Chapter 1: A Meeting at the Park
AN: I started this story because I wanted something to take my mind off of my other story, "A Rocky Road." The story is going to be very different but I hope that you enjoy it. Please read and respond. This is the tale of what could have happened in an AU that featured a slightly darker Dursley family and another magical family that lived in Surrey.
AN2: This chapter has been edited
AWitP: A Meeting in the Park
It was a hot July morning that had started out uneventful, as most mornings do on Privet Drive. In a community such as this, where each neighbor sought to outdo the rest, it was assumed that there were secrets. Every resident projected an image of normalcy to their neighbors that allowed them to fit into the imagined utopian community while not divulging any of the secrets that could potentially damage their reputations. Rumors spread like wild fires on Privet Drive and, inside of Number 4 Privet Drive, there was a bigger secret being kept than in any of the other houses on the block.
The Dursley family had been appalled when, on one unremarkable morning, they opened their door to find a small baby with a lightning shaped scar on his forehead wrapped in a blanket and nestled in a basket on their doorstep. Petunia Dursley was shocked to see her name written in a narrow, loopy style of handwriting that she could never forget on an envelope attached to the basket. In order to avoid a scandal, Petunia hurriedly took the baby into her home before slamming the door. After reading the letter, she realized that she had been saddled with a burden that she would loathe carrying. However, with considerable spin Petunia Dursley was able to portray herself and her husband, Vernon, as two altruistic benefactors who simply wished to help the orphaned son of her drunken sister.
The Dursley family put a roof over Harry's head, gave him his own room with a warm bed to sleep in, and fed him. In their eyes, the boy was extremely ungrateful for all that they provided him with. In reality, they did provide him with all of the things that they boasted about to their neighbors. However, his room was a closet underneath the stairs, his bed was a raggedy mattress that had belonged to his cousin Dudley Dursley's trundle bed, before the petulant child lost control of his weak bladder and soiled the mattress so thoroughly that even after multiple washes it still reeked of ammonia, and his meals were little more than the table scraps that his uncle and his cousin could not bring themselves to eat.
Needless to say, Harry did not have a happy life. He was essentially the Dursley family's servant and they took every opportunity to remind him of the fact. When the Dursleys went on their lavish excursions to reward their son Dudley, Harry was usually left with their neighbor, Arabella Figg. However, she had been unable to allow Harry to visit with her when the Dursleys planned a trip to celebrate Dudley learning to ride his bicycle because of prior engagements that she refused to elaborate on. So Harry found himself alone at the Dursley house under the explicit instruction to not touch anything unless he wanted to receive the beating of a lifetime.
The first time that Harry had been in a similar situation he had taken the initiative to make himself a sandwich because, after being left alone with no food for ten hours, he was hungry. When the Dursleys returned and they found that they were short two slices of bread, Vernon Dursley, Harry's morbidly obese walrus of an uncle, had beat the young boy within two inches of his life. After that incident Harry spent three days locked in his closet as his body did things that he knew shouldn't be possible. Somehow is broken ribs healed themselves and the bruises that Vernon's large, thick hands had left upon his throat and wrists had vanished.
When the door was finally unlocked and he was released from the cabinet Petunia Dursley, his giraffe of an aunt who firmly believed that neither her husband nor son could do any wrong, breathed an audible sigh of relief. She had noticed that Harry had been uncharacteristically quiet for the last few days and sincerely hoped that the boy wasn't dead. Her hope wasn't because she had any love for the spawn of her sister and her 'Freaky' husband but because she didn't want to be wrapped up in the scandal that would occur if the boy, who had been seen coming and going from the house on occasion by the neighbors, suddenly disappeared with no explanation.
Harry was going on six years old but, only standing three feet tall, he was much shorter than a boy his age was expected to be. The scraps that he gleaned from the Dursleys were not enough to sustain normal developmental patterns. His raven-black hair looked like it hadn't been combed or cared for in his life and his emerald-green eyes lacked the spark that would be expected in the eyes of a healthy person. The Dursleys did not allow him to wash his own clothes when he washed theirs because they didn't want their clothes to be contaminated by his "Freakiness" and wouldn't allow him to waste their water or detergent by washing his clothes separately because of this he was continually filthy; this only offended the Dursleys more.
