September turned to October, and the weeks flew by in a flurry of work, Order duties, and as much time with Remus as Tonks could manage. Sometimes all they had was a quick cuddle before they retreated exhaustedly—and disappointingly as far as Tonks was concerned—to their own beds, but she wouldn't trade the fleeting time for anything. Her workload for both the Ministry and the Order increased as the date got closer to Halloween; based on the information coming into the Order meetings, the Death Eaters seemed to be gearing up for something big. October also brought more work into the Auror Office than any other month since witches and wizards throughout Britain always became more paranoid as Halloween drew near.
The plotting of the Death Eaters, along with the general increase in mischievous behavior as October neared its end, also made for busier nights at the Quill, during which Tonks tried to gather as much information as possible in hopes that Dumbledore wouldn't decide the mission needed to come to a close before she was ready. Luckily, Avery rarely graced the grubby pub with his presence, only appearing once to stop and speak briefly to Malfoy, who was having another meeting with the werewolf—whose name she'd overheard as Chuck Parsons—she'd seen before. When she'd commented on this to Severus after checking in one night, he'd simply said that he'd made it so that Avery's work would take him far away from the Quill.
Tonks wasn't thrilled with the little bits of intelligence her time at the Quill yielded. The password to the hidden room had changed once again, and with the increased crowd, she hadn't had the time to linger and work out the new one. One night she'd been lucky enough that Crabbe or Goyle had carelessly dropped a potion vial out of their pocket, and Tonks had been able to grab it while cleaning up their table; it contained traces of both compulsion and short-term memory potions—Severus had been kind enough to point out that that was hardly monumental information considering it fit with both what she had observed and what Hestia had reported after treating a patient complaining of memory loss after a visit to the Quill. Tonks was sure her time on this mission was coming to an end any week.
October's full moon came and went, this time with no drama—Tonks had respectfully kept her innocent pushing to a minimum in deference to Remus' mood leading up to the full moon. She was rewarded with absolutely no hesitation on his part when she'd asked to help the morning after. Although he allowed her to massage his sore muscles and lie next to him in his bed again, and they made as much time as possible for snogging on her couch as possible, there sadly weren't any monumental breakthroughs with their physical relationship. They kissed, cuddled and sometimes Remus was bold enough to let his hands wander over her body through her clothes, but that was the extent of it. Tonks kept her resolve not to push him, although since his kisses alone usually left her in a state of longing that she internally cursed him for, her resolve was weakening. It was just as well that Dumbledore sent Remus to help Hagrid make the last leg of his journey half-way through the month, otherwise she'd probably end up doing something completely mad, like answering her door in just her knickers, just to see what he'd do.
With Remus gone and a rare Friday night free when Quigley hadn't owled that he needed her the last Friday of the month, Tonks found herself available for one of the ladies' nights Minerva had mentioned in September. It was an entertaining evening that yielded a myriad of wine-induced stories and admissions that left Tonks with more knowledge than was strictly necessary on the type of lingerie that Arthur Weasley preferred, the hilarious confession that Hestia had a crush on Severus—mostly because of his voice, she admitted to a slightly shocked Minerva, who didn't have the benefit of wine to soften the blow of Hestia's words since she had to return to school and be on what she'd dubbed "toad patrol"—and very little, in comparison to the other ladies' conversations, from Emmeline as to whether her and Sirius had managed to spend any more time together after their initial tea.
Ladies' night had been great fun, and Tonks found herself longing for a repeat of that night the following week when she stood behind the bar of the Quill, wiping down the surface at the end of the night after learning frustratingly little new information. She was not at all surprised when Mad-Eye told her when checking in at Headquarters that Dumbledore wanted an early meeting the next morning before she headed in to work for her weekend shift.
When Tonks opened the door to the Hog's Head, she was thankful for the fire crackling merrily in the fireplace. Not only was it still dark outside, but, as usual for Scotland in November, there was a fair amount of snow on the ground that complemented the frigid temperature. It didn't help that she'd decided to get up early enough to run on the surrounding trails before her meeting and had forgotten until ten minutes into her run that she should have cast and Impervious Charm to her trainers before setting out. The damp from the small amount of snow that reached the ground through the thick canopy of trees of the wooded trail she'd chosen had seeped through the sides of her shoes, wetting the bottoms of her socks.
Severus was already sitting with his arms crossed over his chest and his usual scowl fixed on his face at a table near the fireplace, and Aberforth was placing mugs and a pot of coffee in front of him.
"Hey, Ab," Tonks greeted breathlessly. The cold had prompted her to shorten her cool-down significantly, so she was still catching her breath from her exercise.
"Ain't seen you in a while, girl," he said. "That fool mission keeping you busy?"
Tonks smiled as she unlaced her trainers, hoping to use the fire and a Drying Charm on them. "Of course. Breakfast?" she asked hopefully.
Aberforth huffed and Summoned a tray from the bar that held porridge, toast, and bacon. "I've learned I better have food prepared when you're gonna be here."
