A/N We haven't seen Tonks or the twins in a while. I missed them and wanted to post it yesterday but then things wouldn't make much sense. Thank you all for reading this story.
Anyway, enjoy this chapter and I'll be posting again tomorrow.
Tonks strode into the Auror offices, the room falling silent upon her entry. She stopped just inside the doorway, meeting the eyes of anyone that dared to look at her. Most of them didn't, choosing to stare at the floor or ceiling. She frowned slightly when she noticed Mad-Eye approaching her.
"Did you know about last night?" he barked, glaring up at her.
"Excuse me? You are out of line, Auror Moody," she hissed, narrowing her eyes at the grumpy man.
"There was an attack last night. Did you know about it? Is that why you put the weakest Aurors on the shift?" he demanded. The other Aurors looked on, some with trepidation, others in agreeance.
"It was their night. I had nothing to do with the attack. I do not have to explain myself to you, Auror Moody. I am your superior, you have no right to interrogate me without cause. If you have a problem, take it to the higher-ups." Tonks let some of her Black temper through. Moody looked a bit cowed, shrinking back slightly. Tonks smirked, brushing past him to her desk. As she passed, the Aurors resumed their work and chatter. The ones who had supported Moody looked embarrassed and the ones who hadn't looked smug.
Tonks let out a heavy sigh as she sat. She had known about the raid, of course, but she hadn't lied when she said it was their night. All she had done was tell the Dark Lord when the weakest Aurors would be working. She hadn't participated in the raid and she knew they were in no danger of being killed. She did her job as she was supposed to, both as an Auror and as a follower of the Dark Lord. Tonks just had to choose one over the other. She would always choose her family.
Harry read the front page of The Daily Prophet, tossing it aside with a sigh. He thought Hermione might still be good, but she had just destroyed Diagon Alley and taken out five Aurors on her own. That wasn't how good people acted. Thankfully, no one had been hurt, but Harry considered that to be luck. He took a bite of toast, following it with a swig of pumpkin juice.
"You good, mate?" Ron asked, his mouth full of sausage.
"Yeah, Ron. Just ready for this to all be over." Harry saw Ginny glance at him discreetly, a strange look on her face. He almost thought it was...pity.
"Aren't we all? I can't wait to put some of those filthy Death Eaters in the ground."
"Like you'll be puttin' anyone in the ground," Seamus teased, elbowing Ron playfully. He huffed, rolling his eyes and taking a vicious bite of sausage. Harry watched on in amusement. Ginny made a quiet noise of disgust, he wasn't actually sure he heard anything. He gave her an odd look, one she ignored, pretending like she hadn't done anything. He thought back to what he had done at the Ministry, shame rushing through him. He had Crucioed his friend because he had lost his temper. It was accidental, sure, but he had known there was no way she would be safe from it. He had cast it anyway. Good people don't hex their friends. Maybe Ginny was right, and there was never such a thing as good and bad. Maybe there was both in everyone.
"Are you sure this will work?" George asked his twin, looking nervously over the edge of the roof. They both stood on the roof of Hermione's castle, a contraption strapped to George's back.
"No. That's what Aurion and Andromeda are for." Fred pointed to two outlines of people, standing at the base of the castle and back several feet.
"And why do I have to be the one to do this?" George looked at his brother, stepping away from the edge.
"Because I did preliminary tests for the outfits. It's your turn." Fred tightened one of the straps going across George's shoulder, double-checking everything was secure. "Ready?"
"I guess," he shrugged. Fred raised his wand, pointing it at his brother. George felt the backs of his heels reach the edge of the roof and he stopped, waiting for Fred.
"Stupefy!" Fred shouted. George let out a rush of air, knocked off the edge of the castle. Dazed, he tried in vain to get his bearings. The ground rushed to meet him and his gut twisted, waiting for the impact. It never came. Instead, he was jerked upward before drifting down. He looked up, seeing the parachute guiding him down. Andromeda and Aurion steadied him when he landed, each holding him up by an arm. The fabric of the parachute settled over them and Andromeda moved it with a flick of her wand.
