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amorphousTitle: Searching for a Change; chapter 7 And It Begins
Words: circa 2000 (this chapter)
Rating: PG (this chapter)
Characers/Pairings: Snape/Tonks
Warnings: Started before Deathly Hallows and now totally disreguards it!
Author's Notes: Thank you to my beta, the amazing![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jandjsalmon. All mistakes are mine, not hers.
Summary: (this chapter) Snape goes in search to find Tonks; he visits a house on a hunch and finds out more than he bargains for.
Previous chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
"You want time off?" Minerva McGonagall repeated back, surprise etched on her face.
"Yes. Just a few days. Perhaps Friday and then the weekend. I should be back Monday," Severus rushed on. He knew that asking for time off was unexpected, but he knew what he had to do. He was determined to find her.
"Well, I'm not sure I can allow that—" the headmistress started.
"I'm only asking for a few days. Have the other professors cover my Friday classes," he interrupted.
"Tell me why you want time off and I'll consider it."
"Consider it?" Severus sighed with frustration. "I need to do something."
Minerva stared at Severus with probing eyes. She seemed to be trying to read his thoughts –thoughts he wasn't prepared to share with her. She sighed suddenly. "Are you planning to look for Nymphadora Tonks? If you are," she continued without letting him reply, "you should know that the Order is looking for her as is the Ministry of Magic. There is no shortage of searchers; there is no need for you to leave your job to go do your own little search." She paused, looking at him with accusing eyes. "Unless, of course, you have something to hide."
Severus looked a deep breath to control his anger and frustration over her thinly veiled accusation. "I have nothing to hide, Headmistress. Now if you would be so kind as to give me permission to leave grounds for the weekend I'll let you get back to your paperwork."
Pursing her lips as she considered his request, Minerva stared at Severus with an unwavering gaze. With a sigh of defeat she said, "Fine. Go for the weekend, but you best be back Monday morning for class."
"Thank you, Headmistress," he said politely, turning to leave the office.
"Remember, Severus, there is no shortage of searchers. You'll probably just be in the way."
Ignoring her, he headed off the grounds to where it was safe to Apparate.
---
A pair of eyes were fixed on him as Severus walked through the Ministry of Magic and headed straight for level 2 where the Auror headquarters were. He ignored the Aurors who tried to approach him and ask him to leave, and walked straight to the desk that he knew was Tonks’.
It was cluttered and messy with papers strewn about and stacked haphazardly on top. He shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips as he saw the disarray. It was so like her. Sitting down in the chair, he began to shuffle through the paperwork.
"How the hell did you get in here?"
The angry and cold question came from behind him, and when he answered he didn't bother to turn around. "I'm here on business."
"Like hell you are. Leave!"
"Listen, Potter, I know you have some kind of savior complex, but go find someone else to save and leave me alone." He opened a desk drawer.
"Snape, leave now. You're not welcome here and you know it!" another voice yelled.
Severus wondered briefly why they weren't trying to forcefully remove him from the premises. He knew they could.
"I'm too busy for this. If you want me to leave, make me leave."
An awkward silence went over the headquarters immediately at his words. He knew something was happening that he wasn't aware of and he stopped searching through the desk and turned around.
The five Order members that were also Aurors were standing behind him and staring at him with blank expressions.
"What is going on here?" he asked, directly his question to Kingsley Shacklebolt.
The tall black wizard stared at him in silence before clearing his throat. "Tonks said – Tonks said, said that you should be able to do what you like with her things…"
"Like she knew she was dying or something," Ron Weasley chimed up from beside him.
"Damn," Severus muttered turning back around to the messy desk. His search grew frantic as he gathered all the paperwork that seemed even the least bit important.
"What?" Potter asked from behind him.
"What do you know?" Weasley pressed.
"Nothing. I know nothing. But I'm going to find out," Severus muttered as he pulled a few papers out of the nearest drawer.
