Torn Away: Scenes From A Memory by Tradiferis
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Everything that you do not recognize is most likely mine, everything that you do recognize isn't mine. Onto the story.
Chapters Three and Four
A Happenstance Immersion...One That Is Ternary
Harry let the couch envelope him, he was tired from the Metamorphmagus training session that Tonks had just given to him. She had told him that he was a fast learner, and he was, it was just tiring.
"Don't worry," she had told him when they were finished for the day, "Soon enough it will be second nature to you."
Just to illustrate this further to him, she rapidly changed her hair color and facial features, giving him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Harry also gave her a smile before exiting the room, traveling to where he was now: a couch in front of a fire place at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place.
Harry sighed as he remembered the look on Tonks' face: it was one that he was wearing often himself. Tonks apparently was deeply affected by the death of her favorite cousin, almost as much as Harry was. Harry had also overheard how she was also very worried about her boyfriend, who worked in the Department of Mysteries and was currently on what he had only told her was a, "very dangerous assignment."
"Wotcher, Harry."
Harry looked up as Tonks padded into the room with a cup of tea. Giving her a smile he turned back to watch the fire as she sat down next to him.
"Missing Ron and Hermione?" she asked after a couple minutes of staring into the fire with him while drinking her tea.
"A bit," Harry said after a few moments. Earlier in the summer The Burrow had been attacked by Death Eaters, and as such the whole of the Weasley that still lived there had been evacuated to an "undisclosed location" and placed under the Fidelius Charm, the same with Hermione and her family. As such, they were cut off from the rest of the world. Harry looked over to Tonks and saw her playing with a ring on her finger.
"What's that?" Harry asked, motioning to the ring. Tonks smiled briefly for a moment before responding.
"Oh, it's an engagement ring from my boyfriend," she said, with a happy look on her face. Harry started, he didn't even know Tonks had a boyfriend, much less was engaged! This astonishment must have shone through on his face as she laughed and said, "Oh don't worry, not too many people know. We wanted to keep it on the 'down low' with me being an Auror and him being an Unspeakable and all."
"Your fiancé is an Unspeakable?" Harry questioned, slightly intrigued. He noticed that Tonks got a sort of cloudy look in her eyes before she answered.
"Yes, one of the best apparently, seeing as he's always away," Tonks replied, sighing. Deciding to help cheer her up, as Harry had noticed lately that by talking to other people about subjects other than him helped to make him forget his own, he continued to ask Tonks about her fiancé.
"So what's he like," Harry asked, turning towards Tonks some more, and instantly getting the reaction that he wanted as he saw her face light up.
"Oh Luddie is wonderful," Tonks said, with a silly grin on her face, "He is so caring, and I love him more than anyone in the world, and him to me."
Harry smiled slightly as he saw Tonks get a happy faraway look on her face before continuing.
"I think you two would really hit it off if you ever met," Tonks continued, "You have similar personalities…although you don't have a tendency to always be out of the country on assignment."
Harry chuckled when he saw Tonks was too.
"When did you guys get engaged?" Harry posed to Tonks.
"Right after the Department of Mysteries fiasco," Tonks said getting sullen for a moment, before brightening up slightly, "It really helped me get through everything that was happening at the time…"
She trailed off, obviously not wanting to continue, which Harry was grateful for; he didn't need to be reminded about the ordeal anymore than he was already. He was about to say something when he was stopped by a voice from the doorway.
"I was told that a celebrity and a beautiful woman were in this room together," an inquisitive male voice sounded. Harry and Tonks immediately whipped around to see who the intruder was, and as soon as Tonks saw the man she lit up like Harry had never seen her and bounded for the person.
"Luddie!" Tonks yelled, reaching the person in mere seconds, before enveloping the man she identified as Luddie in a massive hug, and kissing him sound on the lips, which he gladly reciprocated. They stopped after a few seconds, when Harry coughed nervously.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Tonks said, startled, "Harry, meet Luddie; Luddie, meet Harry Potter."
"Pleased to meet you," Luddie said with an accent that Harry didn't quite recognize, stepping forward and shaking Harry's hand.
"Pleasure is all mine," Harry responded as he took his seat again, and Tonks and Luddie took a seat opposite of him…
Harry sighed as he opened up his eyes. The dream had been about one of the last happy moments in his life the past 12 months. Tonks had been right; he and Luddie did hit it off, with Luddie saying that he would help Harry out in the future if he ever got the chance. While he did meet up with the man a few more times, he was now marooned in the past and wouldn't be able to receive any help from him.
