I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.

The Family that Chooses You

Chapter 73 – Part of a New Family

Harry had finished cleaning up what he could of the kitchen before Kreacher returned. The House Elf had apparated back, bringing packages and parcels with him. The House Elf still muttered to himself but he was less grumpy around Harry now, surprisingly. He had also brought back the money pouch Harry gave him as well as a carefully written receipt of all the prices of the things he bought.

He insisted that Harry place his money away, practically pushing the boy out of the kitchen. Bemused, Harry had done so and was on his way back when he heard the doorbell ring.

Since he was right by the front door, Harry walked up to it, peeking out the side window to see who it was. He idly wondered if Wizards had magical door-to-door salespeople or other types of people that came calling for something like Muggles did. He saw two women standing on the landing. They were both tall, wearing robes and cloaks, so they had to be Witches. They looked slightly alike, though one was older and the other much younger.

He opened the door a crack and could hear them talking.

"Why didn't we Floo over?" the younger one asked.

"Sirius hasn't reconnected the Floo yet. He also warned me about apparating in. He redid the wards completely and wanted us to visit first to key us into them."

"I can tell. The whole place is thrumming with magical energies. Any unwanted visitors would get splattered."

"I wonder if some of it is from before. Orion had some very strong wards in place. Nasty ones too if I recall."

Harry opened the door a little more. They sounded very nice to him, and they mentioned Sirius by name. He did not know if he should let them in but perhaps, he could get enough information to go ask Sirius. "Hello," he said softly.

The two witches looked at him in surprise, not having noticed the door opening.

"Wotcher," the younger woman said. Her pink hair was shockingly bright in the sunlight and while she looked friendly, her eyes were narrowed. "And who might you be?"

"Dora," the older woman scolded gently. "Be nice." She turned to Harry and she smiled gently. Her black hair was tied up in an elegant bun. "You must be Harry. Sirius mentioned you were moving in with him. My name is Andromeda Tonks and this is my daughter-"

"Just Tonks," Tonks said. "Nice to meetcha Harry."

"You may refer to her as Dora since she does not like the name I gave her," Andromeda said, rolling her eyes at Tonks sticking her tongue out at her. "Sirius is my cousin and he asked us to visit."

"Oh hello." Harry bobbed his head but did not open the door further. "I'd let you in but I'd feel better if I checked with Sirius first. I hope you understand."

Thankfully they did.

"Nah it's good to double check," Tonks said easily. "We don't know each other yet but when we get to know each other, I hope you know my word's the law."

"She likes to think that," Andromeda sighed, rolling her eyes.

Harry smiled. "I think Sirius is busy with some paperwork, but I don't know where. I can ask Kreacher-"

A loud crack behind Harry made him jump and Kreacher was standing behind him. "Master Harry called?"

Harry rubbed his chest, "Kreacher, don't scare me like that please!" He took a deep breath. "Also, sorry, didn't mean to call you away. Just wanted to ask you if you knew where Sirius was."

"Bad master is in the office," Kreacher said blandly. He looked up at the two women who were staring at him with interest. "Ah. Miss Andromeda. It has been long since you last visited Grimmauld."

"Hello Kreacher." Andromeda was surprised to see Kreacher still about. When she was a child he seemed ancient. She did have more fond memories of him than Sirius did, he was rather nice to her and her sisters. She was also surprised to see how nice Kreacher was to Harry. The cantankerous House Elf was rude to most people, especially new people. "It's good to see you."

"Master Harry, Andromeda is a daughter of the Blacks despite marrying a mudblood. She should be allowed entrance to Grimmauld."

Harry winced. "Please don't use that word Kreacher. It isn't nice. My best friend is a Muggle-born."

Kreacher looked incredibly confused. "But, that is what they are."

"It's not nice though. Please don't call them that."

Kreacher thought for a moment, his face twisting in the process. He slowly nodded. "If Master Harry commands."

"Asks, not commands."

