It was a rather disgruntled Harry and Aries that finally rejoined their friends at the Gryffindor table for dinner the next evening. They had finally persuaded Madam Pomfrey to release them, though she had insisted they return for a check-up in a week and their relief at escaping her clutches was warring with their annoyance at their friends.
The two boys slid into their seats at the Gryffindor table, shooting glares at their dorm-mates.
"I thought she was never going to let us out" grumbled Aries, beginning to serve himself from the dishes in the middle of the table and ignoring the concerned glances Hermione kept shooting him.
"But you feel better now, don't you?" he ignored her question, and continued selecting his dinner "Honestly, you two should look after yourselves better, I've been saying it for weeks" she trailed off at the glare she received from Harry.
"We're fine. And even if we weren't, it's our business, so leave it alone." He declared moodily as he started to eat. Hermione and the other four boys exchanged looks but let it rest. "So, did we miss anything interesting?" Harry changed the subject.
"Not much, but Neville did hit Malfoy with a silent stunner so powerful he flew backwards into the wall in Defence this afternoon" Aries snickered a little at the mental image while Harry grinned widely "Snape was livid" this set off a fresh round of sniggering from everyone except Hermione, who looked at them all disapprovingly.
"I can't believe I missed it! Good on you, Nev" Harry clapped Neville on the shoulder. "I'm so proud of you" he ruffled the other boys head but Neville ducked away and glared at him, the others all laughed.
Two figures entered the great hall and started walking between the house tables but Harry and Aries were facing the opposite direction. "Hey, is that Professor Lupin? What's he doing here? And who's that with him?" asked Seamus, pointing over their shoulders.
Harry and Aries whipped their heads around to see and sure enough, just inside the doors to the Great Hall were Remus and Tonks. Remus looked tired but his robes were a little less shabby than before- Tonks had probably bullied him into buying new ones with the money Sirius left him. Tonks herself was as vibrantly dressed as ever and the outfit was completed by her favourite shade of bubblegum pink hair.
The two boys jumped up and ran towards the newcomers "DORA!" yelled Aries, bowling her over with the enthusiasm of her hug, they stumbled and collapsed in a heap on the floor, laughing their heads off. Harry was slightly more restrained "Remus" he grinned and was enveloped in a bear hug.
The two of them turned to Aries and Dora who were struggling to disentangle themselves. Harry offered his hand to Tonks and pulled her up "Tonks, graceful as ever" he teased, hugging her too. Remus helped Aries to his feet and hugged the younger boy, whose smile was so huge it looked like it might split his face.
"We were just here to see Dumbledore about something and we were going to come and see you guys anyway, but then he mentioned that you'd both spent a night in the hospital wing so we decided we'd ask you about that as well" Remus explained, one arm still slung over Aries' shoulder.
Aries groaned and rested his forehead against Remus' shoulder "It's all Nev's fault".
Remus started leading Aries towards the door and Tonks linked her arm with Harry's dragging him after them. "I promised I'd show Dora where the kitchens are and we can eat and talk without worrying about anyone listening in" he told them, heading in the direction of the corridor with the painting of the fruit bowl that was the entrance to the kitchens.
~ASB~
Draco Malfoy sat at the Slytherin table and glared at the touching scene in front of him. At first he had not recognised the woman but when Black had hugged her she had reverted to what must have been her natural appearance. The high cheekbones, thick dark brown hair and stormy grey eyes made her look almost like a cross between his own mother and his Aunt Bellatrix, exactly how he had always imaged the blood-traitor Andromeda to look. That, combined with the metamorphmagus abilities she had just displayed, told him that the mystery woman was his half-blood cousin, Nymphadora Tonks.
It wasn't fair, he'd been alone his whole childhood and he'd always wanted a relative near to his own age but the only one he had was Nymphadora Tonks, who his parents refused to acknowledge. As a young boy he'd longed to meet his slightly older cousin but as he'd got older he'd given it up as an impossibility. When he was only five or six he'd heard his mother ranting about her acceptance into the auror training programme and his only thought had been how cool it would be to have an auror for a cousin. He had never voiced the thought as, even then, he had realised it would get him in trouble with his parents. So he felt a pang of jealousy as he watched Black and Tonks together, she was his first cousin, whereas Black was only their second cousin. Outwardly though, he merely sneered at the public display of affection before turning back to his dinner.
~ASB~
Lupin tickled the pear and climbed through into the bustling kitchen. "I can't believe I never found this! It's only two minutes from the Hufflepuff dorms!" the other three laughed at the shocked expression on Tonks' face.