Harry quickly took a shower and changed his clothes, today was the day that he officially began a new life. Walking out of his 'room' he was met by Patrick, who was going to escort him to Gringott's, help get him situated with his account, and then more of less send him on his way.
"You all ready?" Patrick asked, as they walked out of the Ministry of Magic. Harry nodded his head, while Patrick continued; "Now you know that to complete your new wardrobe you will need to speak properly, right?"
"Ja," Harry responded, using one of the few German words that he remembered from a book he had read at the Dursley's one time. While he did not know much German, he was able to manipulate his voice to have a Germanic accent thanks to his Metamorphmagus abilities. One of the first things Tonks had taught him was how to change his voice, as it 'kept up appearances.' He was also provided with a book from the Unspeakables that would teach him the language quickly so that he could better fit his new self.
Harry was brought out of his thoughts when he tripped, quite painfully, on one of Gringott's steps. Patrick only smirked as he helped Harry up.
"New feet mate?" Patrick asked once Harry was back up.
"Bugger off," Harry said, amazing Patrick with his perfected accent. After getting him all set up with his account, Patrick gave him the money that he needed to get his supplies for Hogwarts, as well as his list of supplies.
"I contacted Headmaster Dumbledore about your 'unique' situation," Patrick said, "He'll be owling you later in the week t' have a meeting with him.
"Also, you'll be pleased to know that you have a room at the Leaky Cauldron until you go to Hogwarts, just go see Tom the bartender and everything will be set up."
"Danke," Harry replied, slipping into his 'act' that was going to become his new life. Patrick looked around quickly before continuing on.
"Also, I'll be in contact with you throughout the year, to 'keep an eye on you' so to speak. Don't mention me, or our 'friends' to anyone else, only a few select people know," Patrick whispered to Harry rather quickly, before sighing and offering his hand to Harry, "Well, I'll be seeing you Ludwig. Have fun."
With that Patrick Disapparated, leaving Harry standing alone on the steps of Gringott's bank. Harry sighed, and then walked to the Leaky Cauldron in order to check in, figuring he had a few weeks to get everything that he needed for school, so he would take everything slowly. He also had to get a copy of the Daily Prophet so he could find out just what was going on in this time so he would be able to fit in better.
-
After checking in, Harry settled into his room and counted out how much money Patrick had given him, so he knew what to buy and what not to buy. When he was done he found that he had been given a total of 100 galleons. Deciding to at least buy some of his school books in order to occupy himself, Harry walked back out into Diagon Alley.
On his way he picked up the latest copy of the Daily Prophet, just so he would at least know the days headlines. He noticed that Minister Fudge ('He's already the Minister?' Harry thought in his head, trying to rack his brain for important dates he had picked up in his 'previous life') had almost been abducted by Vampires before being rescued by a group of Aurors. Deciding that Fudge hadn't changed much in the past eight years, Harry continued his walk to Flourish and Blotts.
Along the way he caught a glance of himself in a mirror, staring at it for a minute, Harry took in his appearance.
'Who cares if I look slightly like a Malfoy,' Harry thought to himself before looking around making sure no one was watching before changing his hair color back to blonde. Taking another look at himself and deciding he was satisfied, Harry decided to get some new clothes first, as the only clothes that he had consisted of the robes he was wearing and the other robes that he had been given by the Unspeakables that were currently residing in the trunk the Unspeakables had also provided to him.
Entering Madam Malkin's he quickly got outfitted in his Hogwarts robes, and then bought himself some other clothes, both formal and leisure clothes. It was during this experience that he found that black looked the best on him in his "Ludwig" appearance, so he bought clothes that fit that. Walking out with his bag in tow, he headed for Flourish and Blotts.
Walking in he noticed that many families were already present, probably trying to 'beat the rush' but only creating one themselves. Harry sighed, deciding that he would have to pick up all of his books himself because every assistant was busy at the moment. Walking straight to the Defense Against the Dark Arts section to begin with, he started his search for the books that he needed.
Ten minutes later, he had found almost every book that he needed, and was just about to get the Transfiguration book that he needed when someone ploughed into him from behind, causing all of his and the person's books to fly all over the place in the, thankfully, deserted aisle.
Momentarily fazed, Harry looked up and noticed a hand being held down to his face.
"I am so sorry," came a slightly familiar sounding voice "I didn't even see you there, and then I tripped, and then I ploughed into you, and then, oh now I'm rambling."
