A/N: I forgot to post this here when I posted it on AO3...again.
A bright light stung at Tonks' eyes even through her closed eyelids. She groaned as she opened them to find Dumbledore's phoenix patronus hovering over her. It wasted no time delivering its message, leaving her sleep-addled mind struggling to process the information.
"I'll be leaving the Hogwarts castle briefly tonight, leaving the school in need of extra protection. Please come as soon as you receive this message."
The phoenix dissipated in the air, leaving Tonks staring at a random spot in the air. She groaned and rubbed at her eyes.
Falling asleep on the sofa hadn't been her plan when she'd come home from work that evening, but she was working herself to the bone these days. Not just because she had to but because she needed the distraction. It was all she could do to get herself to the flat after work, let alone stay awake. And that was the way she wanted it, but it made being flexible in moments like this particularly difficult.
Her stomach growled now that she was conscious, but she didn't have much time to do something about it. Dumbledore was leaving Hogwarts, and he needed her there as soon as possible. Even if every cell in her body was exhausted, she needed a distraction once she was awake. She grabbed a few pieces of bread from the kitchen, and hoped that her brief nap hadn't left her hair in too bad of a state before she Apparated to Hogsmeade.
Tonks sucked in a sharp breath as Bill let her into the castle. Remus stood several feet away in the entrance hall, looking at a portrait instead of at her.
Her heart raced. For nearly a year, she hadn't been assigned to work alongside him. She'd chalked that up to him being busy with the werewolves for the Order or, perhaps, Dumbledore deciding it was for the best. This was the safety of an entire generation they were talking about, though, so apparently avoiding Tonks had been deemed less important.
"We should split up," Bill said, breaking through the tension. He smiled at the two of them as if he didn't know what was going on, which Tonks knew was a lie. "That way we can cover the most ground, and one of us is more likely to be close by if something actually happens."
She turned from Remus with a mask on her face.
"Sounds good," she said. They were more likely to encounter students than a threat, after all, and a cluster of strangers would be more conspicuous than one adult on their own. It was better to keep the students from spreading rumours about why they were there as much as possible.
Remus began walking towards the staircase without looking back. "I'll start on the upper floors."
Tonks sighed as he disappeared. Bill offered her a small smile that she tried to return.
"I can start on the third floor if you want to check the basement?" he suggested.
"Yeah, of course." The Hufflepuff common room was in the basement, so she was more familiar with that area of the castle than the two former Gryffindors. "I'll send a patronus if I encounter anything."
She took a deep breath as she descended the staircase.
It was going to be a long night.