3 fics; challenge #51, #57, #56
Title: Back way Alleys
Rating/Warnings: pg
Characters/Pairing: Scabior/Tonks, snatchers.
Summary: Tonks is in hiding in a welsh supermarket. idek, its nearly 4 am, just roll with it, okay?
Word Count:1123
Author's Notes: nearly 4. AM.
Registered purchases?: both but unaccountable.
It’s one of those odd days where Scabior can stroll through a supermarket and claim he’s working.
Technically, he is. He’s just getting lunch at the same time; multi-tasking, some would call it.
The others in his little band of snatchers are talking rowdily behind him, but he rolls his eyes and continues, eyes scanning not only the shelves but the people shopping as well.
He is working. His hand is in his pocket, clenched tightly around a notebook full of names. His finger is stuck inside a page bearing a name very close to his heart, mostly because he cant believe its in there.
Nymphadora Tonks.
She’s the last person he wants to snatch. He doesn’t want her to be turned in, to be sent to Azkaban or wherever the ministry is sending everyone they catch. He doesn’t want his band of horny idiots getting their hands on her either.
Especially Greyback.
Glancing back at the werewolf, trying not to betray the disgust on his face, he scans the shelves of meat behind them. And just around the corner is the deli…
He could use some nice meat for a sandwich. That would make a good lunch.
He’s almost at the counter, his posse close behind, when the girl behind the counter looks up and their eyes meet.
He swerves sharply to the left, nearly banging into the international food shelf.
It’s her. It’s bloody well her.
Not only is she not in England where she’s supposed to be, she’s working in a muggle supermarket.
“Change your mind about lunch?” Greyback is smirking, and Scabior knows that he knows who she is. “I’d much rather have her as well. But if you want her, I wont interfere. Till afterwards.”
Scabior rolls his eyes. “What are you talking about?” playing dumb might just work with this lot.
“Your girl. I know that’s the one we got the papers for the other day. I’ve smelt her before.”
Or not.
“You’ve smelt her before?” Scabior raises an eyebrow. The werewolf often has a twisted way of talking.
Greyback shrugs. “Battle at some old house. She was there with him.” His smirk grows wider. “With Lupin.”
Scabior knows he doesn’t have to take this. Shrugging it off, he turns around, examining a bottle whose label is written entirely in Chinese.
He cant read Chinese, but he can pretend to.
“I take it you’re not going to talk to her then? Would you like me to?”
Scabior shakes his head, knowing Fenrir wont shut his ugly face until he speaks to her. With a dramatic sigh, he approaches her counter. She’s leaning coolly against a bench top, looking extremely bored, not to mention unimpressed.
“Do you want something?” she asks.
“That’s rather rude, Nymphadora.” He says playfully.
She raises an eyebrow, and points to her name tag. “My name is Ellie. Not whatever you just said.”
She doesn’t look like herself. Plain brown hair tied back under a cap. Dark eyes, and she doesn’t have her usual cute splattering of freckles that he had loved so much.
He still knows it’s her though. He could never mistake her for anyone else.
“Well, if that’s the game you’re going to play-”
“Ellie, time for your break?”
With a relieved smile, she nods at the older man who’s just entered. “Thank you.” She sounds relieved too, pushing past him to disappear out back.
Greyback pulls Scabior away. “We’ll wait till she finishes. It’ll be dark. We’ll take her then.”
Scabior doesn’t like the sound of that.
But they wait outside till it’s pitch black. Its freezing too, his scarf is wrapped tightly around his neck, but he cant pull his jacket any closer. His teeth are still chattering.
Finally, she comes out, small and nervous as she bows her head against the oncoming wind. She heads towards a small, back way alley that crosses through a block of office buildings.
“Time to go.” Greyback mutters, and they start following, drawing their wands.
It isn’t until they’re half way down the alley that Scabior starts to think something is wrong. She was right here… but now she is nowhere to be seen.
That is, until she jumps down from a fire stairwell and lands behind him, pushing him against the cold stone wall with her wand pressed into his throat.
“Evening, Scabior. Nice to see your choice of friends has improved Greatly. You’re hanging out with the mega assholes now.”
He knows she’s referring to Greyback.
