A soft fluttering invaded Harry's slumber. Thinking that Hedwig was just trying to get his attention, Harry ignored it and tried to return to the warm and comfortable place he'd been pulled from. The sound continued unheeded and he knew she wouldn't let him sleep if she needed something. The fluttering persisted. Past experience told Harry that Hedwig wasn't above landing on his head if it was important, and her talons would hurt.
Forcing his eyes open, Harry saw dark brown hair obscuring his view. It took him a moment to place it, but he quickly figured out that Hedwig wasn't the reason he was awake. It was the auror curled into him that woke him up not Hedwig. Tonks was fast asleep and making a quiet rattling sound in her throat as she breathed. Harry couldn't help but smile at how 'new' this situation was to him.
'I like this waking up with someone. It feels good.' Harry looked around as well as he could without his glasses. The only thing that wasn't blurry was Tonks. He watched her breathe causing her shoulders to move slightly. He noticed that she was completely wrapped up by him. He didn't remember doing that, but it must have happened during the night. She seemed happy with the way things were, at least by the way she was sleeping. Much to his excitement and discomfort, Harry found her rear firmly against his front. He felt himself stir a bit but fought down those thoughts. 'That's not how I want her to wake up today. There would be no chance fighting that blush. Not to mention the embarrassment.'
Breaking his train of thought, Harry felt a vibration coming from under her pillow. She moved slightly, reaching a hand under the pillow, and the vibration stopped. From her movements, Harry became acutely aware of where his left hand was resting, and he didn't know what to do. She'd stretched a little, reaching for her wand, causing his hand to be squashed into her breast.
'Oh, shit. This just gets worse.' Harry was waiting for her to wake up and smack him across the head for his wandering hand. The seconds ticked by; Tonks settled a little bit and seemed to drift off again. Trying his best to be careful, Harry slowly moved his hand away from her soft, warm breast and returned it to a safer place. Once he had his hand safely on her hip, he relaxed thinking he'd pulled it off.
"Just like every other guy, grope and run. I see how you are, Harry." Tonks spoke quietly and it was obvious that she had just woken up, but the playfulness was still there.
Harry didn't know what to do but decided he should apologize for starters. "I'm sorry, Tonks. I didn't realize where it was until you moved. I'm really…"
"Hush. You did the same thing last night too. No worries, Harry. It felt even better this morning."
"You love this don't you," Harry prompted. "You love being the innocent one in this and making me feel guilty. I see how you are."
"Don't you mean you know how I feel? And guilt has nothing to do with it. I'm the adult here, Harry. If anyone should feel guilty, it would be me. But, me being me, I don't feel guilty at all. I rather liked it, in all honesty. I could go another turn if you'd like?" Tonks took this moment to roll over and look into Harry's eyes. She saw him fighting a pitched battle between embarrassment and the desire to take her up on her offer. "I'm a tease, Harry. I can't help it and wouldn't if I could. As you get to know me, you'll learn when I'm playing, when I'm serious, and when I'm both. Take a guess which one it is right now?"
"I think I'll keep what little dignity I have left and hold my tongue, thank you."
"Sure you don't want me to hold it for you? At least I didn't wake up with you trying to spear me in the back." Tonks knew she was going a little too far, but she couldn't help it. She enjoyed it too much and Harry was all sorts of fun.
"Never mind about the dignity, I think you just ran that over with a hippogriff." Harry took a deep breath and settled himself for a second. "I believe I'll get up, er, out of bed before you can humiliate me any more than you already have. Don't you have some Order member to meet soon?"
"Yes, but it's just Dung and he'll be late as usual. Besides, this is far more entertaining."
"I'm glad I can amuse you, Tonks. If you keep this up, I may just start doing the same thing to you. What would you do then, huh?"
"I eagerly await that day, Harry Potter. Maybe then you'll finally figure out if I'm playing or serious…or both." Tonks thought she had won the battle, but she noticed a twinkle in Harry's eyes that was far too reminiscent of a certain headmaster
"Careful what you wish for, Nymphadora. You may get what you ask for."
Hesitating a second, Tonks spoke very softly. "It's Tonks to you, Harry." 'Oh, Merlin, I may have gone too far. He might have me figured out, and that twinkle should be outlawed. Stay strong, he's probably just trying to spook you.'
