Tonks stood in the hallway outside her apartment, grumbling as she fumbled with her keys. Behind her stood Harry, Ron, and Ginny, who surveyed the small corridor curiously. The hall was lined with an ancient peach wallpaper, and seven other doors. Finally getting the door unlocked, Tonks led them into the moderate sized apartment. It was conservatively decorated and neat considering how colorful it's occupant was. Shelves mounted on the walls circled the room and were crammed full of books in a disorderly fashion. A large television sat against a wall in the large sitting room with a comfortable but worn couch set directly in front of it. In the corner was a large pile of colorful bean bag chairs obviously there to make up for the lack of furniture. A small kitchen and dining area were separated from the living room by a bar surrounded by stools. Off to the side there were two doors that probably led to a bathroom and to a bedroom.

Ron looked around amazed. "It looks so…"

"Muggle," Harry finished for him.

Tonks grinned. "My Dad was a muggle-born. There are certain unmagical things he couldn't live without. Now I can't live without them either."

Ginny looked at Tonks with interest. "What can't you live without?"

"Electricity mainly--the stuff is wonderful. I love my television and my dishwasher, too. Even with magic, I can't clean the dishes without breaking at least 2 glasses and a plate." Tonks grimaced, " I'm just no good with general household spells."

Tonks walked over to the corner and grabbed a purple bean bag chair and sat it in the middle of the room before plopping down onto it. She began to unlace her knee-high boots and looked up to the teenagers, who were all staring down at her. "Well, don't you want to come sit down?" Ron and Harry sat on the couch. Ginny decided to be a bit more adventurous and took a seat on a lime green bean bag.

It was still early in the afternoon, so the group had a small lunch party for Harry's birthday, Mrs. Weasley had insisted. The entire Weasley family excluding Charlie, who was in Romania, attended along with a couple of Order members, and Harry's Aunt and cousin. For the first time in his life, Harry received a present from a Dursley that wasn't pulled out of a trouser pocket at the last minute.

While the luncheon was a nice gesture, it was hard for Harry to stay focused on it. His mind kept wandering to the festivities that would take place later that day.

"Tonks?" Harry spoke up, "When will people be arriving?"

Tonks had managed to unlace her right boot and, pulling it off, she revealed a white knee sock.

"Fred and George should have been here ten minutes ago. Hermione should be coming sometime soon, too. Everyone else should be here in about an hour and a half." Having finished, Tonks took the removed boot and threw it towards the door. She immediatly set to work on the second boot.

"Who is actually coming to the party?" Ginny asked directing her question towards Harry.

Harry ran through the list mentally. "Hermione, Neville, Dean, Seamus, umm.. the Patil twins can't make it."

Ginny snorted, interrupting Harry. "I'm sure that's because you and Ron are such lousy dates."

Harry and Ron glared at Ginny, but Tonks looked up from her spot and giggled. "Harry and Ron make lousy dates?"

Ginny nodded. "They took the Patil twins to the Yule Ball in their fourth year. Both of them refused to dance, barely said anything to their dates, and were ditched for some Beauxbatons blokes within fifteen minutes."

Tonks burst into laughter as the boys' faces reddened. Harry quickly tried to change the subject.

"Well, Lavender can't make it either; Luna is coming for sure. Oliver can't come, but he sent me a card and a motivational book for Quidditch players. Katie, Angelina, and Alicia are coming. Oh and Ron, Katie sent a little note with her R.S.V.P. She's this years' quidditch captain and she is going to work your arse off. She wants to see that 'raw talent' she knows you have."

Ron made a noise of disgust. "I don't have any talent; she should know that!"

"Ron, you may not be Oliver," said Ginny. "Oliver…he was a lot cuter and had more talent, but you're the best Gryffindor has right now."

A sharp knock at the door ended the quidditch discussion. Tonks rose from her bean bag, still holding her left boot. Half way to the door, her foot met the thrown right boot. Before she could realize what was happening, her face met the plush carpeting. Scrunching up her face in disgust, Tonks rose a second time from the floor. Finally, left boot still in hand, she flung open the door for Hermione.

"Wotcher!" Tonks greeted. She moved aside to let the girl in.

