Chapter Text
You took a long breath, feeling your own pulse in your ears as you stared at the closed chest in front of you.
“You will have to open it eventually,” aunt Andromeda said behind you.
This was your second week with the Tonks, and things were slowly getting in place. You had your own bedroom right beside your cousin’s and were slowly adapting onto having muggle things around the house, and your mother’s sister – along with her husband – had welcomed you with open arms into the household.
You had the same rules as Tonks when it came down to them; you didn’t have a bedtime, but there should be no noise after 10 pm, and you were expected to be home before half past midnight unless you talked to them priorly. Boys were allowed but permission to stay the night wasn’t automatically granted and should be discussed prior to arrival.
Your aunt was a caring woman who knew almost exactly what you were going through and was helping you transition as best as she could. She was even teaching you how to cook when you arrived early enough from work to catch her making dinner.
“Are you sure nothing is gonna jump out of it and eat me?” you muttered.
You had been using what you had from Hogwarts since arriving, and the chest was staring you down ever since.
“If I still know my sister, no,” she rested a hand on your back, rubbing a spot in a way to try and comfort you. “She’s your mother, dear. Besides, if anything was bound to happen, it would have already happened. It’s been 2 weeks.”
You nodded slowly. Yes, she was right; your mother wouldn’t try to harm you. What were you thinking?
You reached out, finally opening the chest, and finding that the content was just… Stuff. Clothes, shoes, jewellery and objects that you had around your room or in your safe.
“She sent you some clothes,” Andromeda tried to sound cheerful. “Let’s give them a look.”
‘Some’ wasn’t exactly the word she should have used. When you two started pulling your clothes out, it was clear that everything you ever owned was in there. Soon, the bed was completely covered in piles and piles of clothing and boxes and more boxes of shoes. Your room in the mansion had obviously been cleared out and everything had been given to you.
They didn't keep anything.
“I think that’s enough,” you decided, stopping. “I already know everything is here, I don’t need further proof.”
Andromeda only hummed a confirmation sound, and you stood up, rubbing the back of your neck.
“Can you help me pick some stuff up?” you questioned shyly. “I’ll just put the rest of it back, but I need something to wear to work.”
She nodded. Your aunt had been nothing less than helpful in the times you were there, and you were very thankful for it; without her, you’d be lost and homeless. You were still, however, very much uncomfortable with being with them. This wasn’t your house nor your home, your bed wasn’t the one you were you’d lied down back at the mansion not the one at Hogwarts, you were living with people you had just met and you had to learn things that people younger than you already knew about life.
It was a lot.
You two filled your wardrobe with anything that would be useful in your day to day life, and stored the rest right back in your luggage again, putting it in the corner of the room in case you needed it again.
“Come on,” she stood. “Let’s get dinner ready.”
You followed her downstairs, trying your best to cheer up. George would be coming over later and you wanted to at least try and make something to be presented in the meal – even if it was chopped potatoes.
Truth is… You were no good in the kitchen. In your two weeks living with your aunt, you had managed to burn yourself taking food from the over and with boiled water and cut your finger and hand at least once every time you had to chop something. Your aunt didn’t allow you anywhere close to the stove alone, and as far as you had tried, your only ability was to make tea. You couldn’t even say that you knew how to heat milk, because you were prone to forget you had left it heating and it would most likely spill before you could do anything to stop it.
“Y/N, dear,” Andromeda called your name, making you turn your attention to her while trying to peel the potato in your hands with the least possible damage – to both you and the vegetable.
“Do you plan on joining the order?” her voice was carefully nonchalant, though you knew what lied behind it.
Honestly, you didn’t know. Yes, you supported the order – Merlin, would you have given up on your whole life if you didn’t think that You-Know-Who’s cause was vile and despicable? - but fully joining them was a big stretch. You weren’t an Auror or a fighter, far from it.
“I don’t know,” you decided to say. “Maybe one day if they need me. If this war goes on for long, you know?”
She hummed in confirmation.
“I’m not that good of a warrior,” you confessed. “I’m good with potions and organisations, and I thought about joining the Ministry, but I don’t trust that they are actually a safe choice. Father has too many connections there, that’s not good at all.
