CSI_Tokyo3 (csi_tokyo3) wrote in bonking_tonks, @ 2008-02-13 18:59:00 |
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GOOD MONSTERS
Not all monsters are bad, but the ones who are good
Never do what they could, never do what they could
All the good monsters rattle their chains,
And dance around the open flames,
And they make a lot of empty noise.
-Jars of Clay “Good Monsters”
Fleur Delacour sighed contentedly as she lay between Tonks's legs, her silvery-blonde hair making interesting sensations as it swept over Tonks's chest. “What do you zink?” she murmured, propping her chin up on her palm.
“I think ...” Tonks paused to look up at the blue sky through a tangle of branches, then glanced back down at the beautiful woman so casually using her for a cushion in the middle of the meadow. “... that you don't really want to talk about the Burrow's security.”
“'Owever did you guess?” Fleur chuckled. She had come out to the edge of the Weasley property line where Tonks had been testing the wards, only to haul her off to this part of the field where the tallest grass grew. Both women were now hidden in a shady bower of grasses and branches, with just enough headroom for Tonks to lie beneath Fleur.
“'Arry Potter coming or not; my wedding or not, we will not 'ave a Death Eater within ten miles of zis place and I do not worry about ze particulars.” Fleur teasingly removed Tonks's wand from her holster and began twirling it, her long fingers swiftly flicking up and down as they spun the slender wood shaft around. “Now, I need information from you and would razzer not 'ave Ginevra or Molly listening in. Zat 'ouse, I zink, is out to get me.”
Tonks watched her lazily. “Only because you're the most beautiful thing for miles around,” she pointed out, grinning as she tucked her heel into the hollow of Fleur's knee, slipping her foot beneath the light summer robe her friend wore. “And you've snared Molly's eldest with a minimum of effort.”
“'Mmm.” Fleur dropped her wand beside them and instead began tracing the stitching on Tonks's T-shirt. “But you can make yourself every bit as beautiful as me, can you not?”
She shrugged awkwardly from the position she was in. Fleur's finger was a bit ticklish. “I suppose. No need, to, though. I'm already ... oi, there! Are you trying to put me in a strange mood or something?”
“Something,” admitted Fleur, smirking a little bit as her fingernail followed the pattern beneath Tonks's arm, making her squirm. “Ees fun when you don't try to get away, you know. I enjoy it.” She traced a path back up and around the flattened-out curve of the other woman's breast. “J'apologize. I am ... how you say? Utterly frustrated, and eet is nice to 'ave someone so close like zis.”
Tonks blinked up at her. “Girl, you need to get laid, and I mean badly.”
“Oui. Zat is ze problem.”
“What?” she joked, “Bill needs a Strengthening Solution?”
Fleur gave an unVeela-like snort. “No, nuzzing of zat sort.” She blew some of her hair out of her eyes. “It 'as just been nearly four months since we last 'ad a chance to 'ave proper sex. And ze length of time before zat 'as been a good long while.” Fleur rolled her eyes. “Eef it ees not Molly doing 'er best to not leave us alone, eet is Ginevra, nosy leelte Parker zat she is. And I am positive zat Ginevra 'as spelled ze Burrow to spy on me from time to time; ze mirrors in particular.”
Tonks groaned in sympathy. “What about work? Or Fred & George's place down the road? Aren't there times when you can sneak away?”
“You do not want to be, as Bill would say, caught bare-arsed anywhere around ze goblins. And true, ze twins 'ave occasionally offered ze use of zeir flat over ze shop. But last time we were zere, a stray Decoy Detonator snuck under ze sheets during foreplay.” Fleur sniffed sadly in remembrance. “Zat 'ad not been ze sort of explosion I 'ad 'ad in mind.”
She lifted herself off Tonks briefly to peer narrow-eyed through the blades of ornamental grass at the distant Burrow. “Bah. Zey do not care if I am not in ze 'ouse, as long as William is not with me, unsupervised. We are both of age; zey should leave us alone!”
