A New Generation

Summary: Teddy Lupin is leaving for Hogwarts! What happens during his years there, and what misadventures does he get into? R&R much appreciated.

A/N: Yay! Now I have two fics to do. -smile- Well, I'd like to thank all my reviewers. No matter how many review, what matters is that they do. Which is why I'd like to thank those who have taken the time to do so. :D

Therefore, I'd like to present to you chapter 7!

Enjoy!

Harry Potter and all related character belong to J.K. Rowling.


The next morning, Teddy massaged his sore arm. Last night had been brutal, but at least he knew one more thing about his father. Smiling to himself, he walked to the busy Hall the next morning, feeling rather cheerful.

"Hello," he greeted Ivie. Ivie nodded back, her mouth full with oatmeal. "Mail come yet?"

Ivie shook her head no. Teddy shrugged and sat down. He glanced around the table and rested upon Alexis, as always. Alexis caught his eye, blushed and turned away as if the sight of Teddy made him sick. Frowning, he looked at the steaming bowl of cereal and ate instead.

The usual rustle of owls went unnoticed by Teddy. He was rather used to it by now, and almost never expected any mail. Ginny wrote from time to time, but mostly, he didn't want to appear as a wimp. Everybody thought of him as a trouble maker anyways. However, to his surprise, two owls fluttered down to where he sat, both carrying letters. The grey one he recognized as Bird, but the handsome tawny one was foreign to him. He looked up for long enough to untie both of the letters. Bird flew off immediately, but the tawny one remained. Teddy fixed it with a look, and it almost seemed to shrug as it hopped forward to peck some cereal.

Teddy opened the letter from the tawny. An untidy scrawl was unfamiliar, but when he read through it, his heart leaped.

Teddy,

How are you doin'? I just wondered if you'd like to stop by for some tea and cake by my cottage later today, if you're not too busy. Send reply with Scratch here. Be careful, he likes to stay until he gets a reply, even if the sender isn't expecting one. I don't think you'd want an owl followin' you around on your second week of school.

Hagrid

P.S: Fang says hi, he's still a nut, even if he is old. Bring your friends too.

He grinned, and ripped off the excess from the bottom. He asked Ivie for a quill and quickly wrote out his reply.

Dear Hagrid,

Thanks for the letter. I kinda got that feeling about Scratch too. I'd be happy to stop by. Tell Fang I said hi back.

Teddy

The other letter was from Ginny and Harry. It was thick within the envelope, only meaning an extra long letter. Curious, he opened it and two pieces of parchment fell out.

The first one was from Ginny, and the second was surprisingly from Harry. Cocking an eyebrow, he unfolded the parchment from Ginny first.

Dear Teddy,

Thanks for your last letter. It's such a nice thing that we have somebody to keep in touch with at Hogwarts. James and Albus aren't leaving for sometime, thank goodness. It gives me something to do when I have nothing except sit and wait for Lily/Sirius to come out. Harry says that we can find out the gender of the baby, and I have a funny feeling he already knows. However, I want it to be a surprise.

Speaking of which, Harry's been really worried about you. Your last letter wasn't exactly what we had in mind when we wanted you to reply. Really Teddy, a Quidditch challenge on your first day back? Not even Harry had the kind of welcome you got. All I can say is, keep your nose clean. Don't make unwanted enemies. Speaking of which, especially stay clear of Mark Davies. His father doesn't exactly have the best reputation around here. Sure, he's a great/horrible Quidditch player, but he's simply awful. I think some of that temprament has rubbed off on Mark.

Anyways, I shouldn't be issuing any kind of warnings, especially since I opened the Chamber of Secrets, was involved in an illegal group, and got into a heck of a lot trouble in my sixth year. I think you know what I'm talking about.

I want you to read Harry's letter. Okay? Don't chuck it in the fire. I have a feeling that it's important.

Loads of love,
Ginny

Teddy frowned, but said nothing. His cereal was forgotten on the table. He didn't exactly feel hungry anyways. Had he disappointed Harry and Ginny with his actions? The feeling of dread began to grow in his stomach again, and he didn't want to pick up Harry's letter. However, even Ginny had urged him to read it. Slowly, he reached for it and opened the paper.

Teddy,

First of all, CONGRATS ON MAKING GRYFFINDOR! See, I told you you'd make it. You can get whatever you set your mind to. I have a suspicious feeling that you told the Hat what you wanted. Well, thanks a lot for using my piece of advice.

