Picking Up The Pieces Chapter Thirteen Crying Jags and Mistaken Identities
Tonks sat at her desk, bristling with anger. Lupin had still not come out of the interrogation room.
She drummed her fingers on the table, forcing herself
to read over Narcissa's file. It had been conducted
during one of the Ministry's many inquiries into the
Malfoy family. If she was going to impersonate her,
she wanted to do a good job.
It'd be a lot easier to impersonate her if he'd tell me anything about her, she thought angrily.
Why on earth was he acting like this?
Suddenly, Lupin approached her desk, holding a bit of parchment.
She looked up at him.
"Time and place." He said simply, putting the piece of paper in her hand without touching her.
"Thank you for your assistance to the Ministry." She said coldly.
"Just doing my wizardly duty. Oh, and Lucius Malfoy is the one who told Narcissa about Regulus. Might help you." He said with a forced smile, walking away.
She stood up, catching his arm and lowering her voice.
"I hope you don't think you're staying at my place tonight."
Lupin looked over her shoulder. A few of the other Aurors were watching them with thinly veiled interest.
He sighed, leading her out into the hallway and rounding on her.
"No, I would never presume that. Don't worry- my things will be gone by the time you get home."
She faltered for a moment, thinking he was going to protest or apologize.
"Well...good." She finally said.
"Take care of yourself." He said nonchalantly.
"Yeah...you too." She said, feeling her heart thudding strangely.
Were they breaking up?
"Look...Remus...it was just a stupid fight, this doesn't mean we...I mean, does it?" She said, cursing how stupid and young she sounded.
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. She suddenly noticed the gray around his temple more than ever...he looked so old. So tired.
"I care about you...a great deal. But I just...I don't think this is the best time for us."
There was a long silence. He went on.
"I don't know if there will ever be the right time for this to work."
"Don't say that." She said, fighting down a lump in her throat.
"I'm sorry. You're an amazing person, and someday, I'm sure someone-"
"Stop it!" She demanded.
"You're more than I deserve, and you've been amazing.
I just can't...do this anymore."
"Remus-"
"Good-bye, Tonks." He kissed her forehead.
She caught him around the wrists, kissing him fiercely.
There was a long moment when it felt just like the
first time they'd kissed, that same urgency and
passion, but now with a delicious sense of
familiarity--she knew he didn't mean what he'd said,
no one could kiss her like this who didn't love her-
But then-
He broke away from her, walking away without another word.
--
Ron's eyes took awhile to adjust to the bright light of the room. He was lying on his side, chained at the ankles and wrists in what looked like a glass case.
Outside the glass case, he could see Draco and Snape talking quietly.
All he could hear was Draco saying, "Yes, of course.
It's nearly done."
Snape's reply was too quiet to catch
Ron's muscles ached, his long legs throbbing slightly as if he'd been dragged in here.
He pulled himself up to a sitting position, apparently catching Draco and Snape's attention.
"Oh, brilliant. Weasel's awake." Draco's face broke into an unpleasant smile as he stepped closer to the glass.
"Don't get distracted, Draco. You've got a job to do"
Snape held him back from the room.
"I know, I know," Draco rolled his eyes, "Hey--are you lonely in there, Weasel?"
Ron didn't answer, rubbing his eyes, his chains clinking together.
"Well, don't worry. You won't be alone for long"
Draco snickered.
"All right, Mr. Malfoy, time to get to work." Snape took him by the shoulders, ushering him away from the glass.
Ron lay back down, flat on his back, not even wanting to think about who may be joining him.
Or what Draco and Snape would do to them.
--
Harry and Hermione sat in the hotel room Harry had just rented them, in a small town outside Darkmoor.
They had been talking about Ron's disappearance for the past hour, and still neither had no idea what to do about it.
"We should never have split up." Hermione said miserably, perched on the windowsill.
Harry was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall, frustrated.
"Hermione- this isn't anyone's fault!"
"So, what, it's just Ron's bad luck? Of course it's someone's fault! It's my fault--I should have been with him, I should have-"
"We'll find him." Harry reassured himself.
"Oh, really? How?" Hermione snapped.
"I don't know how! All you've been doing for the past hour is feeling guilty! Just think! Think for ten seconds, help me think of how to find our best friend!" Harry stood up, pacing.
"Don't take this out on me!" Hermione said, her eyes heavy wtih tears but flashing with anger.
"I'm not taking anything out on you! Just do something
constructive, don't just sit there and whine about it!
You're supposed to be the one who knows everything!"
"So what, now I'm letting you down?" She stood up as well, furious.
"YES!" He yelled back.
"You're really being a bastard about this, Harry, you know that?" She spat, her voice cracking slightly.
"You're the one who-"
Suddenly Hermione stepped toward him, her arms around his neck, crying openly into his shoulder.
He hugged her back instinctively, and suddenly they realized what they really were- two friends just holding on for dear life in the midst of something neither of them could even begin to comprehend.