“Oh, and if you come one step closer Greyback, you should know it’s late, ive had a long day, and I really wont think twice about blowing his head off.”
“You’d blow your boyfriends head off?”
“He’s not my boyfriend. I’d have thought you’d have heard by now, seeing as how Remus is one of yours and all.”
His heart sinks. They’d all heard the rumours.
Greyback chuckled. “So you’re his bird? I think he could have done better… you’re not… contaminated enough.”
“Thank you for your opinion. Now, if you’ll excuse me, we’ll be off.”
Scabior didn’t know who she meant by we until she turned on the spot and dragged him along with her.
She threw him away from him as they hit the ground.
“I cant believe you’ve joined the snatchers.” Her voice sounds pitying. “You could have helped us.”
“Yeah, right.” He snorts. “the last thing I want to do is hang out with you and your fluffy puppy of a husband. He’s pathetic. Not to mention we all know he left you.”
She doesn’t have a reply to that, and when he looks at her, he can see it’s because he’s hurt her.
“No one’s sure why, though.”
“That is no one else’s business.” She snapped, crossing her arms tightly.
He sighs, checking his watch. “Why did you drag me here?” he’s not even sure where here is. Its nowhere special, just another street corner.
“She shrugs. I like playing round with your snatcher friends. They probably think ive handed you over to the order for some horrible torture, or whatever it is the ministry is saying the order does these days.” Sighing, she walks back to him until she’s so close they’re almost touching. “Don’t follow me, and don’t look for me again, okay? I don’t want to have to hurt you.”
Her eyes soften.
This annoys him for some reason.
She’s using him again. To keep her safe this time.
“If they want to look for you again, im not going to be able to stop them.” He tells her stubbornly. “But I wont go looking for you.”
She’s silent for a minute.
“Thank you.”
With a loud crack, she vanishes, leaving him alone again, as usual.
Title: Least we Remember
Rating/Warnings:g
Characters/Pairing: teddy/victorie
Summary: teddy wants to remember his parents properly.
Word Count:335
Author's Notes: tired.
Remembrance.
Teddy hated May the second. A day of “Remembrance” for those who were killed in the battle of Hogwarts. Bullshit.
The whole school would gather round the tall, marble monument by the lake for memorial speeches, followed by a two minute silence. It meant nothing to him. He always found himself wanting to scream, to yell at everybody.
But no one understood what he was trying to say. Not even Victorie. Especially not Victorie. She thought it was lovely that he had a day to remember his parents. But he knew he was one of the few that really did remember.
“I don’t understand” she had said to him.
“Its not lest we forget, but lest we remember. That’s what this is all about… the memorials, the cenotaph, the two minutes silence. Because there is no better way of forgetting something than by commemorating it.”
She just shook her head and walked away.
“So much for our glorious dead.” He had muttered.
So he had given up. He didn’t go to the memorial service any more. He went to the small graveyard on the other side of the school grounds, reserved for those who died defending Hogwarts. He would sit in front of his parent’s graves, rubbing his fingers over an old, worn photograph. One of the few he had of his parents with him. His father hugging his mother, who had a baby with bright blue hair wrapped in her arms. He would remember them his way. He would remember the stories harry had told him. He would remember playing Marauders with Harry’s children. He would remember asking where his Mummy and Daddy were every night when he was young. He would remember crying. He would remember how proud he was to be their son, to be a Lupin. He would remember them properly. He would remember them with love.
He wouldn’t forget like everyone else.
Never such innocence
Never before or since
as changed itself to past
without a word.
Phillip Larkin-MCMXIV
Title: Dont go
Rating/Warnings: g
Characters/Pairing: Remus/Tonks
Summary: Remus is leaving.
Word Count: 488
Author's Notes: going to sleep now.
He was staring at her with eyes full of sadness, eyes silently asking her to forgive him for what he was doing. But she couldn’t forgive him. She couldn’t let him do this. So she just stared determinedly back.
“I,” she said with clenched teeth, “am an Auror.”
“You’re 24.” He replied quietly. “I’m 37. Don’t you see the problem with that?”
Stubbornly she shook her head, crossing her arms. A picture of defiance. “Don’t.” she whispered. “Don’t Remus. Not now.”
