Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter
AN: ok, once more and this time, hopefully, no blackouts.
First, thank you to all my friends who supported me in more ways than can be listed in writing this here thing.
Second, big thanks to my friends who also stepped up as beta readers and editor of this here thing. Namely to Arwen Hermione, who helped me put the old draft of a chapter to the right and to a readable state, and to Stinary, who did the fine-comb editing and grammar policing on this chapter. They are both first class writers and people and you should really give Arwen's stories a look if you are Hermione fan or at all Chicago Fire fan.
Any remaining rough edges of any sort whatsoever rest squarely on me.
As for the scope of the story I have in mind, I intend to write a self-contained story for the OOTP summer, and I have a rough plan for another story to cover the school year. I will give out more details about that as and when I have written enough for that story that I am confident I will also finish it. The original idea was, and still is, to write a story where the order is a bit smarter, and they realise that Harry needs training AND can not be left, for all intents and purposes, to fend for himself after seeing a friend murdered right before him. And since, under normal circumstances, that would be Sirius's responsibility, the next logical choice was the, usually, pink or purple-haired auror we all know and love.
Anyway, I hope you have fun reading this, and if you do, or perhaps if you do not, and feel like sharing why, hit that comment section.
Argent
*****
Chapter One
Taken by an Auror
Having a "mass murderer" godfather at large had its benefits. Harry got to work making breakfast at a leisurely pace. They didn't force him to cook any longer. No. He did it because Hermione always told him that the routine helped with nerves.
He made the hash and just started cracking eggs when the door rang twice. Uncle Vernon looked up from his newspaper "Boy, go..." he began, but noted Harry was cooking,
"Dudley, go answer the door. No, he can't do it. He is cooking," shouted Vernon.
Dudley opened the door and gulped. Instead of anyone who usually came to visit, he stared at a tall imposing Brunette who gave him a look one would customarily give a dog who chewed up a shoe. She wore a strict business suit and an even stricter expression. Dudley only saw on the face of the headmistress of his old school, that day that his posse made a kid fall down the stairs. He shuddered at the memory.
"Well, are your parents and cousin at home, boy?" she asked. Dudley was about to say something indignant before, but now he swallowed that reply and just nodded.
"What is the sense… I mean, meaning of this?" asked Uncle Vernon. He was making his way to the door, red cheeks from the exercise and anger.
He calmed down a bit when he saw that the person causing the disturbance was very definitely not a freak like his nephew. In fact, she looked perfectly normal and ordinary.
He forced his expression to that of polite disinterest and said, "Miss, I don't know what business you have with us, but it can wait till Monday?" When she shook her head and handed him a business card, a vein popped on his forehead.
"I am afraid it can't. I have some business with you, and some business with your nephew, and while we could deal with it right here, I believe it would be better if you let me in." There was no warmth and no genuine respect in her tone, just the precise tone-deaf politeness.
Vernon looked at the business card in his hands.
N. A. Tonks, Junior Auror, DMLE, Ministry of Magic.
Tonks smiled, though the smile never made it to her eyes when she saw a vein popping on Vernon's face with each word he read. Then, when he was done reading, he shook his head to invite her in and closed the door once she passed the threshold.
She walked right past him and to the kitchen, going by the sound and nearly tripping twice along the way.
Harry was stirring the scrambled eggs when a stern-looking brunette entered the room, followed by Dudley and Vernon. He got one more plate out of the drawer and ignored his Uncle, giving him an angry look. Since he learned about Sirius, angry faces were all Vernon could do to him. Harry smiled thinking to the last summer when he gleefully told Vernon "My godfather is Sirius Black. He says you will not replace the window bars, you will not lock me or Hedwig again, you will not try to stop me from doing my homework. Capisce?" That was the first good day Harry Potter ever had at the Prived Drive No.4.
On the other hand, Aunt Petunia gave the barest nod possible when she saw him, and the woman smiled, taking the plate and cup of tea. "Thank you, Harry. I forgot to get breakfast today."
When she saw the question in his expression, she smiled again.
"I'm Auror Tonks. Of course, I know you, Harry. I am also Sirius' cousin. Thank you for making sure at least someone knows he is innocent," she was keeping her look and all the attention on Harry while Vernon and Petunia were quietly talking in the corner.
