A/N: As promised, here is the rewrite. I hope that you enjoy it, and i hope to have more chapters up soon. Thanks for your patience.

1. And So It Begins

It was nearing noon as Gilbert Harlough and his wife of twenty-seven years, Constance, took their daily walk along the cliffs that over looked the sea. The couple held hands like they did when they first started dating all those many years ago, talking about things with no more importance than how hot they felt the summer was going to be this year.

The couple had walked this route nearly every day for the last three years, and was one of their favorite things they did together. It was a time to relax and unwind with one another and reconnect as friends, partners and lovers. They had walked this route so often that they both joked that they could do it with their eyes closed. And it was for this reason that they spotted the body so easily.

Gil, is that… Is that a hand?" Constance asked her husband, pointing to the thing that had caught her attention. It was sticking out of some high grass that grew along the path. Gilbert squinted his eyes as he and his wife slowed their pace. Gilbert held up his hand to halt his wife as he cautiously approached what was quite clearly someone's hand sticking out of the brush. Gilbert stopped short when he saw the rest of the body and looked at his wife, his face having gone quite pale.

"Do you have your mobile?" Gilbert asked trying to sound calm and failing

"Of course." Constance replied, feeling anxiety welling up in her chest along with the icy chill of horror. She reached into her pocket to retrieve her telephone and started towards her husband who halted her again.

"Call the police, Connie. Stay there and call them now." He said, looking as if he might retch.

"What is it?" Constance asked over the roar of the coastal wind.

"Call the police immediately!" Gilbert shouted.

"What is it?" Constance asked again when her husband turned away and bent, losing the contents of his stomach. Curiosity got the better of her and Constance nearly sprinted to see what was frightening her husband so deeply.

Her terrified scream echoed over the county.

Aurors Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks parked their car just outside of the police roadblock and got out. They walked towards the scene looking for all the world as if they belonged among the muggle police and investigators who were working on the scene, searching and documenting everything. No one would ever guess just by looking at the pair that there was anything out of the ordinary.

Kingsley, a seventeen year veteran of the British Auror Corp, was dressed in a dark blue suit with a long black overcoat and a gold hoop in his left ear. He was a tall imposing figure with dark skin and a cleanly shaven head. He had piercing dark eyes that took in everything. He was a man who simply radiated authority with every step he took and the muggle police couldn't help but take him in as he passed them.

In comparison, Nymphadora Tonks had been an Auror for just over five years. She was one of the youngest Magical Law Enforcement Officers currently on the force and had already earned a medal for service thanks to her efforts in a very recent battle against terrorists at the Ministry of Magic. Tonks, as she preferred to be known as, had piled her mouse brown hair into a messy bun on top of her head and her ill-fitting black suit hid the fact that she was a stunningly attractive woman with a classic hour glass shape to her that would have left every man she passed drooling. She had a soft, heart shaped face with plump lips ripe for kissing and sultry dark eyes that were carefully taking in the scene around her.

The pair approached a young policeman who looked to be fresh out of the police academy and who was rather pale at the moment. He barely looked up at them as they approached as he worked to close off the area with police crime scene tape.

"Agent Shacklebolt, MI5. Who's in charge here?" Kinglsey asked the officer, flashing an official looking badge.

"That'd be Inspector Todd," The officer said, glancing over his shoulder. "The one in the brown suit standing over there with the coroner."

"Thank you." Kingsley replied and he and Tonks approached the lead investigator with purpose.

"Inspector Todd?" Kingsley asked holding up a badge and identification.

"Who the ruddy hell are you?" Todd asked, looking foul. He was shorter than Kingsley and much more irritable looking. He was balding and had a bit of a paunch. His clothes were ill fitting and had the look of a man who recently lost a lot of weight quickly. He was tossed his cigarette onto the ground and snuffed it out with his shoe, making Kingsley frown deeper.

"Agent Shacklebolt. This is Agent Tonks. We're from MI5."

"MI5? What the hell you doing here?" Todd asked with surprise.

