Harry Potter is not mine. This is a story from a fan.
When you're done, You're DONE.
Ch 12 Tonks 9 and Harry.
It was not much later, that Tonks once again stood before the home of one Harry James Potter. This kid needed to trust her and she had to do anything to make sure he could. Before she went in, she made a walk around the home, she was counting on another guard to watch if Harry wasn't going to make a runner. When she got to the spot where all of them would sit, she saw the last person she thought Albus would send. "Mundungus" She called out as she looked down at this drunken bum. "Why the hell are you here of all people".
Mundungus looked up but in the way he was looking, she was sure he saw three of her standing before him. He had a hard time focusing on any one of her just by the looks of it. She wanted to say something else but thought differently about it because she was not sure if she would keep it, by talking alone. This one was a lost case and she had no time to put some effort into him to make him better. When she wanted to do something really bad to this guy, she felt two eyes looking at her from above. It didn't take long for her to know that Harry was looking at her from that window and through the iron bars that were there. Before she turned around she gave this bum one look and walked on to look around for any other guard who might be there.
She just lifted her hand in greeting and started to walk further around the house. When she had finished her walk she knocked on the front door with a hard tap. When Vernon opened the door he wanted to slam it the moment he saw her. Tonks expected it and blasted the door wide open the moment he closed it, knocking him to the floor. "I told your fat ass I would be back tonight" Tonks snapped at him as she stepped over him and up the stairs. Her eyes went all over the place and she could see a lot. Halfway up the stairs, she could see the fireplace, but there were no pictures of Harry. That wouldn't be so bad if there had been no pictures, to begin with. But there were a lot of pictures and they were all close-ups of the mini walrus that was his cousin. At least she thought they were close-ups because he was always in the middle of the whole picture, covering it from frame to frame.
She could see the aunt sitting in the middle of the couch, but the eel didn't give her a look. The only thing she did was cuddle her son, well she tried but she could not get her arms around him. He was the only one who looked like he had a mind that was working at this point in time. But that could have been because he had a run-in with a Dementor and those things would make you think. She did not know the story but if Harry had seen the two. His cousin would have seen them too, or at least felt them. With a little shake of her head, she climbed further up the stairs.
When she got to the hallway she looked around. At the end of the hallway was a door with a cat flap. The litterbox must have been in the kitchen because she didn't see it in that hallway downstairs. Or it was in the room behind the catflap. She took the first door and saw a two-person bed. It was very crooked and she knew where the walrus was sleeping. So she closed the door and went to the next room it only had one bed but that bed was also resting on the ground in the middle. So this room was for the little whale and not Harry, she had seen him and Harry was skin and bones. With a smile, she walked on to the next door. This was it it was the only one left and the cat's room that wasn't it. She opened the door and stopped.
When the door opened she could see that it was filled up with toys, books, a broken bicycle, broken computers, and a lot more junk. She hadn't walked into the room and slowly turned around. She was looking at the last door with the catflap. "This can't be, they could not place him in there with the cat".
"Whoever said there was a cat here," Harry told her as he opened the door.
Tonks lifted her finger but dropped it a little later. She did not know the words she could use to say to him. She just looked at the catflap and then at the doorframe where she saw four deadbolt locks. The locks were on the outside of the doorframe so, she immediately knew Harry was locked inside the room at some point in time. The first thing she thought about was how would he spend his days in here. It was a moment later she remembered he didn't go outside the room when he was punished. Seeing the locks she knew why.
Her mind went for the worse and this wasn't right. She should not go to this conclusion because she didn't know if it was true. When she stood in the doorframe and had a look around her thoughts came back, but now she did think they were true. There was a small bed, too small for Harry. A small desk, for a kid of nine years or younger. The little chair was a mismatch for the desk and it told her he would have backpains if he did his homework at the desk. The closet had a broken door but it was empty. His trunk was in the corner and open. Nothing was shrunken so he didn't have much. Most of the things she saw were his school stuff. She sat down on the bed.
"Don't sit there" Harry called out but he was too late. She sat down and dropped all the way to the floor. "The springs on that end are Brok" and Harry stopped before he started to laugh. Tonks looked up and gave him a hard look before she too started to laugh.
"Why is your room like this and why do you have deadbolts on your door". The moment she said it she saw the look from Harry turning cold. He didn't look at her but at the door. She didn't need to hear him telling her anything but she also knew he wasn't going to say it, or anything for that matter. "Now let me lay/sit here so I can tell you about some things". Harry just smirked at her while he kept on looking.
