SURVEILLANCE

Hi there everyone. I'm so sorry for being gone for so long. The world of college applications can be a black hole that consumes your whole life. But never fear! I have defeated the college process and decided to return to this story. I hope that you'll all forgive me for being gone for such an incredibly long time. I'll try to be better about updating now that my college applications are finished.

Anyways, sorry again for making you wait so long for another chapter. Hope you enjoy this one, and I would love to hear any feedback you have!

I don't own anything.

I Apparated to the coordinates Mad-Eye had sent out last week. We would be trailing Bastian Strout, a Death Eater living in Norfolk.

Dumbledore had said that Strout would be an easy target; he wasn't too high up in the Death Eater ranks; he was fairly young and inexperienced; because of his youth and inexperience, he wouldn't notice anyone following him; and as far as we knew, he wasn't dangerous.

The Order (with the exception of Mad-Eye, who believed it better to go straight to the source) all agreed that Strout was a good target. If a lower Death Eater, such as Strout, knew about Voldemort's overarching plans, then we had far less time then we realized. However, if Strout appeared to know nothing of Voldemort's scheme, we knew that Voldemort's influence had not spread beyond his inner circle.

It seemed a solid plan, I thought as I crouched to the ground in the forest behind Strout's house. The woods lay on top of a large hill that overlooked the small house. As I began to situate myself in a more comfortable position, I heard a pop come from behind me, and Tonks moved to sit next to me.

"Hey," she greeted pleasantly, drawing her wand and wrapping her traveling cloak tightly around her shoulders. It was a cool autumn evening, and the woods had begun turning various shades of scarlet and gold. I nearly chuckled at the stark contrast of Tonks' violent pink hair against the greenish yellow of the leaves behind her.

"Anything yet?" Tonks asked quietly.

I shook my head. "No, I've only just gotten here."

Tonks sighed and leaned back onto her hands. We both knew we were in for a long, boring night consisting of watching nothing but Bastian bustling around his little house.

I shifted in the grass, ruffling several newly fallen leaves. "I've got an idea," Tonks enthused as she sat upright once again. I glanced at her expectantly. "Let's play a game."

"A game?" I asked pointedly. "We're supposed to be working, Tonks."

Tonks rolled her bright green eyes. "Yeah," she allowed, glancing down as a light turned on in Strout's house, "but you and I both know that most likely nothing will happen tonight. Besides," she added with a mischievous smile, "I've been an Order member for over three months, I still don't know much about you besides you were Sirius' friend almost twenty years ago."

Her last statement made me cringe slightly. Had so much time really passed?

"Anyway," Tonks continued slowly, drawing me from my reverie and pulling my attention back to her, "I think this is a good opportunity for us to get to know each other."

"Now I'm really intrigued," I replied jokingly. "What game did you have in mind?"

"Twenty questions," she enthused. I unsuccessfully tried to muffle my snicker. "Okay, I know it's not the most sophisticated game," she allowed, "but it's all I got," she defended, raising her shoulders and raising her hands in a gesture of surrender.

I gave her a small smile. "Alright, how do you play?"

A look of artificial shock immediately fell upon Tonks' pixie-like features. "You've never played twenty questions?" she questioned with feigned horror.

I chuckled. "No, I've played," I clarified. "I just wasn't sure how you wanted to play it."

"Well," she began, "the way we played in school was I would ask you a question, then you would give your answer, I would give mine, and then we switch."

"Easy enough," I returned. "You start."

"Alright," she thought for a moment, "we'll start off with an easy one. What was your favorite subject in school?"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," I answered without even thinking.

"Really?" she said quietly, her eyes widening.

"Is that another question?" I asked mischievously.

"No," she returned, hitting me playfully in the arm. "That was always my favorite subject too. It's why I became an Auror."

"I'd always liked it," I explained. "I taught it a few years ago."

"Oh yeah, Sirius told me about that. He said that Harry had told him that you were brilliant," she added. "See we're already learning things about each other." I chuckled. "Your turn," she pointed.

"Okay. Hmm what was the worst class at Hogwarts?"

"That's easy," she began. "Potions, hands down."

"Why Potions? Isn't it a required skill for Aurors?" I asked curiously.

