[Fic] Natural History Lessons

[shimotsuki]

The "Spring is Sprung!" drabble event at metamorfic_moon (which you might like to check out, if you haven't already -- it's been accumulating a good number of drabbles, and even a drawble) inspired me to write a drabble in the Warp and Weft ficverse. But then the drabble wouldn't leave me alone until I figured out how to expand it a little. I think it wanted to have slightly more of a point... It's still a fairly fluffy AU denial-fic in honor of Remus's birthday, though. ;)

Natural History Lessons
1345 words | PG

Natural History Lessons
March 10, 2005

"Okay, Dad," said Teddy. "I've finished."

Remus took the piece of parchment that his son was holding out to him and read through the rows of sums. He tapped one with his wand, and it glowed red.

12 + 7 = 15

"Want to give this one another look?" he asked mildly, handing the parchment back.

Teddy scowled at the uncooperative sum—looking just like Dora always did when she was trying to work something out. Then his face cleared, and he peered up at Remus, a little sheepishly.

"It's nineteen, isn't it?"

"Good lad." Remus tapped the problem again. The red glow faded, and the answer rewrote itself to read 19. He placed the parchment in a box labeled, in Teddy's uneven handwriting, Maths. "I think you're ready for multiplication. We'll start tomorrow."

"Let's do birds next." Teddy bounced a little in his chair. "We didn't do any natural history yesterday."

Remus grinned. "All right." This had been his plan from the beginning—it was an unusually mild day, after all.

He got to his feet and held the study door open for his son. Teddy dashed through, rucksack in hand, and had his wellies on before Remus finished scrawling a quick note to let Dora and Andromeda know where they would be.

They went out the kitchen door and started along the slightly muddy path that wound past the venerable willow tree and around the pond. Teddy marched along happily, taking two strides to Remus's one, scanning the brush and reeds for signs of birds.

"I have a question for you." Remus glanced down at the thatch of hair that was lime-green today, clashing Dora-style with a pair of emphatically orange earmuffs. "How would you feel about having lessons with Nana Weasley at the Burrow on Fridays?"

"Every Friday?" Teddy looked up curiously. "Not just for the moon? Why?"

"Well," said Remus, "Minister Shacklebolt would like me to start working at the Ministry once a week or so."

"Oh." Teddy frowned. "Will Victoire be at the Burrow too?"

"She will." Remus chuckled at the disgruntled expression on his son's face—his almost-cousin clearly loomed far larger in his thoughts than the Minister for Magic. But that was quite reasonable, since Kingsley only came by for dinner every now and then, while Victoire attached herself to Teddy like a limpet every chance she got. "Maybe you can help Nana teach her the alphabet."

"Oh," Teddy repeated, looking thoughtful. "That might not be too bad."

They rounded a bend and reached their favourite birdwatching spot, a fat fallen log that lay near the edge of the pond and not too far from a clump of scrubby bushes. Moving slowly and carefully, they sat down to wait for any bird that might show itself.

"There," Teddy breathed. "Look, Dad, there's one."

Remus followed the eager pointing finger and saw a flicker of wings in a small bramble bush.

"Well spotted," he said, keeping his voice low. "See how far you can get before it flies away."

Teddy pulled a notebook and a handful of coloured pencils out of his knapsack. Remus, peeking over his son's shoulder, watched the blocky outline of a bird take shape. Teddy was no better at drawing than any other child at six going on seven, but he was getting to be very good at noticing the colours and markings that tell one bird from another—often well enough for him to find his specimen in Andromeda's Birds of Magical and Muggle Britain once they returned to the house.

Remus sat back and let his eyes drift half closed, listening to the scratching of Teddy's pencils, soaking up the warmth of the early spring sunshine—

—and suddenly found himself wondering if he was really ready to give this up.

He blinked, astonished at the direction his thoughts had taken. Kingsley had offered him a job—a real job, doing meaningful work for a good salary—and he was actually considering whether or not he wanted to take it.

