Filia Corvi

by Kasing

In just a few weeks, a bullied girl's life changes forever. In a story where Harry Potter is the key to defeating Lord Voldemort, but not the main character, the most brilliant witch of the millennium will begin her education at Hogwarts. Over the course of seven years, she will experience the highs and lows of growing up as a teenager, learning about her powers and her body.

36. Chasing the Unknown

"Didn't have time to tidy up," Tonks said with a grin as they entered her office shortly after Hermione had arrived at the Auror Headquarters and waved her wand to levitate and organise the countless pieces of parchment scattered around the room before neatly arranging them in a large pile on the desk. Said desk was littered with magical detectors and equipment that Hermione already knew from Professor Moody's office.

"It's obvious who trained you," Hermione said with a grin, and Tonks laughed. Hermione's eyes widened as the young witch waved her wand again, and a moment later an olive green robe floated in the air next to her.

"This is for you. I had to estimate your measurements, but I think I know your body quite well," Tonks said with a mischievous grin, and Hermione smiled sheepishly. She hadn't expected to get a robe from the Ministry.

"Thank you," she said, waving her own wand to make her clothes disappear and put on the Ministry robe. She smiled when she felt Tonks' eyes on her and took a little extra time.

"So you've got some new leads on a case?" she said as if she hadn't just changed in front of her and giggled when Tonks had to pause for a moment to focus.

"If it turns out to be true, we're on to something big. What do you know about moon tears?"

"Moon tears? I've never heard of it," replied Hermione, who had no idea what it was.

"That reassures me. We were afraid it would reach Hogwarts. We don't know as much about it as we'd like, but there seems to have been a new substance circulating for a few weeks now that is wreaking havoc on wizards and witches. At least, we think it's a substance."

"Like a drug?"

"Exactly. However, it goes far beyond legal, natural hallucinogens or mind-expanding substances," Tonks explained, and Hermione listened with interest.

"Is it a potion?"

"It could be. We simply don't know, as we've only been able to observe the effects so far. The phenomenon appeared out of nowhere about two months ago, and since then, the number of victims has risen rapidly. If we don't find the source quickly and switch it off, it could destroy the wizarding world from within."

"Wow, that sounds really bad."

"It is. When we got the first reports from the St. Mungo healers, who suspected a connection to a substance or drug, we quickly realised that the situation could become critical. The healers noticed severe limitations in the magical abilities of patients who showed signs of massive malnutrition and came in for dizziness. It took some time, but the connection between the incidents can no longer be denied."

"It limits their magical abilities?"

"It sounds harmless when you put it like that," Tonks said, waving her wand, causing several reports and magical photos to appear on the previously blank pinboard. "It apparently drains them of magical energy, to the point where they can't cast spells at all, like a Squib. But it doesn't stop there. The healers have reported that patients who have been treated by them as if they were going through withdrawal have become severely weakened within a few days and, in the worst cases, are permanently paralysed, with no prospect of recovery."

"Then it must be highly addictive. Otherwise, you would stop, wouldn't you?"

"That's the crux of the matter. None of the victims can remember taking anything like it. We're not even sure if they really took it voluntarily. All we know is that the healers were able to detect residual substances in the bloodstream."

"That's really awful!" said Hermione, and Tonks nodded with a serious expression.

"Indeed. Not even the Quidditch World Cup has given us such a headache, but we've been in the dark for weeks and the situation surrounding the World Cup has taken the focus even further away, although the number of victims continues to rise."

"But couldn't the patients at St Mungo's tell you anything about the people who sold or administered it to them? And what would their goal be other than money?"

"You're asking the right questions. Nobody could remember in the slightest how they got moon tears. We call it that, by the way, because the residual substances colour the patient's tears greyish. Only one victim could faintly remember a feeling that his saviour had come and brought him new hope. We suspect that the dealers approach the users and obliviate them after the transaction to leave no trace. But now we could really make a breakthrough if we go about it the right way."

"And this suspect has given you new clues?" Hermione asked, stepping closer to the notice board to look at the photos. One of them showed a shockingly meagre witch with sunken features, sitting in a hospital bed in St Mungo's, waving her wand desperately and in tears, to no avail.

"Yes. If Fletcher is telling the truth, a meeting with one of the dealers in London is scheduled for tomorrow. He seems to have been approached about dealing himself. If we can get closer to the source through this person, that could be a big step."

"In the interrogation room, you said he was in even more trouble if he was lying to you. Why did you arrest him originally?"

"Fletcher's a petty criminal who's usually dealt with by the Bureau of Magical Law Enforcement, but this time he overstepped his bounds. He's been selling fake potions and medicine on the street. The prices are much lower than those of certified potion brewers, so people with low income in particular are tempted to buy them on the black market. A little girl from York nearly died when her mum gave her a supposed healing potion," Tonks explained, and anger rose in Hermione, but another glance at the notice board brought their situation to the forefront of her mind. She wanted to help Tonks as best as she could.

"Okay, how do we proceed?" Hermione asked determinedly, and Tonks smiled at her with satisfaction.

"I like your drive. We should scout out the meeting place and look for a way to track this supposed dealer. If Fletcher is telling the truth, he's travelling on foot and won't be able to Apparate among the Muggles. The meeting point is in the middle of a Muggle pedestrian zone."

"Hmm, surely it wouldn't be difficult to disguise yourself as a Muggle then, would it?"

"I thought so, too. Come on, let's report to Kingsley," said Tonks, who had glanced briefly at a Black Mail parchment that had lit up green. Hermione followed her to Kinglsey's office, where Tonks summarised the new situation very well.

"Right, we have a little less than twenty-four hours. I have every confidence in both of you."

"You're not coming?" Tonks asked, and Kingsley smiled.

"I know how to behave in the Muggle world so as not to attract attention, but I would only be in your way. I'm always available if you need backup," he said, and Hermione felt the responsibility that now rested on her shoulders. She exchanged a glance with Tonks, who smiled encouragingly at her and nodded.

"Alright, thanks, Kingsley. Then, we still have time for a practice duel. I want to see what old Mad-Eye has taught you," Tonks said cheerfully, patting Hermione on the shoulder.

"That, however, I'm not going to miss," Kingsley said with a smile, and five minutes later, Hermione and Tonks were standing opposite each other in one of the practice rooms.

"Don't you dare hold back," Tonks said, and Hermione shrugged with a smile. Tonks narrowed her eyes, and Hermione giggled as the young Auror bowed theatrically. She returned the gesture and immediately had to set up her shield charm as two stunning spells were already coming at her. She shot a Bat Bogey Hex at Tonks in response and spun on the spot to apparate next to her. She saved the motionless apparating to have a trick up her sleeve should the opportunity arise. Tonks had been expecting the change of location, and Hermione just managed to dive underneath a Jelly-Legs Jinx. She sensed her subconscious pushing the events of a month ago in Hogsmeade into her head and fought against it.

She gasped as she saw a Stinging Hex coming at her a little too late. The spell grazed her shoulder, and she felt a tug on her skin, but she spun to get behind Tonks again. She unleashed a battery of stunning spells at Tonks, aiming for her feet. Tonks dodged the spells with a determined face and apparated out of the way at the last second as Hermione's second Bat Bogey Hex came hurtling towards her.

She heard Tonks' breathing diagonally behind her and spun on the spot to get out of the line of fire. When she arrived next to Tonks, she realised with horror that two curses were already coming towards her, and she threw herself to the ground. Once again, the scene in snowy Hogsmeade flashed through her mind of landing in the cold snow to avoid Bellatrix Lestrange's Cruciatus.

"Get off the ground," she heard Moody's voice in her head. She could already see the next curses coming her way and put all her eggs in one basket. Without another move, she apparated behind Tonks. There was no time to get up, so she used her advantage and sent an Expelliarmus towards her. She exhaled in relief as she saw the wand flying towards her and caught it before dropping her head onto her forearm, exhausted.

The duel had been more exhausting than she had anticipated, and so Hermione blew out another breath before picking herself up. She smiled as Tonks held out her hand to help her up.

"I should have known. Good duelling," Tonks said with a grin, and Hermione grinned back. "I want a rematch."

"Sure, but give me five minutes, will you?" Hermione replied, admiring Tonks, who looked like she hadn't even broken a sweat yet.

"You've made a lot of progress since our last duel. Apart from the fact that you surprised me with the motionless apparating, I mean."

