Disclaimer: I haven't owned anything for the last two chapters, what makes you think I'm going to start now?
Dinner that night was a much happier event for Harry than his arrival was. Molly had decided to throw Harry a celebration for his 16th birthday. Many people had attended. The entire Weasley family, except for Percy, was there, including Bill and Charley. Mad-Eye Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Tonks, Remus, and Hermione were there as well. Dinner was buzzing with conversation. Everyone was laughing and enjoying each other's company, and, for the moment, not one soul was missing Sirius. Harry was talking animatedly with Ginny and Fred about Quidditch. Harry took a look around the table and spotted Tonks at the other end laughing loudly at a story Arthur Weasley was telling about a wizard the ministry had just hired and was sent to deal with a rather "excited" hippogriff. Tonks was nearly rolling off her seat. Harry couldn't take his eyes off her. Her radiant smile was mesmerizing.
'Wow. She's really pretty.' Harry thought to himself. 'Why didn't I notice that before? I wonder if she's seeing anyone. What am I saying?! She'd never go for someone like me; I'm much too young. And besides, what would a beautiful woman like her want with a brooding, scrawny teenager with glasses?' Harry quickly dismissed the idea, but kept sneaking glances in Tonks' direction for the rest of the meal. During the course of the night, many Order members dropped by to welcome Harry back. Even Professor Snape dropped by, but not to wish Harry a happy birthday. He spoke with Dumbledore (who had shown up some time after dinner) to ask about Order business.
Everyone finally began to feel tired around 1:00 in the morning. They all headed up the stairs and into their separate rooms. Harry and Ron shared a room, as well as Fred and George, Ginny and Hermione, and Arthur and Molly. Bill and Charley left after dinner, needing to get back to work ASAP. Tonks and Remus each had there own rooms. Harry sat up in bed thinking about the day's events. Ron had gone down the hallway to the bathroom, so he was alone. Harry began to slowly dose off, when suddenly he heard a soft pop and felt something rather heavy drop on to his lap.
"OW!" he yelled. His eyes shot open and he looked up to see the blurry form of an attractive young woman on his lap. He reached for his glasses and put them on. "Tonks!" he exclaimed.
"Oh. Hello Harry. I must have apparated into the wrong room." She said.
"That's ok." Harry replied with a smile. Tonks smiled back and they sat in silence for only a few seconds, which felt like hours, when Tonks realized that she was getting too comfortable and flew off Harry's lap. Her cheeks went slightly pink.
"I'm sorry, Harry. I should be getting up to bed." Choosing not to apparate, Harry watched as Tonks walked out of the room, tripping on the rug in the hallway, then getting up claiming that she was fine, and walked away.
'Why did I do that?' she thought to herself as she climbed the stairs to her bedroom. 'He must think I'm such a clumsy idiot. What am I talking about? He already thinks I'm a clumsy idiot. Ok, so maybe not an idiot, but definitely clumsy. Oh who am I kidding? He doesn't think of me like that anyway!' Tonks continued this train of thought until she finally fell asleep.
'It's only a dream, Harry.' The soothing voice whispered to Harry as he tossed and turned in his sleep. 'Everything's going to be all right. Don't worry, it's only a dream. Shhh.'
"Tonks." Harry whispered in his sleep, as his nightmare finally subsided and Harry was met with a deep, dreamless sleep the rest of the night.
The next morning, Harry awoke to someone shaking him by the shoulder.
"Harry. Harry, wake up." Harry slowly opened his eyes and rolled over to find his glasses. He put them on and looked up at Ron staring him straight in the face.
"What time is it?" Harry asked.
"It's almost 10:00. Mum told me to get you up, otherwise you would've slept all day." It was true. Harry felt like he could have easily slept several more hours. All of his sleepless nights at the Dursley's must have finally caught up with him. Harry sat up in bed and Ron walked over and sat on his own. "You have another one of those dreams last night, mate?" Ron asked. Harry nodded.
"How did you know?" He asked, with only slight curiosity. Harry knew that he tossed and spoke in his sleep.
"You woke me up tossing and turning. Then, just before you fell back asleep, you whispered Tonks' name. What was that about?" Ron asked. Harry's eyes grew large and his cheeks red. Had he really said Tonks' name aloud?
"I have no idea." Harry lied. Ron got up and walked over to the door.
"Well then, why don't you get dressed and meet everyone downstairs for breakfast. Mum's making eggs, bacon, and toast. You look like you could do with a few more square meals." Ron left the room, shutting the door behind him. Harry got up and began to get dressed, all the while thinking about why he had said Tonks' name in his sleep.
'Do I have a crush on Tonks? I do. Great. That's all I need. I hope she doesn't find out. She'd probably just laugh and say 'Aw how adorable! Ickle Harry has a crush on me!' and pinch my cheek or something.' Harry rolled his eyes at himself. He looked at himself in the mirror and began trying to absent-mindedly flatten his hair. 'What's wrong with me? I know it won't do any good. I just want to look good when I go down.'
'Why? To her, your still just Harry Potter, the 16-year-old boy she's meant to protect. What difference does it make to her whether or not your hair sits flat? She's never minded before.' Harry reasoned with himself. He gave up trying to make his hair look presentable and headed downstairs for breakfast. He sat down at the table, which was considerably less crowded than it had been the previous night. Arthur had already left for the ministry and Fred and George had left to open up shop. All that was left was himself, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Molly, Tonks, and Remus. Harry sat in silence, listening to Ron, Ginny, and Hermione talk about visiting Diagon Alley. His attention was suddenly turned to the person who had just sat down next to him. Harry turned to look and found a pair of bright blue eyes staring back at him through fiery red bangs.
"Morning Harry! Sorry about last night, landing on you like that. I must have been a bit tipsy. Hope I didn't hurt you too bad." Tonks apologized. Harry literally had to tear his gaze away from her beautiful eyes and was immediately brought back to reality.
"Oh, not at all." Harry's heart raced. He was so nervous all of a sudden.
'She sat next to me!' Harry thought. 'Me! I can't believe it' His more reasonable mind tried to argue that it wasn't that big of a deal, but Harry just wouldn't listen. Harry and Tonks spent the rest of the morning talking about all kinds of different things. The new broom that had just come out, what it's like being an Auror, learning to be a metamorphmagus, Occlumency lessons (which Dumbledore had decided the previous night would be continued with Tonks, rather than Professor Snape, much to Harry's relief). Though Harry was a little nervous, he found that Tonks was very easy to talk to and enjoyed her company very much.
'He's so mature for his age. Once Quidditch season starts again, he's going to have such a great body. He's so easy to talk to.' Tonks thought to herself. Harry and Tonks remained at the table, long after the rest had left, and talked away the afternoon.