Harry felt like a zombie the next morning. He had refused to fall asleep after a night filled with anxiety over Mr Weasley's fate. Worse, Harry wasn't sure why Dumbledore was avoiding him even within the same room, though part of Harry suspected that it had something to do with his visions. Did Dumbledore expect Harry to lose his mind even further and start attacking him, perhaps? After all, Harry had felt a surge of rage upon looking Dumbledore in the eye last night.

On the other hand, the one good thing which came of Harry's suffering was the fact that a certain someone with pink hair and punk-like clothing had taken pity on his sleep-deprived state. Harry was so worn out by staying awake that he kept nodding off while sitting on the train headed towards the heart of London. It reached the point where Tonks pulled him closer to rest his head on her left shoulder.

"Let him sleep," she told the group of Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny (who looked desperate to question Harry over his sleepless night). "And don't drown him in questions. He's just as confused as you are."

Harry slept soundly on Tonks's shoulder, until being nudged awake at their destination. Tonks fixed his collar as Harry got up and yawned, after which she led the group up the escalator and through the bustling, broad store-lined street. She stopped at an old-fashioned, red brick department store called Purge & Dowse Ltd, which had been closed for at least over a decade.

"Here we go," said Moody, who was limping along at the back of the group. Tonks led them past the ugly female dummy in the store's window, and into the reception area of St Mungo's. Harry stayed as close to her as he could.

Unfortunately, when they reached the front of the queue at Enquiries, Harry felt a sinking feeling of disappointment as Tonks said that she (and Moody) would wait outside in the corridor. Harry tried to join her but was pushed towards the doorway of the Dai Llewellyn Ward, by Mrs Weasley.

"Don't be silly, Harry," she said, "Arthur wants to thank you."

It was strange. A summer or two ago, Harry would drop everything to check up on Mr Weasley in this situation. But now, Harry couldn't resist glancing at Tonks every now and then. Everything about her was so ... 'cool' (or whatever else Harry was thinking).

Nothing much happened during the visit. Mrs Weasley kept a close watch on her husband as he discussed his condition. She shut down any attempts from the group to try and get more information about Mr Weasley's Order duties last night. Then she ushered the group out of the room as Tonks and Moody came in.

"Let's see if St Mungo's puts Imperturbable Charms on its ward doors, shall we?" said Fred. He and George passed five Extendable Ears among the group, and listened in on whatever was being spoken within the ward.

At first, the group of Tonks, Mrs Weasley, and Moody spoke of Voldemort's snake and why it could have been there; but when the topic changed to Harry's vision of the attack and the possibility of Voldemort possessing him, Harry stood back in shock. Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny were staring at him with similar expressions on their faces.

"I don't want to talk about it," he said, as Ginny opened her mouth to speak. "And don't tell me you were possessed as well."

"I didn't –"

"You were going to say it, though, weren't you?" Harry asked, feeling his chest heat up in anger. "Thought it might make me feel better or something, is that it? Look, this is different. You didn't see through the basilisk's eyes, did you?"

Ginny shook her head, looking highly offended.

"Then don't compare me to you."

Ron blinked. "No need to be so hostile, mate. Ginny didn't say a thing."

"She was about to, though," said Fred, trying to keep the peace. "Listen, er ... maybe we should just drop it before Harry gives us a fine exhibition of Muggle duelling right here in St Mungo's. Like Tonks said, he's just as confused as we are."

"Yeah," said Ron, nodding. "But still, to think You-Know-Who –"

Fred rounded on Ron in an instant. "I said drop it! Or do you want Mum and the others to hear when they come out?"

Mrs Weasley's group left the ward about ten minutes later. By then, Harry and the others were standing further down the corridor, minding their own business. But when Tonks strolled past and paused to stare at Harry for a while, he felt as if he was being read like a book.

Eventually, Tonks sighed. Her dark twinkling eyes glanced at Harry's scar for a moment before looking him in the eye. "Just admit it already."

"Admit what?" Harry asked, as everyone else descended the staircase. "You're not making any sense."

Tonks crossed her arms. She kept a straight face while looking slightly down at Harry. "Do you really expect me to believe that you were just minding your own business over here? How much did you hear?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"All right," said Tonks. She patted Harry on the back while walking past. "But if it makes you feel any better, I'm all ears. Don't let it bottle up and make you sick."

Hermione arrived at Grimmauld Place the next day. She heard the news from Ron and immediately assured Harry that everything was fine, though Harry found the constant attention rather annoying. Instead, Harry got up and went to speak with Sirius in the drawing room. Sirius was sitting on a chair diagonal to Harry's, with one leg crossed over the other.

