Birthday Boy

Birthday Boy, Part II

Will the Real Harry Potter Please Stand Up?

Harry Potter was drunk, more than a little randy, extremely frustrated, and not altogether sure what the hell was going on.

"Death Eaters..." he whispered, unable to move. Just moments ago he had been... no, had he really?

Harry felt two slim, surprisingly strong arms tighten around his waist, and then his knees crashed painfully into the floor. Something very soft brushed against his shoulder blades... a couple of somethings... snap out of it, he admonished himself. Sobering charm... sobering charm. He wracked his brain.

Harry looked frantically up again at the stage. As if as one, the Death Eaters (they were most definitely Death Eaters) raised their wands and chanted in unison. "STUPEFY!" The crowd went completely still, their faces all frozen in expressions of shock and horror. Instinctively, Harry reached for his wand.

"Don't move," Tonks hissed in his ear. "They'll see us."

Before he could respond, a familiar high, haughty laugh drifted down from the stage. A deep, burning hatred welled up inside of him, coursing through his veins like molten lava. Bellatrix. He could see her. He didn't know how, but he could see her there... clearly. "I could take her out from here..." he whispered to Tonks. "I can see her... it's her."

Tonks looked at him, bewildered for a moment, then shook her head and mouthed the word 'no'. It took everything in him not to leap up from their hiding place beside the bar and rush to the stage. Bellatrix Lestrange had stolen from him the closest thing to a father he had ever known. He was livid. He wanted to hurt her, make her feel the pain he felt...

Harry felt Tonks's cool, steady hand on his arm. It calmed him and sobered him up a bit. He had to get a grip. He couldn't let his rage overcome him if they were to get out of this alive. He glanced over at Tonks and gave her a brief smile as a way of thanks. She nodded her head in acknowledgement.

The Death Eaters were talking quietly amongst themselves. What were they doing here? How had they escaped Azkaban so soon? What were they planning to do? For a while, they both just crouched there, clinging to one another in the semi-darkness. The Stunning spells should be wearing off the crowd soon, surely... before he could complete the thought, the Death Eaters once again raised their wands. "IMPERIO!"

"No!" Harry gasped, scrambling unsteadily to his feet. Tonks grabbed his arm, pulling back to the floor. He gaped at her in disbelief. "Don't you see? Don't you see what she's doing? She's building his army!"

"I see perfectly well, Harry," Tonks whispered, loosening her grip on his arm. "Do you want to join them?" Her dark, glittering eyes drilled into him. "Do you?"

"So we are just supposed to sit here? And..." he trailed off.

"Yes," Tonks sighed, her usually impish face now grim. "For now, we let them."

The crowd had begun to move. They were queuing up. Queuing up to get their orders... She was right. There really wasn't much they could do. His mind may have been a bit clouded by alcohol and raging hormones, but he could still count. Twenty bad guys, two good guys, and now a crowd of Imperio'd zombies. It didn't take Hermione to figure that one out.

The Death Eaters began descending from the stage and moving amongst the crowd. He could hear Bellatrix shouting out orders, then shrilly admonishing someone named Levski.

"Search the place," Bellatrix yelled. "Make sure everyone is rounded up and accounted for. Look everywhere. The Dark Lord will be very angry if there are witnesses."

Harry and Tonks exchanged significant looks. They had to get out of there quickly and unnoticed, but how? If they moved from their hiding place, they were sure to be spotted. If they didn't move, they were going to be found eventually anyway. Maybe if they both pretended to be just random members of the crowd? No one had recognized him, Tonks could change her appearance. They could pretend to be under the Imperious curse just like everyone else.

"I have an idea," Tonks whispered. "It will be risky, but I think it will work."

"I was thinking we could pretend to be part of the crowd," Harry whispered back, not letting her finish. "Pretend we are under the Imperious curse."

Tonks shook her head. "No, that won't work. For one, we'd have to come out and they would know we had been hiding. For another, once that was discovered they would put us under the Imperious curse for real."

"I can fight it off," Harry said. "I've done it before."

"As have I as a part of Auror training, but you saw what just happened, didn't you? The Death Eaters have found a way to focus their spells. I can fight off the Imperious curse from one person, but twenty all at once?"

