So, Dora has told me to "tell the peeps I'm indisposed" which roughly translated means her laptop died (moment of silence for Dora's laptop and all of the smut-I mean stories now in the technology graveyard).
Anywhoooooo
Enjoy!
Bella
Teddy did not want to go back up to the castle, and every step he took across the grounds brought him closer to pain and ridicule. As he walked up the stairs into the Entrance Hall, he was immediately disarmed, coming face to face with Alecto Carrow.
"Running away won't help you, pup," she sneered, binding him so he couldn't leave again. "Where are the others?"
"Lost in the Forest," Teddy grinned, knowing he was just asking to be tortured. "I don't know."
She Cursed him, but he managed to hold in his pain for some times, only letting out a groan after a couple minutes. He barely glanced up when the curses stopped, but he saw clearly the red sparks over the Forest.
She looked over at him, and in the next moment, ordered two older students to take him to their office. Pointing her wand at Teddy, she muttered a spell, and his world went dark.
Teddy awakened, yelling in pain as he quickly realised he was being tortured again.
"Not so calm now, are you?" the female Death Eater hissed. "You led my brother to those centaurs on purpose, didn't you?"
"Wha-I didn't-!" Teddy yelled, writhing on the floor.
"Stop." A sickly sweet voice spoke, and Teddy's heart started pounding as he realised the Headmistress was there.
Delores Umbridge looked down at him and tut-tutted. "What possessed you to attack another student and run out into the woods? You could have been injured, boy."
"I'm more likely to be injured in the castle," Teddy snapped. "And don't pretend you care."
"Oh, but I do," Unbridge sighed. "You're nearly ruined a celebration and caused a disturbance. What would Delphi say, do you think?"
Teddy laughed. "She'd be amused that Hogwarts teachers can't protect themselves," Teddy replied. "And I didn't even do anything."
The woman's smile seemed to widen as she said, "You'll have to learn the hard way, then, dear." She turned to Alecto. "Continue with him. I have a letter to write that should take care of this."
Teddy had no time to reply as the torture began again with a vengeance.
He suffered for some time, fading in and out of consciousness, though he was always in pain. The only reprieve he received was when he heard a voice that angered him through all of it.
"Got yourself in a bit of trouble, didn't you, cub?" Rodolphus Lestrange looked down at the boy, seeing the boy's hair shoot completely red even though Teddy was suffering terribly. "Continuing the rebel tradition of your father?"
Teddy didn't reply, vaguely wondering if they'd sent Rodolphus to finish him off. He yelled in pain when the man pulled him up from the floor.
"Teddy Lupin, you are being suspended for the rest of the year," Umbridge announced. "Have a safe journey home." And she smiled.
Delphi and Elara were descending the Grand Staircase when the younger girl gasped and stopped, causing those behind her to brush past her abruptly. "Father," she breathed.
Delphi realised a split second before Elara who Rodolphus' victim was. "Stay," Delphi ordered her friend in an undertone.
"He has Teddy," Elara said angrily, clenching her fists in rage.
"If he's here, he's on orders," Delphi warned her friend. "He's on restriction, just like Mother."
Elara was shaking, and Delphi added, "Besides, you know Teddy's been in a mood all day. He probably said something to the wrong person-not everyone is as tolerant as I am."
The younger girl missed the humour, watching her brother being dragged out of the castle. "He ought to have been left alone," Elara said angrily.
Delphi looked at her friend, then said, "If you're going to have a meltdown, don't let it be here."
Even though her anger, Elara knew Delphi was right, and hurried after her, the sounds of jeering and laughter in her ears.
Rodolphus pulled Teddy to his feet as they arrived at the Dark Manor, saying, "You'd better not look half dead, cub, or Nymphie will be sad." He chuckled. "Though, I don't think there's much help for her now...I've broken her, you see. It was possible.."
Teddy was not ready to see his mother in her current state, and he only grew more alarmed when he heart his grandmother say to Narcissa, "I can't do anything for her."
"She'll never be the same," Rodolphus said quietly. "And there's nothing to be done: she's been like this for almost the whole day. We have yet to see if she'll improve at all."
"You can't save her, boy," he said. "You can't save anyone, and if you keep rebelling, you'll end up insane, just like your mother."
Teddy's heart pounded as he looked at the witch lying on the bed, blankly staring at the wall. "Mum?" he whispered.
Nymphadora did not look up, and fear shot through the young boy as he watched her. She had obviously been tortured recently, as she had a fresh bruise on her face.
