A/N: TPOV
Her eyes went wide as he told her that he found her given name lovely. Other children, when she was growing up, had made fun of her name or at the very least wrinkled their nose at its odd sound. Soon she had acquired a similar dislike for her name. Her pa relented enough to call her Dora. Her friends and colleges heeded her request to call her Tonks. No one had ever said that they preferred Nymphadora, let alone call it lovely…until now. She didn't know what she expected when she had been heading full tilt at Snape, but it wasn't this. She couldn't deny the pleased and thrilling warmth that ran through her. A light pink blush gracing her cheeks.
"…refrain from turning your hair red. Go brown, purple, black... turn into a bloody rainbow for all I care." Snape intoned as she refocused on what he was saying rather than what he had said.
Her brow creased creating a slight frown as he admonished her current hair color. What was wrong with red? For a man whose icy composure seemed ruffled by nothing, the request sparked curiosity rather than anger within her. Merlin this man is a mystery...and what does he have against red? She made a note to herself to ask Remus should she get the chance.
"If you ever need someone to help you control your emotions, send me an owl. The basics of Occlumency might be beneficial, along with other types of training."
These three suggestions had her mind spinning. It felt like a trap and for some reason that didn't unnerve her or put her on the defensive quite as much as she felt it should. Send him an owl? Let him in my mind? Try to get in his? And what other types of training?
"Was there anything else you wished to say, Auror Tonks?"
There was no way she was voicing any of the question circling through her mind, nor did she simply want to concede without doing something. This was an argument….that had somehow turned into a conversation. But, what it wasn't, was a lecture; she had to give something. Her mind flashed back to one of his previous comments and with a playful and indulgent smirk Tonks changed her hair to reflect every color in the rainbow, her eyes sparkling with mischief.