Because the flames of a Floo Powder transport were not really hot and did not burn, Tonks was instantly soaked by Juvia's water blast and did not dry out until she spun out of the fireplace in a sodden heap into the kitchen of Grimmauld Place. Spitting out water and murmuring, "Thanks Juvia…" to herself, she looked up slowly through matted hair and saw that just about the entire Order were already assembled and already sitting around the long dining room table before her. Dumbledore was stood at the head, flanked by McGonagall and Snape.
And every head in the room turned towards her as she appeared, and many eyebrows were raised at the sight of her soaked form.
"Er… wotcha guys," Tonks grinned a little lopsidedly at them.
"You alright there, cousin?" Sirius chuckled, getting up to help Tonks to her feet. "Is there some kind of monsoon in a very small, very concentrated part of London or did you decide to go for a dip in the Thames?"
"Neither," Tonks wiped water out of her eyes. "I could tell you what happened, but then I'd have to kill you."
Well really, how was she supposed to tell anyone what she'd learned that day without sounding like a total whackjob?
Sirius snickered and waved his wand, drying Tonks off instantly and letting her take a seat next to him. "Sorry I'm late," Tonks said. "It's been a long day."
"It's quite alright, Miss Tonks," Dumbledore nodded from his place at the head. "You have not missed anything. I was just telling everyone present that there has been a sudden and highly unexpected turn of events which might affect the whole magical world, but I had not got round to explaining what that is yet."
"Oh, okay. Well… what's the news then?" Tonks asked.
"It is quite extraordinary," Dumbledore addressed the room. "And I would not be surprised if, when I have explained it, some of you in this room thought that perhaps I need an extended trip to St. Mungos to have my sanity checked as a good deal of the rest of the Wizarding World seems to now. You may choose whether you believe me or not, but what I say is true."
This caused some muttering and apprehensive looks through the room, but this was quickly cut off from a thunking noise that indicated Alastor Mad-Eye Moody had decided to bang his wooden leg against the ground. It was rare to have his artificial blue eye and his regular eye focused in the same place but now they were both riveted on Dumbledore.
"We're all ears, Professor," he growled. "Tell us."
"Thank you, Alastor," Dumbledore nodded. "Perhaps some of you may know of the odd events that have been occurring these last couple of days. For those of you that do not know all the details, allow me to connect the dots but listing them:- range meteor showers, a large glowing and impenetrable sphere found in a field, an attack on a couple of dragons in the Hebrides by an unknown assailant and a Muggle attempt to rob a Muggle bank foiled by a single man wielding odd magic that took down half the place. I am year to tell you that all these events are connected in a way that I could never have predicted."
"There's more, Professor," Kingsley spoke up. "I just got in from a meeting with Scrimgeour and he was telling me of a strange attack on the town of Brockenhurst earlier today. Nymphadora, you were there were you not?"
"Don't call me that, Shacklebolt," Tonks glared sharply at him, before hesitating and saying, "But yes… yes, I was…"
"Did you see them?" Kingsley asked.
"See who?" Arthur Weasley questioned.
"The report that led to the Auror response spoke of an attack by an unknown species of large birds, presumed to be magical in origin," Kingsley replied. "But when they arrived, many Aurors claimed to have seen three young people, one man and two women, using magics that they'd never experienced before. But they disappeared before they could be taken into custody. Scrimgeour is pitching a fit, trying to find these people before they do any more damage. Tonks, did you see them?"
"…I did," Tonks nodded slowly. "Do you… do you know something about them, Professor?"
"I may do," Dumbledore was staring at Tonks now over the top of his glasses. "But… something tells me… you may already know almost as much as I do. Would I be correct in that assumption, Miss Tonks?"
"Well… what do you know, Professor?" Tonks queried, and the room was now switching focus between them like watching a tennis match - Mad-Eye being the only one to not move his head.
"I know that these individuals are not a strange new danger devised by Voldemort."
"Yep, I know that too."
"I know that they arrived in that meteor shower."
"That I didn't know but go on."
"And I know that they are from an entirely different universe."
"Oh yeah, that I definitely know."