Harry considered this for a moment. She had a good point. "But would they really do it all at once again, for just the two of us?"

"No, not at first, but they will probably have to use Imperio again on the crowd. How that might affect us is an unknown," she said. "However, there is one thing one thing that is known."

"What's that?"

Instead of answering his question, Tonks drew out her wand and began mumbling an incantation under her breath. Her skirt transformed into a pair of very baggy blue jeans. Her form fitting top, which he had been surreptitiously eyeing all evening, changed into a knitted jumper of the sort Mrs. Weasley gave out at Christmas. Her shiny high heeled boots became worn out trainers. Another incantation and a pair of round framed eye glasses were glittering in her hand. He goggled at her, wondering what she was up to. Still not saying a word, she pocketed her wand, closed her eyes and adopted the pained expression of Metamorphmagus transformation. When she opened them again, they were very green and very familiar...

He couldn't believe it. She had become... become HIM. Her eyes, they were his eyes. She was identical in every way, down to the lightening bolt scar on her (his?) forehead. "W-What are you doing?" he gasped a little too loudly.

"Shhh!" she breathed, putting on the glasses. "Here is what we are going to do. I am going to pretend to be you. Distract them. While they are all congratulating themselves on capturing Harry Potter, the real Harry Potter will sneak out, go back to the Leaky Cauldron, get on his broomstick and fly straight to Grimmauld Place to alert the Order," she whispered, in a perfect imitation of his voice.

"No," He couldn't let her do this. Had she gone stark raving mad? "No, this won't work. I'm not... I'm not going to let you do this. You don't know what they will do to you. You could be killed!"

She raised an eyebrow, his eyebrow, and grinned at him. It was the oddest thing. It was a very Tonks-like expression on his face. "I might... but probably not. According to Snape, the Death Eaters are under strict orders not to harm you, not use any magic, not to do anything but physically restrain you, until You Know Who arrives."

Harry shook his head. "But what happens when Voldemort does arrive?"

"I won't stick around long enough to find out. Even if I can't get away, even he does kill me, at least you are safe."

"Are you mental?" Harry could believe his eyes or his ears. He wasn't going to let her do this. She didn't... she couldn't possibly understand what Voldemort was capable of. "First of all, you can't be me if you can't say Voldemort." He ignored her wince, then continued. "Second of all, why don't you alert the Order? I've faced him before. I've seen more than most Aurors, you said so yourself. I'm not going to let you be killed because of me. I won't let you sacrifice yourself for me"

"Harry - "

"Besides," he said, cutting her off, then looking away. "I-I'll never get to kiss you again." The minutes before the Death Eaters arrived came flooding back to him. He felt his face go hot at the memory. He'd been crushing on her for weeks, and the way she had looked at him, and then the alcohol... but she had returned his kisses, hadn't she?

"Yes you will," she whispered. He felt a hand on his cheek, gently turning his face. Tonks was smiling at him. Or rather, Tonks with his face was smiling at him. Silently, she leaned in and kissed him very softly on the lips.

"That didn't count," he said quietly. Harry was silently elated and yet, quite frankly, a bit weirded out. "That was... that was like kissing myself."

Harry was glad she wasn't opposed to kissing him, but he wasn't going to let her go through with this. He screwed up his face in concentration, focusing his mental energy. He was changing back.

"Harry, no! You can't..."

"I am," he said, determined not let what he feared most happen again. "No one else is going to die because of me."

"Check over by the by bar," Bellatrix said loudly. She was closer than before. "I thought I heard something over there."

"This is it," he said, turning to Tonks. "I'm going out there."

She stared back at him, determined. "I won't let you."

They were both too busy staring each other down to notice footsteps approaching.

"Will the real Harry Potter please stand up?"

It was Bellatrix Lestrange, her lips curling into a self-satisfied smirk.

Harry leapt to his feet, wand in hand, without being fully conscious of how it had got there. He swept a sidelong glance at Tonks. She was also now standing and gripping her wand, matching his stance.

"So which one of you is the birthday boy?" Bellatrix drawled, her voice velvety, almost seductive. "I think it is time for your spanking."

"Guess," spat Tonks, defiant.

