Ah, it feels good to be back!

Hello everyone, it's me, the Lonely Lorekeeper! Back again with a new chapter of To Date a Metamorph, and today, we start really pushing things along. Now, this is the longest chapter I've written yet, and I'm feeling pretty proud for how it turned out. Seriously, this was actually a lot of fun to write, and it feels good to have my muse back and helping me write the fics that y'all seem to enjoy just as much as I do.

Also, before I go, I just want to thank all of you for the messages and reviews y'all have been sending me...well, most of the reviews. The reviews that just say 'update immediately' and what have you give me as much pleasure as getting a paper back from my English teacher with the only notes being 'it needs more work done'. However, those of you that give me these fun little comments that make me laugh, or fill me with joy to see them, they really make my day, and make it a lot of fun to write these, because I get to see how all y'all are enjoying the fic as well. So, to all of you who do that, thank you so much—it's because of you that I write.

Now then, on with the chapter!

Chapter 8: Make the Escape

For the next few hours, Tonks dragged Harry back and forth through the Alley, hoping to both put him back into a good mood after the slight downer of having to read his parents' last words to him as well as spend more time with the boy she had her eyes set on. She, of course, remembered to cast a quick glamour spell over him so that he wouldn't be noticed by the general masses—it was a better option than trying to shop as a completely unnoticeable person—which Harry was very thankful for.

Actually, there was a lot about their trip to Diagon Alley that Harry was thankful for. He had to admit that he really enjoyed spending time with Tonks, and the metamorph beside him always seemed to know just how to brighten his mood after the rough meetings he'd had that day.

Their first stop had been to the nearby Quidditch store, mostly just to window shop and glance over the newest products. This had, of course, led to Harry and Tonks sharing stories about playing for their Hogwarts teams—as it turned out, Tonks had been a Chaser for Hufflepuff, and would've been on the team in his first year had she not been busy studying to join the aurors after graduation. Harry, for what it was worth, was more than willing to see how well Tonks did on a broom compared to him the next chance they'd get.

"Just as long as I can ride your broom when I do it," Tonks had replied with a wink.

Harry, unfortunately, had no good response to give her besides blushing in embarrassment and trying to move the conversation away from any further innuendos—a task he quickly found to be surprisingly hard when talking about Quidditch, something that brought endless mirth to the metamorph beside him, and endless embarrassment for the boy-who-lived himself.

His embarrassment had not ended at the Quidditch store, as Tonks found ways to tease him everywhere they went. Still, the shopping trip went well by Harry's account, stopping by clothing stores ("Can't have you wearing that baggy rubbish, now can we?"), Flourish and Blotts for some new defense books ("Be easier on me as your bodyguard if you can also defend yourself."), and even a nearby shop that specialized in glasses for wizards ("How could you even see through those old ones, anyway?").

When all was said and done, the two found themselves sitting outside of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, enjoying two large sundaes after the long afternoon. Harry was wearing a new sharp pair of glasses, and he couldn't help but look around in awe every once in a while, surprised by how crisp his vision was for the first time in what had likely been years.

Tonks smirked as she watched, slowly eating her own sundae across from him. "I told you those glasses were a good idea," she stated matter-of-factly.

Harry turned his gaze back to Tonks, his emerald eyes gleaming behind the sleek windows of glass, and he shot her a sheepish smile. "Yeah, I guess you did," he chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Sorry, it's just…either this is a different prescription, or the magic is just that good, because everything looks so clear, it's just…" He shook his head again, unable to find the words.

"Maybe it's a bit of both?" Tonks suggested, quickly hiding her blush behind her abilities as his gaze turned back to her. The glasses would do a lot of good to him in everyday life, of course, but they also helped to make him look much more mature, with almost a roguish quality to him. It was taking all that she had not to just leap across the table and take him right there, the way he was looking at her.