"Can you tell me what happened?" Kingsley asked, while Tonks listened carefully though she was staring at the body that was covered with a sheet. The coroner was kneeling beside the victim, writing on a clipboard.

"Married couple came across the victim on their evening walk. Young girl, about eighteen. She was naked and covered in weird markings." Todd said still eyeing Kingsley with distaste. Kingsley thought that Todd must have had some bad experiences with the government branch of law enforcement.

"Do you know the cause of death?" Kingsley pressed and Todd shook his head. gesturing to the Coroner who looked up.

"We can't figure it out. There are no wounds that we can see. She just... looks... Maybe you should just see for yourselves." He said motioning to the body. Tonks knelt down and flipped back the sheet revealing the girl's face. Her skin was pulled back tightly over her skull, revealing her teeth. Her eyes were open wide and rolled up into her skull revealing the whites, which were impossibly clear and almost looked as if they were made of glass. Tonks was handed a pair of latex gloves which she slipped on her hands before she pulled the sheet back a bit more revealing that the girl was completely naked, and her body was emaciated as if all her innards had been remover and her skeleton had been covered by fresh skin that was too small for her. The skin itself was also rather disturbing as the girl was covered from head to toe in black tattoos.

"I've seen a lot in my career," The coroner began. "But this beats the hell out of me. I can't even give you a time of death."

"Why is our Majesty's finest so interested in this?" Inspector Todd asked.

"The initial report we received told us that this fit a similar case in Blackpool two weeks ago."

Kingsley stated matter of factly before turning to his partner. "What do you see?"

"She's clean." Tonks started. "Extremely clean. She wasn't dragged here."

"We didn't see any footprints or anything like that. The couple who found her had been by this way only an hour or so before." Inspector Todd added.

Tonks lifted the girls hand delicately and slowly turned it, examining it closely. "No signs that she was restrained. No bruising or anything like that. Her nails look as if she'd been to some swanky salon or something. This is professional work. Other than that... I'm flummoxed to what killed her."

"Did you find anything Inspector?" Kingsley asked, turning back to Todd who was pulling a fresh cigarette.

"We've been over this area with fine toothed combs, and didn't even find a bent blade of grass," Todd said gruffly. "It's like she just appeared here out of thin air. Strangest god damned thing I've ever seen."

"Very well," Kingsley said. "We're going to have our people pick up the body, so please do not start an autopsy. Fill out whatever paperwork you need, but do not do anything to the body."

"Are you out of your tree?" Todd demanded.

"I mean it Inspector. This is a matter of national security, and we would appreciate your cooperation," Kingsley said, looking the Inspector right in the eye. Todd held the bigger man's gaze for a moment before he finally gave a slow nod, his eyes losing their focus a bit.

"Thank you," Kingsley said as he turned, with Tonks following.

"Tell me what you noticed" Kingsley said when they were safely back in their car. Tonks took a deep breath, centering herself as she prepared to tell her partner all she'd noticed.

"She definitely wasn't tortured. Though I would say that she had been petrified, or put in a body bind curse recently. The Muggles wouldn't have been able to tell, but her fingers felt rigid, like they were still under the curse. You know that your fingers and toes are the last to be free of that sort of thing. They always hold onto the stiffness."

"Interesting, go on." Shacklebolt encouraged his young partner.

"Those were Runes on her body, I'm sure of it. And they weren't carved into her, they were tattooed. That's a bit odd because if it was for a ritual, one would want the rues carved into the victim. I think I recognized one of the Runes on her hand as the symbol for expiation, but I can't be sure. There were so many Runes, and they were all connected. Whoever did it to her was looking for a very specific outcome."

Kingsley nodded, considering it all.

The trip back to London didn't take very long, thanks to the magical car they had been assigned. It was not unlike the Knight Bus, a popular mode of transportation among magicals in that it was fast and could slip through very narrow spaces. It also helped that Muggles could not see it when the driver didn't want it to be seen.

