Riddle Manor, Little Hangleton, 5/9/1996, 23:39
Voldemort was beyond furious, someone had been attacking his anchors!
It had taken him almost a month to investigate the corpse Bellatrix had informed him about in that cliffside cave.
What he found had completely caught him off guard. He could not identify the body due to decay but he immediately discovered that the body bore his mark and had never been enchanted by the inferius ritual.
This had initially confused him and he had tried to remember if he had ever disposed of one of his servants in that cave, though he was almost certain he had not.
While he thought about this he had decided to take a trip to the island so he could check on his anchor while he was there. The trip across the lake was uneventful and nowhere near as disturbing as the inferi had all been used for the Easter attacks.
The island wasn't a natural feature of the cave (though neither was the lake) and was perfectly circular. The island was about thirty feet in diameter and sloped downwards on the edges so that it was shaped like a tiny mountain. There was a flat spot in the dead centre of the island where the podium that protected his horcrux was situated before the island gradually sloped down into the water. The podium full of potion gave off a Phosphorescent green glow reminiscent of the light from his dark mark (though that was just a happy coincidence)/
When Voldemort stepped off of his enchanted boat and onto the tiny island in the centre of the lake, he immediately knew something was amiss.
He could not feel the piece of his soul that was supposed to be hidden here calling to him. He was around Nagini all of the time and had become familiar with the almost magnetic pull from the piece of his soul that he had placed inside her calling to the part of his soul that remained in his body.
However, the only magic he could feel on the island was the subtle traces of his own magic that still lingered on the enchanted basin.
Voldemort had rushed over to the basin carved into the stone podium and peered inside the potion was too murky to see through so he was forced to cast a spell to make it as clear as water. He was even more confused when he looked through the potion to the bottom of the basin and saw a different locket sitting there than the one he had left over a decade ago.
Pressing his thumb to the rune on the underside of the basin, Voldermort quickly removed the protections on the basin and then vanished the potion with a simple evanesco charm.
He snatched the locket out of the basin, he studied it with interest. It was much smaller than Slytherin's locket and seemed to be made within the last century, judging by the clasp on the locket's chain. This locket had the Black family crest engraved on the face of the pendant. The pendant itself had an octagonal shape to it, unlike Slytherin's locket which was shaped more like an egg. This locket was made of solid gold and there was no doubt this was a very expensive piece of jewellery, but this was not his locket!
Flipping open the lid, Voldemort found a short missive, with shaky hands he unfolded the note, letting the locket drop into the basin with a metallic 'clink.'
He read the short missive in utter disbelief. What was contained within the letter filled him with equal part terror and fury. It scared him that someone knew of his safeguards and enraged him that someone would dare to steal from him!
Voldemort reread the letter once again, hoping to find something he had overlooked.
To the Dark Lord,
I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match you will be mortal once more.
R.A.B.
Voldemort did not find anything new on his second reading though he was fairly certain that he knew who had written the letter. He also had a suspicion that the corpse that had led him to this cave was also the same person who had written this note, Regulus Black.
Regulus Black had always been a mystery, at one time the boy had shown promise and was well on his way to becoming his number three. Then one day in the summer of seventy-nine he just disappeared and Voldemort believed him dead as he couldn't feel the connection to Regulus's mark any longer and had taken Severus on instead.
This certainly answered the question of what happened to Regulus Black but left a much more important question, where was his horcrux!?
After that, he was forced to drain the lake in the hopes that the locket had sunk to the bottom when the inferi had pulled Regulus under but there was no sign of his horcrux anywhere in the cavern!
This left Voldemort to wonder how that could be possible as the thief had been killed before he could leave the cave!
After Voldemort had left the cave he decided to stop by the Gaunt shack as it was less than a mile from his headquarters. After the loss of the locket, he wanted to be sure that it was safe as it was the most vulnerable of all of his anchors.
He had been apoplectic to discover his grandfather's ring was also missing from the shack. Worse still, he could detect traces of Albus Dumbledore's magic in the dwelling and it was apparent he had been here recently.
Voldemort had returned to his study which is where he sat now, pondering his next move. He was almost certain that Dumbledore had discovered the ring. if this was the case, then it had most likely been destroyed.
He would make a point to torture Lucius later for the damage he had done. Lucius had sent the diary horcrux to Hogwarts and Potter had ended up destroying it, which was bad enough. Though, now it appeared that the diary had tipped Dumbledore off to his other horcruxes and Lucius would suffer dearly for this.
He would have to find a way to check the status of the other two horcruxes, though he doubted very much that either of those two had been found.
