Growing - Chapter Nine
Sep. 3rd, 2006 05:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meddowGrowing (9/18)
Chapter Nine – She Will Have Her Way
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Chapter Summary: The conflict between Andromeda and Tonks finally erupts, Neville gets and invitation and he and Tonks share a few conversations.
Author’s Notes: A very big thanks to Nathan for betaing.
Previous Chapter
~*~*~*~
Neville got up the next morning for work as usual, not knowing what the situation was going to be after the events of the night before. Though, as always, work would have to be done in the greenhouse. The door to Tonks’ room was closed, which meant she was probably still in there, and maybe Professor Lupin if he had not left already.
Andromeda was sitting at the table reading the Prophet. Engrossed by its contents she didn’t seem to notice when Neville sat down with some cereal. The cover story was that two Death Eaters had been captured the day before. Harry, Hermione and Ron had all told him though that all the supposed Death Eaters the Ministry had captured so far were just petty thieves or innocent people.
Eventually, Andromeda finished the article and noticed Neville.
“There’s not much work to do today, no orders,” she said. She looked rather strained, and Neville wondered whether she and Ted had managed to patch things up the night before. “Thank you for cleaning up last night,” she added. “I know things got very messy.”
“It was no problem,” Neville replied as Andromeda got up and headed for the kitchen to put her own bowl away.
Grabbing the Prophet from where Andromeda had left it, Neville found out that actual Death Eaters had been caught, Warren McNair and Amycus Carrow. There were photos of the two tied up and sitting in a room that the caption revealed to be the Wizengamot.
Neville was horrified when he read on. The Death Eaters were caught during the attack on Hogsmeade when more Aurors arrived from London to help in the fight. The story was filled with quotes from Ministry officials of how this was a great success, and that the Ministry's plan was now coming into fruition. Neville did not think that the two lives lost that night and the numerous injuries and the countless deaths of the past year by Aurors were worth the capture of only two Death Eaters.
Towards the end, the Prophet finally mentioned the Aurors that had been stationed at Hogsmeade.
Rutherford Scott and Marius Savage were killed in the attack, both are being considered for post-humous awarding of the Order of Merlin. Seth Proudfoot, Angelina Johnson, Richard Dawlish and Nymphadora Tonks were all injured in the fray, they will be returning to active duty as soon as possible.
“Can I read that after you?” Tonks asked from behind him, tiredness lining her voice. Neville handed over the paper; she after all had more of a right to read it since it was about her.
Neville continued to eat his breakfast while Tonks read the article quietly. She had not changed from the night before, bruises still on her pale face and hair still dark blue. Andromeda eventually walked in.
“Where’s Remus?” she asked after looking around.
“Gone,” Tonks replied nonchalantly, not bothering to look up from the paper.
“Where?” Andromeda seemed concerned.
Tonks continued to read the paper. “He has work to do. And I don’t see why you particularly care.”
“Well, I do. I will not see you settle for a man that leaves when you need him,” Andromeda replied, curtly.
“Well, this was more important,” Tonks replied, finally looking up from the paper.
“What could possibly be more important than you?”
“Harry Potter,” Tonks replied, with a look in her eyes that she was challenging her mother to dare say that the war was not important.
Andromeda went quiet. Neville had never discussed Harry and he had not heard Andromeda and Ted discuss him either. He wondered whether or not they believed that Harry was the chosen one. Neville certainly did, he had seen the prophecy with his own two eyes, though he had no idea what was contained in it.
“I can’t reason with you, can I?” Andromeda said suddenly, her voice calm. “You’ll keep doing this, going out and fighting, risking your life. You just don’t understand what this is doing to your father and me…What you are doing to yourself. You were a different person two years ago. I miss my daughter”
“And I miss my mother!” Tonks replied angrily. Neville wanted to leave before another fight, but he remained frozen to his chair, afraid of what the two women would do should they notice him. “You used to say I could do anything, that I could be anything that I wanted. But as soon as I decided to become an Auror, you’ve been determined to stop it. And then I fell in love, and suddenly all that stuff you told me about all people being equal is all rubbish”
“I meant Muggles. If you had fallen in love with a Muggle I would not have cared. But Remus is diseased! And I…” Andromeda yelled at her daughter.
“I don’t care!” Tonks interrupted.
