A/N: This story is a follow-up to Inverarity's Hogwarts Houses Divided ( s/3979062/1/Hogwarts-Houses-Divided). I would absolutely recommend that you go read that story first before getting to this.

Chapter 1: Disguises and Surprises

Teddy Lupin had been caught.

"I'm impressed with your follicle control," Aunt Hermione said while frowning at him. "But you really need to learn not to spy on people, Teddy."

She was complimenting his metamorphmagus abilities as Teddy had changed his skin to match the fern that he was hiding behind. Apparently making the ends of his hair short and pointy like the little buds meant his follicle control was increasing.

"I know," Teddy said, resuming his normal face, and looking down. This was not the first time that summer that some adults had caught him like this. His grandmother Andromeda had commented earlier that week that the school year couldn't start soon enough after once again being fooled by one his aliases. He had felt guilty upon hearing that. Ever since the previous year at Hogwarts though, where his gift had saved his life on numerous occasions, he had been practicing as much as possible at assuming the faces of those around him.

"And I don't know exactly what you heard," said his godfather, Harry Potter, standing beside Aunt Hermoine, Uncle Ron, and Aunt Gin, "but you don't know the whole story."

Teddy had been hiding behind the fern outside the kitchen window at the Burrow for almost a half an hour as his cousins and he had been playing hide and go seek. It had become a favorite game of the summer ever since Teddy started changing his appearance for the amusement of the rest of the family. He had been bored waiting for his cousin, Victoire, to find him when he overheard a conversation between some of the adults in his family.

"I don't trust him," said Ron.

"Ron- If Mair Llewellyn is going to vouch for him, than I do too," said Hermione.

"Well that's easy for you to say," said Ron. "The only files you've read of his are academic papers."

Teddy had no idea who they were talking about but assumed it was one of the researchers that his aunt sometimes worked with.

"Really- you get it in your head that someone is up to something and then it takes an outrageous effort to get you to come around."

"The man is a political exile luv."

"Ron..." warned Harry.

Teddy wasn't sure what political exile meant. He had of course known about people sent away during the war but those people were all brought back once Voldermort had been defeated.

"Harry, you and I both know that these two will find out this stuff anyway."

"Hey!" said his aunt Ginny.

"We're lousy at interrogation when it's under our roofs aren't we?" said Ron. Although Teddy could not see those conversing, he would bet his uncle was winking at Harry.

There was a sigh and then his godfather said, "It's not that... even I haven't heard much of anything about what happened in America prior to Babbit being kicked out. And our trailing him and his new colleagues over here hasn't shown us much of anything."

"He's recruiting," said Ron.

"Maybe," replied Harry.

"Or he's discussing his latest findings with like-minded academics," said Hermione.

"Yeah, I'm sure he got kicked out of America because he was having too many academic discussions," muttered Ron.

"Harry and the Aurors have been tailing him for a reason," said Ginny. "A good reason I'm sure he will elaborate on…"

"There have been a lot of rumors flying around and unfortunately half the time our job seems to be looking into the mean-spirited wizard that cursed his neighbor's dog," Harry said.

Ron added, "Or some bugger who thinks he's going to take a Muggle toast warmer and turn it into the next self-cooking wand."

"Toaster Ron," said Hermione wearily, "and all of these silly things you have to investigate hopefully should show you that James Babbit is probably nothing like the stories that are being made of him."

"I wouldn't care if he was working at the Hogs Head or somewhere," Ron cut back, "but Llewellyn has him teaching at Hogwarts!"

Teddy gasped out loud at this. He covered his mouth with his hands and ducked his head below the fern, as if the plant could somehow hide him from the world. Strangely though, the fern seemed to want no part of it. The bush's thousands of little branches immediately started to wriggle as if they were shocked by lighting. Before he knew it, the fern's arms had wrapped around his own arms and legs and, with a rolling wave of the plant, lifted him head over heels into the dirt. Groaning and looking up, he found himself staring at the grinning face of Victoire.

"How?" he asked his cousin while rubbing his lower back.

"I hope you are not hurt. I only meant to find you."

"He's been through worse than that," replied Ron as he and everyone else from the kitchen had come outside to find out the source of the noise. Hermione put her hand out to Victoire who smiled sweetly back at her and handed her the wand.

"You are going to be the one to beat in charms," she said. "Now go wake your parents up- I think their nap time is done."

