Several minutes later, Luna and Ginny were staring out the front window, watching Hermione yelling at the twins. She wasn't the sort to consider this situation an excuse to break the restrictions on underage magic, but Fred and George still looked frightened.
"After this, they'll probably consider guinea pig catching the equivalent of a holiday," Ginny said. "If we get lucky, Mad-Eye'll turn up before Hermione finishes chewing them out - that might just be funny, if it goes the way I..."
"Ginny! Luna!" Mrs. Weasley yelled, coming into the hallway. "Could you two help Tonks with dinner?"
The girls walked off into the kitchen, both wondering whether or not the kitchen would remain intact.
---
"Ugh, I'd rather be attacking the attic!" Ginny snapped. "Who knew trying to make lasagna would be this precarious?"
"I can't blame you," Tonks said, shutting the oven with a resounding bang. "There is a good reason I avoid anything to do with food, and everyone's about to get reminded of that. Do you two think burning it would mask the fact that there isn't proper sausage?"
"Does it matter?" Luna asked, staring out the window. Hermione had finally let the twins off, so they were now trying to wrestle a gnome out of her cat's mouth with limited success.
"I'll probably burn the damned thing whether or not I mean to," Tonks said, seemingly ignoring Luna. "I've still got to wonder why they've got me here in the first place, though. Instead of actually DOING something for our side, I'm chasing guinea pigs and cleaning out an attic! There had better be one hell of an explanation for all of that, and I intend to get it."
"Don't feel so bad," Ginny said. "It's not like we want to be here either..."
"Yeah, but there's nowhere you and the other kids could actually be HELPFUL. Me, on the other hand... I could be doing one of a hundred things that would help the Order, but of course they won't let me. For some strange reason, they've got it into their heads that I'm no use at all."
"Maybe you could look at it differently," Luna suggested. "Maybe you're here because they need someone with training to protect this bunch. Maybe the fact that you're here is a sign of how much they really trust you."
"Or maybe it's more about protecting you," Ginny added.
"No and no," Tonks snapped, not sure what she felt about this. "There are several others with more training than me who could be here, if protecting is why I'M here. And as for protecting me... I have nothing to lose if I die for our side. You two heard my little rant about how the person I have feelings for doesn't care one bit about me. Given the headcases I'm related to, I'm little more than a target for the other side. I'm nothing, girls - why would anyone want to keep me safe?"
"You're not nothing," Luna said, almost whispering. "I barely know you, but I know you're a lot more than you think you are." She would've said more had Fred and George not come crashing into the kitchen at that very second.
"Any of you lot know how to deal with cat bites?" Fred asked desperately.
"You're the only people we CAN ask," George added. "Mum'll tell us it's what we get for our stunt in the first place, and McGonagall's probably on her side."
"Where are the bites?" Tonks asked. She'd had a succession of felines as a child, so cat scratches were nothing new to her.
Fred stuck out his wrist. The cat had either been intelligent, vicious, or some combination; the bite was right next to a vein. It was bleeding steadily, and Fred seemed to be in a small bit of pain.
Tonks pulled her wand out of her pocket and started saying spells that the twins, Ginny, and Luna had never heard before. Within moments, Fred's wrist had stopped bleeding and was wrapped in a bandage. "You're a lifesaver," he said, happy his mother would never hear of this.
"When that's the most useful thing I'm able to do," Tonks muttered to herself, "it's clear that I belong elsewhere."
---
Ten more minutes later, an owl flew into the house. It dropped a letter on a table and flew off again, dissapearring into the twilight. Ginny, who was nearby, picked up the letter and opened it, disregarding that it had her mother's name on it.
"Here we go again," she said, looking a little surprised. "There's been yet another change of plans regarding who's coming here."
"Hand that over," Molly said, coming downstairs, seeing the letter in Ginny's hands, and putting two and two together. She took the letter, read it, and looked a little worried. "Ginny was right - there's been another change of plans regarding people."
"So who've we got now?" Fred asked, hoping no one would notice his bandaged wrist.
"No one else for the moment," Molly said, relieved at this fact. "Several unnamed people think it's almost too dangerous for members of the Order to even contact each other."
"Would anyone mind giving us the REAL reason we're cooped up here?" Ginny asked, sending a look at certain people.
"What have I got to do with this bunch in the first place?" Luna asked, knowing full well there was no reason.
"As I said," Molly said, trying to keep her composure, "details are sketchy. All I know is that all of us in this house are here for our own good, no more and no less."
"How gullible do you think they ARE?" Tonks asked, revealing that she might actually know something. "I've met ten-year-olds who wouldn't fall for that, and these are some of the most brilliant kids I've ever known. I'm not saying I know much - I don't - but someone's got to tell them what we DO know!"
"Go ahead," Molly said, reluctantly relinquishing control.
"The truth is that a storm's coming. Odds are that several people are going to escape in the next few weeks, people who don't have conciences or feelings or anything. Most of you guys are her because you're connected to the key target. Luna, on the other hand... I don't know actual details, but I remember hearing something about you being a liability if left at school."
"What?" Luna was enraged, a frightening sight for the small group of people near her. "How bad do they think I AM? Yeah, people think I'm crazy at school, but no one's ever gotten to know me well enough to know that's just who I am. I think the term they use for me is 'mostly harmless'..."
---
A/N: I have NO IDEA what I'm doing with this next. Suggestions are very welcome.