He grabbed the vial from her hand and sniffed at it, “Veritaserum! Very clever, Nymphadora. What are you after if you’re not a journalist? Some filthy little secret from my past “ or Black’s “ to sell to The Prophet?”
“No, please, please you’ve got it all wrong.” She wrenched her hand away and pushed him back. Weakened from the night before, he stumbled backwards onto the floor sending the vial flying. It landed on the bare boards and smashed. The pain in his body increased tenfold and she could see blood oozing through the ripped shirt as his wounds re-opened.
For some reason, she had no idea why, she stayed and didn’t run whilst she had the chance.
“What do you want then?” he asked warily.
“The truth about that day,” she replied tearfully.
“Which day?” he said, sounding exhausted.
“The day Sirius supposedly killed Peter Pettigrew and all those Muggles.”
“Supposedly,” he exclaimed angrily. “Black did it. Peter cornered him and tried to duel him. Godric knows why! Sirius was the best dueller in our school; Peter didn’t stand a chance.”
“No!” she cried forcefully. “Why would he do that? What reason did he have for murdering Peter?”
“He sold out James and Lily. He switched sides and it led to the murder of the best and most loyal friend we ever had and the kindest, most vibrant girl I’ve ever met.”
His emotions were getting the better of him. He stood up, wearily, and looked at the two glasses of Pumpkin Juice on the table.
“What was your plan then?” he asked quietly.
“It doesn’t matter,” she mumbled.
He looked at the broken vial as he sat back on the sofa. “Clearly you wanted to ask me something and you weren’t sure I’d tell you the truth. You do know, you’ve stolen a controlled substance.”
“I didn’t steal it. I made it “ there’s a difference,” she said mutinously.
“That’s a moot point,” he said, smiling slightly and then he gasped. “You think I did it, don’t you?”
She looked at him and nodded.
“And you’ve come all this way to confront a ‘Dark Wizard’. Godric, you may be a Hufflepuff but you’re as reckless as Sirius,” he said, then he laughed, a touch bitterly. “Go on then, ask away. I’m far too weak this morning to resist.” He reached for his Pumpkin Juice and took a sip.
She knew instantly that the Veritaserum was working and he wasn’t using anything to counter the effects. There was a dullness in his eyes although he still watched her carefully.
She stared at him, took a deep breath and began asking the questions that had haunted her ever since Sirius had been locked away.
“Did you kill Peter Pettigrew?”
“No.”
She faltered.
“Did you frame Sirius Black?”
“No,” he answered.
“But you know who did?” she asked desperately.
“No one framed him,” he said.
She knew time was running out.
“Who betrayed James and Lily Potter?”
“Sirius Black.” He spoke the words that sounded a death knell on her hopes, in a voice that was deathly calm.
“No!” she screamed hysterically. “That’s not what happened. That can’t be the way it happened.”
She was getting nowhere. She’d risked her future and lost her friendship with Charlie for nothing. Was she imagining the sadness in Remus’ eyes? Desperately, she tried one last question.
“Do you truly believe that your friend, Padfoot, betrayed and murdered his friends?”
“No, Padfoot would never have done that,” said Remus with quiet certainty. Like Tonks, the previous day, his eyes widened in surprise at the truth he’d uttered.
There was silence. Tonks watched as his eyes came back to life. He sat up and put his head in his hands.
“You don’t think he did it either, do you, Moony?” she whispered.
He jerked at her use of his nickname and looked at her. She was smiling, a wide smile and he was suddenly reminded of that six year old girl who’d lain on Sirius’ chest wearing his Gryffindor t-shirt.
“You think he’s innocent too,” she said happily. She stood up and began to dance around the room. “You can help me.”
He reached out and grabbed her hand as she waltzed past and pulled her back to the sofa. He gazed into her dark eyes alive with hope and optimism. He didn’t want to see that light die but he knew he must speak.
