Harry, Sirius, and Susan arrive at Bones manor with a 'pop'. They were greeted by someone Harry and Susan hadn't seen since summer. "Tonks?"
"Sup?" The metamorph greeted with a grin.
"What are you doing here?" Sussan asked.
"Your aunt's hired me to teach you and whoever you trust a few spells on my days off." Tonks answered.
"What kind of spells?" Harry questioned eagerly.
"A few to get you out sticky situations. You might be good for your year, but a trained witch or wizard always beat you one on one." Tonks responded, sounding as easy going as when they first met her.
"It's a bit late to teach them today, Tonks." Sirius comments.
"I just came to tell them. Also Mum wants you and Harry over for dinner tomorrow." Tonks responds. "Welp, that's everything. I've got training tomorrow so I'll see you later."
"Bye." The trio chorused as Tonks flood back home. Once the metamorph was out of sight, the trio moved to the dining room where Amelia was waiting for them. Sirius greeted Amelia with a kiss much to the discomfort of Harry and Sussan.
Once everyone was sat down, dinner appeared and they began to eat.
"You know, you never did tell us who took over DADA." Sirius mentioned.
"We didn't?" Harry and Susan asked surprised, and at the same time.
Sirius nodded and Susan answered. "It was Dumbledore."
Sirius and Amelia shared a look of surprise before Sirius asked "Was he any good?"
Both Harry and Susan nodded.
"He's better than Quirrel was just because he doesn't stutter." Susan answered.
"He talked a lot about the dangers of dark magic and succumbing to its madness." Harry mentioned. "We also learned some minor spells and the magical beast class system."
"Sounds like he managed to turn the class around." Sirius commented, sounding impressed.
Amelia hummed in agreement before speaking. "But he forgot one important lesson: Magic cannot be cheated, the price will always match the power."
The next night.
A knock was heard at the door of the Tonks house.
"I'll get it!" Nymphadora called as she rushed down the stairs to the front door. The metamorph opened the door and saw Harry and Sirius standing there. Sirius was holding a bottle and Harry carrying a chocolate cake in a box.
"Hey Nym, we come bearing gifts!" Sirius grinned with outstretched arms.
"Nym?" Tonks repeated with a hint of anger, as her hair slowly turning red.
"I'm not calling you 'Tonks while your parents are around." Sirius responded definitively.
Nymphadora scowled at Sirius for a moment before sighing. "Fine..." She groaned. "...Come on in." Nym moved out of the doorway allowing Harry and Sirius to enter. Harry looked around with a small smile, he liked it here. It felt, homey. More than 4 Privet Drive ever did. The Tonks house was a muggle, 3 bedroom, detached house. The only give away that it was occupied with magical was the standard set of wards around the property.
Harry and his godfather were lead to a small room that held a dining table big enough to seat six, once every one squeezed in... (It's not just my family that has dining tables that just fit in the room right?) ...Andromeda emerged from the kitchen with a smile. "Dinner's almost ready, Ted's just finishing the veg." The witch announced before re-entering the kitchen. It wasn't long before Ted and Andi began filling the table with plates and bowls of various meats and vegetables, along with a full gravy boat.
Over the course of the meal, they talked fondly of the times Harry visited.
"I remember the first time..." Andromeda began with a chuckle. " ... Sirius brought you over. Nymphadora absolutely adored you. She said she wanted to keep you and have a baby of her own." Andromeda chuckled again. "She soon changed her mind when she found out how bad dirty nappies smell."
Ted and Sirius laughed at the memory, while Harry smiled.
"Mum." Nymphadora groaned.
Eventually it was time to leave but they made arrangements to try and do this once a week during the summer holidays.
The next day.
Sirius sat impatiently at the table as Harry, Susan and Amelia calmly ate there breakfast.
Amelia noticed this. "Calm down Sirius, the opening won't start without us." She told him.
"Or for another hour." Susan added in between bites.
