Walking down the small corridor on the second floor of the house, Harry peeked into an open door. To his relief, he found a black-haired girl lying quietly on the bed. She was dressed in dark gray pajamas, and her long untidy hair was fanned across the pillow. Harry silently walked into the room. The moment he sat down on the edge of the bed, Tonks sprang around and engulfed the boy in a bone-crushing hug.
"WOTCHER HARRY!" Tonks screamed while burying her head into Harry's chest, slightly muffling her voice.
"Hello there, Nymphydora!" Harry greeted, emphasizing her name purposefully, but found himself pushed head-first off the bed.
"Who in Merlin's bloody arse told you that... Damn it mum!" Tonks flustered, "Don't you dare call me that mister! I don't care if you saved me or not, if I catch you calling me that ever again, you will wish you were granted a swift death. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, supreme mistress Tonks," Harry replied from the floor.
"Now get up so I can hug you again!" Tonks laughed.
Harry eagerly complied and jumped back on the bed. Tonks flung her arms around the boy and the two broke into laughter.
"I'm finally out of the interrogation room I guess," Harry smirked.
"Hey! You should feel privileged! The room you were sleeping in is mine. You're so lucky to sleep in a bed a beautiful young lady had slept naked in the night before."
"So that was your room," Harry said, trying to ignore the last comment, "Why were the posters taken off the walls then?"
"Oh, those? Our posters are a bit different. Wait, she did tell you about magic, right?"
"Yes, she did," Harry replied with a smile.
"Then you know magic is just magical!" Tonks laughed at her own bad joke, "The images of our posters move around. I think my mum removed them so you won't be scared by the sudden freakishness."
Tonks sprang up on the bed and demonstrated some of the motions occurring in her posters through live-action imitation before jumping back on her bum and pulling Harry into another embrace.
"Are you sure you should be moving around like this?" Harry asked with concern.
"My mum is a pro. She could heal those wounds on me in a blink of an eye. It's magic."
"Yes, it is," Harry frowned. "Now I have to reconsider… everything I know about life. Quite shocking. Healing wounds like that as though nothing had happened."
Tonks pulled an arm's length away from Harry and looked into his emerald eyes. "In all seriousness though, thank you, Harry. If it weren't for you, I would be dead by now, or maybe even worse."
Harry pulled the girl back into an embrace. "You are safe now, Tonks, but how could you be so active already? From what your mother was saying, I thought you will be unconscious for at least a day."
"I was pretending to be in pain in front of mum so I could sleep in and have breakfast in bed! Those three scumbags last night didn't have the skill to harm me," Tonks screamed triumphantly as she strangled her pillow and shook it back and forth, taking her well-earned revenge. "The scariest was when they got my hand. I was lucky they didn't get my wand-hand, but it'll probably take a few days for it to fully heal. Oh, and there was the giant gash."
Tonks pulled down her pants and exposed her thighs. She lifted her leg and pointed at the thin silver scar on the otherwise flawless skin of her right thigh. Harry immediately turned his head around, his face boiling red.
"Taking a good look won't kill me, Harry," Tonks winked. "If you're a good boy, I might even let your hands wander a bit."
Harry shook his head nervously and closed his eyes, which caused Tonks to squeal with laughter.
"Alright, alright. I need to take that modesty out of you someday. Open your eyes, Harry, I'm under the covers now!"
"Don't tease me like that, Tonks!" Harry harrumphed, "My mind hasn't been corrupted like you!"
"Whatever," Tonks smirked but quickly returned to a serious expression, "So, are you feeling ok? You suffered more spell damage than me last night from shielding me..." Tonks blushed, "What spells did my mum say you were hit with, Harry?"
"She said I only have a few scratches and a mild fracture."
"WHAT!" Tonks roared, "That's impossible! You know that first spell you were hit with in the shop? That one is supposed to wipe your memories, but I guess the shit-for-brains messed up. Even if that one doesn't count, you were clearly hit by at a disarming charm and a stunner before you towered over my poor defenseless body like a gallant knight claiming his prize after saving a damsel in distress."
"You can never stop teasing me, even if we are talking about something serious, can you?" Harry sighed.
"Not even in your dreams," Tonks replied with a delighted clap of her hands, "Did they hit you with anything after you jumped on me as you tried to ravage my body?"
"Hey, that's not funny!" Harry glared and Tonks quickly apologized, "Well, I did feel a few impacts on my back, and the last spell flung me a couple feet away."
Tonks rested her head on Harry's shoulder and thought inwardly for a few moments before responding. "Those men are called Deatheaters - a very ironic name for the Dark Lord's followers don't you think - They wouldn't use mild impact hexes and a propelling charm. They are known to torture and kill for fun."
