The DADA Professor
Jane sat in her home office with Remus looking over her shoulder at the list of names from Gringotts.
"That's a lot of people." Remus remarked.
"Yes but there's a few that we can already rule out." Jane said. "They've listed parents of muggleborn students and we can pretty much forget about them. Any adults that are muggleborn we could possibly rule out as well. But I'll probably still have someone question them just to be safe. We can't assume someone is good or bad just because of their blood. Especially since we aren't entirely sure of what their motives are."
"Right," Remus said. He took a piece of parchment with names and scanned it. "How do you know which ones are muggleborn?"
"Well I have almost all wizarding families names memorized," Jane said with a shrug. "I'm a product of old traditions after all."
She stood up and followed and looked along her shelf. She pulled out a couple of large books. One of which had a title written in silver: Pureblood Directory. The other, which looked somehow larger and older, had a title written in a language that Remus couldn't understand.
"What's that one?" He said pointing to the larger one. He knew all about the Pureblood Directory thanks to his friendship with James, Jane, and Sirius.
"It's a book that records all the witches, wizards, and their families," Jazlyn said. "If I don't recognize a name I could just tap my wand, say their name, and their family tree should appear."
"And it works for muggles?" Remus asked skeptically.
"I'm pretty sure." Jane said.
"That's not convincing." He responded
"Fine," she said. She whipped out her wand and tapped the book. "Eleanor Granger."
A gold light surrounded the book for a moment. When it cleared Jane opened it and there in the middle of the page was the name Eleanor Granger surrounded by extravagant branches of other names. Underneath her name was a branch that connected to another name with a little wand by it that read "Hermione Granger" signifying that there was a witch in the family.
"That's the girl Jazlyn mentioned right?" Remus asked.
"Yes," she sighed. Her face fell. "Has she been writing you?"
Remus gave a short nod. "It's only been a couple of days. It'll get better for her."
"It's Hogwarts." Jane exclaimed. "She's supposed to be having fun, causing trouble like you all did. Making friends. It's, well, it's Hogwarts."
"Give it time. She'll be ok," Remus said, though he wasn't sure who he was trying to assure. "She's got Harry and Neville. And it sounds like she still has that girl, Hermione."
"I should've freed him sooner. I should've done more. Gotten him a trial faster. Bailed him out like the Malfoys. Something! I have enough money to buy Azkaban. I could do it now honestly. Probably. She doesn't deserve this! She's a child! I completely didn't think about how people would react to her. The Black name already had a reputation before Sirius. Merlin, Sirius hated it and now his child has to deal with it too! She should've grown up happy with her father. She absolutely adored him. And now...and Sirius absolutely adored her too. Oh he would be so disappointed in me if he ever found out what's going on with her. I should've been a better mother—" she had started pacing back and forth, no longer paying attention to Remus who was trying to get her to stop. Her hands waved frantically in the air or running down her face.
"JANE!" Remus grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Hey!"
He pulled her into a hug. Her breathing was heavy. Tears pricking her eyes.
"Stop it," he said sternly. "You are a wonderful mother. It's not your fault children can be cruel sometimes. Jazlyn is tougher than she looks. You can't protect her from everything. And as for Sirius we'll figure it out. Honestly with how public it was I don't think bribing the ministry would have worked. And he would not have wanted you to do it anyways. He's far too prideful for that."
Jane hiccuped.
"Do you think I should tell her?" She stepped away and looked up at him. "What we're doing?"
"No," he said without hesitation. "Even if she believed you I doubt it would help. It would just confuse her. Honestly, she'll have a hard time either way. But she won't be able to do anything different if you told her now."
"Oh! She'll think I've lied to her for her whole life," Jane said. "She'll never trust me again!"
"Hey," Remus said. "You don't know that. She's a smart girl, she'll understand."
"Still I think I'm going to start my investigation at Hogwarts," Jane said. She picked up the list of names the goblins had given her. "Dumbledore won't be happy with it but It'll give me a reason to question Snape."
"Is Snape one of the people on the list?" Remus asked incredulously.
"No," Jane said. "But it's like you said before, we know of 2 Death Eaters not in Azkaban to question."
"So what does this list have to do with anything?" He asked.
"Quirinus Quirrell," Jane said, pointing to a name on the list. "Remember him?"
"That nervous looking Professor we met in the pub?" Remus scoffed. "The pathetic new defense teacher?"
