A/N:

This little fic is my attempt to answer the questions: 'So what *did* happen to Lavender Brown?'

If you would like some musical accompaniment to this story, I strongly recommend listening to 'Wolf' by First Aid Kit - it really inspired this, and I think it's great inspiration for any wolfie fic! :o)

The Visitor

Andromeda chuckled in amusement as she watched baby Teddy's hair change from fuchsia pink to electric blue, and back again. For what seemed like the thousandth time in the week since the Battle of Hogwarts, she felt a confusing mix of fierce gratitude for still having this baby in her life, and a flood of wretched sadness at the loss of his parent's and grandfather. Teddy had been a great source of comfort and distraction for her during the days since the end of the war. She couldn't have borne her grief without him.

Crack!

Andromeda froze. Someone had Apparated just outside the boundaries of the protective charms that surrounded her cottage. She hadn't been expecting anyone and the hour was late. She looked at the Sneakoscope on her sideboard. It sat still and unmoving. This did little to reassure her, however. Memories of the war were still raw, causing many, Andromeda being one of them, to still be on guard.

Andromeda wrapped a still sleeping Teddy to her chest in a secure sling and went to open the front door. The light from her hall beamed a metre or so out into her front garden, but beyond it the dark was impenetrable. The night sky was blanketed by clouds which smothered the stars and what Andromeda knew would be a waning gibbous moon. Ever since Remus Lupin had become part of the family, Andromeda had learnt the moon's cycles by heart.

She strained her eyes, trying to see into the darkness. With her wand held out in front of her, she cautiously stepped over the threshold of her front door and up to the boundary of her wards. Her heart stuttered as she sensed a flicker of movement. But all she could see were shadows shifting, dark upon black.

"Lumos." Andromeda lit her wand, glad to see her arm was steady. Teddy stirred against her chest in response to the light, but was otherwise quiet. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

Someone stepped forward into the half-light of the edge of Andromeda's lumos charm. She could make out the silhouette of a slight figure with wavy hair that fell down past their shoulders.

"Are you Andromeda Tonks? Mother-in-law of Remus Lupin?" a female voice asked. It was hard and dispassionate but Andromeda sensed a vulnerability in it too.

"The late Remus Lupin, yes," she confirmed, keeping her voice firm.

There was a pause. Andromeda sensed the person was deciding something.

"I think I need your help," the figure said in a much softer voice, as they moved further into the light.

Andromeda could see that the woman – or girl rather, for she couldn't be older than eighteen – was naturally pretty, despite the fact her blonde hair was matted and lank, and her complexion sallow. The light from Andromeda's wand reflected off the girl's eyes and Andromeda noticed something familiar in them, something she'd seen in only one other person before: a glint of something feral.

The girl wordlessly lit her own wand, tilted her head to the side, flicked her hair back, and raised her arm so that the beam of her lumos shone on her neck. Andromeda suppressed a gasp as she saw the gaping gash of a wound – open, red and raw, but not bleeding. There was a silence, the only sound being a succession of contented gurgles from Teddy. Andromeda found it hard to pull her eyes away from the girl's disfigured neck. The nature of this wound, the girl's sallow complexion and the feral glint in her eyes all led to one inevitable conclusion.

"You – you have suffered the werewolf's bite," Andromeda stated gently.

The girl lowered her wand and held it in front of her so Andromeda could see her face properly for the first time. Tears were shining in her eyes.

"At the Battle of Hogwarts – Fenrir Greyback–" And it seemed that the girl's words got caught in her throat and she faltered.

"What's your name?" Andromeda asked gently.

"Lavender. Lavender Brown."

Andromeda recalled this name from the papers, the wireless broadcasts and her conversations with Harry and Molly when they'd visited over the last week, the air thick with condolences and shared grief. She was one of Harry's classmates and fellow fighters, and had been missing ever since the final Battle. Some had assumed her dead, but her body had not been found. A girl – Parvati was it? – and another of Harry's classmates – Andromeda couldn't remember the name, something Irish she thought – and the Longbottom boy, had refused to give her up for dead and had been searching for her in earnest.

"Would you like to come in?" Andromeda asked, not wishing to carry on a conversation in the dark outdoors for longer than was necessary.

The girl gave her a tentative, grateful smile as Andromeda allowed her to pass through her protective charms and into the warmth of the cottage.

"Child – where have you been?" Andromeda asked after they'd both sat down on the sofa in the living room. "I hear your friends have been searching for you?"

Tears had now escaped Lavender's eyes and were rolling freely down her cheeks. In the brighter light of the interior, Andromeda could see that the girl's clothes were streaked with dirt, and an earthy scent emitted from her.

"They won't want to be friends with me anymore," Lavender replied bitterly. Andromeda noted the self-loathing in her voice. "Not after what I've become. When I came round after the battle...I instantly knew something was wrong, it was like an instinct...but I was disorientated...I remember staggering out the castle, and some impulse drew me to the Forbidden Forest. I took off towards it, running so fast I was breathless with it – I felt an urgency to reach the woods, that I needed to be amongst the earth and the trees and the undergrowth there. Part of my rational mind knew that I'd just been in a battle and I should find my friends, but a more primal, dominant part was telling me to get away from the school, from people, from civilisation.

