Disclaimer: Shenme?


Nothing As It Seems

Nine Months Later...

Hermione Granger looked up from the book she was reading when she heard the chime of the doorbell. The sound of the shower down the hall made her realize that she would need to be the one to answer the door. Her mother was still preparing for work before dropping Hermione off at school. With a sigh, the eleven year old carefully placed the gold-trim leather bookmark she had received for Christmas on the page and gently shut the book. She clomped down the stairs and made her way to the door.

When she opened it, she was not shocked to see a man who appeared a bit ragged but hopeful. What she was surprised to see was a boy who appeared to be about her age. The black haired youth grinned at her, then glanced up at his companion with what she could only describe as a smirk.

A slight hesitation was the only indication she was confused. Drawing herself up, Hermione greeted them with a cool look and ignored the boy as her gaze shifted back to the older man. "Can I help you, sir?"

The man responded with a slight bow of his head and spoke. "We were hoping to speak with Hermione Granger. I presume that would be you, young lady?"

"And why would you presume that?" she asked, attempting to look down her nose at a man almost twice her height.

His grin only increased at the reply, and the boy at his side actually snorted. "We were informed that there were only three residents of this address," answered the man. "And as two of them are the parents of Miss Granger, we must assume that any child answering the door would be her. Unless you're a friend of hers?" His voice trailed off, and the pain in her eyes was quickly snuffed out by a mask of suspicion.

"Why do you want to speak with me?" asked Hermione. It was said neutrally, but her natural curiosity was so strong it radiated off of her.

"Do you mind if we come in for a few minutes?" asked the man. The explanation could take awhile. We'd also like to speak with your parents, if they're home."

"My mother is in the shower at the moment, but she should be done in a few minutes." Hermione led the two inside and sat them down on a comfortable couch in what appeared to be the living room. Several plush chairs and a love seat finished off the seating in the room. They all faced a large television, sitting inside a dark wooden cabinet. Pictures of Hermione and her parents adorned the walls, as well as several other people that Harry knew were her extended family. One photograph had the entire Granger clan. Both sets of grandparents sat on each end of the group, with Hermione's father next to his parents while Hermione's mother and Aunt stood next to theirs. Her two cousins, both older, stood in the center of the photograph. Hermione sat between them as a baby. The picture must have been ten years old, and Harry remembered his friend telling him that her Grandparents had all died by the time she started attending Hogwarts.

He studied the picture from his seat while Remus sat next to him, staring around the room and smiling when he heard Hermione shouting to her mother in the shower. A few moments later, Hermione reemerged and offered them some tea. They both declined politely, and the three of them sat around in an awkward silence for several minutes, waiting for Mrs. Granger.

Finally, an older version of the woman from the photograph, but younger than Harry remembered from his past, entered the room. She smiled at them questioningly, and extended her hand as they stood and smiled back.

"Mrs. Granger," began Remus. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Helen, please,"

"Helen, then. My name is Remus Lupin, and this young man," he said, nodding to Harry, "is Harry Potter. We're here to discuss an opportunity for Hermione to attend a specialized school suited for her unique talents."

Helen Granger smiled brightly with obvious pride at her daughter. Hermione blushed slightly at the look and glanced toward the floor.

"Well, Mr. Lupin, I'm sorry to say that we've already arranged for Hermione to participate in several different programs for gifted children." Her smile lost a bit of its brightness as her eyes flicked to her still blushing daughter. "Hermione also decided she didn't want to continue with traditional schooling. She hasn't had great success with her teachers or classmates in the past."

Remus nodded and patted Harry on the back. The black haired boy approached Hermione, who looked up with a hint of anxiety on her face. She was chewing on her bottom lip, and Harry had trouble not laughing at the bucked teeth that had Madam Pomfrey had unknowingly shrunk down to normal in his other life.

The werewolf spoke again, glancing back and forth between the children and Helen Granger. "Helen, would it be all right if Harry took Hermione outside or up to her room while we speak? I think you'll be very interested in what my school has to offer your daughter. And I think Hermione will be interested, as well."

With a glance at the boy standing in front of her daughter, Helen nodded her head and Harry grabbed Hermione's hand and dragged her to the back door, not bothering to pause to ask for directions. As they left the room, they heard Remus begin the conversation with a question.

"Helen, have you ever noticed odd things happening around Hermione when she's experiencing extreme emotions? When she's very happy or sad? Or angry?"