“…I knew this would happen and that’s why I didn’t want you to become an Auror! I didn’t want to see my happy, brilliant daughter be reduced to a cynical shell! This didn’t have to be your fight!”
“It was always my fight! The day I was born this was my fight! The day I met my Aunt this was my fight! If I was some shop assistant or a healer do you honestly think I would survive this war? That I wouldn’t be a target! They know what I’m capable of and I can’t escape it, but I can fight it!”
Andromeda stood there looking as if she was about to yell right back. And then suddenly, she sat down. “You're right,” she said quietly. Andromeda seemed to be shaking and Neville noticed Tonks' expression changed from one of rage to one of concern. “Though it was not supposed to be this way,” Andromeda said quietly.
Tonks got up and moved towards her mother. “It was going to be better for you,” Andromeda continued tears now flowing. “Your father and I, we worked so hard to give you something better than what we had…I didn’t want this.”
Neville watched as Tonks placed a hand on her mothers shoulder. “I don’t want this either, Mum,” she said quietly, and she wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck.
Realising that he was now intruding on a private moment, Neville got up and managed to slip out of the room silently. He found Ted leaning against the wall in the kitchen, probably having listened to the whole argument.
“I think we have progress,” said Ted quietly.
~*~*~*~
Andromeda showed up in the Greenhouse an hour after Neville had started work.
“There’s a letter for you,” she placed a piece of white folded card into Neville’s hand. When he opened it another piece of paper fell out. The first was a wedding invitation, the words etched in gold onto a card that smelt like roses. Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour had invited him. It was to be held on the first day of August at the Weasley family home.
Picking the second letter off the ground, he recognised Hermione’s rushed handwriting.
Dear Neville.
It’s going to be Harry’s birthday soon and to cheer him up Ron and I are throwing him a small party. It would be great if you could come. Arrive on the 30th July at Ron’s home. You can stay over for a few days and come to the wedding as well.
Love
Hermione
“…and Ron” was scribbled on the end in another set of handwriting. Neville was a bit disappointed that Hermione had seemed to have forgotten that his birthday was on the thirtieth, the day before Harry’s.
“What is it?” Andromeda called up from the Whomping Willows, she seemed to be in a better mood now that she and her daughter had reconciled somewhat.
“I’ve been invited to a wedding and a birthday party,” Neville replied. “Do you mind if I go?” he asked.
“When?” Andromeda started to walk over.
“The thirtieth of July till the second of August.”
“Well, you do know that you are free to come and go as you choose from living here, and I think I can survive without you for three days.”
“Great,” Neville replied, ecstatic that he would get to see and catch up with his friends.
~*~*~*~
Tonks had not left when lunch came round. Instead she seemed to have taken over the dining table with the small collection of books that Andromeda and Ted owned about potions making. She was reading through the pages and writing notes with a quill and a piece of parchment.
On Ted’s instructions, Neville brought Tonks some sandwiches, and he sat down next to her with his own as she read on. Remembering what Professor Lupin had asked of him the night before, Neville tried to think of a good way to start a conversation.
“What are you doing?” he eventually asked.
“Taking notes of what potions could possible be used in the war,” Tonks replied.
“Haven’t people done that already?” Surely the ministry would have thought of that, especially with Professor Snape on the run.
“Well yeah,” Tonks replied. “But I’m just checking over them again.”
“Found any ones that have been missed?” he asked, trying to get her to keep on talking.
“No,” she replied with a sigh. “And all the ones that have been used won’t be found in these sorts of potions books anyway.” She slammed the book shut.
“Are you alright?” Neville asked. She had an air of frustration about her.
“Ha!” she exclaimed. “My good wands broken, so I’m having to sit here when I could be doing two million more useful things.”
“What about your bad wand?” Neville asked, assuming that if you had one, you must have the other.
“It’s a piece of junk,” Tonks replied. “It’s about as good as having no wand, which is why I’m stuck hiding out at my parents place for the week.”
“Oh,” Neville replied, wondering whether Tonks staying was a good thing. At least he could keep an eye on her like Lupin had asked him to.
Tonks picked up a book again and started looking through it and Neville went back to eating his sandwich.
~*~*~*~
The hours passed by and dinner, left over lasagne from the eventful night before, was on served on five plates, but Lupin did not arrive. Tonks seemed anxious, but insisted that everybody begin to eat. She herself sat at a place by the window and kept on glancing out of it, waiting for Lupin to show.
