Going from a very chaotic scene at Hogwarts to being alone in a flat in a new city meant the last 24 hours had been… very, very strange. And a lot to deal with. Her head still hadn’t quite wrapped around anything, but at least the immediate panic of finding herself in a forest and surrounded by angry turkeys had subsided.
But that didn’t really make being here any easier, even if it did mean she was alive, because she was here alone. The color in her hair seemed duller and she was just sitting quietly on the sofa, her clothes the same as they had been yesterday, though the ends of her robes were torn and bloody now. For now, she was just going to wait for Sirius -- who was alive here, somehow -- to come and see her. That was a face she definitely needed to see right now.
When she heard the knock at the door, she got up and made her way over, opening it quietly and peeking out. The sight of him there was overwhelming and she immediately felt a tightness in her throat as her eyes welled with tears, her voice weak when she said his name. “Sirius…”
He had been having far too many reunions lately that started like this - the surprise, the first meeting, the tears. It made his heart hurt to think that he had hurt so many people by being caught off guard in that duel with Bellatrix. If only he would have survived. Sirius didn’t know how he had gotten to that point, having never actually experienced that moment, but he was glad for the chance that he was getting in these new worlds, to live and reunite with his loved ones.
If only they didn’t keep coming and going.
But he wouldn’t say he wasn’t excited to see Dora again. How could he not be? He had never actually gotten to know her very well in their world, her having only been a child when he had been sent away to Azkaban. Though her mother had been his favorite cousin, being in prison meant there had been no contact. But he had the chance to get to know her in Tumbleweed and now he was getting the chance again in Vallo, something that he would gladly take.
When he got to Morningside, he didn’t wait to go up to 713. Knocking on the door, he waited impatiently, eager to make sure she was fine after what sounded like an abrupt arrival.
It wasn’t even a feeling of surprise so much as it was just happiness at seeing him standing there. He’d been in her life so briefly and waking up from the fight at the Department of Mysteries to find out he’d fallen through the veil had broken her heart. Finally she’d gotten a chance to get to know him and then he was gone.
But mixed with the happiness was an overwhelming feeling of sadness at knowing what had happened at Hogwarts prior to her arrival. All of the destruction, the death, Remus, Teddy… it made every ounce of her hurt to a point where she wasn’t sure how much talking she’d be able to do just then, now that the adrenaline and shock from the day before had worn off.
So when she opened the door, barely managed to squeak out his name, and felt the emotions wash over her, it made her freeze in place. She wanted to hug him, to just throw her arms around him and hold him, but for now she stood there in a weak attempt at controlling the sudden onslaught of tears that had hit her.
The tears were probably the thing that hurt the most. He had very rarely seen Dora this saddened before. It was obvious she was trying to hold them, but he didn’t waste any time sweeping her up in a hug. “Oh Dora, don’t cry. It’ll be fine, I promise.” He knew there were a number of reasons for her to be upset, but whatever they were, he would be there to help get through them.
He had heard that she had gotten together with Remus, that they had a child together. That her father had been killed as well. The poor woman had suffered so much, honestly, who hadn’t in their world? He couldn’t do much more than offer his presence and whatever comfort that brought.
In her time, the last few months had been some of the hardest she’d ever experienced in her relatively short time on earth, so as soon as his arms went around her she felt the grief of everything hit her at once and she buried her face against him to cry. She hated feeling this way right now, especially around him -- she’d always wanted to seem like the cool, younger cousin -- but so much had happened since his death and now that she didn’t really care either.
After a couple minutes of shoulder shaking and tears, she gulped down a breath or two and finally pulled back to wipe her face clean with the sleeve of her robe. “Oh, hells, I’m sorry,” she blubbered as she gestured at the patch of wet fabric on his chest. Then there was a hiccup and a sniffle, but she was finally starting to get her bearings.
That was only a slightly embarrassing reunion and she finally stepped back enough to let him inside, closing the door behind him with a soft click. “S’good to see you, cuz.”
All he could do was hold her as she cried, cupping the back of her head gently with his palm and letting her feel her emotions as much as she wanted. He didn’t shush her or attempt to stop her in any way because he knew how it felt to keep emotions in. No doubt she had been doing that for some time now. He reluctantly let her go when she pulled away, but he stepped inside when she gestured for him to and put on a small smile, trying for lighthearted and failing miserably.
