27. Fanfiction: It's Basic Charlie/Tonks
Title: It’s Basic
Author: Liliths_Requiem
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Charlie Weasley, Nymphadora Tonks, Andromeda Tonks, Remus Lupin
Pairings: Charlie Weasley/Nymphadora Tonks, Nymphadora Tonks/Remus Lupin
Era: In Between
Word Count: 1909
Credit: Subheadings from Taking Back Sunday songs You Know How I Do and You’re So Last Summer
I. If I’m Just Bad News…Then You’re a Liar
He fell in love with her when he was sixteen. They had been best friends for so long it was hard to remember that there was once a time when he didn’t need her as desperately as he needed air, but now that desperation had turned into something so much more. She wasn’t ‘little Nora’ anymore, with long blue pigtails and the ability to whoop his ass whenever she felt like it. Now, she had curves in all the places he couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away from and her hair was kept short and pink, outlining her Black nose and violet eyes. He knew he was falling for her the moment she arrived at the Platform last month, but it wasn’t until she walked into his dreams half-naked last night that he was willing to admit it.
“Charlie Weasley, what the hell is taking you so long?” Nymphadora Tonks yelled from the Gryffindor common room. She was one of the few people outside of Gryffindor to know the password, and one of only three Hufflepuffs that was respected enough to be left alone within the Tower. Most of the older students thought she was amusing, so they let her be just to watch the show, and all of the younger students thought she was completely insane, so they scattered whenever she showed up. Charlie was the only person to actually walk towards her when she stepped through the portrait hole, something his brother often teased him about.
“Sorry, Nora,” the young redhead replied as he made his way down the steps, robes still undone and hair lying in ever which way except for flat against his head. “I couldn’t find my socks.” Which was an absolute lie, of course. In actuality, he had forgotten the right spell to clean up his sheets after last night’s dream and had to find Bill to get the right wording before he could leave the room. Instead of relaying this all to her, however, he simply kissed her cheek and led her through the door. If her anger was any sort of sign, he knew they were dangerously close to having to skip breakfast in order to make it to Potions on time.
He kept his dreams a secret for three months, but upon returning to Hogwarts after Winter Break, Charlie knew he had to tell his best friend something or she’d probably think he’d gone completely off his rocker. He wasn’t a very patient man, and when he wanted something, he was prone to go after it until it was his. His mother often joked about him belonging in Slytherin rather than Gryffindor, but his smart mouth and laid-back attitude made him a bit too brave for the House of Snakes. Besides, he was a Weasley; Weasleys weren’t sorted into Houses other than Gryffindor. It was unheard of.
She ran over to him as soon as she was through the barrier, throwing her long arms around his neck and hugging him fiercely. “I missed you,” she breathed, as he hugged her back, “Home gets boring without somewhere there to keep me amused.”
He laughed, “Is that all I’m good for then? Amusing you?” His voice was light, much lighter than it had been since they parted. As they parted, he could almost see the faint blush that made its way across Tonks’ face, inflaming her cheeks and nose.
“Of course,” she replied, her eyes holding his for a second longer than he was used to. He knew she was forcing the eye contact; she had a strange habit of blinking constantly and rarely met anyone’s eye. It made his breath hitch slightly and caused a warm tightening of his stomach to occur. He wanted to reach out and touch her, but he knew that would be crossing some invisible boundary they had established that first night at Hogwarts many years ago. “What else would you be good for?”
He wanted to joke back; wanted to say something light and asinine that would cause her to blush prettily and slap him for being crude. But she was looking up at him with laughter sparkling in her eyes and the ghost of a smile gracing her teasing lips and he couldn’t quite control himself. He didn’t realize he was moving them closer together until her face was a mere inch away, eyes closed and lips parted. Before he could stop himself and before Tonks realized he was about to kiss her, he whispered “this” and then closed the gap.
It wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t planned, but it was a beginning of sorts.
II. And These Grass Stains on my Knees…They Don’t Mean a Thing
“Merlin, Charlie, just grow up!” she screamed, throwing another plate at him. They were standing in his mother’s kitchen, supposedly making dinner. However, somehow the conversation had strayed from her acceptance into the Auror program to his decision to work with dragons, and that was always a sore topic for the both of them. He wanted to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a dragon tamer; she was afraid he was going to get killed.
