A/N: It's been a rough couple weeks, guys. Work has been a mess… A review would brighten my day!

As always, thanks for reading and reviewing! I hope you like this chapter.

I don't own Harry Potter.

Worse than Nothing

"I wish you didn't have to leave."

"No more than I do," Remus sighed. "I wish I could tell you that I'll write, but …"

"I know," Olivia said simply. "You can't."

Remus looked at her for a long moment, then decided to ask the favor that had been plaguing him all day. "Liv, can you promise me something?"

"Anything."

"Will you watch out for Tonks for me? She looks … I can tell she's not taking care of herself. Will you make sure she doesn't work too hard?"

Olivia gave him a sad smile. "I'll do my best, Remus, but that's a bit like asking Sirius to stay calm when he's angry." She bit her lip. "I mean …"

Remus stepped forward and folded her into his arms. "I still miss him, too."

She sighed against his chest, willing the tears not to fall. "I thought it was supposed to get easier."

"Yeah, Liv, it is, but you're not supposed to be over it in a few months."

With supreme effort, she stepped back and gave him a wobbly smile. "I'm fine, Remus. Go on your mission. Don't worry about me, and don't worry about Tonks. I'll take care of both of us."

"Good." He touched her cheek. "I'll see you as soon as I can."

"I know."

He Disapparated, hating that he was leaving her so close to tears. But, knowing Olivia, she would bury her feelings without stopping to let herself heal. It was her way of dealing, and he knew that she did it best when he wasn't there to try to draw her out.

He Apparated into his living room in the colony. It was dark in the house; he had left the curtains closed. He walked purposefully across the room and threw them open, letting the daylight stream into the room. Then, he opened the door and stepped outside.

It was time to start accomplishing his mission.

"I've called you all here tonight to finalize plans for next weekend," Tonks said. "As you all know, it's a Hogsmeade weekend."

The other Aurors looked at her expectantly. As she surveyed their faces, she noted varied degrees of nervousness. She smiled, trying to put them at ease.

"Look, it's not going to be so bad," she said. "The most important thing, of course, is to keep Harry safe, but all the students should receive the highest levels of security possible."

"Are we going to be in charge of groups of students?" Proudfoot asked.

Tonks shook her head. "I'm going to assign each of you a section of town or a specific business to monitor. Proudfoot, you'll take Zonko's."

"Oh, that should be easy," he muttered sarcastically.

Tonks smiled. "But, think of how important you are. Dawlish, you're on South Main."

"At least you get to stay in one place," Dawlish said, nodding to Proudfoot.

"Savage, you have North Main."

Savage gave Dawlish a nod. "I'll wave to you from afar."

"Alexander, you have the Three Broomsticks."

Olivia looked at Proudfoot. "Want to trade?"

"No way," he grinned. "Have fun with that."

"Meet me there afterward for a drink," she said. "I think we're going to need it."

"Where will you be, Tonks?" Dawlish asked.

"Following Harry," Tonks said, already feeling tired at the thought. "I think I've got the hardest job of all of us, guys."

"Well, it's your mission," Olivia smiled. "You could have given it to any of us."

She shrugged. "I am a kind and benevolent leader." And, I'm completely paranoid and want to follow him myself.

"What time does this excitement start?" Dawlish asked.

"Be in position by nine," she said. "They're allowed to come down starting at ten, but I want to be prepared earlier. You never know if they'll decide to sneak out early."

"Kids," Olivia said, shaking her head. "It makes me glad I never had any."

"It's not too late for you, you know," Tonks said quietly, thinking of Remus and the children they could have together if he wasn't so stubborn.

"Yeah, I think it is," Olivia said just as quietly, thinking of Sirius and the children they would never have.

Tonks cleared her throat. "Right. Well, unless there are any questions, you're all free to go."

The Aurors stood to leave, grumbling about the insanity of Hogsmeade weekends. Tonks smiled and shook her head, wondering if she was the only one who remembered the excitement of leaving the school for a few brief hours of freedom in Hogsmeade. The students needed these weekends, and she was going to do her best to make sure that they were not denied the privilege.

"Hey, Tonks?"

Tonks looked up to see that Olivia was not walking out her door with the others. "Yeah?"

Olivia gave her a smile. "How are you holding up?"

"Holding up?" Tonks repeated with a frown.

Olivia smiled. "Look, I know it's hard to watch him leave, and it's torture to know that one of your best friends is in danger and can't even write to let you know that he's okay. I just wanted to see if you were having trouble with it."