Severus had ignored their exchange completely and, in fact, hadn't even looked up from apparently trying to stare a hole into the table when Tonks sat down. As Aberforth settled her food and a mug in front of her, Tonks took in Severus' appearance. He looked even more pale than usual, dark shadows under his eyes standing out in stark comparison, and she noticed a slight tremor to his hand as he reached for his mug.
"I can toast up the rest of the bread in the back if you need," Aberforth said as he poured her coffee and watched Tonks take three slices from the stack.
"Ha, bloody, ha," Tonks said as she began spreading butter across her toast.
Aberforth turned back to the kitchen and Tonks began eating her breakfast in silence while Severus continued his staring contest with the table. "You look like shit," Tonks said as she refilled both of their mugs, knowing that if she fussed over him and asked if he was all right, he'd likely bite her head off.
Severus' gaze flicked momentarily to Tonks before settling back on the table once more. "This coming from the woman who has sweat dripping from her hair," he replied, his deep voice having the gravelly tone of someone who either hadn't slept or had just woken up—her guess was he hadn't slept.
Tonks pulled the fleece headband she wore to cover her ears when she ran in the cold off her head and ran a hand through her short, bright pink hair that was likely sticking up like mad now that her bed-head was mingled with sweat. Wondering if his reflexes would be as quick in his state—and briefly wondering if he had the energy to hex her—Tonks hooked her finger around the headband and flung it at him slingshot-style, smiling when he unfolded his arms and snatched it out of the air before it hit him and folded his arms across his chest again.
"Nice catch," Tonks replied as she added milk to her porridge. She stirred the milk and brown sugar and took a large bite before reaching down the remove her shoes and socks, setting them both on the hearth in front of the fire.
"You do realize you are a witch, and there are charms to prevent that," he said, jerking his head toward the fireplace, tossing her headband next to her shoes.
"It'd just gone five o'clock when I started out, and my brain wasn't quite awake."
Severus grunted indistinctly as the flames in the fireplace turned green and Dumbledore stepped into the Hog's Head. He eyed Tonks' shoes and socks before settling at the table next to Severus, conjuring tea and ignoring Aberforth's coffee as Tonks had learned was his custom. After they'd exchanged pleasantries and Dumbledore had Transfigured Tonks' wet socks into thick knitted stockings in yellow and black stripes, Dumbledore began the conversation Tonks had been dreading for weeks.
"Your efforts have been nothing less than I would expect from you, Nymphadora, but I believe we should, as the saying goes, quit while we're ahead."
"Are we really that far ahead?" Tonks asked, hoping she didn't sound as narky as she felt.
"Any information we gain about our enemies puts us farther ahead than we were before," Dumbledore responded.
Tonks nodded and went back to her coffee, hoping the caffeine would aid in cheering her up.
"Their recruiting has slowed dramatically," Severus began after Dumbledore asked for his report. "The Dark Lord believes he has enough spies to do his bidding for the time being, and the mission we feared was coming is in the works—thanks to the willingness of the Azkaban guards to pass along their knowledge."
"Time for his closest friends to join the fun, is it?" Tonks asked, wondering what Dumbledore would plan for the Order to do to prevent her mad aunt and the rest of the Death Eater zealots rejoining the inner circle.
"Indeed," Dumbledore said grimly.
Tonks glared at Severus and ate her breakfast as he went on to explain exactly why it was futile to continue their efforts with her role as Piper. She watched him carefully, even though she was aggravated, taking in the state of his ragged appearance. As he spoke, his normally silky voice rough and filled with exhaustion, an idea suddenly formed, and she waited for Severus to pause before interjecting, knowing he wouldn't like the idea and not wanting to irritate him any further by interrupting.
"What if...the goal of the mission changes?" Tonks asked once Severus had finished.
Dumbledore's gaze turned sharply toward her. "How, precisely?"
"Rather than just having her not show back up for work, why not make her disappearance worth our while? Worth—" Tonks' eyes flitted to Severus' and back to Dumbledore. "—his while," she finished, jerking her head toward the man across from her, whose black eyes were narrowed as he stared at her.
"You mean to have Severus discover Piper as a spy," Dumbledore said after a moment.
"No," Snape said flatly.
Tonks rolled her eyes. "Why the hell not?"
"It's far too risky."
"And what you do every week isn't risky?" Tonks asked with a huff. "Would it not be helpful for you to dispose of a spy? Stay in You-Know-Who's favor?"
"Even if it would, I won't be a part of this plan."
"You will if I think it beneficial," Dumbledore said levelly, causing Severus to scowl and glare at Tonks. "I don't entertain this lightly, my dear," he continued. "I want a report detailing your plan, and if I find it acceptable, we will move forward. Do you believe your presence will be requested in the coming weeks? We need time to prepare."
Tonks nodded. "October has been busy, even with Lucius not meeting as often—he was only in twice meeting with that werewolf, Chuck Parsons."
"I want your report as soon as possible," Dumbledore said as he stood from the table. "I'd like to end this mission so that your resources can be used toward our next efforts."