Narcissa Malfoy had been left the contents of Bellatrix's private vault as she had specified this in her will. Rodolphus had been furious about this but Voldemort was unbothered, Narcissa was one of a handful of his servants who could go out in public. He would send her to retrieve Hufflepuff's cup for him and then he would find another hiding place for it.
The more difficult anchor to retrieve was the one hidden at Hogwarts. He would retrieve that one himself as soon as young Theodore Nott finished repairing the vanishing cabinet. From the reports Narcissa was getting, Mr Nott was making good progress and should have the task completed by June. He hoped the boy was successful or he would be forced to find a creative way to punish the boy
Until then, he would have to check the arithmancy and see if it was possible to create another anchor. He did not think it was, he had never created more than one horcrux within a ten year period as there was a risk of his soul becoming too unstable and collapsing in on itself.
He would have to keep a closer eye on the only horcrux he still had access to. After tonight, he was toying with the idea of transferring the fragment of soul in Nagini to another vessel. When he had turned her into a horcrux, he had plans of using her for spying. Much like the diary, he had given Lucius, he had intended her to be a tool as much as a safeguard.
Now he was having second thoughts, the downside of using her as a horcrux was that the fragment of his soul would only live as long as she did. Turning her into a horcrux would actually shorten her lifespan as he had learned from his years of exile. However, there was a high probability that she would not survive the transfer ritual and he had become quite attached to the woman trapped in a serpent's body.
He would wait until he found out the status of his other anchors before making a decision one way or the other. In the meantime, he would consult Augustus and see if the unspeakable could shed any light on the subject.
"It's always problems,' Voldemort sighed as he poured himself some wine, not noticing as Nagini slipped out of the partially open study door.
Voldemort was unaware that Nagini was privy to his thoughts, his heightened emotions upon the discovery of his missing horcruxes had pulled her into his mind. She hadn't paid them any mind until his thoughts began to involve her. She had no interest in dying so this human could move his soul shard to something else, it was part of her and that's where it would stay!
Her sense of self-preservation demanded she find safer hunting grounds and she decided it was time to go for a slither... a long one.
Room of Requirements, Hogwarts, 5/11/1996, 20:59
Harry dodged Tonks' stunning spell and returned fire in kind, causing the floor underneath her feet to turn into thin mud so she sank to her ankles before Harry quickly reversed the transfiguration, sealing her feet in the stone floor.
"Oh that was very good," Tonks praised as she easily parried his follow-up spells away.
"Thanks," Harry smirked as he swatted her next spell back at her followed by casting a tickling hex of his own.
"Oh bugger," Tonks exclaimed as she was forced to lean sideways to avoid a spell.
Harry pressed his advantage casting a constant chain of bludgeoning hexes at her. He couldn't fight the victorious smirk that crossed his lips when she was forced to shield. Now it was much easier to keep her on the defensive as she had to focus on maintaining her shield and could not return fire.
Harry had been winning more of these friendly duels over the last few weeks. Tonks had said it was because he was starting to catch her up and Harry knew this was partially true. He thought it had more to do with the fact that they had duelled together so much over the past year, that he knew her style inside and out.
With one final flick of his wand, her shield collapsed jarring her around, Harry took the opportunity to summon her wand out of her hand in her second of disorientation and hit her with a spell that bound her hands behind her back.
"Alright, you won. Now let me out of the floor, the stone is crushing my feet," Tonks exclaimed.
"Sorry," Harry said as he cast a spell to transfigure the floor back into mud and then removed the ropes binding her wrists behind her back.
"Don't be, that was pretty good. You took away my mobility and then wore me down," Tonks praised as she took Harry's offered hand and let him pull her out of the ankle-deep mud she was standing.
"That's pretty much what I did with Bellatrix," Harry admitted as the room began to change around them.
As usual, the room changed into their common room but today there were a few small changes to the decor that Tonks immediately noticed.
"How did you-
"Your mum may have mentioned it in her last letter, happy birthday, Nymphadora," Harry smirked.
"Thanks," Tonks said softly before placing a kiss on his lips.
Harry broke the kiss when he heard a soft 'pop' signalling that the food had arrived.
Harry hadn't gone all out with the decorations, there was a massive banner hanging on the wall over the fireplace in big pink bubble letters that read...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY NYMPHADORA!
There were streamers on the walls and hanging down from the ceiling. There was already a small pile of presents on the end of the bed from him, Sirius, Andi, and Ted and he believed there would be more to add to the pile very shortly.
On the coffee table having just appeared a second ago, was a bucket of fried chicken, a side of coleslaw, a bucket of strawberry ice cream, and a huge chocolate cake with twenty-three ever-burning candles lit on top of it.
