Happy Little Accidents
Already having a day. The programs that MSCJS is associated with is sending students back to us to lift their registration hold... even though they're not taking any MSCJS classes. Why can't people do their jobs? WHY CAN'T PEOPLE JUST DO THEIR FUCKING JOBS?!
So, bad day so far, thus...
Do this for me. Please?
THE SORTING HAT MEME
MY THREAD!
And now you can read this for me, please?
Happy Little Accidents; pg
Fandom: Harry Potter, Lupin/Tonks
Spoilers: let's say pre-Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, oh bee vees.
"Her first Order meeting; it was supposed to have been... better than this."
Authors notes: Another in a long line of first meeting fics. This might be a sap fest, it might not, but I really just felt like writing these two because they're probably in my top three, all time otps. They're just so devastating and perfect.
-----
“Miss Tonks?” she heard and sighed.
Heavily.
Tonight simply was not her night.
It could have been worse, she reasoned; at least she’d managed not to fall over, or send any teacups tumbling unceremonious to the floor. Or teapots tumbling unceremoniously onto anyone, though that was just narrowly avoided. Point one for Tonks, she supposed.
Her first Order meeting; it was supposed to have been... better than this. She wasn’t supposed to have tripped over her introduction (stumbling over her own name? Classic.) and certainly wasn’t supposed to have forgotten whom she studied her Aurorship under (“Uh, uhm, ahhh...,” Moody had shot her a particularly withering glare at that) and she wasn’t supposed to have felt so helplessly lost, underqualified.
Like an outsider.
Blowing out a breath, she paused, biting her lip. It wasn’t like her to want to fade into the background, but this evening, to save a little face, she just wanted to escape before giving anyone any more reason to doubt her abilities.
‘Give it time,’ Molly had told her, helpfully with a motherly pat. ‘It just takes some getting used to, it did for all of us.’ Yet still, none of this was what she’d been expecting.
Well, then, she wasn’t sure what she had expected, being surrounded by the most powerful witches and wizards of her generation, people who-truth be told-intimidated her with their vast magical acumen and abilities. Of course she’d never admit that to anyone but...
Tonks hadn’t been planning on being encompassed by this slow, sinking feeling. And she hadn’t been planning on feeling the need to disappear from the premises as soon as possible, hoping that no one would want to speak with her for fear she’d stumbled and crash over her words.
Now, all she wanted was the simplicity of a nice cup of tea and a long, long sleep. A little time to think all of this over. Or forget it all, she hadn’t decided yet.
‘Give it time.’
“Miss Tonks!” the call became more insistent, and she turned-too quickly, knocking a vase off of a table with her large cloak-and slammed directly into the man who was calling after her. ‘Set the score back to Tonks: 0, World: countless little victories,’ she thought, mood tempering even worse, getting ready to spit out an apology.
“Oof! Oi, I-” but she stopped short when the man brought his hands to her shoulders and gently steadied her, not prying and not pressing but simply helpful. “Sorry,” voice soft, embarrassed, Tonks took a step backwards to assess who she was speaking with.
From what she’d heard about the man in front of her, he was quite brilliant, perhaps one of the best faculty Hogwarts had ever seen. Harry had told her as much. And he’d been remarkably eloquent when he spoke regarding the use of philters on potential Death Eaters and had wielded the attention of the room so easily that it had intrigued her. Remus Lupin, Defense Against the Dark Arts specialist who had left under... mysterious circumstances. “Sorry,” she managed again.
His hands fell from her shoulders slowly, and she was strangely wanting for their weight as soon as they lifted. Studying him for a candid moment, she noted his subdued handsomeness, how he seemed to radiate a sort of academic confidence that she’d never encountered; he was the sort of man that left people constantly wondering what he was thinking about, she was sure.
Remus Lupin, intelligent and reserved and who seemed to carry weathered determination and a quiet dignity. A sort of mystery, Tonks assessed. As someone who could certainly read people fairly well, he wasn’t quiet so simple to decipher and it unsettled her.
Forgetting where she was, she tilted her head to the side and began to study him more intently.
Lupin straightened the collar of his tattered shirt, smoothing out wrinkles that weren’t really there, fidgeting a bit.
