Tonks watched Fleur scurry off into the afternoon, thinking she really ought to go after but not having the energy. She tried to nurture a spark of indignation that Fleur hadn't bothered to give her the benefit of the doubt, but as she hadn't given a second thought to Fleur's invitation, she couldn't very well argue that she had been terribly attentive. She rubbed her face, finished her beer, and left, letting her feet guide her without much thought. She was unsurprised to find herself on a bus headed for Grimmauld Place, and she let herself into Number Twelve without bellowing this time. The screen around Auntie's portrait was still up, but she seemed to be awake behind it, muttering to herself. Tonks tiptoed past.

There was no one in the kitchen (though something was bubbling tantalizingly over the fire), and the front room was also deserted. Molly, true to her word, seemed to have cleared away most of the boxes and files, though she seemed to have made it into something like an office, with neat wooden cabinets lining the wall around the fireplace. The curtains were drawn on the square outside.

Tonks went upstairs. The parlor had also been cleaned, with boxes stacked neatly against the family tree. Some odd chance had left a gap near the top, and the words Toujours Purs peeked dourly out at her.

"Oh, blast!"

She looked up as something crashed above her, then ran upstairs. The trapdoor to the attic was open, a ladder coming down from it, and a puff of dust hanging in the air.

"Are you all right?" she called.

Molly Weasley's head appeared in the ceiling. "Oh, yes. I'm just fine. Just trying to get all of this in order. You can't imagine the things that are up here."

Tonks smiled. "Well, let me give you a hand."

Molly looked at her dubiously.

"No, really. I've got a bit better at it. Sort of."

"All right."

Tonks pulled herself up into the dusty attic, where the detritus of the Black family sat draped in drop-cloths and mold. She knew Sirius had started on this mess last year, but he didn't appear to have got very far with it. She turned and tripped on the edge of a leaning portrait, which mumbled something at her in garbled French. "Sorry, Grandmother," she said to it vaguely, deciding not to take a stab at how many "Greats" would go with it.

It muttered something that she thought translated to "Bastard," but she chose not to pursue the conversation to find out for certain.

"I imagine Harry would let you have any of this that you asked for," Molly said. "It's all family business. though I can't imagine what anyone would want to do with most of this rubbish."

A portrait with a large tear in it protested, but became quiet when Molly glared at it.

"Every attic is full of this nonsense, isn't it?" Tonks asked. "My Granny Tonks barely owned anything, and we still have an attic full of old school papers and broken picture frames."

"Does she have little boxes full of teeth and hair?" Molly asked, pointing distastefully at two intricately carved ebony boxes that she'd set on the windowsill.

"Er, well, no. I somehow doubt it." Tonks went over and traced them. "Probably Sirius and Regulus. I think people take their own when they get married or whatnot. I wouldn't know. Mum burned all of my teeth when I lost them. She had one of those boxes for herself, though. She told me she had to go back and steal it from her parents' house."

"Why on earth--?"

"So my aunts couldn't get hold of them do anything to us with them."

Molly glowered at this, but didn't take the opportunity to impugn Black family traditions. "And your hair?"

Tonks laughed. "I've never had a haircut in my life. Never needed one." She pushed her hair behind her ear. "Reckon I could use one now, though."

"Oh, nonsense. I like it better like this than sticking up every whichway. Looks more ladylike."

They made their way through the northwest corner of the attic, coughing at the dust (and finally resorting to Conjuring face masks) and trying to find some kind of order in the mess. One of the portraits promised to identify mysterious objects if Molly would repair it and hang it downstairs somewhere, but as they had no idea who he was or where other portraits of him might hang, they decided to let it be for the moment. They went downstairs together when it became too dark and shadowy in the attic, and ate the soup Molly had simmering.

"I wasn't expecting you in London today, dear," Molly said.

"Oh, yes. That. I think I've made an enemy of Fleur. She'd asked me to go shopping with her, and she saw me up here even though I said I was working, and I was working, but I got called up here abruptly and--"

"She's a very high-strung girl," Molly said with some disapproval.

"Will you tell her I'm sorry? I didn't get a chance to explain."

