Enter Teddy!
Dog Days Are Done
Sampling
He rose at nine o'clock Sunday morning. Not particularly early. He worked little on weekends, preferring to relax – now that he could. But he was hasty in leaving. The prospect of this exciting side project had him taking the steps to his lab two at a time. He grabbed a clean sample box and apparated from the sunny rear courtyard of his brownstone.
The Tonks' home was just countryside enough in Heptonstall. The crisp air was a bit like diving into a cold spring upon apparition. It was a bracing March morning. And the house itself was fitting for the environment surrounding it: a two-story Tudor choked by ivy and flora.
The wards must have been keyed to his arrival, because the door opened before his foot hit the stone steps. "Narcissa." His own tone irked him somehow.
"Surprised to see me?" Her tone irked him, too.
"Rather."
"Andromeda did tell you I'd come to help," she reminded, hanging his jacket on an ancient coat rack.
"I didn't realize you were staying with her," he said.
She faced him squarely in the hallway, framed by exposed beams. "My sister needs me," she said quietly. "Would you prefer I not be present?"
"Don't be ridiculous." He wondered at this tension; if he could dispel it, and what was its source? "I'm pleased you're here for her. The situations seems dire."
Finally, her eyebrow fell. "It is. Andy is preparing brunch. This way." She led him through a homey living area toward a noisy kitchen.
"How is Draco?" Severus asked. He was watching her hips unashamedly.
"Doing well. Working for Gringott's now. Engaged. He's abroad a great deal."
Snape nodded, thinking, 'Ungrateful little gobshite.' "And Lucius?" He asked aloud.
She stopped abruptly, and he drew up tight when his front hit her back. She gave him an over the shoulder glare. "I truly don't care."
Before he could even begin to fathom that response, Andromeda Tonks had spotted him. "Master Snape! We're so glad to see you!"
He had to duck beneath a low beam when he entered the sunny kitchen. There, at a modest breakfast sized table was Teddy Tonks and presumably the boy's grandfather Ted. Andy confirmed his presumption with introductions.
Ted was a lanky wizard, slightly balding, and a few inches shorter than Severus. He had a warm, welcoming handshake and an awkward smile. "Well, well," he chuffed. "The Severus Snape."
"Hopefully the only one," Snape answered good-naturedly.
Tonks sobered. "Can't thank you enough for this, sir," he went on. "It's a great relief to Andy and I."
"I only hope I can be of assistance, in truth."
Ted turned when Teddy laughed behind him. Narcissa had charmed four quarters of an orange to spin on the table. The boy was clapping his hands over each piece in turn, trying to still them. Andromeda smiled at his antics, a small sadness in the turn of her full lips.
Severus took the moment to regard the boy. He had the look of Remus Lupin about him, but with the Black sisters' upturned nose. Grey eyes that sparkled much, and an errant head of soft curly brown hair shot through with the wild tints of a most metamorphmagi. If Severus had ever been one to think such things, he would have thought the child adorable. But Severus was not one to think such things, so he simply thought the child made a highly unlikely werecreature.
"Teddy," Andy said. "This is Mr. Snape. The wizard I told you about."
Teddy leaned on knobby elbows and looked up at Snape. "You're very tall," he said shyly.
Severus slipped into the straight-backed chair facing Teddy. "Actually," he explained tersely, "you are very small. But I suspect you shall grow."
Teddy seemed happy enough with that response. He pointed at Snape's sample box. "You want to put my blood in there?"
Severus was relieved they'd prepared the boy. "Yes," he answered.
"All of it?"
Snape blinked at the true innocence in the question. A smile threatened the corners of his lips. He resisted. "No. Only a few drops."
"Will it hurt?"
Severus was preparing a negative response when Andromeda put brunch before them. "All of that business later," she breezed. "Let's eat now."
"Then my blood?"
Teddy's grandmother looked a tad green as she settled in her seat beside Narcissa. "Yes, yes," she tisked. "Then your blood. Now, we shan't discuss this further at the table."
Narcissa patted Teddy's hand. "It makes your gran ill to talk about such things. Perhaps she has some knitting patterns to discuss?"
Snape smirked and sipped his tea. Andromeda pursed her lips at her sister, thought for a bit, then grinned. "Well, perhaps your Auntie Cissa has some more scratches to discuss with Master Snape?"
"Andy!" Narcissa's hand slapped the table and she was as red as her nail varnish.
Snape's brows rose. He plucked a sandwich from the tray. Apparently, there had been some humor at Narcissa's expense involving her partial nudity before him. Interesting…
"Now, now." Ted defused the sisterly spat before it erupted further. "Settle down and eat, witches." He winked at Severus. "I'm certain our Cissa shall keep us…abreast of any developments that –"
"Really!" Narcissa leveled a spreading knife at her brother-in-law. "That's enough," she insisted. Andromeda giggled. Teddy did, too. "Eat your sandwich," Narcissa told the boy firmly. She avoided looking at Snape altogether.
"It's turkey!" Teddy exclaimed. "My favorite!"
Andromeda nodded. "Yes, Teddy. I've always been rather partial to breast meat, as well." She joined her husband in snickering.