"Why did you propose this?" Severus hissed once Dumbledore had exited through the Floo and the flames died down to normal.
Tonks stared at him for a moment, wondering how much she should say. Severus' reports never included anything specific about how his time with the Death Eaters affected him—no big surprise there—but there were meetings when he appeared battered and exhausted, and by the look of him at the moment, he wasn't have an easy time. In the end, she settled on simply stating, "Don't tell me it won't help," before taking a drink of her coffee.
"I did not ask for, nor do I require your assistance. The sooner this mission ends the better—there is only so much time I can keep Avery busy elsewhere."
"Funny, I didn't ask for your help with him, so I suppose we're even."
Severus clenched his jaw and he shook his head, turning to focus on the flames in the fireplace. Tonks let him stew silently while she refilled both their coffee mugs again and finished off the remainder of her toast.
Finally, after a few minutes, he said in a low voice, "Even if your assistance was requested—which it wasn't," he added with an impatient look. "This will not be easy to orchestrate."
"I didn't say I thought it would be easy."
"If this is going to prove advantageous for me at all, he will want...proof that you are dead, and it may look suspicious if I am the only one involved."
Hoping she sounded bolder than she felt, Tonks asked, "Will viewing your memories be enough, or will he want to see an actual body?"
"If we go through with this plan, I will ensure that I can prove your death through Legilimency." Tonks realized she must have looked relieved, because Severus uncrossed his arms and placed his palms on the table, leaning forward and fixing her with his unwavering gaze. "Do you realize what that means, Nymphadora?"
Tonks nodded and took a deep breath, voicing aloud what she'd realized the moment she had suggested the new twist to their mission. "It means it will have to look convincing. It means you'll have to use some spells against me."
"Precisely." Severus sat back and raised his mug to his mouth and took a drink before asking, "Can you hold a morph under those circumstances?"
Before Tonks could answer, a silver mist appeared on the floor next to her chair and formed into the large, wrinkly-faced, long-eared Bloodhound Patronus of her colleague Henry Williamson and spoke.
"Our cold case from September turned up early this morning. Meet me behind Mulpepper's in Knockturn."
Tonks watched the Patronus fade and furrowed her brow before she gasped and turned to grab her shoes, knocking her coffee mug over with her elbow.
"Why the hell is William Murphy turning up in Knockturn Alley?" Tonks asked as she tried to shove her feet into her trainers while still wearing the thick stockings Dumbledore had fashioned.
Severus abruptly stopped clearing away Tonks' spilled coffee. "Is he mad?"
"He's proven before that he isn't all that bright," Tonks said as she hastily tied up her laces and stood.
She looked down at her fleece-lined running tights and Puddlemere United sweatshirt that was still damp in places. Knowing she wouldn't have time for a shower when she stopped by her flat for her robes and badge, Tonks cast a quick Cleansing Charm over her body and a Drying Charm to her hair—if she couldn't clean up properly, at least she wouldn't smell like sweat all day. She grabbed the headband she'd worn while running and pulled it into place, deciding that was the best effort to tame her wild hair since she didn't want to stop to morph at that moment.
"I'll check in when I can. Let Dumbledore know what's come up?" Tonks asked before she started for the door, stepping into the freezing air to Apparate.
After stopping momentarily by her flat to grab the work robes hanging in her wardrobe that her mother had ironed for her the previous weekend, Tonks Apparated again to the alley across the street from the Apothecary and took a deep breath, dreading what she was preparing to walk into—especially since Henry hadn't specified if Murphy had turned up dead or alive. The moment she turned into the alley behind Mr. Mulpepper's, the Knockturn Alley apothecary, Tonks knew it was going to be a long and terrible day.
"Wotcher, Henry," Tonks said as she approached her colleague, who was crouched next to a man lying on the ground beside a set of rubbish bins.
"Not how I'd hoped he'd turn up," Henry said as he stood. "Did I get you in the middle of your run?"
"Not quite the middle. Any witnesses?"
Henry snorted. "Not in this part of town. What're your first thoughts?"
Tonks forced herself to look down at Murphy's face as she drew her wand, trying her best to adopt the cool, detached professionalism required of her in that moment, when what she wanted to do was hex something. How could he have been so bloody stupid as to come back the the UK?
Tonks looked quickly around the scene. "The rubbish bins haven't been disturbed, and there's no scorch marks or any other signs of spells from a duel." Not that Murphy would last long against even one Death Eater. "He was dumped here, killed somewhere else."
Henry nodded and crouched down next to Tonks where she was checking Murphy to confirm he was indeed dead. She wouldn't put it past the Death Eaters to curse him or put him in some sort of enchanted sleep. She sighed heavily and looked away to avoid his lifeless eyes once she'd determined that he was, in fact, dead.
"Here's what I don't get—why's there no Dark Mark in the sky?" Henry asked quietly.
Tonks looked surreptitiously around at the crime scene photographer and the wizard who would collect Murphy's body when they were through with the scene.
"I mean," Henry continued, "if the Death Eaters did this, why aren't they taking credit?"