“Quite alright,” he smiled, dropping his hands and reached into his cloak. “You forgot this,” and with a steady hand, he held out a pocket watch to her.
“Of course I did,” Tonks cursed under her breath and reached for the object.
He watched her quietly with interest, leaning against the wall of the hallway, out of the way of Severus Snape who was beating a hasty exit. The two men bade each other curt ‘Good evening’s before Lupin turned his attention back to her. She was still fiddling with the timepiece, agitated.
“A family heirloom, I take it?”
Distracted by her forgetfulness, she wiped a smudge off of the back of the piece and examined it in the light. If she’d lost this, her mother would have given her all sorts of grief. “Uh, yeh, it was my grandmum’s... she gave it to me...”
When he responded, his voice was reverent, perhaps wistful and it caught her attention. “Beautiful craftsmanship. Losing a piece like that...” Tonks flitted her eyes to his. “Though I suppose it’s not the superior quality that makes it special to you,” he added, the right side of his lips flitting up.
“Right, I, ah, thank you, Professor Lupin,” she hastily tucked the pocket watch into her cloak patting once, twice, to make sure it was secured.
“Please, we’ll be working closely together in the future, do call me Remus. Professor... far too... stuffy, eh?” His cheeks flushed slightly and he slid his hands into the deep pockets of his sweater. “Aside from the fact that I’m no longer employed as such.”
The man stood before her, looking uneasily down at his feet. Clearly embarrassed by his admission, Tonks took pity on him and emitted a light chuckle.
Former Professor Remus Lupin, then. With his head angled down in such a manner that his fringe fell directly in front of his eyes and she was charmed. What a bizarre sort of meeting she was having with this man...
Swallowing, she shook the thoughts from her head and attempted to alleviate the suddenly heavy atmosphere. “And then, what is this ‘Miss Tonks’ business, that’s entirely too formal!” came her quick rib as she checked her cloak one last time for the watch.
Meeting her gaze, the man’s eyes regained their twinkle.
“And I would call you by your first name if I’d have understood it properly when you were introducing yourself,” he said cheekily, grinning. His voice-as well as his eyes-softened as he went on, “But no need to be nervous, both Albus and Alastor speak more than highly of your abilities. You’ll fit right in.”
Stunned, she remained silent. Tonks was aware of the affection that Moody held for her in his own grumpy, curmudgeonly way; she’d studied with him for three years, after all. She had no idea, however, that Dumbledore knew much of her other than as a former student, nevermind held her in such high regard. Her chest unintentionally puffed out as she was flooded by a rush of pride in herself.
“Additionally, I’ve heard rumors floated by a certain Kingsley Shacklebot that you’ve managed to perfect a morph of a certain Slytherin headmaster?” His voice was warm, interested, held a note of humor and she was taken with it. She wanted to hear more, wanted to listen to hear him speak for hours, wanted...
Tonks felt her cheeks grow hot, “The nose, only. Oh, and the, er, and the hair. And that...”
She trailed off, not knowing if this was an actual conversation with a new colleague or if he was just being kind; she’d found herself in the middle of far too many of the latter. Tonks wished to spare herself any more humiliation but could not, for whatever reason, pull herself away and head home like she’d originally intended.
When he leaned in and nodded his head, she continued, unintentionally thrilled by his interest. Oh dear. Oh, oh dear. “...was particularly difficult. Just... so unkempt!”
The man chuckled and continued to meet her gaze; she felt rapt, shaken, as though her knees were becoming rubbery.. His eyes were... disarming, and Tonks felt rather taken aback. A low thrill ran through her, kick starting a flurry of rather unruly butterflies somewhere in the region of her stomach. His eyes were so incredibly vast in depth; it was quite astounding...
This was absurd, she thought to herself though didn’t disengage from his gaze. These were the thrills that ran through someone when they were infatuated with someone and she’d only just met this man. How... strange. Still, even as she acknowledged how silly she was being, she could not for the life of her pull her eyes away.
It was unsettling.
“Well,” she began, finding that she was breathless (how had that happened), “It’s just a... hobby...”