"As soon as I got there, I Disapparated to some farm buildings near my house...I couldn't bare facing my parents – they've always hated half-breeds, they're almost as bad as – as the Death Eaters were in that regard...I hid out in the farm buildings for a few nights, not sure what to do, stealing food from the local village. Then, a few nights ago...the full moon – " Lavender's voice shook and she fought back a sob before continuing. "I – I changed. The next morning, I woke up in the middle of some woods, on the side of a river near my home...my hands were covered in blood and there was the taste of raw meat in my mouth...the ground around me was littered with dead foxes and wildfowl...I was so near my parents' home...if I'd hurt them, or hurt anyone – " Lavender finally gave into her tears.

Andromeda reached out, put an arm around Lavender and squeezed the girl to her, ensuring she didn't squash Teddy in the process. The girl took several deep breaths, attempting to regain her composure.

"I – I kept thinking of Professor Lupin...so came here?" she said, her voice rising hopefully as she spoke.

"Of course," Andromeda replied reassuringly. She reached up and untied the sling, releasing Teddy into her arms. "Here, hold him for a moment, won't you?" – she held the baby out to Lavender in such a way that the girl had no choice but to take him – "I'm going to make a Reviving Potion – it always helped Remus to feel more like himself after a full moon...and I can see what ingredients I have for Wolfsbane – we can prepare it for next month...you'll stay here of course, for the time being, until you go back to your parents." Andromeda heaved herself up from the sofa.

"I don't think I could ever go back. They won't want me, like I said. Nor any of my friends. Not after what I've become."

Andromeda halted at the door of the living room and studied the young girl for a moment. "Lavender, why do you do think we fought this war?" she finally asked.

Lavender blinked up at Andromeda, her eyes wide, no doubt puzzled by the odd question.

"Because - V - Voldemort - he - he was evil. What he did was wrong - killing innocent people - just because of who they were - Muggleborns and - and such."

"Exactly. We fought for a world in which people wouldn't be persecuted because of their blood status, or creature status, for things they have no control over. We fought for a world where love, tolerance and acceptance would take precedence over bigotry and prejudice and discrimination. Where people would attempt to learn about and understand those that are different from them, rather than shunning them out of fear or ignorance. Don't fear your own self Lavender. The war's changed you, it's changed all of us, but it hasn't turned you into a monster."

"But – it has. There is a monster in me... My mother was one of the parents that wrote to Dumbledore and insisted he fire Professor Lupin when it came out he was a werewolf."

"Well then, maybe your mother has some changing to do too… You have to question these old prejudices, otherwise the only alternative is hating yourself, and self-loathing will eat you up inside. And we need to honour the memory of those that died by embracing the principles they fought for. Don't let all that my family sacrificed – and everything you and your friends fought for – go to waste."

After her mini-monologue, Andromeda Tonks bustled out of the living room, leaving Lavender sitting with a slumbering Teddy in her arms, thoughtfully turning the older woman's words over in her mind. She watched in surprise as the baby's hair turned from golden to crimson, and was reminded with a pang of nostalgia of the Gryffindor house colours.

Shifting Teddy to a more comfortable position, she took solace in the bundle of warmth and quiet snuffling of the sleeping baby. She gazed about the room and caught sight of a copy of The Daily Prophet on the floor by her feet. She hadn't read or heard any news since before the Battle of Hogwarts and so reached down with one hand, balancing Teddy securely in her other arm, and flicked the paper open at a random page.

She took a sharp intake of breath as she saw her own face staring back at her: a photo of her in what must have been her sixth year. Her arm was slung around Parvati's shoulder and they were both laughing in a delighted, carefree way. Across the top of the photo was the word MISSING. With her heart beating furiously in her chest, Lavender quickly read the article:

Miss Lavender Brown (above, left), a seventh year student at Hogwarts School, has been missing since the battle that took place there a week ago. Miss Brown was reportedly seen on several occasions during the night, fighting bravely alongside Harry Potter and his allies. The last known sighting of her was in the Entrance Hall of the castle, just before the ceasefire, where she was reportedly being attacked by one of Voldemort's notorious followers, Fenrir Greyback.

Her parents and friends would welcome any news of her. 'Please, if anyone's seen her, please let us know. She may have been confounded, and be wandering around somewhere, confused...we miss her loads...Lavender, please come back,' deplored Seamus Finnigan, fellow student and friend of Miss Brown's.

If anyone has any knowledge of Miss Brown's whereabouts, please send an owl to Missing Magicians at the Ministry of Magic or ' The DA' at the addresses below.

Tears had started to fall from Lavender's eyes again. However, this time her crying felt different, for it felt like a release of some kind. It was as if something that had been knotted tightly inside her for who-knew how long was loosening and unwinding, and was flowing out of her along with her tears.

The words in the Prophet , along with the words of Seamus and Andromeda, as well as the unquestioning trust the women had shown in her by leaving her with baby Teddy...all of it made Lavender, for the first time in a long time, believe that, maybe, everything would be okay.

A/N: Your thoughts, comments and kudos are cherished and treasured. Thank you!