"I have Professor Moody to thank for that," Hermione said, and Tonks smiled. Hermione briefly examined the spot on her shoulder where the Stinging Hex had grazed her. The skin was only slightly reddened, so a few minutes later, she returned to the spot where their last duel had begun. She could see that Tonks' competitive spirit was finally awakened, and she prepared herself to get the full range of an Auror's abilities.

The duel started again after a bow from both of them, and Hermione quickly had to admit to herself that Tonks was superior this time. She tried to throw the young Auror off her stride with a few elemental conjurations, but Tonks seemed prepared for anything and finally disarmed Hermione right where she had emerged after apparating.

"Wow, how did you do that?" Hermione asked in amazement as her wand floated back towards her. Tonks twitched her eyebrows.

"You've become predictable. I was able to recognise a pattern of you apparating in here at some point, anticipating and trying my luck," Tonks said, and Hermione raised her eyebrows. Tonks had had the time under the barrage of her spells to watch her and anticipate her next moves while she had been busy trying to somehow stay in the duel.

"Looks like I've still got a lot to learn," Hermione said, smiling and slapping hands with Tonks, who held out her hand.

"You're bloody good for a student. We can all improve. Don't take this too hard," she said, and Hermione nodded. "Thanks for not holding back," Tonks said, and Hermione had to stifle a giggle. What would Tonks say if she were to perform magic with both hands, as Moody had been practising with her since September?

"Now I'm really hungry," Hermione said, and Tonks grinned.

"Duelling is indeed seriously exhausting. How about we combine lunch with work? I know a fantastic restaurant not far from the place we were going to check out later anyway."

"Sounds great," Hermione replied, smiling at Kingsley, who tipped a symbolic hat to the pair as they walked out of the practice room and into the spectator area. The two changed into their Muggle clothes in Tonks' office, and the young Auror then Apparated them to a small side alley off Carnaby Street.

"Did you find out from that Fletcher guy why they're meeting in this part of London of all places?" Hermione asked as they turned onto the busy shopping street.

"Where would you meet or move if you wanted to stay out of the Ministry's range and detection capabilities?" Tonks asked back, and Hermione nodded after glancing around the busy street where Muggles almost had to push past each other. "Okay, here," Tonks said as they arrived at a nondescript house with a pretty restaurant sign above the front door.

They entered the small bistro, which only had about five tables in a tiny dining area. They settled down at the only free table, and Tonks winked at Hermione as she rubbed her cold hands and held them to her cheeks. Tonks was just opening her mouth when Hermione raised her index finger.

"Wait a minute," she said quietly, thinking 'Muffliato'. Tonks looked at her questioningly and raised her eyebrows in alarm as Hermione spoke at a normal volume, which was far too loud for the intimate dining area. "Don't worry, no one's listening," Hermione said, smiling as Tonks took a cursory look around.

"Interesting," Tonks replied, raising an eyebrow with a smile. "How do we order then?"

"Leave it to me," Hermione said and winked, making them both laugh briefly. When the food was placed in front of them half an hour later, and Hermione took her first bite, she rolled her eyes with pleasure and smiled when she saw the sparkle in Tonks' eyes, who had had a similar reaction when she took her first bite of risotto. The two of them savoured their food and only raised their voices again when they complimented the waitress on the cooking.

"Bill's on me. Shall we have another drink, and you can tell me what's been on your mind for the last twenty minutes?" Tonks asked, grinning at Hermione. She thanked her and smiled. Apparently, it had been obvious that she had been going over a possible plan to tail the suspects.

"Okay, this is going to sound a little crazy at first, so I'm going to ask you to let me explain."

"Fire away!"

"Alright, our assumptions so far suggest that this stranger wants to meet here in Muggle London so as not to cause a stir at the Ministry in any way. Therefore, I would also assume that he won't apparate. Otherwise, they could simply meet in the countryside, and he'll take Fletcher with him," Hermione began, and Tonks nodded. "So if he's travelling on foot or in a Muggle transport, we'll have to track him without arousing the slightest suspicion. Right so far?"

"Absolutely," Tonks said, looking her in the eye with a focused gaze. "Do you have an idea how we can track him?"

"Yes. To be precise, how I can track him," Hermione clarified, and Tonks looked at her with a furrowed brow but said nothing and gestured for her to elaborate on her idea. "It's a bit problematic to explain. Let me start differently. When you came in, did you see the young man and his dog sitting on the pavement opposite?"

"The punk? What about him?"

"That would be a really good disguise for what I'm planning," Hermione said, smirking when Tonks threw her head back and laughed out loud.

"Sorry, I was just imagining you sitting on the pavement with fuzzy hair, holes in your jeans and studs on your belt, holding a beer!"

"That's exactly my plan. May I continue?" Hermione said with a smile, and Tonks nodded with a laugh. "We need a disguise that will allow us to wait near the meeting place without attracting attention from Muggles or wizards. So, sitting on the street like this would be a good way to lull the unknown into a sense of security, even if he looks around first. But that's not all. I know how this must sound to you, but I have a way to track him with magic without him ever knowing about it. I can stay in the same place to do it. I just need to be out in the open," she continued, raising her index finger when Tonks opened her mouth. "I know this is really cryptic, but I can't go into any more detail right now. All I can tell you is that I'm one hundred per cent sure that I have the best chance of us tracking the suspect."

Tonks looked at her intently for a few more seconds, and Hermione could tell by the look in her eyes that she was trying to clear her doubts out of the way but couldn't quite manage it.

"Scrimgeour instructed me not to interfere with the investigation, but not to hold back if I feel I can assist you."

"Hermione, I know you would never impede the investigation!"

"That's good to hear. I just have a feeling that this person will be aware of their surroundings at all times. Even if we follow them with invisibility cloaks, we won't be able to move through crowds like that without anyone noticing."

"You could be right about that. Okay, let me try to summarise. Your suggestion is that we dress up as punks and position ourselves within sight of the meeting point. You would then magically stick to his heels, however, but stay with me?"

"Exactly," Hermione said, sighing inwardly. She had already planned to tell Tonks more about her abilities, but then she would have to tell the whole truth and ask Tonks if she would join the core of the Order. She had discussed with the current core that those to be recruited had to be told beforehand that if they declined the offer, their memory of the conversation would be erased. "I am aware that this is our only clue. I promise you that I will explain everything to you afterwards, but for now, you have to trust me."

"I do, I really do, but..."

"It's been reported in every newspaper since last summer that I'm one of the most talented witches to ever attend Hogwarts. Let me prove it," Hermione interrupted Tonks, looking her in the eye with confidence and determination. Tonks' eyes flicked back and forth between hers for a moment, then a determined expression spread across her face as well.

"Good, I trust you. Just tell me what you need and what you want me to do. Kingsley will have questions, but I will manage."

"Kingsley is also part of my plan. After all, I need to get you to your destination as soon as I find out where this stranger is leading Fletcher."

"Okay, let's hope Fletcher hasn't set us up. But hey, at least I got to see you as a punk then," Tonks said, and Hermione was glad she trusted her. They laughed, and Tonks paid after they had both finished their drinks.

As Tonks' muggle and casual clothing style had strong influences of rock and metal anyway, she knew exactly where they would find everything they needed to kit themselves out for the following day. Hermione initially wanted to pay the bill for their clothes to return the favour for the dress robes before Christmas and today's lunch, but was told by Tonks that such disguises were covered by the Ministry. They eventually returned to the Auror's office, and Hermione immediately went to Kinglsey's office to fill him in on her plan as much as she could at the moment.

"So, to get you both to your destination as quickly as possible, you'd have to wait in a side street or somewhere quickly accessible so I can get the two of you there with side-by-side apparating. Maybe we should practise that a bit. I've never taken anyone with me before."

"Okay," Kingsley said calmly, folding his hands over his desk. Hermione couldn't immediately disguise her surprise that he had no objections, which caused Kingsley to chuckle. "It's Tonks' case. If she trusts you, so do I. I also can't shake the feeling that I'll also be talking about you at my appointment with Dumbledore in two days. Perhaps that will shed some light on the matter?"

Hermione nodded with a grin and thanked Kingsley for his trust. The three of them arranged to meet later that evening to practise side-by-side apparating. Hermione finally returned tensely to her parents' house where, after a vague report on her day, she pushed open her bedroom door and greeted Lancelot, who was sitting in his favourite beanie. She told him of her plan to use her ability to take over his mind to pursue Fletcher and his contact in raven form the next day. Lancelot was excited about her plan and bobbed up and down excitedly. After a brief consultation, she took control of Lancelot to practise a little more, which mainly served to combat her growing nervousness.