"Stop smirking you," she said after another dirty look from her. Harry didn't say a thing and Tonks went on. "Well, I'm an Auror, as I told you. I'm working for Miss Bones the head of the Auror department. Or as we call it the DMLE Department of Magical Law Enforcement". The eyebrow from Harry raised and Tonks knew he had made the connection. Smart kid, she thought, "Yes she is the aunt of Susan Bones. Now she doesn't know if she believes you". Harry sighed but Tonks stopped him before he could say something. "Harry, we don't know anything so we have no reason to believe or disbelieve you. She wants to talk to you but Albus is keeping her and you apart".
"That son of a bitch" Harry screamed.
Tonks leaned back when Harry screamed. She could feel his magic push out, but it circled around her like it was a blanket that protected her as it wrapped itself around her. "Harry stop it, we are working on it, you going off like this will not help us. We need you to be calm because I am overstepping my boundaries already". Tonks wasn't but she had to keep Harry calm one way or another. "Before we go on. I have to tell you, that I became a member of a group. This group is called the Order of the Phoenix and it was created by Albus Dumbledore".
The magic of Harry was again going around her but this time it didn't feel like a blanket. No, this time it wrapped around her like a rope so she had to be fast. "From the first moment I joined that group I saw that something was wrong so I went to my boss". The magic wrapped around her tightly but it didn't let go. It didn't get tighter but it also didn't give her any more wiggle room. "When I told her she told me to protect you and to find out what was happening around you. We don't know what it is but it just isn't right. I want to tell you more but if I do I might be wrong and that might hurt you". The magic changed and it again felt like a warm blanket. Somehow his magic was reacting to his feelings and it protected him. "How do you do that" Tonks asked.
"Do what".
"Your magic is like a hand that is holding me in a good and sometimes in not such a good way".
Harry dropped onto the little seat before his little desk. His eyes looked outside and his mind was far away. Tonks looked at him and could feel his magic feeling around like it was searching for something. It almost felt like it was looking from something to Anker itself too. It was at that moment that Hedwig came to rest on his shoulder. Tonks was astonished when his magic calmed down. It was still rubbing over her but not like it was a moment ago. "Can, you tell me what you are thinking right now?" Tonks asked him when she saw him closing his eyes.
Harry shook his head but Tonks could see the hurt in his eyes. "Harry, I can't think of what you have been through, but I know you need to talk to someone. I'm willing to listen if you need me. Or I can get you a mind healer when".
"Do you think I'm crazy?" He asked her before she finished her sentence.
Tonks held up her hands, "I don't think you are crazy. You are troubled by all you have seen. We Aurors have to talk to a healer whenever we have been through something traumatizing. You need it too just to get closure".
"People don't believe me, so what do I need closure from" Harry told her as he took a stag of papers out from under a floorboard.
Tonks gave a deep sigh when she saw the Prophet from a couple of days ago and a couple more. In it were the same things her mother had pointed out to her. Tonks took the paper that was on the top and looked at the article from Rita Skeeter. "She is an animagus you know. Hermione caught her and told me she put her straight and that she would no longer bash me like she was in my fourth year. Looks like another friend I can't trust. My other friend had abandoned me a couple of times already. I thought I could trust her but it looks like I can't".
Tonks thought back at the little conversation she had with the two of them. She had her thoughts about it then. But never thought Harry would think the same way. "I would love to know what you are talking about because a lot of us wanted to get this bitch" And she pointed at the name of Rita. "Because she has been a pain in the ass for all of us for a long time".
Harry just looked at her and gave a little smirk. "Glad to hear someone else calling someone a bitch for once".
Tonks expected a lot of answers but not that one. The answer alone had been a surprise for her, but also the tone he used like he was amused by her curse word. "You take it quite easily as if you are used to things like this". It started to frustrate Tonks a bit when the only thing Harry did was nod. It was now that she felt something heat up in her pocket. When she pulled it out she could see that Albus asked for another Order meeting. "It looks like Albus wants us to come for a meeting, I think it is to tell us how to get you out of here".
The eyes of Harry turned hard. "I want to talk to your boss first," he told her in a very cold voice.
"I know you do, but that is where my problem lies. You see that when I joined the Order I saw things that weren't right. You are the main subject".
"So now I'm not right".
Tonks wanted to take a go at him but saw the smirk he had at the last second. "You do know that it will get you in trouble one of these days, those sneaky remarks of you".
Harry snorted at her words, "Until now you have been the only one who had seen through them. Most of the wizarding world just don't seem to get it".
