Chapter Four
Some twenty minutes later Harry walked out of Gringotts 300 galleons less, placing his money pouch into his cloak pocket, while pulling his cloak tighter around him with his other hand. Looking out to the Alley some hour or so more than when he had entered it, he was somewhat relieved to find it filled with much more life than it had been when he had came.
Very glad of his new cloak, he quickly moved through the crowds gathered, slightly disturbed at how much a large breadth people gave him when they saw him coming. While the threat of the Dark Lord hadn't apparently scared them away from the Alley, it was obvious that everyone was more than a little cautious. He was slightly familiar with the looks he was getting, but found these very sharp injuries to his mind. He had thought he had managed to change public opinion he was a deranged dangerous...it was only then that he realized that no one could tell it was actually him. That relaxed him somewhat of course, but he didn't like the way everyone was suddenly fingering their wands around him.
Thankfully, his walk through the Alley was very short, as he didn't have any reason to stop at any of the stores now. Without pause, he quickly moved through the archway, and then through the Leaky Cauldron, where his appearance only caused a brief murmur of interest before everyone turned back to their conversations. After checking that Tom was otherwise preoccupied, he silently slipped out into Muggle London, finding it rather quiet. He let out a small breath of relief realizing that his plan had gone well, and then began walking, intent on getting to a quiet deserted street and getting the heck out of there. Now that he was back in the open, despite how many charms he might have on him, he was much too aware that he was wearing robes in a Muggle area.
"Oi! You there, stop right where you are." Harry slowed his step for a moment, but after noticing a man jogging past him continued, waiting to see his pursuers. To his surprise though, as he turned onto an alley, he heard the footsteps following him.
"I said hold it there!" Harry slowly glanced over his shoulder and saw a man and a woman, very notably in scarlet Auror robes. He swore quietly to himself, very aware of the fact he couldn't be identified, or else he'd be in a world of trouble. He quickly ran over his options, and decided to keep walking. Hopefully getting to the other end of the alley and the main street would put them off...
"I said stop there! Ministry Aurors! Comply or be arrested!" Harry nibbled his lip, getting very nervous. The end of the Alley was still a very long way away, and he couldn't use magic without alerting the Ministry to where he was...it'd be just easy to say here I am, take me in. Knowing he had little option, he slowed to a stop and quickly began racing through his chances as he turned around.
"Right, now please lower your hood." Harry paused, remembering what Gip had said. No one could take his hood off without his willing permission. Trying to reassure himself with that reminder, he ignored the command and looked the man over, discomforted to see he was very big, and very rough looking. Sharp brown eyes and a crew cut of black hair gave him the impression that this man was not someone to mess with. The woman however...she looked strangely...Tonks!
Harry almost shouted out her name, but at the last moment caught himself. He wasn't even meant to know her, doing so would both reveal him, and reveal her participation in the Order. He knew though, if only he could get rid of the man she could help him. She was one of the more laidback Order members, almost like Lupin and Arthur, albeit her own peculiar manner. He ignored the cold and calculated look he was getting off of her at the moment, and the fact her wand was pointed straight at him.
"I said lower the hood! We will not hesitate to use force..." Harry ignored him, his mind racing with possibilities of how to knock him out. He was a fully trained Auror, and looked a powerful one at that. Glancing around him only gave him the option of a few trash cans and litter. Hmm...perhaps a Wingardium Leviosa? Worked on a troll so...
He reached into his cloak pocket for his wand but to his frustration, the immediate response were two disarming charms, sending his wand, not soaring through the air to his surprise, but simply clattering to his feet. He felt a bit smug when he realized that he hadn't really even felt the impact of the two curses other than a hard brush of wind - his cloak must have absorbed them, along with the rest of his items. He heard a few choice swear words in reaction to that.
"Accio wand!" He sighed as his wand flew to Tonks, just remembering he would have been identified immediately if he'd used it. So much for that plan. Eying them both, he wandered vaguely about his other wand. Surely they wouldn't suspect him using a wand that wasn't his, just outside of Diagon Alley? There was plenty of magic used in this area, and he most definitely didn't appear as he normally did at the moment.
