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, Mythology Task #Write about not fitting in anywhere.

Content Warnings: Canon prejudice; mentions bullying

Boxes They Haven't Made

She knocked her knuckles against the door before easing her son's bedroom door open.

"Teddy?" she asked, scanning the room quickly before finding her son sitting cross-legged under his desk. Once when he'd been little, Remus had draped a blanket over the desk to create a little nook. He'd filled it with pillows and Teddy had spent the day there, reading with a flashlight and gushing about his new secret like spot. He still curled up in there sometimes, especially when Remus had been at Hogwarts teaching for some time and he missed his dad, but usually because the snugness and familiarity was comforting and soothing. He was only eight years old but already so lanky that his legs stuck out. Thankfully, he hadn't outgrown his spot quite yet.

"Yeah?" Teddy asked.

"I just wanted to say hi," she said. "And let you know that Fleur told me what happened at Victoire's birthday party."

Teddy frowned. His eyebrows were a few shades off, not quite matching the lilac hair he'd worn specifically because it was Victoire's favourite colour.

"I told her not to," he muttered.

"Well, mothers need to know things about their kids," Tonks said. "She vetoed you, kiddo. And I've got to say I'm happy she did because now I know why you're upset."

She sat on the floor, keeping her distance to respect Teddy's space. He was staring at his knees.

"I'm sorry that happened," she said. "That wasn't okay. I'm glad you know that that wasn't okay."

Teddy shrugged.

"It's fine," he said.

"I wouldn't feel fine if it had happened to me," Tonks said—which was true. Fleur had still been frustrated and annoyed when she'd let Tonks know about the fight that had broken out at Shell Cottage between Teddy and one of Victoire's other friends—a boy whose mum had gone to Beauxbatons with her. He and Teddy hadn't met before but somehow they'd gotten on the topic of parents and… well, that could get thorny very quickly when words like "cub" and "half-breed" began circulating. Fleur had apologized profusely and promised that she'd given her friend a strict piece of her mind about what kind of nonsense she was letting her son grow up to believe, and Tonks believed her. The two of them had a deal when it came to mutually mothering Teddy and Victoire; it was always nice to know that someone else would be looking out for your kid.

"It's just annoying," Teddy said, picking at a loose thread at a fray at the hem of his jeans. Tonks chewed on her lip and let him fill in the quiet. "I'm not magic enough to go to Hogwarts yet, but I'm too magical to be a Muggle like the Tonks cousins or the neighbours. I can make my hair whatever colour I want, but not all the colours are normal or alright outside the house. And then Dad says I'm not a werewolf and so he won't let me meet his werewolf friends, but everyone else thinks I'm enough of a werewolf not to be a person. What am I supposed to do about that?"

Teddy picked at his jeans some more, face soured. "It's just annoying not to fit in anywhere ever, when you can't do anything about it."

"I know, baby," she said. She reached out her hand and Teddy considered before reaching out his. She squeezed his fingers.

"I want to tell you so badly that it'll get better when you get to Hogwarts or when you grow up, but I'm not sure. People don't understand you because you're your father's son," she admitted. "Your incredible father's incredible son, I should say, but people… people don't understand and sometimes they don't try. I know Dad's talked to you a little bit about what it's like for werewolves, outside of our family and our friends. About how hard things were for him before he became a teacher. I'm sure he'd tell you more if you asked, about the laws and the hate. None of that's your fault or his; the world is just behind."

"Behind in what?" Teddy asked.

"Kindness, patience, tolerance, imagination… all of the above," Tonks said. Merlin knew she'd had to deploy a few of those herself over the years to get around and past it all. "If you feel like you don't fit the boxes, it's because you don't. They haven't made one for you and they might not even be interested in doing that."

"That sucks," Teddy said, narrowing his eyes at how bad she was at giving pep talks.

"But," she went on. "You're not just your father's son. You're mine too, and don't let anyone make you forget it. And do you know what the fun part about being me is?"

"That the cafeteria witch at work always puts lemon custard aside for you?"

"Even better than that," she said. She squeezed Teddy's hand and urged her hair to take on the lilac shade he was wearing. She darkened her eyes to warm up their grey to the chocolatey brown Teddy typically sported. "It's that we can be whatever we want, other people be damned, and there's nothing they can do about it. It drives them mad, Teddy. It drives them mad in the best, best way.."

Teddy smiled a little bit at that. Then he turned his hair her usual shade of bubblegum pink and smiled a little wider at her.

WC: 907