"Oh," Tonks said, understanding dawning. She cleared her throat again. "Yeah, it's tough. But, somehow, it's easier this time. I don't know, Olivia … I guess just knowing that he's my friend again, that it's okay for me to worry about him … that makes it easier to take."

"You know, Remus has been one of my best friends since I was a little girl," she said. "I love him like a brother. But, I'll be the first one to say that I think he's been a complete prat about the way he's treated you."

"Don't be mean to make me feel better," Tonks said, inwardly rejoicing to hear Olivia's words.

"Oh, I'm not being mean," Olivia said. "I've pretty much told him to his face that he's being a dumb ass about the whole thing."

Tonks laughed at that. "I'll bet he took that well."

Olivia shrugged. "He doesn't get offended when I say things like that anymore. He hasn't for years."

"Maybe that's a good thing, if you're insulting him like that."

"Listen, Tonks, I definitely think he's being stupid about this, but Remus truly is a good guy. He just doesn't always make the wisest choices. I'm trying to help him, but …" She trailed off. "If there's anything I can do, please let me know."

"Thanks, Olivia," Tonks smiled. "That means a lot to me."

Olivia nodded. "Anything to help Sirius's cousin."

"So things are better between you and Pierre?"

Laura shrugged noncommittally. Carine and Adèle looked at one another nervously from their seats across the dinner table.

"What's wrong now?" Carine asked.

"I don't know," Laura said fitfully. "I feel like … I don't know. He's just bothering me."

"What has he done?" Adèle asked.

"I don't know!" Laura exclaimed. She twisted her hands together in frustration. "Do you have any idea how much this is driving me crazy right now? Do you think I want it to be like this?"

"Laura, if you're not happy, you have to fix it," Adèle said.

"I don't know how!" she cried. "We talked about it, and we have been talking more and snogging less, but … I just don't think things are getting any better."

"Maybe you need to snog more."

The three girls looked up in surprise as Théo, one of their friends, sat down with them. He reached for a pitcher of juice, looking at them expectantly.

"Well? Aren't you going to fill me in?"

"Why do you always have to know everything that's going on in my life?" Laura moaned.

"Because, without me, you'd never have a guy's opinion. And, to be honest, girls, you'd be lost without a guy's opinion. So, spill. Tell me what's going on."

"I'm not happy with Pierre," Laura confessed.

"Well, that only took a year longer than I thought it would," Théo said. "Thank goodness I didn't put money on it. I definitely would have lost."

"Théo!" Laura laughed. "What are you talking about?"

"Sweetheart, I always knew you'd get tired of him," he said. "Pierre is all wrong for you."

"Why?" Carine laughed. "Is he perfect for you?"

"Not if he's snogging her," Théo replied, completely unruffled by her question. "I meant that they're just too different. I'll admit that he's cute, which I'm sure was the initial attraction. But, let's be honest: Pierre basically has no backbone. He just pretty much follows Laura around and does what she tells him to do."

"He's her lapdog," Carine nodded.

Laura made a face. "Guys, you're making this sound rather creepy."

"Good," Théo said. "It has been rather creepy. You, my love, need someone stronger than him. You need someone who will fight with you, who will stand up to you and who will love you with as much passion as you love him. In short, you need someone better."

"That's a bit harsh," Adèle giggled. "Poor Pierre!"

"Not a bit," Théo said, supremely unconcerned. "Pierre is a good person. I know he'll find some girl who will love him beyond reason, and their lives will be complete because of each other. I also know that this girl isn't our Laura."

"So you think I should break up with him?" Laura asked tiredly.

"I've thought that since shortly after you started dating him. I'm just glad you're finally on board."

"Let's not get excited," she said. "I never said I was going to break up with him."

Théo looked at her appraisingly. "You will. You just need to decide for yourself that it's the right thing to do first. And you will decide that. It'll just take a little more time."

Remus walked down Main Street, feeling dozens of pairs of eyes follow him. He worked hard to maintain a mask of indifference, looking for all the world as though he was unperturbed by the hostile stares of his neighbors. He headed straight for the pub, knowing that it was a favorite gathering point. He entered the building and took a seat at the end of the bar.

It was like a scene from a Muggle movie. All conversations stopped as the patrons turned to look at Remus. He looked around with a benign smile, his eyes finally settling on the bartender. The bartender looked back with a conflicted expression on his face. He knew that he should not serve this social exile, but found it very difficult to deny the money Remus was carrying. In the end, his greed won out.