Harry saw her hesitate. He knew she wasn't sure of things right now. That was the opportunity he needed to save face. He leaned forward and kept his face as blank as possible. This was the crucial moment; he didn't want to stuff it up. "You didn't say anything about it last night. Why the sudden change?" Harry gave her a playful smirk and eased out of the bed slowly. 'Leave them wondering. That's what Wood had said second year after he kissed that blond during the party. "Leave them wondering and they can't get enough, Harry."'
Harry grabbed some clothes from the bureau and left for the loo to wash up. He never noticed Tonks let out a huge breath and swallow nervously. She quickly gathered her wand from under the pillow. Righting her clothes and waving her wand over them to get the wrinkles out, Tonks Apparated outside to meet Dung.
'Yep, he called my bluff and I caved. Now I can only wait and see what he does about it. I hate not being in control, but what can I do about it.' Her musings were interrupted by a drunken slob appearing next to her.
"As covert as Hagrid, you are. Are you sure you can handle this task, Dung? I mean even with the cloak you are obvious to anyone who happens to have a pulse."
"What's got your knickers in a twist, Tonksy? Boyfriend not doin' his job? Tha' time 'o tha mumf?"
"Watch it, git. I know where you live: alley, trashcan, and all. Now, same as yesterday, watch the fat one. We nearly had a killing last night. I don't think he can be taught. Maybe all the cholesterol gets in the way."
"I'll do me best, Tonksy, you know tha'."
"I'll be back at six or before. You heard about the change, right?"
"Yeah, I 'eard. Thanks about tha'. I hate the daytime. Looking forward to dark again."
"Later, Dung." And with that, Tonks apparated away.
Harry returned to his bedroom without passing any of the Dursleys. He found Tonks already gone, which was no surprise. 'Thank Merlin she's gone. I doubt I could've kept up what I was doing before.' Left with little to do now that Tonks was gone, he saw Hedwig asleep in her cage and the remains of a mouse at the bottom waiting for him to clear them away.
'Huh, decisions, decisions. Clean her cage or eat something?' Harry pulled up the loose floorboard and pulled out a bag of crisps that he had hidden. 'The breakfast of Champions, well, at least the Triwizard Survivor.'
Harry looked around his room and decided that he may as well practice what Tonks had told him last night. He decided that levitating a book would be a good place to start, so he grabbed his copy of Quidditch Through The Ages and set it on his desk.
'OK - willpower plus intent. You can do this. You did this before. Just do it. Come on – come on – up. Seriously! Up!'
Half an hour later, Harry found himself with a headache and the book in the exact same place, mocking him. From what Tonks told him, words and wand movements were triggers, and in his case so was anger.
'Fine, I'll anger this bloody thing to move.' He gave mad a shot but nothing happened. Then he focused his anger about Voldemort and Bellatrix on the book, but he had to stop when the book started smoking. 'Great. If I need to light a cigarette, I might be onto something.'
Harry blew out his cheeks in frustration; it was clearly time to get creative. He stopped thinking about words and people he hated and simply thought about making the book move. He concentrated on the outcome instead of the process.
After a few minutes, Harry felt a movement inside of himself. He didn't know what it was, but it was a movement nonetheless. He felt 'it' move from himself to the book, and he was shocked to find the book levitating in midair, albeit listing to the left precariously.
"Ha, I did it. So that's what it feels like," Harry said out loud looking over to Hedwig was decidedly still asleep and ignoring him. Unperturbed but silent, Harry continued. 'I guess I've never had time to feel it before. I just made it happen.' Harry tried the process again and managed to level the book out. When he was satisfied with lifting, he willed the book to lower itself back down to the desk. Nothing happened.
'Alright, try to recreate that feeling again and then direct it to the book. Maybe I work in reverse. Tonks did say that everyone was different.' He created the feeling again and pushed it towards the book. Much to his surprise, it worked.
With the small achievement earned, Harry planned out the rest of his day. He wanted to be faster and more accurate, wandlessly, with levitation as well as three other spells before Tonks returned. Looking to a still sleeping Hedwig, Harry promised, "I will not fail."
Over the next four hours, Harry got a lot faster at willing the book to levitate. He moved it up and down and side to side around the room. Hedwig had voiced her disapproval once when the book got away from Harry and nearly hit her. Harry apologized for the next hour, levitating treats to her for over ten minutes.
He also practiced summoning things. Memories of a lost wand in an alley inspired him in making sure he would never find himself wandless again. With just a few mishaps, he perfected the familiar spell quickly. The Vanishing Charm was executed too. Hedwig's cage no longer containing mouse bones or owl droppings served as evidence of Harry's efforts and success.