"You got me KFC?" Tonks asked in a breathy voice as she darted over to the coffee table.
"I did, it was a bit trickier to get into the castle than I thought it would be," Harry admitted as they both heard the door leading being opened.
They both turned to see Hermione, Susan, Ginny, and Ron enter the room each carrying a present and smiling widely at Tonks.
"Happy birthday," Susan squealed before running over and pulling Tonks into a hug.
"Thanks Bones," Tonks smiled as she hugged the younger girl back
"Happy Birthday Tonks, Is that chicken for anybody?" Ron asked hopefully.
"It's my birthday chicken, keep your paws off, Weasley!" Tonks exclaimed over Susan's shoulder.
Tonks broke the hug with Susan and was now standing guard over the bucket while keeping her eye on Ron.
"I was just asking," Ron exclaimed.
"First you ogle me like a piece of meat and now you're scheming on my second dinner," Tonks exclaimed causing Ron to sputter in embarrassment.
Harry couldn't fight his grin, Ron was still a bit embarrassed around Tonks ever since they had told him her true identity. Harry would never forget the look on Ron's face when the pieces fell into place. It didn't take Ron long after they had told him who Tonks' really was before he remembered his sexy auror comments on the train. Now Ron's ears turned red and he quickly turned away from her.
"We just had dinner," Hermione huffed, giving Ron an exasperated look as they set their presents with the others on the end of the bed.
"I'm a growing boy," Ron defended.
"If you don't stop eating so much you'll be growing wider," Hermione scoffed.
"Listen here Hermione, wizards don't get fat!" Ron protested.
"Oh pull the other one, Ronald! Umbridge was a cow and if you don't stop eating so much you'l-
"Happy birthday Tonks," Ginny said as she joined Tonks and Susan over by the couch while Ron and Hermione began to bicker loudly by the door.
"How do you put up with that all the time?" Susan asked as she gave Ron and Hermione a look of annoyance.
"Sometimes it can be funny. At the quidditch after parties, the older kids drink a shot of firewhiskey every time Hermione says, Ronald," Harry chuckled.
"I bet they all get drunk before the argument's even finished," Tonks said looking amused as she lopped down on the couch.
"I count eight times so far," Ginny muttered as she started counting on her fingers the number of times Hermione said Ronald in a condescending tone.
"Well it drives me mad," Susan muttered.
"Same," Tonks said before biting into a drumstick and moaning appreciatively.
"Well we can't have that, it's your birthday," Susan said with a thoughtful look.
"Well perhaps if you studied more often instead of polishing your broomstick, you wouldn't need my help with homework!" Hermione exclaimed angrily.
"Oh don't start that again, I have been doing my homewo-
"Oi Weasley, Granger would you two just snog already? All of this arguing is giving us a headache," Susan exclaimed, making Ron and Hermione instantly fall silent.
"Huh, so that's how you shut those two up," Harry muttered, earning an annoyed look from Hermione.
"There is a theory that they argue so much because they're both suffering from pent-up sexual tension," came a dreamy voice from the doorway.
"Yeah, that's the theory in Hufflepuff too," Susan grinned.
"Alright, we'll stop fighting just pick someone else to pick on," Ron exclaimed looking very embarrassed.
"Happy Birthday Tonks, is that fried chicken?" Luna asked as she came to sit beside Tonks on the couch.
"Dobby," Harry called and was rewarded when the elf appeared in front of him with a soft 'pop'.
"Do you's be needing the other buckets of chicken, Master Harry Potter sir?" Dobby asked eagerly.
"Please," Harry grinned.
They all watched as the coffee table expanded so it more closely resembled a buffet table before four more eight-piece buckets of fried chicken appeared on the coffee table. A second later, sides, finger foods, peanuts, and crisps appeared on the table along with a large tin pail that had a mix of fizzy drinks and butterbeers buried in ice.
"Whoa," Ron exclaimed.
"I figured Tonks wouldn't be too willing to share her birthday chicken so I ordered five family meals," Harry chuckled as he dug a bottle of butterbeer out of the pail and offered it to Tonks.
"This stuff is amazing," Ginny muttered between bites of a thigh
The group fell into silence as they all enjoyed the contraband food. Ron and Ginny had never actually eaten KFC before but the other three were quite familiar with it and dug in with gusto.
Harry wasn't lying, it really had taken a lot of coordination to get this meal delivered. Harry had spent the past few days making calls on his mirror to Sirius so he could coordinate with Andromeda.
