AN: Sorry for no chapter last week. I caught the Coronavirus and just didn't feel up to writing. My symptoms are gone now though and I'm back in the swing of things. Unfortunately, you won't get to notice that because we're immediately going on hiatus. I'm not stopping the story, I just need some time to prep for second year. I've got to research the timeline of events and then translate the changes that this universe has. I fully expect that I will be back fully by the beginning of April, so it'll just be a month off. It will however not come back any sooner than that. I'd rather make a buffer of chapters if at all possible. I've also been job hunting on the side, and that takes up a good deal of time. I will constantly endeavor to keep up my chapter a week schedule though! I love hearing from you guys, and read all of your comments and reviews. Thanks for enjoying the story, and here's to second year when it starts!
Harry's recovery didn't take very long once he had woken up. Flitwick's training had improved his physical and magical reserves immensely, and with it his ability to recover from extreme exhaustion from them. The first order of business after Harry was released from the hospital wing for the Sphinx Club was a party to celebrate not only Harry's recovery, but the group's incredible performance in the end of year exams.
The Sphinx Club as a collective set record high scores for year end examinations, managing to have such high scores, that the First Year average scores were the highest in the school, a feat that Daphne mentioned was even more impressive due to the particularly low grades of Crabbe, Goyle, and Ron Weasley. Hermione scolded her at picking on some of their yearmates, but Tracey and Lavender backed up that they hadn't put any effort into their studies. Crabbe and Goyle spent all of their free time simply standing beside Malfoy, who did at least make efforts in his studies. Ron Weasley however bothered everyone for Chess and other games, and had he devoted at least half of that time to studying would probably be an average student.
"I hate to say so Hermione, but Lavender's got Ron pegged. I worked with our dormmates on revision when they asked, since you guys had been helping me so much, and when all of us were doing that Ron said we were all lame and went to the common room. We offered to help, but he wouldn't hear it. It's really strange too, all of his brothers are in the upper levels of their class." Neville said, taking a sip of the pumpkin juice Lavender had acquired for their party.
"Yeah, the twins are in the top 10 of their year, and Percy's number 3 in his. Charlie and Bill from what they told me were also some of the top students, Bill had even been Head Boy." Lavender piped up.
"I suppose. It still doesn't make it alright to make fun of them!" Hermione squeaked under her thoroughly embarrassed face.
"I'll stop making fun of them when they don't deserve it!" Daphne said, sticking out her tongue at Hermione playfully. The group all laughed at that and enjoyed their party for the end of the year. Tomorrow was the End of Year Feast, where the house cup was to be awarded, and the day after that was when everyone boarded the Hogwarts Express to leave for the Summer Break.
Harry was very nervous about that, tomorrow was his last night at Hogwarts, then he was to leave for the Tonks' house. He had been in contact with them a few times over the remainder of the school year, and they had visited him at school on more occasions in an attempt to get him more comfortable with him. They, as far as Harry could tell, were really lovely people, and were doing everything they could to truly make him feel like a member of the family with them. They had apparently made him a room already and had brought a few pictures of what it looked like. They had asked if he had any favorite football or quidditch team posters he'd like them to get to put up, but Harry hadn't any interest in either of those sports at the moment, although Quidditch had been fun to watch. He had asked for a Ravenclaw banner, since that was his house, and he'd like to have a piece of it at home, and the Tonks had said they'd gotten him one.
Shaking his head, Harry refocused on the then and there. Harry was in the Sphinx Club room. Harry was with his friends. Harry was happy. Whatever came later was later's problem.
The day of the year-end feast was a particularly emotional one around Hogwarts apparently, as all the classes were canceled for students to have the chance to say goodbye to their friends for the summer, as well as to the seventh-years, who would be leaving to start their lives in earnest. Harry didn't really know any of the seventh years in any of the houses, even his own, so them leaving wasn't something he felt particularly strongly about. He imagined that had it been Penelope Clearwater's time, he'd feel different, but he had two more years before that would happen.
The year-end feast itself started off normally enough, with students filing in and Dumbledore giving a few statements about how he so enjoyed when the entire school was together for big events like this. There were the obligatory statements regarding how the houses would be departing for the train in the morning, and that students should make sure their packing is done tonight, otherwise they would be in for a rude awakening.
Then the moment the Sphinx Club was waiting for came up. Once they had learned about the house cup system, the Sphinx Club had splintered along the house lines in an attempt to one up the other houses, all in the name of some friendly competition. Whoever won the house cup this year was getting bragging rights, as well as a party thrown in their honor when they came back next year. All in good fun, the goal was just to do your best. Because of that, the Sphinx Club had actively avoided keeping track of their points, or at least not in any large scale. Today's results were going to be exciting.
