Author's Note:
Yay I finally have this entire story planned out! I'm so happy. I'm aiming for maybe 25 chapters and am thinking about a sort of sequel or another story in the same ficverse. What do you think? Tell me in a review if you could, thank you.
Oh and just a reminder, I don't have the book Prisoner of Azkaban to help me as a referrence, so if I get anything wrong please tell me or correct me, thank you. ^_^
Chapter 07 – Twenty Nine Days of the Month
On the morning right after the full moon, Remus like always would wake up in aching pain and possibly bleeding from his last transformation. That morning was a little bit better than the rest as he'd had access to wolfsbane potion and luckily didn't end up clawing or biting himself out of frustration. His limbs didn't ache as badly as before as he hadn't done any running like all the other moons. That last full moon was almost, bearable.
The early morning light scattered through the shredded curtains and boarded up windows of the Shrieking Shack. Remus awoke lying on the ground in a mess of two fluffy blankets, warming him up with the cold weather that was beginning outside. Being under the wolfsbane potion, Remus' memories of last night were clear and uncut. He remembered Tonks' presence. After the full moon, his wolfish traits have been heightened, along with his eye sight, hearing, and sense of smell. He could still smell her scent in the room, a lavender scent mixed with new parchment and fresh ink from her work. Remus looked around and wondered where she was. She must have left immediately when the sun rose. He didn't blame her.
As Remus got dressed and was buttoning up his shabby jumper, he suddenly heard noise, footsteps. Someone was coming into the shack. He was sure no one else besides a certain pink haired auror would dare come into the shack, and said auror had already left. He quickly finished the last buttons and grabbed his wand. Before he could do anything, the pink haired girl suddenly tripped over a nail or something on the ground and fell flat on her face into the room.
"Bloody hell," Tonks groaned while pushing herself up, her morph had slipped already.
"Tonks, are you alright?" Remus spoke, lowering his wand and walking over to help her up. His aching limbs gave out at various times, but he still managed to be of some help to her.
"This happens all the time," Tonks sighed and smiled, patting the dust off her jeans.
"Why did you come back? I thought you'd returned to Hogwarts already."
"I wasn't going to just leave you here," she laughed as if he was the odd one. "As an auror, I remembered that werewolves are really tired and weak after a transformation. Obviously you're going to need some help getting back to Hogwarts. And besides, I bought breakfast!"
Remus took the bag from her as he followed Tonks out of the shack. She allowed him to use her for support and was helping him walk with his one arm over her shoulder. Being so close to her, Remus couldn't help but notice how well his body fitted with hers. He shook his head once and tried to turn his thoughts away from that topic. Tonks was so much younger than him, by thirteen years. And besides, he was lucky enough to have her as a friend.
"You don't mind me being a werewolf? You don't have to be so nice. I understand…"
Tonks rolled her eyes. "I have to admit when I first saw you it was a bit surprising, especially having to see you transform and all, but after a while, it's not such a big deal anymore," she replied, shrugging it off as if it was nothing at all. "So what if you're a wolf?" she spoke conversationally. "My cousin is a bumbling jester, my other cousin is an animagus and Azkaban escapee, most of my family is psychotic, and I'm a metamorphmagus auror having to pose as a third year student to catch my own cousin. It's not so bad anymore with a life like this."
Remus nodded as he walked beside her. She was right, her life was rather hectic. "Thank you though," he spoke. Never before had he seen such kindness from anyone after finding out about his lycanthropy. He'd received shrieks, slap in the face and even hexes. He'd never received folded clothes, an uncaring grin, warm blankets, and breakfast.
They walked for a while in companionable silence. "So this is a monthly thing huh?"
He nodded. "Ever since I was five."
Tonks connected the dot to what he'd told her before. He'd told her of an accident he had when he was five and she was curious to know what exactly happened, but she didn't want to tread on thin ice with him so soon after a transformation. Tonks continued questioning him casually, seeing that he wasn't as tense anymore when they spoke about werewolves.
"How do you endure the pain month after month?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. I don't really know how I manage to keep living," he confided in her. "On the other twenty-nine days of the month, I'm still trapped in the shadow of lycanthropy. That's why I've had so many jobs," he spoke softly. "I'm still a monster."
Tonks felt like she was beginning to have a faint glimpse of what it was like being Remus. She patted the hand of his that she had over her shoulder. "On the other twenty-nine days of the month you are cool, kind, and gentle Professor Remus Lupin, not a monster. During the full moon, you are a tamed and harmless werewolf, still not a monster," she reassured him.
Remus was quiet for a moment but Tonks could see the ghost of a smile he had on his face. As they approached the castle's entrance, Remus finally showed her a fleeting but genuine smile. "Thank you Nymphadora. You're a really great friend."
