Chapter 4 -bruised pride-
The whole stuation with professor Mcgonagall and the girl, now she found out was Alex Ravens, had made her incredibly late for potions class as she ran down the steps tripping many times and fumbling with her books as she went.
She cursed herself mentaly as she triped a final time dropping her book and notes and sending herself sprawling, she got to her feet quickly ignoring the scrape on her cheek from the floor as she dashed for the heavy wooden door.
She took a breath to steady herself before pushing it open carefully and ducked her head as the class fell completly quite save a few slytharin kids snickering at her.
Trying to avoid Snape's sight she made an attempt to sneek to her table but a yelp she gave as she stumbled into the table gave her away.
"You're late again Nymphadora, 10 points from Hufflepuff for your inpence."
Snape's voice was cold as he meerly glanced at her over his shoulder his black eyes cold as onyx stones making her hang her head and cleanch her fists biting on her lip till a single drop of blood trickled to the floor as she made her way to her table.
After class and a few of her fellow Hufflepuffs making up for the points she lost by being late Tonks hurryed up to the owlry droping her bag just outside but just as she was about to step in she ran into someone sending them both back a step, her losing what little balance she had.
Tonks' head rang with dizzyness as she landed on her back on the cold stones.
"Ow what the bloody hell did I hit?"
Tonks wasn't looking for an answer as she sat up shaking her head clear.
"Um let me see that would have been my chest."
The voice was thick with a laugh as a hand appired infront of her face offering to help her up and she took it smiling up at Charlie as he pulled her up but her feet had other plans as they made her stumble on the uneaven stones and fall into his arms causing her to blush and her hair turn pale pink.
"S-sorry, sorry but um t-thanks Char."
Tonks rambled as she pulled away from him her face hot as she looked down embarrassd beond wanting to run away and hide.
"No problem, you arn't hurt are you Tonks?"
Charlie asked looking her over seeing nothing besides her blush whitch caused him to chuckle tilting her chin up to look at him.
"Nah I'm fine really just a soar bum."
Tonks' tone waverd as she locked eyes with him her gray eyes looking over his soft brown ones as they seemed to peer inside of her being before she cleared her throat turning away to look about the owls in the owlry her eyes falling on her families brown barn owl cleaning it's feathers a letter sitting under it's foot.
Charlie caught sight of where she was looking and realised her hand, whitch he was unaware he was still holding, so she could go to the owl.
Tonks smiled going to the bird and carefuly took the letter getting a well disurved nip on the finger as she startled the poor thing and she cursed under her breath taking the bleeding wond into her mouth trying to open the letter one handed and failing to Charlie's amusement as he carefully took the letter from her.
"Allow me while you tend your wound."
His tone was teasing and made her punch his shoulder with an unstopible smile as he laughed and opened the letter handing it back.
Tonks quickly removed her finger from her mouth to take out the letter and read it quickly.
"Dear Nymphadora,
I'm happy to hear that your settling in nicly and making new friends, you seemed almost worryed in your writting to tell me about your sorting as if I'd be mad at you when in all honesty Nymphadora I couldn't be prouder to hear that you have been sorted acording to your brave and loving heart not your family bloodline sweetheart.
I look forward to hearing about what's going on at the school and can't wait already for the break to come so you can be home again, your father says that without you here the house is almost to quite and that he misses the sound of you tripping over the lose rug at the top of the steps outside your room every night before bed and the sound of a plate crashing to the floor in the kitchen every now and again as you stumble on nothing but a flat surface.
We both love and miss you dearly Nymphadora be safe and keep out of trouble.
Love Mum and Daddy."
Tonks smiled at the letter as she re-read it for the hundreath time as she sat at the dinning table in the noisey Great hall when she was snapped out of her thoughts by the girl beside her, Rose Pirce her best friend, nudging her.
"Tonks your hair is blindingly bright you know that right?"
Rose asked with a small giggle as she looked at Tonks' practicly glowing pink hair.
"Sorry I'm just happy I spose."
She chuckled as she shifted it back to a less bright faded rose pink, beside her Rose giggled again before returning to eating the food on her plate.
