Tonks tapped her Felly-Tone, setting it to reject all incoming calls, and knocked on the door in front of her. She looked down once to check her appearance. A small, sharp-nosed fellow opened the door and peered at her owlishly behind thick spectacles. "Martha! How good to see you! Come in."
Tonks walked in and looked round at the cramped little flat, and then back at the occupant. He said, "I'll just put the kettle on." As he walked past, Tonks whipped out her wand and silently Stupefied him. Before he could fall, she caught him and carried him through to his living room, laying him out on the sofa.
She stared at him, feeling rather guilty about all of this. She had spied on this poor man earlier, and then borrowed the form of one of his few friends to get into his house and into his skin. He was one of the attendants at Sorrel's Institution who was supposed to be working over the full moon, and he lived in London, not Yorkshire. Tonks had decided that he was her best option for imitation. She certainly hoped that this was worthwhile, and that Remus's nose was not leading them astray. But, if it they found something out, this would be one in the eye for the Ministry. Tonks grimaced as she looked at the Stunned man on the sofa. This was not supposed to be so personal.
Clearing her mind, Tonks looked at the man, Harry Tindale, carefully. Once she had him fixed in her head, she pulled the curtains shut and quickly stripped before morphing into his features. Her clothes were quickly Transfigured into replicas of the Sorrel's uniform and pulled back on. Tonks had had a lot of practice at Transfiguring clothes and they would easily last in that state through till the next day. The last things to do were the glasses. Tonks knelt on the floor and moved her wand towards the lenses. She whispered, "Oculos Fortioris."
Then she sighed; the man was almost as blind as a bat. Years of experience had taught her that it was best to copy the eyesight of a subject. A failure to squint if the glasses were removed could tip off an enemy. She fished a pair of sunglasses out of her bag and Transfigured those. Her disguise was now complete.
She arrived at Sorrel's in the early afternoon, a bit earlier than her assumed persona would usually arrive. The risk was worth it though, in her opinion, to scope out exactly where everything was and what she had to do to fill her role. Duty rosters were posted in each of the staff rooms.
Not soon after, the other attendants started to turn up. Tonks had gone to some lengths to obtain pictures and recognised each of the attendants, cross-referencing them with her mental list of who lived in Yorkshire and which addiction each one suffered from. Her persona had once had a weakness for Stardust, a melange of powdered Basilisk fang mixed with pixie dust. It was supposed to increase confidence, remove inhibitions and improve sexual prowess. It was also extremely addictive, and illegal; too much use could impair magical abilities. Harry Tindale had been clean for three years, according to what Tonks had been able to find out. He had certainly not shown any of the usual symptoms of someone on Stardust before she had Stunned him.
Harry's first task was to set out food and water in the cubicles in Wing B. Remus and Quadrille Beaufort were in Wing C. Tonks set off with an armful of raw steak, in the company of David Chapman and Arthur Cromwell. They both lived in Yorkshire, according to the records, and had also been Stardust-addicts. Tonks had noticed, however, that they both had the dilated pupils common to Stardust users.
They placed the steaks and bowls of water out. Tonks decided to gauge their feelings. "I wouldn't mind keeping one of the bits of meat meself. There's a lot of good meat here."
"Aye," said Cromwell. "More than the dogs deserve, that's for sure."
Chapman grinned at them both. "Not difficult, though, is it? They don't deserve much. Slinking around, getting special treatment. I bet they think they're better than us, 'cos of their special powers and what not?"
Tonks held her tongue, not wanting to say anything stupid. Cromwell said, "It's not as if they're human any more. I don't really see why the government is so keen to look after them. They don't get any thanks for it."
Internally, Tonks gritted her teeth, thinking of Remus. When she spoke, though, she said, "Well, they can't really let the scum roam about killing folk, can they?"
For a moment, Chapman looked guilty, but Cromwell said, "Aye, quite right, Harry."
There was a silence for a moment, and then Tonks looked shiftily at Cromwell, making the movement obvious. Cromwell stopped and looked at her suspiciously. "What's up, Harry?"
