A Werewolf for Christmas

Legends

Charlier sighed.

Bill nodded at Tonks and turned, leaving the compartment with Charlie, still wet-eyed from the hot pepper, in tow. Tonks waved.

Once Charlie had gone, she tossed her box of beans in the bin and wiped her hands on her muggle jeans, which were torn and magically patched in a couple places with brightly patterned cloth. She looked out the window, and she could see the signs of their approach to London coming alongside the train, buildings ever closer to the tracks. Tonks sighed - being closer to London meant being closer to being home.

Home wasn't a bad thing, really. She loved her parents absolutely and they loved her back and there would be loads of good things to eat and traditions to engage in. The thing Tonks was dreading was that her mum wouldn't let her keep her hair pink, or wear the nose that didn't look like her grandfather's on her dad's side.

"Might as well get on with it," she muttered.

Tonks slumped against the bench, her pink hair raked forward so it hung over her face, and she stared through the pink strands as they slowly turned mousy brown.

She was so busy concentrating on changing her nose that she didn't hear the compartment door opened and she nearly lost her skin when a voice suddenly said, "Gods, no matter how many times I see you do that, I'll never cease to be amazed."

Tonks parted her plain brown hair, eyes turned upward at Remus Lupin, who stood clutching his briefcase with one hand and a bottle of gillywater with the other. "Wotcher, Remus," Tonks said, her voice a bit dull now that her candy floss hair was gone.

Remus nodded, then, "Mum still making you stay natural?"

"Yes," drawled Tonks.

"Well you are very pretty either way," Remus said.

Tonks flushed, pleased with the compliment, then said, "I just don't feel like myself without the pink hair. I feel as though I'm pretending to be somebody else entirely and its very uncomfortable to do that for much longer than a few minutes for a joke or something." She shrugged, "Mother doesn't understand that because she says that I ought to feel myself like this as its how I was born."

Remus thought for a moment, then slowly sat on the bench across from her. "Sometimes people don't appreciate the fact that they cannot fully understand another person's burden until they've carried it themselves. Your mum doesn't have the ability to be anyone she wants to be and so she believes strongly in loving oneself as they are - she has no choice but to. You have a special gift that allows you to change the things you do not like, and she sees the transformation as though you do not love yourself and that you wish to change the features that she gave to you herself."

Tonks stared at Remus. "I never thought of it that way, I suppose."

Remus nodded, "Its only because she loves you dearly, deep down, and she wants you to love you, too."

"Yeah," Tonks agreed. "Doesn't make it suck any less being stuck in this... form."

Remus shook his head, "I would think not."

They were quiet a long moment, then Remus started to get up, "I better be g—"

"You can stay here if you like!" Tonk's voice was a wee bit desperate. "We're nearly there and I don't reckon Charlie's coming back before we get to the Platform. Look, we're already in London."

The city was streaking past outside, cars and houses and businesses a blur, though they could hear the engine tapering off as the train slowed its speed.

Remus sat back down. "Alright," he said. He looked around. Tonks sat up straight and fixed her hair to fall on her shoulders quickly, her heart beating fast. Remus didn't notice this, he was too deep in a bit of nostalgia that had apparently taken over him. "It's been a very long time since I've sat in one of these compartments. Not a lot has changed."