Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all non-OC's are not mine, but the plot and all OC's are. Thanks for listening.

A/N: There's no action in this chapter, but everything here is important so I hope you'll enjoy it.

Harry Potter and the Grim Decision
Chapter 4: Discoveries and Plots
By: Nanio-713

In southern Britain there is a small castle: it is untraceable, unplottable, and completely unnoticed by Muggles and Wizards. Rumors of its existence have been lost in the sands of time, and now only two people know of its location. However, that doesn't mean that there aren't others that travel through the castle as well.

Wormtail traveled through the large entranceway and up the first staircase he saw. He hated the fact that he, like so many other Death Eaters, needed Voldemort's special portkey to arrive here. He felt that he could be trusted with such information seeing as he could never go back to the Wizarding World if Voldemort didn't succeed. But, as it was not his place to judge the Dark Lord's decision, he kept his mouth shut.

Wormtail walked through several corridors and through a small sitting room to finally arrive in a large chamber. This chamber was almost completely empty save for three objects and three living creatures; there were two chairs as large as thrones, with a smooth pattern of snakes designing the back, arms, and legs. In front of the thrones was a large round table where an impressively massive snake lay coiled, its head raised and its fangs bared to strike at Wormtail. Standing in front of the throne-like chair was a woman, who was considered a magnificent beauty by all of the Death Eaters, Bellatrix Lestrange. Her body, once skinny and malnourished due to her time in Azkaban, finally appeared to be completely recovered from her time there. Her considerable figure was obvious despite the modest black robes she wore. Her face – beautiful, but not as much as her sister, Narcissa's – was set in a small scowl as she watched Wormtail enter the room. Wormtail paid little attention to the snake or the woman as he approached and bowed before the man sitting upon the throne, Lord Voldemort.

Voldemort held his nose up slightly as he inspected Wormtail before standing. His robes opened slightly to show the Dark Lord's well tailored clothing, suitable for a man of his status. The Dark Lord's red eyes pierced through Wormtail as he blew air heavily out through the slits of his nose. "Hello, Wormtail, it's about time you returned. It has been a surprisingly long time since you left. You've been gone far too long for comfort, to be honest. Did you stop anywhere on the way back?"

"No, my lord, I did not go anywhere." Wormtail replied.

Voldemort stared at Wormtail and he knew that the Dark Lord was using Legilimency on him. He hated not knowing Occlumency – since Voldemort favored those who did – but was grateful that he was not lying this time. Finally, after a considerable amount of time, the Dark Lord said, "What do you have to report?"

Voldemort liked hearing things from his followers, even after he took it out of their mind. It was just another way to ensure his followers obeyed him. Knowing this, Wormtail did not hesitate to answer. "I met with your contact in Diagon Alley, as per your instructions, and he told me that the Potter boy has been given a larger leash by Dumbledore during the summer."

"Explain!" Bellatrix snapped.

Wormtail acted as if he did not hear Bellatrix. "It appears that our contact saw Harry Potter walking through Diagon Alley today with Remus Lupin, the werewolf. He also appeared to be in the presence of a young witch, my lord, who seemed to be acting in a manner of courtship around him."

The Dark Lord rubbed his chin. "Does anyone who saw them know who the girl was?"

"No, my lord," Wormtail replied. "None of our spies who saw her knew, although they are currently asking around for information."

"Well, I guess you aren't completely incompetent after all," Bellatrix stated. "You're just mostly incompetent."

"Indeed," Voldemort agreed as he looked to Bellatrix. "Do you think he will appear in Diagon alley again soon?"

"Yes, I-" Wormtail began to scream in pain as the Dark Lord performed the Cruciatus curse on him.

He released the spell and hissed, "I did not ask you, you miserable worm!" He turned back to Bellatrix and asked softly, "Well?"

Bellatrix smiled as she responded. "I believe that he will return within the next two or three weeks, my lord, if only to buy school books."

"Excellent, that will be wonderful." Voldemort hissed at the Snake on the table for a moment before turning back to Bellatrix. "Bella, I want you to contact some of my followers and give them an assignment for me. If Potter reappears again, I want them to capture him without delay."

Bellatrix bowed. "I will lead the team myself."

