I do not own Harry Potter or gain anything from writing this other than the opportunity of expanding on an already brilliant universe for my own entertainment, and hopefully yours.

Fixing the Broken

Harry arrived back at Privet Drive as if everything was normal, but had no plans of staying. Dumbledore had yet to contact him about what was happening with the Order or to mention anything about the Ministry or anything else for that matter. A big part of him wanted to go to Grimmauld Place to ease Sirius' mistrust and get an explanation as to what else happened but he didn't want to overcomplicate things once they found out about the lack of Trace. He was putting his hand in with Amelia Bones, not the Order of the Phoenix. Ron and Ginny would be passing on a piece of what had happened to Harry along to their parents anyway, leaving out the most important bits.

The first day of the holiday, Harry left under his invisibility cloak and went straight to Gringotts to organize his funds. After converting a large portion to pounds, he went to a Muggle bank to open an account, receiving a credit card. Harry only went back to Privet Drive long enough to tell his relatives he would be leaving for the rest of the summer and to expect him to come back after next school year. They weren't displeased to see him go, but still raised a bit of a fuss for inconveniencing them in the first place.

His next destination was a Muggle hotel across the street from where he planned to meet Susan the next day. He spent the rest of the afternoon creating a pensieve from ingredients he purchased at Diagon Alley earlier, then ate at the restaurant across the street.

It was a busy establishment, large windows, bright lights and waiting staff bustling every which way. It wasn't the type of place people would expect one to meet to discuss returned dark lords, which was exactly why it was perfect. After finishing his light meal he retired for the evening to his hotel room, looking forward to returning the next afternoon.

He arrived at the restaurant early and already felt the presence of a witch who was sitting at the booth he'd planned on taking in the far corner. The spot had a clear view of the rest of the restaurant and was right next to an emergency exit. He moved immediately to the witch and sat down at her table without saying a word.

She was middle aged, her greying black hair done up in a tight bun, wearing a simple beige business suit as any Muggle might on a Monday afternoon while eating lunch out.

He casually ordered a drink when the waitress turned up and only then looked to the undercover Auror. 'What, no "Wotcher Harry"?' he queried, receiving a gobsmacked expression in return.

'How did you …' Nymphadora Tonks tried, but trailed off at his satisfied smirk. 'Bloody hell what has happened to you? Making Portkeys, turning full grown fully trained wizards into galleons, marking me? No one marks me. You've got the Order confused as all get out.'

'Speaking of which,' Harry said quietly and leaning in, 'does Bones know you're in the Order?'

Tonks paled significantly and looked to the doorway to make sure they weren't about to be interrupted. 'Not exactly,' she said shiftily. 'Keep it that way, yeah?'

Harry nodded absently and checked his watch. 'I could keep it that way. Think you can keep this quiet though? I'm about to tell Bones some things that Dumbledore might not appreciate.'

Tonks narrowed her eyes at him, he could tell she was debating bringing him in to the Order and abandoning the meeting. But to do that to Harry Potter in broad daylight with the Head of the DMLE on her way, who also happened to be her boss and who stationed her here, didn't seem like the brightest idea. Not to mention, she'd seen what he did to Moody, it would be foolish to underestimate Harry Potter at this point.

'Fine,' she lied.

'You're lying,' he accused casually. 'I can make it so you don't exactly have a choice in the matter you know.'

Tonks' eyes somehow got even more narrow and a sneer appeared on her lips.

'You're out of school and a kid,' she pointed out scathingly.

'Who says I need magic? While I'd rather not be found out by the Order quite so soon, not being safely tucked away at Privet Drive and all, it would only be a minor inconvenience. So you have three choices …'

She scoffed but remained quiet.

'First, trust me and keep it from them for now.' He counted it off on a finger. 'I'll be making an appearance at Grimmauld Place soon regardless. Second, lie to me and have me tell your boss you're moonlighting. Third, just sit at another table and observe us from there.'

