Altercations
By Neurotica
Twenty-One
Tonks hadn't had so much fun in months. Currently, she was hiding, Disillusioned, behind a tall pillar just outside what she assumed to be the room where the Death Eaters and Voldemort were meeting. She wasn't stupid enough to go in, knowing she'd be outnumbered at least fifty to one, but she'd already stunned and transported five Death Eaters to the Ministry where a few of the more trusted Aurors waited on Sirius' orders. If she'd known it would be this bloody easy to catch Death Eaters, she would've done it months ago.
The only captured Death Eater really worth a damn was Tonks' dear Auntie Bellatrix—she was at the top of Sirius' most wanted list, just behind Lucius Malfoy, whom she'd yet to see unfortunately. If she could capture Malfoy, nobody could ever say she was just a clumsy jinx anymore. And just capturing Bellatrix almost guaranteed promotion under Sirius' command. Add that to the other few Death Eaters she'd captured...
Tonks stiffened and shrunk back into the shadows as she heard a cold voice call out "Find them!" followed by hurried footsteps. She pointed her wand at the door as it burst open, wondering if she'd be discovered if she started stunning the Death Eaters as they passed her. Tonks grinned mischievously, causing her to resemble her cousin Sirius remarkably, as an idea formed in her head. She thought hard about her Aunt Bella's appearance, closed her eyes tightly, and felt the change—her hair, formerly short and untidy and exactly like Harry's, lengthened a good deal; her face felt sunken and she grew taller. Quickly, she pulled off the round-rimmed glasses she wore to act Harry's double and stuck them into her pocket. Still Disillusioned, she followed the Death Eaters down the dark corridor and hid in a passage to finish her transformation. She whispered a voice changing charm, pointing her wand at her throat, before taking off the Disillusionment charm. Finally, she transfigured her dark blue Ministry robes to plain black ones and stepped out of the shadows. She was met immediately by Antonin Dolohov.
"Bellatrix!" he whispered loudly. "Where have you been? The Dark Lord is furious!"
Hoping to Merlin she'd done the charms correctly, she answered, "Harry Potter is here! He cursed me from behind and ran off that way." She pointed in the opposite direction she'd last seen Harry go. "I believe he's come to rescue the Weasley boy."
Dolohov looked as though Christmas had come early. "Come, we must inform the Dark Lord," he said, turning on his heel to go back to the meeting room.
Once his back was turned, the Auror-in-disguise cast a non-verbal stunning spell and approached the fallen Death Eater. "This is for Mad-Eye," she said quietly, kicking Dolohov in the gut before murmuring a transportation charm. Dolohov disappeared a second later.
Feeling excited again, Tonks quickly glanced at her watch—she and Harry had fifteen minutes to accomplish their missions. If Harry found Ron before time was up, all he had to do was cast Portus on the bracelet Emmeline had given him to get them back to Hogwarts. She wondered how Harry was doing—so long as the Death Eaters didn't catch up to him, everything should be fine.
Harry wasted no time when he saw his best friend's name on the map; he ran to the door and tried to wrench it open—it was locked. Well, that was to be expected; Voldemort wouldn't exactly leave a captive in a room with the door wide open. Harry hastily began to rattle off every unlocking charm Remus had shown him before he'd come to this place—one of them had to work.
"Damn," he cursed quietly when he reached the end of his list; the door was still locked. Okay, so Remus' way didn't work. It was time to take a page from Sirius' book. He stood back away from the door, hoping Ron was at the far end of the room, and firmly said, "Reducto!"
Still nothing. Feeling disheartened, Harry looked around him for a sign of what he should do. Then he remembered Sirius handing him something before he'd left on his mission, and reached into the pocket of his robes for the penknife. Grinning, Harry took two long strides to the door, flipped open the blade, and carefully ran it in the crack of the lock and the doorframe. He only had to wait a second until he heard a faint click that meant it had worked.
"Thank you, Sirius," Harry said, still grinning as he pushed open the door.