Andromeda and Ted remained quiet, but to Neville it seemed like they were getting along again. Every now and again they gave each other glances and then looked at their daughter.
“When did he say he would be back?” Andromeda asked, a concerned note in her voice.
“Seven,” Tonks replied. Neville glanced at the clock; it was now six thirty.
“Well, there’s still plenty of time,” Ted said cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood, as if every one of them wasn’t thinking what could have happened to Lupin, and Harry.
They continued eating, Ted questioning Neville on how Luna was doing. Ted and Andromeda had grown accustomed to the every day correspondence from her, Luna’s pushy owl Duck had seen to that.
Luna herself had not mentioned what Neville had told her about Tonks directly. Instead she told him about the security checks her father had to go through to work in Diagon Alley, and how he was not letting her visit his office anymore. Neville now knew that this was Luna’s way of acknowledging the growing encroachment of the war on their lives.
Suddenly a white flash seemed to come running at the house from the garden. Neville and Tonks were both on their feet in an instant. Neville had his wand drawn. Ted was fumbling in his robes for his. Andromeda seemed to be sitting there calmly, but Neville noticed she had her wand was in her hand and a determined look in her eyes.
Tonks turned and glanced at the three of them preparing for battle and gave them a small smile. “It’s just a Patronus. Calm down, you three.” She let out an uncomfortable laugh as the white figure suddenly emerged through the wall by her feet.
A big white dog placed a paw on her lap, and Tonks reached out to grab the paw as if to shake hands with it. As she did, it vanished into nothing in front of the four of them.
“Remus is running an hour late,” she announced. “Nothing to worry about.”
“You can communicate through your Patronus?” Ted asked.
“Once you can produce a corporeal Patronus it’s really not a hard trick to learn.”
“Can you teach me?” Neville asked eagerly. Neville realised that if he were to be attacked by Dementors again and not be able to produce a strong patronus he may not be so lucky as to accidentally apparate into Auror headquarters again.
Andromeda and Ted both looked at him, and then to Tonks. She seemed to be considering it.
“You were moaning that you didn’t have anything better to do,” Andromeda said to Tonks.
“Yes, but Neville’s underage,” Ted reminded them. “If he uses his wand he’ll be expelled.”
“Actually, since he’s sixteen and it’s a time of war I can get him an exemption,” Tonks said. This was news to Neville, he had never heard of exemptions before.
“Really?” Neville asked
“Those are new,” Andromeda added.
“Not really. It’s just that it turns out that nobody has read the entire statute of underage wizardry all the way through in a couple of hundred years and that Kingsley Shacklebolt got even more time on his hand than I have…It’s not that hard to get an exemption and I could get onto it tonight,” Tonks replied and moved to the table and picked up a fork.
“That’ll be great,” Neville said. He would love to be able to use his wand. He always kept it with him, but of course was unable to use it.
“Really…So nobody’s read the Statute of Underage Wizardry in over two hundred years?” Ted asked.
“Nobody’s probably been bothered,” Tonks replied.
“After all this time in the wizarding world that surprises you?” Andromeda asked, placing a hand on Ted’s arm and smiling.
“That's what I love about it,” Ted replied.
~*~*~*~
Lupin eventually returned at seven thirty. Tonks was waiting by the front door by this time. Lupin carried with him a boxed piled to the top with brown covered files. Andromeda was busy writing a letter, she seemed to have gained a correspondent the same way Neville had lately, and missed the homecoming.
“How are things?” Lupin asked as Tonks kissed him on the cheek.
“You wouldn’t believe it, but I think Mum’s finally come around,” Tonks replied, she had noticeably become much livelier in the few moments since Lupin had walked in. “She doesn’t openly hate you because of the Werewolf matter anymore,” Tonks continued.
“Really…well that’s an achievement, I suppose,” Lupin replied cautiously smiling.
“Yeah, now if she can just get over the other sixty five million things on her list of things she doesn’t like about you and then I'm sure she’ll consider stopping the evil looks.” Tonks laughed and wrapped her arms around Lupin. Neville smiled. Things seemed to be going well again.
