Think of Me

Teddy Lupin avoided the stern gaze of his Transfiguration professor as if he were an ancient Greek adventurer trapped by Medusa herself; his hair flickered to its natural state the moment she rose from her desk and rounded him like a hawk, and he audibly gulped. She stood before him, tapping her aged fingers expectantly on his desktop, and he decided to meet the fierce woman head on. Raising his light eyes to her wizened ones, he straightened his back and stuck out his chest with confidence, though visibly faltered when her gaze narrowed.

"Mr Lupin," she said in a clipped tone. He immediately lost some of his courage, and he mentally sighed, casting his eyes down again. "It is only a few months into term, and this is the third time you are in detention."

"I know, Professor," he began, absently thumbing an old carving from a previous student in the wood of the desk. He looked up at her again. "I can't apologize, though."

Headmistress McGonagall rose a sparse brow, pulling her heavy wrinkles back.

"McLaggen had it coming. He kept teasing that Slytherin girl and ruined her notes," said Teddy, fighting the whine in his voice he hated so much when he got emotional. "He is always bothering her."

Teddy thought he saw a flash of humor in the old Professor's eyes, but he thought better than to play on it; this was Headmistress McGonagall, not Aunt Minnie—he knew better than to step over that line. His father, Sirius, and his Godfather all warned him not to expect special treatment; in all honesty, he thought he had been receiving the complete opposite, actually. His last two transgressions weren't nearly as bad as this one, and he had to help grade and write lines for two weeks!

"Be that as it may, you cannot attack another student."

"But, Professor, they were only birds—"

"They could have been butterflies for all I care, Mr Lupin, it does not negate the fact that you decided, once again, to take matters into your own hands instead of informing the faculty," McGonagall interjected as she cupped her hands and huffed, her brow still raised. "As such, you will receive detention—again—and twenty house points from Hufflepuff."

Teddy winced and groaned as he dropped his head to his hands against the tabletop, shaking it, before speaking in a muffle voice. "That's been fifty points already."

"Yes, Hufflepuff definitely does not stand a chance at this rate," he heard McGonagall quip from above. Teddy sat up again and looked at his Transfiguration teacher with a frown which, unexpectedly, softened her own edges.

"What about McLaggen? And that Slytherin girl?"

The Headmistress eyed the young boy carefully, a curve tugging at her lip. "I cannot handle another detention with Mr McLaggen; he will be serving with Professor Sprout and helping her de-pot Mandrake root. As for Miss Lee, I hear you take very good notes. Perhaps you can offer her yours."

Teddy's face lit and his hair rolled between shades before becoming cerulean again, earning himself a half stern, half amused look from the old woman. He nearly jumped at the realization of his appearance and quickly settled to soft brown curls. McGonagall paused for a moment as she eyed him curiously.

"Teddy," she began, breaking the formality between student and mentor, and causing the young boy's brow to knit in confusion. "Where did you learn that jinx you used on McLaggen?"

Teddy's face burned slightly, and he gave her a lazy shrug. "I…don't remember?"

McGonagall regarded him for a moment before nodding and waving at the door with a suggestive palm. "Very well. You are dismissed."

Jumping to his feet and ready to bolt, Teddy quickly gathered his remaining supplies and pushed them haphazardly into his satchel, offering his teacher a quick, apologetic smile before heel. He reached for the door then paused, turning slightly.

"Uh…"

"What is it, Mr Lupin?"

"Are you going to tell my Dad?"

"No, I am not," said McGonagall, an unusual glint in her eyes. Teddy visibly relaxed, hanging his head, fully unaware of the smirk that played on his professor's face. "You will, when you report to him for detention tonight. Goodnight, Mr Lupin."

Teddy froze on spot as he stared at the Headmistress with a gape, his hair spinning between styles and colors again. When he pulled himself out of his stupor, he shook his head and darted out of the room.

"Dad's gonna be so mad," he grumbled to himself with a heavy sigh. "McGonagall definitely should have been a Slytherin."

