POTTER RESURGENCE
Chapter 13
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to their respective owners.
AN: Since I got like two reviews for the last chapter, I'll console myself with writing this one as fast as I can and get on with the story.
"Done feeling sorry for yourself?"
Oh, you're back.
"So the fellas didn't like the chapter, so fucking what?"
You know what reviews mean to me, man.
"Dude, are you crying? Fuck! I'm outta here, when you're done feeling sorry for your wimpy ass, write the fucking story so I can appear already."
Right. I'll get right on it.
-PRPRPRPRPR-
June 4th 1994
Shrieking Shack
"So what should we expect?" Remus asked.
"I don't know, Harry is the paranoid one here." Hardwin said as he sat down and grabbed a butterbeer.
"Well, Luna said it would be a full moon. It could be next year or any other day, it doesn't have to be today." Harry shrugged taking a seat as well around the camp fire. "Either way, if it turns out to be today, we should expect an attack of some kind. She is not always one for details, you see."
"Well, while we wait for the dreaded attack." Sirius said. "Why don't I tell you of the first time I found myself in the Slytherin common room."
"Oh, I remember that one." Remus laughed and Sirius glared at him.
"I'm sure you do, after all it was you that snitched on me."
"Hey, I didn't snitch in you!" Remus argued. "You and Prongs were discussing your plans in the middle of the great hall, anyone could have told her."
"I'm pretty sure you're the one who told her."
"Wait." Hardwin interrupted. "Who is this 'her' we are talking about?"
"My cousin Narcissa, Remus had a crush on her." Sirius said with a grin.
"Draco's mom?" Hardwin asked looking like he was going to be sick. "Ewww, Moony, what's wrong with you?"
"Hey, it was years ago." He felt like he should point this out. "And in my defense, she was hot."
"She was." Sirius agreed sagely. "Still is."
"But still, she is a Malfoy!"
"Need I remind you, brother that Narcissa was a Black before she became a Malfoy?" Harry said in amusement.
Hardwin wasn't having any of it though. "Once a Malfoy, always a Malfoy, Harry." He said philosophically. "Everyone knows that."
"You can't argue with everyone, Harry." Sirius nodded in agreement. "Anyway, me and Prongs had executed a very amazing prank on the 'Black queen of Slytherin' herself_"
"Who?"
"Bellatrix Lestrange, Black then." Remus explained. "She was the most feared witch in the school. And those two dunderheads pranked her."
"She shouldn't have hexed one if our own and expected to get away with it." Sirius said. "Most feared witch or not. Lily could even be more scary than her if she wanted and she was two years younger than Bella."
"Who did she hex?" Harry asked and Sirius's face hardened.
"Wormtail. In hindsight, it would have been better for all us if she had just killed him back them." He shook his head. "Anyway, we pulled off the prank and Moony here_"
"Whoa, man." Hardwin interrupted. "Pump the brakes there for a second, what do you mean we pulled off the prank? We want the details, man. Details!"
"Well, the prank is not exactly age appropriate." Sirius said hesitantly.
"All the more reason to hear about it!" Hardwin said but Sirius was still hesitant. For all a second before he grinned.
"Ok, you've convinced me." Remus rolled his eyes with a smile but didn't interrupt. "So we wanted payback on my dear cousin. Something very humiliating and prefferably in public. What better than during lunch time on a mid-week day."
"Oh, I like where this is going." Hardwin laughed and Sirius grinned even wider.
"Now neither of us were particularly skilled at wards, and the only person who could have helped us had bailed on us." He glared at Moony who just raised an eyebrow. "So the only way we could do it was either through direct confrontation or a potion."
He paused and took a swig from his butterbeer. "Direct confrontation was out, Bells was one insane powerful witch, emphasis on the insane part. And we would never have stood a chance. So we went for the next best thing, Potions."
"Okay, I know potions wasn't your best area either." Harry was smiling too.
"Shush, Harry." Hardwin said. "Let the man talk."
"We brewed a hair-growth potion." Moony snorted at that but kept quiet. "At least something as close to one as our skills could come up with. Now, the problem was how to administer the potion. Bella was raised a Black, she tripple checked everything before putting it in her mouth."
Remus coughed and Sirius paused. "I really should be more careful with how I speak."
While Hardwin frowned in confusion, Harry just shook his head, apparently being the only one to understand what Sirius was implying.
