Chapter 7: To Tell the Truth

Kai woke up the next day feeling indescribably better. He still felt really tired, but knew that it was because his body was using every last ounce of energy he had to repair itself. He'd have to drop by his apartment later and pick up some nutrient potions, the ones he'd modified for himself. That'd help him get on his feet faster.

He had just about 2 weeks to get back in one piece, design a curriculum, and reconnect with his Riker team to start planning how to strip power from Riddle.

The assassin turned professor groaned as he sat up in bed. With a calm breath he stepped from the bed, through the shadows to London to get started.

Tonks had some big news to share with the Order. Her contacts in the Riker underground were anxious - a Riker council member had been missing for 3 weeks. He hadn't made contact with anyone, even his squad. She found out that he had been on an assignment that was supposed to take hours and had never returned. The word around was that You-Know-Who was involved and some people were pissed.

She suspected that the missing councilor was the man they pulled out of the Dark Lord's dungeons two nights past. She knew how powerful the assassin must be, the sheer force she felt when those wards fell.

With a bounce in her step, she flooed from the ministry atrium to Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts, saying the password to allow her to step through the warding.

The first thing she heard was a voice she hadn't heard in a long time. A voice she was starting to think she'd never hear again.

Flashing lights. Pounding music.

The atmosphere of Shadowed Soul would overwhelm any individual that did not frequent clubs as Tonks did. As a metamorph she could stand out, blend in, and never appear as the same person twice. It was dangerous job for an auror and she was currently in one of the most danger of clubs. Shadowed Soul was a Riker hotspot. It was apparently owned and operated by Riker Alumni. It was a well known fact that this place was only for Riker students or alumni. To get inside, you needed to show a specific set of brands, which to her looks like the dots of braille, which signaled to the bouncer your status. It took months of work, but she managed to imitate the brands using metamorphmagic.

She clicked her heels together as she nursed a drink at the bar. None approached her and she'd taken to surreptitiously watching the entry. The auror had already seen an idiot get tossed for trying to get in without the brands; that was amusing.

The bouncers followed a repetitive pattern all night, until one guy walked in. He was young, handsome, with long black hair and ethereal green eyes. The bouncers' eyes drifted to a strange tattoo on the man's bare, muscular arms before they bowed their heads ever-so-slightly in respect. He nodded to them, eyes scanning the crowd. When his eyes passed over her, she suppressed a shiver. His whole stance and expression radiated power with the knowledge and confidence to use it.

As slow as she could, she looked away, not wanting to draw too much attention.

She nursed her drink for a while longer, pondering the man. The Metamorphmagus didn't have to wait long as she felt a presence sit on a bar stool next to her and heard that voice for the first time.

"What's a lady like you doing in a place like this?" She turned with a start to see the handsome man sporting a wry grin.

"Does that line always work on the ladies, good sir?" she drawled back.

He smirked at her, "Only on those that belong here, which you do not. I know how you got in here, chameleon, and I will ask you to leave my establishment."

She looked up sharply into his eyes, which held nothing but stern disapproval.

"But…"

"Security has been notified," he cut in, standing up, "Leave with some dignity."

He turned his back, and walked up to what she had classified as the VIP room. Tonks couldn't help but stare at him, her now brown eyes lingering a little longer on his firm looking backside. She felt an unreasonable amount of attraction for the man, beyond even his good looks, it was inexplicable.

"Damn," she hissed under her breath before removing herself from the bar, pointedly ignoring the chuckles of the bouncer. "Dignity, my ass."

But tonight was a success in one way though; she had met the owner of Shadowed Soul! Oh, how she wished she could return to talk to him! The information she could get if she could go back…

Could she, go back, that is?

What was stopping her? She wasn't a Metamorph for nothing.

But how had he known she didn't belong there? That had been here third night there and no one else had spotted her except him.

She shook her head; she needed to get close to him.

So the Metamorph went back. Sporting long blonde hair and bright hazel eyes set in an attractive face, she sat right next to him at the bar, where he was discussing something with the barman.

He tensed, the muscles on his bare arms standing out. He didn't move, not even a single strand of his hair shifted. For this, Tonks was startled when he spoke.

"You tempt fate, Chameleon," he said calmly and walked away.

Two minutes later she found herself forcefully ejected from the bar.

This was not going well…

Over the next two weeks she came to realize that Shadow, the only name she could get from anyone for the owner, was the only one who could spot her. No matter what form she was in he knew her on sight.

