Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Footsteps

The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.-Vince Lombardi

It had been nearly a week since Harry had been living with Tonks and he had to admit that he was thoroughly enjoying himself. He also had to grudgingly admit that he was safer with Tonks than he thought he would be and much safer than if he was by himself. Between Tonks' skills (which were very formidable) and the extra security added to the place, there wasn't as much for Harry to worry about as he was initiated concerned with. He spent the days while Tonks was at work either doing homework or watching the television and when she returned home the rest of the night was spent enjoying time with her.

The first night Tonks had practically forced Harry to sleep in her bed while she took the couch. Harry made it perfectly clear after that first night that he was going to take the couch from that point on. To make it easier on him, and as a reward for his chivalry, Tonks transfigured the couch into a bed every night and changed it back in the morning. It didn't take them long to settle into a routine. Tonks was notorious for not being a morning person while Harry was used to waking up in the early hours of the morning so he usually had their breakfast ready. A grateful Tonks would sit at the table and eat whatever he gave her without complaint and usually rush out the door with a hurried thanks and a wave of her wand to change the couch back into a couch.

There hadn't been any more kisses since those first two beyond a peck on the cheek or a light and quick brush of the lips. In fact, other than the emotionally charged touches, there wasn't much indication that anything had happened. While Harry was confused and somewhat frustrated, he didn't know how to approach Tonks. He didn't want to seem like he was pushing her into something that she may not be quite ready for yet. He was also terrified to find out that she may even regret the kiss.

Despite the slight turmoil this caused, Harry couldn't deny that he was happy where he was. The past year, which had been rough in and of itself, was complicated even further by the limited amount of time the two had spent with each other. He honestly couldn't remember having this good of a time since Christmas.

James and Lily had invited the Order to their house for Christmas and nearly half of the members had showed up. The house was packed with people, nearly one-fourth of them being the Weasley family, but that made it all the more lively. The only person who wasn't there that bothered Harry was Tonks. She had to work early in the day but promised to be there by late afternoon. The other damper on the holiday spirit was of course the fact that it was his first Christmas without Sirius.

Despite still missing his godfather, Harry knew that Padfoot wouldn't want him to be unhappy so he didn't let himself be brought down. Nonetheless he, Serena, Remus, and the rest of his family took a moment to remember the fallen Marauder that morning at James' suggestion. Harry had always looked up to his father and this gesture, no matter how small or insignificant it had seemed, earned the man even more respect in his son's eyes. The teen was currently taking part in a game of riddles with the older man, each trying their best to stump the other first. They were deadlocked until Harry had difficulty with a particular riddle and Lily stepped in to answer for him.

"I knew that one Mum," Harry whined as James cackled and celebrated his victory with a long drink of Firewhiskey.

"Of course you did sweetheart. Now c'mon, I need your help with cooking dinner." Harry grumbled all the way into the kitchen but in reality he actually almost liked helping his mother cook. James would readily admit that he couldn't cook to save his life and, while Rose was a skilled chef, she was oftentimes over enthusiastic and liked to experiment too much. This typically left Lily and Harry to do the cooking for big events and holidays and the two used the time to bond.

Harry had developed a strong bond with his mother over the years that was noticeably less hostile than the one he had with his father. James was very protective of his son while Harry, who had already faced more than many much older Wizards ever had, felt smothered. Furthermore father and son were both very passionate about their beliefs and they argued for hours when an issue came up that they disagreed on, neither willing to admit that the other might even remotely be right and usually ending with them angry with each other. On the other hand, though Lily did worry about her son she also realized that he was very capable and didn't coddle him. Not only that but she was more open-minded and could admit that, though she may not always agree with what Harry believed, it didn't mean that he was wrong.

After finishing helping Lily (it would still be a couple of hours before dinner), Harry took a butterbeer out of the refrigerator and went into the sitting room. He saw Rose talking to Ginny Weasley and snuck up behind the unsuspecting girl, pressing his finger to his lips as he did so. He wrapped his free arm around her stomach and lifted her up, causing Ginny to giggle and Rose to give out a gasp of surprise.