A soft knock on the door of the kitchen made you turn your head to the side, and your cousin entered the room with a smile.
“I see you got through a whole potato with your hand intact,” Tonks noticed and you rolled your eyes. “Congratulations.”
“Shut up,” you felt your cheeks warming up.
“Don’t tease her, Dora,” your aunt said without moving her eyes from her own tasks. “Your cousin is trying her best.”
But you two only smiled. It was good to live with Tonks, you could understand a bit of Draco’s side on your relationship, with you trying to overprotect him but still bugging the hell out of his mind sometimes.
“So…” Tonks cleared her throat. “You’re making dinner.”
“Yes.”
“And George is coming to have dinner with us.”
“Yes.”
She hesitated a bit, and you turned to glance at her direction, noticing how her hair was changing into several different colours, one after the other.
“I was wondering if we could have Remus over too.”
You frowned to yourself at how nonchalant she was trying to sound.
“I don’t see any problem, but we’re not making anything special.”
Your cousin opened a suspiciously big smile.
“I’m sure it won’t be a problem,” she assured you two before suddenly standing up and running out of the kitchen.
Well, you’d certainly interrogate her about that later.
You finished peeling the vegetables with a single accident before your aunt sent you to your room to ‘get ready for George’, which for you was a bit pointless; you worked with George, you two saw each other on a daily basis and, sometimes, in very unflattering ways. Still, you didn’t protest and walked to your room anyway.
“I can’t believe she actually lets you close the door with me here,” George sat on your bed with a silly and playful jump.
“I still can’t believe she even gave me a room,” you pointed out, sighing.
Truth be told, you couldn’t hide things from George and soon after moving in you told him about what you had actually planned to do after Sirius’ death. He was hurt, of course, but didn’t hold it against you for long.
“But she did,” he reminded you and reached to pull you into his arms and down the comfortable mattress. “And that’s a great thing. The privacy too.”
He moved his lips down to your neck, and you couldn’t help but giggle in response as his skin tickled yours.
“ George...” you whined a bit. “They are literally down the hall.”
“So what? I’m not doing anything wrong.”
But he was making you want to do everything that could be considered wrong.
Gently, his hand moved to your face and your boyfriend took your lips in a kiss, soon holding your body against his with a strong grip.
“Mum wants you to have lunch with us this weekend,” he said in between kisses. “And Bill wants to introduce us to his new girlfriend.”
You tried to breathe in, jumping a bit when his large hand wrapped itself around your thigh tentatively under your dress. It was the first time he had ever tried to make that contact with you.
“Is that okay?” he whispered.
You opened your eyes to find his.
“Your brother’s girlfriend? I don’t know, I haven’t met her.”
“No,” he chuckled. “Me touching you,” he made circles on your skin, not going any further but still sending fire into your system. “Here.”
You licked your lips.
“Yeah. Totally fine.”
He went back to kissing you, to which you enthusiastically followed him.
You weren’t sure how long had passed since you had lied there, but you had just worked up the courage to put your hand under his shirt when a knock on the door made you two pull away and your boyfriend to fall on the floor of the bedroom.
The door opened and your aunt's husband stood there with a polite smile but a strong look on his face.
“I think it’s time to call it a night,” Mister Tonks said politely, but still not leaving space for protest. “Your mother will be worried if you get home too late, George.”
Looking as red as his hair, your boyfriend put himself on his knees, making his head stand out from his place. His hair was a mess, and from where you could see, you wondered if they were as hot as they seemed, or if he wanted to hide as much as you did.
“Of course, sir.”
You felt your whole face burning in embarrassment, and stood up from the bed, fixing your dress.
“I’ll walk you out.”
Mister Tonks smiled again to you two, still holding the door open and waiting while your boyfriend recomposed himself and followed you outside the room.
You walked George silently outside the house, where it was finally possible to apparate, and he leaned in to kiss your lips before taking his wand in his hand.
“See you at work tomorrow,” he smiled.
“Bye.”
And with that, he was gone.