Author's Note: My second chapter. I still have no clue how long this is going to be. The spell they discuss at the end of the chapter is in reference to Half-Blood Prince. Langlock, to be precise, just in case anyone was to wonder.
Chapter Two
Nymphadora Tonks walked briskly down the corridor towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Wand in hand, she walked on, determining in her mind that she would work very hard in this, the first, and all of her private lessons with Professor Lupin. She knew how hard it would be to get through her Auror training and she was determined to get all the NEWTs necessary to be accepted into said training program, proving that, although she was a bit of a klutz, she was not afraid of hard work. She nodded at a few students as she passed them in the hallway, scrunching up her nose slightly as her shoulder length hair turned a darker shade of brown. She pulled it into a tight, neat ponytail as she entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
Professor Lupin was standing in front of the bookcase which sat directly behind his desk, his head ed to the side in thought. Tonks approached him quietly, taking this moment to really observe her teacher. She noted that he had the potential to be very handsome, though he looked rather unkempt at the moment. For one, he looked as though he had forgotten to shave that morning, as well as comb his rather bushy brown hair, and his robes were very worn. Tonks knew that several s in her year were quite taken with this young professor, but she had never really been one for the rugged look.
"Whatcha looking for, professor?" Tonks said abruptly, standing next to Professor Lupin, who started when she spoke, seeing her for the first time. He looked at her for a moment before turning back to his previous engagement with a little sigh.
"I was looking for my copy of 'Quidditch Through the Ages," he said as last, head still to the side, eyes scanning the content of the bookcase. Tonks allowed her own eyes to scan for the book as well, but with no luck.
"Whatever for?" She wondered why a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher would have use for a sports book.
"I wanted to look up a date," Professor Lupin replied, turning to Tonks at last. She smiled at him brightly, obviously eager to get down to business.
"Right then," he said enthusiastically rubbing his palms together. "Shall we begin?"
"Lets," Tonks agreed. Her own enthusiasm encouraged the young teacher. It reminded him of so many of the private lessons he had given to less fortunate wizarding children. Tonks was clean and presentable in her Hogwarts robes, her hair pulled back and her head raised slightly with an air of resolve about her. It only made him more inspired as a teacher to do his very best to help his intelligent young pupil. But both party's enthusiasm was somewhat lessened when an awkward silence ensued. Tonks, unsure of how to begin the lesson, stood staring at her own feet, shuffling them slightly. Professor Lupin on the other hand took to levitating desks to the side of the room, stacking them neatly. He wasn't quite sure why the situation was uncomfortable—he'd given private tutoring plenty of times before. At last he concluded that it was because he had no idea what he was supposed to be helping Tonks with in the first place. Defense Against the Dark Arts was such a broad subject, after all.
"So what is it that you need help with, exactly?" He asked at last, pocketing his wand and taking a seat at his desk.
"Oh, I've just always done poorly at Defense," Tonks moaned slightly, slumping onto the nearest windowsill. "I suppose it began second year when we were studying magical creatures. I missed a class because Filch gave me an 'emergency detention' for setting off a dung near his office." Tonks smiled at the memory and Remus couldn't help but be a little surprised. She didn't seem the kind of who would get into that sort of trouble—but to be fair, he hadn't exactly seemed the type himself, and he had pulled his fair share of pranks during his own school years.
"So you need to catch up on your magical creatures?" Professor Lupin asked, a little uneasy. Tonks looked at him for a moment, confused. Then she laughed.
"No, I'm good with all that now. I've never really been good with defensive spells, though. Like the disillusionment charm, not that that is technically defensive. Professor Knot had me write an essay on it in fifth year and he gave me an awful grade. I guess I didn't describe it well enough for him. See, you can't really describe how a spell is supposed to work if it has never really worked properly for you, can you?"
"I suppose not," the professor answered.
"He was a right teacher, anyway," Tonks said at last, scrunching up her nose and blowing out her cheeks with exasperation at the memory. Professor Lupin couldn't help but jump a little as Tonks' hair turned a brilliant shade of pink. She looked at him, confused.
"I'd forgotten that you could do that," he said, indicating her hair. She looked up, confused.
