Chapter 13

• Hogsmeade •

"Harry!" Tonks snapped from the corner of the room as he tried to sit up. "I'm no healer, but it's pretty obvious that you're not going to recover for at least another few hours. Please let yourself rest, you'll never get better if you just try to push yourself every time you get hurt."

Sighing, and with both the back of his neck and his forehead throbbing angrily at him, Harry laid back down on the bed. He looked around, and had a strong suspicion that they weren't at the Weasley's residence anymore. "Where are we?" he asked, trying to peer out the window that was partially open on the far wall, There was a slight twinkling and he figure it was night and that was why he couldn't see anything.

"Hogsmeade," Tonks said wearily

"You need sleep," Harry said, as he stared at her new face. He knew it was her because she was wearing a bracelet she never seemed to take off and she had the same voice. Her eyes were drooping and they had bags under them. There was even some redness in them and it looked like she might have been crying recently.

"What happened?" Harry asked, finding the strength to rub his lightning scar, it was still pounding unbearably. He gasped quietly when he pulled away and found that there was a slight bit of blood still on it.

Tonks didn't seem to notice though. "I'll be alright; you're the one I'm worried about. You screamed bloody murder before you collapsed. Your head was bleeding like mad and I couldn't make it stop with any spells. Dumbledore showed up and I thought we should take you to St. Mungo's, but he stopped the majority of the bleeding and then told me it wouldn't be safe for you there. He doesn't seem to think many places are safe for you."

Harry grinned weakly at her. "And he thinks that you being around will help matters?"

It took a moment, but Tonks smiled back and Harry grinned wider. "Already back to your same old witty self, I see," she said. "Nothing's changed, has it?" she asked, staring right at him. He could see her face change to the face she shown him what seemed like only a few minutes ago.

There was a reply that sat on the tip of Harry's tongue, but he didn't say it. He knew what Tonks was talking about and he was afraid that if they did do something that she would be hurt and he didn't want that, he didn't want her as a target. He'd already done enough damage, getting her into trouble with everyone. She may have been able to talk her way out of it, but she had been demoted because of it.

"I can't," Harry said, his voice barely above a whisper. The room was completely silent though and Tonks heard it clearly. "He knows Tonks, that's why he attacked me. I can't have someone getting hurt because I have feelings for them."

"It's alright here, this room has some sort of spell on it; you can't have any magical connections in here. Nothing would work, Portkey or Floo, apparating. There's only one way to get in and that's through the door. You shouldn't have any scar attacks here. He could be standing outside the room and you wouldn't be able to connect with him."

Even with the ability to do whatever he wanted it wasn't enough. If he put it off now he would be able to keep her away and not worry about it when they were outside the room. "No," Harry said, his voice still a whisper and with conviction. It seemed as if he were trying to convince himself too. "I don't think you understand. If he knows that I... that we still... you'll be a target. He'll always be there somewhere when you're not prepared."

"Yeah," Tonks said sarcastically and rolled her eyes. "I joined the Aurors so that I would be safe. And joining the Order was just because I couldn't find anything else to do besides sleep at night. Harry – I'm not afraid of him, I mean, maybe a little, but I am already a target for him. He knows I'm in the order, I was at the ministry last year."

"You don't understand," Harry pleaded, still trying to convince himself. "Voldemort wants me more than anyone else. If there's anyway he can get to me he'll use it. I can't just let something like..." he paused and stared at Tonks for a few moments, trying to find the words he could say and make it come out right, "feelings make me do something that would get someone else hurt."

Tonks had an extremely funny look on her face, and she looked sort of like a seventeen year old trying to get out of classes by faking a stomach ache. He'd seen the look before from Hermione – but it was when she was disappointed and torn about something he was doing or planning on doing.

"I meant it Harry," Tonks said, "what I said before, what I did before. I really, really like you Harry. But you want to take the burden on yourself all the time even if it's not yours to carry. I don't know why the hell I can't just tell you off and try and forget, but I can't and, honestly, I really don't want to."

The more she talked the more Harry wanted not to like her. But he couldn't. The butterflies that were flittering in his stomach only made matters worse. He just stared at her for a long time. It seemed that every time she blinked her eyes were closed longer and longer until she couldn't keep them open anymore. Her wand clattered to the floor and still she did not wake.

