A N: Yes, this one is early. I worked ahead and got a couple of chapters done before the two weeks. So While I work on the next one, you all deserve a little gift, Enjoy.
Harry Potter is not mine. This is a story from a fan.
When you're done, You're DONE.
Ch 8 Tonks 5.
Tonks turned to her mother the moment Amelia had left, "Mum" she started, "I know all about their second, and their third year. In his second year, he killed a Basilisk, with his hands".
"Honey" Ted called to her, "You have to be honest with yourself. There hasn't been a Basilisk in England in over nine hundred years. The last had been seen in the time of the founders of Hogwarts, but that has never been proven. So there is no way he killed one because it had to be at least a thousand years old. If it survived, that long, it would have been enormous and extremely deadly. No fourteen-year-old could have killed it, let alone with his hands".
"Twelve" Tonks corrected her father, After that she got to her feet took three glasses from a cabinet, and placed them on the table. She filled them up and put a fourth glass next to them. The moment she did it, Amelia walked out of the Floo and looked at them all. "Sorry, I know it is late but I want to see the memory of what Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley have told you. When the girls said something about students being Petrified, I could only think about a Basilisk, but that can't be. Those things died out over nine hundred years ago and to create them you have to do some serious black magic that is extremely hard to do. "Also Susan and Hannah told us Harry killed it but that is impossible to do, surely impossible to do, for a twelve-year-old boy".
Tonks poured the memory into the Pensive and waited before she told them to join her. "Boss, If they all believed he did it, does that mean he did it for real".
Amelia wanted to jump into the memory but stopped when she heard the question. "Well," she started, "There are only two reasons for them to think it is real. Either their beliefs are real and therefore they think it is real. Or it was real and he really killed the thing. The one thing that troubles me is if the monster was real, then it had to have been at least forty feet"
"Sixty according to Harry but he didn't measure it", Tonks said just before her eyes became big and she dissolved in a fit of giggles. Ted started laughing along but he didn't know why. Her sound just made him join in. When Tonks got herself under control she could see the looks asking her What. "Sorry, about that," she said, "But I just remember that he told them the same thing about the Dementors. When they asked him if it had been a Hundred, he told them he didn't count them because he had something else to do".
"I thought Susan and Hannah told us that Harry barely spoke about what he had done," Andromeda asked her daughter.
"Yes, he doesn't. He is very private and when he does something it is always like it is just the right thing to do. At least that is what Hermione told me, she had been the one who asked him if it had been a hundred. Other than that they had done the talking and not Harry, according to her". Just when they were about to jump into the Memory Toks spoke up, "You know what, You three go into the memory, I will stay out of this one, I heard it all this morning". Slowly she walked to the kitchen and started to make a couple of sandwiches. She did wonder if she would ever learn to cook, but with her clumsiness, she dropped more than she could make. If she was honest with herself she was a danger zone for herself and everyone around her.
Tonks looked up after her third sandwich, she had been waiting for about an hour and they would be coming out any minute now. She did wonder what they would say when they got out. Her first thoughts were disturbing if everything was true, the more she heard, the more she was wondering how to help Harry. If, he had really gone through all of that, then what could she do to help him? After a moment she started to giggle again as she thought about him telling Hermione he didn't count them.
"Tell, me that didn't happen, any of that" Ted Tonks said as he dropped in his chair. "Your niece and her friend had told us the same things, but this just clears up a lot of it". While Ted shook his head the others were thinking the same things he was. "If that boy has killed a Basilisk with a sword while he is twelve. Drove away a hundred Dementors".
"Dad he didn't count them so we are not sure about that," Tonks told him.
"Not the point Nymphadora" Andromeda said as she rubbed the bride of her nose in frustration, "The point is, what the hell is happening at that school".
Amelia got to her feet and started pacing from left to right. She was hearing everything they were saying and was thinking even further than any of them. "I think he is testing or using him" she mumbled making all the others stop talking. "Those monitoring charms are not there because he thinks they are pretty". Her hands were waving and pointing at things that weren't there, and she kept on mumbling. "Something about that boy is very important and if I'm right he knew it before any of us". Amelia looked at Tonks and right after it at the ceiling. "NO, NO, If he knew it before it then he could have, NO, NO".
