Sirius led Remus and Harry along the row of tents. Just like last time they were anything but inconspicuous. They passed an auror dealing with the man in charge. The poor muggle running the campground was already looking a bit confused. Harry knew what constant exposure to Obliviate could do to a person.
He stepped up to the auror in charge of the man. "There's a better way to handle that."
The auror, whom Harry didn't recognize, shot him an annoyed look. "Do tell."
"Create a logical fallacy loop." Harry explained.
"What?" The auror scrunched up his face at the words.
"Here." Harry stepped up to the muggle. He waved his wand in front of the man's face, subtly ripping off the Jedi Mind Trick motion. "Fraudulentiae Cogitatio."
The muggle blinked. His eyes scanned the campground around him. He shook his head, then went back to talking to people as they arrived.
"What did you do?" The auror asked.
"Like I said, it's a logical fallacy loop." Harry explained. "When he sees something magical his thoughts remind him that magic isn't real, therefore what he saw wasn't real. He'll remember it as a trick of the light, or that he was sleep deprived, or something like that. It should last for about three days. Cast it again after two, just to be safe."
"Who are you?" The auror asked in awe.
"Harry Potter." Harry winked at the man before rejoining Sirius and Remus.
"Where did you learn that?" Sirius whispered.
"I've done a lot of reading up on mental magics." Harry explained, which wasn't exactly a lie. It just so happened that he learned the spell ten years in the future. "I picked up a bunch of books over the summer to expand my spell work. You'd be amazed at all the things that are overlooked or ignored these days." He looked from Sirius to Remus. "Almost like someone is trying to limit the knowledge that gets out."
"No." Remus muttered. "How could he get away with that?"
"I'm sure that the Purebloods were perfectly happy to restrict the knowledge to others." Harry shrugged. "It's not like they wouldn't know it, what with all the family grimoires and such. All Dumble's would have to do was look the other way and we know how good he is at that when it fits his plans."
Sirius clapped his hands.
"Enough of that." He said loudly. "We are here to relax and have some fun. Harry, this is the World Cup. Over the next few days witches from all over the world will come here. There will be drinking, dancing, singing, and hearts to steal. Shops, restaurants, and buskers will do their best to tempt you to spend your coin."
"Sirius." A female voice said from nearby. "You're nowhere near the tent."
Harry turned to see Andromeda Tonks standing nearby. The smile on her face was brighter than any Harry remembered. A pang of regret hit him. He hadn't spent near as much time with her or Teddy as he should have. Harry latched onto the train of thought and pushed it down. That was not going to happen this time.
"Harry." Sirius hopped between Harry and Andromeda. "This lovely woman is Andromeda Tonks. My favorite cousin."
She looked at him. Her eyes were full of hope and love. Last time they hadn't for a few more years. Things were a bit of a whirlwind around then, but he didn't remember her so vibrant. She was beautiful. Andromeda looked quite similar to Bellatrix, except she wasn't half-starved, filthy, nor out of her mind. Her hair was black, rather than blonde, like Narcissa, but Harry could see the resemblance.
"Hello." Harry smiled at her. "It's nice to meet you."
"No. That will not do." Andromeda stepped closer, wrapping him into a hug.
Harry froze for a moment. There was something familiar about her. Not just from his former life. The feel of her arms around him, her smell. It was a distant memory that he couldn't tease into the light. For once it wasn't some sort of memory charm that he had to fight through, but simply the flow of time.
"I." Harry returned the hug. "I've met you before?"
Andromeda put him at arms-length but held onto him. She nodded.
"James and I were friends growing up. Lily was too once they were married." Andromeda stared at him in wonder. "You used to love to play with my hair when I held you."
It was the first time, in either life, that he had heard this. The words rang true though. Something about her felt like family, more than the memories of his other life.
"I'm sorry." Harry spoke softly. "I don't remember."
"You were a year old at most." Andromeda chuckled. "If anyone, you'll remember Nymphadora."
"Oi!" A young woman called from nearby.
Harry turned to see Tonks moving toward them. Her hair shifted from long and black, to curly red, and then short, spiked pink.
"Don't call me Nymphadora." She groaned and rolled her eyes.
"It's your name." Andromeda sighed. "Why shouldn't I?"
"Wotcher, Harry." The young woman turned to face him. "Tonks. Don't call me Nymphadora."
Harry froze. She was here. Logically, he knew he would be meeting her again soon. Tonks was part of Sirius' family, even if she wasn't here today, it would be in the next year. Still. She was here. Alive! Right in front of him.
There was something more to it. A feeling like the one when he had seen Andromeda.
"Nummy?" Harry whispered.
Tonks blushed a bright shade of red. A flash of memories played along his mind. The little girl with rainbow hair, his imaginary friend that he had forgotten. How had he forgotten her?
"You're real?"
"You remember!" Andromeda practically sang.
"Shut it." Tonks grumbled.
"That's no way to talk to your mother, Nymphadora." Sirius chided.
Her wand was out in a flash. Sirius hopped up as a short zap hit his foot.
"That goes for you too." She glared at the older man. Her face softened as she turned her attention to Harry. "Yes. I'm real. Call me Tonks."