Bellatrix approached her. "My, my how you have grown. So much like your father, except for this..." she said, tracing a finger along the fake scar on Tonks's forehead. "And the eyes... you have the eyes of that Mudblood trollop."

Harry let out a low, angry growl. At the sound, Bellatrix turned to him, giving him an appraising look. "Or is it you? What nice... arms you have." He recoiled as her fingers brushed across his bare skin.

"Touchy, are we?" Her dark, heavy-lidded eyes gazed at him, unblinking. "Your father didn't mind my touch..."

A bonfire of hate and rage ignited inside of Harry. He lunged at her, unthinking, consumed with the desire to inflict pain. "You're lying! My father hated the Dark Arts and everyone having to do with them! You -"

Two beefy Death Eaters closed in on him, latching onto his upper arms with powerful, two-handed grips.

"That's him," said Bellatrix in a business-like tone of voice to the Death Eaters. "Tie him, and bring him up to the stage."

"What about this one?" a silky voice asked. The hooded Death Eater had Tonks pinned to the floor. "Shall I kill... him?"

Oh no, Tonks! How could he be so stupid? How could he give them away like that? Now that they know... three words echoed in his mind: Kill the spare...

"No. Not yet. I want to know who this one is," said Bellatrix, kneeling down beside Tonks. She grabbed a fist full of unruly black hair, and jerked her head sideways. "Who are you?"

"I'm Harry Potter," Tonks replied.

Harry flinched as Bellatrix slammed her head hard into the floor, shattering the conjured glasses. "I asked you a question. Who are you?"

"I gave you an answer," said Tonks, her voice slow, but steady. "I... am... Harry... Pott-" She was cut off as the side of her head thunked against the concrete once more.

"I'll ask you again..." hissed Bellatrix, her voice low and dangerous.

Harry struggled futilely in the painful, vice-like grip of his captors. He was watching himself being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange, the woman who had murdered Sirius. Yet, it was worse, because it wasn't him, it was Tonks.

"Go ahead... ask me," said Tonks in Harry's voice, bright red blood trickling from her mouth and temple. "I'll give you the same answer, and you can continue bashing my head into the floor. Of course, V-Voldemort won't like it very much when he finds Harry Potter's brains splattered all over your boots."

"How dare you speak the Dark Lord's name!" Bellatrix screeched, jerking back Tonks's head hard. Before she could slam her face first into the floor, a blow that would surely result in the shattering of bone and possibly death, the Death Eater pinning Tonks down spoke up.

"Bella! Stop! This one isn't going to talk. He is probably using a polyjuice potion," said the Death Eater, his silky voice held a hint of anxiety. "Some perverted game of Potter's, I'm sure... it should wear off soon enough, and we will know for certain which is which."

Breathing hard, Bellatrix slowly lowered Tonks's head to the floor and let go of her hair. She rose, straightening her robes, and casting a contemptuous glance at the kneeling Death Eater. Without warning, she rounded on the two Death Eaters holding Harry. "Did you hear me? TIE HIM!"

***

Harry wriggled experimentally against the ropes that bound him to the concrete pillar. It was no use; the more he moved, the tighter the ropes became. What are these things made of, Devil's Snare?

Tonks was bound to the pillar opposite him, barely conscious. What was it he had learned in first aid, way back in Muggle school? Something about head injuries and not letting someone with a possible concussion fall asleep....

"To- er, Harry!" he whispered as loud as he dared, hoping the Death Eaters, currently preoccupied with the crowd, wouldn't notice. "Harry! Wake up! You can't fall asleep."

"Wh-what? Harry?" Tonks muttered groggily. "Just... just let me... just let me rest for a minute."

"No, you can't!" Harry was alarmed by the sick looking purple splotches spreading across the right side of her face and the damp hair, thick with congealing blood, clinging to her forehead. He could tell she was badly hurt. Badly hurt because of me. "We have to figure out a way to get out of here."

"Ok..." Tonks drew a deep breath, then winced.

Harry could see his wand. Bellatrix had set it on a table several meters away. He wondered if he could summon it to him like he did last summer when the Dementors attacked...

"Accio wand!" rasped Tonks. Harry's wand flew towards her outstretched hand.

"How did..." It was then that Harry noticed that Tonks not only had her own wand, but that she had worked her way free of the bindings.

