father and son (dominic)

[THEODORE REMUS LUPIN]

teddy was feeling a little on edge. it was three days until the full moon, meaning he was beginning to feel the early effects of being a werewolf. well, partly a werewolf. when he woke up, his body was stiff, his head was pounding and he was so tired he wanted to just return to his bed. a quick trip to the infirmary had stopped the headache and the ache in his body, but the sleepiness remained. if he could, he would go back to sleep. but he had quidditch practice to run tonight, the first practice of the school year with a full team. even if he took a nap, he would just wake up more tired than he had before. being part a werewolf sucked majorly.

teddy didn't change. instead, on the night of the full moon, he underwent a night of extreme pain. according to aunt hermione, the pain he felt was about equal to the pain a full werewolf felt during change. he spent hours screaming, the pain making his body twist into unimaginable shapes and positions. up until this year, he had used the shrieking shack to hide his screams from the students at hogwarts. however, this year he was in the infirmary instead, by request of the headmaster. rumor had it there was not a full werewolf at hogwarts who used the shack. they had moved him for his safety against the creature.

he wondered who this person could possibly be. curiosity about werewolves had always been about in his mind, and what he could learn from books just didn't satisfy him. he had never met a full werewolf, aside from the few months as a newborn child with his father, and he wondered how they felt about becoming a creature once ever thirty days. did they feel like him, like it was a curse? or did they enjoy being able to be rid of human problems for one night and following animal instinct?

when classes ended, teddy made his way to the whomping willow. most people tended to leave the tree alone, so it was a good place to sit and think. the tree was moving wildly, swatting at everything in sight. he saw a bird get hit by one particularly nasty branch, and go flying. he didn't want that to be him. so he sat far enough away so the tree couldn't reach him, laying out on the grass. he wouldn't sleep. just rest.

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[DOMINIC OVID TONKS]

A headache pounded behind his eyes as his pulse slammed into the edges of his body. Dominic closed his eyes and leaned his head against the solid wall that was behind him, holding his body up. He needed the support at the moment, considering he had an entire wave of body-length strikes going through his body. What had he ever done to be cursed with such issues? What had he ever done to have to deal with being a werewolf? The headaches would start a week prior to the full moon, his body would tense, and fatigue would take over his entire form. Dark circles underlined his eyes and his veins were protruding from his body, the skin pulling tight on his bone structure. Deep breaths; those were what he needed. Taking plenty of moments to attempt at clearing his mind and meditating his body, he finally felt a slight peace in the haze of his headache. It wasn't much but it was better than before. The breeze of the outside air seemed to help a bit, too, because otherwise - he'd feel hot and a bit claustrophobic. Not as in, walls were closing in, but as if he was starting to become trapped inside the school. So, that's where he was. Leaning against the outside of the school, pressed against the coolness of the stone Hogwarts was built out of. Dom then turned to press his forehead against it, taking in more deep breaths - but not even to hyperventilate. That wouldn't get him anywhere getting through this. Luckily, the sun wasn't too bright to worsen his aching mind.

Strength. That's what he needed, so he pushed away from the wall and started walking. In order to fight it, he had to keep moving until things got better, or clearer. Whichever came first, he supposed. But, he wasn't quite wandering. There was something in the back of his mind that was leading him toward the Whomping Willow. There was something about it that made him quite drawn to it, but he was entirely clueless on the reasoning. And it made him even more curious because of how his feet were walking toward it. His eyes began to scan the grounds around him and he spotted a boy that was near the tree, but was out of its reach -- it was rather feisty today, swinging around and causing beloved destruction around itself. This made him smile.. A tree that had a life of its own. He respected that. The willow deserved to have thoughts of its own, because of how amazing, large, and significant it seemed to be. Or was it only relevant to him? This made him even more unsure, but as he neared the area.. The name of the male that was laying on the grass seemed to appear to him. Theodore Lupin. Ahh, quite the odd guy. But there was something about him that perked Dominic's interest, almost an instinct. Appearing and plopping down beside him, he looked at the sky. " Hello Theodore. Lovely day, isn't it? " Random? Sure. But he didn't care about that. He wanted to escape the torments inside of him.. and having company helped distract him.

[THEODORE REMUS LUPIN]

teddy enjoyed sitting out by the willow. he did it quite often, on hot sunny days where it was simply too hot to practice for quidditch, or days close to the full moon. he was drawn to the place, because it was a spot in hogwarts that reminded him of his father. there were really only two places on the grounds that did, this tree and the memorial well. however, the well made him think about his parents dying, while this tree made him think about his father when he was in school. the whomping willow had been placed here specially for his dad, to hide a passageway to the shrieking shack. or at least, that was what harry told him growing up. teddy wasn't sure if he believed it or not, as the tree looked like it had been in hogwarts forever. but, he could be wrong. the only way to find out when the tree had been put there was to pick up a copy of 'Hogwarts, A History', and he sure as hell wasn't going to do that. that book was a huge bore, he had gotten halfway down the first page when he bought it in his first year and gave up.

teddy closed his eyes for a moment, letting the breeze run through his hair. he could probably sleep out here, it was a lovely day. if only the willow wasn't so loud, then it would be perfect. the grass at hogwarts wasn't as comfortable anywhere else, because they cut it there. no one wanted to risk coming close to the willow, the the grass around it was long and soft.

