Chapter 60 – Did Someone Say... Undercover?
GN
Three months had passed since we arrived at the house. We had changed some of the decorations and furniture to our own liking and our own trinkets and souvenirs. We went by the burrow every two weeks for a short update. But the house was still being watched, just like Bill's. Our home has an anti-apparition on it, only Ced and I could get past it. Due to the disappearance of the trio, the fall of the ministry, the order had been quiet for a while. We didn't get many assignments. Cedric had been a look out for a few times, if it was with Remus or with Fleur. I had been tracking movements of some death eaters, all paperwork and it was bloody boring.
"You got to be kidding me!" I grumbled and slammed my hands on the table as I stood up. All eyes turned to me. Cedric and I had suggested to hold the meeting at our house since it had not been discovered by those black hooded suckers. "You have not one!" I pointed at Tonks. "But two metamorphmagus. That means two people who don't need to Polyjuice themselves, and by those means can't be detected."
"No! Tonks is pregnant." Remus rose from his own chair.
"So?" Tonks challenged to my delight. "I'm not a porcelain doll, Remus." Hm, were have I heard that? I glanced to George, who tried and failed to hide his smirk. My own lips twitched before I looked back to Remus with a blank face.
"We can just sneak in, gather some information, and head back out." I glanced at Tonks stomach. "And if Tonks can't hide her bump, I'll go in alone." Tonks looked horrified by the idea of me going in alone, and she was obviously not the only one.
"Hell no!" The twins and Cedric shouted.
"You all have been too overprotected since this." I lifted up my shirt to reveal the rather large scar. The edges were in a faded black colour, and a few gasps escaped. "But I'm perfectly healthy." I let my shirt fall back down. In the corner of my eye, I saw the twins pale at the sight of it, and a part of me felt guilty for reminding them of that night. "I've been suck on paperwork since then, and if I don't get outside this house, I'll go fucking mental."
"Well..." Kingsley said slowly as he pushed himself up from his seat. "I think we better give her something to do." He mused, and no one interrupted, perks of being the unofficial leader of the group. Kingsley turned to Tonks. "What do you think?"
"It's feasible." She said thoughtfully. "Maybe a notice-me-not charm if it can't go away completely." She said as she patted her belly softly.
"I have two death eaters." Kingsley started and pushed two photos towards us in a binder. "That were killed yesterday evening. I even have their wands. They aren't missing yet because they were on a rather gruesome assignment." No one dared to ask what that inquired. "But they have to report back at the Malfoy manor in the morning." I picked up the photos and Tonks walked over, and her eyes scanned the photos like mine did.
"You better take this one." A little smile lifted up as I pointed at the heavy-set man with thick bushy eyebrows. Tonks couldn't help but laugh. "What?" I grinned. "It would explain the belly."
"You are not seriously letting a pregnant woman and a kid go into the belly of the beast!" Remus growled at Kingsley, but he didn't seem affected.
"I'm not a kid, Remus. Harry, Hermione and Ron are doing Merlin knows what! And they are barely of age."
"I couldn't stop them." He glared at me, but I just glared back. The rest of the room was quiet, eyes shifted between me and Remus. Cedric had his hand on the back of my leg.
"You. Can't. Stop. Me."
"Why don't you two try to change into them first?" Arthur offered, and he received a full glare from his wife. But he just looked at us.
"So, you get mister big bear. I'll go with mouse face." I gave Tonks the photo and we both stepped back. While Tonks height stayed about the same, her hair went pitch black and short, a large moustache on her upper lip. Her pregnant belly didn't get smaller, but even larger and wider. Me on the other hand, I grew a head taller, my hair turned into a messy dirty blonde coupe, my nose turning in the mouse-faced death eater. After a few second Tonks and I inspected each other and switched photos.
"He has a mole." I pointed to her neck, and it appeared in less than a second.
"Your fingers need to be bonier." Tonks pointed out, and I changed my fingers until they looked like long thin sticks. We did that for another few minutes before we turned to the others. And although most of them had seen us change in the past, no one except the twins and Cedric had seen me turn completely. So, their shocked and slightly amused faces were quite the sight.
"So, how do we look?" I asked, twirling around.
"Seeing a death eater twirl around in front of me is going to give me nightmares." Fred chuckled and shot me a wink when I stuck out my tongue.
"Well, if that isn't disturbing, I don't know what is." Bill's emotions shifted until they landed on something unreadable.
"Isn't you-know-who a legilimens?" George asked, his eyes shifted from me to Kingsley and Remus.
"Perks of a metamorphmagus." Tonks said happily. Her own voice coming from such a broad short man was almost hilarious, if you didn't think about the task at hand. "Don't know how, there isn't much research on it, but we can close of our minds with ease."
"I wish I didn't have to ask, but... What was their assignment?" I asked looking at Kingsley.
"It's... it's in the folder." He said, sounding like he didn't want us to face it. "Why don't you two take a seat in the kitchen and go over everything."