Hermione's head jerked as she heard the question, remembering several incidents which had only furthered the alienation from her classmates. As she was about to speak, Harry tugged her arm and they stepped out into the Granger's backyard.


At the very moment Remus and Harry walked through the front door of the Granger's house, Nymphadora Tonks was sitting in a waiting room of the Department of Muggle Relations.

She had graduated Hogwarts the previous week and woken up the morning after with a splitting headache. As she'd rolled around in her bed the realization that she was still wearing the vomit stained robes she had fallen asleep in had forced its way into her mind, as well as her nose. Sighing through her mouth, Tonks sat up and ran her fingers through her hair, then rubbed her face vigorously for a minute before a light cough interrupted her.

"Sarah, don't even start," hissed Tonks. "I'll figure out what I did last night after I have a shower and find some clean clothes."

"No need to search for clothes, Miss Tonks," said a voice that absolutely did not belong to her roommate of seven years. "I believe these should suffice."

Recognizing the voice of her Headmaster, Tonks froze. Her face was fortunately still in her hands, and the only indication that she had heard Albus was the bright red hue her hair changed to that bordered on fluorescent. With a sigh, she glanced up to see the glowing face of Albus Dumbledore. In his hands were a set of witches robes and his wand.

"Now Miss Tonks, if you would stand up I will perform a cleaning charm. I have a need to speak with you in my office now that you have finally finished your education."

Tonks nodded and, in her attempt to extricate herself from her sheets, tangled her legs and fell face first out of her bed. Almost instantly, Albus was helping her up and Tonks' humiliation reached new heights as she observed that the vomit that had been limited to her graduation robes and her bed was now being transferred onto the bright yellow fabric that the Headmaster wore.

After they were both standing, Albus performed the necessary cleaning charms on both of them, and then offered to do a similar charm for her mouth.

"No sir, it's...well," Tonks hesitated. "It's not my vomit."

Albus stared into her eyes for a moment before he grinned widely. "Ah, young Mister Weasley. He does so remind me of his brother."

Ignoring the fact that the Headmaster had seemingly read her mind, Tonks nodded and grabbed the offered robes from the man, who quickly left the dorm with the promise that he would wait downstairs in the Hufflepuff common room.

As she sat, waiting for a meeting with the father of the boy who had vomited on her the night of her graduation, Tonks reflected on the conversation she'd had that morning with Albus Dumbledore. He'd explained that, although she had already been accepted to the Auror program, the newly created Department of Muggle Relations was in desperate need of qualified wizards and witches. Specifically, wizards and witches who had the ability to handle combat situations as well as blend in with and imitate Muggles. Her training would be similar to the Auror program, though not as intensive and would only last for two years instead of the three that the Aurors required.

The door across from Tonks opened and a man wearing a Muggle suit stepped out. Slightly confused at the man's appearance, Tonks rose and stepped forward hesitatingly. The man smiled at her and nodded, then stepped into the hallway, leaving Tonks behind in her confusion.

After another moment, a witch, wearing witches robes Tonks noticed with relief, stepped out and welcomed her. She was guided to a door and preceded by the witch, who announced her.

"Director. Miss Tonks is here for your appointment."

Tonks entered the office as the voice of Director Weasley acknowledged her arrival. He stood and walked over to her, and Tonks grinned at the familiar sight of Arthur Weasley. She had spoken with him several times over the years, mostly at quidditch matches as they both watched Charlie chasing the snitch. As a friend of his son's, as well as having a Muggle-born father, the eldest Weasley had taken an interest in her. Arthur had interrogated her several times on what it was like living in a Muggle environment. When she had explained that her family only spent a few months a year living in Muggle London, it had not deterred him in the least. She had last seen him the night of graduation, but he hadn't spoken to her beyond a heartfelt congratulations.

Grabbing her in a hug, Arthur welcomed her and pushed her gently into a seat. Sitting down across from her at his desk, Arthur steepled his hands and stared at her intently for almost a full minute without saying anything. Tonks stared back at him and smiled a moment after he did. Arthur slapped his hands down on the desk and chuckled.

"Oh, Miss Tonks, this is most excellent. I'm truly looking forward to working with you!"

Tonks gasped, but did her best to disguise it as a normal breath. "What about an interview, sir? Professor Dumbledore explained to me that this job would be similar to the Aurors. Isn't there something I need to do..." Tonks let the words hang in the air as she saw Arthur shake his head and continued to chuckle.

