Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books, Raincoast Books, and Warner Brothers Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
It took Madam Bones only a few moments to calm down and had it not been for the look Harry had seen only moments before he never would have guessed that she had been the least bit affected by his story. "It appears, Mr. Potter, that there is a great many differences between your own story and that which has been reported to the Ministry."
Harry wasn't surprised that she hadn't known the truth, "I spent so much time trying not to think about it, I've never really just sat down and talked about everything before." He was silent a moment, "It was all manipulations wasn't it."
"I can not say positively, and I do not believe everything was; but it does appear Albus has manipulated the situation around you a great deal, perhaps starting from when you first received your Hogwarts letters."
"The Headmaster. Wha, what do you mean?" The question came from a confused Susan but Tonks also seemed to be a little confused with what had just been said.
"I meant just what I said Susan. Mr. Potter's life has been manipulated a great deal with out his knowledge, it would take to long to explain everything at the moment and we do not yet know enough to determine the specifics. I understand that you are confused but there are more important issues to discuss at the moment."
"Um, I do have a question though Madam Bones. What did you mean by starting when I received my Hogwarts letter? I didn't even get to read it until Hagrid came to get me on my birthday."
"That is exactly the reason why I suspect it Mr. Potter, Rebeus should not have been sent to you that day, and he was not even a professor at the time. While rare, you are not the first magically born child to be raised by Muggles, it is our policy to introduce you and your family to the magical world in the same way as a Muggle born. That your Aunt had some knowledge of the magical world is irrelevant. Muggle born students are not sent invitations via owls. A Hogwarts professor, generally a Head of House, as well as a member of Ministry's Department of Muggle Relations are both sent to the houses of incoming students for the first meeting. They explain the magical world and Hogwarts to the family in detail provide proof that magic does exist and charm the family so that they may not tell others of our existence. The parents and magical child are given books and pamphlets about our world, how to deal with having a magical child, and the laws they must now abide by. The member of Muggle Relations visits several more times over the following month to explain more in-depth about our world, as well as take them for their supplies at Diagon Alley and deal with whatever problems arise. Your relatives are not the first to decide they do not wish their child to go to Hogwarts and, as it is too dangerous to have untrained witches and wizards about, there are policies in place to deal with such problems. From your memories and what you have said, I have little doubt that in your case you would have been removed from your relatives care."
Her words shocked Harry. He had always hated being forced to return to the Dursley's and now he learned that he could have left them if it wasn't for Dumbledore. But at the same time he couldn't imagine not having met Hagrid like he had, having never received Hedwig as his first birthday present. He knew Hagrid would never purposely hurt or manipulate him and couldn't find himself wanting it to have been Professor McGonagall, or with his luck Professor Snape, and someone from the ministry that had been sent. He just wasn't sure what to think about it.
Madam Bones interrupted his thoughts talking to Tonks, and going over her perspective of events as an Order member. Harry was slightly amazed at Tonks, gone was the girl that had just been hugging him and crying on his shoulder and the fun loving girl she normally acted was replaced with a serious and self-confident Auror. He was also impressed by how Tonks managed to keep all of her opinions and observations separate from the facts. Tonks verified a few parts of the story, mostly about Sirius, but had little knowledge of what had happened to Harry before the last year. Though he did learn that Tonks had joined the Order so that she could be with Sirius and didn't have many missions besides watching Harry or using her Metamorphmagus abilities to listen in on conversations in the less reputable places. Once she finished Madam Bones had Susan show him to the nearest bedroom, saying that she now had many arrangements to make and would speak to him tomorrow.
Susan still seemed shook up over everything but lead him to a room. She showed him where the bath was and made sure he had another towel before showing him to his room. It was only a little down the hall from Susan's and was far nicer than Harry had ever previous seen. The bed in the room was different than anything he had seen before, it looked like it was made out of nothing but air and was only visible by some sort of shimmering effect. At Susan's insistence Harry laid down on the bed, his first though was that it was incredibly soft, so much so that it made him feel like he was going to fall into it. A moment later he realized that it was far firmer than he had first thought and seemed just about perfect to him, by far the most comfortable bed he had ever been in. When he asked Susan about it she seemed to glow with pride as she began talking about the bed. Apparently it is one of the Bones' specialties; a purely magical bed made from over 50 different spells and designed to conform to gives optimum comfort to whoever is sleeping on it. She went on for a good few minutes before letting him get ready for bed. Susan was almost out the door when she turned around, "Harry, I. I never knew… I had heard the rumors of course, but never thought... How? How could you go through all that?"
