Chapter 20

Harry Potter's rescue party gathered at the Burrow before heading to Number 4 Privet Drive.

Remus held Tonks back for a moment before they went in. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

She raised her eyebrows at him. "It's a little late for me to pull out now, don't you think, even if I had any inclination to do so? You'd be one short."

"I could still call Sirius."

"We all voted that Sirius shouldn't take part, no matter how much he wanted to."

"I still don't understand why, though," said Remus.

"Because we love him, and we don't want anything to happen to him when he's only just become a free man again," Tonks replied calmly. "Besides Harry asked him to research something for his quest, about which he won't tell anyone but Sirius."

He sighed. "You're right, of course. And I knew you'd never go for staying behind. Just be careful."

"I will, as long as you remember that the same goes for you." He nodded. She kissed him quickly before opening the door.

Moody was debriefing everyone for only the twentieth time that evening.

"Now, I want you lot to listen very carefully and never relax your CONSTANT VIGILANCE! I'd bet my good eye that Voldemort has at least five Death Eaters around Potter's house at all times. Who knows what sort of fight we may be facing. Our objective is to get Potter out safely. All other concerns are secondary. If someone goes down in the line of fire, no one is to go after them."

Tonks had had enough of that. "You expect us to leave a fallen comrade to the devices of the Death Eaters?"

"Yes." Tonks scoffed. "I mean it, lass. If one of us has to die to save Potter, it's a necessary and honorable sacrifice."

"I understand that, Mad-Eye. I just refuse to entertain the idea of abandoning the body of one of my friends to the Death Eaters." She adopted her most intimidating pose.

"Fine. Just don't get yourself killed in the process."

"On that note," Remus cut in, "shall we get going." Moody gave a curt nod, and all the people assembled mounted their respective forms of transportation.

Twenty minutes later they dismounted outside of Harry's home. Harry let them in and they entered Petunia Dursley's immaculate kitchen. He seemed quite taken aback by the plan that they had developed to confuse any Death Eaters in the area, having six decoy Harry Potters.

"You can't do it if I don't cooperate, you need me to give you some hair," he declared.

"Well, that's that plan scuppered," said George. "Obviously there's no chance at all of us getting a bit of your hair unless you cooperate."

"Yeah, thirteen of us against one bloke who's not allowed to use magic; we've got no chance," said Fred.

"Funny," said Harry, "really amusing."

Tonks had to hold back a chuckle at the exchange. She could sympathize with Harry; she wouldn't want six of her wandering around. But it had to be done.

Moody went through the pairs. At the end of the list, Tonks said brightly, "Which leaves you and me, Ron!" She promptly, and characteristically, knocked over a mug tree in her enthusiasm. She couldn't help but notice that Ron did not seem excited about being her partner.

They all went outside to leave. Immediately after they took off, they were surrounded by at least thirty hooded figures. Killing Curses began flying through the air. It was all Tonks could do to avoid the curses and keep Ron and her aloft.

She couldn't see anything among the chaos that had broken out. However, suddenly she saw a bolt of green light just miss Remus'. At that moment she was more concerned about her husband's safety than Harry's or her own, but she remembered her duty and tried to keep Ron and herself away from the curses, heading toward their safe house. She forced herself not to look back.

Tonks had been pleased when her parents had agreed to use their own home as a safe house. She only hoped that there would be no attacks on Order members' families that night.

The new stillness of the night was disturbed by a sudden mad cackle. "Why, if it isn't my ittie-bittie niecey! I'm so glad you're here." She refused to rise to Bellatrix's baiting. She flew faster to try and escape the inevitable curses that would soon be heading toward her and Ron. "What, aren't you going to talk to your dear auntie?" The mock baby talk was really getting to Tonks, but she knew that, if she turned, the game would be finished and the vicious attack would begin.

"Stay back, all of you! I want to deal with my freak of a niece myself. After all, the Dark Lord told me that I need to prune my family tree, and I'm only so happy to do so." Tonks couldn't suppress a slight shudder at that.

Ron was growing a little frantic. "Don't do anything yet. She's just playing for a while. Keep your head down and wait for them to start firing curses. Then, fire back as quickly as you can," she whispered to him.

"Still nothing? Well, maybe you'll have something to say to this. I saw your poor halfbreed hubby fall off his broom; took an Avada Kedavra right to the back." Tonks felt all the color drain out of her face. She span to face her aunt to see some sign that she was lying. In turn, Bellatrix cackled even more wildly. "Aw, isn't that so sad, everyone? The little shapeshifter fears for her mate." She finished with a flourish of green light.

Ron wasted no time. "Stupefy!" The red beam hit one of Bellatrix's companions in the head. But the red and green beams, especially Bellatrix's, were hitting far too close to home; Tonks often felt a breeze as they whistled by.

