Tom...
The wheels turned inside my head until I found the answer.
Voldemort’s mum.
Realization hit me. That’s why Dumbledore had sent me on the mission. Of course! It all made sense. If Voldemort’s mum was there to love and take care of him, then why would he ever dream of killing everyone?
And I thought Dumbledore’s love speeches were pointless.
Oh, wait! In all my excitement, I had forgotten that Merope was dying (sounds terrible, but I really did). I opened up my satchel and dug through it, feeling around for a bottle in one of the pockets. Of course, my bag just so happened to have a lot of pockets, so it was a couple minutes before I produced a vial.
It smelled awful. At first I wondered if it had spoiled, but then I remembered that potions, especially medical ones, couldn’t spoil. That extra Auror training hadn’t been put to waste after all.
“Here, Merope,” I said, unscrewing the cap of the vile-smelling stuff. “Drink this. It’ll make you feel better.”
“I don’t want to,” she whispered. “I want to be put to rest. My heart can’t take any more living.”
Needless to say, that wasn’t what I wanted to hear.
“But you have to!” I insisted. “What if your son grows up to be someone awful? It’ll be your fault that you weren’t there to take care of him! You can still live, Merope. Your son needs you.”
Merope was quiet for a moment. At first I thought she was dead, but then she murmured, “I carry a heavy heart, miss. My husband has left me. I have nothing to live for. Tom will be a good boy. He’ll do fine without me”
“No he won’t!” I cried, almost in tears. “Just drink it, Merope. I don’t want to force you.”
Merope’s next words were soft and hard to hear. “I’m going, I know it. I hear voices... Tom’s voice... goodbye, miss...”
Desperate, I jumped to my feet and bent over the sickly woman. Thrusting her mouth open, I poured the liquid down her throat. Merope gasped, her eyes wide and bulging, and then she was still.
It was all for nothing. I was too late. The potion was wasted. Merope Gaunt was gone.
Numbly, I sat back on the floor. Fat tears rolled down my face. I felt worse then when I had with Bellatrix. I had really, truly failed this time. Nothing to save me, nothing to save the life of the woman who now lay dead beside me. No Time-Turner- its magic wouldn’t work in this room; I had tried. Nothing.
I wondered how I would get out of here. Probably rot, or starve to death. It was a chilling thought.
Suddenly, there was a cough. I jerked my head up, eyes widening. I frantically wiped away the tears. Another cough.
“Merope?” I said.
“That was some potion,” she wheezed.
I laughed, warmth and joy flooding back into me. I was so happy she was alive, that I gave her a hug. She laughed too, and patted my back awkwardly.
“Who can I owe the pleasure of knowing saved my life?” she asked.
“Huh?”
“What’s your name?”
“I’m Tonks,” I said.
“Merope,” she replied, sitting up. “Let’s get out of here, shall we?”
“We can’t,” I said. “Magic won’t work.”
I could almost hear Merope’s smirk. “Oh, it does. I placed some on the door so I wouldn’t be bothered. Powerful stuff, you know- my Pa taught back when I was still living at home. Whoever sent you must be a really good wizard.”
“Oh, he is,” I smiled.
I heard Merope stand, and she pulled me to my feet. “Let’s go. I have a feeling my baby wants to see me.”
I was starting to see how ironic Merope’s mood was. First, she told me she wanted to die, and afterwards she can’t wait to get out and see her baby. It was a good thing, I supposed, but it was a bit unnerving.
Merope pointed her wand at the wall (I supposed that one had the door on it), and a sudden light filled the room. I blinked, blinded, but Merope grabbed my arm and daintily stepped out.
I blinked some as my pupils dilated. Merope seemed unbothered, as if she had light flashed in her eyes on a daily basis. But I wasn’t going to ask; I really didn’t want to know.
We headed to the nursery, where Mrs. Cole was feeding a dark-haired baby boy a bottle. She looked absolutely bewildered to see the two of us, healthy as hippogriffs, walking in together.
“Hello, ma’am,” Merope said, “May I feed my son now?”
“Er, yes, of course,” Mrs. Cole stuttered, passing Merope the baby, her eyes wide. “I see you’re feeling better?”
“Much,” Merope nodded. “Thanks to Miss Tonks.”
Mrs. Cole eyed me. I grinned widely and innocently. The older woman glanced away, shook her head and left.
