Kate Fontaine
1 Year Later
"Wotcher, Kate." I noticed the familiar voice of Nymphadora Tonks was speaking to me. I turned around and smiled at her brightly.
"Hello, Tonks!" I replied, knowing she hated being called Nymphadora. "I'm rather glad it's you I'm taking the watch with," I admitted, to which Tonks nodded.
"Likewise." She admitted. It had been a year since I started working for Gringotts. Bill got me involved in the Order of the Phoenix, a secret society ready to fight Voldemort. Since then, I had a little bit of a career change and completed my Auror course.
"Although I might have preferred one person over you," I admitted with a small grin.
"Of course," Tonks laughed, something I didn't see her do very often anymore compared to the first time I met her. "Mr William." I blushed a little. Bill and I had been dating for a year now and I was fully committed to him. We were simply in love and I reckon anybody could have seen that.
"Let's check over the train," I suggested, restraining myself from teasing her about Remus. I knew that she had feelings for Remus Lupin but it was far to complicated to casually joke about it. "You didn't miss that Harry wasn't with Ron and Hermione, did you?" Tonks shook her head.
"He could be using his cloak," Tonks commented.
"Hiding," I added on. We grabbed our wands and walked up and down the empty carriages of the Hogwarts express. I was momentarily reminded of when I used to go here and stopped when I saw something.
"Tonks." I pointed towards something odd. It looked like there was a body part just lying on the floor until I got an idea. I grasped around the ground for something and came in contact with a watery object. Pulling it up, I saw Harry Potter's body lying on the floor, petrified with blood gushing out of his nose.
"Wotcher, Harry." Tonks greeted, nonverbally incanting the counter curse to un-petrify him. A red light flashed from her wand and harry sat up, trying to wipe away any blood from his face. Then, he looked up at us rather confused.
"We should get going now," I told him, not waiting for him to answer to me. The train windows became obscured with steam and we moved out of the station.
"Come on, we'll jump," Tonks added as Harry hurried after us. She pulled open the train door and jumped onto the platform. I followed her quickly as the train was starting up and I helped Harry land since he was quite unstable.
I inspected Harry's face and he turned a little read, looking quite embarrassed at what we had found. Especially by his best friend's brother's girlfriend. Pretty awkward. I had seen Harry just the other day when I visited Mrs Weasley. She used to be rather reluctant about my relationship with Bill, convinced it was based solely on physical attraction. But now, she seemed to be growing on it slowly.
"Who did it?" I asked him as I returned his Invisibility cloak to his possession.
"Draco Malfoy," Harry bitterly spat out. That explains it. "Thanks for... well..."
"No problem," Tonks replied without a smile. Harry seemed to notice her attitude and frowned a little, not knowing how to respond. "I can fix your nose if you stand still."
Harry nodded and closed his eyes, preparing for what I assumed was the worst. "Episkey," Tonks said, flourishing her wand.
There was a small crack. "Thanks a lot!"
"You'd better put that cloak back on, and we can walk up to the school," said Tonks, still unsmiling. As Harry swung the cloak back over himself, Tonks waved her wand; emitting a silver four-legged creature from it and streaked off into the darkness.
"Was that a Patronus?" Harry inquired, looking after it underneath his cloak. Or so I assumed since I couldn't actually see him.
"Yes, I'm sending word to the castle that I've got you or they'll worry. Come on, we'd better not dawdle." Tonks informed and we set off faster than before, up the hills and steps towards the castle.
"How did you find me?"
"We noticed you hadn't left the train and knew you had that cloak," I explained with a smile. "We assumed you might be hiding for some reason. We checked all the carriages and spotted a little bit of your leg hanging out of your cloak."
"But what are you doing here, anyway?" Harry asked. It was odd, hearing his voice and not actually seeing his body.
"I'm stationed in Hogsmeade now, to give the school extra protection," said Tonks. "Kate may be joining me. The Order isn't quite sure what they want to do with her yet and she just finished her Auror course."
"Is it just you who's stationed up here, or–"
"No," Tonks interrupted, understanding the question. "Proudfoot, Savage, and Dawlish are here too." I grimaced.
"Ugh, Dawlish," I muttered rather childishly under my breath.
"The Dawlish that Auror Dumbledore attacked last year?" Harry spluttered.
"That's right," I confirmed, sticking out my tongue for Harry to see. I heard him laugh quietly at my humorous expression.
☾ ☾ ☾
"Alohomora!" Harry said when the gates to Hogwarts were locked. He seemed sure it would work.
"That won't work on these," Tonks admitted. "Dumbledore bewitched them himself." Harry glanced around the area.
"I could climb a wall," he suggested, making me laugh.
"No, you couldn't," Tonks monotonously retorted. "Anti-intruder jinxes on all of them. Security's been tightened a hundredfold this summer."
"Well then," Harry murmured, not happy that she was just shooting down his ideas instead of doing much. "I suppose I'll just have to sleep out here and wait for morning."
"Someone's coming down for you," I spoke up, pointing in the direction of a small lantern that was jumping up and down in the distance. It was clearly making its may towards us, and Harry pulled off his cloak. "Look."
Sadly, it wasn't who I wanted it to be.
"Well, well, well," Severus Snape curled his lips. He took out his wand from his robes and tapped the padlock in order to unlock all the chains. "Nice of you to turn up, Potter, although you have evidently decided that the wearing of school robes would detract from your appearance," Severus added when the gate creaked open noisily.
"I couldn't change; I didn't have my-" Harry began to defend himself, but Snape interrupted him by picking on Tonks.
"There is no need to wait, Nymphadora, Potter is quite- ah -safe in my hands." I snorted quietly. Severus glared at me. "Oh, how wonderful. Miss Future-Weasley ringing up the rear." I rolled my eyes and smiled innocently.
"Charming as always, Severus. I do miss the days where I had to sit in your classroom. Bored out of my mind, might I add." Harry's lips quirked upwards at my remark.
"I meant Hagrid to get the message," Tonks stated flatly, frowning.
"Hagrid was late for the start-of-term feast, just like Potter here, so I took it instead. And incidentally," Severus stepped back for Harry to walk through the opening of the gate. "I was interested to see your new Patronus."
Severus slammed the gate shut loudly and I glared coldly at him. For a man who could be so great, he sure has an attitude problem. He locked the gates and padlock again without a care in the world that he was being so rude to us.
"I think you were better off with the old one," Severus menacingly admitted, feigning innocence. "The new one looks weak."
"Goodnight," Harry called to us as he trudged off with Severus. "Thanks for-" he paused. "...Everything."
"See you, Harry." Tonks and I chorused.
