Wanna write?
Sep. 4th, 2009 01:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
keladry_lupinCross-posted to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
writingbuds.
I'll be on from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. PST (give or take a few minutes) tonight. This is probably too late for anyone in the US who's east of Nevada, but it's the middle of Saturday for anyone in Australia, New Zealand, and Eastern Asia.
Edit: I forgot to mention that I'll also be writing for a couple hours tomorrow morning, starting at 7:00 a.m. I think this comes out to 3:00 p.m. for my friends in the UK and Ireland and 4:00 p.m. for Western Europe.
Another edit: Very little writing, mostly editing. Net increase of ... wait for it ... six words. But here's stuff I worked on today:
Winning her would be impossible. Severus knew it, but he wanted the impossible anyway. He grew more and more agitated as the moon waxed, starting and discarding a dozen letters to her as he recalled what Lupin had been like at this time of the month. He wondered if she was tired as her transformation approached or if she reacted differently than Lupin always had.
Severus couldn’t sleep the night of the full moon, knowing that she was alone and in pain. He paced his house, watered his garden, and started three potions, ruining two. He finally fell into a fitful sleep around four, stirring rod in his hand. When he woke to find a congealed mess in his cauldron and a small puddle of dribble on his work table. Disgusted, he cast an Evanesco at each mess and looked at the clock. He’d been asleep almost five hours, and the moon had set. ‘This is ridiculous,’ he muttered to no one. He Apparated upstairs, a plan forming in his head.
*
An hour later, after a bath and a bracing cup of coffee, Severus stood outside Hermione’s building, pressing the buzzer for her flat. It was cold, and his leg ached, but he waited for several minutes, waiting for her voice or a buzz that would indicate the door was opening.
Nothing.
What if she’s hurt? Or ill? The fingers curled around the handle of his cane were bone-white. He slowly made his way down the steps to the pavement, looking up worriedly, not knowing where her flat was in the building. She was in 4B, yes, but that wasn’t enough information for him to Apparate, even if barging in uninvited was an option.
He thumped his cane against the pavement over and over, thinking. He’d come all this way. ‘I should have rung first,’ he grumbled. The bread, sausages, and coffee he’d purchased en route to Hermione’s flat rested in the canvas bag dangling from his right hand. Should have known I’d bollix this up. What do I do now?
Lovesick prat. In love with girl twenty years my junior, and where has it got me? Standing in Muggle London, waiting for her to answer the fucking door. She’s probably just sleeping; the moon set hours ago. He heard a slight harrumph behind him and turned to see a woman walking a huge black dog. Grim indeed, he thought as he moved out of their way.
Ten seconds later, he was hobbling as quickly as he could for the nearest alley.
*
Staggering up the steps to number twelve, Grimmauld Place, he took a deep breath. He hoped Hermione was here. He hoped someone was here, since his stump was beginning to throb. He knocked firmly and waited.
CRASH!
Oh, good; Nymphadora was home. Severus stood straighter, tugging at the bottom of his jumper.
Sure enough, the door opened to reveal Tonks, her hair mousy, her eyes bleary, and her clothes covered in grey animal hair. She blinked up at him and grunted a greeting.
‘My sentiments exactly,’ Severus deadpanned, amused. He gritted his teeth and asked, ‘Is Hermione here?’
She looked surprised. ‘Hermione? No.’ Tonks blinked and backed up. ‘Come in.’
‘Do you know where she is?’ he asked, stepping inside.
She shook her shaggy head, closing the door. ‘She always left town before. I don’t know if she’s been going away since she’s been getting the potion, though.’ Tonks let out a huge yawn. ‘C’mon, have some tea. Remus is asleep, but I need to be to work in an hour, so I can’t join him.’
They made their way down the stairs to the kitchen. Severus put his bag down and stepped towards the cupboards, saying, ‘Allow me.’ When she was this groggy, the chances that she’d make tea without injuring herself or him were slim.
‘Thanks awfully, Severus.’ She sat at the table. ‘Remus told me you’re Hermione’s mate,’ she said without preamble.
Remus Lupin is a big-mouthed, fucking pig-eyed sack of shit, Severus thought viciously. ‘No. Not … no.’ Not yet was not only presumptuous, it was completely inaccurate. He filled the kettle with water and tapped it with his wand, causing a jet of steam to erupt. Lupin would never change anything in his horrible house from the way Black had kept it, so Severus knew exactly where everything was. He opened a cupboard, pulled two infusers and two mugs down, then the Earl Grey. While his hands kept busy, his mind was racing. Here was a woman who was in the same position he himself wanted to be in. If he was crazy enough to mate with a werewolf … if she was crazy enough to want him. ‘Tonks,’ he said hesitantly, ‘what do you do? With him?’
