Fic: Teddy Lupin, Private Tutor (GEN), G
Recipient: demonoflight
Title: Teddy Lupin, Private Tutor
Pairing(s): none
Rating: G
Warnings: none
Summary: Teddy helps his cousin Scorpius get ready for Hogwarts.
Word Count: 1,332
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's/Artist's notes: I hope this is fluffy enough. I don't have a lot of experience with pure fluff, but I don't think it's too angsty.
Teddy straightened his robes as he approached the house. They weren't his best robes, but close. He'd arrived wearing his everyday robes the first time and felt embarrassingly underdressed.
He knocked on the door, then ran his fingers through his hair. It was his natural brown, for the most part, but he had put one streak of blue in it. Couldn't make it look like he was hiding himself for their sakes, and Scorpius seemed to enjoy it.
The door opened to reveal a severe-looking man with prematurely receding hair. "You're late, Lupin," he drawled.
Teddy smiled crookedly. "No, I'm not, Draco. I'm right on time. Good effort, though."
Draco stood straighter, annoyed. "So, how many N.E.W.T.s did you manage to get?"
"Six," Teddy replied, grinning innocently.
Draco pursed his lips, then moved aside. "Come in, then. Scorpius is in the parlor."
Teddy glided past Draco, said a friendly hello to Astoria when he passed her on the way, got a stiff nod in return, and continued down the marble floor until he reached the parlor, where Scorpius was sitting on the floor, reading.
"Teddy!" Scorpius's grey eyes lit up, he leapt to his feet and raced across the room to Teddy. "I finished all my work from last time! Do you want to see it now?"
"Hey, easy there," Teddy laughed, ruffling Scorpius's pale blonde hair. "How about a hello first?"
"Hello," Scorpius said. "Do a face!"
Teddy shifted his features, made his cheekbones more prominent, darkened his hair, and looked at Scorpius with a twinkle in his grey eyes. Scorpius scrunched up his face in concentration.
"Come on, Scor, this is an easy one," Teddy said. He'd shifted his voice somewhat, but as he didn't have a sample to base it on, he'd never be able to get it perfect.
"Sirius!" Scorpius cried. "Sirius Black the third, to be precise."
"Spot on," Teddy said, shifting his face back to normal. Scorpius followed him to the chairs in the corner, and they sat. "We'll have to dig up some more photographs. I'm running out of faces for you."
"We could try this," Scorpius suggested, pulling something from under one of the books on the table before them. It was a Muggle entertainment magazine.
Teddy's eyebrows shot up. "How did you get that?"
Scorpius shrugged. "Aunt Daphne had it in her loo. She won't miss it."
Teddy flipped through the pages, looking at the movie stars. It would be fun to try some of them out. Maybe he could even go around in public and see if people ask him for autographs. "Well, keep it hidden from your parents," he said, handing it back to him, "and we'll look at it closer next time."
Once the magazine was stashed, Scorpius asked, "You get it from our side of the family, right? The Black side?"
"Well, I'm not sure," Teddy told him. "I got it from my Mum, and she was half Black."
"But the other half was Muggle-born," Scorpius said, "so it couldn't have been from there."
"Why not?"
"Because you can't have a Muggle metamorphmagus, can you?" Scorpius said as if it was silly to even contemplate such a thing.
"Scorpius, you know that there's a theory that Muggle-born witches and wizards have at least one wizarding ancestor far enough back that either no one in the family knew or they forgot, right?"
Scorpius nodded. Of course he did.
"Well," Teddy continued, "if magical ability can lay dormant in the bloodlines for many generations, why not the metamorphmagus gene-or whatever it is that causes this?"
Scorpius considered this. "I suppose . . . But it makes more sense that it would come straight through wizarding lines."
"But to our knowledge there aren't any other metamorphmagus Blacks either."
"Aha!" Scorpius said, pointing a finger at Teddy. "To our knowledge."
Teddy cocked his head. "Why do you ask, anyway?"
"No reason, I just . . . " Scorpius trailed off, fiddling at the carpet with his toe.
"Scorpius Malfoy, are you hoping you'll suddenly become a metamorphmagus when you hit puberty?" Teddy was teasing, but he could tell by the flush that came to Scorpius's cheeks that he'd hit the mark. "You've been reading too many of those Muggle comics, haven't you?"
"It's not that!" Scorpius lied.
Taking pity on the kid, Teddy said, "It's all right if you are. It is pretty awesome to be me."
"I don't want to be you," Scorpius said, still looking at the carpet. "I just . . . "
"Don't want to be your dad?" Teddy guessed.
Scorpius nodded. "You look like your dad, but that's okay because he was a war hero and everyone loved him."
"Actually-"
Scorpius's head shot up. There was something wild in his eyes. "Well, they love him now. There's books and articles about him. He's even got his own Chocolate Frog card!"