"Boss, something wrong," Tonks asked in a whisper.
"I think I'm starting to think the worse of it. I'm not sure and I do not like it but if my way of thinking turns out to be right we will have more than a pile of Pixy shit to go through".
"Amelia stop pacing and tell us what you think," Andromeda said as she got up to stop Amelia if she didn't stop going from left to right. She was starting to get a little seasick watching her doing it.
"NO, it ain't right and it just can't be true".
"Amelia stop it and say it so that we can think along with you".
"Do you remember the order of the tasks Hermione told you about".
"OH I DO," Tonks said, "first you had the dog, then the devil's snare. After that, you got the keys, Troll, and the chess set. Then there was the mind game and the last one was the mirror and He who must not be named. I don't get it" Tonks told them.
"I'm afraid I do," Ted said, "Nyph, when did you learn about the devil's snare, Flying Trolls Chess, and thinking logic with potions".
"First year, first year, first year, you before first year. Mum with the belt, I'm joking I'm joking" Tonks called out when Andromeda looked at her. "I did not learn about the mirror, never did". Tonks looked at all of them "I still don't get it".
Ted smiled at her he always knew Tonks could take a little while before she got it, but when she did she did". "Tell me if you had to do those puzzles, when could you have solved them".
"Easy, at the end of my first year" Tonks had said the last word when her eyes became big. "That son of a bitch".
"TONKS" Andromeda screamed.
"Sorry mum, but the boss is right, those are first-year tests and Albus asked for them. By not doing a test himself he can shove the blame in their shoos".
"I didn't think of that," Amelia said as she listened to Tonks. "It does sound like something he would do, just so he would not get the fingers pointed at himself". Amelia sat down and took a good look at Tonks, "Your work is going to be a lot harder from now on. Not only do you have to make contact with Harry, get his trust, and find a way to get him to me. You also have to find out what Albus is up to. Something isn't right and he is in the middle of it".
Tonks nodded and told them it was time to get to work.
#*
After a couple of swear words, Tonks walked back into the kitchen at Grimbauld's place. "I hate that Umbrella stand and one of these days I will throw it into the fire". Sirius laughed as he slipped her a note. Tonks took it and looked at it. the only thing she saw was a paw print and the words, you can trust her, Pathfoot". "What is that, why would this work".
"Tonks I'm an animagus, I'm a dog. Harry knows about it and if I tell him like this, I'm sure he will trust you right away, just show him the paper".
"I love to but I heard he is still locked up in his room, too bad I do not know why he was getting punished in the first place".
Remus walked in and sat down next to Sirius. He looked around the kitchen before he kissed him when he saw nobody else but Tonks. He took the drink Sirius handed him and downed it. Before Tonks could ask her question Remus answered her. "Harry is fine, still in his room but I heard he can leave it tomorrow. I also heard that you can't go to him tonight. Severus is taking your shift and Albus asked all of us for a meeting that will be held later tonight".
Tonks thought about reacting but didn't because the moment she wanted to do it Molly walked in and her eyes went right to Remus and Sirius before she turned her back to them and walked to the stove. Both of the men held up their little flasks with an antidote against any potion Molly might use on them. Tonks smiled and held up her own. She was glad they listened to her and were prepared. She only hoped they were flushed enough not to be affected when Albus was with them.
While Molly was making dinner, Tonks was keeping a very close eye on her. It was almost at the end that she saw her putting the potions in the soup. So she found the one who was drugging them. The next one was who made it and who asked her to do it. Molly didn't make it because she was here all day just like Sirius. So as the head of the house, he would know if someone was making the potions. Her money was on Severus but first, they had to have proof, to be sure.
Tonks remained quiet while Molly called for everyone well called, she screamed her lungs out and it didn't take long for the stampede to rush from the stairs. As she looked on she could see five kids five grownups and thirteen plates, "Who else is coming to dinner".
"Not that it is any of your business" Molly started, "but Albus asked me if I could feed some more people from the order".
