Disclaimer: All Harry Potterâ„¢ characters and settings are the sole property of JK Rowling. No money is being made with this fanfiction and no copyright infringement is intended. All that belongs to me is the plot!
Spoilers for all five books. It's rated at PG-13 for now and there are no romantic pairings at the moment, but that is subject to change depending on future plot lines.
Chapter 8: Growing Closer
Harry threw the towel he had used to dry his hair onto a nearby couch before collapsing into another armchair. "That shower was just ... divine," he exclaimed happily.
Remus smiled in acknowledgement. Tonks, on the other hand, could not stop staring at Harry's head or more accurately his hair.
Harry fidgeted under the intense stare. "What is it?" he finally asked in annoyance.
Tonks giggled, drawing a raised eyebrow from Harry. "Your hair," she explained. "Nothing seems to be able to tame that wild mane!"
"Tell me something I don't know" Harry moaned. "A Potter trait, at least that's what I keep on hearing."
"You definitely got that from James," Remus added. "However, I do recall one occasion where James managed to stop his hair from sticking up in all directions."
Tonks snickered. "Did he shave it all off?" she asked. "Because that's the only way I can see that hair tamed."
Harry snorted. "Not likely!" he replied. "One time, Aunt Petunia cut my hair so short that it was almost like having no hair at all ... apart from a fringe to cover my scar. The thing was," Harry continued. "That my hair just grew back for the next day. My aunt was really angry, but at that time, I didn't realise that I had done magic. I didn't know magic existed! Mind you that's not the point. So Remus, what did my dad do?" Harry asked, his tone expressing his disbelief.
Remus exchanged a look with Tonks before turning his attention back to Harry. "If memory serves, I believe James used copious amounts of Sleakeasy Hair Potion."
Harry's eyes lit up in recognition. "Hermione used that for the Yule Ball. She said that while it worked, it was too much hassle to use every day."
"James said the very same thing," Remus replied with a wry smile.
"Well I don't need to worry about trivial things like that," Tonks said in a smug tone. "Being a Metamorphmagus means that I can do everything and anything I want to with my hair!"
"Pity you can't make yourself less clumsy," Remus shot back. "How many bruises do you have right now?"
Tonks pouted. "Only the two."
"Two?" Harry questioned.
"I fell out of bed this morning," Tonks muttered.
"And the other?"
Remus snickered. "She tripped over the troll umbrella stand at Headquarters yesterday."
"Again?" Harry asked, lips twitching with amusement.
"Again," Tonks confirmed. "Woke the old bat up too," she added with a wince.
Harry's face darkened as he thought of the late Mrs Black, however he forced himself to change the direction of his thoughts. He did not intend on allowing that abusive woman on ruining his birthday.
Harry coughed nervously as a thought struck him. "Remus? Tonks?" he asked. "Did you get your section of the documentation from Sirius' Will?"
Tonks blinked back the tears that threatened to fall, while Remus shifted in his seat. "Are you talking about Sirius' personal vault?" he asked.
Harry nodded.
"Yes. Mr Austin made sure we had copies before we left," Remus replied. "Tonks and I looked it over while you were in the bathroom."
"I'd give up all of that money if he were with us right now," Tonks added mournfully.
"I think we all would," Remus replied. "However, we can't. Sirius wanted each of us to be cared for and apparently financially comfortable ... bloody prat!"
"Remus?" Harry asked, unsure at Remus' last statement.
"It's just..." Remus trailed off for a moment before continuing in a hoarser voice. "Sirius always knew how hard it was for me ... being a werewolf. James and Sirius ... they were rich. Unbelievably so ... heirs to a vast fortune as I'm sure you're finding out, Harry.
"Now myself. I didn't come from a poor family by any means, but we weren't rich either. My father worked in Flourish and Blotts. My mother ... she used to work in a Muggle shop. It was wonderful, at least before I was bitten.
"After that, my mother gave up her job. If she wasn't tending to my injuries, she was trying to cope with my condition according to the phases of the moon. Most of the income went into trying to find a cure. Still, my parents made sure I never wanted for anything. Not really. Compared to those two though, I must have seemed like a pauper.