Tonks and Andromeda could not believe their eyes or ears at what was going on. Especially Andromeda.

Kreacher sniffed, looking at Tonks. "That one smells of Andromeda. Her magic is of the Blacks. She would be allowed entrance as well."

"That's really creepy," Tonks said, shivering slightly.

Harry opened the door fully. "If Kreacher recognizes you, I'm sure it's okay. At the least you can come in from outside."

Luckily, Sirius appeared at the stairs at that moment. "Andi!" he called joyfully, walking to them swiftly. "Come in! And look at little Nymphadora, now big Nymphadora." He grinned at Harry who looked warily at a seething Tonks. "Her full first name is Nymphadora if you didn't know."

"I didn't. Also, does her hair usually do that?" Harry watched, astonished, as her hair went from bubblegum pink to angry fiery red.

"She's a metamorphagus," Andromeda assured Harry. "She can change her appearance at will. Her emotions can also prompt her to change, as you can see."

"I'll put you back into Azkaban old man," Tonks muttered.

"I'm not old," Sirius protested. "I just look it but years of prison will do that to you. I'm not old, am I Harry?"

"Bad master looks ancient," Kreacher croaked. "One foot in the grave from dotage already."

Harry stifled a giggle while the others stared at Kreacher. "Was it okay that I let them in?" he asked worriedly. "Kreacher said he recognized their magic."

Sirius ran a hand through his hair. "Next time you should get me or get Kreacher to get me. It's true Kreacher can tell people's magics, but there are those that I don't want to allow into the house. Luckily Andi is my favorite cousin and she and her family are always welcome. Of course, you can let your friends in, once we go over that too."

He turned and looked down at Kreacher. "Kreacher, you are not to allow anyone into Grimmauld Place without my express permission and Harry's eventual permission."

Kreacher looked side long at Harry, surprising Sirius. When Harry shrugged and nodded, Kreacher looked back up at Sirius. "Kreacher will obey."

Sirius blinked. "Okay, good." He never told Kreacher to obey Harry but he would have as soon as he remembered too. It was very odd that the House Elf was listening to Harry already. Not only that, he expected the House Elf to be fighting with him over everything. He had barely listened to any of Sirius' commands when he returned to Grimmauld the first time.

"We cleaned up the kitchen," Harry said to fill the awkward silence. "It'll still need some deeper cleaning but the stove works and we can eat there fairly comfortably."

"Hey great work," Sirius praised, glad to see Harry smile. "Would you two like to stay for dinner? We can get something to eat after I key you into the wards and go over a few things."

"I would like that. Ted is working late anyways. Dora?"

"I'm fine with that. I've been wanting to visit growing up listening to your stories about the place." Tonks looked about the entryway. "Really lives up to the name."

"Splendid. Harry, you mind entertaining her while Andi and I talk business?" Sirius asked.

"Sure," Harry said.

"Feel free to ignore her unreasonable expectations," Andromeda teased. She snorted when Tonks rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at her. "There goes my mature daughter," she sighed as she watched Tonks follow Harry away. Kreacher had popped away as they did.

"Well she's training to be an Auror right? I'm sure she's mature when she needs to be." Sirius led Andromeda up the stairs to the office. He sat at the large mahogany desk with a sigh and shifted mountains of paperwork around.

"This looks like the amount of paperwork I have to do at St Mungo's," Andromeda remarked.

"You're looking at thirteen plus years of paperwork and things that need checking and doing," Sirius groused. "Honestly, probably longer. I think my mother neglected the majority of it before I went to Azkaban, especially after father passed. I'm checking years-worth of investment information, debts, contracts, fees, literally everything."

"At least you have that pile done," Andromeda said, pointing at a small stack that was piled neatly and set aside.

"That's all related to Harry. I've collected his Gringotts letters and forms as well as things formally taking magical guardianship and the like. I did those first."

"Glad to see you taking it seriously," Andromeda said gently.

"I've failed him for years. I need to do it properly now." Sirius picked up a goblet and drained it in one long swallow.