"Alright that's enough Harry," Rose told him almost immediately, knowing that he was the only one to dare pick her up like that, "let me down." He gently put his sister back on her feet and gave her a light push. In retaliation Rose turned around, snatched the butterbeer out of his hand, and drank the rest of it before he could stop her. Harry stood looking at Rose's mischievous grin in astonishment for a few seconds before picking her up and carrying her towards the front door. "DON'T YOU DARE DO IT HARRY JAMES POTTER!" Rose yelled at the top of her lungs, fully aware that he was planning on dumping her in the snow. "Help me Ginny!"

"I'm afraid you're on your own here Rosie." Rose's mature response was to stick her tongue out at her best friend and continue to struggle against her brother in vain. The commotion drew the attention of everyone else and they all ignored the two siblings. It was well-known that, though they were constantly aggravating each other, they had a great relationship. They had arguments and even a few rows of course, as all siblings do, but they usually got along very well. As if to prove that, Rose popped back up immediately after her brother dropped her and hit him with a snowball. Harry was about to retaliate when he felt someone suddenly hug him from behind; he knew only one person who did that.

"Dora!" Harry turned and grabbed the Auror into a bone-crushing hug and lifted her off her feet much as he did his little sister. It was a hug that was reserved for only four people, the other three being Hermione, Rose, and Lily, and it brought a smile to Tonks' face every time she was on the receiving end of one. She giggled in delight as Harry gently set her on her feet and raised an eyebrow at Rose as she walked past them. The youngest Potter shook her head and gave a wave of her hand, indicating that she would explain later, and trudged back into the house. Tonks focused her attention back to Harry and gave him a peck on the cheek, knowing full well that everyone else was inside.

"Happy Christmas Harry," she told him, pressing a rectangular box into his hands. Harry looked at her quizzically and she merely gestured at the box. Following her silent orders, the teen tore the wrapping paper of his present and opened it to find a wand holster. He already one of course, his parents both worked at the Ministry and had drilled it into his head from an early age, but it was one of James' old ones. This one was made of black dragon hide and had the initials "HJP" on it.

"Thanks Dora!" Harry exclaimed, pulling off the holster he had on and slipping his new one on his belt. "It's perfect," he added, putting his wand into it. "I've got something for you too. Hold on a minute." He pulled her into the house and fled upstairs. Tonks grabbed some of the snacks sitting on a table and a butterbeer, greeted the people who spoke to her, and waited for Harry to come back down. By the time he had returned, Snape had appeared and was giving Rose the present he had for her.

"Odd isn't it?" Tonks began, sensing more than seeing Harry beside her. "James and Severus hated each other at Hogwarts from what I've been told and now he's Rosie's godfather. It's strange how people can have such animosity between them at one point in their lives and be great friends at another point."

"Yeah it is weird. Dad and Sirius said they used to call him Snivellus, but he and Mum were best friends until he called her a certain word in their fifth year. That practically broke their friendship but Mum apparently still cared about him. She was the one who wanted him and Dad to make amends and make him Rose's godfather." As Harry spoke, Tonks felt his hand close around hers and leave behind a small square box. "It's strange to see Severus here when they used to loathe each other. I don't know if I could do that."

"Oh Harry," Tonks replied as she opened the box. She had barely been paying attention to his words, focusing her efforts on the box in her hands instead. Inside was a beautiful but simple ring. It was made of two bands wound around each other, one band silver and the other white gold. "I love it," she told him as she put it on.

"I couldn't think of anything to make you this year so I thought you'd like that. Happy Christmas Dora." The rest of the day was a blur for Harry. He vaguely remembered his father getting drunk and singing along with the radio, finally managing to convince Serene to join him. He remembered watching Ron and Rose arguing over a chess match and seeing what he thought was the beginning of a romance between them. He remembered Remus and Severus teasing each other in good nature as they nursed their Firewhiskey. He remembered his mother, Tonks, and Ginny all sitting around entertaining the other two with their own tales from Hogwarts. As he finally lay down in bed much later that night, Harry couldn't help but think that Sirius would have been proud.

