Harry Potter is not mine. This is a story from a fan
When you're done, You're DONE.
Ch 2 Tonks 2.
Tonks went back to her desk at the Auror headquarters. With some hesitation, she looked at the large pile of documents, in front of her on the desk and wondered where to start. She took the first folder but her mind wasn't in it. The only thing, she thought about was the job she had to do tomorrow morning. On the edge of her desk, she had a little home-cooked dinner. It only needed a warming charm and she could eat. But she didn't have the appetite to eat it. Her mind was again all over the place like it had been doing almost all day.
"TONKS, get into my office now" Amelia screamed from her doorway.
Tonks shot to her feet and wondered what she had done wrong. She could not think about anything but when Amelia Bones called you like that then it wasn't anything good.
#*
Like every night Amelia walked through the office and looked at the people she had working under her. Some had already been working there for several years and were stuck in their ways of doing things like they had always done them. Some were young and eager to learn. One of them had been Tonks. With her Metamorphmagus ability, she was a real asset to the team. The only trouble was that she was unsure of herself. Because of her ability, she tended to be a little clumsy. It was something that went along with being a Metamorphmagus. Amelia could see a lot of potential in her and also a lot of herself. She was young and willing to do more than was asked. It was one of the things she would do herself and, it was also the one thing she loved to see in other people. It would not only be with the job itself but also with the things that came after it. The last time something happened she saw Tonks talking to a woman who had been abused. Her male Aurors would get the statement and leave it at that. Not Tonks, Tonks, went on to give the woman a shoulder and an ear to listen. When she had learned that, Tonks had been in Hufflepuff she knew Tonks was the right person for the job. Maybe even the one who could rule this place after she would stop.
She just didn't have the confidence in herself. That little thing to give that little bit extra that was buried, somewhere deep inside of her. The one thing Tonks, didn't know was that Amelia and her mother had been good friends during their Hogwarts years. So when Tonks, had asked for a job. Amelia had called up her old friend to get the information about her daughter. Because of the war, the friendship had flowed away but now they were getting it back. Tonks had opened that door again and she had walked through it. By the sound of it, Tonks was rushing to her office. "TONKS SLOW DOWN" Amelia screamed.
"Yes, sir" She heard back. Normally Amelia would be mad when someone called her sir, but when it came from Tonks, well, that, she could handle. Somehow she knew Tonks was destined for bigger things. She did not yet know what they would be.
While Tonks walked in Amelia pointed her at the chair before her desk. She could see that Tonks was nervous and almost shaking in fear. "Calm down Tonks, you are not in any trouble," she told her. Amelia almost laughed as she heard the deep sigh Tonks gave after her words.
"Tonks, you know I have been around a long time and have been through a couple of things. I could see by that look in your eyes that you are troubled about something. So what can you tell me". Tonks looked at the ground and started to play with her fingers. Amelia didn't wait and went on. "Lesson one that I learned a long time ago from Mad-EYE was to share your thoughts. If you can't say who or what it is about. Then you can make a story about it. People around you can help in a lot of ways. They can listen to you when you share your thoughts and they can have an open mind to think with you. If you can't tell the truth then tell another story, similar to the thoughts you have until you can tell what it is". Tonks kept her lips closed and Amelia just kept on watching her. In her eyes, she could see she was thinking, and there she went.
"What if you know something and that something just doesn't sound right".
Amelia blinked after the words. "Alright, you know something but that something does not sound right to you. What do you do about it? Do you say something, knowing you might be wrong? Do you keep your mouth shut, knowing it might become more trouble later on if you do"?
The jaw of Tonks dropped almost to the floor. "How... how do you know... about that. How do you know I was thinking that".
"Tonks, I have been there and I have done that. Your look and the thing you said told me enough. You know something and it is troubling you. It is that feeling you get in your gut. It is screaming that something is wrong. Did you ever think about a third option".
"There is a third option".