She took the opportunity to try on her new disguise and look at herself in the mirror after undoing her braids and deliberately messing up her hair to look even wilder. Her parents were shocked at first when Hermione came down the stairs in this outfit, but chuckled a moment later, and Hermione explained to them that it was her disguise for the next day. The Grangers discussed over dinner which hair colour would go best with her new outfit, and Hermione hugged them both tightly before heading off to Tonks. She could tell her parents were both proud but also worried about Hermione.

Because she had taken a liking to her new clothes, she didn't change again and took the opportunity to get used to her new boots, as she had never worn such heavy shoes before. Tonks' eyes lit up when the door to her flat opened, and she caught sight of Hermione. She was about to give Tonks a kiss but noticed Kingsley on the couch at the last moment and decided to just give her a quick hug. The three of them immediately began their Apparition training, which went much better than Hermione had expected. It was no problem for her to take Tonks with her when apparating, and even two fellow travellers were no problem for her after a few failed attempts, which fortunately ended without blood. Tonks and Hermione fell into bed exhausted after the long day, and Hermione smiled as Tonks snored softly after a few minutes.

"Hopefully everything will work out tomorrow," she thought, before casting herself into a trance. She used the time in her mental library to familiarise herself with the surroundings of tomorrow's location to the best of her ability. Once again, she was glad of her ability to rest in a trance at any time, as she probably wouldn't have slept a wink that night due to the excitement. She got up the next morning an hour before her alarm clock, which was set very early anyway, to have enough time to perfect her disguise. She experimented a little with her hairstyle and was finally satisfied when she had braided her hair tightly at the sides, but left the rest to resemble a very long but very wild mohawk that fell over her shoulder to one side. Tonks was delighted when she joined her in the bathroom and looked at the result.

"Now, the only thing missing is the colour. May I?"

"Sure. My parents said I should go for blue because of Ravenclaw, but I don't know."

"I really liked green on you at the World Cup. How about a transition so it looks like you only coloured the top mohawk part? We could use black as the base colour, then the contrast would be even greater," Tonks considered, and Hermione giggled because Tonks had already started the magical dyeing. "That's cool, maybe some neon on the green part, what do you think?"

"I really like it like this," Hermione said, examining herself in the mirror. She hardly recognised herself. She was sure she would never wear this style seriously, but she couldn't think of anything better as a costume.

"Wait, we're not finished yet," Tonks said as Hermione was about to leave the bathroom, and started perfecting Hermione's appearance with a coat of black eyeliner. "Now it's my turn," she said cheerfully when she had approved Hermione's disguise and immediately began to change her appearance.

"You really have an advantage on missions like this," Hermione said, mesmerised as she watched the young Auror switch between different facial features at lightning speed to change her appearance. She always wanted her opinion on her changes, and Hermione couldn't shake the feeling that Tonks' overriding goal was not to distance herself as much as possible from her actual appearance but to remain attractive to Hermione, which she managed to do with flying colours. "You look absolutely hot."

"That was the goal," Tonks said with a grin, winking at her in the mirror as she tried out a few more hair colours for her short, spiky hairstyle. She finally decided on a bright red colour, and the two of them practised not laughing at the sight of each other at breakfast.

"I need one more thing," Hermione said, entering Tonks' bar before they set off for the meeting place. Tonks raised her eyebrows as she returned with one of her half-empty whiskey bottles in hand. "I need an excuse to lie on your lap seemingly sleeping," Hermione explained, and Tonks gave her a playfully doubtful look.

"Okay, in that case, I'll take a beer with me! But let's make your disguise perfect," Tonks said and took the bottle from her, went into the kitchen and waved her wand, whereupon the whiskey emptied into a glass she had conjured. She waved her wand again, and the bottle filled up again with a gold-coloured liquid. "Now you can drink from it without it completely knocking your socks off," she said, and pressed the bottle back into Hermione's hand. Hermione smelled the bottle and realised that Tonks had replaced the whiskey with apple juice. They set off without further delay and had a lot of fun misbehaving on the bus and in the streets. Most of the muggles gave them snide looks, and some even got carried away with comments, but Hermione and Tonks just laughed and flipped them off.

"Oh my god, it was worth it just for this," Tonks whispered with a giggle as they settled down at their post on the busy street and huddled closely together. February was showing its best side that morning, but even in the sunshine, they were quickly beginning to feel cold. Hermione helped them out with a precise heat sphere that nestled so close to their bodies that someone would have had to come within inches of them to notice any of the cosy warmth. They still had just over two hours before the stranger was due to meet Fletcher in the pedestrianised zone, but the two of them were having so much fun in their roles that the time just flew by.

"Okay, you have to do everything you can to stop anyone from seeing my face," Hermione whispered before taking a hearty swig of apple juice from the whiskey bottle and resting her head on Tonks' thigh. She ran her hands through her hair so that it covered her face, which worked wonderfully with her otherwise unloved mane of hair, and a second later, she took possession of Lancelot, who had settled on the opposite roof.

After what felt like being squeezed through a narrow tube of millions of colours, her field of vision widened, and she saw the busy street from above. She was touched for a moment, when she saw Tonks barely noticeably stroking the seemingly motionless Hermione's shoulder with her thumb.

She concentrated a moment later, however, and kept an eye out for the short wizard, who arrived at the appointed place about five minutes later. He was visibly sweating but otherwise didn't let on and, to Hermione's relief, was dressed quite inconspicuously for the Muggle world by wizarding standards. Fletcher seemed to know how not to attract attention.

Hermione's pulse shot up as she realised that he was exchanging a barely noticeable hand signal with a gaunt man, and a moment later was following him, strolling a few metres behind. To an outsider, it would never have seemed like the two were meeting. Fletcher was following the man so unobtrusively that it seemed like a complete coincidence that the two were walking in the same direction.

Hermione flew off in pursuit of the pair, not taking her eyes off the tall man dressed in a dark cloak and hat. She could tell that he was checking several times to make sure they weren't being followed and felt more confident each time that she had chosen the right strategy. Hermione got a little nervous when they got on a red double-decker bus, but she managed to keep an eye on the bus and didn't miss them getting off from different doors near King's College.

The stranger now seemed more certain that he was no longer being followed and spoke a few words to Fletcher as they turned into a narrow side alley. Hermione sat down on a drainpipe at the beginning of the alley and watched with a pounding heart as the tall man looked around again, glancing up at her for a moment, and then led Fletcher into a doorway. She didn't hesitate for one second, but immediately disconnected from Lancelot and stood up, her heart pounding. Tonks wasted no time and followed her quickly to Kingsley, who had been waiting in a side alley just over twenty metres away and had made sure he was alone at all times with a few Confundus charms.

Hermione glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching them, then apparated with Kingsley and Tonks into the alley she had seen through Lancelot's eyes less than a minute ago.

"They went in there. Be careful. He's been looking around the whole time. He likely put up warning spells," she said, pointing to the black door through which the two wizards had disappeared.

"Well done, Hermione. You stay here and don't move. If either of them comes out of the door, you'll cast a stunning spell on them, okay?"

"Yes, good luck," Hermione replied, glancing after Kingsley and Tonks, who were checking the door for spells and traps with their wands drawn, then silently opened it with a spell and slipped through. Hermione looked tensely around the alley they had landed in. The walls of the house were lined with windows, but nothing was moving behind them. She hoped that no one had noticed anything and sat down on the pavement opposite the black front door.

She smiled as she heard a joyful crowing above her and held up her thumb. Her animal companion was bobbing up and down euphorically on the opposite gutter, proudly puffing out his chest, which made Hermione giggle as usual.

After a little less than five minutes of Hermione staring nervously at the black door, it opened, and Hermione had to remind herself briefly that Tonks looked different now. She rested her hand on her knee again and looked up expectantly at the pretty punk. Tonks pulled her wordlessly to her feet and stepped with her through the front door into a long corridor. She held Hermione for a moment and looked into her eyes with a serious expression.

