A/N: Sorry for keeping you waiting so long! Though as I know myself, I'm gonna repeat this… can't stick with only one story too long… got to do a few at time and the inspiration comes randomly…
I think I actually like this chapter – the dialogue, the characters and the way a lot is hinted but nothing too explicit… Should've stopped bragging a line above… Enjoy and review.
Brynn

Chapter 10: Felix

Tonks was a great teacher. She was patient, saw the mistakes he was making, and didn't mind showing him repeatedly how it was supposed to be done...

'Wait, what was that thought?' Harry stared at the young woman in front of him as though he was seeing her for the first time. 'Yes. That might work.' Meanwhile she noticed that he was scrutinising her, head to toes to head...

'Better than if Hogwarts were to see the fifth Death Eater Professor.'

She gaped back.

"Tonks, how would you like being a teacher?" he asked. Her jaw fell. Then she unfroze and burst in laughter.

"Teacher? I? Oh no, no, Harry..." she couldn't stop laughing. Apparetnly she thought he was making fun of her.

He gave her the most earnest look he could muster while she was holding her belly and shaking so mightily that the armchair she sat in copied those movements.

"I mean it. You're great. Wouldn't you-"

"No. No way. Look, Harry, I am not good at keeping control over anything but my morphing. There's no way I could manage a class. And, anyway, for an Auror I am lousy in the finer parts of Defence-"

"I didn't mean DADA," Harry interrupted agitatedly. "I meant Transfiguration."

Tonks went back to gaping at him, addle-brained. For a while it almost seemed as though she considered the idea.

"Theoretically. It might be fun... But there's McGonagall, isn't she? You're far better off with her." She put her feet on the table to demonstrate just how childish and unfit for a person of authority she was and nibbled on the tip of a Liquorice Wand.

"No, she's not. Doesn't have time with all Head's duties. And she can't find anyone."

The hand in which Tonks held the fake wand dropped and Harry had a particularly disgusting view of what it looked like half-chewed. Fortunately the woman remembered to close her mouth in the span of few seconds.

"You're not implying-"

Harry snickered. He feebly reminded himself of Dumbledore. But whatever, if Hogwarts had to choose between a Ministry bugbear and a skillful, though eccentric young Auror, she wouldn't hesitate before picking the latter.

"You bet I am."

"No," she refused flatly. But Harry wouldn't give up so easily, not when she already admitted that she might appreciate the chance.

"We need you, Tonks. Hogwarts needs you."

She glared at him, furiously biting on the unsuspecting sweet stick.

"Who are you? McGonagall's personal agitator?"

"And if I am?" He raised his eyebrows. Tonks resumed gaping.

"I- You- "

"Think about it, please. They will try to get us a clerk, and that only in the case no Death Eater would want the job."

She sighed and shook her head.

"No, Harry. I am an Auror."

"Please. Think about it."

popopopopo

Tonks indeed had her job and thus was forced to leave soon thereafter. However, Harry didn't have time to sulk about being left alone again, because he fell asleep almost immediately. He was still ill, his body weakened and, even if he didn't feel it while having fun, all the exertion took its toll.

Days came and went.

The next morning Harry woke up feeling considerably better, though still not fit. Fawkes had 'left him to rest' and Harry spent a mildly enjoyable time reading.

He missed company. He was getting spoilt.

Finally, the morning after the evening when Harry started thinking he would remain there sole until the start of term because everybody had forgotten about him, he woke up to a shrill screech. Quite unexpectedly, his face lit up with smile.

'Morning, Your Featherness – no drills! I hate drills! Ouch!'

Fawkes drove Harry out of the bed, out of the room and out of the castle, while the boy complained about dentists' cruelty. He had never suffered the touch of a burr-drill and the phoenix obviously thought it was a good experience for life.

'How does a bird know what that feels like?' Harry wondered, but shielded those thoughts from Fawkes, because drill was even worse than toddy. The warm-up seemed somewhat longer to him that day as his body weaned for physical training. But he endured it as he always did; it was nowhere near the pain of exercise when he had started.

Trudging back to the gate, with Fawkes soaring not so far away, Harry brought up the subject his mind had dwelled on for the long days of solitude.

'You had promised to accompany me to Grimmauld Place-'

'Did you change your mind?' the phoenix asked surprised. It proved the statement about Harry's advance in Occlumency right.