Anyways, I read your last letter. So did Uncle Ron, Uncle George and a few other people who I don't want to mention. First of all, Ron wants to say good job on winning that Quidditch challenge. I think he would have died of shame if Harry Potter's godson lost in a Quidditch match. Your grandmother has gone completely ballistic that you haven't written to her yet. You'd better do that soon.

Another thing. Well, I know that you can take care of yourself, but I want you to always be on your guard. We've got a lot of suspicious reports coming in, and there's a lot of activity going on around Hogwarts that I don't like. Keep your head cool, and always be prepared and on guard. Find anything weird, tell me. Or McGonagall. Okay?

About Kallious: All I can say is that she was the only person up for the job. Don't act out, I don't want you getting into any more trouble than you're already in. She's been involved in a lot of shady stuff and seems to specialize in the old artifacts category. Be careful. Don't snoop by yourself. It can lead to disastrous consequences.

Give Alexis some time, he'll come around. I won't say much now, Ginny's nagging me to set the table. She's in a bad mood.

Bye and take care,
Harry

He grinned. Harry had let him off with a warning, but he was sure that in the future, he wouldn't do such a thing. Sighing, he pocketed both pieces of parchment into his bag and smiled once again. He had Hagrid's visit to look forward to later as well.

The day passed by quickly, in Teddy's opinion and he and Ivie shouldered their bags and walked out of the castle and onto the grounds. It was the first time that they had done so ever since the fateful challenge, and Teddy was quite happy to be getting out of the school for once. A glance at the Quidditch pitch showed that the Teams were practicing hard for the first match of the season, Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw.

They reached Hagrid's hut in about five minutes. Teddy stepped up and banged on the wooden door and listened to the yaps of Fang and Hagrid trying to get the dog out of his way.

"Out of ma way...c'mon Fang." he said and opened the door. Hagrid smiled at them, and opened the door wider. "Teddy! I was wonderin' when yeh'd get here. Out of teh way Fang." Hagrid restrained the huge boarhound and turned to them. "Get in 'ere." he said. When they were seated, Hagrid looked at Ivie for the first time. "Who's this Teddy?"

Teddy smiled and introduced Ivie. "Ivie, this is Hagrid. He's the gamekeeper and Care of Magical Creatures teacher too. Hagrid, this is Ivie Stone. She's in Gryffindor."

Hagrid smiled and his eyes twinkled. "Gryffindor eh? First one probably, am I right?"

Ivie nodded sullenly, then smiled. "It's a nice change. I'm kinda in shock because of the fact that I'm not disowned yet." she told him with a shrug. Hagrid's smile widened.

"Don' worry. Only Slytherins'll be fools enough to disown their own blood." he told her. Ivie said nothing and helped herself to some treacle fudge. Teddy smirked as he realized that he had forgotten to warn her about Hagrid's cooking.

They talked for sometime, Ivie with some difficulty. Finally, the conversation steered to what Teddy had been doing at the school and he found himself telling Hagrid about everything. Mark Davies, the challenge, the surprise attack and Mark calling Alexis a mudblood.

"The thing is, now he's all weird and won't talk to us," Teddy recounted. "It's so frustrating."

Hagrid nodded understandingly. "Yeh know, I think I might know why he's so distant." he replied thoughtfully. "First of all, it'd be weird ter have friends who know all there is to know about the magical world. I imagine it'd be a bit scary ter be put inter something that yeh don't know about. Second of all, yeh say that the git called 'im a mudblood?" he questioned.

Ivie nodded. "Yeah. The next minute he's gone." her brow was furrowed.

"Jus' what I was thinking. I imagine he's ashamed of his blood and doesn't want you two ter think of 'im as a lost cause." Hagrid continued wisely. "It happens. He's distant because he doesn't want yeh two to be his friends out of pity."

"We're not his friends out of pity!" Ivie said furiously.

"I didn't say you were, Ivie. I'm jus' sayin' that he thinks you are. It's up ter you to tell him that you aren't." Hagrid replied. Teddy nodded, understanding. It was the sort of prejudice that Teddy had felt sometimes, when people found out he was an orphan. It was as if that they only saw the fact that he didn't have parents, and pitied him for it, instead of seeing him as a person.