Out of 14 days, she'd gone to the club, she'd seen him twice and both times found her on her ass outside. Next time she got in, she saw her target, miraculously sitting alone, back to the bar, observing his patrons.

'Time to be a Gryffindor," she thought and sat right next to him, "Now what's a handsome man like you doing in a place like this?" she asked when his eyes landed on hers.

Emerald green flashed and he did something unexpected, he laughed, "I'll give you points for sheer audacity, Chami," he drawled.

He flashed her that million dollar smile, white teeth gleaming. She felt her knees go weak. "Why are you here, really? Most would have given up the 1st time I threw them out on their ass, not that it hasn't been amusing."

She shrugged, "Just because I could, I guess? I was fascinated by Riker culture. Now, I would say, I'm fascinated by you," that was 95% the truth.

He was convinced, but he was amused enough to let her stay that night.

For the next month she frequented the club near religiously, making friends when Shadow wasn't there, and when he was…

She had fallen for him. HARD. They could talk for hours without end, never really touching anything serious. She found out so many of the little things about him: he loved rugby and to fly; he hated doing things, like cooking, the magical way. Shadow was intelligent, intimidatingly so, and held so much respect in that club it was inspiring.

One night, though, after the pair of them had drunk considerably more than they normally did, it all changed. Tonks finally got up the guts to drag him to the dance floor. The Metamorph had never seen Shadow dance with anyone.

His arms around her felt so good, holding her close to his body as he moved to the music. Merlin could he dance!

His hot breath on her neck sent shivers down her spine. Her whole body burning in desire for the man.

He murmured some of the words to the current song, making her condition worse. She loved his voice! She grinded hard against him, causing his breath to hitch. She revelled in the fact that she affected him like that. He moaned slightly as she kept it up, his face in her neck, his hands roaming her body, leaving paths of fire. He slowly kissed up the side of her neck, sending her to another world. She turned and pulled his face to hers, kissing him passionately, their two bodies practically one, her battling him, him fighting back fiercely for dominance.

His hands slid up the back of her black silk halter, rough, worked hands felt the smooth skin of her lower back before grabbing her ass and pulling her closer.

Merlin, she never felt attraction for anyone like she did for Shadow. He had the powerful, untouchable air that every girl desires, but Merlin she was touching him and she was loving it! It was building up inside her; she wanted him, she wanted him so bad.

She broke away from his soft lips, suffering already from the loss, panting heavily. She looked up into the startling emerald eyes that were clouded slightly in desire.

"Let's get out of here," she rasped.

He pulled her close; "Hold on tight," his voice was as thick as hers.

Then they disappeared. She never did find out how.

Tonks snapped back to reality.

It was the best sex of her life, but the whole thing had ended very badly. Shadow went to sleep with Chami and woke up with Auror Tonks. Her morph had failed.

To say he was not pleased to wake up with an Auror would be a grievous understatement. She was unendingly grateful that, while being capable of causing her great harm, he simply grabbed her arm and apparated her, clothed, to Diagon Alley, before disappearing.

He thought that she had been sent to spy on him, to get close to him and feed information from him to the ministry. The man had tried to keep the hurt off of his face but had only mostly succeeded.

What sickened her with guilt was that it was what she had originally set out to do.

That had been over a year ago and she hadn't seen him since. She only frequented Shadowed Soul when necessary. She assumed Shadow was there, disguised as she was and was simply ignoring her.

And here he was.

"Hello Tonks, dear, good of you to join us." It was Minerva. "This is Kai Boudreau, a new ally for the war. We're just waiting for the others to arrive."

She sat down next to Shadow, who was quietly conversing with Snape. He stiffened, giving her a saddening sense of déjà vu. This time though, he didn't turn and look at her, he simply stopped speaking.

"Shadow," she whispered, seeing Snape start slightly to Shadow's right.

"Auror Tonks," came the reply, cool and unreadable.

"Shadow, I…"

"I do not want to hear your excuses," he replied quietly, his expression empty of emotion.

Snape was the most shocked as he could feel the hurt radiating off Kai, not something that most would see but he could. The potion master vowed to be as big a bastard to the girl as he was to her older mutt of a cousin.

Before anything else could occur, Moody, Shacklebolt and Arthur Weasley flooed in. Moody's eyes took in the room before snapping onto Kai. A silent stunner flew at the assassin before anyone could react, except Kai. He rolled out of his chair and shot a wandless blinding curse then a pair of incarceration curses and stunners seamlessly all with his right hand while holding a powerful shield with his left.

