Elissa is my OC, but all other characters, situations, etc. etc. etc. are the property of JK Rowling. I'm just inviting them over for playgroup. :)
“You go first”I’m not.”
“All you have to do is open the bloody door, Wormtail.”
“Don’t care.”
“Oh, here”I’ll do it”“ The door creaked open. Tonks’ eyes fluttered open for a second but then closed again, the sound not fully waking her.
“I don’t see what you’re afraid of, Ted told us we had to get her out of bed.”
“Still...”
Someone shook her shoulder roughly. “Rise and shine, you sleeping beauty...on second thought, scratch that last part.” Tonks grumbled a bit and turned over.
“Oh, come on. It’s 11 o’clock.” More grumbling. “It’s your favorite cousin.”
Tonks opened her eyes reluctantly. “You must have made a mistake, then. I only have one and I wouldn’t describe him as my favorite anything.” The person next to him smirked.
“Ooh, that bites, Pads.”
The room and its inhabitants were slowly coming into focus as she blinked several times. “Hm”wha”OH MY GOD!! SIRIUS!!”
Sirius grinned. “Glad to see you recognize me, Dora.”
“’T’s not Dora,” she grumbled sleepily, sitting up. “At least, not anymore. Call me Tonks, most people do.”
“Elissa’s always called you Dora,” the person on Sirius’ other side said quietly.
“Elissa,” Tonks said in a matter-of-fact voice, “is an exception. I’ve got 5 million nicknames anyway, it’s surprising what you can get out of Nymphadora Edwina Tonks”“ Her eyes narrowed suddenly. “You’re Remus, then...and you’re Peter...and you’re James...” Tonks pulled the covers over her head and screamed. “Why me? What have I done to deserve this?” She poked her head back out again. “Please, please tell me you four aren’t staying here all summer.”
James pretended to be deep in thought. “Well, we could tell you that, I suppose...”
“But that would be lying,” finished Remus.
“And we wouldn’t want to lie to you, would we?” Sirius said, poking Peter in the ribs.
“Of course not,” he said.
Tonks sighed, attempting to regain her composure. “Okay. How about you guys get out of my room and we’ll discuss this once I’m properly awake.”
Andie walked into the kitchen, “Ted, I’m back”“ Her eyes fell across the four boys seated at the table. “Oh, Merlin. Bar the doors and lock up the larders, the Marauders are here!”
“Too late,” James said, waving a sandwich. Sirius took the opportunity to grab the sandwich and take a bite out of it.
“Bleh, tuna salad.”
Andie folded her arms. “I was saving that tuna salad for dinner.”
“Oops. Sorry.”
“Never mind,” she said with a sigh. “Is my daughter up yet?” As if on cue, Tonks appeared in the doorway. Andie did a quick once-over. “Hair, shirt, socks, jeans. In other words, try again. Who dressed you?”
“Me,” Tonks said defensively. “And what’s wrong with my clothes?”
“Your hair’s too short, your shirt has a hole in the sleeve, your socks don’t match, and your jeans are ripped. Happy?”
“No. The socks are supposed to be that way and my hair reaches past my chin. Honestly, Mum...”
“Well, at least the hair and the shirt. Go on now.” Tonks sighed but changed her hair, so that a veritable cascade of brown curls tumbled down. “There, much better. Now, different shirt”get a move on.”
Once she was gone, Andie turned back to the boys. “That girl’s awfully stubborn, one can only wonder where she gets it from.”
“Not from our side of the family, perhaps?” Sirius asked innocently.
“Of course not”“ Andie gave him a frosty look”“but now I know where she gets her sass.”
“Ha ha, very funny.”
By the time Tonks got back downstairs, Ted had come into the kitchen.
“Well, look who’s finally up. Nymphadora Tonks, walking accident extraordinaire.”
“It’s nice to see you too, Daddy,” she said, yawning widely. “What’s for breakfast?”
“Breakfast? Surely you jest.”
“My name’s not Shirley.”
Ted looked injured. “Well, I’m sorry.”
“Apologies accepted. Too early for lunch?”
“It’s never too early for lunch,” James offered cheerfully.
“I can’t believe this.” Fwump. “Me, the great and mighty Sirius Black.” Fwump. “Never lost a fight.” Fwump. “Put Snivellus in his place how many times?” Fwump. “Forced to work like a house-elf.” Fwump, fwump.
Yet another article of clothing hit the bottom of the washing machine. The first thing Andie had done upon finally understanding that yes, they were going to be here all summer, and yes, they wouldn’t be leaving until August, was to give them a list of things that had to be done. The four of them were currently on laundry duty.
“Cheer up, we’ll be done soon,” Peter said encouragingly. Sirius was not placated.
“Oh, yeah, and then what’ll she have us do? No, my friends, I say we would have been so much better off at Prongs’ place.”
“Except, of course, that my parents aren’t even going to be here all summer.”
“Well...yeah, that could have been a problem.”
“So, we had a choice between spending the holidays with your parents”not recommended”with my parents”Elissa’s staying with them, so that’s out of the question unless you can stand her”at Prongs’ house with nonexistent parents”not a good idea if you ask me and also a great way to get barred from spending the summer holidays with each other ever again”with Wormtail’s parents”who we already figured out don’t like me”or here. Which would you prefer?” Remus asked him.
“Okay. You’ve out-reasoned me. Again. Just let me stew in my own discontent and irrationality, okay, Moony?”
“Well, we actually did have a choice between here and putting up with Elissa...” James said, trailing off as the others gave him meaningful looks. “Yeah...erm...Good point, guys. We’re staying.”
“What other choice do we have?” Peter said. Sirius sighed.
“Ten minutes ago, Wormtail. Ten minutes ago.”
“What?”
“...never mind.”
Tonks walked in, slamming a bag down on the table. “Mum wants to know how you guys are coming along with the laundry...no, you’re supposed to sort them first, light with light, dark with dark, red with red? Ringing a bell? Oh, please, don’t tell me she sent you down here with no instructions whatsoever. Mum may not care about what happens to her clothes,” she said exasperatedly, pulling stuff back out of the washing machine, “but I don’t particularly want my white pants turning pink. I worked hard to keep those white, and do you know how hard it is to do that? Even if you’re not me and don’t walk into something, knock something over, or fall down every five minutes? Honestly, sometimes I wonder. I really do...” She continued in this vein, throwing things around and finally getting it all back in the laundry basket. “There! Now try again. And this time, do it right!”
She grabbed her bag and stormed back up the stairs, muttering something to herself about ‘having to do all the work around here’.
For about five minutes there was total silence. Then James said, “She’s getting to be a right little slave driver, she is...”
“You think?” Sirius said sarcastically.
“Yeah, I think,” James shot back.
“I would hope you think,” said Remus dryly.
“Ha ha. Very funny, I’m simply busting my sides laughing.”
Sirius pulled something out of his pocket”a small blue book with a lock.
“Whatcha got there?” James said, leaning over to look at it.
“Fell out of her bag,” he said, grinning, “and I...erm...forgot...to tell her she dropped it.”
“Let’s have a look-see, then...”
Sirius waved a finger at Remus. “I know what you’re going to say, Moony.”
“No you don’t.”
“Yes I do...you’re going to say we shouldn’t.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything.”
“...you were thinking it.”
Remus threw up his hands. “Why do I even try?”
Sirius waved the book. “Problem number one. How’re we going to get it open?”
James grabbed it from him, pulled out his wand, and tapped it. The lock sprung open.
“Oh...yeah.” The others rolled their eyes.
Sirius flipped open the diary and began to read...