As Elena waits for Tonks and Andromeda to arrive at her home, she paces the length of the living room in an effort to dispel her excited energy. Both Riley and Joanna are sitting and reading, but they look up each time Elena passes by them.

After the fifth time Elena has paced by Riley, she puts her book down and catches Elena's forearm, stopping her. "Would you please cut that out? Wearing out the flooring isn't going to get Tonks here any faster, okay?"

"I know, I know, but I'm just so excited. I can't sit still!"

Joanna puts down her book as well and forces Elena to sit beside her on the couch. "We get that, but you really need to chill out. She'll be here soon enough, I promise."

"Tell us another story about Tonks. Maybe that will get you to focus on something else," Riley suggests.

Elena shrugs. "Okay. Hmm, a story about Tonks. Let me see. Have I told you guys about the time we snuck out of Hogwarts and went to Hogsmeade in our second year? Boy, we got into so much trouble when Snape caught us."

"No," Riley and Joanna answer simultaneously.

~3~

About half an hour later, a knock on the door disrupts the laughter of the three sisters. Elena, like a spring, jumps up from her seat and all but sprints to the door, throwing it wide open to reveal Tonks, whose hair is a vibrant pink today, and her mother standing on the threshold. Tonks instantly throws her arms around Elena's waist in a tight hug.

"Hello to you, too, Nymph," Elena says as she returns the hug.

Keeping her hands on Elena's shoulders, Tonks pulls away to look her friend over. "You've changed so much this summer! Like, oh my gosh! You look so different- so womanly!"

Elena blushes. "Yes, well, there would be a good reason for that."

"You started your period, didn't you?"

Elena's cheeks turn even redder than before, and she looks down at her feet. "Tonks! That's inappropriate of you to ask."

"So that's a yes."

"Fine. Yes, I started my period this summer, and the cramps are like hell on earth."

With a commiserating pat on Elena's shoulder, Tonks says, "Welcome to the crappy world of womanhood, where every step is agony while you're bleeding out of your va-"

"Nymphadora!" Andromeda yells, appalled by her daughter. "A proper young lady does not speak like that."

"Good thing I'm not a proper young lady, then."

"Much to my dismay," Andromeda huffs.

Elena takes a moment to analyze Andromeda's appearance. She doesn't look too different from when Elena last saw her at Christmastime. However, now she has a few gray hairs amongst her curly black locks. Something about her appearance seems extremely familiar to Elena, but she can't quite place her finger on it. She figures that it's because Tonks looks so similar to her mother.

"So," Andromeda says, "where is your mother? I was hoping to talk to her before I left."

"I'll go fetch her," Joanna says, ever the oldest, most responsible child. Without further ado, she walks away from everyone and heads into the kitchen.

Riley steps back and opens the door wider, dragging Elena and Tonks along with her. "Come in, please, Mrs. Tonks."

"Thank you," Andromeda says.

While Andromeda scrutinizes the house with a tight-lipped expression, Tonks is grinning from ear to ear at the pictures lining the walls.

"So this is what muggle pictures are like! Dad's shown me a few of his from when he was a child, but they always seem so strange to me," Tonks enthuses.

"What do you mean by 'muggle pictures'?" Riley asks, confused.

Tonks turns to her. "Pictures that don't move. In the Wizarding World, pictures are like a- what do you call them again, Elena?"

"Gifs. They're pretty much gifs, just on paper, Riles," Elena answers.

Riley's brows furrow. "That's strange. How are you guys able to make pictures move?"

Tonks shrugs. "Beats me. Some kind of spell, I guess."

"It's done with a specialized Locomotor spell within the ink cartridges of the cameras," Elena says. Tonks and Riley both look at her with befuddled expressions. "What? I read a book about Wizarding inventions in my first year."

Tonks snorts, which Andromeda huffs at. "Of course you did, whiz chick."

Before Elena gets a chance to respond, Joanna and Michelle walk over to the group.

Michelle stops in front of Andromeda and gives her a quick hug. "It's nice to see you again, Andromeda."

"Likewise, Michelle. Thank you for allowing Tonks to spend the week here. She's talked about nothing else all summer."

"Thank you for letting her come. Elena's excited to show Tonks a bit of Muggle London while she's here." She then gestures with her hand to show her the room. "Welcome to our humble abode. Would you like some tea?"

