(A/N: Rated K+.
A weekly word prompt from facebook's Fanfiction . net Writers Unite! group is the reason behind this. This weeks word: rainbow. I had the time and inspiration, so ta-da. The summary, I think, is self-explanatory... but for any newbs to the Harry Potter fandom: Edward Remus (AKA: Teddy) Lupin is a next-gen character (son of Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks). There really isn't much back story on the little guy, so he's rather fun to write. As in canon, Teddy has inherited his mum's Metamorphmagus ability (able to change his appearance).
Warnings: None.
Enjoy. :))
Harry Potter sat on the uncomfortable auditorium chair. It was ridiculous that the thing wouldn't take a cushioning charm and he was dangerously close to loosing all feeling in both butt-cheeks. He fidgeted a little and exhaled slowly, trying not to make any juvenile noises of discomfort.
"Potter."
Harry grinned and slowly turned towards the annoyed tone but dimmed the smile on his face a little, knowing it wouldn't be appreciated. "Malfoy.''
"Would you please cease your wiggling?" Draco asked, giving Potter a glare from the corner of his eye. He should know better than to expect a solid five minutes of peace... Even if he did agree the chairs were horrendously uncomfortable. He was tempted to transfigure it into a more suitable seat, but he could endure a little discomfort for another hour.
Harry snickered and wiggled deliberately. True, he and Malfoy had a more civil relationship these days, having to learn to how to get along rather early in Teddy's life. Neither one of them, surprise surprise, had been willing to give up their relationship with a young Teddy; Harry taking his role of godfather seriously and Draco refusing to walk away from a blood relative (regardless how distantly related) now that he was able to interact with his family again. So, they'd been forced to interact more frequently. And without resorting to childish name-calling and hexes.
Andromeda, Teddy's grandmother, had willingly supervised their visits for the first couple months until they learned to get along well enough they didn't hex each other bald (or with extra body parts). But there had been a vicious, mostly verbal, fight when Andromeda passed shortly after Teddy's third birthday and Harry was awarded custody. Draco had been livid, claiming his blood relation should have put him ahead of Potter-even if he was the stupid Savoir.
Harry, oddly enough, had agreed. Draco was wonderful with Teddy and he didn't understand why he hadn't been first choice. But nothing Harry said was able to change a legally, magically, binding will of a pure-blood. Especially a Black. It had taken a bit of time to get back to being civil and some delicate balancing for an unoffical sort of shared custody. Now they could almost be considered friends.
But all that didn't mean he didn't still enjoy winding the blonde up now and again. He ducked his head and laughed into his rcollar when Draco retaliated with an elbow in the ribs. The pointy git.
"Nice, Potter. Keep it up and we'll miss Teddy."
Harry straightened in his chair and looked towards the front of the large auditorium. Even though the graduating class was large, over 100 graduates this year, it was still easy to pick Teddy out of a crowd. A bright shock of turquoise hair had him smiling out of reflex and raising his hand when he noticed Teddy looking his way.
Teddy waved back and grinned, giving his godfather and cousin a double thumbs up. He laughed out-right when Draco's face pinched in a light scowl at the Muggle gesture. It was part of the reason he did it, honestly. He shared his godfather's petty thrill of riling Draco whenever possible. His hair shifted from a pale blonde to a messy black before returning to his preferred turquoise. The Headmaster approaching a large, ornate podium had him quickly shifting his attention from the audience to the front.
Harry chuckled softly, amused as he always was when Teddy showed off his growing control over his abilities. Teddy didn't always have such easy control and until he was seven, his hair would shift and change randomly (or with certain stimuli) when he practised. He knew it was cheesy, borderline Hufflepuffian, but he almost missed the ever-changing rainbow that used to be Teddy's head.
It wasn't exactly an indicator, but he'd learned to read Teddy by the colors he'd choose to change his hair into when he didn't put a lot of thought into it. Especially when he was practicing.
He settled back in his chair and let the dull voice of the Headmaster roll over him. There would be speeches for awhile and he wasn't exactly looking forward to more time sitting in this chair. He occasionally glanced at Teddy and smiled a little when he saw Teddy's attention was firmly on the Headmaster, instead of wandering like his own.
"Did he say why he went turquoise today?" Draco murmured, leaning over a little so he didn't disturb anyone around them. How they were able to stay awake through this speech, he hadn't any clue. Talking to Potter was sure o keep him awake.