"Now, I believe I have something rather important to announce today don't I? Oh yes, the Hogwarts House cup. You students have done very well, working hard to earn points for your houses, in the spirit of learning and friendly competition. You should all be very proud of what you accomplished, regardless of the final results, and hold your head high as students of Hogwarts. Enough of you however have been giving me eyes urging me to get on with it, so I will do so. The winner of the 1991-92 Hogwarts House Cup is… Ravenclaw!" Headmaster Dumbedore said, a flourish of his hands recoloring the generic decorations that littered the great hall with the Blue and Bronze of the House of the Eagles.
A loud and hearty cheer emerged from the Ravenclaw table, with polite clapping coming from the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables, Slytherin table remained largely silent, although several individuals from the table did clap. Professor Flitwick moved from his location at the Head table to the podium where the House Cup stood, where the small professor grabbed it and hoisted the trophy above his head. The display was impressive, as the trophy was larger than he was, and given it's wood and gold construction, likely heavier than the professor as well. Harry briefly wondered if Flitwick was using magic to assist in lifting the trophy, or if he was simply that strong. Both were possible in Harry's eyes.
Harry was pulled from his musings by Padma and Hermione on either side of him crushing him in a hug, excited for the victory for their house. The trio held their embrace for a few moments, before they finally separated, Harry with a distinct flush to his face.
The feast was a joyous time, with good food, and good friends, the other Sphinx club members came by, and the dectet agreed that they would do their best to share a train car tomorrow, although all ten were likely unable to fit inside one.
The morning came and all of Hogwarts boarded the train to leave. The Sphinx Club were unable to find a compartment to share for all ten of them, so they divided up, saying that the Ravenclaw trio would ride with the Hufflepuff pair for half the time, and then the Slytherin pair for the other half.
Harry did his best to interact with his friends on the trip, but found it increasingly difficult to control his nerves. At the end of this train ride Harry would be spending his first night with what was to become his new family, and that frightened Harry.
The Tonks' had been lovely up to now, being supportive and understanding of his reservations, and the occasions he did spend with them were nice, but they simply couldn't compare to what was to happen now. He would be living under their roof, being a burden on them. What if they started to resent him? What if they were like the Dursleys again? Harry shook that last thought away. He hoped that there wouldn't be anyone like the Dursleys, and no matter how good of an actor you were, you couldn't hide the level of hate that being like them would provide. It was of little comfort though, and Harry's stomach remained uneasy.
Hermione turned and looked at Harry. "You're awfully pale, are you feeling okay?" She asked, turning the whole car's attention to him.
"Yeah I guess. Just nervous really." Harry said, slumping his shoulders.
"Hey, it'll be okay. They're going to love you, just like we do. If there's anything wrong you can always let us know and we'll handle it." Padma said, taking a moment to rub Harry's back. Her delicate hand felt good, and Harry relaxed into her touch a bit. Harry had of course shared his worries with the Sphinx Club, they were his closest friends and confidants, and they had all agreed to be available if they were needed. Harry had everyone's Floo addresses, with the exception of Susan,Daphne, and Hermione. Hermione simply didn't have a floo, but she did give him the phone number to both her home and her parents dental practice. Susan and Daphne were not allowed to give away their floo addresses, given that their parents were people of importance. Susan's aunt was the head of the DMLE, and therefore a high priority target if someone were to try to destabilize the government, and Daphne's father was a notable and active member of the Wizengamot. The pair were however, always reachable by way of owl mail, and would be requesting that the members of the Sphinx Club be allowed to at the very least Floo call them over the summer.
The call that they were pulling into Kings Cross Station rattled around inside Harry's head, as Hermione and Padma squeezed his hands. They must have started holding them at some point on the ride, and Harry had simply been too out of it to notice. The magical locomotive came to a stop, and the standard commotion of unpacking students eager to return home to their families began. Harry took his time, meticulously checking and rechecking everything, as Padma, Parvati, and Hermione watched on behind him. The others unfortunately had to move on, but these three had gotten prior permission to wait as long as was needed with Harry. Harry was truly grateful that he had such good friends.
Departing from the train was a simple endeavor, with a large ramp serving as a connection between the walkways between cars and the platform itself. Harry pushed his luggage cart, Hedwig's empty cage rattling in time with the wheels, as the three girls followed each with their own carts. Hedwig had taken a letter to the Tonks the previous night, and was instructed to stay and await Harry's arrival.
Harry scanned the crowd and saw Andromeda and Edward, no Ted. Ted Tonks is what he asked to be called. Harry reinforced the connection in his mind a few times, before continuing towards them.
"Hello Harry." Andromeda and Ted spoke in unison, before looking behind him. "Hello to you as well, Hermione, Padma and Parvati yes?" Andromeda continued, going over the three girls behind him. She had pointed to each in turn, but had mixed up the twins.