"Now, for the last time, lower the damn hood!" Harry slowly glanced at Tonks, noting with a small bit of pride she never took her eyes off of him. With a smell feigned nod, he began to slowly lift his hand, praying that it'd work.
Just as his hand became level with the male Auror, he focused all of his thoughts on his hidden wand. Immediately he felt a surge of warmth running up his arm, and instinctively closed his hand, catching the wand. Without a second's hesitation he roared a stunner at the Auror, watching in satisfaction as the red beam hit its target and pushed him violently into a group of trash cans. He was much too rude for his liking.
He saw a red light envelope him, and stumbled back a bit as he felt a power wave passing over him. Silently cursing himself for forgetting about Tonks, he quickly put up a shield charm.
"Tonks stop!" Tonks paused, surprise evident in her face, but as quickly as the gap had opened, she closed it with a stunner. Harry quickly sidestepped it.
"Petrificus Totalus!" He heard a muffled yell and let out a sigh of relief when he saw Tonks freeze in place, and then keel into the wall. He quickly glanced around, making sure the other Auror was out, and that there weren't any reinforcements. After he was satisfied, he quickly made he was over, hoping that he'd have time before any else turned up to talk to her.
"Tonks, I'm going to release you okay, as long as you stop cursing me. Loud mouth didn't give me many options, and you know I'm not supposed to know you." He saw Tonks eyes widen a great deal, and taking that as a positive sign, cast the counter-curse, only to find her wand immediately in his face.
"Who are you?" She demanded. Harry blinked in surprise.
"It's me, Harry." Tonks didn't budge.
"I don't know a Harry." Harry groaned quietly.
"Harry, Harry Potter?" Tonks wand sparked with power.
"You don't sound anything like him." Harry stared at her for a long moment, shocked completely by the conviction behind her voice. Then, shaking his head, he pointedly left his wand pointing at the ground while reaching up and pulling back his hood. It was almost amusing to see how much Tonks's eyes widened.
"Blimey...hang on a sec, you could be Polyjuiced." Harry groaned again, really wanting her wand out of his face.
"You were part of my guard on the way to Headquarters." Tonks blinked, and then slowly lowered her wand, staring at him.
"What…what the hell are you doing here!" Harry winced at her angry hiss, backing up with his hands raised.
"Tonks, give me a chance..."
"Do you have any idea how much trouble you could have got in! There's been Death Eater sightings all over this place, and god we nearly arrested you as one! Oh Dumbledore's going to..."
"Tonks!" Tonks stopped her angry mutterings and stared at him for another moment, before seemingly remembering herself.
"What the bloody hell are you wearing anyhow? Where'd you get that? Why've you got two wands? That's illegal except for Aurors! And you stunned Levi! Oh god..." Harry sighed and summoned his wand, placing his spare back into its holster.
"Look, I don't have time for this. The Ministry's probably going to come swarming in here in a second and..."
"No, that's the problem. They can't detect magic here because of the interference from Diagon Alley, that's why we were patrolling...they might be able to track your wand though..." Harry let out a breath of pure relief.
"Oh good, I didn't stun him with my wand." Tonks glanced at Levi and winced.
"Mean stunner...how come my curses didn't work against you? And even that dual Expelliarmus only made you reel a bit..." Harry grinned.
"My cloak...and a few other things - curse resistant."
"Blimey, they're right expensive, Auror department can't afford 'em for us...hey, and you've got a voice distortion charm on it as well! Cool! No wonder I didn't recognize you!" Harry glanced down at his cloak and laughed.
"I'm really glad I picked this up now." Tonks suddenly turned serious.
"You picked it up off of the street?" Harry shook his head.
"No, I got it from one of my vaults...got a lot of things from my vault actually. It was one the Ministry set up - people sent me loads of useful stuff." Tonks looked him over again.
"I bet. Now young man, what the bloody hell do you think you're doing here? You're meant to be at Privet Drive until Dumbledore tells you otherwise!" Harry shuffled uncomfortably.
"Dumbledore would keep me there indefinitely if it was up to him. He's not my guardian, he can't tell me what or what not to do during the summer. It's my choice if I accept his ground rules or not. I wanted some books for studying, so I came to get them. I wouldn't have had a problem at all if you two hadn't shown up. All I had to do was summon the Knight Bus and get back." Tonks scowled at him.
