Author's Note: Tonks is obviously J.K. Rowling's character, as is this entire world that I'm writing about. Similarities in some parts with the Harry Potter books (as I've had a review on the subject) are usually coincidence as I'm not using the books as a direct reference for this story because Tonks only features in the later books, and even then only briefly. I've read the books so much and can only put it down to how often I've read it that some parts have sunk into my brain. I'll try and avoid it though.

Essentially - If you recognise it, it's not mine.

LittleGuitar94


1st September, 1984

'Come on Mum!' called eleven year old Nymphadora Tonks as she urged her mother towards the brick wall between platforms nine and ten of Kings Cross station that separated the Muggle world from the Wizarding world.

'I'm coming Dora, don't worry,' replied Andromeda Tonks as she walked gracefully down the length of the platform. Tonks hadn't yet mastered the art of walking without tripping. 'You go ahead with your father; I'll be right behind you.'

Nymphadora bounced off to her father, Ted, who was waiting with her trunk laden trolley. 'Ready Dora?' he asked once she had skipped to a halt beside him.

The manic grin on her face and the vivid pink hair was all the confirmation he needed.

'Hold on to the trolley then, and let's go!' Together they ran towards the magical barrier and emerged a moment later onto the busy Platform 9 ¾. The gleaming scarlet Hogwarts Express waited patiently beside the gossiping, shouting, mingling crowd.

Andromeda followed them through the barrier and helped direct the trolley towards an empty carriage on the train.

'Oh look, darling,' she said to her husband, 'there's Octavian and Penelope! Their son is starting this year too, remember! Let's go and have a chat!'

Dora shared a look with her Dad and they both followed behind Andromeda as she cut a path through the thick bustle of people.

'The Pye's were at Hogwarts with your mother and I,' Ted explained, 'they're nice enough, both Hufflepuffs. Octo was in my year.'

As they were early, they had plenty of time to chat. Dromeda had insisted they leave early as they would probably have to stop and go back to the house for something, but it turned out that they didn't. Dora kicked her old trainers against the stone platform as her parents talked. She smiled politely when she was introduced but when the Pyes said that their son was talking to one of his other friends she lost interest.

Nymphadora Tonks was an only child and a metamorphmagus. Her hair colour and style changed as often as her train of thought. Despite her original hair colour being a dark brown, almost black, she usually wore it in a bright colour. At that moment, she was going through a pink phase that occasionally switched to blue. Her natural hair colour reminded her of her mother's family, at least two of whom were in Azkaban prison for murder or torture, so she tried her very best to get away from that.

Unfortunately, Dora had not inherited her mother's grace in addition to her natural facial features, as she spent a lot of time in the treatment rooms of St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries after tripping or falling over her own feet or anything that got in her way.

Dora's eyes drifted as she tried to make her hair turn the same scarlet as the train. A lost looking boy and his parents wandered into her line of vision and she noticed that he was wearing a muggle band t-shirt. She tapped her Dad's arm and told him she'd be back before heading off to speak to the boy.

'Hey,' she said, 'do you need any help? You look a bit lost.'

The boy looked at her apprehensively; it was probably the red hair thing she realised. The boy's parents jumped in.

'Yes, please, we're new to all this and don't really know what we're meant to do.' Definitely Muggles, she thought.

'No problem, you can put your stuff in the same compartment as me. This way,' she led the boy and his parents onto the train and helped them take the trunk to the compartment.

'Thanks,' the boy sighed, flicking his shaggy blond hair off his face after they'd hauled his trunk up onto the overhead shelf, 'my name's Don. Donaghan Tremlett, but I prefer Don. Donaghan is a silly name.' He rolled his eyes at his parents who were admiring the interior of the train.

'Well since we're both members of the silly name club I guess I'll tell you mine. Nymphadora Tonks, but I prefer Tonks,' the kid held out his hand and she shook it. 'So you're a first year too?'

'Yeah, I didn't even know magic existed until this really old guy came to my house and gave me a letter,' Don grinned bashfully, 'I keep thinking it's a dream. You?'