"Maybe…" Harry replied with a shrug, shooting Tonks another sheepish grin. His gaze then drifted back down to his sundae sitting before him, and he slowly stirred it as he thought, before looking back up at Tonks and raising an eyebrow. "Hey, uh, Tonks? Can I ask you something?"

Tonks looked back up at Harry and she calmed herself down, forcing her blush away. "Yeah, Harry? Go ahead."

Harry took another moment to think, his gaze drifting back down to the bowl of ice cream and chocolate syrup that was quickly turning into a melted mess, before he finally glanced back up at her and took a soft, almost nervous breath. "Why…why are you doing all of this?"

Tonks was surprised by Harry's question, but before she could ask what exactly he meant, he quickly continued. "I mean, why are you doing all of this to help me? I mean, you helped me out with the Statute problem this morning, yeah, but you also helped out with getting the ball rolling to prove Sirius' innocence, helped me work with the goblins in Gringotts—heck, you even helped me get better glasses, but…why? And don't say it's because it's your job, or because of the Order, because I don't see anyone else who's tried to do that yet."

For a moment, Tonks was silent as she pondered over Harry's words. She did have to admit that, from an outside view and with no idea of her true intentions with him, her actions could be seen as very surprisingly altruistic. And, considering his upbringing, that could be a sign for concern. At the same time, though, his questions brought a small smirk to her lips. Perhaps it was time she teased out a bit of her true intentions for him, as well as perhaps giving another try to seduce him again.

Giving him a small smirk, the metamorphmagus leaned closer to him across the table, her breasts swelling slightly as she let them hang over the table, and she reached out to slip her hands over his. "It's like I said before, Harry," she murmured softly, her eyes locked on his, "I'm here to take care of you…in every way possible~"

Her leg slowly moved under the table to gently rub against one of his, causing the young man to jump slightly in his seat. And yet, Harry's eyes did not leave Tonks'. She could feel his pulse racing in his hands, and in his vivid emerald eyes, she could see that Harry was beginning to understand what Tonks wanted. "T-Tonks…" Harry stuttered in reply, more shocked than anything else.

"Yes, Harry~?" Tonks asked, smirking as she slowly leaned closer, her eyes slowly drifting down towards his lips. To her surprise, and most sincere pleasure, she noticed he wasn't backing away, and actually seemed to slowly move closer to her as well.

Unfortunately, their moment came to an end far too soon for either's liking.

Before either were close enough to even just brush their lips against each other in a ghost of a kiss, a nearby clock tower began to ring slowly, the bells bellowing out four distinct chimes. Tonks froze, and she quickly sat upright, pulling away from Harry so quickly that she almost knocked him over. She wanted to apologize, but instead turned and threw up a hurried Tempus spell.

"Shit!" Tonks swore, before whirling back to Harry, her hair flashing from a soft lavender to an anxious orange so quickly they almost blinded him. "It's already four! We need to get back to Privet Drive, now, before anyone finds out we were gone!"

Harry, now recovered from the almost-kiss, stood up from the table, looking back at Tonks in concern. "Wait, what? Before who finds out?"

"The other Order members, Harry!" Tonks snapped back, looking more and more frantic as she quickly gathered up their bags and lunged over to take his hand. "They don't know I'm doing this—technically speaking, we're not supposed to interact with you until a month or so before school starts. We have to get back before anyone finds out and both of us are in serious trouble!"

Before Harry could ask another word, Tonks pulled him close against her and twirled on the balls of her feet, disapparating away from Diagon Alley and back to Privet Drive, apparating with as silent a crack as possible into the Dursley's backyard. Once more, Harry stumbled a bit as he stepped out of the teleportation, but he did note that he didn't feel as queasy as he had before, so Tonks' advice from before had likely been true.

"Hurry, Harry, get inside before anyone notices," Tonks hissed, passing him the bags, but also gripping his wrist before he could get to far. "This isn't over, by the way. I will be back, sooner rather than later."

