"Do you know why I'm so hard on you about your casting accuracy?" Moody suddenly asked.
Tonks actually startled slightly at the question. Which she thought was fair enough because they weren't even doing anything on spell work. The complete opposite, actually. She was brewing a potion today. Or, well, preparing to brew a potion. She was chopping and dicing and slicing and doing Merlin knows what else to her ingredients. Why did the one Moody choose have to use so many different techniques?
Probably because it used so many techniques, Tonks rolled her eyes at her own stupidity. Of course, that's why Moody chose this potion. He was all about worker smarter not harder. So, if one potion instead of three taught multiple preparation techniques then he was going to choose that one potion. Even if it was more difficult. In her defence, all this chopping was making her mind go numb. And her hand for that matter. She should probably adjust her grip or something.
Moody was a far better potions teacher than Shape, by the way. Which wasn't saying much but at least she could actually ask Moody questions about brewing and she didn't feel horrible if he called her an idiot. Mainly because he didn't have that stupid sneer which made you feel small and pathetic and stupid. Moody just called you stupid because you effed up and did something stupid. He didn't believe you were actually stupid. Most of the time, anyway.
So, yeah, they definitely weren't doing anything to do with casting. Also, why the sudden need to explain himself on something as basic as casting accuracy? Even if he was being needlessly pedantic, in her opinion. But she could see his point, after Gaffrey had pointed it out anyway. Having better accuracy was hardly a bad thing. Just annoying to achieve. It wasn't exactly something Moody had to explain himself over (which is probably why he didn't in the first place). So, why now?
Her stomach jolted. Had be heard her complaints? The man never seemed to be surprised by anything which meant he saw and heard everything. Which probably included her whining to Gaffrey, right? Or was she just overreacting? Oh, she hoped that she was overreacting. He didn't look annoyed or anything, which was a good sign. Which made it even more confusing.
"No, why?" She asked hesitantly.
Did she really want to know his reasoning? Was it going to exasperate her or freak her out? Either way, it looked like he wanted to give her an answer so who was she to stop him?
"You're clumsy, right?" He said abruptly, not exactly answering his own question.
Tonks just stared at him because was he having her on? Like, really?
"Right?" He pressed, sounding impatient.
What did he want her to say? Yes? They both already knew that. He'd rolled his eyes at her when she was sprawled across the floor often enough. And tutted. And then taught her how to fall properly so she was ready to spring back up again as quickly as possible. Although, she had to get better at that last bit because currently all it was doing was making her fall again. But it was all a learning process. And she was getting there. Slowly.
"Yes..." she said, biting the inside of her lip so she didn't follow it up with something sarcastic.
Somehow, she felt like now wasn't the time to be sarcastic. See? She could learn some self-control! He narrowed his good eye at her suspicious, like he knew she wanted to do. She squirmed a bit but said nothing.
Grunting And shaking his head, he continued, "So, you're clumsy. Which means that you put yourself at more risk. You'll be an easy target if you're sprawled across the ground. One spell and you'd be gone."
"So positive," she mumbled and winced at the glare she got for that.
That was a level five one. Ouch. She ranked his glares all the way up to level ten (So far). Not that he'd ever used anything higher than a level six at her. Level ten was reserved for particularly incompetent ministry employee who didn't understand how magic worked half the time or people who took no ownership over their actions. She'd only seen it in play twice (once for both those examples) and even though it hadn't been directed at her in any way, shape or form, she didn't particularly want to see it again. Yeah, just no.
Okay, she did earn that one. Even if she did think that he was rubbing this in a little bit too much.
"You want to push my casting accuracy because..." She prompted, in an effort to get him to stop glaring at her.
It half worked. Mainly because he definitely knew what she was trying to do. He always knew what she was trying to do. But at least he continued.
"Yes," he grunted. "Your casting accuracy needs to be incredibly high because you are clumsy."
She blinked at him and she just knew her hair and flicked between colours. Dammit, she thought she had pretty good control over her morphing these days but Moody always managed to say or do something to disprove that. Served her right for getting cocky about it (she had bragged about it to McCabbert the other day). But it wasn't her fault that Moody said completely off the wall things like that!
"Say what?" Tonks spluttered.
That didn't make any sense at all.
"You have to compensate your lack of ability to dodge accurately with good and complex spell work." He lectured, even wagging a finger at her!
"Technically I can dodge..." she felt like she had to point out.
"Dodging includes your ability to get yourself ready to retaliate," he countered. "Which you can't do quickly if your dodge means you fall."
Okay, fair enough. He had a point. Especially since when she fell in the training arena (the one that had the floor that mimicked gravel roads) it meant that she also inhaled a good lot of dust and Merlin knows what else which meant a lot of uncontrollable coughing. Have you tried to cast a spell while coughing? Even if it was cast silently? You couldn't. Well, she couldn't. There was probably some freak out there who could. And that someone was probably Moody but that wasn't the point.
"Which means," he stressed, getting her attention again. "That your casting ability has to be top notch or else you aren't going to survive."
Tonks, strangely, was actually kind of touched. Wait, no, not kind of, she was really touched. This was what a good mentor was supposed to be, wasn't it? Not just teaching straight from the book, like some of her classmates, but also tailoring it to their trainee. Which Moody was doing. He was tailoring something. To her.
And yeah, sure, he was being very blunt about it. Brutally honest, in fact. But that what she needed.
"Thanks," she said quietly even though that didn't seem like enough when she had thoroughly been humbled like this.
"Yeah, well, don't get all touchy feely about it." He grumbled, looking awkward.
"I'm not about to hug you," she reassured him.
"You better not be."