Chapter 4: Chapter 4
Sorry about the length, this one kinda ran off on me.
Hogwarts, Scotland September 26th, 1996
Professor Wolf stumbled out of his private quarters attached to the MS classroom looking a little worse for wear. He'd slacked off for the first few weeks in regards to discipline, and the students had gradually become rowdier since beginning of term as a result. When it became out of hand, the detentions and point deductions were heavy, forcing him to keep the worst offenders in his classroom until early into the morning.
Sure, he was used to running on nothing more than a few hours of sleep thanks to his days in the Corps, but that had a lot to do with the tar like coffee the Marines favored. No such luck here. Only Tea and that vile Pumpkin Juice that the student body lived on.
By the end of the first week the other professors knew not to make small talk with the young muggle sitting in their midst first thing in the morning. His attitude almost rivalled that of their Potions master around that time of day.
Carson idly picked at his food using the fine silverware, wondering how much air freighting a bag of Columbia's finest would set him back when he saw the very answer to all of life's problems. There! Sitting on the green table; Slyther something. The Professor really ought to memorize the names of the houses. He moved with the grace of a charging rhino, never taking his eye off the prize. The sudden movement caught a lot of people's attention, though he paid them no mind.
A 6th year student with raven black hair and olive skin, holding what was clearly a steaming cup of glorious Joe. He had to have it!
"Hey kid", Carson greeted in a gravelly voice. "How much for a cup of whatever you have there."
Zabini, who was just beginning to wake up himself recognized all the signs of withdrawal on the man's face. Before he could so much as open his mouth that insufferable git Malfoy beat him too it.
"What the hell is a dirty Muggle like you doing at our table?" the young blonde sneered with every bit of venom as if he were talking to Potter.
"Zip it Sparky",Carson snapped back. "And so help me god if you talk to me like that again I'll taze you again, only this time I'll hold down the trigger until the batteries run out of juice or the other staff pry the damn thing from my fingers. And 10 points from whatever the hell your house is called for your sass."
Draco's look of disgust morphed into one of barely contained rage, sprinkled with a healthy amount of fear.
"That is, if you even have any points left."
The remark was loud enough to reach the Gryffindors, who snickered at how fast Malfoy had been shut down by a man who had less magic than a Squib. Word had spread of their fateful encounter in the hallway a few days prior. It seems that Draco got a firsthand experience of how fond Muggles really are of electricity.
Several Gryffindors, with the help of a short science lesson from Professor Wolf kept zapping Malfoy as they passed him in the hallway. Static Discharge, they thought, was a great thing.
Blaise, pleased at his housemate's treatment by the teacher conjured another cup and filled it from the thermos.
"This one's on the house"he answered with a satisfied grin. The Italian didn't have anything against Muggles, and anyone who can put the Ferret in his place was alright in his book.
The Professor gave him a grateful smile before returning to the staff table, half the cup's contents already consumed. Before sitting down he lifted the mug at the Serpent House in thanks. There were a few amused faces, but most just glared.
Snape looked murderous, no doubt having heard the brief exchange between his godson and that good for nothing colleague. The other teachers wore a mixed bag of barley suppressed smirks or stern disapproval, the primary of the latter emanating from McGonagall. It seemed he was still walking on eggshells with the woman, Carson thought with a sigh.
A few days later the Muggle Studies Prof. ascended the circular staircase leading to the castle's Owlery. It was late, but it had taken almost an hour to get his thoughts on paper(or parchment in this case) It didn't help that he'd been looking for this place for 15 minutes, but it wasn't like there was anyone around to ask for directions at this time of night. The portrait he's woken simply swore at him for doing so. He could have waited till next morning, but was eager to send the large letter to his parents off.
In it he explained of his absence, and how he'd found employment in his filed abroad. Of course he left out that he was in a wizarding school. He doubted they'd believe him anyway, so he didn't bother.
Near the top he noticed another Student, a raven haired boy with round glasses. The kid didn't look to have any business up here. After wrestling with one of the school owls and bribing it to take the letter over the pond, he decided that the silence was getting a little to awkward.