Amalia laughed after those words. "What you are feeling is your Auror instinct. You have done the training and now you are getting the true training while you are in the field and on the job. While you are on the job you will learn to listen to people and learn to listen between the lines. You are hearing one thing but they are telling you another. Your mind is starting to hear things that do not sound right. You are listening between the lines or the words. So you heard something that sounded wrong, am I right". Tonks nodded slowly. "Now the third option you have is to investigate". While the eyes of Tonks became bigger, as Amelia went on. "It is the job that is making you listen and think. It is a good sign and you have to do what you think is right. If something sounds wrong you look for the answer. If you are not sure, you look for another answer that sounds better, not forgetting the first one. It is our job to make sure we have the right answer before we get them. even two separate answers could create one real one. But that is something you only learn by experience".
"What if your instinct is right and you get an answer that will affect and hurt more than one person" Thonks whispered.
Amelia looked at the magical window on the wall and got to her feet. She walked over to the window and looked outside. She was about sixty feet underground but the magical window gave her a look over the shoreside. "Sometimes, our feelings are telling us something we do not like. But if it is against the law we have to take care of it. I once took down another Auror. He had committed a murder while he was on the job. It wasn't self-defense but he tried to make it look that way. When he told us I got that feeling he was lying and Mad-Eye told me to go after that feeling. He also told me to keep it quiet until I knew for sure that my feeling was right. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do".
Amelia turned around and saw that her story made Tonks think. Slowly she placed a hand on her shoulder. "When I got him I hated myself for taking down an Auror just like I was, but I also knew that I was right when I did it. It turned out he had killed about seven women from the nightlife of Knock turn-Alley. It was hard for me to do it, but in the end, it was the right thing. Some hated me for doing it but I also know I might not have saved a lot of other girls if I would have let him go on".
"So I have to investigate and see what I can find out".
"Yes, you do. But like I did that time I asked Mad-Eye everything I wanted to know".
"Did you tell him what you thought that was happening or what you thought was happening?" Tonks asked her.
"Never, I always asked the things in a question for a friend. I'm sure Mad-Eye knew what I was talking about but by not asking him straight away, He could always say he was just teaching me about being an Auror. He also told me that if it was big or very bad. Only then should I come clear to him when I was stuck or when I knew it was true. I told him and he took me to arrest him. It was the day I became a real Auror, at least that was what he told me that day".
"So you used him as a soundboard to get your mind straight".
"Yes I did and I'm telling you to use me like I did him".
"Thank you, mam," Tonks said as she saluted her and left the office smiling.
Amelia watched her go and sat back down. Now to get Kingsley and Mad-Eye into her office to tell them about the restart of the Order. She was sure Tonks was a part of it but it would only help her to grow as a Auror. No, what she wanted from them was to keep an eye on her. She also wondered why Tonks had the feelings she had. She only hoped that she would come to her when she needed it.
#*
Around nine-thirty in the morning, Tonks appeared on the corner of a street. "Where are we".
"We are at 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging. this is the living address of Harry Potter" Mad-Eye told her.
She followed him and listened to the things he told her. He told her she had to follow Harry around the neighborhood because he liked to wander around. When he pointed at a room in the house she swallowed. It was on the top floor, where, she saw one room with bars on the window. "Why the hell are there bars on his window and why aren't any other windows bard up".
Mad-Eye shrugged his shoulder. "It might be a bad neighborhood. Or who knows, maybe Albus told them to do it to protect the boy".
"Yeah, sure. Let us put up some muggle bars that will keep the wizards away. One simple blasting hex and poof bye-bye bars. Be real Mad-Eye those are a bad sign" Tonks told him while she pointed at the window.
"Let it be Tonks. You only have to follow the boy. That is all Albus wants you to do and that is all you have to do. Don't go looking for things that aren't there". Mad-Eye looked over at the window and Tonks saw his rolling eye focus a little bit better.
"What did you see".
"Nothing much. He is dreaming and he is doing it a lot. I think he is having nightmares or something. I don't know what about but it will be okay, he is young and will deal with it". His magical eye kept looking at the window while his good eye focused on her. "You're up, he is awake and will be heading out very fast. He never eats much and just wanders around". With a pop, he disappeared and Tonks was left alone.
Before she could curse she had to rush behind a little wall when the door was opened. With her ability, she changed into a middle-aged woman and placed a disillusionment charm on herself. It was her time to do her job and she started to follow him. He kept on wiggling his right hand in his pocket. It told her he was rubbing his wand, making sure it was there. Her thought told her he was about fifteen and it could be his other wand he was rubbing. But if had been through what they said he went through, then that is the last thing he would be thinking about right now. If she had seen Voldemort, she too would have kept a hold of her wand just to be save. If the story was right he not only saw him, he fought him to a standstill.
