Authors Note: Paragraphs are shorter now people, thanks for the reviews. I decided to go ahead and post the next chapter. Just so you are aware my chapters may vary wildly in length, this one is a good bit shorter than the last.

disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot

And away we go…

Chapter 2

Harry was jolted out of his thoughts by a knock on his compartment door.

He got up to answer the door and saw Nymphadora Tonks standing in the doorway wearing her Hufflepuff robes and perfect badge. Today her hair was an impossible Neon green, which clashed horribly with the yellow in her uniform.

Harry, who was by now used to her odd choices in hair color, said "Hello Dora what's up." Nymphadora, who preferred to be called Tonks, replied "Wother Harry, I thought I told you not to call me that", Harry just smirked and Tonks continued, "I was just checking in to see if you were alright."

Harry rolled his eyes, "I'm fine nymphepoo, aren't you supposed to be patrolling the corridors anyway?" Tonks scowled and punched him in the shoulder. "Well since you are clearly fine I'll talk to you later", with that she stuck out her tongue and left.

Harry stared out the window and returned to his thoughts

Shortly after Madam Pomfrey left Harry and Professor McGonagall headed over to the Tonks' house. After another unpleasant side along apparition Harry found himself standing in front of a house in a muggle neighborhood.

The house had a front garden with several old oak trees in it; clearly yard work was not the family's passion. The house itself was single story with red brick and black shutters.

Harry followed the Professor up to the front door. Shortly after the professor knocked on the door a girl of about sixteen opened the door. She had shockingly pink hair and was wearing a pair of ripped jeans with an old AC/DC shirt on and a pair of pinstripe Chuck Taylor converse.

Upon seeing the professor and Harry she said "Wotcher Professor, oh and you must be Harry, Pleaded to meet ya, I'm Tonks." The professor frowned slightly at the girl's attire and responded, "Nymphadora as I am sure you are aware Harry here will be spending the remainder of the summer with your family while you help him with his metamporphmagis ability; I had hoped to speak briefly with your parents."

Tonks scowled at her professor, "Professor you know I hate that name, and yeah I know that Harry is staying with us, both my parents are at work, you can leave him with me I won't kill the kid." She turned around and went back into the house, as she did she looked over her shoulder and said "are you all coming or not?"

Professor McGonagall sighed and beckoned to Harry to follow her into the house. They joined Tonks in the living room. Once there McGonagall said "Mr. Potter I must be going I assure you that you are in good hands here." She then handed him his ticket for the Express and made her way out the door.

Tonks looked at Harry "come on Harry I'll show you to your room." Harry followed the girl down a hallway and into a bedroom. The walls were a pale yellow and the floor was pine hardwood. In one corner there was a double bed. Below the window there was a desk and just to the right of that a bookshelf, and in the corner opposite the bed there was a wardrobe.

Once Tonks saw that Harry had taken in his surroundings she spoke up "Well it isn't much but it's all yours. I'll start teaching you the basics of being a metamorphmagis tomorrow, until then feel free to relax and make yourself at home." Harry, who up until this point had only had a cupboard as a bedroom was more than pleased, "thanks Tonks I'll get my stuff unpacked, and this room is great." Tonks smiled at him and turned to leave. As she did she told him "my parents will be home for supper and feel free to hang out with me in the living room, I'll be watching TV."

That evening Andromeda and Ted Tonks, who ran their own law practice, arrived home to find their daughter and Harry Potter sprawled on the living room couch watching Television. Andromeda addressed her daughter, "Dora, we are home I see that Harry has arrived." Tonks looked at her mother and turned of the TV, "yeah mum he got here this afternoon, what's for dinner?"

Andromeda sighed; her daughter had a one-track mind. "We thought that since this was Harry's first night here and he just had his birthday we could go out to eat." She turned to Harry, "Hello dear I'm Andromeda and this is my husband Ted." She elbowed her husband in the side, he said, "Hello Harry" and once again fell mute.

