Most of Hogwarts Castle was empty by the time Remus exited the party with the rest of the teachers and went to pick up his son and his friends from the Great Hall.

Teddy was staring intently over the chess game he was playing with Roy. Currently, Roy had managed to lock his king into one corner of the board while he finished off the rest of Teddy's pieces.

"Give it up Teddy, Roy's unbeatable at this, Wizard Chess or not." Vic mumbled, who was lying down on the bench next to Teddy, apparently keeping score.

"Ready to go boys?" Remus asked, looking down at them rather amused.

"In a minute sir," Roy replied, as he reached over and plonked his queen right in front of Teddy's king.

"Fatality!" Vic said in a deep voice before all eyes turned to stare at him.

"What? Never played that game before? You guys are no fun." Vic said pouting slightly before making a tick on his sheet.

"Either way, congratulations Teddy that's 20 out of 20. I think you're the record keeper for most games lost in the least amount of time."

"Shuddap!" Teddy said sticking his tongue out at Vic who laughed.

"And you! Why're you so damn good!?" Teddy said, glaring daggers at Roy's amused smirk.

"You say it like it's my fault you suck." Roy said, grin widening when Teddy stuck his tongue out again.

Remus himself was trying to keep from laughing at his son's childish display.

"We can go now sir." Vic said, getting up from his position on the bench as Roy repaired all of Teddy's chess pieces and Teddy packed it back up into his trunk.

"You boys do know that you don't have to dress in uniform today yes?" Remus asked the two brothers who blushed.

"Yes sir but this is all we have." Roy mumbled and Remus frowned slightly. Christmas shopping was definitely going to be put on the list.

"What's all that you're carrying dad?" Teddy asked, bending slightly to try and peak into the many bags his father was holding.

"They're your Christmas presents from your teachers. No peeking," his father said, tugging the bags out of Teddy's grasp.

"Aww come on dad! Just a little look?" Teddy whined but his father ignored him.

"What teachers give their students Christmas presents?" Vic asked but he too was ignored when Lupin used his free hand to take out his wand and mutter

"Wingardium Leviosa."

Slowly, the boy's trunks were levitated into the air.

"Right, shall we go now?" Remus asked the trio who gave him a grin and bolted towards his office.

"Alright, I'll take Roy and Teddy you go with Vic." Remus instructed, as he stepping into the fireplace in his office.

"Sure thing dad." Teddy called after him and in a flurry of green flames Roy and his father disappeared.

"Intense." Vic said as he bounded his way into the fireplace and soon he and Teddy were standing in the middle of his living room.

"You alright Roy?" Vic asked Roy who was staring at himself with wide eyes as if he couldn't believe what had just happened.

"huh? Yeah. Fine." Roy muttered regaining his composure quickly and Vic flashed him a grin.

"So these are the boys I've heard so much about." Tonks said entering the living room while her husband gave her a quick peck on the cheek before disappearing into the kitchen.

"Evening Mrs. Lupin." Vic said, both boys giving a polite bow.

"Oh, none of this 'Mrs. Lupin' nonsense boys. Not even the Minister of Magic calls me that. It's Tonks. Just Tonks."

Vic gave her a grin. "OK then Tonks. Thanks for letting us stay over."

"Oh it's no trouble at all. Why don't you boys wash up while we prepare dinner?"

"Sure thing mom!" Teddy replied, dragging his friends upstairs and over to the guest bedroom. "You guys can sleep in here. My bedroom's just across and the bathroom's down the hall. Don't unpack too much cause we're going to the Burrow tomorrow don't forget."

"Cool, who wants shower first?" Vic asked, bending to unpack the few things he'd need from his trunk.

After everyone had unpacked and showered they all made their way down for dinner which was quite enjoyable. Soon Teddy and Roy were back at it with their mini chess tournament on the coffee table of the living room as Vic tossed his ball up and down on the couch.

"Alright that's it!" Teddy yelled getting up and marching off to his father's study. Roy and Vic shared a glance.

