A Matter of Opportunity

A Matter of Opportunity by Shimotsuki

Summary: Remus is worried about Teddy, but Tonks is worried about Remus, and circumstances lead her to try something she’s never done before. She can only hope they are ready for it. Oneshot, 2,390 Words.

Why You Should Care: Mostly because I haven’t rec’d a Remus/Tonks in a little while and angsty!Remus fretting over baby Teddy’s first full moon delights me. I also quite enjoyed the interaction between Tonks and Wolfsbaned-Wolf Remus. Nice, cute, and fluffy.

Why You Might Not Care: What do you mean Remus and Tonks died in Deathly Hallows? Psht, like even. Unashamed denial-fic.

Stacked Against

Stacked Against by Lady Bracknell

Summary: At Bill and Fleur’s wedding, Ron seeks advice from the two people he knows who have faced the obstacles he thinks are in front of him, and finds that Gryffindors are nothing if not lucky in love. Oneshot, 3,889.

Why You Should Care: Lady Bracknell takes her well-used pen — so deft at spinning Remus/Tonks — and creates a Ron/Hermione fic that is just as wonderful.  Charmingly canon characterisations paired with canny heart-to-heart discussion, plus just enough of the Remus/Tonks interaction we expect from Lady Bracknell to be the icing on the cake.  Should prove sigh-worthy for Ron/Hermione shippers and Remus/Tonks shippers alike.

Why You Might Not Care: Written the spring before Deathly Hallows was released, and takes place at Bill and Fleur’s wedding, which in this incarnation is not crashed by Death Eaters.  Not that that’s anything close to a good enough reason.

A Little More Time

A Little More Time by Jess Pallas

Summary: Was it possible to save two lives without altering history? Was it possible to give them a future twenty years after they had supposedly died? Teddy Lupin thought so…. Novel Length, 120,029 Words.

Why You Should Care: This, I suppose, technically classifies itself as AU, though to be fair there’s actually nothing in it that contradicts the canon of the books — that is, after all, rather the whole point. This is one of the only Remus-and-Tonks-didn’t-die fictions I’ve ever read, and it is by far my favorite. The characters are well realized and the plot is engaging — the young man Teddy Lupin has been especially lovingly crafted to inherit pieces of both his father and his mother. Remus and Tonk’s relationship has received the same kind of attention, and in a lot of places I forgot that it wasn’t JKR I was reading.

Why You Might Not Care: NoblePrat!Remus ahoy! I love him and feel canon justifies him, but some people might not agree. And if NoblePrat!Remus bothers you, there’s a good chance NoblePrat!Teddy will too….

Awards: 2008 Hourglass Award, Best AU Fic — Second Place

The Taste of Love

The Taste of Love by Playground_Love

Summary: A short glimpse into a young woman who traveled from frivolous flings to a devouring love. She comes to see that love builds upon itself and that spiritual relationships can’t exist without the meaningless ones that came before them. Oneshot, 1,810 Words.

Why You Should Care: Remus/Tonks from Tonks’ perspective, and it’s neither over-angsty, over-lovesick or over-pashy (if you’re not familiar with the term – I only learned it yesterday – a “pash” was a British sixties term for crushing on a teacher. Or maybe you all know it, and I’m being totally patronising. Hmm.), it’s just beautiful, sweet and a little poignant. Nice Remus, nice Tonks, beautiful imagery (I loved the idea of ‘lips like tin’). Playground_Love is known for a beautiful way with prose, without being too purply. A pleasant read.

Why You Might Not Care: R-rated due to graphic…kissing. Basically. Also, you might hate Remus/Tonks, or it might just be too plotless for you. But otherwise, enjoy!

Cleaning

Cleaning by GM_Weasley

Summary: Kreacher is cleaning. Cleaning, and following the Blood Traitor’s spawn, walking along poor Mistress’ hall with her unnatural hair as if she owns the place, a disgrace to the noble name of Black. Drabble, 750 Words.

Why You Should Care: This fic has fluff and PG-rated sexuality and humour, and it’s all cute and light and I really do like it. But moreover, this fic is Kreacher-centric. And Kreacher is awesome. And this Kreacher is awesome, all the conflicting emotions and allegiances, and yet he’s just an elf. This author is a genius, I tells you, she’s a bloody genius. Wow. Just, just, wow.

Why You Might Not Care: Shh, I’m wowing.

Rhapsody in Blue

Rhapsody in Blue by Copperbadge

Summary: Remus has decided it’s time to cure Tonks of her awkwardness, the only way he knows how. Oneshot, 6,001 Words.

