The Middle of the Story

[bratanimus]

Title: The Middle of the Story
Author: bratanimus
Rating & Warnings: PG-13 for talk of death, gross slug activity
Prompts: Day of screams, flesh-eating slugs, horror, and location #18 (the tree)
Word Count: 2,254
Summary: A ghost story that started with an ending, and finished with a beginning.
Author’s Note: A big THANK YOU to ladybracknell for her beta and

Comments

[parapsionic]

There are no words for how much I love this fic. I was struck when I realized that it was Remus narrating the story to Teddy (I was confused at first, so I spoiled myself and skimmed towards the end, LOL). There's just so much sadness and raw emotion that makes me feel for them. You justify Remus' decision to become a ghost so well, and I laughed at the whole "Your mum tried to tell me but, as usual, I had to figure it out on my own. In the end it was the slugs that did it." Brilliant line. Gah, this is a great fic!

I love how this continues to haunt me, even after reading it. Remus giving Teddy some fatherly advice towards the end was what did it for me. I'm crying now! Hee. You've done a marvelous job with your prompts (the whole description about how the flesh-eating slugs were gnawing away at Remus and Tonks's bodies, and how matter-of-fact Remus was about it, made me squirm and giggle at the same time). I really felt Andromeda's despair. It's so unfair that she had her entire family taken away from her! >:( ...Then again, if JKR hadn't done this to Remus and Tonks, you wouldn't have been able to write something like this, lol! Thanks for sharing this! :D

[bratanimus]

Thank you! :D

I'd hoped to make the beginning delierately confusing (glad it worked!;)), and am very pleased that you thought the emotion of the piece worked. And you've quoted one of my favorite lines, lol! I'm also tickled that you liked Remus' fatherly advice at the end (boy, I could have gone on and on with that, but I figured Remus would probably show a little self-restraint, so as not to embarrass Teddy, if for no other reason). I'm super pleased that you liked how matter-of-fact Remus was about the slugs eating away at their bodies! I think once you're a ghost it probably doesn't matter too much what happens to your flesh, hee hee. So macabre. ;)

Thank you again for your very detailed and kind review. :)