Once Tonks had drifted off Harry tried to sit up, which was very difficult. His head throbbed wickedly but he was able to press himself up against the headboard of the bed. His scar had begun bleeding again, dripping blood down his face, into his eyes. It stung like mad, but Harry only wiped it off, trying to ignore the pain that it caused. He pushed himself to the side of the bed and trembling took a step.

The last attack had made him understand something, something he'd thought on before but never truly acted upon. He caused pain and death to others and he did not want such to be. Voldemort had found him, at the Dursleys and then at the headquarters. He was going to great lengths to track Harry no matter where he was. Harry was going to rely on that and leave, go somewhere far away where Voldemort would follow. Hopefully he would be able to sneak way from Tonks without her knowing.

Harry stopped himself as he finally got his feet to the floor. If he only waited a day he would have full strength and be able to sneak out already. It was then that Harry had an epiphany. He was sitting on the edge of his bed and he felt weak, his head and neck throbbing horribly. At the door sat Tonks, someone who seemed to care for him. Somewhere, not far away was Hogwarts, the school where he'd learned magic and could learn how to stop Voldemort.

Lupin had once told him he could understand if Harry couldn't get the Patronus charm right because he was a child, but then Harry had done it because he knew he could. Just like fourth year, when he'd beaten a dragon with a broomstick (which was no small task). In fifth year it should have been so obvious when Hermione had started the DA, there was a reason that he was elected to lead them, a reason he was teaching the meetings. He could do it. He had been doing things most thought impossible even before he could remember. Now all he had to do was force himself to learn.

He wasn't sure how much time passed as his brain began to form ideas. The Pensieve was an amazing tool and he suddenly wanted to take advantage of it for more than the memories held within. He could remember incidents – spells he had seen, spells he could use against Voldemort. But, the only way he would be able to learn them was with the Pensieve.

Then there was the DA. There was so much he could train them with, he would push them to learn more, try to discover their strong points and focusing on them. He'd need more help, Hermione was good at that. Hermione and Ron – he'd have to make them work harder. They were his friends, and if they were going to stay as his friends they'd need to be able to protect themselves even better.

Last was Tonks. Harry stared at her from his position, her head was up against the wall and she had a calm look on her face, a slight smile even. The frown of concentration on his face lightened as he remembered her kissing him. He touched his own lips. It had been so much different from when Cho had kissed him. It was like night and day. He'd felt something when she kissed him, just before Voldemort felt the need to cause him such pain, he'd felt something. If he was ever going to let Tonks do that again he would have to be able to block Voldemort – keep him from reaching into his mind and taking those thoughts. And he'd have to stop him, and in the end... Harry's grip tightened on the blankets on his bed. In the end he'd have to kill him.

After focusing so much on what he was going to do he took in the room. There was a table, with Hedwig's cage on it. He assumed that she was off hunting or something similar. There were three trunks sitting in the corner, two Harry recognized, one being Bambi's and one being Tonks'. His possessions – the few he had now – were in Tonks' trunk. And last was the small box that had 'Sirius' carved into the bottom slat of wood, the Pensieve which was now his most treasured possession because of the memories it held.

How much time Harry spent thinking, he wasn't sure, but there was a deep intake of breath and then a little snort and Tonks' head shot up. Her eyes wide, and roving the room. When they landed on Harry he saw them light up and a panicked smile filled her face.

"How long did I sleep?" she asked insistently.

"Only a few minutes," Harry lied, trying to make her feel better. "You're tired, you should get some more rest. There's a bed here, and it's big enough for both of us. Just put something in front of the door so that if anyone tries to force it open we'll hear them. You can't protect me if you don't have enough rest."

The smile on her face widened as Tonks spoke. "You don't mind sharing the bed then?" she said happily.

"No," Harry said quietly, "it'll be nice to have someone next to me again, I'm already beginning to miss it."

A few minutes later, after Tonks had shoved a table in front of the door and then propped a piece of wood up against the handle, she was helping Harry lie back down. She glanced to the door and then commented that it wasn't the safest way to do it.

