Yesterday, Aurors broke into a house in Suffolk after receiving an alert by local residents that the owners of the house, Mr. and Mrs. Edmund Dantan had not been seen for several days. The Aurors witnessed a scene of horror; the Dantans had been murdered in their front room and left for dead by a burglar. The crime had apparently been committed several days ago as the bodies were in an advanced state of decomposition. The house had been ransacked and many valuable items were missing. Mr. Dantan had been stabbed twice in the stomach, and Mrs. Dantan was apparently killed by a Reductor curse, confirming that the criminal is a wizard.
Remus put down Monday's newspaper without finishing the article and sighed heavily. He had visited the Dantans just over a week ago, and now they were dead. He rubbed his eyes.
RATIONING!
For the first time in living memory, the UK wizarding community is being asked to limit its use of Floo Powder. Apparently, a new form of Argent Birch Blight has been reported in all countries around the word (see p.5 for information on Argent Birch Blight). The Wizengamot, in emergency session, has declared that all Floo Powder will now be rationed. Families are asked to present their details at the Ministry of Magic to receive coupons allowing them to buy a limited stock of Floo Powder. Only registered merchants will be allowed to sell Floo Powder (see p.6 for a list of legal vendors). Similar measurements are being put into place around the world. We ask all citizens to report any illegal trade in Floo Powder to the authorities. On a more positive note, George Weasley, chairman and co-founder of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes (WWW), developers of the highly successful Felly-Tones, told us that WWW will be devoting its research and development arm towards finding a replacement.
Remus put down Thursday's newspaper without finishing the article and sighed. Where last week had been full of good news, this week there was only bad.
Later that evening, before dinner, Tonks had shooed him out of the house apologetically. "I arranged ages ago for my friends to come round to dinner. You remember Owen and Sheila?" Remus did, fondly. When he and Tonks had been a couple, they had often met up with Owen and Sheila after the war. They had both been in Tonks' year at Hogwarts. "Well, I haven't mentioned that you're staying here at the moment, and I don't think it's a good idea if you're here when they come round." She said this last part very fast.
It took Remus a few seconds to catch up and translate. He nodded slowly. "What time will you be finished?"
"Before closing time, that's for sure." Tonks was not able to look him in the eye.
Remus nodded again, collected his jacket, and headed out to find something to eat. He was a bit hurt by Tonks' request, he had to admit, but then he could hardly argue with it. It was his fault that they had split up, and he supposed that Owen and Sheila might think that his staying in her house was a bit off.
The air was chilly, but fortunately there was no moisture in the air. Remus pulled his jacket about him. He would have to think about getting a new one, but so far his builder's pay covered his rent and little else. Tonks had said that he did not have to pay so much rent, but he had looked up the going rates in the local Muggle papers, and insisted on paying something close to those. It might be stupid, but he had his pride. He grinned hideously; he always had his pride. It kept him very warm at nights.
He straightened, rebuking his wayward thoughts. Still, it was difficult, living in Tonks' house. It brought back so many memories of their times together. Only yesterday evening, they had been sitting in front of the fire sipping a glass of wine after dinner. Tonks had said, "Look at the fire, it's spitting."
He had turned to look at it, and they had both said, simultaneously, "Do you remember when ..." They had both laughed, and then Remus had said, "Yes. In Grimmauld Place when Sirius would sit there and see all the shapes in the flame."
Tonks had said, "He always got it wrong. I mean, look at that flame there. It looks like a dryad, but he would have said it was a veela's hair."
Remus had joined in the game. "Rubbish! Definitely an red pixie."
"Oh come on, that's a different flame."
They had kept on pretending to see various magical creatures, laughing all the while, until Remus had said, "Great Scott, that's Samantha Rimes!"
Tonks had peered at the flames, before doubling over in stitches. When she had recovered herself, she looked up and said, "No, Remus, this is Samantha Rimes."
She had morphed into the face of the WWN weather reporter, a young, perky, face, rimmed with long reddish hair. Tonks tilted her head to the side in exaggerated fashion, just as the real Samantha Rimes did. "Today the flames will be extra hot close to the broken tile on the left." Her voice mimicked the presenter's voice perfectly, several tones lighter and an awful lot fluffier than Tonks' usual voice.
