Room of Requirements, Hogwarts, 4/13/1996, 09:39
Harry was waiting for Neville in his and Tonks' normal training room. He was trying to prepare himself to teach Neville a skill he had only learned months ago. Harry had confidence that Neville would get this down but the prospect of teaching something this difficult still made him nervous.
The last few days had been fairly uneventful minus the Tongue lashing Ginny had given him after finding out who Wendy really was. Tonks had told Ginny the morning after she had confronted him about it in the common room. That afternoon before dinner, Ginny gave him a piece of her mind for keeping it from her and letting her think he was i
to use her words, "a cheating twat."
She also confessed that she had been considering pranking him for two-timing her friend and was just about to present the problem to her brothers when Wendy had pulled her aside and told her who she really was.
Harry was just glad that after Ginny had chewed him a new one, they had gone back to normal which was much preferable to the glares she had been giving him for the past few days.
Now he was tempted to go ahead and tell Ron as everyone else he usually associated with already knew and Ron would be upset if he learned he was being kept out on the secret.
Harry was pulled from his thoughts when he heard the door open and he turned expecting to see Neville only to see Luna and Tonks (disguised as Wendy) step into the room.
"Hello Harry," Luna said dreamily as she skipped across the training room.
"Hey Luna, what are you doing here?" Harry asked curiously.
"I wanted to watch you teaching Neville how to fight," Luna said as a big overstuffed chair appeared along one wall.
Today Luna was wearing a sundress in a pastel blue and was once again without shoes though her hair was up in a ponytail, which was a new look for her.
"As long as you don't distract us," Harry said giving her a pointed look.
She just gave him a dreamy smile as she sprawled out on the chair, causing her knee-length dress to ride halfway up her thigh.
"I promise to behave myself," Luna assured him.
"I'll believe that when I see it," Harry muttered before he turned to look at Tonks.
"She's going to give you grey hairs," Tonks said in a tone of amusement.
"Probably so," Harry agreed.
"I'm surprised Neville isn't here already," Tonks said as she took off her outer robes.
Today Tonks was wearing a pair of torn jeans and a tee shirt with the word The Offspring printed under a cartoonish drawing of a purple monster with green hair eating its own arm and her scuffed-up combat boots. Harry couldn't help but notice that her clothes fit her rather snuggly, He eyed her appreciatively for a second before answering her question.
"He should be here any minute, are you looking for him?" Harry asked.
"No, I just figured I'd come and give you a hand teaching him nonverbal casting. I met Luna on the way and she followed me here, " Tonks admitted as she glanced over at Luna.
"I could definitely use your help," Harry said gratefully.
"I'll give him the overview and then let you take over," Tonks offered.
"That sounds good to me," Harry agreed.
"Good, then stay out of my way and let a pro show you how it's done," Tonks smirked.
Before Harry could reply, Harry heard the door open again, he and Tonks turned to see Neville step into the room. Neville stood in the doorway for a second as he studied the room before he made his way over to Harry and Tonks.
"You wanted to meet with me, Harry?" Neville asked while shooting Wendy a curious look.
"Yeah, you asked me after Christmas if I could teach you spell chaining and nonverbal casting," Harry said, deciding to get straight to the point.
"That was three months ago," Neville said blankly.
"I've had a busy couple of months," Harry sighed.
"Alright, do you think I can learn this in two months?" Neville asked sceptically.
"Yeah, I think so," Harry said in a confident tone.
"Can't hurt to try, it would have been useful to know a few weeks ago," Neville sighed sounding morose.
"Yeah I know I am sorry I put this off for so long," Harry said as he felt his stomach twist with guilt.
"You were still pretty messed up over Hannah. You were also focusing on getting Malfoy, weren't you?" Neville asked shrewdly.
"Excuse me?" Harry snapped, giving Neville a sharp look.
"He means that you were still plotting to get Malfoy alone. I assume you were successful as Malfoy is dead now," Luna added helpfully.
"You know far more than you let on," Harry snorted, shooting Luna a calculating look.
"I'm a Ravenclaw Harry, I have excellent powers of deduction," Luna said giving him a dreamy smile.
"So it was you?" Neville asked.
"He gave the other side information that got Hannah killed and that's all I will say. Now, do you want to learn this or not?" Harry asked, hoping to get the conversation back on track.
"Yeah mate, I really want to learn spell chaining," Neville said as he drew his wand.
"Good, Wendy has agreed to help you with the basics and then I'll take over from there," Harry continued.
"Alright," Neville nodded, giving Wendy a curious look.
"She taught me how to do this so you're in good hands," Harry assured the other boy.
"Then why is Luna here?" Neville asked as he glanced over at Luna who was watching them with interest.
"She wanted to watch, she promises not to distract you," Harry shrugged.
