FicWad

Disclaimer: This part follows hard on its predecessor’s heels. Why are you looking at me like that?

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Harry reached the bottom of the stairs and sat down to breakfast, still irritated by the interruption of what was promising to be a truly wonderful dream. A few minutes after sitting down to his eggs and bacon, an equally irked Hermione sat next to him.

“Damn it, Harry, why did you have to end the dream there just as it was getting good?” Hermione snapped, very quietly.

“You mean you couldn’t, um, continue without me?” Harry asked.

Hermione leaned toward Harry, whispering in his ear. “I was just kissing Luna when all of a sudden, I was awake, hot and bothered. You should know that you were in control- it was only because of you that we could have dreams like that in the first place!”

“What’s going on, guys?” Ron hollered.

Hermione barely restrained herself from hexing Ron. “Ron, why was it so important to you that I be up this early for breakfast?” Harry asked.

“Because they always run out of waffles by 9:30, of course! Why is she so mad?” Ron asked, glancing at Hermione, whose fingers were twitching near her wand.

“You interrupted something very important, Ron. In the future, don’t wake me up unless I give you explicit instructions, alright? And she’s not the only person you…” Harry was interrupted by a voice from the doorway of the dining hall.

“Harry, I would like to speak to you.” Angelina had developed the ability to make herself clearly heard for long distances without yelling, which came in handy here.

“It was Ron’s fault, he’s sorry, and he won’t ever do it again, will you, Ron?” Harry chided his teammate.

“Was it indeed?” asked Angelina with an ominous calm.

“So I woke Harry up this morning, what’s it to you?” snarled Ron.

“Ron, at our next practice, remind me to give you a few extra laps,” growled Angelina. “Now, if you could please move, I need to speak to Harry.”

“What the hell is your problem? Is it that time of the month?” As soon as Ron said these words, a hush fell over the entire Gryffindor table.

“Ron, how do you feel about open tryouts for the Keeper spot?” Angelina asked silkily.

“Why?” Ron said, still not quite understanding the situation.

“Because we’ll be having them on Monday evening,” announced Angelina. “Ron, you’ve just lost your spot on the team, and you’re going to have to earn it back. I’ve been unhappy with your attitude and your effort for a while now, and this is the final straw. Now go away so that I can talk to Harry.”

Ron looked to Harry for sympathy, but there was none to be found. Unknowingly ruining a dream was one thing, but snide comments about monthlies were beyond any kind of defense. Seeing no help, Ron shrugged and left the hall, and Angelina slid into the seat Ron vacated.

“Harry, I’m sorry to do that to Ron, but-“ Angelina was cut off by Harry.

“Don’t worry. You’re right about lack of effort. He wasn’t paying attention to anything on Friday, even when you yelled for everyone to come down. I really am sorry about getting woken up,” Harry again found himself interrupted.

“Harry, may I speak with you?” Luna inquired, in a tone of voice that she rarely used, indicating that she wasn’t actually asking a question.

“Short version: it’s all Ron’s fault for waking Harry up,” Hermione declared, with nods from Angelina and Harry.

“I cannot say that I’m surprised,” Luna said, her usual mistiness returning. “Ronald seems to have trouble dealing with the peace and tranquility of others.”

“Actually, I’m glad to see all of you,” Harry stated, causing the three girls to lean in closer. “Tonks will be calling me at eleven this morning to go over a new spell for the DA, and I’d like you all to join me in practicing it. I’ll be presenting it to the DA when we have our next practice, if we can get the basics down today.”

“How did you plan to have her teach the spell?” Hermione asked.

“Sirius gave me a mirror that’s one of a pair that can send pictures and sounds to each other, for Christmas. I haven’t used them until now because I thought they’d put him in danger, but they’ve been really useful. Tonks is borrowing one of them this weekend.” Harry thought he saw Hermione blush slightly, but couldn’t quite be sure. He continued, “I was thinking we might head up to the Room of Requirement a little before then. Also, I’m very sorry about this morning. I didn’t mean to ruin all your dreams like that.”

“Not a problem, Harry, as long as you remember to keep from getting woken up- or you learn to connect our thoughts when we’re awake, although that would have its own set of problems,” Angelina noted.

An hour later, the four of them went upstairs to the seventh floor. They had to wait for Harry to retrieve his mirror before entering the Room, but when he was about to cross the doorway, Hermione stopped him.

