Chapter 1
“Nymphadora Tonks, please,” Anastasia said to the witch at the front desk.
The witch checked her list and nodded, letting Anastasia into the hallway that led to the hospital rooms. It had only been a few days since the battle and the healers had said that Dora might have to be here for a few weeks at the least. So, Anastasia stopped by every day to see how her sister was doing.
She knew the way by now, her feet taking her there subconsciously. When she got to the door, however, she paused. There were voices speaking to each other. Who else was visiting? Mum and Dad were both at work. Anastasia supposed it could be one of the nurses, but something in her gut told her that wasn’t the case. So, she peeked into the small window to see if she knew the figure. Definitely a male, tall with brown hair, but that’s all she could see with his back to the door. He was wearing a patched jacket that seemed oddly familiar, but Anastasia couldn’t place where she had seen it before.
She stood there a few moments, trying to decide whether or not she should go in or let her sister have some peace with the visitor. She heard footsteps and made a quick decision, not bothering to figure out if they were coming from the hallway or the room.
Anastasia opened the door slowly. “Dora?” she called out, hoping not to startle either of them.
“Ana!” Dora’s voice rang out, and Anastasia could hear the smile on her sister’s face before she even saw her.
Anastasia stepped into the room, gently closing the door behind her.
“Remus, you remember my sister?”
The man that had been standing there gave her a tight smile and a slight nod. Anastasia recognized him immediately - Professor Lupin, her old Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. She hadn’t seen him since he’d left Hogwarts a few years ago, and though she’d adored him as a professor she was a bit wary of him now that she knew of his condition. But according to Dora, he was a member of the Order, which did earn him a certain level of trust in Anastasia’s mind.
Though what he was doing in her sister’s hospital room - alone - she had no idea.
“Of course, she was one of my students. A pleasure to meet again, Anastasia.”
“Professor Lupin,” Anastasia responded carefully, nodding back in return. “Pleasure to see you as well.”
A moment of awkward silence settled across the room. Anastasia wasn’t sure how to react to finding an old teacher in the room with her sister. Then again, Dora had already left Hogwarts by the time Professor Lupin arrived, and they did see each other often at Order meetings. She supposed it wasn’t that strange after all. After what felt like an eternity, Professor Lupin cleared his throat and sidestepped around Anastasia, avoiding eye contact.
Now that was strange. He’d always been one to treat students as equals, meeting their eyes during conversation. Was he… nervous? About what?
“Tonks.” Professor Lupin said curtly, nodding his head toward Dora before stepping out the door and closing it.
Anastasia watched him leave and slowly turned to face her sister again. Dora was sitting up, her eyes practically glued to the door.
“What was that about?” Anastasia asked, taking a few steps closer to the bed.
“Oh.” Dora startled and blinked, tearing her eyes away from the door like she suddenly remembered that her sister was in the room. “Nothing. Just a fellow Order member checking in to see how I’m healing up.”
Anastasia gave her sister a look. Dora was obviously healing but was still in bad shape. Whatever curse had been cast on her was taking some time for the healers to sort out. And there was an odd look on Dora’s face, something more than just physical pain from her injuries. There was more to the story, Anastasia knew it, but decided against pushing her sister for more details. She would pry the information out of her once Dora was healed and back home.
Anastasia reached over to give Dora a gentle hug before pulling up a chair beside her bed. “Mum and Dad send their love and told me to let you know they’ll be by tonight with some dinner for you.”
Dora beamed at her, the strange look disappearing in an instant. “Thank Merlin for them, I don’t know if I can handle another night of St. Mungo’s food.” She said with a playful shiver.
Anastasia laughed. “It can’t be that bad.”
Dora shrugged. “Either way it’s definitely not mum’s cooking.”
Anastasia nodded in agreement. “Truly, nothing compares.”