"Maybe you should go easier on him Roy." Vic said.

"I was going easy on him." Roy huffed only for Teddy to come stomping back, dragging his confused father with him.

"Teddy, what's going on?" his father asked, his face mimicking the confused expression on Roy and Vic's faces.

"I'm calling in a substitute player. Dad, play."

All eyes looked at Teddy before it was Roy's turn to complain.

"What? That's not fair!" and Vic burst out laughing.

"Why not?" Teddy asked.

"Cuz he's like 5 times my age!"

"I'm not that old Roy." Lupin teased.

"It'll be an interesting match. What've you got to lose?" Vic spoke up and Roy sighed.

"Fine."

"I'll have you know I have a lot to lose." Remus spoke up but Teddy's puppy dog eyes were too much and reluctantly he lowered himself to the floor facing Roy over the coffee table.

And an interesting match it was for an hour later, when Tonks came down from her own study and bath, she was rather amused at the sight that lay before her. Her husband was sitting on the floor, leaning against the couch and facing Roy across from the coffee table. Both of the player's eyebrows were knitted together in exactly the same expression of concentration. Teddy and Vic, attention spans too short for such a game, were playing their own game of exploding snap on the floor.

"What's going on here?" Tonks asked and Teddy and Vic looked up.

"Roy and Professor Lupin are trying to beat the record for longest chess game ever played." Vic said in a sarcastic tone and Teddy laughed.

Tonks grinned and went over to her husband, lying on the couch behind him.

"Don't tell me you're losing to an eleven year old." Tonks teased.

"Well I'm trying not to." Remus mumbled and Roy gave him a smirk.

"Yes well, it's almost midnight; you boys better wrap this up soon if you want to go shopping tomorrow before we head over to the Burrow."

Teddy looked up. "Shopping?"

"Of course. We can't have Roy and Vic spending the rest of their lives in their school uniforms can we? Besides, we need to get some last minute shopping out of the way."

"You don't have to spend money on us..." Roy said hesitantly, looking up from the chess board.

"Of course we don't have to but we want to. Just think of it as our Christmas present to you two." Tonks said, giving Roy a wink.

"Checkmate." Remus declared much more triumphantly than a 48 old man was supposed to sound when he'd just beaten an 11 year old.

"What! Hey! She distracted me!" Roy cried out and the whole room burst into laughter.

"Alright bed time. I'll play you again some other time Roy." Remus said and the boys issued a groan as they collected their things from the living room and headed upstairs.


"Alright, follow the plan and we'll meet back here in four hours." Tonks explained.

"Alright Roy, come on. Let's get you some clothes." Remus said to the boy who looked up at him and nodded.

"Where to first?"

"Where do you want to go?"

"Knockturn Alley."

Remus raised an eyebrow at this. Knockturn Alley was filled with shops devoted to the Dark Arts. Why on earth would Roy want to go there?

Roy looked up to Remus' sceptical expression.

"I don't want to use your money." Roy stated simply.

"So you're going to Knockturn Alley to get money?" Remus asked, now thoroughly confused.

"Yup."

And Roy headed off in the direction of the Leaky Cauldron, not bothering to check if Lupin was following.

"You learn something new every day." Remus thought to himself as he hurried off afterthe boy.

Once entering the Leaky Cauldron, Roy made his way over to the entrance of Diagon Alley, not bothering to look back as the pub owner gave the boy a questioning glance.

Upon entering the alley, Roy navigated through a series of winding passages, looking back over his shoulder now and then to make sure Lupin was following.

Finally, as they came to a halt Remus looked up at the sign.

"Borgin and Burkes."

Something in Remus' gut told him to grab Roy and get out of here but before he could react on that feeling Roy had already pushed open the door and stepped in.

"You can stay out if you want." Roy said over his shoulder but there was no way Remus was going to let an 11 year old do this on his own.