Harry didn't know how to respond. He tried to be polite to Susan, it wasn't her fault after all as he wondered it many times himself, and he was the guest here but it had been a hard day on him, that after having to relive everything for them he just didn't want to talk about it right now.
He was woken up the next day with a light knocking on the door. He knew something was wrong the moment he awoke, this was not his small worn-out bed from Privet Drive and it was definitely not his bed from Hogwarts. He was currently lying on an extremely comfortable large bed in a stone walled room with slate flooring. It took Harry a minute to remember where he was and everything that had happened; yesterday almost seemed like a dream but waking up here in such a nice bed proved that it had happened.
Harry was just about to get out of bed when the door opened and in walked Susan, she stopped instantly when she noticed that he was only wearing a pair of boxers. They both froze for a moment, Susan gawking at a nearly naked Harry, and Harry to embarrassed to move. He finally covered himself up and Susan turned around towards the door. She began to stutter an apology but ended up just getting out that breakfast was ready in his sitting room as she hurried out of the room.
Harry sat there for a moment just thinking about Susan for a moment, in a way it didn't really bother him, after all he had just seen Susan in her nightgown last night. He did however find it odd that in the last week he had accidentally felt Tonks up, been caught staring down Susan's nightgown and now be caught in just his boxers with the morning evidence of a good nights sleep. He had only truly had a few incidents with girls in his life.
The first time was during the beginning of his fourth year when Ron hadn't been talking to him and the entire school was against him. He hadn't been able to sleep so he had snuck out with his invisibility cloak to go for a walk and ended up sitting under the tree near the edge of the lake. He had fallen into a light slumber when voices woke him up. Waking up an amazing sight greeted his eyes. A few six and seventh year girls were in the process of undressing with a couple girls from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. At first Harry was too stunned to do anything but watch as they stripped to go skinny dipping in the lake. Once everyone was in the lake he was able to shake himself awake and fled as quickly as he could. The next day Harry had felt disgusted at having watched them. The memory instantly became his nightly dreams and shamed him every morning; it was only made worse by the fact that the school as a whole hated him. He could just imagine what they would say about him if they knew he was such a pervert. It had taken a while but once he had his friendship with Ron back and the school stopped hating him, the shame he felt disappeared.
Since then he had only had one other major incident with his invisibility cloak, he had taken a secret passage that he learned from the Maurders map back from a trip to the kitchens early one morning last year to walk in on a naked Angelina and Alicia each with an equally naked Lee, Fred, and George. He had turned around to try and go back the way he came only to find the trap door wouldn't open from that direction and had to slowly maneuver himself between them to make his way out. He hadn't been able to look any of them in the eye for weeks afterwards and never took that passageway again.
He had tried to get Cho to let him do some things with her last year and she had let him get as far as taken her top off and his hand up her skirt after the interview had come out, but hadn't let him get that far again afterwards. The smell of Breakfast interrupted his thoughts so he quickly threw on his clothes and walked to the sitting room to see Susan and Tonks talking at table waiting for him.
There was a moment of awkward silence as Harry walked in and sat at the table which ended with Tonks giggling. "Quidditch boxers Harry? Wanting someone to catch the golden snitch are you?"
Harry's face went scarlet with that comment, 'of course those would be the boxers I was caught wearing', he thought to himself. Tonks and Susan were both began laughing at the look of his face. "Sorry Harry, I couldn't resist. I brought your trunk and what I could find in your room; let me know if I missed anything."
"You went back and got my trunk?"
"Yup, I'll be popping over to the Dursley's for the next few days to take your place."
"You're taking my place, why? How?"
"It's my specialty Harry; remember I'm a Metamorphmagus as well, so it makes it even easier. It's not too hard for me to turn into you, though I did have a really hard time with your hair. Took me a good long while to get it messy enough. The why is because I spoke with Director Bones after you went to sleep last night; one of my new assignments is to keep your move hidden until we get some things ready."
"Get what ready?"