Why You Should Care: This has got everything a Remus/Tonks shipper wants, including friendship, clumsy Tonks, intellectual Remus, romance, sex, and dancing. It also has a brilliant and frank exchange about half-way through about the land-mines of being a werewolf, and the quiet, polite prejudice Remus has grown accustomed to from his friends. But mostly because it’s written by Copperbadge, and you mostly can’t go wrong with things written by Copperbadge.

Why You Might Not Care: Remus/Tonks in this one, and there’s a section of NC17-ish material which is not overly explicit, but probably not something you should read at work.

Note: Due to a complete lack of internet connection this weekend, I ended up not being able to rec until I got to work. These have been backdated for the sake of my own brain.

Eight Little Deaths

Eight Little Deaths by Ms Spell

Summary: “La petite Mort, the French say.” Drabbles, 521 Words.

Why You Should Care: Drabbles done the way drabbles are best; precisely short and wrapped from top to bottom in theme.  Ms Spell knows very well how to wield this weapon and she tells the story of Remus and Tonks from start to finish.

Why You Might Not Care: Very short drabbles ahead.  Also Remus/Tonks as a heads up for all you rabid Remus/Sirius shippers out there.

Letters from the Exile

Letters from the Exile by MsSpell

Summary: The correspondence surreptitiously exchanged between Tonks and Lupin with the help of the Order members, during the year he worked as a spy among the werewolves. Oneshot, 3,017 Words.

Why You Should Care: I hate Remus/Tonks. For no real reason. But I love this fic. It’s perfect; romantic, honest and fresh. The characterisation is startlingly good: none of the letters in this epistolary fic are signed, and yet there is no difficulty in distiguishing character — both Remus and Tonks have such strong styles and characters. Remus’ cutting nature makes this a little sad, while Tonks’ bluntness makes it a little bit funny and, frankly, it feels like how Remus/Tonks may have actually happened, as opposed to the disjointedness that is canon. The awkward end scene is suitably cute and then entire sense is far less forced than canon. A rare gem.

Why You Might Not Care: Sometimes Tonks is irritating. Like, very. And this fic feels a litte rambling in places. But nothing so bad as to deter one from reading.

Up All Night

Up All Night by Gilpin and Mrs. Tater

Summary: The night before Harry’s hearing in OotP and, for Remus and Tonks, it really was asking for trouble to go out like this. Risky and unprofessional. In fact, anything might happen… Romantic Comedy, 51,093 Words.

Why You Should Care: Because I love stories like this, that take a brief and completely perfunctory exchange and give it a backstory and a different sort of weight. Now, every time I read the beginning of Chapter Seven of OotP, I’m going to remember this story and smile. The characters are well constructed, and the dialogue is spot on in every scene. Remus and Tonks shine as real people tripping their way across the muddled waters of any friendship-turned-romance, and the bit characters — Sirius in particular — have not underperformed, either. It’s also a great example of a well done co-authored story: the authors have melded their styles and ideas so well that it really only seems like one of them wrote it. And, you know, because I think it’s been a little while since I’ve recced a Remus/Tonks, and that just won’t do.

Why You Might Not Care: Remus/Tonks, for those who prefer Remus shipped with someone else. Some might say it’s a tad anti-climactic (and they’re not necessarily wrong) what with the addition of the last chapter, which stretches out the ending a bit more than was perhaps necessary, but for me it’s a minor quibble.

The Yellow Road Lies Sleeping

The Yellow Road Lies Sleeping by Elanne

Summary: This is how the world ends. Drabble, 749 Words.

Why You Should Care: This is gloriously poetic, without being ridiculous: almost like watching a life flash before someone’s eyes.  It’s beautiful and deceptively simple, and focuses on the good and the hope and the new beginnings that inevitably show up in one person’s life.  Really, really excellent!

Why You Might Not Care: I’m not even going to dignify that with a response.

Note: Day Number 2 without internet…. *rages*  At least I work tomorrow so I have access from there.  *grumbles*

Prophetic

Prophetic by Furiosity

Summary: “Through exploding snarls of spell-light, she saw Dolohov and Remus, locked in combat.” 500 Words.

Why You Should Care: There’s just something about this one that appeals to me, though I’m not entirely sure what, exactly, it is.  Here and there the largely straight-forward text is sprinkled with interesting visuals and phrasing.  I like that it’s almost too short; Furiosity resists the urge to hang too long on any one moment or allow Tonks’ thoughts to get too maudlin.  It’s actually a very physical piece for it’s short length, with smooth, uncluttered action that befits the final battle of Deathly Hallows, and the final moments of Remus and Tonks.

Why You Might Not Care: I’m not sure.  I feel some people will think it unremarkable, and maybe it is at that, a little.  Something about the author’s style appeals to me, I think; all simple narrative mixed with clever and original description.

