Fic: Fitting In
Author: shimotsuki
Title: Fitting In
Rating & Warnings: PG, no warnings
Word Count 830 words
Prompt: crazy hair day - merryb87’s prompt #3
Summary: Tonks gets a dinner invitation from Sirius - and a little surprise along the way.
Notes: Set soon before the beginning of OotP.
Fitting In
Tonks cast a triple-strength Scrambling Charm on her notes, transforming them into something that looked rather like one of Bill’s Gringotts memos in Gobbledygook, and stuffed them into her satchel. She was starting to get the hang of this whole living-a-double-life routine, but given her-issues-with poise and grace, the last thing she needed was to have a set of notes from a meeting of the full Order of the Phoenix come spilling out of her satchel at the Ministry when she was busy being an obedient Auror.
“Stay for supper, Dor-er, Tonks?” Sirius blinked at her soulfully with his very, very best puppy-dog expression.
But the kitchen was emptying rapidly as the various members of the Order took their leave and headed up the stairs, out the door, and into the warm summer evening, leaving only Weasleys, Hermione Granger, and Sirius and his friend Remus Lupin around the long kitchen table.
“I dunno.” She slung her satchel over her shoulder and took a step toward the stairs. “Looks like it’s just family tonight.”
“You’re my family,” said Sirius, his voice unexpectedly fierce. “Stay.” He blinked. “I mean, if you want to.”
“Erm...” Tonks eyed Molly Weasley cautiously. She’d noticed a bit of friction between Sirius and Bill and Charlie’s mum, and didn’t really want to get caught in the middle. And Molly did seem to look a little askance at brightly coloured hair.
“You’d be welcome, dear,” said Molly graciously. “Sirius is quite right-you’re family here, too.”
“Thanks,” said Tonks, still feeling slightly awkward. “I’d like to stay.” She did, after all, want to get to know her cousin.
“Good!” Ginny grinned. “Show us the pig snout again?”
Tonks obliged, Metamorphosing her nose, and the younger Weasleys were convulsed with laughter.
“Now, children.” Molly frowned as she filled plate after plate with roast chicken and all the trimmings, floating each one over to the table with a casual wand-wave. “Don’t treat poor Tonks as dinner theatre.”
Tonks couldn’t quite tell whether the frown was aimed at Ginny for asking, or at Tonks herself for Metamorphosing. “I don’t mind,” she said quickly, winking at Ginny. “Keeps me in good form to take requests.” But she changed her nose back.
“How about green hair, then?” asked one of the twins-Fred, she thought.
Sliding into a seat next to Sirius and across from Remus, Tonks let go of the bubble-gum pink she’d been wearing and changed her hair to a vivid lime green.
“My,” said Molly. But she did seem to be smiling now.
And then Sirius’s hair suddenly went yellow. Not merely blond, but a true, ripe-banana yellow.
The table erupted in a fresh round of laughter. “Brilliant!” cheered the twin who was probably George. “What charm’s that, Sirius?”
Sirius looked around at all the grins and stares, and caught up a soup spoon, squinting at his upside-down reflection in the bowl. He burst out laughing, too. “Nice one! But it wasn’t me.”
Bill was next, his ponytail suddenly a deep indigo, to more cheers and applause. “And I didn’t even eat anything the twins handed me,” he chuckled.
“It wasn’t us,” insisted Fred, just as his hair turned the color of a ripe raspberry, clashing rather magnificently with his freckles.
“No indeed,” said George, going chartreuse.
“Eek!” Hermione caught up a lock of hair that had suddenly turned pale blue. “It isn’t permanent, is it?”
Her hair blinked back to brown for an instant before reverting to blue.
“Guess not,” she muttered, relaxing enough to giggle at Ron’s bright-orange mop.
“At least it’s the Cannons’ colour,” was Ron’s response after peering into his own soup spoon.
Tonks looked around the kitchen. By now Arthur had gone mint green, Ginny was deep violet, Remus had turned a striking turquoise, and even Molly’s slightly frizzy hair was a sweet shade of periwinkle.
“Right, then,” said Arthur, still laughing, “who’s the culprit here? Fred and George, are you testing another new Wheeze?”
“It really isn’t us-”
“-not this time-”
“-though we just might have an idea for a new product, now!”
“Sirius? It’s really not you?” Molly had an eyebrow raised, but-Tonks was glad to see-she still looked more amused than annoyed.
“I solemnly swear-” he began. The twins, for some reason, doubled over with fresh laughter at this, which made Sirius start laughing again, himself. “That it’s not me!”
Sirius did look a bit sly, though, which made Tonks glance across the table. But Remus Lupin was merely sitting quietly under a thatch of turquoise, watching the merriment with a tiny half-smile, staying out of the fray in his usual careful fashion.
Until his eyes met hers.
And then a flash of pure mischief made him look not a day older than the twins.
“Wanted to make sure you felt at home around here,” he murmured, before smoothing his face back into the perfect image of blandest innocence.
Tonks broke out into an enormous grin of her own.
This man, she decided, was definitely someone to keep an eye on.
