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Disclaimer: J K Rowling owns the rights and likenesses of all the characters in the Harry Potter series. This story is meant to add to the world she created. Any conflicts are accidental and they yield to her reality (canon).

This is a post-OOTP story during the summer before Harry’s Sixth Year. Very few items of HBP will be used.

 

 

Harry Potter And The Summer Of Change

 

 

2. Teasing And The Williams’s

 

A soft fluttering invaded Harry’s slumber. Thinking that Hedwig was just trying to get his attention, Harry ignored it and tried to return to the warm and comfortable place he’d been pulled from. The sound continued unheeded and he knew she wouldn’t let him sleep if she needed something. The fluttering persisted. Past experiencetold Harry that Hedwig wasn’t above landing on his head if it was important, and her talons would hurt.

Forcing his eyes open, Harry saw dark brown hair obscuring his view. It took him a moment to place it, but he quickly figured out that Hedwig wasn’t the reason he was awake. It was the aurorcurled into him that woke him up not Hedwig. Tonks was fast asleep and making a quiet rattling sound in her throat as she breathed. Harry couldn’t help but smile at how ‘new’ this situation was to him.

‘I like this waking up with someone. It feels good.’ Harry looked around as well as he could without his glasses. The only thing that wasn’t blurry was Tonks. He watched her breathe causing her shoulders to move slightly. He noticed that she was completely wrapped up by him. He didn’t remember doing that, but it must have happened during the night. She seemed happy with the way things were, at least by the way she was sleeping. Much to his excitement and discomfort, Harry found her rear firmly against his front. He felt himself stir a bit but fought down those thoughts. ‘That’s not how I want her to wake up today. There would be no chance fighting that blush. Not to mention the embarrassment.’

Breaking his train of thought, Harry felt a vibration coming from under her pillow. She moved slightly, reaching a hand under the pillow, and the vibration stopped. From her movements, Harry became acutely aware of where his left hand was resting, and he didn’t know what to do. She’d stretched a little, reaching for her wand, causing his hand to be squashed into her breast.

‘Oh, shit. This just gets worse.’ Harry was waiting for her to wake up and smack him across the head for his wandering hand. The seconds ticked by; Tonks settled a little bit and seemed to drift off again. Trying his best to be careful, Harry slowly moved his hand away from her soft, warm breast and returned it to a safer place. Once he had his hand safely on her hip, he relaxed thinking he’d pulled it off.

“Just like every other guy, grope and run. I see how you are, Harry.” Tonks spoke quietly and it was obvious that she had just woken up, but the playfulness was still there.

Harry didn’t know what to do but decided he should apologize for starters. “I’m sorry, Tonks. I didn’t realize where it was until you moved. I’m really…”

“Hush. You did the same thing last night too. No worries, Harry. It felt even better this morning.”

“You love this don’t you,” Harry prompted. “You love being the innocent one in this and making me feel guilty. I see how you are.”

“Don’t you mean you know how I feel? And guilt has nothing to do with it. I’m the adult here, Harry. If anyone should feel guilty, it would be me. But, me being me, I don’t feel guilty at all. I rather liked it, in all honesty. I could go another turn if you’d like?” Tonks took this moment to roll over and look into Harry’s eyes. She saw him fighting a pitched battle between embarrassment and the desire to take her up on her offer. “I’m a tease, Harry. I can’t help it and wouldn’t if I could. As you get to know me, you’ll learn when I’m playing, when I’m serious, and when I’m both. Take a guess which one it is right now?”

“I think I’ll keep what little dignity I have left and hold my tongue, thank you.”

“Sure you don’t want me to hold it for you? At least I didn’t wake up with you trying to spear me in the back.” Tonks knew she was going a little too far, but she couldn’t help it. She enjoyed it too much and Harry was all sorts of fun.

“Never mind about the dignity, I think you just ran that over with a hippogriff.” Harry took a deep breath and settled himself for a second. “I believe I’ll get up, er, out of bed before you can humiliate me any more than you already have. Don’t you have some Order member to meet soon?”

“Yes, but it’s just Dung and he’ll be late as usual. Besides, this is far more entertaining.”

“I’m glad I can amuse you, Tonks. If you keep this up, I may just start doing the same thing to you. What would you do then, huh?”

“I eagerly await that day, Harry Potter. Maybe then you’ll finally figure out if I’m playing or serious…or both.” Tonks thought she had won the battle, but she noticed a twinkle in Harry’s eyes that was far too reminiscent of a certain headmaster

“Careful what you wish for, Nymphadora. You may get what you ask for.”

Hesitating a second, Tonks spoke very softly. “It’s Tonks to you, Harry.” ‘Oh, Merlin, I may have gone too far. He might have me figured out, and that twinkle should be outlawed. Stay strong, he’s probably just trying to spook you.’

Harry saw her hesitate. He knew she wasn’t sure of things right now. That was the opportunity he needed to save face. He leaned forward and kept his face as blank as possible. This was the crucial moment; he didn’t want to stuff it up. “You didn’t say anything about it last night. Why the sudden change?” Harry gave her a playful smirk and eased out of the bed slowly. ‘Leave them wondering. That’s what Wood had said second year after he kissed that blond during the party. “Leave them wondering and they can’t get enough, Harry.”’

Harry grabbed some clothes from the bureau and left for the loo to wash up. He never noticed Tonks let out a huge breath and swallow nervously. She quickly gathered her wand from under the pillow. Righting her clothes and waving her wand over them to get the wrinkles out, Tonks Apparated outside to meet Dung.

‘Yep, he called my bluff and I caved. Now I can only wait and see what he does about it. I hate not being in control, but what can I do about it.’ Her musings were interrupted by a drunken slob appearing next to her.

“As covert as Hagrid, you are. Are you sure you can handle this task, Dung? I mean even with the cloak you are obvious to anyone who happens to have a pulse.”

“What’s got your knickers in a twist, Tonksy? Boyfriend not doin’ his job? Tha’ time ’o tha mumf?”

“Watch it, git. I know where you live: alley, trashcan, and all. Now, same as yesterday, watch the fat one. We nearly had a killing last night. I don’t think he can be taught. Maybe all the cholesterol gets in the way.”

“I’ll do me best, Tonksy, you know tha’.”

“I’ll be back at six or before. You heard about the change, right?”

“Yeah, I ‘eard. Thanks about tha’. I hate the daytime. Looking forward to dark again.”

“Later, Dung.” And with that, Tonks apparated away.

 

*********************************

 

Harry returned to his bedroom without passing any of the Dursleys. He found Tonks already gone, which was no surprise. ‘Thank Merlin she’s gone. I doubt I could’ve kept up what I was doing before.’ Left with little to do now that Tonks was gone, he saw Hedwig asleep in her cage and the remains of a mouse at the bottom waiting for him to clear them away.

‘Huh, decisions, decisions. Clean her cage or eat something?’ Harry pulled up the loose floorboard and pulled out a bag of crisps that he had hidden. ‘The breakfast of Champions, well, at least the Triwizard Survivor.’

Harry looked around his room and decided that he may as well practice what Tonks had told him last night. He decided that levitating a book would be a good place to start, so he grabbed his copy of Quidditch Through The Ages and set it on his desk.

‘OK - willpower plus intent. You can do this. You did this before. Just do it. Come on – come on – up. Seriously! Up!’

Half an hour later, Harry found himself with a headacheand the book in the exact same place,mocking him. From what Tonks told him, words and wand movements were triggers, and in his case so was anger.

‘Fine, I’ll anger this bloody thing to move.’ He gave mad a shot but nothing happened. Then he focused his anger about Voldemort and Bellatrix onthe book, but he had to stop when the book started smoking. ‘Great. If I need to light a cigarette, I might be onto something.’

Harry blew out his cheeks in frustration; it was clearly time to get creative. He stopped thinking about words and people he hated and simply thought about making the book move. He concentrated on the outcome instead of the process.

After a few minutes, Harry felt a movement inside of himself. He didn’t know what it was, but it was a movement nonetheless. He felt ‘it’ move from himself to the book, and he was shocked to find the book levitating in midair, albeit listing to the left precariously.

“Ha, I did it. So that’s what it feels like,” Harry said out loud looking over to Hedwig was decidedly still asleep and ignoring him. Unperturbed but silent, Harry continued. ‘I guess I’ve never had time to feel it before. I just made it happen.’ Harry tried the process again and managed to level the book out. Whenhe was satisfied with lifting, he willed the book to lower itself back down to the desk. Nothing happened.

‘Alright, try to recreate that feeling again and then direct it to the book. Maybe I work in reverse. Tonks did say that everyone was different.’ He created the feeling again and pushed it towards the book. Much to his surprise, it worked.

With the small achievement earned, Harry planned out the rest of his day. He wanted to be faster and more accurate, wandlessly, with levitation as well as three other spells before Tonks returned. Looking to a still sleeping Hedwig, Harry promised, “I will not fail.”

 

*********************************

 

Over the next four hours, Harry got a lot faster at willing the book to levitate. He moved it up and down and side to side around the room. Hedwig had voiced her disapproval once when the book got away from Harry and nearly hit her. Harry apologized for the next hour, levitating treats to her for over ten minutes.

He also practiced summoning things. Memories of a lost wand in an alley inspired him in making sure he would never find himself wandless again. With just a few mishaps, he perfected the familiar spell quickly. The Vanishing Charm was executed too. Hedwig’s cage no longer containing mouse bones or owl droppings served as evidence of Harry’s efforts and success.

He couldn’t think of another spell to practice that was easy but important forstaying alive. He knew offensive spells would be good ones to work on, but he wasn’t sure if the Ministry could detect those kinds of spells, wandless or not. Besides, damaging the Dursley’s house wouldn’t make things easier for him at all. After tossing the idea around in his head, Harry decided on the Silencing Charm. It would be dead useful when he was wandering around Hogwarts,trying to avoid teachers [and who knew what else]. Harry idly wondered what kind of nightmare of a Defence teacher he could expect to deal with this year.  Whomever Dumbledore managed to con into the job, Harry could only hope they’d do him the courtesy of not trying to kill him until after Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup.

