Tonks was studying the chessboard when Severus came into the bedchamber. He sat opposite of her and moved the white bishop.
"Game?" Tonks asked, arching her eyebrow.
"Your move," Severus told her.
Tonks took a look at the board. After a moment's thought, she moved a pawn. "I saw you speaking to Albus after lunch," she said softly. "Any news?"
Severus shook his head. "Nothing. The Ministry refuses to admit that it was Death Eaters."
"That's unbelievable," Tonks said. "Does Fudge have blinders one?"
"Just another thing that he doesn't want to deal with," Severus said, taking her rook.
Tonks didn't have a response so she looked at the board for her next move. Suddenly Severus stood up and walked into the bathroom.
A moment later he came back, holding a small vial. Severus sat down on the couch and gave Tonks a long look. Tonks knew that look. She came to realize that it meant that he had something unpleasant to tell her.
"What is it, Severus?" Tonks asked, standing up to sit next to him. She crossed her legs and looked him in the face. Without thinking, she started twirling her hair, which was long and light green, around her finger.
"Albus didn't want to tell you yet, Dora," Severus started. He took her hair out of her hand. Tonks scrunched her face, and her hair went to pink and spiky. "It might not be needed, but I think it's best for you to know now, instead of it surprising you."
Tonks looked at the vial warily. It was empty, but Tonks had an unpleasant feeling that it contained something not to her liking.
Severus held up the vial. "A while ago, the Dark Lord was in pain. I attended him, and in the process, I was able to get a few skin flakes," he said softly.
Tonks closed her eyes. She uncrossed her legs and brought them under her, Indian style. She said nothing.
"Albus realizes that he might be asking too much of you, Dora," Severus said gently. He reached out and took her hand.
"Does he really expect me to morph into Voldemort?" Tonks asked. "Lead Death Eaters?"
"I don't know," he sighed. "I think he likes that we have the option."
Tonks looked away. She more respect for the Headmaster than any other wizard. But sometimes…
"I don't think I could do a good impersonation, Severus," she said, stroking his hand. "I haven't spent much time in his presence." She shuddered, remembering her time as Celeste last year.
"I can tell you everything you would need to know," Severus said gently.
Tonks stayed silent. She thought about what Dumbledore was possibly asking her to do.
"Dora, there's a chance it would never be needed," Severus told her. "Also, I only have enough to use for one potion."
She looked away and gave a snort. "But you could easily get more if Albus asked you to, couldn't you?"
"I'll break this vial right now if you ask me too, Dora," Severus said firmly.
Tonks' head turned sharply, and she looked into Severus' eyes. She lowered her head on his shoulder. "I can't ask you to do that, Severus,"
She remembered last year when Dumbledore accused her of just having a fling with Severus. He called her a distraction, and that he was upset that Severus seemed to be willing to risk everything for her. Tonks knew that if she asked him to break that vial, those thoughts would be confirmed in Albus' eyes.
"I would, Dora," Severus whispered into her hair.
"I know, Severus. I know."
88888
Tonks was one of the first members of the Order at Headquarters. She took a seat and waited for the rest to slowly trickle in. Tonks watched Emmeline Vance walk in slowly. Emmeline seemed to be limping slightly. Tonks waved her over.
"Are you all right?" Tonks asked, concerned. She hated the thought of any of her fellow Aurors being hurt.
Emmeline gave her a small smile. "Did you hear about the scuffle in Diagon Alley the other day?" she asked wearily.
Tonks nodded. A few young punks tried to rob Flourish and Blotts. "That's a job for the Enforcers," Tonks said.
"I was already in the book store, shopping," Emmeline told her. "I tried subduing them myself, but I was outnumbered. One of them broke my ankle. It's not healing as well as I like."
"I'm sorry," Tonks said.
"Part of the job description," Emmeline said with a smile.
Tonks looked at the door, and saw Remus walk in with several people. The group looked terrified. Tonks smiled. She had never seen them before, and Tonks knew that these were werewolves that promised to throw their support to the Order.
Emmeline seemed to stiffen a bit when she looked at the group. "Those are werewolves, aren't they?" she asked softly.
Tonks looked at Emmeline sharply. "Yes. Is that a problem?"
Emmeline took a deep breath. "No, of course now," she said finally.
"You've never had any problem with Remus," Tonks said softly. Tonks waited for an answer, but Emmeline didn't give one. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, hoping that the meeting would start soon.
Just then, Severus stalked in the room. Tonks' eyes followed him into the corner, where he usually stood. She wished she could go over to him, stand with him. But she knew that was just a dream. As long as they continued to hide their relationship from the Order, that would never happen.
Moments later, Professor Dumbledore walked in slowly. Over the two months she had been learning from him, Tonks had learned his body language very well. There was no doubt in her mind that Professor Dumbledore was in an extreme amount of pain right now. He was masking the pain well. Tonks doubted that anyone else in the room would notice.
Albus settled himself in a comfy chair by the fireplace. Tonks watched his body almost sigh in relief. He waved his wand and a stack of newspapers appeared in front of him. Gradually, he passed them out.
Tonks watched people's faces filled with horror. Emmeline handed her a paper. It was a muggle version.
Massacre at Haunted House
Last night, a large number of hooded men entered into the Third Annual Children's Memorial Haunted House. During the next half-hour, seventy-four people, twenty-seven of those children, in all were ritually tortured and killed. Mysteriously, police were unable to break any windows or open any doors during this time. Flashes of colored light could be seen. Police experts believe that these flashes of light were part of a bizarre satanic ritual. When the hooded men disappeared, a large billow of green smoke (assumed to be an odd smoke bomb) could be seen above the building. Reports that the smoke was in the shape of a snake is unconfirmed.
