By Dim Firelight
Title: By Dim Firelight
Author:
devonwood
Format: Fic
Rating & Warnings: K+/PG
Prompts: Gift Basket, Prank
Genre: Romance/Humor
Word Count: Approx. 2,240
Summary: "My mother did tell me that I had a flair for overdoing things around the holidays."
Author’s Note: Since I'm so awful at it, I figured that I needed the practice writing in 1st person. So...that's what you get. :P I'm thinking of writing a companion piece to this in Remus's POV, or possibly rewriting the whole thing in 3rd person. Also, I was halfway done wizardizing a Christmas Carol when I realized that "Walking in A Winter Wonderland" had already been done....:( Oh well...
EDIT: Finally got a hold of my beta, and I'm going back to fix the changes she suggested...:D
(Christmas 1995)
Tonks
As I stood there at quarter ‘til eleven pm on Christmas Eve Eve in the entryway to Grimmauld Place, decorating for the holidays with my wand planted securely in the back of my jeans (it had been five hours already and, from what I could tell, both buttocks were securely in place), it occurred to me that my garish decorations might be off putting to some. But then again, I decided with a triumphant grin, most everything about me was off-putting to at least one person at a time. Especially now.
My mother did tell me that I had a flair for overdoing things around the holidays. I remember the Hallow’s Eve when I was nine, and my mother let me go trick or treating around the area. I turned my skin orange and my hair putrid green, effectively making the world’s largest pumpkin. Well, maybe not world’s largest; there were those insane vegetable growers in the states who grew produce that was the size of a small shed, with whom I could never compete. Although, I am sure that it was the first human pumpkin, and that had to be good for some bragging rights.
Right?
Mum had been so mad at me, going on about how there was a war on, and how I couldn’t be calling attention to myself when there were Death Eaters on the loose. When I pointed out that maybe she shouldn’t have let me go out if it was so dangerous, she huffed and sent me to my room without supper.
I suppose that this year was in the top ten of “Christmas Morphs”, as I had decidedly gone all out for the holidays. My hair was red, even more so than “Weasley Red” (a shade that I’ve been trying to get the Wizard Crayon company to put as a color for AGES!), and my eyes were that Christmas green that reminds everyone so much of the holidays that they instantly taste peppermint and cinnamon in their mouths. Nothing had been done to my height or weight; I’d always believed that I didn’t need to morph those aspects in order to fit in with a crowd (not that I do much fitting in, anyways), but the t-shirt fit a little bit more...snug...than normal.
Oh come on, even I’m not that secure about my looks.
The outfit, however, was what I believe completed the whole look. Over the top candy cane earrings and green fishnet gloves and stockings were only the beginning. White jeans, with a light blue blouse that sported the words “Santa does it one day a year” finished the whole ensemble off in a nice festive mood. Molly thankfully hadn’t gotten the joke, but Remus snickered quietly that morning into his buttered toast when I walked into the kitchen. Molly shot him a look (maybe she did get the joke...), and he just turned and gave me a look as if it were all my fault. Well, I suppose it was my fault, but if I hadn't thought so before, those damned puppydog eyes sure made me feel guilty. I mumbled an apology and sat down at the table, Molly immediately placing a heaping amount of assorted breakfast foods in front of me. Once the aforementioned werewolf left to go do Remus type things, Sirius had asked in that snarky way of his whether I had done it to impress a certain someone, to which I just shot him a rather unceremonious hand gesture and stormed out, preferring to drink my morning cup of Earl Grey in the silence of my own room.
I sighed, floating a piece of tinsel to hang above the stairway. The problem was, I had done it to impress someone.
A certain someone who had clouded my thoughts and make my heart do funny things whenever he walked in the room. I was smitten like a dorky schoolgirl with a crush on the Quidditch Captain, and, I figured, I probably had the same amount of luck when it came to snagging the man of my dreams.
Remus Lupin could do funny things to my mind.
