The Love Tree
Title: The Love Tree
Author: jncar
Rating & Warnings: PG, fluff
Prompts: argue, "There are all kinds of courage. It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends."
Word Count: ~2,540
Summary: Remus finds the perfect moment to carry on a Marauder tradition.
Author’s Notes: I threw this together over the last 24 hours, so my apologies if there are any errors. My interpretation of the prompts is pretty loose, but they are in there. I've always wanted to write something with all four of the Marauders, so I was delighted when this bunny hopped along to give me the chance. Enjoy!
The Love Tree
“There,” said James. “Now it’s finally official.”
Remus watched his friend step back from the tree, and joined in with Peter and Sirius as they applauded and whistled. Freshly carved in the tree’s trunk in clear straight letters was the phrase: “James loves Lily.”
The tree had become a Marauder tradition over the past few years-ever since Peter decided to carve “Peter loves Celia” when he got his first girlfriend in their fourth year. They’d been back five times since, every single time a new girl came into Peter’s life. The most recent of the carvings-only three months old-read: “Peter loves Roberta.” They’d already broken up.
This time, however, it was different. This time, James had decided to turn Peter’s monument to love lost into a tribute to love found.
James had been pining after Lily since their first year, and now, two months to the day into their new relationship, he was ready to permanently, irrevocably, declare his love to the world. Remus was happy for his friends, and his applause for the silly grin on James’s face was heartfelt. In fact, he was so caught up in James’s moment of triumph that he was taken by surprise when Peter retrieved his pocket-knife from James, and extended it toward him.
“Now it’s your turn, Moony,” said Peter, wagging the knife back and forth in front of him.
“My turn?” he asked weakly as Peter thrust the handle of the knife into his hand.
“Or did you want to wait for your own two month anniversary?” asked James. “When is that? Next week sometime?”
Remus nodded, still staring down at the knife in his hand. Had it really only been two months? Marla already felt like such an integral part of his life that he had a hard time remembering what life was like before she was his girlfriend. That must be love-mustn’t it?
“No,” he replied. “We’re already here. I might as well.” He strode up to the tree, and raised the knife as he scanned the trunk with his eyes, looking for a good spot. If he was going to carve a declaration of love into a tree that would likely outlive him by more than half-a-century, he was determined to pick the best spot.
“Try down and to your right, a bit,” directed Sirius. “There’s a nice smooth expanse.”
Remus nodded. It did seem like a very nice spot.
“Perfect,” said Peter, patting the trunk in the chosen location. “This will do nicely. Have at it, then.”
Remus took a deep breath, and put the tip of the knife against the trunk. He could feel his heart beating faster, and his hand beginning to tremble. Was he really ready to do this? Was Marla really the one whose name he wanted carved beside his own for all the future generations to see?
But all of his friends were watching. They were expecting him to do this-and if he didn’t he would never hear the end of it. He gritted his teeth, and dug the tip of the knife into the soft bark. But before making the first downward gouge, he hesitated.
Marla was wonderful-fantastic. But he’d only really known her for three months. That wasn’t enough time to know if he was in love with her. And he hadn’t even told her about his furry little problem yet. Once he did, who knew how she would feel about him? She might even chuck him. And he could certainly never love a girl who would chuck him because he’s a werewolf.
“Come on, mate!” said Peter. “Get on with it.”
Remus frowned, and began to move the knife downward, etching a shallow line into the tree.
“Oh, come on. You can do better than that,” said James, a sly smile on his face.
Remus moved the knife to begin his second stroke, and hesitated again. Marla might not dump him because of the werewolf thing. She might stick with him. She might not even care. But that wouldn’t automatically make her the one. It was obvious to him that Lily was the one for James. But he still had no idea if Marla was the one for him. Right now it was fun and exciting, but he had no way of knowing if things would still be that way with her in a month, or two months, or two years.
There was just too much uncertainty.
He pulled the knife away from the tree and shook his head. “I can’t do it.”
“Why not?” asked Peter.
“I’m just not ready. This-” he waved the knife at the tree, “this is a real commitment. I don’t think I’m ready for it yet.”