"I promised to behave myself," Luna agreed, giving Neville a dreamy smile.
"Okay, so how do we start?" Neville asked as he looked away from Luna, his cheeks flushing slightly.
"Well in order to chain spells together you must first master nonverbal casting," Tonks said in a lecture-like tone.
"Oh," Neville said as he processed what she was saying.
"So I want you to start by levitating a feather without speaking the incantation," Wendy said as a small table appeared in front of Neville with a simple goose feather sitting on top of it.
"How do I cast the spell without the incantation?" Neville asked looking confused.
Harry stepped back as Tonks gave Neville the same lesson she had given him back in September. Harry was actually a bit relieved that Tonks had volunteered to help with this part of the lesson as he wasn't sure how to go about explaining the fundamentals of nonverbal casting in a way Neville could understand.
Harry wandered over to where Luna was sitting and took a seat in an armchair that appeared beside hers.
"You should keep her," Luna suggested as Harry got comfortable in his seat.
"I plan on it," Harry said as he watched Tonks demonstrate how to levitate the feather nonverbally.
"Good," Luna nodded approvingly as Tonks left Neville to practice.
"I think he'll pick this up pretty quick," Tonks said as she took a seat on the arm of his chair a few minutes later.
"Thanks for helping me with this," Harry said as he watched Neville attempt the spell a couple of times with no results.
"Don't mention it," Tonks shrugged.
They sat there watching Neville practice for about twenty minutes before Harry decided it was time to give Neville some pointers.
Getting up from his seat, Harry wandered over to Neville who was attempting the spell again, his face screwed up in concentration.
"Don't think about the incantation so much, just try and picture what you want the spell to do," Harry said making Neville jump slightly.
"How do I do that?" Neville asked sounding a bit frustrated.
"Just let the desire for the feather to float off of the table fill your mind and will your magic to make it happen," Harry said patiently.
"Alright, I'll try," Neville nodded as he went through the swish and flick motion.
"How long did it take you to get this?" Neville asked after he saw the spell hadn't worked.
"A couple of hours, and I kind of did it by accident the first time," Harry admitted.
"Oh, I doubt I'll pick this up that quickly," Neville said sounding a bit depressed
"You'll get this pretty quickly," Harry assured him.
"I hope so," Neville nodded before he went back to practising.
Over the next hour and a half, Harry worked with Neville and by lunchtime, Neville had managed to make the feather hover a few inches off of the table.
"Just keep practising this and we'll try again tomorrow after breakfast," Harry said after the table and feather had vanished.
"I will," Neville said confidently.
"Good, practice this every chance you get. The more comfortable you are with Nonverbal the easier spell chaining will be for you," Tonks said as she came up behind Harry.
"Thank you for helping me with this, McDonald," Neville said giving her a grateful smile.
"Don't mention it. Now come on lunch will be served any minute," Tonks said as Luna joined them.
"When are you going to teach me?" Luna asked Harry as they stepped into the hallway.
"What do you want to learn?" Harry asked warily when the four of them began walking down the seventh floor corridor.
"There is this spell that you can cast over your eyes so that you can see in the dark that I would really like to learn," Luna answered dreamily.
"And the fact that it has a very curious side effect has nothing to do with you wanting to learn the spell?" Tonks snorted.
"What side effect?" Harry asked curiously.
"If used in daylight it gives the user the ability to see through solid objects such as... clothes," Tonks smirked.
"How do you know that?" Harry asked suspiciously as they started making their way down the grand staircase.
"I may have experimented with the spell in my fourth year," Tonks said, her cheeks flushing slightly.
"Sure Luna, I'll teach you the spell," Harry smiled.
"What?! Why?!" Neville asked in alarm.
"Mostly because it will keep her occupied but also because I'm interested in learning the spell myself," Harry said matter of factly.
"Thank you, Harry, I promise not to bug you as much... for a while," Luna said sounding much more lucid than normal.
"Aha, I knew you were doing it on purpose!" Tonks exclaimed.
"The wonderful thing about people thinking you're crazy is that you can pretty much say anything you wish and they just give you an uncomfortable smile," Luna said dreamily as she hooked her arm through Neville's.
"So why do you want to learn that spell?" Tonks whispered as Luna guided Neville down the stairs.
"I thought it would make our hand-to-hand training more interesting," Harry smirked, having to quickly grab Tonks' arm as she nearly tripped on the third-floor landing.
"Oh, my skimpy shorts and tank top are not revealing enough for you?" Tonks asked in amusement.
"You look good in anything but you look better in nothing at all," Harry shot back.
"Fine, but you'll only be torturing yourself. It's a long time until your birthday," Tonks pointed out as they stepped into the entrance hall.
"What was that you told me last summer, it never hurt to look?" Harry asked, shooting Tonks a playful grin.