Molly agreed distantly, and they spoke of other things until Tonks realized that she had to get back to Hogsmeade for her night shift watching the road to the school.

The next two weeks didn't give her much breathing room. A Dementor attack in the countryside took her out of Hogsmeade for two days, trying to track down the origin. She thought once that she might have discovered a new gate, but it turned out to just be an oddly shaped rock formation. Mrs. McCrea's dog, Bibs, went missing, and Dawlish laughed at Tonks for spending one of her rare afternoons off helping to look for it. Dawlish himself had occupied himself with inquiring about Dumbledore's travels, though when Tonks reported this to Dumbledore--it was, after all, something she'd been asked to watch for--he just sighed and said that he would handle Dawlish on his own.

It was past the middle of November when Dumbledore sent word that he'd be away from the school for a few days, and asked her to arrange for patrols, as they'd discussed. Bill Weasley agreed to come the first night, Tuesday, and she met him in the back garden of the Shrieking Shack. He was waiting for her with a slightly irritated look on his face.

"Sorry to call you away," she said.

"It's fine," he told her curtly.

"Is something wrong?"

Bill shook his head sharply. "Sorry. Fleur was going on and on about--"

"Oh, I'm sorry, honestly. I should have written to her myself to apologize, but it's been a bit hectic. I meant to. Your mum said she'd explain--"

"She did, but she wasn't home right when we got to dinner, and I got quite an earful while we were waiting. Fleur's been a bit on edge. And of course Mum was snippy with her about it, like she ought to have known and was being awful and... you know what I mean. You've seen them."

"Oh," Tonks said, unable to think of anything else to say.

Bill opened the trapdoor in the floor of the Shrieking Shack, and dropped down into the tunnel. He helped Tonks down after him. "She's not like this," he muttered, lighting his wand and starting toward Hogwarts. "Mum, I mean. She's always taken in anyone we bring home. I've never seen her do this before."

"Er, well..."

"And Ginny. Ginny and I have always got along brilliantly, and she's being a right little--" He wrinkled his nose. "She's being a bit spoilt about the whole thing."

"Well," Tonks said, "Fleur can be a bit, er, intimidating to other women."

"To my mother and my sister? It's not like she's competing with them to be my mother or my sister." He took a deep breath. "Sorry. I suppose that was bound to come out at some point."

"It's all right."

"Anyway, Fleur's sorry she jumped to conclusions. If you ever want to do... whatever it is you lot do when we're not with you... I imagine she'd like to, but I don't think she'll ask. She's afraid she's made you hate her as well."

"Not at all."

"If you could..."

"If I can... I mean, I'll try. When I have some time." She smiled apologetically.

Bill nodded, resigned, and went on down the tunnel. "So... what did Alderman's mum say?" He grinned sheepishly over his shoulder. "I probably should have asked that first, shouldn't I?"

Tonks laughed. "It's all right. She's with us." She filled him in on her conversation with Fiona and gave him as much information as she had. "If we can find one of the gates they used for Dark Creatures," she said, "maybe we could send the pups to a sanctuary somewhere."

"Do we really want to send a pack of children into a sanctuary full of dark creatures? I mean, they're only dark creatures once a month themselves."

"Good point. I'll rethink that. Do you know anything about where they are? Did Remus tell you anything?"

"No. He's keeping quite tight-lipped about the whole thing."

"He's good at that. But Moody knows, doesn't he? Isn't he meant to be going there to check up on Remus?"

"Good point. I suppose we could bring Moody into this. He could get us the lay of the land. What do you think?"

They reached the base of the Whomping Willow. Tonks Disillusioned herself and watched Bill do the same. "I don't think Moody will tell me anything. He wants me away from Remus. Thinks it's all very unhealthy."

She pulled herself up, hit the knob on the trunk of the tree, and stepped onto the cool, fresh-smelling grounds of Hogwarts.