“I don’t want to believe he did it,” he said gently, “but I know he did. There were too many witnesses to his attack, plus he was James and Lily’s Secret Keeper. Only he could have told Voldemort where they were. Professor Dumbledore attested to this.”
“Dumbledore,” she said faintly. He looked at her in alarm seeing a whole new train of thought opening up in her mind.
“You can’t possibly suspect Dumbledore, that really is crazy,” he said seriously.
She shook herself out of her reverie. “Yeah, I know,” she sniffed. “Sorry I tried to ambush you like that. I’ll go now and leave you in peace.”
“Hold on,” he said. He looked down and frowned at the bruise darkening on her slight wrist where he’d grabbed her earlier in anger. “You wanted to ask me something else, I think.” He picked up the Pumpkin juice but she stayed his hand.
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” she said quietly. “I don’t believe you did it either.”
He looked at her intently; his eyes glowing through the yellow flecks surrounding his pupils.
“Your last question, go on.”
She leant back on the sofa and took a deep breath. “That night I spent at Sirius’ flat, I told him I didn’t like one of his friends and...”
“It was me?” he interrupted. “And there was me thinking I was good with kids!”
“No, it was Peter. I thought you seemed sad, that’s all. Oh, and that you had a stupid nickname,” she laughed at the memory, then continued, “but Sirius assumed I meant you and I don’t know why. I don’t understand why he didn’t trust you.”
Remus cast his eyes to the ceiling. In a strange way he was enjoying this interrogation with her. It was taking his mind off the pain and the knowledge that he’d lost another grotty job. He’d have liked her to stick around for a bit but knew she’d leave very soon.
“I’m a werewolf,” he said simply.
“Pardon?” she said, shaking her head as if she had water in her ears.
“You heard right, Nymphadora. I’m a werewolf and have been since I was six years old.”
“And Sirius knew this?” she asked.
“Oh yes. He, James and Peter figured it out in our second year.”
Another memory. “So you’re not a huge hit on the dance floor,” she said giggling.
He smiled sardonically. “Padfoot’s idea of a joke!”
She became serious. “All those cuts on you, is that what happens when you become one of them...a werewolf?” She gagged on the word.
“Only if I’m confined,” he replied. “If I were to roam free then I’d bite and claw people instead of myself.”
“Godric, that’s awful,” she said, her eyes swimming with tears.
Remus was confused. She hadn’t left. She hadn’t shown fear like the occasional girlfriends who’d run a mile once they’d found out his secret. She’d stayed where she was, right next to him, and sounded genuinely sympathetic. She reminded him of Lily.
“Do you ever take Wolfsbane?” she asked suddenly.
He laughed bitterly. “It’s very expensive and as I can’t hold onto a job for longer than a few weeks, it’s a luxury I can’t afford.”
She sipped her Pumpkin Juice, thoughtfully. He began to clear away his cup and the smashed vial. She offered him some of her juice and he took a gulp. She noticed that his gaping shirt was now far more red than white.
“Those bites look sore,” she said.
“Mmm, I have some salve; I’ll apply it in a while,” he muttered.
“Don’t let me stop you,” she said. She grinned at him trying to lighten the mood and take away his obvious discomfort. “I’m the only girl on my Quidditch team. I’m used to seeing boys with their shirts off.”
“I’m fine, I’ll do it later,” he said bluntly, but he winced again as he sat down.
“This is stupid,” she said. “Come on, take the shirt off or lift it up and I’ll help you. Where’s the salve?”
“Over there,” he said pointing to the mantelpiece. “But please don’t bother.”
“No trouble,” she said. She tripped as she walked back and nearly fell on him. He caught her by the waist and she landed on the sofa next to him, half on his lap. “Sorry. I’m really clumsy,” she mumbled as she moved back to the edge of the sofa. She handed him the jar which was nearly empty. He rubbed some into his fingers and began to apply it to his face and arms. They began to heal almost immediately.