"Scorpius-"
"And even all that wasn't true, even if he'd been a Death Eater, you could just change your face to whatever you wanted so no one knew."
"Scorpius-"
"But everyone's gonna be watching out for me, aren't they? 'Oh, there goes that Malfoy kid. Wonder when he's gonna stab us all in the back.'"
"Scorpius!" Teddy put his hand on Scorpius's shoulder to stop his tirade. The boy finally stilled, looking half embarrassed and half like he wanted to go on. Teddy met his eyes. "It's no shame to be your father's son."
"Easy for you to say," Scorpius grumbled."
"No. It's not." Teddy sighed. "Look, Scor, I've been living under the shadow of my parents my whole life. Everywhere I look-my Godfather, my surrogate family, my teachers-everyone expects things of me. It's . . . it's like they expect me to do something amazing to make up for my parents having died. Like I was supposed to be this perfect kid, because anything less than perfection wouldn't make up for what the world lost. But it's not all good, either. There are others . . . I guess your parents have spared you this much, at least, but it wasn't that long ago that people thought werewolves were terrible people. My dad used to teach at Hogwarts, but when people found out what he was, he had to quit, and then he could never get another job. Nobody wanted to hire a werewolf. Thought he might just go crazy on them or something. And there are still people who think that way. I can tell when they look at me, when they know who I am. Even though I'm not a werewolf, since my dad was one, they still think I might just snap and kill someone, snatch a baby and run off to live in the woods or something."
This got a small, uncomfortable laugh from Scorpius. "I didn't know that. Must be annoying."
"You learn ways of dealing with people like that. It's really not that big of a problem, now they're not the ones making the laws anymore." Teddy leaned back in his seat. "Nearly everyone has expectations of one sort or another put on them. Blokes like you and me just got a little more of it than most. But you shouldn't worry about it, Scor. Just be yourself no matter what anyone else says, and you'll do fine."
Scorpius relaxed and tried a smile. "Thanks, Teddy. Now I just have to figure out how to tell my father if I don't end up in Slytherin."
"You think that's a possibility?"
"I don't feel very Slytherin," Scorpius admitted. "Actually, I've had my eye on Ravenclaw."
Teddy grinned and ruffled Scorpius's hair again. "Too right. Someone's got to be the 'Claw heartthrob now I'm gone."
Scorpius ducked his head, pretending to pick something off his robes.
Teddy picked up one of the books. "Now, we've got a lot of work to get you ready by September. What say we start off today with a little Elementary Herbology?"
Title: Teddy Lupin, Private Tutor
Pairing(s): none
Rating: G
Warnings: none
Summary: Teddy helps his cousin Scorpius get ready for Hogwarts.
Word Count: 1,332
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's/Artist's notes: I hope this is fluffy enough. I don't have a lot of experience with pure fluff, but I don't think it's too angsty.
Teddy straightened his robes as he approached the house. They weren't his best robes, but close. He'd arrived wearing his everyday robes the first time and felt embarrassingly underdressed.
He knocked on the door, then ran his fingers through his hair. It was his natural brown, for the most part, but he had put one streak of blue in it. Couldn't make it look like he was hiding himself for their sakes, and Scorpius seemed to enjoy it.
The door opened to reveal a severe-looking man with prematurely receding hair. "You're late, Lupin," he drawled.
Teddy smiled crookedly. "No, I'm not, Draco. I'm right on time. Good effort, though."
Draco stood straighter, annoyed. "So, how many N.E.W.T.s did you manage to get?"
"Six," Teddy replied, grinning innocently.
Draco pursed his lips, then moved aside. "Come in, then. Scorpius is in the parlor."
Teddy glided past Draco, said a friendly hello to Astoria when he passed her on the way, got a stiff nod in return, and continued down the marble floor until he reached the parlor, where Scorpius was sitting on the floor, reading.
"Teddy!" Scorpius's grey eyes lit up, he leapt to his feet and raced across the room to Teddy. "I finished all my work from last time! Do you want to see it now?"
"Hey, easy there," Teddy laughed, ruffling Scorpius's pale blonde hair. "How about a hello first?"
"Hello," Scorpius said. "Do a face!"
Teddy shifted his features, made his cheekbones more prominent, darkened his hair, and looked at Scorpius with a twinkle in his grey eyes. Scorpius scrunched up his face in concentration.
"Come on, Scor, this is an easy one," Teddy said. He'd shifted his voice somewhat, but as he didn't have a sample to base it on, he'd never be able to get it perfect.
"Sirius!" Scorpius cried. "Sirius Black the third, to be precise."
"Spot on," Teddy said, shifting his face back to normal. Scorpius followed him to the chairs in the corner, and they sat. "We'll have to dig up some more photographs. I'm running out of faces for you."
"We could try this," Scorpius suggested, pulling something from under one of the books on the table before them. It was a Muggle entertainment magazine.