One minute, we would be completely normal and civil with each other, discussing mundane things like Sirius, or even the weather. And then he would do something devilishly handsome and swoon-worthy, and I would be lost. Thankfully, in the many instances this had happened, I would semi-gracefully extract myself from the conversation before things got worse. The constant back and forth action had gone completely and utterly unnoticed by everyone in the house, until Sirius caught us in our game one morning and hadn’t stopped taking the mick out of me yet.
I couldn’t even bear to think about how bad he was hounding Remus for information. And even more, I didn’t want to think about what kinds of information he was giving up.
Trying to get my mind off of werewolf love-related problems, I flicked my wand in the direction of the wireless, silently thanking the Christmas spirits that the last station it was left on hadn’t been the Weird Sisters, or some other loud racket that would have woken everyone in the house.
“On the third day of Christmas, my...”
“Not THAT song again!” I mumbled angrily, flipping to a Wizarding Christmas station.
“Mermaids sing, are you listening,
In the lake, water glistening,
A beautiful sight
We’re happy tonight,
Walking ‘round Hogwarts at Christmastime.”
I chuckled with a bit of festive cheer as I recalled how this had been my favorite carol as a youngster. I placed a piece of mistletoe above the entryway to the dining room, biting my lip against a grin as I thought of all the wicked things I’d like to do to Remus if he happened to get caught under it.
“Gone away, is the phoenix,
Reappears, as if by jinx,
He sings healing songs,
As we go along,
Walking ‘round Hogwarts at Christmastime
Near the greenhouse is the Whomping Willow,
Man, that tree can sure pack a punch.
For our bruises, we conjure some pillows,
Just in time to sit for Christmas lunch.
Later on, we’ll conspire,
Warming up by House fires,
Couples say goodnight
By dim firelight,
Walking ‘round Hogwarts at Christmastime.”
I hadn’t even noticed I had been singing the ending until soft clapping interrupted my voice.
“Bravissima.” Came the lilting sound of an amused tenor from the entryway. I blushed, warmth rising up my cheeks, as I immediately recognized whose voice that was.
“What are you doing up so late?” Brilliant. I’m sure he won’t notice a change of subject as subtle as that one. If Remus noticed, he didn’t lead on. He just smiled that damned charming smile of his, eyes lighting up through his fringe.
“It was unsafe to come back here until I was sure that most people were asleep,” he replied cryptically.
My face must have shown confusion, as he chuckled, making a hand gesture as if he was going to explain.
“I played a rather un-Professor like prank on the Weasley twins. I couldn’t get over the fact that they dyed my hair black over the summer, and I had to retaliate. I sent them a nice little gift basket full of sweets, and knowing that they would open them early, jinxed the basket so that if the bow was pulled before December 25th the candy would shoot out and stain whatever they touched with an assortment of colors. I may have gone a little overboard with the blue dye, but it was for a just cause.”
I snickered, and he admired my colorful hair. “I think you were my subconscious motivation." My heart danced a little bit when he said that, "Oh, I do hope that the hot pink truffle landed on something good.”
His eyes danced mischievously, and he looked years younger than he had when he first walked through the door. “I was in doubt that I could pull something off like this now, and though the rational portion of my mind knew that I was too old for such frivolous things, the irrational portion of my mind argued that this was the perfect opportunity to reestablish myself as ‘Moony, the Marauder’, not ‘Moony, the stuffy old Professor who is an old fuddy-duddy and listens to horrible old songs as he drowns his sorrows in his reading.”
I stifled a chuckle. “So,” I started, biting my lip against a grin, “am I wrong in assuming the irrational side of you sounds suspiciously like Sirius?”
“By Jove,” he said in mock surprise, eyebrows shooting to the ceiling, “you may be on to something!”
Rolling my eyes, I pointed my wand next to him and lifted a bell up into the air, situating it carefully between the sprigs of mistletoe. If only he would step a few inches to the right...
“Hoping to draw attention to the fact that you are standing underneath the mistletoe, Auror Tonks?” he asked lightly, lips parting in a cheeky grin.
My heart started beating a little faster, and I was sure a blush was beginning to creep up my neck, but I tried to remain as calm as possible.