A lot had happened and a lot of that went out the window when it came to this place. His death, her death, the rest of their family not being here...it was a lot.
“Good to see you too, Dora. You were just a wee little thing the last time I had seen you back in our world,” he explained, holding out a hand to take hers and pat it. “I’m sorry we never had the chance to get to know each other better.”
Tonks appreciated his attempts at comforting her and honestly, it did help, but so did just crying it all out for a few minutes into his shirt. To say she was overwhelmed was definitely putting it lightly.
She sniffled again and wiped at a stray tear on her cheek as they made their way inside, vaguely gesturing toward the kitchen with her free hand. “I can put the kettle on if you want a cuppa,” she said quietly before looking back over at him. She knew full well she wasn’t the best company right now, but she also suspected that Sirius didn’t mind.
“We got to know one another better in my… time, though what with everything…” Her voice trailed a bit then and she glanced down, squeezing his hand.
“I’m glad your Sirius had the chance to. I’m from 1993, so it was a bit different for me.” He knew everything that happened in the books, but sometimes the books didn’t line up with what people told him. Harry, it seemed, was usually the one that was the most different. That didn’t stop him from loving each and every one of him.
He nodded at the living room, tugging her hand gently before letting go. “Come on, let’s sit, get comfortable. The tea can wait, I came to see you.”
She looked rough around the edges, but given that he had an idea about when she had come from, it wasn’t too surprising. He wondered if Bonnie or Caroline would mind sparing some outfits until Dora figured out her situation, but he kept that in for now, deciding to let her set the pace on what happened next.
She did have to admit that she was thankful that she wasn’t completely alone in this new place, though she wished she hadn’t gone as long as she had before being told some folks she might’ve known were around.
At least one of them was Sirius.
Tonks followed him to the couch and sank back down onto it, pulling her feet up to sit with them each tucked under one knee. He’d already told her everyone was from a different time, but hearing that he was from 1993 made her head spin a bit. “Erm, ‘93? So you were… still in Azkaban or had you just gotten out…?”
“Just had broken out. On the run, really, before I was taken to another place like Vallo. I was there for around a year or so and then I got brought to Vallo. It’s been hell of a ride,” Sirius explained, tucking his hand against his face as he leaned back against the couch. “There’s a lot I’ve experienced over the two years I’ve been away from home, a life I wouldn’t have gotten to live otherwise.”
More gently, he asked, “So, you’re from the Battle of Hogwarts?”
The idea that someone could just be taken and put in a whole new world without any rhyme or reason wasn’t really something she could comprehend, and yet here they both were. So maybe it didn’t need to make sense?
“Your life certainly was a lot different in our world.” A lot darker, a lot lonelier, and a lot briefer than it should’ve been. A fresh wave of grief hit her then, but she closed her eyes for a moment to push the emotion down, only opening them at his question.
“Yeah, um, the battle.” She nodded a bit and looked over at him sadly. “It was horrible, Sirius.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to be there with you,” he said, reaching out for her hand again. “I can’t imagine it, even from all that I heard about it.” Too many lives lost before they even began. He knew about Teddy being left with only his grandmother surviving the war. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how many students had been lost too. Not for the first time, he cursed Voldemort and his followers in his head. ”I know it doesn’t seem like any comfort, but places like Vallo are a second chance for people like us. There’s always a chance that Remus and Teddy may show up here too.”
Tonks didn’t really want to get her hopes up, but knowing that Sirius was already here meant that there was always a sliver of hope that the rest of her family might, too. She squeezed his hand and nodded a little, trying her best to keep the emotions at bay. It was difficult. She was exhausted from the past 24 hours, and desperately needed a change of clothes and a big meal. Both would come in due time. “You don’t need to be sorry,” she said with a small shake of her head, still looking at him. “It’s not your fault, you know. Maybe if dear Auntie Bellatrix wasn’t such a bloody…” She cut herself off then and scowled a little, before pushing out a sigh.
