Don't look now: Fic 4 for @remadoramicrofics
"Don't look now, but there are two people behind us who have followed us all the way from the High Street."
A younger Tonks would have struggled to fight the urge to turn and look, but her years of auror training had knocked that out of her. While she wasn't great at 'Stealth and Tracking', she was surprisingly good at stealth and being tracked. She didn't even react to Remus' words, the only indication she'd heard them was the gentle squeeze she gave to the hand she was holding.
They were spending their Wednesday evening investigating a tip off for the Order: apparently, a dodgy herbologist was selling lots of Mewt Algae - an important plant in necromancy - to some of You-Know-Who's lackeys. The fact that the tip off came from Mundungus Fletcher meant that Tonks hadn't one hundred per cent believed it, but she was doing due diligence in following it up. On the plus side, it meant that she got to spend an evening wandering around the small city of Wells hand in hand with Remus. They had taken to posing as a couple when out on a mission, not only because it deflected attention, but also because it allowed them to communicate via small movements and signals in the hands they were holding. Smart really, and they had gotten very good at it. The fact that Tonks also enjoyed holding Remus' hand was her little secret, one that she hadn't shared with anyone.
The herbologist lived on an old muggle street next to the city cathedral, but they had apparated to a spot just off the High Street so they could walk about and get the feel of the place. At 10pm, all the shops were closed, and, being a Wednesday, the pubs were relatively empty. Thankfully, the people who were out for a drink were all huddled together inside, probably as close to a fire as they could get, and were not bothered by strangers out for a walk. It did, however, make it easier to notice when other people were following your path - and as soon as Remus had mentioned to her they were being stalked, Tonks became very aware of the echo from four sets of footsteps on the road.
Her opportunity to turn around and look came as they stepped onto Cathedral Green. The grass in front of them was lit by the glow coming off the face of the cathedral itself, warm yellow lamps angled against it to show off it's decorative design. It stretched out behind them, illuminating the buildings around. She made a show of being fascinated by the history of the area, studying each of the buildings in the golden light. Whilst admiring the medieval masonry on a city gate, she was able to observe the two men following them in her periphery. Both were heavy set, wearing thick cloaks and being anything but subtle as they walked through an archway towards them. She took an extra second to look at the stonework before turning back to Remus.
"Darling," she said, looking up at him (she enjoyed playing up the fake coupleness), "can we go get a closer look at the cathedral?"
With her hand she was tracing a circle on the base of his thumb, indicating it was time to change plans. Remus, however, was apparently not willing to.
"It's getting late, maybe tomorrow."
His finger was drawing a straight line firmly on her thumb - stick to plan.
The space they were in left them quite exposed, and Tonks was worried that the men would try something stupid, like starting a duel. They wouldn't be a match for herself and Remus, but she didn't want things getting too messy. Reluctantly, she let Remus lead her down the road that skirted the grass, getting closer to their destination.
She sensed the moment that one of the men drew their wand and immediately her hand flew to hers. A spell came flying right at her, clipping her slightly on the cheek as she swerved. It must have been a slashing curse because she felt blood spring from the trail across her face. Her only reaction was to throw a return stunning spell, hitting her target almost instantaneously. Remus had also now grabbed his wand, firing a rather angry freezing spell at the other man. Before he'd even hit the ground, Remus was dragging Tonks into a run, away from the two unconscious men, muttering under his breath about how they weren't supposed to create a scene.
They ducked under an arch in another old gatehouse, Remus giving her a firm pull into the dark recess of a doorway alongside him. For a moment, all she could see was his eyes, full of concern and looking intensely at her. Her stomach flipped. She was so close to him she could feel his heavy breathing in his chest, slightly laboured from the short run. She was sure he would be able to feel her wild heartbeat and hoped he put that down to the run too.
"You okay?" He asked, almost in a whisper, his hand coming up to trace a line just under the cut on her cheek.
How he expected her to answer that when he was touching her so softly, she didn't know, but she managed to give him a nod, followed by a quiet "yeah."
She realised straight away she should have lied and said no, because on seeing she was alright, Remus was dragging her off again.
"Good, looks like we've stumbled on the right road to visit our herbologist as well."
He was right, the distinctive cobbled street lay right in front of them. Even in the dark, it was easy to make out the two rows of identical houses, their tall chimneys disappearing into the night sky.
"You know that Mewt Algae is used a lot in necromancy?" he asked her casually, marching on ahead of her down the road, as if nothing had happened.