"Fair enough but if you use the spell, then so will I," Tonks grinned as the four of them stepped into the great hall.
"Goodbye Neville, I had a wonderful time," Luna said softly before she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.
Neville stood there for a few seconds, Harry had to restrain himself from laughing out loud. Neville was blushing furiously and seemed to have frozen in place as he watched Luna skip her way over to the Ravenclaw table.
Harry gently elbowed Neville and whispered, "Come on mate, your starting to draw attention to yourself."
"Yeah," Neville nodded distractedly as his hand came up to touch the spot Luna had kissed as he followed Harry to the Gryffindor table.
"I think she's moved on from her infatuation with you," Tonks giggled as she led them over to where Ron and Hermione were already sitting.
"So how did it go?" Hermione asked as soon as Harry and Tonks sat down across from them.
"Pretty good, I think Luna is helping Neville take his mind off of things," Harry grinned.
"Lovegood may be bonkers but she's still a very pretty bird," Ron said as Neville sat down beside him.
"Right on both counts," Neville muttered as he fixed himself a plate.
"So how did your practice go?" Hermione asked Neville while rolling her eyes at Ron.
"Pretty good, I managed to hover my feather without saying a word," Neville said proudly.
"That spell took me two days to cast," Hermione admitted, looking impressed.
"So what did we miss?" Harry asked as he looked between his two best friends.
"Nothing important other than Ron breaking things off with Megan Jones," Hermione shrugged.
"Really, I thought you liked her?" Harry asked.
"I did but it was impossible to have a conversation with her," Ron shrugged.
"Well she seems to have moved on," Harry snorted as he glanced over at the Hufflepuff table where Megan Jones was flirting with Justin Finch-Fletchley.
"You were better off with Lavender," Hermione sighed.
"Tell me about it," Ron muttered as he moodily dug into his casserole completely oblivious to Lavender and Parvati listening in on their conversation.
"Well buck up mate, there are plenty of fish in the sea," Harry said bracingly.
"Yes, Ron has dumped another one of his brain-dead girlfriends. Now can we talk about something a bit more important?" Hermione asked impatiently.
"What's on your mind, Hermione," Harry asked in amusement.
"I wanted to run some last-minute changes to the lesson plan by you two," Hermione said matter-of-factly.
As the conversation moved to more serious matters, Harry glanced over at Tonks who was talking with Hermione about the D.A meeting after lunch and he couldn't help but smile.
'i wonder if those two will ever get along?' Harry thought to himself as he listened to his best friend and girlfriend start to argue about the best way to do team drills.
Great Hall, Hogwarts, 4/20/1996, 08:16
Harry sat down for breakfast to find that Ron and Hermione weren't there yet. This was unusual for Hermione. Deciding not to worry about it, Harry fixed himself some French toast and let his mind wander as he ate.
The last week had been fairly boring as far as school went and there was nothing in the papers about any death eater attacks, which was a welcome change.
The only thing different about this week was that he had to attend a meeting with Professor McGonagall last Monday to discuss his plans for a career. He still had not decided which career path he wish to take but he was considering becoming an auror. With all the training he had gotten from Tonks this year he was pretty sure he'd be ahead of the curve, at least as far as combat training went.
The only downside to the auror career path was that there was a requirement to have a N.E.W.T in potions and that was one of his weaker subjects. True he was doing much better in the class this year as Snape had basically ignored him after their first potions lesson where he learned who Harry's new guardian was.
According to McGonagall, Snape was very selective about his advanced potion class and only accepted students who scored outstanding on their O.W.L. Harry had his doubts that he would be able to attain an outstanding in potions and was already considering other career options.
On other fronts, Neville was coming along well in his nonverbal casting. Harry had made a point to meet with the other boy at least once a day to check his progress and try and help him as best he could.
Neville could now cast all of the first-year charms nonverbally and he was attempting to do the same for Transfiguration and DADA.
He was doing fine on defence but transfiguration was a branch of magic Neville had always struggled with in the past so Harry was giving him some help there as well.
Harry had also learned the spell Luna had wanted her to teach her. It was called the owl eye spell and it was unbelievably useful. The name of the spell kind of said it all, not only did it make it so that you could see in almost pitch-black darkness but the spell also increased the strength of your vision exponentially. The owl-eye spell made it so that he could count Mrs Norris' from the other end of a long corridor at three in the morning.
The only downside was that the spell made a person over-sensitive to bright light which could be detrimental if someone cast a lumos charm around you while you were under the effects of the charm.
On the bright side, it did give him some semblance of x-ray vision though it would only let him see through one or two layers of fabric and couldn't compare to Moody's magical eye.
Today they were going to have their second D.A meeting since returning from Easter break. During last week's D.A meeting Harry had divided the class up into eight groups of three and had the groups practice simple duelling drills against each other.