"Dumbledore is a lot wiser than..."
"Yeah, I get he's wise and powerful, but he's my headmaster, not my guardian. Outside of school he has no power over me. I'll be damned if I let him tell me I can't go out of the house without a bloody guard! If I wanted to, I could have put you down with what's his name? Levi? A few Death Eaters don't scare me. Anyway, this is one-time trip. I've got what I needed, I'll promise to be a good boy and stay in my room all summer now." Tonks growled in frustration, but it was obvious she couldn't think of anything to say. Finally she settled on glancing worriedly at Levi.
"How the hell am I going to explain this!" Harry stared at her for a moment.
"Pretty simple isn't it? Unknown wizard, resisted arrest, stunned Auror, and then I'll either have to stun you before I leave, or you gave chase and lost me."
"That's...sly. Are you sure you didn't use your wand though? They'll check for the magical signature..."
"I'm definite it's not mine. For that fact I don't really know whose it is, other than the last of a magical line left it to me. Whoever it can be traced to is dead." Tonks scrutinized him for a long moment before growling.
"God Harry! Dumbledore's going to blow..."
"Dumbledore doesn't need to know." Tonks stopped still in her sentence.
"What?" Harry let out a breath.
"Why exactly, does Dumbledore need to know? I'll be back at Privet Drive in less than an hour, no harm done..."
"No harm done! The amount of people who will have recognized..."
"Only two people know I was here today, and I trust both of them to keep it secret."
"But..." Harry watched her carefully.
"One's a goblin, who has absolutely nothing to gain, and has pretty much been paid to keep quiet. The other person I know, and trust." Tonks eyed him for a long moment.
"You want me to cover up for you?" Harry chewed on his lip.
"I'd rather not let this get back to Mrs. Weasley and upset her, no. Dumbledore will just tell me to keep to my room, so what's new?" She seemed to watch him for a long time before letting out a long breath.
"How long do your stunners last?" Harry frowned.
"Erm...I've never...in practice I always wake them up immediately. Not sure about without a counter." Tonks looked Levi other.
"Well, I think he'll be out for the count for a bit. The important thing is to get you back to Privet Drive . I'll Apparate us there and then say I chased you until you disappeared."
"Apparate us?" Tonks sighed.
"Yeah. Going to bloody wear me out doing it, but I suppose I should be worn out anyhow from chasing you..."
"You can double Apparate?" Tonks glanced at him in amusement.
"Sure, it's a requirement for an Auror to be able to manage at least one double Apparition in case we have to take someone into custody, or there's an injured Auror or whatever. Takes a hell of a lot of power though, really draining. I'm going to be dead for the count by the end of today, I swear." Harry blushed, feeling guilt rise up in him.
"I can just stun you and catch the..."
"No, cause then the Ministry will be able to check the Knight Bus records and track you...come here; you need to be touching me to Apparate. Oh and by the way, the landing isn't nice at all." Harry was about to ask her what he meant when he felt a sickening jolt run through him. For a second his whole world span uncontrollably, and then he landed with a loud thud, very painfully, on his bedroom floor. Hearing the familiar roar of 'BOY!' from his Uncle Vernon, he presumed he was home. He quickly scurried to his feet as he heard pounding on the stairs, noticing Tonks looking a good deal weaker than before. She gave him a half angry look, half amused one.
"I'll be back tonight to talk to you. I won't tell Dumbledore just yet, but if you leave this house..." She left the words trailing as she disappeared with a crack, just as his uncle threw the door open, his face livid.
"JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING BOY? BANGING AROUND LIKE SOME...What the hell do you think you're wearing!" Harry looked down and sighed, carefully pulling his robe off.
"Nothing Uncle Vernon. Sorry about the noise, I tripped up." His uncle eyed his robe with distain as he draped it over his desk chair before turning back to him.
"You'll be sorry boy. I don't care what your freak friends say, I'm not putting up with your impertinence in this house! You will behave and stay out of my way!" Harry grunted angrily, turning and making his way to the window. There were some dark mutterings before his door slammed shut, and he allowed himself to relax. He really hoped he hadn't got Tonks into trouble. Perhaps it would have been better if he had just revealed himself...or maybe even asked her to do a memory charm on that Levi...