Kingsley parked the car in the Ministry garage and checked it back in while Tonks transfigured her clothes back to something she considered to be more human, which for her meant knee high engineer boots, black tights, artistically torn denim shorts, punk rock t-shirt and a leather motorcycle coat. Her dark brown tresses morphed back into her favorite short spiky style in a shade of pink that could burn out a person's corneas.

When Kingsley turned around, he could only shake his head. Aurors were supposed to be as inconspicuous as possible, and Nymphadora Tonks prided herself on standing out. If it wasn't for her Metamorphugus abilities, she'd never be allowed out of the office.

"One day, that pink hair of yours is going to get you, and likely someone else killed," Kingsley grunted. Tonks merely smiled.

"Hardly," Tonks smirked. "You know as well as I do I blend into the muggle world like this better than half the wizards in this building alone."

Kingsley rolled his eyes.

"I'm going to go see Willoughby about getting the girl's body picked up before I report to Rufus. As soon as we know who she is we'll find out where she was seen last and see if we can't pick up some kind of trail."

"What do you want me to do?" Tonks asked.

Nothing." Kingsley smiled. "Go home. Get some rest. We won't know any more until tomorrow anyway. You did well today."

"Are you sure?" Tonks said, now eyeing the floo network with interest. "I could stay and…"

"Tonks, I've got it covered," Kingsley smirked. "Besides, didn't you tell me that your… how did you put it? Your 'Ginger Stallion' was back from Egypt?"

The grin that appeared on Tonks' face actually made Kingsley shiver with concern. The young woman practically danced towards the waiting floos, her hips rocking in a very sensuous fashion and Kingsley shook his head, fighting down his laughter.

"Kingsley, you're the best. It's been far too long since I sank my teeth into a nice tasty piece of man flesh." Tonks shouted over her shoulder.

"Does he know you call him that?" Kingsley called back and then held up his hand when Tonks turned and made to answer. "Never mind. I don't think I want to know any more about your sex life than you've already tortured me with."

Tonks didn't even wave as she practically sprinted to the nearest floo and tossed in a handful of silvery floo powder and was gone in a flash of green fire. Kingsley silently prayed that this "Ginger Stallion" was at least in good physical health. He hated to think of what Tonks might do to the poor man when she got her claws into him.

"Ah to be young and hormonal again." Kingsley smiled to himself as he headed deeper into the Ministry to report to his supervisor. As he strolled through the atrium he noted how well reconstruction was progressing. It had only been two months since the most vile and feared wizard ever had dueled against the most beloved wizard of the age. Kingsley felt a pang of sorrow cut through his heart as he remembered the aftermath of the duel.

Albus Dumbledore had died a few days earlier following the final battle with Voldemort. The Daily Prophet reported that his death was due to his advanced age, but Kingsley and most everyone who had seen the battle first hand knew that Dumbledore had simply exhausted himself and incurred too many wounds for his old body to recover from. The old Headmaster's was set to be laid to rest tomorrow afternoon, and Kingsley and many other Aurors were assigned protection detail as it was expected that Death Eaters might try and get revenge for the loss of their master. Kingsley hoped they would show a modicum of respect for the man regardless of their personal feelings.

Things had been peaceful for most of the magical world following that night, but for the Ministry and the Aurors, things had been quite stressful. Firstly, with Voldemort assumed vanquished, the Aurors were primarily focused on bringing in his followers. Most had gone to ground. Some had turned themselves in, claiming to have been imperiused by the Dark Lord again. As it was not something that could be proven, and in most of those cases, gold had once again exchanged hands, those witches and wizards were set free. Kingsley felt his stomach turn every time he thought of that.

The Auror Office was relatively quiet for this time of day. Some Aurors were handling their paperwork, and Kingsley grimaced slightly at the thought of the report he was going to have to fill out later.

Kingsley also noted several of his fellow Aurors gathered together and talking with excitement. Kingsley couldn't hear what they were saying, and paid it no mind as he was focused on his next destination.

He knocked on the door to the office of the head of the Auror Department. He heard the gruff, gravelly voice of Rufus Scrimgeour beckon for him to enter and he opened the door, and did a double take when he found the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia Bones sitting in one of the chairs across the desk from his boss.

