Chapter Five – The lion's roar
When Nymphadora Tonks, during her fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, had decided on a career in Magical Law Enforcement, and more specifically that of an Auror, she had imagined it as an exciting, and daring choice. Admittedly you had to be both academically minded and extremely focused just to get through the training process, but it was thought to be a career fraught with danger and those who took it had a limited lifespan.
At the moment the worst injury the newly qualified Auror was facing was a paper cut.
Tonks eyed the large pile of parchment in front of her with distaste. She had been filing for two weeks now and it was beginning to grate a little. She pulled down the top sheet from the precarious stack and cursed the bureaucracy that seemed to dominate the Modern Ministry of Magic. Everything had to be recorded, accounted for and countersigned by various high ranking officials, who seemed to take great delight in slowing the system down by not returning the forms to the correct department or by signing in the wrong place thus making the magical document void. There were at least six pieces of parchment to fill in before, during and after an operation including risk assessment forms and expenditure records. Everything had to be in triplicate and Tonks now had the unenviable task of sorting, verifying and filing the last month's worth for the Auror Department.
Her initial excitement at becoming an Auror was definitely beginning to wear off and she was beginning to wish that she had gone into Healing or perhaps into some kind of Care for Magical Creatures. Something, where every day was different and proved a challenge. Not that filing wasn't a challenge for Tonks. Her natural clumsiness meant that at least once a day she would have to magically restore the carefully arranged stacks of paperwork and with boredom rapidly setting in these occasions became more frequent.
Tonks' career had started with a high profile trial against a highly organised gang who had planned a series of robberies using polyjuice potion. They had planned to use the potion to disguise themselves as well known figures of authority and as the murderess Bellatrix Lestrange, who was herself in Azkaban. Their plans had been discovered by Tonks whilst she was training as an Auror. The trial had been swift and just, with the perpetrators now languishing in a cell in Azkaban.
Tonks' evidence had been crucial in securing a conviction and she had thought that it would stand her in good stead with her superiors, who would see that she was more than able for the tasks involved in being an Auror. Alas her duties were not the exciting death defying duels she had expected, but mundane tasks such as the departmental filing, taking inter-departmental meeting minutes and perhaps occasionally the interrogation of a suspect. However she had been promised a spot of surveillance work in the near future once the filing was completed, and although boring, it would be a change from what was now the norm for Tonks.
On reflection, Tonks supposed that most of her peers would also be in the low ranks in their respective careers and her last surveillance job had been exciting in its outcome. Perhaps being an Auror wasn't too bad, but hopefully it would be a little more exciting soon, more like how she had imagined!
She sighed and turned back to the slowly diminishing pile of parchment before her. As she reached out for the next sheet the sleeve of her robe caught the edge of her inkpot and before she could do anything it had overturned and flowed over the edge of the desk to pool in her lap. She grimaced as it rapidly soaked into the material.
Travis hadn't been wrong about the 'basic pay' and by the looks of this, a simple laundry spell would not be enough to sort out the mess and her earnings were tightly stretched as it was. Auror uniform was expensive and she had already ruined her spare robes with a poorly executed household spell, which had resulted in a small fire in her wardrobe instead of the intended neatly pressed and hung clothes she had hoped for. Another thing her mother had despaired at.
The 'basic pay' barely covered the Auror Training loan repayments, her rent on her shoebox of a bedsit and her everyday living costs. In fact she had cut down on all but the essentials and now thought longingly of the Hogwarts house tables heavily laden with all her favourite foods. A simpler time. Auror life was certainly not how she had imagined it would be.
Tonks glanced up at the clock on the wall. It read half past four. If she hadn't already checked it, she would have sworn it was broken, time was going so slowly. Only three and a half hours left. Night shift was the worst. Eight till eight seemed an eternity, especially when doing paperwork. She sighed and bent her head to her work again, hoping that next time she looked at the clock at least an hour would have passed by. A loud voice calling her name startled her as she was dipping her quill into a new pot of ink, and she knocked it over. Angry at herself and at the disturbance, Tonks snapped,
"What?"