Harry didn't know much about what was beyond the Dursley's front door but he had a feeling that it couldn't be much worse than what he had been forced to endure over the past five years under their care. He had made the decision; he would run away and find a place for himself in the world. Before he left, Harry caused as much destruction as he could before he smeared ketchup on the wall of his cupboard. Hopefully they would think that someone broke in and abducted him otherwise, if they found him, the punishment would be severe and most likely fatal. Harry didn't pause to take one last look at the Dursley residence, he adjusted Dudley's backpack, filled with the money that he had found in his aunt and uncle's room and selected foods from the fridge and cabinet, before walking away from the house.
Harry walked as far and as fast as his small legs could carry him; unfortunately his underdeveloped muscles tired quickly and he was forced to seek shelter in one of the covered plastic tubes that connected the various sections of the Jungle Gym at the local park. He made himself a sandwich to battle his fatigue. Although he wanted to get as far away from the Dursleys as possible, he knew that he had a better chance to survive the night if he had shelter in addition to the blanket that he had packed. The summer air was still warm, but autumn would be coming soon. Harry decided to wait out the midday heat in the slide.
Harry's first time at the park had been wrought with worry as he kept imagining the Dursleys finding him and invading his new found safe haven to take him home and punish him. Harry was just a child and he was very scared. After the first hour that Harry spent near the entrance to the slide he was not interrupted by anyone; he relished his freedom and was optimistic of what the future could have in store for him. During the second hour, as Harry was preparing to depart from his hiding spot, he heard a man and a woman speaking while a child whined in the background. Harry's blood ran cold when he realized that his fear had just been realized; the Dursleys had inadvertently stumbled upon the runaway.
Harry did not know whether or not the family had been home since he had fled from their house but could not shake the feeling that if they found them he would be subjected to punishment that was more severe than anything that he had experienced so far in his short life. With every fiber of his being, he hoped that he would not be found. An overwhelming fear paralyzed young Harry. The boy wanted to run as far away from his abusive relatives as possible but his legs refused to obey. Harry had backed into a corner and pulled his legs to his chest as he attempted to make himself as inconspicuous as possible. From his seated position, he felt the Jungle Gym shake as the hefty child jumped on and began rumbling toward the slide. Harry was rocking in fear as he repeatedly wished that his relatives would not find him. As the sound of the other child's footsteps grew closer, Harry became desperate and if anyone was close enough they would have seen his eyes flash an iridescent green before his the top of his head disappeared, followed by his face, then his shoulders, next his torso, then his legs, and finally his feet.
Harry had stopped moving and was holding his breath as the child, his overweight cousin Dudley, barreled past him without sparing a second glance while rushing to the slide. Harry was flabbergasted, his cousin never passed up a chance to antagonize him or get him in trouble. It was as if the other boy heard Harry's thoughts as he jumped back on the Jungle Gym and raced back to Harry's position. Harry thought that, surely, the moment of reckoning had come and his presence was going to be revealed to his Aunt and Uncle. Curiously, Dudley never breathed a word of Harry's presence on the slide to his parents. However, after his fifth time down the slide the boy exclaimed that he wanted to go home to make sure that the 'Freak' had not broken any of his toys.
Much to Harry's relief, Petunia and Vernon Dursley agreed with their son before complimenting each other on how noble they had been in adopting and caring for the miscreant. The affection that they were showing one another turned into malice as they considered how they would punish the Freak if he had dared to break any of their rules. The family made their way over to their car and drove away leaving an extremely confused Harry in their wake. He had squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated with all his might each time he heard Dudley approached his hiding place, in the hope that he would remain undiscovered.
Harry was not so naïve that he believed that by closing his eyes he would be able to effectively hide himself from his relatives but after Dudley hadn't seen him, either the first or any of the subsequent times that he rushed past Harry, Harry did not want to tempt fate by changing something that seemed to work and squeezed his eyes shut each time the overweight boy rumbled past. Each time he closed his eyes and focused his entire being on remaining undiscovered his body would vanish from his head to his toes and each time he did so the process took slightly less time to occur. It was only when Harry heard three car doors slam and the engine start that he dared to open his eyes. Harry's fear was shortly replaced by exhilaration and wonder; the Dursleys had been in the park and they had not noticed him and forced him to return with them to be punished.
