A/N: TPOV
Tonks started her patrol on the upper levels again, hoping that Snape would stick to the route he had so flippantly assigned the previous night. She knew she was trying to avoid him; hell she had been trying to avoid everyone. Even as the portraits gazed out of the wall at her, following her determined stride down the hallways, she felt like every look was one of pity, reading her like a book. She turned and glared at one of the portraits holding her wand up. The occupants winced at the bright light, shielding their eyes.
"Young lady, kindly point your wand somewhere else. We are trying to sleep!" A grey haired wizard wearing a nightcap scolded from within the frame. Tonks lowered her wand, immediately regretting trying to confront the portrait to begin with. People were supposed to feel comfortable in their own skin, she never had. She knew she used her talent for change as a defense mechanism and she was perfectly fine with that; she wanted it back and she wanted it back now.
"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."
Snape's offer ran through her head. She hated asking for help, but right now that exact lack of control he had mentioned was driving her crazy. She had never had this problem before. Sure her hair had the tendency to turn vibrant color if she experienced a wave of intense emotion, the most common being red when she was furious, but she had never lost her ability. It had faltered once or twice, especially when she was younger and just learning all that she could do. However, lately it was flickering on and off and now had gone out completely. She not only needed it back for herself, but for her job. She had passed Concealment and Disguise during auror training because of being a metamorphmagus. Unlike many of her colleagues, she really didn't know how to do either of those without changing.
After paying close attention to the Restricted Section of the library, Tonks completed her patrol of the fourth floor. Swallowing her pride she made her way down the third floor corridors to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom to check for Snape before venturing down into the dungeons to see if he was in his office. At the least it would save her a trip; at the most it would delay the inevitable that much longer.
Glancing into the deserted classroom, it quickly became apparent that only "living" things in the room were the shrunken heads, blinking sleepily at her. Closing the door quietly she made her way down to the dungeons, taking a left towards the Slytherin common rooms where she and her friends had so often taken a right toward the Hufflepuff common rooms just seven years prior. Looking around she was amazed at the difference. The stone enshrouded hallways seemed dark and cold compared to the warm and inviting presence of the halls leading toward Hufflepuff. Tonks rolled her eyes. Slytherins. Always a flare for the dramatic.
Reaching the doorway to Snape's office, Tonks paused her hand freezing as it reached for the door. What in Merlin's name am I doing!? Just as her nerve crumbled, a lock of hair fell into her eyes. Even in the dimly lit dungeon she could see her equally dimly colored hair. Taking a deep breath she knocked on the door, silently hoping he wouldn't answer and she could just send him an owl later, if she got around to it. When. When I get around to it. She scolded herself.