Cousins

When the flying lesson was over, I'd almost have walked away with the other Ravenclaw girls.

Nymphadora's voice stopped me though: "Eh, Vivien. Wait, I wanted to talk to you."

I stopped in my tracks: "Sorry," I mumbled. "I wasn't really thinking. I'm not used to flying you see." This was really embarrassing. How could I have forgotten that she wanted to meet me?

Nymphadora smiled. "Of course. Dad told me it was the same for him. Must be for everyone raised by Muggles. Will you come with me?"

I told the others that I'd come to Ravenclaw later and went with Nymphadora.

"We need a quiet place to talk," the older Hufflepuff girl told me when the others were out of earshot.

My curiosity was awakened. In the past, things I was supposed to keep secret from others had always worried me but Professor McGonagall's arrival had told me that they could be important and interesting as well. It was possible that she was simply pulling a prank but I didn't really think so. Hufflepuffs weren't like that or so I had heard.

"Let's go to the Greenhouses," Nymphadora said. "There shouldn't be anyone there. There are no lessons Friday afternoon."

When we reached the Greenhouses, we were proven wrong quickly. An odd sniffing sound could be heard.

"What the, has someone come here to cry or what?" Nymphadora asked.

When we walked to the backside of Greenhouse One, we quickly found out where the noise was coming from. Neville Longbottom was sitting there, sobbing into his hands.

"Oh no," I muttered. By now, I had learned enough to guess that Neville wouldn't be glad to be seen like that, especially not by me.

Nymphadora frowned, obviously wondering if she could chase him away or not. Before she could make a decision, Neville looked up.

"What are you doing here?" he asked wiping his face with his sleeve. As if this would make us not notice that he had cried.

"We were looking for a place to talk," Nymphadora said. "No need to be so pissed off."

Neville looked shocked at her language. His grandmother probably didn't allow him to talk like that. He didn't seem to know what to do next. Neville wasn't confident enough to pick a fight, especially not with someone from seventh-year but he didn't want to walk away like a coward either. Not that this would have surprised anyone.

"Who are you?" he asked after a while.

"Simply call me Tonks," Nymphadora said. "And who are you if I may ask?"

"My name's Longbottom. Neville Longbottom."

"Pleasure to meet you, Neville Longbottom," Nymphadora said more pompously than necessary.

"What do we have here?" someone else said.

I looked around, startled. Draco Malfoy was standing there. We had been lucky indeed. We hadn't found a quiet place but run into the only two people in my year I've had real trouble with, Neville Longbottom and Malfoy.

"The Mudblood-spawn, the Squib and her," he stared at me his face full of loathing. "As if it's not enough when Mudbloods steal magic, they've started stealing names as well."

Malfoy yelped in pain, holding his leg.

"Stinging hex," Nymphadora said. "Next time you use the M-word it'll be the Cruciatus curse."

Neville had gone pale. "This is, is illegal," he stuttered. "You can't."

Malfoy laughed. "Longbottom's already wetting his pants. So pathetic."

"The only thing that's pathetic is someone who has to walk around insulting random people to feel better," Nymphadora said. "It's enough now. Longbottom, you take the way to the right and Malfoy the one to the left."

Neville was glad to get away from Malfoy, Nymphadora and me but Malfoy was more reluctant. "I'm not taking orders from a Mu-Muggle-born."

Nymphadora grinned. "Oh, I think you do. Move your ass away, Malfoy." She drew her wand pointing it at him threateningly.

Malfoy eyed it warily. He obviously knew that he couldn't do enough magic to really have a chance against her. With a last derisive look into their direction, he turned away and walked off.

Nymphadora gave a satisfied grin. "Those first-years are getting more and more insolent each year. I don't know where that shall end," she said talking like an old woman on purpose.

"Well, they seem to be gone now," I said. "What do you want to tell me?"

"I think I know something about you that I should tell you," Nymphadora said.

"Something about my family?" I couldn't think of anything else she might need to talk about and her mother Andromeda had looked so familiar. "Please tell me."

"Well, I'm your cousin and so is the charming young gentleman we have just met."

"You're my cousin?" I asked, staring at her in disbelief.

"Yes, I am. My mother used to be the sister of yours."

I didn't really understand what she meant when she said "used to be" but probably that my mother was dead. My heart was beating very fast and I had so many questions that I didn't know where to start. I still wasn't quite sure if she wasn't joking either though. Some part of me did believe her though. Why else would her mother have seemed so familiar?

"And who else is my cousin? Neville?" This might explain his behaviour somehow.

"Neville probably is some very distant cousin of yours as well," Nymphadora said. "The pure-blood families are all interrelated. I was talking about Malfoy though. His mother is the sister of both our mothers."

"You must be kidding," I said.

Neville had claimed something like this on the train and I had put it down to some sort of mental illness. And now, this girl said the same thing? I didn't believe that Nymphadora was mad but she might think that joking about this kind of thing was funny. She didn't know what it was like to live without parents after all.

