Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all Non-OC characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The plot and all OC's came from my own head and all similarities to other works and characters are completely coincidental and unintentional (unless specifically noted otherwise).

Harry Potter and the Grim Decision
Chapter 10: Revelations
By: Nanio-713

It was two hours after Harry and his friends arrived at Godric's Hollow. Harry, looking healthier after having a shower and changing, was sleeping in his room as Remus and Alice sat talking in the living room. Tonks and Cho sat in the kitchen, studiously ignoring each other as Cho washed some dishes and Tonks made Tea. They served some to Remus and Alice, then returned to the kitchen after saying that they left their cups behind. Once in the kitchen, they sat at the small round table and stared at each other.

Cho took a sip of tea. "It's good to finally talk to you alone without you interrogating me, although I would rather be watching over of Harry right now. We never really got to talk the last time we met."

Tonks shifted nervously. "Harry's told me about you too. I've heard nothing but good things. Sorry about how I treated you last time."

Cho nodded. "It's alright, no harm was done." Cho paused, "So tell me; why is a twenty three-year-old Auror hanging around a sixteen-year-old Gryffindor so much? I can't imagine what you'd have in common beyond fighting."

Tonks frowned. "I was Harry's bodyguard over the summer, and I taught him Legilimency and some Auror training, although we didn't get anywhere before he was kidnapped. Why? What's wrong with that?"

"You seem to be very attached to my boyfriend. As Harry's girlfriend, I'm allowed to be a bit concerned when another girl seems to be spending an alarming amount of time hovering around him."

"I don't hover around anyone. Besides, Harry and I have a special relationship. We've been through things-"

"Harry told me all about the Legilimency accident." Cho waved her hand dismissively. "That explains how you know him so well, but it tells me nothing about why you always seem to have a special interest in him. When you were interrogating me like I kidnapped Harry; it didn't seem like the kind of thing you would do for anyone who's just a friend."

"Harry's more than just a friend to me." Tonks put down her teacup and looked at her hands. Her hair changed to the spiky pink hairstyle she usually sports, and her eyes changed to a warm mix of blue and green. She looked at Tonks and stared directly into the younger girls eyes. "That 'accident' you mentioned earlier left me and Harry with full knowledge of each other's lives. I know everything that's happened in his life down to the dirtiest little secret, and he knows the same about me. We trust each other with that knowledge. Harry's like my family now; I couldn't imagine not having him nearby anymore."

Cho's eyes narrowed to the point where they were only slits. "Then why do you try and hold him so tenderly? Why do you look like you want to just grab him and snog the daylights out of him without any care about who's around?"

Tonks' eyes widened and her upper body seemed to snap back. "I do not look at Harry like that!"

"Bullshit," Cho hissed. "I remember how you looked when you were questioning me, and I saw your expression when you figured out Harry was okay. You're in love with him, aren't you?"

Tonks took a deep breath as she leaned back into her chair. "I care about Harry. I love him in a way that you will not understand, because it's not exactly normal. Not many people create such an intimate bond as Harry and I have, and most people will never want to. Harry and I don't want a relationship together because of what's happened to us, and he wants to be with you. I have my own boyfriend and I'm not looking for a replacement. Yes, Harry and I care for each other. Yes, that feeling is not strictly platonic. But no, I don't want Harry as a significant other, and he doesn't want me to be one either."

Cho glared at Tonks, who stared back in an almost sympathetic way that seemed to only enrage the girl further. "I really like Harry. He's told me a lot about himself that I'm sure he hasn't told most other people. Harry willingly trusts me with his secrets, and I've never had to take them from him with some spell. You may have learned all about him because of your training, but I don't think it's fair to have to compete for his attention with a woman who used magic to get into his head and heart!"

"I did no such thing!" Tonks hissed. "Harry and I were close long before that Legilimency accident, and we're still close now. Just because you're jealous of me isn't going to stop Harry and I from being there for each other. He may like you, but if he had to choose between the two of us I think I know who'll win."