A bang from downstairs brought him back to his senses. With a soft sigh he sat down on his bed and slipped his ring off, deciding now was a good time to start learning as any. Unsure what to do, he had an idea he wasn't supposed to just hold the ring and speak the incantation - that would bring the trunk back in midair. After some deliberating though, he placed the ring in the middle of the floor, took a few steps back, and then took a breath, summoning his concentration.
"Dominia Regalius!" There was a loud pop, and he saw contently his trunk looked perfectly normal. It took him a few moments to figure out how to open it, but when he did, he went immediately for the instruction manuals for his various items and began studying. The hours later he finished with them were spent recording on a piece of parchment his book collection, noting with satisfaction that there were a great many on subjects he'd wanted, and some he hadn't even heard of which looked most interesting. He sorted the most necessary and interesting looking ones to a side while opening a new compartment which would act as his library he decided. He organized the trunk in such a manner, creating different sections for school, personal items like his Invisibility cloak, and then the letters. To his disappointment he realized he couldn't un-shrink his potion ingredients, but that was short lived when he remembered Tonks would be coming later, which meant she could do it for him. After sorting his trunk out, he changed into his newly acquired robes and gear, and after referring to the instruction manual 19 times, and two hours of hard work, managed to get the outfit to change itself into normal muggle clothing by just intense concentration.
As the sun began to set outside, Harry finished reading up on the different functions of his watch, and placed that instruction book back into the trunk, having finished after hours of work setting up the correct functions...he hoped. His mind was rather boggled by all the weird symbols and enchantments mentioned, but he thought he had done it right. He was also very thankful for his refilling sandwich bag, as it allowed him to avoid going down to dinner while he worked. As such, nearly nine hours after his return, he was weakly confident he had grasped an understanding of all the items he had taken from his vault. The only thing he hadn't worked on was the portrait, and that was simply because he felt too tired to attempt to have the conversation he planned with the painting.
It was half an hour later, when Harry was just beginning to drift to sleep, that a loud crack snapped him back into normal time. His wand was in his hand and pointing at the direction the noise had come from, ready to curse before a chuckle came and the light was switched on.
"Wotcha Harry. No need to greet me like that, I just saved your rocker." Harry sheepishly placed his wand back on his bedside table, sitting up as Tonks sat down on the end of his bed, glancing around with a tired light in her eyes.
"Sorry. I wasn't expecting you so late." Tonks yawned widely before shuffling and moving so she was sitting cross-legged opposite him. He noted she'd changed to muggle jeans and a blouse.
"Stupid Ministry were a bit annoyed I let some big bad wizard get away. They're in a hype cause he managed to stun Levi and it took six wizards to wake him up. Seem to think we let You-Know-Who get away or something." Harry flushed, coughing awkwardly.
"Sorry." Tonks grinned at him.
"Nah, Levi's always been a pompous prat. Least now he knows he ain't top on the block. I'm the junior you see on the Auror team, and it speaks loads he was the one down for the count while I gave chase." Harry grinned weakly.
"You didn't get into trouble?" Tonks smiled kindly at him.
"Nah. They reckoned any wizard strong enough to knock Levi down like that would have got away never mind who were chasing him. Levi's one of our top Aurors. Told you, one hell of a mean stunner you gave him." Harry shuffled uncomfortably.
"Well I didn't really have much choice; I didn't think it would be a good idea to get arrested." Tonks chuckled before glancing him up and down and frowning a bit.
"Hey, why don't you wear stuff like that more often? You always seem to be wearing clothes that hang off of you?" He blushed, glancing at the wall that hide Dudley 's room.
" Dudley 's cast offs. I only got these today - they're robes really, but they're charmed to take the shape of what you want them to...here." He scrunched up his face in concentration, and after a few moments felt the guise give way and return to the normal white robes. Tonks stared for a long moment before he changed them back to muggle clothes, which took considerable more effort.
"Blimey, I've never seen anything like that before."
"A lot of people seemed to have denoted their life's work to me. Some of the stuff I have isn't even on the market." Tonks nodded, looking properly impressed.
