1 July 1996
Nymphadora Tonks couldn't believe her mother had made her do this. Then again it wasn't only her mother who was making her do it either, She had after all made a promise nearly fifteen years before hand that ensured that this was something she had to do. Mind you, things had changed since then and one of the people she had sworn to protect had gone and grown up to be a foul mouthed idiot, but as yet she hadn't remade his acquaintance. With one final glance after Harry and the Dursleys she told Remus and Mad-Eye she'd see them at the meeting that evening and turned back to Platform 9 and ¾. She hadn't been on the platform itself since her own last day of school and suddenly she found herself recalling those events.
July 1, 1988
"Katie, you have to at least say goodbye" she had admonished her cousin. They'd been looking towards the family of red heads greeting the two that had just got off the train.
"No, I haven't got to do anything, he made that perfectly clear last night" Nymphadora knew that look in her cousins eye and knew not to mess with her, but she also knew that Katelyns' heart was breaking, could see it in her eyes and the bags under them and the muffled crying she had done last night as she had laid in the dormitory with them the previous night. For the first time all year Kate had left her Head Girl's room and stayed with Rosie and her, she had said that she wanted her last night to be just like her first. They'd planned it a couple of days before hand although Nymphadora doubted that Katie had planned on crying again. Katie had cried their first night because she'd been sorted into Gryffindor. The first Malfoy in the history of the schools existence not to be sorted to Slytherin. As she had explained to her dorm mates the following morning she wasn't ashamed she was relieved, but the thoughts of what her father would say terrified her. Nymphadora recalled kicking Rosie under the table and shaking her head so that she wouldn't ask for more information. And then last night Katie had been crying from a broken heart. Charlie had not reacted well to Katie's refusal of his offer for her to come home with him; they had had a blazing row in the common room. While Charlie's temper was well know Katie's was not and it had exploded that night. Possibly because Charlie had pounced on her the moment she had returned from her confrontation with Franklin Nott. First and second years scattered in minutes, with the exception of Percy Weasley, who had hidden himself in a corner observing all, the other years were not that long behind them. Rosie and Nymphadora had been the last two to leave the room and had placed a silencing charm on the room with instructions to the Fat Lady to warn anybody about to enter what was going on within the common room walls. The last thing they had heard was Charlie yelling that she could go back to Franklin Nott for all he cared, after all he was the one she had run to after being cursed. It was another half hour before Katelyn had joined them in the dormitory refusing to say anything other than that she was still going to Rose's the following day and could they not talk about the day's events, and if they didn't mind she was going to skip dinner as she was exhausted "been a bit of an emotional day" she'd commented. They'd left her in peace and gone to remove the silencing charm to meet Professor McGonagall in the common room questioning Percy about its presence. They'd told her about the row and when she'd asked as to Kate's whereabouts they'd told her she was sleeping in the dormitory. Nymphadora recalled the softness that had appeared in the stern professors eyes as she nodded and asked them to have Kate go to her office in the morning before they departed, as she wanted a quick word with the girl. When they'd returned from dinner they'd pretended to believe Katelyns pretence of being asleep. Now here they were on Platform 9 and ¾ for the final time and Nymphadora didn't think they'd spoken to each other all morning.
"Do you want one of us to go over? Let him know that you'll be staying with Rosie?" Nymphadora felt she had to say something to break the silence of the last five minutes.
"No, I told Percy earlier, let's just go." Kate pleaded. The trio approached the barrier passing through almost immediately and were met by the Evans' and Nymphadoras' dad Ted. There had been pleasantries and promises to write once Kate had got her head round everything, and the two groups had separated.
1 July 1996
Nymphadora reflected now that she hadn't seen her cousin again. Katelyn had stayed for about six weeks with Rose Evans and her family and then just disappeared. Rosie still maintained that she didn't know where Kate had gone. And now here Nymphadora was eight years later meeting Kate's younger brother off the Hogwarts Express.