“Yeah, like that will ever stop Molly Weasley from interfering in her kids' lives,” Tonks agreed cheerfully. “So, what do you want me to do about it? I could have you quietly hauled into the Ministry for questioning, if you want. Bill could bring you a cake with a file in it and everything, have a conjugal visit.”
Fleur looked quizzical. “File?”
Tonks waved it off. “Muggle joke my Dad likes telling. No worries.”
“Ah.” Fleur shrugged. “I was 'oping you could tell me eef you were capable of impersonating me for an afternoon, let us say. 'Ow difficult is it?”
Tonks felt her neck getting a crick in it from watching Fleur, so she lay it back against the grassy cushion and gazed up again at the sky, feeling her friend's fingers explore here and there, almost inquisitive in their caresses. She could completely understand Fleur's need for closeness, having been through it badly in the last year.
The two young women had become friends after the Tri-Wizard tournament debacle two years earlier, Molly Weasley's blatant wedge-driving notwithstanding. Fleur had been nearly heart-broken at the death of Cedric Diggory, who had been the only real friend she had at Hogwarts. (The fact that he had been farther back in the closet than an agoraphobic Boggart had turned out to be the main reason for that friendship). When she had learned that Tonks was an ex-Hufflepuff, she had spent nights at Tonks's flat, sitting on her sofa and talking about him, learning more about the House he had championed.
The Weasleys, Gryffindors all, would never have listened the way she had in those weeks with Fleur. Well, Bill would've, but things had been cautious between he and Fleur up until that Easter, when wedding plans had jumped into high speed. Tonks had missed the actual engagement party, of course, being in St. Mungo's because of the fight at the Department of Mysteries.
When she had gotten out and learned Sirius was dead, it had been Fleur's turn to help Tonks get through the shock. Of course, Remus had come over soon after and things had gone strange from there, but the two women had quietly earned a great many hangovers with each other.
Now she answered Fleur's question, trying not to be distracted by the intriguing pressure of hands against her ribs. “Can't be done.”
“Merde,” came a grumble.
“Sorry.” Tonks ran her fingers through Fleur's hair. “But it's more than just looking like you. It's your walk, your accent, your attitude, and even the small doses of Veela charm you give off. To get all that right would take at least a fortnight. And you'd be naked for almost all of it while I got to know your body in every detail.”
Fleur lifted her head again, looking intrigued at the suggestion, but then sighed again. “I don't want to wait ze two weeks. I take it ze same restrictions would apply to ze Polyjuice Potion?”
Tonks nodded. “It has to be requisitioned for specific cases. And no one thinks a Metamorphmagus would need it, so requests from me would be turned down immediately.” She tried to sit up, but the branches scratched at her scalp and shoulders. “Why do you want to know?”
Fleur took another peek at the distant Burrow, then finally rolled off Tonks to kneel beside her. “Bill is being unofficially locked in for ze first full moon since 'e was attacked, to see if zere will be any transformation.”
“'Unofficially'?” Tonks echoed.
"Oui. No Ministry representative will be present. And ze family cannot risk being near 'im eizzer, except for me. Being a mere-quarter Veela is still protection against becoming a werewolf, it seems. So I 'ave argued to be with 'im, so zat if zere is a problem, I can fight 'im as a Veela. As you can imagine, Molly 'as her suspicions about ze 'ole matter.”
"Let me guess: She'd be right.”
“Well, of course, if it turns out zat 'e is fine and zere is no transformation, 'e and I would naturally 'ave the entire night-time to ourselves. So, to dismiss such suggestions zat we would abuse ze occasion, we 'ave proposed an additional guard, in case of 'trouble'.” Fleur marked the air with tiny finger quotation marks. “Ze family will no doubt choose you, given zat most of ze other people zey would trust are uzzerwise occupied with ze Dark Lord. And, of course, you are quite familiar with werewolf be'aviour as well.”
