Title: Boy Shadowling
Summary: "Born of the strangest, he will one day lead all humans and creatures alike...Born a Shadowling, no one will know until they need to..." Teddy Lupin always wondered why he was constantly ignored, why he was invisible in the eyes of so many others—and then he discovered that it was all because of a prophecy. AU, Alive!Dumbledore, Manipulative!Dumbledore, Remus/Tonks, Teddy/OC
Disclaimer: Any recognizable characters, settings, events, concepts, spells, and objects mentioned in this story belong, not to me, but to JK Rowling. I intend no copyright infringement and am writing this story for fun, not for profit.
Warnings: Language, violence, messed-up psychology, multiple character deaths, heavy angst, possible severe gore, torture (both physical and mental), het and slash and at least one femslash pairing. Also, this story contains Manipulative!Dumbledore. I have nothing against Dumbledore, I just enjoy writing those types of stories. If you don't like reading them, then don't read this.
Notes: Okay. I've had the prologue of this story written down (on actual, physical paper, *gasp*) for a while and I've finally decided to post it.
I'm not sure how long this story is going to be, but here's some perspective: the prologue would be set sometime at the end of HBP, and then a time jump to sometime during DH. The actual story begins when Teddy is around ten, and then will go through all seven of his Hogwarts years. I'm expecting it to go farther than that, too, well past the DH epilogue. So that calls for a long story.
And you may have noticed that I put Remus/Tonks in the summary. The story's heart is Teddy, but just because I have the main plot doesn't mean I can't have more subplots. I only put the story's major pairings in the summary, so Ronks will play a part in this story.
I think that's it, for now. So let us begin.
1. Prologue
Albus Dumbledore had a small smile on his face as he climbed the steps to the top of the Astronomy Tower, Snape and Trelawney close on his heels. It had taken some time to get the too utterly confused professors—even though it was rare for Snape to be confused, and a confused Snape was usually an oxymoron—to follow him to the top of the tower, but some convincing and carefully-worded statements had allowed him to manage it.
Others might wonder why he was smiling, but Albus knew more than he was letting on. He usually did. He knew what was going to happen tonight. At least, he knew what he wanted to happen tonight; and, being a Light Lord with a lot of influence, Albus usually got what he wanted.
He hoped that applied tonight.
He turned to Trelawney and smiled at her. "Sybill. I was wondering if you could repeat the prophecy that you made a few nights ago, so that our friend Severus could hear." Snape sneered at the idea of being someone's friend, but Albus ignored him.
"What proph—" Trelawney began questioningly, but she was cut off when her eyes rolled back into he head and she spoke in a voice more powerful than Albus had heard in a long time.
"A day will come when a boy will save us...When a boy for so long ignored will step into the light...Born of the fourth month, he will protect us...Born of the strangest, he will one day come to lead all humans and creatures alike...Born a Shadowling, no one will know until they need to..."
Then she seemed to revert back to normal, her eyes darting back and forth and murmuring her confusion over what had just happened.
"Thank you, Sybill," said Albus kindly. "Now, if you will excuse us for a moment, I have something I must discuss with Severus."
Trelawney nodded and, muttering to herself confusedly, made her way down the stairs.
Albus turned to Snape. "Severus. It seems that we must reevaluate our plan."
"How so, Headmaster?" Snape asked tonelessly, his arched eyebrow the only sign he gave that he wondered what the Headmaster meant.
"You cannot kill me. I must stay alive, to make sure this boy is strong enough to save us all."
"What about the Unbreakable Vow?" Snape asked, as equally tonelessly as before. "I must kill you if Draco Malfoy does not. And we both know he won't."
"There is a spell," said Albus, "a spell of my own creation, that dissolves the magic of any Unbreakable Vow made by the person on the receiving end."
Snape stood completely still, knowing that the Headmaster would cast the spell whether the Potions Master wanted him to or not. He felt the magic of the spell flowing over him, and felt the bonds of the Unbreakable Vow slowly dissolving.
Albus smiled. "There we go."
"Narcissa will be in for a shock," Snape said, and Albus's smile grew slightly. Snape's face remained expressionless.
"You will protect me, Severus. When Harry and I return from our...mission, of sorts...you will protect me. I must remain alive."
"It is the Lupin boy, Severus."
"I beg your pardon?"
Snape set his quill down on his desk and stared at the Headmaster, giving no sign that he had no idea what Albus was talking about.
"The boy that Sybill's prophecy refers to," Albus explained, sensing Snape's inner, hidden confusion. "I felt a great surge of power nine days ago. Only Shadowlings are that powerful the day they are born. Then I heard from Minerva—who was obviously trusted enough to be notified—about the boy's birth. I knew it had to be him."
"Are you sure that it's him, Headmaster?" Snape asked.
Albus nodded. "I am, Severus. 'Born with the fourth month.' He was born the fifth of April. 'Born of the strangest.' His parents are a Metamorphmagus and a werewolf. 'Born a Shadowling.' If you can feel magic—and I know that you can, Severus—you would have felt that surge of magic several days ago. And yes, Severus, I am aware that to could have been anyone who was the cause of that surge of magic, but accordng to the prophecy, it must be him."
"And the prophecy concerning the Dark Lord's fate could have easily meant Longbottom, but was instead referring to Potter."
"Trust me, Severus. Please."
"I am trying, but I'm finding it rather difficult."