LbN: Hope you guys like the chapter! We've come to the end...

Reflection

In…out…in…out…

Tonks was currently lying on her bed, practicing a breathing technique from the book on metamorphmagi. The objective was to calm yourself enough that your emotions would wipe away and you could see yourself. It was different than Occlumency, which was simply a blankness of the mind. This was a complete cleaning of the memory; memories of past experiences that had led Tonks to change. It was doubly hard for her, because she had changed at will many times, and then her emotional changes were added on top of it.

In…out…in…out…

Tonks sighed, and sat up. All that this was doing was making her sleepy. She walked over to her closet and looked in the mirror; still the same. With a small groan of frustration, she walked back into her room and set about blowing out all of the "relaxation" candles. Once that was done, she sat on the end of her bed to think. She was totally out of ideas. Standing up, she walked down the hall to the kitchen to make dinner.

A quick scan of the fridge reminded Tonks that she needed groceries; but hell if she was going in the mood she was currently in. Closing the fridge, she walked over to the cabinet and pulled a pot from the hook, and some pasta from the shelf.

"When in doubt, make spaghetti," she smiled to herself, as she started the water cooking.

As she was taking out the few vegetables she had left, she knocked something off of the counter. It was that morning's Daily Prophet. As she bent down, she glanced over the article again; it was more about the Remebrance Room at Hogwarts. They had interviewed Harry for the fifty millionth time on what he thought about it.

Before she threw it away, she browsed it one more time. When she got to the middle paragraph, she stopped. They had finally decided on an artifact to go in the Room; Neville's donated Sword and the empty Pensive. This, however, was not what made Tonks pause. It was the fact that she had just gotten a brilliant idea.

Throwing some pasta into the now boiling water, she made a dash for the living room; tripping over a chair as she went. In the next ten minutes, she ransacked the room looking for pen and parchment. She abandoned her search for a moment to drain the pasta and start the sauce; but went right back to it after stirring it twice. After another minute or so, she found it. She scribbled a letter hastily, before sealing it and whistling. An owl zoomed in through the kitchen window.

"Hey Socrates," Tonks said, tying the letter to his leg, "Take to McGonagall for me, okay?"

The owl hooted softly and took off into the night sky. Tonks sighed, and then yelped as she smelled the sauce beginning to burn. She ran to the stove and stirred it again. It wasn't burnt, just slightly solidified; it was fine after a minute.

As she sat and ate that night, she hoped her idea would work…

Reflection

Tonks woke up late the next day, to tapping on her window. Getting groggily to her feet and tripping over the sheets, she let her owl into the room. He allowed her to untie the letter, before taking off out of the window to the community owlery. Yawning, she unfolded the note and read:

Tonks,

Of course you may come visit. And we'll talk about your…situation when you arrive. I'll see you at two o'clock today.

M. McGonagall

Elated, Tonks ran and hopped into the shower. After a quick wash, she got dressed; not morphing any of her features, just in case. She ran into the kitchen and made a bagel, knowing that she'd be unable to eat anything else. She was a mere three hours away from finding out what she looked like. By the time her bagel was out of the toaster, she couldn't eat a bite.

Reflection

Tonks had spent the last hour pacing back and forth in her living room. It had finally become too much and, at twelve thirty five, she had Apparated into Hogsmeade. After stopping for a quick drink at the Three Broomsticks, she made her way up to the school; pausing only for a moment to send a message to McGonagall. A moment later, the gates opened and she continued her way up to the castle's front door. McGonagall was standing there, waiting for her when she arrived.

"Hello Tonks," she smiled.

"Wotcher Professor," Tonks said.

"So, you want to talk about some ways to…ah…change back?" McGonagall asked as they walked through the halls.

"Actually," Tonks said, pausing next to the Transfiguration room, "I wanted to see the Mirror of Erised."

"Oh!" McGonagall said, taken aback, "Well, if you think it will work. Come along."

They walked down one of the back staircases and out onto the grounds. They had walked for a while when Tonks decided to ask,

"Where're we going?"