"They're too busy keeping a low profile while the Ministry pretends nothing's changed," Tonks replied. "Why should they take credit for this and call attention to themselves?"
Henry nodded, his face telling Tonks that he didn't like it any better than she did, but there was nothing they could do about it at the moment. The case against Murphy's killer would grow cold, just as his missing person's case had, because they wouldn't truly be able to pursue the actual culprits. Tonks was sure that if she were actually able to get Quigley to name the "company" he'd referred to when her and Henry had questioned him weeks ago about Murphy's disappearance, she'd never be allowed to call on them for interviews or obtain permission to search for evidence—not through the Auror department, at least; she hoped she would have a bit more freedom to investigate within the Order.
Tonks' frustration grew as they conducted their investigation of the scene; at every turn it seemed that the Death Eaters were mocking the Auror Department as well as the Order. The cause of death was ridiculously easy to determine, and Murphy's wand was left on his person, making it easy for them to determine what spells he'd used in his defense. If this were any other case, their investigation would be off to a brilliant start.
Tonks finished their investigation of the scene while Henry went to interview Angus Mulpepper, the owner of the apothecary. As she signaled to the wizard waiting in the background for Murphy to be taken away to the Ministry, the crack of Apparition had her turning toward the sound with her wand drawn.
Tonks relaxed when she saw Kingsley striding toward her. "Wotcher," she said as when he reached her side. Since Gawain Robards was the supervisor on call for the weekend, Tonks knew he'd likely been sent by Dumbledore. She cast a Muffliato charm and said, "Henry's probably nearly finished with Mulpepper—what do you need?"
"Charlie contacted Dumbledore just after you left Hog's Head," he began rapidly.
"Told him Murphy'd scarpered sometime in the night. He's gone to fetch the fiancé, and he wants you in his office as soon as you can leave here."
"I can't send Henry to notify Murphy's brother on his own," Tonks argued. "And there's others we'll need to contact today—it'll look suspicious is I just bow out of a case."
"You know this case is going to be closed quicker than you can say 'cover-up' if Fudge has his way. He'll want it tidied up before the words 'Death Eater' comes to anyone's mind. I'll go with Henry." He held up a hand when Tonks started to protest. "I'll think of some excuse."
Murphy's body being Levitated into a magically sized bag caused Tonks to turn her body away, looking instead up into Kingsley's face. "Tell him I've gone to write a summons asking Paul Quigley to come in for questioning." The last thing she wanted for the cantankerous barman was to cause him more trouble by Aurors visiting his pub again.
Kingsley eyed her curiously, but nodded. "Don't keep Dumbledore waiting."
When Tonks entered Dumbledore's office through the Floo from the Hog's Head, she found him pacing in front of his desk as Murphy's fiancé, Deidra, sat in one of the chairs staring, apparently unseeing, at her hands folded in her lap. Tonks looked up into his piercing blue eyes as he stopped pacing to gaze at her. She understood his unspoken question and shook her head slightly, causing him to take a deep breath and turn to Deidra.
"Miss Harris, you've met Auror Tonks before," Dumbledore said.
"Yes," the woman choked out.
Tonks stepped forward and said, "I'm sorry to inform you that William was found dead early this morning in Knockturn Alley." She paused as Deidra covered her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking with quiet sobs. Her training dictated that she patiently waited for Deidra to advance the conversation; you never knew what a loved one would freely reveal during an investigation.
After a few moments, Deidra looked up, tears streaking her pale face, and asked, "How? Who?"
"It's too early in our investigation to know all of the details," came Tonks' standard Auror office answer.
"It was them," Deidra whispered, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks. "You know it was."
"Do you know why William was back in the UK?" Tonks asked, taking the seat next to Deidra as Dumbledore handed her a handkerchief.
"I'm sure he came back to see me," she replied, anguish written across her face.
Tonks crinkled her brows in confusion. "Weren't you together?"
"Miss Harris decided to stay behind when William was relocated to the Continent," Dumbledore supplied.
In the eerie way that Dumbledore knew things, he held up a hand at Tonks and said before she could question, "She is physically unable to reveal your role outside of the Auror Department, nor can she speak of anything else Order related."
"I wanted better than to be in hiding. And I—in a way I think I wanted to punish him for the terrible choices he'd made," she said in a strangled voice. "Why would he have thought…"
Tonks swallowed and turned to Dumbledore, who was watching Deidra with a somber expression as she bent her head and cried into her handkerchief. "I can't linger, sir," she said as much for needing to get back to her job as she needed to leave his office. The utter waste of William Murphy's life disgusted her—as did most of the things the Death Eaters did—and she was feeling the need to either burst into floods or draw her wand and curse the first Death Eater she came across.
"Report to Headquarters when you are finished with your work today," he replied quietly.
Knowing she should say something to Deidra, but knowing she couldn't say anything so trite as promising to apprehend William's killers, Tonks stood and said, "Given the current attitude of the Ministry, I won't tell you that you'll see whoever's responsible punished, but you can be sure I'll do my best to find out exactly who killed William."