His cousin frowned at it when he set it back down. "Are you drinking? At this hour?"

"I'm not drunk," Sirius replied blithely. "It's watered wine, not firewhiskey. No need to fuss."

"Hmmm," Andromeda hummed. "Well, now's a good time as any to tell you that I've scheduled exams for both you and Harry at St Mungo's. Don't look at me like that," she rolled her eyes at his glare. "You are barely out of Azkaban when you've been there for ages. You need a full physical and proper care. Not to mention, Harry has no records of any medical or wellness checks. He's long overdue."

Sirius growled. "Of course he needs them. I'm still beyond pissed that he's never gotten proper care. Especially since he's been with the Dursleys. Believe it when I say Dumbledore and I had words about that." Sirius filled his goblet again and drained it immediately. "I've heard some…disquieting things."

"Like what?"

"Let's say Harry's had a rough time of it and I'm worried. I was getting around to scheduling him a visit. I just wanted him to relax a few days before making him do it. He only arrived today after all."

"Oh? He looked comfortable enough here. I thought he'd been here longer. Especially with how…kindly Kreacher is treating him."

"Yeah, that's a surprise honestly. Kreacher has never liked me, even before I was cast out. I didn't think he'd be so polite to Harry. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to see it. Just odd. Guess Kreacher really went loopy when he was here by himself for so long with only the portraits."

Sirius finally cleared a space on the table and set a large stone down. The surface was etched with runes and lines that glowed gently. He muttered several incantations while waving his wand over the surface, making the runes glow brighter.

Andromeda took the small silver knife from the table top and delicately pricked her fingertip. A drop of blood grew from the tiny wound and she pressed it into the center of the stone. The stone seemed to drink it, the runes flaring even more brightly than before. She shuddered pleasantly as she felt the magic of Grimmauld wash over her and she felt even more comfortable after the feeling passed.

"I thought you were just going to give me permission for the wards," she said with a raised eyebrow. "Not place me directly into the keystone."

"I trust you," Sirius said frankly. "There's only going to be three people with access into the keystone: you, me, and Harry. I need you to have access in case something happens to me. I'm not leaving Harry without anyone to help him ever again."

He leaned back in his chair. "Of course, Dora and Ted will have general access. As well as close friends. But the only people that will be allowed to make any changes will be the three of us."

"Not even Dumbledore?"

"No, not even Dumbledore," Sirius looked sullen at his empty goblet. "I'm still pissed at him, even with him helping me to get free." After a moment he coughed and looked slightly embarrassed. "I don't think I need to tell you…to not…well you know…"

Andromeda snorted. "I haven't spoken to either sister in a very long time, Sirius. For many reasons I assure you. I won't betray your trust."

"Thanks," Sirius said with relief.

"How's everything else going?"

"Pretty good. Well, Grimmauld is still a mess as you've seen but we'll make it livable eventually. I'm actually kind of excited to gut the place and redecorate it. When I first arrived I thought I was going mad again. But knowing Harry'll be here helped and it's funny, but the place feels bearable since he's arrived. I know he'll be back to Hogwarts for school but it's a goal you know?"

"Make sure you're not placing all your hopes and expectations on him," Andromeda said softly. "You need to do things for yourself as well."

"I know," Sirius muttered, waving a hand. "It's just, I have a lot to make up for." He looked surprised when Andromeda refilled his goblet with watered wine before pouring herself one.

"And you'll have the time to do it. Not to mention the help if you wish."

Sirius tapped his goblet to hers. "Why do you think you're the first to visit?"

"Because I'm your favorite cousin."

-0-

Tonks whistled as she followed Harry into the kitchen. "Yeah this place looks loads better than the rest of the house."

"I figured it'll be the most used room after the bedrooms so might as well make it first," Harry said. "It'll take a lot of cleaning for everything but that's fine."

"And you cleaned it by hand?" Tonks asked. Her eyebrows rose higher as she looked around the large kitchen and eating area in one. "No magic?"