 

*******************

Harry’s hunger broke his concentration shortly after he had perfected silencing his footsteps. Concerned about how Aunt Petunia would react this time, Harry reluctantly set off for the kitchen.‘Maybe she’ll throw a knife at me or some boiling water.’

Harry opened his door and listened. Hearing nothing, he went downstairs and slowly opened the kitchen door and found his aunt and Dudley sitting at the table. Dudley was quiet because he was eating a rather thick sandwich, and Aunt Petunia was still reading the book about him while nibbling on some fruit. Deciding that it was now or never, Harry entered the kitchen and headed directly for the food that was laid out on the counter.  

Dudley paused gnawing on his food and followed Harry with his eyes. Harry noticed what Dudley was doing but chose not to show that he had. Harry wanted to be in and out as fast as he could and didn’t want any distractions. One third of the day had passed pleasantly and he wanted to keep it that way.

With two pieces of bread laid out, Harry slapped down cheese and turkey completeing his sandwich. Grabbing an apple from Dudley’s ‘Diet Basket’ on his way by, Harry made for the door only to find his cousin staring him down. Harry glared back for a few seconds while continuing towards the door and safer rooms

“What do you think you’re doing?” asked Dudley. “Mum, he’s taking food. He can’t do that, can he?”

“Leave him be, Duddy-kins,” Petunia said as nicely as she could. “Do you want more, Harry?” Harry shook his head not wanting to speak out loud for fear of rousing the ’real’ Petunia he felt certain was nearby and waiting to attack.

Dudley nearly fell off his bench when his mother asked if Harry wanted more food. He’d never heard those words directed at Harry before. “Mum, what in the bloody hell are you doing? Are you touched in the head? H…he…he didn’t put a spell on you did h…he..?”

“Enough of that, Popkin,” Petunia chided softly. “Are you sure, Harry?”

“Yes, quite sure, Aunt Petunia,”

“Can I,” Petunia began, completely ignoring her son’s sputtering, but didn’t seem to know how to finish. “Did you really?” Petunia paused and seemed not to know how to continue.

“What?” Harry asked hesitantly.

“Did you really duel the man who killed Lily?”

“Yes, I did. I almost died doing it, too. If you ever see him, run. You don’t stand a chance against him and he’ll kill you without a moment’s thought.”

“How did you fight him? How could you beat him?”

“I didn‘t beat him,” Harry couldn’t believe he was having this conversation. “I ran before he could kill me.”

“Ha, coward,” Dudley said.

Harry shifted his focus to his swollen cousin. “If you ever see him, Dud, you’d probably fall over yourself trying to run away or just mess your pants. When it comes to Voldemort, there’s no such thing as being a coward. You are either alive or, like most people, dead. Just like that. too.”

“How many people have fought him and lived?” Petunia asked with a shaky voice.

“Two that I know of,” Harry answered. “Dumbledore is the only other one who has fought Voldemort face-to-face and lived.”

“And you are the other person who has?”

“Yes, Aunt Petunia, I’m the only other person who has lived when Voldemort decided to kill them. Hence, the hero thing I guess.”

“Mum, what in the devil is he talking about?” Dudley asked, but saw his mother staying silent. “Mum?”

“How many times have you faced him?”

“You want a list?” Seeing Petunia nod slightly, Harry listed them off. “One year old: Mum and Dad died, I lived. First year: twice, but he wasn’t in a human form. Second year: once, but he was a memory from the diary. Fourth year:once in the graveyard, and he was in human form then. Fifth year:once in the atrium to the Ministry. So, that makes it six times I’ve faced him and lived. Anything else you want to know?”

“Um,” Petunia thought of what else she could ask him quickly since his agitation had been growing the entire conversation. “Do you have a book explaining Quidditch? This one doesn’t give any details about it. It’s just recaps of your matches.”

Harry nodded and willed his copy of Quidditch Through The Ages to come to him. The book came flying through the air, shortly afterwards, and Harry caught it easily as it forced the kitchen door out of its way. Petunia gave a slight shriek when the door opened revealing the book and Dudley wore a gleeful look instead of his normal one of puzzlement.

“You did magic!” Dudley cackled. “You’re going to get chucked out now.”

“No, Dud, I’m not. I did wandless magic and they can’t trace it. I’m still new at it, but so far things are going well for me. Want me to levitate you around the room? I’m pretty sure I could manage it easy enough.”  

Dudley watched a smile grow on Harry’s face. From the look of things, Harry was sure of himself and Dudley didn’t like that. “No, that’s okay. I prefer to stay on the ground, thank you. You keep your weirdness to yourself, freak.”

“Your choice, Dud.” Harry was glad Dudley hadn’t forced his hand on the issue. He wasn’t sure he could control Dudley if he got him off the ground, and Aunt Petunia’s odd behaviour definitely wouldn’t survive Dudley bouncing off walls. Harry handed Petunia the book and watched her look at the cover. Surprisingly, she really seemed interested in it. Still not trusting her, Harry wrote off his impressions with a simple thought. ‘The tabloids are just really boring right now. This is probably the next closest thing for her.’

Harry scanned the room one last time then headed for his room with the sandwich in hand and the apple floating after him for good measure. The kitchen was silent after Harry left. Dudley stared at his mum not sure what to think.

“Mummy, what’s going on?”

“I read some things about Harry that are hard to believe. If they’re true, then our past treatment of him could be really dangerous to us. I’ve just finished a book about him and I’m still trying to figure out what is real and what is fiction.”

“A book - about him? Why would anyone write a book about, him?”

“Here,” Petunia handed the book to Dudley, “read that and I think you’ll see why they wrote a book about him. Either way, I don’t need to remind you to keep this from your father, do I?”

“As if I would mention any of this to him? As fun as it would be to see him get mad, I think Harry and his bitch would hurt Dad if he tried anything.”

“Don’t say that about her. I may not like her either, but Harry seems to and after you read that, you won’t want him mad at you. Now, keep it well hidden, okay, Diddy?”

“Yes, Mum. I will.” Dudley grabbed at the book and found a smiling Harry looking up at him. The picture moved a bit and Dudley nearly dropped the book in shock. “Mummy, it moved.”

“I know, Diddy. Their pictures move. It’s just one more thing that makes them different from us. Try not to let it bother you, Popkin. Some of the pictures can’t be real, but they’re in there. A dragon chasing him around on a broom - farfetched fiction if you ask me, but the book made it seem ‘normal’. Odd people - like those Hare Krishnas in the airport.”

“A dragon? They aren’t real. We would’ve seen them if they were. Wouldn’t we?”

“You would think so, but no one else knows about…them and their ways, do they?” Petunia said,looking scared and checking the not-so-dark areas of the kitchen for specters. “I know you don’t like reading, Diddykins, but it might help us prevent bad things from happening this summer. I have a bad feeling for some reason.”

 

*********************************

‘What in the hell is going on here and what did Tonks do to her?’ Harry couldn’t believe what was going on in Number Four. Not once in his life had anything similar occurred. Harry tried to convince himself to let it go repeating over and over that worrying about it wouldn’t get him an answer until Tonks returned.

Once he muted his curious thoughts, he managed to eat his bounty and focus on practicing.‘It was fun to scare and torment them with that Summoning charm though.’  

Harry ate, and reviewed all the spells he had worked on earlier. Proving to himself that he had them down, he chose four others to learn. Since he’d already achieved his goal for the day, everything else was a bonus.

Harry practiced the Flame Charm on a small candle he had brought from Hogwarts and barely avoided setting his room on fire after numerous sparks and smolders. Surveying the damage to his blanket, several of Dudley’s old books, and a spot on his desk, Harry decided that if he was going to set things on fire, then he had better practice the Flame Freezing Charm, too. He tested the spell by holding his hand over an open flame he had just created, much to Hedwig’s vocal disapproval.

After an hour’s practice, he finally mastered McGonagall’s Switching Charm.  Though he wasn’t quite sure why he was even bothering with it, other than McGonagall always saying ‘Future learning builds on past learning’.  He’d just have to take her word for it.

The Freezing Charm caused Harry some difficulty, as well, but not in freezing things—that worked fine—it was his aim that needed work.

Harry winced and muttered for the third time, “Sorry, Hedwig,” when the spell just missed the wary owl.

 

*********************************

With several rough spots on the wall from practicing, Harry heard a noise from downstairs. It was far too early for Tonks to be back. He opened his door and listened. He heard voices,but they were too quiet to understand. Curiosity getting the best of him, Harry cast the Silencing spell on his feet and crept to the top of the stairs.

Harry wished he had a pair of Extendable Ears handy; the new voice seemed familiar, but he couldn’t place it. With few options, Harry took a deep breath and descended the stairs. Someone was standing in the living room. Crouching a little, Harry spotted a worn cloak that had been repaired more than a few times. Recognizing the cloak, Harry took a moment to ponder whether he really wanted to talk to its owner or not.

Decision made and hanging his head in defeat, Harry walked the rest of the way down the stairs and into the living room. He stood directly behind Remus and listened to the conversation Remus was having with Aunt Petunia. No one had heard him enter the room and they remained ignorant of his presence.

“I don’t want ‘you’here anymore than the other one,” Petunia declared while eying Remus’s threadbare clothing barely restraining her contempt.

“Now, Mrs. Dursley, I just want a short visit with Harry,” Remus explained.“I’ll be gone before Mr. Dursley arrives, I assure you.”

The internal struggle was quite apparent on her face before she slowly answered. “Fine. Two of you are two too many! The last thing I need or want is more of your kind here.”

“Why thank you for your hospitality, Mrs. Dursley,” Remus forced as politely as he could. “Now I’ll just go up to his room and speak with him.”