"Well, you didn't have the help of the Marauders did you?" said Harry, playfully shoving Remus in the shoulder "What I want to know is how you guys found it in the first place"
"Well, James and Sirius couldn't live without the odd midnight snack so it was a matter of priority. We found it after about a month I think."
Their conversation had attracted the attention of the House Elves and a second later a knee high blur charged at them and Harry found his legs being hugged by Dobby who was chattering away, much to his companions' amusement. Harry grinned and asked Dobby how he was, prompting a fresh round of wailing, as Remus asked the House Elves if they could have some food.
Five minutes later the four of them were settled down at the end of one of the tables, surrounded by a veritable feast that the House Elves had provided. "So, I take it my two favourite nephews have become friends?" Lupin smiled at Harry and Aries kindly "I thought you would" they both grinned. "Sirius and James always wanted you to be close."
Harry's smile was bittersweet but he reached over and ruffled Aries hair, drawing a shout of protest from the younger boy "Well, seeing as he's already my godbrother I've decided to adopt him and make him my new little brother".
Aries scowled, "I'm only a year younger than you and I'm the same height as you so watch who you're calling little."
Tonks laughed at that and grinned "So does that make you my cousin too Harry?"
"Yup" Harry stuck his tongue out at her "So you can't get rid of me anymore, even if you wanted to!"
Remus smiled and reached out, intertwining his fingers with Tonks' "It goes both ways, Harry, you can't get rid of Dora either"
"HA!" exclaimed Aries "I knew it! I knew you two liked each other!"
Harry merely raised an eyebrow as he regarded Remus and Tonks' clasped hands "When did that happen?"
Tonks blushed but answered without hesitation "This summer. I spent a lot of time at Grimmauld with Aries and of course Remus was there and well… It just sort of happened."
Harry grinned "Congratulations to both of you. I reckon you'll be good for the old wolf, Tonks."
Remus gave a half-hearted swat at Harry's head but he was laughing too "You watch who you're calling old, cub. Now, what's this I hear about you two spending a night in the Hospital Wing?"
Harry grumbled a bit while Aries practically growlded out his explanation "Bloody traitorous dorm mates dobbed us in to the Dragon Lady. So we hadn't been sleeping much, it's nothing to do with them, they should learn to mind their own bloody blusiness."
"Aries Sirius Black you mind that language or I'll wash your mouth out for you" Remus looked concerned though "Not sleeping? Why is that?"
"Nightmares" mumbled Harry, studiously avoiding meeting his honorary uncle's gaze.
"Oh boys" Remus's soft brown eyes were sad as he looked at the two boys he considered his cubs, "What did the 'Dragon Lady' say?".
"She gave us some Dreamless Sleep last night and we can have it twice a week if we need it but no more. We have to go for another check-up in a week and she advised us to talk to someone about our nightmares." Harry met Remus' gaze, his eyes filled with a swirling mess of emotions, embarassment, annoyance, exhaustion and a deep sadness.
"I don't think there's anything more that you can do, but let me know if it gets any worse. Tonks and I are always here if you need someone to talk to and don't be afraid to go to Madam Pomfrey if you need to." Remus held up a hand seeing they were about to protest. "Look, I know you don't like the Hospital Wing but it's a necessary evil, you can't get by with only a few hours sleep a night."
Harry and Aries exchanged a glance but after a second they nodded reluctantly in agreement. "Good. Now that that's settled, Aries, how are you finding Hogwarts?" asked Tonks.
The four of them lost track of time as they chatted until suddenly Remus looked at his watch and cursed. "Damn! It's nearly curfew, you two need to get back to the common room. Harry, have you got the cloak?" Harry nodded. "Right, you can use that to avoid getting caught by a teacher. See you soon cub" he hugged Harry while Tonks embraced Aries "And you too, pup." He ruffled Aries' hair as he pulled him into a bear hug as Harry and Tonks hugged and said their own farewells.
"Now off you go!" He shoved the pair of them in the direction of the exit andslid an arm over Tonks' shoulders, pulling her close to his side, as they watched the pair of laughing boys disappear under the invisibility cloak, the door shutting behind them.
A/N: Sorry for the gap between chapters, I had coursework and have exams starting in two weeks so they'll probably be quite irregular updates for the next month and a half until I finish school. Anyway, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and as always, please send in a review telling me what you liked and what could be improved, it always helps keep me motivated to write the next chapter :D