Cho's eyes narrowed. "Is that a threat?"

"Of course not. I'm just saying: regardless of how you feel about me, I'm one of Harry's closest friends and it'll take more than your current relationship to get rid of me." Tonks stood and placed her teacup in the sink. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to go back and check on Harry."

Harry woke up shortly before everyone was scheduled to arrive. He walked into his living room aided by Tonks and Cho. Once he was comfortable, he sat talking with Alice and Remus while Cho and Tonks left to make him a snack. He wondered why they both of them went, but pushed it out of his head as he told Alice about Ron and Hermione, and how they became best friends. Harry thought Alice was a nice woman: She was polite, curious, and open minded about a few schemes that Harry told her he planned to do this semester. She even enjoyed listening to his stories about the trouble he's gotten into at Hogwarts! Harry enjoyed talking to Alice. It was like he created an instant bond with her, as if she was a long lost aunt or something.

Harry, Remus, and Alice continued chatting for a while until Tonks walked back into the room, a small scowl on her face. Cho followed shortly after looking rather upset, but she smiled when she saw Harry, handed him a small sandwich, and sat next to him. She grabbed his hand with hers and intertwined their fingers. "Harry, you really should be getting some more sleep. You said yourself that you haven't had any proper rest and one hour of sleep isn't good enough."

Harry waved his other hand dismissively. "I'm fine. The Dementors may not have allowed me any luxuries, but I'm not as tired as I look. Besides, our guests will be here soon and I want to get this over with quickly."

"Why are people coming over tonight?" Cho asked. Gandalf flew into the room at that point and landed next to Cho, hooting softly. Cho let go of Harry and picked up her owl. "Sorry Gandalf, but I don't have any food with me." She cooed. Noticing that Hedwig didn't fly into the room with Gandalf she asked, "Harry, where is Hedwig?"

Harry swallowed the bite of sandwich he was eating. "I sent her to deliver a message shortly after I woke up."

"To whom?" Cho asked.

Harry was spared the necessity of answering when his Floo connection opened and Shacklebolt, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, McGonagall, and Bill Weasley walked into the room. They all greeted Harry and either sat or stood nearby. Once everyone settled down, Harry spoke.

"Hello everyone," he began. "I asked you all because I can trust you. Dumbledore and I are out of sorts right now, and I need all of you to make a choice: I will have to defeat Voldemort, and if things start getting messy and I need help, will you follow me or listen to Dumbledore?"

Remus asked, "Why does it have to be you that defeats Voldemort? Dumbledore has faced Dark Wizards before, so why can't we trust him to handle it now."

Harry let go of Cho's hands and folded them in his lap. "Because something in Dumbledore has changed. He's not as willing to take the life of one so deeply filled with evil. He seeks redemption for Voldemort, and its compromising his judgment and my life. If you don't wish to turn your back on him when he and I part ways, then you're free to leave this meeting."

Bill nodded before he said, "I'm not that deep in order business, and I don't think I'm ready for this kind of thing. I'll be back around 10 o'clock to pick up Ron and Ginny."

McGonagall stepped forward as Bill walked out of the room. "Mr. Potter – Harry – I will help you when I can, but I am in the Headmaster's employ and do not wish to compromise any work he and I do together, whether it is in or out of Hogwarts. I will help you when I can, but I cannot follow you in the way that you wish."

Harry nodded and bid farewell to the Deputy Headmistress, then waited for anyone else to speak. He looked at Kingsley Shacklebolt for a moment, who seemed lost in thought. After a few minutes, the large man turned to Harry. "I like Dumbledore. He's a good man, a fine strategist, and the most Powerful mage I've encountered. But, I think this fight is yours more than his, so I'm willing to follow your path. Tonks trusts you, and I trust her judgment."

Harry nodded and turned to his friends for their responses. When they didn't speak, he leaned back and sighed. "Okay, I'm about to say a few things that cannot leave this room, so unless you're beside me one hundred percent I'd suggest you leave now. I know you're behind me so you don't need to hear this, but it will help you understand why I am so calm right now."

