Authors note:

Chapters 51 and 52(coming next week) were my favorite to write so far. I hope you all enjoy reading them. Please leave a review if you can, I love to hear from readers. Thanks for reading!

I have a new blog where I am planning on posting spoilers and other content regarding my stories. You can check it out here: xxsorenxx dot WordPress dot com

Enjoy,

xxsorenxx

Chapter 51 The Warning

Severus Snape had taken her to the Tonks' residence for the remainder of winter break. "This residence is protected by the Fidelius Charm, the Dark Prince cannot get to you here." Snape assured her. "There are some rules that must be followed."

Senna looked up at him, surprised. "Rules?"

"Yes, rules." Snape's tone was stern. "You are not to leave this residence without my permission or the permission of Albus Dumbledore. You are not to use any magic outside, or send owls, except in cases of emergency. And you are not to reveal your location to anyone, not even to Richmond."

Senna frowned. "But why? I thought the Fidelius Charm already protected this place?"

"It does, but we cannot be too careful." Snape replied. "Your brother is a smart and dangerous man, and he will stop at nothing to get to you. We must take every precaution to keep you safe."

Senna nodded, understanding the seriousness of the situation. "Okay, I'll follow the rules."

"Good." Snape said. "Now, I have some business to attend to. I will return later to check on you."

With that, Snape left the room, leaving Senna alone with Mr. and Mrs. Tonks.

"Edward Tonks," The large blonde man introduced himself, but did not offer to shake her hand. He did not look pleased that she was here, and figured he had only agreed to because Dumbledore asked him to. "And this is my wife, Andromeda Tonks."

Andromeda just gave a wary nod in her direction. "Andy." She corrected her husband. "And you can call him Ted."

Senna could see Tonks' resemblance to her parents. She had her mother's chocolate brown hair, but while her mother's was curly, hers was straight, like her father's. She also had her mother's angular and sharp features, but her father's hazel eyes.

"Err—I'll show you to the room you'll be staying." Andromeda didn't sound nervous, just unsure. She led Senna to a plain bedroom that had a small bathroom attached.

"Thank you." Senna said awkwardly as the woman left.

Senna sat in the room, lost in thought. She couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off. She had been spending most of her time reading the books and notes Viola had compiled for her, but she couldn't help but feel that she should be doing more.

The Wizarding World was at war, and she was sitting here, studying for potential NEWTs next year. She couldn't even guarantee she had a school to attend. She remembered her headmaster's threat right before the match, that he would expel her if she competed against his wishes—which is exactly what she had done.

Just then, Tonks walked into the room and stood by the doorway, looking conflicted. "Senna, I need to talk to you about something... important."

Senna looked up, glad to see someone familiar. "What is it, Tonks? Where have you been?"

Tonks took a deep breath before speaking. "I know you trust the Richmond girl, but I need to warn you. You need to be careful... of her."

Senna's heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean?"

"She's dangerous." Tonks said in a serious tone.

Senna began to relax. This was probably because they hated each other, nothing to worry about. "And why is she dangerous?"

Tonks hesitated before answering. "She might be capable of things you don't know about." When Senna gave her a quizzical look, she quickly added, "You might not know her as well as you think you do."

"I think I know my girlfriend well enough, thanks." She waved her off and began to return to her studies.

"Remember when you told me that she's not so bad when you got to know her?"

"Yeah." Senna was still unconvinced. "And you told me she's nasty to the core."

Tonks smirked then, and Senna caught a glimpse of the old roguish Tonks. "I don't think I was wrong."

"Of course, you don't." She rolled her eyes.

Seriousness returned to her features. "Senna, do you know what she did after the Horntail crushed you?"

She had to look away from her book then, interested. "What?"

"She got into trouble with the Department of Magical Beasts." Tonks paused, her hazel eyes boring into hers. "She killed the dragon."

Her eyes widened in disbelief. She couldn't believe what she had just heard, and her mind was racing with uncertainty. Her book slipped out of her hand, and it clunked noisily onto the desk. "You're kidding..."

"The Champions weren't supposed to harm the creatures. We had just borrowed the beasts, you know they're endangered." The words came out in a rush, as if she had been holding this in for a while. "And she used dark magic to do it. Illegal magic. The only reason she didn't get into more trouble was because it was unclear what spell she had actually used, not to mention her parents are well connected at the Ministry."

"That..." Senna's head spun, she couldn't wrap her head around it, "That doesn't sound like her."

But she wasn't so sure. She knew Viola had a temper, and she just didn't know how far it went.

Tonks actually looked sympathetic as Senna tried to process the news. "I know it's hard to believe, Senna. But I wouldn't lie to you about something like this. I just want you to be careful around her."

She nodded slowly, still in disbelief. "Your concern is nice. However, I still don't think she's dangerous."

Tonks gave her a sigh. "I didn't think you would... Just be mindful of what I told you. Okay?"

