Chapter Nine

"How dare you! Do you have any idea how worried I was! You could have been killed! You could have…"

Harry swallowed nervously, his pain almost forgotten as the wand in front of him dangled frighteningly close. "I had my cloak remember, never mind the fact…"

"Do you think that bloody cloak would have stopped the killing curse? Do you?!"

Harry was tempted to say no, that was the portkey, but realized it was best not to agitate someone when they had a wand pointed between your eyes. He gritted his teeth as the pain in his arm began to worsen.

"Would you mind taking off this curse already? It hurts like hell!" There was an angry mutter, he groaned in relief as the pain subsided to a dull throb and his arm slowly shrunk back to within normal size parameters.

"You bloody insensitive git! What do you think would have happened to everyone if you'd gone and topped it on a bloody suicide mission? We'd have lost both you and Dumbledore!"

Harry felt a well of anger beginning to rise up in him. "I'm not bloody bothered if you lose the bloody Boy-Who-Lived! Dumbledore's more important than I'll ever be!"

Tonks, wearing worryingly light grey hair, suddenly wavered, her eyes glittering, her wand shaking almost uncontrollably. "I'm not talking about the Boy-Who-Lived you daft prat! I'm talking about you and Dumbledore. How'd you think Remus would take you both dying on him? Molly or Arthur? Bloody half the Order's smitten with you both you little brat!"

Harry felt his mouth dry suddenly, before Tonks burst into tears. His awkwardness quickly replaced his surprise though. He really had no idea what to do when girls cried. Granted, Tonks really couldn't be counted as a girl, but still the same concept applied.

Before he even thought about what to do, he carefully pulled her wand from her hand and out of his face, letting out a small breath of relief, as she didn't object. He quickly sucked in his breath though, when she collapsed on the bed next to him. He jumped slightly, not expecting the sudden closeness.

A small cough gladly pulled his attention away from the sobbing female beside him. He looked around the room before focusing on Rowena, who gave him a pointed look, and then mimed putting her arm round someone. It took a few moments for Harry to get her meaning, and he blushed darkly when he finally did. That was definitely not something he thought he would come up against. Dark Lord, sure; Mrs. Weasley ready to crush him and scold him silly, sure; Hermione even, crying her eyes out and throwing herself on him for a brief second before turning to Ron. Tonks though…

With a sigh and a very pointed glare at Rowena, he tentatively reached around Tonks and put his hand gently on her shoulder, jumping in surprise as she suddenly leaned into him and squeezed him tightly. He felt his cheeks burn even more, but under Rowena's direction carefully held her around her shoulders, and after much silent inner turmoil, agreed silently to gently rub her back.

It felt like a millennia before Tonks managed to lower herself to small sniffles, then he saw her own blush beginning to rise from under her robes and watched with a shy interest as it climbed slowly up her neck and then to her cheeks.

Tonks suddenly coughed and sat back, blushing just as furiously as Harry had been. Noticing she was about to wipe her eyes with her sleeve, he did what he felt was the first right thing that day, and conjured a box of tissues, though how he had done so he didn't really know. His wandless magic hadn't progressed beyond summoning and banishing, with a bit of levitation in-between.

Tonks took the tissue box from him with a small smile, and carefully wiping her eyes before sneezing. She gave a small laugh and another sniffle as she took her wand back and vanished the used tissue.

"Sorry Harry. Needed that. Don't get much chance for a good cry being an Auror, you know? Doesn't go well with the job description." Harry attempted what he hoped was a believable smile while turning to Rowena for assistance. Tonks carried on, obviously unaware of his diverted attention.

"You're so stupid though, you big prat! Do you have any idea what it did to me when I found out you bound my apparition? The only time anyone does that is when they're doing a suicide run!" Harry swallowed painfully, remembering the truth wasn't very far from that at all. He was very lucky to have his cloak and watch.

"And then we find out we can't Apparate back, so we have to go to Bella's first! I thought I was going to find you dead and it'd be all my fault! Molly was shrieking away and…."

Harry sighed. "I'm not dead, I'm not hurt, and the only curses that hit me were fixed in a few minutes when I got back. You didn't think I went running for Dumbledore without some kind of backup plan did you?"

Tonks flushed immediately, looking up at him with a horribly watery expression. "Of course I did! You don't bloody think before you do things! I'm an Auror; don't you think I could have helped?"

