Prompts Thirty and Thirty-One: The Next Great Adventure
Title: The Next Great Adventure
Author:
gijane7702
Format & Word Count: Fic///1545
Rating: PG
Warning: Deathly Hallows spoilers//angst; humour
Prompt(s): #30- “Funeral Blues” by W. H. Auden; #31- “The End”
Summary: "After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure." (Sorcerer’s Stone, p 297)
Author’s Notes: Yay! 31 for 31 prompts! Er...I've never been this...um, prolific before!
Yes, a Dumbledore quote, not an R/T one, but it fits SO well. And it's really cool having my copies of SS and DH piled on top of one another on my desk! Don’t have to mention American edition vs UK edition (yes, I own both) because of the title. =)
Many thanks to the mods for hosting this Challenge. It’s helped me SO much working through my grief. I so wouldn’t have been able to write this 30 days ago!
So…when’s the next Challenge?
Remus Lupin wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t every heavenly cliché that he’d ever heard.
There was the bright light that he walked towards not even looking back on his wife (who was sobbing over his corpse). Then, suddenly, there were the white puffy clouds, angels and cherubs prancing around, and harp music playing.
And there, leaning up outside of the Pearly Gates, were James and Sirius waiting for him.
“Hullo, Moony,” James greeted him.
“Welcome to Heaven,” Sirius added.
Remus grinned at his two friends, but before he could respond, there was a tinkling of bells and the next person achieving Heaven joined them.
The holy air was suddenly filled with every curse word he knew (and some he had never heard). Not even needing to turn around, he knew who it was. Remus sighed. James and Sirius grinned.
Dora had arrived.
“Same old Nymphadora,” Sirius greeted his wife. He then laughed at the scowl that Remus knew was on her face.
“Don’t call me Nymphadora, Sirius!” she hissed at him.
“Oh…I really do like her already, Moony!” James said to him.
Remus turned around. There, dressed in his favourite outfit of hers- torn Muggle jeans, the pink t-shirt that revealed her navel piercing, and her black trainers- was his pink-haired Dora.
“Hi,” she said quietly, kicking a little pouf of cloud.
“Hi,” he replied, walking towards her.
“You look different…” Dora said, looking at him with her head cocked to one side as if examining him. “Like the Remus I always pictured you would be without the lycanthropy.”
He came to a halt, turning back around to get confirmation from James and Sirius. Neither said anything. Remus then realised while James looked twenty-one (like he should), so did Sirius.
Remus ran a hand through his hair, then realised it was thicker than it had been in life. And he knew, without looking a mirror, that there was no grey in it. “Are you all right with that?” he asked her. “It’s still me, sweetheart.”
Dora walked towards him, head still cocked, still examining him. She stopped directly in front of him, then reached out and fingered a lock of his hair. Dora was quiet for a few more moments before she finally said, “I miss the grey.”
“I don’t,” Remus told her honestly. “I feel fantastic! I feel…thirty-eight.” He frowned, and then turned back around to look at James and Sirius. “Why aren’t I twenty something again like you two?”
“You look much younger, Moony,” Sirius said. “You look, like Tonks said, like Remus without the lycanthropy. We look what we feel most comfortable in.”
“Sirius was never comfortable after Azkaban,” James added, “hence his appearance. And I was only twenty-one, so... But you were the most happiest at thirty-eight.”
Remus turned around to look at his wife. Dora smiled at him. He smiled back. Then, from behind him, Remus heard Sirius say, “Prongs and I were so proud of you, Moony. You smartened up and married Tonks.” James laughed.
Remus smiled at Dora again, who grinned back at him. He then noticed that she looked like Dora when they first met nearly three years ago, one with no grief that he had put on her. Remus glanced down at her left hand and was relieved to see her wedding band sparkling there. Dora saw him looking, held up her hand and winked at him.
“Just checking,” Remus whispered down to her, and then pecked a kiss on her lips. “Mmmmm…an eternity of coconut-flavoured kisses. There’s nothing better.”
He drew her into his arms, throwing his head back and laughing when she cheekily told him, “Damned straight, darling.”
“Then you went and had a baby. Almost immediately, I might add!”
“Padfoot!” James yelped. “Shut it!”
Remus was moving in for a deeper kiss when Sirius’ words impacted them. He saw the immediate change in Dora.
Her whole body stiffened in his arms, the happy smile faded away, and her dark eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry I left Teddy, Remus,” she whispered, taking a step back from him.
Then, with a pop like an Apparition, Dora disappeared.
“Dora!” Remus yelled. Whirling around, he faced James and Sirius. “Where’d she go?” he bellowed at his friends. Prongs looked apologetic, Padfoot horrified. “Where did she go?”
