The next day Tonks Apparated back to her own flat with a fierce sense of purpose and it was there that she found an owl from Albus Dumbledore. It was an invitation for ‘tea’.
She could have used the Floo Network to travel directly to his office but decided to Apparate to Hogsmead, preferring to walk up to the school and enjoy the fresh air. In the village she noticed students enjoying their last weekend, the sun shining brightly on their laughing faces. She looked around, hoping, yet also dreading, that she’d see Harry. However neither Harry nor any of the students who fought at the Ministry were out that day. She could see the Shrieking Shack across the field and smiled as she remembered the stories she’d heard about it. Discovering that the fearsome monster had in fact been Remus Lupin had made her laugh until she realised how painful his transformations had been.
There in front of her lay Hogwarts. Despite her sadness she could not help but feel uplifted at the sight of her old school. It was here she had found friends and it was here she’d found her calling. She’d been determined to prove that not all members of the House of Black were dark wizards, but Professor Sprout had been astonished when she’d announced her wish to be an Auror. Sprout had sat her down and gently explained that only the best got accepted and her marks, especially in Potions, were unlikely to be good enough. But Tonks-the-Zealot had the bit between her teeth. She’d redoubled her efforts and had been rewarded in almost every subject. It was Potions she feared would let her down, especially as Professor Snape was exasperated by her clumsiness. In the end she had approached him directly and, keeping her hair colour normal, begged him for private tuition. Under his expert eye she’d blossomed and her mark crept from Exceeds Expectations to the required Outstanding. She’d always believed Snape favoured the Slytherins, but Tonks knew now that he had appreciated her diligence and willingness to be taught.
She found her thoughts had kept her company up the steps to Dumbledore’s office.
“Pear drops,” she said to the stone gargoyle that let her pass.
“Ah, Nymphadora, how kind of you to call,” said Professor Dumbledore from behind his desk. He got up and summoned a chair for her. “Tea?” he suggested.
“Yes, thank-you, sir,” she replied.
“Please, Nymphadora, call me ‘Albus’, or ‘Dumbledore’, or even ‘silly old coot’. Needn’t call me ‘sir’ anymore - you are not my student.”
“Okay...err...Albus,” she said awkwardly.
He smiled warmly. “You may be wondering why I have asked you here today.”
“Mmm,” she said. “I thought it may have something to do with my next posting, or perhaps a debrief?”
“In a way, Nymphadora, it is a debrief.” He looked at her through his half moon spectacles. “A debrief of Sirius Black’s life.”
She clattered the dainty china cup onto the table, spilling her tea. Hastily, she tried to siphon the liquid off his polished desk. He waited before continuing.
“There was no body, of course, so we cannot have a funeral, but I wondered if you would care to share your memories of your cousin with others.”
“My memories of Sirius...uh...I’m not sure about this,” she stuttered.
“Not sure? Why?” he asked.
She looked straight into his eyes. “The only thing I can remember at this moment is his death. I don’t think that’s a very good memory to share,” she said bluntly. Then she sighed and stood up, intending to leave. “I’m sorry, Sir...err...Albus, but there’s a block in my head that seems to be preventing anything happy coming through.”
Dumbledore frowned. “Will you permit me to try something?”
She nodded. Dumbledore stepped in front of her and lightly touched her temples with his fingertips. She felt as if something was swirling around her mind. There was an extreme coldness pervading her body, then slowly, very slowly, the warmth crept back into her. Dumbledore let go and stepped back. In his hand was a silvery streak of gossamer thread that he’d extracted from her. He placed it in her hand.
“This is an old memory, Nymphadora. It has lain dormant for far too long. Place it in the Pensieve over there. It is for you to enjoy, alone.”
Silently, he glided from the room leaving her with the wisp of silver. She approached the Pensieve and dropped the memory in. Instantly, the liquid swirled and she could see a picture forming. It was Sirius. Without hesitation she plunged her face into its depths and found herself falling. She landed back in her parents’ house, but it looked different. There were toys everywhere and the furniture was higgledy-piggledy as if someone had been building a castle with the cushions and the chairs. She heard a giggle and saw a small child, aged about three, hiding behind a sofa.
“Come out, come out wherever you are,” said a voice.
Tonks saw the child huddle further behind the sofa. She looked round apprehensively, there approaching the sofa was Sirius. He must have been about sixteen. His grey eyes were alive with merriment, his face so handsome it made her heart burst, and he wore a grin that lit up the room.
“Nymphadora, where are you?” he cooed.
The little girl behind the sofa stood up. “Don’t call me that name. It’s silly!” she said. She stamped her foot furiously and her hair rippled red with rage.
