Bonded chapter 81 -

Chapter 81 -

"Come in," Called Minister Fudge after hearing a knock on his door. The door opened, and Madam Umbridge walked into his office, a smile on her face as usual. She walked over to his desk and stopped in front of him, her hands clasped together in front of her stomach as she stared at him with her undivided attention.

"You had wanted to see me, Cornelius?" She asked dutifully.

"Take a seat, Dolores," Fudge nodded in confirmation as he gestured to the chair opposite his desk.

Umbridge happily sat down, for her, this was how things should be. She was at the top of the Ministry of Magic, only one step away from absolute power. And who knows? If she plays her cards right, one day it could be her sitting in Fudge's chair. Perhaps he could be working for her, the possibilities were endless. She knew that right now, the man was going through a very stressful time, what with Dumbledore and the Potter brat sprouting their lies about the dark lord returning. If she did her job well, then Fudge would remember just who exactly had his back during this time.

"You seem stressed, Minister," She noted. The man had bags under his eyes and looked like he hadn't been sleeping well.

"That is putting it mildly, Dolores," Fudge said with a heavy sigh, rubbing his eyes for a moment before he continued speaking. "The lies that Potter had told the wizarding world are giving me a colossal headache, to say the least. Certainly not helped in the least by that barmy old man Dumbledore agreeing with him. I've got half the ministry believing this rubbish."

"The muggleborn members, most likely," Umbridge said with a sneer.

"Not just them," Fudge said, glossing over his undersecretary's casual racism. It was a bit of a problem for him, but she knew well enough to keep her personal opinions private. "Augusta Longbottom was in my office recently, reading me the riot act. Bones is quiet, but I know it's just because she values her job. Quite a few other noticeably important families have sent me letters, demanding to know what we're doing about the situation."

"Perhaps we should start with discrediting Potter and Dumbledore," Umbridge suggested with a bright smile. "After all, it was their lies that started this mess."

"I'm already working on it." He replied. "I'm doing my best to have Dumbledore removed from his positions as Chief Warlock and Supreme Mugwump."

"Very good," Umbridge said approvingly. "And what of his position as headmaster?"

"That will take far more time, I'm afraid," Sighed Fudge. "But that will be done before the end of the year, hopefully. I shudder to think what nonsense the man is trying to stuff into the minds of those innocent children."

"Indeed," Umbridge hummed thoughtfully. "And what of the Potter boy? What is to be done about him? Perhaps an article or two in the Daily Prophet?"

"That avenue is closed to us now, I'm afraid," Fudge said with a sad shake of his head. "The Daily Prophet is refusing to write anything overly bad or negative about Harry Potter."

"What?" Umbridge frowned. "Since when?" She couldn't help but ask. It had never been an issue before, the newspaper had always been happy to do as they asked. Minister Fudge himself was quite close to Barnabas Cuffe, the editor-in-chief.

"Ever since Sirius Bloody Black brought the damn thing," Fudge said with an unamused snort. "He came in, announced he was the owner and got rid of old Cuffe. Apparently, the new replacement is some mugleborn girl."

"You must be joking?" She blurted out, gaping at him.

"I'm afraid not," Fudge shook his head. "Last I heard, he's dating the girl now. The Daily Prophet is under new management. They were the only relevant newspaper that we had access to, but that's closed now. So we have to look elsewhere, we need to focus on Hogwarts."

"Agreed," Umbridge nodded at once. "That's Dumbledore's power base, his kingdom."

"Exactly," Fudge said. "We need to focus on finding out what he's planning. Not to mention that we have to find out what Harry Potter's up to. I received a notice this morning, letting me know that the boy had become emancipated. He's now a legal adult."

"But he's only a teenager," Umbridge protested. "How did that happen?"

"That mess with the Triwizard Tournament," Scoffed Fudge, shaking his head. "Apparently, since Potter was forced to compete in the tournament, he was considered an adult, and the damnned boy took the opportunity to file for emancipation. A few legal steps later, the boy is now officially an adult with all the legal benefits that come with it. The boy is the key to this whole mess. He's the one who initially claimed that he who must not be named was back, and he's Dumbledore's favourite pawn, the one he's using as proof for his ridiculous claims."

