A/N: I could be wrong, but I think there is only one chapter left after this one. If you've made it this far, thank you. It's hard to believe that people have actually been reading what I'm writing! I hope I didn't lose anyone after the last chapter- it was a necessary evil. I'd appreciate any and all reviews to fuel me along through writing the very last chapter of this fic! Thanks again- you really are the best for having made it this far!

"That was very rash of you."

"I think you mean very Gryffindor," Teddy smiled.

His grandmother clicked her tongue.

"I never could understand Gryffindors."

They were sitting in the kitchen and she was talking about his submission to the Daily Prophet. The Prophet had been more than eager to publish it. He had thought that it would be a win win- he would give the reporters what they wanted, and in return, they would stop bothering him. But it turned out not to be the case at all. After the article had been published, there were more reporters at his door than ever before. Luckily, between his grandmother having grown up in a family that had to do its fair share of secret keeping and Harry being the famous Harry Potter, they were able to throw up enough protective spells that allowed them to continue living relatively routine lives. Though the article had not done much in quelling the reporters, it had set a fire under Teddy. Never before had his goal been so clear. It was no longer just a matter of curing werewolves. There was now a personal stake in it too, even more personal than his father being a werewolf. He needed to honor his professor who had died for his cause.

"Do you have a plan?" his grandmother asked. He could tell she was trying to ask it in as not condescending a tone as possible. It did not work very well.

"Sort of." Though his goal was clear, the way to get to there was not. Too many times he found himself thinking that he would just write to Nover and get his opinion. Then reality would brutally remind him that this was no longer possible. He was alone.

But that wasn't true either. He was not alone- he was just lacking a mentor. Victoire had said resolutely that she would help him by getting her potion ready. She was working with his grandmother on that part since his grandmother had become somewhat of an expert on werewolf immunization while Teddy was not paying attention. Indeed, she was probably the only expert in werewolf immunization. Even Harry and the entire Auror department were getting involved now. The only thing that Teddy was really missing was Nover's unique expertise on werewolf habits and thinking.

"I have an early Christmas present for you," his grandmother said.

Teddy blinked. It was one of the most surprising things she had ever said to him.

"Oh, really?" he asked warily.

"From me, my sister, and Hermione."

He racked his brain trying to think of what those three women could have had in common. He could barely imagine them talking to each other, much less coming together to think of a Christmas present for him.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," his grandmother said cheerily, waving her wand without so much as a spell to make sure of the identity of the knocker.

Hermione was the first to enter. Her bushy hair seemed even bushier than normal, as if it were reacting to the excitement across her face. Shortly behind her, sure enough, was Narcissa Malfoy, standing straight with her chin high, yet despite her pretentious look, wore a genuine smile.

"This is weird," Teddy said, voicing his first thought. "What's going on?"

"It may not seem like it to you, Teddy," his grandmother began, "but other people besides you are hard at work while you're trying to save the world." Standing up, she walked over to stand beside her sister and the still open door.

"We've been studying loophole after loophole," Hermione cut in, eager to explain. "It's been a fascinating project, really. The loopholes are terribly difficult to get through, but it's a lot easier if you have a connection on the inside. So really, we have to thank Mrs Malfoy a lot..."

Narcissa stood up even straighter.

"My family still has some influence. Not a lot, but in the right places," she smiled.

"So you're saying..." Teddy prodded. He did not dare to hope.

"Come in," his grandmother said again to the door.

Yet another woman stepped through the door. She was also someone he would never have guessed would one day be working in tandem with his grandmother, his great aunt, and Hermione Granger.

"Hello, Teddy," Kimberley Chan smiled. "I hear you are in a bit of a difficult position regarding the werewolves. Might I be able to help?"

He did not realize how much he had missed Chan until they were working together again. It was impossible for Azkaban not to have had an effect on her, but if anything, it made her more of the calm, slow talking person she had been before. She still did not use contractions, and sometimes if there was a particularly cold gust of wind she would shiver far more than was normal. But other than that, she was still the wise woman he had known before with plenty of werewolf knowledge to impart.

"Your friends were able to free me two days before that Rita Skeeter article about you came out," she explained. "It was lucky that they did- after that article came out all of the werewolf paranoia returned and it is unlikely I would have been able to leave. I am very sorry about your professor though."

