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My Life with a Werewolf by TonksForever36

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Chapter 4-Mission at the Ministry

Remus and I slept in this morning. There's nothing better than being lazy on a Sunday, especially for Remus. He deserves it. It's been very cold out and I think he's feeling ill, and not just because of the full moon. I felt his head when I woke, and it seemed warm, but he was under the covers all night. There was also a fire burning.

I went down to the kitchens again to get more food. Unfortunately, the house-elves were awake. I ran into Dobby, who told me he had been working at Hogwarts for a Galleon a week. I noticed he was wearing shoes, which meant he was a free elf. He asked where I came from. I wanted to Obliviate him and leave until he said, "I keep secrets, just like I keep Harry Potter's."

"Keep the secret, Dobby," I said. "Do you know about the Room of Requirement?"

"Yes, Dora Tonks, I do," he said.

"Remus and I are hiding there from Professor Umbridge. Do you promise not to tell anyone?" I asked.

"Yes, Dobby promises," he said. With that, he opened the cupboards and helped me find food and put it into my rucksack. I did the bottle of pumpkin juice. It's heavy and made of glass. If it fell and broke, it would probably wake the other house-elves and that's the last thing we need.
I walked back up the passage and found Remus dressed and out of bed. I guess I was wrong about him being ill. He assured me he felt fine and cooked breakfast. It wasn't breakfast in bed, but any breakfast with Remus is good. I felt his head again, it still felt a little warm, but we were sitting by the fire. He promised he felt all right. I rummaged through my trunk and noticed we were out of our Honeydukes chocolate. I decided to go to Hogsmeade to buy some more. I put on my black striped shirt, gray overshirt, black trousers, Hufflepuff tie as a belt, fleece lined boots, long red coat, and fingerless gloves. I made sure my wand was up the sleeve of my coat, got my rucksack and off I went.

Hogsmeade was busy. I wasn't surprised, it being close to Christmas. I walked down High Street and into Honeydukes, where I was greeted by Mrs. Flume.

"What can I get for you, Tonks?" she asked.

"A case of chocolate, please," I said.

"So much, Tonks?" Mrs. Flume asked.

"Yes, I plan on giving it to friends and family in their stockings, and to some Hogwarts students I've made friends with over the past few months."

"All right, Tonks, here you are," she said, lifting the case off the shelf. "Do you think this will fit in your rucksack?"

"I think it should, but I could always cast the Enlarging spell on it," I said.

"Very true," Mrs. Flume said.

I reached into my coat pocket for my money bag, when I realised I'd left it in the Room of Requirement.

"Mrs. Flume, I'm terribly sorry, but I seem to have forgotten my Galleons."

"That's all right, Tonks. We'll consider it a Christmas gift. If you'd like, you can come back and pay later."

"Thank you," I said, putting the box into my rucksack. It just barely fit. I had just stepped out the door, and had started walking down High Street, when Graciee came running up to me in a panic.

"Tonks, Tonks!" she cried. "I know I'm underage and not supposed to be here, but you have to help!"

"It's all right, sweetheart," I said, kneeling down to her level. "Take a deep breath, and tell me what's happened."

The next three words Graciee said nearly turned my blood to ice. "She's taken them!" she exclaimed.

"Who did she take, Graciee?" I asked. When she didn't answer, probably out of fear, I said, "Graciee, it's all right. Who did she take?"

"Not 'who', Tonks!" Graciee said. " 'What.' Umbridge took our wands!"

"Why would she do that? Doesn't she understand you're defenseless without them?" I asked.

"It's probably because of what you and Professor Lupin did yesterday," Graciee said.

"She's probably angry with us and she's taking it out on you," I said. I got to my feet and we began to walk back to Hogwarts.

"Listen to me. How many wands did she take?" I asked.

"I don't know," she replied. "All I know, all the Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Gryffindors were called into the Great Hall. We sat down at our tables, and Umbridge ordered us to hand over our wands. If we didn't, she said they'd be taken by force, broken in half, and we'd all be expelled."