GN
Tonks and I made our way to the kitchen, our faces and bodies turning back with each step. I just placed the folder on the island when Remus started yelling. The next moment it was silent, only the small humming of the Muffliato spell was heard. Tonks put on our own privacy charms before looking to me.
"Tonks..."
"No." She shook her head. "It's my decision, I'm coming."
"Okay, let's get this over with then." I flipped through the folder. My breath got caught in my throat as I read what they were doing. I knew without looking at Tonks when she found out too, the ever so moving witch was sitting like a statue next to me. I pushed the folder away from me, feeling sick all of the sudden. "I-I" I breathed heavily. "I want to kill them all."
"They are sick." Tonks threw her folder at the wall, looking green.
"Hey." I turned to her and held her hands. "We can do this, it's just for a few hours." I offered her a little smile. "How's the little bugger?"
"Active." She chuckled, her normal colour coming back. "Want to feel?" She didn't wait for an answer as she guided my hand to her stomach. "Just wait a second-"
Then I felt a sharp punch or kick against the palm of my hand. "Wow." I breathed. "That's amazing."
"I think it's a boy."
"Yeah? Thought of a name yet?" I asked as my hand moved above her stomach again from a strong kick.
"Not yet. I think Remus is still coming to terms with having a baby."
"Oh, he'll be a great dad. And you'll be a brilliant mum." I squeezed the other hand that I still held.
"I hope so."
I leaned down until my face was only inches away from her stomach. "You're a lucky kid, little bugger. You have two amazing parents that can't wait to meet you. And if you are anything like them, you'll probably be in the headmaster of headmistress's office on a weekly basis."
"Oi." Tonks laughed as she punched my shoulder. I chuckled as I leaned back against my chair, my hand rested on the scar. "Is it still bothering you?"
"No." I gave a little shake of my head. "A little." I admitted. "Most of the time, I don't feel anything, just an itch or a pull. But sometimes it feels like someone stabbed me, it only lasts for a few minutes before it ebbs away." I looked at her with pleading eyes. "Don't tell anyone. They all worry too much already."
"I won't tell. Does Cedric know?"
"Partially. He knows it still hurts sometimes, but I may have lied about the intensity."
"Do you think something is wrong?"
"Fleur does a check every two weeks, all seems fine."
"But what do you think?"
I sighed and leaned forward, my elbows on my legs as I buried my head in my hands. "I think... I'm afraid I can't have it." I looked up and saw her confused face. "I can't have this." I graced her still growing belly. "The curse hit my appendix, but the damage was everywhere. We still don't know what exact curse they used, so we don't know what it will be long term or what it already did to me."
"Have you let your uterus and all that checked by a healer?" I shook my head. "When we're back from the assignment, we'll go undercover to St. Mungo's and let you get checked out, alright." Her thumb rubbed the back of my hand softly.
"You would do that for me?"
"Of course, I would." She said without a doubt. I reached for her and hugged her tight, her belly prominent between us.
GN
The next day, even before the sun was awake, Tonks and Remus arrived at our house with Kingsley. Remus still frowned at the idea. When Tonks and I walked back in the dining room, the atmosphere was to say the least... chilly. And I knew Remus was going to try to talk Tonks out of it. Which I understood, but I also knew there wasn't any way she would let me go in there alone.
"Morning." I kissed Tonks' cheek and went over smiling at Remus and Kingsley.
"Ready to infiltrate the devil's house?" Tonks asked in a chipper way.
"Yeah." I shook my head slightly with a smile. In the corner of my eye, I saw Cedric frown as he leaned against the piano. Just like Remus, but a little more restrained, didn't like the prospect of me going into Malfoy manor, where there is a large change, Voldemort himself would be. But I finally convinced him and had to promise him to wear the necklace no matter what. I did promise, but as I looked to Tonks who was taking out the death eaters' clothes, her belly clearly visible in her tight sweater, I knew I had to break that promise. Tonks and I changed clothes, which were too big in our own form and sat down at the dining table.
"This is an operation of a few hours, so we want an update at midnoon, or tonight at the latest. There is no way you either of you will stay the night, is that understood?" Kingsley's voice stern as he glanced between Tonks and me. We nodded as we took the death eaters wand from the table. "Try them out. Fleur suggested taking your own wands and disguising them as those two, but we don't know what kind of security measures they're taking."
"Right." I murmured as I twirled the unfamiliar, thin black wand between my fingers. It wasn't something showy or fancy, it was rather bland. I swished it above my head and tiny death flowers flowed down. "A little less and smaller than I wanted but it does the trick." I looked to the others who had their eyebrows raised. "What?"
"Death flowers?"
I shrugged as I vanished them. "Thought I would get into character." I smiled and turned to Tonks. She pointed her wand to the fireplace and let the fire roar for a few seconds before placing the wand down.
"Alright, now that's taken care off, let's go over the plan." Kingsley said as he leaned forward.