While she followed him the whole day, a lot was becoming clear in her mind. He was looking over his shoulder almost every ten seconds. he had been looking in her direction. Sometimes she was almost sure he saw her. When she saw his eyes she could see the fear in them. That boy had seen something. Now she still, wasn't sure if it had been Voldemort because she had a hard time believing it herself. But he had seen something that had put the fear in him, that was the one clear thing.
When it started to rain, he rushed into a tunnel and waited with his back against the wall. He went all the way to the middle. While he had a clear look on both sides he also had enough time to get away. He stood right in the middle in the darkest part where he, was almost invisible in the shadow. Around four he went back to the house, where she, was replaced by Remus. She did like the guy but him being a werewolf was a bit of a downside.
#*
Amelia was in her office when she saw Mad-Eye walking around the floor. "Alastor, what are you doing here? Aren't you retired?" Amelia called out. Mad-Eye didn't turn around but she knew he was looking at her with that eye of his. So she lifted her wand and pointed it at his back.
"Now, Less, you know I do not have any bad intentions," he said still not turning around to look at her.
"You get in here and you close that door behind you. Then you sit your ass down in front of me, while you and I have a little talk" She told him in a clear voice. Amelia waited for him to walk into the office and watched as he sat down in front of her. "So, why are you here and why, were you looking at the desk of Tonks? Or were you looking into her desk".
"Lass".
"No, Lass now Alastor. I don't know why you are doing it. but I know that you were. I'm now giving the same lessons to Tonks I got from you back in my rookie days. You have put her to the first training with all the cadets. You have been the one to tell me to take her under my wing. I did and I'm letting her walk the walk you made me do, while I keep my eye on her. Now you know something, something you are going to tell me now, or I will keep you for a couple of nights until you do".
"Less, You know you can't hold me because you think I know something".
"Cut the bullshit Mad-EYE" Amelia screamed, "Albus has restarted his little bird group back up. You have been a member the first time around and I'm sure you are back with him now. I also know that you have been asking Aurors to join the group. Now I already know Kingsley has joined and I think you also asked Tonks to join, her ability to change is a very good ability to have. So you already got Tonks to join or you were here to get her to join".
Amelia almost smirked as his magical eye stopped turning and was looking right at her. "How did you know Albus has" Alastor stopped talking as he took a closer look at her. "You didn't know".
This time Amelia smirked and laughed a little. She stood and went to her cabinet where she got two glasses and poured them full of fire whiskey. "No, I did not. I did have a thought about it and you just confirmed it. So you got Kingsley and Tonks to join the group. Tonks heard something that wasn't right in her mind and you are trying to stop her".
"How do you know I was" and Alastor looked at her. "I taught you too well".
"That you did, that you did" and Amelia raised her glass to him, right after it the eyes of Amelia turned hard, "You have taught me to look, learn, and listen. I have been teaching Tonks the same thing. You helped me to put the pieces together when I took Alder Down. You were the one to tell me that it did not matter who you were, if you were breaking the law you have to go down. The bells of Tonks are ringing and I'm helping her to get all of the pieces. When she is ready she will be putting them together. Now the solved puzzle might be one of guild or innocent. So I do not know what Tonks is thinking because I told her to keep it to herself until she can tell me. Just like you told me".
"But Amelia she might get someone we" but that was as far as Mad-Eye could get.
"I do not care who he or she is, if it is the minister so be it. If the person broke the law they have to go down. You are not to stand in her way. You will let her do her job or I will go down to the Order and tell them myself. You do know that I have been friends with Minerva for a long time so I already know that you are back with them and that Sirius is also there. I have already looked it all up. So don't give me any Pixy shit because I will bring you down with it, just like you taught me. Now, get out".
