𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐫 | n. tonks

viii

"Alohomora."

"Lumos."

"I still think this is a bad idea."

"Which makes it a great idea," Fred and George whispered in unison as the three of them broke into Umbridge's office while everyone else was at lunch.

"No, you two don't understand," Hadley said quietly. She closed the door behind them and locked it. "If Umbitch catches us in here...You two have no idea what she's capable of."

"Relax, sissy, we're putting things right." George draped an arm over Hadley's shoulders and nodded at Fred, who smirked and wiggled his brows mischievously.

Hadley inhaled sharply, anxiously rubbing her lips together as she watched Fred pick the lock to one of the drawers in Umbridge's desk. He put a napkin inside and then placed a Nosebleed Nougat on top. He motioned for the three of them to leave, and they quietly slipped out of their professor's office.

Lunch was over by now, and since it was a Saturday, they didn't have any classes to go to. They hurried down the corridor to the Room of Requirement, quickly stuffing down turkey sandwiches so that they weren't starving during that day's DA training.

"Where have you three been?" Hermione asked as the triplets came into the room, her tone slightly demanding.

"Female emergency," Hadley quickly lied, swallowing the last bite of her sandwich.

"We were helping her," George said as Fred nodded in agreement. He gently nudged his sister with his elbow. "No triplet left behind, right?"

Hermione eyed them suspiciously for a moment before turning and going over to the other fifth years. Fred, George, and Hadley exchanged a "that was a close one" look before joining the rest of Dumbledore's Army.

─── ⋆·✧·⋆ ───

The last weeks of the first term seemed to fly by. With classes and secret club meetings keeping them busy, it was no surprise when the final days of the term came and went.

Hadley was up late packing her trunk. She was so excited to spend the Christmas holidays at Grimmauld Place with her family and the Order. It had been too long since she was able to prank Tonks, and she couldn't wait to use her two week break annoying her favourite auror.

If she was being honest, she loved pushing the older girl's buttons because she thought she was really pretty when she was mad – and really pretty in general. She liked how her purple hair would turn a flaming reddish-orange colour and how her mocha eyes would glare down at her as she used every ounce of her control not to snap her neck. When Tonks would reach her breaking point with the youngest triplet, she'd grab her by the collar of her shirt and pin her against whatever surface was the closest, whether it was a counter, table, or a wall, and sometimes even the floor. She'd threaten her, of course, but Hadley would be too busy watching her lips and wondering how Tonks would react if they accidentally kissed.

Okay, so maybe she had a tiny crush on her. Just a tiny one. She was an older woman in a position of power over her, and she was the most beautiful girl she's ever met. How could she not fancy her just a little bit? She liked irritating her because it got her attention, even if it wasn't the good kind.

"You're blushing," Angelina Johnson said, smiling teasingly at Hadley. "Who is he?"

Hadley shrugged. "No one." She folded up her favourite hoodie and packed it in her trunk. She placed a t-shirt that she might have stolen from Tonks before going back to school on top and then zipped up her trunk.

"Right." Angelina chuckled. "Because no one gets your face as red as your hair." She sat down on the edge of her bed so that she could face Hadley better. "C'mon, Hads, you can tell me. Who's the lucky guy?"

Before Hadley could come up with a believable lie, the door to their dorm room swung open, and Ginny rushed in. She grabbed her big sister's arm and pulled her out of the room, a panicked look on her face.

"Ginny, what's going on?" Hadley asked as they walked down the stairs to the Common Room, where her brother's and Harry were standing with Professor McGonagall. A bad feeling began to grow in her stomach when the woman told her to come with her. They followed her down the dark, empty corridor to Dumbledore's office. Harry was dripping in sweat, which only added to her suspicion that something bad had happened.

When they got to Dumbledore's office, Harry told the headmaster that he had a dream that Arthur Weasley was attacked. Hadley's stomach churned, and her face paled. She exchanged a look with her brothers and sister, but didn't allow herself to cry. She had to stay strong for Ron and Ginny.

She wrapped her arms around her little sister when she hid her face in her chest. She felt a comforting hand on her back, and she looked up at Fred. She leaned into him, a million worst case scenarios playing in her mind.

"Phineas." Dumbledore walked over to one of the paintings in his office, "you must go to your portrait at Grimmauld Place. Tell them that Arthur Weasley is gravely injured and his children will be arriving there soon by port key."

─── ⋆·✧·⋆ ───

a/n

sorry/not sorry for the cliffhanger 😅

tonks is in the next chapter 🤭

thoughts?