Chapter 1

Surprises For All

It had been three sleepless nights since Harry had returned to number four Privet Drive for the summer after his sixth year. Dumbledore's death and his duty to destroy the remaining Horcruxes lingered in his mind day and night, plaguing his thoughts constantly. The solitude wasn't much help either, and within the second day he'd already written letters to both Hermione and Ron. He'd written several letters to Ginny as well, each of which he hastily crumpled up and tossed aside. He couldn't find the right words to say to her, and he doubted there were any. It seemed impossible to remain friends after caring for her in the way he did, especially since they'd never been very close before their relationship anyway. With a sigh of resignation, he ripped up yet another letter to her and tossed aside its remains. Grumbling beneath his breath, he stood up and pulled his shirt off over his head, tossing it onto his messy floor. Within three days he'd already managed to make a mess of his room, which was mainly scattered with dirty clothes, empty food wrappers, and wads of undesired letters. The state of his room was definitely reflecting the way he was currently feeling, he thought with a chuckle. Turning to his bed, he pulled back the covers and began to climb beneath them when the turning of his doorknob behind him caused him to jump. Scrambling for his wand amidst the mess of his room, he breathed a sigh of relief as he saw who it was.

"I do hope I'm not interrupting anything, Harry," Tonks waggled her eyebrows playfully as she saw the shirtless boy.

Harry's pale cheeks flushed a bright shade of red. Scrounging his floor for a shirt, any shirt, he grabbed one and quickly pulled it on over his head. He then turned sheepishly back to Tonks and searched for some way to change the topic. Luckily that wasn't too difficult considering her intrusion. "And what exactly are you doing here, Tonks?" He asked, wading his way through the mess and taking a seat on his bed.

"Good to see you too." She mumbled in response, stepping into the room and shutting the door behind her. "I'm here for my new assignment." Carefully making her way through the mess, she attempted to get to his bed, though she stumbled several times in the process.

"New assignment?" He asked hesitantly, not sure whether he wanted to know what it was. His lack of privacy had become more and more of a strain recently. The constant watch over him always left him wondering whether he was really alone or not. At least Tonks had the decency to show her face to him unlike many of the other members of the Order sent to guard over him.

"Yes, well... now don't get angry at me for this, ok? I'm not any happier about this than you..." Harry winced, bracing himself for whatever Tonks was about to say next. "I've been assigned as a sort of... bodyguard to you. So I-"

"You?" Harry interrupted, bewildered. "You are my bodyguard? I can't believe this."

Tonks glared at him heatedly, so intensely he could have sworn her hair turned a more fiery shade of red. "What exactly do you mean by that?" She demanded, balling her fists as she took another step toward him. "I'm no more thrilled about this than you, and I happen to be a very accomplished Auror, thank you very much."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry."

"And if I weren't assigned to protect you, I'd hex you into next week."

At this comment, Harry couldn't help but chuckle. "I suppose I lucked out then, didn't I?" He paused after he spoke, wondering if he'd regret saying the words that had just left his mouth. To his relief, Tonks seemed to calm down and relaxed as she sat down on the bed next to him.

"You did." Tonks grinned, her voice much softer than a moment ago. Harry couldn't help but smile in response. He had to admit he did enjoy Tonks' company. Though he'd never really talked to her for an extended period of time, he'd always found her clumsiness entertaining and she seemed to be a good person at heart. But to have her around all the time? They couldn't have even had his guard be a male? It seemed as if that would feel much less invasive. He would no longer be able to sleep with his shirt off without being thoroughly embarrassed by Tonks. He'd have to change a lot of things with her around all the time.

"Well, I'm tired now. Can I go to sleep?" He asked, making an attempt to tidy his unruly black hair.

"Of course. I'll be here, in this pathetic excuse for a room." She gestured toward the messy floor. For the second time in the past minute, Harry blushed a violent shade of red.

"I'll clean it in the morning." He managed, climbing underneath his covers and pulling them over his body.

"It's fine." She replied, her dark eyes twinkling in the light his lamp provided. "By the way, we're going to the Burrow tomorrow. There's only one week left until Bill and Fleur's wedding."