Today he planned on mixing things up a bit and having one team outnumbered by the other.
"Morning mate," Ron exclaimed pulling Harry from his thoughts.
"You're in a good mood," Harry grinned as Ron and Hermione took a seat across from him.
"Lavender cornered him after dinner last night, he ended up brushing her hair," Hermione said matter-of-factly as she fixed herself a cup of coffee.
"We're going to try another go of it," Ron said, looking quite pleased about this.
"Well good on you," Harry beamed.
Harry wasn't that surprised they had gotten back together, considering Lavender had been flirting with Ron for the past week.
"So what did you do last night?" Hermione asked, shooting Ron a look of amusement.
"We practised hand-to-hand combat," Harry shrugged as he topped off his coffee.
"Why wouldn't you ever practice any of that with me?" Hermione asked shooting him an annoyed look.
"It's a tad personal and it would be really awkward practising those pins with you," Harry said uncomfortably.
"Why?" Ron asked in confusion.
"He finds close contact with me uncomfortable," Hermione said while giving Harry an exasperated look.
"Really?" Ron asked in a disbelieving tone.
"Yeah, I do. I mean can you imagine Hermione pinning you to the floor while wearing a pair of skin-tight shorts and a tank top?" Harry asked, making, the girl in question's cheeks flush a light pink.
"Yep, I sure could," Ron muttered with a far-off expression.
"Unbelievable," Hermione muttered, her cheeks flushing even more.
"I guess we're different that way," Harry shrugged giving them both an amused shake of his head.
Harry looked up as he noticed the post owls flying in and was a bit surprised to see Hedwig winging her way towards him amongst the other owls.
Harry smiled when she dropped a plain yellow envelope with his name written on the front of it in Andi's handwriting. Harry gently handed Hedwig a piece of bacon before he opened the letter and eagerly began to read.
Harry,
I was just writing to let you know that the ministry has transferred one hundred thousand galleons to the Potter family vault as a bounty for Antonin Dolohov and Bellatrix LeStrange. I have been in meetings for months over the Dolohov incident last summer but after your confrontation with my sister, the minister was more than willing to pay the promised amount.
I believe the minister has plans to use you for his own ends as he is very eager to meet with you. We can discuss this more when you come home but I thought you should be made aware.
So on to more important matters, how are you doing? I know that you were a bit shaken up by the attack at Easter and we didn't have much time to talk about how you're dealing with it before you had to leave for Hogwarts. I hope you know that even though Bellatrix was my sister, I am so glad you were able to stop her before she could hurt anyone else. That being said, if you ever fly off into danger like that again and I'll put you over my knee. You are a great wizard but you should not have to fight in this war and it saddens me that you have had to fight so many times already. I suppose that's enough on that topic but I hope just know that if you ever need to talk about anything, you're more than welcome to write to me or Ted.
I am also very glad that you and Nymphadora have finally confessed your feelings for each other. She hasn't ever had the best of luck with suitors and you two are very good for each other just please don't fool around in the hot tub.
Finally, I have already made arrangements with Sirius for us all to go back to Black island during the first two weeks of July, I figured you might want to get away from Britain for a bit and we could all use a vacation.
Take care and know that me and Ted send our love. Study hard but remember to take my daughter out from time to time, just don't get caught.
Love,
Andromeda
P.S. Tell Nymphadora that she hasn't written in over a week and I'm starting to get annoyed.
Harry couldn't help but smile as he read the letter a second time. Not for the first time, he couldn't help but think that this must be what it felt like to have parents.
He had been terrified that Andi was upset with him after what happened at the Burrow and had avoided her during the last two days of Easter break. He had stayed in his room most of the time and had avoided making eye contact with her at meals. It was silly but he couldn't bear the thought that what he had done had upset her or worse made her not want him anymore.
Harry knew Andi hated Bellatrix but she was her sister and he couldn't really blame Andromeda if she was upset with him for killing her sister. Reading her words eased those fears tremendously though he did feel horrible about avoiding her now.
The part about the ministry paying him the bounties for LeStrange and Dolohov did surprise him a bit. He knew that all of the wanted posters had said they were both worth fifty thousand galleons dead or alive but he hadn't even thought of asking the ministry for the money. It wasn't like he killed them expecting a big sack of gold, he hadn't even meant to kill Dolohov it had been a lucky accident. As for Bellatrix, he had wanted her dead for what she had done to Hannah, in his mind Bellatrix's death was its own reward. Harry had no idea what he would spend that much gold on but he supposed that it couldn't hurt to have it in the bank.
Harry was just pondering two weeks on Black island and getting to see Tonks running around in that skimpy pink bikini when Hermione's voice cut into his thoughts.
"Harry, are you listening?" Hermione demanded impatiently..
"Hmm?" Harry asked absentmindedly as he folded the letter up and slipped it back into the envelope before slipping the envelope into his pocket.