In order to repay her for letting him stay with her (and because Tonks once managed to burn water), Harry usually did most of the cooking. Tonks tended to take the job of cleaning their dishes and to her credit, she had only broken two plates so far. It always amused Harry whenever she did so, earning him a glare and a Stinging Hex. To her credit, she didn't manage to break any that night but she came close when she tripped over the rug in front of the sink.

They spent the rest of the night as they usually did: sitting on the couch talking about anything and everything or simply watching television. Though the two knew each other quite well, there was always something new they discovered whenever they talked and they loved their conversations for that reason alone. Tonks was especially interested in all the details Harry had left out from his sixth year. The teen was all too happy to share everything with her except for one thing that caused a sharp and still fresh pain.

"Rosie took Ron's death really hard Dora, even harder than I did I think. I feel sure they were either together or on their way. I know it has to be hard to lose someone that you feel that way about."

"And yet you went off and left her as soon as you returned home." Harry sent her a glare that would have normally sent shivers of unease down her back but now she just stared right back at him, refusing to break eye contact. When it became apparent that Tonks wasn't backing down, Harry looked away and heaved a great sigh.

"Can we just let that go now Dora? I know I fucked up about that alright."

"Yeah you're right, I shouldn't keep bringing it up. You should've seen how that girl was acting though Harry." Tonks screwed up her face and the Boy-Who-Lived was suddenly looking at the image of his sister. "'When I find him Tonks I swear I'm going to kill him! Voldemort is going to be nothing compared to me!'" Harry laughed at Tonks' antics as she changed back into herself and he was suddenly reminded of the time they admitted their feelings for each other.

Harry and Tonks sat at the kitchen table in Tonks' apartment, passing a bottle of Firewhiskey back and forth. Harry had just turned sixteen a few days ago and this was really the first time they spent together since Sirius' death. James and Lily were both aware that Tonks would likely offer Harry the alcohol, she had before after all and the two friends had some catching up to do, and they honestly didn't mind as long as she didn't let him go overboard. Harry took a drink, shivering slightly at the burning sensation in his throat, and passed the bottle back to Tonks before finishing the story about his sister.

"I've honestly never seen Dad yell at her like that. Rosie has a temper but even she was scared to death of him then. I don't think she'll smoke again any time soon."

"Hmm I imagine not," Tonks responded, taking a drink of the alcohol herself. "James can be scary when he wants to be. Anyway, how's it feel to go from an attention-seeking brat to the Chosen One who's going to save us all?" A grin tugged at the corners of her mouth and Harry knew she was just teasing him. If it had been anyone else he would have likely lost his temper at them but he was well aware that she knew how he felt.

"It feels like everyone can go fuck themselves," he spat with venom, snatching the bottle out of her hand and taking a long drink. So much for not losing his temper. "I'm a raving lunatic when it's convenient for them and then their hero when they decide they need one. If Voldemort didn't want me dead personally then I'd tell everyone to sod off and find a nice island to live on."

"You and I both know you can't do that, even if Voldemort didn't necessarily want you dead. You're too noble to let people die just because they treated you unfairly. It's odd for the Prophet to print something so ridiculous though just to make everyone feel better."

"It's even more odd that they've actually got it right, especially since none of them know what the Prophecy really said."

"And I take it that you do?"

"Yeah. It was originally told to Dumbledore and he used his Pensieve to show me. The only other ones who know are Mum, Dad, and Rose. Ron and Hermione do too of course but they're both like family. I've wanted to tell you but the only time we've had an extensive conversation since I found out was when we were yelling at each other, and that didn't seem like the best time." Tonks was touched that he wanted to tell her something that only those most dear to him knew so she did what she usually did when his words touched her: tried to take the mickey out of him.

"So I'm not like family huh?" She didn't expect the answer he gave her.

