Remus and Tonks had been sad to leave the solace they had found while they'd been away.
But, after a few short nights away they had to go back home.
Upon their arrival back home,
the Order had begun immediately making preparations to move Harry from his Aunt and Uncle's house, safely to the Burrow.
Unfortunately, it became quickly and very obviously apparent that this would be no easy feat. It would be hard.
The Order was down two in number.
Dumbledore and Snape had been two of their largest assets. Or at least, they thought Snape had been.
Now, not only did they not have the guidance from Dumbledore they had sooooo often needed in the past, but one of the members who had known quite a lot about the way they conducted missions and operated, now had nothing to lose and anything he hadn't told the death eaters before he surely would have by now.
The preparations had all started unfolding on a humid day in the middle of July, just a few days after Remus and Tonks had gotten married. Everyone had waited for them to return back home, before moving onto their next biggest goal.
Getting the chosen one to safety.
They were all supposed to be gathering in the upstairs parlor of Ashlee's stately mansion to have their first big meeting about the move that day.
Tonks was supposed to be meeting Remus about a quarter mile from Ashlee's house.
It had been her first day back at work and it had been a complete flop, a total dud. The worst day she'd probably ever had at the ministry.
She knew Remus would ask what had happened with Umbridge and she wasn't sure she was quite ready to talk about it yet. She knew he would respond badly to hear about the inquisition she was put through.
She waved to Remus when she saw him. Hugging him as they greeted each other.
"Hello, my love." Tonks greeted him happily.
"You ready for the meeting?" He asked, warmly, rubbing her back with his hand as they walked.
She nodded. "Hopefully, we can get this all straightened out." she said.
"I know you've been worried about Harry."she added, wrapping her arm around his.
Remus sighed. "I have been. It's been weighing on me." He admitted.
She nodded, sympathetically.
She was relieved when he didn't ask about her meeting right away.
They smiled at the guards who let them through the hedge that blocked the front gate to Ashlee's house.
"They're in the upper parlor, up the stairs." The one guard explained.
Together they went up one side of the set of stairs leading to the upper landing. The parlor doors were open and Ashlee the Weasleys, Fleur and Hermione were already waiting there too.
They took open seats next to the Weasleys and Hermione.
Hermione gushed over Tonks and Remus immediately.
"I can't believe you two got married!" She exclaimed as they came to sit.
Remus smiled, sometimes he couldn't believe it either. he was just glad only people they were close with knew about it. He knew they would all have good responses.
Soon, the remaining members of the Order began to fill the room.
Mad eye grumbled as he entered the room, scanning over the group as he gruffly greeted the motley crowd that sat before him.
"Hello, all." He addressed them grimacing.
"We've got a lot of stuff to work out. Might as well start in on the first order of business." Mad eye told them.
They all nodded in agreement.
It became obvious that it was going to be hard to come up with a plan, that they all agreed with. In the past when the group wasn't able to come to a decision, it was often Dumbledore who would make the final choice. Now, whose decision that was, was up for debate..
Mad Eye and Ashlee were now by default two of the longest standing members of the Order.
But, Kingsley was the best connected, while Elphias was the oldest.
And, everyone seemed to think their idea was the best way.
Ashlee was absolutely positive that the best way to move Harry was by car.
" it would be unexpected. They know Harry's at home on a broom, that's where he's most comfortable. Of course they would expect him to leave by air." She argued.
Then Arthur brought up an even more important point that they didn't just have to worry about moving Harry. It was also his family..
"I know none of us like them." he said, raising his hands up in mock defeat.
"But, Harry's relatives could be used against him. Could very well be dangerous to leave them at the house. We have to come up with a plan for them, they need to leave as well. Right?" he questioned.
Mad Eye grumbled "yeah it's true to break the protection barrier, They all need to leave. To be safe, they all need to leave." He clarified.
"So, we have them all leave by car separately, in different directions?" Fred asked.
Ashlee pointed at him.
"I think that's the way to do it." She pointed out.
Mad Eye looked worried, and argued with her.
"Taking the relatives by car is a great idea, the best and safest choice. But, I think Harry needs to leave differently." Moody insisted.
