So. This is my second HP fanfiction ever.
I was in the bathroom, and suddenly this idea hit me on the head. I forgot what I wanted in the bathroom, because I ran out the door, almost almost fell over my shoes in the hallway and stumbled into my room, turning my computer on.
Disclaimer: at least I own my ideas. And my "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"-Nintendo DS game. Apart from that, nothing really. And I doubt that anyone would give me money for this…
An ordinary evening at #12 Grimmauld Place
As the title confirms, it was just an ordinary evening at #12 Grimmauld Place. People – mostly members of the Order of the Phoenix – were were running around semi-busily, others were already taking their places for the upcoming meeting, which was going to start soon.
Two members however – and inhabitants of the Ancient House of Black – had left the crowded kitchen and were granted asylum in the hallway. The two men were actually sitting on the stairs which led to the upper rooms, practicing silence and enjoying the calm.
Sirius and Remus only looked up from the spot on the floor their eyes were fixed on, when the door to the kitchen creaked open and revealed Kingsley Shacklebolt, member of the Order and Auror.
Close behind the tall dark man appeared Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, member of the Order and paranoid, retired Auror. It was not the oddest of pairs which could have walked through the kitchen door, but Remus raised an eyebrow nonetheless.
Recognizing the two men sitting on the steps, Kingsley approached them and spoke in his deep, calm voice.
"Have you seen Tonks?"
Sirius seemed slightly interested in the subject, but just shook his head. Remus did not understand a word. Or, more precisely, he did understand the question fine, except one word.
"What's a Tonks?" he asked, his other eyebrow raising curiously as well.
Now it was Kingsley's turn to give a confused expression. Mad-Eye seemed to have decided to let the conversation develop without sharing his knowledge, because he listened but made no effort to explain.
Sirius chuckled beside Remus, so the brown-grey haired man turned to his left and looked at his best friend, silently demanding an answer.
"Not 'what', Remus, but 'who'." Sirius finally said. That explained everything. Remus rolled his eyes.
After several moments of silence again, Remus sighed impatiently.
"So, then who is Tonks?" he asked.
"A new member of the Order, who should be introduced today." Kingsley finally re-joined the conversation.
"And why are you looking for him?" Remus asked for lack of anything better to ask.
He turned to his left again as Sirius let out a snort. Remus didn't know if he should be annoyed or angry with his friend, but as Sirius denied him an answer, Remus' eyes fixed again on Kingsley as he spoke.
"Tonks is a woman."
"Or at least she's trying to be one…" Mad-Eye grumbled, surprisingly seeming to think he should share his thoughts.
Remus' brows furrowed. "What kind of a name is that?" he asked, his nose almost wrinkling.
"What do you mean?" Sirius asked, finally containing his laughter.
"Well, who would name their daughter 'Tonks'?" Remus questioned, slowly but steadily getting annoyed by the way the conversation turned out.
"Actually, 'Tonks' is her surname." Kingsley explained patiently. "She wants to be called 'Tonks', because she dislikes her first name."
"And what could possibly be worse than 'Tonks'?" Remus asked, not willing to believe that there was a name which could urge a woman to let herself being called 'Tonks'.
"Nymphadora." Sirius prompted.
Remus looked at his dark haired friend, obviously not getting the point. "My cousin, Andromeda, named her daughter 'Nymphadora'." Sirius emphasized the last word.
"And what, may I ask, is wrong with 'Nymphadora'?" Remus pushed on.
"Don't you think it's a horrible name?" Sirius looked at Remus as if the latter had gone mental.
"No." Remus answered. "I think it's a lovely name."
"Don't let her hear that." Kingsley smiled. "If she needs to force anyone to call her 'Tonks', she will."
"Wait a second. You said your cousin Andromeda's daughter?" Remus asked, just realizing Sirius' words.
"Yes, Tonks would be my second cousin then." Sirius grinned. He was obviously looking forward to meet a member of his family who had not joined the dark side long ago.
"Wouldn't she be too young for the Order then? If she's your cousin's daughter… how old is she?" Remus inquired, by now a little more interested in the subject.
"Andromeda is about five to seven years my senior, and Tonks is twenty-two." Sirius said as if he'd already done the math an hour ago and was very proud to present the result instantly. "Speaking of Tonks, shouldn't she be here already? The meeting's about to start any minute."