"Of course you are but it's different for you. They're like siblings whereas you're more like, well you're not like a sister." The words were left hanging in the air and Harry's meaning was obvious. At a rare loss for words, Tonks motioned for the bottle Harry still held and took a drink long enough to rival the one he just had.

"So, what-what did this Prophecy say?" Harry told her what the Prophecy said, leaving her afraid for him and with a newfound sense of respect for the young man beside her. "That's rough Harry," she said, rubbing his shoulder comfortingly. It was a gross understatement of course but it was the first thing that popped into her head.

"Yeah it is. I'm not really surprised though. It makes sense when you think about how hell bent he is on killing me." They sat in silence for a few minutes, just passing the nearly empty bottle of Firewhiskey back and forth until Tonks decided to lighten the mood.

"So who was that bloke Hermione was with at the station?"

"His name's Orion...Levington? I think that's what she said his name is. He's apparently a year ahead of us in Ravenclaw. She met him at the library of course and they seem to have really hit it off. Why, you like his blue hair and brown eyes?"

"Nah, I'm more partial to green eyes and black hair."

"Hmm, well I expect them to be together by the time we go back to Hogwarts."

"What about her and Ron?"

"Any attraction they had to each other was only skin deep. They talked about it and both agreed that a relationship wouldn't work between them."

"Oh I see. Poor Ron. Well what about you? What happened between you and that bird you told me about? Did you ever patch things up?"

"Oh you mean Cho. She apologized and tried to pick up where we left off but it just ended up falling apart. Not that I care really. If she has a problem with me being friends with Hermione then I don't want anything to do with her."

"You do know that your friendship with Hermione is going to take its toll on your dating life right?"

"Yeah she said something to that effect too. It doesn't matter though. Cho wasn't the one I wanted to be with." Something about the way he looked at her when he said that made Tonks realize exactly who his feelings were for.

"I know. Nothing can happen right now though."

"I know and I'm going to wait as long as I have to." She gave him a brief smile.

"I know that too." She brushed her hand against his and he loosely grabbed it. They sat there like that in comfortable silence again for a few minutes before another question jumped into Tonks' brain. "If you didn't really want to be with this girl then why did you ask her on a date?" Harry snorted, looking as though he expected her to ask that much sooner.

"At the time I thought it was better to be with anyone than be by myself."

"And now?"

"Now I think it's better to be without the one you want than with one you don't want."

"Merlin Harry, why do you have to say things like that? It makes me want to throw out all the reasons I tell myself that we can't be together right now and just snog you senseless." She moved her hand out of his grasp and ran it through her pink hair, sighing in frustration. "This isn't fair Harry! I hate that we have to stay just friends for right now! I hate that I don't know if you'll feel the same this time next year! I hate that I can't go out with you and let everyone know how much you mean to me!"

"I know Dora, I hate it too. But I can promise you that my feelings aren't going to change. Hell, I'm not even going on a date with anyone, let alone anything else."

"Really? There's a lot of nice birds at Hogwarts."

"Maybe," Harry responded with a shrug, "but they're not you. I meant it when I said that I'll wait as long as I have to. You'll be worth the wait." The look on Tonks' face showed how much Harry's words meant to her and she wracked her brain to come up with something, anything, that might make it easier on both of them.

"Maybe we don't have to hide everything," she began, an idea suddenly striking her. Harry looked at her expectantly, attempting to take another drink of Firewhiskey and finding an empty bottle. "You remember that movie we watched where the bloke told that bird 'I see you' instead of saying 'I love you'?" Harry gave a simple nod. "Well I see you Harry."

"I see you Dora."

"What's on your mind?" Tonks asked, noticing his unfocused expression.

"Where are we Dora?" Harry finally had the courage to ask. He was tired of not knowing how to breach the subject and decided that the best thing to do was to be blunt and straightforward.

"Er, in my flat?" she offered, not sure where he was going with this.

