Of Veela and Wolves - Part 4

Harry, Sirius, and Dumbledore sat in the Headmasters Office. The fact that Sirius had been called in was alarming enough already. He had expected it as is transformation had already spread to the entire school, which meant that plenty of students had already told their parents. The large stack of letters, and constant stream of owls into the office made it clear that the people were not happy.

He half expected to be expelled. For once, Harry couldn't blame them.

"Well, Harry." Dumbledore sighed as he sat in his large chair. "Thanks to you a Death Eater thought to be dead has been captured. We were also able to rescue the real Alastor Moody who is currently recovering at St. Mungo's. Unfortunately, the reason I brought him on was due to his vast experience with defensive magic."

"I have a bad feeling about this." The hair on the back of Harry's neck bristled.

"Quite astute." Dumbledore rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I had placed him in charge of the protections for the Goblet of Fire, which is the process we were going to choose the champions to compete for the tournament."

"Can't you use something else?" Sirius asked.

"If there wasn't a name already entered, yes." Dumbledore met his gaze.

"And he entered my name." Harry groaned.

Dumbledore inclined his head.

"But." Harry's eyes flashed with hope. "I'm a werewolf. That should mean I'm not eligible to compete."

"The Goblet is older than the Ministry." Dumbledore shook his head. "You were placed as the sole student, thus the only choice, as a champion for a fourth school. You would still be chosen even if we were to change the selection process which is a magically bound contract."

"There has to be easier ways to kill me." Harry sat back in his chair. "It would just be faster to hit me with killing curse as Moody, drop the disguise, and run."

"Don't give them ideas, pup." Sirius said as he shook his head.

"Tom was planning a ritual at the end of the year to regain a body." Dumbledore explained. "The Tournament was a part of it, to place you as a true enemy."

"Did you catch him?" Sirius asked before Dumbledore could say anymore.

"No." Dumbledore shook his head. "The location Crouch gave us showed signs of recent use, but it had vacated prior to the start of the school year."

Harry could hear Sirius' heartrate increase. Dumbledore, on the other hand, remained steady.

"Crouch was tasked with setting a port key to transport Harry for the final part of the ritual." Dumbledore pressed on before Sirius could say more. "Tom needed the bones of his father, the flesh of a servant, and the blood of his enemy. We were able to locate his father's grave and the remains have been destroyed. They were also replaced with a wooden skeleton that has been transfigured to appear as bone. The Ministry could not argue with the word of a Death Eater who was supposed to be dead. Crouch Senior was charged and incarcerated as well once question. While he didn't know anything about Tom's plans, he did admit to aiding his son in escaping. He also confessed to years of holding his son under the Imperious Curse."

Sirius shuddered.

"I'm going to have to enter the tournament." Harry stated with a sigh. "Fine. What else?"

"When did you discover you could transform at will?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"By the second full moon." Harry replied. "It's not just that. I am in full control even in my wolf form."

The two older wizards gave him a skeptical look.

"I got bored and started writing on the wall with my claws." Harry crossed his arms.

"Harry." Dumbledore tried to sound comforting, but it just came off as condescending. "You aren't the first werewolf to think they are in control-"

Harry held his right hand. His fingers shifted into claws and then back. That caused both of the men to stare at him for a long, silent moment.

"Impressive." Dumbledore said in a hushed voice.

"I would change completely, but I don't want to destroy another set of my clothes." Harry shrugged.

"Only you, pup." Sirius chuckled.

"The rules of the tournament are that the champions are not to have any help from the staff from their school." Dumbledore didn't want to discuss the werewolf issue anymore. "It is a stipulation that the games committee came up with over the years to avoid cheating. The Goblet does not recognize this as an actual rule. As such, we will provide you with training leading up to, and during, the tournament. We can't provide you with details of the tasks ahead of time, but we can make sure you're up to speed with your competitors who are in sixth and seventh year."

"I'll be here for you, pup." Sirius gave him an intense look. "Every step of the way."

"We have tutors arranged." Dumbledore smiled at the two. "You will have a personalized schedule this year to make sure you're as prepared as possible."

Harry held his head in his hands. When he had first heard of the tournament, and the age restrictions, he had foolishly thought that he'd have a normal year. How was he supposed to take part in this dangerous event when he couldn't even enter? For a precious couple of days, he had imagined cheering on the Hogwarts Champion alongside his friends.

He looked back up at Dumbledore.

"Who is going to teach Defense?" Harry asked.

The Headmaster smiled.

~§~§~

"Students." Dumbledore spoke up from his spot at the staff table. "Professor Moody will be unable to complete this year due to his recovery. We have been honored to have his apprentice, Auror Nymphadora Tonks, take his place."

The young woman that stood beside Dumbledore gave the old man a glare that would make Snape jealous. He didn't seem to notice or had done it on purpose. The Headmaster stepped aside then motioned for her to say a couple of words.

"Wotcher, everyone." The woman called to the students.

Harry chuckled as he saw Professor McGonagall shake her head.

"Call me Auror Tonks, or Professor Tonks." Her voice had a hard edge to it. "If that's too much, I'll answer to just Tonks. Some of you might recognize me. I graduated a few years ago and was a Beater for Hufflepuff the last time we won the cup."

That got a small cheer from the Hufflepuff table.

"See you in class." She shrugged and took a seat at the table beside Professor Sinistra.

~§~§~

"Hello, Mister Potter." Tonks gave him a bright smile. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too, Professor." Harry inclined his head.

"Stop with that professor rubbish." Tonks rolled her eyes. "We're family. Call me Tonks."

"We're related?" Harry asked.