Thanks to puberty, Hermione had become more sculpted over the summer. Awkward curves had become more defined, her bushy hair began to calm into curls, which fell down just below her shoulders. Her normal unsure body language was replaced with that of confidence and more self-esteem. She wore a pair of boot cut jeans that rested on her hips and a trendy light pink tank top that hugged her body perfectly and even showed a small bit of midriff. As she movedm, a small jewel glinted from her belly button. It was a shock for her friends to see such dramatic changes.

Ron's jaw dropped, totally speechless.

Harry grinned at his friend. "Hey Hermione!"

Ginny jumped up with a squeal and pulled Hermione into a hug. "Wow! Just, wow. You look so great! Your hair! Oh! And the clothes! Oh, and the belly button? My Mum would kill me if I even considered it!"

Hermione giggled and said, "My Mum didn't know about it until I got home from Bulgaria. She really didn't mind though; said I could have done much worse. She just wished I had asked for permission and let them check out the piercing parlor to make sure it was 'sanitary and safe.'"

Finding his voice, Ron blurted, "You're still dating that Bulgarian quidditch git?"

The smile on Hermione's face quickly soured. Ginny pulled her across the room and Hermione was forced to sit on a bean bag. "Ron! We aren't dating. We both refused to do a long distance relationship. Before I left to come home, I said goodbye and that was the end of the relationship."

Harry nearly fell off the couch as he burst into a short fit of laughter. "The mark on your neck suggests you did a bit more than say goodbye."

Hermione blushed and tried to adjust her hair to cover the offending mark. Ron's face also reddened, but for a different reason.

"You let that grouchy git actually touch you?!"

"Ron!" Hermione argued. "All he did was kiss me!"

"Looks more like he was sucking on your neck for a couple of hours." Ron countered.

"I seem to remember the summer before fourth year when you called him genius and actually bought a Viktor Krum action figure?" Hermione snapped.

"Well, I changed my mind!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Just because I've been kissed gives you no right to get jealous, rude, and insult my relationship choices!"

Ron's look of rage quickly turned to a pout. "You're the second person to tell me that this summer."

During all this, Tonks had been in the kitchen, stuffing her refrigerator full of butterbeer and muggle soft drinks while listening to the youth banter on in her living room. Peering over the kitchen counter, she called Hermione over.

"I am going to give you guys a quick lesson," Tonks announced. Pulling out her wand, she pointed it at Hermione's neck and muttered a quick incantation. The red markings quickly disappeared. Grinning, Tonks admitted, "Most useful charm I ever learned."

Ron continued to sulk and mumbled, "Like I'll ever need that charm…"

"Ron! Get a hold of yourself!" Hermoine squeezed between Ron and Harry on the couch. "This negativity and pouting isn't going to get you a girl."

Hermione's attempted words of comfort only turned Ron's self-pity into fury. "Who are you to say what will and will not attract a girl?!"

"Ron, in case you haven't noticed, I AM a girl." Hermione gave Ginny a pleading look. "Back me up here. Self pity is an unattractive trait in men, right?"

"It depends, sometimes it can be cute." Ginny thought a moment and added, "But I have problems labeling Ron as someone I would be attracted to."

Ron glared at his younger sister. "Thanks Ginny, it's nice to know my own sister thinks I'm unattractive."

"Ron! It's not that I think you're unattractive. You just don't fit my tastes. What do you want me to say? That I think of snogging you every night?"

"Ginny!" Ron turned a deep shade of red. "I didn't mean that! I meant…well… I meant…" Ron stumbled over his words, and finally gave up.

Another knock at the door conveniently changed the subject. Tonks rushed to let in Fred and George. Fred carried a large box containing Harry's birthday cake and George carried several colorfully wrapped packages.

"Tonks," said George, "where do you want these?"

"Put the cake on the table and the presents… hold on" She pulled her wand out of a pocket on her torn jeans and conjured up a small table in an out of the way corner. "Put the presents here."

George gratefully dropped off the packages onto the table. Hermione added the presents she had brought in to the table as well. Ron remained on the couch and hollered to Hermione, "Herm, will ya put the present I got Harry up there too?" He pointed out a package sitting near the doorway. Hermione grabbed Ron's crudely wrapped present and threw it on the table.