"It'll be alright," Harry said smiling to her, "I may not be the quickest out of bed right now, but I got some rest and I can listen for people."

Tonks smiled again and slipped into the bed next to Harry, putting her arm around him. "Yes, it'll always be alright, won't it?"

•

The next morning, when Tonks had gotten enough sleep and the throbbing had ebbed Harry found himself in the middle of Hogsmeade, with poisonously blue hair, spiked like a hedgehog. The scar was no longer present on his forehead. They walked along, under an umbrella because of the unbearable torrential rain. It had not ceased since the beginning of the summer. Tonks said it was even worse here, and though the lightning, which had struck both Harry and Tonks, was not around, bursts of it still flashed in the night air followed by the rumbling of thunder.

Underneath the blue his face shone brightly, a dark color, even darker than a good tan. It looked like some of the foreign wizards he'd run across while they were on Icaria. Harry even had a crisp accent that made it hard for Tonks to not laugh at him every time he spoke. It wasn't the best, he knew that, but then he hadn't practiced becoming other people as much as he wanted. Even the time he'd spent doing it at The Hole wasn't enough.

The color of his eyes had been changed as well. Tonks was getting very good at making him someone else and Harry would have tried it if he wasn't worried about getting expelled. He was satisfied with watching carefully. He could review it in his Pensieve later and try it over and over again. And as soon as he learned it he'd take it to the DA members, they could certainly use it for something.

"Come on then," Tonks nudged him on as they entered the Hogsmeade branch of Gringotts. She walked right up to one of the goblins standing to the side, showed him something and then motioned for Harry to follow her.

A goblin was suddenly at her side and he led them out of the room and into a stone passage. Everything was familiar to Harry and he just tagged along, trying to be sure to keep an extra special eye while the cart rocketed them through the passages. His eyes spotted a long wisp of a tail down a corridor and he decided that the rumors – that dragons guarded some of the vaults – were true.

When they finally reached his vault, after a longer ride than Harry remembered, Tonks was bracing herself on the side of the cart. "Redblood?" she asked, addressing the goblin by name, "can we go a bit slower on the way back?"

"Cart only goes one speed," the goblin said with a wicked sort of grin. He seemed to be enjoying the ride.

The goblin waddled out of the cart and took Harry's key, placing it inside the vault.

Harry made his way in as quickly as possible; Tonks had told him that he needed to get things done quickly. The less time they were out the less time he could be felt. The vault was the same one he had been to while coming from Diagon Alley, which surprised him, and he realized that they must connect somehow in the endless tunnels.

When Harry'd filled this time he noticed how much his account had changed. Now, instead of a hefty pile, his account was dwindling. In the beginning he was sure it had been a great amount of money, but now he'd gone through almost half of it. He would have enough to end the school years easily, but after that it wouldn't last long.

When Harry exited, his moneybag filled to the brim, Redblood looked him over a second time. His lip curled slightly, but he never said anything. For some reason Harry felt that the goblin didn't seem to like him very much.

Outside of the bank, after Tonks had taken a minute to get her feet to walk in a straight line, they were walking down the street towards the shops.

Something struck Harry in the ass and he turned around to see a huge grin plastered on a new Tonks' face. He couldn't miss this face, she looked slightly younger than normal, with short bright-green hair and spikes that poked out of it like a pincushion. They were quite the pair, the two of them, but while making an odd couple, they didn't look like Harry and Tonks.

Several of the witches they'd seen looked at both or them with revulsion, and one lady insured she whispered (loud enough that it reached Harry's ear) that Tonks' hair reminded her of an ogre. Tonks laughed and stuck her tongue out at the lady, a huge wart suddenly gracing the tip of her nose.

"You're such a child sometimes," Harry muttered to her.

"Have some fun Sly," Tonks said, making sure to emphasize the name he'd been given while they walked around. Tonks wanted to keep from calling him Harry just incase someone saw through his disguise. She seemed to like the nickname that Darrian had given him. "You haven't even been outside in weeks and now you're as grim as you were inside."

"We still need to get all my books," Harry muttered, "and I need new robes and potion supplies. Then there's the parchments and quills, gloves, cauldron, scales..." he ticked off everything in his head which he figured he would need. "And of course, a trunk, mine was burned up with everything else in it."

