Chapter 13

"Will you be staying for lunch Tonks dear?" Molly asked. She looked around the library approvingly, it looked much cleaned up compared to the day before. Harry and the girls had been working hard.

"Gladly," Tonks smiled at her. "And I was thinking, why don't I we split up the group after? Harry and I can clean up the fourth floor, you can let Ginny and Hermione do the first floor."

"Good idea," Molly agreed. "I haven't yet gotten to the beds yet, the twins pulled a nasty prank on Ron and it took us some time to get him back into shape. The poor dear is in the kitchen recovering with some comfort food."

"Shove some food in his mouth and Ron is fine, that's a constant," Ginny quipped. Molly tsked disapprovingly but otherwise did not comment, the fact that Ginny had apparently been working hard earned her a slight reprieve.

Following lunch Harry followed Tonks upstairs. "So, where should we start? Sirius room or mine?"

Tonks smiled at him, "Do you need to ask, hero?" She opened the door to his room, and guided him in.

Harry's eyes grew wide as he realised her intent, "What, now? With them awake and downstairs?"

"Yes now... you earned a reward lover," Tonks knelt before him, and began unbuttoning his trousers.

"Nym, not that I object, but what for?" Harry stumbled back until he was sitting on the edge of his bed, raising his rear to allow his girlfriend to strip off his pants.

"For staying faithful even though little Miss Bookworm practically shoved her jumblies in your face," Tonks said. She quickly wriggled out of her shirt and unclasped her bra. "Well hero, which do you like best? Hermione's apples... or these?" She shot him a wide grin as she increased her bust size.

Harry's eyes went wide. His underpants suddenly got awfully tight.

"I think I have my answer," Tonks giggled. She knelt back before him and leaned in close, then pushed down his boxers. "Time for your first boob job, Mr Potter..."

–-

On the first floor Ginny cornered down Hermione in the library. "How did it go?" the ginger girl asked.

Hermione's expression wavered between sadness and resolve. "We made up," she said after a small pause. "I think he forgives me now."

"I'm happy for you," Ginny said with a smile. "Harry needs you as a friend," she stressed the last word.

"You know he's seeing someone?" Hermione looked at her quizzically. "Harry said he was with someone, and it wasn't you or any of our classmates... do you know who it is?"

"It's not my place to tell," Ginny quickly said. "Please, don't ask me for her name. I won't betray my friendship with Harry like that."

"But Ginny, I need to know! What if she is in league with Voldemort?" Hermione insisted.

Ginny shuddered. "Please, don't say that name! And I swear, she's not. Trust me... trust Harry."

"I should tell the Headmaster, he'll know what to do," Hermione insisted.

To her surprise, Ginny slapped her. "Listen to yourself! You only just made up with Harry, and now you want to betray him again?" The red-head sounded angry.

Hermione staggered back, more from the words than the slap itself. "Oh Merlin... I really almost did, didn't I?" she weakly said. Hermione dropped down on her own bed.

Ginny sat down next to her and put her arm around her. "You need to learn to trust your friends over authority... Merlin girl, you're almost like my brother Percy! You don't want to end up like that git do you, dropping your family for a cushy Ministry job?"

Hermione sniffled, "No, of course not... I'll try to do better, I won't talk to the Headmaster" she promised. 'But I'm still finding out who Harry picked over me,' she promised herself mentally.

–-

Tonks left before dinner, claiming she needed to do some things at her home. Of course she joined Harry in his bed later that night after everyone had gone to sleep. Both were very grateful to Sirius for showing them the secret passage.

The next few days all followed more or less the same pattern: cleaning the house during the day, some time for homework – Hermione insisted on going over everyone's essays and correcting them – and playtime for Harry and Tonks whenever they could find the time alone.

Sadly for Harry Tonks could not be there each day, she feared it would make Dumbledore suspicious. At least they spent every night together. There were a few Order meetings, but nothing of interest was discussed... the kids spied on them with the Extendable Ears, and Tonks informed Harry later in private, but all that the Order talked about was Voldemort's strange illness, a few unstructured attacks on Muggleborns – fortunately with no loss of life – and the incessant need to guard some hallway in the Ministry. Tonks didn't know the details about that, so couldn't tell Harry what was so important there. Dumbledore liked to keep his secrets...