"But I feel fine though, and the spells that hit me didn't even cause any pain."
"Not feeling it doesn't mean you are fine Harry!" Tonks scolded, "Can't believe mum said you weren't hit by anything. Just hold on and wait a sec."
Before Harry had time to interpret what she meant, Tonks screamed at the top of her lungs, causing Harry's eardrums to ring.
Moments later, a very worried Andromeda stormed into the room.
"Mummy!" Tonks whimpered, "Harry tried to have his way with me! Look he even took off my pants!"
"Nymphadora!" both Harry and Andromeda yelled in unison.
"Hey!" Tonks glared at Harry. "I'm seriously gonna have to kill you little bugger now!"
"You will do no such thing!" an enraged Andromeda yelled, "How dare you, Nymphadora Tonks! The boy here had just saved you! How dare you joke like that!"
"Geez, mum, it must have been the potions talking," Tonks whispered, slightly afraid of her mother, "Thought it would be funny after how Harry groped my breasts..."
"Tonks!" Harry blushed.
"Harry would never do such a thing!" Andromeda stated, much to Harry's guilt and embarrassment.
"Could we get back to the issue?" Harry asked.
"Oh, that's right," Tonks nodded, "What diagnostic spells did you cast on him, mum?"
"Before you mentioned his using of magic, I thought he was a muggle," Andromeda admitted in embarrassment. "So I only did a surface body scan with a general detection spell, and it showed that nothing was wrong. We left him to wake naturally because sometimes muggles don't respond well to enervate. And then I returned my focus back to you Nymphy. "
"Stop calling me that!" Tonks yelled.
"You never complained at home before."
"That's because nobody other than us heard it! Now that is not the issue. Did you cast any deeper magic detection spells on Harry?"
"No, should I have? You didn't mention Harry getting hit by a curse!"
"Because I was so dizzy and I nearly lost all my blood! He was hit by many curses!"
"You didn't mention anything when you woke up either!" Andromeda snapped back.
"That's because I was hungry! But I told you about Harry's magic fireballs this morning!"
"Ok this won't get anywhere," Andromeda resigned, fully aware of her daughter's rejection to being blamed, "The good thing is that Harry is currently healthy. With your permission, Harry, I will cast a set of magic residue detection spells."
Harry nodded and stood up from the bed. He stretched out his arms in a T shape as he had done for security pat downs. The witches looked at his posture and snorted. Andromeda approached the mannequin-still Harry and waved her wand over his head while muttering a series of incantations. In an instant, a faint red glow was emitted from Harry, but the glow diminished until a cold darkness engulfed the boy.
"That is not good," Andromeda ran to the potion stand, "Not good at all. Drink these two right now! Come on."
Andromeda squeezed Harry's cheeks to force his mouth agape and nearly shoved the two vials down his throat.
"Now lie down," Andromeda pointed at the bed. "You move over, Nymphy!"
"What is happening to him," Tonks concernedly asked. "It must be very severe if you are forcing him to bed your daughter."
"Would you just shut it for once!" Andromeda scolded, "Harry, darling, just ignore her and lie in the bed. I have to get a few potions from my potion store downstairs."
Without another word, Andromeda ran out of the room, leaving Harry with a smirk and Tonks with a frown.
"How can you be so happy?" Tonks swatted his arm, "I am actually very scared for you right now. That joke was only to make you feel less nervous."
"I will be fine," Harry simply stated. If the severity of the spells hadn't affected him after an entire night, he doubted they would do anything at this point. The fact that the dangerous spells aimed to kill didn't affect him on impact gave him further peace of mind.
"How would you know? You're not the healer in this house, as my mother likes to point out."
"I should be fine."
Tonks stared dumbfoundedly at the boy as though he had just slapped her on the face. "How does anything tell you that you're fine? Sweet Merlin they made your head wonky," Tonks mockingly cradled his head into her chest, "It's all my fault! You were once a genius, the prodigy of the era, now you degraded into a crazy little boy. Don't worry honey, I will take care of your for the rest of your life. I will spoon feed you, or feed you mouth to mouth if you like that instead."
"Get off me," Harry muttered, not amused by the eccentric girl's mockery, "I was hit by some very powerful and deadly attacks, but I experienced absolutely nothing. It's either the spells failed or something had protected me from the spells. The most likely case is the latter."
"So you didn't turn dumb after all," Tonks sighed, "And I thought I had to shag you right now to repay you. Oh, well, we can sleep together platonically."
Tonks snuggled closer to Harry's arm as they rested on the bed.
"Could you please stop with the sex jokes," Harry pleaded. "Can we place a limit on it? How about three a day?"
"Never! Give me at least ten and a few playful swats to your bottom."