Again, Lupin smiled at her and the butterflies in her stomach began moving into her throat. “A difficult undertaking, though I applaud you for it.” There was a pause, “May even come in handy at some point.”
Tonks shuffled her feet, finding herself somehow wanting the conversation to continue. No longer wanting to leave, she wracked her brain for something, anything, to keep him talking. “Can’t imagine when or why, but I suppose it’s a good skill to have.” She licked her lips, continued, “Better ‘en this, anyway.”
Concentrating, she turned her hair alternating black and white, every few inches alternating horizontally. When she was through, she shook her head and smoothed down the loose strands.
“Checker board!” he announced, and she could swear that he was delighted. Eyes lit up, he brought his hands together, not exactly clapping, but still applauding the moment in his own subdued manner.
Tonks shrugged, “I call it chess board but, tomato, tomatto, I suppose.” With a flourish, she bowed and drained the color from her strands, morphing her hair back to the bright fuchsia she’d been wearing.
“Brilliant,” Lupin whispered. “Bloody brilliant.”
Finding herself particularly gratified by his excitement, she too grinned. “Well-”
“Hm, pardon my language,” came his quick apology, though the twinkle never left his eyes. “That’s just simply fantastic!”
If her face hadn’t been blazing already, her cheeks would have warmed. Tonks felt lightheaded, brilliant, better than she had in weeks; she felt enamored and it was, to be honest, quite lovely. Her mood had improved significantly from the moment he’d caught up with her; she found herself quite grateful and wishes there were some way to convey her gratitude.
“Yeah, thanks, takes a bit to get it right, but once I do,” she took a step back and winked. “Quite a trick for impressing blokes.”
There was silence for a moment, and then he hummed his agreement, taking his own step back away from her, assessing her now short, bright coif. “Surely, as I’m quite...” But he trailed off and dropped his eyes. With a shake of the head (that she could have swore was self-deprecating) Lupin straightened his back, composed himself and allowed the delightful smile to slip from his lips.
His hands found a fray in his sweater and focused on it for a moment and he looked so unsure that Tonks was almost sorry she’d spoken with him in the first place.
And it was though something inside of her was snuffed out. Severely confused, she found herself looking around the hall, as though looking for whatever had turned the moment. Finding none, she glanced back at him, but found the spot where he’d been standing empty.
Lupin had discreetly ascended two stairs, effectively putting an end to their conversation.
“Well, goodnight then, Miss. Tonks,” and Remus smiled slightly and tipped his head to her in a strangely formal manner that left her a little dizzy, confused as to what had happened.
Had she said something... done something wrong?
“Just Tonks, please,” she managed with a sad smile, finding her voice.
Lupin raised a brow but nodded in acceptance and took what she could only define as a small bow, before setting off. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you quite soon,” he added over his shoulder as he reached the landing.
As he disappeared up the stairs, Tonks took a step forward and then paused. Her body had acted of its own accord, as if to follow him up the stairs.
How mad! She didn’t even know the man and...
That was enough, she’d had enough flights of fancy for one night. Her hand in her cloak, cold fingers slipped over the surface of the pocketwatch, as though feeling for his touch.
Mad, barking mad she was. Turning on her heel she marched towards the doorway, making haste for the exit. Mad, mad, mad.
But perhaps not....
Perhaps a little lovestr-
As the thought of being lovestruck hit her, she tripped on a divet in the floor and tumbled forward, unceremoniously landing on her rear and sliding into the door. As she stood, she rubbed her behind and looked with interest once more up the stairs, unable to erase the smile of the man she had just met from her mind.
Set the score back,’ she thought, ‘world, 1, Tonks, 1,” and she walked out, believing that perhaps her first Order meeting hadn’t been so abysmal after all.
And for anyone who would like to download a sweeeeeet Lupin and Tonks mix, just pop on right over here.
...should we talk about Conan, while we're at it? Because it was pretty great, and I'm so thrilled that he's back. However, there are some kinks that obviously need to be sorted out. They made his marks really obvious on the stage and the camera work was pretty shoddy and it's the same exact formula as Tonight and Late Night, but...