They didn't talk on the way to the castle--it wouldn't be productive to be Disillusioned if people heard them wandering about--and when McGonagall let them in through the staff room, there was no opportunity to do much more than give assignments. The teachers would maintain their usual schedule--which, luckily, involved Snape being around to watch the Slytherins, though he glowered when Bill pointed this out--and Bill and Tonks would patrol the corridors until they were certain the last of the students were in their Houses for the night. After that, they would take up stations at vulnerable points. Tonks would watch the Owlery. McGonagall said that she and Dumbledore had been working on a new Marauder's Map, but it wasn't working properly yet, so they would simply have to trust their observational skills.

They fanned out after a brief talk, and Tonks found herself wandering the corridors, lurking out of the traffic paths and watching the students scurry about their evening business. A part of her still ached to be with them, worrying about O.W.L.s and Quidditch (it took her all of ten minutes to get a detailed idea of Gryffindor's recent win over Slytherin, in which Ron Weasley had apparently played the most prominent role). She deliberately kept her patrol wide-ranging, spending the minimal amount of time outside the Hufflepuff entrance. A house elf scrambled out of the kitchens as she passed them. He was wearing several woolen hats and leading another lurching elf, this one in a stained dress. They cut in front of her without noticing her and he manhandled her up a set of stairs. Something clattered, and a butterbeer bottle rolled to Tonks's feet. She picked it up and set it carefully beside the painting that led into the kitchens. She'd never given much thought to the secret lives of house elves--she'd certainly never had one around--until Kreacher, and Kreacher hadn't exactly endeared them to her. Wrinkling her nose, she realized he was probably on the other side of the painting, grumbling through his duties and wishing for his glory days at Auntie's.

She went upstairs.

Two Indian girls--twins, Tonks was fairly sure--were sitting alone in the Great Hall, picking at empty plates, pretending to dawdle over dinner. She guessed they were in different houses, stealing a little sister time. Their voices echoed in the cavernous space.

"...canaries!" one of them said, her voice rising. "A whole flock of them that she Conjured. Dove on him like a whole team of Seekers going for a Snitch."

"I heard that," the other said, "but I didn't believe it. I can't believe a smart girl like Hermione--"

"Oh, she's always been this way--"

"--I mean, I went out with him, remember? Pitiful." The disbelieving twin shook her head. "I wouldn't even wish Ron Weasley on Lavender."

Her sister snorted. "Well, he's on Lavender, right enough. Honestly, Padma, I can't turn around without tripping over them. And the dormitory... I don't suppose you'd mind switching places with me for a bit, so I can get some sleep? The freeze-out in there is going to give me pneumonia."

"Do I look like I've lost my mind?" Padma asked, reaching for a sugar bowl. She sprinkled it over what might have been fruit. "So, whose side are you on?"

"Do you swear on our twinship that you won't tell Lavender?"

"Hermione's?" Padma snickered. "I'd say that makes you a very good friend to Lavender."

Tonks shook her head and moved on to the hall, feeling sorry for Hermione, and more sorry for whoever Lavender was, as she was going to be dumped. One of the twins seemed to hear her and turned her head, but wasn't suspicious enough to follow up.

They need to be more careful, Tonks thought, as she had on the first night of school. I could be bloody anyone sneaking around here Disillusioned.

She ducked into the library, where older students were pushing to finish their assignments. Hermione was staring rather blankly at a book and Tonks at first thought it was because she was upset about whatever was happening with Ron, but then a teacup appeared in midair, steaming, and she realized that Hermione was just practicing non-verbal Conjuring spells. Doing right well at them, too. Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom were hunched over a large book of defensive spells, muttering about how to do them. She heard Luna say, "It's such a pity Dumbledore's Army isn't meeting this year," then moved on through. The Slytherin girl she'd seen with Draco Malfoy outside the Hogwarts Express--Parkinson, she remembered, probably some relation of Paul Parkinson, who'd been a bit of an idiot in her own year--had commandeered a table, where she was running several objects through simultaneous charms. A quill and a bit of parchment were doing a tango. Parkinson looked delighted, and Tonks had to admit, it was a nice piece of work. The handsome boy who'd been with her before was with her again, looking quite annoyed at the display. Malfoy was nowhere nearby.