Harry shrugged. "He likes turquoise." Actually, Teddy was partial to bubblegum pink since Harry had shown him pictures of his mum, her hair in the usual bright color. Tonks used to keep her hair that color most often. The turquoise, since he had also asked Teddy about it, would be better suited for today. Less... distracting.
"True," Draco murmured, righting himself. He had hoped for something a little more... appropriate like a netural brown (even though he knew Teddy hated sticking with 'normal' colors). He heard Potter snicker and he glanced over, curious. The other wizard had a soft expression on his face and he could only imagine what was going through his head.
Probably memories of Teddy. Which was understandable. He was graduating Hogwarts today, so a little stroll down memeory lane was to be expected. He was bored enough to lean over and nudge Potter again. "What?"
"Just remembering Teddy's many perfected colors," Harry said quietly.
Red had been the best. Teddy had been about four and met Pansy Parkinson for the first time. The little boy blushed, his hair went bright red for a few moments and he spent the entire evening glued to the witch's side and showing off his growing Metamorphmagus abilities. Thankfully, Pansy had been charmed the moment Teddy had kissed her hand like a little gentleman and she took the attention with good grace.
"Such as?" Draco prompted.
Harry cleared his throat and leaned to the left a little. "His first day of kindergarten." He ignored Draco's sneer. The blonde hated that Harry had him enrolled in Muggle Primary school. He didn't know the first thing about what to teach a child, so he didn't want to attempt homeschooling and failing at Teddy's expense. Draco mentioned a tutor, but he didn't want Teddy to be stuck with only adults; he needed to be around kids his own age. The Wizarding Primary school wouldn't be open for a few more years and he didn't want to wait. So, as far as he was concerned, enrolling Teddy in school was the best idea.
And he was petty enough to enjoy telling Draco how much Teddy adored the time around other kids just to see the blonde's expression. He mostly enjoyed when Teddy would gush about his day to Draco as well and the other wizard would invariably nod along and smile at the little boy's exuberance.
"Right. Had to glamour that ridiculous head of bright orange hair."
Harry chuckled and nodded. "I did," he said easily. Teddy had known not to change his hair around his school friends, but his first day had him so excited he hadn't been able to help himself. Thankfully, they'd still been in the car and no one seemed to notice the little boy's hair shift from a neutral brown to spiky, bright orange. It hadn't lasted long and shifted to a messy black that matched Harry's, the look Teddy and Harry had decided on last night. Teddy had grinned cheekily, telling Harry it hadn't been entirely accidental.
He did tend to worry about Teddy's control. Especially around Muggles.
Harry turned when Draco chuckled, covering the sound with a light cough. "Oh, Merlin, the yellow," he groaned softly, closing and covering his eyes for a moment.
The yellow had been horrendous. Bright, canary yellow. No one looked good in yellow and that went double for anyone with Black heritage. He'd refrained from saying anything to Teddy because it had been his eighth birthday and he'd been so bloody happy, Draco hadn't the heart to squash that.
But. Yellow.
Teddy had walked around with a bright yellow mohawk for nearly the entire day, grinning like a loon.
Harry watched the first student get up and make their way across the stage, steps nervous and unsure. He didn't recognize the young woman that was shaking the Headmaster's hand with one hand and receiving her graduating scroll with the other, so he didn't feel too bad turning his attention away again.
"I hated the green," Harry muttered, glaring when Draco snickered. The green had two things against it; it was Slytherin green (Teddy having perfected the color at some point with Draco tutelage) and it generally meant Teddy was sick. About to vomit all over the place kind of sick. Teddy first case of the flu had been... colorful all around.
He still shuddered to think of it.
The blue, though, was probably a favorite for everyone. Teddy seemed to prefer it; all shades. From Ravenclaw blue (occasionally even with the bronze-tinted stripes or spots when he as in the mood to show his House pride and loyalty) to his current turquoise. Blue meant a happy, contented, peaceful Teddy. So, blue was always a welcome sight. Not even Draco had anything to say about blue, no matter the shade.
As if Teddy knew what he was thinking, his hair shifted from the bright turquoise to the Ravenclaw banner colors as he clapped for the student, a fellow Ravenclaw, receiving their scroll and handshake.
Harry drew his attention out of the cobwebs of memories and paid attention. Teddy would be up in a few moments since he saw Keller Higgins strut across the stage, onto the dais and give the Headmaster a cheeky bow. There was a low rumble of laughter from everyone watching and even the Headmaster cracked a smile and gave Keller a playful swat with the scroll.
