Percy, as she insisted on being called, turned out to be great fun, and
after her arrival Harry hardly knew a dull moment. Firstly, there were the
fascinating gadgets and trinkets she'd brought with her from America in her
four scarlet trunks. One trunk was completely filled with sweets and
snacks: Droobles Best Blowing Gum, Toothflossing Stringmints, Pepper Imps,
Ice Mice, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and something that looked
suspiciously like a bit of Cockroach Cluster. "They're really quite good,"
Persephone told him, chewing a large piece thoughtfully while Harry looked
revolted. "They don't taste like bugs; more like cashews, really." In
addition, there were loads of sweets that Harry had never seen before and
which he assumed must be sold exclusively on the American market. There
were sugar-spun cowboy hats, lovely red, white, and blue hard candies that
made you sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" while you sucked them, and a
package of funny little squares of gum that, if you chewed them, would give
you temporary gymnastic abilities far beyond what you could ordinarily do.
"Stella Starsinger's Extra-Stretch Chewing Gum," Percy told him gravely.
"Wonderful stuff, Harry. I've been known to do triple back flips and six
consecutive summersaults on a balance beam with that gum in my mouth. Of
course, our Ministry has a terrible time controlling it; wizards keep
smuggling it out to the Muggle world, trying to sell it to Muggle athletes
who want to win the Olympic games without having to do any training at all,
you see."
In another trunk she'd brought her pet Kneazel, Stardust. Stardust resembled a lovely white cat, except for her large, bat-like ears, her lion's tail, and the bright green spots covering her glossy coat. "Kneazels make excellent pets," Percy told him as she pulled Stardust out of her gilded silver cage. "They're super smart, they have a great sense of independence, and they can definitely protect you as well as any guard dragon. Plus, they're kinda like live Sneakoscopes; they can sense dangerous or untrustworthy people, and that can come in handy when you're-"
Suddenly she stopped talking, pausing as if she had caught herself about to say something forbidden.
". when you're a bodyguard to the famous Harry Potter," she finished hastily, and ignored the curious glances Harry kept shooting at her for several days.
But Percy was at her most entertaining when she and Harry talked Quidditch. Being from the United States, she knew all about American Quidditch teams, and told Harry long and exciting stories about her favourite team, the Fitchburg Finches, and their thrilling matches with a rival team, the Sweetwater All-Stars. Her preferred topic of conversation in the realm of Quidditch was the Finches' star seeker, Maximus Brankovitch III, who, according to Percy, was "absolutely the most amazing, ruggedly handsome, and wildly talented man ever to hit the Quidditch pitch." Harry silently disagreed, but six years in the wizarding world had taught him not to argue with a young witch over how good-looking her favorite Quidditch player was.
Percy, however, wasn't the only person in the wizarding world with whom Harry had contact. Lupin, good to his word, dropped in at regular intervals to check up on Harry, often bringing along another member of the Order. One time Mad-Eye Moody had come for tea, growling about Harry's mistreatment at the hands of Muggles and leering unpleasantly at the Dursleys, who were all three starting to show the strain of putting up with a constant stream of wizards. Aunt Petunia tended to burst into tears at odd moments of the day, Dudley had actually lost fifteen pounds from hiding in his room without having access to the refrigerator, and Uncle Vernon had developed a tick in his right eye that sometimes caused him to have to sit down for a bit and drink copious amounts of brandy.
~*~
It had been several weeks after Percy had arrived, and she and Harry were sitting outside enjoying the lovely summer weather. Percy had also brought with her two lovely folding chairs, which could be compressed into a small bundle the size of a Galleon and popped right into a pocket or a handbag. It was in these chairs they were sitting, and Percy was explaining to Harry the finer points of Quodpot, a wildly popular wizarding game in America that was similar to Quidditch except for the fact that the Quaffle (which was called the Quod in this case) tended to blow up at odd moments during the match.
"But, isn't that.a little distracting?" Harry asked. "I mean, isn't it a lot more complicated?"
"Yeah, but you know us Americans. We love surprises!" Percy quipped.
"Do you?" came a third, unknown, voice. "How about this for a surprise, then?"
Immediately, with no reaction time whatsoever, Percy rolled out of her chair, leapt in front of Harry to shield him from the speaker, and whipped her wand out in front of her. For several seconds, no one moved. No one seemed to be there. "Show yourself!" shouted Percy as she pushed Harry to the ground and forced him to remain behind her with his head tucked down on his knees.
"Leaping leprechauns, Percy!" came the voice. "It's only me! Don't shoot!"
And Tonks materialized out of thin air, pulling off what seemed to be an Invisibility Cloak.
Still Percy remained tense. "How do I know it's really you, Nymphadora?" she called suspiciously, her wand held at the really.
"Don't call me Nymphadora!" Tonks shot back. "It's Tonks, and you know it."