One look around the dark room was all it took to locate Ron huddled in a corner, unconscious. Laughing slightly in relief, and wondering how it was this easy, Harry went to his best friend's side, ignoring the bruises and cuts and potentially broken bones for now. He pulled Ron carefully into a sitting position and checked his neck for a pulse, just like Remus had shown him years ago—it was a little faint, and sometimes erratic, but it was definitely there. Harry got a better hold around Ron's middle with his left arm while he used his right to tap his bracelet sharply with his wand. "Portus," he muttered, thinking about the Hogwarts hospital wing.
They were going home.
Five minutes until Harry and Tonks' portkeys were due to activate, those in the hospital wing were beginning to worry worse than ever. Sirius was sitting with Naomi, biting his nails, while Emmeline watched Remus pace nervously. Most of the Weasleys were pale, and Hermione's face was buried somewhere in her hands and hair. Not surprisingly, the only person in the room who showed no signs of worry was Dumbledore. The headmaster's calm, almost disturbingly peaceful expression helped to drain some of the tense atmosphere from the room, and everyone hoped his face stayed that way in the next few minutes.
"Two minutes," someone said quietly—their voice seemed to echo through the room as though they'd shouted.
Remus sighed shakily, feeling his legs were getting to the point of being unsupportive. He turned and walked to where Emmeline sat on a hospital bed. She took his hand and pulled him to sit beside her, opening her mouth to say something. But she was cut off by three very welcomed thuds of someone entering the hospital wing by portkey. Everyone practically sprinted to gather around the three new arrivals, but were pushed aside by Madam Pomfrey. The nurse forced Harry to relinquish his grip on Ron so she could float him to an empty bed. Sobbing, Molly followed her, with the rest of her family right at her heels. Ron's bed was immediately blocked off by the redheads and Hermione.
Sirius wasted no time in pulling his godson from the floor and into a bone crushing hug. Remus was too busy grinning in relief at Harry to notice who else was in the room. Not until Emmeline poked him on the arm and nodded to the floor did he look. Sitting there cross-legged and grinning was Bellatrix Lestrange.
"Er, Sirius," Remus said in slight confusion.
Sirius finally looked away from Harry for the first time in minutes and jumped. "What the hell?" he yelled.
Lestrange fell over laughing at the Head Auror's reaction. When she sat up again, she was revealed to have spiky orange hair and a heart-shaped face. It was Tonks. "You should have seen your face," the young witch said, still snickering in Bellatrix Lestrange's voice.
Sirius raised an eyebrow at her. "Do I even want to know?"
By this time, Dumbledore had joined the group, watching Tonks' struggle to stop laughing. "Oh, believe me," she said earnestly. "You want to know."
Remus shook his head, still smiling, and looked at Harry. "What about me?" he said to the boy.
Harry grinned and pulled away from Sirius to hug Remus. Emmeline had her turn next while Sirius listened to Tonks tell him who she'd captured. "Bellatrix and Dolohov?" he asked dazedly. "Bloody hell... if you'd gotten Malfoy... Oh well, there's always next time. Brilliant job, Nymphy!"
"How about you, Harry? How'd you do?" Naomi asked, smiling at Sirius' excitement.
Harry went into his own story and Remus couldn't ever remember being more proud of him. He'd done something that most grown wizards would be scared out of their skin to even think about, and he'd come back with nothing but a bit of dust on his robes. When he got to the part about Nagini the snake, Sirius chuckled, muttering about having done the same thing years ago.
"Nice one," Naomi said approvingly. "Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to stun that bloody thing?"
Sirius laughed as Harry told them about the door to where Ron was being kept. "Well, at least you tried a Reductor Curse." He grinned. "But the knife worked, then?"
"Yeah," Harry said. "Only took about a second."
"That's my boy," Sirius said proudly, pulling Harry into a one-armed hug.
Luckily, Remus cast a privacy spell around the group earlier on—he didn't think the Weasleys would want to hear their loud conversation just yet. An hour later, Dumbledore excused himself to inform McGonagall and Hagrid, who were waiting for news on Harry, Ron, and Tonks. Sirius also stood to leave; he and Tonks were going to the Ministry to see their prisoners. Emmeline made Harry lie down—it had been a long few days for the boy, and he needed rest. While Emmeline was busy fussing over him, Remus and Naomi quietly made their way to where Ron was.
