A/N: First, happy birthday to purebristles!

I'm leaving for the weekend on Thursday, so my next update will be next week … I'd say by Tuesday, 25 July.

Thanks for reading and reviewing! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

I don't own the Harry Potter universe.

A Different Path

"So," Kingsley said as he and Tonks walked down the hall to the conference room together, "are you ready for our first department meeting without Scrimmy?"

"You know, I think I may actually miss him," she said with a grin. "Although, I must say, John Alexander certainly is more handsome than Scrimmy."

Kingsley made a face. "What is it with you and the older men?"

She grinned. "You're just jealous because I don't fancy you."

He pretended to look hurt. "You mean you don't? I've been hoping and hoping …"

They were both still laughing as they reached the conference room. Kingsley held the door for Tonks to pass before him. She felt the smile slide off her face as she entered the room; she could already see that every other Auror had his or her "mask" securely in place.

Tonks and Kingsley sat down together in the back of the room. Kingsley looked around for a moment, then turned to Tonks.

"Tough crowd, huh?"

"I think they all want to impress John," she said. "It's sort of silly, really. I mean, we've all been working together for quite some time now. I would think that he knows what to expect from each of us."

"That could go either way," Kingsley commented. "It could be a good thing or a bad thing, you know, depending on what it is that he thinks he knows. Personally, I'm not going to get to upset one way or the other until we've had this meeting."

"Very wise," she smiled.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I please have your attention?"

All conversations ceased as John Alexander stepped to the front of the room. He surveyed them all with a look that reminded Tonks inexplicably of Moody.

"I'm sure that you all know me by now, but, just in case, I am John Alexander. As of this time yesterday, I am the new Head of the Auror Department. I wanted to call you all here today to discuss the way we will run this department under my leadership."

"Full of himself, isn't he?" Tonks whispered.

"A bit," Kingsley grinned.

"We are working under some very difficult circumstances," John stated. "You-Know-Who has returned, and he and his Death Eaters have embarked upon a path of destruction not seen since the last war. As Aurors, it is our duty to find a way to stop him."

Or to delay him until Harry's ready to fight him, Tonks added mentally. She shivered a bit at the thought. She hated the idea that Harry would have to fight this monster in the end.

"One thing that you must understand is that my first priority is fighting You-Know-Who. Clearly, the way we have always done things has not been enough. We need to do more. That means we need to change the way we do our jobs. If you're not comfortable with the idea of change, please let me know within the next few days so that I can find you another job within the Ministry. I don't need people here who will be reluctant to work together, or to work with me. I only need those who are willing to cooperate, and who are willing to give everything in them to this job."

"Is he channeling Moody?" Kingsley whispered.

"If he says 'constant vigilance,' I may have to leave," Tonks replied.

"One major change that I am going to make is in the way missions are assigned. In the past, we have always worked exclusively with one partner – always the same partner. I'd like to change that."

Tonks looked at Kingsley a bit fearfully. He gave her a lopsided smile that was supposed to be encouraging.

"I'd like to see us work, in addition to with our partners, in groups and individually. I know you and your strengths and weaknesses. My plan is to assign the most capable Auror to each job. If that means that you are sent undercover while your partner patrols Diagon Alley, so be it."

"Oh, I don't like this," Tonks whispered.

"We'll be fine," Kingsley said with as much confidence as he could muster. "He'd never separate us. We work too well together."

"I will begin handing out new assignments this morning," John said. "I have already decided where to place each of you, so there is really no point in coming to me now with requests." He paused. "I will see all of you soon. That will be all for now."

"What is he, a machine?" Tonks asked as they left the room. "He's had the job for a day! How could he have come up with a new assignment for everyone already?"

"I think it's a scare tactic," Kingsley said sagely. "There's no way he's done all that already.

"I don't know, King," Tonks said nervously. "I think that before too long, we'll wish we had Scrimgeour back."

"Perish the thought!" Kingsley said in mock shock.

