Getting the Band Back Together, 11/?
Title: Getting the Band Back Together
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Harry Potter
Universe: Seven Characters in Search of a Story
Characters/Pairing: Background canon pairings
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? Post GoF. Background RLNT.
Chapter Nine
Dinner was a silent affair.
Tonks didn’t particularly feel like eating - nausea hung heavy in her
stomach, and she was sure that no sooner than she’d finished eating, she would no doubt vomit it back up again. Apparently, though, that wasn’t the kind of excuse that Molly Weasley accepted. Tonks had the feeling that, considering the circumstances, it wasn’t uncommon.
The return of the Dark Lord had them all feeling a little nauseous.
Of course, not of them, save Harry - who tried to pretend like he wasn’t watching her out of the corner of his eye - and Snape, had actually met him. For them, it was almost expected: the turncoat, and the chosen one. In less than three months, Tonks had gone from Auror, to Order of the Phoenix member, to member of Voldemort’s inner circle. The learning curve was a little steep.
Three-quarters of a serving of Shepherd’s pie later, Tonks was full, and no amount of wheedling from anyone present could convince her to stay. It was too dangerous to spend so much time at Grimmauld Place, now that she was “undercover” for lack of a better word; it was the kind of word that she associated with that Muggle police show that her father loved so much. Of course, when you could change your appearance at will, you were pretty much always undercover.
The small, one-bedroomed flat was just far enough away that walking was undesirable. She could, of course, have taken the train; it was only a short walk to King’s Cross Station, after all, but more than anything, Tonks wanted to lie down, and forget everything that had happened over the past few weeks.
She grabbed her things, and bid everyone else farewell. The looks of concern did not go unnoticed, and an uncharacteristic burst of annoyance went through her. Why were they all so convinced she was going to fail? It wasn’t as though she was some kid, fresh out of Hogwarts. She had her Auror training (which had been more stringent than most, considering that Mad-Eye Moody had been responsible for it).
Outside, darkness had well and truly fallen. If it were still daytime, she might have found a convenient alleyway from which to Disapparate, but tonight it was dark enough not to bother.
The neighbourhood was a Muggle one, which more often than not seemed to be the case, lately. Hogsmeade was the only fully-magical village in the country, and it was protected by the same spells that protected Hogwarts. Thanks to the witches and wizards that had integrated themselves into the Muggle community, things like plumbing and electricity and rent cheques weren’t a problem.
The letter box was empty, which was expected. Really, the only Muggle mail that Tonks ever seemed to get was, strangely enough, linen catalogues.
Inside, things were covered in a fine layer of dust. Tonks’s mother knew the kinds of spells that would prevent build-up of dust during long absences, but the last time that Tonks herself had tried, she’d almost set the couch on fire. She settled on a quick tergeo, which did absolutely nothing to get rid of that strange feeling of emptiness that had overwhelmed the place.
Thanks to the new threat that now hung over her head, she added a few protective charms for good measure. It might not give her enough time to ready herself for attack, but at the very least she might be able to apparate away. Really, though, she was sure that if Voldemort wanted to kill her, he would have done so already. Unless he was trying to gather information on the Order, in which case, she was pretty sure she was screwed.
She wasn’t Severus Snape. She didn’t want to be Severus Snape.
There was a knock on the door, and it took everything she had not to jump. Of all the people that she expected to show up, Dumbledore was pretty far down on the list. She probably should have expected it, though.
‘Professor,’ she nodded, stepping back to let him inside. ‘Are you sure this is…safe?’
‘The Death Eaters assigned to watch you have had the sudden desire for a late night Butterbeer,’ he told her. She processed the words slowly.
‘So I am being watched?’
‘Oh, naturally. After all, the Dark Lord does not trust easily.’
‘Then why…’ She stared down at her left arm. The Dark Mark was covered by a sleeve, but she could still feel its burn.
‘I suspect…that it is a test.’ She stared at him blankly. A test. From one of the darkest wizards that ever lived.
Oh joy.
‘Forgive me,’ the headmaster added. ‘I had never intended this to happen.’
‘It’s fine,’ she told him, absolutely sure that he didn’t believe her words. She wasn’t entirely sure that she believed her words. ‘I joined the Order of the Phoenix because I wanted to fight in this war.’
Truth told, though, even in light of her Metamorphmagus abilities, she’d never really expected to be doing this much. She might have been an Auror, but the rest of the Order had been fighting the Dark Lord for a lot longer than she had.
‘I’m afraid,’ Dumbledore continued, ‘That I must ask you to continue the charade for a little longer.’
Tonks frowned. She hadn’t even realized that there was another option. Had they discussed trying to end things, then, behind her back. Did they doubt her that much?
In the end, Dumbledore didn’t stay that long. While he said that it was because he didn’t want to arouse suspicion, she suspected that he sensed her disdain.
‘Don’t forget,’ he said, stepping out the door. ‘You are not alone.’
The crack of his Disapparation pierced the night.