"No I mean as far as our relationship goes. Are we together? Are we still just friends? Where are we?" Tonks sighed and sat down next to him, taking his hand in hers. She was honestly surprised that he hadn't already asked her this question.

"Harry for the past eighteen months I've wanted to snog you senseless every time I saw you. I wanted to run up to you and feel your arms around me whenever we met up. After the Department of Mysteries I wanted to comfort you until it didn't hurt anymore, even if that took the rest of my life. I want to be with you so much now that we actually can be together but I'm afraid. I'm afraid that if I just go straight from being friends to more than that that everything I wanted to do will come forth at once. I want to take it slow at first, light kisses, lingering touches, things like that, and go from there."

"So you're-what, worried about damaging our friendship?"

"Of course not. I think we both know that our friendship will be perfectly fine. I'm worried that I'll take you into that bedroom and we won't come out until this time next year. I just want to get used to the idea of us being together before I let it happen."

"Alright," Harry said after a moment's silence. "I'm not going to pretend that I know what you're talking about but I'll follow your lead."

"Good," Tonks responded, relieved. She didn't want to have to tell him the real reason she was hesitant now, at least not yet. The truth was that Tonks had fallen very hard for Harry and her feelings had only intensified for the past several months. It terrified her that Harry's feelings for her might have changed. Though he had initiated their second kiss, there was a voice in the back of her head that kept making her feel very insecure. The young Auror would readily admit that she was a flirt but when it came to someone that she had actual feelings for all of the confidence she usually possessed seemed to take a leave of absence.

"I think I'm going to bed Harry," Tonks announced. "I'm knackered."

"I am too. I need to get up early tomorrow morning to work on some of my homework."

"I don't understand why you're still doing it if you aren't planning on returning next year."

"Force of habit I guess. Besides between Hermione, Rose, and Mum, I'd be dead if I didn't do my homework. There's always a chance I'll go back after this is all over with too and hopefully this will help." Tonks couldn't fault his logic, especially since he was ultimately attempting to better himself, so she said nothing. Instead, she gave him a hug and a quick peck on the cheek before rising from the couch, changing it into a bed, and going into her room.

Tonks had been asleep for nearly an hour when she heard a yell come from the sitting room. Without a second thought, she grabbed her wand from its position on the nightstand, threw the covers off, and raced into the other room. She found Harry thrashing about on the bed in the midst of what appeared to be a rather intense nightmare. The teen cried out his sister's name and Tonks felt her heart break; she had no idea what he was dreaming about but she knew it was tormenting him.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Rose, and Ginny were all at the Burrow for a party that was being held by the Weasleys and paid for by the Potters. It was for everyone in the Order and mainly an attempt to help them all shake the pain of having lost Sirius, at least for a short while. It was especially helpful to Harry, who hadn't been the same since his godfather's death. The row and subsequent talk a week ago with Tonks helped perk him somewhat but the change was barely noticeable. It was obvious that the young teen was sinking into depression and James couldn't stand seeing that happen to his son.

The party was certainly lifting Harry's mood, at least on the surface. No one was sure if his feelings outside reflected how he felt inside but Rose for one was convinced that her brother was still feeling terrible. Hermione seemed to echo the younger girl's thoughts and the two of them were attempting to include Harry in everything they did. It seemed that they were slightly successful in their endeavors until a random spell flew past them. The others paid little attention to it, as some of the older partygoers were dueling, but Harry was on full alert. He knew that something was off about the spell but couldn't put his finger on what it was. It took him only a few seconds to realize that it had come from the wrong direction, an easy detail to miss if one wasn't paying attention. He looked behind him and immediately threw himself to the ground, pulling everyone else with him.

"Get down!" he demanded. The group barely hit the dirt before several more spells flew over their heads, disappearing off into the distance. "Death Eaters!" Harry yelled out to everyone else. The words garnered the attention of the rest of the people there and they turned as one to face the threat. Unfortunately it seemed that Voldemort's followers had disappeared just as quickly as they had appeared until a second flurry of spells came from behind them. Harry, who happened to be facing the right direction again, threw up a Shield Charm that managed to deflect the brunt of the assault. The adults turned to face their attackers before they could vanish again and a fierce battle broke out. Ron and Hermione were too busy worrying about Harry using magic under age to notice much of what was going on around them however.

