Disclaimer : I do not own Harry Potter

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The entire audience of the Great Hall watched as Harry climbed off of the three-legged stool, and returned the hat to Professor McGonagall. He had already taken two steps in the direction of the Gryffindor table when the Hall burst with noise from every direction. The teachers were either clapping or smiling at the boy. The Hufflepuffs and the Ravenclaws were clapping politely. The Slytherins seemed slightly upset, and except for a few first years, none were clapping at all. The Gryffindors, however, were celebrating with great vigour, slamming their hands against the table, and clapping loudly.

Harry smiled as he sat down on a bench, next to the Longbottom boy who had lost his toad. The two redhead twins - who shared a striking resemblance with Ron – were making faces at some of the Slytherins. It took almost a minute, but the students finally calmed down, and McGonagall was finally able to continue the Sorting.

As Harry was congratulated by his housemates on having made it into the house of the brave, a certain Hufflepuff continued to glance across the Hall and look at the boy occasionally, her dark eyes following him imperceptibly. A soft prod to her side made her pry her eyes away from the Gryffindor table and turn to her best friend. "What's the matter Tonks? You didn't honestly think Harry Potter would have been a Hufflepuff, did you?"

Tonks raised an eyebrow with indignation. "No need to discredit our house just yet, Hestia. He could have ended up here just as well as Gryffindor. Other than Slytherin, it was all fair play."

Hestia chortled. "The Boy-Who-Lived, the saviour of the wizarding world. What part of that doesn't scream courage and chivalry, eh?"

Tonks sighed. "Fair enough. But he still would have been a nice addition to Hufflepuff, wouldn't he?"

"Stop pining for him." Hestia teased. "His housemates are already giving him enough of a hard time."

She nodded over to the Gryffindor table pointedly, where Harry Potter had been swamped by a group of Gryffindors who had gathered around him. The boy was smiling awkwardly as the group asked him questions upon questions. Tonks thought Harry might burst, had it not been for the Sorting ending at that moment, with Ronald Weasley seating himself next to the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Now, I would not like to keep all of you from your dinner any longer, so I shall only say a few words. Nitwit. Blubber. Oddment. Tweak." With that the Headmaster sat down, and an array of food appeared across the table. Harry was amazed by everything. There was pot roast, fried chicken, shepherd's pie, dinner rolls, sandwiches and so much more. Ron had begun to eat, as had most of the people sitting at the table, so he followed suit and began to fill his plate.

He ate slowly, in small portions, just as he was used to. He could not believe how delicious everything was, and the only explanation for it he could think of was that everything was magical.

Soon, everyone had had their fill and were ready to retire, when Dumbledore stood up once more. "Now that all of us are fed and watered, I would once again like to remind you that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students, and that if you value your life, it would be best if you remained away from the third floor corridor. Now, off to bed."

With those final words, the Prefects moved to lead the first years of their respective houses to the dormitories. After the first years had left, the rest of the students would make their way to their dorms themselves.

As Tonks and Hestia entered their dorm, Tonks immediately set to change into her pajamas while Hestia plopped down onto her bed with a slight groan. "N.E.W.T. classes start tomorrow, and I already know it's going to be terrible." She looked up to glare at her best friend. "Thanks a lot for convincing me to take five of them."

Tonks merely sighed as she situated herself on her own bed. "I did nothing of the sort. You and I want to be Aurors, and five N.E.W.T.s is the bare minimum anyways. I have six, but you don't see me complaining, do you?"

Hestia groaned once more. "Well, I'm sorry if we can't all live up to the incredible standards of the magnificent Nymphadora Tonks." She concluded on a haughty and high tone, only to squeak as Tonks cast a sharp stinging hex at her arm. Tonks glared at her, with her dark eyes turning steely and remaining that way until Hestia whispered a quick apology.

"OK, we're even now. But I'm serious, how do I get through five N.E.W.T.s? The O.W.L.s were hard enough."

Tonks sighed as she lay down on her bed and blew out the candles next to her bed. "Simple. Just study. We'll look into it in the morning, Hes. And I promise, I'll help you out with it if you have any problems. We are both going to be Aurors, that was the deal."

Hestia shifted in her bed, and glanced over to her roommate. Tonks always had been a true Hufflepuff, through and through. More hard-working than anyone she knew, and even more loyal to her friends. "Ok Tonks, but I'm going to hold you to that promise."

