'Voldemort is planning something.'

Dumbledore's tone said it all. The mere fact that he had turned up for the meeting, after telling them that he wouldn't be able to attend, signified at once that there must be a serious new development.

Murmurs rippled round the kitchen. Remus glanced up quickly and, instinct making him automatically search out her reaction, he caught Tonks's eye and they shared an expression of worry before Remus looked away, embarrassed.

'I believe he is going to act soon. This week, in fact,' Dumbledore continued.

'What are you saying, Albus? That You-Know-Who is going to show himself?' said Molly very fearfully.

'No. He'll act through his Death Eaters, surely,' Arthur corrected her, and Dumbledore nodded at him.

'Let me explain everything I know. First of all, Voldemort is certainly aware the Order has reformed and that we are working against him,' Dumbledore stated, reiterating what they already knew. 'He will also know that we're attempting to tail the Death Eaters we know about. Now, that may not sound ideal. Indeed, one might wonder what we can hope to achieve by spying on someone who knows they are being spied on! However, I am satisfied that, for the most part, he has been unaware of our presence. He cannot not know exactly who we are tailing at what time, and thanks to the very good work you have all been doing, I think we have managed to fool him to some extent.'

No one looked particularly encouraged by this.

'By putting together everything the Order has overheard recently, I have come to the conclusion that this Friday is the night he is going to put his plan into action.'

'Which is …?' Arthur prompted.

Dumbledore carried on. 'Which is, as many of you will have guessed –' Remus glanced up sharply, not knowing what he was suppose to have guessed, but glad to see his was not the only blank expression among the group, '– to break into the Department of Mysteries.'

Snape was nodding slowly in recognition of this, as were Tonks and Kingsley. Remus shuddered, hating being ill-informed. How did they know and not him?

'What is it they want in the Department of Mysteries?' Bill asked, frowning.

'At this stage I cannot tell you,' Dumbledore informed them, and a few groans of frustration escaped. 'But it is something for which Voldemort has been looking for a very long time.'

'Since You-Know-Who knows we're tailing them, what if this is a trap?' asked Arthur. 'I mean, if he knew we were likely to hear the conversation …'

'But if Voldemort knows that we know that he knows we're tailing them, then wouldn't he expect us to think it's a trap?' Tonks pointed out very earnestly. 'Maybe that's the real trap – if he deliberately let us overhear the plan then he's hoping we won't take it seriously?'

'Oh come on, we could go on like that forever – he knows that we know he knows, et cetera, et cetera,' Bill interrupted.

'My head's going to explode,' moaned Hestia Jones. A couple of people chuckled half-heartedly, but for the most part everyone was too anxious to laugh.

Dumbledore, who had been the first to chuckle at Hestia's comment, looked deadly serious again. 'We can second-guess until we're blue in the face. I am quite sure Voldemort knows we have overheard this plan. Regardless, I have decided to act.'

Sirius spoke up for the first time, aiming a very dirty look in Severus Snape's direction. 'And is there any particular reason why you don't want to share Voldemort's true intention with us, Snape? Or do you just find it amusing to watch us guess?'

'Sirius …' Remus said warningly, although his stomach was squirming in anticipation of Snape's answer. He wondered why he always felt the need to discourage Sirius's attacks on Snape even when he was tempted to agree with what Sirius was implying. Something in him had always made him moderate the behaviour of his friends.

Snape looked ready to argue, though seemed to be taking his careful time over the response, when Dumbledore spoke for him.

'Severus has given me all the information he has that pertains to this event.'

Sirius gave a scoffing laugh. 'All the information he has,' he repeated in a muttered tone, shaking his head.

Dumbledore gave Sirius a fleeting, stern glance, before continuing. 'Severus has informed me that after retrieving the object they want from the Ministry, the Death Eaters will take it directly to Voldemort himself. This could be our best opportunity yet to discover where Voldemort is hiding.'

'Do you still think he's in the house that Remus discovered?' Tonks asked. Just hearing her say his name made Remus's neck feel hot.