"I asked if you had seen this," Hermione said as she showed him the morning edition of the Daily Prophet.
Under tbe headline was a black and whote photo of a three-storie brick house with the gable side of the second floor missing. It looked like a bomb had gone off inside the upstairs bedroom. On the lawn below, were pieces of broken furniture that appeared to have come from thebedroom as well as shattered brick and part of a door. Harry could just make out a crumpled iron gate in the distance before his eyes drifted upward to read the headline.
Harry did a doubletake when he read the headline, it seemed that Voldemort wasn't playing around anymore.
Giants Attack Minister's Home Attacked, Minister Barely Escapes He-Who-Mist-Not-Be-Named!
Harry read through the twice trying to glean everything he could from it. He was shocked at how much of an overkill this attack was. According to the article, Voldemort led a contingent of twenty or more giants to the minister's home and ordered them to crash through the wards around the home. After the wards were destroyed, Voldemort entered the home and killed most of the minister's guard detail as he searched for the minister.
Luckily, the minister and his wife were both evacuated through the floo by their guards before the giants had even made it through the wards. Still, ten aurors were killed in the fight so there was hardly anything to celebrate other than the fact that Voldemort had failed in his task.
There was a search party out attempting to round up the giants and according to the paper, they had already killed three of them.
"He just doesn't give up, does he?" Harry sighed as he threw the paper onto the table.
"No, it looks like he is starting to get desperate," Hermione muttered as she took a sip of her coffee.
Before Harry could reply Tonks in the guise of Wendy took a seat beside him, looking very troubled.
"I take it that you've seen the paper?" Harry asked softly.
"I did," Tonks answered shakily.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked worriedly as he put his arm around her.
"I was part of that team before I was reassigned here," Tonks whispered in his ear.
Harry put his arm around her not even wanting to think about what would have happened if she had been there last night.
"I'm so glad you weren't there," Harry sighed.
"So am I, to be honest," Tonks admitted softly.
Harry knew that things were only going to get worst, the war had been escalating since the new year and last night's attack was sure to kick things up a notch.
Harry felt so useless trapped inside the castle though he would freely admit that he had no idea how to handle giants. Harry pushed those thoughts aside for the time being as Tonks seemed to be pretty shaken up.
"Come on, let's go for a walk," Harry said in a soothing voice as he stood up.
Tonks simply nodded and allowed him to help her up. They walked out of the great hall with Tonks holding onto his hand. He didn't know much about comforting people when they were upset but he would try his best to make her feel better.
Today started as such a good day but the paper had instantly put a damper on things. Harry hated Voldemort even more right now because he was responsible for the look of anguish on Nymphadora's face right now.
"Your mum sent me a letter this morning," Harry said as they began climbing the stairs.
"Oh?" Tonks asked giving him a curious look.
"She says we're going to be staying on the island during the first two weeks of July," Harry said.
"That'll be good," Tonks said half-heartedly.
"She also said you haven't written," Harry added.
"I've been meaning to do that," Tonks admitted.
"She told me to tell you she's expecting a letter," Harry said as they made it to the tapestry.
"So now she's got you playing errand boy," Tonks snorted as they entered their usual common room and took a seat on the couch.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Harry asked as Tonks leaned against him.
"Not right now, would you mind just holding me for a bit?" Tonks asked barely above a whisper
Harry didn't answer in words, he just pulled wrapped his arm around her and led her to cuddle up to him. Harry thought he heard her sniffle and he began rubbing soothing circles on her back.
Harry heard her start to softly snore and leaned down and placed a kiss on the top of her head.
"We'll kill that bastard, Nymphadora," Harry whispered into the empty room.
Harry closed his eyes and listened to her slow breathing feeling himself relax and before he knew it, he too had dozed off.
By the time Neville arrived for his practice, Harry and Wendy were both asleep on the couch. He decided to let them sleep and began to practice on his own.
As he began to attempt to nonverbally transfigure a mouse into a snuffbox he couldn't help but wonder what the deal was with the pink carpet or why there was a king-sized bed.
Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, London, 5/5/1996, 22:39
Tonks entered the kitchen to find the rest of the order already waiting, this was a benefit of arriving with the Hogwarts staff. Usually, she would have had to wait around for Albus to arrive but since he had closed off all of the secret passages and she travelled with the staff to order meetings, that was a thing of the past.
Tonks quickly took a seat beside Sirius so that she was sitting across from Kingsley. Minerva and Severus both took their seats on either Alastor.
Dumbledore walked over to his own seat but remained standing behind it as he looked over the table.
"We have had a very eventful fortnight, three giant attacks and two assassinations. Kingsley, what do we know about the Cresswell attack?" Dumbledore asked, not bothering with the usual pleasantries.