She shrugged. "I think John's going to go a bit far."

"He's just like Moody," Kingsley said. "The department always ran well with Moody in charge. This could be a good thing."

"I hope you're right." She smiled slightly. "And I hope he doesn't separate us."

Kingsley shook his head. "He'd have to be insane to do that. We work well together – we've always worked well together. Why would he separate us?"

She looked at him hopefully. "Well, we'll see soon enough, won't we?"

"Yes, we will."

Remus finished packing the last of his things with a sigh. Once again, he was moving. Although, this time, his final destination wasn't nearly as clear.

"France for now," he muttered to himself. "I'll deal with a home here when I get back."

He used his wand to shrink his boxes and cases, making them small enough to fit into his pockets, and Apparated to Olivia's house.

For the second time in recent memory, he found the house empty. He frowned slightly, trying to remember her work schedule.

"She is supposed to work today," he said, annoyed with himself for forgetting. He sighed, hoping that Dana would be home.

He walked the short distance down the street to Dana's house rather quickly. He paused to knock on the door, which was opened by a very excited Laura.

"Uncle Remus!" she exclaimed, hugging him tightly. "What are you doing here?"

"What, you don't want to see me?" he asked with a grin.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it," she laughed. "We didn't know you would be here today!"

"It's a bit of a surprise," he grinned. "Is that all right?"

"It's more than all right," she said, hugging him again. "Come in and I'll find Mum."

Remus followed Laura into the house. She promptly began screaming for her mother. Remus smiled again, realizing that nearly every teenager used that search tactic when trying to find someone. He remembered James attempting it in his parents' massive house during their younger days.

"Grandma's out right now," she informed him. "She went to play cards with her friends." She made a face. "They play cards, like, four times a week! I don't know how she can stand it."

Remus smiled. "All grandmothers do that. I think they receive membership in a card group when their first grandchild is born."

Laura giggled as Dana came down the stairs.

"For goodness sake, Laura!" she exclaimed. "Would it kill you to actually walk up the stairs to find … Remus!"

Laura, who looked relieved that her mother's tirade had been cut off, watched as Remus hugged Dana.

"What are you doing here?" Dana asked.

Remus laughed. "Your daughter asked the same thing. Am I not allowed to visit anymore?"

"You know we're glad to see you," Dana said, taking his arm. "It's just a surprise, that's all." She paused, a nervous look coming into her eyes. "Are there problems I should know about?" she asked in a low voice.

"Don't do that, Mum," Laura said. "Don't leave me out of everything!"

Dana smiled slightly. "Laura still wants to be inducted into the Order."

Remus smiled. "Not yet, little girl. Wait until you're older."

"Hopefully, there won't be a need for the Order by the time she's old enough," Dana said. "Come, let's go sit down before you fill us in on everything."

"This isn't good, King."

"What's wrong?" Kingsley asked as Tonks came into their office.

"I've been all around the department," she said. "Almost every team has been split up."

"That still doesn't mean we will be," Kingsley said calmly. "Don't borrow trouble, Tonks."

"It just makes me nervous," she said. "I don't like the idea of working without you."

"I don't like it either," Kingsley said. He smiled slightly. "I'm the one who initially requested to work with you, remember? Thank goodness Moody was willing to be accommodating. You're the best partner I've ever worked with."

Tonks smiled, flushing slightly at the praise. "I thought you went to Moody on bended knee and promised him money if he'd let you work with me."

Kingsley laughed. "Don't let it go to your head. I just really hated working with Crawley."

"I hope you don't get assigned to work with him again," she teased.

"Hey! We don't joke about that," Kingsley grinned. "I still think we'll be okay, Tonks."

"What makes you so sure?"

"It's what I've been saying all along. Moody assigned us to work together, and, if I do say so myself, we've done brilliantly."

"Yeah, I guess we have, haven't we?" she smiled. "Thanks, King."

"So, what assignment should we be given?" he asked, trying to keep her positive thinking going.

