Birthday drabbles
September 11th, 2009 09:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shimotsukiI’ve had not one, but two birthday drabbles rattling around in my head for, well, longer than it should have taken me to finish them! Here they are, at last.
First, for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
drumher: a Remus/Tonks drabble. I meant for this to be just an independent OotP-era scene, but it has kind of grabbed me, so it may end up getting included in the first or second installment of the Kaleidoscope series. ;)
Strategic Thinking (450 words | G)
Strategic Thinking
Tonks tapped her wand against the locks and latches that studded the front door to number twelve, Grimmauld Place, trying to remember all the disarming charms and password spells Kingsley and Mad-Eye had shown her a few evenings ago. The door finally swung open, much to her relief, and she scurried through, securing it again behind her.
A couple of flickering gas lamps pierced the gloom of the dank grimy hallway. She took advantage of their dim light to make her way carefully past the umbrella stand that all too clearly used to be part of some poor, long-dead troll.
“Come by for a drink sometime soon,” her cousin Sirius had said after the meeting—her official introduction to the Order of the Phoenix.
She would have come, anyway. Sirius was family. But then Mad-Eye had pulled her aside after they left the house that night to mutter in that gruff growl of his, “Do stop in to keep Black company sometimes. He can be a little unstable when he starts getting bored.”
And so, here she was, a little nervous but mostly curious, planning to spend the evening drinking with the notorious Sirius Black. She clumped down the basement stairs with a grin—
—and found herself flattened against the kitchen wall as Sirius shoved his way past with a face like a thundercloud, muttering vile curses under his breath. He disappeared up the stairs and slammed the door.
Tonks blinked. So much for a friendly drink.
But she was not alone in the kitchen. Sirius’s friend Lupin was there, still as a statue, gazing right past Tonks and up the stairs.
“Er,” she said. “Wotcher.” She shifted her weight from one dragon-hide boot to another. “It seems I’ve picked a bad time to come for a visit.”
Lupin looked at her, then, his eyes clear and brown in his thin face. “Maybe not,” he said carefully. Appraisingly. “Maybe you can help.”
Tonks swallowed. She was no expert on emotions—she was just a simple, straightforward Dark wizard catcher. And Sirius’s current status as the most wanted Dark wizard in all of Britain was only indirectly related to the predicament at hand.
She raised her chin. “How?”
“Mmm.” Lupin sat back in his chair and tapped his tumbler of firewhiskey with his finger. “What we need is something that will distract Sirius until he forgets that he’s sulking.”
That sounded like a reasonable idea. “Like what?”
“We need,” said Lupin slowly, “a really good prank.” The sudden wicked gleam in his eye was not at all what she had been expecting. “Are you in?”
“Yeah.” Her grin was back, in full force. And so was her curiosity. “I’m in.”
. * . * .
Next, forsspring92: a Remus/Tonks drabble with the prompts theatre and sweater. I hope a little postwar AU, with Remus and Tonks picking themselves up and moving on, will give you a little break from the horrible week you’ve been having!
An Evening Out (600 words | G)
An Evening Out
Andromeda let herself into the house and hung her cloak up by the door. The air was filled with delectable smells of roasting chicken and rosemary, and she could hear voices coming from the kitchen.
“Hello,” she called, setting her briefcase down and crossing the living room to join her family—thinking grateful thoughts, for the thousandth time, because her daughter and son-in-law had decided to go on living there with her even now that it was no longer their only choice.
“Wotcher, Mum,” said Nymphadora, who was bent over a roasting pan poking at potatoes.
Remus smiled a greeting from where he sat at the kitchen table holding a sleepy Teddy. Andromeda went over to kiss her grandson on the top of his warm little head.
“You’ll never guess what Persephone gave me at the shop today,” she said. Persephone Greengrass ran the decorating business where Andromeda kept the accounts. “She had two extra tickets to tonight’s performance at the Witch’s Globe! I don’t remember what show they’re putting on this month, but Persephone said it’s a comedy.”
“Oooh, nice,” said Nymphadora distractedly, filling plates with the mouth-watering roast chicken. “Who’re you going with?”
“Ah,” said Andromeda, trying not to sound smug. “How’s this? I’ll keep Teddy company tonight, and the two of you can go to the show.”
