Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Call Me Nymphadora ❯ Call Me Nymphadora ( Chapter 1 )

-Call Me Nymphadora-

 

Tonks had always hated her first name. It was too girly, too fancy for her tastes. Her surname, which was so much simpler, was what she preferred to be called. Though, at times she was inclined to allow the use of her first name slide. She let some, that is to say, very few, of her colleagues call her Nymphadora, like Professor McGonagall, for instance. It was just a show of respect to the older woman.

 

She wouldn't let him call her Nymphadora at first either. Because of his polite nature, he was naturally inclined to call her that. She would always correct him with a scolding tone and a stern look. He did it so much that she became wary of it when he was near. Sometimes she would jump the gun and rebuke him without reason. Such an occurrence happened the night she and several other members of the Order of the Phoenix went to Little Whinging to pick up Harry Potter.

 

“And this is Nymphadora-“ He began as he was introducing her to Harry.

 

“Tonks,” she hastily corrected him.

 

He smiled wryly and continued, “-Tonks, who prefers to go by her surname.”

 

She had felt a moment of embarrassment there, for assuming that he had still yet to learn his lesson. She should have known; she scolded him so many times for it that he had to have realized that she didn't care about his gentlemanly nature. She only wanted to be known as Tonks. And he knew that. He finally knew. After that particular incident, she stopped being so on guard around him. She figured he would only call her by her last name now, and she was right. He never called her Nymphadora again.

 

That's when things changed. As two members of the same secret, and relatively small, organization, they were just going to have to be around each other. She didn't mind so much. He was a nice guy, after all. And, she reluctantly admitted, handsome too. At first, all she did was the occasional change of eye or hair color around him. Then she found herself changing her nose, her lips, her ears. For the first time in a long while she just wanted to look pretty. It scared her a bit. Why was she altering the way she looked for this much older, tired-looking man who was a werewolf, of all things? When she really thought about it… She knew.

 

It was the way his voice sounded when he said, “You look great today, Tonks.” It was the twinkle in his eye and the way he laughed when she said something funny. It was the way he smiled at her, like she was the only person in the room. Somewhere in between tracking Death Eaters together and avoiding Kreacher the house elf at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, she fell in love with him. It was a beautiful thing, really, despite the fact that it was very much unknown territory. And when she could put a name to the feeling that made her do crazy things, all her fears just went away. Tonks was a confident person, the type to take action and be sure that she would never fail. Surely, she thought, the only thing left to do was tell him.

 

That's where she'd gone wrong. She never considered rejection. He looked surprised, if not downright shocked, when she came to him at the headquarters of the Order and confessed her feelings. He gazed at her in quiet despair, every line in his face screaming out sorrow. Her positive smile faltered, and a fear that she'd never known, like an iron hand gripping her heart, possessed her. Everything had come crashing down when he looked at her, eyes shining mysteriously, and said in a soft voice, “I'm sorry, but… I… I can't lov-“

 

And then she turned on her heel and ran. She ran until she couldn't run, and then she just walked. She went on and on until she found herself in some little unknown town. By the time she finally gave up and just collapsed on the sidewalk, it was early in the next morning. Too tired to Apparate even a few inches in front of herself, she hailed a Muggle taxi and asked the driver to take her to King's Cross Station. She paid the man with the small bit of Muggle money that she always carried, and then made her way to platform nine and three-quarters. The Hogwarts Express was not there, of course, and wouldn't be for quite a while. Not until the school year was over, or unless, for some reason, a student needed to go home.

 

But she didn't care. This place was familiar to her, and that was what she needed. She longed for the sense of safety that a place you're visited before brings you. She sat there for what could have been days or weeks, but was most probably only a few hours, before someone found her.

 

“Would you care at all if I joined you?”

 

Tonks looked up into the face of Albus Dumbledore, who was smiling at her warmly. But there was also concern in his pale blue eyes as he stared at her over his half-moon glasses. She shook her head and motioned for him to sit down on the ground next to her.

 

He did so, and for a few minutes they just enjoyed the comfortable silence. But Tonks knew he was not here by her side just because he had been going for a stroll. Undoubtedly, someone had sent him an owl informing him of her flight and nearly two day absence.

 

He was twiddling his thumbs and looking up at the station ceiling when he finally spoke. “When I was a young boy, I went shopping with my mother.”

