1986
“Mum?” Harry asked.
“What is it love?”
“Do you think that Carlyle can come to Hogwarts with me to visit Polo and trim his hooves?”
“We can ask McGonagall, I’ll teach you how to use the floo.”
Andromeda grabbed Harry’s hand. “Here’s the powder, we throw it into the floo okay?”
Harry nodded, took some powder and threw it in front of him.
“Now call out Headmistress McGonagall’s office.”
“Headmistress McGonagall’s office.”
“Now bend over.”
“Minerva!” Andromeda called out.
“Oh, hello Andy, Harry. What can I do for you?” Minerva asked.
“Harry was hoping to bring Carlyle to Hogwarts so he could tend to Polo’s hooves, would that be alright?”
“Of course, Kreacher can get him passed the wards.”
“Thank you Minerva”
“Thanks headmistress.”
“Harry.”
“Yes?”
“If you should like, you can call me Maimeó, I knew your biological parents and I believe I may be the closest you’ll get to a grandmother.”
“What do grandmas do?”
“They help their grandchildren get into mischief” Minerva said with a smile.
Harry looked to be thinking it over. “Can I still call you that when I come to Hogwarts?”
“I don’t see why you shouldn’t” Minerva said.
“Okay Maimeó, thank you” Harry said with a large smile.
Minerva let out a sigh of relief. She hadn’t known if Harry would accept, she had asked Andromeda and Ted if it was alright, but to have a grandson was extremely overwhelming, not to mention that basically made Dora her granddaughter.
“Professor Sprout, would you send Tonks to my office please?” She asked through the floo.
“Hello Headmistress.” Tonks said when she got to her office.
“Hi Tonks. I just wanted to let you know that I have asked your brother to call me Maimeó, grandma. You may do the same if you wish.”
“Headmistress, I already have a grandma. She passed last year, but I knew her before that. Is it alright if you’re just Harry’s grandma?” Tonks asked.
“Of course, but the option will always be there, should you want it.”
“Thank you headmistress.”
oOo
Carlyle was accompanying Harry and Kreacher to Hogwarts today. He was excited but also nervous. Squibs generally weren’t well received within the wizarding world. The pull of apparition, at least that’s what Kreacher called it, was rather unnerving.
But when he saw the landscape he couldn’t help but think that the whole ordeal was worth it. He had his wand, he never went anywhere without it, mostly because it was from Harry.
“Harry!” Carlyle could see Dora walking down from the Castle with the woman who’d taken Polo.
“Hi Dora!” Harry called back, one hand in Kreachers and the other in Carlyle’s.
“Hello Harry” McGonagall called out.
“Maimeó! Where are Kettleburn and Hagrid?” Harry asked.
“Kettleburn is in the forest, Hagrid is tending some trees.” McGonagall said.
“Are you coming with us?” Harry asked, it was funny he was looking slightly to the left of the women.
“Yeah little brother” Dora said. “This is Headmistress McGonagall, Carlyle.” Dora motioned to the woman.
“Nice to meet you” He said.
“You as well.”
“How’s it going Dora?” Carlyle asked, he saw the woman with her start at something, but didn’t pay it any mind. The woman began to lead the way into the forest.
“Quite good Carlyle, it’s been a fun year, plus you all are here now. Did you bring your wand?”
“I don’t go anywhere without it” Carlyle said and Harry had a small smile on his face.
“Apologies, I thought you were a squib” McGonagall said.
“I am, but Harry made a wand for me for Christmas.” Carlyle said to the woman.
“Harry I didn’t know you were into wand making.” McGonagall said.
“Yeah. I rode a broom with Bill, but wands are easier to see” Harry said.
McGonagall looked to Dora in question. “He could tell the difference between the brooms, but we didn’t think that they’d want to share the spells they cast on them, so Charlie recommended wands” Dora said with a shrug.
“Could I see it?” McGonagall asked Carlyle hopefully. He reluctantly handed the wand over. “Oh!” she exclaimed looking at the wand in detail. “What’s the core?”
Harry looked down at his feet. “An Abraxan feather.” McGonagall’s mouth dropped open.
“Where did you get an abraxan feather?”
