"I'm not sure why I am surprised," Scrimgeour stated, sounding a bit flabbergasted.
He was referring to her training results.
In between lessons from Mad-Eye, Dora, Kingsley and David, there was very little she hadn't been prepared for. At least where the actual testing was concerned.
So far, she hadn't been in the field. From July 1st to now, the end of August, it had been nothing but training.
Marina thought it best if her fellow aurors didn't learn that she had been given time off on her and Harry's birthdays. Special treatment much.
She thanked Merlin that she was in the Duelling League, otherwise she would have been woefully out of shape for this.
"Everything is Outstanding, except for Poisons & Antidotes, but an Exceeds Expectations is nothing to sneeze at," her examiner proclaimed with a slight grin.
Marina knew that once upon a time, the wizard had been Mad-Eye's partner. But Archibald Tuft had resigned much earlier and joined the Training Centre instead. He had been the one to test her father and James.
"I'm surprised it went that well," she grumbled, still cleaning grime off her robes. "Potions was always my worst subject. And as much as I like to blame the oversized bat, I just don't have natural talent for it."
Both men covered their amusement with frowns.
It was liberating that she didn't have to hide her disdain for Snape any longer. And as she was no longer a student, she didn't have to bite her tongue anymore.
"You might want to watch that tone on your first assignment," Scrimgeour advised and Marina perked up, dirty seams forgotten.
"Don't tell me there is someone who actually likes Snape."
Archibald lost the fight and chuckled while watching them closely.
"I'm assigning you to Hogwarts. You and two dozen others will be responsible for the students' safety."
Marina didn't even bother trying to hide her smile.
"Thank you for that, Sir."
She knew damn well that she was getting preferential treatment, and ordinarily she would have protested.
But nothing was normal anymore, since Percy Weasley – one of Fudge's staunchest supporters and Dumbledore's severest critics – had gone on record with the Prophet and sworn that he had seen Voldemort with his own eyes.
Now even the most determined denialists couldn't hide from the truth anymore.
Unfortunately, that just meant that the wizarding world was at war and no one trusted the Ministry anymore.
Everyone remembered that Amelia had been telling the truth for months, but everything else was under glaring doubt.
So, she didn't count on the parents being freaking sensible and telling their children to obey school rules for ones.
All that just translated into the students' safety being up to Aurors those students wouldn't necessarily trust.
That's where Marina came in. Much as Scrimgeour might have been doing this for her, he was also a shrewd man.
Ever since the debacle at the Ministry, the wizarding community had done a complete turnaround and now Harry and she were back to being national bloody heroes.
Never mind the fact that they'd painted them as narcissistic, attention-seeking liars before.
Now that everyone had to face facts, they were looking at the Chosen One – as the press had dubbed Harry after somehow learning of the prophecy – and Marina.
Sending her to Hogwarts was therefore strategic. The children were more likely to take her colleagues seriously with her there – after their parents had spent all this summer sympathizing with her brother and her.
"Any word on Bellatrix or Titania?" she questioned her boss.
She asked every day, and it was always the same answer.
"Nothing. They are laying low, Black."
"For now. I shudder to think what stunt they'll pull next."
It was late when she flooed home. Everyone was already at the dinner table.
"And?" her father asked absentmindedly, intently staring at her crystal ball. She'd spent weeks trying to tell him it was hopeless. She was a Seer, for Merlin's sake, and almost never saw anything in the damn thing.
But he kept hoping for a lead. They all were.
"Passed with flying colours. Now I'll just have to survive two years in the field."
And keep up with training – there would be some sort of pop quiz every couple of months.
She plopped onto her seat and started shovelling stew onto her plate.
"Remus?"
"At the Tonks'."
No surprise there.
It had taken another week of arguing with the stubborn fool after the Ministry, but he had rarely left Dora's and – by default – Andromeda's side.
Marina had yet to scrape together enough of a spine to face the woman. Some Gryffindor she was turning out to be.
"Our results came today," Harry then announced and produces two envelopes.
Scrimgeour had let her start training early, but if those grades weren't up to par…
"You first," she encouraged her equally nervous brother.
Who would have ever thought he's care about grades?
He ripped it open, her father finally focusing on the present company instead an empty orb, and read.
Without any kind of expression, he handed her the parchment.
Astronomy: (A)
Care of Magical Creatures: (E)
Charms: (E)
Defence Against the Dark Arts: (O)
Herbology: (E)
History of Magic: (D)
Potions: (E)
Study of Ancient Runes: (O)
Transfiguration: (E)
Eight O.W.L.s – that was far more than Harry himself had expected. He'd even passed freaking Astronomy, despite the attack on Hagrid in the middle of it.
"That's amazing," she grinned, handing the letter to her Dad and hugged her brother across the table.
"Yeah. But not enough," Harry mumbled into her hair.
He was talking about becoming an Auror. Snape only accepted Outstanding students into his N.E.W.T.s class.