Harry said, “I’m right here, Professor Lupin.” Remus jumped a little at the sound of Harry’s voice, and turned to give him a small, sad smile.

“Sorry, I didn’t hear you there, Harry—and my ears are sharper than most. I bet we don’t hear the half of what mischief you manage to get up to at school.”

Harry did not return Lupin’s smile. “Your ears better than a certain bat or old man? Not to sound rude, but why are you here, Professor?”

“It’s Remus, Harry,” Remus said softly. “I haven’t been your teacher for a few years and I see you as an equal so please call me Remus.”

“Fine, Remus then. Why are you here?”

“Well, I think we should go somewhere private for this. I’m sure you would prefer it considering what I have to say and all.”

“What’s it about?” Harry asked his patience waning further.

“Sirius,” was the only word Remus spoke while waiting for an explosive reaction.

“Ah, okay, I see your point. My room then?” Harry said,not waiting for an answer. He turned and walked up to his room after discretely removing the Silencing charm from his feet. ‘I don’t want to advertise anything yet. They can all find out on their own the hard way.’

In spite of himself, Harry wondered what terrible thing Remus needed to tell him that couldn’t have been sent by post or through Tonks. Once the door closed, Harry fixed Remus with a stare waiting for him to start.

Remus looked around the room and spotted the large bed which seemed to peak his interest. A clearing of Harry’s throat caused the older man to look him in his eyes.

“Harry, you look well. Have you been sleeping and eating okay?” Remus prompted nervously.

“Why are you here?” Harry wasn’t going to play the game. He wanted to know what was going on and he wanted to know fast.

“Okay, well, I’m here to discuss Sirius. I know you would rather not, but certain things must be discussed. I miss him as much as you do, Harry, maybe more so, but that’s not the main reason I’m here. In the next few days, you should receive something from Gringotts concerning Sirius’s estate. I didn’t want it to catch you off guard so I came to tell you in person.

“I know you are in his will, Harry. You’re going to get most of it, too, if I know Padfoot. I wanted to tell you that life goes on. Sirius would want you use his possessions to cause as much mayhem as possible. At least, that was his plan when his mother died. I also wanted to tell you that you didn’t cause his death. You have no reason to feel guilty.”

Harry merely stared at his father’s friend. This was the last thing he wanted to deal with right now. He didn’t want any of Sirius’s stuff, and he wanted to think about it even less. Sighing, Harry knew he had little choice in the matter since Gringotts would carry out whatever directions Sirius had left with them.

“Fine,” Harry said evenly, fighting his anger and sadness. “Anything else?”

Remus was not surprised by Harry’s attitude. He understood the emotions Harry was dealing with. They were the same ones he, himself, had dealt with years ago when their lives were destroyed that terrible Halloween night.

“If you need to talk about things, Harry, I’m here for you.”

“Ha, you mean you are somewhere else for me. I’m the only one here. Hedwig is here, too, but she doesn’t talk much, her being an owl and all.”

“I know you’rehurting, Harry, but things will get…”

“Stop,” Harry didn’t want to hear it. “I don’t want your sympathy or your words of advice. I’ll get through this like I have everything else, in my own way.” Harry didn’t voice what he was really thinking, ‘I’m going to get that bitch one way or another. That’s my way, at least when it comes to this subject.’

Remus looked worried and happy all at the same time. He wasn’t sure how to take what Harry had said. He could have meant any number of things by that statement.

“I hope you’re okay, Harry. Try not to dwell on this too much. I speak from experience when I say that nothing good can come of it.”

“Yes, but when you had your experience everyone was dead or in prison. So you could never really do anything about it could you. I don’t have that problem. Everyone I need to deal with is still alive.” Harry stopped himself from saying any more. He knew he had to think clearly and not let his emotions take over. He figured he could make a book float pretty easily at this point but chose not to practice that spell. “Remus, if there’s nothing else, I would really like to be alone right now. Thank you for telling about this. I’ll look for the owl.”

Remus watched the young man wrestle with his feelings. He knew Harry had a long road to travel before he would get over what had happened. “I understand, Harry. Try tothink of the good things, okay? Sirius died on his feet. He always wanted to go that way. Or under a good woman, but I’m sure you don’t want to hear about that. I know I didn’t, but Sirius made sure to describe it in great detail whenever he got bored.” Remus smiled sadly as he remembered the many times Sirius had told those stories.

“Thanks for that picture, Remus. I doubt I’ll be able to get to sleep tonight. Now, if you are quite finished corrupting my mind…” Harry cracked a small, forced smile.

“Yes, I think I’m quite finished. Thank you for listening, Harry. Remember the good times, okay? I’ll show myself out.” Remus turned and left the room. He walked down the stairs and out the front door completely ignoring the head sticking out of the kitchen door following his every movement.

Harry heard the telltale crack of Apparation and let go of the tight emotional control he had been forced into. His mood turned sourer than it had been. He had anger coursing through him and he needed to direct it somewhere. He knew he couldn’t do magic right now, because he would get himself into trouble. With no other options coming to mind, Harry decided to head to the park, thinking that maybe a walk would clear his mind or at least he could get away from Privet Drive for a few minutes. The oppressive feel of the house was beginning to take hold like it always had every other summer. Only this time, it was occurring much faster.

Leaving the house was easy and the walk to the park went quickly. The swings had been repaired while he had been away at Hogwarts, so he sat on one and gave a great heave with his feet. He pumped once, trying to force out as much anger as he could without letting his magic kick in. Harry watched as the view of the park tilted and he was staring at the clouds overhead. The view swung back to one that was the park, and so on, as he swung lower each time. His anger slowly ebbed with each swing, allowing Harry to focus his mind back to reality.

Movement from underneath a small bush caught his attention after he had settled into a more gentle back-and-forth motion. He saw a bushy tail flick out of sight in the growing shadows. “As if one wasn’t enough, I have a second minder. Are you after me or are you minding my minder?”

A furry face poked out from the bush and mewed at him. Harry decided that meant both, since he knew Dung’s reliability was questionable at best. The silence remained for another twenty minutes until a pair of kids entered at the far end of the park. They must have been new to the area, since they were in the park around the time Dudley and his gang would come by and cause problems with the other kids. The property damage to the park happened after dark, as did most of the harassment.

The boy and girl had to be brother and sister judging by the way the boy would tease her. He never had to say or do much to get her swinging her fist at him. They alternated between climbing the slide and spinning the merry-go-round. Harry wondered what it would be like to have a brother or sister. He wondered if his mum and dad had thought about having more kids before Voldemort killed them.

Knowing those thoughts were not the best ones to think about, Harry focused on watching the kids more. They had to be around eight and six, maybe nine and seven. The girl would follow her brother around and do what he did until he made her mad. The teasing was a lot like how the twins would tease Ron or Ginny only without the explosions of course. They seemed happy together and that was something foreign to Harry. He’d never had a sibling to love or be mad at. He only had Dudley and there was never more than anger, hate, and loathing between them.

Harry thought about how things worked between him and his friends. As he thought about it, Hermione was the closest thing he had to a sister. He had to admit she was an older sister most of the time. She always made him do his homework. She nagged him to keep trying to do better and follow the rules. She did her best to help him in her own way. She believed in adults. She always had trust in them. They had always helped her in her life. Her parents were good people. They loved her and cared about her. They believe her and in her. She never had to manage on her own.

Harry also realized that she was a younger sister sometimes, too. Whenever the books and her knowledge failed her, she was lost. When she was lost, she turned to Harry to help her, to make the decisions, and to fix things. When things got difficult, Hermione turned to him to make them right. He knew that in most situations, he had no clue what he was doing. He would just do something and things would usually work out. When faced with trouble, if he ran one way, she would follow him without question. If it was a real problem, she would follow his lead giving help along the way if she could.

He thought about all the times they had gotten in over their heads. Every time, they made it because they worked together. Harry led because he was willing to make the choice and see it through. Hermione would sit back and think the problem through. If she didn’t have the time to do that, she would wait for Harry to lead. She was the sister he never had growing up. She could drive him crazy just by trying to make him better, but when it came down to it, she followed where he led.

As he watched the siblings, the girl slipped and fell near the see-saw. She tried not to cry, but she wasn’t doing very well in her attempt. She was in pain and holding her arm tenderly. The brother had stopped what he was doing and ran to her side. Harry could see the worry on the boy’s face, but he had no idea what to do. Her brother’s uncertainty was causing her to cry harder, and she was getting scared because her older brother was getting scared while the situation began to spiral quickly away from the calm and joy that had been present earlier.

Harry stood up and started walking towards them. When he really thought about it, he could see that he always did something when it needed done. Right or wrong, he always made a decision. Usually Hermione just made sure he didn’t muck it up too bad.

“Are you alright?” Harry asked the little girl. She was fighting her tears, but she was losing. Her brother just looked on not knowing how to help.

“I fell and my arm hurts,” the little girl said.

“Are your parents nearby?” Harry asked.

“They’re at home,” the brother said. “Down that way,” he pointed down Magnolia Road.

“Let me see your arm, okay. I’ll be as gentle as I can, alright?”

The girl nodded and moved her right arm away which was covering her injured left. Harry saw a bump growing on the side of her forearm and it was bruising quickly. He thought it might be broken, but he wasn’t sure. He didn’t remember his first broken arm very well and, the other time,his bones were no longer there ‘thanks to a certain professor’.

“Do you think you can walk?” Harry asked the girl. She shook her head slowly. “Okay, do you want me to carry you home then?” She nodded after looking at her brother,who could only shrug his shoulders.

Harry picked her up carefully and she settled into his arms, quietly sniffing every now and then. Harry told the boy to lead the way. Harry followed him across the park and down Magnolia Road. He watched the brother and saw the fear in his eyes. Harry wondered why someone would be so scared of a possible broken arm. As he thought about that, he realized that, to normal people, a broken arm was a big deal. Harry almost laughed when he compared a broken arm to his list of injuries. It would be quite a ways down the list.