He couldn't think of another spell to practice that was easy but important for staying alive. He knew offensive spells would be good ones to work on, but he wasn't sure if the Ministry could detect those kinds of spells, wandless or not. Besides, damaging the Dursley's house wouldn't make things easier for him at all. After tossing the idea around in his head, Harry decided on the Silencing Charm. It would be dead useful when he was wandering around Hogwarts, trying to avoid teachers [and who knew what else]. Harry idly wondered what kind of nightmare of a Defence teacher he could expect to deal with this year. Whomever Dumbledore managed to con into the job, Harry could only hope they'd do him the courtesy of not trying to kill him until after Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup.
Harry's hunger broke his concentration shortly after he had perfected silencing his footsteps. Concerned about how Aunt Petunia would react this time, Harry reluctantly set off for the kitchen. 'Maybe she'll throw a knife at me or some boiling water.'
Harry opened his door and listened. Hearing nothing, he went downstairs and slowly opened the kitchen door and found his aunt and Dudley sitting at the table. Dudley was quiet because he was eating a rather thick sandwich, and Aunt Petunia was still reading the book about him while nibbling on some fruit. Deciding that it was now or never, Harry entered the kitchen and headed directly for the food that was laid out on the counter.
Dudley paused gnawing on his food and followed Harry with his eyes. Harry noticed what Dudley was doing but chose not to show that he had. Harry wanted to be in and out as fast as he could and didn't want any distractions. One third of the day had passed pleasantly and he wanted to keep it that way.
With two pieces of bread laid out, Harry slapped down cheese and turkey completeing his sandwich. Grabbing an apple from Dudley's 'Diet Basket' on his way by, Harry made for the door only to find his cousin staring him down. Harry glared back for a few seconds while continuing towards the door and safer rooms
"What do you think you're doing?" asked Dudley. "Mum, he's taking food. He can't do that, can he?"
"Leave him be, Duddy-kins," Petunia said as nicely as she could. "Do you want more, Harry?" Harry shook his head not wanting to speak out loud for fear of rousing the 'real'Petunia he felt certain was nearby and waiting to attack.
Dudley nearly fell off his bench when his mother asked if Harry wanted more food. He'd never heard those words directed at Harry before. "Mum, what in the bloody hell are you doing? Are you touched in the head? H…he…he didn't put a spell on you did h…he..?"
"Enough of that, Popkin," Petunia chided softly. "Are you sure, Harry?"
"Yes, quite sure, Aunt Petunia,"
"Can I," Petunia began, completely ignoring her son's sputtering, but didn't seem to know how to finish. "Did you really?" Petunia paused and seemed not to know how to continue.
"What?" Harry asked hesitantly.
"Did you really duel the man who killed Lily?"
"Yes, I did. I almost died doing it, too. If you ever see him, run. You don't stand a chance against him and he'll kill you without a moment's thought."
"How did you fight him? How could you beat him?"
"I didn't beat him," Harry couldn't believe he was having this conversation. "I ran before he could kill me."
"Ha, coward," Dudley said.
Harry shifted his focus to his swollen cousin. "If you ever see him, Dud, you'd probably fall over yourself trying to run away or just mess your pants. When it comes to Voldemort, there's no such thing as being a coward. You are either alive or, like most people, dead. Just like that. too."
"How many people have fought him and lived?" Petunia asked with a shaky voice.
"Two that I know of," Harry answered. "Dumbledore is the only other one who has fought Voldemort face-to-face and lived."
"And you are the other person who has?"
"Yes, Aunt Petunia, I'm the only other person who has lived when Voldemort decided to kill them. Hence, the hero thing I guess."
"Mum, what in the devil is he talking about?" Dudley asked, but saw his mother staying silent. "Mum?"
"How many times have you faced him?"
"You want a list?" Seeing Petunia nod slightly, Harry listed them off. "One year old: Mum and Dad died, I lived. First year: twice, but he wasn't in a human form. Second year: once, but he was a memory from the diary. Fourth year: once in the graveyard, and he was in human form then. Fifth year: once in the atrium to the Ministry. So, that makes it six times I've faced him and lived. Anything else you want to know?"
"Um," Petunia thought of what else she could ask him quickly since his agitation had been growing the entire conversation. "Do you have a book explaining Quidditch? This one doesn't give any details about it. It's just recaps of your matches."
Harry nodded and willed his copy of Quidditch Through The Ages to come to him. The book came flying through the air, shortly afterwards, and Harry caught it easily as it forced the kitchen door out of its way. Petunia gave a slight shriek when the door opened revealing the book and Dudley wore a gleeful look instead of his normal one of puzzlement.