"Don't call me Nymphadora Remus and we'll continue being really good friends."
He smiled as he continued to walk with the support of a pink haired young auror who was now his very good friend. He tried not to put too much of his weight on her. Often Remus would glance at her profile view and notice that her adult face was soothing and made him feel relaxed. The carefree smile she had on her face made him feel less like an outcast. She made him feel like in their world, there was a place for him after all, a place that would accept him.
"Hmm, I should probably morph," Tonks commented as they got inside the school halls.
"Here, I can stand by myself," Remus spoke as he was about to slowly pull back.
She held his hand tighter. "No it's fine. I'm afraid you might fall over and hurt yourself."
He smiled. "Thank you but this isn't as bad as all the other moons I've had."
"I'm still not taking any chances," Tonks spoke and made Remus laugh when she began to imitate Moody's gruff voice. "Constant vigilance, never do anything halfway!" she teased.
Remus watched in amazement as Tonks suddenly began morphing, shortening in height just a little as her body changed in that similar of maybe a third or fourth year student. Her face remained thoroughly the same except without the small scar she had along her jaw line. Tonks' eyes turned from a dark green to a soft hazel brown and her pink hair got significantly brighter.
"Is dark green your natural eye color?" Remus asked, unsure why he did so.
She nodded. "Dead boring I know, but having pink or purple eyes isn't exactly discreet," she smiled. "At least it's not as boring as my natural hair, mousy brown," she mock gagged.
"I think you'd look fine with mousy brown hair," he smiled. In Remus' eyes, somehow he no longer saw Tonks as a student like her morph had made her out to be. She still seemed like an adult in his eyes, sure a very young adult but she was still a grown up. He saw her as his adult friend that he could begin to trust more, not just a student or a reckless auror. Her colorful nature would always make her seem young to him, but he was comfortable around her.
"Oh there you are Remus," Poppy Pomfrey suddenly rushed up to them. "I've been looking for you all morning. I even visited the Shrieking Shack to make sure you're alright," she spoke non-stop. Her eyes fell on Tonks who was supporting Remus. She recognized Tonks not only from being informed about aurors but also from when Tonks went to Hogwarts and her many accidents. "Oh Miss Tonks," she smiled. "I didn't expect to see you helping Remus."
"It was a little unexpected for me too," Tonks smiled warmly.
Poppy Pomfrey shifted to support Remus while Tonks freed herself of his hold. "Well thank you. I think you best get to breakfast then, the walk back must have been long. You didn't trip and hurt yourself or did anything I should have a look at, did you?"
Tonks shook her head and grinned, a little embarrassed as Remus smiled. "Nothing to worry." She waved to them and trotted gracelessly down the hall, nearly tripping when she turned a corner and got her foot caught on the corner itself. Remus watched as his pink haired friend vanished from the corridor, feeling a newfound level of understanding between the two. Yes Tonks was young and reckless, but she had a mature side that knew when to surface as well.
As she walked into the Great Hall, she was suddenly met by a flying paper bird that flew right into her face, causing Tonks to stumble a bit and fall backwards, stirring a few stifles and laughs. She easily smiled as she picked up the damaged paper bird, a bird she recognized to be a swallow and immediately knew who the creator was.
"Good morning to you too Lexi," Tonks smiled and took her seat beside her cousin. She noticed that Lexi's dark brown eyes lit up significantly once she saw that Tonks was alright. She looked at her cousin for a moment, both wearing similar grins with a silent understanding.
"How did you know that paper bird was Lexi's?" Ginny questioned.
"She's the only one who would choose a swallow. Swallows are her favorite."
"Why a swallow Lexi?" George asked as he and Lexi began talking.
"What happened last night Tonks?" Hermione asked, smiling softly. "At the shack?"
"You guys went to the Shrieking Shack?" Harry asked, interested.
Ron laughed. "Tonks here went in it for a whole night. You have my full respect Tonks."
She smiled and proceeded to come up with a believable story for the kids. She knew that Lexi was discreetly listening and wouldn't believe her story as she'd clearly seen the house being warded off after she went in and it had to be the work of another witch or wizard. Tonks knew that Remus no doubt wouldn't want his identity as a werewolf to be known amongst the students and chose to keep his secret. If he wanted to tell the students, he'd do it himself. After a while, she managed to come up with a believable story about a ghost in the shack that is mental and loves to scare people. It went well with the previous rumors of the haunted shack.
"You didn't meet a ghost," Alexis whispered to Tonks. "You met a werewolf."
Tonks' eyes widened slightly. "I knew you wouldn't believe me but how did you know?"
"It was a full moon and that howl couldn't have come from a simple ghost. That was a werewolf's howl. Even as an Unspeakable, I could tell. What exactly happened last night?"
