Just The Way You Are: A Ronks Story

Looking Good

"All right, don't break ranks if one of you gets hurt, or killed. Just keep flying." Mad-Eye was giving directions on how to get Harry. "Tonks, did you send the letter?"

"Yes," said Tonks, eyeing her fellow Order members. She was by far the smallest one. "What if I get knocked off my broom again? Some people just don't seem to see me." The Auror glared at Mundungus, obviously thinking about the disastrous time that Mundungus had crashed into her, and sent her spiraling down into some trees. Never again, she had promised herself.

"Then you die, is that clear?"

"No, I don't want to die."

"Then you stay behind, is that what you want?"

"No!"

"Make up your mind, girl! Are you going, or staying?"

Tonks scowled, and attempted to hide behind Remus. Mad-Eye seemed to take this as a gesture of submission, and was satisfied. Remus, an understanding man, grinned, and inched forward, allowing Tonks to move behind him.

After making one of his famous motivation speeches, Mad-Eye delivered the rest of the plan, and headed out the door. Behind him was Mundungus, who he had tightly by the wrist so he couldn't break away, and bringing up the rear of the sullen parade was a sulking Tonks, yanked along by Remus, who was thinking of shutting her in the closet again.

"Why don't you cheer up a little?" snarled Remus through tightly gritted teeth.

"Does dying sound appealing to you? No? Why am I not surprised?"

"Oh shut up." Remus decided he was done talking to Tonks for now. He dragged her out the door, and then, perhaps thinking that he'd been a bit too rough with her, he let go of her arm, and held her hand, walking slower to give Tonks a chance to catch up. She sniffled, and wiped her hand across her eyes. "Oh come on, don't cry," said Remus, stopping to dry Tonks's tears. "We both know I didn't mean it! Okay, well, maybe only one of us knows it, but, just please stop crying!" Remus wondered what Sirius would have to say about Tonks's red eyes. Oh well, it didn't matter, as long as she stopped crying. Tonks obediently stopped sobbing, and followed Remus back to the group.

"Okay, broomsticks ready?" They had reached a small clearing, a place that they had all agreed to take off from, and land on.

"Ready!" chorused everyone but Tonks, who had decided to be a better sport about things, and was fumbling with her broom.

While they all flew through the sky, a light rain began to fall, which quickly turned to hail. Mad-Eye rubbed his head as a chunk of ice whacked him between the eyes, causing him to swerve wildly. Everyone was glad once they reached Privet Drive.

"Tonks, are you sure you sent that letter?" Mad-Eye had put on Dumbledore's Invisibility Cloak, and rubbed a hole in the frost covering the windows, staring in. "It looks like they're still here."

"Well not everyone cares for lawn-competition prize-winnings. What are you going to win, a flowerpot?" Tonks pretended to unveil imaginary prizes. "Look, ma'm! Would you like a new lawn mower? Oh, here, sir, why don't you win a PACK OF SEEDS? Seriously, who's going to fall for a lawn  competition?"

Suddenly, the Durselys paraded out the door, pausing only to lock it, and then they all practically fell into their car with excitement. "Mum, what did we win again?" Dudley buckled his seat belt, and folded his hands in his lap impatiently, clearly excited to get to their destination. 

"A lawn competition, dear. Is it too cold, or too warm back there?" Harry's Aunt Petunia fussed. 

"No, Mum, I mean, what's the prize?"

"We're not sure, dear."

"Well what's the point of winning something if you've got no idea of what it is?" they could hear Dudley saying as the car sped away.

"That boy'll never amount to anything," observed Remus.

"That's exactly what my mother said about me," said Mad-Eye sadly.

"Your mother is probably the smartest woman in the world," said Tonks. "Here you are, no eye, no family, no-"

"I have an eye! And I have Mrs. Butterscotch!" snarled Mad-Eye. "She's my wife!"

"How sad is it, that your wife is a parrot?"

"When I found her at the park one day, she asked me to marry her. Don't underestimate Mrs. Butterscotch."

Tonks shrugged. They went inside. Harry faced them with a baseball bat, and caught Tonks in the nose. "Ow!" she shrieked, her hands flying to her face. "We've come to save you, Harry! We come in peace!"

"Oh." Harry lowered his weapon. "Oh. I-I'm sorry, uh..." the boy trailed off, his face red, fully aware that he'd just attacked his rescuer.

"Tonks," finished Mad- Eye, stepping forward. "Her name is Tonks."

Harry paled. "Oh, uh... Hi, um... Professor."

"No need to call me that," said Mad-Eye. "I didn't teach you much, did I, boy? Now, turn on the lights, no need to stand here in the dark."

"Y-yes," said Harry, clearly still in shock about the fact that two of his professors, a woman with pink hair, and about eight others had turned up to save him. He walked over to the light switch as if in a trance, and flicked it on. He was wearing pajama bottoms, and an old shirt that had once been Dudley's.

"And give me that bat, boy, before you knock someone else out!" Mad-Eye roughly jerked the bat from Harry's hand.

"Oh, um, did I?" Harry gestured towards Tonks.

"No, but you nearly did!" grumped Mad-Eye. "Now, let's fly!"

Going back to Grimmauld place was harder with the wind against them. A few chilly flakes of snow drifted through the sky, and came to rest on their brooms. As the snow fell harder, it became a challenge to stay on track, and for a heart-stopping second, Tonks lost sight of her fellow Order members that were ahead of her.

"I can't see!" she whimpered. Remus reached over and grabbed her wrist, pulling her closer to him. "Thanks," muttered Tonks.

"It's okay." Remus's gentle voice came back through the sheet of snow. "We'll be back soon, and everything's going to be fine."

Tonks wished she could believe him. A torrent of snow and ice promptly smacked her in the face, scratching her skin, and flying into her eyes. Tonks cried out in pain.

Remus was struggling to stay on his broom. It was spiraling out of control. Through the howling wind, Remus heard Mad-Eye say, "Start the descent!"

The broom, which had been battling gravity through the flight, seemed to have heard Mad-Eye, because it headed toward the ground at an alarming speed, and smacked to the ground, plunging Remus waist-deep in some muddy swamp water, a few feet away from Mad-Eye. 

"Aieeeeee!" screamed Tonks, who was heading toward the pond headfirst. Remus was spattered with mud as Tonks fell into the swamp beside him. Coughing, spitting out water, and wiping slime from his eyes, Remus reached into the water, grimacing as it made a weird sucking sound as he leaned over, and pulled Tonks out. She was whimpering and rubbing at her face.

"It's all right," soothed Remus. "Everything's okay."

Tonks was not okay. She couldn't see, there was mud in her mouth, and she was pretty sure that she had kissed a frog down there. Remus attempted to wipe some of the slime off of her face, and gave her a hug. "Don't cry," he told her.

Tonks used her muddy hands to shove some hair out of her face. "Can we go ho-" Tonks stopped. Grimmauld Place wasn't home for her. Home was where her parents were. "Back to Grimmauld Place now?"

"Of course," said Remus. He wished that Mad-Eye hadn't picked a landing spot so close to a swamp. Number Twelve was in sight, and he sloshed through the water, pausing occasionally to pull Tonks out of the mud. 

When Sirius answered the door, his only comment was: "You two look good."