"You did magic!" Dudley cackled. "You're going to get chucked out now."
"No, Dud, I'm not. I did wandless magic and they can't trace it. I'm still new at it, but so far things are going well for me. Want me to levitate you around the room? I'm pretty sure I could manage it easy enough."
Dudley watched a smile grow on Harry's face. From the look of things, Harry was sure of himself and Dudley didn't like that. "No, that's okay. I prefer to stay on the ground, thank you. You keep your weirdness to yourself, freak."
"Your choice, Dud." Harry was glad Dudley hadn't forced his hand on the issue. He wasn't sure he could control Dudley if he got him off the ground, and Aunt Petunia's odd behaviour definitely wouldn't survive Dudley bouncing off walls. Harry handed Petunia the book and watched her look at the cover. Surprisingly, she really seemed interested in it. Still not trusting her, Harry wrote off his impressions with a simple thought. 'The tabloids are just really boring right now. This is probably the next closest thing for her.'
Harry scanned the room one last time then headed for his room with the sandwich in hand and the apple floating after him for good measure. The kitchen was silent after Harry left. Dudley stared at his mum not sure what to think.
"Mummy, what's going on?"
"I read some things about Harry that are hard to believe. If they're true, then our past treatment of him could be really dangerous to us. I've just finished a book about him and I'm still trying to figure out what is real and what is fiction."
"A book - about him? Why would anyone write a book about, him?"
"Here," Petunia handed the book to Dudley, "read that and I think you'll see why they wrote a book about him. Either way, I don't need to remind you to keep this from your father, do I?"
"As if I would mention any of this to him? As fun as it would be to see him get mad, I think Harry and his bitch would hurt Dad if he tried anything."
"Don't say that about her. I may not like her either, but Harry seems to and after you read that, you won't want him mad at you. Now, keep it well hidden, okay, Diddy?"
"Yes, Mum. I will." Dudley grabbed at the book and found a smiling Harry looking up at him. The picture moved a bit and Dudley nearly dropped the book in shock. "Mummy, it moved."
"I know, Diddy. Their pictures move. It's just one more thing that makes them different from us. Try not to let it bother you, Popkin. Some of the pictures can't be real, but they're in there. A dragon chasing him around on a broom - farfetched fiction if you ask me, but the book made it seem 'normal'. Odd people - like those Hare Krishnas in the airport."
"A dragon? They aren't real. We would've seen them if they were. Wouldn't we?"
"You would think so, but no one else knows about…them and their ways, do they?" Petunia said, looking scared and checking the not-so-dark areas of the kitchen for specters. "I know you don't like reading, Diddykins, but it might help us prevent bad things from happening this summer. I have a bad feeling for some reason."
'What in the hell is going on here and what did Tonks do to her?' Harry couldn't believe what was going on in Number Four. Not once in his life had anything similar occurred. Harry tried to convince himself to let it go repeating over and over that worrying about it wouldn't get him an answer until Tonks returned.
Once he muted his curious thoughts, he managed to eat his bounty and focus on practicing. 'It was fun to scare and torment them with that Summoning charm though.'
Harry ate, and reviewed all the spells he had worked on earlier. Proving to himself that he had them down, he chose four others to learn. Since he'd already achieved his goal for the day, everything else was a bonus.
Harry practiced the Flame Charm on a small candle he had brought from Hogwarts and barely avoided setting his room on fire after numerous sparks and smolders. Surveying the damage to his blanket, several of Dudley's old books, and a spot on his desk, Harry decided that if he was going to set things on fire, then he had better practice the Flame Freezing Charm, too. He tested the spell by holding his hand over an open flame he had just created, much to Hedwig's vocal disapproval.
After an hour's practice, he finally mastered McGonagall's Switching Charm. Though he wasn't quite sure why he was even bothering with it, other than McGonagall always saying 'Future learning builds on past learning'. He'd just have to take her word for it.
The Freezing Charm caused Harry some difficulty, as well, but not in freezing things—that worked fine—it was his aim that needed work.
Harry winced and muttered for the third time, "Sorry, Hedwig," when the spell just missed the wary owl.
With several rough spots on the wall from practicing, Harry heard a noise from downstairs. It was far too early for Tonks to be back. He opened his door and listened. He heard voices, but they were too quiet to understand. Curiosity getting the best of him, Harry cast the Silencing spell on his feet and crept to the top of the stairs.
