A/N: Sorry about the delay! I had written most of this chapter at work and saved it, but had no idea where I had saved it to. I ended up finding it in some random folder that it shouldn't have been in. I dared to invade all sorts of privacy to find the chapter so that I could finish it and post it. From now on, I'm never using the save button at work! lol Hope you enjoy. It's slightly longer than my other chapters, but that's not a bad thing, is it? And don't worry, I will soon be getting to the meat of the story, it's just taken me a bit to decide what that is. I promise there will be very few other fluff chapters.
Tonks agreed to meet Mr. Weasley in the atrium at the Ministry after work to head over to the Muggle public library. She spotted the balding, yet still noticeably red-headed man standing just a few paces from the front entrance. She grinned at his interesting attempt at Muggle clothing. It appeared that he had pieced together sections of three different three-piece suits.
"Evening, Arthur, you look…dashing." She said with a grin. Mr. Weasley picked up the tone of sarcasm in Tonks' voice and glanced down at his outfit.
"Is it no good?" he asked, holding out his arms for her to get a good look. Tonks laughed and pulled out her wand, shifting the color of his trousers and jacket to match the flattering hunter green vest.
"Much better. Shall we?" she asked, nodding toward the door. Arthur beamed like a school child and followed Tonks out into the street. She was sure they looked like an odd pair, a young woman with bright pink, spiky hair wearing a band t-shirt and jeans being accompanied by an older man wearing a very green three-piece suit. Arthur was attracting several stares as he greeted every Muggle who past him, gawking at the ones using cell phones or listening to a walkman.
"Arthur, be discrete." Tonks reminded him on several occasions. He would nod absently and mumble something about,
"I'm just keeping an eye out for suspicious activi–another with those ear coverings! Muggles must be very cold people." Tonks had to laugh and shake her head as a young man, bobbing his head to some tune on a walkman, strolled past. They finally arrived at the library. An older woman, who reminded Tonks a great deal of Professor McGonagall, her old Transfiguration teacher, sat behind a desk labeled "Information."
"Hello, there. I was wondering if you had any…computers…" Arthur paused for a moment to be sure he had gotten the word right before continuing, "Available for use?" he asked. The woman nodded and pointed to the left where there was a door labeled "Computers and Printing." Tonks and Arthur nodded there thanks and headed for the door.
Arthur Weasley had never seen such an array of Muggle electricity before. Row after row of computers whose screens glowed blue with a generic background filled the room with a gentle humming noise. Tonks nudged Arthur forward and chose a computer near the door. Arthur pulled up a seat beside her and watched intently.
"Now, how do you…" Tonks asked herself as she reached for the small mouse beside the keyboard. She gave the mouse a push and saw the curser on the screen zoom up into the top left corner.
"Remarkable!" Arthur whispered. Tonks slid the mouse over an icon on the desktop labeled "Microsoft Word Processor." She clicked once, but nothing happened. After several more attempts at single clicking with no avail, she finally gave into frantic clicking of both the left and right buttons on the mouse. Upon right clicking on the icon, she was given a small drop down menu of actions. The top one being "Open" in bold letters. Tonks let out a sigh of relief and opened the program.
"Brilliant…now, what do all these do?" Arthur asked, pointing out the different actions in the menu above the blank white page. The two spent the next few moments testing out the different buttons and typing on the keyboard. Once they had had their fill (once Tonks had had her fill, anyways) she set to work on the letter.
"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Dursley…" she read allowed as she typed the words, rather slowly. "Does that sound official enough?" Arthur nodded vigorously, anxious for Tonks to continue typing. The rest of the letter seemed to flow smoothly. Tonks stopped a few times to review her progress before deciding to continue. Finally she finished the very official sounding letter with "Sincerely yours," and stopped. "I need a name, Arthur," She asked, "Something old sounding and…gardeny." Arthur pondered for a moment.
"How about Myrtle Bergman?" he suggested. Tonks crinkled her nose.
"It's perfect." She said and left a few spaces for a signature before typing,
Myrtle Bergman
Chairwoman
Department of Agriculture
After one final read through, Tonks hit the print button (after attempting several other buttons to find it) and hurried over to the printer that began whirring and clicking as it spat out an exact replica of what she had typed on the screen.