Instantly, Percy relaxed. "Tonks, you idiot," she grumbled, looking rather pleased in spite of herself. "You could have acted like a normal witch for once and let me know you were coming."
Tonks flew at Percy and hugged her tightly. "You're the stupid one," she muttered, her voice muffled by Percy's left shoulder. "You're the one who has to go diving all about, scaring Harry near to death and making a scene. If anyone's a git, it's you, Percy."
Percy grinned.
When Tonks finally released Percy, she was offered a seat in the yard; a third folding chair had mysteriously appeared and Tonks flopped down in it with the air of someone who has been working much harder than she ever has in her life. Her eyes looked tired, and her face was weary in spite of her infectious grin. "Had some fun with a couple people on my way here," she told Harry as Percy conjured a goblet of Firewhiskey for her out of thin air. "I made my hair look like writhing snakes. Scared the security wizard at the Ministry Atrium. Thought I was Medusa or something. It was quite entertaining."
"Tonks, you really need to quit that," Percy replied sternly. "One of these days they're going to hit you with some jinx or other and then you'll be hauled in to the Wizangamot.good God, just think of what a bad image that would make for all the Aurors in your Ministry."
Tonks winked.
"Percy and I worked together once, in the same office," Tonks told Harry. "It was back when she came over to do some work for our Ministry, about two years ago. She's not only one of my best friends; she's also a world-famous nag! And the best part is, she's worse than I am! Oh, you should see some of the stuff she pulls off.bashing all over London with me on an illegal flying carpet, partying all night with those Latvian warlocks, and of course there was the time she dated that guitarist for the Weird Sisters.what was his name again?"
"All I'm saying is that your job is at stake," Percy replied calmly, "And if you were sensible you'd stop doing this sort of stuff."
"Well, I think my Ministry might take it better than you'd think, Percy.but not as well as your Ministry would, I hear. We've been getting all sorts of rumors about your lot, and how the Americans are becoming more- "
"You know very well that I can't discuss that, not with Harry here."
Tonks looked astonished. "You mean you haven't told him ANYTHING?"
"Well," Percy cried, her voice rising impatiently, "Fudge expressly told me that he'd prefer it if Harry didn't know, and that way he couldn't try and garner any favors-"
"Oh come off it, Harry wouldn't do that!" Tonks countered. She had a slight smile on her face, as if she were trying to goad Percy into doing something.
"I know that!" Percy practically shrieked, "And YOU know that, but Fudge is a different breed! I just don't understand that man! He wants to be all secretive and sly, but he doesn't give me any suggestions as to what alias I should come up with! It's as if he thinks Harry is stupid or something! I can't believe that your people can put up with him; honestly, I can't see how you work there with that kind of foolishness going on! And don't you dare laugh," she hollered at Tonks, who was bubbling over with laughter and attempting to hide her grin behind her hand, "Because you know what kind of situation I'm in, you know how hard I had to work to get where I am, to throw off the stigma of my birth, and.and.NYMPHADORA TONKS DON'T YOU LAUGH AT ME!"
And then, amid Tonk's roaring laughter, her load of black, spiky hair shot up in electric yellow flames.
In another trunk she'd brought her pet Kneazel, Stardust. Stardust resembled a lovely white cat, except for her large, bat-like ears, her lion's tail, and the bright green spots covering her glossy coat. "Kneazels make excellent pets," Percy told him as she pulled Stardust out of her gilded silver cage. "They're super smart, they have a great sense of independence, and they can definitely protect you as well as any guard dragon. Plus, they're kinda like live Sneakoscopes; they can sense dangerous or untrustworthy people, and that can come in handy when you're-"
Suddenly she stopped talking, pausing as if she had caught herself about to say something forbidden.
". when you're a bodyguard to the famous Harry Potter," she finished hastily, and ignored the curious glances Harry kept shooting at her for several days.
But Percy was at her most entertaining when she and Harry talked Quidditch. Being from the United States, she knew all about American Quidditch teams, and told Harry long and exciting stories about her favourite team, the Fitchburg Finches, and their thrilling matches with a rival team, the Sweetwater All-Stars. Her preferred topic of conversation in the realm of Quidditch was the Finches' star seeker, Maximus Brankovitch III, who, according to Percy, was "absolutely the most amazing, ruggedly handsome, and wildly talented man ever to hit the Quidditch pitch." Harry silently disagreed, but six years in the wizarding world had taught him not to argue with a young witch over how good-looking her favorite Quidditch player was.
Percy, however, wasn't the only person in the wizarding world with whom Harry had contact. Lupin, good to his word, dropped in at regular intervals to check up on Harry, often bringing along another member of the Order. One time Mad-Eye Moody had come for tea, growling about Harry's mistreatment at the hands of Muggles and leering unpleasantly at the Dursleys, who were all three starting to show the strain of putting up with a constant stream of wizards. Aunt Petunia tended to burst into tears at odd moments of the day, Dudley had actually lost fifteen pounds from hiding in his room without having access to the refrigerator, and Uncle Vernon had developed a tick in his right eye that sometimes caused him to have to sit down for a bit and drink copious amounts of brandy.