When no one left, he continued. "All right, the truth is that I was captured and tortured by Lucius Malfoy and Rudolphus Lestrange for information. I held out until they called in a few reinforcements."

Harry told the group about held by his captors, lying only about the amount of people who helped torture him. He didn't wish to reveal Bellatrix, so he told them a small group of neophytes came with her to help "Break him in" and that he convinced one to switch sides. He then told them about how Voldemort arrived before he could escape, and his encounter with the Dementor (although he did not tell them how he performed Legilimency on it). "After I escaped the Dungeon, I didn't spend a week with Dementors. That was actually more along the lines of a few hours."

"Then where were you?" Hermione asked.

"I was in a special chamber, speaking with the Dementor's master. Time was more unstable there, so a week passed by while we felt only hours."

Everyone was silent for a moment before Remus finally asked, "Who is their Master, Harry?"

Harry leaned back into the couch for a moment. He questioned himself about whether he truly wished for the cat to be out of the bag. Were they ready for this? Could they handle it? Would they believe it? Harry shook off his thoughts. He already made his decision, and he was going to stick with it until the end. "Their master is the Grim Reaper, who's agreed to help me defeat Voldemort."

Everyone shuttered and fell into a heavy silence except Ron, who laughed nervously. "You're kidding, right mate? The Grim reaper doesn't exist. Even if he did exist and wanted to help, he wouldn't allow the Dementors join with You-Know-Who. He would have left them with the Ministry, or sent them elsewhere."

"He does exist, else why would I have said it was him? He told me he sent the Dementors with Voldemort," Another shutter ran through the group, "in order to watch him and make sure they keep the deaths to a controlled amount."

Hermione wrung her hands together before asking, "If the Grim Reaper wishes to help us, then why doesn't he just go kill Voldemort himself?"

"Apparently, the activation of the Prophecy at the Ministry doesn't allow him to take my soul or Voldemort's. Only we can send each other to the afterlife."

"I don't know, Harry." Shacklebolt ran his hand over his scalp and turned to face Harry. "No one really knows what that prophecy said. Can we really trust the Grim Reaper's help? We've all heard the old folktales, and working with him never seems as simple as this."

Harry hesitated for a moment. "I know the prophecy, and I think that it fits very well with Death's assessment. As for help; he's given me partial control over the Dementors, and he's given me a weapon to help fight Voldemort. I think that calls for allowing him some trust."

Everyone in the room suddenly screamed, "What!" and began demanding to see whatever the weapon was. Harry refused, knowing how everyone would handle the effects of the scythe, saying that it was too powerful and that he didn't have enough control over it to guarantee everyone's safety. Remus, who until now was surprisingly calm, scowled and said, "If you can't control this weapon, then what good is it? You'll probably kill yourself with it before Voldemort has a chance too? If this weapon is as unstable as you claim, then I'll not have you anywhere near it."

Harry stood, aggravated that he was being treated like an immature child. "This weapon is not a threat to me, but to those standing nearby. I don't want to hurt any of you!"

"We're old enough to take care of ourselves," Shacklebolt retorted. "We just want to make sure that you're safe, Harry. How can you train if this weapon can't be around others? No one is going to let you just run off and train on some mountaintop, especially with Voldemort alive and running about. You're going back to Hogwarts in a week, and if it is too large a threat to the students then you can't use it there. You won't be able to train with it, and its worth in this war goes from unknown to none."

Harry sat still for a moment, his thoughts floating about like a quiet storm in his brain. He was insulted at Shacklebolt's statements that his newfound powers could prove useless – although he understood where the Auror was coming from – and that any of them would be able to stop him from wielding his scythe. They'll never be able to take it away from me. They'll probably die in the attempt. Still, Harry agreed that if he could not control the scythe then he can't use it in Hogwarts.

Harry released Cho's hand, stood, and took a few steps away from everyone so that he was standing in front of the door to the kitchen. "Alright, this will be my second time doing this, so I'm only going to do it for a short amount of time. After this, my training will be alone to ensure everyone's safety."

