'There's no way in hell I'm staying here, when you all are going to fight.'
'Nymphie...'
Bella's eyes are almost begging, which is an unusual sight.
'Auntie Bella, you and the Dark Lord are going, Auntie Narcissa and Uncle Lucius are going. Fenrir is going, too. How could I stay here, knowing that everybody I care about are going off to fight?' Tonks explains desperately. There is no way she is staying.
'Nymphie. What about Lycan? What about Delphi? Someone has to stay in the Manor to look after them, to protect them...' Bella says pleadingly.
'Auntie, the Manor is protected by the strongest wards to ever exist. There is no way the fight is going to spread all over to this place. The children have three house elves to babysit them during the time we are off.'
Bella looks at her niece; a silent plead in her dark eyes indicates, that she isn't convinced.
'Auntie, who are we fighting for?' Tonks asks suddenly.
Bella looks confused.
'For the Dark Lord.' she gives the obvious answer.
'Of course. However, who is the Dark Lord fighting for?' Tonks inquires.
Bella thinks upon the unexpected question.
'For the Wizarding society.' Tonks says. 'And what is the foundation of the Wizarding society? Its children. We are fighting for Lycan, Delphini and thousands of other kids, to provide them with a better life, better future. Auntie Bella, I... I really want all of us to return alive and victorious from this battle...'
Bellatrix looks stunned.
'Nymphie, but we surely will return...' she starts, but Tonks cuts her off, putting her hands on Aunt's shoulders and looking her deep in the eyes.
'No, Auntie Bella, and this is exactly what I fear the most. Look, I have no guarantee that you will all return safely and intact... I wouldn't survive, if I lost Fenrir, or you, or Auntie and Uncle... You know, sometimes, I have... dreams... nightmares...and they seem so real...I, I'm just so scared, that if I'll stay here, I won't see you ever again!' Tonks spits out quickly the last sentence, and her shoulders start shaking in uncontrolled sobs.
She feels Bella's warm embrace. The older Witch cuddle's Tonks head to her chest.
'Shhh, Nymphie. Lay Lycan down in the cradle next to Delphi, and get ready. We are going to take over Hogwarts. Together'
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Lycan and Delphi are both fast asleep, clung to each other for warmth, despite being wrapped into a fluffy blanket. The night is cold.
Tonks sits next to the cradle, watching two tiny chests breathing evenly. Lycan takes deeper breaths, and Delphini faster and shallower ones, but every couple of minutes their breaths level off one another.
Tonks stands up. She puts her wand into her back pocket and puts her leather jacket on. With a heavy heart, she shoots the children one final look and leaves the nursery. Moppy is outside, in vigilance. She is going to be checking on the babies once in a while.
Everybody is already gone, they have left about an hour ago. Tons is supposed to use her element of surprise as an advantage. Her cover is still unblown. She is still going to be pretending, one final time. She is going to step into the battle as an Order of the Phoenix' soldier.
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Everybody from the Order apparently have entered the castle through an underground passage, connecting Hogwarts with a pub called "The Hog's Head". Tonks has no choice, but to follow in their footsteps and use the same passage.
The pub's door is widely open, and its floor is trampled by thousands of fresh footprints, what clearly indicates a lot of people having travelled through it throughout the night. The pub's owner (of any other staff members for that matter) is nowhere to be found. A disgusting odor of dirt and alcohol fills the air.
'Young Lady, either you will finally use this passage, or step aside and make place for others. You're not alone here, for Heaven's sake!'
A hoarse, grumpy voice tears the girl off her thoughts.
She turns around to see a short, slouching elderly Witch in a hat with a stuffed vulture.
'And you are...?' Tonks mutters, narrowing her eyes, annoyed.
The elderly lady snorts, looking at Tonks with superiority.
'Watch how you talk to your seniors, young lady. Honestly, you could at least show some respect by using a form "ma'am'' while talking with a lady older than you. I'm Augusta Longbottom and I'm here to aid my fighting grandson, Neville.'
Tonks' pupils widen.
She sees it all to clearly; like a penseive memory. Neville Longbottom, a chubby boy, who followed Potter down there, to the Department of Mysteries. Burning hatred in Longbottom's eyes, and his screechy, unbearable voice, when he tears his throat in blind fury, seeing Auntie Bellatrix...
'Neville Longbottom.' Tonks mutters, implicitly reaching her right hand to her back pocket. 'I know him.'
The elderly Witch stands upright, beaming with pride.
'Of course you do! Everybody knows my grand...'
'Petrificus Totalus.' Tonks mutters almost lazily, pulling her wand out of the pocket and aiming it at Augusta in one swift move.
The old lady collapses with her arms clung to her thorax and her legs glued together.
'I wish you a fruitful battle, ma'am.' Tonks says politely and climbs up to the secret passage.
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Commotion, noise and flashing lights strike Tonks' senses like a lightning bolt after stepping into Hogwarts' corridors. After months of silence and bedrest during pregnancy, finding herself in a battlefield is a shock for Tonks' still weakened body.
The Weasley girl, Ginny, is the first person who clings to Tonks just after her entering the castle via the secret passage. From her annoying babbling when they run along the corridor, Tonks understands, that the ginger girl is considered too young to be participating in the battle, and being around Tonks is somehow going to prevent her from being evacuated like other kids.
'Ginny, I need to find Remus.' Tonks uses the first credible excuse that pops into her mind, only to get rid of the irritating girl.
'Oh, I think I saw him fighting with Dolohov on the second floor.' Ginny answers.
'Fuck!' Tonks mutters and increases her pace; she storms into the staircase and descends, skipping the stairs.
