"Stupefy. I'm so sorry, Dad."


Tonks burst into the door, followed closely behind by Sirius Black.

"REMUS!"

Teddy watched as his mother's hair fell to its natural shade—a mushroom brown, much like his namesake's. Tonks pulled Remus off of Teddy and with Sirius' help, laid the werewolf on the other bed. After overcoming her initial shock, Tonks spun around to look at Teddy, eyes wide with concern.

"What in Merlin's Beard happened to him?"

Teddy, not even needing to feign the alarmed look on his face, glanced between his mother and Sirius. "He fainted," he lied. "We got into a bit of a row, apologized and all, but I think he's still a bit hurt from earlier," he explained. This is believable, right? "I'm…I'm sure he'll be up again in a minute, I kept his head from hitting anything on his way down."

"Fainted," Tonks whispered, eyes again on Remus. "Well, there's an easy fix to that—Rennervate."

Sirius, eyes planted firmly on Teddy, gave the young man a knowing look. Teddy assumed he'd have to be explaining himself later. However, hearing Remus grunt, the two men turned to see the werewolf rise a bit in bed, rubbing his head.

"What…what happened?"

Tonks, who had been standing over him, quickly took a seat at Remus' bedside. "Teddy said you fainted—are you feeling quite alright? What do you remember?"

Teddy stiffened. This would be the moment of truth—he had hoped to remove the memory of what he had said, and Remus' initial reaction without removing the apology. There was a limit on how many times you could obliviate someone before they lost it. Teddy had no desire to have the whole scene replay again.

"I…I was talking to Teddy," Remus began, a bit slowly, "And I remember getting a bit heated…you said something to me," the werewolf paused, looking right at Teddy, "But I don't remember—"

"I said you've got no business telling me what to do," he lied hastily. "And you agreed, but you gave me some good advice. Do…do you remember it?"

Remus pursed his lips in thought. "Vaguely…something about needing your heart to be in it—of course," he smiled, "I remember hearing that it was. I remember apologizing, then you forgave me…but that's all," he finished, gazing at Teddy. "Does that sound right to you?"

Teddy nodded fervently. "Oh yes," he responded. "You've remembered it as clearly as I have—I suppose we're both a bit addled," he joked. Remus rolled his eyes.

"Addled is one way to put it—I feel positively confused. I have lots of questions, and for once Teddy, they aren't about you. How did that outing go so bloody wrong?"

The younger Lupin turned to Sirius, who gave him a curt nod before speaking. "I think Teddy has a theory—not a popular one, mind you, but I think you both should give it a listen."

Teddy cleared his throat and turned to his parents. For a brief moment, he smiled. There were his mum and dad, sitting quite close to each other on a bed and looking at him expectantly. It was a scene out of some sort of daydream he had as a child. "Right, er…" He cleared his throat again, looking towards the door. With a flick of his wand, he shut it. "I've got a bad feeling about Mad-Eye," he began. Immediately, Tonks' hair flashed red.

"You watch what you say about him in my presence," she warned. "He's taught me everything I know about being an Auror—"

"Just listen," Teddy interrupted. "I have no doubt that Moody's a great man…or at least, was," he added softly. "I can't say much but I can tell you lot this: those werewolves were bad news. Right before they attacked, I recognized a few names," he explained. "Names associated with terrible, horrible crimes."

A look of realization flashed across Remus' face. "When you told us to leave," he began, "It was right after that little boy introduced himself. You said we had to go, I saw the pack members with their wands drawn…that's when I sent the Patronus."

Teddy nodded. "The boy's name jogged my memory—I knew I had heard the name Patrick Hughes before. The man we met right at the beginning too—he seemed suspicious."

"Didn't know Alastor by name," Remus whispered. "Only by Mad-Eye. I thought that was odd, but now—"

"—so what?" Tonks snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. "He goes by Mad-Eye sometimes—what's the problem?"

"Dora," Remus interjected. "He hesitated—it was as if…as if it were something going on we weren't supposed to know about." He stared at Teddy. "You don't think—"

"I don't think the Mad-Eye you lot know would willingly put us into danger, Remus. But he certainly did this time around," Teddy insisted.

"I think we should tell Dumbledore," Sirius declared. "He'll know what to do—and Mad-Eye's been teaching at Hogwarts this year, hasn't he? He's Harry's Defense teacher—Albus is sure to have an eye on him. The position is, well…no offense Moony…"

"Oh, none taken," Remus quipped. "I daresay I've been the best Defense professor Harry's had, which is saying very little considering I nearly killed him—or worse," he muttered.

"Accidentally nearly killed," Sirius corrected. "Much better than his first year," he added darkly.

Tonks looked beside herself. "I'm unconvinced—I would think I would know if my mentor had suddenly turned against us, wouldn't you?" The feisty young witch narrowed her eyes, glaring right at Teddy. "I was starting to like you too, Teddy. Vouched for you even—"

"Tonks," Sirius interrupted, casting a compassionate glance at Teddy, "I'm sure you don't mean that. I told you, it wasn't a popular opinion. I don't think any of us want to believe it, but if it's true…it could ruin everything we have going on here. Everyone's sacrifices, gone," he said, miming a poof as if the Order exploded. Teddy looked at Tonks with kind eyes—as best as he could muster after being told off by his own mum.