'Of course not. I'd like to press it – see, I'm healthy now. If prepared to face the reality I don't know, but I wasn't a bit more prepared in the past so let's get on with it if you ask me…'

Fawkes's mind voice laughed in Harry's head. It was a nice laughter, rich and merry.

'This wish of yours is my command, Mr Potter. Contact me as soon as you make yourself presentable.'

Harry replied with a mocking bow to the phoenix and escaped before it decided he could use more drills.

popopopopo

"Why here? Why not straight to the Library?" Harry asked, frowning, when his feet hit the floor of the Hall. He had to go all the way up the stairs now…

'Because Albus is somewhat busy at the moment. I suggest you go and cherish the company of your friends for a while… I'll call for you.'

In the following silence, Harry looked around. The place had changed again. Torch-holders and lanterns were installed instead of candlesticks, though those weren't removed yet. He made a mental note to inform Bill, or whoever else was responsible for the reconstruction, to keep them where they were. After all, it was his house.

He cracked his fingers and smirked. All the candles in the hallway lit up and he felt a jolt of childish jolliness. Why such a thing seemed so funny to him remained a mystery, but it was one of his smaller oddities. At least he didn't carry about a blue fire in a jar.

"You?"

Harry sharply turned around and faced the wall that once used to be occupied by Mrs Black's portrait. Nigellus stood there, glaring at him from the painting with the broomstick. For one short moment of shock Harry thought it was a portrait of the man and wondered who in their right mind would hang it there. It wasn't much improvement compared to the previous one… but then his mind switched on and he noticed how different Nigellus's colours were, that he didn't fit into the slightly too-large surroundings and, honestly, you couldn't fly well in such attire…

"I thought that Andromeda's bastard was bad enough to put up with, but to have you around…" grunted the two-dimensional man and ran a hand through his hair melodramatically. "I'd retire, but… wait, I already have retired!"

"Can I help you?" Harry asked politely, but coldly.

"Why would you?" barked Nigellus and walked out of the picture, briefly flashing in the panorama above the portal.

"Indeed, why," Harry muttered and glared after the man. "Are all Slytherins such gits?"

"You can bet," said a voice from the landing above the first flight of stairs. Ron looked around, checking if anybody was watching and after confirming that the air was clear, he sat on the railing and slid down. He obviously tried to jump off spectacularly, but it somehow didn't work and the redhead found himself face in the carpet. Harry took pity of him and helped him up.

"Hullo, mate. Haven't seen you in a long time."

"It wasn't so long… Seems that you're bored," said Harry. If it was so bad that Ron started developing style in sliding down a railing, he was being kept much too short.

"Yeah. Say that aloud. Scream it. But I'm afraid nothing happens anyway… At least it didn't work for me." The redhead sighed and slumped down on the second lowest stair. "Hardly anything moves here. People are Apparating straight into the third floor and we are practically forbidden to go there. I hardly ever see anyone these days. I tried to go to the girls room, but Hermione put some charm on it and you know her charms…"

Harry nodded.

"Yeah. I wouldn't risk breaking one of those."

Ron shivered.

"Exactly. Well, Ginny wasn't in the lab, cause there was Mione and she threw a pencil at me when I disturbed her… She is mad about not having access to the Black Library; Dumbledore has virtually booked it."

'You can book a Library?'

"There's no one else here?"

"No. Just Bill, and he's up. I…" He hushed. Harry gave him a quizzical stare and eventually Ron decided to speak, pushing off the stair and leading the way to his bedroom.

"I think that I saw somebody yesterday. Somebody who shouldn't have been here, I mean."

"Who?" Harry inquired, though sceptical. He would sooner believe that Ron was being paranoid than that the Death Eaters (the Ministry not to speak about) would be able to infiltrate the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.

"Dunno. I've never met her before. That's why… Don't look at me like that. I'm not crazy." Ron was frowning at him. Harry smiled apologetically.

"Sorry."

The scowl didn't change.

"You've said weirder things and they were true," Ron muttered grumpily.

"I suppose… Look, don't worry. I'll ask Dumbledore; I'm just stopping by on the way to him." But it seemed that even that information wasn't enough to console his friend.