♥♥♥
The string dance is back, and he's keeping the beard and yes, bitch is fierce. And TOM HANKS IS ON TOMORROW NIGHT! The man who CREATED 'Coco Christopher'.
Mama like.
So, bad day so far, thus...
Do this for me. Please?
THE SORTING HAT MEME
MY THREAD!
And now you can read this for me, please?
Happy Little Accidents; pg
Fandom: Harry Potter, Lupin/Tonks
Spoilers: let's say pre-Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, oh bee vees.
"Her first Order meeting; it was supposed to have been... better than this."
Authors notes: Another in a long line of first meeting fics. This might be a sap fest, it might not, but I really just felt like writing these two because they're probably in my top three, all time otps. They're just so devastating and perfect.
-----
“Miss Tonks?” she heard and sighed.
Heavily.
Tonight simply was not her night.
It could have been worse, she reasoned; at least she’d managed not to fall over, or send any teacups tumbling unceremonious to the floor. Or teapots tumbling unceremoniously onto anyone, though that was just narrowly avoided. Point one for Tonks, she supposed.
Her first Order meeting; it was supposed to have been... better than this. She wasn’t supposed to have tripped over her introduction (stumbling over her own name? Classic.) and certainly wasn’t supposed to have forgotten whom she studied her Aurorship under (“Uh, uhm, ahhh...,” Moody had shot her a particularly withering glare at that) and she wasn’t supposed to have felt so helplessly lost, underqualified.
Like an outsider.
Blowing out a breath, she paused, biting her lip. It wasn’t like her to want to fade into the background, but this evening, to save a little face, she just wanted to escape before giving anyone any more reason to doubt her abilities.
‘Give it time,’ Molly had told her, helpfully with a motherly pat. ‘It just takes some getting used to, it did for all of us.’ Yet still, none of this was what she’d been expecting.
Well, then, she wasn’t sure what she had expected, being surrounded by the most powerful witches and wizards of her generation, people who-truth be told-intimidated her with their vast magical acumen and abilities. Of course she’d never admit that to anyone but...
Tonks hadn’t been planning on being encompassed by this slow, sinking feeling. And she hadn’t been planning on feeling the need to disappear from the premises as soon as possible, hoping that no one would want to speak with her for fear she’d stumbled and crash over her words.
Now, all she wanted was the simplicity of a nice cup of tea and a long, long sleep. A little time to think all of this over. Or forget it all, she hadn’t decided yet.
‘Give it time.’
“Miss Tonks!” the call became more insistent, and she turned-too quickly, knocking a vase off of a table with her large cloak-and slammed directly into the man who was calling after her. ‘Set the score back to Tonks: 0, World: countless little victories,’ she thought, mood tempering even worse, getting ready to spit out an apology.
“Oof! Oi, I-” but she stopped short when the man brought his hands to her shoulders and gently steadied her, not prying and not pressing but simply helpful. “Sorry,” voice soft, embarrassed, Tonks took a step backwards to assess who she was speaking with.
From what she’d heard about the man in front of her, he was quite brilliant, perhaps one of the best faculty Hogwarts had ever seen. Harry had told her as much. And he’d been remarkably eloquent when he spoke regarding the use of philters on potential Death Eaters and had wielded the attention of the room so easily that it had intrigued her. Remus Lupin, Defense Against the Dark Arts specialist who had left under... mysterious circumstances. “Sorry,” she managed again.
His hands fell from her shoulders slowly, and she was strangely wanting for their weight as soon as they lifted. Studying him for a candid moment, she noted his subdued handsomeness, how he seemed to radiate a sort of academic confidence that she’d never encountered; he was the sort of man that left people constantly wondering what he was thinking about, she was sure.
Remus Lupin, intelligent and reserved and who seemed to carry weathered determination and a quiet dignity. A sort of mystery, Tonks assessed. As someone who could certainly read people fairly well, he wasn’t quiet so simple to decipher and it unsettled her.
Forgetting where she was, she tilted her head to the side and began to study him more intently.
Lupin straightened the collar of his tattered shirt, smoothing out wrinkles that weren’t really there, fidgeting a bit.
“Quite alright,” he smiled, dropping his hands and reached into his cloak. “You forgot this,” and with a steady hand, he held out a pocket watch to her.
