AN: Ahhhh, so sorry guys this chapter gave me a lot of pain. I wrote it in two Countries, was on holidays without my laptop for 4 weeks. When I'm finally got home all I wrote sounded like a ten years olds, so I decided that you guys where better then that and worked on this chapter till it was a bit better. Still not 100 happy, but tell me what you think, because the more you guys review the more I write. Enjoy.

Chapter 7: The All-England Best Kept Suburban Lawn Competition!

The heat was worse then the day before. It sucked the colour and life out of the surrounding, bleaching everything in its relentless glare. The air was stale and still. Distant sounds of children playing a game of cricket in a park somewhere drifted over the rooftops. Remus struggled to keep his eyes open, not from the blinding heat, but from tiredness. After the night shift at the ministry, he had headed back to headquarters only to find that Mundungus Fletcher had not turned up for his 'Harry watching' shift. Remus had staggered off to cover the gap in the shifts.

The night before his imagination had been running amok , with visions of Tonks and himself as a couple. His dreams involved the two of them with a big family that rivalled the Weasley's for numbers. But such dreams where surely only romantic notions, thought Remus as he pushed the ideas from his head trying not to dwell on the impossibilities. But the visions never left and he was forced to argue with himself all night.

Now as he sat on the fence in the heat, his mind, ravaged by tiredness, gave up the fight and he let his imagination run wild with thoughts of Tonks. He imagined that Tonks and himself lived in one of the house on Privet Drive; that the voices of the children in the park where the voices of their children. He could imagine the whole family playing cricket, Tonks would be terrible, the children would fall about laughing at her and that would be her greatest joy.

The front door of number four Privet Drive slammed shut, Tonks face fled from Remus's mind as he focused on the task at hand. Harry stood for awhile looking around, then slouched away from the house. He didn't seem to be heading anywhere in particular. Remus followed at a safe distance. Soon they passed a small off licence, Harry paused to read the newspaper headlines. The Sun had some news on a celebrity marriage break up, the Times had a piece on a new policy from the muggle Prime Minister, and the Guardian had news on the drought. Harry just plodded on, when he realized they held nothing thing of interest.

Remus followed after him, trying to recapture the image of Tonks again. He was now beyond believing that he could control his feelings for her. Besides he told himself he would need her smiling face to get through another day full of moody teenage angst.

Tonks was late. Her hair was flat and a rather washed out shade of purple. She was wearing a large knitted jumper that did the combined job of hiding her figure and being the ugliest jumper in the world. Her mouth still tasted of vomit and her head pounded. She new that her complexion would be spotty but she was late already and there was no time for make up. She could have called in sick but she didn't believe in taking a sick day when it was self- inflicted. Instead she staggered into the office late, wishing the day was over already.

Tonks struggled through the day, at four o'clock a small memo fluttered into Tonks in-tray. She had been gently massaging her temple, wondering if it was to early to go home yet. Any inroads on her in-tray from the day before were now lost. She only noticed the memo, because it was written on a bright pink piece of paper. Slowly, because Tonks was still feeling so tender, she picked up the memo and unfolded it. It read, in a neat clean script:

Tonks, If you are still interested in being involved in the relocation project, we are having a meeting about it tonight. It will be at the usual spot, at 5:30 pm. Do hope you read this in time, I wrote it on pink paper hoping it would catch your eye.

Remus

Tonks heart gave a flutter at the sight of Remus name. His writing was just as neat and measured as the man himself. Not like her writing that was balloon like and always took up too much room. She read the note again.

"Tonight!" Tonks thoughts materialised into words before she knew it. Several people near here looked over. Steve, who worked in the cubical next to her, stood up and looked over the dividing wall at her.

"Right there Tonks?" said Steve.

"Err. It's Nana Tonks birthday, and I just found out we are having a big family dinner for her tonight." lied Tonks.

"And you're a little hung over, so you would rather not go?"

"And how do you know I'm hung over?"

"I am a Auror and you look like death warmed up, that's how."

Tonks looked at his smug face, it made her want to hit him, or throw up again, she wasn't to sure. So instead she just told him he was mean.

"I know." Steve said with all seriousness, before he dropped out of view.

The room was full of people, but Remus' eyes were glued to the door. As if by pure will power, the door sprang open, much to Remus' delight. Sirius strutted through the doorway, making sure everyone was aware of his presence. "I think I have a right to be here."