Tonks gave a great hoot, seeing where she was going. “So, you want me to stand outside the door and keep you in, is that it?”
“And keep unwanted visitors out, too.” Fleur gave a small smile of her own. “Zis is why Molly cannot suspect we are ze best of friends, uzzerwise she will not trust you on ze door. Ze more unfriendly you are to me, ze better our chances are.”
“Which explains why you've been complaining about me being a clumsy fool all last year.” Tonks grinned, brushing leaves out of her hair and then rolling over to dust her arse off.
Fleur stopped her, putting a hand on the back of her demin-clad thigh. “Leave it. You can say you tripped on ze way in and I can ridicule you some more before stomping out in an 'uff.”
Glancing back over her shoulder, Tonks couldn't help smirking. “Bear in mind that you're not getting a wedding present from me after this.”
Leaning in, Fleur kissed her on the cheek. “I will gladly consider zis your gift to us both, Nymphadora.”
“Oi, don't call me ....”
“Why not? Does it not sound better in ze French zan in ze Eenglish?”
“No, it sounds exactly the same!”
“What a pity,” she murmured, pushing herself to her feet. “Everyzing should sound better in French. Wait for a few minutes before you come on up to ze 'ouse. I'll circle around ze back.”
Tonks watched over her shoulder as Fleur disappeared into the tall grass before rolling over and sitting up again to brush fluff and dirt off her chest.
Merlin forbid, that in the midst of a war against a powerful Dark Wizard, with a power vacuum left by the recent death of Albus Dumbledore and half-baked plans to rescue the Chosen One, Harry Potter, from his Muggle family's house, that she should be expected to take a Friday night off to help her best female friend get laid for the first time in months.
... Ah hell, why not?
- - -
“Well, it's not the Leaky Cauldron,” Tonks admitted, gazing around the place, “but at least it's not the Shrieking Shack, either.”
It wasn't even the Three Broomsticks, when you came right down to it. There were very few places willing to host a potential werewolf, let alone a possible Veela/werewolf battle in a nicely furnished room. And since Bill wasn't being held officially and she wasn't on Auror duty, the holding cells down in the basement of the Ministry also weren't available to them.
The Weasleys hadn't had the faintest idea of any of this, immersed as they were in the details of both wedding and security plans. And no one, not even her, had seen Lupin in the last week. She could only assume he was gathering information once again on the fringes of wizarding & werewolf society. So instead, Tonks had had to make discreet inquiries at work. Luckily for her, there was a small office group whose job it was to keep an eye out for places Muggles had deserted, just in case a wizarding or witch organization had need of space. And, in return for the promise of a donation of good alcohol for the next office party, a perky witch had pulled the specifications on a place for her.
Five years earlier, there had been a refit of the Angel Tube station and the main entrance to the Underground had been moved around the block into the Islington High Street. The original entrances and ticket office at the corner of the City Road and Torrens Street had been shut ever since. And there wasn't a Muggle lock or chain yet invented that could withstand an Auror, let alone an ordinary witch.
Now she, Bill, and Fleur stood in the middle of a deserted ticket office, wand-tips glowing as they examined their surroundings. Aside from the thick layer of dust covering the counters, floor, and ancient ticket dispensers, everything else had been left as it was. The escalators were taped off to their right, as were the ticket windows straight ahead. However, it was the door off to their left that was most important, as the offices on the other side could provide a proper room for Bill and Fleur to either brawl in or rut like a pair of Nifflers.
“Assuming Mum could afford a room at the Leaky Cauldron in the first place,” Bill said as he dropped a duffle bag on the floor, “I'd hate to think what the damage deposit would be if I did turn into a werewolf.” He turned to Fleur, who was throwing the hood of her dark cloak back and shaking her long hair loose. “I know it's not Beauxbatons, love, but I think we could manage for one night.”
“Oh, do not worry.” Fleur stamped a foot on the floor. “I can manage a good cleaning spell or two if Tonks cannot.”
