Prompts Seventeen and Eighteen: Nightmare
Title: Nightmare
Author: gijane7702
Format & Word Count: Short fic//887
Rating: PG13
Warning(s): Deathly Hallows spoilers//angst; drama; curse word (but its not)
Prompt(s): #17- “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” ~ John Keats; #18-style: first person
Summary: “I - I made a grave mistake in marrying Tonks.” (Deathly Hallows, p 213-American edition)
Author’s Notes: Continues on from Prompt #1- The Wedding Crashers
Cheating by combining prompts since I like using 1st person a lot now =)
I used Stanzas VIII-XII of the ballad.
LJ HATES ME!! I don't know why it's like that! Sorry.
She took me to her elfin grot, And there she wept, and sigh’d fill sore, And there I shut her wild wild eyes, With kisses four.
And there she lulled me asleep, And there I dream’d-Ah! woe betide! The latest dream I ever dream’d, On the cold hill’s side.
I saw pale kings and princes too, Pale warriors, death-pale were they all; They cried-“La Belle Dame sans Merci Hath thee in thrall!”
I saw their starved lips in the gloam, With horrid warning gaped wide, And I awoke and found me here, On the cold hill’s side.
And this is why I sojourn here, Alone and palely loitering, Though the sedge is wither'd from the lake, And no birds sing.
I hover over my wife, feeling helpless, as I watch her sink to her knees, silently shaking, by the inert form of her father. Ted is deathly pale and barely breathing. I glance over at Andromeda, who on the couch drinking some potion that Poppy Pomfrey had just given her. It seems the Death Eaters went slightly easier on her, given her blood status as a pure-blood.
She sees me watching. “Remus, take Nymphadora upstairs, please. She needs to calm down, especially in her condition.” Dora looks up and over at her mother, who continues to her, “Go upstairs, sweetheart. Poppy and I will take care of Daddy. He’ll be fine.”
Dora, surprisingly, nods her agreement. I expected her to fight. She holds her hand out to me and I help her to her feet. “Take me upstairs, Remus,” she mummers to me, leaning up against me for support. “Please.”
Her quite tone frightens me. We make it to our room, door closed, before she breaks down into tears. I hold her for a few minutes, whispering that all will be well, before I calm her the only way I know will: I make love to my wife.
Poppy comes upstairs after a few hours to examine Dora, then me. She tells us that we are all fine, though she warns Dora to stay out of battle again. I can see the inner conflict on her face: the Auror in her can’t, but the mother in her understands why. So I crawl up into bed next to Dora and hold her, whispering that it will all be all right. Eventually, we must have fallen asleep, because I had the strangest, and scariest dream, I ever had.
I am alone on a battlefield. Looking around, I realise where I am. Before I can ponder on it, a hulking masked figure is coming towards me. I raise my wand to the ready, but I know that magic will not help me here. The figure stops, and then removes its mask. My heart skips a beat. It’s Fenrir Greyback.
He leers at me in the disgusting way, and then says to me, “Hullo, Lupin. How’s your bitch? Didn’t frighten her to much, did I?”
Before I can respond, Greyback vanishes. I hear the rustle of another cloak behind me. Whirling around, wand once again at the ready, I face Bellatrix Lestrange.
Bellatrix grins at me in her fanatical way, then says, “How’s little Nymphadora doing, Lupin? Is she all upset I tortured her Mummy and Daddy? Too bad you weren’t there; I so would have loved to get the complete set for her.”
I manage to get off the Killing Curse at her, but it goes right through her spectral form. Bellatrix laughs at me again, and then Greyback reappears and says, “I’d stay away from your bitch, Lupin. You’re causing her more harm than good. Especially with that pup she is carrying.”
“I’m going to get her, Lupin,” Bellatrix taunts me. “Just when her branch of the family could sink no lower…she marries you. How could you do that to her, you filthy half-blooded half-breed!”
Suddenly, I’m jolted awake by Dora shaking me. “Remus…Remus…Remus! Please, wake up!”
I’ve already Summoned my wand and am about to turn it on her, when my senses recognise her scent. Lowering my wand, I pull her into a hug and hold her tight. “I love you,” I tell her.
“I love you, too,” she whispers back. “Are you all right?”
I know I’m not. My dream has just made me realise what I have known all along. I know what I need to do.
However, I tell Dora, who is now looking at me worriedly, “I’m fine, darling.” I pause, then say,” Dora, in the morning I’m going to try to find Harry. We know he’s up to something that Dumbledore left him.”
“Yeah, I can’t imagine what though.” Dora looks at me thoughtfully, as if she knows what I’m planning.
“Whatever it is…he, Ron, and Hermione are going to need help. The sooner they complete their mission the sooner Voldemort is defeated.”
“The sooner the world will be better for our baby,” Dora whispers. I swallow hard and nod my agreement.
In the morning, she and Andromeda pack me a rucksack with a few days’ worth of supplies. Ted, who is looking much better, lends me his heavy black travelling cloak. I just stand there and watch the Tonkses potter around getting me ready.
The three of them walk me to the front door and wish me luck. They send along their greetings and concerns to Harry and his friends. Dora walks me to the front gate. We’ve agreed she should stay here while I’m gone so that they can protect each other.
She has no idea I’m never coming back. I’ve left Dora a letter upstairs explaining why I’ve abandoned her and our unborn child.
One long, lingering kiss that I have to have last me a lifetime and I finally step through the gate. Unable to help myself, I stroke her cheek, and then trail my hand down to her abdomen. “I love you both,” I choke out before I turn on the spot and Disapparate.
