"Bloody hell!"
Tonks laughed to herself as she turned around, unlocked the door to her flat that she had just locked, and rushed back inside. She had been spending too much time around Ron Weasley, if her choice of language was any indication. Not bothering to take her shoes off, she raced to her room, grabbed the sheaf of parchment that she had forgotten on her desk, and then exited swiftly, locking the door to the flat for the second time in about a minute. She rushed to the end of the hallway, where the wards' effectiveness ceased, took a moment to make sure no muggles were watching and then disappeared with a pop.
She materialized outside the gates of Hogwarts. Craning her head, she tried to tell if she could see anyone coming; you couldn't just walk into the school these days. She jumped as a crack sounded just a few feet from her and Albus materialized. "Ah Nymphadora, what immaculate timing!" the Headmaster exclaimed, his eyes a bright, twinkling blue. No matter how hard Tonks tried, she had absolutely never been able to get Albus to call her by anything other than her given name. He tapped the gates with his wand and they proceeded through unhindered. Albus chattered about the weather and the grounds as they made their way towards the castle, through the great front doors and to his office. He seemed to be in the best of moods.
They sat down in his office, he at his desk and her facing him; she produced the sheaf of parchment from her messenger bag. "Now then," said Albus, "this shouldn't take long; I am only looking at your plan because it is the first event of high importance that you have been required to embark upon for the Order. I have every faith that you are able to do this properly." "Thanks, Headmaster," said Tonks gratefully; she felt much better with Albus looking at the plan beforehand. She wasn't quite sure, if she were in Albus' position, that she would trust someone with as relatively little experience as herself so implicitly. Even if Albus was just saying it to make her feel better, it certainly was helping.
She handed over the parchment and talked through the plan as Albus looked it over. "I've created a fake event for the muggle relatives to attend. Through watching them on guard duty I've noticed that the uncle is rather – well – anal about his lawn." Albus's eyes met hers and sparkled with mirth at her choice of words. "So today they'll receive an invitation to attend a prize giving for their immaculate landscaping habits. They should be gone for at least five hours, which is far more than what we need, but never hurts to be a little extra with things like that. We'll apparate there, Sturgis is supplying brooms for everyone to fly back, we'll get Harry and his things, and then we'll fly to London. If we meet any trouble, each one of the guard know what to do; each person is appointed to fly a certain position around Harry, and if Death Eaters do show we will split; four with Harry, two to fight and try to keep Harry from being pursued. The Burrow is the alternate location if we can't make it to Grimmauld."
She stopped herself from continuing on; Albus was reading and nodding, clearly listening, but she was afraid she was coming off as a bit too much. He looked up when she broke off. "Carry on, Nymphadora, I'm listening." "Sorry Headmaster, I didn't want to seem overeager or like I knew everything." Albus's eyes grew grave and silvery blue. "Nymphadora, you know exactly what you are doing and only require a second set of eyes to make sure that you have all bases covered. Never apologize for being too much, and never stop yourself from saying what you have to say." Tonks smiled. "Thanks Albus." She gathered her thoughts. "Molly is our back-up support, in addition to the group going to get Harry. She has some protective spells she'll be using that night, and she's going to send us a signal that things are clear and ready on her end. Mad-Eye wants to fly very very high up, above cloud level; I told him no. I think if – Voldemort – manages to find out Harry is being moved, clouds won't stop him finding us, they'll only stop us from seeing brooms approach. And we'll be moving too fast for most muggles to notice. I'm planning to get to Little Whinging around eight o'clock, so by the time we collect Harry and leave it will be dusk and getting darker." Albus nodded approvingly, not responding to her hesitation at using Voldemort's name. "I think that is wise. The idea is to prevent Voldemort from knowing Harry is moved; if we are betrayed, there is little use in trying to hide behind clouds. Will you be concealing Harry in any way?"
Tonks hadn't considered that. She thought for a minute. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt, if they do somehow find out we're moving him and run across a group of brooms but can't see him, they might just think it's a diversion and move on. We could use an Invisibility Cloak…" She looked to Albus. "I shall not always be here to assist you; think it through and let me know what you decide," he said, a smile behind his sky blue eyes. She considered the pros and cons of a cloak. "Actually I think a Concealment Charm might be the way to go. A cloak could blow off pretty easily if we're trying to move with speed and the night is windy. The Charm isn't as flawless, but it will move with him and if a Death Eater just sees us pass by quickly they'll completely miss him."