Tonks checked her sealing spell on the outer doors one last time, then dropped her own bedroll and bag into a corner. “Right. Let me just get the Muggle-Repelling and other Charms up ...OI!” She glowered at the pair, who had begun kissing heatedly in the middle of the room. “We've got less than an hour to the moonrise. Do you want to hold off on the snogging until we're absolutely sure Bill's not going to transform?”
Fleur pouted as she turned her face away from Bill's, but didn't let him go. “Zere is enough time for us to 'ave a quick little ...”
“I'd rather you wait,” Tonks told her drily. “If you start moaning and making happy Veela noises without the proper wards up, we're going to attract attention. And if we're wrong about the time, the moonlight will turn Bill furry early and we're really going to attract attention.”
Heaving a sigh, Fleur stepped back and smoothed the front of her robes. “When I suggested zat you volunteer, I did not expect you to worry so much about precautions.”
Tonks smirked. “But I'm still going to do my job, just in case. Wait a little longer, then you can pounce him all you want.”
Bill brushed Fleur's shoulder, looking confused. “When did you ask her to do this? Mum said Kingsley had to guard the Muggle Prime Minister tonight, so she asked Tonks to replace him.”
“Oui, your mother did ask 'er,” Fleur admitted, her smirk returning as she looked up at him. “But it took some careful planning to 'ave Tonks around at ze moment Kingsley's message arrived. Ginny is not ze only girl 'oo can plot deviously, I will 'ave you know. Do you want me even more now?”
“Yeah, that's hot, babe,” he breathed, nuzzling her nose. He kissed Fleur once more, then glanced up at Tonks. “Sorry. You didn't have to get involved in all this, you know.”
“Better me than old Mad-Eye,” Tonks told them as she conjured bricks to cover all the window-panes facing City Road, magically mortaring them in place so that no moonlight could seep in. “At least I can't see through doors.”
“Do not remind me.” Fleur sighed and flung her hair back. “Zat imposter zey 'ad at 'Ogwarts during ze Tournament ... 'e was probably staring through my robes ze 'ole time.”
Tonks cast a final spell that would imitate the sound of dangerously unstable debris shifting and collapsing if anyone still managed to get too close. Werewolf growling and howling was easily explained away by stray animals. Shrieks of orgasmic bliss from a Veela, on the other hand, would have to be covered by the sounds of all-night construction. Tonks wasn't sure how noisy Fleur could get in bed, but she wasn't about to take any chances. She'd slap an Imperturbable Charm on their door when she left, too. Maybe even the walls, just to make sure.
She left her bedroll where it was, planning to sleep in the lobby and so put some proper distance between herself and Fleur and Bill. So she picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder, nodding at the offices. “Right. Let's check everything out and find you a nice little room to tear apart.”
As the three of them explored, Tonks surreptitiously watched the engaged couple. Fleur had been lucky in landing Bill, given that a Weasley hadn't married anything other than a pureblood for a long while. She was probably the most exotic thing to invade their lives in decades. And now the two of them were sneaking around behind his mother's back.
Tonks grinned to herself as she remembered the time she had done that one summer after her sixth year. Her mum had been waiting up for her when she had Apparated back into her room and tried to pass it off as a night out with the girls. Really, she and a Crouch cousin had spent the night in a neighbour's swimming pool. Grandma Black hadn't raised any guillible daughters, though, as Tonks had found out during her subsequent grounding.
Since she had graduated, though, Tonks had spent most of her time training to be an Auror, then just being an Auror. Then she had ended up being part of a loony secret society devoted to irritating not only her employer, but the Darkest of Dark Wizards. All in all, this left little time to socialize.
Which was how her whole thing with Lupin had gotten started, really. There wasn't much choice amongst any of the Order members, and she wasn't about to risk Dumbledore's wrath by giving in to impulse and showing Harry just how a girl liked it. Come to think of it, she'd've risked Ginny and Hermione's wrath, as well, not to mention Molly's.
