Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Amber Sheets ❯ Prologue ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Nymphadora Tonks groaned and threw her quill onto her desk, roughly running her hands through her short pink hair. She had been sitting in the library for a good five hours and all she had written was a foot of a three foot essay due the next morning for her Transfiguration class. "All right there Nympha?" Tonks flashed her head around to see Bill Weasley grinning broadly at her.

"Nope not all right," she nodded towards her essay miserably. Bill plopped down next to her and picked up the parchment, scanning over her pitiful essay. He frowned, his long red hair brushing against his chin, and he took out his quill and red ink. Bill began crossing out lines upon lines of her essay until only three lines were left.

"There you go," he said brightly. Bill placed his quill and ink back into his bag, then handed Tonks back her essay.

"And this helped me how exactly? You reduced my essay into an inch! I had a whole foot! Just for this Weasley, you are handing me your essay to copy and you are going to like it." Tonks grabbed Bill's bag and fished out his Transfiguration folder. Flipping through, she grabbed his essay and shoved the rest back in his bag. "You can have it back at breakfast."

"You know, I love it when you order me around in that uniform." Bill stuck his tongue out at Tonks, and she laughed, punching him lightly in the shoulder. "By the way that essay in your hand is yours. I took the liberty of writing one for you because I know how packed up your schedule is at the moment."

Tonks read the top line and her heart jumped, sure enough it said. The Power of Animagi by Nymphadora Tonks. Tonks squealed and jumped up, hugging Bill tightly. "You are the best friend in the world, do you realize that?" Tonks sat back in her seat, her grin as wide as that cat's in Alice in Wonderland.

Bill laughed and sat back in his seat watching his friend amused. "I have my moments of pure genius and undying need to help those in peril, I'll admit."

Tonks hugged the essay to her chest, "Peril is the understatement of the century! McGonagall would have skinned me alive and fed me to the Slytherins."

Bill cocked his head to the side, "if I remember correctly Nympha you didn't mind being eaten by a certain Slytherin last year."

"William!" Tonks squeaked her face and hair turning a bright shade of red in her embarrassment. "I thought we swore to never speak of that incident!" Tonks shuddered, "it was a mistake. How long will I be teased about it?"

Bill chuckled and stood up. He grabbed his bag and Tonks' slinging them both over his shoulder. Holding out his hand, Bill pulled Tonks up and started walking out the Library and into the brisk corridors. "Well the length of teasing is directly related to how stupid what you did was, so… a very long time."

Tonks groaned inwardly and hid her face in his shoulder. "But but…" sigh. "I sigh at you Bill Weasley."

Bill grinned easily, patting her atop the head. "It's okay Nympha." Tonks pouted and began to skip next to her friend. Bill looked at her wearily, "What on earth are you doing?"

Tonks gave him a huge schmile, "I am skipping…. Shite!" Tonks' smile faltered as she made to step down the stairs and missed the step, causing her to fall down the flight.

"Nymphadora!" Bill ran down the stairs after his friend, but when he made it to the bottom all that was to be found was the essay he had written for her the night before.

o0o

Rain hit the windows steadily; the library was becoming increasingly dark signaling to its inhabitants that break would soon be over and dinner would begin. A small sickly looking boy sat in a secluded corner of the library, his nose stuck in a second hand copy of NEWT Potions and How Not to Be Killed by Them. Bits and pieces of ripped parchment and a used quill laid about him on the table where he resided.

"EEEKKK!"

A scream coming from above him startled him from his reading and he looked over his book to the source of the noise. The scream was quickly followed by the thud of a body falling by his feet. The boy placed his book down and pulled his chair away from the desk. Kneeling on the floor next to the person who was now getting on their knees he said, "Love are you okay? You aren't hurt are you, that was quite a fall."

Tonks looked up into the boy's eyes and her breath caught in her throat. Staring back at her was a pair of the most gorgeous amber colored eyes she had ever seen in her life. "Eum... where am I?"

The boy took Tonks by her arms and lifted her gently to her feet. He pushed her into his abandoned seat and sat on his knees in front of her. He noticed that she was favoring one foot over the other and pressed softly into her ankle. Tonks winced and pulled her foot away from him, "Ouch." She complained, her hair turning to its original black color. "I think my ankle is broken."

The boy sighed, and looked back into her eyes. His face flashed in amusement when he noticed the change in her hair color. "You are in the Hogwarts Library, and yes I do believe that you ankle is broken."

Tonks shook her head, "I know I am in the Hogwarts library. I am more interested in when."

