Harry woke up after a decent night's sleep trying to figure out where he was. He looked around the gloomy room trying to place where he had seen it before.
Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. He was at Grimmauld Place; and he was engaged. The previous day's memories slowly came back to him as he sat and found his glasses on the small desk next to the couch.
The more he thought about it the less it bothered him. Yeah, he was only 15 right now and would barely turn 16 on his wedding day, but surprisingly that didn't really bother him. He had a feeling that if their relationship continued the way it had yesterday than everything would turn out ok for both of them.
He was startled to hear about Tonks' time in school, and was rather pissed off at the person to spread those rumors about her. She was too nice of a person to have to deal with something like that. And it obviously scarred her for the rest of her life. He never had any intention of asking Tonks to change her appearance. He liked her just fine the way she was and saw no need to make any 'improvements.'
He figured that if anyone should be sore about this deal it should be her. After all he was a shorter than average 15 year old with untamable black hair, stupid glasses that haven't been changed since he was 8, and barely enough meat on his bones to keep him alive. Not to mention all of the hate mail she is going to receive and the possible impact this could have on her job.
All considered he got the better end of the deal. He gets to marry a gorgeous older woman, who is an Auror and a metamorphagus. These thoughts kept him company on his way down to the kitchen.
When he arrived the kitchen was already full of people. All of the Weasley's, minus Percy, Hermione, Remus, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Tonks, and even Dumbledore himself made an appearance for breakfast. He figured that Dumbledore was only there to provide him a way to get back to Privet Drive. He seriously doubted that Dumbledore would let him travel with anything other than a portkey.
He took his seat next to Tonks and gave her a smile and quick, 'Good Morning,' which she gladly returned. She seemed to be excited about spending some time with Harry. 'She won't be so excited once she actually meets my family. I hardly think they will welcome her into the family with open arms.' He decided a more thorough warning about what to expect from his relatives would be a good thing before they actually left for Privet Drive.
Talk at the table was mostly subdued and centered on the adults at the table with Tonks telling Kingsley and Remus that she was taking a month's leave from the ministry and the Order. Ron sat by himself near where Mrs. Weasley was still cooking more food for anybody that may arrive late for breakfast. Ginny and Hermione sat next to each other and were having a whispered conversation, while Ron kept looking daggers at the pair of them. It was apparent that Hermione had told Ginny of how her brother acted after she left the meeting and Ginny clearly did not approve of it.
Ginny still would not meet Harry's eyes during the meal but she did give him a small smile. It looked like whatever Hermione had been whispering to her put her in slightly better mood. Hermione, for her part, acted like nothing out of the ordinary happened. She proceeded to talk to Harry about how excited she was to get her OWL results at the end of the month. Harry halfheartedly participated in the conversation since there was no one else to talk to.
Breakfast concluded with Dumbledore requesting a conversation with Harry and Tonks. They stayed seated and waited for the room to clear. Dumbledore produced the same pen that he had take from the Dursley's to bring Harry here and handed it to Harry with that damn twinkle in his eyes.
"I am guessing that your relatives would like to have this back. This portkey will activate at 10:00." Dumbledore said before turning to Tonks.
"Ms. Tonks I assume that you would probably like an hour or so to collect your belongings from your apartment?"
"That would probably be for the best Albus. I won't need it soon anyways. It's not big enough for the both of us to live there even after the wedding."
"Very well then. I am also assuming that you know your way to Privet Drive."
"Yes, I was on guard duty a few times last year."
"Good. Then as soon as you are done with your packing head on over to Privet Drive. I will keep in contact with both of you during the time you are there. If either of you need anything don't hesitate to ask." With that Dumbledore stood up and apparated away.
"Tonks, I think I should warn you about my relatives." Harry started with a grim expression on his face. "I can tell you upfront not to take anything they say seriously. They are horrid people that will say as many derogatory things about you and to you that they can manage. It's nothing personal against you, but I think you should be aware of what you are about to walk into. They will not take another magical person living in the house easily. In fact you may want to keep your wand handy to keep them in line about it."
"I have a few ideas on how to keep them in line. Their behavior at King's Cross was discussed a bit after you had gone. Don't worry about them too much. I can handle whatever they can dish up. Remember, dear, I am a fully trained Auror." Tonks replied with a mischievous glint in her eye.
