Found in the Ashes

by JacobApples

What happens when Harry Potter at age 29 is transported back in time with his family by a meddling phoenix? Well, when four of his kids are metamorphmagus, his better half is Andromeda Black and his sister-in-law, Narcissa Malfoy is on their side; the Wizarding World will not know what hit them. Begins in Prisoner of Azkaban, the start of book 3.

Title: Found in the Ashes

Category: Books » Harry Potter

Author: JacobApples

Language: English, Rating: Rated: T

Genre: Adventure/Drama

Published: 09-09-18, Updated: 03-03-19

Chapters: 16, Words: 86,184

Chapter 1: From the Ashes

Dyslexia: I have a language disability, grammar and spelling mistakes ahead.

Disclaimer: JKR owns all her rights and she is a wonderful, wonderful person.

Beta: Many, many thanks to Ahrnberg!

AN: This is a stand alone fic that also works as a sequel to What We Lost.

Summary: What happens when Harry Potter at age 29 is transported back in time with his family by a meddling phoenix? Well, when four of his kids are metamorphmagus, his better half is Andromeda Black and his sister-in-law, Narcissa Malfoy is on their side; the Wizarding World will not know what hit them. Begins in Prisoner of Azkaban. Time Travel to summer of book three, similar (but different) premise to Disorder of the Phoenix and said premise is on steroids ;)

Prologue

"Mapoppy?" Ophelia asked, tugging on her father's pant leg, "Percy took my spoon."

Harry didn't so much as glance away from his task, which was him trying to get the paint out of Wendy Bird's feathers. The little barn owl hooted sadly at him as he picked a yellow glob out of her chest feathers. There should have been spells to fix this but Wendy Bird had a bad reaction to cleaning spells.

"Then steal her spoon," Harry suggested.

There was a pause, a pitter patter of feet, another pause, a scream, a laugh, another pitter patter of feet on the hardwood floors, and then another pair of hands were tugging on Harry's pant leg.

"Mapoppy!" Persephone- who her sister's had nicknamed Percy, cried. "Ohli stole my spoon!"

"Then steal her spoon," Harry said, picking a speck of blue paint from Wendy Bird's outer left wing.

Pitter patter.

Screaming.

Silence.

Harry paused, waiting, listening.

There was no sound coming from the other room.

He ran into the living room, chaos and noise was good, silence meant trouble. Wendy Bird flew to his shoulder, holding on for the short ride to the next room.

Trouble, turned out to be Narcissa Malfoy holding up a spoon in one hand and her wand in the other.

Ophelia and Persephone were glaring up at their aunt, arms crossed and waiting. They knew that no amount of screaming would earn them a reaction. Aunty Cissa would only accept the best behavior. If they had any hope of the silencing charm being removed, it was to stay still.

Morwenna and Teddy came out of nowhere, nearly knocking their aunt over in a joint hug.

"Potter," Narcissa hissed, "control your spawn."

"Who are you calling spawn?" Andromeda asked emerging out of the laundry room with a basket of potions.

"You should have stopped at one. The grandchild was cute enough."

"You just like boys better," Morwenna noted, not in the least bit offended.

All three Potter Sisters knew how much trouble they were. They weren't pranksters, but they were intelligent, powerful, and noisier than was healthy for anyone baring the surname Potter.

Teddy Lupin -being Andromeda's grandson, was biologically the nephew of Morwenna, Ophelia, and Persephone, but as Teddy was also Harry's godson, when people referred to the Potter Children, they included Teddy. There was one thing all of Andromeda's direct descendants held in common, they all had metamorphmagus abilities.

Harry Potter and Andromeda Tonks were not legally married but as they had been living with one another for over eleven years there was no question as to the kind of relationship that stood between them, nor did anyone doubt their commitment to each other - at least not anymore.

Harry smirked at Narcissa, "You're just jealous Cissa."

She gave him a cold look and said drily, "I assure, living vicariously is more than I need or want."

"For someone who complains so much about her relatives you sure do stop by often," Harry teased.

Andromeda grinned and went to go give her sister a hug, shewing Teddy and Morwenna back to their father.

Which is when a rather typical evening at the Potter House took a decidedly atypical turn.

A burst of flame lit up the living room to their modest home in Hogsmeade.

"Fawkes?" Harry asked, stunned. "I thought you went out when Albus-"

"I don't like this future," Fawkes the Phoenix said.

The room lapsed into silence. Phoenixes did not talk.

Teddy -the resident expert on all things non-human, said as much, "Phoenixes can't talk."

"No," Narcissa agreed, raising her wand at the firebird, "they can't."

Andromeda followed her example. Harry pulled out his wand but before he could so much as raise it, the house spontaneously set on fire.

Fawkes' voice sang through the room in a haunting, crackling lullaby, "There will be no way back, no way to undo what has been done."

The children screamed and three shield charms went up. Harry wrapped himself as best he could around Teddy and his three little girls.

The charms didn't stop the flames, the world they knew burned to ash.

Chapter 1 - From the Ashes

When next Harry opened his eyes he wasn't burnt to a crisp; which was good. When he loosened his death hold on his kids and none of them appeared to be hurt in any physical way which was even better.

Harry looked around the room and his familiarity with the space was wrong. He hadn't been in this room in over twelve years.

Hoot.

Harry's heart lurched as he turned his turned to look, and what he saw nearly brought tears to his eyes.

"Hedwig?" he whispered.

She glared at him reproachfully, or more precisely she glared at Wendy Bird clinging to his shoulder. Hedwig seemed oddly frazzled, her feathers standing at attention, her chest puffed out.

Errol, Ron's old owl, hooted a hello.

"Mapoppy?" Morwenna whispered, "What happened?"

Harry took a closer look around, "I'm not sure." But he had a bad feeling about the pile of ash on the ground.

He reached into that pile of ash, taking hold of his clearly younger Holly Wand - considering the lack of scratch marks, which sparked a spray of light at his touch.

"Mapoppy?" Teddy asked slowly, "Where are we?"

"The Dursleys'," Harry answered, "I think we were thrown back in time."

Had it been anyone elses' kids they would have all exclaimed or protested, but these were Potters, and while they might not know all of the adventures their father had been through they didn't doubt much of anything to be impossible.

Harry motioned for his girls to sit on the bed, putting a finger to his lips.

"Aunt Marge is here, get down here, boy!" Aunt Petunia shrieked up the steps.

Harry conjured a pair of fake glasses and handed them to Teddy.

Teddy cocked his head as Aunt Petunia called up the steps once more.

"Pretend to be me, don't use magic, but don't let them hit or hurt you," Harry instructed his godson.

Teddy's features shifted ever so slightly to fit Harry's features more than Andromeda's, mainly his raven black curls turned more wild. Teddy asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"Cause a distraction," Harry said. "We will meet under the light-post two houses to the left, I'll have an invisibility cloak around us so just know that we will be there."

Teddy nodded solemnly and turned to head out of the room.

"And Teddy," Harry said as they all heard the front door open.

Teddy turned back to look at him, emerald eyes to emerald eyes.

"Mess with them, won't you?"

Teddy Lupin's face lit up with a grin so mischievous it would have made any Marauder proud.

Lucius Malfoy was not having a pleasant evening. Not at all, mainly because while preparing for dinner in their suite, his wife Narcissa Malfoy néenee Black had spontaneously gone up in flames.

She had burned into a pile of ash quicker than he could think 'aguamenti'.

Her wand was all that was left in a pile of white-grey ash.

He knelt on the floor before her pyre, too stunned to feel, too shocked to know what he was supposed to be doing.

What am I going to tell Draco?

"Lucius," a blessedly familiar voice said from behind him.

He turned and enveloped Narcissa in a bone crushing hug. Hugging wasn't something they did often but then, he didn't watch his wife get burned to ash often either.

She pushed back from him, she looked around the room before she focused on his face. She cupped his cheeks in her hands before tracing his jawline into his hair, where her hands stayed. For a time she said nothing, just stared at his face as if she were trying to memorize it.

He frowned and put a hand to her cheek. Lucius was two years older than his wife, but now, she looked aged, not badly so, no age didn't have a knut on her beauty. But where had the years gone? He put a thumb to her cheek, grazed over the smile lines there, what had happened? He was so grateful she wasn't in cinders that he wasn't thinking straight, but apparently, she was.

"What year is it?" she asked, voice even.

"Summer 1993, Draco has another week at home. You time traveled?" his voice was as matter of fact as hers.

"Yes."

"You burned up, Narcissa. What happened? What year are you from? If your younger self burned up there is no way for you to go forward, not to the world you knew," he said, repeating what his father had told him. Pure blood lore was more like magical philosophy. And he was quite proud that he was able to treat this like one of those debates he had with his father all those years ago.

Her icy blue eyes seemed to cut him to the bone, and she released her hold on his hair. Taking a step away from him, she flicked her wrist and her wand that had been resting on the pile of ash flew to her hand.

Wandless magic, not the most surprising thing she could have done but not something she commonly did, "Narcissa did you hear me?"

"I heard you, and if there is no way for me to go back then there is no reason for us to repeat the mistakes of our past."

Lucius ran a hand through his hair, reordering it, "What mistakes?"

She gave him a shrewd look, "Harry Potter told me about the Basilisk."

Lucius froze and knew he was in a serious predicament. For all his wife's properness and lady-like tendencies, she was still a Black.

He had just been trying to get rid of the book and had not intended to release Slytherin's Monster. He knew as well as she did that the notion of a Basilisk being able to tell the difference between a mudblood and pure blood was ludicrous. Which meant he had put their son in danger, which meant he had no explanation that would satisfy her. So he focused instead on, "And you are on speaking terms with the Boy Who Lived?"

She smirked at him, and stalked back into his space, swaying her hips. And he felt like the sparrow caught in a serpent's jewel like gaze. "Harry Potter is no longer a boy," she put a hand on his chest and shoved him against a wall. He could have fought her.

But he valued his life -and other tender parts.

"The Dark Lord returns," she continued.

His heart stopped, just for a moment, just a brief little moment, but it was enough time for horror and dread to fill his heart. He had given away one of his Lord's items and it had been destroyed by Harry Potter himself. If the Dark Lord came back today...

"You are right to be afraid," Narcissa purred, pressing her body along the front of his.

His body did not stir at the sound of her purr, no, the cold sweat he had broken into only grew colder. His wife's wrath was a far more immediate threat than the Dark Lord coming back from the dead.

"He punished us for your stupidity, do you want to know what he did? What Tom Marvolo Riddle, half-blood, madman did to my son?"

Lucius didn't want to know, didn't want to imagine.

"He gave him to Greyback. Draco was sixteen Lucius, sixteen."

There were no words to express his sorrow at the very idea of such a loss.

She wrapped her fingers around his wrist and began to undo his cuff, he was too overloaded with information to pay attention to what she was doing. "You, my dear, foolish husband, are going to change your ways."

"Then we will die." Even in his outrage at his son's fate, that at least was clear to him. Betraying the Dark Lord meant certain death.

"Not if we kill him first," she said in a rich tone, rolling up his sleeve with gentle, precise motions. "Tomorrow you are going straight to see Severus Snape and you will tell him that you have changed sides. That like him, you will do what you can for the Potter Family and you will do everything to ensure Voldemort's downfall."

He jerked when she said that name. She said it without the least bit of fear.

"I can't do that," he said, "besides that, Severus is my closest friend, he is loyal to our cause."

"You will do just as I say, and Severus loved Lily Evans too well, when the Dark Lord plotted to kill her, he lost a loyal servant. A man far too good at keeping his thoughts to himself. A better spy I do not believe there ever lived."

"If the Dark Lord comes back we are dead," he hissed.

"No, because we will be backing Harry Potter, and if I believe the phoenix transported us all here, well then Albus Dumbledore has a new contender for 'Greatest Wizard of the Age'." She took a firmer hold on his wrist and she pressed her shoulder into his chest, as if bracing him against the wall.

"Harry Potter is nothing," Lucius said firmly.

She brought the tip of her wand to his forearm, "No, the madman that hurt my son is nothing. Tom Riddle will rue the day he ever met a Black."

Finally becoming suspicious about what she was doing, he asked, "What are you doi-"

He screamed, hunching forward against the pain as Narcissa, simultaneously skinned and burned the Dark Mark off his forearm.

It wasn't quite as bad as the Cruciatus Curse but every pain is individual, and at that moment, his mind didn't care that the rest of his body parts were fine. His full focus was narrowed down to the pain in his arm.

He nearly passed out. Despite the torture, despite trying to tug away from her grip, he didn't fight her off. No matter what anyone said about him, he loved his wife, and a part of him believed he deserved the torture she dealt him.

The thought of Draco being mutilated by a werewolf was unacceptable.

'Aunt Marge' was a vile person, a fact that did not take long for Teddy to deduce.

Her dog wasn't much better, and Teddy thought he got along well with most animals, but some pets reflected their owners - as this beast clearly did.

"'...Have you been beaten often?'" the pudgy woman asked him.

Beaten? Teddy thought, No, my parents never raised a hand to me, and no one else would dare.

Out loud he said in a cowed voice, "Yes, ma'am."

"Well, Vernon, he seems to have adopted the proper tone but you should encourage them to spare no force."

Teddy felt his jaw tick, and it took real effort not to let his eyes shift to his Grandmama's dark brown. Marge Dursley was talking about hurting his Mapoppy, hurting him when he had only been thirteen years old.

Teddy himself was only eleven but even he could understand how wrong that was, and worse yet that Vernon and Petunia Dursley seemed to agree with her, the very people who had raised Mapoppy. They were supposed to love him and it shouldn't have mattered that they weren't his real parents or that he was a wizard.

Teddy was going to make these people pay.

When he was asked or -rather ordered, to get everyone at the table a glass of water, Teddy slipped some powder into their drinks. Powder that had survived the trip through time in his pocket.

If it was placed in water it would cause a blaring shriek that only the drinkers could hear. Sort of like a muggle fire alarm that you couldn't run away from - though most people tried.

With slight of hand, Teddy placed some in Marge's glass of alcohol as she clearly wasn't going to drink the water any time soon. The powder didn't react well. Marge's face turned green the minute after she took a large gulp and then it wasn't a sound in her head making a wailing noise, it came out of her mouth. She swept her arm across the table and when her glass hit the ground a dark forest green smoke started billowing into the room.

Teddy would have to tell Uncle Fred and George what had happened, they would like to know what mixing alcohol and their party crasher did together.