Harry smiled sheepishly. "It was the right thing to do. And I did have help."
Tonks shook her head. "Pathologically modest, all right," she thought, letting it go for a moment. She figured she could eat some of her food before getting to the business she came for. She drank half of her tea in one go before putting her food on the table, only nearly avoiding tossing it on the floor instead. She smiled warmly at Harry: "Sorry for almost messing your kitchen." She did not say as much as a word to any of the Dursleys about it and went about to eat her breakfast.
Vernon looked around, confused; he discreetly pinched himself to ensure that it was not a bad dream and that a witch was sitting at his table eating breakfast.
He looked at his wife in confusion. "Auror? Like, magical police?" when she nodded, he felt a tingle of fear, but it was swiftly swept away by pride.
"Well, at least in our society, we don't make detectives out of people from criminal backgrounds," he said with a smug, superior expression.
Tonks fixed him a stern look, and the tips of her hair flickered red momentarily.
"If I am from, as you put it, a criminal background, should that not be another reason for you to cooperate?" she asked in an even tone, suppressing what was technically a smile. Harry shook his head and said, "they don't know. They believe Sirius is guilty." He looked guilty himself, she noted... Thanks to talking to Sirius before, she had an idea why he did not tell his uncle and aunt.
She turned back to Vernon. "Well, for your knowledge, I am actually not a criminal, and neither is my cousin. He was framed."
She finished her tea and pushed away the plate, searching her pockets for a moment, murmuring to herself. The Dursleys looked distinctly unimpressed, but chose not to pursue the subject.
Tonks foraged through the pockets of he suit jacket, not unlike Hagrid back on the rock, through her search turned only keys, a badge and a wallet. Eventually she found two letters. Tonks handed Vernon a letter and another one to Harry.
Harry recognised the handwriting immediately but put it away for now, instead keeping his attention on the people around the table.
Uncle Vernon read his letter and looked conflicted, just as the last year when he was deciding whether Harry could go to the World Cup. For all Harry cared, that was a good thing.
Harry looked up to Tonks for an explanation. But before she could say anything, Vernon tossed the letter aside and gave her an angry look.
"So, you show up on our doorstep, and are to take the Boy away? And nobody thought to let us know or ask if it was alright?"
Harry grinned. Unless Tonks was a Deatheater, which he very much doubted, being taken away by her was a sure improvement compared to Privet Drive.
"Yes, Professor Dumbledore decided that Harry," she put an emphasis on the name, "needs to learn about certain areas of our craft, for which I am a suitable teacher. Also, my cousin asked me to see how well Harry is provided for, and what I saw so far leaves much to be desired." Both Harry and Tonks noticed that a glimpse of guilt appeared on Petunia's face for a moment.
"Before you waste breath denying it, I did my recon on you this week, and you are only angry that I will take your unpaid labour away. I am taking him away, and there is nothing you can do about it. Both Professor Dumbledore and my cousin ordered me to do so, and in the eyes of our law, they outrank any rights you may have," she finished in a very strict and official tone.
Vernon looked at the angry Auror in his kitchen. The letter looked like it was from that Dumble-what-is-his-name-again, and it was not like he was unhappy to see the Boy's back, even if he would have to hire a gardener six weeks earlier than he thought.
"Alright, take him, but I don't want to hear about him for the rest of the year, understood?" He waved dismissively, making his way to the bar. Yes, half-past nine was a good time for a shot of gin. Harry looked from Tonks to his uncle and nodded resolutely. "You will not, Uncle Vernon, and it's just two more summer breaks before I'm of age."
Vernon nodded back. That much, at least, they could agree on.
Tonks got up and pointed upstairs. "Cheers then., let's get you packed, Harry. I'm sure you have tons of questions, so I'll tell you as you pack."
As they walked up the stairs, Tonks stomped on the creaking stair step, and Harry jolted and then rolled his eyes. She gave him a confused look.
"Had to learn to avoid that one if I wanted to sneak to the kitchen or around the house. Well, that is, after I ceased to live in the cupboard," he explained offhandedly.
