Chapter 22 – Behind that Door
Some say time flies when you're having fun. But looking back on the one week that went fleeting by, Tonks felt that time flew by just as quickly when you're troubled as well. In that one week, she'd kissed Remus Lupin and they still haven't talked about it, but their friendship seemed to have collided with a brick wall. The conversations didn't flow as smoothly, the silence became deafening, and standing next to him, all she could hear was the thunderous beating of her own heart. Tonks wondered if she'd made a wrong turn with the kiss.
Aside from troubles with friendship and romance, Tonks also spent that one week with her cousin, getting to know him all over again. Sirius Black had changed, she knew that. But soon Tonks came to discover that inside him still stood the old Sirius Black, the man he used to be before Azkaban had taken its toll. He was standing behind a door closed shut, waiting for a safe time to come out. She'd gotten so much closer to him. And by the end of the week before the trial, she'd grown fearful of losing him to the dementors again. She'd lost him once before and a second time seemed unbearable.
Before they knew it, then came the day of Sirius' trial. They stood at the foot of the stairs in a long black hallway with chilling marble walls that looked like standing water. On lever nine of the Ministry of Magic, they were at the hall leading into the eerie and mysterious Department of Mysteries. The staircase beside them would lead to Courtroom Ten where the final verdict will be heard. Standing there were Sirius, Tonks, and Andromeda.
"It's almost time Sirius," Andromeda spoke. "I'm not allowed inside. But everything will be alright," she told him, comforting the man who seemed nervous.
He nodded and grinned broadly. Something about their family was that they always concealed the negative emotions behind a smile. It was obvious to Andromeda and Tonks that Sirius was holding worry behind that smile, much like they were doing themselves.
"Don't worry Sirius, Lexi and I will be right there. And Remus will be there too. You won't be alone," Tonks comforted.
His casual façade remained unchanged as he nodded and softly said, "thank you." Sirius turned around to look at the stairs. He was finally getting a trial. He huffed and toyed with the sleeves of the prison uniform he'd been forced to wear again, black and white horizontal stripes from the mental asylum of Azkaban. He missed the warm winter cloak his cousins had given him. It was a simple black winter cloak, but it had given him so much warmth.
"It's almost time Sirius," Tonks told him.
"Time to make a fool out of Fudge," Sirius laughed weakly.
"You won't need it, but good luck," Andromeda told him. She gave him a gentle pat before he ascended the stairs and turned right, disappearing into another small corridor without daring to sneak a look behind.
"It'll be fine mum," Tonks told her mother, seeing worry present on her face.
"Nymphadora…thank you," Andromeda spoke softly. "Thank you for bringing my cousin back to me. I know I never liked your career choice of becoming and auror…" she paused. Out of all people, Andromeda Tonks knew exactly the reason why her daughter took one of the most dangerous jobs there is. And it all had to do with the dark witch who had haunted her past, her dear aunt Bella. Andromeda sighed. "I never wanted you to become an auror. But sweetheart, I am so proud of you." She held Tonks' face gently with soft, kind eyes.
Tonks hadn't expected that at all. Her mother always was against her becoming an auror. But hearing her words gave her confidence and strength to keep going and always try harder. She was more determined than ever now. "Thanks mum. I love you," she smiled softly, genuinely.
"I love you too sweetheart. Now go and help our cousin."
She smiled and watched as her mother turned back and walked down the empty hallway, stepping into the lift as the wrought golden grills closed with a metal click and the lift shot back roughly, disappearing, heading back to the Atrium.
Now alone, Tonks took a deep breath. She wondered where her other cousin was. Maybe Alexis had already gone into the courtroom. Tonks glanced down the empty hall and saw no one. There only stood a closed black door that led to the Department of Mysteries. It looked so eerie and quiet. Tonks wondered how Alexis could live with spending so much time down there.
"Ok, stop wasting time," Tonks thought to herself.
She huffed again and took another deep breath. Though it was Sirius' trial, she personally can't help but worry. He was her cousin. To her, cousins had always been closer than siblings. Once she goes inside, it would make everything a final reality. She didn't like to admit it, but there was always a chance that she could lose Sirius to the dementors again. It was almost time for the trial to begin and she shouldn't be late. Tonks carefully ascended the stairs and turned left, disappearing into another small corridor, dark and empty as well.