Now that Harry had truly escaped the Dursleys he was faced with a dilemma. As a six year old who had never been allowed to make friends the young boy had nowhere to go. He had seen more of the world since he left the Dursley home that day than he had in the previous six years of his life combined. Harry was trying to figure out what his next course of action should be when he heard the unmistakable sound of a car pulling up followed by doors slamming; Harry was unsure, but he believed that he heard three doors slam. His anxiety slammed into him like a runaway train. Harry could only imagine how his relatives had reacted when they saw the state of their house and now they had come back for him. Harry could not stop shaking as he imagined the pain that lay ahead of him. It took all of his will power not to cry out when he heard the sound of feet pounding on the surface of the Jungle Gym.
Harry closed his eyes and once again focused on not being found. The source of the noise was getting closer to Harry and he redoubled his efforts hoping that he would not be discovered. The feet's pounding came to a halt in front of Harry and he was surprised to hear a soft feminine voice say "hmm." Harry knew immediately that the voice did not belong to his cousin and let go of the breath and sighed in relief while opening his eyes. Unbeknownst to Harry, by doing these things he also stopped focusing on his desire to remain hidden and became visible to the girl who had stopped right in front of him. She yelped in surprise when Harry appeared.
"That's so wicked! What's your name? I've never met anyone my age that could turn invisible!"
"I'm Harry, Harry Potter," replied Harry before he processed that she had just said that he had been invisible. "Did you just say that I was invisible?"
"Didn't you know? All of the adults that I've talked to about disillusionment charms have told me that no matter how well the spell is cast the caster will always become slightly exposed when they move," answered the girl, clearly delighted by his ability. "Hold on, did you just say that your name was Harry Potter? Is it true, do you really have a lightning shaped scar on your forehead?"
Somehow, the girl seemed to know about him. Harry brushed his hair off of his forehead before confirming that he was, indeed, Harry Potter.
"No way, you have to come meet my parents!" the girl exclaimed as she grabbed his hand and began to drag him to the slide. "This is so cool! Here, I'll sit down first then you put your legs on either side of me and we'll go down together. It's faster this way and way more fun! Actually, since I'm a little bigger than you, you sit down first and I'll ride behind you!" The girl maneuvered herself behind Harry and was surprised by just how light the boy was.
"You're so little, how old are you?" asked the girl with a puzzled look on her face.
"I'm six," Harry responded timidly.
"I'm six too! No offense, but I thought that you were younger because you're so little. Oh well, time to slide!" the young girl declared while beaming at Harry.
An apprehensive look appeared on Harry's face as he looked down the slide and realized how high they were off the ground. The girl saw this and assured him that everything would be fine. Harry looked at the girl. She was taller and bigger than he was and would be considered average for her age she had a bright smile, shoulder-length, brunette hair that Harry would have sworn was several shades darker when he first saw her, and blue eyes that implicitly told Harry that he could trust the girl.
Harry sat down on the slide and felt the girl put her legs on either side of him before pushing them off and wrapping her arms around his midsection. Harry flinched because of the unexpected contact but was exhilarated as they sped down the slide. When the pair reached the bottom Harry could not stop smiling; sliding down the slide with his new friend was the first memory of his life to that point that hadn't been marred by any negative emotions. While Harry was reliving the memory the girl got up from behind him and pulled him by the hand toward the adults that were chatting on a bench near the Jungle Gym.
"Mother, Father, you will never guess who I met on the Jungle Gym. This is Harry Potter! He's so cool and, guess what, he can make himself invisible! Harry show them how you made yourself invisible earlier!" prompted the girl. Harry was reluctant to do so but when he looked into the girls eyes he felt confident that he could trust her. Even though Harry wasn't completely sure how he managed to make himself invisible he assumed that it had something to do with how strongly he wished to go unnoticed by his cousin and his relatives. So he closed his eyes and repeatedly wished that they wouldn't be able to see him. After several painstakingly long seconds Harry was beginning to feel a little silly and began to imagine how he must look standing there holding his breath with his eyes closed. Thus Harry was surprised when he heard the adults gasp. Immediately he opened his eyes and stopped focusing on his desire to be unnoticed. "See, I told you! Isn't it awesome?" squealed the girl in apparent delight.
