Note: For Kuroida, because unfinished stories make me sigh too.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J K Rowling, not me. I am not making any profit from this piece of writing.

4: A Little Pale

Silence fell over the Great Hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as Headmistress Minerva McGonagall stood behind the elaborate lectern, looking out at the students.

"Now before you all head off to your dormitories," she told them, "I have a couple of announcements to make."

From his seat at the Gryffindor table, Teddy elbowed Chester firmly in the ribs to get his attention. Finally the other boy reluctantly abandoned the remainders of his trifle and turned to look up at the raised platform.

"Firstly, as many of you may have noticed, Professor Aubery is not with us this evening." McGonagall paused at the sound of shuffling and mumbling as the students all craned their necks to look up at the teachers' table, as if they needed to confirm this fact for themselves. "Sadly, I must inform you that she will not be rejoining us here at Hogwarts, due to her plans to move to southern Italy. We all wish her the very best."

The Headmistress' final sentence was somewhat drowned out by the sudden discussions that sprung up all around the room, loudest of which was coming from the Gryffindor table.

"We have, therefore, been left with two positions that need to be filled. The first being that of Potions Professor, the second being Head of Gryffindor House."

"Who'd she pick?" a fourth year sat opposite Teddy whispered to the table at large. "Which of the teachers are Gryffindors?"

"Budden, Addlesford and Lupin." supplied a fifth year from a couple of seats to Teddy's left.

"Nah, Budden's a Ravenclaw!" Chester told them.

"It better be Lupin. If it's Addlesford I'd rather move to Slytherin."

"She's not that bad!"

"She's about as much fun as Binns!"

"What if the new potions professor was in Gryffindor too?"

"Hope not. Lupin would be the best. He's got a sense of humour..."

"He'd let us throw parties after Quidditch matches..."

"Please not Addlesford!"

"Come on, let it be Lupin..."

"Settle down!" McGonnagal called and the Gryffindors paused in their discussions, a number sitting with crossed fingers in their laps. "Now, please join me in welcoming our new potions teacher, Professor Flint."

The students and teachers applauded politely as the newcomer rose briefly to his feet to acknowledge the greeting, though at the Gryffindor table the majority of students were still debating who would be their new Head of House.

"How many years has Addlesford been here? Longer than Lupin, surely..."

"No, Lupin's been here longer."

"No he hasn't."

"He has."

"Hasn't."

"They arrived the same year, actually."

"Yeah, but Lupin has a year over her still, he taught for a year in the '90s..."

Teddy ignored the debate and chose to take a good look at the new teacher instead. He looked somewhat unremarkable, dressed in dark blue robes, his hair a tangle of brown curls. Squinting, Teddy thought that he could use a good sleep, he had pale, sickly coloured skin and dark eyes. He stood with hunched shoulders, eying the scene before him as if it were somehow suspicious.

"What a weirdo." Teddy muttered to himself.

"Teddy's right!" Chester announced as Flint sunk back down into his chair. "Addlesford's a weirdo! She'd make a rubbish head of house! Imagine her trying to book us the Quidditch pitch!"

The surrounding Gryffindors mumbled their agreement, only to pause again when the Headmistress called for silence.

"As for the new Head of Gryffindor House," she began, only to be interrupted by a series of loud whoops and cheers from the house in question. She fixed them with a stern look and the rowdy students consented to be silent just long enough for her to inform the school: "It has been agreed that the position will be filled by Professor Lupin."

The Gryffindor table erupted into cheers and hearty applause as the students jumped to their feet, stamping their feet in approval.

"Yes!" Chester shouted, clamping Teddy excitedly on the shoulder as the professor's son whooped and cheered as loudly as his lungs would permit. "He's never going to deduct points for my homework now!"

All calls for order were lost in the chaos and by the time it was restored Chester and a couple of fourth years had jumped up upon the table, punching the air in triumph.

Order came in a sudden burst of sparks shooting up into the air, showering the hall in an array of red and gold stars. The Gryffindors paused in their celebrations to look up at the teachers' table. Professor Lupin had risen from his chair, wand still raised.

"Mr. Burton, Mr. Patel and Miss Jones, kindly step down from your podium. The rest of you, please sit down and be quiet."

