1995-09-15: Drawing Room Discourse

Participants:

Tonks_icon.gif Lupin_icon.gif

Scene Title Drawing Room Discourse
Synopsis Conversation insues where Tonks gripes about red, Lupin (un)surprisingly turns down offers of monetary help and then Tonks stuffs her foot in her mouth.
Location Drawing Room, 12 Grimmauld Place.
Date September 15, 1995
Watch For Lupin's reactions
Logger Tonkatonks.

Of all the rooms here, this one has the most 'Gryffindor' feel to it, so it's probably no surprise Lupin's planted himself in the drawing room to do some reading and writing. A worn, beaten shoulder bag rests on the floor, slouched against the side of the desk the werewolf is also slouched at as he goes over a few reports on one thing or another, notes in the middle of being written on a piece of parchment. It's quiet except for the scratching of his ink quill and the shuffling of paper.

There's no crashing through the front door, no accidnetally waking up 'Aunt Wally', no troll leg umbrella stands to signal her entrance. There is however uncaring footsteps hitting the floor and the sound of them first going down into the kitchen and fading,t hen coming back up and then they're followed by the sounds of doors opening and closing. If the door is closed that is.
It's a double take for her to realize someone's in the Drawing room when she peeks in. It's a quick peek then she's out, and then a 'eh', and she's peeking back in again. Lupin isn't greeted at first, but instead, Tonks makes this twisted expression of vague disgust at how /garrish/ the room looks now. She promised she'd help Sirius decorate the place he wanted, she never agreed to /liking/ it. Though, then again, practically the entire damn Order is Gryffindor, so maybe it's homey to them.
"Still looks like a stroke tossed all over the room," is said by way of greeting. HI REMUS

Footsteps are one thing. Screaming, shouting, crashing - those are all other things entirely. The place actually feels a little livable for the moment. At a minimum, it's close to a safe haven in a sea of dark influences. Lupin turns to another page and compares something to his notes, glancing back and forth between them, engrossed enough that he misses Tonks looking in until her voice is heard. A moment to blink and he shifts enough to glance over a shoulder toward her. "Reminds me a bit of our old common room, at least in some ways." HI DORA

"I know," the tone is flat and lacks enthusiasm, showing she disapproved of how that room looked too! "It was Sirius' inspiration, after all," she comments, stepping fully into the room to lean agains tthe door jam. "Born out of defiance, I assure you. But it's just so… /loud/. And red does nothing but inspire very passionate emotions, and that's the last thing Sirius needs." Perhaps tha'ts why the DRawing room of all places was tossed the way it was. It's not a place Sirius would occupy a lot, she'd think.

"They're just colors to me," Lupin points out, adding with a touch of amusement, "And if you're saying certain colors are loud…" He lets that trail off, visually comparing their particular choices of clothing. The quill is set down, rather than dipped in ink again.

Hands get tossed to the sides in a shrug. "Hey, I'm not calling the kettle black. I'm just saying that /red/ isn't exactly the first color I'd choose for…" Sirius. "I'd have gone with… blue. pale, baby, boring blue." Yes, blue is a nice, calming color. "They recommend that color for baby nurseries you know." She's now absently chewing on the side of her thumb, trying to be really innocent about all this talk of how Sirius doesn't need anything inciting his already interesting personality. And then she notices the motion of the quill and *BAM* just like that, she's at his side and peering down, "Ooh, what'cha writin'?"

Lupin's head tilts further. "Sirius can be bullish at times." At times? "But I haven't seen him charge into the walls here just yet. Not saying it won't happen one of these days, mind." When she comments on the baby blue as an alternative and why, he finds himself wondering what the significance of it could be. "Nurseries. I see.." Not something he figured on thinking about, probably ever. Then she's right there. "Reports. I reckon they make you do these often."

"You should read up more on psychology," is Tonks answer about colors and Sirius and why Red is a Bad idea (tm) for him. It's a subject she tends to keep up on, mainly because to hunt the bad guys you sort of have to think like them. Fortunately for her, she's not quite got the hang of it yet, and her mentor is far better at it than she. "Blech. Paperwork. I hate paperwork." Even more so after Umbridge barred her from Real Auror work and regulated her to nothing but paperwork constantly. She skips back clearly disappointed it wasn't something /interesting/ she could've been nosey about.