"Fantastic! It knows exactly what you wrote. Marvelous, this Muggle eclectrikity." Arthur said as he examined the copy of the letter. Tonks snatched the letter back from him.
"Come on, I want to go back to Headquarters for someone to sign it." She said as she headed for the door. Once outside, and down a side street, the two Disapparated to Grimmauld Place. Tonks entered the kitchen, hoping to find someone around who could sign the letter for her. Her own handwriting was awful. She found Molly fixing the evening meal, Ginny and Hermione playing with Crookshanks, Hermione's ginger cat, on the kitchen floor, and the twins in the corner talking to Mundgungus Fletcher, a man Tonks had run into on occasion in her department. Mundungus wasn't a dark wizard by any means, merely a criminal. She was certain the three men couldn't be up to any good. Finally, she spotted Remus Lupin sitting at the end of the kitchen table, hunched over a small stack of papers and looking slightly out of sorts.
"Everything alright, Remus?" Arthur asked as he stripped off his jacket and hung it on the back of a chair and giving his wife a kiss on the cheek. Remus glanced up from his papers and nodded.
"Just some Ministry business, I'm afraid." He said. Tonks sat across from him and attempted to read the heading on the papers.
"Ministry business, eh? I didn't think you were involved with the Ministry." She said after Remus blocked her view with his arm.
"Not by choice." He said bitterly. Tonks gave him a frustrated look and leaned over the table to get a better look. "The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures" was stamped across the top of the page Remus was hovering over, quill in hand.
"Are they the werewolf registration forms?" she asked timidly, sitting back down in her seat. Remus answered with more bitterness in his voice than Tonks would have suspected.
"Every bloody year I have to fill out these forms, and nothing ever changes but my bloody address." He huffed. Tonks frowned across the table at the top of a graying head.
"Brooding about regulations again, are we?" came the voice of Sirius Black from behind Tonks. He had apparently been rooting around the house-elf, Kreacher's crawl space for stolen items. Remus looked up at his old friend and pointed the feather of his quill at him.
"You'd be brooding too if someone had restrictions that kept you from getting a steady paying job." He said. Sirius cocked his head to the side.
"I do have restrictions, mate. Four walls and an entire Ministry out to get me." Tonks was certain she had never been part of a more depressing conversation. Remus couldn't hold a job because of his condition, which kept him from earning enough money to own a decent flat and Sirius was barricaded inside his own home. She had considered telling the two about her trip to the library with Arthur, but now felt as though it would be rubbing life in both their faces. Remus looked apologetically at his old friend for a moment before continuing.
"These questions are ridiculous!" he grumbled as he set back to his work. "Look at this one, number fifty-four. 'In the past twelve months, how many animals or humans do you recall harming in your animal state?' None, you ruddy…" Tonks couldn't make out the rest of what the Ministry officials were as he scribbled an answer on the paper. She assumed they couldn't be the nicest of phrases. "My whole life I've never harmed a soul except for myself." He mumbled to himself as he continued to scribble down more answers. The kitchen was silent for a moment before Tonks decided to clear her throat and draw the attention to someone else.
"Does anyone have decent handwriting? I need someone to sign my letter to the Muggles." She said. Ginny hopped up from the floor and read the letter quickly over Tonks' shoulder. She crinkled her nose once she reached the end.
"Myrtle Bergman?" she asked in disgust. Tonks grinned.
"It was your father's idea." She said.
"You wanted something gardeny!" Arthur exclaimed. Tonks laughed. Ginny glanced around for a spare quill left out from a meeting, but didn't find one.
"Um, Professor Lupin, may I borrow your quill?" she asked. Remus nodded and handed over the quill, straightening his stack of papers and leaning back in the chair.
"Giving up?" Tonks asked. Remus nodded.
"There's only so much prejudice I can take in one night." Remus glanced over at Ginny after signing Myrtle Bergman's name in curly, intricate lettering. "May I read it?" he asked. Tonks gave him a playful glare.
"Why? Don't you trust my abilities?" she asked. Remus grinned at her.
