Under the Influence

[mocca_fix_gold]

Title: Under the Influence
Author: mocca_fix_gold
Rating: G
Prompts: Christmas wreath
"Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe,
Help to make the season bright,
Tiny tots with their eyes all a-glow,
Will find it hard to sleep tonight."

- The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole
Word Count: 2,411
Summary: It doesn't feel like Christmas for Nymphadora Tonks.

Comments

[go_veg]

That was so cute and clever! I really enjoyed it.

[mocca_fix_gold]

Glad you liked it!

[mrstater]

Oh, I love the idea of Ted and Andromeda disguising themselves as Christmas decorations to spy on Tonks. It really makes them feel like her parents, to do something so quirky, and their banter about fairy wings is too, too cute.

I really like your Tonks and the detail she always remembers everything in, like the stray thread on Remus' Molly-knit jumper. It's so girl-in-love. And I want to know just what it was Remus did when Tonks cast that cheering charm on Snape, lol.

Really well done, I liked this so much!

[mocca_fix_gold]

Thanks! :D Ted and Andromeda were just fun to write. I figured Tonks would get her sense of whimsy and inventiveness from her parents, so I'm glad that you felt like Ted and Andromeda were really her parents.

As for what Remus did, my original idea was that he had locked happy!Snape and Sirius up in a room to repay Sirius for doing something that was embarrassing for Remus, something involving Remus' fascination with Tonks. Sirius had spent the time torn between amusement at happy!Snape and horror at Snape gleefully expressing his desire to be best friends with Sirius during their incarceration. Only I couldn't figure out exactly what Sirius would've done to embarrass Remus in the first place, so it was for the best that that part was left hanging.

[shimotsuki]

Aw, I love your Andromeda and Ted -- they certainly would've worried about their daughter and wondered what was wrong, but the plot you have them hatch to get to the bottom of things is brilliant. She doesn’t notice that most of the stuffed reindeer on top fall over, or that one manages to right itself again. Hee!

I really like the way you handle Remus here, with all his conflicting emotions -- he thinks he shouldn't be there, but he can't make himself leave, so instead he won't look at Tonks... ouch. And, If he leaned too, they might be able to kiss. That's a great image on its own, but also really symbolic of the state of their relationship. And I thought it was interesting and tantalizing that you never show us what gifts they gave each other. Now I'm curious!

Really liked the last scene, too, with Ted and Andromeda trying to comfort Tonks -- even though it only works for a little while. She doesn’t want to continue imagining them as Remus when they actually want to be with her. Aww.

[mocca_fix_gold]

Thank you! :D Ted and Andromeda are my favorite unexplored-in-canon characters, so I'm glad you liked their appearance here.

Remus was a bit problematic at first. I was considering not making him show up at all, but in the end, he and Tonks just had to meet, if only so that the uncertainty of their relationship will be shown, and to give their presents. As to what they gave each other, aside from random ideas about knitwear and books and Sneakoscopes, I honestly had nothing specific in mind. The gift-giving was more of Tonks reminding Remus of what she can and wants to give him, in the hope that he'll come back, and of Remus being unable to definitively (at that time, and only to himself) end it with Tonks.

Okay, that last part doesn't really make sense. Haha.

[mocca_fix_gold]

Thank you so much! :D

[godricgal]

Ted and Andromeda disguising themselves as reindeer on top of Tonks' cupboard is such a great idea -- adds an element of fun to an otherwise sad situation. Thought the exchange between Remus and Tonks was nice -- I do like reading calm Christmas day meetings between them where they each take a little something from the other without really knowing it. You did a great job with the Tonkses, and I enjoyed your take on them a lot. :)

[mocca_fix_gold]

Thank you! :D The Tonkses are one of my favorite HP families so I'm glad that you liked how I wrote them. The R/T conversation was actually supposed to be shorter, but everything I wrote about the wordless tension between them just sounded weird, so I had to add things and I'm happy that that turned out fine.