"No," Voldemort hissed. "I will need you by my side. We have a few… public appearances to make, my dear."

Bellatrix smiled as the Dark Lord began to laugh wildly.

Harry Potter sat across the table from Tonks, panting heavily. Today's Legilimency battle was proving very tough, as Tonks placed him into yet another stalemate. However, today was different since this was the first day where Harry felt Tonks shields nearly break under his pressure, although his nearly broke as well. They were going at it one last time before lunch, and Harry was determined to win, if only to begin training on something else. He pushed her barriers to the limit while she did the same to his. This progressed for quite some time as Harry tried to find some weakness. If only I didn't have her pushing so hard on my shields, Harry thought. Suddenly, an idea came to him! He weakened his shields slightly and pumped the power into his Legilimency. His shields buckled dangerously as he felt himself begin to slip through her barriers. His head began pounding mercilessly as he forced himself deeper through her shields. Suddenly, he felt his shield give way at the same time he shattered her defenses.

He felt Tonks at the edge of his consciousness, but could not hold himself back as he flew through the outer level of her mind and into her memories. Tonks was nine, looking at herself in the mirror as she changed her hair into various colors and styles. She was twelve and was sitting alone at the Hufflepuff table, since everyone discovered she was a metamorphmagus. She was out of school and dancing with a guy as he pulled her closer and asked, "So, you can transform your entire body into whatever you want?" She then pushed him away and smacked him hard.

Memory upon memory flooded his mind as he tried to pull out of her mind. Finding no way out, he then decided to take Lupin's advice on delving deeper into Tonks' mind. Harry was eight-years-old and crying as he looked at his arm, bent in an unnatural angle. His aunt pulled him off of the concrete of the street as she said, "We're going to have to take you to the hospital to fix this, you know! I swear, you're becoming more of a burden everyday!" Harry was twelve years old, fighting back the Basilisk with his sword before he suddenly felt a fang bite into his arm. He was fourteen years old and awkwardly dancing in a slow circle with Parvati Patil.

Many more memories flowed through his mind before he realized that the memories disappeared. He sat across from Tonks, an undecipherable look on her face as she stared at him. She stood up, and Harry could have sworn that he felt himself stand as well, although he was aware that he was still sitting. He watched Tonks as she moved around the table and sat next to him on the bench, and noticed in a detached manner that he felt every step she took and every move she made as if they were his own. He felt her hands as if they were on his own as she smoothed her hands down her shirt to remove any creases and began to blush, and saw that her face began to blush as well even though she didn't appear embarrassed in the least. Congratulations, Harry, you finally reached your highest level in Legilimency. You appear to be slightly weaker than I, although the difference is technically negligible. You went through my memories and are now at the nerve center of my brain, although you seem to have accidentally put me in yours as well when you summoned your own memories.

Why do I feel everything that you do, Tonks?

Since we're as far into each other's mind as this, our minds are processing both sets of senses. When we pullout of each other's minds, you won't feel what I do anymore.

Harry nodded and thought to Tonks, I tried to stop myself when I reached your memories, and took Remus' advice in order to get myself out. I'm sorry I saw so much. I did not want to intrude on your trust, and unwittingly did so.

Tonks nodded, I will admit that you saw a few things that I didn't want you to see, and I'm sure I saw a few things you never wanted another to see as well. Harry nodded, We appear to know more about each other than any other person alive, so I guess there's only one thing left to do.

What is that? Harry thought.

Comfort each other for the pain we've been through. Before Harry had the chance to even think anything else, he felt Tonks pull his head to her shoulder in an embrace. Harry was unprepared for such a move, and quickly wrapped his arms around Tonks as they both began to cry in grief. The two quickly succumbed to more tears as they thought bitterly of all of the isolation and grief that was scattered throughout their own lives. They clutched each other so tightly that, due to their mental connection, Harry could no longer tell where he ended and Tonks began. They just seemed, to his mind, to be a whole ball of grief and confusion. They cried for a long time, using each other to find some sort of comfort, until Harry eventually felt their minds separate into two again and he felt a wave of calm contentment engulf him. Harry and Tonks continued to clutch onto each other tightly for some time until he heard the door open and Mrs. Weasley said softly, "I'm sorry for interrupting. You two seem to be having a moment, so I'll come back later."