Teddy didn't have long to think on that because Vernon roared at him, "What have you done, boy!?" Before throwing a chair at his head.

Dodging out of the room, Teddy ran from his father's childhood home as fast as he could.

That, Teddy thought, is no home.

"Dad!" Nymphadora yelled running into the room, wand raised. "What's wrong? What's happening!?"

Ted was on his knees before a pile of ash. Only her wand remained. Andromeda had caught fire and burned to dust before she had the chance to scream.

"Dad? Dad? What happened? What's that on the floor?" His daughter asked, a hand on his shoulder, almost shaking him.

It's your mother, he thought but he couldn't say it aloud. It had happened so fast, too fast. But she was gone.

No one came back from ashes but for phoenixes.

"Nymphadora?"

Ted stood, spinning so fast that Dora had to catch him for balance.

But it was Dora, so between the two of them there was no balance to be found and they tumbled to the floor.

With an omph, Dora protested, "Dad! What is wrong with you?"

Andromeda knelt beside them, staring at them as if she were beholding something impossible.

"Dromeda," he began, voice rough, "What happened? You burst into flames. Are you okay?"

She said nothing, she just stared at him, at Dora. She stared at them as if her eyes were hungry for the sight of them.

"Mum, what's wrong with you? And Dad, what do you mean she burst into flames? She doesn't look burned to me," Dora noted, the confusion clear on her face, her pink hair slowly turning lemon yellow.

Ted watched his wife's face drain of color and her first words were not a comfort.

"You're real?" she asked, her voice smaller and more vulnerable than he'd ever heard it. Her garnet gaze seemed filled with an unspeakable sorrow and she- she looked oddly older.

Ted slept every night beside this woman, and he was seeing lines on her face that he would have sworn were not there yesterday.

"Dromeda, what's happened?" he asked.

"You can't be real," she said in the same weak voice.

Weak wasn't something he had ever associated with his wife. He sat forward, put a hand to her cheek and pulled her into a kiss.

At first, her lips were frozen under his, and then, as if reluctant, she kissed him back, slowly, questioningly. He kissed her more solidly, pulling into the circle of his arms.

After a moment he tasted salt, a wet saltiness, and she pushed back from him, tears falling down her cheeks.

Ted wasn't sure he had ever seen his wife cry before, and certainly not like this.

"Mum?" Dora asked, sitting on the floor confused beside them. "Mum, what happened to you?"

Like a viper striking, Dromeda launched at Dora, wrapping her arms around her in a too tight hug.

"Mum!" Dora exclaimed.

But what his wife said next poured ice water into his veins; "You're alive. You are both alive."

She said it like a litany, like an answered prayer, like a miracle. Ted Tonks didn't like anything that seemed to be happening, not one little bit.

Morwenna, as the oldest of the Potter Sisters, was the tallest. Like her mother, she wore her hair in dark brown curls, she typically had her father's emerald gaze, and perhaps the main feature that set her apart from her sisters was that she had added a darker tan to her skin. As Andromeda and Harry were almost painfully pale, it set her apart. She did it for a very simple reason, she liked the sun.

Morwenna loved the sun and visited the Delacour family in France every time her best friend - when discounting her siblings, Verona Weasley went to go see her grandparents. Her two younger sisters did not care for the sun as she did, and aside from the green eyes often looked like mini-mama's.

Morwenna wondered if they would ever see Mama again. But she trusted Mapoppy who seemed not only to be calm, but had sent Teddy to deal with the Dursleys, alone.

She had only met Mapoppy's cousin, Dudley, once, she thought he was sort of dumb, but from the stories, Mapoppy told or rather didn't tell she knew that the Dursleys were not kind people.

Standing on the dark muggle street, pressed to the side of Mapoppy's leg with Ophelia - Persephone still being held by Mapoppy, they waited in silence for Teddy to meet them.

They didn't have to wait long. There was a puff of green smoke that burst out the back windows and Teddy, who looked like a Mini-Mapoppy, came running full tilt down the empty street.

There was a rustling in some nearby bushes, and Morwenna whispered, "Mapoppy, the bushes."

But, of course, Mapoppy already had his wand raised, "Don't worry, it's just Sirius, I almost forgot about him."

She recognized the color of a stunner that shot towards the bush, Teddy reached them just as something heavy seemed to collapse in the bushes.

Mapoppy slipped of the invisibility cloak and handed it to Morwenna who wrapped it around herself, Teddy, and Ophelia.

"What was the green smoke?" Morwenna asked.

"I had some of Uncle Georgie's party crasher in my pocket. Turns out it doesn't mix well with alcohol," he said, "Mapoppy, I think I might have gotten you disowned."

Mapoppy emerged from the bush, a - well if she hadn't known he was alive she'd say a corpse, over his shoulder, Persephone still in his other arm. "That's alright, I don't need them. Grab onto my legs you three, let's go see Mama."

"So, you're from the future and we both die after You Know Who comes back from the dead and starts another war."

"Yes," she said, sipping from a teacup. She was ignoring the fact that there were still fresh tear tracks on her face.

Ted sighed, running a hand over his face, "How many years exactly? And how did you survive the war?"

She opened her mouth, closed it, shook her head gently, and said in a voice so hard, so heavy, he felt a lump form in his own throat from, "I didn't fight, I stayed with the grandbaby."

"Wait, I have a kid?" Dora asked, perturbed.

Ted didn't know how to feel about that. He didn't know how to feel about any of this. People did not time travel back years and replace their former selves and healers didn't die in wars, and he was too young to be a grandfather, and what other horrors, what other bombshells did his wife have left for him?

A knock sounded on the door.

"I'll get it!" Dora exclaimed, rushing to the door, knocking her chair over in the process. "Hello-?

There was a long silence.

"Dora, who is it?" Ted called.

"Harry Potter?" she called back, sounding confused.

If Ted hadn't been watching his wife's face, he might not have seen the wash of relief sweep across her features.

"Can I put him on the couch?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

"Sirius Black!?" Dora exclaimed, "Is that Sirius Black!? I have to cal-"

"He's innocent, Nymphadora, just ask your mother, speaking of whom, where is she?" the man said -who couldn't be Harry Potter because Harry Potter was a thirteen year old boy.

"MAMA!" a little girl's voice cried.

That cry seemed to give Dromeda strength because she stood and swept out of the kitchen, almost running toward the sound of their guests, one being a little girl who was not his daughter calling his wife 'mama', another being a man who should be a boy, and the other being an escaped Death Eater from an inescapable prison who had been convicted of mass murder.

Because this day couldn't get any weirder, a thought that was immediately proven incorrect.

When he entered the room, Sirius Black unconscious on his couch, there was a boy who looked like he should have been Harry Potter, two girls clinging to each other - the back halves of their bodies invisible, a rather handsome man standing with yet another girl in his arms. The girls looked like his wife but for the green eyes, and lots, and lots of freckles, and the oldest having tanned skin.

Nymphadora watched in the same fascinated horror that he did as his wife, his wife stepped into the arms of another man and kissed him soundly.

Andromeda pulled back from him saying, "Harry, is everyone alright? Was anyone hurt?"

But in pulling away, 'Harry Potter' met Ted's gaze over her shoulder.

Ted was instantly filled with a loathing so strong he had never known it's like. He was beyond angry, felt beyond betrayed.

"Andromeda," he ground out.

She spun, staring at him as she'd only just remembered he existed.

It was that look that broke his heart, and her hand that reached back for the comfort of another man's touch the killed a part of him that would never heal.

"Ted," she whispered an apology, a plea, and something else he could not decipher distorting her voice.

"Mum? What the hell is going on?" Dora asked.

For Harry Potter's part, he said nothing, merely held what had to be his daughter closer to him, and Andromeda's hand more firmly in his. There was no anger or victory on the other man's face, just a wary sorrow that Ted could not begin to understand.

But whatever caused that particular look on his face, Ted did not care. All he knew was that his life had been uprooted, and this younger man was directly responsible for everything wrong with Ted Tonks' world.

AN: Thoughts, reactions, hopes, dreams, please, please share with me?

Chapter 2: Unexpected

KEYNOTE: I realized 'Morweena' is a more common form of Morwenna. But it is Moor-When-na. 'When' as in 'When the sun rises'. A nick name you might see me use later on is Wenna, to be read as Whenna, not Wee-na. Morwenna sounds closer to the Disney's Moana, if that helps.

AN: To quote Mercy from the Patricia Briggs books, "Cheeses crusty, got all musty, got damp on the stone of a peach!" You reviewers are simply amazing. Thank you so much!

Chapter 2 - Unexpected

Andromeda Tonks would like to say this was her most cherished prayer, answered at the cost of her worst nightmare.

But she couldn't say that, she couldn't even think it. Because her worst nightmare involved everyone she loved be tortured and killed. Regardless, the expression on Ted's face, of betrayal and hurt, was a blow to the heart. A piece of her heart she had put behind glass like a relic, to be admired and looked at, but never used again.

It was being used now and it was… it was a gift, and it was a knife twisted so deep the sensation could no longer be called pain.

They were all waiting for her to answer Nymphadora's question.

Nymphadora is alive, Andromeda thought, for perhaps the hundredth time in the last hour? Hours? It didn't matter, she could get over the amazement of her daughter being real, and the more real she became in Andromeda's mind and heart, the more the fear grew over the possibility that she might be lost again.

She clung to Harry's hand a little harder, asking for and receiving comfort when he squeezed back.

His palm was damp and she realized he was afraid. Harry was afraid, and, focusing back on the present moment, she realized he was afraid of Ted. Afraid that she might leave him for her not-dead-after-all-husband. She wanted to reassure him but didn't know what to say.

There was nothing she could say that wouldn't break either man's heart, additionally, even if she could find the words in her scrambled thoughts, she did not want to say it in front of the kids, all six of them… Merlin help her.

Harry, seeming to be the first to realize she didn't know how to handle this situation and took charge. "Nymphadora-" he began.

"Don't call me Nymphadora," her daughter said forcefully, giving Harry a dirty look.

Harry didn't balk at her anger in the least, and Andromeda thought that he was about to play the dad card. He was very good at playing the dad card because he was like everyone's favorite uncle and dream mother rolled into one. He could be the professor, or the parent, at a turn of a hat, and, it didn't matter if the person he was talking to was much older or much younger.

He rephrased, "Nymphadora Black Tonks."

Andromeda couldn't help but smile at the look of outrage on her eldest daughter's face. Harry was one of the few people who truly liked the names she had chosen for her babies, it was one of the many things she loved about him.

He continued, "This is your biological son, Edward Remus Lupin, age eleven, and your three sisters, Morwenna Lilianne Potter, age nine, Ophelia Hermione Potter, age seven, and Persephone Luna Potter, age six. Children, this is your eldest sister Nymphadora."

There was a moment of stunned silence before and Nymphadora thought with her mouth open, "Why did you let Mum name them?"

"Hey," Morwenna called, squaring her shoulders and glaring up at the inclusion to her family, "I like our names. They're pretty."

Nymphadora continued as if she hadn't heard, "Did you say, son, my son? But-"

"That awkward moment when your mother is only nine years older than you," Teddy grumbled. He, unlike his little sisters, had realized the possibility of his parents -the people who had raised him, splitting. It seemed to disincline him toward being excited to meet his biological mother.

"Did you say Remus Lupin?" Ted asked, speaking for the first time since Harry's arrival.

"Yes," Teddy snapped, "that's what my father said."

Morwenna gave her brother an odd look, "What's going on?"

"Yes, Andromeda," Ted said, "do tell us, what is going on?" Between you and Harry Potter, was politely left off.

Andromeda opened her mouth and what came out was both an additional problem and a convenient distraction, Ted might be angry and hurt, but, at the core of him, he would always be a healer.

"Sirius needs to be looked over," she said.

Ted gave her a disgusted look, "You want me to heal a Death Eater? A Death Eater who was You Know Who's right hand?"

"You Know Who?" Ophelia piped up, "Do you mean Grandfather James? Why can't you say his name?"

Persephone's hair flashed to violet and she giggled, before whispering something in Parseltongue that Andromeda could not understand.

In response, Ophelia's hair shifted to indigo and she said something else in Parseltongue that Andromeda couldn't catch.

"He means Tom Riddle," Teddy said blessedly in English. He could understand parseltongue but couldn't speak it.

Morwenna grinned up at Ted, and asked sweetly, "Afraid to say Voldemort?"

Ted flinched and Nymphadora exclaimed, "Oi! What have you been teaching them?"

"We aren't afraid to say Voldemort," Ophelia said, "Because our Mapoppy killed him."

"Mapoppy is the greatest, bestest wizard ever," Persephone added, gaining confidence from her sisters.

"Where those two just talking in Parseltongue?" Ted asked.

"Mapoppy, Morwenna, Ohli, and Percy, are all Parselmouths," Teddy said impatiently, "Now are you going to look at my father's godfather or are you going to let him waste away on your couch?"

Before Ted could answer, Nymphadora asked, "You don't consider Remus Lupin to be your dad?"

Teddy shook his head, "You and my biological dad died in the war. You both left me with Grandmama. Remus made Harry Potter my godfather and he is my father, he was the one who was there. I never met you or Remus before. You are not that important to me."

Andromeda knew he was upset and had every right to be so, but, she couldn't help chiding, "Teddy, apologize, you know you don't mean that."

He turned to her and ripped the fake pair of glasses of his face, the lack of glasses, and, emerging freckles making him look less like Harry and more like himself, "You can't do this to us! You can't leave us too, Grandmama!"

Persephone shrank into Harry's grip, Ophelia looked to Morwenna who was glaring at Teddy, "Shut up, Teddy, 'Grandmama' isn't going anywhere."

Teddy pointed an accusing finger at Ted, "Morwenna, that's Grandpapa."

Another beat of silence and four pairs of angry emerald eyes, which simultaneously shifted to dark brown, focused on Ted Tonks.

Who did the intelligent thing and took a step back.

Harry cleared his throat, "I know this is a lot, but Andromeda's right, Sirius does need help, and, as the person he supposedly betrayed, by handing myself and my parents over to the Dark Lord, I can vouch for the fact that he was framed. He never saw a trial, and, is completely innocent," then he added, "you know, despite being a Black."

Andromeda couldn't help but smile a little at that.

"Fine," Ted said harshly, "fine, I'll have a look. He doesn't have a wand on him does he?"

"No," Harry said.

"What are you going to do about Peter?" Andromeda asked, as Ted knelt by the couch and began his diagnostic spells.

