A Warning
The night before Bill and Fleur's wedding found Evie and Tonks in The Leaky Cauldron. They weren't there for fun, no one being in the mood for the traditional pre wedding celebrations, but on work for the Order. Their task, made much easier by a pair of extendable ears, was to remain concealed in a small room hidden behind a false wall and try to pick out any hint or rumour of Death Eater activity from the crowd. There were few patrons tonight, a circumstance which, Evie guessed from the barman's morose expression, was a regular occurrence. An aging man, growing steadily drunker by the minute, was propped against the bar and in the far corner there was a gaggle of wizards who looked like they would be more at home in Knockturn Alley. Tonks whispered to Evie that their ringleader, a wiry young man who couldn't have been out of Hogwarts for more than a couple of years, had been arrested a few months before for a particularly nasty case of muggle baiting.
Despite the unsavoury character of the pub's clientele, they heard little of any real importance. One of the wizards repeatedly bragged that he was a newly initiated Death Eater, until finally his friends demanded to see his Dark Mark; his cheeks flared scarlet and he mumbled an excuse into his firewhiskey. After a few minutes of merciless teasing the conversation turned to more conventional topics; the increasingly dire performance of the Chudley Cannons seemed to be of particular importance to this bunch.
Evie and Tonks took it in turns to mount the small step that allowed access to a hole in the wall. The hole was in a painting of Uric the Oddball (Uric being the only portrait in the building who didn't protest against being used in such a way) and allowed the women to view the next room without risk of being seen.
Evie studied Tonks through her lashes as she pressed her eye against the wall. Even in the semi darkness she could see the strain etched on her friend's face. Since the night of Mad Eye's death, and Tonks's revelation in the Weasleys' garden, they hadn't been alone together. At Harry's party a few hours earlier she had seemed happy enough, but Evie knew that something wasn't quite right. The questioning glances she gave Remus, the way her smile seemed plastered on, told Evie that her comment about Remus, which she had quickly dismissed as silliness when questioned, still weighed heavily on her mind.
"Is Remus excited about the baby?" murmured Evie, making a point to turn the page of her book loudly, as if only half paying attention to the conversation.
Tonks's back stiffened. "Yes," she said shortly.
"Have you started thinking about names yet?"
"No."
"Hasn't Remus suggested anything?"
"No."
Scowling, Evie slammed the book shut and tossed it aside. "Talk to me, Tonks," she pleaded. "If there's something wrong I want to help you."
"What makes you think there's anything wrong?"
"What you said about Remus the night we moved Harry-"
"I told you I was just being silly," said Tonks sharply.
"I don't believe you," said Evie bluntly. "You've been miserable ever since you told me about the baby."
"Mad Eye was murdered four days ago!" snapped Tonks, rounding on Evie. "Is it so strange that I'm grieving for my friend?"
Evie flinched at the anger in her voice but was determined to hold her ground. "It's more than that," she insisted. "You and Remus, you're acting strangely around each other. Sometimes the way you look at him, it's like you're afraid of him."
"I could never be afraid of Remus," Tonks protested instantly.
"Not of him," amended Evie, "but of what he might do."
Tonks turned to face Evie and tilted her head back against the wall. Standing there, face drawn and arms crossed defensively over her midriff, she looked so miserable that Evie's heart jumped in sympathy. "You're imaging things," she said tonelessly.
Evie pursed her lips, wondering whether she was doing the right thing by pushing Tonks. A glimpse of her eyes and the terrible lonely look in them made up her mind. Steeling herself she said, "Tonks, when I first thought I was pregnant you did everything for me. You took me to Sn-" she broke off, wincing, before forcing herself to say the hated name "Snape. You gave me a place to stay when I needed time to think and when I made my mind up you helped me in whatever way you could. How many times did you listen to me cry after what happened at the Ministry? How many nights did you sit up with me when I had nightmares?"
"But I wanted to do that," protested Tonks. "I'm your friend; I'm supposed to look after you."
"Then why won't you let me do the same for you?" demanded Evie.
For a moment she thought that Tonks would continue to deny everything, but even as she opened her mouth to argue her face crumpled and tears filled her eyes. She immediately raised her hands to swipe away the tears, but Evie hurried forward and pulled her into a tight hug. Tonks hid her face gratefully in the crook of Evie's neck as she cried silently.
"He regrets marrying me," said Tonks thickly. "He never would have suggested it if I hadn't asked. And now it couldn't be more obvious that he doesn't want this baby; he flinches every time I try to talk to him about it."
"Remus does not regret marrying you," said Evie firmly. "He loves you, I know he does."
"Then why can't he talk about the baby?" asked Tonks sadly. "Why is he spending more and more time out of the house? He's begging Kingsley for more work and he's already working twice the shifts he was a month ago. What am I supposed to think?"