Albus beamed, eyes sparkling. "That sounds excellent, Nymphadora. The pick-up takes place day after tomorrow; is there anything left to arrange?" "No Albus, everyone has been briefed and we're ready to go." "Splendid. If you require anything from me, just say the word. And Nymphadora?" She was halfway through rising to leave, the parchment in her hands. "Yes Albus?" He smiled at her. "I want you to know what an asset you have been to the Order. Your planning of this has been exactly what I wanted. Your talents are valuable and original; we are lucky to have you." Tonks couldn't keep the stupid grin off her face; damn it was nice to be noticed and appreciated. "Thanks Albus! That really means a lot."
Two days later they were assembled and nearly ready to leave Grimmauld. Remus had been acting oddly the last few days; when Tonks had asked Sirius what the problem was, Sirius had told her that Remus had expected she would need help with planning Harry's pick-up and had been a little upset that she had been able to manage so well without anyone's assistance. Tonks liked Remus – found him attractive even – but was a bit miffed that he would assume because she was young and female that she was overwhelmed by planning this. She kept well away from him in the entryway; other than checking to make sure that he was clear on the plan and what to do if there was an emergency, she made sure to stay over by Mad-Eye and Dedalus, who had no qualms as to her leadership capabilities.
The day had already been full of drama; Albus had contacted Percy and Charlie several weeks ago about joining the Order, and though Charlie, in Romania, had taken a while to answer Albus, he had said he would do what he could and wanted to join the fight. Percy, meanwhile, had only answered yesterday, and from what Tonks had gathered the answer was not what Albus – or Percy's parents – had wanted to hear. Arthur had left immediately to find Percy and "talk some sense into him", and had returned with a black eye, raging about the row that had been had. Molly had been crying ever since; Remus had spent most of the morning comforting her. Arthur had guard duty and wasn't around, which was probably for the best, as he was still very angry. Tonks had gone to check in with Molly and make sure she could still perform the duties required for Harry's pick-up. Though Molly had still been actively crying, she had shrugged Remus's arm off her shoulders, wiped her face, and nodded. "Of course dear, you needn't ask. Harry is more my son than Percy is; I learned that today. I'm ready." Tonks looked into Molly's eyes and saw a steadfastness and strength there that she could only hope to have one day; she had nodded, given Molly a hug and gone on with her preparations.
At five minutes to eight Tonks led the group out onto the front steps of Grimmauld Place. Mad-Eye had eight brooms – an extra just in case – shrunken and stowed in the pocket of his robes. Sirius saw them out, his face pale and eyes overbright. Since the dementor attack Sirius had been strangely driven, cleaning and cooking like a mad man and offering help in any way he could think of to all of the Order. Tonks turned around as the door closed to say goodbye to Sirius; he reached out, grasped her by the arm and looked her straight in the eyes. "Bring him safely" was all he said, but the conviction in his voice turned her blood cold. The "or I will" may has well have been screamed to the whole street. He closed the door softly and Tonks turned to the group. "Right, let's get it done!" she said, adding as much cheerfulness to her voice as possible. They had agreed to apparate as a group so that everyone arrived together, cohesively and on time. Dedalus touched Emmaline's shoulder; she was already holding on to Kingsley. Hestia also had a grip on Kingsley's robes, and Sturgis was gripping her bag. Kingsley grasped Mad-Eye's upper arm; he took a handful of Remus' robes, and Remus held his hand out to Tonks. She grimaced slightly; she had hoped to avoid touching him, honestly. She took his hand though, for the sake of professionalism, and went through the familiar thoughts and motions of apparating to Little Whinging.
They appeared with a crack on the front lawn of 4 Privet Drive. The house was dark, just as Tonks had wanted it. She led the group to the front door and unlocked it with her wand; as soon as they were inside, she proceeded to the garage and checked to make sure the car was gone. It was. She let out a sigh of relief and relaxed a bit. The others had also relaxed, and were poking around the kitchen; she tamped down her curiosity about the odd muggle artifacts that were laying around, though, and reminded them with a sharp word that they were there to find Harry. Remus and Mad-Eye, the only ones who hadn't let their guard down, stayed close by her the whole time.
She knew where Harry's room was after watching the house so often; standing at the foot of the stairs she pointed it out to Mad-Eye. He lifted his wand and unlocked the door. Was Harry sleeping? Why was there no sign of life? Then the boy came inching out of the door, wand drawn, pale, thin face looking scared. Tonks realized they probably hadn't been very quiet; she had tripped over a coat rack as soon as she walked in the door, for god's sake. She had never seen the boy up close before, only from several hundred feet away. He looked haunted and she didn't blame him.