When the dust settled, Moody and Shacklebolt were both bound and unconscious on the floor with their wands in Kai's left hand.

Levitating them both into chairs, he lifted the blinding curse off of Moody and ennervated the pair with a smirk. Kai casually leaned against the table in between the two Aurors.

"What is the meaning of this Albus! Harboring assassins are we now? The Shadow, no less!" Moody growled.

A barking laugh interrupted his rant, "For the love of the gods, Moody, do shut up. I'm curious though," Kai smiled wryly, "How did you know it was me? You've never seen me in this form."

"Your brands and tattoos are magical, fool, my eye picks them up, even through your famous glamours," Moody sneered, dislike for Kai shining in his eyes.

"Well, that's going to change," the youth muttered. "Well now," Kai returned to his chair, "We're all civilized people here. I do believe we can conduct this meeting without attacking each other, can't we Auror Moody?"

When the man nodded, glaring, Kai released him and leaned back in his chair, arms crossed.

"Thank you, Mr. Boudreau, for diffusing that situation quickly and with no harm to anyone," Albus spoke, eyes twinkling at the display of Kai's skills. "Mr. Boudreau, this is the Order's inner circle. I see that you have met all of them. Everyone, this is Kai Boudreau, known to some of you as The Shadow. He was the Riker we pulled out of Voldemort's dungeons two nights ago."

"Should have left him there," Moody muttered.

Minerva's eyes widened; she had no idea! He was so friendly, helpful and…

'Downright dangerous,' she finished the thought. Things clicked into place, the way he walked, the way his eyes took in the room. It was above and beyond the average defense master. And he was a ward master; she should have guessed when he said that. The ground shook when those centuries old wards fell.

Kai stood and offered his hand to Arthur, "We have not had occasion to meet."

Arthur smiled at him, stood and took his hand, "Arthur Weasley, Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Department."

"Ah, we'll not let you into my place then will we?" Kai laughed, trying to break the ice after Dumbledore had dropped the proverbial bomb. Weasley had a friendly, kind aura about him and the assassin liked him immediately.

"I'm quite fascinated by Muggle technology," Arthur replied, charmed by Kai's charismatic air.

"Where I'm from is very integrated. I'll have to show you some of the technology that I have that is charmed to run on magical batteries. Canada is the leading country in technomagic."

Arthur's blue eyes went wide at the possibilities.

"Turn off the charm, Shadow; we know you're just a murdering bastard. Ally or not, I'm going to…"

"Moody, stop. You've probably taken just as many lives as I have. If you and your ministry are so perfect that it might surprise you that it was the ministry that hired me for my last five jobs."

That brought the scarred man up short, "You lie."

Kai rolled his emerald eyes and with a wave of his hand, conjured a list which he gave to Moody, "The Lestrange Brothers, Jugson, Goyle and Malfoy, my last five hits."

Kingsley's near black eyes widened, "That was you?" He looked disturbed. The DMLE had applauded the work of the 'Inner Circle Assassin' as they had named him.

"Yes, that was why Voldemort went through so much trouble to have me set up, once he figured out who the Unspeakables were hiring."

Shacklebolt frowned, "How were you set up?"

"The dealings are always between myself and the Unspeakables, so inevitably we are both disguised. Unfortunately for me, the usual contact had an 'accident' so to speak and they chose Augustus Rookwood as the replacement. I did not know Rookwood was a Death Eater. So when I arrived at Malfoy Manor, they were waiting for me."

Kingsley nodded, eyes considering. As a police officer, it was his duty to capture and jail criminals like Kai Boudreau. In fact, Boudreau, or rather his assassin identity, was a figure that was on his teams' most wanted list. He had to make a decision on whether or not he could work with this man for the good of the war, whether he could dance with the devil.

He looked around at the other members, except Moody, who he felt were already charmed by the man's easy personality.

"Are you joining the Order, Mr. Boudreau?" Arthur asked politely.

"Please call me Kai. And no, Mr. Weasley. My operatives and my operations are my own. Think of me as the commander of an allied force."

"I don't trust him, Albus," Moody snarled. He had been trying to nail Shadow for two years.

"Alastor," Kingsley held up a hand, "I think we can agree that he's not a Death Eater."

"Can't say that I had myself brutally tortured for 3 weeks in order to infiltrate the Order," the assassin adedly darkly.

The tension between the Moody and the assassin was palpable, their eyes locked with mutual dislike, though Kai's was much more controlled.