Victoire walked away, glancing back once at Teddy, who was taking a long time to get up.

All in all, Teddy didn't mind having the riot act read to him by Hermione- or by Ron or Ginny. They all seemed to enjoy a bit of rebelliousness and mayhem. He did not like the look, however, that his godfather had on his face at the moment.

"How much did you hear?" he asked.

Teddy admitted what he had heard to the adults. Harry and Ron exchanged a look and then Harry motioned to Teddy that the two of them were going to go for a walk.

They had gone a hundred feet through the Burrow's chaotic garden when Harry said. "Teddy, I know you are just starting to test the limits of your metamorphmagus abilities and I know you're not typically a nosy kid but…" Harry stopped and stared at him, "if you keep doing stuff like this it's going to catch up to you."

Teddy nodded seriously at him. Generally when adults say stuff like this they were just trying to make kids behave- but Teddy knew that his godfather was thinking of Teddy's horrifying afternoon running around the Goblin-made mazes underneath Hogwarts. Teddy had changed his appearance from one enemy to the next to stay alive. He had nearly given himself away many times that afternoon and he still cringed some nights thinking about how many terrible things could have happened had one thing or another turned out differently.

"I know that you aren't looking for trouble Teddy, but you seem to have the same knack that we had at your age for wandering into conversations meant for far older and more experienced wizards."

The two were walking again. Harry was idly floating a sunflower around in circles as the gnomes, returning from their banishment, stopped in their tracks to stare.

"Why is the headmaster having a political exile teach at school?" he asked.

Harry sighed, rubbing his hand through his hair. "You know I can't tell you about that."

Harry pointed his wand upwards and the sunflower soared high into the sky before breaking apart into dozens of pieces and snowing down on the now annoyed gnomes.

"If you're tracking him, then there must be a reason," Teddy said.

"Whatever that reason is- is not your concern," Harry said somewhat curtly. "You know if I thought you or any of the students were in danger then I would intervene."

"In time though-" Teddy started to ask but then stopped himself. He knew immediately that he had said the wrong thing as his godfather's expression had turned grim.

"I didn't mean," he started to say, but Harry was shaking his head.

"Teddy- last spring you were incredibly brave and selfless. I can't believe how long you and your friends trudged around down there. You fought so many Goblins and they are much stronger than most people realize. Still you should never have been in that situation to begin with."

There was a fierce look on his face now, "We took the defenses to the castle for granted. We took a lot of things for granted. Your headmistress and I will not let anything like that happen again."

Teddy felt terrible for bringing up the subject and could just nod.

"I know you are worried that everyone will be expecting you to be a hero from now on. Or, at least, you feel like you now need to have Harry Potter-styled adventures each year."

Teddy smiled but didn't say anything to this.

Harry nodded and then continued, "Which, despite you being heroic, Teddy, does not mean that you are expected, or for that matter, wished, to be a hero again... As you know, we would like you to have the most safe, non-eventful, and normal schooling possible..."

"Yeah, I know that," Teddy replied.

While it was true that he knew that his family didn't want him involved in any dangerous situations, Teddy had left unsaid the point that he had made dozens of times already, "I never looked for trouble in the first place. Trouble found me!"

Harry seemed to be reading this thought though, as he stopped and sighed again. "I'll level with you, Teddy. I'll tell you my opinion of your new professor if you at least promise to let me do my job in keeping an eye on him. And my job is easiest when I don't have to worry about a well-meaning but reckless little godson blowing my cover."

The accusation rankled a bit as he honestly hadn't considered following the new professor around. Still though, he was very curious, and so he nodded.

"I think that your new professor is probably trying to recruit people at these meetings that we've gone to. He is a brilliant man who clearly has put a lot of time into his work and is trying to find the right group to share it with."

"What is his research about?" asked Teddy. He had been wondering what sort of promising and politically troublesome work an academic might get in.

"Muggle Studies..." said Harry. "And I don't know any more than that."

Two weeks later, Teddy once again found himself having a quiet talk with his godfather. They were among many other families on Platform 9 and ¾ waiting for the Hogwarts Express. To his credit, Harry had waited for Teddy's Grandmother, Andromeda Tonks, to talk to another friend of her's before pulling him aside again to question him

"So you remember our talk, Mr Lupin? That you won't be sneaking off this year on whatever whim that may call you?"

