Hello everyone! Here is my first story, a (kind of) Remadora OS, because I love them so much! It's Tonks-centric.
It's very tragic, so I apologize in advance if I make you cry. I'm sorry if you spot any mistakes, but English is not my first language. If you spot any mistakes / have some advice, don't hesitate to tell me in a review. :)
Rating / Warning: T for torture (kind of) and character death
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling, and I don't make any money out of this story.
And now, happy reading! (Well, happy… Not really, but you know what I mean!)
She can't wait here. She knows that she won't bear to sit here, waiting for her husband to return to her and not doing anything. Granted, she has Teddy to look after, but her mother loves him and she's sure she'll be glad to take care of him for them.
She waits for an hour more, and then goes to see her mother.
"Mother?" she calls, and the dark-haired woman immediately looks up. Always alert, just like her.
"Nymphadora," her mother greets her with a smile. There's silence, before she goes on, "You want to go back to Hogwarts."
It isn't even a question. Her mother has always known her best, of all people.
"Yes. I need to go there. I think you already know why."
She nods and specifies, "Remus."
They both stay silent for a few seconds, and then her mother laughs bitterly. "You already know my story, Nymphadora. I won't be the one to stop you."
A little, grateful smile appears on her lips and she asks, "So you'll look out for our little Teddy?"
Andromeda just hums quietly and focuses her attention back on the newspaper on her lap. And just as she is about to walk out the door, her mother speaks up again, "You come back to us, Nymphadora."
She knows she can't promise that, so she stays silent and just really walks out of the room this time.
She enters her son's nursery, and watches him sleep for a few minutes. He's so peaceful, she thinks. And she already knows he's like her and like Remus; he's their legacy. She shouldn't think like this, but she can't help it. She knows there's a chance she won't walk out of this alive.
Finally, she comes closer to the crib and lightly kisses his forehead, and she whispers, "Goodbye, Teddy."
And she leaves for good.
She apparates to Hogwarts, and there's chaos everywhere. She's lucky she's already drawn her wand out, because as soon as she appears, a Death Eater tries to kill her. She ducks out of the way and fires back, stupefying him.
She starts running the corridors searching for her husband, and stupefies other Death Eaters along the way. She can't let them hurt her friends, or the Hogwarts students (some of them are so terribly young), but she doesn't have the heart to kill them. Her job isn't to end their life, it's to arrest them. As long as she doesn't have to, she won't kill them. She makes this promise to herself.
It shocks her when she hears a young voice shouting Avada Kedavra! and she sees a Death Eater crumpling to the ground. All these students who are losing their innocence tonight… They shouldn't be here, they shouldn't –
She stumbles and looks down. And she sees a young face staring up at her with empty eyes. And the worst is that she knows this blond hair. She swallows back a sob, and for a split second, she regrets coming here. She knows this is not the worst she will see tonight, and she's not sure she can take it.
And then she sees Ginny, and the doubt disappears, and she calls out for her. Ginny stops and turns towards her, and she sounds surprised when she answers.
"Where's Remus?" she asks urgently, grabbing the red-head's wrist.
"I—I think he was supposed to take some students down into the courtyard. But you're not even supposed to be here! Wait, don't go there! Tonks!"
She doesn't listen to her and takes off towards the courtyard. She needs to see him, now!
She'll never reach him, though. She knows it the second she sees the mad look in her aunt's eyes when she looks at her. And she wonders if it was worth it. She wonders if she shouldn't have stayed at home, with her son, like she was supposed to.
"My dear, dear cousin," Bellatrix greets her, and her voice rises above all the shouts, and the screams, and the cries echoing through the corridor. "It's a surprise to meet you here, I have to admit."
Irony is dripping from her every word.
She doesn't answer and raises her wand. Bellatrix just laughs and then attacks, as quickly as a serpent ready to strike. She barely dodges out the Crucio curse and replies with a Stupefy, but she knows it won't do any good against her aunt. She is not surprised when Bellatrix easily (too easily) blocks her spell.
They continue to fight for a few minutes, and Bellatrix continues to laugh cruelly while she dodges or blocks all of her curses.
And finally, her aunt grows tired of playing with her, and she feels pain coursing through her whole body. She arches herself and screams and screams and screams until she has no voice anymore, and she can't even feel her tears.
When finally, the pain goes away, she takes a deep breath and lets a tear fall down her cheek. Because she knows now, her time has come. And she cries because of everyone she's leaving behind… Teddy, and Remus, and her mother, and Harry, the Weasleys…
She doesn't expect it to be that painless, but when the green light hits her, she's just… gone.
Don't hesitate to tell me what you thought of this in a review! :) And until next time!