Here we are chapter 10. I think I have a splurge of inspiration for this story because I'm still so hyped up from part 2 of the Deathly Hallows film.

A Harry Potter Fanfiction

THE WOLF AND HIS MOON

Ted Remus Lupin/OC: Anya-Jeanne Crafting

10. Anya Or Victoire

The class ended far sooner than Teddy would've liked, the time spent sitting beside Anya, watching her as she busied herself about her potion quickly flying by until their conversation was interrupted by Slughorn as he called for the class' attention. He clapped his hands together and ordered the students to cease their brewing; leaving their potions capped on their desks for him to mark once they had departed. Anya pushed her stood away from the desk, climbing to her feet as Teddy did the same, Sam Wood already standing, lingering about Anya's side as he glared at Teddy lividly.

"What are you still doing here, Wood?" She hissed with a deadpan expression on her attractive face, clearly not interested in dealing with her classmate's annoying antics.

"I thought I'd walk with you to your next class." He replied, not lifting his glare from Teddy's triumphantly smirking features.

"Has the blood not returned to your brain after the last time you invited a girl to your dorm?" She snarled with a roll of her eyes. "Get the hell away from me and leave me alone, I have no interest in you or your company. Now run along back to the little whores you surround yourself with."

Sam scoffed, glancing at Anya as he reluctantly obeyed, shooting Teddy one last murderous glare before stalking out of the classroom to join the horde of girls that awaited him, including Celestina Devereux. Teddy resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Victoire's friend as he slung his bag over his shoulder, gazing at Anya curiously.

"What is the deal with the Wood kid and you?" He asked slowly, hoping that her disdain for the Quidditch player was not based off of a wayward romance between the two.

"He's an annoying pig who never leaves me alone because I don't fawn at his feet as if I have no self-respect," She replied, running her thumb under the strap of her bag as she settled it on her shoulder. "He's an absolute moron who has taken too many bludgers to the head and can't comprehend that I don't have any interest in him, not now, not ever."

"That's good; he does seem like a complete imbecile," Teddy agreed, unable to contain the grin that spread across his lips at her hatred of Sam Wood. "Good luck with your potions assignment; I don't see why you wouldn't get an Outstanding, your brew was near perfect."

"Thanks," She murmured, ducking her head to shadow her features behind curtains of her dark locks, but Teddy didn't need to see her features to know she was blushing shyly at his compliment as she had done with the many others he had given her during the lesson. "Hopefully Professor Slughorn will agree."

"I don't see why he wouldn't." He assured as the pair moved away from the work surface, sauntering towards the door until Slughorn's cheerful voice interrupted the duo.

"Anya, could you stay here a moment please?" He piped as she glanced from Teddy to her professor before nodding in agreement. "And bring Teddy with you as well."

Teddy shrugged his shoulders before following Anya towards the plump figure of Professor Slughorn who stood by his desk, his arms folded neatly upon his barrel-shaped abdomen, ceasing his velvet robes. He glanced past the pair for a minute, silently waving off the few lingering figures including Victoire and Gunner, pursing his lips into a line until the entire room was empty. A smile broke out across his face, the edges of his moustache shadowing his mouth as he returned his attention to Teddy and Anya.

"I won't take too much of your time, I would just like to make an offer to the pair of you," He began. "As you may have guessed, Teddy, Miss Crafting is a member of my Slug Club as you once were and as you will be visiting our school once again, I hoped you might attend our meetings, mingle with the students especially after your fantastic marks in Advanced Potions,"

He clapped a meaty hand around Teddy's shoulder in approval before shifting his gaze to Anya.

"And I wanted to give you the task of informing him when I announce a meeting and escorting Teddy to where it will take place," He chuckled to himself, glancing back at the door that led out into the corridor. "And you should bring Gunner with you, best not to leave him alone in the Three Broomsticks; I know all too well what happens to a man when left alone with a beauty such as Madam Rosmerta and a fresh supply of butterbeer."

Teddy and Anya exchanged glances as they swept out of the room, being kindly dismissed by Slughorn as he moved to mark the brews the seventh year potioneers had created. A stiff, awkward silence settled between them as they loitered in the corridor that rimmed the Potions room, pondering the instructions each of them had been given whilst unsure of what to say to one another. Teddy glanced down at Anya's thoughtful expression and cleared his throat, preparing to speak up as although he loved the idea of spending far more time than necessary with the Crafting girl, he did not intend to force her into anything, reluctantly offering her a way out of the deal struck by his old professor.

