Chapter One

An Awakening

26th June 1986

Little Whinging, Surrey England

Harry Potter felt happy and carefree for once, the sun shone down on his little corner of Green Hill play park and his worries melted away. The swing he sat on creaked under his weight, his legs swung to create motion.

A creak and groan as the play park gate opened caused Harry to whip his head up, Leery, in the presence of an unknown girl. Unknown rarely meant good or safe in the small closed-off world of Harry Potter.

The girl was dressed in a pretty blue sundress and sneakers with no socks. She was older than him by a few years, but he couldn't tell by how much. Her dark hair was tucked behind both ears apart from a long thin braid that hung from her left temple.

Little Harry's meagre experience did not encourage him to trust easily, he had been blindsided by his cousin too many times for that. Still, his instincts were quiet about this stranger.

The girl stopped next to the seesaw. He could feel her gaze on him and he knew he was being judged. He watched her eyes give him a once over and he knew that he had noticed his torn jeans and scuffed trainers, stained t-shirt a few sizes too large and wonky glasses the same shade as the contusion below his left eye. She raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips.

He hadn't taken his eyes off her since the first horrid squeak of the gate. It was the reason he had chosen this playpark amongst half a dozen in the area. A noisy gate meant he could not be surprised. Harry Potter did not like surprises.

The girl took another step towards him and he could see the weariness and uncertainty disappeared as she relaxed.

"Hi Harry," the girl greeted him. "My name is Nym and we are very good friends."

Harry's legs ceased all motion and his swing gradually stopped without his impetus.

"What? How do you know my name? I've never met you before." Harry lisp was pronounced due to lack of front teeth.

"Can I sit on the other swing?" Nym asked gently.

Harry nodded, uncertain if he should be scared and run away or stay very still in the hope this person wouldn't hurt him.

"We have known each other for a very long time, we are—were best friends." Nym continued. "I have a few things to tell you and I need you to promise me that you won't tell anyone. This is important. If you don't think you can, I can't tell you."

Nym walked forward slowly and sat on the swing, toes resting on the tarmac beneath. She kept her silence as he considered her request and waited for a decision. The only sounds were the swings gently creaking and the rowdy noise at a play park in the distance were the only sounds.

"Is it something bad?" Harry asked after a few seconds of thought, his little brow creased in concentration.

"Some of it is, Harry, I promised you that I wouldn't lie to you. No matter your age or mine, no matter when we meet, I promised to tell you the truth and respect your decision. There are some things that I cannot tell you yet, but I will someday," Nym said.

A few more seconds of silence followed this declaration, and the creaking filled the gap again.

"Okay, we can talk, I won't tell anyone," Harry finally said.

Nym looked away from him to gaze up at the sun through the trees. He could see her face changed subtly. It could have been a trick of the light, but he didn't think so. Her hair seemed longer, too.

"As I said, you are Harry Potter, I am Nymphadora Tonks, and the last time I saw you was a hundred years in the future. Magic is real and we are both magical beings, Harry, you and me. There are many around the world, but for now—here—it's just you and me." She paused to give him time to absorb what she had said.

"We came back in time for a reason, a purpose. It was here that you wanted me to tell you everything, but I think you are too young for all of it. I will tell you enough and what it means for us now, and when we agree you are ready, everything else. Okay?" Here she paused again to gain his agreement.

Harry nodded slowly.

"Okay, okay," Nym repeated, clearly nervous. "Touch my finger, Harry. You'll feel a spark. Take the feeling of that spark and follow it inside yourself."

She reached out her left hand, index finger leading, and waited for him to meet her in the middle. Her bracelets dangled in a knotted mess, and her peeling nail polish distracted him for a second. Harry blinked then mimicked her motion and touched her finger with no further fanfare. The zap that arced across the millimetre gap supercharged his skin and every sense magnified. Harry was off the swing and across the park under the jungle gym before he realised he had actually moved.

Harry sat on the floor and stared at his hand, his fingers twitched uncontrollably. His index finger had an orange glow, he felt like something was inside. He looked up to see the girl. Nym had also risen and watched him avidly.

"What is it?" He asked, both hands flexed to relieve the weird feeling.

"I told you Harry, magic. Find the same spark inside you. Focus on it and follow it back up your arm." Nym instructed him. She sat on the floor just outside the perimeter of the jungle gym and cupped her chin in one hand, elbow on her knee.

Harry moved his hand closed to his face, eyes widened in shock as he saw a luminescent orange line just under his skin. He traced the line back to where it disappeared under his sleeve. Peeking beneath his collar more lines were visible, though faint when compared to the bright ball in the middle of his chest. How had he not noticed that before!

"I see that you've found it. Now that you've found it you'll never forget the feeling. We're cheating here. It took both of us years to get this far. Okay Harry sit like this, place your hands on your knees and close your eyes. Sit nice and tall. Focus on your core. This is the essence of you, Harry James Potter. Everything you are up to this point, memories, everything. Direct your focus down to it, reach out and touch it." Harry was awed, this thing, his core throbbed as he touched it with his mind. It throbbed in time with his heartbeat.

"Now Harry, I have an important question for you. What do you remember?" Nym asked him with a gleam in her eye.

Neither spoke for a minute, neither moved a muscle. Harry could feel his hair tousle his forehead in the light breeze.