'My parents are both magical but I've been waiting for this day for ages!'

'Really? But you're wearing a Sex Pistols top – don't tell me they're magic?' Don looked confused.

'Nah, they're Muggle alright. But my Dad's Muggle-born so I listen to some of his music on his little electric radio. Loving the Maiden t-shirt by the way,' Tonks gestured at his own shirt.

'Thanks, my parents hate me wearing it, but I refused to take it off today.'

'Same, my Mum doesn't get what proper music is like – she listens to all this rubbish stuff on the WWN. I'd better get back to them anyway,' She noticed Don's look of disappointment and added, 'but you can come too! I can introduce them to your parents and they can talk to each other.'

'Yeah sure, let's go!' Don and Tonks led the way from the train to Tonks' parents. Don's parents stopped every few steps to admire the owls and cats of numerous breeds and colours that they passed.

'Hey Mum, Dad,' Tonks interrupted Mr. Pye talking, 'this is Don Tremlett and his parents. They're Muggles and Don's in my year.' She didn't have to say anymore, Ted's focus was on the Tremletts and Dromeda looked to be regretting starting to talk with the Pyes.

'Come on,' Tonks said to Don, 'let's get back on the train; it's ten to eleven.'

When the whistle blew to hurry everyone onto the train, Tonks and Don stuck their heads out of the window to say goodbye to their parents.

'See you soon!' they called as the engine started up.

'Try not to do anything dangerous!' Dromeda called to Tonks.

'I won't Mum, you know me!' she called back. Her mother didn't look reassured.

'I'll let you know everything about it,' Don was saying to his parents, 'I'll figure out how to send stuff with owls and then maybe I could get an owl next year. How cool would that be?' His parents were looking emotional.

'Stay safe!' they ordered as the train began to pull away.

Tonks and Don waved as they moved away from their families.


Tonks was explaining to Don about the differences between the Muggle world and the Wizarding world when their compartment door slid open and a red haired boy with lots of freckles poked his head through the gap.

'Hey, um, can I sit here?' he asked. He was wearing a yellow shirt that was a bit small on him and some worn jeans turned up at the ends.

Tonks smiled at him, 'sure, come on in!' The boy smiled back nervously and took a seat beside Don. He kept looking at Tonks' hair which she thought was odd considering the shocking carrot colour that he had himself.

'I'm Charlie Weasley,' he said.

'Tonks,' she replied.

'Don Tremlett,' added Don.

'So is Tonks your last name or what?' Charlie asked Tonks.

'Last name, and no, I'm not going to tell you my first name. Just call me Tonks, I hate my first name.' Tonks felt a twinge of guilt at being so brash with him when she'd only just met him, but he didn't look to be offended.

'So are you, um, I'm not sure what the word is…' Don looked to Tonks, 'like me?'

Tonks redirected the question to Charlie, asking if he was Muggle-born. He wasn't. That led to a discussion about Tonks' family being pure-blood maniacs. She instantly regretted bringing them up as it always lead to depressing conversation.

She decided to lighten the mood by showing off her morphing.

'So Charlie, cool hair! Is it all natural?' She already knew the answer – no one would choose to have hair that vivid. Well, except her.

'Uh,' he looked at his fringe with confusion, 'yep, all natural.'

'Wicked!' she scrunched up her face and focused on the shade of Charlie's hair. The tingling of her scalp indicated that her pink hair was pink no longer. She opened her eyes to Charlie and Don's shocked and amazed expressions. It definitely got them away from the depressing pure-blood conversation and she spent the time until the sweet trolley arrived taking requests to change her appearance.

Once Tonks had spent a fair amount of her money on sweets they started playing a game with Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans where they all took one and even if it tasted disgusting they had to keep a straight face. A moody seventh year even came by and told them to be quiet because they were laughing so much.


Evening had fallen outside the window and the driver announced that they would soon be arriving into Hogwarts so they'd better get changed into their robes. Charlie, Tonks and Don took it in turns to get changed.