'Yes, that is a likely option, although not the only one,' Dumbledore confirmed.

'I don't see why Severus cannot just tell us where Voldemort is,' Sirius interrupted savagely.

Snape gave Sirius the most despicable look Remus had seen from him since their school days. 'You know perfectly well, Black, that the Dark Lord's whereabouts, along with the details of his plans, are protected by powerful, complex magic. I can no more give away his secrets than I can the location of this Headquarters.'

Snape spoke calmly, though his complexion was tinged with a faint redness and Remus thought he detected a slight nervous tick in his cheek. If it was not for the fact that Remus loathed the man, he might almost have felt sorry for Snape, being placed under such scrutiny and suspicion.

'Quite, quite, Severus. I'm sure everyone here understands the limitations of your position,' said Dumbledore soothingly. 'And with the information you have provided, I am confident that if we act swiftly and cautiously we can prevent Voldemort's actions being carried out with any success.'

'What do you propose we do, Albus?' asked Arthur.

'From what we've heard, it seems there are three parts to his plan. Firstly, a meeting between Nott and a Ministry employee who is going to give them the information they need to successfully break in. Once this information has been passed along, a different set of Death Eaters will go to the Ministry. Finally, once they have retrieved what they need from the Department of Mysteries, it will be taken immediately to Voldemort.'

Slightly stunned, they all waited to hear more.

'On Friday night we will all work together to follow the Death Eaters we know are involved and to guard every possible entry route to the Ministry,' Dumbledore told them. 'We will have people stationed at various points of interest, ready to follow Death Eaters to Voldemort's hiding place.'

Dumbledore began issuing instructions to each Order member in turn. When Remus was finally addressed, he listened carefully.

'Walden Macnair is going to go to Nott's house after Macnair finishes work at eight o'clock. Macnair will pass on information he has gained in his employment at the Ministry. The security measures protecting the Department of Mysteries change daily, and Macnair appears to have found a weakness in their security methods on Fridays that will allow him to find out and pass on the details to his fellow Death Eaters. Remus, as you've been tailing Nott recently and know his usual patterns, I'd like you to take that post. Emmeline will be stationed at the Ministry of Magic along with Elphias, and they will let you know when Macnair is on his way so that you can be ready to find out what they know.'

Remus nodded, swallowing hard.

'I'd like one of our Aurors to be stationed at Nott's house as well. They have a little more idea what they'll be up against and we may need their superior duelling capability. Kingsley, Alastor, Nymphadora, can any of you mange it?'

'I don't think I can get away from work until later that night,' said Kingsley regretfully.

'I'll do it,' Tonks spoke up immediately. Her face was set, though slightly paler than usual.

'Fine.' Dumbledore wore a grave expression. He looked older and more tired than Remus had ever seen him.

'Of course, the other point we have to consider is that if Voldemort intended us to hear of this plan, it could be a decoy for his real intention,' Remus pointed out. Dumbledore nodded.

'Indeed, Remus. My next point. In case this whole plan is a decoy, some of you will be tracking the rest of the Death Eaters to make sure they are not involved in something we don't know about. Everyone will need to be on full alert from now until Friday night. Every Death Eater we know of must be covered by an Order member, and anything suspicious, no matter how slight, must be taken very seriously. Are we all clear?'

Everybody nodded. Nobody spoke. A collective sigh went around the room minutes later when Dumbledore left. It was the biggest Order mission since they had reformed in June, and it was terrifying. Remus looked up from his heavy contemplation to see Tonks chatting to Bill and Hestia. She was smiling. Giggling, even. How could she be laughing when they had this in front of them? Remus was reminded again of the difference in their age. In fact, not only their age, but their whole outlook. His whole life revolved around the Order, but sometimes it seemed almost as though Tonks saw it as a hobby.

The following evening, when their next meeting was due to start, the kitchen was filling up but somehow still sounded empty. Unlike the usual few minutes before meetings, when everyone clattered around, finding seats and chatting, today it was tense and silent. People filed in like zombies and silently dropped into chairs, looking pale and anxious. Most of them had picked up extra shifts tailing Death Eaters during the previous twenty-four hours, trying to find more information about Friday.

