Author's Note:

Hey gals and guys! I am finally done with the most horrible exams of my life, and Kofukuna Shi No Kami (its a mouthful, but it grows on you) Present's Chapter 3 on whatever this story is turning out to be. I did not expect this to explode so...intensely. 250 Followers and 127 Favourites? I did not think Honks was so popular, but this is still great.

I had been working on this for about a week, and I ended up making very drastic changes. And I mean VERY. There is an alternate timeline to this story where Harry might have gotten with Hermione for a bit before Tonks steps up to admit her feelings openly. Alas, that is now lost to the dark recesses of my mind.

And just to assuage any fears you may have, this is still a Honks story. I love Harmony, it is honestly my favourite pairing. But I will part from it for this one story. So no worries there people! I even added a tiny fluffy Honks moment in the start for all of you.

Now, I know that this will seemsa bit bare for a chapter, but I did see this as more of a filler than anything, but the Troll incident was something I still had to cover. So it got its own chapter. Now, I also plan on responding to some of the reviews you lovelies left. Let's get to it.

thisguywholikesmarigami: I have this planned out for at least 50k words already, hitting upto Third year, so yes, it will continue.

healeroffates, nad4.35, mwinter1, Sleeper 3173, Elchonon21, richard333, toile grant, C. : Thank you so much for the lovely support. Y'all have no idea how much this makes me want to just continue writing. XD

TheRealXenocide: Well, it is what it is. Can't have a good story without conflict and troubles. You know the way out of reading this just as well as I do, so the only advice I can give is that you waste neither my time nor yours.

Tenjo: I'm sure you can go find some other Dumbles-hating fit on this site, so you can leave mine just as it is. I will agree to your first couple of words though. Don't let the door hit you on your way out.

Chaos Snow Kitsune: Yes I tried to make the scene as in character as I could, so that is appreciated.

Killy: I have a very different situation planned out, which I am already sure will be quite the plot twist. But it will be fun, trust me.

Peace Out

Kofukuna Shi No Kami

Harry and Tonks continued to meet through the month of October, taking out the time to see each other about once a week. They had taken up one corner of the library as their decided rendezvous location, and the two were slowly but surely getting to know each other much better. Harry had begun to tell Nym more about how he was doing with his classes and the professors, while Nym had also discussed some of her own classes, making sure to be vague enough for him to believe that she was a second year. Harry had even gone and talked about some of his Quidditch practices, though that was only after Tonks promised she wouldn't spill any beans to the rest of her house. The Hufflepuff was very glad to note that the boy was slowly growing more friendly around her, and she took the opportunity to enjoy every smile he gave her, and every hug they shared. She did not want to admit it to herself, but she did not have to - her crush on Harry was growing stronger and stronger with every time they met. But as October was drawing to a close, the two had forewarned the other that their meetings could not be just as frequent as before. Tonks had a slew of N.E.W.T. assignment and projects to work on, whereas Harry would be spending more time studying and practising, as both the midterms and the Quidditch season were drawing nearer.

However, that did not keep Tonks from thinking about the boy in most of the free time she got between applying for Junior Auror training and studying. Just now, as she was walking up the stairs from the dungeons, heading to the Great Hall. 'I wonder what snuggling with him feels like. He's probably a little, warm ball of sunshine, just so adorable. He has the cutest face, but his smile is just perfectly handsome. And he may be the sort of person to be the little spoon right now, but I can only imagine what it'll be like when he's a little older...and taller. He could probably wrap me up in his arms and just...press me up against his...muscles.' The girl felt her throat dry, as she felt herself warm up despite the cold chill of the dungeons. She shook her head vigorously. 'No! No! You can't think of that sort of stuff Tonks! He's still a kid. Maybe one day, but not now.' She quickly reprimanded herself, reminding herself of what she was doing. 'C'mon, just get to the Great Hall, and no more ped-' "Thinking about boy wonder, eh?" Tonks bit back a shriek - but just barely - as she missed a step and fell forward, falling face first onto the ground floor's landing. Some of the other students who were headed to the Great Hall looked over to see what the fuss was about, but they all kept on moving along.

