This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.
I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.
Being alone was a lot more eerie than Harry was used to. He supposed it was simply a sign of the times and the danger he knew was lurking out there but he felt, as he took his empty tub downstairs and dropped his fork in the dishwasher, that he was being watched. A quick glance out the window showed nothing but darkness outside and he shook himself, letting a hand drop to his belt to rest on Charizard's Pokéball. The fire type was too big now to be let out indoors but being able to have Charizard with him at all times was incredibly comforting.
A knock sounded on the front door. Harry froze. Seconds ticked by, the clock in the living room loudly counting them as everything else lay still, before the person at the door knocked again.
This was stupid, Harry thought, allowing his body to relax slightly from its rigid pose. He was in Privet Drive, nothing unusual ever happened around here. It was probably just one of the neighbours, poking their noses into other people's business as they were always want to do. Or maybe it was a delivery person, although why they were arriving so late was a mystery.
The person at the door knocked a third time and Harry went back on high alert as he heard mutterings on the other side, more than one voice talking, before the handle started to rattle. Harry realised just in time what was happening, throwing himself into the kitchen and out of sight just as the mystery intruder succeeded in breaking the lock and the door fell open.
The person, or rather the group of people as Harry could tell from the multiple footsteps, walked over the Dursley threshold, muttering quietly to one another, so quietly that Harry could not make out a word of what they were saying.
A loud thump sounded, the rattle of keys indicating that someone had knocked into the hall table.
"Sorry," a female voice muttered. It sounded young, though certainly older than Harry himself. The reply to her was gruff, and incomprehensible, and Harry slid down to hide in the shade of the kitchen cabinets, listening.
He could hear the sound of movement around him. There was a person in the living room, their feet muffled by the carpet, and the sound of footsteps up the stairs was clear due to the creaky steps at the bottom. Harry hoped that Pikachu and Talonflame knew to find a good place to hide but wondered whether it would matter. From the way the group were splitting up it seemed clear they were looking for something, and the methodical method suggested something far more sinister than a simple burglary.
A soft thump sounded not far to Harry's left and he realised one of the intruders was closing in on his position. They'd clearly walked straight down the corridor, walking to the door that led to the combined kitchen/dining room area, and if they were to step inside there would be no place Harry could hide.
And there was no reason for them to stop. Steeling his nerves and drawing up all the courage he had Harry clutched onto Charizard's Pokéball, took a deep breath, and threw himself forward.
"Professor Moody?"
Harry had all but thrown Charizard's Pokéball, his finger hovering over the button, but he'd been brought short by the appearance of the last person he'd expected to see.
"Potter," Moody said, not looking at all surprised that Harry had jumped out at him like that, or worried that Harry was inches away from unleashing a Charizard on him at close quarters. "About time you came out."
Harry's attention was diverted as a bang sounded from the side and a woman toppled through the partition doors between the living and dining rooms.
"Ah, got him then, Mad-Eye." The woman, who had caught herself on the back of one of the dining room chairs to prevent her from falling, was a sight to behold. Whilst mostly normal in appearance, if perhaps slightly on the short side, the whole look was thrown into chaos by her spiked up hair. It was bright pink.
"No thanks to you," Moody growled. "What happened to stealth?" The woman just made a face.
The sound of conversation had drawn the attention of those who had gone upstairs, footsteps heard coming back down before the owners came into view. One of whom Harry knew very well.
"Professor Lupin," Harry said, with a lot more enthusiasm than he had for Moody. Remus Lupin, standing with Talonflame and Pikachu perched on his shoulders, smiled back.
"I think Remus will do, since I am no longer your professor," he suggested, reaching up absently to stroke Pikachu under the chin. The electric type closed his eyes peacefully.
Another man had come downstairs with Remus, a tall, dark skinned, bald headed man who, even standing on the bottom step in the Dursley's hallway, looked quite impressive.
"This is Kingsley Shacklebolt," Remus introduced, recognising the direction Harry's eyes had travelled in. "Kingsley, I'm sure you'll recognise Harry."
"It is a pleasure to meet you," the man said, surprising Harry with a soft, gentle voice. It sounded almost musical.
"You too," Harry said, though not entirely truthfully. The truth was that he was confused. "What are you all doing here?"
"I thought that would be obvious, Harry," Remus said, smiling in amusement.