She stared at him shaking her head slightly at the completely different Harry Potter from what she remembered. He was a reserved, shy kid who she'd been able to fluster quite easily. Not a cunning little prat who thought he held all the cards.

'And why should I trust you?' she questioned in frustration.

'Because of this.'

Harry pulled out a small glass orb from the pouch tied to his belt and tapped it with his wand. He had already applied a silencing charm around them the second the waitress left. As Tonks listened to the prophecy her eyes widened dramatically. Once it finished her eyes darted back and forth, making the same connections McGonagall had when he showed her.

'Yes, this is what you were guarding, yes, this is why my parents died and yes it is about Voldemort and I,' he rattled off quickly. 'Now please, trust me, Tonks. I'm here to help make things better, I have a plan.'

Tonks ran her hands through her suddenly bubblegum-pink hair, which reverted back to the black bun once she finished the motion (though with significantly more grey). After a tremulous inner battle she came to a decision.

'Fine, but it won't be easy. Dumbledore knows when you're lying to him you know.'

Harry nodded in understanding and removed the silencing spell as he felt others with magic approaching.

'It won't be for long, I promise,' he said with a small smile. 'Now look sharp and properly annoyed for being caught, your boss is here.'

Tonks sat up straight and looked to the door. Sure enough, another Auror walked in ahead of Amelia Bones. The Auror only glanced at Harry and Tonks for a moment before he veered off and sat at a table near the door. Madam Bones walked straight to them. Susan was notably absent.

'Mr Potter,' she said in greeting, barely sparing Tonks a glance, 'to what do I owe this pleasure?'

Harry stood up from his chair and shook her hand firmly. 'Quite a lot to talk about actually. Before we start, Nymphadora Tonks here is a member of the Order of the Phoenix.'

'Harry!' Tonks gasped in shock.

'Told you not to lie,' he said, shrugging then looked back to Madam Bones, who had little reaction to the news. 'You already knew?'

She took the seat next to a seething Tonks and regarded Harry curiously. 'I had my suspicions,' she admitted. 'I have little problem with the Order. They've been helpful in some regard, my problem with them is their penchant for secrecy.'

Harry nodded in understanding. He felt the same way toward the Order, though his main issue was with Dumbledore. The man had a habit of wanting to control Harry, a habit Harry wished he would break.

'No Susan?' he asked. 'I was hoping to see her again.'

Amelia smirked knowingly at the boy but shook her head. 'It was a rather suspicious meeting to be honest.' She paused to order a drink before continuing. 'Not something I'd want to drag my niece to without knowing what it was about.'

'I understand,' Harry said. 'Let me get down to business then.' He was about to put up his own privacy wards but was spared the need when Amelia did it first. 'I have three things I want to tell you about. First, I want to provide you with proof of Voldemort's return.'

This was the first thing that got a real reaction from the Head of the DMLE. Her eyes widened remarkably for a moment, her monocle falling with the motion. She glanced about them to ensure her wards were in place before turning her attention back to Harry.

'Proof?' she asked quickly. 'I admit I have had my doubts of his return, but if you have proof that can make a world of difference.'

Harry drew a phial with a silvery substance from inside a pouch tied to his belt and placed it on the table.

'That is my memory from the night of the third task of the Triwizard Tournament and what happened afterward; when Cedric Diggory was murdered, and when Voldemort made his return.'

The director picked up the phial carefully, inspecting it with something close to fear.

'A pensieve …' she muttered.

'I have one in my hotel room across the street,' he said then looked to Tonks. 'A place I will be vacating after this meeting.'

Tonks gave a barely recognizable nod, her eyes also locked on the phial in her boss' hand.

'The second thing,' Harry continued, breaking the two out of their thoughts, 'is to declare the innocents of my godfather, Sirius Black.'

'What?!' Madam Bones asked in shock. 'You claim he is innocent? He is the one who betrayed your parents and murdered a dozen Muggles and his friend!'