"Yeah. Should have known you wouldn't come just to see us. It's always Dumbledore this, Dumbledore that-"

Harry sighed heavily. Ron was being so annoying that he felt like telling him to go to his room and think and come back when he was calm enough to present his conclusions, but he wasn't such a bastard as to tell his friend something like that. He rather shook his head and quietly spoke.

"Do you really think I wouldn't like to spend the holidays with you here? I'm glad that I can be here for this short while, not secluded in a deserted castle. If it means I have to go and see Dumbledore…" He gulped. As the meeting neared he was becoming nervous. He wished he could hide and not have to face the ghost again; he wasn't sure what to tell to him, how to act. Sure, he could pretend that nothing happened, but that would mean not being true to himself and… was it worth it?

'It is. After all, McGonagall tried to explain that to me repeatedly. Alright. I can keep my mouth shut and my head down… For twenty minutes. Hopefully.'

"Sorry, mate," Ron said, seeing his expression "I guess you have it worse." He halted abruptly and Harry amost bumped into him.

Coming to meet them was Ginny, grim-looking and staring at her watch. She wore a strange robe – black, embroidered with white thread. There were no actual pictures, but the lines somehow attracted attention…

"Harry! You're here! Perfect!" She glanced at her watch one more time and then up at the two boys. "Meet me in the lab in… ninety seconds." She added to her pace and stormed past Ron and Harry, aiming downstairs. Her brother laughed shortly.

"I mean it!" Ginny yelled in a voice that didn't permit disobedience. Harry felt that something was going on, something important, and it would be better for everyone if they were in the laboratory in ninety seconds.

He glanced at Ron and nodded, turned about and ran after the girl, who meanwhile disappeared out of sight. Dumbledore would have to wait, but he didn't seem to find it in himself to feel bad about it. It meant that he had a longer time until having to meet him. Ron landed next to him in a squat, having gained speed by sliding down instead of running.

"What do you think-"

"I have no idea," Harry replied truthfully.

popopopopo

The door slammed shut behind him, seemingly by itself, and Harry found himself standing in a small circle consisting of himself, Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Crookshanks. The room sinisterly resembled Hogwarts' dungeons, particularly the Potions classroom. It was furred by tiles of grey stone and apart from inbuilt cabinetes featured two wall-to-wall desks, a sink, and a chandalier.

A perfect place for a secret meeting.

"So why are-" Ron started, but Ginny cut in.

"Not yet." She kept staring at the watch and her lips moved a bit as she soundlessly counted. "Fifty-nine, sixty – now." She looked up. Hermione checked the lock and nodded in confirmation.

"So why-" Ron attempted to start again, much with the same result.

"We have privacy for seven minutes. From everyone-" she added in Harry's direction. He raised an eyebrow but she just waved her hand as though trying to say he should stop being a jerk and try to understand, so she won't have to explain everything. With a rather great but well-masked shock he realised she knew about Fawkes, about the way the phoenix could look into people's minds and probably about the way it kept and eye on him, too. And she didn't want to consult it in front of the other three. He would very much like to talk it over, but it could wait. At least until they were out of that room.

"I have a few messages from Bill. First, don't attack anyone in this house. That is important."

"Like who?" Ron asked daftly. Harry suppressed a sigh – if it wasn't Ron, who had seen some stranger and freaked out, it would be comprehensible, but this was a bit too unobservant. Since the boy fell in love he had forgotten how to think.

"Like Snape," Hermione suggested, "he must have found out we know about him."

"I'd say Dumbledore had told him," Harry said, choosing not to explain how did the ghost found out. Before anybody had inquired, Ginny corrected Hermione's presumption.

"Of course he does know, but it's not only Snape. It is anyone, no matter if you know that person or not-"

Ron finally caught on.

"I saw somebody yesterday-"

Ginny paled.

"Don't tell me you hurt her-"

"Whom?" Hermione cut in.

"Tonks."

"Tonks is here?" asked several voices at once. There was a relative silence when Ginny sighed and leant back against one of the desk. Very slowly, to indicate how patient she was being she spoke.

"Yes, Tonks is here."

Hermione and Ron gaped at her, probably wondering why didn't they know, why did the woman disguise herself, why was she staying out of sight…

"What happened?" Harry asked quietly, receiving looks just as pzzled as those Ginny did a while ago. He had talked to the young Auror just few days prior and she didn't indicate anything was wrong.

