Title: Preparations for war
Author: JordieFan
Summary: AU sixth year. Begins summer after fifth year. Following the death of his godfather Harry takes a hard look at his life. Seeing Dumbledore's manipulations for the first time he makes a hard choice. Dark independent Harry.
Pairings: Harry/Tonks (main) Harry/multiple pairing
Warnings: Slightly AU, language, violence, angst, DarkHarry
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. It is the property of JK Rowling and various publishers.
Chapter 4: Talk with Tonks
The mind arts are a complex and powerful branch of magic that rely more on willpower, patience and focus than how much magical power one has. This is the reason why there are so few masters of the mind arts, as not many Wizards and Witches have the focus and determination required to be anything other than mediocre.
A common mistaken belief among many people is that the mind arts are only the study of Occlumency and Legilemency. While they are a large area and extremely important it is far from the only thing someone truly skilled can accomplish. True masters of the mind arts can not only read thoughts but they can push their own thoughts into another's head. This can be used to communicate with somebody or, by disguising your thought to make it seem like the victim's own, to subtly control someone's mind. Likewise, as well as pushing a thought into someone's head you could push an emotion, a desire, a vision or even create and plant false memories. All of this is known as Telepathy.
Occlumency can be used to block telepathy of course, but it is much harder to do so than blocking Legilemency attacks. The reason for this is not that Telepathy is stronger than Legilemency and can easily break down Occlumency shields (In fact the opposite is true) but merely because it can be so difficult to detect. One can not constantly keep their Occlumency barriers at full power as it would be too draining, so subtle bits of Telepathy can slip through unnoticed.
However, arguably the most powerful ability one can learn with the mind arts is the power of Telekinesis. This is the ability to move objects with one's mind. The reason that Telekinesis is so powerful is because the only way to block it is with Occlumency. A magical shield will have no effect. Depending on the skill of the user you could, in a duel, hold your enemies in place, pick them up and throw them or even break bones and snap someone's neck with a glance.
Harry dropped the book onto the bed, his eyes wide as he considered all that he'd just read. He hadn't had a clue that you could do so much with the mind arts. Like the book had mentioned, he had just assumed that the mind arts consisted of only Occlumency and Legilemency. But if this book was to be believed there was so much more to it. The implications were simply staggering. Didn't everyone say that Dumbledore and Voldemort were masters of the mind arts? If Dumbledore could use Telepathy to control thoughts and emotions. . . But he had never noticed anything like that. A moment later Harry felt like hitting himself. Of course he wouldn't have noticed anything; the whole point was to make the person believe it to be their own thoughts.
Harry got up and began to pace up and down the small room, his thoughts swirling around in his head. Suddenly he froze, his face paling dramatically. Of course! The visions that Voldemort had sent him all last year! The longing that Harry had felt to go further to get past that door. . . That had to have been Telepathy. So Voldemort could definitely do that, which meant that Dumbledore would almost certainly be able to as well. But if Voldemort could use Telepathy, could he use Telekinesis as well? Somehow, Harry didn't think so. After all if Voldemort could snap his neck just by looking at him then why was he still alive? Still, even without Telekinesis his mind was still incredibly vulnerable to any Legilemency or Telepathy attacks. He would have to learn Occlumency as soon as possible th-
"You know, the way you're stomping around like an elephant you're going to have a lot of people angry at you tomorrow." An amused voice said from behind him.
Harry spun around with a yelp of surprise, his fingers desperately grabbing for his wand. His eyes went wide when he saw nothing but thin air behind him. Quickly getting control of himself he pointed his wand at where he thought the voice had come from.
"Who's there?" He demanded hoarsely.
Thick peals of laughter met his ears before a hand appeared from thin air above his bed, removing an invisibility cloak to reveal a hysterically laughing Tonks lying on his bed.
"Wotcher Harry! You're face was too funny!" She gasped, before degenerating once more into laughter.