Tonks smirked back at him, "Yes they are a bit dense, most of them are, must be the muggle side in us. Now like I told you, I know you want to talk to my boss and she wants to talk to you. But Albus is keeping you away. We do not know why but we know he is doing it. When I joined the Order, that is what he calls the group. I thought I would be fighting He who must".
"Call him Voldemort or Call him Tom Marvello Riddle, that is his Muggle name. He is just like me a Halfblood" Harry snapped a little.
Tonks gaped at him for almost a full minute before she whispered, "He,, He,, He is a Halfblood".
Harry nodded as he smiled because he knew something the wizarding world didn't. "He is the son of a Muggle, a Merope or something that sounds like Gaunt. He is the heir of Slytherin, I do not know what it means but it has to mean something".
Tonks stood and walked two steps to the left hitting the wall with her toe. She walked four steps to the right hitting the wall with her toe again. "Damn you got a small room, and Damn for telling me this. Why doesn't anyone know this".
"Albus knows".
"Of course he does," Tonks said in frustration. "We have to talk about that later, But when I joined the Order I got the feeling something was wrong. Albus didn't go after V...V..Voldemort but only wanted to keep a watch on you. So while I got the feeling something was wrong I came here and saw the bars on your window".
Harry looked at the bars as his eyes turned hard. "That is when a House elf did a hovering charm in the hallway. I got blamed for it and was told it was my first warning. Because of that hovering charm, the Muggles learned that I could not do magic and they placed those bars on the window to keep me inside".
"Wait, you got your first warning, by letter, You were not summoned to come to the ministry building to explain yourself". Tonks asked while Harry shook his head. "That's not right, You are warned because you are the wizard here, and therefore they assumed you were the one to do the magic. You are summoned to explain yourself and it is after that you will get a warning or another lecture about not doing magic in the Muggle world. So if you did not get your summons. Then someone is either looking to get you into trouble or someone is keeping your letters behind so you get a warning because you didn't show up".
"I got it right after the spell," He told her.
"That is even worse Harry, and I need to know more about it because I have to speak to my boss. For now, let's get back to where I was. Now, when I saw the bars I went to my boss and told her some story".
"You didn't tell her it was about me".
Tonks heard by the way he said, me, that he was impressed with her, but she did not understand why. Before she got off track again she ignored it for a later date and went on. "NO, I didn't but she figured it out very fast, so she told me to go on and find out what is happening and also to try and talk to you. When I did I should get you out of here and to her for a couple of hours. But now with the Dementor attack, it all changed and we have to find out even more. While My boss took care of it Albus and Lucius walked in to help and to expel you".
"Sure Lucius would do that, and no one did anything about it because he is such a hotshot. He is even a bigger man when he is hiding behind a mask".
Tonks held up her hand and waived it before her face, she got too much information and wanted him to stop. She wanted to know everything but it was too much too fast. "Harry, how do you know all of this".
Harry just looked at her. He wanted to trust her, and everything inside of him told him he could. Hedwig did the same because she didn't attack Tonks when she got in. Still, he could not, he wanted to but he just couldn't. "I just know things".
Tonks knew that Harry needed to trust her and by the look in his eyes he still didn't, She could not blame him for everything she heard. If all of what she heard, or at least, if half of what he told her was true. Then she just had to wonder why he didn't pull his wand at her and Blasted her to next week. He was either lying to her or he was just numb to it all. She never thought that he was a veteran of war but she would find out sooner or later. "Getting back to before I came here. Albus said he would protect you and my boss could not touch you. Albus is the chief Warlock and he will overrule her orders, meaning she has to do what he says".
"Chief warlock?".
"The head to the wizangemot" She could see that Harry didn't understand a thing about what she said. "The Wizangemot is a group of people who make our laws. Albus is the head of it and your family, the Potters have a seat among them". Again it went all over his head and Tonks wondered why he didn't know any of it. "Harry, who is your magical Guardian".
"I can't tell you," he told her.
"If you are thinking about Sirius then he couldn't be it. Because you had someone else who was your guardian when he was in Azkaban" Tonks told him while taking a really good look at his expression when she said it.
"Who," he asked.
"Albus too many names Dumbledore". For the second time, the magic from Harry lashed out at her. It didn't attack her but she could feel it rubbing past her. It was clear Harry didn't know that Albus was his magical guardian and had a say over him. So, because you didn't know about that you might also not know about the fact that he is handling your votes in the Wizangemot".
