Chapter 22: Poor Tonks
Thanks for reading and reviewing.
Some of your reviews got me to thinking. It's what made the second half of this chapter. Since I don't have an outline, I can do that.
Hphphp
It was two in the morning when Tonks heard a knock on her door. She gradually got up from bed and went to answer it, and she was half delighted and half upset when she saw Remus standing there. "Remus, what are you doing here?" she asked, standing in the doorway, not quite opening. She didn't know if she was going to let him in quite yet.
"Sirius kicked me out," the forlorn looking man stated. He looked like someone kicked his crup. He was road weary and stressed out looking. His clothes were crumpled, and he had a knapsack on his shoulders. He had bags under his eyes, and they were tingeing yellow. It was as if the wolf was wanting to be let out. It was two weeks until the full moon, so that wasn't it. Remus had more control than that.
"What? Why would he do that?" Tonks asked incredulously. She thought that Sirius would never kick Remus out no matter what. The werewolf must have screwed up royally to be out on the streets.
"Because he's being childish," the werewolf stated in a half snarl. He rolled his eyes and snapped a bit. It was as if he was trying to play it off, but his wolf side wouldn't let him.
"Come in and tell me what happened," she said, holding the door open all the way and moving towards the living room. She was still dressed for bed in boy shorts and a long T-shirt. Her feet were bare, and she regretted that on her hardwood floor house. She sat on one of the chairs, tucking her feet under her, not wanting to sit near the obviously angry wolf. He was too close to the edge.
"Well, you know, we went on that raid yesterday and they killed Voldemort and the snake, right?" Remus said, putting his knapsack on the couch and taking a seat next to it. He folded one leg over the other and put his folded hands on his knee. His eyes were roaming the room, and landing on one knickknack or another, but rarely landing on her.
Tonks nodded her head and said, "Yes, we've led the squad that caught the Death Eaters. I had to arrest my Aunt Narcissa." She made a face that was between sad and a grimace.
Remus reached over and patted her hand. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, Tonks," he said, leaning back to his seated position. "I know how you feel about arresting family." She had talked about it enough. She had told him that she would have hated it if she had had to be the one to take Sirius in if he was ever arrested. It was a good thing he was a free man now and she would not have to face that reality.
She shrugged and said, "It's OK. It's something that had to be done. Tell me the rest of your story." She waved a 'go ahead' hand in his direction.
"I didn't want to go on that raid, but Sirius made me do it," he started and growled again.
"Wait, why didn't you want to go on the raid?" she asked, perplexed. That didn't make sense to her. If it were her, she would have been front and center. That was the whole part of being part of the group. To be in the thick of it.
"Because we could have been hurt," he snarled. He never wanted to be part of this group. He just wanted to be friends with Sirius again. He was still part of the Order of the Pheonix. What little there was of it.
"But I thought you wanted to be rid of Voldemort," she said, cocking her head to the side.
"But that's Harry's job," he said with such conviction that she was shocked.
She thought he had gotten over that. She was sure they had all gotten over that. "You wanted a teenage boy to take care of the most feared Dark Lord?" she asked, looking at him skeptically. "A boy with less than five years of schooling?" she pointed out. "How did you expect him to do that?"
"Dumbledore said it's Harry's job," Remus said, still with conviction in his tone. Like it was the end all of the conversation. "He would have figured out a way. He's smarter than anyone gives him credit for."
"We'll talk about that later," she said, knowing a dead Hippogriff when she saw one. "Tell me what else happened," she stated, her lips pursed. She knew she wasn't going to like the rest of this story.
"We went on the raid, that I didn't want to go on, and Sirius killed Nagini and the Dark Lord. And I thought everything was fine until this morning when Sirius kicked me out," Remus simplified. He looked around the room again, and he didn't quite meet her eyes.
"Did he say why he kicked you out?" she demanded, though she tried for a gentle tone.
"He said it was because I told Dumbledore that he was the one that killed You-Know-Who," the werewolf confessed, though he sat tall and convinced he did the correct thing.
"Did you tell Dumbledore about You-Know-Who?" she asked, laying a hand on one of his. She really hoped he hadn't. She knew all about operation silence.
"Well, yes, of course I did. He's the leader of the Light. He had to know," the man persisted.
"Were you asked not to?" she asked, taking her hand back and sighing a resigned sigh.
"That's beside the point. He had to know; he's the leader of the Light," Remus reiterated, like that was going to change her point of view.