Tonks pulled away from Harry and he watched as she wiped tears away from her bloodshot, and currently jade green, eyes. "Don't worry about it, Mrs. Weasley. We were just finishing Harry's last mental defense lesson when we seemed to have a bit of a cathartic moment. We're fine, if a bit tired now."

Mrs. Weasley's face took the ultimate display of sympathy as she said, "Of course, dears. Why don't the two of you go up to bed while I make you some lunch? Then I'm afraid I'll have to go back home to help Fleur with her wedding plans. Go on upstairs now, and I'll take your food up to you."

The duo nodded before raising and walking out of the door. Harry led Tonks up the stairs, pondering the whole time about how he should react to what just happened. He learned, in just one day, everything there was to know about Tonks. Then again, she knew everything about him as well. What should they do? Should they act as if it never happened? Should they accept it and move on? Should they do something about this newfound connection? Thoughts of this sort flew through Harry and Tonks mind as they walked through Grimmauld Place. They reached Tonks' room and Harry waved goodbye, but before he could take another step Tonks grabbed his arm and said, "Wait Harry, I… I want to speak with you."

Harry looked at Tonks, who seemed to transform slightly. She seemed slimmer, and shorter. She looked about five feet tall, with a slim yet curvy shape, and was standing in a position that screamed vulnerability. He doubted that she meant to transform in that manner. He felt a small pang of sympathy as he asked, "What would you like to talk about?"

"I'd rather speak privately," Tonks said. "Will you please step into my room so we can talk?"

"Sure Tonks," Harry smiled slightly and took Tonks' hand and stepped into her room. Her room looked a lot like his when he first looked through his room: incredibly messy, but he knew that she could find anything in this room immediately. This room must have been used for special guests because it appeared to be designed liked the master bedroom, just to a smaller scale. To his right was a small table with two chairs, to his left was the wardrobe, dresser, and closet, and directly in front of him was a queen size bed with a Chest at the foot of it. Tonks took him to the table and the two sat opposite from each other in silence.

There was a considerable pause before Tonks began talking. "I don't think either of us expected what happened today to occur, but it has. So, now that it has happened, we need to figure out how we're going to let it affect us."

Harry paused for a moment before saying, "Tonks, we both have been really close these past few weeks and what's happened between us…" Harry paused as he thought for a moment, "My feelings regarding you haven't really changed. They feel as if they merely tempered themselves. It seems that the closeness and trust I had for you merely strengthened as they would have over time. The only difference is that instead of it happening over time, it manifested itself now."

Tonks thought for a moment as she crossed her legs as she moved a strand of long, curly brown hair away from her face. Harry didn't remember seeing her choose that hairstyle, and she quickly shortened and spiked it when the strand fell back into her field of vision. She changed her hair color pink again before responding, "You're right, in a way. My feelings haven't changed. They've only gotten stronger." Tonks blushed lightly before changing the subject, "So, how was your date yesterday?"

Harry quirked his eyebrow and smiled before asking, "Don't you already know? You were in my mind, after all."

Tonks smiled and said, "Yeah, but regardless of what I know it's still polite to ask."

Harry chuckled as he began to tell her about his date with Cho. He was as detailed as possible, leaving nothing of their activities out until he reached their parting in the leaky cauldron. "Well, before she left she told me she enjoyed spending time with me. Then, we… kissed." He finished lamely.

Tonks smiled, "So how was it? Did you enjoy it?"

Harry thought about not answering, then immediately dismissed it. "It was incredible. I didn't know something as simple as a kiss would make me feel that way. It warmed me to the toes and made me wish it could go on forever."

"A good kiss does that to you," Tonks sighed. "When that kiss is with someone special. Your first girlfriend… She'll always be special to you, Harry. Your firsts always are: Your first kiss, first date, first time you lay with someone…"

Tonks seemed to be lost in her thoughts for a moment. Fearing she may become melancholy, Harry quickly replied. "And your date? How did that go: was the guy nice or did he earn a spot in the kneed groin club?"

Tonks giggled for a moment before saying, "Well, he lucked out apparently since I agreed to see him again. He was a complete gentleman, and did not screw up once on our date. He danced incredibly, although his hands were a little too firm."