Not another word was spoken until the students were sent to bed.

Teddy battled his way through the crowded Entrance Hall, desperately trying to catch up with his father who appeared to be disappearing into the crowd. He opened his mouth to shout Dad, only to think better of it. He didn't want to sound silly, after all, instead he drew in a deep breath and bellowed:

"Oi! Moony!"

He could see Remus pausing at the bottom of the marble staircase, turning to look searchingly through the sea of black school robes, only for another voice to call to him too.

"Professor Lupin!"

As Cassandra Wood, both captain and slave driver of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, shoved her way through the crowd towards the professor, Teddy quickened his pace, squeezing past a pair of tall sixth years. Remus needed saving. If somebody didn't stop her Cassandra would be babbling Quidditch at him until breakfast the next morning. How insignificant it would all seem, Teddy thought, when their family was in constant danger. The boy wondered how his father managed to concern himself with anything else. By the time Teddy had reached the staircase, it appeared that he was much too late.

"...and I told Professor Aubery over and over! We need the pitch for extra practice! But she never sorted it! It's only another two sessions! It's not that much to ask! Would you please talk to Madam Hooch for us, Professor? It's so important..."

"I'll do my best, Cassandra, but if you've booked four sessions already...the other houses need chances to practice too..."

"Don't you want us to win?!"

Teddy sidled up to the pair before Remus could answer.

"Of course he does, Cass! That's why he's not going to book the pitch for you. He doesn't want us all to miss matches when we die of exhaustion!"

"We need to practice, Teddy! I've been doing a lot of thinking over Christmas, I've got this whole new strategy worked out..."

"I'll talk to Madam Hooch." Remus interrupted swiftly, and Teddy shook his head.

"She'll tell you where to jump!" he informed his father bluntly. "She's already threatening to give Monday evenings to Slytherin."

"I'll talk to her."

"Professor Lupin!" Chester had appeared at Teddy's shoulder, grinning broadly.

"Chester?"

"Professor, can we have a party?"

"A party...?"

"Yeah!"

"What's the occasion?"

"Gryffindor has gained a brilliant new Head of House!"

Remus turned on his heel and began to make his way up the marble staircase, Chester, Cassandra and Teddy hurrying after him.

"I have absolutely no intention of endorsing a party when you all have lessons tomorrow morning. In fact if I were to discover such a party I would naturally be forced to deduct house points from those responsible."

"But Professor..."

"However, what you get up to at the weekend is an entirely different matter. If you send a collection round and make a list of party essentials I can probably find a spare lunchtime to pop down to Honeydukes and buy them on your behalf in time for Saturday. If you're going to have a party you ought to do it properly, after all."

Chester positively beamed.

"Awesome!" he declared excitedly as they reached the top of the stairs. "C'mon Ted! Let's go and tell the others, get them to cough up a galleon or two!"

Teddy had meant to ask his father if there had been any word from his mother during the train journey, but Chester had seized him by the arm and dragged him off towards Gryffindor Tower before he could get the chance.

By the end of his second day back at Hogwarts, Teddy was still in good cheer, the normality of school life made him feel at ease, whilst the prospect of a party was a welcome distraction from his worry about death threats and Death Eaters. And so it was that on the third morning he and Chester headed to their first Defense against the Dark Arts lesson that term. Remus arrived as they were extracting textbooks from their bags and searching for ink bottles and quills. Teddy watched him put down a mug of coffee upon the teacher's desk, before setting about writing a heading upon the blackboard with a levitated stick of chalk. He proceeded to perch upon the edge of his desk and, after taking a sip of his coffee, asked the class if anyone could tell him what a Red Cap was. When Chester raised his hand to tell him that a Red Cap was a type of hat worn by muggles, Professor Lupin merely raised an eyebrow and thanks the grinning Gryffindor for enlightening him. As the teacher rose to his feet and began to pace up and down before the class, launching into a far more accurate description, Chester muttered:
"He's not himself today. He never just lectures, he's starting to look a bit like Binns, pacing like that."

"Shut up, Ches!" Teddy hissed, irritated. But if he were honest, Teddy would agree with his friend. Remus was distinctly lacking in enthusiasm, he had not kept the act up for long. Clearly, his mind was somewhere else. He pacing was becoming steadily slower, his eyes consistently downcast.

