25th of December 1996,
I solemnly swear that I am Harry James Potter Evans.

For a long time now, I have known that there are days in your life when you need to ask yourself certain questions. Do I need to do this? Do I want to do this? Is this really needed? Can I really handle this? Questions like that appear throughout your life and are often the herald of change in your life.

Today I had to ask myself such a question.

I suppose it fits to start during the morning. Everyone was heading down to open our gifts and see what everyone else got this year. I got my usual, books on history or something else relating to the subject. I gave Sirius a charmed sculpture depicting my dad, Remus and himself in their animagus and werewolf forms. When activated they all run around on the platform and play with one another. He loved it.

I gave Ted a different version of my diary. Where mine is spelled to have infinite pages until I decide it is over, Ted's is a briefcase enchanted to be able to hold, and archive, all his case files in one little neat space. All controlled by a small panel on the front. Andromeda was a little trickier this year, so I took the safe option and bought her a dress that Tonks told me she had been looking at for a while.

As for Tonks… I didn't really know what to get her. In the end I gave her a pendant that I had gotten enchanted with every form of protection that I could think off. I had it styled after the Hufflepuff Badger to represent her time at Hogwarts. She loved it and seeing her smile so bright was worth more than I could ever describe in a short sentence.

Later on the day, Sirius, Ted and Andromeda had business in the Alley. Something about a case they were working on together, some new evidence had been recovered and they were needed urgently, leaving me and Tonks alone once again.


"Sirius has really gotten back to his old self." Tonks said as she came out of the kitchen with two cups of steaming warm chocolate.

Nodding his thanks for the cup, Harry spoke. "He has. A big part of that has also been your help. Having you around in the Auror Corps has really helped him."

Tonks snorted, "I haven't done anything. It's all you. Being able to see you and be around you is helping him more than you will ever understand."

"Maybe. But that is why you are such a big part of this." Harry said with a smile.

"Oh?" Tonks drawled, "How so if I might ask?"

Harry's smile didn't drop, but there was something about it that changed, at least to Tonks. It was like it turned a little more… warm.

"If I hadn't met you in my first year, I would never have had the courage to go to Gringotts. Without you, I wouldn't have been able to handle everything that has happened over the years." Taking a breath, Harry looked towards the ceiling, "You have been there all these years to help me through all the good and the bad things that has happened to me. You really are amazing, Nymphadora."

The way Harry said her name made Tonks' stomach flutter and her face heat up. "I thought I told you not to use my name." She asked with a sneaky grin.

Harry's grin matched hers. "What's wrong with it? It's beautiful. You might not think you are a Gift from the Nymphs, but your friendship is the greatest gift I have ever gotten."

It was only thanks to her Metamorph abilities that her cheeks didn't turn flaming red at Harry's declaration about her name. "I want to know who taught you to flirt so shamelessly."

It was Harry's turn to snort, "You did, dear Nymphadora."

Tonks' hair shifted colors rapidly as she mock-glared at Harry. "Don't call me, Nymphadora!" she half-yelled.

"Or what, Nymphadora?" Harry challenged with a raised eyebrow.

There was that flutter in her stomach again.

"You might regret it." She said slowly.

Putting his cup of chocolate down, Harry's grin grew a little wider. "Prove it… Nyyyymphedoooora." He finished with a pop on the last two letters.

"That's it!" She declared as she sprung from her seat in the chair and dived on Harry and knocked him over on the couch. Her fingers latched on to his side and Harry's eyes widened in horror.

"No, no wai… hahahahaha!" Harry tried to defend himself but the fingers began moving and Harry lost all control of himself as Tonks assaulted his sides.

"Fear my tickling prowess!" Tonks declared victoriously as she continued her attack.

"Hahaha… is that the best you… hahaha… can do… hahahaha… Nymphadora?" Harry ground out through his laughter, locking eyes challengingly with Tonks.

"Why you little…" Tonks growled as she prepared to go for his weakest spot, under his feet, but his hands shot out, one snaking behind her back, the other behind her head. There was a second of silence when they stared into each other's eyes before their lips met and the world around them vanished.

They couldn't tell you how long it lasted, to them, it lasted long enough for them to learn everything they needed to know about each other.

They parted begrudgingly, noses still touching, and looked into each other's eyes with a warmth and glow that neither of them had known before.

"I ehm… I think I need to…" Tonks fumbled off Harry, "I need to use the loo." With those words she vanished out of the room, her hair changing color faster than Harry had ever seen before.


I'm not sure where that has left us. She hasn't come out of her room since then, and she doesn't answer when I knock on the door. I was actually expecting me to panic right around now, but instead I feel fine. I think we'll be fine. But all of this does lead to what I wrote at the start. We all have questions we have to ask ourselves over the course of our lives, and I think a pretty big one just appeared. The answer isn't hard, but I still have to ask myself,

Nymphadora Tonks, do I love you?


A/N: And so begins the main pairing and my rotten attempt at writing romance again. Oh and by the by, Harry IS going to be acting dense as a brick. Personally I think it makes sense in the end, but you judge for yourself. Have fun.

-TLWSY