Harry's eyes were already shut, though he managed to nod in affirmation into his pillow. Laughing softly, Tonks waved her wand and put out the lights as she took a seat on Harry's chair placed opposite his bed in the room.

- - - - -

Sunlight streamed through the window the next morning, its rays lighting the sleeping figure of Harry Potter. Twitching, he rolled over onto his side, eyes begrudgingly opening themselves. At the sight of a wide-awake Tonks perched upon his chair, gazing intently at him, he quickly rolled over to face the wall. The already familiar chuckle filled the air as he heard Tonks get up from the chair and walk toward him. A moment later, he could feel the weight of her body on the bed beside him.

"Harry, you're going to get used to seeing a lot of me for the next few weeks at least."

Oh lord. He wasn't sure if he could handle it. She was a female, as he'd noticed in a recent revelation of his, and dealing with females he didn't know well had never been his strong point. He could speak to Voldemort with confidence while others flinched at the utterance of his name. And yet, when he was shirtless in the presence of a woman, he wanted to nothing more than hide in a corner.

"Now get up, sleepyhead. We're leaving soon." He could feel the bed lighten with the relief of her weight and he finally dared to roll back over. There she was, standing there watching him from his chair yet again. His cheeks seemed to have changed permanently to pinkish hue as he struggled to pull his tired body from his bed. Emerald eyes gazed down at the floor in astonishment as he saw that everything had been neatly put away or thrown away.

"Where are all my things? Where's my trunk?" He asked as he stood up and made his way to a small, neat pile of clothes at the end of his bed.

"Already been sent to the Burrow." Tonks grinned, obviously proud of herself for being so well-prepared. "But I left you some clothes there to change into now."

"Wi-With... you here?" The words seemed to catch in his throat as he watched Tonks nervously.

"Might as well get used to it now." She laughed as his mouth dropped open. "I'm just kidding. But I'd rather just turn around than possibly run into your god awful roommates." She was obviously referring to the Dursleys, and Harry could understand the point she was making.

"Ok. Turn around." He said, picking up the clothes from the bed. As soon as Tonks had turned, he shed his pants and underwear and pulled the fresh ones on. Tossing the dirty ones on the floor, he removed his shirt next. Once he'd put on the clean one, he gave her the okay.

"That was easy enough. Ready to go?" Tonks spun around and hopped up off the chair, unusually perky.

"Why are you so anxious to get going?"

"No reason." She replied quickly. It was her turn to blush this time. "Okay, so we are going to apparate but we have to go outside since there are charms that have been put on the house."

Nodding, Harry eyed her once more before following her out the door and down the stairs toward the front door. He received a menacing glare from the entire Dursley family on his way out as they sat silently at the table eating breakfast. "Do they know where I'm going?" He whispered to Tonks as she opened the front door.

She bobbed her head up and down in response. "Yes of course. I explained everything to them last night. Alright now, take my arm. You've done this before, haven't you?"

Harry nodded, biting his lip as his mind flickered back to Dumbledore. He had no idea how he would make it through this ordeal without his guidance. Reaching out, he gripped Tonks' wrist tightly, his breath catching in his throat as his brilliant emerald eyes connected with hers. Her smile faded for merely a second before returning in all its glory. "Ready?" He nodded. A moment later he felt his body being squeezed in from all angles, yet the feeling was much more tolerable than the previous time he'd apparated. And then suddenly, he was somewhere else.

"Harry! You're here!" Before he even realized where he was, he was enveloped in a tight hug by a familiar bushy haired brunette.

"Hey Hermione." He said, his voice showing his true happiness at being in her presence once again. He was reminded yet again of how relieved he was that Hermione and Ron were there to help him through this whole thing. Apparently Tonks was to assist him as well.

"Blimey, Hermione, you've only just seen him last week," Ron grumbled as Hermione still held Harry tightly in her grasp.

"Well excuse me for being happy to see him!" Hermione retorted as she pulled away from Harry and crossed her arms at Ron.

"I'm happy to see him too, but you don't see me crawling all over him."

"Crawling all over him? Oh, you must be kidding me! Excuse me for showing affection towards my friends. It's more than I can say for you!"