Harry's hand squeezed hers a bit harder, "I'll get him, but while we're all here we need to decide on a few things."

"Ya' think?" Nymphadora asked sourly.

Harry gave her a small grin, "You're an Auror in training, and I know I shouldn't ask this of you, but-"

"But what?" she asked.

"But I'm not thirteen anymore, and as I have been a professor for ten years, I am certainly not going to pretend to be a child -if that is even possible, nor is Teddy going to stand in for me."

"I could, Mapoppy, like I did at the Dursleys."

"No," Harry said firmly, "No, you will be Teddy Remus Lupin and you will attend your first year at Hogwarts. We have another two years before Morwenna comes of Hogwarts Letter age."

Nymphadora caught on to the problem, "But if there's no one to cover for you then-"

"Harry Potter is about to go missing and, I have absolutely no desire to explain Time Travel by Phoenix to the government."

"Eventually, you'll have to," Nymphadora said.

"Yes, well, for the time being, I have enough on my plate without Albus and the Ministry riding my butt."

"Butt-taaacks," Persephone drawled, causing both herself and Ophelia to break out into helpless giggles.

Morwenna rolled her eyes.

Nymphadora asked, over the childish outburst from her youngest half-sister, "So what you're asking for is for us to cover for you."

"I'm asking you to hide the fact that you know what happened to Harry Potter, which, if you all keep it cool, no one will believe you have any idea about it. I'm guessing it will become a popular topic, but no one has any reason to tie me to the Tonks family."

"Until Teddy shows up to school looking like you," Ted said. His gaze remained focused on his patient, as the tip of his wand treated bruises and cuts that, until he had magicked away the filth on him, Andromeda hadn't noticed.

Teddy combed his hands through his hair, which suddenly grew inches longer, just brushing his shoulders, his curls lightened from raven black to dark brown. He still had Harry's eyes, but without glasses, hair, and freckles, that resembled Andromeda more than Harry, Teddy now looked much more like his sisters.

As metamorphagi, they couldn't change their appearance at any given moment, but, they did have a comfortable natural that they wore most often and that they would all fall back on either in sleep or if they became distracted.

A few inches of hair would be something Teddy would have to focus on to retract.

"Convenient," Nymphadora said, a tad impressed, and a tad jealous. It had taken her until her last years at Hogwarts to control her abilities to that degree.

"I'm waking him up now," Ted told them, coldly, the professional, likely because he was feeling anything but.

Harry handed Persephone over to Andromeda. She released her father reluctantly but once in her mother's arms held on as if her life depended on it.

Harry knelt beside Ted and Sirius while Ted stood and backed up from Harry, who seemed not to care about the other man's reactions.

It told her something was wrong because Harry cared about almost everyone's feelings.

Ted flicked his wand and Sirius bolted upright.

"Sirius, it's me. You're safe, Sirius, you're safe."

Sirius blinked at the light, at people in the room, at all the kids, and finally, back on Harry.

"James?" he croaked, "You're alive? But, how-"

Harry shook his head, "No, Sirius, I'm sorry. James is still dead, I'm Harry."

Sirius frowned, then pointed at Teddy, "No, that's Harry." Although he seemed rather unsure about his answer.

"I'm Teddy Lupin," Teddy said, and pointed at his father, "That's Harry Potter."

Sirius frowned, "But I thought, but, how? ...What?" He shook his shaggy hair like a dog, his gaunt face making the gesture not as cute as it should have been. "Remus has a son?" Which seemed to be what he settled on. "Where is Remus and who was the lucky lady?"

"They're dead," Teddy said thoughtlessly. "Harry Potter is my godfather, he raised me."

"I am not dead!" Nymphadora exclaimed.

Andromeda wasn't sure how much more of this she could take without something strong to drink. She held Persephone closer to her, smelling the scent of a more familiar home than they were currently in.

"Remus is dead?" Sirius asked.

"So are you," Morwenna said unhelpfully.

"What?" Andromeda's poor cousin asked.

"Enough," Harry said turning to Teddy and Morwenna, "Enough, you two, cool your heels-"

"What are you going to do?" Morwenna asked, "Send us to our rooms? We don't have any rooms. We're homeless."

While Ophelia was experienced enough to not believe everything her sister said, Persephone was still learning and began crying silently.

"Enough!" Harry scolded. "Enough, you're scaring your little sisters and the man who hasn't eaten a decent meal in thirteen years. Enough. You are both capable of behaving." He turned back to Sirius who looked worse. "Remus isn't dead, you're not dead. You broke out of prison thirteen years after being framed for mass murder and the betraying the Potters by Peter Pettigrew. I am Harry Potter. I managed to get myself and my family time traveled back sixteen years in the past. I'm not thirteen, I'm twenty-nine, turning thirty."

Ted made a disgusted sound and asked Andromeda, "You married a man six years younger than your own daughter?"

Sirius looked towards her and his face broke into a grin, "Andia?"

Andia, Andromeda thought. Only Bella, Regulus, and Sirius ever called her that. Mainly because if they ever called her simply Andi both their mothers would throw hexes at him.

"How's my favorite cousin?" Sirius asked.

Before Andromeda could answer, Narcissa spoke up from behind her, "I believe I am offended."

Everyone but Andromeda and the Potters froze at the sight of Narcissa Malfoy in their midst.

"Don't you ever knock?" Harry asked her.

"Not when people leave their doors open," she said haughtily.

"Aunt Cissa!" Morwenna cheered.

"Hello darling," Cissa said and patted her on the head before stepping through the maze of people. "Good to see you alive, cousin," she said, pausing before Sirius.

Sirius gaped up at her like a carp gasping for life in the middle of a desert.

Moving on she held out her hand first to Nymphadora, who shook the hand as if it might bite her. "It is good to meet you my dear niece, my sincere apologies for never meeting you before your untimely death."

For once Nymphadora didn't have a comeback.

When she got to Ted, he seemed to be in a state of shock. Determined, Narcissa held out her hand to the muggleborn, who shook it once before swiftly taking his wand hand back.

Narcissa's cold gaze held him in place as she spoke, "I regret missing your wedding, and for cutting off contact with my sister. I can't say I approve of you and your history, but I acknowledge that you are a competent healer -for which this world is always lacking, and I acknowledge that my sister loved you. That alone should have earned you my -my acknowledgment."

Andromeda huffed, "Very heartfelt, Cissa."

Cissa turned that icy gaze on her, "I tried."

Harry laughed, the sound of his laughter warming the room like nothing else could have. Andromeda was suddenly brought back to after the war, when her heart first reawoke to that very sound, in this very room.

"Ah Narcissa, what would we do without you?" he asked.

"Likely be homeless," she said sweetly, her words an echo of Morwenna's. It really wasn't so hard to see that they all spent too much time together. "I have rooms prepared at the Manor, and, if any your spawn burn it down, again, I'm indenturing them to me forever."

"If you wanted them that badly," Andromeda teased, "I'm sure Luci won't mind if we move in permanently."

"Okay," Nymphadora said, "time out, there is so much wrong with what's happened tonight but did you just say 'burn it down, again,' as in on a previous occasion Harry Potter's kids burned down Malfoy Manor? And did my mother just call Lucius Malfoy, Luci, with affection?"

"The future holds many wonders and horrors," Harry said brightly.

"And we need to get your four present 'horrors' to bed and Andromeda needs to deal with this- this affair," Narcissa said waving to the room.

This seemed to break Ted's false calm, "I am not an affair, I'm her husband."

Narcissa smiled at him condescendingly, "Oh, please, you really believe any woman is going to choose you if they have that-" she jabbed a thumb in Harry's direction, "-waiting for them in bed?"

Andromeda took a protective step in front of Narcissa before Ted could do something foolish.

Sirius tried to stand, but Ted shoved him back down with a hand on the man's shoulder. It didn't take much effort for Sirius to fall back onto the couch, "No, you stay here, you're my patient and until I give you the all clear you aren't going anywhere."

"But I think the rest of us should go," Harry said, walking across the room and taking Persephone back from Andromeda.

"Harry-" she began.

"Narcissa's right, this is yours to sort through, we aren't helping by being here. The kids and I will stay with the Malfoys until-" Harry's voice hitched. "Until you've made your choices."

"Harry," Andromeda tried again but he held up a hand.

"Andromeda, I love you, no matter what you say or do, I will always love you, but as much as I hate to see you hurting; you have to make a choice. You can have us both in your life. Nymphadora, Teddy, and our girls require your presence in both households, but you cannot keep us both. It is fair to no one." He kissed her cheek and gathered the little ones with him out the door.

He didn't run, but his easy gait was absent.

Morwenna and Ophelia didn't look back, having faith in their parents' choices and wanting the familiarity of the Malfoy Manor around them.

Teddy, however, hesitated. Looking towards his grandmother, his grandfather, and his biological mother.

Harry was the only father he had ever known, but no matter how Andromeda chose, it would hurt him in some way. It might lock doors that had been suddenly thrown open which previously had been condemned.

Narcissa put a hand on his shoulder, "Come, Teddy, whatever happens, no one will love you less."

Teddy grabbed her hand, the door shutting behind them.

Andromeda was suddenly alone, in the house she had grieved in. Grieved for the three people now staring at her, waiting, waiting for her to declare who she was, and who her heart beat for.

She felt as if she were being sawed in two.

"Harry," Narcissa said after they had finally gotten the children to bed. Neither Lucius nor Draco knew they were in the guest wing of the house. "It will be alright, she will choose you."

"You can't know that," he said, pressing his back into the wall as if it were the only thing keeping him on his feet.

"I do know that."

"No, you don't."

"Harry-"

"We aren't married, Narcissa! She is still his wife."

"That's your fault, she told me she offered-"

"Andromeda didn't want to marry me. She said she would say yes if I asked but that she didn't want to. She is Andromeda Tonks."

"She loves you," Narcissa soothed.

"She loves him too," he said tangling his hand in his hair. More quietly, he repeated, "she loves him too."

"But she loves you more," Narcissa stressed.

Harry looked into her eyes, arctic blue to emerald green, and said, "But she is still wearing his ring."

"Oh, Harry-"

He jerked away from her, stumbling his way down the hall toward the room he shared with Andromeda when they visited here.

He couldn't look at Narcissa a moment longer, not when he spotted the tinge of pity in her gaze. When he got to the room he fell back against the bed, not bothering to undress. Harry didn't cry or sleep, he sat awake, dreading more and more each hour that crept by. Hating each second he remained alone, waiting.

Around midnight his door creaked open, and he sat up, his hopes falling when it wasn't Andromeda, but Persephone dragging Ophelia behind her. Harry helped them onto the bed, and not ten minutes later, Morwenna and Teddy joined them.

When everyone was settled, two children on either side of him, Harry felt better, even if Andromeda did break his heart, he wouldn't be alone. His life would go on just as it always had, chaotic and unexpected.

AN: I am a little sorry about leaving you with yet another cliffhanger but this section needed to be broken up. Compared to this chapter -which included five of Andromeda's descendants and the adults all on the cusp of mental breakdowns, the confrontation between Andromeda and Ted will be a walk in the park to write. Okay, maybe a hike but not the clusterfrack above.

Please, pretty please will chocolate sauce and roasted cookies on top, please review?

Chapter 3: Letting Go

Beta: Endless thanks to Ahrnberg!

P.s. all my italics got undone, so I had to repost and likely missed a few.

Chapter 3 - Letting Go

Andromeda felt lost. Watching Harry leave, having Nymphadora alive, being in this house…

She looked towards the bathroom, remembered all those times Harry literally picked her up off the floor. She couldn't even bring herself to look at the upstairs hallway. It was night time and Harry was gone and…

"Andromeda," Ted snapped.

She spun to face him, her eyes too wide, her breathing too shallow, and her heart beating far too fast -she feared it was trying to fly away. Only the force of her will kept her rooted.

She was not the husk of a thing that Harry had first met the day of Nymphadora's funeral. One she hadn't even been able to attend, because she had just been that broken.

Andromeda wasn't broken anymore, not like then.

"Andromeda," Ted said again, Nymphadora and Sirius watching them. "Care to explain yourself?"

Explain myself?

She felt the floodgates open, felt a searing magma of fury and long suppressed anguish filling her veins.

In that moment she would have liked nothing better than to punch his beloved face with a closed fist.

The bastard who had left her. Left her with nothing but pain and hard choices and now he dared to ask her to explain herself?

Bastard.

Despite all of her inner turmoil, Andromeda did not let any of it spill onto her face. In an emotionless voice, she asked, "What exactly do you want to be explained?"

Ted threw his hands up, "I don't know, maybe let's start with the fact that you are married to another man and had four kids with him?" Ted breath was heavy.

He looked more angry than hurt, which allowed her to be ruthless.

"We raised four children and I gave birth to three more girls. We are not officially married, but Harry and I have been living together for eleven years."

Some spark of hope registered in Ted's light brown eyes as he said, "If you aren't married then you need to come home. What on Earth possessed you to have more kids?"

Blinding fury speckled her vision and she couldn't quite keep the heat out of her answer, "You didn't want more children, Harry did. He's a good father."

Color rose to Ted's cheeks, his nostrils flaring, "Implying that I'm not? I saw how much you hated staying at home, I didn't want to add any more burdens on you. Nymphadora was enough to deal with. But, I suppose, if it's Harry Potter making you a housewife, it's all roses and sunshine." The bitterness in his words was thick enough to walk on.

"Bad play," Sirius whispered almost inaudibly on the couch.

But Andromeda laughed, "Harry did not make me a housewife. I have the kids to myself mid-mornings when he's working part time at Hogwarts, but he's the one who does most of the work."

Ted shook his head, "If a man does a little then he is rewarded, no matter how much more a woman does. A woman always does more than a man."

She should have slapped him and it was only her growing resolve that held her hand. "No, Ted. Not always. Harry truly does most of the work. He cooks, he cleans, he takes care of the house, he homeschools them, and I just help out. He asks so little of me that I can work full time at my dance studio. My hours just start later than his."

"Marriage is supposed to be a partnership."

"And there it is, the double standard, because when it was you asking the same of me it was okay, but if I don't do the household chores and he does then we aren't equals? Is that it?"

"Stop twisting my words!"

Andromeda shook her head, and she realized why his words were so uncensored, why this fight felt so odd, especially in front of their daughter. Ted wasn't afraid of her, didn't believe she could hurt him. She wouldn't -but she was cable of it even only accidentally, she could hurt him. It was one of the reasons why when Harry initiated a fought with her, it was never in front of the kids, and even then, rarely when her emotions were running high.

