Inner Strength, Outer Battles Disclaimer: If I owned the Harry Potter universe and all the characters this would be published in a book, not on the Internet. Chapter Two – Unbalanced and uncertain There was no doubt about it; this day had quite possibly been the one most surreal day of sixteen-year-old Harry Potter's life (and that included the day when he discovered his whole life had been a lie and he was, in fact, a wizard). There was definitely no doubt that it had not turned out as he had expected. For one thing, he had expected to spend the day doing chores and getting shouted at by his Aunt and Uncle for being a "worthless, good for nothing freak". Instead he had been rescued by Nymphadora Tonks, Mad-Eye Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Remus Lupin and escorted by them and another unknown contingent of witches and wizards acting as a rear guard to 12 Grimmauld Place, London – the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. There he had had a brief meeting with Albus Dumbledore, which had gone only slightly better than their last meeting, in that whilst once again he couldn't believe what he was being told and he did get angry, he didn't end up wrecking the room and destroying half the contents of the room in which they met as he had done previously. He was going to have to leave Hogwarts, the only real home he had ever known. Leave school and all his friends and go into hiding. Harry had tried to say that he wasn't going, that he was going to face what was coming and face it head on. He was a Potter, and Potter's didn't hide. However, no one had listened to his arguments. Once again, as had happened many times in his fifteen years on this earth, someone else had made a decision about what was best for him and had not taken his wishes into account. Sometimes, Harry couldn't wait to be two years older and be a fully qualified adult wizard. They would have to listen to him then. So here he was, many thousands of miles away from home and those he considered to be his real family. No, he had never expected to end the day in a strange country after being told that in all likelihood he would be spending almost all of the next year here for his own safety. It was, in fact, the first time Harry had ever left the United Kingdom – the Dursley's having always left him with Mrs. Figg when they took their yearly holiday to Majorca. Plus he had started the day with only Hedwig, Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and their precious Dudley for company and ended it living with Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks... and Ginny Weasley. His first real thought when he had realised that he was not going to win that argument was that at least no one else would have their lives severely affected by this – sure his friends would probably miss him (and he would really miss them) but they would be able to get on with their normal lives whilst he was away. Except, that wasn't to be the case either. It turned out that Ginny Weasley, his best friend's younger sister and someone who Harry had just begun to consider a friend in her own right after the events of the past year, would also be joining him in hiding for reasons that Harry wasn't privy too. It was probably all his fault though. Everyone he had ever been close too had died because of him. It had started with his parents, and then Cedric at the end of his fourth year and now Sirius had died trying to rescue him from a mess of his own making. Everything bad that happened to the people around him was his fault and they would all be so much better off without him. Of course, no one was ever going to let two teenagers go into hiding alone, especially when one had for many years had a crush on the other, even if they had since outgrown it. Consequently, for that very reason, they were to be accompanied by Remus Lupin, their former Defence against the Dark Arts professor and who had also been a close friend of Harry's parents, and Nymphadora Tonks, a young Auror who was also a member of the Order. So there they were, somewhere in the depths of Africa. Away from all they knew and held dear, holed up in a little house with only each other for company. Remus Lupin surveyed his companions and the room in which they sat. It was a relatively plain room with little in the way of frills or decorations. The walls were light blue and what little furniture there was in the room was plain and functional, doing nothing to add character to their surroundings. The whole place just screamed "rented house", a place that had never had the chance to be turned into a real home. It didn't seem to be a good place to be spending the next year. Feeling the need to do something, Lupin got up from his seat and began to pace around the room. There was a big window that dominated the wall opposite the door. The view from the window was of the grounds surrounding the house in which they were to stay – there was a grassy area, a few trees and in the distance a watering hole around which a few animals stood. He spent a few minutes contemplating the view from the window before turning to look at the people he was with. Nymphadora Tonks was not using her Metamorphmagus powers and instead was in her so-called "natural" state. She had the blonde curls she kept short and brown eyes that she had been born with, a look she frequently avoided. Tonks, as she preferred to be called, believed that as she had the power to change her appearance at will she should do so at every possible opportunity. However, she had been required to resume her natural state whilst they were travelling across International wizarding borders. He was quite surprised that she had not returned to one of her more outlandish guises as soon as the opportunity had presented itself. Then again, he supposed it must take a lot of energy to instigate such changes in your appearance and they were all very tired after their eventful day. Ginny Weasley sat staring off into space. She was normally