"You did really well," she said with a serious expression, and Hermione beamed at her. However, she quickly realised that professionalism was now required and looked at Tonks attentively after thanking her for the praise. "Okay, so at first glance it seems like we're dealing with a goblin cartel here. Maybe. This wizard, apparently his name is Abernathy, who you managed to track here, gave us a tough fight. We arrested Fletcher, too, but let him go for the time being once we had the prime suspects. There was no real fight with the goblins, the four of them surrendered quickly once we took out Abernathy, who they claimed was their bodyguard. Wizard security for goblins, have you ever heard of such a thing?" said Tonks, gesturing to Hermione to hold her wand at the ready as they stepped over the threshold. "We've put an Anti-Apparition Jinx and a Caterwauling Charm on a three-house radius. No one should be able to surprise us, but be careful anyway."

Hermione was surprised when, after the corridor, they entered a magically enlarged room that looked like what Hermione imagined the interior of a dodgy lawyer's office would look like. Four desks littered with writing utensils, books, newspapers and notepads took up most of the room. Numerous shelves and cupboards on the walls were overflowing with parchments and books, and an unpleasant haze of cigar smoke still hung in the air. Hermione realised that there was an ashtray with several stubbed-out cigars on each of the desks.

"Alright, we've got an hour before the Magical Law Enforcement takes over here," Kingsley said, starting to flick through one of the notebooks with his wand. Hermione looked around the room and frowned. This was not at all what she had expected when she thought of a place where drug deals were organised. Nothing in this room had anything remotely to do with organisation. She stepped over a fallen pile of parchment towards one of the shelves and examined its contents. Everything was crammed full and had seemingly been placed wherever there had been space without any system.

"This is all strange," Tonks said aloud as she joined Hermione fifteen minutes later, who hadn't been able to learn anything. Most of the documents were betting slips on illegal races of magical creatures, plans to smuggle them and hundreds and hundreds of documents that read as if someone had commissioned Peeves to write the greatest rubbish he could come up with. "If you ask me, all this is a front."

"Have you checked to see if there's a hidden passageway?" asked Hermione, and Tonks nodded.

"Not a magical one, at least. Somehow, it reeks in here, apart from the cigarette smoke. Do you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, something's odd in here," Hermione replied, looking around again. It all seemed fabricated. As if someone had neatly placed every crumpled parchment, every book stuffed haphazardly onto the shelves. "Maybe there's a non-magical hiding place? Could you make out what that Abernathy was doing before you fought?"

"No, he came across the room just as we were coming through the corridor. He spotted us after we fired a spell at Fletcher to take him out first, and immediately shot a few curses at us," Tonks said, and Hermione pulled her lips to the side thoughtfully. "But the non-magical hiding place isn't a bad idea, shall we split up?" asked Tonks, and so Hermione took one half and Tonks the other while Kingsley was still searching through books and reading parchments. Tonks exhaled in frustration as the three of them had to admit to themselves at the end of the hour that they could find no further evidence that this location had anything to do with Moon Tears. The three of them apparated back to the Ministry's foyer just as the wizards from the Bureau of Magical Law Enforcement arrived.

"What do we do next? Interrogate the goblins and Abernathy?" Hermione asked after Tonks had sat back down at the desk in her office. She had made herself comfortable in an armchair that Tonks had conjured up for her.

"We'll wait until tomorrow for that. A day in the cell often loosens the suspects' tongues. So, for now, all we can do is wait and think. Why, for example, would Abernathy lead Fletcher to a goblin betting parlour as a diversion if he didn't know he was being followed?"

"And what if he did know? I mean, I'm pretty sure he didn't notice me, but what if he did? What if he was carrying a Pocket Sneakpscope or something?"

"Hmm, not a bad objection. Bloody fuckin' hell!" exclaimed Tonks, hanging her head back over the back of her chair. "So close and yet so far. Every bloody time we think we're close, it turns out to be wrong."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. It really was an interesting mission. And tomorrow, we might get the answer to our question."

"Well, at least you weren't bored," Tonks said, giggling as she lifted her head and caught sight of Hermione's furrowed brow. "Really good work, by the way, whatever you did to go after Abernathy."

"Thanks, I'll tell you at home what exactly I did."

"I have to say, you really know how to make me curious," Tonks replied, flashing her pretty smile that made Hermione feel a little tingle in her stomach as usual.

"Are you sleeping at your parents' tonight, or can I look forward to seeing you again?" Tonks asked with a seductive look, and Hermione smiled broadly at her. "You do realise that my parents still want to meet you, don't you?"

"We can do that tomorrow or later in the week," Tonks said with a twitch of her eyebrow, and Hermione nodded with a laugh, whereupon Tonks blew her a kiss. "I don't think we'll get any further today until we've interrogated the goblins and Abernathy. Maybe the colleagues will find something when they search the office more thoroughly tomorrow, and all the evidence has been secured, but there's still time until tomorrow. Fancy going to the cinema later?"

"Yes! I haven't been to the cinema for ages," Hermione replied enthusiastically. "Shall we change into something else then?" she asked, looking down at her disguise, which she was still wearing, just like Tonks.

"Not on my account! I like you as a little punk rebel," Tonks said with a grin and winked at her.

"Okay, but at least I'd like to braid my hair again."

Hermione enjoyed the evening with Tonks in the Muggle world, and as the two of them listened to some music and played pool late in the evening, the events of the day returned to Hermione's mind.

"Hey, I wanted to tell you how I was able to chase Abernathy today," she said after going over the day in her head and finally arriving back in the present. Tonks nodded, and the two of them sat down at the small bar. "Before we begin, I must remind you that this is strictly confidential, and I will erase your memory of the conversation if I feel the need to do so."

"Mhh, you're certainly keeping the suspense," Tonks said, smiling and resting her head on her hand as she watched Hermione attentively. Hermione could see that she had interpreted her remark as a joke but didn't dwell on it. She also didn't have the feeling that Tonks would refuse to join the Order.

"Okay. After I went to Diagon Alley for the first time three years ago and devoured books on magic, I realised that I have unique abilities," she began, raising her index finger when Tonks opened her mouth to make a remark, grinning. "So unique that not even Dumbledore could acquire them when he tried," she added and Tonks raised her eyebrows. "It really is a lot to tell, but I'll try to make it as compact as possible. I noticed during the holidays before Hogwarts that I have a special bond with my animal companion. He's a raven, and his name is Lancelot. I realised that I could sense his feelings and thoughts when I touched him. Later, with Dumbledore's help, I was able to use these abilities on wizards as well, and at a greater distance," Hermione explained, pausing as she could tell Tonks had a question on the tip of her tongue.

"So you can hear the thoughts of wizards?" she asked, and Hermione nodded. "Have you used that on me before?" she asked, and Hermione could hear a pinch of fear in her tone, which she could understand. There probably wasn't anyone who wasn't a little scared when they learnt that not even their thoughts were safe.

"Only once or twice when we were duelling," Hermione said with a mischievous grin. "Otherwise, I'd never stand a chance against you."

"Wow. Okay, what do I think now?" asked Tonks, closing her eyes. Hermione smiled and read her mind. She giggled and kissed Tonks on her left cheek, who had asked in her mind, in case Hermione could hear her.

"That was cute," she said, and Tonks smiled broadly at her. "Okay, where was I? After I memorised those abilities with Dumbledore, he helped me discover and master the third one. I was able to use it to enter Lancelot's mind and control him. That's why I pretended I'd had too much to drink this afternoon and hid my face. I was chasing Abernathy with Lancelot from the air."

"Wicked! So that's why I should make sure no one sees your face."

"Exactly. It looks a little creepy when I'm not in my body, like a lifelike doll."

"Wow, I guess I was really lucky to have you with me today then."

"Thank you again for trusting me. The last thing I can show you before the really confidential talk is this," she said with a smile, levitating her glass into her hand with a minimal gesture. Tonks looked at her with wide eyes and blinked several times in quick succession.

"Can you do that again?" she asked, perplexed, and Hermione let the glass hover over her palm, giggling. "I didn't even know that was possible!"

"It is indeed incredibly difficult for most wizards and witches. And that brings us to the unofficial part. I'd like to make you a suggestion. However, I must emphasise beforehand that I will erase the conversation from your memory from this point on, should you decide against it," she said seriously, and Tonks eyed her attentively for a few seconds.

"You're really serious about this, huh? Holy Hufflepuff. Alright," she said, and Hermione was relieved that Tonks had read her mood and was now looking at her with a serious expression.