Tonks drew Harry, Hermione, and the lot of redheads to the bar with several bottles of butterbeer. "Alright. In about twenty minutes, we will have far too many teenagers crammed into my flat. I have muggle movies and I'll order pizza. That should be enough to keep us entertained for a while.

There will be no illegal magic. And no legal magic unless absolutely necessary." She stopped to glare at the Weasley twins. "Notice how I'm directing that comment to two identical redheads named Fred and George."

George held up his hands in mock surrender. "I don't know what you could be possibly implying. I am completely innocent."

Fred nodded in agreement with his twin. "Neither of us has ever done anything that would be deemed inappropriate."

Tonks snorted. "Should I start listing everything you two did when we were in Hogwarts together?"

Fred's eyes widened. "There are innocent ears here!"

"That's what I thought." Tonks said with an evil smirk.

Ron's trademark look of confusion appeared. "What do you mean? Were you in school with my brothers?"

"I went to Hogwarts with you for a year, too. My last year was your first." Tonks explained, leaving Ron even more confused.

"How could that be?" Ron asked. "I never saw you there."

Hermione spoke up thoughtfully, "Tonks is a metamorphagus. She probably looked differently."

"Yup. Dumbledore refused to let me be anything except 'my real self.' I did make minor changes, but he either didn't notice them or didn't mention it."

"What's the real Tonks look like? The one we might remember?" asked Harry.

Tonks whimpered, "Do I have to?"

Four curious heads nodded yes. Tonks screwed up her eyes in a pained expression. Her hair darkened from a bright pink into a cocoa brown and slowly grew from short and spiky to slightly below her shoulders. Her eyes changed from a brilliant violet to a deep penetrating brown. Her nose shifted slightly, growing a few millimeters in length and revealing a scar on the left side.

"Wow," Harry breathed. "I remember you."

"You were in Hufflepuff, right?" asked Ron.

Tonks nodded. "Of course. I couldn't imagine there being a better house."

"There is a better house, Gryffindor," Ron retorted.

Before Ron could continue, Hermione broke in. "You used to study with me in the library! Silent company! It was wonderful." Hermione eyed Ron and Harry. "Now, I can't get a moment of studying without being asked to lend someone my notes, essays, or whatever else they made need."

"It's not my fault you're smarter than me!" Ron whined.

"Ron, you just have to study." Hermione tried to tell the whining boy.

"But what if I don't want to?" Ron continued to whine. Compared to him, the sound of nails on a black board seemed almost soothing.

"Well if you don't want to study, that's your concern. I'm not helping you this year." Hermione snapped.

Six sets of eyes stared at Hermione. She wasn't normally so blatant about her stance. Sure, she would encourage her friends to do their own work, but in the end she would wind up guiding them through the entire assignment. She had never flatly refused.

Ginny was the first to speak up, her eyes glittering with mischief. "It's about time someone made him grow up a bit! Maybe if he takes on some responsibility he'll stop whining over stubbed toes. Then if he stops his whining the female gender will take interest in him, so he'll stop being such a prat to those who are getting more snogging action than he is!"

Harry was the first to laugh. Ron yet again turned red and stuck out his bottom lip.

Gasping for breath, Fred managed, "Is our little Ronniekins having girl problems? George and I will set you up!"

"We know some really great girls that would love to meet you," George added.

Ron eyed his brothers suspiciously. "They probably have two heads or something else seriously wrong with them."

The twins eyed each other, and one said, "So that would take Selma and Mary off the list."

Ron got up from the counter and plopped onto the couch. He turned his head to look at his brothers. "Don't even think about trying to hook me up with a girl!"

George shrugged. "Your loss, little brother."

"Will you guys stop bickering?" Tonks asked. "I need to order pizza. Fred, George, you two are in charge of answering the door. Look through the peep hole and keep a hand on your wand, just in case."

The room quieted down as they waited for guests. The first to arrive were Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas. They arrived together. As the two walked through the door Ginny let out of squeal of delight as she flew across the room and wrapped her arms around the tall black boy.

"Dean! I have missed you so much this summer!" she said, planting a modest kiss on his lips. She led him to an out of the way corner where they sat on separate bean bags, but were rather close. They began talking softly to each other.

Ron's face contorted at the sight of his younger sister's display of affection. Seamus hesitantly joined Harry and Ron, sitting nearby on a bright yellow bean bag.