"You didn't see the one I'd got for you?" Tonks asked, stopping.

Harry looked up at her inquisitively. "That's mine?"

Tonks nodded, a huge grin plastered on her face. "See my mum owns a shop in France and we figured since the Pensieve was sort of Sirius' gift to you we'd get you something else you'd need. That trunk is one of the latest models, there's an enormous amount of space inside even though it looks small. I reckon you could live in the thing if you were bent on it. Not that you'd have enough room to setup a kitchen or living room."

Having seen a trunk that was sort of similar Harry nodded an understanding, he'd have to look into it later and find out exactly what it was like. If it was like Moody's trunk there was a whole lot more to it than what Tonks had said.

"Robes first then," Tonks announced and then scampered down the street like a giddy schoolgirl.

It took Harry a minute to catch her, and when he finally did it was in front of Gladrags Wizard Wear. "This way," she said happily. "Let's get you some robes?"

Inside Harry was met with an elderly attendant who looked at Harry rather loathingly. "Can I help you?" she asked in a silky voice. "Or are you just browsing?"

Harry looked a bit startled, but then when he realized what they must look like, neither wearing anything that looked remotely new, and Tonks even dressed much more like a muggle. "Yes," Harry said, meeting her silky voice with a very determined look. "I need some school robes this year, after an unfortunate accident I no longer have any at all."

The old witch looked at him for a few minutes longer, "Alright then," she muttered, "What'll you be needing?"

"Three plain black robes, a couple of black cloaks and I think that's good..." Harry said, making sure to use his strong accent.

But Tonks cut him off before he could finish. "He'll be getting a crimson robe or two, and one that's a dress robe as well. I've also got another question do you carry defense robes, level four?"

It seemed, until Tonks had asked her that question, the lady hadn't even bothered to really notice them. She didn't care one bit if they shopped there or not, she was barely even paying attention even while they spoke to her. However, once the question had been raised a sharp eye roamed over Harry and Tonks, her half smile fading to a grimace.

"What do you want robes like that for? You've got to have special Auror credentials to get something like..." she paused as Tonks showed her something that was concealed in her palm.

The attendant winced and then nodded with a sigh. "He'll be the one needing the defense robes?"

When Tonks nodded the lady turned her back to them and then yelled. "Emily! Emily, get your ass out here. I need you to do a fitting for this nice young man."

A young lady appeared a minute later and nodded without saying a word. She looked from Tonks to Harry and then turned towards the old lady. "The boy," she said sharply, and pointed as if she hadn't been specific enough the first time.

The young woman nodded just barely and then turned, motioning for them follow her. She disappeared behind the same curtain she'd just come through. On the other side of a curtain she had Harry stand on a small stool and proceeded to measure him.

"Hi Emily," Tonks said, being her usually perky self and watching like a child.

When Emily had finished measuring Harry's chest and had started to move further down Tonks grabbed her hand. "We're going to be getting him some very special robes, so you might want to make sure that the measurements aren't even a millimeter off."

Harry followed Emily's eyes to Tonks and then looked at the grin on Tonks' face. "What does that mean?" he asked suspiciously but before he could do anything else, his shirt was being lifted from his body. "I'm not getting naked in front of some strange girl!" he yelped finding himself unable to stop what was happening.

"So you'll get naked in front of me?" Tonks questioned, the sparkle in her eyes undeniable. "Oh come on Harry, it's not like I never saw you."

Harry blushed brightly and coughed. "I... erm..."

"Just kidding," Tonks winked, and Emily smiled. It was the first time Harry had seen any emotion on Emily's face. "See look, you even made this pretty girl smile. Don't worry, we're not going to get you completely naked. You'll still be in your unmentionables."

Grinning, and bearing it while he was stripped down Harry looked to Tonks. "What are defense robes?"

"You'll see. I figure you could use some for when we get into cursing each other. You're going to need something that'll absorb the force of some of the spells."

"They absorb spells?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Well, not exactly," Tonks said, her face scrunched up thinking. "You ever see someone try to curse a giant?" Harry shook his head, but then recalled seeing Hagrid being cursed from the window the end of the previous year.

