"Harry?" Tonks asked, not believing what she was seeing.
"Hi, Tonks," Harry said quietly.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
Harry sat down on his trunk and looked up at her. "I'm of age now. The moment the clock turned midnight I left the Dursleys," Harry said miserably.
Tonks sat next to Harry. "That was incredibly dangerous of you, Harry. If you had told someone, we would have a guard to pick you up," she told him.
Harry jumped up off of the trunk. "No one cares, Tonks!" he shouted, matching the intensity of the portrait of Mrs. Black. "I've been stuck in that awful house for a month. Well, I'm of age now, and I don't consider it my home anymore!"
Tonks stood up and sighed. She took out her wand and levitated his trunk to the landing of the stairs. "Let's get out of the hallway, Harry. It's too loud," Tonks said.
Harry nodded and stroked Hedwig. As they reached the kitchen door, Molly was running up the stairs, her wand out. "Tonks, what's going…"
Harry stiffened, obviously not expecting to see Mrs. Weasley so early.
"HARRY POTTER!" Molly yelled, looking furious.
"H-Hello, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said meekly.
Molly grabbed Harry by the shoulder and walked him down the stairs and into the kitchen. Ron and Hermione jumped up at the same time and said "Harry!"
Molly sat him into a chair and looked at him coolly. "What are you doing here?" Molly asked dangerously.
"I'm of age, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said quietly. "I couldn't stay there anymore."
Tonks could hear Molly breathing loudly through her nose. "How did you get here?" she barked.
"The Knight Bus," Harry said.
"THE KNIGHT BUS!" Molly screamed.
"Molly, calm down," Tonks said.
"Calm down?" Molly said. "He risked his life by coming here, Tonks!"
"But I'm here!" Harry protested, jumping to his feet. "I'm fine!"
"Molly," Tonks said again. She was upset that Harry had snuck here in the middle of the night as well, but what's done is done.
Molly crossed her arms and sniffed. "Happy Birthday, Harry," she said finally.
Harry visibly relaxed and looked around. "What's all this?" he asked curiously.
"Surprise!" Hermione said. "We were going to throw you a surprise party."
Harry's eyes widened. "Really?" he asked eagerly. "That's so cool."
Ron looked at his mother. "We can still have the party, right?"
Molly smiled slightly. "Of course. Everything's already planned, isn't it?"
"Wicked," Ron said.
"Come on, Ron," Harry said. "My trunk's upstairs, let's go to our room."
Harry and Ron ran up the stairs, leaving Hermione, Tonks and Molly behind.
"Honestly," Hermione shook her head, "Those two…"
"Tonks?" Tonks heard Draco yell from upstairs, using the megaphone. "Can I come out for a minute?"
"Was that Draco Malfoy's voice?" Hermione asked in horror.
"Oh gods," Tonks muttered under her breath. "Arthur told Ron, didn't he Molly, that Draco was staying here?"
Molly clapped her hand over her mouth. "I was supposed to. Arthur had to work late."
"I'll sort it out," Tonks cried, running up the stairs, followed by Hermione.
"You stupid fuck!" Tonks heard Harry yell, followed by the distinct sound of a punch.
"Get the hell off of me!" Draco yelled. Tonks heard Ron curse.
"What are they doing?" Hermione asked, clearly scared.
"Time for full Auror mode," Tonks whispered to herself. She flung herself into Draco's room, wand out. Ron just punched Draco in the face and Harry kicked him in the ribs.
Tonks threw a banishing charm on both Harry and Ron. They were flung off of Draco instantly. They both looked confused for a moment and started walking back towards Draco.
Tonks waved her wand again and invisible ropes shot out, binding Draco, Harry and Ron to the floor.
"What the-" Harry asked. "Why is he here?" Harry asked, his face contorted with rage. He clearly hadn't forgotten that Draco had tried to give him to Lord Voldemort last year.
"Draco's under the Order's custody," Tonks said calmly, trying to bring everyone to their senses. She looked at Draco, who was curled up on the floor. She couldn't be sure, but it looked like he hadn't even tried defending himself.
"So you're telling me a Death Eater is living here?" Ron asked.
"I'm not a Death Eater," Draco said softly.
"Bullshit!" Harry yelled. Harry sounded much like Tonks did after she found out Draco was at her parent's house.
Draco struggled against the invisible ropes. "I'm not!" he said more forcibly.
"He'll go blabbing to his Death Eater friends were Headquarters are!" Harry cried.
"Harry, Draco doesn't even know where he is," Tonks said sharply.
Maybe Harry had never heard the tone Tonks used before. It was a very special tone of voice that she usually only used in interrogations. What ever it was, Harry suddenly stopped struggling against the invisible ropes.
Harry looked at Draco with obvious hatred in his eyes. Draco for his part was staring at the ceiling.
"I'm going to release everyone now," Tonks said. "There will be no more fighting."
Harry and Ron gave small nods. Draco didn't move. Tonks waved her wand and she felt the ropes snap back to her wand. Harry and Ron both stomped out of the room. Hermione gave a sigh, and went to follow them.
Tonks looked at Draco sadly. "Are you okay?"
Draco gave her a curt nod.
"I'm sorry," she said softly. "No one got around to telling them that you were here."
"Doesn't matter," he said, sitting up and leaning against the bed.
Tonks lowered herself to the ground and sat next to him. "It does matter," she said. "You don't deserve to be beat up."
"Maybe I do. Maybe I want them to beat me up," he said sadly.
"You don't," Tonks said.
"I don't know what I want," Draco said, looking at Tonks.
