Alternate Fic - Part 1

This is the answer to kikei  ’s challenge for an "alternate chain"

Three months had passed since Sirius’ tragic death, and nobody had been able to bring themselves to empty his bedroom. In fact, most of the members of the Order were still uncomfortable with the fact that the headquarters were located in the deceased’s very house. Some had suggested that they found another place for their meetings, but everyone knew how hard it had been, the year before, to find such a safe location, and thus, eventually, everyone had agreed to stay.

Tonks, to whom Sirius had bequeathed the house in his will, now stood in her late cousin’s bedroom, resolved to finally tidy up the room. “Life goes on,” she had said to Lupin before heading for Sirius’ bedroom. And it was true. Now wasn’t the time to keep tossing bitter memories. Not when You-Know-Who had returned, not when he had started to kill innocent Muggle-borns. Grieving was normal, but now they had to regain their self-control. “Sirius would have been the first one to say this,” she thought as she pushed the creaking door closed.

Slowly, Tonks made her way to the bed and sat there, deep in thoughts, contemplating the room. It was hard to think that Sirius would never come back there.  Suddenly, her gaze fell upon an object beneath the desk. She held out her arm to catch it, and smiled. It was a shovel, apparently very common, but Tonks recognized it. The last time she had seen it, she had been in her fourth year at Hogwarts...

She was walking in the park, trying to forget about what had just happened. All she wanted to do was to clear her mind. “It.has.not.happened. It.has.not.happened. It.has.not.happened.” she kept repeating under her breath, playing nervously with the Bohemian necklace that her father had brought to her from one of his “business trips” as he called them.

“N-N-Nymphadora! W-wait!” called Slatero Quirrell, causing her to start and to break the chain of her necklace.

So he had followed her…

She took a deep breath. “Look, Slatero, I…I am sorry. I didn’t mean to… I don’t want you to believe that… Ok, I kissed you, but it should never have happened. Never. I’m...”

“But N- Nymphadora…I… I l-l-l-l-love you!” he replied, stammering even more than usual.

They heard a noise coming from the bushes that bordered the path, then a voice Tonks recognized at once exclaimed: “You do?”, and Sirius came out of the bushes, holding something in his hands.

“Sirius! What are you doing here??” asked Tonks, now desperate. If her cousin had overheard that – and it was obvious that he had- , her reputation was lost.

Sirius grinned : “So, my dear cousin, you are dating this boy?”

Tonks paled. “I’m not,” she answered firmly. “I AM NOT!” she repeated when she saw the grin on Sirius’ face broaden. That’s when she saw what  he was holding. She frowned and asked : “Tell me Sirius, what exactly are you doing in the park, hiding behind bushes,  with a shovel in your hands?”

And this time it was Sirius’ turn to pale.

And here is my challenge for the next scene :

Character: Filch

Object: (Er... animal, rather): Duck

Your turn!