Nymphadora sighed. "I'm not. Our mothers are all sisters. They come from a pure-blood family called Black. Do you know what pure-blood means?"

"Yes, I do. I've read a few things about magical families. Do the Blacks really descend from Morgana of Avalon?" This would explain why I had always felt this connection to her even though I couldn't have met her for real.

Nymphadora shrugged. "I have no idea. My Mum's not real into this stuff anymore. She's married a Muggle-born you see. That's why Malfoy's acting the way he does. For them, that's a sacrilege."

"I've heard about that too," I said remembering this unwholesome subject matter that had bothered Mandy so much. "It's stupid really. There's no real difference between wizards and Muggles other than the magic."

"You don't have to tell me," Nymphadora said. "I know my Muggle grandparents and we get along really well. The family our mothers come from disagrees though. My mother Andromeda was disowned when she told them that she loved my Dad. They even threatened to kill her."

"How horrible. I'm really sorry." This sounded almost like the things that happened in some immigrant families when the daughters brought "shame" on their family by loving the wrong person. I really didn't like the idea that this kind of thing was done among British wizards as well. Mandy wasn't so wrong to be worried about this place.

"Mum was the middle sister," Nymphadora said. You're mother Bellatrix was the oldest and Malfoy's mother Narcissa the youngest."

"Bellatrix," I muttered. "Bellatrix was the name of my mother?" I had always known that I had heard this name before but I had had no idea. The memory of the dark-haired woman returned and now I remembered my father calling her that as well, Bellatrix. The name had sounded even more beautiful when he had spoken it.

"Yes, you mother was called Bellatrix. She and Narcissa both married pure-bloods. Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father and Rodolphus Lestrange. He's your father."

"Rodolphus Lestrange? So I do belong to this pure-blood Lestrange family, the Norman one?" I didn't think of doubting Nymphadora's words anymore. I had already believed that I was indeed related to this family and now I knew it was true. The only pure-blood family that was known for their intelligence but also for less positive things.

"Yes, you do. You are a pure-blood," Nymphadora said. "If that's important for you."

"Not that way," I said quickly. "I just, it's really fascinating to think that I come from a long line of witches and wizards."

"You didn't know about magic before you got your letter, did you?"

I shook my head. "No. I knew that Mandy and I could make strange things happen and I had those memories but I never really knew. I've always been interested in magic though. Deep down, I did know I think."

I fell silent. Talking so much to a person I hardly knew wasn't a good idea even if she claimed she was my cousin. There were so many questions I was burning to ask. I wanted to know where my parents were now and why they had given me up of course but I was a bit scared of the answer. That was why I decided to ask something else first. It did worry me too.

"Do you know what the Cruciatus curse is?"

Nymphadora gave me a startled look. "Why do you ask that of all things?"

I didn't really understand why this seemed to bother her. She had just threatened Malfoy with the very same curse, hadn't she? I considered using this as an excuse but decided to say the truth after all.

"I've read that members of the Lestrange family as supposed to have an "affinity" for that and it didn't sound like a good thing."

"Really?" Nymphadora asked. "That's funny. They say the same thing about the Blacks."

I didn't think this was funny at all. "So it wasn't such a good idea that they got married?" I asked remembering the breeding advice in the book.

Nymphadora gave me a perplexed look. "I have no idea. Anyway, the Cruciatus curse is the torture curse. It causes extreme pain. One of the three Unforgivables."

"Oh, I see," I said remembering the book called "The Art of Pain." Maybe it was about this curse and the person called Rinaldo was really an ancestor of mine. "You wouldn't really have used it on Malfoy, would you?"

"No, of course not. I was only joking. It's the most harmless one of the Unforgivables though I think. It only causes pain without any injury or anything else."

I began to understand some things better now. "So that's why Professor McGonagall thinks I might enjoy hurting animals," I said slowly. "Because my family has a reputation for this kind of thing. I don't though, I never felt like doing this." I hid my face in my hands. "Well, sometimes at the orphanage, my magic did hurt people who annoyed me. Is this normal?"

"I don't know about normal but it happened to me too once or twice. Mum was a bit worried but I don't think it means anything," Nymphadora said. "Don't worry. You don't catch dark magic like a fever. Learning and using it is always a choice."

I hoped she was right. I really didn't want anything to do with torture curses. Why did such a thing even have to exist?

"Let's talk about something else," Nymphadora suggested. "Mum was really livid when she found out about you. She suspected you could be related to her but didn't want to say anything of course. She didn't want to bother you before she knew anything for sure. McGonagall didn't really know either but Dumbledore did. I haven't seen Mum so angry often. She would have looked after you of course but no one bothered to tell her that you even exist."

Nymphadora was right. This new information made me forget about the Cruciatus curse right away. I had always dreamed about an unknown relative who would come for me and take me away from the orphanage, we all had dreamed of that and in my dreams she had been a witch. Now I found out that I really did have a witch aunt but she had never known about me so far. I really wanted to get to know her.

