Tonks grinned at Harry's question, stepping forward to ruffle his hair—her fingers lingering just long enough for her to sneak a closer look at the lightning-bolt scar on his forehead.
"Let me introduce myself," she said cheerfully. "Nymphadora Tonks—brilliant Auror, proud Hufflepuff, and Doug's junior back at Hogwarts."
Harry wriggled out of her grasp, gave the two of them a long, dramatic "Ooooooh" in front of everyone.
Immediately, the group exchanged looks of mock admiration. Sirius eyed Harry with a conflicted expression, as if deciding whether to shield his godson from the scolding he was about to earn. Lupin's mouth twitched; for a moment, Harry looked so much like James it hurt.
Tonks clicked her tongue in amusement. Having once been Douglas's tagalong junior, she knew exactly how he'd react.
She remembered the time a Slytherin called her "Doug's lackey." Douglas had lured the boy into a dungeon classroom at midnight, hit him with a Disarming Charm, and let Tonks take her own sweet revenge. After a proper apology, Douglas had the Slytherin conjure a dozen snakes as a peace offering. On their way out, Douglas whistled for Filch and then dashed off to the kitchens with Tonks—lucky for the Slytherin, his common room was nearby, or he'd have been in even deeper trouble.
Thinking of this, Tonks swallowed, then turned to Harry, eyes bright with mischief. "Harry, can you summon snakes?"
Harry blinked, bemused. "Huh?"
Meanwhile, Douglas ignored the chattering and walked over to Kingsley, beckoning Dobby to join them—planning to introduce the house-elf properly.
When Kingsley saw Dobby lift the Disillusionment Charm, his eyes widened. He'd just walked past the iron gate and hadn't sensed a thing. He gave Douglas a long, thoughtful look. Tonks had told him Douglas was a natural—a born Auror. Good thing he'd chosen to become a Hogwarts professor and sided with Dumbledore. Otherwise, he'd be a real headache.
Nearby, Sirius suddenly asked Tonks, "So, what's your connection to Andromeda Tonks?"
Tonks smiled. "She's my mum. I know you're a Black, but Mum never liked me hanging around with the family. She used to mention you when I was little, but after… well, after that, she stopped."
Sirius gave a small, wistful smile. "I hope she's doing well. Tell her I said hello, will you?"
Kingsley decided it was time to leave, taking Tonks with him. With this crowd around, Peter would never dare show his face.
As soon as they left, Harry's curiosity flared up again. "Sirius, you know Tonks's mum?"
Sirius chuckled. "Andromeda's my cousin. Like me, she was blasted off the Black family tree."
Harry nodded—he remembered reading about Sirius's disownment while researching the family. Suddenly, a question popped into his mind. If Sirius wasn't a werewolf, why had he been disowned?
"Hey, Sirius, what did you do to get kicked out of the Black family?"
At that, Sirius recalled his godson's earlier wild guess and grimaced.
Smack!
Douglas, having finished with Kingsley and Tonks, delivered a swift slap to the back of Harry's head.
"Don't you have anything better to do at your age than gossip?"
Harry pouted, rubbing his head. He didn't dare argue—he'd already been assigned enough homework for one day.
Douglas wasn't about to let him off easy. He pointed at the tangled weeds in the yard. "Go clear out all those weeds."
Harry stared, confused. "What? Clear the weeds? Aren't we going back to Hogwarts?"
Douglas glanced at the wooden sign. "I want this place to be the Potter House—not just some abandoned memorial. Don't you want a home of your own? A place where you can invite friends?"
Harry's eyes went wide with delight. "Really? But… I thought I couldn't move out of the Dursleys' until I'm of age?"
Sirius chimed in from the side, "He could always move in with me, if you don't want him under your roof."
Lupin gave Sirius a subtle tug and a slow shake of his head.
Douglas shot Sirius a look, then told Harry, "You're required to return to the Dursleys' during the summer, but no one said you have to spend the whole holiday there. If you're willing to keep calling this place the Potter House…"
Harry nodded so hard his glasses nearly fell off, then dashed forward, eager to start pulling weeds.
Douglas rolled his eyes. "You're a wizard, aren't you? Use magic! Don't tell me you don't know how—I left a bunch of farming spells carved on the fence posts at the Holmes Orchard, including a Weed-Clearing Charm."
Harry spun around, astonished. "So it was you! Ron and I spent ages trying to figure out who'd written those. We thought it was some helpful upperclassman trying to save us from detention. Wait—if I use magic here, the Ministry won't detect it?"
Douglas rubbed his temples and turned to Sirius and Lupin. "You two explain. I'm off to the pub for a drink."
Sirius clapped Harry on the shoulder, grinning. "As long as there are other adult wizards around, the Ministry can't tell who's casting spells. Don't worry about them showing up—those two Aurors will report everything's fine… Moony, fancy a pint?"
He threw an arm around Lupin's shoulders and headed for the gate.
From outside, Douglas's voice called back, "Dobby, keep an eye on Harry. Don't help him."
Dobby nodded eagerly, then pulled a tiny chair and table from his pocket, enlarged them with a flick, and set up beside the wooden sign. He produced a little stove with a kettle on top, poured himself some tea, and settled in with a book.
Watching Dobby sip hot tea and read in perfect comfort, Harry swallowed hard.
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