“Harry, could you let me handle this?” Hermione asked. “I think I know exactly what we need in the Room.” Harry nodded his assent, and after a minute’s thought, Hermione led them past the doorway thrice and then in.

Inside the Room of Requirement, a huge screen filled most of the far wall. Before the screen was an empty area about ten feet square, plenty of room for the four of them to practice. Behind that were four padded seats.

“I figured I’d make-“ Hermione started, only to be interrupted by Angelina.

“You made a theater for four! That is so amazing!” Angelina enthused. She hugged Hermione without thinking and kissed her on the lips. Hermione stiffened for just a second, then relaxed into the embrace.

While Angelina congratulated Hermione, Harry and Luna went up to the screen. A small indentation was in the wall next to the screen, exactly the size and shape of the mirror. Harry placed the mirror inside the space just in time. As soon as Harry and Luna rejoined the other two and sat down, the screen began to light up.

The screen showed a modest apartment, which showed the signs of a hurried cleaning. A crash offscreen announced the imminent arrival of their tutor for the day.

“I hope she’s alright,” Luna said.

“She’s like that all the time,” Hermione confided. “I’m sure that she’ll be ready to teach us.”

Sure enough, just a minute later, Tonks appeared on the screen. She was dressed simply, in a cutoff T-shirt advertising some band Harry had never heard of and a skirt stopping halfway up her thighs.

“Wotcher, everybody! Hope you don’t mind the outfit- it’s kind of warm in here, and I haven’t been able to get anyone to adjust the temperature spells on the building. Anyway, my name is… well, just call me Tonks. Today, at Harry’s request, I’m going to teach you one of the most useful spells in an Auror’s arsenal- Disillusionment. Basically, you’re going to learn how to make yourselves invisible.”

The girls and Harry listened respectfully.

“Before I go any further, you need to know that the Auror Corps doesn’t like for non-Aurors to learn too many of their secrets. You must all promise me that you will not tell anyone where you learned this spell. Otherwise, I may face an inquiry, or worse.”

Harry’s heart sank. He had thought that he was being clever by asking about this spell, and hadn’t thought that there would be consequences to Tonks’ teaching it.

Apparently, Tonks saw his expression. “Harry, don’t be worried. I know that you’re doing the right thing. The Ministry and the Auror Corps don’t believe that Voldemort is back, but I do. I absolutely support you and what you’re trying to do. I really admire what you’re doing, and I wish someone had been there to teach Dark Arts Defense properly in my day- I got seven utterly useless instructors before joining the Corps. I just don’t want to be in any more trouble than necessary, alright?”

With the uneasy feeling he always had when he got too much praise, Harry said, “I understand. Thank you so much for doing this, and I won’t tell anyone you taught us.” His friends quickly echoed agreement.

“Excellent! Now first, a little history about the spell…”

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On her side of the mirror, Tonks was thoroughly enjoying herself, telling her audience about the way that Nimrod the Nasty had refined the spell to eavesdrop on his quarreling apprentices. She really hadn’t enjoyed any of her DADA teachers, and vowed to emulate those in the Auror Corps instead, whom she had enjoyed greatly even given the increased level of discipline they required.

She was also hoping that the lesson wouldn’t take too long. Contrary to what she had said to Harry, it was actually quite nippy in her apartment, as it was really the heating spells that were on the fritz. But the chill on her bare legs was worth it to see the reaction she was getting from Harry. His eyes were on her every move, and she was sure she heard him gasp when she “accidentally” dropped her wand once while gesturing to suggest the sweeping motions used by Marvin the Magnificent (a mountebank who used the similarity between his name and Merlin’s to suggest that he had power he didn’t possess, until he ran across an unconvinced giant clan).

It would be tricky to make a play for Harry with three other ladies watching, but she thought she could pull it off…

Luna wondered why this Tonks woman wouldn’t come out and say she was interested in Harry. Luna certainly would have understood. She also wouldn’t have minded a little time alone with Tonks, since she filled out that T-shirt so well.

Angelina had bitten her lip a couple of times to keep from laughing at Tonks’ gestures. If this woman wanted to be Harry’s girlfriend as well, then she wasn’t going about it the right way, even if she did have a nice body. And she was pretty sure, judging by the bumps under her T-shirt, that Tonks hadn’t told the entire truth about her apartment.

Hermione had gotten to know Tonks a little better than the other girls, but still wondered what kind of demonstration Harry would be receiving if he were alone and what kind of wardrobe choices she would have made. Not that Hermione blamed her, of course. There was a reason Tonks was a General, and her explanation was interesting in its own right.

