Birthday Boy

Birthday Boy, Part III

A Girl Like You

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

She couldn't forget it. No matter how hard she tried, it was looming there in the darkness between them as she watched him sleeping fitfully over the shoulder of her reflection in the vanity mirror.

Tonks had let Harry take the first watch, though she found herself unable to sleep. Between Harry's pacing, her own apprehension over what they had witnessed that evening and the... whatever it was between them, sleep was out of the question. Why, oh why do I get myself into these kinds of scrapes?

McGonagall... she was going to be positively furious with her. Anything that wasn't already in the lesson plan was going to be strictly forbidden, she was sure of it. Not that the Death Eaters showing up was her fault, of course, but... the whole thing could have been handled much, much differently. If Snape hadn't been there... At least McGonagall wouldn't know what went on before... or after. Bugger. Why did he have to be so... so...?

Don't focus on that, she told herself, focus on what has to be done. Hundreds of people, under the Imperious Curse... a complete and total nightmare. How were they to ever track them all down? A simple Finite Incantium by a powerful enough witch or wizard, but finding them all.... Tonks had a feeling she would be spending the next several weeks slinking around hedgerows and rubbish bins. At least there would be some respite for her... the lessons with Harry...

Don't go there, a voice inside her head chided, that's a very bad place. Her eyes wandered over to Harry, growing even more restless in his sleep. But such a lovely place to visit...

Grrrr... Tonks turned resolutely back to her own reflection. Focus. Pink and spiky. Focus. Green and curly. Focus. Straight and black. It was a silly game she had invented to practice her Metamorphmagus skills as a girl, but it provided her with a much needed distraction. Focus. Lavender spirals. Focus. Brunette and shiny. Focus. Long and red. Foc-

Harry was saying something now, something she couldn't quite make out. He must be dreaming... She turned away from the mirror to find him tossing more violently now. She wondered if she should wake him.

"No... no... not..." Harry mumbled, his voice growing louder. "You can't.. I won't... not him... no... NO!" The last was a shout. His eyes flew open, staring wildly, blindly without his glasses.

Tonks rushed to the bed, placing her hands firmly on his shoulders to stop his shaking. "It's ok Harry... just a nightmare, just a nightmare."

His eyes were still wild and staring. His breaths came in ragged gasps, but he didn't speak. "It's ok, I'm here. It's just me, Tonks." She sat down on the bed, smoothing a hand across his damp forehead. "Everything is ok."

"No... Ron..." Harry whispered, still gasping for air. "She took him... and he was gone... all my fault..."

"Who took him?" Tonks asked.

"Her," he said, swallowing hard. "It was her."

That was all the answer Tonks needed. "Harry..."

When he wrapped his arms around her waist, she didn't protest. She simply held him. She knew he had nightmares. She knew he had witnessed the attack on Arthur Weasley first hand, but the full weight of it all hadn't really sunk in until now, seeing him like this. He buried his face against the space between her neck and shoulder, his body shaking. She stroked his hair and caressed his back. He said nothing at first, just held her tighter around her middle. "I don't want him to die because of me."

"Shhh... it's ok, Harry, just a dream. Ron is fine. I saw him just this morning."

Tonks didn't know how long she sat there or when she herself eventually fell asleep, Harry's face pressed against her shoulder, his hands tangled in her long, red hair. All she knew was that it wasn't what it looked like.

"My, isn't this.... interesting," came the silky voice that jolted her awake.

Tonks's eyes flew open... of all the people they could have sent... "It's not what it looks like," she said quickly, disentangling herself from a still soundly sleeping Harry. "It's not what you think."

"I am quite sure, Nymphadora, that you have no idea what it looks like or what I think," Snape drawled, his face contorted into an odd grimace. He held the handle of a small copper tea kettle in a white knuckled grip.

Well bugger. "Wake up," she said, nudging Harry gently. "Someone has come to collect us at last."

"Wha- who?" Harry said blearily as he began feeling blindly around for his glasses.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty," Snape sneered with self-satisfied smirk. "Can't stay out of trouble, now can we, Potter?"

Harry's face instantly hardened.

"Accio glasses," Snape said. "I believe you were looking for these?"

Harry shot from the bed, and snatched the glasses from Snape's hand, knocking the tea kettle to the floor. "Why thank you, Professor, indeed I was," Harry said evenly, looking Snape directly in the eye. "It seems as though you've dropped your kettle." Neither made a move to retrieve it.

Tonks slid quietly from the bed and collected the tea kettle. "Well, then... I guess we best be off," she said in what she knew to be a falsely cheery voice. "Thank you, Professor Snape for coming to our rescue. This is the Portkey, right?"