~*~*~*~
Neville was awoken that night by dreams of Dementors. The nights had become cooler again, and with them his nightmares had returned. Deciding he needed a drink of water, he crept out of bed, past Tonks’ room, where the sound of light snoring of Lupin wafted through the door.
Andromeda had a perturbed look on her face when Ted had asked Lupin to say. It had occurred soon after Lupin had returned home. But Tonks thought it was a good idea and she encouraged it and Andromeda had eventually given a smile, albeit forced, and said yes. Whether she was actually fine with it or not was no longer the issue since she seemed to be making an effort to like Lupin.
Walking to the kitchen he saw light shining out of the dinning room door. Somebody else was up. Passing it on his way he spied Tonks sitting at the table surrounded by a pile of files with a quill in her hand.
“Wotcher Neville,” she said, not looking up.
He was startled, he was sure she had not seen him coming.
“How did you know it was me?” he asked.
“Well, your lighter than Dad and Remus. And Mum tends to stride.”
Neville thought that made sense, Ted was much bigger than him and Lupin taller.
“Plus I can see your reflection in the window,” she said. Neville then noticed that the curtains had not been drawn and that he could be seen standing in the doorway.
“Oh…well, do you want anything to drink?” he asked. It seemed only polite since he was heading to the kitchen.
“Okay, sure. I’d love a cup of tea if that isn’t too much fuss,” she smiled and Neville agreed.
He headed to the kitchen and put the kettle on deciding he may as well also have tea. Neville walked back into the dining room some time later, two cups in his hand.
“Thanks,” Tonks smiled as she took a cup of him. Neville pulled out a chair next to her and sat down to drink him.
He had a look at what Tonks was looking at. He could not see anything. All the folders contained were blank sheets of parchment, though Tonks was reading them as if there was writing all over them and making notes on another very large piece of parchment, which again had nothing on it.
“What are you doing?” he eventually asked when his curiosity got the better of him.
Tonks looked up. “Work.”
So that was what she was up to, sneaking around the house at night to work when she should not be.
“Shouldn’t you be having some time off?”
“I can’t sleep…Night shift will do that to you…Might as well be doing something and that’s important,” she replied.
“It doesn’t look like anything to me.”
Tonks looked at him puzzled for a second. Then a look of recognition came across her face. “I keep on forgetting about the protections. That’s because you can’t see it, I can.”
“Oh,” Neville replied.
They continued in silence for a while, both of them slowly sipping on their tea. Until Tonks closed a file, lifted her head up and declared, “Well, I’m done with this. So how’s life with my parents?” she asked.
“Alright,” Neville replied, not expecting her to start questioning.
“Mum not driving you nuts with her cleaning demands?”
“No,” Neville replied.
“Really? Used to drive me nuts. Cleaning is so fruitless. What’s the point in cleaning the kitchen three times a day. It’ll just get messed up again. Might as well clean it once a day. Or when you run out of plates” she announced.
“I don’t mind, it's not any different from living with my Gran really. She likes to have things neat as well,” Neville answered.
“Maybe it’s an old family thing,” Tonks replied thoughtfully, which Neville took to mean pureblood.
“Yeah,” Neville replied, wondering if he would be a good judge of these things being a pureblood himself.
“Then again, I once came across a family of Muggles who were just as tidy. Well, tidier since they didn’t have Dad running around making a big mess and it’s harder for Muggles to clean, they don’t have wands.”
Neville nodded thinking this was one of the strangest conversations he had ever been in, comparing the cleanliness habits of Muggles and wizards, sounded like an assignment for his Muggle studies class.
“So were you expecting Mum when you took the job?” she asked, her demeanour suddenly turning to one more serious.
“No, I was expecting Demeter Willows,” he replied truthfully.
She nodded. “Good.”
“You’ve probably figured out that me and Mum have had…issues in the past year. As a result Demeter’s been forced to be a bit of a hermit and I was wondering whether mum was still using her.”
“How can Demeter be in hiding? She’s your Mother,” he asked.
“Not all of her,” Tonks replied. “I'm the body and face. Mum's the herbology wiz and the business tycoon so I suppose she’s the brain. It worked like a charm too until we started fighting.”
She yawned and Neville realised that he had finished his tea.
“I think I can sleep now,” she announced. Tonks started packing up the folders and pieces of parchment all over the table.
“Yeah, me too,” Neville replied getting up.
