39Chapter 40: Tonks, Weasley, and Black
Nymphadora Tonks, who preferred to be called Tonks, gave a sigh as she came to the door of her family's home. She had yet to find her own place. She was far too busy as an initiate to really take care of her own place. When she finally became a Junior Auror, the first rank in the Auror Corps, she would be busy but at least have time to get her own home. That would be when she moved out, even if her parents were more than fine with their daughter still living at home with them.
"Welcome home Nymphadora dear," her mother, Andromeda Tonks, said in greeting to her daughter.
Tonks gave a wave as she went straight to the shower. It really showed how tired she was that she didn't even put up her usual fuss at hearing her first name. After her shower, Tonks returned and happily sank into the sofa in their living room. She gave a hum of contentment. It was surprising how comfy the sofa was.
"Are you sure you're alright, Honey?" her father, Ted Tonks, asked from his chair.
"Yes, Dad. I'm fine. It's just tiring is all," Tonks replied.
"As long as you're able to make it. If it ever gets to be too much, just let us know. You're more than qualified for several good jobs," her dad said.
"Safer jobs too," her mother added as she entered the room and sat down as well.
Tonks rolled her eyes. Her parents were supportive enough. They still didn't like how dangerous being an Auror was, even without a Dark Lord leading a band of skull masked enthusiasts muggle haters. "I know it can be dangerous, but I am being trained by the best," she said in defense.
"Are you finally learning something new? Other than old cases?" her mother asked.
"I have been for a while now. Even when we were reviewing old cases, Moody still made sure I had training exercises and such. He didn't want me slacking off just because there were old court cases to study," Tonks said.
"I still think he went overboard on that lesson, even for him," her mother said.
"Look at it this way. Our daughter will probably have just as high of a conviction rate as Old Moody had. Everyone knows it was very rare for a dark wizard he brought in to get off," her dad said as Tonks nodded in agreement.
"Why didn't he just have you look at his own case files then?" her mother asked.
"He wanted me to see how not to do things and to emphasize how important all of the details were. How to avoid technicalities that could let someone off. How even the most closed book cases could still result in the guilty party walking free due to sloppy case prep by the Auror," she said.
"I looked at his as well. He was unsurprisingly the harshest critic for his own cases. After looking through them again, he swore a case or two only resulted in a conviction because the whole Wizengamot was sorely wanting an early morning drink that day," Tonks said with a stretch.
Her dad chuckled to that. It did seem like the kind of reasoning Old Moody would come up with after getting hyper focused on his old court appearances.
"Even though he is a great Auror, I swear he earns every letter of his nickname," her mother said while shaking her head.
"Maybe. But he is still the best mentor you could get," Tonks said smiling.
"I won't argue with you there. Maybe you'll be on the fast track through the ranks once you finish training. How much longer do you need to go?" her father asked.
"Given how intense Moody makes my training… I could easily become a Junior Auror by next spring," Tonks said.
It was impressive how much progress she was making in her training. During their review exams, she saw how further along she was compared to the others who joined up at the same time. There were a lot of benefits to having Moddy as her mentor.
"That's good to hear. Dangerous it may be. And I do wish you were looking for a safer job. I am still proud of you, Nymphadora," her mother said with a smile.
Tonks actually smiled to that. She was never one opposed to praise. She had always liked getting attention. Now, she was doing what she could to make sure it was the right kind of attention.
Few would believe it, but she didn't really do much in the way of crazy hair styles now. She didn't even pretend to be high ranking people in the DMLE by looking like them for a laugh. Shocking it may be, but she was actually growing up and learning to adult.
"I'm proud of you too, Dear. I can't wait to tell everyone at the office my daughter is an Auror," her dad said grinning.
"Supper is about ready everyone," her mother said after a few minutes and the family moved to their dining table.
[-] [-] [-]
Ginny gave a sigh as she laid on her bed. She wasn't sure what to think about everything. What happened at school was terrible. She was glad the twins were there for her afterwards. The rest of her family loved her, but they were more about pretending last year didn't really happen. She could see where they were coming from with this approach, but it kind of hurt in a way.