As they walked, Harry thought about Ron. He could be the brother Harry never had in much the same way Hermione was a sister. Ron could make him laugh easily enough. He could also annoy him and make him angry. Ron had a problem with money and jealousy. Being the youngest boy in a family of men would explain the jealousy issues. He was always last in things and then he became a friend to Harry Freaking Potter. ‘Good choice, Ron.’

Ron was also self-conscious of his financial situation. Harry never had money growing up. He learned he had a vault full of money when he was eleven, but by then it didn’t make any difference. For Harry, it was one less worry on his list of worries. Ron could get angry at Harry for the littlest of things and then it would be fine. He could make him laugh by doing something stupid or just very Ron-like.

Growing up so alone, Harry had somehow managed to accumulate a brother and a sister along the way. He didn’t know how he had done it but he had. Looking at the little girl in his arms, he wondered if his dad would have done the same for him.‘Mum probably would have yelled at him for letting me get hurt and then fixed it with her wand in a second.’

Harry was broken out of his thoughts by a nasty comment. “Oi, Potter. First you go for the older ones and now you’re robbing the cradle. Can’t you get enough?”

Harry slowed and found Dudley, Piers, Dennis, Gordon, and Malcolm standing in his way. Dudley had made the comment, but it looked like he was forced to say it by the others. The gang was quietly prodding Dudley to say something else.

“You are sick to think something like that, Dud. My guess it was really Piers who said it, though. Seems like something he would say,knowing how he likes them ‘young’. Now, if you’ll excuse us, I have to get a hurt kid to her parents.”

“Watch it, Potter,” Piers said. “I should cut your heart out for what you said.” Piers pulled a knife out of his pocket and flipped it open.

Dudley looked at the knife and at Harry. He seemed unsure what to do. His friends expected him to beat Harry up anytime they found him out of the house, but Dudley knew his mum told him to leave Harry alone. He remembered what Harry had done to his father and the magic he had performed earlier. The book his mother had given him was still in his room, unopened under his mattress with the rest of his reading collection.

Harry didn’t want the kids to get caught between Dudley’s gang and himself. He decided to postpone the confrontation if he could. “If you give me a couple minutes, Piers, I’ll come back and let you try. I doubt you could do it though. More dangerous people than you have tried the same thing and they haven’t managed it yet. So, let me take care of current matters and then we can settle our differences later.”

Harry began walking normally again and followed the little boy around the group. The girl had hidden her head as much as she could when the gang had started making threats and she was keeping her head down. Harry hoped he could get away without having to fight anyone.

Malcolm chose that moment to make a comment. “Think you could take us, Potter? Sounded like a challenge to me, Piers. Watcha goin’ to do about it?”

Harry sighed and kept on walking. If the house was close enough, he might get away without anyone else getting hurt or himself in trouble.

“I’m going to kill you, Potter,” Piers said coldly.

Harry stopped and turned slowly trying to put forth the most intimidating look he could manage. “Are you sure you want to try, Piers?” Harry said every word slowly and with emphasis. “Others have said the same thing. I’m still here,so what do you think happened to them?” Harry made eye contact with every member of the gang. He held Piers’ and Dudley’s gaze the longest. Harry gave one last sweeping glance as he turned to follow the little boy again.

He never turned around to see what Dudley’s gang did about his comment, and he made it all the way to Wisteria Walk before anything was said among them. The little girl looked up at him calmly and said, “You can be scary when you need to, can’t you. I feel safe with you though. You don’t scare me.”

“Thank you, I think.” Harry wasn’t sure how to take the comment. It seemed both good and bad all at the same time. They walked down a couple of houses and the boy ran up the sidewalk to a house with a red door. He opened the door and yelled for his mum and dad. Harry walked up the path slowly,watching for parents and Dudley’s gang not to mention any Death Eaters that might be after him. Being as far away from number four as he was probably wouldn’t sit well with Dumbledore. ‘Stuff him.’

The door opened quickly and a woman ran out with the boy following closely behind her. Harry smiled at the woman and carefully let the girl down onto her own feet. He waited to see what the mother would do, not having much experience with this kind of thing.

The woman knelt in front of her daughter and asked her what happened. She explained everything quickly, and gingerly showed her injuries to her mother. Harry saw the love in the woman’s eyes and wished he could remember that from his own mother. The woman checked the worst injury and sighed deeply. She asked the boy to run inside and tell his father that they needed to go to hospital right away. The boy ran into the home again, and Harry could hear him yelling the instructions. He watched the girl get a careful hug from her mother.

Harry turned and began walking back to Privet Drive and the ‘prison’ that awaited him there. He felt movement behind him and turned quickly to see the mother walking up to him. She had a grateful but worried look on her face. Harry wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but he was ready for it all the same.

“Thank you for helping Emma home. I don’t know how to repay you, ah…”

“Harry. It’s not a big deal. You’re welcome.”

“Some boys threatened to kill him, Mum. They scared me.” The little girl was standing behind her mother cupping her arm.

“Don’t worry about them, Emma. I’ve dealt with worse.” Harry smiled at Emma and her mother, then turned to leave again.

“Did they really threaten your life or was it just words?” The woman asked.

“They were serious, but all the same it isn’t a big deal. I’m not worried. They’re nothing compared to what I’m used to dealing with.”

Harry nodded at the mother and Emma then walked down the street. He made it to Privet Drive without any problems until he got a weird feeling that something wasn’t right. He spun on his heels and pulled his wand from its hiding place,which kept it concealed but useable. He scanned the street looking for anything that could be a threat. He waited until he hearda movement to his left.

He swung his wand to the side and dove forward,hitting someone squarely in the chest. The fabric of an invisibility cloak felt familiar and the girlish-oof when they crashed onto the ground told Harry all he needed to know.

“Wotcher, Tonks,” Harry said causally,regaining his feet. “You might want to avoid sneaking up on me next time. You could have gotten yourself hurt.”

“Oh, that’s most definitely going to leave a mark, Harry. You’re abusive,you know that. Get inside so I can take this stupid thing off and check for damage.”

“Right this way, Nymphadora.” Harry hurried his pace to avoid any possible attack she could launch at him outside. He opened the door and waited for the sound of feet on the stairs before closing it softly. He quickly followed the sound of Tonks climbing the stairs. She didn’t have the same spring to her step that she usually did but at least she wasn’t falling down again.

His door opened and he heard the sound of cloth moving quickly across something and thrown to the floor. He entered his room and closed the door, finding Tonks was undoing her outer cloak. She dropped her grey cloak on top of the invisibility cloak, which was puddle near the foot of his bed. Harry was about to make a comment about her undressing when she continued her efforts. She pulled her shirt out of her pants and undid their buttons. Holding her shirt up and exposing her flat belly, she pulled down on the back part of her pants, revealing the upper part of her shapely rear. She turned slightly and caught sight of herself in the mirror on the inside of Harry’s open bureau. She scowled a little, but Harry couldn’t take his eyes away from her exposed flesh.

“See, I told you it was going to leave a mark!” she cried out. “How could you attack me like that? I was only going to tickle you.” Tonks turned, showing Harry the red mark on her lower back and upper butt. “I landed on a rock; I’m sure of it. Hurt too.” Only now did Tonks notice how big Harry’s eyes were. She figured she could use this to embarrass him again, since the last time hadn’t worked out very well.

“Like what you see, Harry? Would you like to touch it? Maybe kiss it and make it better.” She caught a slight reddening of his face before it disappeared.

‘She loves every minute of this. I’m not going to fold this time. I’m going to show her not to tease me.’ Harry raised his eyes and stared right at Tonks. He waited a few seconds before speaking, watching how she reacted to his stare.

“If you insist, Tonks, I won’t mind taking a closer look.” Harry cocked his eyebrows as he finished. ‘Keep it up. You’ve watched the twins and Seamus do this to other girls before. It’s all about confidence and perseverance.’ He watched as her mouth opened slightly and made an ‘oh’ look. ‘Got you.’

“Well, are you going to let me have a look at it or are you going to keep parading around my room showing off your blue knickers?” Harry used whatever he had in him to keep a straight face while he waited for her response. He didn’t expect her reaction though.

Tonks closed her mouth and seemed to make a decision. She took a step forward and turned giving him a perfect view of the injury. She held his eyes for a while before looking down at the scrape and sighing.

“It still hurts and I may need your help healing it. My first aid spells are basic at best and I’m not used to doing them on myself.”

Harry looked at the scrape and saw that the skin was torn slightly and the bruise was still growing slowly. He couldn’t help but notice the smooth skin she had on her hip and back and her beautiful rump. He swallowed before saying anything. “What can I do to help, Tonks?”

Tonks smiled in surprise at how well he handled the current situation. “I’ll need you to direct my wand around the area in a circular motion. It has to be a fluid motion or it won’t work. I can do the spell, but the location is hard to reach and still have the proper wand control.”

“I’ll do what I can, Tonks. Just show me how.”

“Gladly, Harry.” She was awarded with a small twitch from Harry showing he read between the lines as intended. She rolled up the front of her shirt and tucked it up to keep it out of the way. Then she pulled her pants further down, showing even more of her blue underwear. She saw Harry swallow twice and force his eyes away from her special areas.

‘Oh, this is too much fun. I may have lost the war of words to him, but I own the visual war without question.’

“Harry, I need you to hold my wand lightly and move it around in a slow, smooth circle around the wound. Don’t worry about doing any magic, since it’s my wand and I know what to do.” Tonks waited for Harry to grab her wand and begin the motion. He had a problem keeping the wand over the specified area though.

“Tonks, you keep moving every time you move the wand. How am I going to keep it over the wound like you said?”

“That’s for you to figure out, Harry. I have to concentrate on the spell.”

