Taijitu

Taijitu

Chapter Three: Beds and battles

The sun was slowly rising over Ottery St. Catchpole. A small cottage was the first house to receive the sun's rays of blazing, rosy light. In the upstairs of the cottage, two figures slept soundly, their arms around each other.

Suddenly, one of the figures stirred, and slowly opened his eyes.

Remus yawned and looked around. For a moment, he seemed to be confused as to his location, and seemed quite startled that a woman lay tangled up beside him.

Tonks' deep breathing and vivid pink hair seemed to jog his memory and he frowned as he glanced down at his wedding ring. He still couldn't shake the feeling that Tonks had made the biggest mistake of her life yesterday.

Did I make the right decision? he asked himself for what felt like the hundredth time since their ceremony yesterday. To his consternation, it was still a question to which he had no answer.

As the sun rose over the valley, its bright rays reflected off the bedroom windows and made Lupin squint. Slowly and quietly, he reached for the bedside table and picked up his wand. Giving it a flick, the blinds closed slightly, allowing Lupin to focus all his attention on the woman snoozing beside him.

Staring down at her, he forced himself to push all doubts to the back of his mind. As he looked down at her, he started to feel better until he suddenly smiled.

"Stop staring at me," Tonks suddenly murmured. Lupin jumped in alarm at the unexpected intrusion into his thoughts as Tonks opened a lazy eye.

"Don't do that!"

"Then stop staring at me while I sleep."

"I wasn't staring," Lupin protested, smiling.

"Then what were you doing?"

"I was looking at you...in a normal way."

"You were staring. It's creepy!" Tonks said teasingly, shoving him lightly.

"Obviously you weren't sleeping, otherwise you wouldn't have been aware I was staring at you."

"Aha! So you were staring at me!"

Tonks looked triumphant. Lupin smiled.

"Good morning," he said in a dignified voice.

"Morning." Tonks' voice suddenly became throaty. "Do you realise that technically...technically...today is our honeymoon?"

"What's all this 'technically' talk?" said Lupin, gathering her in his arms for a good morning kiss. When they broke apart, Tonks' eyes drifted towards the window and she sighed.

"This cottage is so beautiful."

Following the wedding the day before, Lupin had announced he had a surprise for his new wife.

Lupin had been staying at the Hog's Head since the abandonment of Grimmauld Place, as it was cheap and accessible to Hogwarts. Tonks, too, rented a room at the Hog's Head, since she had been stationed at Hogsmeade the previous year. But, seeing as the Hog's Head was not the most romantic place, Lupin had surprised her and led her to the beautiful cottage, in which they were able to spend their first night together as man and wife.

Lupin nodded his agreement. "I thought this was preferable to sharing a house with twelve people."

"How did you manage to rent this?" Tonks fixed him with a piercing gaze. "Molly let slip that it was being rented by a lovely old Muggle couple..."

"Uhh..." Lupin looked trapped. "Fred and George helped me to convince the landlord."

"Convince?" Tonks' eyebrows shot so far up on her forehead that they were in danger of disappearing into her vivid hair.

Lupin cleared his throat. "Is it really worth spoiling our honeymoon with questions that require complicated answers?" he asked with a sheepish smile.

Tonks laughed. "No, not when there are much more interesting things we could be doing," she said as she pulled him close to her and they kissed again.

A few minutes later they broke apart again and Tonks settled onto Lupin's chest with a contented sigh.

"What time do we have to meet the others at The Burrow?" Tonks asked.

"Half-past four," Lupin replied. For the first time since he had woken up, a small frown appeared on his face.

Tonks twisted her head to look up at his face. "Today isn't going to be a walk in the park."

"No." Lupin absently stroked her hair. "It was complicated enough when it was just Mad-Eye and Harry Disapparating from Privet Drive. But now that Pius Thicknesse has gone over, Disapparation is impossible. There will be more of us, which makes it more dangerous. Mundungus's Polyjuice idea was brilliant, though," Lupin added as an afterthought.

"Do you think You-Know-Who knows we're moving Harry today?"

Lupin silently thought that he was pretty certain Voldemort knew Harry was being moved, but didn't say anything. Tonks, however, seemed to surmise as much from his silence and nodded, settling her head back onto his chest.