"That is very impressive indeed, but you will need to calm down; your hair is starting to turn pink again, Nymphadora," chided the girl's mother. Harry looked and to his surprise, the girl's hair was, in fact, beginning to take on a pinkish hue.
Harry could not help but stare in awe before he began to share in her excitement and shouted "That's wicked!"
"Yeah, you aren't the only one who can do cool things with your magic," Nymphadora replied, smiling at Harry. "We are going to have so much fun together!"
Nymphadora's parents got off the bench and kneeled down so that they were face to face with the children. Harry saw that Nymphadora's mother looked very similar to how Nymphadora looked before her hair started to change colors. She was a taller woman with an exceptionally beautiful face and an extremely curvy body. She looked like one of the women from the magazines that Harry's uncle would sometimes leave under the sink in the bathroom. Her husband was only slightly taller than she was, standing five feet, eleven inches. He was an unremarkable man with an athletic build and a generous expression on his face. It was clear that he enjoyed helping people and would be extremely dedicated to any cause that he supported.
Nymphadora's mother spoke again, "Hello Harry, my name is Andromeda Tonks and this is my husband, Ted Tonks. Tell me, why are you here all by yourself."
Harry was worried that the woman would make him return to the Dursleys but she shared the same eyes that made him trust Nymphadora so he spoke honestly, "I ran away, I couldn't live with my Aunt and Uncle anymore. They are terrible people and never wanted me." Harry shuddered involuntarily when he added the last part.
"Harry, I'm sure that's not true. They must be worried sick about you," admonished Andromeda.
Harry scoffed at her assumption. "I don't think so. They never wanted to have a 'Freak' like me in their house and reminded me almost every day."
Ted Tonks had been silent to this point but had to speak when he heard Harry's declaration. "Harry, what makes you think that they thought of you that way. Did they do or say anything in particular? Did they ever hit you or abuse you physically?"
Harry retreated into himself as he thought of all of the terrible things that the Dursleys had done to him and all of the names that he had been called. His eyes became watery but he wouldn't allow himself to cry in front of these people. Instead of answering vocally and risk losing control of his emotions, Harry merely nodded.
"I see, I won't press you for details now Harry but eventually you are going to have to tell me what they said and did to you so that we can begin to make things right. Until then, you can come and stay with us. Would you like that, Harry?" Ted asked, presenting the option to the young boy.
Once again, Harry didn't trust himself to answer so he just nodded his head. This caused Nymphadora to squeal with joy and rush over to Harry and wrap her arms around him as her hair rapidly changed color alternating between pink, red, and purple. Harry didn't know how to respond so he wrapped his arms around her as well and her hair settled on a mix of the three colors. "This is going to be so much fun!"
Once Harry and the Tonks family had all made it to the car and were buckled up Harry had found his voice once again and asked a question that had been formulating since Nymphadora had introduced him to her parents. "Excuse me, Nymphadora had said that what we were doing was magic. How can that be? There is no such thing as magic."
"Harry, what are you saying?" asked a perplexed Andromeda. "Surely your Aunt and Uncle told you that your parents were a witch and a wizard. Those two were one of the most formidable pairs that I have ever seen. Your mom was as exceptional with charms as your dad was with Transfiguration."
"I was told that they were drunks who were killed in a car crash because they didn't know when to stop," admitted Harry sheepishly.
Ted Tonks let out a hearty chuckle when Harry said what he had been told about his parents. He glanced back at Harry and saw the red faced boy's eyes begin to water again. "I'm sorry; I was not laughing at your parents Harry. I was laughing because that is preposterous. Your Aunt and Uncle deceived you; although your parents, like everyone else, had their issues they never would have gotten behind the wheel of a car and knowingly put their lives or anyone else's life at risk if they had been drinking. In fact, I can't recall a time when I ever saw either of them have more than two drinks in the same night. The pair loved each other dearly and didn't want to pollute their love or relationship with anything, especially something as mundane as alcohol."