James frowned. He looked disappointed. “But you’re crazy about her, aren’t you?”
Remus looked down and toyed with the knife in his hand. “Yes. But I don’t know if I’d really call it love…”
“You love her as much as I loved any of my girlfriends,” interrupted Peter.
Remus glared at him. “Maybe I do, but I’d rather not document my checkered love life for the entire world to see. I have more pride than that.”
Peter mockingly threw his hands over his heart, and stumbled backward. “You wound me!”
“Good for you, Moony,” said Sirius, leaning against another tree. “You really are pathetic when it comes to women, Wormtail.”
Peter frowned. Leave it to Sirius to elevate things from friendly banter to genuine insults. “What right do you have to talk?” replied Peter. “You’ve never had a serious girlfriend in your life.”
“I wouldn’t call any of your girlfriends serious. You were just a way to pass the time.”
This was getting to be too much. There were times lately when Remus wondered if Peter and Sirius actually liked each other anymore. Nearly all they’d done this year was argue. Remus glanced over at James. All the light and giddiness had gone out of his eyes. This should have been a great moment for him, and Sirius and Peter were ruining it with their petty bickering. He had to stop it before it escalated into anything worse.
“Peter’s girlfriends were perfectly serious,” said Remus. “He simply has a short attention span.”
Peter’s face broke into a grin, and they all started to chuckle.
“Besides,” continued Remus, looking at Sirius. “I don’t see your name up there, either.”
James grinned. “I’m sure he would have done, if he’d managed to keep a girlfriend for longer than a week.”
Sirius smirked, and shrugged. “What can I say? Wormtail may have a short attention span-mine is virtually non-existent.”
James grinned, and strode back to the tree, pointing to a smooth patch of bark. “Don’t feel left out, Pads. I had something planned for you. It would fit perfectly right here. Sirius loves…himself!”
“Every night,” replied Sirius with an evil grin.
They all chuckled. Remus was beginning to feel better. He may have ruined James’s moment, but at least they weren’t going to hold it against him.
Peter closed the blade of his knife, but gave Remus one last hopeful look. “Are you sure you don’t want to do it? It’s not really about love, anyway. Is it?”
Remus glanced at James, and then back at Peter. “It is for James.”
Remus could tell from James’s smile that he understood perfectly. “And you want it to be the same for you,” James said. Remus smiled back at him. Let Sirius and Peter squabble like immature prats if they want to. He and James were ready for something more.
“Suit yourselves,” said Peter. “I was just hoping that we could all have our names up there. Like some sort of lasting testament to our successes here at school, you know.”
“It will be,” said Remus, placing a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “As soon as I’m sure I’ve found the right girl, I’ll rush right down here and carve our names as deep as I can. It might be Marla, it might not. But once I’m sure, you can count on me. I promise.”
Peter grinned. “Thanks, mate.”
“How about you, Sirius?” asked James.
“Count me in,” he replied, with a wry smile. “If I’m ever so unfortunate as to have my will ensnared by an enchanting female, I will gladly document my downfall in the trunk of this tree.”
“Brilliant,” said James, shooting a grin at Peter. “It looks like you’ll get your Marauder love tree after all.”
Remus smiled as they all headed back to the castle. He wondered if he would ever carve Marla’s name up on that tree. And if not hers, then who’s?
~~~~~~
Tonks met Remus at the castle gates nearly an hour before the funeral. She looked tired, with her brown hair escaping from her ponytail to dance across her cheeks.
He could feel the tension in her slight frame as he leaned over to kiss her hello. He wasn’t sure if the tension was from preparing for the funeral, or from her continuing doubts about him. He couldn’t blame her for feeling uncertain, after all he’d put her through in the past year. He only hoped that he could find a way to ease her worries, and reassure her that this time he wasn’t going anywhere. This time, he was in it for life.
“How are things going?” he asked.
She sighed, pushing one of the loose strands of hair behind her ear. “We’re nearly ready. Savage and I have to do one more perimeter sweep before the other guests can be admitted. So I’m afraid I’ll have to leave you on your own for another fifteen minutes. I hope you don’t mind?” Her smile seemed forced, with an air of pleading behind it.
