AN: For the Sober Universe "Christmas Card 1997" challenge. I was assigned to write Nymphadora Tonks.
I started writing this as Charlie/Tonks, but it wasn't flowing correctly. So I went with this instead and it turned out decent, I think.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Tonks and Remus are sitting across from each other tonight at a wooden kitchen table. There are three piles of Christmas cards stacked haphazardly around them, sorted into three categories; Blank, Written In, and Enveloped.
The tip of Tonks's tongue sticks out a little bit as she concentrates on makng her writng legible as she writes holiday greetings to each of their friends. Remus insisted she let him write them, but Tonks waved him off and promised to write neatly.
So Remus is sitting across from her, slipping each card into its envelope and addressing it before setting it neatly in the Enveloped pile.
They don't talk, but their silence is not in anger; it is a peaceful, easy silence. The wireless plays a muted Celestina number about happiness and hope and a future and for now, they are content in each other's company.
Tonks signs the final card with a flourish and pushes it across the table to Remus before grabbing the stack of Blanks and going to put them away.
She pauses at the desk and taps the cards for a second before peeling one off the top and putting the rest away. Tonks makes her way back to the table and Remus looks up as he adds to the stack of Enveloped cards.
"Did we forget someone?" Remus asks, tapping the finished cards against the tabletop and setting them neatly on the corner. Tonks frowns.
"Well…I—" She bites her lip and fiddles with the empty card.
It's off-white with a forest green Christmas tree in the center, complete with gaudy red garland and ornaments and even a golden star. There's a multitude of brightly wrapped presents heaped under it with the legend "Happy Christmas!" above the golden star. Tonks found lurking in the back corner of an odds and ends shop and bought them on a whim—they are very Muggle, as the picture is stationary and there is no singing, no fanfare as the card is opened. The insides are blank; it is simple, and, quite honestly, more than a little corny, but it's a little bit of cheer and the messages they scratch out on the inside speak of joy and hope and peace and god things to come and it's an easy way to give encouragement. It's a little bit of light in the dark days; a wish that on this Unhappiest of Christmases, there will be a faint glimmer of hope.
Remus watches her expectantly as she trails off.
"I just—" Tonks is thoughtful, twirling a lock of mousy-brown hair around one finger idly as she thinks.
"Yes?" Remus prompts and Tonks opens the card and dips her quill in ink with the air of one who has just made a decision. Remus leans closer, to see what she's writing, and smiles as tears fill his eyes.
Tonks finishes her message and passes it to her husband—he adds a few things before blowing on it and slipping it into its envelope. He leaves the outside black and sets it apart from the others before kissing his wife on the cheek and going to bed.
-25 years later-
The sleepy town was silent—stilled by a soft blanket of new snow. This December morning dawned muted and quiet—fresh and untouched.
A series of two sharp cracks disrupted its slumber and two figures appeared on the horizon. They walked slowly, hand-in-hand, towards a small lonely cottage that had a distinct feel of abandonment.
One was a tall man with hazel eyes and unruly blue hair. He was dressed sharply in Muggle clothing; black wool trousers and a pea coat, complete with a red and green plaid scarf knotted around his neck that clashed spectacularly with his hair.
His companion was a striking woman, with long blonde hair in a braid down her back and she, too, was dressed in Muggle attire; a simple black skirt and tights, with boots that crunched delicately through the snow, and a scarf to match that of the man.
They did not speak, but walked in companionable silence up to the small cottage before reaching the door. The young man—whose name was Teddy—retrieved a key from the pocket of his coat and opened the door for the woman, who was named Victoire.
They stomped the cold off at the door before stepping into the house proper, and now Teddy spoke.
"Harry said Ginny and Hermione came and packed the most of it up—that there are just a few more boxes to go through."
Victoire nodded, plucking her mittens off and settling herself at the table. "Go on then. I'll get a fire going." She smiled and Teddy disappeared down the hallway as she worked at the scarf about her neck. Teddy reappeared a moment later, a haphazard stack of boxes floating in front of him. He set them by the table and started about the task of going through his grandmother's old things.
His Grandmother Andromeda (affectionately known as Grammy) had passed away recently and, as her only surviving family member, he had inherited her things, including the cottage in which he now sat.
The few things that remained to sort through were things only Teddy could go sort; personal effects of his parents, his grandfather, his grandmother, and a few legal documents that needed a good look-through before they could be turned over to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the lawyers there. Teddy started in on the documents and Victoire set about sorting through the other boxes and deciding what to keep and what to donate or throw away.
After an hour or so, Teddy set the last of the legal documents aside and took the final box, labeled in his grandmother's precise, neat hand Remus and Nymphadora. He slid the top off and found very few things, among them two wedding rings, two birth certificates, a wedding certificate, a few pictures, and a yellowing envelope.
He handed the pictures and certificates to Victoire for the Keepsake box and pocketed the wedding rings before opening the envelope.
It contained an off-white card with a forest green pine tree on the front—a Christmas card, complete with ornaments, gaudy garland, and a heap of presents stacked haphazardly under it. His brow furrowed as he opened it and read:
December 15, 2009
Sweetie,
If you're reading his, it means your father and I did not survive the second Wizarding war and you are an orphan.
I don't know if you're a boy or a girl, if you got my eyes or Remus's, if you're a Metamorphagus like me. I don't know what your voice sounds like or what you smell like, or what your favorite color is or food or what Quidditch team you prefer. I don't know if you're a Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin; I don't know anything about you, except that you're mine and I love you.
Christmas this year doesn't feel much like Christmas at all, actually. I feel like life is in fast-forward; like everything is rushing by and I still have so many regrets. And this year, hwen you wish people a Happy Christmas, they look at you as if you're mad. How can this be a Happy Christmas when we've lost so much and there's still so much yet to lose?
I want you to know, my precious, precious baby, that I loved you, and I love you still. Love does not fade with death; it is everlasting, it will endure. Wherever you are—whoever you are—I love you, even after death.
And Happy Christmas. This is, after all, a Christmas card. My Christmas gift to you is freedom; I love you, so much.
Love,
Mum and Dad
Teddy read it twice before setting it on the table.
Victoire reached for it, watching him to see if he stopped her. He slid it towards her and she read it and stood to warp her arms around her husband, tears in her eyes.
"They loved you."
"I knew that before, but it was good to hear it from—from them."
Victoire kissed his ear. "Happy Christmas, Teddy."
Teddy kissed his wife's hand and smiled up at her, eyes red rimmed. "Happy Christmas, Victoire." He glanced to the table, to the Christmas card that held the best Christmas present he could have received. "Happy Christmas, Mum and Dad. A very happy Christmas, wherever you are."
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!