Harry took the proffered hand and got up, dusting himself off. Looking up at the person that had knocked him over for the first time he saw a dazzling young witch with blonde hair and purple eyes.
Staring at each other for a couple of seconds, the girl finally spoke again, "Are you alright?"
Knocked out of his trance Harry replied, "Yes, thanks for asking."
"I'm so sorry," the witch said to him again. Harry only smiled before waving his wand to pick up their books. One of the things that Patrick had done for him was get the "Under aged" signature removed from his wand, due to Harry's slightly 'unique' situation.
"Don't worry about it, I have the same problem," Harry replied with a slight laugh in his voice.
"You aren't from around here are you?" the witch asked him again, as Harry handed her books to her.
"Nein, I just moved here from Germany," Harry responded, and a look of comprehension dawned on the witch's face.
"Ah, that explains the accent," she retorted, "Oh, I almost forgot. My name is Nymphadora Tonks, but if you ever call me Nymphadora it will not be pleasant."
Harry only raised an eyebrow, amused, "Nice to meet you Fräulein Tonks. You may call me Ludwig Waechter."
Offering his hand to her, the now identified Nymphadora Tonks just laughed before shaking it.
"So you just moved here, eh?" she asked Harry, who only nodded "Where are you staying?"
Harry reached up to grab the Transfiguration book that he needed, "Leaky Cauldron. My parents decided that it was time that I learned to live out on my own, so they sent me to stay here until Hogwarts started up."
"So you are going to Hogwarts?" Tonks asked as they walked out of the aisle. Harry nodded again, as Tonks turned to face him.
"Well, I should probably be getting back to me mum," Tonks told him, holding her books to her chest "Would you like a tour of London later this week?"
"Sure, that would be great," Harry said, trying to fake being exasperated "I have no clue where anything is."
"That's never good, what room are you staying at in the Leaky Cauldron," Tonks questioned, but before he could answer he was interrupted by a loud voice.
"NYMPHADORA, WHERE ARE YOU," came the voice, causing Tonks to cringe.
"And that would be mum," Tonks said, shaking her head, causing her hair to flip out from in front of her face.
"Room 15," Harry quickly said.
"See you later Ludwig," Tonks said, before turning around and running over to her mother, almost tripping over a stack of books on the floor. Harry watched her depart before paying for his books and walking back to the Leaky Cauldron. Something had seemed familiar about her, but he just couldn't place who she was. Deciding that it wasn't important and that he would figure it out later, he didn't pay much attention to it afterwards.
-
As he settled in to read one of his defense books and drink a cup of tea, Harry looked at his dresser and noticed a necklace was laying on it. Harry remembered that he had been given that necklace by Tonks' fiancé before he left…wait. TONKS?!
Harry spit out the tea that was in his mouth. "Oh, I almost forgot. My name is Nymphadora Tonks…
"Tonks is my age," Harry said out loud to himself, and for the first time in the past couple days he seemed slightly happy. For he now had an unexpected road to his 'previous' life…
Harry was anxious the rest of the day, for he knew that two, quite possibly, big things were coming up. One, he was awaiting an owl from Professor Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts. Two, Tonks had said she was going to be owling him to 'show him around London.' Seeing as he had no way of communicating with her as he had neither an owl, or knew where she lived, he was basically left to wait for her. And Dumbledore, he added to himself almost as an afterthought.
Throwing himself into his Transfiguration textbook, Harry studied intently until a knock came on his door. Wondering who would be visiting him, seeing only a select few people in this world knew him, let alone even knew where he was staying, Harry cautiously opened the door to an old man with long purple robes, purple wizards hat, long white beard, and a long crooked nose – Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"Good evening Herr Waechter," Dumbledore said, almost serenely and with the ever present twinkle in his eye, "I hope I am not disturbing you, may I come in?"
"Oh not at all Professor, and please make yourself at home," Harry said, letting Dumbledore into the room. He supposed that he should have expected the man to just show up, as he had found throughout the six years he had known the man previously he had just that same tendency to do. He watched as Dumbledore rearranged the table and chairs in the room so that he and Harry could sit across from each other.
As Harry closed the door he heard the Headmaster cast a locking charm on it, along with some spells on it which Harry recognized as protection spells to ward against eavesdropping.
"Please sit down Mr. Potter, we have much to discuss," Dumbledore said with a slight smile on his face as Harry shifted to his normal appearance. Harry took a seat at the table and watched as Dumbledore conjured some tea along with some pastries.