Kiss and Tell

Kiss and Tell by Lady Bracknell

Summary: For all his supposed genius, Sirius Black had always had rather a blind spot for the patently obvious. 6,658 Words.

Why You Should Care: Mostly ’cause I haven’t rec’d Lady Bracknell in a while, though anyone who’s clever can see just about anything she writes is fantastic and won’t have waited for me to suggest it to devour everything she’s got. Once again, she brings us a great little story that both fits into her broader universe, but stands alone so well it’s practically a oneshot. She’s always on form with her favorite characters, and she’s better than most at the comic set up. Go, with my blessings.

Why You Might Not Care: Lady Bracknell has rated this R for Adult Themes, but there’s nothing here you haven’t seen on daytime TV. It’s perfectly work safe, so far as I’m concerned.

And When I Have Lost Everything I Will Remember This

And When I Have Lost Everything I Will Remember This by Paperclip Bitch

Summary: “And Dumbledore, empathetic bastard, came up with a way that means Remus can attend, and now he is here, with a trunk full of books and robes and things, and everyone else is busy making friends while he attempts to sink into the upholstery and simply not exist.” Oneshot, 7,680 Words.

Why You Should Care: There are so many things about this I love. The characterisation is front and centre, and Remus has been constructed with love and care from his five-year-old self to the very moment of his death. The use of language is lovely, all brilliant descriptions and thick narrative without ever once turning purple. Told as a set of eight scenes pulled from one man’s life, each tied to and drawn from a quote or line from the series, this story combines prose and poetry effortlessly. The three boys’ reaction to Remus’ furry little problem is especially well crafted, being both endearing and typical of teenage boys. The strength of this piece is the author’s unyielding commitment to the quietly tragic nature of Remus’ life, bookended on one side by chance and the other by choice. The last section is a touching and heartbreaking summation, and where most fiction writers couldn’t stand to end this man’s story like this, Paperclip Bitch shows her chops by choosing to honour Remus’ tragedy to the very last.

Why You Might Not Care: There are some straight-up grammar and minor sentence composition problems, and the author has an excessive use of commas that could be reigned in by the use of a smart beta with a red pen. There are also very occasionally mild tense problems. However, all of these mechanical things are very minor and the quality of the storytelling is so far above par that you shouldn’t let a few extra commas stop you from experiencing it. The emotional weight of this fic makes such small errors mere annoyances that are forgotten as soon as they have passed.

Awards: 2008 Hourglass Award, Best Angst Fic — First Place; November 2007 Gold Star Award for Excellence in Harry Potter Fanfiction.

Nicknames

Nicknames by Helena McKennon

Summary: Remus Lupin doesn’t like calling her Tonks. Oneshot, 1,978 Words.

Why You Should Care: Oh, the things we let the people we have crushes on get away with! This little fanfic is a wonderfully nostalgic and delightfully flirtatious interlude between Remus and Tonks, and also a consideration of the meaning of the names we are given versus the names we adopt for ourselves. Sweet, and not so fluffy that you gag.

Why You Might Not Care: Like many character pieces, this is a conversation between two people that has been lifted out and highlighted. It does not, perhaps, dig as deep as such character oneshots should, but I find fluffy things rarely do. I enjoyed it none-the-less, and any Remus/Tonks fan will too.

In Your Room

In Your Room by Lady Bracknell

Summary: Remus can’t say he anticipated this reaction to him being outed as a werewolf and splashed all over the front of the newspaper, but he can’t say he doesn’t like it. Drabble, 724 Words.

Why You Should Care: It’s a brief, warm peak into Remus’ head; what one person often considers the end of the world, the other thinks of only as a passing and unremarkable aside. Sweet, passing anxiety.  There is sex, but it’s the work-safe sort (if you know what I mean).

Why You Might Not Care: It’s very short, but it seems somehow exactly the right length.  In not elaborating and waxing on about the issue, Lady Bracknell actually helps make Tonks’ point.  I suppose if you’re underage then you shouldn’t read it, but the sex here is certainly no worse than you’d see on daytime TV or in movies — I wouldn’t worry about it.

Secrets

Secrets by Salt-Rose

Summary: Everyone has their own secrets. Remus and Tonks slowly share theirs. Drabble Collection, 3,262 Words.

Why You Should Care: This is an absolutely lovely series of drabbles about the relationship between Remus and Tonks — the complications of it, the simplicities, and the things you try really hard to keep from happening that can’t be stopped and happen anyway. Glorious little scenes about the process of discovering someone else. Just enough angst to constantly remind you it’s a Remus/Tonks fic, which is what — I think — what makes the ship so enjoyable for most people….