“Oh, yes,” he retorted, sarcasm dripping from his words much the same way as the honey was dripping from the spoon in his hand, “Because playing good cop bad cop with a bunch of ex-Death Eaters isn’t something you’ve wanted to do since you were nine!” Returning the spoon to the pot he said, in a slightly softer tone, “Honestly, Nora, you make it sound like you’re becoming a desk clerk. You’re more likely to die than I am, in case you haven’t realized.”
She stared at him, anger dancing along the edge of her eyes and worry bouncing through her veins. “Yes but…” she couldn’t quite figure out the logic, “I’ll be doing something for others. You’re only doing this for yourself.” He knew that she was close to tears, knew that in order to stop the anger he would have to give in, but this was his entire life she was trying to destroy. There were some things she really couldn’t ask for him to do.
“Nymphadora,” he began, his voice angry and shaking, but firm all the same, “This is what I’ve wanted to do my entire life. You’ve known this for seven years now. What, exactly, has made you change from being my biggest supporter to being my biggest obstacle?” His eyes didn’t leave hers the entire time, and he watched as the anger seeped from her body only to be replaced with tears. Looking at the floor, she muttered something incomprehensible. “What?” he asked, his voice still edgy but with a noticeable restraint on his anger.
She forced herself to meet his eyes, the stream of wet tears evident on her cheeks. A part of him wanted to forgive her everything, pull her close to him, and promise her that everything was going to be okay. The other part knew they had to do this, knew that this was the only way they would survive the separation, and so he stood his ground. “I don’t want you to go,” she whispered, her voice cracking and her arms sagging. “I don’t think I can handle it.”
He stared at her for a moment, unsure of what to say. He knew she was terrified, but he didn’t think she was scared enough to break down like this. He hadn’t seen her cry in years. The paralysis lasted for a moment, and then he was holding her, whispering words of comfort in her ear, and promising that he wasn’t walking out of her life. “It’s not like you’ll never see me, Nora,” he told her, smoothing her brown hair, “Mum’d kill me if I didn’t visit constantly. But…” he didn’t want to say thing, he didn’t want to let go, “But I think we should stop…seeing each other.” She nodded against his chest as more tears spilled from her silver eyes, “I think it would be best.”
After dinner, they said goodbye. He promised to write and she promised to read and that would have to be enough, some how. Just as she was walking towards the door, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her close. “I will always love you, Nora,” he promised, sincerity pulsating through him, “No matter what, always.”
III. You Know How I Do
He stood at the edge of the altar, trying to mask the pain and insecurity that surged through him with every key played on the organ. Remus stood before the priest, the epitome of calm and collected. They both knew the groom was scared out of his mind and the façade was all an act, but it was an act so convincingly portrayed that Charlie had trouble remembering the night before, when the older man was throwing up in the toilet long before they went out for drinks.
“She’s beautiful,” he wasn’t sure which one of them said the words aloud, but the moment Nora turned to walk down the aisle, both he and Remus cannot take their eyes away from her. It was Andromeda who gave her away, as Ted had been on the run since April. The older witch smiled at him as her daughter smiled at her fiancé, and joined him off to the side.
He watched as she said her vows, voice even and unemotional. He listened as Remus said his, handwritten and touching enough to bring everyone in attendance to tears. He restrained himself as he watched them kiss, trying not to remember the way her lips felt against his, the way her hands would curl in his hair, the way she sounded when she moaned. He stood still as Remus carried his new wife from the church and remained in that spot until Andromeda grabbed his arm and led him through the archway. “I know what you’re thinking, young man,” she told him, her old gray eyes crinkling, “and you’re right. She’ll always be yours.”
He wanted to ask her how she knew; he wanted some proof that Nora still loved him the way he loved her. But he couldn’t form the words to speak, not with breathing being almost impossible at that moment. Andromeda, ever the Slytherin and ever the Black, didn’t need his words in order to understand. “She told me,” a simple answer, one that wouldn’t have needed explaining had he not been a ‘hard-headed Gryffindor idiot’, as Nora often called him. “Last night, before we got her drunk and made her smile, she told me she’ll always love you. But…”
He knew the words she was going to say. Nora told him the same things so many times he could repeat them from memory at a moment’s notice. “But I need to settle down and stop putting myself through hell for bloody animals. I need to come home and be with my family now. And I need to put her first.”
The older woman nodded, not releasing his arm as they walked into the reception hall, “You’ve always put her first, Charlus,” she told him, “She just never knew it.”
And with that, she walked away, leaving him alone to watch his world fall apart as Nora danced in someone else’s arms, wearing someone else’s ring, and giving her heart and soul-two things he once held in the palm of his hand-to someone else.