~*~
It had been several weeks after Percy had arrived, and she and Harry were sitting outside enjoying the lovely summer weather. Percy had also brought with her two lovely folding chairs, which could be compressed into a small bundle the size of a Galleon and popped right into a pocket or a handbag. It was in these chairs they were sitting, and Percy was explaining to Harry the finer points of Quodpot, a wildly popular wizarding game in America that was similar to Quidditch except for the fact that the Quaffle (which was called the Quod in this case) tended to blow up at odd moments during the match.
"But, isn't that.a little distracting?" Harry asked. "I mean, isn't it a lot more complicated?"
"Yeah, but you know us Americans. We love surprises!" Percy quipped.
"Do you?" came a third, unknown, voice. "How about this for a surprise, then?"
Immediately, with no reaction time whatsoever, Percy rolled out of her chair, leapt in front of Harry to shield him from the speaker, and whipped her wand out in front of her. For several seconds, no one moved. No one seemed to be there. "Show yourself!" shouted Percy as she pushed Harry to the ground and forced him to remain behind her with his head tucked down on his knees.
"Leaping leprechauns, Percy!" came the voice. "It's only me! Don't shoot!"
And Tonks materialized out of thin air, pulling off what seemed to be an Invisibility Cloak.
Still Percy remained tense. "How do I know it's really you, Nymphadora?" she called suspiciously, her wand held at the really.
"Don't call me Nymphadora!" Tonks shot back. "It's Tonks, and you know it."
Instantly, Percy relaxed. "Tonks, you idiot," she grumbled, looking rather pleased in spite of herself. "You could have acted like a normal witch for once and let me know you were coming."
Tonks flew at Percy and hugged her tightly. "You're the stupid one," she muttered, her voice muffled by Percy's left shoulder. "You're the one who has to go diving all about, scaring Harry near to death and making a scene. If anyone's a git, it's you, Percy."
Percy grinned.
When Tonks finally released Percy, she was offered a seat in the yard; a third folding chair had mysteriously appeared and Tonks flopped down in it with the air of someone who has been working much harder than she ever has in her life. Her eyes looked tired, and her face was weary in spite of her infectious grin. "Had some fun with a couple people on my way here," she told Harry as Percy conjured a goblet of Firewhiskey for her out of thin air. "I made my hair look like writhing snakes. Scared the security wizard at the Ministry Atrium. Thought I was Medusa or something. It was quite entertaining."
"Tonks, you really need to quit that," Percy replied sternly. "One of these days they're going to hit you with some jinx or other and then you'll be hauled in to the Wizangamot.good God, just think of what a bad image that would make for all the Aurors in your Ministry."
Tonks winked.
"Percy and I worked together once, in the same office," Tonks told Harry. "It was back when she came over to do some work for our Ministry, about two years ago. She's not only one of my best friends; she's also a world-famous nag! And the best part is, she's worse than I am! Oh, you should see some of the stuff she pulls off.bashing all over London with me on an illegal flying carpet, partying all night with those Latvian warlocks, and of course there was the time she dated that guitarist for the Weird Sisters.what was his name again?"
"All I'm saying is that your job is at stake," Percy replied calmly, "And if you were sensible you'd stop doing this sort of stuff."
"Well, I think my Ministry might take it better than you'd think, Percy.but not as well as your Ministry would, I hear. We've been getting all sorts of rumors about your lot, and how the Americans are becoming more- "
"You know very well that I can't discuss that, not with Harry here."
Tonks looked astonished. "You mean you haven't told him ANYTHING?"
"Well," Percy cried, her voice rising impatiently, "Fudge expressly told me that he'd prefer it if Harry didn't know, and that way he couldn't try and garner any favors-"
"Oh come off it, Harry wouldn't do that!" Tonks countered. She had a slight smile on her face, as if she were trying to goad Percy into doing something.
"I know that!" Percy practically shrieked, "And YOU know that, but Fudge is a different breed! I just don't understand that man! He wants to be all secretive and sly, but he doesn't give me any suggestions as to what alias I should come up with! It's as if he thinks Harry is stupid or something! I can't believe that your people can put up with him; honestly, I can't see how you work there with that kind of foolishness going on! And don't you dare laugh," she hollered at Tonks, who was bubbling over with laughter and attempting to hide her grin behind her hand, "Because you know what kind of situation I'm in, you know how hard I had to work to get where I am, to throw off the stigma of my birth, and.and.NYMPHADORA TONKS DON'T YOU LAUGH AT ME!"
And then, amid Tonk's roaring laughter, her load of black, spiky hair shot up in electric yellow flames.
