Post-War Shorts
Feb. 25th, 2007 11:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
morgynleriSeries: After the War
Story Title: Sactuary I
Word Count: 1209
Status: Complete
Genre: Drama
Rating: PG13
Commentary: Characterization, appeal, flow.
Notes: These shorts will be posted as they are finished. They won't neccessarily tell the stories in sequence. And so far, this set of characters is one of four sets - Draco & Luna, Remus & Anna, Puddlemere United, and Sapho & family.
Remus stepped out of his tiny cabin into the icy November air, glancing at the narrow edge of light at the horizon that passed for daylight in the winter just at the edge of the artic circle. He wrapped his cloak tighly around him, knowing that he'd have to answer akward and worried questions if he showed up at the main hall of the sanctuary without it. No matter how much he entertained the thought of wandering out without the cloak long enough to freeze, he knew that no one here would allow that to happen.
He sighed, picking his way along the narrow path that had charms to keep the snow and ice clear of it. At least here, no one expected anything of him other than mere survival. They all knew too well that the world outside beat any wish to really live out of a werewolf. One way or another.
Anna checked to make sure her scarf covered her mouth before she tromped along in the snow towards the sanctuary. She hadn't been there long, but she knew enough to know that there were some interesting characters here. She lived close to the sanctuary, and she had helped a few people settle in. As she made her way inside the large doors that were the entrance to the sanctuary, she took off her scarf, shaking out her blonde hair looking around, waiting to see who else would be there.
Remus nearly ran into someone as he slipped through the heavy doors of the main hall, stopping just shy of the woman's back, a hand reaching out instinctively to make sure she hadn't lost her balance. "Sorry," he murmured, his eyes studying her features a moment to try and place her. He'd arrived at the sanctuary only two months ago, and hadn't yet figured out who everyone was.
Anna gave a loud oof as someone barrelled into her, and she chuckled, looking up and smiling at him. "It's all right," she said, brushing snow out of her eyes. "I... haven't seen you around here before. I'm Anna." She said, holding her hand out.
"Remus." Remus took her hand in his, bringing it to his lips in an old-fashioned gesture that he'd discovered delighted the small population of female werewolves here. Too accustomed to people not even wishing to touch them, and so the simplest of courtasies drilled into him by his mother was a pleasure. "I only arrived two months ago."
Shortly after that last, disasterous battle. When he'd lost his last links to the people he loved most. Lost Tonks, and watched Harry die as Voldemort fell. Left the battlefield too weary and heartsick to care where he ended up. Feelings he hadn't banished, only blunted the sharp edges of.
Anna blushed profusely at the gesture, but she pulled her hand away from his gently, not unkindly. "I... only came in a few days myself." Anna said softly, smiling and nodding slowly. "I-It's... nice to meet you, Remus. What... exactly brought you here?" She asked, motioning to the Sanctuary around them. Everyone had secrets, this she knew.
A soft, sad smile drifted over Remus' face a moment. "I have nowhere else to go. What else brings our kind here?" He sighed, slowly making his way to the fireplace that blazed with warmth along the one wall, his eyes shadowed with memory as he soaked in the heat. "Everyone I really gave a damn about is dead, and my country hates what they don't understand. No matter how much I fought for them, for their safety, their freedom from a monster, all I am to them is a monster myself. No place to stay for an old, tired werewolf."
Anna nodded slowly, following him to the fireplace, and she watched him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Believe me, I understand." She said, and she smiled softly, showing the two fangs that protruded from her canines. "You'd be surprised how outdated textbooks are on vampires. Doesn't matter that I've never harmed a human in my life." She chuckled sadly before taking a seat in a small couch to her left. "I wish I could say my cause was a noble one, and I applaud you for the fact that yours was."
Remus raised an eyebrow a fraction. "I doubt you would find me surprised on the quality of information textbooks have on any of those who are called beasts and creatures by those with more fear than sense in them. There are few vampires even here. I would think the places in Romania more welcoming, though I could easily be mistaken."
