Chapter 4 A compartment of change
After checking two cars worth of compartments Nymphadora finally found her little man sitting alone in a compartment reading what looked like his potions book but she couldn't be sure. Taking grate care to open the door quietly she poked her head through the gap. "Hey harry," She called out softly, "can I join you in here?" Nymphadora was sad to see how jumpy he was when he nearly jumped out of his seat when she started talking.
After letting him calm down for a moment after being startled, she saw little Harry look up from where he was reading to look at her face again, and again his face started to morph just like hers, hair shifting colour and growing. His eyes changing from their green to a light purple colour that seemed to reflect his shyness. Nymphadora found it kind of adorable that he couldn't control his powers yet, and seemed to default to his normal style unless she was around to copy whatever she had going on. Harry seemed to blush when he heard she wanted to sit with him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~BACK TO HARRY's POV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[She wants to sit next to me? B b but why?] Is the only thing I can think to myself, glancing down and shrugging nodding my head, feeling a weird tingle on his scalp and blinking a couple times as his vision gets blurry, not that that is new at all, his glasses have never really been right.
I feel my cheeks heat up, after all why would someone so beautiful want to sit with a freak like him, b but I guess if she wanted to, I shouldn't say no. {Oh oh god s she's j just s sitting t there I I need to s say something I ummmm] "ohhh uh s sure y you can sit…. I mean ummmm s so Nymphadora h how long have y-you been going to Hogw-warts?" Harry asked nervously. Surprised that she sat next to me and not across on the other side of the compartment.
[Oh Oh god I made her mad] I can only think as her eyes flash red, my own going just a bit blury again when that happens as she almost hisses out a response.
"First off Harry do NOT call me Nymphadora. I hate that name," She finishes with a red eyed glare, even as I try to shrink away like normal.
I see her seem to sigh leaning her head back against the wall, before she says something almost guiltily and strangly softly like she's worried about being to loud. "it's okay harry, you didn't know. Just call me tonks please, and yes this will be my fourth year at Hogwarts" She says her body seeming to slump back into the padded seats.
T That shocks me really "W-why don't you like your n-name? I think i-it's really p-pretty. If I c-can't calL you that then call you s something smaller like N-nym, or D-dora?" I asked carefully trying t not upset her, its just, w what do I call Mr and Mrs Tonks t then I can only think to myself, scared how the pretty girl would react, so I tug at another thread of dudleys hand me downs w whilst I wait for her to answer.
What goes unnoticed by harry is the way Tonks eyes him for a moment as he starts to pull back into himself trying to debate what she should do, and if she is okay with it, her eyes zero into the faint blush on his cheeks as he plays with the hem of his shirt. "Hmmm, I guess you can call me Dora. However," she continued after seeing his face light up with a small smile, "only you can call me that, got it?" She says raising a finger. Already noticing how stiffened and nervous he got again, trying to debate how to get him used to affectionate contact, deciding to ignore the stiff reactions for now.
"Y-yes I I can do that" I say trying to smile back at her, for some reason, its just it feels nice to be the only one that can call her that. Actually just as she starts to smile back at me, I feel her arms scoop me up again….[how is she so strong?!] I can only think as she pulls me in tight as a hug, [ but…. W wait it doesn't hurt?] I think as the sound of the door opening snaps her out of it.
We both glance at the door, to see a bushy-haired girl. Her hair was brown and her teeth were slightly to large for her smile. Behind her also seemed to be a nervous looking pudgy boy with black hair. They already seemed to be in their robes. "I was wondering if you've seen a toad?" the bushy-haired girl said in a self-assured tine. Tonks found it adorable that that harry seemed to burry his face in her hair as more people are introduced into the compartment. Even though she was wanting him to come out of his shy shell a bit, it is endearing that he seemed to trust her, even relaxing into the hug for a bit.
"I haven't seen one but I do know of a spell that can summon objects to you. I haven't practiced it yet since im supposed to learn it this year but I can give it a try?" Tonks adopted a look of concentration on her face shifting to hold Harry close still with one arm drawing her wand and trying to remember the spell and theory behind it. "Ah I remember now! What's the name of the toad?"