He spent those days and nights before Christmas hiding. Or at least, not leaving the house. His grandmother had opened up the guest room for Chan since her own house had been seized during her imprisonment. And since Victoire no longer needed to be at Hogwarts, she came over nearly every day.

He had been worried that she and Chan would not get along.

"We've met already," Victoire reminded him after he had formally introduced the two of them.

"Yes. She visited me in Azkaban to ask for a list of werewolves that I knew," Chan said.

"Oh. Right," Teddy mumbled. It was a strange feeling to remember that they had met without him being aware of it in the least.

It turned out he had little to worry about regarding Chan and Victoire getting along. They were very different people- Chan was older, thoughtful, careful, while Victoire was young and passionate. Yet this difference balanced both of them out well. Where Victoire could be rash, Chan made her cautious, and where Chan could be indifferent, Victoire sparked an excitement in her. They worked long days and late nights in Teddy's room, coming up with a plan to deal with everything that could possibly happen during the next full moon.

Sometimes, on the very late nights, it felt like the three of them against the world. He would practice his transformations and his spell casting, Chan would drill into his head everything she knew about werewolf behavior, and Victoire would perfect her potion and work out the logistics of administering it. Sometimes he savored those times when he would transform into the wolf and all thoughts seemed to be simpler. In wolf form, he could not remember why he was so stressed. All that he could remember was that there was a slight dread of what awaited for him once he was back in human form. When he did transform back, the reality of the situation would slam back into him. But he would see Chan making notes and Victoire hovering over a cauldron, just a few strands of hair out of place, and he could not think of a better team to face these challenges with than the one he had been given.

Christmas, as always, was celebrated at the Burrow.

George brought the latest of his creations from the shop, including Frosted Freckles (fake freckles that could be put on ones face and licked off throughout the course of a day to keep you awake), Winking Watches (clocks that always told exactly the right time nineteen out of twenty times), and Time Tellers (devices that correctly informed whether a Winking Watch was accurate twenty four out of twenty five times). Percy arrived with his family, chest puffing out only slightly as everybody congratulated him on his new promotion. All of the younger kids gathered around Charlie, poking at his scars, some old, some new, asking him to tell in great detail how he got each one of them. James ran around the house, trying to rally people to join him in a quick round of Quidditch before it became dark outside, Albus sat in the kitchen discussing something seriously with Rose, while Lily dutifully took pictures of everybody and everything. Harry, Ron, and Hermione argued over the facts of what had happened when they first fought the troll together, Hermione insisting that Ron had scoffed at her which was why she had been in the bathroom with the troll in the first place while Ron denied everything. Fleur led the other women in giving Ron looks of disgust- how could he have been so mean to an eleven year old girl?- before they all ended up laughing the matter away. Molly's wand was constantly waving, sending dishes that still need to be cooked flying across the room to the proper preparation tables while Andromeda cleaned up efficiently after her.

It was the most content and carefree Teddy had felt in a very long time.

After a dinner that could have felt twice the amount of people they actually had, he lounged in the living room playing Gobstones with Dominique. By then they were all wearing matching sweaters, his with a large 'T' across it. It was his seventeenth Weasley sweater but he did not mind in the least. Thoughts of wolves and disease were far from his mind when little Fred walked up to him and demanded that he produce a monkey face. Without even thinking about it too much, he screwed up his eyes and felt the familiar rush of his face changing under him. When he opened his eyes again, blinking slowly because the monkey face had stretched his eyelids to an almost painful degree, Fred clapped his small hands eagerly, and even though Teddy must have looked hideous, Victoire's eyes had lit up from across the room and she smiled widely. Only she had known how difficult it had been to morph just a few days ago and how much he had wanted the ability to return. In this moment, surrounded by his family, he felt almost normal.

By ten o'clock, families began to disperse. The younger children were too tired from all of the running and eating and were already nodding off by the time their parents decided it was time to head home.

"Can I stay a bit longer?" Victoire asked her father.

Scooping up a dozing Louis into his arms, Bill spoke softly so as not to wake his son.

"Alright. But be home before midnight, okay?"

Dominique looked like she wanted to make the same request, then noticed that it would only be Teddy and Victoire left of the younger generation and changed her mind. Teddy silently thanked whoever it was who had taught Dominique tact and respect for privacy. She said good night to them, and followed her parents out of the Burrow.