Cold black wooden seats rose by levels along each wall. In Courtroom Ten, the room was square, made by black stone and lit by torches. Tonks stepped inside and immediately the rush of dry, cold air enveloped her. In the middle of the room sat a large chair, throne like, where Sirius sat. Across from him was the high podium where the prosecutor, Cornelius Fudge, sat. Behind him in the highest rising benches seated the Wizengamot. Tonks was surprised by the shockingly large number of absent seats. She wondered how come the Wizengamot was lacking so many. The only members there were ones who openly supported Fudge, one of them being the portly woman Tonks knew as the nitpicky toad, Dolores Umbridge. If there was a living definition for sickly sweet, it was her. Tonks wondered if Fudge had pulled some last minute strings.
In the middle of the room, Tonks saw that Sirius had now confided his worry behind a mask of disgust and malice. The lanky man in new prison robes defiantly shot death glares at the Minister. Fudge returned the glare but his sneering gaze was of no match against Sirius' aristocratic hauteur of the infamous house of Black. Sirius was confident with his cousins' abilities and sat in the chair, hiding all traces of weakness behind his haughty act. He sat in the chair like it was a throne, a Black trait Tonks didn't possess, to hold prestige in any situations.
Sitting as a spectator on the cold bench three steps down from the top was Remus Lupin. He was the only one there. Tonks' heartbeat skyrocketed immediately and she had to force herself to retain her morph and hide her blush. Remus' eyes met hers just like always. Their contact was brief and fleeing however as they both shyly turned away. In the short moment when soft blue met dark green, their hearts felt the same yearning, longing feeling that overwhelmed them the moment after they'd pulled back from that one kiss. The feelings were present and another glance back, they could see it in each others' eyes. Sadly, they foolishly refused to admit it and instead labored under the delusion that they are not worthy.
Her body ignored her mind yet again as her legs moved without control. Tonks turned and walked up the stone seats, stumbling a bit. She caught herself once when she fell and sat down beside Remus. He gave her a half-hearted smile though his eyes seemed reluctant to leave hers and return to his best friend in the center of the room.
"Wotcher Remus." She just had to say something. They hadn't been exactly the same since they'd kissed. And so she greeted him softly, her customary Tonks-like greeting.
"Hello Nymphadora," he replied just as softly.
"Where is everyone? The trial should've started by now."
"I don't know Marrick came in earlier and Alastor and Alexis left with him."
"Marrick's here?" Tonks mused out loud. "I though he's on vacation."
"That's what I saw."
"What about the other Wizengamot members?"
"Sorry. I haven't seen the others."
Silence struck again. It was so quiet they could hear the ticking of the clock. She heard several clocks actually, all ticking against each other constantly. Courtroom Ten had no clocks.
"Have they taken your statement yet?" Tonks asked, hating the silence.
"Yes, about an hour ago. Did you get into any trouble Tonks?"
"No, Mad-Eye and Silvia never told anyone else we helped Sirius," she answered him.
Remus nodded. "I wonder what's taking them so long."
"I wonder where Lexi, Silvia, and Moody are."
He nodded and again, silence came as a very unwelcomed visitor.
The long silence finally came to an end when he spoke. "Dora I'm sorry."
She turned to face him, parting her lips, about to ask why when she was suddenly interrupted by the loud opening of the large door that led into the courtroom. Tonks and Remus turned to face the door, seeing Mad-Eye Moody storm through, his wooden leg clonking against the granite floor. Following behind Mad-Eye was Silvia and Tonks could see Alexis walk in a few seconds later, seeming to be waving to Marrick from outside the door with a grateful smile on. She looked up and saw the door behind the Wizengamot seats was open and the rest of the members quietly filed in. Fudge's face turned an impressive shade of red when he suddenly saw this. Perhaps he hadn't been the one pulling last minute strings after all.
Her question to Remus remained unasked as Tonks closed her mouth again, smiling to Alexis while the Unspeakable climbed the seats up to sit near her, just a row below.
"Where have you been? The trial is at least ten minutes late," Tonks spoke.
"Since when were you one for being on time?" Alexis scoffed. "I was just getting help."
"Help? How?"