Then the sound of voices and laughter reached the kitchen, jarring the silence and sounding completely alien. Tonks and Kingsley appeared together. Tonks was wheezing with laughter and even the normally solemn Kingsley was chuckling quietly.

'What's so funny?' Molly enquired with great interest.

'Kingsley and I … we'd just finished our Order duty this evening and we were walking through the city centre when we bumped into our secretary from the Auror office. I think – I think she –' Tonks doubled over in hysterics and Kingsley finished for her.

'I think she might have got the wrong idea about why we were together outside of work.'

Several people chuckled.

'But she didn't suspect you of doing anything for Dumbledore, did she?' asked Remus with great concern.

Kingsley shook his head and his look of amusement annoyed Remus immensely.

'Luckily the only thing she suspects is that we're having an affair – she's not too bright, that Rose,' Tonks finally managed, still hiccupping with suppressed giggles. 'She knows every piece of gossip about everyone, yeah, but she isn't too bright.'

'Well, I suppose that's one way to explain yourselves out of trouble,' Arthur said with a barely suppressed grin.

'So what now – will you have to start acting like a couple so that she doesn't get suspicious?' asked Molly anxiously.

'Don't be silly,' Remus found himself saying before he could help it. 'This Rose girl obviously doesn't have a clue about the Order. I think it would only draw more attention to what Tonks and Kingsley are doing if they try to keep up some pretence of being … involved.' He cringed.

A moment of silence followed in which Remus began to panic. If he was the only person thinking that then it might look strange … suspicious, even.

'You're right, Remus, of course you are,' said Tonks. She choked back a final giggle and her expression was finally serious.

'Quite right, yes,' Arthur agreed.

'But thanks for brightening up the evening,' Bill said mischievously to Tonks. 'I think we could all have used a laugh.'

Tonks hit him playfully on the arm.

An hour later and Remus's brain was beginning to melt. Parchments were spread over the entire table and even spilling onto the floor. Complex charts and diagrams detailing where everyone needed to be on Friday, plans of the Ministry itself, lists of every possible entry method the Death Eaters could use, and much, much more were papering the room and circling hopelessly in Remus's head. Just when he thought he couldn't take any more, Arthur stood up, stretched, and suggested they call it a night. Everyone else sighed with relief, though Remus tried not to look too eager to finish their work.

The meeting officially over, everyone's tiredness and anxiousness suddenly turned to lively chattering, exhaustion fuelling an unnatural burst of nervous energy.

Tonks was leaning causally against the wall just outside the kitchen door, wearing an amused expression while Hestia spoke animatedly to her in a low voice. Against his better judgment, knowing it was sneaky and underhand, Remus found himself straining to hear their conversation.

'So you've never thought about it? You know … you and Kingsley?' Remus managed to hear Hestia saying quietly. She gave Tonks a teasing glance.

'You're kidding, aren't you? He's far too old!' Tonks exclaimed, with a laugh and what looked like a shudder.

Remus remembered that Kingsley was only two years older than himself.

'I see … saving yourself for Bill, then,' Hestia continued. Remus felt as though a block of ice had just dropped into his stomach.

'Will you please drop it?' Tonks hissed at her, glancing around warily. Remus concentrated very hard on not looking in their direction.

So Tonks has feelings for Bill. Even Hestia knows. What's Tonks playing at, going around telling people? Bill has a girlfriend, after all. Remus directed a look of annoyance at Tonks, though she was not even looking at him. He was not annoyed because he was jealous, of course. Just annoyed that Tonks would be silly enough to have feelings for someone who had a girlfriend, and worse, that she was silly enough to be going around broadcasting it. She was only going to get hurt that way. That was why Remus was annoyed.

He looked up to find Sirius giving him a very curious look, and decided to avoid questioning by going off to bed.