I studied Merope. She might not be very pretty, but she was somebody’s baby once. The young girl seemed completely at ease as she held her child. The baby, in terms of looks, was far better off. Already sprouting tufts of dark hair, his dark eyes glimmered in the light. I couldn’t understand why Voldemort would go for the bald look with some facial features missing- he looked adorable as a child.
“I hate to break the tender moment,” I said, breaking my eyes away from mother and son. “But I need to go look for my friend.”
Merope looked up. “Excuse me?”
I nodded. “Yeah. He’s been waiting while I was with you.”
Merope stood, her arms wrapped protectively around her baby, who yawned. “I’m coming with you.”
I shrugged and walked out of the nursery. My plan was to get Merope to Dumbledore, so she could be safe. And figure out the rest of my mission, specifically, how to get back home. Safely.
It didn’t take too long to find Dumbledore. He was standing near the entrance, talking quietly to Mrs. Cole. She seemed to be getting along better with him, and was nodding her head, saying things like, “I see,” and “I understand.”
“Ah, Tonks,” he said, brushing invisible dust off his robes. “Ready to go?”
I nodded, and so did Merope, explaining she wanted to travel with us. Dumbledore accepted, telling her “The more the merrier.”
That man was strange.
We said our goodbyes and left into the chilly winter wind.
“Do you know where to go now?” Dumbledore asked me as we passed through the narrow and pointed gates.
I shook my head. I hadn’t thought of what to do after I found Merope.
“Well, we can go to my home,” Dumbledore offered. “I do have an old crib for young Tom.”
Merope looked surprised as to how Dumbledore knew her son’s name when no one had told him. I bite back a grin.
Dumbledore Apparated us to his house. It was nice and decent sized, and very Dumbledore-like. Dumbledore left with Merope to hunt for a crib, telling me to ‘make myself at home.’
I decided to explore; curiosity had always been one of my weak points. The room that struck my interest was the one with a huge door with a strange-looking brass handle.
I opened it, and stepped inside. It was nicely lit, for which I was grateful. All of the sudden, a thin sheet of paper appeared in front of me. I grabbed it, and read:
Tonks,
Your next job is to search in Dumbledore’s library for papers on time-travel. You need to get yourself back into our time before anything bad happens.
Constant vigilance,
Mad-Eye
Oh great. The room was filled with books, scrolls, and bits of parchment, but it was completely disorganized. This was not going to be easy.
Ah, well. Better start somewhere.
As I poured through the books, I heard footsteps. I stood, turned, and drew my wand.
“Yeh find him okay, Tonks?” said a familiar voice.
* * *
“Tom!” I exclaimed. “Will you help me?”
Tom kneeled down next to me. “What’d yeh need?”
“I need to look in this-” I gestured to the mess, “For information on time travel.”
Tom nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”
For about an hour, Tom and I poured over the papers and pamphlets, searching for something that would help me get back.
“Find anything?” I asked after awhile, slumping back and wiping sweat off my forehead.
“I think so,” Tom said. “Here’s a set of instructions for going to the future.”
I held out my hand, but Tom didn’t give it to me. He scanned it over, a wide, uncharacteristic smirk forming on his face.
“Tom?” I asked.
Suddenly, Tom grew taller, thinner, and his hair turned black and grew into long black knots. His face shifted into a slightly insane one, and his cheery eyes turned cold and crazy.
Bellatrix had found me again.
“You know,” she said, “It’s a great deal easier to work with you than sift through this all on my own. You shouldn’t trust people so much, Nymphadora.”
I was seething. How could I have been so stupid? Bellatrix reached down her robes and pulled out a gold chain. A Time-Turner...
“Give me that back!” I demanded, drawing my wand.
Bellatrix snickered. “Put your wand away, fool, your Time-Turner is right where you left it.”
Sure enough, the object was safely around my neck.
“You have one too?” I asked thickly.
“Of course,” she said. “How do you think I kept tailing you?”
“You shouldn’t be tailing me in the first place,” I said angrily. “I’m only trying to make your master’s life happier- do you have a problem with that?”
Bellatrix raised her eyebrows. “What did you say?”
I repeated it, glaring daggers at her. Perhaps I shouldn’t have said so much; I was too angry to care.
Bellatrix spoke, confusion replacing the madness in her dark eyes. “That’s impossible.” Wordlessly, she pulled a thin piece of paper, and unfolded it for me to read.
It read, in fancy script:
Bellatrix,
I have entrusted you in a mission worthy for my cause. You shall be sent backwards in time, to the year I was born.