"I only ask out of intellectual curiosity." He said. Tonks bit back a laugh and rolled her eyes, handing over the letter after examining Ginny's signature.
"Be my guest, Professor." Tonks watched as Remus read her letter with mounting anticipation. What if he thinks it's terrible? What if he says I'm trying too hard? She thought to herself. Remus set down the letter and slid it back across the table. "Well? What do you think?" Tonks couldn't understand why she was so eager for his approval.
"It's good. I think they'll go for it." He said. Tonks smiled and folded up the letter. She turned as she heard footsteps descending the stairs into the basement kitchen. A man with bright red hair pulled back into a pony-tail, what appeared to be a dragon tooth earring, and wearing a very official looking suit walked into the kitchen.
"Hello, Mum." The man said, giving Mrs. Weasley a peck on the cheek. Molly smiled at her son. He then turned to look at the kitchen. Ginny hurried over to her brother and gave him a hug.
"Bill, come meet Tonks, she's an Auror." Ginny said, nodding her head toward the table. Mrs. Weasley watched Bill make his way to sit next to Tonks with a strange twinkle in her eye. "Tonks, this is my oldest brother, Bill. Bill, this is Tonks." She said. Tonks smiled and shook Bill's hand.
"Tonks, eh? As in Nymphadora Tonks? Charlie's old potions partner?" he asked. Tonks nodded. Ginny grinned at the two and then leaned in to ask her brother a question in a low voice. Tonks assumed she didn't want her mother in on the conversation.
"How's Phlegm? Couldn't help but notice she's not here." she asked. Bill gave her a disapproving look.
"Fleur is just fine. She had some extra work to do at Gringotts." There seemed to be an underlying conversation between the two that only they were a part of. Bill decided to end it and turned to Remus.
"Hello, Remus. You look well." He said conversationally. Remus nodded.
"Severus' potions have been very useful. How's work in Egypt?" The two men struck up a conversation over international work at Gringotts when Ginny turned back to Tonks. She glanced over her shoulder at her brother talking across the table to Remus and then down the table to where Arthur was regaling Sirius on the Quidditch World Cup the year before.
"Do you remember the Triwizard Tournament last year?" Ginny asked in a hushed voice so that the four men at the table wouldn't be in on the conversation. Tonks nodded.
"Of course I do, it was the biggest news of the year." She said. Ginny adopted a mischievous look.
"Remember the Beauxbatons tart?" She asked. Tonks thought back.
"Oh yes, the Veela girl?" she asked, not entirely sure where this was going. Ginny nodded.
"Bill's been dating her ever since she spotted him the day the champions' families were allowed to visit." She said with a look of disgust on her face. Tonks laughed.
"What's the matter, Ginny? Not getting enough attention from your brother now?" she asked. Ginny huffed.
"No, that's not it! She's horrible. Thinks very highly of herself, that Phlegm." She said. The two suddenly noticed that the conversation beside them had gone quiet. Ginny turned around slowly to see Bill staring at her with a stern, yet non threatening glare.
"I'm sure Tonks is not at all interested in my relationship with Fleur, Ginny. Why don't you run along and play with Crookshanks?" he suggested. It was clear that Ginny had no interest in being treated like a child by her brother, but obliged nonetheless. Tonks laughed as Ginny headed up the stairs. "So sorry about that. Ever since I started dating Fleur, Ginny's tried to get any girl she meets to steal me away." He said with a small laugh. Before Tonks could respond, however, the familiar sounds of Mrs. Black's shouts flooded the stairs and spilled into the kitchen. Tonks was certain this was retaliation from Ginny. She rushed upstairs behind Remus, Bill, and Sirius to find the horrible troll leg umbrella stand lying on its side some ten feet away from its original position. Ginny must have flown it at the painting which was now shouting relentlessly. Tonks hurried over to the painting to help close the curtains, but promptly tripped over the umbrella stand and fell head first into the wall.
Walburga Black's shouting was suddenly silent as Tonks slowly opened her eyes. She wasn't in the front hall any longer, but lying on her back on the kitchen table. She sat up slowly, grasping her head as she swung her legs over the edge of the table, holding onto the side with one hand.
