Disclaimer : Most of the characters mentioned in this story do not belong to me. They belong to J.K. Rowling. Thanks for the amazing youth though. Harry Potter is a brilliant piece of fantasy, and I grew up reading all of the books and watching all the movies etc.

A/N This is the old chapter one, please note, that I just put up a prologue at the beginning of the story. Enjoy.

Chapter 1 - Departure

Quite early in the morning, the sun hadn't started to rise yet, Nymphadora Tonks awoke to the buzzing sound of her muggle alarm clock. Grumbling something only she could make sense of, she stretched out her arm and hit the button to silence the diabolical thing.

Burying her face in her pillow once again, she curled into a ball underneath her blanket. "Only five more minutes..." she mumbled, still sleepy.

It wasn't long after, that her soft snoring could be heard again.

Fifteen minutes later the door to her room opened and Ted Tonks stepped inside, followed closely by his wife.

In the middle of the room they stood still and looked down at their daughters sleeping form. Sighing, Ted wrapped an arm around his wife. "Some things will never change it seems." he said, keeping his voice low. Both shared a loving smile before looking back at their daughter.

"I think you might be right. One could think that she didn't grow up at all." Giving a low chuckle at her response, he kissed his wife's forehead.

What a typical thing it was for their daughter to sleep in, even on an important day like this. A grin started to spread over his face.

"I might as well stick to old wake-up methods." Now it was Andromedas turn to chuckle. Ted started to move forward but she put a hand on his shoulder.

"Please wait one more moment." A silent tear was running down her cheek. He looked back at her and turned around, to gently wipe away the tear with his thumb. She sniffed once and he encircled her with his arms.

"Hey...she will be alright." Andromeda caught a glimpse at a still sleeping Nymphadora, who was oblivious to her surroundings.

Her husbands soothing words helped a bit. He knew what kind of thoughts were running through her head.

He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was gone but there were still dangerous wizards out there. Their daughter had just finished Hogwarts and would start her Auror education today. Her decision to become an Auror was quite a shock to both of them. Some hard training and learning lay ahead of her. Unexpected as her decision was, they also knew what she was capable of.

She had always fought for people that got bullied at school. She stood up for them and became a target herself. She had a good sense for what was right or wrong. Injustice simply annoyed her. She was a caring person, full of energy, her mind was strong, but most important, she was friendly and honest. When there was something she wanted to achieve, she put all her force into reaching her goals. Her metamorphmagus skills would be valuable for her job. If there wouldn't just be so much danger involved. Couldn't she just do something different ? Something less dangerous ?

Giving a long sigh, Andromeda pulled back to look up into Ted's face. "I know that she can take care of herself. I just fear that she... that there comes a day where we get a message from St. Mungo's... or worse."

Giving her a reassuring smile and a short kiss he responded "Me too. But she is a fighter, we both know it. Our little rebel. She might turn the department upside down before noon."

Wiping away another silent tear, Andromeda smiled back at him. "You are right." She gave a short kiss in return. "Then wake our little rebel before it gets too late." She walked through the door to turn around, and to watch the scene unfolding inside the dimly lit room, with amusement.

Ted stepped towards his daughter's bed, to pull away her blanket. A low grumble emerged.

She mumbled "Daaaaaad let go!"

He chuckled and started to tickle her awake. She stopped fighting to get a hold of her blanket and started to giggle.

"Well, I thought it would be a bad idea to let you sleep in today." He stopped his teasing and kissed her cheek.

"You cannot catch criminals while being late." he said, stepping back from her bed.

Something clicked inside of her head and she jumped up, being fully awake now, just to become entangled in her blanket, and falling forward. "Easy darling." her father cached her just in time before she hit the ground.

"You still have one hour to get ready." She wiped a strand of neon green hair out of her face, her panic subsiding. She gave him a sweet smile "You're today's hero, dad."

He chuckled and left her room. "Good to know, cherub." Through the closed door he could hear her annoyed exclamation. "Stop calling me that!"

"Alright," she took a deep breath, put on the light and turned to her closet. "I can do this!"

Excitement built up inside of her, pushing away some nervousness.

Opening the closet door, she started her search for a proper outfit. She kept all of her tops on hangers, because it annoyed her to no end, to fold them again after searching a stack of clothes for a certain piece she wanted. She pushed some tops to the left, some to the right, before she found just the fitting thing.

"Here we go" she said to herself, before pulling out one of her favourite T-shirts. It was plain black, except for her favourite band´s label on the front, which showed AC/DC in bright red letters. Pretty worn out but she loved it anyway.

Besides some sports underwear, she also grabbed a pair of black jeans and her newest studded belt before heading to the bathroom.

She took a quick shower while humming Highway to Hell and got dressed.

Turning around, she took a look in the mirror. Neon green hair would not go with that shirt. Concentrating, she turned it into a shiny black, about shoulder length. She giggled.

'Na, I look like a goth. Which is not too bad actually, but too dark to start a new episode of my life.'

A heartbeat later she exclaimed "Yepp!" grinning at her reflection. 'Bright red for the win!' Swivelling around to face the door, she slipped and bumped right into it, head forward.

Rubbing her forehead, Tonks skipped to her room to put on some thick black leather boots. Another gaze in the mirror besides the door she decided, her appearance was almost complete. Almost. She wasn´t that I-always-need-a-handbag kind of woman. Instead, she had a considerable amount of gloves and sweatbands. Gloves were practical and also gave your wand hand a better grip. Besides those advantages...they were extremely cool! Today she would wear the finger free dark grey ones.

For a short moment she bounced up and down. 'I am becoming an Auror. I am becoming an Auror !'

When Tonks excited her room, her left shoulder bumped against the door frame, as usual. Her excitement grew any minute. She took off to run down the stairs, stumbled at the bottom but didn´t fall.

Checking the time she decided to skip breakfast. Ten minutes to seven. Only ten minutes to get to the Auror department. "Shit!" all the nervousness came rushing back.

"You will be fine cherub." She turned around to look at her father and pulled a grimace. He was walking out of the kitchen and gave her a loving smile.

"Mhhhh, not without that one though." Her mother walked down the stairs and held out her wand.

"Ah. Right, thanks mum." She stuffed it into her trouser pocket. Her mother took note of her appearance with a slight sceptical look. "Honey, are you sure..." Andromeda didn't get to finish her impending question.

"Yes mum." Tonks rolled her eyes "I don't care if it's not the typical wizarding look." Andromeda shrugged. "I don't want to change you, love. Maybe it would just be better not to shock them right from the start." Tonks was pulled into a family hug by both parents. "Yeah but that's who I am!"

Tonks pulled away quickly, giving either parent a peck on the cheek. Rushing towards the wardrobe, she took her black motorbike jacket off the hook, causing several other jackets to drop onto the floor. Cursing, she bent down to pick them up, but her father hushed her towards the door. "Off you go cherub, I'll take care of it." She threw on her jacket and waved at her parents. "Thanks dad. Love 'ya both!"

The door clicked shut and seconds later she stepped onto the pavement, took a deep breath and apparated away.