"Kingston happens to have some very strong connections to the Wizengamot and we met with a few of the members to discuss the validity of the evidence and information and Fudge's intention to keep this case covered up and no doubt pass the wrong judgment. Mad-Eye and Silvia came to help explain in further details to them. I was just there to watch," Lexi smirked.
Tonks looked up as the last member of the Wizengamot, a middle aged man in long black robes sat down in his seat. She remembered the shocking amount of absent seats earlier and found herself patting her cousin's shoulder. "A few members?" she asked, knowing it was one of Lexi's many great understatements.
"A few, a lot, all that matters is it increases Sirius' chance of being cleared entirely."
"You can tell he really appreciates it," Remus pointed out to them as he gestured for Tonks and Alexis' attention to turn to Sirius who was childishly waving and smiling at them.
Tonks smiled and was about to mouth something to him but the gavel sounded and Sirius' head immediately whipped back to face the Minister. "What is it cut off Tonks day?" she thought to herself and sighed, listening as the trial finally began.
The sound of the gavel echoed through the room, calling forth a bleak and sudden silence. Tonks took a soft breath, watching as her lanky cousin suddenly tensed within his seat. It finally came the moment and Tonks wondered just how hard Fudge was going to press them to have things go his way. The Wizengamot members silenced and Tonks took the chance to quickly glance at Alexis who sat to her right. Alexis had a confident smirk on her face, and Tonks was slightly relieved by that confidence. She then turned to Remus and suddenly her heart swelled again. They were so close but they couldn't talk. She sighed inwardly as Fudge spoke.
"Criminal trial on the fourth of January 1994 into crimes committed by Sirius Orion Black, resident at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, London," Fudge spoke in a long, drawn out dry voice. "Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic and the Wizengamot. Witnesses involved within the case: Alexis Lydia Black, Remus John Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Severus Snape, and Nymphadora Tonks. The charges for the accused are as followed: that he had released confidential information of the Potters' residence under the Fidelius Charm to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, which in turns makes Black traitor to the Potters, and responsible for the murder of Peter Pettigrew and twelve muggles, on Halloween Night of the year 1981."
"He must be daft, listing Pettigrew as one of the witnesses involved and also stating that he was dead," Alexis whispered to Tonks and Tonks smirked.
"Do you, Sirius Orion Black, deny that you were the Potter's secret keeper?"
"Yes," Sirius replied straightforwardly.
"And who was the Potter's secret keeper?"
"Peter Pettigrew," Sirius replied, remembering Alexis' tip to keep things brisk and true.
"How did you know it was Peter Pettigrew?"
"I told them to make him…" He was suddenly cut off by Fudge's further questioning.
"So you were responsible for Peter Pettigrew being the Potter's secret keeper and thus causing the betrayal that killed James Potter and his wife?"
That question got to him. Sirius had always felt guilty since he was the one who told James to entrust the secret in Peter, one moment of blindness. Even though Tonks didn't know how Fudge was going to charge her cousin for placing his trust in the wrong person, she still saw that Fudge was pushing Sirius' buttons and trying to get him to crack and mess up somehow.
"Your answer Mr. Black," Fudge spoke, leaning in closer towards them.
"Yes but…" Sirius was cut off yet again.
"And from that we may conclude that you grew angry because Peter Pettigrew had betrayed your friends. You chased after him onto the muggle street in London and then you attempted to kill him and in turn killed the twelve muggles present."
"Yes I chased after Peter but…" Sirius answered and that was his fault there, the yes.
As expected, Tonks sighed as Fudge cut him off again. "I believe that is all we need to hear as you have admitted to chasing Peter Pettigrew and attempting to kill him which in turn caused the death of the twelve muggles."
"I didn't kill anyone!" Sirius jumped in with a louder voice, growling at Fudge.
"Mr. Black, please control your temper in front of the Minister for Magic and the Wizengamot," Fudge told him with a sigh while trying to hold back a smirk.
"No, you…" Sirius began but caught himself. Perhaps cursing the Minister in front of so many witnesses wasn't a good idea. He huffed and spoke again. "It was Peter Pettigrew who killed those twelve muggles, staging his own death. Why do you think he hadn't shown up until now and why do you think he'd been hiding as Ronald Weasley's pet rat? No innocent man would do that for twelve years of his life."