Tonks and Lupin watched through the window in companionable silence as the sun rose in earnest, throwing the room into lemony brightness.

"I don't want to ever leave this bed," Tonks said, pushing her dark thoughts of the Death Eaters and their dangerous mission aside and burrowing down further into the bed.

"That could be arranged," said Lupin with a wolfish smile.

She looked up into his face again and laughed.

"But I'm hungry."

She suddenly leapt from the bed and danced away across the room, darting out of reach of Lupin's grasp, giggling. It took a moment for Lupin to realise she was completely naked.

"Dora!" He stared at her.

"What?" She looked down at herself. "I see this every day."

Then, wiggling suggestively, she pranced out of the room, still unclothed.

"Hungry, Remus?" she called from the stairs. He heard her padding down the stairs.

"You have no idea," he muttered. Shaking his head as if his ears had become slightly waterlogged, he decided on the modest approach and grabbed his robe, tying it around the waist before making his way down the stairs.

He found Tonks in the middle of the kitchen, mopping up a spill from the kettle.

"You're dressed." Lupin sounded sightly disappointed.

"So are you." Tonks tightened the sash of her robe and tapped the kettle with her wand. Immediately a high-pitched whistle emanated from its tip.

"Yeah, but it was a lot more fun when you were...unclothed..." Lupin came up behind her while she poured their tea, wrapping his arms around her.

Tonks giggled as bread flew erratically from the breadbox, a heavy cutting board slammed itself on the counter and a very sharp knife swung out of its holder and began to slice the bread haphazardly.

Lupin ducked as the knife soared over his head and various pots and pans jostled him aside so they could cook the bacon and eggs that had appeared there.

"Oops..." Tonks put a hand over her mouth as she turned and took in Lupin's appearance.

"What?" Lupin asked apprehensively.

"Well, when the knife started cutting the bread..." Tonks trailed off. Then she plucked a sheaf of Lupin's hair, which had obviously been severed by the knife, off the top of his head.

Lupin took the hairs and stared at them.

"I'm not as young as I used to be. I needed those."

"Maybe I need to work on these spells," Tonks decided as the smell of burning eggs filled the kitchen.

"You think?"

Tonks glanced furtively around the bright kitchen. The loaf of bread was now a pile of breadcrumbs, the eggs were giving off a lot of black smoke, and the bacon was not in the frying pan, but on the floor. The knife Tonks had tried to use to cut the bread was nowhere to be seen. That fact alone made Lupin very, very nervous.

"Look." Lupin seized his wife's wrist. "Let's leave breakfast for the moment, okay?" He waved his wand. Immediately the burnt eggs and raw bacon disappeared, the black smoke wafted out of an open window and the kettle ceased its whistling.

"Hey, you're better at these spells than I am!" Tonks looked impressed. Then she yawned, still sleepy. "Maybe we should just go back to bed," she said.

"Just a minute," Lupin said distractedly, looking around the kitchen. "Where did that knife go?"

Lupin's eyes were still darting around, searching for the elusive bread knife, when something was thrown over his head and his view became obstructed.

Slowly Lupin lifted Tonks' robe off of his head and looked around. The object of his attention now stood at the stairs to the bedroom, her body blocked by the doorjamb, divested of all clothing.

"What were you saying?" Tonks asked sweetly.

"Ah...I don't remember," Lupin said stupidly, staring at his wife.

"Knife!" said Tonks cheerfully. Lupin ducked as the mysterious knife finally reappeared and came to rest, point down and quivering, on the breadboard.

"Nice reflexes!" Tonks complimented as she began to move up the stairs, whistling cheerfully.

"I love this woman," Lupin muttered as he raced up the stairs after her.

**********

"Okay, let's go over the plan one more time!"

There were audible groans in the living room of the Burrow as several people stared up at Mad-Eye Moody.

"Mad-Eye, we've been over this plan a million times!" Ron looked irritated.

Moody fixed him with a severe glare, both his eyes still and quivering in his sockets. "Anyone who thinks that this mission is going to be a walk in the park can stay here!"

"I didn't say that!" Ron looked outraged. "All I said was..."

"Okay, okay," Lupin interjected calmly. "No one is going to stay behind." Lupin then turned his attention to Moody. "You were saying, Alastor?" he asked politely.