"We're getting you out of here," Moody told him. "Getting you to a safe house where you won't be so unprotected. We have some measures around here but I'll be a damn lot more comfortable with you at headquarters."
"Headquarters?" Harry asked.
"Never mind that," Moody growled. "Just get your trunk and we'll get going."
"We'll explain on the way," Remus promised. The presence of his former battling professor and one of his father's best friends was awfully comforting to Harry in this situation. Even though he knew Moody from last year he still didn't feel completely comfortable in his presence.
"You are packed, aren't you?" Moody asked. Harry shook his head. "Tonks! Help Potter pack." The woman, who Harry assumed must be the aforementioned Tonks, stepped forward.
"Righto Mad-Eye," she said, and she grabbed a hold of Harry's arm and dragged him past Remus and Kingsley and up the stairs. Pikachu, opening his eyes as Remus suddenly stopped petting him, jumped down from his shoulder and hurried after them.
"By the way, I'm an Auror," she explained. "Like Kings. Mad-Eye is really bad for stuff like that, forgetting to introduce people."
"I see that," Harry noted. "So you're Tonks? Tonks what?"
"Just Tonks," Tonks said firmly before she pushed the door to Harry's room fully open. "Just the one name." Harry did not question it, though the way she had answered set off his suspicions. He also had a bizarre feeling that he'd met this woman before. But surely he would have remembered.
"Right, this your trunk?" she asked. Obviously it was. "Guess we've got a lot to do. Help out, Ditto." Tonks opened a Pokéball, surprising Harry as she revealed a Pokémon Harry had only seen once before. "Ditto, Transform into Pikachu."
Fortunately for Pikachu this wasn't the first time he'd been confronted with a Ditto taking his form, but he was still intensely curious as an exact replica appeared on the floor beside him.
"You don't seem very surprised," Tonks noted, looking at him curiously. "I'd have thought you'd get all freaky over Ditto. I was looking forward to it." Harry grinned. He found he quite liked this woman.
"Professor Lupin, I mean Remus, showed us a Ditto in his first ever lesson," he explained. "He transformed into Pikachu then too. But I've never seen another one since then."
"Yeah, they're rare alright," Tonks agreed. "I got my Ditto from Ollivander, of course. Been with me ever since, he has. I still remember in third year when we had to catch a Pokémon to study - do they still do that?" Harry nodded. "Well, I didn't really want another Pokémon so I had Ditto transform into my dorm mate's Cranidos."
"Did it work?" Harry asked, picking his way over to his bedside table to start collecting some of his personal belongings.
"Oh yeah," Tonks said. "Fooled them all. Of course, McGonagall figured it out eventually, and I'm sure Dumbledore knew all along, but still, passed the exams. Worked out alright if you ask me."
Harry amused himself listening to Tonks's stories from her schooldays as the two of them pottered around his room, collecting his belongings and throwing them into the trunk, with the help of the two Pikachu. Eventually, however, as some of the last of Harry's possessions were placed inside, Tonks went quiet.
"You don't recognise me, do you?" Harry hesitated.
"Did we meet?" he asked. "Because something about you seems familiar but I'm sure I would remember you." Tonks grinned. Harry imagined she must get that a lot.
"We met last year," she told him. "Although met might be stretching things a bit. I was part of the task force that was sent to Hogwarts when Sirius Black was captured." Harry frowned. He had avoided the Aurors that night, very deliberately too. How could they have met? Then his eyes widened. Tonks laughed.
"Caught on," she said good-naturedly. "Yeah. I was the one who caught you and your, er, lady friend on the tower."
"So that's why you were so familiar," Harry gasped. Thinking back he'd never got a good look at the Auror that had found him and Hermione just after rescuing Sirius. But he did remember her voice.
"I mean, sorry to interrupt your date, and all," Tonks said, apologetic. "You looked so cute together." Harry went red.
"That's Hermione, she's just a friend," he said hurriedly. "It wasn't what it looked like." His face was positively burning in embarrassment.
Tonks just laughed. "Don't worry, I'm not telling," she said, winking at him before turning to the trunk. "Well, that's everything. Let's get downstairs then before Moody does his nut." She slammed the trunk closed with a loud thud and, with surprising strength, started to pull it out the door.
Moody, Remus and Kingsley were all still downstairs, waiting for them while conversing in low tones.
