Helen's weekly column on her fictional female heroes...
She is known simply as Tonks. A feisty but sometimes clumsy witch, she makes a smashing entrance in the Harry Potter series when Harry hears “a crash in the kitchen below.” She may only be a secondary character, not making her appearance until book five (The Order of the Phoenix), but she is a young woman who makes a substantial impression on Harry and his friends. The warmth and affection for Tonks is evident from the many fan sites on the internet dedicated to her.
She is bright and talented but full of mischief. She delights in teasing the dour Professor Moody, rolling her eyes and asking him questions like, "Who d’you know who’s lost a buttock?" Along with her razor sharp wit comes her ability to change her appearance at will. Rowling tells us that technically this makes her a Metamorphmagus and throughout the books Tonks appears with a variety of colourful hair colours, only resorting to her normal colour when she is depressed.
Like heroines in previous columns she too prefers to be known by a variation of her real name stating, “So would you if your fool of a mother had called you Nymphadora.”
She is not much older than Harry, with a number of websites suggesting she was born in 1973 - having worked out a timeline for her based on facts from the books and snippets from Ms Rowling herself. Amazing. Working for the Ministry of Magic, Tonks is an Auror and is always to be found in the thick of the action, fighting death eaters in the Department of Mysteries, spying and guarding Hogwarts School. With all her powers, she is one of Harry’s staunchest allies and protectors as a member of the Order of the Phoenix.
Tonks may consider her mother a "fool" for calling her Nymphadora but her mother bravely chose to marry a muggle to the consternation of the rest of her family – the Black family. History repeats itself as Tonks herself also falls for an inappropriate man, the sometimes scary, sometimes kindly Professor Lupin – who has a very slight problem every full moon. Despite these challenges, Tonks perseveres – a sign of her determined character. Throughout the books she never gives in, in love and in fighting and unsurprisingly was there at the final battle.
She has courage, humour and isn’t afraid to show her feelings. She is one of the youngest characters aside from the students and may appear as a young rebel but there is far more depth beneath her gregarious and happy-go-lucky personality. Underneath the changing hair colour, the different faces, and her love for Lupin is a fiercely determined young woman, very talented, a great team player and a huge asset not only to the Order of the Phoenix but also to the entire Harry Potter phenomenon.
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