Harry went up to his room to grab the small bag that contained his clothes so that he would be ready when the portkey activated. Ron wasn't in the room so he didn't have to bother with any awkward situation yet. He took his bag down to the sitting room and just sat on the couch waiting to wait for the portkey to activate.
He only had to wait five minutes before it activated and he was dropped right in the middle of the living room. Normally the Dursley's would have been more than a little angry at this but it was nothing compared to the amount of anger he actually received. He knew that his relatives didn't like him but apparently their hatred was taken to a new level altogether. Then he realized why…..
Marge Dursley had always loved her brother and his wife. She knew that they were upstanding members of the community and that Vernon made an honest living while working for Grunnings. The only thing she despised about his family was that runt nephew of his wife. He was turning out to be a good for nothing beggar just like his parents were. It was all the parents fault. It had to be. How could it be Vernon and Petunia's fault when they raised such a fine young man like Dudley?
She noticed that the boy was nowhere to be found. He had not been invited to Dudley's boxing match yesterday. That would have been disastrous, she knew. Yet she was surprised to find that he was not even at Privet Drive when they all returned late last night. The entire house was empty. Vernon came out of the kitchen and grumbled something to his wife about the boy staying with some freak friends of his and not returning until Monday.
Needless to say everyone was very happy to not have to deal with the delinquent for now. They took the boy's trunk out of his room and put it in the cupboard underneath the stairs. They decided that since he was not there then Marge could use his room. Not that it mattered if he was there. They would have thrown him under the stairs with his trunk.
They had just finished breakfast and were sitting down to have a nice chat in the living room when from out of nowhere the boy appeared in the middle of the living room and crashed to the floor. It wasn't physically possible. How could he not be there one second and be there the next. It can't happen. But it did.
Marge sat there gaping like a fish trying to comprehend what she had just seen. Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley were just as shocked as she was to see him appear out of thin air. Vernon and Petunia's shock instantly turned to anger when they realized what happened and her Dudders just reached underneath him and had his hands on his enormous rear end. That was when Vernon exploded.
"What in the ruddy hell do you think you are doing boy? You are never to use that unnaturalness near us. And now look what you have done. Marge has seen you use your freak powers again. By the time I get through with you this time they wont recognize you, you worthless piece of shit. Get over here." Vernon reached out to grab him.
Harry dodged his hand and kept keeping distance between himself and his uncle. He had never seen him this angry before and that was saying something. He knew that he couldn't use magic on his family; he hoped he could hold out long enough for Tonks to arrive. This was definitely not the way he wanted to start out the conversation he had to have with his aunt and uncle.
He tired of running from his uncle quickly. His aunt was trying to calm down Marge, who still had no idea what the hell was going on, while Dudley watched his uncle chase his cousin with some sort of morbid fascination. Vernon finally snagged Harry and grabbed him by the back of his neck.
"Boy! You're going to your room and you will not be let out until Marge leaves. Any more freakish stuff around here and you won't get out until you go back to that freak school. You're lucky that I'm too tired to punish you anymore than that, and you know what I am talking about." Vernon roared as loud as he could while still being out of breath from the chases.
Harry just hung his head in acceptance since his uncle was still much stronger than him. He couldn't even manage to evade him for very long. A lingering reminder of how much he had suffered from his years at the Dursley's. Neither Harry nor Vernon notice the pink haired woman staring slack jawed from the stairway as his uncle led him towards the cupboard under the stairs.
"Just what in the hell do you think your doing, Dursley? Let go of him this instant." Tonks demanded. "Come over here Harry. What is this he was saying about locking you in your room? Has he done this before? And why was he taking you towards the kitchen? Your room is upstairs?"
"None of your business freak. This is between me and the boy and has been a long time in coming. Now GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"
"I will not be going anywhere until I get some answers."
"Fine, you want answers I will give you answers. This wretched little freak has been nothing but a burden. Ever since your kind dropped him off on our doorstep 15 years ago. You all think you are so much better than us. Thinking you can come around here and tell me how to act in MY house. Think again. What has your kind ever done for us? The only thing you have done is force us to take him in and waste good money on food and clothing for him. He is nothing but a freak. One of you. I will not stand for it anymore. I want him out of this house. I want you out of this house. And I want your kind to leave me and my family alone. NOW!"
Doing everything she can to control her temper, Tonks asks is a surprisingly calm voice. "And where exactly were you going to take Harry? You said you were going to lock him in his room."
