Chapter Eight

And so the rest of the weekend passed quickly. On Monday morning, Tonks rose early once again, planning on arriving at the Ministry early to let Mad-Eye know that she had decided to stay on. Her state of mind had changed dramatically in only three days. It was a wonder to Tonks that so much could happen in so little time. She had gone from broken and defeated to happy and more determined than ever, and she wondered how she could have changed so quickly. It was odd, really. When she'd applied for Auror training, she had thought that she was doing it for her and only her. She thought that outside influences wouldn't affect her. How very wrong she had been. She'd fallen apart. She'd craved approval. One might say she was addicted to it. But just as quickly, she had come full circle. She was now ready to do whatever it took to fulfil her own dream, regardless of anyone else's opinion of her. With that in mind, she arrived on Level Two at the Ministry of Magic.

Once again, she found herself knocking at Moody's office door. Just as quickly as the last time she was there, he let her in. Tonks wondered if he had been waiting for her.

Without a word, Moody nodded at the empty chair opposite him, gesturing for Tonks to sit. As Tonks seated herself, the older wizard raised his eyebrows. "Well?"

Without hesitation, Tonks replied, "I've decided to continue on."

Moody nodded. "Well, I can't say that it wasn't unexpected."

Tonks's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that you just needed to get your head screwed back on your shoulders and stop seeking approval from everyone," said Moody seriously. "It would have been a shame to see a witch like you walk out of here because you wanted to please everyone and couldn't."

Tonks nodded in agreement. "That's true. I was just so caught up in what everyone thought of me that I didn't stay true to myself." She paused, laughing softly. "And now I'm getting all sappy and sentimental. I've had enough of that in the past few days to last me a lifetime. But really, thanks for the talk last week. If it wasn't for you, I'd probably be at home having quit Auror training and planning the rest of my life working with Rosmerta at The Three Broomsticks."

Moody shook his head. "All I did was give you my two Galleons. It was up to you what you did with them. But in my learned opinion, you did make the right choice."

"Yeah," said Tonks. "I'm really happy that I decided to stay. I think I would have regretted it later if I'd quit."

"Well, that being cleared up, you'd best get out of here and give yourself some time to relax before training starts. You've got three-quarters of an hour or so." With that, Moody gestured for his trainee to leave.

As Tonks headed outside for fresh air, she all but ran into Sherry Hatfield. Startled, Sherry raised her head, large brown eyes wide with surprise. "S-Sorry, Tonks. I was just caught up in my book," she said, holding up said book, Quidditch Through The Ages. "I was never really that interested in Quidditch at school, so I just thought it would be nice to learn a bit more about it."

Tonks smiled. "Oh, I see. So have you played before?'

Sherry's pale cheeks turned bright red. "No. I was never very good at flying. I was never really good at anything…"

"Oh, come on," said Tonks, giving Sherry a playful shove. "You've improved heaps at the stuff we're covering at training. You're doing really well."

The other witch looked at her feet. "Thanks." Abruptly, she said, "Tonks, do you think any of the boys…" she paused for a moment, seemingly unsure, "do you think anyone, you know, notices me?"

"I don't know," replied Tonks. "Have you tried talking to any of the boys?"

Sherry bowed her head, so that her face was obscured by her thick, curly red hair. "No. But I bet you wouldn't have a problem attracting their attentions."

"Why would they want anything to do with me?"

The other girl looked genuinely surprised. "Well, you're pretty, you're smart, you're funny, and you're a great witch. Not like me: plain old Sheridan Hatfield."

Tonks planted her hands on her hips. "With an attitude like that, of course no-one's going to notice you, Sherry. You just need to put yourself out there a bit more and have a bit more belief in yourself, that's all."

Sherry's eyes filled with tears. She turned on her heel and stormed away, a loud sob escaping her lips. Tonks shook her head in confusion. What on Earth was up with Sherry Hatfield?