Teddy cried out in his sleep, thrashing about, his sheets getting tangled up. A thin layer of cold sweat was glistening on his trembling skin. He continued screaming and tossing and turning, scratching himself in the process.
Tonks sprinted into her son's room with her wand drawn and her spiky hair slightly bed-ridden and electric green.
When she spotted the 7-year-old still squirming she ran over to the bed and shook her son awake,
"Teddy, sweetie, wake up, it's just a nightmare. Nothing to worry about," She tried to assure herself with that sentence as well. Teddy had never done this before.
1 year old Aurora had done this every once and a while but not often, she was too young.
Teddy opened his eyes with fright and practically launched himself into his mother's arms, his body wracking with sobs.
Tonks recoiled slightly when she caught a small glimpse of Teddy's eyes. Instead of the normal Tawny brown eyes, they were bronze with gold flecks.
She then realised something in terror.
Remus' eyes were that colour while he was a werewolf.
"Sweetheart, calm down. You'll be okay. Shhhhh, there you go baby. Shhhhh,"
She rocked him slightly side to side with him staring up at her with now Tawny brown eyes streaming with tears.
"Mummy…I had a really bad dream. It really scared me,"
He hugged his mum with so much need that she almost started crying at the moment as well.
"What was it about, honey?" She feared that she knew the answer already.
His dark brown hair took on a black tinge as he recounted the terrible memory,
"I was running through a forest and something was following me, I just heard it behind me getting closer and closer. And when I saw the house through the trees, I ran that way and I almost got there, but then I tripped.
Then the thing that was following me pounced as I turned to face it. It started scratching me and biting me and it really hurt. I was bleeding real bad and I screamed and screamed. I called out to our house, the lights were on inside and you were in there, I could see you. You looked at me then looked away and you left me there," His voice trembled at the end, his small hands never letting go of her shirt.
Her hair paled significantly,
"Teddy, what did the creature look like?"
He shivered and she wrapped her arms around him more protectively,
"It was grey and big and furry, it had brown-y bronze eyes and had big sharp teeth. It looked like a big wolf on two feet,"
All colour left her face,
"Sweetie…what…what was…what was the…the sky like? What was the sky like?"
"It was dark and the stars were really dim but I could see Sirius, he was leading me home," He smiled weakly at the thought but then grimaced,
"The moon," He whispered.
"'The moon' what?" Tonks asked desperately,
"It was a full moon,"
He then winced as a moon beam from the window briefly hit his skin. He itched it.
Teddy looked at his mother for comfort and she gave it to him. She cuddled him to her chest and tears overflowed from her eyes onto her son's unusually dark hair.
Teddy then hiccupped violently.
"Mummy, I don't feel well," Then he heaved and threw up over the carpet. She swiftly hoisted him to his feet and brought him gently downstairs to the kitchen.
Tonks sat him down, gave him a magic, self-cleaning bucket and looked quickly up the cupboard filled with different potions. It came in handy when you had a werewolf husband.
She quickly found the vial she was looking for. The pale yellow liquid swirled around inside as she shook it. Tonks used her teeth to pull the cork off the top. She then used her wand to make a hot chocolate.
Once it was made, she poured the yellow liquid into the hot-chocolate making it bubble for about a second.
She held the mug against Teddy's lips and gently tilted it so the potion-hot-chocolate sipped into his mouth.
His pale skin instantly regained some of its colour, his cheeks turning their regular rosy. The dark patches underneath his eyes disappeared slightly; his light freckles dusted his nose again. Teddy's eyes brightened just a tad but the biggest change was his hair.
It was no longer dark but short and Turquoise.
He still didn't look quite himself though.
Tonks grabbed his hand tightly,
"Teddy, how do you feel?"
"I feel better but I have this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach and my head hurts,"
She felt his forehead like any other good parent; he was burning up.
"Oh Ted," She sighed sadly. If only Remus was here.
"C'mon sweetie, let's go back upstairs,"
She guided him up the stairs and he sat on his bed. She sat next to him and pulled him in for a one-armed hug. After a while, Teddy got under his bed covers and stared at the ceiling calmly.
Tonks was about to leave,
"Mummy?"
She turned back around to see Teddy staring timidly at her.
"Yes baby?"
He looked up at her with sad eyes,
"Please don't leave me by myself,"
Tonks saw the hope in his eyes and voice and said with a small smile,
"I would never dream of it," And she lay down next to him over the covers. He snuggled up to her and they talked for a while before Teddy finally drifted off to sleep.
And Tonks couldn't bring herself to move. Her arm was wrapped protectively around her 7-year-old son's shoulders.
The full moon shone in through the window, lighting up the room. She stared out towards it for hours before soothing her son who was once again shaking violently at the feel of the moon.
This time, when she murmured,
"It's alright Teddy, I'm here, it's alright," he stopped shaking so violently and curled into her silently.
When the moon started to lower was when she finally began to drift off peacefully, her chest rising and falling simultaneously with Teddy.
Remus was beginning to worry. His wife wasn't in their room. The full moon had literally just lowered out of the sky and the sun was now shining through the windows.
He quickly made his way to his daughter's room, to see her sleeping soundly in her cot with bright purple hair.
He breathed deeply when he saw she was okay. He then went into Teddy's room.
The sight in front of him made him sigh.
Teddy was curled tightly beside Tonks with a pale face. Tonks had her arm wrapped around him and had tear-tracks on her rosy cheeks.
He didn't want to disturb them but Tonks had to go to work.
He shook her gently and she awoke, wiping her eyes.
"C'mon Dora, you've got work in a hour,"
She looked at Teddy then carefully, without disturbing the traumatised 7-year-old, snuck off the bed.
She grabbed Remus' hand and led him out of the room. As soon as they were out of the room, she launched herself into her husband's arms and kissed him full on the mouth before sobbing into his robes.
He was surprised but he kissed her back and rubbed circles into her back soothingly,
"What's wrong love?"
Tonks suddenly broke out of the front of his robes with a shaky expression,
"Nothing, Remus, Nothing's wrong!"
She didn't want to worry Remus. She had no idea how he would react to the fact that his son didn't react well to full moons.
And she darted off to the bedroom to get into her Auror robes. He stared after her quizzically but then went downstairs to get a painkiller potion for his aching body.
He'd find out later.
So sad…I love the Tonks and Teddy relationship that should've been… x