She felt like a bit of an outcast at the moment. Like she was unclean or something. Everyone but the twins were seemingly walking on egg shells around her. The twins seemed unsure how exactly to handle it, but they were doing more in that regard than the rest of the family Ginny felt.
Fred and George weren't out right ignoring what happened, but they only occasionally mentioned anything to do with it. That was kind of bizarre in a way for Ginny. It was odd having the twins be serious at moments, but Ginny like it. It warmed her heart a little, even though things were still tough.
Ginny wasn't possessed anymore, but she had nightmares where she randomly went back to being possessed and turned on her own family. She knew they were only bad dreams and it was probably a silly worry, but it was there. Despite what her family may want to think, Ginny was changed after all of that. It was a really strange change too.
Her first year education was a mess, but mostly there. She spent time reading through the books again to catch back up and reading notes Luna let her borrow. At the same time though, Ginny had some of the knowledge fifth year Riddle had. She shuddered at that. It was proof how deep the possession ran at the time. Despite the source, she could tell some of the knowledge would be handy to know.
Fortunately, most of the knowledge passed down to her wasn't of the dark arts nature. There was some of that, but the majority of what she knew was his school knowledge. It was also an expansion on what the classes taught. Since it was only partial knowledge, there were different difficulties she faced regarding it.
She knew fairly advanced magics now, but she didn't have the foundation to properly understand and utilize it. Perhaps this meant in the future she would be rather knowledgeable, but until then it would be a strange experience for her. Advanced knowledge would just be hovering there in her mind, almost teasing her, if that made any sense. Ginny now had some magical knowledge inside her head that was NEWT level. This showed Riddle was very advanced in more than just the dark arts, given it was his fifth year self who possessed her.
How did she know it was NEWT level stuff? Well, Percy was the answer there. Their parents were asking him about his classes and the things he talked about he had some difficulty on, she understood what it accomplished and needed to be successful. Ginny of course didn't say anything to the others. She was pretty sure if she started explaining NEWT level magic, her parents would decide she was corrupted or tainted after what happened.
They might even go so far as to see about getting her obliviated out of fear she wasn't there daughter anymore. Under usual circumstances Ginny wouldn't mind that. It would get her past what Riddle did to her, but she was very certain it would require a severe obliviation. Severe to the point she might be little more than a drooling mess afterwards. It was that deep inside her now. If by a miracle she wasn't a drooling mess, she for sure wouldn't be Ginny Weasley anymore.
Ultimately, Ginny hoped whatever she had done during her possession would stay to her nightmares. She really didn't want to have memories of her time under Riddle's influence suddenly return to her. Who knows what he did to or with her? She hoped it stayed forgotten and only came out in a jumbled nightmare mess from time to time.
"Ginny! You have a guest," her mother called up.
Ginny blinked to that. She hadn't been expecting anyone. She didn't think anyone would want to see her. She may have Luna's notes, but they were mailed to her. "Coming!" Ginny called down as she got up and left her room.
Mrs. Weasley left the room once her daughter entered.
"Ginny!" Luna said with a smile, once the girl came downstairs.
"Luna?!" Ginny asked in surprise.
"That's me. I haven't yet started calling myself Supreme Princess of the Snorlacks or anything like that," Luna replied with a big grin. She came over and gave Ginny a hug.
Ginny blinked to this and tried her best not to let her shock bring out tears. She didn't want a pity hug or something like that. She still returned the hug not to seem rude.
Luna hummed and said, "I can't believe I never did the hugging thing with friends before."
"Friends?" Ginny asked.
"Yes. I do still see you as a friend," Luna replied. She then looked to Ginny in thought and asked, "Do you not want us to still be friends?"
Ginny gave a sniff and hugged Luna tightly. "I do! I was worried you wouldn't, after all of that," she said.
"Why did you think that?" Luna asked.
"After everything that happened?! After I ignored you… And was rude to you," Ginny said.
"Don't you worry about that. I know that wasn't you. I had worried at first, but I came to realize something else was going on. So. Yes. I do still see you as a friend," Luna said smiling again.
