𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐬 | l. lovegood

xxxiv

𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐓 𝐃𝐎𝐎𝐑 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍, Dorothea put down her book and ran downstairs. When she reached the entrance hall, she reached her hand out and swiped it quickly to the right, using her telekinesis powers to slam the door shut before Tonks could leave for Privet Drive.

"You can't go!" Dorothea cried rushing to stand in front of the door so that Tonks couldn't pass.

"Thea, for Merlin's sake, this is no time for games." Tonks crossed her arms.

"It's not a game! Y-You can't go!"

"Yeah? Why not?"

"B-Because..." Dorothea could feel her face heating up as her parents and sister all stared at her for an explanation. "Because the Death Eaters are waiting for you!" she blurted.

Tonks scoffed. "Very funny, Thea. Now get out of my way so I can go do my job. You're gonna make me late."

When Dorothea refused to move, Tonks grabbed her shoulders and shoved her out of the way. The teenager huffed in frustration. Once again, she used her powers to close the door when the Auror tried to open it.

"Dorothea, this isn't funny."

"It's not supposed to be! You're not listening to me!"

"And you expect me to believe that the Death Eaters have nothing better to do than wait around all night for Harry to leave so that they can kill him?"

"That's exactly something that they'd do!" Dorothea snapped. "You're refusing to see reason! What about the baby?!"

Tonks stared at her for a moment with a complete loss for words. Dorothea went up to her and placed a gentle hand on her small baby bump.

"My baby niece or nephew is here. Is it really worth risking a miscarage just to escort Harry to a safe house? There are plenty of other Aurors who could fill in."

Tonks took a deep breath in through her nose. "Look, unless you can tell me how you know for a fact that the Death Eaters are gonna ambush us on the way, I'm gonna walk out that door."

"I...I can't tell you how I know, I-I just do!"

"Right. Stop interfering and let me do my job." Tonks turned and opened the door again.

"Nymphadora—!"

The front door slammed shut before she could finish her sentence. Dorothea groaned in frustration and kicked it as hard as she could before running upstairs to her room.

"Dorothea, that is not how we express our feelings in this house!" Andromeda shouted. When her youngest daughter slammed her bedroom door shut, she made a move for the stairs, only for Ted to pull her back.

"Why don't you let me talk to her?" he asked. Andromeda sighed and nodded, motioning for him to go ahead. He went upstairs to Dorothea's room and knocked softly on the door. When there was no response, he slowly pushed it open.

Dorothea was laying with her back facing the door. She had her headphones on. Hey Jude blasted in her ears as she rubbed Porcus's side, lightly tickling his belly every now and then. When she felt the bed dip, she turned her head and saw her dad. She paused the song and lowered her headphones.

"I don't think you and Dora have ever argued like that before," he said gently. "I agree with you, though. It is dangerous, especially with the baby...Why do you think the Death Eaters are waiting for them?"

Dorothea thought for a moment. She recalled something the Dark Lord had said to Bellatrix about pruning her family tree. "Snape's one of them," she whispered. "He's probably been taking the information he's learned from the Order and given it to them...Wh-When the Death Eaters attacked that night at the castle...Auntie Bella threatened to hurt Dora. S-She wants her dead...Wants me dead."

"Dorothea, pull up your sleeves," Andromeda said as she appeared in the doorway. The girl frowned at her, confused. "That wasn't a request. Pull up your sleeves."

Dorothea sat up. She rolled up the sleeves of her cardigan, tensing a little when Andromeda took her left forearm and inspected it, most likely looking for a Dark Mark. Thank Merlin she wasn't required to get one since she wasn't an official member.

She didn't want to be an official member.

"Draco told me," she lied. Andromeda raised a brow. "H-He said that the Death Eaters knew there was a false trail."

"You're in contact with Draco?" Andromeda asked, frowning softly.

"We go to school together, Mum," Dorothea stated. "Of course I've seen him around...Followed him around since the moment I got there. We were just starting to become friends when everything went down that night."

"Thea, you have to understand that that side of the family is very dark and twisted. Has it ever occurred to you that Draco could be pretending so that you'll tell him things he can give to the Death Eaters?"

"N-No, it's not like that. You didn't see him last year. He was...scared. He doesn't want to be a part of it, but he has no way out."

Andromeda's brows furrowed. "So, he told you that they were planning on ambushing Harry tonight so that you could warn the Order?"

"Uh...yes? N-Not that it did any good since I'm just a kid and no one listens to me anyway." Dorothea pulled Porcus into her lap as Andromeda stared at her, trying to figure out if she was lying. It was hard to tell sometimes with her since she was so good at masking her emotions.

After a long moment of awkward silence, Ted broke it. "You know what I've just realized? You haven't had dinner yet, Thea. I bought stuff to make pizza, and you can add whatever toppings you'd like."

"Like extra cheese?" Dorothea asked, as she followed her dad downstairs to the kitchen, Andromeda right behind her.

"As long as you eat, you can add as much cheese as you want."