"Harry do you understand just what you did last night? The reason you came here last night was to change things right? Well, you succeeded and then some. You basically told the head of magical law enforcement that you were largely responsible for saving the world, that Dumbledore not only kept it from you but also that instead of teaching you to deal with it you manipulated you in such a way that risked your life and the life of everyone in the world several times. I just came from a meeting with her; she's making a lot of those changes right now or at least setting things up for them. At the moment you are quite literally the most important person in the world Harry. I'm sure she'll be talking to you tonight but I can tell you a little of what's going on. I've been assigned as your guard for today, though I'll have to disappear a couple times for you to be seen at your relatives. I put up some charms so that no one should notice that you're gone. Everyone expects you to be at your relatives, that's great advantage for your security here. While you're here you can go outside as long as you stay well within the wards, I'm sure Susan will know where the boundaries are and under no condition are you to let anyone know where you are."
"You didn't get in trouble for last night or being in the Order right?"
"Nah, Director Bones was pissed at Dumbledore not me. If it wouldn't have hurt our side so much I think she would have ordered his arrest already. Now hurry up and put these on then you can eat." Tonks gave both Susan and Harry two identical rings. "They're emergency Portkey rings, just press the ruby in and it'll activate. They're also set to activate the moment a curse goes through its detection field, so even misses will count."
As they were putting the rings on Tonks gave Harry a small bundle, inside was strange necklace the likes he had never seen before. The necklace had a pure white cord which went through the center of a circular pendant about 10 centimeters wide. The pendant had three outer rings made of three different materials and a circular stone in the middle that was about three centimeters in diameter. There were tons of fine white strings going out from the stone to each of the three rings at odd and seemingly random angles.
He looked up at Tonks, hoping for an explanation. "Don't look at me. I have no idea what the necklace is or what it does. Never seen anything like it myself. I just know that the head unspeakable brought it to the Director himself, so it's got to be important whatever it is."
He put it on and began to eat Breakfast but something was still bothering him about the necklace he just couldn't put his finger on it. They didn't talk much through breakfast though Harry did help himself to second servings. While the Dursley's had ignored him since he had gotten back home and allowed Harry to make a simple meal for himself, he hadn't had a full meal since the leaving feast two weeks prior.
After breakfast Susan offered to show Harry around the house and Harry was impressed by what he saw. He hadn't gotten a very good look at it last night but as he was shown around he realized it was large, open, and somehow a very masculine looking house. It was three stories made of stone, had a steep roof, and large heavy wooden doors on each room. The floors were made of black slate, except the bedrooms which were carpeted, and had large black wooden beams that looked to be for support though Susan explained that they were to help channel the power of the wards more than support. There were a lot of large windows in each room to bring in light and allow a beautiful view of the surrounding lands. Most rooms had a large fireplace, though there was only one that was hooked up to the Floo network and was in a specially warded room in the basement. The hallways and staircases were lit by magical torches which all had the Bones Coat of Arms shinning proudly in the front of the torch.
The study was a surprise for Harry. He had expected a large library filled with shelves like Hogwarts but the room turned out to be about a 10 meter square with two large tables and only one bookshelf. The single bookshelf was flanked by three suits of armor on each side and was only partially filled with books. The walls held several paintings and portraits and Harry was pleased to meet several previous masters of the house. At first Harry thought they just didn't have many books but then Susan explained how it worked. The small bookshelf held the indexes of the books in the house and all you had to do was select the books you wanted and they would appear on the one of the tables. The system also had a lot of security measures in it and you had to be added to the list to be able to even read the indexes, and that some books had higher security than others, like the restricted section of Hogwarts. The suits of armor flanking the shelf and others that were stationed near the door were also part of that security and would attack anyone who didn't have permission or that tried to take a book outside of the room.
Harry looked through a couple of the indexes and saw that they had a great many books, not as many as Hogwarts but still more than he had thought a personal library would. The third book he had picked up confused him until he had Susan explain about it as well, as it was completely blank. It was an order book for the Library of Alexandria, you just wrote in it and it communicated directly to another book at the library. It was mainly used to check out books but you could also ask the librarian questions to help find the book or information you needed. Once you selected the book you wanted, your copy of the order book turns into the new book until you close it. Then it'll reverted back to normal. Susan admitted to having used one a few times when she hadn't finished her homework and it was too late to go to the library or couldn't find what she needed. Harry understood why he hadn't seen one at the Weasley's when he mentioned getting one of his own and was told how it was really expensive to buy the book originally and that you had to pay an annual fee for it. Susan's had belonged to her parents, her Aunt gave it to her after she had done well her first two years.