"Ah, Kingsley, how'd it go?" Scrimgeour asked. He was a tall, wiry man with dark blue eyes and a grizzled, unshaven face. He had a deep scar from his left temple straight down to his jaw, something he had received during the first war with Lord Voldemort. The wizard who gave it to him never faced the wizarding court as Scrimgeour had ended the man's life and saved three muggle teenaged girls. Only one other man had as exemplary a record as Rufus Scrimgeour, and that man had retired several years ago. At least he'd retired from law enforcement. His appearance at the final battle told everyone that Alastor Moody would never be finished fighting the forces of darkness.

"The Muggles cooperated fine just as always. We told them it was a potential threat to the country's security as usual. Unfortunately we won't know much more until the victim is examined, but if I'm honest… I think we may have something very bad to worry about." Kingsley began.

"Do you suspect Death Eaters?" Amelia asked. To her amazement, Kingsley shook his head.

"To be honest, it doesn't fit their standard MO." Kingsley shook his head. "Nothing about this matches their past atrocities."

"Explain," Rufus commanded motioning to the empty seat next to Amelia.

"You recall my report on the girl we found in Blackpool?" Kingsley began.

"Samantha Pike, correct?" Rufus asked. his light blue eyes gave the impression he was looking through Kingsley.

"That's right," he nodded.

"As I recall, the cause of death was loss of blood, but there didn't seem to be any wounds on her, and she was also covered in runes, but you couldn't explain what they were for. Even the Unspeakable were less than helpful, am I correct?"

"Spot on," Kingsley nodded. "This one was exactly the same. Runes all over her body, no visible wounds, naked and left out in the open so it would be easy to find and in both cases they were found by people who'd been in the area recently. The couple who found the girl tonight had walked by that spot about an hour before and hadn't seen her."

"The last girl was found by hunters, correct?" Rufus asked and Kingsley nodded.

"I'm thinking that we're supposed to find the bodies." The dark skinned man said morbidly. "As if it's all a part of some game. My partner said she thought she recognized some of the runes on the girl's body, but she also said that here were so many that she couldn't be sure."

"So you think these two bodies are connected then?" Amelia Bones asked, taking her monocle out and wiping it with her robe as she stared at Kingsley.

"I believe so, yes." Kingsley nodded. "I also think that this is only just beginning."

"Great, that's all we need now. A gods be damned serial killer," Rufus sighed, leaning back in his seat. "As if we didn't have enough to worry about with everything else going on."

Amelia rose from her seat, her expression grim. "I'd like to be kept up to date on this one Rufus. Have a copy of the examiner's report on my desk as soon as you can."

"As you ask." Rufus nodded.

"Now if you excuse me, I have to meet with the Minister of Magic. It seems he's very worried about the newest member of the Wizengamot. Quite frankly, I don't blame him. After all these years…" Amelia Bones sighed, a dark look passing aver her face. She seemed to lose herself in thought for a moment before coming back to the present.

"I'd like to meet with you first thing in the morning Rufus. I'd like to go over the arrangements for the funeral one last time." Amelia said and Rufus rose from his seat as Amelia turned toward the door. "It's so very strange. I kind of always thought Dumbledore would be around… like he'd out live us all."

"A man that powerful and intelligent," Rufus shrugged. "It would be easy to believe something like that. He was truly a great man and he is going to be missed very badly."

"Indeed." Goodnight gentlemen." Amelia nodded to both and then left them alone.

"I still can't believe Thicknese won the election." Rufus grumbled after the door was shut. "As if Fudge wasn't bad enough."

"Thicknese's supporters have deep pockets." Kingsley remarked.

"Indeed they do." Rufus sighed before turning back to Kingsley. "I'm putting you in charge of this case Kingsley. Let's try and get to the bottom of this before any more young girls turn up in the same condition. I also want to be kept up to date on it. How soon will you be able to get me your report?"

"First thing in the morning I should think. I sent Willoughby to fetch the girl's body, and I believe Croaker is the examiner tonight. He's fast, but thorough." Kingsley said, rising to his feet.

