"Don't be nervous, everything will be fine," I said to my women, gently intertwining our fingers and pulling her closer to me.
"No matter how much you say it, it's not going to stop me from being nervous... do we really have to do this?" she replied, not letting go of my hand as she absentmindedly played with the tips of her now short pink bob.
"Yes, Dori, it's necessary." (Red)
"But there are still things to do here. We can wait, tell her later," she insisted, looking around the place with anxious eyes. "I think the tables aren't well arranged, maybe we could move them..."
"There's nothing left to do here, unless we're planning to open soon. Let's go."(Red)
"Hmmm..." she murmured with a childish pout before resting her head on my shoulder, resigned as we waited.
...
At the Tonks' house, Andromeda was busying herself with small cleaning tasks. Although Nymphadora and her son-in-law lived there most of the time, this scheduled visit was different. They had specifically asked her to clear her agenda, which made her uneasy.
As she cleaned, her mind wandered, trying to guess what the meeting would be about. Among the ideas floating through her head, the most exciting one was that maybe she was going to become a grandmother. That possibility made her smile nervously as she waited.
Just a few minutes past the agreed time, Nymphadora walked through the door. Andromeda immediately noticed something was off; her daughter looked uncomfortable, nervous, like when she was a child and had done something wrong she didn't want to confess.
"Nymphadora... where's Tenebrius?" she asked cautiously.
"He's on his way..." she answered weakly, her emotions clearly on edge.
"Is everything okay?" worry began to creep into her tone.
"Yes, it's just that... he wants to... introduce himself." (Tonks)
"Introduce himself?" Andromeda repeated, not fully understanding.
"He wants to show you who he really is." (Tonks)
"Oh!" Surprise crossed her face as she processed what that meant. She knew that Tenebrius wasn't his real identity, something they had revealed to her a while ago, though she had pushed it to the back of her mind. Now, the truth was about to be unveiled. It wasn't as exciting as becoming a grandmother, but she was pleased to know they trusted her enough to show her his true self. She just hoped it wasn't something complicated... like being a Death Eater. "About time, you've kept me in the dark for too long."
Nymphadora barely made a small sound of agreement, clearly wishing that secret had stayed hidden forever.
"What's wrong? You don't want your mother to meet your boyfriend? What is he, an old man or something?" Andromeda joked, trying to ease the tension.
"Heh... hehe... no, of course not, hehe hehehe he..." Nymphadora laughed, but her laughter was strangely forced and unnatural.
Andromeda frowned, puzzled. She knew her daughter was nervous, but she couldn't quite understand why, and the negative response seemed sincere. Meanwhile, Nymphadora led her to the couch and invited her to sit down.
A few seconds later, the sound of the door opening was heard. The footsteps that followed announced the arrival of her son-in-law, but something felt off. The sound of the footsteps was different. From the doorway, a not-so-tall figure appeared, smiling.
"Hello, Andromeda," I greeted, walking up with steady steps.
"What...?" Andromeda looked at me with a completely confused expression.
"Allow me to properly introduce myself: I am Red Weasley, son of Arthur Weasley and Molly Weasley, née Prewett, whom you knew as Tenebrius." I gave a slight bow, placing a hand over my chest.
"Tenebrius?" Andromeda's mouth was slightly open as she looked at me with surprise and disbelief.
"The very same... And yes, if you're wondering, I'm very red. Everyone says the same thing when they meet me," I said, anticipating her reaction as I noticed her gaze shifting between my face and my hair.
Andromeda swallowed hard as she heard me. In fact, the first thing she had thought upon seeing me was the intense color of my hair, but she quickly refocused on her analysis. She turned her head towards her daughter, who, rather unsubtly, averted her gaze and covered her face with her hand.
"Red?" she asked, one of many questions slowly forming in her mind, as her eyes widened with growing fear as she began to realize the truth.
"Yes, like the color. Quite fitting, don't you think?" I tried to lighten the mood with a smile, but her expression grew increasingly serious and less pleasant.
"Red… red… red… can you tell me how old you are?" she asked with a tone laden with nerves, similar to Tonks' when I'd heard her ask, though for different reasons.
"Well... 12," I replied, a bit less confident, as Andromeda's own aura grew more intimidating. And I'm supposed to be the one who excels at this sort of thing.
"Tw-Twelve...?" she murmured to herself, her gaze lowered before lifting it back up to meet mine. "You're joking, right? TWELVE? TWELVE YEARS!" With her anger exploding, she turned toward the other person in the room. "NYMPHADORA!" she shouted at her daughter, who almost stumbled in fright and looked as if she wanted to hide behind the chair.
"Please, calm down," I tried to intervene, sensing the tension rising.
"CALM DOWN?! BY MERLIN'S BEARD, YOU'RE 12 YEARS OLD!" she yelled at me first, then turned back toward her daughter with renewed indignation. "TWELVE YEARS OLD!"
"It's not that bad..." I tried to say, though I knew it wouldn't be enough.
