Budleigh Babberton - Tonk's POV

Tonks's chest tightened as the fighting raged on around her, the chaos and screams filling her ears. She moved like a whirlwind through the battlefield, her hair flashing from vivid pink to a dark, solemn black as she Stunned, Shielded, and defended, trying to protect as many of her comrades as she could.
It was carnage. The once peaceful Muggle village of Budleigh Babberton was now a war zone—a twisted theatre of horror where Muggle-born children were being used as pawns, their bodies jerking and twitching under the Imperius Curse. She felt a chill run down her spine as she realized what was happening—the Death Eaters had brought them here to die.
A flash of red light whizzed past her head, narrowly missing her as she ducked and rolled, her wand snapping out in response.
"Stupefy!" she cried, knocking a fourth-year Hufflepuff girl to the ground. The girl's face was slack and empty, her eyes wide and unseeing as she slumped, unconscious, in the dirt.
But there were too many. Dozens of Muggleborns were stumbling forward, their wands raised, firing curses at the Aurors and Order members with erratic, desperate precision. It was like fighting shadows—every time she tried to incapacitate one, another took their place, their faces blank and lifeless.
Then Tonks noticed something strange, something that made her blood turn to ice in her veins.
The children—the Muggle-born students—were no longer attacking.
They were…walking.
"Tonks!" Lupin's voice rang out across the square, urgent and filled with panic. "Look! Look at them!"
She spun, her heart pounding in her chest as she followed his gaze.
The students were moving, not toward the Order, but away—toward the edge of the cliffs that overlooked the village. One by one, they marched forward, their movements jerky and stiff, their eyes still blank and unseeing. There was no hesitation, no fear.
Just the cold, empty obedience of the Imperius Curse.
"No—no, no, no," Tonks whispered, her voice catching as she watched the first student reach the edge, a small, dark-haired boy who couldn't have been older than twelve. He stepped forward, his gaze vacant, and then, without a sound, he flung himself off the cliff.
"NO!" Tonks screamed, stumbling forward, but it was too late. The boy was gone, swallowed by the darkness below.
And then another stepped forward. And another.
"No, stop!" she cried, her voice breaking as she threw out her wand, desperately trying to cast anything—Petrificus Totalus, Incarcerous, Stupefy—but nothing worked. The curses hit them, only for the Death Eaters controlling them to force their bodies forward, step by step, until they reached the edge.
Tonks felt her knees go weak, her vision blurring with hot, helpless tears as she watched the children—children she had seen in Hogwarts, in the hallways and classrooms, laughing and smiling and living—walk off the cliffs, one by one, their bodies vanishing into the darkness below.
"Stop it," she sobbed, her voice breaking as she turned, her gaze locking on Rodolphus Lestrange, who stood at the back of the battlefield, his smile wide and cruel. "Stop it, you—"
But he only laughed, his eyes gleaming with sadistic pleasure.
"Why?" he called out mockingly. "Why should I stop? This is what they deserve, isn't it? The weak, the impure—this is what happens when Mudbloods think they're equal."
"YOU BASTARD!" Tonks screamed, her wand trembling in her hand, but before she could do anything, a shout rang out beside her.
"Lily!" Lupin cried, his voice desperate and raw.
Tonks turned, her heart dropping as she saw Lupin stumbling forward, his eyes wide and frantic, his wand forgotten in his hand. He was staring past her, his gaze locked on something only he could see.
"Lily—James—Sirius!" he gasped, his voice choked with longing and disbelief. "Wait—wait, don't go, please—"
"Remus, no!" Tonks shouted, reaching out to grab him, but he was already moving, his expression wild and desperate as he staggered toward the edge of the cliffs.
"Please, don't leave me!" he cried, his voice breaking as he ran faster, his eyes bright with tears. "Lily—Sirius, please—"
But there was no one there.
It was an illusion. A cruel, twisted spell meant to taunt him, to break him.
"REMUS, STOP!" Tonks screamed, her voice cracking as she stumbled after him, but she couldn't reach him. He was too fast, too far, his eyes locked on something she couldn't see, something that wasn't real.
"Remus, please—"
But he didn't hear her. He didn't see her.
And then, with a final, desperate lunge, he reached the edge of the cliffs—and vanished.
"NO!" Tonks screamed, her voice shattering as she dropped to her knees, her body trembling with shock and grief. "No, no, no—Remus, please—"
But there was no answer.
There was only darkness below.
A high, cold laugh rang out across the battlefield, and Tonks looked up, her vision blurring with rage and tears as she saw Rodolphus Lestrange standing at the edge, his wand still raised, his expression one of gleeful triumph.
"Such a waste," he murmured, his voice mocking as he looked down at her. "So much pain—for nothing."
Tonks's breath hitched, her hand shaking as she raised her wand, her vision narrowing to a tunnel of red-hot fury. She wanted to kill him. She wanted to tear him apart, to make him pay for what he had done to Remus, to those children—
But then Kingsley's voice boomed out behind her, sharp and commanding.
"Fall back!" he roared, his voice cutting through the chaos. "All units—fall back! We can't—"
"No!" Tonks screamed, her voice raw and desperate. "We can't just leave them! We can't—"
But Kingsley was already pulling her back, his grip iron-tight on her arm as he hauled her to her feet.
"We have to go," he said fiercely, his gaze hard and unyielding. "We can't win this—we need to fall back, now."
"No," Tonks whispered, shaking her head frantically as she looked back at the edge of the cliffs, her heart breaking. "No, I can't—I can't just leave him, I—"
But it was too late.
The Order was already retreating, the Aurors and DA members stumbling back through the smoke and darkness, their faces pale and hollow with shock. The Death Eaters were closing in, laughing and jeering as they drove the Imperiused children forward, forcing the few who remained to fight against their own.
"GO!" Kingsley shouted, his voice thunderous as he pushed her back, his wand snapping out to deflect a barrage of curses. "We have to cut our losses—get to Muriel's!"
Tonks choked on a sob, her vision blurring as she stumbled backward, her body numb and shaking. She couldn't think, couldn't breathe.
All she could see was Remus—Remus falling, disappearing into the darkness.
And there was nothing she could do to stop it.