Nymphadora froze, with her wand still raised and a drumstick hovering precariously in the air.
Remus looked up at Andromeda. Their eyes locked. He stood, and she reached silently for Teddy. Pulling out his own wand, Remus went over to the cooker and shepherded the drumstick to one of the plates. Then he slid his arm around Nymphadora’s shoulders and pulled her close.
“I think this is a wonderful idea,” he said. “Thank you, Andromeda.”
Nymphadora stared at him. “You think we should both go? And leave Teddy?”
Remus rested his cheek against Nymphadora’s hair for an instant. “We’re not at war any longer, Dora,” he said softly. “It’s been over for more than a month, now. I think it would be a good idea for the two of us to go out somewhere from time to time.”
Andromeda thought so, too. Very much. Enough to have given Persephone Greengrass a few Galleons to buy some “extra” tickets to the show at the Globe.
But Nymphadora did not seem particularly convinced. She was uncharacteristically quiet all through dinner, stealing glances at Teddy where he dozed in his basket on the kitchen floor. Then she took the baby upstairs to change and feed him.
Remus and Andromeda did the dishes.
“It was a good idea,” said Remus, regretfully. “I hadn’t quite realised that the two of us haven’t ever left the house together, unless Teddy was along too.” He sighed. “I’ll try something else, tomorrow. Maybe I can get her to go grocery shopping with me for an hour.”
And then came the sound of booted footsteps on the stairs.
“All right,” said Nymphadora, poking her head into the kitchen. “Mum, Teddy’s asleep in his cot. He’ll probably stay down until we’re back.”
Remus looked over at her, beaming. “I’m sure he will.”
Andromeda eyed her daughter, who was huddled into one of Remus’s rather shabby sweaters. It wasn’t exactly the sort of outfit she would have chosen for an evening at the theatre—but if that was what it took to get Nymphadora over this hurdle, so be it.
Nymphadora took a deep breath and grinned. The grin was a little forced. On the other hand, there was a familiar, determined set to her jaw that Andromeda was simply delighted to see.
“Come on, Remus,” Nymphadora said firmly. “Let’s go have ourselves a laugh.”
. * . * .
Belated birthday wishes to both of you, and all the best for the year ahead!
.
First, for
drumher: a Remus/Tonks drabble. I meant for this to be just an independent OotP-era scene, but it has kind of grabbed me, so it may end up getting included in the first or second installment of the Kaleidoscope series. ;) Strategic Thinking (450 words | G)
Tonks tapped her wand against the locks and latches that studded the front door to number twelve, Grimmauld Place, trying to remember all the disarming charms and password spells Kingsley and Mad-Eye had shown her a few evenings ago. The door finally swung open, much to her relief, and she scurried through, securing it again behind her.
A couple of flickering gas lamps pierced the gloom of the dank grimy hallway. She took advantage of their dim light to make her way carefully past the umbrella stand that all too clearly used to be part of some poor, long-dead troll.
“Come by for a drink sometime soon,” her cousin Sirius had said after the meeting—her official introduction to the Order of the Phoenix.
She would have come, anyway. Sirius was family. But then Mad-Eye had pulled her aside after they left the house that night to mutter in that gruff growl of his, “Do stop in to keep Black company sometimes. He can be a little unstable when he starts getting bored.”
And so, here she was, a little nervous but mostly curious, planning to spend the evening drinking with the notorious Sirius Black. She clumped down the basement stairs with a grin—
—and found herself flattened against the kitchen wall as Sirius shoved his way past with a face like a thundercloud, muttering vile curses under his breath. He disappeared up the stairs and slammed the door.
Tonks blinked. So much for a friendly drink.
But she was not alone in the kitchen. Sirius’s friend Lupin was there, still as a statue, gazing right past Tonks and up the stairs.
“Er,” she said. “Wotcher.” She shifted her weight from one dragon-hide boot to another. “It seems I’ve picked a bad time to come for a visit.”
Lupin looked at her, then, his eyes clear and brown in his thin face. “Maybe not,” he said carefully. Appraisingly. “Maybe you can help.”
Tonks swallowed. She was no expert on emotions—she was just a simple, straightforward Dark wizard catcher. And Sirius’s current status as the most wanted Dark wizard in all of Britain was only indirectly related to the predicament at hand.
