A/N: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters.
This is for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Assignment 11 English Language Studies - Task #3. Angst — German, meaning 'dread, anxiety': write a fic that has angst...with a happy ending ;)
Word Count: 1251
Changing, ever changing,
shifting colors and shapes.
She's perfect the way she is,
when she's not showing off
her colors,
when she thinks she's dull and
average.
She's perfect in every way,
the way she smiles,
the way she blushes when
she once again trips over something.
She's perfect when she's talking,
and she's moving her hands in
excitement.
She laughs at herself,
laughs at things beyond her control,
seeing the humor in life,
knowing that even in the darkness,
there could be light.
I first saw her across the room,
wand in hand.
Her hair was pink and eyes were sparkling.
Her face was determined to save us,
to save everyone despite
how desperate the situation seemed.
She could see them, the thestrals,
I saw it in her eyes.
She'd seen death, seen things she should never
had seen, but she stood tall,
pink hair and joking.
That summer, that horrible summer,
after everything.
I wrote her. I asked for her name,
and whispered it over and over
again until it became a mantra
that calmed me as the world around me
seemed to fall to pieces.
Tonks.
First name?
Surname?
Nickname?
It didn't matter,
I wrote her, sending an owl out
hoping he could find her, that
she would write back.
I wanted her to write back.
I wanted to spend more time with her,
more time becoming like her,
she probably didn't care what
everyone thought.
Did they make fun of her because
she was different?
Did they steal her things and tease her
because they didn't understand?
I understood.
Wings in the wind,
tapping against my window,
my owl was home,
letter tied around his foot.
She'd written back!
That was the start of everything.
That one letter sent out in
loneliness,
that one letter sent out in
hope.
Tonks told me about her time in school,
about the pranks she pulled,
about being labeled a mischief maker,
about how everyone only wanted her
to change herself,
about how she wasn't sure who she
had even been then.
I smiled, she was right,
I didn't know who I was yet either.
I could be so many things.
I could be an auror like her,
saving the world,
but that wasn't me,
that wasn't my dream.
I wrote her again and again
letter after letter,
back and forth,
talking about what we knew
about what was going to happen now.
Fudge was gone, the world knew
the truth and I was terrified.
Tonks pretended she wasn't
scared, that she was ready to face the
threat, but I could tell from the way
her letters on the parchment trembled,
could tell from the words she chose
so carefully as to not seem afraid.
She was terrified too.
We met in Diagon Alley,
before school, in a crowd.
No one was alone anymore.
There were no chances taken,
she and I stood apart,
stood together for a moment,
neither of having the courage to make the first
move.
I wanted to, but fear filled my heart.
She had a duty to Dumbledore,
to keep Harry safe, to keep us all safe.
We parted as shopping ended, as we headed
our separate ways.
I paused, watching her leave,
watching her pink hair bob out of sight
before joining my father and heading home.
Sixth year dawned, a black smudge in the
once blue sky.
She was there, at Hogsmeade.
I saw her, watched her,
wished I could run to her,
throw my arms around her,
comfort her, tell her it was going to be
alright.
I didn't. I didn't. I didnt.
I wrote though, every day,]
watching the owl soar into the
sky, knowing every word I
wrote was reread, was
analyzed, looking for secret
codes, for ciphers, anything
that could be used by the
Dark.
My words were pure,
my love pure,
and slowly, slowly,
her letters started reflecting the same.
I could feel her heart,
could feel her love in just the
inked words upon the parchment.
Love. Love so strong it filled
those pages, filled my heart
as I read.
Soon, soon, I would
tell her face to face
but disaster struck again and again.
Katie Bell cursed, almost dead.
Ron Weasley poisoned.
Locked inside the castle with nothing
more than her words to comfort me.
And then, then he fell.
My world crashed down around me.
Dumbledore dead!
She was there, that night.
We were doing everything we could
to fight, to survive,
liquid luck on our side,
liquid luck bringing me and her
face to face finally in an
abandoned corridor.
Face to face,
there was no denying our feelings,
there was no denying our love.
Lips meeting briefly before the world ended,
before the war turned.
She and I
holding hands at his funeral.
No one noticed, too involved
in their own sorrow.
He'd never stood up for me,
despite knowing what was happening.
That realization struck like a knife.
She held me tightly that night.
Neither of us going home,
but staying in Hogsmeade.
We talked, planned for the coming
war, for the final battle.
It was in the air, we could feel it
building.
I knew I had to keep getting the word out,
getting the truth out.
She had to keep fighting from
inside, knowing the ministry was
starting to corrupt, starting to fall.
She was needed there,
I was needed at home.
We kissed, parting ways again.
Summer arrived with a loud bang.
She and I on the dance floor of
Bill and Fleur's wedding,
hand in hand,
holding each other tightly.
The ministry fell.
We divided,
she fled to her tasks,
I fled to my father.
He wasn't as strong as I,
and I knew he was starting to
waiver in his conviction.
That their campaign of fear
was starting to spread.
I kissed his forehead before
leaving for another year of school.
I wouldn't have gone,
but I had no choice.
We started the fight again,
Dumbledore's Army rises!
Ginny was our leader and I
followed her, knowing
Tonks, my Tonks was
out there on the front lines doing
what she could.
Easter came and I was taken,
locked away in a dungeon,
locked with those who
the Dark Lord considered his
enemies or leverage.
My father cracked.
It broke my heart knowing
he cracked.
Soon everything shifted, broke,
Harry and his friends were caught,
tortured and then, then
suddenly we were running,
running, and landing
She was there, somehow, she knew
where we would land.
Maybe Bill told her, but she was there.
We had a moment together,
alone kissing as we looked out
at the water, watching the sunset,
praying it wasn't the last one we'd see.
It ended as it began,
everything shifting,
colors and shapes
filling my vision.
Spell created haze
as we entered Hogwarts one last time.
As we held our heads high,
fighting and fighting.
Harry Potter is dead!
And we continued to fight,
tears stinging my eyes.
He'd been my friend,
but we had to win this, win it for him.
Suddenly, he was there,
standing in front of us,
wand raised and then,
then it ended.
The dust settled.
My hand was being held,
being pulled into a tight hug,
a hug of thanks,
a hug of love.
She'd found me,
she'd survived.
I'd survived and
as we kissed,
kissed in thanks
in joy that we'd made it,
I knew our love had
survived the war,
against all odds,
we'd survived.