Harry Potter and the Return to Godric's Hollow by Erin10.
Spoiler Warning: - This fiction contains spoilers from HPB. If you haven't read HBP, don't read my fic! It won't make sense and I don't want to spoil HBP for anyone! Consider yourself warned! I won't be held responsible if you read this and then complain that I spoilt the book for you!
Disclaimer: - Everything belongs to J.K Rowling! I own nothing! This is written purely for my own enjoyment, after the last book my sanity depends on it!
Chapter Three – A few unexpected surprises.
"Have you looked at me recently Fleur? I mean really looked, because all I see is a semi disfigured face that I'm disgusted to go into public with." Harry heard a loud thump, it sounded like something had hit the wall.
"I won't let you reduce yourself to marrying someone who looks like me, you deserve better, forget you even promised to marry me and go and find the prince charming you deserve!" Harry frowned, it was Bill's raised voice he could hear, and he didn't seem to be thinking straight.
"You 'av a bad 'opinion of me Bill to 'fink that I am 'zat vain." He heard Fleur say sounding crossed between impatient, annoyance and a tinge of hurt at his words.
"And so you should be! What will your parents say now? They were already sceptical because of my family's financial situation, and now will they accept an ugly son-in-law too?" His tone was scathing, Harry winced whilst thinking about how Fleur must feel, and he felt guilty to be listening, but there wasn't much he could do about that without giving away his presence in the hallway, he remembered that the second, third and fifth steps creaked on the first flight of stairs.
"You are not ugly Bill! Leave my parents to me, it does not matter what 'zey 'fink! I love you, you love me, is 'zat not enough for you?" She said sounding exhausted. "Please Bill. Leave it be." Their voices lowered then, so that he couldn't hear what was being said. He was glad.
"They've been like that all summer." A voice told him, he jumped and spun around to see Ginny looking at him. "I wouldn't tiptoe around them if I was you, or you'll find yourself sneaking around and feeling guilty for it continuously." She smiled slightly, "We've all been there. Trust me, I know. Don't forget that we have a long overdue conversation to finish Harry! You're not getting away from me that easily!" Then shooting a look at him, she breezed passed him and went downstairs, leaving him alone again.
He followed her wondering if a wedding would still take place, Bill was beginning to sound like Lupin when he talked to Tonks, telling her he was too poor, too old and too dangerous. When he entered the kitchen he saw Lupin sitting there, he seemed to be a regular visitor. Harry hoped that Lupin would learn to let Tonks love him, like Bill needed to understand that Fleur loved him unconditionally.
"Hello Professor how's Tonks?" Harry asked sitting down and buttering some toast. He watched the man blush slightly; looking highly uncomfortable with Harry's chosen conversation.
"Isn't it time you called me Remus, Harry? I haven't been your Professor for three years now." He told Harry ignoring part of Harry's question, and hoping to deflect it away from Tonks. Harry put his toast on his plate and looked Remus in the eye.
"I suppose, if you would like me to. Well then, Hello Remus, how's Tonks?" He heard Ginny snicker quietly.
"She's fine." Remus told him looking into his coffee mug, "Overworked, underpaid and stressed, but she's okay." Harry smiled at him.
"Good to know Remus, we were all quite worried about her." Harry told him resuming the preparation of his toast.
"And how are you Ginny?" Remus asked the young red head at the table, she smiled slightly,
"I've been better." Ginny answered truthfully shooting a quick look at Harry. Harry however chose to ignore her remark.
"I think that's something only you can help with Harry." Remus told him flatly, a faint blush still staining his cheeks, "but I know that it's none of my business so I won't push it. It is amazing what we Werewolves are able to hear when people forget about our amazing capability for hearing. I wouldn't have thought that Hermione would have forgotten about that though." He said quietly, and Harry was reminded at once about the conversation about Ginny that Hermione had whispered to him yesterday.
"I do however have a message to bring to you. Minerva would like to see you at Hogwarts Harry, and I am to take you since you cannot legally apparate yet." He smiled slightly looking at Harry who had blushed also at Remus's words.
"I think that you also need to remember that you're playing with a Marauder Harry, and just because I don't use the old tricks anymore, it doesn't mean I've forgotten how." Harry bowed his head slightly reading Remus's message loud and clear, 'an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,' he would retaliate also when provoked, but he smiled and looked up,
"Yes, well, that's part of the fun isn't it? I will however remember not to question you about Tonk's in the future, but you should remember than when Ginny and I were a couple, I built up the nerve to kiss her, but we've separated, and at least we tried."
Remus nodded smirking slightly, "I think the lady has quite a lot she's refraining from saying on that subject Harry." He said seeing Ginny's eyes boring into the young man, who ignored them but whose eye began to twitch slightly.
"Just because I haven't paraded it around, it doesn't mean that I haven't kissed Tonk's. However I get the point you are trying to make Harry, I doubt you could have been more obvious if you tried. You are trying to tell me to grab the bull by the horns, or should I say that life is too short and I should kiss Tonk's and get it over and done with, something you're mother would have told me, I'm sure." He said amused, he shook his head slightly, "Well Perhaps I will grab the bull by the horns."
"But you haven't, have you Remus?" A quiet voice said from the door, "I wish you would."
Harry turned to see Tonks looking at him, looking amused for the first time since Sirius's death. "It's rather like being caught with you pants down, isn't it Remmy? Are you going to kiss me then?" She asked, a small amount of her humour shining into her conversation and her eyes sparkling slightly again, she looked hopeful.
It was good thing to see Harry thought, love amidst a time of war and horror, it was human nature at it's finest. Remus however looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights of a car; he had frozen at hearing her voice.