"Does your head hurt?" someone asked. Tonks didn't care who it was. She shook her head slowly.
"No, I'm just a little dizzy, that's all." Tonks let go of the edge of the table and brought her hand up to her head. Almost immediately she began to tilt backwards. Someone stepped in front of her, grasping her wrists lightly and pulled straight.
"I think a little might be an understatement." The same man said with a slight hint of amusement to his voice. Tonks placed both hands on the man's shoulders to steady herself further. She looked up into the face of Remus Lupin who was grinning softly at her. Tonks stared at him for a moment, his face doubling every now and then as she tried to regain her focus.
"What happened?" she asked softly.
"You tripped and hit your head on the corner of my mother's frame. You should have heard her shouts, I can't remember the last time she sounded so happy." Sirius said with a hint of bitterness in his voice. Tonks closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them, this time she was able to focus directly on Remus.
"Can you stand?" he asked. Tonks nodded slowly and allowed him to pull her down off the table by her waist. She let go of his shoulders and put a hand behind her to brace herself against the table.
"Tonks, you clumsy oaf! Some things never change." Came another familiar voice that Tonks hadn't heard in several years. She looked over at the stairs and saw her old potions partner grinning at her.
"Shut it, Charlie, it was your sister's fault. Where is she anyways?" she asked, glancing around to see if she had returned after all the commotion.
"If we've taught our little sister anything, it's never to return to the scene of the crime." Said one of the Weasley twins from somewhere near the pantry. Tonks noticed that Molly was missing as well. "I think Ginny went up to hide in Buckbeak's room." The twin added. Tonks looked confused and leaned around Remus to look at Sirius.
"Who's Buckbeak?" she asked. Sirius grinned.
"Oh, my Hippogriff." He said, fully aware that Tonks wasn't going to believe him. She didn't and began laughing lightly.
"Right, and I have a Crumple-Horned Snorkack in my closet at home." A few people laughed. Sirius shook his head.
"Don't believe me? Have a look for yourself. Remus will show you." He said. Tonks raised an eyebrow at him.
"What's the matter, cousin? Afraid to be around when I find out there is no Hippogriff? I don't blame you." Tonks' tone was light and playfully threatening.
Sirius grinned and shook his head, stating with all seriousness, "I don't like going up there unless I plan on staying. Beaky gets too lonely for me to be popping in and out." Tonks felt a tug somewhere near her navel at Sirius' affectionate pet name for his pet, knowing that he too is too lonely for Order members to be popping in and out of Headquarters all the time.
"I'll show you if you like." Remus offered. Tonks looked back up at her would-be Healer and smiled.
"Alright, let's see this make-believe Hippogriff of his." She said. The two headed up the stairs. Once they were out of earshot of Mrs. Black's painting and well on their way to the top floors of the house, Tonks turned to Remus. "You're taking this a bit far, don't you think?" she asked as they stopped at a door at the end of the hall. Remus was smiling faintly.
"Taking what too far? He's right in there. Make sure you bow before going too far in. Hippogriffs are very territorial." He warned. Tonks laughed and shook her head.
"Right. You know, you're going to look awfully stupid when I reveal an empty room." She said, pushing the door open. There was a soft squawk and the sound of claws scraping wood before Tonks turned away from Remus and gaped, open mouthed, at the chained half horse, half eagle lying in the middle of the room.
"Bow." Remus whispered to the awe-struck Tonks. She hesitated for a moment before obeying. She glanced up and saw that Buckbeak had accepted her cordial greeting and returned the bow. Standing straight, Tonks noticed that Remus too had bowed and entered the room, upon being accepted by the large creature. He noticed that Tonks wasn't following.
"It's alright. He's harmless, I promise." He said, holding out his hand for her to take. Tonks was very hesitant. She hadn't come across a Hippogriff before and was certain that they were generally considered vicious creatures. She slowly took Remus' hand, noticing that she became much less hesitant as she did so, and entered the room. After becoming certain that the Hippogriff wasn't going to attack, she reached out a hand and stroked Buckbeak's feathers gently.