"I can't really show you my part of it until we have access to Dumbledore's Pensieve, but that's not the important part. The important part is that You Know Who, Voldemort, didn't die 13 years ago. He escaped to Albania as a phantom and planned his return there, which he managed to do two months ago," she said, and Tonks, who had predictably flinched at Voldemort's name, looked at her with wide eyes.

"The attack in Hogsmeade on Harry and you, was that..."

"Bellatrix Lestrange."

"Fuck. FUCK! God, I'm glad you guys are okay."

"Thank you," Hermione said with a smile and continued. She told Tonks vaguely about the attack that had taken place to obtain Harry's blood for the ritual that had given Voldemort a new body. She also told her that Voldemort had used Horcruxes to ensure his survival and that the Order of the Phoenix had been re-established and was in the process of setting up a new headquarters with Sirius' help. "But that's not all. Dumbledore has decided to raise a narrow circle of members to a higher level, the so-called Core of the Order. Only these members even know that Voldemort has Horcruxes and what objects we suspect are behind them. You will have guessed by now, as I have already told you about the Horcruxes, both I and Alastor believe that you and Kingsley are the perfect candidates to complete the Core of the Order."

"Mad-Eye is in as well?" Tonks asked, and Hermione nodded. "Phew, that really is a lot to take in."

"I can understand that. Please don't feel pressured into joining. It's perfectly fine if you don't want to."

"I appreciate that, but it's not really a hard decision for me to make. I can't just let you obliviate me again and go through life unaware when there's such a close and powerful threat lurking beneath the surface."

"Are you really sure?" Hermione asked, and Tonks nodded decisively. "You'll have quite a bit of work to do. You'll have to learn Occlumency, for example. Have you ever heard of it?"

"Sure. Mad-Eye was furious when it was removed from the Auror training curriculum because no one had ever been attacked with Legilimency, but he couldn't stop it. He wanted to teach me anyway, but I had so much to do that we didn't have time before he retired."

"Then I'm sure he wants to make up for that shortfall. If you're absolutely certain, I'll write to Professor Dumbledore and let you know when the next meeting is. Dumbledore also said he would contact Kingsley later in the week. Well then, welcome to the Order of the Phoenix, I'd say."

"Oh my God, I need a drink now," Tonks said and stood up. Hermione could understand her. She shook her head when Tonks offered her a drink as well and watched the young witch as she took a sip of whiskey.

"I hope you're not looking at me with completely different eyes now," she said, and Tonks scrutinised her with her head cocked to one side after she had returned to Hermione around the bar.

"Hmm, apart from the fact that I now understand a little more about what makes you so extraordinary and mysterious, nothing has changed. And now I also know how you always manage to know exactly what I need in bed," she said with a gleam in her eye, and Hermione couldn't stop herself from blushing.

"I hope that's okay with you. I know I'm supposed to stay out of your head, but I wanted you to really enjoy it," she said, glancing shyly at Tonks, who smiled sweetly at her.

"And that makes you a really good person. You could use your abilities to manipulate me or others, but you use them to make me happy instead," she said, hugging Hermione tightly. The tension fell away from her with a thud, and she let herself fall into the touch for a moment. She giggled as Tonks pinched her bum affectionately and returned the favour by tickling her tummy. "How about we snuggle up in bed for a bit, and you tell me a bit more about what you've been up to with your powers?" said Tonks, and Hermione nodded with a smile. As Hermione took her bag upstairs, she remembered that she hadn't even given Tonks her present yet. She wondered if now was a good time and came to the conclusion that the ring would also serve well as a welcome gift for the Order.

"There is one more thing. I've been thinking about what I could get you as a thank you for... well, everything," she said as she came into the bedroom behind Tonks. "Close your eyes."

"God, don't make it so exciting!" said Tonks, and Hermione could tell she was really pleased, even though she didn't even know what she was getting yet. Hermione took her hand and smiled when Tonks gasped as she took her index finger and put the ring she had been working on with Severus for the past few weeks on it. "Wow. Is that what I think it is?"

"You can open your eyes now," Hermione said, giggling when Tonks' eyes lit up after she held out her hand and glanced at the black tungsten ring. "No proposal jokes!" said Hermione before Tonks could open her mouth, and they both laughed.

"It's enchanted, isn't it? My magic is practically crackling in my finger."

"That's right, it's meant to enhance shield charms. When you wear it, every shield charm you cast is multiplied in its effect."

"That's incredible, Hermione!" said Tonks, wide-eyed, scrutinising the ring before hugging Hermione tightly. "Thank you so much! Oh my god, you're so brilliant!"

"I'm glad you like it," Hermione said happily, burying her face in Tonks' neck for a moment, which smelled lovely.

"Are you joking? This is the best present I've ever got! And I don't even have anything to return the favour!"

"You don't have to. I wanted to give you something that would be useful. Just think of it as a belated graduation present," Hermione said, winking as Tonks smiled fervently at her.

"That's really sweet, thank you so much," Tonks said, immediately snuggling up to Hermione as she lay down. "Did you specifically wait until after our duels for this?" asked Tonks teasingly, and Hermione giggled.

"Not really, there's been so much going on since yesterday. I only just remembered I had it with me. But I probably wouldn't have even won the first duel with you wearing the ring!"

"You're too hard on yourself. With everything."

"Maybe, but it's better than putting your feet up and being blindsided."

"Wow, Mad-Eye sure did a good job. I hope you still have enough time to enjoy Hogwarts with everything you've told me," Tonks said seriously, and Hermione nodded with a smile.

"Don't worry. In fact, there hasn't been a day this year that hasn't been incredibly fun for me. Except maybe the attack in Hogsmeade."

"Do you want to tell me about it? It's okay if you don't..."

Hermione shrugged and gave her view of the evening in Hogsmeade that had ultimately led to Voldemort's return. She then talked more about her first years at Hogwarts while gently massaging Tonks' scalp with her fingers, smiling when she heard a soft snore from her after a while. She was a little disappointed for a moment that the evening, which had been heating up with looks and touches, didn't end in a climax, but then quickly resolved to leave nothing to chance the next morning and wake Tonks up in the sweetest way possible.

The first thing Hermione did when she later entered her library in a trance was to go through the memories she had collected around the goblin betting parlour. She checked again to see if Abernathy had noticed anything when she had followed him with the help of Lancelot. It didn't seem to her that he had noticed anything at any point.

So, if he didn't know he was being followed, the office must have been his actual destination. Hermione used the full hour of memory in which they had searched the office with Kingsley and Tonks to have another good look around the room, but again, she couldn't see anything that suggested a hiding place or anything like that.

"What if Tonks and Kingsley surprised them while they were doing something, and they can't remember because they had to fight?" she asked herself, after contemplating again in her armchair in her library about why this office seemed so strange. She decided to check and ended her trance.

When she woke up, a smile flitted across her lips. Tonks had apparently snuggled even closer to her under the large blanket and was lying close to her side, her head resting on her left breast. She could hear her soft, regular breathing and savoured being close to Tonks for a moment. It was a wonderful feeling, lying here with her. In general, it was very similar with the young witch as it was with Severus. The only thing she didn't feel with Tonks was the unique magical connection between Severus and her, which intensified every touch, every eye contact and made it special.

She stroked Tonks' cheek gently and finally entered her mind, eager to see what it would look like inside. She opened her mouth in astonishment as she opened her eyes after the black tunnel she had been dragged through as usual. She was standing in a stunning dressing room, the size of a palace and so colourful that she had to pause for a moment to take it all in. She took a few steps through the sea of dresses, mirrors, dressing tables and masks that were scattered everywhere.

" This really suits a Metamorphmaga ," she thought, examining some of the dresses hanging on countless racks. Like every time she entered a new mind, she was fascinated by how much the visualisation of the mind reflected the character traits of the person. As she ran her hand over one of the dresses, which was a child's size, she suddenly heard a child's voice.

A smile spread across her face as she realised that small figures had been created from stitching patterns on the fabric. She heard the child laughing, which she could now see, and decided to look at the memory. It showed Tonks as a child feeding horses on her grandparents' farm. Hermione missed her own grandparents at that moment, whom she had only been able to spend a little time with as a toddler before they had died. She stayed in the memory until it was over and then searched for the system by which the memories were sorted.

It took a little while because Tonks' mind wasn't as organised as Severus' or Dumbledore's, but she eventually recognised the system, and it wasn't long before she found the memory she was looking for. She was back in the narrow alley they had apparated into that afternoon after she had tracked Abernathy to his supposed hiding place.