"The death eaters used the giants to breach the wards around the property and killed Dirk Cresswell, Mary Creswell and their four children. From what we can tell, the attack was fast, the death eaters were in and out in under five minutes," Kingsley said, looking very grave.
"And the Dobbs?" Sirius asked.
"Same setup, they are using the giants as battering rams to tear through protection wards," Kingsley sighed.
"Yes, the giants are a very useful tool for laying siege to a warded property," Dumbledore agreed.
"There was also an attack that didn't make the papers," Moody added.
"What happened?" Molly Weasley asked shooting Alastor a wary look.
"A muggle family of six were murdered in their home," Moody answered.
"Bloody cowards," Sirius snorted.
"Aye, the ministry believes the attack was an initiation for new recruits," Kingsley admitted.
"It was, the dark lord has been recruiting heavily for the past month. I believe he is trying to replace the losses he has sustained in the last year," Snape cut in.
"So you believe that is the intention of these recent attacks?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes though he is also trying to spread fear. The Easter attacks were not as successful as he would have liked and that is not even factoring in the fact that his favourite servant was killed by a teenager," Snape replied.
"Yeah, I am so proud of Harry for that," Sirius chuckled.
"That incident put Potter at the top of the dark lord's list... again," Snape sneered.
"Have you discovered the significance of that cabinet Mr Nott retrieved from that room on the seventh floor, Severus?" Dumbledore asked before the old rivals could begin squabbling back and forth.
"I have, Nott has been given a task to complete for the dark lord. The cabinet is a vanishing cabinet as best I can tell," Severus answered.
"You've seen the cabinet?" Tonks asked in surprise.
"I have, the cabinet is damaged and it appears that Not is trying to repair it," Snape replied.
"So he is planning to attack Hogwarts," Bill exclaimed.
"Yes, I believe that is his ultimate goal," Dumbledore agreed.
"Assuming Voldemort has access to the cabinet the one at Hogwarts is paired with," Sirius pointed out.
"He wouldn't have Nott repairing the one at Hogwarts if he didn't," Snape sneered.
"Fair point, so why not just destroy the damn cabinet?" Sirius demanded.
"Or we could set a trap," Moody added.
"Both are viable options but I am not sure setting a trap is wise as the cabinet is currently in the heart of the Slytherin common room," Dumbledore admitted.
"We could set up an ambush in a dungeon corridor," Sirius suggested.
"The corridors are too tight Black, it would put our side at the same disadvantage as theirs," Moody exclaimed.
"So just destroy it and prevent them from getting in at all," Bill said as if it were obvious.
"I fear if we did that it would put a death sentence on young Mister Nott's head," Dumbledore sighed.
"So, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few... or the one," Tonks said, hoping her dad never found out that she had quoted Spock at an auror meeting.
"If needs must but I would prefer to give Mr Nott a chance, if at all possible," Dumbledore said giving Tonks a curious look.
"The entrance hall would be perfect for an ambush, though I would rather they not get that deep inside the castle," Minerva said, giving Dumbledore a pointed look.
"Agreed but I fear that may be our best option," Dumbledore admitted.
"How will we even know when they are going to attack?" Tonks asked, not liking this idea very much.
"I believe I can set something up for that," Dumbledore assured her.
"Great, the war is spilling into Hogwarts," Remus sighed.
"It already has, Lupin. We've removed five bodies from the castle since the new year," Moody snorted.
"I'm aware," Remus sighed.
"Why is he so damn interested in Hogwarts?" Hestia asked.
"Hogwarts has always been one of Voldemort's targets of interest because it is a treasure trove of ancient magic. I believe he will do anything to gain control over the school," Dumbledore said with a shake of his head.
"I'll run the ambush idea by Rufus and see if we can get a team of aurors stationed at the school," Moody grunted.
"Does that mean-
" No, Tonks you will hold your cover," Moody grunted, cutting Tonks off before she could finish her question.
"Her cover is already blown," Snape snorted, getting the attention of everyone at the table.
"Explain, Severus," Dumbledore asked calmly.
"Dawlish confirmed there was an auror undercover at Hogwarts, he also told Yaxley that he believed this auror was a certain metamorphmagus who hadn't been seen in the ministry since August. Narcissa Malfoy already knew that a student was going by the fake name, Wendy McDonald thanks to Draco. She quickly put two and two together and has Cassius Warrington keeping tabs on Nymphadora," Snape explained.
"How about a heads up next time?!" Tonks exclaimed angrily.
"We haven't met since before the attack last Easter," Snape shrugged.
"Well at least I can be done with this charade," Tonks sighed.
"I would prefer that you stay where you are, otherwise Mister Warrington will report the change to his handler," Dumbledore sighed.
"Fine but after this term is over I am done pretending to be a student," Tonks said flatly.