"Blimey, this thing's heavy," Tonks complained loudly, prompting Remus to quickly hop up the stairs and give her a hand. Harry had to wonder if Tonks had done that specifically to trick someone into helping her.
"You know, it's lucky your relatives aren't in tonight, Harry," Tonks continued, stopping as she reached the bottom of the stairs and plonking the trunk down. "This would have been a hell of an awkward night, what with you know who, over there." She gestured her head significantly towards Moody who, scarred and equipped with glass eye and false leg, with the Murkrow 'Murk' on his shoulder, would certainly have been enough to cow the Dursleys into submission.
Mad-Eye snorted. "Luck?" he question. "You think luck had anything to do with it? Course not, it was me who got the Dursleys that corporate event invite. Didn't want them hanging around all over the place."
"Don't you think you've gone perhaps a bit far, Alastor," Remus said politely. "This was a very simple assignment." But Moody wasn't having any of it.
"Simple assignments go wrong just as easily as tough ones," Moody lectured. "Letting your guard down leads to mistakes and mistakes lead to death. My methods won't look so crazy from the other side of the veil, Lupin."
Remus did not argue back, perhaps recognising that he was not going to sway his older companion to his viewpoint, and instead turned to Harry.
"Well then," he said. "Shall we get going?"
They left the house with little fanfare, Moody leaving behind a roughly scribbled note on the kitchen counter, and walked across to the pavement. There they came across a vehicle that Harry recognised very well, and the man driving it too.
"Evening, Harry," Mr Weasley said cheerfully, waving across from the driver's seat of his weathered minivan. Mr Weasley was a friendly man, more friendly than any Harry had ever met in his opinion, and he just so happened to be the father of some of Harry's best friends at Hogwarts.
"Hi there, Mr Weasley," Harry greeted back. "How are you?"
"Superb, Harry," Mr Weasley replied vibrantly. "Although I must admit it is getting a bit hot in here. We don't have particularly good air conditioning I'm afraid and with the engine off I'd much rather be outside than in. Still, Moody needed someone to keep a lookout."
"Paranoid nutcase," Tonks muttered, though it didn't seem she cared that much that Moody could still hear her.
Moody, for his part, ignored her completely, instead directing them to the van.
"Get in, get in," he growled. "Stop wasting time. I won't be comfortable until we've reached headquarters."
"And maybe not even then," Remus suggested lightly, causing Harry to grin.
"Quit your yapping," Moody snapped, giving Harry a rough shove towards the door where he climbed in at the back, settling down in the first seat he came across and waiting as Remus filed in after him with the trunk, Kingsley taking the seat beside Mr Weasley.
"Hold up there," Moody grunted, grasping hold of Tonks's shoulder as she made to follow Remus into the van. "Nymphadora, you're with me."
"What?" Tonks looked outraged. "In that scrapheap you call a car?" Moody just nodded.
"We need to split up evenly," he told her. "If we're attacked we want as many people possible in both groups to boost our chance of survival." Tonks scowled.
"Fine," she muttered grouchily, stepping down from the back of the van. She took a step towards Moody, coming face to face with him, and glared. "And don't call me Nymphadora."
Harry watched as Tonks marched off, stopping at a car two houses down from the Dursleys, and clambering inside. Harry could see why she didn't want to travel in it. A Volkswagen of some kind, the car looked like it had been put through a blender. It was covered in bumps and scratches such that it was impossible to tell what colour the car had originally been, even without the dried mud coating the bottom edges.
Harry's inspection was cut short as Remus leaned past him, pulling the door shut firmly, giving him a soft smile.
"That car has been with Mad-Eye for about as long as his glass eye," Remus explained, returning to his seat. The aforementioned Volkswagen had lit up its headlights and was pulling away from the curb, Mr Weasley starting his engine to follow. "It's been through many wars, not least with Mad-Eye's rather aggressive driving style."
"No wonder Tonks doesn't want to travel in it," Harry muttered. Remus laughed.
"Quite," he agreed. "But she has plenty of experience. You see, Mad-Eye is Tonks's mentor in the auror department. They frequently go on missions together. I think you'll find that a lot of their back and forth isn't quite as harsh as it first seems."
"Like Nymphadora?" Harry asked. "What's that?" Not only did Remus laugh this time, noticeable chuckling drifted back from the front seats.