"Mr. Black that information is valid only for the Peter Pettigrew trial and…"
"I don't care which trial it's valid for but that's the truth!" Sirius told them, irritated now.
"Blimey, if Sirius kills Fudge we're going to have a lot of trouble on our hands," Alexis sighed as she looked at the angered expression on Sirius' face.
"I think I may have to join him," Tonks spoke softly, growing irritated at Fudge. "If that happens will you help me as well?" She whispered to Alexis while the Wizengamot were discussing within each other using hushed voices as well.
"You know it's a tough job being your cousin," Alexis sighed.
"Nymphadora don't do anything reckless, Sirius wouldn't want that," Remus whispered.
Tonks opened her mouth, about to speak but yet again she was cut off. That time however, she wasn't cut off by Fudge. It was bearable because she was cut off by a woman whom she recognized to be Amelia Bones, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Tonks' superior. Tonks sighed and slouched in her seat. "I hate cut off Tonks day."
"Pardon me Minister," Amelia Bones began and then turned to Sirius once Fudge nodded at her. "Sirius Orion Black, can you tell us what happened after you caught up with Peter Pettigrew?" she asked in a strictly stern and unbendable voice. She had a square jaw and thin lips that made her come off as strict and unbendable, not so different from her actually personality.
"I ran after him into a muggle neighborhood," Sirius sighed and began. "He was crying, he was pleading me not to kill him." Sirius paused for a moment and glanced over towards Tonks, Remus, and Alexis. "To be completely honest, I did want to kill him. If you're put in my shoes, you'd want to do the same thing. He was like a brother to us, Remus, James, and I. I had my wand out, pointed at him and threatening him. But he was pleading me and I couldn't do it. At that moment not only did I see him as a traitor, I still saw him as scared little Peter, as Wormtail, a nickname we gave him. He used that moment to cast a strong blasting spell on the street and killed the twelve muggles in the explosion. He cut off his own finger and then transformed into a rat and escaped."
"And the events following were the aurors arriving because of the magical mishap. Alastor Moody caught you on the scene and brought you to the Ministry, correct?" she asked.
"Yes, correct. But I never got a trial. I was simply tossed into Azkaban the day after."
"What Black said could not be proven," Cornelius Fudge spoke up. "It was on his account only and the true story could have been different."
"Then I suggest Minister, that we bring forth Peter Pettigrew," Amelia Bones told him.
"We told her about Pettigrew," Alexis whispered to both Tonks and Remus. "Marrick knows her personally and we got some time to speak with her. We told her about Pettigrew and Snape and everything."
Fudge looked up at them, his eyes sneering at Sirius and then to the small group of spectators on the wooden seats in the room. "Bring forth Peter Pettigrew," he announced.
The guards were quick as they escorted Sirius out of his seat and onto the side where he sat at the lowest level of the wooden benches. Sirius sat across the room from his cousins and friend and was only able to look at them with a small air of trust and confidence in his eyes. Tonks managed a weak smile at her cousin while watching the guards rapidly bringing Peter Pettigrew into the courtroom. The man looked no different from before, short and plump with a large bald patch, thinning brown hair that had lost its color, and an almost rat like face. The man was crouching in fear almost, and once he saw Remus and Sirius, he let out a squeal and tried to run to them but the guards held him back and pushed him roughly into the chair.
It was Amelia Bones who spoke that time while Fudge was still glaring at all spectators in the room, including Sirius and Pettigrew. "Peter Pettigrew, prior to coming here you have been given two vials of Veritaserum, correct?" she asked.
Tonks saw that Pettigrew was struggling a bit with his answer but he eventually nodded.
"Can you tell us what happened on Halloween Night of 1981?"
Again there was the struggle, but Tonks saw that Peter Pettigrew was too weak and untrained in resisting the effects of Veritaserum. So while for others such as Occlumens or the Unspeakables, Veritaserum wasn't reliable, for Peter Pettigrew, it truly was the strongest truth-telling potion in the world.