"What did she know is what I want to know!" Shacklebolt said with frustration clear in his voice.
"Snape, we’re letting you do what you want for now, but if we find out you had anything – and I mean anything – to do with her disappearance, there were be a price to pay," Potter warned.
Severus heard their footsteps as they walked away to leave him at her desk in peace finally. At the bottom of the lowest drawer he found a newspaper clipping of about five Death Eaters being murder in 1998. The name Jack Grace was circled, creating a flicker of curiosity stir within him. The act of keeping an old article seemed unusual for a messy Auror to do. He pocketed the piece of paper.
Finishing his search of the drawers, he moved onto the top of the desk again, determined to reach the actual desktop. Underneath the paperwork and the debris, a folder laid closed on desk. The tag read "Clare, Mia". A feeling of importance radiated off the folder and he picked it up and slid it on top of the stack. He was mildly surprised when he found another folder directly underneath it that read "Clare, Craig".
Glancing behind himself, he tossed most of the stack he had piled back on the desk and slid the two "Clare" folders into his robes.
Once he stood up he heard Shacklebolt holler, "Leaving finally?"
Severus nodded and left the Ministry of Magic without another word.
---
Severus slid down into his old chair in the living room at Spinner's End, the two folders clutched in his hands. Something about the way the folders had been so neat and orderly, buried in what seemed like a purposely way underneath the mess, told him that they were the only things that might lead to where Tonks ones.
He opened the one labeled "Clare, Mia" first. All the information was handwritten. It was clearly not a regulation Auror file.
Name: Mia Clare
Age: 22
DOB: April 12, 1977
Last Known Place of Residence: Middleburgs, Scotland, UK
Family: Marcus Clare (father, deceased), Anna Wesley Clare (mother, living in St. Abby's Home for the Clinically Insane), Craig Clare (bother, whereabouts unknown), Leo Asmen (deceased, husband)
Reason for Investigation: Her brother Craig was charged her husband, Leo Asmen's, who was later revealed to be a Death Eater, murder in 1998. Aurors thing that she helped her brother flee the Aurors and custody and is helping him hideout.
I interviewed her twice, but she sticks the same story. She woke up on the morning of October 29, 1998 and found her husband dead in the foyer of their mansion. She proceeded to call the authorities. She claims to not have heard from her brother since 1995, but intercepted owls loosely proof otherwise.
No proof can be pinpointed on her to take her into custody for a proper interrogation.
He read over the information three times before shaking his head in confusion. Putting Mia's file aside, he opened her brother Craig's.
Name: Craig Clare
Age: 29
DOB: February 1, 1970
Last Known Whereabouts: Unknown
Family: Marcus Clare (father, deceased), Anna Wesley Clare (mother, living in St. Abby's Home for the Clinically Insane), Mia Clare (sister, Middleburgs, Scotland), Leo Asmen (deceased, brother-in-law)
Charged with the murder of Leo Asmen, who was later revealed to be a Death Eater, in 1998.
Fled authorities when they went to apprehend him. Sister Mia Clare claims to have no knowledge of his whereabouts.
Scribbled inside the Craig's folder was four words in almost illegible handwriting were the words 1432 Amber St. Middleburgs. He knew at that moment, despite the fact nothing in the folders made sense to him, that he had to travel to Middleburgs, Scotland if he wanted to find out what happened to Tonks.
Severus reached in his robes and pulled on the newspaper clipping. The name of Jack Grace seemed to be the only reason she could have kept the article so long, yet it meant nothing to him. He made a mental note to ask her about the name when he saw her.
He was positive he would get the chance.
---
Middleburgs was a quiet country town. It seemed impossible that something underhanded or wrong was going on. Amber Street was practically the main street of the small town; it was lined with extravagant houses and a few small shops here and there scattered throughout.