Andromeda sighed again, what was she going to do with her family she wondered. "Don't mind him he doesn't talk much when he is hungry." Harry replied "Hello Mrs. Tonks, Mr. Tonks thank you for letting me stay in your home." Andromeda said "Call me Andy dear and it's no problem, we knew your parents and it is rare to find someone with the same ability as our Nymph."

Tonks scowled at her mother, "Mom you know I hate that nickname." Mrs. Tonks just smiled "I know dear, now go get ready we're leaving in fifteen minutes."

Twenty minutes later they all piled into the Tonks' car and headed into London. When Harry asked why they had a car; they explained that though Andromeda was a pureblood Ted was a muggle-born and that their firm dealt in both muggle and magical law. They told him that because of this they were aware of the muggle world and knew how to navigate it.

Shortly there after they arrived at the restaurant. It was an Italian place that specialized in pasta. Harry who had never been allowed to eat out by his relatives loved it; He thought it was the best food he had ever tasted.

They got home late that night and Harry went straight to bed.

The next morning, which was a Saturday, Harry awoke to the smell of food cooking. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and made his way to the kitchen. When he got there he found Andy cooking and Ted and Tonks sitting at the kitchen table looking half asleep.

Andy, who was the only one of the three worth anything before she had her morning tea, smiled at Harry. "Good morning Harry, sleep well?" Harry, whose hair was even wilder than normal in the morning, nodded and joined the other zombies at the kitchen table.

Andromeda just sighed and finished preparing breakfast. An hour later after everyone had eaten and made themselves halfway presentable Harry and Tonks had their first basic lesson.

Tonks started out by showing Harry some of her personal favorite looks, both humorous and ones that she actually kept for a day now and then. Within minutes both of them were roaring with laughter.

It was the most fun Harry ever remembered having. Finally Tonks stopped lowing and wiped away a tear. "Alright Harry let's get serious." She handed him a book on Human anatomy.

"Before I let you try a transformation you to read this book. Messing up the internals of a change can be quite…painful." The book was fairly short and to the point, Harry was finished reading it in a few hours.

He tapped Tonks, who had been working on some of her summer assignments, on the shoulder. "I'm finished with the book Tonks, can we actually do something now?"

Tonks closed her textbook and sat down on the floor with him. "Alright but we'll start small, with changing your eye color." As she said this she cycled though several eye colors including all those that were naturally possible, and several that weren't.

She then told him what he needed to do himself. "The first time is the hardest but after you get the hang of it you will catch on pretty quick. What you need to do is picture how it will look in your mind and then will it to happen, your magic will do the rest." Harry pictured himself with blue eyes and attempted to will them to change.

After several minutes he looked at Tonks and asked if he had succeeded. She said "no not yet but I know you'll get it keep trying." Harry closed his eyes again and several minutes later looked back at Tonks again.

He looked at her expectantly; "Well?" instead of answering she pulled him in front of the mirror and showed him. Staring back at him was a mirror image of himself, only with startling blue eyes. "

Tonks grinned at him "Congratulations you did it she exclaimed." Harry beamed, he was excited that he had done it and pleased that someone was proud of him, whenever he had done better than Dudley his aunt and uncle assumed he had cheated and locked him in his cupboard.

For the rest of the day Harry experimented with changing his eye color, Tonks had been right once he got the hang of it he found it easy.

Before Harry went to bed that night Tonks sat down with him. "Harry I don't want you to attempt to change anything besides your eye color without me there until I tell you, okay. If you are not careful the results could be very painful."

Harry agreed and went to sleep, he was exhausted after changing his eye color constantly throughout the day.

Once again Harry was taken away from his memories, this time by his compartment door opening. A girl with bushy brown hair and large front teeth entered the cabin. "Hello", she said, "my name is Hermione Granger I'm helping a boy look for a toad, have you seen one."

Harry, who was put off by the girl's bossy air replied, "No I haven't seen a toad and if you don't mind I'd appreciate you leaving." The girl huffed and walked out, slamming the door behind her."

Harry rolled his eyes, stood up and locked the compartment door. For a while he amused himself by reading one of his textbooks but eventually he found his thoughts drifting back to his summer…

TO BE CONTINUED…