"Mr. Borgin?" Roy asked gruffly upon entering the store. Remus noted the change in tone and physical appearance. Usually Roy was small and rather unnoticeable but now he stood tall, eyes narrowed slightly and his voice was hard as if he were simply a very short adult.

"Mr. Borgin?" Roy asked again and the main in question suddenly ran out of an adjoining room.

"Anth- I mean Roy! How wonderful to see you!" Mr. Borgin said in a fake cheery voice causing Remus to wince.

"Cut the chatter Borgin. I need my money." Roy said, looking the shop owner straight in the eye and Remus noticed Borgin was fidgeting uncomfortable.

"Yes, of course, of course, how much do I still owe you?"

"8,750 galleons. I'll just need 50 this time." Roy replied coolly and Remus tried to fight the temptation to raise his eyebrow. How in the world had Roy managed to get Borgin so that he owed Roy money? And it was a lot of money at that!

Borgin quickly but carefully counted out the money for Roy to see before sweeping it all up into a bag and handing it over to him.

"Thank you sir. Have a nice day." Roy said dismissively as he took the bag of money and pocketed it.

"Yes you too Roy." Borgin said rather nervously as the boy turned and Remus held the door open for him as they both made their way through it.

"Well, that was...interesting..." Remus said awkwardly as they made their way down the street.

"Sorry Professor, you didn't have to go in." Roy mumbled, the Slytherin first year replacing the cool business man from before.

"Oh, it was no problem. Just...unexpected..." Remus finished lamely.

"We sold Borgin lots of stuff when we were little and he owes us for that. We agreed that he'd hold the money for us and give it up little by little and not all at once. It's convenient when our street money doesn't get us enough. We used a huge chunk of it to buy school supplies." Roy said shrugging and Remus chose not to pry further.

"Right so, now where do you want to go?"

"Know any second hand shops?"

So, while Teddy and Vic had some fun in Twlifitt and Tatting's wizarding clothing shop with Tonks, Remus took Roy to all sorts of places that he used to go when he had been unemployed and single. Suffice to say he wasn't very fond of the idea but Roy didn't seem to mind. He seemed quite skilled at haggling and they managed to gain some decent shirts, pants and a rather nice belt all for under 10 galleons. It probably helped that Roy would start flaming up when the shopkeepers demanded too much. Maybe this was why Borgin had treated him so fearfully back in his shop.

When the majority of the clothes were accounted for, Remus insisted that he buy Roy a brand new pair of sneakers at least.

"Can't have you playing football in second hand shoes." He'd argued until Roy finally relented.

Remus and Roy grabbed a taxi over to a Muggle shoe store and Roy tried on few pairs before choosing one he liked. Roy tried not to let it show too much when he marveled at his new shoes but Remus was rather amused when he saw Roy walk with a spring in his step once they left the store. He didn't think he'd ever seen Roy's eyes light up quite like that before.

Taking a taxi back to the Leaky Cauldron and heading though the entrance to Diagon Alley, Remus found Roy staring at the display at Quality Quidditch Supplies.

"You want to buy your brother a broom?" he asked questioningly and Roy nodded before entering the store.

"How much for a racing broom?" He asked the lady at the front desk who smile kindly at him.

"Depends son, how much do you want to spend?"

"40 galleons?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, the cheapest racing broom we have is 60 galleons and it's pretty poor performance mind you."

Roy's shoulders slumped in defeat and he knitted his brow together thinking.

"Alright." He said after a pause, looking at the lady again.

"How about just a snitch then?"

The lady smiled.

"That we can do." As she went into the other room to collect the shops supply of snitches.

Once Roy went over to Remus carrying a small nicely wrapped box Remus smiled. He'd had a feeling that Roy wouldn't have enough for a whole broomstick but at least he'd managed to find something and he seemed pleased enough.

"Ready to go Roy?" Remus asked, checking the time. They had about half an hour left before they were supposed to meet up with Tonks.

"Yeah. I guess." Roy said, knitting his brow again in concentration.