"No, no, Miss Tonks. I believe all the information I need has already been presented to me. The fact that you are familiar with the Non-Magical world and were already accepted as an Auror Trainee would have convinced me did I not already have other information."

"Other information?" asked Tonks.

"Indeed," agreed Arthur mysteriously. He stood. "Now, if you'll allow me to introduce you to your supervisor, you can get started with the necessary paperwork and begin anytime this week. Or the next, if you'd prefer. I imagine you'd like some time to unwind and relax after having taken your NEWT's last month. Your scores were excellent, by the way. Much better than my own."

Tonks blushed and nodded, standing along with him as he led her out of his office and down a brightly lit corridor. It appeared to be very different than the lighting she was used to after seven years at Hogwarts and her various trips to the Ministry over the past few months to apply for the position in the Auror Department.

"Are these Muggle lights, sir?"

Arthur looked up and then back at the young woman walking along side him. "Why yes, they are!" he gushed excitedly. "We decided that it would make our Muggle visitors, such as Mr. Eastham, who you saw leaving my office a few minutes ago, more comfortable. Every little bit helps, and after going through the atrium, it seemed only fair to give them a little taste of normality. They're powered by magic, of course. Amazing spell. Very interesting. You'll be meeting the wizard who created it this evening if you have the time for a small reception."

She nodded dumbly in response as the two continued walking and arrived at a door. In large gold letters that were apparently held on by Muggle nails, the name Kingsley Shacklebolt, Head of Non-Magical Interference Administration sparkled. Tonks gasped again, this time not bothering to hide it.

"Shacklebolt is one of the head Aurors! I didn't realize he worked for the Muggle Relations Department, too."

As he knocked on the door, Arthur responded. "He does now. He's not an Auror. Not anymore, at least. Minister Bones assigned him and three other Aurors to this department a few months ago. They'll be in charge of containing all Non-Magical exposure to our world, as well as assisting Non-Magical police and government forces in any joint situations. In the unfortunate cases where obliviation is necessary, they'll also take care of that. It will put much less stress on the rest of the Ministry."

As they entered the office of Kingsley Shacklebolt, Tonks' eyes widened at the group of people standing around the former Auror's desk. She didn't know many of them, but two of them she recognized immediately from her previous visits to the Ministry. Two others she recognized because of their fame. Kingsley was standing in front of a large white wall, pointing his wand at various moments, causing writing to appear. Nadia Chalmers, another former Auror sat on the corner of Kingsley's desk taking notes with what Tonks knew to be a Muggle ball point pen. Standing in the corner, one of the most famous Aurors of the past hundred years, 'Mad-Eye' Moody, watched them as his magical eye spun wildly after locking onto Arthur and Tonks the moment they had stepped into the room. The fourth person, standing by himself against the wall, caused Tonks' breath to catch in her throat.

"Sirius!" she whispered loudly, causing everyone in the room to stop what they were doing and look over at the new arrivals.

Her favorite cousin stared at her for a moment before grinning widely. "Little Nymphadora! I haven't seen you since you were this high," he sniggered, his hand reaching down to his knees.

The moment he had used the offensive name her parents had saddled her with, Tonks' wand had emerged from her wrist holster. Her hair had changed into a dark red with flashes of purple streaking through it like sheets of falling rain.

"You might be my favorite cousin, but do not use that name!"

A bolt of light shot from her wand toward Sirius, causing him to let out an effeminate "Eep!" and dive to the ground. None of the others were near the spell, which hit the wall with a shower of sparks and a loud hiss that resembled a small amount of water being dropped in a frying pan. After a moment, a small black mark was the only indication that a spell had been cast. Several of the Aurors had their wands out immediately and pointed at Tonks, but held back when Sirius stirred.

"Woah!" shouted Sirius, his hands raised in defeat as slowly rose to his feet. His younger cousin still had her wand pointed at his face, though her hair had calmed considerably and only appeared to be a solid, angry red.

"I'm sorry, okay? Jeez, Tonks. Give me a break. I haven't seen you in ten years!"

"You're right. Sorry," Tonks apologized sheepishly as she lowered her wand arm. Sirius took a breath and turned to Kingsley, who was smirking at him. "I suppose this is the recruit you were telling me about?"