"I would ask 'How was the trip' but I have a feeling that you weren't sent back for a vacation," Dumbledore said with a slight seriousness to his voice. Harry sighed slightly before starting.
"Your feeling would be correct Headmaster," Harry said, as Dumbledore took a small sip from his cup of tea, "I come from a war torn time."
"The Unspeakables told me as much," Dumbledore said, setting down his cup, before looking at Harry with a gazing glance, "Tell me, is Voldemort the cause of this?"
"Yes," Harry replied, throwing up some small mental shields in case Dumbledore had the urge to peer into his mind. While he wouldn't fault Dumbledore for being curious, that curiosity could complicate many things.
"I won't ask anymore so I will not throw off the time line," Dumbledore responded, looking slightly older than normal for a minute, before perking up, "Now tell me Harry, I was told you were interested in becoming an Unspeakable?"
The night continued like this, with Harry and Dumbledore having pleasant conversation. At about 10 o'clock, Dumbledore stood up.
"Well, I must be off, I have a long day tomorrow," Dumbledore said, walking towards the door, "Oh, don't worry about your identity Ludwig."
Harry took this as a cue to switch back to 'Ludwig.'
"I will not tell anyone about it, you will be able to play the role of a transfer student without any complications."
"Danke," Harry responded, before Dumbledore walked out of the door. Harry closed it and took a look around the room. He was about to change into his night clothes, when a package on the table caught his eye. Curious, Harry walked over to it and saw a note on top of it.
Mister Potter-
I hope that this helps you remember your past better. Think of it as a gift from an 'old friend.'
The writing was obviously Dumbledore's, which intrigued Harry even more. Opening up the package Harry was shocked to see that it was a Pensieve, but a different looking one than the one that occupied Dumbledore's office. Harry noticed that there appeared to be a memory in the basin already, and pulled it out. What appeared was Dumbledore.
"Mr. Potter, the Unspeakables also told me about how you can not remember much of what happened in the future. I am giving this Pensieve to you so that it might help you unlock your own mind so to speak. I hope that you are able to do this, as the Pensieve is a great instrument for sorting ones own thoughts as well as noticing patterns and the like. This might also help unlock memories that are hidden. I hope you find a place for yourself in this world. Goodnight, Mr. Potter."
With that, the image of Dumbledore vanished back into the basin. Harry momentarily stunned that Dumbledore would give him such a gift and help out someone he didn't know well (at least in this timeline), considered Dumbledore's words. They were right, the Pensieve would be instrumental in helping to unlock the memories that he could not remember; such as why he was here. Sighing once again, Harry placed the instrument into his trunk before changing his clothes and falling asleep in his bed.
Harry was awoken the next morning by the soft 'hooting' of an owl. His eyes still blurry from sleep, it took him a few seconds to focus in on where the owl was in his room, which happened to be on the bedside table. Harry looked at the brown owl and noticed that it looked a lot like the Hogwarts school owls. Taking the letter, the owl hooted again before flying off.
Breaking the seal on the letter, Harry noticed that it was from Dumbledore.
Mr. Waechter-
I forgot to mention to you that you will need to be sorted into one of the four school houses before you attend Hogwarts. On the twenty-ninth of August at four in the afternoon this letter will turn into a port key that will bring you to my office so that you may be sorted…
The letter went on to describe the four Houses, and also to describe the sorting process. Harry laughed a bit to himself; Dumbledore was going all out to insure that his identity remained in check. Harry also noticed that Dumbledore had sent him all the homework assignments that he needed for the upcoming year. Harry only shook his head, since he had completed most of his sixth year already; he would have little to no problem with the work.
Harry settled into a routine over the next couple of days. He would wake up around mid-morning, eat breakfast, study a bit from his textbooks, do a bit of his homework, and then go swimming in a community pool that he had found near the Leaky Cauldron. Roughly a week and a half before his sorting, he woke up to another owl perched next to his head, although this one did not look like a Hogwarts owl. This particular owl was black with white splotches, and was staring intently at him, waiting almost impatiently. Harry just shook his head before relieving the owl of its load. The owl hooted once, before almost immediately flying out of the window, but not before coming dangerously close to cuffing him.
Harry unfolded the letter and saw some unfamiliar writing on it.
Wotcher!