Only a few short years ago, this sort of indecision would have been utterly inconceivable. He would have grasped desperately at just about any job that came his way.

But that was before he had assumed his current position as home tutor for one Teddy Lupin.

Shaking his head ruefully, Remus dragged his attention back to the bird, which was still rustling about in its bush. He saw Teddy lean forward, squinting, looking for more clues that might help him identify his quarry conclusively.

Click. Whirr.

The sudden soft noises from behind sent Remus (slowly and quietly) to his feet.

There stood Dora, still in her Auror robes, peering around from behind old Ted's boxy black camera. Smirking.

She certainly was getting better at Stealth and Tracking if he hadn't heard her approach at all...

Remus stepped carefully through the long grass until he reached his wife, pulling her close for a warm kiss.

"Mum said you two were out here," she whispered. "I thought I'd better come and drag you inside, or we'll be late for someone's birthday dinner at Harry and Ginny's."

Remus laughed under his breath. "Never fear. There's no chance Teddy would forget about a dinner with Harry, whatever the occasion." He slipped an arm around Dora's waist as they turned back to watch their son, still busy sketching.

"How was your day?" she asked, resting her head on his shoulder.

"We discussed the prospect of Friday lessons at Molly's," Remus murmured into her hair. "It seems Teddy won't mind." One corner of his mouth curved into a wry half-smile.

Dora started to nod, but then she pulled away to face him again. "You aren't having second thoughts about taking the job, are you?" Her gaze was sharp.

"No, no," he said quickly, but that didn't stop her eyebrow going up. "Well, not really," he amended lamely.

"It will be good for Teddy to learn how to have lessons with different people," said Dora firmly.

"I know."

"This job is the culmination of all your hard work with Matthias and Hermione since the end of the war."

"Indeed."

"There's no better way to celebrate the fact that it's finally legal for even the Ministry to hire werewolves, than to fill a position there yourself."

"That thought had crossed my mind." He was smiling now, if a little wistfully.

"And—" she waggled a finger at him—"Supervisory Director of Werewolf Support Services. Just imagine all the influence you'll have, overseeing the Wolfsbane distribution program, bringing your clout as a decorated war hero to investigate cases of discrimination—"

"I know, Dora." He sighed. "I can't not take the job, after all Kingsley's done in the name of justice since the war."

She pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Teddy will be going to Hogwarts in just a few more years—you'll need something to do with yourself after that." And then it was her turn to look wistful. "Besides, you've had him every day for nearly seven years already."

Remus tightened his hold on his wife. Dora had always been the family's only breadwinner. It had never been an option for her to stay home and teach Teddy to count, or to finger-paint, or to plant early peas in the garden behind the house.

"You're right," he said, resting his cheek on the top of her head. "And I'll have him almost every day for a few years more. If Ginny doesn't have all of our hides for being late for dinner, that is."

She laughed, twining her fingers through his, and began to walk back toward Teddy, who had stood up to pack his things away in his rucksack. The cracked leather camera strap slipped down her shoulder, and she scowled, trying to hitch it back up again.

"Why the camera, anyway?" Remus asked, taking it and slinging it carefully over his own shoulder.

"Documentary photography. Today was a natural history lesson, right?" Dora grinned up at him. "I was capturing Lupins in their natural habitat."

. * fin * .

"Warp and Weft" series index

The Matthias who gets a brief mention here is an OC werewolf from Greyback's pack, first introduced in Out of Sight.

Comments

[gilpin25.livejournal.com]

I'm very glad you extended this; the drabble gave tantalising glimpses of a normal day in Lupin family life for Remus and Teddy, now this gives even more and signals a big change ahead. Remus' realisation that his hesitation over Kingsley's offer is because of Teddy and how content he is with his life at home is so poignant. Particularly how his thinking has changed through having a family, and how well he and Tonks must have managed to make the usual husband and wife positions work in reverse. It seems like there's always a challenge for these two and they almost seem to be thriving on them here.