Teddy rolled his eyes at this. "You make it sound like that's all I do."

Harry laughed, "Not all, but I have a fair idea what it's like there. And any other year, I wouldn't be such a prat about this sort of thing. This year though... It's a different sort of year."

It was the type of understatement that he had come to expect from Harry. Judging from the level of auror security at the platform (which had been attacked by Goblins no less than three times over the summer) Teddy expected that Hogwarts would be in some sort of lock-down.

"I have no intention to sneak around," Teddy repeated, "No plans for it."

"Don't think I'm going to let you get away with that," said Harry with a small smile on his face. "Give me some credit Teddy. Just promise me that you won't investigate the new Muggle Studies teacher ok?"

Teddy sighed but nodded.

Harry who had been bending over to keep the words private, stood up, and ruffled Teddy's hair. "I think I will sleep a little easier now," he said.

"And why is that?" asked Teddy's Grandmother.

Harry shook his head. "I got Teddy to promise to not look for trouble this year."

"We'll see about that," she said. She straightened Teddy's tie. "'You're to work harder on your studies this year."

"Yes Gran."

"And you are not to go looking for any trouble."

"Yes Gran."

"Don't 'yes Gran' me young man," she said as she gave him a stern look. They both held it for a moment before giving up and laughing. "I mean it though Teddy- listen to your Godfather- you've proven yourself enough for seven school years already, alright darling?"

Teddy was beginning to get annoyed with all this fussing over him. Hadn't he proved the previous year that he wasn't a delicate little baby? Still he understood their concern and couldn't really blame people for expecting him to act as his cousin Violet would put it, "as a heroic idiot."

He looked around the platform for Violet and the rest of his friends. The platform was bustling with families, but this year there were also workers who were repairing parts of the platform that Goblins had recently damaged. Construction crews seemed oblivious to the many families streaming through as they levitated large stones and crossbeams into place. Also at the edges of the platform and scattered here and there were two dozen uniformed Auror's who would be guarding the area. Teddy worried that he would have to board the train before he saw any of his friends.

This worry was short lived though as he spotted Dewey and his father walking over. Dewey looked like he had stretched out over the summer. Teddy couldn't tell if it was because his friend was taller or if it was because his dad seemed to have a firm grip on one of his shoulders but it seemed like he was walking differently.

"Hey Mate!" Teddy called out to him.

"Teddy," Dewey said. His voice was much lower than the last time Teddy had heard it and Dewey's face reddened at Teddy's surprise.

"You've shot up in the past month," said his grandmother ignoring the embarrassed look on Dewey's face. She wasn't joking as Dewey and Kai had visited for a week earlier in the summer and the boy did appear to have grown since then.

"Maybe," said Dewey still blushing a bit.

"He's taking after my wife's side of the family," replied Mr. Diggory. He still hadn't taken his other hand off of Dewey's shoulder. "Even Cedric wasn't this tall at his age. Eats like a rabbit though- strangest thing."

Teddy looked up at Mr. Diggory in surprise at hearing his deceased son's name, but Dewey didn't seem to notice. He wasn't sure but it looked like his friend was looking at the train with something like longing.

"Taller than those nasty creatures at least. That's a benefit," said Amos Diggory who squeezed Dewey's shoulder once again.

"And why is that?" asked Andromeda.

Amos smiled, "after what those four went through last year- they can use all the extra pounds that they can get. And that reminds me..." he looked down at his jacket where he was digging through his pockets, oblivious to the glare Andromeda was giving him.

"What they need is better protection at that school- not to chase after any Goblins," said Andromeda.

"Yes Gran," said Teddy automatically. He grinned when he realized she was chastising someone else.

Amos, having found a couple of galleons handed them over to his son.

"Well, of course I don't want anything like that to happen," he said. He looked at Andromeda and then back at his son. "We don't want you to chase after goblins you know."

Dewey sighed. "I know Dad."

"Wotcher guys!" a voice said and Dewey barely turned his head in time to see Kai shoot forward at him. Dewey jumped out of the way and Kai shot right past him towards Teddy and Andromeda. Just as he was about to crash, his body froze in midair. Only his eyes could move, and they glanced down at his hands which were immobilized inches from Teddy's chest.

"Kai!" called his older sister, Cho Chang, as she ran up to them. She pointed her wand at her brother and muttered the counter curse that released him.

"What did I tell you about that thing? You're not taking muggle carts with you to school."