"I'd say so too, that's dead useful that." Harry nodded happily.
"Yeah, thought so too." There was a small silence in which Tonks seemed to find her line of thought again.
"So young Harry, why were you at Diagon?" Harry stifled a yawn.
"I wanted some books to study from. I'm not exactly going to survive the life I led with what I learn at school am I?" Tonks winced at that.
"Well no, I suppose not, but you could have always asked Dumbledore to get them for you." Harry felt his anger flare but suppressed it quickly. It wouldn't do to be angry at Tonks.
"I had an idea he wouldn't approve of some of the books, and anyway, I wanted pretty much what I got from my vault - some things more useful for the war." She watched him closely for a moment.
"Like what?" Harry shrugged.
"Well, you saw my cloak. I've also got a spare wand, a wand-holder, an amazing magical trunk, and a watch that does more things than I can comprehend."
"Sounds like you were busy." Harry smiled a bit.
"I had help picking the things out."
"Help?"
"Goblin friend."
"Goblin friend?" Harry nodded, narrowing his eyes a bit. There was absolutely nothing wrong with Gip. Tonks saw his look and immediately apologised.
"It's just you don't hear of that kind of thing. Goblin's don't normally like us at all, and we're not too keen on them either really." Harry nodded.
"I thought that might be it. No, this goblin was very helpful."
"Yeah, we were trailing you from Gringotts, waiting for you to get somewhere less occupied." Harry shuffled again.
"Didn't really expect Aurors to be about like that." Tonks laughed a bit.
"I didn't either. Fudge ordered us out though - I reckon he wants us out there in the public eye so people think he's actually doing something about You-Know-Who." Harry glared at his bed for a moment before he managed to overcome Fudges idiocy.
"He's the worst Minister we could possibly have." Tonks nodded.
"Not arguing there Harry, he's a blind git. You got anything to eat?" He glanced at her in amusement before reaching for his sandwich pouch and passing her some. She grinned and immediately began eating.
"Another donation?" Harry nodded, stifling another yawn before glancing at his trunk. He was just about to ask her to un-shrink his potion supply trunk before he paused.
"Hey Tonks? How come you used magic here last summer and I didn't get an owl for it?" Tonks blinked and stared at him for a moment.
"Cause I did it, you didn't." He frowned.
"But when Dobby used magic before my second year, I got the warning." Tonks smiled suddenly.
"Oh, that's because house elves weren't meant to be here, so the Ministry monitors counted it as unidentified magic, and since you're the only wizard living here the alarms went off. When I did it last summer, they picked up my wand signature, and cause I'm of age, the alarms didn't go off. Get it?" Harry thought for a moment.
"So if I use my other wand, I won't get warnings?" Tonks chewed on her sandwich for a moment. Almost unconsciously Harry pulled out a goblet of water for her.
"Tah. You get a warning earlier? Depends if the guy who had that wand before you was of age or not."
"Nope, no warning, and I think he was, since he died of natural causes." Tonks watched him for a long moment as she gulped down her drink.
"Then I suppose you could do magic without getting the alarms off, but I wouldn't recommend taking the chance. You don't want to end up with at a trial again do you?" Harry sighed and shook his head.
"No. Could you un-shrink that trunk for me then please?" Tonks nodded and did so with painful ease. Harry smiled his thanks and leaned back.
"So you're not going to tell Dumbledore?" Tonks chuckled for a moment.
"I suppose we can let it slip since you got back safe and sound without being swamped by DE's." Harry smiled tiredly at her.
"Thanks Tonks." Tonks shrugged a bit.
"I was young not so very long ago too you know, I'm still a junior." He grinned a bit before glancing at his trunk, running through an idea that he had been contemplated ever since he saw the use of some of his books. Telling Tonks though was a certifiable risk.
"Tonks? How much can I say to you without it going back to Dumbledore and the Order?" Tonks didn't like the sound of that.
"I don't know Harry, depends on your safety. Tell me you're going to top yourself and I'm pretty sure I'll have to report back." He watched her nervously for a few moments, contemplating what he was planning on doing.
