Disclaimer: Nothing and no one belongs to me. I'm just borrowing them.
A/N- thanks for all your reviews, I have been really busy lately so this is just a short chapter. I will try to get something a bit longer written as soon as I can.
Chapter 4
Two hours had passed since Harry and Tonks had found out about Sirius' will reading and he was now asleep on the sofa, his head pillowed on Tonks' lap. After Harry had stopped crying, he and Tonks had talked about their memories of Sirius and Harry found that this helped him to cope with Sirius' death.
Just knowing that he could talk to Tonks, and that she had loved Sirius as much as he did, relieved Harry. He had kept all his feelings bottled up for so long, and now he felt so much better for letting them all out.
As Harry slept, Tonks thought about how quickly Harry had been forced to grow up. He had seen so much death in his life, and despite his awful childhood with the Dursleys, he lacked the bitterness she would have expected.
Tonks was pulled from her thoughts by a flash of light, and her slight jump of shock was enough to wake Harry. He sat up, "Hello Fawkes." Tonks looked from Harry to the phoenix which had been flying above her. As Harry spoke, it came to land on his shoulder and let out a sympathetic trill. Harry gave a half smile and rubbed his cheek gently against the soft feathers.
"Thanks Fawkes," he said, removing the letter from around the bird's leg, "is he expecting a reply?"
Tonks was confused when Harry nodded as though understanding the birds responding trill and watched as he opened the letter. "It's from Dumbledore. He's going to escort us to the will reading on the 30th and then we will stay at Grimmauld until August 1st. apparently there is some sort of party organised for my birthday. Are you okay with that?" he asked, looking at Tonks.
"Sure, after another two weeks here we could probably use a break from your relatives anyway." Harry nodded and used a muggle pen to scribble 'fine, see you then' on the parchment before tying it back onto Fawkes, who flashed away.
Tonks glanced at Harry, "I didn't realise your birthday was that soon? Any ideas for your present?"
Harry just shrugged and changed the subject, "so, why don't we go on that date tomorrow then. We'll need cheering up after meeting Aunt Marge."
"I thought your uncle said we wouldn't see her?"
"Marge will want to see me though. Teasing me about the fact that I'm an orphan is her favourite activity. It's entertaining for her."
Tonks knew she should be shocked, but she was already aware of how Harry's Uncle Vernon treated him, why should Aunt Marge be any different? "Tomorrow night it is then." Harry smiled, grateful that Tonks hadn't asked more questions about Aunt Marge.
The next day, Aunt Marge arrived just after Harry and Tonks had finished lunch. Aunt Petunia called Harry out of his room, but only so that he could carry Aunt Marge's suitcase to the spare room. Tonks waited on the upstairs landing, watching while Harry approached Aunt Marge at the foot of the stairs.
"Can I take your bag Aunt Marge?" asked Harry politely.
"Yes," replied Aunt Marge, "and you can show me to my room while you're at it."
Harry glanced quickly at the floor, looking for Ripper, who usually followed Aunt Marge around everywhere. "If you're looking for Ripper boy, "said Aunt Marge nastily, "you won't find him. Vernon has apparently developed an allergy. He is staying with my neighbour."
Harry allowed himself a sigh of relief before lifting Aunt Marge's bag. Ripper hated him, and on Harry's part, the feeling was mutual. "That's a shame," lied Harry, "If you follow me I'll show you to the spare room"…'that you stay in every time you visit,' he added sarcastically in his head,
Harry knew Aunt Marge didn't need to be shown where her room was, she just wanted to torment him in private, he was sure. After all, she stayed in the same room every time she visited, she couldn't be so stupid that she didn't remember where it was.
As Aunt Marge reached the top of the stairs, she spotted Tonks, who was leaning against Harry's bedroom door waiting for him. "Boy, who is this, and what is she doing in the house?!"
Harry looked from Aunt Marge to Tonks, and seeing the laughter in Tonks' eyes replied, 'this is my girlfriend Aunt Marge. She's a criminal just like me!"
Harry and Tonks laughed as Aunt Marge turned and ran down the stairs screaming for her brother. Harry dropped the bag he had been carrying and walked with Tonks back into the safety of his bedroom, asking Tonks to cast a locking charm on the door as she shut it.