"Anyway, Prongs offered to hide under the cloak and pour in the potion in her juice just as she is about to swallow." He continued. "It went off without a hitch. Next thing you know, the most feared witch at the castle was sprouting hair from every hair-senstive area on her body, in the middle of great hall."
"Wow, that must have been humiliating, serves her right." Hardwin chuckled. "Wait, what is age inappropriate about that?"
Sirius paused. "Didn't you hear what I said? Every hair-senstive area on her body."
Hardwin frowned for a second before his eyes widened. "Oh, you mean even_"
"Yes, Hardwin. Even in the yin and yang."
Harry snorted before he outright laughed at Hardwin's face as he tried to imagine what had happened.
"So, how did Moony end up snitching on you guys?" Harry asked and the man in question prosted though he was ignored.
"Well, Bells had no suspect. She couldn't just jump on anyone and blame them." He paused. "Well, actually she could but in this case, she wanted to punish the real culprit. The next thing I know, I'm being dragged to the Slytherin common room. Turns out lover boy over there had tattled on us trying to impress his crush."
By this point, Remus had given up trying to argue and just shook his head.
"James had disappeared under the cloak when they came for us so it was only me that they took. Of course he wasn't far behind either and together we got our first look at the fancy common room." Harry wanted to argue that their common room wasn't 'fancy' but he realized it would be a waste of time as he was surrounded by a bunch of Gryffindors.
"Now I had read somewhere that in Slytherin, if someone accuses you of something, you can challenge them to a duel and if you win, all charges would be dropped."
"There is no such thing." Harry said and Sirius nodded.
"I know that right now." He said. "So I challenge Narcissa to a duel to show my innocence. They laughed at me and Bella decided to indulge me. If I wanted to prove my innocence so bad, then I would have to win against the very best Slytherin had to offer."
Hardwin winced, knowing most of the Slytherins at that time ended up being Death Eaters.
"Five of their best stood in front of me, all glaring at me as they considered all the nasty dark curses they were going to use on me. When Bella gave the order to start, I knew I was dead." He grinned. "None of them knew Prongs was under the cloak confounding the lot of them and when the signal was made, I made short work of them. I didn't wait around to see what chaos would happen as they were to shocked to stop me and my invisible wingman from leaving."
He finished the statement with a nostalgic smile as remembered his adventures with his best friend. He then shook his head and turned to the twins. "So, you guys ready to share any adventures of your own?"
Hardwin grinned right away. "Did I ever tell you of how I met the king of acromantulas?"
-PRPRPRPRPR-
The four spent the time trading stories over the butterbeer and laughing. The term was coming to an end and everyone was happy for the break and time to unwind. Sirius' work was also too... serious for him, not to mention he lived alone at Grimauld place.
Well, some nights as he preffered to have company after work. Practically every night when he wasn't at Potter Manor.
They were having so much fun that they didn't even notice time fly by or when the moon came out. It was Harry who first noticed Remus changing. His head was lengthening. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws.
When he completed the transformation, he was on all fours. His hairy arms muscular, just like his legs which looked like a wolf's. He looked more like a wolf than a human really, only taller and way more muscular than he had any right to be.
His head snapped towards the three humans, yellow eyes glinting in the light from the fire. Hardwin whooped and jumped, immediately transforming in mid-air and shooting at Moony. The wolf brought up one of it's clawed paws and slashed at the large eagle.
Lockjaw though was born to fly, he leaned his body at just the right angle and Moony's claws missed completely. Following the same movement, Lockjaw spun around in the air and slapped Mooney over the head with his wing before flying higher to avoid the wolf's jaws.
With bark-like laughter, Sirius jumped at the two, transforming in mid-air into Padfoot and bawling Moony over just as the wolf tried to jump towards the eagle toying with him. The dog was very large, while not as tall as Moony, Padfoot was pretty big and more muscular than Moony.
Nothing compared to Meg though. And speaking of, like the dignified feline that he was didn't want to involve himself in such pointless brawls. The other transformed wizards suddenly stopped and looked at him where he was still seated.
"I'm perfectly fine here, thank you very much." He shook his head but they started approaching. Lockjaw was just above, flapping his wings lazily as he easily maintained altitude. "Hey, stay back you mutts!"
Padfoot who was at the front leaped at him and Harry dived to the side barely missing being knocked over by the large dog. His instincts flared and he rolled to just in time too as Moony landed in his former position, claws loudly scratching the floor as he tried to stop his momentum.