"Worry not, Nymphadora you will not be asked to return as a student next year," Dumbledore promised.
As Tonks pondered what Albus meant she wondered if she would ever be able to work as herself again. True she wasn't as eager to go back into the field as she was a month ago. The fact that most of the people in the team she had been assigned to last summer were dead was a real eye-opener for her. That could have easily been her as she had no delusions that she would have stood much of a chance against Voldemort.
For the time being, she would enjoy the cushy gig at Hogwarts and hope that the death eaters didn't manage to get into the castle.
"And at least I get to spend more time with Harry," Tonks thought optimistically.
Room of Requirement, Hogwarts, 4/2/1996, 23:49
Harry was just dosing off when the door banged open and Tonks entered looking to be in a foul mood. Harry watched as she began undressing while muttering darkly to herself.
"Whoa, what's got you all pissed off?" Harry asked as he sat up to look at her.
"My cover has been blown for a fucking month and Snape just saw fit to inform me," Tonks huffed as she kicked off her right boot so hard it shattered the window and plummeted down seven stories to the lawn below.
"Damn, so Voldemort knows who you are?" Harry asked.
"Yep, he even has Cassius Warrington tailing me," Tonks grumbled as she kicked off her left boot much gentler and waved her wand, summoning her right boot through the broken window
"Great, though there is one upside," Harry said as Tonks unzipped her plaid skirt.
Harry watched with bated breath as her skirt slid to the floor revealing that she was wearing a very skimpy pair of pink knickers.
"Yeah, what's that?" Tonks asked with a knowing smirk as she undid her Hufflepuff tie.
"Huh?" Harry asked distractedly, his eyes lingering on her bare legs.
"You said there was an upside," Tonks asked, sounding amused.
"Oh, right. The upside is we get to tell Ron who you really are," Harry said as he forced himself to concentrate on the conversation.
"That will be fun," Tonks conceded as she began unbuttoning her blouse.
"I will keep an eye on Warrington. If the bastard tries anything, I'll feed him to the giant squid," Harry promised as he looked her in the eye to convey how serious he was.
"I can handle myself but I do appreciate the thought," Tonks smiled as she slid off her blouse.
"Doesn't matter, you don't have eyes in the back of your head," Harry shrugged not breaking eye contact.
"True. I'm going to take a shower, would you care to join me?" Tonks asked as she lifted her left leg and peeled her knee-high off.
"Seriously?" Harry asked as he got out of bed.
"Yeah, I'll even let you wash my back," Tonks smirked as she peeled her right sock off.
"O-okay," Harry readily agreed as he watched her wiggle her toes in the thick carpet.
"If you do a good job, I'll let you wash my front as well," Tonks added.
"You're serious, this isn't some cruel way to tease me?" Harry asked as his eyes roamed over her scantily clad body.
"I'm not but you aren't getting lucky," Tonks said flatly as she padded towards the bathroom door that had just appeared in the wall.
"I know," Harry nodded.
Harry watched her for a second noticing that her hips seemed to sway a bit more than necessary, Tonks came to a stop at the door and turned to look at him over her shoulder and gave him a knowing grin before she disappeared into the bathroom. Harry shook himself and hurried to follow her into the bathroom, idly wondering if this was a dream.
When he stepped into the bathroom his first thought was that it looked like the bathroom at the Tonks' home, which kind of reinforced his dream theory. It was a modest-sized bathroom with a simple tub and shower head on his right. The walls were covered in four-inch mint-green ceramic tile and the floor was covered in larger tiles of the same colour. There was a loo under a tiny window on the wall across from the door and a simple sink with a medicine cabinet up against the wall directly across from the tub. The whole room looked out of place in Hogwarts, especially the overhead recessed lighting that lit the room more effectively than a dozen candles.
Harry's observation of the bathroom came to a sudden end when Tonks unhooked her bra and let it slide off of her shoulders revealing her bare breasts to the cool air of the room.
Harry groaned when she leaned over to adjust the water as her shapely bum stretched the thin fabric of her knickers.
"Stop staring at me and get undressed," Tonks said as she slid off her knickers.
Harry didn't need telling twice and nearly tripped over himself as he watched Tonks step into the shower.
As he stepped in behind her, he couldn't help but notice the way the water ran over the cheeks of her bum making it seem to shimmer in the bright light shining down on her.
"I hope you're ready to scrub me clean," Tonks whispered as she turned to face him.
"Yeah, of course," Harry nodded as he drank in her nude form, noticing the tuft of bubblegum pink hair over her folds.
"Then get to work," Tonks smirked as she handed him a washcloth and a bar of soap.
Harry nodded dumbly as he got to work feeling like the luckiest man alive as he ran the soapy washcloth over her gorgeous body.
'This has got to be a dream,' Harry thought as he soaped up her breast causing her to let out a throaty pleasured moan.