“The Headmistress of Beauxbatons breeds them. I asked Kettleburn about them and he sent her an owl. Kreacher took me there. You have to pick it yourself or it won’t work as well.”
“You are a marvel Harry”
Harry smiled then was distracted by Polo coming up to him. “Polo, look its Carlyle, he’s going to trim your hooves” The horse nuzzled into his riders chest. “Where’s Asher?”
The horse pushed him along to the thestral colt.
“Wow, Harry your drawing was surprisingly accurate” Carlyle said.
“Really? They actually look like that?” Harry asked excitedly.
“Yeah, I mean not the red part, but the rest, yes” Carlyle said. Harry beamed.
“What’s red?” Harry asked.
Carlyle could have cursed himself. He sometimes forgot that the boy was blind, the magic helped him so much. “It’s a color, though I assume you’re not going to be able to learn those.”
“I dunno. We could ask Fred and George” Dora said.
Harry shrugged.
“Harry! There’s my favorite child!” a man came up and touched Harry on the shoulder. “I see the colt likes you.”
“Asher” Harry said.
“Sorry?” the man asked.
“The colts name is Asher.” Harry specified. “And this is Carlyle, he’s here to help with Polo. Carlyle this is Professor Kettleburn.”
“Nice to meet you” Carlyle said.
“Good luck with that horse, he hates everyone.”
Carlyle laughed. “I know, he used to be mine.” Polo chose that moment to walk up to Carlyle and look at him like he needed something. “I know, your hooves are too long princess, I’m getting to it.” He said to the horse.
Kettleburn’s jaw was on the floor. Carlyle got out his trimming kit and started to work on the hooves.
“Why not just use magic?” Kettleburn asked.
“I’m a squib.”
“But you have a wand”
“Harry made it” McGonagall cut it. “I think he’s going to be a force in theory of magic.”
“Thanks Maimeó” Harry said and Kettleburn started.
“I’m so confused.” He said.
“When are you not?” McGonagall asked him.
oOo
Carlyle joined the Tonks that night for dinner.
“How did you like Hogwarts?” Andromeda asked him.
“It’s gorgeous” He said.
Carlyle noted that Harry was busy with Kreacher. “Harry’s special even in the wizarding world isn’t he?”
Ted and Andromeda nodded.
“Why can’t they fix his eyesight?” Carlyle asked the question that had been bugging him forever.
“Eyes are hard in the first place, but Harry’s were messed up with a dark curse, an unforgivable. They can’t be fixed, Gamp’s Law.” Andromeda said.
“He’s going to have a lot to overcome at Hogwarts, which is why we’re allowing him to visit so often, and he’s already working on the first year curriculum. He’s going to have a lot of trouble along the way.” Ted said.
“Well, if you ever need a muggle brain to bounce things off of, I’m here.” Carlyle said.
“Right now we’re having an issue with timing, and flame levels for potions.” Andromeda said.
“Well, I think that there are clocks that speak the time aloud…Muggle ovens have some sort of temperature gauge, could you modify that?”
Ted and Andromeda looked like they had just been gifted the world, and maybe they had. “Thank you Carlyle, we’ll have to look into both of those.”
oOo
Before Dora came home for the summer Harry spent a lot of time with Ron and Ginny. Fred and George were adapting some stuff that Carlyle had talked to them about. Ron loved the Chudley cannons, though they rarely won anything. Ron was good friends with a few people from his primary school, and was hanging out with them one day, so Harry was left with Ginny, not that he minded.
“Harry, how do you draw?” She asked him out of the blue while they were playing with her kneazle.
“Scribblescrabble, Fred and George made it for me”
“Oh, so that’s’ how you draw wands?”
“Yeah.”
“Will you make my wand?”
“I’ll keep an eye out if you’d like.” Harry said.
“I would very much like that.”
oOo
Since Harry had spent so much time at Hogwarts it meant that he had a little work to do over the summer. Mom and Dad said he was pretty quick at things, so in the morning, before Dora got up he’d work on his schoolwork. After that he and Dora would either go to the park, visit the Weasley’s or visit Hogwarts. Dora once again let him use her school books, but he didn’t know how he was going to get over the issue of casting at things when he was at Hogwarts.
oOo
Maimeo asked him to come to Hogwarts to meet a specific portrait before school was back in session. Mum insisted on going with him and so did Dora.
