A/N: thanks for reading- I can hardly believe there are people out there willing to read this! You guys really make my day. I hope you enjoy this chapter- let me know what you think!

Even though he had moved out of his grandmother's place, Teddy could not really say that he was living the life of a completely independent young adult. He still went over to Harry's house at least twice a week for dinner. He could not remember the Potter house ever being so quiet. Lily was the only child left and it was obvious from the way she clung on to Teddy that she missed her brothers.

Harry did not know what to think of his godson. Now that they were technically working together in the same Department at the Ministry, he thought they would become closer than ever. He wondered when this drifting started, when little Teddy stopped telling him everything about his day, when he had become this distant young man who would remain mostly silent during meals unless he or Ginny asked a question. Even his outward appearance reflected this. Teddy seemed to have stuck with dark brown hair and an unremarkable face that would only change if Lily requested something. Harry wondered if this was what it was like to watch a kid grow up. He missed the blur of turquoise that used to run around his house, careless and happy.

Teddy was indeed distancing himself from Harry. He still loved his godfather more than anybody except possibly his grandmother, but it would be too dangerous if Harry knew what he was doing with his full moons. Harry would call him out for being foolish, for risking his life for a hopeless cause, and then use everything in his power to stop Teddy from continuing. And if there was one thing Harry Potter had, it was power.

"Is everything alright, Teddy?" Harry asked after dinner. They sat together in the living room. The fireplace had a small fire in it even though it was still warm outside. It had been charmed to not give off any heat. Teddy remembered when he had tricked James into thinking his arm was burning off by sticking his arm into the fake fire and morphing his skin black while screaming for help. James had cried- they had both been so young then- until Ginny came and punished Teddy by making him extend his arms into the fire for fifteen minutes. It wasn't long and the fire had no power but to his young self who only wanted to run around, it was the worst possible punishment.

"Yeah, everything is fine," Teddy said, leaning into the old sofa. He knew he would have to think of something that was bothering him to hopefully throw Harry off the track. "It's just been weird not being back at Hogwarts." He added a shrug.

Harry didn't seem to believe him for a second.

"Is everything okay between you and Victoire?" he probed.

"Wait, I want to hear this too!" Ginny called from the kitchen. Teddy did not know why she was in the kitchen since all of the dishes were charmed to clean themselves. She ran into the living room in an instant, faster than if she had flown.

"Yeah, we're fine," he fidgeted.

It was not completely true. It was only a small feeling, but the feeling that Victoire had become more distant had inhabited him nonetheless. It was bound to happen, he told himself, since they could not see each other every day anymore and since letters could not convey feelings properly. He wondered if a cell phone would help- then he could hear her voice at least- but he knew Muggle technology did not work in Hogwarts. He wondered how Nover kept in touch with the waitress.

"I don't know," he shrugged when Harry and Ginny had said nothing but waited for him to say more. "It's kind of hard. But she'll graduate in a year. So it'll be fine..."

"Are you talking about Victoire?" a voice came from the kitchen. Lily must have come down from her room.

If it had been James, Teddy would have been a bit annoyed. But he could not help but smile as Lily walked eagerly into the living room and burrowed herself into the same chair as her mother.

"James told me she's always doing work this year and is no fun anymore," Lily said, swinging her legs. One leg hit Ginny who winced but did not let out a sound. Harry snorted.

"Yeah, seventh year is a busy year," Teddy said. "Not that you would know," he added as a jibe to his godfather.

Harry's previously worried face dissolved and he smiled. This was more like the Teddy that he knew.

"James and Al thought she was acting funny so they followed her under the Cloak," Lily said importantly. "But they just ended up in the dungeons watching her brew potions for hours. Apparently that's all she does now."

"Really," Teddy said. She had not mentioned anything about spending hours brewing potions in her letters. The feeling that they were drifting apart returned full force.

"It's probably too boring to tell you about," Ginny offered.

"Mm," he pretended to agree.

"Teddy, can you do Hagrid's face with dad's body?" Lily asked brightly. "I want to send a picture to James and Al!"

"Sure," Teddy smiled. "But only if you're in the picture with me."

"Yes! I'll go get my camera!"

"She's gotten really into photography lately," Harry explained. "She taught herself how to develop the photos so they move and everything." He was obviously proud.

"I'm glad she's channeling her energy into something productive. When all of my brothers left for Hogwarts all I did was mope around the Burrow all the time," Ginny said.

"Ready?" Teddy asked when Lily came back down with her camera. She nodded eagerly.