Back in the compartment they were all getting excited about arriving at Hogwarts. Charlie was looking pale beneath his freckles and Don looked slightly grey. Tonks could feel her hair changing colour every few minutes but was too nervous to stop it.

'So what house do you think you'll be in?' Tonks asked, as she picked at the hem of her black Hogwarts skirt. She hated skirts; you couldn't run anywhere or climb anything in them. She wondered who's idea it was to make a skirt.

'Gryffindor.' Charlie said confidently. 'All my family have been. Mum, Dad, brother, uncles, grandparents. All of them.'

'I don't know,' muttered Don nervously. 'I read in a book that I got that Gryffindors are meant to be brave, and Ravenclaws' smart and Hufflepuffs' hard-working and Slytherins' ambitious, but I don't think I'm any of those. Before I got my Hogwarts letter I just wanted to be a bassist in a rock band, I had lessons and everything.' That's cool, thought Tonks.

'Don't worry,' she said comfortingly, 'I dunno where I'll end up either. Dad was a Hufflepuff and Mum was a Slytherin, so Merlin knows where I'll be! Ooh! We're here!'

The brakes squealed as the train pulled into a dark station lit by flaming torches along the walls.

The overhead speaker hissed and the train driver made an announcement.

'We have arrived at Hogsmeade Station, please leave all your luggage on the train, it will be taken separately up to the school. Thank you, see you next summer.'

Prefects in black Hogwarts robes lined the exits of the train telling the stampede of children to stop pushing, and directed first years over to the left of the platform and the rest of the school somewhere else.

'Firs' years! Firs' years!' called a loud voice. Tonks, Charlie and Don jostled their way over to it and Tonks' jaw dropped.

The owner of the voice was massive. He can't be a giant, Tonks thought, they're huge. Maybe half-giant? The man was about twice the height of an average man and three times as wide. In one of his huge dustbin-lid sized hands he held a lantern, and in the other, a pink umbrella. His face was covered in a great bushy beard and in the lamp light his black eyes glittered.

'Firs' years over 'here!' he called again.

'Mind yer step,' the giant warned when all the first years were gathered around him and set off into the darkness leaving them to follow the lantern light. They headed down a steep, narrow path, trying not to slip on the slightly damp ground. Tonks cursed herself as she felt herself slipping a number of times and ended up having to grab the back of Charlie's cloak to avoid falling down the steps. He didn't seem to mind that much, probably because she had already confessed that she was really clumsy back on the train, so clumsy in fact, that many of the Healers in St Mungo's treated her as a regular customer.

'Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec,' the giant called behind him, 'jus' round this corner.'

'Ooooooh!'

'Wow,' Tonks whispered in awe.

'It's beautiful,' murmured Don.

'It's Hogwarts.' Charlie grinned. Excitement emanated from all of them as they stared across the great black lake in front of them and up at the huge castle with windows lit by a golden glow atop the cliff on the other side of the lake.

There was a fleet of small boats on the great black lake in front of them, reflecting the golden lights of the castle windows.

'Four to a boat!' the giant called, as he himself settled into one on his own. The first years scrambled forward and Tonks ended up in a boat with Don, Charlie and a brunette girl called Annie. Tonks prayed that she wouldn't fall in as she got in or out of the boat.

'FORWARD!' the giant called after checking that everyone was in a boat. The little fleet began to move together at once, gliding smoothly across the lake. The first years all stared in awe up at the castle which loomed ever closer above them.

'Heads down!' the giant warned as the first boats approached the cliff. The boats carried them through a wall of ivy and down a tunnel which took them under the castle, until they reached a small jetty, where they all climbed out of the boats and back onto land. Tonks didn't fall in.

The giant then led them across a lawn of damp grass, up a small flight of stone steps to a large oak front door. He turned to check that everyone was there, and knocked three times on the castle door.


So there's the first chapter - thoughts?

In case you weren't aware, this story is written in conjunction with "Dungbombs, Drinking and Dragons" my Charlie Weasley fic, so if you feel up to it go check that one out!

LittleGuitar94