Dumbledore hadn't wanted her to look too closely at Malfoy, which was frustrating--he'd definitely given the impression that Malfoy was the one who needed watching most closely. She hoped Snape was keeping an eye on him. Both eyes.

Twenty minutes later, the staff started to steer the students up to their Houses, and Tonks occupied herself with following the stragglers, remembering the patterns of behavior that usually meant there were wandering plans afoot. She saw a pair of mousy-haired Gryffindor boys making a bid for freedom, and magically shut several doors in their path before they got the idea that it wasn't wise to be wandering around. She followed them back to the Fat Lady's portrait and watched them climb inside.

When the castle seemed reasonably secure, McGonagall sent her Patronus with word to go to the other locations. Tonks trudged up to the Owlery, which was freezing in the late November night. She did a warming spell, and several owls--including the white one that she thought belonged to Harry--nuzzled up against her to get into its sphere. She petted a few of them absently while she scanned the sky. From here, she could see the neat demarcation of the Hogwarts security, as the mist above the village stopped in an unnaturally straight line at the walls.

Just before midnight, a tiny owl burst up and fluttered around as the door opened. Tonks raised her wand at the shadowy shape, but didn't break the Disillusionment spell.

"Miss Tonks?" Minerva McGonagall said.

Tonks narrowed her eyes and didn't speak.

McGonagall smiled. "Good. When we were in the Forest, I told you about trying to run away from school."

Tonks made herself visible again. "Hello, Profe... Minerva. Sorry, that's going to take practice."

"Well, you should get more of it." She Conjured two tall chairs and set them by the ledge to watch the grounds. "Hagrid came to patrol for me so I could sleep a bit, but I'm not particularly tired. How are you?"

"Oh, I'm well enough."

"I've been worried since that Dementor attack. Poppy Pomfrey said that you haven't checked in with her."

"Oh... I saw my mum. She's got me doing a Query Charm every day. Except that I really only do it once a week or so. There doesn't seem to be any permanent damage. I didn't mean to worry Madam Pomfrey." Tonks looked curiously at her visitor. "Did you need something?"

"I thought you might like company."

"Oh. Thank you, yes."

McGonagall pulled up a satchel. "I brought tea and biscuits. You never did stop by."

"I seem to be letting down quite a few people on that count. I missed shopping with Fleur Delacour as well."

"You should have gone."

Tonks raised her eyebrows. "I wouldn't think you'd be enthusiastic about it."

"I don't care at all for shopping myself, but you ought to do something you enjoy. You're running yourself ragged. And Miss Delacour could, as I understand it, use friends. She made none among the girls in the year she spent with us. It would do both of you good."

All of this was said in the same curt tone McGonagall used to teach, and Tonks fought off an urge to ask if it would be on the N.E.W.T. She smiled. "I'll keep it in mind."

They sat together without saying anything, drinking tea and nibbling at shortbread biscuits. After awhile, McGonagall set her teacup down on the stone ledge. "Remus Lupin is a capable man," she said. "He'll return safely."

"Thank you." Tonks finished her tea. "I'm not the only one adding a few duties, though. Remus wants to..." She took a deep breath. "Prof... Minerva... can the Order help a whole family disappear?"

McGonagall frowned deeply. "Miss Tonks, what is going on?"

"Well, I..." She stopped and stood up. "What in the world...?"

"I see it," McGonagall said gravely.

At the far side of the lake, just beyond the line of Hogwarts security, the mist was flashing deep red, as if fire was straining up toward the sky.

"Do you have a broomstick?" Tonks asked.

"Yes."

"Do you have an extra?"

McGonagall nodded. She pointed her wand at the door, and a moment later two brooms flew up into the Owlery. Ignoring the startled hoots and one nasty scratch from a talon as she brushed past an eagle owl, Tonks and McGonagall dove from the ledge and skimmed across the lake toward whatever was happening on the other side.

"Dementors!" Tonks called over her shoulder as soon as she felt the chill, but McGonagall needed no warning. Her wand was already drawn, her Patronus flying ahead into the mist. Tonks sent her own after it.

