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]

Tonks still hadn't adjusted to the idea that not only had she been pulled out of time - after dying less than three years later - but that she'd somehow wound up in the past. The very, very distant past. With a settlement of people essentially avoiding the complete destruction of the human race.

She still wasn't convinced it wasn't a dream, or some sort of horrific hallucination. Maybe a combination of both. But either way, she wasn't staying cooped up in that big house on her own, and after a restless night spent tossing and turning, she headed out to the market to see about the food situation.

Halfway in a daze as she drifted through the stalls, she managed to bump straight into a man standing in front of the fruit stand. And in her attempt to overcorrect, she managed to back into a display of apples as well.

"Dammit - I'm so bloody sorry," she said quickly, bending down to pick up the fruit that had fallen. "Are you all right?"

[tt_remus]

Remus felt the bump and turned, "Oh... It's okay. I'm not as fragile as I look sometimes," he said with a chuckle. "Are you all right?" He asked the woman. Interesting looking. He bent over to help her pick up the apples that had fallen, "Are you new here?"

While he did not know everyone in all the settlements, he knew that she seemed frazzled.

[tt_tonks]

"I'm fine," she said, standing with a bit of wobble and handing the dirty fruit to the vendor with a sheepish look. At least no one had been injured. That was an improvement.

"Er, yeah, just arrived yesterday," she said, brushing her hands off and eyeing the man. He looked vaguely familiar in the way that many witches and wizards did to her, but she couldn't tell if it was because she'd met him or if he looked like someone she knew. Maybe a combination of both. "Sorry, I'm still getting the hang of things. I'm Tonks."

[tt_remus]

He cocked his head to the side 'Tonks?' he thought to himself. He wondered if she was any relation to Andromeda. And then thought of Teddy. Curious. Very curious.

"I haven't been here too very long, maybe a month. It's takes a while to get used to being here. Especially if you didn't come here voluntarily. Is there anything I can help you with?" He knew what it was like being randomly grabbed from time. Thankfully, he did have friends here to help him out. "I'm Remus. Nice to meet you."

[tt_tonks]

"No, definitely didn't come here voluntarily. I'm from 1995," she said, running her fingers through her hair. It was shoulder-length and mousy brown today, what with all the shock of this. Morphing would just take too much bloody effort.

"Er, wotcher, Remus," she said, eyeing him closely. It may have been fifteen years, but she still knew the name. "Remus Lupin?"

[tt_remus]

"Do I know you... from another time maybe?" Remus seemed genuinely surprised she knew his name. "Were you a student I forgot about?" He thought he knew all his students' names. Had he failed to remember a Tonks? "I'm from 1993."

He was slowly putting the pieces together in his head. If she knew him, then this was probably the woman he married. Bloody hell!

[tt_tonks]

Tonks shook her head. "No, no - you - er, you were mates with my cousin, Sirius?" It came out as a question instead of the statement of fact she'd meant for it to be. "I was little then, seven or eight at most, but...right. And, er, you're a member of the Order as well?" Her voice dropped a bit, not wanting anyone to accidentally overhear her.

[tt_remus]

He nodded. "Oh. Yes. He's here, did you know? Yes, I was an Order member. Are you related to Andromeda, then?" Might as well just come out and ask. He was not going to bright up their relationship if she didn't know about it. No need bringing her down.

"What were you doing in 1995?"

[tt_tonks]

"Is he?" said Tonks, rather dazed. "No, er, I didn't know. Just found out about the whole - Azkaban thing, and - right." She shook her head. "Sorry, still rather lost."

She nodded. "Andromeda's my mother. Ted Tonks is my father," she added, in case that wasn't obvious. "I'm an Auror. Mad-Eye - Alastor Moody? He'd just invited me to join the Order."

[tt_remus]

Wow. So this was the woman he married. She was very pretty, if a bit younger than he thought. Overall, he was impressed.

He nodded. "I've met up with him for drinks not too long ago. I thought he killed my friends all these years. I'm sure he'd be happy to see you... I don't recall a Ted Tonks at Hogwarts. Where did he go to school?"

An auror. That in interesting. "Can you imagine Mad-Eye Moody here?" He chuckled a bit.

[tt_tonks]

The fact that Sirius was here - the same cousin she'd thought guilty all those years - was just another straw to add to the camel's back. Thankfully it hadn't broken yet.

"Yeah? I'd be happy to see him, too," she admitted. And to apologise for thinking he was a murderer all those years. "My mum and dad went to school together. He's Muggleborn though, and they were older than you lot, so...right."

She shook her head and glanced around sheepishly. "To be honest, I'm having a hard time imagining myself here, yet here we are. Does it get any easier? Or am I going to wake up every morning for the next ten years and have to remind myself that we're in prehistoric times?"

[tt_remus]

He nodded. "I remember Andromeda as a girl, I was First or Second Year though."

"Eventually it does become normal. The large flying creatures become normal. The food becomes normal. They may not be what you remember, but they are very similar. I've got friends who were pulled from the late 70's and early 80's - this was a big surprise for them, but it becomes normal. These... data things. Those are weird. You'll be settled before you realize it. I promise. What's your job here, if you have one."

Remus didn't know what else to say. At least it was warmer here than it was in Britain.

[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?"

[tt_remus]

"It's almost the norm. I'm not shunned here like I was back in London. By no means a social butterfly, but more people are just cautious without the hate. Ginny and I are working on a research opportunity that will hopefully educate the people without prejudice towards werewolves. It's a breath of fresh air." Remus got silent for a moment. "I prefer this normal."

"I died in 1998. There was a big battle at Hogwarts in which several died. Voldemort also died as well. It was a way I think I preferred to have gone."

[tt_tonks]

Tonks blinked. "Werewolves?" she said after the space of several heartbeats. "You're a - oh. I didn't know." Though now that he'd brought it up, she realised she had known. It'd been impossible not to, working in the Auror office the year before, when word had gotten out of his condition. "Yes - wait, yes I did, I'm sorry. Right. I'm glad you're happier here. Do most people seem to be, in general?"

She was quiet for a long moment. "That's when I died, too. I suppose we must have known each other through the Order."