"To the greenhouses," the Headmistress said.

"It's in the greenhouses?" Tonks asked, "How has the Daily Prophet not found out about it?"

"No, no," McGonagall chuckled, "We're going to find Mr. Longbottom."

"Neville?"

"Right, he's the only one that can get to the Mirror."

"Well, what's he doing here? I thought he finished his N.E.W.Ts up over the summer."

"He stuck around," McGonagall answered with a smile, "He's now the Herbology apprentice to Professor Sprout."

By now, they had reached the greenhouses. As they entered, Tonks saw a flash of ginger hair amidst the blondes and brunettes. Ginny waved at her and mouthed, "what are you doing here?" Tonks whispered, "Later," and walked over to where McGonagall was speaking with Sprout.

"Hello Tonks!" the dirt covered professor said.

"Wotcher!" Tonks smiled.

"Neville!" Professor Sprout called into the connected room.

"Yes Professor? Tonks!" he shouted, walking into the room, "I'd hug you, but I'm covered in dirt…"

Tonks chuckled as McGonagall whispered something to Neville, who nodded. He put his rake down and took off his apron as he followed them out of the greenhouse. By the time they made it halfway up the Grand Staircase, Tonks knew where they were going.

"The Room of Requirement," she smiled when they stopped before the door.

"Go on in," Neville said.

Opening the door with a slightly trembling hand, Tonks walked in. Inside stood the mirror, with a large red curtain hanging over it, covering the glass. She pulled it to one side, but stood with her eyes closed. Now that it had come time, she was frightened. With a deep breath, she opened her eyes.

The only characteristic that wasn't from the Black family, was the shape of her face; heart shaped, like her father's was. Otherwise, she was her mother's daughter entirely in looks. The only difference was that she had smaller eyes, and black hair; which made her look a bit more like Bellatrix. Well, she knew now; and she wasn't planning on showing anyone anytime soon.

She stood there for another moment, wondering how in the hell she was going to deflect the inevitable questions from McGonagall and Neville. It turned out, however, that she didn't need to. Waiting for her was not the Headmistress or the Herbology apprentice, but Ginny.

"Did you find out?" she asked gently.

"Yeah," Tonks said.

"Do you want to tell me?"

"Not really," Tonks said, with a pleading look.

Ginny took her hand and pulled her back into the Room. Gone was the Mirror; replace with an uncanny replica of Tonks's living room.

"Sit," Ginny said.

"Stay. Roll over, play dead," Tonks grinned. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Show me?" Ginny asked, "Please?"

Tonks sighed, and instead of her normal morphing face she got, she took a few deep breaths and relaxed. She knew it would work now, because she knew what she looked like underneath all of the layers of time and emotion. She opened her eyes again, and Ginny was smiling.

"You look like your mum," she said.

"Like my aunt," Tonks mumbled.

"Who looks like your mum," Ginny smiled, "Your eyes are smaller than both of theirs; and you don't have an insane grin plastered to your face."

"Thanks," Tonks chuckled a bit.

"Come on," Ginny said, "Even if you look like her, you're nothing like her in personality."

"I know," Tonks sighed, "I just hate knowing that I look like Voldemort's most notorious torturer."

"Well whether you like it or not, you are related to her. And it's not like people are going to try to…I don't know…burn you at the stake, if you keep that appearance."

"I think I'm going to stay with the Tonks look," Tonks smiled, "It's what I'm used to."

"Okay," Ginny said, "but know that you're gorgeous, no matter which 'look' you choose."

Tonks grinned and gave her a kiss. When she pulled away, Ginny said,

"We've got to get out of here now. If McGonagall comes to find us, I'm screwed…"

"Or, rather, not screwed…" Tonks grinned.

"I see you're back to normal now…"

Fin

Who is that girl I see

Staring straight back at me?

Why is my reflection someone

I don't know?

Must I pretend that I'm

Someone else, for all time?

When will my reflection show

Who I am inside?

LbN: Hope you liked it!!