"She gave notice."

"What? Why?" Hermione asked for all of them.

"The Ministry is doing some nasty repercussions against werevolves. It's been Scrimegour's idea; I think it's supposed to be some sort of revenge. They must have found out about Greyback in Hogwarts and put together with the attacks before..."

Harry had a nasty feeling he knew where she was aiming.

"And Scrimegour claims all werevolves are evil. He'll stand them in a line and shoot them," he said grimly.

"That's a bit stretched-" Hermione protested, despite her undeniable intelligence still naïve enough to believe in the good intentions of authorities. Harry had long since passed that stage.

"No, it's accurate," Ginny opposed. Her eyes blazed with hatred. Obviously she shared Harry's opinion.

"Yeah, I think I can picture him doing it. But I meant it metaphorically. So what- Aha." It was suddenly too clear to him. His insides burnt with anger and loathing and he felt just like Ginny had at that moment.

"Bastard," he muttered. Ginny grievously nodded. Hermione kept glancing between them nervously and quietly, as though afraid not to provoke either of the seething pair, moved to the far side of the desk. She stirred a jar of gold liquid standing there, three times clockwise. The brew let out a purr and she beamed at it, before returning back to the group.

"So when they ordered her to arrest Remus - you can imagine. She broke some Ministry property and then flatly refused," Ginny continued with a strange contempt in her voice.

"They threatened to chuck her," inserted Ron, who, once he kicked his internal mechanics on had the capability to come to some clever conclusions. The difference between that and his usual slow perception kept baffling Harry ever since he knew the boy.

"So she gave notice. On the spot," Ginny completed. Harry shook his head in disbelief. Scrimegour had proven himself to be slimy cold heartless git before, but he would never have expected the ex-Auror to sink so low. His meaning of all Aurors had been so high; they were brave, courageous fighters for the Light... weren't they?

Suddenly he felt that his career needed reappraising. He didn't want to be an Auror if it meant he would have to obey orders of someone like Scrimegour.

"Kingsley is, fortunately, working with Muggles, so he doesn't have to take part in that... It's horrible..." Ginny muttered under her breath. Harry agreed.

"He's vile. Reminds me of Crouch, but I think Scrimegour is yet worse."

She glanced at him questioningly, but Ron and Hermione thoughtlessly nodded, most likely not having listened to him.

"Why is she hiding from us?" Ron asked, attracting his sister's attention.

"She's hiding from other people that might come here."

"Other people like who?"

Ginny scowled.

"Use your head. If you can't figure it out on your own then you don't need to know." However, it wasn't clear to Harry either. Was Tonks hiding from the Ministry wizards? Some of them were members of the Order, but they put the good cause first, even before law. And he was sure nobody there really liked Scrimegour. They just pretended to, to avoid suspicion… Or did she want to protect them, in the case they were questioned?

It didn't make sense. Unless…

He looked up at her. She nodded.

"I should have known he wouldn't just disappear," Harry muttered with annoyance, "it would make my life too good. Is he coming often?"

Ron was for once able to keep up and looked over at Ginny for the response. The girl nodded, her eyes looking at him sadly. He despised Snape, but even so didn't think his pure existence was a reason to cry… Although, maybe it was.

"But never stays more than few minutes. I guess he's afraid they might track him."

"Who are you talking about?" Hermione asked daftly, obviously at a nonplus.

"We don't really know much about the way the Dark Mark works," Ginny continued ignoring the question, eliciting a gasp of comprehension from the other girl. It was rare to see Hermione being the last to understand something, but Harry noticed that her mind was on something else now, preventing her from fully concentrating at the conversation. She occasionally glanced to the back of the room to check at the jar with the gold liquid.

"-but obviously it isn't strong enough to overcome the Fidelius Charm."

"Who's the Secret Keeper now?" Harry asked. Ginny gave a small smile.

"How am I supposed to know that? It seems that no one but Dumbledore and his confidante knows. But somehow he managed to hand over the Keepership without having to re-inform all members about the address."

"That's a feat!" Ron whistled with an expression of reverence. Both Ginny and Harry agreed. Hermione was once again next to the jar, taking care of the purring potion in it.

"Back to the point – don't hurt Tonks, whatever shape she takes on. I'll try to make her come to us; she could morph into mum or Fred or George… even if he saw her he wouldn't know…"

But this time Harry didn't agree.