"I swear, Hes, you nearly killed me. Never do that again." Tonks hissed up at her friend, who stood over the girl with a cheeky grin plastered over her face. "Now what are you smirking about?"

Her grin turned into a coy smile. "Nothing. Just couldn't help but notice you were out of it, and your face and hair had turned all red. I just wonder, whatever could you have been daydreaming of, Tonksie?" She stood with her hands firmly on her hips, and Tonks was sure that the girl knew exactly what she was daydreaming of. The Hufflepuff pulled herself to her feet, and brushed off some of the dust that had gotten on the back of her robes. "I wasn't daydreaming anything, Hes. I was just thinking about the next assignment we have to hand in to Professor Quirrell, that's all."

Hestia was even more amused by her friend's weak attempts at excuses. "Of course. I am sure that a detailed report on the magical abilities and weaknesses of Dementors would get you all hot and bothered. Makes complete sense." She just giggled as her best friend ignored her to the best of her abilities, and walked ahead into the Great Hall, leaving Hestia to catch up to her.

As the two entered the Hall, Tonks couldn't help the slight warmth she felt as she looked over the decorated room. Some of the candelabra that would usually be hovering overhead had been replaced by jack-o'-lanterns. For some reason, which Tonks strongly felt was a magical one, the room remained just as well-lit as it would all-year round. Most students had already arrived, and were waiting for the famous Halloween feast to begin. The two seventh-years sat down at their house table. There were just a few minutes left until the feast would commence, so they did not have to wait for long. But as they did sit at their table silently, Tonks felt her eyes drifting toward the Gryffindor table. Toward a specific boy at said table, actually.

She did feel a little warmer as she thought of what she had just 'daydreamed' as her friend had put so eloquently, but she did not allow her mind to stray this time. As she watched the boy, she did notice that he seemed a bit more sullen than usual. She also noticed that neither Granger nor the youngest Weasley were sitting anywhere near him. 'Why is he sitting alone?'

"Hey, Tonks, you there?" Nymphadora nodded mutely in response. "Hey, have you ever noticed that Potter isn't sitting next to anyone?" She felt her stomach turn a little at referring to Harry as 'Potter', but she had made a habit of doing so whenever she mentioned him in front of others.

Hestia quirked an eyebrow, before turning her head to look over to the Gryffindor table herself. She quickly scanned the table, finding the boy sitting lonesome at one end of the table. "He isn't exactly alone. The Longbottom kid is sitting just a little bit away. Anyway, I don't imagine how the boy-who-lived would have any problems making friends." She finished off with an amused smile on her face, which didn't sit too well with Tonks.

"That isn't necessarily true, Hes. All I see right now is that nobody is actually even talking to him." She said, doing her best to seem not too interested.

Hes couldn't help but stare at her friend weirdly for a moment, before bursting into a fit of chuckles. Tonks jabbed her friend in the side not too lightly, as some of the other students at their table even looked over at them to see what the ruckus was about. "Care to share what's so hilarious?"

Hestia took a few seconds to calm herself down. When she finally took ahold of her laughter, she turned to her best friend. "Tonks, he's Harry fucking Potter. He's famous, he's rich, and he's kinda cute too. By the time he's in his third year, he'll be knee deep in girls who'll be willing to do anything to get with the Boy-Who-Lived, and that's if its just girls from his year, which I really doubt. I mean, just think about it. Most of those girls have grown up reading about the glorified Harry Potter. He's sort of like that one Muggle you told me about, if you think about it. What was his name again, the prince guy?"

"Prince Charming," Tonks said softly. "And he's not a real person, he's just a fictional character."

"Either ways, Harry Potter is actually there! It's like all of those girls suddenly got an actual chance at getting to know their Prince Charming. Most of them would jump at that chance, don't ya think?" She said, giving her friend another bemused smile. "Harry Potter is the last person in this castle who would need to worry about making friends."

Tonks gave her a shrug which she hoped came off as nonchalant. "Well, we won't be around to find out, now will we?" She said, wanting to change the topic. Luckily, their conversation came to a quick close when Professor Dumbledore stood up and cleared his throat, alerting the students to the fact that he was about to begin his patented Halloween speech.

