Turning Point

Disclaimer - Harry Potter is owned by J.K Rowling

A/N- Written for QLFC round 8

Prompt - The Korean Wave - BEATER 2: K-pop Song - Palette by IU (feat. G-Dragon). Theme - coming into your own, i.e. a "coming of age" kinda story where your character is able to identify the uniqueness of their personality, their likes and dislikes, their opinions and beliefs, and is able to be comfortable in their own skin without succumbing to peer pressure while accepting that it's ok to be different

Additional prompts - (emotion) frustration, (dialogue) "I believe you. But I believe everybody else too."

Word count- 3008

It was the night of the full moon. A small brown wolf was running from the howls of his brethren. He wanted to as get far away as he could. Deep down, he knew he would never be able to really get rid of them, but one could always try.

Soon, his paws ached, and he knew that he could run no more. He told himself he had decided to rest, but in reality, he knew that his body had chosen for him. Finding a tree in close proximity to a large house, he decided to make himself comfortable between its roots, reasoning that the wolf pack wouldn't want to come near civilisation.

I don't ever want to go back, he thought as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Teddy groaned as he woke, but soon his sleepiness gave way to surprise. Somehow, last night hadn't been as difficult as the others. Carefully moving each muscle, he realised that for once, he didn't feel any kind of pain.

As he opened his eyes, he came face to face with two small children. In his tired state, he wondered if they were newcomers to the pack. The girl looked around five, with flaming red hair and a pudgy face. Her brother, he guessed from their scent, had messy black hair and piercing green eyes. Though the children seemed harmless, there was something odd about them.

Sniffing the air deeply, Teddy smelled a faint musk coming from them, quickly reaching the conclusion that these children weren't just Muggles. His body snapped into motion instinctively, backing away from them. He had heard many stories about wizards from his packmates, none of them good.

"Are you okay?" the little boy asked cautiously. Teddy didn't know if he should reply or not. The boy eyed him curiously again, then turned to his sister. "I'll bring Daddy's clothes."

Teddy blinked in surprise at the strange words, but the little boy had already started running back to the house, leaving his sister with Teddy.

Realising that "Daddy" was probably a full-grown wizard who would do him harm as soon as he found out, Teddy got up, not caring that he was leaving himself exposed in front of the other child. He raced back through the forest as fast as he could.

When Teddy finally returned to the pack's lair, a broad hand landed on his shoulder. He turned around and stiffened as he saw who it was. Marcel was quite big for his age, and his wolf was even bigger. He took pride in his feral appearance — his dark hair was matted with mud and his blue eyes were filled with a sadistic glint. Teddy gulped, hating himself for showing fear.

"Where have you been, runt? The Alpha is looking for you and he's pissed."

Marcel growled, showing his teeth. Teddy tried to detach himself from Marcel's grip but ended up scrabbling against the other boy's fingers. Marcel was still stronger than him. Frustration started to build up in his belly, but before Teddy could lash out and say something that would just result in him getting beaten again, a shadow appeared.

"Where the hell were you?"

Both boys jumped at the harsh voice. They turned to face their Alpha, whose face was curled into a snarl. Immediately, Marcel let go of Teddy, who fell back in his attempt to get away. Knowing that staying on the ground would earn him a beating, he jumped to his feet, avoiding the Alpha's eyes. He didn't want to enrage him further.

Without waiting for a response, Fenrir dug his nails into Teddy's arm, enough to draw blood, and dragged him to where others were gathered, all as naked as Teddy. Fenrir disapproved of human clothing. Releasing his grip, Fenrir turned to the group and spoke.

"Since the young wolf has turned fifteen, it's time he takes part in the ritual!"

Some of the older pack members bared their teeth in feral grins, whilst others looked at Teddy appraisingly. Marcel had drawn nearer and was making lewd gestures that Teddy desperately tried to ignore.

"W-what ritual?" he asked instead. In all of his life in the pack, he had never heard of a ritual other than that of the full moon.

Fenrir glared at him for interrupting, but continued, fixing his eyes on the young wolf.

"On the next full moon, you'll bring a new member to the pack, a child. And if you fail, I'll skin you alive."

Teddy gulped, his heart sinking.

"B-but where will I find a werewolf child?" he asked naively, frowning. Were the two children he met werewolves? But they had the stink of wizard on them! At this, the older wolves started to laugh, chasing away his thoughts. Teddy looked at them in confusion. "What is funny about that?"

"Most of us aren't privileged like you to be born this way, runt. We had to leave our old disgusting selves to be like this," Scabior said through gritted teeth. Others nodded in agreement.

"You have to bite the child and make it one of us," explained another wolf.

Teddy's eyes went huge with shock. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. He couldn't bite a child! He could barely bring himself to fight Marcel.

"The younger, the better," Marcel said, flashing his teeth as if he knew what Teddy was thinking. The younger wolf tried to back away, but Fenrir caught him, holding his shoulders in a painfully tight grip.