"Oh, I think he'll make us spies."

"Oh, really?" Kingsley asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course," she grinned. "We'll be right in the middle of the Death Eaters, catching them left and right."

Kingsley laughed. "Well, that makes sense. We're just that good."

"So, what dire news have you brought us this time?" Dana asked as she, Remus and Laura sat down in the living room with cups of tea.

He sighed, and put his cup down on the coffee table. "He's back, Dana. I don't really think I can make it any clearer than that."

"So we're right back to where we were before James and Lily …"

"Getting there," Remus said. "You heard about the bridge collapse, I'm sure?"

"Yes," she said. "And the giants … were there really giants?"

"We think so."

"Dumbledore thinks so, then?"

"Yes."

"And Amelia and Emmeline?"

Remus nodded. "Voldemort."

"And the dementors?"

"They've left Azkaban," Remus nodded. "They're … well, they're breeding. They're everywhere around London now, and they're expanding to all of England. You should see it, Dana. It's like this horrible, gray mist is around everything all the time."

She shivered. "I don't think I want to see it."

"I read something," Laura said suddenly, leaning forward with a slight frown, "about Inferi … what are they?"

Dana shivered again. "Reanimated corpses," she said.

"What?" Laura gasped.

Remus nodded. "We have no proof that they're being used again," he said firmly. "But, yes, during the last war, Voldemort and the Death Eater used reanimated corpses, Inferi, to fight on their side. It's completely disturbing to even think about … only a demented mind could come up with something like that. But, it's ingenious really – they can't feel pain or be killed, so they're the perfect soldiers."

"Nothing can stop them?" Laura asked weakly.

"One thing can," Remus said. "Fire." He leaned forward. "Remember, that, Laura, please. Fire can destroy Inferi."

"I'd like to think she won't need to remember that," Dana said.

Remus shook his head. "We all need to remember that."

Dana buried her face in her hands. "I thought we had put all this behind us. I never thought … I never dreamed, even in my worst nightmares …"

Remus reached across to touch her shoulder. "We're going to make it, Dana. We made it out last time, and we'll do it again this time."

She looked up at him with eyes full of misery. "Yes, we made it," she said, "but at what price? How many will we have to lose this time, Remus? Whose funerals will we have to attend? How much pain and suffering will we have to witness?"

Remus looked at her for a moment. "A better question, Healer McKinley, is how much pain and suffering are you going to stop?"

She looked at him with huge eyes. "Remus … are you asking …?"

"I'm asking you to think about it, that's all. Nothing more and nothing less."

She shook her head. "I don't know if I can."

Laura looked between them, frowning in confusion. "Would you please stop talking in code?"

Dana looked at her sadly. "He's asking me to go back to England. He's asking me to fight again."

"Shacklebolt, Tonks, can I have a word?"

Tonks and Kingsley both looked up from their desks to see John Alexander standing in their office doorway. They exchanged a glance.

"Come in," Kingsley said at last.

John came in and closed the door behind him. "Well, I'm sure you know why I'm here."

Kingsley nodded. "You're going to give us our new assignment."

"Assignments," John corrected. "Shacklebolt, you're going to guard the Muggle Prime Minister. I've arranged for you to work as the secretary in his outer office. His current secretary will take extended medical leave to recover from a nagging cough. Her last day is today. You'll start tomorrow."

Kingsley nodded slowly. "All right."

"Tonks, you're going to guard Hogwarts. You'll report to the school tomorrow. Dumbledore and his staff will give you a very detailed tour of the school, including secret passageways and shortcuts. After that, you'll be responsible for preparing the school for security surveillance. You'll need to be ready for when the students report on September first."

"Will I be the only Auror there?" she asked.

"I'll have a rotating team, but you'll be the permanent Auror," John replied. He allowed himself a small smile. "That means that you, Miss Tonks, will be the Head Auror there. The others will report to you. Your mission will be to keep the school, the students and the staff safe. Above all, you are to keep Harry Potter safe. And you'll need to do this while remaining as invisible as possible."