“Of course I did,” Tonks cursed under her breath and reached for the object.
He watched her quietly with interest, leaning against the wall of the hallway, out of the way of Severus Snape who was beating a hasty exit. The two men bade each other curt ‘Good evening’s before Lupin turned his attention back to her. She was still fiddling with the timepiece, agitated.
“A family heirloom, I take it?”
Distracted by her forgetfulness, she wiped a smudge off of the back of the piece and examined it in the light. If she’d lost this, her mother would have given her all sorts of grief. “Uh, yeh, it was my grandmum’s... she gave it to me...”
When he responded, his voice was reverent, perhaps wistful and it caught her attention. “Beautiful craftsmanship. Losing a piece like that...” Tonks flitted her eyes to his. “Though I suppose it’s not the superior quality that makes it special to you,” he added, the right side of his lips flitting up.
“Right, I, ah, thank you, Professor Lupin,” she hastily tucked the pocket watch into her cloak patting once, twice, to make sure it was secured.
“Please, we’ll be working closely together in the future, do call me Remus. Professor... far too... stuffy, eh?” His cheeks flushed slightly and he slid his hands into the deep pockets of his sweater. “Aside from the fact that I’m no longer employed as such.”
The man stood before her, looking uneasily down at his feet. Clearly embarrassed by his admission, Tonks took pity on him and emitted a light chuckle.
Former Professor Remus Lupin, then. With his head angled down in such a manner that his fringe fell directly in front of his eyes and she was charmed. What a bizarre sort of meeting she was having with this man...
Swallowing, she shook the thoughts from her head and attempted to alleviate the suddenly heavy atmosphere. “And then, what is this ‘Miss Tonks’ business, that’s entirely too formal!” came her quick rib as she checked her cloak one last time for the watch.
Meeting her gaze, the man’s eyes regained their twinkle.
“And I would call you by your first name if I’d have understood it properly when you were introducing yourself,” he said cheekily, grinning. His voice-as well as his eyes-softened as he went on, “But no need to be nervous, both Albus and Alastor speak more than highly of your abilities. You’ll fit right in.”
Stunned, she remained silent. Tonks was aware of the affection that Moody held for her in his own grumpy, curmudgeonly way; she’d studied with him for three years, after all. She had no idea, however, that Dumbledore knew much of her other than as a former student, nevermind held her in such high regard. Her chest unintentionally puffed out as she was flooded by a rush of pride in herself.
“Additionally, I’ve heard rumors floated by a certain Kingsley Shacklebot that you’ve managed to perfect a morph of a certain Slytherin headmaster?” His voice was warm, interested, held a note of humor and she was taken with it. She wanted to hear more, wanted to listen to hear him speak for hours, wanted...
Tonks felt her cheeks grow hot, “The nose, only. Oh, and the, er, and the hair. And that...”
She trailed off, not knowing if this was an actual conversation with a new colleague or if he was just being kind; she’d found herself in the middle of far too many of the latter. Tonks wished to spare herself any more humiliation but could not, for whatever reason, pull herself away and head home like she’d originally intended.
When he leaned in and nodded his head, she continued, unintentionally thrilled by his interest. Oh dear. Oh, oh dear. “...was particularly difficult. Just... so unkempt!”
The man chuckled and continued to meet her gaze; she felt rapt, shaken, as though her knees were becoming rubbery.. His eyes were... disarming, and Tonks felt rather taken aback. A low thrill ran through her, kick starting a flurry of rather unruly butterflies somewhere in the region of her stomach. His eyes were so incredibly vast in depth; it was quite astounding...
This was absurd, she thought to herself though didn’t disengage from his gaze. These were the thrills that ran through someone when they were infatuated with someone and she’d only just met this man. How... strange. Still, even as she acknowledged how silly she was being, she could not for the life of her pull her eyes away.
It was unsettling.
“Well,” she began, finding that she was breathless (how had that happened), “It’s just a... hobby...”
Again, Lupin smiled at her and the butterflies in her stomach began moving into her throat. “A difficult undertaking, though I applaud you for it.” There was a pause, “May even come in handy at some point.”