Kingsley nodded. Sirius was about to complain about being surprised when Kingsley's eyes widened comically and the former Auror put his hand over his mouth. Before he could process this, Sirius was thrown violently across the room, his legs catching on the desk, causing him to flip end over and land on his back. When he tried to speak, all that came out was gibberish. The rest of the room started laughing at him as Moody strolled up to the perpetrator and slapped Tonks on the back heartily.

"Merlin's testes, girl. You really know how to pack a punch. No wonder they wanted you over in the Aurors."

Her satisfaction at getting back at her older cousin, who had played many a prank on her before he had been taken to Azkaban, was tempered by the amount of attention she was now receiving, especially from the grizzled ex-Auror.

Kingsley attempted to reverse the hex several times before looking questioningly at his newest employee.

Tonks cleared her throat nervously, not so sure now that it had been such a great idea to walk into a meeting and start flinging magic around. "It should wear off in a few minutes. I didn't put a lot into it."

"Gods, woman," breathed Nadia. "I want to see what you can do when you put some oomph into your spells. I wouldn't say no to watching you try some out on Sirius, either. It might do him some good."

Sirius tried to laugh sarcastically, but all that came out was the sound of a chicken clucking. Arthur helped him up and pulled him out of the room as the rest of the people present introduced themselves to Tonks.


Harry was having about as much fun as Sirius at the moment. He was cowering in front of an extremely angry Hermione. The realization that even without a wand, she was still a scary witch, had hit him just as he had gotten to the idea of magic existing.

"Why are you here? What is that man saying to my mother? Answer me!" screamed Hermione, causing Harry to try to pull the ground up and over him. It didn't work.

"Hermione, wait! Stop yelling at me for a minute and I'll show you! Okay?"

The bushy-haired girl appeared to give the idea a moment of thought before slapping him in the shoulder and stalking back inside. Harry rubbed his face with his hand and stood to follow her.

As he turned the corner to enter the living room, he ran right into Hermione's back. She didn't seem to notice and after Harry got no response to his apology, he glanced over to where Remus and Helen were sitting and smiled. His friend was levitating the coffee table while the various items that had been sitting on it swirled around the room, orbiting Remus' and Helen's heads in a sloppy figure eight.

A glance at Hermione and her mother indicated that both of them were slack jawed with surprise. Harry entered the room fully and cleared his throat. Remus' eyes shifted slightly and he swished his wand to place everything back to its previous position. The two Grangers stared at the coffee table for a moment before shifting their gaze almost simultaneously toward Remus. He smiled gently and placed his wand on the coffee table. The women's eyes followed his hand and rested on the wand after he sat back, seemingly totally at ease.

Hermione was the first to break the silence. "How...how did you do that?"

"Magic," Harry answered for Remus who simply nodded in confirmation.

"But-" Hermione sputtered incoherently for a moment before regaining control of herself. "That had to have been a trick! I've seen things like that on TV. Is that all you can do? Why do you use that?" she asked, pointing at the wand on the table. "I can't believe this! Can you make things disappear? Or appear? What about medicine? Is it dangerous? How long do you need to study to learn to do magic?"

She gasped in realization. Remus started to speak, but Harry shook his head in his friends direction. Hermione almost shouted her guess. "The school you were talking about is a magic school! Isn't it?" She shot her mother a look but the older woman still seemed to be in shock that her little girl was a witch and that magic, real and true magic, had just been performed in her living room.

Remus decided to let Harry handle the girl's plethora of questions being that he was much more used to what she required in the way of answers.

"Well," Harry began. "What Remus just did is a complex version of a levitation spell that you'll learn in your first few months at Hogwarts. And yes, it's a school where people learn magic. There's much more that you can do with magic, including magical medicine and potions that can be used for many different things. Here," he drew his wand from his holster and showed it to Hermione who gaped at it for a moment before reaching out as if she wanted to touch it before coming to her senses. Remus snorted at this sight, causing Harry to blush at the thought of what Sirius would say to him after Remus told his godfather about the incident that night.

Smiling at the stunned girl, Harry pointed his wand at one of the unoccupied chairs in the room and transfigured it into a small toy car. With another wave of his wand, it turned into a black leather recliner, and a final wave returned it to its original form. Hermione looked as if she were about to burst with questions but Harry held up his hand, causing her to frown furiously at him.

"Now, I know you have hundreds of questions about magic, but you can't start practicing it until we've gotten you a wand and your textbooks."

At the mention of textbooks Hermione's face lit up, causing Harry and Remus to smile and her mother to groan as she finally snapped out of her stupor.