"Indeed," said Snape, not taking his eyes off Harry's.

"We've, um, we've left our brooms at the Leaky Cauldron," Tonks said. "Someone will need to collect them."

"Mundugus Fletcher is taking care of that for you," said Snape, turning to fix his beetle black gaze on her. "Let us hope you get them back in one piece."

***

They arrived at Grimmauld Place to find Professor McGonagall sitting stiffly at the kitchen table, sipping tea through pursed lips, waiting for them. "Severus," she said, inclining her head. "Miss Tonks, Mister Potter."

"G-good morning, Professor McGonagall," Tonks stammered nervously. Though she knew Minnie McG was an old softy at heart, the whole situation brought back too many memories of well earned detentions and House points being taken.

"Morning, Professor," Harry mumbled.

"You'll be interested to know, Professor--" Snape began.

"I'll be interested to know whatever you have to say later," she said, cutting him off. "Professor Dumbledore will be here soon, and I am sure we will get your full report in the meeting. For now, I would like to speak to Miss Tonks. Alone, if you don't mind, Severus."

"Professor, I can explain--" said Harry.

"You can explain later, Potter," said McGonagall tersely. "For now I think it best that you join Mister Weasley upstairs until after the meeting."

"Harry was there, Professor," said Tonks, bristling at Harry being shunted aside like a child yet again. "I think he ought to be in the meeting."

"I am well aware of your opinion on the matter, Tonks," said McGonagall, "but that is not for you or I to decide. Off with you, Potter."

"Professor--"

"And you as well, Severus."

Tonks watched as Snape and Harry, scowling at one another, exited the kitchen.

"Now tell me what really happened," said Professor McGonagall. "From the beginning."

Tonks sank into a chair, sighing heavily. "What have you heard?"

"I heard there were two Harry Potters traipsing about Diagon Alley yesterday evening and that the two of them spent the night in a whorehouse. I want an explanation."

"It's like this, Professor..."

Tonks told the whole story. Or rather, most of it. When she had finally finished, McGonagall was still pursing her lips.

"Unbelievable," she said finally. "You were both very lucky Professor Snape was there. I will need to have a word with Potter, though I understand perfectly how this happened."

"Yes, Professor," Tonks said, relieved she wasn't furious, but feeling a bit guilty for not telling the whole story.

A knock at the door indicated the arrival of Professor Dumbledore, and the Order meeting was set to begin. Everyone began filing quietly into the kitchen, even more somber than usual; even Fred and George Weasley, who had recently joined the Order against the protests of their mother, spoke in hushed whispers. To Tonks's dismay, Severus Snape sat in the chair directly across from her. He was scowling, but then, he was always scowling. Tonks had never known him to be in a good mood, not as a student in his Potions class and certainly not now as a fellow Order member. She never got the impression that he disliked her any more than he disliked everyone in general, though after this morning she wasn't so sure. Fellow Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt took the seat to Tonks's right, much to her relief.

"Tough job ahead of us, eh?" said Kingsley,

Tonks nodded.

"Are you doing alright? I heard about what happened," Kingsley said quietly. "You look a little roughed up."

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks. Just a few bruises is all," whispered Tonks. "Too bad we couldn't stop them."

"Well, from what I heard--"

"This meeting will come to order," said Professor Dumbledore from the head of the table, stopping all conversations mid-whisper. His usually twinkling blue eyes looked very tired as he gazed at the assembled Order members over his half-moon spectacles. "I have summoned you all here because there has been an incident. The consequences of which could be disastrous if we do not act quickly. Severus Snape and Nymphadora Tonks were both witnesses to the events of last night, which I am sure you have all heard about by now. Both Professor Snape and Miss Tonks will give a full report; after which, we will go to questions and then special assignments. Any issues regarding items from the previous meeting will have to wait until the regular meeting Sunday evening. Objections?"

No one was about to cross Professor Dumbledore. "Well, then," he continued, "Severus?"

Snape rose from his chair with an air of self-importance and cleared his throat. "Yesterday afternoon I was summoned to Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire along with eighteen of the Dark Lord's most trusted associates. I was informed that we would be appearing at a concert that very evening to deploy a secret weapon the Dark Lord himself had recently discovered: a device that would allow many wizards at once to work in unison to focus and then amplify a spell for use on hundreds, possibly thousands, of people at one time. In this case, we were to use a stunning spell to disarm hundreds of people simultaneously and bring them under the command of the Dark Lord by way of Imperio. As you have all probably heard by now, this plan was, for the most part, successful. Everyone in attendance at the Weird Sisters concert yesterday evening at the Screaming Banshee, with the exception of Nymphadora Tonks and Harry Potter, is now under the control of the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters."