"Merlin's beard!" I exclaimed. "I am so sorry, Graciee. I feel like this is all my fault."

"It's not your fault, Tonks. We're glad someone finally stood up to that toad." We walked inside the castle and found Remus waiting.

"Remus, where is everyone?" I asked.

"I sent all the students back to their common rooms, except for the Hufflepuffs. They can't get in without their wands, and they're still in the Great Hall. I've already told Dumbledore and McGonagall what happened, and they will rally the Order. We'll meet in Dumbledore's office," Remus whispered in my ear.

I nodded. "Until then, we have no way of letting the Hufflepuffs back in their common room," I said.

"Yes, we do, Dora," Remus said.

"How, Remus? You need a wand to do that," I said.

"You have a wand, and you're a Hufflepuff, Dora." Remus said.

"That's right!" I exclaimed. "All right, Hufflepuffs, follow me."

"I'll stay here and wait," Remus said, giving me a knowing look. We went downstairs to the basements and I tapped out the password. "Everybody inside and stay there," I said.

"But our wands, Tonks!" Emily exclaimed.

"I'll get them back, I promise," I said, taking my rucksack off and taking out the case of chocolate. "Take this and pass them out. You need this more than I do."

The door closed and I cast wards on it, even though I knew no one else, hopefully, would be able to get in.

Remus and I Apparated to Dumbledore's office. We were surprised to see everyone had already arrived, including Sirius. Roma was there too, and her arm was no longer in a cast. Ronan quickly explained that he had simply cast Episkey wrong, but when he tried again it had worked.

"Tonks, please tell us what happened," Professor McGonagall said. I quickly explained what happened between last night and today.

"We need to get the wands back. The students are defenseless without them," Remus said. Everyone nodded agreement.

"Remus, sweetheart, I know what you will probably say, but as a Metamorphmagus, I think I should be the one to go on this mission. If I get caught, I can change into anybody. I can even pretend to be Umbridge from the start," I said.

"All right, Dora, if you think you can handle this, then I think you should do it," Remus said. "I saw you the night the Death Eaters attacked us, and even though you were injured, I know you can defend yourself."

"Tonks, I know this may not be the best idea," Sirius said. "But if I come with you as Padfoot, I could act as a lookout. If there's danger, we can always Disapparate."

"I think we should start with Umbridge's office. Dora, you have the two-way mirror, and I have the Marauder's Map, so I can keep a look out also," Remus said.

"Very well," Dumbledore said. "Tonks, please go the Hufflepuff common room, and escort the students to the Great Hall. Remus, please take care of the Gryffindor students. I'll have Filius escort the Ravenclaws students."

I went to the Hufflepuff common room, while Padfoot waited in Dumbledore's office. I found Harry sitting next to Neville who looked not only angry but very upset. I looked at Remus, who said he knew why, and promised tell me why later.

Remus went back to the Room of Requirement, and I returned to Dumbledore's office. Sirius had transformed into Padfoot. I knelt down, put my arms around his neck, and we Apparated to Umbridge's office.

After making sure the door was locked, I pulled the two-way mirror out of my pocket, my wand out of my sleeve, and said "We're here Remus, where should we begin looking?"

"Where's Padfoot?" Remus asked.

"He's sitting by the door," I said.

"All right, since Umbridge stole almost every student's wand, I'd look in the storeroom to the right. Do you see it, Dora?" Remus asked.

"Yes, Remus, I do. I see a lot of things belonging to the Weasley twins, but I don't see any wands. Accio wands!" I said. Nothing happened. "They're not here Remus."

"Dora, Umbridge is coming!" Remus exclaimed. "You have to Disapparate now." Since the wands were obviously not in her office, I put my hand on Padfoots' back, and we Apparated back to Dumbledore's office.

Padfoot transformed back, looking very angry. "Tonks, if the wands aren't here, do you think she destroyed them?"