It was half-past four. The living room of the Burrow was filled to bursting with people, so much so that people had to stand side-by-side to fit.

Moody looked mollified. "Okay," he said, addressing the group as a whole. "The plan is that seven of us will transform into Potter, using Mundungus's Polyjuice idea. The other seven will guide both the real and fake Potters to different enchanted safe houses."

There were affirmative nods.

"Hagrid." Moody craned his head, looking around. "Where's Hagrid?"

"I'm 'ere!" Hagrid, far too big to fit in the overcrowded living room, was standing in the middle of the kitchen, looking extremely put out.

"Right." Moody nodded at him. "Hagrid, you're going to be taking the real Harry on Sirius's old motorbike. The Death Eaters will be looking for someone who looks at home on a broom."

"Righ' you are!" said Hagrid cheerfully.

"Lupin, Kingsley, Arthur, Tonks, Bill and myself will be escorting the other, 'fake' Harrys. Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Mundungus and Fleur will be either riding broomsticks or Thestrals. We all know the pairings, so I don't need to go over them again."

There were several nods of affirmation.

"Now, to go over who goes to what safe house," Moody continued. "Hagrid, you're to take the real Potter to Tonks' parents' house."

"Do they know 'bout this?" Hagrid asked from his place in the kitchen.

Tonks nodded. "They want to do all they can to help Harry."

"Okay." Moody nodded. "On to the fake Potters...Tonks will take Ron to Arthur and Molly's Aunt Muriel's. Your Portkey will return to the Burrow first."

Tonks and Ron nodded.

"Arthur and Fred, you'll be heading to my house. Your Portkey will return second."

There were more nods.

"Then the real Potter and Hagrid will return third. Lupin and George will head towards Dedalus Diggle's house. You will return fourth. Hermione and Kingsley will be fifth, and head towards Kingsley's house. Bill and Fleur sixth, and Mundungus and I will be last. Are we all clear?"

Most people nodded. Moody looked satisfied.

"If one of us is killed..."

"No one is going to be killed," Kingsley said in a calming voice as Hermione and Ron exchanged alarmed glances.

"You don't know that," Moody growled, "and we should be prepared! Even though we've spread a fake trail at the Ministry, who knows whether or not You-Know-Who will follow it!"

There was a heavy silence. Then a high-pitched voice rang out.

"I wanna come!"
Everyone in the living room turned to find Ginny glaring at the group assembled.

"You're not of age!" Molly Weasley blustered immediately.

"I don't care!" Ginny said defiantly. It sounded as if they had had this argument many times.

"It wouldn't do any good to have another person along," Moody said with an air of finality.

Ginny stared at them all for a minute, breathing heavily. Then, without a word to anyone, she stomped out of the room. After a minute they heard a door slam loudly.

Ron and Hermione exchanged looks.

"Right." Moody checked his watch, obviously deciding to ignore the outburst. "It's time. Everyone into the yard."

The large group trooped into the yard, Hagrid being pulled through the small doorframe by Ron. In the yard waited two Thestrals, a large motorbike, and four broomsticks.

For a moment there was chaos as people said goodbye to one another. In one corner of the yard, Molly embraced her husband and whispered words only he could hear. He nodded grimly and they broke apart. Ron and Hermione exchanged another glance, and Lupin could swear that he saw their hands touch briefly before they separated.

Lupin turned to Tonks. She looked back at him, a small smile on her face. Looking at her, he felt both affection and fear start to well up inside of him. He wanted to tell her to be careful, that their marriage would certainly affect her safety, that he had a horrible feeling something was going to go wrong. He opened his mouth, but his tongue seemed to be stuck to the roof of his mouth, seemingly unable to be able to form words.

"I know," Tonks said suddenly, seeming to read his mind.

He stared at her gratefully. She smiled at him again, her hand in his, and they embraced briefly.

"It's time!" Moody suddenly called from the middle of the yard.

"See you soon," said Tonks. Lupin nodded and they moved towards Moody.

"Okay." Moody had his wand raised. "Disillusionment charms, everybody!"

Everyone raised their own wands and cracked themselves over the head with them: in a moment all of them had disappeared, their bodies taking the texture and colour of whatever was behind them.

"Okay!" Moody's voice seemed disembodied. "Everyone on your brooms, Thestrals or motorbike!"