I LOLed at Teddy not being keen on a devoted Victoire, which seemed very apt for the way a little boy would regard this unwelcome attention, and how being able to boss her around a little obviously had far more appeal! (I wonder if this will come back to haunt him one day.;)) Most of all I enjoyed the little snippets of their life and wanted more about those: Teddy's easy acceptance that he has lessons at the Burrow at full moon time, the work Remus has done with Hermione and Matthias, and the obvious happiness between Remus and Tonks, as well as the way she sees straight through his answers about the job to get to the heart of the matter.

I have one question - how many times have you imagined marking papers with a wand to illuminate in red rather than a pen? :)

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to hear you liked the expansion -- having actually posted the drabble, part of me was afraid people would think "she should have left well enough alone," lol. Thanks for the kind words about liking these glimpses and wanting to know more; I was having fun writing this as a piece of something larger we don't know much about yet, if that makes any sense to say.

Teddy's easy acceptance that he has lessons at the Burrow at full moon time

I like the idea of Teddy growing up thinking that lycanthropy is unfortunate, yes, but a perfectly normal part of life; after all, it's always been part of his family situation, and they just deal with it. (And don't you think that kind of completely unquestioning acceptance would be incredibly comforting to Remus?)

And I hope I'll have a chance to write more about what Remus, Matthias, and Hermione get up to after the war. Being able to pursue that particular plotbunny was my initial rationalization for "rescuing" Remus and Tonks!

how many times have you imagined marking papers with a wand to illuminate in red

Too many to count! ;) I confess I almost wrote Remus using a spell to check the sums, but I realized we never saw Hogwarts teachers relying on any such thing -- and surely they would have, if it were possible!

[gilpin25.livejournal.com]

(And don't you think that kind of completely unquestioning acceptance would be incredibly comforting to Remus?)

Oh yes. Because I can imagine the silly sod Remus convincing himself that Tonks' unconditional love and acceptance is one of a kind. So to have Teddy do the same would surely have him pinching himself from time to time, and it fits perfectly with his momentary wish for things not to change here?

And I hope I'll have a chance to write more about what Remus, Matthias, and Hermione get up to after the war.

:D

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Oh yes. Because I can imagine the silly sod Remus convincing himself that Tonks' unconditional love and acceptance is one of a kind.

Heh, exactly. (Oi, Remus!)

But I was also thinking that, even for Tonks, there was a time in her life when she didn't know a werewolf, and she must have had to get used to the idea at some level. Whereas for Teddy, lycanthropy has just always been part of how life is -- no adjustment necessary!

Although I can imagine some interesting plotbunnies for Teddy's first encounter with anti-werewolf prejudice, or the first time he reads or hears about how bad the transformation actually is...

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

Although I can imagine some interesting plotbunnies for Teddy's first encounter with anti-werewolf prejudice, or the first time he reads or hears about how bad the transformation actually is..

OMG! *Feeds those bunnies*

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

LOL! Are you trying to distract me from working on my Order chapter?! ;)

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

Oh no! You are confusing my priorities for your writing!!! *resorts to icon of pretty elves to calm down*

Can't I have my cake and eat it too? (In Danish this proverb goes: "You can't both blow and have flour in your mouth." But who would want to have flour in their mouths? Now cake is much more sensible.)

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

They are very pretty elves indeed.

You are confusing my priorities for your writing!!!

Obviously what I need to do is just give up any attempt to get work done during Spring Break. Then I could just go home (or better yet, to a cafe!) and spend all day on fanfic. I could get the Order chapter done and write AU!Teddyfic and generally have a fantastic time. (Also answer PMs in a more timely manner!!)

I never understood the "cake" proverb when I was little, because I didn't know "have" was supposed to mean "keep". I always wondered how you could ever eat cake if you didn't have it first... The Danish proverb is definitely weirder, though. I think I'll pass on the flour. ;)

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

Since you liked those, here they are again, but by a different artist. :D

You know that sounds like a really wonderful plan! Can you do that? ;) *no! mustn't tempt Shimotsuki from her plans* I rambled in that pm - it is perfectly understandable that it should take some time to get through. ;)

LOL the literal mind of a child! Of course you have to have your cake if you want to eat it.