Ginny may think she is concerned about Remus, in reality- she doesn't want the cowardly bastard to hurt Dolohov.
The dark-haired Death Eater has already been severely injured a couple of times throughout this war, and his reflexes may not be as good as before.
Suddenly, a horrible hoarse roar breaks through the omnipresent noise and commotion, and a foul smell reaches Tonks' nostrils, causing the girl to gag.
An enormous giant, covered in battle dust, walks clumsily along the corridor, holding an object, which looks exactly like one of the gargoyle statues that ornament the castle's roof.
The stinking giant swings the statue backwards, getting ready to toss it at a group of attacking Death Eaters downstairs.
'Confringo!' Tonks yells, aiming her wand at the statue. An explosion crushes the stone gargoyle from inside, turning it into dust.
The giant turns its vacant eyes towards Tonks. The girl, knowing that most of theoffensive curses would probably be absorbed by the creature's thick skin, points her wand towards the giant's toes.
'Incancerous.' she snarls. An invisible rope ties the giant's legs up together, and the enormous creature collapses with a horrible clunk, his oversized body sealing the corridor off.
'Tonks, he's on our side!'
A familiar, whiny voice of Ronald Weasley makes Tonks cringe. She narrows her eyes and turns towards the surprised gingerhead.
'How can he be on either of the sides, having approximately two brain cells and one synapse to connect them? Oh wait, right. The same applies to you, and you're somehow fighting for the Order.' she snarls.
Weasley stares with his mouth open; Tonks runs, wanting to disappear from his eyes before the meaning of her words reaches him.
Through the dust, debris and commotion, Tonks finally reaches the second floor, where Lupin and Dolohov have a fierce duel in an otherwise empty corridor.
Just like the girl assumed, the back-haired Death Eater struggles. Having his mind violated by a powerful Obliviate earlier that year, his movements and spellwork are not perfectly smooth or coordinated anymore. Remus benefits from his advantage over Antonin, putting him on the defensive.
Tonks approaches the battling pair from behind Lupin's back. Sweaty, exhausted Dolohov notices the girl and his eyes brighten.
'Expeliarmus.' Tonks mutters, disarming her ex-fake-partner. Lupin turns around in shock, when his wand slips from his hand and flies straight to the girl's extended hand.
'Antonin, care to go and tell Fenrir I've already arrived? I didn't stumble across him in this commotion, when I was running through the. I'll deal with Lupin here.' she says.
The exhausted Death Eater nods and runs towards the staircase. Tonks is purposely sending him to her mate. She knows, that fighting side-by-side Fenrir, weakened and battle-worn Dolohov is going to be safer than anywhere else.
'Tonks, what does that mean?' Lupin's face expresses not only confusion and outrage, but also mild horror.
'Give up, Lupin.' Tonks' voice is tired and unaffectionate. 'This school is encircled, the interior is almost entirely in our hands. There's no point for you and your buddies to resist anymore.'
'In our hands?' Lupin repeats slowly, with disbelief. 'Just... who are you?'
'Nymphadora Tonks Greyback.' The girl answers indifferently. 'Descendant of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.'
Lupin's scarred face is twisted by an incredible wince. Tonks' eyes widen, when the man clenches his empty fists and pounces on her, apparently intending to attack her with his bare hands.
Tonks manages to lift her wand just in time.
'Avada Kedavra!' she yells, and a stream of green light washes Lupin's chest.
The man collapses on the ground, life escaping his body.
Tonks watches him falling, suddenly hearing a bunch of voices coming from the staircase.
Apparently a large group is coming her way. It's definitely a group of Hogwarts' protectors; Tonks recognizes voices of Professors Macgonagall, Sprout and Flitwick. A number of high-pitched, excided voices blurred together indicates a group of students accompanying them.
Tonks turns reluctantly towards the staircase. It's too late to run, and it would be unwise to start a fight with a group of teachers and students without any backup.
Following the beat idea she can think at the moment, she painfully presses her wand against her own chest.
'Segniter Segnis.' she whispers. 'Segniter Segnis, Segniter Segnis...'
With the hostile group getting closer, Tonks anxiously presses her free hand against her neck, checking for a pulse. Feeling her spell taking an effect, she approaches Lupin's dead body and lies down next to it, motionlessly, with all her skeletal muscles relaxed and her eyes closed.
The spell she's just used is a spell from a Healer's assortment, taught her by Auntie Narcissa. It allows the heartbeat to relax, slowing down the bodily functions and the blood flow. Tonks, using this trick for the first time, can only hope for the process to make her pulse undetectable.
The steps get progressively closer. Tonks does her best to clear her mind and relax, listening to the conversations above her head.
'Another causalities.' Flitwick's screechy voice says. 'They're... Minerva, aren't they...?'
'Oh, Merlin!' Macgonagall's voice exclaims. 'Remus and Nymphadora... It can't be!'
Somebody kneels down beside Tonks and puts a warm hand on her neck, unsuccessfully looking for pulse.
'I'm sorry, Minerva. Both dead...'
Macgonagall gasps.
'That's horrific... Their baby was born merely a couple of weeks ago...' she whispers.
'Indeed, horrific... Poor baby, orphaned at such a young age...' Sprout's deep voice says.
'We must take them to the Great Hall, Minerva. All the fallen ones are being gathered there, so we can bury them all with honors as soon as the battle is over.'
'Levicorpus.'
Someone casts the spell and Tonks feels being lifted up to the air. Her body floats a few feet above the air, being led in front of the group to the Great Hall. She feels Lupin's corpse floating next to her.