"You're not waiting for a girl are you? 'cause you know the Astronomy tower is wayyy better for that sort of thing than this place." The boy opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, at a loss of what to say. "You might even be able to bribe Sinistra to look the other way for an hour or so. She's a sucker for muggle chocolate bars." he added helpfully.
Harry finally managed to squeak out a flustered 'No sir', causing the older man to shrug his shoulders in acceptance at his answer.
Harry had come up here for some solitude actually. The nightmares were worse than ever, and lately he'd been thinking of Sirius more. Nowhere he went was private it seemed, and the Room of Requirement was always occupied by someone these days.
Seeing that the teenager wasn't about to open up about what was eating him Carson took his leave.
"Well, I won't intrude on you any longer then. See ya around kid."
The Muggle was by the door when Harry called his name.
"Professor Wolf, isn't it?"
Carson nodded.
"Thanks for not punishing me for being out this late." He could almost feel the sadness wafting off the teen. He was all for giving people a dressing down, but only those who had it coming. And quite frankly the kid looked like he'd been through the wringer.
"Wasn't even aware we had a curfew." He replied with a grin. After opening the door and paused.
"If you ever need someone to talk to my door's always open. Nice meeting you Mr?"
"Potter sir. Harry Potter."
Harry simply stood there, glad to finally have met a Muggle that wasn't a huge arsehole like his relatives.
oOo
Road near Hogsmeade, Scotland September 29th, 1996
It was nearing October, and with it came the first visit to Hogsmeade. Of course being a teacher meant he could go whenever he damn well pleased. So the afternoon before the first school sanctioned outing the young Professor strolled down the well-worn path with the intention on exploring the little Wizarding village at his own leisure, without having to navigate around a mob of screaming kids. The long walk gave him time to reflect.
The new Professor had only learnt of the existence of the community a few miles away from the castle last week during the weekly staff meeting. The discussion then was the continued threat to the students from the home grown magical terrorist group. He'd waited for a name, but details about the group were kept under wraps.
Ultimately permission was granted, but concessions were made as well. The trips were shorter than usual and there was a beefed up police presence in the village. He expected Dumbledore to pull him aside to catch him up on the state of things, but that talk never came. His gut was telling him there was something happening, but without anything else to go on he continued playing along as the blind and ignorant outsider. For now anyway.
The quaint looking community became visible as he crested the next hill. The buildings had an old English cottage feel, with wood shingled roofs, stone walls, and a general medieval appearance.
Living at a boarding school had its perks. Not having to pay for room and board meant Carson had a fair amount of disposable income, and he was eager to lighten his money pouch (for some reason these people liked to pay for everything in coins) The sweetshop was all right, though he didn't trust half the stuff in there.
The shop owner did enlighten him as to why so many of his students were fainting and getting nose bleeds all the time. Nosebleed Nougats! Those little bastards! He vowed to utterly punish anyone who'd played hooky in the last month. Perhaps it was time to begin the Physical Education aspect of his class.
He was no drill sergeant, but all Officers had to learn to bark order. Oh yes, he'd run them into the ground alright. Carson left with thank you and a few candy bars for to snack on while grading papers, nothing more. The book store thankfully carried muggle supplies, and he quickly purchased a few note pads and a nice ball point pen.
In red.
Perhaps he'd make it mandatory for the students to write with the muggle utensils as well. After going through Zonko's with a fine tooth comb the young man headed for the local watering hole. The stores had closed, and he was getting thirsty.
oOo
Tonks had just finished her shift, and was eager to kick up her feet (not that Rosmerta would actually let her do so). When she noticed the new face the former Badger wasted no time putting her old Huffelpuff social skills to good use. After all, there weren't very many young men in the village and Moody promised to skin her if she hooked up with any of her colleagues.
The old bastard had been riding her ass ever since she joined Auror training, and not in the way she'd like. Being assigned to this dump was punishment for failing to stop Jugson at that raid a few weeks ago. Like it was her fault she tripped over that footstool!
Professor Wolf was sitting at his table, palms pressed to his head, focused completely on grading the abysmal essays he'd brought along. He was on his 4th Butter beer, a strange brew in his opinion. Not a lot of kick, and a little too sweet for actual beer. Must be a kid's drink or something.