Laughing silently at his friends, Harry rolled his eyes and exchanged a glance with Tonks and walked inside with her. "Your things are upstairs in Percy's room." Tonks said, running a hand through her bright pink hair. Nodding, Harry gave a hasty wave to Tonks before climbing the stairs two at a time toward the room that had once belonged to Percy Weasley.

- - - - -

"So have you thought about where you're going to start?" Hermione questioned excitedly as she sat criss cross on the bed beside Harry. "I mean, do you have any ideas?"

"Well... I-I'm not quite sure," Harry stumbled through his response. Obviously he'd thought about where he was going to start with this; he knew Hermione wasn't thick-headed. But he didn't have any concrete ideas yet, and the plan he'd settled with was to explore a few places relating to Voldemort's past. Hopefully he'd get some new ideas from them, or discover a few clues. If not, he had no idea where to start.

"Oh," Hermione's disappointment was blatantly painted on her face. "Well, that's alright then. Ron and I are ready to help with whatever you need. Right Ron?" There was an incoherent mumble of what he assumed was agreement coming from the redhead as he lay on Ginny's bed across the room.

"About that..." Harry was hesitant in how he was going to break the news. For the past few days he'd been playing over in his mind how this whole search would be done, over and over. Some times Hermione and Ron had been a part of his plan, while during others they hadn't. He'd found though, that the situations in which they'd come along with him, had only seemed more complicated. Thus he'd decided in the end that this was a journey he'd need to take alone. Perhaps later along the way he'd use the help they had so graciously offered, but for now it was important he did this by himself.

"-You don't want us to come," Hermione interceded in a knowing voice, "I knew this would happen."

"Do you understand why, Hermione? I just need to do this alone... at least for now."

"Not really, Harry. I don't think I'll ever completely understand it, but if it's something you need to do, then go ahead. If you do need our help though, we're right here."

The redhead's hair shook as he bobbed his head up and down in agreement. "Do what you've gotta do." He stated simply. Apparently Ron wasn't in much of a talking mood at the moment, to which Harry had little objection.

"I'm off to bed now," Harry yawned, getting up from the bed and heading toward the door. "Night."

Descending the stairs from the floor of Ginny's room to the second where Percy's was located, he moved toward the door of his room and twisted the doorknob. Pushing the door open, he staggered into it and toward his surprise. No less than three feet away from it, he realized suddenly that someone was in it.

"TONKS!" he growled, taking the last few steps toward her and shoving her still body.

"Mghhsf." she groaned.

"Get out of my bed!" He pushed her body with more force now.

"WHAT?" she yelled suddenly, sitting upright and jerking her head around to find whomever had shaken her awake. "Harry!" She took him by surprise by grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. "Agh, the first decent sleep I've gotten in a week and you had to wake me."

"Well excuse me, but this happens to be my bed." Harry retorted. "I thought you were supposed to be watching me anyway?"

"Oh shove it," She grumbled irritably, throwing the covers off her body and standing up. Immediately Harry's jaw dropped, his eyes moving down the length of her body. "All I wanted was a bit of decent sleep."

"Um...Tonks..." Harry's cheeks felt as if they were on fire, unable to take his eyes off Tonks' lower half. "You might... erm... you might want to put some pants on?" You see, Harry wasn't exactly accustomed to see woman in merely a t-shirt and underwear. Though the shirt was oversized for Tonk's petite body and normally would have hung as low as her mid-thigh, the side nearest Harry had somehow managed to tuck itself into the top of her underwear. Harry found himself graced with a view of Tonk's underwear as well as the entire length of her leg.

"Oh..." Tonks' dark eyes shifted downward as she hastily pulled out the t-shirt from her underwear, allowing it to fall to its usual position. Resting her hands on her hips, she looked back up at Harry and clicked her tongue. "Stop ogling Harry, they're just legs. Now get into bed like you wanted."

Harry opened his mouth three consecutive times before he was able to release words from them. "Right then. You can... well, if you need sleep... go, ahead."

"How kind of you to offer." She replied, but rather than climbing back into bed, she moved toward the other side of the room. Sighing, Harry tried to forget the sight he'd just been shown, and got into bed. Once he was safely under the covers and away from Tonks' prying eyes, he carefully pulled his shirt off over his head and tossed it to the ground. He then rolled over onto his side so that he was facing the wall, and shut his eyes in an effort to fall asleep. What he didn't count on, was the sudden adjustment of the bed as a great amount of weight was pushed down onto it. Tonks.

