This is my idea of how Tonks died in the Deathly Hallows. It just came to me... Also, please read my one of my other fics, The Many Adventures of Bellatrix Black! There is a slight reference to that in this fic, but obviously it's not necessary to read it to understand this.

Tonks lay slumped in a deserted Charms classroom, leaning against the cold stone wall. Her previous attacker – Rabastan Lestrange, as it happened – had left her immobilised with a broken ankle. Maybe she could have fixed it, had she not been feeling sick to her stomach due to the fact that Rabastan had described to her exactly how he'd already finished off her husband, Remus; a broken nose was one thing, but an ankle was slightly more complex and she was not feeling her best. The door swung open and a tall, dark figure slipped into the room, wand held aloft as they scanned the area. Tonks wanted nothing more than to sink through a hole in the floor. Whoever it was would surely do the job properly this time. She changed her hair to match the colour of the wall behind her, in a desperate bid for survival. But it was too late; she had been spotted.

At the sight of her lying helpless on the floor, the Death Eater threw back her head and cackled manically. Just the sound of her laughter struck fear into Tonks' heart. She knew now that death was coming to her, the only question was how much pain would she have to endure before she felt death's cold embrace. For the Death Eater's dark hood had fallen back to reveal Bellatrix Lestrange, her dear aunt. Voldemort's most loyal and feared follower. The insane laughter died out. Bellatrix smiled at the pitiful sight lay before her.

"Seems your whole bloody family's out to get me today. So are you gonna kill me or what?" asked Tonks heavily.

"If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead by now," replied Bellatrix, sweeping her long black hair out of her face. Tonks was reminded so forcefully of her mother that she had trouble fearing this woman.

"No, I want to play first Nymphadora," said her aunt, an evil smile lighting up her gaunt features.

"And believe me, when I'm finished, you'll be begging for death," Bellatrix assured her.

"I doubt it." Bellatrix seemed to take this as an insult.

"Do you now?"

"Nothing you do to me can hurt me anymore than what your delightful brother-in-law has already done to my husband," Tonks said, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Which one?" asked Bellatrix sharply. She had wanted the pleasure of killing the werewolf herself.

"Rabastan. The other one's been dead since I was ten," Tonks reminded her.

"Ah yes; that was fun," said Bellatrix, a dreamy look in her eyes as she surveyed her victim. Tonks knew this was the end; she could extract no mercy from this monster.

"How's mum?" asked Bellatrix sarcastically.

"Like you care!" spat Tonks. The Blacks had disowned her mother years ago.

"Enough! I'm not here for a cosy chat, I'm here to kill you!" shrieked Bellatrix.

"Go ahead and kill me then," said Tonks, fully aware that this would not be the case. Bellatrix wanted her fun first.

"Crucio!" Bellatrix said casually, flicking her wand in Tonks'z direction. She feebly attempted a Shield Charm, but Bellatrix's curse penetrated the weak protection easily. She screamed inwardly as the excruciating pain racked her body. She clawed soundlessly at the wall behind her, the pain from her broken ankle flaring up again, adding to her discomfort. Bellatrix lifted the curse and laughed at her niece gasping for breath on the floor, totally at her mercy. But Bellatrix Lestrange had no mercy. No conscience, no regret.

"Expelliarmus!" she said, as an extra precaution. Tonks' wand flew through the air and Bellatrix caught it in her free hand. Tonks was no stranger to pain; she was an Auror and she was always dealing with delusional maniacs, intent on torturing her into insanity, but this was different. Her aunt had obviously perfected the curse after years of practice. It was at this thought that something struck her; she thought of all the terrible, terrible things her aunt had done to people, all the people she'd killed without batting an eyelid. She was just going to be another corpse on the longest list in the world. If Bellatrix wanted to play, then, Tonks decided, two can play that game.

"Crucio!" shouted Bellatrix again. In an amazing feat of strength for one apparently so helpless, she seized the nearest desk with both hands and flung it in front of herself. It acted as an adequate shield until Bellatrix's curse hit it, shattering it into millions of tiny fragments.

"Why you little-!" screeched Bellatrix, getting angrier by the second. Caught up in the excitement of the fight, Tonks hauled herself to her feet, ignoring her ankle as best as she could. Clenching her fists behind her back, she felt sparks emitting from her hands, electricity crackling in her fingertips as Bellatrix had been so adept at doing herself when she was young. Bellatrix smiled viciously, raising her wand.

"Crucio!" Once again, Tonks snatched up a desk shouting, "Metamorphus Sensus!" Magic flowed through the desk, transforming it, turning the surface into a glassy sheet. The curse simply bounced off the desk, making it glow an eerie scarlet colour.

Bellatrix's eyes widened in shock. It appeared that Tonks was channelling her Metamorphmagus abilities through the table, able to transform it any way she liked. This was a serious set back.

"Evanesco Totale!" said Bellatrix, an evil glint in her eye. Everything in the room disappeared; the chairs, the desks, the curtains; everything. Tonks jumped as her only weapon vanished from her grasp. She would have to rely on her agility now, ducking and dodging curses. With a broken ankle.

"Crucio!" repeated Bellatrix. The curse found its mark, throwing her backwards into the wall. Tonks curled up into a tight ball as the pain exploded inside her. It felt as if someone was scraping out her insides with a blunt kitchen knife, or setting fire to her internal organs. She was resisting the urge to scream out, but she could no longer stop herself. Her cries echoed around the room, ringing in Bellatrix's ears. It's a wonder the woman wasn't deaf, the amount of screams she caused. But she liked the sound. The pain stopped and Tonks slowly began to uncurl. She felt a steel-capped toe connect with the side of her head, causing the room to spin before her eyes.