Remus had found it tremendously amusing and had started to chuckle. He closed his eyes and tried to master himself, but failed. When he opened them again, Tonks was in a slightly different pose, this time mimicking the other weather presenter on the network, a slightly scruffy older gentleman with a handsome handlebar moustache. She had tilted his head to the other side, and said, using Rimes' distinctly feminine voice, "However, the smart wizards and witches will note that the best place to be today will be in ..." This was Rimes' catchphrase.
Remus then bit the tip of his tongue and said, "Into the fire." They had both started to giggle rather hysterically.
Tonks reformed her usual face and stood up abruptly. "I think I need a glass of water? You want one?"
Remus nodded and she headed to towards the kitchen, only to misplace one of her feet. She stumbled forward, and Remus, quick as a flash, leapt out of his seat to catch her elbow and steady her. She looked at him in surprise. "Still as quick as ever, Remus?
He had not trusted his voice and had remained silent, simply nodding slowly with a charming smile. Neither of them had said anything for a long moment, and then Remus had suddenly remembered where he was, and who he was, and pulled back his hand as if it were burnt.
Tonks' eyes had flickered; Remus thought they had changed colour. She had then gone into the kitchen, bringing back two glasses of water. She had sat down, and then she and Remus had both stared into the fire silently until Calvin had returned home.
Remus shook his head viciously, trying to clear these thoughts out of his head. However he might have wanted to interpret them, it was clear that today, Tonks wanted him out of the house, away from her friends. In all honesty, he could not blame her. He scowled, and walked on, eventually finding himself outside the Green Dragon.
He walked in to the customary wall of noise, and moved through to the slightly quieter bar. Draco saw him enter and pulled him a pint. "That's your usual, isn't it, Mr. Lupin?" Remus was not sure if there was a sneer on that last part or not. Truth be told, he did not know what to make of Draco, and found it difficult to relate this spikey-haired young man to the Draco Malfoy that Harry Potter had clashed with at school. If anything, the new Draco reminded Remus uncomfortably of a younger Tonks, full of colour and zest.
He drank alone, and then walked back to the house with Calvin. Calvin was walking very slowly, and Remus had the distinct impression that he was struggling with something. Finally, he stopped, and said, "Calvin, what's wrong? You look like you swallowed a wasp's nest."
Calvin stopped as well and looked at the ground, his eyes occasionally flicking up to meet Remus' eyes. "Remus, this is kind of difficult to say, but, well ..." He paused. "I know that you and Tonks used to go out."
Remus shuffled on his feet impatiently. He did not want to talk about this. Apparently Calvin was not enjoying it either. Cal rubbed his forehead and then continued. "And I've seen you looking at her this last week. You seem like a nice guy, Remus, but please be careful. I don't know what happened between you and Tonks before, but she deserves someone who can give her what she needs." He rubbed his forehead even harder, and looked at Remus' eyes more determinedly. "Like I say, I don't know why it didn't work out between you guys, but if you are thinking about trying again, you had better be careful with her. Or else, me and Draco will sort you out." He grinned lopsidedly, but Remus was not fooled. This man talking him to now was the young Lestrange.
Remus reacted sharply. "There's nothing going on between me and Tonks. Once, yes, I won't deny it, but I cannot give her what she needs. So, I'm not going to be getting in her way. If it makes you happier, I'll be moving out as soon as I can get the money together."
Calvin winced and turned away. "You're not listening, Mr. Lupin. I'm not asking you to move out." He looked up at the night sky, trying to find better words. Suddenly he winced, and gasped, "Come on, we'd better get home." He started to walk very fast, and Remus looked at him in confusion.
Then he gathered himself together and dashed after Calvin, grabbing his arm and pulling him to a stop. "Calvin, if I'm not listening, tell me again."
Calvin shrank away from him and started to back away. "Not now, Mr. Lupin, please."
Remus was feeling bold at that moment, and said, "Please, Calvin."
Calvin stopped and looked at him. Remus felt as if he were being judged. "Tonks is my family, Mr. Lupin. I want her to be happy, and you seem to do that, most of the time." He shivered. "But I really must get back." He turned and ran, and Remus tried to catch up, wondering at his sudden haste. In the dark Cal tripped on something in the road and hit the floor, allowing Remus to catch up. Remus gave him a hand up wordlessly.
