Teddy had watched with horror as his father lost the battle with his humanity and transformed into a werewolf before his very eyes.
"This can't be happening. There's still weeks before another full moon! It has to be a dream. Please just be a dream," Teddy thought to himself but deep down he knew he wasn't going to waking up from this anytime soon.
The werewolf snapped its jaws and gave a low growl at several terrified students in the corner but then a whistle was heard.
All heads turned back to the ringleader of this operation who stood in the middle of the hall next to a little boy.
Teddy's eyes widened.
"That isn't- No!"
Vic stood next to Greyback, eyes lifeless and unresponsive to the rest of the world and Teddy's eyes frantically scanned the remainder of the Great Hall for Roy.
His eyes picked out a spot by the corner where several Death Eaters were gathering and if you looked very closely one could make out the telltale signs of fire and smoke rising from the middle.
Roy knew what was happening but his hands were full and even if he took down a Death Eater per second it didn't look like he's make it to his brother in time before Greyback's plan was complete.
"Come on, you can eat those children later. This one's ripe for the taking," Greyback said in a sickly sweet yet strong voice. The werewolf knew that voice. It was a voice of an alpha male; a being that wasn't scared of him and someone he should listen to.
With a growl the werewolf got down on all fours and ran towards his intended target.
"Wait! No!" Teddy shouted, struggling against his captor's hold.
"Quiet boy. Once your friend is done we'll be sure that you're next,"
Teddy ignored the threat instead choosing to bite the arm holding him with as much as he could.
The sudden pain caused the Death Eaters to weaken his hold and with a swift elbow to the stomach Teddy was free and running.
The werewolf leaped.
Roy saw it out of the corner of his eye and screamed out for his brother.
And suddenly, Teddy was in the middle of it all. Hands outstretched as if his body would be enough to shield his friend from the werewolf before them.
The werewolf paused at this new intruder. This boy with the colourful hair seemed...familiar...
Teddy stood his ground as the werewolf before him gave a low growl.
"Shh. It's OK. No one's going to hurt you," Teddy said in what he hoped was a soothing voice.
Slowly he lowered his arms as the rest of the students in the Great Hall held their breaths.
"It's me. Teddy. You know. Your son?" Teddy said carefully as the werewolf once again issued a low grubble from the back of its throat. Some part of his mind was telling him that this was wholly ridiculous and that he should just get the fuck out of there before he got his head bitten off.
But some other part told him to stay. The part that refused to believe that his dad would do anything to harm him; the part that reminded him that underneath the sharp teeth and fur, the wolf in front of him was still his father.
An image of a fluffy puppy patronus suddenly filled Teddy's mind and Teddy couldn't help but give a great big smile at the thought.
The look on the child's face startled the wolf. It had surely never seen it before and it lowered its growl, replacing it with a confused glance.
Teddy laughed at such a human expression on the wolf's face, startling the wolf even more. Surely prey wasn't supposed to do that. He gave said prey a tentative sniff. It smelled...familiar...like a mix of a mate and himself. He'd smelled this scent before yet the confused werewolf couldn't really figure out where.
Teddy slowly raised his hand and the werewolf tensed and gave another growl again.
"Shh. It's OK. It's only me," Teddy said, eyes fixed with the wolf's own. He wouldn't back down; wouldn't run away.
Charlie Weasley could tame dragons, Rubeus Hagrid could tame a giant three headed dog, Tom Riddle could tame a basilisk and even ordinary muggles could tame wild lions. So why shouldn't Teddy Lupin be able to tame a werewolf?
"I'm not gonna hurt you. I swear. Come on now. That's a good boy," Teddy went on in a low, gentle voice as if talking to a small puppy.
The werewolf stopped his growling and Teddy slowly raised his hand again, reaching for the soft fur of the werewolf's head.
And the werewolf finally got it. This boy in front of him was his. He owned this. He was a part of the pack. Similar to a certain dog, stag and mouse all those years ago but not quite. This boy was family.