Hestia then blew out her own candles, and darkness fell over the room. Their year had been a bit unbalanced, with there having been only two girl Hufflepuffs, and seven boys, but the two would never object, since it allowed them much more privacy and space.

Though she was trying her best to fall asleep, Tonks was unable to do so. She had even tried the counting sheep method her father had told her about. It had always worked for her before, but today it was proving futile. Her mind insisted on returning to a very specific wizard again and again. The Boy-Who-Lived. 'The very young Boy-Who-Lived. Very, very young.' Tonks sighed as she turned onto her side, thinking about the person she had grown up reading books about. She knew many of them were improbable, but she had been charmed by them nonetheless. Who could blame her? Every young witch who grew up in the magical society had heard of Harry Potter, and she had to admit she had a huge crush on the boy when she was a preteen. Her crush on him had weakened slightly as time passed, and the matter of the six-year age gap had obviously helped in that regard, but a part of that crush lingered. And it had been rekindled when she saw him in the Great Hall. 'He was just like all of my picture books showed him to be.' To make matters worse, she had grown up with Andromeda Tonks as her mother, and she would always talk about how the Potters had been amazing and kind people.

James and Lily Potter had always been at the forefront of the Order of the Phoenix's offence and defence, and the two had welcomed Sirius into the fold when he was banished from the family. When Andromeda Tonks was declared a blood traitor, she became a primary target for You-Know-Who, along with her husband and daughter. The matter was made especially worse by the fact that House Black gave the Dark Lord immense support. Ted Tonks may have been good with a wand, but he would never have been able to fight back a full-fledged Death Eater raid.

But then, she was offered the Order's protection by the Potters, and she and her family were kept safe. On multiple occasions she visited the Potters, and grew to know them as friends. And she insisted that there was not a couple out there who deserved happiness and peace more than James and Lily Potter. And one time, when she went to congratulate the family on the birth of their son, she came back extremely upset, at having learnt that the Potters would have to go into hiding, and that Voldemort was now targeting them himself. That was the last time Andromeda had seen the Potters, and the only time she had seen their son, Harry. 'Mark my words,' she would often say whenever the topic of the Potters was brought into conversation. 'The kind of people that James and Lily were is special, and their son will be the same. He'll be a damned good wizard, and an even kinder person.'

Tonks sighed again, trying to push her pillow into a comfortable position. 'Doesn't change the fact that he's six years younger than you, Tonks. And the sooner you get that thought into your mind, the better.' She closed her eyes, finally feeling herself grow a little drowsy. 'Though who knows? Maybe he'll grow up to be into more...mature women.' She was soon asleep, and the invasive thoughts of the famous wizard finally gave her a rest.

Harry strode into the Great Hall with his bookbag slung over his shoulder, and plopped down onto his seat, shoving the bag under the table. Ron quickly entered behind him and sat down next to him. "Don't worry, Harry. Fred and George always tell me about how Snape never lets them do anything. He's like that to everyone, you know." He paused here, taking a moment to give the Slytherin table a harsh glare. "Everyone except for those snakes. Them he treats like bloody royalty." The boy then turned his attention to the lunch spread across the table and began to eat. Harry himself wasn't feeling too hungry. He was still feeling a little nervous about his first flying lesson which was scheduled that afternoon. Ron had told him a little bit about it, but it still seemed like a very daunting experience. Nevertheless, he took a piece of toast, and slowly began to eat it. He did not notice Tonks enter the Hall, closely followed by her best friend. "So, have you gotten started on Snape's homework yet?" Hestia asked, as the two sat down at their table.

Tonks sighed with frustration. "I knew I forgot something! Well, we have a free lesson, we'll just have to complete it then." Tonks took some waffles, and began to chew on them as Hestia stared at her.

"Tonks, are you sure you're okay? You've really been out of it for the past two weeks, and I don't think you're doing too well." Tonks swallowed her waffle quickly, before looking over at her friend with a raised eyebrow. "No, I'm good. I think it's just this N.E.W.T.s stuff that's really coming down on us, but no, I'm good."

Hestia knew her best friend well. They had stuck together since the start of term feast in their first year, and they'd been thick as thieves ever since. But right now, Tonks was being...weird, to put it in one word. Hestia knew that if this persisted, the girl's grades would start to suffer too. 'I need to get to the bottom of this before that happens.'