My spies have said that a member of the Order is being sent back too. Let him do all the work, and then come back before he can. Kill Albus Dumbledore if possible. And don’t let the Order member get back!
Your life is at risk. Use it wisely.
Man, I thought Moody’s letter was bad.
I gasped, and it wasn’t because Voldemort had gotten my gender confused. Kill Dumbledore? They were in the same house right now- maybe she already had...
Bellatrix realized too late how much I had read. Swiftly drawing my wand, I stripped her of her wand and bound her with ropes.
Well, how do you like that?
“You didn’t kill Dumbledore yet, did you?” I asked, pointing my wand at her face.
Bellatrix shook her head. “I didn’t find him. The bar boy, on the other hand...”
“You killed Tom?”
“Not exactly.”
“What’s that supposed to mean, you great stupid prat?”
Bellatrix bristled. “Watch your tongue, you filthy half-blood.”
Rolling my eyes, I continued to press her. “What did you do to Tom?”
“He’s tied up in the doorway,” Bellatrix admitted. “And I thought Trip Jinxes were useless.”
Shaking in fury, I Levitated my aunt.
“What should I do with you now?” I quipped. “Send you to Azkaban?”
“Why bother?” she sneered. “I broke out of it once, I can do it again. And you’re forgetting something.”
“What?” I snapped.
“We have the same mission,” she said, choosing her words carefully. “Maybe we can work together. After all, I have the time-travel papers.”
“You’re lying,” I said automatically. “I’m a filthy half-blood, remember?”
“I know that,” she spat. “But two minds are better than one, aren’t they? Even though yours is a half-blood’s.”
I was seriously starting to believe this was a new type of insanity my aunt had become addicted to. It was hard to tell whether she was fibbing or not- her face remained expressionless.
“I’m taking you to Dumbledore,” I decided after a few moments’ hesitation. “He can decide.”
Bellatrix rolled her eyes, made a snide comment about ‘trusting old Mudblood-loving fools’, but made no objection. I think she was secretly glad she wasn’t going to Azkaban.
I opened the library door and stepped out, Bellatrix’s body trailing behind me. I thought about what Dumbledore would say. Maybe he would force her to drink a Truth Potion, or use Legimency.
Whatever it would be, I trusted Dumbledore, partly because Remus wasn’t there and partly because I had no other choice. I just hoped everything would turn out okay.
Or else Mad-Eye was going broke.
* * *
Several minutes later, after the talk I had planned with Dumbledore, I stood with Merope and baby and young adult Tom, seething.
The prat had sided with her.
“If she has information you need,” he had said, “And you for her, then why don’t you work together? You could start by taking the ropes off her body.”
Bellatrix’s triumphant smirk was almost too much to bear.
Tom had taken my side; he had met Bellatrix during one of her mood swings and decided she was playing a trick. Merope was quiet, keeping her thoughts to herself and cooing softly at her beautiful baby.
“Are you going to take his advice?” she asked after awhile.
I thought for a moment. “Yes.”
Tom raised his eyebrows; the pimples on his forehead scrunched together. “Really? I thought you’d do just the opposite.”
I shrugged. “Yes, well, I have to get back somehow.”
Tom and Merope’s faces fell.
“What?” I asked, nonplussed.
“Nothing,” Merope said quietly. “We just thought you’d just stay with us, you know...”
Guilt stabbed me, like that one particularly painful trip down the stairs at Sirius’s house.
“At least I’ll see you in the future,” I mumbled, not meeting their eyes.
“Yes, when we’re old and wizened,” Tom muttered. “Can’t marry people who are fifty years younger than you.”
My head shot up, introducing another pain to my body. Did Tom really just imply that he... liked... me?
No, stupid. Tom doesn’t like you. That’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever said. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Then why did he make it sound like...
“What?” I spluttered, as my consciences battled each other.
Tom looked at me, his face solemn. “You should have figured it by now, Tonks.”
Something icy cold grabbed my heart and squeezed it. I liked Tom, but I liked him as a friend... but as for Remus, that was something totally different. Remus was special to me, but Tom... I hadn’t known him for so long.
Oh, Tonks, what have you gotten yourself into?
Merope watched me closely. “What is it, Tonks?”
I backed away. “Nothing. I- I- I gotta go. Bladder problems.”
I darted out the room, guilt weighing me down.
The Trouble With Being Trusted by PadfootnPeeves
Chapter Notes: Despite my frantic arguements, I still don't own any rights to Harry Potter. Enjoy some... unexpected romance.