“Mmm...,” I replied, trying to keep my tone flirtatious and not embarrassed or needy. “Harry told me that it was infested with some sort of venomous creatures, Naples or Gargles or some rubbish like that. I promised him that I’d try and get them out.”
Remus hummed a reply. “I’m thinking that this is a dangerous mission that requires a two-person team, don’t you, Auror Tonks?”
Yes, my heart was definitely racing now. Any more, and I’d have to be taken in to St. Mungo’s...possibly the psychiatric ward.
“Of course.” I said nonchalantly. “We wouldn’t want Grimmauld to be completely pest free, and then have a Gurgle epidemic break loose.”
I was sure my breath hitched a bit as he stepped under the mistletoe, eyes pointing what seemed to be decidedly upwards. Using his wand, he stabbed the mistletoe in the center, causing the bell to give an annoyed jingle as the entire sprig shook back and forth.
Remus’s eyes flicked down to mine, still retaining that boyish charm.
“They seem to be all gone.”
“What a marvelous display of your expelling abilities.” I replied breathily, hands shaking as I toyed with the hem on my jeans.
He looked back up to the mistletoe and back down, toying with something in his mind, as his eyebrows were scrunched together. I took a deep breath; it was now or never, Tonks.
“It appears that we’re under the mistletoe...together.”
“That we are.” He said, looking down, trying to gauge my reaction.
“It might be dangerous if we broke tradition.” I offered, taking a step closer. The air in the room seemed to crackle with the sudden change in tension. One moment there was friendly banter, and the next I was standing nearly flush up against Remus Lupin, able to smell the sweet tanginess of his shampoo.
He smiled warmly. “Who knows what would happen if we didn’t...you know.”
“Has anyone ever not done....what two people are supposed to do under mistletoe?”
“I haven’t gotten the chance to regard my colleagues in the subject.” Remus said in his scholarly Professor voice, a light lilt in his speech.
Sucking in a deep breath, I took one more step forward, twirling my finger around one of the buttons on his jumper. “You know, I’m usually the adventurous one around here.” I remarked, defiantly trying not to meet his eyes. “But I’m not so sure that I want to be the first to not kiss under the mistletoe.”
There. I had said it.
Remus placed a finger under my chin and pushed up, the slightest touch of his skin on mine sending fire through my veins.
“The repercussions could be deadly.” He said huskily, his voice dropping to nothing more than a hushed whisper.
And then he leaned forward, shifting his hands to cup my cheeks.
His kiss was light, not needy, and I was already getting a heady feeling from the sensation. My mind felt as if it were on overload, and I couldn’t process a thought to save my life; thank Merlin there weren’t any Death Eaters around.
His gentle fingers slid up and tucked my hair behind my ears, applying the slightest bit of pressure so that our bodies molded even closer than before. I could feel him smile into my mouth as his one hand went down to the waistband of my pants, reveling in the fact that my shirt had ridden up a few centimeters, exposing the flesh underneath.
But all too soon, it was over. Remus pulled back gently, opening his eyes only a second after I did. The boyish grin remained, and his brown eyes twinkled like a cat in the cream.
“Happy Christmas, Nymphadora.” He said as he turned towards the staircase, not even stopping to gauge my reaction or allow a bit of conversation in. That was all he spoke; I knew to leave it at that.
As he walked up the staircase, I could faintly hear him start to whistle. “Walking ‘round Hogwarts at Christmastime.”
Trying not to dwell too much on what just happened, that would be done for many hours as I was trying to get to sleep that night, I continued decorating. There was a feeling much like an unscratchable itch boing up inside me, and I was biting back a huge grin as I strung a strand of popcorn along the handrail of the staircase. I had been dissapointed, sure, but I didn't want to press my luck anymore. From my dopey expression, it would be obvious to anyone who saw me that something had happened. Something glorious, and wonderful, and altogether indescribable had just happened.
And hopefully, more happenings awaited me tomorrow.
“Couples say goodnight,
By dim firelight,
Walking ‘round Hogwarts at Christmastime.”