"That's fine." Rufus sighed and shook his head. "But you can wait a bit on the report. I want you to go home and rest up. I need you and the others at their best tomorrow. One last thing before you go, how did your new partner do out there?"

"Tonks was professional. Very observant. I think she has the makings of a fine investigator." Kingsley smiled.

"Good. Don't pull punches with her. Teach her. Work her. I haven't been as impressed with someone since you started Kingsley." Rufus smiled and Kingsley returned it.

"I'll teach her everything you taught me." he chuckled deeply.

"See that you do. Now get out of here. I expect you back here bright and early tomorrow." Rufus said, waving Kingsley out of his office.

Kingsley gave his superior one final nod before leaving the office.. Tomorrow was going to be an excruciatingly long day. Hogwarts was going to be hosting quite the array of officials from all over the world, and the Aurors were going to have quite the job seeing to their protection. Kingsley hated to think about how long the day was going to be and then another thought occurred to him, and he stopped just before shutting Rufus's office door and poked his head back in.

"Who's the new member of the Wizengamot that has the Minister so worried?"

"You haven't heard?" Rufus quirked an eyebrow.

The blinding flashes of the camera began the moment the doors of the courtroom opened. Roughly fifty reporters and photographers had gathered as soon as word leaked of the bombshell that had dropped within the court that day. Reporters began shouting questions of the Wizengamot members, most of whom pushed past the bothersome reporters and headed for their private offices, or their homes, some of them looking very surly.

Chief Warlock, Roland Everard cleared his throat quite loudly as he approached the anxious reporters and held up his hands to silence them so he could address them. The Chief Warlock was a gruff looking man with a large belly and watery looking eyes. His long thinning steel gray hair was tied back with a black ribbon and a gold watch hung from his waist coat. Everard had recently been voted into his position following the battle at the ministry when the former Chief Warlock, Albus Dumbledore, could no longer execute his duties. Dumbledore had resigned from the post and Everard had been nominated and voted into replacing the former Chief Warlock.

Next to Everard stood the man that was the cause of all this commotion. A tall man with long black hair and a goatee. He had bright brown eyes and an easy smile that charmed nearly all the witches who glanced it. And next to this man, holding his hand and his arm possessively was a stunningly beautiful blonde woman who looked a slightly overwhelmed at the moment.

"This afternoon," Everard began, causing the reporters to go quiet so they could take down all the Chief Warlock said. "The esteemed members of the Wizengamot were petitioned by Sirius Orion Black, the last scion of The Most Ancient and Noble House of Black for his family's seat on this noble body. I am pleased to say that we members voted to return the House of Black onto the court."

Chief Warlock Everard was clearly struggling to keep smiling and Sirius had to fight down his own smug smile. Everard had been one of those who had voted against allowing him to claim his family seat. In fact the court had nearly been split in its decision, and Sirius knew why. He'd been warned of this many years ago. No one trusted him. Many still believed that it had been he who had betrayed the Potters to their deaths. He had disappeared that night nearly seventeen years ago and had not been seen or heard from since. In many people's hearts, this had only solidified their belief of his guilt.

"I am not alone is saying that we are most eager to see what contributions Lord Black brings to the table, and how he will serve the betterment to the magical world. Ladies and Gentlemen, Lord Sirius Black." Everard began clapping and the reporters followed his example as Sirius stepped forward with his wife Annalise right at his side. Sirius allowed the applause for a second before waving his hands to settle everyone down again.

"I know that you all have a million questions for me, and I do intend to answer as many as I can, though I won't be doing it today. I will of course be doing interviews in the coming days as they are scheduled, but for now, I will try and answer a few starting with you there in the blue robes." Sirius said as he pointed to a younger man with a hopeful look.

"Claude Jorkins, sir. Knight's Herald. Mister Black, where have you been these past seventeen years?"

"Traveling." Sirius smiled. Anna looked on proudly and squeezed his hand in support. "I wanted to see the world, and have accomplished that. Now, after my marriage to this beautiful woman beside me, and some deep soul searching, I felt it was time to come home, and do what I could to better this country. Next question?"