Jane rolled her eyes at him. "We all know you would be a much better fit, Remus, if you just applied for the job."
She whacked him with the parchment in her hands. He acted offended and ignored her.
"And yes him," Jane said. "He went to Gringotts that day."
"Do you really think he could've tried to pull it off?" Remus asked in disbelief. "Honestly he seems like the kind of bloke who couldn't lie to save a life."
"We thought the same thing about Peter," she retorted.
He quieted. She was right of course.
—
Once again she needed an auror escort. Since it was Hogwarts, she insisted on only one auror. Somehow Mad- eye Moody agreed. And even more surprising was that the one auror he assigned was a new trainee of only 2-3 months.
"She needs practice in the field." He had grunted "Evil doesn't wait for you to be ready. No better place than Hogwarts. Besides, she's familiar with the area."
"Most everyone here has gone to Hogwarts," Jane uselessly pointed out.
But in all honesty she didn't mind. In Fact she was quite pleased with the pick. Nymphadora Tonks. The daughter of Sirius's favorite cousin, Andromeda. She had been about 6 or 7 when she and Sirius had gotten married and was the flower girl at their wedding. After Sirius's incarceration, Andromeda had reached out to Jane and offered her support. Whenever any of Jane's usual babysitters were unavailable, Andromeda would take in the younger Black children. When Nymphadora was younger Jane had done the same. Even though neither happens very often. Aside from that, they would often invite each other's families over for Sunday brunch.
Jane would like to say that she wasn't at all shocked at how grown up Nymphadora was. While Jane often went over to the Tonks' home, Nymphadora was scarcely there. Either off at Hogwarts or visiting friends in the summer. But now here she stood in front of her wearing her auror robes, a little taller than Jane, with bright pink hair. It seemed she had finally gotten control of her metamorphmagus abilities.
"Wotcher, Jane!" Nymphadora said when she burst through Jane's office.
"Nymphadora!" Jane greeted her with a smile. She held her arms open for a hug.
"Don't call me that!" The younger girl said. Her hair went from a bright pink to a bright red. Then she promptly tripped and her hair went back to pink.
"What is with you and Jazlyn not wanting to go by your first names?" Jane mused.
"We'd go by them if you didn't name us something awful!" Nymphadora defended. "At least you had the decency to give her a good middle name."
With that the pair headed out to Hogwarts. They were greeted by the Headmaster at the gates. He pulled Jane aside to let her know of his disapproval in her plans to speak to Snape. She didn't question how he knew that was part of her agenda. However, Jane remained unphased.
"If you do find out anything during your time here, do let me know," Professor Dumbledore said when they stopped at the Defense against the Darks arts classroom.
Jane nodded and knocked as he left. She opened the door without really waiting for a response. Immediately she was met with the strong smell of garlic. Thankfully, a class wasn't in session. But still a professor stood pouring over a stack of books in the classroom.
"Professor Quirrell, was it?" Jane said to announce her presence. "We met at Diagon Alley."
"Y-yes, Mrs. Black- I mean Potter, no, er," Quirrell stuttered. He slammed a book shut and tucked it away.
"Black is fine," Jane said with a wave of her head. "Auror Tonks and I are here on behalf of the Ministry."
Quirrell seemed to get more nervous and shaky. He spluttered to respond. It was something both Jane and Tonks mentally took note of.
"T-to w-what do I-I one this p-pleasure," he stuttered. "I-is something w-wrong?"
"There's no need to be nervous," Jane said reassuringly. "I'm just here about the break in at Gringotts. It happened the day both you and I were there. I'm going around talking to everybody who paid the bank a visit that day."
"Oh of c-course," Quirrell said as he straightened his turban and glanced again between the two women. "Although, I'm N-not sure how M-much I-I can help."
Jane smiled gently. She moved further in the room and gestured for Tonks to wait by the door. She pulled out a roll of parchment and a quick quotes quill. This one was special and noted down behaviors as well. With a wave of her wand they floated by her. She watched as Quirrell eyed them and glanced at her. She was shorter than Quirrell but her presence was much larger. Something she learned to do from her mother and came naturally by now. She stood tall with her head up. She looked very diplomatic and knew it could be intimidating.
"You were in Diagon Alley on July 31st, correct?" She asked. He nodded mutely.
"You visited Gringotts on that day, is that correct?" She asked. Again he nodded mutely.