"Excuse me, Severus," interrupted Hestia Jones, a pretty witch in her early thirties who had clearly never suffered the misfortune of Severus Snape as a Potions instructor. "You mentioned that you were summoned to Malfoy Manor. I was under the impression that Lucius Malfoy himself was currently in Azkaban."

"Indeed, that is correct," said Snape with an air of impatience. "Lucius Malfoy is currently in Azkaban, however, his sister-in-law and second cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, has stewardship over the Manor at present."

"But what about Narcissa?" asked Emmeline Vance. "We were school friends. She's not..."

"Narcissa has fled the country," answered Snape, not quite meeting her eyes. "I have no idea of her whereabouts."

"But what of the boy?"

"Draco... ah yes. He is being looked after," said Snape. "Continuing on... we arrived at the specified time. Everything went as planned -"

"Excuse me, Professor," said Remus Lupin, "This device you spoke of earlier, what is it, exactly?"

"If you don't mind, Lupin," Snape began, not bothering to conceal his loathing. "I would like to continue without interruption. However, to answer your question, I did not see the device; Bellatrix kept it on her person and out of my view the entire time."

"So the device only need be present to focus the magic, the spell casters need not direct their spells at the object?"

"That appears to be the case," said Snape, through gritted teeth. "If you do not mind, may I please continue?"

"Of course," said Remus. "Please go on."

"Thank you," said Snape, "as I was saying before being interrupted, everything went as planned. The crowd was incapacitated with the focused Stupefy, and put under the control of the Dark Lord with the amplified Imperious curse."

As Snape was speaking, a thought occurred to Tonks. Normally, when someone was put under the Imperious curse, they were subject to the whims of that specific spell caster - the person who put them under the curse. However, in this case, with many spell casters...

"Professor Snape," Tonks interrupted without thinking. "Who exactly is controlling the individuals under the Imperious curse? I mean, since there were many of you and..." Snape glared at her menacingly. She regretted her words almost as soon as they were spoken.

"You will get your chance to speak once I am finished, Nymphadora."

"Sure thing, Sevvie," said Tonks, finding satisfaction in Snape's wince. If he was going to play the name game, she would too. "I was just curious as to whether or not these people under the control of V-Voldemort or someone else."

"I refuse to answer your question until the end." Snape was clearly becoming quite angry. "No more interruptions. These people are under the control of the Dark Lord."

"Directly or indirectly?"

"As I was saying..."

"Severus," interrupted Professor Dumbledore, his voice holding the slightest hint of amusement. "If you don't mind, I would be interested in the answer to that one myself."

"I- I'm not completely sure," said Snape, looking decidedly uncomfortable. "Bellatrix gave the actual orders to those under the Imperious curse, though we certainly all cast the spell."

"What exactly did she order them to do?" asked Kingsley. He was a top notch Auror, and Tonks could almost see the gears turning in his head, calculating their next move.

"To await further instruction," said Snape with a sigh.

"In other words, you have no idea then," said Molly Weasley from somewhere outside of Tonks's view. "You have no idea what You-Know-Who has planned."

"That is correct; I do not know what he has planned."

"Forgive me, Severus," said Arthur Weasley, "but aren't you in his inner circle?"

"If you would all let me continue, then I could explain."

"Go ahead, Severus," said Dumbledore with a benign smile. "No more interruptions until you are finished. You have our full attention."

"Thank you, Headmaster," said Snape, straightening his robes and tucking a strand of greasy black hair behind his ear. "Those who had been put under the Imperious curse began lining up. Bella correctly guessed that there may be others in the building. She wanted to get them too, at the very least so there would be no witnesses. It was at this time that we heard a disturbance. Much to our surprise, upon investigation, we discovered two Harry Potters crouched behind the bar.

"Now, I knew that Potter and Tonks were planning on attending this concert as Tonks herself asked to trade lessons with me that very day for that very purpose. I was unable to send word once learning of the plans for that evening; however, I did not see either of them in the crowd and assumed they had left early. I was, quite obviously, mistaken."

Snape continued on, explaining how Bellatrix ordered both Harry and Tonks restrained and questioned, painting them both in the worst light possible. "Of course, Potter went and nearly gave them both away by rising to Bella's very obvious bait. Had I not been there, Tonks would have surely been killed. However, I intervened just in time to save them both, slipping Tonks's wand up her sleeve, at great risk to myself, I might add. They managed to get away, as you can see, however, Bellatrix now suspects I had something to do with it. Which of course, I did.