“That’s not where it really hurts, is it?” she said shrewdly. “I can see that huge welt on your back. Come here.” She gently removed his shirt from over his head. Remus didn’t know where to look so just closed his eyes. For once he didn’t feel ashamed, just a little embarrassed. She had a knack of making this feel normal. She spread some of the mixture on his back; he winced. “Sorry, am I hurting you?” she said quietly.
“Your hands are cold, that’s all,” he replied, his voice little more than a whisper. She stopped and he could hear her warming her hands before she returned to his back. The pain began to leave his body under her touch. He felt as if he was drowning under her soft caress.
‘Oh, Godric,’ he thought. ‘This is too much to bear.’
“Thank you,” he managed to say even though his throat felt as if it were constricting. He felt old and weary and she, he calculated, could only be seventeen. He longed to be young again, to be whole. He stood up and dug out a very crumpled but at least intact shirt to wear and hurriedly pulled it on.
Tonks was sniffing the salve and rubbing it between her fingers. “I could make this for you, if you’d like. It’s quite an easy formula and Professor Snape wouldn’t mind.”
“Snape,” he said, her words whiplashed him back. “Do you mean Severus Snape?”
“Err, yeah. He’s my Potions Master. He’s very good.”
“Mmm, I’m sure he is,” replied Remus. The mention of his old enemy had rapidly cleared his mind. “Don’t you need to get back to school?”
“Oh yes, I suppose so,” she sounded reluctant; returning to school meant facing Charlie. “I’m starving though. I don’t suppose there’s any chance of some breakfast before I leave?” she said cheekily.
He grinned at her. “Despite my obvious penury, I do have some food in the house and it needs eating up. How about bacon and eggs?”
“Bleugh- not eggs. I hate them!” she replied.
He clattered around in his small kitchen corner preparing bacon sandwiches for two. Then they sat back on the sofa with plates on their knees and talked companionably about Hogwarts and Quidditch, never mentioning the one person they had in common. The sexual tension Remus had felt before seemed to have diminished.
“How did you find me?” he asked at one point.
“Oh,” she said swallowing quickly, “that was quite easy. I saw you going into a pub in Knockturn Alley during the summer holidays.”
“What were you doing in Knockturn Alley?” he said disapprovingly.
She grinned. “I was practising shadowing people, if you must know. I want to be an Auror and Knockturn Alley always has lots of weird and suspicious people hanging around.”
He grimaced. “Okay, so you saw a weird and suspicious Remus Lupin go into a pub, then what?”
“I went back there yesterday and found out you used to work there. They gave me your address,” she said.
He was suddenly angry again. “You went into that place...a young girl… alone? Do you have a death wish or something?” He couldn’t understand why she was smiling.
“It’s been a good few years since you last saw me, Remus, but I’m pretty good at controlling my appearance now. Look!” She screwed up her face and he saw the pink hair lengthen to grey wisps and warts appear on the wrinkled face of a hag.
“Amazing,” he breathed, “but still bloody dangerous, Nymphadora.”
She shrugged. “Call me Tonks. I hate Nymphadora.”
They finished their food and she took the plates to his tiny sink. Remus checked his watch- it was seven o’clock.
“I think you need to get back to Hogwarts,” he said.
“Mmm,” she agreed fretfully, “I’m not sure how I’m going to sneak back in. If only I could Apparate directly into my dorm.”
He laughed and she noticed a mischievous glint in his eyes.
“Don’t worry about that, Tonks. I know a way in.”
They arrived back in Hogsmeade shortly after seven thirty. Tonks was surprised to find they were behind Honeydukes.
“Why are we here?” she hissed. “Am I supposed to hide in a box of Cockroach Clusters and wait to be delivered or something?”
“Hush,” he said. “I can hear someone.”
“So how long has the wretched girl been missing, Pomona?” said the strident voice of Professor McGonagall.
Tonks gasped; this could mean trouble.