Author:
devonwood
Format: Fic
Rating & Warnings: K+/PG
Prompts: Gift Basket, Prank
Genre: Romance/Humor
Word Count: Approx. 2,240
Summary: "My mother did tell me that I had a flair for overdoing things around the holidays."
Author’s Note: Since I'm so awful at it, I figured that I needed the practice writing in 1st person. So...that's what you get. :P I'm thinking of writing a companion piece to this in Remus's POV, or possibly rewriting the whole thing in 3rd person. Also, I was halfway done wizardizing a Christmas Carol when I realized that "Walking in A Winter Wonderland" had already been done....:( Oh well...
EDIT: Finally got a hold of my beta, and I'm going back to fix the changes she suggested...:D
(Christmas 1995)
Tonks
As I stood there at quarter ‘til eleven pm on Christmas Eve Eve in the entryway to Grimmauld Place, decorating for the holidays with my wand planted securely in the back of my jeans (it had been five hours already and, from what I could tell, both buttocks were securely in place), it occurred to me that my garish decorations might be off putting to some. But then again, I decided with a triumphant grin, most everything about me was off-putting to at least one person at a time. Especially now.
My mother did tell me that I had a flair for overdoing things around the holidays. I remember the Hallow’s Eve when I was nine, and my mother let me go trick or treating around the area. I turned my skin orange and my hair putrid green, effectively making the world’s largest pumpkin. Well, maybe not world’s largest; there were those insane vegetable growers in the states who grew produce that was the size of a small shed, with whom I could never compete. Although, I am sure that it was the first human pumpkin, and that had to be good for some bragging rights.
Right?
Mum had been so mad at me, going on about how there was a war on, and how I couldn’t be calling attention to myself when there were Death Eaters on the loose. When I pointed out that maybe she shouldn’t have let me go out if it was so dangerous, she huffed and sent me to my room without supper.
I suppose that this year was in the top ten of “Christmas Morphs”, as I had decidedly gone all out for the holidays. My hair was red, even more so than “Weasley Red” (a shade that I’ve been trying to get the Wizard Crayon company to put as a color for AGES!), and my eyes were that Christmas green that reminds everyone so much of the holidays that they instantly taste peppermint and cinnamon in their mouths. Nothing had been done to my height or weight; I’d always believed that I didn’t need to morph those aspects in order to fit in with a crowd (not that I do much fitting in, anyways), but the t-shirt fit a little bit more...snug...than normal.
Oh come on, even I’m not that secure about my looks.
The outfit, however, was what I believe completed the whole look. Over the top candy cane earrings and green fishnet gloves and stockings were only the beginning. White jeans, with a light blue blouse that sported the words “Santa does it one day a year” finished the whole ensemble off in a nice festive mood. Molly thankfully hadn’t gotten the joke, but Remus snickered quietly that morning into his buttered toast when I walked into the kitchen. Molly shot him a look (maybe she did get the joke...), and he just turned and gave me a look as if it were all my fault. Well, I suppose it was my fault, but if I hadn't thought so before, those damned puppydog eyes sure made me feel guilty. I mumbled an apology and sat down at the table, Molly immediately placing a heaping amount of assorted breakfast foods in front of me. Once the aforementioned werewolf left to go do Remus type things, Sirius had asked in that snarky way of his whether I had done it to impress a certain someone, to which I just shot him a rather unceremonious hand gesture and stormed out, preferring to drink my morning cup of Earl Grey in the silence of my own room.
I sighed, floating a piece of tinsel to hang above the stairway. The problem was, I had done it to impress someone.
A certain someone who had clouded my thoughts and make my heart do funny things whenever he walked in the room. I was smitten like a dorky schoolgirl with a crush on the Quidditch Captain, and, I figured, I probably had the same amount of luck when it came to snagging the man of my dreams.
Remus Lupin could do funny things to my mind.