Friday evening rushed to meet Remus with alarming speed and before he knew it, the night the Order were grimly preparing for was here. As he headed to meet Tonks in the centre of London, a feeling of nervousness grew in his chest and he suspected it was not entirely due to the mission they were about to undertake.

Tonks was waiting for him at the agreed corner, just down from the Leaky Cauldron. Even though she looked different from normal – her hair was jet black today, falling in soft waves to her shoulders – Remus knew immediately that it was her. There was something in the way she held herself that Remus would have recognised a mile off.

'Hello,' she greeted him. She looked pleased to see him, which made his stomach squirm, although she looked less cheerful than usual.

'All set?' he asked. Tonks nodded tensely, biting her lip. Her eyes had dark circles under them that stood out against her pale complexion. Remus wondered why she didn't just alter her appearance to cover them. He certainly had things he would cover up if he had the ability. His hand went automatically to face, rubbing the faded scar on his jaw that people told him was barely visible, but to him felt very conspicuous.

'You all right?' Tonks asked him, staring at him quizzically in a way that made him a bit uncomfortable, as if she knew what he was thinking. He nodded.

'Why do you look so comfortable in Muggle clothing and I feel so silly?' Remus immediately felt very daft for voicing that thought. Tonks was dressed in muggle trousers of a thick, rough fabric that Remus knew was called denim, and an enormous knitted jumper. She looked adorable. Remus immediately kicked himself for thinking that way. Focus, Remus. But the truth was, compared to how awkward he felt dressed this way, Tonks looked completely at home in Muggle clothing.

Tonks eyed his plain trousers and sweatshirt. 'You look fine to me. Perfectly normal Muggle clothing. You fit right in.'

'Well, thanks … I think.' Remus became aware of a group of unsavoury-looking Muggle youths loitering outside an off-licence across the road from them, dressed in similar attire to Remus.

'Let's go,' he said quickly.

They Apparated from a quiet spot in a nearby side street and materialised a short distance away from Nott's house in East London. The road they were now in was narrow, dark and strewn with litter. On one side of them were small terraced houses of grey stone, many with boarded-up windows. The tiny gardens in front of each house were overgrown with weeds, and the few fences that were not broken sported peeling paint and graffiti. The other side of the road comprised a series of shabby shops, an off-licence and a bookmaker's.

'Nice street,' Tonks commented with a note of sarcasm.

Remus gestured further down the row of run-down houses. 'It's just along here. We should probably Disillusion ourselves now before we get any closer.'

'Speak for yourself,' Tonks told him. She tapped him once on the head with her wand and Remus felt the familiar, cold sensation spreading through him. A second later, Tonks had disappeared too, without even using her wand.

'Very clever,' Remus told her, smiling even though he knew she couldn't see it.

'Thanks,' came her voice eerily from nowhere. 'Right, show me which house is Nott's.'

'This way,' Remus told her, lifting his arm to point before remembering she couldn't see him. 'Er, this way.' He reached out a hand gingerly, found her arm, and gently guided her in the right direction.

As they made their way down the road, they continually brushed against each other due to the fact they couldn't see each other. After a couple of minutes Remus stopped, catching hold of Tonks's arm again to stop her too.

'This is it,' he whispered. 'The one with the broken white gate and the blue front door.

'So now we just have to wait until we hear from Emmeline and Elphias,' said Tonks. 'It shouldn't be too long, should it? Macnair was due to finish his shift at the Ministry at eight, and it's five to just now.'

They sat on a low wall outside Nott's house and waited. For the most part they were silent. Every now and then Remus glanced to where he knew Tonks was sitting, though he couldn't see her. The only clue he had that she was still there was the occasional rustle of her robes when she moved, or the tiny sighs she gave now and then.

'I wonder what's keeping them, it's been ages,' Tonks commented after a long while. Remus checked his watch and saw that it was over an hour past the time he had expected word from Emmeline that Macnair was on his way. They shared a nervous sigh.

'You don't think …' Remus said slowly. He didn't want to voice what he thought.

'No,' said Tonks firmly. 'They're fine.'

