Hello everyone! Sorry this took a while, but I was debating whether or not to leave Teddy's POV for a chapter or two. I decided that I would, so in this chapter we get to follow Tonks and Harry to the conference in Paris! I apologize to any French readers if they are offended. One French guy happens to be unpleasant. I do not have anything against the French. I live in an area that was settled by the French, so I know more French last names than other origins. That, combined with the fact that I had already decided the conference was in Paris before I decided that the welcoming committee was not going to be welcoming led to one unpleasant Frenchman. I hope that the other characters, who are in fact very sweet, make up for it! Anyway, on with the chapter!
I do not own Harry Potter. It belongs to JKR. I also do not own SPAT. It belongs to Nick Hornby and is from About A Boy. I recommend it and the movie, but mostly the book.
By the time Tonks and Harry arrived at their hotel, she was ready to hex the next person who looked at her wrong. She was already miffed about spending the weekend away from Teddy, not to mention apprehensive about leaving the Auror department in the hands of Ron Weasley. The "welcome" she had received from the newly-appointed Ministre de la Défense had not helped her attitude. Monsieur Boucher took one look at her and immediately turned to shake Harry's hand. He only shared Tonks a disdainful nod. He whispered loudly to his deputy in rapid French. "Oh, je ne savais pas que nous devions apporter nos secrétaires."
If he thought she would not understand, or else be too scandalized to respond, he was sadly mistaken. Tonks felt her anger flare, but thankfully remained composed on the outside, a feat she would not have been able to accomplish as a younger woman. She was satisfied to see the other foreign ministers shift uncomfortably. Clearly, they did not approve of Boucher's cheek. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Harry throw her a worried look; he may not have understood the words, but he understood the tone. He definitely caught the word "secrétaires." She shook her head almost unperceptively and plastered a placid smile on her face.
"I understand if you wish to bring your secretary with you Monsieur… Boucher, was it? It may have been over a decade ago, but I can still remember my first conference. A bit of help would have been nice, but it was a luxury I did not have—post-war budget, you understand. Perhaps you should bring Madame Dubois. After all, she has seen three of you come through that office. She can keep you informed about the important information, like whom are the department heads leading the conference. Maybe I should introduce myself to save you further embarrassment? I am the British Head Auror, Nymphadora Tonks," she said tightly in perfect French. She extended her arm for a handshake that he had no choice but to return. Once he was close she whispered, "But you knew that, did you not?"
A low murmur ran through the room as the French-speakers excitedly translated for their colleagues. Boucher opened his mouth to retaliate, but then closed it abruptly when his deputy grabbed his arm. Instead, he sent Tonks a loathing glare, as if to say his feaux pas was all her fault.
Ten years ago, Boucher's comment may have garnered a few chuckles at her expense and made her angry and embarrassed, but she had fought hard for the respect of her colleagues and won it honestly. Now, she casually summoned a passing waiter and took a champagne glass from his tray. She recognized a weak, underhanded attempt to climb the latter when she saw one. Clearly, Boucher was no Hufflepuff. He was also no Gryffindor, because he quickly retreated into the crowd to find someone else to antagonize or latch onto. She smiled while she sipped her drink, and then began introducing Harry to the other department heads.
Towards the end of the night, a man approached her as if she and Harry were a firing squad. Tonks recognized Boucher's deputy. "I apologize for my colleague's behavior, Madame Tonks. 'Zere are not words to say 'ow 'orrible I feed about zis… incident. 'Ze Président will not be 'appy…"
Tonks waved away his apology with a dry laugh. "What he says has nothing to do with you, but thank you for the apology. All he has accomplished is making himself look foolish. I only hope that he does not take his frustration out on Madame Dubois."
The man smiled. "I will see to it 'zat 'e does not. He would probably incite a riot. Madame Dubois 'as been 'andling 'ze office as long as anyone can remember. Boucher was merely a twinkle in 'is mozzer's eye when she was 'ired."
"I know, I was not even a twinkle in my mother's eye yet," Tonks laughed, "Madame Dubois was very kind to me when I met her at my conference. If she was my secretary I would bring her with me. Well, I will see you tomorrow, Monsieur…"
"Lafayette," he supplied, "I am to take you to your 'otel, so we will say goodbyes then. I 'ope we can make up for Boucher's lack of 'ospitality. If you and Monsieur Potter will follow me, I will lead you to the car. Your luggage 'as already been delivered."
The hotel rooms were actually in a large multi-bedroom suite that looked so expensive Tonks was hesitant to touch anything for fear of breaking it. She wondered if the French Ministry kept the suite on hand to give to whomever Boucher offended. She collapsed on the plush sofa and kicked off her heels. They were very low, but they still made her feet ache. She rubbed them while Harry searched for the room service menu. He found it and began rattling off a list of meals.
"I'm thinking of stepping down," she stated flatly and without preamble. Harry looked up from his menu fast enough to give himself whiplash.
"I'm sorry, you what?" he choked.
"I am thinking of stepping down to deputy and letting you take the top job."
