A/N: This was written for Round 7 of the QLFC. I'm Chaser 2 for the Montrose Magpies. All prompts and other challenges are listed in the bottom A/N so as not to give anything away.
Thank you as always to my wonderful team and betas. You're all amazing.
life is full of limitless possibilities (trust me)
3rd March 2014
Neville stared at the student records he had in front of him. That morning, Teddy Lupin had received yet another detention — earning him the accolade of 'most detentions accumulated in his year' for the second year running. Andromeda had written to Neville, knowing that he and the Hufflepuff prefect were close, at a loss as to what to do. The first thing he had done was spend some time in the staff room, looking for reasons why one of his best students would have such a poor reputation. Unfortunately, the picture Teddy's records painted was a serious one; from drawing his wand on a teacher to arguing back with almost everyone. Then there was skipping class, wearing the incorrect uniform, altering his appearance to deliberately disrupt the class, and twice getting in duels with other students.
So Neville had set about searching for the young Metamorphmagus. He had written back, saying he would take Teddy under his wing and had so far looked through what felt like the whole castle and half of the grounds. Eventually, he found him - with shockingly neon green hair, it was hard not to - sat with his legs dangling over the edge of a sheer drop down into the Black Lake below, which looked cold and unforgiving in the late afternoon light. It had been quite a walk around the edge of the Forest and he saw Teddy tense in anticipation of being told off. Instead, Neville sighed as he sat down next to him, glad to rest his legs.
"Quite a view from up here."
The cliff looked over the lake, but Hogsmeade was also visible from this vantage point. Teddy didn't answer, his eyes fixed on the Shrieking Shack.
"It's not late; I haven't missed dinner."
"No, you haven't," Neville agreed calmly. He sat in silence, waiting for Teddy to break it once more.
"Are you here to tell me off?"
"What for?"
"For... for being in the Forbidden Forest, for the detention, I got in Ancient Runes, for something else, I don't know," Teddy scowled, his tone rising with each word. "There's always something, isn't there?"
Neville just stayed silent with a small smile on his face. Eventually, his scowl deepening, Teddy broke the silence again.
"Why are you here then? Did Harry send you? Or my Grandma?"
"Nobody has, although, it shouldn't surprise you to know they're worried. I'm sure they've talked to you about it. No, I'm here because I need some help and given that it's a bit of a thankless job, I decided the person who has done the most detentions so far this term has volunteered themselves. That would be you, Mr Lupin."
Teddy rolled his eyes. It was almost impressive, how he could throw so much feeling into such a simple movement.
"Need some help with the compost heap?"
"Not exactly," Neville said with that small smile. "Have you ever travelled by Portkey, Teddy?"
Whether it was his request or the use of his nickname, Teddy's green hair gained a turquoise tinge. Neville had known him long enough to know his curiosity was piqued.
"Yes," Teddy said hesitantly.
"Excellent, then this should be simple. On your feet."
Teddy didn't move until Neville stood up and held out a small navy blue toy car.
"It's leaving in about thirty seconds if you'd like to come. Otherwise, you'll be cleaning desks of graffiti, I believe, which may be an impossible task. Although now you mention it, my compost heap does need..."
Teddy jumped to his feet, putting his hand over Neville's so the toy car was sandwiched in between, and then the Portkey pulled them away from the Forbidden Forest into a blur of colour. When they landed, Neville nimbly on his feet and Teddy only stumbling slightly, the young man's hair was a brilliant blue. As he glanced curiously around, Neville had to hide a smile.
"Knockturn Alley? What are we doing here? I didn't think someone like you would ever come down here," Teddy said, giving Neville an appraising look.
Despite the rumours and tall tales that had sprung up from his time in the Second Wizarding War, Neville's proclivity for always having a mug of tea in his hand and wearing jumpers, as well as crooning to his plants, meant that most of the student body thought of him as rather soft. Neville liked to keep it that way.
"I have a safe house here. I bought it years ago and use it for storage, but I thought it could also come in handy for this project that you and I are about to embark on. Have you ever been in a duel, Teddy?"
"Does fighting against four Ravenclaws count?" Teddy muttered, bitterly.
"I'd say so. Did you heal yourself or did you use your abilities to will away the cuts and bruises away?" Neville sighed softly and stopped walking, Teddy looking at him with a stunned expression. "I used to babysit you as a child and did a lot of research. It was quite terrifying, really. Once, you turned the same colour as my sofa and I thought I'd lost you."
Looking lost for words, Teddy trailed after Neville, who led him down the Alley and into a small building pressed between an Apothecary and a bookstore. They walked up three sets of stairs and then Neville was pulling out a set of keys and unlocking a wooden door that looked like all it would take to blow off its hinges was a stiff breeze.
"Carry on through the lounge, and take the door on your right. That's where we'll duel."
"You're serious?"