He transformed into Meg mid-roll and his senses multiplied tenfold. He heard Lockjaw's feathers flutter in the air and he pushed his front legs forward pushing his front half to the ground while preparing his hind legs. Lockjaw flew over his shoulders and before he could change direction, Meg pushed his hind-legs and leaped for the door.
Padfoot and Moony who had recovered slammed into each other as they both leaped at Meg at the same time just as he shot for the door. By the time the two canids and bird arrived outside, Meg was sprawled on the grass looking at them smugly.
They were about to rush him again when the silence of the forbidden forest was pierced by a long drawn-out howl from what could only be a werewolf. And it wasn't very far either which was surprising as while there were werewolves on the far end of the Forest, they never came this near to Hogsmeade.
The Shrieking Shack which the four transformed wizards had just come from was located on a hill above Hogsmeade and if anything was to come from the forbidden forest, it would have to pass by the Shack to reach the town. While the four watched the forest, the howl was answered by about a dozen others.
This was no lone werewolf, it was a full pack. As far as either of them knew, there were no werewolf settlements around which meant the pack was here for a reason. The four wizards looked at each wondering if this was Voldemort's attack that Luna had been talking about.
Was he planning on attacking the village? They couldn't allow that. The four seemed to come to the same conclusion at once and took off towards the forest to intercept the approaching pack of werewolves.
Even as he pushed ahead of the others, Harry couldn't help but think of the motive behind this. Voldemort, despite what everyone seemed to think was no fool, he was a Slytherin and probably the best of them all. Everything he did was for a reason, what use then would a pack of werewolves attacking Hogsmeade be.
Twelve werewolves wouldn't stand a chance against a whole town of wizards and witches. And if he was trying to make a statement, werewolves attacked magical and muggle settlements on the full moon all the time so it would be wasted either way.
Unless they weren't after Hogsmead and they had a different target like the Shrieking Shack. Wormtail knew about the tunnel to the whooping Willow and into the Hogwarts grounds. A pack of werewolves showing up on the Hogwarts grounds, all bearing the Dark Mark would make quite the statement.
Meg who had pulled ahead of the others thanks to being faster suddenly stopped and returned back to human. A second later, the others arrived and stopped as well.
"You guys go ahead, I want to have a word with Lockjaw." The two adults looked at him in confusion before continuing. Harry then turned to the golden eagle floating before him. "You go back and watch the Shack."
The transformed boy was clearly conflicted so Harry explained. "I think the Dark Lord may be trying to bring people to the Hogwarts grounds through the tunnel. It could be the werewolves ahead or they could also be a distraction."
The eagle nodded and Harry continued.
"Amongst us, you're the one with the best sight. If you're watching the shack from the air, nothing will be able to approach without you seeing it and you could call for us." Harry explained and his brother nodded in understanding and flew off back the way they had come.
Harry transformed back and chased after Padfoot and Monny. He caught up with them just as they made contact with the wolf pack. Now the difference between Padfoot, Moony and Meg and the other werewolves was that the wolves were practically animals. Nothing of their human instincts and reasoning remaining like it was with the Animagi.
Despite their strength in numbers, the werewolves never stood a chance against the three transformed wizards. Moony who was in the lead leaped through the air and landed in their midst and scattered them.
He ducked under one wolf's swipe before retaliating will the one of his own at the wolf's throat opening it wide open. It was dead before it reached the ground, Moony had moved onto another. He ducked swipes from two wolves and slashed both of them across their bellys.
The two wolves howled in pain but their howls were abruptly cut off as two black blurs appeared over their necks and with one bite, they were dead too. The two black animals then stood on either side of Moony to face the remaining wolves.
Moony looked over the remaining six with a snarl. Meg, the fastest of them all had already taken down two before coming to help Moony while Padfoot had taken down one. The werewolves weren't looking so sure now. In less than a minute, half of their number was dead, it was obvious they stood no chance of winning.
Meg stepped forward, a deep rumbling sound coming out of his throat. The biggest of the wolves also stepped forward to with a snarl and jumped at Meg. The black jaguar rolled to his back and sank his claws into the wolf's underbelly before launching him across the clearing.
Before it could recover, Padfoot was on it and bit his powerful jaws into its neck from above breaking it instantly. When he looked up, only one werewolf was still alive and it was crawling, there was blood was running down its sides and Meg was circling it slowly, clearly toying with it.
