Tonks' first day of her seventh year at Hogwarts started with an unfortunate incident at the Quidditch pitch, but there was no time to go to the Hospital Wing – she had Potions class in just a few minutes.
"Oh, bloody hell!" Tonks howled and started to jump on her right foot while simultaneously trying to rub her left ankle, her face a sole grimace of pain.
"Son of a..."
"I strongly suggest you don't finish that sentence, Miss Tonks," a deep nasal voice snarled behind her.
All color drained from Tonks' face, and it was only partly because of her injury.
"Sorry Professor, Sir, I twisted my ankle and I-" she babbled while continuing to hop on one leg. "Wouldn't be the first time now, would it?" Snape said spitefully. "Ten points from Hufflepuff for the use of foul language, and another ten for arriving late to my class."
"But Sir, there's still a couple of minutes left, and I'm not even in the dungeons yet! You can't take points before-"
"Precisely," Snape said, his exceptionally long and greasy nose now mere inches away from her face. "You won't make it on time, I presume. Not if you plan on hopping to my class like that. Thus, deducting points from your house for tardiness is perfectly acceptable, and tripping over your own feet yet again does not make for a proper excuse, Nymphadora."
Tonks' eyes stung with angry tears, and a reply was about to leave her mouth when a deafening sound caused her to stagger and collapse face down on the cold stone floor.
"Dang it!" Tonks cursed, her face distorted with distress and severe pain as she fidgeted to yank herself towards the wall and push her upper body against it. She winced and stopped moving to inspect the aching bruise on her ankle. To her utmost surprise, Snape didn't take any more points from Hufflepuff. In fact, he completely ignored her, drawing his wand in one swiftly motion and positioning himself in a dueling position.
"Professor!" Tonks groaned. "A little help, please?"
"Be quiet!" Snape barked at her. "Draw your wand!"
Tonks scrunched up her nose. There was a foul odor spreading in the corridor, and some 10 meters away there was some kind of purple smoke coming in their direction. The noise that had previously caused her to fall to the floor had been replaced by an ominous rumble. Her heart sank. What was happening? If there was an imminent danger, being in the dungeons with Snape was the last place she wanted to be. Her ankle was throbbing viciously, and she quickly closed her eyes to steady her breathing.
"Are you deaf?" Snape hissed. "Where's your wand?"
"Sorry, Professor," she mumbled, tears running down her face now. "Could you please...?" She pointed towards her foot. "It hurts like hell, and I don't trust myself to do the Healing Charm properly."
Snape grunted, without letting his guard down. He murmured something under his breath and Tonks felt her sore muscles (and presumably her broken bone?) heal in an instant. It didn't feel quite as pleasant as being patched up by Madam Pomfrey, whose Healing Charms had always left Tonks with a sensation of warm drowsiness. It was like being wrapped all-around in warm milk and honey, rather than having a thousand tiny needles pricking her skin while gulping down a bucket of ice cubes, which was how Snape's Charm felt. Luckily, it worked just as well as Poppy's. Tonks had been a regular guest at the Hospital Wing over the course of her school career at Hogwarts: mischief and clumsiness did not mix very well.
"Get up, NOW!" Snape commanded through gritted teeth. "And stay close behind me!"
Tonks did as she was told. Snape moved quickly without running, pausing on occasion to put a finger over his mouth, gesturing her to be silent. The rolling thunder had stopped by know, but the absolute silence that followed was even more frightening.
"Professor?" Tonks piped up. "What's happening?"
"Shh! Not now!"
"But-"
"Miss Tonks! For Merlin's sake, please shut your impertinent mouth for once! I will explain later..."
They were standing in front of the entrance to the Great Hall now, but Tonks did not remember how they got there at all. She had spent the last half hour in a daze; it had been a surreal experience to follow Snape out of the dungeons in complete silence. The other professors were already inside the Great Hall, and all eyes fell on them as they entered. Tonks tried to make herself as small as possible, her eyes darting to the Hufflepuff table. It was empty, as were the other tables.
"Professor, where are the other stud-"
"Severus!" Professor McGonagall came running towards them. "And Miss Tonks?" she added in disbelief, her right eyebrow arching. "Why aren't you in your common room like the other students?"
"Miss Tonks had a little... accident", Snape replied nonchalantly.
"Accident? What do you mean, Severus?" Professor McGonagall's voice was loud and shrill, and some of the other teachers eyed Tonks curiously. In a futile attempt to make herself less noticeable, she tried to morph her hair back to her natural mousy brown shade, but failed pathetically.
"Professor!" she gasped, "My morphing, I can't-!"
"As I was saying," Snape said with a dangerous glow in his eyes, "Miss Tonks passed out so I looked after her, and I suppose that's why she missed her fellow classmates."
"Passed out?" Tonks thought. She didn't... But before she could say anything, Dumbledore had joined them, and she shrunk half her size under his scrutinizing gaze.
"Severus, Minerva, a word, please?" he said calmly, and winked at Tonks.
"Albus, Miss Tonks needs to be escorted to the Hospital Wing," McGonagall said. "Surely one of us should take her first-"
"I don't need-" Tonks started to object, but nobody paid her any attention anymore.
"I will accompany Miss Tonks," Dumbledore said. "I shan't be long."