Harry returned to his normal color as he listened to Mr. Tonks talk about his parents. What he heard was so different from what the Dursleys had told him that he almost couldn't believe that it was true. He hadn't realized it but he had been holding his breath in an attempt to take in all that Ted had been saying, "Please, can you tell me more about my parents?"
It was Mrs. Tonks who answered Harry. "You are like a mini version of James. You even carry yourself in the same manner. I was a sixth year when he first arrived at Hogwarts and he was a little shrimp. He befriended my cousin, Sirius Black, and the two along with their friends Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, were the source of many pranks that are now the stuff of legends at Hogwarts. Your mother was much more reserved than James when it came to pranking; your father and his friends had many people who wanted to succeed in playing a prank on the group but only one ever succeeded. I always said that little Lily Evans would have made a great Slytherin and her cunning proved it when as a second year she managed to give Transfigure your father's hair into a pink afro. He was stuck with that ridiculous hair for a week and definitely learned his lesson about crossing your mother."
Mr. Tonks laughed again at the memory. "I was in the year below Andromeda and got to witness as the Marauders, as they began calling themselves, came into their own as third years. The group was very innovative and, because of that, was able to prank in ways that never had been seen before."
"That's wicked. Pranks sound like they can be fun but can you tell me more about who they were?" asked Harry, desperate for knowledge of his parents.
Andromeda nodded, impressed that the boy was not over-awed by the fact that his father was a prankster. "Your mother was a very kind woman who used her talents to help people. She was a healer that people referred to as the Red Angel because of her red hair and angelic beauty. She was a queen of multitasking but somehow never was overwhelmed by all that she was made to juggle. When the war started she was able to save many lives. You have her eyes."
Harry nodded his head, captivated by Mrs. Tonks' description of his mother. She looked back at him and saw the expression and decided to continue. "Your father was one of the leaders of the Light side in the war against the Dark Lord. He was a master duelist and was able to turn the tide of battle against the Dark side. Your Parents, along with the Longbottoms, the Bones, the Diggorys, Sirius Black, and Albus Dumbledore were considered to be the most powerful witches and wizards who stood against the Dark Lord. Your parents and the Longbottoms, in particular, were able to accomplish something that no one else, other than Albus Dumbledore was able to do; they were able to face the Dark Lord three times and battle to a stalemate."
"Wow," Harry breathed. He had images flashing through his head of the kind of people Mrs. Tonks was making his parents out to be. "So what happened to them? You said that they didn't die in a car crash."
Mrs. Tonks took a deep, measured breath before she began to answer the question. "Harry, your parents were killed by the Dark Lord. For reasons that no one knows, the Dark Lord had marked your parents for death. Your mother had just given birth to you when Dumbledore came to them and told them that it was imperative that they go into hiding if they wished to save you. He cast a powerful charm of protection known as the Fidelius to keep your parents safe. When something is protected by the Fidelius charm only the Secret Keeper can give the location of the protected object away; unfortunately, your parents were betrayed by their secret keeper and the Dark Lord was able to catch them off guard. He broke into the Potter Cottage in Godric's Hollow and killed your parents before he finally attempted to kill you. He attempted to use the killing curse, a curse that no one had ever survived, but, miraculously, you survived and he was destroyed by his own spell. That is where your scar came from. That is why you are known to almost everyone in the magical world."
Harry's mind was reeling due to all of the information that he had just received. Contrary to what the Dursleys had tried to convince Harry to believe, magic existed. His mother and father were not worthless drunks but, instead, a respected witch and wizard. They fought in a war against a Dark Lord and were able to save many lives and help many people. His family had powerful allies and was considered a force to be reckoned with in the magical world. His parents were not killed in a car accident but because they were betrayed by someone they trusted. He was the reason that the Dark Lord was no longer running around and killing people.
Nymphadora was also reeling; she had, of course, known that Harry was the boy-who-lived but she had never heard the story in such detail before. She couldn't believe her luck. Her parents had been reluctant to let her go to the park after they heard news reports of people being attacked in Surrey. However, Nymphadora had been compelled to go to the park and convinced her reluctant parents to take her despite their protests. After she heard her parents speaking to Harry she was sure that she had been destined to cross paths with Harry Potter. He was completely alone in the world and circumstances had allowed Nymphadora and her family to save him from a life on the streets.
