Tonks was worried. Draco had been up in his room for four hours now, and hadn't made a sound. They had given a special megaphone to speak into if he needed anything. She decided to go up and see if he was allright.
Tonks knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" he asked.
"Your cousin. Can I come in?" she asked through the door.
"Whatever."
Tonks opened the door. Draco was laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. "I have a present for you," she said, holding out the bag containing the dressing gown she had bought him.
"Why?" he asked, sitting up on his bed.
"Why not?" Tonks shrugged. "Differences aside Draco, we're family. We might as well try to get along." She handed him the bag. He opened it and looked at the dressing gown.
"Thanks," he said softly.
"I'm sure it's not as nice as what you had at the Manor…" Tonks started.
Draco interrupted her. "Don't ever speak of that place," he said, eyes flashing.
"Excuse me?" Tonks asked.
"I'm never going back there," he said softly. "I don't care if Mum and Dad are released and they want me back. I'm not going. But they never will be released because I will testify against them and make sure they're not." Draco's words were tumbling over each other.
"Allright then," Tonks said good-naturedly. She could see how upset Draco was getting.
"Thank you," he said again, looking right at her. "Where I am?" he asked after a moment's silence.
Tonks sighed. She was remembering what she was allowed to tell him. "You're at the Headquarters of The Order of the Phoenix. You know about the Order?"
Draco nodded. "Dumbledore's group."
"Right," Tonks answered.
"Isn't anybody worried that I'll spill all the secrets when I get back to school?" he asked.
Tonks shrugged. "Not really," she told him. "First of all, you have no idea where you are. Second, there is a secret keeper for Headquarters and you don't know who it is. Not much you could tell them."
"You're right," Draco said.
"Draco, a lot of people come and go, and some people are living here now," she told him, wanting to give him a heads-up. "The Weasley family is staying here for the summer. If I were you, if I saw one of the kids, I would hightail it back into my room."
"Why? I can defend myself against the Weasels," he sneered.
"Lovely attitude Draco," she said, then having a realization. "Draco, while you were in Azkaban, the Weasley's home was destroyed by Death Eaters. They lost everything."
"Oh," Draco said, bringing his knees up to his chest.
"I'm going to warn the kids, let them know you're here. Who knows Arthur might have already told them," Tonks said.
"Great. This is just great," he muttered.
"Well," Tonks said brightly. "Look at the alternative."
"That's not funny, Tonks," he said.
"You're right. I'm sorry," she said. The funny thing was, she was sorry. He was having a rough time; she shouldn't be throwing that back into his face. "Do you need anything?"
"Maybe a book?" he asked hopefully.
"Sure, that's no problem. I'm going to Hogwarts this afternoon. I'll pick something up then," she said easily.
"Hogwarts? Can you do me a favor?" Draco asked.
"I can try," Tonks answered.
"If you see Professor Snape there…tell him I'm fine," Draco said.
Tonks looked at him sharply. "Tell Professor Snape that you're fine. Check," she said uneasily.
"I'm leaving Headquarters now. Remus is here if you need anything," she said, getting off of the bed.
Just as she put her hand on the handle, she heard, "I hate them, you know."
She turned around and looked at him. "Who?" she asked.
"Mother and Father. I was just a stupid pawn in their stupid game," he said softly. "Why couldn't I have been enough? Why couldn't we have just been a family?"
"I don't know, Draco. I just don't know," she said softly, and then quietly closed the door behind her.
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To say Tonks was curious about Draco's comment about Professor Snape was an understatement. She marched straight into her room and flooed over to Severus' bedchamber. She was almost half amazed when she got through.
"Given up on the potion, have you?" Tonks joked, picking herself off of the floor. Severus was sitting on the small couch in his bedchamber, looking at several books.
"Dora!" he said in surprise, standing up. "Don't you have work today?"
"I have to leave in an hour," she said, giving him a kiss. She plopped on the couch and pulled his arm, so that he would join her.
"What have you heard about Draco?" she asked.
"Has he been moved to Headquarters yet?" he asked, looking exhausted.
"This morning," Tonks said, stroking his hand. "I just spoke to him. He has a message for you."
"A message?" Severus asked warily.
Tonks nodded. "I'm supposed to tell you that he's fine."
"I see," Severus said softly.
"Why does Draco want you to know that he's fine?" Tonks asked dangerously.
Severus sighed. "Because I'm his godfather, Dora," Severus told her.
Tonks jaw dropped. "And you never thought to tell me his little bit of information?" Tonks asked.
"What good would it have done?" Severus said.
"It would have been the truth," Tonks said, hurt that he kept something like this a secret from her.
Severus closed his eyes. "The truth. Dora, with everything that happened last year, would it have helped you in any way knowing that Lucius Malfoy and I are cousins?" he said quietly.
Tonks couldn't find her voice for a few moments. "No, it wouldn't have. I don't know if I could have handled that then," she said truthfully.
