Having been left alone so suddenly, Tonks felt a shiver of fear go up her spine. Soon she too would be required to drop everything at a moments notice and apparate to the side of you-know-who.
Tonks decided to go home to twelve Grimmwauld place. The evening was still young, maybe there would be people milling around the Order's headquarters. She apparated quickly, thought of the address, and she went through the door that appeared. Listening for voices in the study, she heard none. Tonks was disappointed; she did not feel like being on her own at the moment.
She walked into her room and changed into her pyjamas, the ones with hippos roller-skating. She wrote in her journal for several hours, mainly about Severus, and what he had told her that evening. Tonks was concentrating very hard, which is why she almost screamed when she heard someone calling her name from the fire.
"Tonks, are you up?" It was Severus' face in the fire.
"Severus? Why are you in my fire?" she asked, concerned.
"Can you come over to Hogwarts right now? It's very important."
Tonks felt herself go cold. Something had happened at the meeting Severus had been summoned to. She knew something was very wrong.
"Give me a minute to change and I'll be right over. Where should I floo too?" she asked.
"Dumbledore's office. Please hurry."
Within moments she was back into her street clothes and rummaging through her belongings for some floo powder. Finally finding some, she sprinkled the powder over the fire and stepped inside. With a strong voice, she said "Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore's office."
Tonks waited patiently while she spun around and around. The trip to Hogwarts would take some time. After a few minutes, she saw Severus and Albus and forced herself out of the floo network. She landed on her feet, but took one step out of the fireplace and tripped on a rug that was in front of it. "Damn!" she cried. Albus rushed forward to help her up, but she waved him away. Severus stayed where he was.
She looked at Severus. His face was swollen and there was a cut above his eye. Tonks was terrified that Severus had been found out. She reminded herself that he couldn't have been, or he'd be dead. Tonks opened her mouth to ask about his face, but Severus shook his head, and mouthed, "Later," to her. She sat down in front of Professor Dumbledore's desk. Severus went to do the same, and she noticed he limped slightly.
She didn't even need to ask the question on her mind. Severus started, "Draco Malfoy has proven his loyalty to the Dark Lord this evening."
"Bully for him. What else happened? I can't imagine you'd bring me here for that."
"What happened between you and Draco this afternoon Tonks?" Albus asked.
"He and his goons were bullying a Hufflepuff. I broke it up, that's all," Tonks said.
"Something must have happened," Albus said.
Tonks was unaccustomed to being scolded by Professor Dumbledore. She wasn't quite sure how to respond. "He called me a mudblood," she said, not wanting to look at Severus. "I reminded him that we're related. I think I embarrassed him a bit, that's all."
Professor Dumbledore rubbed his temples. "Severus, please tell Tonks what you found out."
She turned to look at him. "Draco has come up with an idea for getting rid of Harry Potter. His plan involves you, Tonks."
"Me?" she squeaked.
"He said he thought of it when you changed your hair," Severus said.
"Why did you change your hair in public, Tonks?" Albus asked sharply.
This was something she was not ready for. "What do you mean, in public? I have never made it a secret to anyone that I'm a metamorph! It's who I am!" Tonks started shaking in anger. How dare Dumbledore be upset with her? She had gone along with his plan and this was the thanks she got? "Well, what's his brilliant idea?"
"I'm to put the Imperius Curse on you, Tonks," Severus said softly. "When I have you under my control, you will morph into Harry Potter. Then you will take his place while Draco and I take the real Harry Potter to the Dark Lord."
Tonks started giggling at the absurdness of the plan. She was relieved that it was so idiotic that it could never be done. Both men stared at her while she giggled.
"I'm sorry, I understand that this is important, but the plan will never work! I can't impersonate anyone. I could morph into Harry, but I can't change my voice, it's not possible. No one would ever accept me as Harry."
There was silence. "Severus, can't you just tell you-know-who that we chatted about my powers and you found out that the plan wouldn't work?" More silence. "Well?"
"The Dark Lord has decided all that would be needed is a few hours. Once Potter is in his control, I'll take the curse off you, and do a memory charm on you. The plan is that you'll never know what you did."
"Oh Merlin," she said under her breath. "And Draco came up with all of this because he saw me morph my hair?"
"Yes," Severus said.
"I can ask to be transferred away from Hogwarts. You can't get me under your control if you can't find me."
"Then the Dark Lord would simply have someone else put the curse on you," Severus said.
Tonks stood up, fuming with the thought that she could be turned into a weapon so easily. "Then I'll change my face everyday! No one will know who I am!" she shouted.
"Please, Nymphadora. We need to be calm to figure this out," Albus said softly.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Don't they realize that I'm an Auror? I can fight the Imperius Curse ninety five percent of the time," she said.
"But not every time," Severus said.
She looked at him, and his wounded face, "No, not every time."
She put her head in her hands. "Can't you tell them I've resisted the curse every time you've tried? And that I'm about to figure it out, Severus?"
"Yes, I could tell them that, but then I'll be killed for failing the Dark Lord and someone else would put the curse on you." The words sounded harsh, but the tone of his voice was soft.
"So what do we do?" she asked hopelessly.
Albus answered. "Severus will tell them that you are under his control. Then the day of the abduction, you will fight the curse, preferable in front of Draco. What you do then is up to you. If you could take both Draco and Severus into custody, that would be best."
"Arrest Severus?"
"Yes, if I'm not arrested as well, that would be too suspicious. I will have to be exposed to be a Death Eater."
"But they'll let you out, right? You wouldn't have to stay in Azkaban?" Tonks words rushed out. "I couldn't put you in Azkaban, Severus, I just couldn't."