"Don't let her hear you say that," came Remus Lupin's amused voice a few steps behind him. Teddy whipped around to see his father in full robes eating a bit of chocolate and watched as his brows knitted when he looked down at his watch. His eyes snapped up to his son and he straightened a bit. "Transfiguration ended nearly thirty minutes ago—what did you do, Teddy?"

"Err…"

Remus sighed. "Out with it, Mr Lupin."

Teddy gulped.

"I may have…ImayhavecharmedabunchofbirdsatMcLaggen'shead."

"I'm sorry, you what? McLaggen, again?" asked Remus, his tone full of disbelief as he stepped closer to his son, arms crossed.

"McLaggen was messing with Lee from Slytherin. He wouldn't stop no matter how much she begged him to. So I, er, interfered—"

"Again."

"Again," admitted Teddy as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I sent an avis jinx at McLaggen. It didn't hurt him, I swear! I mean, the flock kind of nipped at his robes and one did poop—"

Remus rose an impatient hand and closed his eyes, feeling the threat of another headache. "I think I heard enough."

Teddy hung his head a bit. "McGonagall says I'm to serve detention with you, starting tonight."

The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher eyed his son carefully, his eyes slightly narrow and moustache twitching.

"I'm disappointed in you, Teddy. This is the third time since the start of term."

"I know, Dad, but I…" Teddy sighed with frustration. "I just can't stand that Gryffindor. He is awful."

"Well, he definitely isn't pleasant."

"Huh?"

"Nothing, Teddy," said Remus, uncrossing his arms with a sigh. "Well, come along. Let's go back to my classroom."

"Erm…" started Teddy as his stomach audibly growled, causing his father to chuckle. "Can I grab some food first?"

"Grab what you want then meet me in my office in twenty minutes," said Remus rather sternly. "Not a minute later—and no pit stops. The Great Hall, then my office. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," replied Teddy in a deflated tone. He looked at his Dad for a few more moments, who only rose a brow at him.

"Eighteen minutes, now."

Teddy nearly swore but bit his tongue hard, knowing full well it would only add fuel to the fire. He nodded and quickly trotted down the corridor towards the dining hall, leaving his very agitated and very tired father in his wake.

When Teddy arrived at the Great Hall he quickly grabbed a napkin and some strudels from his house table, ignoring the whooping cheers from some of his friends and the crude hand gestures from a few Gryffindors; he especially ignored McLaggen's not so smug face as the prat glowered over at him through the heads of students. He was about to turn to leave before he remembered the envelope that burned in his satchel.

"Hey, Smith, can you do me a favor?"

"What's up mate?" asked his friend through mouthfuls of pudding.

"I got detention, but I need to send this letter out. Can you make sure my owl sends it? It's important."

His friend nodded and took the envelope, frowning as read the blank paper.

"There's no address."

"Tell him to bring send it where Sirius Black has been sending his letters," said Teddy in a hushed tone into the boy's ears. Smith stopped chewing for a moment then shrugged before slipping it into his pocket with a pat.

"Thanks, man."

"Any time, Teddy. You kicked McLaggen's arse after all."

Teddy smirked at his friend, the devious look only deepening when he finally caught sight of the prat at the Gryffindor table. The young metamorphagus gave the pretentious lion a quick wink, causing him to glare darkly, before grabbing some puffs and making a dash to the exit. He carefully looked at his watch as he trotted, mentally swearing when he realized he only had six minutes to get all the way to the other side of the castle for detention with his father. In this moment, he thought sending another jinx towards McLaggen's way would be so worth it, but pushed on down the corridor instead, stuffing puffs in his mouth. He smiled to himself as excitement thrummed in his chest—Teddy just knew she was out there. This just had to work.

A/N: Happy Holidays all! As always, I am completely twitterpated by the amount of love this fic has gotten. I've been trying to plan the last few chapters of GotP but yall just keep reeling me in for this one. I can't believe we are already 24 chapters in. I hope everyone has a safe and stress-free holiday. My divorce paperwork was finalized last month, so now it's just the waiting game. This is my first holiday back in the states and now single, so it's been mentally draining. Thanks for all your kind words! -Jay