"You won't escape me again. You got lucky in the Department of Mysteries last year. I won't be so easy on you this time." Bellatrix began firing more wildly, but also more violently. She didn't even bat an eye when Tonks got a direct hit on her husband, Rodolphus.

It took some time, but she and Ron eventually managed to get to his Auntie Muriel's house. "What took you so long? Your portkey already left." she groused when they finally arrived.

"We were delayed. Why don't you try fighting off half a dozen Death Eaters, and then see if you still complain about the time." The offended woman sniffed haughtily and muttered something about youth today. Tonks slightly regretted her rudeness, but her patience was worn thin by the attack and she was worried out of her mind about Remus.

"Well, now that you're here at last, you need some tea."

"Thank you for your hospitality. We really need to get back to the Burrow; they'll be worried about us."

"Nonsense! Tea won't take fifteen minutes. Besides, Ronald is looking a little bit green. He needs to rest." Tonks glanced over at Ron, who did indeed appear sick. She submitted, but she couldn't stop fidgeting and running through the midair battle in her mind.

Half an hour (not fifteen minutes) later, they mounted the broom and flew toward Ron's home.

When she saw him, she almost could have fainted with relief. "Remus!" The broom barely reached the ground when she flung herself into his arms, not caring who would see. She noticed that he looked worse for wear himself.

She backed away slightly. "Ron was great, wonderful. Stunned one of the Death Eaters, straight to the head, and when you're aiming at a moving target from a flying broom-" Remus nodded but didn't seem interested.

"So what kept you? What happened?" He almost sounded angry. She knew he was worried, but she thought his reaction was uncalled for.

Tonks grimaced. "Bellatrix," she answered. "She wants me quite as much as she wants Harry, Remus, she tried very hard to kill me. I just wish I'd got her, I owe Bellatrix. But we definitely injured Rodolphus…Then we got to Ron's Auntie Muriel's and we'd missed our portkey and she was fussing over us." He nodded again, seemingly appeased.

Everyone grew increasingly concerned about the absence of four members of the party: Mad-Eye, Mundungus, Bill, and Fleur. Finally, Bill and Fleur arrived on the back of their thestral. Despite the Weasleys' palpable relief, Bill was grim. "Mad-Eye's dead," he stated flatly.

Tonks couldn't believe it at first. Mad-Eye couldn't be dead; he was Mad-Eye. She clutched at Remus' arm for support and reassurance, but his face was set in the same lines as Bill's. On second thought, she supposed that she had thought same of Dumbledore, and that had not saved him.

She didn't cry often, but she thought the tears would come. However, her eyes and cheeks remained resolutely dry. Normally, she would be happy about this, that she was tough and professional. But she wanted to mourn her mentor, the man who trusted her and fought for her, the man whom she had come to love as a second father, despite his gruff exterior. She pushed the thought aside; such emotion could wait until she was home.

Awhile after everyone absorbed the shock of Mad-Eye's death, Bill and Remus were talking to each other and moving away from the group.

"Where are you going?" said Tonks and Fleur together.

Remus glanced at Tonks almost apologetically before looking determinedly away. "Mad-Eye's body, we need to recover it." Tonks nodded reluctantly; she knew it had to be done, and she had advocated for such an eventuality strongly before they left for the mission, but she didn't want him to go with Bellatrix still in the skies.

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It was three o'clock in the morning. Tonks was sitting on the settee in her and Remus' flat, still waiting for him. Suddenly, she heard a creak outside and a series of taps on the door that she and Remus had developed as a signal.

But it never hurt to make absolutely certain. "What's our book?"

"Jane Eyre." She opened the door, and he slumped in gratefully. Sitting on the couch, he sighed deeply.

Tonks felt for his exhaustion, but she had to get out some of her frustration that he just ran off without even consulting her. "So what kept you? What happened?" She demanded, echoing his reaction from earlier that night.

He winced slightly, recognizing her annoyance. "Well, we got the body. We took it to his house and found his will. He wanted to be cremated." He paused and adopted a slight smile. "So that parts of his body couldn't be used in Dark magic." They both thought fondly for a moment about their old friend's paranoia.

"To think, we'll never hear him utter the words 'constant vigilance' again." Despite her lingering annoyance at him, she snuggled into Remus' side, just glad that he was safe.

"At least we're both home for now." His words echoed her thoughts.

"I have something that I need to tell you, though." Remus gestured for her to continue. "Bellatrix knows that we got married." He swallowed audibly. "I don't know how, but she was taunting me. She said that you were killed in the attack." She shivered at the memory of her aunt's jeers.

Remus held her closer. "I was afraid this would happen, but we'll make it through. I guess we never really had that much hope of keeping our marriage secret." They fell silent, caught in their own worries. "Well, I'm knackered. Are you ready to turn in?" She nodded and they stumbled blearily into bed.

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Several days later Remus and Tonks were preparing to leave for the Burrow to attend Bill and Fleur's wedding. Remus was being abnormally quiet.