Teddy's hair flashed purple briefly, apparently at the request of the young lady next to him, before it returned to turquoise.
Purple was usually good as well. He often saw Teddy with purple just before he fell asleep. Or when he was mostly focused on his homework and was absentmindedly practising his colors (and occasionally different styles). It wasn't one he stuck with long, more like a warm-up change before he settled on a different color.
"Merlin, why are there so many kids?"
Harry snickered and jabbed Draco again. "Shuddup," he murmured. It was tempting to get into a conversation about how 'the children are our future' or something along that line but he knew Draco was just complaining to complain. He wanted this to be over as well, but he was pleased to see so many young faces up there. He sat up when he heard Teddy's name and squashed the urge to clap obnoxiously loud or hoot and holler; what was fine during a Quidditch game wouldn't be appropriate here.
He grinned when Teddy glanced over and gave a thumbs up. He noticed even Draco was doing it and he made a mental note to mention it. Later.
Teddy reached out for his scroll and shifted his hair into a bright, bubblegum pink as he said his thanks and paused for his picture. He wasn't surprised to see his godfather still grinning and his cousin rolling his eyes as if no one could see the immature gesture. As he sat back down, he noticed the way they both squirmed after they settled.
Honestly; they were like two toddlers that could't sit still for more than 5 minutes. He made a shooing motion and held in a snicker when both wizards immediately stood and tried to sneak out of the auditorium. Not that Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy could sneak anywhere but they did try. They ended up stuck at the back, surrounded by two reporters, three single women throwing themselves at a still-single Harry and three fourth years trying to take pictures while begging for autographs.
He snickered, even as he sighed softly with relief, when Astoria Malfoy rescued the pair and managed to quietly, but effectively, send the group around the wizards scattering like pigeons with a single look and a few well-chosen words. He twiddled his fingers in a small wave when he caught her eye and saw her smile. It was a tiny, restrained smile but for Astoria Malfoy it might as well have been a toothy grin. He waved again when he noticed Scorpius, Draco's adorable mini-me, peeking over his father's shoulder as they quietly slipped through the auditorium doors.
"Dear, must you," Astoria said softly, her mouth slightly pinched.
Draco merely nodded. "Yes. I must, dear." He shifted Scorpius in his arms (he was getting a little too big to carry now that he was five), and gave his wife a smile. She rolled her eyes but he could tell she wasn't truly upset. She generally managed to take most of his 'quirks' with good grace, and he was grateful for it. He passed his son over to Potter when Scorpius wriggled a little, leaning towards the other wizard and making grabby hands.
It annoyed him his son liked the wizard so much; but times like this he couldn't find it in himself to care so much. He didn't have to worry about Scorpius wandering off and he knew his son was in good hands. He looked at his son curiously, taking in his scrunched face and tense posture. His first concern was to immediately direct Potter towards the loos.
"What are you doin', Scorp?" Harry asked, noticing the little blonde's wrinkled nose and tightly closed eyes. He ignored Draco's indignant huff at the 'horrid nickname' and poked Scorpius' shoulder when the little boy only doubled his efforts, clenching his hands as well.
Scorpius relaxed his face, and hands, with a huff. He gave Harry a pout and crossed his arms over his little chest. "I wanna have pink and blue and green hair, too."
"Oh!" Harry laughed and ruffled Scorpius groomed pale blonde hair. "You've got lovely hair, why change it?" Flattery never failed with a Malfoy and he grinned when Scorpius' pout vanished and the little boy patted his mussed hair back into place, looking pleased.
"Teddy has all sorts of colors," Scorpius said, trying not to whine. Mummy always frowned and scolded him when he whined and he knew she would hear it, even if she was across the lobby with his dad (listening, politely but still looking bored stiff, to Draco's boasting and then whining about the various House Cups in the trophy case). And it never worked to get him what he wanted but he couldn't help it sometimes.
Harry hummed and nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, well. Teddy is special, remember?"
Scorpius nodded; he remembered. He wanted fun hair, too, though. He was just about to say just that when Teddy burst through the main doors, a long, ribbon-wrapped scroll in his hands. "Teddy!" he yelled, bouncing and waving his hands.
Teddy returned the wave and hurried over to his family, smiling widely and taking a bouncing Scorpius from his godfather. Naturally, Scorp requested some colors and Teddy's hair went into a rainbow for the delighted little blonde.