"No time to explain." she whispered. "Diffindo!" The ropes tying Harry to the pillar split and fell away. She was on her feet and scrambling towards him.

For a moment, Harry was completely petrified. How did Tonks get free? He shook off his bewilderment and leapt up from the floor.

"This way!" Tonks tossed Harry his wand. He caught it, and followed her behind a curtain backstage. "We have to move quickly, before they notice we are gone."

Before he could respond, she was off again, down a dark corridor. In the distance, he could hear the shouts of Death Eaters and the shrill raving of Bellatrix Lestrange. They needed to find a way out and fast.

A few quick turns later, and they arrived at a door. Tonks leaned against the frame, clutching the right side of her head, trying to catch her breath.

"Are you alright?" She didn't look alright.

"I-I'm fine," she said, wincing. "Just - just a bump to the head, that's all. It's not as bad as it looks"

"I'm sorry. I- it's all my fault... if I hadn't-"

"Forget about it, Harry," she said, smiling weakly. "We'll do the post mortem later. Let's just get the hell out of here before they find us."

Harry tried the knob. Locked. He could hear the Death Eaters again. They were getting closer. He reached for his wand. "Alohomora," he whispered, and the door opened with a faint click.

He quickly pushed it the rest of the way and ran out into the street. He was half-way down the road when he realized that Tonks wasn't following. Bugger. When he looked back, she was leaning against the side of the building, clutching her head.

"Tonks!" he yelled, running back towards her.

"I... go ahead Harry... I... I'll be there in just a minute."

"The hell I will!" Harry grabbed her around the middle (which felt very different now that she was morphed to look like him) and pulled her away from the wall. "I'll carry you if I have to."

"No... you don't need to carry me," she said, straightening up. "My legs... I'm fine, it's just..."

"Your head." Harry pulled out his wand again. "Reducto Doleo!"

"Thanks," Tonks managed weakly. "You remembered."

"What can I say," he said. "You are an excellent teacher. Now, let's hurry."

Harry grabbed her hand and they both set off running. He couldn't help but smile at the thought of how they must look: two Harry Potters running down the darkened streets of Diagon Alley, hand in hand.

After running aimlessly for a few minutes, he had no idea where they were or how to get back to the Leaky Cauldron. When they finally had to stop to catch their breaths, he tried to listen for the Death Eaters, but could hear nothing save the odd cat rummaging through a rubbish bin.

"Do you know where we are?" he asked, turning to Tonks who was leaning against a street lamp.

She shook her head. "Not sure, but I don't think we are in Diagon Alley."

Harry took in his surroundings. The buildings were in the Victorian style of Diagon Alley, but very dingy and rundown. Rubbish was heaped up near doorways and the windows were coated with soot. The whole place had an air of decay about it. "Maybe we're in Nocturne Alley?"

"No... no... I think this is Orthogon Alley. Bad neighborhood," she said, shivering slightly. "We need to find a place to hide out and contact the Order."

Harry spotted a red light in the doorway of a taller, brick building. It looked like it might be a hotel. He couldn't quite make out what the sign said. "What about there?"

Tonks looked skeptical for a moment, then shrugged her shoulders. "Worth a shot. Can't stay out here in any case. Bellatrix probably has her goons fanning out to look for us."

As they approached the building, Harry made out the sign: Welcome Inn. Tentatively, he rang the bell.

"May I help you gentlemen?" The sultry alto voice came from the other side of the door.

"Yes, please," said Harry. "My friend and I... we'd like a room for the night."

The door opened to reveal a colorfully dressed plump middle aged witch with ample bosoms spilling over a tightly cinched corset. She eyed them skeptically. It was then he remembered they both must look a fright.

He glanced over at Tonks, face bloodied and bruised. Without looking at him, she wordlessly reached into the pocket of her baggy blue jeans and pulled out a handful of gold Galleons.

"We'd like a room, please," she said, holding out the coins.

The witch's face brightened considerably as her gaudily bejeweled fingers closed around the bribe. "Of course, my dears! Come on in!" She led them into a well appointed foyer decorated with rich wall hangings and a crystal chandelier. The place was much nicer on the inside than it looked from the outside.

