Harry Potter: The Heir to Hufflepuff

Cassius' muscles tensed, though he kept his expression composed.

The girl in the doorway blinked at him, clearly caught off guard. Cassius took in her appearance, recognizing her almost immediately—Nymphadora Tonks.

{An - Yes I know she wasn't in Hogwarts during Harry's first year}

She looked to be about fifteen or sixteen, older than him by a couple of years, and her most striking feature was her hair—a vibrant, bubblegum pink that seemed almost too unnatural to exist, yet fit her perfectly. It was slightly messy, like she hadn't bothered to brush it properly, and it framed a face that carried an unmistakable mischievous energy. Her dark eyes were sharp and alert, yet there was a flicker of curiosity behind them, and her slightly upturned nose only added to the playful look.

She was dressed in her Hogwarts robes, but unlike most students who wore theirs neatly, hers looked slightly unkempt—her tie was loosened, the top button of her shirt undone, and there was an air of casual rebellion about her.

For a few long, silent seconds, they just stared at each other.

Cassius, still seated at his desk, raised an eyebrow.

Tonks tilted her head, eyeing him with a mix of confusion and intrigue.

Finally, deciding that the silence had dragged on long enough, Cassius was the first to speak.

"Well," he said, closing his book with a soft thud, "this is awkward."

Tonks blinked. Then grinned.

"Yeah," she admitted, stepping further inside and letting the door shut behind her. "I wasn't expecting company."

For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.

Then, her lips twitched. "You're a first-year, yeah?"

Cassius nodded. He wasn't sure where this was going, but he figured letting her talk was the best way to find out.

She stepped further into the room, glancing around with familiarity. "Didn't think anyone else knew about this place."

That caught his attention. "You've been here before?"

"Yep." She flopped into one of the chairs as if she owned the place, one leg slung over the other. "Found it last year when I needed a place to hide from Filch—long story, don't ask." She waved a hand dismissively. "After that, I kept coming back whenever I needed a quiet spot."

That explained why the room had reacted before she even opened the door. Cassius had assumed he was the only one who had discovered it, but clearly, the castle had other plans.

"What about you?" she asked, resting her chin in her hand. "What's a first-year doing poking around in secret rooms?"

Cassius considered his answer. He wasn't about to spill everything to a stranger, no matter how casual she seemed. "Exploring," he said simply. "Wanted to see what the castle had to offer."

She snorted. "You've got good instincts, then. This place is brilliant."

Her easy acceptance of the situation threw him off slightly. There was no suspicion, no interrogation—just a general air of curiosity, as if she saw a first-year finding the same hidden room as her as nothing more than an interesting coincidence.

"Who are you, anyway?" he asked, deciding he should ask for her name.

She grinned. "Tonks."

He blinked. "Just Tonks?"

"Just Tonks." Her grin widened. "Don't go saying my first name unless you've got a death wish."

Cassius made a mental note of that.

He leaned back slightly, watching her as she lazily glanced around the room. "You said you come here often. What do you use it for?"

She shrugged. "Depends. Sometimes I just need somewhere quiet. Sometimes I need space to practice."

Cassius raised an eyebrow. "Practice what?"

Her grin turned mischievous. "Magic."

That was vague, but he got the feeling she wasn't going to elaborate just yet.

"Well," she said, stretching her arms over her head, "since we're both here, I guess that makes us… what? Roommates?"

Cassius huffed a quiet laugh. "Something like that."

He hadn't expected to meet anyone here, but he supposed it wasn't the worst thing in the world. Tonks didn't seem overly nosy, and she had an easygoing nature that made it hard to be too irritated by the intrusion.

---

Cassius found himself relaxing as the hours passed, the initial tension of their unexpected meeting fading as he and Tonks settled into a surprisingly easy rhythm.

"So," Tonks said, leaning back in one of the chairs the room had provided, "I guess you already know I'm a Hufflepuff. I know you are, too—kind of hard not to, what with the whole 'Hufflepuff heir' thing." She smirked. "Got to admit, I was expecting you to be more, I don't know, stuck-up?"

Cassius quirked a brow. "Disappointed?"