He actually did not like morphing into Hagrid much. It always made him feel a bit light headed afterwards. But he would do it without complaint for Lily. He screwed up his eyes and willed his head to become three times larger, then turned his hair dark and curly. When he sprouted the beard he heard Lily squeal. He could not remember exactly what Hagrid's nose looked like so he just made it nice and large and hoped Lily did not remember either.

Harry's body was easy since he had done it countless times before, and since it was not too far off from his own. But the secret to producing morphs that could entertain the legions of Potter and Weasley children was to exaggerate everything. So he made himself extra skinny, even a bit scrawny looking. When he opened his eyes again, his head felt far too heavy.

"Okay, quickly now before my neck breaks..."

Ginny could not stop giggling as she took the picture for them. Harry gave a tired smile.

When Teddy excused himself for the night, Harry walked him to the door. His godfather fumbled a bit with the lock which was strange behavior since Harry normally just waved the door open with his wand. Teddy braced himself for whatever Harry had to say to him.

"How is your Auror training coming along?"

It was not the question he had expected. If Harry really wanted to know how his training was going, he could ask just about anybody in the Auror department.

"It's fine. I think I'm doing okay. Unless you've heard otherwise?"

Harry shook his head.

"I've heard nothing bad. But nothing good either."

Teddy shrugged. "I'll take average."

His godfather sighed.

"But you were never average, Teddy. I've seen your grades at Hogwarts- even Hermione was impressed by them. I thought you would be blowing the Auror department away from your first day."

"Well, sorry if I've disappointed..." Teddy said, suddenly annoyed. He tried to move closer to the door but Harry stopped him.

"I didn't mean it like that. I just want to make sure everything is okay with you. I don't know, you seem distracted lately. You can tell me anything, alright?"

"Alright."

Tears suddenly stung his eyes and he pushed quickly past Harry so that he would not see them. He really hated Harry's kindness sometimes.

The next full moon fell one week after his brief talk with Harry. He had met with Kimberley Chan just once to hear about the next person they would be curing.

"Her name is Beth. I think she is only a few years older than you. She was one of my first bites. I remember her very well..."

Teddy did not ask for more details.

"Give me two names," he said.

"Are you sure you will be able to do two in one night?" she frowned.

"The night is long. And I'll be frustrated for the rest of the month working this slowly. One more name."

She shrugged.

"Then you might as well do her twin brother too. Oh do not look so horrified- I only bit Beth. Her brother was Fenrir's doing..."

Teddy shuddered. Chan had been helpful on numerous fronts, even giving him small tips for how to keep a werewolf calm and the locations of sensitive spots. There were times when he almost viewed her as a friend until she brought up subjects like these. Her past was so entirely different from his and so entirely against what he was fighting for. He hated that he let her past color his present judgment of her, but he could not help it.

When the day of the full moon actually came, Teddy regretted demanding for a second name. He had hardly slept the night before since he had completely forgotten there was a test the next day on Stealth and Tracking, his worst subject. By the time the test was over, he thought he had probably done well enough to stay around average in the class. The other Aurors in training always went out into London after any test, but Teddy stuck to himself. He had gone home and found an owl waiting for him from Victoire. He had torn the envelope open excitedly, only to find a small slip of parchment with one line- "We need to talk", along with the date of the next Hogsmeade visit.

So by the time he apparated to Beth's house, it was an understatement to say that he had a lot on his mind- too much, at least, for his sleep deprived mind. He had taken an energy potion and managed to sneak in an hour nap before he came by, but he still felt dreadfully tired.

Chan met him at the bottom of the driveway in front of the house.

The house was somewhere between Golkow's shack and Chan's well maintained suburban house. It looked like it had seen better days but that it would also still hold on for many years to come. The paint looked like it was freshly done.

"What's their situation?" Teddy asked, holding back a yawn.

Chan did not miss it.

"Are you sure you are up for this?"

"Yeah."

"Alright... They both live with their parents. The mother works for the Ministry and the father is a Muggle."

"Must be rough for him."

Chan bit her lip. Teddy wished he had not said anything.

"Beth and Seth have not-"

"Seriously? Their names are Beth and Seth?"

"Yes. As I was saying, they have not had good luck finding jobs. Seth works at a Muggle fast food restaurant and Beth is an unsuccessful writer."

"Did they not go to Hogwarts?"

"They did. The war ended before they were eleven." Chan caught his eye and he saw something steely in them. "But not everybody had supportive friends like your father did. They were isolated. Seth dropped out by the end of the first year, and Beth at the beginning of her second. Humans, even the small ones, are cruel."