So she had chosen Lupin ... and had discovered just how much weight that man carried on his shoulders. The first time she had dragged him to bed, he had been surprised, but willing. Afterwards, though, he hadn't stayed long in her arms, preferring to return to Grimmauld Place rather than spend the night in her flat. It had been days before she could get up the courage to confront him about it. It was then she learned that he carried far too much guilt inside him. She had been trying her best to do something about it ever since.
She had finally broken through his defenses a couple of weeks earlier. Fleur's firm refusal to leave a scarred and bitten Bill had given Tonks the opening she had been searching for and she felt she had finally nailed Lupin's guilt to the wall. In another week or so, she'd see about marrying the poor man and set about fixing him properly.
“'Ow about zis?” Fleur suggested, glancing around at the ruined office all three of them were examing by the light of glowing wands. “It 'as only one window, compared to all ze uzzers. And it is ze least ...” She wrinkled her nose as she traced a pattern in the dust with the tip of her wand. “... shall we say, deesgusting of zem? A simple Scouring Charm will do for ze dust. As for all zis debris, I believe we 'ave ze makings of a fine bed right 'ere.” Fleur kicked a broken desk and it made a mournfully hollow clang. “I will clean while you two take care of ze window and transfigure ze trash into somezing more comfortable.”
As she flounced off, Bill considered the heap of debris in the center of the room briefly before looking over at Tonks. “She really doesn't think I'm going to change,” he admitted, keeping his voice low. “But, if I do, what's the plan? Fleur can only keep me at bay for so long before I could seriously hurt her.”
Tonks shrugged. “I suppose I could stick a couple of Galleons' worth of Sickles on the door so the silver content would keep you from breaking out, but that would leave you alone in here with an injured Fleur. So, if the worst happens, I'd want you to come out into the hall and maybe even the lobby. I can fight you there; try to Stupefy or Incarcerous you. If I can't, then I'll Transfigure a ticket dispenser into a sheep or something. Werewolves are usually hungry after they transform, so a woolly snack will distract you.”
“Did Lupin tell you that?”
“Who else?” She sighed. “You haven't heard where he is, have you? I really could have used his help with all this the last couple days, rather than going through co-workers who don't know a damn thing about werewolves.”
“Sorry. Only Mad-Eye or Dad would know where he's gone,” Bill said. “But I'd bet on him going back amongst those other werewolves again. Lupin thinks that if he just talks enough, he can convince them to ignore Fenrir and Voldemort.”
“You're lucky the Veela community doesn't need convincing,” Tonks muttered. “Otherwise we'd both have to do without our partners. Then where'd we be?”
He shrugged. “Not standing in a dusty old Tube station at seven o'clock on a Friday night?”
“Too right. At least you've got the chance of having a bit of crumpet out of the whole night. I guess I'll just have to occupy myself with a backlog of old Daily Prophet crosswords.”
“Zut alors, would you both stop with ze standing around?” Fleur exclaimed, snapping her wand and scouring the dusty interior with spell after spell.
Tonks rolled her eyes. “Right. I'll just get to that window, shall I?” She took her own wand out and headed over to seal things up.
By the time she finished making sure that the mortar would hold, Bill had Transfigured the smashed desk into a wide, wood-frame bed, Fleur had conjured white furs for both the floor and for bed-coverings, and dark curtains hung from the scarred walls with lit candles racked between the heavy drapes.
“'Ow much time do we 'ave?”
“Two minutes. Make sure the door's closed.” Tonks took Bill by the shoulders and backed him up slowly into a corner. “Okay, stay here and if you feel anything starting to move inside you, yell.” She moved back and joined Fleur in the opposite corner. “Fleur, is there anything you need to do to be more Veela-like?”
“Non,” she breathed, pushing Tonks back so she was in front of her. “I am ready if you are. Eef he transforms, I shall take ze first 'it.” She let her breath out slowly as the three of them waited to see what would happen.