"I…I was released from You-Know-Who's headquarter," he spoke in a small, squeaky whisper, still fighting hard to resist the serum but to no avail. "I heard he was g…going to the Potter's. So I…I…I left quickly. I went back to my hiding place to pack up quickly and was about…t…to flee. But Sirius Black c…caught up to me and chased me to a muggle street. Then I needed to escape so I used the Bombarda Maxima Spell and blew up the street…cutting off my finger and escaping," he told them, truthfully with much resistance. Every word that came out of Pettigrew's mouth, Tonks knew he was trying to hold back. He'd basically just confessed to his crimes right then and there and Tonks thought the entire Ministry should simply go to hell if they continue to try and punish Sirius.
"And you were the Potter's secret keeper and betrayed them to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?" Amelia Bones asked again.
"Y…yes ma'am," Pettigrew replied in a fearful voice barely above a whisper.
"And because of your spell, the Bombarda Maxima Spell, you were also responsible for killing the twelve muggles present that night?"
Pettigrew squealed and squeezed his eyes shut as the answer forced itself out of him. "Yes ma'am," he squealed in a pitchy voice.
"Aside from Peter Pettigrew's confession entirely matching Sirius Black's statement," Amelia Bones began, looking mainly at Fudge. "We've also received a written statement from Severus Snape, stating his knowledge of Peter Pettigrew's activity with the Death Eaters under the control of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."
A set of papers was handed to a guard who quickly and quietly passed it to Fudge. Tonks could only guess that those papers were the written statements Snape had agreed to provide them with. Not only did they have Peter Pettigrew's confession, they had Snape's statement to back it up. Tonks was now entirely certain that if Sirius was punished in any way at all by the Ministry, the entire Ministry of Magic was corrupted.
"Those in favor of conviction," Madam Bones spoke.
It was the final moment. Tonks watched intently, ignoring the deafening silence as the members began to stir and raise their hands. Several hands were raised and Tonks couldn't count them fast enough, but she knew there was an impressive amount of hands raised.
"Those in favor of clearing the accused of all charges…"
She was counting again as each hand rose. There were those in silky black robes that raised their hands and those in solid burgundy. Twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five… Their hands came up and down too fast for her to count exactly. It was the expression on Cornelius Fudge's face that gave her an idea what the final verdict was. Hesitantly almost lazily, Fudge picked up the gavel.
"Sirius Orion Black ruled as not guilty and cleared of all charges," he spoke in a defeated voice and quickly rose before all others, leaving the room through a small door behind where the Wizengamot were seated.
A grin danced across Tonks' face, Alexis' face, Remus, and Sirius' as well. Tonks stood up and along with the others they quickly made their way down to him. Moody and Silvia followed quickly as well. Silvia had a genuine smile on her face while Moody released a grunt of approval, happy with the outcome. As the members of the Wizengamot began disbanding and leaving through the small door behind them, Tonks ran towards Sirius who was released by the guard and hugged him tightly.
"Yes!" she yelled as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.
"I'm free!" Sirius screamed while jumping up and down as Remus patted his shoulder.
"Yes, yes, we're all happy," Moody grunted, ruining the happy moment. "Come on Sirius, you don't want to walk out on the Ministry wearing prison uniforms do you?"
"Well I guess not," Sirius sighed, looking at his black and white horizontal striped robes.
"Sirius I think horizontal black and white stripe's your color," Alexis teased.
"More yours than mine," Sirius retorted, sticking his tongue out at her.
Tonks couldn't help but laugh as she saw Mad-Eye Moody roll his eyes, both eyes. "Follow Silvia and she'll lead you to the bathroom. Get yourself changed into these," he grunted, tossing Sirius a sack of clothes.
"Thank you Moody," Sirius grinned. "I didn't expect you to buy new clothes for me."
"Yeah Mad-Eye," Tonks smiled. "This isn't like you."
"It was Andromeda and Silvia who went and got these for you now hurry up. They've got another hearing in here in a few minutes and we've got to get out."
Quickly, they walked out of Courtroom Ten through the same door Tonks had gone in from earlier. Remus was beside Sirius and had on the wolfish grin Tonks only saw on him when he was happy. She glanced back at them. Sirius followed Silvia down another small hallway from where the lifts are, perhaps the location of the bathroom down on the ninth level. Remus walked a bit faster, walking beside Moody now. She wanted to slow down and talk to him, but he seemed to be in a conversation with Moody. Tonks sighed inwardly. She'd been trying to talk to him, really trying, but something always got in the way.