Tonks nodded and made two more steps before the last sentence got into her brain. "You used to live in a cupboard?" she asked, and her hair once again turned red for a moment, "I knew they weren't treating him right, but Sirius will want to know just how bad it was," she thought as the teen nodded.
"It was not that bad. I was pretty short back then, and at least I am not afraid of spiders, like not at all," said Harry, almost offhandedly. "As far as I care it is history".
"No!" said Tonks and shook her head, "living in a cupboard is cruel and unusual. Don't make excuses for them. They had room to give you from the beginning, obviously. Sirius would never treat a house-elf that way, and me mum would go right back to the kitchen and tear your Muggles a new one!" she finished as they got to Harry's room. She took one look at the doors with the various locks and bars and raised an eyebrow.
"That was when they learned I can't do magic outside the school," explained Harry.
Tonks gave in to the momentary fantasy of going back into the kitchen and turning Harry's uncle into something unnatural before coming back into reality. She grinned at the sheepish look Harry gave her as they entered his room.
"Relax. I was worse when I was fourteen. Auror training set me straight through. Well, mostly," she said, leaning against Harry's desk as Harry set about getting his school trunk
"Harry opened his trunk and set about piling ratty muggle clothes and books inside. Tonks looked at the baggy clothing he inherited with disgust."
"Harry, don't tell me you are actually wearing those outside," she said with a frown.
"Well, I don't have any better Muggle clothes, and can't very well wear robes around Surrey," he replied.
She shook her head. "First thing, after we get you settled, we are going through that pile. Anything I don't like is gonna get burned, and the first thing on Sunday morning, we are getting you some proper Muggle clothes."
He frowned and began, "I don't have any Muggle..." Tonks shook her head.
"We have enough money. Sirius will be happy to pay for it," she said in a cheerful tone, turning her hair violet with a sigh, "guess I just ran out of patience to accommodate your U\uncle," she added with a cheerful smile.
"What? You can do this without a spell or a potion?" Harry asked, taken aback by the transformation.
Tonks nodded and grinned. "Yes, I am a Metamorphmagus. We are pretty rare. There are maybe a dozen of us in the country, so it's not surprising that you haven't met one yet. Useful when one is an Auror." she finished and looked at the particularly nasty jumper Harry was stuffing in the trunk. "That thing goes, Harry," she said resolutely.
He tossed it away and looked around to check if he had forgotten anything he wanted to take with him. No, nothing he thought just a broom, cauldron and Hedwig's cage.
He got the cage and frowned, seeing that it needed cleaning. Harry was about to get the cleaning tools when Tonks shook her head. "Use a spell. The tracker won't react with an Auror in the vicinity or anywhere within a mile from any address known to have adult wizard inhabitants."
He hit it with Pulirexo three times until the brass was clean and shiny as new and fixed it to the trunk. Then he turned around and faced Tonks.
"Alright, before we go, what are you supposed to teach me? Figured it is DADA, though. What exactly is a Metamorphomagus? And can you learn to become one?"
She nodded. "Want the short version or the entire story now?"
He thought about it for a second. "Short now, long on the way."
Tonks nodded again. "DADA has a lot to do with it, but I also will teach you Occlumency. That is, to defend your mind against probing, at least the basics. Harry, there is an organisation that is fighting You-Know-Who, and I am a part of it, but until we are sure that he can not get into your mind, I can not tell you more."
He frowned. "So he can get into my mind with magic? How? If he can't get to me? And if he can, then he will just try to kill me, not interrogate me," he added with an edge to his voice.
Tonks shook her head. "I don't know the exact details myself, but Professor Dumbledore believes he can get to you. Like there is a connection between you two. And Harry, he is not the only mind reader in Britain, I am one, for example, and there is no way to tell if some of the pureblood fanatics in Hogwarts may be one too." She let that sink until Harry nodded.
"Guess that makes sense. And it is not a bad thing to know anyway," he finished.
"Yes, now to the Metamoprhomagy. No, you can not learn it. You have to have a natural talent, so unless you have changed your body at will sometimes in the past, it isn't possible for you."
Harry frowned. "It would have been a nice skill not to be immediately recognised by everyone I meet for one," he paused, "though I did regrow my hair overnight once when I was like eight."
Tonks looked doubtful. "That is not much, but I guess being around them, you were not keen on doing much magic. Not quite sure how you did not turn into an Obscurus around here..." she finished with a sigh.
