As Remus has his experience, Tonks has hers...
Tonks smiles up at the figure at the top of her fountain. It's a dancer, slender, elegant, and graceful; Tonks laughs because the dancer's face and hair resemble hers, and she is none of those things. She watches a butterfly, ghostly white and fragile, alight on a dry patch on the rim of the fountain. "Wotcher, flutterby," she says softly, then laughs when the tiny thing flits up and lands on her shoulder. It's there for only a second or two, just long enough to uncoil its tongue, then coil it up again. She barely has time to smile at it and then it's gone, and she can only gaze at it in wonder as it disappears from sight.
She walks around the fountain once it's gone, wondering what she can toss in. It's almost an obligation, she thinks, when you have a fountain, you have to toss something in. She checks her pockets but find nothing; she sighs and rubs her tummy, wishing she had some of the yummy bread from earlier in the day. She notices that the bottom two buttons of her crochet vest have come undone, and as she does them back up, a thought occurs to her...she pulls at the thread of the last button until it comes loose, then she pulls the button off of her vest. It's her favorite one, a lovely flower-shaped button, but this is such a wonderful place, and she's so happy here, that she doesn't mind giving a little happiness away.
She kisses it, then tosses it in.
The water bubbles higher and she's hit with a little spray, which makes her laugh loudly and almost stumble backwards. She nearly lands in an asphodel bush, and this gives her another idea. She quickly plucks a few flowers from the bush and tosses them randomly into the water, then sits down on the edge of the fountain. She flicks the flowers as they bob along, and thinks about throwing more in, but her thoughts are disrupted by the sounds of laughter not far from her. She looks around, and at first sees nothing. After a moment or two she sees moving figures, figures slightly distorted as though viewed through a curtain of heat. Gradually, the sight begins to clear a bit, and she can better make out the figures. It's a group of children, playing.
She can not discern gender, they are young and all have long hair, but from what she can see, they are well-cared for, very happy, and beautiful. They seem to be playing a game of tag and do not notice her, totally absorbed in their playing as they are. She can not help the feeling of overwhelming need that wells up in her, nor can she stop the sudden tears that come. She crosses her legs and wraps her arms around herself, as if the sensation of her own warmth will keep the need at bay. She watches them until her vision blurs from the tears, and she shuts her eyes tightly as she wipes them away. That's when she hears it.
A high-pitched, joyful yap.
She looks up quickly and sees, through the distortion, a cream-colored puppy watching her. The puppy yaps at her again then spins around, nearly falling down as it does so. She gets up to go to the puppy, but she discovers that the distortion is an actual barrier, a barrier between the Garden and... what? She doesn't know but she knows she can't get to the puppy. She goes back to the fountain and sits back down, sighing heavily; but as she wipes her eyes again, she hears the puppy's yapping much more clearly. Then she's aware of something bumping against her leg. She looks down and finds the puppy has crossed the barrier to reach her and is trying to climb up onto the side of the fountain.
She realizes very quickly that the small furry baby isn't a puppy, but a wolf cub. She gathers the cub up and hugs it, snuggles it, and the cub licks her face. She holds the cub like a human baby, then snuggles the cub's belly and asks, "where's your momma?" The cub's responding yap sounds to Tonks very much like, "my momma!" Her heart races. She looks at the cub, at the bright, joy-filled eyes, and realizes that inside this happy, wiggly wolf cub, beneath the soft fur, is a human child. Her eyes tear up again and she asks the baby, "am I your momma?" The baby makes that sound again, only softer, and it really does sound to her like, "my momma." The baby places a soft paw gently on her face and gazes up into her eyes, and she hears voices nearby.
The children have noticed their playmate has gone, and have noticed Tonks at last. She looks up at them and they at her, and she notices something. There are five children, two of which look strikingly familiar. As she looks back down at the precious baby in her arms, she knows...she is seeing the future. She is holding a bit of the future. She hears the other children calling to the cub, and she knows she has to let the baby go. She holds the baby close and snuggles it one last time, whispering, "are you really mine, or are you Layne's?" The cub licks her face again, almost like a goodbye kiss, and she sits the warm, furry baby down in the leaf litter. The baby yaps at her again, then runs toward the barrier, and its friends. For an all-too-brief moment, Tonks can see clearly through the barrier as the cub passes through it.