"...and consequently when dealing with Red Caps it is always important to..."

At that moment the professor trailed off into silence, pausing to stare down at the coffee cup that he was holding in both hands. After a long pause one student asked:

"When dealing with Red Caps it is always important to what, Professor?"

Professor Lupin turned his back on the class in order to set the coffee mug firmly down upon his desk. His hand gripped the side of the sturdy wooden structure for a moment before he turned back to the class, hand still resting against the desk.

"It is always important to know what is said about them on page one hundred and twelve of your textbooks!" he finished, and a collective groan of protest filled the room. "Books out please, read the section on Red Caps and take notes."

As the students set about this unusually boring task, Teddy watched Remus slowly walk to sit behind his desk.

"Maybe he's got loads of marking to do or something." Chester suggested as he scrawled a title at the top of a fresh sheet of parchment. But the professor simply sat at his desk, unmoving, watching the class at work.

The lesson wore on and Teddy noticed that his fellow students were becoming increasingly restless, continuously glancing up at the front of the room in between paragraphs. All of a sudden one of the Gryffindors raised her hand.

"Professor?" she asked, causing the entire class to look up.

Teddy looked up to see that Remus had been examining the coffee cup yet again. His face appeared to have gone very pale. He looked up and offered the class the smallest of smiles.

"Yes, Charlotte?"

Charlotte Walters sat a little straighter in her chair.

"Professor, we were wondering...that is to say Amanda and I were wondering, are you ill, sir? It's just...well you look a bit...unwell."

"You've gone a little pale." explained Ravenclaw Amanda Bond from Charlotte's left.

Professor Lupin continued to smile.

"I have a habit of looking a little pale, I'm afraid." he told them, placing the coffee cup back down again. "But I am perfectly well. Thank you for your concern."

The class returned to taking notes. Two minutes later, Chester elbowed Teddy in the side to get his attention.

"Look!" he hissed,

Teddy looked up to see his father sat a little slumped in his seat, hands gripping the edge of the desk in front of him with an iron-like grip.

"He's shaking." Charlotte whispered, and sure enough if Teddy squinted he could see that the teacher's desk was trembling too. Cold sweat appeared to be drenching the teacher's face as he slowly reached into the pocket of his robes, drawing out his pocket watch. Teddy watched him observe the time with a clenched jaw, before he put the watch back in his pocket and returned to staring blankly at the back of the classroom.

Teddy immediately rose to his feet.

"Are you sure..." he began, only for Remus' eyes to suddenly focus on him.

"Sit down, Theodore."

"But..."

"There are ten minutes until the end of class. Sit down."

Reluctantly the boy dropped back down into his seat. Remus' gaze returned to staring at nothing in particular as he drew in short breaths that seemed to become more shallow as the minutes ticked on.

Teddy sat and stared.

What in Merlin's name was wrong, he wondered, for his father had been perfectly well at the beginning of class...

Father and son's gazes met for a brief moment and the former sat straighter in his chair and offered his son a smile. Yet his hands continued to grip the desk as if his very life depended on it.

"Ches..." Teddy breathed, tapping his friend urgently on the arm. "Ches...I think...I think somebody should do something."

"Like what? If he's really ill he'll get up and go to the Hospital Wing."

"Yeah, but...but seriously Chester..."

"Seriously Teddy, maybe he's got a bad headache or something. I mean it can't be that bad, can it? He was fine fifteen minutes ago..."

"Does that look like a bloody headache to you?!" Teddy snapped, only for Remus to call:

"Reading now, discussions later, Teddy."

Teddy opened his mouth to protest, only for the words to die on his lips when he looked up to see that Remus appeared to be sitting with his eyes closed, a deep frown creasing his brow. Quite suddenly his eyes snapped back open and he pulled himself to his feet. The students immediately abandoned their books to look at him.

"Keep going, all of you." the professor instructed as if he were oblivious to their staring. "I expect at least two sides from each of you. I will be back momentarily, I left some papers in the staffroom."

His steps out from behind the desk and down the center of the room towards the door were slow, shaky. His shoes tapping upon the stone floor.

Tap...

Tap...

Tap...

Tap...

THUD!