"What do you think, Lupin?" Moody asked, when he and Ashley could not come to a resolution.
Remus was a little surprised at being asked out right when he thought. He wasn't sure Mad Eye and Ashlee were going to stop fighting long enough for anyone to say anything else.
"You're damn smart Lupin and Dumbledore always trusted your judgment. And, You know Harry very well."
"I think you'd agree with this." Remus posed democratically to Ashlee.
"But whatever way we choose to have Harry and his relatives leave, they need to do it differently and separately.
"so, if his relatives are going to go by car. We probably should go by air. And, or vice versa."
Remus sighed before continuing.
"I don't disagree with the cons Ashley brought up about flying. The death eaters would likely expect it, so taking him by air alone isn't enough. We need some sort of contingency plan if we're going to do that.
"And if we're not going to take him in the air, we need to figure out some other way to transport the aunt, uncle and the cousin that isn't in the same manner as Harry's departure." Remus explained.
"I agree. We need a contingency plan." Ashlee agreed.
Soon, they had all agreed to moving Harry on the 27th of that month. His relatives would be brought to safety earlier in the day, while Harry would be moved later after dusk.
"But, what do we do if there's death eaters, they'll be sure to follow Harry?" Ashlee asked.
"Right." Mad Eye barked. "The contingency plan."
Mudundgus coughed from the corner.
"I think I might just have a bright idea." He proposed.
"What if there was more than one Harry? What if we had doubles. Or triples. Damn, we could have seven of him? Ashlee you have a stock of polyjuice, don't ya?" He slurred a little, fiddling in his chair.
Everyone looked at Mundungus for a few seconds before anyone responded.
Suddenly Mad Eye started to Chuckle.
"Well. I'll be damed. That's a fine idea. Potentially the only good one you've had yet" He said.
"I do have a stock of polyjuice potion." She mused.
"Enough for seven?" Moody questioned eagerly.
"Woah. Now hold on. This is a good idea an all. But, there's one problem. Harry. He has to be willing to go along with the plan then. He'll never let any of us take that risk." Hermione warned.
Several people looked around uncomfortably at this statement. They knew she was right.
"She's not wrong, Mad Eye." Tonks said.
"What's the likelihood he just goes along with this?" She asked.
"Well, then I say Ms Granger better rip out his hair before he has too much time to disagree." Mad Eye suggested harshly.
Remus shook his head gravely. "We have to get him out of there, what other choice do we have?."
"Absolutely. If we have to force him, we will." Moody agreed.
Eventually, everyone came up with the plan. Contingencies and all.
Now, all there was left to do was wait and hope that all would go well, and as to plan.
~
As everyone was slowly leaving Ashlee's house, Remus, Tonks, Moody, Hermione and the Weasleys congregated in the foyer and in the oversized living room on the main floor.
"Would you guys like a cup before you go?" She asked her guests, holding up a pot of coffee.
Most agreed in appreciation.
Remus and Tonks ended up sitting at Ashlee's large kitchen island. Her kitchen was directly off the living room and they were separated by a grand arch in the wall. This allowed people in the living room and kitchen to see each other and converse easily.
"Mad Eye. I'm going to give you the batch of polyjuice tonight, alright?" She called into the living room.
Moody grumbled, in a taciturn sort of way.
Causing Tonks to snort a little.
"Forever the conversationalist." Tonks joked.
Causing Remus to smile, and Ashlee to chuckle.
"Will you help me with it? I could siphon some into bottles, but it would take less time with magic?" Ashlee asked Remus.
"Sure." He said.
"I'll be back." He said, kissing Tonks on the temple.
Remus was very surprised to discover . Ashlee had a whole other kitchen in her basement.
But this one was filled with tons of potions, and apothecary bottles. She had bizarre colored plants drying upside down from the ceiling, and cauldrons with bubbling substance in them.
It was quite a sight to behold.
It looked like a potion store threw up.
"Here it is. Consider it a sort of Underground Railroad for potions." She explained, showing him the room.
"I didn't even know this part of the house existed, this is fairly extensive." Remus said, in slight amazement.