Left with few options, Harry put a hand on her opposite hip, held her body steady, and continued the circular motions.

Tonks’ concentration broke as she felt that safe feeling return. She couldn’t explain it, but she just felt safe with him. It was more powerful than when they had been sleeping, but it was still the same feeling. Where his hand was touching her hip, she felt a warm sensation. ‘I may win the visual war, but he kicks my arse when it comes to touching. Oh, those hands of his.’ Tonks mentally shook herself before focusing on the task at hand.‘You need to concentrate or this will take all day. Would that be such a bad thing?’

Tonks used Occlumency to calm herself and refocused on the spell. She managed to heal her wounds in a few minutes with Harry’s help. She stopped her wand from moving and tossed it on the bed. She looked where the wound had been and found her unblemished skin glowing from the setting sun. She looked up and found Harry still looking at her body.

“Like what you see, Harry? Maybe if you’re nice I might let you look more, later.” Harry’s eyes snapped up and looked right at her. She didn’t know what it was but that stare was penetrating. “All joking aside, thank you for helping me.  Back to joking, it’s your fault I got hurt in the first place.”

“You were going to attack me. What did you expect?”

“Not to get caught, that’s what I expected! I showed up about the same time that girl got hurt. Well done on that, by the way. Always the hero, aren’t you.”

“I did what I thought was best at the time. I only hope her arm isn’t broken. Muggles have to wait a month or longer for bones to heal. I know I had to wait six weeks for my arm to heal after they broke it.”

“Who are they?”

“The doctor had to break it, since it started healing wrong.”

“How did it heal wrong in the first place?” Tonks didn’t understand what Harry was saying.

“I didn’t get to the doctor for about a week after I broke my arm.” Harry hung his head a little, trying to avoid eye contact.

“It was those fucking Dursleys, wasn’t it?” Tonks yelled. “What did they do, ignore the bump on your arm?”

“No, they didn’t really see it. They locked me in my cupboard for a week after it happened. I guess that was some sort of punishment. Aunt Petunia had to take me to the doctor because my arm looked terrible and she didn’t want people talking. The bone had started healing already, but it was crooked. I could’ve used a little magic that time. I might have healed quicker and Dudley wouldn’t have tried hitting my arm every chance he got.”

Tonks wanted to kill the Muggles even more than before. “How in the bloody hell could they have done that to you? How could they do that to anyone?”

“Leave it, Tonks. It’s over and done with as far as I’m concerned. Now, you were following me since the park?”

“Yup, and I was waiting for that idiot to attack you so I could save the savior.” Tonks laughed at her own joke, but Harry scowled.

“If you were there then, why didn’t I sense you were there like I did when I got back here?”

“Don’t know. Maybe you were thinking about your ‘other’ woman and didn’t notice me.” Tonks pouted as well as she could while fighting her growing smile.

“Not likely, Tonks. I knew someone was near me when I got back here. You said you were going to attack me?”

“Yeah, I was going to tickle you. I would have done it, too, but you decided to knock me over and hurt my bum so you could get a free show.”

“You wanted to get me then. You planned to attack me.”

“Why such a big deal, Harry. People get premonitions all the time. It’s called a sixth sense.”

“Because I’ve had these feelings before. When someone’s going to attack me, I seem to know it. Most people probably figure it’s just reflexes, but I know when something bad is about to happen to me. I’ve always known things like that.”

“Something else to bring up,” Tonks said to herself but spoke out loud.

“What was that, Tonks?”

“Nothing, Harry. Now, I want to hear about what you worked on today. I told you to practice some wandless magic, so show me what you learned.”

Giving her a stern look for dismissing his concerns so abruptly, Harry levitated a book on the other side of the room, then summoned it. Tonks gasped and looked at Harry with her surprised look.

“What?” said Harry. “You told me to practice so I did. Did I do something wrong?”

“You didn’t use words or hand movements. You also used two different spells.”

“You mean I was supposed to use words while learning wandless magic? I thought you wanted me to do it silently and with no motions.”

“I left you on your own to learn wandless magic. I figured you would start off the easy way, doing all of it minus your wand. I didn’t expect you to do it wordless and motionless. You never read ahead did you, Harry?”

“Of course not, that’s why I have Hermione. She does the reading, Ron does the worrying, and I do…I just do.”

“That proves your willpower and magical ability at least. Okay, so you mastered levitation and summoning. I’m impressed; that’s great work for a day.”

“I learned eight spells today.” Harry listed off the spells. “I’m not sure if my Freezing Charm works though, since I only had inanimate objects to practice on.”

Tonks could only shake her head. “How in the name of Merlin could you…no matter. Way to go, Harry. That’s better than anyone else I know of.” Tonks thought of a question she wanted to know. “Do you know of any limitations for magic?”

Harry thought and tried to remember. “Well, you can’t Apparate inside of Hogwarts because of the wards. There’s the ‘no defense against the Killing Curse’ thing, but that isn’t always right since I’m proof of it.” Harry thought longer and Tonks seemed to get anxious. “That’s the only one I know of, Tonks. Hermione could probably give you a few pages if you really want to know.”

“I think I understand you better now, Harry. You only know what you have been told and people haven’t told you very much. Most probably figure you already know things since you are Harry Potter, after all.”

“Yeah, like the whole Parseltongue thing in second year. How was I to know only Dark Wizards could talk to snakes? Like, I knew I could talk to snakes before that. I’d only ever seen one before at the zoo, and I kind of forgot about the talking snake bit with everything that happened afterwards.”

“You have no idea what we can or can’t do based on what others have said. You only know what you can do and what you can’t do. On that, what can’t you do?”

“Beat Ron at chess for starters. Read more than Hermione, or know more than her, anyway. Um, Apparate inside of Hogwarts. I can’t really think of anything else.”

Tonks laughed, “You have no idea about the accepted rules for magic. You just go out there and do things. I can tell you that people usually start wandless magic with a prop wand and work down from there. It’s rare for anyone to do wandless magic without words and motions. You doing all of it your first day is kind of scary. And the fact that you learned eight spells makes it scarier yet.”

“I’ve been told my entire life I’m worthless and I can’t do anything. Magic is the one thing I can do that they can’t. I’m not about to prove them right about that too, am I. I’m not going to let my mum and dad down, either.”

Tonks shook her head, showing her understanding of Harry’s convictions. She knew her life had been very different from Harry’s. She always had support from her parents. She never needed to prove her worth to them. They always loved her. Harry never had any of that. It was a constant struggle for him. Magic was his thing and he seemed to be better at it than anyone else she knew of barring the headmaster and You-Know-Who.

Tonks watched Harry calm down and settle his mind. She could feel his emotions just beneath the surface. She felt him battle them for control of his mind and he won the fight. She knew she was using a little Legilimency to read him, but it was necessary to know what he was feeling. She felt his body go rigid and wondered what could have caused it.

Harry realized that he still had his hand on Tonks’ hip and her pants were still pulled down to her thighs. He saw the vibrant blue material covering her special places and wondered what she felt like down there. Knowing that Tonks had been using Legilimency on him moments before, he stopped those thoughts immediately.

Clearing his throat, he said, “Ah, Tonks, maybe you should pull your pants up now. I doubt any of the Dursleys would appreciate walking in and seeing us this way. Well, Dudley might, but I’d rather not think about that happening.”

Tonks looked down and saw that her pants were still down and her knickers were indeed in full view. Watching Harry’s face, she slowly pulled them up trying to see if he was enjoying himself. “Sure you wouldn’t rather they be down, Harry? I’m sure we’d figure out a way to pass the time.”

“Thanks for the offer, Tonks, but I doubt you really want to get involved with a guy like me. You know the whole ‘marked for death’ thing kind of scares people away.”

Shaking her head again, “You really are ignorant of how people feel, aren’t you?” Tonks forged ahead with her plans for the evening. “I want to help you with your Occlumency, Harry. You’ll need to have a firm grasp of it if we go ahead with my plans for the summer. It will need to stay absolutely secret from everybody. Are you interested in my idea?”

“I need to learn Occlumency, that’s for sure, but I won’t know what your plan for the summer is until you tell me. So, what is it?”

“Not now, Harry. You’ll find out tomorrow if it’s going to happen. I should know sometime this evening one way or the other. Now, let’s practice Occlumency. You know the clearing your mind bit, but you don’t know the rest of it. You need to want to keep your mind to yourself, Harry. You have to sense the intrusion and fight it or divert it somewhere safe. A really skilled Occlumens will be able to show the Legilimens what ever he wishes and not be detected doing so. Some people can ward their mind and prevent entrance, but the goal should be to redirect the intruder to false or safe memories. Are you following me?”

“Yes, I understand the goals, but I don’t know how to do it.”

“Willpower is the key, Harry, and you have enough of that. Now, I’ll cast the spell and you should try to show me safe memories. Only throw me out if you can’t do anything else.”

Tonks cast the spell and began sifting through Harry’s memories. She started in a safe place of his mind, concentrating on things he did when he was in his first year. She saw the mirror and felt the happiness of seeing his family. Tonks felt the tears dripping down her face after that memory. She moved on to scenes of Quidditch matches and she felt his overwhelming exhilaration when flying on a broom. Next were conversations he had with Ron and Hermione throughout the year. Nothing made sense, since everything was out of order, but she heard the words.

Tonks paused in the exercise and watched Harry sitting across from her with a look of intense concentration on his face. She dove back into the sea of thoughts and found a rather frightening one. It was the forbidden forest and a shape was moving towards Harry. The memory changed to one of very tall chess pieces moving about a chessboard. The image shifted again and she saw a troll swinging a club at Hermione. With a feeling of movement and pushing, Tonks found herself back in Harry’s room. Harry was sitting on the bed with his eyes closed breathing hard.

“Very good, Harry. That was good work all things considered.”

“I couldn’t hold you to a single memory or stop you from going wherever you wanted. You purposely stayed away from the bad memories, didn’t you?”

