Chapter Four
Dear Mr. Flatbush,
This letter is being sent to you in response to some business we have to conduct with you. I realize that the above name is not the one you were born with, and rest assured that the knowledge of that fact will stay safely with us. We keep a very close eye on our business concerns, and have ways of knowing things that your kind does not know about. Now, in order to ensure the safety of this document, we have placed a security feature within it. In order to reveal the rest of the letter, you must place the tip of your wand on the center of the document, and speak aloud the name of the business you helped to start.
Sincerely,
Griphook
Head goblin of wizard affairs
Gringotts
Harry showed the letter to Tonks and shrugged. He placed the tip of his wand on the parchment and said, "Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes." With that, the letter shuddered in his hand, and the writing evaporated, revealing a much different missive beneath.
Mr. Potter:
First, I would like to offer my condolences on the passing of your godfather, Sirius Black. I understand that he was quite possibly the only true father-figure you ever had, and the method of his passing was especially traumatic for you. It is with great reluctance that I send this letter so soon, but as will be explained later, haste is needed.
As you are aware, Gringotts is owned, managed and governed by goblins alone. Therefore, wizarding law is largely irrelevant to us. Your godfather, knowing this, left with us a will and instructions on its disbursement should he pass on. I would have given you time to mourn, but according to our own laws, if a will is not read within 90 days of a persons passing, all of his or her assets go to the nearest living relative. I do not know if you are aware of this, but Mr. Black's nearest living relative is Narcissa Malfoy. We are aware of Mrs. Malfoy's allegiance and do not wish to aid her and her associates in their cause, therefore the reading of Mr. Black's will must be done immediately.
It has also come to our recent attention that some things that were left to you by your parents never made it to you and we wish to rectify that error. Due to your disappearance from the wizarding world on the day of their death, their will was never read, and there are no other relatives alive. I am sorry to tell you this, but you are truly the last Potter. Unless you wed and have children, one of the oldest wizarding families will die with you.
There is also the matter of the business that is jointly owned by yourself and the Weasley twins. But that can wait until we can speak in person. I know you will not like this, but Headmaster Dumbledore will be at the reading of the will, as he is also a beneficiary. There will be a few other attendees, but you need not worry about that. The reading will be tomorrow morning at 8:30 am at Gringotts. Please arrive a few minutes early and ask for me. We have a few other things to discuss.
Thank you.
Griphook
Harry handed the now-changed letter to Tonks and tried to stop his head from spinning. He put his head in his hands as he thought about Sirius and his death. He didn't want his godfather's things or his money. He just wanted him to walk through the door, barking that laugh of his and telling everyone what a big joker he was. Harry wanted that, but he knew it was not possible. Harry felt the cushion next to him sink, and looked up into Tonks' lavender eyes, and he realized for the first time that he was not the only one who was truly hurt by his godfather's death. He realized that he didn't need to mourn alone. As he and Tonks clung to each other, crying bitter but cleansing tears of grief, Harry realized for the first time that he now knew what love truly was. He knew now that he loved Sirius and that Sirius had loved him. He knew that Tonks had loved her cousin too, and that his death was just as hard on her as it was on him. He knew that, from this moment on, he and Tonks would share a special bond forever. A bond formed from their combined grief, and the mutual comfort, both given and received, that was the result of their shared mourning. After about a half-hour of crying and talking about Sirius, they both felt the true catharsis that marks the beginning of the healing process. Tonks looked at Harry for a long minute. She gave him a huge hug, and then stood.
"It's getting late, I am going to go grab a shower and then you can do the same. After that, bed. We have to get up early, and we have a lot to do tomorrow." Harry again blushed furiously at the mention of Tonks in the shower. Tonks again decided to ignore it. She remembered how easily embarrassed she had been at that age, which really hadn't been that long ago.
After Tonks went into the bathroom to get her shower, Harry began unpacking his trunk into the armoire and shelves in the bedroom. His body worked on auto-pilot as his mind went over the events of the day. The first few hours had been okay, riding the train back to Kings Cross. That took until almost noon. After that, things had gone downhill. The long ride back to Surrey with Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia running their mouths about him the whole way had been terrible. Then there was the nice little blank spot in his memory, where he had apparently almost killed his uncle. The visit from Dumbledore hadn't been as bad as he had expected, but he didn't believe for a second that the headmaster would keep his word about keeping him informed and letting him make his own decisions. After waiting so long to tell him the prophecy, and then springing it on him hours after his godfather's death, Harry was questioning both the headmaster's motives and his judgment. He mulled over the prophecy in his mind, wondering what the true meaning of it all was.
After a moment, he realized he had been standing in the same spot, holding his cauldron for several minutes. He finished unpacking his things and was about to sit in front of the fire, when there was again a pecking on the window. He opened it and this time a large brown barn owl swept in and dropped three letters into his hands. It then flew over to the owl perch that was next to the window and waited. Harry supposed it was waiting for a response. Two of the letters were addressed to him as Harry Potter and one to Tonks. All three bore the seal of the Ministry of Magic. He opened the first letter.
Mr. Potter,
In light of the events that occurred in the last month, a repeal of all Educational Decrees put forth by Dolores Umbridge has been issued. Your Quidditch ban has been canceled and your broom will be returned to you upon the start of the term on September 1st. We apologize for the mistreatment you received at her hands, and encourage you to press formal charges against her for assault. We were informed anonymously about her use of blood quills on you last term, and she will be facing charges from the Ministry and the Hogwarts Board of Governors. Your additional charges would solidify the case against her and almost guarantee her conviction. The final choice, however, is yours and yours alone to make. If you do wish to press charges, please contact me immediately.