"Even after you got along well with the Hufflepuffs?" Ginny asked carefully.
"Yes. I do still think of you as a close friend. You just aren't the only friend I have now, but more friends are a good thing to have. Especially, my friend since so long ago," Luna said.
Ginny gave a sniff to that and hugged Luna tighter again. She did start to cry a little now. Luna just held their hug while Ginny cried out what she needed to cry out. It was a bit different for Luna to be the one offering comfort, but she was happy to do so for a good friend.
Mrs. Weasley gave a smile as she stopped listening from the kitchen. She had been worried about her daughter. She feared Ginny wouldn't want to be around anyone but her family and surprisingly in particular the twins. It was good to see Luna was there for Ginny and Ginny wanted her to be there.
Mrs. Weasley always thought Luna was a good girl, even with her very strange and bizarre beliefs. She had been worried at the time when Luna wasn't really mentioned much in Ginny's school letters. Now that she knew what happened, she wasn't surprised by the letters' contents anymore. They had seemed so… generic. There would only be enough details to show it wasn't just something copy and pasted from Ron's very short letters his first year.
[-] [-] [-]
"So how did you know something was off?" Ginny asked as she and Luna walked around outside together.
Ginny needed the air and to get out of the house. She also needed to talk about this stuff and out here her mom wouldn't be around to try and hush it up after a few seconds. Her mom was very insistent they don't talk about it much when it was mentioned.
"It was something I only started to realize a little later. There was your behavior, but that wasn't really the big giveaway," Luna said.
"You mean how I was withdrawing from others? How I was mean to you?" Ginny asked.
"That was the behavior aspect. The big giveaway were the Wrackspurts oddly enough," Luna said.
"Really?" Ginny asked.
She wasn't sure how that could be. She knew of Luna's beliefs about the small and most likely made up creatures. She usually found their discussions about them entertaining, even if she didn't believe they were real.
"Yep. Not in the way I thought about them though," Luna said. She then stopped and turned to face Ginny.
Ginny stopped in response. Luna looked excited as she grinned.
"I found out what they actually are. It was something Harry and the others mentioned at the end of the school year. I always thought about how Wrackspurts could tell you things if you listened. I recently learned that it was magic itself telling me things. It just took on the form of what I called Wrackspurts," she explained.
"I'm now learning how to sense and listen to magic properly. Magic is never really direct, but it will give you clues about things. Something being off last year was one of those things," Luna said.
"That is rather interesting. Is it how seers work?" Ginny asked.
"I guess it could be in a way. I'm still rather new to this stuff, even if I have been hearing the Wrackspurts for a good while now. It is something I will continually work on to better understand. Harry happened to know someone who could help me with that. They agreed to do so, but wish to keep it secret for now. I took some time to think it over but agreed to it earlier this summer," Luna said.
"That's good to hear then. You will have to tell me more once you understand more. I may be a Gryffindor, but I am a very curious Gryffindor," Ginny said with a smile.
"Naturally. I doubt we would have become friends if you didn't have curiosity and at least a somewhat open mind," Luna replied.
"So… How were things with your roommates?" Ginny asked in worry.
"They were pretty bad, but it got sorted out well before the end of the school year. There won't be problems there again I get the feeling. Though… It wasn't wholly negative. I guess," Luna said.
"What do you mean by that?" Ginny asked.
"It got me to start wondering about some things when it comes to myself," Luna said.
"Do you care to share?" Ginny asked curiously.
"Maybe another time. How are you doing?" Luna asked.
Ginny was surprised by that. Luna was usually very open about things. It must be something very personal. Perhaps it meant Luna didn't know if they could go straight back to how they were, even if she saw Ginny as a good friend. Ginny guessed that made sense.
She still felt mixed about that. Part of her wanted to go right back to how they were. At the same time, part of her was glad they weren't. This showed that things had changed, but that didn't mean it had to be a bad change. In a strange way, Ginny felt they might eventually grow closer as friends since they were acknowledging the change.
"Okay, I guess. The twins have been surprisingly helpful. The rest of my family is being overly cautious for one reason or another," Ginny said in answer to Luna's question.
