Chapter 6 -- Second Chance
It was a lazy afternoon two months later. The safe house appeared to be working so far. Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom were also there now. Harry checked the Daily Prophet and other news sources daily, but there were no signs of other attacks.
Harry was getting bored cooped up here. He and Hermione were playing pool in a large game room. Hermione was calculating all the angles and discussing all the shots in detail, which was extremely boring.
Tonks came into the room smiling.
"Come on guys, I have something to show you," said Tonks to Harry and Hermione. She led the way upstairs to the large attic room which had been soundproofed for dueling practice.
"One nice thing about being a metamorphagus is that no one knows what I really look like. Would you like to see?" asked Tonks slyly.
"Sure," said Harry.
Tonks hunched over, hiding her face, and her whole body because short and squat. Suddenly she looked up, revealing the leering face of Dolores Umbridge!
"Hem hem," she said.
Harry jumped, then burst out laughing. "That's a good one, Tonks. You look just like her!"
Hermione giggled. "Wow. You had us going for a second there."
Tonks raised her wand: "Ligatos!" Suddenly ropes sprang from nowhere and bound Harry and Hermione together, arms pinned tightly to their sides.
"Actually, I am Dolores Umbridge," she smirked, "And I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill you."
Too late, Harry realized that when Voldemort had said, "I shall get at Potter through someone he...", he had been about to say "someone he trusts."
"You used polyjuice!" said Harry, "What have you done with the real Tonks?"
"Nothing as simple as that feeble-minded Barty Crouch Jr. imposture. I am, and always have been Dolores Umbridge."
"How can that be? You couldn't be running Hogwarts and working as an Auror in the Ministry of Magic at the same time," said Harry.
"I could. There are some devices in the Ministry of Magic called..."
"Time turners!" said Hermione.
"Exactly, though you must have been snooping where you shouldn't have been to know about them," said Umbridge, with her usual sickly-sweet smile. "Several years ago I was able to get hold of one with a large adjustable time range. Since I was a secret metamorphagus, I decided to set up a second chance for myself in case of a serious career blunder. I found records of a young woman of an off-branch of the Black family. She had died in infancy, but since her branch of the family was disowned and most of her relatives were dead or in Azkaban it was an easy matter to create a new forged indentity in her name, Nymphadora Tonks. I really do hate that first name, you know."
Not long after I finished the forged identity, Tonks actually appeared. I knew some time in the future I would make a terrible mistake, but I never dared to try to find out what it was. There would be time paradoxes with horrible consequences if I did. All I could do was cover for any problems that came up and push my new career along from the sidelines."
Then the crash came. You two little monsters tricked me and I was humilated in front of everyone. My career was over and I was sure to be arrested when that small matter of the dementors was investigated. So I made my way to my hidden time turner and jumped back."
It hasn't been easy starting over. I had to pretend to be younger than I was. I'm not as spry as a young girl, so I got a reputation for being clumsy. But with the help of my earlier self I succeeded in becoming an Auror."
"How did you get into the Order?" asked Hermione.
"By a stroke of luck, I picked a family that the fugitive Sirius Black happened to like. He hadn't followed their history closely of course, being in Azkaban, but he recommended me because he liked my 'mother'. I've been playing the rough-and-ready rebel, as far from my old personality as possible, and it appealed to those Order of the Phoenix traitors. It has put me in a perfect place for my revenge. I had to wait for it until now because I couldn't change anything I remembered."
"You've never given any sign of how you really felt," said Harry.
"I couldn't resist pretending to trip in the hallway. I wanted to hear Black's mother yelling at all of you, saying things I wished I could say. Another problem was that Kreacher refused to obey my orders. Sirius thought it was because my branch had been blotted off the tapestry, but the real reason is that I'm no relation to his family at all."
But Bellatrix knew her sister's child had died young, and after she escaped, Wormtail approached me. I decided to throw in my lot with them and really get my revenge on Dumbledore and the whole pack of you. The Death Eaters blew up the Weasley's joke shop and the Quibbler at my special request. It was a long-overdue revenge."