Harry wished he had a pair of Extendable Ears handy; the new voice seemed familiar, but he couldn't place it. With few options, Harry took a deep breath and descended the stairs. Someone was standing in the living room. Crouching a little, Harry spotted a worn cloak that had been repaired more than a few times. Recognizing the cloak, Harry took a moment to ponder whether he really wanted to talk to its owner or not.
Decision made and hanging his head in defeat, Harry walked the rest of the way down the stairs and into the living room. He stood directly behind Remus and listened to the conversation Remus was having with Aunt Petunia. No one had heard him enter the room and they remained ignorant of his presence.
"I don't want 'you' here anymore than the other one," Petunia declared while eying Remus's threadbare clothing barely restraining her contempt.
"Now, Mrs. Dursley, I just want a short visit with Harry," Remus explained. "I'll be gone before Mr. Dursley arrives, I assure you."
The internal struggle was quite apparent on her face before she slowly answered. "Fine. Two of you are two too many! The last thing I need or want is more of your kind here."
"Why thank you for your hospitality, Mrs. Dursley," Remus forced as politely as he could. "Now I'll just go up to his room and speak with him."
Harry said, "I'm right here, Professor Lupin." Remus jumped a little at the sound of Harry's voice, and turned to give him a small, sad smile.
"Sorry, I didn't hear you there, Harry—and my ears are sharper than most. I bet we don't hear the half of what mischief you manage to get up to at school."
Harry did not return Lupin's smile. "Your ears better than a certain bat or old man? Not to sound rude, but why are you here, Professor?"
"It's Remus, Harry," Remus said softly. "I haven't been your teacher for a few years and I see you as an equal so please call me Remus."
"Fine, Remus then. Why are you here?"
"Well, I think we should go somewhere private for this. I'm sure you would prefer it considering what I have to say and all."
"What's it about?" Harry asked his patience waning further.
"Sirius," was the only word Remus spoke while waiting for an explosive reaction.
"Ah, okay, I see your point. My room then?" Harry said, not waiting for an answer. He turned and walked up to his room after discretely removing the Silencing charm from his feet. 'I don't want to advertise anything yet. They can all find out on their own the hard way.'
In spite of himself, Harry wondered what terrible thing Remus needed to tell him that couldn't have been sent by post or through Tonks. Once the door closed, Harry fixed Remus with a stare waiting for him to start.
Remus looked around the room and spotted the large bed which seemed to peak his interest. A clearing of Harry's throat caused the older man to look him in his eyes.
"Harry, you look well. Have you been sleeping and eating okay?" Remus prompted nervously.
"Why are you here?" Harry wasn't going to play the game. He wanted to know what was going on and he wanted to know fast.
"Okay, well, I'm here to discuss Sirius. I know you would rather not, but certain things must be discussed. I miss him as much as you do, Harry, maybe more so, but that's not the main reason I'm here. In the next few days, you should receive something from Gringotts concerning Sirius's estate. I didn't want it to catch you off guard so I came to tell you in person.
"I know you are in his will, Harry. You're going to get most of it, too, if I know Padfoot. I wanted to tell you that life goes on. Sirius would want you use his possessions to cause as much mayhem as possible. At least, that was his plan when his mother died. I also wanted to tell you that you didn't cause his death. You have no reason to feel guilty."
Harry merely stared at his father's friend. This was the last thing he wanted to deal with right now. He didn't want any of Sirius's stuff, and he wanted to think about it even less. Sighing, Harry knew he had little choice in the matter since Gringotts would carry out whatever directions Sirius had left with them.
"Fine," Harry said evenly, fighting his anger and sadness. "Anything else?"
Remus was not surprised by Harry's attitude. He understood the emotions Harry was dealing with. They were the same ones he, himself, had dealt with years ago when their lives were destroyed that terrible Halloween night.
"If you need to talk about things, Harry, I'm here for you."
"Ha, you mean you are somewhere else for me. I'm the only one here. Hedwig is here, too, but she doesn't talk much, her being an owl and all."
"I know you're hurting, Harry, but things will get…"
"Stop," Harry didn't want to hear it. "I don't want your sympathy or your words of advice. I'll get through this like I have everything else, in my own way." Harry didn't voice what he was really thinking, 'I'm going to get that bitch one way or another. That's my way, at least when it comes to this subject.'
Remus looked worried and happy all at the same time. He wasn't sure how to take what Harry had said. He could have meant any number of things by that statement.
"I hope you're okay, Harry. Try not to dwell on this too much. I speak from experience when I say that nothing good can come of it."
