Ch62. Christmas 2

Hadrian in his adult form and a black business suit, and Narcissa in a black victorian dress flooed to Andromeda's and Ted's house. Only to be greeted by the sight of happy Andromeda, resigned Ted, and scowling Dora.

"Hello." They chorused with a smile as they saw Dora's scowl.

"Hi, welcome, Lord Black, Cissy." Andromeda greeted them while Ted waved.

Dora was quiet, her eyes sweeping through Hadrian's adult form. She suddenly got a deja-vu and thought Lord Black was quite similar to her Harry...

Her eyes darted to his forehead but no scar could be found.

She shook her that thought from her head and kept the urge to groan in frustration at her haywire feelings at bay, only to be nudged by her father who looked at her with an awkward face.

"Ah, sorry. Hi, Lord Black, I am Dora Tonks." She slightly bowed as she realized her manners were lacking but... Eh, Whatever?

Both Narcissa and Hadrian chuckled while Dora's parents gave them apologetic wry grins.

"Hello, Nymphadora."

"Good, to see you again, Nymphadora."

They both again said Nymphadora together, making Dora's scowl return.

Hadrian couldn't help himself but approach Dora and pat her head.

"Kay, kay, girl. We just couldn't resist." He snickered only for his hand to be swept from Dora's head by her hand. With a huff, she turned around and went to her room as Hadrian rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"I will come for dinner." Dora shouted from the stairs, her voice miffed.

"Eh, you forgot you are not in your kid-form, mate. That's the one my little girl wants to shag." Ted quipped, bemused as he led them towards the table.

"Sigh, what will I do with that girl. Since she came home, she can not shut up about some Harry Potter. Do you happen to know him, perhaps?" Andromeda quipped jokingly as she mockingly put her hand on her forehead.

"Suuuuure. Mock me, why won't you." Hadrian grumbled and sat down behind the table.

Narcissa followed him and put her chair right next to him to be able to hold his hand and lean on him.

"Well, the girl is in love, dear." She joined the conversation. "Her actions don't fit the wild girl Nymphadora is supposed to be." She shook her head sadly. "From her reaction, she does realize it and is quite undecided what to think about it. She wants it badly though."

They all knew Narcissa was natural in Mind Arts. That also included some degree of ability to read people. Andromeda could only genuinely grimace.

"You know... she did give her virginity to Charlie Weasley only to be dumped not even half-hour later." Andromeda squeezed Ted's hand so hard he was gritting his teeth while giving stink-eye at Hadrian's amused expression. "It was Harry who cheered her up and was her emotional support for the entirety of her stay at Hogwarts." Andromeda smiled at him sweetly.

Hadrian was focused on Andromeda... He liked Dora and didn't know it happened quite like that. He always thought…

"Let me guess." Andromeda continued a bit peeved but also amused. "You thought Dora lost it when she was somewhere around fourth or fifth year."

Hadrian was about to lie through his lips and deny it only to be rebuked before he even began talking.

"Don't try to deny it. Dora is wild. Everybody thinks she just took her Quidditch captain by the tie and shagged him senseless as a graduation gift at the end of her fourth year. There are rumors of it in Hogwarts and quite frankly, it was driving Dora mad for a while. The boy was a real friend though and tried to make her feel better. A pity he played for the other team and moved to the States."

Andromeda leaned on Ted for support as Narcissa delightedly mirrored her and leaned on Hadrian.

"But Dora really cherished her chastity, you know?" Andromeda sadly told them. "That's why I want to kill Charlie Weasley so much." She finished with venom in her tone.

"As fifth year our little girl had five different boyfriends during the year but she never went further than kissing. She was proud of herself for that stunt." Ted continued for Andromeda with a chuckle. "We? Not so much. Five boys! In a year... if that was going to be her luck in dating then I worried about her future."

"Well... I was also feisty during my Hogwarts years." Narcissa quipped only to be pinched by Hadrian.

"Hey!!" She barked indignantly and then licked his cheek playfully. "But don't worry. I belong only to you." She tightly pressed his arm between her breasts as her head rested on Hadrian's shoulder in delight.

