Chapter one - No longer out of Order

Tonks sighed as she finished one report and went to start another, summoning the next folder from her 'in' box. 'Bloody paperwork,' she muttered under her breath, and picked up her quill, well aware of the fact that it was already halfway through the day and her pile of unfinished paperwork was still larger than her finished pile, and likely to grow by the end of the day.

A bright orange memo flew towards her in the shape of a paper bird and Tonks smiled remembering her own attempts at folding her memos into anything graceful or interesting, and the failure which resulted in all her outward memos closely resembling the paper airplanes that used to zoom around classrooms at Hogwarts in her day, hitting teachers - admittedly mostly Snape - in the back of the head.

She captured the memo that fluttered near her head and opened it, hating to destroy the artistic folding.

Nymphadora. Join me for lunch? - Kingsley.

Slightly confused as to why Kingsley wanted her to join him for lunch and angry that he had called her by her first name when he knew she preferred 'Tonks', she wrote back:

Sure, but call me Nymphadora again and I'll hex you into next Christmas.

She then proceeded to scrunch the note into a ball, pulled out her wand, charmed the ball to hit Kingsley in the back of the head and then threw it, simultaneously knocking her quills, ink and several files off her desk and blushing bright red, her hair changing to match her face.

Almost every auror in the office threw disapproving looks her way, ranging from glances to glares. 'Sorry,' she muttered and waved her wand to clear the mess. Kingsley merely looked amused and smirked as she glanced over at him. Sighing again, she looked up at the large clock on the wall and noted that she could probably leave for lunch now, as a few of the other aurors had already.

As though he read her mind, Kingsley stood up and proceeded to leave the office, his face still amused. Taking this as her cue to join him, Tonks stood and went to follow him, tripping over her chair and the leg of her desk as she went. He stood just outside the door waiting for her, his face still wearing its amused expression. As she opened her mouth to say something to wipe his smug grin off his face, her foot caught on the door frame and she stumbled into him.

He was ready for this of course, Tonks being Tonks. It was no secret that she was as clumsy as they get, and seemed even more so today. He caught her as she stumbled into him, and laughed as she pushed him away and tried to storm away but ruined the dramatic effect by tripping over her own feet and then staggering a few steps to keep her balance, looking as though she had been confunded.

'Not a good day then Tonks?' Kingsley said to her as he easily caught up with her. 'Not confunded there are we?'

Glaring at him, she said as frostily as she could manage without giving herself away, 'And what do you want Kingsley?'

He grinned. 'Ha. Give it up Tonks. We both know you never could stand on your own two feet for very long without finding some way to trip.'

Tonks tried to maintain her glare, but she couldn't and ended up grinning back at him. 'What gave me away?' She asked.

'Your hair.' He said, noting that her hair was bubblegum pink once again. 'It changed back to pink just before, and its always red if you are really angry or embarrased.'

Tonks kept on grinning at him. 'So what is this all about anyway. Surely you didn't invite me to lunch just to watch me trip over my own feet?'

Kingsley's face became instantly more serious as he answered. 'No, but this is hardly the place to talk.'

Tonks followed him out of the ministry and into the muggle streets. Kingsley seemed to have a purpose so she merely walked beside him in comfortable silence until he seemed to reach a destination.

He gestured at a muggle coffee shop and held the door open for her, signaling for her to go in. 'Just find a seat, and I'll order us drinks.' he said.

Tonks walked in and managed to find a table and seat herself without tripping at all. She picked a table that was secluded the most as whatever Kingsley wanted to discuss, was obviously not something he wanted overheard, and probably something to do with magic and so it was probably wise to keep away from muggle ears as well as the magical ones.

She drummed her fingers on the table in front of her and looked around at the small shop. Its walls were a pale blue and the small round tables were covered in white tablecloths. The carpet was a deep blue and so were the counters. The colour scheme reminded Tonks of the ocean and waves. The beach was a place she had loved to go with her family when she was little and she suddenly longed to go to the beach again, as she hadn't been in years. Maybe when the endless stream of paperwork at the ministry died down she'd have time, she thought to herself.

Kingsley noticed that Tonks seemed preoccupied and so when sat down and pushed her coffee towards her he said, 'Tired?'

