The Marauders: Year Six Part 2 #Wattys2017

So Dramatic, Just Like Your Brother

So Dramatic, Just Like Your Brother

It happened so fast.

Nymphadora had been there - just right there, and Andromeda had taken her eyes off her for but a second, and she was gone.

"NYMPHADORA!"

Her voice echoed off the high, close-together walls of Diagon Alley's buildings.

It was a butterfly that did it. Big yellow wings with black spots and long antennae. The insect had fluttered right up to Nymphadora's little nose, fluttered it's big wings for a moment, then flown off, her eyes wide with delight and awe. Her hair instantly turned the same golden shade as the butterfly's wings and she'd rushed to catch up with it, fluttering her arms and skipping, calling for it to come back in her little voice... and the butterfly had dipped and swished 'round the passing shoppers, sweeping under a butterbeer wagon and Nymphadora Tonks crawled beneath it, too, biting her tongue as the knees of her tights getting wet with the snow, her cotton dress's hem, too, and her cloak, and she rushed after the bug, which had seemed to hover and wait for her on the other side...

She raced down a couple stone steps into Knockturn Alley.

The butterfly was fluttering along, the only bright thing in the dismal alleyway - besides Nymphadora's own hair, of course - and it landed on a window sill before an old shoppe with windows so dirty that nobody could see inside.

Nymphadora pranced over, holding her hands up, ready to catch the insect, and she grinned with glee and clapped her palms 'round it, careful not to smush it in her grasp.... But when she opened her hands a second later... all that was there to rise up from them was a puff of purple smoke, which she watched rise up from her little hands with wide, fascinated eyes of confusion.

Had she crushed it after all?

She looked down to the ground and around in the air, as though expecting the butterfly to appear... but instead of a butterfly, when she looked up, she found four looming adults.

"C'mon poppet," hissed a low voice. The man who spoke wore a scary grey mask and long black robes and he leaned close to her, his breath coming out low and horrifying through slits in the mouth of the mask. He lay a firm grasp on her upper arm, yanking her 'round and another set of hands wrapped tight about her, hands hooking beneath her armpits to lift her up from the ground effortlessly, and she kicked and shrieked.

"Put me down! Put me down!" she wailed, kicking desperately. "Mumma, Mumma!"

Chuckling, they carried her down the alley, and 'round another turn, far off from where they'd initially picked her up, and eventually emerged into the far end of Diagon Alley, steps away from the Leaky Cauldron. With a twist of one of their wands, Nymphadora's cries were silenced and they collected in a corner by the bricks that led out into the streets of London via the pub itself...

"Tonks?"

The four masked men looked up.

Remus Lupin and Sirius Black stood at the end of the short alley. Sirius, who'd been holding bags on his arms, quickly dropped them to the ground at his feet.

"WEMISS!" Tonks cried out, her arms reaching for him..

It took Remus only a half of a second to assess the situation - far less time than it took the lunkheads trying to steal her away to catch on what was about to happen. In a blink of an eye, Remus had his wand out faster than any of the masked men could react to -- "INTRORUMPO!" -- and a blast of powerful magic soared toward them, knocking the lot of them over like bowling pins.