#ACrinkleofFate

[afaithy]

Did a quick doodle of a piece of my fanfiction.... I should color it when I get the chance xD

[afaithy]

So here’s the lineart! Another doodle of Tonks from my Fan Fiction: A crinkle of Fat.

I usually sketch my pics on paper first and then I digitalize them. My tablet is pretty old and the pressure tool is the only way I can get those smooth lovely lines T v T. Also...I usually change my mind a lot haha...as you can see from the original to the digital one. I changed the hair and clother design.

I still haven’t decided what color use for the hair...so suggestions are welcome. I might go for mixed colors or an ombre...I like coloring those ;P

[afaithy]

A crinkle of Fate; CH:7

Available in AO3:https://archiveofourown.org/works/16896918/chapters/39941508#workskin

Chapter 7: What you want, what you fearNotes:

"Most people are always doubtful as to whether they are happy or not, cheerful or not. This is the normal state of happiness, as doubt is a most natural thing." — Yukio Mishima

Tonks return was accompanied- as expected - by endless gossips and whispers that the girl, very maturely, had chosen to ignore. Boreas and his gang had tried to harassed her again, but their attempts were either stopped by a teacher or by Sirius and James’s mischieves and she was more than grateful for it. Even though she knew Boreas was a git and that she should know better than to hear what he had to say, it didn't make his remarks about her grandparents' death sting any less. The Hufflepuff girl started avoiding the Great Hall and her Common room as much as she could, so most of her free time was spent in the library with Lily or Snape who-surprisingly - had kindly offered to help her catch up with the potions lessons she had missed; or in the owlery with Lupin who would either help her study or distract her with some friendly chat. Sometimes they enjoyed of the occasional company of Sirius, James and Peter. As day went by, the girl noticed that the veil of grief was slowly lifting and little by little, Tonks returned to her old cheerful self and things went back to how they used to be. Well, at least most of them. Tonks seemed to have caused an impact on certain Hogwarts students after all. The first one was Snape. The Slytherin potions prodigy was as irritable as always, but Tonks constant insistence to befriend him seemed to be paying off. The boy was less bitter and slightly more talkative; and, in very rare occasions, he’d even smile. When it come to his rivalry with James and Sirius, the three boys seemed to have reached some sort of truce. After an impressive and a little scary scold from Tonks, James and Sirius had stopped picking on Snape and Snape had stopped being rude to them. Their friendship was complicated, but it was there and that seemed to satisfy Tonks. Peter wasn’t much of an active speaker and he limited himself to follow anything that James and Sirius decided to do. Among the four Gryffindors, the one who seemed to have the best accord with the Slytherin, was Lupin. Perhaps it was his good nature or the fact that Tonks influence had already biased his image of Snape, but in many occasions he found himself having very enriching conversations with the black haired boy. As their relationship with Snape improved, the second change came up with Lily. The girl was elated about Snape having more friends and as result her, usual cold treatment to James and Sirius, was lifted - much to Jame’s pleasure. After a few weeks, the picture of five Gryffindors, a Slytherin and a first year Hufflepuff hanging around Hogwarts during free periods became a common sight. The months passed and the season began to change as autumn reached it peak. There was a little secret that Lupin hadn’t revealed to any of his friends yet. Each full moon, his wolf counterpart would sit under the moon listening to a cheerful Hufflepuff girl relate the stories of her friends’ adventures. Lupin felt a little guilty about keeping it secret. Especially when there was his fear that one day the wolf would be in bad mood and would try to bite Tonks, but as one full moon passed after another, he realized something that’d left him speechless. His wolf counterpart liked Tonks. He couldn’t comprehend those animal’s feelings, but he could tell that the wolf saw Tonks in a particular way. It didn’t consider her a threat, in the contrary, it seemed to enjoy the girl’s company. It was sort of possessive and protective of her to the extreme in which the wolf was willing to kill anything or anyone that could impose a danger for her. It was something he’d never heard about, and even after digging into all the books about werewolves available in the library, he’d come out without answers. No one had ever seen a case in which a werewolf would feel the urge to attack. Werewolves obeyed instinct and their human mind was completely disconnected from their actions after the transformation. Then why did the wolf seemed to retain Lupin’s sympathy for the Hufflepuff girl? “Wotcher, Remus!” Lupin had been too lost in his thoughts to notice the girl’s arrival. He was sitting at the edge of the window in the owlery with a book open on his lap. Sirius and James had probably gotten themselves into detention after setting a up Boreas’s cauldron during potions causing it to explode and Peter had been sprayed all over with the cauldron’s content, so he had ended up in the hospital wing. Being the only one with free time, Lupin had caught into Tonks’s habit to sneak into the owlery for peace and quiet. Tonks was looking at him with a smile. She sat in front of him and for a second he feared that the girl would lose her grip and fall through the window, but surprisingly she sat down without troubles and threw a small silver package. “What’s…?” “Muggle chocolate…” she replied “Dad sent me a whole box yesterday. You’ve been up into werewolf reading recently, haven’t you?” “Eh...yeah. I was curious about something…” “About werewolves?” “Yes…” “Can I ask what?” Lupin snorted. How about why I don’t feel like I need to tear down your throat when I’m a wolf? He though. “It’s...complicated.” “Try me…” she said biting her chocolate. “Do you think a werewolf could...I don’t know recognize people or feel some sort of attachment to them?” Lupin knew it was a stupid question. Wizards that were well educated regarding werewolves had never addressed this possibility, why would an first year student in Hogwarts even think about it? “I reckon he could…” she said thoughtful. Her answer came out naturally and without doubts. It was the way she always said what she thought without fear that made him admire her. “But...werewolves are tagged as monsters, and books all say that they are unable to recognize friend or foe. They only instinct is to attack and to prey…” “Books also say Unicorns don’t exist…” Lupin chuckled. “No book would say that. We all know unicorn exists... What kind of book were you reading?” “A muggle book...” Tonks shrugged “But that’s the point. To muggles it doesn’t exist because they’d never seen one, but to us it exists because we have seen them. Do you see my point?” “I am afraid no…” “What’s written in books is what the writer has seen, but just because you haven’t seen doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Werewolves aren’t too different from wolves, and wolves aren’t too different from dogs. So...if you ask me if I think that a werewolf could recognize people they like or dislike, and even feel attachment...I’d have to say I think they do…” “So… let’s put an hypothetical case…” “Aha…” Tonks replied eating another piece of chocolate. “Let’s say there’s a werewolf that hunts around the forest during full moon. One day he stumbles with a girl...an innocent and defenceless girl. His first intention is to attack, but the girl starts talking to him and his aggressive intent seems to die away. Next full moon it’s the same, and then the one after and so on. It continues like that and suddenly his human side realizes that the wolf….likes the girl.” Tonks seemed to replay Lupin’s tale in her mind and she smiles. “Don’t you have the answer already, then?” “What do you mean?” “That hypothetical case just serves to proof my point. Yeah, the werewolf was probably afraid at first...he wanted to attack, but when he saw she was harmless he let it go. It was like that for a while, and eventually, they’d become friends. It might sound wrong, but it’s like having a dog. The dog will idolize, not because you’re a human, but because you’re his master…” “But it is dangerous…” “Everything is dangerous, Remus. I’m probably more dangerous than a scared werewolf…” she chuckled “Don’t forget I almost broke your leg when I tripped over you on the stairs…” Lupin laughed at that. She had and Madam Pomfrey wasn’t too happy about it. “Even a werewolf deserves love…” Tonks whispered. “Even if it is a hideous and horrible monster?” Tonks looked at him with a faint smile. “Even the most hideous creature deserves a chance…” Lupin was speechless. Sometimes he wondered if Tonks was real at all. How could she be so...understanding? “Who said?” he asked her softly. “I did...and in a few years when I’m all famous and quoted around the world, you’ll have the honor of saying that you heard it one afternoon while you were sharing muggle chocolate in the owlery…” she laughed throwing small ball of wrapping paper at him. Lupin dodged the ball by using his book as a shield and let out a wave laughter. His concerns about the dangers that the wolf could represent to the girl were still there, but a new feeling had appeared with her words: hope. Hope that perhaps what Tonks believed was true and that he wasn’t the monster that he thought himself to be. “I don’t know how you do it…” he chuckled. “Do what?” “See things so...clearly.” “Ha..If only I did. I just have a funny way of seeing things I guess…” she smiled “Second looks aren’t as bad as people think, aren’t they? Lily said that you and Severus were practicing potions together yesterday…” Tonks rested her chin on her hand and blinked at him with dreamy smile. It was an expression that he had come to understand as her way of, nonverbally, saying: I was right, wasn’t I? “He was kind enough to help me out with a cleaning potions that was giving me troubles…” Lupin nodded “I was actually surprised that he agreed to help…” “Well, you earned his good favors. I heard you’ve been coaxing SIrius and James to leave him alone…” “I...have tried, but I doubt it was my influence that has persuaded those two…” Lupin chuckled “I’d think a certain Hufflepuff scold was the real reason…” “Oh….haha, never saw James and Sirius so scared, have you?” “Remind me never to make you angry…” “Remus...please. You’re the sweetest thing in the world how could you ever make me angry at you?” Lupin felt his cheeks blush at her unintended compliment, but Tonks had been busy petting her owl to notice. The boy rested his chin on his hand as his green eyes stared at the girl in front of him with a smile.

*** “She what…?” Sirius said coughing up the juice he’d been drinking. James jumped to his bed and bagan pattin his friend’s back amused. Lupin had just told his friends about his unintended meetings with Tonks during the full moons and the boys had taken the news better than he’d anticipated. “Easy there Pads...don’t drown yourself…” James laughed. “She petted you?” Sirius was astonished “What the bloody hell? WHat normal person goes and pets a random werewolf so freely?” “She thinks it is a wolf…” Lupin reasoned. “So what? Wolves can bite too. Merlin, that girl deserves my respect…” Sirius barked in a laugh “Here we are...breaking our necks trying to figure out all the animagus thing, and she goes in all her grace and has you eating from her palm like a pup…” Lupin glared at Sirius half heartedly. He’d hate to admit that perhaps Sirius was right. “I got to visit, Andromeda and ask her how she raised that girl...and then I’ll have to thank her…” “She’s...something else…” Lupin sighed sitting back on his bed. “Somebody who treats a werewolf as a dog and actually befriends Snivellus…” James smiled “Yeah, she has to be out this world.” “She’s wonderful...but it is dangerous. I can’t trust that the wolf won’t bite her…” “He hasn’t so far, has he…” “Werewolf can’t be trusted…” Lupin said shaking his head “I…” “So what are you going to do?” Peter asked “She’s ...well hard to control…” Hard to control wasn’t quite the word that Remus would have chosen, but if his fuzzy memories weren’t wrong, Tonks was definitely fond of the wolf and stubborn as she was, she wouldn’t let go that easily. Lupin couldn’t help, smile. Besides, how was he supposed to tell her that he knew about her night strolls under the moon?And there was also that conflicting part of him that didn’t want her to stop visiting him in the full moons. “Are you telling her the wolf is...you, mate?” James asked. “I...don’t know. I should...shouldn’t I?” “I’d say you wait for a bit…”Sirius said. “Yeah, no rush…” James agreed. Lupin sighed. He had never felt this conflicted in his short life. A part of him felt the usual horror that revealing his secret usually carried. The fear of rejection; but the other told him that with Tonks, it’d be alright. A tiny voice in his head keep assuring him that no matter what he was, Tonks would always be willing to accept him. “By the way. What about detention?” Lupin asked with a raised eyebrow. Sirius and James exchanged looks and broke into laughter. “You wouldn’t believe it…” Sirius said. “Snivellus saved our necks…” “Snape?” “Yeah, he persuaded Slughorn that the Cauldron incident was due to ...how did he say it?” “Boreas evident inability to follow proper instructions regarding the proper order of addition of ingredients and stirring…” James said solemnly “Slughorn totally bought it, so we were spared from detention…” “I think I might be going nuts, but maybe...maybe Snivellus is starting to grow on me…” “I hate to say it...but...I think I am too…” James said dramatically before breaking into a laugh. Lupin rolled his eyes and let out a chuckle. Tonks was probably totally clueless of the impact she’d had in their lives, but he was grateful about that.

*** Bellatrix bursted into the halls of Malfoy Manor ignoring the many glances from her fellow Death Eaters as she made her way into the inner chamber. She pushed the doors open with her wand and looked around with her dark eyes. A man with long silvery blond hair stood a few steps from her. His clear eyes judging and arrogant. The witch let out a snort as she recognized the man who had been courting her youngest sister the past few months. “Modest as usual, Bellatrix…” Lucius said with frown. Bellatrix glared at the man. If it wasn’t for Narcissa’s sake, she would have hexed the man right away. “Now, now...my dear Lucius. Let us not admonish, dear Bellatrix …” a voice said from one of the room’s largest seats. “My lord…” Bellatrix rushed to the feet of the of the chair and stares up at its occupant with adoration. Voldemort caressed her head in a way that resembled a father caressing his favorite child. Bellatrix picked one of his hands and brought it to her lips. “You’ve been busy, Bellatrix.” “My lord, I did as you commanded. I’ve sent a message to all those blood traitors out there…” “Oh, yes. I’ve seen…” Voldemort nodded in approvement “A clever way to send a message. You never disappoint me. It was a very careful pick, was it not?” Bellatrix smiled as she took pride on Voldemort’s words. She raised to her feet with a cruel smile. “It’s been a while since I sent a present to my dear sister. I thought I could use the occasion to send her my best regards…” “Ah...no doubt she received a surprise…”Voldemort said in a soft sizz as a large snake began climbing around his shoulders “Have you found what I instructed, Lucius?” “I am afraid not, my Lord…” Lucius said softly “The...creature is harder to find than we anticipated.” “I see…” “With all due respect, my lord. Why are you so interested in this….creature?” “Have you ever heard about Nyaphes, Lucius?” “I...I am afraid not, my Lord.” “Marvelous creatures. Elementals, as some wizards calls them. Powerful to the point of divinity. It is said that the apparition of a Nyaphes is an omen of change. They have the power to warp time, give and take lives…” “That...sounds intriguing, my lord.” “Intriguing? Ah yes….of course. Unfortunately, Nyaphes are scarce, very rare to find. They’re smart creatures, you see? But they’re powerful...very powerful. No one has seen one in centuries…” “My lord, if that’s the case...uh, is there really a chance for us to find one?” “Ah...always the questioner, Lucius…” Voldemort reply with a hoarse chuckle “There’s the case. A Nyaphes was seen here in England some years ago… eleven years to be more precise...” “Eleven years is a long time, my lord. How can we be sure that the creature is still here…” “Oh, it is...No doubt it is.” Voldemort said petting his snake’s head “I’ve spoken to the seers. Nyaphe’s only shows themselves when they bestow a blessing and they’re quite protective. They will remain close to the one who receives it…” “So...if we find the blessed, we should find the creature…” Bellatrix stated with a smile “Do you know who it is, my Lord? I’d be delighted to bring him or her to your presence.” “I’m afraid not, my dear Bellatrix. Not doubt the person with show up eventually, but if we find the Nyaphe’s first, it won’t matter.” “My lord, if may ask. What do you want this...creature for?” Lucius asked. “You dare question, our Lord’s plans?” Bellatrix snapped at him. “Of course not. Never...but I am curious of what could have caught our lords attention.” “Ah, Lucius. So young and ignorant. Nyaphes are powerful, with one under you control you can cause hurricanes and earthquakes, or maybe something more simple like changing events in history. Do you understand how a valuable tool it is? ”

Lucius said nothing. The power to change the events of history. Was that even possible? How powerful could those creatures be?

“I understand, my Lord. I shall intensify the search…” “I’ll leave it to you, Lucius. Do not disappoint me. Now Bellatrix...I have another task for you… “Your wish is my command, my lord.” Voldemort’s pale factions wrinkled in a cold smile. His plan was set and soon, nothing would be able to stop it.