Severus opened his eyes and put his hand to her cheek. "I just was waiting for the right time to tell," he said.
"Draco's pretty upset right now. He could use a father figure, Severus," Tonks said, running her fingers through his shoulder length hair. She grinned to herself. He must have bought a new shampoo. His hair felt wonderful.
"Well, there's a bit of a problem with that, Dora," Severus said.
"What's the problem? He needs to know someone cares about him," Tonks said eagerly.
"Dora, Draco thinks I'm a loyal servant to the Dark Lord. He and I have had conversations about how great it is to be working for him right under Professor Dumbledore's nose," Severus told her.
"Ah, I see," Tonks said, "Probably not the best idea for him to see you at Headquarters then. I know my mum trusts him, but too much information…"
"Exactly," Severus said. "Most of his gang is pretty upset with him. He's going to have a rough time back. Albus is even talking about having him switch houses."
"That's probably a very good idea," Tonks said. "He wouldn't go to Gryffindor, would he?"
Severus shook his head. "Ravenclaw. He's very smart when he wants to be," Severus said.
They sat in silence for a few moments when a horrible thought flashed through Tonks head. "Are we cousins?" she asked, putting her hand over her mouth.
Severus shook his head, "No."
"Are you sure? Draco's my cousin, and he's your second cousin…" Tonks trailed off. She knew a great deal of second cousins married in the wizarding world, but she really didn't want to.
"We're related by marriage only, Dora. My mother and Lucius' father were brother and sister. Lucius is only related to you through marriage," a grin spread across his face. "When I realized how I felt about you, I checked."
Tonks started laughing. "You checked?"
"I checked both our family trees. We're related through marriage only, no blood ties," he said, putting his arm around her.
"Thank goodness. I don't know how many other surprises I could handle today," Tonks joked.
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At eleven o'clock that evening, Tonks returned from her shift at Azkaban. She wasn't surprised that Headquarters was still bustling. She walked down to the kitchen and saw Molly baking, and Ron and Hermione decorating.
"What's going on?" Tonks asked.
"Harry's birthday is tomorrow, Tonks," Molly said. "We're throwing him a surprise party!"
"I love parties!" Tonks said excitedly. "How can I help?"
Hermione and Molly shared a look. Tonks sighed, knowing they didn't want her help, thinking she would break something.
"Why don't you blow up balloons?" Ron said.
"Thank you, Ron," Tonks said happily. She settled herself at the kitchen table and picked up some balloons.
"Muggle way or magic way?" Tonks joked.
Ron looked at her curiously. "What's the muggle way?"
Tonks picked up a balloon, and tried to fill it up. The balloon acted liked she was doing nothing. "Let's try that again," she said. She tried filling the balloon up again. This time, the balloon expanded quickly, and became much too big. So big, that Tonks accidentally released the balloon. She watched in horror as the balloon speed around the room. Her head followed the balloon that was losing air quickly, finally settle on top of Molly's head.
Tonks brought her hands to her mouth. "I'm sorry, Molly!" she cried.
Molly smiled at her. "Better my head, than the cake," she said.
"Wicked," Ron said, "I like the muggle way better."
Tonks decided to change the subject. "How's Harry coming here?" she asked.
"Arthur and I are going to pick him up," Molly said.
"He's not staying here till school, is he?" Tonks asked. Surely, she would have been told if he was staying here.
"No," Molly said sadly. "He'll be here just for the evening. Professor Dumbledore said that he shouldn't stay here yet."
"Too bad," Tonks said.
"I know," Ron said. "I just hope he handles it okay."
"He did last summer," Hermione said, stroking Ron's cheek. Tonks suppressed a giggle watching Molly's face at their interaction. It was obvious that Molly was thrilled that Ron and Hermione were together.
The four of them worked for the next hour on the party. Molly seemed determined that Harry would have a wonderful birthday this year.
Just as Tonks was going to ask Molly if Ron and Hermione knew that Draco was here, there was a loud crash followed by a thud upstairs in the hallway. On instinct, everyone in the kitchen took out their wands.
"I'm going upstairs," Tonks said.
"Ron and Hermione, put your wands away," Molly said briskly.
Hermione complied but Ron hissed, "I'm of age, Mum!"
"Stay here," Tonks said. "If I need backup, I'll let you know."
Tonks walked up the stairs and opened the door.
"TRAITORS!!!! SCUM OF THE EARTH!!! MUDBLOODS!!!!"
Tonks sighed. Sirius' Mum had woken up again. Her wand at the ready, she slowly walked towards the main hallway.
"Hello?" she asked cautiously.
"Tonks?" a voice asked.
"Who's there?" Tonks asked. But by the time she asked the question, she didn't need the answer.
Harry Potter was standing in the middle of the hallway, his trunk by his side, and Hedwig on his shoulder.