Harry Potter and the Veela

Divulging paths

All color was drained from Lucius Malfoy's face as he downed another shot. "

I was hoping with every fiber in my body that this day might never come." The blonde haired man said past gritted teeth. "

Despite so, I believe we have one advantage that might just inch us past this situation." Antonin played with the simple silver band around his left hand.

"How?" Lucius' eyes shot up to meet his guests'.

Number 12 Grimmauld Place, Dueling Room

"You're slowing down."

Tonks had to bite down hard on her tongue to prevent herself from complaining about the soreness in her legs and swearing off at him as the object of her irritation fired continuous spells at her from all angles to improve her reaction time and her improvisation abilities.

Her auror practical exam was difficult but this was on another whole new level as she knew her examiner was not holding back one bit.

Yuri was inwardly impressed at the tenacity shown by his 'pupil' as he attempted to get her to slip up by continuously firing spells at her weaker left side.

Flash stepping behind her, he fired a bone breaking hex at the young auror who turned side ways and with her wand raised and deflected it into a nearby wall causing an explosion, taking large chunks of it to fall out.

He stared at her with amusement as Sirius opened the door to the sparring room of his house and his jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

For once in his life, the Sirius Black had no retort available as the chandelier dropped down to the polished granite floor and a loud crash was then ensued.

Outside Number 12 Grimmauld Place

"Do you think he's still mad?" Tonks asked her companion as she and Yuri sat down on a park bench a few blocks away from Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

"He'll get over it." The son of the infamous duelist said with a slight smile on his face.

It was then Nymphadora realized how infectious his smile was, a contrast to his uncaring expression. Granted, her cousin pulling at his hair while surveying the destroyed room was one of the most genuinely funniest moments of her life, it was still nice to see him to smile.

The metamorphmagus then inwardly slapped her head at the thought and promptly cleared her mind of the image of the normally stern young man smiling at her.

"Why did you come back?" She asked slowly.

"A multitude of reasons." Came the cryptic response, which of course caused the Metamorphmagus to turn her head and stare at him hard.

With a sigh the Salem graduate faced her. "I have one end that I need to tie up myself." He responded firmly, all traces of his previous friendliness gone, as if it never happened.

Nymphadora then knew she had waded into dangerous territory as she muttered a quiet sorry.

"What is your father like?" Yuri's sudden question sent electric shocks up her spine as Nymphadora looked at her companion with wide eyes.

After gathering her thoughts, she responded with a fond tone. "My dad is a kind hearted person who always treated people kindly no matter what their blood status was."

After several seconds, Yuri stood up. "I see."

"What about you?" Tonks asked with a hint of composed bravery in her tone.

"My...father...was..." Yuri concentrated as he slowly found words that would fit the description he felt in his heart, "he was a man who blindly obeyed the orders of a psychopath with no regards to who he's hurting...not even his family."