"That's right, freak. I was, but now I am throwing him out of the house. His room is over there if you must know. Marge is using Dudley's second bedroom so we moved the little shit to his old room. The door is right there." Vernon finished with a sneer while pointing at the door to the cupboard.
Tonks walked around Harry and past Vernon to open the door. When she was finished looking inside Harry saw her tap her wand to her right hand and a blue glow emanated around her hand and then disappeared. She turned around and faster than either Harry or Vernon could realize her fist connected with Vernon's head.
He never had a chance. Unprepared and still winded from the chase, Vernon was out cold. Then Tonks turned to the rest of his 'family' with a look that even scared Harry somewhat. Her hair changing to a blood red color and her eyes going completely black. She stunned the three remaining family members before turning to Harry.
"How long have they been like this?" She asked placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"As long as I can remember to be honest."
"Well they won't be anymore. I will see to that." She replied with a small smile. "Now why are there four people? Who is this other lady?"
"That is Aunt Marge. She doesn't know anything about magic which is probably why she was so silent. She can't miss an opportunity to make comments about me and my parents. I think she was still in shock because I arrived by portkey in the middle of the room."
"She won't remember anything come morning. I can guarantee that."
"Now, you and I need to have a serious talk with the Headmaster. One that by the looks of things is long overdue. We need to walk over to Arabella's. Dumbledore had her fireplace hooked up to the floo network. And don't worry about them." She said with a point over her shoulder. "They should still be out by the time we get back."
The walk to Mrs. Figg's was passed with Harry answering all of Tonks' questions about what she had witnessed that morning. She couldn't even begin to understand why Albus forced him to grow up in that place. They were in luck. Dumbledore was in his office when they floo'd over. He was a bit surprised to see them so soon but it was replaced with worry immediately upon seeing the look on both of their faces.
"What happened?"
"I think it would be best sir if you saw it yourself. I know you keep a pensive around here. I think it would be best if you got it."
Dumbledore proceeded to retrieve the pensive from his cabinet and placed it on the table. Tonks took her wand and put it to her temple and pulled the memory from her head. She instructed Harry in how to do the same. She had Harry cut off his memory at the point that she arrived so they didn't overlap each other.
Dumbledore went into the pensive to watch the scene while Tonks and Harry sat quietly in his office. Tonks kept her hand on his shoulder the whole time but neither talked. Dumbledore came out of the pensive looking every one of his 167 years. He had a few tear marks on his cheeks by the time he returned to his seat. Harry and Tonks returned their memories to their heads while Dumbledore composed himself. He apologized over and over again claiming it was another of his 'old man mistakes' and how he would have stepped in sooner had he known.
Harry, for his part, shook it all off. All of the apologies in the world won't change the past.
"I will notify the ministry that there will be another magical person living at Privet Drive so Tonks' magic won't be mistaken for yours." He held up his hand to stop the oncoming argument before it started. "You will still have to return there to renew the blood protection as I told you a few weeks ago."
"The ministry will send in some obliviators to modify their memories of the events for today and Ms. Dursley will be taken back to her own house. Just because you have to go back there doesn't mean that things will be the same. I will be meeting with your relatives to discuss their behavior very soon. In the mean time they will think that Tonks is there to guard you and nothing else. When you decide to tell them of your engagement is up to you. Now I must be off to the ministry to take care of this. I will see both of you soon."
Harry and Tonks were almost to the fireplace when Dumbledore made a parting comment. "Very nice use of the physical protection charm, Ms. Tonks. Not the standard use, of course, but executed quite nicely. Good day."
"So that is what that glow was when you tapped your hand?" Harry asked as soon as they were through the floo.
"Of course. You didn't think I would haul off and hit without protecting my hand did you? It hurts to punch someone. That charm is usually used for the opposite reason I used it. Normally Aurors will place it on themselves before going in muggle populated areas to stop from being hit by muggles or any of their weapons. I just figured that it might work well in that situation and it paid off."
"You are going to have to teach me that at some point, Sweetheart." Harry decided to take the pet names to a bit higher level and wasn't disappointed to see Tonks do a double take this time.
"For now let's just go get my stuff unpacked and leave the muggles to the ministry. My stuff is sitting outside your door."
They spent the rest of the night arranging Harry's room for the both of them to live comfortably. Tonks expanded the room to triple its size. She made a duplicate of his desk, bed, and wardrobe without the imperfections. She fixed the problems with the furniture that he already had as well. The last thing they did before turning in for the night was to unpack Tonks clothes and other items.