"At what time of day did you go to Gringotts?"
"A-around 11 in the morning I-I believe." He stuttered out. "c-course it was s-so long ago I c-could be m-mistaken."
"Of course," Jane said light-hardly. "And what vault did you go to?"
"M-my personal v-vault." Quirrell said. "998."
"Did you happen to see anything unusual while you were there, Professor Qurriell?" She asked.
"N-no not at all." He said. She watched as he straightened his turban.
"Are you aware of the contents in the vault that was broken into?" She looked him carefully in his eye. She could tell that he fought to hold her intimidating gaze.
"Y-yes." He said. He fiddled with his turban again.
She didn't say anything and continued to look at him until he elaborated.
"T-The Sorcerer's St-stone," he said.
"And do you know where that object currently is?" Jane said, watching him carefully. His hand twitched, but he kept himself from reaching for his turban again.
"Y-yes," he replied. "B-but I can't s-say where."
"Dumbledore has already informed me of its location." Jane said. "Do you have a part in providing protection for this object at its new location?"
"Y-yes," he said. "B-but I can't s-say what I h-have done."
"Of course," Jane said with an understanding smile. "Are you aware of what other measures have been taken for its protection?"
"N-no," Quirrell said. "P-Professor Dumbledore says the f-fewer who know t-the better."
"Right," Jane said. "And how long have you been a Professor at Hogwarts?"
"I was the m-muggle st-studies teacher for about five years b-before going on a S-sabbatical for a year." He said. "Th-this is my f-first year teaching D-defense against the d-dark arts."
"Why did you become a DADA Professor instead of returning to your old job?"
"Th-the muggle studies position was f-filled and I th-thought that my ex-experience from my t-travels would be best with th-this position."
"Where did you travel?" She asked curiously.
"Oh quite a few places," he said vaguely. He adjusted his turban once more.
Again, she just stared at him expectantly until he spoke more specifically.
"A f-few countries in Africa, R-Romania, Bulgaria, Al-albania and the like," he said, once again adjusting his turban.
"Africa? Is that where your Turban is from?" Jane asked curiously.
Quirrell seemed to be trying to not shift uncomfortably. "Y-yes. I r-received it f-from a-an African P-prince after I assisted w-with a z-zombie pro-problem they h-had."
"I thought I recognized it," Jane said conversationally. "Prince T'chaka right?"
Quirrell nodded. He seemed to relax a bit. Jame returned to her questioning.
"Did you by any chance see anything unusual during your travels?" She asked, watching him carefully. "Or perhaps come across someone who would be interested in such an object?"
"N-no," he said quickly.
"Hmm, well thank you for your cooperation," Jane asked. She snatched the quill and parchment out of the air quickly and placed it in her bag. "I had wanted to speak to you first in case you could provide us with any leads with your expertise in Defense Against the Dark Arts. But if you didn't seem to notice anything, no matter."
"M-my a-ap-apologies ma'am," he said solemnly.
"Oh well," she sighed. "If you perhaps think of something else or notice anything suspicious later on, do let us know."
"Of c-course," he said with a bow of his head.
Jane turned on her heel and headed out the door. She beckoned Tonks to follow and gave the Defense Professor one final wave. As soon as the door closed behind them Tonks began to open her mouth to speak but Jane held up her hand to stop her.
"Not yet," she whispered.
They wandered through the corridors until they found an unused classroom far away from the Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom. Jane pulled Tonks inside and quickly cast some anti-eavesdropping charms.
"You can't possibly have let him off!?" Tonks said incredulously as soon as Jane had finished.
"No," Jane said thoughtfully. "It's good to know that you've picked up as much as I have."
"Are you kidding!" Tonks exclaimed. "Of course I did. There's something off with him, he didn't have a stutter before!"
"You know him?" Jane asked. "Did you take one of his classes?"
"No, Dad's a muggleborn, you know that," Nymphadora replied. "My friend, Charlie Weasley, took his class and obviously I went to school here so I had to have met him a few times."
"Moody was right," Jane said. "It was good to bring you. You know all the recent news and gossip of the school."
If possible, Tonks's hair turned a brighter shade of pink. It was rare to get a compliment from Moody.
"He's close to the stone, has access to the knowledge of how it's protected and was there on the day of the crime," Jane said. "Do you know the rumors about Albania?"