"I don't want you anywhere near the Order, killer. You cannot fight on the side of the Light. Merlin knows how you could be bought by the other side."

The youth took deep breaths to calm his temper. He took a death grip on his power, controlling it with an iron hand. Any violence, unintentional or not, would make him into the bad guy.

"Well, it is a good thing you are not the one in charge, isn't it? I don't care if you dislike me, Auror, or even hate me, but you will respect me. My participation could greatly change the direction of the war. Riddle crossed far over the line with me."

"I'll take the option where I throw you in Azkaban."

"What is it you want from me, Moody? You know some of the power that I wield. Now, instead of being happy that I'm wielding it against Riddle, you want to give me back to him."

"I don't trust you."

"Fine, let's see what we can do," the members gasped when Kai's blade of power appeared in his left hand, drawing their wands in anticipation of some attack. They blinked in surprise though, when he turned the blade on himself and started carving a delicate set of runes on his palm.

"I call upon thee Apollo, God of Truth and Light. We beseech you, come to our aid. Show us the path," the lean bloodmage pressed his palm upon the center of the table, transferring the runes, in blood, onto the top. Almost casually, he lit the runes afire in green flame, snapping the room out of its daze.

"Was that what I think it was, Albus?" Minerva queried.

"That, Minerva," Kai responded, "was an ancient truth spell, calling upon the Greek and Roman deity Apollo. The spell identifies when a lie has been spoken. Observe. My name is Albus Dumbledore," a line of green light shot out of the flames and landed on his chest like a laser pointer.

"My guardian-given name is Kai Boudreau." The light vanished, "It will last an hour or until I put out the flames. There is no way to hide from it or be immune to it. Apollo is an unbiased judge. Everyone try saying a lie then correcting themselves."

The bloodmage watched as the other members tentatively tried out the spell.

"Now here me when I say," Kai said, looking straight at Moody, "I am no threat to the Order. My intentions are to work along side the Order as best we fit until such a time that Riddle is destroyed."

Those around the table nodded appreciatively at his statement.

"What a wonderful spell, Mr. Boudreau, is it draining to perform?" Dumbledore twinkled, fascinated by the ancient magic.

"Wonderful?!" Moody snapped. "That was blood magic! That is some of the blackest magic there is!"

"How is it black magic, Auror? Was someone harmed? Does it hinder anyone's free will?"

"No," the man muttered, eyes fixed on the green flames.

"Then let us get on with the meeting. Is the situation not serious enough for you to set aside your biases, even briefly?"

"Alastor, please calm yourself," Dumbledore sighed, fearing that Kai might withdraw from the alliance when he was proving to be invaluable. "I'll bring you up to date on what's happened in the past few years, Mr. Boudreau," Albus was painfully aware that the assassin had not given him permission to use his first name.

"Riddle rose again almost four and a half years ago with the aid of an enchanted dairy and the life force of one of our students, Colin Creevey. Since then, he has been rebuilding his forces, adding many dementors to his ranks last year. He has been attacking Muggleborns and Muggles at random, trying to frighten them from the Wizarding world and spreading the fear that came with his first reign," the headmaster said, the weariness he felt at the impeding war obvious to those with the right eye.

Kai nodded, a hand running through his bangs, "The man is quite impressive in person; I'm looking forward to fighting him on even ground."

Minerva stared at him, "You have no fear of him, even after what he did to you."

"That isn't true. He's a powerful man. I respect the magical and political power that he has accumulated. He's a difficult opponent and also a sadistic monster. But do I shake in fear at the thought of encountering him again? No."

Kingsley glanced at the glowing truth teller, "What is it you plan to contribute to the effort…Mr. Boudreau?" Kingsley had seen that Moody's reaction was pushing the Order into Shadow's lap.

"I already have spies in place and a skilled strike team capable of responding at a moment's notice when informed of an intended attack. I also have a political player working to join the fight in the Wizengamot."

All eyes in the room darted to the flames in the center of the table, daring them to say it was a lie.

"That confirms it for me," said Moody, "you're definitely on the council. I'd heard rumours..."

Kai shrugged, "It was a surprise to me, but yes."

"There were rumors flying around that a council member had gone missing 3 weeks ago. There was a great deal of concern. I never expected it to you be you, though I should have," Tonks entered the conversation for the first time, trying to channel her normal confident self.

Kingsley and Moody shot her an extremely surprised look. There would be a difficult conversation after this.