And then suddenly, Meg's head snapped up into the direction of the Shrieking Shack and the next instant he had disappeared in a blur. Padfoot glanced at Moony in confusion before he saw them. In the distance, coming from a hill where the shack was obviously located. He hadn't realized they had moved that far.
Transforming back into his human form, Sirius apparated and appeared silently outside the shack, right next to Hardwin who was maintaining a ring of flames around the Shack.
"What's going on?" He asked Hardwin who started at seeing him.
"Rats!" He said. "Hundreds of them and about five werewolves."
"Good thinking with the ring of fire." Sirius noted. "Didn't any go through?"
"No, I realized that they were coming from all directions so I took page out of Harry's book." Hardwin explained. "He is quite fond of elemental spells. What do you think is really going on?"
"Wormtail. He is probably trying to get into the castle." Sirius said in realization as he drew his wand. "Go to the shack and collapse the tunnel, just in case he manages to get past me."
Hardwin nodded and ran to the rundown house. The flames dimmed for a second before they rose up again, hotter and more fierce than before as Sirius took control. Tongues of blue flames leaped from the wall and swept forward and burned down at least twenty rats to ash at every wave.
He flicked his wrist and the ring became bigger. The rats screeched as they were burned to ash and Sirius wondered why they were not fleeing but his answer came when he saw another ring, hotter and much larger in diameter which was closing in on the shack.
He flicked his wrist again and his ring grew further, leaving ash in its wake untill it met the outer circle of flames. Another flick banished both flames to reveal a panting Harry.
"You're alright there, Harry?" Sirius asked and Harry nodded. "Do you think we got them all?"
Harry nodded. "Moony circled around and killed off all the ones I hadn't caught in the flames." The wolf nodded in confirmation. "Any chance we got the rat?"
"No, he is too much of a coward to face us directly like that." Padfoot said as he led them back to the Shrieking Shack. "Let's just hope Hardwin blocked the tunnel before he had gone through."
When they reached inside, they found Hardwin standing guard at the tunnel entrance which was covered by rocks and debris, wand at the ready and golden eyes sharp. When he spotted them, he blinked and they went back to the normal emerald green.
"No, I doubt it." Sirius shook his head. "Anything happen in here?"
"No, nothing. I was watching with a hawk's gaze." Hardwin replied. "Quite literally actually as I transformed my eyes into Lockjaw, kind of like Harry did on the train when he beat up the Dementor."
They all knew of the story and how Harry had managed to do a partial-transformation.
"Do you smell him in here Moony?" The wolf who had been sniffing around shook his head. "Maybe you should try too, Harry. Just to be sure, and who can find a rat better than a cat."
In a blink of an eye, Harry transformed and started sniffing around as well. He circled around the entrance of the tunnel a few times, went back to the door and walked to the tunnel again before turning back.
"He was here." He said grimly. "I can smell something, Meg knows that it's a rat's scent but my mind doesn't want to recognize it. He was cloaked by something very powerful, I don't think he will be easy to find. Even with magic."
"Well, shit." Sirius cursed. "All that effort for nothing. Only Merlin knows what he could be planning."
"He was clearly sent by Voldemort if he had all this at his disposal." Harry said. "The Dark Lord went to great lengths to get him into the castle. Clearly he is planning something."
"Maybe he still thinks the Stone is still at Hogwarts?" Hardwin suggested but Sirius shook his head.
"I doubt it." Sirius waved his wand over the tunnel and it went back to it's condition. "You two, go and get some sleep. I'll be talking to Dumbledore tomorrow so expect to be called in to offer a bit more insight."
The twins nodded and transformed into their animagus forms. Entering the castle, they travelled together untill they reached the whooping Willow. Not even bothering to deactivate it, they shot of the tunnel, dodged the branches and raced their way to the castle.
Once they had reached, they turned back and Harry brought out his map. He activated and asked for Petter Pettigrew. The map didn't change, even when he asked for Wormtail, he still got the same results. There was no one with those names inside the castle.
Not sure if the map was being blocked by the cloaking magic or Wormtail didn't actually make it to the castle, they wished each other goodnight and went to their separate dorms.
As he laid on his bed, Harry's mind was working overtime. Going over the events he had just experienced and what they meant for him, those close to him and House Potter in general. One thing stood out to him though, the war had started and despite all that he had been doing in the name of preparation, he still wasn't ready.