Though as he spoke, Tonks zoned out, instead focusing on her own thoughts. 'Hes does have a point. Harry is the most eligible bachelor in all of Magical Britain at this moment, and that's only going to become more true as he grows up. Who am I kidding? He could literally take three hot, rich, well-connected girls to all be his wives, and nobody would bat an eye. I might be able to make myself look hot, but that's pretty much all I'd be good for. No one in the magical world particularly respects the Tonks name, assuming they've even heard of it, and even being a Senior Auror doesn't pay well enough to be considered a lucrative job.' She tried dismissing her darker thoughts, wanting to just call them stupid insecurities, but a deeper part of her was not willing to ignore this, despite how it made her feel as if a ghost was reaching into her stomach and pulling at her intestines. 'He may not be thinking about these sorts of things right now, but he definitely will once he grows up a little. Why would he want to date someone older than him when he could be with someone his own age, or even someone younger than him, and I don't want to have to lie to him about this forever. He'd hate me for that.' The mere thought of the object of her affections telling her that he hated her and could not trust her caused her heart to ache a little. She knew it was stupid and irrational. She had barely known him for two months. But it was what it was.

"Well, what are you waiting for, eh?" Hes asked from beside her. "The pumpkin pie looks absolutely amazing this year." The comment snapped the metamorphmagus out of her reverie. Apparently the food had arrived already. Tonks didn't say anything in response, and instead chose to merely pile some roasted chicken onto her plate, and begin eating. She did not want to take her upset feelings out on her best friend, and she really wasn't in the mood for chatter either anymore. She just wanted some silence.

Of course, three minutes later, she would discover that was far too much to ask for.

"TROLL! Troll in the dungeons!" Quirrell seemed to be running with all the might that his scrawny legs would provide as he entered the Hall. To be honest, most of the student body hadn't even realised that he had been missing in the first place, but they did not care to address that fact at the moment, in face of the information he had just given. As he slumped forward, evidently knocked out by his own stress, a surge of panic flooded the student body, resulting in frantic movement, loud shouting and a lot of shoving. It was a good few seconds before the Headmaster was finally able to gain the full attention of the students. "Prefects, you shall escort your housemates to their dorms. Teachers, you shall spread out and look for the troll." He bellowed.

The prefects immediately jumped into action, forming closely knit groups of their own housemates, and marching out of the Great Hall. Tonks also followed suit with her own housemates, though she did stop long enough to cast a worried look in Harry's direction. 'I hope he stays safe.' A couple of prefects might be able to take down a troll, but she felt slightly worried. She did not let those thoughts cloud her mind for too long, however, as the seventh years were expected to also give the Prefects a hand here, considering they were the best trained students in the school. She shifted her mind to keeping a group of third years safe as they headed for the Hufflepuff dorms.

Harry was running wildly, trying to control his panting as best he could, looking for Hermione. He remembered Parvati Patil having mentioned that she had been crying in the girl's bathroom all day. He hadn't seen her at dinner either, so he was sure she still had no idea about the troll. And the last thing he had wanted to do was let her get hurt just because she was upset. He had considered going to a professor first, but had dismissed the idea when he realised that they might get angry at Hermione for having skipped on the Halloween dinner. So, it was decided that he'd have to go alone. He had considered asking Ron as well, but he hadn't needed much time before dismissing it. Not only was Ron the very reason that Hermione was upset in the first place, but he had also been avoiding Harry like the plague since their little altercation in the boys dormitory. Honestly, Harry had been fine with that. He may have taken some time to get used to being alone most of the time, but it was better than hanging out with someone who did not have the decency to appreciate his own parents.

The toilets finally drew into his vision, and Harry felt a little happy that he had made it. That feeling immediately evaporated when he heard a shrill scream from inside. He was already too late. He ran into the bathrooms, only to see Hermione cowering against a wall as a giant monstrosity stood looming over her, with a club in his hand. The troll raised his cub up lazily - which honestly amazed the boy, given that the club seemed to be as large as most first years - and threatened to bring it down on the girl at any moment. In that moment, Harry did something which he would later come to realise was the most stupid thing he could have done.

