Revised: 7/8/2019

It was to sound of murmuring voices that Harry began to regain consciousness. He had missed the beginning to the conversation but from what he could make out they were discussing what went wrong with what was supposed to be such a straightforward ritual. He recognized his girlfriend's agitation as she demanded an explanation from who he assumed was Healer Parks. Harry inwardly smirked at the man's misfortune, knowing how intimidating Fleur could be when aggravated.

"—not sure what happened Miss Delacour! I double checked all the runework after we made sure Mister Potter had stabilized. There were no errors! I've done the procedure hundreds of times and this has never happened before." The panic in the healer's voice was obvious, though Harry couldn't really blame him considering he was facing the wrath of the distraught veela.

"Well, obviously somezing went wrong wiz' 'ze ritual! Ozzerwise 'Arry wouldn't be lying 'ere unconscious!" Fleur shrieked, clearly worried and using the unfortunate healer as an outlet.

"The only thing that would come even close to that reaction is having another magical signature interfere with the ritual!" said the Healer, still trying to calm her down, "But we clear the ritual chambers before activating the runic scheme specifically for that reason."

Ah, looks like that was Harry's cue.

"Hey Doc, what if there was a foreign signature within the ritual circle?" Harry queried. Before the healer, who he now saw was Parks, could respond, Harry was engulfed by a warm missile flattening him back onto his cot.

"Merlin, 'Arry I was so worried!" The witch mumbled where she was buried in the crook of his neck. Harry gave a soft smile at his distraught partner, touched that he inspired this kind of loyalty in her.

"Nothing to worry about, hun. Takes more than this to put me down." He said with a grin, trying to placate her. It did the opposite, and she was about to make her displeasure known, but as she pulled back to berate him for his blasé attitude she let out a gasp as she stared into his eyes.

"What?! What is it? Is there something on my face?" Harry said panicking, looking around for a mirror.

"See for yourself," answered Fleur, still staring at his eyes as she conjured a mirror with a flick of her wand, holding it in front of him. Luckily the sight he faced in the mirror was nothing close to the disfigurations that he was expecting, but the change was indeed quite startling. His formally darker, jade-green eyes were now a shade brighter, closer to emerald. But the more striking change was the slight dusting of bright silver that ran along the circumference of his irises. The contrast with his jet black locks was even more significant now and was quite noticeable giving Harry a slightly mystical appearance.

However, If the only side effect of a botched ritual and an unforseen magical exorcism was a slight cosmetic alteration to his eyes then he wasn't complaining. However, with that thought he noticed something much more exciting.

"Hey! I can see without my glasses! It worked!" Harry cried with a wide grin splitting his face.

He kissed Fleur straight on the lips, interrupting her appreciative inspection of his eyes. Judging from her enthusiasm, she was clearly not opposed to the change.

A gale of laughter interrupted the pair, drawing Harry's eyes to Tonks where she sat across the small room.

"That's what I was saying, you worry too much Aphrodite! He's been through worse that this before!" her smile didn't reach her eyes, which still showed a hint of guilt and concern as she observed the couple.

Harry refrained from correcting that statement. The pain he had just experienced was actually some of the worst he had ever felt in his life, but what good would voicing that fact do? No need to make the witch feel worse over something she had little control over.

Fleur turned a blazing stare back to Harry. "'Zat's what I'm worried about! I leave you alone with 'zis maniac for two hours, two hours! And I come back to find you on your deaz' bed! What do you 'ave to say for yourself?"

Uh oh, now she was pissed at him, do something!

"Hey it wasn't actually my fault this time! How was I supposed to know I had a piece of Voldemort crammed in my skull?" Silence met his outburst.

Great, nice distraction, Harry that was much better.

Luckily Healer Parks came to his rescue. "Is that what you meant by a foreign presence within the ritual Harry? Am I to believe your claim several weeks ago is not as contrived as the prophet's reputation would have me think?" He asked, fear and curiosity warring with worry over his patient.

"I've told nothing but the truth, Sir, whether you choose to believe me or not is your decision," Harry said. Despite his irritation at constantly being called a liar, he was able to remain surprisingly level-headed.

"I am also very familiar with his presence." He chuckled humorlessly. "The feeling of his magic is very distinct you see... It's not something I would forget anytime soon, unfortunately."

Harry paused, considering his words for a moment. "It seemed like it was lying dormant and the act of drawing on my magic for the ritual drew on it as well, unsettling it. And I say it because there's no way that was all of his power, it was significantly diminished, otherwise, I'm afraid I wouldn't have stood a chance. I've witnessed him in similar forms before, actually," he said, thinking back to his first and second years. "Perhaps it has something to do with how he keeps coming back to life?" He mused, a thoughtful look coming over his features.