"I know it's not something you want to hear, Tonks, but if there's even the slightest possibility that what I say is true…we need to do something. Like Sirius said," Teddy paused, "He's Harry's professor. If he's gone wrong, there's a lot more at stake than meets the eye." In this moment, Teddy was glad he didn't know much about Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts—it was much easier this way, not having to come up with a million lies.

Tonks sighed, her hair changing from red to her normal bubblegum pink. "Fine. Talk to Dumbledore," she groaned. "But don't expect me to be party to this—I won't tell anyone about your suspicions, but I won't help you boys either," she insisted. Teddy gave her a soft smile.

"That's all I ask. It's a fair compromise." The young man turned to both Remus and Sirius. "Now, if you don't mind," he began, slowly starting to get out of bed, "I'm absolutely starving—"

"If you think you are getting out of bed," Remus interjected, "You are sorely mistaken. Dora and I will fetch you a bite to eat," he said, and Teddy swore he saw his father's hand graze his mother's. It was reason enough to smile. "Sirius," Remus chirped. "Why don't you stay with our young time traveler—we don't need anyone else fainting," he winked.

Teddy watched as Tonks helped Remus off the bed—holding his hand the whole time. Oh, sod off, he thought to himself. How else would she help him up? As the two left, they closed the door behind them. Sirius took a seat on the bed opposite Teddy, and the young man grinned.

"I think we know how Tonks distracted him earlier—"

"You obliviated him, didn't you?"

Teddy's face fell and he felt Sirius glaring at him. The young Lupin gulped, looking down at the floor before shifting himself a bit more upright in his bed. There was no point in lying: Sirius already knew.

"I had to," Teddy forced out, trying not to relive the memory of just a few minutes prior, lest he break down into tears. "I…I said something I shouldn't have. I got angry, and he caught on. I didn't add anything false, nor did I remove anything important—"

"I'm not mad, Teddy," Sirius whispered. "Far from it—I think you did the right thing."

Teddy hadn't been expecting that reaction. He could've sworn he say the man glaring, though Teddy now realized it wasn't a glare at all—Sirius was trying not to cry.

"I have to imagine it was painful, yeah? For you—not him. He clearly has no idea." Sirius paused, looking like he was holding back a sneeze more than a sob. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Teddy nodded, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from crying himself. "It was hard," he mumbled. "But it had to be done—I need to exist, don't I?" he tried to joke, though it came out more bitterly than he intended. Sirius chuckled darkly.

"Thinking highly of ourselves, are we?" Teddy rolled his eyes.

"You know what I mean," he retorted. "It's not about me, anyways—it's the space-time continuum or some rubbish like that I have to worry about." He liked that with Sirius, they could go from talking about something, well, serious, to something completely absurd. It was exactly how Teddy coped, and he was happy to have someone to share that with in what was turning out to be the weirdest time in his life.

Sirius nodded, his lips curling into a grin as he changed the subject. "Looks like your parents seem to be getting on quite naturally, despite their little arguments about you. Remus, he just wanted to save you," Sirius mocked in a high-pitched voice. "Dora, I'm far too old and shabby and furry to be saved or loved—"

"He did not say that," Teddy chortled. Sirius shrugged.

"Not those exact words, no, but you get the gist." He wiggled his eyebrows, and Sirius looked like he was about to say something else when—

"Sorry it took so long," Remus said, entering the bedroom once more. "Dora here tripped over that bloody umbrella stand, dropped the whole plate—"

"I did not!" Tonks replied, entering in right behind Remus. "I only dropped a few of the tea sandwiches—you're the one who said we needed a brand-new plate—"

"—Teddy deserves something that hasn't fallen on the floor," Remus quipped, grinning at Teddy who returned the smile right back to his father.

"I appreciate it, though I've eaten worse than sammys with a bit of dirt on them," he joked. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Alright, I don't need to be in here anymore—Teddy might not be able to get out of bed and leave, but I personally can—watching Moony flirt is sickening—"

"I'm…Sickening?" Remus questioned. "What about my flirting is sickening to you, Padfoot?"

"Well," Sirius scoffed. "For starters, you're no good at it. And secondly…well, you're so bad you don't even know when you are flirting, you silly man. I'm off—don't ruin Teddy's appetite, will you?"

As Sirius left, Remus rolled his eyes and Teddy thought he saw the man blush a bit. Tonks chuckled, her eyes light and joyful and all memory of the conversation about her mentor seemed to have faded away. I didn't even have to obliviate her, Teddy mused. Remus turned to the young witch:

"I'm not…I mean, we're not…"

"Oh, shut up Remus," Tonks rolled her eyes. "You are allowed to flirt with me—just not in front of Sirius, apparently," she quipped. Remus smiled down at her. Teddy coughed.

"Hello?" He called out. "Earth to Tonks and Lupin, I'm still hungry here you know!"


