An Eclectic Catalogue of Ideas

The discussion was not going well.

"Sir, something needs to be done."

...

"We can't ignore what's going on."

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"Why won't you listen?"

...

"I've told you multiple times how they act," Tonks continued to argue with Dumbledore as they stood in the sitting room. The metamorphmagus was trying once more to plead her case; unfortunately, like the other times in the past, it didn't seem to be working. "They treat Harry abominably. Sure, they left him alone at first but only because he was stuck in his room. Today, I saw his uncle grab him and throw him into a wall while yelling at him. I'm surprised Harry didn't break something."

"Nymphadora, surely you're exaggerating," Dumbledore said with a sigh, "They're his family; they may use somewhat harsh discipline, but I'm sure it looked worse than it was." He sighed and rubbed his brow, "I'm sure Harry is fine."

"Do not call me Nymphadora, you wanker. No, it did not look worse than it was. He threw him into a bloody wall. Somewhat harsh discipline my arse." The woman's hair was full-on, fiery red as she looked at Dumbledore. "I can't believe you, sir. I looked up to you." She took a deep breath. "I need to go before I say something that I'll regret."

With that, she turned and walked out of the room.

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"He just won't listen, Remus. I know you've seen it too. They yell at him and that fat whale of an uncle throws him around and hits him. Merlin, some of the things they say to him about his mother and father!" Tonks rubbed her brow, sighing. "We have to convince Dumbledore. It's not good for Harry; he's a good kid. He's already not coping well after seeing poor Cedric die." She had been a Hufflepuff after all; she knew Cedric. "All he says is I'm exaggerating things, or that they are harsh disciplinarians and that's it."

"Well, perhaps he's right? We don't see everything, after all," Remus said. "We should listen to Dumbledore. He says it's the safest place for him, so it probably is. If there were something truly wrong, he'd take care of it."

"Listen to yourself," Tonks spat. "I told you that his uncle abuses and hits him and your response is 'We should listen to Dumbledore?'" She shook her head, "Why is it that I, who only met the kid a month ago, worry about him more than you who was a brother to his father in all ways that mattered? You better hope you live a long life. Harry's parents are going to tear you a new one when they get their hands on you. And I thought you were loyal. No, I guess you are. Just not to Harry." With this, she turned and again, walked away.

As she did, she thought to herself, I have to speak to Sirius.

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Harry lay curled up upon his bed. His body hurt from when his Uncle had thrown him into the wall. He'd been having problems sleeping due to nightmares and his Uncle did not like getting woken up in the middle of the night. Sighing, he rubbed his eyes. Hopefully, if he got tired enough, the nightmares wouldn't come and he wouldn't wake up Uncle Vernon. Then again, it'd suck if he didn't get any sleep.

Harry blinked, looking up as his door opened. He relaxed as he saw the pink-haired girl who entered his room, "What are you doing in here, Tonks?" he whispered. "If Vernon sees you..."

"That's why I'm here," Tonks said with a sigh. "Look, Harry. I talked to Dumbledore about your Uncle and Aunt and how they treat you. What I've seen. I know you probably didn't want me to, but I had to!"

Harry sighed, "Let me guess. It's not that bad, they're my family, and all that?"

"...yes." Tonks looked at him, "you've heard it before?"

"More or less. I asked him at the end of my first year to stay at Hogwarts during the summer. He said that I needed to return to my family." He said the word with disgust. "I tried a few more times, but he always dismissed everything I said. Eventually, I gave up." Harry shrugged. "I'm used to it, really."

Tonks huffed, "You shouldn't have to be, Harry." She ran her fingers through her hair, "Listen. If you stay here, something's going to give eventually. Either they go too far or you snap. Honestly, I'd probably have snapped by now. You've gotta be a bloody saint."

Harry snorted, "I'm not a saint, Tonks. And I did snap once. Blew up my Aunt. Literally, she floated up to the ceiling. I kind of wish she'd blown out a window and floated away."

"I meant a little more violent than that, Harry. I'm surprised you didn't become an obscurial when you were a kid. I read about those once. Scary shit." Tonks shook her head, "Anyway. I have an idea. I think you should leave here."

"I don't want to know what an obscurial is, do I?" Shaking his head, Harry added, "You make it sound easy." He suddenly sounded tired, "But I don't have any place to go. I'm not an adult so can't rent an apartment or anything. I thought about getting one of those nifty wizard tents and roughing it but either way, I'd have hell to pay when I went back to school again, anyway."

"That's easy," Tonks said with a shrug, "You don't go back to school. You don't have to attend you know. You need an education for a job, yes, but you can be tutored and take your exams at the Ministry or the ICW."

Harry stared at her, "How would I get a tutor when I'm in hiding?" he asked, his voice dry.

"Simple." Tonks added after a moment, "I'd be your tutor."

Harry stared at Tonks. He felt the faintest stirrings of hope. "You would be willing to tutor me? Where would I be hiding? The tent, or...?"