Well, there is the answer to who asked it, now the question turned into why. Tonks made a mental note to write it down later. Now however she was wondering who would be coming to dinner and who would be under the potion, her eyebrows went up when Kingsley was the first to walk in. In her mind she smiled, Kingsley had been one of the Aurors who had bullied her because she was clumsy. This would mean she could laugh when her boss found out he was under the influence of a potion. The next was Emmeline Vance and Elphias Doge. Two members Tonks didn't have enough contact with to make a good judgment about.
As the others started talking, Tonks just sat there listening to it all. The moment Molly went away for a moment she took her chance. "Does any one of you also think Harry needs to be told what is happening here".
The biggest surprise for her was that answer from Kinsley, "Albus says he needs to be left alone, so we will leave him alone". It was clear to Tonks that everyone thought the same because they were all nodding along with him. When she looked at Sirius she saw him nodding too. At first, she wanted to go off on him but then she remembered that Molly would think that he was still drugged. So he had to play his part.
"Still, I mean why can't his friends write a letter to him," Tonks tried again.
"Headmaster told us not to do it and he knows best" Hermione reprimanded her in her know-it-all voice. It was a sound that didn't sit well with Tonks and it also told her they weren't the friends they said they were. She did see the twins looking down in shame, It was clear they wanted to do it, but Molly kept them from doing it. That was not the case with Hermione, Ginny, or Ronald. They just did it because the Headmaster had told them so.
The moment, Dinner was over Molly walked back in and her first look was at Tonks. "Why was your room locked".
Tonks gave her a little smirk before she said, "To keep out nosy people like you" Tonks told her. "I'm not even going to ask what you were doing in my room but if I ever find you in that room, you will not be leaving it in one piece, if you can leave it at all," Tonks told her as she pointed her finger at her.
Molly wanted to say something back but Sirius got her back again, "No Molly, Tonks is my guest and you will respect her privacy, It also tells me that I'm going to ward my room as well. You have no business to snoop around our stuff".
"The headmaster" Molly tried.
"The Headmaster has nothing to say about me and my guest, and if you and he keep on going on like this you can leave my house. I will not have anyone looking through our, personal stuff". Sirius told her while he stood behind the table tapping one finger on it.
"Sirius, you are, absolutely right my boy," Albust told him as he walked in. Tonks looked at him and heard the grandfatherly voice he used to be the voice of reason. A voice she always trusted until a couple of weeks ago when she saw the true colors around it, but she also saw in his eyes that he was caught red-handed. "Molly was just looking for me if none of us were jeopardizing our progress".
"I'm not sure if that was what she was doing, in my case, she was hurting my trust in this little group. I already have the feeling you and Molly don't trust me and how good can I do my job, knowing the leader does not trust me at all".
"We never asked you to stay here did we" Molly snapped at her.
"No, I did, and as far as I know, I decide who can stay here and who can't".
"Now Now, Sirius, Let's not get into an argument" Albus reprimanded him, in a very odd way.
"Yes, headmaster," Sirius told him making the old wizard smile down at him as he took the head seat at the table. Tonks had to do everything to not let her jaw drop onto the tabletop. It was good that she realized that their potions were keyed to Albus, not to Molly. It was that reason why Sirius could go off on Molly and respect Albus at the same time. She herself had been going against him and if the stories were true she could fight the potions just like Harry could. The way Hermione and Ronald Weasly were nodding along with Albus told her they couldn't do it.
"Headmaster, sorry I'm late".
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT BASTARD DOING HERE, SHOULD HE NOT BE GUARDING HARRT POTTER" Tonks screamed when she saw Severus Snape walking through the door. Before anyone could react she was already standing with her wand in her hand pointing at the head of Severus Snape.
"Tonks enough" Albus screamed over her.
"ENOUGH" Tonks screamed back, "He is supposed to be on guard duty and not here, yet you are letting a harpy spy on us," Tonks said to Albus while she was still pointing her wand at Severus and a finger at Molly. "I was the one who was supposed to be on guard duty but had to give the job to this piece of scum. Clearly, he is not taking his job seriously and yet you look at us as if we can betray you at any moment".
"Tonks, there was".
"I don't care, Headmaster, I was asked to help you with keeping an eye on Harry Potter, and yet you let him ruin it, do you even take Harry Potter seriously". Albus didn't respond but was worriedly looking between her and Severus, clearly debating what he could say. Tonks made her way to the door with a head full of steam. Albus did ask her what she was doing, Tonks just looked back at him with a penetrating look, "Doing my job, something you can't trust a Death Eater to do".