Harry scowled, feeling his face going red with embarrassment.
"Well what do you expect to happen when you go sneaking into people's rooms with a bloody invisibility cloak?" Harry demanded angrily."Wait a minute!" he suddenly exclaimed, "Just what are you doing sneaking into my room with an invisibility cloak?!" His eyes widened with sudden realization. "You've been following me!"
Tonks shot him an innocent look, as though to say 'who me?'
"You have," he snarled furiously, "Admit it!"
Tonks crawled to the edge of the bed and leaned towards him placing one of her hands casually on his shoulder. Shooting him a sly smile, she leaned her face to the side of his so that she could whisper in his ear.
"Now, Harry there are plenty of reasons why a girl might sneak into you're room so late at night "– Here her gaze traveled dramatically lower and Harry felt his original blush coming back full force – "That have nothing to do with me following you around all day."
Despite knowing that Tonks was messing with him, Harry couldn't help the small tingle of pleasure at feeling her breath in his ear and having her body so close to his.
Shaking his head to clear his traitorous thoughts, he stepped back and casually adjusted his new cloak to hide the evidence of his arousal. Though when he glanced up, her wickedly amused blue eyes told him that he had been less than successful.
Once more fighting down a blush, he decided to be direct. "No games Tonks. Did Dumbledore tell you to follow me or not?" he said flatly.
"He did." She said simply, before a wicked smile curved her lips. "Not that I minded, of course. I especially enjoyed Madam Malkins. I always wondered why the changing rooms were so large. Now, though, I understand. It's so that there's room for the admirers."
Harry felt his jaw drop as his face took on a look of disbelief. "You followed me into the changing rooms?" He asked in horror.
"Well, Dumbledore did say not to let you out of my sight," Tonks said quite seriously.
When Harry's face became even more horror-filled she finally took mercy on him.
"Relax I'm just kidding! I didn't follow you into the changing rooms!" She suddenly burst out laughing again, holding her sides and falling back onto the bed. "You rea-lly are too ea-sy, she gasped hysterically. "I wish I had a cam-era!"
Harry for his part felt equal amounts relief and annoyance. Relief that she hadn't really watched him change and annoyance that he had fallen for her trick so easily. He found himself watching her in bemused silence as she rolled around trying to control her mirth. His mind began wandering as he continued to watch her. She was wearing tight blue jeans and a green blouse that didn't quite reach her waist as well as showing a fair bit of cleavage. He also idly noticed that he could see the straps of her pink bra going over her shoulders, which he thought went perfectly with her bright pink hair. . .
Hold on. Why was he thinking about what she was wearing? That had absolutely no relevance whatsoever. Clearing his throat roughly, he looked at Tonks to see that she had finished laughing and was merely lying down and watching him with a questioning smile on her face.
He narrowed his eyes at her. "Why have you revealed yourself now and not earlier?" He asked suspiciously. "What, did Dumbledore tell you to make sure that I went back to the Dursley's like a good little boy?"
"Uh huh, pretty much," she said cheerfully.
Harry was momentarily taken aback by her straightforward answer, before making his face expressionless and fixing her with a hard gaze.
"No".
Tonks sat up, playfulness evaporating as she narrowed her eyes at him. "No what?"
"No I won't go back to the Dursley's." Harry said flatly.
"Oh brilliant plan," Tonks said sarcastically. "What, are you going stay here in the Leaky Cauldron for the rest of the summer then?"
"If I have to."
"Don't be a fool!" She snapped angrily. "Loads of people will see you here everyday, anyone of whom could go and report to the Death Eaters. You won't last a week!"
"Then I'll think of something else!" Harry spat, equally angry. "But I won't be going back to the Dursley's!"
Tonks face softened slightly. "Harry you don't have a choice. You're forgetting that you're not even sixteen yet. You can't live by yourself. You have to go back to you're relatives house." She said softly.