They didn't carry any regular ales according to the bar keep, a slightly older woman with curly blonde hair that went by the name of Madam Rosmerta. He'd have to go to the Hog's Head if he wanted something stronger. It was probably for the best that he didn't drink too much while grading. Carson tended to speak his mind when he got more than a few in him, and the result might not be pretty.
"Wotcher Stranger."
Engrossed in his work, the young prof. flinched at the greeting. Now he wasn't jumpy by any means, but the combination of tuning everything around him out along with the sheer volume of the greeting caused his body to betray him. Besides, he honestly wasn't expecting anyone to walk up and say hi, at least not in a place where no one knew him.
Carson raised his head and immediately noticed the pink hair. Not a common color both here or in the 'muggle' world. The second thing he processed were the words of greeting uttered by the strange young woman. Drawing on his only language class back at Seattle U, 'Wotcher' was actually London slang for 'what are you up too'.
Completely butchered if you asked him, but he wasn't about to say that aloud. The class had actually been quite amazing. It taught him how to identify a person's origin or upbringing simply by breaking down the way they speak.
'As long as it's English', the Professor had boasted on the first day… 'I can place you.'
Those two observations, so vividly described only weeks earlier by none other than the Head of Huffelpuff identified the Woman standing in front of him as the infamous Nymphedora Tonks, the biggest trouble maker to walk out of this here castle since the Marauder quartet back in the late 70's. Or so he was told. The only reason he'd even remembered the girl's name was because it was so…unique.
Despite all of this detailed information surging through his head, the only thing the young Muggle studies professor managed to get out of his mouth was an unoriginal; "Hi"
He frowned at his choice of words, correction WORD. Shaking his head, he added. "Sorry, what I meant to say is it's nice to meet you Miss…?"
"Tonks", the Bubble-gum haired Aurora supplied with a grin before sitting down.
"Just Tonks."
Well, he couldn't fault her for using her surname in this case.
The cheerful Witch took a moment to study the 'stranger' a bit closer. He wore jeans, a collared button up shirt, and a loose overcoat. In London this would make him one of several thousand men that matched the same description. Up here however, the guy stood out like a sore thumb.
"Well Just Tonks, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Carson chuckled, holding out his hand. "I'm Carson Wolf. The new muggle studies professor at Hogwarts." He added.
She shook it, her eyebrow raised at the realization that he was a Muggle. Well, the clothes sort of gave that one away, but there were plenty of wizarding folk who dressed like their less magically talented counterparts.
The pretty witch knew of course about this newest member of the faculty, largely in part because of an overheard conversation between the Headmaster and his deputy during the last Order meeting. What surprised her was finding one of the Headmasters flock here of all places on a Friday night. Teachers were supposed to be goody two shoes that never had any fun or ventured beyond the castles walls unless chaperoning the youngins.
"So",Carson tried while she continued to shamelessly stare. "Do you teach here as well?" he was of course aware she wasn't a Professor, though playing innocent and ignorant was always a good way to go, considering he was… what was the local word? Ah yes, rubbish at talking to girls.
Since relocating to the island it had become a bit easier though. The accent (which he thought was ridiculous, Western American English was clearer than any other variant in his opinion) was well received, especially among the female population of the student body. Not that he'd ever try this on minors. The woman in front of him however was another story.
"Me, a teacher? No way, I'm an Auror." There was pride in her tone, and the pink haired woman unconsciously lifted her chin a little higher. Seeing the quizzical look on the man's face she elaborated. "It's the wizarding world's equivalent of a police officer."
He nodded in mock understanding. Carson had squeezed the old man for information on the red and brown coated police force after seeing them at the ministry. This would be the first time interacting with one of them. He took another healthy swig from his bottle.
"Well then Miss Auror, is there a particular reason you choose to sit here. Am I in trouble?"
He didn't mean for it to sound the way it did, and worried that by talking so casually to an officer of the law in this society he'd actually get in trouble. Much to his surprise she flirted right back by saying; "Only if you want to be." and waggled her eyebrows at him playfully.
He was left speechless for a moment, but instead of ending it there added; "I'll consider it if you have handcuffs."
Carson was horrified at what he'd just said. Not only did he NOT have a bondage fetish, he'd never even role played in all his 24 years of life. Why had he said that?
