Movies - Nymphadora Tonks

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	Movies - Nymphadora Tonks

Nymphadora Tonks (born c. 1973) is a fictional character in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels, first appearing in Order of the Phoenix (2003).

Tonks (she despises her first name) is a vivacious young woman in her twenties who's not only an Auror and an Order of the Phoenix operative, but a Metamorphmagus. She can alter her appearance at will and makes heavy use of this knack, not only as a phenomenal gift in the art of disguise but for the lighter purposes of experimenting with her appearance and entertainment. She is never good at household spells and also notoriously clumsy.

By heritage Tonks is a half-blood, being daughter to pure-blood Andromeda (née Black) Tonks and Muggle-born Ted Tonks.

Tonks will be played by actress Natalia Tena in the movie adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, due out in 2007.

In Harry Potter

Tonks was not a member of the original Order due to her young age. She schooled at Hogwarts, and must have been a fairly good student to meet the standards required for her later profession - although she was not made a prefect due to her inability to behave herself. She subsequently underwent three years of Ministry of Magic's Auror training, where she's known to have passed Concealment and Disguise effortlessly but met trouble with Stealth and Tracking.

Order of the Phoenix

Tonks is introduced as an Order member and secondary character in Order of the Phoenix. At the time, she and her fellow Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt were covert spies in the Ministry. Indiscreet action would have cost them their positions due to the the prevailing (and misguided) anti-Dumbledore policy, but they were able to supply intelligence.

Tonks fought the Death Eaters at the Department of Mysteries together with Alastor Moody, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Kingsley Shacklebolt. She was injured by her aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange, and despite Moody's ministrations had to be taken to St. Mungo's hospital. She was fully healed and released, and a short time later got together with Alastor Moody, Remus Lupin and some of the Weasleys to confront Vernon Dursley about Harry's treatment at Number Four Privet Drive.

Half-Blood Prince

During Half-Blood Prince Tonks was stationed at Hogsmeade and assigned to guard Hogwarts. Harry observed her behaving uncharacteristically: she was constantly depressed, rarely smiling or being friendly as she had previously been. Her hair had reverted to a mousy brown, her apparent natural colour, suggesting that her metamorphosing had been disturbed, and her Patronus changed some time after the battle from an unknown form to a large, hairy, four-legged creature. Both are evidence of extreme shock or strong emotions. It was presumed that this was due to the death of Sirius Black, her cousin, that she felt responsible for. Harry even speculated that she might have been in love with him - not the least since her Patronus resembled Sirius' animagus form.

After Albus Dumbledore's death, it was revealed that her strange behaviour was due to Remus Lupin refusing her love. She did not care that he was a werewolf, which meant that he was not only potentially dangerous but unable to find work because of the extreme prejudice against werewolves, and consequently was poor. Nor did she care he was much older than she was. He, however, believed that she deserved someone younger and safer and able to provide her with more. It is now believed by many that Tonks's patronus was a werewolf and also that her hair had turned mousy as a reflection of Remus Lupin's grey-streaked brown hair. At Dumbledore's funeral at the end of Half-Blood Prince, they are seen holding hands and her hair is also once again pink, indicating that she is no longer depressed.

Name

Nymphadora literally means "Gift of the Nymphs." Nymphs are guardian spirits in Greek mythology who rule trees, sacred groves, streams and the ocean. During the Renaissance, northern Europeans equated the classical nymphs with their own legends of elves. Shakespeare's A Midsummer Nights Dream sees traditional English elves like Robin Goodfellow alongside Greek nymphs as servants of Diana (Titania). If we therefore read "gift of the nymphs" as "gift of the elves," this echoes the ancient myth of babies stolen by elves and replaced by hideous monsters called changelings. The metamorphic Tonks could be described as a "changeling".

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