Andromeda smiles. "Yes, please. Let me help you so that the girls can have a chance to catch up with one another."

Michelle nods. "What a wonderful idea, Andromeda." The two walk back into the kitchen together, leaving the four girls alone in the entry hall.

"So," Joanna says, and the others turn to face her, "Elena just finished telling us some stories about things you two have gotten up to at Hogwarts."

Tonks smiles sheepishly. "Uh oh. Hopefully she didn't tell you the more colorful stories."

Riley snorts. "Let me see- there's the story about SexEd with Snape, getting caught placing a dung bomb under Snape's classroom door-"

"For the record, Elena dared me to do that."

As though she doesn't hear Tonks, Riley plows on. "-and that one time you sent a Howler- whatever that is- to Snape. You really don't like Snape, do you?"

"Nope. But Elena does."

Both Riley and Joanna turn to look at Elena, whose face has gone bright red again.

A Cheshire Cat grin taking over her face, Riley asks, "Elena, is there something you would like to tell your favorite sisters?"

Elena rolls her eyes as she tries her best to keep her blush at bay. Never has she wished so hard that she could be a Metamorphmagus like Tonks. "For the record, you guys are my only sisters."

Joanna nudges her shoulder playfully. "Don't avoid the question, Ellie Wellie."

"Don't call me that. And I'm not avoiding the question; I'm merely stating a fact."

"Then answer the damn question," Riley says, impatient as always.

Tonks's grin turns sinister. "I'll tell them if you want, Els."

Elena points a threatening finger at her. "Don't you dare, Nymphadora."

Tonks mutters something that sounds suspiciously like, "I will jinx you into next year."

"Answer the question," Joanna urges.

"Oh, fine," Elena relents. "Snape is my favorite professor. He always seems to keep a close eye on me, and he's always there for me when I need him."

A soft smile spreads across Joanna's lips. "You have a crush on the infamous Snape, Elena."

Elena's eyes widen comically. "There's absolutely no way that I-"

Tonks cuts her off. "Save it, sweetcheeks. You have a crush on Snape. There's no use denying it when we can all see that look in your eyes."

"There's no look in my eyes."

Joanna tweaks her nose. "I see the feelings you have for Professor Snape in those lovely blue eyes of yours. It's as clear as day, littlest sister. The only person you're fooling is yourself, and you're not doing a very good job at that."

"Can we drop the subject? Please?" Elena all but begs.

"You're going to have to admit your feelings at some point," Riley says, but she drops the subject.

~3~

Later that evening, after Michelle has gone to sleep, the four young girls head to the living room to watch a movie. They've gathered all of the spare pillows and blankets and are practically drowning amongst them on the floor, where they're sitting. There's freshly popped popcorn and a big tub of ice cream for them to share.

"My grandma has one of these tele things at her house. She likes to watch soap operas and always forces me to watch them with her," Tonks states as she grabs a handful of popcorn and shoves it in her mouth.

"Don't worry, Tonks; we won't make you watch any soap operas. But what should we watch?" Joanna asks.

"I'm thinking The Parent Trap," Elena suggests.

"Yes!" Riley exclaims, a little too loudly. The others shush her; they don't want Michelle to wake up and catch them. "Tonks will absolutely love that movie."

"It'll get her evil genius brain running in overdrive," Joanna says.

That peaks Tonks's attention. "I definitely want to watch this movie now."

A couple of hours later, as the end credits for the movie are rolling, Tonks says, "Those are the most epic pranks I have ever seen. Els, we're going to need to step up our game this year."

"Agreed."

"Now I see why Mum gets all of those letters from Hogwarts," Joanna mutters.

~3~

The next day is the day of the wedding. The four girls all get up early to get ready for it. Joanna sets about doing Tonks's and Elena's makeup, while Riley does their hair. Neither of the younger girls argues because they want to look their best- Elena because she wants to show her father how good she's doing, and Tonks because she wants to make a good first impression on Elena's father.

"I'm going to set your guys' hair so it doesn't fall," Riley explains as she shields their eyes and sprays hairspray on their hair.

Joanna has already finished with their makeup, and she's extremely pleased with the results. "You two look absolutely stunning."

Riley smirks. "Father will be absolutely pissed off. It's going to be such a fun day!"

"Amen, sister," Elena mutters under her breath.