"Hey, troll! Leave her alone!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. That seemed to work, as the creature turned his head to stare at the small boy in confusion. For a second the troll did nothing. But then he suddenly jumped into action, and Harry was more than a little surprised by how fast the troll seemed to be. The creature charged at him, swinging his club as if it were a tiny twig. And that was when Harry realised just how stupid of a decision he had made. Of course, he wasn't allowed to ponder over that epiphanic thought for long, as his brain reminded him that a twelve feet tall troll was coming straight at him with all the grace of a bulldozer.

The Boy-Who-Lived turned sharply on his heels and began to clamber down the hallways. He ran with everything his legs could manage, but it was barely enough to keep him out of the troll's smacking range. He could feel every missed hit send deep reverberations through the hallway, and a morbid part of him felt as though every hit was getting just a tad closer. 'I don't have time to think about that! I need to run faster and find a professor!' He told himself, forcing his legs to go even faster.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" A familiar voice called out from behind him, but Harry didn't dare look back right now. He kept running until he felt a heavy thud behind him. He slowed down as he realised that he could no longer hear the heavy footfalls of the troll. He slowed down and turned to look behind himself, and felt a surge of relief fill him, as he saw the unconscious form of the troll lying on the floor, with its club suspiciously close to its skull. On the other end of the hallway stood Hermione, with her wand in hand. She immediately ran toward him, and that was when Harry realized that in between his anxiety, fear and exhaustion, he had fallen to his knees, trying to settle his gasping breaths.

"Harry! Are you okay?" She asked as she knelt down next to him. He seemed unharmed, but she still wanted to make sure.

"Uh, yeah...I'm fine. But, you saved my life Hermione. That troll would have killed me any second." He said, looking at the girl with immense admiration. Hermione's only response was to blush softly at the unexpected intensity of his praise. "Well, you did the same for me, so let's just call it even." Harry nodded. He then pulled himself up, and brushed off some of the dust from the back of his robes. "I think we should get back to the dorms. The professors told the students that we were supposed to go straight to our dorms, and we might get into some trouble if they catch us here."

Hermione felt a question rise in her head. "But then wh-"

"Tsk tsk, Potter. It seems you have indeed inherited your father's arrogance." A drawl came from behind the two, and the two students turned around to see their least favourite professor standing behind their backs, a wicked smirk on his face. "And it seems your contagious ego has even affected Ms. Granger here. Quite...unfortunate. She had been shaping up to be a somewhat acceptable student as well. For your direct disobedience, I shall have to deduct fifty house points...each." His smirk grew smug as he raised an eyebrow. "Am I to understand that you do not have any problems with that?"

Harry was about to speak up, but Hermione beat him to it. "Sir, I don't think its fair to deduct any points from Harry. He only came here because he knew I didn't know about the troll. I would be dead right now if it weren't for him." She meekly glanced over to the boy standing next to her. "He saved my life."

However, her complaints fell on deaf ears, as Severus only clicked his teeth. "That does not excuse his stupidity. He should know better than most that he isn't some great hero as most people make him out to be." Harry felt a torrent of anger flood him, but he was sure Snape was just trying to push at his buttons. The three of them looked up when they heard the sound of shoes clacking against the floor.

Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall came walking up to the students and Severus, their eyes wide at the sight of the fallen troll. "Severus, I am glad you were able to make it in time to subdue the troll. Though I must admit that I am very disappointed that Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger are not in their dorms." The last part was a statement, but the questioning look she gave the two Gryffindors indicated that she wanted an explanation. "I find your decision to deduct points wise, in this case." She admitted rather reluctantly.

"Professor McGonagall, Harry came here to warn me about the troll, because I hadn't been at the Halloween feast. If he hadn't, I would have been killed." Hermione responded quickly, causing the Transfiguration professor to raise an eyebrow. "And Hermione knocked out the troll. I was just trying to get away from it." Harry admitted.

McGonagall was now thoroughly surprised. "Well, th-that does seem reasonable, but it was still very reckless of Mr. Potter to not inform a teacher first. You got lucky, and I can not even imagine what I would be seeing right now if you had not been so fortunate." Her words were stern, but they betrayed her underlying concern for the two students as well.