*** Tonks woke up for a nightmare. Her room in the Hufflepuff tower was dark and chilly. She could hear the faint sound of breathing from her roomates as they slept tranquil and oblivious to night horrors; but Tonks isn’t. She cleans up the drops of sweat from her face and slipped in to her shoes and robes. It was a recurrent dream. She’d had it since she was young; at the time she’d sneak to her parents room where her mum hug her telling her it was just a dream and her father would made her some hot cocoa. Thousand times better than draught of peace. He would say and her dreams would vanish with the comfort of her parents. But here in Hogwarts, she was alone. It wasn’t exactly a nightmare, now that she thought of it, it was more like a unnerving dream. It had no sense or plot, only random images from people she felt familiar, but could not quite recognize. Then there was the wave of feelings the images carried: fear, pain, sadness. Sometimes it was just too much to take. Tonks slipped out from the tower and walked down to the lower levels. Perhaps a stroll in the night and some fresh air would make her feel better. Lost in her thoughts, she missed the last two steps from the stairs crashed loudly against something warm. “Merlin’s sake, Nymphadora. Watch where you’re going!” She recognized the annoyed voice. She raised her face and found Snape’s pale face staring at her in annoyance. He was sitting on the ground after she had dragged him in her fall, a bag lying a few steps from him. “Don’t call me Nymphadora…” she said annoyed “What are you doing up so late?” “I should be the one asking you that…” “I asked first…” Snape had long learned to not argue with the girl. Instead he pushed himself up and patted of the dust from his clothes. “I offered to help professor Slughorn gather ingredients for his next class. I was heading to meet him…” “At this hour?” “We are picking Moonbloom flowers...they…” “Bloom around midnight...right. That makes sense…” Snape frowned at her as he turned to walke away. “Hey...can I join?” “No…” “Well, I don’t think you can decide that. I’ll ask professor Slughorn.” “Honestly, are all Hufflepuff as stubborn as you are?” “Maybe? It is part of the house’s virtues after all...” “You’re not dressed for ingredient gathering…” “I’m perfectly dressed for adventure, Severus…” Much to Snape’s annoyance, Slughorn welcomes Tonks participation with open arms. Professor Slughorn was quite eccentric at times, he spent half of the way into the forest talking about how much of a wonderful student her mother was and about how gifted, for a muggleborn, her father was. Tonks had never entered the forest, she’d strolled around the edge of it during full moon nights. That’s how she’d come to meet Mr. Wolfie, but she had never stepped beyond the limit. Slughorn said that the Moonblooms were flowering in a small clearing not too deep into the forest, so it was safe and they shouldn’t worry; but as she stepped into the the shadows she began to feel uneasy. “You shouldn’t have come if you were going to be so scared…” Snape muttered to her and she replied by giving him a soft punch in his arm. “I’m not scared. Nervous and scared aren’t the same…” “We are with a teacher. Nothing is going to happen…” A lot of things could happen, she thought. True, they were with a teacher. A experienced wizard many times more powerful and skilled than them; that should give out some reassurance; but at the end, the teachers were human too, and no human is unbeatable. “Care to say what were you doing sneaking around so late at night, Nymphadora…” Snape’s voice was a mix of teasing, scolding and curiosity. Even though she was annoyed by his insistence to use her first name, which she knew was un purpose to work her up, she was pleased by the fact that the shy stoic boy was finally starting to see her as a friend. “Had bad dreams and couldn’t sleep. I thought I’d go for a stroll to clear my head. Do you always volunteer for this kind of...jobs?” she asked quickly before Snape could ask about her dreams. “Sometimes. I like potions and I learn a lot more during this kind of experiences than from classes and books alone…” “The potion brewing prodigy, aren’t you? I’m sure you’ll end up being Potions teacher in a future…” “As long as I don’t have to teach you…” “I’m not that bad in potions, you know?” she said elbowing him. “Yes, of course...like I haven’t noticed after all the tutoring I’ve given you.” “It’s practice for when you become a grumpy teacher…” “Very funny, Nymphadora…” “Can you stop calling me that?” “No” Tonks knew when a battle was lost and nothing she did would persuade Snape from using her first name as long as it annoyed her. The trio reached the clearing and Tonks almost lost her breath at the beautiful view. She’d never seen Moonblooms in real life; she had read about them and seen them in books, but she thought that the description in them didn’t give the flowers proper credit. The flowers were ghostly white and glittering like diamonds; even in the lack of light they seemed to glow with their own light. The corolla of the flowers were composed by numerous smaller petals surrounding a carpel with golden stamen. Their perfume was bewitching: sweet and fragrant, and Tonks couldn’t help but feel lucky to have stumbled with Snape. “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Slughorn said happily “Moonblooms are hard to come by. They’re awfully hard to grow and can only be harvested from the wild. Magical properties are only useful when they’re harvested in full bloom and that only last around two hours between 10 and midnight. A very tricky flower. Now, now...children. I’ll show you how to cut them and we can start…” Spending the late hours in the forbidden forest cutting flowers with a friendly potions professor and a cranky Snape wasn’t exactly a planned adventure, but Tonks found herself enjoying herself. Snape seemed particularly cheerful as he asked Slughorn about the flower’s properties and their application in potions, and she could swear she’d never seen the boy happier. She was listening, too, but not with as much devotion as he did. She picked up another pair of flowers and as she searches around the plants she comes face to face with some brilliant cobalt flowers. “Aconite…” Snape muttered behind her “Didn’t expect to find it here…” “What is it for?” “Many uses...but I wouldn’t touch it. Is way to poisonous…” “Wolfsbane…” she said softly. “What?” Snape asked with a frown. The word had come into her mind and she wasn’t fully aware why. It was important, but she couldn’t tell why. “Wolfsbane…” she repeated trying to understand what meaning the word held to her. “Ah...yes, that’s another name it receives.” Snape nodded “Anyway...let’s hurry. It’s almost midnight.” Tonks nodded. She stared at the flowers and once Snape had turned back to his own chores, she cut the aconite flowers into a small bouquet and pushed them into her bag. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt like she had to take them with her.

[afaithy]

A Crinkle of Fate; Ch8: Always there

“The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer someone else up.” ― Mark Twain

The month went by quietly, and one morning, a thin coat of ice and snow was covering the grounds of the school. Tonks liked winter, she loved seeing the snow fall through the window, but unfortunately, winter usually meant more visits to the hospital wing for her. Frozen stairs, snow and her two left feet were a bad combo for her and others’ safety. “Don’t be a grumpy log, Snivellus…” James laughed. Despite everyone’s effort to have James and Sirius stop calling him that, the nickname had stuck, but it had lost most of its negative connotation, so Tonks and Lily had simply given up. Snape seemed to have gotten used to it by now and sometimes, only sometimes, he would answer to it. Today however, the Slytherin boy was making his best efforts to ignore the pair of goofy Gryffindors calling at him. Sirius and James have began plotting a epic snowball battle and they were pulling up people into teams. James was stuck with Peter and, surprisingly, Lily, and he was now trying to persuade Snape to join his team. “No...aren’t you all filled up already?” Snape growled irritated “Three and three is fair…” “Yeah, but Sirius has got the advantage. I mean my team is Peter and Evans...not offense.” “None taken, Potter; but maybe I should switch teams so that I hit you with my best snow ball…” Lily said sticking her tongue at her. “I’m convinced your team is in far better position considering that Black has got Nymphadora, in his team…” “For the name of all druids, Severus. Stop calling me that…” They all laugh at the fact that Tonks had taken more offensive the use of her first name over the fact that Snape had insinuated that her clumsiness was a liability to Sirius’s team. “No…” he replied simply. “Oh, you piece of Billywig…” Tonks laughed throwing a snowball at him. Snape raised an eyebrow and dodged it casually. “See? You are good...now stop being an arse, Snivellus and come join us…” “I pass…” James let out a defeated grunt and turned to Sirius who was smirking amused. “Well...we are even, James…” Sirius chuckled “My cousin can barely stand in her feet.” “Fine...Loser gets the candies…” The snowballs war was an utter mess that had Snape rolling his eyes in annoyance, but Tonks could have sworn that the boy had been laughing when no one was watching. Lily had proved James wrong by being extremely good at throwing snowballs. Sirius had barely missed the last few rounds she had thrown at him. Lupin had managed to hit Peter with one of his own and the smaller boy had rolled over the snow in an hysterical wave of laughter. Against Snape’s predictions, Tonks seemed to be handling herself pretty well over the snow, so far she had barely tripped once, and it had actually saved her from a well aimed snowball thrown by James. However, the only reason she had managed to stay on her feet so far was because of Lupin. The boy had stayed close to her and he had managed to prevent her from falling several times earning a few chuckles from the younger girl. “You stop laughing between yourselves and help me out here!” Sirius roared from abouve the laughter. “Sirius is calling…” Tonks laughed. “So it seems…” Lupin nodded “Think you can stay on your feet?” “Ha...I think I can manage. Let’s save my sassy cousins butt, shall we?” Tonks grabbed a bunch of snow and threw it unceremoniously at Lily. The snow hit her right at her back making the ginger girl break into giggles. “Oh, dear me...haha seems that I’ve been taken down…” she laughed. “Sorry, Lily…” Tonks laughed. “Seems like you’re doomed James…” Sirius chanted victorious “Attack!” James fell to the snow laughing as a rain of snowballs fell over him.By the time the attack had ended, James hair was so covered in snow that his dark was in a freezing gray and his cheeks were vividly pink. “Alright, alright…” he panted “I give up. You win…” Sirius seemed satisfied. He helped his friend back on his feet with a large goofy grin; after they had all caught their breaths, the group - Snape included- headed back inside the castle. After spending the whole afternoon in the cold, the comforting warmth from the castle was welcomed in their bodies. With the approaching christmas, most of the students had already left to go home to spend christmas with their families, so the Great Hall was quite empty when the group sat down to have a warm supper together. “Are you going home for christmas, Tonks?” Lily asked. Tonks didn’t reply immediately. She’d have wanted to go home, but with her grandparents dead, the ambient at home wasn’t exactly cheerful and her parents had insisted that she should stay at school and enjoy it with her friends instead. “No, I’ll be staying for the holidays. My parents said that it’d be better for me...considering…” “Well, I’m not going home either...so we can spend christmas together, cous…” Sirius said cheerfully “We aren’t going home either…” “Christmas is a lot better in Hogwarts anyway…” Peter nodded. “What about you Evans?” James asked. “Severus and I are staying, too…” “Oh, then the whole gang can bundle together for our own little christmas party…” Tonks smiles. “That wouldn’t be a bad idea. I’m sure that James and Sirius wouldn’t mind sneaking some food from the kitchens…” Lupin smiled. “Ah, leave it to us…” Sirius smirked “Since we Gryffindors are majority, I say we do it in our tower…” “You are expecting us to enter your house…?” Snape frowned. “Well, I don’t think there’s a problem in that…” James shrugged “Honestly, I think it’d be only us and there’s no rule that says we can’t sneak people from other houses ...is it?” James turned to Lupin waiting for an answer. “What?” Lupin said cluelessly. “Well, you’re the one who knows the school rules by heart, Remus…” “I do not…” Lupin frowned “but as far as I know there’s no rule for that. We could always ask McGonagall though…” “Oh well, professors are always encouraging good relations between houses. Wouldn’t they be happy if we do something together?” James shrugged. “James has a point there…” Sirius approved. Snapes frowned and he was about to say something, but was roughly interrupted by Tonks. “Ah, we should be fine Severus. I’m sure there won’t be a problem, so don’t worry about it.” “Who said I was worried?” “I did…” Tonks replied sticking her tongue at him. “Cute, Nymphadora. Very cute…” “Ha...I knew you thought I was cute…” “It was a sarcasm….” “Lovely…” Lily chuckled at our exchange. “You two really get along well…” “Yes!” “No” The difference in the tone of their voice made that answer hilarious to the group. Snape’s voice was cold, deadpanned and perhaps a little annoyed, while Tonks had been over excited and happy. The contrast was simply too big. “Ah, come on…” Tonks pouted “We do a good team gathering potion ingredients for Slughorn.” ��If you consider me doing all the work while you’re goofing around teamwork…” “I just did that once, and it was because we stumbled with Remus…” After their little night adventure harvesting Moonblooms with Slughorn, the friendly potions teacher had invited Tonks to join them in future ventures. A request that the Hufflepuff girl was glad to accept; as a result, she had ended up going ingredient gathering with Snape several times. “I must declare myself guilty…” Lupin smiled “I was just curious to know what you were up to.” “See…?” Tonks stated matter of factly “I’ve been useful the other times. Who would have thought that ingredient gathering could be so fun?” “You make me want to try it myself…” Lupin nodded. “Oh, do. I’m sure Slughorn wouldn’t mind a pair of extra hands…” Snape looked like he wanted to hit himself with the table. He could now say goodbye to his quiet gatherings. “I’ve never gone to any, either…” Lily admitted “It might be fun…” “You won’t enjoy it, Lily.” Snape replied “It’s messy and we often stumble with bugs…” “Ew...bugs…” “Yes, nothing a girl should get tangled with.” Snape shrugged. “Hey...I’m a girl…” “...Oh...Then I should correct myself. Nothing a girl except Nymphadora, should get tangled with...” Tonks glared at him. She picked one of the peas in her plate and threw it at his direction. Lily giggled as the two exchanged poisonous glares. “Is it really that bad, Tonks?” she asked. “Not at all. We haven’t stumbled to any insect so far...except that giant spider, but professor Slughorn took care of it…” “He wouldn’t have needed to, if you hadn’t pulled from its feet…” “Hey, it’s not my problem if acromantula feet look very alike to Fissy grass…” “Sounds thrilling…” Lupin chuckled “you two do have fun doing it, don’t you?” “Yes…” “No…” “Maybe we should all ask Slughorn and next time we can all go into an excursion with him. I could use some extra credits in Potions…” “You know that’s a good idea. I’m so bad at potions…” James snorted. “Sounds scary and restraining…I’ll pass…” Peter said. “Ah, common, Peter…” “At this rate will end up being the “Gathering Club”...” Lupin laughed. “Oh, Slughorn would be thrilled to have another club under his wing…” Sirius approved. Snape couldn’t do anything sigh in defeat. “When is your next “gathering”, cous?” “Eh...Severus?” “Icepoppies will be up for harvest in two days…” Snape replied. “Awesome...guess we can join you for it. We’ll ask Slughorn about it...” “That’s a plan. Now who wants hot cocoa?”

*** After an exciting afternoon, Tonks was ready for some peace and quiet, so she sneaked into the library and sat in her usual spot in the Muggle Literature section. She had finished Whitefang a couple days ago, and was now starting on the Hound of the Baskersvilles. Her love for Muggle novels was a living reflection of her dad’s. “Somehow...I had the feeling that I’d be meeting you here…” Tonks lifted her eyes from the page she’d been reading and smiled. Lupin had taken seat in the chair in front of her. He, too, was holding a book that -to Tonks pleasure- was from the muggle section ,too. “Ah...The Lord of the Rings…” she said resting her chin on her hand “That’s my dad’s favorite. How are you liking it?” “It is pretty amazing…” Lupin said with a smile “ the creatures, the world…” “I remember asking my dad why Hobbits weren’t listed in Fantastic Beast and Where to find them…” she chuckled. “And what did he tell you?” “That Newton Scamander never found his way to middle earth, that’s why…” They laughed. To Tonks it was nice to have someone she could talk about Muggle books beside her father. “My mother had this books in her shelf for ages, but I never thought of picking it up…” “Your mother?” “She’s a muggle…” Lupin explained. Tonks thought that she should have seen that coming. It explained why Lupin was much more familiar with Mugglet topics than Sirius, James and Peter. “Oh, you just didn’t know what you were missing. My dad used to read me that as bed time stories. My mum thought it was way too complicated for a girl my age, but she was speechless when my dad and I began talking in sindarin…” “Sindarin? That’s elvish, right?” “Yup, it is. My dad’s family is Welsh and SIndarin is very similar, so he had no problems to learn it. He ended up teaching me just to annoy my mum. Sometimes we would speak to each other in sindarin and watch my mum’s face as she couldn’t understand a thing…” “Sounds like fun...is it easy? Could you say something?” “Im enjoui cín companui mellon ni” she replied “That goes for, I enjoy your company, friend. I’m not very good at it. My dad is an expert though…” “It is still very impressive. What are you reading?” “Sherlock Holmes…” she replied showing him the book “The Hound of the Baskersvilles. It just reminds me of a canine friends I made here….” Lupin almost choked, but he managed to keep himself calm as he turned to see her. “Canine…?” “Yes. I originally thought he was dog, but it turns out he was a wolf.I named him Mr. Wolfie, but now that I think about it...I’m not sure if it is a he…” “You...named a wolf?” “Well...yeah, he’s friendly and nice. You know...he kind of reminds me of you…” “M-me? Why would he remind you of me?” “You’re both good listeners and caring…” she smiles tilting her head “I hope he’s okay. The weather is getting pretty cold…” “I’m sure he’s fine...he probably has where to stay and besides, his fur will keep him warm.” “Yeah, I suppose. Silly me for worrying when he’s far better prepared than myself. Perks of nature, right?” Lupin smiled faintly. Either she was way too perceptive of her little comparison was a very accurate coincidence; then again, he doubted that his human self was remotely similar to his wolfish self; if only...then he wouldn’t have to worry about hurting anyone at all. Lupin was woken from his thought when something hit him straight in his chest and his lap. A small square chocolate wrapped in a colorful gold and green wrapping rested neatly on his lap. Another of Tonks’s muggle sweets, he guessed. “It has mint filling…” she smiled “I know you like mint...and chocolate…” She wasn’t wrong. He loved mint and chocolate. “And who told you that?” “You always have mint tea amd you carry chocolate in your pockets. Let’s say I did an accurate guess…” Lupin chuckled. She had been paying attention to his tea? Somehow it made him feel a little happy. “Do you always look at other people’s food habits so carefully?” “Only when I like them…” she replied with a wink “Feel honored, Remus. I’m not sharing my dad’s christmas sweets with anyone but you…” “And why do I have this honor?” “Just for being the sweetest boy I’ve ever met…”she chuckled “So why did you come here to read?” “James and Sirius are in the middle of a very noisy gobtstones match, and I just couldn’t focus on my reading between their growls and Peters over excited squeals. How about you? Isn’t the Hufflepuff tower comfy enough to read?” “I just wanted somewhere for myself I guess…” she shrugged “Don’t get me wrong. I feel comfortable in Hufflepuff tower; almost like home. It’s just…” “People?” he whispered. He’d noticed that Tonks certainly had problems to connect to her fellow Hufflepuff students. As a matter of fact, she seemed to have struggles connecting with any other students but them. “Yes, I suppose it is that. I don’t know...I just feel like I somehow don’t fit in with them.” “I don’t see why? You’re a lovely girl…” “You sound like my dad…” she snickers “but truth to be told, I’ve aways been kind of an outcast. I’ve always had a tiny bit in my head that often tells me I don’t belong here, that somehow...I shouldn’t be here. It’s ridiculous, I know…” “No it isn’t…” Lupin replied staring at her face. Sometimes he felt like that, too. He was a werewolf and werewolf weren’t even supposed to learn magic. He should be living among his kind,somewhere dark and isolated; yet, here he was, in Hogwarts with a set of wonderful friends and talking about books with the loveliest girl he’d ever had the fortune to meet. “I think I feel like that at times, too. It’s okay, if you can bond with the other Hufflepuffs. You have us…” “Yes, I do. Even if Severus is so thrilled to remind me that you’re older…” she chuckles “but I’m good. If I had focused on befriending the other Hufflepuff girls, I wouldn’t be hanging out with you, and then I’d never have known what I missed…” Tonks attention seemed to drift away for a while and he saw her toying with a lock of hair under her hood. If he hadn’t had particularly keen view in the dark, he’d probably had missed the faint shade of pink under it. Somehow, he could picture her with a bright pink hair; the color totally suited her and he wondered if she’d ever let him see her without the hood. Well, technically she already had, but he’d been a wolf at the time, so that didn’t count. “Tonks...can I ask you something a little ...er...personal?” “Uh? Eh sure...as long as it isn’t something awkward ,haha….” “Why the hoodie?” Tonks stared at him. She wasn’t mad or annoyed, she was simply considering her answer. “Well...maybe I have antlers or a second face under it that I don’t want you to see…” she smirked and he laughed. “Liar. Lily got a glimpse of it once when you two were shaking off the snow. She said you had pretty burgundy hair. Why hide it?” “Burgundy, huh?” she said absently “guess I was content…” “What?” “Oh, no. Nothing. It’s complicated...my hair isn’t actually...uhm...a very traditional color. I just don’t like to stand out.” Lupin wanted to say that she didn’t need her hair to stand out, but it’d sound wrong and he didn’t mean in it in a rude way. They had more in common that he would have thought, she didn’t want people to know what she was for fear to stand out and rejection, just as much as he didn’t want others to know what he was. But unlike him, her gift was something wonderful. A expression of the purest and most natural magic. People wouldn’t judge her the way they’d judge a werewolf… “Are you scared that you’ll get...mocked?” “What?Oh, no. I couldn’t care less about it. In fact I think I feel some sort of pride about it, but...maybe I’m a little scared.” “About what? It’s just hair…” “Yes, just hair…” “I hope that someday I get the honor to see that mysterious hair of yours. Can I get at least get a hint of how it looks?” “Well…” she smiled “today it is a little lighter and shorter… perhaps…” If Lupin hadn’t known better, he’d have thought the girl was joking; but considering she was a metamorphmagus, she was probably hiding the truth behind a joke. “Let’s make a deal, Remus…” “Oh, I’m all ears…” “The day you tell me a secret, I’ll tell you mine…” Lupin stared at her without knowing what to say. He had a secret; a furry secret that came by every full moon, but he wasn’t sure how he felt about telling her something like that. Despite all her words, she’d never faced a real werewolf and people’s mind were bound to change. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever be ready to tell her that secret. “I...don’t know. I have a secret I guess, but it’s not something I like…” “ It’s okay, Remus...whatever it is, it doesn’t change who you are.” she smiled. Tonks gave him a small smile as she set back in her seat with her book as Lupin stared at her dumbfounded.

