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Harry Potter and the Truth of Prophesy

Chapter 3: The Secrets of Dumbledore, and a Bodyguard for Harry?

June 22nd, 1996, Hogwarts Hospital Wing

9:00AM

Harry awoke to the sound of soft hooting, and as his consciousness returned he noticed that his right hand felt pleasantly warm. As his eyes opened, the warmth left, but he could see pink hair swimming in his vision. "Wotcher, Tonks. Hi Hedwig." His brow creased in confusion. "Where am I?"

Tonks Smiled. "Wotcher yourself. And stop stealing my greeting you bugger." Tonks took a breath, and sighed. "Your in the hospital wing in uncle roughed you up pretty good. Poppy said that you broke 7 ribs, at least 3 days ago." At this Tonks dropped her head into her hands. "I wish I had checked on you sooner."

Harry frowned. "Don't blame yourself Tonks."

Tonks shook her head. "No, it is my fault Harry. It was my idea to try to put the fear in your uncle, and I had the day watch at your house for 3 days, and didn't even check on you once. If I hadn't provoked that fat ass wanker, you wouldn't be hurt." She grabbed the bridge of her nose.

"Do I have to go back to the Dursley's?"

Tonks looked up at Harry with a ghost of a smile. At that, Harry lunged out of the bed and grabbed Tonks in a fierce hug. "Then you did brilliant." He whispered in her ear.

Tonks fought a blush with her metamorph powers, and her smile reached her eyes. "Thanks, Harry."

"Ahem. I see that young Harry has awoken." Tonks Jumped at the sound of Dumbledore's voice, but Harry just let go of Tonks and narrowed his eyes at him.

The twinkle left Dumbledore's eyes in an instant. The man seemed to age years in a moment, and his shoulders sagged. With a flourish of his wand, Dumbledore conjured a comfy chintz chair, and promptly sat in it. "I cannot begin to apologize for my mistakes these last years. So, I have decided to place you with a bodyguard."

"What!" Harry stands up, ready to give Dumbledore the beating of his life. Dumbledore just chuckles.

"You misunderstand, Harry. Your bodyguard shall be just that. A bodyguard. They will not be there to monitor you, restrict you, and I will not even be receiving reports from the bodyguard. The reason for the bodyguard is simple. You must be protected, but we honestly have no safe location to place you."

Harry gets a look of confusion on his face. "But Headmaster, what about headquarters, the burrow, even here," At that, Harry waves his arm in a sweeping gesture, "Hogwarts?"

"Well, I shall address your question in order. No one will be at headquarters until the first of August, The Weaslys will be in Romania until the 28th of August, and only Severus and myself shall be here, at Hogwarts, after next week."

"But you said Hogwarts is the safest place in the world?" This came from Tonks.

Dumbledore looked at Tonks with a renewed twinkle. "Tell me, Nymphadora, do you have any accrued leave from the DMLE?" Tonks Blinked.

"Nearly 2 months. Haven't taken a single leave or sick day in 2 years. Why?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Then perhaps you would like to be young Harry's bodyguard?"

Tonks hid her excitement with a little difficulty, and simply nodded.

"Thats settled then. Now, where to house Harry? I Think that, with a bodyguard to be there with you, headquarters may be an option, however, the ownership of the house has yet to be determined." Dumbledore looks pointedly at Tonks. "Do you have room in your place of residence?"

Tonks just blinks. "I guess. I can hold him up for a few days at least." In her head, Tonks was doing a little dance. 'I finally get to spend some time with Harry! I wonder how much of what I've heard about him from Sirius is true?'

"Very well then. Poppy has said that Harry is to be released as soon as he awakens, seeing as how she had other matters to attend to." Dumbledore pulls out a large bit of lint from his robe pocket, and taps it with his wand. "Portus." The lint glows blue for a moment.

Harry suppresses a laugh. "Why didn't you just use you lemon drop?" At that Harry broke out laughing.

Dumbledore became confused for a moment. As he sat, stroking his beard in consternation, he finally remembered that he had been sucking on a lemon drop when his hand stuck to the confection stuck in his beard. "Ah, so thats where that went." With a swift yank, and a quick Scourgify, Dumbledore popped the candy back in his mouth. "Thank you Harry, I was looking for that." The twinkle in his eye was like a small sun.

Tonks snorted and fell off her chair and yelled, "GROSS!"

Harry cracked up laughing. "You are seriously bent in the head, you bloody old codger!"

Dumbledore pointedly ignored Harry's outburst and handed the portkey pocket lint to Tonks. "The activation password is Sherbert Lemon. I shall send Dobby to collect Harry's things from his... former residence." This last was said with a scowl that seemed very out of place on the normally jovial headmaster's face.

"OK! Lets go, Harry!" At that Harry extended his arm for Hedwig, and placed his finger on the lint in Tonks hand, mumbling just before Tonks uttered the password, "I HATE portkeys..." and they were gone.

Dumbledore let out a sigh.

"You didn't tell them, Albus. You know Harry will be angry with you." Dumbledore turned around in his chintz chair, to come face to face with the stern continence of Minerva Mcgonigal removing an invisibility cloak.

"This is one instance that I honestly think that Harry will thank me for, Minnie."

Mcgonigal's Lips thinned to a line. "You may be right, but he will be no less angry with the principle of the thing."

"And all I can do his hope for forgiveness. My first instinct was to not give him a choice, but..." Dumbledore rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"But you have never given him a choice, and it has cost him his family, and you his trust and respect. I just hope it all works out."

"As do I Minerva, as do I."

A/N

The plot thickens! What new secrets are Dumbles keeping from young Harrikins and Tonksy today? Will he ever not keep secrets? Of course not. He's Dumbledore!

Please R&R. Or I shall devour your soul. I need a new one, afterall.