I don't know if you quite remember me, but it's Nymphadora Tonks, the witch that ran into you the other day at Flourish and Blotts (I'm sorry about that once again, I really didn't mean to, I just have this tendency to trip over things, and well, I'm rambling again). Anyway, I don't know if you remember or not, but I offered to show you around London, and you said you'd like to take me up on that offer. Well, I'm free tomorrow (Friday if you're counting), so if you would like, just owl me back. Hopefully Oliver didn't take off without waiting; he's such a temperamental owl…Well if he did, just tell your owl to find me at No. 12, Kingston Drive. It's a small magical suburb of muggle London, so don't worry about causing questions amongst my neighbors. Anyway, send your response Ludwig! I'm waiting!
- Tonks
Harry's eyes widened as he read the letter. After Professor Dumbledore had visited he had completely forgotten about Tonks! Quickly writing a letter to her that he would meet her at the Leaky Cauldron at noon on Friday (or tomorrow, they were the same thing), he went to send the note when he remembered that he no longer had an owl to send letters with.
Deciding to rectify that, he quickly got changed and exited the Leaky Cauldron into Diagon Alley. Making a quick stop at Gringott's, he then proceeded to Magical Menagerie (which was the closest to Gringott's) intent on purchasing an owl.
After twenty minutes, however, and looking over what seemed like hundreds of owls, none of them appealed to Harry. Sighing, he decided to check Eeylops Owl Emporium. Once again, not a single owl appealed to Harry. The shopkeepers at both stores said that much like the wand, the owl chooses the wizard, and it seemed these owls weren't choosing him. Sighing, he headed back to Magical Menagerie, hoping he had possibly missed an owl.
When he walked in though, he was startled when a black bird the size of Hedwig landed on his shoulder, cawing, and giving Harry what he only could interpret as a look of affection.
"Sweet Merlin!" came a voice, causing Harry to turn around to see where the voice came from, which was the shop owner's. The owner came running up to Harry, "That bird has been in this shop for over 8 years and has never chosen a wizard!"
"I take it that this bird choose me," Harry questioned, looking at the bird as it jumped down onto Harry's forearm and looked up at it's new master.
"Oh yes, and it is a fine bird too," the owner went on, walking Harry over to the counter.
"What kind of bird is it?"
"Oh, it's a raven sir! One of the most intelligent birds in the world, yet fiercely independent, for which is why wizards barely ever use them. But I dare say you will not have a problem with this one, as ravens choose the wizards that they are with for life."
"That's great to know," Harry said as he paid for the bird, along with a cage for it, some food, and a book about magical ravens.
Returning to the Leaky Cauldron Harry reentered his room, with the raven on his shoulder the entire way. As soon as Harry closed the door, the raven flew over to the perch that was on the bedside table. Harry looked at the bird, curving his eyebrow slightly.
"What should we call you?" Harry asked out loud to the raven, who gave him a response he wasn't anticipating.
"Edgar," the raven said with a bit of a caw in its voice. Harry, needless to say, was shocked.
"You can talk?" Harry questioned it. The bird's only response was to grab the book about ravens that was on the bed, and open it to the page about magical raven's properties.
Ravens, when in a magical environment possess the ability of having limited speech. Usually they know only their names, along with a few things that its master can teach it to say…
"Well that explains it," Harry said, before grabbing the letter that he had written to Tonks in response to the one he had received a little over an hour ago. Harry sighed as Edgar flew out of the window. It was going to be a long twenty four hours. Harry sighed once again, grabbed the book on ravens, and the walked out of the room down to the inn to buy himself some lunch.
-
Harry woke up to a soft cawing coming from next to his bed. Looking over he saw Edgar sitting on his perch. Looking over at the bedside clock, he noticed that it was 10 in the morning, giving him two hours to meet Tonks.
Standing up he gave Edgar a treat, and noticed that there was a letter for him also on the bedside table in Tonks' handwriting.
"She wrote me back," Harry questioned the raven, who nodded. Harry shook his head, he would have to get used to the birds intelligence. He read the letter, which only said that Tonks would be able to meet him at noon, and to make sure to dress in 'muggle-ish' clothes. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he continued to get ready.
After he was all dressed he noticed that he still had a little over an hour till he had to meet Tonks. He looked at the mirror and started to shift around his appearance. It was a little trick he had learned that helped him practice his Metamorphmagus skills, and it helped to pass the time. However, once his face started to change he heard Edgar give off almost a strangled cry. Quickly reverting back to his normal appearance, he looked back at Edgar.
"What's wrong?" Harry questioned his raven, which just looked back at him oddly. Looking back in the mirror, he changed to his "Ludwig" appearance, which seemed to calm the raven down some. Looking back at it, he explained, "I have the ability to change my appearance at will, so I might look different sometimes. You can read magical signatures, correct?"