"It's…complicated," Tonks whispered back. "Just know that he's perfectly harmless and it's a secret so I really don't think he's comfortable with people knowing. I just incidentally found out," she replied, giving Alexis a look that her cousin understood not to probe.
"Just know if you're in danger or need help, you got me," she replied softly.
Tonks smiled and grabbed a piece of bacon while scooping scrambled eggs onto her plate. She knew she could always rely on her cousin. They have been close since they were five after Sirius had brought Alexis over to Andromeda's house and the girl ended up staying there all the way up until adulthood. Tonks was glad to have a cousin like Alexis Black. To her, the word cousin felt closer than the word brother or sister ever could.
It was early October. Remus had finished grading all of his papers and even revised the lesson plans for his classes. After finishing all his work and realizing that he'd read all the books he had with him in his room, Remus decided to pay the Hogwarts library a visit. The library was vast and endless, and surely there has to be a book in there he hadn't read before. Remus browsed through the shelves from one row to another, looking for a book that caught his interest. He had encountered many of his students and greeted them smiling. When he reached a section labeled muggle fiction, Remus looked through the shelves and found many classics, most of which either were uninteresting or he had read before.
While he was browsing, his attention was suddenly caught by a thud followed by a series of noises that sounded like books falling. Then he heard the familiar voice of Nymphadora Tonks, cursing, "bloody hell these blasted books are bloody dangerous."
He didn't even realize that a lopsided grin had played across his face as he made his way over to the other side of the shelf where some tables were set out. Tonks was lying on her backside, books scattered all around her while the table beside her was scattered with papers.
"Nymphadora are you ok?" Remus asked, walking over and helping her up.
"Don't call me Nymphadora, Professor Lupin," she mock sneered at his name and got back up on her feet with his help. "Thanks. This happens all the time I'm used to it."
"How did you fall?" he asked curiously, bending down with her and picking books up.
Tonks pointed to a large, odd looking book, The Monster Book of Monster. "That bloody thing," she huffed. "Hagrid's gone mad expecting me to be able to learn from that thing."
Remus laughed with a lopsided, wolfish grin as he helped her put the books back on the shelves. "And Tonks, how did all these books get on the floor?"
"I was climbing up the bookshelf when that thing tried to attack me," Tonks smiled, embarrassed. "While I was up here I got my wand out and got the belt back around it. Then I slipped and fell off and here I am with all these books."
His laughter turned to a kind chuckle as he shook his head at her. "You're a special one."
"Trust me, I know that already. So what brings you here oh great professor?" she teased.
"Believe it or not, I ran out of books to read so I wandered over to here."
Tonks took a seat at her table covered with papers. "Read this one then, it's quite good."
Remus sat down beside her and took the book. "Gone too Far," he read the title.
"I just finished it. The style's a little flowery but the plotline is great."
"It's about werewolves," Remus pointed out as he skimmed through the book, interested.
"Yeah," Tonks smiled nervously. "Sorry, I just wanted to know more about…you know, and reference books just bore me so Madam Pince recommended that one to me, saying it depicts werewolves and the hardships rather accurately."
"It's looks good," Remus smiled, finding the book interesting. "Can I read this?"
She nodded. "Of course, I bought it a few days ago at Hogsmeade. Oh I have a bad habit of making comments in my books when I read them so ignore that," she smiled.
He nodded and thanked her, placing the book down carefully. Tonks noticed the gentle way he took care of his books and wondered if he was that gentle with books, how gentle would he be with people he cared about. "So what are you doing this late in the library?" he asked.
"Work," Tonks sighed. "Not only do I have this case here at Hogwarts, I still have loads of reports to do from the auror department. I came here so I could loosen my morph and so people won't bother me because no one ever goes to the muggle fiction section."
He smiled and nodded. "I uh…I noticed that none of the students have heard any rumors about a werewolf professor," he began. "Thank you for keeping that a secret."
"Did you honestly think I would blab?" she asked, she wasn't offended however. "I wouldn't do that. If you had wanted other people to know you would've told them yourself. It was just my dumb luck that I got locked in the shack with you that night."
"That was dumb luck, but I'm glad it's you instead of someone else. You…you didn't run away from me or scream, or slap me, or hex me," he smiled softly.
"Are those the usual responses you get?" she asked, a bit saddened and Remus nodded, his eyes softer and saddened as well. "Well just forget about them then. If they ran away from you then they're just shallow, foolish gits."
"Thank you but it's understandable they'd run from me. You caught me in a very bad state too. Most of the time I'd just have to tell them I'm a werewolf…you…Tonks you actually saw me transform into one and yet you were unfazed."
"Well I was terrified for a moment there but you were harmless, so I wasn't scared."