*** Christmas morning was as festive as it could ever get. Tonks woke up to find a small tower of presents lying at the feet of her bed and owl jumping over her pillow. She tried to ignore the pinch of grief that hit her chest when she remembered that this year there wouldn’t be a hand knitted jumper from her grandparents and took a deep breath before looking at her presents. The largest box was her parents’, they had bought her a new set robes for her to wear on New Year and she smiled as she sensed the fabric on between her fingers. It was light, delicate but resistant; and it had nice hood. Just like the ones she loved. Lily had gotten her a set of very pretty hair pins that had small pink flowers. It was her subtle way to encourage her to take off her hood, Tonks guessed and she let out a chuckle. She would wear the pins, too bad nobody would see them under the hood. James, Sirius and Peter had bundled up for her present. It seemed like some intent of musical boy that had a wolf dancing sillily in a tutu. A clear reference to her frustrated wish to learn ballet and her obvious preference to wolves. The gift was silly, but she loved it. Even Snape had bought her something. He had gotten her a book Magical Plants and Herbs: a guide for the Ignorant Mind; the first page of the book was scribbled with his neat handwritting: See if you can learn how to properly recognize and harvest them instead of asking me how to do it every five minutes. She stuck her tongue at the message and laughed trying to imagine what would be Snape’s face when he saw her gift. She had sent him a book as well: 100 and 1 ways to defeat grumpiness and be happy. The last present was Lupin’s and as she opened it she couldn’t help but laugh. Her and Lupin’s mind had to be weirdly connected since she opened the box to find a beautiful bookmark made of a pressed hyacinth that sparkle with magical tiny stars. She had gotten him almost the same exact thing, but instead of a hyacinth, his had some pressed Lupines from lively colors. She had found the pun amusing and a bookmark had seemed absolutely fitting. Additional to the bookmark there was a small note and a chocolate bar; she left the chocolate on the table and picked up the note. His writing was neat and careful, just as his owner.

I wasn’t sure what to get you, and Sirius suggestions were a little too out of tone. However it seems that we share passion for un-traditional books and a bookmark seemed propper. I know you hate your name, but I read somewhere that it means “Gift from the nymphs”. There are some pretty flower nymphs called Anthousai, muggles say their hair is made of hyacinths. So i thought the flower was quite fitting!

Merry Christmas! Remus

So they had ended up getting each other some punny presents. He gother something that reminded of nymphs and she gave him a bunch of Lupines. Coincidences could be quite curious, she thought laughing to herself. Tonks stared at the magical bookmark and smiled. With a quick move she put inside her book and left it on the side table as she rushed to get dressed.

The Great Hall was wonderfully decorated with 50 trees illuminated with fairy lights. Each tree had its own theme with colourful garlands, spheres, tinsels and crystals. The teachers were already sitting in their places at the end of the hall. Dumbledore was cheerfully talking to professor McGonagall and Flitwick; Hagrid was laughing loudly at some joke that Professor Sprout had said and Slughorn was telling some sort of story to madam Hooch. As soon as Tonks entered the hall, she saw Lily waving cheerfully at her. The girl was wearing a red sweater with a pleated skirt. Sitting next to her, with his usual dark theme outfit, was Snape. The other four Gryffindor boys were nowhere to be seen. “Wotcher! Merry christmas…” Tonks smiled. “Merry christmas Tonks!” Lily said cheerfully “Oh, Tonks thank so much for the bracelet. It was beautiful!” “Glad to know you liked it! Thank you for the hairpins, Lily.�� “I’m expecting to see you use them…” “Oh, I will...one of these days, maybe…” Tonks replied sitting in front of Snape “Thank you for the book, Severus. I hope you liked my present…” “I found the contents of it...irrelevant…” Snape replied annoyed. “Well, you did mock my brains with the book you sent me. I’m sure you’ll find a good use for the book just like I will…” “What did he get you?” Lily asked curiously. “Magical Plants and Herbs: a guide for the ignorant mind.” Tonks shrugged and chuckled “I got him 100 and 1 ways to defeat grumpiness and be happy, so we are even haha…” “You two are the most hilarious thing…” Lily laughed. “What’s the joke? I want to know…” Sirius said dropping himself at the seat right of Tonks “Hey cous…” “Yeah, what are you laughing about?” James asked sitting by Lily’s side with Peter“Oh...apple tarts!” Tonks was about to say something in reply as Lupin sat down in the other empty seat at her left. “Wotcher, Remus…” she said smiling. “Hey, you’re are having fun, huh?” “Oh, we were discussing Tonks and Severus’s christmas exchange…” Lily chuckled “It was hilarious…” “Really?” Sirius said curiously “What did Snivellus, get you cous?” “Oh, a very useful book to remind me how little I know about magical herbs…” Tonks chuckled. “Oh? Potion making tips?” “Nop, basically a handbook of magical plants...for dummies.” Lupin chuckled. “That should come in handy someday…” “Sure, it will…” “And what did you get him?” “A guide book to be less grumpy and more happy…” Tonks smirked. A general laugh filled the table as they ate cheerfully. “So, did you get Lupin a book, too, Tonks?” Lily asked. “Oh, I did think of that, but I ended up getting him something else…” she replied. “Those two…” James chuckled pointing at them “Their minds are connected or something. THey practically gave each other the same thing…” “Really?” “It wasn’t the same…” Lupin chuckled shaking his head “same idea, though…” “What did you get?” “Bookmarks…” Tonks and Lupin replied at the same time. “See what I mean?” James laughed “and not any bookmark...no they had the same kind of bookmark with the same magically dried flower thing and the sparkles…” “ They weren’t the same flower…” Tonks pouted “Mine was a hyacinth…” “And mine was a Lupine...pun intended I reckon?” Lupin added turning to her. “You got me…” “Aw...I think that’s a really cute present…” Lily smiled “And very useful too, considering both of you are avid readers…” “Yeah, that really doesn’t match. I mean...cous, Remus destiles bookworm all over, but you don’t look like a reader…” “Don’t judge a book by its cover. I’m smarter than I look…” Tonks said winking at him. “She’s probably better at school than you, Sirius…” James laughed. “Oh, shut up James…” Tonks smiled. Frankly, she’d been a little uneasy about celebrating Christmas after what happened to her grandparents and she knew her parents had insisted on her staying in Hogwarts for the holidays hoping that the company of other kids would cheer her up. After finishing breakfast, they headed outside. James and Sirius were cheerfully chasing Peter around with a bunch of levitating snowballs while the rest sat down and watched the trio. “Shouldn’t you...I don’t know...stop them?” Tonks said watching- with a bit of pity - how Peter seemed to be suffering from the physical effort. “It’s not like they’d listen to me…” Lupin replied apologetically. “And there I thought they’d listen to your reasoning…” “I think they only listen to my reasoning 50% of the times.”he chuckled “usually when it comes to making up mischief…” “Who would take you for mischievous person, Mr. Good boy…” “Don’t judge a book for its cover…” “Hey...don’t quote me!” “It’s a popular quote. I’m not actually quoting you, Tonks…” he laughed. Tonks snorted. Her look quickly scanned her surroundings. James and Sirius were now trying to pull out Snape into the snow, and Lily was laughing at Snape’s horrified face. “That’s your doing…” Lupin said “And you were right. He might act as he’s annoyed, but he’s actually pleased. He isn’t as bad as we originally thought, I’m glad we gave him a chance. Sirius and James won’t admit it but...I’m sure they’re growing fond of him...” “Ah...Severus is a sweetheart...grumpy and all.” “I reckon you’re right; but I’m afraid we probably would have never known if you hadn’t smacked some sense into us. You’re pretty amazing, you know?” “Ha… if you consider tripping amazing, I guess I am.” There was a moment of pleasant silence, interrupted only by joyful screams and laughs. The sound was comforting and contagious; and it made Tonks feel better. “There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor” Lupin said with a smile. “Charles Dickens…”Tonks nodded “I remember that. A Christmas Carol was my grandfather’s favorite Christmas story. He’d read it outloud on Christmas while we were sitting in the living room...” “...I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” “No, it’s alright. It’s...strange and sad, but I think I’m getting over it...slowly…” “If you need to talk, you know I’m all ears…” “I know that…” she answered punching his arm playfully “and I appreciate it. I really do…” “Do you want to read A Christmas Carol today? I’m sure we can sneak out from these bouffons and hide in the Muggle Section. They’ll never think of searching us there…” “You want to read it?” “In honor to your grandfather’s memory….yes…” Tonks smiled. She didn’t know why, but having Lupin console her gave her a slight sense of deja vú. It was a pleasant familiarity that she couldn’t quite explain, but she decided that she didn’t want break her head over it. As long as he was willing to give it to her, she’d gladly accept it. That’s how friendship worked after all.

[afaithy]

A Crinkle in Fate; Ch 5

AVAILABLE IN AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16896918/chapters/39835008#workskin

Chapter 5: Some things are more than what meets the eyeNotes:

"We do not know what things look like. We know what things are like. It must be a very limiting thing,this seeing.” — Madeleine L'Engle

Days turned to weeks, and soon into months. Tonks had already gotten used to the rhythm of a Hogwarts student and she soon discovered that she wasn’t such bad student as she had anticipated, she wasn’t the first of her year, but she was among the top ones, and that gave her a small pinch of pride. If only her social skill could be improved as easily. After a month living among them, she was finally comfortable enough to chat with the other Hufflepuff girls, but the interaction was still a little too cordial; something that didn’t pass unnoticed by her dear cousin. Tonks seemed to have a strange standards when it came to choosing her friends. She had easily accepted Sirius “family” love, and she befriended Lupin almost instantly; with James she’d been a little bit wary at the beginning, but she eventually seemed to trust the boy with glasses. With Peter, she was still a little tense, as Sirius liked to note. Against all odds, Tonks befriended both Lily and Snape. The first one had been more welcoming to the girl than the later. It was more than obvious that Snape would have prefered her to leave him alone. “Seeeeeeveeeeruuuuus….” Tonks fuzzed with a -purposely- annoying voice that made Lily giggle when the boy had glared at the younger girl horrified. “What?” “Help me with this. You are good in potions….” “Leave me alone…” Snape groaned “Go tell your useless cousin…” “Sirius sucks at potions! You said it yourself!” “Then Lupin. He’s the brain in there, is he not?” “He’s busy….” Tonks pouted “Come on Severus….heeeeelp meeeee….” “No…” “Pleaaase...please...please...please...” “Agh...shut up. I’m trying to focus….” “Come on…” “No…” “Help me Severus, you’re my only hopee….” Lily giggled. She was having too much fun seeing how Tonks purposely annoying Snape and how the boy pretended to be annoyed. “Seriously...don’t you have better things to do? Can’t you go hang out with your Hufflepuff mates or something?” “That’s not fun at al. I like to hang out with you and Lily…” Tonks replied winking at Lily “Pleaaase...just help me…..” “Agh fine...let me see that.” Snape took the parchment from her and his dark eyes scanned the letters on it carefully. The pale boy raced and eye-brow and shook his head irrirtated. “It’s three times counter clockwise, and then two clockwise before you add the convallaria leaves. Otherwise it’d turn red instead of light purple…” “Ah...really? Severus...you’re a genius…” Snape rolled his eyes and turned back to his own book. “I’m not a genius...it’s common sense. Use your brain…” he mumbled. Tonks and Lily exchanged looks and giggled. “Oh no...there he comes…” Lily groaned “Potter…” “James?” Tonks said tilting her head. “Yes, he’s playing clown with Black again. Annoying…” “They can be a little goofy at times, but they’re good. It’s like Severus, he can be a grumpy pot, but deep inside he’s just a little sweetheart…” “I’m not…” “Hahaha, she might be right on that, Severus. You’re a kind soul hiding an annoyed face...” “Lily, don’t …” Snape begged. Lily and Tonks laughed again. The hooded girl turned to where Sirius and James were busy putting up a show of paper birds that flew in circles around their heads and her gaze met Lupin's, who was looking with a mixture of amusement and disapproval at his friends. Tonks smiled and waved at him enthusiastically. Perhaps a little to enthusiastically that she accidentally knocked over a pile of books that she had by her side with a loud thud. “For Merlin’s sake, Nymphadora!” Snape glared at her. “Don’t call me Nymphadora! It’s Tonks, plain and simple Tonks!” “I don’t know why you don’t like your name…”Lily asked “it is such a pretty name…” “Lily is a pretty name, Nymphadora is just ridiculous…” Tonks said picking up the books. “No, it isn’t…” a new voice muttered close to her. To her surprise, Lupin had sneaked into the seat next to her and was smiling warmly at her. “Hey, Evans...Snape” he greeted the pair. Lily replied with a smile and Snape only nodded his head at him “I find your name really nice and fitting…” “Remus...you can’t be serious. How is Nymphadora fitting at all?” “Why not?” “First...the name is just...uff; second...it’s all...girly, lady, elegant...as far as I’m aware….I don’t have any of those attributes…” “You got that right…” Snape snorted. “So no… Tonks suits me better…” “If you say so…”Lily chuckled “I still think, Nymphadora is a cute name…” “Ah...you could be my mum’s best friend then…”Tonks said dropping her head on the table with a loud thud “Let’s not talk about my name, please.” “As you wish, because I’m leaving now…” Snape said snapping his book close. “Yes, I should go, too. I promised Mirtha that I’d help her study Charms.” Lily said. “Have fun with that, Lily…” Tonks smiled “Severuuuus...don’t miss me too much!” “Who’s going to miss you, noisy girl?!” Tonks broke into a laugh. She just enjoyed teasing Snape, because she knew that despite his bitter remarks and his constant glares, Snape actually accepted her and considered her his friend. “You know...Sirius still can’t believe you’re Snape’s friend…” Lupin chuckled. “Oh, he’s being silly. Guess the Black genes still get him at times…” Tonks replied turning her head to Lupin “Prejudice...I mean. Severus is a nice boy...you just need to know him.” “I’m not saying anything…” Lupin chuckled “I don’t have anything against him, to be honest. It seems the rivalry is between him and James…” “Let me guess...Lily?” “Too obvious?” “A little, but James is silly. How does he expect Lily to like him if he keeps bullying her best friend?” “I don’t think James thinks so much into it…” “Are all boys that silly?” “I guess we can be…” “Oh, not you. I’m sure you’re the exception of the rule there…” Lupin smiled and shook his head tiredly. Tonks raised her head from the table and looked at him with a frown. Her dark eyes staring into his green ones. “You’re a little pale…” she said “Are you feeling alright?” He wasn't’t. Full moon was in three days and he was starting to feel its effects on his body, but Tonks didn’t know it, and he didn’t want to tell her if he could help it. “Oh, I’m alright. I’ve been putting some overnights...that’s all…” he said rubbing the back of his head. Tonks stared at him for a minutes, and he could tell, by her look, that she wasn’t buying his excuse. She was too smart for her own good. “Hey, are you busy?” “Now? No, why?” “I need to get this back to the library. I was wondering if you’d like to come.” “Sure. I don’t think Sirius and James are missing me now, anyway…” “Nah, they’re too busy being themselves…” she laughed picking up the books. The pair left the hall and walked to the library engulfed in a random mudane chat. They talked about the classes, the teachers and the mischief they had done recently.Tonks loved her little chats with Lupin, because she felt so relaxed when he was close, and Lupin loved his brief minutes with Tonks, because it made him feel happy. Lupin helped her put back the books and eventually, they ended up in the Muggle Literature section. It was one of the less frequented sections, and so it was usually deadly empty. “Ah...they don’t know what they’re missing…” Tonks chuckled “Some of these are really nice…” “You’ve read them?” “My dad has them in his library. I’ve read some…” “Me too…” “Oh, you like Muggle Books?” “Mmmm you could say so…” Lupin answered “My mother is muggle, so we have some of these at home too…” “Oh, well. Look at that, something more that we have in common…” she chuckled “ Oh...Fairytales by the Grimm Brothers. My dad used to read me those when I was a kid. I could never understand why the wolf was always the bad guy…” “It’s not the wolf. That’s just the Muggles misinterpreting the...role of a werewolf…” Lupin replied. The last bit had come out a little bitter than he’d intended. “Wolves...werewolves…” she replied as if it didn’t matter, her hand caressing the books in the shelves “What’s wrong with that? Werewolves are not any less people…” Lupin seemed confused at her words. Had he heard correctly? “Werewolves are monsters….dangerous and horrible monsters…” he said automatically and he saw Tonks turn to him with an irritated frown. “Oh, and how would you know this? Because it is written on books? Or because that’s why everyone says?” she replied firmly “Werewolves are still people 29 days in a month, that makes them human 348 days in a year. Just because they turn into a wolf once a month doesn’t make them monsters. The person chooses whether to be good or not, that’s not different from being normal. I mean...I’m sure there are werewolves out there that are 100 times more decent people than some wizards out there…” Lupin was left speechless. That wasn’t what he had expected to hear about werewolves. With the exception of his friends, whenever the subject of Werewolves came into conversation, the immediate response was either fear or hate; and there he was, standing in front of an 11 years old who defended werelwolves with a reasoning that could slap at any older wizard. “You don’t know any werewolves, that’s what you’re saying that.” “And do you know any?” Lupin didn’t answer. He was afraid of how she’d react if he told her the truth, but Tonks took his silence as a no. “See? Maybe if people stopped for a bit and tried to know them, understand them, they’d see that they aren’t the demons they think they are…” “Werewolves are dangerous…” “They are, as any person is.” Tonks agreed “A werewolf might bite...yes, because he is a wolf. It’s their instinct to prey, to eat...to survive. Just like anyother animal. It isn’t a crime to act according your nature; but put it like this… If the werewolf is a good person when he or she isn’t a wolf, and then dangerous when he turns just because he follows its instinct, can you really judging him? Look at that arse of Boreas, he’s a wizard...and he hurts people just because of the fun of it. Why isn’t he judge the same way? There’s a keyword there, Remus… Choosing.” Lupin didn’t know what to say. Usually he could come up with any statement that would make a werewolf, make himself, look like a monster, but as he stood there watching Tonks walking between the shelves he realized that maybe, just maybe, she had a point there. “Ah...there it is…” Tonks voice interrupted his thoughts, as the girl pulled out a book from the shelf with a smile “I feel like reading this again…” Lupin glanced at the book on her hands. The cover was brown with golden letters printed on it: Whitefang by Jack London. Their talk then switched to a lighter subject as they headed back to the Hall, but Lupin was still thoughtful; the words that the young witch had told him in the library kept replaying in his mind and later that day when he’d casually commented them with his friends, their reaction had left him in shock. “HA, I knew she’d be a werewolf lover…” Sirius laughed “Don’t ask me how. I just did…” “But isn’t that good, Moony…” James said with a smile “You now know that she wouldn’t care if she knew about your furry little problem…” “That’s not the point…” Lupin said shaking his head “That line of thinking could get her killed. Werewolves are dangerous!” “And she said it. She knows they’re are, but she also knows it isn’t their fault…” James reasoned “You’re sabotaging yourself, Moony.” “She got mad at you for bad mouthing werewolves…” Sirius laughed “I should have seen that. If only she knew she was talking to one…” “But why isn’t she afraid of werewolves?” Peter asked “I mean normal people are scared…” “Wormtail...would you stop calling my cousin a freak, for Merlin’s sake?” “He’s right…” Lupin said shaking his head “ She should, and yet she isn’t. You three were scared at the beginning…” “Maybe her parents taught her not to be scared?” James suggested. “Unlikely. You know what how wizards see werewolves.” “Then maybe she’s reckless…” Peter suggested. “Or maybe...she has a brain…” Sirius said annoyed “Moony, don’t be so dramatic. This is a good thing. Means you have another friend that won’t abandon you for what you are...so I said you shut it, and enjoy it.”