Then she looked around the place. "Anything more you need to pack?"
"I don't think so. Hedwig is out, stretching her wings. She will find your place and find me later. Just one thing…" Harry reached under his bed and pulled out his Firebolt wrapped in canvas. He closed his boat trunk, fixed Hedwig's cage to it and led the way out, not wasting one look back. Tonks grinned and followed, calling after Harry.
"Hey, wait, since I can do magic here, why carry a heavy trunk downstairs?" she caught up with Harry and tapped the trunk with her wand. It immediately felt much lighter in Harry's hand.
"Thanks, Tonks," he said a bit sheepishly. At that moment, they were both reminded that there were, in fact, other people in the house.
"Did that woman just do magic in my house?!" Uncle Vernon stood down in the lobby and looked like he was one provocation from either unleashing violence or dropping dead. Harry knew which one was preferable.
"Yes, I did, Dursley. I have run out of patience to give a fuck about what you think is natural or not." Her hair again flared bright red and, this time, stayed that way for a brief moment before turning purple again.
She turned to Harry. "Let's go before I lose even more of my temper," she said, and picked the pace down the stairs. Vernon was still trying to deal with the fact that someone who was not a half-giant or the owner of Grunnings had just told him to get lost, when he heard the door close behind this Auror and his nephew.
Tonks paid him no mind and instead looked at Harry again. "So we can take the Knight Bus or Apparate, but looking at you, we ain't doing either. That leaves the train or flying…" she had to burst out laughing when she saw Harry's eyes darting towards his broom. "Flying it is. Good thing I brought my broom," Tonks said, reaching into her pocket. She pulled out a broom and tapped it with a wand to unshrink it to the normal size.
"Nimbus Millennium used to be the hotrod broom when my mum went to school. It was hers, you see," she explained and looked at the entry doors. "I think we should not take off on the street. Garden?" she asked, and Harry pointed the way.
Harry began preparing the Firebolt, and then he thought to ask, "I missed when you said where you live?" He gave his broom a once over, looking for any cracks or other faults.
Tonks grinned. "I didn't. Guess you are so happy to ditch this place that anywhere I can bring you to is better? Anyway, I live in London, so there are a few rules around flying there. Get your altimeter out, calibrate it properly, and stay the fuck out of the airport areas and skyways. Until you know those by heart, you don't fly without me, and you do exactly as I tell you when flying. Get me?" She looked at him with a bit of McGonagall-like expression, and Harry found himself nodding immediately and repeating, "altimeter, keep away from airports and stay glued to you until I know better."
Tonks nodded, and her face lost the unnatural sternness. "Now, hand me that altimeter, and let me set it up," Harry handed her the dial but frowned. "Set it up?" he asked and handed the thing to Tonks.
She nodded and started adjusting the instrument. "These work with air pressure. The thing is, if you don't consider the weather, you get faulty readings," she finished and handed the dial back to Harry.
"So ready to kick off?" Tonks asked and shot a glance around their surroundings for any curious Muggles. Harry nodded with enthusiasm, "been ready since the end of June!"
Tonks laughed. "I hear you! Let's fly!" With that, she mounted her broom and took off to the summer sky. Harry was momentarily fazed, but he soon followed the Tonks, and thanks to his Firebolt, not have any issues catching up.
They turned North and climbed until they broke the cloud cover. Harry checked his altimeter, 5,300 feet. "Haven't flown this high in my life!" he called.
Tonks turned to him, grinned, and tapped her ear, shaking her head. Harry smiled, realising they were flying too fast for talking, and so he just put his mind to staying close to Tonks and enjoying the flight.
About half an hour later, Tonks pointed downwards, and Harry saw they were now flying over London. He nodded and prepared to descend, then Tonks dropped in a dive, and Harry had to thank his Quidditch training for being able to follow. Two minutes later, they touched down on the roof of an apartment building.
"That was the best thing this summer!" exclaimed Harry as he dismounted his broom. Tonks grinned at him and pointed to the painted circle. "Remember this if you ever need to find my place from the air," she said and put her broom on the shoulder, heading to the roof exit. "Well, let's get you settled and find us some lunch!" she declared.
