A Child's Dream
Written for the "Friendship/Family One Hour Challenge"
It was the 19th of August and Andromeda and her daughter were just having breakfast together when a long awaited owl soared through the open kitchen window and landed right on Tonks's plate.
"Oh great," she muttered and was just about to complain about the owl ruining the wonderful English breakfast her mother had cooked for her, when she realised where the owl had come from.
"Mum," she said in a shaking voice, "Mum?"
"What is it Dora?" Andromeda asked and looked from the letter to her daughter whose hair was now quickly changing its colour: from black to blue to bubblegum pink to bright red and back to black.
"Look at the seal on the letter." Tonks said, trying to unknot it from the owl's leg with shaking fingers.
Her mother quickly got up from her chair and moved over to her daughter to help. When she'd freed the owl of the letter it hooted once and flew away, leaving mother and daughter staring at the letter in front of them.
"So," Andromeda said after a moment of silence, "Don't you want to open it?"
Tonks looked at her mother before she replied: "Well, I guess so," but still didn't take the letter into her hands.
It was funny. She had been waiting for this letter the whole summer long. Since her last day at Hogwarts. Every day since the first of August she'd been eagerly awaiting it with every owl that came through their window. But now that the actual letter was lying there, right in front of her, she wasn't sure if she dared open it. After all its content decided about her whole future.
"Can't you read it first?" Tonks asked in a small voice, already knowing her mother's answer.
And she was right: "Nymphadora Tonks. I know you're not a Gryffindor. But you should at least be brave enough to open this letter and see how well you did in your N.E.W.T.s!"
So Tonks took a deep breath and ripped the envelope open. After another deep breath she pulled out an official looking piece of parchment and read:
Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests
Pass Grades:
Outstanding (O)
Exceeds Expectations (E)
Acceptable (A)
Fail Grades:
Poor (P)
Dreadful (D)
Troll (T)
Nymphadora Tonks has achieved:
Arithmancy: E
Astronomy: O
Charms: O
Defence Against the Dark Arts: O
Herbology: E
History of Magic: A
Potions: E
Transfiguration: O
Tonks was still rereading her results not trusting her eyes when she had taken a first look at it, when her mother suddenly hugged her tightly from behind and sobbed into her ear, whispering: "Oh, I am so proud, Dora!"
Tonks turned around and had to blink away some tears, herself . Now school was really, truly over for her. And all the hours of studying had been worth it because her results were good enough to become an Auror! That was the job Tonks had dreamed of ever since she was a child. She even had books about Aurors who went through the most amazing adventures. It would be so great to be trained to become an Auror! To fight the Dark Powers!
But...there was also a drop of bitterness to her plan of becoming an Auror. As much as she had always dreamed of it and spent hours talking to her friends in her dormitory about her bright future as an Auror, she had never told her parents that this really was her wish. They knew of course that she was fascinated by this profession but Tonks had never explicitly said that it was her intention to become an Auror after finishing school.
But she had to tell them sooner or later, didn't she? So now was probably as good a moment as any other to tell at least her mother about her plans.
And as if she had read her daughter's thoughts, Andromeda asked, while she'd started baking a cake to celebrate the occasion: "Well, dear, do you already know what you'd like to do with such wonderful N.E.W.T. results? You've kept me and your father in the dark about your plans for the future until now."
Subconsciously Tonks had turned her hair into shiny blonde locks, which fell over her shoulder and her eyes looked a bit rounder and her skin a bit rosier than usual. When Andromeda turned around to look at her daughter, she realised this look immediately.
She knew it from several occasions when Tonks had to confess something to her and Ted. Whether it was a broken china vase, a fight with another child in school or telling them about her first boyfriend. It was Tonks's 'I'm a good girl'-look and, subconscious or not, she always looked like that whenever she hoped for her parents' sympathy.
Now Tonks reached for a flick of her hair to turn it around her finger and realised that she had changed its colour again. She screwed up her face and suddenly her hair was bright pink again.
Andromeda had to stifle a laugh. She preferred her daughter's hair this colourful. It always made her look so much happier than the blonde or black one.
"So?"
"Well, that's what I wanted to talk to you about." Tonks started off.
Andromeda looked at her daughter with raised eye-brows and waited for her to elaborate.
"Can we sit down for this?" Tonks suddenly asked, "I don't want to have this conversation standing here in the kitchen."
Andromeda nodded and lead the way into their living room. There she sat down on the sofa and waited for Tonks to do the same.
"The thing is," she finally said, "I – I want to become an Auror."
After she'd let out these words, she ducked a bit away, as if she expected her mother to shout or throw things at her after hearing these news.
"An Auror?" Andromeda asked surprised. This certainly wasn't what she'd expected. She wasn't quite sure what she had expected. But surely not this.
"I know it's a dangerous job going after dark wizards and everything but it has always been my dream. I can't even remember a time when I didn't want to become an Auror. So – please don't hate me for it and don't be too disappointed!"
Andromeda's astonishment turned into laughter.
"You thought we would hate you for choosing to become an Auror?"
Tonks looked at her mother uncertainly. "Well,...yes?"
"Oh dear! I don't hate you! You are my daughter and I love you! No matter what profession you choose! And I'm sure your father feels the same. We're both very proud of you and I'm sure, which ever future you choose for yourself will be the right one. After all you're now a bright, grown-up witch who can make her own decisions!
I never knew that it really was your dream to become an Auror. Why did you never tell us?"
Now Tonks laughed, too, realising how stupid she had been all the time.
"I don't know. When I first thought about becoming an Auror I was still so young and the older I became, the more people said things like 'But do you really want to become an Auror?' and I felt so unsure about it. Was it really good idea? Or was it just too unrealistic? And I also didn't want to disappoint you. I remember you saying that I could become a Healer back when I got my O.W.L.-results and I thought that's what you wanted me to become."
"I would have been proud if you'd decided to become a healer. But only if you wanted to. And if you want to be an Auror and you have thought it through, I'm also proud of my daughter, the future Auror!"
"Really?" Tonks asked in a small voice.
"Really!" Andromeda answered and squeezed her daughter's hand.
"I guess, I'll go back to the kitchen now and finish the cake as we've got two things to celebrate when your father comes home: Your N.E.W.T.-results and your future career!"