Blood Moon (Ministry of Magic, PG-13)
Title: Blood Moon
Author: danistormborn
Rating: PG-13
Prompt Set: 50.2
Prompt: 045 Eclipse
Word Count: 1,203
Characters: Teddy Lupin, Victoire Weasley, Hermione Granger
Summary: A series of seven drabbles as Teddy Lupin awaits his transformation from the safety of his office.
Teddy Lupin kissed his bride-to-be. It wasn’t the usual kiss of dancing tongues that bespoke of more to come. It was regretful, tinged with self-deprecation and the hint of embarrassment despite many years of familiarity.
Victoire Weasley understood all too well the rigid set of Teddy’s shoulders, his avoidance of her eyes.
“I don’t see a beast when I look at you,” she said, gently but firmly cupping his chin and drawing his stare into her own.
“My father hated… it…and so do I.”
“I don’t,” she said with all the fraction of Veela she possessed. “Je t’aime… les deux.”
*****
Teddy paced his locked office in agitation. He could feel the wolf clawing at skin, begging to be let out. Demanding.
How could Victoire love both parts of him? He couldn’t stand his reflection the week prior to his transformation as he cast shaving charms hourly. His future aunt Hermione, who had recommended him for the internship in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, would have hexed him for the deception. His godfather would have recited a lengthy story about his brave father, provided a lemon drop and Flooed Teddy back feeling better and worse simultaneously.
*****
If only once - just once - Teddy could avoid the sting of transformation, the all-encompassing panic of mind-body separation, the thirst for blood.
If only Teddy had known that his father had felt exactly the same, that he, too, had scratched his skin even in his human form, hating every moment because it was all just a countdown, really, to the next moon, the next transformation.
If only there were a Potions Master in Britain capable of brewing the Wolfsbane, which seemed to Teddy, who had never tasted it, as mythically wonderful as the Muggle tales of a fountain of youth.
*****
Teddy looked out the window, one of Hermione’s creations, enchanted somehow to reflect the real weather, unheard of in the Ministry. “Never be afraid of the truth,” she had told him.
It was easy for her to say, Teddy had thought, easy when she wasn’t the one who was marked by the stench of blood and animal fur.
As though she had sensed his thoughts, Hermione had told him, “There was a time when my blood was considered dirty, when this society disregarded me and my abilities, when I, too, was hunted. They’ll accept you someday, baby. We’ll make them.”
*****
His transformation neared. Like old men sense the rain coming, like his grandmother knew by his hair color whether he was lying, like his godfather had tapped into Voldemort’s emotions, Teddy could feel the moon rising. It wasn’t Muggle science or even Divination. It was as much a part of him as his name, but Teddy wanted desperately to be wrong about it just once.
He closed his eyes, waiting for his spine to shift while his hands and feet merged into paws. Saliva dripped from his mouth as he imagined clawing the moon until it ran red with blood.
*****
Just as he felt the transformation begin, it stopped.
Teddy was sure it was time. He could still feel the moon inside him. But it occurred to him that his office was dark when the moon’s light should have been pouring in through the window.
Heart beating wildly, he looked out into the world and saw only a ring of light where the moon should have been, an outline tracing his destiny but also capturing his personal boggart.
He felt the wolf clawing uselessly at his body as he stared out the window all night, basking in his greatest escape.
*****
Teddy stretched as morning broke over the horizon. Hermione burst through the door, her face flushed with excitement as she tossed a special edition of the Quibbler onto his desk.
“A lunar eclipse?” he asked, the term unfamiliar.
“It only happens when the sun, Earth and moon are in perfect alignment. It’s really rare. And,” she paused, “there shouldn’t have been one last night.”
Teddy’s confusion grew.
“You did it,” she said, a twinkle in her eyes.
“I didn’t do anything!”
“You’re special, Teddy. You’re a Metamorphmagus and a werewolf. If anyone can change the world - transform it - you can.”
Author: danistormborn
Rating: PG-13
Prompt Set: 50.2
Prompt: 045 Eclipse
Word Count: 1,203
Characters: Teddy Lupin, Victoire Weasley, Hermione Granger
Summary: A series of seven drabbles as Teddy Lupin awaits his transformation from the safety of his office.
Teddy Lupin kissed his bride-to-be. It wasn’t the usual kiss of dancing tongues that bespoke of more to come. It was regretful, tinged with self-deprecation and the hint of embarrassment despite many years of familiarity.
Victoire Weasley understood all too well the rigid set of Teddy’s shoulders, his avoidance of her eyes.
“I don’t see a beast when I look at you,” she said, gently but firmly cupping his chin and drawing his stare into her own.
“My father hated… it…and so do I.”
“I don’t,” she said with all the fraction of Veela she possessed. “Je t’aime… les deux.”
*****
Teddy paced his locked office in agitation. He could feel the wolf clawing at skin, begging to be let out. Demanding.
How could Victoire love both parts of him? He couldn’t stand his reflection the week prior to his transformation as he cast shaving charms hourly. His future aunt Hermione, who had recommended him for the internship in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, would have hexed him for the deception. His godfather would have recited a lengthy story about his brave father, provided a lemon drop and Flooed Teddy back feeling better and worse simultaneously.
*****
If only once - just once - Teddy could avoid the sting of transformation, the all-encompassing panic of mind-body separation, the thirst for blood.
If only Teddy had known that his father had felt exactly the same, that he, too, had scratched his skin even in his human form, hating every moment because it was all just a countdown, really, to the next moon, the next transformation.
If only there were a Potions Master in Britain capable of brewing the Wolfsbane, which seemed to Teddy, who had never tasted it, as mythically wonderful as the Muggle tales of a fountain of youth.
*****
Teddy looked out the window, one of Hermione’s creations, enchanted somehow to reflect the real weather, unheard of in the Ministry. “Never be afraid of the truth,” she had told him.
It was easy for her to say, Teddy had thought, easy when she wasn’t the one who was marked by the stench of blood and animal fur.
As though she had sensed his thoughts, Hermione had told him, “There was a time when my blood was considered dirty, when this society disregarded me and my abilities, when I, too, was hunted. They’ll accept you someday, baby. We’ll make them.”
*****
His transformation neared. Like old men sense the rain coming, like his grandmother knew by his hair color whether he was lying, like his godfather had tapped into Voldemort’s emotions, Teddy could feel the moon rising. It wasn’t Muggle science or even Divination. It was as much a part of him as his name, but Teddy wanted desperately to be wrong about it just once.
He closed his eyes, waiting for his spine to shift while his hands and feet merged into paws. Saliva dripped from his mouth as he imagined clawing the moon until it ran red with blood.
*****
Just as he felt the transformation begin, it stopped.
Teddy was sure it was time. He could still feel the moon inside him. But it occurred to him that his office was dark when the moon’s light should have been pouring in through the window.
Heart beating wildly, he looked out into the world and saw only a ring of light where the moon should have been, an outline tracing his destiny but also capturing his personal boggart.
He felt the wolf clawing uselessly at his body as he stared out the window all night, basking in his greatest escape.
*****
Teddy stretched as morning broke over the horizon. Hermione burst through the door, her face flushed with excitement as she tossed a special edition of the Quibbler onto his desk.
“A lunar eclipse?” he asked, the term unfamiliar.
“It only happens when the sun, Earth and moon are in perfect alignment. It’s really rare. And,” she paused, “there shouldn’t have been one last night.”
Teddy’s confusion grew.
“You did it,” she said, a twinkle in her eyes.
“I didn’t do anything!”
“You’re special, Teddy. You’re a Metamorphmagus and a werewolf. If anyone can change the world - transform it - you can.”