Harry quirked his eyebrow, "Hands go where they shouldn't have?"

Tonks waved away his comment, "No, nothing like that. He just wasn't the greatest dancer. He tended to hold himself too stiffly, and I tend to be more fluid and graceful in my steps."

Harry chuckled, "Yeah, I've always wondered how you can fight and dance without a single problem, yet under any other circumstance you trip over your own shadow. Even know I can't seem to guess why."

Tonks shot Harry a dark look but before she could respond Mrs. Weasley stepped in with a tray bearing two bowls of soup. "Alright Tonks, I have-" she jumped slightly as she noticed Harry sitting at the table. "Oh Harry! I didn't expect to see you here. Well, I was going to take your soup to your room but I guess you can both eat here. Harry, as soon as you're done I want you to go to your room and have a little nap to clear your head. You look a bit tired so I do hope you'll listen to me."

Harry nodded as Mrs. Weasley served him and Tonks their soup and left. The two ate in silence, grateful and content for the silent companionship. Their meal was finished in silence, at which point Harry headed back two his room, changed into a pair of shorts, and fell asleep immediately.

Cho sat at the dinner table with her parents, eating slowly as her parents discussed some dinner party happening later in the week. She hadn't talked a lot with her parents since the last time she saw Harry, which was two days ago. She wrote to him yesterday and they spoke briefly, with Harry talking about what happened during his Legilimency training. Cho didn't like the fact that he became closer to the woman training him, but Harry assured her that there was nothing going on between them, so she trusted that nothing would happen between those two. Still…

Cho was brought out of her brooding when she heard her father say, "…your trip to Diagon and Sun Turn Ally? How was Marietta?"

Cho looked temporarily confused as she turned to her mother, who was focused on her food. Mum didn't tell dad that I went on a date, she realized. She turned back to her father and said, "The trip was fun dad, but I didn't go with Marietta."

Rui Chang quirked his eyebrow as he said, "Really? Then who did you go with? You know you're not supposed to go out on your own right now." He turned to Cho's mother. "Ann, do you know who she went to Diagon Alley with?"

Cho's mother looked up from her plate and looked at her husband in a way that Cho recognized as the kind of look that only married couples would understand. "She refused to tell me exactly who it was, but apparently it was a boy of good social standing, since he supposedly had an armed escort with him."

Her parent's turned to Cho, who began to feel as if she were trapped in a cage, as she spoke. "He did have an escort who followed us everywhere. We were never unsupervised, and everyone was prepared to defend themselves if any Death Eaters arrived."

Rui stared at Cho and asked, "Who is the boy that you met?"

Cho thought quickly for a way to delay answering, "Dad, when you bought the empty Gaunt Family seat and changed it to the Chang Family seat, did you buy any other seats."

Rui frowned, but allowed his daughter to steer the conversation. "No, I did not. However, the seat did come with a representative position for the Black Family. I didn't understand why until I discovered that Sirius Black, the criminal, didn't want to run the family seat. Since the Black daughters were married there was no one else left to run it, I gained full control. Apparently the House of Black gave the Gaunt's authority over their seat in times when there wasn't a legitimate Black heir to run it. It's a good thing too, considering Black was a Death Eater. I shutter to think of what would have happened if he managed to keep control over the position. Why do you ask?"

Cho thought for a moment and decided not to correct her father in regards to Sirius Black. After all, she wasn't supposed to know anything about him. Hell, Professor Lupin wasn't even aware that Harry told me anything about Sirius! Of course, I only found out after setting up the Date with Harry. She looked at her father and responded, "Have you been contacted by the new heir yet, asking for a meeting?"

Rui's face hardened. "How do you know about that, Cho?"

Cho's face remained passive. "Because I was with the heir as the Goblin told him that you were the Black Family Representative."

Rui gave up on eating his dinner and leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Well, this is certainly a surprise. My own daughter knows, and is apparently dating, the man who befriended a known criminal and is now in the process of removing me as his seat. May I ask the name of the man who seems to have corrupted my daughter?"

Cho almost bit her tongue when she held herself back from saying a few harsh words. "First of all, Sirius Black was given a full pardon, as you well know, so he isn't actually a criminal, is he? Secondly, I have not been corrupted by anyone. I am merely stating the truth, and the truth is not inherently good or evil; it just is. Lastly, the man I was with… was Harry Potter."