Harry glanced back at Tonks in surprise, before slowly pulling away and shooting her a nervous smile. "I hope so," he replied, before turning and quickly dashing back into the house. "I'll get the will to Madam Bones for you, by the way," he called back, holding it up, "Hedwig can handle the flight, I think, don't you?"

Tonks watched him go, her heart pounding—now for two very different reasons, though—and her hair started to bleed back into its usual pink color as a self-satisfied smile slipped onto her face. Sighing, the witch turned and quickly whipped the invisibility cloak out from her moleskin pouch once more, swept it over her head and shoulders, and dashed out over the fence towards the tree in the front yard where, of course, Mr. Weasley was already waiting.

The older wizard was trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, but it was clear that the more he waited for her to arrive, the more uneasy he got, and the more he began to nervously pace about. It looked as though he was about to cast a spell at the house—perhaps to see if something had happened—when Tonks rushed up to him, her heart still pounding in her ears from her mad dash.

"Wait, hang on Arthur! I'm here, I'm here!"

Mr. Weasley lowered his wand and shook his head. "Oh, Merlin's beard, Tonks! You're almost five minutes late, I was worried something had happened. It's Phoenix Feather, by the way."

"No, nothing's wrong, don't worry," Tonks shook her head as well, shrugging off the cloak and passing it to him. She straightened her shirt, and a faint blush of embarrassment spread across her face as she looked back at the older wizard beside her. "Sorry, I guess I sort of just lost track of time…"

Mr. Weasley passed Tonks a knowing smile and slowly nodded. "Don't worry Tonks, I understand." Tonks froze, almost afraid he had caught onto her, but his next words calmed her back down again. "I know this job isn't exactly the most exciting, and considering you took three consecutive shifts, I'm really not surprised. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone back at Headquarters that you nodded off during your shift, but try to be more alert next time, or at least don't take so many in a row!"

Tonks breathed out a relieved sigh and nodded. "Thanks, Arthur, I'll definitely keep that in mind," she replied, giving the older wizard a smile before stepping back and allowing him to pull on the invisibility cloak himself. "I'll see you around Headquarters—good luck Harry Watching!"

As Arthur gave Tonks an invisible nod back in reply, Tonks turned and quickly made her way back down the road towards Arabella Figg's house, and the apparation point they'd set up behind her hedges. Spinning on her heels once more in the center of the spiral-ridged apparation circle, Tonks disappeared in a sharp snap and reappeared moments later on the front step of Grimmauld Place, safely hidden from view behind the boundary line of the Fidelius Charm.

Taking a moment to compose herself, Tonks straightened herself up and reached up to ring the doorbell. She then immediately remembered why, exactly, no one ever rang the doorbell, as beyond the door she could hear the slightly muffled screeching of Aunt Walburga's painting, and Sirius shouting up a storm of swearwords to match it.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake!" Sirius shouted, swinging the door open and shooting a glare at whoever was on the front step, in this case Tonks. "Nymmie, dammit, what the bloody hell? You're supposed to knock, you know this! Come on, get in, get in!"

"Sorry Sirius," Tonks murmured, a bit too embarrassed to get annoyed at him using that name with her, "I guess I'm just not in the right mind at the moment."

Sirius seemed to perk up a bit at those words, and an expectant look crossed his face. "Oh? Is something wrong? Something to do with Harry?"

Before Tonks could say anything, Walburga's painting seemed to shriek even louder than before, and Sirius growled before turning and charging up to her, shouting back at his mother's painting. Sighing, Tonks slipped into the entrance hall—keeping a very close eye on that troll-leg-umbrella-stand the entire time—and walked out into the main foyer and living room, trying to block out the sound of Sirius and his mother's shouting match.

"Wotcher, all!" she called out as she looked around. The only other people she could see were the Weasley twins, sitting on the large couch going over some of their newest gadgets, and Hermione and Ginny.

Hermione was the first to really notice her, and she sat up to pass the auror a smile. "Hey Tonks, welcome back. How's Harry doing?"

