~A/N: okay first thing first, I came up with the lyrics to the song Tonks sings in this story called Breaking Free so please do not hate on it if you don't like the song because I know it isn't the best but I must give credit where it is do, I did get some of the ideas for this story from a movie Natalia Tena is in called "Tonight You're Mine". Thank you.~
Chapter 1, Pink Hair & a Guitar.
The crowd outside the curtain with just the stage separating them from the people waiting to preform back stage.
A girl about 20 years old paced behind the stage bitting her lip as her fingers messed with a strand of her shoulder length pink hair as she listened to the crowd outside scream and cheer as a group preformed.
Nymphadora Tonks was not the kind of girl that got nervous easily when she was in her own world but Nymphadora Tonks was not like the other competitors or the people in the crowd, no she was a witch, a witch who was also a metamorphagus meaning she could change how she looked at will, unlike the non-magic or muggle people around her.
"Alright Folks give them a final hand and join me in welcoming our next act, she's a spitfire from right here in London, don't let her pink hair and beautiful face fool you she can hold her own against anyone who stands against her, please join me in welcoming Nymphadora Tonks!"
Tonks swallowed the lump in her throat as she grabbed her guitar and walked onto the stage, she stood at the mic looking at the crowd in front of her and chuckled nervously.
"You'll have to forgive me for playing alone, I haven't found a bloke or women yet who can keep up with me. I'll be singing a song of my own tonight, and it's called Breaking Free!"
She took a step away from the mic and began to play as she walked across the stage.
"The night sky reflected in your eyes making my heart skip a beat, you let me believe what I felt was love before you took my heart and shattered it! You locked me out of my own dreams and took my happiness and left it out of my reach! I never want to see your eyes looking back at me with the lounging I thought you felt!"
She strutted about the stage her eyes looking over the crowd as they screamed, cheered and whistled at her while the lights of the stage flashed over her in different colors as she smiled when they went out leaving the area in darkness.
"Trapped in your web like the weak pray you take me for I open my eyes for the first time and I am breaking free! I'm breaking free from you! I'm breaking free from the web you've spun around me! Breaking free!"
She looked over the crowed breathless as the lights came back on and the announcer came back onto the stage clapping.
"Alright, alright now this girl can sing what do you say, should we keep her around?!"
The crowd roared as the man draped his arm over her shoulders, she shook her head removing his arm.
"Careful now, I may not be famous yet but I'm still out of your league."
They both laughed as he held his hand up in surrender.
"Oh fiery this one, let's hear from our judges about her going to the semi-finals!"
Tonks tuned out the over done introduction of the judges as she looked over the crowd again but this time a face caught her eye, as she looked closer she could see Remus Lupin standing among the crowd.
"Nymphadora, first off may I say that is a very unique name, secondly your energy and singing are absolutely amazing, most girls couldn't walk all about the stage and sing the way you did so I vote stay."
The sound of the first judge's voice made her look away from the one face in the crowd to the table where the three judges were sitting one holding a card with a green check on it.
"Your voice is, to put it simply, captivating however, you may want to look into getting a few fellow hand members no one women can do it alone but I vote stay."
Tonks smiled bitting her lip as she looked down at her boots for a moment choosing her words carefully.
"I don't plan on getting more members I can make it alone on stage,"
She smirked at the man that was the second judge.
"It's the cold and lonely nights I'm worried about."
She laughed as he turned red in the cheeks as the third judge, a women who hadn't smiled the entire performance, cleared her throat.
"Nymphadora was it? Just how do you plan on making it without a band, yes alone you have potential but that won't keep you from getting washed out into the background by someone more skilled and not self taught. Your singing was strong but you lacked a constant sound, though it is against my better judgement I would like to see how you do in the semi-finals so I vote stay."