"She may have, Sirius, but they may be in her office at the Ministry. I know it's risky, but looking there is the only other choice we have."

"Tonks," Sirius said. You find Dumbledore and McGonagall, tell them your idea, and come back here." I went down the Great Hall. The students looked at me eagerly. I had to tell them I had not yet found their wands, but I had a feeling I knew where they were, and I would not return to Hogwarts without them.

"Tonks," Mad-Eye said. "Do you believe the wands are at the Ministry?"

"I don't know where else they can possibly be, unless they were destroyed. I wouldn't put it past Umbridge to do that, though. I think I need to transform into the Umbridge, get to the Ministry, and do everything in my power to get the wands back. I promise I will not return to Hogwarts without them."

"Very well, Tonks," McGonagall said. "It seems the only solution."

"I will keep in contact with Remus. The only thing is I won't have any way of knowing where Umbridge is, if she is indeed now at the Ministry. I think it would help if I had someone to act as guard, perhaps a certain dog," I said. The students looked at each other curiously, but I saw Harry and Remus trying not to smile.

I ate lunch before I left, then Apparated back to Dumbledore's office. I told Sirius the plan. I changed into Umbridge and we Apparated to the Atrium. I know the Minster's office is on Level One. Since Umbridge is the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, I assumed her office would be there also. Padfoot heard footsteps so we quickly Apparated to Umbridge's office. Finding the door unlocked, we went in, and I cast Colloportus. The next thing I did was silence the cat plates. Merlin's beard, they give me a headache. Feeling that we were safe, Sirius transformed back into a human, and I transformed back into myself.

Sirius and I started searching every drawer and cupboard of Umbridge's office. I was about to give up, when Sirius pointed out the curtains on the right hand side of the room. Pulling aside the curtains, I saw a door.

"Remus, I found a door. Did you notice that the last time we were here?" I asked.

"No, Dora, I didn't," Remus said. "Do you think the wands are behind that door?"

"I don't know Remus, but there's only one way to find out," I said. I cast Alohomora on the door, and it unlocked. Sirius and I went in and began to search. We looked everywhere, but didn't find anything, until I noticed a trunk in the corner. I found it unlocked, so holding my breath, I opened it. It was full of wands!

"Sirius, come here!" I exclaimed. "I found them!"

"Tonks, are you sure those are the wands?" Sirius asked.

"They have to be, Sirius. There's easily over one hundred here," I said.

"We don't have time to waste, Tonks. We should just put them in your rucksack and Apparate out of here," Sirius said nervously.

"All right," I said. Sirius held my rucksack while I put them in.

"Remus," I said. "We found them. We'll back at Hogwarts soon."

"That's great, Dora. See you soon. I love you," Remus said.

"I love you, too, Remus," I said.

"All right, Tonks," Sirius said, closing my rucksack. "Let's Apparate out of here." With that he turned into Padfoot.

"That would be a very good idea, Nymphadora," Umbridge said from her office. Padfoot growled, then barked so loud he hurt my ears.

"Padfoot, get her!" I exclaimed. Padfoot advanced on Umbridge, who slowly began to back away. He continued to growl, then let out a bark, which caused her to turn and run. Padfoot chased her out of her office. I wanted to laugh, but didn't want to risk being heard. After a few minutes of silence, I became very nervous. I then heard paws coming back. Padfoot kicked the door shut, and I locked it.

"What did you do, Sirius?" I asked. "As much as I think she deserves it, I hope you didn't bite her."

Sirius transformed back and said, "No, Tonks, as much as I would have liked too, I knew it was something we couldn't risk. I did chase her until she Disapparated. We've delayed enough, though. I'll Apparate back to headquarters, and you to Hogwarts, agreed?"

"All right, Sirius." I said. I Apparated back to just outside the Great Hall. When I walked in, all eyes were on me.

"Wotcher, everyone," I said, taking off my rucksack. “I have an early Christmas present for you!"

"You got our wands back, Tonks?" Emily asked.