Her magic was sometimes a force outside herself, and this situation was a recipe for disaster. It was that thought that, again, that rained her in, "Ted, I'm not the same person you married."

"No, because the woman I married wouldn't have fucked someone younger than her own daughter!"

Andromeda's eyes narrowed, "I may be over twenty years older than Harry, but now, I am sixteen years older than you too. If I chose you, I would still be with someone younger than the Nymphadora from my time would have been."

"If?" Ted asked, for a second looking like the wind had been knocked out of him. "You would really choose that- that boy over me? What happened to 'for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us-" his voice cut off as he realized...

"Do us part," she finished for him, and she lost the battle with herself to stay calm, to not show him how very, very angry she was at him. "Well, we did Ted. We parted. You fucking died. You left me because you didn't trust me enough to keep you safe. What did you think would happen, that Bella would come knocking down our door? She may be crazy, but she wouldn't have actively sought us out. If you had stayed with me you wouldn't have died, if you had but trusted me."

"So you are going to blame me for mistakes I haven't made yet?"

"Yet," she repeated.

He opened his mouth and she wiped her hand at him, snapping her fingers as her arm slashed the air between them. The silencing charm catching him midbreath.

"Be silent! You will listen to what I have to say because you were the one who left me! In the middle of a war, you were the one who left me! Nymphadora was seven months pregnant when you walked out my door. Seven months! You left us with her good-for-nothing husband licking his wounds in the corner. His self-pitying act not worth the air he breathed."

Ted, Nymphadora, and Sirius gaped at her.

Ted looked like he had been hit between the eyes with a sledgehammer. He had never heard her yell at him before this. He had never seen her lose her temper, not in front of him or their daughter. He certainly had never felt the press of her power.

But the years she held her tongue and played nice for the muggle neighbors and in-laws had long since passed. Her magic lashed around the room; unseen, latent, but it was like the taste of ozone before the lightning strikes. It was the promise of danger.

"They found your body in a ditch, with someone named Dirk, and a damned goblin. They cut you down and left you on the side of the road like carrion! You ran off before even telling me goodbye. I hate you for leaving me! For your damned cowardice! For your inability to have any bloody faith in me!"

She pointed at Nymphadora, "I'm the one who delivered her baby! I'm the one who cut him from the womb! Me, not the healer in the family, no. I'm the one who cleaned Teddy up from my own daughter's bodily fluids, in the damn spare bedroom, because there were no healers to be called! Do you know how much pain she was in? How afraid we were? Do you realize all the ways she could have died from that!? All the ways Teddy could have died!?"

Andromeda turned from Ted and glared down at her daughter, who sunk down into the couch beside Sirius. Sirius for his part looked like a dog who had just been beaten, not daring to look threatening, fear and confusion etched into every line of his body.

"And you," she snarled at her daughter. "My noble daughter, who became a noble Auror, who didn't have the good sense to let her body heal before rushing to her death with her pathetic excuse of a husband. What were you thinking?"

Before Nymphadora could think to answer her, Andromeda had turned back to Ted, stalking toward him. "And where were you when our baby died? Where were you when they knocked on my door to tell me the war was over, but my daughter was dead? Where Ted!? Where the hell were you!? What gave you the right to die on me and leave me to deal with her death and a newborn? Where were you!?"

Every window in the house splintered into webs of cracks, every light flickered, and her hair whipping behind her.

After a few minutes of apprehensive silence, her magic receding inward, Andromeda realized her silencing charm was still in play. With another snap of her fingers, she asked, "Well?" Her voice decidedly calmer.

Nymphadora looked like she would rather be anywhere else.

Ted stepped forward, taking both her hands in his. He was trembling, but his gaze was steady on hers -if a little desperate. "Please, Dromeda, just give me another chance? Don't leave, I won't fail you this time. You'll see."

"Why?" she asked, suddenly drained. No longer angry, no longer anything. She felt as drained and as empty as a sea-swept shell. "Why should I ever trust you again?"

He squeezed her hands, feeling the ring on her finger, which seemed to steady him.

His ring, she thought, oh, what must Harry be thinking right now? Her heart lurched at the thought. She was about to hurt one of them. She didn't want to be hurting them both, not any more than she had to.

Ted's voice was steady, even if she could feel the erratic beat of his pulse in his hands, "Because you're my wife."

"No," she said, "I'm your widow."

His eyes closed and his hands convulsed around hers.

Gently, she pulled away from his hold. She brought her hands up to cup his face, his cheeks softer and rounder than Harry's.

There was no malice in this man, no dark past, no tormented ethics over the rightness of murdering a person in the name of self-defense, for the defense of others. His views on life had always been honest and good, just like him. Do no harm, be kind. Values that so starkly contrasted those she had been brought up with. He had the heart of a healer, big and open to the world, a heart she was about to break: a heart that in another lifetime had gotten him killed.

Andromeda felt as if her own heart were made of lead, and at the same time, she felt light headed. She kissed him on the lips -one last time.

She kissed him goodbye.

When she pulled back, tears were falling from his tawny eyes.

"Please," he begged.

But she only shook her head. This hurt was so much less than losing him to death. As much as she loved him, he was no longer the center of her world. She reached for the ring on her finger.

It was time to let go.

"No," he said, his voice not raising above a whisper. He reached out to stop her, but she already had the ring off, slipping into his hand.

"I love you," she said as she closed his fingers around the little bit of gold, "that will never change, but I have. And I can't return to being the person I was with you. We are family, but there is more in my life now, more in my heart than just you."

Ted pulled back from her, clutching the ring to his chest. "This can't be happening, this can't be happening," he said, to himself, to the universe. He looked up at her, "Please, Andromeda, please don't go. Just stay, we can work through this. Please, stay."

Stay.

It was the first thing she had ever asked of Harry, asked of her Harry. He had stayed. And perhaps if Ted hadn't been asking her to leave behind the man that had brought her such incomprehensible joy and love into her broken life, she might have stayed. But their time had passed, and she had moved on.

"I'm sorry, Ted."

"Love isn't enough?" he asked.

She smiled at him sadly, "It rarely is." She noted their audience and felt regret that they had been here for this. "For what it's worth, I do love you." Yet when she met her daughter's eyes, the same tawny brown as her father's, her heart rejoiced at this second chance they had been gifted. "I love you all, so very, very much."

And then, Andromeda Black disapparated with crackling pop.

Andromeda apparated in front of the Potter House, or what -would one day be the Potter House. The lights were on and another family's silhouettes moved inside.

She shifted into her gyrfalcon form, her large soot-colored wings blending into the night sky. It would take her hours to reach the Malfoy Manor like this.

She knew Harry must be sick with worry and that she should apparate straight to him. But she needed this time to herself, she needed the cold air in her lungs, and she needed the burn in her muscles to tell her she was -without doubt, alive.

Andromeda didn't reach the Malfoy estate until well after dawn. Her riotous emotions dampened by exhaustion, her thoughts chased to stillness by the winds.

She had made her choice and she was stronger for it.

AN: Please, please review, you give me life! Thank you!

Chapter 4: Without Regret

Updates: I started grad school soo… maybe? Once a month…

WARNING: Next scene is somewhat graphic. I think it is still T, but I thought I'd give you folks the heads up.

KEYNOTE: I have so much going on in such a small amount of time there are overlapping scenes. These four chapters end within a 12 hour mark. And I apologize for Carlos's flash back… but I got bored with Voldemort and he needed an intro.

Beta: Ahrnberg endless thank yous!

Chapter 4 - Without Regret

Carlos Jourden was a peculiar child. Odd things seemed to happen around him and his dreams were even odder.

His mother loved him very much, and his father loved him not at all. Carlos was as handsome as he was poor. His thick hair was golden blonde, curling around a sharp featured face, framing eyes the color of pale blue sapphires. He was lean for a boy of twelve, however, what he lacked in nutrition, he made up in gracefulness. Had his parents been able to afford it, and had they cared enough to let him; he would have been a terrific gymnast. But alas, Carlos put his skills to use running from thugs down dirty streets, on his way too and from school.

The Jourdens lived in a cramped basement on the outskirts of London. Carlos's father, Shane, was a second-rate mechanic, one who drank far more than he made.

His mother, Sharlet, was a retired prostitute who helped support the family as a hotel door greeter and professional pickpocket.

Carlos hated his parents because he knew, unlike the rest of his classmates, that his family didn't belong in this hovel of the world. Shane Jourden had come from a modest middle class family, and when his parents orphaned him at seventeen, he had pissed away his inheritance on women, drink, and gambling.

Now Sharlet Jourden nee Rookwood, was something else. So posh, so upper-crust it made everyone in this part of the city grind their teeth. What had brought her so low in the world, Carlos could only guess. It might have something to do with her reckless sense of adventure, or her own taste for gambling, but Sharlet had a secret.

A ticket out of this hell hole that she never, ever, used -except for the one time. The one time Shane had caught his wife cheating. Carlos had been nine, cowering in a corner, as his father threated to beat them both to death.

But Sharlet had reached below the bed and pulled out a pale wooden stick.

She had mumbled something in another language and Shane, the muscle man with hands the size of dinner plates, looked dumb for a moment. Then, before Carlos had been able to process the series of events, Shane was helping his wife off the floor and asking for a drink.

The matter at hand, the one that had sent Shane into a murderous rage- gone from his mind, completely forgotten.

Carlos, who in a fit of rage could throw a pillow across a room without touching said pillow, had -for the first time, seen that there truly was something more to this forsaken world. Something more to strive for than class and security and homes that didn't reek of mold.

There was magic in the world.

On his twelfth birthday, when he confronted her about the subject.

"Mum?"

"Yes, darling."

"I've seen you use magic," he stated, "How did you do it?"

She threw her wash rag on the table, spun a chair around, straddled it, and faced him. "I'm a witch," she said, smiling.

He had blinked at her, "Can you show me how to use magic too?" Maybe this would be easier than he had expected.

Her smile softened, "I would have, but your letter never came."

"Letter?"

She nodded, "To Hogwarts, the most prestigious school of Witchcraft and Wizard in all of Britain."

He gaped at her, "But, why can't I go?" He could leave this place and go to a school of magic? The thought was too much, he felt hope like he had never known before fill his chest.

"Fraid not. You don't have magic, my darling boy," she said it pleasantly, like she hadn't just crushed his dreams and prospects of happiness.

"But I can, Mum, look!" And with all his might and focus, he held both hands out toward the salt and pepper shaker. The salt shaker tipped over but the pepper shaker resisted. Nevertheless, Carlos said, "See, no hands!"

Sharlet laughed, standing and going to him. Tousling his blonde curls, she said jovially, "You would need more than that poultry bit of power to get into Hogwarts, son. But don't worry, Carly, you don't need magic. I certainly didn't," she held out her arms, showing off the room as if were a palace. "We have all we could ever need or want, right here. Nothing is more magical than what we have."

Carlos disagreed. He had always loved his mother, always sunny, always happy, no matter the occasion or circumstance. But he hated her too, because what they had wasn't enough, and if he didn't have enough magic, or power, then he would find a way to get some.

Not two weeks later, the small Jourden family were sitting down for dinner -if you could call stale bread and a weak broth dinner, when Carlos Jourden burst into flames.

Sharlet began screaming.

Shane just stared blankly at where his son had been.

"What, no tears, Father?" a voice asked from the hallway.

His parents turned to face a tall man dressed in carnival clothes framed in the doorway.

"Carlos?" Sharlet asked, recognizing her son, despite his added years.

In answer, he held up a pale wooden wand.

She frowned, "Is that my wa-"

Speaking over her, Carlos sang cheerfully, "Avada Kedavra!"

Sharlet screamed again, as her husband's head thunked onto the table, the broth tipping and spilling onto the floor. There was a loud clunk when the dish rolled off the table.

Carlos clucked his tongue, "Not even a porcelain dish. You had us eating out of pots when you could have had everything."

Sharlet scrambled out her seat, "What have you done? Carlos, what have you done!?"

He smiled at her, stowing the wand in his chest pocket, his cape billowing as he walked toward her. The red and gold cape was short enough to barely brush his knees. Slowly, he began to remove his white gloves.

Sharlet backed as far away from him as the small space would allow and kept asking, "Carly, baby, what have you done?" She squinted at his handsome face, "What did you do to your eyes?"

His once blue irises were now a frightful red.

He smiled down at her, having cornered her against the back wall and the bit of countertop in the tiny kitchen. "They say," he said, tapping the signet ring on his finger. It was antique-gold crafted around a ruby the size of a robin's egg. "-that the eyes are the gateway to the soul. Do you believe in souls, Mum?"

Voice small, she whispered, "What have you done?"

He smiled wickedly, "Achieved power, and so much more."

Tears spilled from her eyes that had once been the same color as her son's, "Oh, Carly, you'll never find happiness. You don't need-"

She gagged, the pain lancing through her, hit her like a frieght train. She fell back against the wall. Looking down she was shocked beyond reason to find her son's hand had plunged a knife into her upper stomach.

"You wanted to be a muggle so badly," Carlos cooed at her, "Now you get to die like one."

Sharlet -realizing it was the end, cupped her son's face in her hands, "Carlos, my lovely, beautiful boy. Magic can take more than it can give."

"I don't know," he drawled, still smiling, "I think I've gotten quite a lot out of this deal. I think being a wizard suits me, don't you agree?"

She smiled up at him, feeling her heart flood with such sadness and love -she wondered which was killing her faster, the blood loss or the heartbreak. "I love you, Carly, don't you ever forget it."

The next morning, 'Sharlet Rookwood, murdered by a muggle in Muggle London', was a footnote of the Daily Prophet.

Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall stood shoulder to shoulder in the backyard of the Dursley house.

"I told you so," Minerva seethed, "Didn't I tell you they were the worst sort of people? That they would never understand him? Harry Potter wasn't kidnapped, he ran away."

"Black was sighted in the area," Albus said dully.

"Do you think he provoked Harry into acting against his relatives, tricked him somehow? How much does he even know about Black?"

"Harry knew nothing, save only that his mother and father died protecting him," Albus said. He wasn't truly paying attention to the conversation, his mind churning, how had it all gone so wrong so fast? "I suppose the powder is odd. To my knowledge neither Harry nor Black are proficient in potions at least to that extent, nor would they have had the supplies to make such a thing. I'll have Severus look at it."

