Harry Potter and The Secrets he Kept

Chapter 7

After a rather nice lunch in Muggle London, where Sirius flirted outrageously with the waitress, the two Marauders and Harry found themselves entered a broken down telephone booth. After dialing a series of number (62442) which oddly enough spelled out 'MAGIC' on the telephone, and even odder, could be turned into the Dark symbol of 666.

When Harry pointed that out to his guardians and explained what the numbers meant to Muggles, Sirius decided that perhaps it was time someone petitioned for a new pass code for the entrance to the Ministry of Magic.

The odd group of the Boy-Who-Lived, a werewolf, and an ex-con (recently acquitted) was soon entering the large lobby of the hub of Magical activity in Great Britain. After getting their wands check by Eric Munch, who winked at Harry upon checking his wand, the group headed to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

As they exited the elevator, they met a most unusual person in a most unusual fashion. A young woman, presumably an Auror, crashed into Moony with the force of a rogue Bludger.

Five minutes or so earlier...

"Damn it all to Voldemort's most creepy lair, Tonks! Don't you know how to walk straight!" retired Auror Mad-Eye Moody (now an Auror trainer) yelled in frustration. "You've been captured in every damn rundown of stealthy procedures!"

"I'm sorry!" Tonks said earnestly. "I try, I really do!"

Moody had a bit of a soft spot for the young Metamorphmagus, so let her go with a warning. "Go home and buy yourself a book on balance and for Merlin's sake Nymphadora, don't trip in front of a bus!" which for him was an incredibly sweet thing to say.

"A-alright, Sir," the Auror-to-be said, teary eyed.

"You've got the potential to be one of my best...maybe even the best since James Potter came through training. You can do this, Tonks. I'm not giving up on you; I'll work you until the name Moody becomes synonymous with Hell, but by Merlin you'll reach your potential before I'm through with you. Got it!" he said, a strong hand clasped on her shoulder.

"Yes, Sir," she said in a stronger voice.

Down the hall at the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office...

"Perkins! Would you look at this," Arthur Weasley gushed to his partner. "It's a Muggle transportation device, called a skate! Some warlock in Kent enchanted it with a notice-me-not charm until after people have stepped on it and slipped. Awful trick really; ten Muggles with broken bones, but I think I can undo the enchantment!"

Perkins didn't even look up from his paperwork and merely grunted in response.

"Do you want to see what it does?" Arthur asked, showing where the twins got their personalities from.

Perkins looked up at this, and with a gleam in his eye, said, "Auror training just ended for the day."

The two men exchanged looks of glee and slipped out of their office to leave the skate by the doors to the Auror Training room.

Here and now...

And so it was that ten minutes after two in the afternoon, one Nymphadora Tonks came out of the training room, slipped on the skate, and went skidding down the hall only to land on top of Remus John Lupin.

"I am so sorry!" she said from on top of the older man. She pushed herself up off of his chest a bit and looked down into amber eyes. Tonks froze.

Remus had been shocked when the pink-haired young woman crashed into him. That however, was nothing to how he felt when he looked up into her violet eyes. "Don't be," was his response to her apology. Really, how could any sane male be upset about having a beautiful twenty-one year old woman lying on top of him?