The Metamorph looked him over approvingly, biting the corner of her lip. She'd been stationed on patrol in Hogsmeade since the beginning of September, and between her Auror job and the Order gig Tonks hadn't gotten any since before summer. It was October for Merlins sake!
Normally she wouldn't be so forward, but damn this Muggle was pushing all of her buttons the right way. She wouldn't call it love at first sight, though he was quite pleasant on the eyes. The face wasn't long per se, but there were some sharp edges, and a strong jaw with a bit of stubble.
Said face was framed by a sleek pair of rectangular spectacles, probably reading glasses. His hair was a dark brown that looked black in this light, slightly longer on top and shortly cropped on the sides. Definitely young, early or mid-twenties she reckoned. But he did have a sense of humor, and damn that accent was hot. She deciding to go all or nothing.
"Tell you what Professor, you buy me a drink and we'll talk about all the ways we Aurors like to detain our suspects. Maybe I'll even give ya a demonstration."
Oh, if only Narcissa could hear this. Her innocent younger cousin, outrageously flirting with a Muggle of all people. Personally she didn't have anything against them, but pursuing them was next to impossible thanks to the Statute. Not to mention that almost all of them (not speaking from personal experience of course) flew off the handle bars when told about her kind's powers.
But this one…this one was broken in, so to speak. He knew about magic, and didn't seem scared of it. I'd be a shame to let him go, she thought with a lick of her lips. After another pause he nodded in approval and began to pack up his work.
Carson quickly stuffed his work back into the bag before offering his arm, and the unlikely couple left the Three Broomsticks behind in favor of the more notorious Hogs Head. Upon entering the dirty bar, Carson couldn't help but wonder if he should have gotten that early booster for his Hep. Vaccination after all.
Tonks ordered two glasses and a bottle of amber liquid. After Scourgifying the former, she poured a healthy dose of the latter into each. The American looked at the label, reading the old English letters.
'Odgen's Finest Fire Whiskey'
With not so much as a percent content visible, he decided it couldn't be too bad and downed the liquid in one gulp. Only shore leave with his former platoon mates kept him from coughing up a lung right then and there. Even his companion looked impressed. Red faced and tear eyed, he exhaled a jet of flame.
"Holy shit, that bottle wasn't kidding when it said Fire Whiskey!" a red faced and wheezing Carson whispered, trying to blink the tears away.
Tonks laughed and knocked back her own drink, producing a flame even bigger than his.
For the next ten minutes the two tried to outdo one another, getting royally drunk in the process. Eventually Carson confessed that he'd bullshitted the whole handcuffs remark, but that he would gladly take her out for a real date and try to 'Woo' her. Tonks, equally inebriated immediately agreed.
The two were finally kicked out by the bar keep, who put the bottle of Whiskey they'd consumed on the Auror's growing tab, despite the American's instance that his U.S. dollars were perfectly real and not Fake like monopoly money.
After half stumbling half crawling to the local Auror station a few of Tonks's squad mates escorted the drunken Professor back to the castle, where an amused Hagrid carried the half conscious man up to the 5th floor. He'd have to take the muggle out sometime, the Half Giant thought in amusement.
The lad seemed to know how to have fun on the weekends. Not even Friday and he was plastered. The Half Giant chuckled merrily. Meanwhile back at the village, Tonks slept it off in the stations version of a drunk tank. Both would wake the next morning with splitting headaches.
While the witch would cast a few sobering spells, Carson opted to crawl down to the infirmary to get a potion for a similar effect. Poppy was not lenient, and made sure to be extra loud while going about her morning duties while it kicked in.
oOo
After that first memorable 'date' a few weeks back, Carson had been thinking hard of how he was going to deliver on his drunken promise to impress the spunky English Witch. Deciding on staying within the Castle didn't help his situation, but it wasn't like he knew of any good places to take a lady here in the UK.
One thing he had picked up on was that none of the magical folk he met thus far had ever prepared a meal themselves. Hogwarts, A History (a book he'd confiscated from an inattentive student) stated that creatures called House elves cooked for and cleaned the castle.
His mind made the connection with the tall and graceful beings described exquisitely in the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings books he'd read as a teen. So, with the intent on asking for the fair elves to allow him to cook for the Auror, he set out to locate the Hogwarts kitchen.
