Stripes (prompt 21)
Title: Stripes
Author: shimotsuki
Format & Word Count: Ficlet, 671 words
Rating: G
Prompt: #21, blue
Author's note: Takes place the night before Revelations (prompt 7)
Summary: Sirius realizes that someone had better tell Tonks about Remus.
Stripes
Sirius was scowling by himself in a corner of the kitchen when members of the Order began to arrive. He looked up when he heard Tonks greeting Bill, and let the scowl fade, but her worried frown told him she had seen it. She came right over, plopped down in the chair next to his, and tweaked his ear gently. "Wotcher, Sirius. My, but you look cheerful!"
He shrugged, but managed half a grin for his little cousin. "Hi, peanut." Then he did a double take and laughed out loud, foul mood forgotten. "What've you done to your hair this time? Are those - stripes?"
"Yeah." Tonks looked rather pleased with herself. "Remus bet me I couldn't do stripes. It's taken me a few days to work it out, but I got it!" Her smile dimmed as she scanned the rapidly filling room. "Where is Remus, anyway? Won't he be here for the meeting?"
"Not tonight," Sirius said, raising an eyebrow significantly.
Tonks shook her head, puzzled.
She doesn't know, he realized, with a rush of adrenaline that started his heart pounding. Well, then, it's time she found out, if she's a member of the Order - especially if Moony's starting to think she's a friend.
He looked her straight in the eye and said, quietly but clearly, "Tonight's full moon."
Her look of confusion slowly gave way to one of shock. "He's a werewolf?"
Sirius nodded, carefully casual. "Since he was a little kid. Before I knew him."
"So that's where -" Tonks blinked, still looking dazed. "I knew his name seemed familiar when I met him, but I couldn't place it. It was because I read about him in the Prophet last year, when they wrote up your escape from Hogwarts."
"Remus always tried to keep his condition as quiet as he could, until that year at Hogwarts, when Snape" - Sirius's expression hardened into a hostile sneer - "accidentally leaked it to the students. Then the Prophet picked it up. Now everyone knows." Sirius sighed and rubbed his face with one gaunt hand. "He's been having an awful time finding a job ever since, especially with the new anti-werewolf employment laws the Ministry put through."
"I can't believe he's a werewolf," Tonks whispered. "Not Remus." She stared blankly into the fire, her fingers twisting together. Sirius waited, watching her out of the corner of his eye. It wasn't at all like Tonks to be this quiet for this long. Finally, when the tension had begun to weigh like rocks in his stomach, her brows drew together and a fierce scowl appeared. "I can't even begin to imagine how horrible that must be for him!" Her hands clenched into fists.
Sirius started breathing again. Good old Tonks. I should have known she'd be all right. "Yeah, Remus'll never say a word about it, but it's pretty rough on him." He gave her another bitter half-smile. "He's running the meeting tomorrow night for the Oxford reconnaisance mission, and you're on that team, aren't you? Just you wait and see how awful he looks."
"So he'll be ill tomorrow?" The fierce expression melted immediately into worry.
Sirius shrugged. "Not ill, really, just exhausted." His eyes flashed. "But he hates to be seen right after a full moon like that, before he's got his strength back. He doesn't mind me - we shared a dormitory at school, after all, and I've seen him in some pretty bad states - but I think he'd rather avoid feeling vulnerable in front of other people." And having to acknowledge his condition in public shames him more than anything. Sirius shook his head. "That meeting shouldn't even be tomorrow night. Dumbledore should've given him another day to recover. But no, the ruddy Order always has to come first..." He subsided into a resentful silence.
Tonks's hair turned midnight blue.
Sirius roused himself and tugged at one of her dark locks. "Hey, peanut, what've you done with the stripes?"
Her eyes were wistful, but her jaw was set. "I'm saving them for Remus."
Author: shimotsuki
Format & Word Count: Ficlet, 671 words
Rating: G
Prompt: #21, blue
Author's note: Takes place the night before Revelations (prompt 7)
Summary: Sirius realizes that someone had better tell Tonks about Remus.
Stripes
Sirius was scowling by himself in a corner of the kitchen when members of the Order began to arrive. He looked up when he heard Tonks greeting Bill, and let the scowl fade, but her worried frown told him she had seen it. She came right over, plopped down in the chair next to his, and tweaked his ear gently. "Wotcher, Sirius. My, but you look cheerful!"
He shrugged, but managed half a grin for his little cousin. "Hi, peanut." Then he did a double take and laughed out loud, foul mood forgotten. "What've you done to your hair this time? Are those - stripes?"
"Yeah." Tonks looked rather pleased with herself. "Remus bet me I couldn't do stripes. It's taken me a few days to work it out, but I got it!" Her smile dimmed as she scanned the rapidly filling room. "Where is Remus, anyway? Won't he be here for the meeting?"
"Not tonight," Sirius said, raising an eyebrow significantly.
Tonks shook her head, puzzled.
She doesn't know, he realized, with a rush of adrenaline that started his heart pounding. Well, then, it's time she found out, if she's a member of the Order - especially if Moony's starting to think she's a friend.
He looked her straight in the eye and said, quietly but clearly, "Tonight's full moon."
Her look of confusion slowly gave way to one of shock. "He's a werewolf?"
Sirius nodded, carefully casual. "Since he was a little kid. Before I knew him."
"So that's where -" Tonks blinked, still looking dazed. "I knew his name seemed familiar when I met him, but I couldn't place it. It was because I read about him in the Prophet last year, when they wrote up your escape from Hogwarts."
"Remus always tried to keep his condition as quiet as he could, until that year at Hogwarts, when Snape" - Sirius's expression hardened into a hostile sneer - "accidentally leaked it to the students. Then the Prophet picked it up. Now everyone knows." Sirius sighed and rubbed his face with one gaunt hand. "He's been having an awful time finding a job ever since, especially with the new anti-werewolf employment laws the Ministry put through."
"I can't believe he's a werewolf," Tonks whispered. "Not Remus." She stared blankly into the fire, her fingers twisting together. Sirius waited, watching her out of the corner of his eye. It wasn't at all like Tonks to be this quiet for this long. Finally, when the tension had begun to weigh like rocks in his stomach, her brows drew together and a fierce scowl appeared. "I can't even begin to imagine how horrible that must be for him!" Her hands clenched into fists.
Sirius started breathing again. Good old Tonks. I should have known she'd be all right. "Yeah, Remus'll never say a word about it, but it's pretty rough on him." He gave her another bitter half-smile. "He's running the meeting tomorrow night for the Oxford reconnaisance mission, and you're on that team, aren't you? Just you wait and see how awful he looks."
"So he'll be ill tomorrow?" The fierce expression melted immediately into worry.
Sirius shrugged. "Not ill, really, just exhausted." His eyes flashed. "But he hates to be seen right after a full moon like that, before he's got his strength back. He doesn't mind me - we shared a dormitory at school, after all, and I've seen him in some pretty bad states - but I think he'd rather avoid feeling vulnerable in front of other people." And having to acknowledge his condition in public shames him more than anything. Sirius shook his head. "That meeting shouldn't even be tomorrow night. Dumbledore should've given him another day to recover. But no, the ruddy Order always has to come first..." He subsided into a resentful silence.
Tonks's hair turned midnight blue.
Sirius roused himself and tugged at one of her dark locks. "Hey, peanut, what've you done with the stripes?"
Her eyes were wistful, but her jaw was set. "I'm saving them for Remus."