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*This wraps up the "meet and greet" prologue of this fic. Things will move much faster from here on out. Thank you so much for the reviews and the follows!
Tonk's head was reeling. Sirius was innocent. Peter Pettigrew was alive. The only danger Harry Potter had been in was from the rat himself. It was almost unbelievable. Apparently, that disbelief was a shared emotion.
"I put him in Azkaban myself," Kingsley said, his finger punching the table so hard Tonks feared he would break it. "I held him back from attacking anyone and everyone who crossed his path. He was crazed. Murderous."
"If someone tried to shove you in Azkaban for a crime you didn't commit, you'd be upset too," Sirius countered.
"You were more than upset, mate," Remus said lightly. "Have you even seen your wanted posters?"
"Seen them... pissed on them..."
"Lovely," Tonks heard herself say. She was surprised she was even able to speak after the presentation Dumbledore had just given. An innocent man in Azkaban for 12 torturous years. Peter Pettigrew and the Marauder's Map. The tiny, tiny, yet almost-certain chance that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was back and preparing to wreak havoc. How were any of them able to function after all that?
"Sirius had every right to be angry. Still does." Arthur Weasley shot an apologetic glance at Sirius. "I think we all have a right to a bit of anger. My family housed, fed, and downright spoiled that little beast for twelve years."
"He slept with our children," Molly chimed in, mortified.
"He slept with me." Bill shuddered theatrically and Tonks grinned.
"I slept with you."
Oh. So not only could Tonks speak, but she could also say incredibly stupid things at incredibly inappropriate times. Wonderful. The lock of hair that lay on her shoulder burned a bright red, and no level of concentration could bring it back to pink.
"Well, if it isn't the Black mouth making an appearance," Sirius chuckled.
"I think she's going to spontaneously combust. I don't think her hair could get any redder." Bill grinned and turned towards Molly, intent on making it worse. "How ya doin', Mum?"
"I've been better." Molly's eyes were boring holes into the table and Tonks wished fervently that the floor would open up and swallow her whole.
"I think we've veered way too far off topic." Snape spoke up from across the room and Tonks could have kissed him. A strange thought, but nothing stranger than anything else that had happened that night. "I have absolutely no interest in who Miss Tonks is sleeping with, was sleeping with, or will be sleeping with."
No, Tonks would not be kissing Snape. Not now, not ever.
"I'd like to get back to Black's presumed innocence, if we may."
Tonks didn't have to look over to know that Sirius was fuming. There seemed to be some bad blood between the two men, and Tonks predicted a duel by the end of the night. Which made her wonder if Sirius had a wand at all. Not that Sirius couldn't handle himself without one. She'd watched him give Lucius Malfoy a bloody nose and a black eye one weekend in Hogsmeade. She hadn't heard what Lucius said to Sirius to earn such a beating, but she was pretty sure it was directed at her.
Feeling a sudden swell of affection for her cousin, Tonks gave him a timid pat on the knee, earning a smile in return.
"Sirius isn't presumed innocent, Severus." Remus, who had blushed as furiously as Tonks when she ran off at the mouth, finally decided to speak up. "Sirius is 100% innocent. I saw Pettigrew myself. So did Harry. And Hermione. And Ron. Are you calling us liars?"
"Such loyalty, Lupin. Mere months ago you were all for hunting Black down and feeding him to the Dementors," Snape sneered. "And now look at you, jumping to your boyfriend's defense..."
"Severus, that's enough." Dumbledore held up his hand, the picture of absolute authority. Too bad he wouldn't use that authority until it was too late and grown men were about to duel like teenagers. "We're not here to argue his innocence. There is nothing to argue. Eye-witnesses have claimed Peter Pettigrew alive and a pensieve prove it. Unless you are willing to call me a liar...?" Snape shook his head and lowered his eyes, probably to keep from glowering at a snickering Sirius. "Now I know you've all heard the rumblings in the wizarding community about He- Who..."
"Voldemort," Sirius interrupted quietly, drawing a hiss from Snape and several gasps from the rest of the room. "We shouldn't be afraid to say the bastard's name."
Tonks longed to agree, but years of contradictory teaching held her back. She was braver at Hogwarts, enthralling her dorm mates with tales of doom and Death Eaters, that awful name on the tip of her tongue and whispered into frightened ears. But that was years ago and after a few brushes with honest-to-goodness Death Eaters, her tales didn't seem so enthralling anymore.
"Nevertheless, Mr. Black," Professor McGonagall chimed in, "I believe the majority of the room would rather not hear it."
Ouch. Burns from McGonagall tended to sting for a while. But Sirius seemed impervious. "Come on, Minnie. You missed me and you know it."
Much to Tonks' surprise, Professor McGonagall nodded, her eyes tearing slightly. "I did. I truly did." The room fell silent for several moments. Tears from Minerva McGonagall warranted silence.
"And again, I think we've veered off subject."
Well... for most.
"I'm getting to it, Severus," Dumbledore replied, amused at Snape's lack of patience. Dumbledore seemed like the only person in existence to be amused by Snape. Period.
"And while you're getting to it, HE could be out there, holding a meeting of his own." Snape gestured angrily towards the door. "Getting to things much faster."
Tonks' stomach knotted. She was too young for where this conversation was headed. Comical, sure. Old enough to be an auror, to track down and bring to justice some of the wizarding world's most heinous criminals, but not old enough to even think about going after a wizard who may or may not be alive and who may or may not be gathering followers to carry out his evil plots. Made perfect sense in her head.
"And if he is out there... if he is planning something... what are we going to do about it?" Tonks had to know. The very fact that she was there at all, sitting with seasoned aurors, including Moody, who had been strangely silent for the past half-hour, meant that whatever happened, she was meant to be a part of it. A part of whatever alliance formed against Voldemort. And she had to know what that meant.
Dumbledore stared for a brief moment, and Tonks was relieved when he moved his gaze from her and looked at each and every individual at the table. "I don't know."