August was in its second week when the Hogwarts letters arrived. Harry was doing push-ups in his room after lunch when the door barged open, and Hermione ran inside.
"They're here, finally! Harry, do you think – murble" Hermione trailed off as she saw Harry was topless, wearing only his tight pants, and she took in his toned muscles.

Harry looked up at her amused, and scrambled to his feet. "Do I think, what exactly? Hand me that towel, would you?"

Hermione reached out and touched his right arm, "So hard," she mumbled. Then she shook herself, "What?"

"Towel, please?" Harry repeated. He sported a wide grin.

"Oh! Err... here!" Hermione turned beet red, and handed it to him while asking, "How... how long have you been training like that?"

"Ever since the start of summer, sort of. I also did much jogging, but since I can't do that here I improvise with going up and down the stairs," Harry answered her as he towelled off some of the sweat.
"What were you saying when you barged in like that?"

"Oh... err... the Hogwarts letters... they came..." Hermione looked at him hungrily again.

"They're in the kitchen I guess?" He asked, getting a nod in reply. "I'll be down in a bit, I'm taking a quick shower first. Suppose I stink," he grinned, and walked past Hermione out of his door.

Hermione stood in place, her heart beating so fast she was afraid it would jump out of her chest. She saw the door had closed behind Harry, and there was the towel he had just used, lying discarded on the floor...
Quickly, she grabbed it, and clutching it close to her, she ran down the stairs to the room she shared with Ginny.

–-

Harry arrived in the kitchen and found all the Weasleys there.
"Hey mate, where's Mione? Thought she went to get you?" Ron asked him.

"Dunno, I took a quick shower before I went down, maybe she's on the toilet," Harry said with a shrug. "She said the letters came?"

"On the table Harry dear," Molly said. Harry saw the envelopes and reached out for them, but Molly gently pushed his hand away. "Not before Hermione is here," she chided him.

"We always open them as a family," Ginny explained. The twins nodded in agreement to that.

"Want to play some chess while we wait?" Ron asked.

"Nah, that'll take too long," Harry rejected the idea. "We could play some exploding snap though, if anyone has a deck."

About five minutes later Hermione arrived, finding the four Weasleys and Harry passing around the exploding cards. Her hair was a bit dishevelled, and she had a slightly distracted look on her face.

"Where have you been?" Molly asked. "You look a bit flushed dear, are you feeling well?"

"I... I'm good," Hermione piped up. 'Not just good... that felt great,' she thought to herself. 'Just look at him... all grown up and powerful,' she stared at Harry's back.

"Earth to Hermione, you with us?" Ginny repeated.

Flustered, Hermione woke from her daydream. "Oh... sorry, yes," she stammered.

"Can we open the bloody letters now?" Ron asked, drawing attention back to him. While Molly chastised her son for language, Hermione slid into place across from Harry.

Finally Harry was allowed to take his letter, and opened it. It contained the usual two pieces of parchment: the reminder that school would start on September first, and the book list.
"Two new ones for me," he said. "'The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5', by Miranda Goshawk, and 'Dueling Theory and Practice', by... oh wow that is a surprise, Filius Flitwick," he read.

"Professor Flitwick wrote a book? He never mentioned that," Hermione spoke up in surprise. She was last to open her own letter. As she opened it, not just parchments but something scarlet and gold fell out as well. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"What do you have there dear?" Molly asked her.

"Prefect?" Hermione asked, looking down at it. Then she repeated, "I made Prefect?"

"Congratulations dear!" Molly nearly shrieked, smiling widely at the brunette. "You deserve it!"

Everyone's eyes turned to Harry.

"Well, where's yours?" One of the twins asked.

"I don't have one," Harry said. He gave Hermione a thumbs up, not that she noticed, she was still staring at the badge as if she couldn't believe it.

"If not you, who then? Neville?" The other twin wondered.

"Me," Ron said in a tiny voice. They turned to look at him. Ron sat there, looking incredulously at a letter he had in his hand. "They made me prefect?"

Twin one jumped forward, grabbing both the envelope from Ron. He overturned it, and a similar badge to the one Hermione was still staring at fell in his hand.
"No way," he said in a hushed voice.

"There must be a mistake," twin two said. He snatched the letter from Ron, and held it up to the light as if checking for forgery. "No one in their right mind would make Ron a prefect."

Both twins turned to Harry. "We thought it would be you!" Twin two said, sounding as if he thought Harry had fooled them somehow.