The silence that flooded the room was so thick Cho felt as if every breath she took was filling her with too much air. Cho's Mother looked so shocked that not even a Dementor in a tutu would get a reaction from her, and her father's face took such a hardened expression that Cho couldn't begin to fathom his thoughts.

Finally, after what felt like forever, he spoke. "Well, this is an interesting development. First, my daughter brazenly insults me and then tells me that I'm the representative of an evil madman."

Ann cried, "Rui!"

Rui held up his hand, "It is true. Harry Potter is a Parselmouth, which is well known as a dark talent. He claims that he is connected to Voldemort through his scar, which is impossible since there is no magic that can do such a thing."

"Father, there are many well known spells and enchantments that bond-"

"-You cannot bond with a wraith, spirit, or other non-corporeal being since it does not have a body, or object, to ground the connection! Do not interrupt me again!" Rui stared at Cho until she sat back (with a little fear in her eyes) before continuing again. "Harry Potter has managed to place himself in extremely dangerous situations at Hogwarts for little more reason than idle curiosity. This includes the fact that he was caught at the scene of several crimes, granted he was innocent. He is known to have battled a Basilisk in his second year, associated himself with a convicted criminal and a Werewolf in his third year, managed to wrangle himself into the Triwizard tournament in his fourth year – which, by the way, resulted in your old boyfriend's death – and started an illegal club in his fifth year. And finally, the boy breaks into the Ministry of Magic, bringing with him five Hogwarts students, allows several Death Eaters to follow him into the only unguarded entrance, and then destroys most of the Unspeakable department while dueling! All of these events seemed to have been caused by Mr. Potter's curiosity and inability to follow the rules. I will not sit quietly and allow my daughter to see a man who is powerful, is dangerous to be associated with, and has such little regard for human life!"

Cho became so angry during her father's rant that it took her some time to find her voice, although that did not stop her from noticing that her father didn't know about Harry's battle with professor Quirrell in his first year. "It was not Harry's fault that he was thrown into all of those situations. Would you rather another student died than Harry killing one of the darkest monsters in existence? Can you blame him for chasing after his friend who was captured by your supposed criminal? Does it not matter that the criminal whom we are talking about has been given a pardon because he never committed the crimes of which he was convicted? Does the fact that professor Lupin, besides being a Werewolf, was one of the best professors I've ever had not matter to you? Does it count for nothing that Harry did not enter himself into the tournament and, while failing to completely protect Cedric, he ensured that Cedric's body was returned to his parents? Did you forget that I was also a member of that illegal club? And how is it his fault that Death Eaters want him dead? He was tricked into going to the Ministry by those Death Eaters, and protected all of his friends while holding off a large group of dangerous dark wizards! How does the fact that Harry didn't want any of that to happen NOT seem to factor into your reasoning?"

"Cho," Rui began, "Harry Potter has caused the death of more than one person, and has put countless more at risk. He has shown that his decision-making skills are suspect, and that he has tendencies to bring everyone around him into serious danger. Do you really want to be with a boy who has proven himself hazardous not only to himself and his friends, but also yourself and possibly all of those you love?"

Cho stood at the table proudly, looking at her father. "Father, Harry is a gentle, caring, warm-hearted person who has been placed into situations that he had no control over. He has proven countless times that he is able to protect himself and those around him. Harry inspires enough courage in others that they don't abandon him even when he is telling them to stay away from dangerous situations. Harry has done everything possible to protect those close to him from harm, even if you can't see that over the times where he couldn't protect everyone. He is the only person who, I believe, has a chance of defeating Voldemort." Cho sighed. "I really like Harry, dad, and nothing you tell me will change that."

Silence filled the room at that point, with none of the Chang's willing to say another word. Cho sighed, pushed her chair neatly under the table, and left her parents sitting at the dining table, there half-eaten dinners forgotten.

End of Chapter

A/N: No, Harry and Tonks are not going to hook up because of the Legilimency experience. My reasons for doing that will become obvious in the chapters to come. I am working as fast as I can, but my schedule is hectic and I can't get much writing done.