"Or for another hour." Amelia repeated her niece's words. "So calm down."
"I hate waiting. Waiting is the worst part of anything." Sirius responded childishly. Amelia rolled her eyes, Harry smiled and Susan giggled.
After breakfast (which took way too long in Sirius' opinion, but the others made it a point not to ask him) they flood to The Leaky Cauldron. The pub was busy due to it being announced that Sirius Black would finally reveal the project he had been working on since his name was cleared. He had somehow managed to keep the entire thing under wraps, with all anyone knew for sure being that it was some kind of shop.
Sirius basked in the attention, while Amelia continued to scan the crowd for a sneak attack. Susan saw some girls eying up Harry and slipped her hand into his. When Harry looked at her questioningly, it took all her Occlumency training to fight off her blush. "Don't want to get swarmed by fangirls, do you?" Susan tried to joke, but her tone was too uncertain for it to land.
"Thanks." Harry answered quietly with a smile. Amelia noticed the brief interaction but said nothing.
Once they were in the Ally itself, they made there to a storefront that was hidden by a dense fog. Remus was already there waiting for them as he talked to six others. They had their backs to the fog, while a crowd, which included a few reporters, watched on.
Sirius quickly moved to Remus' side and gathered the crowd's attention. "During my years at Hogwarts, I became one of it's most notorious pranksters along with my partners in crime, James Potter, the man mad enough to ask Professor McGonigal out to Hogsmead..." The crowd was either laugh or looked at him in shock. "...Remus Lupin, our supposedly reluctant drama queen... "Remus scowled at Sirius who paid him no mind... "and then there was Pettigrew. The rat." Sirius said the final part with such distaste, that his thoughts on the final member were more than clear.
"During our first three years, we quickly burned through all of Zonko's products and grew bored of them, so we started to make our own. And now I can deliver the fruit of our labor to you the public! But, we have more than just a few pranks. We have many enchanted goods that will pique your interest! And so, it is my honor, to welcome you to..." With a flick of Sirius' wand the fog dispersed. "... The Marauders Den!"
21st June
Susan, Harry, Amelia, and Sirius arrived at the Moon orphanage dressed in casual clothes. Tracy greeted Susan and Harry with a hug, while Lillian greeted them formally.
"Is anyone else already here?" Susan asked Tracy as she lead them further into the manor, while Lillian resumed her position, greeting at the fireplace.
"Neville and his Gran arrived as soon as the floo was open." Tracy answered.
Amelia snorted. "That's Augusta for you." She commented.
"But someone else decided to show up." Tracy mentioned in a low tone.
"Who?" Harry asked quietly.
"Dumbledore."
The shock was visible in the family as they jolted up straight and started looking around for the magical goat.
"Joy." Sirius muttered.
"Let's try and find the Longbottoms before he finds us." Amelia advised. The rest of the group silently complied and continued to scan the crowd that continued to grow. They managed to find the Longbottoms with some of the younger orphans were staring openly at Augusta's vulture hat.
After the basic greetings were given, Sirius spoke. "Have you seen Dumbledore around?"
Augusta chuckled. "I saw him swarmed by the younger children. Although I saw some of the older teens glaring at him." Augusta mentioned the final part in confusion.
"A lot of the older ones are orphans because of Death Eater attacks, so the fact Dumbledore pushed back on them being executed at the end of the war doesn't sit well with them." Tracy answered the unasked question.
"As a wrongly convicted Death Eater, I'm not sure how I should feel." Sirius thought allowed.
"I have seen a lot of dedicated Aurors come from here. Each one with a similar answer for why they want to join." Amelia mentioned.
"Did we miss something interesting?" The voice of Cyrus Greengrass cut in.
"Nothing much." Sirius shrugged. "Dumbles moral high ground getting on people's nerves."
While the adults began to catch-up, Daphne and Astoria moved over to Harry, Susan, and Tracy. "Hi, Harry. Hi, Susan. Hi, girl, I don't know." Astoria greeted with an exaggerated smile.
