Wards meant safety, Tonks thought as she made tea and tried to clear her head. She wanted her family safe, and was looking forward to seeing Gwen Jones again.

She hadn't actually seen Bishop and Gwen interact with one another, but from what she had heard from Joscelin and Bishop, it was something to be seen. The two women had gotten along well enough at the social functions they had attended, and they did have the two men in their lives in common.

Really, there was no reason for Tonks to be as anxious as she was, but it didn't stop her from fussing a bit.

Bishop wandered down from the bedroom, grinning like a fool. It had been a long time since he'd seen his best mate's sister, even longer since he'd let her see him. In the years Joscelin had been away, Bishop had made a point of keeping an eye on Gwen. Not that she couldn't look after herself, far from it - the woman was positively vicious when crossed - but with her brother unavailable to do so, he'd checked in on her from time to time, making sure all that intensity and fire didn't consume her.

As he stepped into the kitchen, his eyes fell on Dora and the slight frown she wore. Leaning down, he pressed a kiss to her temple before fetching his own cup of tea. "What's on your mind, love?"

Tonks swatted his hand lightly. "You're supposed to wait, it's polite," she scolded, though a smile softened her words. She breathed out through her nose, and made her shoulders drop to somewhere well below her ears.

"I'm a bit anxious is all. I've not seen Gwen Jones outside one of our society functions since we were in Hogwarts. I'll get over it, I'm sure."

"If my manners were impeccable, the lovely and proper Miss Jones would torture me until I admitted my true identity," Bishop countered, slurping his tea for effect. His tone was teasing, but was the absolute truth. He'd known Gwen for most of her life. As much as he annoyed her, Bishop had no doubt that she'd put Tretower's dungeon to good use if she suspected he was an impostor.

Giving Tonks a smile, he patted her hand. "You have nothing to be anxious about. In Gwen's eyes, you're the sympathetic party for having to put up with me." He set his cup down and rose from the table again. "On that note, I think I'll go put on a jacket. The more bodily protection the better."

She'd been surprised, to say the least, to get an owl from Dora Tonks, and even more surprised when the other woman had requested her skills in warding. She couldn't imagine that Romilda would say anything as the woman had kept her reasons for re-warding to herself as far as Gwen knew, which left either her brother, or Bishop being the informant.

Either being close enough to Dora to have shared such a thing with her, as it was something that was mostly 'in the family', meant something, and Gwen was very much curiously intrigued as she knocked on the door of the lighthouse. She knew Bishop was engaged to the woman from her brother, but it was still all rather curious.

The dwelling was actually only a bend in the beach away from little Katie Bell, also intriguing, though Gwen wasn't entirely sure it wasn't just a coincidence, either.

Tonks opened the front door, which was odd, since almost everyone had used the back kitchen door to this point. When she saw Gwen, though, she understood. She smiled widely, and opened the door to let the other woman in.

"Gwen, come in, please," Tonks said, offering to take Gwen's coat as well. "I trust you found your way here well enough?"

"I did. The coordinates were very near a friend's house and I had no problem finding your ..." her lips twitched into the barest of smiles as she stepped through the door and handed her coat to Tonks. "... lighthouse. It's most conspicuous being on one of the highest points on the surrounding coast."

Gwen and Tonks had gone to school together, played against each other on opposite House Quidditch teams, but had never run in each other's social circles. It wasn't until Joscelin had come home that Gwen had been properly reintroduced to the woman before her. The acquaintance was anything but tedious though; if anything, it was more odd than anything to feel at ease in this woman's presence.

The only thing Gwen could attribute to such was that neither of them were volleying for some kind of position, as had been the case with most powerful and capable women that Gwen had come across over the years.

It was nice, actually.

"How did you come to choose such a place, if you don't mind the intrusion to your privacy?" she asked, brown eyes following every expression and nuance, mostly by habit.

"Not at all, though, please do look over the mess. The renovations are nearly finished, but not quite." Tonks said, leading Gwen to the kitchen which was, excepting the bedroom, the most complete room in the house. It even had furniture.

"Tea? As for the house, I was walking one night with Fred Weasley, right after he found out that his fiancee was pregnant, and we went left instead of right. I saw the lighthouse and had to have it. We tore up most of the out buildings, but kept the barn." She busied her hands with the tea, then sat. "It called to me, said that it was mine. I certainly was not going to ignore that." She sipped her tea, herbal, and internally sighed at the lack of cream.

Gwen nodded, understanding. She knew the call of which Tonks spoke. She felt it quite insistently from Ivy's Run, and Tristan; Regan, too. "It's a magic all its own," Gwen agreed, murmuring her acceptance of refreshments a moment later. "To ignore one's magic would be foolish, and dangerous even, and to ignore the other kinds that surround us, more subtle, but just as strong, would be doubly foolish."