“Wanted to start easy and then work my way up, Harry. If I started with your worst memories, you would never learn anything. Let me guess that git pulled up your worst experiences and kept at them, didn’t he?”

“What else would he’ve done? I’ve seen Cedric die more times than I can count. Mr. Weasley being attacked and Voldemort coming back are favorites of his, too.”

“I can’t say anything even remotely nice or neutral on that matter, so I won’t say anything at all. It’s amazing you learned anything with that kind of instruction. If you’re rested up a bit, let’s try again. I’ll keep it light until you master it. Then I’ll get progressively darker and more forceful. This is not optional, I’m afraid.”

“Just get it over with, Tonks. I’m better doing than talking.”

Once eye contact was made, Tonks said the word and she was viewing Harry’s thoughts again. It was second year this time and she was watching the trip to Hogwarts. A flying car was too much to take causing her to laugh out loud. ‘Oh the trouble he could get into over that misuse of a Muggle artifact. He and Sirius would have been the best of friends if they had been given the time.’ Tonks continued watching more Quidditch matches. The skill Harry showed was amazing. She was convinced that he could play professionally if he wanted to once he was out of school.

The memories changed for a second back to the Mirror of Erised from first year, but it didn’t last long. She was watching Harry dueling Draco and loving every minute of it. She saw them in Myrtle’s Bathroom, working on a Polyjuice Potion. ‘Oh, Harry, that’s a difficult potion. What did you need that for?’ She saw Gilderoy Lockhart prance around like a ponce in periwinkle robes.

The images changed once again to the Mirror scene and they held for a few minutes before Tonks willed the show to continue. She felt Harry resisting. ‘There you go, Harry. Keep it up. You’re learning quickly.’ She put more willpower into her efforts and the image changed slowly, but everything was fuzzy and out of focus. She kept trying to change the image, but her vision seemed frozen in a cloud. Releasing the spell, Tonks saw Harry looking at her with a small smile on his face.

“Good job, Harry. You held me where I was. I couldn’t change the scene, but I was still in there. Are you trying to force me out at all?”

“Nope. I was trying to redirect you, but since that didn’t work I just held you where you were. I seem to only get one shot at changing the image otherwise things get held up.”

“You’re advancing quickly, Harry. Let’s keep at this for awhile longer, then we can go out for dinner somewhere. I’ll even buy since you’re a poor student and all.”

They began again. Scenes from third year flashed around, but something was different. Every image seemed to be slightly distorted and viewed as if it was through the eyes of another. As Harry blew up his aunt for the third time in a row, the images became sharp and clear again. Tonks tried to change the memory to Quidditch, but she found herself watching his first trip to Diagon Alley with Hagrid. She put as much effort as she could into seeing Harry get his Hogwarts letter. The only image she saw was the Mirror scene again.

Releasing the spell, Tonks watched Harry take a few breaths. “Great job, Harry. I think you got it figured out now. Let’s try one more time, and I’ll be as forceful as I can this time too.” Receiving his reluctant nod, she cast the spell and forced her way into his memories.

She watched his meeting of the advanced guard from last summer. She watched him punch Malfoy in the face from fifth year. She tried to bring up the memory of Arthur’s attack by the snake, but she found herself looking straight up at the ceiling and feeling the beginnings of a headache. She groaned slightly and sat up. Harry was staring her down, and he didn’t have a smile on his face.

“I tried to change it up a little, Harry. I wanted to see how you would handle it and you dumped me out quickly. Had you ever managed that against the great git?”

“Yes, I have thrown him before. Did you really want to see that memory, Tonks?”

“No, Harry, I didn’t, but you seemed to handle the friendly memories quite well. I wanted to test you a little. I know you were never told this, but when learning how to do this you start off with pleasant memories and then progress to worse ones. You learned how to hold me in a memory and you also learned how to redirect me. I could tell you were redirecting me, but then again I knew what memories were there and what happened in them. The real trick is when I look for something I don’t know about yet, you can create a false memory telling me whatever you want.”

“I was trying to do that, but all I could do was to give you a different memory than what you asked for.”

“You’re really good at this, Harry. Don’t get discouraged because you haven’t mastered the hardest part of the whole subject. We can work on that part later. Right now, I’m hungry and I need food. How about you?”

“I could eat. Do you have any place in mind?”

“Isn’t there something nearby? I mean the Muggles need to eat too.”

“Yeah, there are a few places on the other side of the park and a few streets away. I think we can eat there. Hungry for anything specific?”

“As long as it tastes good and fills me up, I’ll be happy.”

When leaving his room, Harry kept an ear busy listening for Uncle Vernon or Dudley, and they snuck out the front door without any problems. Harry led the way, looking out for things Tonks could trip over. Much to his surprise and humor, she managed to trip over absolutely nothing a few times. They had a few laughs about her inability to walk properly as they headed north along Magnolia Road towards the restaurants.

When they arrived, Harry swung his arm in a wide arc, displaying her choices. “What’ll it be, Tonks? We have Italian, Chinese, fast food, and a pub to choose from.”

“I think pizza sounds good tonight. Let’s go there.”

Harry held the door open for Tonks and they entered the decently sized restaurant. A waiter seated them in a corner booth between a family on one side and a couple on the other. Harry opened his menu and thought of all the times he had gotten to order his own food. Outside of Hogwarts and the magical world, he could think of a very limited number of times. Every one of those times, the Dursleys had told him what to get, and it was always the cheapest thing on the menu.

Harry was going to get what he wanted this time, and he wanted a thick crust pepperoni pizza with extra cheese. His mind made up, Harry looked at Tonks and saw her face scrunched up in thought. Her tongue was between her teeth and the tip was sticking out just a little bit. Harry watched her for a few seconds, enjoying the view before he got a devilish idea.

“Careful, Tonks, I don’t want you to hurt yourself by thinking so hard. If you need help just let me know and I can lend a hand.” Harry grinned at her as she looked up and gave him a blank look.

“What was that, Harry? I was busy trying not to kick you as hard as I could under the table. Would you care to repeat your comment?”

“No thanks, Tonks. I think I’ll just sit here quietly, as you make up your mind. I wouldn’t want you to trip when you tried to kick me.”

Harry moved quickly, as he finished his sentence, avoiding a smallish foot that shot out to kick his shin. Tonks looked disappointed when her foot failed to connect with any part of Harry.

“Watch yourself, Mister. I don’t forget and I don’t forgive easily. On another subject, I’m glad you’re starting to relax around me. You should be comfortable enough to talk to me like you do your other friends. I’m really just a big kid at heart so don’t let the tough exterior fool you.” Tonks watched the evil smile reappear on Harry’s face. “But, I think you can keep that comment to yourself, young man.”

They were interrupted by the waiter bringing them their water and asking if they were ready to order. Harry nodded and saw Tonks urge him to order first.

“I would like a small pepperoni pizza, thick crust with extra cheese, and a coke.” Tonks smiled and told the waiter to make it a medium.

They bantered back and forth, as they waited for their food to arrive. Harry scanned the room, looking for anyone out of place but found everything as it should be. Their food arrived and they started eating. For most of the meal, they kept a friendly conversation going in-between bites. With the last piece remaining, Harry offered it to Tonks.

“Come now, Harry, go ahead and eat it. I should watch my figure anyway,” Tonks said, striking a pose of sorts earning a snort from Harry. “Hey, I know I’m not hideous, but laughing at me is downright rude. Now I’m going cry.” Tonks dramatically wiped imaginary tears from her eyes.

“Fine, we can split the piece. Does that sound okay to you?” At her nod, Harry cut the piece in half and served one to Tonks. “There, all better.”

They finished the pizza and Harry felt pleasantly full. Tonks sighed and held her stomach for a second. “I should have let you have the entire last piece. I’m really full now.”

“You asked for it and you got it. I have no regrets,” Harry said as he settled back in the seat.

Tonks paid the bill, as she had offered. They were discreetly discussing the techniques Harry had used to learn wandless magic when a head popped over the seat behind Harry. Tonks waving and smiling caused Harry to look up into a familiar face. Emma smiled and giggled a little. Her face disappeared and they heard her telling her parents who was behind them.

“Fancy meeting you here, young man.” The father said as he walked the short distance to their table. “I wanted to thank you for helping us out today. I appreciate it.”

“Like I said before, it wasn’t a big deal. How are you doing, Emma?” Harry asked.

“I’m doing better,” she said softly. “The doctor gave me some medicine and the pain went away. They also gave me a purple cast for my arm, see.” She held up her arm and showed off her cast. She looked tired but was fighting it with everything she had.

“Wow, a purple one,” Harry said. “When I broke my arm they gave me a plain white one.” Harry turned to the brother and told him he did a good job today, earning a smile from both parents.

“Thank you, again, Harry,” the woman said. “We never finished proper introductions. My name’s Cathy Williams and this is my husband, Charles, and you met Jonathan earlier today. Emma hasn’t stopped talking about you all night.”

Ignoring the last comment, Harry did his best to keep the conversation moving and shook Charles’s hand. “Harry, Harry Potter. Decided to eat out tonight?” Harry asked.

“With all the time at hospital, we figured this was the best option. I see you made the same choice. Is this your girlfriend?” Cathy smiled but seemed to give Tonks a harder look.

“Well, Tonks is a friend…” Harry began weakly.

“Yes, I’m his girlfriend,” Tonks said without hesitation. “He’s a wonderful person, too, as you saw today, I hear.”

“He was wonderful, Tonks, is it?” Cathy seemed to choose her words carefully. “I imagine it must make things hard, Harry still being in school with you out working.

“Oh, it’s not hard at all,” said Tonks, dismissing Cathy’s comment. “Harry’s a lot older than he looks. At least he acts a lot older than he is in years. I, on the other hand, act a lot younger than I am so it all works out in the end, if you understand my meaning.” Tonks smiled her best impish smile.

