Fic: The Pieces of the Puzzle
Jan. 15th, 2016 11:37 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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shimotsuki
Title: The Pieces of the Puzzle
Rating & Warnings: PG / mention of canon character deaths; post-war AU
Word Count: 930 words
Prompt(s): #6, ‘There are some things you can’t share without ending up liking each other.’ —J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
Summary: Remus makes a present for Teddy’s first Christmas, and repays a debt.
Notes: Blamean_english_girl for this ;) — she wanted to know if Remus in the Warp and Weft AU ficverse would have built a floor jigsaw for Teddy’s first Christmas, as he did for baby Harry in her fic for this event, A Happy Memory.
The Pieces of the Puzzle
mid December, 1998
“Thank you for letting me borrow your shed for this.” Remus reversed the Shrinking Charm and watched as everything sprang back to its original size—the sheets of plywood, the elderly handsaw, the bundle of sandpaper, the small pots of paint in bright colours.
“Not at all,” said Arthur. “I’m happy to help—and curious to see how you’re going to use that armsaw!”
It was, Remus thought, a great relief to see Arthur taking an interest in Muggle things again. Even if his smile did seem a little forced, and a web of new lines creased his face.
“I know that Teddy’s too little to understand what I’m doing,” said Remus, rather sheepishly. “But it just doesn’t seem proper to make his Christmas present right there in front of him.” He grinned. “Besides, I’d like this to be a bit of a surprise for Dora—and Harry—as well.”
“Christmas,” said Arthur, slowly. “I suppose it will be here in no time at all.”
Remus rested his hand on the slightly stooped shoulder, just for a moment.
Arthur’s smile was bleak now. “I miss him all the time, you know. It always seems as though he must be right in the next room, ready to pop out and make some kind of mischief.”
Remus felt his throat tighten. Teddy had been his child for only the tiniest fraction of the time that Fred had been Arthur’s, and already the thought of losing Teddy was unbearable.
“And I worry so,” said Arthur. “About Molly.”
Remus nodded, grimly. Molly had been putting on a brave face whenever he saw her for some time now, ever since she got over the earliest, sharpest grief. But surely that was nothing but a mask she wore in public. “I imagine she’s still taking it very hard.”
“Actually,” said Arthur, “that’s one of the things that worries me. She insists that everything’s fine, and she goes about with a sort of determined smile. But I don’t think that’s real.”
Not only in public, then.
~ * ~
A few evenings later, Remus was in the shed again, ready to paint the jigsaw pieces in brightly coloured patterns. It was a brilliant design, if he did say so himself. The pieces could be fitted together in more than one way, and once he had finished painting them, he would Charm the patterns to shift and change accordingly. It was more or less the same as the puzzle he had made for Harry, so long ago—the one that had been destroyed in the wreckage of the nursery in the cottage in Godric’s Hollow.
And now Harry could piece it together for Teddy, just as Sirius had done for Harry.
Remus felt again the giddy, heady rush of joy that came from thoughts like second chances and family in spite of everything.
Family that included Molly, who knocked on the shed door just then.
“Tea, dear?” she asked, brightly, bearing a tray with a steaming mug and a plateful of gingerbread biscuits. “I just had to look in and see how the floor jigsaw is coming along.” She spotted the still-unpainted pieces, stacked on Arthur’s worktable. “Goodness, but it’s large, isn’t it!”
Remus laughed. “It’s for an older child, really, but it’s something of a—family tradition.”
And then he wished he could bite back those words, when Molly’s carefully bright smile crumpled.
She deposited the tray on a corner of the worktable and covered her face with her apron before the storm broke.
“Oh,” said Remus, helplessly. “Oh, Molly.” He pulled her into a hug.
She rested her head on his shoulder for just an instant, before straightening and stepping away, wiping her face and patting at her hair. “Sorry,” she whispered. She cleared her throat and stood as tall as her small frame would allow. “I’ve got to be strong. For Arthur.”
Remus gazed, for a moment, at this little round woman who worried so much over everyone she cared about. Who had been so very frightened of him, in the beginning—the first werewolf she had ever (knowingly) met—until Order business threw them together often enough for her warm heart to break through her own prejudices.
Whose refusal to stop berating him for his stubbornness all through the long dark year of his undercover mission was a very large part of the reason why he was now so unimaginably happy with Dora—and Teddy.
Who was grieving, bitterly, over the loss of her son.
Alone.
“Molly,” he said, slowly. “I don’t think that’s the right way.”
She looked up at him with that bright smile pasted on again. “What do you mean, dear?”
“It was you who taught me,” he said, stepping closer. “Don’t you remember?” He took her hands in his own. “Grief shared is grief more easily borne.”