She sipped her tea, nodding her thanks to Tonks as they sat at the quaint little kitchen table, and she looked at the other woman speculatively. "You are a friend of Katie Bell's then?"

"She's as close to a sister as I'll ever have," Tonks replied fiercely. "I had forgotten that she played for you. I don't think it's coincidence that the Lighthouse called to me. As to that matter, in case you were wondering, Bishop, I do believe you fondly refer to him as Bastard, referred your skills in warding."

"Don't fool yourself, love. Gwenny doesn't refer to me fondly at all, though that she calls me 'Bastard' is true enough." Ignoring the warning glare his former paramour sent his way, Bishop grabbed her around the waist and swung her in a circle, quite impressed that she managed to keep from spilling the cup of tea in her hands.

With a smacking kiss to Gwen's cheek as he set her down again, he grinned crookedly. "'Allo, Gwenny. It's been a long time. You look as beautiful as ever, though."

Gwen frowned. "Don't call me Gwenny."

No, the years had not muted her reaction to Bishop; instant irritation that made her very much want to reach for her wand. Once upon a time, she'd not have hesitated to have it pointed at him in an instant, but she had some measure of control now, and she was here for Dora, not for him.

She turned to Dora then. "I've heard from Joscelin, and I'd say congratulations on your impending nuptials, but I find that I can only honestly offer my condolences."

Tonks was giving Bishop the Look. "I appreciate that." She lowered her voice. "If you feel the need, the west wall on the second floor still needs to come down. He's got extra layers on."

Turning to the father of her child, Tonks continued her Look. "Behave, please, darling. Wait until after Gwen has decided whether or not to do the wards before brassing her off, thanks?"

"My very existence brasses her off, Nymphadora," Bishop retorted, chuckling, "but I'll try to restrain myself. You'll notice, though, that my complement didn't earn as much as a nod. That's how I know she still cares. Were I of absolutely no consequence to her, I'd get the cool, polite mask."

Refraining from the long suffering sigh that only existed at all for her brother and this particular man, Gwen tipped her head to the side for him to greet her properly. "Where I offer your future bride my sympathies, I can only say that you are most fortunate indeed, Bishop."

Content to play nicely now that he'd gotten his usual teasing out of the way, Bishop pressed a chaste kiss to Gwen's cheek before smiling his agreement. "I can't disagree, Gwen. I'm a very lucky man."

"Thank you both," Tonks said, cheeks flushing slightly.

It was with a small smile that Gwen turned her attention back to Dora, the sparkle in her eye the acknowledgment to the other woman's words. "How can I help you then, Dora?" she asked, taking a sip of her tea.

"My cousin, Draco Malfoy, has already laid some very good wards, but you must forgive my paranoia. I was hoping you might add another layer, or something else all together? I want my family safe, as safe as possible." She couldn't help the small smile that graced her features, nor the look that she and Bishop shared.

"I'm sure you heard about the recent Azkaban breakout," Bishop commented with a grimace. "Dora's aunt was among those who escaped. You might say that family relations are strained."

"You could say such," Gwen agreed, nodding. "I've never known the Blacks to be anything but," she added, thoughts ticking to her acquaintance in Narcissa, who would be Dora's aunt, too. "Or Malfoys, I should add, as I know Draco's mother from brief acquaintance."

The minute shift in Dora's stance let Gwen know what the other woman thought of that aunt, and of the one that had recently escaped. Interesting, but thoughts for another day, to mull when she was of a mind to pick apart the relations and connections of the people around her. For now, there was the matter of warding against the lethal insanity that ran in Dora's bloodline, and could potentially find her here.

The thought made Gwen's blood run cold. Katie was nearby, and it might have been that Gwen had once considered the small blond one of 'her girls,' as she did all her teammates, but she genuinely cared for the other woman as it was almost impossible not to return the open love and friendship she offered. Plus, if she wasn't mistaken, Dora and Bishop had already created this 'family' of which she'd spoken, and it was only a matter of time until there was visible evidence of such.

She would do the wards. And she would do Fred and Katie's as well.

"What has he done, then? Blood wards? If so, whose blood did you use?" she began, slipping into business easily.

Tonks told Gwen of the warding Draco did, as well as the warding Tonks and Bishop had done. It didn't take much time, but she made sure she was thorough, and answered the questions Gwen had. She found herself very much enjoying the other woman's company, more than she had expected she would.

Bishop kept out of the way, letting the women sort out the wards. He smiled as he watched them, it was obvious that Gwen approved of Dora and that pleased him more than he might've expected. It was nice to know the people who were important to him got along well.


SUMMARY: Bishop and Tonks have Gwen to their lighthouse to rework the wards.