Tonks rubbed behind her ear, trying to look nervous. "I was just wondering, I heard from one of the lads that you might be able to get hold of some ..." She fluttered her fingers in the gesture commonly reserved for Stardust amongst the initiated. She started to speak faster, as if afraid. "It's just, I've been feeling the need lately, and the guy I used to buy off, he disappeared, if you know what I mean."
Cromwell crossed his arms over his chest and looked rather smug. Tonks itched to give him a good right hook. "Is that right, Harry? What happened to 'I'm clean now, and I'm staying clean'? Got a new lady friend?" When 'Harry' looked sheepishly at the floor, Cromwell walked over and clapped an arm around Tonks' shoulders. "I understand, Harry. And you know what, I think we can help you out. I've got a source who's pretty reliable. He likes to check up on his customers though. I'll have a word with him tonight and let you know."
Tonks nodded feverishly, and then stepped out of Cromwell's embrace. "Thanks, Arthur. That'd be great." She hoped that this would not push the real Harry Tindale back on to to the addiction slopes. She had gained some useful information though; Cromwell should only be speaking to a limited number of people this evening.
They finished setting out the food and returned to the central areas, where a number of werewolves were waiting. They looked poor, hungry and rebellious. At least they would get a good meal as a wolf, Tonks thought. She wandered around, imitating the other attendants. She spotted Remus, playing cards with someone, and holding conversations with a number of other people. She did not linger, but kept her eye on him. A lot of the other werewolves kept looking to him, as if they recognized him as a leader. Tonks made a mental note to ask him about that. He looked like a leader as well, if a leader in chains. He held his back straight, and Tonks thought that he looked positively noble.
She had never seen him transform. He had been so paranoid each full moon, and had said that he did not want her to see. She had respected his wishes. She had seen him on the mornings after though. In those days, he had had no access to Wolfsbane, and had always been tired and injured. Tonks was unable to suppress a shiver as she thought of the pain that he apparently suffered.
Soon enough it was time for the lockdown, and Tonks lost sight of Remus as he moved towards Wing C. She mentally crossed her fingers and hoped that he would be okay. The werewolves all moved calmly and obediently into their cells, and started to undress. Tonks watched the other attendants for a cue as to how to behave. They scarcely seemed to notice the werewolves, and if they did look at them, they sneered. Tonks copied them as she picked up the piles of clothes and took them away to be put in lockers. When all of the werewolves were installed, they locked the grilles. Finally, the attendants left, and Tonks shivered as the door to the wing shut.
The howls of the transformations could be heard even in the staff room. Tonks was seated on a chair reading the newspaper when they started. She could not help glancing towards the door in fear, but was relieved to see that the others did the same. Apparently in this case, familiarity did not breed contempt. The howls continued for several minutes. Tonks was sure that they were pain-filled and tried desperately not to think of Remus suffering that.
When the werewolves had all transformed the howls ceased for the most part, and everyone seemed to relax. Tonks looked around and noticed that of the staff in this particular room, none lived in Yorkshire, according to her list. Slowly, not trying to attract attention, she stood up and left that room. There were several other staff rooms. Two were empty, and the other also contained a majority of non-Yorkshire attendants. Something was up, and Tonks was here to investigate it.
She headed to Wing C first, to check that Remus was okay. Befor entering, she cast a strong Notice-Me-Not charm. It was not fool-proof, but she did not have an Invisibility Cloak to hand. Then, she entered the Wing.
The cells were now full of wolves. Tonks halted at her first sight of the transformed werewolf. These werewolves were all calm, either eating or sleeping. Some of them turned to look at her, but she did not detect any great animosity. Still, they were quite frightening in appearance. Tonks sighed; she understood better now why Remus kept this to himself, but she knew that she could have helped him better if she had really known what happened.
As she walked along, her mind wandered to Remus. It had been so good to see him on Ilkley Moor again after all the time that had passed, although the circumstances left much to be desired. Their break-up had not been bitter, but Tonks had given up on persuading him to commit. They had spoken about it many times, and Tonks had simply grown tired of arguing with him. She had done so for a year when he had broken things off during the war, and she had simply lost the will to fight him so long again when he was clearly strongly opposed to having children. Circumstances changed, however, and Tonks had changed with them. Having Remus living in the house was comfortable, and she hoped that he would stay a while. He also seemed to get on with Cal, which was a blessing.
