Author Notes: Thank you to aigooism for the beta!
Warnings: Dark!fic
"Teddy."
Teddy looks up, hardly daring to believe the burst of hope that's fluttering in his chest. He's been trying for months, almost a year actually, and without any success. It's magic of the darkest kind, but he wants to do it. He needs to do it. "D-dad?"
Remus smiles at him, a smile filled with love and everything Teddy's always wanted. "You're so grown up," he says.
Teddy reaches out a hand but it passes right through. Remus's just an apparition, a ghost, a wraith. The lump in his throat is making his breath come in gasps and Teddy isn't sure if he's imagining all of this or not. Maybe the stress has finally gotten to him. Maybe he's asleep right now and none of this is real. Maybe Snape's notebook on necromancy doesn't exist and Teddy's still happily employed. Maybe his parents are still alive.
"It's real," Remus tells him. There's a note of urgency in Remus's voice as he looks over Teddy's shoulder at something that only he can see. "But I only have a few minutes."
Teddy manages to open his mouth. He coughs. "It's supposed to be permanent." His voice sounds strangled even to his own ears.
Remus gives him a sad smile. "You... you look so much like your mother."
Guilt bubbles up in Teddy's stomach. He wants both his parents back but he only has the ingredients for one person. And now, even that doesn't seem to have been enough. "What did I do wrong?" he asks urgently. Perhaps it's something he can fix. Teddy curls his fingers around his wand tightly.
Remus hesitates. "There's nothing."
Teddy narrows his eyes. He knows that look. It's the same look he gets whenever he's lying to somebody. "There is something," he insists. "I know there is. What is it?" There are a thousand things he wants to ask, but they're stuck in his throat. He can't ask them. Not now. Not while he knows that his dad might fade away any minute.
"I'm glad for this chance to meet you," Remus says. He smiles faintly. "Even for this very short time. I'm sorry I was never there for you."
"But you can be," Teddy insists. "Just tell me what I need to do. You can still be there for me. You can see me get a job. You can see me get married, have children, have grandchildren." He takes a deep breath. "This doesn't have to be it."
Remus shakes his head. "It's too dangerous."
Teddy snorts and waves his arm to indicate the entire room with the bubbling cauldrons and herbs strung up everywhere. "And this isn't?" he bursts out. "I've gone so far, I can't stop now. Not after I've seen you."
"You don't understand."
Teddy presses his lips together tightly. "What am I missing? I followed the recipe exactly. I did everything that it said."
"You're playing about with dark magic that you know nothing about." There's an ominous tone in Remus's voice.
Teddy knows that but he doesn't want to think about it. He doesn't want to stop and think about the illegality, because if he does, then he'll realise that he shouldn't be doing any of this. And he doesn't want to think about that. "Nothing's happened so far," he says firmly.
"It's dark magic. You can't control it," Remus tells him. "I know I wasn't around to teach you that, but surely somebody would have told you."
"It brought you back," Teddy points out. There's a niggling thought at the back of his mind. There's something about dark magic that he has heard about, something important, but he can't seem to put his finger on it.
Remus shakes his head.
"I know what I'm doing," Teddy says stubbornly, but inside he feels almost pleased. Maybe this is what it's like to argue with a parent.
"Everybody who dabbles in dark magic says that."
Teddy frowns. "Dark magic," he says slowly. "There's something about dark magic. Something I'm forgetting." There's a flash in Remus's eyes and Teddy knows he's right. "Tell me. There isn't much time." He doesn't look at his watch; he doesn't want to know how much time has passed and how much time he might have left.
Remus bites his lip. "Dark magic is blood-based," he says.
The words wash over Teddy before he understands it. "Blood-based," he repeats as he walks over to the cauldron. "I need to add blood to the mixture."
"It's too dangerous," Remus tells him. "You're my son. I forbid you to risk your life like this!"
Teddy laughs. "I want to." His fingers tremble as he takes out the little pocketknife that's a present from his grandmother. He knows how sharp the little knife is.
"Don't do it."
Teddy ignores him as he flips the pocketknife open. The steel gleams in the light as he takes a deep breath and draws the blade across the skin of his arm. The sting is immediate and Teddy feels almost numb as he sees the blood well up. He holds his arm up over the cauldron.
"Don't," Remus says, shaking his head.
Teddy smiles. "We'll be a family." The world wobbles around him and Teddy reaches out an arm to steady himself against the wall. He needs to go through with this. He owes his dad this much. If it weren't for his dad and his mum, then he wouldn't be here. The war might have been very different. He has to do this. Teddy swallows. He watches as his blood continues to drip slowly into the potion. Each drop seems to hesitate before falling, almost as though his very blood doesn't want to go through with this.
"You shouldn't have done that, Teddy," Remus says. There's an odd look on his face.
"You're my dad," Teddy says, but the words are strangely slurred. "I'd do anything for you." Remus's face seems to blur before his eyes, the soft features sharpening and his eyes darkening. There's a hollow feeling in Teddy's stomach and he stumbles against the wall.
"You'll be feeling the effects now," Remus tells him, almost conversationally. "It'll happen very quickly."
Teddy stares – or at least he tries to, but he can't seem to focus properly. "W-what will?" Teddy manages to get out. Why is Remus looking at him like that? It's a hungry look; there's a gleam in Remus's eyes and a smirk playing about his lips.
"The effects of adding your blood to the potion."
There's a ringing in Teddy's ears that makes Remus's voice sound lower. "But... you're m-my dad..." Teddy coughs and when he takes his hand away, there's blood splattered on his fingers. "W... why?"
"Why am I doing this?" Remus asks him, his voice low and mocking. "Because I want to live. And you're going to help me do that."
Teddy feels himself slumping down onto the floor. The world's slipping away from him, he can feel it. He's going to die, but all Teddy seems to be able to think about is why his dad would do this to him. Through the haze that's moving across his vision, Teddy sees Remus's hair lengthening and turning black. The hooked nose sharpens the face and the glitter in his eyes sends a shiver down Teddy's spine. Teddy struggles to draw in a breath. "Y-you're not ..."
"I'm not your father." The voice is silky. "I lied. But thank you, Teddy Lupin, for this new lease on life."
Teddy tries to lift his wand, to open his mouth, to speak, to do anything, but he can't seem to move. It almost feels like he's insubstantial, fading away.
"Goodbye, Teddy." Teddy hears footsteps walking away and then they stop. "Oh and Teddy?" The voice drifts back to him, like a scent on the breeze. "Say hello to Remus for me."
-fin