Draco Malfoy. A boy Nymphadora, or Tonks as she was now insisted on being called, didn't know anymore. He hadn't attended that fateful graduation day as he'd only been eight at the time and not allowed at Hogwarts yet. As she passed through the barrier from the station to the platform she recalled that Harry and his friends didn't have good things to say about the boy the few times his name had come up in conversation last summer. Of course this probably wasn't helped by the fact that Lucius Malfoy had tried to kill Harry a short time before. How had the man continually got away with these things? She looked around the platform not seeing any signs of the boy. Remus had told Draco was the image of his father and that he would be unmistakeable on the platform. She checked with Simon the conductor who monitored the students as they left the platform, Draco definitely had not tried to get out past him and had as yet not been seen on the platform. In fact at this stage there was only one group of people left on the platform and so she decided to approach them. As she did so she recognized Mrs. Eleanor Nott, Franklins mother. She had not aged well in the ten years since graduation. It looked as though there was a younger version of Franklin standing by her. With a quick glance around the people standing on the platform she realised that she was about to approach a group of Mrs. Death Eaters, Crabbe, Goyle, Parkinson. Merlin could this day get any better! "Where is my son?" Mrs Crabbe or Goyle was demanding of a girl who looked remarkably like Linden Parkinson, except slightly better looking.
"I'm not his keeper" the girl replied "He left our compartment ages ago with Crabbe and Malfoy and I haven't seen any of them since!"
Tonks butted in "Is Draco Malfoy missing?" Mrs. Goyle turned to Tonks eyes flicking up and down the girl, lingering for a moment on the pink hair. "And you are?" The woman asked with a sneer. Tonks did all she could to resist rolling her eyes and instead replied with a smirk of her own "His cousin, with his mother missing, my mother has been made his guardian"
"Mrs. Malfoy is missing?" the girl interjected "since when. Does Draco know? He hasn't said anything"
"She's been missing since the Dementors left Azkaban, Draco should know as my mother wrote to him when the courts appointed her as his guardian. Now I know he hasn't left the platform, so we can only assume that he is still on board somewhere. Who wants to help find him and the other missing boys?"
The girl and a tall boy with a dark complexion nodded to her indicating their help. The young Nott boy scowled and raised an eyebrow to his mother "We must be getting home I'm afraid I have an appointment" Eleanor Nott volunteered "perhaps Pansy, you could owl Theodore and let him know how the search goes." The woman's tone had now turned quite authoritative. The girls face had blanked of any of the concern it held for Draco, while her a woman, obviously her mother answered. "Of course she will. I'm sure she's already looking forward to your son's reply." Tonks had had enough at this stage "Ladies, if we," gesturing to Pansy and the dark skinned boy "could just start the search I'd appreciate it. My mother is awaiting Draco's arrival." Tonks crossed the platform to board the train. She turned to Pansy and the boy "Where did you last she him and what direction did he go in?"
"We were sitting in the middle of the train and they went to the back"
"Right then, you two start in the middle and I'll start at the rear and eventually we should find them." Tonks suggested. Tonks stepped back aboard the train and the smell hit her, a mixture of sweaty feet, musty books, and chocolate. This was the smell of the school train. She started sticking her head into compartments looking for her cousin and his friends, three teenage boys couldn't just disappear aboard the Hogwarts Express surely. Crikey! What if Aunt Cissa had portkeyed them out of there to join the Death Eaters? She should've thought of this. But she had to warn the Dursleys to behave themselves Harry was going through a rough time. He'd be thinking of Sirius. Great now she was thinking of Sirius. Don't dwell on it Tonks!
"Hey!" she heard an urgent voice "Hey there …eh…ma'am we found Draco and the others" the boy was there.
"Great, don't call me ma'am though… please. The name is Tonks" She stuck her hand out. "Hi." The boy smiled "I'm Blaise, Blaise Zabini and we found the others they look as though they've been jinxed we'll probably need your help to get them out of the luggage rack"
"Luggage rack?" What the?
"Uh… yeah. Looks like they managed to piss…uh… annoy the heck out of some one"
At this point they'd reached the compartment that held the boys who Pansy had managed to get down from the racks.
"I'd say they managed to piss the hell out of more than one person" Tonks smiled at Blaise. Tonks performed a number of counter curses and helped the boys to their feet.
"What no thanks?" Tonks asked as the trio began to push past her. The two large set boys grunted at her while Draco sneered. "Why would we thank you?"
"Maybe I should just place a few of those hexes back on you and see how you get yourself out of the luggage rack" Tonks raised her eyebrow. Draco looked suitably alarmed "Uh.. no that's okay…. Thanks for the help" He pushed past her on to the platform. Tonks rolled her eyes she had a feeling this was going to be a very long summer.
A/N You know my first chapter more or less wrote itself. This one however, every sentence was like getting blood from a stone. Hopefully the next one will be easier fingers crossed!
Blinknena182 Cheers for the review
Strayct I've tried to take on board your advice let me know how you think I'm doing. My English teacher used to tell me the same thing though.
Steffi25 Hope you enjoy