you're the light in my dark. (remadora)

the wolfsbane potion;

Teddy's parents were waiting for the perfect moment to tell him about Remus' monthly problem because he was too little to understand.

One night, when Teddy was almost 2 years old, he was playing with his small blanket while waiting for Remus to come and read him a bedtime story.

He stood up, leaning on the bars of his crib, and looked around the room.
"Da-da?"
Nobody responded. He started jumping.
"Da-da! Da-da!"

In a few minutes, Tonks came in the bedroom to check out on the baby. Seeing him crying, she lifted him up by his armpits with all the motherly love she had and hugged him tightly.

"What happened, darling? Why are you sad?"
Teddy showed her the book and mumbled "da-da."

Tonks hesitated for a moment, and then she went in front of the window.
"Do you see the moon?"
Still sobbing, the baby pressed his nose on the window.
"When it's perfectly round, it's called "a full moon. " This happens only once a month. Unfortunately, the full moon makes da-da sick. So, once a month, he leaves our house and goes to a place that protects him from it."

Teddy looked at the moon astonished.
"Don't worry, sweetie, he's safe, and he will come back to us in the morning."

She put him in bed and covered him with the blanket. The baby nestled near his mother and caught the plushie that flew from the crib in his hands.

"I have something to show you, Teddy."
She changed her nose into a pig snout. He reached out his hand  giggling to touch it, then it came back to normal.
"Because you're a metamorphmagus, I must teach you how to change your appearance. The sooner we start, the easier it will be for you."

She tried her best to distract Teddy from his father's problem. The baby tired over and over again before succeeding. He smiled and stuck his finger in his mouth.
"You did it, Teddy! Mommy's very proud of you!"

It wasn't long before the baby started yawning. He rubbed his eyes with his tiny fists.
"I know you're tired, sweetheart. You must go to sleep."
"Mo-" he yawned again and hugged the plushie.
"-mmy..."
Tonks moved his rebel blue hair and kissed his forehead.
"Good night, baby! I love you..."
The boy immediately fell asleep, but Tonks fluffed her pillow and changed position in zadar, unable to sleep.

She woke up after only two hours of sleep and left the bedroom carefully so as not to wake up Teddy. As she expected, Remus was in the bathroom, washing his face.
"Oh, you're awake? I thought you were sleeping!" he said hoarsely.

Remus sat on the edge of the tub, and Tonks filled a bowl with water. Luckily, he wasn't hurt so badly that time.

"Isn't it a little bit too soon, I mean- Anyway, he has to find out that I'm a..."
Tonks was cleaning a deep scratch on his right elbow.
"You know very well that Teddy loves you very much, and I promise he will love you even if he discovers the truth."

Remus put his hands around her waist and pulled her into a hug. Tonks wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Teddy will never be ashamed of you."
"I just don't want to disappoint him."
She kissed the top of his head.
"You won't. He is very lucky to have you as his father."

•••

On Remus' exhausted face appeared a soft smile as he entered the bedroom and saw Teddy peacefully sleeping. He lay down carefully in bed and let his head plunge into the pillow.

Remus' eyes were half closed by his tiredness when he felt Teddy climbing his belly. He leaned on his elbows and saw a pudgy round smiling face staring at him.

"DA-DA!!!"

Remus scooped up Teddy in him arms and filled his face with kisses.
"Mommy told me you were a very good boy while I was gone. Is that true? Hmm?"

Teddy stopped giggling when he realized his dad was looking different. There were new scratches on Remus' face.

Remus wanted to put him down, but the boy touched his scratches. Remus' pyjamas was covering his other scars, so the baby couldn't know his dad had actually more.

"It's a long story, Teddy, but they don't hurt." He kissed the top of Teddy's tiny nose. "I know they look terrible, but they don't hurt at all."
The boy took Remus' cheeks in his tiny hands.
"Are you mad at da-da for not telling you he's going away?" Remus asked him while pressing his forehead on Teddy's. "Oh, I know, I promised you I'll read you a bedtime story, is that right? Where's that book?"

Remus got up, holding the baby, and took the book from his crib. He lied again in bed with Teddy, who curled up on the warmer spot of his father's chest. Remus wrapped the baby in the blanket and started reading while gently rubbing his back to help him fall asleep easier.

When Tonks came back into the bedroom, Teddy was resting in his father's arms.

•••

One year later, they finally procured the wolfsbane potion. The first night after drinking the potion, Tonks brought Teddy into the living room to see his father. It seemed risky at first, but he was totally innocent. After many years, Remus transformed without having to endure the pain he used to go through and without the fear of hurting his family.

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