“Well her bed’s not been slept in and the last time her room mates saw her was early yesterday morning when she set off to see Charlie Weasley. Apparently they were going to spend the day together as it was his birthday,” said Professor Sprout, the Hufflepuff Head of House.
“He’s being very cagey about the whole thing,” replied Professor McGonagall. “I expect we’ll find it’s just a lover’s quarrel about nothing important. Quite why she’d run off though, I’ve no idea.”
“Teenagers, eh?” said Professor Sprout. “I think we should talk to him again when we get back. I’m sure he knows something.”
“Who’s this Charlie Weasel they keep talking about?” whispered Remus.
“Weasley,” she corrected. “Charlie Weasley, he’s...err...um... well he’s a friend but sort of a boyfriend...well an ex I suppose.” She blushed.
“And he knows you came to see me?” he asked.
“Not exactly,” she replied. “He knows I was going to visit you during the holidays and he...err...helped me steal the Veritaserum ingredients but he doesn’t know I went to see you yesterday.”
“But he can tell them of your intentions, yes?” he asked urgently.
She nodded. He drew in his breath sharply and thought for a minute or two.
“Okay, here’s what you do,” he said at last. “I’m going to show you a secret passageway from Honeyduke’s cellar that will lead directly to Hogwarts. Go through it as quick as you can. It takes about an hour. You’ll come out through the statue of the one-eyed-witch on the third corridor “ you know where I mean?” She nodded.
“From there, I think your best bet is to go to the library and find a table in the restricted section. You could pretend you fell asleep over that Transfiguration essay you were talking about earlier.”
“That’s brilliant,” she said in awe. “How did you think of that?”
“That’s nothing! I shared a room with James Potter and Sirius Black for seven years. The number of times Sirius snuck back late after meeting Rosmerta after hours...” he stopped, thinking the conversation wasn’t really appropriate.
“What about Charlie though?” she said. “What if they question him? I don’t want to get him into trouble.”
“Can you get a message to him?” asked Remus.
“I can try but he’s in Gryffindor and the Fat Lady will never let me through without a password.”
He grinned suddenly. “A Gryffindor, eh? Well as it’s December I bet her password’s ‘Fairy Lights’- it always was in our day.”
He turned to the trap door in the ground that led to Honeydukes cellar.
“This lock is a bit tricky. It won’t open with Alohamora. We need a bit of Muggle trickery.” He produced a thin key and began wiggling it in the lock. “Skeleton key,” he said. “James taught us all how to use these in our third year,” he whispered and began working the lock. After five minutes the trapdoor opened. He jumped inside.
“Come on,” he said. “I’ll catch you.”
He felt excited. This was the most fun he’d had in years and he relished the chance to relive his Marauder days. He led her over to some floorboards then bent down and started to clear the dust away.
“Here, Tonks,” he said. “The entrance is here. Go quickly and remember, ‘Fairy Lights’.”
She looked at him. The scars on his face had disappeared beneath the wide smile. She started towards the trap door then turned back. Impulsively, she hugged him.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she whispered breathlessly, “For all your help. I’m so sorry I’ve put you to all this trouble.”
He laughed. “This isn’t trouble, Tonks. Trouble was James and Sirius trying to break into the girl’s dorms. Trouble was James hexing Sev...err... a Slytherin to impress Lily Evans and failing miserably. Trouble was...” he stopped and his face dropped as he remembered what had happened to his friends.
“He didn’t do it, Moony,” she said. “You don’t believe it either.”
He looked down at her face, so impassioned, so sure she was right. Suddenly, instinctively, he bent his head down and kissed her on the lips. The instant she responded, he broke away and pushed her aside.
“Godric, I’m sorry, Tonks,” he spluttered. “I don’t know what came over me...stupid mistake...”
She placed a finger on his lips. “Hush,” she said as she tilted her head towards his. She kissed him again then reluctantly turned away and jumped into the tunnel. “I’ll get him out, Moony. I swear to that.”
Remus watched her disappear along the tunnel. Sirius Black’s cousin - he should have known that little six year old would grow up to be a formidable advocate.
