He spent hours between Eric and Blake, and they had to begrudgingly release him when a distraught Tonks had arrived and taken a hold of him. Harry felt loved and cherished beyond anything he'd ever experienced… He had experienced it with Tom but that was different… This was different.

Tonks wept into his shoulder for the first couple of hours and Harry spent those trying to calm her down. When she had calmed down some, she cried some more but Harry knew that these were tears of joy, so he indulged her until she returned to normal.

Tonks clung to him and Harry smoothed his hands down her back,

"I'm fine, Tonks…It's okay…Everything's okay now…"

Tonks buried her face deeper into his shoulder as she spoke,

"You have no idea what we went through, Harry…"

Harry held her to himself as he pressed a kiss to her bubble-gum pink hair,

"It's all in the past now, Tonks… I'm not dead… Stan's not dead…"

Tonks stiffened at the mention of Stan's name and Harry felt her pull away. He saw the obvious hurt on her face as she spoke,

"Don't talk about that liar in front of me… I know everything… I know who he worked for… I know what he did…"

Harry shook his head as he rested his hands on her shoulders,

"He left it all behind for you… He's not a bad person, Tonks…He loves you with all his heart and I know that you love him too."

Tonks turned away her head as she stared at the armrest,

"I don't love him anymore."

Harry gently took a hold of her chin and spoke softly as he stared deep into her eyes,

"You don't mean that, Tonks… I know you love him… Its showing in your eyes."

Tonks' blinked away the tears as she averted her gaze once again. Harry wiped away her unshed tears,

"He's been hurt just as much as Tom and I… He needs your love now more than he's ever needed it…I can't ask you to do anything, but it would be nice if you forgive him…"

Tonks let out a sob as she buried her face in his chest again and cried. Harry knew it wouldn't be easy for Tonks to forgive Stan, but he knew that she would. Stan and Tonks shared that special connection. He stroked her hair as gently as possible as he looked directly at Blake and Eric, who were standing by the kitchen and had their arms crossed over their chests,

"Tonks… Just do what feels right to your heart… No one will force you into taking a decision that you don't want to take…"

Tonks fisted his shirt as she sobbed again and Harry felt her tears soak through his shirt. He continued to soothe her until he felt her calm down. Tonks state reminded him of himself when he'd discovered who Tom really was. The pain…the betrayal…the sheer heartache… It had felt so much in that moment…But he'd learnt the very same night that all those things were nothing compared to the pain of losing Tom forever,

"There was a time when I felt exactly what you're feeling right now, Tonks… I know what you're going through…I've been through it…"

Tonks voice was muffled and hoarse as she asked,

"How did you overcome it then?"

Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes as he recalled those horrible moments when he thought he'd witnessed Tom's death… All the time he'd spent in that horrible basement mourning him…

"I realized that I needed him more than anything else when they told me that he was dead… I wanted to die in that basement because breathing without him just wasn't an option… A world without him just wasn't worth living in…"

He stopped because he realized that his voice was quivering with emotions and the tears, he'd been holding back had somehow managed to escape out of his eyes. He saw his own emotions reflected on Tom's face who sat on the opposite couch and Harry noticed the fresh tear tracks that streaked his cheeks.

Tonks pulled away from his chest and Harry had to wrench his gaze away from Tom to meet hers,

"You really love him that much?"

Harry gaze wandered back to Tom as he nodded his head,

"Yes, I do…"

Tom lowered his gaze and Harry turned his focus back to Tonks,

"How can you just ignore everything he's done?"

Harry closed his eyes as he sighed,

"I can ignore it all because what he's done means anything when I weigh it against how much I need him in my life."

Tonks cupped his cheek and Harry forced his eyes open as he stared into her tear filled ones,

"What should I do?"

Harry hitched up an apologetic smile as he wiped away her tears,

"I can't tell you that…None of us can."

Tonks held his hands and kissed them one by one,

"But I know what you would do if you were in my place…In a way…you've already done it and you seem happy with him…"

A sliver of doubt crept into Tonks' eyes as she paused and then she inquired,

"Are you happy with him?"

Harry nodded,

"I'm very happy with Tom."

A smile finally curled Tonks' lips…a genuine smile…And that warmed Harry's heart like nothing else,

"I know what I have to do then."

She pressed a kiss to his forehead and murmured against his skin,

"I'm so happy that you're back…I'm so happy that you're okay…"

Harry closed his eyes and whispered,

"I'm so happy to be back as well."

Tonks pulled her lips away from her forehead before rising to her feet and picking up her purse,

"I need to…"

Harry got up to his feet as well and pulled her into a hug,

"Just go…"

Tonks smiled at him before pulling away and rushing out the door. Harry turned to look at Eric and Blake and finally spoke,

"So… How about we have something to eat now?"

Eric and Blake's faces lit up with matching smiles as they spoke,

"As long as you're cooking."

Harry grinned at them,

"It would be my honour."