With the prison robes finally off and in a new set of clothes, he almost couldn't recognize himself. Sirius stood facing the large mirror in the bathroom. He could hear someone humming a familiar tune outside, Silvia perhaps as she said she'd be outside waiting for him. He smirked to himself and then looked back in the mirror. He still couldn't recognize himself.
He wore a black buttoned jumper with a vest, neatly tucked and worn, all under a dark grey blazer. It was his style of choice, from his days at Hogwarts up until then. Sirius noticed he was skinnier, loads skinnier. His eyes were darker than before and his face was boney and hollow. His smile wasn't as bright as that Sirius-like grin from years ago. Looking in the mirror, he was heartbroken by how much he'd changed.
Sirius sighed as he buttoned his cuff links neatly into place. It had been twelve years, and he was finally a free man. Everything was different, he knew that. Everyone had changed. Andromeda, comforting and supportive Andromeda, had gotten older with age. There were more lines on her face and her brown hair had traces of grey in it. Her personality was still the same however, because the haunting memories of her past had been pushed away by her for twelve years and didn't haunt her again.
Alexis, witty and darkly beautiful Alexis, she'd grown into a spitting replica of both her parents. She wasn't the silly and goofy little girl anymore. She was a smart and calculative woman. Her brilliant mind was like her dad, along with her calculative, witty, and rebellious nature. But she had self control and care like her mother as well.
There was Tonks, Nymphadora Tonks, colorful and as beautiful as ever. Sirius chuckled. If she ever heard him refer to her as Nymphadora he'd be hexed into the middle of next week. She looked just like Andromeda, but on another angle, she looked like dear aunt Bella as well, much more than Lexi. Tonks had grown up from the immature and loud-mouthed little Nymphie, his little Tonksie, to Auror Nymphadora Tonks, smart, brilliant, strong, and determined. But she was still as clumsy and colorful as ever. He was glad that aspect of her hadn't changed.
Harry was there too. The boy had tried his hardest to help him, and he'd helped Sirius so much by forgiving him and accepting him as his godfather. Harry looked so much like James, but with Lily's eyes. Sirius could remember them easily, every feature, every aspect, every memory. Harry was there for him too.
And then there was Remus. Kind, forgiving, bookworm Moony, his friend, his brother. Remus had definitely changed. But he hadn't as well. He was still kind and gentle and clever like Sirius remembered. He smiled easily. He still loves chocolate, and he was still the wonderful brother Sirius admitted to having. But Remus seemed more burdened now, as if many years of loneliness and lycanthropy had taken its toll on him.
Sirius sighed. But then he remembered when Remus was with Tonks. He smiled easy and weightlessly as if he was never a werewolf, as if they were never betrayed, and as if he'd never been hurt before. It was obvious. Sirius could see Remus' feelings for Tonks. Normally he'd protest. Remus was too old for Tonks and Remus was his friend, he couldn't get together with his baby cousin. But seeing how happy Remus was with Tonks and how she was happy with him, Sirius didn't want to intervene. He sighed again and straightened his blazer collar. Twelve years passed, and so many things were different.
He turned towards the bathroom door. Once he steps out of there, he was a new man. He was a changed man after the scars and pain of his haunting and sullen past. But he still had friends. He had Remus, and he had his cousins, his beloved cousins. And Sirius couldn't forget the help he got from Marrick, that boy Alexis seems to fancy, and Mad-Eye Moody, and Silvia as well. Silvia was waiting for him outside the door. She was an old friend of his. He remembered she and him had dated for several months back in school. She was a wonderful girl, loyal, smart, beautiful, and kind.
"I'm a free man," Sirius smiled as he walked out the door.
The Atrium was filled with people, walking hastily to and from. Tonks turned and still saw Remus speaking with Mad-Eye, deep in a conversation about something. Beside her, Marrick and Alexis were talking quietly about something as well and Marrick bid her farewell, leaning down to kiss her cheek quick as lightning, and leaving. In front of her Tonks' mother stood, tall and dignified. They were waiting for Sirius to come out so they could take him home.
"You and Sirius will stay with me," Andromeda spoke. "Until Alexis finds a new place."