Her thoughts were cut short when she saw the first empty werewolf cell. She hurried up, and noted that two of the cells were empty. She hurried further along the Wing, and noticed that two cells were empty, and she had no way to identify Remus. Cursing, she sprinted back to the door and on to Wing B. She did not know if those cells had been empty or not.
As soon as she opened the door to Wing B, she knew that something unusual was going on - the shuffling noises gave it away. She moved slowly this time, trying to avoid stressing the Notice-Me-Not charm. She saw Arthur Cromwell and Dave Chapman at a cell door. They were opening it. Squinting in concentration, Tonks altered her ears to make them more sensitive.
Cromwell was whistling, of all things, as he walked into the cell without fear. He stopped and said, "Stay still." He then wrapped a chain around the wolf's neck and said, "Come." The wolf followed docilely. Tonks approached cautiously and saw Chapman do the same thing with another wolf. He said jauntily, "Well, that's our quota. Where are we headed this time?"
Cromwell said, "Not sure. I've got the Portkey here." Tonks eyes widened and she scooted forward rapidly. Cromwell pulled a ring out of his pocket and placed it on the ground. He whispered something and gestured his wand. The ring grew, becoming a yellow hoop. He pulled on the chain roughly. "Paw on the hoop, dog." His chained werewolf whined and placed a paw flat on the ground over the hoop.
At the werewolf's whine, some of the other werewolves in the corridor started to growl. Cromwell looked round with irritation and snarled, "Hurry up, Dave."
Tonks took a chance and crawled beside Cromwell's feet. She reached out her arm and extended it, using a bit of a metamorphosis to make it even longer. She had her palm on the hoop when Cromwell said the key word.
As soon as they landed at their destination she pulled away, restoring her arm to its normal proportions. She looked around, assessing the location. They were in a clearing in a wood. Tonks shuffled backwards and pulled herself up into the relative safety of a tree.
The two attendants stayed put, looking round nervously. After about half an hour, a hooded and cloaked man Apparated in with a small pop. Tonks pulled her glasses off with irritation and improved her eyes, but the man's face was obscured by the darkness of his hood. He said curtly, "Chapman, Cromwell."
Cromwell said shortly, "Here are the two wolves you wanted, sir. I also had words with Tindale. He's changed his mind."
The cloaked man nodded. "Good work, Cromwell. I'll contact Tindale in due course. Now, there is a Muggle village along that trail." He stepped up to each wolf in turn and stared into their eyes. Tonks had the impression that he was performing some kind of Legilimency. He then stood up and said, "Meet me here in two hours." He Apparated away.
Tonks cursed; he had Apparated away too quickly for her to sense his destination. She quickly shifted her focus, though, and followed Cromwell and Chapman, who were leading the werewolves along the indicated trail. Tonks picked up a stout dead branch and quickly muttered a series of charms over it. It would not be a Comet 260, let alone a Firebolt, but it would serve her purpose. It allowed her to fly ahead of the two men without making too much noise.
She quickly spotted a Muggle couple, out for a romantic stroll. She focussed and flicked her wand, "Aversio." The two Muggles turned around and started to walk back to their homes very quickly.
The two wolves caught a scent and howled. Tonks felt a worm of fear in her belly. That howl was not pain-filled; it was hungry, and angry. She swooped lower and followed the wolves. They twisted and often stopped to sniff the air. Tonks whispered, "Point-Me Muggle." Her wand spun round and she followed it without question.
She came across two tents, with a group of teenagers clustered outside, sharing ghost tales. The wolf howl sounded again, and one of the teenagers said, "Don't be so wet, Kimberly. Everyone knows that there haven't been any wolves on the British Isles for centuries."
Tonks landed just outside the clearing, looking for any ideas. There was another howl, and Tonks spun round. She cast an Odour Executor spell on the clearing, and hoped that it would be strong enough; after all, household spells were not her strong point. She then cast another spell to make her smell appetizing to a wolf and waited until she saw the first flash of grey fur in the distance. She gulped and started to run through the undergrowth.
