for the one i love ; fred weasley

chapter 03

CARINA'S POV

"Tonks?" I tilt my head to the side, immediately connecting the dots. "You're my cousin aren't you? Daughter of Andromeda Black," the young woman gives me a half smile, nodding. I instantly want to make our conversation last forever, "What was your name again? Nymphadora?"

The girl's hair flashes red for a second, reminding me of her powers as a metamorphmagus, "Just Tonks will do," she tells me, and I nod, making a mental note of it. It seems like her actual name makes her angry, which honestly, I can relate to. I hate when people call me Malfoy, like Fred does. I hate Fred... Why am I even thinking about Fred right now? Tosser. "You're a Third Year, right?" She asks, pulling me out of my head, leaning into a wall.

"Yep," I reply simply, pursing my lips. The thought of my dad hating this interaction makes me want to talk to her more, "And you're out of school, so... What brings you here?" I question, making her chuckle.

"Just doing a couple of favours for Pomona. I ran late, got distracted, thought I'd spend the night in her spare room," she shares with me nonchalantly, as if we were friends. "So, why are you out of bed? You, rule breaker," I shrug, running a hand through my dirty blonde hair. There's no way I'm throwing George under the bus. "Alright, I respect your silence - you're loyal, c'mon. I'll walk with you to your Common Room," I accept her company by beginning to walk.

Comfortable silence fills the air before I decide to break it, "What's it like?" Tonks turns to look at me, humming in a questioning manner. "Being a metamorphmagus? Seems fun," I add, wanting her to know I'm not hating on the fact that she's not a pureblood.

The pink haired girl grins, "It's actually really fun," says Tonks, "I enjoy turning into animals the most - neat party trick," she tells me with a small smirk.

"I bet," I can't help but smile as we continue walking. We are being very careless right now but I can't even focus on that. I've never had a conversation this lighthearted with a family member that isn't Draco. We ignore the paintings complaining as we continue striding through the halls, "Maybe some day you could show me," I find myself saying without even thinking.

Tonks looks at me with a raised eyebrow, "You're not like the other ones are you?" She seems to already have the answer to that question. Before I can ask to what she's referring to, she specifies, "You're not like the rest of your family," my breath hitches in my throat. What do I say to that? I'm taking a risk here, if she ever tells my father - "I'm not gonna tell anyone," she stops my spiralling, a reassuring grin on her lips. "I get what you're going through. Mum went through the same thing," she says, shrugging.

"Y-Yeah, I guess she did," I nod slowly, clearing my throat. Andromeda was a Slytherin too and she actually tried to listen to her parents. That was working out until she fell for Muggle born, Edward Tonks. Or that's what I'd heard from my mum anyway. "Well, goodnight, Tonks," I look at her with a small smile. "It was nice meeting you," I say as we stop in front of the stairs that lead to the Common Room.

As I begin to make my way down, she stops me, "Wait," I turn around to gaze at her. "I'll write to you - we can meet up at Hogsmeade, if you want?" Tonks offers, making my eyes widen in surprise. Before I even get to process it, I feel myself nodding. "Great, see you then, Carina," she waves and walks off to what I assume are Professor Sprout's sleeping quarters.

Quietly, I continue walking down the stairs, thinking about everything that's just happened. Tonks is about four years older than me, I wonder if she'll find me annoying. Maybe she did and she's just saying she'll write because she's too nice to state otherwise. Consumed by my thoughts, I don't notice Professor Snape standing by the door, right outside of the Common Room. "Oh, hi Professor," I say sheepishly, a small, innocent grin on my face.