She nodded. "I can handle that," she agreed.

"Excellent," John said. "Good luck to both of you – not that you'll need it. You're two of the best Aurors we have."

He left, closing the door behind him. Tonks and Kingsley looked at each other in shocked silence.

"Hi."

All three of them looked up as Olivia came into the room. Remus fought to control his surprise as he looked at her. This haggard woman was not the Olivia he had left only weeks before.

"Liv," he said, standing up and hugging her close. "How are you?"

"All right," she said as she sat down next to him on the couch. "What are you doing here, Remus?"

"I came to see you," he said. "I was worried about you."

"What is there to be worried about?" she asked.

"Oh, you know me. I worry," he said lightly.

She looked at him with the saddest smile he had ever seen. As Remus looked into Olivia's eyes, his breath caught in his throat. Although her face still showed the thirty-seven years that she had lived, her eyes betrayed the soul of an old woman. It was as though she had seen too much to be young.

"Laura, come and help me with dinner," Dana said, standing to her feet. "We'll let Uncle Remus and Aunt Olivia entertain each other until we're ready to eat."

Remus looked at Olivia as Dana and Laura left the room. "Do you eat dinner with them often?"

"Most days," she replied. She smiled sadly again. "Dana's worried about me, too. You're both being ridiculous, if you ask me."

"Good friends generally are," he replied. "Talk to me, Olivia. Tell me what's going on inside."

She looked at him sadly. "You know what's going on inside," she said. "You lost your wife. You know how it feels."

"And I also know how important it is to talk about it," he said. "After Laura died, I shut out the world for weeks … months, I suppose. If hadn't been for Lily and Harry, I may never have found my way back. Please, Liv, don't let yourself get that lost. Please, hang on. Let us help you."

She shrugged. "I go to work every single day, Remus. I still have plenty to live for." She smiled. "And, now that my brother is Head of the department in England, I have to set a good example."

Remus smiled. "You've always set a good example. John's promotion doesn't mean you have to try harder at work."

"But, I do," she said blankly. "Remus, I have to put everything into work. That's what Moody always told us. Especially now, with Voldemort openly back. We need to devote ourselves to our jobs."

"I don't think Moody wanted you to make yourself ill because you were working so hard," Remus said, voice shaking a bit with concern. "Liv, you are taking good care of yourself, aren't you?"

She smiled brokenly. "Of course I am, Remus. I just … I have to work. If I work, then I don't have to think about what's happened."

"You need to think about it, Liv," Remus said, taking her hand in his. "If you don't think about it, how will you ever deal with it?"

A tear slid down her cheek. "I don't want to deal with it. It hurts too much." She drew a shaking breath. "Remus, I can't even tell you how this feels. It's like part of me is gone … like half my soul is completely numb."

"I know," Remus said simply.

"Yes, I suppose you do…" She sighed. "It's worse … worse than when he went to Azkaban. At least then I had anger to sustain me. It killed me that he was gone, but at least I could hate him for what he had done to me, to James, to Lily, to Harry, to Peter …" Her voice trailed off.

"But this time you aren't angry?"

She smiled her tragic smile. "How can I be angry? Oh, I know that I raged at you the day it happened, but I wasn't really angry then, and I'm not now. I know that if he had stayed behind, he'd still be alive. But, how do I know that everyone else would be? If something had happened to you, to Harry, to Tonks … to anyone really … I know that he would never have forgiven himself. And, to be honest, I would have spent the rest of my life angry that he hadn't gone when he had the chance, too."

"He was a hero," Remus said quietly.

"And that's how I'll always remember him," she agreed. "But, Remus, it hurts so much."

He pulled her close. "I know, love," he said. "I know."

She laid her head on his shoulder, silently accepting the strength he offered. They were still sitting like that when Dana came in to call them for dinner.

"Is she like this every day?" Remus asked in an undertone as Olivia passed before him into the kitchen.