"Can I get you something?"

Remus smiled. "A butterbeer, please."

The man looked a bit disappointed that Remus had not thanked him for his attention by ordering something more expensive, but went to fetch his drink. As the bottle and coins were exchanged, the conversations began to pick up again. Remus felt this was a major victory; he breathed a sigh of relief.

Remus was on his second butterbeer when the door opened and silence fell again. He looked up to see a nervous-looking woman walk in. Remus guessed that she was at least thirty years old, but her eyes had the look of a scared little girl. She took the only available seat at the bar, next to Remus. At this close proximity, he could see how pretty she was, with long blond hair and huge brown eyes. She gave him an anxious smile. The bartender was there in an instant; Remus wanted to smile at the difference in think time her appearance required compared to his.

"What can I bring you, love?"

"A firewhiskey."

"Right away." The bartender looked at Remus as if to imply that he should have ordered something at least that expensive as he picked up a glass for her drink.

"That's a pretty strong drink," Remus commented.

The woman laughed nervously. "I'd say I've earned it."

"Rough day at the office?"

"You could say that."

He looked at her closely. "Please don't think this is a pathetic pick up line, but I'm not sure I've seen you here before."

She smiled. "That would be because you haven't. I just moved here today."

"Oh," Remus said. "Then you've just come from Greyback."

"Yes."

He pulled out his moneybag. "Let me buy your drink."

"Oh, you don't need to do that."

He smiled. "It's like you said – you've earned it."

"Well, thank you," she said as Remus turned over the coins. "Can I know who I'm thanking?"

"Remus Lupin," he said, extending his hand.

"Molly Kenning," she replied, taking his hand.

He cleared his throat and leaned in closer. "Before this goes any further, you should know that I'm not exactly a favorite in this community."

She smiled. "Well, you're also the only person who's talked to me so far. So, I'd say you're my favorite person in this community, and that's what matters."

Remus returned the smile, wondering if this would be like his conversations with his neighbors on his first day. They, too, had been willing to befriend him until they found out how many years it had been before he had joined the colony.

But, she was still sitting with him, ready to chat. He knew enough to run with this stroke of good fortune for as long as he could. Even one ally would be something.

"So, how are things at Hogwarts?"

Tonks shrugged. "All right, I guess. The kids don't seem to notice us, which is what Dumbledore wants, so I guess that's a good thing."

Kingsley shifted in his barstool so that he was facing her. "Tonks. What is the matter?"

She sighed. "You're going to think that I'm crazy."

"I already do," he smiled. "Confirm it for me."

"I hate that Remus and I are friends."

"Yeah," he said. "You're right. I think you're crazy."

"Can I please explain myself?"

"Believe me, there is nothing I want more," he said, leaning on the bar of the Three Broomsticks. "What on earth are you trying to tell me?"

"He was right when he said that we shouldn't be friends. I don't want to be his friend, I want to be far more. And, as of right now, all being his friend does for me is to allow my paranoia that something terrible has happened to him. Friends are allowed to worry about friends, you know."

"Have you heard from him?"

"No. But, he told met that he can't write while he's there, so I sort of expected that."

"Why don't you write to him, then?"

"Make the first move? But, I'm the girl in the relationship!" she said in mock shock.

Kingsley laughed. "Yeah, that's right. I forgot. You're the girl who has jumped on him and snogged him more than once."

"So I'm not always a lady," she said, her cheeks turning pink. "But, seriously, King, this time it's up to him to make the first move."

"You know how he is, Tonks," Kingsley cautioned. "Are you willing to wait for him?"

"King, I feel like all I've done is chase him," she sighed. "It's his turn to chase me."

"But what if he really is happy just being friends?"

"Impossible. We were meant to be together."

"You're sure about that?"

"Yes."

"Then turn your hair pink," Kingsley challenged.

She glared him. "Maybe not that sure."

"Tonks …"

"Don't," she sighed. "I know that I'm in love with a man who may never admit that he loves me. But, King, right now, I really can't take the idea of doing anything about that."

"As long as you're doing what you want to do."

She shrugged again. "Honestly, I don't think I have any alternative."

"Maybe Théo is right."

Adèle and Carine looked at each other in surprise as Laura walked into their dormitory with this startling proclamation. Carine found her voice first.

"Théo is right about what, love?"

Laura collapsed onto her bed. She sat up, drawing her pajama-clad knees up to her chest. "Do Pierre and I really have a creepy relationship?"