‘What do you mean?’ she murmured.
Now that the tea was steeping, he turned and leaned back against the counter. ‘When Lupin is changed? When he’s healing? Do you just stay out of his way?’
She let out a negative-sounding grunt. ‘Never. Even when he has the potion, he’s a bit scary, but once the transformation is over, his behaviour is more like a lazy cat than anything else. The change tires him, and he usually just comes over and sleeps with his head on my lap for the first few hours.’ Her smile was rueful and dopey. ‘He can get grumpy, though. He grumbles whenever I move or leave the room.’
‘Spending the entire night in the same space as a transformed werewolf?’ Severus let the incredulity seep into his voice. The thought terrified him. Hermione wouldn’t expect him to do that, would she?!
‘You know what the potion does, Severus. He’s perfectly safe, and he retains enough of his human mind to be polite. And the wolf knows that I’m his mate.’
How very odd, Severus decided. ‘And if I ever made a mistake with the potion?’ Not that he would, of course.
‘You don’t make mistakes. If you ever doubted yourself or your ingredients, you’d start over or tell your clients to be careful that month.’ Tonks yawned. ‘If you do find Hermione, make sure you have some pain relieving potions on hand for after she changes back. I’m not sure if Remus prefers the topical ones to the oral ones because they’re more effective or if it’s because he gets a massage.’ Her pixie face took on a definite pout. ‘The worst part of the whole thing is no sex.’
Severus wrinkled his nose in disgust. He really didn’t want to hear about Tonks’ sex life with Lupin, but before he could say anything, she continued, ‘Three days before and three days after. Can’t even kiss him properly for a feckin’ week,’ she grumbled, her cheek on the table.
This was interesting. ‘Infection?’ he ventured.
‘Yep.’ She sighed gustily. ‘Werewolves are weird.’
That wasn’t exactly the word he would have chosen, but it’d do. ‘Really,’ he deadpanned.
She rested her pointed chin on the table, her big eyes looking up at him. ‘They’re terribly powerful and scary and strong, but they’re so fragile at the same time.’
Enough. Severus pulled the infusers out of their mugs. ‘Milk?’
‘Not for me, but it’s in the cold cupboard if you want it. Sugar’s on the table.’
Severus took neither, so he was appalled when she dumped three spoonfuls of sugar into her mug. He shook his head, choosing not to comment.
writingbuds.I'll be on from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. PST (give or take a few minutes) tonight. This is probably too late for anyone in the US who's east of Nevada, but it's the middle of Saturday for anyone in Australia, New Zealand, and Eastern Asia.
Edit: I forgot to mention that I'll also be writing for a couple hours tomorrow morning, starting at 7:00 a.m. I think this comes out to 3:00 p.m. for my friends in the UK and Ireland and 4:00 p.m. for Western Europe.
Another edit: Very little writing, mostly editing. Net increase of ... wait for it ... six words. But here's stuff I worked on today:
Winning her would be impossible. Severus knew it, but he wanted the impossible anyway. He grew more and more agitated as the moon waxed, starting and discarding a dozen letters to her as he recalled what Lupin had been like at this time of the month. He wondered if she was tired as her transformation approached or if she reacted differently than Lupin always had.
Severus couldn’t sleep the night of the full moon, knowing that she was alone and in pain. He paced his house, watered his garden, and started three potions, ruining two. He finally fell into a fitful sleep around four, stirring rod in his hand. When he woke to find a congealed mess in his cauldron and a small puddle of dribble on his work table. Disgusted, he cast an Evanesco at each mess and looked at the clock. He’d been asleep almost five hours, and the moon had set. ‘This is ridiculous,’ he muttered to no one. He Apparated upstairs, a plan forming in his head.
*
An hour later, after a bath and a bracing cup of coffee, Severus stood outside Hermione’s building, pressing the buzzer for her flat. It was cold, and his leg ached, but he waited for several minutes, waiting for her voice or a buzz that would indicate the door was opening.
Nothing.
What if she’s hurt? Or ill? The fingers curled around the handle of his cane were bone-white. He slowly made his way down the steps to the pavement, looking up worriedly, not knowing where her flat was in the building. She was in 4B, yes, but that wasn’t enough information for him to Apparate, even if barging in uninvited was an option.
He thumped his cane against the pavement over and over, thinking. He’d come all this way. ‘I should have rung first,’ he grumbled. The bread, sausages, and coffee he’d purchased en route to Hermione’s flat rested in the canvas bag dangling from his right hand. Should have known I’d bollix this up. What do I do now?