She wasted no time and rushed forward when Kingsley had magically opened the door. She didn't want to miss anything of what was going on in the room where the two Aurors had encountered Abernathy and the goblins. She looked around, and the first thing she saw was the goblins talking to each other in Gobbledegook. Mundungus Fletcher was stepping nervously from one leg to the other in front of one of the desks. He seemed to be waiting for something. Hermione heard a noise and flinched as Abernathy stood only a few centimetres away from her.

She took a breath as she remembered she was in a memory, and her eyes widened as she spied movement on the ground behind the dodgy-looking wizard. With a soft click, a recessed trapdoor moved into place. It merged so perfectly with the floor that a moment later, Hermione couldn't remember exactly where it had been. She flinched again as a stunning spell whizzed straight through her chest from the corridor, missing Fletcher by only a few millimetres. Tonks and Kingsley burst into the room, and Hermione had to concentrate so as not to be distracted by the fight. She had found something!

She stepped out of the memory and immediately re-entered it, this time to get a better look at the trapdoor. It seemed that Abernathy had just come up out of it, and she tried to memorise the exact location of the square panel in the floor. When she was sure she had seen everything, she immediately ended her connection to Tonks' mind and tried to gently but quickly wake the young witch in her arms.

"Mhh, what's wrong?" Tonks asked, half-asleep, startling up in alarm a blink later.

"Sorry, but I've found something! Abernathy came out of a trapdoor in the floor just before you came through the corridor! We have to take another look!" Hermione said firmly and flicked the light switch with a wave of her hand. They both groaned under the glare of the ceiling light, but Hermione immediately got up to change. "I'll explain how I know later, but we have to get back there before they take the opportunity to empty the hiding place!"

"You're right," Tonks said, jumping up immediately. She stumbled over the mountain of clothes they had left next to the bed and scrambled to her feet with a serious look on her face as she fished her wand from the bedside table. Only a minute later, the two of them were dressed and standing in Tonks' living room, getting ready to apparate back to the supposed betting parlour together. Hermione felt herself bounce off the apparating barrier as they tried to apparate into the small alleyway, and they had to move several metres out of the way to be able to apparate into the alleyway at all. Immediately, a man jumped out of the door of the house their target was in and waved his wand at them. Hermione could hear the muffled sound of the Caterwauling Charm echoing from the house.

"Aurors Tonks and Granger, we need to take another look at this crime scene," Tonks said instantly when the two had arrived and floated her ID to the officer securing the scene. The officer appeared to check the Auror ID with a wave of his wand, then nodded, silencing the whining. Tonks and Hermione stepped over the threshold with their wands raised. Hermione had to stifle a yawn. She could feel the curiosity and anticipation driving her, but she had to concentrate hard to keep her tiredness from forcing her to be inattentive.

"Right here is the trapdoor," Hermione said, pointing to the spot after making sure once again that they were alone and safe. She drew a line of light on the floor with her wand to emphasise the outline of the trapdoor as close to her memory as possible.

"Okay, let's find out how to open it then. I have, in fact, already checked for magical signatures, but mostly on the walls," Tonks said, crouching down next to the fine line of magical light. She stroked the floor with her wand, and Hermione watched her carefully. From the look on Tonks' face, she could tell that there was nothing noticeable around the trapdoor, and Tonks didn't seem to find any trace of magic on the rest of the floor that could have anything to do with a hidden mechanism.

"There's no bloody way," said Hermione, who had been looking around the walls again. She turned round when she heard a loud noise and smiled when she saw Tonks standing in the square of magical light, hopping on the spot.

"I think..." she said as she continued to jump, "that it's not a magical... mechanism. Something ... you have to be able to push or pull in here ... to open the thing."

Hermione looked around again, scanning first the bookshelves, then the walls.

"What's that? Hermione! I think I've got it!" Hermione heard and turned round. A loud click sounded, and she gasped as the trapdoor sank down and slid silently under the floor.

"What was it?"

"There's a piece of carpet here that's movable. If you turn it, the door opens," Tonks replied, and the two of them peered down the trapdoor by the light of their wands. A staircase led perfectly straight down several metres into the depths, and Hermione was immediately reminded of the secret passage at Hogwarts where she had trapped Peter Pettigrew.

"Should we wait for Kingsley?" Hermione asked as Tonks was about to take the first step.

"I wrote to him earlier, but he seems to be asleep already. I'll send him a Patronus, and we'll go first. The early birds..." Tonks said with a grin and waved her wand, whereupon a silvery glowing rabbit burst out of it and hopped up and down in front of her. "Great discovery at the crime scene from this afternoon. Hermione and I are feeling our way around, but you might want to have a look too," she said, and a second later the silver animal had jumped out of the window. "That should pique his curiosity," Tonks added with a wink and shone her illuminated wand back down into the shaft. "Fine, I'll go first. I've checked again to see if anyone's down there, but be careful anyway. There could be non-magical traps waiting for us if the entrance was already non-magical."

Hermione nodded and let Tonks go a few steps ahead. She glanced around again before continuing down the stairs. The two of them had to duck to avoid bumping their heads in the narrow shaft, and Hermione was glad when Tonks arrived after a few metres in a room that wasn't so narrow.

"Looks safe, come in," Tonks said after about a minute, and Hermione curiously climbed down the last few steps. Tonks lit two torches on the wall, which illuminated the room more than enough. They both gasped in surprise as they took a first look around the illuminated room. It was the complete opposite of the office room in which the entrance was located.

"Wow, I didn't expect this," Hermione said as she looked at the walls of the small workshop they were standing in. Large, antique-looking banderoles hung across the walls, on which dozens of symbols were drawn in rows. Hermione thought she recognised the symbols as Egyptian hieroglyphics.

"Neither did I," Tonks said, stepping towards the workbench where several objects lay on small velvet cushions. She checked something that looked like a large diamond made from a mineral unknown to Hermione for curses and then inspected it. "Hmm, definitely magical, but no idea what this is," she said, holding the object in her hand up to the light of one of the torches, where it began to glitter as if hundreds of different metals had been fused into it. She didn't seem to recognise anything out of the ordinary apart from its appearance, because a second later she put the diamond back on the work surface and examined the next object.

Hermione turned her attention back to the walls, where she had also discovered an object next to the parchments with hieroglyphics. She examined an eye that appeared to be made of pure gold. The flat eye resembled one of the hieroglyphs on one of the posters on the walls, and Hermione cast an analysing charm to confirm her suspicion that this object was also magical.

"It looks like someone broke into the British Museum and stored their loot here, but all the objects here seem to be enchanted," said Tonks, who was examining an egg-shaped piece of metal about the size of a bludger. "What the?" she said in astonishment, waving her wand at the egg. "At least until just now, it seems," she added, scrutinising the egg with a furrowed brow. She waved her wand again, and Hermione felt the Human-presence-revealing Spell slide over her. Tonks relaxed a second later, however, and shrugged her shoulders, frowning.

"Can I have a look?" asked Hermione, inspecting the object after Tonks had levitated it over to her. "You mean it was magical a minute ago?"

"Definitely, but from one moment to the next it was gone, like someone had turned off the magic," Tonks said, and Hermione glanced around the room. Was it possible that someone had found out that they had entered the hiding place? She saw no change, and so she turned her attention back to the egg, which was decorated with several hieroglyphs and other symbols. The egg consisted of two joined halves that could be turned around each other without resistance and reminded Hermione of an egg timer. She didn't know much about enchantments from other magical cultures, but some of the ornamentation resembled the connections used in enchantments with Celtic runes. But how could someone have removed an enchantment without even being able to see or touch the item?

"I'll have to take a closer look at this tomorrow," Hermione said, and Tonks nodded before turning her attention back to the workbench.

"We should secure all of this before..." she said, but she faltered, and Hermione immediately turned her head towards her.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know, I thought..." she said, narrowing her eyes at the golden hieroglyphic eye on the wall. "Did you check that one?"

"Yeah, it's magical too, but there's no curse on it," Hermione said, looking intently at the eye like Tonks but unable to recognise anything that explained Tonks' sudden commotion. Hermione watched the eye for a few more seconds, but it showed no sign of changing, so she walked past Tonks and put the decorated egg down in its place on the workbench.