"Oh!" she said at last, realizing what she'd done. "I didn't notice I'd done anything. Sorry, professor. Professor McGonagall tells me that I shouldn't change myself so drastically at school. 'It is inappropriate, Ms. Tonks.'" She said in her best impression of Professor McGonagall. "But what do you mean you'd forgotten?" She added, almost as an afterthought.
"Well I haven't seen you since you were rather young," Professor Lupin said with a smile. "Your cousin Sirius and I used to go visit your mother quite often when you were still rather small."
"That was you?" Tonks couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her lips. "I'd almost forgotten about that." She pulled her knees towards her, leaning against the window now. She had a very vague memory of a handsome young man who almost always came to visit with her cousin, Sirius, but she had never quite been able to place who he was. Her parents hadn't spoken much of Sirius since his imprisonment, as it was too painful a subject for her mother, so she hadn't inquired as to why the young man disappeared entirely when Sirius was sent away to Azkaban. Professor Lupin coughed somewhat uncomfortably—he didn't really feel that this was an appropriate conversation to be having with a student, especially when they were supposed to be working.
"So shall we start with the practical magic?" He asked, standing up and making his way towards the middle of the room. "Beside the disillusionment charm, what other spells are you having trouble with?"
Tonks hopped off the windowsill, making her way towards the professor, seemingly deep in thought.
"My full body bind could use a bit of work," she began, standing across from him now. "As could my shield charm, riddikulus… And I know that being able to cast a patronus is very important for Aurors…so yes, I've quite a few spells that I have troubles with." Professor Lupin nodded silently, turned, and began summoning large cushions to line the sides of the room. Tonks looked at him questionably, and he smiled. She decided that she rather liked his smile—it was friendly and warm and made her feel at ease.
"I have found," Professor Lupin said, "That when a young witch or wizard finally gets a handle of the shielding charm, that it is best to have a bit of cushioning around."
"Is that what we are starting with, then?" Tonks asked, pulling her wand out and bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"I think so," Professor Lupin said. "Tell me, what are your experiences with the shield charm?"
"Well it would have been handy a few times when people have decided to jinx me," said Tonks, shrugging. "But usually I produce just this weak shield that fizzles out." Professor Lupin nodded again, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"Wand up, then," he said at last, holding his own wand in a dueling position. Tonks' eyes widened.
"What are we doing?" she asked, a bit nervous.
"You are going to produce a full shield charm," Professor Lupin said, wand still up. "If you don't, you will be subject to a jinx of my choosing." He couldn't help but smile a little as Tonks took a step back, looking rightly terrified.
"You wouldn't," she whispered, shaking her head in disbelief, causing her ponytail to bounce about, and to distract her teacher for a moment.
"Your shield charm needs to be a powerful one if you want to be an Auror," Professor Lupin explained calmly. "You need to actually be shielding yourself against something for it to become that strong."
Tonks gulped and shook her head, unable to tell him verbally that she was ready. Both teacher and student rose their wands, Tonks grimacing slightly as she did so. Professor Lupin's wand started to move in a swishing motion, and she bobbed her own as she spoke the incantation.
"Protego!" she cried, watching sadly as the blue shield erupted from her wand, quickly fading away. She looked up at Professor Lupin, slightly annoyed.
"You didn't do anything," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "You had me all scared for nothing."
"Just testing the waters," he said calmly, raising his wand again, "Watch out for it this time, though."
Before she had time to react, his wand was moving and she felt herself falling backward, unable to move. She watched as he stepped over her, coming close to kneel down beside her.
"That," he said with a smile. "Was a full body bind." He removed the charm and helped her to stand. She pulled away from him, rather annoyed.
"I know what a full body bind feels like, thank you," she said, holding her head high.
"Ready?" Professor Lupin asked, already moving his wand. A red light shot from his wand.
"Stupefy!" he called as Tonks fumbled with her wand. She was thrown back a bit by the force of the spell, but she stood back up, exasperation evident in her features. She threw her head back, pushing away some loose strands of hair away from her heart shaped face.
"Again," the professor called as soon as she was up. He moved his wand in a slashing movement, taking a step closer to her in a true dueling fashion. She was very upset with him now, and she had every intention of telling him so. I wasn't even ready; she tried to say, but found that she could not make the words come out of her mouth. Her tongue was stuck! She glared at him evilly and he removed the spell.
"What was that?" she asked, moving her tongue about uncomfortably in her mouth.