All animals have young and most animals try to raise their young to be successful in life. Werewolves were no exception and the unwritten rule was that if you didn't harm him, he wouldn't harm you.
It might have been the bright lights blinding the werewolf that made it feel dazed and somewhat subdued but nonetheless, ever so slowly, the werewolf took a few steps forward and Teddy finally managed to reach up and touch the fluffy fur. A jolt went through both recipients bodies. One for the fact that he'd never felt a human hand upon him before. And the other for he'd never touched a feral werewolf before.
A small smile graced Teddy's lips and eventually he'd wrapped both arms around the werewolf, burying his head in the soft fur of the other.
"Thanks dad," he whispered.
The werewolf didn't move, just inclined his head a bit so he could see what Teddy was doing and watched as the students in the hall gaped in disbelief. No one dared move; otherwise they feared an enraged werewolf with their head.
Everyone that is, except one. One who couldn't bear to see his plans fail right before his eyes. With an enraged roar Fenrir Greyback took out his wand and fired a spell at Teddy.
The werewolf looked up in surprise at the glowing red light hurtling towards them and in one swift movement had thrown Teddy to the ground and taken the brunt of the spell which launched even the large werewolf across the room.
"DAD!"
Students screamed as the giant wolf landed around them; scrambling to get out of the way while at the same time protecting themselves from Death Eater's attacks.
"Don't get in my way boy!" Greyback snarled and Teddy took several paces back from the enraged werewolf, "I should have had that bastard of a father eat you up first! You don't belong here. You're a mistake!" Greyback went on to the terrified boy back peddling as far away as possible.
"When I found out this year that you were also attending this school I didn't bat an eye. What can you possibly do? No one mentioned you in the prophecy so I thought we could leave you alone but no, you just have to get involved with everything. You remind me of that blasted Potter. I should learn by now that the first things to get rid of are children like you," Greyback snarled before revealing another vial from his pocket.
Teddy, who wasn't really in the position to be gloating, watched dumbly as Greyback raised the vial to his lips and swallowed the thick black liquid within it.
Tossing his head back, Greyback suddenly gave a hysterical laugh as the empty vial crashed to the floor. The laughter slowly morphed into a cry and then a howl as Greyback went through the same transformation as Teddy's father had a few moments before.
Soon enough, a fully transformed werewolf stood before everyone in the Great Hall and leaped at the blue haired boy on the floor without a second's hesitation.
Teddy scrambled backwards, trying to get back onto his feet but before he knew it the werewolf was upon him, eyes glowing with bloodlust as it opened its jaws, ready for its first meal of the night.
"Ted!"
Suddenly Ted was assaulted by heat as the werewolf's face before him practically exploded in crimson sparks.
With a howl of pain the werewolf took a step back and Teddy didn't couldn't even register what had happened before a large dark shape leaped over him and tackled the other werewolf to the ground.
"Ted!" Roy shouted and Teddy whipped his head around to look for the source.
"You alright?" Roy asked, crouching over his friend with a worried expression. When all Teddy managed was to stare dumbly at the Slytherin boy Roy gave a sigh.
"Come on," Roy said, getting up and offering Teddy a hand.
"Wait," Teddy said, snapping out of it, "what about Greyback?"
"Eyes should be nice and crispy by now. Your dad's taking care of him," Roy said, jerking a thumb in the direction where two werewolves were circling each other; both growling viciously.
"Now come on. Up." Roy repeated, sticking out his hand again and this time Teddy took it but not without a worried glance over at the two werewolves.
His dad was much smaller than Greyback, not to mention skinnier. He was sad to admit but his dad probably wouldn't have a chance if he and Greyback were to really face off. Roy's flames seemed to have severely burned Greyback's eyes but a werewolf also had its sense of smell to help them move around. Besides, the bright lights of the Great Hall might even be blinding his father for all he knew. Werewolves were creatures of the dark and probably weren't used to such bright lights anyways.