Healer Parks was clearly still coming to terms with the revelation of a dark lord thought dead for nearly fourteen years, but regained his wits once he was able to focus on the issue at hand. "Hmm… that reasoning makes sense, though I've never personally seen a foreign presence so ingrained with another's magic, so I can't be sure." Came Healer Park's answer. "It could also explain the change that occurred with your eyes, Harry, I assume from your earlier outburst that you are having no problems with your vision?" He gave him an amused quirk of the eyebrow. Harry gave sheepish smile and nod. "Then it seems the original ritual did its purpose, any other side effects, if there are any, will only be made apparent with time."

"Are we sure 'zis piece of 'ze Dark Lord is actually gone?" Fleur asked with a worried glance at Harry.

Healer Parks answered, easing her worries. "I have run several diagnostics after the fact and they have all turned up negative for foreign magic. Normally we aren't so thorough before such a simple ritual since something like this has never happened before, but I find myself planning to do so from now on," he said with a look of consideration on his face. The three younger occupants of the room were relieved to see his dedication to his patients, it was nice to see someone who actually took his practice seriously.

After a moment, the healer continued, "As for you, Harry, besides your obvious exhaustion, there's nothing actually physically wrong with you, you may leave whenever you want. Just rest as much as possible and come back if you find any further complications." He said with a smile.

The three thanked him for his help as Harry hopped down off the small cot. Despite being both physically and mentally exhausted from the ordeal, he felt as though an opaque lens had been lifted from his perception of the World. The change went beyond the obvious improvement to his sight. It was if a weight he had been carrying his entire life had been lifted, enhancing his perception of the world from all his senses, or perhaps more accurately bringing them back.

Curious… it seemed whatever influence that shard of Voldemort had on him had been greater than he'd realized. Noticing his furrowed brows, Tonks, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, nudged him without words, leaving her obvious question unspoken.

"Tonks, I want to thank you." He said in lieu of an answer.

"Me? What for? In fact I thought you'd be cursing me to next Sunday to tell you the truth, this whole fucked up situation was my idea after all," she said in a rare show of self-deprecation.

"Yeah, it was your idea." He concurred, "And because of your idea I have now removed a shard of Voldemort that was literally jammed in my forehead that I didn't even know about; and my vision was fixed anyway." He said flinging a companionable arm around the older witch's shoulder. "Plus, I got these wicked-ass eyes out of the deal" he added, wiggling his eyebrows to emphasize the point.

Tonks, realizing the truth in his words, cracked a grin at the last bit, and recognizing his obvious attempt to lessen her guilt she gave him a quick peck on the cheek. He blushed lightly, but was glad to see some of the vibrancy returning to her spiky hair. As he returned to his girlfriend's side, taking her hand she leaned closer to his ear.

"I didn't want to say 'zis in front of Meester Parks but, 'ze eyes 'Arry… 'zey are so very sexy," she purred. Her breath tickled his neck, leaving him weak in the knees. He briefly wondered if Voldemort's actions were about to get him some action, but wrote it off as inconsequential.

"Try to contain yourself while we're still in public, you two," The bubbly metamorph laughed, before miming kisses with dramatically exaggerated lips. The couple merely rolled their eyes at the witch as they strolled through the lobby to the disappperation point. Harry, upon seeing the dark sky, realized how much time had really passed while he was unconscious.

"Shit! I'm really late, Vernon's not gonna' be happy when I get back," Harry muttered pinching the bridge of his nose, unaware of the snarl appearing on his girlfriend's face before it left just as quickly. He was brought out of his despair by said girlfriend.

"Um, 'Arry, about 'zat… I don't 'zink you will 'ave to worry about 'zem anymore…."

oooOoOoOooo

Harry was divided. Apparently Tonks had wanted to get him away from the Dursleys ever since she was assigned guard duty for the first time, and Fleur since he'd first given any hint of how he was treated at home. Getting the two in the same room just seemed to just expedite the process a bit.

Despite being a bit upset that they'd gone behind his back with their plan without even asking his opinion on the matter, he was ecstatic to finally be free of his oppressive 'home' for good. Disregarding both of those facts, he was touched that the two would care enough about how he was treated in his own home that they would go over his head to fix the situation. It was companionship that Harry was unsure he was deserving of.

According to his girlfriend, the Dursleys were "punished accordingly" for their actions, to which Harry felt a flash of pity for his wayward family, pity that vanished immediately once she'd elaborated on how she was treated on her visit with them. Harry'd long since gotten sued to the slurs and violence against himself, but the minute they started threatening Fleur was where he drew the line.

Harry found himself wishing he could have been there for one last goodbye.

By this point Harry and co. had returned to Fleur's apartment and the trio, upon crossing the threshold, unceremoniously flopped down together on the long couch after the stressful day. Harry broke the silence.

