Prompt #10: Beginnings

[gilpin25]

Title: Beginnings
Author: gilpin25
Format & Word Count: One-shot, 3252 words
Rating: PG
Prompts: #10; Awake
Warning: None, apart from the author being back at the start of OotP.
Summary: She wore a black glittery top over faded jeans and he looked into the young, upturned face which was wide at the brow, pointed at the chin, and the colour of warm ivory.

Comments

[mrstater]

Oh, this is simply wonderful! What a delightful change of pace from DH, to go back and remember why I'm here in the first place: because when I read that Remus and Tonks were a couple, I, too, was kept very much awake.

This is exactly the sort of first meeting I think Remus and Tonks must have had. Not love at first sight, but definitely crackling chemistry at first sight! It's brilliant what you've done with that mirror, because like Remus we're not only seeing them together and a glimpse of their future, but we quite literally see them as mirror images of each other, which I think is so key to why they work so well as a couple, and why "too old, too poor, too dangerous" is...ridikkulus! And I imagine that Remus, recognizing their sameness, is going to lie awake for quite some time tonight...

You always write them acting and reacting to each other, but something about the dialogue in this piece rings especially true. It reads just like they walked into the room where you were sitting, went through this whole thing, and you simply wrote it down verbatim. (And I really envy you getting to spend the day with them, if this is the case. ;)) I really love how the banter transitions so fluidly into their near quarrel, and how you've put Remus on the defensive and guarding himself against the usual in so few words; Sirius at the beginning was really effective in this regard, in that he inadvertently (and meaning so well) drew so much attention to The Werewolf Thing that it made Remus think of himself as someone who must be treated with care, even though that's not what he wants, and who sees a skewed image of himself in the mirror -- even when he should be having a huge ego because Tonks is so obviously taken with him and impressed...

So many touches in this I liked, especially with Remus being aware of his own social skills, and how even when he's inwardly rattled he's still so smooth, and he's not so caught up in his own mind that he ceases to be empathetic toward others. That really stands out as such a turning point in this story.

And of course I must mention how lovely this is: He could remember saying to Harry Potter once on a train, I haven’t poisoned that chocolate, you know, when Harry had hesitated about eating it. Not even knowing then that he’d taken it from the hand of a werewolf. He thought it wouldn’t have made any difference to Harry if he had. He knew it wouldn’t to Nymphadora Tonks, even though he barely knew her. Just three sentences, and yet so many astute character observations and such promise in the end. Which brings me back to why I love R/T, and how sure I am that they knew so early what a special thing exists between them, and the whole amazing love story that unfolds over the next few books. It's all right here. No wonder they didn't miss Sirius. ;)

Thank you for writing this. I really needed it, and I'm sure the R/T community in general does. :)

[gilpin25]

Thank you so, so much. For making me grin like an idiot when I read this.:D

I'm chuffed to bits you enjoyed it, though I'm sure it wasn't anywhere near as much as I enjoyed reading this because you seem to have mentioned everything I hoped would come across to someone reading it. Like you've said, I like to imagine there was something, some chemistry, or spark of recognition of like meeting like from the outset (however unlikely Remus may tell himself it is), that explains what started their relationship off, and leads into the first time we see them together in OotP.

And I imagine that Remus, recognizing their sameness, is going to lie awake for quite some time tonight...

You must be a Legilimens (or Legiliwomans;)); my starting point for this was to have a conversation between them where you'd hopefully feel that afterwards that Remus won't be dropping off at all when he hits the previously longed-for pillow, but will be thinking and wondering about her for a little while, and at odd moments in the days to come, and she'll be doing exactly the same about him... Until they next meet. As for the mirror; I didn't want to be too specific because, of course, we know a lot more than he does about the future. But I remember seeing Mr Gilpin and myself reflected in the car window when we first met, and thinking something bizarre like We look OK height-wise, and then having a jolt as I had no idea why I'd thought that. (My only previous thoughts being never, ever to play badminton again with him;))

...with Remus being aware of his own social skills, and how even when he's inwardly rattled he's still so smooth

I think he's very smooth at the start of OotP; both with her, and sorting Sirius and Molly out later on. So I wanted him both enjoying himself immensely and rattled because life is now getting difficult, and Sirius and she seem to be reminding him of that, but - hopefully - the charm still comes through so you'd see why he'd make such an impression on her in return. And why she'd get irate, because it must be annoying when you meet an interesting man, and he assumes you're only interested for his furry little problem, lol.

As for the ending - it lacked something for ages. I think I mentioned it was driving me nuts, until I thought of PoA, and it seemed so very obvious. I'm sure Tonks is extremely wary of the fact that he's a werewolf, but, being her, she wouldn't let it show or matter at that point, and her action would form a bond between them because Remus would never forget something like that. So, no, no one noticed poor Sirius wasn't even there, lol.

Thank you again. Writing this reminded me of just why I spend so much time thinking about these two, and your wonderful comments about it were the icing (or chocolate) on the cake. ;)