Thirty minutes later they climbed into bed, both feeling extremely clean and very aroused.
That shower to have been one of the most erotic experiences of his life and he was still almost painfully aroused.
They hadn't gone further than touching but Tonks had asked him to soap her up and rinse her off, he had run his fingers over every inch of her body as he made sure she was completely clean.
Then she had surprised him by taking the washcloth from him and returning the favour, she seemed to pay the most attention to his bits much to his frustration.
"We need to do that again," Tonks whispered into his ear, bringing him back to the present.
"Definitely," Harry agreed as she snuggled up to him.
"So I sent Bones a request for two weeks off during the summer hols, I'm pretty sure she'll give it to me," Tonks said sleepily.
"Awesome, I can't wait to see you running on the beach in a bikini," Harry smiled.
"I knew you were checking me out lady summer," Tonks chuckled.
"You have got to be the sexiest woman I've ever seen, of course I was looking," Harry answered as if it were obvious.
"I think you're exaggerating but I'll take the compliment," Tonks said before she raised up on her elbow and captured his lips in a heated kiss while her hand slid under the waistband of his boxers.
"I would be ah careful with that, I'm still pretty worked up after that shower," Harry warned as she began to slowly stroke him.
"I figured I should finish you off," Tonks replied as she sped up her motions.
"I think I love you," Harry groaned causing her to stop and stare at him wide-eyed.
"W-what did you say?" Tonks stammered.
"I think that I love you," Harry answered, very aware of the way her eyes were boring into his.
"Oh," Tonks said blankly as continued to state at him in shock, her soft hand still wrapped around his shaft.
"I've been thinking about it for a while but it kind of just slipped out" Harry hastily added starting to get worried when she continued to stare at him in shock.
"I-I think I love you too, though I didn't want to freak you out," Tonks said breathily as she released him and captured his lips in a much softer kiss than the one they had shared a minute ago.
Harry gasped into her mouth as she jerked his boxers down and threw the covers off of them before she draped her leg over his. Harry grunted as she began to stroke him teasingly while running her smooth legs over his as she deepened the kiss. Harry closed his eyes as he felt he was getting close to release and luxuriated in the feeling of her warm body against his.
Harry's eyes snapped open as she shifted her body so that she was straddling his waist and began to grind her slippery petals against him. They both moaned in unison, the sound muffled as their lips were still locked together in a desperate kiss. Harry's hands came to rest on her hips as he began to move his hips, pressing his erection into her folds.
Harry watched in awe as she sat up and pulled the tee shirt she slept in over her head and tossed it onto the floor.
"W-what are you d-doing?" Harry asked as she continued to slide her hot slippery folds over his raging erection.
"I'm tired of waiting," Tonks muttered so softly that he barely heard her.
Harry's heart rate sped up when she sat up high on her knees and reached under her to grasp his shaft. Harry shivered as she slid the head over her folds before she had him lined up with her opening.
"A-are you sure about this?" Harry asked in a shaky tone.
"Trust me, I'm sure," Tonks said breathily as his crown began to part her folds.
They both audibly groaned when she began to slowly lower herself down his length and he felt her stretch around him.
"Ooooh wow," Tonks gasped before she let out a high-pitched gasp and she pressed her palms into his chest.
Harry stared mesmerised as she leaned over him so her bare breasts were inches from his face. Her eyes were rolling back in her head and her mouth was partially open as she softly panted. Suddenly her hair shifted from pink to her natural mousy brown as she lost concentration on her morph.
"Oh my god you are so t-tight," Harry gasped as he began to slide further into her tight velvety tunnel.
"I-I won't be after this," Tonks grunted before she leaned down and kissed him again while she lowered her hips further, taking him even deeper.
She moaned into his mouth as she began to gently rock her hips as she adjusted to the intrusion. Suddenly her arms buckled and she fell forward so that her chest was pressed into his.
Harry felt like he was in some erotic dream as her heavenly warmth engulfed him. The feel of her soft body against his, the taste of her tongue on his, and the scent of her shampoo filled his senses as they lost themselves in the moment.
Tonks broke the kiss when her pelvis was presseing into his' and looked deep into his eyes as she began to gyrate her hips teasingly slowly.
"I-I l-love you, Harry," Tonks gasped out, her eyes never leaving his.
"I love you, Nymphadora," Harry replied as he tried to match her movements, staring transfixed into her grey eyes as they moved together.
Their first time did not last very long at all much to Harry's embarrassment. Still, he was fairly certain that after they had made love that first time, he could have cast the world's most powerful patronus.
They fell asleep cuddled up with Harry spooning himself behind her never noticing the blonde Ravenclaw that had been sitting in a chair by the fire since they had been in the shower.
"It's about time," Luna said to herself before she got up and left the room humming happily to herself.