"Minister," Umbridge smiled wickedly. "Might I make a suggestion? I know just what you need."

(.)

"Bollocks," Tonks said loudly from her spot next to Sirius. Sirius was sitting at the head of the table with her sitting in the seat to his right. Today was the first official meeting of the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's little vigilante group that would be secretly battling against Voldemort. Sirius had agreed reluctantly to allow Dumbledore to host his meetings at his house, but already the pair of them were starting to regret the decision.

Before the official meeting started, everyone had arrived, with Dumbledore coming in last, followed by his ever-present and unpleasant shadow, Snape. The headmaster had stared at the spot where Sirius was sitting, and for a moment it looked like the headmaster was going to protest against the seating arrangements, but he thankfully did not and simply sat opposite Sirius. Snape followed and stood beside Dumbledore, sneering at everyone and glaring at Tonks, Sirius and Lupin.

Lupin had been one of the first to arrive and had sat opposite Tonks. The man had tried and failed to start up a conversation with Sirius. Sure, the two were the best of friends at one time, but now the relationship between them was frosty at best. Since spending time with Harry, Sirius had learnt many things about Lupin's behaviour. Learning that one of your best friends, who thought you guilty of killing your brother in all but blood, had actually abandoned your godson and tried to hit on his mother made Sirius angry, to say the least. Lupin had even tried a last-ditch effort to start a conversation with Tonks, but she didn't respond and simply glared at him, not really in the mood to deal with him.

Tonks looked around the room, recognising a few people there. She gave a sad smile to Kingsley and Mad-Eye, two people she had known from her time in the Auror Department. There were a few other aurors here, but not anyone she knew very well. She didn't recognise many people there, though she was surprised that the Weasley parents were here; according to Sirius, they weren't in the order last time.

The meeting had started off relatively well, it began with introductions and then a recap of recent events, like how Harry was entered into the tournament. Tonks frowned when Dumbledore claimed that Harry had barely survived his encounter with the dark lord, knowing full well that Harry had told everyone he had beaten Voldemort. Sirius was less restrained than Tonks, so he happily and loudly corrected Dumbledore, something that nearly started an argument with Snape when the greasy bastard couldn't resist commenting on the unlikelihood of that happening. Once Dumbledore prevented the two from fighting more, he instructed everyone to guard an area in the Department of Mysteries. It didn't take Tonks long to realise that Dumbledore was having them guard the prophecy; she wanted to protest against that idea, but didn't. Because so far it seemed like she was one of the very few people who had figured it out, and she didn't really want to be interrogated on how she knew about things she shouldn't. Despite that, she couldn't help but wonder what Dumbledore was playing at.

One of the things she had learnt over the years from her time in the aurors was that only the one whom the prophecy was about could take the prophecy. Meaning, only Harry and Voldemort, if the interpretation of it was right. Meaning Voldemort would have to go there himself to get it, and frankly, no one here except Dumbledore was in any state to take on a Voldemort that was ready to fight and at full strength, and the man would undoubtedly make sure he was at full strength when he tried to get it. Not to mention they could have just simply had Harry go and get the damn thing and leave a fake.

After that, Dumbledore set up a timetable for people to guard the prophecy, and had declared the meeting over, that was when Tonks decided to cut in.

"That can't be it," She protested with disbelief. "The first official meeting for the group dedicated to stopping the worst dark lord in modern history, the man whose name most people are too scared to even say out loud, and we basically just established who we are and that we have to guard something, something which you haven't even told us by the way. For all we know, we could be guarding a gerbil in a cage." A silence filled the air, the room instantly became divided into two groups: those who agreed with her and those who couldn't believe that she had just questioned Albus Dumbledore like that.

