"But I thought he said…"
Shaking his head, the boy crept along after their target, with Tonks moving quickly behind him, "A common ploy, if the seller seems desperate than the buyer believes the price to be lower than it actually is. Gives the illusion of haste to the transaction."
Nymphadora's mouth went dry. Sure, there were always rumors of such things occurring in the Magical world but most of it was just that, rumors. The idea that Magical children could go missing and not be noticed was anathema to Aurors. But it wasn't in the Muggle world, and that was something she had never truly been able to grasp. How could anyone do such a thing to children !?
"Now you understand," his tone was cold and dark, with promises of unimaginable pain to those at the receiving side of his wrath. "I do not kill without reason Tonks. I destroy those truly deserving of it. True there will be times others question my actions, but I have a goal in mind, a bright future I am working towards. A future where scum like him do not roam free to prey upon the innocent."
Fighting back the new source of revulsion the Auror gave a curt nod, "I'm in, when do we fry the bastard?"
She found herself matching the grin forming on his face, "Soon, once he returns to check on his 'wares' we strike. That way a call to the police concerning a dead body will have them investigating the area and finding the children immediately."
Nodding she followed his lead, practically melting into the shadows with him as they trailed the bastard through the, now almost empty, streets of the town. It was at this moment that Tonks understood what he had said earlier.
It was a rush unlike anything she had ever experienced. The knowledge that this monster was going to die and didn't realize it, that she could take his life at any moment and he would be none the wiser, that she could reach out and strangle him without him even knowing she was there had her heart pounding and pulse racing.
The Auror, although at this point she would not consider herself to be one, was tapping into something long dormant in herself, a primal urge to stalk and hunt, to kill and take vengeance upon those who so justly deserved it. This is what she had been missing in her job, in her life . The ability to go around the rules and laws, to spit upon the bureaucracy and pointless regulations that their 'civilized' society saw fit to use to protect the filth that corrupted the innocent.
If she were on the job she wouldn't be able to do this, couldn't be tailing a man without probable cause or suspicions. She couldn't do anything until a warrant was procured, until the higher ups were informed and signed off on the actions, until those who might be in on such a disgusting thing were informed and gave their approval.
Repulsion filled her stomach, but it was not in her own actions. No, it was towards those who would try and protect such a person, to allow crimes to go unpunished simply because of technicalities. It was towards the society that valued the rights of the potentially guilty over those of the victims.
"We're here." Harry whispered, and she nodded. Yes, this was perfect . Off the beaten path to shield them from onlookers, but not enough that the police would have trouble locating the spot.
"The children?" she growled and noted a slight gesture from the boy towards a barred arch window at street level. "Are you sure that…"
"Muggle repelling Charms are useful, but Muggle attracting Charms can be more so. The officers will feel compelled to investigate."
A nod answered him, it was far past the time for words, now was the moment for actions . For deeds that were best taken in the dark of the night. For blood to be spilled.
"Go on, become their angel, save them by smiting him. Make him regret every life he has ruined, there will be no help for him this night, no last forgiveness despite his pleas. Make it hurt ."
Tonks said nothing but drew her Wand and sent a piercing Curse through the offending man's left knee, he fell to the ground screaming in almost instantly, but the silencing Wards were already up.
'No reason to interrupt the fun yet' the boy mused as he watched the woman stalk forward, hair shifting through colors as she eyed her target. The criminal collected himself enough to reach into his cloak for something, a gun most likely, but a darker spell she had learned a summer prior had him screaming even louder, and for help, as his skin began to boil.
"Oh, don't bother," she called out, almost playfully, as an imitation of Bellatrix, "we are going to have a lot of time together. See the problem with people like you is that you fear the law so much that you go out of your way to hide from it. You are a long way away from anyone who might even bother helping you."
Another twist of her wrist, and muttered incantation, had the skin from his legs flayed, his eyes burning, a feeling of drowning forced into his throat, and spiked barbs covering his torso.
"So much time ." Tonks growled again, before setting to work on the man. An hour later and she decided that the kids had waited enough, a few minor spells hid any sort of evidence that might point to Magic and with that she returned to the boy who had been patiently waiting nearby.
A nod of her head had him grinning, before he gave a slight gesture and then took a step back with the woman, shadows coating them from all sight. There they waited for another ten minutes before the police arrived and discovered the kidnapped children minutes later. The two slipped away, unnoticed by all as they returned to their hotel room.
"So, Tonks… how do you feel?" the boy-who-lived inquired as the two entered the room, and a silencing Charm was cast over the area to ensure no one would overhear them. Instead of a verbal response he found himself pushed up against the wall, lips covering his throat and a pair of hands desperately clawed at his clothing in attempts to rip through them.
Fire coursed through her veins, a heat that, unlike during the rest of the vacation, had not been extinguished with a chilly walk back through the night. She wanted, needed, more. More release, more excitement, more passion . Never had she felt so alive, so hungry .
And she knew exactly what she wanted to feast upon.
...
"That was my first time…" she muttered into his skin as her lips planted kisses up and down his chest, "taking a life I mean. I got pretty lucky so far in my career that I never had to, well you know."
He turned his gaze to her while running his fingers across her side, "Do you regret it?"
Tonks paused to consider her feelings but eventually shook her head, "No… no not really. I mean the guy was human garbage if ever there was any. The world is a better place without him and I understand you a bit better now."
"You do know that your director, Dumbledore, and most of society for that matter will never be okay with taking the law into your own hands."
The Auror shrugged, "To hell with them, most of the people would understand and probably agree with me anyway, in private at least."
Harry chuckled, "Too true."
Seconds ticked by before she paused once more, "What about you? What was your first time taking a life?" His caressing halted, eyes taking on a faraway look as he recalled back into his childhood, in that moment she knew she had asked the wrong thing, and quickly began stuttering out an apology.
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ask that I just…"
"No, no it is alright. It was back at the orphanage, before I went to Hogwarts, I was about seven at the time. Back then it was just Hedwig and I but one day I found this stray dog hanging around in the forest behind the building. I took a liking to him and would go out every day and feed him whatever was left from the table scraps."
He smiled as the memories began to resurface, but for Tonks a knot formed in her stomach at how this would eventually lead to him taking a life at such a young age.
"One day I went out and he wasn't there, nor the next few. A week passed, and I hadn't seen him and assumed he had wandered off or been taken in by someone… until one of the other children, a bully in his teens told me to check out by a small pond a quarter mile or so from the orphanage. I did and found the remains of the dog. Apparently, the other boy had discovered me taking care of him and decided to kill my 'pet' to make me more miserable."
The woman gasped, tears forming at her eyes, "So… what happened?"
....
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