A/N: Hey guys, sorry that's it's been awhile. It's getting Hot here in OZ and my lap top is a very hot toy to sit in front of all day. But never fear, this chapter is long… well for me it is. Enjoy.
A Meeting with the Boy who Lived.
A gentle summer breeze drifted through the open window of the apartment on the fifth floor. Tonks leaned over and switched her bed side lamp off. She pulled the bed covers over her and instantly kicked them off, the day's still awake. She hadn't been to bed this early in months, her body wasn't used to it, and sleep would not come.
She was still wide awake when twenty minutes later the was a soft knock on the door. At first it was so soft she thought it must have been next door. Then it came again louder. She switched the lamp back on as she crawled out of her bed. The lamp gave off enough light to dimly illuminate the whole studio apartment. She reached the door just as the third knock came.
She opened the door. "Remus?"
"Sorry, should have buzzed you from downstairs. Made sure you were…that you weren't….did I wake you?"
Tonks was very suddenly aware of the blue and purple pyjamas that the she had on. The shock of finding Remus on her doorstep, when she had been just thinking about him was fading, only to leave her embarrassed.
"No," she finally managed, "I was just getting ready for bed. Thought an early night would be in order if I was on the early Harry watching duty."
"Of course. It was Harry Watching that I came to talk to you about."
Tonks felt a little disappointed that it was the Order that had brought Remus, and not regard for her. She tried not to let it show. "Is there something wrong with my Harry watching?"
"No!… I mean it's fine; it's good. Just that we had a situation tonight. Harry and his muggle cousin were attacked by a set of Dementors."
"Dementors?! Who was watching Harry?"
"No one! Dung, left for some crap, old, caldrons!"
"Oh for f… Hello." Tonks had just noticed the boy who lived across the hall had stuck his head out of his door way.
The boy raised his eyebrows and slid back behind his door.
"Do you want to come in?" Tonks asked, realising that they were still standing at the threshold of her small apartment.
"Ah I really… if it's alright?"
Tonks stood back to let him in. The apartment was small and it felted crowed with the two of them in it. The lamp was still the only light on, the dim light was casting long shadows around the room. Remus had stopped just in front of Tonks, not knowing where to move to in the half lit room. He turned around to face Tonks, whatever he had been going to say, caught in his throat. His eyes locked with hers. Tonks felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, a hot flash that had nothing to do with the weather, ran through her body.
Tonks hand felt for the light switch that was next to the door. Remus' mouth moved as if he was still trying to find the words that had made him turn around in the first place. Tonks fingers found the switch, she hit it with her fingers three times before it gave way and the apartment filled with the glow of the florescent light.
As if on cue Remus found the words he had been struggling with. "Where should I sit?" This was followed by a deep breath.
"Sorry I don't have visitors often." Tonks dashed around Remus and cleared one of the two chairs in the room. As she moved to put the pile of clothes on her bed, she said, "Just choose a chair."
"Right. Thank- you."
Tonks sat on the free chair, "So if our Mr Fletcher wasn't there watching Harry, what happened?"
"Well I taught Harry how to perform the Patronus Charm in his third year. Seems that he's quite good at it and was able to fight off the Dementors. His cousin came out of it a little worse for wear. But the problem is that the ministry where right on top of it, just as we had suspected they would be. Sent Harry a letter straight away telling him that he was expelled from Hogwarts."
"What? They can't do that. Merlin, they can't even charge him for using magic. There're exceptions to that law."
"Who's to say that there where Dementors, Harry's the only one who would have seen them."
"Remus you're not saying that you think Harry made it up are you?"
"No, No, No. But you can bet that's what the ministry's line of prosecution will be."
"Whoa, back up. Why would the ministry have a line of prosecution?"
"Well, Dumbledore and Arthur went down to the Ministry as soon as we heard what had happened. Arthur then, apparently thinking that Harry might do a runner from his aunt and uncle, wrote Harry and told him not to leave and that Dumbledore would fix everything.
"After a while Dumbledore and Arthur returned, and told us how the ministry had reacted. Dumbledore was able to get them to reverse the expelling, but Harry still has to attend a hearing on the charges of underage wizardry, and using magic in front of Muggles."
Tonks sat with her hands over her mouth, the embarrassment of Remus seeing her in her PJ's, now totally gone. "So how's Harry now?"
"I don't know. Sirius was writing to him as I left."
"Dung's not still watching him, is he?"
"Merlin No. Molly went. She'll explain to Podmore when he turns up to his shift. This also means that we will have to get Harry out as soon as possible."
"Well yeah. Sorry, I'm a terrible host, did you want some tea or something? … in fact it better had be tea and not the something, because I only have tea."
"Tea's fine."
