Her Favourite Fantasy

Disclaimer: I have no claim on anything from the Hogwarts realm. I own nothing.


Her Favourite Fantasy

The atmosphere at Grimmauld Place had been stifling. The old house had been a hub of activity all summer – the hammering of the students’ footsteps on the stairs had constantly set the portrait of Sirius’ mother to shrieking.
“Infidels, mongrels, a blight in the honourable House of Black.” She had howled whenever she could. Some members of the Order had taken to wearing earmuffs, like those used when repotting mandrakes, whenever they were in the house so as to stifle her high-pitched screams. The refrigerator had seemed to be always empty; Empty crisp packets and chocolate frog wrappers had seemed to litter every surface. Even with magic, the boys didn’t seem to clean up after themselves. Dirty trainers had peeped out from under the sofa, and drink cans had been nestled in the soil of potted plants. Sometimes, Nymphadora Tonks felt that she had been made the den mother to a pack of unruly cubs. Not a feeling she particularly cherished.

Sitting at the table, her chin balanced on her tented hands, she flipped through an enormous book about mythical lizards. Peering from side to side nervously, she pulled first one fuchsia earmuff and then the other from her ears. Silence. The students had left that morning to go to Diagon Alley to get their school books and supplies. Then, they would spend a few days in London with Hagrid before returning to Hogwarts. Tonks leaned back and slowly let out a deep breath. How a group of kids could suck all the energy and patience out of her she didn’t know, but she could finally appreciate the efforts of her friends who had children. Sure, they were good kids: Harry was a determined boy, Ron meant well, and Hermione helped the best that she could. Yet, Tonks still felt drained and, dare she think it, old. Well, OLDER anyways. Plus, all the hormones that had been zinging around the house were quite distracting. Hermione had become quite a young lady and was becoming more aware of things like her hair and clothing. The boys practically oozed hormones at fifteen – all loose limbs, untidy hair and burgeoning muscles. Tonks pursed her lips and blew upwards, sending her rose-coloured hair skittering across her forehead. Even with the students gone, the house felt too warm, oppressive. Slamming the book shut with a satisfactory snap, she went to the window and looked outside. A slow, lazy smile played across her lips. Sirius was chasing Remus around the garden, his head thrown back in a hearty laugh. Remus, on the other hand, looked a little dismayed at being chased. Sirius tensed his leg muscles and made a flying leap, knocking Remus to the ground. Remus slowly picked himself up, brushing at the dirt on his pants, only to be knocked down again by a laughing Sirius. Beneath the window, at a small table, Severus Snape was furiously scribbling notes on a parchment, large, ominous-looking books piled at his elbow. He seemed oblivious to the sunshine beating down, the beauty of the day outside, except that he had charmed a green parasol to hover over his head. Must keep that gallow’s pallor, Tonks thought with a wry smile. She shook her head gently. It was so strange to see the three of them all at once. They were all so different – Sirius so mischievous with his flashing eyes and constant laughter, Remus so introverted and sweetly uncertain, and then Severus Snape who seemed so cold, commanding, distant. Yet, they were joined together for a common purpose, a shared cause in the Order. Watching them without their realizing it, she felt a certain power, a sense that she was seeing their true selves.

Unbidden, darker thoughts of them crossed her mind. For too long she had been treated as one of the boys, merely another brain, another resource. She found herself thinking of what they would be like as lovers.