Deidra nodded, looking up at Tonks as she dried her face with the handkerchief. "I understand. Thank you."
Tonks stepped through the Floo to the Hog's Head, stomping through the nearly-empty pub after stumbling over the hearth, slamming the door behind her when she exited. The worn path leading around to the back of the building and toward the woods was slushy, but Tonks barely felt the melting snow that once again threatened to freeze her toes. When she neared the woods, safely far enough away from the pub, she drew her wand and pointed it at low tree stump and hurled a hex at it, the sound of a small firework echoing throughout the empty woods as red sparks danced around the stump. The tension and frustration expelled from her body was satisfying enough that she cast the hex again, and again, at least five times before a voice behind her stopped her from casting it once more.
"Reckon that tree stump's dead by now."
Tonks whirled, wand raised, to find Aberforth standing about ten meters behind her, his wand raised with what she assumed to be a Shield Charm.
"Thought you could use this," he said, holding out a takeaway cup.
Frustrated at the few tears that had escaped her eyes, Tonks wiped them away impatiently and said, "Is it spiked?" as she closed the distance between them and took the warm cup from his outstretched hand. "I wouldn't mind a little whisky in my coffee at the moment."
The twitch of Aberforth's grey mustache gave away a hint of a smile. "You've more work to do today. Any other time, I'd be happy to pour you a drink."
Tonks took a welcome sip of the warm coffee as she blinked back her tears. "I didn't think I'd give a buggeration what happened to that idiot, but…" She shook her head sipped again from her cup. "It's just so bloody stupid that he's dead."
"I wish I had better news, but you're likely to find a lot of this to be bloody stupid before the end."
Tonks let out a shaky laugh. "Aren't you a ray of sunshine?"
After thanking Aberforth for the coffee, Tonks Apparated to the Ministry and hurried up to the Auror department to start the summons for Quigley she was supposed to be working on. Luckily, when Henry and Kingsley returned, her partner didn't question her request not to interview Quigley at the Quill. The remainder of her work day was filled with working with Henry to track down and interview witnesses—not before, as she'd predicted, a Floo call with Scrimgeour who'd told them to keep their investigation as quiet as possible and to approve all interviews with him before moving ahead. Tonks had been encouraged at his obvious frustration with the investigation being limited; regardless of being the head of the department, he was still an Auror and would like to pursue any lead possible. After the call had finished, Tonks wondered how much she could push the investigation before receiving a reprimand.
When she entered Headquarters that evening—hoping she hadn't kept Dumbledore waiting with the exhaustingly long work day—Remus was walking up the steps of the basement kitchen, looking travel-worn and as exhausted as she felt. After two weeks of no contact, and the worst day she could remember in a long time, Tonks couldn't help but launch herself at him and bury her face in his jumper, inhaling his scent and enjoying the feel of his arms wrapped around her body as he lifted her off her feet.
"All right?" he whispered in her ear after they'd been embracing for at least a minute and Tonks had made no move to loosen the hold she had around Remus' neck.
Tonks nodded, her head still resting against his chest as Remus lowered her down so her feet were touching the floor once more. "Shit day, is all," she said with a shrug. "And I missed you."
She was rewarded with the boyish grin she loved as Remus said, "I missed you too," before he bent to kiss her lightly on the lips. Her disappointment at his brief kiss was soothed when he asked, "Come up while I unpack?" He looked down and studied her appearance, his gaze sweeping down her body and back up to her face before he raised his eyebrows at her. "This is casual attire for work, even for you."
Tonks sighed as Remus grabbed her hand and tugged her behind him up the two flights of stairs to his room. As they climbed, she told him about the start of her day—the early run and meeting and only vaguely about the case she'd been called for.
"So I haven't even been able to shower," Tonks finished as Remus closed the door. She pulled back the neck of the sweatshirt she was still wearing and lowered her head for a sniff as she said, "I probably smell as awful as that friend of Hagrid's you've been traveling with."
Remus dropped his rucksack at his feet and closed the distance between them with two long strides, pulling her close to his body as he lowered his head to nuzzle the skin at the base of her neck. "I think you smell amazing," he said as he released his hold from around her body and brought his hands up to push her robes over her shoulder.
"I think you're mental," Tonks said with a smile as she shrugged out of her robes. She tipped her face to tease him further, but her words were cut off before she could even begin when Remus captured her lips, wasting no time before coaxing her lips apart and deepening their kiss. Tonks surrendered to his fierce kiss, grasping the front of his jumper as the small portion of her brain currently capable of coherent thought told her this was exactly what she needed: to let herself be carried away by his lips moving over hers and the way his tongue caressed hers. Her terrible day faded from her mind as Remus continued to show her just how much he had apparently missed her.
With Remus' arms wrapped around her body, they shuffled across the room, kissing ravenously and stumbling over each other's feet before his hands slid down to her bum, his grip tightening before his lifted her and fell back on the bed with an "oof".
"Glad to see me, are you?" Tonks teased as Remus slid his hand under her sweatshirt.