"But you fought them at the Ministry of Magic, didn't you?" said Hermione.
"You may not have noticed, but I did practically nothing in that fight. I fired off a few spells that missed, then took a tumble as if I had been hit."
"They all knew you were on their side?" asked Harry.
"Yes, and I even helped them. When that red beam missed Sirius he taunted Bellatrix, knowing it would take a moment to set up another spell. From where I had fallen on the stairs, playing possum, I got in a shot -- the one that sent him through the Veil! I think he saw me at the last moment. That's why he looked so surprised. Heh heh."
"YOU! You killed Sirius!" shouted Harry in a rage, tugging at the bonds.
"I wanted him dead, because failing to force you to tell me his location was a big part of my humilation and defeat. And I knew it would hurt you; I really enjoy hurting you." She smiled wider than ever.
"You monster!" cried Hermione, "You can't hurt Harry here. The blood charm protects him."
"That's what you think, but you're very wrong," gloated Umbridge. "I've tricked the Dursleys into leaving the house. I told them what they were eager to believe, that they could get away from you and still be safe. The Death Eaters have them now. If they're not dead, they wish they were."
"Nooo!" yelled Harry. He had hated the Dursleys, but he couldn't wish torture and death on them.
"Once I kill you, I'll be richly rewarded by the Dark Lord. But I'd gladly do it for free. Good-bye, and AVEDRA KEDAVRA!"
The green light of the spell flashed before Harry's eyes, and he knew it was all over. But the light rebounded from them, and hit Umbridge! She died instantly, without even time for a scream.
"H-how can that be?" said Harry. "I have no blood relatives here. What protected us this time?"
"I think I know," said Hermione. "I... I felt sorry for your cousin Dudley. He was so afraid, and he wanted to know about magic so much. I started visiting him in his room at night to teach him, and one thing led to another..."
"You and DUDLEY? I can't believe it," said Harry. "But that still doesn't make you a blood relative."
"I guess... I must be pregnant," said Hermione softly.
It was a lazy afternoon two months later. The safe house appeared to be working so far. Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom were also there now. Harry checked the Daily Prophet and other news sources daily, but there were no signs of other attacks.
Harry was getting bored cooped up here. He and Hermione were playing pool in a large game room. Hermione was calculating all the angles and discussing all the shots in detail, which was extremely boring.
Tonks came into the room smiling.
"Come on guys, I have something to show you," said Tonks to Harry and Hermione. She led the way upstairs to the large attic room which had been soundproofed for dueling practice.
"One nice thing about being a metamorphagus is that no one knows what I really look like. Would you like to see?" asked Tonks slyly.
"Sure," said Harry.
Tonks hunched over, hiding her face, and her whole body because short and squat. Suddenly she looked up, revealing the leering face of Dolores Umbridge!
"Hem hem," she said.
Harry jumped, then burst out laughing. "That's a good one, Tonks. You look just like her!"
Hermione giggled. "Wow. You had us going for a second there."
Tonks raised her wand: "Ligatos!" Suddenly ropes sprang from nowhere and bound Harry and Hermione together, arms pinned tightly to their sides.
"Actually, I am Dolores Umbridge," she smirked, "And I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill you."
Too late, Harry realized that when Voldemort had said, "I shall get at Potter through someone he...", he had been about to say "someone he trusts."
"You used polyjuice!" said Harry, "What have you done with the real Tonks?"
"Nothing as simple as that feeble-minded Barty Crouch Jr. imposture. I am, and always have been Dolores Umbridge."
"How can that be? You couldn't be running Hogwarts and working as an Auror in the Ministry of Magic at the same time," said Harry.
"I could. There are some devices in the Ministry of Magic called..."
"Time turners!" said Hermione.