'No, he was never my parents secret keeper, Peter Pettigrew was.'

'Pettigrew was -'

'He was not killed that day,' Harry cut in firmly. 'He just made it look like he had been, killing the Muggles in the process. He is an unregistered Animagus, his form is a rat. He is also in that memory there,' he pointed at the silver phial still in Madam Bones' hand, 'providing Voldemort with a new body through a ritual.'

Madam Bones seemed a bit lost at this point. She pulled her wand out and conjured a sheet of Muggle paper and a fountain pen, jotting down notes, repairing and replacing her monocle in the process.

Harry didn't wait for her to finish, however. 'The third thing I want to tell you about is this,' he pulled out the crystal ball for the second time at that table and tapped his wand to it.

After a great many questions and repeating the prophecy several more times, Madam Bones sat back looking somewhat excited. She used to be an Auror after all, she missed these kinds of breakthroughs in a case.

'So let's say he is back, seeing as I doubt you're lying about this,' Madam Bones said, inspecting the memory closely. 'What are your expectations from us meeting?'

'Honestly?' Harry said, running a hand through his hair. 'I wanted you to be informed to prevent as much loss of life as possible. I already have a plan in place for destroying him. It's the collateral damage I'm worried about.'

Both women looked at him with identical cocked eyebrows.

'What do you mean you have a plan in place?' Tonks asked him in disbelief. 'You're fifteen!'

Harry just laughed and stood up from the table. 'Come. I'm guessing you'll want to view the memory before you leave.'

The hotel room was dead quiet after they viewed the memory. Tonks sat in an armchair with her head in her hands, apparently she knew Cedric Diggory personally and insisted on being able to see the memory as well. Amelia Bones was on the edge of one of the hotel beds looking out the window. Harry had opted to stay out of the memory, living through it once was enough.

While they were viewing it he had a short chat with the other Auror that Amelia had brought, a burly man named Gawain Robards. Apparently he was of the opinion before the meeting that Harry and Dumbledore were full of shite, like most of the wizarding world. His opinion was changing now that he saw the reactions of his two co-workers.

'That was a terrible thing you had to go through, Mr Potter,' Amelia Bones said in a sturdy voice. 'Thank you for bringing this to our attention. I want your permission to borrow this memory and your pensieve. I want to make this known.'

Harry considered her for a moment, he didn't agree that it would be the best course of action to save as many lives as possible, though Voldemort would need to come out into the open for Harry to get the chance to face him. It might be inevitable.

'If that's what you think is best,' he said slowly. 'My original plan was to fight him from the shadows, but I can see how that can backfire too. I just don't want him making any big moves that'll cause more death if we can help it.'

Amelia stood and stored the memory into the phial. 'Too much corruption, I think,' she said with a sneer. 'Even my own department is most likely compromised. It'll be easier to move if we're all on the same page.'

Harry nodded in acceptance.

'You said you will be checking out from here, Mr Potter,' she said suddenly, 'do you have a place to stay?'

Harry regarded her suspiciously, but answered with the truth. 'Not at the moment, no.'

'Would you like to stay with me?' she asked easily. 'Susan would be able to visit, I know she has been raving about you in all her letters.'

Harry was quite taken aback. He had expected some attempt to keep an eye on him, but staying in her home was a step further than he'd anticipated. In all honesty there was an appeal to it though. This was the person he decided to put his trust in, it may have been on a whim and upon hearing she was a good person in a position of power, but he had still made the decision. It wouldn't be such a bad idea to go all in, would it? Provided he was free to do what he needed.

'You honestly wouldn't mind that?' he asked hesitantly. 'Wouldn't I be a burden to you, or even your family?'

'I live alone,' she said with a knowing smile. 'You would be free to come and go as you please, so long as you stay safe. No one would expect you to be there after all.'

'Yes,' he said immediately. 'If you'll have me that would be wonderful.'