Rather than wait for an answer, Tonks sat up so she was straddling Remus and, keeping her eyes on his, grasped the hem of her sweatshirt and pulled it over her head before tossing it behind her and lowering herself back down to press her lips to his again. She was expecting his touch to be gentle—tentative even—as it usually was when they embraced, but was happily surprised when his hands roamed her body boldly as she'd hoped he'd do for weeks now.
Just as Tonks was hoping Remus would help her shimmy out of her running bra, the door opened abruptly.
"If you're asleep—" Sirius began before bursting into loud laughter.
"As you can see, I'm not asleep," Remus snapped. "Now shut the damn door."
"All right, all right, I'm going. But you should both know Albus will be here soon."
As Sirius shut the door, Tonks lowered her head to Remus' chest with a loud sigh. "We should make Dumbledore wait for us until we're done here," she mumbled into Remus' jumper.
Remus made a sound of approval and rolled them so they were lying side-by-side. "I was hoping for a proper shower."
"Here's a thought," Tonks said as she smiled at Remus. "Since we're both in desperate need of showering, I say we get through our reports to the Headmaster and shower together before seeing if there's any leftovers in that cupboard Molly charmed into a freezer."
"Tempting, of course, but far too tempting, I'm afraid." Remus leaned in and gave her a swift kiss before saying, "Besides, I don't want our first time to be in the shower."
Tonks rolled her eyes. "Use your imagination, Professor—there are plenty of things we could do besides shag. Really, I just want to see you starkers—"
"So I gathered."
Tonks pushed herself up to sitting before scrambling off the bed in search of her sweatshirt. "And the longer I wait, the more I assume you have no interest in seeing me starkers."
"Which is absurd," Remus said as he pushed himself up on his elbows.
"Is it?"
Remus crinkled his brows in confusion. "Of course."
Tonks pulled her top over her head and bent to gather her robes from where they lied in a puddle on the floor. As she crossed the room, Remus jumped from the bed and placed his palm on the door before she could open it.
"Excuse me, I need to meet with Dumbledore," Tonks said.
"He's not here yet."
"TONKS!"
Sirius' spell-amplified voice echoed through the house, causing Tonks to arch an eyebrow at Remus in challenge and reach for the doorknob.
Remus leaned his weight against the door. "We're not finished talking."
"I'm finished listening."
"TONKS, GET YOUR ARSE DOWN HERE!"
Even two floors up from the entry hall, Tonks could hear the shrieking and shouted insults coming from the mad portrait and planned on telling Sirius that he could tend to the thing since he'd set her off.
Keeping her hand on the doorknob, Tonks held Remus' gaze, fighting to keep her emotions off her face. She truly didn't know what to think about his reluctance. So sure that sooner or later her patience would pay off, she was disappointed to still be hovering in the same place they had been for ages. After the day she'd had, Tonks would have welcomed the comfort of Remus' embrace to chase away her feelings, and would love for the time she'd spent trying to help him understand his worth to her pay off.
"Let me out, please."
Remus watched her for a moment more, seeming to be warring with himself, before he stepped back and allowed Tonks to open the door. She walked down a flight of stairs to find Sirius standing on the landing below.
"Now that you're dressed," Sirius said with a smirk as he gestured to the drawing room door, "Snivellus is in there asking after you."
"Are you actually twelve?" Tonks snapped as she jerked the door open, having to yell over the continued wails of the portrait he obviously had yet to silence. "Call him Severus, for Merlin's sake."
"What's with you?"
Tonks pushed past him as someone entering Headquarters finally silenced the portrait and muttered, "I'm fine."
Sirius sniggered and turned to Remus who was standing in the hallway with his hands shoved in his pockets. "What'd you do?"
"What?" Remus asked distractedly.
"Believe me, when a woman says she's 'fine', she's anything but 'fine'."
Choosing to ignore her cousin, Tonks crossed the room toward where Severus was sitting in one of the wingback chairs with the Prophet open in front of him and flopped on the sofa.
"Will Dumbledore be here soon?"
Severus flipped down the corner of his paper to peer at Tonks. "I assume he's the one who silenced that foul portrait."
"Oh good, you're here." Kingsley's deep voice interrupted Tonks' brooding. "Is there a party in the hall?" he asked, eyeing Remus and Sirius as he edged past where they were still standing in the hall.
"Tonks is arsed and Remus is keeping his distance," Sirius supplied helpfully. "Thanks for shutting up dear old mum."
Kingsley nodded to Sirius, walked toward Tonks with a small sack in hand and said, "If you're in a nark, I'll leave this and go." He held out the sack, and Tonks took it and peered inside to find a package of crisps and cup of soup in a familiar Ministry takeaway container. "Sorry you had to work through lunch. And—" Kingsley paused to peer over his shoulder before turning back to her. "I'm sorry about your witness."
Green flames announced an arrival through the Floo before Dumbledore stepped into the drawing room, appearing to take a quick attendance as he brushed a small bit of ash from the front of his deep green robes.