There was a pause before a sudden clamour started throughout the room with seemingly everyone trying to ask questions or at least make themselves heard at once.
"Not from this universe?"
"What are you talking about?"
"How can this be?"
"But that's impossible!"
"How can you possibly know that?"
"Even if that's true are they dangerous?"
But Dumbledore cut off their questions by simply raising his hand, before he nodded towards Tonks. "Why don't we let Tonks tell her story and then I shall tell mine. Let's see how much they match."
Tonks rubbed the back of her head awkwardly - she had not expected that she'd have to tell the Order about this quite so quickly. But considering the circumstances it probably wasn't so surprising. So she quickly outlined everything, from the moment she'd met Juvia to how Lisanna had saved her life, how she'd decided to break regulation and harbour these three largely innocent people until she could figure out what the heck to do about them, and then some of the things that they'd told her. Lots of people kept trying to interrupt to ask a question, but whenever they did Dumbledore just indicated for them to be quiet and let Tonks go on until she saw fit to stop.
When she finally did, Dumbledore similarly unveiled his story, how Murcus had brought Wendy to Hogwarts, how he'd been given permission to look into her memories and seen some incredible things in there, and how he'd left her with Aberforth so that she wouldn't get into further trouble while they tried to figure out how to help her.
When they'd both finished, the entire room was silent for a good long time. If most of them were honest with themselves, they actually might have thought Dumbledore had cracked if he'd appeared before them to tell them that alone. But with both Dumbledore and Tonks relaying such similar information all at once… surely there was no way they could have both gone loopy at the same time.
"So… these three are currently at your residence, Miss Tonks?" Dumbledore questioned.
"Yeah, I told them they could hang there for a while. Assuming they haven't up and left while I've been here then they're still there."
"I'm sure you can guess that I'll be very interested to meet them."
"Shall I bring them here?"
"Shortly, if you would."
"But this is… this is just… so crazy," Molly was wringing her hands slightly. "How can this have possibly happened? It defies… all logic…"
"There is a prevailing opinion actually, in Muggle scientists, that there could be many thousands of universes out there across a gigantic omniverse," Dumbledore replied. "It seems that finally another one of those universes may have made contact with our own in a way that neither of our worlds anticipated."
"I think this is extremely exciting," Arthur was grinning broadly. "Think about it - an entire new world. An entire new civilisation… with its own magic, its own history, its own people… think of all the fascinating things we could learn."
"Fascinating is one word for it," Moody muttered, glowering slightly. "What I want to know is just how dangerous this lot are."
"By what I have seen, Mad-Eye," Tonks snorted. "They would make extremely dangerous enemies."
"That is a conclusion I too have drawn," said Dumbledore.
"Then perhaps more to the point, what if You-Know-Who finds out about them?" Moody thumped his hand down on the table slightly. "What if he tries to convert them to his side somehow, make them fight against the rest of us? If these guys are really so dangerous that could be the very last thing we need."
"I don't think this lot would join up with You-Know-Who," Tonks shook her head. "I may not know them very well but I definitely got the feeling every one of them are strong believers in fighting for freedom and protecting the innocents."
"Again, I agree, especially from what I have gleaned from the mind of young Wendy," Dumbledore announced. "Fairy Tail, as they call themselves, have accomplished incredible feats in the name of stopping evil in their own world. I have little doubt that Voldemort…" the room winced almost collectively… "Could not convince them to come to his cause willingly. In fact, they already fought against and defeated a group of people who wished to create a world solely for magical people back in their world. But that does not mean Voldemort could not find other ways to pull them to his side of the fight. I don't know how successful he might be, but it would be unwise to underestimate him."
"What are you saying, Professor?" Emmeline Vance asked. "What course of action should we take?"
"Why, we must do all we can to help Fairy Tail of course. We must find them and bring them together, protect them from being found and exploited by Voldemort. The Order of the Phoenix is committed to stopping Voldemort in any way it can. And that makes this now one of our highest priorities."
"You think they could make good new allies for us?" Kingsley supplied.
"It's very likely, but that is not the main reason for this course of action. It is not only about denying Voldemort this extra firepower. It is simply the right thing to do, is it not?"
...
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