Remus raised an eyebrow but decided to head back anyways, they could probably grab a drink at the Leakey Cauldron if they were early.

But when Remus turned around he realized Roy wasn't followed him anymore instead he had his face pressed against the display in Magical Menagerie. Realizing that Remus was looking at him, Roy hurried over.

"uhh. Professor Lupin? Do you think it'd be OK if I gave Teddy a Puffskein for Christmas?" Roy said a bit embarrassed.

Remus laughed. "I don't see why not. Teddy's wanted a pet for quite some time now."

Roy's face lit up.

"OK, You stay right here. No peeking." Roy said hurriedly before rushing into the store.

Remus gave another laugh and nodded, leaning against the display window the store.

A few minutes later Roy came back out with a small cage and Remus couldn't help but peer into it and watch a tuff of turquoise fur hop around the bottom.

"Nice color choice." Remus said smiling at Roy who blushed.

"Can't have Teddy finding this now can we? I'll send it back home and you can give it to Teddy Christmas morning alright?"

At Roy's eager nod Remus took out his wand and transported the cage over to his house. He made a mental note to inform his wife of such a pet later on.

When Remus and Roy finally met up with the others they were both clad in new clothes head to toe.

"Oi Roy! Sweet sneakers!" Vic shouted, bending down to observe them before Roy quietly shuffled away.

"So? How'd the shopping go? Remus asked his wife.

"Wonderful, Teddy and Vic are the same size so it was a breeze. You?"

"Wonderful, we probably ran all over Britain."

Tonks laughed. "Alright boys, let's drop this stuff back home and head over to the Burrow now shall we?"

"Yeah!" Vic and Teddy shouted, throwing their arms up into the air with excited shouts.


"Arthur! They're here!" The joyous shout of Mrs. Weasley echoed throughout the house as she came bounding up the stairs.

"Tonks you look lovely dear!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, hugging her affectionately.

"And Remus! You look a bit peaky. Have you been eating well."

"I'm fine Molly, honestly." Remus said exasperatedly as she gave him a hug as well before Remus went over to the kitchen where Arthur had poked his head out.

"Teddy! Oh I haven't seen you since the summer! You've grown so much! You're starting to look so much like your father."

Teddy grinned and launched himself into Mrs. Weasley's arms.

"And this must be your friends! Roy and Victor yes?"

The two boys in question nodded shyly.

"Oh there's no reason to be shy boys. Everyone's welcome here." Mrs. Weasley told them, enveloping the boys into a big hug.

"Thank you for letting us stay ma'am." Roy said as he and Vic gave a polite bow.

"Ah, polite boys, that's a first. Your parents taught you well."

Teddy watched Roy's eyes narrow lightly as he tensed and Vic winced. Thinking fast Teddy grabbed his friends.

"Come on! Let's go unpack. I'll show you the rooms." Teddy said more cheerfully than he felt as he picked up his trunk and dragged his friends up the stairs.

Mrs. Weasley watched the boys leave before turning to Arthur and Remus in the kitchen door with a rather confused expression.

"Yes well, Roy and Vic aren't too happy with their parents it seems." Remus said rather awkwardly.

"Well why didn't you say something Remus!? Oh I hope I didn't offend them," Molly said looking rather ashamed.

"Oh I'm sure it's fine Molly." Remus said, leading her and his wife over to the kitchen table.

"Wotcher Harry. Ginny." Tonks said.

"Oh this must be little Albus! He's so cute! I remember when Teddy was that small." Tonks cooed to the baby in Ginny's arms.

"Hello Tonks. Remus." Harry said, as Tonks gave Harry a quick hug.

"So. What's new with you over there?" Harry asked Remus as Arthur passed him a bottle of butterbeer.

"Mmm, nothing much, I owe Severus. Fiona and Kate are nagging me...the latter seems to have formed a relationship...that's about it." Remus said grinning into his butterbeer.

"Xavia?" Harry asked a bit worriedly and Remus flinched.