"I think I understand." Teddy said slowly. "Thanks Hagrid. I think we should be getting back."

Hagrid stood up. "It's gettin' late, and you two will have homework. And even if it isn't the reason Alexis is so distant, it doesn't matter. He'll appreciate the fact that yeh're doin' yer best ter help 'im."

The two friends stepped out of the cottage and into the early evening sunlight. "Thanks a lot Hagrid!" Teddy called to the receding cabin.

"Your friend is really wise," Ivie mused. "He sure knows a lot about how Alexis might feel."

Teddy shrugged. "He's Harry's friend too. Hagrid's been through a lot." he explained.

Ivie nodded. "Yeah, I got that too. So, do you think we should tell him?" she asked.

"Tell him what?" Teddy replied, frowning. Ivie scowled. Sometimes, people could be such idiots.

"Tell Alexis that we're not being friends out of pity, but because he's a nice person?" she suggested. "What else?"

"Oh yeah." Teddy said. Ivie rolled her eyes as they entered the castle.


Alexis was sitting in one corner of the Common Room, away from everybody's sight. He didn't want to be seen, least of all by Teddy and Ivie.

They probably don't want to be my friend, he thought sullenly. After all, I am a mudblood. Alexis didn't know what the word meant, but judging by the reactions of Teddy and Ivie, it didn't mean anything good. He watched the potrait hole open and the two of them entering the room. They caught his eye, and began to walk towards him. Alexis pretended to be busy with his work.

"We need to talk to you," Teddy informed him once they got to his table. "Now."

"I can't, I've got work to do." Alexis replied. Ivie wrenched the book he was reading from him and shut it.

"Alexis, we're in the same year as you, and we've got homework too. Don't try to fool us, it won't work." she told him and sat herself down on the chair opposite Alexis. Teddy did the same.

"What would you want to talk to me about? I'm a mudblood." Alexis said, and looked at the burn mark on the table. Teddy sighed and began to speak.

"Look, we don't give a damn what kind of blood you've got. We just want to be your friend," he said. Ivie nodded earnestly.

Alexis stared at the two of them. Teddy had a pleading look on his face, and Ivie was smiling sadly. They really want me to be their friends...he thought with shock. He wondered how much guts it took to come up to a person and beg them to be their friend. A smile broke through the shield he had put up and he grinned at them.

"Why not?" he said. Teddy grinned happily and reached up to hug his best friend.

"Nice to have you back." he said.


The next two weeks passed without incident. Alexis, Teddy and Ivie were inseparable in that time. Nothing happened until one evening during a blustery friday.

"Teddy can I see what ingredients you've got down for that potion that cures boils?" Ivie asked, sounding strained.

Teddy narrowed his eyes. "Are you saying you want to copy off me?" he asked. Ivie looked anywhere except at Teddy.

"Maybe..." she said slowly. Teddy scowled, then smiled.

"Do your own work Ivie," Alexis told her imperiously. "Look at me, I found five ingredients all by myself, including the instructions."

"Did you by any chance copy them off your textbook?" she remarked snidely. Alexis shifted in his chair guiltily. Ivie sighed dramatically and looked in her bookbag for her textbook. "I don't believe it," she said resurfacing. "I've lost my textbook."

"What?"

"I swear, I had it in here during Potions." she said. "I have no clue where it went. Can you check in your bags?" After a few moments, the two of them returned empty-handed.

"Sorry Ives, but nothing here." Alexis said, using her hated nickname.

"Don't call me Ives!"

"Sorry,"

"Maybe you left it back in your Potions class?" Teddy suggested. She shook her head, looking worried.

"No, I had it with me when we left. Then we had Defense, and we didn't even need our Potions books for that. So where did it go?"

"Maybe someone stole it?"

"You think?" Ivie asked. Alexis shrugged and began to hunt around the area by the fireplace. After some intensive searching that resulted in nothing, the three friends sat exhausted and returned to their work. A few moments, later, that was cut short by a piercing scream resounding from the Girl's Dormitories.

A white looking fifth year bounded down the staircase. "My wand is gone!" she shrieked.

In an instant, the entire Common Room was in uproar.


A/N: I'm rushing a bit here, but not enough that the story gets cut short. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR KIND REVIEWS!! Even if not too many people reviewed.

I told you Alexis would come around!

Lub,
BookWyrrm