Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all associated ideas, characters etc. belong to amazing J.K. Rowling and not me.


Hey everyone! I meant to update sooner but I got wrapped up with my other story ("Always Second Best") and then I had a bunch of studying to do for my exams which were today (Friday). I'm actually wrote most of this when I was supposed to be studying and definitely re-wrote it about 5 times. Anywho, hope you enjoy this chapter and please remember to review!


Chapter 2: Escape


Dora enjoyed playing outside in the bright summer sunshine, but she would've enjoyed it more if her mother hadn't insisted that she wear so much sunscreen. It wasn't even that she minded the sunscreen itself, it was the fact that her mother had lathered so much on she had turned into a sticky, coconut smelling being that dirt happily clung to. The dirt was starting to make Dora itchy, but every time she scratched all that happened was more dirt ended up being deposited in the sunscreen.

As if that wasn't enough, Dora's mother had also forced her to wear a ridiculous bright yellow bucket hat that was far too large for her. The offending hat kept slipping over her eyes, obscuring her vision and it was becoming quite a nuisance. It was difficult enough to catch bugs normally, but every time she lunged at one her hat would fall over her eyes and distract her, resulting in her targeted bug escaping.

Frustrated with her lack of success, Dora retreated into the shade of the large weeping willow tree that stood at the edge of the back property. The willow's sweeping branches brushed the ground, creating and ideal hiding place. Settling herself in the grass with her back against the tree trunk, Dora removed her hat, placing it beside her empty buy collecting jar. She sighed and closed her eyes, if it wasn't for her mother being so over protective she would've already caught hundreds of interesting bugs.

A warm breeze rustled the leaves around her and Dora began to doze off. It seemed as though she had only just closed her eyes when she heard it – a sharp loud 'crack.' Instantly her eyes snapped open and she was fully alert. A noise like meant someone (or something) has apparated or disapparated nearby. Several more cracks followed and Dora began to worry as she heard the rumble of voices grow louder. Dora knew that with a dark wizard on the loose, it would not be wise to rush out into the open if she didn't know who it was. She sank to the ground, flatting herself as much as she could so as not to be seen. She felt extremely agitated, and had the uncanny feeling that the visitors weren't friendly. As the voices drew nearer she could hear what they were saying, at what she heard chilled her blood.

"Andromeda will regret the day she sided with the mudbloods," spat a cold, hard male voice. It was sharp and brisk, annunciating each syllable of the word crisply. "Marrying a muggle is a most heinous crime!"

"And she shall pay most dearly for it," purred a female voice. "I always knew my dear sister would meet a sticky end."

Dora blanched, this woman must be her aunt! She had long known her mother had forsaken her family and now she knew why – her family was made up of pureblood fanatics like the Dark Wizard and his followers.

"You three take Andromeda, but remember we want her alive," the female voice continued. "I want her to watch her brat and husband suffer before she dies. Her husband should be arriving home shortly, so he will be your responsibility Rodolphus. I myself shall locate the brat."

"What is the brat is powerful?" asked a new male voice. This one had a slight lisp, but was still chilling.

"She is merely a child," the female voice snapped. "Do you think me incompetent? I can handle one small child by myself."

"But if she is a witch…"

"She doesn't even have a wand!" snapped the woman. "Now hurry before I completely loose my temper! Our Lord awaits our return."

Dora watched as the shadows of four people passed in front of the willow, heading towards the house. She lay utterly frozen in shock – these people wanted to kill her family! But how could she warn her mother and father? Most likely the group had already reached the house, but if she could somehow get to her father…

The next thing she knew, someone had clamped a hand over her mouth. She struggled to free herself from their grip, but to no avail.

"If you keep struggling I'll be forced to do something you'll regret," said the woman who had been issuing orders to the group mere moments ago.

Dora, however, did not stop struggling. This woman wanted to kill her and she wasn't going down without a fight. She bit down hard and the woman shrieked in pain, releasing Dora from her grip.

"Why you little…" she started, but Dora had already dashed out from under the willow tree.

"MUM!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "MUM! THEY WANT TO KILL US!"

She caught sight of her would-be captors four companions and immediately realized she had made a mistake in running towards the house. Now there were three wizards and a witch bearing down on her.

"STUPEFY!" they shouted, and four jets of red light sailed through the air at Dora. She leapt out of the way, but continued screaming for her mother.