"That is Tonks's given name," Remus explained with a smile. "Given by her mother, Andromeda. You can perhaps understand why Tonks prefers to be known by her surname only."
"Yeah," Harry muttered. What sort of a name was Nymphadora? He supposed it wasn't exactly worse than Andromeda though.
The minivan fell quiet after that as Mr Weasley followed Moody's beaten up Volkswagen onwards. It was very late and Harry already had had a pretty dramatic day, not to mention his companions had gone through this journey once already. Mad-Eye Moody wasn't making things any easier.
"Oh, for goodness sake, Mad-Eye," Mr Weasley complained tiredly from behind the wheel as the indicator on the Volkswagen ahead started to flash. "If you don't stop this nonsense we'll never get there."
"He's just trying to make sure we aren't being followed," Kingsley said smoothly, though Harry sensed that he too was getting annoyed.
Mr Weasley sighed. "I know that, I know, but there isn't anybody else around. If there really was somebody following us we'd have spotted them by now."
He had a point. The roads they were taking were of the country variety, apart from the occasional tractor or other late night traveller they had them completely to themselves. Also noticeable was how often they seemed to change directions. On more than one occasion Harry felt as though they'd already driven down this road before.
"If Mad-Eye were to just be a little less paranoid we'd be at Headquarters already," Mr Weasley complained.
That sparked something in Harry's mind.
"What is headquarters?" he asked, looking around at the three men travelling with him. "You promised you'd explain on the way there." Remus smiled.
"Technically Mad-Eye has forbidden us from saying anything until we get there," he said. "But what he doesn't know won't hurt him."
"It's not like anyone else is going to hear," Mr Weasley complained. "What does he think they've done, bug the van?"
"Yes," Kingsley answered simply but he did not object. He too seemed to think that this was where Moody's paranoia had gone too far.
"So what is Headquarters?" Harry asked again.
"Well," Remus said. "Exactly as it sounds. Headquarters to the Legion of Ho-oh."
"The Legion of Ho-oh?" Harry repeated. "You mentioned that before."
"It was the resistance organised by Dumbledore against Lord Voldemort," Remus acknowledged.
"So it's re-formed?" Harry asked excitedly.
"To an extent," Remus agreed. "It is a rather unfortunate truth that not many of those that fought last time are still alive today. I was only young when I joined the Legion last time, only Mad-Eye is really a proper veteran. And of course Dumbledore. But a lot of our work so far has been recruiting new members that we can trust."
"Molly and I agreed immediately," Mr Weasley said from the front. "Molly's brothers were in the Legion last time, murdered, I'm afraid."
"Gideon and Fabian were good people," Remus acknowledged. "But it is not only those with connections before that we've been recruiting. Kingsley was still in auror training last time and Tonks had only just started at Hogwarts when Voldemort was last defeated."
"And where is Headquarters?" Harry asked.
"London," Mr Weasley told him. "Ah, at last," he continued as Moody signalled to turn onto the motorway. "Looks like we're finally going to get there."
Mr Weasley's optimism was only half warranted. Quickly the two vehicles found themselves in London but once there they were sent on a roundabout chase through the mostly empty streets for nearly an hour longer, frustrating Mr Weasley immensely.
Finally they came to a step and Mr Weasley let out a breath of relief.
"Here we are, Harry," he said, though he didn't turn off the engine. "Mad-Eye will want us to park away from the house, just in case. We'll meet up with you inside."
Harry pulled open the door and stepped out, helping Remus carry his trunk behind him, before looking at his surroundings. A small park sat to his back, reasonably well kept but quite plain, while Mr Weasley's minivan drove off to reveal a row of regular victorian townhouses ahead.
"Wotcher," Tonks greeted, having escaped the confines of Moody's battered and beaten Volkswagen. "Lets not go standing out here all night. I could use a nice cup of tea."
"Agreed," Remus said and they crossed the road. Following behind them Harry watched as they walked up to the house immediately opposite where they were standing.
It was by far the worst kept of all the houses in the row. Weeds were growing out from cracks in the wall, the front steps were chipped and uneven, and the windows at the front were blacked out. It didn't look like anyone had lived there for years.
Remus rung the doorbell. He waited a second and then rung again. He waited another second and then knocked, once, twice, and then once again. Immediately the door opened.