Silence settled between them again. There was a weight in the air, something unspoken about what Anastasia had walked into. It was an odd feeling - they shared everything with each other. Well, used to. Once Dora had become a full-fledged Auror their relationship changed. There were things Dora could no longer tell her, especially while Anastasia was still in school. She’d hoped that things could go back to normal once she left Hogwarts, but with the war on the horizon and Dora in the Order, there were more secrets than ever between them.
It was also odd for Dora to be this quiet, though Anastasia couldn’t imagine what her sister had experienced at the department. The loss of Sirius had been a blow to the whole Tonks family. He and Andromeda had become close during the past few months, their status of being the Black family outcasts bonding them together. Dora hadn’t talked about it much, but Anastasia knew the weight of his death weighed heavy on her sister’s shoulders - and mind.
And then there was the matter of Aunt Bellatrix being the one to curse Dora. The members of the Black family had complicated relationships
“I start my job tomorrow.” Anastasia piped up suddenly, hoping to brighten the mood a bit.
Dora’s face lit up, glad to have a topic of conversation to pull her out of her own head. “Right! I knew you were starting soon. Are you excited?”
Anastasia nodded and began sharing with her sister all the details she knew and what she was looking forward to the most. Before long, Dora was laughing and Anastasia was able to relax again.
Maybe her sister would be alright after all.
____________________________________________________________________________
Anastasia hummed to herself as she walked down the street, the rook-shaped building coming into view ahead of her. Although it was her first official day as an employee, her years as an intern for the Quibbler had turned the Lovegoods into a second home for her. When she arrived at the front door, though, she paused a moment. Something in her felt the need to at least attempt to be professional. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door.
In seconds, it was open. Luna stood in the door frame with a big grin on her face.
“Anastasia,” she said in her wispy voice, stepping aside to let Anastasia in. “You don’t have to knock anymore.”
Anastasia laughed, stepping across the threshold and pulling Luna into a hug. “I know.” She shrugged, stepping away from the younger girl. “It just feels a bit different now that I’m no longer an intern.”
Luna was about to respond, but there was a loud noise in the hallway. Anastasia jumped and raced to the back of the house to investigate. Unsurprisingly, it was Xenophilius, bending over to pick up the bundle of scrolls that had fallen out of his arms and were now scattered across the floor in various states of un-roll. Anastasia shook her head as she leaned down to help gather them.
Xenophilius noticed the extra hand and paused, looking up in confusion. A smile dawned on his face when he realized who it was.
“Ah, Anastasia! There you are! And early, as usual.”
Anastasia laughed as she stood and handed him the scrolls she’d rescued. “You know me, Mr. Lovegood. If I’m not early then I’m late.”
He nodded at her. “Indeed. One of the many reasons I hired you. Now, follow me.”
He spun on his heel and started back down the hall, Anastasia right behind him. She had a feeling she knew where they were going, but let him lead the way to be polite. Xenophilius stopped abruptly at a door to his left (Anastasia almost bumped into him but was able to pull herself back), and opened it slightly to toss the scrolls into the room, before closing it and continuing down the hall. Finally, he paused at a door on the right and turned to her.
“I believe you recognize this room, yes?”
Anastasia nodded. It was the room where she’d spent many hours during her internship for the paper, organizing her notes and writing articles to be published. It was in this room that she helped Rita put the final touches on her story about Harry. That seemed so long ago now, but in reality, has only been about five months.
A lot can happen in just five months.
The door opened and Xenophilius stepped aside to let her in. It looked exactly the same, which Anastasia realized it should, as it had only been a few weeks since she last stepped foot in here. But it felt different now. She was an actual paid journalist, no longer the unpaid intern that kept the house clean more often than writing. The story about Harry had been an exception, not the rule, and Anastasia would always be thankful that Xenophilius trusted her to assist. And liked it so much that he brought her onto his staff.
Though, she was the only staff member that didn’t bear the Lovegood name.
Anastasia looked around the familiar office, letting this feeling sink in. Xenophilius gave her a moment of quiet before speaking again.
“Now, we have some work to do.”