"Nah." She waved a hand. "It's better this way. Means I don't have to hex you."

He snorted. "Glad to hear it."

The conversation drifted easily from there, touching on Hogwarts, their classes, and some of the more ridiculous things Tonks had done in her years at school. He quickly learned that she had a habit of getting into trouble—not in a bad way, but in a way that suggested she had an aversion to boredom and an eagerness to push boundaries just for the fun of it.

"You're only a couple of days in, but I'm telling you now," she said, grinning, "you're going to love some of the professors, and you're going to absolutely hate others."

"Let me guess," Cassius said, leaning back. "Snape?"

Tonks groaned. "Ugh. Snape. If you're not a Slytherin, you might as well not exist to him."

Cassius smirked. "Sounds like a delight."

"Oh, he's lovely," she deadpanned.

The conversation eventually shifted toward magic, and Cassius took the opportunity to ask, "So what exactly were you practicing in here?"

Tonks' grin turned mischievous. "Watch this."

She stood up, shaking out her arms as if preparing for something. Cassius watched curiously as she scrunched up her face in concentration, and then, right in front of his eyes, her features morphed. Her nose lengthened, then shrank, then widened before settling back to normal. Her hair flickered from pink to a deep purple, then to electric blue.

Cassius felt a jolt of recognition. Metamorphmagus.

He schooled his expression to one of mild intrigue rather than familiarity. "That's… impressive."

"Right?" She grinned, tilting her head as her hair shifted into a bright shade of orange. "I can do more than just my nose."

"I can see that." He eyed her, pretending to assess the transformation with curiosity. "So you can change anything?"

"Mostly. I mean, I can't turn into a completely different person or anything, but I can tweak my features however I want. Hair, eyes, nose, mouth—you name it."

Cassius hummed thoughtfully. He'd read about Metamorphmagi before—Tonks herself was the only one explicitly mentioned in the books, so they had to be rare. The ability to change one's appearance at will was beyond useful, and he couldn't help but wonder if she'd truly explored the full extent of her abilities.

"I bet that comes in handy," he said, watching as she shifted her hair back to pink.

"You have no idea," she said smugly. "I can sneak past Filch like nobody's business. Just gotta tweak my face a little, and suddenly I'm 'not the troublemaker he's looking for.'"

Cassius smirked. "Sounds like you've put it to good use."

"Obviously." She flopped back onto the chair, stretching her legs out. "You'll figure out soon enough—Hogwarts is fun, but it's even better when you know how to bend the rules a little."

Cassius wasn't sure how much rule-breaking he was willing to do just yet, but he had to admit, her perspective was interesting.

Over the next couple of hours, Tonks showed him a few fourth-year spells—nothing too dangerous, just little things that were beyond his current skill level. He watched closely as she demonstrated a simple Summoning Charm, though she admitted she wasn't particularly great at it.

"It's all about intent," she explained, waving her wand dramatically. "You've got to really want the thing to come to you, not just say the words."

Cassius nodded, filing the information away. "And you still can't get it right?"

"Oi," she said, tossing a pillow at him. "I didn't say I can't get it right, I just said I'm not great at it. Big difference."

He caught the pillow easily, smirking. "Uh-huh."

"Look, you try it in three years and tell me how easy it is."

Their back-and-forth continued, growing more familiar and comfortable as time passed. Cassius found that he genuinely enjoyed her company—Tonks had an easygoing nature that made it difficult to be tense around her. She was quick-witted, sharp-tongued, and had a tendency to exaggerate for dramatic effect, but underneath all of that, she was good-natured.

Eventually, though, it was time to leave.

"You heading out?" she asked, watching as he stood.

"Yeah," he said. "I still want to explore a bit more before the day's over."

Tonks nodded, standing as well. "Well, you know where to find me. If you ever need a place to hide, this is as good as it gets."

Cassius smirked. "I'll keep that in mind."

With that, they left the Room of Requirement together, parting ways in the corridor. As he walked through the castle, Cassius found himself thinking about their meeting.

Tonks was interesting. She was someone to keep an eye on.

And, he thought with amusement, she might just be the most fun person he'd met so far.