Chapter 7: Nymphadora Tonks

-Tonks house, Northamptonshire, England

-January 5, 1976

Nymphadora Tonks, the little two-year-old metamorphmagus, was playing with her toys in the living room when she heard a knock at the door.

She curiously ran to the door.

Nymphadora Tonks toddled over to the front door of her family's home and tugged on the handle, opening it to reveal a tall, good-looking young man standing on the doorstep.

It was Mangus Neville Longbottom a wizard whom Nymphadora had never met before.

She stared up at him with wide eyes as her hair changed to an orangey-yellow colour

"Hello there, little one," Neville said with a smile, crouching down to be at eye level with Nymphadora.

"Is your mum or dad home?"

"You're a friend of mummy and daddy's?" she asked curiously.

"Um... I'm more like an acquaintance of your mum's," replied Neville, surprised by the little girl's cuteness.

"My name is Magnus Neville Longbottom, but you can call me Neville or Nev and I came to talk to your mum or dad? Is one of them at home?"

Nymphadora nodded eagerly, her now curly pink hair bouncing as she did so.

Neville couldn't help but smile in amusement at the natural change in the girl's hair colour due to her emotions.

"Mummy!" she called out, gesturing for Neville to come inside.

"Come in, come in!"

Neville stepped into the house, looking around at the comfortable furnishings and family photos that adorned the walls.

Nymphadora tugged on his hand, leading him into the living room where her mother, Andromeda, was sitting.

When Nymphadora entered the living room with him, she ran to Andromeda shouting, "Mummy, someone's waiting here to see you!"

Andromeda quickly rose from her seat worried about who might be looking for her at this moment.

When she saw Magnus, she greeted him with an uncertain smile, feeling a little uneasy and worried about her former fiancé's presence in her house.

"Magnus! What a surprise to see you here, how have you been?" asked Andromeda as she invited him to take a seat.

Neville sat uncomfortably on the couch as Andromeda prepared tea for them both.

"I'm fine, thank you," Neville replied.

He felt quite awkward about visiting someone he barely knew, but his conscience was urging him to do something for Andromeda Black, who had made a brave decision to marry Edward Tonks despite her family's opposition, he respected that and knew that any help she and her husband could get would be a great help..., but it was still a very uncomfortable situation for him.

"I'm glad to hear that," she said softly, not knowing what else to say in this situation, not knowing Mangus well enough to know his reasons for visiting her or how he would react to the fact that she had married and had a daughter all in secret.

But luckily Neville finally gathered his courage and began to speak, "Andromeda, I actually came here today because I wanted to congratulate you for your engagement and well... for your lovely daughter as well. But I also wanted to talk to you about something more serious."

Andromeda nodded and stared at him.

"I appreciate that Magnus, I wish I could have told you on my own, but you know there are some things that are best kept secret for as long as possible" she explained.

" I know, don't worry about it" Neville smiled at her and then looked over at Nymphadora, who was peeking into the living room from the doorway.

"And this little one must be your daughter, right?" he asked, kneeling down to her level.

"This is Nymphadora," Andromeda replied, smiling at her daughter.

"She's my two-year-old" she adds.

Neville smiled at the little girl and then looked up at Andromeda.

"She's beautiful, Andromeda, and also a special one as far as I can see," he said, making clear mention of the change in the little girl's hair colour that indicated she was a metamorphmagus.

"She is," nodded Andromeda with a warm smile.

"You have a wonderful family" Neville complimented.

Andromeda smiled back at him, feeling grateful for his kind words.

For her, Magnus' visit was a reminder that not all elitist pure-blooded wizards were intolerant and vicious. There were people like Magnus, who were willing to accept and support others regardless of one's blood status.

She knew that she had made the right decision in marrying Edward. She was determined to make things work with her husband and to give her daughter the best life she could.

Neville and Andromeda talked about various things, and he took the opportunity to get more information from her about her sister Bellatrix.

Who else but his sister would know Bellatrix Black better than anyone else in this time and space...

The two also touched on the situation of her marrying a muggleborn and how difficult it had been for them these past two years since the Blacks had found out about the whole thing.

Neville assured her that he was there to support her in whatever she needed and Andromeda thanked him for his sincerity and support even though he didn't have to do all this.

As the two of them talked, Nymphadora continued to play on the floor, constantly changing the colour of her hair according to her emotions.

After a while Neville pulled out a bag and Andormeda noticed this.

"What's that?" she asked curious and intrigued.

Neville opened the bag showing her the inside filled with gallons of gold and handed it to her.

"I can't accept this, Magnus," Andromeda protested, but Neville interrupted her.

"I know, I know. But I really want to help you somehow. Now that I know everything Lord and Lady Black have been doing I feel it's an injustice and no one should have to go through that. And it can't be easy for your husband to go around looking for one-day jobs to earn a few coins"

"Still..." she tried to protest again but Neville interrupted her again.

"Look, just accept it as a simple engagement present and as a gift for your lovely daughter's second birthday," Neville smiled.

Andromeda was overwhelmed by Magnus' generosity and his words.

"I don't know how to thank you, Magnus, this is a huge help to us. You're too kind despite everything that happened," she said, quite touched by his gesture.

"You don't have to thank me, Andromeda, and I already told you not to worry about the engagement thing, that was between Lord Longbottom and Lord Black, in fact, I'm glad you decided to follow your own path, it's very brave of you and I respect that a lot. Now I just want you to know that you are not alone in this. If you need anything else, just let me know," Magnus said.

Andromeda nodded and thanked Neville again for his generosity.

Afterwards, the two of them sat in the living room and chatted for quite a while, while Nymphadora played with her toys on the floor and from time to time she asked both of them to join in, which Neville did without any problem, he found the cute little girl and her constantly shifting hair colour too adorable.

Neville sometimes found it hard to believe that this girl was the Auror he knew in his time and space.

Neville noticed her ability to change her hair colour and modify her face at only two years old and was impressed, he asked her how she did it, and the little Nymphadora, happy to show off her skill, showed him how she could change her hair to any colour she wanted as well as some other things she had learned to do such as modifying her nose into a pig's one.

Andormeda also explained to Neville that Nymphadora tended to lose control over the colour of her hair due to her constant emotions and unless she focused on her hair it would change colour only according to her emotions.

When it was time to say goodbye, Andromeda thanked Neville once again for all his help.

While Neville just smiled and told her that he would be there to help at any time, of course, he made it clear that it would be better if no one knew about this to avoid problems for both of them, something that Andromeda quickly understood, she was after all a brilliant witch and a Slytherin, she understood the situation perfectly.

Then he said goodbye to the cheerful Nymphadora, who hugged him and thanked him for coming to visit them, she also asked him tenderly and energetically to come and visit them again.

As Neville walked to the door and left, Nymphadora quickly followed him, her hair changing colour to a bright yellow.

"Bye, Nev!" she shouted cheerfully, waving her hand enthusiastically as she closed the door behind him.

As he left the house, Neville felt happy and satisfied with himself that he had made the decision to come here and do something good for the Tonks who were going through a difficult situation.