Nymphadora Tonks went to bed.
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Harry Potter
Universe: Seven Characters in Search of a Story
Characters/Pairing: Background canon pairings
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? Post GoF. Background RLNT.
Chapter Nine
Dinner was a silent affair.
Tonks didn’t particularly feel like eating - nausea hung heavy in her
stomach, and she was sure that no sooner than she’d finished eating, she would no doubt vomit it back up again. Apparently, though, that wasn’t the kind of excuse that Molly Weasley accepted. Tonks had the feeling that, considering the circumstances, it wasn’t uncommon.
The return of the Dark Lord had them all feeling a little nauseous.
Of course, not of them, save Harry - who tried to pretend like he wasn’t watching her out of the corner of his eye - and Snape, had actually met him. For them, it was almost expected: the turncoat, and the chosen one. In less than three months, Tonks had gone from Auror, to Order of the Phoenix member, to member of Voldemort’s inner circle. The learning curve was a little steep.
Three-quarters of a serving of Shepherd’s pie later, Tonks was full, and no amount of wheedling from anyone present could convince her to stay. It was too dangerous to spend so much time at Grimmauld Place, now that she was “undercover” for lack of a better word; it was the kind of word that she associated with that Muggle police show that her father loved so much. Of course, when you could change your appearance at will, you were pretty much always undercover.
The small, one-bedroomed flat was just far enough away that walking was undesirable. She could, of course, have taken the train; it was only a short walk to King’s Cross Station, after all, but more than anything, Tonks wanted to lie down, and forget everything that had happened over the past few weeks.
She grabbed her things, and bid everyone else farewell. The looks of concern did not go unnoticed, and an uncharacteristic burst of annoyance went through her. Why were they all so convinced she was going to fail? It wasn’t as though she was some kid, fresh out of Hogwarts. She had her Auror training (which had been more stringent than most, considering that Mad-Eye Moody had been responsible for it).
Outside, darkness had well and truly fallen. If it were still daytime, she might have found a convenient alleyway from which to Disapparate, but tonight it was dark enough not to bother.
The neighbourhood was a Muggle one, which more often than not seemed to be the case, lately. Hogsmeade was the only fully-magical village in the country, and it was protected by the same spells that protected Hogwarts. Thanks to the witches and wizards that had integrated themselves into the Muggle community, things like plumbing and electricity and rent cheques weren’t a problem.
The letter box was empty, which was expected. Really, the only Muggle mail that Tonks ever seemed to get was, strangely enough, linen catalogues.
Inside, things were covered in a fine layer of dust. Tonks’s mother knew the kinds of spells that would prevent build-up of dust during long absences, but the last time that Tonks herself had tried, she’d almost set the couch on fire. She settled on a quick tergeo, which did absolutely nothing to get rid of that strange feeling of emptiness that had overwhelmed the place.
Thanks to the new threat that now hung over her head, she added a few protective charms for good measure. It might not give her enough time to ready herself for attack, but at the very least she might be able to apparate away. Really, though, she was sure that if Voldemort wanted to kill her, he would have done so already. Unless he was trying to gather information on the Order, in which case, she was pretty sure she was screwed.
She wasn’t Severus Snape. She didn’t want to be Severus Snape.
There was a knock on the door, and it took everything she had not to jump. Of all the people that she expected to show up, Dumbledore was pretty far down on the list. She probably should have expected it, though.
‘Professor,’ she nodded, stepping back to let him inside. ‘Are you sure this is…safe?’
‘The Death Eaters assigned to watch you have had the sudden desire for a late night Butterbeer,’ he told her. She processed the words slowly.
‘So I am being watched?’
‘Oh, naturally. After all, the Dark Lord does not trust easily.’
‘Then why…’ She stared down at her left arm. The Dark Mark was covered by a sleeve, but she could still feel its burn.
‘I suspect…that it is a test.’ She stared at him blankly. A test. From one of the darkest wizards that ever lived.
Oh joy.
‘Forgive me,’ the headmaster added. ‘I had never intended this to happen.’
‘It’s fine,’ she told him, absolutely sure that he didn’t believe her words. She wasn’t entirely sure that she believed her words. ‘I joined the Order of the Phoenix because I wanted to fight in this war.’
Truth told, though, even in light of her Metamorphmagus abilities, she’d never really expected to be doing this much. She might have been an Auror, but the rest of the Order had been fighting the Dark Lord for a lot longer than she had.
‘I’m afraid,’ Dumbledore continued, ‘That I must ask you to continue the charade for a little longer.’
Tonks frowned. She hadn’t even realized that there was another option. Had they discussed trying to end things, then, behind her back. Did they doubt her that much?
In the end, Dumbledore didn’t stay that long. While he said that it was because he didn’t want to arouse suspicion, she suspected that he sensed her disdain.
‘Don’t forget,’ he said, stepping out the door. ‘You are not alone.’
The crack of his Disapparation pierced the night.
Nymphadora Tonks went to bed.