the_debt_of_time

fight, especially considering she had ended up unconscious by the end of it. Battle scars
were like badges of honour to Aurors who had been trained by Alastor Moody.
"Will they be there tomorrow?" Hermione asked. "The Unspeakables, I mean."
Tonks snorted, shaking her head as she answered, "Unlikely. Whole bloody building
will be set up for the Minister's big speech. Scrimgeour's just trying to make the Ministry
look like they're all one big team on this. Bloody nonsense."
"I agree." Hermione reached into her pocket and removed a small Galleon, handing
it over to Tonks. "Here."
Tonks grinned, rolling the coin back and forth between her fingers. "Late wedding
gift?"
"Communication," Hermione explained, bouncing on her heels. "I created them a
few years back when Umbridge took over Hogwarts. The defence group Harry created
needed a way to communicate so we would know when and where to meet. I put a Protean
Charm on these Galleons. When I charm mine to send a message, yours will grow hot, and
then you can read it. I used to charm the numbers to change to a specific date and time,
but I've been trying to adjust them to send short phrases. When Remus and I are done with
my mission, I'll send you a message so you know we're ready to leave, and we can exit."
"Wicked!" Tonks exclaimed as Remus snatched the Galleon out of her fingers.
"You said you created this a few years ago?" Remus asked, examining the coin with
a familiar curiosity as though he had seen one like it before.
"Yes. I got the idea from Death Eaters, actually," Hermione said with a nervous
laugh. "The Dark Mark, I mean. It's not Dark Magic, but I figured I could use a Protean
Charm to mimic the type of spell I think is used."
Remus nodded in understanding, quickly burying his previous expression to instead
smile at her. "It's extraordinary, Hermione."
"Right," Tonks said, "so you'll heat up the coin, and I'll come and fetch you out. If
you're done in time, we could probably slip out with the rest of the media. I could
transfigure your features, make you less noticeable."
"No," Hermione objected right away but then reconsidered after a moment. "Well,
maybe transfigure me a bit, just in case. If I'm successful, we'll need to leave back through
the private entrance and Disapparate as fast as possible. Here, preferably, if you don't
mind," she said, gesturing to their home. "I would suggest Grimmauld Place but―"