The outline of Tonks blended in with the darkness. Save for the light of her wand illuminating her face, she was completely invisible. She was looking into the files of high ranking Aurors, searching to see if any of them had ever been connected to Death Eaters. A Death Eater couldn't be an Auror, so it was pretty useless to search through these files, in her opinion. But she guessed that she needed something to do, so Dumbledore asked her to shine light into it.
But now, as she stood at the center stage of darkness in a dusty old cellar within the lower floors of the Department, she realized how useless it was. The door into the records room wasn't even locked.
She huffed as she exited the room. Just another safe errand. She was never entrusted with anything truly important. Not even within the Department itself. Often times she'd be benched for certain calls, and when the Aurors came back, they'd cat call her, trying to get her to go with them to some party where they'd more than likely try and get her drunk for sex. She'd simply ignore them and leave.
Just as she was getting into the lift, a paper airplane that had been hovering inside landed infront of her. She picked it up and unfolded the yellow paper.
"Minister would like to have a word with... me?" She read. Scrimgeour wanted to talk with her? What for? Had she done something wrong? She tried thinking of anything that she had done wrong but nothing came to her. She couldn't have done anything wrong since she's never allowed to do anything anyway.
Even more annoyed, she stuffed the paper into one of her robe pockets and clicked on the button that lead to the Minister's Office.
LINE BREAK
Scrimgeours office was clean... and paranoid. In true testament to his skill and paranoia, he had trinkets of dark wizadry detection set up in every corner of the office. The window that used to look over the Artrium was now blocked, a map of Wizarding Britain in its place. If she hadn't known better, this would have looked like a Defense Against The Dark Arts shop.
The responsibilities of being Minister really seemed to weigh on him, noted Tonks. His hair had gone much greyer than usual and his walk, once a boastful and healthy one, was reduced to a quick waltz across the place. All in all, this wasn't the place for him, and they both knew it. His hands itched to hold on to a wand that was vibrating from a duel. His spirit longed to fight against evil, but he was reduced to this. A politician stuck behind a polished desk, stamping papers and nurturing an ever dying reputation.
"I have a favor to ask of you." He softly growled, taking a sip from his fire whiskey. He took a manila folder from a drawer in his desk and slid it over to Tonks.
Inside, pictures of the Hogwarts Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, resided.
"What's this?" She asked, taking the folder.
As she flipped through it, she couldn't help but notice how similar it looked to a Dossier they did on criminals. Information on where he's been, what's he done, the policies he's voted on, the way he conducts funding for Hogwarts, everything was on there in a heavy stack.
"I think you get the idea, agent." Scrimgeour spoke, setting down his empty glass with a clink of the ice.
"This looks like you're investigating the Headmaster." She accused.
Scrimgeour shook his head. "It's not an investigation per say. It's more of us keeping tabs."
"And I beg to ask, why?"
"Because Dumbledore knows a lot more than we do about the Dark Lord. He has information we need." He grabbed a bottle of fire whiskey from under his desk and poured himself another glass full.
"One man can't hold the means of defeating a terrorist like the Dark Lord. And if not placed in check, that little group of his could become the next big threat to us." He conveyed, taking a drink from his glass.
Tonks felt her heart sink into her stomach. Did he know she was apart of the Order? If he did, what did he want from her?
She steeled her nerves and let her Auror training kick in. It was unlikely that he knew. After all, the Order was incredibly serious about the flow of information regarding them. So, for sure he doesn't know. But she needed to know what he did know in order to relay it back to the group.
"Group?" She poked. Scrimgeour nodded.
"He formed a group a while back. During the first wizarding war. We don't know who they are, but we know that they operate under Dumbledore's orders. They're under page sixteen."
She flipped to the page to find photographs of blurry people leaving the ministry Atrium. Speculation of their identities spanned multiple pages.
"They follow his orders like dogs." He continued, pointing accusingly at the pages. He reached with a calloused hand and flipped several.
"Here we have them leaving the Potter residence." He pointed out.
The photograph he was mentioning was of the Order leaving Harry's place when they had come for him the previous summer. Luckily, Moody had thought ahead and instructed them to place a variation of the Disillusionment charm that he had created on themselves.
The charm would hide their identities if it were to be photographed or shown in memories.
"You have people looking into the Potter boy's residence?" She questioned.
"We have people tailing the Potter boy period." Scrimgeour deadpanned.
"He's a target, and he needs to be protected. Which is why I'm concerned about Dumbledore. He has people who are more than likely not trained professionals handling the safety of this boy."
Tonks nodded. That did make sense. Putting herself in the man's shoes, she wouldn't trust a group that no one knows about to keep an important person safe.
But of course they were professionals. All of them were. The ones in charge of keeping Harry safe during times of danger were the Aurors in the Order and the most skilled wizards among them.
Which led to the conclusion, she was never entrusted with the safety of Harry. Sure, she was asked to escort him, but that was nothing, the boy wasn't in any danger. She fought to keep intrusive insecure thoughts at bay.
Instead, she looked back up to the Minister. "And why are you telling me this?" She asked.
Scrimgeour set his glass down, adopting a straighter posture in his seat. His eyes hardened.
"I need you to try and infiltrate this little group." He stated.
Tonks blinked.
What?
He couldn't be serious. He couldn't be asking her to spy her own group. The group which she was currently spying for by telling them everything Scrimgeour did.
A burst of laughter escaped her. "Are you serious?!" She laughed.
