The Letter

It was breakfast, and she was in a dreadful need of coffee. How most people got on with just tea, she had no idea. She'd spent most of the night pushing Charlie's hands away from her tits while she studied for her Transfiguration N.E.W.T. She needed at least an O to get into the academy. Tonks glanced up when the owls came flying in with their daily letters and packages. When a Ministry owl landed in front of her, she wasn't even aware of it until the bloody thing bit her.

"Ow! Dammit, what?" She untied the letter it held out for her. Why was she getting mail from the Ministry? Her mother never sent her anything from work. And Dad didn't work for them. She was of age, couldn't get anymore of those stupid "Underage Restriction" letters. Idly, she left it unopened, stuffed into her satchel. She'd get to it later, right now she had to go to Charms class, and then she had a strong suspicion that Snape would be eager to harass all of them during Potions. Although he wasn't a pain in the ass to her. Tonks thought it had to do with the fact that her father had given Snape a few free cauldrons when it had been discovered that Snape only liked TNT Cauldrons, his brand. The letter lay forgotten.

"Ms. Tonks, are you paying attention?" Tonks glanced up. She had been paying attention, but her attention was not on Snape. It was on her potion, where she had thought it was supposed to be. "Ms. Tonks, class is over. You were to bring me a sample of your potion thus far. Not skip your next class to finish it."

"Yes, Professor, and I did. It's on your desk. But I was intent upon finishing it, rather than letting it go to waste. I could really use some Pepper-Up, what with N.E.W.T.s right about the corner." Tonks hoped he fell for it. Really, she just didn't want to go study her other subjects. "I've got a free period right now, but if you have a class coming in, I'll dump the potion."

Snape was not impressed with her sudden dedication. He sneered, but allowed her to continue working. After all, her class had been the last of the day, and she was in need of the practice for Potions. He knew that she wanted to be an Auror, and for that she was going to need an A in Potions. He knew she was hovering right at the grade, and he was not the one to bump students up just because, but she could study her way into the grade. He noticed a letter poking out of her satchel. "What is that, Ms. Tonks?" She glanced up, already absorbed in her work again.

"Just some letter from the Ministry, sir. I was going to open it later." Snape saved her the trouble. In his classic superior fashion, he simply assumed that because it was in his hands, he could do whatever he liked with it.

"You really should open letters from the Ministry immediately. Often they are as time-sensitive as Howlers. 'To Nymphadora Tonks, per your application." He continued to read, not noticing how her head suddenly perked up. "We here at the Academy of Magical Law Enforcement, Auror Divison, would like to tell you how pleased we were to accept your application. Normally, we choose our entry class in June and letters go out to accepted and rejected applicants in August. However, due to your extraordinary abilities, we felt that an expediated acceptance was required in your case. As of March 10th, we chose to accept you, on the condition that you finish your final term at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and earn all required grades for acceptance. We hope that your unique talents will be as obvious to you during your training as they are to us. Truly, The Academy of Magical Law Enforcement." Snape looked up from the letter, ready to congratulate the girl, but she was gone. She had knocked over her cauldron in the process of her exit. He sighed and placed the letter in her ingredients drawer, as he was fairly certain the girl would be back for it. He would make her clean up the Pepper-Up mess she had created when she did.