Andi had agreed to pick up the food and promised she would have it ready to go by nine o'clock tonight. And she had delivered, the food was still piping hot when it arrived which Harry believed was due to a warming charm.
After everyone had their fill of chicken they all sang a very off-key rendition of the Happy Birthday song while Tonks pretended to conduct them with her wand.
They were now eating cake and strawberry ice cream as they talked between bites.
"All I got for my birthday this year was a pair of keepers pads and she gets a full-blown party with exotic food and homemade strawberry ice cream," Ron said, shooting Harry a look of mock offence.
"Maybe you should let him soap you up in the shower if you want a better birthday party," Luna suggested, making Harry snort into his cake.
"What?" Hermione exclaimed in confusion.
"Harry was soaping Tonks up in the shower the other day and now we get this wonderful party, that can't be a coincidence," Luna beamed.
"I would let him soap me up in the shower if he could throw me a party like this, though I would rather have a Big Mac for my birthday dinner," Susan said thoughtfully.
"Absolutely not," Tonks huffed, shooting Susan a look of annoyance.
"I would just like to watch him soaping up Ronald," Luna said dreamily.
"Gross," Ginny shuddered.
"Agreed," Harry and Ron said in unison, both looking stricken at the thought.
"Luna might be onto something," Hermione said, shooting Harry and Ron a smirk.
"Can we please talk about something else... like anything else?" Harry almost begged.
"Alright, you'll never guess who Neville's taking on a date this weekend," Hermione said in amusement.
"Who?" Luna asked sharply, sounding much more normal than usual.
"Daphne Greengrass," Ron said, sounding impressed.
"Well good on him," Harry said, a bit surprised Neville had landed himself the most coveted girl in their year.
"Damn, I was starting to like him," Luna said sounding almost sad about this news.
"Don't be sad Luna, you know teenage relationships are quite fickle, I mean just look at all of the trollops Ron's dated," Hermione soothed.
"Oi, don't bring me into this," Ron protested.
"I can talk to Justin for you if you like," Susan offered.
"No, we're not compatible," Luna said matter-of-factly.
The party didn't last much longer as the warning bell sounded and Hermione began herding the others to their common rooms. As soon as the five students stepped out of the room, Tonks pulled him into a heated kiss
"Thank you," Tonks whispered after she broke the kiss, resting her forehead against his.
"Well you did make my birthday pretty awesome, I figured it was only right that I returned the favour.
"And I let you soap me up in the shower," Tonks smirked.
"Yeah, that was what made me decide to throw you a party," Harry snorted.
"I don't suppose you want to share a bath with me?" Tonks asked hopefully.
"I actually have a better idea," Harry grinned as he stood up and pulled Tonks to her feet.
Harry led her through the door that usually led to the bathroom only this time it led outside... well sort of
They stepped out of their common room into an almost perfect recreation of the back garden at the Tonks' home complete with the gazebo and hot tub. Over their heads was a cloudless star-strewn sky and a bright full moon, giving them more than enough light to see without needing torches or candles.
"I swear this room is like the holodeck or something," Tonks muttered as she looked around her in wonder.
"Tell me about it, I wonder if your dad ever found this place," Harry said as he watched three mallards swim peacefully around the pond.
"No, I don't think so," Tonks admitted as she began taking off her clothes.
"Shame," Harry said distractedly as he watched her step out of her jeans and begin to take off her Green Day tee shirt.
"Care to take a dip?" Tonks asked as she unhooked her bra and let it fall to the ground.
"Yeah, I would love to," Harry nodded.
"Then hurry up, I'm getting in," Tonks smirked as she slid off her knickers and walked starkers over to the little gazebo the hot tub was positioned on.
Harry nodded as he began taking off his own clothes, pausing long enough to watch her step into the tub and sigh in pleasure.
Harry was undressed in less than a minute and hurried to join her, noting how real the grass felt under his feet, it even had a slight bit of dew on it. Harry stepped up onto the raised deck and saw that the lattice on three sides of the gazebo now had vines of roses growing up them.
Turning back to Tonks, he saw that she was reclined back so that the water level came up to her chin and she seemed to be sprawled out across one side of the tub.
Smiling, Harry climbed in so that he was sitting across from her on the seat built into the tub. The hot water felt overwhelmingly hot at first before his body adjusted to it and he groaned n contentment.
"Best birthday ever," Tonks sighed as one of the fizzy drinks from the party appeared beside her on the edge of the tub.
"I don't know, mine was pretty good," Harry chuckled as a drink appeared beside him as well.
"It was, but we didn't get to relax naked in the hot tub together then," Tonks pointed out.
"True," Harry said as he felt Tonks rest her feet on the bench beside him as she stretched out.