"Yes, I did," I said. All the students got up to retrieve their wands. Ronan stood, held up his hands, and said, "I understand you want your wands back, but we need to do this in an orderly way."

"I think we should lay out all the wands on the table, the students can pick them up, and then you should return to your common rooms," Remus said.

"Thank you, Remus," I said.

"You're welcome, love," he replied, sitting down across from where I was standing. I sat down also, and when I did Remus began to cough. I knew he wasn't feeling well. I leaned across the table, and felt his forehead. It felt very hot.

"Remus," I said. "You're very hot. I think you're burning up."

Ronan heard me, came over and asked, "Is someone ill, Tonks?"

"I think Remus is. I know you've said you're not feeling ill, sweetheart, but I know when someone has a fever. Promise me you'll go to the hospital wing," I said.

"All right, Dora, I promise," Remus said. "I just want to give Neville back his wand, and then I'll go."

"Why do you want to give Neville back his wand so badly, sweetheart?" I asked.

"The wand belonged to my father, Tonks." Neville's voice came from my right. "It's the only thing I have left of him, and I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to it."

I tried to not be sad, and tried even harder not to cry, but a single tear slipped down my cheek, and although I couldn't see it, I know my hair turned brown. Remus being sick and Neville's story just upset me so much.

"Dora, Neville's father isn't dead. Neither is his mother. I promise I will tell you what happened to them when we get back to our room," Remus said.

"All right," Mad-Eye spoke up. "The wands are all laid out. Gryffindor goes first."

"I'm going to wait to make sure they get in all right, Remus."

"Very well, love," Remus, kissing my hand. "I'll see you later." I turned and saw him pick up Neville's wand. He handed it to him. Neville said thank you and smiled.

He caught up with me at the entrance to the Great Hall, and said, "Tonks, thank you for getting my wand back. My dad will never know this, but I know he'd appreciate what you've done for us."

"You're very welcome, Neville," I replied. I sat on the steps outside the Great Hall. Everyone thanked me as they left. I had never heard so many "thank you's" in my life. Remus and Ronan left the Great Hall and Apparated to the hospital wing. Hopefully Madame Pomfrey will be able to take care of Remus. If not, I trust Ronan will take him to St. Mungo's. I trust him, even though he is still a trainee Healer.

The Gryffindors left and Ronan, who had Apparated back from the Hospital Wing, escorted the Gryffindors back to their common room. The Hufflepuffs were just finishing up retrieving their wands. Graciee, Emily, and Iona sat next to me on the stairs, and Iona pulled two chocolate bars out of her pocket. "We wanted to give these to you and Remus for helping us today," she said. "Thank you, Tonks, and thank Remus for us, also."

"I will," I replied.

"Tonks, if you would like to go to the hospital wing to check on Remus, you can. We can handle things here, " Roma said. "I can escort the Hufflepuffs back to their common room."

"Thank you, Roma. I'll see you later," I said.

"Tá fáilte romhat," she said absentmindedly. I don't know much Irish Gaelic, her and Ronan's native language, but she's said that enough, and I know it means "You're welcome." I Apparated to the hospital wing and found Remus sitting on the bed. I sat down next to him.

"Tonks, I'm glad you've come," Madame Pomfrey said, "Remus does indeed have a fever. He has a fairly severe cold. I've prescribed some Pepperup Potion, which he has already taken. He already feels better."

"Thank you, Madame Pomfrey. Does this effect the Wolfsbane potion in any way?" I asked.

"No, Tonks, it doesn't. I remember reading in one of my medical books that taking Pepperup Potion will not have an adverse affect on it," Madame Pomfrey said.

"I took it once during third year, and the potion still worked, Dora," Remus assured me.

"That makes me feel better," I said. Remus and I got up, and started to head back to the Room of Requirement. We ran into Dobby on the way. It was then that I realised I had forgotten to tell Remus about running into Dobby in the kitchens. I told him and promised that Dobby would keep the secret.