“You know, Mum’s going to kill us in the morning for not using coasters,” she grinned as Neville left her behind to head for bed.
Next Chapter
Chapter Nine – She Will Have Her Way
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Chapter Summary: The conflict between Andromeda and Tonks finally erupts, Neville gets and invitation and he and Tonks share a few conversations.
Author’s Notes: A very big thanks to Nathan for betaing.
Previous Chapter
Neville got up the next morning for work as usual, not knowing what the situation was going to be after the events of the night before. Though, as always, work would have to be done in the greenhouse. The door to Tonks’ room was closed, which meant she was probably still in there, and maybe Professor Lupin if he had not left already.
Andromeda was sitting at the table reading the Prophet. Engrossed by its contents she didn’t seem to notice when Neville sat down with some cereal. The cover story was that two Death Eaters had been captured the day before. Harry, Hermione and Ron had all told him though that all the supposed Death Eaters the Ministry had captured so far were just petty thieves or innocent people.
Eventually, Andromeda finished the article and noticed Neville.
“There’s not much work to do today, no orders,” she said. She looked rather strained, and Neville wondered whether she and Ted had managed to patch things up the night before. “Thank you for cleaning up last night,” she added. “I know things got very messy.”
“It was no problem,” Neville replied as Andromeda got up and headed for the kitchen to put her own bowl away.
Grabbing the Prophet from where Andromeda had left it, Neville found out that actual Death Eaters had been caught, Warren McNair and Amycus Carrow. There were photos of the two tied up and sitting in a room that the caption revealed to be the Wizengamot.
Neville was horrified when he read on. The Death Eaters were caught during the attack on Hogsmeade when more Aurors arrived from London to help in the fight. The story was filled with quotes from Ministry officials of how this was a great success, and that the Ministry's plan was now coming into fruition. Neville did not think that the two lives lost that night and the numerous injuries and the countless deaths of the past year by Aurors were worth the capture of only two Death Eaters.
Towards the end, the Prophet finally mentioned the Aurors that had been stationed at Hogsmeade.
Rutherford Scott and Marius Savage were killed in the attack, both are being considered for post-humous awarding of the Order of Merlin. Seth Proudfoot, Angelina Johnson, Richard Dawlish and Nymphadora Tonks were all injured in the fray, they will be returning to active duty as soon as possible.
“Can I read that after you?” Tonks asked from behind him, tiredness lining her voice. Neville handed over the paper; she after all had more of a right to read it since it was about her.
Neville continued to eat his breakfast while Tonks read the article quietly. She had not changed from the night before, bruises still on her pale face and hair still dark blue. Andromeda eventually walked in.
“Where’s Remus?” she asked after looking around.
“Gone,” Tonks replied nonchalantly, not bothering to look up from the paper.
“Where?” Andromeda seemed concerned.
Tonks continued to read the paper. “He has work to do. And I don’t see why you particularly care.”
“Well, I do. I will not see you settle for a man that leaves when you need him,” Andromeda replied, curtly.
“Well, this was more important,” Tonks replied, finally looking up from the paper.
“What could possibly be more important than you?”
“Harry Potter,” Tonks replied, with a look in her eyes that she was challenging her mother to dare say that the war was not important.
Andromeda went quiet. Neville had never discussed Harry and he had not heard Andromeda and Ted discuss him either. He wondered whether or not they believed that Harry was the chosen one. Neville certainly did, he had seen the prophecy with his own two eyes, though he had no idea what was contained in it.
“I can’t reason with you, can I?” Andromeda said suddenly, her voice calm. “You’ll keep doing this, going out and fighting, risking your life. You just don’t understand what this is doing to your father and me…What you are doing to yourself. You were a different person two years ago. I miss my daughter”
“And I miss my mother!” Tonks replied angrily. Neville wanted to leave before another fight, but he remained frozen to his chair, afraid of what the two women would do should they notice him. “You used to say I could do anything, that I could be anything that I wanted. But as soon as I decided to become an Auror, you’ve been determined to stop it. And then I fell in love, and suddenly all that stuff you told me about all people being equal is all rubbish”
“I meant Muggles. If you had fallen in love with a Muggle I would not have cared. But Remus is diseased! And I…” Andromeda yelled at her daughter.
“I don’t care!” Tonks interrupted.