"Wotcher, Buckbeak. You're not make-believe at all, are you?" Remus had let go of her hand and was walking back toward the door. Tonks swiveled on the spot, afraid that he was going to leave her alone with the beast. She relaxed, however as he leaned over and picked up a sack lying beside the door. He noticed the expression on her face and decided to reassure her.
"Dead rats. Sirius has been collecting them from around the house for Buckbeak." He held the sack open for Tonks to take one. Her nose crinkled in disgust and Remus laughed. "Fine, I'll do it." He said, taking a rat by the tail and tossing it at the half bird's beak. Buckbeak caught it in midair and swallowed the rodent whole. "So, what do you think?" he asked, moving to stand beside Tonks and stroking Buckbeak's neck. Tonks glanced up at him with a smile, patting the Hippogriff's beak.
"He's beautiful. How did Sirius get him?" she asked. Remus grinned and began telling the young Auror about Sirius' daring escape from the dementors at Hogwarts, thanks almost entirely to Harry and Hermione. Tonks smiled at Remus and looked back at Buckbeak. "Two innocent lives sentenced to execution…" her words trailed off for a moment before saying, "I wonder how many innocent people I've helped capture." She said. Remus looked down at her thoughtfully.
"It's a corrupt system. You can't blame yourself; you're only doing your job." Tonks nodded and sighed.
"I know, I can't help but think about it though." There was a moment of silence before Tonks began to smile serenely at Buckbeak again. "I think I owe someone an apology." She said, nodding toward the door. They both gave Buckbeak a last good-bye pat (Tonks even braved the rat bag and gave the Hippogriff a parting gift) and left the room.
Back in the kitchen, Fred and George had struck up a conversation with Sirius about their antics at school, a topic that brought a reminiscent gleam to Sirius' eyes. Tonks and Remus took seats at the table. Sirius turned to look at the pink-haired lady. "So am I a liar?" he asked teasingly. Tonks grinned and rolled her eyes.
"No, you were telling the truth." Sirius gave her an 'I told you so' look. "How was I supposed to believe you? Who keeps Hippogriffs in their attack?" she said, folding her arms and mock pouting. Sirius, Remus and the twins all laughed.
"When are you going to send the letter, Tonks?" Ginny had reappeared in the kitchen, followed shortly by a very red faced Molly. She was apparently a little peeved at Ginny's retaliation.
"I don't know, really. Does anyone know how to send a letter by Muggle mail?" she asked the kitchen at large. Fred, George, and Ron who had just entered the kitchen with Hermione all sniggered.
"Why don't you ask Dad?" George suggested. Tonks looked around at Arthur who was turning slightly pink around the ears.
"What's all this?" she asked with a small laugh. Arthur sighed.
"I attempted to send Harry's family a letter last year to ask permission to take him to the Quidditch match." He said. Tonks had a feeling he was leaving a few details out.
"What happened?" she asked as the Weasley children began laughing a little harder.
"Dad stamped the poor letter to death!" Ginny said through fits of giggles. Tonks was now laughing slightly, still not understanding what was so funny. Molly huffed and went to stand behind her husband to show her unyielding support for him.
"Arthur didn't realize that you only need one stamp to mail a Muggle letter. The only visible part on the envelope was Harry's address." She said, resting a hand on Arthur's shoulder. His face was now a shade just shy of his minimal hair. Tonks was laughing softly, though the Weasley children were roaring.
"Don't be embarrassed, Arthur. Now I know only to put one stamp on." Tonks said reassuringly. Molly smiled sweetly at Tonks.
"Will you be staying for dinner?" she asked. Tonks was used to Muggle take-away and her own quick fry ups. A nice home cooked meal from Molly was always welcome. She nodded.
The rest of dinner went by very pleasantly. Tonks regaled Sirius and Remus of her own forms of rebellion against her least favorite teacher at Hogwarts. The two men were in stitches nearly the whole time. Sirius noticed, however, that the he was soon excluded from the conversation as Tonks and Remus seemed to find each other all the company they needed. He frowned and then turned to Mundgungus, who had stayed for dinner despite Molly's insistence that Sirius ask him to leave.