Senna nodded again, feeling a sense of unease settle in her stomach. She couldn't believe that Viola was capable of such a thing, but she couldn't ignore the warning either. She made a mental note to pay closer attention to her girlfriend's actions.

"You never answered my question," Senna stood when Tonks tried to leave the room, "Where have you been? You've been gone all day."

The Auror sighed. She seemed a little more relaxed here, which made sense, we were in her home, after all. "Just Ministry stuff. I can't go into details."

"Can you tell me anything?" She pleaded. "I can't send owls to Viola, I don't know what's going on outside, and I don't know what to do."

Tonks' hazel eyes softened, and she stepped farther into the room. She casually leaned her lean body against the wall. She looked tired, but not as bad as the day before. "What do you want to know?"

"Your boss is now the Minister of Magic?" Senna asked, knowing the answer.

"Yes, why?"

"Congrats on the promotion." Senna added.

"Thank you." Tonks said warily.

"So, he's still having you tail me?"

Tonks did not respond; she just looked at her with guarded eyes. Of course, she couldn't tell her what her orders were. She took this as confirmation.

Senna sighed. "Honestly, what does he expect from me? That I'm going to run off and murder people like Struan? I feel like everything I've been through is enough proof that I'm not in league with him."

"I know." Tonks sighed, too.

"You do?" This surprised her. "Hmmm, here I thought you shared his views on the matter."

"I did," Tonks admitted, her eyes going a shade darker—literally, "At first... I just didn't know how to react to you—being—you know..."

"The spawn of literal evil?" Senna suggested.

The corner of Tonks' mouth curved upwards into an almost grin. Senna saw a flash of the old, happy Tonks, and her heart fluttered.

"Well, yeah." She said. "I was wrong about that. You're just a—girl, I suppose."

"I'd like to think I'm anything but just a girl." She grinned.

"Of course." Tonks struggled to hold back her own grin and failed.

"So if you're stuck babysitting me for god-knows-how-long, what can I do to help? Is there a way to make things easier for you?"

Tonks' grin quickly disappeared, replaced by a look of confusion as she trained her gaze on Senna in front of her. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as if she was trying to decipher something, and she seemed lost in thought for a moment.

Senna watched her face change, wishing she could read her mind. This was not the response she was expecting.

"Um... Did I say something?" She finally asked.

"You've—changed." Tonks said quietly.

"You said that before." She reminded her.

"You've changed, again." She added. Her eyes searched Senna, and she couldn't help but shiver under her probing gaze. "You've never been this—er—agreeable before. Did you have a change of heart?"

She nodded. She knew she had changed. The old Senna would've been rebelling against the Ministry and being watched.

"After dying seven times, you realize that fighting things beyond your control is pointless. So I figured—" But her words trailed off, because Tonks' expression had suddenly changed then, her eyes widened, her mouth dropped open, and her face became pale. It was evident that something had startled her.

"What. Did. You. Say?" Tonks asked in an astonished voice.

Confused by the change of direction, she just stared. After a few seconds, she answered, "Fighting things beyond your control is pointless?" It sounded like a question.

"No!" Tonks walked up to her and grabbed her shoulders, "Before that?"

Senna was too stunned to answer right away. She stood there, frozen in place, trying to process what had caused her to change her demeanor. The sudden touch caught her off guard, and she couldn't focus anymore. Her hands were firm and gentle at the same time, which made her feel both secure and distracted...

"Tonks, why are you freaking out?" Senna asked, looking concerned.

"Tell me what you said before that." She demanded.

"After dying seven times?"

"What do you mean by that?' Tonks had pushed her backward, her eyes boring into her with frightening intensity. Senna's back hit the wall behind her.

She struggled to answer with the onslaught of sensations. Something, deep down inside her, stirred with pleasure. And she had to squash it down.

"What it means?" Senna's head spun, "Just that I've had quite a few near-death experiences, that's all..."

Senna observed the gears turning in her eyes as she processed the information. Senna couldn't help but wonder what conclusions she was drawing.

"Tonks! What is going on?" Senna demanded in return.

But she ignored the question. She leaned over Senna, and she shivered when her breath touched her ear. "You can't tell anyone that, do you understand me?"

"Tell them what?" Senna said breathlessly, still confused. She tried to push away the bubbling arousal that threatened to surface, just like old times.

"About what you just told me. Not. A. Soul."

The sound of a slamming door made Tonks jump. In the doorway stood Severus Snape and Viola Richmond.

Viola's beautiful face was twisted in anger, her green eyes blazing with fury, while Snape seemed to be maintaining a calm and uninterested demeanor.

Senna knew she had been caught in an unfortunate position, with Tonks' hands on her, pushing her against the wall.

"Hands off of my girlfriend, you tramp!" Viola's voice was as sharp as a knife, her hand reached into her pocket and withdrew her wand...