"I'm Padma actually." Padma spoke up, with no malice in her voice. This was the first time they had met after all, and without house robes to identify them, getting the twins right was a gamble, although Harry hadn't had trouble once they met.
"Oh, sorry dear. I'm sure I'll get it eventually. Hopefully we'll see plenty of each other since you and Harry are so close." Andromeda said, "Are your parents picking you up? I'd like to meet them."
"Unfortunately not, we actually have a handler from the ministry coming to pick us up to escort us to the International Floo office. Mother and Father are waiting for us at the Indian Ministry." Padma said, "Unfortunately Harry, we probably won't be able to see you at until it's time for school shopping. We'll write to you though! Father sends loads of Mail to England, so we'll send letters with his mail. We'll write at least once a week!"
"That'll be nice. I'll write too, once you tell me how I can. That can be your first letter." Harry said shyly.
"You bet we will Trollslayer. It was nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Tonks, but we have to go now." Parvati said, as she pointed out their ministry appointed guide.
"Oh, pleasure is all mine girls. Safe travels!" Andromeda said as Ted gave a friendly wave. The twins crushed Harry in a hug between before they stepped off, leaving Harry in a minor daze. "Seems someone is as popular with the girls as his father was." Andromeda said, chuckling behind her hand.
"Harry does have far more girl friends than guy friends. It's just Neville on that front isn't it?" Hermione asked, looking at Harry.
"Well, there's Stephen and the other guys from my dorm, but they're all far better friends with each other than me. Probably won't see much of them next year with Quidditch to be honest." Harry said, thinking for a moment.
"Quite the casanova we've invited to live with us. Guess we'll need to keep a close eye on you!" Andromeda said with a laugh, Ted's deep chuckle joining her. Harry's face flushed, he was embarrassed, but… this was nice.
"Hermione, are your parents here? We'd like to meet them too, just so we can let them know how to get in touch with us. We'd love for you to be able to visit Harry over the summer some if you both would like. We wouldn't be much of a family if we wouldn't let him see his friends." Andromeda asked.
"They're on the Muggle side waiting, They're muggles, so they don't have a floo or anything, I probably won't be able to come by." Hermione said, a tint of sadness in her voice.
"Oh, well, we have a phone and a car. Ted's muggleborn as well, and he couldn't stand the idea of not having either. We live in Oxfordshire, is that too far?" Andromeda asked.
"Oh, that's not too bad at all. We live in Bristol." Hermione said, the light returning to her face.
"Oh! Brilliant! You'll be able to come and see us sometime this summer. We'd love to have you and your family over. We can let you show them your magic, that'll be exciting for them, it sure was for my parents." Ted said, looking happily at Hermione.
"Oh, but we aren't allowed to do magic outside of school." Hermione said, sadly.
"You aren't but it's a lot harder for the ministry to detect magic done in magical households, so long as you don't do more than a spell or two, you shouldn't get noticed. Especially with three adult wizards living in the house." Ted said, putting his finger to his mouth in a mock shushing motion.
The quartet then began to make their way to the muggle side of King's Cross station, where the Tonks had a brief meeting with the Grangers. With pleasantries concluded, Harry and Hermione bid farewell to each other, as the Grangers departed back to Bristol.
"So, where did you park?" Harry asked, pushing his luggage cart.
"Oh, we Floo traveled here. We'll be flooing back, as well. No need to weather London traffic if you don't need to." Ted said. "We'll need to go back on the other side. Andy dear, could you shrink his luggage for him once we're there?"
Andromeda nodded, and the three of them made their way back to the magical side of King's Cross, where Andromeda did shrink all of Harry's items to where they could fit in his pockets. Magic was truly amazing sometimes.
"Alright Harry, first time Floo traveling is pretty scary, but there are two important things. You should say where you are going clearly, and step out confidently. The floor will be there on the other side. Ted will go first, watch what he does. I'll be right behind you, just need to make sure you don't say it wrong and end up in Sussex or something." Andromeda said, a hint of a chuckle in her voice at the end of the statement.
Ted walked up to one of the many green fireplaces that littered the edge of the platform, before grabbing a small handful of green powder from atop it, scattering it into the fire before saying clearly "Tonks House" and stepping through in a bright flash of green flame.
"Now you try Harry, 'Tonks House', loud and clear." Andromeda said, giving him an encouraging smile. Harry resolved himself, throwing the powder in and giving his best shot at proper enunciation. A step through did find him wherever Ted Tonks had ended up, although Harry was spread out on the floor. Andromeda followed through a moment later.
"Ooh, people do tend to fall their first few tries. Don't feel bad, it happens to the best of us." Ted said, reaching down to help Harry off the floor. "Welcome to your new home Harry. We're glad to have you."