"For a while it was okay. Things didn't get hard financially until the late Eighties. I couldn't hold down a job, what with people finding out I was a werewolf. Then I came to Hogwarts and you know that story.
"While I was at Headquarters, Sirius and I talked. We had to. There were years of hurt, anger, and betrayal to get over. I don't know if we fully did ... neither of us were the same anymore ... but we were still brothers. Sirius thought of James and I as his family, more so than his blood family. Present company not included, of course!" Remus added.
Tonks merely smiled sadly.
Remus continued to speak, though the lines in his face seemed to have deepened those last few minutes and the shadow in his eyes grew more pronounced. "Sirius felt as though I shouldn't have to live my life the way I do. It's something I came to terms with many years ago. But for Sirius ... it was something else he had to adjust to. He hated the fact that I scrimped and saved and that I would never accept his help, his money. He always offered, but something in me held back. It never felt right," Remus explained.
Harry was stunned. Of course he had wondered about his former Professor, but he was learning a different side to him. Not new, since it had always been there. Harry could emphasise with what Remus was saying, or not saying. Harry had spent many years watching the opulent lifestyles of the Dursleys. Always looking in, never participating.
When he had been younger, Harry had often wondered why he wasn't allowed an extra treat, or why he never received any presents. As he grew older, he would occasionally wonder what life would have been like had he had a family who loved him. As it was, Harry had accepted his place in the Dursley household. He never asked for their fortune, nor did he want it. An unexplainable feeling that held him back from what he felt as though would be begging.
Harry wiped his mouth with a napkin. "I should let you choose what to eat more often Tonks."
Tonks grinned at the young wizard. "Well I have had a fair amount of experience eating out," she replied.
"Don't let that fool you Harry," Remus interrupted. "The only reason Tonks eats out so much is because she's absolutely hopeless in the kitchen. Don't give me that look! You know it's true."
Tonks affected a hurt look while Harry grinned at his two minders. He had been slightly wary when Remus had first informed him in the hotel room that the three of them were going out for dinner to celebrate his birthday. However several hours later and sitting in a charming small restaurant, Harry found himself pleasantly sated and quite happy.
"So, where does everyone think I am?" Harry asked after taking a small sip of water.
Remus and Tonks exchanged a look. "The Headmaster and everyone else at Headquarters are under the impression that you were shopping in Diagon Alley today," Remus finally explained.
Tonks picked up the next part of the explanation. "The Ministry, all things being well, probably missed that we took you away, so they still think you're at the Dursleys, which means that the Death Eaters still believe you're there too."
"But surely everyone will have worked out that I've not been anywhere near Diagon Alley today," Harry pointed out.
"Actually, neither of us expected to still be here," Tonks replied. "We thought the business with the lawyers and the Will would only take a hour or two."
"Sirius had left details for both Tonks and myself about what to do if something had happened to him," Remus explained. "I don't know ... I never expected anything like it. Maybe I was looking through rose-tinted glasses. Sirius had survived over a decade in Azkaban; I thought he'd survive anything. Sirius didn't seem the kind of person who would have contemplated that he could have died, but he'd obviously changed these past few years. He definitely wasn't the same person who thought he could take on the world after Hogwarts.
"He'd left instructions on what to do. All that time in Headquarters must have given him plenty of time to plan these things out. Once I'd managed to get my head around it all, I spoke to Tonks and we set up the meeting with the lawyers. The plan had been to pick you up, visit Mr Austin; hopefully get some of your shopping done and then get back to Grimmauld Place before nightfall."
"Moody is the only other person who knew where we were going today," Tonks finished.
"I didn't think the whole situation with Austin would take so long, or that it would be so complicated," Remus apologised as he pushed his empty plate further away from him. "However, considering Fudge's constant interference, it's seems as though your legal status is going to take slightly more time to consider. I fully expect that several of your peers and their families or guardians are also in the same situation as yourself.
"I sent a small note when Fawkes came by earlier today," Remus went on to explain. "The Headmaster should have received it by now, although I presume that the documents you sent him may take greater precedence in his mind at this time."
Harry frowned. "Why didn't Dumbledore tell me about Sirius' Will? I'm sure he must have known about it," the green eyed wizard asked.
