As they walked up the stairs, Tonks looked around with a lot of interest, curiously checking every single thing out.

"Funny place", she said, "A bit too clean, I reckon. Seems a bit unnatural"

Following Harry into his room, she looked around and then sighed in relief, "Much better", she said, "Looks more like a room I'd want to be in"

Harry looked around and noticed wizarding robes and muggle clothes strewn about. His trunk ajar, with various wizarding goods peaking out. Books strewn on the floor, though Harry isn't sure when he took them out.

Hedwig's cage was in an even worse state, droppings lying about in it and smelling rather nasty. So nasty, in fact, that Harry was surprised he hadn't noticed it till now.

Harry started picking up things and throwing them into the trunk, not particularly paying attention to what he was throwing in.

Tonks looked around for a few more moments before stopping in front of his open wardrobe, staring critically at her reflection in the mirror on the inside of the door.

"You know, I think violet's not really my color. What do you reckon I should change it to?" she asked, continuing almost immediately, "It really isn't my color"

She screwed up her eyes in a strained expression and a moment later, her originally violet hair turned a bright bubble-gum pink.

"I liked the violet. Though, the pink does make you look brighter and more cheerful" said Harry, after looking at her for several moments.

Tonks spun around, looking at Harry with a surprised expression. "Not even going to wonder what I did right now?" she asked.

Harry fought back a laugh at her expression and acted as if he were trying to recall something, "I remember reading about this in some book. Metamorphmagus or something wasn't it?"

"Well yeah, surprised you knew that. I managed to get top marks in Concealment and Disguise in Auror training thanks to this. I was born one though." she said.

"Auror would be my top job choice" said Harry.

"You'd be good at it too. I'm dead clumsy" she said, "I only qualified an year or so ago, I almost failed Stealth and Tracking"

Harry stared wistfully at her hair, "Wish I could learn how to be a metamorphmagus"

Tonks' expression turned gentle as she looked at his face, her eyes sweeping for a moment across his scar. "I bet you'd want to hide that scar, huh?"

"Yeah, among other things" mumbled Harry.

Lost in thought, Harry almost walked into his trunk, however, in the last moment he realised and backed off.

'Oh thank god' thought Harry, 'If my trunk exploded right now, It'd make the situation so awkward!'

Wanting to change the topic, Harry asked something that was on his mind since a little while ago.

"So, what's going on between you and Professor Lupin anyway?" asked Harry, rather nonchalantly.

Tonks, who was just about to turn around and look at her reflection in the mirror again, froze.

Several moments later, she jerkily asked, "wh-what do you mean, what's going on? Nothing's going on"

Harry felt rather confused, 'Was this a sensitive topic?' he wondered.

"Well, it just seemed like you were more than friends, is all. I'm sorry if I was wrong though" said Harry.

Tonks slumped her shoulders, giving up trying to defend herself.

"Was it really that obvious?" she asked, depressed.

Harry considered the matter for a moment before he replied, "well, not really obvious. It just felt like, maybe there's something there, maybe there isn't. It's a little hard to explain"

"Well, there really isn't anything between us" said Tonks, even more depressed. "I'll be honest with you here Harry, I want there to be something between us. I really do like him and I'm very sure that he has some feelings for me as well"

Harry stopped packing and straightened himself before looking at her. He could almost see a fog of depression around her.

"If that's how you feel, then just tell him. Why not just go for it? Or are you just afraid he might turn you down?" asked Harry.

"You think I haven't done that already?" she asked, her voice growing fainter. Then a moment later, her agitation seemed to be coming out as she raised her voice a little. "Every time I bring it up, he says that he isn't the kind of guy I should waste myself on. He says he's not worthy of being with someone else! The idiot keeps saying that he would never want to do something that would ever end up hurting me" she said, getting more and more agitated.

"I wish I could just hit him over the head every time he says something like that! Argh!" she growled.

Harry watched her take her irritation out and sighed. "I do understand where he's coming from" he said to Tonks, who's irritation seemed to increase from Harry's unsympathetic reply.

"Even though I understand where he's coming from, I don't particularly agree with him" he said, causing her irritation to dissipate a bit.

Harry paused for a moment after he said that, seemingly getting his thoughts into order. "Maybe, I could talk to him about it" he offered.

Tonks looked up at Harry, rather surprised at his offer.

"Why?" she asked.