Harry immediately shook his head. "No. First, my cloak let me get close enough to them without raising suspicion, and I didn't have to watch out for you. Second, I would have been dead if I had to extend my shield over two people. Third, they didn't have any advantage over me because I got Dumbledore straightaway. Fourth, I had a portkey on me set to my room."

Tonks blinked hard for several moments before pulling him into a very tight hug. He groaned in embarrassment as he pressed his face into her shoulder, for the life of him wondering why females were so emotional.

"Don't you ever do that to me again! I'm here to help, not run away!" Harry felt his blush darken even more, but still managed to feel the even more embarrassing warmth inside his chest. He really didn't want to end up getting emotional now too; he didn't think it would be a very good idea. At least one of them should remain composed.

"So many people care about you Harry, just bleeming open your eyes once and see it! You should have seen the state everyone was in when they found out you went back for Dumbledore!"

He pulled away from her shoulder just enough to manage to open his mouth. "Everything went fine. Dumbledore was the one in my bed with Madam Pomfrey, not me!"

Suddenly, Tonks pulled back from him so she could look him in the eye, a playful twinkle beginning to re-spark. "I don't think watching such things are quite appropriate for people your age Harry."

He groaned in embarrassment, but couldn't stop his own smile as Tonks laughed with a lightness he hadn't heard from her before.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Tonks grinned cheekily at him before pulling him in for another squeeze, then just as suddenly pushing him back and getting to her feet, making a great show of straightening her robes.

"Well, if that's what happens in your bed, I think I better not stay on it any longer."

Harry felt his jaw drop and his cheeks steam while Tonks burst into giggles.

"I…what…you…oh god!"

"Hey! Don't act like you wouldn't be interested! I could be anyone you know, even Poppy if she's what strikes your interest."

"OH MY GOD NO!"

Tonks's laughter filled his ears while his face lay buried in his hands, his body shivering in disgust at the very idea.

"Well I suppose I could do Dumbledore if you…"

"No! No! No! NO!"

Tonks paused before sitting down next to him and leaning in suggestively. "Does that mean you would settle for just me?"

Harry jumped off the bed faster than a cheetah could run, his eyes wide, and his cheeks aflame as they had never been in his life. Tonks, however, looked like she was laughing harder than ever before in her life. She was crying again, she was laughing so hard.

"Don't look so frightened Harry! I don't bite…hard!" She dissolved into giggles while all Harry could do was stare at her. He managed to force his gaze to Rowena, but she just grinned and winked at him. He moaned and closed his eyes. He would never understand women. One minute they were crying their hearts out, the next laughing their hearts out.

"Erm...I think I'll...go to the bathroom. Yes! That's it!" Without waiting for any response he quickly fled the room, his cheeks burning so much he failed to even smile at the form of his uncle still slumped where he was left, though this time snoring away fitfully.

"Is it safe yet?" There was a laugh, and Harry found himself suddenly being yanked into his room, and the door slammed shut behind him.

"Of course it is you silly git! Fixed your problem then?" Harry blinked as he regained his orientation. Tonks looked fully recovered from both her earlier escapades, other than slightly flushed cheeks and a massive sparkle in her eyes. Rowena, behind her, was laughing quietly to herself. His bed was a mess, yet again, from Tonks rolling around on it while in her giggling fit.

"What?"

Tonks grinned cheekily at him. "Fixed your problem? Weren't too sly about sneaking out, were you?"

Harry stared at her for a moment. "I went to wash my face."

Tonks chuckled. "Sure Harry, they all say that. Take a seat." He felt confusion fill him as she pushed him down onto his bed and unceremoniously took a seat on his desk chair.

"They all say what?"

Tonks blanched for a moment before grinning. "Well, they all excuse themselves to the loo anyhow. I've seen it loads of times Harry, no need to be embarrassed."

"What are you on about?"

Tonks rolled her eyes. "It's perfectly natural you know, nothing to be ashamed of."

He stared at her. "Ashamed of what?"

A bit of the sparkle left her eye. "What do you normally do when you go to the bathroom?"

Harry blushed a bit, completely and utterly lost. "Use the toilet or wash…why?"

Tonks stared at him for a very long moment, her manner becoming almost worryingly soft. "Harry, have you done sex education?"