“You ready love?” Mum asked.
“Yes mum”
Kreacher quickly apparated them through the wards.
“Harry!”
“Maimeo!” Harry called out, “Where are you?” A hand was in his. He hugged the legs of the woman, who quickly picked him up.
“I wanted you to meet someone rather special” Maimeo said, Mum scoffed at that. “He’s a little misunderstood, but he wanted to meet you.”
Harry smiled in answer to that.
“This is the portrait of Headmaster Dumbledore.” Maimeo said.
“Hello” Harry greeted.
“Greetings, my boy.” A man’s voice said. “I didn’t expect quite the entourage with you.”
“Yeah they insisted on coming, but they can leave if you’d like” Harry said and mum scoffed again.
“No matter, better to tell you all in one sitting.” Harry assumed that was the portrait again. “Minerva, maybe some tea and chairs?”
Harry was quickly sat on Maimeo’s lap with a crunchy cookie.
“First of all. I would like to apologize for where I placed you, Harry.”
“It’s okay.” Harry said.
“No it’s really not.” Dumbledore said.
“Yes it is. I met Kreacher cause I was at Privet, then he took me to Bogrod, who led me to mum, Dad and Dora. It all turned out okay in the end.” Harry said.
“It’s not even close to the end, dear boy, but I will tell you what you need to hear.” Dumbledore said.
“I grew up in Godric’s hollow, where your parents died. One summer a boy came to stay with his aunt. This boy would later come to be known as one of the darkest wizards in history. However, back then, he was just Gellart.
Gellart and I, we were good friends, and soon he realized my secret. Remember this, for it will be important. We both obsessed over three items, the deathly hallows. We made plans to find them, however my younger brother Aberforth, told us this was impossible. A duel of three ensued, and my sister was killed in the process.
My sister was my closest friend, my confidant. I thought we would grow old, she would marry and I would live next door to my nieces and nephews, but her life was cut short at the age 14. I never forgave Gellart for that, and we lost our friendship.
Over time, Gellart grew in power, becoming darker and darker, everyone believed I would be the only one to be able to stop him, I procrastinated but ultimately did. In the process I gained the possession of the elder wand, one of the deathly hallows.
What many did not realize, was that I loved Gellart, with all my heart and his defeat at my hands nearly killed me. But my agony was not to end then. Another Dark lord rose, and I was made a leader in the fight against him. I should have realized the signs of course, I’d seen them before. But I didn’t.
My inability to see the darkness in one boy led to hundreds of deaths, including that of your parents. It was one thing to lose a crush, but another to lose your pupils. They were the closest thing I would ever have to children, and they were gone before me.
That left you, along with a prophecy and I thought you would be safe in the muggle world. That is until your mum, Andromeda, came to the ministry. You, the boy-who-lived, the child of two of my favorite pupils, two of the people who died because of my inability to open my eyes, were abused for the beginning of your life. You were abused because, once again, I failed to see the evil within someone.
I made so many mistakes in my life. I lived just under a century. That was enough. My choices, my impact, I could no longer stand to make such mistakes. Grave mistakes, mistakes that hurt my very being. “For the Greater Good” I thought. But no longer, I could no longer continue with my life with such choices in front of me. Sacrifices will be made for the next dark wizard for he will come, and I did not want to be a part of it. I could not be a part of it. I could not manipulate you, a boy, a child.
And so I took the only way out that I could. And I’m sorry for leaving you all to deal with this war, but one dark wizard in a lifetime is enough and I saw two.”
“Why are you telling him this? He’s just a boy!” Mum said.
“And therein lays the problem. I could never see Harry as just a boy while I lived. To me, he was a means to an end, a weapon, a powerful wizard, a child of prophecy. Never just a boy, a child, a life. I could not subject him to the life I would have envisioned. I could not continue on the path that I had lay for myself.” Dumbledore said.
There was silence for a moment.
“I think, that more discussion of this topic should wait until they’re older” Maimeo said.
“Thank you Mr. Dumbledore. I appreciate you talking to me.” Harry said.