“…I knew this would happen and that’s why I didn’t want you to become an Auror! I didn’t want to see my happy, brilliant daughter be reduced to a cynical shell! This didn’t have to be your fight!”
“It was always my fight! The day I was born this was my fight! The day I met my Aunt this was my fight! If I was some shop assistant or a healer do you honestly think I would survive this war? That I wouldn’t be a target! They know what I’m capable of and I can’t escape it, but I can fight it!”
Andromeda stood there looking as if she was about to yell right back. And then suddenly, she sat down. “You're right,” she said quietly. Andromeda seemed to be shaking and Neville noticed Tonks' expression changed from one of rage to one of concern. “Though it was not supposed to be this way,” Andromeda said quietly.
Tonks got up and moved towards her mother. “It was going to be better for you,” Andromeda continued tears now flowing. “Your father and I, we worked so hard to give you something better than what we had…I didn’t want this.”
Neville watched as Tonks placed a hand on her mothers shoulder. “I don’t want this either, Mum,” she said quietly, and she wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck.
Realising that he was now intruding on a private moment, Neville got up and managed to slip out of the room silently. He found Ted leaning against the wall in the kitchen, probably having listened to the whole argument.
“I think we have progress,” said Ted quietly.
Andromeda showed up in the Greenhouse an hour after Neville had started work.
“There’s a letter for you,” she placed a piece of white folded card into Neville’s hand. When he opened it another piece of paper fell out. The first was a wedding invitation, the words etched in gold onto a card that smelt like roses. Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour had invited him. It was to be held on the first day of August at the Weasley family home.
Picking the second letter off the ground, he recognised Hermione’s rushed handwriting.
Dear Neville.
It’s going to be Harry’s birthday soon and to cheer him up Ron and I are throwing him a small party. It would be great if you could come. Arrive on the 30th July at Ron’s home. You can stay over for a few days and come to the wedding as well.
Love
Hermione
“…and Ron” was scribbled on the end in another set of handwriting. Neville was a bit disappointed that Hermione had seemed to have forgotten that his birthday was on the thirtieth, the day before Harry’s.
“What is it?” Andromeda called up from the Whomping Willows, she seemed to be in a better mood now that she and her daughter had reconciled somewhat.
“I’ve been invited to a wedding and a birthday party,” Neville replied. “Do you mind if I go?” he asked.
“When?” Andromeda started to walk over.
“The thirtieth of July till the second of August.”
“Well, you do know that you are free to come and go as you choose from living here, and I think I can survive without you for three days.”
“Great,” Neville replied, ecstatic that he would get to see and catch up with his friends.
Tonks had not left when lunch came round. Instead she seemed to have taken over the dining table with the small collection of books that Andromeda and Ted owned about potions making. She was reading through the pages and writing notes with a quill and a piece of parchment.
On Ted’s instructions, Neville brought Tonks some sandwiches, and he sat down next to her with his own as she read on. Remembering what Professor Lupin had asked of him the night before, Neville tried to think of a good way to start a conversation.
“What are you doing?” he eventually asked.
“Taking notes of what potions could possible be used in the war,” Tonks replied.
“Haven’t people done that already?” Surely the ministry would have thought of that, especially with Professor Snape on the run.
“Well yeah,” Tonks replied. “But I’m just checking over them again.”
“Found any ones that have been missed?” he asked, trying to get her to keep on talking.
“No,” she replied with a sigh. “And all the ones that have been used won’t be found in these sorts of potions books anyway.” She slammed the book shut.
“Are you alright?” Neville asked. She had an air of frustration about her.
“Ha!” she exclaimed. “My good wands broken, so I’m having to sit here when I could be doing two million more useful things.”
“What about your bad wand?” Neville asked, assuming that if you had one, you must have the other.
“It’s a piece of junk,” Tonks replied. “It’s about as good as having no wand, which is why I’m stuck hiding out at my parents place for the week.”
“Oh,” Neville replied, wondering whether Tonks staying was a good thing. At least he could keep an eye on her like Lupin had asked him to.
Tonks picked up a book again and started looking through it and Neville went back to eating his sandwich.
The hours passed by and dinner, left over lasagne from the eventful night before, was on served on five plates, but Lupin did not arrive. Tonks seemed anxious, but insisted that everybody begin to eat. She herself sat at a place by the window and kept on glancing out of it, waiting for Lupin to show.