The fight started with Greyback making the first move. He leaped at the smaller one and children screamed and fled as the two werewolves rolled around, bashing into walls and knocking over tables and benches as they tried to rip each other to shreds.
Fur and growls were thrown all around. The smaller werewolf managed to claw at Greyback's already injured eyes but he would soon be thrown into a nearby wall as Greyback charged at him.
The Hall was a chaotic scene of Death Eaters and students running everywhere to stay away from the two werewolves and Teddy and Roy were swept up in the turmoil.
"Where's Vic?" Teddy shouted over the horrible growls and howls of the two werewolves.
"I dunno! When I tried to get near him he kept attacking me and then I saw Greyback transform so I went back for you," Roy replied. The two boys then immediately dove to the ground as the Ravenclaw table sailed over their heads and smashed against the stone wall of the castle.
"Shit this is dangerous!" Roy grumbled and Teddy agreed but none of the boys made a break for the exit. Teddy because he wasn't going to leave his father alone and Roy because he wouldn't leave Vic either.
The boys made another dive for the floor when a furry body landed with a thud in front of them. It scrambled to its feet and gave a growl at the two boys but another werewolf tackled it to the ground.
Teddy and Roy quickly got up and ran to the other end of the Hall as a werewolf gave a snarl of pain having just received a large cut on its muzzle.
"And where do you boys think you're going?" A voice spoke up and Teddy and Roy whirled around. There stood Antonin Dolohov, wand pointed at the two boys as they gaped before him.
The wand suddenly glowed green and Teddy's heart hammered in his chest.
It couldn't end now. It just couldn't.
"And it won't," Teddy thought to himself determinately but before he could do anything a green flash blinded him and he was only aware of a body blocking its path.
The spell hit Roy in the chest, knocking him backwards and sending both him and Teddy crashing to the ground.
As they fell, Teddy opened his mouth to shout a horrified yell only for the green light to seemingly bounce right off Roy in mid fall and shoot off towards the ceiling.
Landing with a thud, Roy was the first to get up as Teddy stared up in disbelief at the hole in the ceiling that the killing curse had just produced, brain desperately trying to keep up with all these sudden developments.
"Dammit. I missed," Roy grumbled as he dusted himself off, "Would you like to try again Professor?" he asked in a sickly sweet voice to the person with the face of his father staring in disbelief at what had just happened. So, this person with the face of a dead man was Professor Xavia. Well, that was nice to know.
"You OK Ted?" Roy asked, glancing down at his friend who was still staring up at him in shock.
"Yoo hoo. Earth to Teddy!" Roy said, waving a hand in front of Teddy's face in hopes of snapping him out of his daze.
"How did you do that?!" Teddy shouted, immediately jumping to his feet.
Roy gave Teddy a smirk but didn't answer, instead turning his attention back to Xavia as she took several paces back. Eyes not leaving Roy's for a second.
Then, suddenly, she disappeared right before their very eyes.
"Shit!" Teddy shouted, ignoring the fact that his friend had just survived a shot of the Killing Curse and focusing his thoughts into anger on letting Xavia slip past their fingers.
Roy however did nothing when Xavia disappeared, instead he waved his hand and a large arrow of fire was formed in the air, pointing downwards to the floor several steps away from the two boys.
Teddy raised an eyebrow at his friend. He should know by now that he should just go with it but he still wanted an explanation.
As the arrow of fire made its way further and further from the pair Roy explained casually.
"You can't dissaparate or apparate in this castle. They didn't change that. They just used disillusionment charms to make it look like they did. It throws everyone off their game and it makes them seem like they're a lot stronger than they really are," Roy said with a shrug." It's not that hard to figure out once you've faced a few and you notice that the people appearing and disappearing are actually different people. You can't really tell because they all dress the same but you get the idea. Now, you gonna do the honors before she gets away?" Roy asked, giving Teddy a smirk and receiving a grin in reply.