Another long while passed. Anxiety grew in Remus's mind, and he could sense Tonks felt it too: the tell-tale rustles were growing more frequent and he could picture the way she always fidgeted during tense moments, crossing and uncrossing her arms and tapping her feet.

'Look,' Tonks breathed suddenly, startling him out of a slight daze. Floating on Tonks's other side was Emmeline's Patronus: a proud-looking silvery lioness.

'There seems to be some sort of delay,' came Emmeline's voice. 'Macnair has not left the Ministry yet and so it could be a while yet before he gets to you. Or else it's possible that the meeting was never meant to take place and it is all a decoy. It's up to you whether you keep waiting there or return to Headquarters until we know what's happening. I will send word the moment I know more.'

'No way!' Tonks burst out. She suddenly became visible in front of him, and looked furious. 'We've come all the way out here, waited for an hour and a half in the freezing cold, and now we have to go back? You've got to be kidding! '

Her outburst shocked Remus. He had never known her to be anything less than eager to do her job.

'Is that what you think we should do – go back?' Remus asked, removing the Disillusionment Charm from himself.

Tonks made a face and shook her head. 'If I go home I'll probably end up falling asleep.'

'Well … I suppose we'd better find somewhere to wait. It could be a while and I don't know about you but I'm freezing.'

'Let's go and get a coffee over there while we wait,' Tonks suggested, pointing at the only lit-up window across the road.

'But it's full of Muggles,' Remus pointed out dubiously as he gazed through the dirty café window. 'And I somehow doubt they take Galleons.'

'So? We're dressed in Muggle clothing, and I always carry a little Muggle money, just in case. It'll be fine, come on.' And she led the way across to the dingy but brightly lit coffee shop.'

Remus looked around warily as they pushed through the door.

'If I'm going to stay awake for yet another night then I'm going to need a vat of caffeine,' Tonks complained as a plump waitress wearing a filthy apron and a moody expression approached. 'Two enormous coffees, please.'

'Decaf for me, please,' Remus added politely to the waitress. He was jittery enough already.

Tonks rolled her eyes. 'One decaf, one extra strong,' she told the waitress.

Once they were seated with two large steaming mugs of coffee, Tonks looked a little embarrassed and apologised to him.

'Sorry for that little tantrum,' she said with a roll of her eyes. 'I had a pretty tough day and I was on duty the night before and, well, I'm just knackered.'

'What happened today?'

'Just Scrimgeour and Fudge, all that lot. It's getting really hard to keep up the pretence of believing what Fudge says about You-Know-Who.'

Remus nodded.

'God, this music is awful,' Tonks commented. Behind the low chatter and bustle of the café was the faint sound of a crackly muggle radio station playing an old song Remus did not know, but it stirred a memory.

'It reminds me a bit of the music my sister used to listen to. Oh, who was that wizard singer she loved …?' Remus thought back, trying to remember the name.

'What did he sing? Maybe I'll know him,' Tonks asked brightly, looking revived after a few gulps of coffee.

'He was a bit before your time. You probably haven't heard of him. Er, Joseph something …'

'Joseph Cassie? You're kidding! My parents were completely obsessed with him!'

'Really?' Remus asked, laughing.

'Yeah! They even named my brother after him: Joseph Tonks!'

'Oh? I thought you were an only child,' Remus commented, though he realised he had no idea about it, other than the fact that she had never mentioned a sibling.

'I had a little brother. He died,' she replied lightly, taking a long sip from her mug.

'Oh, I'm so sorry, Tonks, that must have been awful. What happened to him?'

She set down her coffee carefully and seemed to take her time before answering. 'He was born with some kind of muggle illness. Magic couldn't cure it, nothing could. It was a genetic thing my dad carried. I don't really know much about it, I was really young. He only … he only survived for a few months.' Tonks drew in a deep breath and gave Remus a smile that was slightly too wide.

'I'm … I'm sorry. It must have been horrible for you.'

Tonks made a face and shrugged. 'I was only about two when he was born. I don't really remember him.'

'Really? Not even a little?'

