Teddy wasn't sure he had ever seen so many books and trinkets in one place. All around him were magical objects or tomes, and half of them looked completely foreign to the young man. He was, of course, in Albus Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts. Sirius had arranged for them to meet before the next Order meeting, since the headmaster wouldn't be there, and Tonks had escorted him to the castle. From there, Teddy knew exactly where he was going: while it wasn't the office of Albus Dumbledore in his time, he had been to see McGonagall more times than he could count—not all of them voluntary visits.

"I'm glad you came to speak with me, Mr. Lupin."

Teddy flinched, frozen in his tracks. "I…how did you know—"

"I know a great many things, Mr. Lupin," the old wizard drawled. "Some call it perception, others call it a seventh or eighth sense, depending on who you are speaking with. In this case," Dumbledore smiled, "I call it Sirius Black."

"Oh," Teddy whispered, feeling his heartbeat slow to its normal rhythm. He spun around to see Dumbledore—odd seeing the man whose old office he had been in so many times. He had a portrait in there, of course—a portrait which had commented on some of his detentions, often giving him 'reduced sentences,' much to Minerva McGonagall's chagrin. Or, perhaps to her own benefit—Teddy found it incredibly difficult to read the witch, even though had had known her his entire life.

"Oh, indeed," Dumbledore repeated, chuckling. "Do sit down my boy. I hear you would like to remark on some of my hiring decisions?"

Teddy grew red in the face. "Sir, I didn't mean—"

"—it's alright, my boy. You certainly haven't been the first and you won't be the last. I still receive letters about the hiring of your father—"

"My father was a great professor!" Teddy yelped. "Best Defense Professor Harry says he's ever..." The young man stopped himself. Dumbledore was smiling and simply playing a joke on the him. Teddy slooped down into the chair across from the old professor's desk. "Sorry," he grumbled. "I'm used to having to defend him," he admitted.

"I would expect nothing less—fiercely loyal. I'm sure the sorting hat didn't even touch your head before sending you to Hufflepuff."

Teddy snorted. "You're not wrong." The eleven-year-old boy had been sure he would be sorted into Gryffindor and had been mildly disappointed when his sorting took no less than two seconds. Now, however, Teddy had no such misgivings. He had the perfect Hogwarts experience, thanks in great part to his house. "I…I'm not questioning your hiring decisions, per say," he insisted. Dumbledore nodded. "Mad-Eye, by all accounts, seems to be an excellent fit for the position. It's just…"

"He's a bit different, isn't he?"

Teddy furrowed his brows, scanning Dumbledore's face. "You…you know?"

Dumbledore's blue eyes sparkled underneath the crescent spectacles he donned. "My boy, I've known Alastor longer than you've been alive—in your own timeline, of course. I know a changed man when I see one—though I'm unsure why or how. I don't suppose you know—and if you did, I would beseech you not to tell me."

Teddy shook his head. "Harry never…I don't know," he admitted. "It's much easier this way."

"I imagine it is," the old man mused. "Still, Sirius told me a bit about what happened. You have great instincts—I am sure that you and Remus fell into a trap, though whoever designed it clearly did not take into account quick reflexes and a knowledge of who you were sent to meet. I'm very glad you are safe, Teddy—you and your father. I would suggest keeping your distance from the Auror for the time being, which I do not doubt will be an issue. He is now quite busy here at Hogwarts, and I don't expect that he nor I will be visiting Grimmauld Place any time soon."

Teddy looked relieved. He wasn't sure he'd ever be able to keep a straight face if he saw Mad-Eye again. But then a look of horror spread across his face. "You can't seriously be letting him teach still? What if he—"

"I am keeping a very close watch on the man. There is more at play here than either you or I know, Teddy. It's best to keep those we do not trust no more than an arm's length away. As painful as it might be, sometimes certain things must run their course in order for future events to play out the way we would like—surely you, of all people, can understand this."

Teddy sighed. He had a point: it was a feeling Teddy had been battling with for weeks. "I understand," he mumbled. He didn't have to like it, but he knew the old Headmaster was right.

Dumbledore smiled. "I thought you might. You have shown excellent restraint, Teddy. If I may, whoever sent you back here in time knew what they were doing. If sent back in time with the opportunity to save the ones I love from a most horrible fate, it would take a great deal of strength for me not to act on my desires." The keen old wizard looked at Teddy very intently. "There are many things I wish I could change about the past, Teddy, but it is of the utmost importance that we don't."

"I know," Teddy said hoarsely. "I…" the young man sighed. "I had to obliviate Remus. I think it was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. He looked at me, knew me, and the pride and joy in his eyes…I made it go away. He's not a happy man, Sir."