"That doesn't sound too unexpected. The twins choosing to be helpful is a bit unexpected, but the rest isn't," Luna said. Luna then smiled and held Ginny's hand and said, "I will be here for you. No matter how different or changed things are. That's what friends do I've come to learn," Luna said.
Ginny gave a sniff to that as she gave a watery smile. "I don't know if I deserve it, but I am thankful," she said.
Luna shook her head. "It isn't about what you think you deserve or not. Friends are there for friends," Luna said.
Ginny gave her friend a tight hug. "I still don't think I deserve it though," she said.
"Then just do what only makes sense," Luna started.
"What would that be?" Ginny asked.
"If you must, just become a friend who deserves it in your own mind," Luna said.
Ginny shook her head. "It seems you have learned a lot this last year. I know you are in Ravenclaw, but friendship never really seemed like their thing," she said.
"You might be right. Just keep in mind my other friends are in Hufflepuff. They kind of rub off on you, but I don't see that being a bad thing," Luna said.
"I'm not about to complain there. It was a group from Hufflepuff who saved me. I just don't know what to do to show them my thanks," Ginny said.
"I'd say get to know them. They were Hufflepuffs, but they are Harry Potter, Hannah Abbot, and Susan Bones," Luna said. She then gave a hum and nod in thought. "There's also Myrtle too. She may be a ghost and not a Hufflepuff, but she was helpful," Luna said.
"That still boggles my mind. Moaning Myrtle was helpful. I guess I can start by not calling her Moaning Myrtle anymore. I'll start calling her Myrtle instead," Ginny said.
"I don't like labels myself. Myrtle is Myrtle. Harry is Harry. I'm Luna. Moaning Myrtle is just bad name. Loony Lovegood is just a bad name. The-Boy-Who-Lived may not be a bad name, but it is still just a label. None of those titles/names are who we really are," Luna said.
Ginny mulled those words over and gave a nod. "I'll do that. Thanks, Luna," she said.
"Happy to help," Luna replied.
Ginny gave a giggle. "You've been a big help. On top of everything else, you let me borrow your notes. I have fragments of the lessons from the year in my mind. Your notes have helped fill in the blanks there," Ginny said as they continued their walk. It did seem things were a bit more promising to the youngest Weasley.
[-] [-] [-]
Tonks took a sip of butterbeer as she reflected a little on her time in the Auror Training Corps. She did feel a little guilty that she had to sort of dance around the truth of the matter with her family. She wasn't lying when she talked about being ahead of others.
She did feel it was a little unfair she got to have Moody as her mentor. It was more or less Moody's choice, but it did feel a little like she was getting special treatment. Fortunately, she decided to make sure to show she deserved it and most of those around her agreed she was doing just that.
She still wished she could tell her parents more, especially her mom. The looking over old court cases wasn't standard training. It wasn't even part of Moody's original training course. He still made sure she didn't fall behind while they did it. The truth was Tonks wished she could tell her mom what was really going on with it.
She ended up looking into old court cases because Madame Bones got interesting information from her beloved niece. Moody was the best for what Madam Bones decided to do in regards to the matter. Tonks just so happened to be Moody's trainee and got to go along for the ride. That wasn't really why Tonks wanted to tell her mom all about it though.
Moody and Tonks were looking into cases regarding Sirius Black. They finished their part of the investigation a while back. The results were Sirius never did have a trail. He could actually be innocent. They also found out he wasn't even mentioned in other trials for other Death Eaters, which put to rest some of Moody's worries about the situation.
Madame Bones was already taking the next steps regarding the situation. She had well respected and ranking Aurors officially looking into the matter. This would give enough reason and credibility to have an official trial through proper channels. If nothing too wild happened, Sirius Black could be a free man come early fall.
That would be something to celebrate, even in the Tonks Family. While her mother may have been kicked out of the Black Family because she married for love, Andromeda Tonks was fairly close to her cousin Sirius. She had been devastated and in disbelief he was accused of being responsible for the Potters' deaths and sent to Azkaban for life. She knew how close they were.