Lupin mounted his broom, George behind him; all around him their air seemed to shimmer as Disillusioned people mounted broomsticks, Thestrals, or, in the case of Hagrid, a motorbike that roared to life with a loud reverberation.

"Ok!" Moody's voice called out again. "If all goes to plan, I'll see you in Privet Drive! On three! One...two...three!"

There was a flurry of movement as brooms, Thestrals and motorbike took off from the ground. Lupin looked down as they accelerated. Molly Weasley waved at them from the yard, tears cascading down her face.

As The Burrow faded from sight, Lupin reflected that he just couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to go terribly wrong.

**********

"You got married?" Harry said disbelievingly as he stared at Tonks' hand.

Lupin smiled, glad to see Harry again. "I'm sorry you couldn't be there, Harry, it was very quiet..."

"All right, all right, we'll have time for a cosy catch-up later!" barked Moody, and Lupin fell silent, glancing over at Tonks. She crossed her eyes at Moody's back and Lupin smiled.

Even though Lupin was sure Moody had seen Tonks, he continued to tell Harry about their change of plans. Lupin tuned out. He had heard the plans maybe fifty times, and he doubted they had changed since they discussed them less than an hour ago.

Instead he let his eyes roam about, taking in everyone. Harry, looking thin, tall, and more and more like James everyday, was listening to Moody with rapt attention. Hermione and Ron were looking curiously around Harry's house. Fred, George, Bill and Kingsley were also listening to Moody, although Lupin guessed it was only half-heartedly. Fleur was watching Mundungus with obvious distaste as Mundungus's eyes darted around the room, obviously cataloguing what he would be able to come back and pinch later.

But Lupin's eyes were inexorably drawn to his wife. She was sitting on the washing machine, wearing a Weird Sisters t-shirt and examining her nails, her hair its usual pink. The more he scrutinised her appearance, the more he began to realise that she had a certain glow about her that Lupin hadn't noticed before. As if she sensed she was being watched, she suddenly raised her eyes. When she saw him looking, her face split into a wide grin. Then she screwed up her face and, with a pained expression, her nose changed from its usual size to a long beak-like protrusion that resembled Severus Snape's. Lupin smiled again, suppressing a laugh behind his hand.

No one seemed to notice, however, as Moody had just checked his watch and announced they had three minutes until take-off. Everyone began to troop into the yard as Harry fetched his things. Tonks climbed aboard her broomstick, Ron behind her.

"Hold tight now, Ron," Tonks encouraged Ron, and Lupin noticed with amusement that Ron shot him a guilty look as he put his hands around Tonks' waist to keep himself steady.

He felt George climb on his own broom behind him, and watched as Harry climbed into the sidecar of Hagrid's motorbike, looking extremely uncomfortable. The motorbike roared to life.

"Good luck, everyone!" Moody shouted. "See you all in about an hour at The Burrow! On the count of three! One..."

Lupin's eyes once again found his wife's. Tonks' nose was now back to its normal size, and her face was much more serious than it had been a moment ago.

"Two..."

Her eyes glittered strangely with emotion, and out of nowhere the disconcerting thought struck Lupin that this might be the last time he ever saw her. He suddenly wished he had said a better goodbye.

"THREE!"
Lupin shot into the air. All around him, he watched Thestrals, broomsticks and Sirius's motorbike do the same. Very soon they were clear of the protection of Harry's house.

Suddenly people, many more than there should have been, surrounded them.

And all at once, Lupin knew something had gone very, very wrong.

**********

All around them was chaos.

Tonks lost sight of her husband as Death Eaters surrounded them on all sides, green lights flashed in every direction, and people started screaming.

"Hold tight!" she yelled to Ron again as five Death Eaters began to chase them across the sky. Tonks felt Ron reach into his robes.

"Stupefy!"

Tonks looked back in time to see one of the Death Eaters topple from their broom as Ron's stunning spell hit him squarely on the side of the head. One of his companions stopped to save him from certain death, and they were quickly lost from view.

"Good one!" Tonks shouted. "Make sure you keep your wand out!"

Racing through the skies, Tonks glanced back and to her dismay found that the remaining Death Eaters were easily keeping up. The added weight of two people on one broom was slowing them down significantly.

"Look out!" Ron screamed suddenly, pointing ahead.