-PRPRPRPRPR-
The next day at breakfast, Dumbledore announced that the school was closing and that the Hogwarts Express was leaving that afternoon. He said that all parents will be notified and will be waiting for their children at King's Cross station when the train arrives.
No reason was given for the closing of the school other than an emergency. There were lots of stipulations on why the school was closing so abruptly but nothing concrete. Only Harry and Hardwin knew of it and had been asked by the headmaster to keep to themselves.
Hardwin told Hermione and Neville soon after and Ron stumbled on them just as Hardwin said there was a dangerous Death Eater at Hogwarts. By lunch time, everyone knew why the school was closing, there was going to be a Death Eater attack on thr castle, that was why the school was being evacuated on such short notice.
This was further proved when squads of Aurors arrived and surrounded the school. Preparations to leave were hastened and by three pm, the Hogwarts Express was on its way to London with all the students other than the seventh years still doing their NEWTs on board.
Harry was seated in his spot next the window on one side and in the compartment were what had now become the regulars. Hardwin, Neville, Ginny and Hermione from Gryffindor. Blaise, Tracey who was next to Harry as usual and Daphne from Slytherin. Susan and Hannah from Hufflepuff and finally Luna who was the only Ravenclaw around.
The compartment had clearly expanded at one point to accommodate all of them, otherwise it wouldn't have been enough for them. It became a tight fit however when Astoria and Liz also demanded they join the group. Harry feeling that the place was a little too stuffed excused himself.
He had received a letter from Jennifer Walters just as he was about to board the train and he was itching to read it. In her last letter, she had told him that something big was being planned at the Ministry but she would tell him when she got all the details.
With the seventh years back at Hogwarts, Harry hopped he could find an empty compartment seeing that there were fewer students and those that were there were stuffed in the same compartments to speculate on why the school had closed early.
He had moved past two cars when someone called his name. When he turned around, he saw Blaise rushing after him.
"Hey, Potter. I need to talk to you." The Italian boy said. "It's about that deal we made."
"Follow me then." Harry said and led the way. In the second last car, they came across an empty compartment which Harry opened and entered. Once they were seated, Harry looked at him expectantly.
"Alright." Blaise took a deep breath. "First of all, this was not my idea. Secondly, have you finished brewing the potion that you wanted the ingredients for?"
"Not that it is any of your business..." Harry started, looking at him pointedly. "But yes, I brewed the potion."
"Actually, it is my business now." Blaise replied. "At least my mom has made it my business."
"How so."
"Well, I'm calling in that favor you owe me."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Are sure?"
"Positive."
"Very well." Harry leaned forward, and stared him in the eyes. "Tell me then, what is it you desire?"
"I...look Potter, I know you spent quite an amount of money to acquire the ingredients for whatever potion you brewed." Blaise said as he leaned back. "And if it was up to me, I would never have asked this if you but, I need half a vial of the potion."
"You don't know what the potion is, yet you want some of it." It wasn't a question, it was more like a statement.
"Not me, my mom." He answered. "When I gave her the list of ingredients that you sent me, she grilled me about your potion skill and how good you were with magic. I should have known she was planning on benefiting from it somehow."
"I see." Harry said. Half of the potion meant losing six hours of luck but he could work with the remaining six. "Let it not be said that I'm not a man of my word. Unfortunately, the potion will not be ready for another month so you'll have to wait."
"That's what she said and she gave me this." From his robes, he removed a small box that looked like some antique jewel box. "She say it works like a vanishing cabinet, only smaller. All you have to do is put in the vial and close the box. Due to its size, it can only work once before the runes burn out so use it only to send the potion."
"And she made this by herself?" Harry asked as he looked the small box over.
"Yes." Blaise nodded. "She likes making things like that, small trinkets with different magical effects and then sell them. It's how she makes a living. Well, mostly."
"Your mother seems to be a very interesting woman. I'd very much like to meet her one day."
"No, you don't." Blaise replied as he left the compartment.
Harry looked at the box one more time before he put it in his pocket, just as there was a knock on the door. When it opened, there was Draco and for the first time he wasn't with his bookends.
"Hello, Draco." Harry greeted. "Do please come in, you look like you have much to tell me."
Draco walked in and sat down in front of seat. A seat which Blaise had just vacated after getting half of his second most valuable potion.