Tonks let out a squeal covering her mouth as the announcer gestured for her to go back stage with the other two out of four hands that had made it, once back stage she squealed again jumping up and down a few times not caring about her skirt as it flew up when she did so, she sat on a stool by a counter that had been turned into a make shift bar and thanked the girl behind the counter as she set a water by her arm.
As she listened to the group that was playing she glanced to her side hearing the security men saying that back stage was off limits to non hand members, she got up and went to the side of the stage to take a look and put her hand on the mans shoulder.
"It's alright he's with me, I've got my pass. She showed the guard her pass and he nodded letting Remus past him, she tucked the pass back in her vest turning her back to the man she'd helped get in sighing when he grabbed her arm.
"Nymphadora hold up, I'm here for a reason, your mother is worried about you and wants you to come back, she's not the only one who's worried Molly is as well and Sirius to."
She shook her head yanking her arm free from his hold going back to the place she was sitting before.
"Forget it Remus, I'm not going back not yet I just made it to the semi-finals and I have less than a week to figure out what I'm going to sing and come back here and preform-"
"Then what are you going to do if you win? Stay here in the muggle world and live? That won't work in the slightest Nymphadora."
She growled getting to her feet looking up at the man before her as she grabbed her guitar.
"I'm not going back and that's final and my name is Tonks!"
She turned to storm out the back exit but he fallowed, she chose to ignore him as she headed into the streets of London ducking and weaving around people until she ducked into an alley loosing him in the crowd somewhere.
She sighed leaning against to stone wall of the building in the alley catching her breath.
"Tonks, Tonks come on this way."
She looked to her left and smiled seeing a girl she had met before she entered the battle of the bands and had become friends with, she fallowed her into the building flat sitting in a chair once inside.
"So what did you do chicken out?"
Tonks laughed shaking her head closing her eyes.
"Nope, god Jen you should have been there, the crowd loved that song you helped me write and I managed to make the male judge blush his head off after he told me I couldn't do it alone, but all in all I got the vote to stay from all three!"
The burnet who was now sitting on the arm of the chair smiled at her friend nudging her arm.
"Did you keep that under control?"
Tonks took a strand of hair between her fingers sighing as she seen it was now an electric blue rather than pink, she wasn't worried about Jen finding out her secret because Jen was a girl born into a wizard family who had no magic powers or as they were called by the witches and wizards that had magic Squibs, so she knew about Tonks being a witch.
"Yeah, well maybe not so much as the lights were going over me in different colors but no one could tell then."
Jen smiled as Tonks rested her head on her arm.
"Well congratulations are in order then and a celebration."
She got up from where she was sitting and Tonks watched her go to the kitchen and rummage around for a moment before coming back with a couple glasses and a bottle of wine.
"Ohh very fancy red wine."
The two laughed as Jen poured the wine handing her a cup raising her own.
"To making it to the semi-finals!"
The two toasted and drank their wine talking until a rather tipsy Tonks began to fall asleep in the chair with an already sleeping Jen in her lap, some where in her sleep ridden mind Tonks knew she shouldn't be sleeping in the chair because Jen's boyfriend didn't exactly like her or approve of the fact she was friends with his girlfriend but she was tired and the wine had made her head rather clouded and hazy.
She groaned gently shaking Jen in her lap until the brunet opened her eyes half way to look at her.
"Come on Jen up, let's get you to bed before Ian comes back and finds me here."
Jen moaned in protest but got up stumbling to the room in the hall with Tonks helping her walk, once in the room she helped the girl sit on the bed where she laid down patting the spot beside her.
"Come here Tonks I can't let you go find a park bench to sleep on."
Bitting her lip Tonks slipped off her boots and got into the bed beside her friend who smiled contently before falling asleep again, she fallowed soon after not caring what Ian would think, at some point in the night she felt Jen nuzzle into her shoulder and laugh pushing her back a bit.
"You smell like bad wine and sweat."
Tonks chuckled half awake as she opened her eyes meeting Jen's soft hazel eyes.