Too preoccupied with watching her flank, Tonks had neglected to look to her front; two of the remaining three Death Eaters had circled around, effectively blocking them in from both front and back. At the fore of the frontal assault, Tonks spied Bellatrix Lestrange. She was laughing maniacally, her eyes glittering with malice, her hood flown off in the wind.

"Why, it's the wife of the werewolf!" she screamed, pointing her wand directly at Tonks.

Tonks didn't hesitate. "Protego!" she shouted, wrenching her wand out. An invisible shield was erected between the pair.

With Bellatrix distracted by the shield, Tonks suddenly wrested the broom into a gut wrenching nose-dive. She could feel Ron yelling in her ear as the ground approached them at an alarming speed, and his grip tightened so much it hurt. Tonks could hear the wind whistling in her ear, and the faint whips that told her that the Death Eaters were following her at break-neck speed.

"Tonks!" Ron yelled. "Tonks, we're going to crash!"

And indeed, the ground was only meters away. Just as it seemed inevitable that they were going to crash into unyielding earth, Tonks pulled sharply out of her dive, shooting straight back up into the air. A series of dull thuds told her that her plan had worked. Looking down at the rapidly shrinking ground, she was able to make out a ruined broomstick and a figure stirring feebly in the middle of the wreckage. Ron cheered as they continued their steep ascent.

"Good one, Tonks!"

"How many did we lose?" she yelled back, still hurtling upwards.

"Only one!" Ron yelled back, and Tonks felt a lurch of disappointment. "The Lestranges are still on our tail!"

Sure enough, as Tonks looked back and levelled their flight path, she could hear the maniacal laughter of Bellatrix and Rodolphus.

"It will take more than feeble broom tricks to defeat me!" Bellatrix screamed. "Avada Kedavra!"

There was a jet of green light. Ron and Tonks both ducked, the deadly spell missing them by inches, and igniting the end of the broom.

"Aguamenti!" Tonks aimed over her shoulder at the flaming tail, but her mark was off: instead of extinguishing the broom, a fountain of water shot out of the end of her wand and hit Bellatrix and Rodolphus. They spluttered, their eyes obscured by water for a moment, and Tonks put on a burst of speed, determined to press their advantage.

"Put out that fire!" Tonks yelled to Ron over her shoulder.

A jet of water shot out of the end of Ron's wand and hit the tail of the broomstick, effectively extinguishing the fire.

"They've found the real Potter!" Rodolphus suddenly screamed, still following in Ron and Tonks' wake. "We must return to the Dark Lord!"

"NO!" Bellatrix screamed. "She is mine! Mine! Crucio!"

This time Bellatrix's spell hit its mark. Tonks doubled over, her insides on fire, screaming in pain. She was barely aware of Ron's yells in her ear as the broom spiralled out of control, only of the pain, the excruciating pain...

**********

Lupin sped towards his destination, his mind racing as four Death Eaters swooped behind him and George. All four of them were firing jinxes down on the pair and it was all Lupin could do to keep the broom in the air.

"All right?" he yelled back at George.

"Impedimenta!" George yelled. One of the Death Eaters toppled off his broom. Another dove to rescue him. In the wind, Lupin saw his hood fall off. It was with a sick feeling that he suddenly caught sight of...

"Snape!" George howled in rage, fixing jinxes and hexes back at the Death Eaters.

"Sectumsempra!" Snape suddenly bellowed.

Lupin heard George's scream and felt something small whiz past him. Lupin twisted on his broom just in time to see George clutch the side of his head, blood gushing from where his ear once was. George lost all colour and suddenly toppled sideways off the broom.

"No!" Lupin went into a dive, trying desperately to grab George, but the boy was speeding to the ground at an alarming rate, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

"No! George! Accio George!" he yelled in desperation.

The broom slowed; but then so did George. Lupin grabbed George's robes and dragged him back onto the broomstick.

There was blood pouring from the side of his head; George's eyes were rolling back in his head and his mouth was lolling open.

"George! George, listen to me!" Lupin roared, his eyes darting between the area in front of the broom, the trailing Death Eaters and the almost unconscious boy on the back of the broom. "George, I need you to hold on, okay? We're almost there!"

