Chapter One
A shrill shriek could be heard from the upstairs bedroom of number eight, disturbing the stillness of the street. This was followed by the sound of a body crashing against wooden floorboards and a steady stream of muttered swear words. Such was every morning in the Tonks household.
Downstairs, Andromeda and Ted were in their kitchen, unfazed by the ruckus which their daughter was causing. Ted did not do so much as bat an eyelid; nor did Andromeda look up from the self-stirring pot of porridge which she was supervising. As if on cue, they sighed in perfect unison. How was it that their twenty-two-year-old daughter could still be so clumsy?
"Nymphadora!" Andromeda bellowed up the stairs. "Breakfast is ready and if you don't come down now, you're not going to get any before you go! It won't do you much good to faint from hunger on your first day of Auror training!"
A moment later, Nymphadora came hobbling down the staircase, her foot in her hand, fruitlessly attempting to pull on a pink and green striped sock. In the blink of an eye, she had somehow done a somersault down the remaining stairs, unceremoniously landing flat on her back. Shaking his head ruefully, Ted put down his copy of The Daily Prophet and went to lend his daughter a hand.
Accepting her father's proffered hand, Nymphadora stood up, rubbing her rear end. "Stupid staircase," she muttered. "I swear it's cursed."
Andromeda turned away from the porridge, hands planted on her hips, mouth set in a firm line. "Now, Nymphadora, don't go blaming the stairs again. You're a young woman now, and you really should learn to be more careful."
"Don't call me Nymphadora, Mother," was the reply. "I go by Tonks, remember? Since I was four years old. Surely your old age isn't causing you memory problems yet."
With that, Tonks grinned cheekily at her mother, plonking herself down onto the chair opposite her father and pretending not to hear Andromeda's agitated muttering. A moment later, she had to duck to avoid the low flying pot of porridge, soaring above her before landing gently onto the table. Andromeda then sat down silently next to her husband and began to dish out breakfast.
For a few agonising minutes, all that could be heard was the scraping of spoons against bowls. After what seemed like an eternity to Tonks, Ted cleared his throat. "Dora, be careful, okay?" he said.
"Course I will, Dad. You know me. Careful's my middle name."
Andromeda's stony expression softened as she gazed at her daughter. It seemed like only yesterday when she'd been tying Dora's hair in pigtails with little pink bows. She took a deep breath and said, "We mean it, Dora. You've got to be careful. We couldn't bear it if you ended up dead because of any rash decisions, trying to protect everyone."
"But Mum, that's why I'm doing this. It's to protect people. I don't care if I lose my own life in the process. The rest of the world is so much bigger than me. If I can be a part of making it a better place, dying for that cause is gonna be worth it, right?"
Andromeda sighed in resignation. "There's nothing we can do to change your mind, is there, Dora?"
"Nope," said Tonks. "I've got to go now, anyway. I want to make a good impression on my first day!"
She thundered up the stairs, haphazardly shoving her belongings in a Muggle backpack, then carefully stepped back down, so as not to trip over her own feet.
"Bye Mum! Bye Dad!" she called from the front door. Huffing exasperatedly, Andromeda and Ted followed suit.
"Well?" asked Ted expectantly. Rolling her eyes, Tonks hugged both of her parents in turn.
"Can I go now?" she asked.
"Off you go, then," said Andromeda. "Before we change our minds."
That was all the encouragement Tonks needed. She bolted out the door, and with a loud crack, she Disapparated.