Disclaimer: As always, the all pre-existing Harry Potter characters, places, ideas, things (in other words, nouns relating to Harry Potter), belong to the magnificent author that is J.K. Rowling. I write this fanfic simply to amuse myself and my friends and do not receive any money in doing so.
I know, I haven't written anything at all since January and I apologize a hundred times over! I've just been so busy lately between finishing high school, university applications, going to Italy and Greece for March Break, soccer, track & field, prom and some more serious stuff (my friend was in a car accident-he's still recovering-and various other issues, involving some huge arguments with friends). I'm actually quickly approaching exams and graduation and yet here I am, finally writing Harry Potter fanfic again! I actually have spent the past few months pouring over my original stories in hopes of finishing them so that I can attempt to have them published. Needless to say it has not been an easy task, however, I now at least have the majority of my notes sorted and solid outlines for everything.
In any case, this is not a live journal so I shall proceed with my tale.
I began re-reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix a few days ago and was struck by how much I have grown to love Tonks. We know very little about her yet I find her to be an irresistible character just brimming with potential. But it was this passage in particular that inspired me:
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Chapter 9: The Woes of Mrs. Weasley (page 155)
'I was never a prefect myself,' said Tonks brightly from behind Harry as everybody moved towards the table to help themselves to food. Her hair was tomato red and waist-length today; she looked like Ginny's older sister. 'My Head of House said I lacked certain necessary qualities.'
'Like what?' Ginny asked, who was choosing a baked potato.
'Like the ability to behave myself,' said Tonks.
I found that passage irresistible, and hence I am writing this lovely little story. I'm not entirely sure how long this will turn out to be, we'll just have to see how inspired I am. The first chapter is kind of from Andromeda's point of view because I needed to set the stage as it were.
A Mischievous Metamorphagus
Chapter 1: A War Rages
"Nymphadora Aurora Tonks!"
"You bellowed mum?" Dora said as she entered the kitchen where her mother stood. It was an unusual way for a 9 year old to reply, but then again, Dora was an unusual 9 year old. She also liked to imitate those around her, in particular her mom's cousin, Sirius, who wasn't always the best role-model.
"Don't you take that tone with me young lady!" scolded her mother, brandishing a tea towel as she spoke. "I just received a call from Mrs. Chaparro down the street."
"Oh."
"Oh?" her mother said, her eyebrows raised. "Is that all you have to say for yourself?"
Dora considered her mothers words for a moment, staring down at her shoelaces as she did so. She looked up, a hopeful (but cautious) smile appearing on her face.
"I'm very sorry and I promise I'll never do anything like that again?" she tried.
Her mother sighed and squatted down so she could look Dora in the eye. "Honey, I know it's hard for you to not use magic but -"
"Technically I didn't use magic," Dora interrupted. "I just used those dung bombs Sirius gave me for my birthday."
Her mother frowned at her, "Nymphadora…" she said warningly.
"Oops, sorry!"
"As I was saying," her mother continued. "I know it's hard, but honey we can't afford to have the neighbours wondering how you do such bizarre things! It's already hard enough explaining to them that you're being home-schooled, which seems to be a rather foreign concept to them, I dono't need to explain how you manage to turn your hair every colour of the rainbow or levitate chairs."
"Why don't we live somewhere we don't have to worry about that?"
"Honey, you know you dad isn't a wizard and he still has trouble understanding magic," her mother replied. "It wouldn't be fair to him."
"Could I maybe live with Sirius?" Dora asked excitedly. "I'm sure he'd be OK with me doing strange things!"
"Honey, Sirius is barely old enough to look after himself, let alone a you too!" her mother said with a laugh. "Besides, what would I do without my little Dora to brighten up my day?"
"While can I visit Sirius soon then?" asked Dora. "I haven't seen him in ages!"
"I think you spend enough time with Sirius as it is," her mother replied. "You seem to be picking up his knack for causing trouble."
"Nothing wrong with that Andromeda," came a new voice from the doorway.
Andromeda looked up as Dora spun around and let out a shriek of delight before launching herself into the young man's arms.
"SIRIUS!"