"Hell yeah! It's not every day you can hex a teacher you know!" Teddy said, taking out his wand and aiming for the space below the flaming arrow.
Planting his feet firmly on the floor he repeated the words he'd used so many times before in Duelling Club:
"Petrificus Totalus!"
And to Teddy's great joy, as his spell zoomed through the Great Hall and struck something hard right underneath Roy's arrow.
A body suddenly reappeared, giving a rather startled squeak that was much too high for that body before pitching forward, stiff as a board.
Roy gave a whistle, "Nice one Ted," and Teddy grinned back his thanks only for that grin to fade when a sickening crunch was heard and a pained yelp accompanied it.
Teddy spun around, eyes searching for the two werewolves that had almost slipped his mind given the encounter with Xavia.
He found them in the corner; the larger werewolf had a large series of gashes and open wounds all over his body but he stood taller than the smaller werewolf who was on the floor, blood oozing out of a large wound in its leg that was bent at a hideous angle.
Panicked, Teddy raced forward only to be jerked back after a couple of steps.
"Let go!" Teddy shouted, trying to squirm out of the grasp Roy had on the back of his shirt.
"What can you do Ted?!"
"I don't know just let go!" Teddy shouted, eyes large and pleading but Roy pulled him into a choke hold to hold him steady. "He's just a wolf now. He didn't even know me! He wouldn't have gotten involved if it wasn't for me! It's my fault. I shouldn't have even gotten involved!"
"And if you didn't Vic would have been bitten or worse!" Roy shouted.
"What do you want me to do?! Just watch him die?!"
"No! I want you to put a little faith in him!" Roy shouted and Teddy felt like he'd been slapped. Shoulders slumping he stopped struggling and took a breath.
"Come on dad!" Teddy suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, "Don't listen to what everyone else says! I'm your son! I wouldn't trade you for the world and I say that you're gonna KICK. HIS. ASS!"
Of course, the werewolf probably couldn't understand any of these words shouted at him halfway across the hall but maybe the sheer volume of Teddy's voice was enough to wake him into action.
With a growl, the werewolf struggled to get back up, on its remaining leg while the larger werewolf simply stared; fascinated by the other's will to live. But, not wanting to give his victim too much of a head start, Greyback leaped once again but this time, the werewolf was ready.
Dodging to the left and then running up to Greyback's side, the smaller werewolf turned its head, reached forward and managed to grab hold of the front of Greyback's neck right by the collarbone. Sinking his fangs into the soft flesh, it held on for dear life as Greyback gave a vicious howl and tried to get rid of the other.
But this time, the smaller one had the upper hand. As Greyback writhed under the other's firm hold it managed to sink its front claws into Greyback's forehead causing Greyback to give another howl of agony.
The mass of werewolves crumbled to the floor and Greyback seemed to go limp under the smaller werewolf's weight. Either passing out from the obstructed airway or blood loss.
The other werewolf let go of its victim and watched as the head fell back down in a pool of its own blood. Teeth marks along Greyback's collar bubbled and oozed thick warm blood as he struggled to breathe through the damaged airway.
The other werewolf, panting heavily with exhaustion and pain of its hind leg, barred its teeth and moved in for the kill but found his view blocked by someone else.
"That's good enough," Teddy said soothingly and the werewolf looked up to meet eyes that strangely reminded of his own.
Nevertheless, he had worked so hard and this human was stopping him from making the final kill. The werewolf growled, low and rumbling in the back of his throat but Teddy determinedly shook his head, "I know you want to finish him off. Trust me, I think he deserves it too but my dad wouldn't want you to so I'm not gonna let you," he said firmly and the werewolf looked at him strangely but thankfully didn't move which Teddy took as a good sign.
He took a small step forward and slowly lowered himself to the ground. The werewolf looked on, slightly confused and curious at this cub that wasn't acting like the rest of the humans.
"Come on. Your leg looks pretty bad. You shouldn't stand on it too much," Teddy said, patting the area in front of him, "Sit."