The raven nodded.
"Then just read mine, that way you will be able to tell if it is me or not."
The raven nodded again, apparently accepting this. Harry decided to just go down to the Leaky Cauldron early; perhaps Tonks would show up early as well. As luck would have it…
"Wotcher Ludwig!" came an excited greeting from behind Harry who had just settled into a booth to eat an early lunch. This greeting caused Harry to spit his tea out all over the person sitting in the booth in front of him. He muttered a quick sorry to the person before turning to Tonks.
"Good morning Fräulein Tonks," Harry returned in kind, smiling. Tonks also smiled to Harry as she sat down in the seat across from Harry.
"Sorry I'm a bit early, but mum had people coming over, and lightly suggested that I go early," she said with a bit of mirth in her voice. Harry chuckled, as he could probably guess why Tonks' mother had 'lightly suggested' for her to go early: Tonks was sporting medium length deep purple hair.
"That's fine, join me in lunch?" Harry asked.
"Don't mind if I do," Tonks replied, singling to Tom the bartender (who had just come over) what she wanted. As soon as she was done, they started talking again.
"Nice hair," Harry remarked.
"Thanks," Tonks replied with a grateful smile, "Glad to see at least someone appreciates my style. So tell me, how long have you been in England?"
"Oh, not much more than a week, if that," Harry replied, as Tonks' food appeared on the table. Harry took note that she was slightly clumsy with her fork for a few seconds, before reining it in. Harry silently chuckled to himself; he had the same problem right after he became an active Metamorphmagus. He continued, "London is dreadfully confusing. The only places I know are the few places in Diagon Alley, and the community swimming pool a few streets from here on the muggle side."
"Well, we're going to have to fix that today aren't we," Tonks said with a small smile on her face. Harry noticed that today she had deep purple eyes to match her hair. He also noticed that he fell slightly into them. He gave himself a mental shake when he heard Tonks asking a question, "Do you have any musical interests?"
"To tell you the truth, I have never listened to much music, and the stuff that I have is classical," Harry replied, being totally honest. He was forbidden to listen to music while at the Dursley's, and while in the wizarding world he never had the time to really pay attention to music.
"Well, I'm going to have to show you around on that too," Tonks replied, getting a sort of analyzing look on her face, causing Harry to chuckle. He was quickly coming to enjoy this 'younger version' of Tonks almost as much as the one from his original timeline.
After the pair were done eating, Tonks immediately lead Harry out of the Leaky Cauldron and started leading him down the street, pointing out the different stores on it. While they were walking down the street Harry caught sight of what Tonks was wearing; a pair of not so neatly pressed khakis and a slightly larger than necessary long-sleeve shirt.
After a few minutes of walking Harry found himself in front of a High Streets.
"This is the main source of entertainment around here," Tonks explained as they walked inside, "Everything the teenager needs…shopping, video game arcade, and a cinema. I can tell you're about as overjoyed as I am."
"Whoo-hoo," Harry said sarcastically with a small smirk on his face, causing Tonks to laugh.
"I usually spend most of my free time looking at clothes my mother will never let me buy, or in the arcade, spending money I really shouldn't be spending," Tonks said with a childish grin on her face. Harry just laughed as Tonks pulled him along into the arcade, where they spent a few hours playing a couple games. Harry found that he wasn't that bad at the games, and he and Tonks were able to make the most out of a relatively low amount of funds.
As they were leaving, Tonks looked at her watch and smacked her fore-head.
"Oh, I forgot mum told me to give her a ring after a few hours," Tonks said, walking to the nearest pay phone, before saying to Harry, "Just give me a second, this shouldn't take to long."
Harry just leaned up against the booth and started to twiddle his thumbs, which caused Tonks to laugh. After a couple of rings, Tonks' call was answered, and Harry listened in on the side of the conversation that he could hear.
"Oi mum! It's your darling daughter," Tonks said in a sweet voice, before getting a slightly perturbed look on her face, "No mum, I didn't set Mrs. Henderson's cat on fire a few minutes ago, I'm at the shopping plaza with Ludwig…yes the boy I met a few days ago…yeah, he's really nice…oh? I'll ask."
Tonks covered the phone in her hand before turning to Harry, "Would you be interested in coming over for supper? My mum is making roast beef with Yorkshire, and it's pretty wicked in my opinion…"
Harry, knowing he had nothing better to do, and wanting to spend more time with Tonks, replied, "Tell your mother I would be honored to come over."