"No need to explain. I know how you feel."

"Really?" said Harry. "Were you ever possessed?"

Sirius shrugged. "No, but growing up here with all of these wonderful outlooks on life is close enough. If I hadn't taken to openly rebelling against the Black family crap, I'd've locked myself up out of shame."

"At least you could rebel," said Harry, staring at the floor. "There's nothing that I can do to fight whatever's happening within. What if I end up like Quirrell, with Voldemort stuck on the back of my head?"

Sirius rubbed his chin. "Dumbledore's the one who knows all about this. But even so, I seriously doubt that'll happen, Harry. Ginny didn't end up with another head, did she?"

"No, but her's was different. Voldemort was acting through a diary somehow." Harry frowned. "Mine seems more direct, I think. Maybe I should just stay home to keep everyone else safe."

Sirius couldn't help smiling. "Yeah, that's a brilliant –"

"I mean Privet Drive," said Harry, still staring at the floor. "At least then I can keep other wizards safe. Don't really care about the Dursleys."

There was a suffocating silence for a while until Sirius said, "Ron said you didn't leave your bed that night. Don't you think that's good? If you are, indeed, Voldemort's weapon, you'd think he'd fetch you or something."

That was a good point, but Harry wasn't convinced. "Doesn't explain how I saw through the snake, though. Not even last year's dreams were like that."

Sirius went silent again, before nodding. "Yeah, I reckon it's time we got some expert advice on this. I'll call Bill aside on Christmas and see what he says. Might even give that scar of yours a check-up, seeing as it's troubled you for so long."

"Sounds good," said Harry. He felt part relieved, part excited from having at least some plan of action at this point. "Think I'll finish my homework in the meantime. If you see Tonks, tell her I did everything she put on that list, and more."

Harry and Sirius spent a good portion of their time cleaning up Grimmauld Place in the run-up to Christmas. They were joined by Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, George, and Mrs Weasley as they worked tirelessly to get the house in pristine condition. They worked so hard that by the time they went to bed on Christmas Eve, the house was barely recognisable.

Gone were the cobwebs hanging from the chandeliers, having been replaced by garlands of holly and gold and silver streamers. There were heaps of magical snow glittering over the threadbare carpets; and a great Christmas tree, obtained by Mundungus and decorated with live fairies, was now obscuring the Black family tree from view. Even the stuffed elf-heads on the hall wall were given Father Christmas hats and beards.

Harry ripped through his presents the next morning and was pleased to see that it had been a good haul. He had received a homework planner from Hermione, a set of practical defensive magic books from Sirius and Lupin, a furry brown wallet with fangs from Hagrid, an enormous box of Every-Flavour Beans from Ron, the usual hand-knitted jumper and some mince pies from Mr and Mrs Weasley, a dreadful (but good-natured) painting from Dobby; and last but not least, a set of Quidditch practise gear plus a small, working model of a Firebolt from Tonks.

"Blimey!" said Ron, opening the small crate at the foot of Harry's bed. There was a Beater's Bat lying within, as well as a practise Bludger, Quaffle, and Snitch. "You can practise all four with these! Just don't come after Keeper, all right?"

Harry released the model Firebolt and watched it zoom around the room. "Wonder if she liked my gift?"

"You're joking, right?" Ron's mouth fell open. "Harry, you got her a big expensive chocolate." Then he looked confused. "But why chocolate, though? Thought you'd get her a Weird Sisters T-shirt or something?"

Harry shrugged. "Don't know. Just felt like it."

They were interrupted by Fred and George Apparating into the room. George recommended that Harry and Ron avoided going downstairs, due to Mrs Weasley crying over Percy rejecting his Christmas jumper.

"He's a right git, that one," Harry said, feeling incensed. "Hope I never turn out to be like him."

The topic then shifted to Dobby's portrait of Harry, after which they got up and got dressed before heading downstairs. Hermione met them halfway and thanked Ron for the book on numerology, though she did express her surprise at him buying it.

"Why? Because I'm poor?" Ron asked. Hermione shook her head in a hurry.

"No! It's just ... I thought it was Harry who sent it at first."

Harry decided against telling Hermione that he had thought of it first. He'd passed the idea to Ron once the latter couldn't decide what to get Hermione, seeing as Ron had sent Katie the perfume he'd bought.

"Anyway," said Hermione, "thanks for the new quills, Harry. They'll be a lifesaver in the lead-up to the O.W.L.s."

Just then, Harry caught sight of Tonks and her parents coming down the hall. They were all wearing thick Muggle clothing. Harry excused himself from Ron and Hermione (who were planning on paying Kreacher a visit) and went to go greet the Tonkses.