And the werewolf sat and he reminded Teddy so much of a puppy that he couldn't help but burst out laughing. However, his laughter immediately subsided when several loud bangs were heard.
"Nobody move! Auror department!"
Teddy jumped a little in his seat and the werewolf tensed as he tried to scramble to his feet but Teddy recovered quickly and wrapped his arms around the werewolf's neck.
"No! Stay still. You're hurting yourself!" Teddy told it, "They're good guys. They're here to help. It'll be fine. Promise."
The werewolf gave Teddy a look that showed that it didn't quite believe him but he stayed still all the same.
As Aurors crowded the hall, Teddy tried to find his godfather or his mother amongst the crowd. Several Death Eaters had already fled and the rest that hadn't been struck down had surrendered themselves without much trouble. Several students were busy explaining the bizarre and frightening scene that had unfolded that night to fellow Aurors and teachers.
"Looks like they managed to get around that Age Line," Teddy mumbled into the werewolf's soft coat. The werewolf in reply twiddled its ears and Teddy grinned at the behaviour from such a large beast.
"What do we do with this one?" a voice suddenly asked and both Teddy and the werewolf tensed.
A man appeared before them with a wand raised and aimed at the werewolf's head.
"Hey! Kid! Get out of there!" someone else screamed having apparently just noticed Teddy in the mass of fur.
Someone grabbed Teddy's arm and, horrified, Teddy lashed out.
"No! Hey! Leave me alone! It's OK!" Teddy shouted. The werewolf, sensing that his cub was in trouble jumped to its feet and gave a loud snarl.
"It's feral! Shoot it!"
"No! Don't! Just leave him alone!" Teddy shouted, twisting out of the Auror's grasp as he saw more Aurors crowding around and drawing their wands
"Quickly or else it'll bite!"
"STOP IT!" Teddy shouted, practically throwing himself onto the werewolf in hopes of shielding both parties from harm.
"Kid! What are you doing! Get out of there! It'll tear you to pieces!" someone shouted but Teddy violently shook his head.
"No! He won't if you just put your wands DOWN!"
The Aurors looked puzzled while the werewolf continued to growl at the intruders; eyes darting back and forth to see which one to take down first.
"Shh. Come on. It's OK. I'm here. No one's gonna hurt you. Trust me," Teddy whispered into the werewolf's ear but the werewolf did nothing to signal that he'd heard Teddy at all.
"Kid-" someone started only for Teddy to violently jerk his head upwards to the man in question.
"Just put your frickin wands down!"
Startled at being shouted at by a kid the Aurors looked around nervously.
"Just do what he says and back up slowly," another voice said and Teddy's heart leaped.
Head Auror Harry Potter strode through the mass of Aurors that had crowded around the werewolf and its child and gave Teddy a bright smile.
"Hey Ted. Nice to see you in one piece. Your friend told me what happened," Harry said rather conversationally as he kneeled down at a far away distance from the child and his werewolf.
"So I can keep him?" Teddy asked as if he were a child who'd just picked up a stray dog.
Harry laughed.
"Well, we can arrange that he won't get arrested by the werewolf capture unit but if you want to put it like that then yes, you can keep him," Harry said with a grin and Teddy grinned back.
"See, told you it'd be alright," Teddy said, ruffling the werewolf's fur in a playful manner.
He then heard another voice.
"Out of my way. Out of my way. Deputy Head here now move it," the voice commanded and Teddy grinned when a shock of bubblegum pink hair came into view.
"Now where are my boys?" Tonks asked, almost barrelling Harry over and stopping short at the sight before her.
A wolf about three times the size of a normal wolf was sitting down like a small dog would to its trainer. Around the wolf's neck hung a small boy about a fifth of the wolf's size, with a grin so big and hair so orange that it was almost blinding.
"Well, someone's happy," Tonks said, taking everything in stride. If you were the wife of a werewolf and mother of a metamorphagus you learn to deal with a lot of things pretty easily.