Anna shook her head and chuckled. "I thought the same. They're actually more unwelcoming than most. They've had a few too many bad experiences with vampires to welcome those who don't harm humans." She smiled, then leaned back. "It's a shame, but at least here..." She looked around. "It... maybe... just might be able to be... a home." She sighed. "For a while."
Remus nodded, understanding the wish for a place to belong, even if for only a moment. He had felt that sense of belonging once, when Sirius and James and Peter had been alive, and they'd been the Marauders at Hogwarts. That euphoric sense of having people who cared about him, even knowing about his curse. The feeling with Tonks, even though she loved him, had paled in comparison to what he remembered from that long ago time.
"It can be incredible, to have that sense of home." He curled the corner of his mouth up in a faint smile. "I hope you can find it here." Remus wished he could find that feeling of belonging again, but he doubted that he'd ever have that again. Somehow, he knew nothing would compare to that rush of relief and joy when he found out that his friends still liked him when they figured out he was a werewolf.
"It's not..." Anna turned to face him, tilting her head and shrugging. "Impossible. I may be a young vampire, but... I never had home before then. I'd like to find it one day, and..." She looked up at him, able to tell... from that worn look on his face. "You might, too." She held her hand up, stopping him before he could speak again. "I've only been here three days, and already... I've seen people who like me. People who want to know me." She smirked and stood, grabbing her scarf and wrapping it around her neck again. "You seem very interesting, Remus. I know I would like to know you."
Remus tilted his head, acknowledging her words. "I usually spend my days in the main hall, if you care to call this day." He let a faint smile of amusement grace his face. "It's warmer here, at least, than the cabin."
Anna smiled and nodded again, resisting the urge to keep probing him for information about where he lived. There'd be plenty of time for that. "Well, then." She said with a slight nod of her head. "Perhaps you'd like to spend a little while with a vicious vampire to talk?" She turned, slipping off to the smaller rooms off main hall, hoping he would follow.
Story Title: Sapho I
Word Count: 732
Status: Complete
Genre: Drama
Rating: PG
Commentary: Characterization, flow, appeal.
Notes: #3 in the series, introducing Sapho and family.
Sapho looked down at the tiny stone etched with a name and dates, a simple and stark reminder of everything that had been lost. Lost in a war she never understood, that he'd done his best to protect her from. Her cousin, her only companion growing up who didn't call her names for being strange. Perhaps the only person who understood what it was like to be an outcast.
"Wherever you are, cousin, I hope it's better than this. Someplace where you don't have to worry about your weird little cousin following you around like some lost puppy." She reached up to brush a stray tear from her cheek. He wouldn't appreciate the sentiment the simple drop of moisture bespoke. Not Severus. Bloody hell, he wouldn't even appreciate her coming to his grave, as meager as it was.
Meager because he'd left explicit instructions that she wasn't to spend any money on disposing of his remains, if she had the misfortune to have them returned to her. She didn't think he'd expected that would be the case. If he hadn't miscalculated the efficiency of the beuracracy in finding next-of-kin.
"I don't believe what they told me when they brought your body home. Not of you. No matter how cold or callous you could be, you did care. Not for uncle Tobias, or I'd have worried. But for Aunt Eileen, and for mother, and for me. I only wish..." Sapho trailed off with a quiet sigh, shaking her head. She couldn't even say it out loud when he was dead. She wished she could have followed him to that bording school his mother had spoken of in such glowing terms. Even if she didn't understand what it was that he did, that made him even stranger and more outcast than she.
"Take care of yourself, cousin. And for Christ's sake, I wish you'd done that sooner. Or found someone to do it for you. I shouldn't have had to bury you. I should have been able to pester you by bringing my little hellion around to play his strange little tricks on his Uncle Severus. He takes after you, you know. Always finds the strangest ways to get into trouble. I still haven't figured out how he got on the roof when he was two." She chuckled softly, closing her eyes for a moment. "Maybe, wherever you are, you can keep an eye on the rascal, keep him from getting into too much trouble."
