Changing Forms
Chapter 3 -
At a Stand-Still
Nymphadora had since been recovered—physically, not mentally. She refused to let anyone know of her pain. She went about work as an Auror, dealing with the Ministry's new "wise-up-to-the-fact-that-we-know-you-know-who-is-alive" plan. It was about time. And one other thing happened that made her a little happy: Sirius's name was cleared.
The Minister of Magic, Fudge, had made a statement that had made its way to every paper, stating that Sirius Black was in fact not responsible for the death of many, but wrongly accused. This was all perfect, however, seeing as Sirius was dead—no one would be afraid of that.
And to make matters worse, Nymphadora had not been able to change her features anymore since her injury. Or was it Sirius's death? Or was it her constant pining secretly for Lupin? Only Nympadora knew. She knew that someone would begin to wonder why she wouldn't go back to her usual shades of the rainbow. She knew that brown was too understated for her. Oh, how she longed to have short red tresses, or medium length green locks. Someone would notice soon, but she knew they wouldn't say anything for propriety.
On one weekend, Tonks was lucky enough to briefly see her love interest, Remus. He was looking a little harrier, now that it was about a week to the full moon. This made Nymphadora smile.
"Remus, you know with that potion you can be around people," Nymphadora had told him at his current home. Remus had not liked Nymphadora's insistence to stay with him during his change. He knew she was just doing it out of the goodness of her heart. They had sort of a bonding that night in the hospital. And Remus secretly didn't want her to be afraid of him during those times. He wanted her to keep the image of him she has, not of the one she doesn't have.
"Tonks," Remus said rationally, "with the potion, I can pretty much take care of myself. I padlock the doors from the inside, set a charm so I'm the only one allowed in. Plus, it's only one night a month—it's nothing exciting. With the potion, I'm just like a big, bored mutt."
Nymphadora wasn't going to give up. "Please Remus. I don't like the idea of you being alone—er, in these times. Plus, I think I need to practice my skills with dogs—I've been meaning to get a Crup. Aweful cute blighters…" She finished with a twinkle in her eye, and a "pleaaaaaaaase" look that made Remus's insides melt.
Remus could feel his face prickle at the sight of Nymphadora's cute attempts. "Errr—It wouldn't be any fun—you might get hurt—it's just one night—alright!" Nymphadora smiled and almost hugged Remus. "But! That doesn't mean that you get to do it every month! This is just to show you what you're 'missing'." Remus rolled his eyes, but smiled to himself when Nymphadora hugged him around the neck quickly.
"If you don't already have a cauldron of Wolfsbane, I can make some, I was N.E.W.T level. You have to be to be an Auror—but you know that." Remus nodded.
"Ah," Remus said, indicating a large vial of potion. "Dumbledore was kind enough. But no doubt he'll be getting busier. Perhaps you could make it after this month?"
Nymphadora beamed. "No problem." She made her robes straighter. "I should be off—Auror business. You don't mind that I made such a short visit do you—"
"Of course not." Remus said reassuringly. "Just stop by next week before the sun goes down."
Nymphadora smiled and stood back a ways before apparating out of Remus's house. Remus looked forward to spending more time with Nymphadora, but at the same time, he dreaded it as well.
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Author's Note: That last chapter was SO hard to write. I just spent the evening at a house with cats... and my eyes would not stop watering. Thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming, I love to know that people are reading my stories! This is my first fan fic in a few years, so I'm still trying to give this story a little more credibility than the others I wrote. Thanksguys!