Harry seemed very hesitant to ask his next question. "S-so what happens next? I can't return to my Aunt and Uncle's house; they'll kill me for running away."
Mr. Tonks sighed before answering Harry. "Well, how about you tell me about what life was like with them and from there I will be able to tell you exactly what we will be able to do for you."
"I thought that Freak was my name until last year when I started first grade. When they would leave me home alone I wasn't allowed to touch anything. The one time that I did I was beaten as a punishment and locked in my closet for three days before my Aunt finally let me out. They make me do the household chores to earn my keep but don't allow me to wash my clothes because they don't want to be infected by my 'Freakiness'" Harry said earnestly before continuing. "When I tried to wash my clothes separately they beat me and didn't feed me for three days to make up for the money that I wasted by using their electricity, water, and detergent. They barely feed me and when they do it is never enough, I'm constantly hungry but can't do anything about it."
Mrs. Tonks and Nymphadora were appalled at the living conditions that Harry described. Nymphadora's hair turned Scarlet as she voiced her opinion. "That's not right! No one should be treated like that, especially not Harry! How can they get away with such a thing? Mother, Father we have to help him!"
Andromeda caught her husband's attention and nodded in agreement with her daughter's words. Ted Tonks took a minute to compose himself before speaking. "Harry, all of what you just described could be considered child abuse. Tomorrow I will pay your relatives a visit and we will get everything straightened out. I daresay that they will agree that it is in everyone's best interest to let you stay with us."
Harry beamed at the possibility of never having to return to the Dursley house again. This was turning better than he had even dared to imagine. The rest of the ride passed in silence as everyone thought over what they had just learned. When they arrived at the Tonks' residence Harry was very impressed. Although the house was not the biggest on the block it was spectacularly well maintained. The long driveway led past a small fountain to the side of the house. From there Harry could see that the backyard had been fenced in and that once he got out of the car he would have sworn that he heard the sound of falling water.
He would definitely be interested to see more of the place and Nymphadora was happy to be his tour guide. She took him through the foyer where they took off their shoes, into the main hall. As they walked into the hall they passed the kitchen on their right which was connected to the informal dining room. Just beyond the informal dining room was the formal dining room. Across from the informal dining room were two doors. One door opened up to a pantry and the other opened into a bathroom. Just past the bathroom was a stairway that led upstairs, Nymphadora walked past that one stating that they would use the other set of stairs once they finished the tour of the ground floor. They continued through the sitting room and passed the door to the basement before they made their way upstairs so that Nymphadora could show Harry the bedrooms. The master bedroom was like nothing Harry had ever seen, it was majestic in a way that made him wonder if he was dreaming; Nymphadora pinched him to assure him that he was not. The other two Bedrooms were also grand but not quite as spectacular as the master bedroom; they were connected via the bathroom that they shared.
Harry was flabbergasted by what he had seen of the property so far and was having trouble figuring out how the house could appear so small on the outside but be so grand on the inside. When he asked Nymphadora the reply was simple: magic. Magic also allowed the backyard to be so spectacular. Harry had been correct when he thought he heard running water. The Tonks family had a hot tub nestled in a rocky cove that overflowed into a pool that was surrounded by a deck. On the far side of the yard, where the children would not be tempted to use it to jump into the pool was the trampoline. And along the fence were a series of benches and swings that could be used for private conversations. At the far end of the property was a garden that was filled with some of the liveliest and strangest fruits and vegetables that Harry had ever seen. The stone paths that led from one area of the backyard to the next were lined with torches that would magically light at night and allow one to easily find their way to their destination simply by speaking its name.
Harry almost didn't want to go back inside but Nymphadora assured him that he would want to see the basement. She had not been mistaken. Although Harry could not identify the majority of the objects in the basement's main room it was obviously meant for training purposed. There was a raised pavilion in the center and practice dummies lined the far wall. Harry assumed that eventually it would become a haven for him. Taking her companion's hand, Nymphadora led Harry into the other main room of the basement only briefly stopping to point out where the bathroom was located. Harry's mouth dropped. The last room of the house was a library. He knew that he shouldn't be surprised but he couldn't help himself. The Dursleys never did anything to encourage Harry to read, they couldn't stand the thought of him being better at anything than their son. Harry vowed to return to the library soon and begin to develop his knowledge so that he could make an impact on the world.