"What about a dragon?" Tonks asked before Harry could answer.

He had seen a dragon cursed. It had taken at least seven fully trained wizards per dragon – each with very focused stunning spells to even slow it. "Yeah, fourth year, we had to get past them for the Triwizard Tournament."

Emily stopped measuring and she was looking up at him funny. When Harry glanced back down she quickly returned to her measuring. She was finished a few minutes later, and had a notepad with at least two dozen numbers on it. Harry had never seen that many numbers when he'd been fitted before. "Why do the numbers need to be so specific?" Harry asked Tonks once Emily had disappeared.

"Well, see, these robes aren't exactly normal robes. There are two layers to them. One's made of... well it depends. Usually dragons hide or Basilisk skin. They have the same properties in most cases; just sometimes it's hard to get a hold of one or the other."

"Dragons and Basilisks are similar?" Harry questioned her, intrigued.

Tonks looked at him like he was stupid. "Yeah, you didn't know? Their skins not the same material, but it has similar properties. Anyway, they're not the same species, but you got to figure they had some ancestor that's similar. Dragons are a lot like snakes in many ways, just they're a good deal bigger, have limbs and breath fire." She paused for a second. "You're a Parselmouth, right?"

"So?"

"Well I figure," Tonks said, looking as if she'd made some great discovery. "Dragons, they're a lot like snakes, and if you can speak to snakes you should be able to speak to dragons, right?"

Harry looked aghast. "No..." he said, shaking off the thought. If he'd known that he might have taken a different approach to the dragon a couple years before. Hermione should have known that. It wasn't like he was going to run into a dragon everyday, but it'd sure be a good thing to know. "But they roar, and snort, I never heard them hissing."

"Did you try to talk to them?" Tonks said, smirking.

"No," Harry repeated. It had never even occurred to him. They weren't snakes, why would they be able to speak Parselmouth? "I mean, no, I never tried. Are you sure that people could... I mean, you don't really think they could talk do you?"

After Harry had finally gotten out what he'd meant to say Tonks patted him on the head. "Well, it's what I figure anyway. I don't know anyone other than you that speaks Parselmouth, in fact I don't think there's been one in a good two hundred years."

"Aren't they a bit more like lizards?" Harry asked, as it suddenly occurred to him that dragons were more like huge lizards.

"Dunno," Tonks shrugged again. "Ever tried speaking to a lizard in Parseltongue?"

"No," Harry shook his head. "Do you think they speak Parseltongue too?"

But before Tonks could answer the curtain moved again and Emily appeared quietly on the other side of the room. Her eyes were wide, and Harry suspected she had heard more than a little part of the conversation. If she knew anything about the Triwizard tournament, or about him, she'd probably be able to figure out who he was.

"Anyway," Tonks continued, paying no mind as Emily used her wand on some material in the room. "One of the layers –dragon's hide usually – is the inner layer. It's usually brushed and smoothed out so it's very comfortable. The outer layer is made of Graphorn's hide, not nearly as thin or comfortable. But it's a lot like dragon's hide, repels a good deal of curses. Not the same mind you, that's why they're used in conjunction. Between both the hides not many of the weaker spells get through at all and the strong one's are not quite as damaging."

Emily moved forward, again and she disappeared through another door that wasn't headed to the front, this door was much closer to them. "The reason they've got to be measured specifically for you is that they're custom fitted so that they fit you exactly like as if it was part of your skin in most areas. They'll have to add a few more yards of it with a special spell so that it grows to you, but you'll have to be getting a new set by the time you're finished growing."

"Are the expensive?" Harry asked, suddenly feeling that the money he'd brought wouldn't be enough.

Tonks shook her head. "Don't worry about it; I've got your robes covered."

When Emily came back, she had several robes in her hand. A slip of paper sat on top and Tonks took the sheet while Harry took the robes. Emily nodded and smiled, taking them from him one by one and folding them, placing them into a bag for Harry.

"How long will this take?" Tonks questioned Emily after she'd finished making some marks on the paper.