"Dora Tonks, Dobby went through the passage from the kitchens into the Room of Requirement and left you food for supper. You were not in the Great Hall and Dobby became worried, because Dobby heard that the wands had been stolen."

"Everything is fine, Dobby," I said. "I will make sure the wands will never be stolen again."

"Thank you, Dora Tonks. That makes Dobby happy. Dobby doesn't want to see the students be hurt."

"I promise you they won't be, and thank you for the food, Dobby," I said.

"You are welcome, Dora Tonks and Remus Lupin. Dobby will return to kitchens now to prepare for supper." Remus and I left the hospital wing. He headed to Dumbledore's office, while I headed back to our room.

When I arrived I saw that Dobby had indeed left food for us by the fireplace for tonight and tomorrow morning. I was exhausted so I collapsed on the bed. I fell asleep for a while, and when I woke Remus still hadn't come back. I quickly spoke with him on the two-way mirror. He was still in Dumbledore's office and told me he'd be back soon.

I got up, took off my boots, coat, and gray overshirt. I walked over to the window seat and sat down. I noticed a picture a few feet away. I picked it up, not sure at first what it was of or who the people in it were.

After looking for a few minutes, I recognized Mad-Eye. I thought I saw someone who looked like Remus, but I wasn't too sure. I saw a man who looked a lot like Harry, so I assumed it was James, and the woman next to him was Lily. Sirius I recognized right away. I also saw Dumbledore, Hagrid, and two men who looked remarkably like the Weasley twins. They must have been related to Molly.

On the right hand side of the picture, I saw a man who after a few minutes, I thought looked slightly like Neville. I came to the realisation that it must be his father, and the woman next to him his mother. I put down the picture, remembering what Neville had told me before. All the emotion of the past few days, and the sadness of what happened to James and Lily, caught up with me. I pulled my knees to chest, put my head down, and began to cry harder than I ever remember crying.

I didn't hear Remus come in and didn't realise he was there until he sat down across from on the window seat. "Dora, what's wrong?" he asked. "Why are you crying?"
I lifted my head and pointed at the picture lying at my feet. Remus sighed and said, "Dora, I am so sorry you had to see that. I didn't mean to leave it there, and I'm sorry it upset you."

"Please don't blame yourself, Remus," I said. "I feel guilty for looking. I didn't have the right."

"It's all right, love," Remus said. "I'll go put the picture away."

"Remus, please don't. That's the first Order of the Phoenix, isn't it?" I asked. "The one that existed during the First Wizarding War."

"Yes, it is," Remus said. "How did you know?"

"I recognised some of the people," I said. "At least I think I recognised James, Lily, Hagrid, Dumbledore, Mad-Eye, Sirius, Peter, Neville's parents, and you. I also saw two people who look a lot like Fred and George."

"Those were Fabian and Gideon Prewett, Molly's brothers. They were killed by Death Eaters. So was Marlene McKinnon, just two weeks after the picture was taken." Remus said, pointing to a blond haired woman in the second row, just to the right of Mad-Eye.

He also pointed out Edgar Bones and his wife, who were also killed by Death Eaters, along with their children and Edgar's parents. Voldemort had nearly the entire family killed.

"Remus, are they related to Susan Bones, by any chance?"

"Yes, they are. I am not sure how, but I do know that Amelia Bones, who serves on the Wizengamot, is Susan Bones' aunt. Do you know her?"

"I've seen Susan around Hogwarts. She's a Hufflepuff. I haven't really gotten to know her though. Maybe I should."

"I'm sure she'd like to have a new friend," Remus said, taking my hand and kissing it.

Next he pointed out Caradoc Dearborn. "We're still not sure what happened to him. We presume he was murdered by Death Eaters, but he disappeared six months after the photo was taken and his body was never found."