Harry was trying to determine which pieces of history needed to be kept and which ones could be discarded, since he’d have to deliver a talk much like this one in a few days. If he noticed anything unusual about Tonks’ gyrations, he gave no sign.

After the historical outline was finished, Tonks had the four DA members get up and start practicing the spell on each other. Harry paired off with Angelina, who had been sitting next to him, while Luna and Hermione practiced together.

Hitting just the right spot on someone else’s head to produce the proper effect takes a little bit of practice. A slightly inaccurate casting by Luna left Hermione translucent for the next twenty minutes until they could tap the correct location to make her fully visible again. By the time they were done, Hermione was ready to beg off because of a growing headache and lump.

After that, Tonks had them try to practice on themselves. Surprisingly, only Luna didn’t manage it on the first try- Harry and Angelina both had good coordination from Quidditch while Hermione homed in on her sore spot. Luna did it on her third attempt.

“How long will Disillusionment last if we don’t make ourselves visible again?” Hermione asked.

“About ninety minutes, more or less. Your outline starts to become visible again after a little over an hour, after which the spell isn’t very useful,” Tonks responded. “You should probably try the spell by yourselves one more time and wait until it wears off naturally, so that you can see how the process works.” Tonks chuckled as the students took her advice and disappeared once more.

“Thanks for everything, Tonks. I’ll definitely let you know,” Harry agreed as he invisibly walked toward the screen to retrieve his mirror. Behind him, the door opened, seemingly to let the girls out.

“You’re welcome, Harry,” Tonks said softly as he approached the screen. “Harry?” she asked in a near-whisper.

“What is it, Tonks?” Harry replied, sensing that whatever she would say was meant for only his ears.

Tonks looked as if she was trying to think of something for a few seconds, then shook her head. “Never mind, it’s nothing. Good luck with the DA.” With that, Harry grabbed the mirror, which went dark.

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That afternoon, Tonks made another trip to 12 Grimmauld Place to talk to Sirius.

"Well, how’d it go?” inquired Sirius.

“I couldn’t do it, Sirius. I dressed as I told you that I would and made sure to bend around so that he got a good look at me. I know his eyes were following me, but… I just couldn’t ask him,” Tonks said sadly as her hair dimmed to brown.

“Why not? Every time you visit, you tell me how much you admire him,” Sirius inquired softly.

“Well, he had three other girls with him to learn the spell. They were all good-looking, but that wouldn’t have stopped me,” Tonks continued with the ghost of a grin.

“Then what was it?” Sirius prodded.

“It just didn’t feel right. I still wonder if I’d be taking advantage of him. He is just fifteen after all, and yes, I know he’s very mature for his age,” Tonks added to forestall Sirius’ retort, “but I still can’t get over the fact that I’m eight years older than he is.”

Sirius stepped forward to put an arm around Tonks’ shoulders. “Tonks, you know that I care for both of you, right? You and your mother are the only blood relatives that I can stand, and he’s my godson. I want the two of you to be happy, and if you think he can make you happy and vice versa, then I’ll do everything I can to bring you together. Just be warned that my romantic skills aren’t quite what they used to be.”

Tonks chuckled at that, and Sirius continued. “Most of the younger members of the Order have told me that you talk about Harry whenever you give them a chance. No one blames you- he’s a good-looking young man, smart, resourceful, and determined. But keep in mind that he’s still a bit shaky on how to respond to people offering him friendship or love, since he’s seen so little. It sounds like he’s interested in you now, but you may need to be more subtle in the future, or to let him make the next move.”

“I worry about him, Sirius,” she said softly. “I’ve heard a lot about this Umbridge woman who’s taking over there, and none of it’s good. She’s obviously got a lot of friends high up in the Ministry, and seems to be taking over Hogwarts from under Dumbledore’s nose.”

“Well, look at the DA that he’s started. He’s gathered together a bunch of students and trained them over the last five months without any outside help that I know of. That’s very impressive, isn’t it?” When Tonks nodded assent, Sirius continued, “Now tell me about these girls he’s with,” he said with a grin.

“Well, he was sitting with three girls. One tall black girl, one shorter blonde girl, and Hermione. I think they were looking at me, too,” Tonks mused.

Sirius responded by stepping back and putting his hands up to his face, to simulate a camera. “Well, you are definitely worth looking at, especially dressed the way you are,” he smiled. “I’m pretty sure the black girl is Angelina Johnson, his Quidditch teammate, if that helps.”