"I take it you talked to your father, then?"
"Yes, and you were right." He replied. "But with how much my father has archived, there's no need for me to go through the same."
Harry didn't say anything, just waiting for him to continue.
"I've been doing pretty well for myself, Potter so far." He continued. "And I don't think I need any one's help to get reach my future plans."
"If you're expecting me to try and sell my pitch then you're very mistaken." Harry told him. "You know what I can offer you, take it or leave it."
"And what exactly are you offering me, Potter."
"The future, Draco." Harry replied. "I'm not going to explain any more than that."
"If I agree to this, what will be required of me."
"You answer if I call and never betray my secrets."
"Just that?" Draco asked. "No fighting for you or anything like that?"
"I can fight my battles well enough, Draco." Harry said. "And in case you're wondering, no, I don't have a dark mark."
"And what happens if I...go against what you want?"
"You mean if you betray me?" Harry smiled and pulled out a piece of parchment and handed it to him. "I guess the contract will take care of that."
"You didn't say anything about a contract."
"Well, it's not like I can count on your honesty or anything." Harry shrugged and waited as Draco read through the contract. When he finished, Harry was still waiting. "So?"
Draco signed, it was obvious he had already made his choice before coming. After he had signed, the contract flashed and another copy appeared. Harry picked up the second one and pocketed it.
"Well, pleasure doing business with you." He reached into another pocket and retrieved a hand written book. "As a sign of good faith, I offer you this."
"What is this?" Draco asked, taking the small book.
"It explains the process through which one can activate their bloodline." Harry stood up and went to leave at the door he paused and stared at Draco. "On September 1st, I want all the information on the Dark Lord that you can get. Try not to get killed in the process, will you?"
"The Dark Lord is dead, or have you forgotten, Potter?"
Harry just smirked at him and left. He never even got to read the letter.
-PRPRPRPRPR-
Harry was seated at the table in his room reading one of his ancestor's journals. The letter he had received from Jennifer Walters was lying next to him. He leaned back into his chair grinning widely just as Hardwin entered.
"Hey, these just arrived." He said. "Invitations for Tonks' graduation party on the 28th this month." He paused and looked at Harry. "What has got you grinning like a loon?"
"This, brother is the answer to ninety percent of our problems." Harry gave him Jennifer's letter and he read through.
"What's the Tri-Wizard tournament?"
"It's a tournament that used to be held between the three premier school of magic in Europe." Harry lectured. "It was designed for adult wizards and witches but the tournament itself is not what I'm most interested in. It's the artifact which selects the champions, the 'Goblet of fire'."
"Never heard of it."
"I figured not." Harry said, his grin widening as he picked up the journal. "According to Abraham Potter, the only Potter to have activated one of our bloodlines and who created the 'Goblet', it only selected adults, and if, of all those whose names are submitted turns out the best option is not one, the goblet evolves his magical core into that of an adult."
"So, what you're saying is that if you get selected by the Goblet, you will be an adult?" Harry nodded. "But that's only magically. You'll still have to first finish your OWLs before you can be recognized as one by the Ministry."
"Oh but the ministry isn't really important." Harry said. "If magic recognizes me as an adult, then I can become Lord Potter. As head of a Noble and Ancient house, the ministry will have little say in what I can or cannot do."
"I see what you mean." Hardwin nodded. "What do you plan to do as Lord Potter."
Harry grinned. "Well, I'm glad you asked."
-PRPRPRPRPR-
28th June 1993
Tonks Residence
"Congratulations Nymphadora Tonks!"
"Who is that looking to be hurt on such a beautiful day?" Tonks asked as she stumbled her way into the living room. "And what are you two doing here so early, the party doesn't start in three hours."
"Hey, I'm reading it the way I see it." Hardwin said as he gestured at the large banner with the words he had just read. "As for being early, we thought we could come and help with the preparations."
"Well, you're certainly welcome." Andromeda Tonks came into the living room also wearing an apron just like her daughter. "How have you boys been?"
"We are fine, Mrs. Tonks." Harry replied as he took her hand. "And you are looking even more beautiful than I remember."
"And you are just as charming as ever." Andromeda laughed. "Why don't the two of you come and help me in the kitchen. Nymphadora was just eating everything that become ready."
"Well, let me just give her the gifts and I'll be with you." Harry replied as he started pulling her up the stairs.