But Albus didn't think it would do them much good. Harry Potter was in all likelihood, dead. Hope; hope had ended. The Dark had won and Albus did not know if he had the strength to fight another war.

"Mum?" Ron asked, examining Scabbers in the light of an open window. "Does Scabbers look worse to you?"

He certainly looked worse to Ron. Worse than the fat, lazy rat with the missing toe had looked the night before.

In one hand, Ron raised Scabbers even higher into the morning light, squinting his eyes to see if there were any rashes or signs of disease on the depressed thing.

But disease turned out to be one of the rat's least concerns because one moment he was in a thirteen years old's tender hand; the next a peregrine falcon swooped into the window and had the rat in its talons.

Ron, Fred, and George watched the white falcon speed away, as quickly as it had come.

"Does that bird look a bit like Harry's owl?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, but it was definitely a falcon, not an owl, the head was far too narrow," George answered.

"My rat," Ron said, stunned, "Mum, my rat!" He spun around fully ready to beg for a new pet, maybe an owl of his own but- but then he saw his mother's face.

Her expression was one of horror and grief and when his dad looked at what she had been reading, his expression fell into the same grief stricken lines. They both looked like they were about to cry.

"Ron," Molly stuttered, her voice hitching, "Ron, sit down."

Fred and George exchanged looks, "What's up, Mum? Dad?"

"Something's happened to Harry," Arthur said, his voice catching as well.

"Where's Harry?" Ron asked, not asking if he were alright because if his parents' expression were any indication, Harry wasn't alright.

"What happened to Harry?" George demanded when neither adult spoke up.

Arthur shut his eyes and said, "Sirius Black got him."

"Got him?" Fred squeaked.

"They haven't found a body yet-" Arthur said haltingly, "yet-, he's, he's-"

"Harry's gone," Molly finished for him.

Ron suddenly didn't give one wit about his stupid rat. His best friend was gone, and he didn't know what life at Hogwarts would be like without him: didn't know what he would do if- or rather when, Harry turned up dead.

"Harry Potter got himself kidnapped," Draco said contemptuously. "Bet he turns up fine. He is such a dramatic fool. Harry Potter-"

"Honestly, Draco, if I had known you talked about me so much at home, I would have sent your mother a condolence letter."

Draco stood and spun around so fast that he tipped over his chair. Meanwhile, his parents remained seated, completely calm at the breakfast time.

"Good morning, Harry, how was your flight?" his mother asked.

The man who was an older, more attractive version of the Harry Potter smiled at his mother and greeted, "Good morning, Cissa, Luci. My flight was most excellent. Is Andromeda- any word from Andromeda?"

Draco realized he had been gaping -drooling, over this- this stranger, he turned to his mother in outrage, why aren't they kicking him out?

But his mother only answered the man's question, "Not yet. Did the worm see your face?"

Harry gave her a look, "Of course not, do you take me for an amateur? Nephew, pick up your chair and sit down. Your breakfast is getting cold."

Draco opened his mouth to retaliate, but his mother commanded, "Listen to your Uncle, Draco. There will be no more wasting food in this house."

He turned back to goggle at her. He looked towards his father for help, but Father merely took another drink of his morning tea.

Draco could not understand what was happening. It was like his whole world had been turned upside down. First, it seemed like Mother was now in charge of family affairs, which had never happened before. Second, Harry Potter, who had been reported missing in the papers, was now weirdly in their home as a grown man -which no one seemed inclined to explain.

Thirdly, and most importantly -so much so he was compelled to say it outloud, "Harry Potter is not my uncle."

"Yes, sweetling he is. Speaking of which, where are your spawn, Potter? I thought they all woke up at the break of dawn," his mother remarked.

"We got up at three in the morning for hot chocolate and I slipped them all a little sleeping agent. I think they've had enough changes in one night that it called for some extra sleep."

"Did you sleep at all?" Mother asked, sounding honestly concerned.

Harry shook his head and bent down to pick up Draco's chair, by which point manners demanded that he sit back down.

"She'll be here," Narcissa said.

"I-" Harry began.

"I'm here, Harry," a woman who looked like Aunt Bellatrix said as she walked into the dining room. Her long brown hair was loose around her shoulders and she wore a black slip that brushed her ankles. She was wearing flats. It was something his mother sometimes wore around the house before bed, though she wore blue or creme not black for nightwear.

"I told you," Mother said, "Andromeda could never leave you, Harry, not willingly."

"Andromeda?" Draco exclaimed, reeling. "As in-"

"Watch it, Nephew, I am just as much a Black as Bellatrix ever was," the woman -who he had never met before, chided him.

And then the weird beginning of his day got even weirder when Harry Potter followed by Andromeda turned into falcons and flew into the next room. One white, one greyish black.

"They're both animagi?" Draco asked.

"Yes," Mother said. "Now eat your breakfast."

"Are you going to explain any of this?"

"Time travel, dearest, now eat. Your cousins will be up soon I expect, and trust me when I say, you will need the calories."

Time travel? Draco wondered, sending his father a pleading look.

But Father looked only a little less lost than he felt.

Harry flew to Narcissa's study, by far his favorite place in the entire manor, one wall of expansive windows overlooking the grounds, adjacent to a wall of bookshelves.

Transforming so that his first step was effortless, he faced the windows, reluctant to face her. There was still a chance Andromeda had chosen Ted.

And it was killing him.

"Harry," Andromeda called, a few paces behind him, "I chose you."

He turned to her -hardly daring- but the hand she held out to him was bare. Ted Tonks' ring absent for the first time since he had known her.

Harry crossed the space between them, wrapping himself around her and holding on as if she were the last loving thing in the universe.

She rubbed his back, "It's alright, I'm here, I'm here."

Harry didn't say anything, just buried his face into the curve of her neck.

She held him as he worked through his fears in his own mind.

Sometimes insecurities didn't need to be given voice. Sometimes a person needed only the reassurance of a lover's presence, and to be given the benefit of the doubt to be allowed a moment of weakness.

Harry's lack of faith that Andromeda would return to him -however reasonable that fear may have been, was just that; a moment of weakness. And she allowed him time to feel the backlash and the relief without letting it define what they were to each other.

What they had was more beautiful and precious than either believed they deserved. So they held one another, giving comfort without words because none were necessary.

Sirius Black seemed worse in the morning than he had the night before and his grasp on reality was tenuous at best.

When Andromeda had left, Ted had buried himself in work. He told Dora to stay with her... relative while he went searching for nutrition potions. It was both easier and harder to find them. Easy because all of his wife's -soon to be ex-wife's, potions were labeled. Hard because Andromeda had a problem with organizing. This wasn't to say she disliked organizing, quite the contrary, she could spend hours reordering a cabinet or bookshelf rather contently. The problem was that her system of organization changed, often.

Unfamiliar with the latest system it took him nearly an hour to find the four potions he needed. If he had been thinking straight he would have been able to reason his way through it, likely price or rareness or strength of the potions, but he was too- too something to process that.

Returning with the potions he had found Sirius pacing the small space in the living room.

"You can have the guest bedroom down here. And drink this." He waited a minute. "Now this one." Another minute and so on before Ted helped the man to the shower.

Bathing people was something Ted had a lot of professional experience with, something Sirius either knew or he just wasn't strong enough to protest the help. Getting through the man's hair took time, and Ted was just grateful for the distraction. He then proceeded to trim the man's hair to his shoulders and helped him shave away his ragged beard.

Afterward -in a spare set of clothes, Sirius didn't look good, but he looked human, which was a vast improvement over looking like a walking corpse who had crawled out of its grave.

Once he got the man in bed, with a dreamless sleep potion, Ted had gone to the kitchen. Where he spent the rest of the night cooking. He wasn't the best cook, but it didn't take a genius to make soups and broths.

Dora had tried to help, but she was more harm in a kitchen than she was of any use. Blessedly, she had stayed with him the whole night. Talking to him about her work, complaining about Moody, and her soon to be new partner, Kingsley Shacklebolt.

Ted had been grateful for that too. Luckily, she had the day off so she could babysit the criminal. The soups gave her something to eat and gave Sirius something he could hopefully keep down.

As he walked through the halls at St. Mungo's he thought, perhaps, he should have listened to her and stayed home. But home was hardly home without his wife.

"Hey Ted," Lacy greeted him as they checked their patients' lists.

"Hello," he said back with as much enthusiasm as he could muster toward the seasoned healer. It wasn't much enthusiasm at all.

"Hello? That's it?" she asked, "What, no Ted smiles today?" She paused looking over him. "What's wrong?" Her tone was more serious then, but before he could think of a lie she answered for him. "Does the news have you down? Poor boy, so young. But no one could have predicted Sirius Black breaking out of prison. Guess today, deserves to be a day of no Ted to smiles. A world without Harry Potter does seem so sad."

A world without Harry Potter, Ted thought, his heart clenching, who would have ever guessed I would one day hate the Boy Who Lived?

Unfortunately for Ted, Harry Potter was all anyone could talk about during his shift. It was a very long day.

Teddy awoke later than he had in- well later in the morning than he ever had excluding those mornings after the night spent under the full moon.

Careful not to wake his sisters, he slipped out of bed and Mapoppy's guest room. He sprinted down the hall and into the sitting room.

Mapoppy and Grandmama were sitting on the loveseat hand in hand.

He ran at them, Mapoppy pulling him into his arms. Teddy didn't care that he was perhaps too old for this reaction, all that mattered was that his parents were together, his real parents.

"How many kids do the two of you have?" a caustic voice asked.

Teddy turned to see his cousin Draco, a much, much younger Draco. "How old are you?" he asked, trying to sort out the math in his head.

"Thirteen," Draco answered.

"Oh," Teddy said, deflating a little. Draco wasn't a werewolf yet, which was good, at least for him and his parents.

"Who are you? You seem to know me."

Answering the blonde boy, with his white hair much shorter than he was used to, he said, "Teddy Lupin, I'm Harry's godson, and she's my grandmother. And you're my cousin."

"You're Nymphadora Tonks' son?" Draco asked.

"Technically, but she died a month after I was born."

Draco frowned, "With a healer as a father?"

Teddy shook his head, "No, not like that, not because of me. She was murdered."

"By who?"

"Bellatrix Lestrange."

Draco frowned harder, "She's in Azkaban."

"So was Sirius Black," Teddy shot back."

Giving him an appraising look, Draco seemed to not hate him as much as he obviously had wanted to. But if Teddy knew anything, it was how to deal with Slytherins. Three things that made you successful, be honest without oversharing, be logical while also being humble, and above all else, don't make them question their self image. It put them on the defensive. You could ask broad questions about the world but the moment you brought in their personal beliefs they became tight lipped or overly passionate about their views.

How did Teddy know this? He had three Slytherin sisters, the Malfoys, his grandmother, and sometimes even Mapoppy had Slytherin streak.

As if thinking of his sister had summoned them they came running into the room.

"Stop running in my house," Aunt Cissa chided blandly, "Ladies do not run."

Everyone ignored her, even Grandmama would run in the halls, and once he caught Aunt Cissa running with her. It was almost a joke between the two of the older Blacks. Besides, the long halls of Malfoy Manor invited running.

Morwenna took stock of the room, everyone accounted for, she turned on him. "I told you everything would be fine," she said, chin raised.

He rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, you're always right."

"Three?" Draco squeaked, "You had three girls?"

Teddy grinned at Draco's reaction. Obviously, he had grown up hearing the stories about the Black Sisters as much as the rest of them had. And three was an auspicious number.

"Four," Grandmama corrected, "But I had three with Harry. Morwenna is nine, Ophelia is seven, and Persephone is six."

"Hi," Morwenna greeted.

Ophelia and Persephone just goggled at the younger Draco, Teddy suspected they might have thought the whole time travel by burning house was a dream until they saw the proof this morning.

Teddy had been watching Uncle Luci's expression, and he looked like he had just drank down a toad in his last sip of tea.

"Mapoppy, I'm hungry," Persephone announced.

Mapoppy stood to his feet and headed toward the kitchen, "Right this way, my little ladies."

Ophelia and Persephone followed at his heels, Percy grabbing Mapoppy's hand.

Morwenna took a seat between Teddy and Grandmama. Grandmama put an arm around Morwenna, who leaned in closer to her.

"Why do they call him Mapoppy?" Lucius asked, speaking for the first time since Teddy had entered the room.

Grandmama grinned, "You know how most baby's first words are Ma or some variation?"

Lucius nodded.

"Teddy's first word was Ma. As were the girls, but they weren't referring to me."

Draco got it first, he laughed, "They called Harry, Mama? That's rich."

"He is the perfect wife," Aunt Cissa said.

"Mama evolved into Mapoppy, and the girls picked up on Mama from Teddy calling me Grandmama."

"And Harry doesn't mind this?" Uncle Luci asked.

"Harry works part time at Hogwarts, but he's the one who homeschools, cooks, cleans, takes care of the property, in all but anatomy he acts the mother."

Luci's eyes narrowed, "And what do you do, Andromeda?"

"I run a dance studio in Hogsmeade. I work full time, though my shift starts a bit later in the day."

Aunt Cissa put down her teacup, "Well, Lucius and I have an errand to run, I trust you can babysit Draco?"

Draco's face turned bright pink. "I don't need a babysitter!"

"No," Teddy said with a smile, "But you probably need a bodyguard now that you don't know my sisters."

"Why would I need a bodyguard?"

"Good point, Teddy," Aunt Cissa said, then turned to her son, "Give me your wand."

"Mum!" Draco exclaimed.

"Now, Draco."

"Why?"

"Because the Potter Sisters are notorious pickpockets and can do dastardly things with a wand."

Reluctantly, after getting no support from his father, he handed his wand over to his mother, who in turn handed it to Grandmama.

Draco scowled and crossed his arms.

Teddy thought he looked very young in that moment, and not just because he was thirteen.

"Where are you off to?" Grandmama asked.

"To find someone who needs finding," Aunt Cissa said as she left, Uncle Luci following after her like a glum shadow.

Sirius slept all day, much to Tonks' relief. In fact, he was still asleep when Dad got home.

Dad looked bone tired when he got into the house, and so sad it broke her heart.

"He's not up yet," she said.

"Then he'll likely sleep for another few hours. Sometimes sleep is the best medicine," he said.

"You need to get some sleep, Dad."

He nodded, "You're right. I'm going to take a shower." He paused in the doorway to the bathroom, "Thank you for staying, Dora."

She warmed up soup, something even she was capable of doing. They shared a quiet meal together before he excused himself for bed.

