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Ch. 2. The Veil

The door swings behind Tonks as she enters the kitchen, a frown on her face as she looks towards me and her husband, who is currently pulling shards of glass out of my hand via his wand. Remus' face is screwed up in concentration, making his scars twist at odd angles as he leans closer to my palm. I hiss as an extra large piece is slowly extracted, eyeing it as it clinks into the bottom of the dish next to us.

"They've all gone home," my best friend announces as she grabs a bottle of Fire Whiskey from the cabinet. I wave my hand towards the shelves, where three ornate glasses fly off the wood and float over to the table. Remus shakes his head towards his wife as she begins to pour the liquid, still concentrated on my palm which is now being stitched together under his wand.

"Good." I try to hide the trembling of my left hand as I lift the glass to my lips, but she notices anyways and lets out a low hum. My eyes flicker to her, the anger from earlier still crackling in my veins. There is only four people who don't - or didn't - shrink away from me when grief and anger cloud my face, her included. "Spit it out, Nym," I sigh, holding back a flinch as the last stitch tightens on my hand. Remus starts to wrap it without magic, looking between the two of us as he does so.

"You're a right twat, you know that Venus?" She tries to harden her face into a scowl but the resulting look makes me snort. Tonks pushes ahead anyways, ignoring my disdain, "It's not Hermione's fault that nothing has worked. Even Harry can see that. Throwing everyone out of here? Not to mention breaking that bloody glass in your fist. It's all a bit of an overreaction, innit?"

She glares at me until I finally make eye contact, lowering my glass to the table in a deathly calm manner, "And Remus? Do you have anything to add?"

The man looks at Tonks, before looking at me, knowing this is a conversation between the three of us. As best friends, not two versus one. He clears his throat, grabbing for his glass and pouring liquid into it before leaning back into his chair. "Quite honestly," his voice is quiet but firm, "I think that had I been holding a glass, I would have had quite the same reaction myself."

Tonks throws her hands up, making to leave the table before he interrupts her.

"However, I agree that it isn't Hermione's fault. But she needs to learn to read the room. Always been a problem for that one, running headfirst into things with the excitement of a child."

I sigh, rubbing at my face. By the smug smile on Tonks' face, I know she senses my defeat, "You lot are right. It's unfair to take it out on her, and the rest of them." Shaking my head, I avoid eye contact, trying to keep the defeat from clouding my face completely. "Harry asked me if I think it's a waste of time."

Remus pinches the bridge of his nose, standing up and taking his glass to the other room. Tonks follows almost immediately and I'm close behind, grabbing the bottle on the way. We're silent for a few moments, watching as he leans against the mantle, staring into the flames. "What did you say to him?"

"I told him he didn't mean it," I shrug before turning on Tonks. "By the way, you also acted like a twat towards her. Don't blame it all on me."

She opens her mouth to respond but instead just lets out a laugh, "I did, didn't I? For fuck's sake. We're the bloody worst."

"Dora, stop that," Remus looks at his wife, his eyes silvery in the low light. "I-I think that Hermione and Draco wanted to talk to you both first, but you intercepted her. They showed me the models, the data..."

"And you didn't think to mention it to us?" I watch as my best friend's cheeks flush, the only sign of how angry she is at this news.

"Neither of you gave me the bloody time. Had I known it was going to be a screaming match, I wouldn't have let her go up to get you both. Harry wasn't supposed to know right away, now the boy's gone and told her he would be there when she sends the team in." He turns on me, frowning, "No. Before you even say it. You are not going to run in there and force him to stay out of this. It's his choice, let him make it."