Lupin knew that there was no point trying to reason with Sirius when the boy used that tone and for the first time, he thought he’d follow his friend’s advice.

***

It was a nice night. That’s what Tonks thought when she sneaked through the main gates and walked to the school grounds. She’d always have troubles to sleep during the nights of full moon. It wasn’t that she wasn’t sleepy, but more like there was something roaming her head, a ghost worry that wouldn’t let her sleep at all. When she was younger, she would sit on her bed and stare at the moon quietly from her window; as she grew older, she realized that her sneaky night stroll helped her feel more calm. The night was warm, but the breeze kept her cool as she made her way to lake. The surface was calm and quiet; so stiff that the it almost looked like a black mirror. The view sent her a sense of deja vu once again. She had gotten used to them as she grew older, she’d casually get one every now and then when she was at home, but ever since she had come to Hogwarts, that sense of deja vu had become more and more common. “Maybe I studied here in a past life…” she giggled to herself thinking of what her dad would say if she told him. She had borrowed a couple books from the library out of curiosity, but after reading them through, she felt like some of the things they mentioned didn’t match her. Maybe her dad’s hypothesis about her past life was just a silly invention to make her laugh after all. She should have known better. Tonks strolled past the lake and made her way to Hagrid’s cabin. She knew there were Lumin fairies in the forest. Her dad told her he used to take her mum to watch them on their romantic secret dates; perhaps with some luck she would be able to see some today. She reached the edge of the forest in once piece. She had almost tripped with a large root that laid well hidden in the shadows. Maybe walking in the dark wasn’t the brightest idea, considering her innate gift of accidents, but she didn’t want to catch Filch’s attention by casting a light. “Maybe he’d think it was a will o’wisp “she chuckled “but no, the moon should be enough.” Tonks found a big boulder and sat on it staring into the darkness of the forest. She probably looked like a fool, but then again, nobody would see her, so who cared? Suddenly a soft crack made her jump and she looked into the shadows in front of her. A pair of amber eyes that seemed to glow in the dark was staring at her and she could hear a low growl. It wasn’t a threatening growl, but more like a warning growl. The kind of growl a dog would make when he wanted to be left alone. It was too dark for her too see well who the owner of the amber eyes was, and it seemed that it didn’t want to let itself be seen anyway.. “Wotcher…” she said softly. Some people would say it was stupid to talk to an animal, but her grandmother always told her that contrary to common beliefs, animals did understand and that was why she always baby talked her scottish terrier whenever Tonks was on a visit. “I mean you no harm…” she said softly and the answer was once more a soft growl “I’m jus here hoping to see some Lumin Fairies. Don’t worry, I don’t intend to invade your territory…” Silence. It wasn’t like she had expected an answer. It was a dog for Merlin’s sake, dogs couldn’t talk! “I always get a insomniac on full moons. It’s silly and I just can’t explain it, but it’s like ...I’m too restless to sleep. It’s weird because I don’t even know what’s worrying me...you see? So I have the habit of taking strolls on nights of full moon…” There wasn’t a growl this time, and if it wasn’t for the bright golden eyes that wee staring at her, she would have thought the dog had long left. “You can’t sleep either?” she asked softly “Well, I wouldn’t blame you. It’s such a beautiful night. Do you live here?” Tonks chuckled. She really was stupid if she thought the dog would answer her. “Oh, yeah...silly me. It’s not like you could answer me…” she laughed “So...if it doesn’t bother you, I’d do the talking…” There was no growl, so she took that as a good sign. “My name is Nymphadora Tonks, but I prefer to be called Tonks; just Tonks. My mum, however, loves to call me Nymphadora….” she said rolling her eyes “and she says she won’t call her daughter by her last name. My dad agrees to that. He says it’d be too hard to know which Tonks you’re addressing, but my dad doesn’t call me Nymphadora. He calls me Dora, which I think is okay? It isn’t as flashy as Nymphadora. My parents are wizards. My mum was once from a.. Very important family or something like that, but she was disowned after she ran away to marry my dad. You see, my dad is a muggle born….not sure if you’ll know what that is, but the point is...my mum’s family didn’t like him. They didn’t think he was worthy enough for my mum, of course my mum thought otherwise. So my parents ran away and got married, and they had me…” She said the last part proudly. “But because of my mum’s background, I didn’t get much friends when I was younger. From one side, the ones that were on my grandparents side saw us as traitors and deserving of punishment; and the ones that weren’t...well, they were intimidated enough to not want to have anything to do with me and my family. I know what you’re thinking, if my dad was a muggle, then why I didn’t I look for friends on my muggle side? Well, I just couldn’t….” Tonks pulled down her hood revealing her hair. It was silvery white, waist long and straight today. “I’m a Metamorphmagus. I was born one...so I can change my appearance at will, like ...this…” She focused a little and her hair began to turn black. It looked as if someone had dropped a vial of ink over her head. “Dad says it is a very rare gift, unfortunately, I don’t know how to control it well, yet. So sometimes, I change by accident. You can’t do that in front of muggles! They don’t even know that magic exist! Professor McGonagall, she’s a nice lady is teaching me how to control it. It’s helping, but I still can’t control it….at least not when it comes with my hair. I think I can manage my face. That’s why I use the hoodie…” she said covering her head again “I don’t want the other kids finding out and calling me a freak along the usual blood traitor insults. I don’t mind. It’s not that it hurts me, because I know they’re wrong, but well...I just want to have some peace and quiet, if you know what I mean. THe teachers know, so they don’t mind me wearing the hood. It’s great…” There wasn’t a growl this time, but she saw the amber eyes going lower. The dog had decided to lay down. Well, at least it wasn’t bored about her story. “I haven’t made too many friends in here. I don’t know, I just feel like I can’t trust them; but not everyone. I have made some real friends too, even if there are just a small bunch. There’s my long lost cousin, his name is Sirius. He’s a dork, but I think I can accept hims as family….that’s all I need to tell you and there are his friends. James is...nice, I guess. I just think we don’t connect that well...if you know what I mean...and Remus, he’s great. I really like him, it’s like we knew each from long before we met ...it’s silly, isn’t it? And then there’s Peter...I don’t know, I don’t think we get along. I’m sure he doesn’t like me, and I am not sure how I feel about him. It’s like I have this...unreasonable sense of distrust about him…” The golden eyes had raised once more and Tonks could almost picture the dog’s heat tilting sideways. “I know it is ridiculous. He hasn’t done anything that should make me feel like that…” Tonks shrugged “ Oh there’s also Lily. I think I was a little wary at first, but she’s really nice...and she’s become a good friend and of course there’s Severus. He’s an interesting boy. He’s really kind and a big softie, but he wouldn’t admit it...he prefers to play the bad guy part before admitting that he’s done something good. For example, he always complains about me being noisy, or stupid and ridiculously clumsy, but he always helps me with homework, and seats with me on lunch and dinner, and I’m sure he worries when I trip…” Tonks giggled. “Sirius and James doesn’t like him, but well, that’s fine for Severus.He doesn’t like them either. Maybe it is because they’re to proud...if they actually tried...I believe they’d would be good friends.” Tonks let out a sigh and looked at the sky. The moon was high in the sky sprinkled with stars. It was a view that you wouldn’t see in the city, and she felt lucky to be seeing it now. “The moon is pretty, isn’t it?” The answer to her question was merely a soft growl. She looked back at the amber eyes and smiled at them. “Thank you for your company. I think I better get back, before Filch catches me. Maybe we will meet again…” Tonks jumped on her feet and waved at the dog one last time before walking back to the castle. The pair of golden eyes stared at her back until she was no longer seen.

[afaithy]

A crinkle of Fate; CH 6

Chapter 6: Bad news come and goNotes:

“There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.” ― Jane Austen

“Hey...you’re back, Moony.” Sirius said when Lupin dragged himself back into the bedroom later that day. After his transformation,he had gone to the hospital wing to receive his regular check up with Madam Pomfrey. The woman had healed the most of his injuries and sent him straight back to bed. Lupin didn’t complain, for starters he was exhausted and in pain; and, on the other hand, he wanted some peace and quiet to reflect on what had happened last night. Werewolf metamorphosis was a complex process, not only physically but mentally. When he turned to his wolf’s form, his mind became wild and more animal like, but he still retained some sense of human conscience. It was like being present, but unable to do anything. Actions were dominated by the wolf’s side. The wolf had gone hunting last night. It never left the safety of the forest of course, but he had strolled at the very edge of it. When he saw the girl sitting at the edge of the forest, Lupin had sensed the mix of fear, curiosity and distrust in the wolf. His human side, however, was horrified as he saw Tonks sitting there so innocently and defenceless. What if the wolf decided to attack her?

To his surprise, it didn’t. The wolf had sneezed the air and caught on the girl’s scent. There was something oddly familiar about it, and instead of attacking, it had sat there watching here.

“Moony, you look beaten…” James said popping out from his bed “but you don’t look as bad as you usually do, so I suppose last night wasn’t that bad…” “No, it wasn’t…” Lupin hesitated. Did he want to share about his unexpected encounter with a certain girl? After pondering for a couple minutes, he decided that he didn’t want to tell them...yet. Telling them would also mean he had to speak of what she’d told him, too. “What did you do last night?” Peter asked. “I went hunting in the forest…” Lupin shrugged sitting in his own bed. “Oh, guess that’s good.” Sirius nodded “Guess who was asking around about you?” “Ehr...who?” “Tonks of course!” James laughed “We saw her this morning after she comically tripped with one of the armors. Seriously, that girl can stay on her two feet…” “She said you were looking quite ill the past days and wanted to know if you were feeling okay.” Sirius explained “Don’t worry. We told her you had caught a cold, but she seemed pretty concerned. Check on her when you get the chance would you?” “Sure…” As matter of fact, if his muscles weren’t hurting as much as they were now, he’d have gone right away. “Boreas has picked up the bullying again…” James said “Seems like he got over his broken nose and he’s back on harassing her. We were trying to come up with a plan to help…” “No, Slytherin arse is going to bully my cousin…” Sirius nodded. “They’re harassing her again? What did they said?” Lupin said in a rush, remembering what the girl had told the wolf last night. “The usual thing…” James replied shaking his head “Her parents, they keep calling half-blood scum and well...other than Slytherins, some people have been talking about her not putting of her hood. I heard Evans scolding some girls in the common room because they were saying that she probably had something weird in her head…” “There’s nothing weird with her hair…” Lupin said automatically. “Well, unfortunately...we don’t know.” James shrugged “And well...unless she takes off that hood, people will keep talking…” “Don’t worry about it, Moony. You need to rest, so ….James and I will handle it.” Lupin had no doubt that they would, but he made a mental note to talk with her soon.

Unfortunately, he didn’t get the chance to talk to Tonks until the end of the week, when he stumbled with her as he came out from Charms. The girl was running down the hall and in the middle of her hurry she had crashed into him and company when they’ve been leaving the classroom. Even without the look on the black and yellow hood or the soft groan, Lupin could have recognized her in a blink. “Hey, careful! ” he said catching he arm and steadying her before she could hit the floor. “Oh!” There’s was something off in her voice. It wasn’t as energetic as usual. “Wotcher, Remus! ”she smiled faintly and he could tell something wasn’t right “My hero as usual, aren’t you? How are you feeling?” “I...I’m good. Why do you ask?” “Well, Sirius said you were sick…” “Oh...that. I’m good. It wasn’t serious….” “Oh that’s good, then...” “Tonksie!” Sirius said cheerfully. “Wotcher, Sirius, James...Peter....” “Heading to lunch? How about you eat with us, cousin?” “Mmm...am I even allowed to sit at your table?” “Of course you are. There’s no rule against mixed lunch seat and we are not slyths…” “Oh, you’re right…” “Are you alright?” “Me? Yeah, why wouldn’t it?” she replied. Her answer had come a little too fast, and Lupin frowned. “Have to agree with Remus, kid. You’re a little pale…” James said looking at her “Did you catch a cold?” “A what? Ah, no...ehm, just...busy with work and stuff and….” “Hey half-blood scum. Heard about that event, have you not? I’d say they had it coming….” Tonks tensed and the color drained from her face. She cast a bitter glare at Boreas and his gang; but her glare was watered down by the glow in her eyes. She looked like she was about to cry. “Shut up!” she shouted. “Or what?” “Boreas, shut up, you arse…” Sirius growled pushing Tonks behind protectively. “Tch...Blood traitors stand for each other, don’t they? Maybe next time it’d be your turn, Black... ” “My turn?” “Oh, haven’t you heard the news? That wizard that killed all those muggles...it was all in the papers. The pathetic couple stood no chance. Can you imagine that, half-blood scum? How much they must have screamed as they were cursed….” “Boreas!” Boreas laughed loudly, but his laughter was interrupted when Tonks, with a skill that seemed rehearsed for years, pulled her wand out from her robes and chanted firm and clearly. “Stupefy!” Red sparkles flew at Boreas face and the boy landed flat on his back. The corridor was speechless staring at the scene. No one dared to move. Tonks face was bitter, the tears had began to slide down her cheeks and both Lupin and Sirius had moved to her side unconsciously. “MS.TONKS…” McGonagall’s strong voice cut through the hallway. Her face was pale and her lips were stretched into a thin line. She was furious, anyone could tell that. “Professor!” On of Boreas lackeys cried overdramatically “She attacked us! We were just chatting and she attacked us out sudden…” “You git…”Sirius began but was interrupted by McGonagall. “Yaxley, I don’t need to hear your excuses. I witnessed the events pretty well…” she replied. Her look stuck on Tonks “Ms. Tonks...I’ll need you to come with me…” “But professor…!” Sirius began. “Enough Black, go to your next class…” “They provoked her!” James tried to push in. “Potter… It isn’t your business…” “But professor.” “Lupin, I think I made myself clear…” Before any of them could say anything. McGonagall took Tonks hand in a gentle yet stern grip and walked away with her. The three boys stared at each other restless. None of them knew what had just happened.

***

Tonks walked silently behind McGonagall. She hated crying. It made her look childish and weak, but she found that as much as she tried, her tears kept running down her cheeks. She’d lost her temper at Boreas words, but she felt no regrets. She had received the owl early that morning. An urgent letter from her parents. The ink had been blurred as if the person writing it had been crying endlessly. Two nights ago, a wizard had broken into her grandparents house and had killed them in cold blood. Her mother had spared her the details, after all, she was just a child and she didn’t need to know the gruesome details of the crime. Tonks, however, was a smart girl and all she needed to do was look into the news papers to get the information that her parents had tried to keep from her. Her grandparents had been killed by a wizard who’s identity remained unknown, but he was a supporter of Pure Blood Supremacy. Her grandparents had been tortured to death and it was her own father who had found them. It had been a warning. It was clear by the message written in magical words: Blood-Traitors and Mudblood shall be purged. She had tried her best to keep her cool, and she had succeded so far until Boreas had said those words.

Can you imagine that, half-blood scum? How much they must have screamed as they were cursed….

Her wand was in her hand automatically and she couldn’t even remember mouthing the spell. She didn’t know it, she’d never learned it, even less, used it before. McGonagall took her to her office and closed the door quietly. Tonks stood there silently. She knew she was about to get punished, in the worse case scenario she’d get expelled, in the best, she’d earn detention for the rest of the year. Needless to say, when McGonagall kneeled down in front of her and pulled her into a hug, the girl was speechless. “I’m so sorry about your grandparents, Tonks…” she muttered patting her back. And the girl broke. She started sobbing as the child she was supposed to be. All her attempts to appear cool and collected shattered into pieces.She didn’t want to be there, now. She wanted to be home, with her parents...she wanted to see her grandparents. She felt to helpless. McGonagall patted her comfortingly. She wasn’t the girl’s head of house, but she had come to like the girl after expending so many private tutorings for her Metamorphmagus lessons. McGonagall had been patrolling the corridors when she heard the fuss and she had made it on time to hear Boreas mock Tonks about her grandparents deaths. She couldn’t blame the child for stunning the older kid. “I’m so sorry...I’m so sorry…” Tonks sobbed “I didn’t meant to hex him...but...but…” “I know...I know....” McGonagall said soothingly “it’d be alright...I saw. I will speak to Horace about what happened…” “I couldn’t say good-bye…” Tonks mumbled “I promised Nana I’d visit her for christmas. She said she’d knit me a new jumper...” McGonagall was wordless. She could only rub the girl’s back trying to comfort her as best as she could, knowing that there was little she could do. She was too young to deal with such tragic deaths. “Would you rather go home? I’m sure we can speak to Professor Dumbledore, and he’d let you go home for a while…”

Tonks didn’t answer, but she nodded between her sobs. She wanted to go home. As she sat there in McGonagall’s office crying helplessly a tiny voice whispered inside of her mind.