"You don't have to do everything Slughorn said if you don't want to," He stated, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly as he forced a grin across his lips. "I'm sure you have better things to do. I could try and find everything myself, if you'd prefer that."

She pursed her lips together, narrowing her eyes as she mulled over the offer, considering her response. Before Teddy could begin to worry that she was going to gladly take him up on his offer and limit their time together, a smile broke out across her plump, rosy lips.

"Trust me, Slughorn knows everything, he'll find out one way or another if I don't help you out," She joked, shaking her head with a soft laugh. "Besides, I wouldn't want to risk you getting lost in the castle, especially if I get the blame."

"Oh, so not because you fear for my safety or anything?" He teased back.

"Nope," Her grin grew as she spoke. "The next meet of the Slug Club is this Friday; it's sort of like a 'welcome back to Hogwarts' dinner and is supposed to be formal."

"Well then, that is short notice, but I should be able to throw something together in time."

"Great, I'll come get you from your room just before it starts," She suggested. "Where is it?"

"I'm staying at the Three Broomsticks Inn actually; staying here seemed a step too far just for an auror investigation." He admitted, unable to contain the grin that broke out across his own features at the sight of her smile.

"That's even better; it's the perfect excuse for me to grab some butterbeer without having to go down with the rest of my year on a Hogsmeade weekend," She replied optimistically, her now cheerful–Teddy would dare to even say almost bubbly–attitude flooding over Teddy, his heart thumping against his chest vigorously. "Just be ready by early evening, as Slughorn said, it's best not to be left alone with such a supply of butterbeer for too long. Although I'm not so sure Madam Rosmerta will have the same effect on my as she does him."

"Probably not." He laughed back.

He struggled to resist the urge to blurt out a–most likely cheesy–comment about how exceptionally beautiful she was herself, half out of the embarrassment of saying such a thing and half out of fear of her punching him square in the jaw. She was definitely not your average girl and he had no idea how she would react, unable to compare her with any girl he had ever met. After a few more moments of pleasant conversation between the pair, joking softly with smiles on their faces, a snarling voice interrupted them, Teddy feeling his heart sink in his chest.

"What the hell is going on?" Victoire snapped, stomping towards Teddy with her deep sapphire eyes narrowed into a furious glare at Anya.

She grabbed hold of her boyfriend's arm, gripping it tightly, pulling him towards her and crashing her lips into his, her lips moving fast against his stunned ones. Meanwhile Gunner observed the scene from where Victoire once stood, his eyebrows arched, his amber eyes holding a curious stare as Teddy quickly pried himself free of her grasp, his worried gaze darting towards Anya's shocked expression.

"Calm down, Victoire." Teddy hissed through his teeth, his eyes becoming matte black in irritation as he tore her hands off of him with a frown pulling at his lips.

"Don't pretend you don't love it just because she is here," She scolded, returning her glare to Anya's features which were now pinching together into an irritated expression. "Why don't you run along to class? Your little friends might be missing you–oh wait, I forget you have none."

"At least I don't spread my legs as easily as butter on toast," Anya snapped back, glaring at Victoire with malice. "And you're pathetic if you think those imbeciles you hang out with are your friends. You wouldn't know a true friend if it smacked you around the face, then again, you wouldn't know a word with more than two syllables either."

"Yeah because all those big words and books of yours must have loads of boys drooling over you," Victoire challenged sarcastically, squeezing Teddy's arm possessively as she spoke. "It won't get you my Teddy, that's for sure; he's just too nice to tell you to bugger off himself."

"I can speak for myself, Victoire–" He began.

"No need, I've sorted this little mess out for you," She interrupted, flipping her tumbling strawberry blonde locks over her shoulder, exposing the fang earrings dangling from her ears before glaring down at Anya once more. "Now run along."

"You don't own Teddy, unlike you he's intelligent enough to form his own opinions and speak for himself." Anya snarled defensively, folding her arms over her chest.

Her infuriated expression faltered for a mere second as her eyes flickered towards Teddy, sadness twinkling in their sky blue colour before they resettled on Victoire, narrowing with disdain as the blonde-haired seventh year retorted with a scoff.

