The stern faced members of the Wizengamot stared down at the short, scraggly man below them. It wasn't the first time this deviant had graced their courtroom, however the elders were determined to make it the last. Mundungus Fletcher had stolen his last set of cauldrons; broken into his last home; read his last bit of discarded Ministry information.
"Mundungus Fletcher is hereby accused of three counts of burglary, one count of apparating under the influence, and four counts of the possession of stolen goods. How does the accused plea?" Asked the Chief Warlock, whose face was mostly hidden behind shadow from Dung's vantage. He twirled his tattered old Newsboy cap in his hands as he stared up at the judge and jury.
"Not guilty, o'course!" Wrong answer.
"Mr. Fletcher! You have found yourself under our scrutiny many times in your life. Fortunately for you, you have been able to provide the members of the Wizengamot useful information that has lead to the capture and arrest of several witches and wizards under He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Unfortunately, you no longer have any information to give us. As a result, the Wizengamot finds the accused guilty on all charges. The sentence: 10 years in Azkaban." Decreed an Elder over Dung's shouts of,
"WAIT!" he shouted, holding his hand out. His eyes darted around the room until he finally made up his mind. There was one piece of information the Wizengamot would pay him for. "What if," he paused, making sure this was what he wanted to do. "What if I could give you Sirius Black?" he offered. The Chief Warlock leaned over his podium, eyeing Dung with suspicion.
"You would have such information, would you?" He asked. Mundungus cracked a yellowed grin and laughed a slow chuckle tainted with the stench of stale tobacco and alcohol. His freedom was only one man away.
Tonks was called into her supervisor, Rufus Scrimgeour's, office. Finally, she thought, some action! Ever since her unpleasant talk with Remus two weeks ago, Tonks had been antsy and looking for a way to release some pent up energy.
She continued attending Order meetings as usual, though the missions were becoming less and less intriguing. Most of her nights were spent with Sirius, passing a new bottle of liquor each night. Remus was present in the house most of these nights, though he never joined the two. Perhaps he was too ashamed, Tonks wondered. Perhaps he disapproved of her behavior. Whatever the case, it didn't matter much. He hadn't budged on his argument and she knew he wasn't going to. Tonks needed some action, some danger, anything to relieve her of the frustration, anger, and hurt she felt toward her Professor.
So, with wide eyes and determination, she entered Scrimgeour's office along with several of her fellow Aurors, including Jeremy, to receive their new assignment. Tonks looked around the room and noticed Kingsley Shacklebolt sitting several seats down. Tonks wondered why he had been called in. The last she knew, Kingsley was working strictly on Sirius' case. She set her curiosity aside as Scrimgeour began.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a hit. There is a new lead on Sirius Black." Tonks' eyes widened and her throat seized. Jeremy glanced sideways at her as she began coughing into her fist. Scrimgeour ignored the fit and continued talking over the young Auror as if she weren't there. "We will find him at the address of 12 Grimmauld Place, London; this is where he was last seen. We will be arresting the assailant this evening. I want you all ready in no more than ten minutes time." Tonks had recovered from her fit and stood with the rest of the Aurors. She had to warn Sirius.
But how? Tonks paced her cubicle, biting her thumbnail as she ran through the possible ways of contacting her cousin. An owl? The nearest owls were in the Ministry post office, on the other side of the building, four floors down. Phone? What was she thinking, Sirius didn't own a phone! Nor did the Ministry, now that she thought about it. Enchanted memo? Tonks kicked herself inwardly at that stupid idea. Flu powder? Yes! That was it! There were plenty of fireplaces at both Grimmauld Place and the Ministry! All she had to do was find an empty room…her thoughts trailed at that requirement. Then she remembered.
Several Order meetings ago, Dumbledore had begun teaching everyone how to use their Patronus as a means of contacting one another. Tonks hadn't quite mastered it yet; her messages still sounded like her Patronus were talking through glass. She had to try. Climbing up onto her desk, Tonks attempted to open the small window there. She heaved and huffed and shoved, but the window wouldn't budge. After giving her hands horrible sores, she remembered that the windows weren't real and she was nearly 15 feet below ground.
All Tonks could hope, as the team of Aurors mounted their brooms and left for Grimmauld Place, was that Scrimgeour would bust down the front door, waking Walburga, and alerting Sirius to their arrival. When they arrived at the spot the house was supposed to reside, Tonks was relieved to find that it was safely hidden, as always, between numbers 11 and 13. There were a few murmurs of confusion from the other Aurors when Scrimgeour stepped forward and dashed all of Tonks' hopes. With a smooth wave of his wand, numbers 11 and 13 jumped aside and 12 Grimmauld Place emerged before them like a giant inflatable balloon.