Severus Apparated at the beginning of the street and began to walk down the quiet street to locate 1432. It was easy to spot. It was by far the largest mansion on the street, visible from the road despite the fact that driveway was 50 yards long.
He walked up the sidewalk toward the house without hesitation, but he was unsure what he was going to do when he got to the door. He knew he couldn't just barge in and demand Tonks. The mailbox had the name ‘Clare’ written on it; assuring him he had the correct house.
When he reached the front door he paused for a moment before he raised his hand and knocked loudly. Silence greeted him from behind the closed door.
Soft footsteps sounded from behind the door, growing louder as the person approached. The door slid up slowly, revealing a tiny young woman with blond hair. "Hello."
"Hello. I'm Severus Snape. I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind taking a moment to talk to me about your bother Craig," he said politely to the frowning woman.
"No, no. I have no time. I'm sorry." The woman tried to close the door on him but he put his hand out to stop it.
"Please, it will only take a moment. We have a lead on where we think he is," he persisted.
"I said no. He didn't kill anyone- especially not Leo," the woman rushed on, her eyes glancing inside quickly, nervous of something that was going on.
Severus pushed the door wider and she moved backward, allowing him entrance reluctantly.
"Sir!" the woman protested as he stepped inside her foyer.
"Thank you for allowing me to take a few moments of your time, Mrs. Asmen."
She seemed to choke at the name. "I'm not – I'm not Mrs. Asmen. I'm Ms. Clare."
"Oh, sorry," he apologized without meaning it. His eyes watched her response with great interest. She seemed to take the name of Mrs. Asmen as an insult. "Did you and your late husband not end on good terms?"
"No, it's not that. I never did change my name in the first place," she tried to wave off her reaction.
"Right." Severus walked farther into the mansion, out of the foyer and into the spacious living room that was adjacent. The mansion was decorated simply in a color scheme of sage green and beige. The foyer was wide open with no furniture while the living room, that obviously served as a place to entertain guests as well, had three beige chairs and a coffee table in the center of the room. A window seat covered in sage fabric showed a gorgeous view of the large yard out front.
"Please can we get this… talk over with?" Mia Clare asked rudely as she seated herself on one of the chairs. She gestured toward the chair across from her. "Take a seat."
He sat down gracefully across from her. "Ms. Clare, I was just wondering if you have ever spoken with an Auror named Nymphadora Tonks."
"Nymphadora Tonks?" She repeated back to him, thinking over the name. "No, no I don't think I have. Was she investigating Leo's murder?"
"She was the lead Auror on the case. I'm surprised you've never spoken to her before."
The woman shrugged. "I'm sorry I haven't." She stood up and stared at him expectantly. "Is that all?"
"No, I was also wondering what you could remember of the morning you found her husband dead?"
She sighed. "That again? Surely the Aurors keep better files than this. I've told my tale several times and it hasn't changed."
"Please tell me this time," Severus requested.
Mia sat down and glared with annoyance at him. "I woke up, walked downstairs to find my husband dead on the foyer floor of that mansion. I called the authorities immediately. That's all."
"How long were you married to your husband?"
"Five years."
"You never had any children?"
"We weren’t blessed with children." She paused. "Anything else?"
"Your brother, did you see him near your mansion the night before you found Leo's body?"
"No. I hadn't spoken to him in years and I still have not." Her eyes gave her away. The lies shined back at him as he probed her unknowing mind for the truth. Don't go upstairs. If you go upstairs you will find Leo and that girl, that Tonks. Don't find out that it was my brother, my rotten to the core brother, that was dead in my foyer. Don't find out about the Polyjuice potion.
"Ma'am, would you mind giving me a tour of your home here?"
Mia looked anxious. "I do mind! There is no reason for you to search my home!" She jumped to her feet angrily. "I demand that you leave my home this minute! Before I call the authorities!"
Severus sighed. He had known that that plan wouldn’t work, but it had been worth a try. "Thank you for your time." He reached out to shake her hand, but she merely jabbed her finger toward the door.