Wow, she sort of looks like Bellatrix, Harry thought, upon seeing Mrs Tonks. The resemblance was much less pronounced when she neared the light of the chandelier, however. Her hair was a light, soft brown, and her eyes were wider and kinder than Bellatrix's.

"Is this him?" Mrs Tonks asked her daughter in a loud whisper. "Why are you fattening up my daughter, Mister?"

"Wh - what?"

"She's only joking," whispered Mr Tonks. He was a big-bellied man with fair hair. "We weren't planning on coming here at first, but Dora roped us into it." He saw Mrs Tonks eyeing the sleeping portraits in the hall with a look of disgust. "You all right?"

"Fine," said Mrs Tonks, tilting her nose slightly in the air. "Let's go find Sirius."

Once her parents had left for the basement, Tonks turned to face Harry. He felt rather fuzzy standing so close to her, given how pretty Tonks looked with her usual heart-shaped face and her dark twinkling eyes. Her hair was long and violet today, and she looked very comfortable in her black winter-outfit.

"So," she said, being roughly Harry's height. "Chocolate, huh?"

Harry fidgeted with his fingers. "Wasn't sure what else to get."

Tonks smiled. "Nah, it's cool. I wanted to keep you a piece but, yeah ... that didn't work out." She snorted with laughter. "Still, I can't believe you got me chocolate, of all things."

Harry blinked. "What's so funny about it?"

"Er, never mind," said Tonks. She turned Harry on the spot and gently ushered him down the hall. "Let's scram before that stupid hag starts screaming."

They went down to the basement for Christmas lunch. Harry sat beside Tonks and spoke about all manner of things with her, including the fact that he'd finished her list. Tonks was proud of him and said that she would test Harry later that day, though their conversation was soon drowned out by Sirius and Mrs Tonks roaring with laughter at a joke the latter had just told.

"Wait until Mum gets drunk and starts singing Muggle songs," Tonks whispered to Harry. "You'd never expect that from her at first glance."

Once they'd finished their Christmas lunch, the Weasleys, Tonkses, Harry, and Hermione were escorted to St Mungo's by Lupin and Moody. They were taken via Mundungus and his recently acquired car, whose interior had been magically enlarged to fit them all.

The journey to St Mungo's was quite quick, owing to less traffic on the roads. A small trickle of witches and wizards was creeping furtively up the otherwise deserted street, in order to visit the hospital. Harry and the others got out of the car and strolled casually towards the window where the dummy in green nylon stood.

One by one, they passed through the glass and into the reception area. It looked pleasantly festive, what with its crystal orbs having been coloured red and gold to become gigantic, glowing Christmas baubles. Holly had been hung around every doorway, and there were shining white Christmas trees covered in magical snow and icicles glittering in every corner, each one topped with a gleaming gold star.

Wow, Harry thought, as they crossed the reception area towards the staircase. I'll never get tired of seeing wizards show off for Christmas.

After a quick visit to Mr Weasley, in which Lupin spoke to the werewolf patient, and Mrs Weasley admonished her husband over agreeing to use stitches on his wounds, Harry stepped out of the ward and waited in the corridor. He spoke with Tonks for a while regarding her latest duties as Auror, but was then approached by Bill Weasley.

"Hey, Harry," said Bill, gesturing towards a door further down the hall. "We can use the storeroom for a quick check-up, if you want."

Tonks blinked. "Check-up? For what?"

Bill gave a hushed explanation of what Sirius had asked him. Tonks agreed to accompany Harry and Bill into the storeroom.

"All right," said Bill, drawing his wand. He took aim at Harry's scar and started muttering a few things under his breath. Then, once he'd finished, he took a step back with a bemused look on his face. "That's strange. It doesn't match any known curses I've dealt with. Let me try again."

Harry and Tonks watched as Bill ran all sorts of diagnostic spells on Harry again.

"Eh, it's definitely cursed," he said, nodding. "But as to what exactly is going on in there, I'm not sure."

Harry frowned. "Dumbledore said Voldemort unintentionally transferred some of his own powers to me the night he gave me this scar. It's why I can speak Parseltongue."

Bill looked just as confused as Tonks was. "Unintentionally? But all spells have some component of intention in them, even accidental magic. This is really throwing me a curveball."

"Don't sweat it," said Tonks, with a slight chuckle. "We could always ask Dumbledore what's going on in here."

Harry snorted. He felt a jolt of anger upon thinking about the headmaster. "Yeah right. Good luck getting any answers from him. Might as well ask the goblins for help."

They sniggered. Bill shook his head and said, "Even if they could, they wouldn't. They only deal with money issues and the like."