"Rita Skeeter, Daily prophet." A woman with blonde hair, gaudy green horn rimmed glasses and several gold teeth smiled. "Why return now? And why take up your family's seat when you've shown nothing but contempt for you family until now?"

Sirius's smile faltered a bit here. "While it's true that I did not agree with my family, they instilled in me a strong sense of responsibility. It is my responsibility to help lead our society to a stronger, brighter future."

"Abigail Edwards, Witch Weekly," A young, pretty brunette said with a charming smile. "Lord Black, you said that gorgeous woman on your arm is your wife? Who is she, how did you meet?"

Sirius gave a roguish sort of smile as he wrapped an arm around Anna's slim waist and pulled her a little closer. Anna smiled brightly as she looked at her husband.

"This is my wife, Lady Annalise Linnea Johannson Black." He said. "And how we met is a very long and romantic tale indeed."

There was a surge of flashes as the photographers snapped pictures of the new Lady Black. The couple waved and then turned to follow Chief Warlock Everard who told the reporters that that would be all for now before guiding Lord and Lady Black to his office, where he shut the door tightly to give the three some privacy.

"Well, was it everything you hoped it would be Lord Black?" Everard asked in a brisk tone. Sirius noted immediately that the Chief Warlock wasn't happy. He felt bad for the older man. He was replacing Albus Dumbledore, and that alone must have put an immense weight on his shoulders. Sirius really didn't wish to burden the man further, and from what he'd learned of the Chief Warlock over the past few weeks, wanted him as an ally.

"Chief Warlock, I'm not here to cause trouble, despite your misgivings about me." Sirius said.

"I know your family well Black, and I'm not a fan of its core beliefs." Everard said coldly.

"Neither am I. Chief Warlock." Sirius said, all joviality gone from his voice now. "I want more for our people than the status quo. We shouldn't be catering to Purebloods just because they're rich. Muggleborns can help bring this country out of the Dark Ages. I've seen it for myself. And I did my homework, I know you believe as I do. We're on the same side. And if you allow me to, I will prove it to you in time."

Everard looked slightly taken aback by this.

"I know your record, and I know you're an honorable man." Sirius said, holding out his hand. "If he could have, I know Dumbledore would have supported you becoming the Chief Warlock. Let me help you continue his work."

Everard looked at the offered hand and then at Sirius face, arching an eyebrow in curiosity. He then took the offered hand and shook it once, though he still looked rather skeptical.

"Time will tell." Everard said before shaking Black's hand and grimacing. "Time will tell."

"That could have gone much worse." Annalise stated in her thick Swedish accent when they were alone, walking towards the floo network.

"You're right." Sirius agreed. "They could have carted me off to Azkaban. But it got the job done. We needed this diversion."

"This is only a diversion?" Annalise looked surprised. "The way you've been talking about it, I thought you intended to really…"

"I do." Sirius cut her off, and glanced around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "I have every intention to make this country better for Muggleborns, and for our children."

"Our children?" Annalise looked up with a smile and Sirius bent and kissed her softly.

"For our children, and our children's children." He said before his smile fell away and he continued. "But this whole spectacle of the 'last Black returning to his home' nonsense is to keep people's attention on me. If everyone is wondering what I'm up to…"

"No one will be paying much attention to other things happening that might scare them and cause them to light the proverbial torches." Annalise nodded. "Clever."

"I meant what I said in there." Sirius continued. "If I can do something to help others, and make this country better, than by god I'm going to do it. But I'm going to have my work cut out for me. There's too much prejudice, and far too much gold changing hands to accomplish anything meaningful right away."

"How do you plan to start?"" Annalise asked curiously, and Sirius smiled.

"By putting a face to their prejudice." Sirius smiled. "I'm going to go see an old friend and offer him a job."

"Remus?" Annalise began to smile as well. "Oh I can't wait to meet your friend. You've told me so many stories. He sounds wonderful."

