ORDER ONLY: Private message to Tonks

[alt_charlie]

I still can't get over the idea that the whole mad scheme actually did something. Well, I mean, we don't know yet if it did what Dumbledore thought it might do magically, but Agrippa's sword and Merlin's staff, WE MADE A PERSON. Or are making a person! Or, well, you're making the person, I'm just standing here and cheering you on, but you know what I mean.

I'll repeat what I said when you told me: whatever you need or want me to do, yeah? I won't hover, but just say the word. I've told Dree and Em -- they both say congratulations and best of luck, by the way -- and they both told me I should also tell you to order me around as much as you want.

And Snape pulled me aside after the meeting and said there's a potion that will help even more with the nausea and used to be prescribed for pregnant witches because it helps strengthen the baby's magic, but it's not used as much anymore because it requires fluxweed, plus dragon scales harvested from a living dragon under the light of a waxing moon. I've sent him the scales, and he said that since he isn't using so much of the fluxweed in his Polyjuice, he should be able to harvest some for this. At least if you're going to be making a person, you've got a potions master at hand to brew for you! (Em said he'd offer, too, but he's not as good with the medicinals, so you'd be better off with the St M's potioneers. I didn't tell him we had wanted fugitives doing our brewing instead.)

Comments

[alt_charlie]

I think it sounds lovely, actually. A bit formal, but not too stilted. Maybe take out the "So, so terrible", though, that sentence does sound a little like you're overdoing it, and change "being sent away" to something a bit more euphemistic like "Mr Malfoy's misfortune" or some such?

And not a hamper, they're probably drowning in them -- Percy used to talk about the kind of things people used to send the Malfoys for Christmas and I can only imagine it's worse for a death in the family. Maybe check the obituary again? I only glanced at it, but don't people usually say something about where to send donations instead of flowers? Not that Narcissa would care that you sent something, but not sending one would probably be a breech of that pureblood etiquette they care so much about.

And I like you because you're not a perfect lamb, you know. More interesting that way. I was joking about the hexing part, but in all seriousness, if you do feel like getting shouty with someone, or just want a shoulder to lean against or someone to piss and moan to, I will be at your service at any hour of night or day, luv. I've never thought it was right that it takes two to tango but then the woman gets stuck with nine months of baking the baby before it's ready to join the rest of us. I can't do that part, but I can do anything else you need or want me to.

(Merlin's manky underpants, we're making a person. Still can't wrap my head around it. I know you've been down this road before, but it's all new to me!)

[alt_nymphadora]

Ta. I used all of your ideas.

And I told Remus to look into making a donation. That's just the thing.

(I know, what? We're making a person! And I can't think of anyone I'd rather be doing that with.)

(I mean that.)

[alt_charlie]

Well, I certainly can't think of anybody else who'd be mad enough to do this with me, yeah? Still can't quite believe it, though. I'm sure it'll sink in in another week or two.

And, get this. I don't know what prompted this, but Mum's decided she wants to invite everyone's girlfriends for Sunday supper this week. Namely, Sally-Anne, Pansy, and Rachel, but she also asked me if there was anyone I'd like her to invite, too, because she "doesn't want to make assumptions". Which was very sweet of her. (I didn't have the heart to tell her that if she didn't want to make assumptions, she shouldn't say 'she' by default. I'll have that talk with her one of these days.)

I told her I didn't have anyone I wanted her to add to the guest list, and that she knows me, I'm not the settling down type, which is all true. But we should probably have another talk sometime soonish about what we're going to tell her, and when, and all that.

I don't want to lie to her outright! But I don't mind a bit of misdirection for a bit. And I don't want you to feel like I'm, I don't know, ashamed or something. If you want someone to mother over you, we could tell her any day now, I'll think of some way to do it that won't give her the wrong impression, and you'll have all the mothering you could possibly want. But I don't want to unleash the full force of Mum being Mum on you if that's not what you want, especially not Mum in My First Grandbaby mode. So it's all up to you.

(She did say she'd suspected you were up the duff, not in as many words, though -- said you had "that glow" about you. Have to say she's right, you do look radiant. Or possibly like you're going to crack up at any second. Which is still how I feel.)

[alt_nymphadora]

...

Did you want to tell her, then? I didn't realise...

I thought, maybe... Well, I thought you might not want her thinking of us as a sort of family, you know? When she doesn't know about Em and Dree, at all. Because she couldn't help but have the wrong idea, you know? No matter what you say, really, she'll wish the wrong sorts of things.

[alt_charlie]

Oh, love, that's not it! Well. It is, a bit, but not because I don't want her getting the wrong idea about you in particular, more that I don't want her getting the wrong idea about me and relationships and deciding that just because I'm seeing someone means it's something big and permanent and, well, the kind of thing she and Dad had. I can talk her down from that eventually, though, I'm pretty good at managing Mum's expectations by now, or at least better than I was when I was fifteen.

If you wanted to tell her, I can work out a way to do it. It'd be awkward for a bit, but survivable! And besides, I can just blame Dumbledore. I just don't want you to have to deal with setting all the boundaries you'd probably want to set. If you'd find the full force of Mum wanting to mother you to be comforting, then I'm all for telling her. If you'd find it irritating, we should probably wait a bit. Or not tell her at all.

And if we do that, we'll have to watch what we say, because she's good at spotting things. She wrote to me that she's pretty sure Remus isn't the father, because of how he looked when you announced it. (And was implying that she'd almost wondered if Bill could be the father!) I'll show you the message next time I'm down there.

(Which is looking like it might be tonight, actually, if there isn't any disaster. Touch wood.)

Actually, the more I think about it, the more not telling her at all, ever, doesn't seem like it would work. Especially if Baby gets the bad luck of coming out looking like me, Mum will spot it, and then be horribly hurt that we let her find out by herself. But waiting until Baby's born, that we can justify. Especially by blaming Dumbledore.