Sirius jumped back in mock alarm. “What am I to call you then, cousin? Dora or Nympha? Or perhaps just Tonks?”
She thought for a while. “Tonks, you can call me Tonks,” she declared.
He rushed over to her and picked her up in his arms, twirling and twirling her round the room until she shrieked with delight.
Tonks landed back in Dumbledore’s study with a bump. She had met Sirius all those years ago “ how could she have forgotten?
The door opened behind her as someone else entered the room. It was Remus. He crouched down beside her as she lay on the floor. She noticed his brown eyes were warm with tenderness and concern.
“Are you hurt?” he asked.
She smiled widely. “No, I’m absolutely fine.”
“What are you doing down there?” enquired Remus.
She beamed at him. “I’m reliving the life of Sirius Black,” she said. “Do you want to join me?”
He sat next to her and smiled. The last time Remus had seen her she’d been huddled up in a hospital bed, closer to death than anyone had realised. Then her parents had whisked her away to her childhood home and he’d wondered when he’d see her again.
“Why are you lying down to relive his life, Tonks?”
She laughed at him. “Didn’t you always tell me he had a colourful love life at Hogwarts?”
He smiled ruefully. “That he did. I couldn’t keep track of his exploits.” He looked across at the Pensieve. “Is that what you were watching?” he asked in disbelief.
“Merlin, no! I’ve just seen a memory of me with Sirius when I was about three. I’d forgotten we’d met.”
Remus grinned at her. “He left home that summer, meaning to go to James’ parents, but first he visited your mum and dad.”
She gazed into his eyes which were alight with the memories of his friend.
“How do you know all this?” she asked.
He pulled out a wad of papers from his jacket pocket. “Here,” he said. “Letters from Sirius from that summer and beyond. Dumbledore thought you and Harry might be interested.”
She rolled over onto her stomach and opened one of them dated July 1976.
‘Dear Moony,’ she read.
Glad to hear your OWL results were so good - you swot! At least one of the Marauders is a credit to his family. My old Ma took exception to me taking Muggle Studies, so she decided to ‘curse the impudence’ out of me. Anyway, I’ve left for good now and will be staying here with Prongs till the beginning of term.
I had a great trip up here. I decided to go and see my cousin, Andromeda Tonks - the one that married a Muggle-born and got blasted off the Family Tree - she’s got a kid now; a cheeky three year old girl who can change her hair to every colour in the rainbow. I swear she’s the cleverest kid alive. Her name is Nymphadora but she won’t let anyone call her that - she hates it with a passion and I must say I see her point. Merlin knows why Meda saddled such a bright spark with such a dreadful name. I re-named her Tonks, and, much to Meda and Ted’s annoyance, she won’t answer to anything else now.
It’s great being here at the Potters apart from James continually sighing over Lily Evans. Godric, he can be boring at times. If he doesn’t get over her soon I’m going to hex him. Can’t wait for you and Wormtail to get here, then we can all make him see sense. Although, he’s talking about re-doubling his efforts to win her, so that should be a laugh! I don’t know how much more of a prat he can possibly become, but next year should be fun!
Get here soon!
Padfoot.
There were tears in her eyes as she read and re-read the letter.
“You blew him away,” he said. “Never forget that.”
She lay back down on the floor of Dumbledore’s study and smiled such a heart-warming smile that he threw aside his usual caution.
“You blow me away too,” he whispered.
It was a completely inappropriate setting for their first kiss but somehow he thought Sirius would approve.
It was the thunderstorm that pulled them apart. Tonks could see the lightening flashing through the high, almost ecclesiastical windows of Dumbledore’s study. Then she heard the rain drumming on the roof.
“Come on,” said Remus as he stood up. “Let’s go. I’m sure Dumbledore needs his office back.”
He pulled her up to standing and led her to the door.
“Do you have somewhere else to be?” she asked.
He heard the small note of dejection in her voice and smiled. It was a smile that lit up his face and made him look like a teenager again. She could see the Marauder in him, the boy that Sirius and James had wanted to be friends with, and she saw the man she loved.
“We have somewhere else to be, Tonks,” he said. “We need to go out and celebrate the life of Sirius Black!”
“Where are we going?” she cried as they ran down the staircase together like children.
“Wait and see, Nymphadora,” he teased.
They ran through the grounds of Hogwarts, little caring that they were getting soaked with rain. On the boundary of Hogwarts he caught her by the waist, and together they turned three times, feeling the familiar squeezing sensation as they Apparated. They landed in the side alley of a busy street, disturbing a cat that had crawled into a box to escape the rain.