One minute, we would be completely normal and civil with each other, discussing mundane things like Sirius, or even the weather. And then he would do something devilishly handsome and swoon-worthy, and I would be lost. Thankfully, in the many instances this had happened, I would semi-gracefully extract myself from the conversation before things got worse. The constant back and forth action had gone completely and utterly unnoticed by everyone in the house, until Sirius caught us in our game one morning and hadn’t stopped taking the mick out of me yet.
I couldn’t even bear to think about how bad he was hounding Remus for information. And even more, I didn’t want to think about what kinds of information he was giving up.
Trying to get my mind off of werewolf love-related problems, I flicked my wand in the direction of the wireless, silently thanking the Christmas spirits that the last station it was left on hadn’t been the Weird Sisters, or some other loud racket that would have woken everyone in the house.
“On the third day of Christmas, my...”
“Not THAT song again!” I mumbled angrily, flipping to a Wizarding Christmas station.
“Mermaids sing, are you listening,
In the lake, water glistening,
A beautiful sight
We’re happy tonight,
Walking ‘round Hogwarts at Christmastime.”
I chuckled with a bit of festive cheer as I recalled how this had been my favorite carol as a youngster. I placed a piece of mistletoe above the entryway to the dining room, biting my lip against a grin as I thought of all the wicked things I’d like to do to Remus if he happened to get caught under it.
“Gone away, is the phoenix,
Reappears, as if by jinx,
He sings healing songs,
As we go along,
Walking ‘round Hogwarts at Christmastime
Near the greenhouse is the Whomping Willow,
Man, that tree can sure pack a punch.
For our bruises, we conjure some pillows,
Just in time to sit for Christmas lunch.
Later on, we’ll conspire,
Warming up by House fires,
Couples say goodnight
By dim firelight,
Walking ‘round Hogwarts at Christmastime.”
I hadn’t even noticed I had been singing the ending until soft clapping interrupted my voice.
“Bravissima.” Came the lilting sound of an amused tenor from the entryway. I blushed, warmth rising up my cheeks, as I immediately recognized whose voice that was.
“What are you doing up so late?” Brilliant. I’m sure he won’t notice a change of subject as subtle as that one. If Remus noticed, he didn’t lead on. He just smiled that damned charming smile of his, eyes lighting up through his fringe.
“It was unsafe to come back here until I was sure that most people were asleep,” he replied cryptically.
My face must have shown confusion, as he chuckled, making a hand gesture as if he was going to explain.
“I played a rather un-Professor like prank on the Weasley twins. I couldn’t get over the fact that they dyed my hair black over the summer, and I had to retaliate. I sent them a nice little gift basket full of sweets, and knowing that they would open them early, jinxed the basket so that if the bow was pulled before December 25th the candy would shoot out and stain whatever they touched with an assortment of colors. I may have gone a little overboard with the blue dye, but it was for a just cause.”
I snickered, and he admired my colorful hair. “I think you were my subconscious motivation." My heart danced a little bit when he said that, "Oh, I do hope that the hot pink truffle landed on something good.”
His eyes danced mischievously, and he looked years younger than he had when he first walked through the door. “I was in doubt that I could pull something off like this now, and though the rational portion of my mind knew that I was too old for such frivolous things, the irrational portion of my mind argued that this was the perfect opportunity to reestablish myself as ‘Moony, the Marauder’, not ‘Moony, the stuffy old Professor who is an old fuddy-duddy and listens to horrible old songs as he drowns his sorrows in his reading.”
I stifled a chuckle. “So,” I started, biting my lip against a grin, “am I wrong in assuming the irrational side of you sounds suspiciously like Sirius?”
“By Jove,” he said in mock surprise, eyebrows shooting to the ceiling, “you may be on to something!”
Rolling my eyes, I pointed my wand next to him and lifted a bell up into the air, situating it carefully between the sprigs of mistletoe. If only he would step a few inches to the right...
“Hoping to draw attention to the fact that you are standing underneath the mistletoe, Auror Tonks?” he asked lightly, lips parting in a cheeky grin.
My heart started beating a little faster, and I was sure a blush was beginning to creep up my neck, but I tried to remain as calm as possible.