"I don't like to assume, Fleur so I'm going to ask anyway. You mind if I stay here for the rest of the summer?" He asked, as he swung an arm around his girlfriend's slender shoulders.

She snuggled into him further. "Of course you can, 'Arry, as long as you need." She smiled, nuzzling his neck.

Tonks spoke up from her reclined position to Harry's left. "It's not that I personally have any problem with that, you guys, but there is a slight issue with that plan."

"Oh?" Fleur said lightly. "Do tell…"

Tonks sighed heavily. "I bribed Mundungus Fletcher to be somewhere else on the night watches, not that he didn't skive off half the time anyway, but since it's been about two weeks since the start of summer, the guard shifts will change soon. After that my time assigned to guard you during the day will be given to someone else, and even if I can convince someone to give me their shift, whoever has the night shift won't be as easy to bribe as that slob, Dung.

Either way, by next week Dumbledore will be aware of you leaving Privet Drive, if he already isn't, I can't imagine him not having some way to check on the strength of the wards.

Harry paused for a momen, considering everything the Auror had said. "Do you know what his plans for me were? Did he plan to ever take me to headquarters or was he going to have me stuck in Surrey all summer?"

"Hmm I believe he was going to wait to move you until around your birthday on the 31st if I remember correctly." Tonks answered remembering it being mentioned in a meeting at some point, still slouched next to him. "Sirius wanted you to come immediately but for some reason Alby didn't want you around order business, and we can't actually tell you where the building is without Dumbledore personally giving you the location, or writing it on a piece of parchment."

Fleur added a point of her own from her place by his side. "Per'aps 'ze 'eadmaster's reluctance stems from something connected to what 'appened earlier today, a magical connection to Voldemort would be a cause for concern, non?"

Harry sat wide-eyed, the silver ringing his eyes showing completely as he considered this possibility. "You might be on to something, Fleur," Harry said, considering the ramifications of that fact. "I've always been connected to the man in some way, and Dumbledore has always been aware of that fact. Hell he was there on the night that I even got the scar in the first place, he had to have known what that meant, there's no way he couldn't have, and he is one of the most accomplished wizards of the last two centuries after all."

Harry stood, beginning to pace anxiously as he worked his way through their current conundrum. "I've got to find out what exactly these pieces of the madman actually are since they obviously have something to do with how he keeps coming back to life, this is the third time I've seen Riddle as some type of shade, it can't be coincidence. Maybe there will be something about them in the book I picked up in Knockturn."

"It seems 'ze old man does not 'ave your best interests at 'eart, 'Arry." Fleur said, rising to place a calming touch to his shoulder.

"I agree, it's clear he has his own agenda Harry, at this point I'm only staying with the order for the information they gather, granted it's not much, but I'm much more of a help to you guys as an inside woman." Tonks said with a wink to the pair.

"You're sure you're ok doing this, Tonks?" Harry asked gaining an agreeing nod from Fleur.

"Yeah no prob, Hero!" She answered, trademark grin in place, "plus I've had more fun in the last couple of days than I have in a year of Auror work. Not to mention I actually like you guys… much better company than the stuffy old fogies in the order."

The pair smile back at her, Fleur teasing her boyfriend about Tonks' nickname for him gaining a roll of the eyes.

"I might as well write Dumbledore, seeing as he will soon know I'm not at his prison any longer. I think letting him know that I'm safe at a goblin warded home will assuage his fears as long as I stick to his plan of keeping away from the order meetings. Assuming the reason for him being so cautious around me is about that shard of Voldemort that was taken care of earlier, he should be happy about having me away from HQ, though I don't expect he will be too pleased about me bolting earlier than he planned." Harry mused out loud.

"As long as you imply that you left while Dung was on watch you can keep me from being implicated in your deception." Tonks added, gaining a nod from Harry as he returned to his seat between the two witches and pulled out a piece of parchment to pen a letter to Dumbledore. "While we're on that note, I have to ask, when you actually do meet up with the order, I assume you don't want to have Dumbledore knowing everything you've been up to this summer, correct?"

Harry nodded, "Of course, disregarding the fact that I've been in and out of Knockturn alley, I also can't have him seeing what happened during my vision ritual, I'm still suspicious that he knew about that and didn't say anything." Tonks nodded, agreeing with his points.

"I had intended to teach you this first anyway before we started to really get into your training, but it makes even more sense to do it now. What do you know about Occlumency and Legilimency?" Fleur perked up, not recognizing the unfamiliar terms, as Harry answered a negative.

Tonks nodded, expecting as much. "I wouldn't have expected you to, they're skills that're passed down mostly through old families or from master to apprentice. Occlumency, put simply, is the art of having discipline over one's consciousness, and is most often achieved through systematic organization and meditation."

"Having discipline over the mind does sound like it could be helpful, but there has to be more to it right? Or it would be more well-known." Harry pointed out, gaining a nod from the pink haired auror.