"Can I get you something to drink? Fire Whiskey? Champagne? Butter Beer?"

"Er... that's quite alright," said Harry.

"Tea," said Tonks. "We'll take some nice, strong tea."

"Well, right this way then," she said, her smile just a little too broad.

The witch led them down a dimly lit corridor. The walls were covered with moving paintings of witches and wizards in various stages of undress engaged in acrobatic activities of a nature that made Harry quite sure his hotly burning cheeks must be lighting their way. "Here we are!" she said as the hallway opened into a sumptuously decorated parlor full of pneumatic silk upholstered furniture and scantily clad women. "Company, ladies!"

The women rose from their chaise lounges and poufs, eyeing Harry in a way that made him extremely uncomfortable. Some were dressed in bits of transparent cloth, others in very complicated leather gear. He felt his cheeks flush again and began staring very intently at the richly embroidered fleur-de-lis patterned carpet. He heard a gasp, some hushed whispers and amused tittering. When he heard his name, he looked up in surprise.

"Harry Potter?" The plump witch who had answered the door, leaned towards him and squinted. "Well I never! Harry Potter..." Her smile got so wide, Harry thought her face might crack.

"They both look like Harry Potter," gasped a blue eyed witch in a pale pink negligee.

"Oh no," said Tonks, shaking her head. "No, we are just polyjuiced to look like Harry Potter. A bit of a lark, you see."

"Er, yeah," said Harry, as the women circled in like a flock of very colorful vultures. "I - I'm..." He couldn't very well use Neville's name again. Neville's gran wouldn't exactly be pleased to hear he had been seen in a house of ill repute. "I'm Draco Malfoy, and, um... this is my friend..." Harry grasped for a name. "My friend... my friend... Blaise. Blaise Zabini."

"A Malfoy! Well, anything you want love," cried the witch. "Call me Madam Matilda." She beamed at them, then turned to the women. "Line up girls, come on!"

They began lining up, striking poses Harry assumed to be seductive in intent, but were really more comical than sexy. "Pick any one you like dear, don't be shy!"

"Er..." Harry looked to Tonks for guidance, but she just raised her eyebrows at him. He wasn't sure how to interpret that. "Er... that's ok."

"Well if your taste runs towards -"

"Yes, we prefer each other's company," Tonks said, cutting off Madam Matilda and throwing an arm around Harry. "Right, Draco?"

"Right, T- er, Blaise," said Harry, a bit embarrassed, but taking comfort in the fact that it was Malfoy's reputation on the line, not his own. "So, um... we'll just take a room, please, Madam Matilda."

"One with a fireplace connected into the floo network," said Tonks, nodding. "Oh, and the tea, of course."

***

As soon as Madam Matilda closed the door behind her, Tonks sank heavily into the bed, clutching the side of her face.

"Is the spell wearing off?" Harry asked, sitting down beside her and placing a hand tentatively on her forehead, tracing the fake scar that was identical to his own.

"Oh, just a bit," she said, with a half smile. "I'm alright, really. Just put your hand there, yes... just like that."

"What does that do?" His hand was pressed against the side of her purple blotched temple.

"Nothing at all, it just feels nice," she said, closing her eyes. "You have nice hands."

Harry blushed slightly at the compliment. He wanted desperately to kiss her again, but she still looked like him, which gave him pause. "Er... thanks. Should we contact the Order?"

"Mmm... yes. Yes, we will. Just need to rest for a moment."

"Would you like some tea?" Harry asked, reaching for the kettle on the tea cart Madam Matilda had left in their room, but keeping a one hand pressed along the side of her face. "You can't fall asleep, you know. You might have a concussion. In first aid in Muggle school, they said that was bad."

"No... no... I'm not falling asleep. Just... just trying to regroup," she said. "And yes... some tea would be nice. Thanks, Harry."

Harry poured them both cups of very strong, extra sweet tea. The alcohol had completely worn off and the full implications of the evening were beginning to hit him full force. First, there was the bit about getting drunk and making a move on Tonks. Not good. Then, the Death Eaters and their new ability to focus the Imperious curse to render hundreds of people at once virtual zombies. Even worse. Nearly getting both himself and Tonks killed. Possibly worst of all.