Remus turned his attention back to Kingsley and Moody.
"That's the problem, you see." Moody said in his rough voice. "Kingsley was supposed to bring her along since they work together."
Remus and Sirius looked at Kingsley, who had turned to Mad-Eye. "I thought she was coming with you."
The two men stared at each other, obviously annoyed.
Sirius cleared his throat. "So what you're saying is that you two lost my little cousin?" His voice was quiet and calm, but Remus could hear the tension in his friend's voice. He smiled. Sirius had always been very protective concerning the people he loved. He would have reacted quite similar if Moody had stated he'd lost Harry somewhere in Little Whinging.
Kingsley looked slightly compunctious and even Mad-Eye did not dare to look into Sirius' eyes.
Sirius took the silence as a 'yes'. "Are you kidding me?" he growled. "You lost my little cousin? She's probably stumbling through London right now, unoriented and confused!"
At that, Kingsley smiled. "Yes. We can almost certainly assure that she's currently stumbling somehwere…"
Sirius scowled at him and stood. Remus stood, too, fearing that his friend might do something not entirely healthy to himself or Kingsley.
"Andwhat is so funny? Shouldn't you two be worrying about her?" Sirius hissed. Remus doubted that Sirius would attack Mad-Eye, or anyone for that matter, but one can never be sure with Sirius Black.
"It's just… if you two knew her… she's definitely currently tripping over something." Kingsley explained, holding up his hands defensively.
"I'm going out." Sirius stated and promptly turned towards the heavy front door. Remus' hand flew to Sirius' arm, holding the dark haired man back.
"Sirius. You can't leave the house." Remus said, waiting for a reaction and holding his breath.
"Remus, Tonks is out there. She doesn't know the address, she won't be able to even see this bloody house! Do you think I will let her running around all night? Would you?" Sirius explained seriously.
Remus sighed and let go of his friend's arm. "Fine. I'll go looking for her. The meeting's about to start and I'm sure you are both indispensable." He shot a look at Kingsley and Moody, who did not have the urge to complain.
Remus sighed. Why was it always his duty to solve others' problems? But he was going to do it anway.
"So, what does she look like?" Remus asked.
"Who?" Three pairs of quizzical eyes locked on his face.
"Tonks! I have never met her before. And if I'm going to go out there and look for her, I will need to know how I will be able to recognize her." Remus explained slowly, as if talking to a child.
Mad-Eye and Kingsley exchanged a glance. "I don't know." Kingsley confessed. Mad-Eye shrugged.
Now it was Remus and Sirius who wore disbelieving expressions directed at Kingsley and Moody.
"You're working with her!" Sirius looked at Kingsley. "And you coached her!" He shot Moody an accusing look. "How can you not know what she looks like?!"
Kingsley chuckled. Remus and Sirius watched him, slowly getting angry and annoyed with the other men. The two friends did not find the situation that funny.
"She's a Metamorphmagus…" Kingsley finally blurted out.
Remus and Sirius exchanged a dumbfounded glance.
"… which explains why we do not know what she currently looks like." The tall man finished.
"And how in Merlins name am I supposed to find her if she could look like anyone out there?" Remus asked clueless.
Just as Kingsley opened his mouth to answer, the door to Remus' left opened, revealing Arthur Weasley and someone… Remus did not know.
Arthur was wearing his trademark smile and Remus wondered for a second if the older man had probably found a 'Rubiks' Cube' on his way from the ministry and gotten all excited about it.
The other person – a woman, Remus recognized – rendered him speechless. And Remus hardly ever was at a lack of words. She was not really breathtaking beautiful, nor did she look elegant or graceful, but she was…
Remus' eyes wandered from her short pinkish-violet hair over her dark sparkling eyes – from which he knew even without seeing the rest of her face, that she was smiling – her snub nose, her lips – of course stretched into a grin – over her crimson Auror's robes, her patched jeans underneath the robes to her worn-looking black boots.
… unique.
Arthur grinned even more.
"Look who I found!"
Yeah, a little RemusXTonks at the end. Couldn't resist. Hehe.
Comments are much appreciated!