"Yes. I think it'll be a good way for you to get some of what you are feeling out. It's a productive way to spend your time rather than in a normal detention, which is clearly having no effect. The skills you can learn are frankly, limitless. Besides, I am worried I'm getting rusty, so I could use a duelling partner."
Neville spoke with more confidence than he was feeling, although he didn't let on. It was a risk, but if Neville was right, he was sure that he could help.
"Unless you don't like this idea; that's absolutely fine. We can go back to school just after I check the house over."
"No," Teddy said hurriedly, his wand already in his hand, looking more enthusiastic than Neville had seen him in a long time. "No, let's duel."
25th March 2014
Teddy picked himself up off the floor. Knockturn Alley was barely visible through the grimy windows, so grimy that they made him want to stop what they were doing and just cast a few cleaning spells. Instead, he made himself focus; twice before, Neville had cursed him when he had his back turned, always with that soft smile. He raised his wand silently, watching Neville carefully.
In this room, Neville was merely Neville and almost anything went. Teddy had been encouraged to use his ability, to cast curses and spells that weren't strictly on the curriculum. In turn, Neville had proven that he was much more than the calm, bumbling professor that many people assumed. This time, Teddy's shield held against the purple spell that smashed against it and then he was casting a silent Reducto, followed by a Stupefy. Neville didn't even have to protect himself; he just side-stepped out of the way.
"Stop."
Frustrated, Teddy lowered his wand.
"You need to calm down," Neville said. "Right now, you're duelling just to hurt someone, firing wildly. You need to focus."
"I can't!"
"Yes, you can."
"Oh look, your words of affirmation have suddenly made it possible," Teddy snapped, running a hand through his hair. "I am focused! I thought we were just duelling?"
"No. We're trying to deal with your anger. This is an agreement, Teddy. You won't have to serve detentions, but this isn't somewhere you can just mess around. We're here for a purpose and if you think that the purpose is for you to just duel me and get knocked down, you need to start thinking harder." Neville holstered his wand. "We have been doing this for three weeks now and I haven't asked you what's going on. But I'm hoping to help you with whatever it is. You can talk to me Teddy, I'm not that old. We're not that different."
Teddy looked away, clearly avoiding his question.
"Raise your wand; let's practice your shielding spells."
Neville came over, adjusting Teddy's stance and for the rest of the hour, the pair worked in mostly silence until Teddy's shield was stronger than it had been before.
Once again, the toy car was pulled out of Neville's cardigan pocket and they were whisked back to the gates of Hogwarts.
"Thank you, Professor Longbottom. I'll... I'll think about what you said," Teddy said softly. "I appreciate what you're doing; I really do."
"Just remember, Teddy. Without balance, there's no control. Right now, you're close to letting the anger tip you over the edge and I want to help, but you have to be willing to accept this help."
Teddy merely nodded.
30th April 2014
Neville wrote back to Harry with yet another progress update after their eighth duelling lesson. He had been writing both to the Hufflepuff's grandmother and guardian. Teddy was a skilled wizard, but there was so much he was keeping hidden. Neville had the sense that there was a lot milling about under the surface. And so far, he had been unwilling to open up.
He stayed for a moment in the Owlery, watching as the owl flew away with the recently finished letter tied to its leg and then Neville's gaze shifted over to Hogsmeade with the Shrieking Shack silhouetted against the half moon.
Neville never called himself an orphan, but he could understand some of the difficulties Teddy was facing. Between being raised between Andromeda and Harry, as well as the overhanging memories of his parents, there was a long shadow that Teddy had to come out from under. He had always been a curious child, full of questions, desperate to make people like him. He was one of the most empathetic people that Neville had ever met and yet recently, something had changed.
As Neville patrolled that evening after curfew, he couldn't help but feel that something was changing. The Ravenclaws had been particularly confrontational, getting numerous detentions for their overly competitive nature, and if Teddy, or something else, didn't change soon, Neville was concerned how the pressure that was building would blow up.
Perhaps it was that thought that jinxed it. Neville was tempted to believe that because three days later, someone was knocking hard on the door to his quarters. Opening the door, Neville took a step back immediately, letting Teddy come in.
"I'm gay," Teddy said immediately after the door had closed behind him. "And I just nearly put Victor Martins through the wall because he's a homophobic prick, but I didn't."
Teddy was breathing heavily and a bruise was already forming on his cheek. Before Neville could say a word, the Hufflepuff was pacing, throwing his hands up in the air as he spoke.
"I kissed him, Victor, months ago at a party and then someone caught us and he told them all a load of lies. He said I'd used some sort of love potion, then he said I'd morphed into a cute girl and just… it's all lies! I've tried standing up to them, but what can I say? My grandmother got married straight out of school, Harry and Ginny met in school, almost everyone around me seems to have fallen in love. They all had real issues, and there was war, and all of these things — my problems are nothing compared to that!"