"Here you are," he said, handing her a cup of tea as she righted herself on the bed. "It's funny looking at you when you look like me."

"Does it make you uncomfortable?" Tonks asked, closing her hands around his as she took her cup of tea. "Oh, never mind. I am sure it must. Sorry about that."

She scrunched up her face, her expression more pained than usual during transformation. Rapidly she became smaller, softer. When she opened her eyes they were dark brown, as usual, though her hair was a coppery chestnut rather than the bright pinks and blues she usually wore. Harry wondered if it was her real hair color, something he had never really thought about before.

"Maybe... maybe a little," he admitted. "I... I appreciated what you tried to do for me earlier. I am sorry I messed things up." Some Auror I'd make...

"We're both still alive aren't we?"

"Yes, but... I was so stupid to give us away like that," he said, looking away from her. "I lost my temper. I second guessed you. I just couldn't let you sacrifice yourself for me, and, well, I only succeeded in getting us both captured. I'm sorry."

"You can't always be the hero, Harry," she said, placing a finger on his chin and turning his face towards hers. The angry purple splotches were still there despite the transformation, which made him feel even worse. "And you can't keep beating yourself up about what has happened in the past. You learn from your mistakes so you don't make them again and you move on. Guilt is a wasted emotion."

"Yeah, well, we could have died," he said.

"We could have... but we didn't. That's what's important. Of course, when you start training with Mad Eye, he'll tell you something completely different. He'll make you WISH you had died."

"So you've made mistakes like this?" he asked.

"Worse," said Tonks, her face much more somber than usual. "Actually, a friend of mine in Auror training did die. Not because of me directly, but... it's a dangerous job, I am not going to pretend otherwise, but if you are going to beat yourself up for every misstep, you'll never stand a chance. Besides... you've seen as much as me, probably more. Definitely more. I've never had to face down..." she trailed off.

"Go on..." She had said it earlier. When it really mattered, she had been able to say 'Voldemort'.

"V-Voldemort," she managed with a shy, but triumphant smile.

He really liked her smile. He liked a lot of things about her. The way she was very straightforward with him, her sense of humor. She was pretty and cool and great to be around. He could talk to her about things he just wasn't ready to talk about with Ron or Hermione. She listened without over analyzing or trying to change the subject to cheer him up. She could be deadly serious, but she could also be very fun.

Of course, she was also much older and probably thought he was a stupid kid. Especially now. How could he just kiss her like that? It wasn't like him at all. It was just... he had felt so free, so caught up in the moment. For once he didn't care how stupid or crazy he might look and just went for it. It was like flying... but now... he didn't really know what to do or say. He just smiled stupidly back at her.

"Well..." Tonks said, taking a long last sip of her tea. "Perhaps we should contact the Order."

Harry rose from the bed and walked over to the already lit marble fireplace at its foot. On the mantle sat a very intricately decorated silver box full of floo powder. He took a pinch, and tossed it into the flames. "Er," he said, turning towards Tonks, still seated on the bed. "Do you want to do this, or should I?

"I think perhaps we both should," she said, rising slowly from the bed and then kneeling down beside him.

He got down on his knees next to her. They had to kneel very close together, shoulders touching in order to both fit inside the fireplace. "Ready?" she asked, turning her head towards him, their noses almost touching.

"I think so," he said, surprising himself slightly by not looking away.

"Good," she said, biting her lip, but not making a move to stick her head in the fireplace.

Emboldened, he leaned towards her until their foreheads were touching. She didn't pull away, which made him slightly giddy. "What are we going to tell them?"

"Everything," she said, then pulled away from him. "Well, almost everything."

"Er, yes... of course," he said, turning to face the fire. "We won't tell them about..."

"Yeah," she said. "We won't tell them about that."

***

"So the Order had no idea the Death Eaters were able to do focused Unforgivables on large crowds?" Harry asked, once again slightly annoyed at being left out of the loop.

"No, Harry, we had no idea," said Lupin quietly. His cheeks were hollow and his eyes held a sorrow Harry also shared. It was very painful to look at Lupin, so Harry turned to Moody, whose magical eye was lazily spinning.