"Ahh, it's not that much."
"You have more stuff here than half of Diagon Alley, Ashlee. I'd say it's a fair lot." He argued.
"Ha, I suppose you're probably right." She admitted, looking around at her inventory.
"Here's, the polyjuice for Mad Eye." Ashlee pointed to a huge bubbling cauldron.
Upstairs, Mad Eye took his chance to ask Tonks about how her meeting with Umbridge went.
"So, what happened with Umbridge today?" Mad Eye questioned, once they were completely alone.
"Well, you know Umbridge." Tonks mused gravely, shuddering a little at the thought of her.
She remembered the interaction well, she thought about the interaction clearly as she retold the story to Mad Eye.
'There were silly little pictures of kittens on the wall, meowing at her as she walked to take the seat Umbridge had suggested, across from her ugly pink desk.
"Well, you understand why we are here. We need to discuss your dedication to the ministry. It has been under question." Umbridge sneered.
"Mhmm. I understand." She replied curtly to her.
"you've worked for the auror department 6 years now?" Umbridge asked, looking down at the dossier laid out in front of her.
"Yes, I have?"
"Mhmmm." Umbridge murmured, writing something down on her paper.
"You've always had wonderful reviews on your performance and you've never had a complaint against you until very recently. Why do you feel like that is?"
Tonks blinked. 'An ass made an unfounded and unethical complaint about me? That's why I'm here. That's what changed.' Tonks thought, annoyed.
Tonks wasn't sure where she was going with this line of questioning. Surely she knew why she was there.
"I was told Adam Zana complained about me. That's all I know." Tonks said.
"Mhmmm." Umbridge murmured again, writing something else down.
"Yes, You disagreed with a high ranking member of your cohort about a pretty important matter." Umbridge told her coldly.
Tonks sighed.
"I wasn't aware I wasn't allowed to disagree with a colleague on personal time. we were not at work. This was a personal dispute." Tonks defended herself.
"And, you felt you didn't disparage your position in doing that?"
Tonks saw red. "No. I don't. I'm allowed personal opinions, right?"
Umbridge's mouth was setting into an even thinner line.
"Not, if they make the ministry look bad" Umbridge snapped at her.
'Oh, this witch.' Tonks thought as she seethed.
She was just about to respond when Umbridge interrupted her, throwing her off guard.
"And, you recently married Remus John Lupin?" She asked, looking down at her paper then back up at her.
Tonks blinked a few times. 'How the hell does she know that?' She wondered silently. Her heart beating faster.
That was really why she was here. She was going to try to blame Remus.
She tried to remain stoic and casual. Umbridge had been dying to bring this up the entire time, she could tell. She had waited for the perfect moment to bring up Remus.
This was as much about Remus as it was her now.
"I did." She said boldly, looking Umbridge right in the eye.
She wouldn't lie. Not about that.
Umbridge coughed a little at this.
"Mmmm. I see." She murmured almost inaudibly, in a taciturn sort of way.
"And, you are aware that he is a believed long time member of the secret organization known as the Order Of The Phoenix?"
"I'm sorry. I'm not sure what Remus has to do with our meeting.? He's not really involved?" She questioned.
"Oh, that's not completely true."
"You represent the ministry, by extension who you choose to marry could potentially impact people's view of the ministry and its employees."
"It's very important that we uphold our most sacred of traditions and beliefs, as the faces of the ministry." Umbridge crooned, nastily.
Tonks chewed her tongue to keep her cool and to keep her mouth from hitting the floor. She knew there could be backlash due to her decision to marry Remus.
But, she wouldn't let her speak badly about her husband.
"What sacred traditions and beliefs would those be, exactly?" She questioned, quickly.
Umbridge's mouth set in a hard line, an she looked at her sharply.
Tonks raised her eyebrows.
"Servility, professionalism, honor, civility, integrity." She sneered through clenched teeth.
"Then it's a good thing marrying the man I did doesn't effect any of those things. Remus is wonderful." She said quickly, as Umbridge showed every sign of interrupting.