"Correct, an adequate mastery of Occulmency provides several benefits. Greater focus, better recall, and higher efficiency when spellcasting are just a few of them. In my case, I learned because as a kid, I was a spastic little bugger. Ya' see, I had to learn Occlumency to gain control over my morphs. When I was still learning, my features tended to change haphazardly depending on my mood. It lets me maintain my morphs with a stable state of mind when I'm under cover," she explained.

"Hmm, that makes sense, though I recall getting you to morph earlier today if I remember correctly," Harry said with a smirk. Tonks merely jabbed him in the ribs gaining a yelp from the young wizard.

"Watch it, bud," She reprimanded, then a lower tone, "I was really worried ya' know?"

His smirk shifted into a much softer smile as he swung a companionable arm over her shoulder and brought her in closer to his right side in thanks. Now sandwiched between two beautiful witches, Harry was in no hurry to move, yet still wanted Tonks to finish her explanation on Occulmency. He told her as much.

The young metamorph responded, continuing where she'd left off, "Right! So all of those are reason's enough to learn the skill, but the main reason the older families pass it down from generation to generation is to protect family secrets. Luckily my mum learned the skill before the Blacks booted her out," Tonks said with a scowl.

Harry blanched. "Wait! So you're related to Sirius? I didn't know that."

"Yeah, probably you as well, distantly anyway. Though that's not saying much, nearly every pureblood family is connected in some way these days." She answered with a negligent wave of her hand. Harry decided to follow the witches lead and not dwell on it.

"So what did you mean by protecting the family's secrets?" Harry said, bringing them back on topic.

"Right… so having a mastery over Occulmency is the only way for a witch or wizard, to protect their mind against a Legilimancer, someone who has mastered the other skill I mentioned earlier, Legilimency. A wizard who has learned this skill can tell when someone is lying by reading their surface thoughts through eye-contact, and a master can invade the mind and extract memories through the spoken spell." Both Fleur and Harry sat wide eyed as they processed this information.

"Perhaps you can see why I'm mentioning this now, Harry? Care to take a guess if you know anyone who would be a master Legilimens?" She said, leading Harry. He did not disappoint.

"Dumbledore for sure, and I'm willing to bet Snape as well. He's always seemed to know when I was lying to him, though he would punish me anyway even if I was telling the truth most of the time…"

"Right in one, Hero." She said, playfully tapping him on the shoulder, "That's why first thing tomorrow, we start you on the first steps to Occluding your mind. With that said, I believe I'll be taking my leave. Don't you two lovebirds do anything I wouldn't do." She said smirking as she rose from the couch and sauntered out the door calling over her shoulder, "See you two tomorrow!"

After hearing the soft crack of Tonk's disapperation, Harry finished his letter to Dumbledore, which merely outlined the fact that he no longer considered Privet Drive his home as to make sure that the wards fell and it was no longer an option for him to stay there. He did not specify that He was staying with Fleur, but stressed that he was safe where he was and hoped that staying away from the Order HQ would be enough to keep the old man happy for the moment. He sent the letter with Hedwig who nipped his fingers playfully before soaring out Fleur's apartment window.

Harry turned to his girlfriend who was still happily snuggled under his left arm. "Hun, do you have an extra bed for me to sleep in? it's been a long day and honestly I'm exhausted."

"Non," she answered, smiling demurely.

It only took a moment for the implications to set in, bringing a warm flush to his ears as he tried to find the words to answer.

Fleur let him suffer for another moment before clarifying. "Just to sleep, 'Arry, 'zough I would not be opposed to doing 'zat wiz' you anozzer time, as you said, it 'as been a long day. I too am, 'ow you say, beat?"

Harry smiled, sighing heavily with a combination of relief and disappointment, getting up and brushing his teeth before changing into a pair of cotton shorts and flopping into Fleur's bed.

She followed minutes later after performing her own nightly rituals. Though tired, Harry still noticed that his radiant girlfriend was dressed in only a long pale blue shirt, a sheer pair of panties peeking out as she walked; long pale legs that went on for miles stood out in the dim lighting of her bedroom. She slipped under the covers to join him with a coy smile and rolled on her side facing away from him. Harry tentatively scooted closer spooning his girlfriend from behind, the touch of her soft, flawless skin sending shivers up his spine. Fleur sighed in contentment feeling wonderfully safe in his embrace. She wormed herself even closer, smiling at the gasp Harry let out as her rear ground firmly against his pelvis.

If it wasn't for the truth of his earlier words, Harry doubted he'd have been able to resist his absolute minx of a girlfriend. But as it was, he already felt his eyelids growing heavy against his will.

The pair quickly fell into slumber after the trying day, content in each other arms, only to wonder at what events awaited them the next day.