"All right," said Tonks, rubbing her heart-shaped chin. "So we know that Harry's cursed enough to see through You-Know-Who's snake and speak to snakes too. But at the same time, it's not like he actually has the man's spellcasting powers and stuff."

Bill nodded. "Yeah, that's really confusing. The most intricate curses I've dealt with involve locations and treasure, but not whatever's happening with Harry over here. Well, at least it's not possession."

Harry recalled his confrontation with Quirrell. "And even if it was, I don't think possession gives you the person's power. Professor Quirrell seemed more like himself, even with Voldemort stuck on the back of his head."

"I reckon we should ask Dumbledore after all," said Tonks. "If he doesn't know it, well, I doubt anyone would."

They agreed to try and get information out of Dumbledore at the first available opportunity. The trio left the storeroom and went to join the others further down the corridor, at the staircase.

"Where to now?" asked Tonks. "Back home?"

Mrs Tonks rubbed her chin. "Has anyone seen Ted, Ronald, and Hermione? I could swear they were standing here just a few minutes ago."

Tonks sighed. "Lost Dad again, eh? Just like in Diagon Alley."

"I think they went to the tearoom," said George, standing opposite Mrs Tonks at the landing. "Fifth floor, if I'm not mistaken."

Fred scoffed. "Imagine ickle Ronniekins sitting all posh and sipping tea. Think I'll stay here and not throw up."

So the group of Harry, Bill, Tonks, and Mrs Tonks climbed up the staircase and made their way to the fifth floor. They came across Mr Tonks's group on the fourth-floor landing, along with Neville and his grandmother.

"Oh dear," said Mrs Tonks. She looked very nervous all of a sudden. "Talk about bad luck right on Christmas. I should go."

Harry was about to ask why when Neville stopped in his tracks and gasped. Mrs Longbottom placed her hand on his right shoulder and steered him past the group.

"It's all right, Neville. That's only her sister."

And without saying a word, Mrs Longbottom shot Mrs Tonks a nasty glare and swept past the group. Neville had to almost run to keep up as his grandmother strode towards the staircase.

"What was that all about?" Harry asked (Mrs Tonks looked part saddened, part haughty all of a sudden). "Why's she so hostile towards you?"

Tonks groaned. "Old hag. It's not Mum's fault they got tortured. Alice and Frank Longbottom are on this level, by the way. Janus Thickey Ward for long-term residents."

The realisation hit Harry like a train. But before he could press the issue, the trio of Ginny, Hermione, and Ron came hurrying down the corridor. Ron beat the others in saying that Gilderoy Lockhart was in the long-term ward, and that he had no hope of recovery.

"Don't say that!" said Hermione, looking flustered. "Personally, I think he's doing rather well, all things considered."

"If you say so," said Ron. Ginny agreed.

"Yeah, I hope he never ever recovers, the fraud. We're all better off without him." Then she looked at Harry and said, "He's busy signing autographs, if you'd like to see him."

Harry almost laughed as he said, "Not a chance!" But then he went silent as Mr Tonks came down the corridor. Mr Tonks placed his hand on his wife's shoulder when he reached her.

"No incidents, I take it?"

"Just a dirty look," said Mrs Tonks. "I'd rather not go in there, thanks."

They agreed to turn around and head back down the staircase. Along the way, Tonks explained the situation to Ginny, Ron, and Hermione, and dropped the subject immediately. They went silent before discussing the Quidditch League all of a sudden.

"No thanks," said Tonks, much to Ron's disappointment. "I'm not in the mood to support the Chudley Cannons."

Harry knew that Tonks was more of a general fan of Quidditch, rather than sticking to a specific team. But that didn't stop Ron and Ginny from trying to lure her over to the Chudley Cannons and Holyhead Harpies, respectively.

"And as for the Harpies," said Tonks, frowning, "I'd prefer not to support that team."

Ginny blinked. "Why not?"

"Let's see," said Tonks, as they passed the second floor. "Imagine there was a team who only accepted guys. Would that be right?" (Ginny remained silent.) "Thought so. The Harpies aren't much different."

Harry furrowed his brows. "I've never seen the Slytherins field any girls."

"They did in my time," said Tonks. "So it's more the captain than the team itself that's the problem. But the Harpies got both issues ..."

Harry found his thoughts drifting away the longer the topic of Quidditch continued. He kept thinking about his scar and Voldemort's powers, while descending the staircase. If Bill Weasley, a fully qualified Curse-Breaker, couldn't give him any answers, then who could? Just what, exactly, was going on in Harry's head beyond the dearth of information which Dumbledore had given?