Author: Liliths_Requiem
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Charlie Weasley, Nymphadora Tonks, Andromeda Tonks, Remus Lupin
Pairings: Charlie Weasley/Nymphadora Tonks, Nymphadora Tonks/Remus Lupin
Era: In Between
Word Count: 1909
Credit: Subheadings from Taking Back Sunday songs You Know How I Do and You’re So Last Summer
I. If I’m Just Bad News…Then You’re a Liar
He fell in love with her when he was sixteen. They had been best friends for so long it was hard to remember that there was once a time when he didn’t need her as desperately as he needed air, but now that desperation had turned into something so much more. She wasn’t ‘little Nora’ anymore, with long blue pigtails and the ability to whoop his ass whenever she felt like it. Now, she had curves in all the places he couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away from and her hair was kept short and pink, outlining her Black nose and violet eyes. He knew he was falling for her the moment she arrived at the Platform last month, but it wasn’t until she walked into his dreams half-naked last night that he was willing to admit it.
“Charlie Weasley, what the hell is taking you so long?” Nymphadora Tonks yelled from the Gryffindor common room. She was one of the few people outside of Gryffindor to know the password, and one of only three Hufflepuffs that was respected enough to be left alone within the Tower. Most of the older students thought she was amusing, so they let her be just to watch the show, and all of the younger students thought she was completely insane, so they scattered whenever she showed up. Charlie was the only person to actually walk towards her when she stepped through the portrait hole, something his brother often teased him about.
“Sorry, Nora,” the young redhead replied as he made his way down the steps, robes still undone and hair lying in ever which way except for flat against his head. “I couldn’t find my socks.” Which was an absolute lie, of course. In actuality, he had forgotten the right spell to clean up his sheets after last night’s dream and had to find Bill to get the right wording before he could leave the room. Instead of relaying this all to her, however, he simply kissed her cheek and led her through the door. If her anger was any sort of sign, he knew they were dangerously close to having to skip breakfast in order to make it to Potions on time.
He kept his dreams a secret for three months, but upon returning to Hogwarts after Winter Break, Charlie knew he had to tell his best friend something or she’d probably think he’d gone completely off his rocker. He wasn’t a very patient man, and when he wanted something, he was prone to go after it until it was his. His mother often joked about him belonging in Slytherin rather than Gryffindor, but his smart mouth and laid-back attitude made him a bit too brave for the House of Snakes. Besides, he was a Weasley; Weasleys weren’t sorted into Houses other than Gryffindor. It was unheard of.
She ran over to him as soon as she was through the barrier, throwing her long arms around his neck and hugging him fiercely. “I missed you,” she breathed, as he hugged her back, “Home gets boring without somewhere there to keep me amused.”
He laughed, “Is that all I’m good for then? Amusing you?” His voice was light, much lighter than it had been since they parted. As they parted, he could almost see the faint blush that made its way across Tonks’ face, inflaming her cheeks and nose.
“Of course,” she replied, her eyes holding his for a second longer than he was used to. He knew she was forcing the eye contact; she had a strange habit of blinking constantly and rarely met anyone’s eye. It made his breath hitch slightly and caused a warm tightening of his stomach to occur. He wanted to reach out and touch her, but he knew that would be crossing some invisible boundary they had established that first night at Hogwarts many years ago. “What else would you be good for?”
He wanted to joke back; wanted to say something light and asinine that would cause her to blush prettily and slap him for being crude. But she was looking up at him with laughter sparkling in her eyes and the ghost of a smile gracing her teasing lips and he couldn’t quite control himself. He didn’t realize he was moving them closer together until her face was a mere inch away, eyes closed and lips parted. Before he could stop himself and before Tonks realized he was about to kiss her, he whispered “this” and then closed the gap.
It wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t planned, but it was a beginning of sorts.
II. And These Grass Stains on my Knees…They Don’t Mean a Thing
“Merlin, Charlie, just grow up!” she screamed, throwing another plate at him. They were standing in his mother’s kitchen, supposedly making dinner. However, somehow the conversation had strayed from her acceptance into the Auror program to his decision to work with dragons, and that was always a sore topic for the both of them. He wanted to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a dragon tamer; she was afraid he was going to get killed.