Harry paused for a moment as he put his thoughts into order. "He once gave me some advice that really struck home with me. I want to return the favour"

Tonks sighed at his reply. "You're a good boy Harry, thanks for listening to me. If you do end up talking to Remus about this, do tell him I said he's a blockhead" she said, with a slight smile.

Harry grinned, "Will do. Now help out here so we can get this packing done quickly" he said, reaching out to another book and throwing it into his trunk.

"Don't be crazy!" she exclaimed. "It'll be much faster if I do it"

She took her wand out and gave it a flick. All of Harry's possessions flew up into the air and crumpled into the trunk in a large heap.

Tonks walked up to the trunk and looked at her own handiwork.

"Well, it's not very neat" she said, "My mum has this way of just flicking her wand and having all the stuff just fit itself perfectly. She can even get the socks to fold themselves"

Tonks gave her wand another flick and a pair of socks floated up, gave a wiggle and flopped back down onto the pile. "Oh well" she said, looking around.

"That cage can do with a cleaning as well, I think" she said, pointing her wand at it. "Scourgify"

A few feathers and droppings vanished. "Well, it's a bit better. I've never gotten the hang of these householdy spells" she said.

Harry just smiled at her proving just how clumsy she was.

She looked around one last time, checking if she missed anything. "Got everything? Your broom?"

"Wait, is that a Firebolt!?" she eyed Harry's broomstick enviously, "and here I'm still riding a Comet Two Sixty"

"Anyway, everything ready? Still got both your buttocks?" she asked with a smirk.

Harry turned around, with his back facing her, craned his neck to look at his backside and said, as seriously as he could, "I'm not sure, could you check?"

Tonks laughed at that, pointed her wand at the trunk, "Locomotor trunk"

The trunk floated up and followed her out the room. They made their way back into the kitchen with all his stuff.

Kingsley and Sturgis were busy examining the microwave while Hestia Jones

Seeing them arriving, Lupin walked up to them holding an envelope in his hands. "We have around a minute, I think we should go outside and wait for the signal"

He went back to the kitchen and placed the envelope on the table before making his way out of the house with the rest of the members of the advance guard and Harry in tow.

"The signal should be any minute now" said Lupin, "I've left a letter for your aunt and uncle not to worry-"

"They won't" replied Harry

" - that you're safe - "

"That would just depress them"

" - And that you'll see them next summer"

"I'd rather stay with a rabid wolverine" replied Harry, in a deadpan tone.

Lupin smiled at that and Tonks and Hestia giggled.

"Come here boy, I need to disillusion you" said Moody.

"Well, as long as you keep my clothes on" replied Harry, eliciting an irritated grunt from Moody.

He tapped his wand at the top of Harry's head and Harry felt like an egg had been broken on his head and he could feel something dripping down his face.

"Oh nice one Moody" said Tonks appreciatively.

"Okay boy, keep in mind that we're here to protect you" growled Moody. "We'll go with a close formation. We don't break ranks no matter what. Tonks will fly right in front of you, Lupin will cover below you and I'll be right behind you. Everyone else will circle us" he said. "If any one of us is killed, we don't break ranks. We keep flying. If all of us are killed and you survive, then keep flying east, the rear guard are standing by and they will join you"

Tonks released an exasperated sigh at that speech. "Calm down Moody, you're scaring the poor boy!" she said "look! He's so scared his hair is standing on end…on his head"

"Um Tonks, I think his hair has always been like this" said Lupin, "Kinda like his rounded glasses-" Lupin started to say but trailed off.

"You know Harry, I only just noticed but, why aren't you wearing glasses?" he asked.

Harry instinctively put his hands to his face and then spoke up. "A few days back, when I woke up, I suddenly noticed that my eyesight was fine. I'm not sure how it got fixed but I haven't bothered wearing glasses since then"

"Suddenly? That's bloody weird" said Lupin in wonder.

"Maybe you're awakening strange powers as the boy who lived!" said Dedalus Diggle in his usual high-pitched tone, eliciting laughs from the rest of the group.

Harry alone stood there with a cold sweat running down his back. 'If only you knew how close to the money you really are' he thought.

Just as they were having this conversation, red sparks burst out in the distance. Sparks that Harry could clearly identify as wand sparks.

"That's the first signal" said Lupin. Tonks in the meantime had strapped Harry's trunk and Hedwig's cage to her broomstick on a harness.

A few moments later, more sparks burst out, this time green in color.

"Alright, it's time to go!" said Lupin and kicked off. Followed closely by all the other members and Harry.