Harry continued, further exciting his old, and hopefully new, friend. "I also have an extensive library at my house. There are thousands of books, and many of them are out of print and extremely rare."

With that, Hermione squealed like the eleven year old she was and jumped on Harry, squeezing him tightly.

"Hermione," he gasped. "Need...breathe. Remus...help!"

The older man continued to sit, laughing to himself and sharing a smile with Helen. After a moment, Hermione seemed to realize she was hugging a complete stranger who she had been berating only moments earlier. She stepped back quickly and began to apologize before being shushed by Harry.

"Not a problem. I was hoping you'd be able to come by our place," he waved, indicating Remus, "and spend some time with me, Remus and my godfather. We don't have many guests, but it would give you a chance to experience the magical world a bit before we go to Diagon Alley and buy your things."

Hermione stared at him wide eyed and Harry didn't know exactly what to say as she started to tear up. He glanced at Remus who was smiling at him and Hermione, then saw that Helen had the same shimmer in her eyes that her daughter did.

"You want me to come to your house?" asked Hermione with a bit of a catch in her voice.

"Absolutely," stated Harry emphatically. "I don't get to spend much time with anyone...my age. And I just got back from an eight month trip around the world with this guy," he pointed to Remus again, "and my godfather, Sirius. I wouldn't mind having someone new to talk to. I really wouldn't mind," Harry did his best to convince Hermione that he wanted to spend time with her. The plan they had come up with was risky. Bill and a few others had questioned the idea of telling a Muggle-born who had just been informed that she was a witch about Harry's unintentional universe jumping, but after various explanations and several trips into Harry's past with the pensieve, all had reluctantly agreed. Harry's reasoning was simple. Hermione was easily the smartest person he had ever met and in his opinion, the only friend his age that would be able to accept what had happened. He had agreed that if Hermione didn't handle it well, that she would have to be obliviated, but was confident in her ability to wrap her mind around the situation.

Harry was torn from his reverie by Hermione rambling a list of questions at him. Chuckling at her as well as the look of resignation on the face of her mother, Harry spent the next hour or so doing his best to answer her questions. Eventually Remus interrupted them.

"Harry, we need to get going. We have several things to prepare for tonight, and you need to reset the wards on the Manor before everyone arrives. And I think Sirius wanted us to get him some film for his camera to catch Tonks' reaction to your news."

They shared a smirk at the thought and left the Grangers with promises to contact them in the next couple of days. As they strolled toward the deserted alleyway where they had apparated in, Remus turned to Harry and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Do you really think she'll be able to understand everything, Harry?"

"Yes, she will. If there's one thing I've learned in my life, it's that you should never underestimate Hermione Granger's mind. I doubt whatever universe I'm in is going to change that fact."

Remus nodded as they entered the alleyway and disapparated away with quiet, twin pops.


Tonks had finished filling out the various pieces of parchment necessary for working in the Ministry earlier that afternoon. A light lunch with Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nadia Chalmers had followed where they answered her questions about the new department and what exactly was involved with working for the Non-Magical Interference Administration. Overall, it had been a very enlightening day, and she had managed to trip and crash to the floor only once in front of her new boss.

Now she was again sitting outside of Arthur Weasley's office, waiting for the Director to finish for the day as he was escorting her to, of all places, Potter Manor, for the evening's reception. That had been a bit of a shock. Ever since the downfall of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Tonks had been just as curious as any other witch or wizard about the location and life of Harry Potter. The idea that she would be meeting him in a short while was causing butterflies in her stomach.

When the door opened and Arthur stepped out of his office, Tonks put down the Daily Prophet and stood to greet him. He smiled at her and the two of them walked out of the department together. They made their way to the portkey terminal as Arthur asked her if she had any other questions about the job or the department that Kingsley and Nadia had been unable to answer.

"No, sir. The two of them answered all my questions. I'm surprised at the amount of information the Ministry is sharing with the Muggles, though."

Arthur nodded. "It is quite a change. It's something I'm very much in favor of, and have been for as long as I can remember. I'm sure you remember me asking you all sorts of questions about Non-Magicals when you were at Hogwarts."

She agreed, then realized she did have a question to ask. "Sir-"

Arthur interrupted her. "Tonks, when we're not in the office, please call me Arthur. This isn't the DMLE, and I've known you for years."