They dove toward the hilltop, the shapes around the fire atop it looming like ghoulish cartoon shadows in the fog. The Dementors were fleeing; three humans were running about frantically, gathering things from the ground.

"Stop!" Tonks called, pointing her wand at one of them. Her Stunning Spell hit the ground as the figure jumped lithely away. McGonagall grazed a second one, but it didn't slow down.

Tonks swerved by McGonagall. "I'm going down," she said.

McGonagall nodded.

They dove low enough to roll off their brooms, and ducked spells thrown by the three already around the fire. Tonks blasted the wood out. The fire died in an abrupt spiral of sparks. Here, she could see the cauldron at the center. She didn't care what the potion was--she Vanished it and blasted the cauldron into so much brass dust.

Someone let out a frustrated scream, then a shape flew through the fog at her, bony fingers outstretched. She barely had time to recognize the wild, heavily-lidded eyes before Bellatrix had her hands wrapped around her throat, throttling.

Tonks pushed her away in revulsion.

Bellatrix went scrambling along the ground and came up with a wand that was lying beside the remains of the cauldron. "Crucio!"

Tonks rolled aside before the curse hit her, aimed a Petrifying curse at Bellatrix, and barely missed having it bounced back at her by a shield charm.

Someone else cried Crucio in the mist, and McGonagall screamed. Tonks launched herself at a shadowy form and knocked it to the ground. Whoever it was slithered away from her.

"Away!" Bellatrix shouted, and pointed her wand at a spot on the ground beyond the fire. Something flashed red.

There was a pop, and the person Tonks had been chasing disappeared. Another form hunched forward, then scuttled toward her on all fours as her Patronus came loping back.

He started to laugh, great good humor floating up into the sky, and Tonks understood who it was.

Greyback.

"Petrificus totalis!"

He jumped out of the way easily, and Bellatrix reached him, touched his arm. McGonagall aimed at her.

"Obliviate!" Tonks shouted at Greyback, and it glanced off of him--she hoped it would be enough to make him forget her Patronus--but McGonagall missed Bellatrix, who grasped Greyback around the shoulders and Apparated both of them away from the hill.

A Dementor swooped down and Tonks's Patronus chased it away (looking for all the world like it was bored with the whole business), and then the night was silent. The mist was already breaking up, floating in low-slung ribbons around Tonks's knees.

"Are you all right?" she asked McGonagall.

McGonagall nodded and got slowly to her feet. "I don't seem to roll off brooms as easily as I once did."

Tonks smiled. "I never rolled off them very easily."

"I remember."

Tonks offered a shoulder, and McGonagall gladly took it. They limped to the remains of the cauldron together, and McGonagall sat down on a large rock.

"Damn," Tonks said. "I lost Bella again."

"I lost her this time," McGonagall said. "And she got Greyback away. He never could Apparate."

"I don't imagine concentration is his strong suit."

"Hardly. Did you recognize the third?"

Tonks shook her head, and began to poke through the cauldron dust. There wasn't anything left of the potion. She crawled around the fire, and let out a scream.

"What is it?"

"Bones," Tonks said. "Little ones."

"I'd wager Greyback brought them."

"I think they're old. There's"--she fought with her gorge--"moss on them."

"Take them back to the Ministry. Hopefully, we can put whoever it is in some sort of proper rest."

Tonks drew her hand back and got to her feet, backing away from the pitiful little skeleton. Her heel thumped against something soft and yielding, and she pinwheeled her arms madly for balance before she careened off to one side, trying to at least miss whatever had tripped her. "Oh!"

She rolled over and crawled to the limp form on the ground. The dog's white bib wasn't showing, only his silky black fur. A piece of parchment was tacked into him. It said, "Just in case. I'm on the lookout."

"Bitch," Tonks spat.

"What is it?" McGonagall asked.

"It's Mrs. McCrea's dog, Bibs. He's been missing for a few days. Apparently Bella wasn't satisfied killing Sirius o- on-" The tears came furiously out of nowhere, and Tonks cradled Bibs's limp form against her lap. "I tried to help Mrs. McCrea find him, but I didn't get him in time."