"Well who's idea was it to get the wine out?"
The two laughed and after moving closer Tonks draped her arm over Jen as they fell back asleep.
In the morning Tonks opened her eyes to someone roughly grabbing her vest and yanking her out of the bed.
"Get up you filthy little minx!"
She yelped as she was thrown to the floor roughly, she looked up from where she was seeing Ian leering at her darkly, she got to her feet leering back as she grabbed her boots.
"Bloody bastard! Your just pissed because your girlfriend would rather sleep with me than you! So why don't you piss off and go hang out in some bar, you already smell like a brewery!"
She spat at him her hair turning red before she stormed out of the flat and down the still dark street only stopping at a bench under a street lamp to pull on her boots before she continued walking.
After while she ducked into the Leaky Caldron to avoid the cold outside, once inside she found a spot at a table and messed with her wand for a moment before casting her partronus, a jack rabbit, and sending it out the back door.
She closed her eyes as the room began to warm her body until the sound of the back door opening made her open them and stand up.
"Thank merlin you came."
She smiled meekly at Charlie Weasley as he looked her over before taking her hand rubbing the back of it with his thumb before pulling her close to him wrapping an arm around her as they headed for the back door that would lead them to Diagon Alley.
She leaned into his side as they walked along the abandoned street holding his hand as he scolded her for what she'd been up to, without her really even noticing they apparited to outside the burrow, she fallowed him inside trying to keep quite as she giggled thinking of all the times Charlie had done something like this for her and how many times they had snuck into his room at godly hours of the night and morning.
Once in his room he shut the door relaxing when he realized they'd gotten in without waking his mother or any of his brothers, he went to the bed where Tonks was slipping off her boots before she laid down on the bed her hair a brown mess behind her head as she looked at him.
"Come here, I won't bite...hard."
She giggled as he chuckled and shook his head as he got into the bed next to her pulling her close as she covered their heads with the blanket as he lightly kissed the corner of her mouth, Tonks would never say it to him out loud but she missed being with the young man who was now holding her against him as they kissed her fingers tangled in his red hair.
She pulled away looking into his eyes as she put her forehead to his, he put a hand to her cheek brushing his finger tips over her skin making her smile with a purr.
"I miss this more than I think you know Tonksie, I miss having you in my arms where I know your safe and warm."
She closed her eyes as he kissed her head again his arm tightening around her.
"Mmm I miss it to Char, I really do but it seemed like I get used to you being here and you have to go back to Romania."
He looked into her eyes as she ran her fingertips over his cheek tenderly, he turned and kissed her palm closing his eyes.
"I don't have to go back, not if you give me a reason to stay."
She looked over his face her grey eyes sad before she nuzzled into his shoulder closing her eyes.
"I tried everything when you left the first time, what do I have to do to give you a reason to stay."
He rubbed her back making her look up at him.
"You don't have to give me a reason to stay because you'll be the reason I stay this time, I missed you every day I was over there and when I got your letter that it just wouldn't work out I was upset because I thought I'd lost you for good that time, I didn't think you'd still miss me."
She smiled faintly kissing him to make him stop rambling but found she couldn't pull her lips away because her body wouldn't listen to her as she pressed herself flush against Charlie as his hand slipped under her shirt to her torso leaving goosebumps on her skin.
"CHARLIE'S GOT A GIRL IN HIS BED MUM!"
Tonks' head whipped around to look at the door finding the twins standing in the door way both still in their pajamas, Charlie sat up looking at his brothers with a growl that turned to slightly scared as his mother stood behind the two boys her arms crossed with as stern look on her kind face, Molly Weasley was one of the kindest yet scariest people Tonks had ever met, the mother of 7 children Molly had a very understanding quality about her but if someone crossed her or hurt her children they would think a dementor was as kind as a kitten.
Tonks blushed wildly as she untangled herself from Charlie's arms looking down at the blanket as she rung a section of it in her fingers.