"No, the point is, you were asked not to because it was a secret that needed to be kept secret then you should have kept it a secret," she said, making a point of tapping her finger on the table in front of her each time she said secret. She knew she was being a hypocrite. She let Dumbledore in on a few things about the DMLE that she shouldn't have when she was part of the Order. However, she thought they were fighting a war. Now though, she felt this was different. This was going against a friend. She would never do that.
She was against the blackout that Dumbledore had planned for Harry Potter. She had voted against it, but she had been outvoted. She wasn't always 100% with the headmaster on everything he did or suggested. He was just a man, and not a god. But Remus, well he worshiped the man.
"No, no, no, no," the man said, making slashing movements with his hands. He just didn't get why everyone kept saying that. "Dumbledore is the leader of the Light. He needed to know this." He would die on this hill.
"That makes you a bad friend and a horrible comrade. That means you can't be trusted as a man of arms. No one will ever trust you to back them up, except perhaps Dumbledore," she said, getting up and pacing. She could see why Sirius kicked Remus out of his house. The man was brainwashed.
"I didn't want to go on that stupid raid in the first place," Remus said, folding his arms like a petulant child.
Tonks continued to pace. Up one side of her living room and down the other. She didn't even look at the wolf, who was following her with his eyes. "Then why did you go?" she asked, airily. She wasn't paying attention to that. She really was debating as to whether she should be kicking Remus out of her house as well.
"Because Sirius made me," the werewolf stated, still watching her pace. It was like watching an alpha. She just radiated dominance.
"Why did he make you?" she asked, looking at him this time. It might be an important bit of information.
Remus looked down. He knew that he had to tell her the truth. "He said it was to keep me out of trouble so I wouldn't go running off and tell Dumbledore."
"Would you have told Dumbledore?"
"Of course I would, but they were doing was stupid and it could have got them killed."
"Get out of my house," she said suddenly. She pointed towards the door and stood her ground.
"What? Why?" Remus asked, standing and looking confused. He thought for sure that she would let him stay.
"If you can't be trusted to help your friends, I can't trust you to be in my house. Get out of my house," she said, making jerking movements with her hand towards the door.
"But, Tonks, I have nowhere to go," Remus whinged. Why didn't anyone understand that. He had been everywhere today looking for somewhere to stay, but everyone had told him no. This was the last place he could come.
"How is that even close to my problem? You're a big man. You're older than I am by 13 years. Get out of my house," she stated again.
"You're being childish," he tried.
"I hate to break this to you, Remus, but I am 13 years younger than you. Get out of my house," she said, for the last time, this time going to the door and holding it open.
"Fine." He grabbed up his rucksack and stomped out the door.
After Remus left, Tonks broke down and cried over the heartache that she felt from breaking off the last of her feelings for the werewolf. She couldn't believe she ever fell for such a lowly man. He was so… so… despicable. She knew he worshiped Dumbledore, hell she did too, but not to the point that she would turn on her family and friends.
She cried for about an hour and then went back to bed. She went to sleep and dreamed about a day that she would meet a man that would love her for her and not her ability.
Hphphp
"Hey, Moody, have you got a minute?" asked Amelia. It was the next morning, and she was having second thoughts about going in front of the Wizengamot about the muggleborn mafia. Something someone had said sparked this moment. They said that anything the muggleborn did would be scrutinized with a magnifying glass. She thought this might just tip things in the purebloods' favor. Heck it might set the Death Eaters free.
"What can I do for you?" Alastor said as he thumped into her office. He closed the door behind him, thinking she wanted privacy. She rarely called him into her office unless she wanted it just between them. He was only there as a witness, and he was about to go home when she called him. He thought he'd been here long enough. He wasn't helpful. He couldn't question the Death Eaters, and he couldn't write up reports. He just stood around and yelled at the newbies.
"I want to ask your opinion of this muggleborn mafia," she said, pouring him and herself a cup of tea. She had had a fresh pot brought in just before she decided to have this talk. Her secretary had made it up for her before she went back to her desk.
"What about it?" he asked perplexed. He thought she was going to hold off on that for a while. They needed to put the Death Eaters behind bars first.
Amelia took off her eyeglass and put it on her desk. "I'm having second thoughts of taking it in front of the Wizengamot," she said, rubbing the spot her monocle rested. It was red and sore from where she had been frowning. She had a feeling she was about to be yelled at.
"You want to take it in front of the Wizengamot? Are you bloody stupid?" he stated in a loud voice.
"Why do you say that?" she asked with a sigh. She knew he was going to yell at her. She thought she knew the answer, but she wanted his point of view.