Tonks went about making the tea, when she turned back she found Remus staring at her. Quickly she turned back to the kitchen bench and busied herself while the kettle boiled. Tonks sat back down and passed Remus the bright pink, raspberry and mango tea. The discussion moved on to the plan to remove Harry from Privet drive. The two of them drafted up the Dursleys letter informing them of the lawn competition win.
Sirius sat down on a chair at the end of the large table in the kitchen of number 12. As soon as he had sat, he stood again and walked to the other end of the room. He crossed his arms and then uncrossed them, then he leaned against the wall. Remus watched Sirius movements with amusement from the middle of the room where he sat with Tonks.
The day after Harry's encounter with the Dementors, Tonks had dropped the letter, charmed muggle postage stamp and all, into the Dursleys letter slot. Remus had spent the day chasing up the team of Order members that had volunteered to get Harry out of the Dursleys . He updated them on the recent events and the change of date to execute the plan. Now the team sat around the kitchen of Number 12, their brooms by their sides. All they waited on was the arrival of Diggle.
Sirius tried to sit again, but he only lasted a few seconds before he was up pacing again.
"Don't worry Sirius, will get him back here alright." said Mad Eye.
"I know. I trust you." said Sirius with all serenity, then he continued his restless pace.
Remus felt a poke a finger poke his arm. He turned to look at Tonks, she only poked him again. "What?" he asked. She shrugged and poked him again. She looked back at him with the smile that lit her whole face and made her eyes twinkle.
Remus gave a heavy sigh. "You know Nymphadora I don't know if purple is really your colour. The pink bob is much more you."
Tonks stopped poking him. "Tonks!"
"Oh no, I'm Remus. You know that Nymphadora."
"Oh." said Tonks, hitting Remus playfully on the arm.
Remus put a hand to the place where she had hit him. "Ouch, that hurt."
"Liar."
"The two of you are really quite disgusting." Sirius had stopped pacing and was now looking straight at Remus and Tonks, a look of amusement plastered on his face.
Before they could respond, Diggle came thought the door broom in hand. Everyone in the room, bar Sirius, picked up their brooms as well and grouped together around Mad Eye. "Right," began Mad Eye, " We will all be apparating right into Figs. Then from there we will have to very quite the last thing we want is one on the muggles calling in the muggle law enforcement. So all of us will make our way to the back of Harry's house and clime through the kitchen window there. Some of these muggles put a type of muggle charms on doors, make a terrible noise if you just walk up and try to open them.
"So if we are all ready. Remus you go first and then I come last."
The group of wizards and witches left Sirius in the kitchen as he took up his restless pace. They made there way to the door and one by one they apparated from the front step to Mrs. Figs hallway.
Tonks wondered just how inconspicuous nine wizards in robes, crossing a muggle road just after dark looked. Luckily no curtains twitched, no late joggers passed, no one put the cat out. They all crept along the side of the house, through to the back yard. Remus was the first to get to the kitchen window, he tapped it once with his wand, "Alohomora". there was a small click, then Remus pushed the window wide open.
"I'll give you a boost up." said Remus, grabbing hold of the window ledge and steadying his leg.
"Ok." Tonks hoisted herself through the window with Remus help. The problem came when there was no help on the other side. With her feet still dangling out the window, Tonks slid forward, landing face first in a heap on the kitchen floor. The crash was deafening in the silence.
"Damn Tonks." grumbled Mad Eye from outside.
"It can't have been that loud." Came the deep tones of Kingsley.
"Are you alright?" Remus voice came from inside. He was half way through the window, as Tonks pulled herself upright.
"Yeah I think so. I've lived through worse." Tonks accepted the hand that Remus extended to help pull her off the floor. For a moment they stood close to each other Tonks hand still in Remus'. Tonks felt her breath catch and her hands grow sweaty. She could feel Remus unsteady breath on her cheek.
"Oi. Does one of you, want to just open the door for us?" Emmeline asked through the open window.
"But we don't know if these muggles have any charms put-" Mad Eye was cut short as Remus unlocked and opened the door with not even a creak as the door swung open.
"If he's here why hasn't he come down about the noise yet?" Squeaked Diggle.
Remus shook his head. "They would have locked him in his room when they went out."
"Muggles, I tell you." muttered Sturgis Podmore.
Mad Eye walked in to the hall and waved his wand towards the stairs. A small click could be heard as the rest of the group followed Mad Eye into the hall. Everyone became very quite as the listened to the small creaks in the floorboards beyond the stairway. Then very swiftly at the top of the stairs a shadow moved into sight, it wand pointed out in front of it.
"Lower your wand, boy, before you take someone's eye out." Mad-Eye's low voice took Tonks by surprise. She suddenly noticed just how dark it was inside. She glanced around for a light switch but found none.
From the top of the stairs came a voice full of uncertainty, "Professor Moody?"