"Now, now, Minerva. It would not be wise to fret over what could have been. I myself believe it was incredibly brave of Mr. Potter to have stepped up for a friend in such danger." Albus said, his eyes twinkling with pride as he looked at the two students. "And it is entirely possible that even a moment's delay on Mr. Potter's behalf may have been fatal for Ms. Granger. A feat worthy of a true Gryffindor, if you ask me, and his timely action should not be reprimanded. As such, there shall not be any deduction of points on his behalf." Albus turned his smile to Severus. Harry was almost sure that Snape's head might explode at any moment with how red he was growing, but he did not comment.

"If that is the case, I must apologise, Mr. Potter. Your intervention may not have been advisable, but the results certainly are very agreeable. As such, I believe you have earned your house fifty points. But I do hope that you do not make a habit out of such adventures." She finished proudly, with the corners of her lips twitching upwards. Snape's lower lip seemed to be convulsing with anger. "And if Ms. Granger was the one who defeated the mountain troll, I do believe she may have earned herself twenty points as well, for ingenuity and excellent use of limited magical skill in an adverse situation." At this point, Harry and Hermione worried that Snape might be having a stroke, and watched as particles of spittle landed on his chin. In fact, even the Transfiguration professor noticed his repressed rage. "Are you alright, Severus? I am aware that tonight has been a rather trying evening, so it would be best if we all retired for today. Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger must also need quite a bit of rest. Tomorrow is still a Friday, and they shall be attending their classes as per the usual, so it's best if I just take them back to their dormitories."

She did not wait for Snape to respond, and she instead walked up to the two students, and led them down the hall with a firm hand on their shoulders. "Good night, Professors. I shall be making a small stop at the Hospital Wing to ensure that these two are not hurt." She then continued to march away, maintaining a sedate pace that the two children would be comfortable with.

Severus finally snapped back to reality, as he turned to the headmaster. "Albus, you can't let him get away with this! He endangered himself, and more importantly, another student. And now you are letting him walk away unpunished?"

"He may have acted rather rashly, Severus, but I cannot punish him for saving the life of another student. And I see no reason why you cannot understand that fact yourself." He stated, before casting a rather disappointed look upon the younger wizard. "He is not just James's son. He is his own person, and you can't hold this childish grudge of yours against him forever."

Snape only grew more infuriated. "How can you expect me do that? He struts around the castle just like his father, acts as if he owns the place, and gets himself into trouble, only to be rewarded for all of that. He is pulling the wool over your eyes, Albus, and you should realise that before someone gets hurt." He then stomped off himself, his face still contorted into an expression of rage and annoyance.

Albus sighed. 'Severus is being much more stubborn about this than I had imagined he would be. But there still is hope. There is always hope.' He'd just have to wait for the Potions professor to come around to seeing things his way.

Harry felt no exhaustion whatsoever as they neared the Gryffindor tower. He supposed it was mostly because of the half-dose of 'Invigoration Potion' that Madam Pomfrey had given both him and Hermione when they had made a stop at the infirmary. The woman had fussed over them for a good hour, and had given them quite a talk on how irresponsible their actions had been, but she had also been very happy that they hadn't sustained any injuries. Professor McGonagall could not agree more.

After she gave them some of the potion, she had them stay in the wing for several more minutes, to ensure that the potion didn't cause any adverse side effects. McGonagall had taken that time to get a much more thorough recount of their encounter with the troll. She had even gotten Hermione to confess as to why exactly she wasn't at the Halloween feast, and she had been very displeased with the answer.

Now, however, the two were finally back in front of their dorms, and were glad to be there. "Caput Draconis." With that phrase, the portrait guarding the Gryffindor common room swung open, and revealed to them the familiar gold and scarlet room. McGonagall was the first to step into it, closely followed by the two students. Harry noticed that there were still quite a few students there - which made sense, considering that curfew still wasn't over. One of the central tables had been covered with a deep red tablecloth, with large dishes of the foods that had been at the feast sitting atop it. On one side of the same table were stacks of plates and glasses, and countless sets of cutlery.