Meanwhile, Tonks was having a similar conundrum of her own at the very same moment. 'Get it together Tonks, this is your N.E.W.T. year. You can't go around just thinking about stupid boys, especially if there isn't anything to be done. Of course, had you been a first year, it would have been a different deal. But you aren't.' At that point an idea struck Tonks, who started coughing as a piece of waffle got stuck in her throat. She washed it down with a sip of juice, before turning to her friend. "Hes, I need to go, for a moment. It's really important, and don't worry, I'll meet you in the library at the start of next period so we can finish up our essays, okay?" Before Hestia could reply, Tonks had gotten up and marched out of the Great Hall, leaving her friend to watch her retreating back worriedly. 'I just know this isn't going to end well.'

Tonks stood in the second floor's girls' bathroom, looking into one of the mirrors above the basins. 'Ok, take a deep breath, and do it just like you've been practicing at home.' Tonks focused upon her hair, and imagined it to be changing its colour. She watched as her hair turned from a light brown to a sharp, bright, bubble-gum pink. She then closed her eyes for the hard part. She imagined herself to be shrinking, and felt her boots grow a little loose on her feet. Soon, her robes barely hung on her much smaller figure. She opened her eyes, and grinned with triumph. In the mirror was a much shorter version of her, who still had her slightly round face, and her dark eyes. She was also, for lack of a better word, developed, as any eleven-year old might be.

She took a few minutes to look over herself. The idea had hit her suddenly, and the more she thought about it, the more she began to believe that this might be the only way for her to get to know Harry. 'Now, no getting ahead of yourself. You're going to become his friend first and foremost. Maybe if it turns into more, you can think of that.' She brushed a strand of her pink hair behind her left ear. 'But maybe this turns out well.' She thought. She could picture herself becoming friends with the Harry, and a part of her felt like one of those princesses or Noble Ladies that Harry would always fall in love with in some of the more romantically inclined books written regarding the boy. 'Ugh, now I'm getting ahead of myself.' With that thought, she closed her eyes once more, and allowed her Metamorphmagus abilities to shift her back to her true form. She opened her eyes to see that she was once again taller, and that her hair had turned back to its usual shade of brown.

"Hey Tonks, have you heard the news?" Hestia asked as she joined her best friend at the common room's study table. "Rumour is, Harry Potter's been selected to play as Seeker for the Gryffindor team." At the mention of the boy, Tonks raised her head from her Transfiguration homework. "Yeah, apparently he'll be the youngest Seeker to play in a century. Hand-picked by McGonagall herself."

This piqued Tonks's interest. Of course, Quidditch. Almost every wizard knew of it and loved the game after all, it only made sense that Harry Potter would as well. "Well, that's nice. Guess we'll find out if the Boy-Who-Lived can really fly as well as a dragon."

Hestia sighed. "Tonks, come on, you now most of those children's books are rubbish. He may be Harry Potter, but the boy is still an eleven-year old." She sat down and pulled close her own Transfiguration book and a fresh roll of parchment. "But forget that, we should get this essay done quickly, we have an early class with Flitwick tomorrow."

Tonks nodded absentmindedly, before getting up from her seat. "Uh, I'm done Hes, so you can look over my essay if you want to. I trust you won't just copy it down." Hestia was surprised by Tonks's actions once again, but nodded. "Yeah sure, I'll try to do most of it myself."

With that, Tonks made her way to her dorm, and collapsed on her bed while facing the canopy of her four-poster bed. 'UGH! The hell am I doing? Hestia's right, he may be the Boy-Who-Lived, but he's just eleven. I am honestly thinking about an eleven-year old boy! He's probably still afraid of cooties.' Tonks frowned as she felt a guilty pit form in her stomach. 'I might be able to look like a kid, but I'm still seventeen for fucks' sake. I'd be lying to him about everything.'

Tonks had been so engrossed by her own thoughts that she did not realize that her best friend had entered the room. "Hey Tonks, I know you're probably going to say you're fine, but are you really?" Hestia sat down on the Metamorphmagus's bed. "You can trust me Tonks. I just wanna help you."

For a minute Tonks said nothing, and Hestia thought she wasn't going to have any luck this time either. But the girl spoke up just as she was about to ask again. "I-I think I have a crush, on a boy."