Quickly she covered the ground in the tunnel, occasionally slipping on what appeared to be recent Dungbombs and half eaten Cauldron Cakes. She wondered who else in Hogwarts knew about the passage. Remus had said it would take about an hour but she walked as fast as she could and it was a quarter past eight when she reached the statue of the one-eyed witch. She could hear voices outside the passageway, students off to breakfast no doubt.
Hastily, she changed her hair to a non-descript brown, sharpened her facial features and ran towards Gryffindor Tower. The Fat Lady didn’t recognise her, but was never at her best in the morning, so on the utterance of the password she let the portrait door swing open.
Tonks looked around the Common Room. It wasn’t the first time she’d been in as Charlie had brought her here once before in their first year. She was amazed to see a notice board pinned full of pictures of him “ their star Seeker.
Above, she could see a faded picture of a former Gryffindor team. She looked closer and gasped for there was James Potter looking at her. Next to it was a picture of him and Lily. Both were wearing their Head Boy and Head Girl badges, although she noticed with a wry smile that James’ badge was grubby whilst Lily’s sparkled. James had his arm around her waist and kept trying to kiss her.
One side of the photo had been torn off but Tonks could see James and Lily laughing with a third person whose arm was also around Lily. Lily’s smile was so bright that Tonks felt as if she were in the room with her. She touched Lily’s face. “I wish I could see you again,” she sighed. “You’d tell me what to do.”
She heard some solitary footsteps thudding down the stairs, it was Charlie. He looked awful, clearly he hadn’t slept well.
“Charlie,” she said urgently.
He stopped at the bottom step and watched as she changed her face back. She noticed he was carrying a large book.
“Tonks, where the hell have you been?” he said angrily. “McGonagall and Sprout have been doing their nut trying to find you.”
“Charlie, it’s okay. I’m back now. I just needed some time to think,” she said. “Look, I’m going to go to the library now and I’ll pretend to be asleep. I just didn’t want you to worry or...” she stopped.
“You’re not going to tell me where you were, are you,” he said bitterly. “I was worried sick about you. I came back, you know. You’d left the book and I could see you running off.”
She recognised the Dragonapedia she’d given him the day before. 'Merlin,' she thought. 'Was that really only yesterday?'
“I was thinking things out, that’s all,” she said, suddenly reticent. “And I lost track of time, okay?”
He glared at her still feeling hurt that she didn’t return his feelings.
“I’m going now, Charlie. Please don’t say anything to McGonagall,” she said beseechingly.
He nodded briefly and watched her walk out the door.
Resuming her former disguise she ran to the library and sneaked past Madame Pince who was just starting to unlock the doors. She headed straight for the Restricted section, like Remus had told her to, and pulled out as many Transfiguration books as she could. Then she laid her head down on the desk and pretended to sleep. She relaxed and her breathing became slower, more measured.
Then she remembered Remus’ kiss and a smile crept over her face. It was hard to pretend to be asleep when her thoughts were so distracting. The short mousy hair barely covered her cheeks so she screwed up her face and began to lengthen it until it swung down to her shoulders. At the back of her mind there lay a memory which had been awakened by that picture in the Gryffindor Common Room. Her hair became dark red.
“Still no sign, Minerva?” said Madame Pince.
“None at all, Irma,” replied Professor McGonagall. “Are you quite sure she’s not in the library?”
“Diligent though she is, I hardly think Nymphadora Tonks would spend the night in the library because of a lover’s tiff,” said a male voice.
Tonks shut her eyes tighter as she recognised the sarcastic, clipped tones of Professor Snape.
He sighed, “I’ll look in here, Minerva. Why don’t you question the Weasley boy again? He’s probably got something to do with it.”
Tonks heard Professor McGonagall walk away. She felt her heart thumping in her chest and carefully adjusted her hair so that no part of her blushing face could betray her. She could hear his footsteps getting closer and closer as he walked through the aisles. Then suddenly they stopped. She heard a loud gasp coming from his lips and decided that perhaps it was a sound loud enough to wake her, so she lifted her head.