Teddy's eyebrows shot up. "How did you get that?"
Scorpius shrugged. "Aunt Daphne had it in her loo. She won't miss it."
Teddy flipped through the pages, looking at the movie stars. It would be fun to try some of them out. Maybe he could even go around in public and see if people ask him for autographs. "Well, keep it hidden from your parents," he said, handing it back to him, "and we'll look at it closer next time."
Once the magazine was stashed, Scorpius asked, "You get it from our side of the family, right? The Black side?"
"Well, I'm not sure," Teddy told him. "I got it from my Mum, and she was half Black."
"But the other half was Muggle-born," Scorpius said, "so it couldn't have been from there."
"Why not?"
"Because you can't have a Muggle metamorphmagus, can you?" Scorpius said as if it was silly to even contemplate such a thing.
"Scorpius, you know that there's a theory that Muggle-born witches and wizards have at least one wizarding ancestor far enough back that either no one in the family knew or they forgot, right?"
Scorpius nodded. Of course he did.
"Well," Teddy continued, "if magical ability can lay dormant in the bloodlines for many generations, why not the metamorphmagus gene-or whatever it is that causes this?"
Scorpius considered this. "I suppose . . . But it makes more sense that it would come straight through wizarding lines."
"But to our knowledge there aren't any other metamorphmagus Blacks either."
"Aha!" Scorpius said, pointing a finger at Teddy. "To our knowledge."
Teddy cocked his head. "Why do you ask, anyway?"
"No reason, I just . . . " Scorpius trailed off, fiddling at the carpet with his toe.
"Scorpius Malfoy, are you hoping you'll suddenly become a metamorphmagus when you hit puberty?" Teddy was teasing, but he could tell by the flush that came to Scorpius's cheeks that he'd hit the mark. "You've been reading too many of those Muggle comics, haven't you?"
"It's not that!" Scorpius lied.
Taking pity on the kid, Teddy said, "It's all right if you are. It is pretty awesome to be me."
"I don't want to be you," Scorpius said, still looking at the carpet. "I just . . . "
"Don't want to be your dad?" Teddy guessed.
Scorpius nodded. "You look like your dad, but that's okay because he was a war hero and everyone loved him."
"Actually-"
Scorpius's head shot up. There was something wild in his eyes. "Well, they love him now. There's books and articles about him. He's even got his own Chocolate Frog card!"
"Scorpius-"
"And even all that wasn't true, even if he'd been a Death Eater, you could just change your face to whatever you wanted so no one knew."
"Scorpius-"
"But everyone's gonna be watching out for me, aren't they? 'Oh, there goes that Malfoy kid. Wonder when he's gonna stab us all in the back.'"
"Scorpius!" Teddy put his hand on Scorpius's shoulder to stop his tirade. The boy finally stilled, looking half embarrassed and half like he wanted to go on. Teddy met his eyes. "It's no shame to be your father's son."
"Easy for you to say," Scorpius grumbled."
"No. It's not." Teddy sighed. "Look, Scor, I've been living under the shadow of my parents my whole life. Everywhere I look-my Godfather, my surrogate family, my teachers-everyone expects things of me. It's . . . it's like they expect me to do something amazing to make up for my parents having died. Like I was supposed to be this perfect kid, because anything less than perfection wouldn't make up for what the world lost. But it's not all good, either. There are others . . . I guess your parents have spared you this much, at least, but it wasn't that long ago that people thought werewolves were terrible people. My dad used to teach at Hogwarts, but when people found out what he was, he had to quit, and then he could never get another job. Nobody wanted to hire a werewolf. Thought he might just go crazy on them or something. And there are still people who think that way. I can tell when they look at me, when they know who I am. Even though I'm not a werewolf, since my dad was one, they still think I might just snap and kill someone, snatch a baby and run off to live in the woods or something."
This got a small, uncomfortable laugh from Scorpius. "I didn't know that. Must be annoying."
"You learn ways of dealing with people like that. It's really not that big of a problem, now they're not the ones making the laws anymore." Teddy leaned back in his seat. "Nearly everyone has expectations of one sort or another put on them. Blokes like you and me just got a little more of it than most. But you shouldn't worry about it, Scor. Just be yourself no matter what anyone else says, and you'll do fine."
Scorpius relaxed and tried a smile. "Thanks, Teddy. Now I just have to figure out how to tell my father if I don't end up in Slytherin."
"You think that's a possibility?"
"I don't feel very Slytherin," Scorpius admitted. "Actually, I've had my eye on Ravenclaw."
Teddy grinned and ruffled Scorpius's hair again. "Too right. Someone's got to be the 'Claw heartthrob now I'm gone."
Scorpius ducked his head, pretending to pick something off his robes.
Teddy picked up one of the books. "Now, we've got a lot of work to get you ready by September. What say we start off today with a little Elementary Herbology?"