Tonks had just settled into the best cheese on toast that had ever been made (okay, it was only that because no one had realised what time it was until it was suddenly dark outside and oh, wait, they hadn't eaten dinner) when their front door was all but pounded on. Remus had already half rose from the table when their wards had gone off because someone had apparated in but all but apparated to the door himself in a panic.

"It's Kingsley!" Remus shouted back in, annoyance colouring his tone.

No niceties appeared to be exchanged, instead two sets of feet made their way to the dining room. Andromeda and Tonks exchanged looks and put down their cutlery as the two men came into view. Remus looked concerned and Kingsley was looking between them all with a look of worry on his face.

"Thank Merlin," Kingsley breathed as he looked around them, looking relieved. "You're all okay."

"Of course, we're okay," Remus said, confused by his antics. They all were.

"Kingsley, what the hell are you playing at?" Tonks demanded, glaring at her friend. "Someone better be dead with the way you're carrying on."

"Some people might be, if we don't act fast," Kingsley said in a rushed voice.

"What's going on?" Remus demanded. "Kingsley, what's going on?"

"Death Eaters," he stated.

"Yes, they're out and about more," Tonks said impatiently though she unholstered her wand (it never left her person these days). "That's kind of been the whole situation the past six months."

What? You couldn't interrupt her finishing up cheese on toast and not expect a snarky response.

"No, their pulling a wedding trick," he said, shaking his head.

That sharpened them all up pretty quick and Andromeda let out a little gasp - probably remembering what happened to her and Ted a way back in July. Merlin, that felt like a lifetime ago now.

"They're tracking down Order members?" Tonks demanded.

"Exactly. They're going to all known locations as far as I've heard."

"But some people have moved or laid low."

Hell, even she didn't know where everyone lived. And not just because of the War, simply because some people weren't that social and didn't encourage visitors.

"They've somehow managed to figure out where some people live too."

"Does anyone need help?" Remus asked, already pulling his cloak on.

Oh, how Tonks wished she could do the same but she would be no help at all. She could barely waddle never mind run and cast spells. That and she really would rather not put her unborn baby at risk. Yeah, that would not be a smart idea.

"Please, they've already went to Diggle's home."

"Again?"

And then the two of them were gone. Leaving her and her mother behind wondering what on earth was happening. The exchanged looks at each other. Tonks bit her lip, not knowing what to do but feeling like she should be doing something.

"Trust men to leave us with the dishes," Andromeda said, eyeing the empty plates and snorted, a flick of her wand sending them to the sink.

They arced gracefully in the air, much to Tonks' envy. Hers sort of bolted to the sink when she did that and she always had to hold her breath to see if they'd crash into the wall.

[xxxxxx]

It felt like forever until Remus came back. She hated all this waiting she had to do. Hated it. Hated it. Hated it. It made her feel so useless. It reminded her that she was basically useless. Good for nothing except sitting around.

"You aren't useless, your body is literally making a baby," Andromeda tutted, able to read the emotions playing out across her face.

Not that she was exactly bring subtle about it - what with the huffing and sighing she had been doing. She couldn't help it, she felt like a beached whale and apparently, she could still get bigger! It wasn't fair! Though her mother had informed her that she was "carrying small" and some women had bigger stomachs than she did. Tonks didn't know how that was even possible. She already felt like she had been stretched to the limit.

Her baby decided that this was the perfect moment to give her a good kick. Right in the ribs.

"Calm down, would you?" she said in exasperation, rubbing her stomach.

"She can probably feel your stress," Andromeda said disapprovingly, even though she was also stressed and glancing between the clock and the window. "I've told you, it's bad for the baby."

"I can't exactly turn my stress off like a switch," Tonks retorted, though that would be an incredibly useful skill to have. "And she?"

"The baby is going to be a girl," Andromeda informed her. "I can feel it."

"Uh huh."

"It is!" She insisted.

"Okay."

"Nymphadora!"

"What? I don't know what my baby's going to be so I'm not disagreeing with you."

"I'm right, you'll see."

As much as Tonks liked her mother's confidence, she knew that when it was blatant like that it was because she was anxious or hiding something. Or both. This was anxious though. Because of Remus.

"Why are you not more worried?" Andromeda finally asked her.

Tonks thought for a moment before replying.

"I am worried," she said honestly. "Extremely so. But this, making sure our people aren't being hunted down. Knocking off a few Death Eaters. This is pretty normal for us."

Nothing to get overly worried about, she said to herself. Remus was good at this. One of the best. It probably wasn't anything more than a few low-level Death Eaters just wanting to "clear up the place". They all knew that there were targets on their heads. Random raids were to be expected. That's what she had to keep telling herself anyway.

"I doubt being tracked down constantly is normal," Andromeda sniffed.

"It's not," Tonks admitted. "And I am nervous. And worried. But Remus is good. Really good. He knows what he's doing. I just want to be there with him. Doing something. Helping."

"But you can't."

"Obviously."

The baby gave her a kick as if in agreement, making her chuckle.

"I think I liked it better when I wasn't fully aware of what you were up to," Andromeda told her.

Tonks couldn't help but chuckle at that. She didn't get a chance to reassure her or say anything else because Remus chose that moment to return. He looked more than slightly dishevelled and there was a cut across his cheek. It was perpendicular to the one he had given himself the last full moon. Which reminded her, they had to sand down that bit of the wall before the next one.

"I'm now the Secret Keeper for Shell Cottage," Remus said with a heavy sigh as he sat down. "We did the Fidelius Charm as soon as we escaped."

"Escaped?" Both women asked sharply.

"Death Eaters in Diagon Alley, crowding the entrance to the bank. Just waiting for Bill and Fleur, I suspect," he told them.

The two of them still worked at Gringotts. It was useful being a Weasley and having a job that was independent of a corrupt Ministry of Magic.

"And the twins?" Tonks asked, not knowing if she wanted the answer or not.

"Death Eaters at their shop too but you know they boarded it up weeks ago. They weren't there."

"I suspect that didn't stop the Death Eaters from swarming in," Andromeda said, raising an eyebrow.

Remus shook his head. "It didn't. But we couldn't do anything. We had to get Bill and Fleur out."

"Which you did," Tonks pressed.

"We did," Remus confirmed. "Just a bit ruffled and a few cuts and bruises from debris but otherwise fine."

Tonks breathed a sigh of relief.