"Ah. Not that I want to deal with your cantankerous behaviour," said Mad-Eye, "But you have a point there."

Remus looked back to the door, wondering if he focused hard enough he could make the door spring open again. Remus felt Sirius flop down in the chair next to him. Sirius poked him, "Where's your girlfriend?"

He said it only loud enough for Remus to hear, but still his face blanched and he looked frantically around to see who had heard.

"Right, if everyone's here, I think we could start," Mad-Eye stood at the end of the table and his voice brought a silence across the room. Remus finally let his gaze drift from the door and focus on the matter at hand. Tonks was still not there, and Remus tried as hard as he could not to take the no show personally. But before he could convince himself of anything there was a loud crash from the hallway, followed by shrieks of horror from Mrs Black.

"Tonks?!" yelled Mad-Eye. " Remus, let the others help her. I want a word."

Remus retraced his steps towards the door and walked towards Mad-Eye, feeling like a naughty schoolboy.

"You said that we needed a ninth." Remus said with more conviction then he felt.

"And I would rather have eight people then have Tonks as the ninth and risk making enough noise to alert all of Surrey." growled Mad-Eye.

"Subtlety may not be her strong point, but she's been performing well on guard duties." Came Kingsley's deep voice from Remus left.

Mad-Eye grunted.

"She'll be fine if we're all there. She really wants to help." Remus lowed his voice as he heard the others returning into the room.

"Fine laddie, but she's your responsibility and don't let me find out that you asked her here on the whim of that appendage that's below your belt line."

Kingsley stifled a laugh as Remus' face burned red. Turning around he turned a darker shade red, Tonks stood by the far end of the table staring right at him. The red mark from where she had fallen soon disappeared as the rest of her face turned the same colour.

Tonks sat down in the seat that Sirius offered her. It was next to Remus and the small nudge that Sirius gave Remus didn't go unnoticed by her. Everyone was now settled down in the room, Sirius had pulled up a chair and sat on the other side of Remus. Tonks had to say that Sirius looked a great deal better then usual. Perhaps the thought of seeing Harry again had brightened his mood.

"Right," boomed Mad-Eye, "Now that we are all here, can we start?"

No one answered but Mad-Eye had hardly left time for objections, before he ploughed on. " Harry's safety is our highest priority in this mission. So, as there are many leaks within the ministry, we will not be using the floo network or a port-a-key. I know they would mean the fastest route out for the boy but there are to many things that can go wrong.

"He's still under age, so even apparition is out of the question. That leaves us with brooms. Unless anyone else has a idea? Keep in mind that we don't want the muggles in the area to see us, and using magic in the area will be out of question unless we want a magical law enforcement to turn up and arrest the boy for under-age wizardry."

A few people nodded their heads, Kingsley stroked his chin trying to think of any other way.

"But wont that still put Harry in a dangerous position?" Shouted Sirius, "What happens if anyone sees him flying around?"

Remus put a hand on Sirius shoulder and in a very calm voice said, "He will have had a disillusionment charm placed on him just before we take off, he'll be in the centre of a very tight flying formation. Tonks, who is an Auror, Mad-Eye, and myself, will be flying right along side him. This is the safest way possible, believe me I would never do it unless it was."

Sirius went to make another outburst, but then appeared to think the better of it. "Ok, I guess it will be safest."

Mad-Eye now began to talk everyone through the flying formation that they would use. But Tonks wasn't really listening, she was too amazed by the fact that she would one of the three people to fly right alongside Harry. She wondered what the others would be doing then. Leaning over to whisper in Remus ear, she asked him.

"They will all be circling us." Whispered Remus. "You'll be just in front of Harry, Mad-Eye will be behind, and I'll be just below."

"Wow you've worked it all out. So when is this happening?"

"TONKS! REMUS!" Yelled Mad-Eye, "Will the two of you stop talking."

They both muttered a sorry, with suppressed smiles they both looked at each other before bursting in to fits of giggles. Mad-Eye turned and locked both his eyes in on them. Remus bowed his head and stopped laughing, while Tonks bit her lip and tried to stop the small burst of laughter still escaping from her mouth.

"As I was saying," continued Mad-Eye, "this flying formation is one of the strongest formations you can fly with a small group.

"We should be looking at executing this plan on the night before the start of the Hogwarts term. The only problem Remus and I have come up against so far, is how to get the muggles out of the house. Remus if you want to give us the details?"