~3~

To pass time during the reception, Tonks shows off her Metamorphmagus abilities to the Davies girls, who watch her with laughter and awe.

"Wait," Riley says after Tonks has Morphed her nose to look like a pig's snout. "Can you Morph into specific people?"

"You bet your arse I can."

"Well, Father's coming this way right now. If you Morph into Snape, I bet it'll scare the living hell out of him."

Tonks smirks mischievously, then sets about Morphing her features into those of Snape's. When she finishes, it's scary how similar she looks to Snape. The only major difference is that Tonks is much shorter because she's unable to Morph her height, but other than that, they could be identical twins.

Their father stops just behind Tonks, so he's unable to see anything of what she's wearing. The Davies girls have to bite their lips to keep from laughing and ruining the prank.

"What are you four up to?" Their father asks.

"Nothing," the three sisters respond.

Tonks turns around to face John, but he doesn't immediately take notice of her. "Nice to see you again, Mister Davies," Tonks says in her best impression of Snape's voice, and it's pretty spot on.

John jumps back in surprise, but he quickly regains his composure and glares at Tonks. "I don't remember inviting you to my wedding."

"That is because you did not. I wanted to see to it myself that no harm would come to Elena while she attends this ostentatious event."

"You have no right being here, nor any right to tell me how to parent my own children," John growls.

"Maybe not, but if I find out about you hurting Elena ever again, I will make sure to see to it myself that you will never do it again."

John grows pale before he stalks off in the direction of where Becky is standing.

The four girls burst into fits of laughter as Tonks lets go of her Morph.

"That was priceless!" Riley chokes out.

Elena gives Tonks a side hug. "Thanks for having my back like that."

"Of course. It's my duty as your best friend to always have your back."

~3~

"What's a waterpark?" Tonks asks, her head slightly tilted to the side in confusion.

Riley smirks. "You're about to find out."

The four girls are currently in the car, as Michelle is taking them to a waterpark. Today is the last day Tonks is staying with them; tomorrow morning, Andromeda and Ted are coming to pick up Elena and Tonks to spend the last week of the summer holidays at their house. Seeing as such, Michelle wanted the day to be extra special for their guest.

"It's a playground made of water!" Tonks exclaims as she looks around.

"An interesting way of putting it, but yeah. That's pretty much exactly what it is," Elena replies, throwing her arm around Tonks's shoulders.

~3~

On the morning of the last day of summer break, there's a sudden knock on the door. Elena and Tonks look at each other, confused.

"Nymphadora, please get the door," Andromeda hollers from the study, where she's working on paperwork for the Ministry.

Tonks rolls her eyes but gets up anyway and answers the door.

"SURPRISE!" A myriad of voices exclaims.

Elena's eyes fly up from her book to the door. Standing on the porch are the faces of Phoenix, Charlie, James, and Ryan. She jumps up from her spot on the couch and engulfs them all in a massive group hug, which they immediately return.

"Wait," Elena says, pulling away from them. "Why are all of you guys here? Don't get me wrong, I'm happy you're here, but I am a bit confused by it. You're not here to check up on me, are you?"

Phoenix smiles sheepishly. "Not exactly."

Elena glares at her and crosses her arms. "Please elaborate."

Just then, Andromeda comes bustling over to the group and invites them inside. "Elena, there is no need for you to be so confrontational. I invited them all here to spend the day in Diagon Alley with us to get your school supplies; I thought it would be a nice treat for us all."

"That does sound like fun. Thank you, Mrs. Tonks." Then Elena turns to Tonks. "Did you know about this?"

Tonks holds her hands up in surrender. "I'm just as surprised as you are, nerd girl."

Andromeda whacks Tonks on the back of her head. "Nymphadora! You do not call your friends rude names."

Ted comes down the stairs and smiles. "It's good to see everyone has made it here safely. Come in and have brunch with us, and then we will all go to Diagon Alley."

~3~

The first thing the group does when they get to Diagon Alley is going to Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlor. They each order their ice creams, then find a table outside.

"Thank Merlin we don't have to take our O.W.L.s until next year," Tonks says as she takes a giant bite out of her mint and bubblegum ice cream cone.

"I can't imagine what fifth year will be like, and I'm certainly not looking forward to it," James agrees.

"Bill likes to tell stories about how several of his classmates lost their minds due to anxiety and over-studying. Personally, I think he's full of it," Charlie says.