"Snape is spying on Voldemort and the Death Eaters, isn't he?" Harry still held the suspicion that Snape might not be entirely on the side of the Order. "Why hadn't he said anything?"

"Are you implying Severus Snape might be a traitor, Harry?" Moody growled.

"Perhaps he didn't know," said Tonks, before Harry could respond. "He did save our lives."

"That was Snape?" Harry thought the Death Eater who had Tonks pinned to the floor sounded eerily familiar. "But... but he let that... that woman crack your skull against the floor." Harry didn't think his hatred for Snape could grow any stronger, but it just had.

"He also slid my wand up the sleeve of my jumper so we could escape, Harry," said Tonks. "What would you expect him to do? He couldn't exactly give himself away."

"But why was he there in the first place? Why didn't any of the Order know?" Harry asked, his voice rising slightly.

"Dumbledore trusts Severus Snape," said Moody gruffly. "That's good enough for me. Maybe he didn't know until he showed up."

"Yes, that is a good point. He may not have known. We only switched lessons this morning when I got the tickets. V-Voldemort doesn't always keep his followers in the loop, and Snape still has much to prove," said Tonks, stumbling slightly over Voldemort's name, but it still pleased Harry immeasurably that she was able to say it.

"Are you sure you should be saying so much in front of the boy?" asked Moody, his good eye fixed on Tonks.

"Yes, Mad Eye," said Tonks, thrusting her chin out defiantly. "After what happened a few weeks ago, I think Harry has a right to know everything. In fact, I am going to talk to Dumbledore about letting him join the Order officially."

"He's just a kid," protested Moody, ignoring Harry's presence in the fireplace.

"No, he is not," said Tonks, darting her eyes towards Harry, then back to Moody. "Harry has seen as much as any of us. I think it is only right after what he has been through and done. What I saw tonight proved to me that Harry is most definitely not 'just a kid'. He needs training and discipline, but he's as good as any Auror I have worked with."

Harry thought he might explode with pride at her words. Did she really mean that?

"I agree with Tonks as well, Alastor," said Lupin. "The more Harry knows, the more he is prepared. I was planning on approaching Dumbledore myself on the matter."

"You would do that?" Harry asked, looking to Tonks then Lupin.

"Absolutely," said Lupin, with a sad smile. "If Sirius were here, he would do the same. In fact, he did, and was voted down."

"Thanks," Harry managed weakly, his eyes stinging a bit at the reminder of Sirius being gone.

Moody just shook his head. "Well, let's see what Dumbledore says first. For now, we have to figure out a way to get the two of you back here."

Harry thought that they would simply go through the fire to Grimmauld Place, but Dumbledore had set up wards to prevent anything more than communication. The only way to get there was to show up at the door or take a Portkey, which only Dumbledore himself as Secret Keeper for the Order could make. In the end, it was decided that the safest course of action was to stay at the Welcome Inn until someone could arrive with a Portkey. Moody gave them a whole list of wards and spells to put on the room and insisted they not open the door for anyone. Tonks promptly reminded him that if they didn't open the door for whoever came to get them, they would eventually starve to death.

Harry was worried about Tonks's injuries, but both Lupin and Moody seemed to think she would be fine and suggested a couple more charms to help with the pain and swelling. Finally, after a few more last minute admonishments from Moody, they pulled their heads out of the fire.

Harry got to his feet, his knees a bit wobbly from being on the hard marble hearth of the fireplace. He held out his hand for Tonks, who looked a bit woozy.

"Thanks, Harry," she said, taking his hand and rising shakily from the floor. "I hate floo powder. Always makes me dizzy."

"Me too," he said, truthfully. His own head was still spinning.

"I suppose we just wait it out now. No telling how long it will take for someone to get here," she said, looking longingly at the pillow covered bed, her hand still in his.

"You could take a nap, if you want," said Harry, acutely aware of the softness of her skin. "I could keep watch while you sleep."

Tonks began giggling.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing, it's just... I am supposed to be the one watching you."

"You did say that you thought I should be in the Order," he said, looking slyly at her. "And you also said that you didn't think I was 'just a kid'."

"Yes," Tonks said. A hint of pink was spreading across her cheeks. "Yes I did, and I meant it."