"The special order robes will be ready in three days. We'll have the shipment of materials tomorrow to finish it up, and it'll take some time to do the specialization," came a voice from the door in the front. The first lady, the one that had looked at them oddly, was standing there. "Emily can't speak, so it's no use to ask her questions. She hasn't been able to since her parents died three years ago."

Harry looked over to Emily and saw that she had the saddest eyes suddenly. It was as if that something inside her eyes had drooped. He frowned and suddenly felt sorry for her, but he couldn't say anything. "Come on," Tonks said, taking Harry's hand.

"How'll you be paying?" the attendant asked quickly. Harry just pulled out his moneybag.

Tonks stopped him however. She dropped a slip of paper on the counter and waited while the attendant read it. That seemed to be the end of it.

"Come on then Harry," Tonks continued, taking Harry's hand again and pulling him along with her.

Outside Tonks found a bench and handed Harry his letter from Hogwarts, which she'd been holding until now. Harry wasn't sure why she'd kept it hidden until now, but she had informed him she'd had it.

He went over the list quickly, not paying all the much attention. The list was pretty standard, and Harry just pocketed it when he was done, he'd need it for when he began purchasing things. What was behind it was more interesting, he hadn't forgotten his OWLs completely, they just stayed at the back of his mind most of the time.

Ministry of Magic
Wizarding Examinations Office

Dear Mr. Potter,

We have the pleasure to inform you that the results to your Ordinary Wizarding Level exams have been tallied.

The Ordinary Wizarding Levels, henceforth called O.W.L.s, are graded on an academic curve, in order to fit the constant and necessary evolution of teacher and student capabilities. This grading process is a protocol which the ministry has adhered to for a century and any questions to the validity may be addressed to Herman Gradgin, Wizarding Examinations Office.

The results for the O.W.L.s are available at the Wizarding Examination Office in the Ministry of Magic because of their great importance. Those with sufficient reason may view them at any time. Should you want these results made confidential please reply to this post at any time.

Attached is a copy of the notes taken during tests, if any were taken. Due to restrictions and security precautions any written examinations are not returned. Any questions regarding scores can be addressed to Bertrude Filtarr, Wizarding Examinations Office.

Please read the attached results carefully. These results are important to witches and wizards, playing a vital role in future prospects and decisions. We encourage you to begin preparation for the N.E.W.T.s which will take place at the end of your seventh year. Enjoy your summer.

Yours Sincerely,

Griselda Marchbanks

Head of the Wizarding Examinations Authority

Harry struggled, as he looked at the results at the end of the note. If he was getting his results based on other members of his year then he hoped he didn't do so badly in potions. He needed an Outstanding in Potions to get into the N.E.W.T Potions course. He really wanted to be an Auror, and if it meant dealing with Snape for another two years he hoped he'd be able to bear it. Hermione would be there at least, even if Ron didn't make it.

Your grades are as follows

O, Outstanding - E, Exceeding Expectation - A, Acceptable - P, Poor - D, Dreadful

You must receive an A (Acceptable) to get an OWL. One OWL is available per exam (1 written, 1 practical in most classes)

Astronomy: Overall Grade - P - Written: P Practical: P

Care of Magical Creatures: Overall Grade - O - Written: E Practical: O

Charms: Overall Grade - E - Written: E Practical: E

Defense Against Dark Arts: Overall Grade - O - Written: O Practical: O

Divination: Overall Grade - P - Written: P Practical: P

Herbology: Overall Grade - E - Written: A Practical: E

History of Magic: Overall Grade - P - Written: P

Potions: Overall Grade - E - Written: E Practical: E

Transfiguration: Overall Grade - E - Written: E Practical: E

According to testing criteria you have received 12 O.W.L.s

Harry choked and frowned. Twelve O.W.L.s? That wasn't right, but it seemed that was correct. If he'd gotten twelve O.W.L.s how was it the Fred and George, who were quite adept with some particulars because of the way the worked with potions and strange charms all the time, had received four. Percy, the prefect, had gotten twelve O.W.L.s. If Harry had gotten twelve how did Hermione fare?

It occurred to him that even though he'd done better than he thought in potions, he hadn't gotten a grade good enough to get into Snape's class next year. He wondered if he could ever be anything else. Wood had gone into Quidditch, maybe he could do that.