Teddy swallowed. If they were indeed only a few years older than him, then it was likely that he knew the very people who shunned them, likely that he had even been friends with them. He wouldn't have shunned them. Or was he just telling himself that?

"Will your handsome professor be joining us today?" she changed the subject with a playful, almost mocking, smile.

"He can't. Detentions or something. I forget." He yawned again. "Shall we?"

"It might be best if I do not go in..."

"She won't remember you, right?"

"...I suppose not."

They walked up the driveway and Teddy knocked on the door.

"We've tried all sorts of doctors before to get them sorted out but nothing worked even a little bit," Beth and Seth's mother was saying.

"So we have pretty low expectations for you," the father said grimly.

"Oh. Thanks," Teddy said, running a hand through his brown hair. It had been a while since he had morphed it.

The parents let him into a room at the back of the house. This room looked more like a proper werewolf's room. The wall's paint was peeling, the wooden legs of the chairs bitten so thoroughly it was a wonder they were still standing. It actually looked quite like the Shrieking Shack, except at the center of the room was a ping pong table. And on either side, a boy and a girl hitting the ball to each other in rapid, accurate strokes. Neither looked up when Teddy and Chan entered the room. The parents quickly backed out. As Teddy watched the father close the door, it became obvious that they were afraid of their own children.

"Hi," Teddy ventured.

The boy looked up, flicking his head so that the dark blonde hair got out of his eyes.

"Hey," he said.

The girl caught the ping pong ball mid air.

"Are you Teddy?" she asked.

They looked eerily similar, about the only difference being that the girl was a bit shorter and had longer hair. They were both incredibly thin with gaunt faces as if they were prisoners starving for food. Teddy suddenly wondered if they were prisoners of their own house. He pushed the thought out of his mind.

"Yeah. It's nice to meet you," he extended a hand to each of them. He had to shake two bony frail hands. "You didn't take Wolfsbane, correct?"

"Nope," Beth said, bouncing the ping pong ball on her paddle. They all seemed to be watching the ball go up and down. "Tonight is going to suck."

"It'll be your last transformation," Teddy offered.

Seth snorted. "You know how many times we've heard that? How much is mum paying you?"

"Teddy is doing this for free thanks to his immense generosity," Chan stepped in. She was taller than Seth. Teddy noticed that she seemed to be averting her eyes from Beth.

The twins shrugged in unison.

"Well, Ms. Chan, you should probably evacuate soon..." Teddy said.

She cocked her head.

"And why would I do that?"

He blinked. "You have no protection..."

She stepped to the side of the room, indicating for Teddy to follow. When they were in the corner and the twins had resumed their ping pong match, she spoke in a hushed voice.

"I spent my life with people like them. I know how to deal with them. You do not have your professor, so I will help today."

"You've never dealt with them in human form though..."

"I told you already. My human form and wolf form were one. They were both me. I can handle this."

Teddy sighed. If he were more awake, he would have insisted that she leave, but frankly he could use her extra eyes.

"Alright."

For no reason at all, he thought back to the letter he had just received from Victoire. What could she want to talk about? Maybe something about the potion she was working on? But the letter had been so curt and suddenly he felt dreadful. He wanted desperately to see her again to clear the seeds of doubt in his mind. He needed to focus. After performing a breathing exercise his grandmother had taught him to help him get through the full moons, he pushed all extraneous thoughts out of his mind and set his gaze on the twins. A few minutes later, Beth's neck twitched violently. The transformation was beginning.

Teddy watched both of them transform slowly and painfully into their wolf selves. It had been two months since he had seen a proper transformation. Chan's had seemed so easy and hardly like a werewolf transformation. He had almost forgotten the sound of human struggling turning seamlessly into howling, of bones cracking and reforming, until he heard the sharp snap that brought all the memories back.

"This won't be as easy as you were," Teddy said.

Chan did not reply. Only when Teddy looked over to her did he realize that she was looking at her own body, at her own human hands. He had almost forgotten it was her first full moon in decades where she had not turned. Perhaps part of her did not believe his spell worked until that moment.

When she looked up, it was with fierce determination.

"I will handle the male while you deal with the female."

"Got it. Be careful."

"Likewise."

As if on cue, the female wolf pounced at him. He dodged it smoothly by leaning to the right. Perhaps his Auror training was useful for something other than catching Dark wizards. She ended up on the other side of him, skidding against the wooden floor boards, creating fresh scratch marks. From the corner of his eye, Teddy registered Chan taunting the male expertly but without a single scratch on her. He refocused on Beth.