The house seemed different to Tonks. She was entering as an Auror with a group of men and women who should not have known of the house's existence. How could this have happened? Who told? Foiling the last of Tonks' hopes, Scrimgeour ordered the group enter the house with the element of surprise, and was therefore quiet. Walburga's painting lay dormant, unaware of the large group of witches and wizards in her front hall. Scrimgeour motioned for the group to split up into pairs and trios to search the large home. Tonks wished she had been paired off with Kingsley. However, she climbed the stairs with Jeremy and Scrimgeour. Kingsley was paired with a short, burly witch named Helga and heading for the basement kitchen.
The three were just about to ascend their second flight of stairs, after searching every room on the second floor – to Tonks relief, finding them all empty – when someone blocked their way at the top of the staircase.
"Do we have visitors?" It was Remus. He looked tired and was carrying an empty cup of tea in one hand and a plate with a knife laying across it in the other, a book was tucked under his arm which Tonks recognized as his battered copy of Quidditch Teams of South East Asia. She tried to communicate with him through her eyes what was going on, but was distracted when Scrimgeour boomed out,
"Remus John Lupin, you are under arrest under the suspicion of aiding and harboring a wanted criminal!" Tonks nearly gave herself whiplash as her head spun around to look at her supervisor.
"I'm sorry?" Remus asked. Tonks' head snapped forward again at the sound of crashing china as Jeremy hit Remus with an Incarcerus spell. Remus' arms were locked to his sides by thick ropes, causing him to drop his tea cup and plate. "What is the meaning of this?" Remus shouted, locking eyes with Tonks who shrank back behind Jeremy.
Sirius, who had been spending the afternoon with Buckbeak, had heard the commotion downstairs and crept to the railing to get a closer look. Below he saw three Auror's, wands pointed at Remus' head. Several more Auror's had heard the commotion and were rushing up to the scene. The eldest Auror's voice soared up the tall staircase and met with Sirius' ears. "We have reason to believe that you have been harboring known criminal Sirius Black for months." Sirius' eyes widened. He had to act and fast.
Tonks was fidgeting behind Jeremy, trying desperately to find a way out of this mess. They weren't here to arrest Sirius. No, they were here to arrest Remus. Her Remus. This was worse, far worse, than what she had expected. Suddenly, she heard the sound of pounding footsteps coming down the stairs above. The feet hit the floor Remus was on and from around the corner came a large, snarling black dog. Without pausing to assess his quarry, Sirius leapt off the top step, tackling Scrimgeour in the chest and knocking him down several steps.
"Someone get this bloody beast off me!" Scrimgeour shouted. Tonks couldn't move; part of her wanted Sirius to tear him to shreds. Jeremy shoved past her and ran down the stairs, yanking the large dog off Scrimgeour's chest by the scruff of his neck. Sirius flung his head around, attempting to grab at Jeremy's wrist.
"Petrificus Totalus!" shouted Helga in her gruff voice. Sirius' head snapped forward, his front and back legs snapping together. Jeremy set the dog on the ground. Tonks took the opportunity to run up the stairs and act as though she were going to lead Remus out of the house. When she reached him and grabbed hold of the ropes, she leaned in and whispered,
"I don't know what this is all about, but I swear I'll get you out of this." And lead him down the stairs.
"I haven't seen Sirius Black in nearly 15 years."
"Yes, I've been a werewolf most of my life."
"Yes, I know You-Know-Who recruits werewolves."
"No, I can't afford my own place at the moment."
"Didn't I answer these questions when Sirius was first arrested?"
"I had visited Sirius' home several times as a child and knew the address. No one had to tell me."
Remus answered any question the Aurors threw at him. The Auror questioning Remus – one of Kingsley's team – left for a break, leaving Remus alone in the interrogation room. He slumped back in the chair and folded his arms across his chest. His eyelids were growing heavier by the minute. Only two days before the next full moon. Part of him knew he'd be spending it in a prison cell in Azkaban. The other part hoped that Tonks and Kingsley would find a way for him to be released before it came to that.
He sighed heavily and looked up at Tonks who had been standing silently in her corner through the entire interrogation. Her eyes were filled with a horrible, bitter sadness that Remus hated to see in her. He cleared his throat. The awkward silence was killing him. "So, how does this work? Are we being listened to?" he asked casually. Tonks nodded.
"Yes, it's a security measure. The other Auror's can be alerted in case you become too violent." Remus was glad to hear a trace amount of humor in her voice. She cocked her eyebrow slightly at the last word. Remus allowed her a half grin and stared at her in silence. As the seconds ticked passed he saw the sadness return. She mouthed to him a silent "I'm sorry." Remus shook his head slowly. They were interrupted, however, as the interrogating Auror returned through the single door behind Remus. Tonks' gaze hardened into indifference and she stood a little straighter, taking on the appearance of an entirely professional Auror. Perhaps it was the Metamorphmagus in her, but Remus couldn't help but be impressed with her acting skills.