Tonks couldn't read any more. The paper had described the Death Eaters perfectly. Emmeline then handed her a copy of The Dailey Prophet, which still had Fudge smiling on the cover.
She glanced over at Severus. He was staring at his hands.
"This attack was by Death Eaters," Professor Dumbledore slowly. "I have spoken to Fudge several times today. He refuses to believe that Death Eaters caused this. He even threatened me with prison if I challenged him on this."
A murmur could be heard in the room. "I'm hoping that you all are willing to spread the truth. Not many wizards will have heard of this since it was not in the paper. The truth must be known."
The Order continued talking about the Death Eater attack. Then Professor Dumbledore went on to the next topic. "I have had word from Hagrid that he has made contact with the Giants in France. He has convinced them not to travel to England at this time. However, they want to start attacking the French now. We are hoping that Hagrid can convince them otherwise.
"We are fortunate to be joined tonight by several werewolves. We will not be giving out any names, to protect them. But they are all ready and able to help our cause," Professor Dumbledore said.
Eventually, the meeting ended. Molly had cooked dinner for everyone, and many people headed towards the kitchen. Severus stood up and went outside, not looking at anyone, like he did after almost every meeting.
Tonks ran downstairs to the kitchen to grab some dinner. After a quick bite, she walked towards her old room to floo back to Hogwarts in private.
She heard voices as she walked up the stairs. Tonks recognized Remus' voice. She knew she shouldn't eavesdrop, but she couldn't help herself.
"I'm glad that you came tonight, Dani," Remus said softly.
"That was the hardest thing I ever did, Remus," the woman's voice said. "I don't know how you manage having people know about you."
"I have no choice," Remus said sadly. "If this all works out, you won't have to hide anymore."
"I'll always want to hide," she said. "But not with you, Remus."
Tonks quickly put her hand over her mouth to stop herself from squealing. She could hear them start kissing. Remus had a girlfriend! Tonks wanted to jump up and down from happiness.
Over the past two years, Remus had made it painfully clear that he wanted to be with her. Tonks hadn't felt any feeling towards him, and always had to turn away. Finally, it seemed that Remus had moved on.
She wondered who the woman was. There were three women at the meeting. One was older, maybe sixty. Tonks doubted that it was her. Then there was a young Indian woman, who looked to be thirty. Then a slightly older blonde, who Tonks thought was beautiful.
Tonks wanted to go home to Severus. So she silently walked down the stairs, and then walked loudly up them again. She passed by Remus and gave him a small smile. She saw that it was the Indian witch that he was standing next to. Tonks gave her a smile as well. The witch smiled back, and Tonks realized she was looking at quite possibly the most stunning woman she had ever seen. How in the world had she become a werewolf?
Tonks let herself into her old room. She couldn't wait to tell Severus.
88888
"Death Eaters?" Gordon Petty asked quietly, looking around. "You're sure?"
Tonks stood up quickly in her cubicle at the Ministry of Magic. No one was around. Tonks lowered her voice even more. She couldn't be too careful.
"Positive. I just showed you the muggle article. Who else could it be?" Tonks asked him.
Gordon looked worried. "Green smoke sounds about right," he conceded.
"And the Ministry hasn't done a thing about this attack. They're pretending that it didn't happen," Tonks said softly.
"That's just not right," Gordon whispered. He stood up quickly. "I've been here too long. We'll talk about this soon, Tonks."
Tonks gave him a bright smile, and ran her fingers through her hair, which was curly and violet this afternoon.
Gordon walked out of her cube. Tonks stood up and stretched her head over her hands. She needed some tea. She turned to leave her cubicle and found herself face to face with Cornelius Fudge.
His face was contorted with anger. "How dare you tell these lies!" he sputtered.
Tonks didn't flinch. She stood where she was, hands on her hips. "They're not lies," Tonks said harshly. "You and I both know it."
Fudge's face, which had been red before, was practically purple now. "A weeks suspension!" he cried triumphantly. "Without pay!"
"Fine," Tonks snapped. She turned around and grabbed her knapsack.
"If I see you back here until the suspension is up, you will be fired immediately!" Fudge bellowed.
Tonks looked around. This was quite embarrassing, actually. Several Aurors were standing up and watching the scene over their own cubes. Kingsley mouthed, "Good show," to her.
"Fine," Tonks repeated. Fudge didn't move. "Now are you going to move so I can leave, or do I have to move you myself?"
Fudge took a step back. "Was that a threat?" he whispered menacingly.
Tonks knew she had taken one step too far. One more comment like that and she'd be fired. "No, sir," she said softly.
"Good," he said, turning on his heels and walking briskly down the hallway.
Fifteen minutes later, she finally made it back to Hogwarts. When she got into Severus' chamber, she screamed, "Damnit!" as loud as she could. Then she cursed herself for not putting a silencing charm on the room before she yelled. What if another teacher heard a women screaming in Severus' room.
Feeling incredibly restless, Tonks walked into the hallway. She decided to go to the quidditch pitch to fly a bit, to relieve some tension. What she really wanted to do was attack Severus between classes and sleep with him then and there. But she knew that was a fantasy to be fulfilled at another time.
As Tonks got closer to the exit towards the field, she heard some loud noise. It almost sounded like punches were being thrown. Tonks took out her wand quickly and ran towards the noises as quickly as she could.
She was too late. She saw a three or four students running away by the end of corridor. She was about to run after them when she heard a moan.
Looking down, Tonks stopped immediately. Harry Potter was lying on the floor, beaten almost beyond recognition.