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Mmm, lovely elves. :)

Rambly PMs make me happy! I'm just also disorganized.

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I didn't put you off with my ramble! :D I was thinking: "Now she is wishing she never asked!"

I should be drawing more for B2MeM right now to keep up but it went so fast last time that I'm pushing it ahead of me for a bit yet. Tomorrow! I'll be off work earlier, because I'll be going to a public meeting that will end earlier then my usual getting-off-work time, but still too late to be going back to work! Wheeeee!

[tegdoh.livejournal.com]

Being able to pursue that particular plotbunny was my initial rationalization for "rescuing" Remus and Tonks!

You needed a rationalization? I've always felt that "DH sucked" was enough, but then, you're probably a better person than I. ;-)

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

LOL. There's that reason, too. But I was shy about the whole AU thing and wanted more ammunition! ;)

[mrstater.livejournal.com]

I hadn't gotten a chance to comment on the version you posted at Meta, but I did love it and thought it would be wonderful expanded, so needless to say, I adore this! I must echo everything gilpin25 said -- I've got such a huge grin on my face watching the "Lupins in their natural habitat." It's so, so lovely to see Remus so happy, and I can totally see him letting go of that constant longing for a job because he loves being home with Teddy all the time.

I did feel for Tonks, not getting to have as much time with their baby! But I'm sure she's had the quality time -- and lots of pictures. ;)

I'm not normally a homeschooling advocate, but I'd totally let Remus tutor any Tater Tots. ;)

Lovely work. I do love this ficverse. :)

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Aw, thanks -- I'm so glad you liked this. In my mind Remus started out frustrated that he wouldn't be the one supporting his family. But he is after all a wonderful teacher, so I imagine he would have grown to love his role of teaching -- and getting to spend time with -- his son.

I think AU!Teddy is very lucky indeed, growing up with a neat grandmother and two wonderful parents. (Nyaah, nyaah, canon, hee.)

I'm not a giant homeschooling advocate either, but it might be hard for Teddy to go to Muggle primary school and not morph all day, and this arrangement definitely gives Remus something worthwhile to do. ;)

[mrstater.livejournal.com]

I'm not a giant homeschooling advocate either, but it might be hard for Teddy to go to Muggle primary school and not morph all day, and this arrangement definitely gives Remus something worthwhile to do. ;)

Actually, that does beg the question of what kind of education Wizarding children get before Hogwarts. Are their Wizarding primary schools? Or are they homeschooled? Because it sure seems like the Weasley and other pureblood kids haven't been attending Muggle primary schools. But they've learned to read and do arithmetic somewhere!

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

I'm sure I saw a JKR interview quote about this somewhere. I think she said that kids from magical families do either go to Muggle primary schools or are homeschooled, and that the Weasleys specifically were homeschooled. (So I imagine Bill and Fleur both working, and outsourcing Victoire to Molly, heh.)

I totally think that within a year or two of this fic, Remus and Molly are going to start teaching Teddy and Victoire together so that they each have them for only half the week. Then Remus can give Kingsley two or three days each week instead of just Fridays. ;)

[mrstater.livejournal.com]

Remus and Molly are going to start teaching Teddy and Victoire together so that they each have them for only half the week. Then Remus can give Kingsley two or three days each week instead of just Fridays. ;)

Love it! Especially since this is clearly a case of Molly matchmaking at an early age. She always had a bit of a crush on Remus, you know, but since that's an impossibility, she's going to pair her granddaughter with Remus' son.

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

LOL. I hadn't thought that through, but you are so totally right.

[mrstater.livejournal.com]

She's probably having tea and sympathy Victoire, who's so frustrated that Teddy's too old, too boy, and too knowledgeable about the alphabet for her!