"Harmless?" Remus laughed bitterly, his smile humorless and sad. "Nymphadora I am dangerous. I'm a werewolf, a beast. I could've badly wounded you. Worse, I could have bitten you. It was just sheer dumb luck that…"
"Remus Lupin, nip it," she ordered him in a suddenly stern voice. The playful and carefree Nymphadora Tonks has suddenly allowed her more mature and understanding side to surface as she placed a hand over his. "Stop saying all these terrible things about yourself. You may be a werewolf but for twenty-nine days of the month you're a kind and gentle professor. And for that one day during the full moon, you were a completely tamed and harmless werewolf. You are not a beast. You are not dangerous. Mad-Eye Moody is more dangerous than you. My bumbling cousin Lexi is more dangerous than you. Blimey, I'm more dangerous than you."
"Tonks you don't understand. You caught me while I was on wolfsbane. Without it, I am a monster. If I've done this to myself, just think about what worse things could have happened to you if I wasn't on wolfsbane," Remus spoke, trying to explain to her how she should be wary of him. It surprised him how uncaring she was. How she completely didn't mind that he was a werewolf and still talked to him as if nothing had happened. It made him happy and glad to have known her, but he still wanted her to be wary in case something did happen. Remus pulled up his sleeves and revealed to her the scars on his arms that he had inflicted upon himself when he was younger and not under the help of wolfsbane.
"I don't want to think about it. As long as you're on wolfsbane, you are not dangerous."
"But I can't brew wolfsbane and I won't have access to it forever," Remus replied.
"So?" she replied, not caring one bit about how dangerous he was. "I won't be near you on the night of the full moon then. But the other twenty-nine days of the month, you're still my friend Remus Lupin," she explained and squeezed his hand once, reassuring him.
Remus watched her, speechless. He'd never met anyone who simply didn't care about the dangers of his condition. She didn't look at him differently. And she didn't give him any sympathetic looks as well. It was as if he wasn't even a werewolf at all. Remus smiled a little, glad to have met someone like her. She was so young but yet so understanding. And she has her beliefs laid out, not easily swayed. She was quickly becoming a very close friend of his.
"Thank you," he smiled.
She patted his hand and then returned to her work. "Anytime. We're good friends and like any other good friend you sometimes need a little comfort and reassurance that's all."
"Tonks, thanks for being my friend," he smiled innocently. "My last friends, the Marauders, they all became animagi so they could help me with the full moon. Before wolfsbane, my werewolf self would hurt humans, but not animals, so they accompanied me during full moons in the Shrieking Shack. They made it bearable," he sighed wistfully.
"So that's why all the Marauders were animagi," Tonks smiled.
Remus nodded. "But that's the past. They're all gone now," he spoke, becoming sad.
"Hey, what did I say?" she spoke, pulling his attention. "We're friends now. You've got me," she smiled, her assuring but carefree grin making him want to trust her more and more.
"We're friends but I'm supposed to be your teacher as well," Remus began softly.
She looked up at him and rolled her eyes. "Right," she nodded with sarcasm. "Remus we're very good friends. You're not my teacher. The only man I ever call a proper teacher is Mad-Eye Moody. If you want to be my teacher, I'm afraid you'll have to lose an eye and replace it with a creepy magical one, lose a leg, oh and take out chunks of your nose as well," she teased.
That put a smile on Remus' face as he watched her tease her mentor. He laughed softly along with her, interested that she could get him laughing so easily. Tonks then set her quill down as she looked at him intently for a moment, causing Remus to blush. He didn't know why she was looking intently at him, but she looked cute doing it. Looking into her eyes, he noticed that they were dark green again, like two pools of soulful emerald. Remus was about to lose himself in her gaze when suddenly, Tonks scrunched up her face and looked like she was about to go cross-eyed, like she was making a funny face.
He pulled back, laughing as Tonks suddenly morphed her nose into that of a pig snout. She grinned at his laugh and continued to morph her lips and nose into a yellow bill, looking like a duck's bill. Remus continued laughing, trying hard to hold back his laughter but watching her morph into various animals was too humorous.
"See? Laughing solves everything," Tonks smiled. "Feel better?" she asked.
Remus nodded and continued to laugh. She did make him feel better. "Thank you."
"Professor Lupin, Auror Tonks, though it's late in the evening there still are students here studying. I'd appreciate it if you keep your volume down, thank you," Madam Pince called.
As the librarian walked away, Remus felt embarrassed for having been told by her even when he was a grown man and a professor at the school even, but he couldn't stop laughing because Tonks seemed unfazed and even morphed her face to look like that of Madam Pince's to imitate and mock her. He felt so immature but yet it was so funny. Remus had never laughed that hard since he was in school. A few minutes later, Tonks leaned back in her chair grinning as Remus hugged his stomach. He looked at her with a lopsided grin. Somehow, something about her always managed to cheer him up a little, get his mind away from wallowing in his depression. There was something about her that made his world suddenly brighten. Was it her reckless and carefree nature, or her colorful personality?