Looking up, Harry saw a surprisingly normal looking living room. With a pair of comfortable couches flanking either side of a coffee table, and an easy chair sitting off to a side facing inward. A relatively large television sat in one corner of the room, facing inwards towards the couches. Through a large opening, Harry could see a small dining room attached to a kitchen, and through a separate opening he could see what was likely the front door, as well as a set of stairs that went up.
"Here, let's take you to your room. It's up the stairs there." Andromeda said, leading Harry. Heading up the stairs there was a hallway that had 5 doors. "This room here is mine and Ted's, that one is my daughter Nymphadora's, that one is the bathroom, and this one is your bedroom." She said, before opening it up.
Harry's room, which is a statement he hadn't ever really expected to say, was very plainly decorated. He had a large bed in one corner, and a desk and chair opposite it. An empty bookshelf sat next to the desk, and in a corner near the window there was a side table and a perch where Hedwig was currently sat. Hung on the walls was a Ravenclaw banner, just as Harry requested, but nothing else. A broomstick was in another corner, a large ribbon wrapped on it.
"Oh yes! I almost forgot. We got you a bit of a present. Please don't think we're trying to bribe you, but every young wizard should have a broom, just as every child should have a bike. Do you know how to ride a bike, Harry?" Ted asked.
"No sir, I don't." Harry said sheepishly. He was still trying to process having his own room, much less also a broomstick of his own.
"Shame, well. We'll find the time this summer to teach you. Andy and I love to cycle every once in a while. We were going to get you a bike as well, but we wanted to make sure we got a size that was comfortable for you, they aren't a one-size fits all thing like broomsticks are. Also, there isn't any need to call me sir, Harry. I'm Ted, in some ways I hope one day you may call me dad, but that's a decision only you can make." Ted said, as he kneeled down to Harry's level. "You're part of our family now, okay? We want you to be happy. Now, come on, let's get you unpacked. Nymphadora should be here by the time we finish. Andy, is she bringing her boyfriend with her?"
"I think so, he should be in the country right now." Andromeda said, growing Harry's luggage as he pulled it out of his pockets.
"Lovely, a full house for dinner then. Do you want to get started cooking while Harry and I unpack?" Ted said, popping open Harry's trunk.
"Yes, that seems like a good idea. We're having spaghetti tonight Harry, but I'll make some Treacle tart for dessert. You mentioned that was your favorite, right?" Andromeda asked, as if checking she remembered properly.
"Yes ma'.." Harry started, before Andromeda gave him a look that said 'try again' "Yes Andromeda, that is my favorite."
"Good, you can call me Andy if you wish dear, I understand that my name can be a bit of a mouthful." Andromeda said, before waving goodbye as she went downstairs.
Harry and Ted unpacked all of Harry's things, which was decidedly not very much. Harry only had a few sets of clothes to his name, only his Hogwarts robes properly fitting. Harry made sure that his wand and flute were carefully placed in his bedside table, and that Hedwig's cage was put near her perch. He also set up his Wizarding Wireless Radio on his desk.
"Looks like you and Andy will need to do some clothes shopping in the future then. Maybe Nym can get some time off to go with you." Ted said, and Harry could only nod. This was still a lot to take in.
"Heyo! Mom! Dad! New Bro! I'm home!" A loud voice boomed from downstairs, accompanying the sound of a door opening.
"Sounds like Nym's made it. How about we go downstairs and say hello?" Ted said, Harry nodded and followed along.
Standing in the entrance hallway was a young woman, with spiky bubblegum pink hair, and features that looked very similar to Andromeda. With her was a tall young man with long red hair that Harry recognized.
"Charlie?" Harry asked surprised to see him.
"Oh! Harry! Didn't expect to see you here. Tonks here mentioned she'd have company, but never would've guessed it'd be you." Charlie said. "What's this about a new brother?"
"Oh! Good! You two know each other. Hi Harry! I'm Nymphadora Tonks. Don't call me by my first name though. I'll be your new big sister. So you can come to me with the stuff you can't go to Mom and Dad for." Nymphadora says, sticking her tongue out playfully.
"Nym, go easy on the poor kid. It's still an adjustment for him." Ted said. "Good to see you again Charlie, how are the dragons?"
"Pretty good, we just got a new hatchling in a couple months ago thanks to Harry here actually. She's ended up being my primary responsibility." Charlie says, speaking jovially with Ted.
Harry hung around the outside of the conversation, adding in whenever he felt appropriate, but still feeling awkward. Andromeda called them into the dining room shortly thereafter and the quintet sat down for a hearty dinner.
The Tonks had a very friendly camaraderie with each other, with everyone getting a chance to talk about recent developments, and trying to learn more about Harry. It wasn't the angry silence of the Dursley family dinner, this was… jovial and pleasant.
Harry wasn't sure of many things, but he at least believed that he could be happy here with the Tonks. He was certainly in for an interesting summer.