[Kaleidoscope update] Colours Under the Moon

[shimotsuki]

This busy fall has not been conducive to fic-writing, sadly. But the long Thanksgiving weekend finally gave me a chance to finish the Kaleidoscope chapter I started at the end of the summer. This one takes place near the beginning of HBP, right after Now Wait for the Tide to TurnThis chapter actually involved an interesting coincidence of timing

Comments

[starfishstar]

I'd never thought of the idea of Remus not finding out until *during* canon that Greyback was the one who bit him, but I really like how you've written this. Very chilling and very believable.

And that Tonks loses her ability to morph over this, the danger to Remus, rather than just out of sadness over their break-up and/or his refusal to be with her in the first place (depending on how you construct the timeline of their getting together - and yes, I ignore Pottermore there too!) is fantastic. To me, this is one of the biggest hurdles to the serious R/T writer: how to stick to the canon fact that Tonks was sad and morph-less for the length of an entire book, while staying true to her character, not letting her become a weak figure who mopes for an entire year just because some guy rejected her. So kudos for that!

And I agree with stereolightning that the parallel between Remus and Snape - both being forced to pretend to serve the one who destroyed their lives - is great.

On a lighter note, I like the idea of an untraceable copying spell, because it implies that whatever the normal sort of copying spell is, *is* be traceable. I love little details of magic like that :-)

[starfishstar]

p.s. "colours under the moon" because 1) the literal fact that in moonlight we can see only black and white, not color + 2) the metaphorical sense of, how can Tonks remain happy and colorful, knowing what Remus is now going to have to go through every full moon?

That's what I've got so far...

[shimotsuki]

Points to you! :) I was thinking exactly (1), and a metaphorical extension along the lines of (2) -- or even more broadly, that Tonks can't be her formerly cheery self when faced with all the implications of Remus's lycanthropy (in particular, the decisions it causes him to make).

[shimotsuki]

Thanks so much for reading! I appreciate the kind words.

I'd never thought of the idea of Remus not finding out until *during* canon that Greyback was the one who bit him

I don't mean to imply I think it had to happen this way -- Remus could indeed have known already. But I think this approach is also compatible with canon, and frankly one reason I went with this interpretation is that I hadn't seen anyone write this particular idea before!

And that Tonks loses her ability to morph over this, the danger to Remus, rather than just out of sadness

Yes! I'm going to explore this more in the next chapter, but I think this is really important. I think it's her intense worry about Remus's physical and mental well-being on his mission, plus dealing with losing Sirius, and being on anti-dementor patrol in Hogsmeade all the time -- it's no wonder she can't morph.

not letting her become a weak figure who mopes for an entire year just because some guy rejected her

Yes again! I think Tonks would have been sad if Remus hadn't loved her back, but she would have been able to get over it and move on. What is dragging her down in HBP is knowing that he does love her but is still pushing her away out of that misguided sense of nobility, making both of them miserable when they don't have to be.

And she's not really weak in canon, I'd say. She's out there, saving Harry, fending off dementors, getting her job done -- even though she's sad and lonely and worried.

Moody is totally paranoid enough to develop a special untraceable copying spell. ;)