"Well, it's more like an idea...I'm not actually going to do it anytime soon." Tonks was definitely on guard.
"I don't like the sound of that." Harry smiled weakly.
"As long as I don't actually do it, can you not tell Dumbledore? It shouldn't really concern him at all anyway." Tonks gazed at him for a long moment before huffing.
"Blimey you aren't half going to get me in trouble. Come on then, tell us what's on your mind." Harry watched her for a long moment, almost trying to test her sincerity.
"I don't want to stay here for the holidays." Tonks visibly relaxed.
"That it? You had me worried you were going to personally go after You-Know-Who! I know you don't like it here, ain't sane if you do. Dumbledore'll have you out of here soon enough, I don't think he plans on you staying here you whole holidays." Harry chewed his lip, feeling a surge of guilt before it melted away to nothing.
"When I say don't want to stay here, I mean as in I want to go somewhere else, a place of my own, as soon as possible." Tonks's eyes widened.
"Oh...that's definitely not a good idea. You've no idea how dangerous..." Harry sighed.
"Tonks, do you have your own apartment?" She blinked in surprise.
"Yeah, of course. I'm hardly going to live with my mum at my age..."
"I could have stunned you much more easily than you could have stunned me earlier." Tonks flushed gently.
"If this is about the safety, I'm not top on his hit list you know! I won't get in anywhere near as much trouble as you will!"
"The beauty of the idea is that no one will know I'm gone. I can just send the note every three days and everyone automatically assumes I'm here..."
"Actually, someone's going to be popping in on you every week or so." Harry groaned quietly.
"Will the visits be scheduled? I can just come back for them." Tonks stared at him sadly for a moment.
"I know you hate it here Harry but you really should think about what you're saying. I have my own place because I've had plenty of experience...not you haven't," She added hastily. "But I'm an Auror, and I can change my appearance straight away and bled into crowds if there's a threat. You don't blend well at all." Harry scowled, didn't he just show her?
"Tonks, this cloak and robes are more than enough for me to blend. As long as no one sees my face I'm fine, and no one except someone I willing give permission to can lower my hood."
"Still Harry...what'd you do if You-Know-Who turned up? That cloak won't be any use against him." Harry narrowed his eyes, feeling annoyance seep through him.
"Tonks, what would you do? I've escaped him more times than Dumbledore!" Tonks had the sense to look bashful.
"I'd probably Apparate away second I saw him if I was alone. You can't Apparate though!" Harry shrugged noncommittally.
"I've got a book on it; it's not hard to learn." Tonks stared at him.
"It's illegal to sell books on Apparition..."
"I didn't buy it, it was in my vault. You should know by now too that I don't really play by rules either." Tonks grinned a bit weakly.
"Well no, you don't, but that doesn't mean its okay. I mean, where will you stay? Anywhere that gets Harry Potter moving in without proper protection will get swamped with reporters and DE's." Harry smiled shyly and tossed a few books over at her. He laughed quietly as her eyes bulged.
"Fidelius Charm? Where'd you get this? There aren't supposed to be any books...it's all on parchment!" Harry shrugged.
"Potter vault I guess. There're some really old and powerful books from there." Tonks looked like she was resisting the temptation to browse through it. With what appeared a great deal of willpower she glanced at the other books, going a bit pale.
"Wards? Magical building and concealment...Harry, you're not thinking about building a house yourself are you?" Harry blushed.
"Well...not in so many words..."
"Harry, the amount of power it takes to do some of these things...Arthur Weasley is one of the most powerful wizards I know and you've...well, you've seen the state of the Burrow." Harry frowned indignantly at the last part.
"I think the Burrow's a wonderful house. What do you mean, Mr. Weasley's one of the most powerful wizards you know? I mean, there's plenty more powerful, Mad Eye, Dumbledore, Snape..." Tonks grinned.
"You'd be surprised Harry. I know Arthur's always nice and calm, but when you're out on the battlefield...he's saved my life tons of times, and Mad Eye's. He might not show it, but lord he could take out a few Aurors single-handedly himself." Harry stared at her.
"Mr. Weasley?" Tonks chuckled.