There is no doubt in her mind who the parents of at least three of the children are.
The tallest one, certainly a boy, his long hair dark and wavy, takes the hand of the girl beside him and waves to her. "Don't be sad Mama Dora," says he, "you'll see us again." She waves back to them weakly, her breath hitching in her throat as they turn and run away. After only a few seconds, they're gone, and even the barrier disappears. She feels suddenly very alone, her arms aching and empty, and just when she is about to give in to tears once more, something dawns on her. The boy had told her she would see them again...she looks down at herself and feels a little...odd. She has been peckish a lot lately, well...nearly all the time...and her moods have been swinging a lot. And last night, she was craving chocolate and sardines, though she'd not said anything to Remus about it.
She places her hands on her belly and asks herself if she's late... she sighs and bites her lip; she's never kept track of that. Before Remus there wasn't anyone, and after they married, well...it didn't matter. They were just...careful. She rises slowly, turns toward the way she came and smiles. With a rush of excitement, she heads swiftly toward the fountain she left Remus at, and nearly jumps into her husband's arms when she sees him. He's surprised, surprised and delighted, and when she steps back from him he notices her bottom button is gone from her vest. He reaches into his pocket and feels the flower-shaped button and as he pulls it out, he says, "I have something that belongs to you." He places it in her hand and she laughs, looking up at him in amazement. "I threw this into the fountain!" she exclaims and he takes her other hand.
"And it came out to me," he says and she grins. Squeezing his hand, she tells him that it means their bond is true, then draws herself up to share her feeling with him. As he leads her through the gate they find Cilantro waiting for them. Their Silhouette friend embraces them both and asks Remus what he found. The werewolf gives her a wry half-smile and tells her, "that I am a far better, more tolerant person for having suffered as I have, than if I hadn't". She pats his cheek and returns the smile, telling him, "very wise, my friend." She turns to Tonks expectantly and the Auror says, "I think...I'm..." she doesn't finish, but rather, takes her husband's hand and places it flat on her belly. He looks up at her and finds his voice has left him. She hugs him tightly and he hugs her back, and after a few moments, they walk back out to the Teller's Court hand in hand, Tonks filled with joy, and Remus filled with questions he's not certain he wants the answers to.
Tonks smiles up at the figure at the top of her fountain. It's a dancer, slender, elegant, and graceful; Tonks laughs because the dancer's face and hair resemble hers, and she is none of those things. She watches a butterfly, ghostly white and fragile, alight on a dry patch on the rim of the fountain. "Wotcher, flutterby," she says softly, then laughs when the tiny thing flits up and lands on her shoulder. It's there for only a second or two, just long enough to uncoil its tongue, then coil it up again. She barely has time to smile at it and then it's gone, and she can only gaze at it in wonder as it disappears from sight.
She walks around the fountain once it's gone, wondering what she can toss in. It's almost an obligation, she thinks, when you have a fountain, you have to toss something in. She checks her pockets but find nothing; she sighs and rubs her tummy, wishing she had some of the yummy bread from earlier in the day. She notices that the bottom two buttons of her crochet vest have come undone, and as she does them back up, a thought occurs to her...she pulls at the thread of the last button until it comes loose, then she pulls the button off of her vest. It's her favorite one, a lovely flower-shaped button, but this is such a wonderful place, and she's so happy here, that she doesn't mind giving a little happiness away.
She kisses it, then tosses it in.
The water bubbles higher and she's hit with a little spray, which makes her laugh loudly and almost stumble backwards. She nearly lands in an asphodel bush, and this gives her another idea. She quickly plucks a few flowers from the bush and tosses them randomly into the water, then sits down on the edge of the fountain. She flicks the flowers as they bob along, and thinks about throwing more in, but her thoughts are disrupted by the sounds of laughter not far from her. She looks around, and at first sees nothing. After a moment or two she sees moving figures, figures slightly distorted as though viewed through a curtain of heat. Gradually, the sight begins to clear a bit, and she can better make out the figures. It's a group of children, playing.
She can not discern gender, they are young and all have long hair, but from what she can see, they are well-cared for, very happy, and beautiful. They seem to be playing a game of tag and do not notice her, totally absorbed in their playing as they are. She can not help the feeling of overwhelming need that wells up in her, nor can she stop the sudden tears that come. She crosses her legs and wraps her arms around herself, as if the sensation of her own warmth will keep the need at bay. She watches them until her vision blurs from the tears, and she shuts her eyes tightly as she wipes them away. That's when she hears it.