"Petrificus Totalus!" came Bellatrix's voice from above. She immediately went rigid, unable to even twitch a finger. She was still in a half curled up position, utterly defenceless. Again, she heard the sound of her aunt's crazed laughter. Also, she thought she caught a glimpse of silvery-blonde hair through the glass panel of the door. Fleur, maybe?

"Crucio!" Once again, she was consumed by the agony, clawing away at her from the inside out. She felt as if her head was going to explode, but this time she couldn't scream out, couldn't curl up and hide away from the pain, couldn't clutch at her arms to ease it slightly. Just when she thought she could stand it no longer before she suffered a fate similar to the Longbottoms', it stopped. She breathed deeply, trying to make her eyes adjust to the blinding light after they had been clenched shut for so long.

Bellatrix lifted the Body Bind curse, only to restrain her with thick, snake-like ropes from the end of her wand.

"What do you want from me?" gasped Tonks, as she lay on the floor. The look in Bellatrix's eyes changed considerably as she turned away on the pretence of examining Tonks' wand.

"I want to make you suffer as your mother made me suffer when she left, all those years ago," she whispered bitterly. Tonks smiled weakly.

"If I had a sister like you, I'd run off with a muggle too," she said quietly.

"How dare you!" shrieked Bellatrix, advancing on her, wand held high.

"At least I managed to marry someone with a respectable name to call their own! Ted Tonks… The Lestrange name will not die out! The Tonks line however has come to an end. So has your dear husband's, Lupin!" she spat.

"That's where you're wrong; I'd introduce you to my son, Teddy Lupin, but – well, actually, I wouldn't," said Tonks.

"You, you have a son?" stuttered Bellatrix. Tonks nodded.

"Thanks to you, I doubt I'll ever see him again though," she said, tears in her eyes. Bellatrix shook her head scornfully.

"That didn't work for the Longbottoms, it's not going to work for you," she informed her niece.

"That's a pity. He looks just like you, you know," mused Tonks. Bellatrix looked taken aback.

"He looks like me?" she shrieked.

"Oh, I forgot," Tonks said sarcastically. "You haven't seen my mother lately, have you. I expect you got comments when you were younger about how alike you looked. Some things don't change with time. You could be mistaken for twins," remarked Tonks sadly, apparently upset at the fact that her mother so closely resembled someone so evil. Bellatrix shuddered at the thought that she could be mistaken for her blood-traitor sister. That her beautiful black curls, delicate ebony skin, deep dark eyes could possibly be possessed by someone else. Someone so… dirty.

Tonks looked at her with revulsion.

"Are you insane?" she asked her aunt, her voice full of contempt.

"If I am, it was your mother that drove me to it," snarled Bellatrix. Tonks shook her head.

"No. It was all your fault. Your fault, your family's fault; the Black's fault. If you loved her so much, how could you let my father come between you? She loved him, she loved you, she loved Narcissa. You just don't get it, do you? Blood doesn't matter any more! I'm a half-blood, you're a pure-blood, that doesn't make you any better than me!" shouted Tonks. Bellatrix snorted.

"Are you trying to imply that you are better than me?" she asked sarcastically.

"No. I'm trying to knock some sense into you before you kill me. I'm trying to explain that it's family that matters, not blood, before you kill your only niece," said Tonks wearily. Bellatrix's expression softened for a moment, just the shortest space of time, then she resumed her normal hard, maniacal mask. Tonks wondered exactly how Bellatrix slept at night, with the ghosts of all her terrible deeds haunting her, day in, day out. She knew that Bellatrix had no conscience, but for the first time, she thought her aunt's heart might actually be made of stone.

"Do you hate me as a person Bellatrix?" asked Tonks, putting on a brave face. Bellatrix stared incredulously.

"Of course I do! You've tried to kill me one more than one occasion!" shrieked Bellatrix.

"I most certainly have not! I could never kill you; I've only ever tried to Stun or disarm you. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for you. I spent two months in St. Mungo's after last time we met!" Tonks screamed back

"Two months? I spent twelve years in Azkaban! Some may call me impatient, but Sirius knew better!" laughed Bellatrix. Sirius…

"But he's dead now isn't he? Because you killed him. I don't how you live with yourself; he was your cousin. I'm your niece. Regulus was your brother-in-law. But none of that matters to you, does it? They're only people. That's exactly how you think, isn't it?" spat Tonks in a tone of disgust. "If you're going to kill me, kill me now, but don't make me listen to any more of your crazed logic."

"As you wish," sighed Bellatrix. She raised her wand slowly pointing it directly at her niece's heart. She hesitated before slashing her wand through the air.

"Avada Kedavra!" And for just a split-second, in the moment before her death, Tonks saw a flash of remorse burning in Bellatrix's eyes, regret for all the people she'd killed, the families she'd ripped apart. That same flash of remorse from that same split-second after Sirius's death, that agonizingly slow fall through the veil. She was aware of her aunt sweeping out of the room, cackling madly. She heard a cry of "Bella look what you've done! Our niece!" Then her limp form fell still and she was enveloped by oblivion, swamped in the darkness and despair of death.

Sniffle sniffle. :( Yeah, just in case some of you haven't caught on, the flash if silvery-blonde hair is Narcissa. Please review and thank you so much for reading!