[open] Time it is past and I roam free
Who: lumenrelegandus and anyone
When: Early in the week
Where: The dojo, the streets, the path toward the Ruins and/or Hunting Grounds.
Format: Prose
What: As if any loss weren't bad on its own, sometimes it opens up past ones.
Warnings: I'm being bad for posting a new log without doing any tags for ongoing threads! I have company for a few days and am semi- ( Read more... )
When: Early in the week
Where: The dojo, the streets, the path toward the Ruins and/or Hunting Grounds.
Format: Prose
What: As if any loss weren't bad on its own, sometimes it opens up past ones.
Warnings: I'm being bad for posting a new log without doing any tags for ongoing threads! I have company for a few days and am semi- ( Read more... )
"Re-Remus?!" her voice sounded shrill even to her ears, but she needed to stop him before he did something drastic, "What..." she reached out to touch his arm, "Tell me..." she held her hand over his arm, carefully watching his reaction. She didn't want to rile him more than he already was. Besides, there was no guarantee that she would be welcomed in his presence right now.
Still, she wanted to help.
"It's okay." she lowered her voice, "Whatever happened, it..."
Will be okay? How could she say that?
"I'll help you work through it." she rephrased, her expression solemn, "You're not alone."
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-no, this wasn't right; he was the one meant to offer comfort and support to her
-she was clever, exceptionally so, and older than anyone usually treated her, but she was still young and deserving of… ¿parentsteachers? …the chance not to be in charge, not to be the adult
that ship's long sailed for her you know it
-there are lines you do not cross even when students aren't students, even when they're friends
-stop thinking of her as anything but herself
-stop thinking.
Slowly, he lowered himself to sit on a nearby ledge; reaching for the hand she had offered him, he drew her into a one-armed hug. And closed his eyes against her shoulder.
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She...knew that better than she should.
Inhaling shallowly, Hermione wrapped her arms around him and gave him what silent comfort she could. She had no idea what to say. But maybe words weren't what was needed? How many times had she simply held Harry or Ginny when things had fallen apart? Sometimes, human contact could have a profound effect.
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When he'd arrived in Anatole, literally half dead, he'd needed the anchor that Io had provided: a reminder, a guide, a tow-line back toward life. He'd been woken by (Bellatrix) hate and running on enraged, insane magicks, which had made him more animated than he'd have been on his own residual lifeforce or will; the magic could have burned up what was left of him and taken on a life of its own-(as was his guess of what had happened to the veneficus of Anatole). Who knows what he would have become-an inferi at least-if Io, a complete stranger, hadn't caught him and hung on, unwittingly poured life into him until he came back to himself and took charge of his body again ( ... )
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"Remus...?" she murmured, her eyes filled with concern when he pulled back, "...what secrets?"
Everyone was entitled to secrets, of course, but Remus wouldn't have brought it up if the information hadn't been pertinent. So Hermione stepped back and waved his hand away with little smile. A damp shirt wasn't going to hurt her.
As he spoke, she visibly mulled over his words. Finally, she knelt down on the ground beside him and grabbed one of his hands.
"Whether you choose to tell me or not is entirely up to you. I don't want to pry." but, " ( ... )
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He was never going to resolve this for himself with logic, because it required knowledge of the unknowable.
What he did know was her, and the present. To those, he surrendered.
Returning her grasp with one hand, he reached with the other into his jacket pocket.
"In your future on earth, in the war, in a battle at Hogwarts," he said it blandly, "I will die. And Tonks will die. I am not going back. I didn't think I'd ever know the outcome of the war. But here in Anatole, I made a wish, to know whether you and Ron and Harry survived. I received this. I don't know if I have the right to show it to you or the right to withhold it. But I can't... we've lost enough, and it's yours ( ... )
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"Remus..." her blood ran cold at those words, "N-No." her voice trembled and tears pricked at her eyes, "H-How does it happen?"
More importantly, was it preventable? Hermione didn't want to face a world that lacked Remus and Tonks. They were...so good and so strong. Her stomach churned at the thought of telling Harry that...
No! We have options.
"Hm?" her hand shook as she took the photo. Wiping at her cheeks, she stared in wonder at herself, Ron, Harry, Ginny and...
Kids."I c-can't believe it." she smiled sadly, not bothering to hide her tears, "L-Look at them ( ... )
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"No," he repeated, his chin now resting lightly on top of her head. "Nothing can interfere with this future. Whatever you, Harry, and Ron did was exactly what you needed to do. It ended the war. It made a world where this-" nodded again, uselessly because she couldn't see it, but clearly at the photo nonetheless "-could happen. Your mission will always be stopping Voldemort and ending the war. I know you wouldn't let anything-anything-distract you from it. In either world, I wouldn't want you to."
A faint smile into her hair. "I wish I could see them too. But I'd rather miss seeing them born and know that they will be."
He held onto her a moment longer. Then added Moonyishly, "I admit I expected a stronger reaction to other aspects of this revelation."
(And one might think he would have asked this Anatolian oracle after someone else…)
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"W-We love you." she choked. He had to know that. That...was the most important thing. Even if they fought, even if they got mad at each other, that never changed.
"He will die. Harry is determined and so am I." she clenched her fists, "We are w-well on our way." she was fibbing a little, but they had made headway, "There might be a way we can still save you and Tonks. I just...I don't know." she glanced at his chest sadly, "They will know all about you regardless ( ... )
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-Not to say anything further except whisper back, more easily than he'd thought possible since Tonks's death, "I love all of you, too."
She pulled away and he resettled himself to accommodate, smiling and averting his eyes as she blushed. "I apologise, I didn't mean to pry. And certainly not to poke fun. It's not ridiculous one bit."
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