Tonks looked up and snapped out of her dreams of laying on a secluded beach with the waves crashing against the shore, peaceful and warm. 'Yeah. Paperwork you know. There is so much these days.'

Kingsley nodded, wondering how to approach the subject he wanted to speak about and then deciding to ask her directly as he knew Tonks was a straightforward and honest woman.

'What do you think of Dumbledore?' He asked her suddenly.

She frowned. 'Dumbledore?' She repeated. This topic was odd, and not what she had expected at all. She looked more closely as Kingsley. Either he was a death eater and he didn't support Dumbledore at all, and supported the ministry's claims that Dumbledore was 'past it', or he was a supporter and believed that you-know-who was back and wanted to do something about it. She wondered, thinking about what she would say. His face gave no clues to his own opinion as he waited.

'Yes, Dumbledore… Headmaster of Hogwarts… Long beard... Ring a bell?' He replied patiently.

Tonks laughed and thought that it was best that she was honest with Kingsley. Besides he didn't seem to be a death eater. She shrugged. She'd take her chances.

'I've always liked Dumbledore. He was a good headmaster when I was at school and I have always thought he was the cleverest wizard I have ever met. I wish he was minister of magic actually. A great deal better than Fudge I say.' Tonks informed Kingsley, and watched with relief as he smiled.

'And the claims he and Potter are making. What do you make of them?' Kingsley asked.

'What do you mean Kingsley?' Tonks asked, confused.

'Well, Either you believe he-who-must-not-be-named is back and you believe Potter and Dumbledore, or you believe that Dumbledore is a fool and Potter a liar, which is to say you agree with the ministry, or you have no opinion at all, which for you Tonks is very slim, as I know you to have a spirited opinion on anything and everything.' Kingsley explained.

'Oh, I believe Potter and Dumbledore.' Tonks stated with the typical 'Tonks' spirit. 'I've never known Dumbledore to be wrong about anything, and I don't see why that should start now. Also, I know the minister of magic. He's not exactly the brave type now, is he?'

Kingsley chuckled. 'No, not particularly.' He said.

There was a silence before Kingsley said, 'Tonks, have you ever heard of the order of the phoenix?'

'Yeah, I have actually.' She replied, thinking that she could probably now guess what this was about.

'Well, Dumbledore is recruiting again. The old order is down in numbers and he asked me to find anyone who might be able to help us and I think you would make a great addition. We are in desperate need of aurors and people who can see into the ministry. You'd be a huge help. That is, if you would like to join. If not, I shall be forced to remove this conversation from your memory.' He frowned, a worried look upon his face.

Tonks raised one eyebrow and thought. Lately she had been thinking of joining a resistance group, only she hadn't known where to look to find one. She wanted to help fight, and she hated belonging to the ministry, who were intent on denying you-know-who's very existence. She thought of her parents, and how much better she could protect them by joining the order, and it was halfway through this thought that she realized that Kingsley was still awaiting an answer.

'I would be absolutely delighted to join Kingsley. Thanks for asking.' She said enthusiastically, grinning at him once again as she watched the worry quickly fade from his face.

'Ah, Excellent then. There is a meeting tonight if you really want to come.' He said.

'Sure. I'll be there.' She enthused. 'Wait… Where?' She asked.

'You'll have to be accompanied by me the first time. Shall we meet tonight at your apartment?'

'Yep.' She checked her watch as she thought of what time to meet him. They had been out for over half an hour now. 'How about we meet at six?' She said. Then thinking that they had better head back to work, she reluctantly stood and carefully maneuvered her way around her chair and table and then waited for him to follow.

'Well done.' he said, the smirk on his face making it obvious that he was referring to the fact that she had not yet managed to trip over or break anything since entering the shop.

She smiled, but ruined it by tripping over the door frame upon exiting the shop. She blushed, but managed to stop her hair changing colour just in time, as they were in amongst muggles and changing her hair at will would have them asking all sorts of unwanted questions.

They walked back in silence and went their separate ways, determined to keep up a casual appearance, as secrecy was obviously imperative for the order, and they couldn't risk raising suspicion.

Tonks made it back to her desk without any dramas, and threw herself into her work with renewed vigour that stemmed from the fact that she was now doing something useful by joining the order. She smiled to herself, eager to finish so that she could start her new job tonight, wondering who else had joined up.