"Remus," Mrs Weasley greeted, looking mightily relieved. "You're back. Come in. Come in, quickly now." She ushered them into a dimly lit corridor, Remus, Tonks and Kingsley walking in with the ease of familiarity, Harry following behind them.
"Oh Harry," Mrs Weasley gasped, throwing her arms around him tightly as he stepped through. The door swung closed behind him, curtesy of Kingsley, before he walked down the hallway.
A loud clatter drew their attention.
"Oh, Tonks," Mrs Weasley sighed, releasing Harry and turning to the haphazard auror. Tonks was lying on the floor, having tripped over an umbrella stand.
"Sorry Molly," Tonks apologised, pulling herself up and brushing herself off. Dust flew from her clothes and Harry had to fight back a sneeze.
"Every time," Mrs Weasley told her with a stern look.
"I know, but I always forget," Tonks said guiltily.
"It's understandable," Remus said, appearing at Harry's shoulder. "It is quite dark in here. And if I do say so Ms Tonks has never been known for her stealth." Tonks looked affronted but Harry couldn't help but smile, remembering how she'd fallen through the doors at the Dursleys. Tonks, too, grinned after a moment. It seemed she didn't really take anything too seriously.
"Arthur and Mad-Eye are just parking the vehicles," Remus told Mrs Weasley, easing some of her obvious worry.
"Good, good," Mrs Weasley said, frazzled. "Well the meeting's already underway anyway so they aren't going to be much later than you are."
"Mad-Eye," Tonks said, rolling her eyes.
"We should join them," Remus said. Kingsley had already disappeared, presumably to where this meeting was taking place. Remus moved from behind Harry and walked forward with Tonks but as Harry went to follow Mrs Weasley stopped him short.
"Sorry dear, Legion members only," she told him. "Why don't you head upstairs. Your room is first on the right."
Disappointed, and watching as Remus and Tonks disappeared down a set of stairs at the end of the hallway, Harry trudged up the dark staircase, the floorboards creaking under his weight as he went. His trunk clunked against each step until he'd reached the landing and turned to the right.
Approaching the door he could hear whispers from inside and his heart sped. He reached out a hand and pushed the door open.
"Harry!"
Ron and Hermione jumped to their feet at his appearance, Hermione beating Ron to rush forward and engulf him in a hug.
"Easy there, Hermione, no need to murder him," Ron joked, Hermione finally letting go. He clapped Harry on the shoulder, grinning. "Good to see you mate."
"You too," Harry admitted. He had not heard a word from either Ron or Hermione over the summer and it had been torturous. "It's been ages since we last spoke. I kept trying to phone but there was no answer."
"Well we've been here pretty much all summer," Hermione admitted. "Headquarters doesn't have a phone, it's supposed to be uninhabited. We really wish we could have got in contact but Dumbledore warned that it could give away our location."
"I get it," Harry assured her. In truth it did annoy him slightly to know they'd been here all along while he'd been stuck at the Dursleys with no news but he was just too tired to care. He rubbed at his eyes wearily.
"Tired?" Ron asked.
"It is late, isn't it," Hermione agreed. "We've been staying up waiting for you to arrive. I didn't expect it to take so long."
"Blame it on Moody," Harry told her. "He kept backtracking to try and throw off anyone following." Ron snorted.
"Well I'm just glad you got here alright," Hermione told him. "And now that we're all here we can all get ready for Hogwarts. There's only a couple of weeks left you know."
"We haven't got the letters yet," said Ron. "But once we do we'll be able to go to Diagon Alley and get our supplies."
Harry nodded, fighting back a yawn. He was just so tired.
"I'll let you get some rest," Hermione told him, recognising his exhaustion. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay." She left the room, closing the door behind her.
"Your bed's here," Ron pointed out, gesturing to the bed closest to the window. No light was coming through it, and there wouldn't be any even during the day. It was all blocked up. "We're sharing this room. Hermione's in the floor above."
"I'm going to wait up for Sirius," Harry told Ron, sitting down on his bed heavily and dropping the handle of his trunk. He was beyond exhausted but he really didn't want to fall asleep without seeing his godfather.
Ron looked unsure.
"Okay," he said. "But I warn you, those Legion meetings can go on for hours."
"I'll stay up," Harry assured him.
But he was wrong. As minutes passed his eyes started to droop, his brain going fuzzy, and before long, long before the meeting downstairs came to a close, Harry had fallen fast asleep.