After a few tea sandwiches, Remus got up to go find Sirius—likely off to bicker about something. The man was in high spirits after being obliviated—Teddy had been quite pleased he had done it right and left just enough memories for his father to forgive him without knowing exactly why he had forgiven him. Could be useful, Teddy thought to himself. He had a very irritated fiancée at home, and Teddy chuckled at the thought of obliviating Victoire every time she yelled at him for not cleaning.

"Something funny?" Tonks asked, clearly curious. Teddy rolled his eyes.

"Oh, nothing really. Just thinking about my girl at home, that's all. She's a very funny lady," he said truthfully.

"A bit more than just your girl," Tonks said, a bit suggestively. "Mother of your child and all that, doubt she's just going to settle for being a girl—"

"I am marrying her," Teddy insisted, taking note of how oddly normal a conversation this was to be having with his mother. He imagined that if his parents were alive, they'd be pushing or a ring on Vic's finger even more than Bill and Fleur had. "Like I said earlier, she's the one."

Earlier…Teddy remembered why he had gotten the big-little favor he had.

"I'm sorry I haven't had much of a chance to talk you up to Remus," he admitted. "I feel a bit guilty—you saved me from loads of unwanted questions about being…you know…like you," he said quietly, not sure who was listening, "And I haven't helped you at all."

Tonks rolled her eyes. "Please, I'm an Auror-in-training—I get it. You're supposed to go incognito whether or not you actually need to—Ministry's big on that, I assume they demanded it of you, yeah?" Teddy nodded. It had been part of the reason he was allowed to go back in time in the first place. "Besides…" Tonks smirked. "Things seem to be going well. He was flirting, wasn't he?" She giggled, and Teddy felt his heart grow lighter than it had since he arrived in this time. His mother was absolutely head over heels for his father. He imagined if he had to see it every day, it would be gross, but with things the way they were…it was actually quite charming.

"He definitely was," Teddy insisted. "He looked thrilled to even be thinking about the idea of flirting—and he never said he wasn't doing it, which is a great sign for him, I assume."

Tonks nodded, laughing. "You're not wrong. It's exciting is all—I feel more balanced when I'm with him. Not literally, of course: I still trip over my own two feet, but he's so much different than anyone else I've met. Calm, level-headed, dependable and kind…Well, you know what I'm talking about!" She explained. "You work with him!"

Teddy simply shrugged. "I do work with him, but I sure as hell don't have a crush on the guy," he joked. Merlin, Teddy, get ahold of yourself. "I know what you mean though—my fiancée is the level-headed one. I'm always erupting, going off, and she brings me back down to Earth every time. I do have a bit of a—"

"Temper?" Tonks suggested, chuckling a bit. "Me as well. Sorry about the whole Mad-Eye thing. I didn't mean to belittle your theory—it's entirely possible the guy has gone off his rocker…they call him 'Mad' for a reason…but I'm Hufflepuff through and through," she beamed. "Loyal—almost to a fault."

Teddy smiled. "Me too—Hufflepuff I mean. Best house in Hogwarts!" He exclaimed. "Ravenclaws are too posh, Gryffindors so stupidly brave, and don't even get me started on the other one—"

"Tell me about it! Half my family came from that bloody green shithole—Sirius and I are the only ones to have escaped, it seems. Our whole family, nearly, is filled with the most rotten of witches and wizards—Slytherins, Death Eaters, the whole nine yards. My mum's pretty normal, I suppose, for having Bellatrix Lestrange as a sister, but even she was in Slytherin House."

Gran is hardly normal, Teddy thought to himself. Though, perhaps she is for a member of the Ancient and Noble House of Black. That lot seemed to be a bit off.

"My family's got its own skeletons as well," Teddy said softly. "I suppose everyone's does if you look hard enough." Death Eaters and werewolf hunters (the Lupins of France got their wolfish name somehow)—Teddy assumed his ancestors would absolutely loathe him, and he couldn't be more proud.

"It's who we are that matters," Tonks insisted. "That's what my mum always said. We choose to be as much like our family as we want, and if they don't work out—well, we just find ourselves a new one!"

Teddy smiled a bit sadly. He had found himself a new family, sure, but he thought he would rather have enjoyed his old one as well. Potters and Weasleys and Andromeda and Lyall were wonderful people—but they weren't his mum and dad. Tonks seemed to pick up on this sadness—Teddy really needed to do a better job masking his feelings.

"I suppose you miss them—your parents I mean."

Teddy could have broken down at this. He did miss his parents—ironically now more than ever. It was easier not to miss what you never had, but for the first time in his life, Teddy was able to see what it was he had been missing out on. Yet he wasn't too sad after all. Seeing his parents had become a bit normal over the past week or so and he supposed it was much better to see them for a bit than not at all.

"I do," he admitted. "But it's not so bad after a while. Like you said—you build up your own family. And I've found a great one: I think you'd approve," he added, his voice dropping in volume a bit. Tonks grinned.

"Well, I can't say for certain, but if they're good enough for you I'd say they're good enough for me. We're not too different, after all."

No, Teddy thought to himself. Not too different at all.


Thank you all so much for rating and reviewing! I figured something a little lighter could be nice :)

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