"Remus, you'll be glad to know Hagrid has made it back to Hogwarts," Dumbledore began. "I'll need to hear your update after I hear from Severus and Nymphadora."
Sirius understood the dismissal and pushed away from where he had been leaning against the door frame. "Come on, grumpy sod," he said jerking his head toward the stairs and tugging on the front of Remus' jumper. "You look like you could use a drink."
Remus batted Sirius' hand away and kept his gaze focused on Tonks for a moment before following his friend down the steps.
With a wave of his hand, Dumbledore shut the door to the drawing room and took a seat next to Tonks on the sofa. "What news do the two of you bring from the Ministry?"
"All I know is there's a new order in our department saying all interviews need approval from a supervisor before they're conducted," Kingsley said.
Tonks nodded "Scrimgeour pretty much said don't look in to Murphy's case too hard." She heaved a heavy sigh before continuing. "He was found in a dumpy street in Knockturn Alley—I get the feeling Scrimgeour wants us to poke around just enough to say we did and call it a street crime gone bad or a cold case."
Dumbledore looked thoughtful for a moment before Kingsley interrupted and said, "Sir, I, ah...not to interrupt, but I don't have anything to add—I just stopped by to bring Tonks food, and—"
For the first time since early that morning, Tonks smiled. "And he's got someone waiting for him. The witch who works in the admissions department, is it?"
"How'd—" Kingsley stopped and shook his head. "Hestia."
"Ah, to be young," Dumbledore said as Tonks nodded. "I daresay you should not keep your young lady waiting."
After Kingsley had disappeared through the Floo, Dumbledore conjured tea and asked, "Would you care for some, my dear?" as Tonks opened the bag of crisps Kingsley had included with her soup.
"Please," Tonks said before popping a crisp in her mouth, wondering if Dumbledore always served tea in times of crisis—not that she minded since it reminded her fondly of her mother.
"Now," Dumbledore began as he poured tea for the three of them. "I'm afraid I'm going to need you to promise you won't lose your temper."
Tonks set her crisps aside and took a sip of the tea Dumbledore had conjured. "Depending on what you have to say, you might be finally asking too much of me after the day I've had."
Dumbledore took a sip of tea and continued. "I would like for you to follow Scrimgeour's instructions—which are likely Cornelius Fudge's instructions—to the letter."
Tonks stared at Dumbledore for a long moment before slowly saying, "You want...to let whoever's really responsible just—"
"Yes."
Severus was staring at her with his usual indifferent expression when Tonks' gaze flitted to him. "Who's claiming responsibility?"
"Lucius and Avery incurred harsh punishments when Murphy disappeared," Severus began. "They were somehow alerted that he had returned to the country. I'm fairly certain Murphy's death was an initiation for a new recruit at their request."
Tonks sighed and said, "I suppose you have a reason for wanting me to let this go, sir."
"Indeed," Dumbledore said, refreshing his and Tonks' tea. "Based on the intelligence you've collected on your mission and what Severus can tell me of the Death Eater's latest plans, I believe they will soon attempt to free their comrades."
"What does this have to do with Murphy's murder?"
Dumbledore paused for a moment before answering. "I want the Death Eaters to remain comfortable in their assumption that their activities are widely being ignored. I want them to go ahead with their plan."
"Beg pardon?" Tonks' eyes went back and forth between Dumbledore and Severus, willing one of them to explain to her why in the name of Merlin they were going to allow the Death Eaters to release some of the worst amongst their ranks from prison.
"The Order's numbers are small compared to theirs," Severus said. "We're not nearly enough to stop them." When Tonks made to protest, he held up his hand and continued. "In terms of fighters, those who I'm sure can duel multiple enemies at once without getting themselves killed, there's only you, the two oldest Weasleys, Lupin, and Kingsley."
"I wonder if the others appreciate being underestimated," Tonks said, thinking of Molly, Hestia, and Emmeline.
"Even if I were willing to risk so many Order members, I wouldn't attempt to stop them." Tonks stared straight ahead at the fire and sipped her tea, hoping that as Dumbledore explained, she wouldn't continue to think him completely mad. "The public is blindly following the Ministry, happily accepting Fudge's explanations and misdirection. If Azkaban is raided under his watch, I hope the public will start to see the truth."
"You would see the return of criminals such as Antonin Dolohov, the Lestrange brothers...Bellatrix," Tonks said in a low voice.
"I wouldn't have any of this if it were my choice, Nymphadora." Tonks turned her head to look into Dumbledore's face. His tone had been stern, but his face showed that he was sympathetic to how she felt. "As we learn more of their plans, we will do our best to gain something advantageous from the situation. I certainly do not intend to allow them to welcome their comrades back without a price. And if we can turn the tide of public opinion, all the better."
Tonks nodded and sighed, sitting forward to set her tea cup down so she could resume eating the bag of crisps she'd discarded.
"Would it be possible for you to meet us at the Hog's Head for lunch tomorrow?" Dumbledore asked as he stood from the couch. "I'd like you to work on your report for ending your mission to the Quill this evening so I may further consider your proposal."