“Don’t worry,” he replied lightly. “I’ll find a way to keep myself busy. Perhaps I’ll revisit some of my old haunts here on the grounds-if that won’t interfere with your security?”
She shook her head. “No, not at all. Wander all you want.”
“I will, then. And I’ll meet you back here…?”
“Let’s say in twenty minutes.”
He nodded in reply. “Twenty minutes it is.”
He watched her for a moment as she walked off to join Savage for their final security sweep. She was so much thinner and smaller than she had been just a year ago, and he had no idea how much of it was his fault. It hurt him just to think about it. She had accepted him back-given him a second chance. But he still had no idea where to begin when it came to healing the deep wounds he had inflicted on her.
He took a few shuffling steps toward a nearby stand of trees, and then pulled up short as a sudden inspiration took hold. He knew exactly what he had to do.
When they met again at the gates twenty minutes later, he was flushed with excitement, and it was clear that she could see the change in his face. She smiled warily, and raised one eyebrow.
“Have you been up to some kind of mischief?”
“What makes you say that?” he replied with a grin.
“I see it in your eyes.”
He rocked eagerly on his heels. “You always were very perceptive.”
“So what exactly have you been up to?”
“To answer that question, I’ll have to show you something.”
“Show me what?”
He reached out to take her hand. “Come on, and you’ll see.” He trotted along the line of the wall surrounding the grounds, pulling her after him.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked.
“You’ll see. It’s right up ahead.”
She pulled back on his arm, slowing their pace, but not stopping. “Remus, are you taking me to the love tree?”
He turned his head to look back at her, and raised his eyebrows. “Love tree?”
“You know-the tree with all the names carved in it? Me and my mates always used to call it the love tree.”
He chuckled, happy to hear that James’s name for the tree had caught on. “As perceptive as always. Yes, I’m taking you to the love tree.”
“Remus, you shouldn’t have,” she replied quietly.
“Yes, I should have.” They were already drawing close to the tree. “You see, what you and your friends probably didn’t know, is that the first two people to ever carve names into that tree were two of my best mates. And I made a pact with them that as soon as I found the one, the woman that I truly, deeply, loved and wanted to spend the rest of my life with, that I would come back here and carve our names into this tree right alongside theirs. And now,” they paused directly in front of the tree, “I have.”
He pulled her slowly toward the tree, and pointed to a new inscription carved low on the trunk, beneath the crowd of lovers’ names now cluttering its circumference. He saw her smile softening into an expression more genuinely happy and relaxed then he had seen on her face in nearly a year as she read it: “Remus loves Nymphadora.”
She stared at the carving for more than a minute with that glorious smile lighting up her face. “Do you still have the knife?” she finally asked.
“Yes.”
“Can I borrow it?”
Without a word he drew the knife from his pocket, and handed it to her, his heart beating faster. He watched as she knelt down beside his carving, fully expecting her to start a new inscription of her own. He caught his breath in a sharp gasp of surprise as she cut a vicious line through her name. Did her wounds really run that deep?
However, his smile soon returned when she began a new carving right beside the name she had crossed out. In just a few minutes, she rose to her feet and handed him the knife. “There,” she said. “Now it’s perfect.”
The inscription now read: “Remus loves Nymphadora Tonks.”
He stepped closer to her, wrapping his arms around her. “I do love you, Tonks. I’ve known for ages that you were the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I was just too stupid and frightened and confused to let myself believe that it could really happen. There are no words to express how sorry I am for what I did to you this past year. And I promise that I will spend the rest of my life making up for it.”
She smiled up at him. “You already have.”
As they kissed he felt the tension draining out of her, and new vigor and confidence were surging through her as she threw herself into their embrace with passionate abandon.
When they finally pulled apart, he laughed in astonished delight. During their kiss her hair had changed from brown to a vivid, brilliant pink.
“That must have been a pretty amazing kiss,” he said, feeling wholly inadequate to express the profound sensation of relief and joy coursing through his veins.
“You’re a pretty amazing man,” she replied.
They kissed again, tenderly, slowly. When at last they pulled apart, Remus clutched her hand tightly, and they made their way back to the funeral.
