuff away last time she found George and I passed out under the table." Finally Tonks had the real name to go with the face of the twin she was speaking to.

"So, why isn't George here as well?"

A fleeting glimpse of distress passed over the freckled face.

"Oh, he's just out with Angelina." He tried and failed to sound nonchalant. Tonks felt slightly better about her situation when talking to the red head. Losing the interest of a man who had barely noticed her at all was nothing compared to having a twin who was for the first time spending time with someone else.

Fred could not take it anymore. The limp mouse brown hair annoyed him, even if there was a small feather lodged in it from his expert use of a Canary Cream and a variant on the shrinking solution that Snape had made them learn their third year. Even if the old bat had turned on them, he had been an effective teacher for at least some things.

"Why are you sitting around here?" The library was clean after his mother's brutal cleaning frenzies, but it was still rather unwelcoming at times.

"The news always comes here first." Tonk's heart-shaped face looked towards the window, where a full moon hung in the sky.

Her melancholy was bringing his own to the forefront of his mind. He needed something to distract them, something to keep them occupied as a night that obviously was not going to be easy for either of them passed.

"That's it!" He cried out suddenly. "I have just the thing." Within a few moments, he was scrabbling back into the library, holding a bag of suspiciously unmarked packages.

The sight of his puckish grin made her playful nature spring forward. A good prank was exactly what she needed.

Between the two of them, they had a plan within minutes. Number Twelve Grimmauld Place had become stiflingly morbid in the days since Dumbledore's death. Both Tonks and Fred agreed that the inhabitants of the dreary old house could use a laugh or two.

As the sun rose over the horizon, the finishing touches were set in place.

Minerva looked around the empty Great Hall. Only a few teachers were at their normal seats at the table. Hogwarts felt dead to her. The echoing corridors and deserted grounds were reminders of everything that the Order had lost, that she had lost. Albus had always been her friend and mentor, and now she was expected to fill his imposingly large and rather gaudy shoes.

She smiled a bit at the thought of wearing Albus's shoes with her nearly uniform tartans. Albus would have found the thought even more amusing. Her smile faded when she realized she could never share the joke with him.

With reverent hands, she opened the pocket watch that Albus had carried for so many years. After examining the positions of the planets on its face, she silently stood up from the head table.

Remus's monthly message would be arriving at Grimmauld Place shortly and as the head of the Order, it would be her job to evaluate the information that he had gathered.

She flooed over just as Molly pulled breakfast off the stove.

"Oh, Minerva, we've been expecting you. The owl's on the table. He's refusing to give his message to anyone." With a nod, the older woman made her way towards the tawny owl sitting resolutely in the middle of the large kitchen table.

Upon seeing her, it hooted eagerly and stuck out its leg for her to untie the small rolled up piece of parchment.

The missive was rather shorter than Remus's usual correspondence.

There have been some unexpected developments. Meet me at my old haunt at seven tonight.

-R

As Minerva read the note, she sipped at a cup of tea that someone had placed near her elbow.

Tonks choked back an indiscreet laugh as McGonagall's skin turned a perfect shade of plum. A few of the Weasleys looked amused, while Molly was obviously scandalized. But no one said a word.

Fred elbowed her in the side.

"Looks like something bad must have happened." He muttered in her ear as McGonagall's brilliant skin faded to a ghastly shade of lavender.

...Author's Note:

I'm sorry this update took so long. I have an immense store of excuses, but I'm sure that you would rather read more of the story than read through my ever growing list.

As always, Reviews are welcomed, as well as comments, questions and critiques. And yes, even flames.