WHO: Maddie Savage & Dora Lupin WHAT: Talking about the Order WHEN: Sunday 18 February WHERE: A muggle cafe somewhere. WARNINGS: None.
Maddie adjusted the sunglasses she was wearing, glancing briefly at the window to double check her disguise was still in place. Darkened hair was tucked away under the teal beanie she wore, and she turned her nose up at the flannel shirt and heavy jeans that she'd dug up for the occasion. She'd left her Ministry ID at home, not wanting to bring any Death Eaters (or anyone from the Ministry) down on her companion.
The waitress stopped by to check in on her agan, and Maddie just smiled politely.
"My friend will be here in just a moment," she commented in her best Irish accent. If anyone asked about her, they wouldn't connect the brunette Irish woman drumming her fingers on the table with the blonde Scottish hitwitch, Madeline Savage.
Tonks scanned the crowd twice over for Maddie, her eyes still searching for that familiar blonde head, though she had expected Maddie might disguise herself, and Tonks in turn was in disguised as well. Ironically, she’d turned her own hair blonde, though a darker and less conspicuous shade than Maddie’s own natural color, and one that Tonks rarely donned herself. Her face too was transformed, and her clothes loose-fitting and hopefully properly concealing; though she’d once thought herself relatively safe and anonymous in Muggle businesses, Tonks knew that Lestange had found Maddie herself at a Muggle pub, and Tonks didn’t want to give anything away to unfriendly eyes.
Finally, she spotted Maddie; something in her posture and expression gave her away, though Tonks thought it would only be someone who knew Maddie well who’d pick up on it--and hopefully none of those someones included Death Eaters.
Slipping into the seat across from her, Tonks offered a tentative smile, the tension of the past few weeks easily apparent, “Hey,” she greeted, then paused a beat. “My inner Moody is urging me on to check for imperius,” Tonks explained, almost apologetically, “What happened during my stealth exam that Kingsley always made fun of me for? Continues to do so to this day, actually.”
“You mean when you went head over tit into the fountain in Hyde Park?” Maddie smirked a little, trying to lighten the mood. “A mistake anyone could make, really.”
The waitress stopped in to take their orders, Maddie asking for tea before she relaxed slightly in her seat.
“Do you remember what I called Jasper for a month after he rearranged my desk?”
“That’s what I said, but Kingsley tells it like I went out of my way to fall on my arse,” she grinned, letting the amusement sink in at the memory, confident that this was Maddie, in spite of the brown hair and Irish accent.
“Nyaff,” Tonks answered swiftly with a grin, relishing the memories of the work culture and environment that had been such a big part of their lives. Her expression sobered a bit as she asked, “How are you doing, Maddie?”
“Trying very hard not to kill my boss every single day,” Maddie replied, trying to be flippant and ending up just sounding pained. “It’s becoming harder and harder every day.”
Her gaze flickered away from Tonks for a moment, scanning the patrons around there. Nothing obviously suspicious, no one seeming like they were under the Imperius.
“What about you? How are things?”
“I admire your self-restraint there, not that I’d exactly blame you if you succumbed to temptation one day,” Tonks teased lightly, though the thought of a dead Yaxley wasn’t exactly something that filled her with sorrow, “But maybe let’s hold out for an actual life-in-Azkaban sentence this time, keep your own hands clean.”
Tonks couldn’t help but let out a sigh at the question--just the thought of taking a real inventory of the past few weeks--months--and their long-term impact on her psyche made her feel tired, “Stressed, hormonal, aggravated, and sad,” she ticked off in a clinical manner, “But, you know, otherwise trying to stay hopeful and optimistic. Luckily Hufflepuffs are genetically predisposed to that sort of thing,” Tonks joked in a tone that was decidedly less than optimistic.
“One of the best things about you.” Maddie paired her comment with a smile, not as wide or warm as it might have been once, but still genuine.
“I did want to talk to you about something. With everything that’s happened—“ She broke off, taking a moment. She knew this is what she wanted to do, what she needed to do. Even though she knew what her parents would think. What Jasper would say.
“I’d like to join the Order.”