They had lost Ron. And neither of them had any idea how to get him back.
They stood there like that for a long time, until she was sniffling instead of crying.
"I'm sorry, Harry. I really didn't mean-" She wiped her eyes on her sleeve, stepping away from him.
"Yeah, I know. Me neither." Harry said quietly.
She sat down on the edge of one of the beds, taking in a deep breath.
"I'm sure there's a library in this town. I'll find
something...some way to reverse the tracking spell"
She said, nodding to herself.
Harry laughed weakly. Of course she wanted to go to the library.
"I'll come with you."
She smiled.
"No, it's all right. I think better alone anyway. You stay here...write to Ginny. We have to tell the Weasleys."
--
Tonks stood by the rickety sign post of Spinner's End.
Her hair blew behind her, long and silky and blonde.
Today had been absolutely horrible, and now this little assignment promised a horrible night.
She could not believe she and Remus had broken up. It
still hadn't quite set in that it had really happened.
As promised, his things were gone when she had gotten
home from work. She had sat in the living room, in the
dark, staring at a picture of them for an insanely
long amount of time. She supposed she should have
thrown it out- isn't that what women do in these kind
of situations? Burn the pictures, eat a lot of ice
cream, listen to sappy Muggle music? She'd never been
dumped like this, not by someone she was in love with.
And she was so in love with him.
"Narcissa?"
She spun around, surprised.
Snape was there, cloaked in all black.
She tried not to wrinkle her nose at the sight of him.
You're in love with him, come on. This is how the whole spy business works.
"Severus. Finally." She said, her voice coming out higher and much more snooty than her own.
Tonks' Auror skills had extended her Metamorphagus
talent to taking on their voice, mannerisms,
everything.
"Sorry, I'm late. We had rather a busy day."
"Really, why?" She asked, innocently leaning against the sign post.
"We managed to capture one of Potter's friends. One of those insufferable Weasley children." He shrugged.
"Oh really." She replied, trying not to react.
"So, what is it? I got your message that we needed to meet."
"Oh..." She swallowed, trying to keep her story straight. He was standing very close to her and it was making her uncomfortable.
"Where have you been? I haven't heard from you in awhile." His hand slid up her arm.
Tonks tried not to vomit.
"Oh...just lying low."
"Where? You weren't at your house."
"One of Bellatrix's old houses. I use it to hide out sometimes."
"Why were you hiding out?"
"What's with the third degree?" She laughed, tossing her hair over one shoulder.
He sighed.
"You're right. I'm sorry--it's just been a long day."
"It's fine. I just wanted to ask you--you remember Regulus, my cousin?"
"Yes, of course, I remember him."
"My husband mentioned once that he had contacted you...before he was killed."
"He did." Snape's eyes narrowed slightly.
"What did he say?"
"Why do you want to know now?"
"Because I've been hearing talk that the Ministry is looking into Regulus' death. I didn't know why...and I thought you might have some idea."
"As far as I'm concerned, he's a traitor. Why would I care how he died?" Snape said, his voice almost sounding amused.
"So you don't know anything?"
A small smile played around Snape's mouth.
"What's funny?" She asked.
"Nothing. Just...I've really missed you..." Snape leaned towards her slightly, that same oddly amused tone to his voice.
Tonks steeled herself, his lips pressing against hers.
A little voice in her head kept screaming "You're kissing SNAPE!" but she tried to ignore it.
It was over quicker than she'd expected. She couldn't help thinking--didn't people having torrid affairs kiss a little differently?
He looked at her for a long moment.
"That's what I thought."
Suddenly, his hands had seized her arms, slamming her against the signpost.
"Immobilius." He said angrily, and she felt her limbs stiffen.
"What the hell?" She shouted.
"Who are you?" He snarled.
"I'm Narcissa!"
"Imperio!" Snape shouted, his hands closing around her neck.
Tonks had fought off this curse before, but Snape administered it more powerfully than anything she'd ever experienced. She felt a strange, dreamy sensation fall over her.
"Tell me who you really are." He hissed into her ear.
"Nymphadora Tonks." She said, a lazy smile settling over her features.
Snape shook his head.
"Of course. I should've known. She's in Ministry custody then."
"Yes." Tonks said, unable to stop herself.
Snape took the spell off, pacing around the signpost where she stood frozen.
She had to admit that the power it took to administer
an Unforgiveable Curse without a wand was impressive.
Scary as hell, but impressive.
"How did you know?" She asked, still paralyzed.
"I'm assuming you know of Narcissa and I's relationship, or you wouldn't have tried something this bold."
"Yes."
"Clever, my dear. But Narcissa would never call Lucius "her husband" in front of me. One of our many pretenses, I suppose." He shrugged nonchalantly.
"My mistake."
