Chapter Thirty-Four – Safe Haven
Four days later, Tonks was finally ready to leave the Hospital Wing.
"Thank goodness. I was ready to go batty in there," Tonks said happily. She was feeling almost normal again, but still sore in places. She hadn't attempted a morph yet, though. She just had an odd feeling that morphing would be painful right now.
Tonks and Severus left the Hospital Wing together, with Tonks leaning on Severus' arm. They moved threw the hallway slowly; Tonks wasn't able to walk at full speed yet. Five minutes into their journey, Tonks felt a prickling on her neck. They were being followed.
She turned around quickly. Gardner Parkton and Davis Baker, two fellow Aurors, were walking ten feet behind them.
Tonks looked at Severus questioningly. "What are they doing here?" she asked softly.
"Nata's not the only one who has to have Auror protection," Severus said darkly.
"I'm a bloody Auror," Tonks whined. "I have to have someone guarding me now?"
Severus laughed bitterly. "Not you, Dora. Me."
"Oh," Tonks said softly. "Albus said you might not be able to leave Hogwarts."
"I can't," Severus said angrily. "If I set foot out of this castle, I will be killed. I'm not even safe in the castle since there are so many Death Eaters-in-training."
Severus dropped her arm and started pacing slowly. "I don't know how they get their information so fast. Someone has already started a petition to strip me of the Head of House duties."
"Severus, I'm sorry," Tonks said. She felt awful. Even though he wasn't the nicest teacher, he really did care about the students in his house.
"I resigned this afternoon. I'm no longer the Head of the Slytherin House. Which is not good, because I was able to look after the bloody mini Death Eaters then," Severus said.
"Have you been threatened?" Tonks asked, her mouth dropping.
"Crabbe and Goyle stayed after class one day. They said they had questions, but they really just wanted to push me around," Severus sighed.
Tonks took Severus' arm and they continued on their way. When they got to the bedchamber, Severus looked at the Aurors. "I don't plan on leaving this room for the rest of the night, gentlemen. You can take a break," Severus said wearily.
Gardner and Davis looked at each other questionably. "Well…" Davis said slowly, "Make sure you disable the floo network."
Severus looked exasperated. "It's been disabled since I came back to Hogwarts."
"Guys, come on," Tonks said, trying to smile. "I'm going to be with him tonight. We'll be fine." Both Gardner and Davis looked very surprise at Tonks' statement. She took Severus' hand. "They're just doing their jobs."
"Goodnight fellows," Tonks told them. She led Severus inside the bedchamber. The moment the door was closed, Severus had his arms around her and they started kissing frantically. Tonks reached for her wand to place a silencing charm on the room, but then remembered that the Death Eaters had it.
"Shit," Tonks muttered under her breath.
"What was that?" Severus said, backing off of Tonks a bit. "Dora?"
"My bloody wand," Tonks said sadly. "I'm assuming it was destroyed after I made the portkey."
"It was," Severus said, stroking her hair.
"I can't believe I've managed to break two wands in just over a year," Tonks moaned. "I had my first wand for twelve, I think." Tonks moved slowly to the bed and laid herself down.
Severus went next to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I've had two wands in my life," Severus told her, kissing her neck gently. "The first was broken after the first war. I've had the second since then."
"How was it broken?" Tonks asked, letting her hands caress his chest.
"Can't have an accused Death Easter with a wand, can we?" Severus said. "Snapped in half in front of me."
Severus moved slowly and gingerly placed his body weight on top of Tonks. Not able to stop herself, Tonks grimaced.
"Well, that won't do," Severus said, getting up quickly.
"It's just…I'm still really sore," Tonks said. "Let's try this." Tonks pushed Severus down and laid next to him. They kissed slowly, passionately. But then Severus squeezed her waist just a little too tight.
She broke away and looked at Severus. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
Severus kissed her hand. "You have absolutely nothing to be sorry about, Dora. As much as I want to be with you, I think sex is out of the question for a few days."
Tonks nodded sadly. "It's been almost a month since we've been together," Tonks whined.
His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "It hasn't been that long," Severus said dismissively. Then he seemed to think about it. "It has been, hasn't it?"
"Boxing Day morning," Tonks said, remembering. They had taken a walk in the forest outside of Tonks' parent's house. It had been very quick, against a tree.
"That was a good shag," Severus said, playing with her hand.
"That was a very good shag," Tonks giggled. The night she had come back to Hogwarts was the night they started Occlumency lessons. After the lesson, they had been too tired to do anything more than have a good night kiss. And the night after that…that was when their problems started.
"We'll just have to wait a little while longer," Severus said. "I'm sure we can both handle…Oh Merlin."
Tonks had unbuttoned Severus' pants, realizing there were plenty of things they could still do.
88888
The next morning, Tonks sat up in bed, watching Severus dress for class. Her mind was wandering, trying to decide if she wanted to go to the Ministry this afternoon. Severus woke her from her reverie by taking her hands.
"I've been thinking…" he trailed off.
"Generally one does think during the day," Tonks smiled. She leaned back against the pillows. She had no intention leaving this bed for a few hours.
"Tomorrow is Saturday, and I was wondering…would you like to get married tomorrow?" Severus asked softly.
Tonks sat up so quickly that she felt a pain in her side. "What did you say?" she asked.