"Severus has my full trust" Albus called after her.
"Well, HE DOSN"T HAVE MINE" was shouted from the hallway before she slammed the door making Walburga Black scream her head off from out of her painting. She did not hear who went to shut her up, but to be honest, she didn't care. A couple of steps away from the ward she apperated to the house of Harry Potter.
#*
Andromeda had looked on as her Daughter went away. Amelia was sitting on the other side of the table while Ted was making them a couple of drinks and something to eat. Like the two ladies around the table, he was thinking the same thing. Albus was doing something they didn't like. Everything they had heard so far was that he was up to something but they didn't know what. Also that there was nothing they could say, that was against the law. At least they had nothing as of now, but there was something and they knew it.
While Ted was making them some food he thought about his daughter. The way she looked out of her eyes when they talked about Harry told him she was all in. She was done with the way they were treating him, and like he always knew, when your done, your done. So with a couple of plates, he walked back into the room, "Are we going to tell the girls everything or just the what you need to know stuff".
Amelia looked up at Ted and thought about what he said. She knew they had decided to tell Susan and Hannah what they needed to know. If that would be everything she didn't know, yet. "Well, it will all depend on what we find out. But I think we have to tell them a lot because I'm afraid we will have to need their help at Hogwarts. Something tells me it will not be done before they go back".
Andromeda pulled her plate to her and took a bit as she thought about the words Amelia had said. She knew she was right because she too thought it would be one for the long haul. "Do you think we are already scraping the bottom of the barrel".
Amelia shook her head slowly, "I think we have just lifted the lid of that barrel. Let's face it we know nothing that could help us at this moment. We know Harry is either tested or he is the unluckiest boy there is. I'm of the opinion that it is the first, but then the question is why. At this point, I have a lot of questions because I do not know why Lily and James didn't have a place to put Harry. Albus took him and placed him there".
"Amelia, why do you think Albus was the one who placed him there" Ted asked her as he started to write it down. He had found out that Lilly had told the authorities Harry was born. But there were no papers of Harry living in the place Tonks had told them.
"I think he did it because he is the only one who knew where he has been all this time" Amelia explained as she got a thoughtful look, after a moment she started again. "If what Susan and Hannah have told us was the truth, something Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley also told us, Then we have a whole lot of problems to deal with".
"Why did you say if" Andromeda asked.
After a deep sigh, Amelia placed her head in her hands. "Yes, I said if, and even if everything we heard was hard to believe, We still can not be sure. Let's go to the end of every year. In his first year, he killed a professor with Voldemort sticking out of the back of its head. During his second year, he killed a basilisk. In his third year, he drove off about a hundred Dementors. That in itself is just too hard to believe. So if it is true then he can show us with his memories".
Ted who was sitting across from her spoke up, "Memories could be fake, he could still believe he did what he said. If that is the case, he isn't lying but it still, isn't the truth". There was a reason for Ted to say it which turned out to be another big If. "If it turns out he only believes it, then our case to help him will be almost impossible because Albus could spinn it to him being out of his mind".
"That is exactly the problem I have with the story. Susan and Hannah only told us about the rumor mill, Hermione and Ronald told us what they believed. Now a Troll is troublesome but not hard to believe. The problem with that is how did it get into the castle. That, however, is beside the point, but when did you ever hear about somebody sticking out of someone's head, A dead someone".
#*
Tonks appeared on the side of the street and walked to the spot she would be sitting at. She shook her head as she saw Mundungus sleeping again, why Albus trusted him was a riddle for her. Then again why he trusted a slime as Severus was an even bigger riddle for her, he was the last she trusted. With her left foot, she gave a kick to the side of Mundungus, not too hard but hard enough to wake him up. "GET UP, GET UP, ALBUS NEEDS YOU NOW" she screamed in his ear. Mundungus was like always when he stood guard as drunk as a skunk. He stumbled to his feet and dropped down a couple of times. He was too drunk to stand but not drunk enough to know he could not Apparate in the state he was. So as he stumbled to the side of the road he lifted his hand and a purple doubledeckerbus appeared out of nowhere. When Tonks looked up at the window she could see Harry looking at the bus. There was no look of surprise on his face. "Of course, he knows about the bus, he took it after he blew up his aunt" Tonks mumbled to herself. She was glad he could not see her but wondered why he had the sad look.