Harry rolled his eyes and refused to entertain that thought. He knew now that there was no talking common sense into the girl.
"You weren't like this when we first met…" Harry muttered to himself.
"Getting tired of me already?" Tonks gasped. "And I thought the first man to take my virtue would stay true."
Harry snorted at her statement, not believing a single word. The two lied on the bed quietly with Tonks' arms and legs sprawled across Harry until the sound of rushed footsteps grew louder and louder. Andromeda stormed into the room and carried six sinister-looking vials.
"Harry, these potions will taste a bit foul, but they are necessary. Just pinch your nose and swallow fast, ok?"
"Can you tell me what's in..."
Before Harry managed to complete his sentence, Andromeda took the chance and squeezed open his mouth and crammed all six vials in. Harry involuntary gulped the grim tasting fluids down and desperately gasped for breath.
"Was that safe?" Harry coughed. Basic instinct screamed that mixing these sinister bottled fluids was a dangerous idea.
"Should be fine. That was just a precaution," Andromeda said, "I'll need to contact McGonagall about this right away and set up a meeting. Don't let him out of the bed, Nymphy, and make sure he is comfortable. Got it?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Tonks saluted as her mother stepped out the room.
The two rested on the bed in silence. Eyes closed, Harry tried to inwardly sort through all the information he had recently received while Tonks attentively stared into his face. After a few minutes of stillness, the restless girl began to poke and probe Harry's face, and finally got his attention when she squeezed both his lips and nostrils shut.
"Tonks!" Harry whined, "Give me some space, I need to think about something."
"Aren't you curious though?" Tonks asked, "Isn't there a question you are dying to ask me?"
"Is there a question you want me to ask you?" Harry asked knowingly.
"It depends on if you want to ask me or not."
"Very well, I have no question I am dying to ask you."
"Harry!" Tonks pinched his arm, "You never asked me why I am being chased by the three evil villains! Come on, ask me!"
"Are you going to answer it though?" Harry asked.
"It depends on how you ask it."
"To tell you the truth, I am not that interested," Harry smirked, enjoying the feeling of being the one leading the conversation.
"Harry! You must want to know, even just a little. Don't you feel that restlessness of not knowing a secret?"
"I think you are feeling the restlessness of not being able to deny somebody from knowing the secret."
"If you don't ask, I won't talk to you again!" Tonks threatened.
"Fine, why were they trying to get you, Tonks?"
"Can't say," Tonks smirked triumphantly, "Ministry secrets."
"You are the worst spy in the world, you know that?"
"Insults won't get you anywhere, mister," Tonks stuck out her tongue. "But there is something that might."
Harry cocked an eyebrow and waited for the girl to continue.
"In our world, there is something called a life debt," Tonks said slowly, "When a person selflessly saves another, a magical bond is formed. Now, because you so dashingly carried me away from danger, I now owe you a life debt. So you can basically ask anything of me... I think."
"And the magic forces you to comply even if you don't want to?" Harry asked with a frown.
"I'm not totally sure since its more like folklore these days, but girls were often forced to marry or become concubines of the man who saved them in the stories."
"I won't do such a thing if you are worried..."
"It might not be that bad," Tonks muttered, "A man does gain points for saving a damsel from certain death."
"So you want to marry me?" Harry teased.
"Maybe not marry, but we certainly could do things even married couples don't do," Tonks winked as her hands began sliding down Harry's chest to his stomach.
The boy gulped nervously and quickly swatted Tonks's hand away much to her amusement.
"You're still ten years too young," Tonks smirked. "Need some growing to do before you even attempt to flirt with me!"
"Ugh... Why is your appearance different from before?" Harry desperately attempted to change the subject. "You looked a bit different when you first entered the shop compared to last night. Is it a disguise you made with magic?"
Tonks's eyes widened and her hands reached for her face. She quickly turned away from Harry, and her hair instantly changed from long and black to short and red.
"I'm a metamorphmagus," the girl whispered, "I can change my entire anatomy if I want to."
"That is actually so cool. Which one is your real..."
"Can you drop it?" Tonks interjected, "If you heard what they wanted to do to me just because I'm a metamorphmagus, then you would know why I don't like it at all."
"I'm sorry," Harry said softly, "I was being inconsiderate."
"No… I shouldn't have snapped at you like that," Tonks shifted back to face Harry, her face returning to the one Harry saw when they first met, "Last night still..."
"I know. You don't have to explain."
"Thank you," she whispered.
The two fell silent. Tonks continued to stare into Harry's emerald eyes and Harry returned to his thoughts.
"It's pointless for me to be resting," Harry said after a long pause, "Teach me everything you know about magic!"
Tonks smiled and knew exactly where to start.
"There is this sport called Quidditch..."