"Have you found any of the others yet?" He asked, emerald eyes far too serious for his age.

"You remember?" Nym asked breathlessly. Eyes wide as saucers.

"Yeah, it's patchy but I remember what happened generally. It might never come back completely but we knew that, I think." Harry replied, distracted by a small sun in the palm of his hand. "You?"

"I think my metamorph abilities helped me regain some memories. I've always been closer to my magic. What now? Any change to the plan?" She enquired.

"No, I don't think so. Find the others and wake them up. We are all young and our magic is un-undev- hmm I don't know the word. We need to grow up first 'fore we can do more." Harry replied frustrated.

He manoeuvred himself from between the steel jungle gym bars and stepped forward. "Can I?" He asked hesitantly.

Nym had risen while he was doing this and stood puzzled for a second. Harry could see the moment when her fragmented memory filled in the blank and she opened her arms, and Harry rushed forward to be enfolded in a hug.

"I don't remember being hugged before. Not ever." He sniffed, emotion threatened to overwhelm him. They both squeezed tight offering each other a space to grieve a life lost and hope found.

"Welcome home Harry."

-TS-

"How did you get here anyway, I thought you lived in London?" Harry lisped his chin white from the ice cream cone Nym had bought it with her pocket money. They had sat by the duck pond for fifteen minutes debating what they should do before she had asked the obvious question.

"Ice cream?"

Harry had dragged her to the ice cream van.

"Mum has a tracking charm on me. This charm bracelet only she can take off. She had to work today and asked if I wanted to be dropped off at a park to play. I said this park as she had brought me here before, she apparated me and said I can make my own way home." She told him, her face less of a mess as she was a girl and more refined.

"Home. I don't want to live with the Dursleys. Dudley has started hurting me. I think Uncle Vernon will too." Harry mumbled morosely.

"I'll talk to mum. Tell her I've met you and that I think you're being abused. Hopefully the headmaster doesn't find out until it's too late. We could always run away if he does." Nym mused. "It's not like we don't know how to survive by our wits and nothing else."

"How old are you, twelve?" He asked, best friend she might be but he had never been sure of her age.

"Thirteen, I'm going to be in third year this September. Is there anything you want me to do while I'm there? I've found the Room of Requirement and used it a bit but there's not much for me to do for another four more years." Nym asked, almost begged. "I've got the time and can remember that I had a to-do list but I can't remember what's on it."

"Train, are you still clumsy? How long did it take you to grow out of that?" Harry asked mirth in his eyes until she reached out and shoved his ice cream up his nose.

The combined noise of his muffled squark of indignation and her howl of glee combined to spook all the birds that floated on the tranquil pond.

"I was never clumsy," she continued haughtily. "I occasionally miss a step but that is more a leg length thing and it's something I'm working on. It did take me twenty years but I know the trick now."

Harry snickered as he wiped his face with a paper napkin, there hadn't been that much mess after he had licked as much he could. He sniggered and had to lean to avoid her half hearted swipe at his head he paused to consider her request.

He could remember being a commander of troops of various sizes during several Dark Lord risings, a muggle war and on one memorable occasion a goblin rebellion. The last great goblin rebellion. Fragments of memories flitted through his mind, several human tellers held hostage, dead dragons in claustrophobic tunnels. Last stands and cornered animals.

"Gringotts," he said at length. "Do an inh- a thingy test."

"Gringotts?" She parroted. "Why would I-" her eyes grew wide again. "The rebellion. The lost knowledge. Ask for an inheritance test," Nym screwed her face up in concentration. "Something about a soul age? I can claim the Black headship as the eldest living Black!"

"We need to find Daphne and Tony. I can remember that much." Harry finished his cone with relish. "You know where I live?" At her headshake, her mouth full of ice cream he continued, "number four Privet Drive. We can walk that way if you want."

"yeah I've got time, mum said I can get the Knight bus home."

They both shuddered. It was a horrible mode of transportation. Stranded or not.

"I'm going to Diagon Alley tomorrow," Nym told Harry as they walked up to the turning into Privet Drive. "I'll try and convince mum to get me a small owl so I can owl you."

"No, I remember a Mail ward on the place. Send me a letter in the mail. Mrs Figg is on Wisteria Walk number three. I'll tell her I've made a pen friend." Harry told her. "Thanks for coming to find me Nym."

"I had to, It's been so lonely having no one to talk to about all the crap in my head, I've missed you so much." She hugged him impulsively and sniffed. "Bye."

He stepped back and she withdrew her wand and held it up in the air.

BANG.

A lurid purple triple decker bus slammed into existence without the motion expected of actually arriving. With a hiss of escaping air the double doors opened and an elderly wizard stood on the bottom step, a small card clasped in his left hand, a wand held in his right. Wispy white strands stuck haphazardly from under his conductor's hat.

"Welcome to the Knight bus. Emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. My name is Trevor Shunpike and I will be your conductor this afternoon. Hello young Miss, are you wishing to board?"

"Yes please Trevor. You do remember dropping me off earlier don't you?" Nym answered cheekily.

"Why yes I do Miss Tonks. Back to Holywell was it?"

"The Dunstable, Holywell yes, not the eighteen other ones." She turned to wave goodbye to Harry but he was out of sight so she boarded, shoulders slumped.

Harry hadn't gone but had tucked himself into a bush. Shadow completely concealed him from view.