"Yes, but when you had your experience everyone was dead or in prison. So you could never really do anything about it could you. I don't have that problem. Everyone I need to deal with is still alive." Harry stopped himself from saying any more. He knew he had to think clearly and not let his emotions take over. He figured he could make a book float pretty easily at this point but chose not to practice that spell. "Remus, if there's nothing else, I would really like to be alone right now. Thank you for telling about this. I'll look for the owl."
Remus watched the young man wrestle with his feelings. He knew Harry had a long road to travel before he would get over what had happened. "I understand, Harry. Try to think of the good things, okay? Sirius died on his feet. He always wanted to go that way. Or under a good woman, but I'm sure you don't want to hear about that. I know I didn't, but Sirius made sure to describe it in great detail whenever he got bored." Remus smiled sadly as he remembered the many times Sirius had told those stories.
"Thanks for that picture, Remus. I doubt I'll be able to get to sleep tonight. Now, if you are quite finished corrupting my mind…" Harry cracked a small, forced smile.
"Yes, I think I'm quite finished. Thank you for listening, Harry. Remember the good times, okay? I'll show myself out." Remus turned and left the room. He walked down the stairs and out the front door completely ignoring the head sticking out of the kitchen door following his every movement.
Harry heard the telltale crack of Apparation and let go of the tight emotional control he had been forced into. His mood turned sourer than it had been. He had anger coursing through him and he needed to direct it somewhere. He knew he couldn't do magic right now, because he would get himself into trouble. With no other options coming to mind, Harry decided to head to the park, thinking that maybe a walk would clear his mind or at least he could get away from Privet Drive for a few minutes. The oppressive feel of the house was beginning to take hold like it always had every other summer. Only this time, it was occurring much faster.
Leaving the house was easy and the walk to the park went quickly. The swings had been repaired while he had been away at Hogwarts, so he sat on one and gave a great heave with his feet. He pumped once, trying to force out as much anger as he could without letting his magic kick in. Harry watched as the view of the park tilted and he was staring at the clouds overhead. The view swung back to one that was the park, and so on, as he swung lower each time. His anger slowly ebbed with each swing, allowing Harry to focus his mind back to reality.
Movement from underneath a small bush caught his attention after he had settled into a more gentle back-and-forth motion. He saw a bushy tail flick out of sight in the growing shadows. "As if one wasn't enough, I have a second minder. Are you after me or are you minding my minder?"
A furry face poked out from the bush and mewed at him. Harry decided that meant both, since he knew Dung's reliability was questionable at best. The silence remained for another twenty minutes until a pair of kids entered at the far end of the park. They must have been new to the area, since they were in the park around the time Dudley and his gang would come by and cause problems with the other kids. The property damage to the park happened after dark, as did most of the harassment.
The boy and girl had to be brother and sister judging by the way the boy would tease her. He never had to say or do much to get her swinging her fist at him. They alternated between climbing the slide and spinning the merry-go-round. Harry wondered what it would be like to have a brother or sister. He wondered if his mum and dad had thought about having more kids before Voldemort killed them.
Knowing those thoughts were not the best ones to think about, Harry focused on watching the kids more. They had to be around eight and six, maybe nine and seven. The girl would follow her brother around and do what he did until he made her mad. The teasing was a lot like how the twins would tease Ron or Ginny only without the explosions of course. They seemed happy together and that was something foreign to Harry. He'd never had a sibling to love or be mad at. He only had Dudley and there was never more than anger, hate, and loathing between them.
Harry thought about how things worked between him and his friends. As he thought about it, Hermione was the closest thing he had to a sister. He had to admit she was an older sister most of the time. She always made him do his homework. She nagged him to keep trying to do better and follow the rules. She did her best to help him in her own way. She believed in adults. She always had trust in them. They had always helped her in her life. Her parents were good people. They loved her and cared about her. They believe her and in her. She never had to manage on her own.
Harry also realized that she was a younger sister sometimes, too. Whenever the books and her knowledge failed her, she was lost. When she was lost, she turned to Harry to help her, to make the decisions, and to fix things. When things got difficult, Hermione turned to him to make them right. He knew that in most situations, he had no clue what he was doing. He would just do something and things would usually work out. When faced with trouble, if he ran one way, she would follow him without question. If it was a real problem, she would follow his lead giving help along the way if she could.