"How's she supposed to know, Hermione?" Ginny suddenly cut in, frowning, "They're not allowed to talk to him, remember."

"No, we're not allowed to talk to him," Tonks agreed, frowning at the youngest Weasley child, before turning her gaze back to Hermione and smoothing her expression into a knowing smile. "But, from what I was able to see of him, it seems like he's doing alright. He seemed a bit depressed though—he probably misses you all."

She then winked subtly at Hermione, and the brunette smiled warmly back at her, getting the silent message shared between the two of them. "Well, I'm glad to hear it, at least…though, I wish he could get here sooner. It just doesn't seem right, leaving him there all alone in his misery."

"I know what you mean," Tonks nodded, slipping her hands into her pockets, "but I'm gonna see what I can do about that—speaking of, has anyone seen Dumbledore? I need to speak with him for a minute."

Though her main plan was to have Harry fall for her and have him to herself, she also had her duty as an auror to uphold, which meant ensuring Harry's safety as she had promised Madam Bones earlier that day. And after what she'd seen while with Harry, from his poorly-maintained bedroom and the series of locks and bolts on his door, and of course the scars she'd seen as he'd been changing, she was certain that the Dursleys house was in no way a safe place for him to stay. Grimmauld Place was probably the safest place to take him, but to do so, she'd need to convince Dumbledore to go along with it.

Hermione frowned and set her book to the side as she thought. "No, I can't say that I've seen him yet today, or at least not recently, I don't think." She shrugged and glanced back up at Tonks, giving her a patient smile. "I mean, if nothing else, you can always just try and floo his office, see if he's there."

"I can't imagine he'd be anywhere else," Ginny suggested, not bothering to look up over the edge of the couch. "I mean, that's where he'd be if he's not here—with You-Know-Who back, he's not going to do much sitting around. He's either at the school, or here, doing what he can."

"Good point," Tonks said, though a bit bitterly. She had hoped to possibly catch him at Headquarters, that way there would be others around to help support her with what she had to say. If she spoke to him one-on-one, she had a feeling that he would either not listen, or just talk over her on the situation. Still, she needed to do this, or at least try to do this, to help Harry. So, with a shrug of defeat, the pink-haired auror turned and walked over to the nearby fireplace, grabbing a handful of dust from the floo dust container on the mantle.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Headmaster's Office," she stated clearly, and then tossed the handful of floo dust into the fire. Instantly, it burst into a flare of bright emerald flames, and after a minute she could hear a voice calling back over to her from the other side.

"Yes, hello? Who's there?" the warm voice of Dumbledore called out.

"Wotcher, Professor, it's Tonks," Tonks called back to him, kneeling at the fire so that she could get a better reception. As she did, the face of Albus Dumbledore appeared in the flames before her, a bemused smile on his face. "I'm at Headquarters, sir, I was wondering if you would have time for a talk."

"Of course, Nymphadora, I always have time to talk," Dumbledore replied, unaware of how Tonks' hair had briefly flashed red around the roots for a moment as he used that name with her. "Why don't you come through—my back's not what it used to be, my dear, and I don't think I'd be comfortable having a conversation bent over the fireplace like this."

Tonks bit her lip in frustration. "I've told you before, Professor, it's just Tonks. And actually, sir, I was sort of hoping that you would come over here, and we could talk here at Headquarters."

"I'm afraid I can't, Nymphadora," Dumbledore stated, breezing right past her correction and smiling bemusedly back at her through the flames. "I simply have too much to do back at my office—I was actually in the middle of checking over something when you called, so I'm afraid I can't come through just yet."

Tonks sighed—it was clear that there would be no convincing him to move this conversation into her playing field. She shuffled her feet anxiously as she silently debated what to do, before mentally groaning and standing back up again. "Okay, fine, I'll come over—back up from the fireplace, now, I'm coming through!"