Harry blinked and then felt his cheeks beginning to fill even more. "Er."

Tonks was chewing her lip. "Didn't your uncle…no, course he wouldn't. He's a fat prat who couldn't get laid if he paid the women…why the hell your aunt's with him I'll never know."

Harry felt his eyes widen and his voice take on an unnaturally high pitch. "What?"

Tonks glanced at him and shuffled a bit in her seat. "Cor Harry, didn't think any kid your age wouldn't know about sex."

Harry gritted his teeth, trying to force his blush down with absolutely no success. "I know..."

Tonks watched him for a long moment. "Do you know where babies come from?"

Harry choked. "Of course!"

Tonks grinned a bit sheepishly. "Well, you never know…hasn't anyone talked to you? I would have thought Sirius at least mentioned."

Harry cooled down in a split-second at that. "Oh…no, didn't really have the chance to talk about much ordinary, every day stuff."

Tonks shuffled again, her expression falling a bit. "Oh I'm sorry Harry, I didn't mean…."

Harry took a deep breath, pushing it aside. "No, it's alright. I know...enough. Can we talk about something else?"

Tonks looked at him optimistically for a long moment before nodding slowly. He was sure though that she was filing away the conversation for future use.

"Right you are then Harry. Why don't you tell me what happened? I'm missing Dumbledore's debriefing."

Harry sighed quietly, wondering perhaps if he should have stayed with the alternative conversation choice. Thinking into that though, he realized that, most definitely, was not an option. So, Harry tried to quickly fill Tonks in on the happening of the last few hours. It didn't work that way because Tonks would stop him every few seconds and press for more details, until he realized she was going to keep doing it. He told the story as well as he could remember it, thankful that Tonks saved her interruptions for only the biggest parts. A good half an hour later he finished with a long sigh.

"So, I'll probably be in front of the Wizengamot on Monday."

Tonks scowled a bit but didn't argue, looking rather confused. "You said the blood magic kept them out…how come I managed to Apparate in?"

Harry smiled. "It only keeps out those that I'm afraid will hurt me, and those that wish me real harm. Even if you came with a bit of revenge planned, it let you in because I trust you."

Tonks blushed scarlet. "Oh…sorry about the cursing. I was upset."

Harry smiled at her small voice. "No worries, doesn't hurt anymore."

Tonks scowled. "That's meant to leave residue pain for four hours!"

Harry stared at her before laughing at her sudden change of mood. "Yes well, I don't think it planned on me layering it with healing charms in the bathroom." She blushed again and muttered to herself, before looking around the room for seemingly the first time. Her gaze fell upon the parchments on his desk.

Harry immediately made his mind blank. He didn't have a clue whether Tonks knew Occlumency or Legilimency. He would have thought the first at least would be mandatory for Auror training in case they were captured, but you never knew.

"Nope. He's confidential."

Tonks nodded, smiling. "Well he will remain secret then I suppose."

Harry winced, cursing himself inwardly. "Leave me alone, I'm tired."

Tonks chuckled. "Alright, maybe I was being a bit picky there. Are you really tired? You look like you could do with some rest." Harry scowled but couldn't prevent his yawn. Tonks laughed despite his glare. "No." He said pointedly. She just laughed more.

"Right you are again Harry. Get to bed, I should check in with Dumbledore anyway. I'm sure they're praying I haven't found some way to kill you."

Harry smiled weakly, glancing and finding Rowena absent again. With a careful wave of the hand, deposited her frame into his trunk, and the trunk sealed.

"You're just lucky I realized who you were, I was about to blast you like Uncle Vernon before I recognized you."

Tonks grinned. "Is he still out there?"

Harry grinned back. "Yeah, snoring his head off."

She chuckled before looking thoughtful. "If you'll excuse me, I think I'll go and entertain myself before I leave. I'll see you later."

He watched her carefully. "Don't do anything too painful...humiliating yeah, but not painful."

Tonks stuck out her tongue as she opened the door. "You're no fun."

He chuckled as she closed the door behind her, and almost immediately began to hear oinks. Rich laughter joined the pig snores before a loud crack told him Tonks had left. With a soft sigh, and a more than confused air about him, Harry changed his robes into pajamas with a thought, and fell into his bed, finding sleep amazingly quickly and peacefully.

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