McGonagall's hand fell on her shoulder. "Hush, now. Hush."

"He's just a dog. She knows it wasn't Sirius. She killed Sirius. Why did she kill Mrs. McCrea's dog?"

"I don't know."

Tonks wiped her face savagely and swallowed back the crying fit. "Poor old woman. I'll... I'll tell her. I'll bring him back and tell her." She sniffed. "I'm sorry. I'm frustrated."

"I am, as well." McGonagall took a deep breath and stood up. "What were they doing here?"

"Trying to get into the Forbidden Forest," Tonks said. "Or to let Dementors in. Or something. There's something in there they want." She pointed to the bones. "They needed those for a spell. Maddie was telling me about it."

"Charming."

As the mist continued to lift, Tonks told McGonagall about the forest gates, the glade, the request from the glade's guardian. McGonagall had heard some of it from Hagrid and Dumbledore, but not all of it.

"Where's the gate itself?" she asked, looking around the hilltop.

The spent the next twenty minutes scouring the clearing, increasingly tired and snapping at one another until Tonks happened to glance up at the tall rocks that marked the edge of the drop-off. "Those aren't there by chance," she said, and went between them.

McGonagall came up behind her and looked over her shoulder. "Oh, dear."

In the gorge far below, Dementors moved in the mist up and down a rushing river. One seemed to sense them. It rose.

Tonks cast her Patronus into the midst of them, and McGonagall did the same, over and over.

They scattered.

The mist at the valley's bottom began to clear.

"I want them to stay out," McGonagall said. "Cover me. Accio broom." Her broom sped to her and she dove into the gorge, casting spells and protections on a wide area. She returned.

"Shall we?" Tonks asked.

McGonagall nodded.

They raised their wands at the standing stones and called "Reducto!"

The gate crashed into the river below, the stones shattering into a hundred jagged pieces.

A cool breeze blew and something batted at the side of Tonks's face. She grabbed it, and was not surprised to see that it was a spring oak leaf. McGonagall looked at it coolly. Tonks crumpled it and tossed it over the edge of the gorge, annoyed with it for reasons she couldn't quite name.

She went back to the skeleton and the dog and she and McGonagall conjured stretchers to carry them on. Bibs levitated onto his perfectly well, but the skeleton didn't respond to a magical command.

"Hmm," McGonagall said.

Tonks nodded.

The mist had cleared completely, and they could see a thin line burned into the dirt, forming a circle around the bones. And they could see that not all of the bones were there. One small arm was missing.

McGonagall sighed. "We'd best watch for it at Hogwarts," she said. "I imagine it was to be used for the other end of this obscenity."

Tonks agreed. She put her hands carefully under the skeleton and started to lift it, but as soon as she began to cross the burned line, the bones began to shake and rattle. "What the--"

They exploded into dust.

"They must have already started," McGonagall said.

Tonks stepped back, brushing bone dust from herself with jerky movements of her hands. "Please tell me," she said through clenched teeth, "why someone would invent a spell like that."

McGonagall had no answer. "I'll continue your watch at the Owlery," she said, and nodded at Bibs. "Maybe you should take the dog to its home before you come back."

Tonks nodded. McGonagall took her broomstick back, carrying the spare one, and Tonks Apparated back to Hogsmeade with the dog's body and guided the stretcher back to Mrs. McCrea's. It wasn't the first time she'd needed to give someone very unpleasant news, but Mrs. McCrea's sobbing seemed worse than usual. Tonks stayed with her and helped her bury Bibs before returning to Hogwarts. She felt low and tired, but she finished her watch.

She wasn't on duty until afternoon the next day, so she crawled into her bed at dawn and slept immediately. She dreamed of Emmeline Vance.

It was the scene of her murder again, except that it wasn't in London. It was on the highland hilltop, between the standing stones that would have been a gate. The phoenix feather core of her wand slipped up into the windstream and floated down to the river. Three shadowy figures stood beside her, and disappeared one after the other. Something dark was on the gate. Tonks walked up to it, ignoring the strangeness of Emmeline dying in the wrong place, and she saw the letters T-R-A.