"Trevor" the nervous pudgy boy answered.
Tonks nodded her head and again a look of concentration feel upon her face and shifted her grip on her wand and with a wave says seriously. "Accio Trevor." Suddenly the hood on the pudgy boy's robes gave a few jerks causing the boy to fall over before the spell faded. "It looks like your rtoad has found a dark spot in your robes," Tonks said between giggles, caused by the absurdity of it all, happy to see that harry pulled back out of her neck, even if it was nice….. [Really need to do something about his shyness, or at least the cause of it} Tonks thinks to herself. "Why don't you two take a seat. I'm Tonks and this is Harry." She says leaning back again, leaving her arm resting on the back of the chair above Harry.
"My name is Hermione Granger and this is Neville Longbottom." After taking her seat she looked at the two of them tilting her head as she does so. "Can I ask you some questions?" Says Hermione with an inquisitive look in her eye, as Neville sits down beside her.
"Sure Go for it" Dora seems to respond"
"Is that your guy's natural hair color? I've never seen anyone with pink hair before, or purple eyes now that I see it." Hermione says almost vibrating in her seat, excited to learn it seems.
"We're metamorphangi. We can change certain things about our appearance like our hair and eye colour." Tonks answered knowingly. This answered one of Harry's questions about her pretty hair. [I can't be one though id never be cool like that… but wait why would Hermione say the two of them?] Harry thinks to himself.
"I'm n-not a metamorphangus, a-am I?" Dora seems to look at me weirdly for that [Wait w wait d did I screw up, dam I I shouldn't have said anything] I think to myself.
"Of course you are Harry. Didn't you realise that you have pink hair right now?" Tonks seems to say confused, leaning forward, almost making me flinch as I feel her tug my hair gently and… my br brain grinds to a halt. "I it's pink?!" I blurt out as in fact my hair was pink, and the whole compartment gets to see how in my surprise in that moment, my hair seems to flash through different colours, green, yellow, orange, purple and then back to pink. Hermione and Neville seem to jump back a little surprised by the sudden rapidly changing hair colours, though Dora just giggled from next to him.
"I ummm I have one more question what is your made of it looked like it kept changing colours and shape slightly." Hermione seems to ask shaking herself out of her shock and narrowing back in on her informational gathering.
"It's made of wood from a changeling tree. It makes pretty nifty wands, though they only usually pick mentamorphs for their partners. "Hearing this, Harry thought back to when his wand picked him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SCENE CHANGE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hmm, trickey customer, eh?" Ollivander muttered under his breath as he picked up yet another wand and handed it to harry. "I', sure this will be it Holly and Phoenix Feather," he proclaimed handing the wand to harry. He only got part way through waving it before it was, once again, snatched out of his hand and laid almost lovingly back into its box. "Hmmmmm I really thought that would be it there are only a few wands left…. Maybe… YES that could be it. CROSS-EXAMINATION OF THE WITNESS BY THE PROS" Ollivander continued muttering as he walked to the back of his store once again.
Minutes later he returned with the dustiest box yet and pulled out a most curious looking wand. It was nearly twelve inches, perfectly straight with a handle made from what looked like leather but was actually dragon skin. The wand also seemed to be softly changing colours before his eyes. It went from deep purple to a light brown never truly settling on one colour. Looking closer he could see that the wand wasn't actually perfectly straight, it seemed to wiggle very slightly almost like it was alive.
"Here we are, now give it a wave, give it a wave" Ollivander seemed extremely excited at the prospect of the wand working as he placed the wand in Harry's hand
Harry immediately felt like something him break free as a smooth gentle warmth spread through him. The warmth for some reason almost feels like what he heard people describe love like. Unbeknownst to him his hair and eyes rapidly changed colours as well as he stared, transfixed, at this wand before his hair settled back to its normal black colour. His concentration on examining the wand and feeling of warmth was interrupted with the gleeful clapping and laughter of Ollivander.