After the events of the day Harry was exhausted. The Tonks parents chided Nymphadora for taking so long showing Harry around but were pleased that he approved of the house. They took down Harry's relative's information before they sent Nymphadora and Harry to her bedroom and the guest bedroom respectively to go to bed. Ted and Andromeda agreed that Harry should stay with them until he came of age. Fate had been cruel to the boy he had lost his parents and been condemned to years of misery and suffering at the hands of his relatives on the same night. The Tonks parents also believed that it was destiny that had brought Harry into their lives and they intended to do all they could to make sure that they boy would grow into a happy and healthy young man. Before they went to bed the couple swore that they would free Harry from the relatives that had abused him and give him the life that he deserved.
The next day the Tonks parents woke up very early and went to the Dursley household. They caught Vernon before he left to go to work for the day and gave him two options: either sign over the custody of Harry to them or be taken to court and publicly humiliated for all of the child abuse that Harry had suffered at their hands. Unsurprisingly, the Dursleys decided that it was in their best interest to sign over guardianship of the whelp to the pair that had arrived on their door step. After all, they had never wanted the boy and were glad to be rid of him.
Harry had been woken up by Nymphadora jumping on the guest bed. Nymphadora had been decided that since she was awake Harry should wake up so that she would have someone to practice her powers with. Harry was rather slow to get up until he was hit in the face with a pillow. The resulting chase around the house was exactly what Nymphadora wanted to start the day. Eventually the pair made their way out to the trampoline and started talking about their powers.
"So Harry, how were you able to disillusion yourself? Have you ever done anything like that before?"
"No that was my first time, I just wished with every ounce of my will that my relatives wouldn't be able to see me and it sort of just happened," answered Harry. "How does it feel when you use your power? It's pretty cool that you can change your hair color whenever you want to."
"Mother says that it is a sign that I'm a metamorphmagus and that I should be able to change any part of my body at will, not just my hair color."
"That is so cool," exclaimed Harry. "So, how does it feel when you change?"
"The process that you used to become invisible was almost exactly what I do to change. First I focus on my hair then I will it to turn whatever color I want. Watch, I'll turn it yellow," said Nymphadora as her face set in concentration. In seconds her dark brown hair had turned yellow just as she said it would. "I wonder… Harry, use the same thought process that you used to become invisible but focus on turning your hair green."
Harry concentrated on his hair and willed it to turn green. He felt like the process was painstakingly slow but eventually he felt something stirring within him and he felt as if a breeze had just blown through his hair although the air was still.
Nymphadora gasped when she saw Harry's hair shift from raven-black to a forest-green. She had been impressed by his ability to become invisible and was amazed to think that she may have inadvertently stumbled upon one of the few other metamorphmagi in the British Isles. When she had begun to show her metamorphmagus ability her mother had told her that the gift was exceptionally rare and that she was unlikely to ever come across another individual who shared her talent. When her parents returned they would be in for a huge shock. "Harry! I think you're a metamorphmagus also! We should play a little prank on my parents before they find out. Turn your hair back to its regular shade and look at me. We are going to memorize each other's faces and bodies then change ourselves so that I look like you and you look like me then we'll right ourselves when they get back. They will be so confused when I'm sitting there in your clothes and you are sitting there in mine when they turn their backs and we change back into our normal forms!"
Harry did what the young witch proposed and found that the force within him that allowed him to change the color of his hair and to turn invisible was much easier to locate than it had been the previous times he had accessed it. He turned to face Nymphadora and memorized every aspect of her body that he could see to the best of his ability while she did the same. After a few minutes they agreed that they were ready to give it a try. At first they both failed, they tried to shift their entire bodies to resemble the other person and became two children that probably would have been a good approximation of what their children, if they ever became involved in a relationship like that, would probably look like. However, that was not what the pair was aiming for so once again, they reverted to their original forms.