She looked down. Emmeline's eyes were open. "I saw," she whispered, and then disappeared, leaving Tonks alone in the bitter wind.

Tonks awoke unrested at noon, unable to recall the details of what she had dreamed.

"Am I understanding you correctly?" Dawlish said the next evening, waving her report in her face as soon as she reached his table at the back of the Hog's Head. She felt like a cat being punished for not quite making it to the sandbox. "You had Bellatrix Lestrange in reach, and you just... returned a dog's body to the village and then went back to Hogwarts?"

"She'd Apparated out. There was nothing more to be done."

"And it never occurred to you to send for help before investigating?"

"I didn't know what we'd find, and once we found it, things moved too fast to send for help."

"We?"

"Minerva McGonagall was with me."

"Oh, lovely. An elderly schoolteacher."

"She's fully recovered from you and your mates throwing Stunning Spells at her last year."

Dawlish flushed and slammed the report down on the table. "You know procedure, Tonks. You should have sent for help before you ever went. Aurors, not Transfiguration teachers."

"And if I'd called you all in from posts or sleep, and it had turned out to be a vagrant trying to keep warm?"

"Are you incapable of doing a quick reconnaissance? Flying high overhead and looking, then sending for help? You lost Bellatrix Lestrange."

Tonks gritted her teeth and sat down. "Fenrir Greyback as well. And no one wants either of them more than I do. But it all happened very quickly."

"And the third?"

"I don't know. He cast the Cruciatus Curse, and it was definitely a man's voice, but it was muffled with the mask and probably a spell. It sounded like he had a cold."

"Ah, good. We'll be looking for Death Eaters with runny noses." Dawlish batted her report off the table, then Banished it into his briefcase. "You're careless, Tonks."

"Yes, sir."

"Perhaps we should discuss this more privately?"

Tonks groaned and looked over her shoulder. Gawain Robards was weaving through the crowd. She didn't argue when Dawlish led them to the desk in his room. Robards looked grave.

She sat in a high, uncomfortable wooden chair that kept her back perfectly straight. Dawlish sat behind his desk. Robards paced once or twice on the carpet, then sat casually on the edge of the desk, his arms crossed loosely over his chest.

"Dawlish contacted me," he said. "You attacked a Death Eater encampment without notifying your superiors or asking for back-up?"

"Yes." Tonks swallowed. "I've explained the situation to Dawlish."

"Explain it to me."

She took a deep breath and told Robards the sequence of events as well as she could without giving too many details about her business at Hogwarts. When she finished, she met his eyes steadily.

He waved a dismissive hand. "All right. Yes, I can see where it would have been difficult."

Dawlish stood, fuming. "Look, Gawain, I know you're dying to find out just how many of her shapes she can shift, but--"

Robards grabbed the front of Dawlish's robes and twisted, putting pressure on his windpipe. "The lady you're slandering is your colleague, and I am your boss." He let go and shoved Dawlish back into his seat. "You are, however, quite correct about procedure, and I'll discuss it with Miss Tonks privately, if you'll excuse us." When he turned his back, Tonks caught Dawlish rolling his eyes.

"Er, Gawain," Tonks said, "this is Dawlish's room. Perhaps you could scold me down at the bar?"

He looked irritated, and she suspected that he was about to suggest they move to her room, as he suddenly seemed to understand what she was saying and nodded curtly. He took her back downstairs and chose a table in the back, casting several distraction spells.

"You know that Dawlish is right," he said, then again seemed to realize a misstep. "I don't mean about... Well, not that you're not attractive, but..." He gnashed his teeth. "Oh, for God's sake, Tonks, you know damned well that you shouldn't have gone into that mess without dragging every other body available into it. Bellatrix Lestrange nearly killed you last year."

"I didn't know it was Bella until it was too late to do anything about it. If I'd known she'd be there, I promise, I'd have called in the entire Division and the Royal Air Force, if that makes you happy."

"Don't joke about it. And have I mentioned that it's disturbing when you refer to her by a nickname?"

"Well, I could call her Aunt Bellatrix, if you're more comfortable with it..."