"Exactly, though you must have been snooping where you shouldn't have been to know about them," said Umbridge, with her usual sickly-sweet smile. "Several years ago I was able to get hold of one with a large adjustable time range. Since I was a secret metamorphagus, I decided to set up a second chance for myself in case of a serious career blunder. I found records of a young woman of an off-branch of the Black family. She had died in infancy, but since her branch of the family was disowned and most of her relatives were dead or in Azkaban it was an easy matter to create a new forged indentity in her name, Nymphadora Tonks. I really do hate that first name, you know."
Not long after I finished the forged identity, Tonks actually appeared. I knew some time in the future I would make a terrible mistake, but I never dared to try to find out what it was. There would be time paradoxes with horrible consequences if I did. All I could do was cover for any problems that came up and push my new career along from the sidelines."
Then the crash came. You two little monsters tricked me and I was humilated in front of everyone. My career was over and I was sure to be arrested when that small matter of the dementors was investigated. So I made my way to my hidden time turner and jumped back."
It hasn't been easy starting over. I had to pretend to be younger than I was. I'm not as spry as a young girl, so I got a reputation for being clumsy. But with the help of my earlier self I succeeded in becoming an Auror."
"How did you get into the Order?" asked Hermione.
"By a stroke of luck, I picked a family that the fugitive Sirius Black happened to like. He hadn't followed their history closely of course, being in Azkaban, but he recommended me because he liked my 'mother'. I've been playing the rough-and-ready rebel, as far from my old personality as possible, and it appealed to those Order of the Phoenix traitors. It has put me in a perfect place for my revenge. I had to wait for it until now because I couldn't change anything I remembered."
"You've never given any sign of how you really felt," said Harry.
"I couldn't resist pretending to trip in the hallway. I wanted to hear Black's mother yelling at all of you, saying things I wished I could say. Another problem was that Kreacher refused to obey my orders. Sirius thought it was because my branch had been blotted off the tapestry, but the real reason is that I'm no relation to his family at all."
But Bellatrix knew her sister's child had died young, and after she escaped, Wormtail approached me. I decided to throw in my lot with them and really get my revenge on Dumbledore and the whole pack of you. The Death Eaters blew up the Weasley's joke shop and the Quibbler at my special request. It was a long-overdue revenge."
"But you fought them at the Ministry of Magic, didn't you?" said Hermione.
"You may not have noticed, but I did practically nothing in that fight. I fired off a few spells that missed, then took a tumble as if I had been hit."
"They all knew you were on their side?" asked Harry.
"Yes, and I even helped them. When that red beam missed Sirius he taunted Bellatrix, knowing it would take a moment to set up another spell. From where I had fallen on the stairs, playing possum, I got in a shot -- the one that sent him through the Veil! I think he saw me at the last moment. That's why he looked so surprised. Heh heh."
"YOU! You killed Sirius!" shouted Harry in a rage, tugging at the bonds.
"I wanted him dead, because failing to force you to tell me his location was a big part of my humilation and defeat. And I knew it would hurt you; I really enjoy hurting you." She smiled wider than ever.
"You monster!" cried Hermione, "You can't hurt Harry here. The blood charm protects him."
"That's what you think, but you're very wrong," gloated Umbridge. "I've tricked the Dursleys into leaving the house. I told them what they were eager to believe, that they could get away from you and still be safe. The Death Eaters have them now. If they're not dead, they wish they were."
"Nooo!" yelled Harry. He had hated the Dursleys, but he couldn't wish torture and death on them.
"Once I kill you, I'll be richly rewarded by the Dark Lord. But I'd gladly do it for free. Good-bye, and AVEDRA KEDAVRA!"
The green light of the spell flashed before Harry's eyes, and he knew it was all over. But the light rebounded from them, and hit Umbridge! She died instantly, without even time for a scream.
"H-how can that be?" said Harry. "I have no blood relatives here. What protected us this time?"
"I think I know," said Hermione. "I... I felt sorry for your cousin Dudley. He was so afraid, and he wanted to know about magic so much. I started visiting him in his room at night to teach him, and one thing led to another..."
"You and DUDLEY? I can't believe it," said Harry. "But that still doesn't make you a blood relative."
"I guess... I must be pregnant," said Hermione softly.