Drabbles, part 2: Harry Potter

[shimotsuki]

Here's the second batch of 'hobbit birthday' drabbles! Now I've only got the trickiest ones left, heh. (The first batch, for Downton Abbey, are here.)

• Harry Potter: Tonks, Andromeda, invisible barriers, for gilpin25 | 200 words
  
  Unspoken
  “Oh, bloody hell.”
  
  Tonks crashed through the living room, knocking over a pile of parchments. Nobody ever buzzed her flat unless she was already late for something. Muttering curses again, she pressed her wand to the intercom. “Who’s there?”
  
  “Your mother.”
  
  Tonks closed her eyes. “I’m on my way out. Do you want to come up for a minute?”
  
  “That would be lovely!” The sarcasm was not obscured by the intercom.
  
  Tonks snatched up the snowdrift of parchments and Banished them, along with a pile of clean (she thought) laundry, to the bedroom, before Mum appeared.
  
  “You’re on your way out? Can’t you chat for a few minutes?”
  
  Tonks swallowed. “I have a shift.”
  
  “You’re going to work in that?” Mum raised her eyebrows at the ripped jeans.
  
  “Surveillance.” And it was—only, not for the Aurors.
  
  “Nymphadora—” A flash of hurt surfaced in Mum’s grey eyes. “You’re never here when I Floo, and you never come for Sunday lunch anymore. I feel I hardly know you these days.”
  
  You don’t. And I can’t even tell you why.
  
  I’m sorry.
  
  “I’ve got to go, Mum. I’m already late.”
  
  ~ * ~
  
  
• Harry Potter: Remus/Tonks, tea, for katyscarlett76 | 200 words
  
  Focus
  Tonks found Remus in the kitchen at Grimmauld Place, making tea.
  
  He looked up with a smile and a friendly hello, but Tonks knew not to interrupt him further until he was finished. Tea, she had learned, was important.
  
  Of course, that didn’t keep her from watching.
  
  Deft, strong, slightly ink-stained fingers pried the top loose from a battered tin and measured out tea leaves into an earthenware teapot. Those fingers closed around Remus’s wand, waving the kettle over and pouring out hot water without a single wasted motion.
  
  While the tea steeped, Remus fetched two cups from the cupboard and brought out a pitcher of milk and a packet of biscuits, arranging everything neatly on the table.
  
  Then he poured the tea—carefully, precisely, holding his breath.
  
  What would it be like, to be on the receiving end of the intense concentration Remus was currently bestowing on two cups of Earl Grey? Tonks shivered, feeling hot as tea and cold as milk, all at the same time.
  
  “Would you like some?” Remus asked, lifting warm brown eyes at last, gesturing toward the second cup.
  
  Tonks swallowed.
  
  “Yes,” she said. “Please.”
  
  Her throat was, after all, rather dry.
  
  ~ * ~

Comments

[etiam-quietus.livejournal.com]

Oh, I really like both of these! I think, as an adult daughter, the first resonates with me as I often cover things I don't want to talk about with too much activity, and as a mother, how it feels to have your children disconnecting and not being able to stop it. (Hmmm this is giving me an idea for a short story!)

As for the second - Deft, strong, slightly ink-stained fingers pried the top loose from a battered tin and measured out tea leaves into an earthenware teapot. *shiver* I love the description of his fingers - I completely empathize with Tonks here: Tonks shivered, feeling hot as tea and cold as milk, all at the same time. and it's a lovely bit of imagery ;)

[sspring92.livejournal.com]

Yay! After a day of malfunctioning computers and and hours on the phone with a guy supposedly named Nick somewhere in mumbai....Just a little R/T goodness did my heart good!

[mrstater.livejournal.com]

Oh, I like them both, but I REALLY like your Tonks and Andromeda one! The necessary secrecy Tonks would have to have had re: the Order was something I always meant to explore in Caring for Magical Creatures-verse, so it's nice to see someone else exploring that. I have to think that must have hurt their relationship even more than Tonks dating a werewolf: all the secrecy, and her apparent lack of trust. It makes me really feel for Andromeda. I'd be curious to see you explore this further in longer pieces!

[scullyseviltwin.livejournal.com]

Both of these were delightful.