A high-pitched, joyful yap.
She looks up quickly and sees, through the distortion, a cream-colored puppy watching her. The puppy yaps at her again then spins around, nearly falling down as it does so. She gets up to go to the puppy, but she discovers that the distortion is an actual barrier, a barrier between the Garden and... what? She doesn't know but she knows she can't get to the puppy. She goes back to the fountain and sits back down, sighing heavily; but as she wipes her eyes again, she hears the puppy's yapping much more clearly. Then she's aware of something bumping against her leg. She looks down and finds the puppy has crossed the barrier to reach her and is trying to climb up onto the side of the fountain.
She realizes very quickly that the small furry baby isn't a puppy, but a wolf cub. She gathers the cub up and hugs it, snuggles it, and the cub licks her face. She holds the cub like a human baby, then snuggles the cub's belly and asks, "where's your momma?" The cub's responding yap sounds to Tonks very much like, "my momma!" Her heart races. She looks at the cub, at the bright, joy-filled eyes, and realizes that inside this happy, wiggly wolf cub, beneath the soft fur, is a human child. Her eyes tear up again and she asks the baby, "am I your momma?" The baby makes that sound again, only softer, and it really does sound to her like, "my momma." The baby places a soft paw gently on her face and gazes up into her eyes, and she hears voices nearby.
The children have noticed their playmate has gone, and have noticed Tonks at last. She looks up at them and they at her, and she notices something. There are five children, two of which look strikingly familiar. As she looks back down at the precious baby in her arms, she knows...she is seeing the future. She is holding a bit of the future. She hears the other children calling to the cub, and she knows she has to let the baby go. She holds the baby close and snuggles it one last time, whispering, "are you really mine, or are you Layne's?" The cub licks her face again, almost like a goodbye kiss, and she sits the warm, furry baby down in the leaf litter. The baby yaps at her again, then runs toward the barrier, and its friends. For an all-too-brief moment, Tonks can see clearly through the barrier as the cub passes through it.
There is no doubt in her mind who the parents of at least three of the children are.
The tallest one, certainly a boy, his long hair dark and wavy, takes the hand of the girl beside him and waves to her. "Don't be sad Mama Dora," says he, "you'll see us again." She waves back to them weakly, her breath hitching in her throat as they turn and run away. After only a few seconds, they're gone, and even the barrier disappears. She feels suddenly very alone, her arms aching and empty, and just when she is about to give in to tears once more, something dawns on her. The boy had told her she would see them again...she looks down at herself and feels a little...odd. She has been peckish a lot lately, well...nearly all the time...and her moods have been swinging a lot. And last night, she was craving chocolate and sardines, though she'd not said anything to Remus about it.
She places her hands on her belly and asks herself if she's late... she sighs and bites her lip; she's never kept track of that. Before Remus there wasn't anyone, and after they married, well...it didn't matter. They were just...careful. She rises slowly, turns toward the way she came and smiles. With a rush of excitement, she heads swiftly toward the fountain she left Remus at, and nearly jumps into her husband's arms when she sees him. He's surprised, surprised and delighted, and when she steps back from him he notices her bottom button is gone from her vest. He reaches into his pocket and feels the flower-shaped button and as he pulls it out, he says, "I have something that belongs to you." He places it in her hand and she laughs, looking up at him in amazement. "I threw this into the fountain!" she exclaims and he takes her other hand.
"And it came out to me," he says and she grins. Squeezing his hand, she tells him that it means their bond is true, then draws herself up to share her feeling with him. As he leads her through the gate they find Cilantro waiting for them. Their Silhouette friend embraces them both and asks Remus what he found. The werewolf gives her a wry half-smile and tells her, "that I am a far better, more tolerant person for having suffered as I have, than if I hadn't". She pats his cheek and returns the smile, telling him, "very wise, my friend." She turns to Tonks expectantly and the Auror says, "I think...I'm..." she doesn't finish, but rather, takes her husband's hand and places it flat on her belly. He looks up at her and finds his voice has left him. She hugs him tightly and he hugs her back, and after a few moments, they walk back out to the Teller's Court hand in hand, Tonks filled with joy, and Remus filled with questions he's not certain he wants the answers to.