He glanced over at Tonks, who looked concerned.

'Tell the Order what you want,' he said dismissively, 'but remember that this is my life, not Albus Dumbledore's.'

Tonks grimaced a bit but didn't argue. Though she had stopped arguing pretty quickly after her boss arrived.

'Maddy!' Madam Bones cried and a very straight postured house elf appeared beside her.

The elf wore a clean white pillow case and had a general air of pompousness about it. Harry hadn't seen many House Elves look down on a witch or wizard, but this one could certainly pull it off. Though Kreacher would give this new elf a run for her money in that regard. At least Maddy didn't look particularly mean.

'Yes, Mistress?' the house elf called Maddy said in a squeaky drawl.

'Please take this back home,' Madam Bones said, handing her the pensieve, 'and prepare the guest room, we'll be entertaining a visitor for a little while.'

'Certainlys, Mistress,' the elf said primly while balancing the large pensieve on its head. With a small snap, it was gone.

'Well then,' Madam Bones said to Harry, 'are you all set?'

'Yeah, I am,' Harry said as the austere woman held out her arm. Harry grasped it firmly in preparation to Apparate.

'Tonks, Robards, that'll be all,' she said, then turned on the spot.

They landed on the walkway to a rather large house of grey and white. Without preamble, Madam Bones led Harry up a few stone steps and into the front door. It was a bright home with large windows and high ceilings. Amelia showed Harry into the sitting room and asked him to wait a moment. She disappeared through the Floo and Harry was left alone.

The whole house was very clean, which didn't surprise Harry after meeting the house elf earlier. The room he sat in had a rich feel to it, the furniture and fixtures were highly decorative with many embellished carvings and patterns into wood, stone and upholstery, making everything seem quite expensive. He supposed someone in Madam Bones' position - as well as being from a Pureblood family - was quite well off.

After a few minutes, the Floo lit up again and a familiar auburn haired girl stepped out.

'Harry!' Susan cried excitedly. 'It's so good to see you here!'

'You too, Susan,' he said, smiling. 'Can't say I expected to be here when I talked to you on the train.'

The Floo came to life again and Amelia Bones appeared.

'Susan was quite cross with me for not allowing her to come to the meeting,' Madam Bones explained, grinning at her niece. 'I hope you don't mind her showing you around, I really should be getting back to work.'

Harry laughed at the silent exchange between aunt and niece as Susan glared warningly and Amelia rolled her eyes.

'Not at all,' he said easily. 'I don't usually get to spend enough time with Susan at school.'

'Just be sure to be a gentleman about it,' Amelia said, giving her niece a wicked grin and a wink before leaving for the Ministry.

'Ugh, just ignore her,' Susan said, hopping onto the couch next to Harry. 'So what did you want to talk to her about?'

Harry ran a hand through his hair and let out a shaky laugh. 'I don't mind telling you. You'll likely read about it in tomorrow's Prophet anyway. Just know it's not a happy topic, OK?'

Susan agreed, her mood turning sombre.

Harry proceeded to tell her everything he'd told her aunt. From the prophecy to his godfather to the night Voldemort returned. She was in tears when he told her that her aunt had witnessed the memory where Cedric was killed and Harry gave her a hug to help calm her.

'I'm sorry, I know it was a year ago and all that,' she said, still sniffing. 'He was just such a good friend to all of us in Hufflepuff. A real leader, you know?'

'I do,' Harry answered. 'I may not have known him that well but we were definitely friends. We helped each other more than once in the tournament. I wouldn't have gotten through the second task without him.'

They reminisced a bit about their lost friend until Susan asked if he wanted to be shown around. After a full tour of the spacious home, they ended up in the room Harry would be staying in. Susan sat on a desk chair with her feet up on the bed while Harry organized his clothes.

'So what happened to you anyway?' Susan asked suddenly.

'What do you mean?' he questioned back, though he had a good idea of what she meant.