"So any word on Nott?" Harry asked as he gently lifted her right ankle and began to lightly massage the sole of her foot.
"No, all we know is that he'# trying to fix that cabinet," Tonks groaned appreciatively as he worked his thumbs into the arch of her foot.
"I've been watching him on the map and he seems to be holing up in his dorm most of the time," Harry admitted as he continued his ministrations, pleased with the effects it was having on her if her relaxed smile was anything to go by.
"Albus h-has Snape keeping an eye on the situation for all the good it'll do," Tonks shrugged before taking a sip of her drink.
"Figures," Harry snorted noticing that Tonks seemed to be quite relaxed, her eyes were closed and she had a contented smile on her face.
"How is Neville coming along with his nonverbal casting?" Tonks asked as he began massaging her other foot, noticing her left ankle was a bit swollen.
Harry had felt a bit bad for nearly crushing her feet in their duel earlier, so he figured this would be his way of making up for it. The downside was that she seemed to be getting so relaxed that she was on the verge of falling asleep.
"He's moving along pretty well, I have him going through defence spells right now," Harry shrugged as he continued his task.
"So you told him to worry about the Transfiguration later?" Tonks asked as she opened her eyes to look at him.
"Yeah, I figured we could go back to transfiguration later," Harry agreed.
"Good, I think we can have him come by after dinner for an hour or two from now until exams so I can work with him on Transfiguration," Tonks suggested after a moment of silence.
"But what about our training?" Harry asked, letting go of her foot and giving her his full attention.
"Minus the Black spell book there isn't much more I can teach you, you are already winning just as many of our sparring duels as I am.
"True, but I still get my ass kicked in or hand-to-hand training," Harry pointed out.
"Only because you're holding back," Tonks snorted as she sat up higher in her seat so the tops of her breasts broke through the surface of the water.
"I don't know what you mea-
"You aren't putting any power into your throws and your strikes wouldn't pop a soap bubble," Tonks pointed out as she stood up so that her wet breasts were exposed to the cool air of the room.
"Are you getting out?" Harry asked, noting the water in the tub came up to just below her navel.
"No, I just thought I'd come and sit with you for a bit," Tonks said in a sultry voice as she pushed his back against the wall of the tub before she straddled his lap.
"O-oh, okay," Harry nodded as he looked up at her.
"So why are you holding back when we fight?" Tonks whispered huskily into his ear as she began to grind herself against him.
"I-I'm not," Harry stuttered as she began placing kisses on the side of his neck
"Your lying to me," Tonks smirked as she pulled his head so that his face was pressed against her bare breasts as she began to grind her hips against him with more force.
"Tonks," Harry gasped.
"Just tell me why you're holding back and I'll give you what you want," Tonks purred as she lifted his head and placed another hot kiss on his neck, sending shivers down his spine.
"Alright, I hold back so that I-I don't accidentally hurt y-you," Harry gasped out, very aware of her core pressing against his, his crown a millimetre from her entrance.
"I thought it was something along those lines," Tonks said in a much more normal voice as she abruptly got off of him and then stepped out of the tub.
"Hey, where are you going?" Harry asked in disappointment.
"I don't want to hurt you" Tonks smirked as she began to dry herself off.
Harry was speechless as he watched her drying off. The light of the artificial moon that the room had created, was casting her naked body in its silvery glow making her almost appear ghostly. The silver light had a strange effect on her pink hair, making it almost seem luminous.
"But I-
"I think this will give you the incentive to try a bit harder in our fight tomorrow, don't you?" Tonks asked sweetly as she pulled her tee shirt on and sauntered back into the common room, leaving him alone in the hot tub.
"Bugger," Harry muttered to the empty room.
Harry took a minute to compose himself before he got out of the tub and quickly dried off. Once he had thrown on a pair of boxers, Harry made his way back into the common room to find Tonks having another piece of cake.
"You're evil," Harry sighed as he sat down beside her and helped himself to some ice cream from the bucket that was thankfully under a stasis charm.
"Am not, my mum said I was a perfect angel," Tonks protested.
"Maybe before you learned to walk," Harry sniggered as he enjoyed the frozen treat, noticing Tonks' ankle was still a bit swollen.
"I bet you want to be a bit rougher with me now," Tonks smirked as she set her empty plate on the coffee table.
"You have no idea," Harry muttered as he drew his wand and pointed it at her left ankle before casting a spell to reduce the swelling.
"Where did you learn that?" Tonks asked in surprise as she moved her foot from side to side experimentally as if checking to see if her ankle still hurt.
