Old friends who just met

[tt_remus]

Date: 16 March 2002
Characters: Remus Lupin
Setting: Marketplace
Content: G
Status: Public : Open



Remus Lupin was one of those people who could not sleep past a certain time in the morning, despite only getting to bed a short time before. Today was no exception. He had gotten off work at 6:30AM and was up by 8:30. He wasn't too pleased by this but it was how he worked. He had done fixing up around his home and figured it was time he bought food.

He headed into town and was lingering at the fruit stand.

Comments

[tt_tonks]

"The...large flying creatures?" said Tonks faintly. The food seemed normal enough for now, but she had only had a few bites the night before. And she hadn't exactly been focused on what it'd tasted like. "The data...oh, those things. Right. Er. Right. Haven't even really looked at it yet.

"I'm security," she added. "Seems reasonable, really. What do you do here? Did you choose to come through, or were you spit out, too?"

[tt_remus]

"Large flying creatures... uh... dinosaur birds? I can't recall the term." Knowing the names of dinosaurs had never been high on Remus' list, even as a child. "There are creatures deep in the water, but there are markers that lets you know when you're getting too close. Nothing dangerous on land though... at least not here."

Remus chuckled. "I was spit out, as you said. I was grading papers in 1993 and next thing I know, here I am. Oh, I'm in security as well. Usually night time shifts. You'll like it here. Plenty of Order members."

[tt_tonks]

"I haven't...I haven't seen any of those yet," she said faintly. "Real dinosaurs? Real dinosaurs? Is that--" Tonks swore, loudly. "Is there a place to sit down around here? Or have something to eat? Pubs or...something?"

She tugged on a lock of her hair. "Wait, so...okay. Does that mean you died, too? Did more Order members die?"

[tt_remus]

Remus nodded, "let's go to a pub first." He paid for the items he had purchased. "World's End Pub isn't too far from here. Want me to take you there?"

The last thing Remus wanted to see happen was for a lady to collapse.

[tt_tonks]

"If it's open this early, then definitely," she said. "Just need to sit down and get my bearings. What the..." She shook her head again, still stunned.

Massaging her temples, she followed him and tried not to panic. It was one thing to be told these things; it was another to experience them, and she really had no idea what to think.

[tt_remus]

Remus led the way, pointing out a few things to help her get back to the market on her own, should she choose. "Even if they aren't open," he was fairly certain they were open, "they do have outdoor seating."

He led her over to a table when they arrived, but was uncertain as to what to do now. Remus quickly walked in the pub and came out with a glass of water for her. "We can go in if you like."

[tt_tonks]

Tonks sank down into a chair and buried her face in her hands. Everything was a mess. Every bit of it. And worst of all, there was no going back. There was no way home.

"Thanks," she said, taking a sip. One glance at the blue sky and strange landscape, and she nodded. She needed to be somewhere that looked almost normal. "Please. And - damn, you must have somewhere you ought to be. I'm so bloody sorry for losing it like this. It's just - it's a lot." He'd been through this; he understood, she hoped. It was just all a mess.

[tt_remus]

Remus shook his head, "No, I'm not due in for work until 8 this evening and I'm not married." 'Technically', he thought "No pets that need me for anything..." He let out a short laugh. "I make it sound like I lead a lonely life."

"I understand what you are going through. A friend of mine is still going through that. It's perfectly normal." The irony of that statement. "I'll introduce you to Lily sometime and you and her can work through this time together. But for now, I'm here."

[tt_tonks]

The 'not married' part threw her, but at least she wasn't distracting him from anything. For now. She managed a small smile at the pets bit. "If you're sure," she said. "Still, I'm sorry."

Lily. "Lily--Lily Potter?" she said, dizzy all over again. "Are you - you're not joking, are you?"

She took a deep, slow breath. And then another. And another. "Thank you. You're brilliant, and I'm sorry. I promise I'm not usually like this. Just - it's a lot, you know? Yesterday I thought I could convince myself that it was perfectly all right, or just a dream or a hallucination or something, but it isn't, is it?"

[tt_remus]

"No. It's really a shame you didn't get here this past weekend. You could've seen how normal everything is here. There was a festival - Quidditch games, volleyball, chess. It was a fun time. It seems overwhelming now, but it'll ebb."

Remus didn't know how to approach the topic of Lily and James. "Yes. that Lily. She was pulled from 1980. James is here as well. This pull has been a wonderful thing for a lot of people. It's giving a lot of people a second chance. James and Lily have a chance to see the rest of their lives." Not to mention Remus and Tonks and several others as well. That was for later, though. "Plus, we don't have to worry about Voldemort here."

[tt_tonks]

"That sounds about right for my luck," she joked weakly. Even games and a festival wouldn't have made much of a difference as far as her ability to believe this was all real went. Or at least she thought so. "You said you've been here a month? Is it the norm for you now?"

It made sense. People who'd died before their times - people like Lily and James and Tonks, she realised. It was a second chance, in a way, brutal as this all was to take in. Yes, she'd lost three years in her own time, but she'd gained countless here.

"No You-Know-Who is definitely good news," she said, taking another sip of water. "I just..." She paused again, and finally she looked at him properly, her eyes locking with his. "How did you die? Do you know?"