"Don't know the spells for cleaning. Well, I've seen it but haven't learned how to cast them. I know how to clean by hand though. I've had a lot of practice with that."

"How so?" Tonks asked as she flopped into a chair.

"I grew up with Muggles. I had to do all the cleaning without magic."

"All the cleaning?"

"Most of the time," Harry muttered evasively. He was unsure how much to tell Tonks yet. She was kind and had a bubbly personality, but she was still a stranger. "So you graduated Hogwarts before I started?"

"Yep, the year before. I'm training to be an Auror now. Sort of like a Muggle Police and detective," she clarified at Harry's confused look.

"Oh! I think Oliver's cousin is one, he mentioned it. Oliver Wood."

"Might be Natalie Wood. She's really cool. Dead scary to duel let me tell you."

"That's really cool that you're training to be one. I imagine it must be hard."

"Really hard. You have to know a lot of stuff and it takes years of training. I'm most of the way through and should be able to be a full Auror at the end."

"Awesome!"

Tonks preened a little at the praise. "I'm pretty awesome," she agreed, buffing her fingernails. She watched as Harry began lining ingredients on the counter, pulling things out of the pantry. "What're you doing now?"

"I'm getting ready to cook," Harry said.

"You? Not the House Elf?"

"I think he's cleaning other parts of the house. At least that's what I heard him mutter. Besides, I already told him I would."

Tonks frowned. "You…know how to cook?"

Harry nodded as he began slicing mushrooms. "I like to cook. I had to before, but now that I can cook for myself and people that I like, I enjoy it a lot more."

"You…had to."

Harry's face went expressionless. "Uhm, yeah. Part of the chores I had to do when I lived with my aunt and uncle."

Tonks leaned forward onto the table; her careless ease gone. She looked at him carefully. Before she had not paid him too much attention beyond looking at his scar when they first met. Now she inspected him closely. Noticed the way he stood and worked, running over what he said in her mind. "Anything else you had to do when you were there?" She tried to keep her voice calm and pleasant.

Harry shrugged, keeping his eyes on the chopping board. "That's pretty much it really," he said. It was not a complete lie. Everything he had to do could fall under the broad category of chores. Everything else the Dursleys did to him was not something he had to do. He simply accepted it. He suppressed a shiver and forcibly pushed it away. He never had to go back. He would never have to deal with them physically again.

Emotionally and mentally were different, but that was another matter.

"I was thinking of making breakfast for dinner, if that's okay," he said instead. "No beans so it won't be a full English, but I can do some potatoes instead. How's that sound?"

Tonks berated herself silently. Of course he was deflecting. He had only met her today and he obviously was not going to open up to her immediately. Sometimes she hated her Auror training because she could not help but apply it to her day-to-day activities. Anything that seemed suspicious to her now was immediately noticed and her brain tried to make sense of things, to find problems where there were not any.

Except she really thought there was a problem here. She did not like the implications of what Harry had said.

"I skip proper breakfast most days so I think that sounds brilliant," she said instead. She relaxed a little at his small but genuine smile. It was a good one and obviously something he did not do a lot. At least not with many people. "I'd offer to help but I've burnt water before and can't tell you how many times I've nearly destroyed the kitchen at home. Mum calls me a culinary catastrophe."

Harry giggled. "You can be taste tester then."

She liked the sound of his giggle, he sounded like a normal kid when he did. She watched him cook and move about the kitchen, thinking that he was far too at ease here.

"How do you like your eggs?" he asked.

"Without me burning them," she replied with a smile, happy to hear him laugh. "Otherwise, any kind really.

Eventually he was finished and Tonks was impressed to see him lay the food on the table. A large plate of fried eggs surrounded by bacon and sausage was the center. A plate of butter-fried bread alongside another plate full of grilled mushrooms and tomatoes flecked with green. Another plate of pan-fried potatoes smelled heavenly and she heard her stomach growl audibly.