"How is he?" Remus asked Arthur, who'd spotted them and come to meet them.
Arthur sighed. "Well, he's got some bad cuts that Poppy think may be infected, but she says they can be easily fixed. His ribs are broken and he's got a serious concussion. Poppy also thinks the Cruciatus Curse was used on him a few times. She's doing a spell now to see how badly it's affected him. Other than that, he's fine." Arthur shook his head. "I thought he'd come back to us in much worse shape..."
Remus smiled and patted his arm "Ron will be just fine. Poppy's healed much worse injuries in her time."
Arthur nodded and smiled back. "When Harry wakes, we'd like to thank him. If it hadn't been for him, my boy would be gone. You and Sirius have raised him very well, and I want to thank you for letting him do this. I know how protective the two of you are of him..."
"Well," Remus said. "We're just glad Ron's all right. There's no need to thank us." Arthur smiled again and went back to his family.
"He's right, you know," Naomi said quietly as she and Remus turned away from the Weasleys. "You and Sirius have done an excellent job with Harry. James and Lily would be proud of all three of you."
Remus smiled at her. "Thanks," he said. Naomi winked and went to lie on an empty bed, closing her eyes in exhaustion.
Emmeline left Harry's side and approached Remus. "How's Ron?" she asked.
"He'll be fine," Remus said, accepting her hug. "Nothing too horrible, surprisingly. I guess Naomi was right: They did want Harry to try and find him."
Emmeline snorted humorlessly into his chest. "You mean you doubted her?"
Remus shrugged, laying his head on top of hers. "If they weren't expecting Harry, they would have killed Ron, and that would have been the end of it. But by keeping him alive, and not too badly injured, the chances of Harry trying to act the hero and save him were increased."
Emmeline nodded and sighed. "God, I'm so tired... I feel like I haven't slept for two months."
Remus chuckled. "Well, before we lie down, I'd like to talk to you about something." She looked at him questioningly. "Let's go out in the hall..." He led her out of the hospital wing where they sat on a bench against the wall.
"What's up?" she asked quietly.
"I wanted to talk to you about the wedding," he began. At her raised eyebrow, he went on, "I've decided I don't want to marry you in June—"
She stared at him. "Excuse me?" she asked in a deathly quiet tone.
Remus winced, realizing what he'd said. "That's not what I meant," he said hastily. She looked very relieved, but highly suspicious. "I meant I don't want to wait until June to marry you. I think we should move the wedding up to next month."
She looked at him oddly for a moment as though waiting for him to go on. "You're not kidding," she said quietly, studying his face. "You really want to do this?" He nodded. "Remus..." she said, smiling a bit. "We can't do that. We've already got the invitations sent out... My brothers won't be able to get out here on that short of notice..."
"Well, I've thought about that," he said. "Most of our guests are in the Order, and they'll have no trouble getting to the wedding. If your brothers can get the time, I'll pay for their airplane tickets if they want to come that way, or we can set up an international portkey... That way they might be more inclined to come out here—they won't have to pay for travel... Emmeline, I don't want to wait another five months. If I had my way, we would have been married months ago."
Emmeline didn't seem to know what to say. "I feel the same way, but it's just not like you to be impulsive like this." He grinned. "But I like it, and of course I'm not against moving the wedding up."
"Yeah?" he asked softly. She nodded. "Okay, then, we're getting married in a month."
After sealing the deal with a long kiss, Emmeline pulled away, shaking her head and laughing slightly in disbelief.
"What?" Remus asked cautiously.
"Do you have any idea how much I've got to get done in that time?" she asked.
He laughed. "Yes, but right now, we need sleep. We can break the news to everyone in the morning..."
Sirius felt like a million galleons as he looked inside the Ministry holding cells where his unconscious Death Eater cousin laid on the floor. He couldn't wait for the moment when she would open her eyes and find herself back in Azkaban—he'd have to take along a camera to record her reaction. Maybe he could frame the photo and hang it in Auror Headquarters.
"Well, Black," Minister Bones said after looking at the six captured Death Eaters. "I must say, you've trained your Aurors well—particularly Miss Tonks. If you were to recommend her for a promotion, I would have trouble approving it without a second thought."