"As dinner had been cut short, we had this brought up to each common room. Please do help yourselves." She said, gesturing over to the table. "And do not worry, Ms. Granger, I shall be having a word with Mr. Weasley tomorrow about his recent behaviour. It has already caused some catastrophic results." With that and a short goodbye, she exited the tower, leaving the two by themselves.

That is, until they were rushed at by half a dozen students from around them. Or to be more precise, Harry was.

"Hey, Potter, did you kill the troll?"

"How many were there?"

"They must have been real strong if the professors ended up needing your help!"

"What sort of spell did you use to take them down? It must have been powerful to kill an actual troll!"

"And you rescued Granger from the troll too! You're a true hero, just like in all the story books."

"So, are the two of you dating now? Because that would be a real bummer..."

Harry felt very overwhelmed by the sudden limelight he had been shoved into. And he was really thrown a curveball by the last two comments. "Uh, I actually didn't do much. Hermione's the one who knocked out the troll. I was just there." He said honestly, picking at his wrist as he answered the group. He wasn't even sure where to begin with their ridiculous ideas that he and Hermione were dating. They were literally eleven for god's sake.

"And the two of us are just friends. We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time." Hermione meekly continued. The small group surrounding them did let out a collective groan of disappointment - along with a singular squeal of joy - though they still peppered the two first years with more questions and details on what had happened.

It was almost fifteen minutes later that the other Gryffindors let them be, and the two then finally hobbled over to the buffet table. Harry wasn't quite sure whether it was an effect of the potion he had drank or if it was because of how much he had exerted himself not too long ago, but he was feeling famished. He plated himself some beef wellington, and immediately began to eat. He absently noted that Hermione also seemed just as hungry.

After another serving of the beef wellington, he set his plate atop the table, and watched as it was whisked away seconds later by some unseen force. He was sure that it was almost past curfew at this point, so he might as well go back upstairs. Hermione had moved away to speak to another one of the first year girls - Parvati, he thought her name was - in a corner of the common room quite a bit ago. He was not especially tired yet, but he chalked that up to the Invigoration Potion, so he might as well try to go to bed.

He walked to the staircases, only to quickly be approached by Hermione.

"I-I wanted to say thanks again, for helping me." She said, and Harry could see that she was clearly still a little dazed by the entire ordeal.. To be honest, the same could be said about him. "It was nothing, Hermione. I just did what anyone else would have."

The girl nodded. "Still, I sure am glad someone was there. So, I guess I'll see you in class tomorrow."

"Yeah, good night." Hermione reciprocated, and Harry made his way up the staircase. He was beginning to feel tired because of the encounter with the troll, and all the questioning from the other people in the common room had not helped much in that regard. 'I ran into an actual troll! I expected some strange things in a world full of magic, but this was just...insane.' When he got to the first year boys dorm, he was glad to see that no one else was still up. It was half past ten already, so he wasn't too surprised. He was glad that they were asleep though - he wasn't sure if that was because he wanted to avoid Ron or to not want to answer any more questions about the troll. Harry wasn't as upset with Ron as he had been three weeks ago. In fact, he even felt a little guilty for having dug into him like he had, but he was still upset with the way that Ron had talked about his fame and his parents so callously.

He groaned as he lay back in the bed. He had made up his mind, however. He would just stick to focusing on things like Quidditch and his studies, and try to do the best to just be a normal student. Or as normal a student as one can be in a school for witchcraft and wizardry. And he'd try to get along with the one friend who he had been able to keep for more than a month past the beginning of term - Nym. She was someone who he could really trust and call a friend, even if she wasn't in his year. She was always just normal around him. Sure, she had made a couple flippant comments about him being the Boy-Who-Lived and all of that stuff, but she didn't seem to let that cloud her judgement of him, and he liked that. It was refreshing, not just being some kid who was famous for something he never even knew about. He knew nothing about being Harry Potter, the celebrity of the wizarding world, but he knew how to be Harry Potter, the kid who grew up in No. 4, Privet Drive, Surrey.

He groaned again. Thinking about how he wouldn't fit in was not going to help him much, so he might as well go to sleep. He took off his glasses and put them on the table beside his bed. The invigorating potion was probably wearing off, because he was feeling sudden waves of drowsiness come over him. He allowed himself to drift off, as his mind continuously went over the events of the evening.