Chapter 51

(A/N: Sorry for the delay! Please keep reviewing, it makes me so happy! )

February 14, 1996 10:09 pm

Remus and Tonks arrived back in London barely three minutes after receiving Kingsley's patronus. They went to Grimmauld Place, unsure of where to meet him. Luckily, Kingsley was waiting by the front door, pacing nervously.

"There you two are! Hurry up, the Death Eaters have attacked. Well, no one knows it was them, but we're pretty sure it was Bellatrix..." Kingsley explained. "Because, well... Tonks's parents have been attacked."

"What?! You can't be serious—"

"I am serious, and speaking of Sirius, he's there now with Izzy. I tried to convince him not to go, there are other aurors all over the place, but he insisted..." Kingsley continued. "He used a disillusment charm. "

"Well, what the hell are we waiting for?!" Tonks shouted. "Lets go!"

"I'm not sure there's much you can do, at least at your mum's house. She didn't... well, I don't think she really wants to see you," Kingsley told her. "Instead, we're going to search like crazy for the Death Eaters tonight, particularly Bellatrix. Remus... well, you're technically not supposed to know about this yet."

"Wonderful. So I have to wait here," Remus muttered.

"Sorry, mate," Kingsley said. "Hopefully we'll be back by dawn."

"Bye, Remus. Love you," Tonks murmured, kissing him. Remus tried not to think about how this might be the last time he ever saw her; being an auror was a dangerous job.

Remus sat alone for three hours, worrying, until Sirius and Izzy came home with a rather trilling tale about how Sirius had nearly been captured by an auror. Remus didn't find it very entertaining. Sirius and Izzy went to sleep (or, at least, they went to bed... from the odd noises coming from upstairs, Remus kind of doubted they slept at all).

Remus spent the rest of the night alone, waiting for Tonks to return. He seemed to be doing a rather lot of that lately. Dawn came and went, and at nine o'clock Mad-Eye's patronus appeared, telling him to report to St. Mungo's at once.