“I’m sorry, Moony,” Sirius whispered.
“Dora!” Remus yelled again, ignoring Sirius. “Sweetheart, where are you?”
“She’s in Purgatory, Remus,” a quiet, feminine voice that he immediately recognised told him.
“Why, Lily?” he asked her. Remus then noticed Ted Tonks standing off to the side of the Gates. He nodded sadly at his son-in-law. “Ted, we’re all here: me, you, Sirius…”
Lily walked up to him. “She’s still feeling guilty over leaving your son behind.”
“Can I talk to her?” Remus asked anxiously.
“She doesn’t need to talk to you, Remus,” Ted said, walking up to him. “She needs to talk to Lily.”
“Why Li-” Remus began asking, then stopped himself. Lily smiled sadly at him.
He knew why: Lily had sacrificed herself for Harry, leaving him behind as well. Dora needed to talk to another mother that had done the same exact thing she had done for Teddy.
“Exactly,” Lily said softly, knowing that he understood. “But mostly, she’s feeling guilty. She chose you over her son.”
Remus was confused. It must have showed on his face, because Ted said to him, “You really have no idea how much my daughter loves you, did you?”
The enormity of what Dora’s decision hit him then. They had decided together that though she was an Auror and a warrior, Teddy would be better off with his mother raising him, not his werewolf father, if it had to come to that.
But Dora had changed her mind and gone to Hogwarts anyways. She had managed to apologise to him for coming and told him that she loved him before Dolohov had shot the Killing Curse at him.
They had not had the chance to discuss Teddy.
“Why aren’t I in Purgatory as well?” Remus asked Lily. “I feel horrible for leaving our son behind as well.”
James walked up to him and said, “I know exactly how you feel, Remus. But we sacrificed ourselves for our sons so they would have better lives. That’s why you’re here. Tonks…er, she really goes by her surname?” Remus smiled slightly, but nodded positively. Ted rolled his eyes. “Right….odd that,” James said. “Nymphadora’s a lovely name. Anyway, she’s got that guilt of choosing you over Teddy to work through first before she can join us here.”
“Go,” Remus whispered hoarsely to Lily. “Please…Tell Dora it’s all right. Please, have her come back. I need her. Tell her I love her. Tell her we’ll see Teddy again here one day.”
Lily disappeared with an understanding nod. Ted smiled encouragingly at him, and then headed towards the gates to wait. James clasped a comforting hand on Remus shoulder before and the two men joined Sirius and Ted at the Gates.
“I’m so sorry, Remus,” Sirius told him again.
“It’s all right, Padfoot.”
Together, side by side, the four men waited for Dora and Lily to return.
Remus wasn’t sure how time passed in Heaven, but to him it felt like an eternity. He only managed to prop himself up against the Gates for a few moments before he pushed himself off and began to pace, hands jammed in his pockets. “Where are they?” he asked James.
However, before Prongs could respond, there were two pops.
Remus whirled around. “Dora!” he cried, running up to her. Cupping her heart-shaped face in his hands, he kissed her. “I love you so much, sweetheart.”
“I love you too,” she told him.
“I’m sorry, Tonks,” Sirius said and Remus realised he was right beside him.
“It’s all right, Sirius,” Dora told him, smiling. “Oh, darling,” she said to Remus, “you’re lucky I never met Sirius looking like this. Cousin or not, he’s totally dishy! Yum!”
Remus and Sirius exchanged glances, and then burst out laughing.
“I still don’t think I even stand a chance, Moony,” Sirius chuckled. “She was head over heels for you from the start. Still is.”
“I know,” Remus said, smiling down at his wife, who winked saucily up at him. “I’m a very lucky man.”
“Although…” Sirius began.
Dora made a face at her cousin. Remus laughed. Sirius grinned.
Lily linked her arm through Dora’s. “Come along, Mrs Moony. Let me introduce you to my husband.”
“Lead on, Mrs Prongs,” Dora replied as she and Lily moved off. “Oh dear…” Remus heard her say, “I’ve seen pictures, but he really does look like Harry.”
Lily laughed. “Oh he does. And he loves it!” Dora giggled.
Remus and Sirius exchanged glances again. “Mrs Moony?” Remus asked Sirius.
“Mrs Prongs?” Sirius replied back.
They looked at each other again, laughed, then followed behind Lily, James, Dora, and Ted as the passed through the Pearly Gates.
As Remus joined Dora, grasping her hand in his, he spotted Albus Dumbledore, Alastor Moody, and everyone else who had gone on before him. He knew right then and there that Heaven really was going live up to all the clichés he had ever heard.
