Teaser of A Nundu for A Pet Chapter 10

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"So, where do you want to go?" Tonks asked with a wide grin as they walked through a small town that Harry didn't remember seeing before; he saw wizards and witches walking around them; one opened a basement bulkhead door before walking down to the basement of the back of a sweet shop.

"Nym, I have never been here before," He quickly reminded her with a look of embarrassment as he looked around the place. He was sure he saw a broomstick shop nearby, it was easy to notice it, several broomsticks were placed outside, called test brooms, and through the window shop, he had seen several good looking broomsticks, one of them had a big tag with the name written in gold paint Nimbus 1900.

He saw a shop for clothes and quite a large inn nearby, a two-story building. Harry wore black jeans and a forest green jumper; it was summer, so not many students could be seen around this place.

Tonks chuckled before pointing at the nearby inn. "That's where all the first dates go, Harry. Remember that."

The boy blushed slightly but made sure to remember that, while he was still young to think about girls and dates, he always made sure to store useful knowledge in his head for later use.

"Ohh, first dates. You must be privileged to date with the Great Harry Potter, the slayer of Dragons." Harry teased with a wide grin, looking up at the pink-haired witch.

Tonks giggled at his words. He usually never liked boasting about his fame, after all, he had done nothing that night. His parents were the ones who deserved all the credit, not him, but that didn't mean he wouldn't use his fame to tease his second best friend, and if needed, he was sure he could use the same fame to get a few things done if he ever needed.

Harry still didn't know how politics and the Ministry worked, but he was sure the name Harry Potter held a lot of strength and influence, and he was sure he could use that influence sometimes if he ever needed it.

Harry walked forward and opened the door for Tonks; she smiled cutely at him before thanking him. "Such a gentleman."

He chuckled slightly when he turned to look at his shoulder but quickly remembered that Itisa wasn't with him right now. Mister and Miss Tonks had made it clear how dangerous it was for her to come with him, so, quite reluctantly, Harry had left her at home. That only fueled his desire to get stronger. He knew, sooner or later, people would learn the truth, and he would protect Itisa with his life when that day came. He just needed to be stronger.

As they walked into the inn, Harry was glad he wasn't using the 'Focus State' as he had decided to call it when he could hear everything around him, he could already imagine the headache he would get by using that in such a crowded place.

His messy hair covered most of his forehead, so he was sure they wouldn't be able to see the scar. The last thing he needed was for everyone in the inn to start paying attention to him as if he was some god.

Harry and Tonks found a good seat on the corner of the inn right next to the window. They could see everyone outside, but the windows were bewitched, so people outside wouldn't see them. Instead, they would see the inn inside rather than the people sitting.

Harry sat down and quickly noticed the many funny looks the people were giving them, but he decided to ignore them. When he looked at Tonks and saw that she was shifting uncomfortably on her seat, he wondered if going out like this wasn't the best idea. "Tonks, are you alright?" he asked, dreading that she would say that she wanted to return home.

"I'm alright, Harry. I have just...nevermind. Is silly." Tonks said with a dismissive hand as she stopped shifting around the chair.

"You can tell me if you want?" Harry reminded her.

"Trust me, Harry, it's nothing important. Is just me being a stupid girl sometimes. I'm sure you can understand."

"Not really. If you haven't noticed, I'm not a girl." Harry said witty with a grin. This made Tonks giggle, and all the nervousness from her face melted away like snow.

"I have noticed that, mister. I'm sure so will many girls after four to five years." Tonks teased before winking at him. Harry turned a bit red, which only added to her amusement.

"What is this place?" Harry asked as he looked around the inn. A double staircase on the back of the inn led to the second floor, and the staircase split into two directions once it reached the second floor.

"It's called Hogsmeade. It's near Hogwarts, actually. This is the place where the third years and older come here sometimes during the school year. It's a cozy place, and there's plenty of things to buy here." Tonks explained as a waitress walked up to them.

"Tonks, what are you doing here? And who is this gentleman with you?" the woman asked with a smile. Harry looked up at her and was a little awestruck by her beauty. She wasn't as pretty as Loretta, but she was a beauty on her own.

"Rosmerta, this is my friend...Harry." Tonks introduced him somewhat reluctantly, knowing what would most likely happen if she just shouted out his full name in public.

Rosmerta was an attractive woman with long, wavy blonde hair and green eyes. She was wearing glittery, open-toed high heels. 

"Hi." Harry greeted her, not fully looking at her eyes when he heard a quiet gasp coming from the woman.

Shit, Harry cursed under his breath when her face looked at the scar on his forehead. Her mouth opened, and Harry was ready for her to make a scene, but instead, she closed her mouth, and the welcoming smile returned to her face.