“No, dear boy. I appreciate you listening.”
Harry didn’t know why, but when they got home mum stormed off and left him with Dora.
“What’s wrong?” He asked her.
“Mum’s upset, not with you, but the situation.” Dora said. “She sees what Dumbledore did as terrible but also realizes if it hadn’t been that way, we wouldn’t have you.”
oOo
Harry was once again aboard the Hogwarts Express with his sister. He stayed for the feast this time and Dora told him that the first years were staring at him with interest. He cheered with the rest of the Hufflepuffs when someone got into their house. Harry thought himself a Hufflepuff in most ways.
“I have a special announcement” McGonagall’s voice sounded from the front. “Professor Kettleburn has decided to take on a young apprentice, who shows great skill with magical creatures. Harry Tonks will be this apprentice, and will likely be found with any of the creatures on the ground.” There was a collective gasp from the older years. “He has access to the entirety of Hogwarts, he will not be sorted until such time that he becomes a student, but he will be taking the tests from Care of Magical Creatures to see if they are accurate.”
There was excited chattering among the hall. “For the first years, and any oblivious student, Harry Tonks is currently seated at the Hufflepuff table with his sister. He’s six.” Clapping broke out and quickly overwhelmed the hall.
He went home after the feast and fell into bed.
oOo
“Kreacher?” Harry asked into the perpetual darkness that was his life.
“Yes, Harry”
“Do you think the older kids will like me?”
“I do young master”
“Do you think I can make it at Hogwarts?”
“Of course, and I will help you.”
“Thank you Kreacher.”
oOo
Harry’s time at Hogwarts was more structured now. He was glad to be working with Kettleburn, outside, away from the moving staircases. It also seemed as though his extra-curricular reading had done some good. His entire family had known of his interest in magical creatures, which led them to buying a ton of books on them. He knew more than even the fifth years, who were taking this class for the third year in a row.
The first couple of tests were awkward, Harry wouldn’t go to class those days, they usually used a classroom that was filled with dust for most of the year. Kettleburn instead stood with Maimeo in her office while Harry took the test orally. Questions about thestrals, Hippogriphs, and Unicorns.
He’d done well, according to Kettleburn at least which led to both his mum and dad being called in over the weekend.
oOo
“Hello Andy, Ted”
“Minerva, how are you?” Ted asked.
“I’m good and you?”
“Fine, fine. Why did you call us in?”
“Well, Kettleburn brought it to my attention that Harry is currently top of the Care of Magical Creatures class, and I was wondering if you would be willing to have him sit for the OWLS and NEWTs, it would likely help us adapt the test for him in the future. And if he passes, it’s one less class he has to take in the school year.”
“Are we sure that’s not too much pressure?” Andy asked.
“I don’t think so, he genuinely enjoys learning” Minerva said.
“It couldn’t hurt, right? He could take them again without penalty in the future?” Ted asked.
“Yes of course.” Minerva said.
“Then let’s do it, we have to work around the tests at some point. Now’s as good a time as any.”
oOo
The other good thing about Hogwarts? He got to see Professor Sprout, and Professor Snape and Kreacher had house elf friends.
Sprout was a very kind lady, she led him around the greenhouses when she wasn’t teaching, and let him feel the plants. Identifying them was getting easier, however he wasn’t sure how he was going to work with the ones that were touchier. If he couldn’t touch them, he couldn’t see them, and that meant he couldn’t do anything with them.
Snape, well he was Snape. There was no way to describe him. He wasn’t very nice, but he wasn’t necessarily mean. He had a way about him, his voice held reprimand, but also tips. He still owed Harry a cauldron, but he was saving that for school.
oOo
Once again Carlyle joined them for Yule. He was basically a part of their family now, Harry’s older brother. He’d yet to use his wand but Harry didn’t mind, he had just wanted him to have it.
Yule wasn’t really about presents for the Tonks family, it was about remembering their year together, and looking ahead. Of course they exchanged small gifts with each other, and the Weasleys. Mrs. Weasley had given them each a Weasley sweater, Harry’s was so soft.
Harry was looking forward to the spring, he loved Hogwarts and the Professors. Dora was there and so was Polo.