Susan walked up to him, standing at her full height. She placed a hand on the top of her head and moved it straight where it landed at Harry's upper chest.

'Well you grew like a foot,' she reached out and ran a hand along his arms that his t-shirt didn't cover, 'you're super fit,' then she fixed her eyes on his face, 'and you even look different. It all happened after you left the History of Magic OWL because you weren't feeling well.'

Harry looked at himself in a mirror on the side wall and took note of her observations.

'Short answer?' he said. 'Potions and training. Long answer?' He turned away from her and let out a long sigh before sitting on the bed. 'I was treated pretty badly while I was young, my mum's relatives hate magical people so they treated me like garbage. Didn't get fed as much as a young kid should - stunted my growth. I took potions to counter that.'

Susan looked at him with a furrowed brow. 'But,' she tried but failed to find the words at first, 'but you're Harry Potter.'

Harry arched an eyebrow and looked at himself in the mirror again. 'So I am,' he said dryly. 'What's your point?'

'You saved everyone!' she said incredulously. 'Everybody loves you! Why were you with people who hated you?'

Harry pulled out his wand and pointed it at her. It was a mark of how much she trusted him that she didn't even flinch.

'What'd you do?' she asked in concern. 'Didn't you get a full trial for doing magic outside of school last summer?'

'I took off your Trace,' he explained with a grin. 'Disabled it anyway, mines already gone.'

At her shocked look he gestured her to the bed.

'Sit down on the bed, I'll sit with my back to you. I have a method to tell you everything, it'll be quicker and will make much more sense in the end.'

She nodded slowly and did what he asked. Once they were in position she decided to tease him a bit.

'You know, my aunt used to warn me about boys like you,' she mock scolded. 'Only interested in getting me into bed.'

'Well you are very pretty, Susan,' he teased back, 'but I don't know how I'm supposed to even kiss you from this position.'

After her girlish giggle, Harry began his explanation.

'Before I start, I need you to know what this will do. It is a kind of magic called melding. Our minds will enter a mutual state. This does a few things: the main purpose is it allows me to transfer knowledge to your mind directly. I'll warn you that it's a bit strange at first but I can tell that you'll be able to handle it.

'The second thing it does is it allows me to view your mind completely. This is the place that you would probably wish for me not to do this. Any surface thoughts you have go directly to me. I can also delve deeper into your mind but I would only do that with your permission. Third, I can, if I choose, open my mind to you and let you delve where I allow you. Does this make any sense to you?'

Susan shook her head slowly. 'No,' she answered, 'it seems like a lie to be honest, but I trust you for some reason. What do you mean by surface thoughts?'

'Well, let's say a thought crosses your mind like, "Harry Potter is so cute I wish he'd kiss me", which I assume you have almost constantly.'

Susan snorted in laughter then broke out into a bubbly giggle. 'And what if I did actually have that thought?' she asked curiously, still giggling.

'Then I would tease you relentlessly,' he said, a smile in his voice. 'Or just enough to hear your laugh again. But know that it can go the other way too. If you think, for example "Harry is so bloody full of himself, I hate him" then I would hear that too. Understand?'

'Yes, I think I do,' she answered honestly. 'I'm willing to try, just don't judge me too harshly.'

'Never,' he answered vehemently. 'Thoughts are a difficult thing to control, especially when you're aware someone is watching them. Now lean your head back against mine and close your eyes.'

Susan did as he asked and they melded. As he had expected, she handled the process rather well. After getting the initial teasing out of the way about how she wanted to see the rest of his fit body and helping her to organize her mind the way the guardian had shown him, he began transferring the knowledge of what happened to him in the Department of Mysteries. As he learned with Hermione and Luna, he could actually transfer memories to a person that they could access in their mind.

She was utterly amazed at what Harry had gone through. He showed her some of the latter training sessions he'd had with the Guardian of Power and then the results at the Ministry after he left.