"Yeah," Dana nodded. "We'll talk later."

After dinner, Remus volunteered to help Dana clean up the kitchen, leaving Laura to entertain Olivia. They went out to sit on the back porch in the gathering darkness.

"Laura loves to look at the stars," Dana commented. "Did you know that Liv got top marks in Astronomy?"

Remus smiled. "She got top marks in almost everything."

"True," Dana smiled. "But, she actually remembers her Astronomy. She's been teaching Laura."

"Laura doesn't have that class?"

She shook her head. "They don't offer it."

"Oh."

Dana sighed. "You want to talk about Liv, don't you?"

"My God, Dana," Remus said. "I never dreamed she would look this bad."

She nodded. "She's a wreck. I try to help her all I can. I've been there. Aidan was killed by Death Eaters, too … in our own house. I know what she's going through. I know what she feels. It's just … I don't know. She's just taking it so much worse than I would have thought."

"Well, it's the second time she's had to lose him," Remus said.

Dana nodded. "True."

Remus drew a deep breath. "Do you think a change of scenery would do her good?"

Dana looked at him shrewdly. "You're talking about us coming back to England again, aren't you?"

"Yes," Remus said simply.

"I don't know, Remus …"

"I think it would be good for Olivia," he said.

She looked at him for a moment. "Do you really think so?"

He shrugged. "When Laura died, moving to a new house helped me. Moving here helped you when Aidan died. Liv came here the first time she lost Sirius."

"So, you think that moving is part of the healing process?"

"It might be. And, what better place to move to than your old home?"

"It's tempting …"

"Not to mention that I know that both of you will want to be active against Voldemort again."

She shivered. "I don't know, Remus."

"And, Dana, it would make me feel better if the three of you were in England. I'd like to be able to see you all every day – to know that you're safe."

She bit her lower lip. "I want Laura to stay at Beauxbatons. I can't ask that poor girl to switch schools."

"She could. We'd find a way."

"Let me think about it," she said noncommittally.

Remus nodded. "That's all I ask."

Remus was getting ready for bed that night when he heard a soft knock on his door.

"Come in," he said as he pulled back the covers on his bed.

"Good. You're still up," Dana said as she came into the room, closing the door behind her.

"You've made a decision, haven't you?"

She nodded. "Remus, I think you're right. I don't know how this is going to help any of us, but, somehow, I think that we belong back in England."

"Have you spoken to Olivia?"

She shook her head. "I'm almost afraid to."

"You're afraid she'll say no?"

"Yes … no …" She smiled helplessly. "I'm afraid that she'll say no and I'm afraid that she'll say yes. Remus, this is the most terrifying thing I've ever done."

"Are you sure you want to?" Remus asked. "It was just a silly idea I had, I suppose … I wanted to have my girls with me again."

"I know that it's still just an idea. I know that I don't have to make it real. The idea of doing this terrifies me, but the idea of not doing it terrifies me even more."

"What about Laura?"

"Well, she'll come for the summer, of course."

"But how will you keep her at Beauxbatons?"

"My mother won't want to leave," she said. "She uprooted her life for me once already. I can't ask her to do that again. She can stay here, in this house, and Laura can keep it as her permanent address. That way she can still go to her school with her friends." She smiled. "And she'll be perfectly free to come to France anytime she gets sick of England."

Remus looked at her knowingly. "And you can send her here when you think it's too dangerous there."

She nodded silently. "Remus, I'm not going to lie to you. This thing scares me to death. I know, and you know, what we stand to lose."

"But that's why we have to fight it."

She nodded. "Exactly. That's why we have to fight it." She paused and looked down at her clasped hands. "I'll talk to Olivia in the morning. Do you want to come?"

He nodded. "Of course."

"All right, then." She smiled slightly, and crossed to kiss his cheek. "The only thing that doesn't scare me is being closer to you again. Good night, Remus."

"I'll be glad to have you home again, too," he smiled. "Good night, Dana."