Bi-Weekly Challenge
Who? Remus and Teddy Lupin
What? Another wake-up call.
Why? Because, Remus comes to find out, Teddy has a way with words like his Remus himself, and Harry and one of his mentors, . And his little boy can only stay quiet for so long.
When? grownhp6words timeline, after this.
Prompt: Listen / Cats in the Cradle lyrics >.>
After hours of sitting on that spot by the wall where Severus had left him, Remus apparated back to the castle. It was late enough to not worry about students seeing him, and since the castle was mostly cloaked in darkness it was easy to simply keep to the shadows to hide his appearance.
That was, until he arrived to his quarters.
A frantic-yet-controlled Teddy Lupin was waiting for him, pacing. As soon as the Auror caught sight of his father, he blinked over at him just once before looking him over in the way he had been trained to do. Facial expressions, body posture, and right down to the way his hand was still twisted in some odd way.
"Where have you been?"
"Teddy--"
"Where have you been?"
Remus pursed his lips and pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment. He was exhausted. "I went for a walk."
Teddy looked as if he barely managed to keep himself from scoffing outloud. "Really. Did you fall down an empty well or something during this walk?"
"Something like that."
Silence filled the room then, until Teddy's footsteps rang out each time his boots touched the floor. Standing in front of his father, he flicked his wand a few times, casting some healing spells before stepping back only enough to stare right at Remus. As he did so, Remus noticed, his son's black hair was tinged with a very deep shade of red that, from far away, still looked black. It was a colour that he hadn't seen on him before. As if, somehow, he was trying to withhold the way he'd normally look in this situation, but his hair wasn't entirely cooperative.
"Did anyone see you come in?" Teddy asked, his voice edgier with each word that was said.
"No, I don't believe so."
A nod. "Good. And, frankly, unless I hear there was another attack somewhere tonight I don't really care right now why you're like this." Suddenly, just like that, the shade of red became a bit brighter. "You do realize what's going on in the school, don't you? Heim? The students? Your daughter missing?"
Remus sighed. "Teddy--"
"For Merlin's sake, Dad, I don't know if you've bloody well noticed, but you are needed here. HERE, in the school that represents every damn thing you fought for in three wars. This, all this? This is what you died for. Or is it that hard to keep in mind? If it is, just look at me and remember."
Remus did look at him, but looked away after a moment. Teddy, on the other hand, stepped over to be in his line of vision once more. Now his hair was a shade of crimson red. "There are matters right now that are more important that you are flat out ignoring. This is a battle that you are simply laying down for, and for what? So your children can fight it for you? I know you're tired of wars and battles, but this is for the future of your school again. Of your children, and your grandchildren for fuck's sake." Teddy paused for a moment, shooting daggers from his eyes. He had kept quiet long enough about this. He had stood by while his father started falling apart, and perhaps that was also why he was angry - he should have said something sooner before he came home disheveled and with a broken hand.
"I'm sorry we're interrupting whatever self-crisis you're going through," Teddy continued, "but if you are like this, how you've been, you're really not worth the effort right now. And do you know what the worst part is? That I'd probably understand if you didn't care, but you do. I know you do so I'm going to need a favour from you: Wake up. You and everyone else, we all need to get our arse in the game and focus."
Staying silent, Remus just watched his son for a long moment before speaking quietly, "Teddy, that night..."
But Teddy shook his head. "I don't care. I don't want details, and I won't press for them. That's not what I came for. Unless this is about Bastian's attack, I. don't. care. As your son, to me, it just doesn't matter."
A beat. "And as an Auror?"
Teddy stared at his father before answering with a more leveled voice. "I read the interrogation done by Auror Savage, Sir. At the moment I have no further questions."
With a small nod, Remus looked at Teddy a moment longer before letting out a slow deep breath. These wake up calls were getting harder and harder to deal with, but Teddy didn't seem satisfied.
"You're the Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts. The second you accepted that position you took on a hell of a responsibility that others saw fit to give you. Someone is trying to take that from you, and I just don't get why you just stand there. I don't care what happened on that full moon because you weren't ... You weren't you. You are Professor Lupin. Deputy Headmaster. You are an Order member. You are so many bloody things, Dad; you choosing to define yourself as the worst thing in that list is selfish and, well, very stupid." His voice softened then. "You have children here. You have children who have THIS to look forward to. You have every sort of family member linked to this school. What is it going to take, Dad? For Heim to completely take over? I guess what I'm trying to say is, with all due respect, lead, follow, or..."
Teddy didn't need to finish the sentence to get what he meant across, and Remus let him know by nodding again. Merlin, he thought, that look on his son's face was... Well, not frightening, exactly, but it did get the point across loud and clear.
Without waiting for an answer - because, really, he wasn't there to argue the point at all since there was no room for discussion in his mind - Teddy sighed. "You should check with Poppy in the morning if I did those spells right. They're pretty basic for emergencies, so check with her." A pause. "You should go lay down. I'll get you some tea. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, and some of the students are being brats so you should rest as much as you can before morning comes. It'll just be in a few hours, anyway."
"No, I'm fine." Remus' lips tugged a little at the corners, rubbing the back of his neck. "I appreciate it, however. Shouldn't you be working?"
"Ron is covering for me. And, really, Dad you're not 'fine.'" A small smile grew on his lips, even if his hair was still a bit red. "That walk obviously tired you out."
Unable to help it, Remus chuckled softly under his breath and, after he kept insisting, he headed towards his bedroom and sat at the edge of the bed while Teddy made tea. Teddy's and Severus' words kept colliding in his head, and as he closed his eyes and decided to lay down he made himself remember them. He couldn't just ignore them.
The smell of the basement and the dull ache along his body were clinging to him, but he didn't bother to change. He was asleep before Teddy made it to the bedroom with the cup of tea.
