Tonks didn’t leave together with Teckros. Fudge seemed to know exactly what Umbridge was capable of, so as an Auror, her responsibilities were obviously heavier—or maybe, she was actually the real Defence Against the Dark Arts professor all along.

Even though she was strongly against this, and kept insisting she was only here to assist Umbridge, Professor McGonagall still arranged for her to stay at Hogwarts.

So that very night, she snuck over to the Hufflepuff Common Room.

When Kael saw her in the dorm, he was completely baffled.

"This is the boys’ dorm!" Mikel was also startled, pulling the curtain by his bed around himself, with only his head poking out.

"Of course I know. You lot can’t get into the girls’ dorm, can you?" Tonks said nonchalantly, "Alright, hurry up, come out. I brought something good."

She pulled out several large bottles of Butter Beer from behind her and gave them a shake, then shut the door.

"Why can girls come into the boys’ dorm...?" Mikel grumbled, "That’s not fair!"

"You should take that up with the founders, or maybe Professor McGonagall." Ryan didn’t care much, calmly saying, "Complaining to us is useless, you know?"

"Forget it, then." Mikel shrugged.

Go complain to Professor McGonagall about why boys aren’t allowed in the girls’ dorm? He’d be absolutely doomed.

"Kael." He changed the topic: "Do you know that... what’s her name again?"

"Nymphadora Tonks."

"Yeah, that’s it." Mikel nodded hard, "Do you know her?"

"Yeah, we’ve met a few times before." Kael said, sitting up from the bed and throwing on a robe, heading out of the dorm.

By now, Tonks was already sprawled out in a Hufflepuff Common Room armchair, looking every bit the boss, laying out bottles of Butter Beer on the table and waving at the students nearby:

"Don’t be shy, help yourselves, it’s on me."

Since only the sixth-years had Apparition class that morning, most people didn’t know her. So those staying in the Common Room just gave Tonks curious looks, but no one moved.

"How did you get in?" Kael walked over and sat across from her, asking.

"Are you serious... Don’t forget, I’m a Hufflepuff alum too, alright?" Tonks replied, "It’s not like the other Houses where you need a password. Getting in is hardly a challenge, right?"

"True." Kael nodded. He had totally forgotten about that.

"I can’t believe, after all these years since graduating, I can still come back here." Tonks handed Kael a bottle of Butter Beer, cracked open one for herself, and took a huge swig.

Then, apparently not satisfied, she swapped the Butter Beer for some stronger Honey Wine, drinking while nostalgically eyeing the Common Room’s furnishing.

"Really, nothing has changed... Those pots of flowers on the shelves were here when I started school—they’re still here now... and these armchairs, see the one by the fireplace? That’s where I always sat to finish my homework."

Figures, doing homework is the one required course for every Hufflepuff, Tonks included—only Cedric was ever out of place with the rest of them.

Soon enough, the Common Room emptied out, until only Kael and Tonks were left.

Only then did Tonks suddenly act like she was drunk, dropping the bottle on the table and grumbling angrily:

"Tell me, of all the people in the Ministry, why did I have to be the one to help that woman..."

Kael was startled by the sudden venting and blurted out, "Help who?"

"Who else—Umbridge..." Tonks replied, "Why is it Kingsley gets to go chasing Death Eaters? I’m way more qualified than him..."

To drive her point home, Tonks changed her hair to gray, her eyes grew shifty, and a few new wrinkles showed up on her face—she looked exactly like some old witch who’d spent years hiding out in a dark little room.

By now, Kael finally understood; she was still hung up on what Teckros said that morning, and was here to gripe about it.

"There are some perks to coming to Hogwarts..." Kael said, "At least it’s safe here. You don’t have to be on edge all the time, right?"

"Are you sure?" Tonks glanced at Kael. "You really think teaching Defense Against Dark Arts at Hogwarts is safe?"

"Er..." Kael was at a loss for words. "At least Umbridge is taking the lead, and technically you’re just a teaching assistant, so you probably haven’t qualified for the curse yet."

"That’s not what I’m worried about." Tonks waved her hand. "If Sirius were still the professor, I’d have come without a word. But Umbridge... Honestly, no one in the Ministry wants to work with her. It’s torture—worse than any curse, if you ask me."

"If you had to choose, would you rather chase Death Eaters or work with Umbridge here at Hogwarts?"

"Obviously stay at Hogwarts," Kael answered without hesitation.

"Seriously?" Tonks changed back to her usual self, incredulously.

"Duh, I’m only in sixth year. Who’s going to let me leave school to go chase Death Eaters?"

Kael grabbed the last bottle of Butter Beer. "By the way, how did you guys even decide who would come to Hogwarts? Did you draw straws or something?"

"Of course not."

At this, Tonks got even more riled up. "This morning I showed up at the Auror Office and found there was literally no one there, then Fudge just sent me over here."