"Yep. Just you wait until you see him in a fight. They don't know who we are of course, but the DE's run like pigs when they see him accursing." Harry felt a warm smile on his face. He always loved the Weasley's, but it made him proud to think that their father could create that effort. It felt like...almost justice.
"That's good, but it doesn't mean anything. Maybe he wanted the Burrow to look like that." Tonks shook her head in disbelief.
"Even if he did, it takes ages to learn how to do that kind of stuff." Harry looked at the book optimistically.
"I'll be fine; I'm not planning on starting from scratch anyway." Tonks stared at him.
"What'd you mean by that?" Harry blushed again.
"There's already foundations and everything." Tonks simply stared for a minute.
"Harry, you're serious aren't you? You want out of here that much?" Harry winced but nodded, sighing as Tonks uncurled so she could lie down on her stomach, looking thoughtful.
"How much do you know about the security here?" Harry was caught off guard for a moment.
"Oh...ancient blood magic's the main thing. Then there's you lot under invisibility cloaks, and Mrs. Figg's cats...oh, and there's some very power wards a few streets away. There's a little glitch in the corner of a side alley - noticed it this morning." Tonks raised her eyebrows at that.
"Right, that's pretty much it. Now, how do you plan to get out of here? And how do you plan getting back without anyone noticing?" Harry smiled a bit.
"Pretty easy, first thing I learn to do is Apparate."
"Right...what about if they have the wards at full strength? Doesn't happen a lot, but sometimes DE's start poking there nose around to try and get past the outer defences. When they're up, it's impossible to Apparate." Harry shrugged.
"Apparate to the edge of the wards and come in with the invisibility cloak." Tonks smiled a bit.
"Oh yeah, forgot you had that. Now, what about where you're going to do this? You reckoning on putting up all your own protection?" Harry's smile grew wider.
"That's why I have the Fidelius charm book out. When I use that, there won't be a need for other protection really except the basics since no one will know the house is there." Tonks shook her head.
"You've no idea how advanced that charm is Harry. Flitwick and Dumbledore are the only two people I know who are capable of it." Harry ignored the sinking in his gut.
"I don't play by expectancies. If I need it done, I'll do it."
"I know a Patronus in third year is unheard of Harry, never mind a corporeal one, but you're talking about pretty much rocket science in comparison." The sinking sensation became stronger but he ignored it. He glanced through the book, and sure, it looked hard, but nothing he couldn't work with.
"Leave the learning part to me." Tonks chuckled and shrugged.
"'k Harry. You learn that charm and I won't have a word to say against you for the rest of my life." Harry grinned at her.
"I'll hold you to that." She frowned a bit before sitting up and stretching widely.
"Shouldn't you be asleep at this time?" He choked for a moment before eying her evilly as she giggled.
"I'm not about to go to sleep with someone else in my room am I?" Tonks fluttered her eyes.
"Why, what else would you do with someone else in your room?" Harry felt his mouth open and his blush turn full strength as Tonks giggled more.
"What...stop trying to change the subject!" Tonks finished her giggles looking amused, but ready to be a bit more serious.
"Harry, there's no chance you could move out and do anything like that until a few years time. You haven't even reached your full magical potential and..."
"Forget about all that. If I manage it, will you help me? I really don't want Dumbledore to try ordering me back. I've got a feeling he'd have me stunned, dragged, and then locked here."
"You're not the only one who feels like that." He smiled a bit.
"Well?" Tonks shrugged noncommittally.
"Sure, you master that charm and I'll help." Harry grinned happily, that was phase one all up and ready.
"Thanks." Tonks watched him and just shook her head in disbelief.
"I'll leave you to studying then. I'll expect your owl in a few years." Harry blushed as she got up.
"Actually...would you mind popping in like tonight now and again?" Tonks raised her eyebrow but slowly nodded, smiling again.
"Right you are then Harry. See you later." With a loud crack she disappeared. Harry's face immediately melted back into a very unnatural calm and calculated look for a fifteen year old boy. Glancing at the few books he hadn't shown her, he pulled the bottom one over and moved to where he was already about half way through it. Glancing around, his eyes caught on the books on the bed. Ever so carefully he gently moved his hand, concentrating on what he had learned. His face lit up in a real smile as the books began to hover. Everything was going to plan.
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