a very outgoing and confident young girl who he remembered fondly both from when he had taught her at Hogwarts and also from the previous summer they had spent living at Headquarters. Her long red hair was loose and shielding most of her face from view, meaning that Remus was not able to tell so well what she was thinking. She was, however, a lot quieter than she usually was. Too quiet for his liking. Then there was his final companion and the one who gave him the biggest cause for concern. Harry Potter. There was no doubt about it; the poor boy had suffered some of the worst things a person could ever suffer. He had come through everything seemingly unscathed and continued to survive. Life just kept kicking him in the teeth though. First his parents died and he was sent to live with his Muggle Aunt and Uncle who despised him. Then he discovered he was a wizard and went to Hogwarts. His suffering didn't end there though; he faced Voldemort for the second time in his young life and walked away from that encounter to be sent back to his hateful relatives for the summer. His second year he had killed a basilisk with the sword of Godric Gryffindor, and rescued young Ginny from the Chamber of Secrets. He had nearly died in the process. The tired old werewolf's heart ached when he thought of Harry's parents – his best friend, James, and his wife Lily, who had died when their son was little more than a year old. Even though he had not been named as godfather because of his status as a werewolf, his friends had told him that they considered an unofficial second godfather, and that were it possible, they would have made it official. For most of his life, Harry hadn't had him or his real Godfather Sirius Black there to look out for him. However he had been able to take up a teaching position at Hogwarts during the boy's third year and towards the end of the year, the truth about the night his parent's died came out and Harry had met his godfather for the first time. He had still had to return to Privet Drive and his Muggle relatives for the summer though because of the little matter of Sirius being on the run after having escaped from Azkaban (the wizard prison) where he had spent the previous twelve years after being framed for thirteen murders he did not commit. Harry's fourth and fifth years in the Wizarding world were his worst yet – culminating three weeks ago in the death of Sirius, the only real father figure and source of hope for a better life young Harry had ever had. Then barely an hour after the second death Harry had witnessed in less than a year, he had found out exactly why You-Know-Who wanted to kill him. It just so happened that a prophecy had been made which stated that either Harry had to kill Voldemort or he would be killed by him, there was no alternative. Lupin shook his head as he realised just how amazing it was that the son of his friends was as sane and near normal as he was considering all he had been through. That was what the next year was for though. Dumbledore had explained to the members of the Order that he believed the best way to ensure that Harry would be able to defeat You-Know-Who was to send him into hiding. The time he spent in hiding could be used to give him accelerated training in order to give him more of a chance when the final battle came. That was fine, Lupin completely understood the logic behind that idea and had willingly agreed to accompany him. It was the least he could do for the boy he considered to be the son he had never had. James, Lily and Sirius may not be able to be with Harry, but he could be and he planned to be the best possible father substitute. Tonks looked up and smiled as she watched Remus pacing around the room. He looked as uncomfortable as she felt. "Hey, you guys?" She spoke up deciding that it was probably a good idea to break the silence that lingered between the four of them before it lasted any longer. "Yeah?" said Ginny uninterestedly, as the other two looked on silently. "Is everyone OK? Do you need anything?" Tonks continued, knowing that the truth was the two teenagers were anything but all right, but feeling the need to ask anyway. Lupin nodded encouragingly, to show that he was fine, and that she had had the right idea. "Fine," retorted Harry, who didn't seem to be in the slightest way fine whatsoever. Ginny didn't answer. She just sat there and continued to stare off into space. This worried the Auror and she walked over towards the girl she liked to think of as the little sister she never had and sat down next to her. "Alright?" she asked softly. She felt very unsure of what she was supposed to do to make her feel better. She was an Auror, not a mother and she had little experience of comforting anyone her own age, having found her special powers as a Metamorphmagus had made it very difficult for her to make lasting friendships before she had joined the Order. However she had to do something, anything, to make the normally sassy young redhead more comfortable. Tonks saw that Ginny's lip quivered as she sat there and she was obviously fighting a losing battle against tears as her eyes had that glassy appearance they often had when someone was upset. Just as she was about to reach out to her, and attempt to offer some reassurance, Ginny jumped up and ran from the room. The youngest Weasley ran from the sitting room straight into the room she had been told would be hers. She slammed the door behind her and threw herself down onto the bed. Burying her head in the mountain of yellow pillows, that complimented the red paint on the walls and covered the bed, she burst into tears. What she wouldn't give right now to see her mother and have her hug her in the way that only she could. The way that made you feel that no matter what had happened everything was going to be ok. She wasn't going to get that hug though, was she? Ginny lay there crying for a good few minutes. She wasn't sure how long had passed when she heard the door open. Tonks