Severus stroked her cheek. "I think we should get married tomorrow," he said slowly.
"That's what I thought you said," Tonks said weakly. "Absolutely not, Severus."
Severus looked crestfallen. "Oh," he said in surprise. "I thought you'd want to."
"I do want us to get married," Tonks said gently. "But not tomorrow."
"Why not? We don't have to be a secret anymore," Severus said, looking sad.
"Yes, we do," Tonks said wearily. "Too many people are looking for us, Severus. I'm worried about my parents, Draco, even your bloody mum. It's hard enough being in a relationship with you in secret."
"We could marry in secret," Severus told her.
Tonks shook her head. "I'm not marrying you unless I can say my vows and declare my love for you in front our family and friends, Severus. I refuse to be in a secret marriage," Tonks said. "I don't mean to hurt you, Severus. But that's how I feel."
"You're not hurting me, Dora. I think you're right. I just thought…that in case something happened to me, that you wouldn't have to say 'what if?'" Severus said.
"Merlin forbid you are killed…I won't ever look back and ask questions. I'll never regret a single day we were together. Married or not," Tonks said seriously. More somber, she asked, "Do you really think something will happen to you?"
Severus waved his hand. "I don't know, Dora, I really don't. What I do know, that if there's a battle, I'm going to openly fight on our side. And I will become a target very easily," Severus said.
"What does Albus say about all of this?" Tonks asked suddenly. "Was he upset that your cover was blown?"
"I think he's torn. Half of him is relieved that you're alive, and the other half is furious that you're alive," Severus said. "That's just my guess though. He never came out and said I should have let you die."
"Lovely," Tonks muttered under her breath. Deciding to change the subject, she said, "I think I'll go to Diagon Alley and get a new wand this afternoon."
"I'm sure there will be another wand out there for you," Severus told her.
"That'd be just my luck, wouldn't it?" Tonks joked. "If I'm not home by dinnertime, you'll know that I still trying to find my match!"
88888
Tonks dressed to go to Diagon Alley very carefully. She wore Juliette's cast-offs. Her hair was natural. It had grown out. It was no longer spikes, but a very short page boy. She darkened her skin color, since that didn't require her body to work that much. Finally, she put on a dark pair of glasses and enlarged her nose. Wearing a hooded cloak, she very much doubted that anyone would recognize her.
The moment she stepped in Diagon Alley, she felt a shiver of fear go down her back. "You are not to be afraid," she ordered herself. Tonks picked up her pace and headed straight to Ollivanders.
She stepped inside the door and was face to face with Ollivander. "Another wand of yours has been broken?" his voice serenely asked.
"Any way you could close the shop for me?" Tonks asked apologetically.
Ollivander nodded. "Professor Dumbledore told me that you would be here sometime this week." He waved his wand, and the shutters closed, barely leaving any light.
"Thank you," Tonks said quickly, taking off her robe.
"You'll want to be in your natural state to find your wand," Ollivander warned. Tonks quickly shrunk her nose and changed her skin color back to normal.
He seemed to have a stack of wands ready for her. Quickly he handed her one. Tonks started sneezing so hard that her stomach hurt. Ollivander snatched the wand from her hand and handed her another one.
The first twenty wands Tonks tried did not have the desired effect. She was ready to give up and come back tomorrow when Ollivander handed her one last wand.
Sighing, Tonks took the wand, and was thrilled when she felt a warmth in her hand. Blue and bronze sparks flew from the end.
"A wand for a true Ravenclaw," Ollivander told her. "Cedar and a tail feather of an owl. Nine inches."
"My first wand had a tail feather of an owl!" Tonks said excitedly.
Ollivander thought for a moment. "The feathers are from the same owl, Nymphadora. However, Cedar is a much more powerful wood than oak," Ollivander said.
Happily, Tonks paid for her wand. It felt comfortable in her hand. Her last wand had been tiny, only six and ¾ inches. This wand felt natural, an extension of her arm.
She thanked Ollivander one last time, and put her disguise back in place. Tonks glanced at her pocket watch. She had plenty of time left in the afternoon. Her mother should be home from work by now, so she quickly apparated to her parents house.
Tonks was quite surprised to see Professor Dumbledore sitting in the living room. He looked extremely tired. Which was no wonder, Tonks thought, she hadn't been available to take his place for a while.
"I'm talking to your parents about having them stay at Headquarters for a while," Professor Dumbledore said, answering her question before she could even ask it. "They are not safe here."
Tonks' mother looked very unhappy. "I got a threat at work, Nymphadora," she said softly. Her mother was an Obliviator, for the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. "It was a memo, with an untraceable charm on it. I have no idea who sent it."
Tonks' eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Mum, I'm so sorry…" she started.
"Don't you dare start crying, Nymphadora," Andromeda Tonks said sharply. "I may not be brave like you and be able to fight Death Eaters face to face, but if I have to go into hiding to help you, I will."
"We're in the process of moving Severus' mother as well. We don't want to take any chances," Albus said.
"Crikey," Tonks said under her breath. But she had to admit, she was thrilled that her parents would be safe. She couldn't image a place she'd rather have her parents than Headquarters.
But at the same time, Tonks was sad. How long would everyone have to be in hiding?