Just an idea I wanted to share. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! All mistakes are my own.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any associated terms. The names in this story are from either the books or the Harry Potter Wiki site.

Her name really wasn't as horrible as she said. But it sounded like the name of a Black. It was a family tradition. You were named after something astronomy related or else something elegant.

Draco. Regulus. Sirius. Narcissa. Bellatrix. Andromeda. Walburga. Orion. Dorea. Hesper. Phineas. Licorus. Isla. Arcturus. Cygnus. Misapinoa. Marius. Pollox. Cedrella. Alphard. Lucretia. Callidora. Cassiopeia. Phoebe. Charis. Elladora. Belvina. It wasn't that hard to tell Nymphadora was intended to fit right in. The muggle-born and the muggle-raised didn't notice it. Plenty of half-bloods didn't see it either. Hell, even the occasional pureblood just skipped over it without thinking. But then, for every two people that didn't notice, one did.

"Nymphadora Tonks? Was your mother a Black?"
"Yes, she was,"
"I don't know the name Tonks, who is your mother?"
"Andromeda, my mother is Andromeda,"

That is where the conversation split. Sometimes into a friendly "Oh, and how is she doing?" that Tonks didn't mind in the least, but then sometimes, there would be the sneer, and the "Oh. Andromeda." and the unspoken 'the blood-traitor'. That one made her hackles rise with a desire to defend her mother, as only an angry badger can.

And then, of course, if people that weren't as aware of the ancient house lines, but were somewhat aware, (mostly those termed 'blood-traitor lines') overheard this conversation, they would now know that she was descended from the Black family, nevermind that her mother was disowned for not being prejudiced. And these supposedly open-minded people had their own deep-seated prejudices, and the Blacks were a family targeted by said prejudices. So it was always nice to get hatred from both sides of the issue.

She understood why her mom had named her Nymphadora, truly she did. It had hurt Andromeda Tonks nee Black to be disowned for loving someone, and a reminiscent name was… a way of honoring family connections that weren't acknowledged.

So, she pretended to hate her name. Because she didn't hate the name, but she hated the meanings affiliated with it. It was much easier to say "Call me Tonks" (Yes, even after her last name became Lupin) because the name didn't raise eyebrows beyond who laughed at it.

Maybe one day she would come to terms with her name. She was only 25, after all, she had the rest of her life to figure it out.

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Nymphadora Lupin nee Tonks died in the Battle of Hogwarts, May 2, 1998 at age 25. She is survived by her mother, Andromeda Tonks nee Black, and her son, Edward Remus Lupin.

Thanks for taking the time to read this! Please let me know what you thought? Even a word or two means a lot!