Narcissa's teacup plunked loudly into its saucer. She seemed resigned to the teasing, but Severus sensed her deep embarrassment. He regarded her with a patient expression, and when she finally briefly met his eyes, she softened. Her hand flitted to her throat.
Andromeda rubbed her sister's arm affectionately and Narcissa shot her a glance. "Let's have a new topic, shall we?"
"Can I tell about the time I ate two pill bugs?" Teddy asked.
"Oh, Teddy!" Andy grimaced.
"Absolutely, lovie!" Narcissa overrode her sister and gestured to the boy with her sandwich. "Do tell!"
The child launched into a spirited anecdote. Severus hadn't much exposure to youngsters Teddy's age. The children he'd known were already well on their ways to being prats, dunderheads and insufferable know-it-alls by the time he started teaching them. He definitely preferred Teddy's company; unpredictable, yes, but innocuous and calming. It felt as if watching Teddy alleviated any other responsibilities Severus might have dreaded. He found himself wanting to avoid less pleasant business ahead.
But alas, when Andy began clearing away plates and cups, Snape addressed the boy seriously. "Teddy, do you know why I want your blood today?"
Teddy wiggled in his chair. "Yes. Because I might be sick."
Severus nodded. "Do you ever feel sick?" A head shake. "I see." Severus opened the box and Teddy peered into it. "Do you ever forget things, Teddy? Or sleep for a long time?" Phials and a dissection kit were produced. Severus let Teddy hold a crystal phial.
"Sometimes, I sleep for three or four days," the boy answered absently. He clinked the phial with a tiny fingernail.
Andromeda nervously eyed Severus' dissection kit as he unrolled the leather carrier. She looked faint when he tugged free a wicked-looking awl.
"Well, Teddy." Severus said. "I hope whatever is making you sick is in your blood. That way, I can find it, and make a potion that will fix it. You see?" Teddy nodded solemnly. "May I hold your finger, then?"
"I'll just…tidy the sitting room!" Andromeda leapt from her seat and fled the kitchen.
"Darling!" Worried, Ted followed his wife.
But Teddy showed no fear, and watched Snape's wand work over his small, outstretched finger. Soon, two phials held bright warm blood and Teddy's finger exhibited no signs of mutilation. Narcissa ruffled his curls. "So very brave, Teddy," she whispered.
"It didn't hurt."
"Good." Severus closed the box. Andy and Ted sneaked in sheepishly. Severus thanked them for brunch, and promised to be in contact soon. He was eager to take a look at the sample.
Narcissa saw him to the door. "Thank you again, Severus. I know this is a great inconvenience to you."
He slipped into his light wool cloak. "Actually, this is the type of research I most enjoy." A truth.
She was looking down at her hands hovering just over her apron pockets and it just then struck him: Narcissa Malfoy was wearing an apron over a worn, grey dress of soft cotton which may have been slightly too big. Checking her eyes were still downcast, he took in her legs. No stockings, and modest beige ballet slippers that almost made her appear barefoot. Stranger and stranger…
He couldn't have been more than a second in his perusal, but when he met her eyes again, he was most definitely busted. He hoped the dim lighting hid his blush, and cleared his throat. "Well. I should be going."
She blinked as if she'd been daydreaming. "Yes, of course."
"I will…" He trailed off helplessly.
"I know," she said. Her hand slipped up to her throat again. "Take care."
He nodded. "You as well." He nearly stumbled off the top step after watching her close the door. The bracing March air felt remarkable as he disapparated.
Narcissa stood in the foyer for a long moment after Severus left, her hand pressed against the sun-warmed door. She was breathing deeply and not thinking. A sound behind her drew her away from her quietude.
Leaning in the sitting room archway was her sister, her face portraying a mysterious half-smile. She said nothing – just stared. Narcissa's shoulders drooped as she pressed her back to the door. Her eyes flashed at Andromeda. "What?" she asked, impatient.
Andy only shook her head and walked slowly back to the kitchen.
Severus spent the rest of his day poring over obscure texts on potions, lycanthropy and metamorphism. He wouldn't have access to the equipment he needed to study Teddy's blood in detail until he went to the Ministry lab the following day. But his home equipment had allowed him to start kicking around a few theories.
He knew that Teddy's condition hinged on his unique parentage. Father a werewolf and mother a metamorphmagus, the child was bound to inherit some aspects of both. But inherited lycanthropy was extremely rare, and Severus couldn't find one case that reported such early transformation. Nor could he find a case, however, wherein the subject's lineage matched Teddy's. He knew this was the key. Thus, the question became how to treat the boy when one could barely fathom the condition.
He rubbed his eyes. It was bloody late. Texts and notes stacked neatly on his cherry desk, he flicked his want to extinguish the sconces and went upstairs. In his neatly appointed lavatory, he bathed with his usual briskness, brushed his teeth, cinched the waist of his linen sleep pants and climbed into bed. He closed his eyes, slept, and dreamed of Narcissa Malfoy's slender hand on her pale pretty throat…
AN: Next up, everyone's favorite insufferable know-it-all!