Dumbledore's smiling faced nodded back to her before disappearing from the emerald flames again, leaving Tonks to herself. Sighing, she shook her head before taking a bounding step into the fire and straight through the hearth. She shivered, feeling a faint queasy feeling that came with floo travel, before tripping and almost falling out the other side onto the hearth of the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts.

Dumbledore, the wizened wizard that he was, shot a beaming smile at her as she passed through the flames and caught herself on the mantle. "Careful there, Nymphadora dear, that first step is always a doozy."

Tonks rolled her eyes, the roots of her hair tinting an angry scarlet once more, though she tried to hold it back. "I noticed, Professor," she murmured, stumbling over to take a seat across from him. "Now then, Professor Dumbledore, I was wondering—"

"Care for a lemondrop, Nymphadora dear?" Dumbledore interjected, gesturing to a small jar of yellow-colored candies sitting on his desk.

Tonks blinked. "Um, no thank you, Professor."

Dumbledore shrugged and picked a single sour candy from the jar. "Very well then, more for me I suppose."

"If I may, sir?" Tonks asked, quickly feeling agitated by how the old wizard was acting in this moment. Sighing, Tonks took a moment to collect herself before continuing. "I wanted to talk to you about Harry. I just got back from watching him for a full day, and I didn't like what I saw. He's in a really bad place right now, Professor, and being left in the dark like he is, away from those he cares about, isn't doing him any favors."

Dumbledore sighed and he crossed his hands over his desk. "And I assume you want him to come here, then? Nymphadora dear, I've been over this dozens of times already."

"It's Tonks, sir, just Tonks!" Tonks firmly interjected back. "And I know what you've said. Harry needs time to heal on his own, and because of his connection to the Great Tosser, it's best if he does that on his own, away from the rest of us. But you haven't seen him since you made that decision for us! He's hurting, Professor, a lot more than he would be if you'd just let him be here with his friends, and his godfather, and…"

She trailed off, noticing the twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes begin to dim, and he seemed to sit a bit stiffer in his seat. "Miss Tonks," he stated slowly, and his voice had lost a bit of the warmth from before, "I believe you watching Mr. Potter for twenty-four hours straight might've been a mistake. In fact, you seem a bit out of sort of it. It's concerning. I think it would be best, then, if you were taken off of the Harry Watch for the rest of the summer."

Tonks froze, and her hair snapped to white with shock. "Wait…you can't be serious?"

Dumbledore stood and shook his head. "I'm afraid I am, Miss Tonks. While your dedication is admirable, it seems you're almost too fixated on helping Mr. Potter that you can't see the bigger picture. You're so focused on caring for this one tree, that you've forgotten to pay attention to the entire forest fire around you. Cutting you off of Harry Watch would be the best solution for everyone involved."

He paused, and glanced back at Tonks with somber eyes. "I hope you understand."

Tonks, for her part, was once more a bright head full of flaming red hair, and she glared at Dumbledore as she stood from her seat as well. "No, actually, Professor, I don't understand. I don't understand how failing to help this one tree is going to make fighting the forest fire that much easier. I don't understand, and frankly, I think you are making a very, very big mistake."

With her piece being said, the red-haired metamorphmagus turned and strode back over to the fireplace, summoning up a pillar of green flames once more, and striding through and back to Grimmauld Place. Not once did she look back at Dumbledore again, who merely sighed and moved to sit back down at his seat and gently stroke his beard, frowning. Perhaps she had a point…perhaps she was right about leaving Harry in the dark.

His gaze drifted over to his gadgets and gizmos spinning and whirling on his desk—all except for the one bound to Harry's Trace, which he had been trying to fix since it had broken earlier that morning. He frowned and shook his head. No, he was doing the right thing, both in taking Tonks off the Harry Watch as well as keeping Harry in the dark. It was for his own good, as well as for the good of the rest of the magical world. He didn't have to like it for that to be true.

What he was doing had been and always would be for the Greater Good.

