Chapter Two

All was quiet at London's Ministry of Magic. Workers were all seated in their respective cubicles, silently carrying out their duties.

However, a din of nervous chatter could be heard in the Auror department. A group of new hopefuls were to begin their training.

"I'm so excited! D'you think we'll get to duel an actual, proper Auror?"

"Stand still, Ariadne! You look like you've got a Doxy down your pants!"

"Who d'you think's going to be training us?"

"I heard Mad-Eye Moody's going to be mentoring the best of us!"

"They say he's mental!"

Suddenly, the chatter ceased, as the sound of a staff being tapped on the wooden floor reached the young witches' and wizards' ears.

They all turned to look as a man with grizzled grey hair, a wooden leg, one small brown eye and a large electric blue one stood at the entrance. A collective gasp went up from the crowd. The man was Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, one of the most formidable Aurors in Britain. However, the witches and wizards did not have time to dwell on this.

"What are you all waiting for?' Moody growled impatiently. "Get yourselves into a line!"

The young Auror candidates hurried to do as they were instructed, some pushing and shoving at each other in their haste. After a few moments, they had managed to form a reasonably straight line facing Moody.

Moody said nothing as he began to walk down the line, surveying the young, eager faces before him. As he did so, he knew that at least half would never make it through the first six months of training. He could tell by the grinning faces, the way they stood putting weight on one foot, lounging as if they were having a drink at the Three Broomsticks. Not many were serious enough to become fully-fledged Aurors.

However, he did see several people whom he thought would have what it took. For instance, he saw a girl with long brown hair and stony, determined eyes. As he walked past her, she met his gaze directly. That was a first. Most trainees would scuff their shoes against the floor, or look at him awkwardly from under their hair. Not this girl. She had guts, that was for sure.

Moody gave the girl the slightest nod of his head.

"Anyway," said Moody authoritatively. "Today I will test what you know about Defense Against the Dark Arts. I am well aware that for most of your education at Hogwarts, you've had much less than sufficient training in dealing with Dark creatures, Dark wizards and defensive spells, so it's my job to remedy that before the real work begins. We'll begin with the Disarming Charm."

Moody drew his wand from his robes and pointed it at the brown-haired witch. "You, girl. What's your name?"

The girl looked apprehensively at Moody. "Nymphadora Tonks, sir," she said.

"Well, then, Nymphadora –" she shuddered at the use of her given name, "- step forward and draw your wand. And don't call me 'sir'. You are no longer at Hogwarts and I'm not your teacher. Call me Moody or Mad-Eye. That's what everyone calls me."

The girl, Tonks, did as she was told.

"Now, then, Nymphadora. Your objective is simple. Using the incantation 'Expelliarmus', you are to attempt to Disarm me. I may use any counter-curse, so stay alert! On my count. One, two, three!"

"Expelliarmus!"

"Protego!"

Tonks found herself thrown back on the ground by the strength of Moody's Shield Charm. Faster than Tonks had thought possible (what with the wooden leg), Mad-Eye was looking down at her. "You alright?" he asked gruffly.

"Yeah, I think so," Tonks replied.

Moody offered his hand and helped her up. "Up for another go?"

Despite concerned mutters coming from her fellow trainees, Tonks nodded. "Yes."

"Wand at the ready, then," Moody instructed her. "Once more, on my count. One, two, three!"

Tonks was prepared this time. "Expelliarmus!" she thought.

Tonks looked at the wand belonging to her instructor, which now lay on the ground at her feet. She had done it, and with non-verbal magic, too! She looked around at her fellows, seeing their impressed smiles and nods.

Moody extended a hand where he was, and his wand flew towards him. He caught it with ease. Tonks looked up, meeting his eyes, seeing a look of approval on Moody's face, accompanied by what appeared to be a small smile.

"Well done, Nymphadora. A rather impressive bit of non-verbal magic, there," he said.

One of the more cocky boys frowned. "You didn't tell her she was allowed to use non-verbal magic, though."

Moody turned sharply. "A Death Eater won't tell you what you can and can't do in a duel, Davenport," he growled. For the first time, he looked not only imposing, but almost malevolent. The boy called Davenport took an involuntary step back.

"Come here, then, Davenport," Moody said.

Davenport's eyes shifted around, a look reminiscent of a frightened deer upon his face. He reluctantly did as he was told. The rest of the group looked on intently, waiting to see what Moody would do.

"Wand out," Moody ordered the younger wizard. "We'll do the same thing as Nymphadora just demonstrated. One, two, three!"

"Expelliarmus!" cried Davenport.

No sound came from Moody, but Davenport was thrown backwards, landing a few metres away from his original spot. He stood up, rubbing his back gingerly. He said nothing, but glared at Moody.

"Again," was all Moody said. Davenport clutched his wand so tightly that his knuckles were white.

This time, neither wizard made any move. Suddenly, Moody himself had Disarmed Davenport, whose mouth was wide open.

"You would do well to keep your mind closed, Davenport," said Moody. "Any Death Eater could find his way into your mind so he knew what was coming. You would also do well to have a bit of respect for those more experienced than you."

Davenport had the grace to look ashamed of himself. "I'm sorry, sir. It - it won't happen again."

Moody seemed to accept the apology, for he nodded slightly. "Alright then, Caddock, your turn."

Caddock did not manage to Disarm Moody. However, the older wizard had changed his tactics. Only a moment after Moody's count, Caddock was rubbing his wrist, where Moody had expertly aimed a Stinging Hex.

"Hatfield, forward."

A thin, gangly girl stepped forward, her wand arm shaking violently. She raised her wand, stuttering, "Ex-Expelliarmus!"

Moody's wand gave a pathetic twitch, but did not leave his hand. "You'll need to have more confidence than that, Sherry,' he said in what was probably meant to be a kind tone. 'Hesitation like that could cost you your life in a real duel."

Sherry nodded, stepping back into line.

The next name Moody called was 'Honeysuckle'. A girl with wavy blonde hair stepped forward.

"One, two, three!"

"EXPELLIARMUS!"

Honeysuckle did manage to execute the Disarming Charm correctly; however, it was not Moody who she Disarmed.

"Sorry, Stella," she said apologetically, Summoning her friend's wand from across the room.

"S'alright, Ariadne," said Stella good naturedly.

Moody looked like he was trying very hard to hold back laughter. "Well, then, Honeysuckle. That would have been quite impressive, had you Disarmed the right person."

Ariadne nodded sheepishly.

Several more people took their turns, most ending up with bruised tailbones, large welts on their wrists or, more often than not, wounded pride.

The class ended with Sean Greentree retrieving his wand from the top of a bookshelf, having cast the Disarming Charm, only to have it rebound.

Once Greentree had rejoined the group, Moody surveyed their faces once more. Several showed promise. His eyes fell on Nymphadora Tonks, the only one to successfully Disarm him.

He looked away, addressing the rest of the group. 'That's it for today. We'll be doing Stunning spells tomorrow.'

As the group started making their way out, Moody caught Tonks's eye. He said nothing, but simply nodded. She did the same in return.

Alastor Moody knew he could expect great things from Nymphadora Tonks.