She caught her breath. Fresh tears stood in her eyes.
“Don’t make the mistake I made for so long.” Remus found he had to push the words past a throat grown suddenly tight. “Don’t shut Arthur out. He needs you as much as you need him.”
She blinked up at him for a moment longer, and then dropped his hands, only to pull him into a quick, fierce hug.
“Stay and work as late as you like, dear,” she said, shakily. “I think I’ll just go and find where Arthur’s got to.”
After the door shut behind her, Remus began to lay out the pots of paint in a neat row. Fred. Sirius. Ted. Mad-Eye. Dumbledore. James and Lily. Dad. Mum.
Puzzle pieces were meant to fit together. Even if—especially if—some of them were missing.
~ fin ~
.
shimotsukiTitle: The Pieces of the Puzzle
Rating & Warnings: PG / mention of canon character deaths; post-war AU
Word Count: 930 words
Prompt(s): #6, ‘There are some things you can’t share without ending up liking each other.’ —J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
Summary: Remus makes a present for Teddy’s first Christmas, and repays a debt.
Notes: Blame
an_english_girl for this ;) — she wanted to know if Remus in the Warp and Weft AU ficverse would have built a floor jigsaw for Teddy’s first Christmas, as he did for baby Harry in her fic for this event, A Happy Memory.The Pieces of the Puzzle
mid December, 1998
“Thank you for letting me borrow your shed for this.” Remus reversed the Shrinking Charm and watched as everything sprang back to its original size—the sheets of plywood, the elderly handsaw, the bundle of sandpaper, the small pots of paint in bright colours.
“Not at all,” said Arthur. “I’m happy to help—and curious to see how you’re going to use that armsaw!”
It was, Remus thought, a great relief to see Arthur taking an interest in Muggle things again. Even if his smile did seem a little forced, and a web of new lines creased his face.
“I know that Teddy’s too little to understand what I’m doing,” said Remus, rather sheepishly. “But it just doesn’t seem proper to make his Christmas present right there in front of him.” He grinned. “Besides, I’d like this to be a bit of a surprise for Dora—and Harry—as well.”
“Christmas,” said Arthur, slowly. “I suppose it will be here in no time at all.”
Remus rested his hand on the slightly stooped shoulder, just for a moment.
Arthur’s smile was bleak now. “I miss him all the time, you know. It always seems as though he must be right in the next room, ready to pop out and make some kind of mischief.”
Remus felt his throat tighten. Teddy had been his child for only the tiniest fraction of the time that Fred had been Arthur’s, and already the thought of losing Teddy was unbearable.
“And I worry so,” said Arthur. “About Molly.”
Remus nodded, grimly. Molly had been putting on a brave face whenever he saw her for some time now, ever since she got over the earliest, sharpest grief. But surely that was nothing but a mask she wore in public. “I imagine she’s still taking it very hard.”
“Actually,” said Arthur, “that’s one of the things that worries me. She insists that everything’s fine, and she goes about with a sort of determined smile. But I don’t think that’s real.”
Not only in public, then.
A few evenings later, Remus was in the shed again, ready to paint the jigsaw pieces in brightly coloured patterns. It was a brilliant design, if he did say so himself. The pieces could be fitted together in more than one way, and once he had finished painting them, he would Charm the patterns to shift and change accordingly. It was more or less the same as the puzzle he had made for Harry, so long ago—the one that had been destroyed in the wreckage of the nursery in the cottage in Godric’s Hollow.
And now Harry could piece it together for Teddy, just as Sirius had done for Harry.
Remus felt again the giddy, heady rush of joy that came from thoughts like second chances and family in spite of everything.
Family that included Molly, who knocked on the shed door just then.
“Tea, dear?” she asked, brightly, bearing a tray with a steaming mug and a plateful of gingerbread biscuits. “I just had to look in and see how the floor jigsaw is coming along.” She spotted the still-unpainted pieces, stacked on Arthur’s worktable. “Goodness, but it’s large, isn’t it!”
Remus laughed. “It’s for an older child, really, but it’s something of a—family tradition.”
And then he wished he could bite back those words, when Molly’s carefully bright smile crumpled.
She deposited the tray on a corner of the worktable and covered her face with her apron before the storm broke.
“Oh,” said Remus, helplessly. “Oh, Molly.” He pulled her into a hug.
She rested her head on his shoulder for just an instant, before straightening and stepping away, wiping her face and patting at her hair. “Sorry,” she whispered. She cleared her throat and stood as tall as her small frame would allow. “I’ve got to be strong. For Arthur.”