When Tonks returned to Headquarters, the living room was empty—the Weasley children and Hermione had likely been conscripted by Mrs. Weasley to clean even more rooms, leaving Tonks on her own. Tonks was thankful for the lack of people around, as it gave her a chance to let her boiling emotions break through the surface. She was angry at Dumbledore, worried for Harry, nervous and sad and angry all over again, to the point that when she returned she simply dropped into the nearest couch and curled in on herself.

"Nymmie? Are you alright?"

It was at that moment that Tonks realized that she wasn't nearly as alone as she had first thought, and she paused to look up over the couch. Standing there, a warm cup of tea in hand, was Sirius, though he was looking considerably less jovial at the moment, casting a somber glance over his younger cousin.

Tonks sniffed, then realizing that she had started to cry, quickly rubbed out her tears before Sirius could hopefully see them. He still did, but he didn't say anything. "No, I'm not," she murmured, too upset to even think of correcting him. "I tried talking Dumbledore into letting Harry free of his isolation, but that whisker-faced goat-fucker wont budge! Even when keeping him there is literally the worst thing he could do!"

"Worst thing he could do?" Sirius asked, blinking in surprise, before quickly moving around to sit beside Tonks on the couch, passing her the tea to help calm her nerves. "What do you mean, is Harry in trouble?"

"Not immediate trouble, no," Tonks replied with a sigh, taking a sip of the tea before continuing. "But it's still bad! Sirius, he's going crazy in there, cooped up all alone. Last night, I heard him crying and screaming from nightmares—it was terrible! And then there's the muggles, and how they treat him! Thank Merlin they were out of town for the week, I don't think what I would've done if they had been there, and I had been forced to watch them treat Harry so terribly!"

"Wait, back up," Sirius frowned, staring back at Tonks with a stormy expression. "What was that about the muggles?"

"It's terrible, Sirius," Tonks continued, shaking her head as she took another sip of the tea. "There's no signs that he even lives there—it's like they're trying to ignore he even exists at all! He's stuck in this tiny bedroom, just a bit larger than a closet, maybe, and he lives in trash! Literally, the cousin's broken toys are thrown into that room, making it even harder to live in. And then there are the scars that I saw on his back—it looks like they beat him, or at least used to, for a long time."

"They did what?!" Sirius bellowed, thunder cracking in his storm-grey eyes.

"See?" Tonks exclaimed, gesturing to Sirius as she downed the rest of her tea. "It's not safe or right for him to be there! If I hadn't decided to sneak him out of the house, and then taken him Diagon Alley, I think he might've just snapped at any minute." She paused and sighed. "And I got so close to kissing him, too, and it looked like he wanted to kiss me too, but then I had to come back and…"

Tonks blinked, and she stared at the cup in her hands, then slowly up at Sirius. "What did you put in this tea, Sirius?"

Sirius took a step back from the couch, his face stony and expressionless. "Just a single drop of veratiserum and some mild babbling potion."

"Shit," Tonks mumbled, shaking her head and sighing. "I really should've seen that coming…constant vigilance, and all that…" Sighing, she looked up at Sirius and shook her head. "Alright, the real reason that I took all those shifts of Harry Watch is because I sort of fancy him, and wanted to try and see if I could do something about it. Happy now? You gonna turn me in to Dumbledore now, are you?"

Sirius froze as he looked back at Tonks, seeing tears starting to well up in her eyes again. "Whoa, no way, Nymmie! I just did that because I wanted to get some real information out of you about Harry. He's not the only one going crazy, after all—I haven't heard anything the whole time I've been here, and it's driving me up the walls insane. But I certainly wasn't expecting all of that, or that last part." He smiled, and reached out to rest a hand on Tonks' shoulder. "I'm on your side, cousin—Harry needs someone good to be there for him, and you fit that to the t."

