Tonks had to catch her breath. She walked into her parents' room, and slammed the door behind her.
"Why is Draco Malfoy in this house?" she asked dangerously.
Her parents were sitting side by side on their bed. Her mother stood up and faced Tonks defiantly. "Draco Malfoy is my nephew," she said.
"He's also a Death Eater who's been in Azkaban for the last eight months," Tonks said in a fierce whisper. She didn't want Draco waking up and hearing them.
"He's not a Death Eater," Andromeda said confidently.
"He is, Mother. I know that he proved his loyalty before he was sent to Azkaban," Tonks said.
Andromeda shook her head. "He proved his loyalty, yes. But he wasn't going to get the Dark Mark until Harry Potter had been given to the Dark Lord."
Tonks looked at her mother in amazement. "How do you know this?" she asked.
"Draco confessed everything. That's one of the reasons he was let out. With his testimony, it's almost certain that the Death Eaters in Azkaban will never be released," Andromeda said.
Her father, Ted, stood up at that point, picking up his thought board. He stared at it for a moment then turned it around so that Tonks could see it.
This is important to your mother, dear.
"I don't care!" Tonks cried. She knew she was being unreasonable; she couldn't tell her parents what to do.
"Nymphadora, please try to understand. Draco is the last link I have with my family. My sisters are lost to me forever. I probably will never see Bella and Cissa again. I want to save him," she said, tears in her eyes.
Like she couldn't save her sisters.
"Ted," Andromeda said sharply.
I'm sorry. But it's true. You tried to make them see the good. They wouldn't listen.
Her mother sat down on her bed. "I was the only Slytherin who didn't see the glory in becoming a Death Eater," she said sadly.
Not for the first time, Tonks wondered how she came to be. Her mother was a Slytherin and her father, a Hufflepuff. It was a very unusual combination. Both her parents were very surprised when Tonks was sorted into Ravenclaw.
Draco needs to be surrounded by people who care for him.
"Exactly," her mother said, "While I'm sure my sister and her husband loved their son, I'm sure they didn't ever show him."
"So you're willing to risk your lives for a nephew that you've seen a half a dozen times in your life?" Tonks asked.
Both her parents nodded. Tonks shook her head. "You're mad. You're both mad," she said sadly.
That's enough, Nymphadora.
"Sorry," she muttered under her breath. Tonks walked out of their room and sat down on the couch in the living room. She wasn't going to move until she and Malfoy had a little talk.
Two hours later, she heard the bedroom door opening. "Andie?" she heard Draco ask.
"Andie?" Tonks asked herself. The only person in the world who shortened her mother's name was her father. And he called her Meda.
"Yes, Draco?" her mother called from the kitchen.
"May I leave the room and get something to eat?" Draco asked.
"Go ahead, dear," her mother told him.
Tonks got up and walked to the kitchen. Draco saw her there and stopped in his tracks.
"When did you get manners?" she asked him.
"Nymphadora," her mother warned. "We have a charm on the room. He's not able to leave the room unless he has permission."
"Oh," Tonks said. She took a good look at her cousin. Azkaban had changed him. He was no longer the cocky good-looking young man he had been the previous year. His white-blond hair was shaved close to his head. His eyes, though they were still a piercing grey, had heavy bags underneath. He looked like he had lost a great deal of weight as well. He was wearing one of her Dad's dressing gowns, which she could tell had been charmed to fit him better.
"I don't have a wand either," he told Tonks, "I'm not going to hurt anyone." He sat down slowly at the table. Before Azkaban, Tonks noticed that he had a sort of grace when he moved. It now seemed to have disappeared.
Andromeda cut up an apple and placed it front of Draco. He picked up a piece eagerly and ate it. He closed his eyes as he chewed.
"This is the first piece of fruit I've had since last year," he said, eyes still closed.
"They didn't give you fruit? That's inhuman!" her mother cried.
"They have a porridge that has all the nutrients you need to survive," Tonks said, remembering how foul the porridge tasted from her brief stay in Azkaban last year. "It tastes awful."
Both Draco and her mother turned to look at her. "How do you know that?" Draco whispered.
Tonks had to think up a cover story quickly. "I patrolled there. I forgot to bring a lunch one day, and so I had some porridge," she said casually. They both seemed to accept that.
"Ted's taking a nap. I need to wake him up," Andromeda said. She left slowly, almost as if she was afraid to leave the two in the kitchen alone.
Draco stared at his apple, still eating hungrily. Tonks sat down across from him at the kitchen table.
"If you do anything to hurt my parents…" she started.
Draco kept staring at the apple. "I won't," he said softly.
"I mean it," she continued, "If I hear anything,"
"I won't!" Draco said, looking right at her, "I would still be in there if it wasn't for Andie. Do you think I'm stupid enough to risk being sent back?"
"You were stupid enough to try to put the Imperius Curse on an Auror," Tonks countered.
"Well, I've gotten a lot smarter over the past eight months," he said, picking up another piece of his apple.