Tonks smiled and continued. "Right. Arthur, I noticed you don't use the term 'Muggle.' Is there a reason for that? I haven't heard anyone else use the term before."

"Well, in one of my first meetings with the Prime Minister, he indicated that most Non-Magical people would probably find the term insulting. In North America, they refer to Non-Magicals as 'mundanes', but he didn't much like that either. We agreed on Non-Magical, especially since we're called 'magical' in most Non-Magical circles."

"No one else seems to have a problem using 'Muggle.'"

"That's true," agreed Arthur with a sigh. "But since I am the main liaison between the ministries, I try to use 'Non-Magical' whenever possible. Keeps me from slipping up, you understand?"

"Gotcha," said Tonks.

"I'm doing my best to get others in the department to stop using 'Muggle,' but it's hard to break people of a habit that they've had their entire lives."

Tonks had no response for that as they entered the portkey terminal. Arthur picked up the portkey and waved her over. A small, yellow Muggle cigarette lighter sat in his hand and the two of them grasped an end each before Tonks felt the familiar tug behind her naval as they spun away to their destination.

Landing with all the grace and poise she could muster, Tonks managed to only fall to one knee. Arthur assisted her in standing up and she looked upon Potter Manor.

If she was going to be completely honest, it was much smaller than she was expecting. Only two stories tall, it was a beautiful home, but not much more than a normal house. A large house, to be sure, but still quite understated. She knew the Potter family was wealthy, probably one of the wealthiest in Britain, and her respect grew for the past generations that hadn't felt the need to flaunt their power and wealth ostentatiously. She only hoped that Harry Potter was similar to his ancestors.

They walked up a long cobblestone path that passed through a beautiful garden. Tonks stumbled a few times on the uneven ground, especially as distracted as she was by the various flowers and other ornamentation scattered about. An area full of stunning orange and red flowers drew her eye, and Tonks stopped and stared at them. Arthur paused when he realized what she was looking and retraced his steps back to her.

"They're Asian Lilies," he informed her.

"They're beautiful," she whispered.

"Some sort of hybrid Harry and your cousin found while they were traveling. Harry does some gardening here, apparently."

A jolt of realization hit her suddenly and Tonks rocked back on her heels, jerking her hand away from one of the flowers she had been about to touch.

"His mother," she said. "Her name was Lily, wasn't it? James and Lily Potter?"

Arthur gave her a tight lipped grin and nodded.

"Arthur, why are we here? I mean, why Potter Manor? It makes no sense." They had started walking again, and Arthur merely shrugged his shoulders.

"It will all make sense to you very soon, Tonks. It's not my place to say, though."

They arrived at the front door and before Arthur's fist could touch it, it opened swiftly to reveal a house elf who was grinning up at them expectantly.

"Ah, the lastest of Master's guests be arriving. Good, good! My names is Sarey, and I is Master Harry's house elf. Master Harry, Moony and Padfoot is waiting with other guests in The Den."

"Thank you, Sarey. You've been a great help," said Arthur. The elf beamed up at him and disappeared with a quiet pop. Tonks didn't have much experience with house elves outside of Hogwarts, but the few she had met hadn't seemed half as happy as Sarey. Her positive feeling toward the coming meeting, as well as Harry Potter, increased yet again.

Arthur led her through several rooms and down a long hallway. Along the way, Tonks observed that all the rooms they passed through were tasteful and homey. It was nothing like she expected an ancient pureblood family's house to look. One room appeared to contain a Muggle pool table as well as several other Non-Magical entertainment devices.

Eventually they entered what she assumed was The Den, and she was for shocked for what felt like the tenth time that night. Sitting in the room was a grouping of people she had never expected to meet in such a casual situation. She had also not expected Sirius to be standing in the middle of the group facing her, holding a camera.

A loud and bright flash caused her to blink several times, and when she could see again, a cloud of purple smoke seemed to hang over the gathered group's heads. Sirius was laughing at her and most of the others were smiling with the exception of 'Mad-Eye' Moody.

Gathered in front of her was a collection of some of the most powerful and influential wizards and witches in Britain.

The first person she noticed besides Sirius was Albus Dumbledore, which caused her to think back to their meeting the previous week suspiciously. Next to him was her former transfiguration professor, Minerva McGonagall. Tonks' direct superior, Kingsley Shacklebolt was sitting at the middle of a long wooden table, holding a bottle of what appeared to be Muggle beer.

