Getting the Band Back Together, 7/?
Title: Getting the Band Back Together
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Harry Potter
Universe: Seven Characters (Part 2)
Characters/Pairing: Tonks, Sirius, Snape, Luna, Narcissa, Dobby, Bob the Dementor, others
Genre: Humor/Adventure
Summary: Thanks to a string of unlucky events, Tonks finds herself the latest infiltrator into Lord Voldemort's regime. Will she be able to help the Order in their quest to defeat the Dark Lord, or is the young Auror out of her depth?
Chapter Six
Of all the places to meet, the contact had chosen a graveyard, and a zombie-infested graveyard at that - it had taken a few good shield spells to prevent themselves from becoming the living dead.
Tonks was getting antsy, and it was no surprise. Her aunt Bellatrix was the last person she would have chosen to spend the night with, staking out a graveyard for a tardy vampire - barring the Dark Lord himself, of course. Although, the Dark Lord certainly would have been less irritating.
‘I don’t trust you, you know,’ said Bellatrix in a voice that was laced with paranoia and just a tinge of madness.
‘I don’t trust you either,’ muttered Tonks conversationally. Once upon a time, she might have made a joke, or done something else entirely inappropriate. These were difficult times, and not just for her.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement. Four-legged movement. She turned, ready to stun any predators. The four-legged intruder was no predator - she recognised that haughty strut at once, even if it was in an unfamiliar form.
Unfortunately, Bellatrix too had noticed their unwanted company. ‘Is it him?’ she shrieked softly. Only Bellatrix could pull off a shriek at all pitches and volumes - it was her thing. ‘Is it Sirius?’
‘What?’ Tonks feigned ignorance. ‘No. Sirius is bigger, more...hungry-looking,’ she finished lamely. ‘That’s just a grim.’ She realised the impact of her words, then. Even the psychopaths could take death omens at face value. ‘Or maybe it’s just a dog.’
For the first time in her life, Tonks was relieved when she saw a vampire stalking over from the direction of the church.
‘Paris,’ she greeted Narcissa’s contact.
‘Narcissa.’ He kissed her hand with blood-red lips, taking care to run his tongue gently across her knuckles. Tonks suppressed a shiver. Narcissa really did keep the strangest company.
‘You have it?’ She wanted to keep this short and sweet; the less interaction she had whilst pretending to be someone else, the better.
‘First, I ask for something in return.’ Paris’s voice was almost a purr. He ran that long pink tongue across his fangs.
Tonks hesitated. Would anything a vampire wanted really be worth the benefit to the Order? She took a glance in Sirius’s direction. He had gone, replaced with a depressing ghostly visage. Bob. It was entirely possible that the Order was out in full force tonight. All that to make sure she wasn’t killed. She wondered if it was really worth it.
‘What would you ask?’
‘Narcissa...her blood is bitter. I don’t even need to break the skin to know that yours is not. You are not her. An imposter, I fear.’ He hissed, but it did not seem malicious.
‘Narcissa proved disloyal,’ said Tonks steadily, willing herself not to break down. ‘We could not run the risk of losing her contacts, so we were forced to...deceive you.’
Paris shrugged. ‘I am not offended,’ he said. ‘Deceit is so common, it is like second nature. I am willing to remain in contact, but...for a price.’
Tonks almost rolled her eyes. This really was getting to be some kind of twisted, macabre joke. A price. Every little thing had a price, and it was never a price you were willing to pay. Never “ten galleons”, always something like “your soul”, or “your first born child”.
‘What’s the price?’ she asked tiredly. Anything short of her life, she would probably be ready to give in straight away. She was just that sick of all the drama.
‘A taste.’
Tonks did roll her eyes this time, subconsciously thinking that doing so in Narcissa’s form would look rather out of place.
‘A taste, and you will give me what I require?’
‘Yes.’ He licked his lips again, and it this time she did not suppress the shiver.
‘Fine. Go for your life.’ She stuck her wrist out to him, completely unwilling to let him anywhere near her neck.
It was a new experience. Pain and ecstasy rolled into one, but still...wrong. And still, you could see how some people cherished the event.
‘Sweet,’ purred Paris, but Tonks wasn’t listening. She was trapped in the moment.
By the time she had snapped out of her reverie, Paris had left, and Bellatrix had several scrolls of parchment concealed beneath her robes.
‘What did we get?’ asked Tonks, more exhausted than she had ever felt.
‘That is not your concern,’ snapped Bellatrix. Her voice had the same tone as it always did, and yet now it was as though something else was mixed in. Not respect - not even close. It almost felt like envy. Then, Tonks remembered Voldemort’s words: “the acceptance of you into my circle”.
There was no escape from it now. They were going to make her a Death Eater.
Oh, bollocks, she thought.