Just after an hour of sitting there on the ground looking up at the window, she could see him just walking around. The more she saw, the more frustrated she got. His friends have clearly ignored him, they might have done it on the order of Albus, but he would not see it that way, she wouldn't. It was around three in the morning he appeared before the window. For a moment she saw him looking right at her and she thought she could feel his magic rubbing against her. She had on an invisibility cloak so there was no way he could see her, but did he feel her?
During the night there was nothing more to do than to let her mind go over everything she heard. It clearly told her that Harry needed to talk to someone. There was a muffled scream coming from his room and after it, some shouting. She could not hear what was said. what she could see was Harry reappearing in front of the window again and looking up at the sky. If she didn't know any better she would say he was crying.
"Tonks, why don't you get some sleep," Remus said making her jump. "I should look at him from around ten in the morning till five. If you go now, you can sleep for six hours, have breakfast, and take over from me around noon".
Tonks nodded and gave him a hug before she Aperated away. When she got back and into the kitchen she could see Sirius waiting for her, he had a big smile on his face. "You got some balls to go off like that," Sirius told her. She wanted to say something but he held up her hand. "You didn't say anything any of us didn't want to tell him ourselves for a long time. None of us liked the git and we all wondered why he did not do what he was told. It is also clear that Albus knows about the potion because I heard him say to give you a double dose. I even heard Molly tell him that you are like Harry and it seemed that the potions do not have any effect on you". Before she could be asked how he knew, he held up a string with a flesh-looking ear at the end. "Extendable ears created by the twins, easy to listen to people behind a ward".
#*
Slowly Tonks made her way up to her room and looked at the doors in the hallway. It were the rooms of all the others and the one on the other side would be for Harry. She did something she would not have done before last night. While everyone was still asleep she walked on and entered the room of Harry. Before she could close the door Sirius walked in after her "What are you doing here".
Tonks turned around with her wand in her hand pointing it at the head of Sirius. When she saw who it was she dropped her wand. "They are drugging the members of the order to be obedient, so who is to say they don't do anything else".
"Really Tonks, do you really think they will spy on Harry like that? Sirius asked her as he tried to look her in the eyes.
Tonks avoided them for a moment before she looked right back at him. Her look made him step back while she herself sat down on the bed. "I don't know anymore but I just don't trust it. We are not allowed to talk to him. No one is allowed to write to him and He is in hell, it is something you can see in his eyes".
Sirius closed the door behind himself and sat down next to her. While he sat there he watched as she waved her wand around. There were no listening charms but there were monitoring charms in the room and silencing charms all over the place. Tonks knew they had to disarm them before Harry was here but it again gave her a lot of other questions. Her feelings of Harry being troubled only got more frustrating. "Sirius, I do not know what is happening but either Harry is being controlled or he is very dangerous to all of us".
Sirius jumped up in anger, "Harry would not hurt a fly" Sirius almost screamed at her before he realized who he was talking to. With a huff, he sat back down and placed his head in his hands. Next to him sat Tonks his niece who had been on the side of Harry from the start. "Do you think he is dangerous?" Sirius asked with some hesitation.
Tonks didn't respond right away but she was nodding her head. After almost a minute she started to talk. "To be honest, I think he is. Don't ask me why but something tells me he could be a walking timebomb. I told my mum that I thought that his magic was feeling out at me".
"Just like Morgana La Fay," Sirius said as he heard her saying it.
"Do you know about her".
Sirius nodded before he spoke, "It is said that Morgana was a very early ancestor of us. Somehow the Blacks came from her bloodline. It is not clear if we are from her direct line or from the family she came from".
"But that would mean Harry could not be blood-related, right".
"Not exactly, The grandmother of Harry is my aunt, she was a pure black and it is told she was more like a La Fay than any of us". They stayed in the room talking some more before both of them went to bed.
This was it again for this time see you all in two weeks.
Gr Winmau