Calvin sprinted to the house and Remus was sure that he used a surreptitious spell to open the door. As soon as the door was open, Remus understood his haste. An alarm was sounding, and Tonks was standing in the hallway clutching a flashing piece of parchment. She looked up as they both entered and slammed the door shut with a flick of her wand. "Cal, where the devil have you been? You're fifteen minutes late! Quick, touch the paper. Hopefully they won't make a fuss. What on earth were you thinking, you fool?"
As she ranted, Cal tapped the paper and Tonks summoned a quill to scribble something down. The alarm immediately switched off, and the parchment stopped flashing. "I'm sorry, Tonks. I lost track of time, and then I ran after I felt the five minute alarm, but it was too late."
"Ran! I don't believe you. It's not that far." She glanced up at Cal's face. "Are you alright? Did you get in a fight, is that why you're late?"
Remus noticed then that Cal had acquired a small cut on his chin from his tumble, and looked rather scuffed. As Tonks cast a quick healing spell, Cal tried to speak, but Tonks shushed him. Once she had finished, he blurted out, "I wasn't in a fight, I just lost track of time."
Remus remembered Cal's wince during their conversation, and felt honour-bound to say something. "It's my fault, Tonks. We were talking, and I kept Cal out in the street when he wanted to come back. I wasn't thinking and didn't realise about the curfew."
Tonks did not look happy but she accepted the excuse and stopped berating Calvin. She sighed. "Well, let's just hope that when the report ends up on the duty desk, they don't put you on probation again."
Cal agreed fervently. Remus said, "Probation?"
Tonks said, "Make us report any absence from the house a week in advance."
Remus said dumbly, "But it's only fifteen minutes!"
Cal leaned against the wall and regarded him slyly, saying sarcastically, "They lock you guys up in a mental institution on the full moon. What makes you think that there would be any generosity towards a marked Death Eater?"
Suddenly Tonks laughed, trying to break the tension. "Oh, stop comparing your miseries, you two. Come on, let's have a cup of tea while I write up a quick explanation. You never know, nothing might come of it. I'll explain when I go in to the office tomorrow morning."
"Can I do anything? Say it was my fault, or something?" said Remus.
Tonks snorted. "I don't think the word of werewolf is going to really improve matters." Remus was wounded, and tried not to show it, but Tonks caught his flinch. She blinked and then said, "Remus, I'm sorry."
Cal then interjected, "What happened to 'stop comparing your miseries'?" He walked into the kitchen and threw one last parting sally. "Besides, we all know it's true." His voice was bubbling with laughter. It was completely inappropriate, but Remus was suddenly overcome by a wave of hysterics. Tonks watched him laughing and shook her head in bemusement.
When he had collected himself, Remus wiped his eyes and went into the kitchen. He clapped Cal on the shoulder. "You're alright, for a Death Eater. I'm sorry I stopped you on the way home."
Cal grinned and punched his shoulder lightly. "You're not too bad yourself, for a werewolf."
They both carried the tea through and sat down. Tonks looked up at them and harrumphed. "If you two are quite finished..."
Remus shared a conspiratorial glance with Calvin and smiled. A weight had lifted off his chest, and although he did not quite know why, it felt good.
"Right, do you have a list of where you want to go in the next few days, just in case they decide to throw the book at us?" said Tonks.
"Erm," Calvin hesitated. "Well, work as usual, Friday night, Saturday day, Sunday day. I was thinking of going to the supermarket on tomorrow morning, and I was planning to visit Professor Snape tomorrow afternoon."
Tonks noted this all down,and then screwed up her forehead. "Snape? That won't look so good if it's the first thing they see. Can you go next week instead?"
Remus said coolly, "You visit Snape?"
Calvin looked at both of them, and then addressed Tonks first. "Yes, he'd understand. I'm not even convinced that he notices me when I go. I don't really know how much he notices. It's been a long time since he bothered to say anything when I visit. And yes, Mr. Lupin, I do visit Professor Snape." He tilted his chin, as if daring Remus to comment.
Remus did not take up the challenge. He had no desire to break the rapport he had just formed with the young Lestrange by arguing over a man who was practically dead.
Tonks said, "Does Drake ever visit?"
Calvin snorted. "Drake? Not likely."
Tonks folded up her freshly written report. "He ought to. Snape did a lot for him."
Calvin shrugged. "I think Professor Snape would understand."
"Right, well." Tonks stood up. "I'll just get this report submitted. See you two in the morning."