Sirius smiled. "She'll be thrilled to hear that, Minister."
"And give Mr. Potter my congratulations, as well. I believe an Order of Merlin, First Class is fitting for the both of them." She smiled. "Now if you would be so kind as to escort this lot to Azkaban, Sirius—they're dirtying my holding cells." The Head Auror laughed. "Then I want you and Tonks to go get some rest. Both of you take the rest of the week off—that goes for Lupin and Vance too; you've all earned it."
"Thank you, Minister Bones," he said, shaking her hand. The Minister left moments alter and Sirius turned to face his team of five Aurors. "You heard the Minister. Get them all ready for travel—we'll go by portkey."
The next morning, Naomi woke up in Sirius' arms. He'd come back to Hogwarts near three a.m. grinning like the maniac he was, talking about Order of Merlins and framing pictures. Naomi sat up as far as she could without waking him when she heard loud whispers. Ginny and Harry seemed to be arguing just at the foot of the hospital beds.
"You could have told me, you git," the redhead said, slapping him in the shoulder.
"I wasn't allowed," he retorted, rubbing his arm. "Besides, if I told you and Hermione, you would've wanted to come along, and you couldn't. So you both would've sat here worrying worse than you already were."
Ginny rolled her eyes, obviously out of arguments. With a sigh, she put her arms around Harry's middle and stood on the tips of her toes to kiss him. Naomi looked at the bed next to hers and Sirius' to find Remus grinning, trying to hold back his laughter. He touched an index finger to his lips to shush her—she'd been about to say something. Harry and Ginny finally broke apart and went back to sit with Ginny's family.
"Remind you of anyone?" Remus asked quietly, his voice shaking from suppressed laughter. Naomi grinned back, an image of another Potter and a redhead arguing and making up in the same way popping into her head.
Later in the morning, once everybody was awake, the Hogwarts house-elves brought in a large breakfast that could put Molly Weasley's cooking to shame—but no one was rude enough to say so aloud. Dumbledore conjured a wooden table in the center of the hospital wing big enough for them all to sit around—the Headmaster decided to dine with them that morning.
Before Sirius sat, he looked around the table. In a strangled voice, he declared, "If I join the table, we shall be thirteen! Never forget that when thirteen dine together, the first to rise will be the first to die!"
"Thank you, Professor Trelawney," Harry said flatly and louder than he'd intended, causing everyone to laugh. Remus pulled Sirius into his seat. "There are fourteen of us, anyway. Learn to count..."
Sirius shrugged nonchalantly. "Just thought I'd warn you," he said lightly, taking a platter of pancakes Charlie passed him. "Ooh, chocolate chips. I do love those house-elves."
"So are you going to make a press release about the prisoners, Sirius?" Bill asked, taking a bite of toast.
Sirius nodded, swallowing some egg. "Yup!" he said happily. "I've got to be at the Ministry at one to meet the reporters. Oh, and Harry, you're supposed to come with me. Tonks is meeting us there."
"Why do I have to go?" Harry asked, startled.
"Minister said so," Sirius replied thickly around his toast. "You can't very well receive an Order of Merlin, First Class while you're at school, now can you?"
Harry's eyes widened and he dropped the piece of pancake on his fork back to his plate. "Order of Merlin?" Hermione exclaimed. "You're kidding?"
Sirius shook his head, smiling. "Both Harry and Tonks are getting one for what they pulled last night."
"Wow..." Harry said hoarsely. "I... wow..."
"I'd come up with a better acceptance speech if I were you, Harry." Remus grinned into his glass of pumpkin juice. Harry threw a piece of toast at him.
"Congratulations, Harry, dear," Molly said, leaning over to hug and kiss the boy.
"You know, Harry, you're the fourth Potter to receive an Order of Merlin," Naomi said.
"Really? Who else got it?" Harry asked interestedly.
"Your grandfather was the first—he and another Auror arrested two Death Eaters when we," she gestured to herself, Sirius, and Remus, "were in third year, I think, who'd broken into the Ministry and killed a few higher-ups. And, of course, your mum and dad were both given one after they were killed."