Winter seemed to be coming early that year. Though the snow hadn't fallen yet, the weather had already dropped tremendously. The outside air was icy and dry, the winds were sharp and violent, and the temperature only continued to drop. Tonks was already wearing a winter cloak as she patrolled the grounds, despite Moody's insistence that it would slow her down even more. On a particularly chilly and quiet morning in mid October, Tonks was outside patrolling with Silvia. They hadn't got much news about Sirius lately and reports of his sightings have gone from somewhat accurate to completely unreasonable. As she walked Tonks was uncharacteristically quiet. She found herself distracted from her task of looking for Sirius and being wary of dementors as she thought about Remus and the fast approaching full moon. He always looked ill around the time of the moon and she wondered why he had to face something so cruel. It seemed so unfair. He didn't deserve the discriminations of lycanthropy.
"You're awfully distracted today Tonks," Silvia noted as if it wasn't obvious enough.
She tried to break free of her thoughts and turned to her friend, faking a grin and sticking her tongue out. "What? Shocked that I'm actually quiet and stable today?" she smiled.
"Actually, yes," Silvia nodded and smiled. "Come on, I'm sure Professor Lupin's poor health isn't that big of a problem. Stop worrying," she continued.
"What? I'm not worried about Professor Lupin. How did you know?" Tonks replied. She knew Lexi wouldn't say anything, it wasn't in her nature, but the only other person who ever saw something between Tonks and Remus was probably the ever vigilant Mad-Eye Moody. Tonks was confused. There was nothing between her and Remus besides friendship. "Who told you? Not Lexi, probably no one else but Mad-Eye. But he doesn't gossip."
"Nope, not Lexi. Mad-Eye technically didn't, but you forget that he tends to grumble."
"That old codger's gonna have a piece of my mind when I'm done with my shift."
"You know you're the only one who has the nerve to threaten Mad-Eye Moody right back?" Silvia laughed. "He was just grumbling about how you spend a lot of time with Remus lately. If you put two and two together, seeing how distracted you are and Remus' poor health lately, it all makes sense," Silvia smiled.
"Great, now you sound like my analytical cousin Lexi," Tonks grumbled.
"It's kind of obvious," she continued to laugh. "Don't worry. Though the age difference is a little wide, age is still just a number. And Remus is a fine bloke, he fits you."
"You make it sound like there's something romantic going on between Remus and I," Tonks replied. "We're just friends, besides Remus doesn't like me that way."
"Ah but you didn't deny that you like him that way."
"Oh stop it, you know what I mean. There's nothing romantic going on."
"Nothing at the moment," Silvia smirked. "Remus Lupin is a fine bloke. In school he was popular amongst the girls but too quiet. You two are opposites but I think he fits you."
"You were in school the same time he and his friends were?"
"Merlin Tonks how old did you think Remus was or how old did you think I was?" She laughed. "I'm only thirty-one you know, and Remus and his friends are two years older than me.
Tonks had overlooked that factor. Silvia was in her early thirties and Remus was in his early thirties as well. Of course they went to school together. They must have at least heard of each other and Silvia must have at least heard of the Marauders. If she knew the Marauders, she'd know Sirius Black. Tonks wanted to see what Silvia's opinions of Sirius was because she couldn't remember the last time she heard Silvia speaking ill of her cousin. She remained neutral towards him, and it made Tonks wonder.
"That means you knew Sirius Black as well. If you knew Remus, you'd know Sirius."
Silvia suddenly sighed and slumped a little. "I was afraid you'd go there. Yes I knew Sirius Black, we were…well acquaintances I'd say. I once dated the man too for a few months." Silvia continued speaking much to Tonks' delight. One fact about Silvia White Tonks had forgotten was the fact that Silvia was too honest and detailed for her own good.
"You dated him? What do you think of Sirius? You never seem to speak bad about him like the other aurors do, I remember." Tonks wanted to know more. She knew Silvia had more experience than her and wanted to know if there was a strong, logical possibility that Sirius was innocent and she knew Silvia could give her an answer, if not something close.
"In school I remembered he's a fine bloke. Sure he's a total troublemaker, slacks off in class and really loves to bully Severus Snape and a few others, but once you're his friend he's completely loyal to you, kind of like his friends who called themselves the Marauders I think. He seems like a good friend. I would've never thought he'd betray his own friend like that twelve years ago. But I find it unfair as well because when the locked him up in Azkaban, he was never given a fair trial. The Ministry was wrong there and only went on the assumption that Black had blasted all witnesses to pieces, leaving only a finger of Peter Pettigrew left."