He thought about all the times they had gotten in over their heads. Every time, they made it because they worked together. Harry led because he was willing to make the choice and see it through. Hermione would sit back and think the problem through. If she didn't have the time to do that, she would wait for Harry to lead. She was the sister he never had growing up. She could drive him crazy just by trying to make him better, but when it came down to it, she followed where he led.
As he watched the siblings, the girl slipped and fell near the see-saw. She tried not to cry, but she wasn't doing very well in her attempt. She was in pain and holding her arm tenderly. The brother had stopped what he was doing and ran to her side. Harry could see the worry on the boy's face, but he had no idea what to do. Her brother's uncertainty was causing her to cry harder, and she was getting scared because her older brother was getting scared while the situation began to spiral quickly away from the calm and joy that had been present earlier.
Harry stood up and started walking towards them. When he really thought about it, he could see that he always did something when it needed done. Right or wrong, he always made a decision. Usually Hermione just made sure he didn't muck it up too bad.
"Are you alright?" Harry asked the little girl. She was fighting her tears, but she was losing. Her brother just looked on not knowing how to help.
"I fell and my arm hurts," the little girl said.
"Are your parents nearby?" Harry asked.
"They're at home," the brother said. "Down that way," he pointed down Magnolia Road.
"Let me see your arm, okay. I'll be as gentle as I can, alright?"
The girl nodded and moved her right arm away which was covering her injured left. Harry saw a bump growing on the side of her forearm and it was bruising quickly. He thought it might be broken, but he wasn't sure. He didn't remember his first broken arm very well and, the other time, his bones were no longer there 'thanks to a certain professor'.
"Do you think you can walk?" Harry asked the girl. She shook her head slowly. "Okay, do you want me to carry you home then?" She nodded after looking at her brother, who could only shrug his shoulders.
Harry picked her up carefully and she settled into his arms, quietly sniffing every now and then. Harry told the boy to lead the way. Harry followed him across the park and down Magnolia Road. He watched the brother and saw the fear in his eyes. Harry wondered why someone would be so scared of a possible broken arm. As he thought about that, he realized that, to normal people, a broken arm was a big deal. Harry almost laughed when he compared a broken arm to his list of injuries. It would be quite a ways down the list.
As they walked, Harry thought about Ron. He could be the brother Harry never had in much the same way Hermione was a sister. Ron could make him laugh easily enough. He could also annoy him and make him angry. Ron had a problem with money and jealousy. Being the youngest boy in a family of men would explain the jealousy issues. He was always last in things and then he became a friend to Harry Freaking Potter. 'Good choice, Ron.'
Ron was also self-conscious of his financial situation. Harry never had money growing up. He learned he had a vault full of money when he was eleven, but by then it didn't make any difference. For Harry, it was one less worry on his list of worries. Ron could get angry at Harry for the littlest of things and then it would be fine. He could make him laugh by doing something stupid or just very Ron-like.
Growing up so alone, Harry had somehow managed to accumulate a brother and a sister along the way. He didn't know how he had done it but he had. Looking at the little girl in his arms, he wondered if his dad would have done the same for him. 'Mum probably would have yelled at him for letting me get hurt and then fixed it with her wand in a second.'
Harry was broken out of his thoughts by a nasty comment. "Oi, Potter. First you go for the older ones and now you're robbing the cradle. Can't you get enough?"
Harry slowed and found Dudley, Piers, Dennis, Gordon, and Malcolm standing in his way. Dudley had made the comment, but it looked like he was forced to say it by the others. The gang was quietly prodding Dudley to say something else.
"You are sick to think something like that, Dud. My guess it was really Piers who said it, though. Seems like something he would say, knowing how he likes them 'young'. Now, if you'll excuse us, I have to get a hurt kid to her parents."
"Watch it, Potter," Piers said. "I should cut your heart out for what you said." Piers pulled a knife out of his pocket and flipped it open.
Dudley looked at the knife and at Harry. He seemed unsure what to do. His friends expected him to beat Harry up anytime they found him out of the house, but Dudley knew his mum told him to leave Harry alone. He remembered what Harry had done to his father and the magic he had performed earlier. The book his mother had given him was still in his room, unopened under his mattress with the rest of his reading collection.
Harry didn't want the kids to get caught between Dudley's gang and himself. He decided to postpone the confrontation if he could. "If you give me a couple minutes, Piers, I'll come back and let you try. I doubt you could do it though. More dangerous people than you have tried the same thing and they haven't managed it yet. So, let me take care of current matters and then we can settle our differences later."
Harry began walking normally again and followed the little boy around the group. The girl had hidden her head as much as she could when the gang had started making threats and she was keeping her head down. Harry hoped he could get away without having to fight anyone.