For each change that is made, and equal price must be paid.

***

Sirius stomped angrily to the table. He’s young face was filled with bitterness and anger, making Peter shrink when the boy snapped at him for asking what was wrong. “Look at this…” Sirius threw a copy of the Daily Prophet on the table. Lupin picked it up and his eyes went wide as he read the article. “Dorotea and Jacob Tonks….?” James said reading from over his shoulder “Are they…?” “Tonks grandparents…” Sirius said grumpily. “Blimey….”James said wide eyed “And Boreas was...rubbing it on her face. Not surprise she threw a hex at him…” “Charm…” Lupin corrected “It was a stunning charm. I don’t know how she knew how to cast it. We don’t see those until fourth year…” “Maybe she read it somewhere and she just….randomly used it.” James shrugged. “Who cares…” Sirius said in annoyance “I’m more concerned about my cousin. What if she gets expelled for it?” “You think McGonagall would expel her after...well, that…?” James said looking at the newspaper. “Who knows…” “Maybe we should go see her…” Lupin suggested. He didn’t think McGonagall would expel her, but he was concerned about the girl’s emotional state at the moment. The four Gryffindor boys rushed to McGonagall’s office. To their surprise, they weren’t the only ones there as they almost stumbled with a ginger headed girl and a pale black haired boy. “Snivellus?” Sirius said dumbfounded. “Evans!” James said in surprised. Lily rolled her eyes ignoring both of them. The girl was obviously worried and Lupin had to admit that Snape looked concerned as well. Perhaps Tonks was right, and despite Snape negations, he considered the Hufflepuff girl a friend. “Is she still inside?” he asked Snape. The boy seemed surprised that Lupin was addressing directly at him. “What?” “ Tonks. That’s why you are here, no?” Lupin said standing in front of the door “You must have heard of what happened in the Slytherin common room…” “...It was Lily’s…” Lupin could almost hear Tonks voice chiming in his ear. There he goes...pushing the credit to someone else...that’s Severus. Snape let out an irritated sigh and Lupin smiled faintly. He had to admit that perhaps the girl was right, and Snape wasn’t as bad as Sirius and James liked to put him. “They haven’t come out…” he whispered softly “I heard Boreas and some other students talk about some muggles being tortured with the Cruciatus curse and ... When I heard they were name Tonks. ” “You tied the knots…” Lupin nodded. He wished he’d had known earlier. He couldn’t imagine how the girl was feeling. “Boreas got her before I did…” Snape muttered “It’s not like I care about her, but making fun of the dead...is not right…” Lupin nodded. Maybe it was because Tonks had said it before, but suddenly he could see all those little things that betrayed Snape’s intention to appear indifferent. They talk was interrupted by McGonagall’s door opening. “Professor!” Lily said in a rush. McGonagall was visibly surprised by the small crowd in front of her door. “Evans, Snape, Lupin, Black, Potter and Pettigrew. What are you doing here?” “Professor...it wasn’t Tonks fault, Boreas…” Sirius began, but McGonagall stopped him. “I know. I already spoke to Professor Slughorn about it. He isn’t too happy with how his students were using such....lamentable news. Especially to someone who was involved directly to the victims. ” A wave of relief spread between the them. That was a good sign, at least it meant that Tonks wouldn’t be expelled for stunning Boreas. “Is...Tonks alright?” Lupin asked and for a second he thought he had seen sadness in the stern professor’s face. “I won’t lie to you. Ms. Tonks isn’t feeling too well right now…” “Can we see her? I mean...our company could help, right?” Sirius said. “I’m afraid no, Mr. Black. Professor Dumbledore agreed that, under the current circumstances, it was better for Ms. Tonks to be with her family. She was sent home…” “She’s not here?” Lily asked “When will she come back?” “Ms. Evans, I’m afraid that it is hard to say. It is a difficult moment for her and her family. They’ll need time to ...recover.” Tonks had to be worse than they had imagined. It was difficult to imagine such a cheerful girl mourning after all. “But...professor...about Boreas…” “Like I said, Black. We will handle that. Tonks won’t be punished for what happened today. There’s no need to put her under more anxiety.” They had known McGonagall was right, and in the current circumstances there was no better place for her but her own home with her family. At least, there wouldn’t Slytherin ready to add salt to her injury there. Lupin was aware of this, and even when he knew that it was the most reasonable solution, he couldn’t help but wish she was here. Tonks absence was noticed by many and, unfortunately, not all those who noticed were friendly eyes. Rumors had begun to spread among the hallways of the school. From her being expelled for almost “killing” a student to her being sent to Azkaban and other ridiculous things that made Lupin want to hex the whole student body; something that -as James had noted- was absolutely rare on him. Sirius, too, had been in a foul mood ever since the incident with Boreas; and he made it his life goal to make the Slytherin pay. Thanks to Lily and, to both Sirius and James surprise, Snape’s efforts, the rumors slowly died away. Days passed, and the night of the full moon arrived. Lupin sat quietly in Shrieking Shack awaiting the time for his transformation. It wasn’t nice; it never was and it didn’t matter how many times he went through it, he’d never get used to it. The burning sensation tearing through his muscles and skin; the piercing sting in his bones as the stretched and twisted into their animal forms. Ususally, he’d lose all his human consciousness once he’d changed, but that night something odd had happened. His human mind was conscious along the animal’s.Not fully there, but there. The wolf sneaked out of the dilapidated house and made his way into the forest. He smelled the air and a wave of different essences invaded his nostrils: grass, soil, deer, hare...familiar scents of the wild, but there was another scent hiding under all those. A scent that was alien, yet..familiar. The wolf followed the scent through the forest until it reached the end of it. He could see the castle at the distance and the wolf realized that he’d reached the school grounds. Why had the scent brought him there? His ears caught the sound of footsteps and out of sudden, a dark hooded figure sat down a few steps from him. His first reaction was to get defensive. The wolf bared its teeth and growled in warning; he was ready to jump at the new comer anytime, but then he caught the scent. That strange fragrance that felt so familiar and...attracting. “Is that you?” a soft voice asked in a whisper. The wolf didn’t recognize it immediately. She couldn’t see him as long as he stayed in the shadows casted by the forest trees, but he could see her perfectly well under the moonlight. It was the same girl he’d met some time ago, in this same place. However, the wolf noticed something different about her. The first time they had met, she was full of life and energy. At the time he’d been tempted to jump at her and attack, but he found himself unable to do it. Attacking her felt wrong. Almost as if he was attacking his mate. So he had stayed down and watched her suspiciously. Tonight, however, she seemed...tired...weak; perhaps even ill and he felt tempted to jump out, not to attack her, but to look at her to be sure she was alright. “Wotcher…” she said softly. She had noticed him “I was wondering if I’d see you, today.” The wolf was surprised. The girl didn’t seem afraid of him, but then again, she couldn’t see him, could she? “ I’ve just arrived. I was away for a while, you know? Well, that’s a stupid question. Of course you wouldn’t know...” The wolf watched her quietly; she was right. He wouldn’t know, but his human counterpart did and he’d been awfully concerned about her absence. “It’s been some tough days, would you mind listening to me? It’s not like I have anyone I can talk to about this.” she said tiredly. There was no way for the wolf to answer and, even though he thought that he couldn’t care less about human matters, he found himself unable to leave. He wasn’t sure whether it was his human side’s influence, or the strange sense of attachment that this girl gave him. Taking the wolf’s silence as a agreement, the girl moved from the stone and sat down over the grass with her legs crossed. “My grandparents are gone.” she said in a soft whisper. Her voice was firm, but the wold could see the glitter in her watery eyes “ It was...a murder. My parents tried to spare me the details, of course. I know they think I’m too young to understand, but I’m not that naive. My grandparents were mug...normal people. You know, no magic? They knew about me of course. They were the only ones in my dad’s family that knew, and my Nana loved to see me change the color of my hair…” Tonks had stared at her hands and took a deep breath before continuing to speak. “It was a wizard…” she said weakly “Who did it, I mean. I heard dad telling mom he’d been imperiused. I’m not sure what that is, but it sounded bad. My grandparents...suffered a lot. The man from the ministry, he was kind of scary with that magical eye. He said they had been tortured. Mum thinks it was her family...she feels guilty. Dad told her it wasn’t her fault and if there was someone to blame, that was him. The only reason her family was after us, is him…” The wolf had raised his head. It was difficult for him to understand it, but he’d sensed a switch in the air. It was faint, but his sensitive nose could feel it. Animal’s scent could change depending on their feelings; he’d smelled the scent of fear when he hunted; even the scent of urgency. THe scent he was sensing now, however, was one he wasn’t used to: Grief. “ Mum is a pure blood and my dad is from a non magical family so them being together is a crime.My parents love each other. Isn’t love supposed to be a good thing? It’s….it’s….it’s not fair…” Tonks had begun sobbing, and the wolf felt something it wasn’t used to: empathy. Without even realizing it, he had stepped out from the shadows. He was still young, so compared to an adult of his kind, he was pretty small, but his coat was of a silvery gray that almost seemed to glow under the soft touch of the sunlight. The wolf approached the girl cautiously and sat down in front of her. Tonks raised her face and her puffy eyes locked with his amber ones. He was surprised that the girl didn’t seem to flinch at his presence. He had crossed paths with people before, and they have all either tried to hurt him or ran off terrified. This girl, however, wasn’t. She didn’t want to hurt him and she wasn’t scared of him. “You...are not a dog…” she said a little shocked. The wolf tilted his head at her “Oh, no. I’m so sorry Mr. Wolfie….all this time I thought you were a dog. I didn’t offend you, did I?” If wolves could frown, he would have done it already. From all the reactions he’d expected, an apology was definitely not in the list. The girl stretched her hands at him. She wasn’t stupid, and she knew that trying to pet a wild animal wasn’t smart, but there was something about the wolf that was familiar; something that made her feel safe. The wolf had tensed when he saw the girl’s hand getting close to him. His natural instinct told him to growl and show her his fangs, but something was preventing him from doing it; something that he didn’t understand told him that he couldn’t hurt that girl. Tonks fingers brushed the wolf’s fur gently, and he relaxed letting her pet him. The girl’s tear had stopped falling down her cheeks and a faint smile curved her lips. She realized that the wolf had let her see and pet him as a gesture of comfort. Her grandmother had been right, animals sometimes understood better than people. “Thank you…” she whispered resting her head against his back and the wolf decided that, even if he shouldn’t trust humans, he knew he could, at least, trust this girl.

*** Lupin woke up in the Shrieking Shack the next morning feeling a little airheaded. As his mind grew more awake and alert, a sense of horror invaded him. He could remember small bits of the events from last night and a terrible fear filled him. His fear was even enlarged by the lingering familiar scent on him. He had approached Tonks in his wolf’s form. Had he bitten her? Had he hurt her? His, still over sensitive sense of smell, didn’t catch any trace of blood on his body, but he was still restless. The boy got dressed and ignoring the pain in his body he made his way back to Hogwarts. Under normal circumstances he’d have headed straight to the hospital wing to receive his after moon treatment, but he had to make sure he hadn’t hurt Tonks. One of the advantages (or disadvantages depending on the situation) of his transformation was that he’d retain his wolf’s senses the following 24h. He was able to track down Tonks lingering scent.He could tell she was somewhere in the school grounds and he didn’t need his wolf senses to know where.

Tonks was fast asleep when he found her. She was curled in a corner of the owlery with her head resting against the wall. The girl had probably spent the night in the tower. It wasn’t autumn yet, but nights could still get chilly and she was only wearing her school robes. Lupin knelt in front of her and scanned her carefully. To his relief, the girl did not seem to show any indication of being hurt, but she was a little too cold to the touch. “Tonks…” he said shaking her gently “Tonks...wake up…” It took Lupin a few minutes to wake her up, and he found himself smiling unconsciously when the girl groaned. She opened her sleepy eyes and looked around slightly confused. “Remus?” “Good morning…” he said softly as the girl rubbed her eyes. “...Wotcher..” she said pushing herself into a sitting position and stretching her arms “What are you doing here?” “I should be asking you that…” he replied “ Shouldn’t you be sleeping in your bed?” “My…?” Tonks looked around and her eyes widened in surprise when she noticed her surroundings. After a few seconds of memory work she seemed to remember why and how she had gotten there and Lupin saw her blush in embarrassment. “I fell asleep…” she mumbled “Oh, Merlin…” “ I could tell that...but why are you sleeping in the owlery…?” he chuckled. “Eh...I came back last night. I couldn’t sleep and decided to go out for a stroll...I guess I just fell asleep here…” she looked around her “Did you …?” “Did I…?” “There was a...dog,well, no a dog, a wolf…” Tonks looked around as if she was wondering whether she had imagined all of it “You know what,...forget it…” Lupin was frozen for a minute. Had he stayed with her the last night? He couldn’t remember well. When he transformed, his memories were blurry and scattered, so he couldn’t quite remember all the things he did when he wasn’t human. “Uh….don’t worry. It was nothing…” she smiled and then she frowned in concern “Remus... what happened to you?” “To me?” Then he remembered. In the middle of his worry about Tonks, he had forgotten. He was probably covered in scratches and injuries that Madam Pomfrey had yet to heal. “I…” he said trying to come up with a believable excuse. “Oh, dear... I passed you the clumsiness curse, didn’t I?” Tonks said slightly concerned “Oh Merlin....” “It’s nothing, Tonks...just a few scratches. I’m fine…” “Oh, you’re not fine Remus, and let me tell you...I know about injuries…” the girl replied standing up clumsily and scanning the boy with worry “We should go to madam Pomfrey…” Tonks began pushing him out of the owlery with hurry. Lupin knew the girl’s concern was real, but he couldn’t help but find her actions a little amusing. Unfortunately, Tonks’s good intentions were beaten by her innate clumsiness when she tripped at the exit of the tower and dragged Lupin along with her to the ground. The boy let out a groan as he crashed against the ground. His strained muscles complained at the impact and he had to bite his lip to not let out a screech. “Oh, buggers! I’m so sorry, Remus! Are you okay?But what am I saying...of course you’re not. Okay...stupid me… eh, where does it hurt?” If Lupin was honest, everywhere; but it wasn’t her fault; and despite feeling horribly in pain, he let out a heartwarming laugh. “Oh, no...oh, no, no. Did you hit your head? Remus? How many fingers am I holding...I don’t know if that even works, but I’ve seen people ask that in the movies…” “Tonks…” Lupin chuckled pushing himself up “I’m alright...don’t worry.” “Are you sure?” “Yes, but...I’d appreciate some help getting...well, up…” “Ah...of course.” Tonks helped Lupin back on his feet; then, she pulled his arm over her shoulders to allow him to lean on her as they made their way back to the castle. “Weird...I could have sworn you were shorter…”Lupin said with a smirk. Lupin had done his homework after Tonks had told his wolf side that she was a Metamorphmagus. There wasn’t much information about them in the library’s books because Metamorphmagus were very rare, and the knowledge about them was scarce. All he’d been able to find out was that the gift of metamorphmagic was unique and some considered it genetically encoded and that they were capable to change their appearance at will and for extended periods of time. “What?” Tonks said innocently. He didn’t have to know that she had morphed herself a few inches taller to make it easier for him to relay on her. “Nothing, I must have hit my head and now I’m imagining things…”he mumbled casually. Madam Pomfrey wasn’t too happy when Tonks came into the hospital wing with a very hurt Lupin and she pushed the younger student out of the room as she handled the Gryffindor’s many injuries. That left a guilty looking Tonks pacing around the nurse’s office like a caged lion until the nurse came back with a freshly healed Lupin. “Now, Ms. Tonks…” Madam Pomfrey said sternly “I’ve healed Mr. Lupin’s injuries, but he needs rest, so…” “I know...I know. I won’t bother him...I promise.” Tonks quickly added “I’ll accompany him to back to Gryffindor’s Tower and he’ll be free of me for the rest of the day…” Madam Pomfrey stared at the girl with a frown that made Lupin chuckle. Every little detail of her posture was giving away a very clear message and he was fighting a very silly urge to laugh. At the end, the nurse had reluctantly allowed them to leave. “Oh, dear Merlin…” Tonks sighed “Is there any chance, Madam Pomfrey hates me?” “I highly doubt it…” Lupin answered “She’s probably in a bad mood. I’m under the impression that she gets like that when she’s concerned about the well being of her patients…” “Ah...then she totally hates me.” Tonks nodded to herself “I’m so sorry, Remus...I didn’t meant to ...well, make it worse…” “You didn’t make it worse, Tonks.” He wasn’t lying. The pain he was feeling was due to the full moon and compared to that, a small lump in his head was nothing. “Still...aggh. My lack of grace will be my doom one day. I’m sorry...” “Hey, I said it was fine. Really...” It was clear that Tonks wasn’t convinced, but she didn’t push the mater. Lupin stared at the girl as they walked . She wasn’t looking as bright as she usually was and even though she was trying to act like she usually did, he could tell that her cheerness wasn’t completely honest. “ Ehm...this might be a little improper, but...How...How are you?” he said hesitantly. Lupin wasn’t entirely sure if it’d be okay to ask her. He and Sirius had sent her a few owls during her absence. Owls that were never answered; but neither of them had blamed or resented her for it. Like James had said, she was either too busy with all of it or simply too mournful to write back. Tonks seemed to have froze on her feet. “I…” she began. She hesitated. Tonks turned to face Lupin and saw his gentle eyes staring at her with worry. Worry, not pity, she noticed. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out from it. “Oh, well...hey, it’s okay. I’m just...concerned, but you don’t need to talk if you don’t want to. I know it’s hard…” he said rubbing the back of his neck. And then she broke. The mask of cheerness faded and Lupin watched in horror how the girl’s eyes became teary and red. Tonks let out a frustrated mix between a growl and a sob and rushed to clean up her tears with the sleeve of her robe in the most dignifying way she could. She didn’t want to be seen crying like a fool. She had momentarily forgotten her grandparents death with all the disastrous events with Lupin, but now, the weight of reality had fallen on her shoulders once more and for some annoying reason she couldn’t stop herself from weeping. Lupin was panicking. He wasn’t good at this kind of things; dealing with girls was more Sirius’s area. In other circumstances, the panic in his- usually calm face - would have been amusing. “S-s-sorry. It’s my fault. I don’t know...my emotional switch must be broken or something...haha…” she said rubbing her face “I don’t even know why am I crying...haha…” “...Tonks…” “Maybe I should go.You can….get to Gryffindor on your own, right?” “Tonks….” “I’ll just...go and…” “Nymphadora!” Lupin felt a little self conscious about using her name, but at least he had gotten her attention. He was glad that rather than angry, she seemed surprised by him using her name. “Don’t…” she began, but Lupin waved his hand in front of hair. “I know...but you weren’t listening.” he said “look. I understand...what happened was terrible. There’s nothing wrong if you want to cry. I’d never judge you, none of us would. We are your friends. We want to...help. That’s what friends do. Support each other…” He remembered that some time ago he had gotten that same speech from James and Sirius, and the memory made him smile. He’d never imagined himself giving it to someone else. Tonks stared at him quietly. There was something about Lupin’s voice that could make her feel calm, but she had no idea what it was. She cleaned up her face as best as she could and nodded. Lupin suddenly sensed someone approaching. It was probably some students ready to go for breakfast and the last thing Tonks needed was a bunch of students gossiping about her in her face; so he grabbed her hand and dragged her all the way out of the castle again. “Wait...what...?” Tonks asked surprised “Remus!” Lupin didn’t answer until he considered that they were far enough to not be seen by any other students. “Sorry, there was someone coming. I thought they’d make you feel uncomfortable with...you know…” he said embarrassed. There was silent pause between them. Out of sudden, Tonks broke into a soft and weak giggle. The girl understood Lupin’s intention. She’d left the school in a pretty flashy way, and by now everyone would have heard about her grandparents. Rumors and gossips were bound to appear, and Lupin had wanted to spare her the weight of the other students’ curious looks until she felt a little better to deal with them. “Thank you…” “Erm...it’s nothing…” he said with a smile “say….How about we... skip class today? We can take a stroll, or just sit around and talk. That should make you feel better...” “Madam Pomfrey said you had to rest…” “Yeah. She didn’t say I had to do it in my bed, did she? It’s fine...I can get excused from class for being a little ill and I’m sure no one will say anything if you skip today….” Tonks seemed to consider it. “WHere do you suggest we hide?” Lupin smiled. “Just follow me…”