"When did she get here? She certainly wasn't here when we all went to bed last night Charlie."
The young man shook his head his hand on Tonks' knee under the covers as he looked at the floor like a child.
"Just awhile ago, she got kicked out of where she was staying so I picked her up from the leaky cauldron, I was going to tell you after everyone was up."
Tonks looked up at Molly her eyes watching the women carefully.
"It was my fault Mrs. Weasley, I was in diagon alley and I didn't know who else to call because I knew mum wouldn't be to happy to see me after where I'd been."
She watched as Molly shook her head telling Fred and George to go back to their room and get dressed before she looked back at the pair on the bed her brown eyes soft.
"The least you could have done is told me, our door is always open to you Tonks dear but like I told you during the summer before school started you don't need to sneak in."
Tonks blushed again but nodded as she kicked Charlie in the leg as his hand moved up to her thigh under the blanket as his mother closed the door and went back down stairs.
"I hate your brother's some days you know that right?"
Charlie nodded as he kissed her cheek getting up.
"So do I Tonksie, so do I."
He dug in the closet for a minute as she watched from the edge of the bed, he turned to face her with a smile that made her raise an eyebrow at him.
"I thought I still had one of your outfits in here."
She looked at the neatly folded clothes as he handed them to her, she smiled seeing her favorite Weird sisters t-shirt she'd thought she'd lost ages ago along with a pair of black leggings and a red mini skirt.
"Don't suppose you have my red pumps in there to do you?"
She asked jokingly as she turned her back to him to change into the new outfit.
"Hmm as a mater of fact I don't but it seems I have your Hufflepuff socks and yellow converses."
She smiled glancing over her shoulder as he set them down beside her boots and put her socks on the bed before he wrapped his arms around her waist as she pulled her shirt off to change it, she giggled leaning into his hold feeling like she was 17 all over again.
"Stop it Char."
He smirked kissing her shoulder before letting go of her waist to tickle her sides making her giggle and try to get away only managing to fall onto the bed with him on top of her still tickling her as she laughed and squirmed.
He smiled kissing her lips lightly as his hands rested on her hips while her arms wrapped around his neck as she kissed back.
"As much as I love you Charlie we have to stop this, your family is awake and I can bet you your mother is wondering just what you are doing to me up here."
He chuckled but let her up going back to the closet as she finished changing, she was just putting her socks on when a soft knock made her look at the door.
"I got it."
She got off the bed and opened the door and was met by Charlie's youngest sibling and his only sister, Ginny, who looked up at her with a mix of confusion and awe at her hair which was still pink.
"What is it Ginny?"
The girl tore her eyes away from Tonks to look at her brother who was pulling his shirt on.
"Mum says breakfast is ready and the mails here as well."
She glanced back at Tonks before hurrying back down stairs making Tonks look at Charlie over her shoulder.
"What did I do?"
Charlie shook his head kissing her cheek and putting a hand on the small of her back escorting her down the stairs.
"Nothing she just isn't good with new people from what Ron has told me she did the same thing the first time Harry came over."
Tonks nodded walking with him to the kitchen where she sat beside him at the table rolling her eyes at the twins as they poked fun at her and Charlie, as they were eating Arthur came in the front door still in his ministry uniform as he greeted the family looking up when he heard Tonks join in the chores of good morning, he smiled going to her and putting a hand on her shoulder as he kissed Molly.
"Long time no see Nymphadora, how's the auror training going?"
She smiled up at him, Arthur Weasley was by all means a simple man with a curiosity for muggle objects that wizards had never come on contact with, it was his job actually seeing as he worked in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office in the ministry of magic and on some occasions when Tonks would come over during the summers before school she was able to tell him what some of the objects were and what they did.
"I'm actually taking a break from the training right now, they are trying to find a teacher who can deal with me and my clumsiness so they have me on a temporary postponement right now."