He felt George clutch his back weakly, but he had no time to dwell on this weakness, for suddenly there was a loud bang, and Lupin and George were flying through the air. Lupin struggled to control the broom as they fell fast... down, down...

Until everything became silent.

In one last desperate act, Lupin pulled up the broom, and to his amazement no spells rained down on him and George. Looking around, he realised that they had, miraculously, made it to Dedalus Diggle's house, and were now inside its protective bubble.

Guiding the broom to the ground none too gently, Lupin pulled the broom to a stop and leapt from it.

George looked worse than ever. He was now unconscious, blood still pouring from his head wound, his face deathly pale. Lupin checked his watch and found that they had only seconds to reach their Portkey before it left without them. Dragging George to his feet, Lupin practically carried him into the deserted house. Glancing wildly around the kitchen, Lupin dived for the large kitchen spatula that had been left on the counter, still supporting George, just as it began to glow brightly.

Immediately Lupin felt that familiar tugging sensation behind his navel, and soon everything was disappearing in a bluish haze.

**********

It seemed as though the pain would never end. Hurtling towards the ground at an alarming speed, Tonks shrieked with pain as Bellatrix laughed above her. Tonks was sure she was going to die, until...

"Diffindo!" Ron screamed, pointing his own wand at Bellatrix. She howled in pain as a long gash appeared on her cheek. As Bellatrix clutched her face, Tonks' pain disappeared as fast as it had come.

Panting, she looked around to find Ron clutching her to him, obviously trying to keep her from falling off her broom to certain death. She looked around in horror to find they were plummeting towards the ground again, the broom spiralling out of control. She pulled them up sharply, mere meters from the ground, her eyes as hard as stone. She then shot back into the air and continued heading northwards, breathing heavily.

"Are you okay?" Ron yelled in her ear.

Tonks nodded jerkily. Then, suddenly, she came to a decision.

Pulling the broom up sharply, she came to a very complete and unexpected stop in mid-air. Bellatrix and Rodolphus, obviously not expecting this sudden change in inertia, sped right past, looks of amazement on their faces.

A hard, blazing look on her face, Tonks pointed her wand at Bellatrix. "Incendio!" she screamed.

Immediately Bellatrix's broom caught on fire. With a startled shriek, she attempted to put it out with her wand, but seemed to be unable to do so. In the confusion that followed, Tonks hit Rodolphus with a Furnunculus hex and he howled in pain and rage, falling off his broom.

"Tonks...look!" Ron suddenly yelled and Tonks looked down quickly.

There, right below them, was Ron's Aunt Muriel's house. Tonks thought she had never seen anything quite so beautiful. She sped into another nose-dive, Bellatrix Lestrange's furious screams echoing in her ears as her prey was lost for good inside their protective bubble. She aimed one last hex at them, however, as they sped through the protective charm: the hex broke the broomstick into thousands of tiny pieces and Tonks and Ron hurtled the last few meters to the ground, landing with an almighty crash.

An unnatural silence fell as the two figures lay on the ground, motionless for a moment. Then Ron groaned, raised his head, and sat up, obviously checking for any broken bones or injuries. When he could find none, he looked around, spying Tonks on the ground not too far away.

"Tonks...Tonks..." Ron crawled towards the older woman on all fours. "Are you okay?"

Tonks, totally winded, was unable to reply.

"Good Lord!"

A new voice sounded as a very old woman came rushing into the garden. "Thank god you two are all right, you've missed your Portkey, when you didn't arrive on time I was sure you'd been killed..."

"Auntie Muriel..." Ron gasped as she wrenched him upward. "No, no, I'm ok, it's ok..."

Aunt Muriel peered down at Tonks, who was still extremely winded. "Help me get her inside the house."

"No...fine...I'm fine..." Tonks wheezed out, as she was lifted to her feet and supported by Ron and his Aunt into the house.

Tonks reflected that she had a lot of strength for a hundred-and-seven year old woman.

"Nonsense, you can barely talk!" said the old woman in a no-nonsense voice as they deposited her on the couch.

"Nice one, Tonks!" said Ron. "You were brilliant!"

Tonks gave him a wan smile.

"I'm guessing things didn't go to plan?" Aunt Muriel guessed, her eyebrows furrowing as she examined Ron and Tonks for injuries.

Tonks shook her head. "Death Eaters knew what we were going to do," she rasped out. "There might be a traitor among us."

