"Honestly, Nymphadora, it's not good for you to be working so hard," Andromeda scolded her.

Tonks shook her head, not really taking in what her mother said for a minute. What had happened? The last thing she remembered was sitting on her parents' sofa and now she was blinking her eyes open and her brain was all fuzzy. Had she fallen asleep? How had she not realised how comfortable this sofa was? It was just so soft and fluffy and it made her want to sink into it and never get up again.

She yawned and stretched, more than a few bones cracking as she did so. Oh, that felt both good and bad. She didn't think that her muscles would ever not ache anymore. She had figured out pretty quickly that Dubois had indeed been right and it was much better to do his whole "warming down" thing after any sort of strenuous activity. It really did help your muscles. The next day after he'd told her, he had been the one walking somewhat normally while she and Jean had basically had to drag their aching bodies everywhere - their muses screaming at every movement. It had not been fun. Especially when they had to do another do on the training dummies. That day had definitely been her worst score on the stupid thing. She just couldn't make her body move fast enough. Actually, she could barely make her body move at all. Thank Merlin the scores were averaged out each week on those machines before they put up the class rankings or she would have dropped to the bottom instead of the one place she actually had dropped. That and nearly everyone else had had the same problem as she.

But that didn't matter at the minute because she was home and she was relaxing.

She might even go lay claim to the bath tub upstairs and have a good, long, hot bath. With bubbles. Oh, that sounded good. Yes, she was definitely going to do that.

"It's only another ten days until the exams," Tonks protested, rubbing at her eyes to try and get the sleep out of them. "You're lucky I actually came home today."

She could have been revising, after all. These exams were important. They would determine if she was even worthy of going to the next and final stage, even if it was two and a half years long. Okay, apparently, they weren't that difficult but that was coming from third year Trainees. Of course, they thought basic first year stuff was easy. Who knew what complicated stuff they had learned? All Tonks knew that there were some things that she wasn't sure of and she didn't want to fail them.

Never mind passing her exams, she wanted to do well. She wanted to impress the senior Aurors who would be picking who to mentor for the rest of her time at the Academy. She wanted someone who would push her, teach her cool things. Not someone who took her just because she did the bare minimum amended had to take her out of obligation. She didn't want to be the last one picked!

"You are here today so you can eat properly and take a break," her mother informed her, not taking offense at her tone.

They had started to mix their Sundays up a bit the past few weeks sometimes going out for dinner before relaxing at the Tonks' Home. Not today. Today Andromeda had been very insistent that they stay put despite it being a lovely, albeit cold day.

"I am eating properly," Tonks protested, not denying that she hadn't been resting.

Auror Trainees didn't get to rest.

Ted snorted at her. "Take-away doesn't count."

"Sure, it does, it's still food."

"Barely. And Merlin knows what it's doing to your gut."

Having a Healer for a dad really sucked sometimes.

"Well, you're going to take a mental break today and eat a proper meal," Andromeda said firmly.

Well, Tonks wasn't going to argue with that! Even if she did have this niggle feeling that she should have her nose in a book or something. But she wasn't stupid enough to argue with her mother and she could always do a bit of revision tonight anyway.

"Yes, mum," she agreed readily.

Andromeda gave her a satisfied nod.

"So, did you beat your cross-country times?" Ted asked, leaning forward 3agerly.

"Ted!" Andromeda reprimanded.

"What? I'm curious! "

"I thought we agreed not to talk about her training so she can actually relax?"

"Oh, yeah."

Tonks chuckled at their antics. They really never got old.

"I haven't yet," she told her dad. "Actually, I haven't got anywhere near my best time since I made it."

Which was incredibly frustrating. When you knew you were capable of doing better you wanted to be better. Yet she seemed to get worse! How did that make sense? Oh, it wasn't that much worse but still! Her times had got longer. These were critical weeks!

"Don't push yourself," Andromeda scolded.

"I'm letting sure that the Auror Academy is designed to push you," she said with a raised eyebrow.

Break them down and build them back up again and all that. Pretty standard rhetoric.

Andromeda tutted disapprovingly but didn't say anything.

"I just don't want your father to be treating you at St Mungo's for over-exertion or something like that."

"He won't, I promise."

Because passing out because of exhaustion meant losing at least a day and she really couldn't afford that right now. No. There would be no distractions from her Training.

"Look who's missed you," Ted said, dumping something in her lap.

Something that scrabbled around before diving and crawling up her arm.

"Hokey!" Tonks said in glee.

Okay, this was an acceptable distraction. He always was. She only got to see Hokey at weekends now because she and her parents had decided that she should get used to Training before she took responsibility for him again. Sure, she'd had him at Hogwarts with her but the school day wasn't nearly as long as a training day and she was never so tired after school as she was now. It wouldn't be fair on him.

He shuffled against her, his whiskers tickling and she couldn't help but giggle. Hokey wasn't as hyper as he used to be these days but he was still a cheeky little thing and never outgrew his love of snuggles. Which was just what she needed right now.

"I swear he misses you when you're gone," Ted said with a chuckle.

"Of course, he does! Because you're mine, aren't you?" She asked Hokey in a baby voice.

Yes, she had given in a few years ago and talked to her Moke in a voice girls reserved for small, cuddly animals. She couldn't help it! He was one, after all.

The sofa dipped next to her and Tonks looked up to see her mother looking at her.

"What?"

"Are you sure you're doing okay?" She asked in a concerned voice. "I'm serious, now," she said more sternly as Tonks sighed. "No joking."

"I really am, mum," she said, straightening up, keeping a careful hand on Hokey so he wouldn't tumble off her shoulder.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm tired. There's always too much to learn. I'm sore most of the time but I'm okay. I'm more than okay. I'm happy."

And, you know what? That was the truth.