"We're in the middle of a blood war," he snapped, like she was an idiot. "If you take this in front of the Wizengamot, they're going to put the muggleborn up in front of a firing squad. They'll ridicule every muggleborn as if they were the next Voldemort. There'll be chaos on the street," he proclaimed in his usual paranoid fashion. He looked at her as if she were a noob.
Amelia put her monocle back on and picked up her tea. She took a sip and put the cup back down. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking too," she said with a sigh.
"You're going to have to do this on the down low, Amelia," Alastor stated, though he was hard-pressed on how she was going to do that.
She picked up a sheath of parchment and brandished it at him. "How am I gonna do that with no budget?" she demanded. It showed that she had no money for her department. There was nothing she could use to do this.
"Assign one person to it," he suggested, taking the sheet and looking it over. There was nothing there. Every knut was accounted for.
"Moody, go to the door and take a look at what I've got to work with," she said, knowing that she had some good men and women, but they were not something that could be used for the type of work he was suggesting.
"I know you don't have the cream of the crop, but you've got to have somebody in here that you can trust to work undercover," he said, rubbing his chin. He was thinking Tonks. She could do it, with a bit of training.
"The only person I've got that can work undercover is Tonks and she is just a rookie, not to mention clumsy as all get-out," Amelia said, thinking along the same lines he was. However, there was still the budget to think about. She'd have to come up with something to justify training her. She could use the war as a justification, but she'd have to word it correctly.
"She's got to earn her stripes somehow," Mad-eye stated with an evil grin. "Throw them in the deep end, I say." That was how they did it in his day. Nowadays they do everything in baby-steps. It was annoying.
"But to send her undercover and an assignment like this? That can't be right," Amelia said, rubbing her forehead. Sometimes talking to Moody was trying. He wanted everything done like they did in the old days, and they just couldn't do that. There were protocols that had to be dealt with and upper ups that needed to be answered to. They couldn't just do what they wanted anymore.
"No, perhaps you're right. Maybe you should wait another couple of years, until then just keep pushing at the edges," Moody suggested, handing her, her parchment back. He picked up his tea and looked at it. He then took out his flask and doctored the tea to his liking and then drank.
"I guess you're right, I'll just keep probing and prodding for now," she said, putting her parchments in order and then putting them away. She would see what she could do with the budget and until then keep the mafia under wraps.
"Yes, if I were you, I'd keep this covert as long as possible. I wouldn't let Fudge get wind of it, at all," he said, putting his empty cup on the desk and pouring himself some tea and doctoring it again. He could use some fortification. It had been a long couple of days. He wasn't getting any younger.
"I'd better call Tonks and Kingsley in here. They know about it too," Amelia said, going to the door. She yelled into the bullpen and the two Aurors headed her way.
With that, the two Aurors came into the office and were told not to talk about the muggleborn mafia. Tonks was very upset that all her investigation was put to rest for the time being, and that she would not be going undercover for a couple of years. Until then, she would be trained as a detective.
They didn't have any undercover detectives in the DMLE. But they did have this special department of workers, the Investigations Department, that she would be trained under, but she would be the first undercover detective. Her being a metamorphmagus made her especially able to do this. She could be anything at any time and could easily escape being someone else.
"Are you sure she can handle it?" asked Amelia after Tonks left the office. Not that she doubted the girl's ability to be anything. She doubted her stealth and acting talent.
"I think you picked the right person," said Kingsley, having stayed behind at Moody's request. Tonks was asked to go and get her report on Umbridge and the mafia. She was also asked to dig up some things from the archives, so she'd be gone a while. "She's got a good head on her shoulders, and she's got her special gift." He was proud of the girl and how far she had come in the Auror department.
"I agree," said Moody, nodding along. "And I'll be the one helping train her." He buffed his fingers like he was special.
"What do you know about undercover work? You can't even do stealth work," said Amelia, smiling at him showing she was kidding. She knew Moody was the best in his line of work. However, he was old and infirmed.
"I know enough," said Moody, glaring at her. He knew he was no longer at the top of his game. He didn't need to be reminded of it.
"Well, I hope you are both are right," said Amelia, wishing for the best. She knew Tonks had a good head on her shoulders, but she was so clumsy. Perhaps that would work in her favor. They might be able to work it into her spying persona.
"We will be. I'm just glad you gave up that stupid thought of putting the muggleborn mafia taskforce in front of the Wizengamot," said Alastor, changing the subject slightly.