"I'm asking you to guard a prophecy," Dumbledore revealed as if he had already planned to do so from the beginning. "The prophecy, I believe, holds the key to Voldemort's defeat. He will want to go after it. And before any of you think to ask, no, I shall not reveal the contents of the prophecy, it's not that I don't trust you all, but the less people know, the better."

"Let's say that all true, but that still can't be it," Tonks replied. "What else are we doing?"

"Aye," Mad-Eye nodded in agreement. "We can't approach this like the last war. We were reactionary then, and it took a Merlin be dammned miracle shooting out of a baby's diaper to end things. We need to approach things better this time, Albus. Get on the offensive while we have the chance. "

"You saved Snape from Azkaban because he was your spy, correct?" Sirius asked in a cold voice, not appreciating how Dumbledore had been more than willing to jump hoops to free his 'reformed' Death Eater while not even lifting a finger to make sure that Sirius had been tried properly. "If so, then why not have him tell us where the snake-face bastard is hiding?"

"Because, Black, that's a stupid idea!" Snape snarled. "The dark lord isn't so stupid as to not secure his base of operations."

"You could tell us a general location and we could work on finding it, you toss-pot." Sirius glared at him. "At the very least, we would have an area to keep an eye out for."

"And should the dark lord find out?" Snape countered. "He might start wondering why all of a sudden there are people wondering about, and then he would question why."

"So he suspects you and kills you as well, I can live with that," Sirius said uncaringly.

"Sirius," Dumbledore admonished while Snape attempted to destroy Sirius through pure, rageful glares. "Without Severus, we don't have a spy, we'd be completely in the dark."

"I'll ask Harry to let us borrow Hedwig for a bit," Sirius said without missing a beat. "She'd probably do the job ten times better than he could; she's more polite and smells better than he does." Tonks couldn't help but snort. Knowing that Hedwig also had a symbiote, she couldn't help but think that Sirius was actually right.

"Enough, Sirius," Dumbledore said with a sigh.

"We can't just sit around and wait for them to make the first move," Tonks continued before more could be said. "Matter of fact, why not get Harry in here?"

"Harry?" Dumbledore repeated questioningly.

"Yes, Harry," Tonks said slowly, as if speaking to a child. "You know? Harry Potter? The bloke who told us about Voldemort coming back in the first place?"

"The order is for adults only," Dumbledore pointed out.

"Harry is an adult," Tonks replied easily.

"Only legally," Dumbledore countered. "I don't feel he is old enough to join."

"He's the one who fought Voldemort!" Tonks said with disbelief. "He beat him! And not for the first time either! If what I hear is right, then he's faced him at least three times since coming to Hogwarts. The fact that he consistently comes out as the victor means that maybe his input could be useful."

"Please," Scoffed Snape. "The last thing we need is to waste our time pampering him."

"Get a bottle of shampoo, dickwad," Sirius said at once. "Tonks is right, experience is a good teacher, and Harry's fought Voldemort off more times than anyone else here."

"I will consider it," Dumbledore said, rising from his seat. "Meeting adjourned," He said before anybody else could reply. Without another word, he turned and left the room. Snape sneered at those who remained and followed after him. Taking the cue, the other started pouring out.

"I know you don't like it," Lupin said to Sirius, not getting up from his seat just yet. "But perhaps it's best. Harry doesn't need more stress."

"More stress?!" Sirius repeated hotly. "He's got the bleeding dark lord chasing after him! How much more stressed is he going to get?!"

"It's not his job to -"

"Screw this," Tonks said with a huff as she stood up. "Sirius, you deal with your friend here, and I'm going to go talk to a man who can actually get stuff done." She said before turning and walking out of the room.

She quickly went upstairs and knocked on Harry's door. After a verbal invite, she entered Harry's room, where she found him waving his wand (his actual magic wand) around like a conductor's baton; he had his back to her and didn't say a word. She watched as the ceiling of the room started changing until it turned into a night sky.

"Blimey, how did you do that?" Tonks blurted out, walking up next to him.

"It's basically the same enchantment in the hall at Hogwarts," Harry said with a simple shrug. "Just made it so it will always reflect the sky above us. Though thankfully, we made sure that there would be no actual rain or anything pouring in."

