Here it is. Long coming. It's been what a month? Two? Whatever, it's been awhile. I've been extremely busy trying to get an internship; tomorrow's the first deadline and I have nothing. So I decided to try to finish this. I can't say this chapter furthers anything, its all Tonks, and I didn't set out for it to be like this, but it happened and after reading it I decided what the hell, why not post it? So it's a filler, but I promise that the next one will be Remus and Harry and Sirius and all that goodness.

I own nothing. Not even my own time it seems. That belongs to DC News.

"Would you shut up!"

Tonks watched, face impassive as the wizard from MLE escorted a witch into the interrogation room. The woman was babbling and cursing the air blue; had been for the past two hours.

The young man pushed the woman into a chair and quickly left the room. "Good luck with that one." He muttered to Tonks as he passed her. "Merlin, I think she ruptured an ear drum." He fingered his ear, scowling.

She shrugged, flashing him a sardonic smile. "At least she didn't bite you. Count your self lucky; Williams had to go to Mungos and take a potion against rabies. Turned his skin blue. Bad batch."

The wizard blanched and hurried away, shaking his head. Tonks turned back to the window and watched the woman in the room. She was sitting with one leg crossed, biting on a cuticle, her other hand twitching nervously. She knew that as soon as she entered the room, that would all disappear; she wouldn't want to seem nervous in front of the Aurors.

"What's she in for?" Mark slide in beside her, smelling faintly of strawberries.

"Trying a new cologne out Hawksley?" she asked instead of answering.

He spared her a disgusted look, although his lips did curl upward slightly. "Food fight this morning. Rhiannon ambushed me. Didn't have time to change. Don't know where she picked that up."

She smiled, "Couldn't tell you."

"Hmm. Seems every time she spends the day with you, she comes away with more bad habits."

"Yeah, funny coincidence that."

He smirked. "At least she hasn't started falling over her own feet yet."

She raised a brow, a look clearly implying I'll get you later, but refrained from replying, instead nodding at the window. "Her name's Sylvia Thatcher. Been in and out of trouble since she was 18. Been in Azkaban twice, once for fraud, once for impersonating a Ministry witch. Petty crime, you know? Williams and I dragged her in this morning, seems she's branched out into illegal potions and objects. One of the junkies who bought off of her died last night in hospital. They couldn't do anything for him."

Mark pursed his lips. "Sounds like more of a case for the MLE."

She shrugged. "It's border line. I said I'd handle it. Believe me, they were glad to hand her off."

"Need any help?"

Tonks shook her head. "No, It's ok. She doesn't really seem to like men anyway. I'll just try myself first."

Mark looked in at the Sylvia again; she was now picking at the top of the table, and shook his head. "Well, good luck then. I'm off to investigate a report in Cheswick. Kingsley's got a sighting of Black there."

"Oh?" she kept her tone neutral, uncaring. She wasn't allowed any where near the search for Sirius, and if she was honest with her self she wasn't entirely sure she wanted him found. The conflicting emotions within her where too much to think about.

"Yeah. Probably just another old witch with a neighbour who has prepotency for long hair and disheveled appearance." He turned to go and then stopped,

"Dana wants you to come over for dinner, if you can get off early enough."

She smiled. "Sure."

She watched him leave, her smile slipping away, and turned back to the interview room. Composing her self she opened the door and stepped into the room.

Sylvia Thatcher had stopped her fidgeting as soon as Tonks entered and was now eyeing the other woman warily as she sat down.

"Afternoon Ms. Thatcher, I'm sorry I've been keeping you so long, we're swamped out there." Tonks smiled self deprecatingly and was satisfied when Sylvia relaxed slightly.

"Yeah, well, don't know why I'm here in the first place do I? You people just come barging in and drag me in with no explanation."

Tonks looked down at the file in front of her, as if she was reading it. "Again sorry. I just have a few questions for you Ms. Thatcher."

"Questions? About what? I ain't done nothing!" she sounded slightly hysterical.

Tonks raised a brow and looked at her evenly. "I never said you did. Now, do you know Arty Tennant?"

Sylvia snorted. "Course I do. He lives in the flat next to mine."

Tonks tapped the fingers of her right hand on the table, seemingly absently. "You knew him quiet well then. So you must have known about his habitual potions use."

Sylvia shifted nervously in her chair. "I knew he was up to something yeah. Is that what this is about? Cause what he does with himself aint my business."

"So it won't surprise you then that he over dosed from a bad potion last night."

"Wha…no. I saw him yesterday, he was fine." She protested, a fearful note in her voice.

