Retarded
By Siriusly Amused

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Chapter One

Tonks stirred as her brain slowly surfaced back to consciousness. The sound of birds chirping combined with the deep, even breathing of someone lying next to her filled her ears, calling her from sleep. She groaned softly, burying her face into the warm flesh next to her, her lips twisting into a grin as she felt the arm around her waist tighten protectively, drawing her nearer.

She loved waking up next to Remus Lupin. Even in the midst of war, when their friends were dying left and right and their own lives and happiness were threatened daily, the simple act of waking up next to the man she loved had a way of easing her stress. Her grin widened as she blindly moved her hand to rest upon his arm, caressing it gently—and then she frowned.

His skin was too smooth, the muscles underneath too firm. She gently trailed her hand over his shoulder and down to his chest: it was hairless and lean. Something was wrong. Her eyes shot open, her vision filling with the image of a chest and arm that looked as though it belonged to a young, fit man. Pulling back slightly, her breath caught in her chest as her eyes fell upon the face of the young man she was sleeping with. She suddenly felt very sick as recognition hit her.

His blonde hair was longer than she remembered it, his shoulders a bit wider, and his face relaxed in sleep, but there was no mistaking who he was: Draco Malfoy. And judging by their apparent state of nakedness, as well as the fact that the sheets were twisted around them with a musky smell still clinging to them, they had done something that first cousins definitely should not do.

"Fuck!" Tonks cursed, pushing herself away from her cousin as though she had been electrocuted. Draco's brow knitted in his sleep as he reached his arm out in search for the warmth that had just left him. Tonks swatted his wandering hand away, her breaths coming in sharp, shallow gasps. She felt dizzy and had to swallow the bile creeping up her throat.

She sat up, pulling the sheet around her breasts as she began to rock back and forth.

"Oh Merlin," she moaned, bringing her hands to pull at her hair. She paused momentarily, running a hand through her locks, which were long and chestnut in color. She stared at her hair quizzically for a moment, wondering when the last time she had long, chestnut hair was. Her pondering was short lived, however, seeing as Draco was stirring. He groaned and rolled onto his back, bringing a hand to run over his face.

"Oh Merlin, Draco. Don't wake up. Do yourself a favor and don't wake up," she warned softly. Her warning was useless; Draco pulled his hand away from his face and slowly opened his eyes, blinking in the sunshine and staring up at the ceiling. He inhaled deeply, his lips pulling upward. Tonks winced and had to bite her lip to keep from groaning audibly; they had the same smile: the smile that they shared with other members of their family; the smile that had graced wanted posters back when Bellatrix and Sirius were on the run. She had never noticed it before.

"Oh Merlin," Tonks groaned again, pulling her knees up and bending forward to rest her head on them, her long locks draping over her features. She felt Draco startle next to her.

"You're not Pansy!" he exclaimed; his voice was the same as it had always been, and yet it sounded so unfamiliar to Tonks' ears.

"No, I'm not," Tonks groaned, keeping her forehead on her knees so that her hair continued to hide her face from Draco.

"Who are you?" he asked.

Panicked and not wanting to deal with the fact that she had slept with her cousin, Tonks concentrated on changing her facial features; she'd pretend that she was just some random girl that Draco had picked up at a pub or something. However, her heartbeat increased when she realized that she was unable to change; her Metamorphmagus ability was gone.

"I asked who you are," Draco pressed. His voice was firm, but he sounded more shocked and confused than actually angry.

Realizing that she'd have to deal with the situation sooner or later, Tonks slowly lifted her head and gazed at Draco. His brow knitted as he stared at her; he looked as though he recognized her but couldn't place her. She sighed.

"Wotcher, Draco."

"Bloody fucking hell!" Draco exclaimed loudly. He jumped out of bed, pulling the sheets with him and wrapping them around his waist firmly, though this left Tonks naked and exposed in bed.

"Dammit, Draco!" she shouted. Her head turned to and fro frantically as she searched for something to cover herself with. She reached for the pillow and clutched it to her front.

Draco was standing at the side of the bed, breathing heavily as one hand firmly grasping the sheet at his waist while the other pulled his long locks away from his face.

"Where are we? How did we get here? What did we do!?" he asked. His eyes were wide as he stared at the center of the bed; it appeared as though he couldn't bring himself to actually look at her.

"I don't know, but it looks like we had…"

"DON'T SAY IT!" he shouted, his face contorting with disgust. He shuddered violently and turned away from the bed. "Oh Merlin, I'm gonna be sick."

"DON'T YOU DARE!" she shouted back, though her own stomach was churning uncomfortably.

"Now what on Earth is going on in here?"

Both Tonks and Draco turned at the voice, and both jumped in surprise when their eyes fell upon the stout, red-headed woman standing in the room.