Professor Snape was standing in front of her with a look of abject misery and horror on his face. His usual air of cynicism was gone. He had gripped a chair, his knuckles turning white with the pressure. A muffled sob and a word escaped from his lips but Tonks wasn’t sure what he’d said. She stretched her arms up and gave a big yawn.
“Goodness what time is it,” she said widening her eyes in an innocent manner. “Merlin, have I been here all night, Professor?”
Some colour had returned to his face and he unclenched his fingers.
“M-Miss Tonks,” he said shakily. “Are you aware that the whole school have been out looking for you? You weren’t seen for any meals and your bed wasn’t slept in.”
“Oh, I was in here, Professor, doing some research,” she replied.
“In disguise?” he said indicating her red hair.
She trailed her fingers through her hair and then smoothed it behind her ears. The gesture seemed to shock him she was intrigued to see.
“I didn’t want to be seen, sir,” she explained. “I didn’t want anyone to bother me.”
“Not even Mr Weasley?” he said, raising one eyebrow.
“Especially not Mr Weasley!” she said, trying to sound angry.
She began to pick up the books and return them to the shelves. She hoped fervently that he wouldn’t question her lack of a quill or parchment; fortunately he seemed distracted by something.
“Your hair, Miss Tonks,” he said at last.
“What’s wrong with it now?” she sighed.
His hand was moving towards her hair almost as if he wanted to touch it. Tonks was so surprised that she dropped the heaviest book on her foot.
“Flaming Phoenix!” she yelled and began to hop up and down holding her toes. “Merlin, that hurts!”
Her cursing snapped him out of his reverie. His hand whipped back to his side as Madame Pince approached puce in the face at the noise.
“It’s an improvement on pink,” he said. “Run along, Miss Tonks. I expect you’re hungry.”
“Oh, yes,” she said thinking about the bacon sandwiches she’d shared with Remus only two hours before. “I guess I must be.”
She limped to the door and apologised to Madame Pince then she turned back to look at Snape. He had an odd, almost wistful, look on his face and she had no idea why.
At breakfast she was greeted with whoops and cheers from the Hufflepuff table. Tonks had always been a popular member of school and the Hufflepuffs loved her for making them more noticeable. The Ravenclaws, too, greeted her warmly and there were even some Slytherins, noticeably the ones in her Potions class that waved as she started to sit down. From the Gryffindor table there was silence. Charlie was their star and Tonks had upset him. She stood on one of the chairs and turning to her fellow ‘Puffs changed her hair to canary yellow.
“That will do, Nymphadora!” said Professor Sprout. “You will come and see me immediately after breakfast.”
“Yes, Professor,” she said loudly and then sat down to eat.
“Where were you?” whispered Aggie. “I’ve been really worried ever since Charlie Weasley came round looking for you. He told us you’d broken up. I never dreamt you’d get this upset over a boy.”
“I wasn’t upset,” hissed Tonks. “Well, not really upset. We had a row and I wandered round for a bit and then decided to do that Transfiguration essay in the library.”
Aggie raised her eyebrows sceptically. “You mean that Transfiguration essay that’s screwed up under your bed with only the title written.”
“Trust you to find that,” grumbled Tonks. “Look, Aggie, I was found in the library with lots of Transfiguration books so can we drop it?”
“Okay,” said Aggie. “What happened with you and Charlie, though?”
“We broke up,” said Tonks.
“What just like that? And on his birthday. What happened? Has he got another girl or something?” interrogated Aggie.
“No, nothing like that. It was never going to work, okay? Charlie’s great but I was always better off being his friend.” She sighed. “Unfortunately, I think I’ve lost his friendship too.”
“He’ll come round, Tonks. Don’t worry,” reassured Aggie.