"Auror handbook chapter twenty-nine," Harry smirked as he saw the swelling had gone down completely.
"It feels much better," Tonks admitted, giving him a grateful smile.
"I didn't think the floor would crush your ankle," Harry said somewhat apologetically
"Don't worry about it, though I do feel kind of bad for teasing you now," Tonks said as she stood up.
"You should," Harry said before he ate the last bite of ice cream.
"Are you ready for bed?" Tonks asked, ignoring his last comment.
"Yeah, I'm exhausted," Harry nodded as he set his empty bowl on the coffee table and watched as all of ve food disappeared with a soft "pop.'
After they removed the pile of gifts Tonks had left on the bed and vanished the pile of wrapping paper, they both climbed under the covers. Tonks snuggled up to him with her head resting on his shoulder and he hand resting on his stomach.
"Good night," Harry said as he closed his eyes and started to get comfortable only to shiver pleasurably when she kissed the side of his neck.
"Tonks?" Harry asked his eyes opened and he noticed she had changed her features so that she looked like Wendy.
"I was thinking," Tonks said thoughtfully as teased the skin under the waistband of his boxers with her fingers tips.
"About what?" Harry asked warily.
"If you could pin me right now, you could pretty much do anything you want with me," Tonks said in a casual tone as her hand slipped into his boxers as grasped his shaft before pulling it out of his underwear.
"O-oh," Harry asked.
"Unless your too scared of hurting me," Tonks taunted.
In response, Harry rolled them over so he was pining her to the bed Harry easily caught her arms when she tried to push him off and pinned them over her head as he shifted around so his hips were between her parted legs and leaned down so his face was inches away from hers.
"I know you have a thing for Wendy, now is your chance to have her," Tonks whispered, her breath tickling his neck.
"You sure?" Harry asked as he looked down at her
"I'm sure," Tonks whispered as she wrapped her legs around his waist and looked up at him, excitement evident in her features.
"If that is what you want, Wendy," Harry growled before he leaned down and captured her lips in a forceful kiss while releasing one of her arms so he could reach between them.
Tonks grunted into his mouth as he lined himself up and thrust into her, her free hand coming to wrap around the back of his neck and pull him closer to her. Harry began to thrust into her hard, hilting himself with considerable force.
They both got lost in the moment as Harry began to roughly fuck her. Judging by the pleasured moans she made, she very much approved of this treatment.
She had managed to work her other hand worked free of his grip and had begun digging her nails into his shoulder blades as he broke the kiss.
"Ooooooooh yes fuck meeeeeee!" Tonks shrieked!
Harry obliged and continued to thrust into her with abandon, hissing as he felt her fingernails break through his skin.
As Tonks' wails filled the room mixed in with the slapping sound of their bodies connecting, Harry couldn't help but think that this was so much different than the first time they had made love.
Their first time had been tender and slow, neither of them knew what they were doing so they had been hesitant to rush things. That was one of the best experiences of his life and he had enjoyed the intimacy of it but it was nothing like this.
This time they were both quite forceful and Harry was sure they would both have bruises in the morning, they were not making love tonight, no this was fucking. It was hard and rough, they bit and scratched each other as Harry took what he wanted and Tonks lay back and moaned louder and louder the harder he pounded into her.
Still, he couldn't deny that doing it this way was very exciting and he would have to make a note to be a bit rougher with her from now on as she seem to really be getting into this as well.
Harry's thoughts were interrupted when she began to suckle on his necke and he stopped thinking about anything except Wendy.
"That's mo-more like it," Tonks gasped as they lay cuddled up trying to catch their breath almost an hour later.
"I don't t-think I should do that in our sparing sessions," Harry chuckled as he watched her features transform back to those of her older self, pink hair and all.
"It would certainly spice up our training," Tonks mumbled as Harry spooned himself up behind her, their sweaty nude bodies pressing together.
"It would but can you imagine Hermione walking in on us?" Harry pointed out.
"Poor girl would go into shock," Tonks mumbled sleepily.
"Yeah," Harry agreed as he ran his fingers over her hardened nipples.
"You owe me a tee shirt," Tonks sighed.
Harry had gotten a little carried away towards the end and had ripped her shirt open to get to her breasts.
"Sure, I'll get you one this summer," Harry promised.
"Good, we can make a date of it," Tonks mumbed, sounding like she was falling asleep.
"Good night, Nymphadora," Harry whispered in her ear as he felt his eyes getting heavy.
"Good night," Tonks mumbled before Harry heard her breathing slow as she fell into a peaceful sleep.
"I love you," Harry whispered as he placed a kiss on her shoulder and closed his eyes .
