Nymphadora Tonks was, much to her parents delight and regret, a most precocious and inquisitive child. Little went past her notice, and questions bubbled out of her mouth. Andromeda had long become accustomed to the inquisition her daughter often subjected her to. With every day of Primary School, Nymphadora would learn new questions to ask her mother. Some were harmless, others were rather baffling and sometimes even very embarrassing. Andromeda would bless that her young daughter was only six years old; she knew that Nymphadora had no shame in the bluntness of her questions, and it would not be much longer before the questions of love and sex started coming in.
Those, Andromeda had told herself, she would let Ted handle.
Per usual, Andromeda had picked Dora up from school, sighing as she found her daughter with plaid colored hair. Sensing her mother's question, Dora had proudly told her mother that Linus Cage had dared her that she couldn't turn her hair plaid. She had won his chocolate biscuit at snack for proving him wrong and decided to wear the hair style the rest of the day to show off her triumph.
Once they Flooed home, the string of questions began. Today Dora's class had learned how to count money. The teacher had created fake galleons, knuts, and sickles for the children to use. Dora first questioned why they were different colors and shapes, why they got their names, how do wizards carry around all of their gold if they want to buy something, and most importantly, how much was an ice cream Sunday.
Before supper, Andromeda pulled out some coins to let Dora proudly showed off what she had learned. She hid a smile as Dora began concentrating on counting, arranging the coins into separate piles then using her fingers to begin counting.
Ted came home just as Andromeda added a box of pasta noodles to a boiling pot. She stole a kiss from her husband before their daughter claimed his attention to show her father all that she had learned. She proudly demonstrated her counting abilities with the coins, then got her father to heartily laugh at turning her hair plaid.
Questions never ceased at the dinner table as well. Dora would ask her father what he did at work, and then stop him every two seconds to inquire as to what a potion or ingredient was. When she finally paused to eat, Andromeda gave a small smile at her husband, opening her mouth to begin a new conversation between the two. However, Nymphadora cut her off with a mouth full of pasta.
"Mum, what's a Mudblood?"
Andromeda's fork dropped onto her plate with a clank. She eyed her daughter with wide eyes then turned to Ted, anger filling her at the word. Ted said nothing, merely looked at his daughter with interest. Setting his fork down as well, he took his wife's hand. Andromeda knew his thoughts; the word bothered her more than it bothered him. Or at least, as much as he was willing to admit.
Dora was looking between her parents uneasily, as if she could tell that they were very upset. She shrank back in her seat as much as she could, her hair paling to her normal, or what they had at least figured was normal, color.
"Where did you hear that word, Dora?" Ted asked softly.
"At-at school," Dora said meekly, looking down at her plate with confusion and sadness. "When Linus Cage dared me to change my hair." She paused for a moment, scrunching up her face as she thought. "He said a Mudblood like me wouldn't be able to do it." She sat up a little bit straighter when she added "I sure showed him!" She slouched back down slightly, looking at her parents. "Why am I a Mudblood?"
"You're not," Ted answered with a smile. "I am."
Nymphadora's face scrunched up even more. "Is it because you're a boy?"
Ted chuckled and looked over at Andromeda. "No, sweetheart."
"Well then what's it mean?" Dora's eyes were trained on her mother.
Ted squeezed her hand slightly, prompting Andromeda to talk. "Well… Are Gran and Pop wizards?"
"Nope! They're Muggles," Dora answered proudly.
"Exactly. Because Gran and Pop are Muggles and your Dad is a Wizard, he's called a Muggleborn." She hesitated before she continued. "There are some people… a lot of people in our world that believe if you're a Muggleborn, you're not as good as everyone else."
Dora eyed her parents incredulously. "But Dad's the best Wizard there is!"
Ted began laughing loudly, motioning for his daughter to come over to him. Dora scampered around the table and jumped up into her father's lap, letting him hug her tightly. "Thank you, Dora," he chuckled.
Dora's brows were knit as she frowned at her father. "But you are! It's not funny!"
Ted smiled down at his daughter. "That I may be, but other's don't think so. They think that because Gran and Pop aren't Wizards, my blood is dirty; that I'm less of a wizard than them."
Dora pondered this for a second. "Mudblood's a bad word, isn't it?" she asked meekly.
"It is," Andromeda answered with a tense nod. "It's a very bad word, Dora. I don't want you using it. Ever." She reached over and stroked her daughter's hair. "Mommy gets very upset when people call your daddy a Mudblood. When you're older, you'll understand why."
Dora looked between her parents, nuzzling into her father's chest. "You're still my favorite Mudblood, Daddy."