It took some time for Harry to get a hold of himself. "Are you telling me Albus is voting for me telling everybody what my opinion is". Tonks nodded and wondered if she should tell him he did the same with the vote he had as a governor of the school. On second thought she didn't because he was mad enough already. "So he is keeping me away from your boss, he is keeping me locked up and keeping people away so they can not talk to me". Tonks nodded again and knew that Harry had connected more dots than he should have. She didn't know how smart he was but he was smarter than many others thought he was. "What are you doing with your boss and how can I help".
Tonks gave a deep sigh. "We are still working on it. we were connecting the dots but we only got more questions. Every time we think we get something, something else pops up. I got Susan and Hannah telling us about your school years. They were painting a very disturbing picture. Not about you but around you". She could see him getting ready to interrupt so she had to nip it in the ass so to say. "I can not tell you what they said because I have to get your version first. After that, I can but to do that we have to get you to my boss".
"Yet Albus is keeping me away and if you are right you will be back with that order and take me to another place".
"Yes, and I will be there too together with Sirius to keep an eye on you. There are others but I do not trust all of them. Again I can not tell you why but you can trust Sirius, Remus, and Me, But you have to decide it for yourself. Now I have to be at that meeting in one hour. It were two hours but you have kept me here for the first one of them". Harry just smirked a little. "First I have to go to my boss and then I will see how it will go. Between now and when we come and get you I don't know what will happen. If I can I will come and talk to you. If not you will have to pretend you don't know me". Tonks got to her feet but kept her eyes on him. She could see the gears running in his head. Only a second after it he nodded and she knew she could go. "You stay here and whatever happens you have to go with it. If you are in danger use your wand and don't trust anybody. Always ask for something only they can know. People can look like anyone so always make sure they say who they are, even me".
"I don't have to," Harry told her as she again felt his magic engulf her in a warm blanket. If you are not you, my Magic will tell me".
"Don't put all your trust in it and also don't tell everybody about it. Keep asking questions because if they do not know about the magic then they will not see it coming". Tonks waited for the nod but it didn't come. She knew he was doubting her because she would do it too when she was his age. "Harry, think about this. How sure are you that you can trust this magic? Do you already know all that you can do with it? If not you can't be sure if you can trust it. Again if your magic tells you I'm good. Do you think my magic can manipulate it?" This time she could see, that she had his attention and that he started to think about it. "Harry, I'm not telling you this to get you to distrust your magic. I'm telling you this because you have to make sure on every angle just like I have to do".
"You mean as an Auror" Harry asked.
"Yes, I have to look at every angle before I can make an arrest. But I have also learned to look at everything around me. So I did it the first time I got with the Order and I saw a lot of things, that were wrong and it all surrounded you".
"You mean me seeing Voldemort".
"No, I mean you Harry, V.. V... Voldemort is just a little part of it". Tonks gave a deep sigh, "When I come and get you, You have to do like you do not know me. It will be our first time meeting. If we can, we talk there or we have to find another way. Other than that you have to go with your feelings".
"That is not a good thing to say to me," Harry said making Tonks look him in the eye. "I went with my feelings and killed a Professor, I did it again and I killed a little basilisk. Chased off a couple of dementors, and broke free from Voldemort".
Tonks looked at him and frowned as she listened to the way he said it. It was again like it was a normal thing for him and it frustrated her a little. His tone was not one of, look at what I did. No just one of, this is just what it is. "Why are you so easy about it? Why don't you scream it to everybody".
"Everyone will do it if they could," Harry told her.
"No Harry if everything I heard was true, then you are a special case". Harry looked at her in total disbelief. "Harry, you are a hero in every way, and because you think it is the right and normal thing makes you, even more, of a hero". His looks told her that he did not get it. For someone who was this smart, he sure could be dense at some points. "I have to go and I will see you when I get back. I only have thirty minutes to go to my boss and then to the meeting. If I can I will come back or". She looked at Hedwig for a moment. "If I can not come back tonight you can send your owl to my boss and she will tell you what she can through your owl" Hedwig barked angrily at Tonks as Harry just looked at her in surprise.
#*
As Harry looked out of the window he let his wand drop into his hand. He could see something but he did not know who it was. His thoughts went back to the start of his fourth year. He had heard Arthur telling Molly that Mad-Eye had fired spells at a trashcan. It was the one thing he did not believe and it turned out he had been right. So he knew that whoever it was that was now looking at him, could be a good guy or a bad guy. Still, he almost missed Tonks looking over his shoulder. He trusted her, he could not say why, but he just did. From the moment he had seen her, he knew he knew her from somewhere, but he just couldn't remember from where.