"Ah well it is 24 November, 1977." The boy smiled warmly causing Tonks' heart to beat erratically in her chest. His eyes seemed to burn deeply into hers. They made her melt, and she felt that all her fears were erased. He prodded her ankle and muttered, "Episkey," under his breath. A weird warm and cold sensation passed through her foot before it settled.

"Th-thank you," Tonks blushed as he grinned up widely at her.

The boy stood up and offered her a hand. "My name is Remus, Remus Lupin. I am in Gryffindor. What might your name be? By your robes I can see that you are in Hufflepuff, though I have never seen you around school before. Are you new?"

Tonks bit her lip, thinking of a way to get out of the current conversation. "Something like that. Listen do you think you could take me to the Headmaster's office? I need to speak with him."

Remus smiled brightly at her and threw his stuff into his bag before offering his hand to help her up. She took it gratefully and jumped to her feet. Tonks threw him a small smile, "thank you Remus."

Remus chuckled softly and placed his hands into his pockets, leading her out of the library and down the many corridors to the Headmaster's office. The library was not on the fourth floor like it was in her time. In fact the portraits that stared at her from their golden frames were not ones she had seen before.
They climbed up one of the many moving staircases and into a hall that she, yet again, was not familiar with. Tonks pursed her lips; this did not bode well with her. It had taken her a good two years before she was able to successfully make her way through the castle without getting lost. If she were to be completely fair with herself, she would admit that the castle must have been in the middle of reconstruction so technically it was not her memory, but still it irked her that she had to memorize the castle all over again.

Tonks was shaken out of her thoughts when Remus murmured "Chocolate Lemon Drop," to the gargoyles that blocked the stairs to the Headmaster's office. When the gargoyle's sprang out of the way the two teenagers made their way up the stairs to the large oak door. Remus knocked and waited until the voice on the other side of the door beckoned for them. "Yes Mr. Lupin? To what do I owe this late night rendezvous?"

The door opened in front of them and Tonks followed Remus into the office quietly, "This girl was looking to speak with you Professor. I thought it would be best for her to speak with you now, for I feel what she needs to speak of is of great importance."

Tonks stepped forward and offered her hand to the man behind the large desk, "Hello Professor Dumbledore, my name is Nymphadora Tonks. I am a Hufflepuff in my seventh year."

Dumbledore smiled politely, and took her hand warmly in his. "It is a pleasure I am sure Nymphadora. I am afraid there are no seventh years with your name."

Tonks took a deep breath trying to ignore her eye as it twitched from Dumbledore calling her by her given name. "No you wouldn't have a record of my name as a seventh year, yet. Not for at least another thirteen years. You will however have my name in the register for the students coming in 1984, my Mum signed me up before I was even born."

Dumbledore nodded his head and took out his wand. Everything was quiet as he quickly went through his records and soon confirmed that she in fact was signed to start in a few years. "Well from what you say Dear, your story does indeed seem correct. I must ask though, how did you get here?"

Remus gently pushed Tonks into a seat, and he took the one next to her. She felt as if his eyes were burning a hole into her soul, and she gulped before starting her story. "Well I was in the Library working on my Transfiguration essay, when my friend Bill Weasley had come and saved my life by giving me the essay he had written for me the day before. Bill had known that I am taking a lot of classes, way above the norm, and had been way behind on my work so he decided to help. Anyway we started walking, and I began skipping down the corridor. Well to be honest, I am the most clutziest person one will ever meet in their life. I shouldn't have been shocked when I fell down the stairs, but instead of landing on the floor at the bottom, I ended up in the Library thirteen years into the past. Which might I add the Library has definitely moved by my time at Hogwarts."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, "Miss. Tonks you have a time turner I presume?"

Tonks' hand shot to her chest and pressed against the time turner. "Ouch!" Glass dug into her chest and she quickly took the necklace out of her shirt, and her face fell at what she saw. The time turner had been destroyed. The glass that held the sand was smashed, and one of the knobs was broken so that it couldn't be turned any longer. "I had a time turner it seems… not much use now is it?"

Remus took the remains from her hand and studied them closely, "is there no way to fix it Professor? I mean her staying here is dangerous is it not? It could alter the future completely."

Tonks grabbed the compact mirror from her pocket and scrunched up her nose. Her hair turned back into a neon pink. She hated when her hair was the black color of her family. She looked exactly like Sirius, which she would love had it not been the fact that Sirius was a boy, and it seemed to her that if they were comparing her to a boy, she looked like a boy. That did not sit well with her.

"Ah Nymphadora, you are a metamorphagus." Remus seemed to be thinking hard for a moment before his eyes, his beautiful golden eyes lit up in realization. "You are Andromeda's kid, Sirius' baby cousin!"