"Shut up! Children shouldn't speak when adults are trying to fix this disaster!" she roared as she lunged toward her daughter, grabbing her by the arms. "How, in your right mind, did you come to this?!"
"Mum..." Tonks said with a breaking voice, as if trying to apologize while holding back the tears that threatened to spill out involuntarily.
"Andromeda, don't focus so much on the age," I interrupted, trying to steer the conversation.
"Mum, it's not that strange. Our age difference isn't that big," she tried to excuse herself, fighting to hold back tears as she endured her mother's harsh reprimand.
"The age difference may not seem big, but it becomes enormous when you're an adult and he's a child. How can you think this is okay? Do you want us to go back to the Middle Ages, where girls were married off as soon as they had their first period? Damn it, Nymphadora! You're not supposed to be this stupid," she continued scolding her harshly. "How could you do this? How did I not notice? Though... now his penis size makes sense…" she muttered without thinking, carried away by her frustration.
"That has nothing to do with it, actually," I quickly interjected. "To create the appearance of Tenebrius, I had to modify several aspects to compensate for the height. He even has hollow bones, like some birds. He's lighter but also fragile," I explained, trying to steer the conversation away from the awkward topic.
"By Morgana's breasts!" Andromeda exclaimed, fear flashing across her face as she realized something. "Nymphadora Tonks, please, for all the magic in this world, tell me you haven't had sex. Tell me that everything you told me about that was a lie," she said, tears brimming in her eyes.
Tonks remained silent. It wasn't that she didn't want to answer; she simply didn't know how to form the words amidst her mother's emotional state. She was trembling with fear. She could be brave in front of the darkest, most feared wizards, but in front of her mother…
"No, no, no, no, no..." Andromeda repeated, covering her face with one hand as her voice cracked. "Why, Nymphadora? How could you…?"
"I…" (Tonks)
"Andromeda," I interrupted softly, stepping closer and resting my hands on her shoulders as I used [Calm], trying to prevent her from getting further agitated.
"It's my fault..." she muttered, pulling away from me, leaning on the sofa as she covered her face and began to cry with great anguish. "This is all my fault…"
"Mum..." Tonks responded, though fear gripped her. She couldn't bear to see her mother in that state, which worried her far more than being scolded. "It's not your fault," she said as she wiped her tears.
"Yes, it is..." Andromeda replied, her voice broken. "I pushed you too hard. I insisted over and over... but I thought it was for the best. I didn't see the signs, and I just wanted you not to end up alone. I wanted you to have a peaceful, happy life with someone special. I was terrified of how excited you were about becoming an Auror, scared something bad would happen to you. I hoped you'd find someone who made you feel that the most important thing was to come home safe and sound. That you could give me grandchildren... little ones to care for again... I just wanted you to be happy. But I didn't want this. This is all my fault... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." Andromeda cried, her words filled with genuine pain and guilt, until she felt my hands on her shoulders.
"Andromeda," I said her name once more, drawing her gaze. Her tear-filled eyes met mine. "Let's calm down," I said, using every skill I thought might help soothe her. "Let us tell you everything, from the beginning."
...
It took some time, but we finally managed to calm the atmosphere. Tonks brought water for her mother, and when we were all calm enough, we began to tell our story.
We told her how we met at Hogwarts, how we became friends as we were the weirdest ones there, and little by little, we became true adventure companions. We explained how we trained together, played pranks that sometimes got out of hand.
I told her how I managed to convince—or rather blackmail—the headmaster into letting me join the same training group as Tonks. How I created the identity of Tenebrius for that purpose, and how we continued spending time together, even living under the same roof, since at that time, Tonks had absolutely no domestic skills. She would have died poisoned by her own cooking.
We explained how we started working in the office, bored, until things got complicated. Maybe we upset some superiors, and they gave us dangerous jobs as retaliation. But, with my unorthodox methods, we managed to complete missions way beyond our capabilities. Among our accomplishments, the one that earned us the Orders of Merlin.
In the end, we only had each other, knowing one another better than anyone else. We survived together, walking on the edge of the abyss, and that led us to an inevitable fate: love. Tonks fell in love with me in my Tenebrius form, forgetting for a while that I was Red. Even so, she loved me, and I accepted her feelings. Although the age difference was an obstacle for her, we managed to move forward. The rest of our story, she already knew better.
After we finished, Andromeda remained silent for a moment, processing everything she had just heard. Her face, once tear-streaked, was now a mask of seriousness, cold and restrained. In the midst of that tense silence, she suddenly stood up in front of us, while we were still seated.
*Slap!*
The sound of the slap echoed in the room. She was stunned, not so much by the blow itself, but by Andromeda's unshaken expression as she delivered it.
"This is for fucking a child," Andromeda replied, her voice filled with suppressed fury.
*Slap!*
This time, the slap was for me. I felt my head turn from the force of the strike.
"And this is for putting yourself in danger," she said, her hard gaze fixed on me. "You are a child. You shouldn't be involved in these things."