"Since nobody's gonna let me interview murder suspects, I reckon I'll have plenty of time," Tonks replied before she could hold her tongue. She looked up at Dumbledore and saw a slight grin twitch his mustache rather than the look of rebuke she was expecting. "Sorry, sir."
"I understand your frustration, Nymphadora." He strode to the door, stopping before he left the room. "Shall I send Mr. Lupin up when I'm finished gathering his report?"
Tonks stood and grabbed the sack with her soup and shoved the half-eaten bag of crisps inside before saying, "I'm going home."
"Very well," Dumbledore said before exiting and closing the door behind him, thankfully not commenting further.
"You have work to do tonight," Severus said as Tonks started toward the door. She'd debated traveling through the Floo to Edith's flat, but knew her neighbor would likely be in the mood for a chat—when Tonks was decidedly not—and so decided to Apparate from the alley.
Tonks groaned. "You're setting me homework, aren't you?"
Severus smirked. "I am. Make a list of the spells you can block nonverbally—combat spells, mind, I don't care if you can block a Jelly-Legs Jinx or Rictumsempra."
"The Tickling Charm can actually be quite useful."
"I don't deny its usefulness," Severus said as he stood and closed the distance between them, stopping right in front of her and fixing her with his typical intense gaze. "But I'll need to play my part well, and I assure you that is not a spell I use during interrogation."
Tonks nodded. "If you have any control over who joins you, try to make it Macnair." When Severus raised an eyebrow at her in question, Tonks continued. "I've dueled him before when we went after Hagrid, so I know his style."
"My goal this evening is to talk Dumbledore out of this plan," he said.
"And my goal is to make sure my report makes him see it my way," Tonks replied, raising her chin defiantly. "Now if you'll excuse me, my day has been complete shit, and I'd like to go sit in the bath before crawling into bed."
The bath and glass of wine Tonks had indulged in when she'd gotten home were lovely and relaxing but brought her no comfort over her argument with Remus. She'd still been brooding and tetchy, punching her pillows into submission when she'd climbed into bed, feeling an odd mix disappointment and relief that Remus hadn't either sent her a note or followed her to her flat. Thankfully, after her mad day, she'd quickly fallen into an exhausted sleep rather than tossing and turning.
Friday found her still tetchy and anxious about her coming night at the Quill. The week had passed in a blur of work, guard duty, and planning the ending to her current mission—Tonks and Remus seeing very little of each other. Tonks was sure that, with a bit more effort, they could have spent more time together, but she wasn't completely sure she wanted to at the moment, and Remus seemed to be keeping his distance as well. After two weeks of not seeing one another, their brief, tense time—just a couple of dinners with Sirius at Headquarters—together that week was not reassuring or enlightening as to where they stood. Even though her mind was telling her that Remus' reluctance was simply a long-standing defense mechanism on his part, her heart had a hard time not interpreting it as rejection.
Telling herself that there were larger matters at hand that night—namely figuring out how in the name of Merlin they were eventually going to pull off the plan she had proposed—she slowly pulled on her black leggings and jumper for the Quill, donning a black leather motorcycle jacket along with a thick black scarf to ward off the November chill. The jacket had been a gift from her mother as a token memory of the favorite cousin who'd been locked away, and thankfully brought at least a weak smile to her face before setting out for the night.
Tonks entered the Quill and let her eyes scan the pub as she wended her way through the tables, meeting Severus' eyes for a moment as he sat at a table full of inner circle Death Eaters that seemed to be celebrating. His eyes flitted almost imperceptibly to the bar before locking back on hers once more for a split second. Knowing he wouldn't have even glanced in her direction unless there was something urgent he wanted to communicate—also knowing that his impassive expression would give her no hints as to the severity of his warning even if she stopped to look him full in the face for an entire minute—Tonks proceeded through the pub, taking another scan before she rounded the bar to deposit her jacket.
As she was telling herself she'd heed his cryptic warning and take another look while serving the two men sitting at the bar, Tonks looked up and froze at the sight of a pair of familiar eyes fixed intently on her. Remus now knew exactly what she'd been up to with her mysterious Friday night mission.
A/N: So, as you can see, I'm not trapped under something heavy...finally, an update! It's a super-long chapter as reward for your patience:). I think around Christmas and New Year last year I made you all wait three weeks for an update—a sign that Christmas in my household is a crazy busy time. Add in some sick kids who've barely had a chance to return to school after break, and what you get is the inability for me to get any writing done!
I also should apologize for not responding to reviews lately! I promise I have looked at them, and they have all made my day, and I will be responding to each and every one this week! If anybody feels like using a review to motivate my progress (or as a late Christmas present:) for the next chapter—which I have a feeling you'll all love—please do so!
I hope everybody had a wonderful Christmas and your new year is off to a great start! We are experiencing all the best that the mid-west has to offer in terms of winter weather—snow, ice, temps below zero—so once I get everyone healthy and back to school, I plan on hibernating in my office (let's be real...it's 90% toy room, 10% office) and writing.
Happy Monday and enjoy the long-awaited update!