~ fin ~
.
Title: Fitting In
Rating & Warnings: PG, no warnings
Word Count 830 words
Prompt: crazy hair day - merryb87’s prompt #3
Summary: Tonks gets a dinner invitation from Sirius - and a little surprise along the way.
Notes: Set soon before the beginning of OotP.
Fitting In
Tonks cast a triple-strength Scrambling Charm on her notes, transforming them into something that looked rather like one of Bill’s Gringotts memos in Gobbledygook, and stuffed them into her satchel. She was starting to get the hang of this whole living-a-double-life routine, but given her-issues-with poise and grace, the last thing she needed was to have a set of notes from a meeting of the full Order of the Phoenix come spilling out of her satchel at the Ministry when she was busy being an obedient Auror.
“Stay for supper, Dor-er, Tonks?” Sirius blinked at her soulfully with his very, very best puppy-dog expression.
But the kitchen was emptying rapidly as the various members of the Order took their leave and headed up the stairs, out the door, and into the warm summer evening, leaving only Weasleys, Hermione Granger, and Sirius and his friend Remus Lupin around the long kitchen table.
“I dunno.” She slung her satchel over her shoulder and took a step toward the stairs. “Looks like it’s just family tonight.”
“You’re my family,” said Sirius, his voice unexpectedly fierce. “Stay.” He blinked. “I mean, if you want to.”
“Erm...” Tonks eyed Molly Weasley cautiously. She’d noticed a bit of friction between Sirius and Bill and Charlie’s mum, and didn’t really want to get caught in the middle. And Molly did seem to look a little askance at brightly coloured hair.
“You’d be welcome, dear,” said Molly graciously. “Sirius is quite right-you’re family here, too.”
“Thanks,” said Tonks, still feeling slightly awkward. “I’d like to stay.” She did, after all, want to get to know her cousin.
“Good!” Ginny grinned. “Show us the pig snout again?”
Tonks obliged, Metamorphosing her nose, and the younger Weasleys were convulsed with laughter.
“Now, children.” Molly frowned as she filled plate after plate with roast chicken and all the trimmings, floating each one over to the table with a casual wand-wave. “Don’t treat poor Tonks as dinner theatre.”
Tonks couldn’t quite tell whether the frown was aimed at Ginny for asking, or at Tonks herself for Metamorphosing. “I don’t mind,” she said quickly, winking at Ginny. “Keeps me in good form to take requests.” But she changed her nose back.
“How about green hair, then?” asked one of the twins-Fred, she thought.
Sliding into a seat next to Sirius and across from Remus, Tonks let go of the bubble-gum pink she’d been wearing and changed her hair to a vivid lime green.
“My,” said Molly. But she did seem to be smiling now.
And then Sirius’s hair suddenly went yellow. Not merely blond, but a true, ripe-banana yellow.
The table erupted in a fresh round of laughter. “Brilliant!” cheered the twin who was probably George. “What charm’s that, Sirius?”
Sirius looked around at all the grins and stares, and caught up a soup spoon, squinting at his upside-down reflection in the bowl. He burst out laughing, too. “Nice one! But it wasn’t me.”
Bill was next, his ponytail suddenly a deep indigo, to more cheers and applause. “And I didn’t even eat anything the twins handed me,” he chuckled.
“It wasn’t us,” insisted Fred, just as his hair turned the color of a ripe raspberry, clashing rather magnificently with his freckles.
“No indeed,” said George, going chartreuse.
“Eek!” Hermione caught up a lock of hair that had suddenly turned pale blue. “It isn’t permanent, is it?”
Her hair blinked back to brown for an instant before reverting to blue.
“Guess not,” she muttered, relaxing enough to giggle at Ron’s bright-orange mop.
“At least it’s the Cannons’ colour,” was Ron’s response after peering into his own soup spoon.
Tonks looked around the kitchen. By now Arthur had gone mint green, Ginny was deep violet, Remus had turned a striking turquoise, and even Molly’s slightly frizzy hair was a sweet shade of periwinkle.
“Right, then,” said Arthur, still laughing, “who’s the culprit here? Fred and George, are you testing another new Wheeze?”
“It really isn’t us-”
“-not this time-”
“-though we just might have an idea for a new product, now!”
“Sirius? It’s really not you?” Molly had an eyebrow raised, but-Tonks was glad to see-she still looked more amused than annoyed.
“I solemnly swear-” he began. The twins, for some reason, doubled over with fresh laughter at this, which made Sirius start laughing again, himself. “That it’s not me!”
Sirius did look a bit sly, though, which made Tonks glance across the table. But Remus Lupin was merely sitting quietly under a thatch of turquoise, watching the merriment with a tiny half-smile, staying out of the fray in his usual careful fashion.
Until his eyes met hers.
And then a flash of pure mischief made him look not a day older than the twins.
“Wanted to make sure you felt at home around here,” he murmured, before smoothing his face back into the perfect image of blandest innocence.
Tonks broke out into an enormous grin of her own.
This man, she decided, was definitely someone to keep an eye on.
~ fin ~
.