“Oh, yes,” he retorted, sarcasm dripping from his words much the same way as the honey was dripping from the spoon in his hand, “Because playing good cop bad cop with a bunch of ex-Death Eaters isn’t something you’ve wanted to do since you were nine!” Returning the spoon to the pot he said, in a slightly softer tone, “Honestly, Nora, you make it sound like you’re becoming a desk clerk. You’re more likely to die than I am, in case you haven’t realized.”
She stared at him, anger dancing along the edge of her eyes and worry bouncing through her veins. “Yes but…” she couldn’t quite figure out the logic, “I’ll be doing something for others. You’re only doing this for yourself.” He knew that she was close to tears, knew that in order to stop the anger he would have to give in, but this was his entire life she was trying to destroy. There were some things she really couldn’t ask for him to do.
“Nymphadora,” he began, his voice angry and shaking, but firm all the same, “This is what I’ve wanted to do my entire life. You’ve known this for seven years now. What, exactly, has made you change from being my biggest supporter to being my biggest obstacle?” His eyes didn’t leave hers the entire time, and he watched as the anger seeped from her body only to be replaced with tears. Looking at the floor, she muttered something incomprehensible. “What?” he asked, his voice still edgy but with a noticeable restraint on his anger.
She forced herself to meet his eyes, the stream of wet tears evident on her cheeks. A part of him wanted to forgive her everything, pull her close to him, and promise her that everything was going to be okay. The other part knew they had to do this, knew that this was the only way they would survive the separation, and so he stood his ground. “I don’t want you to go,” she whispered, her voice cracking and her arms sagging. “I don’t think I can handle it.”
He stared at her for a moment, unsure of what to say. He knew she was terrified, but he didn’t think she was scared enough to break down like this. He hadn’t seen her cry in years. The paralysis lasted for a moment, and then he was holding her, whispering words of comfort in her ear, and promising that he wasn’t walking out of her life. “It’s not like you’ll never see me, Nora,” he told her, smoothing her brown hair, “Mum’d kill me if I didn’t visit constantly. But…” he didn’t want to say thing, he didn’t want to let go, “But I think we should stop…seeing each other.” She nodded against his chest as more tears spilled from her silver eyes, “I think it would be best.”
After dinner, they said goodbye. He promised to write and she promised to read and that would have to be enough, some how. Just as she was walking towards the door, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her close. “I will always love you, Nora,” he promised, sincerity pulsating through him, “No matter what, always.”
III. You Know How I Do
He stood at the edge of the altar, trying to mask the pain and insecurity that surged through him with every key played on the organ. Remus stood before the priest, the epitome of calm and collected. They both knew the groom was scared out of his mind and the façade was all an act, but it was an act so convincingly portrayed that Charlie had trouble remembering the night before, when the older man was throwing up in the toilet long before they went out for drinks.
“She’s beautiful,” he wasn’t sure which one of them said the words aloud, but the moment Nora turned to walk down the aisle, both he and Remus cannot take their eyes away from her. It was Andromeda who gave her away, as Ted had been on the run since April. The older witch smiled at him as her daughter smiled at her fiancé, and joined him off to the side.
He watched as she said her vows, voice even and unemotional. He listened as Remus said his, handwritten and touching enough to bring everyone in attendance to tears. He restrained himself as he watched them kiss, trying not to remember the way her lips felt against his, the way her hands would curl in his hair, the way she sounded when she moaned. He stood still as Remus carried his new wife from the church and remained in that spot until Andromeda grabbed his arm and led him through the archway. “I know what you’re thinking, young man,” she told him, her old gray eyes crinkling, “and you’re right. She’ll always be yours.”
He wanted to ask her how she knew; he wanted some proof that Nora still loved him the way he loved her. But he couldn’t form the words to speak, not with breathing being almost impossible at that moment. Andromeda, ever the Slytherin and ever the Black, didn’t need his words in order to understand. “She told me,” a simple answer, one that wouldn’t have needed explaining had he not been a ‘hard-headed Gryffindor idiot’, as Nora often called him. “Last night, before we got her drunk and made her smile, she told me she’ll always love you. But…”
He knew the words she was going to say. Nora told him the same things so many times he could repeat them from memory at a moment’s notice. “But I need to settle down and stop putting myself through hell for bloody animals. I need to come home and be with my family now. And I need to put her first.”
The older woman nodded, not releasing his arm as they walked into the reception hall, “You’ve always put her first, Charlus,” she told him, “She just never knew it.”
And with that, she walked away, leaving him alone to watch his world fall apart as Nora danced in someone else’s arms, wearing someone else’s ring, and giving her heart and soul-two things he once held in the palm of his hand-to someone else.