"I'll be helping you for the time being as we wait for them." Hardwin said and went after the older woman.
Meanwhile, Tonks was wiggling her eyebrows at Harry with a grin. "Rushing to get me to the bedroom, Harry? Oh what would Lily say?"
Harry just rolled his eyes and reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a small wrapped box which he gave to Tonks.
"Just how much do you keep in those pockets of yours." She asked as she tapped her wand on the box and it grew in size. "It's like you have a whole house of items in there."
"Nothing that dramatic though I certainly push them to their limits."
Tonks pulled off the wrapper and opened the box to reveal a black leather overcoat. It was beautifully designed and it was clearly made for a woman.
"Wow, it's beautiful." Tonks said with a smile as she held it up. "And pretty sturdy too. It's soft to the touch but I can tell it's quite durable."
"Why don't you try it on." Harry prompted and she pulled off the apron she had been wearing on top of a black tank top and blue jeans.
Harry idly noted that she wasn't wearing a bra.
When she put on her new garmet and buttoned it, it fit her comfortably. The coat went a little below her knees and looked just perfect. At an angle, one could see a bit of green mixed in with the black.
"How do I look?" She asked striking a pause and Harry smiled.
"Perfect." He said honestly. "Anyway, it's a joint gift from the both of us."
"What material is it made of? I've never seen anything like this."
"You remember the basilisk me and Hardwin slaughtered in our second year?" Tonks nodded. "Well, I had the goblins make me that Cloak from it for our new Auror."
"You know, if I didn't have a boyfriend, I would probably be snogging you senseless right now.".
"You have a boyfriend?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow and Tonks scoffed.
"Look at me, Harry." She struck a pause. "Do I look like someone that could not be having a boyfriend?"
"No, just surprised is all." Harry said with a smile. "So, do you like our present?"
"I do, thanks, Harry." She said as she pulled him into a tight hug before pulling back. "So what else can it do other than making me look pretty."
"Is that not enough for you?"
"Maybe for me but certainly not for you." Tonks teased and Harry laughed.
"Well, since you're going to going through some tough times and dangerous situations, we thought you could use some extra... protection." And Tonks gave him a thumbs up for his innuendo. "That thing can withstand Dragon fire, trust me, I checked and it's so resistant to magic that it can take almost any spell short of an unforgivable. It's also sturdy enough to absorb physical attacks to an extent but it's not completely invincible."
"Wow." Tonks breathed when he was finished. She was looking at the coat in a new light. Quite literally too as she was standing by the window turning this way and that way. "Did you know that in the right circumstances, the light brings out the green of the snake?"
Harry gave her flat look but she didn't seem to pay him any mind. He drew his wand and fired a concentrated bolt of lightning at her back. Her eyes widened at the sound of crackling electricity and she spun around but the lightning was moving too fast for even her Auror training to kick.
She never got to even draw her wand before the bolt slammed into her chest. It lifted her and threw her into the wall next to the window before she landed with an thud. Harry walked over to where she was lying, unmoving and squatted next to her.
"Oh it has a number of cushioning enchantments which will absorb any physical attacks to an extent and also give you some protection you from impacts." He leaned forward. "So I know that you weren't hurt by that."
"Bloody hell, Harry what happened to your sense of humor." She groaned as she sat up. "I was only messing with you."
"Yes well, I was feeling a little unappreciated."
"You shouldn't be." She pulled him into a hug and Harry fell on his knees. "This thing is amazing, Harry. It's probably going to be the best gift I get tonight."
"Ok, hold that thought." Harry said as he untangled himself. He reached into his pocket and Tonks rolled her eyes. He chuckled as he gave her a vial of a red potion.
"What's this."
"Five drops of that could heal any minor injury. Half of it could regrow all the bones in a human body." Harry paused and Tonks'eyebrows kept rising. "And the full vial can bring back someone from the edge of death. So you must use it only in the most dire of conditions."
"What is this, the elixir of life?"
"Not exactly." Harry said as he looked at his newest attempt at the legendary potion. "But most definitely close."
"Ok, I'm certainly considering kissing you right now."
-PRPRPRPRPR-
AN: So that's chapter 13 for you. Things are in motion, the war has kicked off and Harry has a minion. I think it was a productive chapter all in all.
Next stop, the Barrow and then the quidditch world cup. Should be interesting to write. Tell me what you think, will you.