[gilpin25.livejournal.com]

Ooh, very, very nice drabbles. There is a lovely balance in the first one where you make me empathize with both characters; so easy to see how misunderstandings, hurt and distance can quickly build up, even from what seems like the best of reasons. Tonks' irritation and guilt rings very true, as does Andromeda saying all the wrong things at the wrong time.

As for the second, it's a lovely glimpse of how you focus so intently on every little move and gesture when you like someone that much. And talking of liking, I really like that last line!

Btw, I've made a mental note to pretend I can't make my mind up again next time. I do so well out of it. :D

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much -- glad you enjoyed these. :) Especially if one of them gave you some inspiration!

As for Tonks's Remus-watching, I was explictly trying to reflect her fascination with him in the level of focus or detail in the description, so I'm especially glad you liked the way that turned out.

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Glad I could help! (Sounds like an awful day, indeed.)

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Oh. Of course. Whoa.

Somehow it had never occurred to me to bring Tonks's relationship with her parents into the OotP section of Kaleidoscope; I'd been planning to explore that in the context of DH only. But of course it would be interesting. And, thanks to you getting me thinking about this, I've just seen a way in which Tonks's family dynamic could drastically impact the way her friendship with Sirius and then Remus develops.

I am totally going to go with this. Thank you for the awesome plotbunny!

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :)

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

So glad you liked these! Even more than the Downton ones, these two were incredibly hard to wrestle down to 200 words. (In fact, your Andromeda one was the hardest of all, and I almost gave up and let it grow! Now mrstater's comment has me realizing that this is actually going to end up in a Kaleidoscope chapter, so I have to thank you two for the plotbunny. ;) )

As for the ending of #2 there, I didn't have quite enough words to make this work, but in my mind Tonks is saying "yes, please" to a lot more than just a cup of tea. ;)

Btw, I've made a mental note to pretend I can't make my mind up again next time. I do so well out of it. :D

With fun and inspirational prompts like these, you can give me as many as you like!

[mrstater.livejournal.com]

So happy to give a plot bunny! I know you'll work magic with it. :D

[gilpin25.livejournal.com]

No hint of any behind-the-scenes wrestling at all, lol. But how nice that it wanted to grow and that it's going to be able to - I shall look forward to that one.

in my mind Tonks is saying "yes, please" to a lot more than just a cup of tea. ;)

That's how it reads over here, too. As does the follow up where he watches her in turn!

With fun and inspirational prompts like these, you can give me as many as you like!

This has been recorded for future reference. So brace yourself for when you get a dozen or so next time. ;)

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

uh inkstained fingers. Very nice imagery. :) I can just see Tonks observing his hands holding, pouring, carrying, placing and offering her a cup too.

And the first drabble was just so sad. These two people that love each other but keep missing and not knowing where the other is. D: Well done in so few words.

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :)

The Tonks in my ficverse spent a certain amount of time being very interested in Remus before she (or he, lol) had any idea he might be interested back -- so this is from that interval.

Glad to hear the first one felt sad. :/ Tonks's relationship with her parents must have been strained when she was in the Order and couldn't talk about it...

[katyscarlett76.livejournal.com]

Ok, why didn't I see these before?? Sorry about that! Can I blame Winterval for eating my brain?

Anyway, I really love these two drabbles.

I love Andromeda's "Your mother", I don't know why it seems such the right thing she would say. I'm tickled to see from your response to mrstater that you'll be exploring the Tonks-Andromeda dynamic further. I really think that's there's lots there to explore with Andromeda's background, Tonks'secretive side-job added to the usual mother-grown-up daughter tension. This is really clear in your drabble (who hasn't cleaned up in a panic before their mother arrives?? And I don't have half as much to hide as Tonks (except fics about Tonks lol), all the tension and the hurt.

And then what can I say about the second drabble *sighs and watches along with Tonks* This Remus is so sexy and the concentration on his fingers *sighs* Who knew tea could be so sexy ;) Can he come make me a cup too?? ;) Thanks so much for that drabble! :)

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Oh, it's so nice of you to come back and comment on an old post! (That time of year is so busy it's amazing anybody gets anything done at all, lol.)

So glad you liked these. I'm pulling my hair out trying to think of how I want the early Kaleidoscope scenes to go, but tension between Tonks and Andromeda is definitely something I want to work with.

And yeah, another part of Kaleidoscope I'm looking forward to writing is the part where Tonks realizes she's falling for a certain Order colleague. ;)