"Once we arrived back at Malfoy Manor, it was made clear to me that I was 'under suspicion' and that Bella herself would be keeping a very close eye on me. As some of you may know, Lucius Malfoy was my connection to the Dark Lord himself. With Lucius currently residing in Azkaban, and Bella as the Dark Lord's current favorite, I find myself more and more outside of the inner circle. Of course, thanks to Potter and Tonks, I may not be part of any circle at all.

"As soon as I could manage it, I arrived here at Order headquarters, only to be handed a Portkey and told to go fetch her-" Snape jerked his head towards Tonks. "and Potter from, of all places, a whorehouse in Orthogon Alley. I arrived to find them in bed together, much to my surprise." Snape paused there, allowing gasps and whispers to break out around the table, along with a couple of wolf whistles and a 'way to go Harry!' from Fred and George Weasley. Tonks used all of the Metamorphmagus powers she possessed to keep her burning cheeks from glowing bright pink. She wanted to sink underneath the table and hide, but she didn't dare show any sign that Snape was getting to her.

"Every teenage boy's fantasy, I am sure," said Professor Dumbledore with a wink at Tonks. "Though perhaps not being discovered by one's Potions Master. However, I am quite certain it was completely innocent. Am I right, Miss Tonks?"

"Y-yes, Headmaster. Professor Snape failed to mention that we were both fully clothed, still wearing shoes even. Harry awoke from a terrible nightmare in which Bellatrix Lestrange..." Tonks trailed off, not wanting to upset Molly. "In which Bellatrix Lestrange took from him someone he cared for very much. I comforted him. We both fell asleep. That was it."

"The poor dear," sniffed Molly. "Any of us would have done the same, I am sure." Many around the table were daubing their eyes and casting pitying glances towards Remus. The death of Sirius was still fresh on everyone's mind, and that must be who they all assumed she was talking about.

"Yes," said Tonks quietly, feeling terribly guilty. She was quite sure that Mrs. Weasley would not have snogged the poor dear little Harry Potter or let him get completely pissed, but comforting him after a nightmare was indeed perfectly innocent.

"Anything else, Severus?" asked Professor Dumbledore.

"Er, no, Headmaster," answered a slightly cowed Snape. "That is all."

It was now Tonks's turn to tell her version of events. Many were impressed that she could make herself pass for another person without using a polyjuice potion. Metamorphmagi were so rare, only one or two in a generation, that most people had no idea what the extent of her powers really were. She got all of the inevitable questions, but it was Fred Weasley who asked the one question she knew most people were dying to ask, but almost never did out of embarrassment. "Yes, Fred, I can change that too if need be."

"Does it work?" asked George Weasley.

"Fred! George!" gasped Molly Weasley, completely horrified.

"It's ok, Molly," said Tonks, unblushingly. "I'm used to questions. Does it work? The literature on the subject says yes."

"Wicked," breathed Fred and George together, both clearly impressed.

"Ahem, well," said Dumbledore. "Shall we go to special assignments, then?"

Tonks was grateful to sink down in her chair while everyone chattered around her. She would have to give a full debriefing to Madam Bones in the morning, but Kingsley offered to cover for her at the office that afternoon while she caught up on some much needed rest. They really couldn't do much anyway until they could figure out who was at the concert. It was going to be an utter nightmare.

When everyone began filing out of the kitchen, Tonks rose from her chair and headed towards the door, only to be stopped by McGonagall. "Tonks, Professor Dumbledore and I would like a word with you."

"Sure, Professor," said Tonks, fearing a reprimand after Snape's telling of events.

"You too, Kingsley," said McGonagall. "Oh, and Severus and Remus as well. Albus?"

"Yes, Minerva," called Professor Dumbledore from near the door where he had been in deep conversation with Mad Eye Moody. "I am ready, if you could have someone go fetch Harry."

"I'll get him," growled Mad Eye.

Tonks sat down along with the others at one end of the table. They all looked as confused as she was. When Mad Eye returned with Harry in tow, Tonks felt her heart leap up somewhere near the region of her tonsils. Just as she had managed to wrestle her inner fourteen year old into submission, Harry sat down in the empty chair beside her.

"How did it go?" Harry whispered, his breath tickling her ear and making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. "What do they want me here for? Am I in trouble?"

"It went ok, I think," Tonks whispered back. "I'll tell you all about it later. I have no idea what they want. If anyone is in trouble, it would be me."

"You didn't tell them..."

"No, of course not, but-"

"I'll make this quick," said McGonagall, cutting Tonks off mid-whisper. "There has been a small change in plans for Mister Potter's summer lessons in light of recent events."

