(no subject)
Title:The Waiting Room
Author:freakinwinky
Format:Ficlet
Raiting:PG
Sumarry:A short conversation between Remus and Tonks before an important event.
Prompt:#25 'What's done is done...'
AN:Hi! Yes, this is my first (possibly only?) entry to the ficathon but I really wanted to do something and even though this is short, it is something. Also, this is a new style for me. I've been wanting to do the third person sort of 'fly on the wall' narrator for a while. This is the only piece where it works. So feedback and lots of it would be very much appreciated.
The room was small, desolate and brown. Two high backed chairs were placed precariously in a far corner just to the right of two wooden doors with clear glass frames. On each of these doors big black signs were hung. The door on the right read: Marriages. The door on the left: Annulments.
Between the doors a tall, middle aged man with brown, graying hair, wearing extremely shabby robes paced back and forth along the floor. In one of the high back chairs a young woman sat perusing the article of a magazine entitled The Snitch.
The woman had a pale heart shaped face and sported bright pink, audaciously spiked hair. She only looked up from her reading when the man pacing between the two doors spoke.
“How much longer?” he asked still walking intently back and forth along the hard wood floor. The woman pulled back one sleeve of her robe and consulted a gold covered watch around her wrist.
“Should be about fifteen minutes I think.”
The man stopped moving and stared intently at the woman. She gazed back at him.
“We don’t have to do this,” he told her.
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean we don’t have to do things…this way.”
“This was your idea.”
“I know that.”
“But?”
“Nothing.”
He returned to pacing the floor, she stared at him a moment longer and then returned to her magazine.
Several minutes passed before the man spoke again:
“Are you… absolutely sure?”
“Look, Remus if you don’t want to then-“
“No, no its not that it’s just…this is not what you deserve.”
“Oh, please don’t start that again. We’ve been through this Remus.”
“But, Tonks don’t you ever wonder what it would have been like if we had…”
“Of course I do. But you said yourself it would never have worked any other way. With the stupid bloody ministry and its stupid bloody laws, I would’ve been sacked quicker than you can say Umbridge.”
The man stood still a moment and stared down at his hands.
“Yes. And without your job…the Order can’t afford to suffer any more losses right now. We need you there.”
“See? We’ve talked about all of this. And I’m perfectly fine with it really!”
The man tentatively moved his feet as though to pace again but instead, he looked at the young woman still seated by the right door and sat down in the chair beside hers.
“I know that. I do. But you can’t pretend that you, that both of us, envisioned things going differently.”
“Well of course we did! I don’t know so much about boys, but every girl dreams about being married and raising a family. But it’s not about my dreams, or even our dreams. We are in the middle of a war! Who knows what could happen tomorrow. And besides…”
The woman smiled and pressed her hand against the man’s cheek, he closed his eyes.
“I’ll still have you.”
The man took her hand in his and brought her palm to his lips, allowing a small kiss to linger there.
“You will always have me.”
They gazed steadily at each other before he began leaning in towards her. The woman closed her eyes.
Suddenly the door sporting the “marriage” sign swung open with a bang causing the man and the woman to jump apart.
A tall, reedy man with a bored expression entered the room carrying a large clipboard from which he called out the names:
“Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks”
The woman gave a small shudder but the man immediately stood from his chair and she followed his lead.
“Yes?”
“The witness is here. They’re ready to perform the ceremony.”
“Yes of course.”
The man took hold of the woman’s hand.
“Follow me.” The tall, reedy man led the way into the marriage office as the couple followed in his wake.
Author:freakinwinky
Format:Ficlet
Raiting:PG
Sumarry:A short conversation between Remus and Tonks before an important event.
Prompt:#25 'What's done is done...'
AN:Hi! Yes, this is my first (possibly only?) entry to the ficathon but I really wanted to do something and even though this is short, it is something. Also, this is a new style for me. I've been wanting to do the third person sort of 'fly on the wall' narrator for a while. This is the only piece where it works. So feedback and lots of it would be very much appreciated.
The room was small, desolate and brown. Two high backed chairs were placed precariously in a far corner just to the right of two wooden doors with clear glass frames. On each of these doors big black signs were hung. The door on the right read: Marriages. The door on the left: Annulments.
Between the doors a tall, middle aged man with brown, graying hair, wearing extremely shabby robes paced back and forth along the floor. In one of the high back chairs a young woman sat perusing the article of a magazine entitled The Snitch.
The woman had a pale heart shaped face and sported bright pink, audaciously spiked hair. She only looked up from her reading when the man pacing between the two doors spoke.
“How much longer?” he asked still walking intently back and forth along the hard wood floor. The woman pulled back one sleeve of her robe and consulted a gold covered watch around her wrist.
“Should be about fifteen minutes I think.”
The man stopped moving and stared intently at the woman. She gazed back at him.
“We don’t have to do this,” he told her.
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean we don’t have to do things…this way.”
“This was your idea.”
“I know that.”
“But?”
“Nothing.”
He returned to pacing the floor, she stared at him a moment longer and then returned to her magazine.
Several minutes passed before the man spoke again:
“Are you… absolutely sure?”
“Look, Remus if you don’t want to then-“
“No, no its not that it’s just…this is not what you deserve.”
“Oh, please don’t start that again. We’ve been through this Remus.”
“But, Tonks don’t you ever wonder what it would have been like if we had…”
“Of course I do. But you said yourself it would never have worked any other way. With the stupid bloody ministry and its stupid bloody laws, I would’ve been sacked quicker than you can say Umbridge.”
The man stood still a moment and stared down at his hands.
“Yes. And without your job…the Order can’t afford to suffer any more losses right now. We need you there.”
“See? We’ve talked about all of this. And I’m perfectly fine with it really!”
The man tentatively moved his feet as though to pace again but instead, he looked at the young woman still seated by the right door and sat down in the chair beside hers.
“I know that. I do. But you can’t pretend that you, that both of us, envisioned things going differently.”
“Well of course we did! I don’t know so much about boys, but every girl dreams about being married and raising a family. But it’s not about my dreams, or even our dreams. We are in the middle of a war! Who knows what could happen tomorrow. And besides…”
The woman smiled and pressed her hand against the man’s cheek, he closed his eyes.
“I’ll still have you.”
The man took her hand in his and brought her palm to his lips, allowing a small kiss to linger there.
“You will always have me.”
They gazed steadily at each other before he began leaning in towards her. The woman closed her eyes.
Suddenly the door sporting the “marriage” sign swung open with a bang causing the man and the woman to jump apart.
A tall, reedy man with a bored expression entered the room carrying a large clipboard from which he called out the names:
“Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks”
The woman gave a small shudder but the man immediately stood from his chair and she followed his lead.
“Yes?”
“The witness is here. They’re ready to perform the ceremony.”
“Yes of course.”
The man took hold of the woman’s hand.
“Follow me.” The tall, reedy man led the way into the marriage office as the couple followed in his wake.