"I'm afraid, Sylvia," Tonks said calmly, dropping the formal address, "that he was not fine. He died last night in hospital. The potion he had taken was traced back to you."

Sylvia was shaking her head frantically. "No! I'm telling you, he was fine. I mean yeah, I did give him the stuff, but I took some too," she seemed to know that it was no use denying her involvement. "He went down to the pub for a pint, for Merlin's sake!"

Tonks closed the file in front of her. "Where he promptly passed out and was taken to Mungos." She stood and headed for the door.

"You can't keep me here!" Sylvia screamed as she opened the door. "I didn't do nothing! He would have just gotten it somewhere else if I didn't give him the stuff. I didn't hold my wand to his head and force him!"

Tonks let the door slam closed behind her cutting off the other woman's cries. With a tired sigh she headed up to her cubicle to fill out the report.

An hour later she could still be found sitting at her desk, quill poised over parchment, her face resting against her left hand as she leaned over the desk staring at the grey wall of the cubicle. If she squinted she could just make out a grainy pattern in the material.

"Auror Tonks!"

With a start Tonks jumped up, slamming her hand down for balance and breaking her quill. One booted foot hooked around her chair and she found herself suspended just above the ground with one leg in the air.

A deep laugh greeted her predicament and she glared as she straightened up. "Bloody hell Shaklebolt, what exactly do you think you're doing?"

She managed to untangle her foot and stood. Kingsley grinned and stepped into the cubicle.

"Nice to see that you're keeping vigilant." He picked up her half written report; ignoring the look she was giving him.

"Well I wasn't expecting to be attacked while writing reports was I? Sweet Merlin, I think you gave me a heart attack!" She clutched her chest, allowing a slight smile to leak through her aggrieved façade.

He smirked. "I just came to see if you had any extra Item seizure forms on hand." He looked at her desk and raised a brow. "But I can see that it might juts be easier to go to supply.

Tonks looked disparagingly at the mess of her desk. "Yeah might too. I think I have one…somewhere." She leaned over her desk and shifted her stacks of parchment around.

"Mark told me there might have been a Black sighting." She said casually.

"Might well have been." He replied just as causally.

She smiled at him, knowing what his game was. "Here." She handed him two forms. "You're in luck."

"Thanks." He put on a mock stern expression." back to work Auror Tonks. Don't let me catch you sleeping on the job again."

She pursed her lips indignantly. " I was not sleeping. I was just…"

"Putting off work?"

She sighed and sunk into her chair. "Yeah. Now off with you, I've got a report to finish."

She took out her wand and tapped her quill repairing it and then too it up once again to continue writing.

"Tonks?"

"Hmm." She didn't look up from writing.

"There is one more thing you could help me with."

"Oh?" she read over what she had just written still avoiding eye contact. His casual manner didn't fool her. She was pretty sure she knew what he wanted.

"Scrimgeour's on my back again. He's like me to pull in anyone we've already interviewed about Black. And He'd like me to talk to you and our mother as well."

Now she did look at him. "Now you're just taking the piss. Talk to me? Fine. Whatever. But my mum? Don't you think she'd had enough of this already? Its not going to go anywhere Kingsley, none of us are hiding Sirius under our beds."

"All the same," his deep easy voice calmed her slightly. "I still have to do it."

She sighed and ran hand through her hair. "Fine. Whenever you want, but I warn you, my mum is not going to be at all welcoming and I can't really say I blame her."

He nodded. "Nor do I." he paused and having worked with him for so many years and being partly trained by him she recognized it as the one that proceeded a delicate question.

"I also need to do one last follow up with your friend. Remus Lupin."

She didn't miss the way he said friend, nor the subtle look he was giving her. It was all in the eyes. That look said that he knew or suspected that Remus was in fact not just an old "friend"; he knew there was more to it. The one that she gave in return said that she knew he knew, but wasn't about to admit to anything.

"I haven't seen him in a while I'm afraid. Seems to be rather busy at the moment. Is it really necessary to talk to him again?"

Kingsley was already half way out of her cubicle. "I suppose not. He would be the closest link to Black though. I remember the two of them were inseparable. Something like that just doesn't go away, no matter what the other person does."

She looked down at her now complete report, conscious of his steady gaze. "Sometimes it does." She said quietly. "Sometimes you think you know someone, perhaps better than you know your self and it just isn't enough."

"And sometimes it is."

She didn't look up until he was gone and then once she was sure he was she stood, sent her report whirling off shoved her chair in and shoving half the papers on her desk into her bag she quickly strode out of the office.

Maybe she would stop by and see Dana and Rhiannon. It would stop her from going and downing the first stiff drink she could find.