Author: jncar
Rating & Warnings: PG, fluff
Prompts: argue, "There are all kinds of courage. It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends."
Word Count: ~2,540
Summary: Remus finds the perfect moment to carry on a Marauder tradition.
Author’s Notes: I threw this together over the last 24 hours, so my apologies if there are any errors. My interpretation of the prompts is pretty loose, but they are in there. I've always wanted to write something with all four of the Marauders, so I was delighted when this bunny hopped along to give me the chance. Enjoy!
The Love Tree
“There,” said James. “Now it’s finally official.”
Remus watched his friend step back from the tree, and joined in with Peter and Sirius as they applauded and whistled. Freshly carved in the tree’s trunk in clear straight letters was the phrase: “James loves Lily.”
The tree had become a Marauder tradition over the past few years-ever since Peter decided to carve “Peter loves Celia” when he got his first girlfriend in their fourth year. They’d been back five times since, every single time a new girl came into Peter’s life. The most recent of the carvings-only three months old-read: “Peter loves Roberta.” They’d already broken up.
This time, however, it was different. This time, James had decided to turn Peter’s monument to love lost into a tribute to love found.
James had been pining after Lily since their first year, and now, two months to the day into their new relationship, he was ready to permanently, irrevocably, declare his love to the world. Remus was happy for his friends, and his applause for the silly grin on James’s face was heartfelt. In fact, he was so caught up in James’s moment of triumph that he was taken by surprise when Peter retrieved his pocket-knife from James, and extended it toward him.
“Now it’s your turn, Moony,” said Peter, wagging the knife back and forth in front of him.
“My turn?” he asked weakly as Peter thrust the handle of the knife into his hand.
“Or did you want to wait for your own two month anniversary?” asked James. “When is that? Next week sometime?”
Remus nodded, still staring down at the knife in his hand. Had it really only been two months? Marla already felt like such an integral part of his life that he had a hard time remembering what life was like before she was his girlfriend. That must be love-mustn’t it?
“No,” he replied. “We’re already here. I might as well.” He strode up to the tree, and raised the knife as he scanned the trunk with his eyes, looking for a good spot. If he was going to carve a declaration of love into a tree that would likely outlive him by more than half-a-century, he was determined to pick the best spot.
“Try down and to your right, a bit,” directed Sirius. “There’s a nice smooth expanse.”
Remus nodded. It did seem like a very nice spot.
“Perfect,” said Peter, patting the trunk in the chosen location. “This will do nicely. Have at it, then.”
Remus took a deep breath, and put the tip of the knife against the trunk. He could feel his heart beating faster, and his hand beginning to tremble. Was he really ready to do this? Was Marla really the one whose name he wanted carved beside his own for all the future generations to see?
But all of his friends were watching. They were expecting him to do this-and if he didn’t he would never hear the end of it. He gritted his teeth, and dug the tip of the knife into the soft bark. But before making the first downward gouge, he hesitated.
Marla was wonderful-fantastic. But he’d only really known her for three months. That wasn’t enough time to know if he was in love with her. And he hadn’t even told her about his furry little problem yet. Once he did, who knew how she would feel about him? She might even chuck him. And he could certainly never love a girl who would chuck him because he’s a werewolf.
“Come on, mate!” said Peter. “Get on with it.”
Remus frowned, and began to move the knife downward, etching a shallow line into the tree.
“Oh, come on. You can do better than that,” said James, a sly smile on his face.
Remus moved the knife to begin his second stroke, and hesitated again. Marla might not dump him because of the werewolf thing. She might stick with him. She might not even care. But that wouldn’t automatically make her the one. It was obvious to him that Lily was the one for James. But he still had no idea if Marla was the one for him. Right now it was fun and exciting, but he had no way of knowing if things would still be that way with her in a month, or two months, or two years.
There was just too much uncertainty.
He pulled the knife away from the tree and shook his head. “I can’t do it.”
“Why not?” asked Peter.
“I’m just not ready. This-” he waved the knife at the tree, “this is a real commitment. I don’t think I’m ready for it yet.”
James frowned. He looked disappointed. “But you’re crazy about her, aren’t you?”