"I don't think so," Adèle said, sitting down on her own bed, facing Laura. "I think that you two really do care about one another. I've always thought that your relationship is sweet."

Laura nodded. "Thanks, Adèle." Her eyes swung to her other roommate, who was pacing around the room. "Carine?"

Carine sighed. "I don't know, Laura. I mean, I tend to agree with Adèle. You two were always very sweet together. But, recently, it's like you've started to fall apart."

"Yeah," Laura sighed. "That pretty much sums up how I feel."

"What do you want to do about it?" Adèle asked cautiously.

Laura shrugged and rested her chin on her knees. "Maybe I should break up with him," she said in a little voice.

"You don't want to, do you?" Adèle asked.

"Not particularly."

"Why not?" Carine asked.

"What kind of a question is that?" Laura demanded.

"An honest one," Carine countered. "Look, there are two reasons you would have for not breaking up with him. A – You love him and want to stay with him to work out your problems. B – You don't want to be alone, so you're staying with him just for the sake of having a boyfriend, even if it's one you don't really want to be with."

Adèle's eyes widened. "She has a point, Laura."

Laura made a face. "You are evil, Carine."

"Because I always make you see the truth," Carine said with a smile. "You're afraid of being alone, aren't you?"

"I just want to be like Chloé!" Laura exclaimed. She buried her face in her hands. "I just want to fall madly in love with the one I'm supposed to be with for the rest of my life!"

"Don't look at Chloé and Henri like that," Adèle said. "They're a special case. No one else is like them."

"My mum was," Laura said miserably, lifting her face from her hands. "My parents met at Hogwarts, fell madly in love, dated until they graduated and got married. They had the perfect life."

"You don't have to be like your mum," Adèle said.

"And, sweetheart, no one's life is perfect," Carine added. "Your mum just tells you that it was because she remembers the good times. I'm sure there were days when they were fighting and they both got on each other's nerves." She bit her lip. "Laura, honestly, is Pierre the person you see yourself marrying? Is he the one you want to be with forever?"

Laura looked down at her feet for a long moment, feeling the tears fill her eyes. "No," she whispered at last.

Carine nodded. "Then, darling, I think you know what you have to do."

"Yeah," Laura sighed, wiping her hand across her eyes. "But that doesn't make it any easier."

"Sleep on it," Adèle advised. "Maybe you'll feel differently in the morning."

"How could this have happened?"

The Aurors all looked as though they wanted the ground to swallow them whole. Tonks realized that she was utterly terrifying as she glared at them, but could not back down. She was livid, and she wanted answers.

Olivia cleared her throat. "I did notice Katie go to the ladies' room," she said. "But, honestly, Tonks, I don't remember seeing her come out. There were so many other kids there … I know that she's a friend of Harry's, but it didn't occur to me to follow her."

"I suppose it wouldn't," Tonks said. She rubbed her hands over her face. "Right. Well, ladies and gentlemen, we've failed. Hogsmeade weekends will be suspended until further notice. Our job was to keep the students safe, and we were unable to do that."

"Tonks, calm down," Dawlish said. "She's going to be all right."

"All right?" she repeated in shock. "Dawlish, a girl was nearly killed on our watch. Killed! Do you realize the extent of what could have happened? From what information we've managed to gather, she wasn't going to keep that necklace for herself, either! She was going to give it to someone else – my guess would be to Dumbledore! Do you realize how much danger he is in right now?"

"Does he need Auror protection, too?" Proudfoot asked in a small voice.

"He won't hear of it," Tonks said. "He wants us to focus on Harry." Anger jumped into her eyes again. "And, in case you've forgotten, Harry was practically beside Katie when she touched that thing. That could have been Harry who was cursed, Harry who is in St. Mungo's, Harry whose life is hanging in the balance! Do you have any idea how close we came to catastrophic failure?"

No one seemed to know what to say. Tonks knew that she was screaming at them, she knew that she was taking all her frustrations out on them, but there was no way she could stop herself.

"You know what?" she said at last. "Just leave. Go. All of you. We'll meet tomorrow morning at the usual time."

The Aurors were visibly relieved as they got up to leave her flat. Olivia followed along with them, but stopped at the door. She looked back at Tonks, who had collapsed on her sofa with her head buried in her hands. Changing her mind about leaving, Olivia closed the door behind the last Auror and crossed to sit down with Tonks.

"I don't need you to babysit me," Tonks said without looking up. "I'm a big girl. I'll be fine."

"I know that," Olivia said. "I just thought you might want to talk, that's all."

