My Heart Remembers Differently

What I Did Last Night

The first day of November, life seemed different.

I remember the day I packed my clothes and all the little mementos I didn't want to live without just before I walked into the living room of the house I had grew up in and cast the Obliviate spell on my parents.  I walked away with dry eyes because I had made my decision and felt it was the right one. 

I felt that way last night.

No longer was I the bookworm who had been teased my whole life because of my brain and my love of learning.  All of the extra reading I had done had come in handy last night when the dark wizard had tried to cast a killing curse and aimed it towards Professor Tonks, or Penn, as she told me to call her when we were on a mission.  The shield I had thrown up had saved our lives and had backfired at the wizard ending his evil existence and ended the suffering of the unicorn that he was draining of blood. 

"Hot damn, Hermione!"  Penn had said in her southern drawl when the slightly blood crazed dark wizard was laying wide-eyed dead by his own curse.  Her eyes were wide at her almost demise.  I could see her heart pounding by the pulse in her neck.  "You just saved my life!"  She said looking at me in awe.  "How did you know?  What was that charm?" Her words were excited and shocked all at the same time. 

"Tell me again how this was not supposed to be dangerous?"  I asked sliding my wand in the pocket of the dark jeans I was wearing with the tight black jumper that Penn had let me borrow.  I was beginning to feel the hits that the Death Eaters had landed when we were found in our hiding place in the barn on the suspect wizard's land.  It had been a short fight, but the cuts where wood and rock had exploded from stray curses had started to sting.  Penn laughed throatily but didn't answer me.  Instead she lifted a finger as if to tell me to give her a minute and then took something that looked like a muggle compact out of her pocket. 

Seriously, she is going to check her makeup?

"He was waiting for us, sir.  Or, at least he suspected we were coming.  He had Death Eaters, none that I really recognize, keeping watch."  She said speaking into the mirror.  I frowned and moved a little closer and was shocked when I saw the familiar face of Kingsley Shacklebolt in the reflection of the small mirror.

"It was supposed to be a simple drop in check out if he was doing what was rumored, Tonks."  Shacklebolt reminded her with a stern look.  "How did he know you were coming?"  He asked.

"I have no idea.  Granger and I said nothing to anyone.  No one except McGonagall and you knew we had left Hogwarts, sir.  Urylis had a couple of Death Eaters keeping guard in front of his tower.  We took them out quietly with a sleeping spell.  It was the two that found us in the barn where we were keeping surveillance.  It was a fight, but nothing Granger and I could not handle.  Urylis came out of the tower drunk on unicorn blood.  If Granger had not thought so quickly, you and I would not be having this conversation.  She saved my life tonight, sir.  He aimed a killing curse and she threw up a shield faster than I have ever seen.  You made a good choice, sir."  Penn assured him. 

"I told you that Granger was one of the best I had ever seen, Tonks."  Shacklebolt said.  I was surprised.  I did not know that Shacklebolt had paid much attention to me the one time we fought together.  "I expect your full report by owl and I will have some cleaners come and take care of the mess.  Urylis is dead?"  He asked.

"Yes.  His own curse rebounded on him."  She said. 

"The Death Eaters?"  He asked.

"Missing their wands, masks and I will call the Aurors to pick them up unless you would like to send them, sir?"  Penn asked.