There was a knock of the door – firm, but almost hesitant. Moody waited for a couple more, at these things usually came in pairs, but there were none. "Come in, then," he barked, returning his eyes to the lead he was reading – one of many on the overflowing inbox.
With a faint creak, the door opened. There was silence for about three seconds, and then an unfamiliar voice said, "Wotcher, Auror Moody."
He looked up. In front of him was a slender girl, obviously just out of Hogwarts, with bright pink hair and tattered jeans – odd, but he'd seen stranger. "Nymphadora Tonks?" he said, the name somewhere between a statement and a question.
"Just Tonks, actually," she said with a slight shudder.
"All right, then, Tonks." He regarded her again. She wasn't really the typical cadet. Most of them didn't decide to start training in June, by any means. And the hair – there was no way she was going to be able to sneak up on anyone with that look. "Hair's got to go," he muttered, re-reading the same sentence on the page.
"Oh, sorry. Not a problem." The way she said it so casually made Moody look up – she scrunched up her eyes, and instantly the pink faded to a rich brown. She looked rather satisfied with herself.
Moody nodded slightly. "Morpher, eh?" She nodded. "Bet you think you're impressive."
Her smile faded. "Well, I figured it would help with disguises. I'll use it to my advantage. But I'm not going to work any less hard."
The answer was relatively satisfying, but Moody wasn't totally convinced. "So you're fresh out of Hogwarts," he said.
"Yeah, school ended a week ago. My only plan was to become a cadet, so I figured I'd better get going before anything else got in my way."
Despite her appearance and rare ability, she sounded like the typical cadet – naïve, overconfident, just looking for something to tide her over before a man or a different, easier job attracted her. His last trainee had lasted a month before leaving to do who knows what. More and more cadets had been dropping out. Sure, they'd all gotten the required N.E.W.T.s, but apparently they weren't up for the work or just thought of a little training as one more thing to add to the resume.
"So why, exactly, have you chose this line of work?"
Tonks paused for a few seconds. "Well, it's an attractive occupation, obviously – working with the smartest wizards in England, solving cases, fighting the Dark guys. I started really focusing on the grades in third year. But recently…" She was quiet again before continuing. "Auror Moody, things are changing. There are more and more deaths in the Prophet, more sightings of allegedly Dark wizards. And frankly, while the public isn't anywhere close to admitting it, I wouldn't be surprised if we see a whole new influx of Death Eaters, of loyal supporters. I don't think Vol – He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named ever died. If he gets enough supporters –"
She stopped, and blushed slightly. "Sorry. That's just my personal theory, and even if it never happens I want to aid the force that stops Dark wizards, to help prevent problems in the future. I can't just watch on the sidelines."
There was a long, rich silence while Moody considered. Her words matched his own philosophy, and the philosophy of Albus Dumbledore, almost perfectly. He watched her picking absentmindedly at a string fraying on her cloak, her dark eyes still locked into his face.
"All right then," Moody finally said, and Tonks smiled. "Let's get started."