"I'm...avoiding her..." Remus said and Harry left it at that.

"Teddy seems to be doing well." Ginny spoke up and Remus returned to his more cheerful self as he launched into an all out explanation on everything Teddy had accomplished during the term.

"He's made some friends and he's doing well in all his classes." Remus finished proudly.

"Yes and quite extraordinary friends they are." Mrs. Weasley said, obviously still upset over her slip from earlier.

"What's so extraordinary?" Ron Weasley asked, walking into the kitchen with his wife.

"Oh, Teddy's new fiends, they're staying for the holidays." Mrs. Weasley said to her son.

"Oh? Those two? We met them already. They're playing with the kids in the play room." Hermione said, "Polite boys. Their parents must have taught them well."

Remus gave a dry laugh. "Yes, it seems like everyone feels that way." Quickly the occupants of the room explained the situation and Hermione looked deeply apologetic.

"Relax, at least you didn't say if to their faces." Ron said, giving his wife a quick peck on the cheek.

"I understand how they feel. My aunt and uncle were terrible to me." Harry said, breaking the awkward silence that had settled over the group of adults.

"No, Harry. I don't think it's quite the same..." Remus said slowly. He'd been thinking about the events that day and something was bothering him. Looking up he realized that everyone was staring at him and he fidgeted nervously.

"Well, if you'd just spill it we wouldn't be staring at you." Harry said, grinning slightly at Remus' discomfort.

"I think they're either related to or have been in contact with Death Eaters." Remus said slowly.

There was a pause.

"Wait for it."

"WHAT?!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed loudly.

"Right on cue. How does she do it?"

"You can't be serious Remus! What on earth would lead you to that conclusion?"

"And you said you'd stop staring if I told you all." Remus muttered to Harry who was staring at him like a dear in the headlights...and so was the rest of the table. Hell, even Tonks looked quite surprised.

"Well I can't be sure. But this morning Roy went over to Borgin and Burkes. Said he'd sold something to him and he owes the boys money...a lot of money for two eleven year old boys..."

"How much are we talking about?" Mr. Weasley asked and Lupin shrugged.

"If used correctly it'll probably take them through the rest of their school years at least."

"And?" Mrs. Weasley asked, prodding Remus to get to the point.

"Borgin and Burkes sells objects of dark magic. Remember the Hand of Glory?" Harry spoke up and Remus nodded in agreement.

"Yes, for Borgin to owe the boys so much money they must have traded either a lot of dark objects or several very expensive ones."

"And you don't recon that they could have just stolen it? They're street boys Remus, stealing shouldn't be too hard for them." Tonks spoke up.

"Yes but doesn't breaking into a dark wizard's house seem more dangerous than it's worth?" Remus answered before holding up a hand. "I'm just saying. Please don't go assuming without any solid proof."

"But Remus!" Mrs. Weasley said looking horrified. "You'd let your son be exposed to them? What if it's true!? I can't believe it! Death Eaters in my own house! They were such young and sweet boys."

"They are young and sweet boys." Remus emphasized, "and they are most certainly not Death Eaters."

"But you said it yourself Remus!"

"No! I did not say it. Relations or contact maybe but they are good boys I can assure you."

"There's no such thing as a good Death Eater." Ron mumbled and Hermione glared at him to get him to be quiet.

"And you most certainly can't say that when you almost died at the hands of Dolohov." Mrs. Weasley continued.

"But I didn't Molly and I was victorious in the end now please calm down. Merlin, I shouldn't have told any of you about this at all!"

"Hey! Did you know Roy's a Slytherin?" George Weasley asked, suddenly entering the room with his 4 year old daughter on his shoulders.

Remus issued a groan, putting his head in his hands. Things were going to go downhill from here.

"A Death Eater child in Slytherin?!"

"Right on cue."

"Don't you care about the wellbeing of your own son Remus?!" Mrs. Weasley almost shrieked.

"Yes, Molly, I am aware of all this and-"

"And you see no problem with this?!"