Tonks folded the letter up and tucked it into her robe and began to eat happily wolfing down the food causing her house mates to either laugh or grimince and as she looked up to talk to Rose she saw Charlie and Bill out of the corrner of her eye both laughing Charlie more at her than the joke his brother and the others were laughing at.
Tonks' happiness faded quickly after dinner was over and she made her way down to Snape's office for her detention, she squared her shoulders before knocking on the door.
"Enter."
Snape's cold voice came from the other side of the door making her shudder lightly as she opened the door seeing the proffesor writting on papers before him on the desk.
"Take a seat and take out a quil, ink and pad of parchment you'll be writting lines."
He didn't even bother to look up from the paper as he pronounced the words curtly making her cringe a bit.
Tonks made her way to the desk as far from him as she could manage and sat taking out the requested items unstopping her ink well.
"What lines will I be writting professor?"
She hated the way her voice sounded, stupidly helpless and weak as she looked up at the blank board.
"You will copy the text from page 394 of your potions text book and copy the instructions for the potion on that section."
His tone was like ice as he put down his quil to look at her his leer just as cold and emotionless as his voice.
Tonks quickly dug out her book opening to the page and groaned seeing that the whole page as well as the 3 that fallowd were sold text.
"It'll be well past midnight before I even get to the second page of this!"
She complained aloud slumping in her chair leering at the book as her hair turned a disaproving shade of red.
"Than I sujest you begin then,"
He was looming over her his eyes piercing into her back.
"Just like your causin, lazy and whiney."
His dark tone was only a mear murmmer but it was clear enough for her ears to hear and it made her blood boil as she slamed her hands onto the desk causing her ink well to quiver threating to tip it over.
"Shut up! You know nothing about him to talk like that! My causin was a good man!"
She shouted standing, causing her ink to tip over and spill all over the hip of her robe, and turning to face him only to see his back to her before he whurled around grabing her by the front of her robes anger shinning in his black eyes.
"Your causin was a swine just like his friends as well as being lazy and whiney just as you are."
His voice was rigid and harsh as he looked into her eyes making her confidence waver but only for a moment as she leered back.
"No he was not!"
She protested again leering back at him as he relesed her robes.
"Get out, now."
His tone sent ice into her blood but never the less she grabed her things and left her angry tears blurring her vision as she stomped down the hall making her unable to see the jutting stone in the floor before her toe caught on it making her fall forward onto the floor.
Tonks pushed her self up onto her hands and knees roughly scrubing away her tears with the sleave of her robe to clear her eyes before she pulled herself up and hurryed to an abandoned corridor before stoping to catch her breath rubbing her eyes to get rid of any stray tears.
She paused to look around and see where she was finding herself just outside of the library, swallowing heavily she went in and sat at a table slowching low in the chair her arms crossed furmly memories from a time that seemed to be ages ago flooded her head.
"'Where did little Nymphie go? Has she disapired?'
Sirius called as he walked about the large living room looking behind the chairs for the little 3 year old girl who was trying to smuther a giggle from where she hid behind a lage and heavy drape in the room.
Sirius gave a barking laugh as he walked past the drape pretending not to hear the tiny giggle as she huddled agenst the cool glass of the window.
'This isn't very arour like, oh well if the brave and great arour Tonks isn't here I guess that leaves me free to do as I please.'
His voice was like smooth velvet as he walked away from the drape tward the couch in the room at which point the small girl jumped out from behind the drape and help out a small toy wand at her causin.
'Surender dark wizard!'
She giggled watching him as he put his hands up in surender as he smiled with a styfuled chuckle.
'Please don't hurt me great arour Tonks I'll do as you say.'
He mock plead as she smiled proud of herself lowering the wand to her side.
'Good, come quitly and there wont be any is-'
Her sentance was cut off as Sirius dove at her picking her up and tickiling her relentlessly."
Tonks pouted and whiped away the tears that fell from her eyes agenst her will and growled slamming her hands on the table and kicking over the chair oppiset her in rage ignoring the harsh look from the librarian as she did so.
"It's not fair."
She mumbled to her self and sighed picking up the chair putting it back where it was and leaving quitly.