Slightly unnerved, but ever so excited, she emerged from his office, her squeals being stifled only by her groans as she slipped up on a loose floorboard. Composing herself, she stuffed the note and her hands into her dungaree pockets and bit her bottom lip in a child-like manner, as she grinned clearly.

Somehow, she just could not help it. Being young and fairly inexperienced, she didn't think he would've ever dreamed of offering her the post of Defence against the Dark Arts teacher. Breaking into a skip, despite her earlier fall, she smiled even when passing the suspicious looking Kreacher who was kneeling and bowing before the portrait of Sirius' mother.

Whistling, she locked her hand around the bannister as she walked down the stairs. Knowing fully well she shouldn't really tell the kids, she replaced her smile with a look of indifference and passed by Hermione and Ron without a word, as they huddled in a corner, seemingly deep in whisperings with each other.

Spying Harry, Luna and Ginny in the living room and waving to them briefly as she went past, she made note of the disgruntled look on the younger Weasley's face as Miss Lovegood and Mr Potter divulged into a discussion.

Barely looking where she were going, she opened the Kitchen door, that swung through both ways and heard the not-so-good sound of someone moaning behind it. Knowing her clumsy attitude had resulted in someone's pain again, she was about to apologise when Severus opened the door for her to walk through, clutching a bloody nose. He looked exasperated as he walked past her and seemed to spit her name, "Nymphadora!" quite vehemently. Narrowing her eyes in boiling fury, she gritted her teeth and snarled, "Tonks...is my name." After one last look of anger toward him, she sat on the bench and pulled out the note from her pocket. Unscrunching it, she sighed, annoyed that she could've gone from being so over-joyed to so thoroughly pissed off, in a couple if minutes.

Scrumpling the invitation back up and shoving it instantly in her pocket, as the herd scrambled into the kitchen, she smiled with her lips at the bunch of mildly happy faces that entered the room. As per normal, the kids sat around one table, the adults at the other. Tonks had often felt caught in the middle. She didn't quite fit in with the adults, she didn't know much about Voldemort and whenever she tried to be helpful, Snape would always either sneer or make a nasty comment toward her. Then again, she didn't fit in with the mindless gossip from the hormonal teens, over who Ginny was currently dating and whether Ron and Hermione were currently talking to each other or not.

Sighing, resting her chin in her hand, she smiled with her teeth, toward Harry who looked sullenly downhearted and he smiled half-heartedly. Reassured, knowing the effort of his happiness at least showed he was dealing with Sirius' death, her eyes left him, knowing she had no longer had a reason to delay looking at the people around her. Out of the very corner of her eye, she spotted him sweeping through the door in his usual black cloak, a small white band placed neatly across his nose, even though it looked rather odd. Around it were a spot of bruising and she looked away awkwardly, feeling a sudden blush arise on her face, as Emmaline Vance and Hestia Jones started gossiping behind their palms and giving the two warying looks.

Tonks distinctly heard them whispering about her having punched him. If only, she thought, thinking maybe that would've sounded alot less pathetic than just swinging a door in the man's face. He too seemed to become aware of the gossiping and she couldn't help but notice the cruel, harsh look he flashed her as he picked up his plate and left the room, after telling Dumbledore that he was going to eat in his own quarters.

Her hands slipping across the back of her head, she breathed in heavily and shook her head a little. There really was no need for him to be that excruciatingly unforgiving. It was, after all, an accident. Nodding her head, as a few of the elder women, namely Molly and Minerva, reassured her that he was like that with everyone, she set about stirring her bowl of stew with her wooden spoon, rarely raising the food to her lips at all. Meaning to try and sneak away quietly, she lifted her leg, but accidentally ended up on the floor, having caught one of her shoelaces under the other boot and landed on her bum on the stone floor, stew all down her front.

Apologising to Molly incessantly, she wiped herself down and then left the room hurriedly, he face burning with embarassment.

Knocking on his door sharply, she were shocked when he opened the door t her before she had even had the chance to rap her knuckles against the wood a second time. Regaining her composure, she cleared her throat and demanded,

"Do you have any idea how much you've just embarassed me?"

Leaving the door hanging open, he walked away from the doorway. Not sure what she was supposed to do, she edged through it a little and stood agitatedly as he wandered around the room aimlessly, apparently distracted.

"And the embrassment," he sneered, "Is clearly obvious seeing as you are the one with the broken nose."

Scoffing in disbelief, though she didn't quite know why she hadn't expected him to be difficult, she retorted,

"Sauntering out of the kitchen, making an announcement that you'd eat alone and then stare at me cruelly. No, that isn't embarassing one bit, is it?"

Slamming a cupboard drawer shut, that he had been scurrying round in, a snarled,

"For Merlin's sake, do you realise what you sound like. You remind me of one of those insolent brats I teach. Do yourself a favour and stop twittering on and leave me in peace!"

Scowling, she folded her arms, deciding to be even more difficult. He could define it as immaturity for all she cared.

"Why?"

Sighing, raising a hand to his forehead and staring at her, a smirk forming on his face, he said,

"It baffles me, how you find my absence more embrassing than standing there talking to me, with stew spilt all over your garments as if you're adept to missing your mouth when eating."

Flushing furiously, and feeling utterly annoyed at his ability to wind her up, she were about to swear at him, when she saw the faint movement of his lips and noted the weight of her clothes lighten. Looking down, she found the spillage had disappeared. Having nothing better to say, she thanked him rather reluctantly and then resumed her angry state,

"Do you know what Hestia is saying? That I punched you. I bloody well wish I had, it'd make for a better story than swinging a door in your face."

Returning to his normal moody self, he sneered, "Well then, take her advice and next time, when you feel a clumsy moment coming on, swing your fist at me instead." With that he swept past her, pushing her out of his room and locking his door with a key, behind him. "Now, if you don't mind, I have far more important ordeals to tend to."

"Sorry." she said quietly, as he left, so much so that he almost missed it. Without looking back at her, he shot back, "As I said, next time if you intend to hurt me, make it worth your while." Infuriated that he hadn't seemed to have accepted her grudging apology, she regretted giving it and shot off toward her room.