And it was going to be heavenly.
Author:
gijane7702
Format & Word Count: Fic///1545
Rating: PG
Warning: Deathly Hallows spoilers//angst; humour
Prompt(s): #30- “Funeral Blues” by W. H. Auden; #31- “The End”
Summary: "After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure." (Sorcerer’s Stone, p 297)
Author’s Notes: Yay! 31 for 31 prompts! Er...I've never been this...um, prolific before!
Yes, a Dumbledore quote, not an R/T one, but it fits SO well. And it's really cool having my copies of SS and DH piled on top of one another on my desk! Don’t have to mention American edition vs UK edition (yes, I own both) because of the title. =)
Many thanks to the mods for hosting this Challenge. It’s helped me SO much working through my grief. I so wouldn’t have been able to write this 30 days ago!
So…when’s the next Challenge?
Remus Lupin wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t every heavenly cliché that he’d ever heard.
There was the bright light that he walked towards not even looking back on his wife (who was sobbing over his corpse). Then, suddenly, there were the white puffy clouds, angels and cherubs prancing around, and harp music playing.
And there, leaning up outside of the Pearly Gates, were James and Sirius waiting for him.
“Hullo, Moony,” James greeted him.
“Welcome to Heaven,” Sirius added.
Remus grinned at his two friends, but before he could respond, there was a tinkling of bells and the next person achieving Heaven joined them.
The holy air was suddenly filled with every curse word he knew (and some he had never heard). Not even needing to turn around, he knew who it was. Remus sighed. James and Sirius grinned.
Dora had arrived.
“Same old Nymphadora,” Sirius greeted his wife. He then laughed at the scowl that Remus knew was on her face.
“Don’t call me Nymphadora, Sirius!” she hissed at him.
“Oh…I really do like her already, Moony!” James said to him.
Remus turned around. There, dressed in his favourite outfit of hers- torn Muggle jeans, the pink t-shirt that revealed her navel piercing, and her black trainers- was his pink-haired Dora.
“Hi,” she said quietly, kicking a little pouf of cloud.
“Hi,” he replied, walking towards her.
“You look different…” Dora said, looking at him with her head cocked to one side as if examining him. “Like the Remus I always pictured you would be without the lycanthropy.”
He came to a halt, turning back around to get confirmation from James and Sirius. Neither said anything. Remus then realised while James looked twenty-one (like he should), so did Sirius.
Remus ran a hand through his hair, then realised it was thicker than it had been in life. And he knew, without looking a mirror, that there was no grey in it. “Are you all right with that?” he asked her. “It’s still me, sweetheart.”
Dora walked towards him, head still cocked, still examining him. She stopped directly in front of him, then reached out and fingered a lock of his hair. Dora was quiet for a few more moments before she finally said, “I miss the grey.”
“I don’t,” Remus told her honestly. “I feel fantastic! I feel…thirty-eight.” He frowned, and then turned back around to look at James and Sirius. “Why aren’t I twenty something again like you two?”
“You look much younger, Moony,” Sirius said. “You look, like Tonks said, like Remus without the lycanthropy. We look what we feel most comfortable in.”
“Sirius was never comfortable after Azkaban,” James added, “hence his appearance. And I was only twenty-one, so... But you were the most happiest at thirty-eight.”
Remus turned around to look at his wife. Dora smiled at him. He smiled back. Then, from behind him, Remus heard Sirius say, “Prongs and I were so proud of you, Moony. You smartened up and married Tonks.” James laughed.
Remus smiled at Dora again, who grinned back at him. He then noticed that she looked like Dora when they first met nearly three years ago, one with no grief that he had put on her. Remus glanced down at her left hand and was relieved to see her wedding band sparkling there. Dora saw him looking, held up her hand and winked at him.
“Just checking,” Remus whispered down to her, and then pecked a kiss on her lips. “Mmmmm…an eternity of coconut-flavoured kisses. There’s nothing better.”
He drew her into his arms, throwing his head back and laughing when she cheekily told him, “Damned straight, darling.”
“Then you went and had a baby. Almost immediately, I might add!”
“Padfoot!” James yelped. “Shut it!”
Remus was moving in for a deeper kiss when Sirius’ words impacted them. He saw the immediate change in Dora.
Her whole body stiffened in his arms, the happy smile faded away, and her dark eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry I left Teddy, Remus,” she whispered, taking a step back from him.
Then, with a pop like an Apparition, Dora disappeared.
“Dora!” Remus yelled. Whirling around, he faced James and Sirius. “Where’d she go?” he bellowed at his friends. Prongs looked apologetic, Padfoot horrified. “Where did she go?”