"Seamus!" Harry greeted. "It's great to see you here. I was a bit surprised to see you coming, what with last year and your Mum…" Harry's voice trailed off.

"My mum is in love with you now, Harry! She figures as long as the brave Harry Potter is around, I'm safe. It's rather annoying, actually. She's turned you into this big super hero when you're just…Harry."

Harry blushed. "Well, at least she trusts me now."

The awkward conversation quickly died down as more guests arrived. The apartment slowly filled until there was only one guest missing, Luna. She dreamily entered and walked over to Harry. "Happy Birthday, Harry."

"Thank you, Luna. I hope you had a great summer," Harry replied.

"Oh, yes." Her voice was soft and entrancing. "It was wonderful. Father and I went to Sweden to capture the Crumple-Horned Snorkack."

"Did you get one?" asked Harry.

"Yes, but it was too beautiful of a creature. If we had kept it, it would have been subjected to the cruel world of humans. So we set it back into the wild," Luna said.

"But don't you want people to know it exists?" Harry asked, a bit confused. Who would take an expedition to find a mythical creature and free it to come home empty-handed and unbelieved?

Luna smiled softly. "I don't have to be believed to know it's real." She drifted away to the kitchen, where she sipped on a butterbeer.

Ron leaned over to Harry and whispered, "She's a complete nutter."

"I don't know about that Ron. She did make a lot of sense. I knew Voldemort was back, and no one believed me but I knew and that was enough to make it true." Harry's mind wandered to Luna. She was so different from the rest of the Hogwarts students, but the mystique around her was something of power, something of intellect. There was something more to her than just the outward oddities.

Greasy pizza was consumed and the weird sisters were on in the background, barely heard due to all the chatter. For the first time in quite a while, Harry found he was actually enjoying himself. Surrounded by his peers, there were no worries and he could be himself and forget about Voldemort. As people began to lose interest, their attention drifted toward the table of gifts. The gifts were floated to a spot in front of Harry. With his friends gathering around, he began opening the largest pile of gifts he had ever seen (that weren't addressed to Dudley). He began unwrapping sweets from Dean; several different defense books from Seamus and Tonks; a set of Quidditch balls from Katie, Angelina, and Alicia; and a Chudley Cannons calendar from Ron.

As the pile began to disappear, Fred quickly jumped up and pushed two packages to Harry. "Open ours! We picked out the perfect gifts."

While afraid to discover the packages' contents, Harry was rather intrigued to know what the twins considered 'the perfect gift.' He began on the larger package, tearing away the multicolored paper. The box's label read 'Weasley Wizarding Wheezes' Ultimate Sampler.' This wasn't something surprising coming from the Weasley twins. "Thanks Fred and George," Harry said politely. "I'll get detention from Filtch just for you two."

The twins beamed at each other as Harry picked up the smaller package. From it he pulled out a bottle of fire whiskey. Harry's eyes went wide and before he could say anything the bottle was snatched from his hands.

"I'll be taking that!" Tonks said, taking the bottle to the kitchen and storing it in a hidden cupboard.

"I can't believe you two would do that! Buying him fire whiskey on his 16th birthday! Don't worry, Harry." Tonks winked at him. "I'll hold onto it for another two years."

"Tonks," whined George. "That was for Harry! You'll probably just drink it all."

"If I do, I'll replace it. But if you keep up this whining, I'll tell your mother." Tonks threatened the two. Fred and George quickly backed down. The wrath of the woman who had brought them into the world was a very frightening thing and should be avoided at all costs.

Harry picked up another package from the table and opened the attached card—it was from Hermione and Ginny. Beneath the fancy paper, Harry uncovered a large box full of potions ingredients. There were also several sugar quills, carefully wrapped to avoid contamination. With them was a little note: 'To make your dreaded time in potions a bit sweeter.'

Hermione grinned proudly as Harry uncovered his gift. Her new look couldn't override her academic obsession. "I thought that since you were in Advanced Potions you could use some replacements and the new ingredients required. Ginny didn't know what to get you, so we went in on the gift together. The sugar quills were her idea. Just do be careful eating them in class; it could be quite dangerous you know. We also picked up a few other ingredients we thought could be useful." Hermione's eyes twinkled as she leaned in and whispered, "They might keep us from having to break into Snape's private stores."