"I didn't know that," Harry said, looking accusingly at his guardians.
"Don't look at me," Sirius said. "I didn't know anyone but your granddad got one. Moony?"
Remus nodded. "I knew, but I'd forgotten. There was too much going on back then—I don't think it ever registered in my mind. I know Peter's mother was given one for him—" Sirius growled slightly, but only loud enough for those sitting closest to him to hear. "Mrs. Pettigrew died about a year later, and I think she was buried with it."
"Can we talk about something else, please?" Sirius asked, looking as though was losing his appetite.
Emmeline cleared her throat and looked questioningly at Remus. He smiled and nodded. "Remus and I have an announcement," she said to the table. Everyone looked at her. "We've decided to move our wedding up to next month, instead of waiting until June."
Harry looked a bit upset, but before he could say anything, Molly said, "Well, that's wonderful!" and began muttering about things they had to do before the big day.
"When did you decide this?" Sirius asked the couple.
"Last night, just after you left," Remus replied. "We decided we didn't want to wait any longer than we have to."
Sirius nodded and then grinned mischievously. "Good. That means we get to have your bachelor party four months sooner." Remus groaned loudly. "Oh, come on, Moony, it's going to be fun! Don't you remember Prongs' bachelor party?"
"Yes," Remus said grimly. "Why do you think I groaned?"
Standing inside the Ministry of Magic Atrium, in front of a group of twelve reporters, Sirius waited for Minister Bones to finish her introductions of some of the members of the Wizengamot, including Albus Dumbledore. The Head Auror would then be announcing the names of the captured Death Eaters, and then he'd present the Order of Merlin, First Class, to Harry and Tonks.
The Minister stepped back from her podium and gestured for Sirius to take over. He did so, looking out at the gathered crowd, finding Remus, Emmeline, and Naomi, with two Hit Wizards on either side of her for protection, immediately.
"Good afternoon," he said to the group. "Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I promise to make it worth your time.
"Last night, just past one a.m., Auror Nymphadora Tonks—" He inwardly grinned as he heard her low growl from behind him. "—reported to have captured six known Death Eaters single-handedly, and in the hideout of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." He saw Remus raise his eyebrow at this, but if he'd said "Lord Voldemort," the fearful squeals wouldn't allow his speech to be heard. "She did so using her skills as an Auror, and I've never been more proud of any Auror in my entire career. Auror Tonks apprehended the following Death Eaters—get your quills ready, folks—" A few people laughed as the reporters looked on eagerly, "Bellatrix Lestrange, Antonin Dolohov, Vincent Crabbe, Bartemius Crouch Junior, Rabastan Lestrange, and Elizabeth Avery. These prisoners are presently detained in Azkaban Prison under heavy guard watch.
"In response to her unquestionable bravery, it has been decided by Minister of Magic Amelia Susan Bones, to award Auror Nymphadora Tonks the Order of Merlin, First Class." A few cheers sounded from the gathered Ministry officials and Tonks' parents and friends. Tonks stepped forward, beaming, and bowed her head a bit to allow Sirius to place the golden medallion around her neck. "Congratulations, Nymphadora, and we thank you for your service to the Ministry of Magic."
Tonks smiled and shook her superior's hand, muttering about getting him back for calling her by her given name, before she stepped back to stand beside Harry.
Sirius turned back to the crowd. "In addition to Auror Tonks' success in capturing these Death Eaters, a second Order of Merlin, First Class is being awarded to a young man I am privileged to call my godson. Due to Harry Potter's loyalty to his friends among many other qualities—" He and Remus exchanged a grin. "—Ronald Weasley, son of Molly and Arthur Weasley, was successfully rescued from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's clutches. If it hadn't been for Harry's bravery, Ron Weasley would have died in the hands of our enemies.
"I would like to present Harry James Potter with the Order of Merlin, First Class."
Louder cheers sounded as Harry took Tonks' example and stepped forward to stand before Sirius and bowed his head just as she had. Sirius put the medal around his godson's neck and he looked up, smiling, as the Auror pulled him in for a hug. "Your parents would be so proud of you, Harry," Sirius whispered into the boy's untidy mess of hair.