Tonks nodded but then her face turned to a confused expression. "Wait, a new place?"
"I nearly forgot to tell you," Alexis smirked and Tonks rolled her eyes at her cousin. "Hey, it's hard being your cousin so cut me some slack. Now, our apartment is way too small. And Sirius can't live with Andromeda forever. Since he doesn't have a job right now, he could stay with us until he gets money for his own place. Yes he could use money from the Black family vault in Gringotts, but honestly, even I won't touch it," Alexis smirked. "So with all the money I've saved up, we can get a new flat, a bigger flat," she grinned.
She shrugged and grinned as well. "A bigger flat is fine with me."
A little more time passed and Tonks began tapping her feet impatiently. Moody and Remus had finally finished talking and they were walking back, closer to them. Tonks came up first and Moody patted her shoulder as he joined the others, standing waiting at the front of the main lift from the Department of Mysteries where Sirius and Silvia would come out from. Tonks then opened her mouth and finally got to speak.
"Remus…we need to talk."
Her eyes saw the apologetic look flitting onto his face. "Nymphadora I'm sorry, I must return for my classes and tell Harry of the verdict," he told her. His voice broke half way but he quickly recovered. Tonks' heart throbbed and she wanted to hold him and ask him what exactly the meaning of the kiss was. Had he meant it, or was she being silly and too hopeful?
Tonks swallowed down her words and nodded. "Alright, we'll talk later."
"Goodbye Nymphadora," he told her.
"Goodbye Remus," she nodded and watched as he took another look at her and then turned, heading into one of the large chimneys that aligned the Atrium. Tonks was desperate for an answer, but things kept getting in the way.
"Nymphadora," her mother called her and Tonks groaned.
People have been calling her by her dreaded first name all day and Tonks felt that unless she said something, it would become a habit. "Don't call me Nymphadora mother!" she spoke a little more briskly than she had wanted to.
Andromeda shot her a dark and threatening maternal glare. They turned and faced the lift and the wrought golden grills slid open, allowing Sirius and Silvia to step out. Sirius wore brand new clothes in the old style he always preferred. There was a grin plastered on his face and a soft smile on Silvia's. When they came out of the lift, Tonks noticed that the noise in the entire Atrium slowly died down. People were looking. They heard hushed voices all around them, perhaps questioning why Sirius Black was walking free in front of Mad-Eye Moody himself. Sirius took another step outside and joined his cousins.
"What are you looking at?" Moody growled. "Sirius Black's an innocent man! Now get!"
Then the hushed voices in the Atrium shifted into loud words of confusion. Tonks smirked, knowing what tomorrow's headline in the Daily Prophet would be. A few people near them were asking for an explanation, the whole story. They ignored them and continued walking, disappearing one by one to their destination. Tonks thought the story could be saved until tomorrow when the Prophet publishes the news and the entire story, the truth. Tonks watched as Andromeda and Alexis vanished in a sea of green flames. Then she and Sirius stepped inside, throwing a handful of floo powder into the chimney and watching as images of the Atrium swirled into a mist of green. And the next thing they saw was the living room to home.
Author's Note:
SIRIUS BLACK IS FREE! (I find it just cruel to not free him. J.K. Rowling, no matter how brilliant and wonder and...ahem back to the point, is ruthless! She did kill off Sirius, and Dobby, and Moody, and Fred, and Remus and Tonks...cryyyyyyyyyyyy)
And I apologize for dragging out Remus and Tonks' relationship once again. xD They're at the awkward "after we kiss" stage now, because my impression of them is that Remus is just shy in terms of romance, and Tonks is feeling shy around him because he makes her feel different from all the rest and she is unsure of what to do about it in fear of messing it up. My friend told me to just give them a chance to "have a right good shag" for once, but I'm afraid that won't happen any time soon. Sorry!
Now also, I was a bit iffy writing the little bit about Sirius because I'm not too sure about how his character feels. I mean Sirius doesn't exactly strike me as the introverted kind of guy, but then he also had just gotten his name cleared, so he has to feel something. So...I apologize if that part about him in the bathroom looking at the mirror is a bit weird.
Anyways, thanks so much everyone for reading, reviewing, favoriting, alerting, and supporting! xD 3