"So, how does Weasley fit into the story?" Hadrian continued the previous topic as he was interested in the story. It might very well decide the well-being if not the life of one Charlie Weasley.

"Ah... yes, it was kind of weird, you know. Our girl wasn't big of a fan of that boy. He was Gryffindor... her quidditch competition. He was Weasley... well, Andromeda was always vocal about them. And not in a good way." Ted continued a little confused. "But one day, out of nowhere, she just came singing gospel about the boy."

"Did you suspect foul play?" Narcissa asked bluntly, stopping Ted short.

"Yes." Andromeda said, making Ted gape at her.

"When!" He burst out.

"Not important." Andromeda rebuffed him chidingly. "There was no love potion used. I was really spooked with Dora's mood swings. When she came from school she was gushing about him and then at the end of the holiday, nothing. It was confusing so I had her tested."

"Ah... there was nothing found, wasn't there?" Narcissa rolled her eyes. "When did you test her?"

"When she came home from... Hogwarts... for... Christmas." Realization dawned on Andromeda as she stared at Narcissa in horror. "You don't mean to say that..."

"Exactly, dear sister. If she really had such swings in her feelings towards the boy... Yes, it is entirely possible." Narcissa concluded.

"How?" Ted asked, murder in his eyes. If it was true then...

"Dora is a teenager. One love potion is enough to make her feel in love for a short while. Three in short duration one after the other would reinforce those feelings."

"But the effects would disappear!" Andromeda shouted.

"Yes... But." Narcissa sighed. "But she was a teenager. Too hormonal. In short, craving sex and love. Her mind got to feel love, no matter if it was a fake one. Then it was reinforced and well... her own hormones-filled body did the rest and persuaded her mind the boy is the right one for her. At least for a while. Hence, her mood swings. A week without seeing him or getting a dose of love potion and her feelings would start to fade. But if she had contact with him..."

Narcissa shook her head and shrugged.

"You would not find love potion in her system unless you incidentally took her from school by surprise during a week when she was being dosed and had her tested. Three days and it would be flushed from her system while effects would be sustained due to self-suggestion of her mind. If 'someone' added a slight Confundus on top of that... well, it would be actually perfectly undetectable yet held strong for weeks if not months. There is an entire study about the effects of mind-altering potions on the mind and how the effects can be preserved for some time even after the effect of the potion ceased. It could be worse though. She could actually persuade herself she is madly in love with him and become obsessed. There is a reason why these potions are restricted, after all." Narcissa finished with a shrug, leaving both Tonkses gape at her.

An awkward silence ensued in the room only for a broken teary voice from the direction of the door to be heard.

"Is it true?" Dora stood in the middle of the door, her expression twisted in deep sorrow and anguish at hearing what Narcissa said.

"Sweety..." Andromeda tried to calm Nymphadora down while feeling horror crept up her mind.

"Is it true?" Dora just repeated her question, a little harsher this time but still softly.

Narcissa looked directly at the girl and sighed.

"It was just speculation but..."

"I meant about the reason for mood swings and the self-suggestion." Dora interrupted her.

"Yes." Narcissa bluntly told her as she realized the girl had to have her own suspicions if she asked that question. There was no point in lying to her now.

"Oh…" Dora turned around and rushed to her room while sobs shook her body.

"Narcissa!" Andromeda angrily screamed only to be pulled back into her seat by her husband.

"It's fine dear. Our Nymphy had to hear it. If not now, then eventually… God, she looked as if..." He tried to finish that sentence with difficulty.

"She had a revelation." Narcissa nodded and finished for him. "That's why I answered. For her to ask that question... she must have suspected something was wrong but couldn't quite put it. But now..." She helplessly sighed.

"Well... so much for Christmas." Hadrian uttered dryly and received three awkward grins. "Never mind, Narcissa," He stood up, pulling Narcissa with him. "let's go, we have a girl to console."

He left with her, heading upstairs as grateful Tonkses watched their back.

"Our girl chose well this time, didn't she?" Andromeda snuggled deeper into Ted, trying to stifle her anger.

"She did." Ted nodded and held on Andromeda tightly, not liking what he learned.