"What's more important," Harry began, "being expelled from Hogwarts or your life?" Without waiting for an answer he pointed his wand at one of the Death Eaters and yelled, "Diffindo!" The spell cut the man's arm, distracting him long enough for Lily to Stun him. Beside him, he heard Rose yell "Sectumsempra!" and watched as the spell cut open another unfortunate Death Eater.

"Severus taught me," she informed Ron, Hermione, and Ginny with a shrug. Harry nodded at her and used the same spell with nothing more than a wave of his wand. Snape, McGonagall, and to a lesser extent Dumbledore had all helped him learn silent spell casting during the year at James and Lily's insistence. He only used it when it was beneficial for him however, not willing to let Voldemort know that he was skilled in something that he shouldn't learn until the coming school year. The spell had barely been cast when something threw Harry back to the ground. As he rolled to avoid whatever was coming his way, the teen noticed a Death Eater suddenly appear behind James.

"Watch out Dad!" he shouted, foregoing his own safety for the moment. His warning was apparently enough to save James but, focused as he was on his father, Harry failed to see the man pointing his wand at them. The Death Eater fired off a spell that missed Harry and made contact with Rose instead, throwing the young girl back to the ground where she lay motionless. Harry watched it all in slow motion and leaped to his feet again with an almighty roar. He brought his wand down in a sharp motion and the Death Eater was thrown to the ground himself. The man wasn't dead but neither did he show signs of life either; it didn't even seem like he was breathing.

The apparent loss of his sister seemed to finally push Harry over the edge and he now fought like a man possessed, all thoughts of his safety and any laws pushed from his mind. He didn't try to kill anyone, which shocked Ron and Hermione, but he was more dangerous than anyone had ever seen him. Again and again he brought down his wand and again and again another Death Eater joined his fellows on the ground. When Tonks finally arrived with several other Aurors to accompany her, only a few of Voldemort's followers were left standing. The young Metamorphmagus started to go over to Harry before watching him walk over to Rose and sink down beside her, gathering her head in his hands. Nearly everyone stopped what they were doing when they heard the Boy-Who-Lived cry his sister's name, seemingly oblivious to the breath she was still drawing.

Harry sat up in the bed as his dream came to an end, his wand in his hand and sweat rolling down his face. He looked around in panic before his eyes fell on the young woman beside the bed. Tonks opened her arms for him and he fell into her, wrapping her into a tight hug that she willingly returned. Harry didn't cry but it was obvious that the dream had greatly pained him and he needed comfort that Tonks wanted to give. Eventually he started talking to her.

"I dreamt about the attack on the Burrow last summer," he told her. "Rose, I thought she was..." He didn't have to finish his sentence for her to know what he was going to say.

"Shh, shh, it's over now Harry. Nothing happened to Rose, she's still with us, and you helped set back Voldemort's plans that day. None of us were hurt. C'mon." She took his hand and led him into her bedroom, gently pushing him down onto the bed. Tonks considered sleeping in the other room for only a second before climbing in beside Harry and wrapping her arms around him again; it wasn't long before they were both fast asleep.

Author's Note: So I wanted to give some slight insight on Harry's relationship with his family and I'm hoping I did a decent job. For those of you who want more, I can promise that there will be more flashbacks of the entire Potter family. I also want to clarify something about the fight in Harry's dream. Yes Harry is powerful in this story, I'm going with the assumption that James and Lily helped him realize his power much sooner than in canon, but he's not powerful enough to face an army of Death Eaters by himself without suffering any damage. The biggest reason he was so effective is because the Death Eaters weren't paying attention to him until it was too late. Harry is not going to be an all-powerful super being in this story who has the potential to defeat Voldemort by looking at him. He will be powerful of course, as we see evidence of in canon, but his power will be believable.