Tonks screwed up her face. 'I'm not sure. I've heard so many stories about it that sometimes I think I am remembering something … seeing my mother's face when she was telling me he was ill, or hearing him cry, you know? But I think it's just that I've heard so much about him from my family that I've made up the memory. Do you ever feel like that?'

Remus laughed. 'Yes, I know exactly what you mean. I've been told so many times about the time my older sister split my head open that I feel like I can remember the pain, but of course I know I couldn't possibly. I was far too young!'

Tonks giggled. 'She really split your head open?'

'Yes! She accidentally hit me with a curse when she was playing with our father's wand. She was only about seven, though, she didn't know what she was doing. I still have a scar, look.' Remus pushed back his hair to show Tonks the tiny mark on his temple. She leaned in very close to examine it and Remus found himself holding his breath until she moved away again.

'Wow … that must have hurt! What a bitch! No wonder you never talk about her,' said Tonks lightly, but Remus recognised it as a subtle enquiry into the reason for his never mentioning a sister until tonight. Whether it was purely shyness on Tonks's part or an astute insight into how much he hated to talk about his family that stopped her asking directly, Remus did not care; either made him fall ever so slightly more in love with her.

Except that, of course, he was not in love with her. Definitely not.

'Well, we don't speak anymore,' he replied carefully.

'That's so sad, Remus. Why not?'

'She blames me for things that happened.' He stopped, but seeing her barely concealed curiosity, he added, 'Family things.'

'Your dad?'

'Mainly that, yes.'

'Gosh, I'm sorry.'

'It's okay.'

'Wow, it wasn't exactly happy families round ours then, was it?' said Tonks glumly.

Suddenly she reached across the table and grabbed his hand. 'Look!' she hissed, her gaze trained on something behind him. Remus turned and looked out of the window behind him, and a silvery mass hovering across the street from the café caught his eye. As his eyes adjusted to the dazzle, he could make out the shape as a horse.

'It's Kingsley's Patronus this time,' Tonks told him quietly.

'Come on,' Remus whispered.

Abandoning their half-finished coffees, they hurried to the door, Tonks pausing just long enough to toss one of those odd, crumpled pieces of paper that Muggles use as currency onto the table.

The air outside was now bitingly cold, and as they strode across the street they both hugged their clothes around them. Remus wished he had brought his cloak.

'Can muggles see Patronuses?' Tonks asked conversationally. 'Because if they can, why did no one in there seem to notice?'

Remus shrugged, too cold and too nervous at what the message may contain to wonder about that right now.

Kingsley's deep voice began as soon as they reached the silver horse.

'Macnair is on his way to Nott's house. Please be ready for his arrival and be prepared to follow them if necessary. Be cautious.'

Wordlessly, Tonks Disillusioned Remus and herself again, and they took up their position by Nott's gate. They did not have long to wait. Within minutes, a tall man with a thin black moustache Apparated in front of the house and hurried to the front door, glancing about warily. Remus tried to breathe quietly, but kept feeling like he was hyperventilating.

Macnair knocked on Nott's door and it was opened very quickly. Remus hoped they would not disappear inside: Nott was sure to have anti-Apparition charms protecting his house and therefore he and Tonks would not be able to overhear anything. Fortunately, the pair remained on the door step for a minute or two, talking inaudibly. Then they turned away from the house and passed very close to Remus, stopping on the pavement beside him.

'We'll take the information straight to the Dark Lord. He can decide whether he wants to use it tonight,' said Nott, and with a pop the two Death Eaters Disapparated.

Tonks reappeared immediately. 'Damn! I knew they were going to Apparate!'

Remus remained Disillusioned. He was convinced Nott and Macnair were going to the house Pettigrew and Avery had been in all those weeks ago.

'Tonks.' He grabbed her arm.

'Remus – what?' she said urgently, staring blindly in his direction with confusion.

'Disillusion yourself again and hold onto my arm. Tight,' he whispered.