he opened one eye when he heard the sound of someone sitting down next to him. dominic tonks, a ravenclaw. teddy didn't know the other guy too well, they were from different houses and in different years so there wasn't much opportunity to talk. however, there was something about the ravenclaw that drew teddy into wanting to talk to him, so they had spoken once or twice, although nothing more than small conversations. so the gryffindor was surprised that dominic had come to keep him company. most of the time, almost strangers wouldn't do that. but it would be nice to have someone to talk to, definitely.

teddy sat up, shaking his head to get his hair from falling in his eyes. "it's teddy. never theodore." he replied with a grin. he hated his first name, even if he was named after his grandfather who died during the war against voldemort. theodore sounded too bookish and lame for him, teddy was much more playful. plus, it was the nickname his parents had given him, and he wanted to be called by it. any little thing that connected him to them was a good thing. "it's nice. the breeze the willow is making cools it down too. one of the reasons i came down here." it was odd, that someone else would come down the the willow. he had never met another student down here before. "what brings you here?"

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[DOMINIC OVID TONKS]

Dominic wasn't quite sure what had prompted him to be so forward as to sitting down beside the guy, but hey - why not. Try something out of his element for once, eh? He honestly didn't know much about the Lupin kid, because he hadn't heard a lot. But, he was known throughout the school. Dom wouldn't put it as "popular" but something along those lines, perhaps. As for knowing him, they'd spoken a few times, but it had always been brief. However, it seemed like those small moments mattered. He just wasn't sure as to how. Anyway. The day was nice; he could envision himself going for a run.. around the grounds. What stopped him from doing so was his lack of energy and the fact that he now had company. And interesting company at that. " Ah! Alright. Sorry about that. " And the boy's grin was infectious, making Dominic grin with him. The nickname of 'Teddy' was interesting. And seemed familiar, but he didn't really take notice, letting the name slide on by as he let the breeze wash over him. Nodding in agreement with the guy, Dom could definitely agree that the breeze of the willow made the outdoors refreshing. " The willow is surprisingly calming and inspiring. You wouldn't think that of a tree that seems to be rather restless. " He stated. It was true, though - to him anyway. There was something about the Whomping willow that was welcoming and mesmerizing. It was a being that intrigued him so. Again, why? That question seemed to appear far too often and it was beginning to annoy him. Why this, why that. His mind was mysterious and he couldn't even unlock his thoughts.

What did bring him down here? The question made him think, because he hadn't planned on it. He supposed that it was the weather - or the tree itself. It could've been that, because he often stopped by it, just to stare and ponder. It added confusion, and yet, it helped clarify his problems, even if it couldn't fix his problems. " The tree helps me think. So, I come down here at times to clear my head, y'know? It helps to think about things while being around the Whomping willow, because it's a wonderful aspect of life. " Dom answered thoughtfully. There was something he should've recalled about the tree, but he honestly couldn't drag it up. It was too much effort right now anyhow. And, even though he had a raging headache, it was softened on the edges by being near the tree. But it was still there - full on and distracting him from thinking too long. It was always there, right on the inside of his skull. He was unable to escape from it. But, again, that was just his life and the way his cookie crumbled. Not much else could be expected, unfortunately. " Have you ever just felt connected to something, without knowing the reason why or how? Even if it's something as seemingly stupid as a tree? " He asked, laughing softly at how idiotic he sounded. He was literally asking the guy if he felt a connection to a goddamn tree. What was Dominic actually on? Certainly not drugs. But it sure seemed like he was.

[THEODORE REMUS LUPIN]

teddy wasn't sure why he was so happy that dominic had sat down beside him. out of house, he didn't tend to make too many friends. he had his cousins and family friends that had been sorted differently, but that was about it. most people from other houses tended to steer clear of him, because he was the "standard" gryffindor. after all, he was loud and loved quidditch, and sometimes that annoyed people from other houses. they thought he was annoying. but dom seemed alright for a ravenclaw. he wasn't stuck up, like some of them were, and he didn't talk like he was smarter than everyone. teddy hated those ravenclaws who walked around flaunting the fact that they were smart by using big words at every opportunity. "no problem. i prefer teddy, that's all."

he had been called teddy all his life, after all. he had gone through one phase when he was in his first year where he wanted everyone to call him remus. that had been the year he had really grasped exactly what his father had died for, and he wanted everyone to know that he was his son. that hadn't lasted long though, harry had told him that his father was a great person, but so was he. after that, he had gone back to going by teddy. everyone knew that remus lupin was his father, he didn't need to become him to show that.

the willow was a relaxing place. most students kept away from it, so there wasn't much of a chance in getting bothered if you wanted to be alone, and the tree swinging around made a very nice breeze. as long as you didn't get in range of the branches, it was a very relaxing place to sit. get too close, and you are dead. "i guess so. i usually just come down here because it was cooler than the rest of the grounds, and people don't crowd around here like they do the courtyard. i'm not too fond of hugely packed places, unless it's a quidditch pitch."

teddy didn't really understand what dominic was asking him. did he feel connected to something without knowing why? well, he felt connected to victoire, but he knew why. and the memorial well, but he knew why for that one too. he couldn't think of a connection he had ever had without knowing the reason. was that even possible? "no, i haven't. maybe the tree is your soulmate." teddy grinned. dominic had asked the question seriously, but the ravenclaw must have discovered how weird the question was by now. a harmless joke wouldn't annoy him. hopefully.

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