Moody gave Harry an elementary course in wand-stowing safety, and Tonks helped him pack his belongings; then they returned to the kitchen. Once Harry had been Concealed, Tonks rounded everyone up and got them outside. Molly's signal, red sparks, let them know that everything was clear. Before taking off Tonks glanced at Remus and realized how stressed he was; his face was paler than usual and he continually scanned the sky, waiting for something to happen. It was only then that the real weight of the mission hit Tonks; she had been given the responsibility of transporting the savior of the wizarding world through a country newly reinhabited by the enemy. The sooner they got to London, the better, Tonks thought, as they took off. The flight to Grimmauld Place was fairly uneventful, but Mad-Eye did try to take them up above the clouds; it was already freezing, and Tonks put her foot down.
Harry was elated to be out of the house and flying; he didn't know Tonks at all, but was happy to play around on his broom next to her. Mad-Eye gave her a look a minute later though, and she quickly returned to business. Upon landing, Sturgis collected and shrunk all the broomsticks; Harry looked very surprised at their choice of location. Mad-Eye had been chosen to carry the parchment with Grimmauld's address on it; Tonks hadn't wanted to put all her eggs in one basket. She shouldn't be the one to plan the mission and also carry all the valuable information as well. They entered the house; all was quiet. There was an Order meeting tonight, and everyone must already be in the kitchen. Molly came bustling out to greet Harry, though, when Tonks knocked over the dead troll leg and Mrs. Black, sensing the arrival of a new occupant, sounded off. Things got settled quickly and Molly took Harry upstairs with the rest of the kids while Tonks and the Advance Guard descended to the kitchen.
Albus was sitting at the head of the table. He smiled approvingly at her. "I see things went well then?" She nodded, smiling back, and took a seat, assuming she would be required to report to the room shortly. Her report was first on the agenda, which she felt pretty good about. Snape's report was next, but there had been no Death Eater meetings called lately. "Severus, do you think Voldemort even knew Harry was moved tonight?" Albus asked as Snape went to sit down. "No, Headmaster. The Dark Lord would have called a meeting to discuss a plan of action had he known." "Excellent," Albus said, his eyes merry. "Nymphadora, you should be quite pleased with yourself for fooling the greatest dark wizard of our times." Tonks felt as though the room was glowing. Remus, who had sat next to her, nudged her and gave her a warm smile when she looked over at him, and Sirius, on her other side, clapped her on the back. Sirius looked loads better now that Harry was safe in the house; he had eaten nothing yet that day, but once the meeting concluded and supper was served he dug in heartily.
The kids all came downstairs and Tonks met Harry Potter a bit more intimately. Her first impression was of a smallish, quiet boy who was extremely polite and quite unassuming. He laughed at Fred and George's hijinks and subsequent punishment by Molly, smiled kindly at Ginny, who was trying to work through the massive crush she had on him but who still seized up here and there when attempting to talk in his vicinity, and talked animatedly with Ron and Hermione, whom he was obviously very close with. And he looked at Sirius with such love and admiration that Tonks could finally fully understand why Sirius had been so desperate after the dementor attack. The boy had lost everything, and Sirius was the closest thing to a parent that he had.
After supper, Sirius and Molly got into it over how much information Harry needed to know. Tonks had known it was coming, but until now the two of them had been getting along alright. Molly had still been a bit off since the Percy incident, and Tonks could tell that the argument was partially fed by her residual anger. For the first time, Tonks realized that Sirius was very capable of pushing people's buttons; previously she had always thought of him as the victim, but today she really wished he would show a little respect for Molly and the fact that she had basically lost her son today. She caught Remus's eye and saw the same annoyance there. Once Harry had been sent to bed, the argument continued and seemed to have the potential to extend infinitely, so Tonks did the responsible thing and asked Sirius if she could stay the night, and if he could show her where fresh linens were for the guest room she stayed in. As they left the kitchen she saw Remus move towards Molly to offer words of comfort, and was glad she had been the one to take Sirius; she wasn't too great with upset people, but she was beginning to see Remus was.
She made sure that Sirius was going up to his room after he showed her where to get a clean towel, and then retired to her own room and thought through the day. She was glad that the mission had gone well, but felt so sad for Molly and Arthur. Albus had been very right when he had warned her that members of the Order might have to go through painful times with friends and family as their allegiance became known. Try as she might, she could feel no remorse for Sirius tonight though. He had Harry under his roof now – thanks to her – but it seemed he was self-centered enough that he couldn't see how Molly and Arthur were going through a difficult time as well and lay off his antagonistic tendencies, even for one night. She made a promise to herself to try and get Sirius to have a little empathy. Before drifting off to sleep she let her thoughts shift to Remus Lupin; annoyed as she had been with him before the mission, she respected how well he conducted himself under pressure and the way he had offered Molly comfort. And… well.. he was sort of cute.