"Good to meet you, Mister Harry. I see you know, Tonks. She's a friend of mine--" Suddenly, she leaned her head downwards, closer to Harry. "But don't trust her sweet little lies, Harry. She's not good for you." She teased with a wide grin before pulling away from him, with Tonks rolling her eyes.

"What do you two want?"

"Butterbear."

"A Lemonade."

That said, the woman walked away, talking with another woman behind the counter.

Harry sighed in relief, knowing his identity wasn't blown; it wasn't just people in this inn knowing his identity. Tonks had told him how fast rumors could spread around in the Wizarding World and if she was half correct. That meant people would soon learn that Nymphadora Tonks was seen with Harry Potter in the Three Broomsticks. Harry could already imagine the barrage of questions Tonks would get during her Fourth School Year. He didn't want that for her, so he was grateful this woman didn't just shout his name for everyone to hear, despite knowing that doing so would most likely increase the number of people coming to her inn, which could have earned her a lot of money, but instead, she chose to stay quiet. Harry already liked that woman.

"How do you know Rosmerta?"

"Oh. On my first year. I used my Metamorphmagus to disguise myself as one of the older students to go to Hogsmade."

"I thought you said you couldn't make a perfect disguise." Harry points out, interrupting her with a small apologetic look.

"It was a good enough disguise." Tonks answered with a small clear of her throat before continuing. "Anyway, after I looked around for two hours. I ended up on this inn, but I didn't know the carriages had already left for Hogwarts, so I was left here all alone, and disgusted as someone else. Needless to say, Rosmerta saw right through me, and walked me back to Hogwarts's gates. Professor Sprout wasn't happy with me, but I became friends with Rosmerta."

"I take it this wasn't the only time you pulled this little stunt?" Harry asked, but he already knew the answer.

Tonks burst out laughing. "You should have seen the look...hahaha... on Professor Sprout's face. She was so...hahaha... done with me on the third time. Eventually, she stopped trying to prevent me from sneaking into the Hogsmade Carriages." She explained amidst the laughter.

"Didn't she tell your parents?" Harry questioned. From what he had seen, he was sure her parents would try to stop her from causing such havoc on Hogwarts.

"Ohh, she tried, but ultimately, she had proof only for the first time I disguised myself as someone else, but not for the others, so Professor Dumbledore gave me a slap in the wrist and told me to not do it again. My mother trusted Professor Sprout's claims that the first time wasn't the only time, but my father protected me from her wrath." Tonks said with a giggle.

Harry smiled in amusement. They continued their conversation about her misdeeds until he decided to turn the conversation to a bit more serious topic.

"Tonks. Can I ask you something?" She fell quiet when she noticed the seriousness in his voice.

"Anything, Harry." She answered right away, leaning her head over the table, wanting to hear his words.

"Do you think I can keep Itisa at Hogwarts without the Professors noticing about who she is?"

The pink-haired girl bit her lower lip, seemingly wanting to say something that would make the young Wizard feel better, but she knew he had asked her specifically, knowing she would not try to lie to him or tell him that everything would be alright. She glanced around furtively before speaking in a hushed tone.

"I will be honest with you, Harry. Hagrid might see right through her on the first day, it all depends if he ever bothered learning anything about Nundus. As for the other professors, they might get more and more suspicious of who she truly is as time goes on. If Itisa can manage to control herself and doesn't cause a scene that involves her using any of her powers, then you might actually be safe, but one show of power, and people will know right away she's not a normal cat, and since you haven't gotten your Hogwarts letter yet, only frogs, owls and cats are allowed at Hogwarts. So, in the moment, they learn she's not a cat. Someone like Professor Snape might try everything he can to force you to get rid of her.

A growl escaped from deep within his throat, his nostrils flaring up. He had noticed that whenever this 'Professor Snape' was brought up, it wasn't brought up for a good reason. He was sure he had once heard Tonks mention that Snape had once forced a Hufflepuff student to drink from the cauldron and didn't care whether the student would be injured or not, and upon drinking it, the student had been sent to the medical room and had stayed there for three weeks due to severe burns on his throat.

"What do you think I should do about this? Or is there any chance the Ministry of Magic won't try to have her killed the moment they know what she is." Harry asked hopefully, but he knew deep down that it was foolish even to think that.

For the past months, he has checked as much as possible how Nundus are viewed in the United Kingdom and other countries in Europe. All of them were seen as national threats that needed to be put down right away. For Dragons, they were supposed to be locked and killed only if it's necessary. For Nundus, well...

Name: Nundu

Danger Level: XXXXXXX or National Threat

Orders to the Aurors if they see one: Extermination on sight. It's adviced to inform the Ministry of Magic immediately. They will send an army to kill the Nundu. Everything valuable will be taken from the body, and it will belong to the Ministry; the rest of the body will be burned with Fiendfyre.

Upon reading that, Harry had realized how much Nundus are feared in the Wizarding World. Every other magical animal had a chance they would be spared if the magical animal in question did not cause trouble, but not for Nundus. It mattered little to many countries if they were harmless. They would be killed on sight with no second thoughts.