Remus looked down and toyed with the knife in his hand. “Yes. But I don’t know if I’d really call it love…”
“You love her as much as I loved any of my girlfriends,” interrupted Peter.
Remus glared at him. “Maybe I do, but I’d rather not document my checkered love life for the entire world to see. I have more pride than that.”
Peter mockingly threw his hands over his heart, and stumbled backward. “You wound me!”
“Good for you, Moony,” said Sirius, leaning against another tree. “You really are pathetic when it comes to women, Wormtail.”
Peter frowned. Leave it to Sirius to elevate things from friendly banter to genuine insults. “What right do you have to talk?” replied Peter. “You’ve never had a serious girlfriend in your life.”
“I wouldn’t call any of your girlfriends serious. You were just a way to pass the time.”
This was getting to be too much. There were times lately when Remus wondered if Peter and Sirius actually liked each other anymore. Nearly all they’d done this year was argue. Remus glanced over at James. All the light and giddiness had gone out of his eyes. This should have been a great moment for him, and Sirius and Peter were ruining it with their petty bickering. He had to stop it before it escalated into anything worse.
“Peter’s girlfriends were perfectly serious,” said Remus. “He simply has a short attention span.”
Peter’s face broke into a grin, and they all started to chuckle.
“Besides,” continued Remus, looking at Sirius. “I don’t see your name up there, either.”
James grinned. “I’m sure he would have done, if he’d managed to keep a girlfriend for longer than a week.”
Sirius smirked, and shrugged. “What can I say? Wormtail may have a short attention span-mine is virtually non-existent.”
James grinned, and strode back to the tree, pointing to a smooth patch of bark. “Don’t feel left out, Pads. I had something planned for you. It would fit perfectly right here. Sirius loves…himself!”
“Every night,” replied Sirius with an evil grin.
They all chuckled. Remus was beginning to feel better. He may have ruined James’s moment, but at least they weren’t going to hold it against him.
Peter closed the blade of his knife, but gave Remus one last hopeful look. “Are you sure you don’t want to do it? It’s not really about love, anyway. Is it?”
Remus glanced at James, and then back at Peter. “It is for James.”
Remus could tell from James’s smile that he understood perfectly. “And you want it to be the same for you,” James said. Remus smiled back at him. Let Sirius and Peter squabble like immature prats if they want to. He and James were ready for something more.
“Suit yourselves,” said Peter. “I was just hoping that we could all have our names up there. Like some sort of lasting testament to our successes here at school, you know.”
“It will be,” said Remus, placing a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “As soon as I’m sure I’ve found the right girl, I’ll rush right down here and carve our names as deep as I can. It might be Marla, it might not. But once I’m sure, you can count on me. I promise.”
Peter grinned. “Thanks, mate.”
“How about you, Sirius?” asked James.
“Count me in,” he replied, with a wry smile. “If I’m ever so unfortunate as to have my will ensnared by an enchanting female, I will gladly document my downfall in the trunk of this tree.”
“Brilliant,” said James, shooting a grin at Peter. “It looks like you’ll get your Marauder love tree after all.”
Remus smiled as they all headed back to the castle. He wondered if he would ever carve Marla’s name up on that tree. And if not hers, then who’s?
~~~~~~
Tonks met Remus at the castle gates nearly an hour before the funeral. She looked tired, with her brown hair escaping from her ponytail to dance across her cheeks.
He could feel the tension in her slight frame as he leaned over to kiss her hello. He wasn’t sure if the tension was from preparing for the funeral, or from her continuing doubts about him. He couldn’t blame her for feeling uncertain, after all he’d put her through in the past year. He only hoped that he could find a way to ease her worries, and reassure her that this time he wasn’t going anywhere. This time, he was in it for life.
“How are things going?” he asked.
She sighed, pushing one of the loose strands of hair behind her ear. “We’re nearly ready. Savage and I have to do one more perimeter sweep before the other guests can be admitted. So I’m afraid I’ll have to leave you on your own for another fifteen minutes. I hope you don’t mind?” Her smile seemed forced, with an air of pleading behind it.