'So you went there because Voldemort implanted a false vision of your godfather?' Susan asked once they broke off the meld later.

'Yes, the vision is what made me leave the exam the way I did,' Harry explained. 'I was desperate at the time but in hindsight it was incredibly foolish. I basically dragged my friends to a place I thought Voldemort was. I was just asking for him to kill them.'

Susan looked at him sadly before pulling him into a hug. 'But they didn't die,' she said gently. 'You saved them in the end.'

Harry couldn't stop himself from registering how good she smelled and was brought to a particular thought Susan had while they were in the meld. Maybe he should stop melding with so many beautiful girls. His restraint was waning.

'Well I'm a different person now,' he said, pulling away. 'I won't do something that foolish again.'

The two of them made their way down to the dining room to have some dinner that Maddy made and chatted a bit more about Harry's plans for the summer. Madam Bones arrived home shortly into their meal.

Amelia was a very busy woman that day. Fudge had been convinced, along with the rest of the Ministry that Voldemort truly had returned. The first action they took was the arrest of Lucius Malfoy, as he was present at the graveyard the night of Voldemort's resurrection. Fudge was planning to step down as Minister and it looked like Amelia herself would probably be elected next.

Harry couldn't argue with the results of Amelia's choice to let the world know the truth. He made the decision to take the honest approach from then on, instead of hiding behind secrets like Dumbledore.

Amelia was fascinated with the story of what happened to Harry, though rather skeptical of the details. When he gave her a demonstration of what he could do magically she had grudgingly admitted it was the most logical explanation. Though she did give him a rather long lecture for breaking wizarding law and performing underage magic. She thankfully saw the reasoning behind it though and did not push the issue.

Once Susan left, Harry told her about the Horcruxes that had kept Voldemort alive. This was an incredibly worrying revelation for the head of the DMLE.

'And you have no idea if he has more?' she asked.

'I don't know how many,' he explained, 'but I'm fairly certain he has more. You heard him at the graveyard "I, who have gone further than anybody down the path that leads to immortality". Others have made Horcruxes before. I don't know how many he's made but it seems to be a significant number.'

Amelia went for her cupboard and pulled out a similar amber liquid he saw McGonagall with a week ago.

'What can be done then?' she asked helplessly. 'If he can't be destroyed …'

'I plan on delving into his mind to find where they all are,' Harry said calmly.

'What?!' Amelia snapped, jumping to her feet. 'Do you realize who you are talking about? Even if you have gained some ability through this … thing you encountered, how do you plan on invading the mind of the most powerful wizard on the planet?!'

Harry's eyes suddenly flashed dangerously, in a second Amelia Bones had drawn her wand in surprise only to have it fly out of her hand. She backed away against the wall as Harry advanced. He placed his hand against her forehead gently and locked eyes with her.

'I won't hurt you, Amelia,' he said calmly, 'but I need you to know what I'm capable of.'

She couldn't look away from his green eyes, they seemed to glow with power. In a flash, the feeling was gone and she was looking at the same Harry Potter who she'd met with at the restaurant earlier in the day.

'Really?' he asked her somewhat incredulously. 'Grey? Whose favourite colour is grey?'

Madam Bones blinked owlishly. Then glared at the boy, pointing an angry finger at him.

'You did all that,' she ground out, poking Harry in the chest with every word, 'just to search my mind for my favourite colour?!'

'Yes,' Harry said, smiling slightly. 'Didn't want to invade your privacy for anything you didn't want me to see.'

Amelia turned in a huff and grabbed her wand, casting a spell idly at Harry. He allowed it and found he was hanging in the air from his ankle.

'Sorry,' he said belatedly. 'Didn't mean to upset you.'

Amelia smacked him backside the head and walked out of the room.

Harry hung there, spinning from when he was hit, wondering when it would be acceptable to dispel the spell so Amelia Bones wouldn't be mad at him.