[afaithy]

A Crinkle of Fate; Ch. 9: Paroles under the moon

“Sometimes it's the crazy people that bring out the best in us” ― Aishabella Sheikh

Christmas and New year went by in a blink and spring came by soon after. The snow in the school grounds melted away and the plants started growing once more, bringing cheer and life to the cold scenery. Little by little Hogwarts was coming back to life once more after a brief period of ice and loneliness.

“Very well done, Ms. Tonks…” Professor McGonagall nodded in approvement when Tonks switched herself back to her original form. The girl smiled. With McGonagall’s careful tutoring, metamorphosing herself was becoming easier each day. She could hold her body changes for longer periods of time, but even though morphing her hair was becoming easier, the change was still unstable and at the minimal change of mood her hair but switch into another color or length which clearly frustrated the young Metamorphmagus. “Patience, Ms. Tonks. Your improvements are already very satisfactory. There’s no need to rush, we have time to work. You’re still young, for a child your age, separating feelings from your powers can be really difficult, but I’m content with your improvement. You should be proud…” the stern teacher said pushing a cup of steaming tea in front of her. Professor McGonagall was a very strict witch, so receiving a praise for her was a whole achievement. Tonks nodded and smiled in gratitude as she picked up the teacup and sipped the amber liquid. Suddenly, there a was aloud knock on the door and McGonagall pushed herself up from her desk and opened the door. Tonks couldn’t help but feel curious about who had been knocking the door so insistently, so the girl peeped from over the chair and looked over McGonagall’s shoulder. Filch was standing at the door dragging some familiar faces on his rear and Tonks had to bite her lip to contain her laughter. Filch’s head was covered by what seemed to be a mane of bright yellow feathers that reminded her of a canary. Sirius and James waved enthusiastically at her, while Peter tried to hide behind them and she saw Lupin covering his face with his hand. “Professor McGonagall…” Filch growled. “Mr. Filch...Do I want to ask?” “Caught this pair trying to hex Tavis Boreas…” “Ah...and I reckon the hex got diverted…” McGonagall said with a frown, but Tonks was sure that the older woman was hiding a smile“Reparifarge…” With a wave of her wand, McGonagall undid Filch’s hideous hairdo and stared sternly at the four boys with a raised eyebrow. “You can leave now, Mr. Filch. I will handle this…” Filch let out an angry growl as he walked away glaring at the four Gryffindors and mumbling something about nasty students and their nasty spells and Tonks just wondered how someone who disliked kids as much could be a school’s caretaker. “Ms. Tonks, I think we can call it a day. It seems I have some business to take care with my...students. I’ll see you next week…” “Yes, professor McGonagall.” Tonks jumped out of her seat and it was then that she realized that she had forgotten to put on her hood and she rushed pull it up before any of the boys could notice her hair turning brightly magenta. She smiled at them and rushed out of the office before any of the boys could say something. McGonagall closed the door behind her and turned to the four boys with a stern frown that would have terrified the bravest man, but Sirius and James were already too used to it by now. The pair gave the teacher one of their most charming smiles and Lupin had to shake his head to not laugh. “Well, I expected this from Potter, Black and Pettigrew; but Lupin?” “Well, can’t help it…”Sirius shrugged “Considering what they were saying, professor?” “I see. Was Mr. Boreas saying something about you, then. I’d expect you to know better than to listen…” “It wasn’t about me…” Lupin shrugged. “Yeah, not us…” Black nodded “I can take the hit. I couldn’t care less about what that miserable git has to say...but...he was going and going about my cousin and that I couldn’t tolerate it. Muggles or not, they were her family and we weren’t going to let him talk so disgustingly about the death...” And Lupin had agreed. Usually, he was the voice of reason in the quartet trying to stop his friends from taking things a little too far, but when he had heard Boreas talking about the murder of the Tonks with such pleasure, he had gotten pretty mad. Perhaps it was because of the upcoming full moon, but he was a little less tolerant of the Slytherin’s sick sense of humor. When Sirius had said he’d hex him, Lupin didn’t try to persuade him otherwise. McGonagall’s face seemed to soften when she heard their explanation. The Gryffindor teacher seemed to quite sympathetic to Tonks, despite not being a student from her house. “I just regret that the hex got Filch instead of Boreas…” Sirius pouted “But I don’t regret the original target…” James hadn’t said a word, but he was nodding in agreement. “We just didn’t want him talking about it when Tonks is around…”Lupin sighed “She says she’s better, but...it’s still a sensitive topic.” “Boreas is an ar….bad person. So the only way to shut him was to teach him a lesson…” James threw in matter of factly. McGonagall’s brow was raised. The woman pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a soft sigh. She could see the noble intention in the four Gryffindor’s actions, but rules were rules; and there wasn’t a reasonable excuse to hex another student. “You will serve detention for three weeks I will owl you when the time comes. For now,10 points less for Gryffindor...I do hope you will refrain yourselves from acting like this in the future…” she said firmly “You may leave now…” The four boys nodded and thanked the professor before leaving the office discreetly. Sirius was particularly annoyed about the unfairness of the situation, but Lupin reasoned that McGonagall had actually gone easy on them. When the quartet turned around the corner and found Tonks sitting at the stairs with her chin resting on her hand and playing with a furry cat. “Waiting for us, cous?” Sirius said with a grin. “Nope...just got distracted with him…” Tonks replied pointing at the cat “Of course I was waiting for you. So...how did it go?” “We have detention for the next three weeks…” James answered “I think this is the first official detention that Remus gets...haha...how does it feel, mate?” “Should I be feeling something?” Lupin replied. “Well, you’re the good boy. I expected you to feel all disappointed and all..” “I honestly don’t regret what I did…” Lupin replied “so if I was feeling like that it’d be hypocritical..” “And what exactly did you do?” Tonks asked tilting her head. “Hah...Remus, is a genius. While we distracted everyone with the canary head hex, Remus used the Furuncle Hex on Boreas. He’s going to be in a hell of a pain, he’d never know why…” Sirius smirked. “And this is the first time that Remus takes initiative to hex someone. Usually he’s just trying to persuade us not to do it…” “ I think we should celebrate that…” Peter said with a smirk “I can go pick up some snacks in the kitchens.” “I might have been a little...annoyed. “ Lupin smiled. “He...was...brilliant…” Sirius said putting his arm around Lupin’s shoulders “By the way cous, I just saw you without your hoodie back in McGonagall’s. You have a pretty nice head, why hide it?” “Well, that’s none of your business….ha….” she said sticking her tongue at him “Hoodie’s are my style, leave me alone…” “I just say it is a pity to hide it …” Sirius chuckled “What were you doing at McGonagall’s anyway?” “Oh,..I have special transfigurations tutoring with her…” Tonks replied. “What? Why…?” “Because I’m a talented girl” Tonks replied winking at them. “I never got special classes in first year...and I was top in Transfigurations!” James said indignant. “Actually, Remus was top. You were second…” Peter snorted. “Irrelevant…” Tonks seemed a little conflicted and Lupin guessed that she was probably worried about what explanation she should give them, so he was quick to come in her aid. “Well, James. I don’t see why you care. It’s not like you’d have liked to have extra classes…” he said with a smile. “Good point. I’m alright with quidditch training instead.” “So...what are you doing now, cous?” “Well, I have got ingredient gathering with Slughorn. I’m going to pester Severus while he collects tubeworms, of course…” “Aren’t you a little too clingy at him?” Sirius frowned “Don’t tell me you fancy Snivellus…” “What? Of course not. THe thing is, the more he’s annoyed the more fun is too pester him…” she laughed “You can tag along if you have nothing else to do. I doubt Slughorn is going to complain…” “Well, we can do that…” Sirius shrugged “Lead the way, Tonksie…” ***

“Ah...more students I see…” Slughorn smiled when Tonks arrived with the boys and she saw Snape roll his eyes. The boy had taken off his robes and rolled the end of his pants many times as he prepared to step into the shallow pond. Tubeworms were aquatic, so it made sense that they’d have to get a little wet to get them. “I reckon there’s little chance that there are leeches in there, right?” Tonks said looking at the swampy water with apprehension. “Scared of leeches, Nymphadora?” At the use of her name, she rolled her eyes and splashed Snape in annoyance. “Excuse me if I dislike the idea of worms sucking my blood…” “Ah don’t worry, Ms. Tonks. There are no leeches in this pond, a few tadpoles perhaps….but no leeches.” Slughorn said cheerfully. “Ah, well...I can deal with tadpoles…” she replied removing her shoes and socks. The water felt cold around her legs and she shuddered. The rest of the group had gotten into the pond as well and she saw Sirius and James kicking water at each other between laughs. She could hear Snape’s annoying sighe a few feet from her and she snickered. Peter seemed slightly dubious about getting into the water and -always caring- Lupin was coaxing him to get in. “All right, children…” Slughorn said clapping his hands to get their attention “Tubeworms aren’t difficult to find, but the trick is in catching them. They are quite slippy so make sure to hold them right. We need the red ones, so if it isn’t red you can release it!” Catching a tubeworms was much easier said than done; at least for Tonks who had to struggle not to lose her footing every two minutes. Slughorn hadn’t been joking when he said that Tubeworms were hard to hold, she thought as she lost the grip of the one she’d been trying to catch for the past 5 minutes. Tonks let out an annoyed sigh and looked around her. Snape was in full focus mode, she could have been dying and the boy would probably not even notice it; James and Sirius were enjoying themselves chasing after the worms and splashing anything on their way; Peter seemed to be having fun on his own, too, even when he was evidently not fond of getting splashed by the other two...and Lupin… Tonks suddenly realized that she couldn’t see him. He was nowhere to be seen, but she was sure that he’d been there just a minute ago. Lost in her thoughts about Lupin’s whereabouts, Tonks feet got stuck between a couple rocks and with a lot of noise -and splashing- she fell into the water dragging Snape along with her, when she grabbed his shirt, or at least she thought it was Snape. “I was wondering when that would happen…” someone laughed by her side. Lupin’s shoulder were shaking in laughter. His brown hair was covered in plants and his clothes were completely drenched. “Remus! Where did you come out from?” “What are you talking about? I was behind you the whole time haha…” “Why in Merlin’s beard where you behind me?” Tonks said wide eyed. Well that, at least, explained why she hadn’t seen him “Do you have a death wish? Now you’re all drenched because of me…” “Haha...it’s not a big thing. Just some water...it’s not going to….” Tonks would never know what it wouldn’t do since his words were interrupted when hundreds of Tubeworms began jumping around them. She wasn’t scared of bugs, but the sudden appearance of hundred of worms ready to hit her was a sight that could scare anyone and she wasn’t the only one panicking. “Children ...children…!” Slughorn voice cried loudly above the sound of screams, laughter and splashing “Children, please calm down! It’s alright, tubeworms aren’t dangerous. This is their normal reaction to stress...!” After the whole panicking part had passed, the situation was actually rather amusing and after a few minutes, all of them -Snape included- were chuckling at the absurdness of the situation. By the end of the afternoon, the red tubeworms had been collected and the six students were soaked and exhausted, but very amused. None of them would ever look at tubeworms the same way anymore.

*** Full moon arrived a couple days after their misadventure with the tubeworms, and like other nights, Tonks was anxious and restless. She rounded the edge of the forest with her hands tucked inside her pockets until she reached her usual sport. She had sneaked some meatballs from dinner with the intention of feeding Mr. Wolfie when she saw him that night; at least, she hoped she’d see him. She rested her back against the large rock that she usually used as seat and stared at the sky. The moon was particularly big tonight: round and shiny. It was a breathtaking sight, but to her it was just sad. There was no reason in particular, the moon just made her feel like that. The sound of a broken branch made her turn her head. “Mr.Wolfie...is that you?” she said. Two amber eyes stared at her from the shadows and Tonks smiled pushing herself up, but the moment the wolf stepped out from the shadows, her heart froze. It wasn't Mr. Wolfie. This wolf was bigger, with a thick coat of black fur; its eyes were threatening and it’s mouth showed some sharp teeth leaking on saliva. Tonks didn’t need to look twice to know that, unlike Mr. Wolfie, this wolf was ready to attack her without mercy and she took a step back. The unknown wolf was growling as he got closer and closer and Tonks was mentally debating whether to run or not. If you face a wild animal, don’t run...Nym. Sudden movements can scare them and trigger their aggressiveness...you must move slow and quiet… Her grandfather’s words echoed in her head as she took another step back: slow and silently. The wolf was staring at her threatening as it moved closer and closer; then suddenly it jumped over her. Forgetting about been quiet and careful, Tonks let out a screech and managed to dodge the wolf barely by a few centimeters. The wolf turned around in a quick spin and jumped at her once more. Tonks threw herself aside to avoid the animal; this time she wasn’t as lucky and the wolf managed to scratch her leg leaving a long deep cut. She moaned in pain and tried to get back on her feet before it attacked her again, but the pain in her leg wasn’t letting her move. The wolf seemed to understand her situation and Tonks could almost swear that it was smirking. The wolf readied itself to attack and the girl closed her eyes awaiting the impac; but it never came. When she opened her eyes she saw Mr. Wolfie standing between her and the wolf. The difference in sizes was evident, but Mr. Wolfie didn’t seem to care. He was showing his fangs and growling angrily. What happened next was so fast that Tonks could barely understand it. Mr. Wolfie had jumped over the wolf sinking its fangs on a spot on its neck. The wolf had let out a groan and shook Mr. Wolfie off from himself. The two wolves struggle against each other and Tonks was terrified for Mr. Wolf’s safety. She had brought out her wand, but as the two canines were now too close to each other, she was afraid that if she tried a spell, she would hit Mr. Wolfie by mistake. A few minutes of despair passed, and finally the wolf seemed to give up. It growled at Mr. Wolfie one last time before running off into the forest with its tail tucked between its legs. Tonks let out a sigh of relief. Mr. Wolfie had won the fight, but to her horror, he hadn’t made it unscathed. Ignoring the throbbing pain in her leg, Tonks rushed to the limping wolf. He seemed startled by her sudden presence, but after sneezing the air he seemed to recognize her and the wolf relaxed. “Oh, no...Mr. Wolfie….” she cried “You’re injured!” Mr. Wolf was limping, his right front paw had a nasty gash that was bleeding; the rest of the injuries were minor scratches, much to Tonks relief. However the injury on his paw was worrying; it was bleeding to much and if it got infected, Mr. Wolfie could get very sick. She had to do something, but she wasn’t a healer and she knew nothing of healing spells unlike her dad. Tonks looked around desperately trying to think of something when she noticed a bush a few meters from them. She recognized it immediately. “Wait here...I’ll be right back…” Snape’s christmas gift was doing honor to its name, she thought as she limped to the small patch of plants. The plants had a soft, woolly covering of white-grey hair on its stems and round green leaves with tiny rose-pink flowers surrounded by brighter purple-pink bracts: Dittany. The book had said that the plant had very powerful healing properties even in its raw state. Tonks pulled out a few of the plants and hurried back to where Mr. Wolfie was licking his injury. “All right...let’s see…” she said to herself “What did the book said….” Tonks did a great effort to remember the entry on Snape’s book: macerate the plant and apply directly over the wound. Secure it with bandage making sure to apply pressure. “Ok...Macerate first…” she said picking a couple rocks and starting smash the plants between them “then...apply on the injury….I’m sorry Mr. Wolfie...this might sting a little…” A little was probably overrated, considering the growl that Mr. Wolfie had made when she had put the green paste on his paw. Tonks waited for the wolf to calm down before proceeding. “Apply pressure with a bandage….but I don’t have bandages!” she cried in panic “Ok...no, Tonks...you gotta calm down and think. There has to be something you can use instead…” The girl began poking into her pockets searching for anything useful until she stumbled with her white handkerchief. It had been her grandmother’s. Tonks stared at the piece of cloth; it was a memento from her beloved grandmother and she would be lying if she said she wasn’t reluctant to let it go, but Mr. Wolfie had gotten injured because of her; he had saved her. Her grandmother would have prompt her to do it. Tonks shook her head and used the handkerchief to bandage Mr. Wolfie’s paw making sure that it was tight enough to ensure contact with the plant, but not too tight to harm him more. “There...this...should do, I think…” she said looking at the wolf. His amber eyes were stuck on here “I’m so sorry...you got hurt because of me…” Mr. Wolfie nudged her hand in a gesture that tried to tell her it was alright. The wolf then turned to look at her bleeding leg and turned back to her with stern eyes. “It’s nothing...it’s a scratch…” she replied understanding the meaning behind those stern eyes “I will put the rest of the dittany on it and it should heal without problems…” The wolf was staring at her with something that Tonks could only interpret as concern. Why was he so worried, she wouldn’t know. After a few minutes she looked at her leg and the gash was gone leaving only a faint mark. “See? It’s gone. I’m alright. It wasn’t that deep…” she said scratching his head “it could have been worse, but...you saved me…” The wolf closed his eyes enjoying the girl’s touch;he leaned his head on her lap and letting it rest there. The fight with the other werewolf had left him exhausted and he could sense the worry, panic and terror from his human side, but there was nothing that he could do until tomorrow. For now, all he wanted was sleep.