Harry gave her a victorious smirk. "I see that you didn't follow me so closely after all. You never followed me into Goldshine's office then?"
Tonks frowned at him suspiciously. "No, it's against the law to spy on a private discussion in Gringotts and Goblins are pretty tricky creatures. No doubt, it wouldn't have taken too long for me to be discovered. Why does it matter?" She asked suspiciously.
"It matters because as Head of the Black House I was able to sign several documents making me legally an adult in the Wizarding World." Harry said triumphantly, savoring the dumbfounded look that momentarily appeared on Tonks face. He sniggered. Karma was a bitch.
"You're an adult!?" Tonks said in disbelief. Suddenly a loud guffaw escaped her. "Oh man, Dumbledore's gonna flip!" She shot him a grin. "Make sure I'm there when you tell him, okay? I wanna see his face!"
Harry frowned at her. "You're not angry? I expected you to start telling me how stupid I was or how much trouble I was in, or some such nonsense."
"And what good would that do? It's done, you can't exactly unsign those documents," she said calmly.
Harry smiled at her in thanks, and walked over to sit down beside her on the bed. Leaning back on the pillows until he was comfortable, he glanced over at her. She was watching him, rather intently he thought, her blue eyes trying to bore a hole in his head.
Tonks finally relaxed her gaze. "So, what are you planning on doing then?" She asked quietly. "You can't stay here in the Leaky Cauldron," she added quickly, seeing him open his mouth.
"Fine," Harry grumbled, "I suppose you're right." He thought for a moment, before grimacing slightly. "Grimmauld isn't an option either." He glanced quickly at Tonks, before staring at his hands. "Too many memories," he muttered.
Tonks nodded slightly, looking sad. An awkward silence fell between them as neither quite knew what to say. Harry noticed out of the corner of his eyes that Tonks kept on opening her mouth as though to say something, before she would abruptly close it with an uncomfortable look on her face. He hoped that she wouldn't bring up Sirius; He really wasn't in the mood to talk about his feelings.
Thankfully she seemed to pick up on his reluctance to speak about his godfather and spoke about something else.
"You know," she said carefully, "that Dumbledore is going to try to force you to go back to the Dursley's, don't you?"
"The thought did cross my mind," Harry replied dryly.
Tonks chuckled for a moment before becoming serious again. "Listen, I don't know what your issue with Dumbledore is, Harry, but it seems to me that if you want some level of independence from him and the Order, then completely disobeying him by leaving the Dursley's isn't such a good idea."
Harry frowned at her. "What do you mean?"
"Well, if you leave the Dursley's then Dumbledore will just watch you closer than ever and once the school year starts, he could make your life difficult by placing restrictions on you as Headmaster."
Harry sighed, raking his fingers through his hair in annoyance. "I hadn't thought of that, but you're right, he wouldn't let me out of his sight." He laughed bitterly. "All in the name of my safety, of course."
Tonks glanced at him sharply. "We are trying to keep you safe you know? A lot of people in the Order put a lot of time and effort into guarding you!" she snapped indignantly.
Harry scowled at her in annoyance. "I don't need or want your protection." He sneered. "Do you think that I appreciate being locked in a house with people who hate me every summer? Or being followed wherever I go by Order members under invisibility cloaks! How about being forbidden to send owls to my friends!" His anger building, he jumped off of the bed to tower over Tonks, glaring at her furiously. "Dumbledore believes that I don't deserve the right to have an input regarding what I do with my own life! The old coot still thinks that he can do no wrong! Even after all the damage his manipulations have caused! Even after what happened to Sirius-!" Harry abruptly broke off, glancing warily at a wide eyed Tonks. Only then did he realize that he had begun shouting.
His anger left him as suddenly as it had come and he let out a long shaky breath. "I-I'm sorry." He said stiffly. "It's not your fault." He turned his back to her, his face and voice becoming expressionless. "I think that you should leave."