She felt a slight tug on her magic as she approached the workbench and, after a quick glance, realised that the sensation was coming from the diamond-shaped stone Tonks had already been examining. Hadn't she felt any of it? Interested, she reached out for it. The moment her fingertip touched the stone, a lightning bolt flashed through her arm, and the diamond-shaped object changed its appearance. It suddenly seemed to be made of glass, as she could see a bright turquoise-green liquid inside the diamond, wafting around like gas. Without warning, Hermione was struck by a violent magical blow, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still around her.

A booming sound echoed in her head, so loud that Hermione thought it would explode at any moment. She tried to call out to Tonks, but she was still frozen in place and couldn't even move her eyes. Suddenly, the roar was replaced by a cold, unreal silence that sent a shiver down Hermione's spine. No sound reached her ears, and it felt as if even her heart was standing still while her mind was still trying to understand what was happening. She watched in horror as the swirling liquid from the diamond slipped through her fingertip into her hand and collected on the back of her hand. It formed a sort of pentagram, but Hermione could count eleven spikes. The star-shaped symbol was surrounded by more and more intertwined circles that seemed to consist of even more small symbols and glyphs. After some time, which seemed like an eternity to Hermione, the symbols changed colour simultaneously, and the back of her hand glowed in fiery orange-red. Still unable to move, she watched helplessly as the whole diamond emptied and formed more symbols that stretched all the way to her wrist.

Had there been a curse on this artefact? Why hadn't Tonks been able to detect it? Why had it only reacted to her touch? Before she could think about it any further, the sounds of her surroundings resumed, and for a moment she felt her heart, which had stopped mid-beat, continue to pound. The workbench in front of her eyes flickered for a moment, but she managed to regain her composure.

"Everything okay?" Tonks asked without looking at her, and Hermione took a silent breath. What had just happened? Had what she had just experienced actually taken place? Tonks had touched the object, and nothing had indicated that she had experienced anything like that.

"Yes, I was a bit dizzy for a moment," Hermione said, trying to calm Tonks and most of all herself down. She looked at the back of her hand. There was nothing to see. Hermione jumped when suddenly a silvery white lynx came leaping down through the ceiling, landing softly on its paws and eyeing her curiously.

"Ah, Kingsley has arrived," Tonks said, climbing up the stairs to meet him. Apparently, the trapdoor had closed on them again, because she could hear Tonks swearing softly as she searched for a mechanism to open it from below.

Hermione froze in place and took another long look at the back of her hand before her eyes fell on the diamond-shaped object that had triggered this extraordinary event in her. Had it been some sort of theft protection? A vision? Hermione couldn't make sense of it and took another deep breath. She didn't feel any differentl, but the experiences she had had with enchanted artefacts still left her tense. She looked around the room, and all the hairs on her body rose as she realised that the golden hieroglyphic eye was no longer staring straight ahead.

The metal pupil had moved, and it appeared to be looking directly into her eyes. Was that what Tonks had seen? Were they being watched? Had someone triggered this vision or whatever it was in her because she had come too close to the diamond? A queasy feeling spread through her, and it grew even stronger as the pupil followed her as she took a step towards the workbench. Whoever was watching her no longer bothered to hide it from her.

"Really weird, an object lost its enchantment the moment I tried to touch it, as if someone had switched it off, like a TV," she heard Tonks' voice from the stairs, coming back to her with Kingsley.

"You should have waited for me. Hello Hermione," a sleepy-looking Kingsley said, nodding at her before looking around the room. Hermione had only glanced at Kingsley for a brief moment to greet him, but when she looked at the eye again, it was fixed forward. The queasy feeling inside Hermione intensified. "What about this?" asked Kingsley, pointing at the diamond-shaped object.

"Also enchanted. But we couldn't find out anything more specific. I'd have the Magical Artefacts Office take a look at it. You're welcome to have a look around at your own pace, I'll wait upstairs. Are you coming with me, Hermione?" Tonks said, stretching and yawning. She nodded and walked behind Tonks up the narrow staircase into the goblins' office. "It's all rather strange, isn't it? I thought we'd find some sort of drug lab down there."

Hermione nodded and faked a yawn as her mind continued to race. Someone had been watching them. Had they possibly seen her touch this artefact and perhaps triggered a vision or something similar in her? But why? To stop her? What was so special about this artefact?

"Didn't you say this one was enchanted too?" Kingsley asked as he came up the stairs ten minutes later, and Hermione's breath caught in her throat as he held up the diamond.

"Yes, quite strong actually," Tonks said in bewilderment. "Did they turn it off too?"

"Seems so, I couldn't detect any magic," Kingsley replied, and Hermione felt the blood rush to her head. What if it hadn't been a vision?

"That's strange. Well, maybe the colleagues will find some residual magic. That'll have to wait until tomorrow, though. I really need to get to bed," Hermione heard Tonks' yawning voice from a long way off. Had all this really happened? And had those symbols on the back of her hand meant anything? She winced as Tonks gently placed a hand on her arm and forced herself to smile as she looked into her worried face. "Shall we?"

They said goodbye to Kingsley, and Hermione apparated back to the flat after Tonks. "Whew, what a day. More questions than answers, if you ask me. Maybe we'll get something out of Abernathy later."

---

Numerous guidelines and codes of behaviour during arrests prevented Abernathy from being questioned before midday. Hermione didn't know enough about wizarding law but had heard through Tonks that many Aurors thought the laws were outdated, and Fudge refused to change them for some unknown reason.

Hermione, who had looked at the event in the hidden workshop in her memory several times during the night while in a trance, wasted no time in the Auror's office in the morning and went to the British Library with the muggle-friendly copies of the evidence photos of the hieroglyphics to interpret them and read more about Egyptian culture. Her morning had gone differently than she had wished the night before, but her tension and nervousness had stifled her lust completely.

She spent the entire morning in the Muggle library and happened to meet a very well-read old man who was able to help her with some questions. She was in contact with Tonks the whole time via Black Mail, who kept her in the loop and had promised to notify her when the suspect was ready for interrogation. She kept checking the back of her right hand, both magically and visually, but she could find no trace of the symbols she had seen light up on it the night before.

Her memory in trance had not helped her much either, as it simply lacked the moment that had felt as if time had stood still. Moreover, nothing of the turquoise-green liquid or the symbols on the back of her hand had been visible from the outside. Instead, she had watched herself about a dozen times as she had minimally touched the supposed artefact and immediately flinched. Having gathered what she thought were enough sources and having stored some of them in her mental library using Severus' new method, she returned a pile of books to their rightful place before packing up her things.

Hermione Apparated back into the Ministry atrium as the parchment lit up green again. Despite her tension, she was still enjoying the freedom she had this week with permission to cast magic freely. Once there, she drew her wand and let her notes and borrowed books float in the air beside her, as many of the Ministry's officials and visitors did. As she stepped out of the lift on the second floor, she immediately spotted Tonks talking to an unfamiliar woman at the end of the corridor.

The young woman stood out from the crowd, wearing a white cloak with gold embellishments, and her black hair framed her face in a complex pinned-up hairstyle. Tonks waved her over to them, and Hermione giggled when Tonks had to ask for the woman's name again during introductions because she had forgotten it.

"You can call me Nephtys," the woman said and held out her hand to Hermione with a smile. Hermione was momentarily captivated by her large, bright amber eyes. She had never seen anyone with eyes like that before. She had to stop herself from blushing as she shook Nephtys' hand and shyly smiled back.

"Tonks has already told me a little about you," she said, and Hermione exchanged a quick glance with Tonks, who twitched her eyebrows. "I'm delighted to be working with such an extraordinary young witch. I was contacted by Mr Shacklebolt because there may be a connection to ancient Egyptian artefacts," Nephtys explained, going on to say that she worked for the Egyptian Ministry of Magic and had roughly the same job as Tonks, except that she had to cover a few more fields as there weren't as many specialised offices as there were in Britain. She explained she had worked with the English Ministry of Magic several times, especially Kingsley and Dawlish.

"I've already found out a few things. I can help you if you'd like," Hermione said, and the young witch nodded with a smile.

"Not so fast, that will have to wait. First, we have to interrogate Abernathy," Tonks said and went ahead to the interrogation rooms, where Kingsley was already waiting for them. Hermione and Nephtys followed her, and the inquisitive witch was already asking what she had been able to find out during her research. Hermione gave her a brief summary and smiled when Nephtys praised her.

