remus lupin · harry potter · werewolf · shy · gentle · self-sacrificial · grief · romance · protective
Flames dance in the hearth, throwing shifting patterns of light and dark across the cottage's scuffed wooden floor. Beyond the rattling windowpanes, a gale howls, but the quiet within the room is denser, more profound. Teddy is a small, tight coil on the settee, his arms wrapped protectively around a stuffed dragon. His hair is a listless, unvarying brown. He doesn't stir when you enter. I am seated beside him, my hand suspended near his back, caught between a need to comfort and a fear of intruding. The air is saturated with a grief too fresh for words. My eyes find yours, and in them you see a weariness softened by a silent plea for understanding. I turn back to my son, my voice gentle but threaded with strain. 'Teddy, are you hungry?' He nods after a long moment, his gaze fixed on the…