Drawing in a deep breath, she shook her head again, trying to clear out the rarely-used sense of sentiment. "Rest in peace, cousin."
Turning away, she headed for the entrance to the small graveyard, and the waiting nanny keeping the now five-year-old Julian firmly in check. She'd arrived on Sapho's doorstep shortly after the little boy had gotten himself up on the roof the first time, and she always suspected Severus had sent the nanny. Certainly no one else, even Sapho, could keep up with the boy.
Taking her other child, the tiny Ellen, Sapho let a smile cross her face briefly. "Let's go home. He's still dead."
The nanny looked skeptical, shooting a wary glance at the grave over Sapho's shoulder. "I wouldn't put it past the Professor to have found some way to cheat death, ma'am. But if you say he's dead, I'll try to go about business as if he is so."
"Really, Miss Winter. My cousin may have been many things that I don't know, or understand, but there's one thing about my cousin I do know. He's no miracle worker, and to come back from the dead would take a miracle." Sapho sighed, a gentle smile on her face. "Let's go home. Julian needs his nap, and I've a four o'clock appointment I mustn't be late for. It would be rather poor manners to keep potential clients of this caliber waiting."
"Of course, ma'am. I meant no disrespect."
"Indeed." Sapho headed for the waiting car, trying to ignore the niggling sensation that perhaps Arabel Winter had some merit to her words. No one came back from the dead. And her cousin... he was very much dead.
She never noticed the tiny black spider that scrambled from her shoe under the seat as she settled into the driver's seat of the small car, glancing back at the graveyard before starting the engine to drive home.
Story Title: Sactuary I
Word Count: 1209
Status: Complete
Genre: Drama
Rating: PG13
Commentary: Characterization, appeal, flow.
Notes: These shorts will be posted as they are finished. They won't neccessarily tell the stories in sequence. And so far, this set of characters is one of four sets - Draco & Luna, Remus & Anna, Puddlemere United, and Sapho & family.
Remus stepped out of his tiny cabin into the icy November air, glancing at the narrow edge of light at the horizon that passed for daylight in the winter just at the edge of the artic circle. He wrapped his cloak tighly around him, knowing that he'd have to answer akward and worried questions if he showed up at the main hall of the sanctuary without it. No matter how much he entertained the thought of wandering out without the cloak long enough to freeze, he knew that no one here would allow that to happen.
He sighed, picking his way along the narrow path that had charms to keep the snow and ice clear of it. At least here, no one expected anything of him other than mere survival. They all knew too well that the world outside beat any wish to really live out of a werewolf. One way or another.
Anna checked to make sure her scarf covered her mouth before she tromped along in the snow towards the sanctuary. She hadn't been there long, but she knew enough to know that there were some interesting characters here. She lived close to the sanctuary, and she had helped a few people settle in. As she made her way inside the large doors that were the entrance to the sanctuary, she took off her scarf, shaking out her blonde hair looking around, waiting to see who else would be there.
Remus nearly ran into someone as he slipped through the heavy doors of the main hall, stopping just shy of the woman's back, a hand reaching out instinctively to make sure she hadn't lost her balance. "Sorry," he murmured, his eyes studying her features a moment to try and place her. He'd arrived at the sanctuary only two months ago, and hadn't yet figured out who everyone was.
Anna gave a loud oof as someone barrelled into her, and she chuckled, looking up and smiling at him. "It's all right," she said, brushing snow out of her eyes. "I... haven't seen you around here before. I'm Anna." She said, holding her hand out.
"Remus." Remus took her hand in his, bringing it to his lips in an old-fashioned gesture that he'd discovered delighted the small population of female werewolves here. Too accustomed to people not even wishing to touch them, and so the simplest of courtasies drilled into him by his mother was a pleasure. "I only arrived two months ago."