"Do you think I could meet her?"

"Of course. Mum and Dad would like you to come on Christmas. My Muggle Grandparents will be there too though. If you don't mind that."

What a question. "Of course not. I've been living with Muggles for so many years."

There was one thing which did bother me though. Mandy would be terribly upset if I spent my holidays with a magical family while she had to return to the orphanage on her own. I couldn't do that. We had been friends for so long, I didn't want to hurt her so I could meet people I had never met before.

"That's really nice of them but I don't think I can come," I said. "My friend Mandy lives at the orphanage too and I don't want her to spend Christmas there alone."

"I'll ask Mum and Dad if she can come too," Nymphadora said without hesitation. "The more the merrier."

"I don't want to cause so much trouble," I said.

"Don't worry, Mum won't let you cause trouble. If she doesn't want something, she says so."

"Thank you,"

I said. I really didn't want to be a burden for the Tonks family but I still hoped desperately that Nymphadora's mother would say yes. I had always dreamed of having family and now that might come true next to the dream of magic.

I had to ask this other question now though. I simply needed to know. "What happened to my parents? Why did they give me away?"

Nymphadora's face turned serious. "They're in prison."

"In prison? Azkaban?" The torture prison Azkaban where people had all happiness stolen from them? The thought was horrifying.

Nymphadora sighed. "Yes, Azkaban. You already know about it?"

"Yes, I do. We talked about it at our first day. "Why are they there? What did they do?"

My parents were in prison, like Andy's. That explained the whispers in the corridors of course. Andy had gone through the same mess.

"They've been Death Eaters, followers of You-Know-Who. You know who that was?"

"Yes, I do. He was the maniac who led a terrorist organisation that attacked Muggle-borns, wasn't he? And my parents were members of this group?"

I took a deep breath. I had really wished to hear something else. This Voldemort person seemed like a complete madman. None of the things he said made the least bit of sense. Calling his followers "Death Eaters" didn't make him any more likeably either. My own parents had been people who believed that someone like Mandy should be killed. And now they were sitting in this terrible prison because of that. It was an utter nightmare. In my memories, they hadn't seemed evil at all but maybe they had been very different towards people they hated. This kind of thing had happened in the Muggle world, why shouldn't it happen here as well?

Tears were streaming down my face and I didn't bother to stop them. I had believed that I had belonged to a great and rich magical family and lost my parents to a magical accident or something and now this.

Nymphadora put an arm around me. "I'm really sorry," she said quietly. "I would have liked to tell you something else but that's the truth. Mum has told me about your mother. She hasn't always been like that, but after school, she got involved with this You-Know-Who and she became totally obsessed with him. Before that, they used to meet in secret, but afterwards Mum was a "Blood Traitor" and she threatened her. Your father used to be a Healer; these are something like magical doctors. He even treated me at the hospital when I was little but then he turned to You-Know-Who as well and became a completely different person. They let him change them but that doesn't mean anything about you, Mum said."

"It sounds almost like some sort of cult," I said wondering how my parents could get involved in something like that if the things in "Nature's Nobility" were true. Shouldn't they have been cleverer than that? Especially Dad if he had really been something like a doctor. I wanted to ask them about this myself. Andy was visiting his parents in prison regularly.

"Do you think I could visit them at Azkaban? I'd like to ask them about that myself."

"What? No, you can't visit Azkaban. That's not possible. High Ministry official might be allowed to go there but no one else. You wouldn't want to go there either. It's not a place for a child."

I had heard about Azkaban from the other Ravenclaws of course and I knew that she was probably right. The idea of going there frightened me but I still wanted to see my parents. Living in this place must be so terrible. Even the very thought frightened me and my parents had been living like this every day. Maybe they already felt sorry for what they did but they had no chance to ever show it because they were stuck in prison forever. Not like Andy's parents who could get out earlier if they did well.

"I'm sorry, it's really not possible," Nymphadora said. "It must be really hard to learn all this I know. Maybe I should have told you another way but I'm not that good at this kind of thing."

"No, it's not your fault." That much was clear for me. "It's really nice of you and your Mum to look after me at all after everything my parents have done to you. You could simply hate me."

"What your parents have done isn't your fault," Nymphadora said. "No one can blame you. And I think you're a good person, not like Draco." She wrinkled her nose.

"What are you two doing here? It's getting dark. Back to the castle and quickly," a gruff voice said. It belonged to Professor Sprout who was carrying a garden rake.

We got up quickly before we came in closer contact with the garden rake.

"Thank you very much for telling me, Nymphadora," I said when we had reached the Entrance Hall from where we had different routes to our common rooms.

"Don't call me Nymphadora, its Tonks."

"I can't call my cousin by her last name, can I?"

"Alright. Dora then."

"Well, Dora. Thank you for telling me."

"No problem. I'll tell you what Mum thinks about Mandy. Bye Vivien."