"Surely Dumbledore would've chosen you?" his twin said.
"Tri-wizard Champion and everything,"
"But maybe you've pulled too many pranks?"
"That must be it, you're too much of a troublemaker," the twins concluded.

"That's enough from both of you!" Mount Molly erupted. "I don't know how you pulled it off, but hand over the real letters. Harry dear, and you, Hermione too, put your new badges on, I'll take a photograph," she smiled at the two.

"It wasn't us," twin one said.
"We swear," his brother added.

"But... but... Ron, you're not... really?" Molly's look was indescribable.

Meekly Ron held out his hand, and the twins handed him back his badge and letter.

Molly let out a shriek. "I can't believe it! Oh Ron, you made me so proud! A prefect, just like your brothers!"

Harry got up while as Molly started to rave on how proud she was, and went up the stairs. With Hermione dumb-struck by her own badge and Molly and the twins hovering over Ron, only Ginny noticed. She followed him upstairs, and saw him enter the formal dining room.

"It's not bloody fair!" Harry cried in the empty room. "I save the damned school three years in a row, I am forced to fight for my life in a crooked tournament, I kick Voldemort's arse three bleedin' times, and who gets to be made prefect? The bloody wanker who betray me at the first sign of trouble!"

Ginny stood at the door, watching in silence.

"No, of course Harry doesn't get to be prefect. We can't have him have a big head," Harry grumbled, his back still to the door. "Stupid goat buggering meddlesome old git and his mindless followers. Ron? Ron! I could accept Neville, he's a genuinely good guy, but Ron?" Harry raved on.

Ginny walked up behind him, deliberately stepping hard so not to startle him. Harry turned his head, and saw her.
"Oh... err... congratulations with your brother," he lamely said.

"You're right," Ginny said. "It doesn't make sense to pick Ron over you. But you can't blame Ron for this, it's not as if he asked Dumbledore for the badge."

"Wouldn't surprise me if he did," Harry grumbled. Then he felt a pang of guilt, and in a softer tone continued, "No, I suppose you're right... I can't blame him for this. Doesn't mean it doesn't annoy the hell out of me though."

"Wish I knew what the Headmaster was thinking," Ginny said as she hugged him from behind.

"If he is thinking at all... old goat lover is senile if you ask me," Harry half growled. Then, he let out a somewhat bitter laugh. "Thanks Gin-Gin."

"What for?" She asked, still holding him.

"Just for being you, and listening, and stuff. Look... I'm going up to the attic, I need to hit some things. Just tell them I'm... make up something okay?" he moved out of her grasp.

"You got it," Ginny promised. "If I see Tonks, I'll send her your way, okay?"

"Thanks again Gin-Gin, you're a princess." To Ginny's surprise, Harry leant in and kissed her cheek. She watched him leave the room as she raised her hand up to her cheek.

–-

Harry stayed in the attic until six o'clock that evening. Ginny and Sirius made sure no-one came up to bother him while he was working off steam. Beating up the already half broken furniture was pointless perhaps, but Harry's anger and frustration were mostly gone. He went down to the second floor when he bumped into Ron on the landing. Harry forced a smile on his face.

"Harry, where've you been mate? Mum just came back! Come, let's check out my new Cleansweep!" Ron blurted out, happily.

Harry had to think for a moment. "As in the broom?"

"Not just any broom, a Keeper's broom!" Ron said. He took Harry by the arms, "I can't believe it mate, she actually got me one!"

"Cool," Harry said. "Listen, Ron, well done, mate. Prefect and all."

Ron's smile disappeared from his face. "I never thought they'd pick me," he said. "I thought you were gonna be it, for sure!"

"Nah, the twins are right, I'm a troublemaker," Harry said, trying to force some humour in his voice. "Come on then, let's check out your new broom."
Inwardly he felt like screaming still, but Ginny was right... he couldn't blame Ron for this. For all his faults, being named Prefect was something he could blame Dumbledore or McGonagall for, not Ron.

Mrs Weasley was in the formal dining room on the ground floor betwixt piles of books, a new cauldron for Ginny, and a long package that Ron looked at longingly.
"No unwrapping it now, people are arriving for dinner soon," she said. "You should wash up and come downstairs, Ron. Harry, come with me, would you?"

Harry followed Molly to the kitchen. Nobody was there yet except Kreacher, who scurried out of sight when he saw the Weasley matriarch.
A scarlet banner hung over the filled table, announcing 'RON AND HERMIONE, NEW PREFECTS'. Harry fought the scowl that arose as he read the words.