Tonks shuffled her feet, finding herself somehow wanting the conversation to continue. No longer wanting to leave, she wracked her brain for something, anything, to keep him talking. “Can’t imagine when or why, but I suppose it’s a good skill to have.” She licked her lips, continued, “Better ‘en this, anyway.”
Concentrating, she turned her hair alternating black and white, every few inches alternating horizontally. When she was through, she shook her head and smoothed down the loose strands.
“Checker board!” he announced, and she could swear that he was delighted. Eyes lit up, he brought his hands together, not exactly clapping, but still applauding the moment in his own subdued manner.
Tonks shrugged, “I call it chess board but, tomato, tomatto, I suppose.” With a flourish, she bowed and drained the color from her strands, morphing her hair back to the bright fuchsia she’d been wearing.
“Brilliant,” Lupin whispered. “Bloody brilliant.”
Finding herself particularly gratified by his excitement, she too grinned. “Well-”
“Hm, pardon my language,” came his quick apology, though the twinkle never left his eyes. “That’s just simply fantastic!”
If her face hadn’t been blazing already, her cheeks would have warmed. Tonks felt lightheaded, brilliant, better than she had in weeks; she felt enamored and it was, to be honest, quite lovely. Her mood had improved significantly from the moment he’d caught up with her; she found herself quite grateful and wishes there were some way to convey her gratitude.
“Yeah, thanks, takes a bit to get it right, but once I do,” she took a step back and winked. “Quite a trick for impressing blokes.”
There was silence for a moment, and then he hummed his agreement, taking his own step back away from her, assessing her now short, bright coif. “Surely, as I’m quite...” But he trailed off and dropped his eyes. With a shake of the head (that she could have swore was self-deprecating) Lupin straightened his back, composed himself and allowed the delightful smile to slip from his lips.
His hands found a fray in his sweater and focused on it for a moment and he looked so unsure that Tonks was almost sorry she’d spoken with him in the first place.
And it was though something inside of her was snuffed out. Severely confused, she found herself looking around the hall, as though looking for whatever had turned the moment. Finding none, she glanced back at him, but found the spot where he’d been standing empty.
Lupin had discreetly ascended two stairs, effectively putting an end to their conversation.
“Well, goodnight then, Miss. Tonks,” and Remus smiled slightly and tipped his head to her in a strangely formal manner that left her a little dizzy, confused as to what had happened.
Had she said something... done something wrong?
“Just Tonks, please,” she managed with a sad smile, finding her voice.
Lupin raised a brow but nodded in acceptance and took what she could only define as a small bow, before setting off. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you quite soon,” he added over his shoulder as he reached the landing.
As he disappeared up the stairs, Tonks took a step forward and then paused. Her body had acted of its own accord, as if to follow him up the stairs.
How mad! She didn’t even know the man and...
That was enough, she’d had enough flights of fancy for one night. Her hand in her cloak, cold fingers slipped over the surface of the pocketwatch, as though feeling for his touch.
Mad, barking mad she was. Turning on her heel she marched towards the doorway, making haste for the exit. Mad, mad, mad.
But perhaps not....
Perhaps a little lovestr-
As the thought of being lovestruck hit her, she tripped on a divet in the floor and tumbled forward, unceremoniously landing on her rear and sliding into the door. As she stood, she rubbed her behind and looked with interest once more up the stairs, unable to erase the smile of the man she had just met from her mind.
Set the score back,’ she thought, ‘world, 1, Tonks, 1,” and she walked out, believing that perhaps her first Order meeting hadn’t been so abysmal after all.
And for anyone who would like to download a sweeeeeet Lupin and Tonks mix, just pop on right over here.
...should we talk about Conan, while we're at it? Because it was pretty great, and I'm so thrilled that he's back. However, there are some kinks that obviously need to be sorted out. They made his marks really obvious on the stage and the camera work was pretty shoddy and it's the same exact formula as Tonight and Late Night, but...
♥♥♥
The string dance is back, and he's keeping the beard and yes, bitch is fierce. And TOM HANKS IS ON TOMORROW NIGHT! The man who CREATED 'Coco Christopher'.
Mama like.