"What SIR Miss Tonks!"
Tonks let out a small gasp as the head of her superior, Rufus Scrimgeour appeared around the corner of her cubicle. He had a surprising resemblance to a lion and his face was scowling. He was followed into her cubicle by a tall black man who sported an earring, "Nymphadora Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Nymphadora Tonks."
Scrimgeour nodded towards Tonks and then back to the other man. He continued, "Tonks, when you have completed the filing assigned to you I'd like you to work with Shacklebolt here. He'll introduce you to how we work here and assist you in your first few external missions. Shacklebolt is working on the Sirius Black case."
He turned to go and then as if in afterthought turned back, "Tonks will meet you in your office in a moment Shacklebolt. I need a quiet word with her first."
Shacklebolt nodded and left. Scrimgeour pulled out his wand and cast a privacy spell over the cubicle. He looked at Tonks with an expression of distrust and then practically spat,
"Miss Tonks, I did not approve of your admission to Auror Training but was confident that you would fail, but you surprised me, and unfortunately I couldn't refuse you entry to my department. You would not have passed without your…" he paused searching for the correct word and then spat,
"…ability. I believe metamorphmagi should have restrictions placed on them but unfortunately there are no laws on the subject as yet. I am aware that you could be an asset with your abilities, but combined with your family history I am conscious of the danger of having you in the department, within the Ministry even." He stole a glance at her face and added, "Many have vouched for you however, and for now that will have to do. I will be watching you closely though Miss Tonks. You step out of line; you're out faster than you can say 'Auror'. While you work for me you will wear appropriate hair colours and assume a normal looking appearance. Is that clear?"
"Crystal" growled Tonks, appalled at what she had just heard, "Sir" she added as an afterthought. She glanced at her hair, which was hanging around her face. It was an attractive red which matched the piping on her Auror robes. She scrunched her nose and transformed her hair to a deep chestnut. Scrimgeour nodded in approval and turned to go, "Sir?" Tonks called after him. He looked back surprised, "Miss Tonks?"
There was a touch of steel in her voice but she remained perfectly polite,
"My name is Tonks, not Black. My mother was disowned for marrying a Muggle-born Sir. I have fought against everything that the Black's treasure. I'm a half-blood Sir. I'm a registered metamorphmagus and I have never used my gift in any but the appropriate manner. Sir"
"A leopard doesn't change its spots" he replied and marched away before she had a chance to retort.
She couldn't believe what she'd just heard. She'd always had trouble with people when they knew that she was related to the Blacks, but she had rarely had anyone have a problem with her being a metamorphmagus. Most people were intrigued and often excited by her abilities and the possibilities it offered. Men usually, she thought with a wry grin, but Scrimgeour's reaction was new. She stood and made her way to Shacklebolt's office, still muttering under her breath and frowning. Her thoughts on just what she'd like to do to Scrimgeour were interrupted by the deep voice of Shacklebolt,
"Oh dear! I'm not that bad to work with am I?" he asked with a chuckle. At her look of confusion he elaborated, "You look like you lost a Galleon and found a Knut." She smiled at him, and encouraged, he nodded towards his door and said, "Come on in." She followed him in and looked around with interest. The walls were plastered with pictures of Sirius Black and detailed maps with pins dotted across them. He nodded towards them and said, "Sightings of the fugitive. He gets around. Jammy bugger. We'll get him soon though." He glanced at her and casually said,
"Scrimgeour says you're related to Black. He says I have to watch you. Do I?"
"No" she replied, surprised by his honesty. "My mum was a Black but was disowned when she married my Muggle-born father. I've never met any of them."
"OK. You're a Metamorphmagus too?"
"Yeah. I bet he told you to watch me for that too didn't he? I don't know what his problem is." She snarled, unintentionally clenching her wand so tight that sparks flew out the end.
"OK, OK Nymphadora, calm down! I think it's a pretty impressive gift actually, bloody useful too, I bet?" Shacklebolt laughed, holding his hands up in front of him in mock surrender. Tonks smiled too, and then registered what he'd called her.