To her credit, Hestia tried to control herself, but she just couldn't. She burst into a fit of laughter, and it wasn't disguised at all. She laughed loudly at how ridiculous all of this was. "You, Nymphadora Tonks, were freaking out for the past three weeks just because of some boy. I swear to god Tonks, sometimes I wonder what's going on up in that noggin of yours." It was a testament to how embarrassed she was feeling that Tonks didn't even do anything about being referred to by her first name.

"But seriously, what are you so worried about? You're a great student, an excellent Hufflepuff, a real looker, and you can literally morph into looking like anything you can think of. If any boy's throwing that away, he's too dumb for you in the first place."

Tonks giggled slightly, though she did try to smack her roommate with her pillow lightly. The two then sat there in a companionable silence for a few minutes, until Hestia's curiosity finally got the best of her. "So, who's the lucky lad?"

Tonks smirked in response. "I'm not telling you just yet, Hes. Perhaps a story for another day." Hestia shrugged. "Meh, it was worth a try, I guess. But now I really do need to finish my essay." The girl got up and walked to the door of the dormitory. "And I was serious, Tonks. Any guy would be a fool to not like you. I mean, what's there not to like?" With that she exited their shared dorm, leaving Tonks to her devices. 'She has a point though. I could try, no harm done.' With that she was decided. Now all she needed to do was find Harry, and have a reason to talk to him.

"Hey Harry. What're you doing?" The boy looked up to see a girl about his age looking straight at him. The first thing that really stood out was the girl's hair. It was bubble-gum pink.

"I, uh, I was just trying to do some of my Potions homework." Harry responded, gesturing to the books laying open in front of him. He hadn't been able to focus in the common room, so he had chosen to try studying in the library. He was doing much better with the essay, but he still felt guilty because of the hurt look Ron had given him when he left. "What about you?"

"Oh, I'm actually here to see you, Harry." She said, as she sat down on the bench next to Harry. She managed to not show it, but she felt a surge of nervousness, as Harry continued to look at her intently. 'His eyes are nothing like the ones in the books. They're...beautiful.'

"Um, why did you want to see me, Ms...?" Harry asked, pulling the girl out of her reverie. "Nym Dora." 'Nice going Tonks, real creative.' "Yeah, I actually wanted to speak with you about a certain rumour going around, one about you being the new Seeker for Gryffindor." Harry stiffened at that point. "I-I don't know what you're talking about." The boy tried to deny weakly.

The girl smirked. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me, Harry. I actually wanted to recommend a book you might want to read, to help you understand Quidditch a little better, and to maybe see some of the higher-level plays." Nym concluded, before offering Harry a book she had tucked away in her bookbag. The title read: Quidditch Through The Ages.

Harry was a little perplexed, but gingerly accepted the book nonetheless. "Thank you very much Nym. I'll be sure to give it a read." The girl blushed a little as Harry smiled straight at her, and began talking before he could notice. "So, who taught you how to fly, eh?"

Harry turned to give her a questioning glance. "Oh come on. You must have learnt how to fly from someone to have been selected as playing Seeker in your first year. So, who taught you?"

Harry looked away from her for a moment and lowered his head. Tonks felt as if she had been punched in the gut. 'Me and my big, stupid mouth.' "Are you alright, Harry?" She asked, hoping to not screw up her first impression on the boy.

"Yeah, I'm fine. And to answer your question, I didn't have anyone teach me how to play Quidditch or fly, or even tell me about it. I actually just flew on a broom for the first time a week ago." Harry was a little amused by how Nym's jaw fell slack. "My friend Ron told me that it's probably in my blood. My dad was the Seeker for Gryffindor too."

Tonks's mouth remained open for a moment, until she realised that Harry was staring at her. She made to move the topic. "Wait, how come you didn't know about Quidditch? It's practically the only sport that wizards have nowadays." Tonks asked the boy.

He began to wring his hands as he looked at her. "Well, I was raised in the muggle world, so I didn't know much about the wizarding world until recently. I actually didn't even know it existed until I got my Hogwarts letter."

The girl raised an eyebrow and continued to look at Harry, half-expecting him to burst into laughter and then tell her that he was pulling at her leg. When he didn't, her confusion only grew further. "But that doesn't make any sense. You're the Boy-Who-Lived. You beat Voldemort. There are literally hundreds of stories about the amazing things you've done for the Wizarding world. How could you have grown up without knowing about magic?"