“I’m sorry, Moony,” Sirius whispered.
“Dora!” Remus yelled again, ignoring Sirius. “Sweetheart, where are you?”
“She’s in Purgatory, Remus,” a quiet, feminine voice that he immediately recognised told him.
“Why, Lily?” he asked her. Remus then noticed Ted Tonks standing off to the side of the Gates. He nodded sadly at his son-in-law. “Ted, we’re all here: me, you, Sirius…”
Lily walked up to him. “She’s still feeling guilty over leaving your son behind.”
“Can I talk to her?” Remus asked anxiously.
“She doesn’t need to talk to you, Remus,” Ted said, walking up to him. “She needs to talk to Lily.”
“Why Li-” Remus began asking, then stopped himself. Lily smiled sadly at him.
He knew why: Lily had sacrificed herself for Harry, leaving him behind as well. Dora needed to talk to another mother that had done the same exact thing she had done for Teddy.
“Exactly,” Lily said softly, knowing that he understood. “But mostly, she’s feeling guilty. She chose you over her son.”
Remus was confused. It must have showed on his face, because Ted said to him, “You really have no idea how much my daughter loves you, did you?”
The enormity of what Dora’s decision hit him then. They had decided together that though she was an Auror and a warrior, Teddy would be better off with his mother raising him, not his werewolf father, if it had to come to that.
But Dora had changed her mind and gone to Hogwarts anyways. She had managed to apologise to him for coming and told him that she loved him before Dolohov had shot the Killing Curse at him.
They had not had the chance to discuss Teddy.
“Why aren’t I in Purgatory as well?” Remus asked Lily. “I feel horrible for leaving our son behind as well.”
James walked up to him and said, “I know exactly how you feel, Remus. But we sacrificed ourselves for our sons so they would have better lives. That’s why you’re here. Tonks…er, she really goes by her surname?” Remus smiled slightly, but nodded positively. Ted rolled his eyes. “Right….odd that,” James said. “Nymphadora’s a lovely name. Anyway, she’s got that guilt of choosing you over Teddy to work through first before she can join us here.”
“Go,” Remus whispered hoarsely to Lily. “Please…Tell Dora it’s all right. Please, have her come back. I need her. Tell her I love her. Tell her we’ll see Teddy again here one day.”
Lily disappeared with an understanding nod. Ted smiled encouragingly at him, and then headed towards the gates to wait. James clasped a comforting hand on Remus shoulder before and the two men joined Sirius and Ted at the Gates.
“I’m so sorry, Remus,” Sirius told him again.
“It’s all right, Padfoot.”
Together, side by side, the four men waited for Dora and Lily to return.
Remus wasn’t sure how time passed in Heaven, but to him it felt like an eternity. He only managed to prop himself up against the Gates for a few moments before he pushed himself off and began to pace, hands jammed in his pockets. “Where are they?” he asked James.
However, before Prongs could respond, there were two pops.
Remus whirled around. “Dora!” he cried, running up to her. Cupping her heart-shaped face in his hands, he kissed her. “I love you so much, sweetheart.”
“I love you too,” she told him.
“I’m sorry, Tonks,” Sirius said and Remus realised he was right beside him.
“It’s all right, Sirius,” Dora told him, smiling. “Oh, darling,” she said to Remus, “you’re lucky I never met Sirius looking like this. Cousin or not, he’s totally dishy! Yum!”
Remus and Sirius exchanged glances, and then burst out laughing.
“I still don’t think I even stand a chance, Moony,” Sirius chuckled. “She was head over heels for you from the start. Still is.”
“I know,” Remus said, smiling down at his wife, who winked saucily up at him. “I’m a very lucky man.”
“Although…” Sirius began.
Dora made a face at her cousin. Remus laughed. Sirius grinned.
Lily linked her arm through Dora’s. “Come along, Mrs Moony. Let me introduce you to my husband.”
“Lead on, Mrs Prongs,” Dora replied as she and Lily moved off. “Oh dear…” Remus heard her say, “I’ve seen pictures, but he really does look like Harry.”
Lily laughed. “Oh he does. And he loves it!” Dora giggled.
Remus and Sirius exchanged glances again. “Mrs Moony?” Remus asked Sirius.
“Mrs Prongs?” Sirius replied back.
They looked at each other again, laughed, then followed behind Lily, James, Dora, and Ted as the passed through the Pearly Gates.
As Remus joined Dora, grasping her hand in his, he spotted Albus Dumbledore, Alastor Moody, and everyone else who had gone on before him. He knew right then and there that Heaven really was going live up to all the clichés he had ever heard.
And it was going to be heavenly.