Words: circa 2000 (this chapter)
Rating: PG (this chapter)
Characers/Pairings: Snape/Tonks
Warnings: Started before Deathly Hallows and now totally disreguards it!
Author's Notes: Thank you to my beta, the amazing
jandjsalmon. All mistakes are mine, not hers.Summary: (this chapter) Snape goes in search to find Tonks; he visits a house on a hunch and finds out more than he bargains for.
Previous chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
"You want time off?" Minerva McGonagall repeated back, surprise etched on her face.
"Yes. Just a few days. Perhaps Friday and then the weekend. I should be back Monday," Severus rushed on. He knew that asking for time off was unexpected, but he knew what he had to do. He was determined to find her.
"Well, I'm not sure I can allow that—" the headmistress started.
"I'm only asking for a few days. Have the other professors cover my Friday classes," he interrupted.
"Tell me why you want time off and I'll consider it."
"Consider it?" Severus sighed with frustration. "I need to do something."
Minerva stared at Severus with probing eyes. She seemed to be trying to read his thoughts –thoughts he wasn't prepared to share with her. She sighed suddenly. "Are you planning to look for Nymphadora Tonks? If you are," she continued without letting him reply, "you should know that the Order is looking for her as is the Ministry of Magic. There is no shortage of searchers; there is no need for you to leave your job to go do your own little search." She paused, looking at him with accusing eyes. "Unless, of course, you have something to hide."
Severus looked a deep breath to control his anger and frustration over her thinly veiled accusation. "I have nothing to hide, Headmistress. Now if you would be so kind as to give me permission to leave grounds for the weekend I'll let you get back to your paperwork."
Pursing her lips as she considered his request, Minerva stared at Severus with an unwavering gaze. With a sigh of defeat she said, "Fine. Go for the weekend, but you best be back Monday morning for class."
"Thank you, Headmistress," he said politely, turning to leave the office.
"Remember, Severus, there is no shortage of searchers. You'll probably just be in the way."
Ignoring her, he headed off the grounds to where it was safe to Apparate.
---
A pair of eyes were fixed on him as Severus walked through the Ministry of Magic and headed straight for level 2 where the Auror headquarters were. He ignored the Aurors who tried to approach him and ask him to leave, and walked straight to the desk that he knew was Tonks’.
It was cluttered and messy with papers strewn about and stacked haphazardly on top. He shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips as he saw the disarray. It was so like her. Sitting down in the chair, he began to shuffle through the paperwork.
"How the hell did you get in here?"
The angry and cold question came from behind him, and when he answered he didn't bother to turn around. "I'm here on business."
"Like hell you are. Leave!"
"Listen, Potter, I know you have some kind of savior complex, but go find someone else to save and leave me alone." He opened a desk drawer.
"Snape, leave now. You're not welcome here and you know it!" another voice yelled.
Severus wondered briefly why they weren't trying to forcefully remove him from the premises. He knew they could.
"I'm too busy for this. If you want me to leave, make me leave."
An awkward silence went over the headquarters immediately at his words. He knew something was happening that he wasn't aware of and he stopped searching through the desk and turned around.
The five Order members that were also Aurors were standing behind him and staring at him with blank expressions.
"What is going on here?" he asked, directly his question to Kingsley Shacklebolt.
The tall black wizard stared at him in silence before clearing his throat. "Tonks said – Tonks said, said that you should be able to do what you like with her things…"
"Like she knew she was dying or something," Ron Weasley chimed up from beside him.
"Damn," Severus muttered turning back around to the messy desk. His search grew frantic as he gathered all the paperwork that seemed even the least bit important.
"What?" Potter asked from behind him.
"What do you know?" Weasley pressed.
"Nothing. I know nothing. But I'm going to find out," Severus muttered as he pulled a few papers out of the nearest drawer.