"Teddy —"
"Don't tell me it'll be okay; you don't know that. You don't know what they're going to say. You don't know what my parents would have thought. I just wanted to tell you because I wanted to use the spells you've taught me, but I didn't, so your reverse psychology worked or whatever."
"Teddy, I'm gay as well."
Teddy stopped in his tracks as Neville let out a slow breath.
"Let me heal you and we'll talk about Mr Martins, and whatever else is going on."
"I… what?"
"I'm gay. I struggled a lot when I was your age actually and tried very hard to be straight. I wouldn't recommend that." Neville felt the smile slip off his face as Teddy kept staring at him. "You're right, I don't know what your parents would have said to you, but your father was one of the first people I told and he made me a cup of tea. He never judged me and nor did Harry, Ginny or any of my other friends. I was lucky in that way."
Teddy sat down heavily, looking absolutely shaken to his core. Neville healed him and slowly told him his story. His first crush had been on Harry himself, something that Teddy found distinctly weird and amusing. But he had kept it mostly a secret through all of his school years until he brought it up in conversation in his late twenties.
Harry's face had looked even more shocked than Teddy's, but Neville didn't tell him that.
"Teddy, I won't tolerate bullying," Neville said firmly. "I'll do everything in my power to get Mr Martins suspended in the very least."
Teddy exhaled heavily. "Okay, but… Just leave it until tomorrow, okay?"
Neville slowly nodded and decided, when Teddy left several hours later, to not ask any questions. They had had tea and biscuits, and Teddy had asked more questions than Neville had been capable of answering.
It wasn't going to be an easy road, but Teddy left with his bruises healed and his hair a vibrant blue, a soft smile on his face and Neville felt some of the worry in his heart about the young man ease.
The next morning, Headmistress McGonagall addressed the whole school and spoke of several students who had been suspended due to bullying and intolerant behaviour. Few people seemed surprised and yet the rumours in the castle were flying fast and furious. Neville listened to some Slytherins whispering during second period and, at lunch time, walked past Teddy in the Great Hall.
"Just one moment, Mr Lupin."
"Yes, Professor?"
Neville lowered his voice.
"There are rumours of a duel occurring last night, which as a prefect I'm sure you know is against the rules."
"But they are only rumours, Sir, and as no one was sent to the Hospital Wing, I can only assume that whoever duelled had a particularly strong shield charm," Teddy said, a look of absolute innocence on his face.
"Indeed, Mr Lupin. Indeed. Don't forget, detention next week."
Teddy nodded and Neville heard one of his friends turn to him and say, "Have you still got detention with Longbottom? That's been ages."
"What can I say? I've found out the things he can teach me really are limitless, so I don't mind."
Neville had to hide his smile as Teddy Lupin walked out of the Great Hall, his hair a vibrant, overjoyed blue.
A/N:
- QL Round 7: Use the movie 'The Next Karate Kid' as your inspiration. Additional prompts: Knockturn Alley (location), toy car (object), limitless (word).
- The Hunger Games Fanfic Style III: Round 2 - Word: Impossible, Emotion: Anger, Dialogue: "I can't." / "Yes, you can." / "Oh, look, your words of affirmation have magically made it possible.", Character: Neville Longbottom, Genre: Angst
- Sophie's Tearoom: Mini Pistachio and Chocolate Macarons - (action) Physical Fighting
- Chocolate Frog Cards: Balfour Blane - The main character in your story is in a position of authority.
- Character Appreciation: 3. Trait - Competitive
- Disney Challenge: T3. Alternatively, write about someone old passing on their knowledge to a younger generation of their family.
- Cookies Crafty Corner: Yarn: Write about someone learning something new.
- Book Club: Nick: (dialogue) "We're not so different.", (colour) navy blue, (word) guardian
- Showtime: 9. (word) Imagination
- Amber's Attic: T4. Write about someone receiving advice.
- Lyric Alley: 6. No one'll love you as you are
- Ami's Audio Admirations. 15. Write about someone who is one-in-a-million.
- Em's Emporium: 16. Write about a character who makes you smile.
- Angel's Arcade: 3. (relationship) apprentice/mentor, (word) cold, (location) London
- Lo's Lowdown: C4. write about someone who prefers actions to words.
- Bex's Bazaar: O1. Write about someone realising that it's okay to be different. Alternatively, write about someone being bullied for being different.
- Days of the Year: July 10 2018 - Teddy Bear Picnic Day: Write about Teddy as a child.
- Shay's Musical Challenge 29. The King and I - write about learning something in a place you didn't expect.
- Gryffindor Themed Prompts Neville Longbottom, (trait) Short - Tempered.
- Summer Astronomy Prompts: July 27 2018 - Mars at Opposition. - (emotion) Anger