"A tent wouldn't be safe if I were coming around regularly to teach you," Tonks said with a slight shake of her head. "Sure, we could ward it but eventually Dumbledore would find you through me. He's not stupid." She paused, "No, the best option is to disappear, we leave Britain and get away from Dumbledore entirely. Travel the world and learn new things. I teach you as we travel; it's a great solution. You deserve some fun after the shit you've put up with here, anyway. We'd start out muggle so it's harder for the Order to find us. Just take the Chunnel to France, then maybe take a plane."

Harry blinked. Blinked again, "Uh, Tonks? How would we do that? I don't have that much money, I don't think. The last time I looked, I had around a thousand galleons. Sure, that's a lot in pounds, but can fifty thousand pounds or so last us two years of travelling? Don't plane tickets themselves cost a lot if we go muggle?"

Tonks blinked. "That's not all you have. You're actually really wealthy thanks to your family. You just won't have access to any of it until you're an adult." She shrugged, "It doesn't matter though. We won't have to touch your vault. Sirius and I slipped out to Gringotts before I came here. He added both of us to the access list for the Black Family vault. They're even richer than you, richer than the Malfoys even."

Harry frowned, "I don't know if I like taking Sirius' money--"

"Harry!" Tonks gave him a look, "Sirius is your godfather. He jumped at the chance to help you. We don't have to stay in five-star hotels but accept his generosity. It will make him feel better and also makes things so much easier. Dumbledore will probably try to monitor your vaults but not those. Not that he could; Malfoy thinks they'll go to his son and would pitch a fit." She grinned suddenly, "He'll think you ran without any planning for a while, so won't be too worried. By the time he realizes otherwise, we'll be far away."

"What about how I look?" Harry said after a moment, "And can I cast magic without being discovered?" He wanted to jump right in and say yes but had learned to be cautious when good things seemed to be happening. Plus, after last year he wasn't going to act impulsively.

Well. Not as much, anyway.

"Oh, your appearance is easy. Human transfiguration is quite difficult to learn but I'm really good at transfiguration, probably because I'm a metamorphmagus," Tonks said brightly. "I can easily change your hair colour and change your face, maybe give you higher cheekbones. We'll have to use makeup on that scar of yours though. Magic has a hard time affecting curse scars."

"And magic?" Harry asked.

"Each country has its own method for detecting underage magic and the Ministry can only detect magic within the borders of Britain," Tonks explained. "There isn't a Trace in France, for instance; they just come down on you hard if you break the Statute. We'll leave your wand in your Vault and get you another one while we travel though, just in case," Tonks said enthusiastically. She was starting to become excited.

Harry blinked, "Are you allowed to have more than one wand?" He asked curiously.

"You are. The Ministry frowns on it so there's a pretty hefty tax if purchased in Britain, but they can hardly prevent it. So many families have multiple ancestral wands, after all," Tonks said with a shrug.

"Oh, If we're travelling a lot, what about languages? It'd suck if we were in say India and couldn't speak the language," Harry pointed out.

Tonks snorted, "Magic, Harry. There are potions that teach languages. It's temporary, though. Well, unless you immerse yourself in the language. Then you learn the language permanently."

"That's so cool." Harry mulled things over. He really didn't want to stay at the Dursleys. They'd never hurt him severely before, but Vernon had been getting worse and worse ever since he started attending Hogwarts. And he was so tired of nearly dying every year. "All right," he decided. "Let's do it."

"Good." Tonks considered, "I'm technically not supposed to be here. Dung is guarding the place." She snorted, "Or rather, 'guarding' it. He often falls asleep; I cast a sleeping spell on him to make sure. We can slip out with none the wiser. The first thing we'll do is head to the bank. We can put your wand in your trust vault and visit the Black vault for money." She paused, "After that, we'll get to France. Once there, we'll pick up a new pair of trunks for us both and go shopping. Also a new wand. We can decide where to go from there."

Harry wanted to argue; he hated the idea of wasting Sirius' money. But after a moment, he nodded and started to dig through his trunk, pulling out a few things. "That makes sense. Shall we?"

"Come on." She grabbed his hand and tugged him to the stairs. Once they were outside, she headed down the street. When they came to the small park at the corner, she murmured, "Here we are. Now that we're out of sight, we can apparate."

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Harry was exhausted; he'd been up almost twenty-four hours.

Bank trip? Check.

Transfiguration? Check. He wasn't sure he liked his new look due to the honey-blond hair Tonks had provided him. At least it wasn't the pale blond that Malfoy sported. But light hair would make him less likely to be recognized. He was glad she let him keep his eye colour. It was a link to his mum.

Makeup? Check. It took Tonks some time to find the right shade, but his scar was now hidden.

They'd taken the Chunnel train to France, and were now in a hotel room in Calais. Leaning back on his bed, Harry tried to sleep but failed. I can't believe that I can't sleep, he thought. He'd turn the television on, but he could hear Tonks' steady breathing and didn't want to wake her up.