Dumbledore looked at Teddy gravely. "You did the right thing. Yes, it's true: he is not a happy man, and I can hardly blame him. But you have made him happy before and I daresay you and your mother will do it again. If you ever need someone to talk to Teddy, I am here."


After meeting with Dumbledore, Teddy went back to Grimmauld Place with Tonks. He could tell she was eager to hear what they had talked about, but Teddy had a feeling it wouldn't do much good to tell her the absolute truth.

"Dumbledore isn't gravely concerned." He wasn't sure if that was the truth or a lie: he had agreed with Teddy that something was wrong, but at the same time, 'observation' was not a drastic measure. "Besides, Mad-Eye is busy enough teaching right now, I don't think it will be an issue again," he explained.

Tonks seemed content with the explanation, thought it was clear to her that it wasn't the full truth. When he got back up to his room, Sirius and Remus were waiting for him eagerly. Teddy told the two men something nearly identical to what he had told Tonks, and asked for some time to just lay down a bit before the Order meeting later that night. The Marauders looked a bit twitchy, but they acquiesced, and Teddy got a few moments to himself to collect his thoughts.

Sometimes certain things must run their course in order for future events to play out the way we would like.

That was what Dumbledore had told him earlier in his office. Teddy had begun to realize that with the shock of the accident, him trying to keep his identity a secret, and trying to figure out why he had gotten attacked in the first place, he had nearly no time to truly think about everything that had happened to him. He had gone through a great deal of stress and trauma in a very short period of time. So, Teddy sat on his head, buried himself under the covers of his bed, and for the first time in days, he let himself cry.


Not too long after he laid on the bed, Teddy drifted off to sleep. When he woke, Sirius was standing over his bed.

"Order meeting, Teddy. We're waiting for you, let's get to it!" He grinned. Teddy made sure he was disguised before pulling down the covers.

"What time is it?" He croaked, throat still a bit tired from his sobbing. He was sure his eyes were also somewhat red. Sirius looked at him a bit sadly.

"Time to get up. You're been crying, Teddy? What's wrong?"

Teddy blinked a few times, changing his eyes to look less puffy, more normal—like he hadn't spent the past few hours sleeping in a puddle of his own tears. "I just needed a moment, that's all. Nothing new…Just the compounding of everything…"

"I understand," the shaggy-haired man interjected. "I suppose that's somewhat our fault—you seem to attract tragedy, and of course the people at the root of it all seem to be the ones most wanting to find out the matter, yeah?"

Teddy nodded. "Something like that."

Sirius extended his hand, and as Teddy took it pulled him out of the bed. "On the bright side, you won't have to sit next to Mad-Eye—he's not here. None of the Hogwarts professors are, something about things getting busy at school with the tournament." The Animagus paused. "You wouldn't have anything to do with—"

"Haven't the foggiest," Teddy replied curtly, giving Sirius a not unfriendly look, but one that clearly said 'go no further.'

The two men descended down the creaky wooden stairs and opened the door to the kitchen. The table certainly looked less full, but for the first time Teddy noticed people were actively smiling at him. In a matter of weeks, the Order had gone from not trusting him at all, to liking him somewhat, to what was starting to look like genuine approval. Teddy grinned.

"Oi, don't get cocky," Sirius chided. "These people are not the most discerning—they'll invite ex-convicts and werewolves to their dinner parties, I wouldn't get too confident."

Teddy rolled his eyes and took a seat next to Sirius, facing directly across from his parents, who were sitting rather close together.

"Oh hush, Sirius," Molly scolded. "Teddy," she smiled, turning to the young man. "You saved Remus' life—and did a spectacular job holding off your attackers. We have to thank you."

Teddy turned a bit pink. He turned to all the other smiling Order members. "I want to say thanks to you," he insisted. "I was a bit out of it, but I remember seeing you lot…you all saved my life. You barely even know me, but you came when Remus called…" he had to be careful not to start crying again.

It was Emmeline Vance who spoke up. "Really Teddy, it's what we're here for. You save one of our own, we save you—besides, at this point you nearly are one of us," she insisted. "Your and Remus' work is just as helpful to us as it is to you."

"We appreciate it, Emmeline," Remus chimed in. "Truly.

"If…" she cleared her throat, "If you're up for it, I do have a lead for your both—Dumbledore and I made contact ourselves. Alice was a childhood friend of mine, before…" she drifted off. Remus smiled.

"A friend of yours sounds wonderful to me, though I'm sure Teddy might need more time to—"

"I'm quite well, thank you," The young man insisted. "Really. Emmeline," he began, "This sounds incredibly promising."

Remus gave Teddy a concerned look, but the boy smiled. Tonks smiled back at him and squeezed the werewolf's arm—instantly, Remus lightened up. Merlin, she's got a hold over him, Teddy thought to himself, though he supposed it wasn't too different with him and Vic.