Like everyone else in the room Tonks turned to look at Remus, the movement sent a wave of nausea over her. She promised once again never to drink alcohol for as long as she lived. Tonks was surprised to see that Remus seemed to have been woken from a day dream by the stares of the room.

"Right, the muggles." Remus slowly stood. "Well they could be a problem. You see they wont like a team of wizards turning up at their house, especially unexpectedly. Anyway, to turn up to the house when they are there, is an event that I think would not pass without magic being used. Which is not what we want to have happen. So we need to devise some sort of plan to get the muggles out of the house but not Harry. They are unlikely to take Harry along on any sort social visit or family outing. Any ideas?"

Tonks cautiously, not wanting to make herself feel sick again, looked around the room. Everyone looked in deep thought, Kingsley was rubbing his bald head, Emmeline's eyebrows had turned into one line under her knotted brow, Sirius was so still he could have passed for a statue.

Even more slowly than she had looked around the room, Tonks now raised her hand and opened her mouth to speak. It wasn't that she was scared of throwing up, well not literally anyway, but more that she was worried that her idea would seem childish. She was the youngest in the room by along shot and she was starting to worry that perhaps she was in over her head, not just in helping with this mission, but in the order as a whole.

So, ever so slowly, Tonks began, "I've been stuck doing paper work for the past few weeks and so I've read a lot of useless reports. Anyway one of these reports was on the methods that muggle burglars use to rob the houses of other muggles. One of the methods used was that the burglars would send the victims a letter telling them that they had won a prize and all they had to do was go and collect it on a certain night, at a certain time, at a place a good hour away. So the victims would leave their house and drive away, the burglars that knew the house would be empty break in with the knowledge that no one will be home for over an hour. We wouldn't need much more time then that."

For the time being, Tonks had forgotten all about her hang over. The room sat in silence for a moment. One by one the others in the room began to nod their heads.

"I told you she'd be help full Moody," said Remus who had now sat back down.

Mad-Eye gave a curt nod.

"Will they really believe they have won some prize?" asked Diggle

"Yes," shot Sirius, "they are conceited, fat headed, horrib-."

"That's just the type of thing that they would believe Diggle." said Remus cutting off Sirius.

"This could work, but what have they won? It can't exactly be new broomsticks." Kingsley said in his deep voice.

"If it's only to claim a prize will they all go?" asked Hestia.

"I don't know." Tonks thought out loud, "If it was a more like a ceremony that they went to, to find out if they have won. Yeah that would work, like they've been short-listed. They would all want to go along to that."

"But what are they short-listed for? And what are they going to get if they win?" asked Kingsley.

"Oh I think an enticement of money should be enough for the prize." wheezed Doge.

"Yeah should be. As for what they have won for…… what is it my muggle grandparents are trying to win prizes for……it's their garden or their lawn or something stupid." Tonks was feeling much more confident now, with the backing of everyone in the room.

"A lawn competition?!?" laughed Hestia Jones.

"Yeah. The All-England Best Kept Suburban Lawn Competition!" said Tonks with so much vigour it made her still sore head spin.

Kingsley boomed out a laugh, "Good work Tonks. We will have to send it by muggle post."

"There you go Tonks, something constructive to do on the ministry's time. When you've composed it, send it over to me and Lupin to have a look at before it goes out." Finalised Mad-Eye. "I think that will close our meeting tonight. Unless anyone has any objections to the plan?"

Tonks couldn't help herself, like everyone else she looked over to Sirius. "What? I'm good. Knew it would be a Black that would come up with such a good idea." He gave Tonks a small wink.

"Meeting over. Will let you all know when the next meeting will be." Mad-Eye said.

Sirius stood, "Molly's cooking enough bangers and mash down there to feed an army, so feel free to stay for dinner."

"You going to stay, Nymphadora?" asked Remus very softy.

Tonks shuddered at the sound of her name, "It's Tonks. And I think I'm about ready for bed."

"Oh, Tonks if you really can't wait for dinner to be over to shag my mate then fine, but Molly will be sad that you missed dinner." Sirius had a huge grin on his face and was beaming at the two of them.

Her face Tonks tried to explain, "I meant my bed. By myself. Stop smiling at me like that, I'm too tired to for this."

"Come on Tonks, I'm just joking. Stay for dinner, you look like you need a hearty meal to cure your hang-over. And they you might just have enough energy to go upstairs afterwar-"

Remus cut in before Sirius could say any more, "Padfoot Shut-Up."