“I think I understand your point, Tonks,” Cathy said softening her tone. “He was such a gentleman earlier. I’m glad he was there.”

“You are among a growing list of people who have said that,” Tonks said seriously.

“Tonks stop it,” Harry said under his breath but everyone heard him.

“Hush, Harry, you know it’s the truth.”

“I know no such thing.”

“Oh, bugger you then,” Tonks huffed playfully and winked at Emma earning a small smile from the tired little girl.

Cathy watched how Harry tried to playdown what he had done for them and how he tried to stop Tonks from talking about other good deeds he had done. She didn’t know what this young man had done, but it seemed like helping a little girl was one of the easier of them.

“Thank you again, Harry,” Charles said. “We should get our very sleepy children home before we have to carry them the whole way.”

Tonks led the way to the door and grabbed a few mints on the way out. Harry helped the family out the door and they all started walking down Magnolia Road. At the park entrance, near the gate, Harry had a feeling of danger again. He paused and looked around quickly causing Tonks to take notice. She put her hand on her concealed wand and waited for justification to draw it in front of Muggles.

Cathy and Charles noticed the change in Harry’s demeanor and put their arms around their children. Harry scanned the park and found a group of people emerging from the shadows near the trees. In the lead was Piers.

“Oi, Potter, come to finish what we started or you going to run away again?”

“Mummy, that’s the boy who threatened Harry,” Emma said quietly. “He said he was going to kill him.”

Harry looked straight at Piers and willed himself to look threatening. As Charles and Cathy watched, they understood what Emma had meant by Harry being scary when he needed to be. Cathy looked to Tonks and saw her relaxing but her hand stayed hidden in her pocket.

Being the protective father that he was, Charles stepped forward and told Dudley’s gang to bugger off.

“I can take care of this, Charles,” Harry said confidently. “Why don’t you get your family home and enjoy the rest of the evening.”

Charles had never seen someone as young as Harry speak so clearly and forcefully while facing down at least four rather dangerous looking thugs. Charles found himself moving his family further down the road and out of the way should things get violent without really meaning too.

“Piers, you should ask Dudley what happened to his father the other night before you decide to attack me.”

“Fuck you, Potter!” Piers yelled. “I make my own moves.”

“Watch your language, Piers. There are children here and I would hate to have to shut you up myself.” Harry checked to see where the Williams’s were and found Charles moving closer again while the others moved down the road. “Mr. Williams, go with your family. I don’t need any help with them. You’ll only get hurt and you don’t need to be stuck at hospital again today.”

“Yes, Mr. Williams, please leave this to Harry,” Tonks said sternly. “He can take care of himself just fine. It’s when others get involved trying to help that things go awry.”

Charles watched Tonks slide forward next to Harry. Harry motioned her back and completely ignored the offended look she gave him.

“I’m fine, Tonks. I don’t want you in the middle of this.”

Piers moved forward trying to intimidate Harry. He pulled his knife out and brandished it around. “Protecting your whore, Potter?”

As the words left Piers’ mouth, his feet left the ground and his body arced backwards from the punch Harry had landed on his jaw. Piers crashed onto the ground and rolled into a misshapen ball while the others looked on in horror. The knife flipped end-over-end behind Piers, nearly striking Malcolm in the arm. Dudley saw a replay of his father dropping to floor in the house after he had attacked Harry. He’d heard the threats made to his father if he insulted Tonks. Dudley wanted to go home right now. He even thought about reading that freakish book, too.

“Watch who you insult, Piers. That goes for the rest of you, too. I won’t tolerate any of you saying those things about a friend of mine.” Harry glared at the others standing around watching the failed attempt at Harry Baiting. “Get him out of here before one of the nosey neighbors up and phone the police why don’t you.”

Harry turned and ushered Tonks away from the boys. She could only laugh at how Harry handled everything. “Harry, you really can’t stop yourself from standing up for others, can you?”

“No, Tonks, I can’t. Now let’s get the Williams’s home before Dudley and company want revenge for Piers getting laid out. Come on, Mr. Williams, let’s get your family home.”

Charles hurried after his wife and children but kept giving Harry sideways glances when he got the chance. They made it to their door without any additional problems and thanked Harry for everything again. Charles shook his hand firmly and thanked him for helping his daughter and his family. Harry shrugged it off and bid him a good night.

As Harry and Tonks turned to walk back to Privet Drive, she grabbed Harry’s hand and held it tightly. He jumped a little but didn’t pull away.

“Relax, Harry, this is for their benefit. Remember we are boyfriend and girlfriend as far as they are concerned. We have to make a good show of it.”

Harry didn’t know what else to do but listen to Tonks. So he held her small, warm hand in his as they walked down the street and turned the corner towards number four. He started thinking about how nicely her hand fit in his, but his thoughts were interrupted by the crinkling of plastic.

Harry turned his head and saw Tonks attempting to unwrap a mint from its packaging using her teeth and her free hand. He almost laughed, but she finally managed to expose the mint and immediately popped it in her mouth. She handed another mint to Harry. He followed the same process and ate it. They walked to Privet Drive in silence while Tonks thought about what Harry had done to Dudley’s friend whereas Harry thought about Tonks’ hand still resting in his own. She broke the silence first when they were a few doors away from number four.

“Harry, why did you get between those thugs and the rest of us?”

“They were after me, no one else. I wasn’t going to let someone else be put in danger because they wanted me. I learned that lesson the hard way.” Harry went silent until they made it to the front door of the Dursley’s house.

Harry sighed and Tonks watched him become depressed. “Harry, things are better here. Haven’t you noticed that?”

“No, things are just different. I’m not sure what you did to my aunt, but I know it won’t last. Uncle Vernon will change her back to the way she always was before. It’s only a matter of time, really.” Harry got quiet for a second, “You didn’t put a spell on her did you?”

“Of course not, Harry. I just told her the truth, though I might have scared her to make her listen, but she changed on her own. She might really care about you now. At the very least, she knows what your life is like outside of here and that should be enough.”

“Thanks for everything but I’m not going to start jumping up and down until I know it’s for real. I have a feeling that that will never happen, so don’t get your hopes up, okay?”

“No problem, Harry. I think I understand some of what you went through here.” Tonks watched as Harry tried to summon up the strength to open the door and face his uncle, who was long home by now. She saw his face fall again and a sense of resignation settle over him. Not knowing what else to do, Tonks pulled on Harry’s hand, causing him to turn and look at her. She leaned towards him, on her toes, and placed a kiss on his lips. It was a firm and reassuring kiss.

Harry froze for a second before he kissed her back. It was nothing like the messy kisses he’d had with Cho earlier in the year. He could only think it was warm and felt good. Harry’s free hand instinctively moved behind Tonks and held her in place. He wasn’t sure if she was going to run away, push him away, or slap him. He was ready for all of it, but he wanted to get at least one good kiss out of the deal.

Tonks broke the kiss after awhile and expelled a satisfied breath. She smirked at Harry when she opened her eyes and he flinched. Deciding he was preparing to get slapped, Tonks thought of something to say to lighten the mood.

“Minty,” Tonks said as she moved forward and pressed her body against Harry’s. “Maybe we should try that again sometime. You’re a rather good kisser, Harry. I wonder what else you’re good at.” Tonks wiggled her eyebrows at him and lengthened her eyelashes as she batted them as well.

Harry managed to hold his ground, but he couldn’t think of anything to say. The nervous but charged situation was shattered when the front door opened and a red-faced Uncle Vernon appeared in the threshold, staring down the couple.

“You idiot boy!” Vernon snapped. “Get inside now so the neighbors don’t see you.” Vernon grabbed Harry by the arm and threw him into the hallway completely forgetting about Tonks. “You will not hang about the front stoop and do that. I should beat you for doing that in front of my house.”

Tonks was afraid of any number of things happening because of this confrontation. Harry could unleash some of his magic, controlled or not, or she might have to end the fight herself. For the time being, Vernon wasn’t advancing on Harry, but he looked ready to attack all the same.

Harry stood up quickly and faced off against Vernon. “I will do as I please, Uncle Vernon. You will not grab me like that again.” Harry’s voice was level but threatening. “I told you before to leave me be. I warned you that you will not treat me the same as before. I promised you that things would change, one way or another. I’m willing to change things right now. Are you ready for me to make those changes?”

Tonks felt a cold chill sweep across her, and Harry’s eyes seemed to come alive. A noise at the top of the stairs alerted Tonks to Dudley’s presence. A whimpering from the living room meant that Petunia was home as well. This could be the turning point for Harry and the Dursleys.

“Are you threatening me, Boy? You think you can take me on?”

“Yes, Uncle Vernon, I’m threatening you.” Harry said calmly. “Yes, I know I can take you on. I’ve handled worse than you before.”

“Oh yes, you must have taken care of bigger people than me at that freak school. Go on then—try it, Boy. If you’re so tough, take me on. We can settle this matter once and for all. If you get hurt or worse, so be it.” Vernon had never challenged Harry outright since he had gone to that school. He thought that Harry would back down this time, as he had every other time while growing up. Vernon’s confidence started dropping as Harry held his ground and stared straight into his eyes.

“Your move, Uncle,” Harry spit out as if the word was a nasty Bertie Bott’s Bean. Harry didn’t know if he could take his uncle on in a real fight, but he’d never shied away from a fight yet. He saw Tonks in the background holding her wand at Vernon’s back.

“Vernon!” Snapped Petunia at her husband for the first time in her life. “This will not happen here. It will not happen anywhere. I will not have you two fighting. It will not happen.” Petunia stood tall and imposing in the doorway to the living room. “Vernon, I told you not to continue this. To begin with, she has her wand pointed at you. Do you really think she won’t hurt you? And you know Harry will do whatever he has to do to survive.”

The hallway was silent as everyone thought over what had been said by Petunia. “Harry, you and Tonks should go upstairs for the night. I think you understand that is the best thing to do, right?”