“I wonder if I can really compete with them, or if I should,” Tonks grumped.

“Harry deserves to know that he’s got people who care about him. Even if he doesn’t want you as a girlfriend, I’m sure he’ll be glad to have you as a friend,” Sirius stated. “I think you’ve got nothing to lose by just letting him know that. If he decides he wants you as a girlfriend, that will come on its own.”

The three girls were also pondering what they had seen, and not just with regard to the Disillusionment spell.

“What do you know about this Tonks woman, Hermione?” asked Angelina once they’d returned to the Gryffindor common room, where they found a quiet corner to talk.

“She’s been an Auror for three or four years, and she’s usually a fun woman to be around; she’s a member of the Order of the Phoenix that’s working against Voldemort, and she’s a cousin of Sirius Black,” Hermione said.

“You mean she’s related to the murderer?” Angelina replied, but before she got any further Hermione cut her off.

“I know for certain that he didn’t kill anyone, Angelina! I was with Harry when he found we found the wizard he was supposed to have killed, alive, well, and running off to Voldy,” Hermione argued, vehemently but quietly.

“Stubby could never have done such a thing,” Luna added airily.

“Who’s Stubby? Never mind. Hermione, I believe you. It just takes a bit of getting used to,” Angelina conceded.

“She’s a very good-looking woman, though, and she seems to know it,” Luna said after a few moments to change the subject.

“Yes, she is. She’s a metamorphmagus, which means she can change her appearance. But that seems to be her usual appearance, judging from the times that I’ve seen her,” remarked Hermione.

“She wants Harry. Didn’t you see the way she kept bending over after dropping her wand?” Luna inquired with disconcerting bluntness.

“Oh, yeah,” Angelina confirmed. “It was so obvious that I’m not sure even Harry could miss it. What do you think, Hermione?” she chuckled.

“I think…” Hermione paused. “I think I can see your outline. We’d better either Disillusion each other again or find somewhere else to talk.”

“You’re ducking the question, Hermione,” Angelina chided. “Should we have Harry ask Tonks to be one of… us?” Angelina tried to think of a word to describe their little group, but couldn’t come up with one.

After a few seconds, Hermione nodded. “Yes. I do. I just don’t know how to convince her.”

“I don’t think she’ll need much persuasion, Hermione. The next question is how do we convince Harry? Talk to him later at dinner, or see if we get to talk to him tonight?” Angelina continued.

“I think we should talk to him this evening,” said Luna.

And so they did. Harry didn’t go to dinner until shortly before the Great Hall elves stopped serving it, because he had been practicing Disillusioning himself. The Hall was almost empty at that time of the evening. When he sat down, the girls joined him within seconds.

“I take it you’ve been waiting for me?” Harry asked, somewhat sheepishly. “I hope I didn’t mess up your evening.”

“Oh, no, Harry. We were just wondering what you thought of Tonks,” Luna replied.

“Well, I’m glad to be able to talk to her,” Harry started.

“And?” asked Hermione.

“…She did a good job of teaching us the Disillusionment spell. I think I have it down well enough to teach it,” Harry went on.

“And?” Angelina repeated.

“I also wrote down a couple of her anecdotes to explain the spell,” he continued.

“And?” Luna queried again.

“You’re wanting me to say something else. Dare I ask what it is?” Harry asked, puzzled.

“Well, what did you think of her personally, Harry?” Hermione prodded.

“Well, she’s a good-looking woman, and I liked being around her this summer,” Harry started. The girls said nothing at this point, simply leaning forward. “I certainly wouldn’t mind learning more from her, but I don’t know what to ask her about.”

“Will we see her tonight?” Luna asked, getting to the heart of the matter as she so often did.

“What?” Harry blurted.

“Will we see her tonight?” Luna repeated brightly. “The way we saw Angelina last night.”

Harry blushed. “I… um…” Again, the girls leaned forward. “How am I supposed to answer that question?” he whispered.

“Honestly,” Luna replied composedly.

“I’d like to, I guess, but why would she want to do anything like- that?” Harry sputtered.

“Trust us, Harry, she’ll welcome you with open arms,” Hermione said, smiling. She whispered something else that Harry didn’t quite catch.

“She really does want to know you better, Harry. Just like I did- in every sense,” Angelina confided. “It’s up to you, but we hope we see you tonight.” With that, the girls each kissed Harry on the cheek and left. Not long after, Harry finished his dinner and returned to his room and ultimately to bed.