What? Another wake-up call.
Why? Because, Remus comes to find out, Teddy has a way with words like his Remus himself, and Harry and one of his mentors, . And his little boy can only stay quiet for so long.
When? grownhp6words timeline, after this.
Prompt: Listen / Cats in the Cradle lyrics >.>
After hours of sitting on that spot by the wall where Severus had left him, Remus apparated back to the castle. It was late enough to not worry about students seeing him, and since the castle was mostly cloaked in darkness it was easy to simply keep to the shadows to hide his appearance.
That was, until he arrived to his quarters.
A frantic-yet-controlled Teddy Lupin was waiting for him, pacing. As soon as the Auror caught sight of his father, he blinked over at him just once before looking him over in the way he had been trained to do. Facial expressions, body posture, and right down to the way his hand was still twisted in some odd way.
"Where have you been?"
"Teddy--"
"Where have you been?"
Remus pursed his lips and pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment. He was exhausted. "I went for a walk."
Teddy looked as if he barely managed to keep himself from scoffing outloud. "Really. Did you fall down an empty well or something during this walk?"
"Something like that."
Silence filled the room then, until Teddy's footsteps rang out each time his boots touched the floor. Standing in front of his father, he flicked his wand a few times, casting some healing spells before stepping back only enough to stare right at Remus. As he did so, Remus noticed, his son's black hair was tinged with a very deep shade of red that, from far away, still looked black. It was a colour that he hadn't seen on him before. As if, somehow, he was trying to withhold the way he'd normally look in this situation, but his hair wasn't entirely cooperative.
"Did anyone see you come in?" Teddy asked, his voice edgier with each word that was said.
"No, I don't believe so."
A nod. "Good. And, frankly, unless I hear there was another attack somewhere tonight I don't really care right now why you're like this." Suddenly, just like that, the shade of red became a bit brighter. "You do realize what's going on in the school, don't you? Heim? The students? Your daughter missing?"
Remus sighed. "Teddy--"
"For Merlin's sake, Dad, I don't know if you've bloody well noticed, but you are needed here. HERE, in the school that represents every damn thing you fought for in three wars. This, all this? This is what you died for. Or is it that hard to keep in mind? If it is, just look at me and remember."
Remus did look at him, but looked away after a moment. Teddy, on the other hand, stepped over to be in his line of vision once more. Now his hair was a shade of crimson red. "There are matters right now that are more important that you are flat out ignoring. This is a battle that you are simply laying down for, and for what? So your children can fight it for you? I know you're tired of wars and battles, but this is for the future of your school again. Of your children, and your grandchildren for fuck's sake." Teddy paused for a moment, shooting daggers from his eyes. He had kept quiet long enough about this. He had stood by while his father started falling apart, and perhaps that was also why he was angry - he should have said something sooner before he came home disheveled and with a broken hand.
"I'm sorry we're interrupting whatever self-crisis you're going through," Teddy continued, "but if you are like this, how you've been, you're really not worth the effort right now. And do you know what the worst part is? That I'd probably understand if you didn't care, but you do. I know you do so I'm going to need a favour from you: Wake up. You and everyone else, we all need to get our arse in the game and focus."
Staying silent, Remus just watched his son for a long moment before speaking quietly, "Teddy, that night..."
But Teddy shook his head. "I don't care. I don't want details, and I won't press for them. That's not what I came for. Unless this is about Bastian's attack, I. don't. care. As your son, to me, it just doesn't matter."
A beat. "And as an Auror?"
Teddy stared at his father before answering with a more leveled voice. "I read the interrogation done by Auror Savage, Sir. At the moment I have no further questions."
With a small nod, Remus looked at Teddy a moment longer before letting out a slow deep breath. These wake up calls were getting harder and harder to deal with, but Teddy didn't seem satisfied.
"You're the Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts. The second you accepted that position you took on a hell of a responsibility that others saw fit to give you. Someone is trying to take that from you, and I just don't get why you just stand there. I don't care what happened on that full moon because you weren't ... You weren't you. You are Professor Lupin. Deputy Headmaster. You are an Order member. You are so many bloody things, Dad; you choosing to define yourself as the worst thing in that list is selfish and, well, very stupid." His voice softened then. "You have children here. You have children who have THIS to look forward to. You have every sort of family member linked to this school. What is it going to take, Dad? For Heim to completely take over? I guess what I'm trying to say is, with all due respect, lead, follow, or..."
Teddy didn't need to finish the sentence to get what he meant across, and Remus let him know by nodding again. Merlin, he thought, that look on his son's face was... Well, not frightening, exactly, but it did get the point across loud and clear.
Without waiting for an answer - because, really, he wasn't there to argue the point at all since there was no room for discussion in his mind - Teddy sighed. "You should check with Poppy in the morning if I did those spells right. They're pretty basic for emergencies, so check with her." A pause. "You should go lay down. I'll get you some tea. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, and some of the students are being brats so you should rest as much as you can before morning comes. It'll just be in a few hours, anyway."
"No, I'm fine." Remus' lips tugged a little at the corners, rubbing the back of his neck. "I appreciate it, however. Shouldn't you be working?"
"Ron is covering for me. And, really, Dad you're not 'fine.'" A small smile grew on his lips, even if his hair was still a bit red. "That walk obviously tired you out."
Unable to help it, Remus chuckled softly under his breath and, after he kept insisting, he headed towards his bedroom and sat at the edge of the bed while Teddy made tea. Teddy's and Severus' words kept colliding in his head, and as he closed his eyes and decided to lay down he made himself remember them. He couldn't just ignore them.
The smell of the basement and the dull ache along his body were clinging to him, but he didn't bother to change. He was asleep before Teddy made it to the bedroom with the cup of tea.