"Oh I'm Tracy, Tracy Davis. And you must Astoria." Tracy greeted.
"Yep! So what's it like at Hogwarts?" Astoria quickly responded.
Daphne groaned and rolled her eyes. "She's been asking me about it since I got off the train."
"Well, I don't know what I can tell you that Daphne already hasn't." Tracy responded. "The only time we're apart is when we split up in our free time and that rarely happens."
"It's pretty much the same with me, except I don't like anyone I share my dorm with." Harry answered. Harry was grateful when Sirius had taught how too ward his bed when he's asleep. It was something Remus did after being pranked in his sleep and the other Marauders were quick to imitate him.
"Looks like I'll have to explain to why Hufflepuff is the best house." Susan smiled before leading Astoria away.
"Hey, what about Gryffindor!?" Nevil called after the youngest Greengrass.
"What about them?" Was the response given by Susan and the three Slytherins.
The whole group laughed at the unintentional unison.
Not long after, Hannah arrived with not only her parents but her aunt, uncle, and older cousin.
Dumbledore finally managed to make his way to the group. "Ah, wonderful. I was hoping to speak with you all." Dumbledore greeted in a grandfatherly manner. Pretending that he hadn't been watching them out of the corner of his eye for the last ten minutes.
"I'm surprised to see you here Albus." Hannah's farther, Liam greeted the Headmaster with a handshake.
"I heard overheard Fillius mentioning that he was referring the dueling matches today, and I thought it would do my old bones good to get out of the castle for a while." Dumbledore answered easily, though most of his current audience thought this to be a lie.
"What did you want to talk about, my friend?" Liam asked with a friendly smile.
"I wanted to humbly offer Cyrus, Sirius, and Amelia a chance to join my little alliance in the Wizengamot." Dumbledore answered. Humbly of course.
"Dumbledore, my family has not been a member of the Light Faction since the fall of Grindelwald, and that was only because oh his attacks on our lands and branches of our house." Cyrus answered with neither his voice or facial expressions betrayed any emotion. It was abundantly clear where Daphne inherited her cold, political mask that she uses when not surrounded by those close to her from. "My family belongs among the neutral alliance and I see no reason for that to change."
"I personally find that both the Light and Dark Factions have become overly zealous for my liking. It is why I moved my house to the Neutral Faction in the first place." Amelia responded.
Sirius shrugged. "I'm with Amelia. It's always about blood or race with any law they pass. I don't want to watch them spin the wheel on who they're going to try and pass laws about this month. It gets a bit old."
Albus had a hard time maintaining his facade as he listened to Sirius and Amelia's responses. He did NOT like being compared to the Dark Faction! They acted in their own self-interest, greedily hoarding wealth and power for themselves! He followed the will of fate! The greater good!
"We're not that bad." Liam tried to weekly argue, but he didn't sound overly convinced himself.
"Last month the Light Alliance tried to make ALL rituals illegal." Cyrus responded. "That includes all variations of the blood adoption ritual. A variation of this ritual has been used by my family to allow our wives to pass through our blood wards for generations."
"So do countless other families." Sirius added on. "Then there's healing and some strengthening rituals. The darker rituals that everyone thinks of are so meticulous that any idiot trying to create or use one will probably kill themselves before they grab the needed sacrifices. Not even my family dared try the more dangerous ones."
The adults continued to speak politics while the children decided to slip away and find out if Lillian could finally join them. Fortunately, she could and Tracy and Lillian proceeded to show the others around and introduce them to those who worked there. During the tour, they ran into others included a sandy-haired boy who would be staring at Hogwarts this term.
Soon a voice range out through the orphanage. "Will all children competing in the quidditch games please make their way outside!"