"That smells wonderful." Andromeda and Sirius walked into the kitchen and Sirius looked around the kitchen with amazement. "This place was a wreck this morning! You cleaned it all?"

"Me and Kreacher," Harry said with pink cheeks. "We'll need to deep-clean more but it's clean enough for now."

"You made all this?" Andromeda asked, surprised.

"All on his own," Tonks said. "Was actually fun to watch him cook, he really knows what he's doing."

"Wait, you know how to cook?" Sirius looked at Harry, astonished. "Where did you-wait. Where did the food come from? I know the pantry was empty. I've lived off of take-away since moving back. Haven't gotten around to buying groceries."

"Kreacher offered to get them. I gave him money to do it."

Sirius gaped. "You gave him your money? Harry, no. You are not to spend your money on food and things. I'm your Godfather, I'm supposed to be taking care of you."

Harry looked down at the floor, chastised. "I'm sorry. You were busy and I was trying to help."

Andromeda and Tonks shared a look before looking at Sirius who looked even more flustered. "I don't think Sirius is upset at you Harry," Andromeda said gently, slightly worried.

"No, not at all," Sirius stammered. "I'm just, really surprised and a little embarrassed. I should have prepared things more completely for you."

Harry shrugged. "It's okay. You've been busy and you've already done so much. I'm just happy to be here."

Sirius looked like he was increasingly out of his depth and he was starting to panic a little.

"Did you save the bill Harry? For the groceries?" Andromeda asked. At Harry's nod she smiled softly. "Then there's no problem. Sirius can pay you back and set things up from now on. Now let's eat the wonderful food you've made for us."

"Yeah it's really good," Tonks said in a loud voice, "Harry let me taste test along the way."

They sat around the table and filled their plates. Harry filled an extra one to their surprise. The surprise grew when Harry called for Kreacher.

"Yes, Master Harry?" Kreacher said when he appeared.

"Here you go," Harry said, giving the full plate to the House Elf.

Kreacher stared down at the plate with disbelief, before looking back at Harry with unblinking eyes.

"That's for you," Harry said firmly. He had learned how to offer food to House Elves while at Hogwarts. From them, he knew they ate and some thought eating before the humans they served was tantamount to treason. He had to learn to be firm when offering food.

"Th-thank you, Master Harry," Kreacher stammered. He disappeared with a pop.

Harry sighed with relief before he started eating, somehow not noticing the looks of wonder and astonishment from the others at the table.

"These are wonderful," Andromeda praised after trying the mushrooms and tomato. "What herb did you use with them?"

"Just a little parsley for freshness," Harry said, his cheeks warm from her praise.

"It really does taste nice with it. Sirius, Dora," Andromeda said, giving the other two a glare. "Stop shoveling the food like that. There's plenty."

"I can't tell you the last time I had bacon and eggs," Sirius said wolfishly as he gobbled. "This is incredible!"

"You don't have that excuse," Andromeda said to her daughter. "You act as if I starve you!"

"Hey I'm starving! Plus it's really good." Tonks' cheeks bulged as she ate. "It's not my fault that the bacon at home is the healthy turkey kind."

"What the hell is turkey bacon?" Sirius asked.

"It's like a healthier version of bacon," Harry said.

"What's the point then?" Sirius asked.

"The point is that it's healthier," Andromeda said with a long-suffering sigh. "It's almost as good as regular bacon."

"Just like how a turkey is almost like a pig," Tonks muttered, "in the sense that they aren't alike at all."

"Really, mind your manners you two! What must Harry think of us?"

Harry smiled. "I like it. It's like eating with my friends at school. It's nice."

"Well, there you go then," Sirius said with relief. "We'll be a happy family." He noticed how Harry went still. "Harry, what's wrong?"

Harry shook his head and tried to hide his awkwardness by stuffing food in his mouth like Sirius and Tonks did. He chewed for a while before swallowing. "Nothing," he said evasively.