Finding it proved to be difficult however. The elves didn't bus the food conventionally. The magical term was summoning and banishing, or so he'd been told. It sounded like teleportation to him, but fact was that no one knew of the Kitchen's location within the school. At his wits end, the frustrated Professor found himself in front of the Gargoyle, which ground aside without hesitation.
He briefly wondered why he'd even bothered to memorize the silly password the Headmaster had come up with. Whatever. The headmaster was sitting at his desk, nose buried in a thick tome of some kind. Upon inquiring, the old man was happy to show Carson, having developed a craving for Hot Chocolate in the last few hours that he was hoping to sate.
Two birds with one stone! They chatted along the way, and Carson found out that he also liked Ten Pin Bowling, a very Muggle sport. Dumbledore's fascination in particular was with the pin machine, whose workings remained elusive to him even now, several decades after discovering the sport.
Carson would never have guessed the kitchens entrance in a Million years. Behind a portrait of fruit…where one had to tickle a giggling pear.
A giggling pear.
The house elves were also not what he expected. After obtaining his chocolaty drink Dumbledore excused himself, leaving his young employee to deal with the exited creatures. There were most helpful in locating the ingredients he'd need, and also managed to coax out of him the reason they weren't allowed to do the cooking themselves.
After pressing him for the girl's name (they had their ways), an older Elf piped in that she knew Tonks from her school days. He modified the ingredients to reflect her tastes and set out to work. The counters only reached to his knees, having been built to suit the physical requirements of creatures half his size. By the time he'd finished the prep work his back and knees were killing him.
The generous creatures wouldn't let him leave without food, forcing upon him a number of pastries and other snack items. Arms laden with food, the American made his way to his quarters, looking forward to eating in bed while reading one of his favorite Books.
oOo
The Three Broomsticks Bar & Grill, Hogsmeade October 22nd, 1996
The Brown barn owl impatiently pecked on the thin glass pane on the second floor window of the Three broomsticks. The bubble-gum haired Witch had just stepped out of the shower and zeroed in on the bird immediately. It had been almost two weeks since she'd met the cute Professor in the bar downstairs. He'd said not to expect any correspondence for a fortnight due to his schedule, and although she received letters on occasion from friends and family those had always arrived in the morning.
Her eyes lit up in excitement as she tore the seal, focusing on the last sentence.
'…like to have dinner with me on the 24th?'
She grabbed the complimentary pencil (quills and ink were too expensive for the bar) and scribbled a quick affirmative before sending the owl on its way. She didn't bother treating it with snacks, since it was so close to the castle.
Two days later, an exited Nymphedora Tonks strolled into the castle. It was early evening and most students were already in their respective houses. Her date met her on the front steps and offered her his arm. She'd never taken Muggle studies during her stint in Hogwarts and allowed him to lead her to his classroom. It wasn't a surprise to find the room slightly different from the normal layout when they stepped through the door.
Tonks couldn't help but appreciate the effort he'd gone to. Clearly more so because he'd done it all by hand. The desks were piled along the back wall, with the exception of two, who had been pushed together and covered with a red and white checkered table cloth.
There were dozens of candles lit around the classroom. Many wizards had of course done similar things over the years, but somehow she felt more appreciative of this. It wasn't perfect, but it was obvious that he'd tried.
After seating her like a proper gentleman, the American Professor rang a bell, which was followed a second later by a soft pop of apparition.
'So he had involved the house elves' she thought with a hint of disappointment.
"Is it ready?" he asked with excitement.
"Yes Professor sirs, we's be just pulling it froms the Oven now!"
"Great! Don't worry about cutting it, I got it covered."
The Hogwarts elf nodded before popping away.
Carson sat himself as well and popped the cork from a bottle of red.
"So what are we having?" Tonks asked sweetly, her chin resting on her laced fingers.
Carson grinned. "My special recipe Pizza. Made it myself, but the elves insisted on throwing it in the Oven and delivering. I can't complain about that", he added with a shrug. "Would probably drop it on the way up here anyway. Though remind me to tip the Pizza boy when he gets here."
She laughed at his comparison to a house elf to a pizza delivery boy. "Wait, you said you made it. You didn't ask the house elves. They're great cooks you know."