Rolling back over, Harry opened his eyes to find Tonks sliding beneath the covers beside him. "Wha-what are you doing?" He asked timidly, flinching as he felt her leg brush against his. The bed was much too small to fit both of them, and he knew there was no way he was going to be able to fall asleep with the discomforting feeling of her body so close to his.

"What do you think? I'm trying to get some sleep. You offered after all."

"Yes...well... I didn't think you would with..."

"With you? Well, I'm full of surprises then, aren't I?" There was a playful glint in her dark eyes that made his heart flutter within his chest. He never would have guessed, a grown woman – his bodyguard, no less – toying with him. He'd dreamed of similar situations before, though never with this particular woman, yet now that it was actually happening to him, he felt uneasy. His hands were practically sweating, and he was sure that the thumping within his chest was anything but normal. "Calm down," she soothed, obviously noticing his discomfort. "I put shorts on, so it's alright. Now go to sleep."

Gulping, Harry took a deep breath and turned over on his side once again. Doing his best to forget that Tonks was there, he shut his tightly and prayed that sleep would come. He jumped as he felt her hand brush against his bare back, sending a chill up his spine. "Sorry," she murmured quietly. Settling down once more, he did his best to relax, though it took several minutes more for sleep to actually come.

- - - - -

"Harry, dear! I've made breakfast!" Mrs. Weasley knocked twice on the door. "Harry?" She tapped her foot impatiently, awaiting some sort of response. Letting her food go cold was not an option, though. Gripping the doorknob, she turned it quietly, opening the door just enough that she could poke her head inside. What she saw caused her to furrow her eyes in confusion. "Tonks?" Pulling the door open wider, she stepped into the room toward the bed where lay the sleeping figure of Tonks.

Harry and Tonks both jerked upright suddenly at the sudden, harsh burst of light that the open door allowed into the room. When Harry saw Mrs. Weasley in the room and then Tonks beside him in bed, his first reaction was to lift the covers to hide his bare torso.

"Oh my... what have you..." Mrs. Weasley bent over and picked up Harry's shirt with two fingers, as if afraid to fully touch it. She then looked at Tonks, whose eyes were wide with astonishment. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, NYMPHADORA! HE'S JUST A BOY!"

Tonks quickly clambered out of bed as Mrs. Weasley swung the shirt at her. "Molly, nothing... nothing happened." She yelped as she was whipped in the side of her thigh by the t-shirt. Hopping out of Mrs. Weasley's reach, she did her best to evade the woman's vicious swipes at her.

"You were assigned to guard him, for heaven's sake! And then you... oh Merlin, I don't even want to say it."

"NOTHING HAPPENED!" Tonks screamed, tripping over the leg of the bed and toppling over onto the floor.

Mrs. Weasley finally ceased her hitting, catching her breath as she tried to let everything sink in. Harry watched in shock, trying to process what was going on as well. "Nothing happened, Mrs. Weasley," he finally breathed. The woman's head snapped toward him, the stony glare she'd held a moment ago had softened. "She just... she was just tired and there was only one bed. It was..."

"I'm sorry Molly. I was just... exhausted, but I knew I was supposed to keep an eye on him." Tonks whimpered, rubbing the red welt that was forming on her thigh.

Mrs. Weasley stood still for a moment, her gaze flickering between Harry and Tonks. Finally, she dropped the shirt on the floor and turned toward the door. "Breakfast is downstairs." The door slammed shut behind her, leaving the room's two remaining occupants sitting still in disbelief.

The silence was broken by a soft chuckle from Harry, immediately stifled by a glare from Tonks. "Don't expect that to ever happen again." She snapped, still frozen to the sitting position she'd taken on the floor.

Managing to pull himself out of the bed, Harry held in another laugh, grabbing his shirt from the floor and pulling it on over his head. He moved toward the door, grasping its handle and pulling it open. Before leaving, however, he turned back to Tonks and grinned. "Thanks for last night." With a wink, he chuckled and left the room, leaving a humiliated, red-faced Tonks in his wake.