Mad-Eye sounded amused in his reply, "I don't know so much about the 'Professor', never got round to much teaching, did I? Get down here, we want to see you properly."
Tonks would have been lying if she said that she wasn't exited to meet the 'boy who lived'. And here she was in his house, standing right next to him. Well not right next to him, he was still standing at the top of the stairs his wand still griped tightly in his hand. In fact now that her eyes were adjusting to the bad light she could tell that the boy looked almost scared.
Tonks look over at Remus. He seemed to have realised this as well. "It's all right, Harry. We've come to take you away."
The shadow at the top of the stairs visible relaxed. "P-Professor Lupin? Is that you?"
"Why are we all standing in the dark?" Tonks still couldn't see a light switch, and had had enough of peering at shadows, "Lumos."
The light from Tonks wand lit up the hall and stairway. She felt someone behind her move for a better view of Harry. Tonks looked up at the boy. It was the first time she had seen him up close, and she was happy to see he looked just like she had imagined. He was very average looking, if anything, a little on the dorky side. His clothes were not cool, but then they weren't not cool. They hung on him with signs of a boy still growing. His hair was messy, with bits sticking up in all directions. His eyes were something to remember, bight green, they seemed to glow.
"Oooh, he looks just like I thought he would," Tonks said out loud. She noticed the green eyes take her in. "Wotcher Harry!"
Kingsley tapped Remus on the shoulder, "Yeah, I see what you mean, Remus, he looks exactly like James."
Dingle moved again behind Tonks, "Except his eyes. Lily's eyes."
Tonks looked over at Mad-Eye, he was looking at Harry with some suspicion. "Are you quite sure it's him. Lupin?" he growled. "It'd be a nice little look out if we bring back some Death Eater impersonating him. We ought to ask him something that only the real Potter would know. Unless anyone brought any Veritaserum?"
Before anyone could answer Mad-Eye, Remus asked, "Harry, what form does your Patronus take?"
"A stag." the note of caution still evident in Harry's voice.
"That's him, Mad-Eye," said Remus with a smile.
As Harry made his way down the stairs towards the group, Tonks watch as mad Eye told the boy off for putting his wand in his back pocket. He warned that he knew of Wizards that had lost their buttocks this way. Tonks racked her brain trying to think about who would have been that stupid.
"Who d'you know who's lost a buttock?" Tonks asked trying not to sound to interested.
"Never you mind, you just keep your wand out of your back pocket!" grumbled Mad-Eye, "Elementary wand-safety, nobody bothers about it any more." He then stormed off to the Kitchen, as much as a person with a wooden leg can storm off. Tonks rolled her eyes after him. "And I saw that," growled Mad-Eye.
There had been a wand-safety section in her Auror training, but she was hardly going to bring that up with Mad-Eye now. She thought back to the boring hour she had spent weekly in the first six months of her training. The lessons covered things like, over flourishing of your wand, how to use your wand in confined places, and when to replace your wand.
Tonks looked back at where Harry and Remus stood. "I'm- you're really lucky the Dursleys are out…" Harry was just saying.
"Lucky, ha!" Tonks laughed, "it was me who lured them out of the way. Sent them a letter by Muggle post telling them they'd been short-listed for the All-England Best Kept Suburban Lawn Competition. They're heading off to the prize-giving right now… or they think they are."
Tonks saw a small smile flick across Harry's face. He asked Remus when they were leaving. Remus told him soon and explained that they would not be going to the Burrow but had another safer place to go. The lights were now on in the kitchen and the group of wizards and witches followed Remus and Harry into the room.
Remus first introduced Mad-Eye and turned to Tonks. He smiled just a little, "And this is Nymphadora-"
Tonks gave a shudder as if a cold bucket of water had been tipped on her. She had known it was coming as soon as she had seen Remus small smile. "Don't call me Nymphadora, Remus, it's Tonks."
Remus' smile had grown. "Nymphadora Tonks, who prefers to be known by her surname only."
"So would you if your fool of a mother had called you Nymphadora," mumbled Tonks.
As Remus introduced Harry to the rest of the guard, Tonks looked around the room. The place was immaculate. The kitchen sink sparkled, the wired gadgets on the bench top all looked brand new, and there was a smell of pine-freshness in the air. She never remembered her muggle Grandparents' house looking this clean, nor her dad, who was a Muggle-born, getting the kitchen sink to sparkle.
"Very clean, aren't they, these Muggles?" she noticed Harry give her a funny look, and tried to explain herself. "My dad's a Muggle-born and he's a right old slob. I suppose it varies, just as it does with wizards?"
Harry still didn't seem impressed with her. Tonks turned back to looking through the cupboards trying to hide her disappointment that Harry had not instantly liked her.
A/N: well there you go. I hope to get the next chapter up soon. Sorry that this one ends so abruptly, but the next chapter will carry on. Please review, I love to hear from you all.