She let out a howl.

"Silence them- they are communicating," Chan ordered.

"Silencio!" Teddy hissed, pointing his wand first at the female and then flicking it to the other wolf. The howl was cut short.

But while he had been silencing the male, the female had pounced and before he knew it he was pinned to the floor, the wolf's foul breath fogging over his face.

He was a second too slow in transforming. She had managed to claw deep into his shoulder before he turned into the smaller wolf form and slipped away. She looked around, stunned, before Teddy sprang off from his hind legs and flattened her to the floor. Something primal overcame him and he bit into the werewolf's shoulder. The feeling of fur between his teeth was awful. She let out a silenced howl before her body loosened for just a second. He only needed that second to flip her onto her back and in the same motion transform himself back to human form with wand ready.

"Homor-"

All the breath left him as the wolf kicked into his stomach.

"Remember the sensitive spots!" Chan called from what seemed like a world away. He had no idea how she was dealing with Seth, but she did not sound tired.

Teddy transformed back to the wolf just in case since he had lost sight of Beth. He felt incredibly dizzy. By the time his vision focused again, he saw both wolves were both after Chan now. He transformed back into human form too quickly, hitting his elbow painfully against the ping pong table, but managed to stun both wolves in two flashes of red light.

"Are you alright?" Teddy panted.

"Yes. Are you?" Chan asked. She seemed utterly unfazed.

"I don't know if I can do this," he admitted. He brought a hand to the shoulder Beth had clawed into. The hand came back red. Seth was already twitching, fighting against the stunning spell.

"Allow me," she said, crouching low. She was almost on all fours when Seth broke free and lunged at her. Her hand shot to his side and he let out what would have been a pitiful wail if he were not silenced.

Teddy bolted over. He and Chan switched places deftly- she got into position to deal with Beth while Teddy had his hand on Seth's throat and wand against his forehead.

"Homorphus!"

He did not stick around to see if it worked. From the corner of his eye he saw the female swipe at Chan's legs. She just barely dodged it.

"She is enraged- she thinks you have killed the only other member of her pack-"

Chan was interrupted by a furious swipe of the paw inches from her face.

"An enraged wolf is a deadly one. We should not have done both in the same room..."

"I can do this!" Teddy yelled. His limbs were fatigued and his head dizzy but his eyes were wide and he was ready.

"She recognizes me," Chan said suddenly.

"What? That's impossible-"

"It is possible- animal instinct-" She narrowly dodged a bite. "This is not good, Teddy-"

He turned to wolf form and only when he landed on all fours did he remember the deep claw mark in his shoulder. He collapsed at the front and when he recovered he saw Chan standing very still. He did not know what she was trying to do, but he pounced at the werewolf who threw him off with as much ease as if he weighed nothing. The she-wolf was doubly enraged- one for the supposed death of her brother- Teddy glanced over and saw that Seth's human form was limp against the wall, stirring slightly- and two for finally finding the woman who had ruined her life.

The wolf pounced. Chan closed her eyes.

Teddy intercepted just in time and felt a curve of sharp pain in his flank as the werewolf buried its teeth into his fur. The werewolf dug her teeth further into him, he could barely see anything anymore...

"Let her bite me," he barely registered Chan saying. "Once she does she will be subdued and you can save her..." He felt her somehow pry the wolf off of him.

"No..." Teddy tried to say, but it came out as a growl through his wolf teeth.

A howl fraught with pain, with vengeance, filled the air unlike anything Teddy had heard before. The werewolf had regained its voice.

He saw everything slowly then. Chan leaping gracefully in front of the werewolf, the werewolf, with its crazed eyes, howling again before launching itself at her. And in that pounce he saw his opening. He knew he could transform fast enough, release the spell and if he had just a little bit of luck on his side-

He transformed back to human form, felt the wooden handle of his wand against his sweating palm, and, as if he were throwing a punch, he launched his right arm forward. His injured shoulder burned but the wand jabbed into the werewolf's forehead, a mere inches from Chan's unblinking face, he had only a moment now-

"H-"

He did not know what was happening. His body reacted by itself. There was an incredible pain in his right arm, right above where he was holding his wand, and without quite realizing what he was doing his wand switched to his left hand and he somehow completed the spell.

Beth flew backwards, joining her brother in human form, groaning against a wall.

"Teddy..."

He heard Chan's voice but only barely. His wand clattered to the floor as he used his left hand to hold his right arm up.

There, right above his wrist, was the unmistakable imprint of a werewolf's bite on his human flesh.