For a moment there was no sound in the room except for his slightly harsh breaths. Then he heard fabric rustling and a moment later a hand was placed softly on his shoulder. Harry stiffened at the touch but otherwise didn't give any reaction.
"I understand now." Tonks sighed tiredly, a sound that Harry had never heard from the cheerful young Auror before. "You blame Dumbledore for Sirius' death."
The way she had said it, it clearly wasn't a question but Harry nodded anyway.
"Well, I won't ask why. You clearly have your reasons." She took her hand off his shoulder and walked around in front of him so that she could look him straight in the eye.
"But you have to see that this just makes it even more important that you go back to the Dursley's. If you leave them now then Dumbledore will know that you still hold a grudge and will do everything he can to get you back under his control. But, if you stay there then when Dumbledore finds out that you're legally an adult, yet still stayed at the Dursley's as he wanted you to, he'll think that he still has your trust." She looked eagerly into his face, to see if he understood.
Harry did understand. As much as he didn't like the thought of returning, what Tonks said made a lot of sense. If he wanted the freedom to do what he wanted then he needed Dumbledore to trust him. Starting a war with the old man at this point would not be wise.
Harry looked appraisingly at Tonks face. "That's a very. . . Slytherin plan."
Tonks grinned proudly and her hair flashed green and silver. "Well, the sorting hat did want to put me in Slytherin," she admitted. "And I was definitely tempted. But in the end I asked for Gryffindor merely because as a Half-Blood I wouldn't have been treated too well in Slytherin."
Harry looked at her in amazement. "The sorting hat wanted to put me in Slytherin as well!"
Tonks looked at him, startled. "Are you serious? Ha! Imagine: Harry Potter, Gryffindor golden boy in Slytherin! That would have been hilarious!"
To his surprise, Harry found himself chuckling along with Tonks. He idly wondered how that had happened. Hadn't he been in a murderous rage a few minutes ago?
A sudden thought struck him and he turned around to face Tonks suspiciously. "Wait a second," he said slowly, still eyeing the Auror suspiciously, "How do I know that you won't tell Dumbledore everything that I told you? You are in his Order after all."
Tonks gave him a slightly insulted look. "I may be in the Order, but that doesn't mean that I'm Dumbledore's servant," she said indignantly. "I joined the Order to fight You-Know-Who not because of Dumbledore. I won't tell Dumbledore anything about your personal feelings towards him because it doesn't relate to the war."
Harry had a surprised look on his face when she finished. "Oh… Well thank you then, Tonks," he said softly. He smiled at her, amazed that she would be so thoughtful. "That means a lot to me," Harry said sincerely with a small blush on his face.
Tonks frowned at him for a moment longer, before nodding in satisfaction. "And don't you forget it either."
Still smiling, Harry took out his wand and cast a Tempus charm. "Shit! It's already nearly eleven." He said hurriedly. "It will take me at least an hour to get back to the Dursley's. When do you think Dumbledore will check for me?"
Tonks shrugged. "Don't worry, I'll side-along Apparate you back. Oh, and I'll keep you company sometimes when it's my watch if you want. I never did understand why we couldn't let you know we were there or interact with you at all."
Harry shot her a warm smile. "Thanks, I'd appreciate it. And now that I can use magic outside school I guess that it won't be so bad." He quickly ran around the room grabbing any of his things that were lying around and shoved it all in his pack.
Once finished, he turned to face Tonks. "Ready to go."
The grin that appeared on her face sent chills down his spine. She held out her arm to him and, cautiously he took it.
Just before Disapparating, she shot him one last evil glance over her shoulder. "I'm sure that you'll find your first time side-along Apparating extremely pleasant."
Before his mind processed her meaning they had vanished with a loud CRACK!
Authors note:
Well there's chapter 4! Hope you liked it and all that. Chapter 5 will be out in about a week probably, so there'll be plenty of time for reviews!
JordieFan