"Doesn't it make you wonder how supposedly the rest of Pettigrew were blasted, but his finger survived?" Tonks asked as her expression turned contemplative.
"Like I said, the Ministry did wrong in not giving Black a proper trial."
"How come you never voice this whenever we were discussing Sirius Black?"
"It's not like I could Tonks. You know the aurors at the Ministry, you can barely get by without skeptical glares and your relations with Sirius are tenuous. If someone was caught defending him, Fudge would no doubt have a word with them and who knows how that would turn out with Fudge's paranoia and terrible judgment. I also feel bad for Alexis sometimes, I hear she has meetings with Fudge often and they're not settled ones."
Tonks nodded. It was true, Lexi did have to meet with Fudge often and knowing Lexi's inner flame and refusal to kiss up to anyone, she and Fudge didn't get along too well. Tonks also noted that there might be others like Silvia who believed it was unfair for Sirius and that there was something wrong with the case, but were too afraid of the trouble to speak up. She'd also noted that Pettigrew's finger left behind was rather odd. Maybe there still was a chance that her dear old cousin Padfoot was innocent after all, a small chance, but a chance nonetheless.
In the evening, most students were back in their common rooms by that time, but several still remained in the Great Hall, studying, or just chatting. Alexis was working on her many reports and assignments she still had to finish for her job as an Unspeakable. Marrick had agreed to patrol alone while she worked. After sitting there for a while, she noticed that the Weasley Twins were still there. Usually they were back up in their dorms by that time, planning some other master prank to pull on Filch or some unsuspecting victim. While Fred was running around talking to his many, many friends, George uncharacteristically stayed back and talked to Lexi.
"How do you know so many tricks?" George asked after Lexi had taught him how to get rid of a howler. He found it rather useful as he and his twin got howlers from their mother all the time. "Wicked, mum's gonna freak when I do this," he smirked.
She smirked, a smirk of mischief similar to his but still very different. "I'm a retired prankster. Trust me. I used to be so much worse than now. I'd say I've grown up," she laughed.
"That is so cool. Do you have any other tricks you can teach me?" George asked eagerly.
"What do you want to know?" she asked, setting her quill down and covering her papers.
"I want to learn how to read a person's mind," he declared.
She laughed a little, noticing that his smirk turned to a smile when she laughed. "Georgie, that's what Veritaserum is for. I'm sure you and Fred already knew about this."
"Yes but we can't brew Veritaserum," George sighed. "And you just called me Georgie."
"Sorry, did you not like that," she smiled a bit more reserved. "It slipped, sorry."
He shook his head and grinned. "No it's just that usually only Fred calls me that. You can call me Georgie too if you'd like, I don't mind. It sounds good actually, when you say it."
Lexi laughed and shook her head. "George Weasley you're one odd kid."
"I'm not a kid. I'm only a year younger than you. You're not that old," he grinned.
Alexis opened her mouth and was about to counter when Marrick and Hermione suddenly stormed in and sat down beside them. George and Lexi looked up, both raising their eyebrows as they wondered what had happened. Hermione looked upset, and Marrick looked annoyed. Lexi was also sure that Marrick was supposed to be patrolling the halls.
"What's wrong smarty-pants?" George asked casually to Hermione.
Hermione shook her head. She seemed really upset now. Alexis turned to Marrick.
"This kid named Draco Malfoy called her a…you know," Marrick replied.
"Malfoy's a git. Don't listen to him Hermione," George comforted her.
"He mentioned things about blood purity," Hermione spoke. "How people like me with not a single drop of magical blood in them aren't fit to learn magic," she said in a low voice.
Alexis suddenly turned and faced Hermione, placing her hands on Hermione's shoulder, unknowing that she was being watched by both Marrick and George. "Hermione, the blood in your body is nothing but a liquid necessary to live. It doesn't determine whether you're fit to learn magic or not," she spoke softly in an airy voice with a sisterly tone to her. "You're a brilliant witch and no one your age knows as much as you do. If Malfoy wants to judge who's unfit to learn magic, it's him. He talks about blood purity but he and his family brings shame to the other purebloods. And blood purity doesn't matter squat."
Hermione nodded. Though she was still quiet, she seemed less upset than before.
"Besides, the Malfoy family is a totally messed up family, just like the Black family," Alexis added. Marrick knew she was thinking about her relations to them, how technically, Draco Malfoy was her cousin as well but she never would admit to it.
"You know the Malfoy family?" Hermione asked as George leaned in to listen.
Alexis sighed and nodded her head side to side. "I've…talked to them yeah."
Hermione continued talking to Lexi as Marrick and George engaged in a conversation. The boys noticed that Alexis seemed like a big sister to Hermione at that moment, comforting her and reassuring her. Both women were highly intelligent and they seem to share a common ground with that intelligence, no matter how different their personality is.