“I have to.” He pushed his hands further into his pockets. “We can’t… you can’t… not with a werewolf. Not with me.”
“Why not?” She was glaring, bottom lip sticking out. Really she was trying not to cry.
“Because I’ll ruin your life. And you’ll wish you’d never met me when you lose your job, and all your friends, and your family... you think you won’t mind when they’re all disgusted by you, but you will. And you won’t want to be alone with me then.”
“But Remus, don’t you see?” she looked like she might cry now, grabbing his patched sweater in her hands. “If they won’t accept that I love you, they’re not real friends! And I don’t care! You know people who don’t care about your lycanthropy, I don’t need-”
“And they’re all dying Nymphadora! Everyone I care about dies! I will not add your name to the list, you hear me?” angrily, he pulled her hands off, ignoring her pained face.
She shook her head. “You’re too noble for your own good, you know.” She murmured.
He clenched his fists, pretending not to hear. “Besides,” he continued, “I... I don’t love you anyway.”
Her arms fell loosely to her sides from their defiant position over her chest. All pretence was gone from her face. Remus realised now he had never seen her cry before.
Well, there’s a first time for everything.
“Fine.” She finally breathed, after a long pause spent trying to hold herself together. “Fine.” A solitary tear made its lonely path down her check. She didn’t notice. But he did. And it hurt to see.
“Okay then.” He said slowly. Cautiously.
Her eyes flashed. “Fine! Go get yourself killed! But don’t worry, because I’ll be waiting here, alone and safe.”
“Fine.” He said firmly, and turned, leaving. He slammed the door loudly behind him.
“No.” She whispered to herself. “No.” Then louder- “Remus!” she pulled the door open, running after him. “I didn’t mean it, please don’t-”
There was a crack as he apparated away.
“-go.” Too late. He had left her. Not only was she alone, but in a war like this... she was helpless.
“Come back. Please.” She pleaded with the empty street, as the lonely tear fell to the cold ground. There was no one to hear her plead, and no one to see her cry.
It was such a big world, and Tonks had never felt smaller.
POINTS:
488+335+1123= 1946/30= 64 points for Gryffindor
Rating/Warnings: pg
Characters/Pairing: Scabior/Tonks, snatchers.
Summary: Tonks is in hiding in a welsh supermarket. idek, its nearly 4 am, just roll with it, okay?
Word Count:1123
Author's Notes: nearly 4. AM.
Registered purchases?: both but unaccountable.
It’s one of those odd days where Scabior can stroll through a supermarket and claim he’s working.
Technically, he is. He’s just getting lunch at the same time; multi-tasking, some would call it.
The others in his little band of snatchers are talking rowdily behind him, but he rolls his eyes and continues, eyes scanning not only the shelves but the people shopping as well.
He is working. His hand is in his pocket, clenched tightly around a notebook full of names. His finger is stuck inside a page bearing a name very close to his heart, mostly because he cant believe its in there.
Nymphadora Tonks.
She’s the last person he wants to snatch. He doesn’t want her to be turned in, to be sent to Azkaban or wherever the ministry is sending everyone they catch. He doesn’t want his band of horny idiots getting their hands on her either.
Especially Greyback.
Glancing back at the werewolf, trying not to betray the disgust on his face, he scans the shelves of meat behind them. And just around the corner is the deli…
He could use some nice meat for a sandwich. That would make a good lunch.
He’s almost at the counter, his posse close behind, when the girl behind the counter looks up and their eyes meet.
He swerves sharply to the left, nearly banging into the international food shelf.
It’s her. It’s bloody well her.
Not only is she not in England where she’s supposed to be, she’s working in a muggle supermarket.
“Change your mind about lunch?” Greyback is smirking, and Scabior knows that he knows who she is. “I’d much rather have her as well. But if you want her, I wont interfere. Till afterwards.”
Scabior rolls his eyes. “What are you talking about?” playing dumb might just work with this lot.
“Your girl. I know that’s the one we got the papers for the other day. I’ve smelt her before.”
Or not.
“You’ve smelt her before?” Scabior raises an eyebrow. The werewolf often has a twisted way of talking.
Greyback shrugs. “Battle at some old house. She was there with him.” His smirk grows wider. “With Lupin.”