Also sitting at the table was the Minster of Magic. Tonks began opening her mouth repeatedly as if she wanted to say something, but no words came out. Next to her was Michelle Alton, who had been a year above her at Hogwarts and a fellow 'Puff. They had spoken occasionally and Tonks recalled that the older girl had helped her study for her OWL's a couple of years ago.

Glancing at Moody, she saw he was scanning around the room constantly with his magical eye, as if he were searching for an invader or impostor. Standing in a small group on the other side of Sirius were two men she didn't recognize and former Head Boy Bill Weasley, Arthur's oldest son. As she stared at them, trying to figure out who the other two men were, one about Sirius' age and the other looking as if he were approaching the Headmaster's age, she spotted a goblin speaking to a black haired boy. A boy with a lightning shaped scar on his forehead.

She noticed he was glancing at her occasionally and whispering something to the goblin in a language that was definitely not English. The goblin responded in the same language and both of them laughed.

Arthur finally spoke up, though it had only been a few seconds, to Tonks it had felt like much longer.

"Well, Miss Tonks, I think you know most of the people here, but we'll do some introductions anyway." He led her over the one end of the group. Her old professors greeted her warmly, as did Sirius, who promised to get her back for the spell she had cast on him that morning.

Next up was Remus Lupin, who seemed to gaze at her speculatively but appeared friendly enough. Bill Weasley greeted her like an old friend, though they hadn't spoken much while at school. Arthur introduced her to Harry and the goblin, whose name was Rockspear. The goblin asked her to call him 'Rock' and grinned at her, showing off his impressive teeth. Tonks managed to smile back and then complimented Harry on his home and especially the garden. He looked pleased at her appreciation and then took over the introductions, to her surprise.

"This, as you know," he began, "is Minister Bones. Amelia, this is Tonks. Just Tonks. Right?" he asked, looking up at her. She nodded, shocked at both his knowledge of her preference in names and the familiarity he had with the Minister. Michelle greeted her after that and smiled in what appeared to be a very satisfied manner. Kingsley merely nodded and tipped his beer toward her in acknowledgment.

The last person to be introduced was the older looking man that Tonks had originally seen speaking with Bill and Remus Lupin. He had somehow made his way over to her old Headmaster and Albus took the opportunity to introduce his friend.

"Miss Tonks, may I introduce to you, my mentor, Nicolas Flamel."

The old man, and now that Tonks knew who he was he seemed much older than Albus Dumbledore, bowed deeply and kissed her hand, which had been offered for a handshake. Blushing slightly and realizing any attempt to speak would only embarrass her, Tonks smiled and nodded her head.

Albus' eyes twinkled merrily as the rest of the group began to take their seats. Nicolas guided her gently toward a seat across from Harry, who had Rock and Sirius on either side of him. After a moment, everyone was seated and Harry stood, though due to his height he didn't stand any taller than he sat.

"Now," he began. "All of you here are people that I trust. All of you know why we are here except for Tonks, and she's about to find out."

Minerva leaned forward a fraction and spoke. "Mr. Potter, is there a reason you've decided to share your secret with Miss Tonks in such a setting?" Her tone held a hint of disapproval.

The corner of Harry's mouth twitched. "It's a favor for Sirius."

With that explanation, Sirius smiled widely and Tonks began to feel a bit of foreboding.

"This is the first time all of us have been together, but everyone knows everyone, right? Except for Nicolas, but he's a bit of a hermit."

Tonks stared at the young boy in front of her. The fact that he was the one running the meeting, apparently senior to Albus and Nicolas Flamel, two of the most famous and ancient wizards in history, had shocked her initially. Now that he was jokingly insulting the man who had created the Philosopher's Stone, Tonks was waiting for the adults to end the charade.

Therefore, she was even more shocked when Flamel only chuckled and Albus nodded and said, "That's true. I have seen more of Nicolas in the past year than I have since I taught transfiguration."

Faint laughter could be heard around the table and Tonks missed much of the rest of Harry's introduction before the boy turned and looked directly at her. When he was sure he had her attention, he raised his eyebrow and grinned at her.

"Tonks, you might be wondering how I know you are trustworthy. Am I right?"

She nodded absently.

"Well," he continued. "I have something I need to tell you. The first few people I told were required to make an Unbreakable Vow to never reveal the information, but at this point all I need is your word that anything you are told here tonight you will not share with anyone not present. Can you promise me that?"