"I'm not a child," I muttered, rubbing my sore cheek. She hadn't held back, that much was clear. When I saw her raise her hand again, I quickly spoke. "You can't deny it. Even though my body is small, I'm more mature than you think. Mentally, I'm an adult. Sometimes I act childishly, yes, but that won't change, not even in forty years."
"Mhh..." Andromeda exhaled sharply, trying to regain her composure. "Who else knows about you two?"
"Only Dumbledore. He's the only one who knows about Tenebrius and maybe has figured out our relationship," I said.
"And he didn't do anything to stop you?!" she shouted, her fury now directed at the old wizard. "It doesn't matter... this ends now. You will never see each other again." Her tone was firm, almost final.
"Mom!" exclaimed Tonks, raising her voice.
"THAT'S HOW IT WILL BE, NYMPHADORA!" Andromeda replied with unshakable authority.
"No, it won't!" Tonks responded, now shouting as well.
The atmosphere became explosive. They both started yelling at each other, their words escalating in intensity, and the air between them became charged with tension. Insults and accusations flew, bringing up long-buried resentments. There was little I could do to calm them down without resorting to force; their voices were so loud that a silencing spell seemed like the only option.
"BY MERLIN, BE QUIET!" Andromeda roared. "This was wrong from the beginning, and we are going to fix it."
"I'm not leaving him!" Tonks shot back with fierce determination.
"Nymphadora!" Andromeda shouted.
"NO!" Tonks screamed, letting all her rage pour out. "You can say whatever you want to me, I deserve it. But I'm not leaving him. What we have isn't trivial; it's not something you can break so easily."
"You will leave him!" Andromeda yelled back.
"Neither you nor anyone else can force me!" Tonks retorted.
"Your father would be turning in his grave if he could hear you," Andromeda said bitterly.
"Don't bring him into this!" Tonks shouted through tears.
"LISTEN TO ME, NYMPHADORA. IF YOU DON'T LEAVE HIM, DON'T EVER CONSIDER YOURSELF MY DAUGHTER AGAIN. FORGET ABOUT ME, ABOUT YOUR FAMILY NAME! GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE AND NEVER LOOK AT ME AGAIN!" she spat, each word filled with venom.
"FINE, SO BE IT!" Tonks screamed, sobbing as she grabbed my sleeve, trying to pull me toward the door.
"Wait," I said, stopping her. I looked at Andromeda, a mix of sadness and reproach in my eyes. "Are you really going to throw your own daughter... and her boyfriend... who's pregnant?" I added, placing my hand on my stomach.
"What?!" Tonks looked at me, utterly confused.
"What?!" Andromeda's expression twisted, her rage shifting to total bewilderment.
"Sorry... I just wanted to break the tension," I said, noticing that the comment had worked. The suffocating tension broke, replaced by overwhelming surprise.
Taking advantage of the confusion, I quickly approached Andromeda. I held her arms and looked deeply into her eyes, using my powers to try to calm her.
"Mother-in-law," I said sincerely, "I know everything you've said is because you're angry. Maybe we haven't known each other for long, but I see you as a second mother. And I know if you push Tonks away now, you'll regret it forever. I don't want you to lose your daughter, and I don't want to see you alone. I care about you, too, and I can't stand seeing you in pain. Please, let's calm down and talk about this when anger isn't clouding our judgment."
Andromeda looked at me as if she wanted to scream, but I closed my eyes and waited for her reaction, ignoring even the murmurs of Tonks behind me. Andromeda hesitated, looking between her daughter and me, trembling with the internal conflict and confusion raging inside her.
"I'm going to bed," she finally said in a broken voice. She pulled away from my hands and slowly walked toward her room, unable to bear the pain in her chest any longer.
I stood there, holding Tonks as she sobbed in my arms. She was hurting too, and she needed love.
------------------------------------------------------
Hello, friends!
I want to let you know that I finally opened a Patreon. I know it might be complicated for some, but unfortunately, there aren't many alternatives since no platform accepts dark fiction; they all have more "family-friendly" policies.
This Patreon won't work like the others. I won't be able to publish the content I post here with additional chapters, as what I write isn't allowed on those platforms.
What I will do is the following: on Patreon, you'll find extra content, such as images, fun facts, and other additional material. Donations, instead of unlocking exclusive content, will allow me to write more chapters here. Basically, the more support I receive, the more chapters I can write. I know this model might not appeal to many, as donors won't receive something exclusive, but I don't have many options.
Important clarification: I will continue posting one chapter a week as usual; that won't change. However, if you wish to support me, I can increase the number of chapters for everyone.
Here's how it will work:
For every $5 donated, there will be an additional weekly chapter, up to a maximum of 4 (I also need time to write my other story).
If you want to and can contribute, you are welcome to do so to help me continue with this work (expenses for unicorn food, wand lubricant, hiring bards to sing about Red in the Leaky Cauldron, red hair dye, etc.). If you can't, please don't feel pressured; I will never accept what someone needs for themselves.
Here's the link:
p@treon.com/Lunariuz
If there are any issues, please let me know.