“Mmm...,” I replied, trying to keep my tone flirtatious and not embarrassed or needy. “Harry told me that it was infested with some sort of venomous creatures, Naples or Gargles or some rubbish like that. I promised him that I’d try and get them out.”
Remus hummed a reply. “I’m thinking that this is a dangerous mission that requires a two-person team, don’t you, Auror Tonks?”
Yes, my heart was definitely racing now. Any more, and I’d have to be taken in to St. Mungo’s...possibly the psychiatric ward.
“Of course.” I said nonchalantly. “We wouldn’t want Grimmauld to be completely pest free, and then have a Gurgle epidemic break loose.”
I was sure my breath hitched a bit as he stepped under the mistletoe, eyes pointing what seemed to be decidedly upwards. Using his wand, he stabbed the mistletoe in the center, causing the bell to give an annoyed jingle as the entire sprig shook back and forth.
Remus’s eyes flicked down to mine, still retaining that boyish charm.
“They seem to be all gone.”
“What a marvelous display of your expelling abilities.” I replied breathily, hands shaking as I toyed with the hem on my jeans.
He looked back up to the mistletoe and back down, toying with something in his mind, as his eyebrows were scrunched together. I took a deep breath; it was now or never, Tonks.
“It appears that we’re under the mistletoe...together.”
“That we are.” He said, looking down, trying to gauge my reaction.
“It might be dangerous if we broke tradition.” I offered, taking a step closer. The air in the room seemed to crackle with the sudden change in tension. One moment there was friendly banter, and the next I was standing nearly flush up against Remus Lupin, able to smell the sweet tanginess of his shampoo.
He smiled warmly. “Who knows what would happen if we didn’t...you know.”
“Has anyone ever not done....what two people are supposed to do under mistletoe?”
“I haven’t gotten the chance to regard my colleagues in the subject.” Remus said in his scholarly Professor voice, a light lilt in his speech.
Sucking in a deep breath, I took one more step forward, twirling my finger around one of the buttons on his jumper. “You know, I’m usually the adventurous one around here.” I remarked, defiantly trying not to meet his eyes. “But I’m not so sure that I want to be the first to not kiss under the mistletoe.”
There. I had said it.
Remus placed a finger under my chin and pushed up, the slightest touch of his skin on mine sending fire through my veins.
“The repercussions could be deadly.” He said huskily, his voice dropping to nothing more than a hushed whisper.
And then he leaned forward, shifting his hands to cup my cheeks.
His kiss was light, not needy, and I was already getting a heady feeling from the sensation. My mind felt as if it were on overload, and I couldn’t process a thought to save my life; thank Merlin there weren’t any Death Eaters around.
His gentle fingers slid up and tucked my hair behind my ears, applying the slightest bit of pressure so that our bodies molded even closer than before. I could feel him smile into my mouth as his one hand went down to the waistband of my pants, reveling in the fact that my shirt had ridden up a few centimeters, exposing the flesh underneath.
But all too soon, it was over. Remus pulled back gently, opening his eyes only a second after I did. The boyish grin remained, and his brown eyes twinkled like a cat in the cream.
“Happy Christmas, Nymphadora.” He said as he turned towards the staircase, not even stopping to gauge my reaction or allow a bit of conversation in. That was all he spoke; I knew to leave it at that.
As he walked up the staircase, I could faintly hear him start to whistle. “Walking ‘round Hogwarts at Christmastime.”
Trying not to dwell too much on what just happened, that would be done for many hours as I was trying to get to sleep that night, I continued decorating. There was a feeling much like an unscratchable itch boing up inside me, and I was biting back a huge grin as I strung a strand of popcorn along the handrail of the staircase. I had been dissapointed, sure, but I didn't want to press my luck anymore. From my dopey expression, it would be obvious to anyone who saw me that something had happened. Something glorious, and wonderful, and altogether indescribable had just happened.
And hopefully, more happenings awaited me tomorrow.
“Couples say goodnight,
By dim firelight,
Walking ‘round Hogwarts at Christmastime.”