Harry looked mutinous. "Professor, really it's-"

"It's not what you think, Harry," said Professor Dumbledore, gently. "We've decided that it would be best to accelerate your lessons. I have taken the liberty of contacting your family and letting them know that you will be spending the remainder of the summer holiday here. You will still be having lessons with Aurors Tonks and Kingsley for your Metamorphmagus and Stealth and Tracking studies, however, from now on you will accompany them on their Auror duties. You will still have Occlumency and Advanced Transfiguration with Professors Snape and McGonagall, but you will take those lessons here at Grimmauld Place until the fall term begins. Remus Lupin will continue to teach you Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts, but that will be on hold for the moment until he can ready you to pass the test for your Apparition license."

Harry stared at Professor Dumbledore in shocked silence for a moment before speaking. "You're kidding, right?"

"No, Harry, I am not kidding."

"Headmaster, if I could speak for a moment," said Snape.

"You may, Severus."

"Are you sure this is such a good idea, all things considered? Besides, Potter hasn't received his OWL results yet, for all we know he won't even qualify for the required classes for an Auror track. Then there is the matter of the danger he will be in." Snape's mouth twisted into a grotesque smirk that made Tonks want to strangle him right where he sat. "Especially with her. They nearly got themselves killed. If I hadn't-"

"I believe Tonks and Harry have learned a valuable lesson. I do not fear for their safety," said Dumbledore, peering steadily at Snape over his glasses. "And neither should you, Severus."

"Potter will be in every single required class, if I have anything to do with it," said Professor McGonagall. "And believe me, I do."

"Headmaster-"

"I've made my decision." Dumbledore's voice held a kind of finality not even Snape would dare question.

"I think this is an excellent idea, Professor," said Kingsley. "There was really only so much we could do sneaking around Little Whinging. Harry is making excellent progress, and I think he'll make an excellent Auror."

"Er, excuse me, Professor Dumbledore," said Remus quietly. "There is also the matter of letting Harry join the Order proper. We talked about this before, and I know that you were against it, but..."

"We shall see, Remus," said Professor Dumbledore cryptically. "Harry and I will discuss this later in private."

"Professor Dumbledore," said Harry defiantly. "I would like to discuss this now, if you don't mind."

"I do mind," said Professor Dumbledore. "Please be patient with an old man, Harry. There are many factors to consider, factors you are not aware of and I am not at liberty to discuss at this time."

They spent another ten minutes hashing out the details. Dumbledore, it seemed, had already gotten clearance with Madam Bones. Though after what had happened just a few short weeks ago, the Ministry was pretty much willing to do whatever Dumbledore asked. Tonks would spend the night at Grimmauld Place, and Harry would accompany her to the Ministry in the morning. He would then spend the day with Kingsley and herself as they did some legwork on tracking down the unlucky concert attendees.

Finally, it was all over and they were free to leave, much to Tonks's relief. She needed a nice hot bath, a long nap and some time to decompress after everything that had transpired in the last twenty-four hours. She was very glad she kept an extra few changes of clothes at Grimmauld place.

"Hey, Tonks," said Harry, looking a little nervous as he caught up with her on the stairs after the meeting. "Can we talk for a minute, alone?"

"Er, of course, Harry," said Tonks. "I was just going to grab a towel and some clothes and hop in the bath. You can come with me up to my room if you like."

"Thanks, I could use a bath myself," said Harry, not quite looking at her. "Not that, um, that um... well, I just wanted to hear about the meeting and maybe, er, well..."

"I'll tell you all about it," said Tonks, smiling at him in spite of herself.

Once they were safely inside of Tonks's room, she told him about everything that had transpired. As expected, he was completely furious with Snape. She could almost feel the anger radiating off of him as she described Snape's telling of events.

"That nasty git, I swear I'll..."

"Don't waste your anger on him," said Tonks. "He's not worth it. Really, you should pity him. No one that bitter will ever be happy. Besides, he probably hasn't had a decent shag in years."

"I really could have done without that mental picture." Harry said, twisting his face into a horrible grimace "I suppose you are right though, it's just, grrrr."

"Yeah, I know," said Tonks, placing a hand on Harry's knee without even thinking. "But if it makes you feel any better, I got him all riled up and everyone pretty much thought him an arse for insinuating-" She jerked her hand away, realizing that what Snape had insinuated was, in fact, quite true.

"For insinuating there was something more between us other than you being my tutor, you mean?"

"Um, yeah... that."

"Is there?" He looked almost hopeful.

Don't make me answer that. Don't look at me like that either. "I don't know," she mumbled under her breath.

Much to Tonks's relief, there was a knock at the door before Harry could ask her to repeat herself. "Tonks, you in there? It's me, Hermione."

"Come on in," Tonks called, leaping from her seat on the bed next to Harry.