"Let's go outside for a bit," Victoire suggested.

When they stepped outside, the sound seemed to suck out from the world. No more children laughing, utensils clinking, or adults lightly arguing. He had to cast a few warming spells for both of them to make the outside bearable. Through the window, he could just barely see Arthur and Molly cleaning up and packing away the leftovers. Charlie had stayed to help his parents and Ginny and Hermione were still in the living room chatting, their husbands having taken the children home earlier.

"How do you feel?" Victoire asked. The warming spell made it possible for her to hold his hand as they sat together at the bench in front of the house.

"Better than I have in a while," he said honestly.

"It's too bad Chan didn't want to come."

"Yeah. I think my grandmother brought leftovers back for her though."

A half moon dangled in the cloudless sky.

"Harry said he would help us with our plan," Teddy informed. He had been able to corner his godfather during the Christmas dinner and get a few promises out of him.

"Perfect!" she said, gripping his hand. "That's a huge step for us."

"Yeah."

"And Eric's department acted exactly the way we expected them too," Victoire added gently, trying to ease in the painful topic after a night of carefree fun.

The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures had released an official statement earlier that day stating in vague details their plan to quarantine the werewolves. Eric had been quoted in it, making almost exactly the same argument he had made to Teddy a few months earlier. Due to the recent heightened attacks, the quarantine would begin immediately. All registered werewolves would be asked to turn themselves in before the next full moon, and if they did not, more extreme measures would be taken. The department insisted no harm would come to them as long as they cooperated. As for the unregistered werewolves, the department retained the right to use force as necessary if one was spotted during the next full moon.

"Nover was right," Teddy said. He let his legs dangle from the bench as he looked down at the dry grass. "It's like they were waiting for an opportunity like this to actually propose that act. And people are in such a frenzy now after what happened to Nover that they'll actually support it."

"The good news is that since we expected the worst this doesn't change our plans," Victoire said. "I think we will be able to start administering the potion tomorrow. Slughorn checked everything today and told me it all looks good."

"That's great," Teddy smiled, squeezing her hand. "We'll give it to my grandmother first. She's always been a target since she looks like her crazy sister and I haven't made things better for her. Harry could probably use it too. Then we will release it to the public a week before the full moon to protect as many people as possible and hopefully quell the hysteria and also slow support for the department's act. This way we will protect as many people as possible just in case things don't go according to plan on the actual full moon."

"That's fine..."

"But?" Teddy prompted, sensing that she had something she wanted to get off her chest.

She sighed.

"My potion is an immunization for lycanthropy, yes, and it has been reviewed and everything so I know it works. But it's not an immunization for death. And as we learned last full moon, these werewolves aren't afraid to kill."

There was no argument he could make to that. He knew it was true and he had already accepted this possibility.

"It would be very selfish of you to die," she added softly.

"Well... I don't plan to," he mumbled because it was the best answer he could think of.

"I've been thinking a lot about what Chan said the other day," she said. He was grateful for the change in topic. "About how we have the capability to change physical aspects of people- immunization to werewolf bites, recovery from being a werewolf- but we're not actually fixing the problem, are we? The problem isn't that people are werewolves. The problem is that we treat people who are werewolves terribly, as some other being, just because we fear them and don't understand them. I'm not trying to diminish your cause or anything because yeah, if someone doesn't want to be a werewolf then to have the option of having the disease cured is incredible. But from what Chan has said, it seems like the people in the Pack aren't like Golkow or your father. Being a werewolf isn't a disease to them. It's an identity. And who are we to say that their identity is wrong and try to strip them of it?"

"If their identity involves hurting other people then I think we are allowed to stop them," Teddy said firmly.

"Maybe," she said after a short pause. "I don't know. It feels like we're just putting a bandage on a rotting limb. Maybe it will help a bit, but it's not going to stop the rotting."

"I'm trying my best," he said.

"I know you are," she said quickly. She leaned her head into his shoulder and he relaxed a bit.

After a few quiet moments of her head resting against him, she asked:

"But if your best isn't enough, whose is?"

The earth rotated around the two of them as they sat in silence. The moon continued to orbit, and as another day passed, another sliver revealed itself, all as the moon grew fuller and fuller.