Yours,
Griselda Marchbanks
Department of Education
Harry smiled. He wasn't sure about pressing charges, but he was glad to know that he would be able to fly again. He opened the second letter, which was much thicker.
Harry Potter
Due to the repeated attempts on your life by the followers of You-Know-Who (Harry rolled his eyes) it has been decided by the Wizengamot in a majority vote that you be exempted from the limits placed on underage wizards. As of your reading of this letter, you are now considered a fully qualified wizard with all rights and privileges entitled thereto. You may apply for your apparition license after your sixteenth birthday, and you are no longer bound by the restriction of use of underage magic. Also please note that all previous offenses involving underage magic use have been expunged from your record.
It has also been decided in a unanimous vote that, until you return to Hogwarts in September, an Auror will be on detached duty to protect you at all times. At the suggestion of Headmaster Dumbledore, Nymphadora Tonks was approved for this duty. Her metamorphmagus abilities and skill in concealment will be a benefit to you at this time.
It has also been decided that you should be informed of a few things before the rest of the wizarding world finds out. The Wizengamot has unanimously voted to remove Cornelius Fudge from the post of Minister of Magic. The new minister will be elected one week from tomorrow. This information will be in the Daily Prophet in the morning. The candidates for Minister are listed here: Amos Diggory, Amelia Bones, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Albus Dumbledore, William Weasley, and Dirk Cresswell. I should also inform you that Mr. Shacklebolt and Prof. Dumbledore declined their nominations. We are telling you this ahead of time for a reason. With the knowledge of You-Know-Who's return, your popularity in the wizarding world has once again risen. It is believed that if you publicly supported one of these candidates, they would most likely win the election.
Finally, the trial of those involved in the attack on the Department of Mysteries will take place on the second of August. Your presence is required, as you are one of the material witnesses to the events that happened. You will not be on trial, as your presence there has been cleared as legal. The testimony that you and your friends will give could very well serve to put Lucius Malfoy in Azkaban for life. We expect you in Courtroom 2 at 9am on August 2nd. Please do not be late.
Sincerely,
The Wizengamot
P.S. Enclosed are your OWL scores and class list for next term. Please choose the classes you will take and send the list to Professor McGonagall by return owl. You may use the owl that brought these letters.
Harry pulled the parchment containing his OWL scores out of the envelope.
O.W.L. Scores for Harry James Potter:
Astronomy: P (Fail, No OWL)
Care of Magical Creatures: O (Pass, Two OWL's)
Charms: E (Pass, One OWL)
Defense Against the Dark Arts: O+ (Pass, Three OWL's)
Mr. Potter has received the highest score ever achieved on this OWL.
Divination: P (Fail, No OWL)
Herbology: A (Pass, One OWL)
History of Magic: D (Fail, No OWL)
Potions: A (Pass, One OWL)
Transfiguration: O (Pass, Two OWL's)
Mr. Potter, you have received ten OWL's and we congratulate you. Next year, you must take DADA, Charms, Transfiguration and Herbology. You may also take up to four other classes. You have available to you: Care of Magical Creatures, Arithmancy, Muggle Studies, Ancient Runes, Magical Healing, Household Magic, Spell Creation. Please owl your choices to your head of house as soon as possible. Thank you.
Harry sat down at the desk and pulled out a quill and an inkwell. He thought for a minute, and then leaned over the parchment and circled Care of Magical Creatures, Magical Healing, Household Magic, and Spell Creation. He folded the paper up and then stopped. He smiled, and quickly copied down his OWL scores. He then refolded the parchment, wrote Professor McGonagall's name on it and handed it to the owl. The owl took the paper in his beak and flew out the window. Harry walked back into the bedroom with the third letter in his hand.
"Hey, Dora, you got a letter from the Ministry," he called out. "I am gonna put it on the bed." He turned around after doing so and stopped dead in his tracks. Tonks was standing in the bathroom door, drying her hair with a towel. What caught Harry's eye was the fact that she was wearing only a skin-tight tank top that stopped just above her navel, and a tiny pair of pink knickers. It was quite obvious that she was not wearing anything under the top. Since she had a towel around her head, Harry took the time to drink in the sight of her, noticing that she was very trim and slender, but filled out in all the right places. She turned away from him to grab her brush off the counter and he couldn't help but notice a birthmark on her left thigh, just below her rather nice butt, that was shaped like a rose. He wondered if her skin was as silky as it looked, and turned bright red at the thought of finding out. Unfortunately, that was the exact moment that she decided to turn around and remove the towel from her head. She raised an eyebrow at his rather prolific blush, but said nothing as she jerked her head at the shower and then walked into the bedroom. Harry grabbed his clothes and a towel and dashed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. If she was going to bed dressed (or rather not dressed) like that, Harry probably wasn't going to get much sleep.
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A/N: Just wanted to say this before the flames begin. This is NOT going to be a "Harry and Tonks falling into bed and waking up engaged" crap-fic. Harry will have a romance with someone, it might be Tonks, it might not, I haven't gotten that far yet, so I still haven't decided. He will NOT be starting a romance until AFTER he finishes his training. There will, however, be PLENTY of teenage virginal embarrassment for Harry. So, since I already have chapter five written, and I know how it begins, let me repeat, Harry and Tonks are NOT going to be hooking up(in any manner) any time soon, if they even hook up at all. -RevCorby
P.S. I try to respond to every review and message, but I will NOT respond to questions about when I will post the next chapter. I try to stay three chapters ahead of what is posted, so it depends entirely upon how much time life gives me to write. Thanks.
P.P.S. I am working with formatting so please bear with me as I try to figure out what works best on this site. Please let me know what you think of the formatting of this chapter compared with previous chapters.