"Hey Tonks," said Hermione, leaning in for a hug. "We've got the basement bath all fixed up. It's almost as nice as the Prefects' bath at Hogwarts. Ginny and I were wondering if-" She stopped speaking mid-sentence as she caught sight of Harry, now standing in the middle of the room. "Oh, hi Harry. Didn't know you were in here. Ron is looking for you."

"That's nice," said Harry stiffly. "I was just on my way out."

"He's really worried about you, you know, we both are," said Hermione. "He said you wouldn't tell him anything about what happened."

"Everyone else has heard the whole story by now, ask one of them." Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Anyway, see you both later," he said, brushing past the two of them, but looking at neither as he exited the room.

"What has gotten into him?" Hermione asked as Tonks gathered up her bath things.

"Er, well, you know, he's had a rough time of it lately." Tonks knew that Harry was upset about Ron and Hermione getting together, but she suspected there was more to it than that.

"I know that, it's just..." Hermione sighed. "It's like he's avoiding us. I don't understand it. He won't talk about anything that happened at the end of the term. We are supposed to be his best friends, but he barely answers our letters. He was quiet and brooding after, well, you know... but it's like he just doesn't want to talk about it."

"Maybe he just doesn't want to talk about it," said Tonks with a shrug. Harry had indeed shared some things with her, though she never pried as she didn't feel it was her place. She knew he probably just wanted to vent when he felt like it and brood when he felt like it, and after all that had happened, she felt he was entitled. "Maybe you shouldn't say anything, but if he wants to talk, just let him. Sometimes being a friend means stepping back"

Hermione looked extremely incredulous at this piece of advice. "I suppose you might be right. You've seen Harry quite a bit this summer, haven't you?"

"A couple times a week for his lessons," said Tonks.

"Does he ever talk about anything? I just feel like..."

"You can't solve all of his problems, Hermione," said Tonks, throwing her arm around the younger girl's shoulders. "Now how about that bath?"

****

"Oh Merlin, that feels so good," Hermione moaned. "Where did you learn to do that?"

"Dean's mum," said Ginny. "She does massage therapy. It's like magic. You'd almost think she was a witch. She has a little shop in London."

"I think I'll have to stop by sometime," said Tonks, floating lazily on her back amongst the bubbles in the warm lavender scented water. She closed her eyes and let the tension seep out through her skin. "How's it going with Dean, anyway?"

"It's going great. He's really, really nice," said Ginny. "Really cute too. I love his family. Dean and I are going to meet up in Diagon Alley tomorrow. He actually lives nearby, you know. Dean says he passed by the Leaky Cauldron at least a hundred times as a kid, always noticing the funny looking people going inside. He said he was always drawn to it, but never in his wildest dreams did he imagine what was on the other side."

"Dean is a Muggleborn, then?" asked Tonks. Her own father was a Muggleborn, had a Muggle job as a newsreader for something called the Bee Bee See in fact, though Tonks herself wasn't sure what all that meant.

"Yes," said Ginny. "Dad pummels him with all kinds of crazy questions when he visits the Burrow. It's very embarrassing, though at least he likes Dean. Ron still doesn't trust him, but I have no idea why. I always thought they were friends."

Hermione laughed. "I think Ron is still sore over it being Dean, not Harry, giving his baby sister attention."

"Well, Harry had his chance, didn't he?" said Ginny huffily.

"Oh?" sputtered Tonks, nearly inhaling a lungful of perfumed bath water.

"Ginny had the biggest crush on Harry for the longest." Hermione giggled. "Though I admit I harbored a feeling or two for him myself at one time."

"Well, I am totally over him now," said Ginny nonchalantly. "Besides, Dean has a much nicer bum."

This sent both girls into fits of giggles, and allowed Tonks to regain her composure. She wondered what Hermione and Ginny might think of her own not-so-platonic feelings for Harry, but decided to keep that to herself. "Everybody loves Harry, then?"

"Well, not everybody," said Hermione, reaching for a towel on the edge of the bath. "But he is quite popular with the girls and a few of the boys as well. Not that he notices, mind. It's really rather funny. I think half of the girls joined the D.A. last year just for an excuse to be around Harry on a regular basis."

"Including Cho, yecch," said Ginny, wrinkling her freckled nose.

"I kind of felt sorry for her, in a way," said Hermione thoughtfully. "Not that I thought she was the best girl for Harry, but at least he got all of that out of his system."

"Who would be the best girl for Harry, you think?" asked Tonks, trying to keep her tone casual.

"Hmmm..." said Hermione, as she began wrapping the towel around her damp hair. "Someone really smart and mature..."