Shortly after that last, disasterous battle. When he'd lost his last links to the people he loved most. Lost Tonks, and watched Harry die as Voldemort fell. Left the battlefield too weary and heartsick to care where he ended up. Feelings he hadn't banished, only blunted the sharp edges of.
Anna blushed profusely at the gesture, but she pulled her hand away from his gently, not unkindly. "I... only came in a few days myself." Anna said softly, smiling and nodding slowly. "I-It's... nice to meet you, Remus. What... exactly brought you here?" She asked, motioning to the Sanctuary around them. Everyone had secrets, this she knew.
A soft, sad smile drifted over Remus' face a moment. "I have nowhere else to go. What else brings our kind here?" He sighed, slowly making his way to the fireplace that blazed with warmth along the one wall, his eyes shadowed with memory as he soaked in the heat. "Everyone I really gave a damn about is dead, and my country hates what they don't understand. No matter how much I fought for them, for their safety, their freedom from a monster, all I am to them is a monster myself. No place to stay for an old, tired werewolf."
Anna nodded slowly, following him to the fireplace, and she watched him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Believe me, I understand." She said, and she smiled softly, showing the two fangs that protruded from her canines. "You'd be surprised how outdated textbooks are on vampires. Doesn't matter that I've never harmed a human in my life." She chuckled sadly before taking a seat in a small couch to her left. "I wish I could say my cause was a noble one, and I applaud you for the fact that yours was."
Remus raised an eyebrow a fraction. "I doubt you would find me surprised on the quality of information textbooks have on any of those who are called beasts and creatures by those with more fear than sense in them. There are few vampires even here. I would think the places in Romania more welcoming, though I could easily be mistaken."
Anna shook her head and chuckled. "I thought the same. They're actually more unwelcoming than most. They've had a few too many bad experiences with vampires to welcome those who don't harm humans." She smiled, then leaned back. "It's a shame, but at least here..." She looked around. "It... maybe... just might be able to be... a home." She sighed. "For a while."
Remus nodded, understanding the wish for a place to belong, even if for only a moment. He had felt that sense of belonging once, when Sirius and James and Peter had been alive, and they'd been the Marauders at Hogwarts. That euphoric sense of having people who cared about him, even knowing about his curse. The feeling with Tonks, even though she loved him, had paled in comparison to what he remembered from that long ago time.
"It can be incredible, to have that sense of home." He curled the corner of his mouth up in a faint smile. "I hope you can find it here." Remus wished he could find that feeling of belonging again, but he doubted that he'd ever have that again. Somehow, he knew nothing would compare to that rush of relief and joy when he found out that his friends still liked him when they figured out he was a werewolf.
"It's not..." Anna turned to face him, tilting her head and shrugging. "Impossible. I may be a young vampire, but... I never had home before then. I'd like to find it one day, and..." She looked up at him, able to tell... from that worn look on his face. "You might, too." She held her hand up, stopping him before he could speak again. "I've only been here three days, and already... I've seen people who like me. People who want to know me." She smirked and stood, grabbing her scarf and wrapping it around her neck again. "You seem very interesting, Remus. I know I would like to know you."
Remus tilted his head, acknowledging her words. "I usually spend my days in the main hall, if you care to call this day." He let a faint smile of amusement grace his face. "It's warmer here, at least, than the cabin."
Anna smiled and nodded again, resisting the urge to keep probing him for information about where he lived. There'd be plenty of time for that. "Well, then." She said with a slight nod of her head. "Perhaps you'd like to spend a little while with a vicious vampire to talk?" She turned, slipping off to the smaller rooms off main hall, hoping he would follow.
Story Title: Sapho I
Word Count: 732
Status: Complete
Genre: Drama
Rating: PG
Commentary: Characterization, flow, appeal.
Notes: #3 in the series, introducing Sapho and family.