"I hope Elara sees this," the boy seethed between clenched teeth. "I hope she never speaks to you again."
"I'm not worried about that," Rodolphus replied coolly. "She'll have to because I will be the only coherent parent." He walked out and left the boy standing in the middle of the room.
"Mum," Teddy breathed, painfully making his way to her side. "Mum, I'm here now."
She didn't respond, and fear shot through him. Teddy climbed up onto the bed and lay down beside her, relieved from some of his own pain. Taking her hand in his, he breathed, Mum, it's me, Teddy. Don't be gone. Please."
"Teddy," came a stern voice from the doorway. "Come out of here."
"I'm not leaving her," Teddy snapped at his grandmother angrily. "Go away."
"I've already tried to get through to her," Andromeda sighed. "Teddy, please-"
"No!" Teddy yelled, sitting up in spite of his pain. "I shouldn't have gone to school! I should have stayed and been here for Mum!"
"Teddy-"
The boy lay back down and ignored his grandmother as she continued to talk. "Rueben knows something is very wrong, and his magic is agitated. We need you to stay calm and-"
"I'm perfectly calm," Teddy growled. "Leave me alone."
"Come talk to Roo," Andromeda sighed. "I'm worried about him."
"I don't think you know what you're asking," Teddy said darkly. "I will tell him everything."
"You won't."
"I will," Teddy retorted. "I'm not going, so leave me alone."
"Edward Remus Lupin, don't make me use magic," Andromeda threatened him.
"No."
Dora had barely moved her lips, her eyes still unfocused as fresh tears trickled down her cheeks. Teddy took her hand again. "Come on, Mum," he said. "Be strong."
"Not worth it," Dora cried weakly, closing her eyes.
"Yes, it is," Teddy encouraged her. "You've done so good, Mum."
"I can't," sobbed Dora. "I-I'm losing it, and I: know I am-Teddy, don't be like this."
"Teddy," Andromeda said, but Dora reached out and wrapped her arms around her son.
"Go away," the broken witch cried, and Andromeda hesitated, then obeyed.
Teddy held his mother as well as he could, the woman crying into the front of his school robes. Anger filled Teddy's mind and heart as he tried to calm her, stroking her back gently.
Finally, he remembered what he had found out in the forest and reached into his pocket, pulling out the stone. His mother was muttering to herself now as he turned it over in his hand, thinking of his father. In a couple minutes, the image of his father appeared again, but this time, Remus looked much different.
"Teddy, now is not the time," Remus warned him. "She'll think you're seeing things too."
"Can't she see you?" Teddy asked in confusion.
"No," Remus said, "but you can because you're holding the stone."
Teddy frowned, then reached over and placed it into his mother's hand in spite of his ghostly father yelling for him to stop.
The moment his mother saw the apparition, she froze, then screamed in horror. Remus was clearly in shock also, but had a very angry and sorrowful expression. "No!" Dora screamed, her hair pure white as she sat bolt upright and stared. "I'm sorry-I didn't mean to-I've tried to stop him-"
Her body shuddered as she drew a rasping, sobbing breath and continued to shriek, "I've tried, I promise! I'm so sorry, Remus-he hurts me, and I-I can't stop him!"
Tears streamed down her face as she begged him to understand, to know that she would never have wanted anyone else or any other family-and he looked back at her, mostly at a loss for words and helpless to comfort her.
"I love you, Dora," he said quietly, and she began to cry harder.
The door flew open, but Dora didn't notice, sobbing uncontrollably as she clutched the stone, unaware of what it was. Andromeda strode forward, demanding, "Teddy, what's going on?"
Teddy, shocked at how the situation had taken such an awful turn, could not reply. His mother's magic crackled erratically as she hunched over on the bed, unable to face the image.
In a couple of moments, Andromeda spotted the item Dora was holding and plucked it from her grasp. Remus, who had been trying to console Dora as much as he could, suddenly stopped talking, and Dora looked up, silence reigning for a split second.
Then- "No!" Dora screamed in agonising heartbreak. "Remus, come back! Please-I'm sorry I was too weak. I didn't mean to-oh, Remus, please don't leave!"
"Dora, it wasn't real," Andromeda said firmly, but Dora was too far gone to be reached by simply wards. she placed a Sleeping Ward on Nymphadora, then grabbed her grandson and pulled him from the room, shoving him against the wall, her wand at his throat.
"Where did you get this?" she demanded. "And why did you give it to your mother?"
"I-I found it!" Teddy cried. "I didn't know she would be upset! I thought it would be a nice thing to do!"