Aunt Muriel shook her head. "Do you know what's happened to the others?" she asked.

Ron shook his head. "We all got separated," he reported. "There were spells coming from everywhere...I lost sight of everyone..." Ron's hair was now turning back to its vivid orange colour, and he threw his glasses down on the sofa, his eyesight returning to normal.

"We...we missed our Portkey?" Tonks asked Aunt Muriel. She nodded.

"Yes, dear. By about half an hour. Weren't you supposed to return to the Burrow first?"

Tonks nodded mutely.

Ron seemed to read her thoughts. "I'm sure everyone's fine," he said to her.

"Of course they are!" said Aunt Muriel briskly before Tonks could reply. "Now..." She peered down at Tonks, still lying prone on the couch. "I don't know if it's such a good idea to move you..."

"I'm fine, I'm just winded!" Tonks sat up immediately. "We have to get back to The Burrow. Everyone will be wondering where we are..." She looked around the kitchen. "Muriel," she addressed the elderly lady. "Do you have a spare broom?"

Aunt Muriel nodded. "In the back shed. Why?"

"Ron and I are going to borrow it. You can Apparate, can't you Ron?" she asked the now normal-looking Ron. He nodded.

"Good. We're going to use the broom to fly just outside the house's protection, Disapparate, and reappear just above The Burrow. Got it?"

Ron nodded.

"Ok, let's go!" Tonks stood up, wincing slightly, and headed outside, Ron and Aunt Muriel following. As soon as they had their broom, Tonks guided them into the air, Ron clutching her sides, and Aunt Muriel waving at them from the ground.

"Ready?" Tonks called to Ron. He nodded. They both turned in mid-air...

And reappeared at the Burrow. Tonks sped through the barrier at top speed, needing to make sure everyone was okay, that everyone had gotten back safely...

"It's them!" someone suddenly screamed as they hurtled to the ground, skidded, and came to a stop.

Tonks looked around quickly, and spotted just who she was looking for.

"Remus!" she cried, flinging herself off the broom and into his arms.

His arms encircled her, and she could feel his heart pounding inside his chest. Tuning out the rest of the conversation she squeezed him hard, as if making sure he were real, before looking up.

"Ron was brilliant," she said. "Stunned one of the Death Eaters, straight to the head, and when you're aiming at a moving target from a flying broom-"

But Lupin didn't seem to be listening. He stared down at her, his face set and white.

"So what kept you?" Lupin's voice was unnaturally harsh. "What happened?"

"Bellatrix. She wants me quite as much as she wants Harry, Remus, she tried very hard to kill me..."

Lupin nodded, his face still white, and Tonks decided not to mention the Cruciatus Curse to him. A muscle was jumping in his jaw, and his heart was still beating furiously against her chest. She circled her arms around his neck again, and he seemed to relax slightly.

However, their relaxation was to be short-lived. Tonks soon learned of George's missing ear, and of the still missing Bill, Fleur, Mad-Eye and Mundungus.

Suddenly there was a wail and a Thestral soared into sight. Bill and Fleur dismounted, and everyone greeted them cheerfully, but Tonks immediately knew something was wrong. As Lupin tensed beside her, she knew that he, too, sensed something. Then Bill opened his mouth:

"Mad-Eye is dead."

**********

"Mad-Eye," said Bill solemnly, pouring Firewhiskey into glasses and handing them around. He then raised his own glass.

"Mad-Eye." The rumble was startling in its intensity, and everyone drank to the memory of their fallen comrade.

Lupin drained his glass in one and glanced over at Tonks. She was crying quietly into her handkerchief, obviously trying to hide her misery, and his heart lurched unpleasantly. Reaching across he placed a surreptitious hand on her arm.

When she wasn't at The Burrow when he had gotten back with George...Lupin had never felt like that before. He had been in a sort of blind panic, fearful that she was lying dead or injured somewhere and the frustration he had experienced that there was nothing he could do about it had been overwhelming.

And when she returned and he learned that she had been battling Bellatrix Lestrange, his worst fears had been confirmed. She had been targeted because of their marriage. It was exactly as he had feared, as he had tried to tell everyone. But no one had wanted to listen.

And look what had happened.