"What did she know is what I want to know!" Shacklebolt said with frustration clear in his voice.
"Snape, we’re letting you do what you want for now, but if we find out you had anything – and I mean anything – to do with her disappearance, there were be a price to pay," Potter warned.
Severus heard their footsteps as they walked away to leave him at her desk in peace finally. At the bottom of the lowest drawer he found a newspaper clipping of about five Death Eaters being murder in 1998. The name Jack Grace was circled, creating a flicker of curiosity stir within him. The act of keeping an old article seemed unusual for a messy Auror to do. He pocketed the piece of paper.
Finishing his search of the drawers, he moved onto the top of the desk again, determined to reach the actual desktop. Underneath the paperwork and the debris, a folder laid closed on desk. The tag read "Clare, Mia". A feeling of importance radiated off the folder and he picked it up and slid it on top of the stack. He was mildly surprised when he found another folder directly underneath it that read "Clare, Craig".
Glancing behind himself, he tossed most of the stack he had piled back on the desk and slid the two "Clare" folders into his robes.
Once he stood up he heard Shacklebolt holler, "Leaving finally?"
Severus nodded and left the Ministry of Magic without another word.
---
Severus slid down into his old chair in the living room at Spinner's End, the two folders clutched in his hands. Something about the way the folders had been so neat and orderly, buried in what seemed like a purposely way underneath the mess, told him that they were the only things that might lead to where Tonks ones.
He opened the one labeled "Clare, Mia" first. All the information was handwritten. It was clearly not a regulation Auror file.
Name: Mia Clare
Age: 22
DOB: April 12, 1977
Last Known Place of Residence: Middleburgs, Scotland, UK
Family: Marcus Clare (father, deceased), Anna Wesley Clare (mother, living in St. Abby's Home for the Clinically Insane), Craig Clare (bother, whereabouts unknown), Leo Asmen (deceased, husband)
Reason for Investigation: Her brother Craig was charged her husband, Leo Asmen's, who was later revealed to be a Death Eater, murder in 1998. Aurors thing that she helped her brother flee the Aurors and custody and is helping him hideout.
I interviewed her twice, but she sticks the same story. She woke up on the morning of October 29, 1998 and found her husband dead in the foyer of their mansion. She proceeded to call the authorities. She claims to not have heard from her brother since 1995, but intercepted owls loosely proof otherwise.
No proof can be pinpointed on her to take her into custody for a proper interrogation.
He read over the information three times before shaking his head in confusion. Putting Mia's file aside, he opened her brother Craig's.
Name: Craig Clare
Age: 29
DOB: February 1, 1970
Last Known Whereabouts: Unknown
Family: Marcus Clare (father, deceased), Anna Wesley Clare (mother, living in St. Abby's Home for the Clinically Insane), Mia Clare (sister, Middleburgs, Scotland), Leo Asmen (deceased, brother-in-law)
Charged with the murder of Leo Asmen, who was later revealed to be a Death Eater, in 1998.
Fled authorities when they went to apprehend him. Sister Mia Clare claims to have no knowledge of his whereabouts.
Scribbled inside the Craig's folder was four words in almost illegible handwriting were the words 1432 Amber St. Middleburgs. He knew at that moment, despite the fact nothing in the folders made sense to him, that he had to travel to Middleburgs, Scotland if he wanted to find out what happened to Tonks.
Severus reached in his robes and pulled on the newspaper clipping. The name of Jack Grace seemed to be the only reason she could have kept the article so long, yet it meant nothing to him. He made a mental note to ask her about the name when he saw her.
He was positive he would get the chance.
---
Middleburgs was a quiet country town. It seemed impossible that something underhanded or wrong was going on. Amber Street was practically the main street of the small town; it was lined with extravagant houses and a few small shops here and there scattered throughout.
Severus Apparated at the beginning of the street and began to walk down the quiet street to locate 1432. It was easy to spot. It was by far the largest mansion on the street, visible from the road despite the fact that driveway was 50 yards long.