"Yes he is and he has chosen me and always will," She leaned towards Anya, a snide smile spreading across her plump lips. "So hurry back to your hole and leave my boyfriend alone."

"Victoire stop. A.J. please don't–" Teddy began.

"Whatever," She muttered, turning on her heel and stalking down the hallway. "I have to get to class."

"I'll see you this Friday," Teddy called desperately, unable to chase after her as Victoire anchored him to the ground, her nails digging into the sleeves of his top as he craned his neck to face her. "What was that for, Victoire? You were completely out of line; you had no right to speak to her like that."

"I had every right to do what I did," She corrected. "What would you do if a boy was all over me?"

"She wasn't all over me," He growled furiously. "And I would never speak to one of your friends like that–"

"One of your friends?" She repeated, sneering in utter disbelief as she barked out a cruel laugh. "That bitch is not one of your friends, she is nobody's friend."

"I can choose my own friends and she is one, I don't choose your friends for you nor do you choose mine," Teddy stated, finally shaking off Victoire's grasp. "You need to apologise to her, she didn't deserve it in the slightest."

"And I deserved what she said to me? I didn't provoke her, she started all of this," Teddy stared at her incredulously, eyes wide in disbelief at how immature and dismissive Victoire was being. Noticing his stare, she pushed her lips into a pout, pressing her body to his, fingering his tie seductively as she glanced up at him innocently. "I promise I'll make it up to you, just come back to my dorm with me, I can skip the rest of my morning classes."

"You just don't get it; I don't have time for that."

"Of course you do." She protested, pressing her lips to his jaw.

"Actually, Victoire, we actually do have an appointment back in Hogsmeade," Gunner intercepted before Teddy could erupt into anger, his words causing her to part from her boyfriend's figure reluctantly. "That's why I had to wait for him. If we don't get going now, we'll be late."

"Really?" She asked.

"Yes, really," Teddy quickly responded, slipping away from her to stand beside Gunner. "And you had best get going to your class; I don't want to distract you from your learning."

She grinned, blindly accepting their response as truth as she pecked Teddy on the lips, bidding Gunner farewell before sauntering down the hallway towards her next lesson, swinging her hips as she went. Once she was out of sight, Teddy felt his shoulders slump, his whole body relaxing as he exhaled deeply.

His relaxation after the encounter between both women was short-lived as Gunner cleared his throat as the pair exited Hogwarts, walking along the dirt road leading towards Hogsmeade. Teddy glanced his way curiously, noticing his suspicious, narrowed gaze.

"What is going on with you, Teddy?" Gunner hissed, glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one was listening in on their conversation. "What happened back there with Anya?"

"Gunn, nothing happened with A.J." He protested.

"Yet you are calling her by such a friendly name," He replied, arching an eyebrow at the metamorphmagus. "I've known you for over eight years, Teddy, now tell me what's going on."

"I promise you, nothing–"

"Don't lie to me, I know you better than that," Gunner's usually casual voice was now serious, his lowered tone demanding that Teddy listen to what he was saying. "Do you like Anya now?"

"What? No!" He shouted far too defensively, glaring at Gunner furiously. "Don't even ask me stupid questions like that."

"Well, you're sure as hell acting like you do," He admitted before reluctantly letting the point go, noticing Teddy's hair become an infuriated bright scarlet, his eyes ebony with aggravation at his questioning. "Fine, I'll drop it. But I want answers and I want them soon."

Teddy rolled his eyes at his friend, storming into the Three Broomsticks Inn with Gunner close behind. He muttered a farewell over his shoulder before ascending the stairs, ignoring Gunner's suspicious gaze as he burst into his room, slamming the door shut behind him. He groaned in aggravation, throwing his bag across the room before collapsing onto his bed.

He hated speaking to Gunner in such a way, but even he didn't know the answers to such questions. He didn't know why he felt so infuriated by Victoire these days yet so euphoric around Anya, nor why he felt compelled to defend her rather than his own girlfriend. He didn't know why the idea of going to Slughorn's welcoming feast alongside Anya excited him so greatly. He didn't know any of the answers to the questions that swarmed his own psyche, let alone those in Gunner's. The more he didn't know, the angrier he got, only the image of Anya's beautiful porcelain features calming the storm in his mind, but he just couldn't figure out why.