Scabior knows he doesn’t have to take this. Shrugging it off, he turns around, examining a bottle whose label is written entirely in Chinese.
He cant read Chinese, but he can pretend to.
“I take it you’re not going to talk to her then? Would you like me to?”
Scabior shakes his head, knowing Fenrir wont shut his ugly face until he speaks to her. With a dramatic sigh, he approaches her counter. She’s leaning coolly against a bench top, looking extremely bored, not to mention unimpressed.
“Do you want something?” she asks.
“That’s rather rude, Nymphadora.” He says playfully.
She raises an eyebrow, and points to her name tag. “My name is Ellie. Not whatever you just said.”
She doesn’t look like herself. Plain brown hair tied back under a cap. Dark eyes, and she doesn’t have her usual cute splattering of freckles that he had loved so much.
He still knows it’s her though. He could never mistake her for anyone else.
“Well, if that’s the game you’re going to play-”
“Ellie, time for your break?”
With a relieved smile, she nods at the older man who’s just entered. “Thank you.” She sounds relieved too, pushing past him to disappear out back.
Greyback pulls Scabior away. “We’ll wait till she finishes. It’ll be dark. We’ll take her then.”
Scabior doesn’t like the sound of that.
But they wait outside till it’s pitch black. Its freezing too, his scarf is wrapped tightly around his neck, but he cant pull his jacket any closer. His teeth are still chattering.
Finally, she comes out, small and nervous as she bows her head against the oncoming wind. She heads towards a small, back way alley that crosses through a block of office buildings.
“Time to go.” Greyback mutters, and they start following, drawing their wands.
It isn’t until they’re half way down the alley that Scabior starts to think something is wrong. She was right here… but now she is nowhere to be seen.
That is, until she jumps down from a fire stairwell and lands behind him, pushing him against the cold stone wall with her wand pressed into his throat.
“Evening, Scabior. Nice to see your choice of friends has improved Greatly. You’re hanging out with the mega assholes now.”
He knows she’s referring to Greyback.
“Oh, and if you come one step closer Greyback, you should know it’s late, ive had a long day, and I really wont think twice about blowing his head off.”
“You’d blow your boyfriends head off?”
“He’s not my boyfriend. I’d have thought you’d have heard by now, seeing as how Remus is one of yours and all.”
His heart sinks. They’d all heard the rumours.
Greyback chuckled. “So you’re his bird? I think he could have done better… you’re not… contaminated enough.”
“Thank you for your opinion. Now, if you’ll excuse me, we’ll be off.”
Scabior didn’t know who she meant by we until she turned on the spot and dragged him along with her.
She threw him away from him as they hit the ground.
“I cant believe you’ve joined the snatchers.” Her voice sounds pitying. “You could have helped us.”
“Yeah, right.” He snorts. “the last thing I want to do is hang out with you and your fluffy puppy of a husband. He’s pathetic. Not to mention we all know he left you.”
She doesn’t have a reply to that, and when he looks at her, he can see it’s because he’s hurt her.
“No one’s sure why, though.”
“That is no one else’s business.” She snapped, crossing her arms tightly.
He sighs, checking his watch. “Why did you drag me here?” he’s not even sure where here is. Its nowhere special, just another street corner.
“She shrugs. I like playing round with your snatcher friends. They probably think ive handed you over to the order for some horrible torture, or whatever it is the ministry is saying the order does these days.” Sighing, she walks back to him until she’s so close they’re almost touching. “Don’t follow me, and don’t look for me again, okay? I don’t want to have to hurt you.”
Her eyes soften.
This annoys him for some reason.
She’s using him again. To keep her safe this time.
“If they want to look for you again, im not going to be able to stop them.” He tells her stubbornly. “But I wont go looking for you.”
She’s silent for a minute.
“Thank you.”
With a loud crack, she vanishes, leaving him alone again, as usual.
Title: Least we Remember
Rating/Warnings:g
Characters/Pairing: teddy/victorie
Summary: teddy wants to remember his parents properly.
Word Count:335
Author's Notes: tired.
Remembrance.
Teddy hated May the second. A day of “Remembrance” for those who were killed in the battle of Hogwarts. Bullshit.