Why You Might Not Care: Had enough of Remus/Tonks yet? If so, this is probably not a good place to go to get away from it. This is exactly the opposite of that. This is 100% Remus/Tonks. Cranky Remus/Sirius shippers beware, though there is a little throwaway for the Remus/Sirius shippers that made me smile. This is apparently incomplete — the author assures us there will be more — but each drabble is self contained, so not being complete doesn’t really affect your enjoyment of it. You’ll probably finish and long for more, though.

Sitting in a Tree

Sitting in a Tree by Wild Magelet

Summary: Of the many perils associated with dating Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin discovers that buying her an appropriate gift for Valentine’s Day may be the most daunting.  Oneshot, 5,109 Words.

Why You Should Care: A little Remus/Tonks interlude.  The dialogue exchange between the two of them is fantastic — Remus is Very Remus and Tonks is Very Tonks.  The age difference here is noticeable — even in the conversation — but I like this fic all the more for it, because Wild Magelet finds the ways in which the two of the work despite the gap.  This fic has been made fundamentally A/U by virtue of Deathly Hallows, but not in any way that’s really important.  It is canon in all the ways that really matter.

Why You Might Not Care: Remus might appear to some to be a little rougher around the edges than canon, but I think this is a fair version of him.  I think Tonks is dead accurate.  Not quite fluffy, this fic contains the sort of romance that only happens in real life — the boring, simple, basic kind that lives in off-the-cuff conversations and small gestures.  There is nothing grandiose or sweeping here, only a comfortable, familiar reality.

Disaster: See Also, Remus J. Lupin, Lovelife Of

Disaster: See Also, Remus J. Lupin, Lovelife Of by Lady Bracknell

Summary: Remus claims that his lovelife has always been a disaster. He’s had vases thrown at him, made girls cry in public and done very reckless things in broom cupboards. Assorted Romance, Novel Length, 91,052 Words.

Why You Should Care: HaHA! Anything that starts out with Remus getting dumped via a passed note in the library has got to be promising. This follows the ups, downs, tos, fros, and constant trending toward complete misadventure that is Remus Lupin’s interaction with women. From his very first girlfriend through to meeting Tonks with whom he will finally take the plunge, Remus almost never plays the maudlin, noble hero we’ve come to expect of his fanon counterpart. Rather, he’s right in there looking for love, but somehow managing to get swept up in all the wrong ways with all the wrong girls more often then not. It’s delightful, and very real. This is slanted toward humor, though in moments it is as much an apt character study of Remus as any shorter, introspective oneshot might have been. All of the original characters have been created with care, and none of them slip sideways into Mary Sueism, which is a phenomenal feat all on its own. Thoroughly, completely enjoyable.

Why You Might Not Care: If you’re in this only for the eventual Remus/Tonks, then you might be a little disappointed at how little of their relationship this fic gets into. This is about the (very lengthy and often bumpy) road of one man looking for love, and how there is rarely just one person for any of us. This is the journey Remus takes to Tonks, and the fiction rightly ends when they have finally stumbled into each other.

Awards: 2008 Hourglass Award, Best Het Romance — First Place; September 2007 Gold Star Award for Excellence in Harry Potter Fanfiction.

Thanks To: Christina, for suggesting this most excellent author.

Movement

Movement by MrsTater

Summary: Things appear to have changed. Drabble, 958 Words.

Why You Should Care: I just like it. It’s Remus and Tonks’ first kiss, and I feel as though Remus is done quite well. He isn’t prematurely noble and self-sacrificing right out of the gate, and is even unashamedly responsible for leading them to it. This is Remus before he’s had time to think too much, and it’s easy to see why Tonks fell for him. I’d fall for him, if it were me.

Why You Might Not Care: Oh, well. Fluff, you know. Kissing. Melt-in-your mouth romance. A small, creamy, milk chocolate truffle that makes you go “mmm…”. If this were a movie scene, it would most certainly be in a Romantic Comedy.

A Test of Wills, or Flirting for the Socially Inept

A Test Of Wills, or Flirting for the Socially Inept by HRH Bunbury

Summary: She was bored. He was reading. Armed only with her wit, Tonks sets on a one woman mission to catch the attention of a sullen werewolf.  Fluffy, Oneshot, 1,861 Words.

Why You Should Care: This is cute and fluffy and sweet and just a little funny.  Tonks takes the approach of many forward-thinking young women everywhere, and attempts to annoy Remus into paying attention to her.  Remus, it seems, is the sort of man who takes the bait.  I can’t decide whether or not this ever had the chance of happening in canon, but I don’t think it really matters to be honest.  This will make you smile just a little.

Why You Might Not Care: It’s Remus/Tonks for those who haven’t figured it out yet, and herein lies no advanced character development, deep thinking, or reflective truths in cunningly crafted statements.  Tonks annoys Remus; Remus, it turns out, doesn’t mind.  Some things are better left fluffy.