"I don't know," was the honest reply from the werewolf. "I guess that the Headmaster was just too busy, not that that's an excuse of course."
Harry was unable to sympathise with the Headmaster, but he pushed down the overwhelming bitterness and resentment and gave a small shrug. "Well that's just one more thing that he forgot to tell me about. No big deal, just add it onto my list I suppose."
"What do you mean by that?" Tonks asked, concern evident in her tone and posture. "How do you know that Dumbledore has been keeping things from you and what kind of things are they?"
Harry's lips were pressed together tightly and he stubbornly shook his head in a negative. He blinked several times and forced himself to remember that the evening was meant to be pleasant. It was no use remembering the many ways that he had been manipulated and led on. If only for one night.
"Do you think Harry is asleep yet?" Tonks asked, as she watched Remus settle himself into a plush armchair.
"I think so," Remus replied.
"I'm not sure whether I should be shocked or not," Tonks continued. "Did you see the look on Harry's face when we sang 'Happy Birthday' to him? It was so obvious that his so called relatives had never done that for him."
"Or it could have been our singing," Remus suggested. Upon Tonks' raised eyebrow, Remus backtracked. "Or perhaps not. Unfortunately I'm sure that his relatives never really acknowledged his birthday in any real way."
"I can't believe that there are people in the world who could treat someone so badly," Tonks said sadly. "Especially with all that Harry has had to put up with so far."
"It's only going to get worse," Remus pointed out. "Not only do we have to consider Voldemort, but there's also Fudge and his idiotic notions. Then I get the feeling that Harry and the Headmaster aren't on the best of terms either."
"I thought that as well," Tonks agreed. "But I don't get what could have possibly happened between Harry and Dumbledore. It's not like Harry is about to tell us either."
"I think if we just wait, he'll eventually confide in us," Remus replied. "Not just about Dumbledore I suspect."
"What else could there be?"
"I don't know Tonks," Remus said wearily. "I don't know at all, but there is something that is bothering him. You can see it in his eyes and the way he's changed. It's not just a consequence of Sirius' death, there's something else bothering him. Something he thinks he can't talk about for whatever reason it is."
Tonks' face was grim. "Whatever it is, I think he's lost his trust in Dumbledore. He's not a normal sixteen year old though, is he?"
"He never was."
Tonks shrugged in agreement. "Well yes, but considering Sirius' Will and what Harry will have to contend with. It's not enough that he's the Boy-Who- Lived as well as a Potter, but now he's a Black too."
"Narcissa Malfoy will most definitely not be pleased with that development," Remus commented.
Tonks snickered. "I wish I could see Fudge's face when he finds out."
"The Headmaster won't be too pleased with the way things are going either," Remus added. "Still, it's too late to do anything about it now, but I definitely want to know why he decided not to tell Harry about Sirius' Will. Or even mention anything to me or yourself."
"Do you think he'll be okay?" Tonks quietly asked.
"Harry?"
Tonks rolled her eyes. "Obviously."
"I hope so, Tonks," Remus replied slowly. "I really do, but he needs to get rid of whatever is burdening him, I hope he realises that he can trust us, Tonks; that we'll listen to him and help him. Merlin only knows that he needs someone to look out for him, not an icon or a saviour, but Harry Potter."
Much thanks to Halstead, Kel and Vicious for the betas. Any mistakes are my own.
Many thanks to Numba1, mik0217, elanastar, noneed, shadwo. Lady Phoenix Slytherin, RogueBHS, Cataclysmic, Talamh, Wren Truesong, gaul1, Raphaelle, Ferdia, azereath, Nasser Himura, ibfritz, Darak, EnterTheLion, Mike, Ari, Black Vengeance, Solivagus09, ebony-kiena, Vicious Lily, BloodRedSword, Hermionepotter141, CassieOwls, and cloud for your reviews and comments.
Answers to your questions can be found on my Yahoo Group and the address is on my profile page. I'm working on the next chapter so it shouldn't be too long. I should probably mention that Hallway of Power has been nominated for a Best Sixth Year story award, so thanks to you all.
Jewel