Arc 3, Part 2, Chap 3
When they exited the room, Harry noticed three new people in the room. The woman was a stately witch with deep black hair, similar to Sirius. The man was of medium build and a bit paunchy. The young woman was easily recognizable by her pink hair.
"Harry!" Sirius yelled, "Let me introduce you to my favorite cousin, Andi, her husband, Ted, and their daughter, Nym…."
"Don't call me that! Just call me Tonks!" said the pink-haired girl in a huff.
"Well, like I said, this is Tonks. I guess that would make her Tonks Tonks then," said the man with a chuckle.
Andi walked over and pulled him into a gentle hug, "Harry, it's so good to see you again! I tried for years to find you, but Dumbledore must have had you well hidden and all of my owls returned with their letters. I'd be happy if you would call me Aunt Andi. That is, if you're comfortable with it."
"Thank you, ma'am, er Aunt Andi. It might take a little getting used to," replied Harry.
Ted walked over and clapped Harry on the shoulder, "Hi Harry! You can call me Ted, or Uncle Ted, just don't call me Theodore because then I think I might be in trouble!"
Harry smiled shyly at the affable man, "Good to meet you, Ted."
"Wotcher, Harry!" Tonks said, as she ruffled Harry's hair, "I hear you're as good or better than Charlie Weasley on a broom. You'll have to show me your moves sometime," she said with a wink.
Sirius said, "I've asked them to meet with you and see how you get along. If it's all OK, then you can stay with them until I've had my trial. Andi is a healer at St. Mungo's, Ted's an attorney working both the magical and muggle side of things and Tonks is almost finished with the Auror Academy. Ted's going to help us with the paperwork to get you legally away from the Dursleys."
Harry's eyes perked up, "Really? You can do that?"
Ted replied, "I don't think I'll have any trouble at all. Just have to get the paperwork together and get them to sign it. Shouldn't take more than a week."
"So, what do I do in the meantime? I mean, the Hogwarts Express leaves tomorrow," asked Harry.
"Well, kiddo, remember Madame Pomfrey still has some work to do with you first, so you'll be here for a while with me," said Sirius.
While Sirius was explaining things to Harry, Amelia took Tonks off to the side, "Cadet Tonks, are you up for a special assignment?"
"What kind of special assignment, Madam Bones?"
"One I think you'll do quite well at. While you're here, I want you to study Harry so that you can imitate him, at least in looks, and somewhat in mannerisms. Then report to my office. Please don't speak of this to anyone until I'm able to give you a full briefing on what I want you to do."
"Of course, Madam Bones."
Tonks was now very intrigued with her new assignment. She would be impersonating Harry, but why?
"Sirius, I'll be in touch with you once I have more information on a trial date," said Amelia.
"Sure, let Ted know, too. He's going to be defending me," said Sirius.
"I'll make sure he receives a copy of the summons. Until next time," then she left the Hospital Wing with Moody and Ms. Jones in tow.
Harry spent the next two hours talking with the Tonkses and getting to know them better. Andi was intimidating in appearance but she was very down-to-earth and approachable. While Mrs. Weasley almost smothered you with her affection, Andi radiated care and concern without overwhelming you. Ted had a good-natured personality and wasn't afraid to crack a few jokes, whether appropriate or not. Tonks was funny and entertaining – showing off her metamorphmagus talents. Finally, they left, leaving Sirius and Harry time to talk.
"Well, pup, what do you think? Do you think you can stand living with them for a while until my situation is resolved?" asked Sirius.
'They seem nice. Nothing like my aunt and uncle at all. I think I'd like to get to know them a little better before I agree if that's OK with you?" replied Harry.
"Absolutely! I want to make sure you're somewhere you want to be. If you're not comfortable with the Tonks, I can talk to the Weasleys about you staying there for a bit."
"No, I think the Tonks will be just fine. I like the Weasleys, but there are just too many people in the house and you never know what the twins are liable to pull. I like visiting them, but not for an extended stay."
"Great! Well, how about we get some lunch then and rest for a bit before Mr. Bowlby comes by. I told Ron and Hermione they could stop in before dinner for a quick visit and then if you're up to it, for a little while afterward," said Sirius.
That sounds good, I'm hungry!" replied Harry.
- HiFHiFHiFHiFHiF -
While Sirius and Harry were having their lunch, Amelia Bones was meeting with Tonks about her assignment.
"Well, show me your Harry Potter, Cadet Tonks."
Tonks concentrated for a moment and then her features changed to resemble Harry, right down to the emerald green eyes. Amelia took a quill from her desk and then transfigured it into a pair of glasses that looked like Harry's and handed them to Tonks. With that, the transformation was complete.
