**
~Chapter 13~
"Tonks, dear," Molly said, handing the young woman a large tray covered with a bowl of soup, a jar of Tylenol ("Some of the Muggle treatments do work just as well as magic," Molly had once admitted.), and a goblet full of a smoking brown liquid. "Will you take this up to Remus? Tell him to take three teaspoons of the Tylenol." Tonks nodded reluctantly, and levitating the tray, started up the stairs to Remus' room.
The moldy old door to Remus' room was closed, so Tonks, not wanting to wake him just yet, quietly turned the handle and opened the door a crack. The sound of a guitar being tuned slipped out, and curious, she opened the door all the way. Much to her suprise, Remus was sitting on his bed, shirtless, with his back to the door, staring out the window. A beautifully crafted acoustic guitar sat on his lap, and he strummed a chord, whose sound reverberated off the walls. Continuing the bar, he began to sing softly,
"Spend all your time waiting for that second chance/For the break that will make it okay/There's always some reason to feel not good enough/And it's hard at the end of the day/I need some distraction or a beautiful release/Memories seep from my veins/Let me be empty, oh and weightless and maybe/I'll find some peace tonight
In the arms of the Angel far away from here/From this dark, cold hotel room, and the endlessness that you fear/You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie/You're in the arms of the Angel; may you find some comfort here
So tired of the straight line, and everywhere you turn/There's vultures and thieves at your back/The storm keeps on twisting, you keep on building the lies/That you make up for all that you lack/It don't make no difference, escaping one last time/It's easier to believe/In this sweet madness, oh this glorious sadness/That brings me to my knees
In the arms of the Angel far away from here/From this dark, cold hotel room, and the endlessness that you fear/You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie/In the arms of the Angel; may you find some comfort here
You're in the arms of the Angel; may you find some comfort here..."
Remus let his voice fade along with the last chord. Tonks never knew that Remus could sing like that, and she felt a strange stirring in her heart, the same one she had felt when Remus agreed to go to dinner with her. She entered the room, but Remus took no notice, he bagan to play again, and this time it had a strange, exotic but mournful sound, totally different from the sad, sweet longing of the first song.
"It was only one hour ago/It was all so different then/ Nothing yet has really sunk in/It looks just like it always did/ This flesh and bone/Is just the way we area tied in/ but there's no one home
I grieve...for you...
You leave...me..."
There was a brief interlude, and in those few moments, Tonks realized that Remus was making this song up as he went, singing from his heart. In an odd way, she felt honored. Only one person had ever seen this side of Remus before...
"So hard to move on/Still lovin' what gone/Said life carries on/ Carries on and on and on and on...
The news that truly shocks/Is the empty, empty page/While the final rattle rocks/It's empty, empty cage/I can't handle this...
I grieve...for you...
You leave...me...
Let it out and move on/Missin' whats gone/Said life carries on/ Said life carries on and on and on and on..."
The tempo picked up, and before Tonks realized exactly what she was doing, she started tapping out a rhythm on the wall. Startled, Remus looked up, but before he could say anything, she sang, her alto resonating through the room.
"Life carries on in the people you meet/In everyone thats out on the street/In all the dogs and cats/In the flies and the rats/In the rot and the rust/In the ashes and the dust/Life carries on and on and on and on/Life carries on and on and on/Life carries on and on and on and on..."
Remus took over, smiling at Tonks, who blushed like a little school- girl,
"Just the car that we ride in/The home we reside in/The face that we hid in/The way we are tied in/As life carries on and on and on and on/ Life carries on and on and on..."
The tempo slowed to it's original pace, and Remus softly sang,
"Did I dream this belief? / Or did I believe this dream? / How will I find relief? " Tonks joined in for the last strain, taking the counter- melody.
"I/You grieve!..."
The two sat in a semi-awkward silence after the last echo of thier voices slowly died. Remus finally broke the silence after finishing the goblet of Wolfsbane Potion. "Er...I'm sorry Tonks, and thank you."
"Apology accepted," Tonks said, admiring the smoking pheonix emblem on the guitar. "And what are you thanking me for?"
"For singing with me. Only one other person ever sang like that with me...you saved me tonight..."
Tonks blushed, and though her nails were perfectly manicured (whenever they got messed up, she just changed them the way she changed her hair), she suddenly became very interested in picking the dirt out from underneath them. "Y-you...you love him...don't you?" she asked. Why was she acting like this, like a fourteen-year old school-girl? And what the hell was with this fluttering in her heart?
It took Remus a second to realize who she was talking about. He sighed heavily, "Yes. I do love him..." Then he smiled at her. "But like you said, life carries on. Hey! Why are you crying?" he exclaimed, puzzled by Tonks' sudden and silent tears.
"I always thought there was something between you two," she sniffled. "But there was always some hope..." she blew her nose on the handkerchief Remus had handed her. "But now there's none, y-y-you and..." she stopped to let out a sob. Remus put his arm around her and patted her comfortingly.
"Me and who? What is it, Tonks?" he asked, a little amazed about how easily the role of comforter was pushed onto him.
Tonks looked up at him, tears clinging to her thick eyelashes, and running in rivulets down her cheeks. "That y-y-you and I...Oh Remus! I love you!" She half-laughed, half-cried. That was it! It was so clear to her now, the annoying fluttering, the nervousness, the stupid little school- girl act. She loved him! "But I know I can never replace Sirius..." she said seriously, looking up at Remus, but ever so tentavely, she kissed him, and much to her delight, he didn't pull away...