Andromeda looked around, hearing a ward crackle into place on their sitting room. "Rueben heard everything," she hissed. "You just hurt your mother even more than she already was, Teddy."
Teddy gave a cry of pain as she shook him firmly. "I'm sorry! I didn't know!" His eyes were filling with tears as he stood there, everything that had just happened replaying in his mind. "I wasn't trying to hurt Mum, I swear."
"What did you think would happen?" she snapped. "It wasn't real!"
"Dromeda." They both looked up to see Narcissa in the doorway. "Rueben is hysterical," she said, walking forward. "He needs you. And don't curse your other grandson."
Andromeda gave Teddy a final glare, then went back into the sitting room. Narcissa sighed and put her arm around Teddy's shoulders. "Come on," she said. "Let's go get you healed."
Teddy lay awake most of the night, unable to sleep with the image of his screaming mother in his mind. Nothing was successfully distracting him, either.
It was quite late when there was a sound at the door, and Teddy reached for his wand, ready to defend himself. When the door opened, however, Teddy was relieved to see his little brother. "Roo," he sighed, lowering his wand.
"I keep having dreams," the boy whispered. "And well, Nan's upset and I don't want to talk to her."
"Bad dreams?" Teddy asked, and Roo nodded.
"Nan think they're real," the younger boy whispered. "But if they are..." the child gave Teddy a look of fright. "People are going to die, and Mum's only going to get worse."
Teddy motioned his brother closer, Roo immediately climbing into the bed. "Why should they mean anything?" he asked. "It's okay."
Rueben looked down at his hands. "She and Aunt Cissa say that my dad's family has a history of visions," he answered. "Like...Dad's had a few himself, and Mum saw one or two. She thinks I have dreams instead of visions, and so does Nan."
"Have you had any of them come true?" asked Teddy.
"No, but I am scared they will," Roo said. "And I'm scared because Mum's not okay, and no one can help her-and Dad doesn't care." He looked frightened, then said, "I don't think he likes Mum very much."
"No," Teddy sighed, "he doesn't. But we can't be talking about that, Roo. It isn't safe."
Roo frowned. "Does he threaten you?"
Teddy took a deep breath, wondering how much to say. "Well, yes," Teddy sighed. "but for me, it's because I'm not his."
"He's mean in my dreams," Roo nodded.
"Why doesn't Nan get you Dreamless Sleep?" Teddy frowned.
"I'm not allowed because it disrupts the visions and dreams we have, I think," Roo replied. "Dad made that rule when I was a baby."
"What if you have nightmares?" Teddy asked in astonishment.
"It can't be helped," Roo answered seriously. He then looked at Teddy questioningly. "What happened to Mum earlier?"
Teddy frowned, unsure of how to answer his brother. He then sighed, and said, "I did something stupid. I let Mum see an old image of my father, whom she loved but it didn't go the way I thought it would: Mum freaked out."
Roo nodded slightly. "She was screaming that Dad hurts her."
"I-yeah," muttered Teddy. "Roo, we can't be talking about this-but Mum blames herself for everything that's happened, and I never knew that before today."
"But no one can stop him," Roo murmured. "Everyone in my dreams is scared of him, too. It's true, isn't it?"
"Roo, we can't talk about this," Teddy said firmly.
"Elara knows, doesn't she?" Roo breathed. "That's why she's mad at him."
"Well, yeah," sighed Teddy. "But you're best not to talk to her about it either. Just be thankful he's not mean to you."
Rueben frowned. "He wouldn't hurt me," he said. "Dad always says that."
Teddy watched his little brother for a moment, then sighed. "We need to sleep, Roo."
"No one wants to tell me anything," Roo snapped, and Teddy raised an eyebrow, finally seeing a bit of Rodolphus in the boy.
"It's dangerous," Teddy replied. "Besides: he doesn't want you to know that he's a terrible person to everyone else."
"But Elara's mad at him and all he does is yell," Roo frowned.
"Roo," Teddy said sternly, immediately stopping himself from correcting the boy. "then let her be mad, and you just behave, okay?"
Rueben rolled his eyes. "Fine," he huffed, then lay down next to his brother. "But I still want to talk to Elara."
Delphi approached Elara the next morning at breakfast and announced, "Teddy's been suspended for the rest of the year-until exams."
"Why?" Elara asked. "What happened?"
"He got in a fight, ran off into the Forest, and one of the professors got attacked by centaurs while trying to find him," Delphi smirked. "Umbridge sent him home."
"But he's okay?" Elara asked in concern.
"He'll be fine," she said, and walked away.