"This doesn't have anything to do with Boucher, does it?"
Tonks rolled her eyes. "Please," she snorted, "This has nothing to do with La Grenouille. I have been considering this for some time now. That is why I asked you to attend this conference with me. I wanted you to get a feel for the atmosphere before I threw you to the dogs. As you can see, politics are not always nice."
"Why now?"
"I have always been controversial, right from the off. There were many reasons people didn't want me as Head Auror. A twenty-five year-old single mum, married to a werewolf, and the niece of Bellatrix Lestrange? It is not exactly the formula for a favorite leader."
"That was then, now you are very popular! You've got all of Mad-Eye's training, but you are good with people. You made this department what it is, and you did it almost single-handedly. You are good at this! Just look at how you handled Boucher!"
"I should have ignored him. I was in a bad temper, and I let that get in the way. I made a scene and only made Boucher resent me more. Believe it or not, he doesn't resent me for being a woman. That was only what he could attack me for. He resents me over the werewolf issue. His daughter was killed by one, so he can't stand that I am a vocal proponent of werewolf rights. The fact that I am younger than him and a woman tops it off." That gave Harry pause, so she continued, "When I joined the Aurors when I was eighteen, I had no intention of becoming Head Auror. I joined for the fieldwork, and before the war there was not enough money in the world to convince me to take the position. The war and Teddy changed things. Kingsley needed someone he trusted to take the job, and he was keen on putting me safely behind a desk. I knew I was all Teddy had, so I took the job. The salary and the regular hours have been a blessing, but I miss the field. Now the department is something I am proud to be a part of—and more importantly, something Mad-Eye would approve of—and Teddy is growing up…"
"And moving to Hogwarts," Harry finished. Tonks nodded. "That doesn't mean he has outgrown his mum. The best years are still to come, and Teddy needs you to stick around for those, too."
"Merlin! I am not planning on getting killed! I am only saying that Teddy won't need me home for regular hours. I want to get back into the action. You have a wife and three kids and you are Harry Freaking Potter. Everyone expects for you to have the top job and the top pay. When I took the job, I told Kingsley I was going to give it to you as soon as I could."
"Don't be ridiculous. You know Ginny and I wouldn't have to work at all if we didn't want to. We chose to work because we don't like being idle. Besides I do less field work and work less hours than you do."
"Because you are easily recognizable and I do not assign you much. You are lucky I am an insomniac or you would have a lot more paperwork."
"I know you are just looking for something to fill your time, but believe me, you will regret this. Get yourself a hobby. Find some new bloke."
"Harry, when have I ever just 'found some new bloke?'"
"Never," he said, "That is the problem. You don't make time to think about what you want."
"I want to keep busy. I want to spend time with my son. I do not want to get back into the dating world."
"Why not? What is the worst that could happen?"
Tonks quirked her eyebrow to communicate how dim she thought his question was. "Do you have any idea how hard dating is for a metamorphmagus? Even good men get ideas when they know you can make yourself look like anything. By the time I met Remus, I had been messed around a few too many times and I was ready to give up. I fell head over heels and you know how it ends. He was the only one who truly understood the challenges of being a shape shifter. I was twenty and reasonably pretty last time I dated; do you really think a man would appreciate me as a thirty-six year-old mother when he could ask me to turn into a young blonde bombshell? I won't have it." She exhaled deeply, and then continued. "I am not holding out for Remus, if that is what you are thinking. I gave up on him long ago. I am happy with my life just as it is. I don't want it to change, but I know it is going to when Teddy leaves."
"I'm telling you that you will regret stepping down. If you want field work, fine. Take over Kingsley's protection detail and morph before you go out on assignments. Blowing off some steam will do you good every now and again. I am warning you, though, I do not want your job; I will not take it. If you want Ron to run the Auror Department, send in your resignation papers. Otherwise, I am afraid you will have to stay put."
Tonks glared at him. "You are a devious man, Harry Potter."
"I learned from the best," he chuckled, "Does this mean you will stay?"
She rolled her eyes. "Yes, but I am taking on some field work and you have to tell Molly, Ginny, and whoever else is setting me up on blind dates to stop. I am officially adopting the title of spinster."
"They are only trying to help," Harry protested.
"That doesn't make it better for me. I still haven't forgotten the S.P.A.T. episode."
"It was called Single Parents Alone Together, and Hermione thought it would do you good," he paused, "and I think she liked the name."
"Of course she did! It is most unfortunate acronym besides S.P.E.W."
"Fair point, you have a deal. I will tell them to lay off if you keep your job."
She smiled grudgingly. "It's a deal. Now, pass me the menu. We are eating off the French Ministry's ticket and I feel splurging. Fingers crossed it comes out of Boucher's paycheck." Satisfied that he had averted a crisis, Harry lobbed her the menu.
Yeah. I don't speak French, only snatches of Acadian/Cajun French. I hope my translation app works. If not tell me. Boucher said, "Oh, I didn't know we were to bring our secretaries."
Please review and tell me if this chapter worked even though it jumped POV. Thanks for reading!
