Disclaimer -I don't own anything, so no sueing : )
A/N - This is a contest fic forThe Owlery.
Tonks sat in the darkest corner of the room she could find. Her legs were drawn up to her chest for warmth, and her head was resting between her knees, her eyes staring unseeingly at the dusty floor.
If someone looked into the cell, they would probably assume Tonks was attempting to hide because she was scared out of her wits. After all, being caught by Death Eaters and left to rot in a cold cell with no one but the abnormally large spiders for company would make most people nervous at least.
But no, Nymphadora Tonks was far too busy being angry with herself to worry about something as trivial as being afraid. After all, it was bad enough she had gone into Muggle London alone, but to be caught without her wand – well, that was just plain humiliating. She'd never live it down when the other aurors heard about this.
No, if the other aurors hear about this, she thought dejectedly. She was fully aware of the fact that since no one knew she was gone and she was wandless, her chances of escape were less than zero.
Tonks let out a long, frustrated sigh and leant her head against the hard stone wall of the cell. Not wanting to look at her miserable surroundings, Tonks closed her eyes.
Tonks had no idea how long she had been walking through the streets of Muggle London. She had left Grimmauld Place at about five-thirty that evening, and now she was sure it was at least ten o'clock.
During her time wandering the streets, London had changed from a busy city full of shoppers to a clubbers paradise. Every few feet, Tonks passed a building emitting loud music and flashing lights. The thumping of the music was giving Tonks a migraine but she wasn't quite ready to head back to Grimmauld place yet.
Not that she wanted to back to Grimmauld Place at all. Being there reminded her far too much of Sirius. It was rule that Grimmauld Place was never to be left unoccupied, and today had been Tonks' shift.
Being in the empty house had given memories Tonks had tried hard to bury a chance to resurface. She had spent the day wandering through the many rooms of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black and reminiscing about her late cousin. By the time Hermione Granger had arrived to take over, Tonks had been feeling thoroughly depressing and had taken the chance to escape the suffocating confines of Grimmauld Place as soon as the moment presented itself.
Tonks had walked so far by now, she was no longer near any of the Muggle nightclubs. The music was a distant thudding and the streets were devoid of any light or people.
Realizing she no longer had any idea where she was, Tonks turned back around, intending to retrace her steps to somewhere she hopefully knew. However, before she had managed to take half a step on her route, Tonks was distracted by a scream that cut through the night.
This was not a scream full of laughter, like so many she had heard tonight, but a scream filled with terror. Tonks, her Auror instincts taking over, ran towards the source of the sound and found herself at the entrance of a small alleyway. She began to walk slowly down the alley and reached into the pocket of her jacket for her wand. She paused when she discovered it wasn't there.
Tonks had a brief image of her wand, lying on the kitchen table in Grimmauld Place, exactly where she had left it.
'Damn,' she muttered, mentally slapping herself. Tonks wasn't stupid enough to carry on don't the alley. Even an Auror was pretty useless without her wand, and she was beginning the get an uneasy feeling.
Turning around once more, she cautiously began her way back to the main street, her eyes flickering left and right, trying to see through the darkness for any danger.
Unfortunately, even if she had seen it coming, a wandless Tonks wouldn't have been able to stop the three Death Eater's that grabbed her from behind and Apparated her to this cell before she had even registered what had happened.
So, due to her own stupidity, she had ended up stuck here with no visible means of escape. Briefly wondering if anyone had even noticed she was missing yet, Tonks pushed herself up off the floor and walked over to the cot attached to the opposite wall. Unfortunately, this wasn't much more comfortable than the floor and Tonks soon gave up trying to sleep and lay staring at the cobweb coated ceiling.
'Tonks,' Tonks' head whipped around. The voice had been so quiet she wasn't sure if it was just her mind playing tricks on her. However, when it came again a little louder, Tonks jumped off the bed and almost ran towards the door, praying she wasn't hearing things.
She stopped just short of the door of the cell, disappointment rushing through her body. Staring back at her was Lucius and Draco Malfoy. Inwardly groaning, Tonks put a look of pure contempt onto her face.
'What do you want?' she asked, her voice venomous. To Tonks' pure shock, the two Malfoy's grinned in response.
'Nice to see you too Tonks,' Lucius replied, his grin widening even further. 'What ever happened to 'hi Bill, how are you?''
'Bill?' Tonks frowned. What was going on?
'As much as I'm enjoying the pleasantries, we don't have much time,' Draco said. 'Tonks, we're Bill and Remus and we need to –'
'Prove it,' Tonks interrupted, her thoughts filled with disbelief.
'Ok,' Lucius said, smirking. 'In sixth you tripped down the marble staircase at Hogwarts and landed on top of Snape. Or how about the time you thought it'd be fun to impersonate my girlfriend and see how long you could keep it up before I figured it out? And let's not forget when –'
'Ok, ok, I believe you!' Tonks said, her cheeks turning a vibrant shade of red. She looked at Draco/Remus sheepishly, who was looking at her with an amused expression on his face.
'You sure, because I have plenty more if you still need convincing?' Bill said.
'As much as I'd love to hear more about this,' Remus interrupted. 'Polyjuice only lasts an hour, we have to go. Step back Tonks.' Tonks took a step back and after a few muttered chants on Remus' part, the cell door gave a quiet click and swung open silently.
'That easy?' Tonks asked suspiciously.
'Easy? Let's see you do it.' Remus retorted. 'Which by the way, would be quite difficult without this.' He pulled Tonks wand out of his pocket and twirled it between his fingers before handing it to Tonks. 'Now quickly, disguise yourself.'
Tonks thought for a moment, nodded and screwed up her face. Tonks' face slowly changed. Her eyes became darker and heavily lidded. Her bubblegum pink hair grew to mid-back and became midnight black. A few seconds later Bellatrix Lestrange stood facing the two Malfoy's.
'How's this?' she asked.
'Very good,' Bill answered. 'Now let's go.' The three of them set off through the winding passages, Tonks following Bill and Remus, who apparently knew the way. By sheer luck, they passed no Death Eaters on their way out.
After about ten minutes of walking, the passage began to ascend and Tonks realized they must have been underground. Remus held out his arm to stop Tonks. She found herself staring at a stone wall. They had reached a dead end.
'As soon as we step though here, Apparate to Grimmauld Place, ok?' Tonks nodded and felt Remus take her hand.
'Ready?' Bill asked. Both of them nodded. 'Right I'll go first.' With that he stepped through the seemingly solid wall and disappeared. A few seconds later, Remus and Tonks followed suit and appeared in the centre of a large field.
Moments later, they were standing outside number 12 Grimmauld Place. She barely saw the run down front of the house though, before Hermione Granger ran down the front steps and launched herself at Tonks.
'Tonks!' she screeched. 'I was so worried. When I saw you'd left your wand I contacted the rest of the Order right away, but no one knew where you were!' she stepped back and said, with a stern look on her face. 'Don't ever do that again.'
'Ok, I promise I won't,' Tonks smiled. 'Now can we go inside before you wake the rest of the street up?' Hermione nodded, blushing and she led the way into the house which had technically led to Tonks' kidnapping in the first place.