"Hi mom!" Teddy said, finally letting go of the wolf to run over to his mom and give her a hug. The werewolf watched patiently while Harry gestured for the rest of his crew to give the family some time to themselves.
"This one needs to go," Teddy heard his godfather mutter, probably referring to Greyback who still lay bleeding and unconscious in the corner of the Great Hall, several paces away from their current location.
"He'll need some medical treatment before we can lock him up though. And you guys might want to clean the place up afterwards," Harry said as several Death Eaters went on to levitate the limp form of Fenrir Greyback.
"Now please tell me you're alright," Tonks whispered to the child once they had finished the customary hugs and kisses.
"Don't worry. I'm fine. He won't hurt me. He might not hurt you either. I mean you're family too," Teddy replied happily.
"So it seems," Tonks said before letting go of her son and straightening up.
"Wotcher Remus."
The werewolf gave no indication that he'd just been addressed, instead choosing to bend forward and give this new human a customary sniff. If his cub approved, which he obviously did, then surely he must too right?
Either way, a few sniffs of lavender shampoo and street smells from a typical work day, the werewolf suddenly had it.
"Mate," It told itself and with a quick thumping of the tail the werewolf gave a happy bark.
Many Aurors looked over at the barking wolf but Harry turned them back to the task at hand, inwardly smiling that the wolf had accepted Tonks too.
"Nice to see you too Remus. You're late for dinner you know?" Tonks said with a mock glare only to break out into a laugh when Remus stopped barking and inclined his head slightly in confusion.
"But you probably don't care do you?" Tonks said, hands on her hips, "I bet you won't even remember this tomorrow morning...hoping that you do change back tomorrow morning," she went on giving Teddy a questioning look.
A feeling of dread suddenly overcame Teddy. Sure it was great having a real live werewolf to play with but what if this was a permanent change? Would he never get his real father back?
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Tonks told her son firmly, having noticed his change of emotion just then and not wanting to worry him.
Teddy nodded and went back to running his hand up and down the werewolf's head. It was strange on just how natural this seemed as if he'd been doing this for years.
"Theodore Lupin: Werewolf Tamer," Teddy thought to himself only for him snort at his own title. This was probably a once in a life time opportunity and he knew how many chances there had been of this plan turning out wrong.
Not that there had been much of a plan anyways.
"Right well, I'd better get back to work," Tonks said a bit sadly and Teddy frowned.
"Aww man," he whined and Tonks gave her son a sympathetic glance.
"Before I go," she said as she dared to take a few steps forward. The werewolf watched her expectantly only for Tonks to slowly bend forward and give her lupine husband a firm kiss on the forehead. She'd straighten herself to find the werewolf giving her a puzzled glance and she smiled.
"Well, I'm not going to sniff your butt or lick you so I think a kiss was the best option," she told him as if the werewolf could actually understand her.
And with a ruffle of werewolf fur and turquoise hair, Tonks gave her boys a loving smile before heading back to help with her fellow Aurors.
"Are you sure that's the best idea?" Harry whispered to her once they were well out of ear shot, "He's...not on wolfsbane."
"I know Harry but what do you want me to do?" Tonks asked, not daring to peek over her shoulder at her family, "I always told Remus that he could never hurt me and he hasn't. He hasn't done anything wrong. I think he deserves some time with his son."
"And if he hurts him?"
"...I have faith in Remus. He won't hurt him," Tonks said defiantly, "Now let's move it people. I want to be home by midnight you know!" Tonks went on, shouting orders at other Aurors.
Harry paused to give a quick glance at his godson who had managed to position the werewolf so that it was lying down with its head in its paws. Teddy himself was leaning on the werewolf's side, arms wrapped around its neck with a peaceful smile on his face as he stroked the werewolf's soft fur.
And Harry gave a small smile at the peaceful scene before him before turning around and getting back to work.