"Sirius is my mom's cousin. My first cousin once removed if you want to get technical." Tonks replied. "He's your godfather, that makes you family."

Harry didn't have any time to think that over. Tonks snapped her wand at him, sending a chain of spells zipping through the air. Harry dodged, ducked, dipped, dove, and dodged through the swirling bolts of magic. He would have gotten hit a couple of times if it weren't for his enhanced reflexes.

He sprang at her as the first chain came to an end. She was already in motion.

"Show me your wand work, not your dance steps." Tonks mocked.

Harry rolled under a group of spells that singed the air as they went by. He came up with his wand at the ready. One good thing about spending the summer at Hogwarts was the fact that he was able to use magic. He was also given access to the library. Harry would never tell Hermione, but he was actually quite fond of the place now. While he had started out studying battle magic, he had been distracted by the vast array of Potion texts, of all things. The subject was amazing without Snape involved.

Unfortunately, knowing the proper way to prepare Lorax fur didn't help in a fight.

Though he had made some good progress in silent spellcasting.

He sent a trio of spells back at her. They were minor jinxes and a middling hex. Easy for an accomplished fighter to counter if the words were spoken.

"Silent casting." Tonks nodded as she continued to move even though her legs wobbled. "Good start."

Harry swapped from full on attacks to transfiguration. He had always had a talent for it. Over the summer it became something of a passion. He hadn't delved too far into life-to-life transfiguration. Instead, he found the elemental side of things more appealing.

He turned the stone between them into thin tiles and launched them up as a shield. Her spells turned them to dust with a quick twist of her wand. He pulled the debris back toward him. It formed on his free arms as a shield.

"Nice." Tonks cheered. "Creative use of magic is important in a fight."

Harry lifted his stone shield to intercept another chain of spells. They chipped away at it but didn't get through. He followed the sound of her footsteps and sent an overpowered cleaning charm to the floor where she was headed. Much to his confusion, it was him who ended up on the floor.

"Not bad." Tonks spoke from the other side of the room. "You've got potential."

"How?" Harry asked as he regained his feet.

"Misdirection." Tonks pointed her wand at him, and the sound of footsteps sped along his left. "Creating the stone cloud was a good idea. It broke the line of sight, which can work to your advantage. Where did you go wrong?"

"I couldn't see you." Harry brushed the lingering dust off his clothes.

"Got it in one." Tonks smiled at him. "We'll do this a few more time so I can get a better feel for you."

"Sounds good." Harry returned the smile. "Why don't you like to be called Nymphadora?"

"I'll let that go, once." She glared at him. "Get called Nympho by every idiot who thinks they're funny and tell me how you like it."

"I think it's pretty." Harry shrugged.

Tonks snorted. She flicked her wrist and her wand disappeared.

"How did you do that?" Harry asked.

"Hm?" She arced an eyebrow at him.

"Your wand." Harry motioned.

"Wand holster." She held up her arm to show a strap of leather than ran the length of her forearm.

"Sweet." Harry said. "I need to get one of those. Think it would stay on when I shift?"

"Shouldn't be hard to do." Tonks shrugged. "I've got a couple extra you could try out."

"Thanks, Nym." Harry froze, waiting for the curse to hit.

He looked at her from the corner of his eye. A sly smile rested on her lips. He decided that he liked the way that looked.

"I'll allow it." She said after a moment. "If I can call you Fluffy."

"No." Harry shook his head. "That name is taken by Hagrid's Cerberus."

"Hagrid has a…" She stopped herself. "That makes so much sense."

Tonks tapped her chin in thought.

"Go wolfy for me." She waved a hand at him. "That way I can name your properly."

"Uh." Harry looked around the room. "I can't."

"They said you could on command." Tonks looked annoyed. "I'm a trained auror I can take care of one little werewolf."

"Thanks." Harry said flatly. "It's not that. My clothes will get ruined."

"Is that all?" Tonks asked.

Her wand was in her hand before she finished speaking. A sharp jab sent a whoosh of cool air along his skin. Harry yelped at the sudden cold. It wasn't until he recognized the folded stack of clothes beside her that he realized what she had done. He hurried to cover himself.

"Please." Tonks chuckled. "It's nothing I haven't seen before."

Harry glared at her. He held the expression as he transformed.

~§~§~

"Come on, Toto." Tonks yelled as he moved through an obstacle course.

Harry huffed as he slid under a rolling log. Toto, she called him. Unfortunately, Sirius had heard it and the name stuck.

The obstacle course had been made by Professor McGonagall and her Seventh-year students as a class project. It could be controlled with a few simple commands to swap stations, change the speed, and even alter the consistency of the ground. Olive Wood had already scheduled the Gryffindor Team to run through it once Harry was done.

To make things even more interesting, Tonks had her third-year students casting spells at him. They were minor jinxes perfect for quick defense and protection. Nothing that would do any real damage beyond hurting his pride. Thankfully, they had managed to get a pair of enchanted shorts that stayed intact when he changed forms. Sirius had said that it was insanely expensive, which coming from him made it was probably enough to buy a house or two.

Harry slid to a stop at the end of the course. He took a couple of minutes to calm his breathing before he shifted back to his human form. Transforming while out of breath as a wolf made him pass out. He learned that the hard way.

"What is the point of this?" Harry asked as Tonks approached.

"Hm?" Tonks arced an eyebrow at him.

"This." Harry waved at the course.

"Oh." Tonks smiled at him. "They needed a moving target, and the weather was too nice to stay inside."

Harry glared at her.

"I have other students to teach, you know." Tonks laughed at him. "Give me two more laps, Toto. Lovegood is the only one who's tagged you yet."

~~~
AN:
This might turn out to be longer than 5-6 parts.