"I'm too poor, too dangerous and too old for you." He said quietly trying to argue, her eyes hardened.
"Poor maybe, dangerous your not and I think it's my decision whether you are too old for me or not, in the grand scheme of things age is the least of our concern, Dumbledore was one hundred and fifty! I love you Remus! Everything about you!" She finished softly, "But you obviously don't like me, aren't I worth fighting for?" She asked shaking her head.
No one said anything. The silence was deafening.
"Well. That's put me in my place hasn't it Lupin? Your silence speaks volumes. At least I finally know where I stand." Her voice had changed back to the desolate drone of unhappiness that she had used for the last year; her brown eyes glittered with tears as she fought down a sob. "I'll come back later, it wasn't important anyway…" She trailed off her eyes showing her hearts anguish, she looked like she was being tortured by being in the same room as Remus. She opened the door and began to walk out, but Remus jumped up.
"No Nymphadora you can't leave, you'll splinch yourself." He told her quietly, she stopped in the doorway, and he walked to her, placing a hand on her shoulder he spoke very quietly.
"I'm a fool Nymphadora, I feel great emotions for you, but I… I don't know what they are. I've never been in a relationship, never felt loved. I don't want to hurt you, and I don't want to lose anyone again." He winced slightly, feeling awkward for admitting it. "Which sounds very pathetic for a man my age but…"
"Neither have I Remus." Tonk's cut him off, "Not until that day I saw you pissing around with Sirius at Grimmauld place, when you were trying to cheer him up, you were so sweet. You took the time when no one else did; I thought then that you were lovely. There's so many things that I love about you, it's unbelievable that no one saw what I see in you before me." She said softly, her finger tracing his jawbone.
"I'm a Werewolf Nymphadora, who would see anything in me except that? Only you, you foolish girl." He said softly smiling and leaning into her caress. She laughed ever so softly.
"And I'm a Metamorphmagus Remus, who would want a girl they couldn't keep track of, who can change her appearance at will, but you? You're a foolish man." He laughed and said.
"What a pair we make." Then Remus Lupin leaned down and kissed the young woman, taking her into his arms, finally without any visible hesitation.
"Ginny?" Harry asked looking happy but amused, "Can I use the floo to talk to Professor McGonagall? I think Remus will be indisposed for a while."
Harry walked up to the Castle with Remus and Tonk's in toe. He had asked the new headmistress for another escort, but none were available and Remus and Tonk's had quite happily assured him that they did not mind taking him to Hogwarts. Harry smiled; Tonk's had even said that while he was busy she wanted to make herself busy with Remus down by the lake. All in all the pair of Order members were behaving rather like a pair of teenagers.
They reached the door of the heads office with no trouble and Remus told the gargoyles the password so Harry could pass. "Ask Minerva to summon us when you're ready to leave. We've got some business to attend to… and it can't wait any longer." Remus muttered to Harry with a wide smile on his face as he and Tonk's left Harry and walked away quickly, to be alone together.
Harry shook his head and laughed as he walked up the stairs, he was still laughing as he reached the door. He had never seen his old professor looking so relaxed. He knocked on the door and entered the room when McGonagall's voice had told him to do so.
"What in Merlin's name did you find so amusing Potter? I could do with a laugh, and I could hear you laughing all the way up the stairs." She asked him curiously, her beady eyes peering at him through her square glasses. Harry's eyes involuntarily quickly flickered to Dumbledore's portrait, which was awake finally, and he was staring at Harry, smiling widely.
"Oh. It was Remus and Tonk's you see, they said that they have some business to attend to down at the lake, but it obviously isn't business." Harry laughed again softly, shaking his head trying to forget about Dumbledore the painting. "…And after how Tonk's has suffered it was good to see them finally together and acting like a pair of teenagers, and when Tonk's said that she'd keep Remus busy down by the lake, she reminded me of something Ginny said to me once." He blushed faintly, "Remus did manage to tell me to ask you to summon him when we're done before he was dragged off though."
McGonagall smiled wryly, "Yes that was a long time in coming wasn't it?" But he did not know whether she was talking about himself and Ginny or Remus and Tonk's.
"Now I've called you here today in regards of Professor Dumbledore's last will and testament. You were named the sole heir to the Dumbledore fortune, and besides his brother, he has no living relations… you cannot however, access his vault until your seventeenth birthday, almost everything you inherited was placed in the vault for safe keeping when I was made Headmistress, with a few exceptions. You are to be given Godric Griffindor's sword, the late headmasters pensive and this diary." She pointed to them; they all sat on the desk in front of him.
"His heir?" Harry asked looking at Dumbledore's portrait; he spoke for the first time since Harry had entered the room. He was still smiling serenely.
"I am sure that I would have had a good reason Harry, Alas I forget now, but I do know that I admired and cared for you, perhaps that is why?" He told the boy gently.
"You said that you were Dumbledore's man through and through, didn't you boy? Well, how do you think he regarded you, you naive brat?" A snide voice asked, it was Phineas Nigellus Black who had spoken he was looking at Harry as though Harry was the village idiot.
"That's enough Phineas." Dumbledore's portrait and McGonagall chimed together, admonishing him.
End of Ch3
Sorry! I didn't get round to the wedding! Aaaaarh, Remus/Tonks is so lovely to write! I also apologise for the length, it's not as long as I would have liked. I have also found that I'm rubbish when trying to write speech with accents, Fleur come's out badly because of this, can you just imagine the French twang? I don't do it justice.
What do you think?
Thanks for your reviews! Review again!
Erin10
Revised 14/09/05