I finally get to update this one weekly. Inferiorum now has a permanent place on the updating chart! Woo! Until the series is finished…this could take a bit of time. But that's okay! Let's make things interesting while we're here! On with the show!
Note: In the last chapter Tonks is referred to as 'Nymphadora' a lot without a lot of protesting but in this chapter she hates it when people call her that. I thought she probably wouldn't mind her name when she was young but probably started disliking it when she got a little older. Just clearing that up now.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Warnings: Some mild swearing.
Shape Shifter
Part the Second
After a bit of birthday cake on her fourteenth birthday, Nymphadora Tonks, decided to go take a walk. She had received some really great presents, even if her mother had written that the presents were to Nymphadora. She rolled her eyes as she remembered that.
She absolutely hated the name Nymphadora. It was so…romantic heroine who falls swooning in the arms of some knight who rescued her instead of just rescuing herself like a sensible person. She was constantly reminding her mom about it.
"Don't call me Nymphadora, mom." Tonks complained. "Everybody else calls me 'Tonks'."
"Don't be ridiculous Nymphadora." Andromeda shook her head wearily. "That's what I named you and I think it's lovely."
"I think it's silly." Tonks muttered under her breath.
The village was practically all along one road. She could have turned and gone into the village, because by now she was so much better at keeping her powers in check, and knew not to accidentally turn her hair flaming red in front of other people. Instead though, she decided to walk the other way, where she would pass a few houses and eventually hit the cemetery.
Her mother thought it was rather morbid that Tonks liked going to the cemetery but she thought it was a nice place because it was so quiet. Besides, there were some excellent trees for climbing there. Tonks glanced around the road a bit but saw that no one was around and she had just gotten past the last house and reached into her jacket pocket.
She pulled out her wand. She was very fascinated by her wand. Her mother had given it to her when she was twelve to keep on herself for protection. Tonks wished she could learn magic, but how? Her mother couldn't do any, even though she said that magic had run in her family. (Tonks knew next to nothing about her mother's family and anytime she asked, no one would answer her questions.) She fancied there was some big mystery about them, but no one was talking.
When she arrived at the cemetery, Tonks put the wand in her jacket pocket and proceeded to scale the highest tree that overlooked the cemetery. Hidden up there in the branches, she could just watch people come and go. Some people wept, some people just looked peaceful. Bottles of alcohol were sometimes poured on graves, but mostly there were just flowers.
Today however, there was a funeral. They were having a service in the cemetery and Tonks was amazed to see that the casket was open. People were walking up to it and kissing the old woman who had died on the cheek. It gave her a shiver to realize that this old grey woman was dead. That old woman's death day and her birthday were on the same day. More shivers.
Tonks carefully climbed out of her tree and walked back home, thinking about what it would be like to be dead and buried in the ground. She didn't like the thought of that at all. When she died…she would want her body to be burned, before the worms could eat it all away, and then her ashes spread, so that she could run free forever. That seemed better to her.
Almost subconsciously, she broke into a run, enjoying the wind whistling in her ears. There was plenty of time to think about death when she was dead. Right now, all she wanted to think about was life.
Mrs. Mackeray was baking pies again.
Something Tonks could not resist even now. They smelled so delicious. Blackberry pies…that was her favorite berry! She stood around the back corner of the house, seeing the pies being set out. In happiness she turned her hair purple.
Now, she would have to think of a suitable disguise so that when she nabbed the pie, she could run for it and no one would know that it was Tonks. Hmm…she screwed her face up and tried to think of the perfect disguise. Unbidden, the face of that old dead woman popped into her head. Well, it would work.
When she opened her eyes, she looked down at her wrinkled hands and knew her disguise was in place. Now, she just had to wait for the perfect moment…
The last pie was set on the sill to cool and Tonks carefully tiptoed to the window, her back pressed up against the house. When she got to the window, she peered very carefully in.
Come on…turn away from the pies.
Mrs. Mackeray did turn away to do something with the dishes and Tonks, with her shirt, because the pie was hot, grabbed hold of the pie. Yes! She was careful not to make any more noise than necessary as she strolled out of the small alleyway and out into the street. No one would think anything of an old lady with a pie.
Or so she thought.
"Grandmother!" A horrified voice shrieked and Tonks turned wide-eyed to see a woman staring at her as though she had just seen a ghost. Tonks realized that to this woman, she had.
"What are you talking about Sylvia, dear?" Another woman came to see what the fuss was a bout. She looked up at Tonks and jumped quite visibly. "Old Mrs. Martin! But that's impossible!"
"Old Mrs. Martin?" Heads turned.
"Isn't she dead?"
"Buried 'er meself!"
"Then what's she doing here?"
"Maybe she fancied a walk?"
"Grandmother!" The first woman, Sylvia, latched onto Tonks' arm. Tonks didn't know what to do. She couldn't very well say that she wasn't Mrs. Martin. She certainly couldn't change in front of all these people. She didn't know what to do! "I'm so happy! You've come back to us from beyond the grave."
"E-eh…" Tonks didn't know what to say, but she was suddenly jostled and ended up dropping the pie. Oh, bugger. She realized that she had infinitely larger problems to work out now.
"It's a miracle!" Another person declared.