“Yes, Aunt Petunia. That’s where we were going to go anyway. Tonks?”

Tonks poked Vernon in the back firmly with her wand and he jumped out of the way, keeping his eyes fixed on the shaft of wood. She started up the stairs and waited for Harry to join her. Harry stopped right behind her before speaking to Vernon.

“The next time you attack me, Uncle, I will hurt you badly. No one will stop me from doing it. That is the only warning I’m going to give you. Please, remember it.” Harry stared down Vernon and waited for Tonks to continue up the stairs. He lightly nudged her in the back to urge her forward.

They passed Dudley who was opened mouth and gaping at the show he had witnessed. He moved back as far as he could, but it didn’t provide much room at all for them to pass. Once they were safely in Harry’s bedroom, Tonks hugged Harry tightly.

“I was worried there, Harry. I was afraid he would hurt you or you would kill him. Now don’t get me wrong, you killing him would be an easy thing to justify, but it would be a very complicated process.” Trying to lighten the mood again, Tonks said, “You know how much paperwork I would have to do? It would take me the rest of the summer to finish it.”

Harry cracked a smile. “Nah, I’d get Hermione to help you out with it. She’d have it done in a week at most. Besides, Dumbledore can’t afford to lose you. Being an Auror would make it easier, paperwork-wise, I’m sure.”

“It would, but I would’ve had to kill him, not you. Anyway, I think we’ve had enough fun for the night. You have been in three fights, saved a girl twice, and her family once. I think you’ve earned your rest.”

“Stop it, Tonks. I did what I needed to do. That’s all I ever do.” Harry collected his things and left the room heading for the loo.

Tonks looked around the room and wondered if Harry would ever realize just who he was to others. She waited for him to get back before going to the loo herself.

Harry settled into his bed. He was starting to like having someone to sleep with. He seemed to sleep better at the very least. He hadn’t had a nightmare yet and it was a most welcomed change. He waited and listened for sounds outside and in. He heard the water running through the pipes. He heard Dudley in his room doing something. He heard an owl outside in the tree. He figured it was Hedwig since she was the only owl he knew of in the area. A soft murmur was coming from downstairs and Harry hoped his Aunt wasn’t getting yelled at for saving Vernon.

Tonks opened the door and entered the room being as quiet as she could. She looked the same as she did before she left, but something was different. She said something to her wand and it vibrated slightly before she slid it under her pillow. She looked at Harry, who was lying in the bed under the sheet. She smiled at him before she pulled her shirt off.

He froze, yet again, and watched as she was thankfully wearing a t-shirt underneath. She winked and undid her pants. Harry was expecting the same kind of thing as the top. He planned to see shorts or something on under her pants. His mouth dropped a bit as he stared at the same pair of blue knickers she had been wearing earlier. When she bent over to pull the pants off, Harry saw the blue fabric stretch across her rear and the t-shirt hike up exposing her whole backside.

Harry’s mouth was rapidly drying by the second and he didn’t know what to do about it. He forced his eyes to meet a pair of dark brown ones. Tonks was her normal self; that was the difference he noticed. Harry managed to sneak a peek at her chest and her breasts were pushing on the front of her shirt pulling it rather taut.

“Um, uh, Tonks? What are you do…”

“Hush, Harry,” Tonks said in a breathy voice. She stepped to the bed and pulled the sheets back and slipped under them smoothly. She moved towards Harry very slowly holding his eyes in place. She slid her left hand up his right side to the back of his neck. Her right hand went under his head and wrapped around his back pulling him towards her. She smiled in a way Harry could only describe as the way a nymph would smile.

Harry held his breath as Tonks pulled him to her. He was fighting so many thoughts that his limited Occlumency training was working overtime. Tonks pulled his head to hers and kissed him. It was similar to the one they had shared on the front steps, but she was going deeper with it. She was pressing harder and her tongue was pushing on his lips.

Harry opened his mouth a little and her tongue flicked into his mouth, lightly brushing his tongue. He tentatively licked her tongue in reply and she reacted by pushing hers further into his mouth. He thought of the kissing as a fight with tongues. She always beat him by having her tongue in his mouth more than his in hers. The kissing settled down a bit and she seemed to put more heat into the kisses.

Harry’s mind was spinning. He didn’t know what he was doing, but he loved every minute of it. Tonks had moved her left leg on top of him and she was resting most of her body on top of Harry’s. The kisses were getting lighter, so Harry took the opportunity to breathe.

“Breathe through your nose Harry,” Tonks said as she took a few deep breaths. Tonks moved her hips a little bit rubbing Harry’s lower half causing him to react quickly. She pulled her head back and stared into his wide eyes. She nibbled on her red, puffy lips a few times then moved her hips again receiving the same reaction as before. She took a shuttering breath and began kissing him again.

Harry was completely lost in teenaged hormones and thoughts. He wasn’t exactly sure what he was supposed to do, but he had the overwhelming urge to do it anyway. He wrapped his arms around Tonks’ firm body and pulled her fully on top of himself. She wiggled a few times, settling into a very comfortable position straddling Harry. He hugged her tightly and kissed her as deeply as he knew how.

A few minutes later, Harry opened his eyes when Tonks lifted her head away. He looked into her dark eyes, shrouded in varying amounts of light from the window. He wanted to know what she was thinking. He really wanted to know what to do next or whether she wanted him to do anything at all. He felt a slight moving sensation and he could see himself. He could also feel an overwhelming burning sensation in ‘his’ crotch. It felt like a hunger or something similar.

Not sure what had happened, Harry watched himself move forward and kiss ‘himself’. The feeling flooded his senses. He knew he wasn’t kissing himself, but that was what he was seeing until his eyes closed. The feeling increased, but the images became of himself and Tonks. He heard her voice in the distance saying she wanted more. He also heard a serious voice saying she was too old for him.

Harry opened his eyes and willed whatever it was to stop. He felt a moving sensation again and found Tonks looking down at him with her eyes half closed and a weak smile on her face. She was breathing heavily and she was slowly moving her hips around. Harry couldn’t stop himself from moving slightly, as well, matching her rhythm. He pulled Tonks down to kiss him and she complied eagerly.

The snogging continued for a few minutes before Tonks gave a gentle push on Harry’s shoulders and lifted her head up. She stared at Harry and breathed deeply. She blinked a few times before saying anything.

“I have no idea how you did that, Harry, but I hope you can do it again.” She waited a few more minutes, closing her eyes before speaking again under greater control of herself. “I planned to kiss you a little and then tease you a lot. As you can tell, that didn’t work at all. You win the touching war, Harry. I concede that fight because I’m completely outclassed. How many people have you kissed before?”

“One girl.”

“Merlin, you’re good at it already,” Tonks said under her breath. “We might be able to work on it some time, Harry. Now, as much as you want to keep going we have to stop. I hope you aren’t sore in the morning but, if you are, I apologize.”

Tonks leaned down and placed a warm soft kiss on Harry’s lips. She moved a little sliding back onto the mattress and rolled over. She snuggled her back and rear into Harry’s front and pelvis before settling onto her pillow. She sighed lightly when Harry adjusted his body causing a certain body part to press into her butt. Doing his best to stay calm, Harry hesitantly placed his arm around hers and under her breasts. He gave a tight squeeze and let himself relax.

Both sighing to themselves, they began drifting off to sleep. Harry had his eyes closed for about a minute when a dim flash of silver light shone through his eyelids. He felt Tonks jerk slightly, so he opened his eyes and asked what had happened.

“It’s okay, Harry. I just got a message from some people whom I’d been waiting on. Do you think you are up for an outing tomorrow? I’ve a few people I’d like you to meet and we need to get you some new clothes anyway. Needless to say, none of this must be found out by the Headmaster.”

“I trust you, Tonks. If you think I should meet someone, then I’ll meet them. I’m more than willing to keep anything from the Headmaster. He’s kept enough from me over the years.”

“He does his best, Harry. Please don’t be too hard on him. I know his best has been a complete failure concerning you, and I agree with you being mad at him, but don’t make an enemy of someone who could help you. Remember, manipulation can work both ways and you have leverage on your side. We need to get to sleep if we want to make it there by seven.”

Tonks reached under her pillow and mumbled a few words before wiggling into Harry again. Harry couldn’t see the smirk, but he felt the giggles.

“You’re teasing me with the wiggles aren’t you?”

“Yes, but you love every one of them more than you are willing to admit. I know how the male mind works.”

“Really,” Harry said trying to make his voice sound as deep as he could. He moved his mouth so it was right behind her ear. “I think you enjoy them as much as I do, Nymphadora.” He felt her shiver and press against his body.

“Please don’t call me Nymphadora, Harry. Think of something else.” Her voice was quiet and almost had a pleading edge to it.

“I like your name, but if you insist how about Nymph?”

“That makes me sound like a sex fiend or a sex toy. It’s hard enough to get respect from men when they stare at my tits the whole time, but with a name that screams plaything it’s impossible.”

“Do you think I see you that way?”

“No, I don’t, Harry. I just…I have…My whole life has been a fight to earn respect from others especially those I work with. I make them call me Tonks so I have less working against me. I just don’t know what else to do. When you say it, you say it with respect. I like to hear you say it, but I don’t think I can let you say it. If I do, who’s next?”

“Let me know what you want me to call you. Until then, I’ll use Tonks.”

“Thank you, Harry. It means a lot to me. Now, go to sleep. It’ll be a long day tomorrow.”

Harry fell asleep thinking about Tonks and her sexy butt pressed against him, not to mention numerous ideas about the next day.

Tonks fell asleep thinking about the next day and how it could turn out. She also thought about how Harry had overwhelmed her both emotionally and mentally. He had entered her mind and felt her urges for him when they were kissing. She felt his urges as well and they nearly drove her over the edge. Her last thought before she fell asleep was of how safe she felt in his arms.

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