Andromeda and Ted remained quiet, but to Neville it seemed like they were getting along again. Every now and again they gave each other glances and then looked at their daughter.
“When did he say he would be back?” Andromeda asked, a concerned note in her voice.
“Seven,” Tonks replied. Neville glanced at the clock; it was now six thirty.
“Well, there’s still plenty of time,” Ted said cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood, as if every one of them wasn’t thinking what could have happened to Lupin, and Harry.
They continued eating, Ted questioning Neville on how Luna was doing. Ted and Andromeda had grown accustomed to the every day correspondence from her, Luna’s pushy owl Duck had seen to that.
Luna herself had not mentioned what Neville had told her about Tonks directly. Instead she told him about the security checks her father had to go through to work in Diagon Alley, and how he was not letting her visit his office anymore. Neville now knew that this was Luna’s way of acknowledging the growing encroachment of the war on their lives.
Suddenly a white flash seemed to come running at the house from the garden. Neville and Tonks were both on their feet in an instant. Neville had his wand drawn. Ted was fumbling in his robes for his. Andromeda seemed to be sitting there calmly, but Neville noticed she had her wand was in her hand and a determined look in her eyes.
Tonks turned and glanced at the three of them preparing for battle and gave them a small smile. “It’s just a Patronus. Calm down, you three.” She let out an uncomfortable laugh as the white figure suddenly emerged through the wall by her feet.
A big white dog placed a paw on her lap, and Tonks reached out to grab the paw as if to shake hands with it. As she did, it vanished into nothing in front of the four of them.
“Remus is running an hour late,” she announced. “Nothing to worry about.”
“You can communicate through your Patronus?” Ted asked.
“Once you can produce a corporeal Patronus it’s really not a hard trick to learn.”
“Can you teach me?” Neville asked eagerly. Neville realised that if he were to be attacked by Dementors again and not be able to produce a strong patronus he may not be so lucky as to accidentally apparate into Auror headquarters again.
Andromeda and Ted both looked at him, and then to Tonks. She seemed to be considering it.
“You were moaning that you didn’t have anything better to do,” Andromeda said to Tonks.
“Yes, but Neville’s underage,” Ted reminded them. “If he uses his wand he’ll be expelled.”
“Actually, since he’s sixteen and it’s a time of war I can get him an exemption,” Tonks said. This was news to Neville, he had never heard of exemptions before.
“Really?” Neville asked
“Those are new,” Andromeda added.
“Not really. It’s just that it turns out that nobody has read the entire statute of underage wizardry all the way through in a couple of hundred years and that Kingsley Shacklebolt got even more time on his hand than I have…It’s not that hard to get an exemption and I could get onto it tonight,” Tonks replied and moved to the table and picked up a fork.
“That’ll be great,” Neville said. He would love to be able to use his wand. He always kept it with him, but of course was unable to use it.
“Really…So nobody’s read the Statute of Underage Wizardry in over two hundred years?” Ted asked.
“Nobody’s probably been bothered,” Tonks replied.
“After all this time in the wizarding world that surprises you?” Andromeda asked, placing a hand on Ted’s arm and smiling.
“That's what I love about it,” Ted replied.
Lupin eventually returned at seven thirty. Tonks was waiting by the front door by this time. Lupin carried with him a boxed piled to the top with brown covered files. Andromeda was busy writing a letter, she seemed to have gained a correspondent the same way Neville had lately, and missed the homecoming.
“How are things?” Lupin asked as Tonks kissed him on the cheek.
“You wouldn’t believe it, but I think Mum’s finally come around,” Tonks replied, she had noticeably become much livelier in the few moments since Lupin had walked in. “She doesn’t openly hate you because of the Werewolf matter anymore,” Tonks continued.
“Really…well that’s an achievement, I suppose,” Lupin replied cautiously smiling.
“Yeah, now if she can just get over the other sixty five million things on her list of things she doesn’t like about you and then I'm sure she’ll consider stopping the evil looks.” Tonks laughed and wrapped her arms around Lupin. Neville smiled. Things seemed to be going well again.
Neville was awoken that night by dreams of Dementors. The nights had become cooler again, and with them his nightmares had returned. Deciding he needed a drink of water, he crept out of bed, past Tonks’ room, where the sound of light snoring of Lupin wafted through the door.