"Don't call me Nymphadora ever again Shacklebolt. Just Tonks."
"Bit formal!"
"You'd want to be called Nymphadora?" she asked, her mouth curled up in distaste, "Just Tonks." Shacklebolt grinned and replied,
"OK. Well if that's what you want to be called, fine. I'm Kingsley though, OK? Better make it Shacklebolt in front of Scrimgeour though. He's a stickler for formality."
"That's not all he's a stickler for…"
"Tonks!" warned Shacklebolt. She looked up at him and grinned.
"Sorry! So tell me about cousin dearest" Shacklebolt looked at her and then passed her a thick folder which she carefully opened. It contained more photographs, more maps, his prison records, dementor acquisition forms, wand statistics, his school reports, (which seemed to be much the same as hers had been; 'Must try harder') and reams of scrawled reports on sightings both old and new.
"It's all there. I suggest you take it home with you. Bit of light reading," grimaced Shacklebolt, as Tonks rifled through the file, examining each piece of parchment carefully, "but basically we haven't heard anything new in four months. We can be sure he's out of the country, but other than that, we, and I say we, meaning you and I, haven't got a clue." He shrugged his shoulders and played idly with the hoop in his ear. "Its boring work." he sighed.
"Well it beats paperwork, filing anyway!" said Tonks cheerfully. Shacklebolt smiled and said,
"Unfortunately you've still got a while to go before you're done with that haven't you? That was certainly a large pile on your desk! Best go get on with it. You on till eight?" Tonks nodded and Shacklebolt continued, "Well only two hours to go. You live locally?"
"Yeah, not that it's more than a place to keep my stuff and kip. It's more like a broom cupboard than a flat! Auror grade one wages suck!"
"I remember. Fancy getting some breakfast and discussing the Black case, discretely of course? We can go over the file and you can ask me any questions you might have."
"Sounds like a plan"
"Ok. Let's meet at the floopoint at eight. We can floo to the Leaky Cauldron and then decide where we want to go from there. Unless you want to go into Muggle London? Which thinking about it, might be a better idea. Less chance of getting overheard by someone who might care what we're talking about! Sirius Black isn't such a 'celebrity' in the Muggle world! His name doesn't cause panic!" said Shacklebolt with a smile, "but let's meet at the floopoint anyway."
"True! Muggle world sounds like the best plan. Any excuse to not go back to the shoebox I call home! Besides I like Muggles. Right I'll see you at eight at the floopoint. Best get back to the grind, damn paperwork unfortunately doesn't do itself. Trust me I've tested it!" grinned Tonks, standing as she spoke. She opened the door and saw the lionesque figure of Scrimgeour berating someone about a late report or some such thing. She turned back to Shacklebolt,
"Actually Shacklebolt, sorry Kingsley," she corrected herself at his small frown, "best meet away from here. Scrimgeour's just given me a right bollocking over passing the Auror tests, being a metamorphmagus and being related to the Black family! I'm on his 'watch very carefully list' and knowing him, even meeting a colleague outside work hours will be a bad thing! Let's just meet at the Starbucks around the corner from the Ministry entrance. We can then go into Muggle London or wherever from there. Sorry about this but you gotta be careful, know what I mean?"
Tonks shot him a look of apology as he replied,
"Sure. Scrimgeour's a right pain, I know. I'll see you at Starbucks"
"Thanks. Don't forget to dress Muggle!" Tonks reminded him, and he quickly retorted with a grin,
"Er yeah, thanks Tonks, but I have been an Auror a might longer than you!"
"Sorry" grinned Tonks back, turning to go and walking straight into the still ajar door, "Damn it! That hurt" she exclaimed rubbing her bruised forehead, "oh shut up Kingsley! It's not funny" she snarled, glancing back at the snorting Shacklebolt, who gasped,
"Sorry Tonks but I've never seen anyone do that before!"
"Oh shut up. I'll see you at eight and you can buy the coffee for laughing at my pain!" she stuck her bottom lip out and grinning, left the room