She said nothing but gripped his upper arm fiercely and made herself invisible again. Remus closed his eyes and pictured that street he had followed Pettigrew along: the large house, the long sweeping driveway, the cherry trees that divided the wide road. A moment later, he stepped forward into oblivion. Beside him, Tonks gave a small yelp of surprise as they Apparated.

As the wide, deserted road appeared around them, Remus felt Tonks stagger slightly beside him.

'Okay?' he asked her quietly. He scanned the street and the house, but saw no one.

'Just caught me by surprise,' she gasped as she regained her balance. 'I didn't know you were going to Apparate us here … where exactly is "here"?'

'We're in the street I followed Avery to. You know, the house where I saw – er –'

'Peter Pettigrew?' Tonks supplied.

Remus nodded at her. 'I knew this was where they were talking about.'

'So where are they?'

'They must be inside all ready. Let's circle the house a couple of times and see if there's any sign of them.'

'How will we find each other again?' she asked.

'We'll meet by that tree with the gnarled branch.'

'Okay. Be careful.'

'You too.'

The set off to circle the house in opposite directions. Remus walked briskly around the building twice, sweeping his eyes over the grounds and peering into every window. Nothing could be seen but darkness. In fact, the inside of the house wasn't just dark. It was completely, unnaturally black. Remus would ponder what this meant later: right now he was anxious to get back to Tonks and see what she had found out.

He reached the tree and gingerly walked around it once, waiting to bump into her. Nothing. He called her name softly. Still no sign. He forced himself to stand still and wait, trying not to feel nervous. Nothing could have happened to her. There was no one around.

It was several minutes before Remus heard a very faint crunch of footsteps on the gravel driveway and then a disembodied voice whispering 'Remus?'

'Here,' he called back softly, moving towards where Tonks's voice had come from. He bumped into something soft and warm, and quickly took a step back from her.

'Sorry,' he said hoarsely, glad she could not see that he was blushing.

'That's okay,' she said. 'Anything?'

'No. You?'

'Not a thing.'

They sighed simultaneously.

'We should position ourselves in different parts of the garden and wait for them to come out,' Tonks decided. 'One of us should wait closer to the front door and one stay here.'

'All right,' Remus agreed. 'You stay here and I'll go to the door.' Though he couldn't see her, he could sense she was drawing herself up to her full height.

'And why is that, exactly?' she challenged him. 'I think I should be the one posted at the door.'

'It's safer here, Tonks, so you stay here and let me go,' he told her, and immediately kicked himself, knowing he was going to lose this argument.

'Listen, I'm the Auror here, so I'll be the one to go. And no, I don't want to hear any of your sexist arguments,' she said forcefully.

'Fine,' he relented, his nervousness making him unable to voice much more than that, but he was frustrated that he could not find it in himself to stand up to her.

'See you in a bit,' she said in a much gentler tone, and she brushed his arm lightly before soft footsteps told him she was walking away.

'Be careful,' he called quietly.

'You too,' came her barely audible reply.

And so Remus waited. The minutes ticked by like hours. He tried to stay still but his ever-growing nerves made him pace the small area in front of the tree, and every small noise made him jump.

He wished he could see Tonks. He even considered sending her a message with his Patronus to check she was all right, but knew it was ridiculous – she was barely a hundred yards away from him. But there was something about this house … he had visions of Tonks somehow being sucked inside, into the black void, never to return. It was the creepiest place Remus had ever been.

A rustling startled him, but after the initial fright and the instinctive reach for his wand, he relaxed. Just a stray cat … or maybe an owl.

Then the noise came again, louder. He tensed up, his wand now firmly in his grasp. Someone's definitely there …

But where? He could see nothing. Then the unmistakable sound of footsteps reached him as though someone, or possibly more than one someone, for there seemed to be more than one set of footsteps, was walking up the driveway towards the house. The sound was close enough that Remus should have been able to see them, but the garden still appeared deserted. Whoever was there was obviously concealed somehow. They were clearly expecting spies.