Lovesick prat. In love with girl twenty years my junior, and where has it got me? Standing in Muggle London, waiting for her to answer the fucking door. She’s probably just sleeping; the moon set hours ago. He heard a slight harrumph behind him and turned to see a woman walking a huge black dog. Grim indeed, he thought as he moved out of their way.
Ten seconds later, he was hobbling as quickly as he could for the nearest alley.
*
Staggering up the steps to number twelve, Grimmauld Place, he took a deep breath. He hoped Hermione was here. He hoped someone was here, since his stump was beginning to throb. He knocked firmly and waited.
CRASH!
Oh, good; Nymphadora was home. Severus stood straighter, tugging at the bottom of his jumper.
Sure enough, the door opened to reveal Tonks, her hair mousy, her eyes bleary, and her clothes covered in grey animal hair. She blinked up at him and grunted a greeting.
‘My sentiments exactly,’ Severus deadpanned, amused. He gritted his teeth and asked, ‘Is Hermione here?’
She looked surprised. ‘Hermione? No.’ Tonks blinked and backed up. ‘Come in.’
‘Do you know where she is?’ he asked, stepping inside.
She shook her shaggy head, closing the door. ‘She always left town before. I don’t know if she’s been going away since she’s been getting the potion, though.’ Tonks let out a huge yawn. ‘C’mon, have some tea. Remus is asleep, but I need to be to work in an hour, so I can’t join him.’
They made their way down the stairs to the kitchen. Severus put his bag down and stepped towards the cupboards, saying, ‘Allow me.’ When she was this groggy, the chances that she’d make tea without injuring herself or him were slim.
‘Thanks awfully, Severus.’ She sat at the table. ‘Remus told me you’re Hermione’s mate,’ she said without preamble.
Remus Lupin is a big-mouthed, fucking pig-eyed sack of shit, Severus thought viciously. ‘No. Not … no.’ Not yet was not only presumptuous, it was completely inaccurate. He filled the kettle with water and tapped it with his wand, causing a jet of steam to erupt. Lupin would never change anything in his horrible house from the way Black had kept it, so Severus knew exactly where everything was. He opened a cupboard, pulled two infusers and two mugs down, then the Earl Grey. While his hands kept busy, his mind was racing. Here was a woman who was in the same position he himself wanted to be in. If he was crazy enough to mate with a werewolf … if she was crazy enough to want him. ‘Tonks,’ he said hesitantly, ‘what do you do? With him?’
‘What do you mean?’ she murmured.
Now that the tea was steeping, he turned and leaned back against the counter. ‘When Lupin is changed? When he’s healing? Do you just stay out of his way?’
She let out a negative-sounding grunt. ‘Never. Even when he has the potion, he’s a bit scary, but once the transformation is over, his behaviour is more like a lazy cat than anything else. The change tires him, and he usually just comes over and sleeps with his head on my lap for the first few hours.’ Her smile was rueful and dopey. ‘He can get grumpy, though. He grumbles whenever I move or leave the room.’
‘Spending the entire night in the same space as a transformed werewolf?’ Severus let the incredulity seep into his voice. The thought terrified him. Hermione wouldn’t expect him to do that, would she?!
‘You know what the potion does, Severus. He’s perfectly safe, and he retains enough of his human mind to be polite. And the wolf knows that I’m his mate.’
How very odd, Severus decided. ‘And if I ever made a mistake with the potion?’ Not that he would, of course.
‘You don’t make mistakes. If you ever doubted yourself or your ingredients, you’d start over or tell your clients to be careful that month.’ Tonks yawned. ‘If you do find Hermione, make sure you have some pain relieving potions on hand for after she changes back. I’m not sure if Remus prefers the topical ones to the oral ones because they’re more effective or if it’s because he gets a massage.’ Her pixie face took on a definite pout. ‘The worst part of the whole thing is no sex.’
Severus wrinkled his nose in disgust. He really didn’t want to hear about Tonks’ sex life with Lupin, but before he could say anything, she continued, ‘Three days before and three days after. Can’t even kiss him properly for a feckin’ week,’ she grumbled, her cheek on the table.
This was interesting. ‘Infection?’ he ventured.
‘Yep.’ She sighed gustily. ‘Werewolves are weird.’
That wasn’t exactly the word he would have chosen, but it’d do. ‘Really,’ he deadpanned.
She rested her pointed chin on the table, her big eyes looking up at him. ‘They’re terribly powerful and scary and strong, but they’re so fragile at the same time.’
Enough. Severus pulled the infusers out of their mugs. ‘Milk?’
‘Not for me, but it’s in the cold cupboard if you want it. Sugar’s on the table.’
Severus took neither, so he was appalled when she dumped three spoonfuls of sugar into her mug. He shook his head, choosing not to comment.