Now that was something new. No one besides her mother had ever cooked for her.
He grinned again. "I said I'd woo you, but not by letting others do the work. Made the dough from scratch. Had to raid the pantry a bit to get everything, and even floo'd to a student's house near a super market for a few of the muggle things but it turned out all right. They didn't expect company, so I had to bullshit a little to convince them I wasn't just using their fireplace. Teacher-Parent meeting and all that."
Tonks found herself laughing again at the thought of him using someone's Floo to travel to a grocery store.
"I really hope you like it." He didn't add that the primary objective for his excursion into Muggle London was to hit up a coffee distributer. Carson picked up a sizable quantity of Blue Mountain, a mill, and a coffee maker. Perhaps he'd talk to that Zabini kid and made a deal for some of the Italian stuff he had.
She flashed him a brilliant smile, exited to try this special variant of her favorite food. She briefly wondered if he knew, or whether it was a random fluke.
Another elf carrying oversized oven mitts popped into the room holding a steaming baking sheet, and the two wrestled comically to get the Italian pie off the tray and onto a large cutting board. With a deep bow, the elf excused himself.
The first few bites were hot (obviously) but well received. "Hmmm, this is great! I can't believe you made this. However…"
"However?" he repeated cautiously. 'Oh god, was she allergic to something?'
"Is there garlic in this?" she asked with mild alarm in her voice.
"Yeah. In the crust. Why, what's wrong?"
Tonks pretend clutched her throat. "I have a confession to make" she rasped. "I- I'm actually a vampire."
"…huh?"
Tonks tried. She really did. But the dumbstruck look he was giving her was too much. She burst out laughing. Unfortunately she hadn't quite finished chewing, and klutz that she was managed to choke on a piece of half chewed pizza crust.
For a second there Carson just watched the scene unfold as she went from pretend choking, to laughing, to choking for real in the span of about ten seconds before coming to his senses. He jumped up and quickly moved behind the panicking Metamorph, who was turning a very unintentional shade up blue.
Honestly, how does the equivalent of a trained law enforcement official manage to choke on something as harmless as pizza? With a well-practiced jerk below her breasts, the offensive and dangerous piece of Italian cuisine arced across the classroom and landed with an audible splat.
Silence reigned for a few moments while Tonks caught her breath.
"You good?" he asked in a far too calm manner for what just happened.
"Y-Yeah" she shuddered between gasps. "You saved my life!"
His hands lingered around her waist for a moment longer before withdrawing. "It's no big deal," Carson shrugged before sitting back down. "Just the Heimlich."
"Is that what you did? If it wasn't for that I'd be turning purple right now."
Carson looked at her in shock. "Wait, you don't know how to help a choking person? Doesn't this get covered in your police training? Or basic first aid first aid for that matter?"
She shook her head. "No, if someone chokes we immediately apparate them to St. Mungos. They have a few people on call just for that."
"You're pulling my chain again, right? It's a simple medical procedure. Almost every non magical knows it. There are even techniques if you're alone."
He could tell this was news to her. "You're serious. So you can regrow bones with a potion but something as simple as choking is beyond you?"
He didn't mean to belittle the wizarding world, but seriously. How had these people co-evolved alongside muggles?
Carson's head suddenly shot up.
"Please tell me you were joking about the vampire thing."
oOo
Tonks, Carson noted could really pack it away. He'd made enough to normally feed two with some leftovers. After ten minutes there were only crumbs left, and a very content looking Auror patting her belly.
With dinner concluded the Huffelpuff alumna led her date through the castle, intent on giving him the proper nickel tour, not the watered down version that the stuck up teachers knew.
Because he wasn't a house teacher, Carson had never actually been to any of the Common rooms. He learned that the cheerful girl had been sorted to Huffelpuff from Pomona, but what he didn't know was that the password to the common room hadn't changed in several decades. The 'Puffs it seemed were too trusting, he concluded as several barrels hoped aside to reveal a short corridor.
The Badgers common room was warm and inviting, decorated in yellows and cream colors. The ceiling was low, trapping heat from the fireplaces and making the space warmer than the rest of the castle. He instantly liked the room, so different from his old barracks or even the Residence common room in University. The couches were mismatched but homely, fitting right in.
