Marauding for the Cause (prompt 4)
Title: Marauding for the Cause
Author: shimotsuki
Format & Word Count: Ficlet, 488 words
Rating: G
Prompt: #4, tear
Warning: A contrarian interpretation of the prompt
Summary: Tonks and Remus debriefing after an Order mission.
Marauding for the Cause
The two of them fled the pawnshop and ran like mad across the park, finally collapsing on a mossy stone bench that was hidden from the shop by a stand of trees.
Tonks was absolutely mortified. Her heart was still pounding from the danger of the near miss, but now that it was all over, the embarrassment seemed much, much worse than the fright had been. Her first mission for the Order, and she had been so, well, unprofessional! Not what people would expect of an Auror, is it, she berated herself, staring at the ground between her feet.
Forcing herself to look at Lupin was one of the hardest things she had ever done. She wasn't entirely sure why - maybe it was because she was so new to the Order, or maybe it was because Lupin himself seemed to be quietly competent at just about anything - but it felt like the most important thing in the world that he think well of her. And now I must have disappointed him.
She finally managed to lift her head and turn to face him. But Lupin wasn't looking at her. His face was buried in his hands, and his shoulders were shaking rather violently. Tonks froze. Surely I haven't upset him that much!
"Er - Remus?"
He lifted his head. He was laughing.
He was laughing so hard that tears were rolling down his cheeks. "You - he -" He finally managed to catch his breath, and gasped, "That was brilliant."
Tonks grimaced. "It was the only thing I could think of."
Lupin nodded vigorously. "It was perfect. The look on Avery's face!" He started to chuckle again.
Tonks sighed. "I feel like an idiot," she confessed. "Order work is important. It may be the most important thing I'll ever do. And yet the only plan I could come up with when it really mattered was a stupid prank that any Hogwarts student could have thought of."
"No, I meant what I said." Lupin clapped her on the shoulder. "It really was perfect. We couldn't do anything serious to Avery, like attacking him, or trying to get him arrested - he wasn't breaking any laws, and we couldn't risk blowing our cover. But you managed to make his day much more, er, uncomfortable, and he'll never know what happened." He looked at her rather shrewdly, with an unexpected glint of mischief. "And I don't think that just any Hogwarts student would have thought of that. Spontaneous pranking of that calibre requires a certain kind of talent. Sirius has it, and our friend James did, but they were special cases."
She raised a sceptical eyebrow. "Am I meant to believe that you never pulled any pranks at school?"
"Me?" He grinned. "I may have helped a bit sometimes." He rummaged in his pockets for some parchment and a couple of quills. "Here, let's write up our reports while the memories are still fresh."
Author: shimotsuki
Format & Word Count: Ficlet, 488 words
Rating: G
Prompt: #4, tear
Warning: A contrarian interpretation of the prompt
Summary: Tonks and Remus debriefing after an Order mission.
Marauding for the Cause
The two of them fled the pawnshop and ran like mad across the park, finally collapsing on a mossy stone bench that was hidden from the shop by a stand of trees.
Tonks was absolutely mortified. Her heart was still pounding from the danger of the near miss, but now that it was all over, the embarrassment seemed much, much worse than the fright had been. Her first mission for the Order, and she had been so, well, unprofessional! Not what people would expect of an Auror, is it, she berated herself, staring at the ground between her feet.
Forcing herself to look at Lupin was one of the hardest things she had ever done. She wasn't entirely sure why - maybe it was because she was so new to the Order, or maybe it was because Lupin himself seemed to be quietly competent at just about anything - but it felt like the most important thing in the world that he think well of her. And now I must have disappointed him.
She finally managed to lift her head and turn to face him. But Lupin wasn't looking at her. His face was buried in his hands, and his shoulders were shaking rather violently. Tonks froze. Surely I haven't upset him that much!
"Er - Remus?"
He lifted his head. He was laughing.
He was laughing so hard that tears were rolling down his cheeks. "You - he -" He finally managed to catch his breath, and gasped, "That was brilliant."
Tonks grimaced. "It was the only thing I could think of."
Lupin nodded vigorously. "It was perfect. The look on Avery's face!" He started to chuckle again.
Tonks sighed. "I feel like an idiot," she confessed. "Order work is important. It may be the most important thing I'll ever do. And yet the only plan I could come up with when it really mattered was a stupid prank that any Hogwarts student could have thought of."
"No, I meant what I said." Lupin clapped her on the shoulder. "It really was perfect. We couldn't do anything serious to Avery, like attacking him, or trying to get him arrested - he wasn't breaking any laws, and we couldn't risk blowing our cover. But you managed to make his day much more, er, uncomfortable, and he'll never know what happened." He looked at her rather shrewdly, with an unexpected glint of mischief. "And I don't think that just any Hogwarts student would have thought of that. Spontaneous pranking of that calibre requires a certain kind of talent. Sirius has it, and our friend James did, but they were special cases."
She raised a sceptical eyebrow. "Am I meant to believe that you never pulled any pranks at school?"
"Me?" He grinned. "I may have helped a bit sometimes." He rummaged in his pockets for some parchment and a couple of quills. "Here, let's write up our reports while the memories are still fresh."