[Harry Potter: Drabble] "Independently Verified" [Tonks/Lupin, G]
Title: Independently Verified
Prompt: writerverse challenge #04 phase 11 table of doom, prompt #13 ‘in the closet’ (child narrator, 500+ words)
Word Count: 507
Rating: G
Original/Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairings: implied Nymphadora Tonks/Remus Lupin
Warnings: what seventh book?
Summary: There were no monsters living in Teddy Lupin’s closet.
Note(s): originally posted to the writerverse wv_library
Independently Verified
There were no monsters living in Teddy Lupin’s closet.
Not that he was taking that kind of thing on pure faith, of course- he was three, not stupid. He planned on getting that fact independently verified (a phrase he’d heard from Aunt Hermione, who was very smart. It meant asking a bunch of people the same question, without telling them that you were asking them the same question, and then seeing if their answers matched.)
Teddy decided to start with his own observations, flinging open the closet door to the bright morning sunshine. He poked around in every corner, his teddy bear, Boy, faithfully at his side. He didn’t find any monsters, but that didn’t necessarily mean that there weren’t any. He would have to ask more people.
Dad said that there were no monsters in the closet. And, he said, he would know, because he was a werewolf, and that was a kind of monster (Teddy didn’t think he really believed that, because his dad was the best, nicest, smartest dad ever) so there couldn’t be any other monsters, because it would be rude to have more than one of them in a house. But Dad agreed to look inside the closet, then suggested that Teddy ask Mum.
Mum said that there were no monsters in the closet. In fact, she did a sweep of Teddy’s whole room, even under his bed, just like she did as an Auror when she was looking for bad wizards. She didn’t find anything, either, and she promised Teddy that she would set up regular patrols, in case she’d missed anything.
Uncle Harry said that there were no monsters in the closet. His godfather explained that he was an expert on closets, because he had lived in one, a long time ago. Teddy’s closet was completely the wrong sort for monsters to live in, he said, but he did a sweep, too, like Mum had done.
Aunt Hermione said that there were no monsters in the closet. She gave him a book about magical creatures, and helped him to read some of the harder words. It took them a couple of visits to read the entire thing, but when they were finished, Teddy knew that none of the creatures liked to live in little boys’ closets.
Professor Minerva said that there were no monsters in the closet. She nodded approvingly at the book Aunt Hermione had given him, and told Teddy that she would be glad to take a good look into his closet. She used magic, without her wand, to turn herself into a cat and leaped onto the very top shelf, where even Dad couldn’t reach, and she let him touch her soft fur, carefully, before she turned back.
“Okay, kiddo,” said Aunt Ginny, when she was watching him one night. “You’ve got your pajamas, brushed your teeth, had a drink of water… What else? Extra blanket, bedtime story, check under the bed, or in the closet…?”
“That’s okay,” Teddy said, seriously. “I know there aren’t any monsters.”
THE END
Current Mood:
blah
Prompt: writerverse challenge #04 phase 11 table of doom, prompt #13 ‘in the closet’ (child narrator, 500+ words)
Word Count: 507
Rating: G
Original/Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairings: implied Nymphadora Tonks/Remus Lupin
Warnings: what seventh book?
Summary: There were no monsters living in Teddy Lupin’s closet.
Note(s): originally posted to the writerverse wv_library
Independently Verified
There were no monsters living in Teddy Lupin’s closet.
Not that he was taking that kind of thing on pure faith, of course- he was three, not stupid. He planned on getting that fact independently verified (a phrase he’d heard from Aunt Hermione, who was very smart. It meant asking a bunch of people the same question, without telling them that you were asking them the same question, and then seeing if their answers matched.)
Teddy decided to start with his own observations, flinging open the closet door to the bright morning sunshine. He poked around in every corner, his teddy bear, Boy, faithfully at his side. He didn’t find any monsters, but that didn’t necessarily mean that there weren’t any. He would have to ask more people.
Dad said that there were no monsters in the closet. And, he said, he would know, because he was a werewolf, and that was a kind of monster (Teddy didn’t think he really believed that, because his dad was the best, nicest, smartest dad ever) so there couldn’t be any other monsters, because it would be rude to have more than one of them in a house. But Dad agreed to look inside the closet, then suggested that Teddy ask Mum.
Mum said that there were no monsters in the closet. In fact, she did a sweep of Teddy’s whole room, even under his bed, just like she did as an Auror when she was looking for bad wizards. She didn’t find anything, either, and she promised Teddy that she would set up regular patrols, in case she’d missed anything.
Uncle Harry said that there were no monsters in the closet. His godfather explained that he was an expert on closets, because he had lived in one, a long time ago. Teddy’s closet was completely the wrong sort for monsters to live in, he said, but he did a sweep, too, like Mum had done.
Aunt Hermione said that there were no monsters in the closet. She gave him a book about magical creatures, and helped him to read some of the harder words. It took them a couple of visits to read the entire thing, but when they were finished, Teddy knew that none of the creatures liked to live in little boys’ closets.
Professor Minerva said that there were no monsters in the closet. She nodded approvingly at the book Aunt Hermione had given him, and told Teddy that she would be glad to take a good look into his closet. She used magic, without her wand, to turn herself into a cat and leaped onto the very top shelf, where even Dad couldn’t reach, and she let him touch her soft fur, carefully, before she turned back.
“Okay, kiddo,” said Aunt Ginny, when she was watching him one night. “You’ve got your pajamas, brushed your teeth, had a drink of water… What else? Extra blanket, bedtime story, check under the bed, or in the closet…?”
“That’s okay,” Teddy said, seriously. “I know there aren’t any monsters.”
THE END
Current Mood:
blah