"About what happened earlier... before the Death Eaters showed up and interrupted everything..." Harry trailed off, not sure how to continue. He didn't know if he should simply apologize and forget about the whole thing or give in to the sudden urge throw her on the bed and snog her senseless. She did say she liked kissing him... she also said she didn't think he was 'just a kid'.

Tonks let go of his hand, folded her arms across her chest, and sighed. "Yeah, that... I..."

"I'm really sorry, Tonks," he said, disappointed that she had pulled away.

"No, no need to apologize, Harry," she said softly, and began pacing the floor at the foot of the bed. "If anyone should apologize, it is me. I was completely unprofessional. Professor McGonagall trusted me to take you out on an educational field trip. I had to plead and make all kinds of promises to her about your safety before she grudgingly allowed it. Despite all of that, I go and let you get completely pissed, snogged and kidnapped by Death Eaters."

"Well, if you don't view me as a kid, then none of that can possibly be your fault," Harry said, putting his hands on her shoulders to stop her pacing. "I got myself pissed on my own, I am the one who snogged you first, AND it's my fault we both got kidnapped by Death Eaters because, as you say, I had to play the hero. Besides, didn't you say that guilt is a wasted emotion? That we should learn from our mistakes and move on? Not that I think you made any mistakes, of course."

She pulled away from him and began pacing again.

"I just... despite what I may think of you or what you can handle -- and I am not just talking about Death Eaters and Dark Lords here -- I am still supposed to be teaching you, even though the circumstances are, I admit, quite unusual. You are still at Hogwarts. I am still entrusted with your care, no matter how much I think the notion is silly considering we are all in your care."

"So..." he began, slightly confused at her words. "So, you are saying that you don't think I am a kid, but because I am a kid, it is wrong for me to kiss you? Because... well, that's rather contradictory, you know."

"No, that's not it." Her pacing grew more frantic. "Not quite, anyway. I mean... what are we supposed to do, date each other? Clear it with McG or Dumbledore, get permission to take you places? Meet you at the Three Broomsticks on the occasional Hogsmeade weekend and hope to Merlin none of your teachers or classmates sees us? Sneak into your room at night at the Dursleys? "

"Well, to be honest, I wouldn't complain in the slightest if you did that last one. Even if it was just to keep me company with no snogging at all," he said, slightly exasperated. "Look, Tonks, I really, really like you. I've this mad crush on you ever since you showed up that first day back in June to tell me I was a Metamorphmagus, just like you. I've been so alone, so cut off... but I could talk to you. My lessons with you have been the best thing about this summer.

"There are times..." he paused for a moment, willing himself not to get choked up. "There are times this whole prophecy thing, Sirius being gone, Ron and Hermione being busy with each other, my stupid relatives, not to mention the bloody Occlumency lessons with Snape, are just... just impossible to take. The one thing that has got me through it all is the thought that in another day or two I'd get to see you again, learn some cool new trick, and maybe have a laugh. I also knew that if I was feeling really down, you'd listen to me. That's something I really, really needed, and I don't think I ever thanked you for that. So... thank you, Tonks."

Tonks stopped mid-step, spun around to face him, tripping and falling forward. Before she could fall to the floor, Harry caught her around the waist and pulled her towards him. She looked up in surprise. "You're welcome, Harry, I..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Harry impulsively pressed his lips against hers. He was met with very little resistance, her lips parting to allow him to kiss her fully. Waves of warmth and brightness and electricity pulsed through him. Kissing Tonks was nothing like kissing Cho.

Tonks tore her lips away from his, panting. Her lips were red and swollen, her pupils so dilated her dark eyes looked nearly black. "That's not fair..."

"What's not fair?"

"Kissing like that... I can't think when you do that. Kissing is not an argument."

"Well I don't think it is fair that you think I am not a kid when it comes to fighting evil wizards, but I am a kid when it comes to... when it comes to..." Harry wasn't sure what to call it. Would Tonks be his girlfriend? He kind of liked the idea, but thought it might be too forward.

"When it comes to what, Harry?" she asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed, folding her arms across her chest.

"I... just forget it," he said, losing his nerve. "I am sorry about the whole thing. Let's just sit here and wait around to be rescued."

"Yes," she said quietly, not meeting his eyes. "Let's just forget it."