Professor McGonagall took a swing of her firewhiskey before setting the bottle down with a soft clink. She looked at the bottle and sighed. She had been drinking more these past days than she had for the majority of her years, but with everything happening, who could blame her? Dolores Umbridge's humiliating downfall and death, then Voldemort's return, and then Snape's sudden, tragic demise, it was one hit after the other. With all that, she was now basically running Hogwarts on her own, with the Headmaster not even bothering to do his duties and just disappearing whenever he felt like it.
Her lips pressed into a thin line as she rubbed her forehead. The man had left her to deal with everything. Hogwarts currently had no Potions Master and no Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, and the man just up and vanished.
The sheer audacity of it left her feeling incredulous, a cold anger coiling in her gut. What was he thinking? She knew he wasn't feeling alright and was sure he was trying to solve whatever the problem was by himself, but would it have killed him to give her a hand, to get her some substitutes to help out with the teaching, and keep her informed when he just leaves?
She was expected to carry the crushing weight of it all on her shoulders. Her shoulders, which seemed to ache with a dull, constant throb, were a physical manifestation of her mental burden. The parchment on her desk, a towering stack of unanswered correspondence, seemed to mock her. Letters from frantic parents, Ministry mandates for new safety protocols, and a dozen unfiled reports on student behavior and ward maintenance. Each piece of paper was a fresh weight on her already bowed shoulders.
She sighed again and took another swing from the bottle, the amber liquid burning a path down her throat. "Just what the hell is going on?" she muttered to the empty room. "Things are just getting too chaotic." She rubbed her temples and leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes for just a moment to rest a little. But it seemed that was not to be when a knock broke the silence.
"Yes, come in," she called out, her voice a weary rasp.
The door opened, and in walked a flash of pink hair. "Wotcher, Professor," Tonks greeted brightly, though the cheer in her tone was forced. "Ah, hello, Ms McGonagall," she added, her own nervousness a tight knot in her stomach.
"Ms. Tonks? What are you doing here?" She was not expecting the young Auror.
"Ah, I was sent on an assignment to Professor Dumbledore, but I have not been able to locate him. Do you know where he is?" she told her, asking the older woman. She had arrived in Hogwarts and had been hoping to take care of things with the Headmaster before heading to find Harry.
She really was nervous about the situation, she didn't know why, to be honest. She had dated quite a bit in the past, and she never felt like this. Was it because of the nature of the relationship she was going to be asking for, or was it just because being with Harry seemed different from all her past relationships? Her past dates had been fun, fleeting moments, but this felt less like a risk and more like stepping off a cliff.
She saw Ms. McGonagall rub her forehead before she sighed. "I'm afraid I cannot help you there, Miss Tonks, even I do not know where that man is at the moment," she told her.
"Oh, is he busy with something?" Tonks asked cautiously, trying to mask the relief that Dumbledore wasn't there.
"Busy?" McGonagall's Scottish burr sharpened, her temper flaring. "Gallivanting, more like. Leaving me to manage the school while he pursues… whatever it is he pursues." She gritted out, her hands clenching into fists on the desk. Tonks could see how much it annoyed and angered the woman. The sheer amount of work on her desk was a testament to the weight McGonagall was carrying alone.
"Sorry for the bother, Professor, I'll just leave you to your work," she said and turned to leave, before the Professor called out.
"Wait, I know you are here on Ministry work, but I just thought of something." She looked at Tonks with a glint in her eyes that Tonks didn't like, a desperate hope mixed with shrewd calculation.
"At the moment, Hogwarts is woefully short-handed," the professor started, and Tonks felt a growing dread in her. She wasn't saying what she was saying, right? she thought to herself as the Professor continued. "You always had excellent marks in Defence, and Alastor speaks very highly of you. I would like it if you could please take the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor...Of course, temporary until I can find someone else to take over," she asked Tonks.
She was truly desperate here, she didn't have anybody who could take over at the moment, and she wasn't about to deprive her students of an education because the Headmaster was galavanting around without care.
"So what do you say?" she looked hopefully at the young woman, and Tonks saw her eyes soften with a plea that cut her to the core.
Tonks felt her stomach drop. She didn't know what was happening as she stumbled through the halls of Hogwarts in a daze. Did she just agree to teach a bunch of hormonal brats? Her head felt like it was not screwed on properly because she was sure it was going to fall off at the rate it was spinning.
She, a teacher, and she had accepted. Why? Oh, she knew why. She had tried to reject, but that crushing despair that seemed to appear in the professor's eyes when she tried just cut deep, and she ended up accepting.
Regardless, she had taken care of her Ministry assignment. Even if the Headmaster was not around, she just decided to proceed with Ms. McGonagall's instructions. After all, the Ministry just wanted a more detailed report on the deaths of both teachers, and now that she had finished, she should be on her way.
