October, 1997

Rose had a good day at her new school, judging by how she was bouncing around all evening and talking nonstop about her nice teacher and cool new friend Lisette. George and Chessie had been happily puttering around in the store downstairs, as often in the back room as out of it. Business was alright. Life was good. There were no swamps.

Around closing the next evening, Tonks dropped in for a 'chat' with Chessie, meaning something was happening. She leaned against the stairway as Chessie and Verity finished cleaning up the store for the night and restocked.

"So you've been standing there for how long, exactly?" Verity asked cheerfully of Tonks, who mildly checked her watch.

"Only about fifteen minutes, but by all means, don't hurry for my sake. I'm on the clock, and getting paid to just stand here looking nice." She smiled. "It's a positive change."

"No. No, we're finished." Chessie idly tried to run a hand through her frazzled hair, got it stuck, and viciously yanked it out while scanning the store for anything she forgot. She walked over to Tonks calmly, with Verity bouncing around beside her.

They went upstairs, where Chessie promptly went into the kitchen and began fixing something simple for dinner.

"Work, work, work," Tonks commented as she tripped over a chair and landed almost gracefully in another, crossing her legs casually over her loose robes. Chessie's suspicions had only grown in the week since she had last seen Tonks but she hadn't gathered the nerve to ask either her or Lupin if they were expecting.

"She does that all the time, it's a Chessie thing." Verity explained. "We'd complain, but the place looks great and none of the rest of us are any good at cooking. So we tolerate it."

"Not that you visiting isn't a nice surprise, Tonks, but what are you doing here? You usually at least send an owl first so we can put some padding down." Chessie flipped something in a pan and turned to the two women, leaning against the counter as the pan beside her sizzled.

"Well, see, the thing is…" She ran a hand through her short pink hair in frustration. "We have word through one of Remus's spies that Greyback's plotting again. But more actively than normal. He was being sort of vague, poor man, and it took awhile to get his story straight, but we pieced together that Remus and the wolves he's either gotten to first after the bite or brought back are a bit of a threat to Greyback's pack and rule. Word's getting out in the werewolf community about the two- Remus is an alpha, did you know that?- and sides are being taken."

"But," Verity frowned, staring thoughtfully at the wooden table, "I thought Greyback was working for You-Know-Who."

"No," Tonks glanced over at Chessie, who was concentrating very hard on watching the water in a pot boil. "Common misconception. Greyback doesn't work for anyone except himself. He sides with You-Know-Who because he lets him main and murder freely. It's more of a mutual agreement. But anyway, Greyback's getting a little tense whenever Remus is mentioned, and we've already had another attack during the full moon last week. Penny Savage, one of our aurors, disappeared. We think it was Greyback because he leaves certain…signs, and apparently she's worth it because we haven't seen her or found her body yet. So this is a real threat."

"Your…spy. You forgot to mention why you're telling us this confidential information." Chessie said slowly, pouring pasta into the boiling water of a nearby pot.

"I was getting to that. We need a spy, and you're the most eligible candidate."

"How so?" Verity interrupted before Chessie could shoot down the idea. She rested her blonde head on her hands and watched Tonks with interest.

"Well, first off, Chessie's a bit feral anyway," her gaze shifted to Chessie, "Second, you tend to stick to yourself and obviously can keep a secret and think on your feet. And third, you know where to find them. The fact that you haven't is encouraging, but you know where to go."

Verity looked confused. Chessie turned the stovetop for the pasta sauce off and leaned against the counter.

"What do you mean," Verity asked, "Chessie's been here."

"No."

Tonks and Verity both looked over at Chessie when she spoke. She studied the floor. Beige tiles, how quaint. She thought back to that woman who had pulled the two of them off the street, a million years ago. She recalled passing through just this week while waiting for her da- her lunch with George.

"I wasn't always here, Ver. I've only been here two weeks. I came with Rose a few days before the moon. We'd been out on the streets before that." She took a deep breath. "We stayed in a rather…dirty …part of London for awhile, and I could tell from around the corner that there was a…place not far away full of werewolves. Sometimes, after Rose fell asleep, I would see them walk by. Big boys, the lot of them. Well, almost all boys and men. I have a feeling that the females were either toys or in charge."

"Crate Alley?" Tonks asked quietly.

"Yes."

"Very rough part of town. It's sort of surprising- but then, you're rather surprising yourself. Very easy to underestimate."

Funny, George had said almost the same thing just the other day. Maybe there was some merit to such a claim. But Tonks was right. I could do it, Chessie thought with surprise. I could pull this off. But, as always….

"What's in it for me?" she asked. Verity blinked. How surprising. Well, maybe not.

"The satisfaction of knowing you've saved and/or liberated dozens of potential lives?" Tonks tried flatly without much feeling behind it. Chessie snorted.

"I was in Slytherin. That doesn't mean anything to me."

"Well, that's the best you're going to get out of the Ministry. You know that."

"They're not trying. Until I get a better offer, I say no."

Tonks looked cheerful and clapped. "Hey, you're even considering it. This is going so much better than I thought it would!"

Chessie thought for a minute. "Didn't the Ministry liquidate my house?"

"Yes," Tonks replied slowly, her enthusiasm put on hold.

"Where'd the money go?"

"To Gringotts, in a special vault the Ministry rents for such things."

She considered this. "Who has access to this vault?"

"The Minister alone."

"For me to spy for them in the potentially fatal setting set before me, I want a small but nice flat near here and six months free rent once I'm done."

"Are you serious?" Tonks raised an eyebrow in amusement and growing joy.

"Yes, I am always serious. And I want this apartment with two rooms and a big bathroom. Bath and shower. And lots of windows for Rose."

The room went silent, with Tonks thinking, Chessie waiting, and Verity in silent shock at the proceedings. The Ministry, through Tonks, was being crafty with a species unrecognized by the Ministry as human. Things like that didn't happen much where there were witnesses.

"Okay," Tonks said. "I'm going to have to completely exhaust my connections and favors, but it's doable. Don't do anything until I get back to you though. You know these days, the Minstry cheats."

"Unfortunately for it," Chessie said lightly, turning smugly to the fridge for some butter and parmesan, "So do I."