"Twenty-eight days, runt. And if you fail..." Fenrir bared his teeth, letting the sentence hang as he backed away, keeping his eyes on Teddy menacingly. The older wolves followed him. Once the adults were gone, the other children surrounded Teddy.

"What do you think? Can you do it?" one kid asked.

"Nah, he's a coward like his father. Maybe he'll run away like him, or die like his weakling mother," said another, nastily.

With that, they started to laugh, the cruel sound echoing around the lair as they turned to play-fight with each other.

Teddy clenched his fists. How dare they compare him with that bastard who left his mate when she was pregnant with his cub? How dare they diminish his mother's death that way? He wanted to lash out at them in his frustration, but it wouldn't solve anything. It never did.

Ever the outcast, Teddy stormed off to the cave that his mother had used during her last day and curled up, inhaling the fading smell. It never failed to remind him of her.

A few days later, Teddy found himself outside that large house again. He didn't know what he was doing there. There was no way he was going to bite a child, but he didn't really have another choice. He could ask for help from someone who wasn't in the pack, but how could he convince them to believe him? He was a werewolf too, and Fenrir had made it clear that the rest of society despised them.

He was deep in thought when someone spoke.

"Look, Jamie, he's back!"

He turned around and saw the same children from before. This time, they were with another boy, who had the same black as his brother and hazel eyes as his sister, but was slightly older than them. Instinctively, Teddy bared his teeth a little, forcing them to stay back. They didn't move from their spot, the older boy eyeing him closely before turning to the others.

"He isn't naked," he said in a matter of fact tone. It was as if he hadn't noticed the young werewolf's aggression. The younger boy just shook his head at his brother, then faced Teddy.

"Are you here to see us?" he asked, gesturing at himself and the one Teddy guessed was the sister.

Teddy didn't say anything. He just stared at them as if they were speaking a different language. And they might as well have been. His defensive position and bared teeth should have provoked fear, or aggression. Not friendliness.

"I think he can't talk or hear," the boy — Jamie — said.

Teddy scowled, but before he could do anything, the younger brother smacked him on the arm, before turning back to Teddy.

"Hello, I'm Albus. This is my brother James and our sister Lily. What's your name?"

Unlike James, who had struck Teddy as a little childish, Albus seemed mature for his young age.

Before he knew it, the three children were dragging him towards their house, chattering to one another as they went, despite his continued silence. Teddy just gulped. He could have stood his ground, but the part of him that knew he needed help told him not to.

Teddy felt odd inside the house. He was inside a large room with many objects lining the walls. He looked around in fascination; he had never seen anything like this in his life. There was wood everywhere, with square bundles of white leaves covering every surface. At the same time, he had never seen anything look so clean.

Just as he was getting used to the strange room, an older man who looked exactly like Albus enters. Teddy guessed he was "daddy". He stood by Teddy and eyed him. It wasn't fear, suspicion or disgust but something else which Teddy couldn't figure out. Immediately, Teddy knew he was the Alpha of this little pack.

"Hello there, I'm Harry, and I guess you've already met my children," he said, obviously trying to sound friendly. He visibly didn't want to scare the Teddy. Teddy absorbed this knowledge and didn't say a word, just stared at Harry. He wasn't anything like his pack mates had described wizards. Maybe he was acting and didn't want to frighten his children. Maybe once his children left, he would kill Teddy.

Before anyone could do anything else, a loud pop sounded and a wrinkled thing appeared.

"Kreacher has prepared lunch for master — what is that disgusting creature doing in master's house?" it shouted.

Teddy flinched, cowering back. He had never imagined such a small thing could be this scary.

"That's enough, Kreacher," Harry said in a warning tone, but this didn't deter the old elf.

"Master don't understand; this boy is a filthy, disgusting werewolf!"

Teddy flinched. He wanted to run, but he knew he couldn't; the house might be charmed by the wizard. He cursed himself for his mistake. But before Kreacher could do anything else, James, Albus and Lily had surrounded Teddy, as if protecting him from the scary elf.

"Grandpa's friend Moony was a wolf too," James shot. Maybe Teddy had misjudged the oldest child.

"Leave wolfie alone!" Lily shouted. Albus simply nodded in agreement.

Kreacher muttered something under his breath and popped away. Harry smiled at his children with pride, before turning back to the young werewolf.

So, do you have any name?" Harry asked, showing Teddy into the spare room. Teddy followed cautiously. If Harry had wanted to kill him, he would have done it already.

"T-Teddy, Teddy Lupin," he replied tentatively. What harm could it do?

Harry's eyes widened in shock.

"Did you say Lupin?" he asked. Teddy frowned at Harry's sudden interest in his name but spoke.

"My father was called Lupin but he left my mother, ran away when she was pregnant with me," Teddy blurted out, the words bubbling up inside of him. "As if that wasn't bad enough, after my birth, she couldn't stand being apart from her mate and died. I hate him, I hate that bastard!" he shouted, then started to cry.

He didn't know why he told Harry all of this; he had never told anyone. Harry opened his mouth to say something, but immediately closed it. There was a long silence before Teddy spoke again.