"And pretty," said Ginny.

"Well, I suppose Harry would like that, but prettiness would be secondary. Cho was certainly very pretty, after all," said Hermione. "I think she would have to be someone really strong. Someone who would understand what Harry is up against."

"She'd have to be very powerful magically," said Ginny. "Prepared for anything."

"Yes," said Hermione. "Prepared for anything. But also... someone who could watch out for him. Take care of him, because sometimes I think he doesn't really know how to take care of himself. The right girl, no... the right woman for Harry would be like a lover, mother, girlfriend, sister and best friend all rolled into one."

"Have any candidates in mind yet?" asked Tonks.

Ginny laughed. "Hermione is still working on the application. It's a tough job being Harry's girlfriend." Ginny said with mock seriousness. "Very demanding. Must be brave enough to face Death Eaters."

"And Dark Lords," said Hermione.

"Don't forget my mother," countered Ginny.

"Of course not," said Hermione. "Then, there is the matter of the press."

"And not being jealous of Harry's female best friend," said Ginny.

"Or the Quidditch," said Hermione, rolling her eyes. "Must not get upset about the time he spends obsessing over Quidditch."

"Sure you aren't talking about my brother?" Ginny giggled, playfully splashing Hermione with sudsy water.

"Him too... but..." Hermione looked very thoughtful for a moment.

"Would you like to submit a résumé?" Ginny asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Er..." said Tonks.

"I wish I could find Harry a girl like you, Tonks," said Hermione. "Only younger, of course."

***

A very clean and floral scented Nymphadora Tonks tossed restlessly on the bed, beating her poor pillow into woeful submission. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry over Hermione's comment. Only younger, of course. It wasn't like Tonks was an old lady by any stretch of the imagination. She could look sixteen if she wanted to. She certainly felt sixteen with this silly school girl crush.

Tonks managed to nap for a while, though she kept having disturbing dreams about Death Eaters terrorizing people while she stood there frozen, unable to do anything to help. When she wasn't dreaming about Death Eaters, she was dreaming about Harry, and that was no good either. Well, it was good, but was also bad. Very, very bad.

When she awoke, it was quite dark outside, just a single shaft of light from a flickering street lamp shown through the window. A rumble in her belly indicated she'd best find something to eat and soon, though she guessed dinner was long past. Much to her relief, on the way down the stairs she ran into Ginny who informed her that everyone staying the night was having a late supper of tea and sandwiches in the drawing room.

"Not having any yourself?" Tonks asked, stretching her sore arms above her head and nearly knocking the portrait of one of her long dead ancestors off the wall in the process.

"Well, hmmph! In my generation, ladies did not flail their arms about in such shameful fashion," chided an elderly, sour looking witch in an ugly purple bonnet. "They certainly did dress like-"

"Yeah, yeah grandma," said Tonks cutting her off as she righted the portrait.

"No," said Ginny, coloring slightly beneath her freckles while granny wailed on. "I'm going to find a quiet place to floo up Dean for a chat."

"In my day-"

"Sounds lovely," said Tonks. "I can't wait to meet him. I'll probably be in Diagon Alley tomorrow on Auror business, so we might run into one another"

"-flooing up a boy-"

"That would be really nice," said Ginny. "Goodnight, Tonks."

"'Night!"

Upon entering the drawing room, Tonks felt her innards turn a little summersault when she spied Harry sitting all alone near the fire. She tried not to look at him, and instead grabbed a sandwich off the tea cart. She was quite surprised to see Professor Dumbledore still there and playing what looked like a very intense game of wizard's chess with Ron Weasley, while Hermione and Remus were having what sounded like a very serious discussion on Magical non-Human Rights. Fred and George Weasley were very excitedly demonstrating one of their latest inventions to their older brothers, Bill and Charlie, while their father dozed quietly on the sofa next to his wife.

"Tonks dear, how was your nap?" asked Molly, furiously knitting a bright gold jumper and darning an old maroon sock as she poured a cup of tea.

"Quite nice, thanks," said Tonks, taking the steaming cup from Molly. "I don't know how you can knit like that and darn a sock at the same time. Even when I am paying close attention, my knitting just winds up jumbled and useless."

"Takes lots of practice, dear," said Molly with a wink. "You'll get the hang of it." Tonks seriously doubted that, but she just smiled and thanked Molly again for the tea.

Looking around for a place to sit down, Tonks found that the only empty spot was a small foot stool near the fire right next to a very morose looking Harry.

"Hello, Harry," she said, extra careful not spill her tea as she sat down.

"Hey," said Harry, not taking his eyes off the fire. "Have a nice bath?"

"Yes," said Tonks. "You should try it out, very nice."