He walked up the sidewalk toward the house without hesitation, but he was unsure what he was going to do when he got to the door. He knew he couldn't just barge in and demand Tonks. The mailbox had the name ‘Clare’ written on it; assuring him he had the correct house.
When he reached the front door he paused for a moment before he raised his hand and knocked loudly. Silence greeted him from behind the closed door.
Soft footsteps sounded from behind the door, growing louder as the person approached. The door slid up slowly, revealing a tiny young woman with blond hair. "Hello."
"Hello. I'm Severus Snape. I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind taking a moment to talk to me about your bother Craig," he said politely to the frowning woman.
"No, no. I have no time. I'm sorry." The woman tried to close the door on him but he put his hand out to stop it.
"Please, it will only take a moment. We have a lead on where we think he is," he persisted.
"I said no. He didn't kill anyone- especially not Leo," the woman rushed on, her eyes glancing inside quickly, nervous of something that was going on.
Severus pushed the door wider and she moved backward, allowing him entrance reluctantly.
"Sir!" the woman protested as he stepped inside her foyer.
"Thank you for allowing me to take a few moments of your time, Mrs. Asmen."
She seemed to choke at the name. "I'm not – I'm not Mrs. Asmen. I'm Ms. Clare."
"Oh, sorry," he apologized without meaning it. His eyes watched her response with great interest. She seemed to take the name of Mrs. Asmen as an insult. "Did you and your late husband not end on good terms?"
"No, it's not that. I never did change my name in the first place," she tried to wave off her reaction.
"Right." Severus walked farther into the mansion, out of the foyer and into the spacious living room that was adjacent. The mansion was decorated simply in a color scheme of sage green and beige. The foyer was wide open with no furniture while the living room, that obviously served as a place to entertain guests as well, had three beige chairs and a coffee table in the center of the room. A window seat covered in sage fabric showed a gorgeous view of the large yard out front.
"Please can we get this… talk over with?" Mia Clare asked rudely as she seated herself on one of the chairs. She gestured toward the chair across from her. "Take a seat."
He sat down gracefully across from her. "Ms. Clare, I was just wondering if you have ever spoken with an Auror named Nymphadora Tonks."
"Nymphadora Tonks?" She repeated back to him, thinking over the name. "No, no I don't think I have. Was she investigating Leo's murder?"
"She was the lead Auror on the case. I'm surprised you've never spoken to her before."
The woman shrugged. "I'm sorry I haven't." She stood up and stared at him expectantly. "Is that all?"
"No, I was also wondering what you could remember of the morning you found her husband dead?"
She sighed. "That again? Surely the Aurors keep better files than this. I've told my tale several times and it hasn't changed."
"Please tell me this time," Severus requested.
Mia sat down and glared with annoyance at him. "I woke up, walked downstairs to find my husband dead on the foyer floor of that mansion. I called the authorities immediately. That's all."
"How long were you married to your husband?"
"Five years."
"You never had any children?"
"We weren’t blessed with children." She paused. "Anything else?"
"Your brother, did you see him near your mansion the night before you found Leo's body?"
"No. I hadn't spoken to him in years and I still have not." Her eyes gave her away. The lies shined back at him as he probed her unknowing mind for the truth. Don't go upstairs. If you go upstairs you will find Leo and that girl, that Tonks. Don't find out that it was my brother, my rotten to the core brother, that was dead in my foyer. Don't find out about the Polyjuice potion.
"Ma'am, would you mind giving me a tour of your home here?"
Mia looked anxious. "I do mind! There is no reason for you to search my home!" She jumped to her feet angrily. "I demand that you leave my home this minute! Before I call the authorities!"
Severus sighed. He had known that that plan wouldn’t work, but it had been worth a try. "Thank you for your time." He reached out to shake her hand, but she merely jabbed her finger toward the door.