She nodded again, but Harry shook his head at her with a smile.

"Tonks, I need you to say it. I want you to swear that what I'm about to tell you will stay secret. It's crucial."

The significant looks she was getting from the others at the table finally broke through the impression she had that this was all a joke. A ten year old boy was leading the most powerful people in magical Britain. They were all deferring to him. And he was asking her, Nymphadora Tonks, to join them. A small part of her mind wondered what Michelle and her cousin had to do with this. Eventually, after meeting almost everyone's eyes, she spoke a bit shakily.

"I, Nymphadora Tonks," Sirius snorted and she sent him a glare. "do solemnly swear never to reveal the information I am about to receive to anyone outside of this room."

A slight glow enveloped her and spread to the rest of the table, quickly fading away until it hovered over only her again. Then it vanished, and Tonks looked expectantly at Harry once again.

"Great!" he exclaimed, sounding like she imagined a young boy should. "Now, there's no easy way to tell you this, so I'm just going to say it. Tonks, I might look like I'm ten, but in reality my mind, and my magic, is that of a thirty-one year old Auror. I somehow ended up coming back in time and created an alternate universe because of the changes I made. In my universe, I defeated a resurrected Voldemort several times until I finally defeated him for good in what would have been my seventh year at Hogwarts."

Harry paused for a second, and seeing the look of bewilderment on Tonks' face, nudged Sirius. His godfather nodded, pulled his camera out and snapped a picture of his cousin's face. The speed at which her expression changed from confusion to rage caused most of those at the table cringe, and Moody to bark out a bitter laugh. The scarred ex-Auror's own reaction had been somewhat similar, though he was loathe to admit it after the fact.

"Sirius! Is this your great idea of a prank?" screamed Tonks as she prepared to lunge over the table and strangle her cousin.

A boom from the other side of the table made everyone stare at Albus, who had confetti and streamers falling around his head. The Headmaster looked baffled for a moment before grinning lazily. Nicolas answered her question.

"No, Miss Tonks. That is a prank. What young Harry is telling you is the absolute truth. If you have any doubt, you should be prepared to doubt the word of every person sitting at this table."

Tonks stared around at the others and, seeing their faces, closed her eyes trying to process the information she had been given. After a moment, Harry spoke again, slowly and confidently.

"Tonks, I have several memories prepared in my pensieve for you to view. The Tonks I knew in my universe is in several of them. I assume you know that it's impossible to falsify memories beyond extremely crude alterations?"

She confirmed she knew that and was led into the next room by Harry and Bill. They explained to her how to operate the device and that there were about ninety minutes worth of memories for her to view. If she needed more proof after that, they could discuss it.

After Tonks had vanished into Harry's memories, the two friends reentered The Den to witness a discussion about who exactly had pranked Albus so thoroughly. Sirius was denying everything emphatically as he was accused repeatedly by Michelle and Kingsley. Albus apparently had decided that Nicolas was responsible, and only Amelia, Moody and Remus were remaining silent. Harry and Bill shared a look then glanced over at the werewolf, who shook his head negatively. Then, with a surreptitious glance at the other side of the table, Remus tilted his head toward the Minster of Magic. Harry stared at Amelia openmouthed for a second before her eyes met his and she winked stealthily. Shaking his head, he turned back to Bill.

"It's late enough for a drink, right?"

Bill nodded. "If you can find where Sirius hid the firewhiskey, sure. I'm going to have a beer. Remember, only two drinks or Remus will get pissy. Again."

Harry grunted that he had heard his warning and left the room in search of Sarey.


A/N: Hey Guys! So, only a two month wait. I hope someone is still willing to read the story. Anyway, I have a few ideas for some flashbacks to the trip around the world that Sirius, Remus and Harry took. It was about eight months with a few visits back to England. Also, I'm sure some of you are interested in the reactions of some of the other members of The Trust when they found out about Harry. So let me know what you want. I don't have to do the flashbacks and can just have stuff mentioned in passing, especially the trip around the world, as some of the stuff that happened during that time is important to the story. But it's up to you.

So, REVIEW! And let me know what you want me to do, and if you think this chapter is good, bad, ugly, beautiful, or whatever. Please review. Reviews are like crack, and I don't want to have to start smoking crack...it's not very good for you.

A/N2: Oh, and go read anything by nonjon. Seriously. Anything. 21 great stories. Amazing stuff. Do it. Now.