Her way to meet Harry, that is.
After asking a few passing students, they pointed her in the direction of the lake, and it seemed the timing wasn't bad at all. He was with someone she could only assume was his girlfriend.
She walked over. She could see him leaning by the tree, talking with the girl, who had her left hand on Harry's lap, her head on his shoulder, and was listening intently to everything he was saying.
Tonks paused for a moment to stop and look at the girl, and she meant really looked at the girl. She was stunning in the kind of way that made Tonks' chest tighten, her long blonde hair, her cheery-colored lips, pale white skin, and the way her clothes seemed to mold to her body. She was filled in at all the right places, definitely more so than what an average fifth-year should be. She was beautiful without a doubt.
She steeled herself before calling out to Harry, forcing cheer into her voice. "Wotcher, Harry!" she said, getting his attention.
Harry was startled a little before he turned, spotting Tonks heading their way. He could feel Daphne stiffen a little when she saw Tonks. He guessed that while she had said she was okay with it, she still had negative feelings on the matter.
He sat up straighter and greeted Tonks, who had come over, and introduced Daphne by her full name before saying she was his girlfriend. She saw how Tonks seemed to tense at that.
Daphne greeted Tonks with a polite smile, and Tonks responded in kind. He would have thought she did well if not for the brief change in color of her hair. He guessed she was nervous as her hair circled through colors before settling back on her normal pink.
Harry invited her to sit down, and she did. They all seemed tense as Harry made small talk between all three of them, and after a while, it stopped being tense when Daphne asked how the Auror training under Moody was.
Tonks said that she had never been in a worse hell than that, but that it was worth it. While the job didn't really have as much fun as she had imagined when she had decided to become an Auror, it was still what she wanted to do because she knew she could help people like that.
She asked Daphne what she wanted to do after graduation, and the young girl said that she was hoping to become a Healer. She said that while it wasn't her passion, it was once she had decided, and that she would see it through. Harry knew why she wanted to, but he didn't say anything.
Conversations like this followed for a while before Daphne turned, placing a hand on Harry's arm. "Harry, would you give us a moment? Just us girls."
Harry blinked. "What?"
Daphne rolled her eyes and pushed at his shoulder lightly. "Girls' talk. No boys allowed."
He was reluctant, and he was sure it showed on his face before Daphne leaned in, placing a soft kiss on his lips before whispering to him that she really just did want to talk. He said okay and left to give them space to talk.
As he stood and walked away, Daphne's eyes followed him until he was out of earshot. Then, and only then, did she turn back to Tonks, her polite mask slipping into something sharper.
The air between them shifted. The real conversation was about to begin.
"So," Daphne started, her voice a low, cool murmur that was at odds with Tonks's vibrant personality. She tucked a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "I've heard a lot about you, Ms. Tonks. Harry spoke of you."
Tonks felt a flush creep up her neck. This was a classic Slytherin move, a subtle but effective way of letting her know that Daphne was aware of her. "I'm sure he has," Tonks managed, her own voice not betraying a hint of strain.
Daphne's eyes, the color of a winter sky, were unblinking. "He says you're… a dear friend." The words were spoken with a polite, almost clinical detachment, but Tonks heard the subtle emphasis on "friend." It was a declaration, a line in the sand.
"I am," Tonks said, forcing herself to meet Daphne's gaze. "We've been friends for a while."
"Yes. He's had to defend you from my inquiries. A lot." Daphne's expression remained perfectly composed, but Tonks noticed a flicker of something in her eyes. "I'm told you once said something to him. That you two could be… more."
Tonks's heart hammered against her ribs. The directness of the attack was breathtaking. She had half-expected small talk, a roundabout conversation, but this was a bludgeon. "I… what Harry and I have said to each other is our business," she stammered, feeling her hair flicker to a furious shade of red.
Daphne's lips curved into a tiny, knowing smile. "I'm sorry. You're right. It is your business. But now… now it's my business, too." She leaned forward slightly, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "I have a few questions, and I would like them answered honestly. I do not like being lied to, and I don't like my time being wasted. I assume we're clear?"
Tonks swallowed hard and nodded.
"Good," Daphne said, her smile widening just enough to reveal a sliver of her perfect, white teeth. "Now. Let's talk about a few things. Starting with your relationship with my boyfriend and what you want." The word "boyfriend" was laced with a chilling sweetness that left no room for interpretation.
Tonks's mind raced. She had a feeling this conversation was going to be more taxing than any Ministry assignment.
"First, do you plan to continue pursuing him? I want a clear, direct answer, Tonks."
Tonks opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Her words seemed to be stuck. Why was she so blunt. It was throwing tonks off her game.
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