It turned out that Tonk's place was a clean mess. There was no dirt anywhere, but there was no system or order either, not one Harry could see at least. "I love it here!" he said with a smile. Tonks smiled back.
"So the hall leads to the kitchen, there is no dining room, my room is on the left from the kitchen, guest room is on the right, the living room is in the back… ah yes, the bathroom is in the hall. You have the run of the place except for my room. If you need me, just call or knock. Unless it is an emergency like DE's hitting the place."
She finished and hung her suit jacket on the wall, undid two buttons on her shirt and stretched her neck, "this is more like it," Tonks said and went to show Harry the guest room. Harry followed and frowned "DE's? As in Death Eaters?" he asked.
Tonks nodded "It's what older Aurors call them, the full word is a mouthful. Any time I use a three letter, it's probably work. Just ask me what it means".
Harry stowed his trunk at the foot of the bed and looked the room over. It was slightly bigger than his room at Privet Drive, and had all he needed. He was surprised he found a broom rack by the door, so he placed the Firebolt there and headed back to the kitchen.
"Settled already?" said Tonk and turned back to making tea. "Nope, I will fix us lunch first," he replied. Tonks shook her head. "No, you are not a house servant. I will expect you to pull your share, but your share is NOT to immediately spring in to fix me lunch when you just set foot in. Go shoo, get settled! And tell me, pizza, Indian food, or Chinese? I am ordering a takeout today. Way too much work for us to bother cooking today."
Harry's train of thought stopped as if he ran into a wall. "Alright, pizza would be great. But Tonks, but you gotta let me cook sometimes," he said with a smile and went back to do some more unpacking.
Having someone other than Ron or Hermione to stand up to himself in order to protect him was a new experience. He would need to do some thinking about it.
By four, they were done sorting out his "hand-me-down" clothes with something between ninety per cent and everything ending up condemned by Tonks. They brought it up on the rooftop, piled it up, and Tonks turned to Harry with a grin.
"Want to do the honours? Use any incendiary spell you feel like. Since this is my home, it will register as my magic"
Harry nodded and drew his wand. One Incendio later, the pile went up in flame, and Harry found himself smiling. He did not realise just how much he hated these clothes for a long time. He stretched in the loaner jeans and t-shirt Tonks scrounged for him and grinned, even the random loaner clothes were so much easier to move in!
After a while, Harry looked at Tonks and asked, "so what now? Do we get to that learning you talked about?" She nodded and said, "Yes, or at least I should give you the equipment. Let's get to it."
With that, Tonks led the way off the roof and back into her apartment. Then she rummaged through her room for a minute or two and finally produced a cloth sack and gave it to Harry.
"So I am going to teach you advanced duelling and basic Occlumency. I dug out my old Occlumency manual from Auror training. It is still the best introductory stuff, also a Pensieve, that one comes from Sirius." Tonks shrugged her shoulders "I don't want to know where he got it from. All I know is Dumbledore checked it, and it is safe to use. Last but not least, Mad Eye's curses manual and a forearm wand holster. That's my addition. Not quite a birthday, but I think good enough. Welcome home gift," she finished with an irreverent grin.
Harry laughed. "This is so much better than most birthday celebrations I had!" he tried to put on the holster and ended up tying it too tight, so he had to do it again to get it right.
"I thought you would pepper me with questions about the Pensieve," said Tonks as Harry stowed the books in the guest room. He shook his head. "Nope, I know the basics. Talked about it with Dumbledore last year in Hogwarts," he said by way of explanation.
"Ah, so here is the drill, Harry. Today and tomorrow are days off. Starting Monday, you are on schedule, four hours a day physical and duelling, two hours a day, Occlumency. And I want you to read those books by the end of the month. That should still leave you with enough free time to have a reasonably fun summer if you want to train harder. I am happy to make it happen, but you don't get to do any less than this."
Harry met her eye with a determined look. "I am going to try and train harder. There is a crazy racist maniac out for my friends' blood. He is not getting any free shots ever again."
Tonks nodded, "How about you show me what moves you've got?" She did not wait for the answer and led the way into the basement. The room was a lot bigger than it had any right to be and was a lot cleaner, too.
Tonks pointed it out. "Enlarged, cleaned, and padded with magic. This is where I train and spar."