Sapho looked down at the tiny stone etched with a name and dates, a simple and stark reminder of everything that had been lost. Lost in a war she never understood, that he'd done his best to protect her from. Her cousin, her only companion growing up who didn't call her names for being strange. Perhaps the only person who understood what it was like to be an outcast.
"Wherever you are, cousin, I hope it's better than this. Someplace where you don't have to worry about your weird little cousin following you around like some lost puppy." She reached up to brush a stray tear from her cheek. He wouldn't appreciate the sentiment the simple drop of moisture bespoke. Not Severus. Bloody hell, he wouldn't even appreciate her coming to his grave, as meager as it was.
Meager because he'd left explicit instructions that she wasn't to spend any money on disposing of his remains, if she had the misfortune to have them returned to her. She didn't think he'd expected that would be the case. If he hadn't miscalculated the efficiency of the beuracracy in finding next-of-kin.
"I don't believe what they told me when they brought your body home. Not of you. No matter how cold or callous you could be, you did care. Not for uncle Tobias, or I'd have worried. But for Aunt Eileen, and for mother, and for me. I only wish..." Sapho trailed off with a quiet sigh, shaking her head. She couldn't even say it out loud when he was dead. She wished she could have followed him to that bording school his mother had spoken of in such glowing terms. Even if she didn't understand what it was that he did, that made him even stranger and more outcast than she.
"Take care of yourself, cousin. And for Christ's sake, I wish you'd done that sooner. Or found someone to do it for you. I shouldn't have had to bury you. I should have been able to pester you by bringing my little hellion around to play his strange little tricks on his Uncle Severus. He takes after you, you know. Always finds the strangest ways to get into trouble. I still haven't figured out how he got on the roof when he was two." She chuckled softly, closing her eyes for a moment. "Maybe, wherever you are, you can keep an eye on the rascal, keep him from getting into too much trouble."
Drawing in a deep breath, she shook her head again, trying to clear out the rarely-used sense of sentiment. "Rest in peace, cousin."
Turning away, she headed for the entrance to the small graveyard, and the waiting nanny keeping the now five-year-old Julian firmly in check. She'd arrived on Sapho's doorstep shortly after the little boy had gotten himself up on the roof the first time, and she always suspected Severus had sent the nanny. Certainly no one else, even Sapho, could keep up with the boy.
Taking her other child, the tiny Ellen, Sapho let a smile cross her face briefly. "Let's go home. He's still dead."
The nanny looked skeptical, shooting a wary glance at the grave over Sapho's shoulder. "I wouldn't put it past the Professor to have found some way to cheat death, ma'am. But if you say he's dead, I'll try to go about business as if he is so."
"Really, Miss Winter. My cousin may have been many things that I don't know, or understand, but there's one thing about my cousin I do know. He's no miracle worker, and to come back from the dead would take a miracle." Sapho sighed, a gentle smile on her face. "Let's go home. Julian needs his nap, and I've a four o'clock appointment I mustn't be late for. It would be rather poor manners to keep potential clients of this caliber waiting."
"Of course, ma'am. I meant no disrespect."
"Indeed." Sapho headed for the waiting car, trying to ignore the niggling sensation that perhaps Arabel Winter had some merit to her words. No one came back from the dead. And her cousin... he was very much dead.
She never noticed the tiny black spider that scrambled from her shoe under the seat as she settled into the driver's seat of the small car, glancing back at the graveyard before starting the engine to drive home.
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no subject
Date: 2007-02-26 07:11 am (UTC)I'm assuming that the spider is Severus, and if so, that's very interesting. I'd like to see what all comes of this story. With Remus and Anna, again, I'd like to see more. I don't have much feel on Anna as a character yet. There's more telling in the Remus paragraphs than hers, but perhaps she opens up characterwise in the next installment.
no subject
Date: 2007-02-26 04:52 pm (UTC)The spider is indeed Severus, though that idea I can safely say wasn't exactly myown brilliant thought. I borrowed it from someone else... whose fic I haven't read yet, just heard of while listening to Snapecast.