"Is something wrong, Remus?"

"No, no," he replied distractedly.

"Are you sure? You've barely said five words all morning."

"It's just…" He paused, obviously unsure of what to say. "Don't you wish we could have had a wedding like this, with all our friends and family?"

His discomfort suddenly made sense to her. "Maybe." Remus' face fell, but she cupped his chin with her fingers. "But I don't think I would trade the one we had. It may not have been the sort straight out of a fairytale, but we had the people closest to us there. We were happy." He couldn't deny that. "Feel better?" Tonks smiled brightly.

"Yes, I feel much better. I must say that you have quite a knack for cheering me up." He lightly kissed her forehead.

"Good. Because, if we don't get out of here soon, we're going to have to deal with Molly's wrath for being late to her son's wedding."

"Merlin forbid that." They both chuckled as they Apparated.

When they arrived, they saw Harry in the form of a Weasley cousin. "Wotcher." Tonks used her customary greeting. "Sorry about last night. The Ministry's being very anti-werewolf at the moment and we thought our presence might not do any favors." She didn't mention that they were also trying to keep their marriage hidden from Scrimgeour, although they didn't hold out much hope because of all the Death Eaters infiltrating the Ministry.

They briefly greeted Sirius before he joined Harry, Ron, and Hermione, whispering something quickly to them.

They listened to Bill and Fleur's ceremony, thinking of their own vows that they had made little more than a week before. The party afterward was just getting into full swing when Kingsley's lynx patronus arrived in the crowd's midst. "The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming."

Most of the guests began panicking and running in all directions. Tonks and Remus and other Order members had the presence of mind to cast Shield Charms. They weren't enough against the swarm of oncoming Death Eaters and Ministry employees, though.

Soon, the Order members, the only remaining guests, were all disarmed and guarded by two Death Eaters, who were clearly in charge of the operation, each. "Well, well, the Order really does scrape the bottom of the barrel, doesn't it? A family of blood traitors, a shapeshifter, and even a werewolf." The silky voice of Lucius Malfoy grated on Tonks' already strained nerves. "I think I will interrogate you one by one. If any one of you here so much as utters a syllable, the person with me at the moment will suffer a terrible accident." His sneer froze the very blood in Tonks' veins.

He took Molly first. After several hours, he had gone through all of them. Suddenly, Bellatrix Lestrange burst through the door. She moved toward Tonks menacingly, with her wand raised. Remus tried to move to shield her with his body, but he couldn't escape the grasp of his guards.

"Tsk, tsk, Bella," The voice of Lucius Malfoy stopped her in her tracks. "You heard the Dark Lord's orders. You failed yet again to kill your insignificant, yet troublesome, niece the other night. Our lord specifically told you not to do anything today. You should be happy that he let you pay a visit to your sister." Tonks barely held back her gasp. "You know that we still have to secure our hold on the Ministry. Any unexplained deaths would only raise suspicions."

Bellatrix bristled at his condescension. The fury in her gaze would have stalled most men, but Malfoy was nothing if not self-assured. "Fine. Of course, my only happiness is to follow the Dark Lord's commands. But you would do well to remember that she is your niece, also, Lucius. Furthermore, despite some of my recent mistakes, I am still the Dark Lord's favorite, and he doesn't trust you anymore." He did not shy away from her, but he did eye her warily.

"And I still don't see why I can't have a little fun with her." Her unpleasant smile in Tonks' direction resembled that of a cat who was faced with a mouse that had no chance of escape.

"Not today. We're finished here. I'm sure you'll have every opportunity to have your fun in due course." Bellatrix glared at Lucius, but she acquiesced. The Death Eaters and Ministry officials slowly cleared out.

Molly and Arthur, and Bill and Fleur clung to each other, shaken, as did Remus and Tonks. Tonks had been certain that she would die, and she couldn't quite believe that she survived. Remus apparently thought the same because he was white-faced and couldn't stop staring at her, as if to reassure himself that she was really there.

Remus finally shook himself out of his reverie. "Well, we'll have to call a meeting. We should all go out in public as little as possible."

"I agree, Remus, but we're not in immediate danger. They said themselves that they couldn't have too many unexplained deaths on their hands immediately after overthrowing the Ministry."

"Yes, but in the words of Lucius Malfoy, I'm sure that they would seize every opportunity to make sure that we have accidents." They all discussed their options, and Harry and company, for another hour before disbanding.

As soon as they were out the door, Tonks said to Remus, "We have to go to parent's house."

A/N: Some of the dialogue in this chapter is taken directly from chapters 4,5, and 8 of DH. I'm sorry that it was a bit grim, but I think it was necessary. I hope to have another update on Friday.

I also realized that I forgot to add a review bribe at the end of the last chapter. So I have a deluxe bribe. Anyone who reviews gets to be paired with Remus for a dangerous life-threatening Order mission.