Tonks' face twisted, "please stop using the name my fool of a mother gave me. Tonks if you will." Tonks shrugged, "and yeah I am Sirius' baby cousin. From what I am told I take after him, a true troublemaker."

"I am afraid Miss. Tonks that we will be unable to fix your time turner. We will have to get you a new one. We may have to wait until the new term, that way we can get you one without drawing suspicions, but I shall try my best to get you one before the students leave for summer vacation."

"So you have to obtain it illegally then," Dumbledore nodded his confirmation and Tonks grinned, "Cool!"

Dumbledore leaned forward and leant his chin on his hands, "for now I think it would be safest for you to be in the company of Mr. Lupin as much as possible. So while you will remain a Hufflepuff, your quarters will be in Gryffindor tower. There is an empty room above the boys dormitory. You will find when you are there that stuff has been provided for you. I will keep you updated, but I would not expect to have one ready for you before the ending of the year I am afraid."

Tonks nodded and stood up from her seat, Remus following her example. Holding out her hand she grasped Dumbledore's and smiled broadly, "Thank you Professor for understanding the predicament that I am in. I am very grateful for what you have provided me, and I promise to stay out of trouble as much as possible."

Dumbledore nodded, "it is not a problem at all Miss. Tonks. Mr. Lupin please be sure that she gets settled as quickly as possible."

Remus nodded, "will do Professor. Have a good evening."

"Enjoy your evening. I expect to see you both at dinner in an hour."

"Yes Professor," the two teenagers hurried from the office and down the spiral stairs, back into the drafty corridors.

Remus placed his hands in his pockets; his face was contorted in concentration. "So you are Sirius' baby cousin?"

Tonks grinned proudly, "Yep! Though we mustn't tell him. I will keep my hair any color except black. If I turn my hair black I will be noticed right a way as a family member of his. I look exactly like him I am told."

Remus stopped and looked her in the eyes. His hand moved up and took a strand of pink hair into his fingers. Leaning close he softly whispered in her ear. "I would never say something like that. You are way too beautiful to look anything like that Prat."

A shiver of pleasure ran down Tonks spine and she noticed that he was close enough for her to count his eyelashes. She gulped, her eyes never leaving the soft amber of his. She could feel his sweet breath on her face and her heart began racing a mile a minute. Remus chuckled darkly to himself and pulled away. Closing her eyes Tonks took in a deep breath, calming her racing heart. She felt a bit disappointed, but tried not to allow it to show on her face.

Remus smiled sweetly and gestured outside. It had stopped raining and the smell that came after a storm was left behind, drowned the castle in its scent. "Would you like to take a walk around the grounds before we head to dinner?"

Tonks grinned happy that she would be spending more time alone with him, "sure that sounds cool."

The two made their way out of the grounds in silence, Tonks asking Remus about his family, his life, basically anything she could think of. Every now and then she would look down and notice how close their hands were to touching. Her heart pounded, as she watched his hand inch slowly towards hers. She sucked in a breath as she felt his large warm hand take hold of hers gently. She looked into his eyes and felt as if she could drown in them.

Tonks squeezed Remus' hand and they walked in a comfortable silence, her head leaning on his arm. The bells inside the castle rang and the two grudgingly began to make their way back towards the castle for dinner.

To say that Tonks and Remus were the center of attention when they entered the Great Hall would be a tragic understatement. The entire Hall had become quiet and every single pair of eyes were on the two as they made their way towards the Gryffindor table. Dumbledore cleared his throat and the eyes that were on them turned to the Headmaster.

"As you all can see we have a new student joining us this year." Tonks stood up and waved ecstatically before giggling and sitting down beside Remus. "I want you all to treat her with the respect you would treat any other student. I do not want to hear about anyone threatening her. We do not want another incident like last year." About fifty of the students looked guiltily to the floor, the ones who didn't look guilty but grinned proudly were (who else) the Slythereeks… err the Slytherins.

Tonks tuned him out and turned to see whom she was sitting with. "So who is your new girlfriend Remus?" A black haired boy with messy hair, cocky grin and glasses asked as he grabbed a spoonful of potatoes and sloshed them onto his plate.

Remus' cheeks coloured pink, "She's not my girlfriend James." He leaned close to Tonks' ear and whispered softly his sweet breath tinkling her cheek. "Who are you Love? Can't tell them you are Nymphadora Tonks, you'll give the poor guys a heart attack."

Tonks moved her head so that her lips brushed softly against his cheek, as she whispered back, "Brooke-Lynn Broer."

Remus sat up straight, his face coloured with a blush. "Guys this is Brooke-Lynn Broer." Remus smiled and slipped his hand into Tonks' under the table.