Lupin woke up back in the Shrieking Shack the next morning. His muscles were stiff and in pain making him groan in discomfort as he pushed himself up from the ground. As he looked around himself to assess the damage done by his misadventures he noticed Tonks’s white handkerchief was still tied on his arm as a friendly reminder.. Tonks! She’d been attacked by a werewolf last night. Why and how it was there, he had no idea; but he didn’t want to think what could have happened if he hadn’t made it on time to interfere. His memories were fuzzy, but he could remember the important parts. Tonks had been injured, but it had been a scratch and not a bite and besides that and the evident panic in her, she’d been unharmed. For the first time in his life, he was grateful to his wolf for protecting her. Lupin stared at the handkerchief. The white cloth was soaked in his dried blood and putting aside his worries, he was amazed by Tonks actions. She had just been attacked by one of his kind, and yet there she was, panicking and almost crying because he’d been hurt. Lupin smiled faintly; the boy waved his wand and the blood in the fabric vanished, leaving the item clean. Lupin folded the piece of fabric carefully and put it inside the inner pocket of his robe. He would figure out a way to give it back to her. Madam Pomfrey wasn’t too thrilled with his scratches, but as usual, the nurse didn’t ask how he had gotten hurt and devoted herself to heal them as best as she could and force feed him a pain easing potion. Almost two hours later, the woman had been satisfied enough to release him. Lupin wanted to check on Tonks and make sure that his memories hadn’t fooled him and that the girl was indeed okay, but he needed to speak to professor Dumbledore first. The boy gave to gargoyle the password hoping that it hadn’t been changed and was relieved when the statue moved aside and let him pass. Dumbledore was pacing around his office when he knocked. The old wizard a smiled at him from behind his half moon spectacles with a welcoming look. “Ah, Mr. Lupin. What an unexpected surprise. I would have expected you to be in bed after a rough night of full moon…” Snuggling in bed was definitely something that Lupin wanted, but priorities had to be addressed before he could spoil himself. “Yes, professor. It was a rough night…” Lupin answered “but...there was something I needed to tell you and...well, it was important…” “Then please take seat, Mr. Lupin. I am sure you’re barely able to stay on your feet…” Lupin accepted Dumbledore’s offer and sat down in front of the headmaster’s desk. Dumbledore paced around the room for moment before coming back and sitting down. Soon a cup of tea had been poured in front of Lupin and some chocolate biscuits appeared magically in a plate. “Please, I don’t reckon you have had breakfast yet…” Dumbledore smiled “So...what’s this important thing you need to tell me about?” Lupin took a bite of the biscuit as he tried to think how to phrase it. He didn’t want to get Tonks into troubles for walking around during forbidden hours. “Yesterday…” he began “There was another werewolf in the school grounds…” Dumbledore looked at him silently. He was waiting for the boy to continue. “It attacked a student; I …” “You don’t need to worry about it. Ms. Tonks wasn’t bitten…” Lupin was frozen. His green eyes looked at Dumbledore with a mix of confusion and horror. “Hagrid found her asleep in the pumpkin orchard with some scratches and a partially healed laceration on her leg this morning. Naturally, we had to address the situation…” “Is she…?” “Her leg will heal properly as long as she doesn’t trip in the next few hours…” Dumbledore smiled at him. There was a small glint of amusement in his blue eyes “I don’t remember her parents to be so clumsy and accident pron. Makes you wonder where she might have taken that from, don’t you think, Mr. Lupin?” Lupin didn’t answer…. “Her story was quite...interesting. She was quite concerned about a certain...wolf that had gotten himself injured trying to protect her from another one.. I believe she called him...Mr. Wolfie?” Lupin chuckled weakly. Why she had come with such a silly name, he had no idea, but somehow he found it cute from her. “Am I right to assume you are Mr. Wolfie, Mr. Lupin?” Dumbledore asked. His smile had gotten bigger. “I know I shouldn’t have...I’m dangerous to her and…” “Well, Mr. Lupin...judging by the events from last night. I am actually glad that you did. If it hadn’t been for you, I’m afraid that Ms. Tonks would have more than a injured leg…” And he knew Dumbledore was right. If his wolf hadn’t had the instinct….no, the necessity to make sure Tonks safe, she could have been killed. Wasn’t it the whole reason why the wolf had made a habit of accompanying the girl during her Full Moon strolls? And then, the unanswered question that kept popping in his head after every full moon came once more: why? “I don’t understand it professor…” Lupin said “Werewolves...we are dangerous creatures. We live to kill and hurt people, it doesn’t matter who...but...with her...it’s different. It’s like ...I still know her, even if I’m a wolf…” Dumbledore stared at him with his usual inquisitive look that made Lupin feel as he was being carefully examined. “Some things in this world are too complex to be explained…” Dumbledore finally said “It is, indeed, unheard of a werewolf that could recognize his friends and family in his transformed form, however… Mr. Lupin, unheard doesn’t mean it is impossible…” “I just...don’t understand it. Why her? I can’t even recognize my parents…” “Yes, but perhaps because Ms. Tonks seems to be a very special case…” “Special...case?” “Yes, she might have something that no one that has seen you in your transformed form ever did…” “I don’t know what, sir.” “Think of it, Mr. Lupin. What’s the first thing anyone who sees you as a wolf think? Feel?” Lupin stared at the amber liquid in his cup. What would anyone feel? Hatred? Disgust? ….Fear? “Fear…” he finally said “Tonks wasn’t scared of me….even when she saw I was a wolf.” Dumbledore smiled in approval. “Yes, Ms. Tonks is quite a special young lady in more ways than one. I was warned beforehand, by her parents, about her difficulties to stay put during the Full Moons; so I was keeping an eye on her during her night strolls…” Lupin was now staring at the professor with confusion. “I must admit I was a little worried the first time you two met…” “You….saw that, sir?” “Oh, I did. I originally intended to interfere, but I am now happy that I didn’t. It’s been rather interesting to see how the relationship between her and her werewolf friend evolved.” Lupin thought Dumbledore was crazy. Hadn’t he thought about the dangers? But then again, a part of him was thankful that he’d allowed Tonks to stay with him in those horrid nights. “Tonks...is a strange girl…”he sighed “ people would say she’s crazy for some of the things she says…” “And yet...sometimes the crazy ones are the wisest ones. Ms. Tonks certainly can be quite wise for her age, wouldn’t you say so Mr. Lupin?” He didn’t answer, but hadn’t he thought the same thing a few times before? “From what I’ve heard from Professor McGonagall. You and your friends have become quite protective of hear, so I wouldn’t say that it is only the wolf who seems rather attracted, and she seems fond of you as well…” “She doesn’t know what I am, professor.” “And do you think that would make a difference?” Of course it’d make a difference. People was different when they knew, but somewhere in his head a little voice told him that she wouldn’t care, and he wanted to believe it. Dumbledore chuckled. “I reckon that only time will tell. Thank you for telling me about the werewolf. I shall look into this matter to prevent any future incidents. In the meantime, Mr. Lupin...perhaps you will want to take a well deserved rest…”

[afaithy]

A crinkle of fate: Prologue

Also available on AO3 https://archiveofourown.org/works/16896918/chapters/39690747#workskin

PROLOGUE

“Beyond the edge of the world there’s a space where emptiness and substance neatly overlap, where past and future form a continuous, endless loop. And, hovering about, there are signs no one has ever read, chords no one has ever heard.” ― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

May 2nd, 1998

The screams and the fear filled the corridors of a place that she had once called home. Hogwarts was falling apart, innocents were dying, friends...family. Everyone was fighting to protect the people they loved at the cost of their own lives. Tonks ran through the castle dodging spells and curses. She waved her wand skillfully sending dead eaters crashing against the walls. She had managed to stay on her feet so far. She was a trained auror, but after her pregnancy and her recent childbirth, her body was still a little weak. Her muscles were starting to fail her and she knew her movements were becoming progressively slower and painful considering the injuries she kept gaining. Anyone would have stopped to take a breath, catch up a little rest, but not her. She chose to ignore the growing pain and the blood that was starting to stain her robes. She had to find him. He needed her. She had promised Remus that happened what happened, she’d never leave him alone; that she’d stay by his side...always; and that was a promise she would never break. She kept running as fast as she could. Aberforth had said Remus was on the tower dueling Dolohov. She knew her husband was skilled, but her heart had been giving her a bad feeling ever since she had stepped into Hogwarts and she wasn’t going to rest until she found him. When she finally reached the tower, her heart almost stopped at the horrifying image in front of her. Remus was laying on the ground, too weak or maybe too tired to keep himself up. Dolohov was a few steps away from him, his wand raised and a disgusting smile painted on his lips. Her instincts triggered and her reaction was automatic, she raised her wand and sent a stunning jinx at the Death Eater before he could even think of casting any spell at her husband. Tonks could be known as the clumsiest Auror, but when it came to fighting, nobody would ever question her skills. The jinx hit the man with clean accuracy; the force in it, sent him flying a few meters away from her fallen husband, and Tonks felt satisfied when she saw his body fall limply on the stone floor. Whether he was dead or just knocked out, she didn’t care. Remus had raised his head to see the person who had just saved his life. His face was scratched, dirty and bruised, but he was alive and that was enough.She made her way to him with quick steps. He saw her almost instantly, his face turning from confusion to relief,then to anger and finally to horror.

The hit got her right in her back, quick and clean. Tonks didn’t see the green light nor did she hear her aunt’s demented laugh; all she saw was the horror in her Remus’s face; his features growing blurrer and blurrer, until they simply disappeared in darkness. So this was death… She had expected something worse, maybe even painful; but all she could feel was a cold numbness the slowly enveloped her body in a deadly veil. It was as if she was floating in nothingness. Images of a thousand things crossed her mind, his first day at Hogwarts, the day she began auror training, Mad-Eye’s scolds, Kingsley’s friendly gestures, dinners at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, her parents….Remus’s smile as he held their son… Their son...their little Teddy. The grief began to fill her and, even though she didn’t regret joining the fight, she realized she wasn’t ready to die… She just didn’t want to die…

[afaithy]

A Crinkle of Fate; Ch 4

Available in AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16896918/chapters/39775413

Chapter 4: One way or anotherNotes:

"I don't understand it any more than you do, but one thing I've learned is that you don't have to understand things for them to be." — Madeleine L'Engle

Sirius, James and Remus were sitting under a tree. Both James and Sirius were spread over the grass with their hands behind their heads, while Remus was diligently reading a book. The only one missing from the unfamous quartet was Peter. He had left to get some snacks from the kitchen and hadn’t returned yet. “Wormtail sure is taking his time huh…?”Sirius barked “Ten sickles that he already ate everything on the way here?” “Hah, tricky bet, Padfoot...tricky bet…” James laughed “Maybe he just stopped for a nap.” “Actually...there he comes…” Remus said lifting his eyes from the book. Peter’s face was red and sweaty. It seemed like he had run all the way from the castle to them. “Finally! Hey...what happened to the snacks…” “S-s-snacks? Ah...I forgot…” “Forgot?Ha” James burst laughing “Wormtail, for Merlin’s sake...the whole point of you going back to the castle was to get snacks...how did you forget?” “Ahh...I got distracted.” “And care to explain what could be more important than the snacks?” Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow. “Slytherins…” “Aha….” “Seems like...someone. A first year, broke Boreas’s nose…with a punch.” “WHAT?” Both Sirius and James snapped. “Are you sure about that, Peter?” Remus asked. “Yeah, he and his gang were complaining about it. I heard them talk…” “Hahaha...What I’d have paid to see that…” Sirius laughed “Who was the kid? Deserves a hell of a prize…A first year with guts, let me tell you. I might like him...” “ That’s the best part…” Peter giggled “It wasn’t a he….it was she.” “A girl?” Remus said surprised. “A girl…? Well, I didn’t see that one coming.” James laughed “His slytherin pride must be torn, now haha…” “Is she okay?” Remus asked concerned. He knew that Boreas wouldn’t be so forgiving about someone who humiliated him. “Always the gentleman, Moony...worrying about others’ well being.” “It’s not funny, Sirius. You know Boreas temper…” Remus said shaking his head. “Actually...it seems that he pushed the girl over down the hill.” “He what?” Remus snapped horrified. “Now, that’s not nice…” Sirius said with frown “Is the kid okay?” “I ran pass her on my way here. Evans and Snape were helping her back to the castle. Honestly, she didn’t look that good. Quite pale and I think there was some blood on her robes…” Peter shrugged “It was that Hufflepuff girl with the hoodie…” “Tonks?” Remus said with wide eyes. “Are you bloody sure, Wormtail? That cack bag of Slytherin scum hurt my cousin?” “Err...Sirius, you do realize that until some days ago you had no idea who she was?” James said laughing. “So what? I like the kid...She punched a Slytherin and broke his nose without magic. That’s a thousand times more respectable than anything my family has ever done if you ask me…” “Yeah...it’s not hard to miss. The hood I mean. How many Hufflepuff girls walk around school with their hoods permanently on?” “...That’s a valid point.” James nodded “So what are you going to do, Padfoot ? Are you going to get payback from Boreas?” “Maybe we should go check on her first. Before you do anything rash, Sirius.” Remus suggested closing his book. He was actually concerned about Tonks “She probably doesn’t know anything about you either.” “Guess Moony is right.” Sirius nodded “First stop, the Hospital Wing. Then I can get payback…” The Gryffindor quartet was soon making their way back to the Castle. The Hospital Wing was empty except for a tiny figure laying on the bed closest to the window. Madam Pomfrey was staring at the girl sternly and judging by her look she was most likely scolding her. “Ms. Tonks… a broken hip isn’t something you get from tripping.” “Well...I guess it is, if you trip and roll 700 yard down a hill?” “It’s not funny, young lady. “ “I know it isn’t. I’m dying of pain right now…” Remus smiled when Madam Pomfrey let out an irritated sigh. “Alright...I’ll bring some painkilling potions, too. Stay here and don’t move, Ms. Tonks. For your own sake, don’t move.” “Ohhh...even if I wanted to, I doubt I could...considering my current state, madam.” “Very funny, Ms. Tonks...oh...Black, Potter, Petigrew and Lupin. What are you four doing here?” Tonks pushed herself up a little to look at them and Remus saw the girl make out a pained face, before dropping back on to the bed. “Good afternoon, Madam Pomfrey…” Sirius said giving her his charmest smile “I heard my cousin had gotten herself into and accident and I wanted to check on her.” “Your cousin? Oh...of course, you mean Ms. Tonks. Well, Mr. Black. As you might see, she’s lying over there. She somehow managed to trip and break her hip, but it’s nothing that can’t be solved with a bone fixing potion. Unfortunately, she might have troubles walking for a few days.” “So it isn’t nothing grave? Someone said there was bleeding…” “Oh yes, she lost a bit of blood, but nothing life threatening.” Madam Pomfrey replied “You may do her company while I go for the potions; but...don’t make her move.” “Understood, madam.” Madam Pomfrey stared at the four boys sternly before leaving the room. The quartet walked closer to the bed. Since Remus was the most familiar with the girl, he was the first to greet her with a smile. “Oh, well. This is embarrassing. It seems that each time we bump to each other I’m in a rather disadvantageous position…” Tonks chuckled. The girl sure had a humor that didn’t match her age. “You didn’t have to fall down a hill to prove me your point about clumsiness…” Remus smiled at her “Are you okay?” “Splendid…” Tonks replied “I just happen to have a few broken bones, but you already knew that…” Remus heard Sirius bark another laugh. “Geez, I like her. Hey, cousin. Nice to meet you.” Sirius said coming to greet her. “Oooh, let me guess. Sirius Black, right?” Tonks said staring at the boy “I little bird warned me about you.” “Good or bad?” “You tell me…” Tonks replied “ I’d say 50-50. Then again, nobody is perfect. But you don’t seem to be that bad…” “I take that as a compliment…” Sirius smiled “ These are my friends, James and Peter and you already knew Remus.” “Wotcher…” Tonks smiled “Call me Tonks. I’d get up to address you properly, but well...” “Don’t worry about it. Why didn’t you tell Madam Pomfrey it was Boreas who pushed you down the hill?” Remus asked with a kind look. “Well, technically speaking. I did trip and fell downhill, so there’s no lie there. I just omitted the part where Boreas used the knockback jinx on me and made me trip…” Tonks shrugged “It’s not big deal, honestly. I did break his nose, so I think it was worth it.” “Yeah, we heard about that. Well, done cousin.” Sirius snorted “but mind if I ask you what triggered that?” “Well...since he was so interested on knowing what my mudblood father had taught me, I just thought I should show him.” Tonks replied with a smile, but Remus noticed the bitterness in her words “He can make fun of me as much as he pleases, but he shouldn’t drag my parents into it.” “Fair enough. That’s a low blow…” James agreed “You were brave to stand against him. I mean, he’s a second year. Not many first years would dare…” “Well, my dad always says...a bully is a bully, and it’s important that you stand up to them or they’ll keep getting you.” “Wise words…” Remus nodded “but not if they will end up putting you in the hospital.” “Well, to be fair. I would have ended up here eventually ...with my amazing ability to trip on my face, as you may notice....” Remus smiled at her. “ We might have to do something about that…” “Nah, my parent’s already tried and failed miserably. I’ll just enjoy the small bits of pampering and hope I won’t end up scared.” “Yeah, I think I can definitely say you’re my favorite cousin…” Sirius laughed. “Well, I might as well take that as a compliment, shouldn’t I?” Tonks pushed herself up making an obvious face of pain. Both Sirius and Remus were helped her into a sitting position; the later put the pillows behind her back in gentleman manner. “So...I heard Evans helped you. Guess you were lucky…” James said crossing his arms over his chest. “Oh, yes. I’ll have to come up with something to pay her and Snape’s kindness. Merlin knows how long it would have been before someone noticed my absence. I just got lucky he heard those green bullies and was concerned enough to go check…” “Snape?” Remus said surprised. “Wait? Snivellus?” James said wide eyed “He what? You mean he was the one who went looking for you?” “You look surprised…” Tonks said with a frown “Yeah, not like he’d admit it. He kept pushing the credits to Lily, but I’m good at reading people. He’s a good boy despite his looks…” “Are we talking about the same Snape?” Sirius seemed skeptical. Lily had complained to her about her cousin and his gang poor relations with Snape. Her annoyance was primary directed to Sirius and James. “Petigrew just follow their lead blindly; Lupin isn’t that bad, he doesn’t go against Severus, but he doesn’t stop the other two from doing it either…” she had said. “It’s simply annoying. They call themselves the Marauders, or something stupid like that…” Tonks could help, but feel amused at Lily’s indignation, while the real victim simply kept quiet. Snape was obviously not talker, and despite having some obvious Sytherin traits, Tonks could tell the boy was good. “Yup, unless he has a twin brother that I haven’t met.” “Two Snivellus? That’d be a nightmare…” James chuckled. “Why do you call him that?” Tonks asked frowning. “Why not?” “Well, it’s not nice….” “He’s a Slytherin, there’s nothing nice about the green snakes…” James snorted. Tonks glared at James. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him with irritation. The look would have been intimidating if it hadn’t been interrupted by her soft groan as the movement had sent a wave of pain up her hip. Her dad used to call it the “Black glare” and he always laughed saying that it was probably the only trait she’d inherited from her maternal family. “Oooh….that sent chills down my back. I could almost see my mum in that glare” Sirus said shivering. “You know...that’s a little prejudiced and stereotyped…” Tonks said a stern voice that made her sound older than she looked. She had completely ignored Sirius and her dark eyes were stuck on James “Not all Slytherins are bad, the same as not all Gryffindors are saints…” “Woah...no need to get so worked out…” Jamos said raising his arms dejectedly. Tonks let out an irritated sigh. Maybe it was because of her parents influence, or the way she had grown because of her little gift; but if there was something that she found stupid was prejudice. “My mum was a Slytherin…” she said with a frown “ Sometimes you need to look a little deeper before you judge. Not all wolves are out eat the sheep,you know?” The group was suddenly staring at her dumbfounded and Tonks blinked in confusion. Maybe it was her imagination, but she thought she had seen Remus pale a little. “What did you…?” he muttered softly. “Did you just said...wolves?” “Err...yeah?” Tonks shrugged. “From all animals in the world...wolves?” Sirius asked. “Hey...those poor things are always misunderstood…” Tonks defended poking his cousin’s chest with a finger “Always the bad guy of the story….but do you know that, among all the animals in the world, wolves are among the smartest and most loyal creatures?” “Ok, ok...I get that...so you’re a wolf lover…” Sirius laughed looking at Lupin with a raised eyebrow. “I might have a strange inclination for them…” Tonks shrugged “Dad said it was weird that I prefered a wolf plush toy instead of a doll when I was younger. Then again...I’ve never been normal to begin with…” The last part she muttered it softly. “What was that again?” “Nothing… so in conclusion, just because other people say something is bad, doesn’t mean it is bad. So stop using the Slytherin is bad excuse to bully and innocent boy...that doesn’t make you any better than Boreas…” “Auch...that was a low blow.” Sirius laughed “Fine… we’ll dislike Snape for being Snape, and not for being a Slyth.” “Hey, who knows maybe you’ll be up for a surprise. Maybe you’ll like him after knowing him better…” “THAT is not going to happen.” “Ok...boys always have to be stubborn…” “You talk like you have experience with boys…” James said curiously. “That’s what my mum always says. I never had much interaction with other kids…” “Why?” Peter asked curiously. “That...is a story for another day…” At the moment, Madam Pomfrey came into the room an handled Tonks a cup with smoking content. The potion smelled weird and tasted even worse, but the effect was instantaneous, the pain that ran down from her hip to her leg began to fade away. “Very well, Ms. Tonks...I do hope you won’t be rolling down hills anytime soon.” Madam Pomfrey said after checking that the bones on her hip had mended properly. “Ah...too bad, I think I was starting to find the fun at it…” Madam Pomfrey clicked my tongue in a gesture of censure. “No doubt you’re Ted Tonks daughter…” “Proudly…” Tonks grinned. “You’re good enough to leave, but I think it might be better for you to stay here for a couple days. Walking up stairs will still be painful...” “Stairs and I have always had a complicated relationship.” “I can imagine. Very well, you lot. Don’t stay too long…” With those words the healer had turned on her heels and walked back into her office. “A complicated relationship?” Sirius asked. “Call it a love triangle between the steps, me and the floor…” The group giggled. With all the complains that Lily had dropped on her, Tonks had been sure that Sirius and his gang were a bunch of prats, but after talking with them for a bit she realized that the boys weren’t as bad as Lily described them. “Ah...buggers. I didn’t get to mail my letter to my parents…” she realized. “Would you like me to send the owl for you?” Remus offered nicely. “Ah, I wouldn’t want to make you walk all the way to the Owlery to send a letter that isn’t yours…” Tonks chuckled “I appreciate the intention though. I guess I’ll do it tomorrow…”