"She knows what is she doing. I suppose F- Dumbledore told her to keep away from the part of house he is visiting. He's a strong Legilimens."

She ingested that bit of information and sighed wearily.

"Then I guess that plan wouldn't work… So I'll have to do it the harder way and go to her."

"Or she could come to Hogwarts. Why didn't she come there? It's one place you can be sure he won't turn up. She could keep me company-"

"Because the Ministry will look there as one of the first places," Ron said.

"Then she could pretend to be you-"

"The Ministry has Legilimenses too. And Veritaserum," Ron objected. Harry sighed. Yes, hiding from one person was easier than hiding from a squad of Aurors who knew you for years and could anticipate the way you were thinking…

"Let's leave that decision to Bill," Ginny closed the matter. Glancing at her watch she confirmed that their seven minutes were almost over.

"Anyway, why are they looking for her?" Harry wondered. Surely just giving notice wasn't a crime…

"I understood that the property she broke was expensive and important. Apart from being demaned to pay for it someone suggested she might have tried to sabotage the investigation-" "Merlin!" Ron inserted, suddenly sickly pale.

"-and you know how the Ministry treats even unlikely suspects these days."

"Chucks them into Azkaban," Ron answered unnecessarily.

"She'd need a new identity – she can't go out while she is wanted without one. And Dumbledore can't let her rot here like he did it to Sirius," Harry growled, inserting all his current feelings towards the ex-Headmaster into the sentence. He felt his body pulling at itself, wanting to morph as he was getting angry. However, when conscious of it, Harry could quite well prevent it from doing so.

'So this is what Tonks talked about – that I'll have a better control over it once the effect of the initial shock from the 'substance' wears off…' It was one of many things she had explained to him during their scarce sessions.

"Yeah," Ron confirmed.

"Don't you worry. Bill's got everything in his grip and I promise you that Tonks will be alright," Ginny assured them. Maybe it was just his impression, but Harry had the feeling he was the only one who thought that she didn't have the power to keep such promise. But, maybe Bill did have. And he was convinced that, in the end, Tonks was quite capable of managing on her own.

"What you should worry about is the school – Harry, Dumbledore wants to talk to you about this matter, so you can go if you want to. The rest of this is only for Ron and Hermione-"

For a split-second Harry's eyes swayed to Mione in the back of the room – she turned to him sharply and her elbow impacted with the jar, sending it to the floor. More out of instinct that thinking he had a chance to catch it he leapt forward-

Startled by hearing him approaching Hermione sharply turned to him and her elbow impacted with the jar, sending it to the floor. In Harry's extended hands.

He caught it, eyes wide with shock. Slowly, as though to ensure he wouldn't destroy anything, Harry stood up and put the glass jar on the desk.

"Thanks," Hermione said, the relief flooding over her after she realised that her prized concoction wasn't spilled. The gold liquid bubbled amusedly.

"What was that?" Ginny asked, eyes narrowed in slits, piercing him with suspicious gaze.

"I saw it falling," Harry mumbled, feigning indifference. He wasn't sure what just happened. "I guess I'll be going then…"

"Oh no, wait," Hermione called and pulled a carton box out of a drawer. "It's done. Give me a minute-" She begun waving her wand over the box and the jar in a complex pattern. The gold liquid started swirling around, as though an invisible hand with an invisible ladle was stirring it. In very thin, almost invisible streams it begun to abandon the glass, aiming into the box. It took more than the requested one minute but eventually Hermione let her wand drop and wiped the sweat off her forehead.

"Done. Take these." She passed him a smaller box, filled with tiny golden oval objects.

"What is it?"

"Capsules of Felix Felicis. According to my calculation one should last about five minutes. In the case you… will be gone away once the term starts."

Harry gaped at the box. That was… unexpected. He glanced up at her.

"How did you think about this?"

"Actually, you gave me that idea. When you left the rest of your vial to us in June and… You know, we all came out unharmed. We want you to get out unharmed. So…" She shrugged.

"Thanks." He turned about and walked over to the exit, when he caught Ginny's glance. She smiled knowingly; it made her look much older than she really was. Unhealthy sort of older.

"Thanks," Harry said again, realising whose idea the potion was, and, finally, left his friends to find out what the near future was going to bring for him.