Harry grinned, shaking his head at his friend. "Hermione Granger! Were you suggesting breaking school rules? What happened to Miss Can't Do Wrong?"

"Miss Can't Do Wrong? I was never that! It's not like we haven't broken those rules before, on several occasions." Hermione grinned. She really hadn't changed much but her outward appearance made people believe she was a different person. She had attracted a lot of rather unwanted attention from the party guests at first. The boys stared openly and the girls had to ask her about her hair and her new belly button ring. Sure, she had adopted a few new ways, but wasn't that a part of growing up? Why should she be treated so differently?

Harry shook his head at Hermione and examined the last two presents on the table. He reached for a simple red bag was taped shut with Spello Tape. A small card with messy writing was taped to the front. 'To: Harry, From: Neville' Harry looked to Neville and smiled before opening the bag. Peering into it, he was greeted by a familiar plant. "Oh, great…" said Harry, feigning excitement. "Mimbulus mimbletonia"

Neville beamed. "I was able to get my plant to breed! It's rare that they will reproduce."

"That's wonderful, Neville." Harry plastered a fake smile on his face. His mind quickly raced back to the first day of his fifth year when he had been covered in the plant's foul smelling Stinksap. "I think I'll keep it in the bag for now, to keep it safe."

"Good idea, Harry. When you bring it to Hogwarts, I can help you take care of it! But for now, I put a care guide in the bag and some special plant food."

Harry smiled sweetly and nodded. He was dreading taking the plant to Hogwarts with him. He was rather afraid the plant would die in his care before he even made it to Kings' Cross. He picked up the last present. It was the smallest by far and unmarked. By process of elimination, Harry assumed it was from Luna.

"From you?" he asked the blond haired girl.

A gentle smile found its way to her lips and she nodded ever so slightly.

Harry unwrapped the small box. Inside was a tiny glass vial filled with a powdery substance hung from a simple silver chain. Harry examined it closely, running his hands over the smooth glass and letting the chain fall through his fingertips. Harry slipped the chain over his head and let the vial fall against his chest. He would never wear something like this before, but it felt different. There was a light power coming from it, and though Harry couldn't begin to explain it, it made him feel secure.

"Luna, this is different," he said hoping to urge and explanation from her.

"My Father and I were invited by some wonderful people to join their Midsummer Eve celebration. We gathered the herbs mistletoe, vervain, St. John's Wort, heartsease, lavender, yarrow. burdock, thorn, and nettle. By gathering them on Midsummer Eve they were very potent. That night we feasted and danced around the Midsummer fire fueled by the herbs we had gathered. When the fire burned down, I collected some of the ashes. The ashes bring powers of protection, health and luck to the person who carries them." The room was silent as Luna's dreamy voice explained the experience.

Harry was amazed. He had never been given something so special. He tucked the vial into his shirt and his eyes met Luna's green protuberant eyes. "Thank you."

Slowly, people began to leave Harry's side as they drifted into groups. The need for entertainment was obvious. Tonks headed towards her TV to put in a movie, but was quickly stopped by Fred. He loudly said, "I have a better idea. What about spin the bottle?"

This caught everyone's attention. After much pleading, Tonks agreed as long as word of the game never left the room. An empty Butterbeer bottle was collected and the hormonally driven teenagers crowded around a coffee table conjured up for the occasion by George.

"I'll spin first," George offered.

"George!" Tonks hollered. "You're supposed to be a chaperone! You can't join in!"

"Of course I can join in. They need someone to set a good example." George shooed away Tonks and sent the bottle in a spin. It came to a halt in front of Alicia, who just happened to be sitting next to him. He leaned over and gave her a sloppy kiss before passing the bottle on to the next person.

The game progressed with very little excitement. After several awkward kisses and pecks on the cheek, Fred called over Tonks. Pushing the bottle towards her, he said, "Why don't you take a spin?"

Blushing, Tonks shook her head no.

"Come on, Tonks." Fred taunted. :I know spin the bottle was your favorite game back at Hogwarts. You need to show them how it's really played."

"No, I really can't. Molly would kill me."

"What my Mum doesn't know can't hurt her. No one here is going to tell her, right?" Fred let his eyes travel over the rest of the guests at the party. They all nodded in agreement.