 

Tonks' head swiveled to the side and she looked at him like he was mad. Dumbledore just smiled and continued.

 

“She took me to this rather marvelous clothing store, wherein I came across the most wonderful pair of woolen socks.”

 

Now Tonks was sure that he was absolutely mental. What was he telling her about socks for?

 

“Needless to say, I begged my mother for those socks the entire time we were there. She grew quite tired of me after a while. But no matter what I said, no matter what chore I promised to do, her answer remained the same. I could not have those socks.”

 

A nostalgic light filtered into his eyes and he sighed. He turned to look at her. “And do you know what?”

 

She shook her head, completely at a loss.

 

“I thought about those socks every day for the rest of my life. I always wondered, if I had tried just a little harder to convince my mother would I have gotten what I wanted? Instead, I was left to fantasize about something I could never have. It's a real pity, don't you think?”

 

Then he winked at her and stood up. He brushed off his purple velvet robes and waved once at her before sweeping his cloak around him. In a second, he was gone.

 

Tonks stayed there for the rest of the night, thinking about what the headmaster had said to her. His message was obvious; she shouldn't give up on trying to convince him to be with her. She decided to keep trying. She would insist upon her feelings for him so much that he would have nothing to do but give in. With that firm resolution in her mind she got up off the concrete platform and concentrated on Grimmauld Place. Her last thought before the sensation of Apparating took over was that only Albus Dumbledore could ever relate something like unrequited love to a pair of woolen socks.

 

-=ooo=-

 

The next few months were a blur for Tonks. When she wasn't doing work for the Order, which she was almost always doing, she was trying to sleep or eat or bathe. Time for speaking to him was extremely scarce, but when they were alone together, she would do nothing but pester, beg, and wheedle at him. She soon learned that he had not really rejected her. He was afraid, as she had been. But he loved her, and that was definitely something.

 

He told her he was dangerous because he was a werewolf. She said she lived for danger.

 

He told her that he was in no financial condition to support anyone besides himself. She said she had her own money.

 

He told her he was too old. She said she couldn't care less.

 

He asked her what she wanted from him. She told him she wanted love, and nothing more. Except maybe a wedding. That would be nice too.

 

But despite all her efforts, he remained steadfast. It took a toll on her. She started to feel more and more hopeless, and she couldn't morph as well as she used to. Even her magic was affected. Her patronus took on the form of a wolf.

 

It wasn't until the very end of the school year that she finally got her way. Albus Dumbledore was killed. Severus Snape was a Death Eater. Their only hope left was a sixteen year old boy. Everything was going wrong, and Tonks was afraid that now she had less of a chance with him than ever. But she tried anyway, for Dumbledore, if not for herself.

 

In the midst of the crowded Hogwarts' hospital wing, gathered around the bed of another unfortunate werewolf victim, with all eyes on them and the added insistence of the new headmistress, he reluctantly said yes. In one moment she felt her heart swell and burst and then come back again, beating with the force of an angry dragon.

 

They decided to get married towards the end of that summer, around the same time as Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour. The wedding was perfect, except for the absence of one tall, white haired, crooked nosed wizard. Tonks never felt happier, and despite all his rejections before, he was happy too. He smiled at her as she came down the isle in that way that she just loved. They made their vows and said their `I do's,' and then they celebrated.

 

It was well after midnight when their reception finally ended. All around them, people were cleaning up and leaving, and somewhere in the shadows, Mundungus Fletcher was hiding silverware in his coat. But all the two of them could see was each other.

 

They stood in the center of the dance floor, each holding an almost empty glass of champagne.

 

“I'm glad I finally listened to you, Tonks,” he said, eyes sparkling from happiness or too much to drink. She wasn't really sure which, but she hoped it was the former.

 

She wrinkled her nose in distaste. “Please, Remus. Call me… Nymphadora.”

 

He smiled in a completely genuine and beautiful way. “Okay.”

 

And he did.

 

-=ooo=-

 

My first Harry Potter fanfic… What do you guys think? I hope it came out good. But even if it didn't, I had a lot of fun writing it, so it's okay. Anyway, comments and thoughts are much appreciated. Thanks a bunch!

 

Disclaimer: I do not own, in any way, shape, or form, any of the rights to the Harry Potter series or the characters within it. They are all property of J.K. Rowling, whom I am deeply indebted to.

 

~ The Neko Kami of the Fruit Loops