Malcolm chose that moment to make a comment. "Think you could take us, Potter? Sounded like a challenge to me, Piers. Watcha goin' to do about it?"
Harry sighed and kept on walking. If the house was close enough, he might get away without anyone else getting hurt or himself in trouble.
"I'm going to kill you, Potter," Piers said coldly.
Harry stopped and turned slowly trying to put forth the most intimidating look he could manage. "Are you sure you want to try, Piers?" Harry said every word slowly and with emphasis. "Others have said the same thing. I'm still here, so what do you think happened to them?" Harry made eye contact with every member of the gang. He held Piers' and Dudley's gaze the longest. Harry gave one last sweeping glance as he turned to follow the little boy again.
He never turned around to see what Dudley's gang did about his comment, and he made it all the way to Wisteria Walk before anything was said among them. The little girl looked up at him calmly and said, "You can be scary when you need to, can't you. I feel safe with you though. You don't scare me."
"Thank you, I think." Harry wasn't sure how to take the comment. It seemed both good and bad all at the same time. They walked down a couple of houses and the boy ran up the sidewalk to a house with a red door. He opened the door and yelled for his mum and dad. Harry walked up the path slowly, watching for parents and Dudley's gang not to mention any Death Eaters that might be after him. Being as far away from number four as he was probably wouldn't sit well with Dumbledore. 'Stuff him.'
The door opened quickly and a woman ran out with the boy following closely behind her. Harry smiled at the woman and carefully let the girl down onto her own feet. He waited to see what the mother would do, not having much experience with this kind of thing.
The woman knelt in front of her daughter and asked her what happened. She explained everything quickly, and gingerly showed her injuries to her mother. Harry saw the love in the woman's eyes and wished he could remember that from his own mother. The woman checked the worst injury and sighed deeply. She asked the boy to run inside and tell his father that they needed to go to hospital right away. The boy ran into the home again, and Harry could hear him yelling the instructions. He watched the girl get a careful hug from her mother.
Harry turned and began walking back to Privet Drive and the 'prison' that awaited him there. He felt movement behind him and turned quickly to see the mother walking up to him. She had a grateful but worried look on her face. Harry wasn't sure what was going to happen, but he was ready for it all the same.
"Thank you for helping Emma home. I don't know how to repay you, ah…"
"Harry. It's not a big deal. You're welcome."
"Some boys threatened to kill him, Mum. They scared me." The little girl was standing behind her mother cupping her arm.
"Don't worry about them, Emma. I've dealt with worse." Harry smiled at Emma and her mother, then turned to leave again.
"Did they really threaten your life or was it just words?" The woman asked.
"They were serious, but all the same it isn't a big deal. I'm not worried. They're nothing compared to what I'm used to dealing with."
Harry nodded at the mother and Emma then walked down the street. He made it to Privet Drive without any problems until he got a weird feeling that something wasn't right. He spun on his heels and pulled his wand from its hiding place, which kept it concealed but useable. He scanned the street looking for anything that could be a threat. He waited until he heard a movement to his left.
He swung his wand to the side and dove forward, hitting someone squarely in the chest. The fabric of an invisibility cloak felt familiar and the girlish-oof when they crashed onto the ground told Harry all he needed to know.
"Wotcher, Tonks," Harry said causally, regaining his feet. "You might want to avoid sneaking up on me next time. You could have gotten yourself hurt."
"Oh, that's most definitely going to leave a mark, Harry. You're abusive, you know that. Get inside so I can take this stupid thing off and check for damage."
"Right this way, Nymphadora." Harry hurried his pace to avoid any possible attack she could launch at him outside. He opened the door and waited for the sound of feet on the stairs before closing it softly. He quickly followed the sound of Tonks climbing the stairs. She didn't have the same spring to her step that she usually did but at least she wasn't falling down again.
His door opened and he heard the sound of cloth moving quickly across something and thrown to the floor. He entered his room and closed the door, finding Tonks was undoing her outer cloak. She dropped her grey cloak on top of the invisibility cloak, which was puddle near the foot of his bed. Harry was about to make a comment about her undressing when she continued her efforts. She pulled her shirt out of her pants and undid their buttons. Holding her shirt up and exposing her flat belly, she pulled down on the back part of her pants, revealing the upper part of her shapely rear. She turned slightly and caught sight of herself in the mirror on the inside of Harry's open bureau. She scowled a little, but Harry couldn't take his eyes away from her exposed flesh.