Remus listened hard, trying to work out exactly where the people were, finding it much easier to remain motionless now. In fact, he hardly dared to breathe. The footsteps were coming closer … almost on top of him … and then past him. His heart was thudding after how close they had been to him, and he prayed they had not sensed his presence. The footsteps moved towards the front door, and now Remus could detect very faint voices that he did not recognise. He could not make out a word they were saying, and very soon the sound faded to nothing. It was then that his thoughts went to Tonks.

He wrestled with his impulse to go after them versus the knowledge that he had agreed to wait where he was. More of them could arrive, or they could change direction and return to the street. If Remus stayed where he was, he and Tonks would have them cornered if they tried anything, and could head them off from both ends of the garden.

But Tonks might not know they're coming … what if they find her at the front door?

No way. Tonks was a fully trained Auror: if anyone could deal with them, it was her.

But she's a bit clumsy sometimes … what if she makes a mistake?

Unable to restrain himself, he crept after the pair of invisible wizards. As he closed the distance between them, their voices grew clearer and he began to catch snatches of conversation.

'…damn Order … interfering ... knew they'd take the bait … bet they're hanging around the door waiting for us as well …'

Remus's heart leapt into his throat. They were heading straight for Tonks, and they suspected someone was there spying on them. What if she didn't hear them coming?

That settled it: he couldn't risk her getting hurt. Remus sped up and slipped past the pair as carefully as possible, an impressive feat since he couldn't see them.

'Did you feel something there?' one of them asked. 'I think someone just brushed past me.'

'Don't be daft,' the second said.

'I'm telling you, there's someone else here.'

Remus hurried away from them towards the front door where Tonks would be waiting. He heard their footsteps quicken behind him.

'I think I can see something moving ahead of us,' came the first Death Eater's voice.

Oh no. Not again. Remus mentally cursed Disillusionment Charms for being so useless, and wished for an invisibility cloak.

He reached the wide steps leading to the front door and gazed around for any sign of Tonks, but of course, there was none. As the Death Eaters' footsteps approached him again, he flattened himself against the wall and stayed still.

'See that?' came the first Death Eater's voice, extremely quiet. Remus could tell they were still a few feet away from the door. 'Someone's standing right there.'

Remus panicked. He had no idea if they had noticed Tonks or himself. He didn't know which was worse.

There was a crunching of gravel, and by the time Remus realised it was footsteps bearing down on him, it was too late to move. A hand came out of nowhere and clutched at his arm; he tried to fumble for his wand, but before he could manage to there was a serious of blinding flashes followed by several yelps. The Death Eater dropped his grip on his arm, and Remus ducked away, pulling out his wand but having no idea where to aim.

'Let's go!' breathed Tonks's voice in his ear out of nowhere.

He began to run towards the street, praying that the set of footsteps behind him was Tonks. He stopped abruptly once he had cleared the gate and Tonks gave a small cry as she slammed into his back. Without pausing to say anything, he grabbed her hand and Apparated them both away.

The moment they had safely landed in Grimmauld Place, Tonks made herself visible a few feet away from Remus and rounded on him angrily as he removed his own Disillusionment.

'What the hell were you playing at, Remus?' she cried, her expression incredulous. 'Why didn't you stay where you were supposed to be?'

A growing sense of remorse was forming in his chest. Had he not done the right thing? 'I thought you were in trouble, they were heading straight for you,' he replied quickly

'Yes, that was the idea,' Tonks said slowly, as though explaining it to someone a little slow. 'I wanted to listen to their conversation, maybe even get a glimpse inside the house. You could have ruined everything, what were you thinking?'

'I was just worried. I was trying to look out for you.'

'You don't have to look out for me! I'm trained to deal with this kind of thing, you know I am! I don't understand what possessed you do this – don't you understand how important tonight is?'

Remus filled with shame and was suddenly unable to look at her. He could feel her questioning eyes burning into him, demanding answers that he could never give. How could he tell her that when it came to her safety, all reason left him and his heart was in charge? He cursed himself internally. He really could have put the whole mission in jeopardy.

'Tonks, I … I'm, sorry, I wasn't thinking.'

She shook her head, muttering, 'Jesus …'