"I can't be let out. It would too obvious. If anything, maybe I could try to escape."
"Albus, there has to be another way," Tonks said feeling defeated.
"What's better Nymphadora? That Severus be killed for not putting you under the curse? Or that Severus goes to Azkaban still in Voldemort's favor?"
"If I turn in Lucius Malfoy's son and a professor from Hogwarts that's going to be big news! Severus will be disgraced; he could never teach here again."
"Tonks, I know what would happen. Potter must not be brought to the Dark Lord. Nothing else matters," Severus said.
Tonks closed her eyes. She couldn't believe that she had brought this down on everyone, on Severus. If only she hadn't bullied Draco this afternoon! She sat there silently, trying to think of another plan. She could offer none. "When does you-know-who want this done?"
"By the end of the week."
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Tonks, Severus and Professor Dumbledore spent a great deal of time working out the particulars of the plan. She was exhausted, and desperately needed sleep so that she could be Celeste tomorrow evening. When they were all satisfied with the plan, Tonks moved to the fireplace to go home.
"Tonks, I have more of that potion for you," Severus said softly.
"Great, I'm running low. Thank you," she reached out her hand.
"It's in my chamber. Will you walk with me? You can floo from my fireplace."
"Sure," Tonks was glad that she might have a chance to ask about his face.
Tonks said her goodnights to Albus. Severus and she walked through the empty hallways of Hogwarts. "I always loved being in the hallway during this time," Tonks said. "Everything is so still, so peaceful."
"Yes," Severus placed his hand on her arm. "Could we walk a tad slower? My leg is bothering me."
Tonks slowed her paced while putting his arm through hers for support. "Do you remember when you caught me in the astronomy tower after midnight?" she giggled at the thought.
"You were a sixth year then, weren't you?"
"You yelled at me for being out of bed during a time only perfects could be roaming the hall."
Severus chuckled softly, "Then you morphed your arm to show a prefect's badge."
"Yes. Then you took ten points from Ravenclaw since I was out of bed, and another fifteen since I was being, I believe you called it, cheeky."
"I believe I found a better word to use then cheeky, Tonks. I simply do not use the word cheeky."
"You did! You called me cheeky!" They were both laughing now. "I think you are the only person to call me cheeky in my life," she teased.
"If I did call you that, I'm sure you deserved it."
They had reached Severus' bedchambers. He whispered the password, which she could not hear, and opened the door for her. She walked inside and went straight to his bathroom. "Severus, where do you keep you first aid kit?"
"It's in the cupboard under the sink," he said sounding alarmed. "Why? Do you need something?"
Tonks found the small black kit after some searching. She walked back into the room to find Severus sitting on the love seat. He had already taken off his robes, and was rolling up the sleeves to his shirt. "It's not for me, it's for you," Tonks said. "Let me try to help."
Gently sitting next to Severus, she traced the cut above his eye with her finger. He winced slightly, and Tonks whispered, "Sorry." She looked into the first aid kit and found some Dottie's Antiseptic Wipes. She took one and patted the cut.
"Thank you, Tonks," Severus said. "That feels better."
She searched his face for other cuts and could find none. "Why did they do this to you?"
"The Dark Lord was very pleased with Draco's plan. I tried to point out any and every flaw I could and that didn't please him. This was simply a reminder to be seen and not heard."
"He didn't put the Cruciatus curse on you, did he?" she asked as she took out some Bruising Buster Solution and put it on a clean cloth.
Severus didn't say anything.
"He did, didn't he?" He nodded and her eyes filled with tears. "I'm so sorry Severus."
"You have no reason to be sorry, Tonks."
"Yes I do!" she cried as she started to wipe the bruisers from his face, "If I didn't go and pick on Draco today, this wouldn't have happened."
"Maybe not tonight, but it would have eventually," Severus said taking her free hand.
She stopped wiping and looked at him. "What do you mean?"
"Tonks, they've wanted to put you under the Imperius Curse for quite a long time. You have such gifts; whoever controls them can be very powerful. Its just no plan had been thought of until tonight."
Tonks let his words sink into her. "Why didn't you tell me before?"
"There was no reason to upset you until I knew what the plan would be. Besides, like you said, you can resist the spell most of the time."
"I can too," she said softly, looking very young. They spent a moment looking at each other.
"May I ask something of you?" Severus asked, looking slightly embarrassed.
"Anything," she said simply.
"Would you be willing to stay the night here, with me?" The words tumbled over each other. "The night after I'm hit with the Cruciatus Curse I have the worst nightmares. I don't want to wake up alone. You can sleep in the bed and I'll sleep in the love seat, I just don't want to be alone tonight."
Tonks looked down for a moment, considering what he asked. After what she had learned, she realized that she didn't want to be alone tonight either. "We're both adults, Severus. We can sleep in the same bed."
Slowly, Severus stood on his feet and went to a small chest of drawers. He opened a drawer and took out a black t-shirt and a pair of dark gray boxer shorts. "You can use these to sleep in."
She took them silently and went into the bathroom to change. When she returned into the main room, Severus had changed into a pair of black cotton pyjamas. Tonks gingerly crept under the covers and laid her head against the pillow.
Severus also got into bed and laid on his side looking at her. "Thank you for staying tonight, Tonks."
"Please don't thank me, Sev," she said, teasing him.
"I won't then, Dora."
"Dora?"
"If you will insist on calling me Sev, I need to have comeback, don't I?"
"I like Dora," Tonks said softly as Severus blew out the candle on his nightstand.
They both said goodnight at the same time.