#*
Tonks only had a couple of minutes but she went straight to Bones Manor. It was not the place she would meet Amelia for this. But she had to do it now and this was where she would be. "Hi Tonksy, what are you doing here".
Tonks looked up as she stumbled to get up from the floor. "I need to see your aunt fast".
"She is in her office" and Susan pointed to the end of the hallway.
Tonks walked down the hallway never seeing Susan walking after her. Tonks knocked and waited for the 'come in'. That was almost a second later. Tonks walked in and left the door on a crack. "Boss, I have been with Harry and he has told me a lot. I will tell you later because I have to go to the order, Albus has called a meeting, But Harry thinks Sirius is his magical but Albus is at the Wizangemot"
"Tonks stop it, you are blabbering" Amelia screamed over Tonks who looked up startled.
"Sorry mam" and Tonks saluted. There was a giggle from the hallway and Tonks turned around so she could open the door. Susan didn't run and only giggled when she saw the look from Tonks. Tonks knew she could not keep Susan out of the loop now and just started over. "Harry is smarter than we think, He knows something is wrong but he does not know what. Albus is keeping him in the dark just like his friends are and he knows it. He doesn't trust anyone and he might be right about it. I could not get him to talk but what I know, is only from the remarks he made. He thought Sirius was his guardian, but he never knew Albus was it, while Sirius had been in Azkaban. He doesn't know he is a member of the Wizangemot. I think he knows nothing about it. He had a warning for underage magic before and was immediately punished. Now I still need to do a lot of talking but he isn't denying anything. He said he killed a Professor, also that he went after a snake and the fight with the Dementors. He told me like it was the normal thing to do".
"That is Harry, he isn't the one who goes around parading what he did. I don't think he knows Ronald Weasley was doing it. He is also very quiet and looking around. He sees a lot but doesn't say anything. At least it was that way last year, he took it all and just kept his head held high. With the buttons, with the selection of the champions, he just took it and never said anything but he was always looking around, Like it had to be that way. He even looked troubled when he came to Hogwarts on our first day of the year" Susan told them as she stepped into the office.
Amelia who was still sitting down behind her desk just looked at the two of them. Tonks had found out more than she realized and Susan was protecting him in her own way. "So Harry is not a boy who is going around telling everybody what he did. He is also a boy who is kept in the dark from the moment he became, a Triwizard, Particimant. Did I get it right so far" Amelia asked.
"I think it was longer than that," Susan said making both of them look at her. "Do you remember the first day he came to Hogwarts Tonks".
Tonks sat down and closed her eyes. She went far back into her memory. "Yes, he was walking between them, he was little and he looked like a very poor kid with second-hand clothes. He was looking around like he never knew about magic he was just full of wonder like a muggle" and Tonks opened her eyes.
Susan gave her a little smile. "When was the only time you ever saw him laugh or happy" Tonks did the same as before and after a moment she whispered when he was flying on his broom. "Did he ever show anything of being a Lord of an ancient and noble house". Tonks shook her head. "If he had any training he would have dressed the part and would have gone after Draco when he challenged him to a duel at midnight".
Amelia dropped her head on the table. "You have to go to the order and you think you are going to pick up Harry later tonight" Tonks nodded. "Alright you go, make sure you have a moment with him alone and tell him to keep his head down. We will be helping him in secret for now so if he is frustrated and starts a fight let him. It will keep us a secret for longer". She turned her head to Susan. "You have been keeping things from me and we are going to talk".
Her tone was direct and Susan frowned a little "Aunty, what is happening with Harry".
Amelia gave a deep sigh. "I think he is used for all of his life, he is the boy who lived and that means he is famous. To have him at your side will keep you in the spotlight. I think Albus, Ronald Weasley, and to a certain height Hermione Granger, did just that. Now that he has all of the people looking at him he is getting too much ahead of them and the ministry will try and put him down".
"You mean Harry is telling the truth and He who must not be named is back," Susan said.
"We don't know that because Harry does not get the chance to tell us. So he could be right and we have to prepare ourselves for a war. Or he was wrong and he needs help. He could have thought he saw him and that will make his version real. But we can only prove it when we can talk to him and help him".
"And Albus together with the ministry are keeping you away," Susan told her with a pointed look.
"I think you are getting too smart young lady," Amelia said with a laugh. "Tonks, you get out of here, you do not want to be late" Tonks nodded at her and got to her feet.
This was it again for this time see you all in two weeks.
Gr Winmau.