He looked at her closely for a moment. She was very pale. Lupin had a feeling that more had happened with Bellatrix than she was admitting.

He forced himself to turn away from her.

"So Mundungus disappeared?" he asked. He had a horrible feeling someone had betrayed them, and since Mundungus was the only one who hadn't returned, Lupin thought there was a good chance Mundungus was the traitor.

"I know what you're thinking, and I wondered that too, on the way back here," said Bill. "But Mundungus can't have betrayed us. They didn't know there would be seven Harrys, that confused them the moment we appeared, and in case you've forgotten, it was Mundungus who suggested that bit of skulduggery. I think Dung panicked, it's as simple as that. He didn't want to come in the first place, but Mad-Eye made him..."

Lupin heard Tonks gulp, and she raised her head from her handkerchief.

"You-Know-Who acted exactly as Mad-Eye expected him to," she said. "Mad-Eye said he'd expect Harry to be with the toughest, most skilled Aurors. He chased Mad-Eye first, and when Mundungus gave them away he switched to Kingsley..."

A discussion broke out amongst the group, which ended in Fleur, none too subtly, accusing Hagrid of accidentally giving away the plan. Harry suddenly piped up.

"No...we've got to trust each other. I trust all of you, I don't think anyone in this room would ever sell me to Voldemort..."

There was more silence and Lupin turned to Harry. Sometimes he was so much like his father that it scared him...after all, James had trusted his life to his friends, and look what had happened...

"You think I'm a fool?" Harry asked, obviously reading Lupin's expression.

"No, I think you're like James," smiled Lupin, "who would have regarded it as the height of dishonour to distrust his friends..."

And, his memory too painful, he turned away, setting his glass down.

"There's work to do," he suddenly decided. "I can ask Kingsley whether..."

"No." Bill stood also. "I'll do it, I'll come."

Tonks looked up from her handkerchief again. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"Mad-Eye's body. We need to recover it."

Tonks stared up at him for a moment. Then she nodded, looking pale and drained.

Bill and his mother exchanged some words, and Lupin leant down.

"Are you sure you're ok?" he asked his pallid-looking wife. "Are you sure you weren't hurt?"

Tonks shook her head and managed a smile. "I'm fine," she said. "Just...be safe, okay? And...try and find his body. He wouldn't have wanted..." She paused, gulping. "He wouldn't have wanted...for the Death Eaters..."

"I know," Lupin said quietly. She nodded and he gave her a swift kiss. Then he straightened, nodded at Bill, and the two of them left the house, the front door slamming behind them.

Conversation swirled around Tonks almost as soon as they had gone, but Tonks wasn't listening. The loss of her mentor and teacher was like a huge physical blow. She couldn't believe that it was only yesterday that he'd married her and Lupin. Everything seemed so perfect then...could it have only been twenty-four hours ago?

Harry and Mrs. Weasley were conversing, Harry looking both extremely tense and immensely irritated. He suddenly snapped at the group at large, glaring around at them all. Then, with a muttered excuse for fresh air, he left the kitchen for the garden. After a moment, Hermione and Ron left the kitchen as well, in pursuit of their angry friend.

As well as her grief, Tonks was on edge waiting for the return of Remus and Bill. Her nerves felt jangled, rubbed raw, and she felt more exhausted than she had in a long time.

After a while, Fred, George and Arthur left the kitchen, and it was only the three women who remained. Fleur looked almost as worried as Tonks felt, and she felt a sudden warm kinship with the young French woman.

Her thoughts once more turned inward. What was to become of them? So many people had died the last time Voldemort had returned to power. Already, deaths were piling up; in the Order alone they had suffered heavy casualties. Sirius, Dumbledore, and now Mad-Eye...

How many more were to die before the fall of the Dark Lord?

With this sudden, unwanted thought, Tonks shook her head.

"Molly." she stood up suddenly, knocking over her chair. Molly looked up, startled.

"Let's get supper going, okay? I'm sure everyone will be hungry soon."

Molly looked surprised, but nodded. Fleur also stood, volunteering to help.

Slowly, the three women began to prepare a meal they didn't really want to prepare, for people who wouldn't really want to eat, to distract them from thoughts that they really didn't want to think about.

And still, the thought plagued Tonks: how many more must die?

With that bleak thought, she plunged herself into cooking, her mind a jumbled blur.