He saw Tonks' face light up briefly before giving him a smile and turning back to the phone, "He said he would love to mum…okay, be home in a bit."
She hung up the phone and turned to Harry, "Okay, mum says that dinner will be ready in about an hour, and it takes half of that to get home, so we better start making our way to my house."
"Lead the way," Harry said, with a sweeping gesture of his hand that caused Tonks to laugh.
Along the way to Tonks' house she stopped in a corner store really quickly to pick up something her mother had asked her to get. Harry waited outside, just looking around, trying to get some sense of where he was. While he was doing this, he noticed a design on a wall of a store that caught his eye. Looking around to see if anybody was watching him, he quickly copied the design onto his arm using his Metamorphmagus abilities. Deciding he didn't like it, he just shook his arm, causing his arm to once again become vacant.
"Oi! Ludwig," came a voice from besides Harry, causing Harry to whip around, and in the process, become entangled in his clothes and fall down. Groaning slightly he looked up to see Tonks looking at him with a queer look on her face, before offering him a hand.
"What were you doing with your arm?" she asked with the queer look still on her face, as Harry brushed his clothes off.
"Oh nothing," Harry said smoothly, not wanting for Tonks to know at the exact moment he was a Metamorphmagus. Tonks just shook her head before commenting, "You are an odd fellow Ludwig."
"Danke," Harry replied with light sarcasm in his voice. Tonks just laughed as she continued to lead Harry to her house.
"Tell me Ludwig," Tonks said, after they had been exchanging light conversation for about 15 minutes, "How are you enjoying merry old England?"
Harry considered this for a moment, "Truthfully? I really don't know. I don't really know anybody, and the ones that I do are you, Tom at the Leaky Cauldron, and my raven."
Harry thought for a moment that it was true. He really was on his own at the moment for the first time in his life. No friends, no people looking out for him, nobody. He was broken from his thoughts when he heard Tonks speaking.
"Speaking of that raven, he nearly scared my dad straight to heaven and back!" Tonks was saying, with a slight grin on her face.
"Sorry about that," Harry replied, a small grin on his face too.
"Don't worry about it; he's a muggle," Tonks explained, "Been married to mum for 17 years and still isn't used to magic."
"Some of my family members are like that," Harry replied, thinking of his aunt and uncle. 'I'm going to have to visit them,' Harry thought to himself. Harry noticed Tonks looking at him, as if asking him to explain. Harry quickly thought up of something believable to say, "My aunt and uncle live with my parents, but they aren't magical in the slightest. You could almost say they detest magic."
"Wankers," Tonks said under her breath, but loud enough for Harry to hear, which caused him to laugh.
"So, 'Dora, you have any brothers or sisters?" Harry asked Tonks, he really didn't know if Tonks had any brothers or sisters, it had never come up 'back then.' Harry chuckled when he saw Tonks get briefly angry at the shortened use of her given name.
"As a matter of fact, Luddie, I don't," Tonks replied with a smirk. Harry just laughed. Tonks went on, "Do you have any siblings yourself?"
"Actually, I'm a single child myself, although my cousin lives with us," Harry replied, remembering Dudley. It was just then that Harry noticed that Tonks had stopped in front of a bush.
"This is the entrance to Kingston Drive," Tonks said in a small whisper, motioning to the bush, "Only magical people and people who know that it is there can gain access to it through here. Otherwise, they just end up on the other side of the bush."
"Fascinating," Harry remarked dryly. Tonks just shook her head, before leading Harry through and up to her house. Harry took in her house; it resembled a slightly enlarged version of the Burrow, and looked infinitely more clean and better up kept. Harry could only surmise that the Tonks' were a bit better off than the Weasleys were. Tonks lead Harry right up to the door and without knocking entered the house.
"Mum! Me and Ludwig are here," Tonks shouted out, causing something to be dropped from what Harry guessed was the kitchen, before hearing what obviously was a cleaning spell.
"I'm in the kitchen Nymphadora," came a feminine voice, not to much unlike Tonks'. Tonks took off her trainers, and Harry did the same, before leading him to the kitchen. When Harry entered he noticed who had to be Tonks' dad sitting at the kitchen table while his wife was cooking on the stove.
Harry took a look at Mrs. Andromeda Tonks for the first time in his life, and noticed that she looked a lot like her sister Bellatrix – long black hair, natural beauty, dark eyes. However, the difference between the sisters was almost as striking as their similarities; while Bellatrix had what could only be described as an evil aura around her, Andromeda looked downright pleasant, almost like Mrs. Weasley.