It might be better on some level that Tonks isn't all that interested in what Lupin's writing, since some of it is related to his undercover work. At least the page he's on isn't of a too sensitive nature. "I know a thing or two about it, enough to know how to get the most out of people. I won't say you don't have a point." Folding up the parchment, he tucks it away and shifts his chair to face her, head slightly canted. "Ever thought of reading the kinds of reports we'd done as students?"

Tonks decides to claim the sofa now that she's lost interest in the report and the writing desk and just srpawls out like she owns the thing. One thing she does approve of is the comfort level of the furniture. "Ahh," is said with a satisfied tone, as she wiggles herself just right. "I always have a point," so there. She's got her hands laced behind her head, her eyes closed and she just relaxes, but the question pulls her out of her thoughts. And she frowns. "No. I'd probably burn them all." Pause. "Remind me to do that. Particularly the ones in Filch's office…"

"You might be the best instructor ever, or the worst," Lupin muses, leaning back just enough to appear relaxed, hands in his lap. "Depends on who you give the better marks to." He allows himself a slightly longer look her way since her eyes are shut, expression one that suggests he's trying to figure something out.

She thinks about this teacher business, and she takes a deep breath. "Nah, I don't think I have the patience to be a teacher. Mad-Eye curses his students, I'd end up chucking them out the window—without any ulterior motive." She, of course, might actually be one of the few who really didn't see a flaw in Mad-eye's teaching, just objected to the age. It was after all how he taught her. "Did think about helping out and stuff, but I don't think anybody'd take me seriously." It's the hair, she knows. She's unaware of being studied, simply resting as she is. She's quiet for a moment,, before she pipes up, randomly, "You miss it, though, don't you?"

Lupin chuckles, thinking about Moody for the moment. "His methods could be controversial to some, but you'd find out quickly whether or not you could make it in one of his classes. There's something to be said for that, though my methods were quite different." Imagine that. He moves to his feet as she talks about being taken seriously or not, explaining, "If people can't look past what's on the surface - or what they think is on the surface - it's their loss." When asked about missing teaching, he doesn't take long to admit, "I do. I know anything we do to stand against You-Know-Who is important, but when I taught I felt like it really made a difference. Look at Longbottom. He isn't there yet, but I saw changes in him by the end of the year I was there, good changes. That's just one example."

She scratches the back of her head. "You gave'm confidence. That's more than anything else worthwhile that could be given." The Longbottom case is something she's terribly familiar with. Not on a personal level, no. But it was one of the first case files she read the moment she started her training. She swings her legs off and shoves herself up to lounge more on the sofa's arm then spralwed out like someone's housecat. "Everyone I spoke to, that took your class, said you were one of the best teachers they had. I don't think what you are mattered to most of them." Too bad the info got out.

"If confidence was the only thing I gave them, I'd have considered it a success," Lupin nods, smiling thinly, knowing he was able to provide more than just that. He comes to stand in the center of the room, watching her quietly, just..focused on her. "That they said things like that is the best compliment I could receive. They didn't learn the truth until after what happened, though. Granger figured it out early on, but that's no surprise. I couldn't tell them up front, though. I'm certain someone would have shared it with a parent."

She's quiet, simply thinking. She knows that it's more than just confience, but in Neville's case, it was a huge help. "Maybe you'll be able to teach again," she theorizes. She leaves off guessing words like 'somehow' and what not. It might happen, who knows. Hell, he could probably teach her a thing or two, and she deals with the dark arts for a living. She finally peeks an eye open, "Maybe some of us who don't care could hire you as a private tutor."

Lupin eyes the other side of the sofa she's on, though he doesn't make a move toward it. His hands meet in back of him as he stands there almost at ease, supposing, "Time would tell, of course. Even private tutoring would be something. Doing things undercover for Dumbledore doesn't exactly pay, and the odd jobs I've been able to find aren't very sustainable either. It's a good thing nobody depends on me to provide them with anything." He frowns.

She's sitting up here, arching her brows. The couch is free game, part of the reason why she moved her legs. "Do you need any money? I mean, I can help a bit, so can Sirius." worry! "And really, no, it won't put me out or anything. It's not like I have anything to do with my paycheck except pay rent and eat." And really, most of the time she's eating either here or at her mom's house anyway.