Tonks looked up at last and gave her a half-hearted smile. "Aren't you afraid I'll bite your head off?"

"I can take it," Olivia smiled. "Listen, I know you're upset about what happened today. Believe me, we all are. I'm willing to take personal responsibility. I was the one who was supposed to watch the Three Broomsticks. If I had kept a better eye on Katie, this would never have happened."

"You can't blame yourself," Tonks said quietly. "We were all there. We all have responsibility for what happens to the students."

"Right," Olivia agreed. "Which means you aren't allowed to take all the blame, either."

"Olivia, can I be honest with you?"

"Of course."

"I'm upset about what happened today. Angry, disgusted, you name it. But, I'm an Auror. I'm used to dealing with Death Eaters, and I'm used to seeing people get hurt."

"Okay," Olivia said slowly, prompting her to continue.

Tonks gave her a helpless, apologetic smile. "I miss Remus."

"Yeah," Olivia sighed. "I miss him, too."

"It's just … I thought that being friends would make it easier. I really did. I thought that just knowing that he's my friend, that it's okay for me to miss him would make it all okay."

"Not the case?" Olivia asked.

"It's worse this way!" Tonks moaned. "I just want to hear from him, to know that he's all right! I feel like he's purposely not writing to me."

"He can't write while he's with them," Olivia said. "He has to make it appear that he's completely cut himself off from us and our world."

"I just … I guess before, I didn't expect him to write, so it wasn't so bad. You can't be disappointed by nothing when that's what you know is coming, right? But, now that we're friends, it just feels like he should write me."

"You could write him," Olivia suggested. "I wouldn't advise doing so every day, but an occasional letter is bound to be okay."

Tonks shook her head. "I want him to contact me."

"But, Tonks, he …"

"I know," she said, lifting her chin stubbornly. "But it doesn't make a difference. He should find a way to make it happen. I'm not going to do anything until he makes the first move."

Olivia sighed and rubbed her hands over her face. Oh, this is going to be fun.

"Have you made a decision?" Adèle asked cautiously as she, Laura and Carine walked down to breakfast the next morning.

"I have," Laura said.

Adèle and Carine exchanged a glance.

"Are you going to tell us what you've decided?" Carine asked.

Before Laura could so much as open her mouth, Pierre appeared at her side.

"Good morning, love," he said, kissing her cheek.

Laura grimaced and moved away from him. "Pierre, can we talk?" she asked in a rush.

"See you at breakfast," Carine said. She and Adèle practically ran toward the dining hall.

Pierre looked at him in confusion then back at Laura. "What's wrong with your friends?"

"I think they wanted to give us some privacy," she said. "Come here."

He followed her to an empty alcove and looked at her expectantly.

"Pierre," she began. She stopped and balled her fists up at her sides. "God, this is hard."

"What is?" he asked in confusion.

She drew a deep breath. "I think we need to end our relationship." Just saying the words gave her a wonderful sense of peace.

"What?" he asked just above a whisper.

Laura's heart broke as she watched the color drain from his face. "I'm so sorry, Pierre," she whispered.

"You – you want us to break up?" he asked in shock.

"Yes," she said quietly. "I just … I don't think we're in the same place right now. I think we would be better apart than we are together."

"Well, I disagree," he hissed. "I think we're great together!"

"But, I don't," she said simply.

"Why?" he asked. "What's happened? What have I done?"

"Nothing," she said miserably. "There's no specific thing that's happened … I just think that this needs to end."

"I can't believe you!" he yelled. "I don't understand why you would throw away what we have over nothing!"

"Pierre, please," she implored. "Don't make this harder than it already is."

"It doesn't seem like it's hard on you at all!"

"Do you have any idea how much agony I've gone through over this?" she exclaimed. "Do you think I wanted us to end this way?"

"Laura, I have done everything you've asked of me," he said. "I don't see why it wasn't enough."

"Because we aren't meant to be together," she said. "I'm sorry, Pierre."

"Well, I am, too," he said angrily. "I'm sorry that we wasted so much time to have it all end over nothing."

He stalked off, leaving her alone in the alcove. She sank down onto the floor, drawing her knees up to her chest. She was still sitting there when Théo found her.

"Hey," he said, sinking down next to her. "Are you all right?"

She shook her head.

"Do you want to talk?"

She again shook her head in the negative.

Théo looked at her for a moment, then took her hand. She clutched his hand tightly, willing it to be enough to make her feel better again. Maybe, her friends would be enough to make her broken heart mend.