"Out of my way. Coming through. Coming through," Teddy opened his eyes as the Aurors in the Great Hall parted to allow one Madam Pomfrey to come whisking in.
"Now. Look at you!" Pomfrey went on, stopping in front of Teddy and his werewolf with her hands on her hips.
"After all these years and you still haven't gained a pound. A stick with fur that's what you are," Pomfrey went on as she scolded the werewolf before her. Teddy hid a grin in the werewolf's coat as Pomfrey took out her wand.
The werewolf started to growl at this new stranger but Pomfrey wouldn't have it.
"Shush now," she commanded and with a flick of her wand a huge piece of raw meat suddenly appeared before them.
The werewolf stopped growling, instead staring in wonder at the food before him.
"Well, eat up eat up," Pomfrey went on briskly and the werewolf gave a hesitant sniff before taking a small bite. It wasn't used to eating things already dead but it would do.
"And this definitely looks broken," Pomfrey went on, turning her wand on the werewolf's injured hind leg. The werewolf gave a yelp of pain as bones shifted and gashes closed up to the flick of Pomfrey's wand and, meat forgotten, turned to growl at the intruder.
"Oh shush up and eat," Pomfrey said, inspecting her work from all angles.
"You might want to keep off of that for a few more days or at least until we get some Skele-Gro in you," Pomfrey said with a nod and the werewolf, confused at how easily he'd just been brushed off, lifted its hind leg and gave himself a tentative scratch behind the ears. Satisfied that his leg was now in proper working order the werewolf gave a happy bark and went back to his food now thinking much more highly of Pomfrey and her brisk attitude.
"And we'd better have a good look at you too," Pomfrey went on and Teddy gave her a sheepish grin.
"I'm OK, really. Just some little cuts and bruises," he protested as Pomfrey set about running him through several diagnostic spells.
"Yes, well, you seem to have come out relatively unscathed," Pomfrey went on with relief in her voice but Teddy interrupted.
"What about Vic and Roy?" He asked, he hadn't seen them since the time Greyback had fallen.
"The brothers are safe," Pomfrey said with a nod and Teddy let out a sigh of relief, "The younger one got hit with a nasty Imperious. Had to have the Aurors check him out. I'll be keeping an eye on him overnight but he should be right as rain by tomorrow morning. The older one's staying with him obviously. Boy used lots of energy with those fire tricks of his anyways so I'd like to keep an eye on him while I'm at it." Pomfrey finished, giving Teddy a look that said she had said enough and would be on her way.
"I'll have the Aurors turn off the lights. Save this one here from going blind," Pomfrey said, motioning to the werewolf who indeed never seemed pleased by the bright lights of the Great Hall.
"And I'd better give him this. He'll need it sooner or later," Pomfrey went on, conjuring up a blanket and draping it over the wolf who nuzzled the soft fabric and, deeming it safe, went back to eating.
With a nod, Madam Pomfrey turned on her heel and made her exit only to pause half way.
"Oh and Mr. Lupin?"
Teddy looked up at being addressed by his surname to find Pomfrey giving him a somewhat wary glance. Strange, he'd never seen Pomfrey ever look worried.
"Do be careful," she went on, letting her gaze drift to the wolf busy ripping apart large chunks of meat with his bare teeth.
Teddy's face turned solemn and he gave a quick nod, fisting the soft fur of the werewolf's neck in doing so.
The werewolf was still a dark creature. He couldn't completely lower his guard. It was somewhat depressing but it was just the way things were.
"You'd never hurt me..." Teddy whispered into the werewolf's ear as Pomfrey scurried out of the Great Hall, "...would you?"
The werewolf in question paused in his eating to give the boy a look and Teddy stared at the golden eyes before him. They were a different color, a different shape and a different size altogether but they were filled with something familiar.
Something that made Teddy feel warm and happy as if filled with new found hope.
Something that made Teddy smile with that undeniable feeling of being safe.
And that was good enough for him.
"I love you too dad."