"I have no right to judge Teddy's friends! He seems happy with them and they arenot Death Eaters!" Remus said, patience wearing thin.

"Alright, let's all calm down now shall we?" Mr. Weasley said, trying to make peace but his wife ignored him.

"I think Vic would make a great prankster when he grows up." George pointed out but he too was ignored.

"Tonks! How do you feel about all this? Think of your son! Surely you can't approve!"

"I understand your concern Molly but I'm with Remus on this one. Vic and Roy are fine children and Teddy seems quite happy with his friends. I'm not going to risk his happiness over something as small as parents long dead."

"There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin." Roy mumbled and Tonks rounded on him.

"And what's wrong with Slytherin? My mother was in Slytherin and so was the majority of her family." She snapped and Remus flinched.

"Here we go..."

"He didn't mean it Tonks." Harry said, trying to step in but Tonks was well into her rant and Remus knew better than to try and stop it.

"Teddy's a big boy and he's got to learn to make decisions for himself. I trust him and as a result I trust both-"

"WHY HELLO ROY!" Mr. Weasley suddenly exclaimed much more loudly than usual and Remus choked on his butterbeer before whipping his head around.

And there stood Roy in the middle of the doorway standing tall with his eyes slightly narrowed and his mouth in a hard line.

Remus cursed in his head.

"Alright, don't panic, you can weasel yourself out of this one Remus."

"How long have you been standing there Roy?" he asked in what he hoped was a professional voice.

Roy's cold eyes stared right into his and Remus suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

"A Death Eater child in Slytherin. Don't you care about your own son." Roy said, voice stiff and sharp and Remus winced.

This was exactly the Roy that he had seen in Borgin and Burkes this morning and he now felt slightly sorry for Borgin whose uncomfort Remus could now relate to.

Maybe this wouldn't be such an easy thing to weasel himself out of.

"Of all the children why him?"

It could have even been Vic. Remus was sure he would have been able to think of something but no, not with Roy, Roy would never buy it. He was able to make men 5 times his age break out into a cold sweat, a feat he was perfecting right now as Remus was vaguely aware that the entire room had gone silent enough to hear a pin drop. Suddenly, before the adults could think of anything to say Roy turned to Hermione.

"Teddy wanted you to know that Hugo's complaining for a nap." Roy said, breaking the unbearably long silence but no one moved and after a beat Roy turned on his heel and left.

And that's when Remus saw it. Something it Roy's eyes flickered and died and Remus realized it was trust, a trust he had taken for granted for so long and suddenly, Remus felt like the worst person in the world. He'd taken the boys' trust for granted, both Vic and Roy, and he hadn't even realized that it had even existed until now when it had been right in his face the whole time.

They were street kids. They relied on each other and to be able to weasel yourself in with them was quite a feat. These boys who couldn't even trust their own parents and had no reason to trust anyone else had let Remus and to a lesser extent Tonks, into their world and they had just thrown it all back at them. Hell, Roy probably wouldn't have even brought Remus to Borgin and Burkes if he hadn't trusted him.

Watching Roy leave, Remus didn't know what to do. Should he apologize profusely? Pretend it never happened? Let him go or call him back? What would he say if he called him back?

But by the time Remus' mind went through all the possibilities, it was too late, Roy was long gone and the adults were left staring at where he had stood seconds ago.

Finally, Remus snapped out of it and turned back to the table before issuing a groan, resting his elbows on the table and placing his head in his hands.

"We are not going to talk about this...ever." He growled, removing his head from his hands to glare at the occupants of the table who nodded. Molly even looked guilty and Remus sighed.

"I'll finish up dinner then." Mrs. Weasley said rather nervously. "Harry, Ron, come up and help."

"I'm outta here." George announced, running off before his mother could give him any work to do.

"And I should check on Hugo." Hermione said sadly thus leaving Ginny, Mr. Weasley, Tonks and a sulking Remus at the table.

Things were not off to a good start.