~Disclaimer: Anything recognisable belongs to the queen J.K. Rowling!~

BOOK 1: The Order of the Phoenix

Prologue

The grin seemed to be glued on her lips and the control over her hair colour was not longer hers. The instant Moody got a hold of her scarlet Auror robes, all her resolution to look like a serious professional was gone. She had tried to use her original appearance for the occasion: the five feet and eight inches of toned muscle she had been forced to cultivate over the last few years, her heart-shaped face, dark blue eyes, blonde hair, but being a Metamorphmagus meant that one could not always look as they pleased and the top of her head was now bubble-gum pink – making a horrid contrast with the red of her robes. As he fastened the silver badge, everything seemed perfect: the crossed wands, the Department of Law Enforcement initials, the big 'A' for Auror, and even, the Ministry of Magic's logo. Nymphadora Tonks could feel her mentor's eyes glaring at her, but could not find it in herself to care. Not that she had cared whenever he did that. From the first time she heard her colleagues talking about Mad-Eye, she had had the urge to play for a bit of a laugh and mock everyone from being afraid of a softy. Even though he had proved her wrong, from their first day onwards, Tonks never stopped taunting him.

'As the head of the Auror Office and representative of the Ministry of Magic, I hereby grant you, Nymphadora Vulpecula Tonks, the title of Auror,' said Moody as he finished placing the badge and a loud round of applause was heard. 'You have qualified to help protect people from harm and it's something only a select group can be honoured to have achieved. However, it is not over. Remember to never disrespect your superiors. Your search for knowledge must never end and thus, if you do so, your position shall always ascend.'

The last three years of her life had been harder than she had allowed herself to believe when Professor Sprout had told her that Auror Training was not for the faint of heart; nevertheless, after all those years of misbehaving, her professor believed that she was capable of enduring it.

And she had been right.

Tonks had learnt quite a lot, but not everything had been joy. She had lost not only nights of sleep, but loved ones along the way, including colleagues who never managed to leave training alive. But she had got to the end. Now, she was one of the few that would stop people from losing their loved ones. She was still a Junior Auror, but she was officially part of the ones making the Wizarding community a safer place and she had never been happier.

'Honour this badge with your life, officer,' finished Moody.

'And what if I lose it?' she grinned in response with a wink.

Mad-Eye then clenched his teeth, but once again she did not care nor did she when, on her way out, her feet mysteriously got a hold of each other and she tripped. The sound of the laughter that filled her ears when she questioned Moody only echoed louder and it was the only thing that mattered. Though that was perhaps not true, as she also felt elated when her mate Savage ran at her and lifting her off the floor in a tight hug, when she saw her mother's teary eyes, and the proud smile on her father's lips. All of it let her get lost in her own happiness and forget everything else, even the fact that Alastor Moody had just announced his retirement in an interview to a reporter from the Daily Prophet; who was, at that precise moment, taking a picture.

A picture that would be on the front page of the following day's edition of the newspaper; titled: 'ALASTOR MOODY APPOINTED AS THE NEW DEFENCE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS PROFESSOR'. This was the headline that a thin, six feet and two inches tall man with a greying light brown hair and amber eyes named Remus Lupin would be reading on the next morning and thinking that the party being thrown behind the man who would replace him was one with the purpose of celebrating the fact that Albus Dumbledore had finally taken a good move towards the jinxed position at Hogwarts. Remus Lupin would have no idea that, in less than a year's time, he would come to see the Auror and the girl behind him on a daily basis.

At that moment, all that mattered was the fact that his mistake of thinking he was in anyway worthy of leading a normal life within the Wizarding community was partially fixed. The young wizards and witches that he had grown so fond of would have a decent mentor. Someone who could teach them how to survive and how to deal properly with the Dark Arts. He had no doubt Moody would fit the post perfectly; he had filled half of the cells in Azkaban after all, and was the best Auror Remus had ever heard of, albeit a bit paranoid as he had come to know whilst working for the Order of the Phoenix over a decade before.

He entered at The Three Broomsticks, glad that at least his months at Hogwarts had filled his pockets with some gold, and sat by the counter. Spotting Madam Rosmerta, he gestured for her to come and recognised the look in her eyes. It was the same one he had been all too accustomed to seeing whenever they learnt just what he was.

'May I have a Butterbeer, please?'

She lingered for a second longer than needed, narrowing her eyes at him whilst absentmindedly wiping her hands on a cloth before fetching his order.

The couple of Sickles had barely hit the counter when she placed the bottle beside them a little too strong.

'Do me a favour, lad? Don't scare my real clients off,' she demanded tilting her head towards the door.

Remus got the Butterbeer and left, trying his best to turn a blind eye to the several heads that turned towards him as he made his way out. It had barely been a month since he resigned from the only real Wizarding job he had ever had and practically every single place he had visited since his name had appeared in the Daily Prophet, had been a repetition of what he had just witnessed. Not even old acquaintances were tolerant of his condition. It made him feel even more grateful for the Marauders' friendship towards him all those years ago. How could Wormtail have done it? How. Could. He? James had welcomed him within their group, they had been no less than inseparable and Lily was always so caring ...

Even with the recent discover of Peter's betrayal … he had likely been the luckiest bloke in the world; for he found the only ones that could see in him the man and not the beast. But after all the hateful owls he had been receiving lately ... it was hard to remember what it had been like back then. Well, what did he expect?