"Just a little hex I learned in my school years," Professor Lupin answered, moving his wand in a fluid movement. This time she was ready. She moved her own wand with such resolve that it almost flew out of her hand.
"Protego!" she cried, taking a step forward herself. The blue shield emitted from her wand and, to her surprise, grew and held. Professor Lupin was smiling.
"Very good," he said when she lowered her wand at last. "That is what a true Shield Charm is meant to look like. I'd like you to write me an essay, your choice of length, on the use and look of a Shield Charm. Due on Monday, when we will continue our practice of the charm."
"I have to wait until Monday for our next lesson?" Tonks moaned rather childishly. Professor Lupin gave her a look and she sighed.
"Until then, keep practicing," he said, walking over to his desk and retrieving a book, which he handed to her. "And have a look at this. It's all about Aurors. Found it in an old trunk of mine and thought you might want a look at it." She took it from him with a smile. Tonks recognized the title as one she had read about in the Daily Prophet as a 'classic read.'
"Well I don't know about you," Professor Lupin said, "But I am positively famished." Tonks had completely forgotten about dinner in the excitement of their lesson, and she too realized just how hungry she was.
"Me too," she said, walking with Professor Lupin to the door. "What's the name of that jinx, professor? The one that binds your tongue?"
"Oh no," Professor Lupin laughed. "I won't give you that sort of information. You'll run off and test it on all your little enemies."
"But I won't," Tonks said, pulling her hair out of her ponytail with distaste, allowing it to shorten several inches. Professor Lupin wondered why she did this so often. Was this bright young so dissatisfied with her appearance, or was it just because she could?
"I can't," he continued. "It's not an official spell, anyway. Just something a classmate of mine made up."
"What are you doing using an unofficial spell, professor?" Tonks asked, almost chiding him. Remus blushed.
"It's a little more convenient than the Silencing Charm," she continued with a laugh, ignoring his blush. "I'd almost be tempted to use it on Professor Snape…" Professor Lupin's eyes widened. He almost laughed at the thought—Tonks obviously didn't know what she was saying.
"And that is why I can't tell you what it is," he said, almost in disbelief. "Honestly, hexing a teacher is a serious offense."
Tonks sighed.
"I know, I know," she said as they reached the Great Hall. "I was only joking, anyway. See you, professor!" she called as she ran off to the Hufflepuff table where she was happily greeted by her friends. The was a riddle to Remus. She was bright, witty, and beautiful, but she had a head for trouble that he found surprising in a and he couldn't figure out why. Sitting down at the teacher's table, a thought stuck him. She was like her cousin, he concluded with a sad smile. She was young when Sirius was put away—seven or eight at the most, but he had obviously had an effect on her. At the same time she was very different. He supposed that was the difference between a Gryffindor and a Hufflepuff, and left it at that.
-&-
"So Tonks," a sixth year Hufflepuff sitting a few seats down from Tonks called. "I hear you're having private lessons with Professor Lupin."
"That's right," Tonks said, filling her goblet with pumpkin juice. "He's helping get into his NEWTs class."
"I wish I could have private lessons with Professor Lupin," a fifth year sighed. "He is so wonderful. I wonder if he is married."
"He isn't," Tonks informed her, not exactly sure that she was right. Turning back to her meal, she sighed happily. There was nothing like a good meal after a hard day's work.
"Ooh," the cried, sitting forward with interest. "How do you know?"
"He's a friend of my mum's," Tonks replied matter-of-factly.
"I think he's rather creepy," a sixth year boy said, quietly.
"Oh, you're just jealous," the g.irl sitting next to him said, nudging the boy, who blushed when he saw who nudged him. Ah, young love, Tonks sighed.
"He's right handsome," the g.irl said, looking up at the staff table. Tonks followed her gaze, watching Professor Lupin for a few moments. He was completely oblivious to the fact that half of the Hufflepuff s were sighing over him. He was in deep conversation with Professor Sinstra, the astronomy teacher.
"Still," the sixth year boy spoke again. "There's something about him that just isn't quite right." He shook his head before going back to his meal. She looked back up at Professor Lupin, confused. Was there something about the young man who had come to visit with her cousin that she had forgotten? It seemed there was, and it seemed that it was important. She decided that she had best write her mother about it, as she was sure to remember.
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