Harry soon joined her in dreamland, quite pleased with how her party had turned out though he made a note to stop holding back in their hand-to-hand training as he really wanted to finish what they had started in the hot tub.
Great Hall, Hogwarts, 5/20/1996, 08:39
Harry walked into the hall to find Neville sitting in the section of the table Harry usually sat in.
"Well if it isn't the snake charmer Longbottom," Harry snorted as he took his seat across from the other boy.
"It's not funny anymore, Harry," Neville sighed.
Ron had come up with the nickname and it had been a hit in the dorms, especially after Neville had returned from his date with Daphne Greengrass and still had some of her red lipstick on his lips.
"You're just too close to it. Did you have any luck on the bird-to-water goblet spell?" Harry asked as he poured himself some coffee.
"I did, I've really been getting the hang of Transfiguration lately," Neville said and there was a touch of pride in his voice.
Tonks had taken over tutoring Neville in his Transfiguration spells as she had a real knack for the subject. She was also much better at explaining the theory than he was.
This had freed Harry up so he could start teaching Neville spell chaining and he had taken to the concept very well. He was already learning to chain stunners and Harry was planning on teaching to chain piercing hexes next week.
"Good, Transfiguration is dead useful in a fight," Harry grinned as Ron joined them.
"I've heard, during every lesson," Neville chuckled.
"Well she's not wrong," Harry shrugged as he took a bite of French toast.
"Good morning," Ron said cheerfully as he sat down beside Neville.
"Weasley," Neville said irritably as cut his eyez at the other boy.
"Now none of that Longbottom, Lavender made me promise not to call you the snake charmer anymore," Ron said as he began loading his plate with bacon and eggs.
"Wonderful," Neville sighed.
"Don't mind him, he's still upset McGonagall gave him detention for squeezing Lavender's-
"Oi, I was helping her fix her tie," Ron protested, his ears turning bright red.
"McGonagall didn't believe that excuse, what makes you think we would?" Neville exclaimed.
"Whatever, she had made me scrub the owlery last night... without magic!" Ron scowled as heshot adark look at the staff table..
"Serves you right, Ronald," Hermione said as she took a seat beside him.
"Good morning, Hermione," Harry said before Ron could reply.
"It is, isn't it?" Hermione agreed with a beaming smile.
"What's got you in such a good mood?" Ron demanded.
"I convinced professor McGonagall to make students who have detention clean the owlery to save those poor house elves from overworking themselves," Hermione answered with a victorious smirk.
"It was you!" Ron exclaimed angrily.
"Mr Weasley, that will be detention this evening after dinner for disturbing the peace of the hall," ProfessorMcGonagall called down from the head table.
"Hermione," Ron said in a barely restrained voice.
"Yes, Ronald?" Hermione asked curiously.
"I hate you so much right now," Ron growled.
"I'm sure you do but perhaps this will help to relate to the plight of those poor house elves," Hermione said in a smug tone before taking a sip of her coffee.
"Wow Hermione, that was evil even for you," Harry muttered.
"If he had attended the S.P.E.W meetings, he would have known about this ahead of time and might have avoided getting detention," Hermione shrugged.
"Does anyone attend those meetings?" Harry asked in exasperation.
"Yes, Cormac McClaggen has started attending them," Hermione scowled.
"Serves you right," Ron muttered
"I have to agree with Ron on this one," Harry said.
"What? Why?" Hermione exclaimed, giving Harry a betrayed look.
"Because of you, Professor McGonagall has a quota to fill. She has to give at least one student a detention every day or the owlery will get disgusting," Harry pointed out.
"Huh, maybe Ron was helping Lavender with her tie after all," Neville said thoughtfully.
"I suppose anything is possible. Maybe she was just looking for some poor sod to do some cleaning and Ron caught her attention," Harry conceded as Tonks entered the hall and made a beeline for them with Susan tagging along behind her.
Tonks took a seat on his left and gave him a wide smile followed by a, "good morning."
"Morning, Wendy," Harry said before placing a soft kiss on her lips.
"Good Morning Harry," Susan said as she sat down on his other side and gave him a hopeful look.
"Good morning, Susan," Harry said in confusion.
"No kiss?" Susan said in faux disappointment.
"Nope, my girlfriend is the jealous sort," Harry shrugged.
"She's also handy with a wand," Tonks added.
"I guess I'm stuck with Lucky," Susan smirked as Seamus sat down beside her.
"Fiery as always, Bones," Seamus chuckled as he placed a kiss on her cheek, making Susan smile prettily at him.