"I don't know, but I'm certain he doesn't regret anything to do with you. Perhaps…"
She trailed off, cocking her head to one side. Through the extendable ear she heard the door open and close again. "There he is," said a new, low voice. "I hope he doesn't make this difficult. He will be angry if we have to hurt him."
Evie and Tonks stared at each other, eyebrows raised, and parted. Tonks stood aside to allow Evie to mount the step and peer through the hole. Two men had entered the pub and approached the man leaning heavily against the bar. One of them was familiar to her, and a hazy memory from more than a year ago resurfaced. A face looming over hers, demanding to know what she had done with his wand, and then a searing pain shooting up her arm as he broke her wrist. Since then she had been able to put a name to the face: Antonin Dolohov. She rubbed her wrist absentmindedly as it twinged at the memory.
The man who had bragged about being a Death Eater looked up, paled and nudged one of his friends. Soon the whole group fidgeted and cast nervous glances at the two newcomers. The ringleader, trying and failing to appear casual, finished his drink in one gulp, choked and muttered to the others. They rose, leaving glasses that were almost full, and left as quietly as possible.
"You take advantage of the Dark Lord's hospitality, Grey," said Dolohov, making no effort to lower his voice. The only other person in sight was the barman, and he looked as if he dearly wished that the ground would open up and swallow him.
The man called Grey made a point of finishing his drink and setting the empty glass deliberately on the bar before addressing Dolohov. "Your master gave me permission for this outing, Dolohov." His voice was surprisingly steady considering that he was struggling to remain on his feet.
"Our master," corrected Dolohov, his voice soft and dangerous. "You were supposed to return by midnight. It is now two hours past that."
"I will return when I am ready," said Grey, and poured himself another drink from an almost empty bottle. A shadow flickered over Dolohov's face and he gripped Grey's arm so tightly that his knuckles turned white. With a strength that belied his age and scrawny frame, Grey wrenched his arm out of Dolohov's grasp. His hand moved towards his pocket and froze halfway there, anger flaring in his eyes before being replaced with a look of resignation. Evie realised he had been reaching for a wand that was no longer there.
Behind the false wall, the two women exchanged a determined look. Their instructions had been merely to collect information and report it back to Kingsley, the acting head of the Order now that Mad Eye was dead. Under no circumstances were they supposed to place themselves in a situation that required combat. With Tonks's pregnancy and Evie's average duelling skills it was deemed to be too dangerous. But they couldn't stand by and watch as Death Eaters dragged an unarmed man away to an uncertain fate.
Evie groped for Tonks's hand, squeezed it once, and then, sliding her wand out of her pocket, opened the hidden door a crack.
She was never able to figure out what made Grey turn around at that precise moment. There was no telltale creak of a door opening, no traitorous light to spill out of their hidden room and give them away. Perhaps it was the same primal sense of danger that had caused Evie's arm to ache the moment she laid eyes on Dolohov. Whatever the reason, he glanced over his shoulder and saw Evie's face peering out of the door, and she knew by the recognition in his eyes that despite the dim light and the distance between them he knew exactly who she was.
Before the Death Eaters could glimpse her, he snapped his head back to the front and said, "Alright, I will come with you. Just give me a moment to visit the bathroom."
"We should go with him," said the unnamed Death Eater. "He might try to escape."
"Without a wand?" scoffed Dolohov. "He wouldn't get far. You've got two minutes, Grey. If you're not back by then I'm coming for you." He glanced around the empty room, his mouth twisting into a sneer. "We'll wait outside; I'm not staying in this dump any longer than necessary."
Ignoring the barman's deep obeisance, the Death Eaters strode from the pub. Dolohov cast a final warning look at Grey before slamming the door behind him. Grey paused for a few seconds, waiting to see if they would return, and then hurried over to where Evie crouched in the shadows.
"Come with us," she said urgently. "We can take you somewhere safe, we can-"
Her words were cut off as Grey grabbed a fistful of her robes and jerked her forwards so that they were face to face. Behind her Tonks squawked in protest and Evie knew that she was raising her wand in a futile gesture; she couldn't fire at Grey without the risk of hitting Evie. At this distance she could smell the sharp stench of alcohol on his breath, but his eyes were serious and when he spoke his voice was firm.
"Nowhere is safe for me," he said in a low, steely voice. "Don't try to help me and don't try to follow me. Don't even look at me because when you see my face, Evie Potter, you see your death."
With that last growled warning, he shoved her roughly back into the hidden room, sending her flying off the step and into a startled Tonks. The light disappeared as the door was slammed shut with such force that, they soon discovered, it jammed. By the time they had picked themselves off the floor and forced the door open Grey was gone, and the only person left in the pub was the barman, looking as if he greatly regretted allowing Evie and Tonks use of the secret room.