"Well...then, Nymphadora...perhaps you can still prove useful. This might actually work out well." Snape said, looking he might actually laugh at his own brilliance.
"You're such the evil villain cliche." Tonks said through gritted teeth.
"Well, I wouldn't want to disappoint you by doing
something even remotely good then." Snape said,
grabbing her shoulder roughly and apparating with her
by his side.
--
The Weasley house was quiet and somber.
Ginny's parents had finally drifted off to sleep,
after they had been in the Ministry all day,
frantically requesting searches for Ron. The Aurors
had said they would do their best, but Ginny could
hear it in their voices that they didn't think there
was much of a chance. Tonks had been there, but she
had been unusually quiet.
Ginny was sitting on her bed, feeling strangely empty.
She and Ron had always been close, and she had even
counted him among her closest friends at school and at
home. Sure, they disagreed more often than not, but
she had always looked up to him far more than she let
on.
She couldn't even imagine what their family would be like without him. Didn't want to imagine.
She felt her eyes growing hot, and tried to blink them away. Her mother had been crying all day, and her father had looked close to tears all evening. They had owled all the other brothers, and Ginny didn't even want to think of what their reactions would be.
She knew they shouldn't have gone. She had said all along they shouldn't have gone.
Suddenly, there was a tapping at her window.
Ginny nearly jumped out of her skin, spinning around,
grabbing her wand off her bedside table.
Harry was on his broom, hovering outside her window.
She hurried to the window, unlatching it.
"Harry, what--?"
He flew smoothly in the window, dismounting his broom,
and looking around.
"Are your parents awake?"
"No, they're in bed. Exhausted. Ron's-"
"Missing, I know. I was there." Harry said, his dark green eyes not meeting hers.
"How did this happen?" Ginny asked, suddenly realizing she was in a ratty t-shirt and pajama pants.
Oh well. Stupid thing to think of at a time like this.
"Hermione, Ron, and I were looking for the Horcrux at
Malfoy Manor. Draco and Snape were there, and they
discovered me. Hermione and I got out, but Ron"
Harry trailed off, leaning against her wall.
"Well, there must be some magical way to-"
"No, there's not."
Ginny blinked, surprised. Harry sounded so sure of that.
"So what did you come here to tell me?"
"I just wanted to make sure you were all right. I couldn't stop thinking about you." Harry said, finally looking at her.
"Harry..."
"I hate not being with you. I'm so sorry it has to be like this."
"I totally understand."
Harry raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, well, not totally, but I'm not angry at you.
Not anymore. You have a job to do. I've known that
since the beginning."
"Ginny...that really means a lot to me." Harry said,
crossing to her.
Ginny leaned her forehead against his.
"I really miss you."
"Well, when I get back from all of this, I'll make it up to you." He smiled.
"Oh, really?" Ginny said, a slight smirk crossing her features.
"Yeah. Really." Harry kissed her.
She kissed him back, smiling as they broke apart slightly.
Suddenly, Harry's hands tightened on her back, and his mouth against hers grew rough and insistent.
"Harry...my parents are home." She mumbled.
"We better be quiet then." He laughed, pulling her to him again.
She tried to protest, but everything he was doing felt good. This was unlike anything they'd ever done...Harry had always been a little awkward at this kind of thing, and she thought it was cute. But now...well, he certainly was having no problems with awkwardness. Before she knew what was happening, they were on her bed, and her ratty t-shirt was on the floor.
But suddenly, Harry pulled away.
"What's wrong?" She said, flushed and out of breath.
Harry's face broke into a smile.
"Bloody hell." He grinned.
"What?"
"He doesn't deserve you."
"What do you mean?"
Harry's hand closed over her mouth, the other arm pushing down on her chest.
"Nice bra, by the way." Harry said, looking at her in a way that made Ginny feel hot with shame.
That's when it hit her. This wasn't Harry.
She tried to scream, tried to fight against him, tried to reach for her wand, but she couldn't move. She felt paralyzed by shock, and the imposter's grip was surprisingly strong.
Slowly, Harry's green eyes began to glint with a silvery blue. His dark hair turned blonde, his nose grew longer and thinner, his skin paler, the scar disappeared, and his lips curled into a sneer.
"Thanks for the warm welcome," He sneered as she let
out a muffled scream against his hand, "Oh, come on,
Weasley. Stop complaining. Didn't you think it was
nice to finally get some from someone who knows what
he's doing?" Draco snickered,
She screamed curse words against his hand, finally regaining her strength and fighting against him furiously.
But before she could even really put in an effort, he had taken her wrist to apparate and they were gone.
--
A/N- So, things are not looking too great for the good guys as of late. Damn magic-- makes everything so complicated, huh? Next chapter- Ginny and Ron realize that planning is not the Weasley strong point, Tonks wishes she'd paid more attention in the Auror class on resisting Unforgiveable Curses, and Hermione and Harry have a breakthrough when a very unexpected source reappears.