Before anyone complains about it, Tonks may seem to accept things a bit too easily but remember she's a Black and has been watching Dany closely for years. The coming revelations do not surprise her all that much since they explain quite a few inconsistencies for the brilliant witch. Of course she noticed something was off with her little cousin over all these years, she was after all hand picked by Madeye Moody to be his final apprentice.
Anyway, insomnia update, I do hope you all enjoy it!
Despite her new found drive to completely derail the second blood war before it had even begun Dancia had found her efforts stymied from an unexpected, then upon further reflection, completely expected source.
Namely all of her friends and family had been taking it upon themselves to make sure she was never alone and 'unprotected,' which was unintentionally frustrating as hell considering her spell repertoire. Yes, she had only managed to piss off the troll with her dark cutter but that was because she had a very limited amount of spells to work with as a first year student only two months into the semester.
Hell the only reason she'd been able to use that was because she had an alibi in that her godfather had taught it to her for self defense, what with all the ghosts, paintings, and elves about reporting directly back to the Headmaster.
Drawing attention to herself by using a penetrating curse wrapped around an overpowered confringo to kill the troll would have raised so damn many alarms that really flight had been her only real choice despite her desire to fight.
That and the overwhelming fear she felt at being chased down by a creature that seemed to enjoy the taste of human flesh, that had been one hell of a motivator to run like Death was coming to take his due.
So she now found herself nearing the end of the first semester, feeling slightly stifled by her friends, and reaching the end of her patience because quite frankly she had shit that needed to get done. These new found feelings of love and caring she felt for her dad didn't help her thought process at all either, she had so many people to protect and the burden was starting to weigh down on her slim shoulders.
That...that was when she realized what a complete and utter fool she had been; after all the ICW always sent operatives out with a partner to watch your back for a reason, so why hadn't she acquired one yet?
It was a gamble yes, and it would require putting her faith in someone who had no reason to believe her, but...well...
As the Potter family motto says, 'Fortis Fortuna Adiuvat'.
Head Girl Dora Tonks was feeling the pressure of her position more keenly than she would like to admit as the semester drew to an end; feeling overwhelmed by studying for her NEWTs, being a glorified hall monitor, and appeasing Aunt Cissa by keeping an eye on Dancia occupying most of her time.
She truly understood the woman's concern about her daughter but really Dany was a brilliant witch who did not search out trouble, as horrible as the situation had been the troll incident had been a complete fluke.
But Dora happened to be highly protective of her little cousins so she was willing to humor her aunt for the time being, even if it meant she got little more then four hours of sleep at night to keep up with her studies.
Ugh, she hadn't even pulled any pranks off this year, leaving it to her disciples the Weasley twins to spice things up around here while she was preoccupied, which just added to her frustrations.
She was pulled out of her meandering thoughts by a light *Ahem* directly in front of her, pausing her patrol she glanced down and smiled at the girl who had been occupying her thoughts not moments before.
"Wotcher little cousin, there something I can help you with? It is past curfew you know." Dany worried her lip a moment then quickly motioned for Dora to follow her to an intersection that was free of prying eyes.
Running a hand through her white mane Dancia glanced left and right before casting a muffling charm around them, Dora now considered her curiosity well and truly piqued.
"Ok...Dora I want to tell you some things, some unbelievable, mind bending things, but I need your promise that you won't tell another soul about this without my permission. At least for now," with that she shifted about uneasily while glancing about clearly uncomfortable with this situation.
Well...this was unexpected, "Dany, magical oaths are really dange-"
"No," the tiny witch interrupted with a wave of her hand, "you are family and if I can't put trust in your word then what's the point? I just need you to promise to hear me out, keep an open mind, and to keep it between the two of us for the time being."
Dora internally shrugged at that, why not really, after all what deep dark secrets could an eleven year old have?
"All right, you have my word, now what's all this about."
"Not here, follow me," with that Dany pulled off an about face and quickly made it through the halls until they were at a dead end corner on the seventh floor. While Dany began pacing Dora watched the tapestry across from them in fascinated horror as she tried to wrap her mind around the idea of putting trolls in tutus and forcing them to dance.
"What in the..."
Dany laughed beside her, "Barnabas the Barmy, tried to train trolls to dance, man had to have been on some really good shit to attempt that."
Brow furrowing she turned to her cousin to address the out of character cursing when she noticed the massive space age looking door that had appeared out of nowhere behind them.
"Umm..."
"Yeah, I know, follow me." With that she pressed a button on the frame and the door slid open revealing...
"Bloody hell this is Ten Forward!"
Dancia grinned at her older cousin as the doors slid shut behind them and motioned for her to follow to a table by the windows, the depths of deep space staring at them as the U.S.S Enterprise cruised through the endless void at warp speed.