"Uh... Harry, where's your mate? I haven't seen her." He hoped that he wasn't offending the wizard by asking.

Harry just smiled sadly.

"She died two years ago in a potion accident," he said quietly. "Now why don't you get some sleep, and we'll talk about what to do with you in the morning."

Teddy felt sad for the man, who had shown him more kindness in the space of ten minutes than he had been shown all his life. Harry's children were just like him — they didn't deserve to have lost their mother. Harry left without another word, leaving Teddy to think.

It had been one and a half weeks since Teddy came to stay with the Potters, and he had never looked back. They were the family he had never had. Everyone was kind to him, everyone except Kreacher, who took every opportunity to insult him.

Today, Teddy was watching the children play. Harry was out and wasn't coming back till the morning, and he had left them under the young wolf's charge. Teddy was secretly thrilled that Harry thought so highly of him.

"Let's play outside," James proposed.

Lily jumped up excitedly but Albus shook his head.

"No, Jamie. It's getting late and Daddy said no playing at night."

"Daddy isn't here and Kreacher is working, come on," James said with a grin, dragging his younger siblings out into the garden. Teddy followed, shaking his head with a small smile of his own.

Five games of "tag" and a short nap later, Teddy shot up immediately, realising he had fallen asleep. Something was wrong. He ran to the back of the garden, there was no sign of the children. His heart sinking, he sniffed the air — luckily their scent was still fresh.

He walked in the right direction, before the panicked cries of the children made him break into a run. How could he have let his guard down like that? How could he have let Harry down? He crossed the bushes into a small clearing and froze with shock.

There, in the middle of the open space, stood Marcel and two other wolves, pholding the kids by the scruff of their necks. James and Lily were punching and screaming at their captors, whilst Albus just looked at Teddy pleadingly. Marcel grinned at the younger wolf menacingly.

"Well, well, look what we have here."

"Let them go, Marcel," Teddy begged, what little bravery he had vanishing at the sight of the children, but the older wolf ignored him. Instead, he grinned at Teddy with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"I'll let them go, but I'll have you instead!"

With that he leapt and pinned Teddy to the floor before the younger werewolf could retaliate. The children still struggled against the hold of the other wolves, but the older werewolves were stronger. Lily's eye filled with tears.

"Teddy!" she shouted desperately. As if in response, the trees around them started to shake badly as if there was a storm. Only there was no wind. It seemed as though the werewolves hadn't noticed, but James and Albus looked at each other with dread.

"Uh, oh," they said in unison.

Meanwhile, Teddy was struggling against Marcel's hold, but the other boy was just too strong. Teddy wasn't a fighter, and even if he could take down Marcel, he couldn't fight them all. He needed someone else. Just then, it clicked.

"J-James, Albus, call Kreacher! Call him now!" Teddy croaked as Marcel tightened his grip on his neck. On cue, both boys cried out the house-elf's name and with a loud pop, the old elf was there.

Immediately, Kreacher flew into a rage.

"Filthy monsters! Leave Kreacher's young master and miss alone!" threatened the elf.

Marcel sneered as the other two wolves started to laugh. Teddy just had time to see Kreacher's hands start to glow blue before the world turned black around him..

When he woke up, Teddy found himself back in his new room,hich was odd. The last thing he remembered was being choked by Marcel.

The children! he thought suddenly, sitting up only to see Harry sitting by his bed patiently.

"I'm sorry—" Before Teddy could complete his sentence, Harry cut him off.

"Kreacher and my kids told me everything. James said one of the wolves tried to hurt you." Teddy's eyes widened at this. Harry just patted his knee through the cover.

"My boy is nine, Teddy, he understands these things. What happened wasn't your fault, Teddy," he assured.

Teddy looked away in shame, trying to hide under the duvet, but Harry made him look him in the eye. Suddenly, Teddy started to tell Harry everything about his life in the pack — something he should have done from the beginning. Harry listened carefully.

"It's not your fault," Harry repeated, but Teddy just shook his head.

"I believe you, Harry. But I believe everybody else, too. The children saw what monsters my pack is. I'm a monster too," at this, Teddy's eyes started to tear up, "who shouldn't be around you or your family, who only brings danger and bad news for everyone! I'll leave tomorrow."

With that Teddy attempted to leave, but Harry stopped him, gently placing a hand on Teddy's chest until he lay back down.

"Wait, Teddy, I wanted to tell you when you were older, but you leave me no choice. Remember my dad's friend Moony? His real name was Remus, Remus Lupin. He was your father." Teddy opened his mouth to say something. but Harry held a hand up. "No, he didn't abandon your mum; he left to fight in the war with us, where he died. If he was alive, he would have returned for you and your mum. I know this, because I knew him. He wasn't the type of man who would ever leave his loved ones behind."

Something snapped inside Teddy. For the first time in his entire life, he could see a future where he didn't turn into a monster of the pack. Unable to express his feelings with words, he hugged Harry and started to cry. Harry just patted his back. After all these years, Teddy was home.

The End