She raised her chin. “How?”
“Mmm.” Lupin sat back in his chair and tapped his tumbler of firewhiskey with his finger. “What we need is something that will distract Sirius until he forgets that he’s sulking.”
That sounded like a reasonable idea. “Like what?”
“We need,” said Lupin slowly, “a really good prank.” The sudden wicked gleam in his eye was not at all what she had been expecting. “Are you in?”
“Yeah.” Her grin was back, in full force. And so was her curiosity. “I’m in.”
Next, for
sspring92: a Remus/Tonks drabble with the prompts theatre and sweater. I hope a little postwar AU, with Remus and Tonks picking themselves up and moving on, will give you a little break from the horrible week you’ve been having!An Evening Out (600 words | G)
Andromeda let herself into the house and hung her cloak up by the door. The air was filled with delectable smells of roasting chicken and rosemary, and she could hear voices coming from the kitchen.
“Hello,” she called, setting her briefcase down and crossing the living room to join her family—thinking grateful thoughts, for the thousandth time, because her daughter and son-in-law had decided to go on living there with her even now that it was no longer their only choice.
“Wotcher, Mum,” said Nymphadora, who was bent over a roasting pan poking at potatoes.
Remus smiled a greeting from where he sat at the kitchen table holding a sleepy Teddy. Andromeda went over to kiss her grandson on the top of his warm little head.
“You’ll never guess what Persephone gave me at the shop today,” she said. Persephone Greengrass ran the decorating business where Andromeda kept the accounts. “She had two extra tickets to tonight’s performance at the Witch’s Globe! I don’t remember what show they’re putting on this month, but Persephone said it’s a comedy.”
“Oooh, nice,” said Nymphadora distractedly, filling plates with the mouth-watering roast chicken. “Who’re you going with?”
“Ah,” said Andromeda, trying not to sound smug. “How’s this? I’ll keep Teddy company tonight, and the two of you can go to the show.”
Nymphadora froze, with her wand still raised and a drumstick hovering precariously in the air.
Remus looked up at Andromeda. Their eyes locked. He stood, and she reached silently for Teddy. Pulling out his own wand, Remus went over to the cooker and shepherded the drumstick to one of the plates. Then he slid his arm around Nymphadora’s shoulders and pulled her close.
“I think this is a wonderful idea,” he said. “Thank you, Andromeda.”
Nymphadora stared at him. “You think we should both go? And leave Teddy?”
Remus rested his cheek against Nymphadora’s hair for an instant. “We’re not at war any longer, Dora,” he said softly. “It’s been over for more than a month, now. I think it would be a good idea for the two of us to go out somewhere from time to time.”
Andromeda thought so, too. Very much. Enough to have given Persephone Greengrass a few Galleons to buy some “extra” tickets to the show at the Globe.
But Nymphadora did not seem particularly convinced. She was uncharacteristically quiet all through dinner, stealing glances at Teddy where he dozed in his basket on the kitchen floor. Then she took the baby upstairs to change and feed him.
Remus and Andromeda did the dishes.
“It was a good idea,” said Remus, regretfully. “I hadn’t quite realised that the two of us haven’t ever left the house together, unless Teddy was along too.” He sighed. “I’ll try something else, tomorrow. Maybe I can get her to go grocery shopping with me for an hour.”
And then came the sound of booted footsteps on the stairs.
“All right,” said Nymphadora, poking her head into the kitchen. “Mum, Teddy’s asleep in his cot. He’ll probably stay down until we’re back.”
Remus looked over at her, beaming. “I’m sure he will.”
Andromeda eyed her daughter, who was huddled into one of Remus’s rather shabby sweaters. It wasn’t exactly the sort of outfit she would have chosen for an evening at the theatre—but if that was what it took to get Nymphadora over this hurdle, so be it.
Nymphadora took a deep breath and grinned. The grin was a little forced. On the other hand, there was a familiar, determined set to her jaw that Andromeda was simply delighted to see.
“Come on, Remus,” Nymphadora said firmly. “Let’s go have ourselves a laugh.”
Belated birthday wishes to both of you, and all the best for the year ahead!
.