"Not especially, no, and this is not a casual conversation about your family troubles, Tonks."

She looked down at the tablecloth. "I'm sorry, sir."

Robards rubbed his eyes. "I need to know one thing, Tonks, and I will only ask it once. And I'll believe your answer, but you must tell me the truth."

"What's that?"

"Did you let them get away on purpose to further Dumbledore's goals?"

"What?"

"You heard me." He didn't quite look at her. "You spent a year harboring a fugitive--"

"Sirius was innocent. Bellatrix Lestrange isn't."

"--and using your position to gather information on the Ministry. That's not just grounds for sacking you, it's grounds for trying you for treason. But we did neither, because you were in the right, and somewhere in his thick skull, even Scrimgeour knew that. But Dumbledore's wishes can't always come first, Tonks. These people are dangerous. Lestrange, Greyback, the lot of them. If you're letting them go, thinking they'll lead you to--"

"I didn't let them go. They just got away."

"And you're aware that capturing dark witches and wizards is your job, not trailing them to larger prey, unless it's an absolutely certain thing. And a short term thing, not long enough for them to do more damage to anyone."

"I know, sir. I want them in Azkaban." Or dead, she didn't add, though she supposed anyone in the Division knew the feeling.

Robards nodded. "I have to file Dawlish's complaint," he said. "He's right about the procedure, and I want you to be more careful in the future."

With that, he closed the scolding, and asked if she wanted to join him for dinner. She shook her head and rolled her eyes at him, then went to eat at Sanjiv's place to avoid the rest of the evening. Sanjiv listened to her tale, and proceeded to issue the night's second scolding for the same mistake.

"Oh, please."

"If you want me to, I'll call Daff and Maddie, and they'll scold you as well."

"There. Was. No. Time."

"Fine. Now, as to this Robards bloke..."

"Don't start."

"You do know that the idiot in charge here isn't wrong about what he wants? I mean, as a bloke, I'll tell you that much."

"Well, as he's being a perfect gentleman about the whole thing, it doesn't matter."

They spoke of other things for the rest of the night, but Tonks left early, feeling a bit miffed at him. When she got back to her room, she found a brightly colored bird with a red mask and a striped tail sitting on her windowsill. He fluttered down to the floor as soon as she got in. She took the envelope he was carrying and gave him a shallow dish of water, which he bent to gratefully. She opened the letter.

Dora, Mum had written, Things here are quite hectic. Dad and I find ourselves ducking a Muggle civil war, which quite unfortunately has caused damage to the international floo systems, so it's not safe for us to travel home for Christmas next month. Neither of us knows the region well enough to try Apparating. Please don't spend the day alone, this year of all years. How I loathe wars of all sorts...

Tonks put the letter down without finishing it. All she needed was another letter from Remus telling her to move on and forget about him, and her day would be complete.

She stroked the bird's head. "You stay here. I'll return a letter tomorrow."

The bird looked thankful. He perched on top of her wardrobe and put his head under his wing. Granny looked up at him in a slightly interested way. Tonks took her along to the Shrieking Shack. Better safe than sorry.

She worked for a short while in the entrance hall, sanding and polishing the floor (which should have been a simple matter, but took her no fewer than seven attempts at the proper charms), but it didn't succeed in clearing her mind. She went upstairs to the room she'd been sleeping in, fussed at the drapes, and abandoned that as well. She finally ended up in the room at the top of the stairs, where she'd put the desk that she'd bought Remus last year. His wand was still in the top drawer, and she took it out. Holding it, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply. It was smooth, and slightly worn in the shape of Remus's thin fingers.

After a few minutes of this, she took a deep breath and set the wand down in the drawer, feeling both better and slightly foolish. Something rattled as she displaced it and she frowned and pulled the drawer further out.

("Return this to me, when it's time. When you need me.")

The ruby she'd been given in return for her help with the gates. She picked it up dubiously. It glittered darkly in the dim starlight that showed between the slats of the wood covering the window in this room. She shook her head and put it away. She couldn't think of a thing in the world she needed from a wood sprite.