Tonks nodded with her eyes wide. "That it's the last place-"
"No. Don't say it here." Jane said. "I know I've put in some enchantments but I don't want to risk someone hearing it. As long as you know what I'm talking about. We need to know more about him. Do you have any friends you can ask about him? Discreetly? I don't want him to catch on to anything."
Nymphadora grinned. Her face started changing shape and she started shrinking in height. Her hair turned light-brown and wavy. Her eyes became a striking grey. Suddenly Jane found herself looking at an exact copy of her daughter.
"Well, that's useful," Jane said. "But I'm not sure looking like Jazlyn is the best idea. From what I've heard she's been struggling—"
"Don't worry about it," nymphadora replied. It threw Jane off to hear Tonk's voice come from her daughter's face. "I told my friends to be on the lookout for her and besides they'll know it's me. Other people won't. I'll meet back up with you at the ministry."
"No," Jane shook her head. "Meet me in Hogsmeade. There's one more person I'd like to talk to while we're here."
"No one wants to be caught with their mother at school," Tonks warned. "Especially during the first week. She'll get made fun of for sure!"
"Not Jazlyn," Jane said. "I just had a few questions for someone—"
"Shouldn't I be with you then?" Tonks asked.
"No, this doesn't have anything to do with Gringotts." Jane quickly shook her off. "Besides, it's probably best if I didn't catch you up in the middle of it."
The younger girl looked at Jane curiously. Jane was carefully avoiding her eyes. She fiddled with a ring on her finger. She had a distant and uncertain look across her face.
"You're still trying aren't you?" Nymphadora asked.
Jane jumped and looked at her in surprise. Her eyes widened. Then she relaxed and let out a sigh.
"How did you know?" She asked.
"I wasn't always asleep, you bi know. You and mom weren't exactly quiet about it either," Tonks replied with a shrug. "Besides, I hear things in the office all the time. It's not exactly a secret."
"I suppose you're right," Jane let out another sigh. "I just, I have to try. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't and I've waited too long already."
"You don't have to explain yourself to me," Nymphadora waved her off. "Mom still thinks highly of him too."
"You're a lot like him," Jane said with a smile. "No offense. I know most Aurors wouldn't want to be compared to—"
"An infamous dark wizard?" Tonks said. She shook her head. "It's alright. Mom says the same thing anyways."
Jane gave a little laugh.
"It's a little off putting to talk to you about this when you look like my daughter," She admitted.
"Oh right!" Nymphadora quickly turned back into her pink-haired self. "I take it she doesn't know then?"
Jane shook her head sadly. She looked at her ring again. The two women stood in silence. They heard the sounds of students roaming through the corridors behind the closed door. Tonks watched Jane carefully. She seemed to be lost in her own thoughts. After a few moments Tonks spoke up again.
"You still love him don't you?" Nymphadora asked carefully. "Why?"
"I just can't help it." Jane said with a sigh. "We got married in the height of the war. No one knew who to trust. But I trusted him. He was my protego. He was with me through all of it. Since we met at the start of it, at only eleven. When my Father died, when my Mother died, aunt and uncle, my friends; he was always there. Merlin, I wouldn't be able to get through it all without him. I'm sure your mother told you about her family. Dark witches and wizards. I had what they wanted. The status they craved. He kept me away from all that, at his own expense."
She had walked over to the window and looked out over the grounds. Nymphadora could see the nostalgia and the pain flashing through her eyes.
"One day, Dora, you're going to find someone." Jane said. She looked over at her young cousin in law. "Sure, maybe it won't be in the middle of a war. It won't matter what happens. If they're the right person, nothing can stop you from loving them. They could walk out on you for some rash reason they think is noble and for your protection or your child's protection. Even if your heart breaks, you'll just know that they'll be back eventually. Because you love them. And you know that they love you too."
Tonks stared at Jane in awe. She wondered what it would be like to love someone like that. Sure she'd gone on many dates and dated a few people, but she never loved anyone the way Jane had described. It would be nice, She thought, to love someone that much. But she couldn't picture it for herself. If her future husband had left like that she didn't know if she could forgive him as easily. She supposed she never loved someone that way so she must not understand yet.
An: hey all! Sorry that it took awhile! I was in an intensive month long writing course for school and started a new job and couldn't update as quickly. But classes are done and hopefully I'll go back to updating a little more regularly. I hope you enjoyed this chapter featuring our special guest nymphadora Tonks.