She soon knew that her plan had worked, as it was clear that both wolves were snapping at her heels. A few well-placed Plant Engorgement Charms had slowed them down, but Tonks knew that her time was running out. Suddenly her foot caught on a root and she fell flat on her face. Panicking, she scrambled to her feet and felt the snap of a jaw tearing her trouser leg. She screamed in fear and frustration and dashed forward, desperate to get away from those infectious teeth.
The undergrowth helped her, as it thickened suddenly. Tonks clawed her way through and dashed behind a tree, fingering her wand. A quick spell created a slick of thick mud that the two werewolves duly skidded into. One slid into the other, pushing it onto its side. Tonks drew a shaky breath and thanked her lucky stars that she had had enough presence of mind to keep hold of her makeshift broom. She lifted herself up into the sky and managed to lead the wolves onwards away from the Muggle village by flying close to the ground.
The attendants eventually called a halt to the chase, using a Sonorus charm to call the wolves to them. Tonks cancelled her wolf-attracting scent and followed. The two attendants were panting, obviously having run a long way. They re-chained the wolves, and dragged them back to the original clearing, obviously not happier. One of them cuffed his wolf. "I thought you were after those tents, you fool dog. What were you doing, chasing shadows?"
Back at the clearing, the hooded man was already waiting, tapping his fingers against his arm in impatience. At his feet were two Stunned bodies, a woman and a boy who looked about ten years old. Tonks sucked in a breath in surprise. They had clearly been bitten by something wolf-like. She dropped to the ground and tried to creep as close as she could without attracting attention.
The man said, "Where have you been? And have you no victims?"
Cromwell jerked a thumb at the two wolves. "These two led us on a right merry chase all over this damned wood. I thought they had a scent, but whatever it was, it escaped."
The man snarled. "Incompetents. Well, get back to Sorrel's." He turned in dismissal and started to pick up the two Stunned people. Tonks watched him very closely, keeping her senses attuned. She would only have one chance to catch his Apparation. It was very difficult to detect someone's destination, and very few people knew how to do it.
She watched, and then launched herself blindly after him. To her great relief, she did not end up splinched, and the noise of her Apparation was not noticed. She was in a corridor, close to this cloaked man. She flattened back to the wall and then carefully followed him. He walked quickly along the corridor, with the two bodies floating behind him, and opened a door that led into a large hall filled with transformed werewolves. Tonks hesitated before entering. Her memory of her close brush with lycanthropy minutes before was vivid. Summoning her courage, she silently reinforced her Notice-Me-Not charm and stepped into the room. The werewolves were not chained up, but avoided the coaked man. She stepped as close to him as she dared. The wolves sense her, she could tell. Their nostrils flared and some of them lifted themselves up off their haunches. Tonks fought to keep her breathing silent and concentrated on the man's back, and not the horde of werewolves.
The cloaked man suddenly whirled round. Tonks saw his cloak ripple as he started to move and dropped to the floor, hoping for cover behind the floating bodies. The man did not look towards her, instead glaring at the wolves. "Get away."
He obviously thought that the wolves who had been sniffing at Tonks were following him. Tonks was relieved to see them slink away. The cloaked man finished crossing the hall and led his two captives into another room where he laid them out on beds. Tonks watched for a few moments but he said nothing, so she decided to explore and find out where she was.
She stepped back into the large hall, keeping close to the wall and going up a staircase she had noticed earlier. Just as she was leaving, she heard some growls. Two male wolves were circling each other, their teeth bared. One of them growled loudly, and the other leaped forward, snapping at the growler's neck. The two wolves fought violently, tearing long strips of blood from each other. Tonks found that she could not turn away.
Eventually, the cloaked man opened the door and took in the scene. "Quiet, wolves. You're disturbing your new kin."
The spell was broken and Tonks scuttled up the stairs. She roamed around, trying to get a feel for the location. There were a few more corridors, but they led to a series of what appeared to be dormitories. Tonks found a door that led out of the small complex, and after listening at it, opened it carefully. Seeing no one on the other side, she quickly stepped through and shut it. From this side, the door was not at all obvious. It appeared to be part of a grand tapestry. Tonks took in the tapestry carefully, making sure that she would remember it in the future.