"Well, I guess one spin can't hurt." She took the bottle and gave it a casual spin. It spun several circles before coming to a slow halt in front of Harry.

Several of the partygoers cheered as Tonks got up from her place on the floor. Fred quickly turned to his twin. "She always had a weakness for snogging."

Tonks slowly approached Harry, a small grin playing across her lips. She bent over the seated boy and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. She turned to Fred, "Happy?"

Fred shook his head. "I've gotten better kisses off you! Show him how the game is played!"

"That's the only kind of kiss anyone is going to get from me tonight." Tonks flounced towards the kitchen when she heard Fred snort. "Pansy."

She quickly crossed towards Harry. Grabbing him by his shirt collar, she pulled him up off the floor. Harry's eyes widened in surprise as Tonks hastily pressed her lips against his, pulling him into a deep kiss. Harry was unsure what to do in the situation at hand, so he did what any adolescent boy would do. He tried to the best of his ability to return the kiss.

Tonks pulled away with a grin. "Care to call me a pansy again?"

"Only if you do to me what you did to Harry." Fred taunted.

"In your dreams, Fred. I'm never playing Spin the Bottle with you again!"

"You said that last time we played!"

"You know my weaknesses!" Tonks pouted. She turned from Fred and quickly

confiscated the bottle. "We're going to watch a muggle movie until everyone leaves," she informed the crowd. She considered a movie to be the safest route to take.

Tonks began to tinker with her VCR, setting it up to play a movie. Most of the guests watched on, intrigued by the muggle device. Many of them were pure-blooded wizards and had never seen a movie. Harry, however, was left standing slightly dazed with a grin on his face. He replayed the kiss in his mind and thought to himself, "I never got tongue from Cho."

Tonks had gotten everyone settled in the dim room on beanbag chairs and had passed out popcorn with only one minor spilling incident. Sitting on the kitchen side of the bar, she laid her head against the cold countertop. Entertaining teenagers and keeping an adult demeanor was difficult, especially when there were Weasley twins involved.

Behind her the refrigerator opened. She looked up to find Harry grabbing a drink. Her eyes lit up and she quickly motioned for Harry to follow her. Opening a door off to the side, she quickly pushed Harry in her bedroom and shut the door before turning on the light.

"Don't mind the mess," she said to him. Noticing that her bedroom was a bit worse then she thought she had left it, she grimaced. "I just have a special present for you and I don't want anyone else to know about it."

"Remember when we went shopping and the conversation on the way to the bus stop?" She pulled a small bag off of her dresser and handed it to Harry. "You were complaining because I had seen yours and you hadn't seen mine… I did wash them!"

Harry pulled a small pink flimsy piece of fabric from the bag while trying to make sense of what Tonks was saying. He held out the piece of cloth when he realized what it was, a thong. His jaw dropped and his pulse quickened.

"I uh, I didn't mean I really wanted to see them…" Harry stuttered.

Tonks face showed a slight hint of embarrassment, but only slight. "Hey, you said it was unfair. I made it fair. Now, how about we go join the party?"

Harry quickly stuffed the panties into his pocket and followed Tonks out of the room. He took a seat next to her at the bar.

George had noticed the two missing and came over.

"Where were you two?" he asked. His eyes glinted with mischief.

Harry was rendered speechless and a shade of crimson as his mind wander to the present in his pocket. Tonks however spoke up. "I was just showing Harry some of the weaponry Aurors use for wandless battle."

George looked from Tonks to Harry and snorted. Instead of saying something he walked away with a smirk on his face and plopped down in front of the television.

The party slowly began to break up until only Fred, George, Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Ron, and Tonks remained. Hermione who had her stuff brought to Grimmauld place earlier that day was to stay with them for the rest of the summer.

A/N Wooo! My poor beta was ill but, voila! The edited version. *snoogles her thank you*

Incase anyone wanted to know I got all my info about the Midsummer celebration from a The Witches' Voice (http://www.witchvox.com/)

I also suspect I am going to get some comments about what I did with Hermione. I know that this is out of character for how JKR presents her, but I want to try and make a couple of characters more real. I want to have a little bit of fun. J

I do really appreciate reviews, good and bad. I can't get better unless I know what I'm doing wrong.