Harry held out his hand in front of him. He felt a small tug on his arm before he felt the tingle of his new power. He grasped onto it and breathed deeply, causing a cold wind to flow from his lips. He smiled as he became more invigorated and called fourth the scythe, which appeared after a quick blast of black fire. Harry brought the scythe to rest beside him and gazed around the room. Everyone seemed to carry an expression of shock besides Tonks, who looked at him with sadness etched into her face. Here eyes were nearly brimming with tears, and her lower lip was quivering. Harry watched her for a moment before turning to Cho, whose mouth was open in surprise. He was about to talk again when he heard a small shriek and turned to face Ginny, whose face was ashen and body was swooning. He dropped the scythe on the floor and ran to Ginny, engulfing her in a hug and murmuring softly. She screamed and fought against him with an intensity Harry found surprising, but after a few moments she stopped fighting and began crying like a small child. Harry comforted her as best he could, considering he was never very good at these situations, before Remus gave her some chocolate from the kitchen and began to calm her down.

Harry took a step back, silently thirsting for more of the power he received from the scythe. It was as addictive as air, but he couldn't risk hurting his friends just to hold onto the scythe. His breath was slightly fast and his eyes never left Ginny's shaking form until she no longer needed to be helped.

When she finally regained her composure, everyone stared at Harry as if he grew two heads. No one sat back down, so everyone was shuffling around to get a good look at Harry over everyone else's shoulders. Alice, who was the closest to him, smirked slightly before it melted from her face. "Well," she eventually said. "If that's what you're planning on using on Voldemort, then I figure you'll have a sporting chance."

"That's a very dangerous weapon," Shacklebolt added. "Do you know how to wield one of those things? Just holding it and feeding on the Death Eater's won't be enough, you know."

The spectacled boy shrugged. "I'm learning how to use it. Death will be training me, in a fashion." Harry turned around to retrieve his scythe and continued. "No, I won't be sharing how."

Shacklebolt chuckled. "No, I figured you wouldn't. Besides, you've shared enough for one night."

The next hour went by in a blur. After Harry sent back the scythe to wherever it stayed, Remus helped Ginny into the kitchen and practically force fed her a large chunk of dark chocolate. Ginny reluctantly ate the chocolate while everyone watched quietly, aside from the sound of everyone breaking and chewing chocolate, as Ginny ate and regained her strength. Bill arrived at this time, and helped all of the younger guests return to the burrow. Cho left shortly after, telling Harry that while she won't see him until school started – It was 10:30 at this point, and her father would not forgive her returning so late – she would write. Everyone else trickled out until there was only Harry and Tonks sitting next to each other on the couch.

The two of them sat in silence, glad that all of the excitement was done. Harry didn't feel the need to say anything, and Tonks understood Harry enough to trust in his recent decisions. After a while, though, Harry voiced one thought. "So why haven't I met this Alexander bloke? I noticed he wasn't here."

Tonks tossed her legs over the armrest and placed her head in Harry's lap. Her pink hair grew until it was a foot long, and didn't answer until Harry began absent-mindedly playing with her hair. "Alex doesn't know about the Order, and I don't want him to. He's more of a lover than a fighter." Harry chuckled as Tonks closed her eyes and asked, "So who is the real spy you acquired?"

Harry's chuckle became a full-blown laugh. "You saw through me that quickly?"

When Harry's laughing fit calmed down, she replied. "Of course, Harry. I knew as soon as you brought up the Neophytes. Your eyes shifted to meet mine, and I realized that if there were newbie's around you, we'd have gotten word of you sooner. Now, who did you recruit? It must be someone important."

Harry nodded. "I can't say right now." Tonks looked up at him and he shook his head. "Its important that no one knows exactly who is helping me, as much for my safety as theirs. If anyone knew…"

Tonks shuttered at the implication of danger, but didn't press for more information. She just laid back and closed her eyes, reveling in the knowledge that Harry was back.