"Smart," Tonks said approvingly before sobering up. "Harry, we just had an order meeting downstairs. It didn't really go well." She grimaced. "I-"

"I know," Harry cut her off gently. "I heard everything. Enhanced hearing, perks of a healthy relationship with a symbiote."

"Oh, where can I get one?" She asked with a grin.

"I'll get you one for your birthday," He grinned back. His grin slowly faded, and he looked at her with concern. "Tonks, are you okay? Like, really okay?"

"I'm...no," Tonks let out a deep sigh. "No, I'm not. It's just...how can everyone be so stupid?! Fudge wasn't even willing to investigate your claim!"

"Bitch," Harry said at once.

"More than that, the delusional pitstain was actively preventing anybody else from investigating."

"Super bitch."

"And then there's Dumbledore!"

"Old bitch," Harry said with a tired nod.

"I don't know what he's planning, but it likely won't end well for us!" Tonks continued. "Dumbledore's secrets have got secret most likely. Trying to get answers from the man is like trying to pry a snack away from a nundu."

'We should have a nundu,' Venom told Harry in a thoughtful manner.

'I'll get you one for your birthday,' Harry mentally replied before turning his attention back to Tonks.

"Not to mention that greasy bastard, Snape," Tonks said with audible disgust. "After hearing all of the things he's done, I can barely stand to be in the same room as him. And the fact that he has the gall to parade around like he's better than all of us while calling you arrogant. Merlin, I want to rip his head off and beat him with it."

"That would be nice to see," Harry laughed, wrapping an arm around Tonk's shoulder. She leaned into him with a sigh, it felt like not long ago when she was taller than him. "But I'm afraid you'll have to get in line, Tonks," He continued in a darker tone. "Snape is ours. We're going to kill him. He and Voldemort both."

"I should protest against that, but I really don't want to," Tonks admitted. "This whole situation is fucked up."

"Not for long, Tonks," Harry stepped in front of her, placing his hands on the outsides of her arms as his emerald green orbs gaze into her violet ones. "We're at the tipping point, Tonks. If we play our cards right, then this war, the battles ahead, can be the start of a new era. This world stinks, Tonks, it's lost its magic. It's just a bunch of people trying to screw each other over, not anymore, Tonks. We want to change things, and we want you there with us."

"Changes?" She repeated the word, echoing in her mind. "What kind of changes?"

"We want to fix what's wrong with the magical world," Harry told her, unblinking. "Your mother is one of the best people we've ever met, and she's suffering because she's married to your father, a good and honest man who frankly is only being held back because he was not born in the right family. We'd like a world where guys like Hagrid don't need to be treated like second-hand citizens because they're not normal. A world where we don't kill people just because they're different, or teach our kids to hate those who aren't the same as them. We want a world that doesn't treat Fleur like she's not good for anything besides being in bed, and doesn't act like you are only worth what your powers are. I want people to see you, Tonks, see you as I see you." He finished, staring deep into her eyes. The silence of the room was louder than words, heavier than he could bear. For a moment, he was tempted to use legilimency on her to see what she was thinking, but he stopped himself. He wouldn't do that, not to her.

"Do you mean that, Harry?" She asked, eventually. "Do you mean all of that?"

"I do," Harry nodded at once. Tonks stared at him for a few more seconds before she flicked her wand at he door, it shut close and locked instantly. Harry turned back to Tonks in time to see her throw her wand away before stepping in closer. "Tonks-" He cut off as he felt it, felt her lips press into his own, her hands running up his arms and grabbing him by his neck, his own instinctively gripping at her waist. Their lips separated, and he stared at her with disbelief. "Tonks, I-"

"Shut up and kiss me, Harry." She ordered before pressing her lips to his once more. Harry quickly became lost in the feeling of her, he responded to her movements as she responded to his and soon their tongues were battling for domination over the other as their bodies pressed together. Harry was enjoying himself so much that he almost didn't hear Venom's cheer.

'YYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!'