The whole school would gather round the tall, marble monument by the lake for memorial speeches, followed by a two minute silence. It meant nothing to him. He always found himself wanting to scream, to yell at everybody.
But no one understood what he was trying to say. Not even Victorie. Especially not Victorie. She thought it was lovely that he had a day to remember his parents. But he knew he was one of the few that really did remember.
“I don’t understand” she had said to him.
“Its not lest we forget, but lest we remember. That’s what this is all about… the memorials, the cenotaph, the two minutes silence. Because there is no better way of forgetting something than by commemorating it.”
She just shook her head and walked away.
“So much for our glorious dead.” He had muttered.
So he had given up. He didn’t go to the memorial service any more. He went to the small graveyard on the other side of the school grounds, reserved for those who died defending Hogwarts. He would sit in front of his parent’s graves, rubbing his fingers over an old, worn photograph. One of the few he had of his parents with him. His father hugging his mother, who had a baby with bright blue hair wrapped in her arms. He would remember them his way. He would remember the stories harry had told him. He would remember playing Marauders with Harry’s children. He would remember asking where his Mummy and Daddy were every night when he was young. He would remember crying. He would remember how proud he was to be their son, to be a Lupin. He would remember them properly. He would remember them with love.
He wouldn’t forget like everyone else.
Never such innocence
Never before or since
as changed itself to past
without a word.
Phillip Larkin-MCMXIV
Title: Dont go
Rating/Warnings: g
Characters/Pairing: Remus/Tonks
Summary: Remus is leaving.
Word Count: 488
Author's Notes: going to sleep now.
He was staring at her with eyes full of sadness, eyes silently asking her to forgive him for what he was doing. But she couldn’t forgive him. She couldn’t let him do this. So she just stared determinedly back.
“I,” she said with clenched teeth, “am an Auror.”
“You’re 24.” He replied quietly. “I’m 37. Don’t you see the problem with that?”
Stubbornly she shook her head, crossing her arms. A picture of defiance. “Don’t.” she whispered. “Don’t Remus. Not now.”
“I have to.” He pushed his hands further into his pockets. “We can’t… you can’t… not with a werewolf. Not with me.”
“Why not?” She was glaring, bottom lip sticking out. Really she was trying not to cry.
“Because I’ll ruin your life. And you’ll wish you’d never met me when you lose your job, and all your friends, and your family... you think you won’t mind when they’re all disgusted by you, but you will. And you won’t want to be alone with me then.”
“But Remus, don’t you see?” she looked like she might cry now, grabbing his patched sweater in her hands. “If they won’t accept that I love you, they’re not real friends! And I don’t care! You know people who don’t care about your lycanthropy, I don’t need-”
“And they’re all dying Nymphadora! Everyone I care about dies! I will not add your name to the list, you hear me?” angrily, he pulled her hands off, ignoring her pained face.
She shook her head. “You’re too noble for your own good, you know.” She murmured.
He clenched his fists, pretending not to hear. “Besides,” he continued, “I... I don’t love you anyway.”
Her arms fell loosely to her sides from their defiant position over her chest. All pretence was gone from her face. Remus realised now he had never seen her cry before.
Well, there’s a first time for everything.
“Fine.” She finally breathed, after a long pause spent trying to hold herself together. “Fine.” A solitary tear made its lonely path down her check. She didn’t notice. But he did. And it hurt to see.
“Okay then.” He said slowly. Cautiously.
Her eyes flashed. “Fine! Go get yourself killed! But don’t worry, because I’ll be waiting here, alone and safe.”
“Fine.” He said firmly, and turned, leaving. He slammed the door loudly behind him.
“No.” She whispered to herself. “No.” Then louder- “Remus!” she pulled the door open, running after him. “I didn’t mean it, please don’t-”
There was a crack as he apparated away.
“-go.” Too late. He had left her. Not only was she alone, but in a war like this... she was helpless.
“Come back. Please.” She pleaded with the empty street, as the lonely tear fell to the cold ground. There was no one to hear her plead, and no one to see her cry.
It was such a big world, and Tonks had never felt smaller.
POINTS:
488+335+1123= 1946/30= 64 points for Gryffindor