"I get the feeling you won't budge." The interrogator asked. Remus shook his head.
"Nothing to budge on, I'm afraid. I've told you everything I know. If someone's told you otherwise, they've given you false information." Remus said coolly. The Auror smirked.
"I'm afraid you give me no choice but to hold you for further questioning. Means Azkaban, that. Sure you don't want to talk?" he asked. Remus shook his head.
"I'll be happy to stay as long as you like." He said casually. He glanced back at Tonks who looked near tears. Sirius had handled Azkaban for 13 years; surely he could handle a single night. Two Aurors came in through the door and seized Remus by the arms, leading him out of the interrogation room. As the three men left, the interrogator moved to stand beside Tonks with, a smirk that made her want to hex his mouth straight off played across his lips.
"Poor bloke thinks it's just one night. We're to leave him there for a few months. Scrimgeour reckons a few transformations with the Dementors ought to loosen his tongue a bit." He said with a small chuckle before leaving Tonks alone in the interrogation room.
"I have to get out of here." She said aloud, her voice cracking. Ditching the paper work she had for the arrest, Tonks apparated to the Burrow, needing a little motherly love from Molly. When she arrived, however, she found that she wasn't the only one who wanted to visit the Weasley family. She quietly stepped into the Weasley family room that appeared to be far too small for such a large group. Dumbledore was at the head of the group, trying to calm the crowd.
"QUIET!" he shouted. The group fell silent and turned their attention toward Albus. "That's better. Molly, Arthur, I thank you whole heartedly for lending us your home in these hard times. It is, as of yet, unclear how the Ministry was informed of Grimmauld Place. Sirius will remain there for the time being until we can find a safe means of transport." Dumbledore was cut off by Hagrid, who boomed out,
"Is it true Remus has bin arrested?" The rest of the group shouted their equal curiosity. Albus nodded sadly.
"I'm afraid that's correct." Albus recapped what he knew of the night's events. Tonks didn't want to relive it. She leaned back against the wall and folded her arms and scanned the group. Her eyes rested on a short man on the opposite wall, looking very nervous and as though he wanted to appear invisible. However, most people who want to appear invisible tend to stand out in a crowd. That is precisely what Mundungus Fletcher was doing. Tonks tried as hard as she could to slip unnoticed to Mundungus' side. She managed to make it there only tripping over her feet once or twice.
"Wotcher, Dung." She greeted him. Mundungus nodded in her direction, but didn't speak. "Alright?" she asked. Dung gave a twitchy sort of nod. He was staring so hard at Dumbledore, one might have thought he was attempting to see straight through him. "You wouldn't have had something to do with this, would you?" she asked quietly. Dung shook his head and looked up at her for the first time.
"'Course not, Tonks! Turn in an Order member, never!" he answered. Tonks nodded.
"No, no, course you wouldn't." she paused for a moment then whispered to him, "Office rumor is that you were arrested again. What was it this time? Cauldrons? Quills?" she asked. Dung shook his head.
"Harvest o' dragon eggs." He replied. Tonks sucked in a sharp breath.
"Ouch. An' how is it you're not rotting away in a cell?" she asked. She finally seemed to crack him. Guilt's a funny thing when it's poked and prodded.
"I might'a' sold em some information," He replied in a quiet voice. "About Sirius." He finally admitted. Tonks spun around on him.
"LIES! You handed them Remus, didn't you?" she shouted, drawing everyone's attention to her.
"I'm sorry, Tonks! They was going to put me away for 12 years! I had to do something!" he whimpered, shrinking at the towering Auror who was brandishing her wand at him.
"Then go to jail! You deserve it you stinking thief!" she shouted. Mundungus raised his hands in an attempt to calm her.
"Now, Tonks, let's not be rash. Remus was harboring a criminal after all." Wrong answer. Tonks would have cursed Mundungus to the next century if she hadn't been restrained by Kingsley and Mad-Eye. With her arms restrained, all Tonks was left to do was kick. She pushed back against the men holding her at bay and kicked out with her left foot, catching Mundungus square in the nose as she shouted,
"They're leaving him there! Three months! Do you realize what that means? Three months, three full moons! In Azkaban!" she shouted. The tears she had no choice but to hold back before flowed freely down her cheeks now. Mundungus held his nose tenderly as blood dripped through his fingers. Dumbledore rushed over and with a swish of his wand, Tonks was silent. Mad-Eye struggled against Tonks' kicks and frantic clawing at his arms to get her to another room as Molly tended Dung's nose. Dumbledore locked the door before Alastor released Tonks from his grip. She fell limp into a chair, crushed and spent from her outburst. She looked up in Dumbledore's eyes pleadingly, her own eyes swimming in tears. "We have to get him out."