*** “Well….I like here. It’s nice to know that I still have some nice relatives….” Sirius said cheerfully. They had spent most of the afternoon in the hospital wing talking to Tonks. The girl was funny, friendly and likeable and Sirius had totally decided that she was his new favorite relative. “She’s sort of weird though…” James said rubbing his chin. “I said that since the beginning. She didn’t put down her hood during all the time we were there…” Peter said “Do you think she might have horns or snake hair?” “Don’t be ridiculous, Wormtail…” “Pushing away the hood thing though…”James said “Isn’t it weird that she kind of...likes Snivellus?” “Her point was valid though…” Remus said shaking her head “Perhaps...he isn’t as bad as we take him for…” “Moony, I think you’re just a little biased with her…” Sirius chuckled “She likes wolves, so hey...it might work. For the record...I approve the relationship...” “She’s 11, Sirius….” “So what? We’re 12, next year we’ll be 13 and she’ll be 12….no one said it had to be now.” Lupin rolled his eyes at his friend words. However he had a strange feeling lurking in the back of his mind. For a 11 years old girl, her thinking felt beyond her age. “Next time we should ask her what she thinks about werewolves….” Sirius suggested. “Sirius...no…” “Relax, you know I wouldn’t tell her; but I’m still curious what her reaction would be.” “Probably the same that everyone else’s…” “Well...one never knows. ” Lupin decided to ignore his friend as he made his way into the Great Hall to have dinner. The conversation was soon forgotten and replaced with more random subjects, but Lupin couldn’t brush off the strange sensation that kept naggin the back of his mind.

*** Saturdays were uneventful days in Hogwarts. First and second years had the day free to roam the grounds and the Castle while older students could visit the neighboring Town. Tonks had heard thousands of stories about Hogsmeade from her parents, but despite all the nice things, she found out she wasn’t that overly excited about visiting the place. Hogwarts was interesting enough to keep her overactive mind preoccupied after all, and after begging and promising the school’s healer that she would be wary of her steps, she was finally given the green light to leave the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey hadn’t been lying when she said that her hip would bother her despite the potion. Her leg felt stiff and if she laid to much weight on to it, it hurt pretty badly, but after testing it a bit, she realized that if she kept a slow, she wouldn’t have problems to walk to the owlery. The day was beautifully clear and the fresh breeze was alluring as she followed stoned trail. She felt particularly lucky that she hadn’t crossed paths with any of the green bullies; she did stumble with both Lily and Snape as they were heading to the library to work on some reports that were due to next week. “Well, wotcher, Sade. I bet you missed me yesterday…”she said scratching the owl’s head “I hope mum and dad won’t be too annoyed for receiving a very late letter. Try to speak a little in my favor, would you?” The honey colored owl turned its head to her and stared her with his big green eyes. “Don’t look at me like that. It isn’t like I skipped on purpose. , I got myself caught in an unpleasant accident. Just let mum and dad know I’m all good and stopping being so nosy, you old owl...” Tonks knew that the bird could speak, but she had gotten used to talk to him since she was younger. Even though she wasn’t entirely sure if she understood fully, she was sure she could make out some of the things that bird tried to tell her sometimes. “Yeah, I’m doing okay so far. I think I might had made a couple friends. One unknown cousin among them...what is ironical in here is that none of them are in the same house as me. Well, not that it matters. My lessons with McGonagall started well...maybe I’ll be able to keep this….” she said pointing at her hood “down by the end of the term...wouldn’t that be nice?” The sound of a broken branch startled her and she turned right on time to come face to face with Lupin who was climbing up the stairs. “Wotcher…” she greeted him with wide eyes “By yourself today?” Lupin seemed as surprised to see her as she was. The boy stared at her with bright green eyes before smiling at her politely; a smile that evoked a strange sense of deja vu. “Hello, Tonks. Yes, my friends seem to enjoy the chance to sleep in on a saturday.” “A joy that you don’t seem to fancy, apparently. I take you’re the early bird of the quartet…” “More or less. You’re early for a saturday as well.” “Postal duties…”she chuckled in response “My parents would worry if I didn’t write as promised…” “I think all parents do...” Lupin nodded as he picked one brown bird and tied a rolled piece of parchment to its claw “How’s your hip?” “Much better… but I’m afraid I have an ugly limp. And it took me 30 minutes to reach this place…”she chuckled. Lupin tilted his head slightly. His green eyes staring at her thoughtfully. “Are you heading back to the castle?” “I..suppose? I thought of taking a stroll to see the views. My dad always talk about the views fondly. But knowing my luck, I might break my other leg...” she laughed. “It’s a nice day for a stroll...mind some company?” “Oh that’d be nice.” The pair walked out of the tower.Tonks’s steps were slow, but Lupin had adjusted his pace to follow hers, from the four boys in Sirius’s gang, it was obvious he was the one with the best manners. “You can see Hogsmeade from here…” he said pointing ahead of them “right over there…” “Looks like a cosy town….” Tonks smiled “You’ll be able to visit it next year, right?” “Yes. Sirius and James can’t wait to visit the shops…” “And you?” “Maybe one or two…” he smiled modestly. “Mmm...let me guess….a bookstore?” “Am I that predictable?” he smiled shyly. “No, no...it was a guess. You’re always carrying a book after all…” “You noticed?” “It seems that I am quite observative. My dad says it will come in handy when I decide what my career after Hogwarts will be…” “You also said that you could read people…” Tonks bit her bit distractedly. “Mmmm...I don’t know how I do it. My parents asked me before, but I just...know.” she replied “small things that you normally wouldn’t pay attention to...small details tell a lot, don’t you think?” Lupin stared at her curiously. Yesterday he had thought her thoughts were a little beyond her age, now this girl was telling him that she could analyze people by watching them? He was suddenly quite interested. “Would you show me?” “Sure, as long as you don’t mind that I use you as model since there’s nobody else around haha…” “I can live with that. I‘m really curious…” Tonks smiled at him and started cycling around him with meticulous eyes. “You like to read, you probably stay late reading at night under the light of your wand. Sometimes magic books, some other just fiction to kill time. You like to write notes at the margin of the books...and probably you mark the passages that you like …” “How did…?” “Your hands...they’re stained with ink. The color is quite weak, so it isn’t fresh and your book, I can see the ink lines in the margins…” she chuckled “The rest was pure guess...just to make it interesting…” “That’s...amazing…” “You think? My dad would take to the park sometimes and we’d sit down and watch the people around and try to guess their story. Dad was convinced that I was a auror on my past life haha…” “You’re are really fond of your parents…” “Who isn’t fond of his parents? Well, except Sirius. I didn’t have the chance to have many friends when I was younger, so my playmates were always mum or dad…” “Why?” “I have my reasons. If you keep being such a nice boy with me, I might consider telling you…” she answered winking at him playfully. “Sounds like a deal…” Tonks chuckled and continued walking with her small limp. Lupin walking by her side, making random comments and pointing her some of the grounds best points like a tourist guide would. Unlike James and Sirius, he was more of a shy and quiet boy, especially when it came to people from the other gender, so he found surprising, how easy he could speak to Tonks. He felt comfortable talking to her; it was a sensation of familiarity, almost as if...they’d known each other for a long time. “You don’t look like a trouble maker, you know? How did you end up with a bunch of pranksters?” “Well, we share rooms...to begin with. Bonding was just a natural thing…” “I guess that makes sense…” she nodded. “What about you? Haven’t you made friends in your house…” “Contrary to what many would think...it seems I am much less social than I look. They’re nice, good people I’m sure...it’s just…” Tonks words lingered for a bit with the incomplete idea. The girl was looking at the green fields that surrounded Hogwarts lost in thought. It was something hard to explain, but she had troubles when it came to trusting people. Her parents had said that it’d been like that since she was a baby. Tonks could be friendly and adorable, but that was all. Unless she got to know the person well enough, she wouldn’t give in completely into the interaction. Her parents had been slightly taken back by their daughter’s social abilities, but accepted it nevertheless. Her dad usually joked that at least, he could be sure that she would never run away with some useless brat when she was older. It was then that the girl realized something. She didn’t seem to have problems trusting Lupin or Sirius the day before. Their interactions had come out naturally; like old friends that had years of not seeing each other. With James and Peter, it was different, she felt awkward about the boy with glasses, and wary about the smaller one. “Just…?” Lupin’s voice dragged her out of her thoughts. The boy was staring at her carefully and she grinned at him. “Sorry...kind of spaced out. What was I saying…?” “Something about your roomates…” “Oh, yeah. Ehm...they’re okay. You know that tree really is the weirdest tree I’ve ever seen in my life…” “Ah...that’s the whomping willow. You better keep yourself away from it unless you like Madam Pomfrey’s company. It has a very bad temper...” “Ah...well, as friendly as she might be...I don’t think she likes me enough to see me that often; and ...I might be a klutz, but I do have a sense of survival...I’ll keep my distance.” “Smart…” Lupin laughed “At least you’re not like your cousin in that sense. Sirius seems to enjoy the adrenaline of putting himself in the edge…” “Well...as long as he doesn’t get himself killed for something stupid. Constant vigilance…” “Constant vigilance?” “Aha...I don’t know where I heard that, honestly, but you know the drill...be wary of everything, danger lurks in every corner...booooo” Tonks replied jokingly. “You...know….sometimes it feels like you’re not 11 years old at all…” Lupin chuckled “If Sirius had your level of thinking, he’d spent less time in detention with James…” “Oh, I’d get myself in detention eventually. That’s just my luck. So Mr. Tourist Guide, what else will you show me?” “How about the animal pen? Hagrid’s cabin is right down this way…” “Then lead the way. I trust you’ll make sure I won’t stumble down to a another broken hip….” “I think I can catch you if you fall…” “As long as I don’t drag you with me, of course!”

Lupin smiled at the girl as they walked down to Hagrid’s cabin. Hagrid wasn’t home, and Lupin guessed that he was probably at Hogsmeade with the older students. There would be another chance to introduce Tonks to him. The friendly creatures were kept in a small pen behind of Hagrid’s cabin; most of them were small animals like ocamies, nifflers, kneazels and puffskeins. “Awwwww, aren’t those incredible cute?” Tonks said grabbing the fence of the pen with glittering eyes “ Look at them! They look so furry and squishable…”

Lupin couldn’t help but laugh at the girl’s reaction. That was more like the kind of behavior he’d expect from a girl like her. “ Ah...adorable. I think I have a soft spot for furry animals haha…” “I bet you have pets at home..” “Unfortunately no. I wish I had though. It’d have been nice to have some company. Hey look, isn’t that your gang?” Lupine turned on his heels and looked toward the castle. James and Sirius walked down the path to them with laughter and jokes, while Peter followed enthusiastically. “Heh, seems like our tour is over…” Tonks chuckled. “Heeeet you two…” Sirius shouted loudly “Tonksieee….” “Wotcher me dear lost cousin...did you enjoy your sleep?” “Yeah, I was dreaming about dragons and dogs….” “Dragons and dogs? Well, that’s a interesting combo…” “Nah, it was good. What about you two, heh? Moony you should have told me you were going to meet my cous...” “Ah, mind you. It seems that Lupin and I had the awesome idea of sending mail at the same time today and since you, bunch of sleepy heads, were out of business and I have pretty much nothing to do, he was showing me around.” “Oh, that sounds like it was fun…” James said “Saw anything interesting?” “Uhm...well, that depends of what you consider interesting, I guess; but it was enjoyable. Thank you...now that your gang is back up, it’s my cue to leave you alone…” she added winking at Lupin “ Show me around some other time, would you?” “I…” Lupin began, but was interrupted by Sirius loud voice. “Ah, you leaving?” Sirius asked surprised. “Don’t leave because of us!” James added with a smile. “Mmmm...no at all, but I’m sure you don’t want a girl nosing around your boy adventures. See you guys around then…” Before any of them could say something to stop her, the girl turned around and began walking towards the castle with a small limp. The four boys were left watching her back as her image gre smaller and smaller. “I said...weeeeeird….” Peter groaned. “Ah...she’s just shy with boys, I guess…” James shrugged “It happens…” “She didn’t seem that shy with Moony…” Sirius pouted. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous, Sirius…” James laughed “ just because your cousin prefers Moony over you haha…” “I am no jealous!” “I think you are…” “I say I am not….!”

Lupin rolled his eyes and smiled. Sirius and James were too busy bickering with each other and Peter was watching them amused. None of them noticed that he wasn’t even paying attention to them anymore, as his glance was staring at the tiny hooded figure that walked slow but confidently to the castle. Maybe Tonks was weird,but he liked her weirdness.