Sirius and James were brothers in all but blood and Sirius was as Anti-Black as a Black could be. He was in Gryffindor. He wasn't a fan of the Dark Arts. He actually had no problems with blood status and especially enjoyed being with muggle born witches.
Sirius actually enjoyed hearing from muggle borns in general. He wasn't muggle crazed like Arthur Weasley, but he liked hearing about the muggle world from magicals born to it. Tonks' mother would be happy and excited to hear there was a good chance he was actually innocent. That was a big reason why Tonks couldn't share the news with her mother.
The situation had to be handled carefully so real justice would prevail. If Andromeda Tonks started talking about Sirius possibly being innocent and never having a trail… well… certain individuals might move to ensure the mistake was never corrected. It would also look bad if someone related to Sirius Black somehow knew of these things before it was public knowledge.
It didn't matter if Andromeda was kicked out of the family. It would still be bad if it was learned relatives, even ones banished from the family, were involved in bringing to light Sirius Black didn't have a trail. Many would screech corruption and such, because there was reason for Andromeda to have a vested interest in the matter and freeing Sirius.
It was kind of sickening how corruption was only screeched about when it wouldn't seemingly benefit certain individuals such as Lucius Malfoy. Sirius possibly being innocent and later freed would be disadvantageous for the Malfoy family and a boon to Andromeda. Sirius Black was still the heir apparent, if not Lord of the Black family. Should he still be confined to Azkaban and later die behind its bars. It would be Draco Malfoy who inherited the title Lord Black once he was of age. Sirius Black being free meant he could change that around.
Sirius Black being free could result in a lot of things. He could end up fathering his own heir. He could bring Andromeda and Nymphadora back to the family and officially recognize the marriage of Ted and Andromeda. He could write his will to exclude the Malfoy family from getting anything. Sirius Black could even, as he said he would before certain events happened, make it so Harry Potter became his heir should he have no children of his own.
Tonks knew that stuff could come to pass. Moody made sure she understood to pay attention to this stuff because it could be vital to court prep and investigations. She didn't really care much for that stuff though. She just wanted her mother to be happy and to have more family.
There was also her shared sense of justice with both Moody and Madame Bones. Not that corrupt individuals would care, but Tonks wanted this resolved even if Sirius Black really was as guilty as everyone thought. That would mean closure at the very least and her mom could truly move on with her life.
Tonks finished her drink and stretched. She then got ready for bed. She would need to be ready for another busy day tomorrow. She was right when she told her parents she could be Junior Auror next Spring. It became a goal for her. She had actually thought of her precious first years. "They'll be starting their third year soon enough, " she thought to herself.
It was crazy how fast they were growing up. She would make sure she did them proud and became a Junior Auror quickly. That way they could be proud to know their wonderful, amazing, beautiful, and lovely RA became an awesome Junior Auror before the usual expected time period.
She grinned to herself. She probably had to thank her firsties for more of her drive than she knew. She didn't really see that as a bad thing though.
[-] [-] [-]
Somewhere in a place called the Rust District there were a series of pops that could be heard suddenly. Usually House Elf Apparition was silent, but not with a group this big. There were a series of chain apparitions for some of the elves. The group was composed of old and young elves along with both males and females.
The Elf in the front of the group was wearing an odd assortment of clothes. He had a sock that was old but cleaned to be almost as good as new and on the opposite foot there was a dress sock. He also had on a hat and an old tunic that would soon be replaced once they decided on a proper elf dress code. He looked around the area and gave a nod.
"Wes is here! Rusty District be new homes for us," Dobby said to the others.
An older elf who was dignified in age, despite being freed for a while, came up next to him and took a deep breath. "This be goods place. Just like magics say! Brightest Futures here. The magic is strong and ancient. We not needs too many elf friend bonds for it to be stables for elves. This be where many happenings start," he said as more of the elves took in their new surroundings.
"Dobby still be Elf Friending Great Harry Potter sirs!" Dobby said excitedly and determined.
The older elf nodded to Dobby. "Dobby be luckys magics does wants him elf friending Harry Potter sirs. Yous will become great model of elfs to have such a friend," the older one said. Dobby nodded in seriousness to his words. The older elf was named Tibbles.
