Perseus Alphard Black

Chapter 2

1985

Andromeda Tonks nee Black stood in front of the old orphanage with her husband Edward 'Teddy' Tonks and her twelve-year-old daughter Nymphadora Tonks. Andromeda despite being almost thirty-three looked younger than most women of forty. She was a beautiful and tall woman who had inherited her family's taught good looks. She had long light brown hair that fell to her waist and warm brown eyes.

Ted on the other hand was also tall but only and an inch taller than his wife. He was a handsome blonde with dark twinkling eyes and light stubble. In his youth.

Their daughter was much much different. Nymphadora Tonks was a metamorphagus that is the rare ability to change its physical appearance through sheer will alone. She had kept her mousy brown hair short and spiky violet and was tall for a twelve-year-old. But what made them different was the fact that they were wizards. Yep wizards.

And what were they doing in an orphanage one might ask? The reason they came was the strange surge of power and magic coming from this very building. They had also coincidentally hoped that they could adopt a child. Due to a stray curse from a death eater, Ted wasn't able to have another child ending his magical bloodline with Tonks. But they weren't even planning this orphanage and were hoping to adopt a wizarding baby but at Andromeda's insistence, the Tonks went into Wool's orphanage.

Andromeda was taught legillemency and occlumency at a young age as it was a tradition for the Black family to learn the mind arts. She had easily gone through the caretaker (An ugly man by the name of Gabriel Uglaino who shamelessly flirted with her) and found someone with the surname 'Black' . For her curiosity, she had investigated further.

There was a child indeed. Perseus Alphard Black, if it was a more simple name like John or Paul, she would've deemed him a muggle, but the Blacks had long kept a tradition of naming their children after celestial bodies: stars, constellations, galaxies, and this boy was named after two constellations and her two favorite people. Her favorite cousin and uncle

And she may know who this is.

Andromeda wasn't present during Perseus's birth, she was actually taking care of three-year-old Nymphadora at that time but the photos were sent. She remembered seeing a picture of a baby no less than a month old with tufts of Black hair and dark sea-green eyes. Andromeda never understood why Cassopiea's  (Or Sally, she loathed her name) son had the Black surname instead of the father's but Arcturus Black, the head of the house, complied putting him in third in line behind Sirius and Regulus.

Now Perseus was sadly the first.

Andromeda was actually surprised that Perseus was alive considering they never found Sally nor Perseus. Sally's body was a mess. She had been mauled to death with various bites, stabs, and whip marks. The attacker left without a hint of magic but the DMLE doubts it was a muggle attack. Sally was gifted and had proper training in combat magic. She wasn't the best but she could give her cousin Bellatrix a run for her money.

So here he was waiting on these horrible chairs for her godson (Yes she was christened as Godmother) to arrive. 

Ted squeezed her hand. "Nervous?"

"A little," Andromeda admitted. "Would he be angry with us? That we had abandoned him?"

"He may," Ted said. Truthfully he too is worried about his godson. "But he may forgive us, how old would he be?"

"eight or nine." Andromeda shrugged. "His birthday's in August."

"Thank goodness for that.' Tonks muttered. "I don't want to share my birthday."

Before Andromeda could reply, they were interrupted by a powerful aura like no other entering the room. It almost felt... godly which is ridiculous since neither wizards weren't even religious. When the orphan keeper came to meet them the couple stood up and was led to a small office. 

Mr. Ugliano started speaking "You are interested in adopting a child?" he asked 

"Yess" Andromeda answered with a soft smile. "A young boy perhaps eight or nine."

She sent Ugliano several mind probes that will make him think about Perseus. 

"Oh yes! We have a brat- I mean boy," he said hastily though the trio noticed and was itching not to curse the man to oblivion. Andromeda had seen Ugliano's treatment and she was going to call the muggle authorities. "I'll get him."

Ugliano came back with a boy wearing a worn-out pair of white trainers, knee-length black shorts, and a light blue shirt. None of his clothes looked brand new or expensive, in fact, they seemed like they had been plucked from a bin. Perseus himself looked a little thinner and smaller than the average boy his age but he may grow. He had the classic dark hair and pale skin of the Black family from his mother and the green eyes of his father. But his hair wasn't neat or elegant but disheveled and he looked like he wasn't sleeping properly. But what worried him were the small scars on his face and arms and Andromeda's temper rose. It seems the boy too noticed and tried to scurry back only to be held by the orphan keeper.

"Wotcher," Tonks said with a wave and smile. 

The boy Perseus looked at her with frightened eyes. 

"Well?" Gabe said almost in a threatening growl. "What do you have to say?"

"Umm Hello," Percy mumbled. "Sorry."

Tonks frowned but smiled back. "It's alright. What's your name, little man?"

Perses hesitated but the pink hair girl's smile brought him the comfort he hadn't felt in a long time. "Perseus Black."

The adoption was far quicker than the couple had expected. After signing the papers, Andromeda and Ted had asked their daughter to lead Perseus out and have a private 'talk' with Mr. Ugliano.

Percy had been ecstatic. His family had come to rescue him. First off, his dream had come true. He really did have a nice family, and a nice aunt had come to rescue him from smelly Gabe. Then he got to ride in a convertible and sat next to his new cousin Nymphadora Tonks (Dora or Tonks kid), who doted on him while Uncle Ted and Aunt Dromeda explained a bit about how they were related to Percy and how they were also his godparents. Then they drove to the four seasons a really nice hotel where he was given a wonderfully hot bubble bath before dressing up in silk pajamas that almost fit. They were a bit threadbare, but they were far better than anything Percy had ever worn before.

Then they had in-room dining and had three meals which was a luxury in Percy's opinion. He only has two meals per day and they were just a mouthful. The orphanage food tastes horrible and they served the same thing every day.

But now, he had three meals and Percy had gobbled up his soup, cottage pie, and sandwiches and they even ordered ice cream. Although they were surprised by the scars on his arms, they didn't speak about them.

It took Percy a very long time to fall asleep. That was partly because he wasn't used to being so warm, comfortable, and well-fed. But mostly it was because he was absolutely certain that he was dreaming, and he never wanted it to end.