"Harry dear, I got your books, but there was a problem at Gringott's," Molly said once they were both inside.

"What kind of problem Mrs Weasley?" Harry tore his eyes away from the banner.

"I wanted to deduct the cost from your trust vault, but the Goblins said they would not allow me access, and took back the key. Luckily we had enough left in the Weasley vault to pay for your books, don't worry dear I have them both, but do you have any idea what is wrong with your vault?" Molly sounded worried.

"Erm, not of the top of my head," Harry said. He didn't want to admit he had gotten the lock changed, at least not until he knew for certain why the Weasleys had been accessing his vault.
"Do you... erm... often withdraw money from my vault?"

"Harry James Potter!" Molly sounded affronted, "Of course not! I only held on to your key at the Headmaster's request, to make it easier for you to get your school books in the summer." She looked at him with some sadness in her eyes, and continued: "You don't think I was stealing from you do you?"

"No, of course not!" Harry was quick to say. He hugged her, mollifying the woman somewhat. "I didn't know you had my key still, that is all. Thank you for taking care of me." He let go of the hug, and saw Molly smile again. "How much was it?"

"Oh, not that much Harry," Molly lied.

"Come on Molly, I shouldn't let you pay for my books. Tell me, or I'll just write Flourish & Blotts and find out anyway," Harry said, a grin appearing on his face.

"Thirteen Sickles for both books," Molly admitted. "I'm sorry Harry, but Professor Flitwick's book is rather expensive, a full nine Sickles, and –"

"That's fine Mrs Weasley," Harry smiled at her. "I have my money pouch in my trunk, I'll get you the money later okay?"

"You're a dear," Molly said.

A little later everyone piled in for the impromptu party: the full Weasley family, Hermione, Remus, and Hestia Jones from the Order. Throughout Harry kept a smile plastered on his face, pretending to be happy for Ron. At least with Hermione he needed no pretence, he was genuinely happy for her getting the recognition she deserved.

Harry excused himself from the group after dinner, turning down Ron's offer to look at his new broom together. Since they weren't allowed to fly anyway, what was the point?

Sirius found him sulking in the library near bed-time, reading a book on curses that Molly would no doubt want to confiscate had she been the one finding him reading it.
"Go on up pup, she's waiting for you," Sirius said in a soft tone. Harry shot him a grateful smile, and rushed up the stairs.

"Where were you?" Harry demanded as he entered his room.

"Hello to you too love," Tonks said flatly. "I was stuck all evening at Hogwarts for a teacher's meeting." She looked at him, a hint of concern in her voice, "Sirius said you had a major freak out... have you calmed down a bit?"

"It's not bloody fair!" Harry exclaimed. "I deserved that badge, you can't tell me I didn't! What does that bloody moron have that I don't?"

Tonks grabbed his shirt, and caused him to fall towards her. Catching him between her arms, she crushed him to her chest. "Hush love... you're right, it's not fair. Blame Dumbledore... I can't believe that man!"

"Mmm mmm mmm?" Harry's voice was muffled as she kept him trapped against her.

"There was quite a row actually at the meeting... the Heads of House were discussing their desired prefects, but when McGonagall said she wanted you, Dumbledore vetoed her." Tonks said. Harry raised his head a bit to say something, but Tonks just mashed her lips against his.

A deep snog later, Harry was calm again, and Tonks continued: "Don't blame Ron, well not for this. Dumbles pretty much ordered McG to make Ron the prefect in your place, who knows what for, he didn't elaborate. McG was annoyed, but she went along with him in the end."

Harry sighed, and leant back until he was lying on his back. "Yeah yeah, I know. I shouldn't blame Ron. Still sucks though."

"Know what else sucks?" Tonks said mischievously.

"No?"

"You'll find out," she said with a giggle. A moment later Harry's pants were being pulled down, and he realised what she meant.

–-

Several floors down, Hermione was waiting for Ginny's breath to slow down as she lay on her own bed. Finally the ginger girl across the room seemed to be asleep. Hermione pulled the sweat-soaked towel she had stolen from Harry's room out from under her covers, and pressed it close to her. Her right hand slipped back under the cover a little later.

Fortunately for Ginny, she was deep enough asleep that she wasn't awoken by the slightly muffled cry of "Harry!" coming from the other bed.

A/N: A bit of canon rehashing here, but it was needed. Hogwarts Express (probably) next week :)