Tonks blinked her tears away before shooting Sirius a small smile, lightly smacking his shoulder in return. "You're still a prat, Siri, but thanks…"

"Anytime, Nymmie," Sirius replied with a smile, before sitting back down and raising an eyebrow. "So, old Way-Too-Many-Names-To-Bother Dumbledore isn't going to let Harry free of that hellhouse?"

Tonks shook her head and let out a tired sigh. "No, he's not…even worse than that, though, is that he took me off of Harry Watch. If I could stop by and visit him every once in a while, it might be alright, but if I'm off that watch, then there's no chance of me doing that." She frowned again. "But, on the other hand, I've been specifically tasked to keep an eye on Harry by Bonesy, so it's not as if I can just not do anything about this, even without me wanting to do anything about this."

"Wait, what was that about Amelia?" Sirius asked, blinking.

"Oh, right," Tonks shook her head. "Part of that getting him out of the house today was a visit to the Ministry—I'll tell you about that later—and while we were there we managed to get Bonesy on board to try and get you acquitted." She smiled as she noticed Sirius' eyes light up. "She's getting a case together now, and since Harry is pretty important to that, she wants me to ensure his safety."

"Well, then," Sirius stated, shaking his head with a wolfish grin, "Looks like we've got a lot of reasons to try and get Harry out of that house, and over to someplace where he will feel safe, secure, and most importantly, loved." He shot a wink at Tonks as he said the last of that, causing her to blush in reply.

"Sounds like it," she replied, nodding.

Laughing, Sirius leaped to his feet and clapped his hands together. "Well then, it's been a long while since I got to flex my Marauder muscles—come on, let's see if we can't find a way to help Harry out."

Shooting his younger cousin another wide grin, Sirius turned and bounded out of the living room and towards the nearby library, and Tonks was quick on her heels behind him, a smirk on her face despite herself. Even after all that Dumbledore was trying to do to keep Harry in the dark, it was going to end by the end of the day. Soon, Harry would be free.

An hour later, Tonks dashed out of the library, the plan to get Harry free set in her mind. She made a quick stop over at Knockturn Alley to gather what she would need to make the plan work, and then spun on her heels and returned to the apparation point behind the hedges in Arabella Figg's front yard. She tripped as she hit the ground, but merely rolled up out of her trip and quickly marched her way across the street towards the Dursleys.

Arthur Weasley was still there out front, and as she approached he spun and held his wand out towards her, before slowly lowering it as he recognized her. "Tonks? What are you doing here again—wait, hold on, what's the password?"

"Phoenix feather, Arthur," Tonks replied, and a look of relief spread across Arthur Weasley's face.

"Oh good, it is you, Tonks," Arthur replied with a sigh, slipping his wand back into his robes. "For a second there, I thought something bad was going on…but again, I've got to ask, what are you doing here? Didn't you just leave almost two hours ago? Is something going on?"

Tonks shuffled, glancing up and down the street for a moment before looking back at Arthur. "Well, there is something going on, but I'm going to need you to be cool with it, alright? It's a bit hard to explain—wait, Arthur, what the hell is that?!"

Arthur spun on his heel again and drew his wand, searching for whatever had provoked Tonks' sudden outburst. Before he could see anything, though, Tonks hit him spell right between his shoulderblades that made his body lock up and knocked him out, making him fall over onto the grass outside Number 4 Privet Drive. Tonks sighed and stepped a bit closer to Arthur, waving her wand over his head to banish his memories of her being there, then grabbed his invisibility cloak and tossed it over him to hide him.

"Sorry, Arthur, don't have time to explain—and even if I did, I don't think you'd like what I had to say," she murmured, before stepping back and then quickly turning back to the Dursleys home. Glancing around once more for any onlookers, Tonks ran up to the backyard fence and made her way back inside.

"Wotcher, Harry!" Tonks called out, closing the back door behind her and leaning against it with a smile.

There was a sudden banging from upstairs, followed by a series of pounding steps, and in a flash, Harry was standing at the bottom of the stairs, a lopsided smile slipping onto his face. "Tonks! Hey, uh, what are you doing back here? Didn't you need to take off?"