#*
Tonks walked back into the office and took one of the files she still had to do. They were all petty things and it was fast work. Normally it would have been but her mind kept on wandering off. Harry had been a boy who had made a clear impression on her. One she just didn't understand. In one way he looked like a kid who wanted to play in the playground. In another way, he looked like a kid who was in the middle of a war being in danger twenty-four-seven. But also a kid that was looking to make a run for it. Then there was the last part of him. It was the part that reminded her of Mad-Eye. When he had trained her they saw a veteran of war with a paranoid mind. It was that what she also saw in the boy, a kid no, he was a man.
She took the next file and her mind started to wonder again. She had been following Harry all day. He had been a kid who knew exactly what to do and how to keep a lookout for anything. He always stood in the right places and on the right spots to have a good look around. When he was sent away he went to the next spot, doing the same all over again. He was always ready to fight, and if she had spoken up she was sure that he would have blasted her before she could have said a thing.
When she wanted to take another file her mind went over the story that was told in the hallways around the ministry. Some were saying he had seen and battled the Dark Lord. Others were saying that he just told the story to get more attention. The first story she found hard to believe. If the stories were true Albus Dumbledore would have a hard time fighting Voldemort. Yet Harry had done it after the day he had in that blasted tournament.
The other one she didn't believe at all. If he were this boy who wanted attention he would have been to the papers and hanging around Diagon Alley all day long just to be seen. If he had shown up there, people would have been hanging around him and Girls would have been hanging onto his arms. Everything she had seen of him was not of a person who wanted attention.
"A Knut for your thoughts".
Tonks jumped a foot in the air and all of her files tumbled to the ground. "Boss". she screamed as she rushed after her files. With one hand she was picking them up trying to salute with the other. Amelia laughed but said nothing. She hated when her Aurors saluted her, but Tonks was something special. From her, she could handle it.
Amelia pulled up a chair, turned it around with the back towards Tonks, and sat on it with her legs on either side. "Why don't you give those files to Robarts. Tell him you have a special assignment from me. But also that you will need, all of your free time to do it".
"Mam, I can't do that. It is not a case only a feeling".
"Tonks this is the second day you are wrapped up in your mind. I was the same way and sometimes you need your mind focused on one thing. Not on several things at the same time, that would be too distracting".
"Mam, it could still be all wrong. I might see things that are not what they are".
Amelia gave her a small smile. "When I had that feeling I was the same way. I was doubting myself on every corner. That you are doing that tells me you are looking at it clearly. But also that something isn't right. Now like I said before. If you investigate you get more answers or questions. The more answers you get".
"The more questions I'm getting to".
Amelia smiled again and patted her hand. "It means you are on the right track. When you get the answers the job is done and the rest will be history. If not you have found nothing wrong. But as long as your feeling is telling you it ain't right. you will go on digging until you do".
Amelia got back to her feet and walked towards her office. "Mam" Tonks called after her, making Amelia turn back around. "Why are you doing this. Why are you giving me this freedom without knowing what I think about".
Amelia walked back and sat down again. "This will be between me and you. I was not planning on doing this but something happened today". Before, Tonks could ask what, Amelia held up her hand. "Mad-Eye came by today looking at your desk. With his magical eye, he could look into it. So he had been looking for something, telling me you are on to something. He told me that you were wrong and not thinking clearly. Now I know he is with the Order". As the eyes of Tonks turned to twice their size Amelia smirked. "I have been doing this longer than you have. I saw from the corner of my eye that Kingsley was looking at me strangely when Alastor had asked him. Now he has gotten a couple of days to think about it. His eyes were looking all over the place so I knew he was hiding something. Before Albus had told him he could not say a thing I had him in my office telling me what Mad-Eye had asked him. So I knew the Order had been restarted".
"You knew about the order the first time".
"Yes, It did well that time around. I was working with Lilly Potter at the time. She did not ask me to join because she informed me of what they were doing and I told her about what our side was doing. So, the moment, Kingsley told me the order was restarted I knew Albus believed Harry Potter. The only question is, is he telling the truth or does he believe he is telling the truth".
"Do you believe Harry Potter only thinks he had been fighting him".
"I have heard stranger things. Trauma could do a lot to keep the mind from the real thing. It will tell us why Fudge is targeting him to be the bad guy. Despicable because he is just a boy. But there is nothing I can do about it without losing my job. So your feeling is telling you something is bad around the order".
Tonks nodded slowly, "Well, something doesn't sound right. I'm not sure I can tell you just jet".