"Come on Harry," Tonks said hopping up. "It can't be that bad."

Stunned Harry looked up to Tonks' grinning face and he couldn't do anything but smile along with her. "That's better," she said smiling brighter. "They can't be as bad as you think."

"No," Harry said quietly. "I didn't get an Outstanding in potions, so I won't get into Snape's class. It means I can't be an Auror."

"Why's that?"

"I need potions to become an Auror," Harry said sadly.

"Well..." Tonks said, stepping back, and looking at him funny. "It's better than having a NEWT in History of Magic, but it's not a requirement. Besides, if you work at it I'm sure that you could take the NEWT test even without taking the class, you'd just have to do a lot of studying on your own."

Blinking, Harry thought about what she was saying. He wouldn't mind taking lessons from Hermione, if she was up to it. But knowing her, she'd have taken as many classes as she'd done the previous year and she barely managed those. McGonagall had sworn she'd help him become an Auror though; maybe she'd have some ideas. He'd have to talk to her about what he could do.

"The Apothecary next then," Tonks announced, dragging Harry behind her once more. Harry didn't resist but he wondered how he'd know what he was going to need.

Inside the local apothecary Harry purchased a whole new set of supplies. Tonks made things easy, announcing he was starting the NEWT potions class and he had forgotten his list so he wasn't sure what he'd need. The attendant didn't care; he was running around instantly, collecting supplies.

Once Harry had paid for everything, getting a new set of cauldrons as well, he walked out with a huge bag filled to the brim with supplies for potions. Tonks had also insisted (to the attendant) that Harry get everything he might possibly use. Which ended up being a lot more than he thought he'd need.

"Alright, let's get your books. There's a few more you need to get if you're going to be studying to be an Auror though."

They collected the books at the store, getting three more than what was asked for on the list, and then went to pay for their order. The attendant in this shop was young and he looked over the books, stopping on the last one and snorted. "Want to be an Auror eh?" he asked as if it were some great joke.

Harry just nodded but the attendant didn't stop. His eyes, which had looked over Harry and Tonks with disgust, connected with Harry's eyes. "Don't think you've got what it takes, might as well give it up now."

"Hey!" Tonks growled next to Harry. "You're job's to sell us books. What's the total?"

The boy's eyes broke contact from Harry and roamed over Tonks again, settling on her chest. "Don't think you've got much of a career as an Auror either. Though, I could think of some things you'd be good at."

A deep seated rage suddenly filled Harry, and he almost reached out and grabbed the boy by the neck. He didn't like it that the boy was making fun of Tonks and trying to flirt with her.

"Sly," Tonks said quietly. "Keep calm, this boy isn't worth a Knut. If we get into trouble again I don't think we'll be able to slip out of it as easy. My brothers out of the country on assignment, he can't just slip us through the cracks so easy this time. I know you don't like the kid, but he's really not worth it, please don't kill him."

The attendant's mouth opened, and then shut. He turned from Tonks back to Harry, fear in his eyes. It took Harry a minute, but he caught on to Tonks' game. She'd done this a lot and he was growing to like them. "Can't we just break a few bones?" He growled. His wand appearing in his hand so quickly the attendant took a step backwards. "Or cut off a finger, my collection isn't as big as it used to be. That stupid woman I live with likes to sneak them away one by one when I'm not looking."

After another gaping look, mouth opening and closing the attendant quickly wrote the total down for Harry. After they'd paid and left the store Harry turned to Tonks grinning. "Why do you always play games like that?" Harry asked as Tonks tripped over a bench. He almost laughed, but instead dropped his bags and grabbed her before she fell to the ground.

"Why are you always tripping over things?" Harry questioned after he'd picked his bags back up and they were headed towards Dervish and Bangs to get more equipment.

There was no answer even after Harry had collected the rest of his items and they headed back towards the Hogs Head, where they had a room. In fact, after Harry had questioned Tonks there were no words spoken between them at all, not for almost two hours. They'd gotten back to the room and Harry was examining the new trunk when Tonks finally did speak.

"Dumbledore wants you to go to Hogwarts tomorrow. It's still a week before school starts, but he would rather have you there than anywhere else. He's making the necessary arrangements right now."

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