slipped into the room and looked down at the crying girl, feeling her heartbreak at what she saw. She sat down on the bed next to her and pulled her into a sitting position next to her. "Ginny, is there anything I can get for you?" Ginny made a noise halfway between a laugh and a sob and answered bitterly "Not unless you can get my mum," knowing that that was impossible. The Metamorphmagus knew that Ginny was unaware of the reasons why she had had to go into hiding with Harry and that that had made it doubly difficult for the young girl to say goodbye to her family and leave them behind to face the next year completely alone. Even Tonks herself wasn't fully sure of the reasons behind the decision but she wasn't one to question the decisions of Albus Dumbledore. He wasn't the sort of person you could question, for one thing, he just always gave the impression that he knew what was happening and also that he knew more than he was letting on. Still, none of that would be any help to her right now. She needed to calm Ginny down and try to help her begin to accept the situation. "I know I'm not as good as your mum. I could never hope to replace her, but I'm here if you need someone to talk to or a shoulder to cry on. Remus and me aren't just here to protect you, you know. We're here to look after you too." Slipping an arm around the crying girl she drifted off into silence. Tonks sat watching as she struggled to regain control of her emotions and stop crying. She said nothing as the minutes passed silently, hoping that her presence alone would be adequate reassurance and wondering exactly what she had gotten herself into. She could guard Ginny and Harry in her sleep. She had had loads of experience of pulling guard duty in countless different situations. That was one of the most important parts of what being an Auror was all about. To be a parental figure to two teenagers, who had been taken from their families in order to protect them, wasn't something she could do though. She just hoped Dumbledore knew what he was doing; she wasn't cut out to be a mother. She was just a clumsy Auror who was little more than six years older then them and didn't think she even wanted children of her own. Or at least, not at anytime in the near future. "I k-know," Ginny spoke haltingly as she still hadn't quite stopped crying. "But its j-just I wish she could hug me and tell me it'll all be ok, like she used to when I was a little girl." "I can't promise that it'll all be ok, sweetie. But I can promise that we'll all do our best to see that it is. And I may not be as good at hugging as your mother but I can give it my best shot." Pulling Ginny into a tight hug the two remained that way for some time until Remus knocked on the door to check on them. After Ginny had washed away the traces of tears that remained on her face, she and Tonks went back through to join Harry and Remus in the other room. Harry looked up and smiled at Ginny when she re-entered the room. He figured that all this was probably a lot harder on her then it was on him. She had an actual family who loved her that she had had to leave behind. All he had was relatives who thought he was a freak and didn't want anything to do with him and a few close friends who were all in danger because of him. Seeing her run from the room clearly on the verge of tears had upset him but he hadn't known what he could do to help her so he had left it to Tonks. Besides, he figured that Ginny would probably prefer to be comforted by another girl than by him. "We made some sandwiches, would you like some?" he offered gesturing to the dinner that he and Remus had made. Ginny smiled back somewhat shyly, she was a little embarrassed about her earlier behaviour. "Yeah, I guess I am a little hungry." She quickly sat at the table and helped herself to a ham and cheese sandwich. "Well, I don't think either of us would win any awards for the world's best cook, but hopefully those sandwiches will meet with your approval." Joked Remus. Tonks pretended to be shocked by the news that the two men had made dinner without any help and without being prompted. "You two made food? Are you sure you want to take that risk, Ginny?" sarcasm was a gift of Tonks' that she used to the best of her abilities now "Don't know if I'd risk it." She was pleased to hear Ginny give a short laugh in response – she was clearly feeling better. The meal passed quickly, nobody really ate a lot but dinner could officially be considered a success. They made idle small talk about the journey to Africa, the house they were staying in and the wonderful view they had of the plains outside. After they had finished eating, Remus explained the mechanics of the version of the Fidelius charm that they had been placed under. Basically they were hiding under a different variation of the charm to the one that Harry's parents had used fifteen years previously. It meant that nobody looking for them other then those who they were in hiding with could find them. Where it differed was that they were not confined to the house and garden; instead the charm covered a certain distance surrounding the house giving them a limited amount of freedom. The charm also allowed them to hide in plain sight their most distinguishing features such as Harry's scar and Ginny's distinctive Weasley red hair. Meaning that they need not worrying about interacting with any people they may meet. Silence fell over the four of them once again as the two teenagers sat and digested both the meal and the events of the day. It wasn't the uncomfortable silence that had reigned earlier. Instead it was more relaxed and felt totally natural – as though they were comfortable with each other and the situation. While that wasn't completely the case they certainly were a lot more at ease then they had been just two hours earlier. The hour grew later and Remus sent the two teenagers towards their beds, explaining that they would have a busy day the next day and would need to be up early.