"I was wondering when I would be able to sell another one of these wands." Ollivander seemed unable to contain his glee. "It's eleven and three-quarter inches most of the time made from the wood of a changeling tree, with some hair from the most recent metamorphangus as it's core. It will be quite masterful with transfiguration and not to shabby at charms either I must say, the dragon hide binding giving it just a nice punch of power if I must say."
Harry couldn't help but stair in wonder and awe at his wand. He couldn't wait to start his classes and lean how to do magic. Maybe he could even make some friends while he was there.
~~~~~~~~~~ Back to the compartment~~~~~~~~~~
"T-that ummm reminds me D Dora. Y you said that you're a metamorphangus right?" When I see her nod I take a deep breath. "I ummm d did you ever donate any hair to O-ollivander?" Upon seeing another nod I slowly pull out my wand to show her. "I ummm I think I maybe might have your hair in my w-wand." Of course that's when she just giggles a little at an attempted joke, before it dawns on her that the wand she donated a hair for had picked him.
To her not that harry realizes it as her eyes go wide, she realizes that it must just be another sign that she should get and protect him, after all if her hair helped pick him, he must compliment her personality. She of course filed that away for later though. She would need to work on him when they were alone, and build him up…. But first a change in topics is needed before this goes a bit to far because she can see Harry curling in on himself with the attention.
"Soooo what houses are you all hoping to be in", Tonks asks as innocently as she can not subtly changing the conversation
"I'm hoping to be in Gryffindor," Hermione instantly replied. "Professor Dumbledore was in that house so it must be the best." She seems to say with a surety
"Just because someone was in a house doesn't mean it's the best Hermione," Tonks admonished. "Think about it this way, your sorted to the house where you most likely to get along and share many of the same views with. If you love knowledge the way im guessing then you should embrace it, not go to a house just because someone you admire was in the house. : Hermione looked down thinking about what Tonks had just told her it seems. It made sense to me but all the books must have told her that Dumbledoor was in that house and she wanted to be that great.
"H Hermione y-you shouldn't try to be someone your n-not." I say probably a bit to quietly as everyone seems to lean in to listen, but I narrow my eyes and look at my hands. "Be yourself, n-not someone else. You c-can be great being y-yourself. Just believe i-in yourself." Again Hermione seemed to stop and be forced to think. What harry had said makes sense. She didn't want to be known because she was like someone else. She wanted to be known because she was herself. Finally after a bit she nodded assenting to my point and I send her a small grin back.
"What about you Neville? What house do you want to be in?" Tonks asks Interested, as Neville pets his toad.
"I don't know. Both my folks were in Gryffindor, but im probably not good enough for that. I'll probably end up in Hufflepuff." He says not noticing the yellow trim to the older girls robes, and as evidenced with Tonks almost quite literally Puffing up in outrage.
"Oi! I'm a Hufflepuff and there's nothing wrong with that. We're loyal to the end and the hardest workers there are. If you have a friend in the 'Puffs you'll have a friend for life." Tonks was quite forceful in this declaration which seems to startle Neville sinch he had always heard Hufflepuff was for the rejects.
I on the other hand thought that sounded nice. I always kinda wanted to have friends. And Well I hope that Dora would be my friend, but it sounds like more friends in Hufflepuff might be want I want.
Of course that is when Tonks turns to me. "What about you cutie," Dora says playing with my still pink hair, and giving me a nick name… [I k kinda like that I huh] "What house do you want to be in?"
"Hufflep-puff sounds amazing. I'd l-like to go there if I could." Tonks seems to light up upon hearing that. "That's great cutie, I hope we can spend much more time together" She says her arm pulling me close to her again, but not painfully like my aunt, I am carful to protect my still damaged wrist though. But its nice, almost comforting I [Wait h how did I forget s she was h holding m me l like that?]
"Hey cutie." Tonks said interrupting my thoughts. "Do you want me to teach you how to control your Metamorphangus powers?" [I w wow T that's so cool I get to I mean huh.] I give her a grin and nod my head back quickly, m maybe I can pick options instead of like copying Tonks by accident… well not that I mind that, but having no control is probably a bad thing.
Just as Dora turns to me to explain what that means, we all hear the compartment Door open again.