"Maybe I will," said Harry. "Though I think I'll use less flowery stuff."

"I smell that bad, eh?"

"No, you smell really nice, actually," said Harry. "But you smell like a girl."

"Well, I suppose it is better than smelling like a hippogriff," said Tonks, taking a bite of her sandwich.

Harry laughed a bit in spite of himself, but then his expression darkened again. "Speaking of which, I should probably go check on Buckbeak. He's probably really lonely without... without Sirius."

"Everyone has been taking really good care of him. Remus especially, he knows how much Buckbeak meant to Sirius," said Tonks. "Actually, I am surprised Remus is staying the night. He hasn't... not since..."

"Yeah... he told me." Harry was looking directly at her now, his eyes very hollow and sad. "You can come with me, if you want. To check on Buckbeak, I mean. You don't have to though if you don't want to. He eats rats, it's kind of gross, so if you don't want to, I'll totally understand, but... I thought... I thought it might be kind of nice if we could talk."

"I-I want to, Harry," said Tonks. "And I don't mind the rats, not after the vermin I deal with day in and day out."

"Thanks," he said quietly, rising from his chair. Harry proffered one of his very lovely hands to help her up from her stool. It was very warm, and his grip very firm and he held onto her just a little bit longer than necessary.

"Where are you two off to?" asked Molly, gently folding the maroon sock with its mate.

"Check on Buckbeak," said Harry.

"Well alright, but I think it is getting to be time for bed," said Molly with a yawn. "Got your sock all finished, Professor Dumbledore."

"Why, thank you, Molly," said Professor Dumbledore, as Tonks and Harry exited into the hallway. "Means the world to me."

***

"Hey, Beaky," whispered Harry, waving a dead rat under the sleeping hippogriff's razor sharp beak. Buckbeak opened one of his large, golden eyes and bowed his great feathery head at Harry. "Happy to see me?"

Buckbeak rustled his wings and nudged Harry's hip in response. "I'm happy to see you too, Beaky. Must be really lonely up here."

"Hello, Buckbeak," said Tonks with a respectful bow to the feathery beast. Her old Care of Magical Creatures teacher, Professor Kettleburn, claimed he lost his right foot to a mad hippogriff, so she was always extra careful, despite being on quite friendly terms with Buckbeak.

"I think he wants to get out," said Harry. "Stretch his wings a bit. Come to that, I'd like to get out of here as well."

"But you've just arrived," said Tonks, petting Buckbeak's withers and offering him an especially plump rat.

"It's just hard to be here, you know?"

"Yeah, I know, Harry," said Tonks. "But your friends are here for you, and they really do care. Hermione and Ron are really worried about you. They say you've been ignoring them."

"I guess I have," said Harry with a sigh. "I just... I just don't know what to say to them. It's not the same."

"It will never be the same," said Tonks. "And that's... well that's just the way it is. Merlin knows I wish things were different. You carry a load you shouldn't have to carry alone. The Prophecy may be about you, but Ron and Hermione -"

"I haven't told them about the Prophecy yet," Harry said quietly. "I haven't told anyone."

"You told me," said Tonks, slightly exasperated.

"Yeah, I know," said Harry. "But you're different."

"How so?"

"You're an Auror and you... well, you listen and stuff."

"Sounds to me like Ron and Hermione would like to listen too. They've stuck with you all along. Are you afraid they'd just run away saying 'Sorry mate, it's just you and Lord Thingy now'?"

"No, that's not it at all," he said, shaking his head. "I'm afraid they'll continue to do what they are doing. I'm afraid they'll continue to get hurt like they did at the Ministry. I'm afraid..." he trailed off, swallowing hard before continuing. "I'm afraid they'll get killed and it will be all my fault, just like it was with Sirius. I'm afraid Voldemort might try to use them to get to me. I don't want to lose them. I don't want to lose anyone else. I don't want to lose you either."

How could he be so effing dense? "First of all, what happened with Sirius wasn't your fault," said Tonks, trying to keep her voice steady. "Second of all, in case you hadn't noticed, we are in the middle of a war. Hermione is a Muggleborn. My dad's a Muggleborn. My mum cut ties to her own very rich, very powerful, very ancient family the first go round at this, before you were even a twinkle in your father's eye. And as much as it is about you, it's not just about you, Harry Potter. Close to four hundred people are running around the countryside under the Imperious curse right now. Did you forget that? Voldemort might have it out for you personally, but you aren't the only one with a dog in this fight. The final showdown may be yours, but the rest of us are in this thing too.

Harry just stared at her in stunned silence.

"And third of all-" Tonks paused to catch her breath. "I'm not yours to lose."