"It's a skateboard" Kai muttered. He picked the bright red skateboard off the ground and held it out for his friends to look at.

"Did that thing?" Dewey began...

"Shoot some flames out?" Kai said excitedly. "Yeah I figured out some charms for this over the summer."

Andromeda and Amos were looking at Kai with disapproving expressions. Cho on the other hand seemed livid.

"Give me that now," she said holding out her hand before Kai reluctantly handed her the skateboard. "And if we hear any reports from Flitwick that you managed to sneak another one into school somehow..."

"That's my only one, Cho" Kai replied angrily. "Isn't Gabe waiting in the car?"

The two siblings seemed tenser around each other than usual and Teddy was now suddenly ready to leave. Apparently Dewey felt the same way as he too was hugging his dad and then making his way to the train.

"Remember what I said Teddy- and your Godfather too," Andromeda called.

Teddy nodded from the entrance of the train.

"Have a brilliant year," she added.

Teddy nodded and then waited for Kai who had just said a quick goodbye to his sister to walk past him. With one last look at his grandmother and godfather, Teddy smiled and then turned to follow his friends onto the train.

The train was already crowded as the three friends made their way through the long corridor.

"Either of you see Violet?" Teddy asked as he peeked into each compartment window. He recognized many of the students who smiled and waved back at him.

"I reckon she probably wouldn't want to say hi to us out there with her mom around," replied Kai. He was also looking into each compartment but he seemed disappointed as they walked past each one and evidently did not discover the person he was looking for.

"Looking for someone?" Teddy asked.

Kai blinked in surprise and was about to answer when he stopped. "Violet!" he said happily, seeing her through the compartment window. He knocked on the glass a few times until she looked up.

Teddy opened the door to greet her and the three boys tumbled in. Violet had a book open in her lap. "Hi guys," she said. She turned her head to the bench to their left and the boys noticed that Stephen White, a Slytherin in their year, was already sitting there.

"Budge over," said Kai as he plopped down next to Stephen. "So how has the summer been Vi?"

Her eyes narrowed at Kai's entrance but she resumed her smile at Teddy and Dewey.

"I'm sorry I didn't respond to your letters," she said, looking guilty. "I did manage to read them- eventually," she added the last word at the end and then shared a look of annoyance with Stephen.

` "Your mom kept mail from you?" asked Teddy who had taken a seat across from Stephen and Kai. "That sounds loony."

"It was more like, she kept us so busy that the owl's had a hard time finding us."

"You must have gone really far away if the owl's couldn't reach you," said Dewey.

One of Violet's eyebrows had raised just a bit at first seeing the much taller Hufflepuff boy. She did not react in any visible way though to his suddenly deep voice.

"We took the Carousel," she replied indifferently. Teddy and the other boys were impressed with this. He doubted that anyone else at school had ridden in the transcontinental carriage pulled by massive winged horses.

"Anyway, I appreciated it. I wish I could have been around with you guys at Teddy's."

"Oh it wasn't anything big- just getting flying lessons from Harry Potter and hanging out with some Veela," said Kai.

Teddy rolled his eyes at this.

"How was your summer, Stephen?" said Dewey politely.

Stephen, who had seemed a bit annoyed at the three boys' entrance, had seemed to relax in the conversation following. "It was alright. Thankfully Violet's mother doesn't seem to... err... disapprove of me the same way she does with others."

"Your mom let you speak to Stephen, but not us?" said Teddy. He must have looked hurt because Violet was glaring at Stephen.

"I don't particularly care who my mother approves or disapproves of, but during the holidays, I don't have much of a choice but to do what she says," she said still looking at Stephen.

Dewey cut in, "Did you really only bring the one skateboard, Kai?"

Kai grinned. "Yeah, but I'm not the only one that was bringing one- plus I hear that there is a wicked new place in Hogsmede that's selling Muggle stuff..."

Teddy and Dewey exchanged a look, but surprisingly it was Stephen who said what everyone was thinking. "Second year's don't get to go to Hogsmede," he said, and then added, "plus I doubt anyone will be going as long as the rebellions keep happening."

"I've got a plan," said Kai confidently. He smiled broadly and then looked like he was about to start explaining himself, but Teddy suddenly remembered his conversation with Harry.

"There's a new teacher," he gushed out.

Violet looked back at him impassively. "You just heard? Father told me about that last year."