"We can get you a tutor from the Department of Magical Education. Then you can sit your test in two years weather Snape lets you in or not," her Dad assured his son, rounding the table to hug him too.
Not that anyone actually wanted Harry to become an Auror, but they'd be damned if Snape ruined his chances.
Marina felt Harry perk up at that. Then he looked at her expectantly.
She took a deep breath before tearing her own envelope and braced herself. In theory she should have aced her exams – before things went to hell in a handbasket –, but still…
Care of Magical Creatures: (E)
Charms: (O)
Defence Against the Dark Arts: (O)
Divination: (O)
Herbology: (E)
Muggles Studies: (O)
Potions: (E)
Study of Ancient Runes: (O)
Transfiguration: (O)
"We'll have to celebrate," her Dad cheered and started waving his wand around, summoning all manner of her favourite desserts and drinks.
"Not too long though," she cautioned even while Harry tossed floo-powder into the downstairs hearth and yelled for people to come celebrate. "I have to report to duty at 9 o'clock tomorrow."
"You got your first assignment?" her father asked, valiantly keeping the spike of worry from his face and voice.
"Yep. We assemble at nine and then apparate to Hogsmeade. We get to move into our temporary quarters until 11 o'clock when the Auror-in-charge assigns us our stations. By the time you guys arrive -," she added, looking at Harry, "-we'll be there to greet you at the gate."
"Rufus assigned you to Hogwarts?" Jupiter's voice sounded from the living room and she turned just in time to see Carmen tumble out of the fire.
All the Notts and Weasleys were there.
"Yes. I'm sure I must have made that face too," she pointed at David before he pulled her into a hug, even while his sister scrambled to read Marina's exam results.
"She got seven Outstanding and two Exceeds Expectation, which means she starts at St. Mungo's the day after tomorrow," David told her while Ron devoured Harry's results and shared his own. Apparently, the young redhead had surprised everyone – most of all himself – by achieving eight O.W.L.s like Harry; all of them Exceeds Expectations, except for one Acceptable in, understandably, Astronomy.
"The girls are good influence on you after all," Arthur announced proudly, everyone already stuffing themselves on too much sugar.
"Dora, Elias and I are assigned to Hogwarts too," David told her much later, when everyone was getting ready to head home or to bed.
"Dora's back to work?" Marina asked, mighty uncomfortable. She hadn't yet faced her cousin since Ted's funeral either.
"Starting tomorrow. She asked the boss to let her come back a week after the funeral, but Scrimgeour said to take care of Andromeda."
"I still haven't been to see either of them," she admitted quietly.
"Neither of them blames you, love."
Except Marina blamed herself. And she would sense it if even one pore of them blamed her too. It was sheer cowardice, but she couldn't face that possibility.
"You get a day off after five days' work. You have to visit Andromeda."
Turns out, she didn't have to go anywhere.
Andromeda was standing next to her daughter the next morning when she reported to duty.
The terrified ten-year-old part of here had to struggle not to duck for cover behind some of her colleagues.
The young adult in mourning never had that chance.
As soon as she laid eyes on a deathly pale Andromeda and Dora with suspiciously mouse-brown eyes and hair, her own eyes burned with tears.
Dora without goofy coloured hair was just wrong, as was the agony pouring off of both the Tonks women.
All because Marina hadn't stopped Titania.
Dora POV
Dora knew her cousin was feeling unnecessarily guilty. Remus, the Notts, Sirius and everyone else imaginable had told her mother and her how the young Auror-trainee wasn't sleeping. And when she was sleeping, she relieved the disaster in the Ministry, crying her father's name over and over.
She had tied back her hair in a severe knot, which she had always hated. According to Sirius it was to hide the fact that the colour was fading from strands and turning white.
The bags beneath her eyes had bags – all the makeup in the world couldn't completely hide that and she barely bothered.
But the worst was the pain in her eyes.
Dora and her mother had been in agony these past two months, even more so because they knew that nothing they could say would ease Marina's guilt. And yet, neither of them had expected this.
How in the world had she passed her first tests like this?
Her mother sniffed next to her and she refocused.
Marina's eyes watered when she spotted them and she froze on the spot.
Their fellow Aurors exchanged looks before backing away a few feet, giving them some semblance of privacy. Everyone knew what had happened by now.
Her cousin blinked furiously but the tears escaped anyway. Then she visibly forced herself to walk over to them and stopped about a foot away.
"Dromeda…" Her voice broke and she had to pause and swallow. "I'm so sorry, Dromeda. I…"
Her mother cut her off by pulling her into a tight hug.
Marina stayed stiff in the woman's arms, clearly uncomfortable.
Dora took her hand and squeezed.
Her father's death had not been Marina's fault.
Only Titania and Bellatrix were to blame.
A/N: For all those interested, the next 'chapter' will be a list of OWLs/NEWTs their friends got. Those not interested, ignore.