The Minister didn't drop his seriousness, in fact, it hardened.
"Dumbledore has been blatantly acting without any supervision or balance of the law. He has assumed all responsibility for the Potter boy's safety. If the boy is in fact the only one who can defeat the Dark Lord, then it is an asset which we must protect."
Tonks nodded, agreeing with some parts.
"So you want me to spy on the boy?" She asked, still not convinced, but curious.
He shook his head. "Not necessarily. I need some sort of way to monitor Dumbledore. I understand he is a great wizard who has fought for good in the past. But at this point, it is our duty to know what is being done to and for the Potter boy, regardless of who is doing it. I hope you can appreciate what I'm saying, agent."
Tonks nodded. She understood completely. Entrusting unknown agents with unknown motives and plans was a big no no. But the point still stood, she couldn't spy on her own organization.
"I understand, Minister, I really do." She began.
Scrimgeour held up his hand. He knew that she was going to reject.
"Agent, you are the only one who can help us." He coaxed.
"You are special." He affirmed, conjuring another glass with his wand. He grabbed a different bottle of fire whiskey, one with a slightly different color to it and poured some in.
He handed it to her, gesturing her to drink.
"I shouldn't." She replied, sheepishly setting the glass down. He gave her a smile.
"We're both adults, and you're off duty right now, are you not?" He asked.
She was. She was off duty even though she wasn't supposed to be. Right now, a team of Aurors were cracking down on some alleged dark wizard activity in some part of England, and she wasn't assigned.
He took the glass from the table and handed it to her again.
"Come on, one drink, it'll help you relax. You don't have to worry about your friends seeing you. I'll give you the rest of the day off." He added.
Tonks internally scoffed. Friends. Yeah right.
She took the glass. It was better to obey the Minister than to face repercussions, she decided, before she swirled the whiskey around a bit and then taking a gulp.
Instantly, she felt herself relaxing. Muscles that she didn't know that were tensed, relaxed. The millions of thoughts that would overwhelm her daily seemed to quiet down for the first time in a long while. It felt as if the sun had shone after a stormy day.
"This is real good." She smiled foolishly. Scrimgeour gave her a smile as well.
"Tonks," he began, getting up from his chair.
She couldn't help but notice that he was standing straighter than he had before. His chest was out, just like before he became minister. He looked younger. More charming, if she said so herself.
He strode over to her, his calloused fingers tapping along the mahogany desk. He sat on his desk a foot away from her, and leaned forward, a few inches keeping them apart.
"You are very beautiful, you know that?" He stated, his voice growling in a low baritone.
Tonks blushed. It was hard for her to believe that. But she knew that she couldn't dismiss it, dealing with powerful political figures, it was best not to.
"How lucky must your boyfriend and friends be knowing they have you in their lives, doing whatever it takes to protect them."
She didn't know why, maybe it was the alcohol, the emotional baggage she carried every hour of every day, or something completely different, but she felt like she was on the verge of spilling all of her inner thoughts and secrets. Instead, she opted to adopting a sad look, stemming from her soul, and faced away from him.
"I don't have a boyfriend... I don't even have friends." She whispered. Scrimgeour made no movement, but on his face, a hint of a smirk arose. He quickly willed it down and continued.
"I know what you want, Tonks." He spoke, reaching for the file in her hands. "And it's not going to happen." He finished, closing it and setting it on his desk.
Tonks looked up, what did he mean?
"You want acceptance. But people can't accept someone who isn't willing to do what it takes to protect those that they love." He affirmed.
The foolish sense of happiness that Tonks had quickly drained out of her. His words dug deeper than she anticipated. And a big part of her knew that the reason why was because they were true. People wouldn't want to be around someone selfish. But was she like that?
"I want you to imagine how much better your life could be," he coaxed, leaning into her ear.
"You could have friends, a boyfriend, and not even that. You could have a husband." Tonks' eyes widened, imagining the scenario before her.
She could be like that pink haired girl at the coffee shop, surrounded by the love of friends and partner. Or she could end up alone in a cold house devoid of love. Scrimgeour didn't have to say it, the sentence spoke itself.
"What do I need to do." She relented.
Line Break
Walking into Pius Thicknesses' office, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Tonks couldn't help but notice that the room was horrendously unkempt, and the man who inhabited it didn't look any better. He seemed to be staring off into space. His eyes were glossed over, and it wasn't until she cleared her throat that he snapped out of it and turned to her.
"How may I help you, Auror." He asked, his voice far away. Tonks placed a slip of paper on his desk, which he took and read.
"I'm going to be a part of the Hogwarts detail." She told him. He shook his head.
"We already have enough people on it." He answered.
"The Minister wanted me on it." She replied. Pius lifted an eyebrow, his eyes growing cold.
"And what does the Minister want with you." He demanded.
"Personal reasons, sir. I needed the air." She replied.
It looked like Pius couldn't decide on what emotion to settle on. His face morphed between annoyance, a flash of panic, and anger. He gripped a stamp and marked the paper, setting it aside into a basket. He didn't look at her as he spoke. "Be at Hogwarts by Friday, report to the Head Auror, he'll brief you on the assignment.
As she turned to leave, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement stopped her. "Be careful, Tonks." He spoke softly, almost as if afraid, and with a concerned expression on his face before it morphed back into a far away look.
A short one, I know. But I have a favor to ask. It really helps when ya'll leave a review. Criticism is always appreciated and it helps me keep improving.