He also pointed out Benjy Fenwick, who was killed by a curse that according to Mad-Eye blasted him to pieces. When the Order tried to recover his body, they only found bits of him. I asked who the woman all the way to right in the first row was. He said it was Emmeline Vance. I didn't know she was in the first Order. I didn't even recognise her.

"Remus, these people here," I said, pointing to the man I thought to be Neville's father and the woman standing next to him. "Those are Neville's parents aren't they?" I asked.

"Yes, Dora, they are," Remus said sadly.

"I know you said they weren't dead, sweetheart, but the way Neville spoke of them, it sounds like he believed that they are. I know for a fact that they aren't."

"Dora, I'll tell you the story of what happened to Neville's parents, Frank and Alice."

I sighed, and said, "You don't have to, Remus. I already know."

"How could you know that, Nymphadora? When this happened you were just a child."

"Remus, this isn't easy for me. Let me explain, and I hope I can make you understand."

"All right, Dora, I'm listening," Remus said.

"It was just after the end of the First Wizarding War. I was about 8 years old. I woke up one night when I heard my parents talking downstairs. I sneaked out of my room and sat on the steps. I heard them mention the names Frank and Alice and the words "tortured" and "insanity". Since I was so young, I didn't really understand what they were saying. My father asked what was going to happen to them. I assumed he was talking about Neville's parents. Then I heard the name-" I had to stop speaking. I could barely bring myself to say the name.

"Dora, I think I know the name you can't say," Remus said.

"Let me try, Remus," I said. "The name I heard was Bellatrix Lestrange."

"I thought that is what you were going to say. She is one of the people responsible for torturing Neville's parents. The other three were Bartemius Crouch, Junior and Rodolphus and Rastaban Lestrange."

"Barty Crouch was the man who impersonated Mad-Eye last year. Rodolphus is Bellatrix's husband and Rastaban is his brother."

"Dora, how do you know all this?" Remus asked.

"I know more about the Lestranges than you will ever believe, Remus. You know that Sirius and I are second cousins. My mum and Sirius are first cousins. But what my mum never really discusses with anyone is that she also has two sisters."

"What are their names?" asked Remus.

"You already know, Remus," I said. One of them is in Azkaban for torturing Neville's parents, and the other has a son named Draco.

Remus looked at me, shocked. "Dora, do you mean Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy are your mother's sisters?"

"Yes, Remus, they are. There's also something else."

"I already figured it out. Bellatrix and Narcissa are your aunts, and Draco is your first cousin."

"Yes, Remus, I am directly related to the woman who tortured your friends and drove them insane, and for that," I said, beginning to cry again. "I feel incredibly guilty."

"Why should you feel guilty, Dora? You had nothing to do with this, you were an innocent child when this happened, and you are not Bellatrix. You are nowhere near even like her."

"You mean you're not angry at me for this?" I asked.

"Dora, come here," said Remus, pulling me into a hug. "You are your aunt's niece, not your aunt yourself. Just because you are directly related, doesn't mean anything. Your mother is nothing like her either. The cycle of your family ended when she married your dad. He was a Hufflepuff, wasn't he?"

"Yes, Remus, he was," I said wiping my tears away. "You're right, my mum put an end to the blood purity beliefs when she married my dad. She knew it would get her disowned, but she didn't care, just like I don't care. I was just afraid you would hate me and leave me if you knew the truth."

"Dora, listen to me, I will never, ever leave you, and I know you will never, ever leave me. You are are Hufflepuff, and that makes you loyal. I know you will stay, and so will I."

I leaned in and kissed Remus. He kissed me back, and I knew he was telling the truth. I was feeling warm so I unbuttoned the first three buttons of my shirt. Remus told me to turn around and I lay back, and he put his arms around me. He pulled a chocolate bar from his coat, broke off a piece, and fed it to me. I turned around, climbed onto his lap, fed him a piece of chocolate, and kissed until we both ran out of breath.

We got up, had supper, and after resumed our positions on the window seat. He kissed my head, and whispered, "I love you, Dora,"

I whispered back "I love you too," and fell asleep in his arms.