The other three looked at one another but said nothing more. They ate and chatted, heartened to see Harry relax the more they did. Towards the end, when Harry tried to clean up, Kreacher reappeared.

"No," he said firmly. "Master Harry cooked. Kreacher will clean." No amount of cajoling would change his mind and he literally pushed Harry out of the kitchen, almost going so far to close the door when the witches and wizards left.

"I think Kreacher acting like that is the most unnerving thing," Sirius remarked.

"I think he's fine," Harry insisted. "You just have to be kind to him."

"I guess you're right," Sirius admitted. "Still weird though."

"We should probably head home," Andromeda said. She smiled at Harry. "Thank you for dinner and letting me take this plate home to Ted. He'll be happy to have it when he comes home."

"You're welcome. Thank you for visiting," Harry said shyly. "It was really nice to meet both of you."

"I'm sure you'll see us a lot," Tonks said enthusiastically, "especially if you keep cooking!" She patted him on the shoulder, her face twisting a little when she felt how stiff he went. She gently removed her hand.

Harry looked embarrassed and he held his hand out.

Tonks made a show of shaking it, trying to diffuse his sudden tension. "A bit formal but I'm okay with it," she teased.

Andromeda squeezed Harry's hand gently when it was her turn. "Thank you again Harry and it was my pleasure to meet you. Next time I'll have to cook with you."

"I'd like that," Harry said with a sincere smile. He waved at them before walking up the stairs.

Tonks waited until he disappeared from sight, listening hard for a door to open and close before she looked at Sirius and Andromeda, her normally merry face pinched. "Is it just me and my suspicion training, or does anyone else feel like something's wrong?"

"No, it's not just you dear," Andromeda said slowly. "Sirius?"

Sirius ran a hand through his hair. "I know he had some checks at Hogwarts but they only told me to make sure he gets a full exam at St Mungo's. It didn't sound good so that's why I really wanted him here." He hesitated. "His behavior…I just thought since he was still afraid of me based on what he heard last year…I mean," he gulped, "it's not normal…is it?"

"He's treating us rather well for strangers," Andromeda said. "Not many young people would act like that and most would act even more withdrawn when thrust into this kind of situation. Which means he might have left a very…trying environment to where he prefers this awkwardness over what he left behind."

"When were those exams you scheduled for us? Any chance we can move them up to as soon as possible?"

"I'll go to St Mungo's now and see about working you two in tomorrow," Andromeda said.

"That's good," Sirius said. He sighed. "I need to make sure he gets the care he deserves."

"You will. We'll help. We're family," Tonks said stoutly.

Andromeda was proud of her daughter. "Precisely."

-0-0-0-

D.J Scales - Thank you, I hoped what the Dursleys got and the transition between Privet Drive and Grimmauld Place would be good.

diffident-serpiente - Surprise Kreacher. I'm glad that the interaction was good. It's difficult writing House Elves and how they talk sometimes. Kreacher will be around for quite some time to come.

DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles - I really hope my presentation of Sirius for the remainder of the fanfic goes well. He's a very complex character and I really want to portray him logically and well. I always thought the fact that he said it matters how people treat people beneath them, and then the way he treated Kreacher to be especially tragic. It is understandable from his point of view, which makes it worse.

Urgwaew - Thank you so much. I know people prefer to see the Dursleys to be tortured or something else, but I thought this way to be especially insidious. They want nothing more than to be 'normal', to be the epitome of proper. To be forever known as abnormal, to have their crimes known to everyone, to never have rest and always watching? That would be the worst kind of torture to me.

I do love the little details that bring stories to life. Little anecdotes that you identify with or the things that make you notice other things. I'm so glad that you enjoy them too. McGona-Mum made me laugh when I thought of it and had to include it. I have plans on how Sirius and Kreacher develop as characters and hope they fit.

Vukk - I know right? It'll be good and bad at the same time, in different ways.

alix33 - I'm glad you liked the little details.

guest - Thank you so much.