"It works!" George shouted, jumping into the air "Fred, it works!"
Fred let out a celebratory noise, raising his arms in the air. They had made a self-deploying parachute for the Death Eaters. If they were struck by a stunner in midair, it would ensure they landed safely. Fred and George had been working on the idea for Quidditch players in case they got knocked off their brooms and couldn't stop their fall, but they decided it applied to Death Eaters, too.
"Good job," Andromeda and Aurion said, leaving the twins to do whatever it was they did. They had been asked to attend the test in case the parachute didn't deploy. They could hardly say no, the twins would have done it anyway.
Luna sat in the library, a book open in front of her. She wasn't actually reading it, it was just there. She scanned the shelves idly, chin in her hand. She heard someone clearing their throat and she turned. Draco stood there, a sheepish smile on his face. He waved awkwardly, muttering a greeting.
"Hello, Draco. Would you like to sit?" she asked, gesturing to the chair next to her.
"Sure. How are you, Luna?" He sat, turning himself so he faced her.
"The Nargles haven't stolen my boots yet, so that's nice."
"That's great news." Draco smiled, not entirely sure what Nargles were but he believed her anyway.
"I like to think so. How are you, Draco? You seem anxious." Luna looked at him, eyes bright and wide.
"A bit, yeah. Hermione and I have been making progress but we're at a pause while we prepare for the next step."
"It's almost time." Luna's voice was serious, something seldom associated with the dreamy witch
It wasn't a question, but Draco answered anyway. "Yeah."
"Let's hope it doesn't take longer than that." Luna looked away, scanning the shelves again. Draco watched her, looking like he wanted to say something else. He seemed to decide against it, murmuring a goodbye and leaving her to look at the shelves.
The Dark Lord perused Hermione's library on the island, pulling books partway off the shelf. Some of them he set on the table, others he put back. The stack of books on the table steadily grew as he continued to pull books off the shelves. He wasn't sure if all of them would be relevant, but he had time and it wouldn't hurt to look through them. Even if they weren't, they were bound to be interesting. He had already searched through his own library and came up mostly empty. Hermione had asked him about wedding rituals for soulmates and he would do what he could to find information. Morgana's library would at least have family rituals. Narcissa was gathering a list of the Black family rituals for him. Perhaps he should check their library, too.
The Dark Lord heard a faint knock on the door and he set down the book he was currently holding. "Enter."
Hermione was in the doorway, stepping over the threshold. "My Lord, last night I forgot to tell you of our progress on the cabinet."
"That's okay, Hermione. I know you were preoccupied." He chuckled lightly as Hermione's face reddened.
"A bit," she admitted, coughing uncomfortably.
"Sit with me. Tell me about your progress." The Dark Lord sat, gesturing for Hermione to do the same.
"Draco and I were able to send an apple through to see if it worked. It did, and then we started sending birds through. It took us a few tries to get it, but we did. We just have to make sure we can send a person and then we'll be ready." Hermione lounged in the chair across from the Dark Lord.
"How do you intend to test that?" He leaned forward, elbows on his knees.
"Well, Narcissa is going to send me through the cabinet and, if it works, Draco will send me back," she said slowly, biting her lip.
"I see. Are you afraid?"
"Not afraid, just nervous. We're pretty sure it'll work but, then again, it might not."
"I am sure you'll be fine. You and Draco are capable, as is Narcissa," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Thank you, my Lord."
"You are still learning your worth, Hermione, but you have incredible abilities."
Hermione blushed at the praise, mumbling, "Thank you."
"I have been researching soulmate wedding traditions. I haven't come up with anything, yet, but I have some promising books to go through."
"Thank you, my Lord. I have to get back to the Manor. Narcissa and I are going to make more potions."
"Goodbye, Hermione. Enjoy your day."
"You too, my Lord." Hermione turned on her heel, Disapparating. The Dark Lord turned his head to the stack of books. He picked one at random and began to read. He had faith in Hermione and Draco and he knew they would succeed in their task. He chose not to worry about any failure. It was unlike either of them to fail and he knew they wouldn't start now.