AN: Bolded text is from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Things somewhat got back to normal after Kingsley's visit. Well, if you ignored the fact that Dawlish was actually civil to her (which she was because it was still too weird). Patrols, back to flat, eat increasingly repetitive meals, another patrol, sleep and do it all again the next day. It was endless and it was boring. Mind-numbing even. Okay, the monotony was broken up by hysterical calls from villagers convinced that they had seen something but even the got annoying. And frustrating. Especially when it involved people who just wanted to get some attention. Those were the worst and wasted so much time. There really should be some sort of punishment for people like that.

Well, it was all going to start again today. Tonks yawned and stretched - far too many bones cracking for her liking. She didn't really *want* to get out of bed today. Even less than usual. The general atmosphere of well, everywhere was starting to seep through to her. Not that she had been in the best of headspaces this year but the fear and anxiety were starting to pile up on her own depression. Which was definitely not great.

Not that it mattered. Tonks swung her legs out of her bed, there was work to be done and life to be (sort of) lived. At least she had the afternoon patrol. It meant a somewhat easier and slower start to her day. Oh, she still had to put in her full eight hours, there was always paperwork to do, but she didn't have to rush to get ready. Or get ready at all until she had to go out in public.

An awful lot of paperwork had been done in her dressing gown. Hey, it was miles better than Savage's need to just go around in his boxers. He wasn't even that good to look at! But she got dressed today. Make herself feel somewhat put together. Or at least pretend.

Breakfast might perk her up a bit. Or, rather, the coffee would.

"You done with that?" Tonks asked, nodding her head at the seemingly discarded paper as she entered the kitchen.

"Uh?" Proudfoot asked, looking up from his coffee. "Oh, yeah. Nothing in it anyway."

One of the few things they had been able to decide on when they moved in here was that it was pointless for them all to have a subscription to the Daily Prophet. Having four newspapers show up every day was a sure-fire way of them getting buried alive in it.

She leafed through it, accidentally doing it from the back cover and nothing stood out to her.

"Nothing at all?"

Proudfoot took a sip of his tea (he was one of those weirdos who didn't like coffee) and replied, "Nothing true, anyway."

Tonks snorted at that. Yeah, for people employed directly by the Ministry none of them really had a high opinion of it. Except maybe Dawlish but he was still idiotic like that. As long as they didn't voice said opinions in public or let them get in the way of their work all was good.

She finally got to the front page and immediately gasped at the headline.

"YOUNG BOY SAVAGED BY WEREWOLF. MIGHT NOT MAKE IT"

Her gasp drew the attention of Proudfoot but Tonks paid him no mind. Instead, she was fervently pursuing the article - the location of the attack had alarmed her. She was pretty sure that one of Remus' missions was taking him up there. When? She didn't know. Dumbledore kept that sort of thing close to his chest.

"Wonder how long ago that happened?" Proudfoot asked disinterestedly, nodding towards the headline. "How far behind the times d'you think the Prophet is this time?"

Tonks didn't answer in favour of staring unseeingly at the article. The sad thing was that this wasn't even the worst thing that had happened recently. Dismemberment, torture and rape had been all that the Aurors heard recently. Things that very carefully were kept away from the Press. It didn't exactly display the feeling of hope they insisted on going for, after all. Even if it had been one bad thing after another. Constantly. It was never-ending, wasn't it? She thought she could feel something breaking inside of her, like this was the straw that broke the camel's back.

She couldn't do this anymore. Couldn't sit around and do nothing. Standing up, she shoved the paper far, far away from her. Proudfoot caught it before it fluttered to the floor. She needed answers and there was only one place she was going to get those.

"Where are you going?" Dawlish bellowed after her as she all but sprinted past him leaving the bathroom.

But she didn't even bother to give him a response as she left their flat with a bang of the door.

She managed to get to Hogwarts in record time, only feeling the burn in her lungs as she let herself come to a stop at the gates. Why had she run the whole way again?