"In other news," Kingsley coughed, "We have new information on the Tournament. The Second Task went—"

"Should have been the last task," Sirius bristled. "Barty Crouch, murdered—"

"—We don't know that," Arthur Weasley began testily. "It was only earlier today—"

"Well he certainly didn't just drop dead, did he?" Molly asked her husband. "Our children are at that school—you remember them, don't you? Not to mention the children of witches and wizards all over Europe, being exposed to this…this…it's surely a sign of something worse to come."

"Crouch had many enemies," Remus insisted. "We don't know who did this, nor why, and speculating isn't going to do us any good. Teddy," Remus began, turning to his son. "You saw Dumbledore just earlier today. Did he say anything related to the tournament?"

Teddy stiffened. The older man had certainly said some things that seemed like they could be related to the tournament—keeping your enemies close was easy to do when it seemed like half the wizarding world came out to these events. But without anything definitive, Teddy was able to shake his head no.

"We ought to send someone to watch the next event," Hestia Jones piped up. "If not to act, then to observe—"

"Observe?" Sirius scoffed. "We're certainly not just going to just watch something terrible occur. Take me—I can do a great deal of damage as a dog, ask Remus—"

"—hardly the time, Padfoot," The werewolf hissed. "If anyone is going, which we don't know if they even are, it certainly isn't going to be you—"

"—and why not? My godson is there!" Sirius yelped. "Or, is Harry's safety not important to you—"

"You know I want to keep Harry safe," Remus snapped. "But you go, in front of all those people, the dementors will come. You don't think your Animagus form is still a secret? Peter—"

"Don't say his name," Sirius growled. "He doesn't deserve to have a name."

Remus sighed. He knew when to give up with an angry Sirius. "Regardless, we shouldn't act without speaking with Dumbledore first," he argued. "He's likely got a plan."

"Dumbledore is only human, Remus," Tonks said soothingly. "You don't know for sure—"

"He's got to have a plan, Dora," Remus wheezed. "If he doesn't, then what?"


After a somewhat discouraging meeting (though, the lead Emmeline had supplied to Teddy and Remus was incredibly encouraging), the Order members scattered. The only ones who remained were Molly, Sirius, Remus, and Teddy. The only other living and breathing thing in that house was Kreacher, who Sirius hardly counted as anyone at all.

Remus, needing a break from Sirius Black, retreated upstairs to the bedroom, asking Teddy if he needed anything from the room before locking it. Molly was busy cleaning the kitchen, and so Sirius motioned for Teddy to come up the stairs with him into his childhood room.

"I've got to ask something of you, Teddy, and I must ask you not to tell a soul," he whispered as the two walked upstairs. The younger man pursed his lips.

"Sirius…"

"Teddy," he emphasized, "Please."

Teddy saw a look of desperation in Sirius' eyes that he hadn't before. He knew that kind of look: a painful sort of desperation that only came from a great love.

"It's about Harry, isn't it," Teddy said quietly. Sirius nodded, and the Metamorphmagus sighed. "Alright, for Harry, I'll help. What's the matter?"

Sirius brought the two to his room, ushering Teddy inside before he closed the door.

"I have to visit him," he insisted, "But he doesn't know I'm not on the run anymore—apparently we aren't allowed to tell him about the Order, Dumbledore's command," he spat, "I still have Buckbeak, so I can get there myself, and I really think that as a dog in Hogsmeade, no one would question Padfoot going on a walk. We'd meet somewhere secret, I'd pretend I was still living out there…everything would be fine. I need to talk to him and warn him."

"You're missing something, aren't you?" Teddy questioned. "I mean, there are no more than four of us in this house at any given time, and you make quite a bit of racket. Don't you think someone would notice if you're gone?"

"But I won't be gone," Sirius grinned. "I'll be at Grimmauld Place the whole time, as far as anyone else is concerned."

Teddy looked at Sirius with confusion. "You can't possibly be in two places at once…" Teddy's eyes widened. "No. Absolutely not, you are not using the time-turner—"

"Time-turner?" Sirius barked. "Of course not. I need your help Teddy—you. Can't trust Dora, she's just run off and tell Remus during a snog session or something—sorry, I know they're your parents—but you on the other hand…I can trust you."

Like mist clearing, Teddy got it. "You want me to morph myself into you," he murmured. "That's…"

"Crazy?" Sirius asked. "I'm sorry, it's just—"

"No," Teddy grinned. "It's brilliant. I mean, you're going to do this whether or not I help you—don't bother correcting me—but at least this way you won't get caught. You're still being stupidly brave when you don't need to be, no regard for danger—"

"Merlin, now you sound like Remus—"

"But I'll help," Teddy finished. "You've been a great help to me—it's the least I can do."

The two men shook on it. An afternoon as Sirius Black? Could be fun.