Tonks was taken aback, if only for a moment; she had done a decent amount of recruiting lately, but hadn’t yet been approached directly by someone wanting to volunteer--the more Tonks thought about it though, she thought that this suited Maddie, who had always been one to make up her own mind.
Smiling in a way that was halfway between conspiratorial and nervous (which pretty much summed up Tonks’ own feelings about the Order, despite her bravado), she continued, “I’ll bring it up. For what it’s worth, I think you’d be a great addition,” she said simply. The more trained duellers and strategist the better, Tonks thought. At the rate they were going, they might soon have most of the former Auror Office on their team.
“Out of curiosity, what was the tipping point?” Tonks asked, carefully choosing her words so that it was as if they could be talking about anything and not overt vigilantism.
“It’s been building for awhile. Ever since they closed down the office, the pub incident, Gawain…” Maddie pressed her lips together, holding herself back. Losing her cool in the middle of a cafe was not going to help anything.
“I need to be doing something. Something more than filing and having to care more about crimes against bigoted assholes. Or pranking Death Eaters.” Maddie shrugged. “And to be honest, you seem like you need the help.”
Tonks’ shoulders heavied as she listened to Maddie; they were all valid reasons, though it was unfortunate that they had to be. She couldn’t help but smirk at one remark, though, “They might one day regret that decision to disband the Aurors,” she said. Maddie wasn’t the first displaced Auror to turn vigilante, after all, and though it might be wholly selfish to think it, Tonks hoped she wouldn’t be the last. Maddie was right on in her assessment of the Order’s needs, after all.
“You’re definitely not wrong,” Tonks agreed, “And that’s why...well, it’s extremely likely they’ll vote you in. You’ll definitely have my vote and several others, so as long as you’re committed to doing this, all there is to do is loop the rest in, really.”
“I’m committed,” Maddie confirmed, ignoring the odd knot in her stomach. Jasper would be pissed if he knew she was here, and she was about to start lying to him in a major way.
“You’re the only line of defence against them,” she continued quietly. “I can’t keep sitting around on my hands, waiting for someone else to deal with the problem. And Gawain…” She paused for a moment. “Just confirmed that doing things by the rules doesn’t help.”
Tonks looked down at her now whitened knuckles at the reference to Gawain before meeting Maddie’s eyes again and continuing, “Even if--well, obviously I stopped playing by the rules a while ago, I still had faith that if anyone could do it and really be an effective changemaker in those confines, it'd be Gawain. I hate that they took that from us,” she said, and feeling her throat constrict, she knew she'd have to move off the subject.
“But we are, at least, a line of defence, and we could really use you, Maddie. You'd be an enormous asset, and we'd do everything in our power to try and keep you and those you care about safe...of course, it's no guarantee, but I at least find that support system a comfort.”
“I’m in if you’ll have me.” Maddie attempted a smile, but it ended up falling flat. “I’m not sure Jasper would appreciate the Order’s protection, but… he and Luca might need it one day. There’s only so much he can do on his own.”
Maddie straightened, attempting another smile as she changed the subject. “Did you want anything? My treat, of course. I’ve heard wonderful things about the food here.”
“Maybe Jasper would reconsider the whole matter one day...there definitely is only so much anyone can do on their own,” she suggested lightly. Jasper, of course, would have to make up his own mind. “But we'll help them if the need arises regardless,” she said.
Tonks took a cursory glance at the menu at the offer--she’d almost forgotten they were in a restaurant and expected to order things as a matter of course. Luckily, eating for two meant there was rarely an occasion on which Tonks didn't have an appetite, “I think I'll have the chicken katsu curry. Let me treat you to a drink, you'll need one pretty soon,” she teased.
“I’m never one to say no to a drink.” Maddie relaxed slightly in her seat, relieved that at least this first step had been taken. She could do something rather than just argue futilely with Death Eaters and what she was told.
“And you can catch me up on things that aren’t death and disaster. Let’s pretend we’re just two normal girls catching up for a gossip.”
“I’m not sure where I even find the time for it, but I actually have a few things going on right now that don’t involve death and disaster,” Tonks grinned at the prospect of talking about happier things and forgetting about the rest of it for a while, “And I’m all ears for some fresh DMLE gossip.”