"Oh, you're not putting it in front of the governing body?" asked Kingsley, that was news to him. He wondered how they were going to pay for Tonks's training. She was going to need extensive training to go undercover. Then they were going to need a team to back her when she went out. This was going to need funding, equipment and backing. Heck, it would need a whole new department. How was Bones going to pull that off?
"No, we thought it might start off another war, this time the government against muggleborn," said Bones. She had some plans in her mind about going to private people about backing the new department. She thought of a few that might back it. They would be on the Wizengamot, and she knew they would put the idea forward for her and keep her name out of it. She would start with Potter and Black and work her way outwards from there.
"Oh, right, I can see where that would happen," said Kingsley. He could see the calculating look in his boss's eyes and thought he'd leave her to it. He was not good at budgeting or politicking. Well, he was good at politicking if needs must, but he'd leave it to others when he had to.
"What news do you have on Black?" asked Moody, turning to the black man. He wanted to know what was going on with the man who had vanquished the Dark Lord.
"Not much, I'm afraid," said Shacklebolt, rubbing his bald head. "I know he kicked Remus out of the house for telling Dumbledore that You-Know-Who was dead." He too was ticked at the man for that. They had told everyone to keep it on the down low for a reason.
"And well he should have," said Moody gruffly. He never wanted that dog on the team to begin with. "I can't believe that werewolf did that. Scratch that, I knew he was going to do that." He took his flask off his belt and took a swig.
"I can too," said Amelia, shaking her head. "I saw it coming a mile away."
"At any rate, Remus is now on the streets because he refuses to go live in Knockturn Alley and he won't go live in the muggle world," Kingsley said, shaking his head in disgust. He, like many Aurors, knew that the beginning of the dark alley wasn't dark. Many grey creatures lived there, and Remus would fit right in. He had no idea that Sirius had told Remus just that.
"Why doesn't he just go live with Tonks?" asked Moody. He knew the girl had a crush on the man. It was obvious to everyone that had eyes.
"She won't have him," said Kingsley in a lowered voice. Tonks had told him this when she got here this morning. She was so upset that she had ranted for ten minutes. Her hair had cycled from black to red to purple back to black and over again.
"Why? I thought she had the hots for him," said Moody.
"He showed up on her doorstep and when she asked him why he was there, he told her what happened, and she kicked him to the curb. Said he was disloyal to his mates and that was enough for her," Shacklebolt explained, still keeping his voice low.
"I didn't think I'd ever see her get over her crush of him, but I guess I can understand why she did that. She's very loyal to her friends and family," said Amelia. "She almost didn't arrest her Aunt Narcissa yesterday. I had to force her too." It had been an eye opener for her. Tonks had put the cuffs on her aunt, but she had tried to hand her off to someone else.
"Didn't you lot let her go today?" asked Moody. He didn't like that. Narcissa was a sneaky woman. He was sure she was guilty of something.
"She's not a Death Eater. She didn't participate in any of the Death Eater activities. So yeah, we let her go," Bones stated, looking over the arrest sheet. They had questioned the woman thoroughly. She was guilty of nothing.
"Pity," said Moody.
Amelia asked, "Why do you want to see Narcissa arrested so badly?" Moody was always so paranoid over everyone.
"Nothing but bad blood in that family," Moody grumbled, taking another swig of his flask. He was so glad he wasn't working anymore. He could drink all he wanted.
"So, you don't trust Sirius either?" asked Kingsley with a chuckle. He knew Alastor liked Sirius.
"Black is all right, he's earned my trust, but Narcissa certainly has not. Besides, she's married to a Death Eater," Mad-eye stated, taking another swig. There wasn't another Black he liked besides Sirius. The rest were corrupt and bad. They were Death Eaters, the lot of them.
"Well, there is that, and she did let the Dark Lord stay in her house," Kingsley said, looking at Moody with laughter in his eyes. He was playing on the man's paranoia.
"I don't think she had much of a choice, gentlemen," said Amelia, feeling sorry for the woman. She wasn't guilty of anything but bad taste in men. Lucius was a sorry excuse of a man, and a lousy criminal. But that didn't reflect on the wife.
"At any rate, we're not getting anything done by sitting here yammerin'. We've got Death Eaters to question," said Moody, putting his flask away and stomping out of the room. "Well, you lot do. I'm going home." He was too. He was old and tired. He had drunk too much firewhiskey as well. He was going home and taking a nap.
"Yeah, we better get back to that," said Amelia, putting all her files away and following Moody, Kingsley right behind her. Tonks soon caught up with them, handed the files she was sent to get to Amelia, and then took part in the questioning.
It was a long day for all of them, except Moody. He slept.