It was after curfew, and only a few students still remained. They looked up to see the two adults chatting comfortably, but didn't intrude. One usually had a reason for burning the midnight oil, and sleep was preferred to approaching the two outsiders at such an hour. They snuggled up on the couch, but kept their hands in appropriate places.
It wouldn't do for Pomona to walk in and catch them. He'd be banned for life, and she'd be dressed down by the sweet motherly woman worse than Mad Eye ever could. Professor Sprout was a force to be reckoned with, Tonks remembered none too fondly.
"So, where'd you learn to cook like that?" Her index finger was tracing figure eights over his T-shirt clad torso. She found it refreshing that he didn't wear any robes, which somehow managed to completely hide the figure of even the most toned Quidditch players. The tight boot cut jeans might have had something to do with it as well, she added while nibbling on her bottom lip.
His hand, which had been stroking her hair softly paused. Seconds ticked by, and she begun to wonder what she'd said wrong when he broke the uneasy silence that had descended.
"A very good friend of mine showed me, a long time ago. " He sounded sad, and Tonks mentally kicked herself for asking in the first place, despite it being a perfectly harmless question. She didn't want to dredge up bad memories, but couldn't contain her curiosity. "What happened?" she whispered, regretting asking as soon as the question left her lips.
"She died."
Tonks squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."
His soothing stroking of her hair continued. "It's all right. I would have told you eventually anyway."
The young witch was surprised. He was already making plans to share his past with her? They'd only known each other for two weeks, and a mere hours if you tallied the actual time spent together. From that one comment she discerned that he hadn't seen anyone in some time. It was the opposite with her. Men constantly came and went in her life, for various reasons. But he was so fast to open his heart to her. The realization left her feeling guilty, but also happy that he trusted her.
"She and I were close in high school. Home economics was her favorite class." Carson had to explain what the course entailed, seeing how Hogwarts didn't cover nearly the same things. It made sense that the muggles would offer courses on running a Household
"One day she made me the very same Pizza we had tonight, and I was hooked. The key is the tomato juice for the crust. …Makes it Pink. She coined it Rosy Dough."
There was another long pause, and Tonks could tell he was collecting himself enough to continue.
"During our senior year, she was diagnosed with a rare disease. It was incurable. I watched her fade over five months, growing weaker with each passing day. To keep my mind off of things I learnt to cook. Used her notes from school and practiced."
He chuckled at the memory. "Every day after school I'd bring her my concoctions. Muggle Hospital food is pretty bland you see. She said she loved every meal, but some of them were complete disasters."
Carson exhaled slowly.
"After she died I joined the army. Everywhere I went reminded me of her. I needed to get away, at least for a while. After basic and officer training, the whole Gulf region turned into a powder keg. My unit was moved into Saudi shortly after… it- It was nice being somewhere where it didn't hurt as much."
Tonks knew a little about the last muggle war. She was old enough to remember, and her dad always followed the news. The completely foreign images of the golden sand landscape, blemished by the foul soot of the pitch black smoke being blasted into the air. It looked like hell, even from the Telli.
'For him to actually enjoy it there…'
A single tear fell, rolling down her cheek. Then a sniff as her nose began to run.
He looked down, amazed that she'd shed tears because of what he'd said. That wasn't the intention at all. Carefully he pulled her closer.
"Tonks, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry."
She shook her head fiercely before removing herself from the couch, practically dragging him with her.
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see" she simply supplied while scrubbing the remaining moisture away with her sleeve. Not much of an answer, but really he didn't mind.
They exited the castle, pausing by the broom instructor's (what was her name again…Hootch?) storeroom to fetch one of the funny looking cleaning devices. She could have grabbed two, brooms after all had their own magic to power them. But seeing how her Carson had no experience with them one it was.
The thin stick was surprisingly comfortable he found, as if an invisible cushion that had been wrapped around the wood. He held on for dear life when she pushed off. Marines belonged on the ground, NOT in the air. Those crazy Force Recon Bastards didn't count! She laughed at his discomfort, and only teased him a bit with a few aerobatic moves while they flew up to her ultimate destination.