The room she found herself in looked like a house in a grand mansion, with rich furnishings, a stark comparison to the utilitarian comforts in the werewolf dungeon. Tonks felt her skin crawl but forced herself to continue exploring. Through a keyhole she saw a man sitting in a study, but his back was facing her. She found a library and rapidly browsed the shelves. She flicked through a couple of volumes, and saw that several of the flyleaves were marked 'Roger Parkinson'.
Tonks smiled grimly, glad that this mission was yielding information, and muttered Tempus. There were still two hours before dawn. She continued to prowl around, and wandered into a second wing of the mansion. She had, as yet, found no other entrances to the werewolf compound.
She spied through another keyhole, sharpening her eyesight, and almost gasped in surprise. She could see a man sitting on a bed, embracing a woman. The man had a shock of bright red hair, and when he turned to nuzzle the woman's neck, Tonks recognized Ron Weasley. The woman in his arms was Pansy Parkinson, looking slim and elegant. Ron muttered something, and Pansy giggled girlishly. Tonks's lip curled. Pansy said, "Oh Ron, I'm so glad you came. I was ever so worried when you said that you had to stay late."
Tonks heard Ron say lightly, "The Ministry was ever so worried about the attacks, and wanted everyone out making sure that nothing happened. I think there were only five Aurors who weren't on duty tonight. But, as you can see, I got let out of school early. There were no reports my region, and so I cancelled our surveillance. After all, werewolves can't exactly Apparate somewhere when they're transformed. I hope nothing happened anywhere else." He started to kiss her neck more enthusiastically. Tonks was about to look away, when she saw Pansy stare over Ron's shoulder with a very calculating, malicious smile. Tonks backed away, wondering whether Ron knew anything about the werewolf dungeon in this very house.
She muttered the Tempus charm, and realised that she had to return to Sorrel's. She tried to find an isolated room and Apparated back to Sorrel's. As far as she could tell, no one had noticed her absence. Silently she went back into the staff room and picked up the newspaper again. There was too much to think about.
The moon set, there were another series of howls, that rapidly transmuted to very human shrieks. Tonks kept her nose in the newspaper, combatting a deep fatigue. It had been a long time since she had had to use so much magic. A little after the noise had ceased, the attendants got up and moved to distribute clothing.
She walked into Wing B, trying to avoid Cromwell and Chapman. The cells were now full of naked people, for the most part curled up. Tonks flinched at the despair she saw in their eyes. Still, she was relieved to see that there were very few serious injuries. The Wolfsbane obviously worked. None of the werewolves would meet her eyes. She hated to think of Remus like this, cold and naked in a cell. She resolved to give him a hug when she saw him next. She smiled at that; she felt in need of a hug as well.
Once the clothes had been distributed and the cells opened, the werewolves moved to go and get some of the breakfast offered. Tonks carefully avoided Cromwell and Chapman; she had absolutely no desire to speak to them. She spotted Remus from afar but made no move to contact him. As soon as she was able, she left, and returned to Harry Tindale's flat. He was still there, Stunned on the couch. Tonks knelt before him and, with sharper twinge of conscience, Obliviated him. She hated to do that to anybody, but had no real alternative. Then, she moved around to the door and quickly released the Stunning spell and followed it with a Sleep spell. Hopefully Harry Tindale would wake up thinking he had done a hard night's work at the Institution. Now all Tonks had to do was figure out how to stop him mixing with the cloaked man, or Chapman and Cromwell. That would take some thought.
A wave of fatigue washed over her, and she Apparated straight back to Mulligan Street. Cal was waiting in the living room, and looked at her in concern. She glanced down, and saw that she was still wearing Tindale's body. She shook like a dog drying itself and effortlessly morphed back to her usual feminine form, rendered slightly comical by the misfitting clothes, and then held up a hand. "No questions at the moment, Cal. I need some sleep or I'll fall over, and I don't particularly want to tell this story more than once. Send an owl to Hermione and ask her to come over this evening if she can."
Cal did not argue, and she stumbed upstairs and into her bed.