Throughout their stay at Hogwarts, Tonks just remembered that she'd never had the chance to patrol the grounds or school with her cousin. Now that they were patrolling together, Tonks realized why Mad-Eye Moody was so hesitant in pairing the two cousins together. Around each other, neither of them could work as Tonks' clumsiness visited her more often than usual and Lexi, as close as she was to Tonks, would just double over laughing every time she fell. They were supposed to be making sure the dementors don't get in the ground and looking for their cousin Sirius Black as well, but that task seemed impossible when they were together. Tonks grumbled as she pushed herself back up on her feet. Her bumbling cousin with raven black hair had just recovered from her laughter and was shaking her head at Tonks who had just tripped over a branch and fallen into a mud puddle.
"Tergeo," Alexis managed to get the correct incantation through her laugh.
Tonks mock glared at her cousin after she was cleaned by the wandless spell. "Why do you always find it so amusing when I fall? You're my family you're supposed to help me up."
"And that's it," Alexis smirked. "I'm your family, if I don't laugh at you, who else would?" she grinned cheekily. "And besides, I'm sick and tired of acting mature. I haven't been able to let loose at all whenever I had to patrol with Marrick or Rookwood. And that one night with Bode was just outright creepy. He scares me more than Snape does."
"That reminds me, how are you and Marrick? You guys are very friendly now."
Alexis playfully pushed her pink haired cousin. "He's alright. I can't really see myself with him though. He's not…hmm…playful enough, too serious for my liking."
"Isn't that just what you need, someone to stable you?" Tonks asked. "Think about it. All your last relationships, the blokes were too playful and how did that turn out? You played with all of them. Maybe Marrick is just what you need to get into a serious relationship."
"I guess," Alexis nodded. "He's been more open to fun and stuff I like."
"Come on, I want to see you in a long, happy relationship," Tonks smiled.
"I'll fall into one sooner or later," Alexis smiled. "Love comes when you least expect it, so I'm not on a lookout, and now enough about me, what about you? You and a certain bookworm professor by the name of Remus Lupin," she smirked.
"We're just really good friends and you know I always treat my friends really well."
"Yes but you treat Remus especially well. I'm your cousin, trust me, I know."
"Lexi there's nothing romantic going on between me and Remus. I just care about him as I would care for a friend. He's been through a lot, that's why it seems I care about him more."
Her cousin nodded, unbelieving. "Uh huh, you don't have any feelings for Remus Lupin at all, that's like me saying that I'm not a Black," she scoffed. "I'm you cousin, I know what's going through your mind right now. You think you're not good enough for him."
"You know me so well," Tonks groaned, unsure if it was a good thing or a bad thing.
"Well stop thinking. Thinking is dangerous. Just follow your heart. At least in the end, you can't say you regret what you've done," Alexis spoke. She thought about her quote, wishing she could take her own advice. That was the weird thing she'd discovered about advices. Sentimental advices are easier said than done. They forever remain as words, and those who gave the advice are never able to follow their own advice. They were quite odd.
"What if your heart is being stupid?" Tonks asked, walking with a backward lean.
"Tonks I can tell you feel something for him, so why not just trust yourself and go for it. For all I know, you can give the shy professor a right good shag if you feel like it," she smirked.
Tonks' jaw dropped as she smacked her cousin's arm. "Alexis, Lydia, Black!"
"Did you have to use my middle name cousin? Nymphadora," she teased.
"You're asking for a hex!" Tonks announced as she took out her wand and teased Alexis with it. They suddenly stopped when Lexi's grin dropped and Tonks turned to see they were staring at a large black dog square in the eyes. The dog resembled the Grim and it looked wary of them, watchful, but not attacking. He had dark eyes, haunted hollow eyes, but there was truth in there as well, as if he had many things he wanted to say to them. Lexi was silent, unsure of what to do. Tonks couldn't stop herself when she breathed, "Sirius?"
Without another second between them, the dog suddenly turned sharply in the opposite direction and dashed away, crunching branches and dead leaves under his padded foot. Tonks and Alexis gave chase immediately. Tonks' clumsiness didn't affect her when necessary, luckily. Alexis was never an auror, but her energy allowed her to run as fast as Tonks. The two cousins ran side by side, chasing another cousin. All from the same family and they found it so ironic.
"You nut, he ran because he knew that you knew who he was," Alexis breathed.
"Well we have to stop him though, at least to talk to him," Tonks replied.
The chase continued as Alexis suddenly shot a trip jinx at the black dog. She missed as he had been running too fast as a moving target. Tonks then shot many trip jinxes at him as well, being careful to aim a little bit ahead of him, but Sirius was no fool. He ran in a zigzag as he tried to get away from them. Though he was running in a zigzag, he was still too fast for them to catch. They were nearing the gates of Hogwarts and Tonks could see the black cloaked dementors looming over top. She worried what Sirius would do but her eyes suddenly widened when he disappeared into a small hole on the ground, perhaps a passage way.