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

Does the fact that I had to take a long moment to calculate Teddy's sums, mean that I should really be going home instead of sitting here handling delicate personal information? ;)

I can just imagine how it must be for Teddy to be let loose on a mild spring day, how the fresh air and the smell of green things greet him as he opens the door and run outside. And I love this: a pair of emphatically orange earmuffs. I love that something can be emphatically orange! I know just what they look like. :D

It's interesting to see Remus realise how different his current situation is from (practically) all of the rest of his experience in life. To find himself not grasping at the next passing straw to keep afloat, but rather enjoying what he has in the moment. I also really like the hints of the story that went before, and all the work that must have been involved to change the laws, and how this is the personal culmination of that work for Remus.

A lovely little ficlet - thank you for sharing!

Hello!

[(Anonymous)]

Very nice! I like this one a lot. It happens to be Remus Lupin's birthday today too, which is why, I'm assuming, you posted this today!

I think that it's a very cute father-son thing for Remus to be teaching Teddy how to do 'muggle' things like math and observational science. And plus, Remus is the best teacher anyone could have. Don't get me wrong, I like my teachers, but I wish I could have a teacher like him. (Maybe I wouldn't hate math so much if I did) LOL.

It's cute how you can tell that Teddy has a crush on Victorie. At least, I thought it was obvious in this fic!

Great job, again! I can't wait to read more.

BTW, I thought that Tonks's observation of 'Lupins' was very clever, it made me laugh.

Also, I just thought of a possible suggestion for a fic: Have you ever considered adding another member to the Lupin family sometime, if you know what I mean? ;) Hey, it's AU after all and you can do whatever you want.

Anyway, Teddy is adorable, Dora is wonderful, and Remus is just so lovable!:)

Great fic and keep writing more!

Re: Hello!

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Thanks for reading, and for all the kind words!

I think JKR said in an interview that before Hogwarts, wizarding children either go to Muggle schools, or learn at home. And they can't use magic, of course. So I thought they would probably study basic things like reading and math. But we know how much Remus likes magical creatures from PoA, so I'm sure he'd teach a little wildlife biology too. :)

Have you ever considered adding another member to the Lupin family sometime, if you know what I mean? ;) Hey, it's AU after all and you can do whatever you want.

That's very true! ;) But I feel like I want to keep my AU as close to canon as I can (with the obvious exception of not killing off certain people, grrr), so Teddy will be an only child in my ficverse. I actually have a reason in mind for this, and I may write a fic about it someday...

(By the way, I hope you don't mind me asking: When you first leave a new comment to a story, would you mind doing it by clicking on "Leave a new comment", instead of "replying" to a comment by a previous commenter? That helps keep all the comments and replies next to each other -- you see here what happened is this conversation we're having is kind of in the middle of my conversation with the person whose comment you "replied" to. All of us do the "reply" instead of "new comment" thing from time to time -- it's an easy mistake to make -- but it's good to avoid it if we can. Thanks! :) And of course, if you're really "replying" to a comment by me or by someone else, then clicking "reply" totally is the way to go.)

Re: Hello!

[(Anonymous)]

Oops! Sorry about that. I usually do just click "leave a comment", but today I happened to just click "reply."

Oh, BTW, I just realized that Remus's birthday is today and not yesterday, when you updated your fic.

Anyway, it is a very good fic.

And in the future I'll make sure to click "leave a comment" instead. Sorry, for the inconvenience.

Re: Hello!

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

I thought if I waited for today to post, Remus's birthday would be almost over before I got to it! ;)

Thanks again for the kind words. (And sorry about bringing up the "reply" thing! I have an anonymous commenter who does that a lot, and I thought it was the same person as you, but I guess it's a different anonymous commenter. So, never mind...)

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

I know, I had to double-check my own math so I wouldn't post a mistake! ;)

Thanks so much for the encouraging feedback, especially about the setting and description, and the hints of the story that went before, which I had a lot of fun thinking about.

It's interesting to see Remus realise how different his current situation is from (practically) all of the rest of his experience in life.

I agree, and I so, so wanted this kind of future for him! (Sigh.) Well, this is what AU is good for, anyway, heh.