"Welcome home Nymphadora," Mrs. Tonks said turning around while Tonks cringed at her name. Harry stood up so he presented himself with his back as straight as possible; he wanted to make a good impression. Mrs. Tonks immediately greeted him with a smile.
"Oh hi dear, you must be Ludwig," she said, motioning for Harry and her daughter to sit at the table, "Nymphadora told me about meeting you. She says you are new to the country and living at the Leaky Cauldron by yourself?"
"Yes ma'am," Harry replied, looking to Tonks' father, who was engrossed in the evening paper.
"Well, don't make yourself a stranger around here," Mrs. Tonks said, turning back to the food, "Have you met my husband, Ted? TED!"
"Yes dear?" came the questioning voice of Mr. Ted Tonks from behind the paper, completely oblivious to what was going on in the kitchen. Harry felt Tonks nudge him from the side.
"Here we go," Tonks said in a whisper Harry could barely hear, "Mum hates it when dad doesn't pay attention."
Sure enough, "TED WE HAVE VISITORS!"
"OH!" came the startled voice of Mr. Tonks, who immediately put the paper down to reveal a man that was nearing middle age, and looked nothing like his wife and daughter with blonde hair and blue eyes, though not as striking as Harry's. The man easily slipped into a smiling face that Harry was sure he had seen once before, "How do you do? I'm Ted Tonks, this crazy girl's father."
Harry laughed while he took Mr. Tonks' outstretched hand, "Nice to meet you, I'm Ludwig, Ludwig Waechter."
"Nice to meet you Ludwig," Mr. Tonks replied as Mrs. Tonks set the roast beef with Yorkshire on the table. It was really good, and Harry made sure to complement Mrs. Tonks several times throughout the meal on the quality of it.
"Think nothing of it Ludwig," Mrs. Tonks said, with an almost embarrassed smile on her face.
"So Ludwig, you're from Germany?" Mr. Tonks asked.
"Yes," Harry replied, though with his accent it didn't quite sound like what he was trying to say. Mr. Tonks picked up on this.
"Don't worry, you'll get a hold of the language eventually," he said to Harry, who Tonks was silently laughing at. The whole day she had found his accent, "right charming," and just, "a bit humorous too."
"I can only hope," Harry replied, shooting Tonks a glare. After supper was over, Harry and Tonks excused themselves and Tonks brought Harry up to her room to show him some of the music that she listened to.
"Your parents are really nice," Harry commented to Tonks as he sat on her floor while she was looking through some of her records.
"They are, but mum drive me nuts by insisting on using my given name," Tonks said.
"Why do you dislike it so much?"
"I really don't know," Tonks said, inserting a record into her player and sitting down across from Harry, leaning her back up against her dresser. "I guess just because it's so different. I mean, I've been getting flak for it since I was in muggle grammar school."
"I don't think it's so strange, Dora" Harry replied, shortening Tonks' name once again, causing Tonks to blush slightly, "I mean, look at my name, I'm going to get some flak for sure this year at Hogwarts."
"Well if we stick together I'm sure I can help you there," Tonks said, pulling her knees up to her chest.
"Danke," Harry replied, looking around her room. It was covered in Quidditch posters, and posters of various muggle groups. Harry looked at Tonks' clock, and noted that it was close to 8, and guessed he should be getting back to his room at the Leaky Cauldron; he didn't want to overstay his welcome.
Standing up he said, "Well, I think I'm going to get back to the Leaky Cauldron."
"You can take the Floo if you want," Tonks said, as Harry helped her to her feet. Harry ignored the shockwave that went through his hand as he did this. "The house is set up so you can't Floo in, but you can Floo out."
"Danke," Harry said once again, as he and Tonks went back downstairs to get his trainers and go to the fireplace.
"Thank you once again Mr. and Mrs. Tonks, dinner was excellent," Harry said as they gathered to send him off.
"Oh you're welcome Ludwig, and you're welcome here anytime," Mrs. Tonks replied as Tonks stepped up to him.
"I had a great time today, thank you," Harry said to her, causing her to once again blush. He noticed he had the ability to do this, and wondered why it was.
"Don't mention it," Tonks replied, "Hey; do you want me to meet you at the pool tomorrow morning?"
"That would be nice," Harry said, grabbing a handful of Floo Powder and throwing it into the fireplace.
"Goodnight Tonks," Harry said, stepping into the fire.
"'Night Luddie," Tonks replied, causing Harry to laugh slightly as he said, "THE LEAKY CAULDRON."
End Chapter