Here's a part where Lupin avoids making eye contact with her. "I can't ask you or anyone else for that, not when I can't pay it back without a way to." Call him old-fashioned or just thick-headed about it, even prideful. Probably all of the above would fit. "I've found ways to get by so far. You never know how resourceful you can be until you have to be."

Brows arch upwards and then a moment later, they're scruched over her eyes. "You're not /asking/ anything. It's called a gift. It's called helping someone out. People do that and they don't /expect/ payment in return." Tonks stands up here and takes a couple of steps close enough to poke at his shoulder. Lightly of course, because he might end up falling over dead if she pokes too hard, naturally. "If I give you a few galleons, you'll take it." And like it! So there!

Good thing Lupin's sturdier than he looks, though the poking does result in him moving back a half-step when it's felt. His expression, already on the fast track to looking uncomfortable, cements itself that way as he puts his hands up in a peacekeeping gesture. "It's still charity, and it makes me feel like there's something wrong with me. I don't like feeling that way, even if part of it is thanks to the Ministry's views toward people like me. I'd rather work to earn what I get." His voice actually does sound a little strained here, like it's something he really doesn't like others having to see.

Tonks just watches him for a few moments, her lips twisted into an odd line and her hands on her hips now. He gives his explanation and her, being the kind that'd probably give her left foot away if someone needed it, just throws her hands up in the air and gives a frustrated noise while she turns her back to him. "Gyah! What am I going to do with you? Really!"

Lupin almost flinches there, not sure what Tonks is about to do before her hands go up and she turns away. Then, of all things, he fidgets in place and murmurs, "I apologize. It's..a difficult subject for me. I didn't mean to upset you. I know you're trying to be helpful and you c.." What was he saying? "Hmm."

She's about to wave off the apology but then he just con tinues talking. She turns around, her hands rsting again on her hips, but in a more relaxed fashion so she looks less like a teenager not getting her way. Lips pull into a line again and she finds some spot over /there/ near some gaudy gold floortrim to focus on. "I know, I know. I just…want to see you taken care of, is all. I mean, at the very least, not have to worry about your next meal and all. You're not always near this place to grab a bite, y'know?"

Lupin remains silent for a good deal longer than he perhaps ought to as Tonks explains her concerns. Oh, somewhere in there he knew that was exactly the case, but hearing it is different from assuming it. He's not quite looking at her right now either, thoughts dancing around even if he remains mostly still. It's the nails on one hand he glances down at all of a sudden, and in that moment it's not hard to see him as the insecure student he once was. "Thanks. It's..not something I'm very used to." Whatever 'it' is, and then there's some of that coloration in his face again.

Her body language shifts again, and she's lifting a hand to scratch underneath her hair. She's sort of looking elsewhere for a moment, finding the atmosphere suddenly awwkard. "I didn't mean…" She takes a breath. "I know," about the used to thing. Part of her wants to comment that he should just get used to it already because honestly, how many times does she have to remind him that he has friends who care about him. But she's suddenly distracted when she glances up. "You're cute when you blush," is what she finds herself saying.

Lupin reaches up to rub the back of his neck about the same time she scratches her hair. It's been a while since he felt anything like this, unsure of himself in this way. On top of that, they're probably used to him just going on regardless of the circumstances, always moving forward while focused on what needs to be. When he speaks again it's a strangely muted, "What?" to her comment about him blushing, which, of course, makes it a little more obvious.

"Nothing," is quick to be uttered because, really, she did /not/ just say that. But she cdouldn't help it really. He /blushed/. She never saw him blush. Didn't think it was possible and there it was, plain as day. And it's still /there/. She needs to fix this. It's just weird and awkward really suddenly and she didn't help situations and she's aware of that. "Want to get something to eat, It's probably close to meal time anyway, and I'm starved!"

"Because I thought you said.." Oh. Lupin - and Tonks for that matter - have a possible excuse not to focus on it, which seems just fine with him right now. He lifts a finger and turns back toward the desk and his papers, speaking quickly, "A fine idea, yes. I'm famished. Could eat a horse. Not that I would." Ahem.

Phew. Crisis averted. She needs to have a talk with her mouth about working before her brain fully processes things. "eh, I"m sure we could find something close to horse proportions downstairs. If not, we can go shopping," she insists. Anything to just..be a focus. "I'll go get started," she points behind her and she's backing up. If he wants her to wait, she will, otherwise, she's already moving.


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