"Then don't, but go on with what you can".
"Well, if you know that someone has seen a Murder, what would you do with that person" Tonks asked as she looked into the eyes of Amelia.
Amelia had done it a lot longer than Tonks. She already looked at the papers Tonks had not yet looked at. She already had asked the question, Tonks, still had to think about. She did not have the answers Tonks needed or as completely as Tonks could get them. But what she got told her enough.
Flashback.
"Susan. I'm home" Amelia called out as she walked into Bones manor. She hung up her coat and thought back at Tonks. She loved the way Tonks was working on a private case. She also knew The order had started back up and that Kinsley was a part of it. So If Albus restarted the Order Potter was the reason.
"Aunty, why are you so early" Susan asked as she hugged her aunt around the waist.
"Can't an old woman be home early to spend time with her niece". Susan placed her hands at her side and looked at her aunt. "Alright, Alright. I'm here to have an early dinner with you and some information about a young Gryffindor".
"You don't believe Harry has seen Voldemort like the Headmaster said," Susan asked her.
"The headmaster told you that".
Susan just nodded "Also, that it was him that killed Cedric and not Harry".
End Flashback.
"It depends on who it was that has seen the murder. If it was one of you I would first talk to you myself. After that, I would decide if you would need a mind healer. If it was someone else I would get a mind healer right away". Amelia knew Tonks was talking and thinking about Harry Potter, so this was an easy answer.
Tonks didn't respond while her lips were moving silently. Amelia knew she didn't make a sound but she could read her lips. When she read Albus on the lips the thought about Mad-eye clicked in her mind. He wanted to stop Tonks because she had a feeling about Albus. "Tonks, I almost want to ask what you are thinking but you can't tell me because you aren't done. If my mind is going the same way as yours then I do not like what I'm thinking. So I want you to take a vacation and go on the investigation. You go do, what the Order wants you to do, and find out what you want to know. I will be contacting you every other day. We will be speaking somewhere privately about your findings".
Tonks looked at her boss. She knew she had a secret assignment. Not that she liked it, but it had to be done. Her left hand went up. She wanted to salute but thought differently about it a second later. "Mam, this could go bad, can it".
Amelia placed her hand on the hand of Tonks for a second time. "Yes, I think it can. Now I do not know what it will tell you but It could go a lot of ways. Now You do not have to do it. I will give you that choice right now. If you do I will be doing it with you".
"Mam, I will do it, I think it will help us by getting the truth and maybe we can help somebody".
Amelia smiled and pointed at the door. "You get out of here right now. Get to Albus and tell him you are on vacation. I'm sure he will make more use of you. I will contact you through your mother, Now go". Tonks left and Amelia knew she would get everything she could get. If she was only half the person she was when she was a young Auror then Tonks would go all the way. Somehow she knew she would be doing even more.
#*
Sirius was sitting at the table in the kitchen of Grimmauld-place. He had the Lords-book in front of him while Remus was reading the Wizengamot laws. "It says here that the Lord can ask for a trial if the member of his family didn't have one," Sirius told Remus.
"Yes, but the law says that only the Lord can ask for it. But the Lord has to do it in person by the head of the DMLE. It will mean you first have to go to Gringotts and become the Lord Black. Go to the ministry. Walk all over the floors and ask for a meeting with the head of the DMLE. I do not see that happening without you being arrested" Remus told him right after it.
Sirius looked down sadly. "I hate it, you know. After, his third year I told Harry he could live with me. But me being on the run stopped that. Here I thought I finally had a way to get him out of there. You should have seen his face when I asked him. It was like he got his biggest wish. I do not know what is going on in that home but he doesn't like it there".
"Sirius, you know you can't do anything about it. We have to trust the headmaster in all of this. He knows best and he also told us that Harry will be here in a couple of weeks". Sirius just nodded. He wanted to respond but there was a lot of noise coming from the hallway. just when Remus wanted to get up Molly rushed into the kitchen. She had said she went to bed but she was completely dressed. If Sirius and Remus had paid attention they would have asked why. It was right after it that Tonks came walking in cursing about an umbrella stand in the hallway that jumped in front of her.
This was it again for this time.
See you all in the next chapter.
Gr Winmau