"Welcome to the Room of Requirement!l I figured if I was going to show off the magical equivalent of a Star Trek holodeck why not go for broke, honestly wasn't sure it would work out right but I'm quite glad it did."
Dora glanced about grinning like a loon before turning back to her cousin, "How? I mean this is absolutely brilliant! Can I order a drink?"
Dany giggled at that, "Well I'll explain, and no while you can't order the room to make food or drink you can ask the castle elves nicely to bring you something. Scotch on the rocks right?"
Nodding slowly as she still took in the 24th century flagship of the United Federation of Planets, Dany quickly whispered for Dobby to supply the older witch with a much needed drink. Taking the drink in hand Dora took a sip and met Dany's gaze evenly.
"Well kiddo as far as surprises go, well done, is this what you wanted to show me?"
Dancia sighed at that as she pinched the bridge of her nose before returning her gaze to Dora's, "No. I was just kind of showing off honestly and seeing your reaction I know I have to show this to Mia now, she's such a nerd... Anyway... Do you believe in reincarnation?"
"Non sequitur much little cousin? I...suppose? I mean we've got ghosts and rituals proving that souls exist in some form or another, and if we just ignore all the ridiculous religious pantheons out there well... Yeah I guess I could believe in reincarnation."
Dany visibly relaxed and leaned back into her chair shooting Dora a wan smile, "Good...I'm...that's good. Look...you have no idea how hard this is for me to talk about, you are literally the only person in the entire world who will hold this knowledge for quite some time."
Taking in a deep breath she turned to her cousin and stated, "This is... a life twice lived for me, my second go around, a chance to undo the damage to all our lives before it even happens. I died, I was reborn, and I am now given a chance to save as many people as I can along with actually having something resembling a real childhood."
Dora stared at her a few moments, then a minute, then two, before tilting her head to the side in contemplation before nodding and throwing back the rest of her drink followed up with slamming it on the table.
"Cor blimey that makes too much damn sense..."
That, that had not been the response Dany was expecting.
"It does?"
"It does. You were always scary smart, even for a savant, always mature beyond your years, had patience in spades, and always seemed to have a plan... How old are you anyway?"
Reeling from this turn of events Dany blinked rapidly before replying with, "Umm, counting this life? Mentally one hundred and eighteen give or take a few months."
Dora felt a...twinge of sadness at that, her favorite little cousin wasn't little at all was she, then something clicked, "Mentally?"
Dancia nodded at that, "Yes mentally I have over a century of experience to draw upon and it has helped immensely in my endeavors. Emotionally, I'm...err...eleven."
That threw Dora for a loop, "Beg your pardon?"
Letting out a frustrated sigh Dany hopped out of her chair and began pacing, "Seriously I had this entire speech planned out to convince you I wasn't nutters and now this..." That had Dora smirking before her cousin continued, "Look what it comes down to is as of late I...haven't really been associating emotion to my old memories."
Brow furrowing she glanced back towards Dora while spinning her hands in a helpless and confused manner as she tried to find the right words, it was admittedly rather adorable seeing the normally poised witch so flustered.
Eventually she calmed and began speaking again, "When I died, I was Draco Lucius Malfoy-"
"You were a bloke!?"
Dany rolled her eyes at that, "It really doesn't matter Dora, different body, different sex, different gender identity, different life."
That rather mature response had the metamorphmagus snap her mouth shut as she nodded for Dany to continue.
"Anyway, I was reborn Dancia Alya Malfoy, I had no control of my life and was completely reliant on my family to protect me. Over the years my mum and aunts raised me to be a proper lady, to fully embrace what it meant to be a Black witch, and over time... Well, I stopped being an ancient wizard stuck in a young witches body, and I became a young witch with an ancient wizards memories..."
A tear rolled down her cheek as she sniffed a bit, "I like being Dany alot more than I liked being Drake... So yeah, while I mentally have the accumulated knowledge of a one hundred and seven year old wizard, emotionally? I'm an eleven year old witch who is so far out of her depth that she has begun floundering."
Dora stood up and approached the now morose girl, and quickly wrapped her in a hug, "What do you need, little cousin?"
"I need help, I need help to make sure that horrible future doesn't happen, I need an adult I can trust who will listen to me but is willing to call me out when necessary. I need a partner in crime."
Nymphadora Cassiopeia Tonks smirked at that as she tightened the hug, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."
Dancia Alya Malfoy grinned in return as she replied with, "Mischief managed."
The wizarding world would never be ready for what would soon hit it.
'Fortis Fortuna Adiuvat-Fortune Favors the Bold