"You are aware then, that your husband was questioned in 1980, about the murder of his then employer. It was strongly believed he had involvement in that killing." She boldly accused him.
"That murder was committed by death eaters. That was proven. They were later killed by aurors." She tried to remain calm.
She knew what case she was talking about. Mad Eye had been the one who tracked down the actual perpetrators in the case. She remembered reading his notes on the case awhile back.
And, she knew Remus had worked for The Magic Neep before the owner had been killed. He had told her this.
She had no idea the ministry had attempted to blame him for the crime though.
"He was questioned for 18 hours regarding the case." She looked down at her piece of paper.
Tonks blanched. That was hardly ethical. She couldn't remember time she'd ever questioned a single suspect that long.
"He certainly wasn't believed to be innocent during that time." Umbridge chuckled an evil little snicker, that made Tonks want to kill her.
Tonks seethed in anger. 'Of course they blamed the werewolf. How easy.' She thought bitterly.
"Well, it wasn't his fault your employees wrongly assumed he had a hand in the crime, without any evidence to support it. Sounds like that blame belongs with the aurors who originally questioned him. not him, nor I for that matter." She clarified.
Umbridge looked mad.
"Well, regardless there were already concerns on your record, but now with this. It doesn't look too good. Regardless if there was evidence or not of the crime at the time." Umbridge sneered.
"If there was no evidence of a crime, Why's this even being brought up now? How's it connected to Zana? That's why I'm here right, because he filed a complaint against me.?" Tonks asked, knowing exactly why she was actually there now.
"It highlights your character. Choosing a man with a corrupt past didn't help." Umbridge sneered.
Tonks couldn't say anything else. She was too determined to hate Remus. She was as bigoted as they come.
"Well, what would make the ministry happy in this scenario?" She snapped at her.
Umbridge's eyes lit up. She was pissed.
She laughed a cold little laugh, before answering.
"For now, you'll be on probation. At the end of that 3 month period. If we feel your moral standing and devotion to your position haven't changed by then, we will fire you." She said, far too happily.
Tonks sat quietly for a few seconds before responding.
" OK, then I want a detailed and written account of everything I've ever done wrong here. by the tone of this meeting I'm sure the list will be cumulative. Because as far as I'm aware, I've only ever had a single complaint filed against me and the complaint in question was about a conversation that took place privately away from work. I wasn't aware that my conduct away from the office was being so harshly monitored, I clearly was wrong."
She said, standing up.
She wasn't planning on letting Umbridge dismiss her.
"And my husband. A man you so clearly judge and hate for his mere existence never asked for the life he was dealt, but not you. You've asked for this existence." She said quickly, waving her hand around at her oversized, pompously decorated office.
"You've gotten where you are through hatred and greed, and there's nothing worse or more reprehensible than that. What an artificial existence. Talk about integrity. Tonks scoffed, walking away from a seething Umbridge.
"Get to work on that list." She snapped as she walked out of her office door, letting the heavy wooden door shut too hard behind her.'
Tonks knew before she closed the door, her days at the ministry were numbered., She just couldn't figure out why she wasn't more upset about it.
Mad Eye closed his eyes for a few seconds after hearing the story.
"Y-you know you're going to have to leave before that three months is over? Don't give them the satisfaction of issuing the termination." Mad Eye told her sternly.
Tonks sighed. "But, Leave the ministry?"
"The things they have issue with won't change in the next three months. And, the ministry is only going to fall further. Soon, it won't be fit for any of us to work there. Leave while you can still do it dignified."
Tonks sighed bitterly, knowing he was right.
"You think the ministry will really fall, completely?" Tonks asked, worried.
"They already got Thickness. The rest will either have to go over willingly, or by force." Mad Eye asserted.
"I've had concerns about Umbridge for awhile now. She'll turn. Don't trust her. She won't spare your job no matter what happens." He continued.
"But, she'd loose her job too. That seems like justice." Tonks mused.
Mad Eye gave her a weird look. She knew why immediately.
"You think she'd actually work for the Death Eaters, for Voldemort?" She questioned, horrified.
"For a promotion and a bigger office? Yeah, I do." He told her.
She sat back, sighing.