An hour later she checked on him to see if he were asleep, cracking the door open just enough, to see that he wasn't in bed.

Her dad was kneeling beside the bed, his body shaking with suppressed sobs.

It wrenched her heart.

Tonks stormed into Malfoy Manor, a place she had never been before and had no desire to be in now. But she was beyond angry and confused and she needed someone to blame.

Yelling at her mother seemed like a bad idea at the moment, but one day soon that too would come. How dare she break Dad's heart for something he hadn't done, at least not yet.

Her own part in the future was too big for her really to wrap her head around. That her son was only eight years younger than her was disturbing on so many levels.

When she did find the living room, or whatever a room with couches were called in a stupid manor, she B-lined for her mum and her lover. And six children that looked at her expectantly, well Draco Malfoy seemed to be half heartedly glaring at her.

"Nymphado-," her mother began, standing to her feet.

"No," Tonks said. "No, I don't want to talk to you right now. I want to talk to him." She pointed at Harry.

He and her mother exchanged looks, Harry raising a brow.

Some unspoken communication happened between them and with a nod, Harry said, "Very well, this way."

She followed him through a series of hallways, she could not shake the feeling that she was being led to a professor's office for misconduct. They walked until they reached a study with a stunning view of the back of the estate.

Being rich must be nice.

"What would you like to discuss?" Harry asked, sitting on the edge of the window sill, looking far too comfortable in the space.

"You're a bloody Bellend! How could you do this to my parents!?"

His face remained infuriatingly calm, "As opposed to you asking for Teddy, Morwenna, Ophelia, and Persephone's parents to be split apart?"

"She is married to my father, not you!"

"Some relationships are stronger than contracts."

"Implying my parents don't love each other!?"

"Of course, not. I'm probably one of the few people who understands just how much she loved him, loves him. But she isn't the same person she was when she was his."

"They belong together! You damned homewrecker!"

"I didn't wreck anything, Nymphadora," he said, his calm cracking a bit. "When I moved in with your mother, her life had already been thoroughly 'wrecked.'"

"Don't call me Nymphadora! And you don't know what you're talking about! My parents love could survive anything, anything!"

"Nymphadora," he said coolly, "Your mother nearly didn't survive losing you and your father. It was her love for you both that almost killed her. She is no longer the person she was. That person died when you did."

Her teeth ground together, and all she wanted, all she wanted was to hurt him, and take the calm, patronizing look of his stupidly handsome face. "You took advantage of a broken woman."

That got a response, and the cold rage she saw in his emerald eyes scared her.

He straightened, as graceful and as dangerous as a predatory cat he stepped closer to her, "I helped her regain her feet, but she's the one who changed, the one who remade herself, and it was she who pursued me."

Tonks tried to look arrogant and show off herself, and not reveal the unease she felt. Cocking her hip, she said, "You sound rather defensive, Potter."

He took a deep breath and looked away from her, leaving her to glare at his profile. He looked as if he were seeing something from the past, something that had nothing to do with the books on the wall.

Finally, he said, his voice neutral again, "After the war, we had all lost so much. I can think of no one who was not touched by grief in some way. What I found in your mother was a partner, and I have no doubt that if we had been closer in age we would have found a way to each other.

"She is the only person to ever make me feel- make me feel like myself. She brings out the very best in me. Andromeda and Teddy are where my life started, the first family -aside for a brief time with Sirius, that I could ever call my own." He met her gaze, "If that makes me an evil bastard in your eyes, so be it. But whatever you feel for me, I urge you to get past it. You have a son- or rather, you have a little brother and three little sisters who deserve the chance to get to know you."

"I don't want to get to know your kids," Tonks snarled.

"They don't deserve your ire, they are your family."

"And what, you want to be my stepdad?"

"I'll be whatever you want me to be, Nymphadora."

"I want you gone!"

He shook his head and sighed, "I'm not going anywhere."

"I hate you!"

"That's alright."

She felt her temper flare and she literally stomped her foot. She was done with him, done with this calm, reasonable bastard.

Turning for the door, she said, her back to him, "I'm going to tell Mum that if she doesn't drop you I will never speak to her again." She knew it sounded childish, but all she could think of was Dad hiding his tears.

He didn't deserve to have his heart ripped out.

Harry's hand prevented her from opening the door, and he was suddenly, very close to her, "You will do no such thing."

"You can't stop me."

"You don't know what you're doing," he shot back.

"I know my father's heart is broken and-"

He cut her off, "'Broken heart' doesn't cover what you and Ted did to her. When you speak to your mother, you will show her respect."

Tonks bared her teeth at him, "Like hell, I will. She-"

Again, he cut her off, "She has been through enough. Ted is a big boy, he can fight his own battles. Whatever is between him, your mother, and I is between the three of us. You are a child."

"I am not a child!"

"You are Andromeda's child and I am the man who raised your son when you went off to play soldier."

"If I died in a war, I died doing what was right."

He didn't even bother comment on that, "Mind my words, Nymphadora, you have caused your mother enough harm."

"She's the one who left Dad!"

Harry's face went distant, "No, he left her. You both did."

"We haven't done that yet! You can't blame us for-"

"We're from the future," he said, voice hard. "We are who we are today because of the choices you and your father made. To say that it didn't happen is to belittle everything we endured. It is to deny that Teddy is a person. You might say the future hasn't happened yet, but Teddy is a product of your choices, whether you acknowledge that -whether you acknowledge him or not."

"But you are all in the past now, and Mum choosing to break his heart now."

"And you think that gives you the right to lash out at her? You have every right to be angry and hurt. But when you speak to her remember this; Andromeda was always angry about Ted leaving, and she never stopped loving him. But it was your death, your passing that broke her. The loss of a child... there are no words to describe that pain. I know you love your parents, but that is hardly anything compared to how much your parents love you."

"So you want me to ignore-"

"I want you to realize that whatever drama, whatever pain traveling back in time has caused, your mother will never regret it. Even if this turns out to be temporary, she will never regret being given the chance to see you alive again."

Tonks had nothing to combat that with.

Harry opened the door for her.

She felt less angry after their talk, now she just felt depressed. Which made her hate him all the more. She left without saying goodbye to her mother.

AN: Over 6,000 words, so two chapters in one :D

Please, please, with caramel and warm chocolate sauce, please review?

Chapter 5: Only Time Will Tell

Keynote: Timeline, Last chapter was still within a 48 hour mark. Now be ready for more Teddy

Beta: Ahrnberg - awesomest dude around. Thank you! Though, as I see it, I'm only the not so hired help. You provide the awesome, I just polish it! :D - Ahrnberg

AN: I know a lot of are are not a fan of Carlos. But honestly couldn't think of a Voldemort that could handle this version of Harry without making him OC. So Carlos. I am working up to writing my own novel and Found in Our Ashes is the test run to a big, powerful, characterized cast, complex backstories, and world vast as it is mysterious. As a mystery lover, the plot will be a slow reveal. I have plotted it to the Goblet of Fire. I have already set up some foreshadowing and I will continue slipping in background events that will not be important until they are.

Carlos: I know OC's can go south, but have a little faith in me. Every friend I have, knows villains are my strength, and I have let my crazy out of the box on this fic. Is there enough content without him? Sure. But if I don't give myself something interesting to write I am going to stop writing fanfic… So welcome to my idea of entertainment.

Chapter 5 - Only Time Will Tell

Regulus wondered at what point his sanity would crack.

Or am I already insane? Was I ever sane?

Reasonable questions, he was a Black after all and if Bella and Siri were any examples, their family wasn't exactly a stable lot.

I wonder if Siri, is still alive. Bet he hates me if he is.

Something had happened a few years back -how many years ago Regulus had no idea, but he was pretty sure it was a few years. There was a chance it was weeks or months but… well, even stones age.

But returning to his original thought; something had happened, years ago (he was pretty certain) and the Dark Lord was on, as the Americans would say, the polls. Because if the Dark Lord was dead, then Regulus would be dead, but if the Dark Lord were doing well then he would have stopped by at some point to torture him -aside from the solitary entombment in solid rock.

But honestly, there were worse fates. Despite the need for food and water, his body never decayed. It was a desire of sorts without real physical pain. His body was frozen, it was his mind telling him he needed sustenance and air.

The whole not breathing thing was weird and perhaps one of the hardest parts of his new life as a rock.

However, by far, the most bothersome part of this entire ordeal was the boredom. He didn't miss people that much, he had only had the one real friend who half hated him because he looked like his brother, his brother who had ignored him since his entering Hogwarts and…

And he missed books. Glorious words between the lines of ink and the receptor of the mind. There was no greater magic- as far as Regulus was concerned, than books. He had gone years without, and if anything would drive him to madness it would be the profound lack of books in his world.

But, he supposed, his love for books is what was saving him now. For he spent his days, no, -nights, no… EXISTENCE! His existence thinking over the books he had read. He could recite, if anyone where around to listen, every ingredient of any of Severus's edited potion books, which should be the textbook, because the idea that recipes in the books were imprecise was a crime to every young mind and everyone who depended on those books for survival. Regulus could also name every star in the sky -which almost everyone bearing the Black name could (Even Siri, although he would never tell his pal Jamzie that).

Regulus could recite other texts from other fields but his true love was History. So much so that he remembered everything. Every name and date, every factoid. He lived to know it, and over the last years he had created a manuscript in his mind that burned to be written down. A manuscript that would throw old Binns on his ghostly arse, because Regulus knew the prose to make the past come alive. He only needed...

He only needed a way out of this prison.

Maybe… but it wasn't worth considering, it was a waste of brain power and hope to wonder or theorize why no one had come looking for him.

His only hope was that his family was okay, that by some miracle Siri,and his cousins, had made it through.

A part of him wanted to hate his brother, but Siri, for all his callousness and disregard for the family, and the price his feud with Mother had had on the rest of them; Siri had been right.

And Regulus regretted nothing as much as he regretted bowing before the Dark Lord.

Now, he, was a crazy fucker.

He giggled in his mind. His mother would have him by the ear for swearing.

The sound of a giggle in his mind was very odd. It was very loud, his own thoughts, sometimes his thoughts whispered, sometimes he had thoughts overlap, or thoughts that weren't thoughts -well they were thoughts they just weren't...

If a thought was a string of words than it wasn't a thought, but if an impression of an idea could have the force of a thought, then he had a lot of those.

The sound of them though, was like an echo, as if he were replaying someone else's words back in his head and he 'heard.' He supposed it was a memory… a memory of a sound, or an interpretation of his own voice, or real memories, or imagings or… or…

It was weird to think that he was deaf, mute, and blind, because none of it seemed true in the world he had built for himself. He had everything but a body; a body, and reality.

Reality, what a silly thing to miss, he mused. But he did miss it, more than sleep, or company, or even the ability to die, and the knowledge of his family to either rejoice or sorrow in. He longed for reality…

And then, the days of days, the day of all days, the beginning of days, the light-

"Reggie, oh Reggie," Cousin Narcissa said to him as he fell out of the wall into her arms.

The sensory overload was too much. He hadn't even opened his eyes yet but it was too much. And he slipped into oblivion, and Regulus embraced the darkness, not caring if it meant his death.

Someone had come for him, he could die in peace, knowing that his family had come for him. He wished he could have thanked Cissa, but he was already gone.

5:59 AM: Malfoy Manor, Draco's Bedroom

Draco was perfectly, soundly, blissfully asleep. In his dreams, Potter was still the stupid boy who lived and Hogwarts would start and Draco would finally be revered for the wonder he was because Harry would do something stupid.

He was woken by this wonderful dream when he felt pressure on his stomach. Blurrily he blinked awake and choked down a scream at a little girl staring into his face from inches away.

"You're awake!" she smiled.

If she wasn't so small, he might have pushed her off.

"Come on," the oldest girl -Morwenna, called in a hushed voice from the door.

"Let's go, Percy," the middle one, Ophelia, said from the side of the bed, "You have to let him up."

The girl rolled off him and fell off the side of the bed, only for her sister to break her fall. He sat up to see if she was alright but she seemed fine.

"Don't you two know how to be quiet?" Morwenna asked, "I want to explore."

"Get out of my room," Draco snarled finally regaining his voice.

"Get dressed," the oldest Potter-girl said.

"You can't tell me wh-"

"Hurry up," she commanded.

She gave him a look so fierce that if she hadn't been nine years old, he might have been frightened.

He opened his mouth to argue, only to yell at the youngest Potter-spawn, "Get out of my closest! Hey, stop that!"

He was out of bed in an instant, trying to get the two little ones out of his closest. But they avoided him and threw clothes at him. The youngest, ripping shirts off hangers, was laughing as she sang, "You should wear this, no this, no this! Cousin Draco you have so many clothes!"

Draco had no idea what to do, he turned to the oldest, who watched the chaos impassively.

"Stop them," he told her.

She smirked, and he felt a chill go down his spine. "Get dressed," she said sweetly.

"Fine! But get them out of my closest."

"Ohli, Percy! Enough."

And the two tiny Andromeda's with Potter green eyes skipped out of there like they hadn't just been raiding his closet of all order. He wanted them out, as quickly as he could get them out. Draco slipped on a pair of loose trousers and a pale shirt.

Tiny Potter A and Tiny Potter B grabbed one of each of his hands before dragging him from the room at a run.

Draco had never woken to feel this unprepared for the day ahead of him.

Teddy peeked out of the hall, surprised when he hadn't woken to Morwenna shaking him awake. Down the hall, he watched as Ophelia and Persephone pulled the poor blonde boy along between them, Morwenna conducting them, like some mythical goddess directing her enchanted hounds on their hunt.

People could say all they wanted about his sisters' names, but something like 'Rose' or 'Lily' or some other foolish flowery name would have given them a complex. His sisters were straight out of the story books, and they defined their own names.

Ducking back into his room, relieved to have some time to himself, Teddy sidled over the desk. Wendy Bird hooted at him, and he stroked her feathers.

"No Rona or- or… any of our friends to send letters to, Wendy Bird," he told her gently.

Sad Hoot.

Teddy didn't really have that many friends. He had Mapoppy's friends' kids who were obligated to spend time with him.

Verona Weasley, Fleur and Bill's daughter, was the one exception, but even Rona was closer to Morwenna. Sometimes Teddy wished his dad wasn't famous… or infamous -depending on who you were talking to, and Teddy also wished that his birth father hadn't been a werewolf.

Not that Teddy minded being a natural born animagus but with his metamorphmagus abilities already made him different than kids his age.

"On the bright side," he said, "at least I'm not a clutz like my sisters."