"He was, but I fear he's not going to be too happy to see me. At least not right away." Sirius's smile fell a bit. He then checked his watch and took his wife's hand. "We'd better go now. We still have to go check on the house before we get dinner."

Tonks lay gasping for breath, and wiped at her sweaty face as she grinned at the gorgeous redheaded man who was lying next to her equally sweaty and lacking of breath.

"Bloody fucking hell lover." Tonks asked. "Did some one hit you with a lust hex or something. I don't know that I'll be able to walk anytime soon. My legs are shaking so much."

"What can I say?' Bill Weasley smiled over at her. "I missed you a lot this time."

"Really?" She laughed. "I couldn't tell."

She rolled and kissed him, causing him to growl playfully.

"I need water and a rest before we go again." He said and she slapped his bare chest.

"I think I'm going to need a day or two before we go again." She laughed. He wrapped his strong arms around her waist and held her tightly against him.

"How long are you going to be around this time?" She asked, softly kissing his jaw.

"I was going to talk to you about that before you jumped me." Bill grinned. Tonks gave him a playful nip on his ear lobe. "The goblins offered me a pretty good promotion. And I'm thinking about taking it. But I wanted to talk to you about a few things before I accepted."

Tonks pulled back enough to where she could look him in the eye, and for the first time in the nearly six years they'd been lovers, he looked nervous. And that made her begin to feel nervous.

"Okay…" She said apprehensively.

"We've been doing this whole physical thing for a while now, and it's been good. We always said that it worked for us because of our jobs. We never had any sort of rules or expectations. But I've been thinking a lot lately about the future, and what I want for my life." Bill said staring at Tonks, and she felt a knot in her stomach tightening.

It was true that their relationship had really been one of convenience. Bill would roll back into the country every six months or so, and for a week, the two of them would rut like animals. There was an unspoken understanding between them that whatever happened while they were apart was none of the other's business. It worked for them.

But if Tonks were going to be honest, she loved Bill. She'd loved him since her fifth year at Hogwarts. Sure she had dated his brother Charlie for a bit, but it had Bill who'd had her heart. They'd been friends, but had never been close. At least not until Tonks finished her first year of training with the Aurors, and had run into Bill who'd gotten quite drunk while he'd been out with his mates. She's taken him home and looked after him, and when he'd sobered up, they'd talked a lot.

The next time he'd come home had been the first time they'd made love. They'd kept in touch while he'd been in Egypt, and he'd sometimes sent her really cool things he'd found in the tombs. But their relationship was based on sex, and little else. But it had been enough for Tonks. But now she was sure it was about to end. The way he was talking now made her believe that it was time to move on to someone respectable. Wife material.

"So what do you think?" Bill asked and Tonks had to shake herself. She hadn't been listening and now realized that he'd asked something important.

"I…what did you say?" She asked, fighting back tears.

"I asked what you thought. About you and me having a go at something more than sex." Bill said looking a bit worried.

"Wait." Tonks shook her head again, trying to wrap her mind around the sudden change that had just occurred. "You… you want to date me? Like boyfriend girlfriend? Like going out to dinner, and parties and walks on the beach?"

"With the potential to see if we could have something more one day?" Bill added.

"You want to marry me?" Tonks asked, now finding it hard to breathe.

"Look, the Goblins want me to head up their acquisitions department here in England. Which means I'll be home all the time. Well, at least in England anyway. Which means I can spend more time with you. When they first offered it to me, I started thinking about my life, and I feel like I'm close to ready to settle down. I realized that I want a family. And when I started thinking about who I want that family with, I realized how much I've shared with you through all our letters. I don't think there's anyone in the world who knows me as well as you do. I don't know anyone half as well as I know you. Dora, I love you, and I'd like to see if we can be something more than just fuck buddies. So what do you think?"

Tonks bent forward and kissed him hard. She felt his arms tightened around her waist. When she broke the kiss she pulled back a bit and smiled.

"I think that you better hold on because there is no way I will be able to express how happy that makes me in just words." She said as she reached down and grasped his manhood.