Tibbles was a well-respected House Elf and many would even go so far as to call him a House Elf Sage. He was a freed elf for a while now, but that was because his family died out because of bad wizards during Grindelwald's time. Many knew he could have easily found a new and respectful family, but he spoke of how magic told him otherwise. Told him to wait. He found a place of power where he meditated a good bit and conserved his magic for the right time.
It was because of this he was never seen as a disappointment by other house elves for refusing a new family. He was the first House Elf Dobby sought out. Tibbles helped Dobby find others for the new community.
"Dobby happy to hear that, Tibbles. We still have a few who are more than happy to be elf friends. Harry Potter sirs is a given. There also be his Grangy and his LuLo too," Dobby said.
"Oooo!" one of the female elves started happily. "There be young ones here toos!" she said with a big grin. A few others talked excitedly about that.
Another elf gave a nod as he took in the air and magics of the area as well. He was a little younger than Dobby and named Frickle. He was freed because the last family he served had a werewolf. He looked over the afflicted family member, but soon they were both kicked out due to embarrassment of the family for having a werewolf.
He did what he could to watch over the werewolf afterwards. Sadly, the werewolf eventually took her own life when Greyback tried to force her into joining his 'pack'. This is one reason why he was sought out by Dobby and why he nodded as he surveyed the area.
"There be plenty of wolfymans and wolfywomans here too. Young wolfys too. Elves be good at helpings them," Frickle said. Several of the other house elves talked among themselves in agreement.
Dobby had done more than Harry expected in his assignment. Dobby found a lot of freed elves who were still great house elves. Few of them needed time to think first and those who did merely listened to magic to find their answer.
Most agreed rather readily and swore they would do House Elves proud in the new home. A couple, like Tibbles, grinned and grabbed Dobby's shoulder before nodding without even hearing what he had to say. Dobby was impressed by these elves. They were masters at listening to magic, even among House Elves. There was no other reason they would reply so quickly.
"What do wes do about non-magey folks?" one asked.
"Theys knows about this places mostly. Theys stays separates though. Harry Potter Sirs already got Boss Jett to agree to this," Dobby said.
"Theys not stay separates for all ways," Tibbles started. He stood in front of all of the Elves as they paid close attention to his words. "Magics told me greatness be happenings here. This be place were eventually magics and non-mageys works together. Theys builds great community! Theys bring about changes to whole magic world in times. We be honored elves to helps them," Tibbles said.
There were many excited words exchanged between the many elves in response to that.
"Let's be goings then! Elves have wonderful works to do!" Dobby said grinning brightly and taking the lead.
The elves, as a group, started making their way through the area. Many waved to the curious onlookers they saw during their walk. Some snapped their fingers to fix something they noticed on the way and to show they were ready to help.
There were actually a number of curious magical children happily waving and following the elves around. They had never seen so many house elves in one place before like this. Some of them were seeing the magical beings for their first time. Some adults watching the procession of elves were in awe of what they were seeing. Many realized just how important this refuge would be and once again vowed to do their part to assure it thrived.
Many realized History was being written in this place at this time. Few realized just how much of History was being written though. In the future if Binns didn't cover this, the Headmaster or Headmistress of Hogwarts would have no choice but to exorcise him, or at the very least fire him.
It was going to be the start of something new. The House Elves were here to help and oversee that. In time, some might even come to really see and appreciate the Elf Friend Ritual. It could even be a change to how House Elves and magicals existed together.
A/N: This chapter is the official start of Year 3 content. Things are going to start changing more in the story with this year.
On the bright side, the two versions are now caught up. In the future, they will be uploaded at about the same time. There may be a slight delay with the FF net version when I have sex scenes. I will be taking them out of this version and I will be hinting at them as it essentially fades to black.
On the other hand, I have a lot of work to do on the next chapter. I will be concentrating on it more now that I've got the versions caught up. Luckily, reading through the chapters again did help me decided how I will proceed with year three in certain ways. This was a side goal to reading through the chapters again before posting them here.