"Engorgio!" Tonks yelled as she flicked her wand at the spot Sirius disappeared into.
"Bloody hell!" Alexis cursed as both she and her pink haired cousin fell into the large hole. There seemed to be another stone landing under them as they suddenly landed on hard surface unexpectedly. Alexis landed on her back, her head crashing against the stone ground, causing black spots to appear in her vision.
Tonks fell face first but her auror training caused her to be able to grab the large black dog before he sprinted away from them again. She clung onto him and for a moment he'd tried to escape, but her grip was too strong. Tonks wrestled the black dog down physically, sighing in relief when Lexi finally got up and managed to place a body-bind spell on the large black dog that they both believed was their cousin.
"Tonks your bleeding," Alexis sighed, rubbing her forehead and temple.
She glanced down and noticed that while wrestling with the dog, she must have injured herself as there were bleeding claw marks on her left forearm. Tonks sighed and used a healing charm to prevent them from bleeding. The wounds didn't close completely but she looked up at the two looming cloaked figures over them and realized she had bigger trouble at the moment.
"Expecto Patronum," Tonks and Alexis spoke together, both was raising their wand.
From the tips of their wands, two ethereal trails of while light shielded them and the black dog from the two attacking dementors. The black cloaked figures glided down on them but were stopped by the white glow of their patronuses. Tonks' patronus shield quickly turned into the form of a jolly and energetic ferret, bouncing around with energy and protecting her. Alexis' patronus shield was a little bit slower than Tonks, probably because of her pounding headache, but it soon turned into the flying form of a beautiful swallow with a long, wispy tail. Their patronuses danced around the girls and the black dog together, driving away the two dementors with ease. After the looming dementors left, the feeling of coldness that they realized had surrounded the room vanished. Their ethereal animal figures faded away slowly while the hole that they had fallen through above them came to a close.
Tonks turned to face Alexis, breathing hard as she pushed herself up to her feet from the ground, helping her unstable cousin up as Alexis continued to rub the back of her head. They both looked around. It seemed as if they were standing in the middle of an underground tunnel, one similar to the muggle sewage system except luckily without all the waste and disgusting after products. Tonks recognized it to be similar to the one path Remus had shown her when she served detention with him and he took her through a secret passage to get out of Hogwarts and catch a grindylow. She remembered what he told her that day after a few moment of thought. Tonks wondered if this could be a part of the underground escape routes of Hogwarts.
"Where the bloody hell are we?" Alexis asked, looking around.
"This tunnel was similar to the one Remus took me in to get out of Hogwarts that one time," Tonks told her cousin. "The day my locator emitted blue waves of light."
Lexi nodded, remembering. "So this is some secret underground tunnel of Hogwarts?"
"Pretty much," Tonks sighed. She then turned back to the large black dog who laid bounded beside them, his eyes still active and dancing around rapidly, looking from one girl to another. "What do we do about him?" Tonks asked.
"He's Sirius alright," Alexis nodded and wiped the dirt off her face. "His eyes."
Tonks looked into the dog's eyes and nodded. She could never forget those eyes, no matter how dark or haunted they've become. She knew they were Sirius' eyes, she could feel it. He had dark eyes and if you looked closely you'd notice they were grey. His eyes had a commanding presence to them, a trait passed down through generations of the Black family tree. His eyes were similar to Alexis', and held something in there they couldn't quite explain.
"Wotcher Padfoot," Tonks nodded to the bounded dog. "What do we do now?"
"I'm not the auror here," Alexis sighed and bent down to pat the black dog, checking if they'd put any injuries on him. "Well we've got two options," she began. "One, and that is the right thing to do, we leave him bounded like this and take him back to Moody and the others. Wait for what they have to say and no doubt they'll deem him as insane and chuck him back into Azkaban. Then our mission here would be finished."
"What's the second one?" Tonks asked, bending down beside her two cousins.
"The second choice is the totally wrong thing to do and no doubt a reckless move. We force him to turn back to his human form and we have a nice chat with our good ol' cousin Padfoot," Alexis finished, looking up at Tonks.
It appears that Alexis had placed the final decision in Tonks. The pink haired auror turned from her one cousin to the other, wondering what she should do. She was an auror and the right thing to do was to bring him back immediately. But she couldn't forget the fact that Sirius Black had once been her favorite cousin Padfoot, and she and Lexi never quite believed that the man was an insane murderer. There were just too many questionable details in his case. It was her decision and she could go either way…
How was it? Please leave a review if you could they make me happy. And even though I don't respond to each one, I read every single one of them, so sorry and thank you so much. ^_^