Tonks smiled back at him and walked towards him. "Well, I did, but I came back because there's something I needed to do." There was an expectant look on Harry's face, and Tonks licked her lips—there would be time for what they both wanted later, though, so she stayed a bit back and crossed her arms under her bust and smirked back at him. "To be specific, I'm here to take you away from here."

Harry blinked in surprise. "Wait, seriously? But, didn't Dumbledore—"

"Oh, Dumbledore can go suck Merlin's saggy left testicle for all I care!" Tonks suddenly interjected, shaking her head for a moment, before stepping closer and taking Harry's hand in hers. "What I want to know is what you, Harry Potter, want. Do you want to stay here, alone in the Dursleys home? Or, do you want to come with me, and get away from this all?"

Harry stared at Tonks for a moment longer, his eyes moving from her face down her chest and arms to their hands holding each other. A faint blush spread across his face, and he felt his heart pounding louder in his ears. Rather than give her a verbal reply, Harry chose to answer to how he was feeling, and suddenly leaned forward, kissing Tonks on the lips so suddenly that the both of them were completely shocked by his actions.

A moment later, he pulled back and gave her a sheepish grin. "I'll be back with my things in a moment," he replied, before turning and quickly dashing up the stairs again.

Tonks watched him go, her metamorph abilities not even trying to hide the blush that spread across her face in that moment, as a sweet smile slowly spread across her lips. They were going to be having a lot of fun together once she got him free from this place, that much was certain—just feeling his lips on hers had sent tingles down her spine, and she wanted to feel more of it. Smirking, she turned and reached into her bag for what she needed to get him out.

As she was putting the last touches onto her plan, Harry dashed down the steps, his trunk trundling behind him. "Hedwig's in the process of getting my will to Madam Bones, so she'll meet us wherever we're going." He paused, noticing what Tonks was doing, and blinked rapidly. "Uh, Tonks? What's…that?"

What he was referring to was the large mannequin that she had set up in one of the dining room chairs, and had been carefully etching runes and symbols into with the tip of her wand. It had no face, and actually looked more like one of the mannequins that artists would use to work on poses, with articulating joints and limbs that would allow the mannequin to shift and move however they wanted.

Tonks glanced back at Harry and shot him a playful smirk, before stepping back and twirling her wand on her fingertips. "That, Harry, is a simulacrum—or it will be once I'm done with it. It can become a perfect copy of any person, provided they're given a drop of blood to do the work. Back when magic was severely persecuted, Magicals would use these to get muggleborn children away from their parents."

She glanced back at Harry and slipped her hand into his. "This is how we're going to get you out of here. Put a drop of blood on that rune I carved into it's forehead, and it'll become a perfect copy of you—along with some certain personality traits I added in to help sell the image that this is a brooding angst-filled teen and not an animated piece of wood."

Harry stared between Tonks and the simulacrum for a moment before finally nodding and stepping forward. Placing his thumb against the mannequin's head, he felt a sudden piercing feeling run up his arm, and his hand snapped back. As soon as he did, the mannequin began to change shape, slowly standing from the chair in the dining room and becoming a perfect replica of Harry himself.

The simulacrum blinked slowly, before slumping its shoulders. "You two go ahead and leave," it said, its voice sounding just like Harry's but a bit more somber and sullen, "I'll be in my room, doing nothing, bothering no one." With that, the simulacrum turned and began trudging up the stairs towards Harry's room.

"…I do not sound like that," Harry muttered indignantly, shooting Tonks a frown.

Tonks chuckled and wrapped her arm around his. "No, you don't, but it's a good way to keep them from worrying about you. Now, come on!"

And with a sudden spin of her heels, Tonks disapparated once more, this time with Harry and his trunk full of luggage and belongings along for the ride. By the time Arthur Weasley finally came to in the front yard, they were both long gone, and any sign that anything had gone awry or that they had made their escape would be impossible to find.