Gold Tinted Spectacles (Hecatemus Book #1)

Chapter 23 - London and Back Again (pt1)

A/N: The details of how and when students learned to Apparate and where they took their test also wasn't know when this story was originally written, hence, at the time, I made it up :)

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Getting to London was not as easy as it could have been. They couldn't Floo because it was impossible to put both of them in the fireplace at the same time. Being separated by any distance was not something either of them wanted to try just at the moment and that was what the Floo network would do to them.

Apparating was not an option, because illegally Apparating into the Ministry of Magic just before your test was likely to achieve a fail even if they couldn't prosecute you. Hence the fastest alternative was a Portkey which Dumbledore had presented to them as soon as Draco had agreed to the trip.

The Portkey destination point was 12 Grimmauld Place for safety, but the meeting with the Order was not set until the afternoon. Hence only Tonks and Remus Lupin were waiting for them in the living room of the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. Today Tonks' hair was green and silver, a colour scheme that was not lost on Draco.

"Harry," the Auror greeted brightly, "it's so lovely to see you again."

She bounced on the spot scarily like Hilde often did and refrained from coming any closer.

"And this must be the famous Draco Malfoy," Tonks continued cheerfully, "funny he doesn't look much like the spawn of a Dementor and a demon to me, Moody must have been exaggerating."

A spike of amusement ran through Draco, transferring to Harry and causing him to smile: Tonks was almost as good at breaking the ice as she was at breaking everything else.

"Pleased to meet you," Draco greeted politely and offered his hand to the young woman, "I must say I'm impressed with the hair."

Tonks stepped forward to take the offer of friendship and almost fell over the edge of the rug.

"There's nothing like solidarity," she said with a smile and steadied herself before shaking the offered limb, "and it pisses off several of my colleagues which is an added bonus."

Draco grinned at her, moving back to Harry's side.

"Harry, Draco," Remus greeted with his usual understated smile.

"Hello, Remus," both young men greeted simultaneously which drew a wider grin from the older man.

They had corresponded by owl several times with the werewolf, but this was the first time they had met face to face since Harry's life altering change. The Order had been very busy over the last few months and, although Remus had expressed his desire to visit, there had been no time.

"Although it would be lovely to chat," Remus said politely, "I'm afraid we have to hurry."

"We borrowed a car from the Ministry," Tonks explained with a conspiratorial grin, "and there is only so long before it will be missed."

Remus appeared rather embarrassed by the whole situation, but Harry found it fairly amusing and Draco was impressed.

[This day becomes more and more interesting,] Draco commented as their hosts indicated they should leave the room.

* * *

At first the Apparating examiner; a small bespectacled woman who did not look as if she ever left the building, had tried to make Harry wait outside the test centre, but Remus had taken the oblivious bureaucrat aside and when the two had returned there had been no objection to both young men entering. Harry remembered the long panelled room well, although taking his test had been strangely anticlimactic. Draco felt completely calm as they walked in and Harry remembered being the same way; in their world this was such a little thing that it was almost funny.