"Somebody shut her up!" cried the woman who had held her captive just seconds before. She had emerged from the willow tree, her bitten hand now sporting red teeth marks. Her heavily-lidded eyes narrowed in fury, her black hair flying wildly about her.

Almost immediately, the other four shouted "SILENCIO!" and sent another wave of spells at Dora.

She stood as though rooted to the spot. She couldn't bring herself to move. Instead she stared straight at the spells that were headed straight for her.

The next thing she knew, she had been knocked to the ground as someone hurtled themselves forward at her. She felt a rush of wind as the spells flew over her head. She turned to see who had pushed her out of the way and was shocked to find herself looking at Sirius.

"Stay down," he whispered, before pushing himself to his feet.

"YOU!" shrieked the woman.

Sirius grinned, before aiming his wand at the woman. "EXPELLIARMUS!" he roared, and the woman's wand was blown out of her hand.

Suddenly the yard erupted with similar cries, as spells were fired repeatedly from every wand. Sirius, picked Dora up off the ground and she saw that the yard was now filled with people dueling. Sirius had evidently not come alone.

Sirius hauled Dora up the back steps and into the house. He snatched a flower pot full of Floo Powder off the kitchen counter and thrust it under her nose.

"Take some and go to the Maple Manor," he said. "Your mother's waiting."

Dora obeyed and took a generous amount of Floo Powder. She threw it into the crackling flames that danced in the fireplace, turning them emerald green. Without hesitating, she stepped into the flames and shouted, "Maple Manor!"

She soon found herself whirling around inside the grate, before she tumbled rather ungracefully onto the living room floor of Maple Manor, whatever that was.

She had just managed to get to her feet when she found herself being smothered with hugs and kisses from her mother.

"Oh Merlin I was so worried!" her mother sobbed. "I heard you screaming and I wanted to stay, but they wouldn't let me! And then your father and Sirius…and oh Nymphadora!"

"Mum!" whined Dora. "Don't call me that! And let go! You're embarrassing me!"

Her mother relinquished her hold on her and Dora saw that they weren't the only ones in the room. There were several other adults, but she only recognized one.

"Daddy!" she cried happily, spotting her father standing to her right.

Her father scooped her up, "Dora!" he replied, a look of relief plainly evident on his face.

"Daddy, they were talking and I was scared because I didn't know where you and mum were and then one of them grabbed me and I bite her…"

"Someone grabbed you?" her mother said sharply. "Who?"

"Some woman," Dora shrugged. "But when I bit her she let go and I ran…"

"What did she look like? What did she do?" he mother asked.

Dora frowned slightly, trying to remember, "She was the one telling everyone else what to do I think," she said. "She had black hair and funny looking eyes. She called you her sister."

"Bellatrix," her mother whispered, a note of fear in her voice. "It had to be her, I'm sure of it!"

"It was her," said a voice from the doorway.

Everyone turned and saw Sirius standing in the doorway, looking rather exhausted.

"What happened Sirius?" an old man asked, moving forwards. He looked positively ancient, with his long white beard and hair, half-moon spectacles, and a long crooked nose. However, there was something lively about him and Dora immediately realized his elderly appearance was misleading.

Sirius shrugged, "They turned tail and ran shortly after I got Dora out of there," he replied.

"How many were there and who were they?" the old man asked.

"Five total," Sirius said. He counted them off on his fingers, "Bellatrix, Narcissa, Lucius, Rodolphus and Orion. I half expected Regulus to be there too, but it was just those four. They weren't ready for a fight at all though."

"And everyone who went with you?" asked a woman. She had black hair that was pulled into a tight bun. She wore horn-rimmed glasses and looked rather stern. Dora was immediately convinced that this woman was a teacher, and a very strict one to boot.

"They're fine," Sirius said. "They're still trying to salvage stuff from the house though."

Dora gulped, it sounded as though their house had been destroyed.

"And the muggles…?" the old man asked.

"Completely taken care off," Sirius said. "Only needed a few memory charms for those closest to the house."

"Excellent," said the old man. He turned to Dora and peered down at her, smiling kindly. "I'm Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts." He said extending his hand to shake her's.

"I'm Dora Tonks," Dora said.

Dumbledore chuckled, "So I've heard," he said. "Well little one, thanks to you it seems as though everyone managed to escape with no lasting harm done. Unfortunately, being adults we must continue to talk about this boring subject, something I expect you would find rather tedious. I'm sure you would much prefer to play with people closer to your own age than listen to us drone on and on, wouldn't you?"