“Don’t worry,” he replied lightly. “I’ll find a way to keep myself busy. Perhaps I’ll revisit some of my old haunts here on the grounds-if that won’t interfere with your security?”
She shook her head. “No, not at all. Wander all you want.”
“I will, then. And I’ll meet you back here…?”
“Let’s say in twenty minutes.”
He nodded in reply. “Twenty minutes it is.”
He watched her for a moment as she walked off to join Savage for their final security sweep. She was so much thinner and smaller than she had been just a year ago, and he had no idea how much of it was his fault. It hurt him just to think about it. She had accepted him back-given him a second chance. But he still had no idea where to begin when it came to healing the deep wounds he had inflicted on her.
He took a few shuffling steps toward a nearby stand of trees, and then pulled up short as a sudden inspiration took hold. He knew exactly what he had to do.
When they met again at the gates twenty minutes later, he was flushed with excitement, and it was clear that she could see the change in his face. She smiled warily, and raised one eyebrow.
“Have you been up to some kind of mischief?”
“What makes you say that?” he replied with a grin.
“I see it in your eyes.”
He rocked eagerly on his heels. “You always were very perceptive.”
“So what exactly have you been up to?”
“To answer that question, I’ll have to show you something.”
“Show me what?”
He reached out to take her hand. “Come on, and you’ll see.” He trotted along the line of the wall surrounding the grounds, pulling her after him.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked.
“You’ll see. It’s right up ahead.”
She pulled back on his arm, slowing their pace, but not stopping. “Remus, are you taking me to the love tree?”
He turned his head to look back at her, and raised his eyebrows. “Love tree?”
“You know-the tree with all the names carved in it? Me and my mates always used to call it the love tree.”
He chuckled, happy to hear that James’s name for the tree had caught on. “As perceptive as always. Yes, I’m taking you to the love tree.”
“Remus, you shouldn’t have,” she replied quietly.
“Yes, I should have.” They were already drawing close to the tree. “You see, what you and your friends probably didn’t know, is that the first two people to ever carve names into that tree were two of my best mates. And I made a pact with them that as soon as I found the one, the woman that I truly, deeply, loved and wanted to spend the rest of my life with, that I would come back here and carve our names into this tree right alongside theirs. And now,” they paused directly in front of the tree, “I have.”
He pulled her slowly toward the tree, and pointed to a new inscription carved low on the trunk, beneath the crowd of lovers’ names now cluttering its circumference. He saw her smile softening into an expression more genuinely happy and relaxed then he had seen on her face in nearly a year as she read it: “Remus loves Nymphadora.”
She stared at the carving for more than a minute with that glorious smile lighting up her face. “Do you still have the knife?” she finally asked.
“Yes.”
“Can I borrow it?”
Without a word he drew the knife from his pocket, and handed it to her, his heart beating faster. He watched as she knelt down beside his carving, fully expecting her to start a new inscription of her own. He caught his breath in a sharp gasp of surprise as she cut a vicious line through her name. Did her wounds really run that deep?
However, his smile soon returned when she began a new carving right beside the name she had crossed out. In just a few minutes, she rose to her feet and handed him the knife. “There,” she said. “Now it’s perfect.”
The inscription now read: “Remus loves Nymphadora Tonks.”
He stepped closer to her, wrapping his arms around her. “I do love you, Tonks. I’ve known for ages that you were the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I was just too stupid and frightened and confused to let myself believe that it could really happen. There are no words to express how sorry I am for what I did to you this past year. And I promise that I will spend the rest of my life making up for it.”
She smiled up at him. “You already have.”
As they kissed he felt the tension draining out of her, and new vigor and confidence were surging through her as she threw herself into their embrace with passionate abandon.
When they finally pulled apart, he laughed in astonished delight. During their kiss her hair had changed from brown to a vivid, brilliant pink.
“That must have been a pretty amazing kiss,” he said, feeling wholly inadequate to express the profound sensation of relief and joy coursing through his veins.
“You’re a pretty amazing man,” she replied.
They kissed again, tenderly, slowly. When at last they pulled apart, Remus clutched her hand tightly, and they made their way back to the funeral.