you're the light in my dark. (remadora)

the telephone;

"Hello? Is enybody there? Merlin's beard, how does this thing work?"

The Order of the Phoenix bought telephones for all the members. Remus had no idea what a "telephone" meant. Tonks did. In fact, she came up with this idea. And she kept boasting about it.

"Can't you see the muggles are so ahead of us? We're stuck in ancient times. We must evolve too!"

To Tonks' disappointment, Moody did not want to buy mobile phones, Nokia, or such. He said they would most likely cause addiction, so she had to buy rotary telephones.

Remus had been trying to make his telephone work for a while. "For too long," he thought. He kept lifting the receiver, but he couldn't hear the dial tone. Remus read aloud the instruction manual: "The steady humming sound tells you the dial equipment is ready for your call." But why was the steady humming sound missing? "Because the telephone needs electricity!" Remus suddenly realized. Or, using muggle terms, it must be "plugged in." He immediately cast a spell.

"You're getting real old, Lupin!" he said while continuing to read the instructions. He placed his finger firmly in the opening for the particular number desired. He pulled the dial around until his finger striked the metal finger stop, then released the dial and allowed it to return without interference. He repeated these steps until he formed Dora's number.

"Hi, Tonks' here..."

"I made this bloody thing work! I made it work!"

"Remus, finally! What took you so long? I've been waiting for you to call me!" Tonks realized immediately what she said and blushed on instant. What she didn't realize was that she made Remus blush, too. He rubbed his neck nervously.

"My memory seems to trick me. Guess I'm turning into an old man..." Remus grinned, leaving Tonks slightly confused.

•••

"Why is it so cold in here?"

Remus, who rushed to close the windows as soon as he arrived home, came back from an Order meeting on a cold November evening. While the tea was brewing, he got changed, then made his bed and put down his cosiest blanket. 

Wearing some plain blue pyjamas, he stood in front of his library and searched for a book to read. Eventually, he chose an old one, which used to be his grandfather's, a book about the origins of the noble wizards. His grandpa was very fond of it because it wasn't based on legends, as most books of noble wizards were, but on facts.

It was late at night when the phone rang. Remus was so concentrated with his lecture that, at first, he didn't hear the phone ringing, even though it was right beside him.

"Who could it be so late?" he thought.

"Hello?" A soft voice came from the other side of the receiver. "Remus, are you awake? I hope I didn't wake you up..."

"Hey Dora, actually I was reading something. What's the matter? Are you alright?"

"I feel horrible. I can't sleep. I really wanted to talk to you!"

"Nightmares again?" Remus asked softly.

"Yes, unfortunately..." Tonks felt like her head was about to explode. She buried her head deep down in her pillow and let out a sight. Remus put down the book on the bedside table, near his wand.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"There's not really too much to discuss, actually. As usual, I'm either chased by Death Eaters or my loved ones are tortured to death." Tonks stopped, thinking how much she'd have liked to lay next to him instead of talking to him through a machine.

"Your nightmares will not become reality, I promise you. I will do my best to take care of you. As of now, I can read something to you, if you'd like. It will help you take your mind off of things."

"Yes, please do!" 

"I started reading a book about noble wizards, which my granddad used to adore!" he started, stretching out to reach the book. He held the receiver between his shoulder and his ear and began to flip through the pages. "I'll read the most boring part to make sure you fall asleep."

Tonks laughed. For a second, it felt like all her fears went away. Remus giggled too, enjoying these little moments he held so dear to his heart. During that cold night, Remus' voice felt like a calm breeze over the top of the mountains. It was almost a sleepy voice, and Tonks loved it.

"Dora, are you sleeping?" he asked after a while.

No one answered. She most likely fell asleep. After whispering to her "good night," he continued to hold the receiver to his ear, not being able to put it down. Remus thought of that one time when Snape prepared Amortentia at Grimmauld's place. To him, it smelled like leather boots, lilac, rain, and bubblegum.

"I love you, Dora." he somewhat managed to say, even though he was afraid she might hear him. Such simple words, yet they ache so much. Will he ever be able to tell her that to face and quit hiding? 

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