I reappear at the scene of my nightmare: the hill by the Shrieking Shack.
Author: gijane7702
Format & Word Count: Short fic//887
Rating: PG13
Warning(s): Deathly Hallows spoilers//angst; drama; curse word (but its not)
Prompt(s): #17- “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” ~ John Keats; #18-style: first person
Summary: “I - I made a grave mistake in marrying Tonks.” (Deathly Hallows, p 213-American edition)
Author’s Notes: Continues on from Prompt #1- The Wedding Crashers
Cheating by combining prompts since I like using 1st person a lot now =)
I used Stanzas VIII-XII of the ballad.
LJ HATES ME!! I don't know why it's like that! Sorry.
She took me to her elfin grot, And there she wept, and sigh’d fill sore, And there I shut her wild wild eyes, With kisses four.
And there she lulled me asleep, And there I dream’d-Ah! woe betide! The latest dream I ever dream’d, On the cold hill’s side.
I saw pale kings and princes too, Pale warriors, death-pale were they all; They cried-“La Belle Dame sans Merci Hath thee in thrall!”
I saw their starved lips in the gloam, With horrid warning gaped wide, And I awoke and found me here, On the cold hill’s side.
And this is why I sojourn here, Alone and palely loitering, Though the sedge is wither'd from the lake, And no birds sing.
I hover over my wife, feeling helpless, as I watch her sink to her knees, silently shaking, by the inert form of her father. Ted is deathly pale and barely breathing. I glance over at Andromeda, who on the couch drinking some potion that Poppy Pomfrey had just given her. It seems the Death Eaters went slightly easier on her, given her blood status as a pure-blood.
She sees me watching. “Remus, take Nymphadora upstairs, please. She needs to calm down, especially in her condition.” Dora looks up and over at her mother, who continues to her, “Go upstairs, sweetheart. Poppy and I will take care of Daddy. He’ll be fine.”
Dora, surprisingly, nods her agreement. I expected her to fight. She holds her hand out to me and I help her to her feet. “Take me upstairs, Remus,” she mummers to me, leaning up against me for support. “Please.”
Her quite tone frightens me. We make it to our room, door closed, before she breaks down into tears. I hold her for a few minutes, whispering that all will be well, before I calm her the only way I know will: I make love to my wife.
Poppy comes upstairs after a few hours to examine Dora, then me. She tells us that we are all fine, though she warns Dora to stay out of battle again. I can see the inner conflict on her face: the Auror in her can’t, but the mother in her understands why. So I crawl up into bed next to Dora and hold her, whispering that it will all be all right. Eventually, we must have fallen asleep, because I had the strangest, and scariest dream, I ever had.
I am alone on a battlefield. Looking around, I realise where I am. Before I can ponder on it, a hulking masked figure is coming towards me. I raise my wand to the ready, but I know that magic will not help me here. The figure stops, and then removes its mask. My heart skips a beat. It’s Fenrir Greyback.
He leers at me in the disgusting way, and then says to me, “Hullo, Lupin. How’s your bitch? Didn’t frighten her to much, did I?”
Before I can respond, Greyback vanishes. I hear the rustle of another cloak behind me. Whirling around, wand once again at the ready, I face Bellatrix Lestrange.
Bellatrix grins at me in her fanatical way, then says, “How’s little Nymphadora doing, Lupin? Is she all upset I tortured her Mummy and Daddy? Too bad you weren’t there; I so would have loved to get the complete set for her.”
I manage to get off the Killing Curse at her, but it goes right through her spectral form. Bellatrix laughs at me again, and then Greyback reappears and says, “I’d stay away from your bitch, Lupin. You’re causing her more harm than good. Especially with that pup she is carrying.”
“I’m going to get her, Lupin,” Bellatrix taunts me. “Just when her branch of the family could sink no lower…she marries you. How could you do that to her, you filthy half-blooded half-breed!”
Suddenly, I’m jolted awake by Dora shaking me. “Remus…Remus…Remus! Please, wake up!”
I’ve already Summoned my wand and am about to turn it on her, when my senses recognise her scent. Lowering my wand, I pull her into a hug and hold her tight. “I love you,” I tell her.
“I love you, too,” she whispers back. “Are you all right?”
I know I’m not. My dream has just made me realise what I have known all along. I know what I need to do.
However, I tell Dora, who is now looking at me worriedly, “I’m fine, darling.” I pause, then say,” Dora, in the morning I’m going to try to find Harry. We know he’s up to something that Dumbledore left him.”
“Yeah, I can’t imagine what though.” Dora looks at me thoughtfully, as if she knows what I’m planning.
“Whatever it is…he, Ron, and Hermione are going to need help. The sooner they complete their mission the sooner Voldemort is defeated.”
“The sooner the world will be better for our baby,” Dora whispers. I swallow hard and nod my agreement.
In the morning, she and Andromeda pack me a rucksack with a few days’ worth of supplies. Ted, who is looking much better, lends me his heavy black travelling cloak. I just stand there and watch the Tonkses potter around getting me ready.
The three of them walk me to the front door and wish me luck. They send along their greetings and concerns to Harry and his friends. Dora walks me to the front gate. We’ve agreed she should stay here while I’m gone so that they can protect each other.
She has no idea I’m never coming back. I’ve left Dora a letter upstairs explaining why I’ve abandoned her and our unborn child.
One long, lingering kiss that I have to have last me a lifetime and I finally step through the gate. Unable to help myself, I stroke her cheek, and then trail my hand down to her abdomen. “I love you both,” I choke out before I turn on the spot and Disapparate.
I reappear at the scene of my nightmare: the hill by the Shrieking Shack.