“In here,” called Remus, trying to make himself heard over the storm.
“Let me dry off first,” she said, and cast a drying spell around them. “Tell me where we are, Remus.”
“This is a pub that Sirius used to go to. The flat he bought with Alphard’s money was across the street,” explained Remus. “It was rough in those days but Sirius kept coming back because he liked the barmaid. He stuck out like a sore thumb and the other locals ignored him at first. Then he...acquired a new skill at darts and they were clamouring for him to be on the darts team.”
“’He...acquired a new skill at darts,’” she quoted back at him. “So what did he do?”
Remus’ answer was lost as they stepped into the pub that was now blaring out loud music. It was no longer the rough ‘spit and sawdust’ pub he remembered from eighteen years before. It had undergone a massive revamp and was now a sparkling, shining metro bar complete with mirrored ceilings and black marble flooring.
“Godric, this is ghastly,” he said.
The drinkers were no longer the old men Sirius had enjoyed a beer with; they were young, hard faced men talking loudly to their friends, and girls with uniformly straight, long, blonde hair that they kept flicking over their shoulders. Tonks was pleased she’d worn her only skirt for tea with Professor Dumbledore, but she still felt horribly out of place.
“Shall I change?” she asked. “My appearance, I mean. I could get my hair like that in a trice.”
“Don’t you dare!” whispered Remus, flicking her nose. “You’re perfect as you are.”
He found a small table and they looked through the drinks menu.
“I don’t know any of these drinks,” she said, “Don’t they have beer or something?”
A waiter came over and looked at them disparagingly.
“We’ll have “ “ Remus paused, eyes darting across the menu, “that.”
The waiter inclined his head a fraction and walked off.
“What did you order?” she asked.
“I’ve no idea,” he said desperately.
The waiter returned with two small glasses, some slices of lime and a salt pot. He placed them on the table; Remus and Tonks stared uncomprehendingly at the objects and began to giggle. The waiter returned with a large bottle of an amber liquid. He poured some into the two glasses then he started to walk away.
“Excuse me, mate,” said Tonks. “Sorry to be so dim, but what is this all for?”
The waiter turned back and looked directly at her. She smiled up at him and he seemed to warm to her.
“Tequila Slammers, sweetheart,” he explained and he took her wrist. “You put some salt on here and lick it, then you down your shot, and then you bite into the lime.”
“Why?” asked Remus.
The waiter looked at him with distaste. He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. You ordered it!”
Tonks winked at the waiter and began to lick the salt from her wrist. Next she downed her drink in one and reached for the lime. “Oh, Remus, come on. This is fun!” she said.
He followed her lead and began to grin. The drink and its ritual seemed quite stupid, unnecessary, and crazy, but he could almost see a young Sirius at the table with them, knocking back more shots than anyone.
Tonks stopped after three, suddenly aware that they would have to pay for all these drinks. “Do you have any Muggle money on you?” she asked him.
“Yeah, don’t worry. I’m not going to pay in charmed Galleons and risk getting caught by Arthur for Muggle baiting,” he whispered back. “Having said that, I think that last round has cleaned me out so we’d better leave.”
She got up and tripped over her own foot. Unsteady at the best of times, with a drink inside her Tonks was a walking, or rather tripping, disaster.
“Oopsie!” she said loudly. The clientele at the bar looked at her disdainfully. She gave them all a low bow. “My cousin Sirius Black says ‘Enjoy’.” She began to screw up her face and Remus scented danger.
“You can’t change here, Tonks,” he hissed. She looked at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Behave, Nymphadora,” he pleaded.
She held his gaze then slowly relaxed her face, smiling at him all the while. Then they walked out into the night.
They Apparated back to her flat. Or rather Remus had Apparated and she had clung onto him, worried that she might splinch herself in her condition.
“What else did Sirius like to do?” she asked him.
“This,” explained Remus. He bent his head down and began to kiss her on the lips. She responded immediately and he could see her hair colour turning an intense pink. He pulled away. “But Sirius’ version was more explicit, Tonks.”
They lay down on her sofa, sometimes kissing, sometimes talking, but often silent. They remembered Sirius as a cousin, as a friend, and celebrated the fact that they’d shared his life.
Five Weeks by Equinox Chick
Chapter Notes: When Tonks is invited to take tea with Albus Dumbledore at Hogwarts she assumes he wants a debrief about the goings on at the Ministry, but Dumbledore has other ideas.
When Remus Lupin turns up, her evening takes a completely different turn.
Chapter Endnotes: Please leave a review - I thrive on reviews.