Tonks cleared her throat. "I did see Professor Snape today," she told him.
"Did you?" Draco asked.
Tonks nodded. "He says he's glad you're doing well, and that he'll be glad to talk to you when term starts."
"Good," Draco said, bringing his knees up to his chest, and hugging them.
"He gave me a few books to give you. I'll give them to you tomorrow," Tonks told him.
"Thank you," he said softly.
The cousins sat in silence for a moment. "May I have something to eat?" Draco asked finally.
"Of course," Tonks said brightly, jumping to her feet. She helped Draco up off of the floor, and together, they walked to the kitchen.
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"Happy Birthday, Harry!" the guests cried loudly.
The Parlor was packed with Order members, all wanting to celebrate Harry's birthday with him. Tonks tried to convince Severus to come, but he assured her that he was the last person Harry would want to see on his birthday.
Molly had outdone herself. The food was terrific, and the cake she made for him was absolutely stunning. Tonks made sure to bring some up to Draco. She was really beginning to feel sorry for him, bring stuck in the room all day.
The party lasted well into the night. Finally, only a few Order members were sitting around the parlor. Tonks had just opened yet another bottle of wine. Harry had had quite a few glasses, she noticed. He wasn't exactly drunk, but he definitely wasn't sober, either.
Professor Dumbledore was sitting on a couch talking to Professor McGonagall. He cleared his throat suddenly. "Harry," he started.
"Yes, sir," Harry said.
"You are of age now. There are some things that should be discussed," Albus said.
"Surely they can't wait until tomorrow," Arthur said. He was sitting on the fireplace ledge next to Molly.
"I'd like to discuss one matter now," Albus said firmly.
"What Professor?" Harry asked interestedly.
"There is the matter of Number 12, Grimmauld Place," Albus said. "Sirius left most everything to you in his will. This house now belongs to you."
Harry looked startled. "This is mine?" he asked softly.
Professor Dumbledore nodded. "You could throw us out right now, if you'd like," he said, eyes twinkling.
"But this place is still needed, right?" Harry asked. "It's still needed for Order work, isn't it?"
"It is," Albus said gravely. "I'm hoping that you will let us continue to work here."
"Why wouldn't I?" Harry asked, clearly confused. "People are living here, aren't they?" He looked at Tonks. "This is your home now, isn't it?"
Tonks laughed. "I don't know about a home," she said. "I might call it a place to live, or a residence."
"You know what I mean," Harry said. "What about Professor Lupin?"
"Harry, one of these days you'll get around to calling me Remus," Remus chuckled softly, taking a sip of wine.
"You don't have anywhere else to live, do you?" Harry asked.
"No," Remus said simply, "I don't."
"I want the Order to stay here," Harry said firmly.
"Thank you," Albus said. A silence fell over the group. No one seemed to want to continue with the celebration.
Finally, Tonks spoke out. "Did we ever toast Harry?" she asked brightly.
Several people shook their heads.
"The boy's a man now. I think he deserves a toast," Tonks raised her glass.
"To Harry Potter!" she cried.
Everyone in the room raised their glass as well.
"To Harry Potter!"
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Tonks walked groggily down the stairs a couple of mornings later. Remus was standing at the front door, holding a knapsack.
"I was hoping you'd be down," Remus said, smiling at her.
Tonks yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Where're you going?" she asked sleepily.
"I have an assignment," he said softly.
"How long?" Tonks asked.
"Past the next full moon," Remus said.
Tonks eyes widened. She knew he must be going to spend time with other werewolves; trying to convince them to join their side.
"Do you have your potion?" she asked him.
Remus shook his head. "I'm going to spend one moon cycle without it," he told her, "It will be looked at as a sign of trust."
Tonks took one of Remus' hands and gave it a squeeze. "Good luck," she said.
"Thank you," Remus said, his face full of determination. "I certainly think I will need it."
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"Noses, noses, noses," Tonks said brightly. "What have you learned about noses?"
Nata giggled. "I was able to make nose hair!" she squealed.
Tonks raised an eyebrow. "Very good thing to know when you're a man," she said seriously.
"Have you morphed into a man before?" Nata asked shyly.
Tonks laughed. "Wouldn't you?"
Nata nodded. "But a complete man?" she asked. Tonks laughed harder. She could tell what Nata really wanted to know.
"A complete man," Tonks giggled, "With a willy and everything."
"Will I learn to do that?" Nata asked, eyes wide.
"Only if you're twisted like me," Tonks joked.
"I really like your hair today," Nata said, obviously wanting to change the subject.
"Thank you," Tonks said. She was proud of this. It was shoulder length and blonde today. But there were layers of different colors underneath. It had taken her almost fifteen minutes to perfect this morning.
"I believe I asked for five noses today. Let's see them," Tonks said brightly.
She watched Nata scrunch her face. She went through the five noses. She tried hard not to laugh at nose number four, which looked exactly like Severus' nose.
"Was that Professor Snape's nose?" Tonks asked, giggling.
Nata blushed. "Yes," she said. "I don't like him very much."
"Not many people do like him as a teacher," Tonks said honestly. She had hated him as a teacher when she was at school.
"He's pretty mean," Nata said.
Tonks sighed. How was it that he could be so awful to students, but so loving to Tonks? It was a mystery.
They continued through the lesson. Nata was learning very quickly. Tonks was extremely proud of her. "Next lesson, we're going to start changing heights and maybe even weights," Tonks told her.
Nata nodded eagerly. "Great!"
Tonks said her goodbyes and left for her shift at Azkaban, hoping it would be a quiet night.