"Erm…" Tonks wished she could get away but Sylvia was rather attached to her arm.
"Oh, grandmother, we have to get you home so the rest of the family knows!" Sylvia tugged on her. Then she stopped. "Grandmother, what's wrong? Don't you know who I am?"
"…" Tonks tried to say something.
"Maybe she's lost her memory, Sylvia, dear." The second woman patted Sylvia on the back comfortingly. "She's probably seen the wonders of the universe and now she's forgotten them…I suppose that could happen to anyone."
"How terrible!" Sylvia turned on Tonks with large eyes, almost shining with tears. "You don't remember anything?" Tonks shook her head. Best to play as dumb as possible until she could get away. What a bunch of loons! "I'm Sylvia, your granddaughter."
"O-oh." Tonks nodded.
Surely she'd get away soon, it was only a matter of time before someone left her alone…
Seven days had gone by and Tonks was still in the Martin family home. She missed her mother and father terribly, she just wanted to go home, but she couldn't. Sylvia slept right next to her in the cramped living quarters, making it impossible to even sit up without Sylvia immediately waking up and asking her if she needed anything.
During the day, it was nothing but relatives of the dead woman talking and poking at her. Since they were under the assumption that she couldn't remember anything after her resurrection, they would tell her stories. She couldn't even go to the bathroom alone, someone was always with her. She just wanted to scream at them to leave her alone and anytime she attempted to run for it, she was always caught and they just assumed it was some quirk that came with being dead.
I just want to go home…I just want to go home…
She was so sorry about ever stealing that pie and using the old woman as a disguise that she burst into tears during the seventh day in frustration. Everyone assumed she was crying with joy at being alive again. It couldn't possibly get any worse.
JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!
That's what she wanted to yell at them, but she didn't. If she changed and someone saw, that was it for her. She would be arrested by the Guards. But what if she had to spend her whole life like this? Her whole life she would have to be an old woman, trapped…
Then things got even worse for her. The next day, they were all sitting in the parlor, some of the women doing needlepoint, and Tonks staring at the piece they had given to her rather miserably. She supposed she'd have to get used to it. Now that she was trapped.
There was a knock at the door. One of the women put hers down, muttering something about who could possibly be calling on them, and when she opened the front door, which led directly into the parlor, everyone looked up in amazement to see that three members of the Guard were there.
"We are looking for Euphemia Martin." The guard in the middle announced. "We are under orders to bring her to the capitol."
"What?" Sylvia stood up. "That's my grandmother though! Why are you taking her there?"
"We aren't under any obligation to answer your questions." The guard told her coldly. "Now where is Euphemia Martin?" Everyone of them turned and looked at Tonks.
The capitol? Why!
And why is the Guard doing it? Unless…maybe…they know?
"You will come with us." The two other members of the Guard stepped forward and grabbed Tonks' by each arm. "Rumors of your miraculous return to life have brought you under the attention of the nobles. We will escort you there."
Why would a bunch of nobles want to know about some old woman who's 'come back to life'?
Tonks was stuck in between a rock and a hard place. If she transformed right now, sure they would know she wasn't actually that old woman and therefore no one would need to take her to the capitol. However, they would probably hang her. But she couldn't go to the capitol!
I just want to go home…
But it didn't do her any good. She was walked forward by the guards on either side of her. Sylvia was tearfully saying her good-byes and Tonks could only bitterly think about how she wouldn't be going anywhere if they had just left her alone for a few moments.
If I ever get out of this, I'll never do anything bad again!
She was put in a carriage that the Guards locked her into, so there would be no escaping and then, in what seemed like no time at all, she was being driven away from the village she had grown up in. She was on her way to the capitol, driven there by the Guard, whom she had always been taught to fear.
Tonks thought of her mother, who was probably already dead with worry about her. And her father. She'd give anything to see them one last time before she went. She probably wouldn't come back alive. Who knew how long the nobles would carefully watch over her and ask her questions that she couldn't answer?
She had been robbed of her freedom and it was at this time that she felt she understood what consequences could really mean. It wasn't just no dessert or having to stay in her room all day instead of going out to play. It was life or death, freedom or slavery. Why hadn't she figured it out sooner.
The journey to the capitol was a long one and they only gave her food and water once a day, so that she was perfectly miserable, her stomach always rumbling and her throat dry. To make matters worse, she felt so terrible that sometimes she would just cry, not that it would help, but it was the only thing left to do.
Ironically, she was alone in that carriage. Not that it did an ounce of good.
The carriage was old and squeaked and rattled and made it very hard to sleep, so that Tonks spent most of her time peering out of a small crack in the curtains at the passing landscape.
Where were they going? Who was she going to see?
What if they figured out that she wasn't an old woman? That she was able to change her appearance at will?
Was she going to her death?
No! I can't think like that!
She couldn't sit there and cry. That was stupid! She had to figure a way out. Maybe there wasn't one now but there would be later. She would wait, she would think carefully. You didn't just run by and snatch a pie, you carefully planned it.
And when her chance came…she would take it!
You can't give up! You can't just let yourself lie down and die! You have to get up and fight it!
With a new hope, Tonks sat in the carriage as it continued on to the capitol.
To Be Continued
