Do forgive me. Your Dear Professor McGonagall has only just gotten in, and forgotten completely that it was Mad-Eye's birthday.
Did anyone else ever picture him as a bit of a gruff storyteller/joker? I mean, I know he didn't mess around when it came to business, but I figured he was always someone who appreciated the value of a good, funny story.
Anyway, happy birthday, Mad-Eye. xx
30 April 1996
Mad-Eye stumped down the stairs to the underground kitchen of Grimmauld Place. Not many people were here, considering there was a meeting due to start; Sirius and Lupin were having some kind of debate with Arthur near the sink, while Molly Weasley put out a tray of fresh-baked biscuits for the meeting. There was only one person standing by herself, nursing a mug of tea as she stared into space.
Mad-Eye moved to stand right behind her. "You stare any harder at Lupin, your eyes'll pop out," Mad-Eye growled. Tonks whirled around, dropping her mug of tea.
"Mad-Eye!" she gasped, kneeling down and waving her wand to mend the cup. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"
"So glad I gave you all that extra help in Stealth and Tracking," he muttered, flicking his wand to dry off his jacket. "Where's Dumbledore?"
"Running late," Tonks replied, folding her arms. "We're still waiting on…well, pretty much everyone."
"Mad-Eye," said Molly, beaming as she passed by, "Happy birthday!"
Mad-Eye grunted in response, and Tonks snickered. "Watch it," he muttered. "I outrank you, retired or not."
"Mm-hmm," Tonks agreed, "in gardening, and making tea, and sitting quietly by the fire…"
"I wouldn't have helped you with the exams at all if I'd known this is how you were going to turn out," he growled at her. Tonks put on a brilliant smile and kissed his cheek, giving him a tight hug.
"Happy birthday, you old codger," she said.
"McGonagall coming tonight? I wanted to know what's happening at the school." He moved to sit down at the table. Tonks joined him.
"No, and neither is Snape. They've got their hands full, with Umbridge running things," she replied.
"Huh. Told Dumbledore not to tangle with that woman," said Mad-Eye. "She's a snake if I ever saw one."
"I didn't realize you knew her, Mad-Eye," said Lupin, who was just coming to sit down with Sirius, Arthur, and Molly.
"Knew her? I fired her," he grunted. This statement was met with confused looks.
"What?" Tonks asked.
"She worked in the Auror Office?" said Arthur. "When?"
Mad-Eye leaned back in his chair, stretching out his bad leg stiffly. "Eh, maybe twenty years ago?"
"Dolores Umbridge was training to be an Auror?" Sirius scoffed.
"Nah, not smart enough," Mad-Eye replied. "She was an assistant. My assistant, until I caught her listening to a meeting I was having. She'd been kicked out of pretty much every department in the Ministry by then, so I knew what to look for by the time I got stuck with her."
"If she was getting caught by Heads of Department," said Lupin, "Why did she keep her job?"
"She wouldn't have done, if I'd gotten that Blasting Curse aimed better," Mad-Eye told him. "I'd just lost the eye, though, you know how it is."
