4. Tonks
It was baking hot in the city of Venice. Tonks was incredibly uncomfortable in her t-shirt, jeans and hoodie, but there was no way she could wear anything lighter as she dodged here and there through the crowd. Three men in long black coats were following her. Their Muggle guise was their only option in a place this busy, but Tonks knew who they were. Goyle. Macnair. Rodolphus Lestrange. They’d known that these three Death Eaters had been following them for quite a while - well, following Harry.
That was why Tonks couldn’t take off the bulky hoodie which allowed her to hide much of her face. Harry wouldn’t have been able to. And for today, as for every day in the last few weeks, Tonks was Harry.
She’d turned her hair black and messy and her eyes green, and with the right props (glasses and an illusionary scar) she could be mistaken for him at a distance, or in a fight. She couldn’t alter her height or her frame though, so she had to dress carefully to disguise her un-Harry-like curves.
Tonks veered left through a crowd of American tourists and then turned a sharp right to slip down an alley. She was supposed to be leading them into an Order of the Phoenix trap, not losing them, but when she glanced around she realised she had done just that.
Leaning against the wall to catch her breath, she pulled out a mirror and checked her appearance. Still as close to Harry as possible. Good. Kingsley had suggested that whoever was to impersonate Harry should use Polyjuice - but the Death Eaters were wary enough as it was without ‘Harry Potter’ knocking back something suspiciously familiar every hour.
The Death Eaters still hadn’t caught up. Damn it. Tonks swore under her breath, and decided to carry on again down the alley. She’d find them again, no doubt, it would just take -
–AVADA KEDAVRA!â€
~
5. Fred and George
Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes was buzzing. Diagon Alley had be gradually getting back to normal for the past six weeks, and people were in a celebratory mood. There was a crowd four deep around the fireworks.
Fred was demonstrating a new kind of trick wand to a particularly excited group of twelve-year-olds when Verity tapped him on the shoulder.
–Mr Weasley? Mr Weasley wants you in the back.â€
Fred nodded, and let Verity take over with the customers before heading to the door behind the counter. He sometimes wondered if Verity just used –Mr Weasley†so much (after being persistently told she could use their first names) because she thought it sounded funny… well, it did… but if that was the reason, she kept an impressively straight face.
He was brought abruptly away from his musings on their employee when he walked into the back room to see George looking very pale.
–What’s happened?†he asked as the door swung shut behind him, cutting the noise of the excited crowd off completely.
–Moody’s dead,†his twin said blankly. Fred sank into the nearest chair, stunned. It took him a few moments to find his voice.
–What happened?†he eventually said again, falling back on repetition.
George explained without any tears or anger, and Fred knew that the reality of what they were discussing still hadn’t sunk in. The small group of Order members leading the Death Eaters safely away from the real Harry had been ambushed. Kingsley, Tonks and Dedalus had captured the Death Eaters, but only after Moody had been killed. He had stepped in front of Tonks and taken the killing curse for her.
–Kingsley said that Tonks is a mess,†George finished quietly. –She’s going to stick with them to keep the Death Eaters busy, but after that she might not go back to the Aurors.â€
The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes. Then Fred pushed himself to his feet and went over to the cupboard. He pulled out two glasses and a bottle of wine, and poured a small amount for each of them.
–Only a little bit during opening hours,†he said, and George nodded as he took his.
–To Mad-Eye,†Fred said and drank; George followed suit.
Another pause, and then George took a deep breath and put on his best grin.
–Come on, brother dear,†he said lightly, though his voice had a more serious edge to it than usual. –Our audience awaits.â€
And the two of them headed back out to the bustling crowd.
~
6. Percy
–Minister, I assure you, there is no need to interfere. Potter’s safety is undeniable; and, if you’ll forgive me, your appearance would do nothing but harm.â€
Percy Weasley rubbed the tip of one finger between the index and thumb of his other hand as he spoke, a nervous habit he had developed since leaving Hogwarts. Scrimgeour sighed.
–I know the lad can have no fondness for me, but - †he threw his hands in the air and then reached for a ream of parchment, shaking his head. –I’ll write to him, instead, then. On another matter, have you heard back from the Chinese Minister about that incident with the Fireballs?â€
Percy nodded and presented the aforementioned Minister’s response among other paperwork, explaining swiftly all the matters that needed to be brought to Scrimgeour’s attention and then noting his response on a sheet of parchment marked with the date: November 1st. This was a habit that did not require too much concentration, so it was easy for a part of his mind to be wondering how things were going at The Burrow in that quiet attic room…
–…and going back to Potter, Weasley, inform Liana that I intend to award him an Order of Merlin. First Class. Seeing as Potter is unavailable at the moment, we’ll set the ceremony for May 1st next spring. Nice and symbolic, a year to the day.†Scrimgeour sighed again as Percy made a note regarding the award.
–Weasley, it’s past six o’clock. We should both be heading home.â€
It was another half an hour - why were there always a few more things to finish at the end of the day? - before Percy arrived in the kitchen at The Burrow to find Bill and Charlie sitting alone.
–Hey Perce,†Charlie said quietly. –How was work?â€
Percy sat down next to them.
–Busy and frustrating,†he answered honestly. –How’s Harry?â€
Charlie smiled, though he looked tired.
–He’s awake.â€
A Recovery in Moments by HermitKnut
Chapter Notes: A/N: As before I have attempted to solve the weird question mark problem, but no such luck. Please let me know if there is anything I can do.