Whether this Sirius knew her or not, she didn’t care -- she’d missed him terribly, so she pulled her feet up onto the couch and leaned over, tucking herself against his side. “What a wretched woman.”
Putting his arm around her, Sirius sighed, “Hopefully she never shows up because I won’t be held responsible for what I’d do to her.” Cousin Bella, the worst of them all. Squeezing Dora to his side briefly, he said, “Come on, come home with me and we’ll get you sorted with some clothes and food. You can take one of the guest rooms, if you like. Or you can stay here, whichever you’d like best.”
“Too right. I’d gladly let you do whatever it is you’d want to and just watch.” That woman had ruined so many lives, it was only fair that karma get her say in the matter. Tonks sighed a moment at the squeeze and then tilted her head a bit to look up at him, her eyebrows furrowed momentarily in confusion. “What d’you mean? Where’re you living if you’re not here?” She paused and then her eyes went wide. “Wait! Is Grimmauld Place here?
“Aye, it is. Sometimes places from home show up here. Grimmauld Place did last year. A few of my friends and I live there.” He would bring up the twins soon, he just didn’t know how to yet. Not with Dora missing her own son. “I know it’s not your home, but it could be if you need it to be. Harry’s there as well.”
No, it wasn’t her home but right now, her home just simply did not exist in this world, and staying there with him would be better than being on her own here at the flats. She didn’t even really hesitate to give him an answer. “I’d like that,” she replied softly, dipping her chin back down a bit as she snuggled into his side. “Tomorrow, yeah? I think tonight I just… I don’t know. Just later. Bit of time to myself, to process things, have a shower and some quiet? It’s been a bit mad the last 24 hours or so.” To say the least.
The grief of everything had started to hit her at the clinic once her adrenaline had worn off and she could still feel the waves of it pushing at the surface; she had a feeling it would take time for them to subside. “Have you been able to see Remus then at all? Since everything in your time, I mean.”
"For a time, in another world. It was a mad time - he was with Petunia Dursley, who was nothing like the one we knew. Alternate realities are hell of a thing. The Harry there? Bear Animagus. But he was happy, for as long as he was there." Unfortunately, it hadn't been for long.
Seeing the exhaustion coming off Dora, he nudged her. "How about you pop into the bath for a bit and I'll go pick up some things for you? You need rest, love."
The idea of Remus being in a relationship with Petunia Dursley of all people made her stomach turn a little and a laugh of disbelief want to bubble right out of her. Instead she scoffed a bit and allowed a grimace to wash over her face. “Well, that’s all a bit… uh. Interesting.” It was at least safe to say that wasn’t her Remus, though she was glad that Sirius had at least seen him. Because in his timeline, he never got to spend time with him in their world, and blimey… this was just going to take some getting used to, wasn’t it?
Tonks glanced up at him again and let the grimace melt away into a frown. “That’d be really kind of you to do, though you don’t need to, yeah?” She could manage well enough. After a moment she sat back up with a quiet groan and let her head fall the other direction to pop her neck before looking back over at him.
“I’ve really missed you, you know.”
“I know I don’t have to, but I want to. Let someone take care of you,” Sirius said, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. “I’ve missed you as well. Met another one of you as an adult in the other world, but we didn’t have too much time together either. Hopefully this is another chance for it.”
Reluctantly, he pulled away and started to stand. “Come on, go on. Get cleaned up, I’ll be back by the time you get out and then we’ll take it a day at a time.”
That’d be nice. Not that Remus and her mother hadn’t done a good job of it back home, but she knew she needed something like that for now while she got adjusted to being here. Her face screwed up a bit at the remark of him meeting another one of her, but well -- that was just how this whole thing was going to work, wasn’t it? “Well - I don’t intend on going anywhere, so I hope so, too.” Cos if she did disappear from here, where was she going to go?
Once he’d stood, she hesitantly followed suit and then promptly wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into her for another tight hug. “Thank you so much,” she breathed. He may have been her cousin, but Sirius had always felt more like an older brother to her in a lot of ways and she was deeply grateful that he was here with her.
“We’re family. Don’t have to thank me for this, Dora,” he explained, hugging her back until she was ready to let go. “Go on, it’ll be fine. I’ll be back before you know it, yeah?”