"Oof!" Sirius said as he caught her. "You nearly knocked the wind out of me!"
"Did you bring me a present?" Dora asked.
"As a matter of fact…" Sirius said, as he placed Dora on the ground before fishing around in his jacket pocket, "I did."
"Oooh!" Dora exclaimed as she was handed the tiny red box. She opened it and extracted a gold bangle bracelet with intricately carved words on it. "Carp Deem?" she said as she read it.
Sirius laughed, "Not quite," he said as he ruffled her curly black hair. "It says 'Carpe Diem' which is Latin for 'Seize the Day.' It's certainly a better motto than the one I grew up with."
He looked up at Andromeda, who gave him a warning look. He and Andromeda, aside from being cousins, had also been disowned by their family for daring to associate with people aside from pureblood witches and wizards. In fact, Andromeda had committed the unforgivable sin of marrying a muggle, so Dora had never even met the Black family, aside from Sirius anyway. She had always wondered why she never knew her mother's family, but whenever she would bring it up her mother would simply say, "When you're older, you'll understand."
Dora looked up inquiringly at Sirius, "What was the motto?"
"Ah, nothing important," Sirius said. "Just a silly thing made up by some old dead guy way back in the day."
"Now you're being silly!" Dora giggled.
Sirius swooped down upon her and, picking Dora up, threw her over his shoulder as she shrieked with mirth. He spun around in circles, her laughter increasing to a level of volume her mother hadn't thought to be humanly possible.
Andromeda laughed too, although hers was more from relief than anything. Over the past seven years there had been precious little to celebrate because…she still couldn't bring herself to even think his name without shuddering. Death Eaters were running rampant and every day there was more news of death and suffering. She knew from looking at Sirius that the war was taking its toll on him as well. His eyes still danced with excitement, but he'd grown far too serious since graduating from Hogwarts two years previously. She knew he was fighting the Death Eaters with Dumbledore, but she worried that one day she might wake up to find his name among those listed as dead – or worse 'missing in action.'
To Andromeda, there could be no worse fate than to be listed as 'missing in action' because it allowed for that tiny ray of hope to exist that somehow, someway, the missing one would return alive. But it was always false hope. Sometimes that false hope would continue for months, even years, before the body was found, and that false hope was torture to those left behind. It was even worse if nothing was ever found.
Andromeda shook off her gloomy thoughts as best she could, her attention back on her daughter and cousin. She had chosen to live a seemly muggle life for the sake of her husband, Ted Tonks, but now she realized it was probably safer to some extent because of the current turmoil within the wizarding world. She knew…well, You-Know-Who, would sometimes attack muggle areas, but her family lived in a neat and tidy suburb outside of London and she felt relatively safe. She had also surrounded the area with various spells and enchantments, just in case. She prayed she would never have to use them, but felt it would be better to be over-prepared as opposed to under prepared.
Sirius plopped Dora back on the ground and she stumbled a bit, clearly dizzy from the excessive spinning. Sirius looked a little dazed as well, but managed to stay upright.
"Why don't you go play for a little bit while I talk to your mum, OK?" Sirius suggested.
"OK!" Dora said brightly, before carefully making her way to the stairs to go up to her room.
Sirius watched her go, smiling all the while, but it was a haunted smile.
"What's wrong?" Andromeda asked in a low voice once she heard Dora reach the top of the stairs.
Sirius turned to look at her, his expression grim. "He's getting more followers," he replied, his handsome face contorted in disgust.
"What kind of person joins such a maniac?" Andromeda asked, shaking her head is dismay.
"I'll give you a hint," Sirius said, a note of bitterness in his voice, "He's my brother."
"WHAT!" Andromeda exclaimed, sending the towel she had been holding in her hand fluttering to the tile floor.
"Apparently he just joined up and it was your oh so charming sisters and their husbands who persuaded him," Sirius said. "Worthless pieces of - "
"When did they join?" Andromeda interrupted him. "I knew they agreed with him, but I didn't realized they'd actually joined."
"They joined up last year apparently," Sirius replied. He muttered a few choice words.
"Sirius!" scolded Andromeda as she retrieved the towel from the floor, "What is Dora walked in and heard you say that?"