"I liked the class itself just fine," she replied. "I did reasonably well on my O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s, but Snape was a real terror. I really thought that he had it in for me."

I bit my lip, thinking of all the times, times she had no recollection of, when she and Snape must have fought over the potion that brought her back to her rightful time. I thought of telling her then, but I settled for a chuckle. "Yeah, very few can understand Severus's mysterious grudges." I paused for a moment then, only to be drawn back by Tonks looking at me expectantly. "What?"

"You forgot to give your answer," she accused. "What was your worst class?"

"Oh, Divination," I replied. "I never liked that class. I thought that it relied too much on hypothetical situations and coincidences. Plus the teacher frightened me a bit."

She laughed. "Yeah, Trelawney was a nut too," she giggled. "That's why I never took that class."

"If only I'd done the same," I joked. We both laughed.

Just then, I could spot the tiny flicker of the lights of Strout's house shutting off. We both immediately craned our necks to spot Bastian's small figure make his way out of the house and onto the street.

"C'mon," Tonks gestured, already moving down the hill in pursuit. We sprinted down the side of the hill, eager to catch up with our target. Tonks led the way around a corner, where I caught a glimpse of Strout emerging from a small shop.

We quickly dodged into the nearest alley so as not to be seen. After several seconds, I peered around the edge of the building.

"He's gone down the road," I whispered. "I can't tell where he's heading."

Tonks nodded. "I think I have an idea." She scrunched up her nose, and her features began to shift and change. She grew taller, and her petite frame broadened. Her hair grew until it rested on her neck in a long blond ponytail. Her nose widened, and her eyes shrank. Wrinkles began forming on the sides of her mouth and eyes, and I started to understand her plan.

Within seconds, I was no longer in the presence of Nymphadora Tonks, but Yaxley now stood before me. Tonks waved her wand down her body, and her traveling cloak transformed into a black pinstriped suit.

"How do I look?" she asked with Yaxley's baritone voice.

I could only stare in amazement. "You—uh—um…it's good," I finally stuttered in awe.

"Great," she enthused, skulking out of the alley, trying to emulate Yaxley's demeanor.

"Strout!" she called loudly once she was a few steps onto the street.

I heard the patter of Strout's footsteps as he quickly made his way for Tonks.

"What are you doing out at this hour?" Tonks asked authoritatively.

Strout mumbled something incomprehensible. They spoke quietly for several moments. I desperately wanted to peer around the corner and see how Tonks' plan was working, but I couldn't risk being seen. I had to trust Tonks on this one. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. She knows what she's doing, I thought. She'll be alright. She knows was she's doing. Suddenly, I saw Yaxley's figure walk past the alley, and I knew that was my signal to follow. I waited a few seconds before I walked out of the alley and found Tonks, still disguised as Yaxley, several yards ahead.

I followed her back to the hill where we started the evening where she resumed her normal appearance.

"What happened?" I asked, slightly worried.

"Nothing," she responded. "He doesn't know anything."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." Her voice was so authoritative, I daren't argue with her.

I smiled, trying to lighten the mood, "Then we have time," I enthused. "If he didn't know anything, that must mean that You-Know-Who hasn't made any big moves yet."

Tonks sighed, "Yeah but we're still no closer to figuring out his plan," she said angrily, looking down at the ground and wringing her hands in frustration.

"At least we have time to find out what he's up to," I reassured, placing my hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "We'll find out what we're up against," I promised. "Just not tonight." I looked up and saw the moon shining brightly in the sky. "We should get back," I advised. "It's late, and the others probably want to be assured that we're still alive," I teased with a smile.

She chuckled. "You're probably right," she allowed. "But we never did finish our game."

"Another time then."

"I'll hold you to that one, Remus," she warned as she twisted into the air.

"I wouldn't expect anything less," I replied quietly to the empty woods as I withdrew my wand and Apparated to Grimmauld Place.

So there's a new chapter for anyone that's still reading this. I'm really sorry for the obscenely long absence. I'll try to be better about it. It feels so great to be writing for fun again, but I'm a little afraid I've lost my touch in this chapter. Let me know if you like it in a Review!