Harry grew a little more upset, as the discussion shifted toward a topic he'd rather avoid. "It isn't like I got to choose where I grew up. Trust me, I wish I had grown up in the magical world, Nym. And as far as those storybooks go, I saw a lot of them at Flourish & Blotts, and they were all full of rubbish and lies. I'm not nearly as special as people think I am."

"But then who did you grow up with?" She asked. "The Dursleys. Petunia Dursley is my aunt, and I lived with her, her husband and my cousin Dudley." He replied in a sharp, clipped tone, which worried Tonks. "They weren't fans of magic to put it lightly, and they didn't tell me anything about it." Harry chuckled, though it didn't seem humorous. "They didn't even want me to go to Hogwarts in the first place. If it weren't for Hagrid being there, I would probably still be living with them."

Nym didn't want to jump to any conclusions, but the Dursleys were not shaping up to be the nice kind of relatives. She didn't want to come off as prying, but she was curious as to the extent to which these Dursleys 'weren't fans of magic' as Harry put it.

"So, how does it feel like to live in the muggle world? My grandparents on my dad's side are muggles, so I know a lot more about the muggles than most wizards or witches, but I still haven't ever lived there on a permanent basis."

Harry seemed pensive for a moment, once again going silent. Nym was almost sure that the boy was thinking over what he would say in response. And that worried Tonks. She never knew an eleven year old to tread lightly with their words, especially not someone who was supposed to be the entire wizarding world's saviour. 'I might have to write to Mum about this. Harry does not seem to be alright with his relatives.'

"Well, it was alright. I mean, I had a place to live, and I usually got food too." Harry quickly stopped, realising what he had just said. "B-But I should really be going to my dormitory. I want to change out of my work robes before dinner." He said, slightly panicky as he began to gather his books.

Tonks was not convinced, but she decided that she couldn't exactly order him to stay. "Yeah, sure." She was happy to note, however, that he had accepted her copy of Quidditch Through The Ages. "It was really nice to meet you, Harry Potter. I hope we can talk again sometime."

Harry stopped for a moment. "Yes, it was nice to talk to you, Nym, and thanks for the book, I'm sure t'll be very useful, and I will return it after I read it." With that, the boy walked straight out of the library, not even looking back.

"All things considered, that went better than expected." It honestly had. She had been able to engage in friendly conversation with Harry, even if it had been cut off rather abruptly. But now, she was more intrigued regarding the boy's past. He was more than just a famous kid, or the Boy-Who-Lived. He was Harry Potter, and until less than a year ago, he didn't even know about magic at all, let alone his position in the magical world. And for some reason, she felt angry at the Dursleys, but she didn't quite know why. 'I definitely need to owl Mum.'

Author's Note:

Hey guys and gals!

Ok, I know, I know. Another one, really? The answer is yes, if you're seeing this, obviously. However do not fret, I have been able to streamline my writing process considerably, and having recently managed to write and update more than I usually did, which is really great in my honest opinion. Of course, I know this is still a major work, but eh, I was really into it. Plus most of this has been thoroughly planned out, so that makes things easier.

Now, to clear up some important things from the get-go. The pairing is Harry x Tonks, but done so in an unconventional method. I myself have not read a story done this way before, and if any of you have, please do give me the name, I'd love to give it a read. I was just thinking over how a huge part of Hogwarts's female population probably are interested in Harry to some degree, especially if they grew up in the magical world. I mean, take Ginny as an example. Now, Tonks is obviously older and a little more serious about these things, but a crush is a crush, and seeing the object of her affections will cause ripples. I just hope I am able to provide some semblance to a natural relationship.

And don't worry, I do not plan on this being one of those fics where the two get together five minutes after having met, are shagging by the end of the week, and are married before Christmas. I will try to develop their relationship into something more than a simple convenience.

The story will not be geared completely around romance, though it is a major part of it. There will be a plot to it, but I intend on giving you readers a tonne of fluffy interactions. Things will start to shift away from canon slowly, but surely. And there will be quite a difference, believe me.

And I am aware that Tonks had actually graduated the year before Harry arrived, but that is one of the changes I am making for the sake of accommodating this pairing and this story in this scenario. So before you rush at me with torches and pitchforks, you have your answer.

If you enjoyed the chapter, please review, favourite or follow, as feedback provides the author immense inspiration, trust me on that. Tell me what you liked or didn't, and if you have any queries, you can drop a review or shoot me a PM. I try my best to respond to both.

So, stay safe, and that's a wrap!

Peace Out

Kofukuna Shi No Kami