Remus gazed, for a moment, at this little round woman who worried so much over everyone she cared about. Who had been so very frightened of him, in the beginning—the first werewolf she had ever (knowingly) met—until Order business threw them together often enough for her warm heart to break through her own prejudices.
Whose refusal to stop berating him for his stubbornness all through the long dark year of his undercover mission was a very large part of the reason why he was now so unimaginably happy with Dora—and Teddy.
Who was grieving, bitterly, over the loss of her son.
Alone.
“Molly,” he said, slowly. “I don’t think that’s the right way.”
She looked up at him with that bright smile pasted on again. “What do you mean, dear?”
“It was you who taught me,” he said, stepping closer. “Don’t you remember?” He took her hands in his own. “Grief shared is grief more easily borne.”
She caught her breath. Fresh tears stood in her eyes.
“Don’t make the mistake I made for so long.” Remus found he had to push the words past a throat grown suddenly tight. “Don’t shut Arthur out. He needs you as much as you need him.”
She blinked up at him for a moment longer, and then dropped his hands, only to pull him into a quick, fierce hug.
“Stay and work as late as you like, dear,” she said, shakily. “I think I’ll just go and find where Arthur’s got to.”
After the door shut behind her, Remus began to lay out the pots of paint in a neat row. Fred. Sirius. Ted. Mad-Eye. Dumbledore. James and Lily. Dad. Mum.
Puzzle pieces were meant to fit together. Even if—especially if—some of them were missing.
.
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no subject
Date: 2016-01-16 07:11 am (UTC)What a wonderful line. It always saddens me to think that, years ago, Remus was with a merry band of friends. Then after that, there were new people to fill his heart.
But whenever you look at the new crowd even though you love them very much, there is still that gaping hole of the past people who could also have been with you.
no subject
Date: 2016-01-20 04:30 am (UTC)I do like to think that a postwar (*ahem*) Remus would understand rather well how George and the other Weasleys feel about losing Fred.
no subject
Date: 2016-01-16 05:22 pm (UTC)Molly Weasley trying to brave for Arthur, who is just concerned for her, got to me. And I was so glad that it got to be Remus who comforted it. It seems to be his job doesn't it? First the Boggart scene and now this Christmas one.
And I love that he is building the puzzle piece for Harry as much as for Teddy. Because I cannot imagine that Harry had many games to play with as a young kid so he gets to experience all that now as a godfather to Teddy. Yeah.
The only thing I missed in this a little was that there was no Tonks, but there is always another day.
Thank you so much for this beautiful story.
no subject
Date: 2016-01-20 04:34 am (UTC)I really like the relationship we see in canon between Remus and Molly -- as you say, the boggart scene in OotP is one nice example...as is her nagging about Tonks in HBP. ;)
The only thing I missed in this a little was that there was no Tonks, but there is always another day.
Ah, but one of the nice things about a Remus/Tonks event like this is that it gives us a chance to explore their relationship from all different angles. Here, one main idea of this story was to show how Remus's understanding of just what a wonderful thing he has with Tonks helps him see what it is that he needs to say to Molly.
no subject
Date: 2016-01-16 07:13 pm (UTC)I love how you combined such a little motif as mine with the Weasleys and their grieving for Fred (and /of course/ he'd borrow Arthur's shed) (and oh, dear, the Arm saw!). So fitting the way Remus is able to give back to them some of the help and comfort they shared with him.
Brilliant, exquisite, and thank you for taking the time out of your writing to do this :)
no subject
Date: 2016-01-20 04:42 am (UTC)I started out meaning to write more about Harry, but then I was faced with the question of how to make this be about Remus and Tonks in some way, so that's where I started thinking about what else might be going on, that first Christmas after the war. Enter the Weasleys.
(and oh, dear, the Arm saw!)
Hee! I'm happy you caught that.
no subject
Date: 2016-01-18 10:10 pm (UTC)So fitting it's Remus who reminds Molly of what she once taught him, how he's making the puzzle for several people it seems (love him not wanting to make it in front of Teddy), and how he always appreciates his second chance at happiness and is seizing it with both hands. Or a handsaw!
A lovely, poignant read, especially those last couple of lines.
no subject
Date: 2016-01-20 04:48 am (UTC)LOL, I spent a certain amount of time looking at pictures of handsaws and jigsaws (the tool) and other related items, trying to picture how all this would actually work...
no subject
Date: 2016-01-20 10:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-02-04 03:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-22 02:16 am (UTC)(And it's even more fitting because like you say, finding happiness with Tonks has FINALLY shown Remus why he was wrong to shut people out all those years! So he's just the right person to reach through to Molly in her walled-off grief, because he very, very much understands.)
no subject
Date: 2016-02-04 03:37 am (UTC)