"Tonks?" Tonks heard Draco's voice calling. She rolled her eyes. Not now! She thought frantically.
Tonks dressed as quickly as she could and went to check on Draco.
He stood at the edge of the doorway, waiting. "I have to go to the bathroom," he told her.
Tonks waved her wand and let him out of the room. Draco practically sprinted towards the bathroom.
"You shouldn't hold it like that," Tonks warned.
"I've been calling you for five minutes!" Draco called through the door.
"Shit," Tonks muttered under her breath. Tonks and Severus had a silencing charm on the bedroom. They wouldn't have heard Draco yelling.
"I tried Lupin, and the Weasel parents," he continued. "No one answered!"
"The Weasleys, Draco!" Tonks yelled out.
"Whatever," Tonks could hear Draco mutter under his breath.
Tonks could hear running water, and then the door opened.
"So why didn't you come?" Draco whined. "I thought someone was supposed to be here every twenty-four hours just in case."
"I was busy," Tonks replied. She needed to get him into the room so that she could start her quest for birth control.
He gave her a look and clearly said he didn't believe her.
"It's late. Go get some sleep," she told him, as he walked into the room.
"Good night," Draco said.
"Good night," Tonks replied.
Tonks ran downstairs, hoping that Molly would be home soon. Surely she and Arthur had to use some form of birth control? Just then, she heard Molly's voice from the study. They must have just gotten home.
"Molly," Tonks said loudly at the doorway of the study. Molly looked at her surprised. "May I have a word?"
Molly excused herself and followed Tonks into the parlor. "I've got a question for you Molly," Tonks said softly.
"Yes, dear," Molly said patiently.
"Do you happen to have any birth control potion here?" Tonks asked softly.
Molly's eyed narrowed. "Why do you need some?" she asked suspiciously.
"Molly, come on," Tonks pleaded. "Obviously I've just had sex and I have no desire for a baby right now."
"Who did you…" Molly started and then stopped herself. "No, I don't think I want to know."
"Good call," Tonks giggled.
Molly shook her head. "Arthur and I don't use potions."
"Nothing at all?" Tonks begged.
"I'm sorry, Tonks," Molly said.
"Well, that explains the seven children," Tonks sighed.
Molly gave Tonks a small grin and patted her hand. "I'm sure you'll work something out."
"I'm sure I will," Tonks said grimly. Five hours left.
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Tonks stepped into her fireplace again. "Hogwarts, The Dungeon," she cried.
Nothing. She couldn't floo over to Hogwarts. Without a moments hesitation she apparated over to Hogsmeade and jogged over to Hogwarts.
She let herself in at the door Severus had told her to use. Quietly, she snuck through the corridors trying to make her way to Severus' Bedchamber.
She had two hallways to go when she heard "Freeze!"
Quickly, she turned around and saw Mr. Filch, the caretaker staring at her. Mrs. Norris was there too. Tonks met her gaze. Ooh…she'd love to give her a kick one of these days. Mrs. Norris gave her nothing but trouble when she was at Hogwarts.
"What's your business here?" the old man asked.
"I'm going to see Severus," Tonks answered.
"Likely story," Filch leered. "Let's find out if she's telling the truth, my dear," he said to Mrs. Norris.
Tonks had no choice to go to Severus' bedchamber with Filch. He rapped on the door. As Tonks had known, no one answered.
"Looks like no one's home," Filch said mockingly.
"Look, I just need to pick something up from his room. I know the password," Tonks begged.
"You're not going in there if he's not there," Filch said angrily. He knocked on the door five times slowly, and then whispered something.
"You don't know the password now," he chuckled.
Tonks stomped her foot and started walking towards the hospital wing. Maybe there would be some potion there.
"Where are you going?" Filch demanded.
"None of your business," Tonks snapped. Severus owed her big time for having to go through this for a potion!
"That's it, girlie," Filch said, sounding dangerous. "Get her off school property!" he cried.
Tonks stopped in her tracks. She heard the clanking of metal coming towards her. She turned frantically and saw that two suits of armor were walking towards her. Tonks started running away from them, but they were two quick. With one suit of armor on each side, they picked her up by the shoulders and escorted her outside. The armor then stood watch at the door, refusing re-entry.
"Damnit!" Tonks yelled at the top of her lungs. She checked her pocket watch. She had wasted two hours on this escapade. Accepting defeat, she slowly started her walk towards Hogsmeade.
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Tonks watched the hourglass on her nightstand carefully. She had waited up, hoping that Severus wouldn't be out long, and would want to spend the night. But there was no word from him.
It had now been exactly six hours and she hadn't taken a contraception potion. Tonks flung herself on her unmade bed and ran her hands through her long purple hair.
Laying her hands on her stomach, she said softly, "Please don't be a baby. Someday, Severus and I will have babies, but not today, okay? Please just not now."
That next morning, Tonks was at the drug store even before the door was opened.
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Finally the students would be leaving for school. Tonks woke up early, because she had something she needed to give Draco before they left.
She knocked on his door. "It's Tonks," she said.
"Fine," he told her, and Tonks opened the door.
Tonks placed a parcel on his bed. "Your new ties and scarves," she said slowly.
He picked up a blue and bronze tie in disgust. "Ravenclaw," he muttered under his breath.