"Miss Tonks... Or just Tonks," she said, giggling after a glare, "Tonks already told me about those Moon Tears that made you come across the hieroglyphics, really horrible. And when I think that we've had a lot of unsolved disappearances in Egypt in recent years, I don't even want to imagine how many of them might have fallen victim to these perpetrators."

"You mean the whole thing could go beyond the borders of Britain? I haven't even thought about that yet!"

"It could be, I'm just hypothesising. Maybe we'll find out more when we look at those artefacts Tonks was talking about."

"There's still time for that later. All set, Kingsley?" said Tonks, and Kingsley nodded.

"We did a background check, without success. Ollivander hasn't crafted his wand, and he didn't go to Hogwarts, but his ID says he was born in Kent. Maybe home-schooled. He's waiting in room 3. The goblins are still in the cell. I've written to Rufus to get permission for Veritaserum. Something tells me we won't achieve much otherwise."

"I'll do my best. Are you coming with me, as the big intimidating Auror?" asked Tonks, smiling and winking at Hermione. Kingsley followed her, and Hermione and Nephtys stood in front of the wall of Interrogation Room 3, which was magically transparent from their side. Abernathy was already sitting in his chair with his legs casually crossed, looking boredly at his fingernails. He didn't look up when Tonks and Kingsley entered and sighed theatrically when he was asked to look at them.

"What do you hope to gain from this conversation, if I may ask?" he asked with feigned politeness, glancing at Tonks, who had dyed her hair brown and lengthened it so that it now reached her chest before entering the room. Hermione remembered that Tonks had greeted her like this for the first time when she had picked her up from the first floor of the Ministry.

"We'd like to know about your profession and hobbies, Mr Abernathy. As you have already been informed, we are merely investigating a suspicion, and you are of course free to leave if this suspicion proves to be unfounded. But let's start from the beginning. Do you know why you are here?"

"Because you entered my office without authorisation?"

"We had full authorisation and, as already mentioned, acted on a well-founded suspicion. Again, you can be glad you didn't hurt someone when you resisted. If you had, you'd be down in front of the Wizengamot by now. But let's start at the beginning. Can you tell me what work is done in your office? We would be particularly interested in your role and that of the four goblins who were present at the time of the arrest."

"I am the director of the betting office, the four goblins are my bookmakers. We specialise in various sports, including Quidditch, Thestral racing and some Muggle sports, as I'm sure you've seen from our records."

"Indeed, though after looking at the records in a little more detail, some questions remained as to the authenticity of your business," Tonks said, and Abernathy raised an eyebrow. He seemed to prefer to leave this accusation uncommented and looked down at his fingernails again. He didn't seem nervous in the slightest to Hermione. She watched, mesmerised, as Tonks slowly but surely meandered through their conversation to the actually interesting part of the office. Abernathy remained monosyllabic and often just shrugged his shoulders when Tonks asked him questions.

"So you're seriously telling me there's an Egyptian enchantment workshop underneath my betting office? Are you actually listening to yourself?" Abernathy asked dismissively when Tonks had finally asked him about the secret room, and Hermione's patience ran out. It was perfectly clear that Abernathy wasn't going to give in. He was eloquent, completely relaxed and seemed ready for any question. It was time for her to support Tonks.

" Let's see what it looks like in your head ," she thought as she established the mental connection and was pulled through the black tunnel that led her into his mind. To her surprise, however, she bounced off an intact and completely flawless barrier. Wide-eyed, she stared through the magical window as she returned to her body. Only a blink later, Abernathy jerked his head around and stared at the - to him - opaque wall behind which Hermione stood. Next to her, Nephtys flinched, who of course could not have noticed her attack on Abernathy's mind. Hermione looked into the man's blue eyes, whose mouth twisted into a mocking smile before he turned back to Tonks.

"Are you wiser yet? Thought as much," he said, and Hermione observed that his bored tone had changed to a predatory growl. Tonks' eyes flicked briefly to the wall, and by chance, she met Hermione's gaze. She could see that she was putting one and one together and drawing her conclusions as to how he had reacted to Hermione's mental attack. Kingsley cleared his throat in the background.

"You have one last chance to testify of your own free will. Otherwise, we will put an end to this charade and use Veritaserum."

"If you think that will help you," Abernathy replied with a sneer, and Hermione tilted her head. Negating the effects of Veritaserum required tremendous mental fortitude, but if she took his mental barrier as a benchmark, he would surely manage to avoid answering a question or two truthfully. It was becoming increasingly obvious that the seemingly bored man sitting in the interrogation chair had more to hide than he was letting on and possibly much more than they thought they knew about him.

"It certainly will," Kingsley said and left the room, only to return a few seconds later with a vial. To Hermione's surprise, Abernathy snorted at the sight of the vial and waved Kingsley closer mockingly, as if he couldn't wait. He looked so sure of himself that Hermione's hopes of finding out more were melting away by the second. Who was this man?

"Let's get this over with," he said, downing the contents of the small vial without Kingsley or Tonks having to prompt him, let alone use force.

"Why is he being so cooperative all of a sudden?" whispered Nephtys next to Hermione, reminding her that she was standing next to her.

"I don't know. It's possible to resist Veritaserum, but it's quite difficult," Hermione said, gazing for a moment into the amber-coloured eyes of the Egyptian witch, for whom this information seemed to be new.

"What is your name?" Tonks asked immediately after Abernathy's sitting posture had changed when the potion had taken effect. He now sat up straight in his chair and looked Tonks in the eye with a glazed look, just as Peter Pettigrew had done during his interrogation in Dumbledore's office.

"Merlin," Abernathy replied, the corner of his mouth twitching, but Hermione could see the mental strain on his face.

"Very amusing. I must admit I'm surprised by the skills of a simple betting office director," Tonks said, glancing at Kingsley, who was now standing behind Abernathy. He held up three fingers, which Hermione assumed indicated the approximate remaining number of questions.

"I never said I was a simple betting office director."

"Sorry, but let's move on. Who is the Minister of Magic of Great Britain?"

"Urg the Unclean," Abernathy replied dramatically, and Hermione couldn't stop the corner of her mouth from twitching at the name of a goblin from the time of the Goblin Rebellions. She pressed her lips together and watched Abernathy's struggle against the truth serum with anticipation.

"We'll loosen your tongue. What's your name?"

"Theodore Abernathy."

"There you go, see? Now for the really interesting part..." Tonks began, but she was interrupted by Abernathy.

"Now then! You've got me at last! Think carefully about what you're asking," he said with a broad grin that, together with his still-glazed eyes, made him look more and more insane. He stared at Tonks with a grin and banged his fists on the table impatiently. "Come on then! What are you waiting for?"

Hermione shook her head in bewilderment and feverishly contemplated what the man's behaviour was all about. Just a few seconds ago, he had been resisting with all his mental strength to prevent telling the truth, and now he was mockingly begging for a question after his strength had apparently failed him.

"Come on, I want to hear it, don't make me wait any longer! Let it end!"

"What do you know about the drug Moon Tear?" Tonks finally asked during a pause in the now maniacal shouting.

"It's not a drug," Abernathy replied calmly as if he had been relieved. Hermione and Nephtys winced as a resounding thud echoed through the interrogation room. Abernathy's head had hit the table with such force that all the hairs on the back of Hermione's neck stood up. Her eyes widened in horror as she realised what had happened.

Tonks had immediately jumped up and, like Kingsley, pointed her wand at the slumped man, but Hermione already knew that this time, he wasn't faking anything. Something about the way his upper body had given way, and his head had slammed onto the table without any attempt to protect himself had caused a sick feeling in her stomach. She glanced at Nephtys, who had slapped a hand over her mouth in shock and was staring through the magical wall.

Hermione looked back into the room where Kingsley was trying in vain to magically bring the man back to life. A high-pitched whistling sound filled her ears, and the image of the room blurred before her eyes. Who would swear such a complex unbreakable vow and was prepared to die for even the smallest, seemingly insignificant piece of information?

Was everything even worse than she had feared?

---

Author's Remarks:

Hey everyone!

Wow, what an intense chapter to write. I hope you liked the first glimpse into what I was teasing in one of the end notes a few chapters ago =)

As always, I hope everyone is doing fine at this busy time of the year, and that you enjoyed reading this chapter. Thank you for reading, and thanks so much to all the people that already left favorites, follows and reviews!

See you next time!

Kasing