"What do you think the council will do with Voldemort having attacked one of their own," Moody pressed.

"Voldemort's new potion maker, Leander Baracas, is good as dead. All Rikers are banned from being on his payroll, except at my instruction. I can't see the council declaring war on Voldemort's, however, if that's what you're hoping."

Moody had been hoping that, secretly. At least they could count on not having to fight highly qualified assassins, warders, and brewers.

Albus found the turn of the meeting to be very interesting. Kai was a walking contradiction. He was a dark wizard, but he was not. He wielded bloodmagic, which was considered one of the black magics - along with necromancy and soul magic - with ease. Yet, he wielded it for healing and an ancient ritual for truth. 'How was that dark magic,' Kai had asked. How indeed? He was cold and in control, but held a fiery passion for his stubborn beliefs. It was going to be a very interesting year.

"Mr. Boudreau, feel free to release the truth fire - I'm sure you want to heal your hand - and we can dismiss to meet and greet one on one."

Kai held his still bleeding hand over the flames, "Apollo, we thank you for helping us in our time of need."

Everyone jumped when he laid his palm on the fire, flames gently licking the sides before dissipating.

"That must have hurt," Arthur cringed.

"Yes, but see," he turned over his hand to show it completely healed, "after taking the necessary magical sacrifice from me, he healed the preparation runes. It is a sign that he is pleased."

The Metamorph grabbed Kai's palm, turning it over and over and rubbing where the carvings had been.

"That's fascinating."

Kai tried to gently pull his hand away, uncomfortable with her touching him. Kai ignored the aurors as he was pulled into conversations with the other order members. Arthur who to know more about techno magic, so he pulled out his reacquired cell phone and explained how it worked. Arthur had been delighted to hear about Kai teaching at the school as his two youngest - of seven! - children were in sixth and seventh year and could use a really good practical defense class.

When he asked about his other children, Kai was pleased to find that he had met the twins, who owned an joke shop in Diagon Ally and Bill who had, oddly enough, did his curse breaker mastery exams at the same time Kai had done his warding ones. It had been an impressive pairing as Kai had to ward an area to the nines and Bill had to rip them down, at first trying to do it without Kai knowing, then giving it up as hopeless. There were portions where they worked together and had become friendly colleagues. Bill had even called him to help on a job in Egypt once and they had spent over two weeks in a pyramid together.

The ease and conversations kept up until he sensed the other aurors pull Tonks away.

"At what point were you going to mention that you not only infiltrated Shadowed Soul but you had regular contact with one of the most wanted assassins alive?" Moody hissed.

Kai startled from across the room hearing that. She hadn't told them? How was that possible? She was a member of Moody's team.

"Alastor, I… "

"How could you be so irresponsible? When we get back to the office we're going to have a serious chat about loyalty," Moody hissed at her.

Tonks jumped when a familiar voice spoke behind her.

"She knew nothing but my identity as manager of Shadowed Soul and not even in a form you had on record. There was little she could have reported to you," Kai spoke from her side. She turned to stare at him. He was speaking in her defense? Did he know she hadn't betrayed him?

"Stay out of this," Moody snapped, "This is none of your business."

"You are discussing me, so it seems to be my business. On top of that, she has been under my protection for almost two years."

Tonks' eyes went huge. He hadn't withdrawn his protection from her after the incident?

Kingsley stepped forward, "So you're the manager of Shadowed Soul and you're a metamorphmagus, that's all she knew."

Kai smirked, "Not even that. She only saw me in one form. The others in the bar knew she wasn't a Riker and didn't share anything with her. They knew I let her in at first because she amused me. Hers was a very shallow infiltration. I have just conveyed to you more information than she could have."

Moody huffed in anger and disappointment.

Kingsley stuck out his hand, "Boudreau, I'm willing to give you a chance. You've been nothing but straightforward and honest with us. If you are our ally in this battle then we must work together."

Kai gripped it, "I appreciate that. This whole situation has not been pleasant for me but I've been trying to play nice."

Moody growled and left, muttering, "Mutiny," under his breath and hobbled away, Kingsley following.

"I've missed hearing your voice" she tried smiling at him, "I don't know why I like it so much, but I'd never mistake it."

"That is because you use voice magic, is it not, Mr. Boudreau?" Dumbledore inquired.

Kai smirked at having been caught. He'd used it a couple of times throughout his conversations with staff and the Order.

"I'm an amateur user myself. Helps with calming the children when they get panicked or out of control," Dumbledore continued.

