A Better Time

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Author/Artist: author_by_night
Title: A Better Time
Rating & Warnings: PG
Word Count/Art Medium: 374
Prompt(s): 24. ‘“This is....not the moment to discuss it,” said Lupin, avoiding everybody’s eyes as he looked around distractedly. “Dumbledore is dead....”

‘“Dumbledore would have been happier than anybody to think that there was a little more love in the world,” said Professor McGonagall curtly...’

―J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Summary: Following the death of Dumbledore, Remus and Tonks talk about the past year.

Notes: Just a little drabble, since apparently they're allowed. I'd wanted this to be longer, but apparently it didn't want to be.

Constructive criticism is welcome.



It had been a long night, and neither Remus or Tonks had slept.

Remus knew Tonks hadn't been doing well, but it only occurred to him now how much she must have been suffering. She'd yelled at him loudly in the Hospital Wing, but while it hadn't seemed like the right time... could he really blame her? Their friend had almost been killed. Dumbledore was gone. They'd already almost lost and officially lost so many people and things - Tonks needed him to be there, not far away, not distancing himself; and Remus needed her to be here, not pushed away.

So they sat at Tonks's flat, drinking tea in silence.

"Greyback attacked Bill because of me," Remus said after a minute.

"Remus."

"I'm not blaming myself. Ever since he worked out that I was a spy, he's been exacting his revenge. I know how he thinks. But I wish I'd found a better reason to leave before he found out the truth."

"I doubt it would've been that simple," Tonks said. "You did what you could."

"I think, if I'd had you, I would've been stronger," Remus admitted. "Quicker on my feet. What I'm trying to say is... I'm sorry."

"Me too," Tonks said. "In my own way, I was distancing myself just as much. Pretending all the bad things - like Sirius being gone - didn't affect me as much as they did, cracking jokes and spitting sarcastic retorts.... that's how I cope. By pretending I don't know what's on the other side of the door."

"I know; me too. I've always seen a lot of you in myself. Maybe that's what frightened me the most. What I went through all those years ago... I wouldn't wish them on anyone, Dora."

"But those things are happening again. If anything, they're going to get worse."

Remus wanted to tell her she was wrong, but he knew she wasn't. Dumbledore was gone. The one person who'd always kept Voldemort from going as far as he might have otherwise was gone. There was no telling what he'd do now. So instead, he took her hand and squeezed it.

"We'll be okay," he told her. "We have each other now."

"No more stupidity?"

"No more stupidity."

Comments

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

A lovely scene to kick off the event!

I like the quiet mood here; they're exhausted and dealing with more loss, but at the same time they're finally able to be honest with each other. I like the balance of Remus acknowledging that he needs Tonks, and Tonks acknowledging that she's been putting up something of a front herself.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :)

[gilpin25.livejournal.com]

What a nice way to start us off here. :)

I like the honesty they both show in this; it feels like a real discussion at last, and a calm one after the emotion of the Hospital Wing. I like Tonks's line about pretending she didn't know what was on the other side of the door whereas Remus has been so fearful of exactly that. You've shown how similar they are, even with their different reactions.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I always thought Remus and Tonks were quite similar, even if they do seem like polar opposites on paper. :)

[starfishstar]

Nice. :-) An apology and, perhaps even more importantly, a determination on both their parts to go forward in a stronger, better way.

[evenscribbles.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed that this is short but still tells a story. It still has Remus blaming himself for something that he is not as guilty for, as he thinks he is. And still has Tonks being comforting while still acknowledging the challenges ahead.

I liked the ending best through, to me it gave everything a nice finish. As it showed that even with all the hardships ahead, Tonks and Remus were heading into a good portion of their relationship.