"That's our cue." Harry announced. Today there a dueling competition and short quidditch matches that were called 'Quidditch Rush' Each team had two chasers, a keeper and 10 minutes to score as many goals as they could. Harry, Daphne, and Tracy were one of the teams. They had entered under the name 'The Cobras', Harry and Daphne were the chasers while Tracy would be there keeper. there were 11 other teams and each team would have a single match before the dueling began, which both Nevile and Susan would be participating in. You could only participate in one of these events, but everyone was welcomed to the dance.
Tracy led Harry and Daphne outside to the pitch, where Sirius, Cyrus, and Tracy's mother was waiting with their brooms. Both Harry and Daphne had been given Nimbus-2000s for Yule and Tracy had a Comet-260. Each of them was given their broom and wished good luck, before heading to the pitch.
The pitch was nowhere near as professional as the one at Hogwarts. There was no sandpit at the bottom of the pitch, to cushion any falls, the goalposts were noticeably closer to the ground to accommodate, the 'stands' were nothing more than elongated wooden steps, with regular-sized ones on each side sat next to the pitch.
Harry, Daphne, and Tracy along with the other participants gather around an older man who Tracy had identified as an ex-captain for one of the smaller Quidditch teams. They were going to go from youngest to oldest. The 3 Slytherins were set to face Mandy Brocklehurst, Anthony Goldstein, Ernest (Ernie) Macmillan.
The vipers had a decisive victory. Flying was one of the few times that Daphne acted in any other way than what was expected of her. She had always strived to be better than the other heirs as they had looked down on her for being a witch, or her family for remaining neutral. This had driven her to work harder than others. To prove them all wrong. It was why she had persuaded Harry to run chaser drills with her for most of yesterday. That combined with Harry's natural talent on a broom left Tracy feeling pretty board.
The trio was congratulated on their success by their friends and family after giving back the tattered protective gear they had been given to use for the game. they watched the other games with little fan fair, with some of them struggling to match Harry and Daphne's performance.
Soon it was on to the dueling. Susan swiftly beat Zacharias Smith, and Neville bested Terry Boot. before they were both beaten by second years. After watching them fall, Sirius' face became blank for the rest of the duels and he only began to smile again when he led Amelia to the dance floor. Harry and Nevile had both danced with each girl in their group, including Astoria. By then end, Harry was exhausted and Neville had fallen asleep as soon as he sat down. Much to Augusta's disapproval.
Soon after everyone yawned goodbye to one another and headed home.
A few days later.
"Alright boys and girls, time for your final exam." Tonks grinned. She stood in front of Harry, Susan, Daphne, Hannah, and Neville, in one of the spear rooms in Bones manner. The room had no windows and had various items around the room. A table had five pieces of parchment with ink spilled on them, an enlarged bathtub full of water, a chalkboard, and five tennis balls. "Let the games... begin!" With a flick of her wand the light went out and the room was plunged into darkness.
Each of them cast the Cat's-eyes charm on themselves so they could see, giving them all a golden iris. Tonks watched them silently as they made their way over to the table each one of them waving their wands over one of the pieces of parchment while speaking an incantation. The blotches of ink vanished to reveal two words. "Not bad"
They all gathered around the bathtub and Tonks watched as the young witches and wizards cast the Bubble-head charm on themselves before speaking. "Just like we practiced keep your heads underwater until I say otherwise, or your spell fails. Go!" They all submerged their heads into the tub and stayed there for roughly five minutes before Tonks gently pulled on their shoulders one by one, signaling that she was satisfied.
Next, they all cast a spell at the chalkboard that caused their names to appear in white chalk. You could also tell the difference in their handwriting. They then vanished the calk and cast the charm again, this time with their name appearing in a colour of their choice.
Finally, Tonks banished the tennis balls so that they bounced around the room and each one of her students managed to summon one into their free hand.
"Great job you lot! this calls for pizza!"
I'm going to do chapters as long as they used to be, they take too long to write, and I'm always grasping at straws at the end to stretch them out.