James reached his hand forward and with her other hand Tonks gripped it, "Sorry Remus is a rude git, my name is James Potter. I am the Quidditch Captain and Head Boy around here. This small guy beside me is Peter, he won't talk much to you I am afraid, he's terrified of women." The boy she was told was Peter, leaned up and whispered in James' ear. She felt a pang in her heart knowing that in four years both these boys would be killed. "Yeah Pete she is quite pretty, though I think Remus already got his claws into her." Remus coughed, and motioned to Sirius who was practically jumping up and down in his seat waiting to be introduced. "Ah sorry Padfoot, this here is Sirius Black. It's OK if you ignore him. He is an even bigger prat than Remus."

Remus hit his head with his palm and groaned, "oh dear god."

Sirius stood up and dramatically bowed before her. He bent on one knee and kissed her hand, "Love, your eyes burn like a thousand pixies in July."

Tonks blinked at him and pulled her hand away, "Er sorry but I am pretty sure that pixies don't burn." Sirius' face burned in embarrassment, and he grinned. Feeling sorry for saying that to her cousin in front of his friends she added, "Oh, and thank you for the compliment it made my day!"

Sirius plopped back down next to Remus, and the five teenagers spent the next hour stuffing their faces with chicken, potatoes, pumpkin pastries, ice cream and anything else they could get their hands on.

o0o

It was around Midnight when Remus and Tonks were able to get away from the other Marauder's and up to Tonks' room above the boy's dormitory. They raced up the spiral staircase after dropping the others off at their dorm, and stopped at a large mahogany door at the top. A note appeared when Tonks touched the polished handle.

Miss. Tonks,
You will find everything you will need
in a trunk by your bed. If you need anything
else please let Professor McGonagall know.
Your password for your room is
'Snuffaluffagus'
Best wishes,
Dumbledore
Ps. One final thing, your room can be decorated
how you wish just think of a color and what you need
and it will appear.

"What on earth is a Snuffaluffagus?" Remus asked, rubbing the back of his head in confusion.

"I don't know, maybe it's a question you must ponder like, 'What the hell is a Hufflepuff?'" Remus snorted and they entered the room.

Tonks' eyes practically popped out of her head at the sight of the room. It was white, everything was white. Tonks' closed her eyes and thought of the color of Remus' eyes. When she opened them the walls, carpet and bed covers had been made the perfect amber color of Remus' iris. The wood of her canopy, dress and dresser were turned into rich mahogany, and the curtains were amber with burgundy red rose accents.

Remus nodded his head in approval, "nice." Tonks smiled, and played with a piece of her hair. She smiled shyly at him, looking up at him from under her eyelashes.

Opening the trunk beside her bed Tonks' saw four pairs of pajamas, each one a color of the Hogwarts Houses. Tonks grabbed the Hufflepuff colored ones and muttered, "Vestimenta." Her robes and uniform folded themselves placed into her trunk, and her pajamas pulled themselves onto her body.

"Woah you have to teach me that trick."

Tonks grinned proudly at Remus. "It was something my Mum had taught me a while back." She frowned, "was one of the only things I ever learned to do that was practical."

Remus gave a throaty laugh, his hand running through his hair nervously. "Well, I'd best be heading to my dorm." He gestured towards the door with a swish of his hand.

"Mmm, yeah I suppose you should. It is getting quite late." Tonks nodded, and smiled softly at him. ""I'll see you tomorrow, maybe."

"Most likely." Remus smiled at her nervously and and laughed softly. "I almost don't want to go. You know as soon as I get there I will be bombarded with questions... I may have to suffocate Sirius. he is the worse out of all of them you know?"

Tonks laughed. "From the stories I have heard that wouldn't come as quite a big surprise." Tonks thought for a moment, her finger tapping her chin. "I give you permission to suffocate him in the middle of the night if he bothers you too much."

Remus' mouth opened in mock astonishment, "Tonks! I could never do that! That is way less then he could possibly deserve!"

Tonks laughed, biting her lip against the butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. "Well at least fantasize about it."

"I assure you it would be my pleasure."

Tonks laughed, opening her door and pushing him out. "Now go! I need my beauty rest."

"Someone as beautiful as you doesn't need it."

Tonks blushed, and she held her breath. Afraid that one of the butterflies flying in her stomach would break free and expose her nervousness, "Goodnight Remus."

"Goodnight Nymphadora," Remus waved and slowly made his decent down the stairs.

Tonks sighed happily, and hiccuped up a butterfly. For in the wizarding world when you have butterflies in your stomach, it is much more than a silly expression.

To be continued...

AN: So I am not entirely sure if I should continue posting this story. Because what does well on one site may not do so well on another, so let me know!

Happy Valentine's Day!
Chandlure
14 Feb, 2011
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