Written for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments) Term 14
HSWW: Mythology - Task #9 - write about someone being tricked.
Additional challenges listed below
Warning:
Word Count – 901
"Teddy, give it back!"
Astoria had been, for the past twenty minutes, running after the child with the reddest hair she had ever seen. Who knew a seven-year-old could run that fast? Astoria felt stupid running after the little daredevil that had had stolen her lipstick, and made his hair the same color. Whether to taunt her or not, she didn't know.
She loved Teddy. She really did. She had been around him since he was three, and he would switch hair colors to match her shirt. But as soon as she turned five, things began to change. He had become more hyper, more rebellious. The respect he used to have for her authority had lowered considerably. Andromeda told her that he was becoming more like his mother. Astoria wasn't exactly sure she liked his mother, then.
"You're going to hurt yourself!"
Teddy laughed loudly, climbing over the couch, running on top of the cushions, jumping on the coffee table and taking advantage of the fact that Astoria couldn't do any of that. He leaped from the coffee table to the rocking chair, and Astoria thought about only closing her eyes and bracing herself for the inevitable, but her hand went straight to her wand, and she heard herself yell "Protego!"
His laugh got lower and lower, until it died. Astoria ran to him as soon as the tears welled up in his eyes. She held him close as he cried. He twisted around in her arms, and poked his head from under her arms, possibly to breathe. She indeed had been holding him too tight.
"Are you okay?" she asked him, running her fingers through his cheeks. Strangely dry cheeks.
"Yeah," he replied, looking up at her with doe eyes.
A crimson streak ran down his nose, and Astoria's head went into overdrive. Where on Earth was her Healer boyfriend when she needed him? Her hands were shaking, and Teddy seemed to have picked up on it, because his hair turned the most beautiful shade of sky blue. Her favourite color. He was trying to calm her down.
"Head down, bud," she said, remembering what Draco had told her to do when she got a bloody nose from Apparating.
She accio'd a blanket and a tissue and sat Teddy down on her lap. She wrapped the blanket around him and began to clean the blood from his nose.
"Auntie," he called in a small voice. "Here's your lipstick."
Astoria felt terrible. She took the item from his little hands, and shoved it into her purse in a second to return her full attention to him.
"Thank you," she managed to get out.
"Can I have some chocolate?" he asked.
She knew Andromeda only allowed him to have chocolate on weekends, but the guilt was eating her up. Before she could stand up to go and get it, the door opened and the voices of both Draco and Andromeda filled the silent room. Astoria was both relieved and terrified.
Andromeda's next sentence died halfway through, and Astoria knew she was screwed.
"What did you do?" she asked, accusatory.
Astoria began to scramble for an answer, but Andromeda interrupted her before she could embarrass herself any further.
"Not you, my dear. I'm talking to my grandson. Teddy, what did you do?"
Teddy mumbled something Astoria couldn't understand. but Andromeda probably did.
"Nosebleed nougats again? What did I tell you about eating those? Harry and I are going to have a very serious conversation about this foolish nonsense that George is teaching you."
"Wait, what?"
"Oh, dear. I bet you were scared, weren't you?" Andromeda got close to her and took her hands. "He does that all the time now. When he knows he's in trouble, he eats a piece of that damned candy so people feel sorry for him and he doesn't get grounded."
Astoria looked stunned from Teddy to Andromeda. The kid looked proud of himself, but as soon as his grandmother shot him a look he had the decency of hiding his smile. The same could not be said about Draco Malfoy, who surely was trying but failing miserably at not finding the whole situation amusing.
"Come on, you troublemaker. Let's get you ready for dinner." Teddy jumped to his feet at his grandmother's command. "But first, apologize to Astoria."
"I'm sorry for bugging you all afternoon, Auntie. Now you and cousin Draco can canoodle in peace," he said with a straight face.
"What?" Astoria stared at him, really confused.
"My grandma said that's what people in love do."
Draco let out a loud laugh. "Sure, Teddy. That's what we're going to do."
Astoria shook her head and sank deeper into the couch. As Teddy and Andromeda left the room, Draco sat back down next to her.
"We told the kid we were going to canoodle. Come here." He spread his arms.
She gave him a slap on the shoulder. "Oh, shut up."
Writing Club April
Written in the stars: 5. (trait) energetic
Elizabeth's Empire - 28. Apologize - OneRepublic / (action) apologizing
Lyric Alley - 18. You made me a, you made me a believer, believer
Forecast Says… - 20th: Sunny with clouds: Foolish
Entitled - 18. American Gothic - (plot point) being tricked
Spring Funfair
Milkshake Bar: 8. M&Ms - (word) canoodle
Cherry Blossoms: 7. Kanzan - (ability/trait) Metamorphmagus
Urban Safari Checklist: 8. Warthog - (spell) protego
Wingardium Levi-Kart Racing: Amortentia Cup - 4. A character from a different era/year than your 'kart'
Paint a Rainbow: Green - 4. Lower
Tree Planting: Cherry - 4. (word) respect
Teddy Bears Picnic: 2. Banana sandwich - (object) blanket
Birdhouse Building: Step 4 - (object) Lipstick
Spring Petting Zoo: Ponies - (era) Next-gen
Bunny Races: (character) Astoria
Spring Parade: Scooby-Doo - Fred - (Colour) Blue
Leaving on a Jetplane
12. Dubai: (Word) Daredevil
Spring Seasonal Challenges
Days of the Year: April 4th - Walk Around Things Day: Write about someone falling over an inanimate object.
Aquarium Month: 7. Thermometer: Write about someone that is sick/unwell
World Theater Day: 11. Lion King - Lion King!AU - alt: 'be prepared'
Crayon Day: 12. Sky Blue
April Fool's Day: 13. Nosebleed Nougat
Children's Book Day: 18. Oliver Twist - (character type) write about an orphan
Adopt an Animal: 10. Cheetah: Write about something happening fast.
Hufflepuff Characters: 12. Teddy Lupin