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 #10, Technomancy Task #1: Write about someone who changes something about themselves.

Warnings: NA


Even While You Were Gone

Remus did not typically move quickly the morning after the full moon; when his body was readjusting to its bones and joints, when his human muscles ached after having done the work of the wolf, when his senses were reeling from the changes in smells and how dazzling the light was all around him… But this morning he sat up after blinking his eyes only three times, shaking leaves out of his hair and reaching out to call his wand back to him with the wandless spell he had learned to master young. Then, he was able to charm the clothes that had turned to shreds around his limbs when transforming and make them whole again–not clean or neat, but good enough for the walk back home.

He got up slowly and painfully, his bad shoulder screeching and his knees locking in protest, and quickly brushed his fingers through his hair–but he didn't work particularly hard to make himself look more presentable before Apparating. He made it away from his usual spot, the one he had been shrouding in protective spells and transforming in for years, and back to London. The sounds of an ambulance somewhere made his sensitive ears cringe and worsened the headache blooming behind his eyes, but he ploughed ahead from the street corner where they always Apparated and headed for the apartment, looking over his shoulder and backtracking multiple times as they always did nowadays to make sure that they weren't followed. He felt breathless and woozy, as if he hadn't eaten in weeks, but didn't slow his pace until he reached the apartment building. He made sure he wasn't being followed one last time and cast a preemptive defensive spell on their front door, just in case he had missed something. The lift was, mercifully, working today and Remus punched the button that would bring him to the fifth floor and willed it to go up faster.

He jogged down the hall to their apartment and knocked three times, gave it a break, knocked once, paused for a moment, and knocked three more times before unlocking the door–that way his wife didn't hex him on the spot. He opened the door and paused, knowing she would be in the kitchen waiting for him to string together three of the safe phrases they had elaborated.

"My name is Remus John Lupin," he said. It was his first time talking today and his voice was cracked and unpleasant–but he was too impatient to be self-conscious. "I was bitten at the age of four outside of Swansea, your hair was purple on the day that we were married, and Teddy was born at 7:14 in the morning on March 27th of this year."

"My name is Nymphadora Tonks Lupin," she answered. "I am ambidextrous, I stole the green and brown sweater from you three years ago now, and Teddy was born at 7:14 on March 27th."

With that done, Remus turned the corner into the kitchen so quickly that he almost bumped into Dora. She was wearing a cardigan over a tank-top and short pyjama pants, blush pink hair tucked behind her ears. He was so happy to see her that he didn't even care how absolutely disgusting he was when he hugged her. She looped her arms around him and squeezed.

"Hello," he said, kissing the top of her head. "Good morning."

"Good morning," she said. She pulled back and investigated his face, probably assessing damage, but Remus was busy.

"How was it? How is Teddy? Was he okay? Were you okay alone with him last night? Did you call your mother for help?"

"Slow down," Dora said. "We were fine. Teddy is fine, I just fed him and put him back down."

"In his crib?" Remus asked, looking over her shoulder and waiting for her to let his arms go so he could go check in on him.

"Where else?" Dora asked with a grin. She squeezed his arms. "I promise we're okay, Remus."

"I just was worried, that's all," Remus said. "And I felt so bad, leaving you alone, and leaving Teddy… are you sure he was okay?"

"Oh, I'm sure," she said. "Come."

She tugged him by the hand towards the nursery, and they crept towards Teddy's crib. Relief rushed through Remus's chest when he saw him sleeping in a navy blue onesie dotted with stars.

"Look at his hair," she said quietly.

Remus thought it was the sky blue Teddy had spent most of the first year of his life wearing, but then when he looked more carefully he realised that there were strands of silver–no, grey–running through the blue. Much like Remus's own hair…

"Do you see it?" Dora whispered to him with a grin. Remus nodded and she squeezed his hand. "He found a way to hold onto you, even when you were gone."

Remus thought he might start crying, based on the prickle in his eye. Dora leaned her head against him.

"Clever as his father," she pointed out.

"Thoughtful as his mother," he whispered back. This was his favourite game of theirs; going back and forth about how wonderful their son was.

"He'll be so happy to see you again for real soon," she said. "You should go have a drink of water and a shower first, before you use up all that adrenaline you used to come running back to us."

Remus smiled, feeling the fatigue already hit him, as he tilted his head to rest it on top of Dora since she'd made herself tall today.

"I'll even kiss you if you brush your teeth," she said.

"I'll have to start with that, then," he said.


WC: 951