Arthur nodded patting her shoulder before he went to his place at the table as Molly made him a plate of food.
"I may have an idea of someone who may be able to train you to be one of the best aurors London has seen, but he's a bit of a handful himself paranoid as anyone could be about You-Know-Who and the dark wizards."
He looked through the mail handing the Hogwarts letters to the kids and a letter to Tonks.
"Seems the ministry knows were your at, a bit odd seeing as from what I hear you've been in the muggle world for a few days now."
She nodded taking the letter.
"Thank you, and yes I have been, I was there today actually I preformed in a battle of the bands contest and won a spot in the semi-finals next week."
She only sounded half excited about the band battle as she read the letter before letting Molly see it after she looked over the school lists, she watched as Molly read over the letter and handed it to her husband shaking her head, a smile spread over the mans face as he handed her back the paper.
"That'd be him there, Alastor Moody, one if the best aurors the ministry has seen, mad as a hatter though but he knows what he's talking about when he talks about dark witches and wizards, he doesn't normally take on trainees so something about you must show potential to him for him to take you on."
Tonks had stopped listening after Arthur had said that the man was mad as a hatter and it took Charlie nudging her in the ribs to make her realize she was being spoken to.
"Won't the training get in the way if your band contest Tonks?"
She looked over the letter again shaking her head as Arthur asked her.
"No it shouldn't says here that I have another two weeks until he will begin training me so I have enough time for the semi-finals and finals."
She folded the letter back up and set it on the table as she took Fred's list off the table looking it over seeing how much had changed since she, Charlie and Bill were all in school.
"You two are 5th years this year right?"
The twins looked at her and shook their heads.
"No were-"
"Sixth years-"
"That's why we-"
"Have different classes than Ron."
She shook her head as their siamese trick made it spin as she tried to keep track of who was talking.
"Right, that explains why you have advanced potions then, say pull a good one on old Snape for me I'll take the blame for it."
She smiled but it faded as Molly gave her a warning look, after breakfast the whole group used the floo network to get to diagon alley where Tonks stayed at Charlie's side his arm over her shoulders holding her hand as they walked along the streets paces behind his family.
Once they had been walking awhile she smirked pulling him into honeyduke's sweet shop, she held his hand as they went about the candy shop and bought a few things before rejoining the family at the robe shop where Tonks tossed Ron three wizard cards which he looked over and smiled mesmerized at the ones he didn't have.
She gave each if the twins a handful of every flavored beans watching as they eat them and gaged at the bad flavored ones, she leaned into Charlie's side as he wrapped his arm around her waist, it wasn't long before Tonks and Charlie wondered off on their own aimlessly walking and reminiscing about their days in school.
They soon found themselves stuck under the ledge of the broom shop as the sky let loose and rain fell in sheets into the street, Tonks smiled as she set the remainder of the jelly beans on the step behind her and ran out into the empty street into the rain laughing as she got soaked, she spun around once before looking back at Charlie who was watching her and shaking his head, she smirked and curled her fingers at him to come into the street with her as her hair became bright pink then purple before stopping on a playful yellow.
With a sigh and a smile Charlie stepped into the street before going to her and taking her in his arms making her laugh as he spun her by the waist so her feet were off the ground, when she was on her feet she went to the street side and waited until he was close before jumping into a puddle and splashing him.
He shook his head faking an angered look as he grabbed her by the waist and picked her up before sitting her into the now muddy puddle making her squeal a laugh as she got up with a handful of mud and flung it at him and when he pulled her close she smiled kissing him, he held her closer as she broke the kiss but his lips lingered on her chin and jaw until with a smirk she ran her mud covered fingers across his face making him laugh and take her muddy hand and forced her to wipe it across her own face.
The pair smiled holding each other in the abandoned street as the rain sheeted around them, their lips had no more then met when both pulled away and spit the mud from their lips over their shoulder before chuckling they kissed again lost in their own little world.