"Really? I wasn't aware that body magic was legal in England."

"I'm afraid it isn't."

Kai laughed lightly, "Well it's good to know you're as law abiding as the rest of us Headmaster," Kai was pleased to see that the old wizard was not quite as biased against 'dark magic' as he thought.

"Body magic?" Minerva piped in. She had been quite quiet throughout the meeting, preferring to observe like the cat she was.

"Channeling magic through some part of your body," Dumbledore answered, "Voice magic is used by controlling magic in your vocal cords. It will project a certain feeling, such as calm or power."

"When you get really good at it, you could channel strength into your legs to jump a fence, or my personal favorite," he smirked, "The full body stunner. Channels the stunning spell along the surface of your skin. Say, someone has you pinned… bam, they're out. There's almost no protection from it."

"That's incredible. It's like extremely advanced wandless magic," Minerva breathed.

"Yes, that's exactly what it is. It would be especially useful in healing, that is, rehabilitating those with injuries, you can channel strength to the necessary areas. There are endless uses for those with the power and discipline to learn. Unfortunately, it has been declared dark magic in this country and some others around the world. Thankfully, I wasn't schooled in any of those countries."

"What was the logic there?"

"There is usually very little logic to the banning of branches of magic in Europe," Kai frowned.

"Mr. Boudreau," Dumbledore started.

"Please, Headmaster, call me Kai."

The old wizard beamed at the request, knowing that he had to have broken some barrier to receive it.

"Only if you call me Albus," at Kai's nod, he continued, "I was wondering how your injuries are feeling. I know you haven't been to see Poppy." both shared an amused look about the pair's mutual dislike of each other.

"Almost back to normal. Don't worry; I have a personal healer I'll be seeing tomorrow. Besides the potion master next door, that is," Kai paused. "I think I'll head out, it's late and I have important meetings tomorrow."

Kai waved cordially to the room and walked back towards the dungeons. Purple eyes followed his back, trying to get the courage to follow.

Sensing that the crowd was dispersing, Tonks slipped out of the room after Kai. Predictably, his silent movements made him impossible to follow. She had remembered his comment about being roomed next door to Snape so she headed there.

She caught up to him just outside his door. He turned as she came around the corner, green eyes alert to being followed.

"Shadow… can we talk?" she blurted out, seeing his eyes flare with anger upon seeing her.

"What can I do for you, Auror Tonks?" his words were sharp and precise.

She flinched and stepped closer to him, "Please don't call me that."

"Why not? That is who you are isn't it?" he turned to open the door.

"You have to know now that I didn't betray you Shadow…. Kai… I would never! What is the problem?"

He whirled to look at her, "You honestly think that's my problem? You want to know what my problem is, Auror Tonks? I let you in. You know things about me that no one alive knows. Not about my work, but about me. I don't do that. I took you to my home and let you fall asleep in my arms. Then I find out that not only are you a complete stranger, you're a member of the Auror squad that has been after me and my friends for years," he teeth were gritted, eyes flashing but his voice was level, almost cold. That shook her even more than if he'd been yelling at her.

"What I felt for you was real!" she choked out.

"Real lust. If you hadn't noticed Tonks, we're both metamorphs. You know how it is. Magic draws us together."

It was true, metamorpmagi were always drawn to each other initially, which would explain part of her initial powerful attraction to him. But it wouldn't explain how funny she thought he was, how confident, or how caring. It wouldn't explain how much she… loved him.

"Kai… " tears welled up in her eyes. She'd fucked up so bad.

"Don't. I don't know why I ever thought I could find…," he sighed, and the sadness in it almost broke her, "Just leave me alone, please, I'm in a lot worse shape then these glamours would have everyone believe."

He turned and slipped into his rooms.

For a moment she just stood, staring at where he had been. Then a sob broke the silence and she collapsed to her knees on the floor, head in her hands. Her shoulders shook as she tried to hold back her tears, but she just couldn't.

Goddamnit Tonks pull it together.

"Nymphadora, if you could kindly remove yourself from my doorway," drawled the last voice she wanted to hear.

She applied a subtle morph to hide her red and puffy eyes.

"You know me, clumsy as hell. Someday I'll trip and fall to my death!" she put on a fake smile and cheery voice.

"What did you do to hurt that young man so badly?" Snape looked at her hard, unfooled by her antics.

"I… I have to go," Tonks stuttered and ran from the dungeons, flooing from the meeting room to the safety of her flat.