"What's wrong with Nymphadora?" Harry asked.
"You get one." Tonks shifted her wand to his feet.
"Can I call you Nym?" Harry asked softly.
"Fine." She huffed. "Come on. The tents are over this way."
"Do you go to Hogwarts?" Harry followed after her. He didn't spend nearly as much time in his old life talking to her. With this new connection, he wasn't going to make that mistake again.
"No." Tonks led him toward a couple of tents. One of which could have passed for a luxury muggle tent, and the other that looked like an inflatable castle but made of actual stone. "Guess which one is Sirius'?"
Harry nodded to the castle.
"Ding. Ding. Ding." Her hair flashed gold as she spoke. "Give the boy a prize."
She opened the tent belonging to her family and motioned for him to come in.
"How long have you been out of school?" Harry asked.
"This will be my… third year?" She wrinkled her nose as she thought. "You're starting your Fourth year?"
"Yeah." Harry nodded.
"Then, yeah, third year out." Tonks stood beside him.
The main entry of the tent was a cozy living room with a small kitchen at the back. Two doors rested on the other walls. Harry didn't say anything as she subtly adjusted her height a bit to be taller than him. Thanks to a healthy diet and exercise Harry wasn't the malnourished runt he had been. Unfortunately, the damage had been done already and he was never going to be the tallest out there. At best he would be lithe and at worst he'd be a stick figure.
"What do you do then?" Harry asked.
"First year as an auror." Tonks answered happily as she crossed to the small kitchen.
"How do you like it?" He followed her.
"There is a lot of paperwork." She sighed. "I'm one of the rookies so we don't get a lot of the exciting cases. I patrol the alleys, do a week of guard duty on the island, and then do it all over again most of the time." She pulled a couple of butter beers from the small fridge and handed him one. "I did get to help with the Azkaban clean-up. That was pretty wicked."
"Read about that in the Prophet." Harry nodded thanks as he took the bottle. "Was it as bad as they made it out to be?"
"Worse." Tonks shook her head. "Never thought I'd see a dementor hiding in fear."
Her hair had shifted from bright pink to an ash gray. The spikes slumped against her scalp.
"Ever thought of changing careers?" Harry asked.
"What's that supposed to mean?" She snapped at him.
"You sound like you aren't having much fun." Harry shrugged.
"It's not what I thought it would be." Tonks huffed. She took a swig of her drink before looking up at him. "You really remember me?"
"Pointy nose and rainbow hair." Harry smiled softly at her. "Thought you were my imaginary friend."
Her nose sharpened out to a point and her hair began to shift through a myriad of colors. Harry couldn't help but laugh.
"Is that why you never wrote back?" She asked softly.
"I never got any letters." Harry scooted over to her. It felt natural to give her a hug.
"I thought you hated me." Tonks squeezed him. "You didn't even look at me in your first year."
"Nym." Harry held her tight. "Sirius and I need to talk to you, and your parents, about something important. It will explain a lot. I just have to make sure you're safe first."
She scoffed. "I'm supposed to be the one protecting you."
"Is the wedding back on?" Sirius asked as he bounded into the room.
"What?" Harry looked over to his godfather confused.
"Nymphadora." Sirius scolded, as he wisely dodged her curse. "You shouldn't keep secrets from your betrothed."
Harry looked back to Tonks. Her hair was now bright red and spiky. Tonks burst out of the hug. She chased Sirius around the room sending little zaps from her wand after him. A moment later Remus, Andromeda, and Ted entered the tent.
"I'm lost." Harry looked up at Andromeda.
The trio didn't seem surprised by Tonks chasing Sirius. Remus shook his head as he promptly exited the tent. Andromeda and Ted crossed the small space to stand in front of Harry. He hadn't gotten to know Ted much in his last life. At one point he was sure they had to have had a conversation, but it was hard to think of something solid. Ted was a little shorter than Andromeda. He wore the aged smile lines on his face proudly.
"Harry." She smiled at him. "This is my husband, Ted."
"Nice to meet you, sir." Harry held out his hand.
"None of that." Ted pulled Harry into a hug.
Harry awkwardly patted the man on the back.
"Sorry." Ted blushed a bit. "Forgot you don't know me. I can't tell you how many times we had to rescue you from Nymphadora."
"Not you too, dad!" Tonks yelled.
"I'm a little lost." Harry spoke slowly. "Sirius said something about a wedding and being betrothed. Now you're talking about rescuing me."
Andromeda, Sirius, and Ted laughed. Tonks glared at the three while Harry stood getting more confused by the moment. Apparently, there was a lot about his life he still didn't know.
"She was your Nummy, and you were her Harry." Andromeda explained after a moment. "There were a few times where you somehow found yourself tucked in my purse when it was time for us to go home."
"Not to mention all the times our little Dora told us she was going to marry you." Ted added.
"I was six." Tonks huffed.
Harry smiled at her. He took in the moment around him. The feeling of love filled the room. His expression hardened.
"Sirius." His gaze met his godfathers'. "We need to tell them everything."
Sirius let out a long sigh. "I know. Let's get it over with."