When Harry first stepped outside again was amazed at the how beautiful the world could be. He had spent a good deal of time over the years staring out the windows of Hogwarts and admiring the view. He allowed himself a small smile at the thought of how Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia would react to knowing that such a beautiful house with so much land was owned by a Witch. Looking out from the wooden porch he saw at least ten hectares of grasslands covered sparsely with trees and a stream going from the eastern portion towards the back. Just off to the left of the porch is a small greenhouse and beyond that lays a wooden stable attached to a large paddock. Straight back from the porch past all the grass and hills is a wooded area that looks a lot lighter and more inviting than the forest Harry was used to seeing. This was nothing like Privet Drive.
Harry silently cursed Tonks while gasping to catch his breath. When Susan was showing Harry their horses and dogs Tonks had just came back from the Dursley's and had the brilliant idea of going for a run around all the land. Since Susan wasn't much of a runner she decided to ride her horse, Codi Beau, while they ran. Harry had thought the idea great at first, and liked it even better when he saw that Susan would be moving up and down while riding the horse, she explained it was called posting and was done when riding with her type of saddle. She explained a lot more about Horses and the different riding styles but Harry, who had perfected the art of looking like your paying attention with Hermione, had stopped listening to her a minute after she started and instead used the time to enjoy the view. That of course was nearly two hours earlier.
Harry had always thought himself as fast on his feet, having learned to outrun Dudley's gang and then keeping his speed up for Quidditch. Unfortunately he quickly learned that he was no match for a horse. He could understand that, and admitted to himself it had been stupid to try and race a horse. However he couldn't believe that after nearly two hours of running Tonks wasn't even out of breath and looked like she could go for another hour. He knew she was an Auror and he had been sore before he started because of workouts the last few days but here he was nearly dead on his feet and she looked like she had just been on a leisurely stroll! He mumbled a goodbye and went to take a bath and hopefully relax for a minute.
The bath had been an excellent idea and he felt much better by the time he had gotten out. He found Tonks and Susan chatting and laughing in the sitting room they ate breakfast at. He had been surprised to learn that Tonks was a Hufflepuff and knew Susan from the first two years at Hogwarts. Harry felt stupid for being surprised but he had always just assumed that because Tonks was an Auror she would have been a Gryffindor.
After having lost two games of gobstones and one game of wizards' chess to Tonks Harry was ready to start calling her a cheat just out of frustration! I mean really, she's funny, gorgeous, an Auror, can beat me in dueling, running, gobstones and now chess! Does she have to be perfect in everything!
Unfortunately Tonks voice interrupted his thoughts. "Can't cook worth a darn, I'm rather horrible on my house-hold charms and dead clumsy!"
Harry just closed his eyes and put his head in hands thinking, 'I did not just say that aloud' over and over again.
He felt a hand on his leg and looked up to see Tonks looking back at him.
Tonks smiled at him and softly whispered to him, "Thank you for the compliment Harry. I mean it, like Susan said yesterday; it's nice to be appreciated by someone like you."
Harry almost looked away at first but couldn't, looking at her face Harry could tell she wasn't having a laugh at him. Her face was completely unguarded, it was like she was trying to pour her emotions directly into him; she was trying to show him how she was telling the truth. Harry just managed to smile at her when she got up off her knees, but instead of heading back to her seat like he thought, she got closer, gave him another smile and then kissed on the cheek.
Harry awoke from his daze as Tonks began talking to him again, only to find she wasn't in front of him anymore but was already back in her chair.
"I wouldn't worry too much about the running Harry, you're already really fast with out any real training. I've had to run everyday for the last three years but even then I couldn't do what I did today with out help. Some of the things you learn as an Auror are enhancing spells. We have spells give us a little bit quicker reflexes, a little bit faster speed, and spells to enhance our stamina. I may just have to teach you the stamina spells, I know a few male Aurors that swear by that spell! It'll help you to please whoever catches your Golden Snitch."
Harry mentally groaned as his face began to turn beat red again. She had to be doing it on purpose; it seemed that since this morning she had been going out of her way to embarrass him!
Harry was saved from further embarrassment by a House Elf letting them know that Madam Bones had arrived home and dinner would be served in a few minutes.