Author's note: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the canon, world, and characters portrayed below and you can tell I'm not J.K. Rowling because #transrights

Hogwarts: Assignment 7, Cartography Task #5 Write about gathering or organising something

Content Warnings: NA

A Project For The Future

Remus put the fresh cup of coffee down on the table where Teddy had sprawled his books and parchments, charts and diagrams, protocols and procedures, flashcards and quills… honestly, Remus had no idea how his son had organized himself, but he was obviously doing something right since he was doing so well at the Healer Academy. To be fair, Teddy was working hard. Remus and Dora barely ever saw him, unless he came home loaded with school supplies and books to spread on their dining table, taking advantage of their quiet flat—or at least quieter when compared to the bustling house he and a few other students were renting by St. Mungo's. Regardless, Remus was happy to have him home and happy to find ways to help him. He wordlessly took away the empty mug he'd replaced, and Teddy sighed in relief.

"Oh thank Merlin," he said, reaching for the cup. "I was wondering how I'd get through the night."

"Make sure to get some sleep as well," Remus said. "There's no use in spending the whole night studying if you're too exhausted to focus on your exam the next day."

"Yes, Professor Lupin," his son said mockingly.

Teddy took an alarmingly long sip before putting the cup down. His hair looked particularly frenzied today—Remus counted a dozen cowlicks in a sea of blues and pinks, soft and light like cotton candy.

"I know," Teddy said. "I'm nearly done."

"Do you need help with anything?" Remus asked. "I could quiz you on your notes, we could brainstorm some questions they'll possibly toss your way during your oral exam…"

"That might be good," Teddy said. "I should practise my anatomy, to make sure I can recall everything without the same chart I've been looking at for the last 12 years of my life."

Remus bit back a sassy reply about how twelve years was a very long time indeed, and settled down on the chair opposite.

"What should I look at?" Remus asked, looking at the disastrous sea of materials on the table.

"Umm—the piece of parchment in the pages of the History of Healing textbook, I'm going to finish transcribing this and I'll be ready…" Teddy said.

Remus did as he was told and opened the textbook, but the stack of parchments he retrieved was much different.

PROJECT PROPOSAL : LYCANTHROPE CARE AND SUPPORT WING

EDWARD R. LUPIN

Remus stared at it for a few seconds and looked up at Teddy, who was scratching the back of his head as he filled in a flashcard. He shuffled it back into his deck of notecards, looked up to Remus, and frowned when he realized that he was being watched.

"What?" Teddy asked.

Remus showed him the page.

"Oh," Teddy said, snatching it back quickly. "Yeah, sorry, I'm a bit of a mess here… there's my anatomy cheat sheet, over there."

Teddy passed over the proper piece of paper but Remus was slow to take it from him, his mind preoccupied. Lycanthropy Care and Support Wing.

Teddy cleared his throat.

"Professor Mbembe had us write a mock project proposal," he said. "That way when we're Healers and we need to apply for funding or fill in grant applications, we would have experience."

"That does seem like a good learning experience," Remus said, nodding slowly.

Teddy cleared his throat again and looked away closely.

"I was writing it on the full moon," Teddy said. "And I was thinking of how the next morning you were going to come home and Mom would make you drink water and help you patch up the cuts and bruises you missed on your own before you slept it off, that way you'd recover quicker. And then you'd shower and go off, to check on your friends who don't have anyone who will help them like that, and bring them food and healing potions."

Remus nodded. He, Andrew, and Abigail—by virtue of being old and used to the strain of the transformations—had a list of Other Moon Cooperative members that they split three ways. As soon as they were up and at it after the full moon, they would do house calls. Sometimes, it took a while to track down some of their members—Luke, for example, had run with Greyback's pack for so long that his range during the full moon was mind-boggling. But it always depended on the month; different moons hit people differently. Last month, Julian had collapsed on their doorstep and Remus had had to call for help to carry them in, clean them up, and get some broth past their lips. It was exhausting work, and Remus usually paid for it with a few extra days of fatigue and soreness. But it was nice to get eyes on everyone, make sure that they were okay.

"I just… I was thinking about how whenever we talk about werewolves in school it's always about how incurable it is—but that's not the point, that's not what people need," Teddy said. "People need support and food and safe places to rest and help with their injuries, which are things we should be able to give them. There's no reason for there not to be real resources in place, not just whatever can be managed on a given month. People shouldn't have to do all that on their own."

Remus's stomach twisted, but Teddy was something of a rusty faucet when he talked—once he started there was no turning it off.

"Andrew told me that he went to St. Mungo's when he got bitten because he was scared and in pain and he didn't know what to do—and if he hadn't happened to be in the same room as Arthur, he never would have met you either. It shouldn't have to be like that; for people only to get support and community by chance… There should be a place where you can go that's safe and private, where you can get what you need and rest while you're recovering."

Teddy scratched the back of his head again.

"I didn't have to put that much detail into it, but I… I ended up thinking about it," he confessed. He looked at Remus curiously, as if trying to gauge his reaction. Remus himself was trying to pull apart all the different things swirling around his head and the pit of his stomach to maybe understand them. What would he call those feelings? Awe? Pride? Gratitude? Admiration? It all blended into love, so it was hard to tell.

"Mbembe said we could write about whatever we wanted, as long as it felt important," Teddy said, picking at his cuticles. "I didn't mean for you to find it but… what do you think?"

"I think I have the kindest, most generous son in the world," Remus said finally. "And that if the next generation is filled with people anything like you, it will be on the right track."

Teddy blushed furiously but Remus didn't care, he knew he was right.

"Well, they'll only graduate me if I pass this damned test," Teddy muttered under his breath.

"Then let's study," Remus said. "Pass me your notes."

WC: 1193