"Molly?" Tonks asked, her mind reeling as she took in the woman's appearance. Her red hair was pulled back into a bun and she was dressed in sensible black robes with a white apron; she looked like a maid.

Mrs. Weasley's eyes turned towards Tonks, her expression slightly startled, as though she were shocked that Tonks had called her by her actual name.

"Yes, Miss Black?" Mrs. Weasley asked formally.

Draco and Tonks exchanged confused glances at the name. Why was she being addressed by her mother's maiden name?

Mrs. Weasley was still peering inquisitively at her, so Tonks raked her brain for something to say.

"Um, do you know what happened?" she asked. She saw Draco roll his eyes at the lame question, but she ignored him.

Mrs. Weasley glanced around the room, noting the random items of clothing on the floor and furniture; Tonks blushed when her own eyes fell upon a pair of panties hanging on the corner of the wardrobe.

"Well, Miss, by the looks of things, I'd say you two couldn't wait until the wedding."

There was a moment of silence as both Draco and Tonks registered what the woman said. Then they both groaned audibly; Tonks resumed rocking back and forth, clutching the pillow to her chest. Draco was swearing and mentioning that he might be sick.

"There, there," Mrs. Weasley said as she began to collect the discarded clothes and drape them over her arm. "You two aren't the first who couldn't wait."

Their groans increased before halting at the sound of an icy voice by the doorway:

"What did you do?"

Tonks stilled in her rocking when she heard the voice; Draco had also fallen silent. Glancing up, Tonks' worst suspicions were confirmed: Bellatrix Lestrange was standing in the room, having entered from the door that Mrs. Weasley had left open. She looked much different: dressed in elegant robes, her hair smooth and curling gracefully at the ends and her face beautiful, though drawn together in a scowl as she stared at Mrs. Weasley.

The Weasley matriarch did not turn to face Bellatrix.

"I merely came in here to wake Mr. Malfoy like I normally do," she explained as she finished gathering the discarded clothes.

Bellatrix immediately directed her icy stare at Tonks and Draco. Draco paled and took several steps back, and Tonks quirked her eyebrow at him. He was pureblood and Slytherin, the favored nephew; why would he be scared of their aunt?

"Did she interrupt you?" Bellatrix asked them, her voice warmer than when she was addressing Mrs. Weasley.

Draco shook his head quickly, his eyes wide.

Bellatrix pursed her lips together in disappointment. She turned towards Mrs. Weasley. "You may leave now," she said softly.

"Thank you, Mrs. Black," Mrs. Weasley said as she walked out of the room.

Draco and Tonks exchanged glances again. Mrs. Weasley had called their aunt by her maiden name, yet she had also used the title of a married woman.

'What kind of messed up world are we in?' Tonks asked herself. She startled slightly when her gaze fell back on Bellatrix, who was smiling warmly at them; she didn't think the woman was capable of warmth.

"Oh don't look so upset," Bellatrix said lightly, clapping her hands together and smiling as she strode across the room and opened the wardrobe. She pulled out a silk robe and walked closer to the bed, wrapping the garment around Tonks' bare shoulders.

Tonks wanted to recoil away from the woman, but was struck dumb with shock, her arms going obligingly into the sleeves of the robe. She even stood and allowed the woman to close the robe and tie the sash.

"You two aren't the first to be caught in the act before the wedding," Bellatrix continued conversationally. "I promise you no one will say a thing! As a matter of fact, your mothers will be pleased; they were afraid that you two weren't happy with the engagement."

"Engagement?" Tonks asked, her voice very soft as she felt all the color drain from her face. They had mentioned a wedding before, but Tonks was just now realizing that the wedding in question might be between her and her cousin.

Bellatrix's smile widened as a soft chuckle escaped her lips. Her dark eyes glanced over Tonks' shoulder to where Draco was still standing on the opposite side of the bed.

"Oh, Draco, dear, you've absolutely besotted her!" she commented before turning her gaze back to Tonks and running her hands up and down Tonks' upper arms. "You two are engaged, love," she said, reaching down to Tonks' left hand and bringing it up for Tonks to see: a large emerald ring sat on her ring finger.

Tonks felt her legs give way.

End Author's Note: I got the idea for this story over a year ago. I sat down one night and wrote a very depressing one shot titled "Retarded" that featured Sirius and Bellatrix in Azkaban, reflecting on how much they hated each other even though they were family. I didn't like it, so I deleted it, and a little later, I got an idea for a fic where Tonks goes to an alternate universe where blood purity didn't matter and the Black family was still together and happy, and she befriends her cousin, Draco. Then, a few weeks ago, I was going to write that story...but this came out instead. And I'm now on chapter 5 and, despite the whole incest thing, I really like this fic. I was going to wait until I had it all written (because I'm guessing that I only have 5 or 6 more chapters to go before finishing it), but I'm impatient. So I'm posting the first two chapters today. Read on and remember to review!