Harry thought about what went wrong and realized that they may have just tried to do too much at once and suggested that they only try to change one thing at a time and see if that would work better. To their delight, Harry's suggestion worked perfectly and after several minutes any on looker would have assumed that the two children had simply switched clothes. While Harry and Nymphadora were figuring out how to change their bodies to appear to be the other person the Tonks parents had returned home and were searching for the children to tell them the good news. Right as Harry and Nymphadora had succeeded in their endeavor they were approached by the Tonks parents who were looking at the children very oddly.
Andromeda was the first to break the silence. "Nymphadora, Harry, while we are happy that you two are getting along we must insist that you stay in your own clothes."
Harry and Nymphadora started laughing at Andromeda's order. They looked at each other and nodded before they resumed their original forms. To say that the Tonks parents were shocked was an understatement. Mr. Tonks regained his composure first. "Congratulations Harry for discovering that you possess such a unique gift. It has been a very long time since there were two metamorphmagi in such close proximity; if you two stick together then you will surely become an excellent team. I encourage you to make use of the library in the basement to expand you knowledge to become the best wizard that you can be."
Harry smiled at the prospect of being able to use the Tonks library until he realized that there was a pressing issue. "Thank you, Mr Tonks, but what about my relatives? Do I have to go back?"
The Tonks parents gazed warmly at Harry for a few moments before shaking their heads. "No Harry, if you want you will be able to stay with us until you come of age as a wizard. You can take lessons with Nymphadora and, when the time comes, the two of you will go to Hogwarts and get your magical education. How does that sound?" asked Mrs. Tonks.
Harry appeared to be on the verge of tears after her declaration. He vigorously shook his head and was surprised when Andromeda stepped up to him and gave him a hug. "The first thing we will need to do is get you new clothes, you aren't a second-class citizen in our family; what's ours is yours. Since Ted and I have the day off work we decided that we would go to the mall to get you your new wardrobe and introduce you to some of the things that we like to do as a family."
Harry was excited at the prospect of having a family and once again was nodding his head vigorously. Very soon after that the four were back in the car and on the way to the nearest shopping mall. When they got there they found shopping for Harry to be ridiculously easy since he didn't have particularly strong preferences when it came to clothing. So in a matter of hours they managed to obtain a sizable amount of clothes that could be magically altered to adjust to a growing boy. Andromeda had made Harry change into one of his new outfits in the store and threw his old clothes in the trash after they had paid for their purchases. Harry felt more comfortable than he ever had before when dressed in clothes and shoes that actually fit him.
When the family arrived at the mall's pizzeria Harry found the aroma tantalizing. The Dursleys had, on occasion, ordered pizza but when they did Vernon and Dudley made sure that no pizza was left over for the 'Freak.' Knowing that he was with people who wanted him to be there and was sharing a pizza with them made the pizza taste that much better to Harry. The boy had greatly enjoyed the time that he spent with the Tonks family at the mall and was very content by the time they made it back to the Tonks', and his, house. He repeatedly thanked Mr. and Mrs. Tonks for all that they had done for him but was shushed as they reminded him that he was now an honorary Tonks and that what was theirs was now his also.
After the long day, the Tonks familt and Harry bade each other good night before retiring to their rooms. Before he fell asleep he saw his door open and saw Nymphadora enter his room and approach his bed. "Harry, I just wanted to say that I'm glad that we found you in that park. A lot may change over the years but that is something that never will. We are going to have so much fun together! But you are going to have to try very hard if you want to keep up with me, I'm going to be a first-class Auror one day!"
"I will always do my best so that I don't let you or your family down," answered Harry. "But if you think you're going to be better than me then you must be dreaming!"
The pair burst into giggles at Harry's declaration. "I'm going to hold you to that, Harry Potter. When we get to Hogwarts we will be a force to be reckoned with! I can hardly wait for the next five years to pass!"
"I agree, but I look forward to learning more about magic. We have an amazing power right now and it would be interesting to learn what else we can do with magic."
"Wotcher there, Harry. With an attitude like that you may become a Ravenclaw!"
"I'm just so excited by all of this. Yesterday I didn't even know that magic existed and today I find that I'm a wizard. It's a lot to take in," joked Harry.
"It is, I'm glad that we found you," Nymphadora repeated as she gave him a hug before leaving the room. Harry just smiled as he contemplated the future; his future looked very bright, indeed.