[sspring92.livejournal.com]

Love the expanded version. I get a bit misty seeing R/T getting to be a happy family! I really liked Tonks comment about "you've had him every day for 7 years" I can imagine Dora being a bit sad and even envious that Remus gets to stay home with Teddy while she goes off to work. But, she'd never want to say it to Remus and make him feel guilty!

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Aw, thanks -- glad the expanded version was still okay after I played around with it, heh.

Someday I want to write Remus and Tonks working out who is going to do what in their little family when the war is over. I imagine it was hard for both of them at first, with Tonks having to work and Remus not being able to...but I like to think they would have adjusted eventually!

[jncar.livejournal.com]

I haven't read R/T in a while but this looked short and sweet so I thought I'd take a minute to look at it, and I don't regret it. I love Remus as a homeschooling dad--his relationship with Teddy is so natural and sweet.

I really liked all the insights into their daily lives, and into the post-war transformation of the wizarding world. The whole thing was just a sweet, optimistic picture and I really liked it.

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Thanks for reading, especially since I know you're limiting your fanfiction time these days! I'm particularly glad to hear you thought the interaction between Remus and Teddy was okay, since you have a lot more experience with this age group than I have.

One of the things that really broke my heart about DH was that I always enjoyed dwelling on R/T angstiness precisely because I thought (after reading HBP) that they were going to get a happy ending eventually. Hence my unfortunate addiction to AU, heh.

[zia-montrose.livejournal.com]

This is really deliciously written and well-thought out.  Apart from the scope of it being rather brilliant, I love all the little details like the lime-green hair, orange earmuffs, wellingtons, and two-strides-to-one that make it so vivid.

Huge kudos for the way you've incorporated all the Weasleys and even Kingsley. I don't know why, but that little detail of Kingsley as Misister of Magic, I found particularly satisfying.  And how good is it to see Remus allowed to be a productive member of society?  But so happy, he mildly reconsiders.  You did a nice job expanding the snippet. 

And Teddy is just adorable again. 

By the way, have you seen any of this person's art?  Some fun T/V...

I'm so glad I got to read this. 

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Thanks a lot for your kind comments -- I really appreciate the feedback. I'm glad to hear the piece seemed vivid, and that you thought the other characters fit in well. (It seems JKR meant for the whole Potter/Weasley clan to take Teddy in, and that's a canon detail I definitely want to keep in this AU world -- even if he has parents, it would still be a good thing for him to have a huge extended "family" too.)

I agree that Kingsley as Minister is a really nice detail on JKR's part! I don't think I would have thought of it, but he's perfect for the job in the post-war world.

And thanks for the art rec. I hadn't seen that artist before; what a lovely style! I see she has some R/T and some J/L and other lovely Potter pieces, too.

[fenoire.livejournal.com]

This Teedy is very fortunated not only to have parents, but to have dedicated ones... if only...

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

I completely agree. If only...

Thanks for reading!

[tegdoh.livejournal.com]

oh, this was lovely. Very nice characterizations of Remus the SAHD, and Teddy at six. Of course he wouldn't want anything to do with his five-year-old "cousin." And I love the idea of him having a Nana Weasley in addition to Andromeda. The drabble at meramorfic_moon was lovely enough, but the added details of Remus' bittersweet feelings about going to work at the Ministry gave the story some real depth.

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the kind words -- especially for letting me know that you thought Teddy was believable here; you've had more to do with six-year-olds than I have lately!

I really like JKR's idea of Teddy having all the Potter and Weasley clan as his own extended family. I just don't want him to have to lose his parents first!

[solochan.livejournal.com]

I think I love this some AU universe you have set up for the Lupins, I really want to do something similar myself, or my second love which is the three years between the Curse of Chalion and Betriz's and Caz's relationship considering I've just started reading Paladin of Souls <3

I love this work, just keep going <3 I don't doubt they'll be this happy girl sitting all the way in england happy to read it <3

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for the encouraging comments! And good luck with your own projects -- I hope you enjoy Paladin of Souls and it gives you lots of fic-writing inspiration. :)