Harry shook his head and was about to say something to Tonks when he heard the screech of an owl. Harry looked up to see the mail arrive and noticed three owls with black envelopes flying toward the Slytherin table before he heard Susan gasp beside him and he turned to see the headline.
Giants Attack Greengrass Manor!
Largest Battle Since Grindelwald Takes Place in Kent!
Ten Giants Killed, Three Captured
Nineteen Death Eaters Killed, Aurors Are Fighting to Kill!
Below the first headline was a picture of a large meadow littered with bodies, many of which were humongous easily ten times as wide as a normal man and four times as tall. The picture was in black and white so it was hard to tell what colour the robes of the men laying on the ground were but he could make out a mask on quite a few of them. All over the meadow were massive craters looking almost as if the area had been carpet-bombed.
Before Harry could say anything else the hall doors burst open and a tall man with long brown hair and piercing blue eyes entered the hall looking furious. He was wearing fine acromantula silk robes that just screamed pureblood and walked with his back straight and his head held high as he surveyed the room.
"Lord Greengrass, to what do I owe this visit?" Professor Dumbledore asked politely as he rose to his feet and crossed the hall to greet the new arrival.
"Headmaster Dumbledore, I will be taking my daughters out of Hogwarts today," Lord Greengrass answered in a slightly croaky voice.
"If that is your wish," Albus said respectfully.
"It is, we shall be going abroad," Lord Greengrass said as he noticed his daughters approaching.
"Adder," Dumbledore called
Less than a second later, a tiny female elf appeared in front of Dumbledore with a soft 'pop'. She looked to be quite young and was wearing an emerald green tea like a toga.
"You's be needing me, headmaster?" Adder ask in a chipper voice.
"Yes Adder, please retrieve the sisters' Greengrass' personal effects," Albus instructed kindly.
"At once, headsymaster," Adder answered before she disappeared.
"Your daughters will be missed but know that if you are ever in need of assistance, Hogwarts will always be open to your family, Lord Greengrass," Dumbledore said as Adder reappeared a second later.
The elf was levitating two school trunks, one floating on either side of her. There was also a tabby cat in a whicker basket and an eagle owl in a cage.
"Thank you Adder," Dumbledore said went Adder had lowered the trunks to the floor.
Adder bowed respectfully before disappearing with a soft 'pop'.
"Very well, come along girls we have a portkey to catch," Lod Green grass said as he shrunk their trunks.
Harry watched as Astoria picked up her trunk and the cage with the cat while Daphne did the same with her trunk and owl before the Greengrass sisters followed their father out of the hall, Daphne stopping long enough to give Neville a sad smile.
"Son of a bitch!" Neville muttered angrily as he got up and swept from the hall without a backwards glance.
"He cannot catch a break," Harry muttered as he picked up Susan's discarded paper and began to read the article.
Harry was blown away by the details of the attack, apparently, the Greengrass lord had buried a series of exploding runestones that worked like anti-tank mines. He had placed hundreds of them all around the perimeter of his manor as a precaution for... giants.
Harry couldn't help but be impressed with the simplicity of the defence. All of the runes were tied to a single trigger rune. When Lord Greengrass triggered the runestones, the first wave of giants were literally torn to pieces before they could reach the ward lines.
While the death eaters were trying to regroup, Lord Greengrass sent word to the ministry. The ministry soon arrived and an open battle commenced in the fields in front of Greengrass manor. From what Harry could tell, the aurors had slaughtered the death eaters. Twenty-two death eaters were killed in the fight and the rest were forced to retreat.
According to the auror reports, most of the death eaters were French and under the age of twenty. In other words, they were recruits and hadn't stood a chance against the aurors who were quickly becoming seasoned fighters by now
"Got to give Lord Greengrass credit, he found an effective way to deal with giants," Harry muttered.
"Where on earth would he get that many exldng runestones?" Hermione asked.
"Greengrass Imports have their fingers in everything, they have probably been stockpiling them for years," Susan shrugged.
"Well however he did it, the giants are toast," Harry shrugged.
"There are still a few that escaped," Hermione pointed out.
"Yes but he won't use them unless it is for something important," Harry shrugged.
Before Hermione could reply, the bell rang and everyone began to get to their feet.
"Come on Hermione, history of magic," Ron said.
"I can't wait to drop that class," Hermione muttered.
As Harry followed his two friends out of the hall, he couldn't help but wonder if the war was starting to wind down. Voldermort's non-human troops were slowly getting whittled away. He knew that the only forces he had left were dementors and death eaters.
'It would be nice if the minister was to finish off the death eaters,' Harry thought as he took his seat by the window and waited for Professor Binns to arrive.