Andromeda had a perturbed look on her face when Ted had asked Lupin to say. It had occurred soon after Lupin had returned home. But Tonks thought it was a good idea and she encouraged it and Andromeda had eventually given a smile, albeit forced, and said yes. Whether she was actually fine with it or not was no longer the issue since she seemed to be making an effort to like Lupin.
Walking to the kitchen he saw light shining out of the dinning room door. Somebody else was up. Passing it on his way he spied Tonks sitting at the table surrounded by a pile of files with a quill in her hand.
“Wotcher Neville,” she said, not looking up.
He was startled, he was sure she had not seen him coming.
“How did you know it was me?” he asked.
“Well, your lighter than Dad and Remus. And Mum tends to stride.”
Neville thought that made sense, Ted was much bigger than him and Lupin taller.
“Plus I can see your reflection in the window,” she said. Neville then noticed that the curtains had not been drawn and that he could be seen standing in the doorway.
“Oh…well, do you want anything to drink?” he asked. It seemed only polite since he was heading to the kitchen.
“Okay, sure. I’d love a cup of tea if that isn’t too much fuss,” she smiled and Neville agreed.
He headed to the kitchen and put the kettle on deciding he may as well also have tea. Neville walked back into the dining room some time later, two cups in his hand.
“Thanks,” Tonks smiled as she took a cup of him. Neville pulled out a chair next to her and sat down to drink him.
He had a look at what Tonks was looking at. He could not see anything. All the folders contained were blank sheets of parchment, though Tonks was reading them as if there was writing all over them and making notes on another very large piece of parchment, which again had nothing on it.
“What are you doing?” he eventually asked when his curiosity got the better of him.
Tonks looked up. “Work.”
So that was what she was up to, sneaking around the house at night to work when she should not be.
“Shouldn’t you be having some time off?”
“I can’t sleep…Night shift will do that to you…Might as well be doing something and that’s important,” she replied.
“It doesn’t look like anything to me.”
Tonks looked at him puzzled for a second. Then a look of recognition came across her face. “I keep on forgetting about the protections. That’s because you can’t see it, I can.”
“Oh,” Neville replied.
They continued in silence for a while, both of them slowly sipping on their tea. Until Tonks closed a file, lifted her head up and declared, “Well, I’m done with this. So how’s life with my parents?” she asked.
“Alright,” Neville replied, not expecting her to start questioning.
“Mum not driving you nuts with her cleaning demands?”
“No,” Neville replied.
“Really? Used to drive me nuts. Cleaning is so fruitless. What’s the point in cleaning the kitchen three times a day. It’ll just get messed up again. Might as well clean it once a day. Or when you run out of plates” she announced.
“I don’t mind, it's not any different from living with my Gran really. She likes to have things neat as well,” Neville answered.
“Maybe it’s an old family thing,” Tonks replied thoughtfully, which Neville took to mean pureblood.
“Yeah,” Neville replied, wondering if he would be a good judge of these things being a pureblood himself.
“Then again, I once came across a family of Muggles who were just as tidy. Well, tidier since they didn’t have Dad running around making a big mess and it’s harder for Muggles to clean, they don’t have wands.”
Neville nodded thinking this was one of the strangest conversations he had ever been in, comparing the cleanliness habits of Muggles and wizards, sounded like an assignment for his Muggle studies class.
“So were you expecting Mum when you took the job?” she asked, her demeanour suddenly turning to one more serious.
“No, I was expecting Demeter Willows,” he replied truthfully.
She nodded. “Good.”
“You’ve probably figured out that me and Mum have had…issues in the past year. As a result Demeter’s been forced to be a bit of a hermit and I was wondering whether mum was still using her.”
“How can Demeter be in hiding? She’s your Mother,” he asked.
“Not all of her,” Tonks replied. “I'm the body and face. Mum's the herbology wiz and the business tycoon so I suppose she’s the brain. It worked like a charm too until we started fighting.”
She yawned and Neville realised that he had finished his tea.
“I think I can sleep now,” she announced. Tonks started packing up the folders and pieces of parchment all over the table.
“Yeah, me too,” Neville replied getting up.
“You know, Mum’s going to kill us in the morning for not using coasters,” she grinned as Neville left her behind to head for bed.
Next Chapter