“I’m not so sure about that, he’s pretty hurt and did you see the looks the Gryffs gave me as I walked in “ not to mention his brothers,” she brooded.
After one small piece of toast, which she only ate to disguise the fact that she was full, Tonks left the Great Hall to speak to Professor Sprout. Charlie was watching her so she smiled and mouthed the words, “Thank you,” to him. He gave a half smile back and shrugged his shoulders. He was sitting next to his three brothers who all turned at the same time to see who Charlie was looking at. Percy, a year four student, gave her a disparaging look and returned to his porridge but Fred and George glowered at her as she walked off.
She knew Professor Sprout had been unconvinced by her story but unable to catch Tonks out in a lie she couldn’t punish her. She ended the interview by insinuating that Tonks’ end of term work had better be extraordinary given the amount of time she’d spent in the library. Tonks willed herself not to blush and left her Housemistress’ Office. She fell into her bed and tried to catch up on some sleep.
She woke at noon. It had not been a restful sleep, Remus Lupin had entered her dream and she’d been unable to dislodge the image of him kissing her. She needed to pull herself together. The past month she’d been so obsessed with the Veritaserum that she’d let other things slide. As well as her Transfiguration essay she also had a project for Potions to start.
Potions made her think of Snape. It had shocked her that she’d said he was her favourite Professor “ he wasn’t open like Sprout, witty like McGonagall or even entertaining like Flitwick “ but he held her attention in class and was astonishingly innovative with his concoctions. A thought wafted through her mind but she buried it firmly at the back of her brain. Her Transfiguration essay had to come first.
Hogwarts at this time of year was festooned with Christmas decorations. Professor Sprout had grown a larger than usual crop of mistletoe and it hung in great swathes over every doorway. Tonks was looking forward to Christmas because she was spending it at Hogwarts, her first time for several years. She had grumbled at the time when her parents said they were going away because Charlie and Aggie were going home to their families but now, with Charlie not talking to her and Aggie’s daily interrogations, she was looking forward to being by herself.
On the last day of term she was on her way to Potions, knowing that Snape wouldn’t let up on the work load. She was late and as she began to run she tripped over her feet and went flying across the floor. She careered head long into a boy standing in a doorway.
“Godric, I’m sorry,” she began then stopped “ it was Charlie “ “Wotcher, Charlie. Long time no see. How are you doing? Lessons going well? Seen Hagrid recently...?” She stopped, extremely aware that she was babbling nonsense to cover her embarrassment. He looked at her, not unkindly, and then pulled her to standing.
“Hi,” he said simply. He wasn’t smiling at her the way he used to. He didn’t seem to be angry anymore just sad.
“I miss you, Charlie,” she said and tears started to well in her eyes.
“Do I make your heart sing, Tonks?” he asked quietly.
‘It would be easy to lie,’ she thought, ‘I would have my friend back and Charlie would be happy again. Would it be so wrong?’ But she knew the answer even as she debated it. “Sorry, Charlie,” she whispered softly.
He gave a sad, twisted sort of smile then leant in and kissed her very carefully on the cheek.
“Have a good Christmas, Tonks,” he said and then he walked away.
Tearily she made her way to Potions aware that she was late.
“You’ve decided to join us then, Miss Tonks,” said Professor Snape sarcastically.
“Sorry,” she mumbled.
“Well as I was saying, the first term in this last NEWT year is nearly at an end so I want your project work on my desk now. As it is the last lesson of term, I give you free rein for the potion you brew today, as long as it’s from your Advanced Potions book. Is that clear?” he asked.
Tonks and her five other classmates nodded. She handed over her project work then went to sit down at the table she shared with the only other girl in the class, a Ravenclaw called Melody Harper.
Snape opened her proposal first and quickly scanned through the page. It was a good proposal for her final project and would take all her skill. He gestured for her to approach his desk.
“Miss Tonks,” he said quietly. “I am impressed with your proposal but tell me is there any particular reason why you want to brew Wolfsbane?”