Wendy Bird beat her wings, glaring at the window.

He turned to the window and opened it for the large snowy owl. "Hedwig?" he asked.

Yellow eyes stared him down.

Rather intimidated by his father's familiar, Teddy belatedly realized she was holding a letter.

A letter from Hogwarts.

Addressed to him.

"Thank you!" he gushed, gently taking the letter from her.

Her replying hoot managed to sound self satisfied.

Teddy ran to his parents' room.

The time between his knock on their door and entered after what could hardly be called a brief pause. He launched himself on the bed. Both adults were barely awake when he started shaking Mapoppy's shoulder.

"It came! It came! It finally came! I didn't think I would ever get it! But look Mapoppy! It's addressed to me!"

Grandmama curled further into the blankets, only a glimpse of her face peering up at him.

Mapoppy recovered from being jolted awake as swiftly and as gracefully as he ever did, "Well, what are you waiting for? Your Grandmama to get black tea pumped into her veins?"

Grandmama glared up at him but seemed too tired to rise to the teasing.

Teddy opened the letter and read it out loud, laughing a little at the formal use of Aunt Minnie's name.

"I am so proud of you," Mapoppy said, eyes shining.

Teddy grinned, "I haven't done anything yet!"

"Not true," Grandmama said, her voice partially muffled by the covers.

But all his enjoyment fell as he realized all the lies he would have to tell in order for this to work.

"What's wrong?" Mapoppy asked.

"Am I- I mean… how am I supposed to keep everything secret? The time travel, and you, and…"

"You don't have to. If the truth slips out tomorrow, or later, it does not matter. Your grandmother and I can handle whatever comes," he said seriously before breaking into a grin, "And I thought you might enjoy not being my godson when you start at Hogwarts."

Teddy glared at him, "No! I will always be your son."

His smile grew warmer. "Always, but I meant you might enjoy just being Teddy Lupin for once, rather than one of the Potter Children. Even when the truth comes out, I wasn't as famous in my third year as I was after the second war."

Teddy wasn't thrilled about the idea and at the same time… "You mean I get a fresh start? But, still, I don't know how to answer a question about who raised me or who my mother is."

"Well," Mapoppy said slowly, "You can tell them that your godfather was muggle raised and that your mother died. As long as you don't say she's dead it's technically the truth."

"You have been spending too much around Slytherins," Grandmama purred, though she made no move to get further out of bed.

Mapoppy smiled down at her, "But my favorite people are Slytherins."

"Will you get mad at me if I don't get into Slytherin?"

Both his parents laughed.

Teddy crossed his arms and waited for them to get a hold of themselves.

"Sorry, we are just the last people to be angry about your sorting. Wherever you get sorted we will love, and like, you the same."

"Thanks, Mapoppy."

Grandmama finally sat up, though the blankets were somehow still cocooned around her. "Teddy, sweet, maybe it would be best if you stop calling Harry, Mapoppy."

"Why?"

"Well, as cute as it is, your classmates might think it a bit odd."

"Yeah, but we are odd," Teddy said simply.

"They don't know that yet, and your godfather is not the most popular person at this time. A nickname like that will have them picking on you both," she said.

"So 'Dad' or 'Father'?" he asked.

"Daddy, Poppy, papa, godfather, godda," Mapoppy said. "Whatever you like, but yeah, mapoppy probably will not fly in this century."

"Century?" Teddy asked, before his eyes, "Oh, yeah! That's so cool!" His face sobered, "What about Remus? What do I call him?"

"Call him Remus," Grandmama said, "a man who runs away after getting his partner pregnant then ran off again after you were born doesn't deserve much regard."

"Andromeda!" Mapoppy scolded, turning a look on her that Teddy had never witnessed before.

He was so startled by his father's response, it took him a minute to process what she had said. "Remus didn't want me?" he asked, the confusion audible even to his own ears.

Mapoppy turned back to him, his face all soothing comfort and understanding. "Teddy, it wasn't like that."

"It was exactly like that," Grandmama snapped.

Teddy pulled back from them, "But you said they loved me."

"They do," his father said, "Of course they loved you, you were their son."

Teddy looked toward Grandmama, and she nodded. Then he stated, "But they didn't want me."

"Wanting the idea of a baby, and wanting the person they created are two different things. Remus may not have wanted to be a father, but he did want you."

"But you don't feel that way. I remember when Grandmama got pregnant with Ohli and Percy, you loved them before I could even see that they were there."

"Yes, but we weren't at war then, Teddy."

He went on not acknowledging his father's point, "And if they really wanted me why hasn't my mum come to talk to me? She doesn't even want me to exist, much less my sisters, who are her actual sisters. Also if they wanted why did they go off to fight? Why did they leave me behind? They couldn't have mattered that much in the Battle at Hogwarts."

"Perhaps they wouldn't have left, but they attacked the school, the moral thing was to defend it."

"They left me and I was a baby. They didn't protect me."

"That is not quite true," Grandmama said, "Nymphadora left you with me, and I am a stronger witch than Remus Lupin was a wizard. I would not have let anything or anyone harm you."

Teddy hugged her. He might call her Grandmama, by she and Mapoppy were the only parents he had ever known and all he needed. That a secret part of him wanted to know his birth parents, that a part of him was disappointed in them and half wished, Andromeda Tonks and Harry Potter were his birth parents was his own problem.

"Nymphadora is angry about her parents splitting up. She will come around," Mapoppy said.

"Yeah," Teddy agreed, hoping she got over it before Morwenna started taking offense.

"Go get dressed," Mapoppy said, "I'll make breakfast and then you and I can go to Diagon Alley to get your first wand. I have a feeling this week will go quicker than we think."

"Can- can I take Wendy Bird?" Teddy asked.

"Of course, and if Morwenna argues tell her that Wendy Bird will be delivering letters between the two of you so often that you will be splitting time with her."

Teddy grinned, and hopped off the bed, "Thanks -Ma-Dad. Thanks, Dad, you're the best!"

Once Teddy left Harry got out of bed not looking at her.

"Harry-"

"You shouldn't have said that about Remus," he said, his back to her as he dressed.

"Did you want me to lie?"

"Lie about what?" He turned back towards her sharply, "Omitting that Remus had a moment of weakness because of his self-loathing? Teddy didn't need to know that. That's for the adults to worry about, and what's more is you're his parent and should have kept your temper."

"I think we have safely proven that by changing the timeline we can't make any of us not exist. And if there is no time paradox, I don't want my eldest daughter marrying that-"

"But that's about Nymphadora, who is an adult in her own right. Teddy didn't need your doubts. He deserves the chances to get to know both his parents."

"You really think it is safe for Teddy to be around that man?"

Harry gave her a dark look.

She rolled her eyes, "I don't mean the werewolf side of him, I mean do you think it is right to send Teddy unprepared to meet him. He isn't a strong person, if you send our son to him, letting Teddy believe that he'll have a second father as loving and accepting as you are, that would be harmful."

"Whatever Remus may or may not be, he has a kind heart, Nymphadora wouldn't have loved him otherwise. He might not have wanted the responsibility of a baby, but I think it highly unlikely that he would turn Teddy away. It isn't like Teddy will ask to move in with him or ask for financial help. I believe it is not only possible, but likely, that Remus will want to get to know his son."

"Remus Lupin will never be the man you are, Harry."

He looked away, "What does that matter?"

"When the moment comes where Teddy realizes that his life turned out better for his father's loss, then-"

"Andromeda," he cut her off, "No life is better, it is different. I was his godfather, I would always have been a part of Teddy's life. And had Nymphadora been allowed the chance to grow into maturity, had Remus been allowed a loving home, life would have been different, not better, not worse, just different."

"You and I wouldn't have been together."

He met her gaze, "Not if Ted were alive, but I think we would have found each other. Like I said, I would have been a part of Teddy's life and our paths would have crossed."

She smiled up at him, "Have a thing for widows do you?"

He grinned at her, "No, but Black women?" His smile grew, "If you leave me I might have to spring Bella out of prison to console myself."

She wacked him a with a pillow, "Doubtless you might be the one person who could handle her crazy ass, but I thought you might go after Cissa."

He made a face as if he was considering it, "I suppose getting rid of Lucius wouldn't be too much trouble."

Andromeda laughed and pulled him down on top of her, using his untied robs a leverage. "Naughty Potter," she said, her lips nearing his.

He laughed, "Only for you." And he claimed a kiss and nearly forgot that he needed to breakfast for their chicks.

"How is he? Does he need a healer?" Lucius asked.

"No, this much I can take care of on my own," Cissa said.

"What's wrong with him?"

"He's in a coma. His body is physically fine, the curse preserved it perfectly…"

"But?"

"But," she sighed, "I don't think he has had any sensory input, or at least nothing he can act on. If he could feel then it was limited. I think he could breathe, I think his heart was beating, but it didn't age. He was trapped physically but he was also trapped in time, in a span of a few seconds. No muscles twitches, no deviations, no sleep. Now now that his body can react, now that he is able to age again, it is as if his mind can't comprehend reconnection. He's been overstimulated."

"He's unconscious," Lucius noted, "How much overstimulation can he be experiencing?"

"A body cannot survive a week without sleep, Regulus has survived over a decade without it. This isn't matter for a healer. This- this will depend completely on the will of the universe and his own will to live."

"How do we know that he'll be all there if he does wake up? How do we know if his sanity can survive this?"

"We don't."

Cissa said, running a light touch along her cousin's forehead. His eyes were moving under his closed lids, and she hoped his dreams were fair.

"How long?" Sirius asked.

"Hmmm?" Ted asked, not looking up from the journal on new potions advances.

"How long until I can stand up without feeling like I am going to collapse? How long until I stop seeing things in the shadows? How long until I'm healed?"

"That depends entirely on you. Sleep, eat, do the exercises I showed you, your body will recover soon enough, and your godson is waiting to help you with the rest," Ted said.

"You've been very kind to me considering…"

"I am a healer. Your background, your crimes -innocent or no, is not my concern. You are my patient, and as a long, as you are in my care, I will care for you."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Harry's hair was golden blond and lightly curled; Narcissa had a talent for hair magic. Narcissa had also given them a loan -something she would take back in interest when Harry later claimed his vaults.

His eyes were blue and, as he wasn't a thirteen year old, he was virtually invisible in the crowd. Jason Porter was just another low level wizard who had been homeschooled. If someone really pushed, he was Lucius's half-blood cousin thrice removed, with a French mother who 'Jason' had never known. As backstories went it wasn't that complex and not that hard to believe. British wizard and witches who didn't get into Hogwarts wasn't as uncommon as Harry had been led to believe.

"How many books can I get?" Teddy asked.

"As many as are on the list and three extra books," Harry responded easily as he browsed the DADA section looking for something he hadn't seen yet. There were a couple used books with no titles on the signs that had sparked his interest.

"But I have to replace the ones I lost," he argued.

Harry smiled at his son, "I am not replacing the entire library in one day. Three extra books. You have an hour to make your choices."

After getting two books on magical creatures and one book on exotic plants that might as well have been magical creatures, Teddy felt vastly better about the world.

So what if he wouldn't be going to school with Rona. No one else from his time had all been all that close to him. No, this was his fresh start.

Ma- Dad, sent him into the wand shop on his own. Which, after meeting crazy eyed Ollivander, Teddy wasn't all that thrilled about. The wizard had a way of looking at him as if he wasn't seeing him, but his components, and judging him on his pieces rather than his whole.

"Ah my boy, Lupin… Black? Not quite certain but ah, rare that I don't know the parentage of a non-muggleborn. So tell me, my boy, who are you?"

"Teddy Remus Lupin," he answered, not letting his discomfort show.

"Lovely, I wasn't so wrong then," Ollivander said, "I was not aware Mr. Lupin had any children."

"I'm not sure he does either," Teddy said, "I was adopted."

"Well then, it is not my place to ask. Let's find you a wand, shall we?"

Finding his wand took the better part of an hour.

It was a golden-toned and so smooth it felt almost soft in his hands, the moment the wand touched his hand silver and gold light showered from the tip. Teddy felt a wash of power and presence go through him as if he had just made a new friend.

When he looked up at Mr. Ollivander, the old wizard did not look happy, quite the opposite, he looked mournfully upset.

He opened his mouth to ask when the bazar wizard spoke, "That was the last wand my father ever made. Not in all the long years since he died, on the very day that wand was born, has it shown any signs of power whatsoever. I thought it was coreless and incomplete. But I see now what it is. Pearwood is known for its remarkable spellwork, drawn to masters who are warm-hearted, who are generous, and wise."

He stopped then, and was quiet for such a long while that Teddy finally felt prompted to ask, "What is its core, Sir?"

"Thestral tail hair, unwieldy and fickle to work with for wand making. Not many wands have this core. In fact, to my knowledge, only the Elder Wand -one of the Deathly Hollows from lore, had a Thestral tail hair ever successfully bound as a core to a wand. I know not what this core, what this wand, has the potential to do, save for that it has powers that other wands do not. Be careful with what you do with this wand, pearwood is known for spellwork of the highest order. Be careful in who you become. I should not let you take this wand, Mr. Lupin. But I shall, in my heart I feel that I should trust you with this burden. I beg you do not make this world regret it."

Teddy blinked at the man, clutching his wand to him. All he could think of was how much trouble they would all be in if his sisters -specifically Morwenna got a hold of it.

"Um, I -I won't, but sir, um, I've never seen anyone die, don't you need to see someone die to um -you know- see thestrals?"

"You were born in a time of death, were you not?" Mr. Ollivander asked him.

Teddy held his tongue, doubting very much that he knew about the time travel. If people said vague things, it let the listening insert their own assumptions and sometimes share information that the trickster wouldn't have known otherwise.

Teddy would not confide in this strange man.

"I have never seen a person die," he repeated, his voice steady this time.

"Not everything we know can be seen, nor does invisibility of a thing deny its existence."

Teddy shook his head, "How much for the wand?"

"Take it. It is my father's creation, it is either his last blessing or a curse. I will not make a profit from either."

Teddy left after that.

Mapoppy was halfway through one of the books he had bought sitting at the bench that was in sight of the door, out of sight of Ollivander's window.

Crossing the street, Teddy asked immediately, "Can we go back now?"

His father looked up, "What's wrong?"

"I'll tell you at Aunt Cissa's house."

He needed no more explanation than that and apparated them back. Teddy told him everything and Mapoppy -unlike Mr. Ollivander, seemed a lot less upset.

