9
Finally:
Before they knew it, the end of the physical training was over and the last of Doe's bruises were starting to fade. She had managed to win two fights before it was over. One against a Beauxbatons girl and one against a Durmstrang boy.
But even the two most recent victories did little to keep her from being nervous about being cut at the end of this portion of training.
They all sat nervously around Moody while he spoke,
" Four of you have proved that you do not have the qualities involved in physical training that are necessary to be an auror" Moody said, " this is not determined by how hard you punch, but sometimes by how well you take one, or how long you can draw a fight out."
He bewitched four pieces of parchment to fly to trainees around the room.
One flew towards Doe and she held her breath as it landed on the lap of the Durmstrang boy on the other side of her. Doe let out the breath she had been holding onto too.
The four trainees with papers got up angrily from the room. From his seat, Frank smiled happily at Sirius and Doe.
They had made it through training. Doe looked around the room. In addition to Sirius, Frank and herself, Piers and an older Hufflepuff student named Frederick had both sat smiling, 2 Durmstrang boys, a Beauxbaton girl, and a girl from the Salem School in the United States had also made it.
Nine of them in all.
Moody cleared his throat loudly and they all looked at him.
" Congratulations to all of you who have made it through your training" Moody said roughly, " The nine of you will continue on to study to become aurors."
He raised his wands and a leaflet of parchment flew to all of them.
" There you will find your class schedules in addition to the books you will need" Moody said.
Doe read through the list of classes. Concealment & Disguise, Stealth & Tracking, Poisons & Antidotes, Use of Unforgivable Curses and Dueling.
They all sounded amazing. She couldn't wait to start them.
" Your classes start Monday," Moody said, " in the classrooms down the hallway. I personally teach Stealth & Tracking and Use of Unforgivable Curses."
He waited a minute, " You may want to enjoy this weekend, seeing as starting Monday, you will be busier than you've ever imagined"
He dismissed them after that, even though it was barely 2 oclock.
" We did it!" Frank said happily as they left the classroom.
" We did Hogwarts proud" Sirius agreed.
" I cannot wait to start these classes" Doe said happily, looking at Class Lists again.
" You are such a Gryffindork" Sirius said with a head shake.
" That was actually pretty clever, if you ignore the twinge of insult" Doe told him.
" I'm nothing if not the full package" Sirius said with a wink.
" Do you want to come with me to Diagon Alley to get the books we need?" Doe asked.
" Are books all you think about?" Sirius asked in mock horror, " But yes I need to go, come on"
They apparated and ended up in the Leaky Cauldron.
" Hey Tom" Doe called to the bartender as they walked in.
He flashed them a wide smile, " Hey there Doe, Sirius. How's the ministry?" he asked.
" You're looking at two official Auror students" Sirius said with smile.
" No kidding? Good for you two" Tom said happily as they walked towards the entrance to Diagon Alley.
The Alley was empty, seeing as it was such a weird time in the day. Sirius and Doe walked over to Flourish and Blotts. The shop wasn't very full today. Only a few patrons walked in and out of the isles.
Doe looked at their list of supplies and pulled the books. They were all enormous.
Tracking the Enemy was larger than any transfiguration book Ishe had ever purchased and There's a Reason They're Unforgivable was twice the size of that last one.
" This is not a book, it's a house" Sirius said holding up The Complete Book of Poisons and Antidotes.
" There's apparently a lot to learn" Doe said handing him a copy of The Auror Handbook, which required them to show their certificates before they could even purchase it.
They brought their books up to the counter and a boy who used to be Hufflepuff rang them up.
" Doe, good to see you, how are you!" Mr. Blott said as he came out of the storeroom.
" Hi Mr. Blotts, Im great how are you?" Doe said.
" Fabulous" he said smiling brightly, " I've got to say, we miss you around here. My son here isn't quite as good as you used to be" he said clapping the cashier on the back.
" So you were my replacement this summer?" the boy asked.
" Yes she was, and she did a better job than you do" Mr. Blotts told him.
The son gave him an annoyed look and left the cashier to him.
Doe noticed Sirius standing there slightly off to the side, " Oh, Mr. Blotts, this is my friend Sirius"
" Nice to meet you, " Mr. Blotts said shaking his hand.
He turned back to her, " Did you hear about Declan? Poor thing"
" No, what happened?" She asked quickly.
Mr. Blotts bowed his head, " He was murdered, by Death Eaters on the Knight Bus of all places"
Her eyes widened in horror, " That's horrific"
Mr. Blotts shook his head, " These Death Eaters are getting stronger mark my words, they'll be more killings".
Sirius and Doe paid Mr. Blotts for their books and left the shop quickly.
" That sucks about your old co-worker" Sirius said.
Doe nodded and then turned to him, " Sirius, this is getting worse not better"
Sirius sighed, " It's going to be a war. I just don't think it's avoidable"
She took a deep breath, knowing he was probably right.