Shooting off a quick Patronus (or not so quick as it took her a depressing three times to get it working), Tonks waited for someone to let her in. As long as that someone wasn't Snape.

Thankfully, it wasn't. Hagrid let her in. She let him chatter away as he led her up to the front door, not really in any mood to talk. It seemed to take a long time to get there but they got there eventually.

Her legs complained as she hauled them through the school, thinking that they'd done enough work today already. She got as far as the bottom of the stairs to Dumbledore's Office when her name was called. She turned around; it was McGonagall.

"Yes, I thought Hagrid said you were here, Miss Tonks."

"Just need to see Dumbledore," she explained.

"I'm afraid he is not here today."

Oh. Well, that put a stop to things didn't it?

"I'll tell him you dropped by," McGonagall offered but Tonks shook her head.

"No need. Nothing that can't wait until the next meeting I suppose."

McGonagall gave her a curious look but thankfully didn't pry.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

Tonks shook her head.

"Mind if I go for a wonder around before I head back?" she asked, not really wanting to be around anyone at the moment.

"Of course, Miss Tonks," McGonagall agreed.

The first good thing that had happened all day. Tonks aimlessly wandered down the halls, not really taking anything in. She couldn't, not with all of this on her mind. Especially when she had no answers. Somehow, she managed to end up on the Seventh Floor, by that stupid looking tapestry of the dancing trolls. She never did get a straight answer on why someone would embroider such a thing.

Well, at least the corridor was empty. She could pace to her heart's content.

"OUCH!"

Spoke too soon. And it sounded familiar but where did his voice come from?

Harry suddenly appeared as his Invisibility Cloak slipped off him.

"Harry?"

He spun around, one-legged, and toppled over. Rather like she would. It was quite amusing to be on the upright side of someone falling over.

"What're you doing here?" he said, scrambling to his feet

Tonks strolled over to him shaking her head. Why did she always have to find him lying on the floor? It was becoming a bad habit of his.

"I came to see Dumbledore," said Tonks.

"His office isn't here," said Harry, "it's round the other side of the castle, behind the gargoyle -"

"I know," said Tonks. "He's not there. Apparently, he's gone away again."

"Has he?" said Harry, putting his bruised foot gingerly back on the floor. "Hey-you don't know where he goes, I suppose?"

"No," said Tonks.

No one knew where he went, it was actually a point of contention in the Order. Especially with Mad-Eye and McGonagall. Not that she blamed them. Not knowing where your leader was could cause a problem if things started to go wrong.

"What did you want to see him about?"

Was she this nosy when she was a teenager? She really didn't appreciate all these questions.

"Nothing in particular," said Tonks, picking, at the sleeve of her robe. "I just thought he might know what's going on... I've heard rumours... people getting hurt."

It all sounded a bit silly when she said it out loud like that. Everyone wanted to know what was going on. She wasn't special. Nothing bad had happened to her. She was just letting all the doom and gloom get to her.

"Yeah, I know, it's all been in the papers," said Harry. "That little kid trying to kill his -"

No. She didn't need to rehash all the depressing events. Especially when she had heard the reports in great detail through work.

"The Prophet's often behind the times," said Tonks. "You haven't had any letters from anyone in the Order recently?"

Maybe Harry would have heard from Remus? That would give her some piece of mind. Just a little but it would still be something.

"No one from the Order writes to me anymore," said Harry, "not since Sirius -"

She thought she would be fine now when it came to hearing his name but she wasn't. Frustratingly, Tonks could feel her eyes fill with tears. What a stupid idiot she was.

"I'm sorry," he muttered awkwardly. "I mean... I miss him, as well..."

Oh, there was nothing worse than awkward platitudes. Especially coming from a mere child like Harry.

"What?" said Tonks blankly, as though she had not heard him**, hoping he would get the hint and stop talking. She wouldn't be able to control herself if he kept talking. **"Well... I'll see you around, Harry..."

She left him to whatever he was doing by that stupid troll tapestry and encodes that she had to get away from walls. They felt like they were closing in on her. She needed a bit of freedom. Somewhere to scream...