"It's to keep you safe Draco. I know some of the little Death Eaters in training aren't too happy with you," Tonks said truthfully.
"I know," Draco sighed. "That doesn't mean I have to like it, does it?"
Tonks shrugged, "No, I guess not," she admitted.
"And I'll get a wand when I'm at school?" Draco asked hopefully.
"Yep," Tonks said cheerfully. "But it's just an extra school wand. And they've decided they're going to check your wand once a week to make sure you're using any inappropriate spells."
Draco rolled his eyes at that news. "Well, at least it's a wand, right?"
"Right!" Tonks exclaimed.
Draco gave Tonks a small smile. "Thanks for being nice to me," he said softly. "And thank your parents again for me, will you please?"
"Sure thing," Tonks replied. "And Draco?"
He looked up. "Yes?"
She cleared her throat. "If you ever need anyone to talk to, or need any help…let me know," she said.
"Thanks," he said quietly.
Both cousins paused, clearly feeling awkward about the words they had both spoken. Tonks debated giving him a hug when he held his hand out. Tonks shook it enthusiastically.
"Time to go!" she said, levitating his trunk. Draco followed her downstairs. Both Ron and Harry ignored him, which had been their practice since Harry's birthday. That policy suited Tonks just fine.
Finally, they were all on the Hogwarts Express. Tonks rested for just a moment, since she had volunteered to help patrol the train. She nodded briefly to Emmeline Vance, a fellow Auror who was also in the Order. Tonks was surprised to see Emmeline there; she rarely did regular patrols anymore.
After a few hours, Tonks stood just outside a compartment that Draco was in. It was empty, except for a girl wearing Slytherin colors with short black hair. Tonks noticed the two weren't talking or even looking at each other.
Finally, the train arrived with no incident. Tonks jumped off of the train and took a few steps towards Hogsmeade. But then, Hagrid stopped her.
"Miss Tonks," Hagrid boomed. "Yer s'pposed to go to the castle. Dumbledore be wanting to talk to yer."
Tonks sighed. Now what? She started walking towards the carriages and stopped. She always knew that Thestrals pulled the carriages, but she had never been able to see them before. The last time she had seen the carriages had been her own seventh year. And she had seen more death than she would have liked in the time since.
"Nice horsies," she whispered, as she got into a carriage. It was occupied by three girls that looked like first years. The carriage ride was brief and Tonks jumped out quickly.
"Tonks!" she heard someone cry. She turned and saw Nata running towards her. "What are you doing here?" the Hufflepuff asked eagerly.
"Official Auror duty," Tonks giggled. She took a look at Nata. Her hair was a dark blue.
"Nice work," Tonks said, pointing at Nata's hair.
Nata blushed. "I just changed it before we got off of the train. I'm hoping it will last until after the Opening Feast," she said happily.
"An ambitious goal," Tonks smiled.
"I know you say I shouldn't push myself, but how will I get better?" Nata asked.
"We'll talk about that next session," Tonks said seriously. She wanted to make sure that Nata wouldn't hurt herself.
Nata smiled and ran back towards a couple of Hufflepuffs, laughing. Tonks could see them pointing at her hair.
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Two hours later, Tonks found herself in the Headmaster's office with Severus, Albus and Minerva. Tonks never did like being in the office, she always felt like she was going to get in trouble.
She smiled at Severus warmly. She hadn't seen him since her quest for birth control, as she now called it, failed miserably. He was busy getting ready for the upcoming term, and Tonks scheduled herself for a couple of extra shifts.
Tonks didn't know why she hadn't told him she hadn't taken any birth control that night. She had three days before her cycle was due. If it didn't arrive in a week, then she would let herself get worried. Not a moment before then.
Albus looked at her over his half-moon spectacles. "From now until the rest of the school year, your patrols will be here at Hogwarts," he started.
Tonks looked up quickly. "No more Azkaban?" she asked happily.
Albus smiled, "No more Azkaban."
"So I'm patrolling Hogwarts?" Tonks asked.
Albus looked at Severus. "We have a special assignment for you, Tonks," Albus said softly.
Tonks closed her eyes. This was not good. Last year when she had been given a special assignment, she ended up having to sleep with Lucius Malfoy and became a Death Eater. Who knows what was planned for her now.
"What is it?" she asked wearily.
"Severus perfected a potion over the summer," Albus said. "Let him show you how it works."
Tonks sat on the edge of her seat. As much as she didn't want to know about the assignment, she wanted to know about this potion more.
Severus took a vial out of his robe. It was a violet color, much like the shade she used for her hair. He walked over to Albus and picked one strand of hair out of his beard. Severus put the hair in the potion, which then started bubbling.
A minute later, Severus drank the entire vial. "This is the potion I was working so hard on over the summer," Severus said. Tonks gasped. Severus didn't sound like Severus! He sounded exactly like Professor Dumbledore.
"The effects can last for twenty-four hours," continued Severus, still sounding like Albus. "However, a simple spell," he waved his wand, "Can reverse the effects." He sounded like himself again.
"Why is it important to sound like somebody else?" Tonks asked.
"Well, Tonks," Albus said, "Severus designed this potion for you."
"Oh really?" Tonks asked.
Albus nodded, and interlaced his fingertips. He said softly, "You see, I am dying."