"I highly doubt it will be as difficult as we've all been led to believe. But even if it is, we will get through it together," Phoenix says, raising her ice cream cone.

"Hear, hear," everyone choruses, raising their own ice creams.

Afterward, as they begin shopping for their school items, James pulls Elena off to a secluded corner of one of the shops. Elena can tell he's nervous, but she can't fathom why.

James nervously runs a hand through his hair. "Do you want to go on a date with me," he nervously blurts.

Elena's eyes widen as a sickening feeling spreads through her stomach. A picture of Snape flits through her mind, and she wishes it wouldn't have. However, her feelings for Snape are the exact reason she smiles and says, "I'd love that."

The sickening feeling worsens.

~3~

Andromeda wakes Tonks and Elena up early the next morning to get them to Kings Cross in time. It takes Elena threatening to dump water on Tonks to get the latter out of bed and getting ready for the day ahead.

"You wouldn't actually pour water on me to wake me up, would you?" Tonks asks.

Elena gives her a look. "Keep telling yourself that, Nymph."

Like the mature teenager she is, Tonks sticks her tongue out at her. "You're a meanie."

Elena sticks her own tongue out at Tonks. "At least you always know I have your back."

~3~

About halfway through their trip back to Hogwarts, the train comes to a screeching halt. Elena and her friends immediately exit their compartment, only to see the rest of the students doing the same, all just as confused as they are.

"Does anyone know what's going on?"

"Where are we?"

"There's no way we're at the school yet."

"What happened?"

Elena can't figure out who's saying what; it's absolute pandemonium in the small and crowded walkway.

"I want everyone back in their compartments this instant!" A commanding voice yells over the noise.

No one wants to do as the person has said, but after being yelled at again, everyone does as they're told.

Elena, Tonks, and Fifi are sitting on a bench, all clutching hands. However, Charlie, James, and Ryan are all standing and quietly chatting with each other. Out of them all, Tonks is probably the least perturbed by everything.

"What do you guys think is going on?" Elena asks, trying her hardest to stop worrying about what's happening but failing miserably. She can tell she's on the verge of an attack, which she's trying to push down because she knows that's the last thing everyone needs to worry about right now.

"I don't have a clue," Phoenix replies. She's been unconsciously biting her fingernails since the beginning of this ordeal.

"Tonks? You must have some idea about these kinds of things? Your mother is an Auror, after all," Ryan questions.

The girl in question snorts. "Mum likes to keep her work life and private life completely separate. If she had it her way, I wouldn't even know she's an Auror."

"Let's be sensible about this. If there were something really wrong, they would tell us and figure out a way to keep us safe. So that means nothing's wrong, right?" Phoenix nervously rambles.

Charlie sits down beside her and takes her hand, rubbing soothing circles over her knuckles with his thumb. "Everything's going to be alright, beautiful."

Tonks makes a gagging sound. "Get a room."

"You two are so sweet it gives me a cavity," Elena deadpans.

Before either of the lovebirds gets a chance to respond, the compartment door crashes open. All six of them jump, frightened. The person standing in the entryway places even more fear in each of their stomachs.

"Miss Davies, I need you to come with me right now," Snape commands, no room for argument in his drawling voice.

Elena stays rooted in her seat. "Why? What's going on?"

"I need you to come with me."

"Not until you tell me what's going on."

"I will explain everything, but you need to come with me right now," Snape says, nervously glancing behind him.

Seeing Snape nervous alerts Elena to the seriousness of the situation. She gets up and immediately walks over to Snape, not bothering to say anything to her friends, who are all curiously glancing between her and Snape.

Snape grabs Elena's hand and, without any preamble, Disapparates them. The darkness and cold of the magic traveling close in on Elena until a sickening feeling settles deep in her stomach. Finally, after what feels like an eternity and a fraction of a second at the same time, they land on solid ground.

*Hides behind bulletproof glass* Sorry for the cliffy, my loves!

Hello, everyone! Long time, no post, eh? Sorry for the long wait for this chapter! This past month has been absolutely insane for me, so I hope y'all are patient with me as I deal with all of this craziness in my life.

Anywho, I hope y'all have enjoyed this chapter and that it's up to my usual standard! And, as usual, I would love to hear y'all's comments and theories! Until next time, my loves!