"We'll have another talk soon, Draco. Thanks to you, I'm going to be visiting my parents much more than usual," Tonks said.
88888
Tonks wanted to stay later, but she was due at the Ministry for an Auror meeting. The entire department didn't meet together in one room very often. When a meeting like this was held, Tonks knew something was up.
She walked into the conference room, not knowing what to expect. The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge was standing at the front of the room, talking to Amelia Bones. Tonks liked Amelia, who was the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The Minister and Amelia seemed to be arguing about something.
She didn't like Fudge. Never had. He always seemed to stare at her hair. Tonks had made it a habit to have hair outrageous as possible when he was around. She scrunched her face, and her hair changed from light pink curls to a lime green mohawk.
Tonks saw Kingsley and sat quietly next to him. She looked down near the front of the room and was shocked to see Mad-Eye sitting there. "Why's he here?" Tonks whispered to Kingsley. Kingsley shook his head.
The Minister cleared his throat. "We have brought you all here for a very important meeting. Due to the increased number of attacks last year, we are adjusting some of our policies."
He looked at a group of older looking men and women. "First, any retired Auror who wishes to be of service has been welcomed back into the fold. The more people we have who we can trust, the better off we are."
"Mad-Eye's coming out of retirement?" Tonks giggled. She had a soft spot for Mad-Eye, even though she thought his methods were insane. There was no doubt though that he was the most brilliant Auror from the first war.
"Next we have a new Decree for all active Aurors. Your Department head does not agree with me on this, but I am convinced it is for the best. From now on, you have the permission to use the Unforgivable Curse, Avada Kedavra. This, of course, will only be used as a last resort. Please try to stun whenever you can."
Tonks felt her stomach drop. The Aurors could kill now? Tonks had only killed one person in her entire life, and his memory still haunted her. She remembered hearing stories about Mad-Eye during the first war. That he always tried to bring in the Dark Wizards alive. She decided that she would do the same. She wouldn't kill unless she absolutely had to.
The Minister went on to say how dangerous the world is right now, and that he was sure the Aurors would get you-know-how in the end. Tonks stopped really paying attention when she realized no new information was being released.
Kingsley decided to go back to Twelve, Grimmauld Place with her so they could tell people the news. As they walked into the house, they could hear a lot of voices in the study. They crept through the hall, as not to wake Sirius' Mum's picture.
Bill and Fleur Weasley were surrounded by a large group of people. "What's going on?" Tonks asked Remus, who was standing at the outside of the group.
"They just got back from their honeymoon today," Remus chuckled, "Everyone wants to hear about it."
Tonks flopped down on the nearest couch and sighed. "I want a vacation," she pouted.
"You and me both," Remus said sitting next to her. "Nice hair," he laughed.
"I forgot," she said, changing her hair back to pink curls.
"Oh bloody hell," Tonks said, just remembering, "Remus, Kreacher asked me if he could go visit his son. I guess he's sick. I really don't see a problem, but his son is bound to the Malfoy Manor."
Remus took off his glasses and rubbed his temples. "He has a son?" he asked incredulously.
Tonks giggled. "I know. I don't want to think about him procreating."
"Why don't we say yes, but give him a time limit? Say he leaves tomorrow, but has to be back by midnight the next day?" Remus suggested.
"That's a good idea, Remus. I'll go tell him now," Tonks said, getting up off the couch.
Tonks walked upstairs slowly. The first thing she saw was Ron and Hermione having a snog in the hallway. They didn't even seem to notice her footsteps. "Authority figure in the hallway," Tonks announced.
Ron and Hermione broke away quickly. Tonks couldn't help but giggling.
"Sorry," Hermione muttered just as Ron said, "Please don't tell my mum!"
"Couldn't you take those activities somewhere private?" Tonks asked.
"I just got here tonight, Tonks," Hermione said.
"Ahh…the 'we couldn't contain ourselves snog.' I know it well," Tonks joked.
Hermione and Ron both blushed furiously. "I'm looking for Kreacher. Have you seen him at all?" Tonks asked.
"Can I come with? I have a present for him," Hermione said brightly. Before Tonks could answer, Hermione ran into Ginny's bedroom and came out with a small electric fan.
"Hermione, there's no electricity in this house," Tonks said, bewildered.
"I know! I'm going to have Ron charm it to run all the time," she said, smiling at Ron, "I'm not of age yet, so I can't do the spell myself."
Ron groaned. "I can charm it, Hermione," Tonks said, "Ron, go see your brother and sister-in-law. They're downstairs."
"They're back? Wicked," Ron said, running down stairs.
"I bet Kreacher is in his room," Hermione said, "It's by the kitchen."
Together, they walked downstairs to the kitchen. Hermione knocked on the cupboard door. There was no answer. She opened the door hesitantly. Kreacher was lying on the floor, curled up in a ball on a patch-work quilt.
But when Tonks looked closer, she saw that his eyes were open and he wasn't moving. Tonks knelt beside him and felt his wrist. There was no pulse.
Kreacher was dead.