Dora nodded, smiling, this man seemed to know exactly what she was thinking.

Dumbledore turned to a woman who had a soft round face framed by curly blonde hair. "Alice, would you kindly show young Dora here to the playroom?" he asked.

"Certainly," the woman said smiling. "This way Dora."

Dora waved good-bye to her parents, before following the woman down the hallway.

"My name is Alice Longbottom," she said. "This is my mother-in-law's manor."

"It's very pretty," Dora said.

Alice smiled, "Yes, I think so too," she said. "Mrs. Longbottom has such lovely antiques."

"Do you have any kids?" Dora asked.

Alice shook her head, "No, not yet anyway," she replied. "Frank, that's my husband, and I only married two month ago."

"I bet you were very pretty at your wedding," Dora said.

Alice blushed slightly, "Well thank you."

"Are there a lot of other kids here?" Dora asked.

"Not at the moment, no," Alice said.

"Why not?" Dora asked. "There were a lot of adults in the living room."

"Yes, but not all of them have children," Alice explained.

"How many kids do you want to have?" Dora asked.

Alice shrugged, "Oh, I don't know," she said. "I'd like to have a few at least."

"I don't think my parents are going to have any more kids," Dora said. "They're too scared of the bad wizard."

"You don't seem very worried about him though," Alice commented.

Dora shrugged, "I don't see what the big deal is," she replied. "He's just a wizard."

"How old are you Dora?" Alice asked, attempting to steer the conversation out of dangerous waters.

"Nine and a half!" Dora said proudly. "But I wish I was eleven, then I could go to Hogwarts."

"Well then you'll like talking to Bill then," Alice said. "He just finished his first year this past June and can tell you all about it."

"Really? Wow," breathed Dora.

Alice opened a door to reveal a large square room littered with all kinds of toys. Two boys, both with bright red hair were chasing each other around the room laughing loudly. A younger looking boy with brown hair sat colouring at a short little table with a girl whose dark brown hair was braided in a long plait down her back. Two more girls, one with dark hair and one with blonde hair, were playing with dolls in the corner, while a blonde haired boy rode about on a toy broomstick. However, when the door opened, they all looked up expectantly.

"Hi Alice!" said the older of the two red-haired boys as he trotted over. "Is it time to go already?"

Alice shook her head, "No Bill," she said. "Your parents still need to discuss a few things. I wanted to introduce you all to Dora Tonks, she's just arrived with her parents."

The red-haired boy smiled at her, "I'm Bill," he said.

"Hi," Dora said a little cautiously. She'd never really talked with anyone close to her age who was already at Hogwarts.

"That's my brother Charlie," he said pointing at the other red-haired boy.

"Hi!" Charlie said as he waved enthusiastically.

"I'm Michael!" said the boy on the toy broomstick. He dismounted and strode over grinning. "I'm nine!"

Dora grinned, "Me too!"

"So am I!" said Charlie.

"And me," said the dark haired girl with the braid as she rose from her seat. "I'm Maria by the way."

The girls who had been playing with the dolls called over from the other side of the room.

"I'm Laurel and I'm six!" said the dark haired girl.

"She's also my sister," Maria added.

"I'm Sophia," said the blonde girl. "I'm seven!"

"And my little sister," Michael added.

"I'm not that little!" retorted Sophia, her hands on her hips.

The little boy who had been colouring with Maria crept over looking nervous. "I'm Ian," he said quietly.

"How old are you Ian?" Dora asked. She thought Ian was one of the cutest little kids she'd ever seen and he seemed incredibly shy. He was staring at his shoe laces and seemed very quiet.

"He's five," replied Sophia.

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Dora asked.

Ian shook his head, "No," he said quietly.

"You're like me then," Dora said smiling. "I don't have any either."

Ian looked up at her and smiled slightly. He had the bluest eyes Dora had ever seen and looked like a tiny, shy little puppy.

"Can I colour with you?" Dora asked.

Ian nodded, "OK," he said.

Dora followed Ian back to the table and sat down with him to colour. Maria soon joined them and the other kids returned to their previous activities. The room was soon full of a great deal of nose, primarily from Bill, Charlie and Michael, who were running around the entire room chasing each other and often knocking things over in the process. With all the noise, Dora felt right at home.


Est c'est fini! I was going to add more, but I think I'll just put it in the next chapter because this one is already getting pretty long. Anywho, please remember to review!

Megan