Last day. This was her last day of being in the Academy. Well, she was going to be sitting her exams in the exam halls and rooms from Monday onwards but that wasn't the same thing as being in the Academy. Learning things. Training. Because her training was done. Finished. Over. That was it. It was the end of three years, a long three years, and now it was time to sit her exams. There was nothing else for her to learn. She had learned enough to, theoretically, become an Auror. She had all the knowledge she needed. She just needed to be able to pull all of that out of her head in her exams and she would be an Auror. Easier said than done.

It was a weird thought. Tonks looked up at the building, a thoughtful look on her face. Three years. Three years she had spent here and yet somehow it felt longer than her seven years at Hogwarts.

There were no more exercises to do, no new techniques to learn, no more questions to ask. This was it. The end of something else. Yet, she didn't feel sad, not really. Oh, she'd miss the thrill of learning all these amazing, new things and the awe when she finally got something right. That feeling that she was one step closer to her goal. Well, there were no more steps. The finish line was right there. She just had to cross it. And she would. She really would.

At least, she hoped so. She'd learned enough, she was sure. That was something Moody had made sure of. Merlin, she'd probably learned things that other instructors and mentors hadn't even thought of. The whole Patronus thing came to mind. Something she was still a bit miffed that she hadn't manged to produce in a proper, corporal form. She had been so close too; she had nearly had it. To the point where she just needed a little push but they'd just... run out of time.

Time. There was no more time left. And now she was getting all sappy. This was supposed to be a happy time. She was finished! She was almost there! And yet, she thought for a moment and then let out a sigh, she was going to miss this place, wasn't she? Which was stupid because the whole point of being a Trainee was to push and push yourself so that you kept going forward, didn't have to repeat anything. You had this big goal and the Academy was a hurdle, or several hurdles really, to get there. You weren't supposed to want to linger or think about it too much yet here she was.

Making a decision, she slipped out the side door. One more look, she just wanted one last look at everything to do about the Academy. A final goodbye, as weird as it was, she felt like she needed to do it. Because she wasn't ever going to come back her. Not as an instructor and she probably would never be the type of person to be asked to be a mentor. So, this was going to be it and it felt right to say goodbye. Or maybe all the training had really made her go a bit crazy. Either way, this was what she was doing.

She took a deep breath, for Getting that she was right by the building and promptly inhaled a good lungful of lingering smoke. Why did she do that just by the most popular smoking spot of the Academy? Maybe all her brains really were leaking out of her head like McCabbert swore was happening to her the other day. It turned out that McCabbert got really dramatic around exam time. Which really didn't help the rest of them but she wasn't going to think about that right now. Right now, she just wanted to do a lap of the building and grounds and be done with everything. That's all she needed to do.

So, that's what she did. As she was outside, she was going to start there. There was the running track, the outdoor targets (that made the most impressive reactions when they got hit), that area where they tested their own explosive potions (she'd burnt an eyebrow off on one of hers, thank Merlin for her abilities) and the obstacle course. She definitely wouldn't be missing that damn thing. Urgh. It was going to haunt her; she just knew it.

A drop of water fell on her nose and she jumped, looking up. Grey clouds. Lots of foreboding, grey clouds. And now it was raining. She darted back in the nearest door just before she got soaked. Only with a little stumble too. Huh. Maybe all this training really was good for something.

Training. So much training. She had thought that it was never going to end but it had. Why was she still struggling to wrap her head around this? She was done. Done. Done. Done. She ought to be celebrating or studying not moping around the building like some sort of lost child.

Her here she was, wandering the halls, saying some sort of weird goodbye to a building that she really shouldn't miss.

Speaking of things she'd miss, there was Moody. Alastor Moody. Her mentor for the better part of two and a half years. It was so weird that they hadn't been paired together for six months. It felt like the whole three years revolved around him grumpily teaching her. She ought to really go and say bye. That was the polite thing to do, right?

She wasn't sure what else she was supposed to say to him. What did you say to the person who had been mentoring you, teaching you, pushing you for two and a half years? Thanks, didn't seem like enough. And it wasn't like she could get him a thank you gift or something, he would just be all suspicious of it instead of enjoying it.

Argh, why was this all so complicated? Or was she just making it complicated? This was so stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. She was stupid. No. Wait. No, she wasn't. Because if she was stupid then she wasn't going to pass her exams and she was going to pass her exams.

"Is there a reason why you're hitting your head off the wall?" An amused voice asked her.

She must have jumped a foot in the air at it.

"McCabbert!" She said in exasperation when she realised who it was.

At least it hadn't been Moody, he probably would have jinxed her to prove that she should never have her back to anything or something like that.

"Hi."

"You scared me."

"Because you were too busy whacking your head off a wall, apparently. What are you doing, anyway?"

"Whacking my head off a wall," she said sarcastically.

"No, seriously."

"Saying goodbye."

"Saying... goodbye?"

"Uh huh."

"To a building?"

The more questions McCabbert asked, the more sceptical she looked.

"Yes. Well, more the feeling."

"The feeling?"

"Yep. Of being here."

"Of being h-" McCabbert shook her head. "Why?"

"We're not going to be back here ever again," Tonks reminded her.

"And that's a good thing. Unless we need to be retrained on something."

They both shuddered at that, both of them having heard the stories of even Senior Aurors being forced to redo a certain part of their training because they'd effed something up. Tonks wondered if Moody had ever had to. Would anyone even dare say so to the man?

"That's not going to happen," Tonks tried to say confidently.

She was going to be a good Auror, she really was.

"Of course, we could also fail these exams so badly that we'd have to start from year one in the Academy."

"Can't you keep all your negative thoughts to yourself?"

McCabbert snorted. "It's more fun to share them.

"I'd really prefer that you didn't."

"Come on," McCabbert said, rolling her eyes as she tugged on her arm. "Let's go and finish your whole saying bye to the building thing and go out and relax with some good, old alcohol."

"We have exams and it's not even noon," Tonks complained but allowed herself to be dragged along.

"It will be afternoon, see what I did there, when you're done and then it's socially acceptable."

"In what world?"

"Mine."