A/N: I wasn't going to post this tonight, but I've had rather a 'Tonks' evening: first I drop chocolate down the inside of my shirt, then my make-up explodes down the outside of my shirt. I fell over the dustbin at work in front of everyone, I just threw my icecream on my carpet and I've been making noodles and dropped them all in the sink while trying to drain them! A sure sign...so here you are...I quite like this chapter, let me know what you think :)
It was the dead of night and Nymphadora Tonks snuck silently down the stairs of Grimmauld Place. It took all of her energy not to collide with objects in the dark, and the Auror walked on tiptoes to avoid the creaking of floorboards.
Think light thoughts. Think light thoughts!
The witch reached the front door with a sigh of relief and crept out of the house into the empty street. Little did she know, she was being followed.
Tonks walked anxiously through the deserted streets, raising the hood of her cloak inconspicuously. Rain had begun to fall lightly around her as she shuffled along the pavement. Her hand clutched tightly at her wand, causing crescents to form in her palm from the pressure of her nails. Tonks stopped, hearing her footsteps echo in the empty street. She could have sworn she heard another set, but the passing of a car in the rain made hearing impossible. She shook her head slightly and continued to walk, quickening her pace to reach her destination on time.
The witch halted at a dark alleyway between two derelict Muggle shops. Rubbish bins served as obstacles as the young witch made her way down the passage, stepping over scattered litter as she did so.
Her observer remained by the mouth of the alley, crouching low behind a foul-smelling waste bin. He watched her intently as she stopped, breathing a sigh, and looking anxiously around her.
"You came," said a hoarse male voice, causing both Tonks and the spectator to startle. The Auror lowered her hood to reveal her tired face, darkeyesand light brown hair; her natural appearance.
"Of course I did," Tonks replied firmly as the man stepped out of the shadows. The witness could not see the man in detail. His face was pale and eyes were shadowed. Dark hair hung limply to his jaw. The man was dressed in black. He looked like a Death Eater.
Tonks removed a stash of parchment from inside her robes.
"This is everything there was. I couldn't find anything else. Well, it was hard to search probably with that Potter lad nosing around." She gave a light laugh.
"He suspects you?" The man sounded concerned.
"Of course. They all do…but I can handle them," she told her companion. The man simply nodded. He flicked through the pieces of parchment.
"These will do nicely, Dora. Thank you."
They fell quiet.
"Let me come with you," Tonks mumbled almost inaudibly.
"No Dora. Not yet anyway…I need you to stay safe. If something should happen to me–"
"I know what I have to do," Tonks finished for him.
"And Harry Potter?"
Tonks hesitated.
"Yes," she answered numbly.
"Good. I'll be in touch Dora. You still have your ring?"
The witch held up her left hand in acknowledgement.
"Good. Take care." The mysterious man brushed her cheek gently before disappearing back into the shadows. Tonks stood still for a moment, shivering under the weight of their conversation. She raised her hood and Disapperated, leaving her follower alone in the passage, puzzled and thwarted with what he had just witnessed.
As morning broke, Tonks made her way sleepily up the stone steps of Number 12. As she entered the kitchen, she felt all eyes fall on her coldly.
"Great," she grumbled. "What have I done now?"
"Where have you been?" Kingsley Shacklebolt voiced the question of the group. Mad-Eye Moody, Lupin and Harry Potter remained silent, waiting for an answer.
"At home, in bed," Tonks answered noncommittally.
"Alone?" Moody pressed. Tonks' mouth dropped indignantly.
"Yes alone!" she spat. "Not that it's any of your business."
"You weren't there all night though," Kingsley commented dryly.
"Uh…yes I was!" Tonks insisted in a rather teenage tone. She removed her travelling cloak and hung it over the back of a vacant chair before sitting down casually.
"So you would deny that you were in an alleyway off Swan Street at the early hours of this morning?" Kingsley asked her. Tonks frowned at him.
"No…I was in bed."
"Don't lie to me Tonks." Kingsley was shouting now. He rose from his seat and slammed a hand on the table, causing the mugs of tea to jolt. "I want to know what you were up to…and who that man was."
Silence echoed off the stone walls.
"You were with a man?"
Tonks turned to see Lupin looking at her, his light eyes filled with such betrayal and confusion that it made Tonks sick to see it.
"Remus, no," she whispered, but he looked down to the table.
"Was it Snape?" Harry asked in revulsion. Tonks turned to him in shock.
"NO! Just shut up all of you! You don't know what you're talking about! Snape? Don't make me laugh Harry. You honestly think I'd be meeting up with him; after all he's done. Give me some credit."
"So you're denying it then?" Moody mumbled.
"Yes. Yes I'm denying what ever it is you guys are going on about. You've all gone bonkers!"
Kingsley took a deep breath.
"I followed you, Tonks," he admitted quietly. "I followed you to that alleyway. I saw you with a man…he looked like Snape, from what I could see. I heard you talk with him and then you parted ways. If you're denying it then that leads me to several possibilities. A. You're blatantly lying to us all. B. You're under the Imperius Curse–"
Tonks gave a hollow laugh at this.
"Or C. You've got the wrong person," she added her own suggestion.
"He called you Dora, Tonks! You must know this man!"
"What man!"
Kingsley ran a hand over his bald head in frustration.
"Show me your hands," he demanded. Tonks blinked at him. "Tonks, show me your hands."
Tonks stared at him defiantly.
"You know, for someone who's supposedly innocent in this fiasco, you're not being very cooperative," Moody snarled. Tonks gave a huff and rolled her eyes. She splayed her hands for them all to see.
"Eight fingers, two thumbs," she sang sweetly. Kingsley regarded her hands for a moment.
"Where is it?"
"Where's what?"
"Your ring," he insisted, pulling her hands closer to him. She snatched them back.
"You've lost it Kings, you've totally lost it." Tonks rose from her seat and grabbed her cloak. "I don't have to sit here and listen to these accusations from my own friends. I trust you guys. Why can't you trust me?"
She headed for the stairs and halted as Moody and Kingsley raised their wands. Tonks barked a laugh.
"Wait!" Lupin exclaimed, jumping out of his chair. Harry remained motionless.
"Tonks, I believe you are under the Imperius Curse. I'm going to have to take you in to the Ministry for formal questioning," Kingsley told her regretfully.
"Lower your wand Kingsley, or you'll regret it!" Tonks shouted at him. Her two friends advanced on her and Tonks bit her lip in frustration.
"Don't make me do this please," she whispered. The men ignored her. Tonks grabbed at her wand.
"Expelliarmus," Moody boomed but Tonks was one step ahead.
"Protego!" Tonks shouted and then, "Stupefy!"
A bolt of red light shot at Kingsley and Moody, landing between them and causing them to fall, though neither were injured by the spell. Tonks saw they were ok, gave a regretful look to Lupin who was staring at her in discontentment, before bolting up the stairs and out of the house.