"Outstanding, Cadet Tonks! How much of Harry's background have you been told?"
"Mum and Dad said he'd been abused by his muggle relatives but didn't go into any details. She said she didn't want to color my impression of him."
"I can tell you that it's bad. Bad enough that I've already started paperwork on the ministry's side to not only reassign his legal guardianship but also his magical guardianship. With Sirius talking to your family as a possible temporary foster family, that makes this easier. Tomorrow, I'd like you to take the Hogwarts Express from Hogwarts to London and then go home with Harry's muggle relatives. I want to know just how bad they are from another source. This is not an easy assignment. Harry's uncle has already made two attempts on Harry's life and sent Harry a threat that he would kill him this time. Situational awareness is paramount," explained Amelia.
"Constant Vigilance!" shouted Tonks.
Amelia smiled, "Yes, indeed. I am going to have Moody meet you at the house and run surveillance outside. While I don't want you to antagonize Vernon Dursley, I want you to be prepared to stun him if he tries anything. Do not pull your wand unless you are threatened. Am I clear?"
"Absolutely, Madam Bones. Will I ride the train the whole way or just meet it at the station?"
"I think it would be best if you rode it the whole way. That way no one will suspect the swap. Harry's good friends with Arthur Weasley's youngest son and has spent time over there, so why don't you talk to him and get his perspective on Harry? I will send him and Miss Granger owls to meet us in Minerva McGonagall's office at 7:30. We'll discuss how we plan to accomplish this and get you the right sort of clothes. Plan to eat with them and go with them on the train. Do you have any questions?"
"No Ma'am. My first undercover operation and I'm only a Cadet!"
"Carry on, then. I'll see you here at 7:15 tomorrow."
Tonks left Amelia's office and headed over to Arthur's to get the scoop on things.
- HiFHiFHiFHiFHiF -
Right on the dot of 2 pm, Madam Pomfrey's floo flared, and out stepped a youngish man in brown robes over a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. She escorted him to the ward and to his prospective patient.
"Mr. Potter, this is Healer Jacob Bowlby. He's the mind healer we discussed with you. You're welcome to use the other room for your talk," said Madam Pomfrey.
They went to the other room and Harry watched as Healer Bowlby transfigured the hard-backed chairs into something more comfortable.
'There! How's that look to you, Mr. Potter?" asked the Healer.
"Fine. And you can call me Harry, please."
"Absolutely. When we're around others, you can call me Healer Jacob, but in here, Jacob is just fine. What do you know about mind healers?" asked Jacob.
"Nothing. I guess you work on people's minds when they've suffered some kind of trauma," Harry replied.
"That's pretty close. On the whole, we help people who have had some type of mental trauma identify and deal with it, similar to what a Muggle psychologist would do, but we have magical ways of helping the mind along to process those traumas so they are causing you so much pain. One of the things I'm going to teach you is a mind technique called Occlumency. This is a combination of Muggle meditation and memory sorting. Most people think it's only used to prevent someone using Legilimency from reading your thoughts. That's one use of it, but we've found that using the sorting process to deal with memories helps you overcome their impact. But first, I want you to tell me about yourself. I know you met with Madam Bones and Wizarding Child Services earlier and they asked you questions about your home life. I want to know that as well, but at your pace. If it gets too much, we can stop and take a break. We'll meet daily for an hour at first, and then as you get better, we'll spread the sessions out. Since we've already used up some of that time, why don't you tell me about the first six years of your life at the Dursleys."
Harry thought it would be hard to talk to this man, but after having gone through some of the information with Madam Bones, it was easier for Harry to talk about what had happened at the Dursleys. He talked about how they kept increasing his chores as he grew older until by the time he was six, he was already making full meals and doing most of the housekeeping and yard work.
"Why don't we stop there for today? What I'm going to teach you now are some calming practices that will help us as we go along. I want you to practice this every night before you go to bed. The first thing is to focus on your breathing. Count to five as you inhale, then count to five as you exhale. Try doing that for five minutes. Focus only on counting. Once you've done that, I want you to continue to breathe and try to clear your mind of outside influences. This is the hardest thing to master because our thoughts keep trying to take over. I understand you're a good flyer. Think about yourself flying in the air with nothing holding you back. See how long you can do that. If you can keep it up for thirty minutes, then you're ready to go to the next step. Do you think you can try that, Harry?"
"I think so," said Harry.
"I've brought you a guide to meditation that I found helpful when I was learning. If you have questions, write them down and I'll be happy to answer them. Don't think of this as a school assignment. There are no grades. Think of this as helping your mind and body help yourself to heal."
With that, the two exited the room and Harry went back to his bed to think about what he'd just been through.