Harry looked around with a shit-eating grin and ended up looking at the whole opposite wall being painted in Hufflepuff colours with a bigger-than-life badger in the middle.
"Padded?" He asked when Tonks mentioned it. Tonks grinned back, drew her wand and shouted, "Dippulso!"
Half a second later, Harry hit the wall at what should be breakneck speed, but he bounced off and fell on the floor, where another padding spell stopped him from seriously hitting himself.
He looked up in surprise. "What was that?" he said as he got up on his feet and, unsure what to do, fell into a fighting stance. Tonks nodded once when she saw that.
"That was me getting a drop on you. If I was a Death Eater, you'd be dead. In this place, I am the enemy, and I will be the harshest, most cunning and most capable enemy I can, so that when someone actually tries to kill you, they won't know where that curse came from."
Ten seconds later, Harry was dodging a barrage of spells, completely unlike anything Malfoy ever threw at him. Worst the ferret ever got up to was the shot in the back spoiled by fake Moody. He dodged what looked suspiciously like a weakened cutting curse and hit Tonks back with a disarming charm.
She raised her shield in time and responded with a barrage of stunners. Two Harry avoided, one was poorly aimed, and three more bounced from his shield.
Another disarming charm died on a shield, but Harry got an idea. When the next barrage of curses came in, he did not block or parry. He jumped and plunged himself under Tonks's aim. The cushion charm on the floor allowed him not only not to hurt his shoulder, but also to slide forward on his back towards Tonks.
And from three feet instead of thirty, not even her Auror reflexes beat the disarming spell. The wand left her hand, and Harry smiled… Then he realised several things that were very wrong. Tonks's hand jerked up following the wand's trajectory, and he saw a line of silver chain between her forearm and the wand. A second later, the wand was back in her hand and before Harry could react; he saw a stunning spell on the way and then darkness.
Harry woke so abruptly that he knew Tonks hit him with a reviving spell instead of letting the unconsciousness subside by itself. She was grinning. "That was not a bad start, Harry. We will make a hard hitter of you yet," she said and helped him to his feet.
He spat a bit of blood from biting his lip earlier. "Yeah, you swept the floor with me in style. That sure was something," he said caustically and grabbed his wand dropping into combat stance again.
Tonk's hair flared red for a moment. Then she returned them to purple "Harry, I am professional Auror. The moment I can't wipe the floor with Hogwarts students, I can hang my hat on the wall!"
That made Harry feel better. He picked up his wand and said, "sorry, it's just I need to be Auror good, not student good," he explained and fell back into the fighting stance.
Tonks shook her head. "That was enough for the moment. Tell me why did I win?" she leaned against the wall and waited for the answer. Harry grinned. "Because you played dirty. I nearly got you before you got me."
Tonks shook her head. "These are your first two lessons about being 'Auror Good'. Dirty only counts on the duelling grounds, and near hits only count with Dung Bombs and nukes."
Harry considered it for a moment and then nodded, waiting for what more Tonks had to say. "I played dirty even before we started fighting. I did my recon on you, how you fight, what bad habits you have when fighting, so I come here knowing you will overuse disarming charm and take stupid risks. And every Death Eater worth their getup probably knows that, too. So I took my work holster, let you disarm me, and then got a clean shot."
Harry gulped and nodded. "So, how do I get better? What do I start with?"
Tonks thought it over for a moment. "Your overreliance on Expelliarmus will be the easiest to fix. You use it every time you don't actively think about your spell choice, right?" she waited for Harry to nod. Then Tonks nodded back and went on, "you need to set up and train a few combos of several spells in a row until you can cast them all without thinking about what to cast next. and you need to make a combo or two that contains something a lot meaner than disarming and stunners."
Harry was not at all sure how he felt about the last part, but he could at least follow most of the advice now. "I can think about using harsher curses later," he thought, and nodded.
"There is a good explanation and examples in the Mad Eye's book." She shifted her weight on the other leg. "Want to tango once more or to put on a movie? I think you should take me up on that movie, 'cause you will be too tired on weekdays to watch movies!"
Harry thought about it. Watching movies and getting a say, for the first time in his life, sounded pretty good. "Movies it is!"