Turning onto his side, he shifted, trying to get comfortable. Eventually, Harry fell asleep even as the sun started to rise.

Unfortunately, he woke up screaming.

"Harry! Harry!" He felt someone touch his arm and he woke up in a panic, lashing out with a hand only to have it caught firmly. "Calm down." His sleep-addled mind realized it was Tonks.

"Tonks." He shook his head to clear it, "Sorry I woke you up. Just had a nightmare," he admitted.

"I figured that," Tonks said dryly. "Want to talk about it? You don't have to tell me," she added, "But sometimes it helps."

Harry took a deep breath. Part of him wanted to say he was fine. That she didn't have to worry. But Tonks had helped him, helped when no one else had. "I dream about what happened to Cedric. And he tells me that it's my fault that he's dead." Another shuddering breath and Harry looked up at the metamorphmagus, "I know he wouldn't actually think that way, but I can't help wondering. If I hadn't suggested we take the cup together, he'd have lived."

"What happened exactly?" Tonks' gaze was serious and she quietly sat beside him, placing her hand on his shoulder

"We had gotten to the cup, and we spent a bit of time telling the other to take it. Eventually, I suggested we both take it for a dual Hogwarts win." Harry closed his eyes, beginning to breathe quickly, "It was a portkey, and we ended up in a graveyard. Voldemort told Wormtail to 'kill the spare' and the bastard hit Cedric with a Killing Curse."

Tonks reached out and took Harry's hand, clasping it gently. "And you blame yourself for that?"

"Every night, I have that dream. Sometimes it's just Cedric. Sometimes my parents too," Harry said with a sigh, "I know I have to get over it, but it's hard. It didn't help that I was stuck at the Dursleys. They hate me."

"I know, Harry. I saw." Tonks squeezed his hand, "You're away from them now, and if I have anything to say about it, you won't be going back."

Harry offered a smile, "Yeah," he admitted. "Which reminds me. Where do you think we should travel next?" He was quite obviously trying to redirect the conversation.

Tonks let him, saying as she considered, "I'd like to stay in Paris a few weeks, before moving on. We can pick up trunks for travelling clothes and so forth, plus your new wand and get ready. After that, is there any particular place that you would like to go to?"

For a brief moment, Harry was shocked at the question. He flashed a smile at Tonks, "You know, I think that's the first time anyone's ever really asked me what I wanted to do? People just tell me what is expected of me." He bit his lip as he thought her question over before deciding, "I heard Hermione tell me once that Italy was said to have some unique variants of magic. Like some of them use swords and daggers in addition to wands for combat. Learning that would be fun."

Tonks perked up, "Oh, I heard about that from my mum. The Blacks used to give each of their daughters a dagger that also served as a magical focus. It doesn't work for intricate magic, but if you need a good Severing Curse or Bone-Shattering Curse, it's great. Mum has one. I always wanted one, myself."

"Well, maybe we can pick one up for you in Italy then," Harry said with a smile. He was feeling a little better, talking about something fun and interesting. "What else did you want to do in Paris?"

"For one thing, I wanted to stay long enough to permanently learn French," Tonks said with a shrug, "Take the opportunity, you know? Also pick up a few books for you, that sort of thing. Also, give you some potions as you're too thin. Just spend time for you to relax and recover before we really start travelling." She grinned, "Plus, I've always wanted to explore the Rue Magique."

"Rue Magique?"

"Magic Street. It's what the French call their version of Diagon Alley in Paris," Tonks explained with a shrug. "I visited there once when I was a kid, but couldn't really explore much. I was only twelve after all."

"That sounds fun," Harry admitted. "I'd like to eat out a lot if you're okay with it. I never really got to eat much French food before, and I really liked the bouillabaisse when we had it last year during the Tournament."

"You probably never got much of a chance to eat out anyway," muttered Tonks before nodding, "Works." She squeezed his hand again before letting it go, rising to her feet. "Why don't we both get changed and we can visit some shops?" She grinned at him, "If you're a good boy, I'll even model a few things for you." She smirked as she saw Harry blush, adding, "You're so easy, Harry. Now I'm curious what you were imagining me modelling."

"You're mean," Harry told Tonks with a sigh, as he slowly rolled off the bed. "I'm going to go shower," He said, digging through his trunk and after a moment selecting a pair of slacks and shirt from his Hogwarts uniform. It'd do until he got something better.

"You like me this way," Tonks said lightly, "After all, you're smiling." She moved towards her bed, kneeling to dig through her bag. "Don't forget your trunk. We'll be taking the train to Paris after we're finished shopping; we're not coming back to the hotel. And remember to touch up your makeup before we go. We don't want someone recognizing you."

"Isn't that the truth," Harry muttered as he went into the bathroom. He really didn't want to get dragged back to the Dursleys.