It was long thought that the Astronomy tower was the highest place in Hogwarts to make out. Tonks, back when she was a not so innocent 'puff challenged that idea by going higher. The founders it seemed had thought ahead, and placed another platform within the cone shaped roof of Hogwarts's highest tower. It was charmed to look like the roofing shingles that made up the castles water protective top, and only revealed itself if one was close enough. A permanent version of the bubblehead charm insulated the terrace from the elements.
Carson grasped the hidden meaning of their newest destination quickly, and blushed furiously when she went to place the broom against the Wall, swaying her hips seductively.
Despite the obvious signs, Carson hesitated to make the first move. Undeterred by this unusual show of restraint, the cute Metamorph forcefully pushed him back and onto a couch she'd silently conjured from the her old common room.
The presence of the piece of furniture momentarily startled him, but he quickly recovered and pulled her onto his lap. With a half muttered "impressive", the two locked lips for the first time. Her lip chap tasted like cherries, and her aggressiveness was like nothing he'd ever experienced before. Sarah had been his first and only, and by the time they'd gotten around to 'it' she had begun to grow frail. Handling her had been like touching a delicate piece of pottery, or a flower. Tonks on the other hand bristling with barley contained energy and lust. It was completely different, but not unenjoyable. He quickly matched her pace, much to her pleasure.
She quickly liberated him of that T he'd worn that evening while he fumbled around with the strange concept that was her Auror garb. With a giggle she shed her coat and shirt, leaving her in a pure white Camisole and bra. Very pleased with what he saw (Tonks cheated a bit) he went on the offensive, planting kisses on her neck while her fingers caressed and weaved through his brown hair.
She playfully swatted his chest when those kisses lingered and threatened to become hickies.
Within minutes both were practically starkers, and their relatively heated kisses turned innocent in comparison to their most current interactions.
"Wait", he practically moaned, mentally cursing himself for ever uttering the damned word. He just barley caught himself before it went too far. "What about protection?"
Tonks couldn't believe it. None of the guys she'd ever bedded had worried about such a thing. After all, anything that happened was her problem, according to them anyway. To think that he stopped himself to ask her that. The question made her want him all the more. But to answer his query and get on with it, she simply whispered: "Spells"
The cute 'O' his mouth made at the answer sent her over the edge. Her hands grasped him, one around the waist, the other…well you know. With that last bit of encouragement they connected, causing both to moan in pleasure. Needless to say Operation 'Woo the Auror' had been a smashing success.
oOo
Carson woke late the next morning, raising his head a bit to get his bearings. Then the half asleep young man recalled that he didn't have class until early afternoon and sunk back into the soft sheets. Memories of last night came flooding back after a few moment. He remembered the dinner, the talking. And the fact that his bed was no longer a single but a queen. And the reason it happened to grow like that. She was curled up into his chest, an untamable mess of lime green and strawberry red hair. It smelt of citrus, and tickled his nose when he turned to gaze at her sleeping from.
'But wasn't it pink yesterday?' He simply dismissed it as part of her abilities of being a witch. After all, he'd seen several pranks involving changing hair color. In fact, he'd been the recipient of one of those pranks. His good buddy Flitwick helped him when the neon green didn't go away after the third day.
More memories of last night sprang forth. All rather pleasant. Said thoughts eventually got him exited, and in the process roused his sleeping beauty.
"Why Professor" she teased. "Up and about so soon again I see?"
He blushed slightly, and busied himself by running his fingers through her hair.
"Hard not to with such a pretty woman lying next to me."
She rewarded him for his compliment with a long kiss.
"You know," she casually admitted after several minutes of comfortable silence; "I've always wanted to role play the whole student-teacher forbidden fruit thing. His eyes widened and before long Carson was in his classroom scrambling to rearrange the desks while Tonks transfigured some of his cloths into School robes.
Tonks has dated plenty before, and always seemed to go for the same type of guy. You know, the kind who talks smooth, has fun for a bit and moves on. It's what she knows, it's what she expects. For her to be treated like a real person and not just a fun toy surprises her. She doesn't have to worry about Carson wanting to use her for her gifts considering he doesn't know what a Metamorph is. In a way it will be new and exciting for both of them.
I don't want to focus exclusively on their relationship however. Their combined presence will play a bigger role later in the story, but for now it's still about Carson the professor.