**
"Tonks, dear," Molly said, handing the young woman a large tray covered with a bowl of soup, a jar of Tylenol ("Some of the Muggle treatments do work just as well as magic," Molly had once admitted.), and a goblet full of a smoking brown liquid. "Will you take this up to Remus? Tell him to take three teaspoons of the Tylenol." Tonks nodded reluctantly, and levitating the tray, started up the stairs to Remus' room.
The moldy old door to Remus' room was closed, so Tonks, not wanting to wake him just yet, quietly turned the handle and opened the door a crack. The sound of a guitar being tuned slipped out, and curious, she opened the door all the way. Much to her suprise, Remus was sitting on his bed, shirtless, with his back to the door, staring out the window. A beautifully crafted acoustic guitar sat on his lap, and he strummed a chord, whose sound reverberated off the walls. Continuing the bar, he began to sing softly,
"Spend all your time waiting for that second chance/For the break that will make it okay/There's always some reason to feel not good enough/And it's hard at the end of the day/I need some distraction or a beautiful release/Memories seep from my veins/Let me be empty, oh and weightless and maybe/I'll find some peace tonight
In the arms of the Angel far away from here/From this dark, cold hotel room, and the endlessness that you fear/You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie/You're in the arms of the Angel; may you find some comfort here
So tired of the straight line, and everywhere you turn/There's vultures and thieves at your back/The storm keeps on twisting, you keep on building the lies/That you make up for all that you lack/It don't make no difference, escaping one last time/It's easier to believe/In this sweet madness, oh this glorious sadness/That brings me to my knees
In the arms of the Angel far away from here/From this dark, cold hotel room, and the endlessness that you fear/You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie/In the arms of the Angel; may you find some comfort here
You're in the arms of the Angel; may you find some comfort here..."
Remus let his voice fade along with the last chord. Tonks never knew that Remus could sing like that, and she felt a strange stirring in her heart, the same one she had felt when Remus agreed to go to dinner with her. She entered the room, but Remus took no notice, he bagan to play again, and this time it had a strange, exotic but mournful sound, totally different from the sad, sweet longing of the first song.
"It was only one hour ago/It was all so different then/ Nothing yet has really sunk in/It looks just like it always did/ This flesh and bone/Is just the way we area tied in/ but there's no one home
I grieve...for you...
You leave...me..."
There was a brief interlude, and in those few moments, Tonks realized that Remus was making this song up as he went, singing from his heart. In an odd way, she felt honored. Only one person had ever seen this side of Remus before...
"So hard to move on/Still lovin' what gone/Said life carries on/ Carries on and on and on and on...
The news that truly shocks/Is the empty, empty page/While the final rattle rocks/It's empty, empty cage/I can't handle this...
I grieve...for you...
You leave...me...
Let it out and move on/Missin' whats gone/Said life carries on/ Said life carries on and on and on and on..."
The tempo picked up, and before Tonks realized exactly what she was doing, she started tapping out a rhythm on the wall. Startled, Remus looked up, but before he could say anything, she sang, her alto resonating through the room.
"Life carries on in the people you meet/In everyone thats out on the street/In all the dogs and cats/In the flies and the rats/In the rot and the rust/In the ashes and the dust/Life carries on and on and on and on/Life carries on and on and on/Life carries on and on and on and on..."
Remus took over, smiling at Tonks, who blushed like a little school- girl,
"Just the car that we ride in/The home we reside in/The face that we hid in/The way we are tied in/As life carries on and on and on and on/ Life carries on and on and on..."
The tempo slowed to it's original pace, and Remus softly sang,
"Did I dream this belief? / Or did I believe this dream? / How will I find relief? " Tonks joined in for the last strain, taking the counter- melody.
"I/You grieve!..."
The two sat in a semi-awkward silence after the last echo of thier voices slowly died. Remus finally broke the silence after finishing the goblet of Wolfsbane Potion. "Er...I'm sorry Tonks, and thank you."
"Apology accepted," Tonks said, admiring the smoking pheonix emblem on the guitar. "And what are you thanking me for?"
"For singing with me. Only one other person ever sang like that with me...you saved me tonight..."
Tonks blushed, and though her nails were perfectly manicured (whenever they got messed up, she just changed them the way she changed her hair), she suddenly became very interested in picking the dirt out from underneath them. "Y-you...you love him...don't you?" she asked. Why was she acting like this, like a fourteen-year old school-girl? And what the hell was with this fluttering in her heart?
It took Remus a second to realize who she was talking about. He sighed heavily, "Yes. I do love him..." Then he smiled at her. "But like you said, life carries on. Hey! Why are you crying?" he exclaimed, puzzled by Tonks' sudden and silent tears.
"I always thought there was something between you two," she sniffled. "But there was always some hope..." she blew her nose on the handkerchief Remus had handed her. "But now there's none, y-y-you and..." she stopped to let out a sob. Remus put his arm around her and patted her comfortingly.
"Me and who? What is it, Tonks?" he asked, a little amazed about how easily the role of comforter was pushed onto him.
Tonks looked up at him, tears clinging to her thick eyelashes, and running in rivulets down her cheeks. "That y-y-you and I...Oh Remus! I love you!" She half-laughed, half-cried. That was it! It was so clear to her now, the annoying fluttering, the nervousness, the stupid little school- girl act. She loved him! "But I know I can never replace Sirius..." she said seriously, looking up at Remus, but ever so tentavely, she kissed him, and much to her delight, he didn't pull away...
**