"How will I know when to go?" She questioned, at a loss.
"You know, right before I retired. I was speaking with Albus about the mixed feelings I had about the choice, and he told me something and I feel like it's fitting for this moment. He told me that sometimes when it's time to leave, you just know."
Tonks nodded. That was wise advice.
~
Later that night, Remus and Tonks were back at their flat.
they were sitting together on the sofa, listening to the wireless and enjoying some cold leftover, Chinese takeout noodles. A favorite of Tonks.
"we could warm these up you know." Remus told her, smiling as she deposited a whole mouthful of noodles into her mouth.
"wouldn't be as good that way, though." Tonks chuckled, after swallowing her mouthful.
She surveyed him. She'd need to tell him about the meeting.
she couldn't help but wonder if he'd forgotten about it.
She really didn't want to disturb his peace. He looked happy sitting on the sofa with her.
But, eventually she brought herself to bring it up.
"I had that meeting today." She mumbled.
Remus almost choked on his noodles at this comment.
"mhmm." He murmured quickly, swallowing, hard. Trying to clear his throat.
He looked at her expectantly. Waiting for her to say something.
"it went well, Ah how it went. I suppose. It wasn't super successful, I guess." She told him, trying to soften the blow.
He looked concerned.
"what do you mean?" He asked, looking at her warily.
"well, she told me I was on a three month probation period. If they feel I haven't met their standards they are going to fire me."
Remus looked like he'd eaten something bitter. his mouth was formed into a grimace.
"I'm so sorry. Perhaps after the 3 months they'll have changed their minds? It was just the one complaint, right?" Remus questioned, he clearly was trying to comfort her. "You've not really done anything wrong? He was almost indignant on her behalf.
She felt she should have been doing this for him. Comforting him. Truth be told, she was feeling quite indignant on his behalf as well. He'd been dragged into her mess.
Tonks looked a little downcast at this thought.
"I don't think she's going to let it go, she made a pretty big deal out of the one complaint. She's looking for a reason. She's throwing everything she can at me. Even small slights."
Remus' face seemed frozen in time.
"Well, that's not right, there's got to be someone more impartial. It sounds like she's making it personal?" He asked.
"I think I should leave, before they fire me." She told him honestly.
He blinked.
"Leave? You don't think there's any chance? It could get better, no? I know you think the meeting went badly sweetheart, but leaving prematurely might not-" he cut himself off.
His face went slightly stony momentarily. He cocked his head just slightly.
"what exactly happened in the meeting? He asked, hesitantly.
"she said a lot. But, she also-also knows that we got married. I-I don't know how. But, she brought it up. Seems like she's added to her LONG list of reasons to dislike me." Tonks scoffed, trying to put a lot of emphasis on the word long. This was about so much more than him.
Remus gave her a tragic look. She could see the panic start to rise in him.
"what? She does-She said that?" He asked quickly.
"she did. But, please don't panic, ." She pleaded with him.
Remus could sense a hateful little voice in the back of his mind awakening.
Wasn't this why he had thought they shouldn't be together in the first place.
"what did she say?" Remus asked, coldly.
Tonks bowed her head a little.
"honestly. Non of it is important at this point. This meeting was scheduled before we even got married." She tried to reassure him.
"the ministry is changing, and I'm not sure I want to be there to see it fall." Tonks told him, honestly.
"I just- I feel like your leaving a job you love and that we need because of me, how can that not be important?" He questioned, more loudly than he typically would have. This was exasperating. Why didn't she understand?
This was his fault.
"I said what Umbridge said was unimportant. I didn't say my leaving wasn't important. And, this certainly isn't on you Remus. I told you, the ministry is changing." She argued.
Well, it certainly feels like it's on me." He said, getting to his feet.
He walked swiftly over to the small study and closed himself in. Not wanting to be with anyone else.
Leaving Tonks on the sofa by herself.
She sighed loudly, tossing her head back to rest on the back of the sofa. That hadn't gone very well. Now, she was being stonewalled by her husband.
Tonks couldn't help but feel like they had just had their first ever fight as a married couple.
She just hadn't expected it to feel so crummy.