"Speaking of Dora…" Sirius said, "You haven't by chance told her anything about our charming family history have you?"
Andromeda sighed as she sank onto a nearby chair, "No, and I know I should," she replied. "I just…I want her to keep her innocence awhile longer."
Sirius nodded, "I can see why," he said. He seemed to be staring into space, "With this war to many have already lost their innocence." He shook his head to clear his thoughts and he looked back at Andromeda. "Patrick's still at St. Mungo's, they don't think he'll ever fully recover."
Patrick was the son of Jacob and Sarah Searle, friends of both Sirius and Andromeda. Andromeda had been in the same year in Gryffindor as Jacob at Hogwarts, while Sirius was good friends with Sarah's younger brother, Louis. Jacob and Sarah had died in the attack on their house three months previously, but miraculously Patrick had managed to survive, having hidden in a closet. However, he had been nearly crushed to death when the house caved in around him. It broke Andromeda's heart to know that at the age of three Patrick was an orphan and suffering from life-long injuries.
"He's just a baby!" she said angrily as she blinked to keep from crying.
"And he would've had a younger sibling to play with," Sirius added, his voice thick with emotion. "Sarah was pregnant."
Andromeda gasped, her hand covering her mouth. "Oh Sarah!" she cried.
"At least Patrick has some family left who can take care of him," Sirius said as he put a comforting arm across his cousin's shoulders. "And kids are remarkably resilient, he may yet fully recover."
There were footsteps in the hall and Dora poked her head into the kitchen.
"Why are you crying mum?" she asked.
"It's nothing dear," Andromeda said hastily, wiping her eyes.
"Is it that bad wizard again?" Dora asked, her young face very serious.
Andromeda nodded, "Yes honey, it's the bad wizard," she replied.
Dora walked over to her mother. "Mummy," she said quietly, "why does the bad wizard hurt people? Doesn't he know it's wrong and he won't get any dessert for dinner?"
Andromeda couldn't help but laugh. "I don't think he cares very much about dessert honey."
Dora looked rather shocked, "How could you not care about dessert?" she asked. "Dessert is the best part of every meal!"
"Right you are!" Sirius said as he stood up. "So tonight, if it's alright with your mum, I'll stay and make my famous Chocolate Frog Cake for after dinner. How's that sound?"
Dora squealed with delight, "Can I help? Please please can I?" she said jumping up and down with excitement.
"I suppose," Sirius said, "but you'll have to go wash up first!"
"OK!" Dora said before she sped off.
Sirius turned to Andromeda, "Look, this war has been hard on everyone and I know you're really worried about something happening to Dora and Ted," he said. "But everything will turn out alright in the end, I'm sure of it. I mean we have Dumbledore on our side so we're clearly going to win because that man knows everything!"
Slightly reassured, Andromeda nodded, "Yes, you're right."
"Aren't I always?" Sirius asked with an impish grin.
OK yes I know, not too exciting, but I needed to introduce a few things. After this the rest of the chapters should be mostly from Tonks' perspective, particularly once she's a bit older and would think to snoop around and eavesdrop on conversations. Anywho, please review with any comments, questions or suggestions, or even just to say you liked it. If you didn't like it I'd appreciate knowing why, just so that I can improve my writing. For those wondering about ages in my story…
Tonks (aka Dora) is obviously 9, as mentioned at the beginning
-Andromeda is 32
-Sirius is 20 (and therefore so are Lily, James, Remus, Peter, Snape and anyone else from their year)
-Ted Tonks is 35
-Bellatrix is 24
-Narcissa is 20
-Lucius Malfoy is 21
-Orion (Andromeda, Bellatrix and Narcissa's brother I've added) is 28 and you'll meet him later.
Anywho, aside from that there isn't much else for me to tell you at the moment. Hopefully I'll have a chance to update this weekend or so! And remember to review! The more reviews I get, the more incentive to write! Thankfully school's almost over, but then I have work all summer! I just can't win! I'm not totally satisfied with this chapter, mostly because I started focusing on Andromeda a lot, but I needed a few things explained. Anywho, I'm off to do homework!
Megan