There wasn't even a law about owning one since it had never happened before, as far as anyone was concerned. Although there were laws that forbade the ownership of Dragons and other dangerous magical creatures, for Nundus, no law was written about owning one because it had never happened. Harry wasn't sure if that was a bad or a good thing.

"Harry, I think you already know the answer to that," Tonks told him with a sigh; she leaned back against the back of the chair when the waitress arrived to give them what they ordered.

"I hope you enjoy it," Rosmerta said cheerfully, winking at Harry before walking away. He turned a bit red, but he was sure she did that to let him know his secret was safe with her.

"Harry, let's talk about something else. I'm sure Dumbledore will try to help you-" Harry gave her a look for bringing up the old Professor, but she raised her hand before he could insult the old man. "-I know what you will say, but you can't say that he's not in the position to help you. He knows about Itisa, and I don't see Aurors patrolling our house, do you?" Harry still felt bitter about what the old man had done, and he wouldn't forgive him, but he had to admit that the man had kept the secret for almost a year now.

"No. I haven't seen anyone."

"Exactly, Dumbledore can help you with Itisa. I'm not saying you should forgive him for what he did, but you should try to use the power he has and the position he has for your own benefit, Harry. A friend of mine always told me that to be a good player in the game. You should use all cards handed to you, and not try to throw half of them because of personal feelings."

Harry could see the logic in that. He knew she was right. He just needed to be careful around the old man. He wasn't sure what his end goal was.

"Okay, let's talk about something else. What do you think about broomsticks?" Tonks asked over the rim of the butterbeer glass.

"Broomsticks?!" Harry questioned, a little caught off guard. "I haven't really thought much of them. I have never really flown with one." He answered airily as he took a sip from the lemonade, the taste was sweet and bitter at the same time, and ice cubs on top of the drink made it much more enjoyable.

"You know your father was a chaser in Quidditch. Do you think you would want to play the game?"

It wasn't the first time that Quidditch was brought up to Harry. When the rules were explained to him, the first thought in Harry's head was that it sounded too dangerous. A bunch of kids flying around with broomsticks and trying to score a goal while two other kids chased after a golden snitch; way too many things could go wrong.

"I don't think I'm in the mood to break an arm or a leg, Tonks. But if I ever change my mind, punch me in the face." Harry answered dryly. He understood that his father must have been a good chaser, but that didn't mean he had to be just like his father. Tonks giggled at his words, and soon the conversation turned into more Quidditch, and Tonks complained a little about how she needed to sleep in the same room as four other girls during the School Year. Eventually, the conversation led to the Four Houses of Hogwarts.

"Which House do you think you will be sorted into?" Tonks asked as she drank the last bit of Butterbeer left.

Harry looked deep in thought for a few moments before answering. "I'm not really sure, but from what I gathered, those that go in Gryffindor are brave, but brave can also mean stupid. Those who charge into things without thinking. Hufflepuff seems like a good place to have kind friends, but from what I have seen, those in Hufflepuff are not the brightest." Harry said with a teasing smile, looking straight at Tonks, who groaned.

"You are lucky you are cute. I would have left you here for that comment alone mister. This is not how you treat your date, Harry."

"Ohh, I didn't know this was a date, Miss Tonks. I should have brought flowers and a note that said 'Not for you.'"

Tonks gave him a pointed look for being so annoying but decided to turn the conversation back to the Hogwarts houses. "What about Ravenclaw and Slytherin? You say that you want to be surrounded by smart kids. Well, what about these two?"

"I'm not sure, Tonks. Whichever house the sorting hat chooses for me. I will accept it."

After thirty more minutes, they left the Three Broomstick and decided to head home. He wanted to pay for everything, but Tonks wouldn't listen and paid for her own Butterbeer.

Once they arrived home, Harry called for Itisa right away, but his Nundu didn't come out to greet him.

"Itisa," Harry called out her name, this time much louder and with growing concern, as he took off running up the stairs to the front door. Their house was built on top of a hillock, and a set of stairs leading from the front door to the bottom where the street started.

"She's probably sleeping, Harry." He heard her say, but he ignored her as he quickly opened the door with his voice magic and ran inside.

"ITISA--" Upon entering the common room, he stopped dead on track...

"SURPRISE!!"

Harry's mouth almost fell to the floor from the sight before him. Mister and Miss Tonks had prepared a whole banquet for him, including a cake that was half of Harry's size, with nine candles on top of it, but that wasn't all. Laying on the foot of the table were four wrapped boxes. Gifts, Harry quickly realized, remembering the mountain of gifts that Dudley used to get. Professor McGonagall was standing beside the couple, and Itisa jumped into his arms the moment he entered inside.

The Full Chapter is already available for the Paid Members