"Mr. Ollivander sold Tom Riddle his wand, it makes him paranoid. May I see your wand, please?"

Teddy passed it over and felt the loss of it but wasn't upset to see it held by his father. There were no sparks and he smiled and swished the wand at one of the chairs in the room.

Absolutely nothing happened.

"Well," Dad said smiling, "looks like you found the one wand your sister might not be able to steal from you. But I would still keep it away from her, she could still poke your eye out with it."

"She wouldn't do that," Teddy said smiling, accepting his wand back, as well as an arm sheath his father handed to him.

"Not to you, perhaps, but you're not the-"

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

They turned to look, and Draco was running down the hall, and made a b-line for Mapoppy once he saw them. He hid behind the older wizard, and was just out of sight when Teddy's three sisters came sprinting in. Persephone laughing wildly, waving what looked like stuffed snake above her head.

"What are you three up?" Mapoppy asked crossing his arms.

"We are playing with Cousin Draco!" Percy cheered.

"Morwenna," Mapoppy said in that voice.

"We were just teaching him Parseltongue," she said innocently.

Teddy rolled his eyes, doubtless that they had found a real snake and convinced Draco it was poisonous. Teddy also had the suspicion that the fake snake Percy was holding, had been used to make Draco doubt his sanity in whether there was a real snake or not.

"I told you to leave the garter snakes in the gardens."

Morwenna smiled up at him sweetly, "I don't know what you mean, Mapoppy."

Teddy could see Draco tremble in fear, still hiding behind the Gryffindor.

That week did pass by quickly, or at least quickly for Teddy -who aside from the fact that Draco was younger, more shallow and less fun, felt as if they were in their own time, just not going back home.

Uncle Luci usually kicked them out after a few days. But this Lucius Malfoy seemed unable to argue with Aunt Cissa.

The week passed traumatically for Cousin Draco who, upon setting foot past the barrier, quickly said his goodbyes and all but ran onto the train.

Teddy was in far less of a rush. They were early so there was no reason for them to hurry.

"Oh, I'm so glad to see him like this again," Aunt Narcissa said to his father and Uncle Luci.

With Mapoppy's disguise, he did look an awful lot like one of the Malfoys. He wrapped Teddy in a hug, "You have fun, you hear. If there is trouble, contact me, even if it seems trivial, let me know. I want you to have a great year."

Teddy hugged him back, "Don't worry, I know the stories, and I'm lucky enough to have adults who will believe me."

"I love you, Teddy, so much."

"I love you too, Mapoppy," he whispered.

With one last tight squeeze, they broke apart.

Teddy got onto the train and waved goodbye, Wendy Bird hooted pleasantly, and his featherlight trunk was easy enough to handle on his own.

There weren't many people on the train yet and Teddy kept moving further up, hoping to find someone to make friends with. One compartment had a man asleep on the bench seat.

Teddy's first thought was who would let a homeless man onto the train, his worn clothes seemed in need of replacement. His heart dropped when he read the name on his luggage in peeling letters; Professor R. J. Lupin.

He wondered if he should wake him up. But Teddy suddenly felt unready for this discussion. Besides that, how embarrassing would it be to meet your son for the first time when he finds you asleep on the train.

No, he decided, Teddy would leave this… this meeting for another time. Softly shutting the door, he left. He went in search of a new compartment. He found a compartment with Blaise, two other Slytherins, and a girl who looked about his age.

"Who are you?" a boy… Theo, Blaise's sort of friend asked.

Teddy stole a look at Blaise who was far quieter than he remembered the pure blood being as an adult. He talked more than his husband ever did.

"Um, sorry, I'm Teddy Lupin, Draco Malfoy's cousin," he said with a smile.

Four glares greeted him, but after a minute or so the blonde girl and the brunette made room for him.

"I'm Theodore Nott, this is Blaise Zabini, and on either side of you is Daphne Greengrass and Astoria Greengrass," Theo introduced.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all." Teddy was pretty sure both girls worked in the ministry in his time, Daphne was Aunt Hermione's right hand witch, and Astoria was an Auror.

"I'm a first year too," Astoria said. "Do you think you will be sorted into Slytherin?"

Teddy shrugged, "Either Slytherin or Hufflepuff."

Daphne let out a small laugh, "Slytherin or Hufflepuff, now that's one I haven't heard before."

"I kind of hope it is Hufflepuff, to be honest," Teddy said truthfully.

"Why?" Theo asked, his tone sour.

"Because I have three half sisters, all whom I am pretty sure are going to be in Slytherin. I love them, but I don't want to spend all my time at Hogwarts trying to stay out of whatever trouble they get into."

"They sound like Gryffindors," Blaise said drily.

Teddy shook his head, "Trust me, they will be in Slytherin. Have you heard the stories about the Black Sisters at Hogwarts?"

All four Slytherins nodded their heads.

"Well then, my sisters are their second coming."

"There is no possible way," Daphne started, "That your sisters could be as bad as the Black Sisters. Bellatrix Lestrange is in Azkaban."

"My oldest sister is nine, but by the time she graduates from Hogwarts..." He shook his head, "She would never have gotten arrested. Just wait until you meet them."

"If we get sorted into different houses," Astoria said, "we can't be friends."

"Whoever made that stupid rule?" Teddy asked her.

"Hufflepuff isn't cool," she informed him.

"I thought Gryffindor house was the 'cool' house and that was the house that had a feud with Slytherin?"

"Slytherin has issues with every house," Theo sighed.

"More like every house but Ravenclaw has a problem with us," Blaise said.

"I don't have a problem with you," Teddy said.

Astoria gave him speculative look, "You're weird, Teddy Lupin."

He smiled, "You have no idea."

Teddy felt near giddy when the got on the boat. He was only a little put out when he realized none of the professors would recognize him, especially Hagrid. But then he realized what an advantage that would be.

No one was going to judge him by what his sisters or his father had done. Well, not his godfather anyway.

Astoria had warmed up to him, despite her best efforts to be frosty. They were joined in their boat by two girls, though neither of them seemed to have any interest in getting to know them.

Teddy had seen Hogwarts before, he knew it better than most people, his father had been the professor -at least part time, for ten years. His sisters knew it less well, because their time here was very restricted.

But no matter how well he knew it, nothing could lessen the beauty and mystery of arriving at the school by boat, the castle glittering in the night and on the surface of the inky water.

"Do you think the dementors were looking for Harry Potter?" One of the girls asked Teddy and Astoria suddenly.

"Who would send a dementor after a thirteen year old?" Teddy asked in return.

The train stopping had not been fun and watching the dementor breeze past their door gave credence to why his father had feared them so.

"He's with Sirius Black," the other girl said snottily.

"Why would Death Eater bring a kidnapped boy back to the people he kidnapped him from? I mean, all the professors here would kick his butt, right?"

"Sirius Black was You Know Who's right hand man."

Teddy snorted, "I think you're confused, Bellatrix Black was Tom Riddle's right hand woman. What did Sirius ever do? Betray the Potters? Bellatrix was the one who nearly took over the country."

He was pretty sure the two girls, who had yet to introduce themselves, were magically raised as they seemed to both follow what he was saying. Clearly, though, they didn't know the history well enough debate him.

"Tom Riddle?" Astoria asked.

"Yep, that was his real name."

"Wait, Riddle isn't a pure blood name," she said.

"He was a half blood."

Even in the dim light of the lanterns, he could see her eyes go wide, "No way but that's… wow."

"Sorry, my grandmama is a history nut."

"Well, that's good, my sister says it's impossible to learn anything in Binns class," she said.

"My Grandmama is a far better storyteller than Binns."

Teddy was not impressed by Minerva's greeting. He was greatly amused by his classmate's trepidation of her.

Though even he could not push down the butterflies in his gut when they gathered for the sorting.

In a year of change, what shall a Sorting Hat do?

What fates shall emerge out of the blue?

What friends will you make?

What bonds will brake?

oOo

I welcome you all,

I welcome you back,

Here to a place of learning

A place of exploring

oOo

Should you be in Slytherin,

Where your ambitions lead you,

Your friends defend you,

And your choices define you.

oOo

Might you be from Ravenclaw,

Where wisdom awaits you,

The company of minds beside you,

And your findings call to you.

oOo

Hail you from Gryffindor,

Where adventure beckons you,

Your friends stand along side you,

And your hearts ask for the best of you.

oOo

Dwell you in Hufflepuff,

Where kindness decides you,

You welcome all who approach you,

And your strength holds you.

oOo

I say it is time we show each other,

Why we belong together,

Why apart we are as weak as a single feather,

Why we fly when we depend on one another.

Everyone but a few perturbed Gryffindors and Slytherins clapped and cheered after the song had finished. Teddy really liked the Sorting Hat, but he was kind of worried he/it might blow his cover to Dumbledore. For once, Teddy did just want to be himself.

He didn't have too long to wait. Greengrass, Astoria, was sorted into the Slytherin and soon enough Minerva read out.

"Lupin, Edward."

Remus nearly choked on his sip of water.

Every professor at the table turned to look at him.

It was Filius who asked in a hushed voice, "You have a son?"

"No?" Remus answered.

Albus looked down at his copy of the list. "Edward Remus Lupin. Are you sure, you don't have a son?" the Headmaster asked him, voice barely audible. He might have sounded friendly if it wasn't for the fact that Harry was still missing, presumed dead.

"No?" Remus said again.

"How can you not know?" Pomona asked.

"I don't know? I can't even remember the last…" he swallowed. There had been a few muggle women, but he had used protection, dammit!

"Looks like he might be a Hatstall," Filius said.

"Does he look familiar to you?" Pomona asked, "He doesn't look like Remus at all."

"Aside from the eyes, green I think," Sinatra whispered, "Doesn't he look a bit like Andromeda Black?"

"Andromeda Tonks," Pomona corrected, then looked sharply at Remus.

"I did not sleep with a married woman," Remus hissed at her.

"Then who did you sleep with?" Poppy asked.

Remus's mind went blank, and for the life of him, he could not recall any of those one night stands from years ago.

Filius chuckled, "Can't remember their names, can you? Not a good sign, my boy."

Remus flushed. He was way in over his head. How am I even supposed to approach him?

After what felt like an eternity, Teddy thought/asked the Sorting Hat, Excuse me, not to be a bother, but could you tell me what houses you're thinking of sorting me in?

The Sorting Hat's stream of mumbling turned into, I WAS RIGHT! Oh, sorry, my dear, I was just reading. Quite a treasure you've given me this day. What was your question?

Teddy asked first, Are you going to tell Dumbledore?

No, dear one, I agree with Harry Potter, you deserve a chance to make your own way. Glad to hear he is alright by the way, as well as Sirius Black being innocent. He was a good boy. Tell them that for me, won't you?

I'll put it in my letter tonight.

Hmmm… The Sorting head responded, clearly sidetracked by another memory of Teddy's.

About my house? Teddy prodded.

Oh yes! Right. Oh, my dear, you must visit me again. Ah, but your house, ah yes. Well, you would certainly do well in Slytherin, but there is no doubt where you belong and that is in the house of-

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the Sorting Hat exclaimed for the hall to hear.

Teddy jumped out of his seat and whooped, punching the air.

He gave a startled Minerva a huge smile as he handed the Sorting Hat back to her.

The hall was clapping and the Hufflepuff House was laughing and cheering as they welcomed him warmly to their table.

"Hello," a handsome boy introduced himself. He leaned over the table to offer his hand. "I'm Cedric Diggory, one the prefects. I am very glad to welcome you to Hufflepuff, not many students are that excited to join our house."

Teddy shook the hand of the boy who he was pretty sure was destined to die at the end of the following school year. "Teddy Lupin, a pleasure to meet you."

Maybe, Teddy thought, being thrown back in time was a gift. Maybe we can help everyones lives better than they might have been.

But as the saying goes, Only time will tell.

AN: Thank you for reading! Long chapter, a longer week. Please review?

Chapter 6: Time Turned

AN: Got into the Creative Writing class! Less writing here, but who knows I might publish my own works one day :D My classes start up this week so updates -if any, will slow down in following next nine months.

Chapter 6 - Time Turned

Teddy all but skipped to breakfast the next morning where he found the hall absolutely empty. Food wasn't even out on the table yet.

His excitement took a nose dive as he sat alone at the giant table, his stomach growling. It wasn't as if he hadn't noticed his bunkmates still asleep, but it was their first day here. He had assumed someone else would be an earlier riser. It was already 6:15 am.

Sighing, Teddy pulled out his books, deciding to freshen up on his potions book. Grandmama writing had nearly drowned each page in blue ink. Cousin Draco had released his own textbook which had, in large part, been based off of his Potions Master godfather's notes.

It was strange to think that the infamous Severus Snape would be Teddy's teacher. The future had mixed reviews on the life and deeds of the man who had struck Albus Dumbledore with a death blow. He probably would have been hated had the 'saviour' not made a public statement about his status as Dumbledore's spy.

Even still, the cranky wizard hadn't left behind all that positive of an impression on society. In some ways, it was Draco who kept the Snape name in polite conversation.

"Mr. Lupin?" a familiar asked.

Teddy looked up and had to catch himself from saying 'Hi, Aunt Minnie.' Out loud he said, "Good morning, Professor McGonagall."

"Good morning," she said politely, "You know breakfast isn't served until seven?"

Teddy felt his stomach groan, "No, but I guess I do now."

"Didn't you want sleep in? You have a long day ahead of you."

"I typically wake up at five. Early risers at my house," he said, smiling up at her.

She blinked, "It would seem so. If you don't mind my asking, who do you live with?"

"My godfather and grandmother. And I have three little sisters."

Her green eyes widened, "Three sisters?"

He grinned, "My godfather's girls, we aren't exactly siblings but that's how we were brought up."

Her face softened a bit, "Sounds like you had a good childhood."

"I have the best family. Though, to be honest, I am kind of glad to have a break from my sisters. I love them but I'm the oldest and keeping track of them is a bit like herding cats."

Minerva sat down across from him, "I was oldest too. And I had two younger brothers." She shook her head, "The trouble those two got into."

"You haven't met trouble until you meet Morwenna."

She smirked, "And is young Morwenna a witch?"

He nodded, "She is and she's already pretty good with wandless magic, she got a hold of my aunt's wand once and… well, she almost brought a building down on us. I don't know what would have happened if my ma-dad hadn't there."

"Children aren't allowed to use magic before they come to Hogwarts."

Teddy shrugged, "She's a metamorphmagus, she is magic." He didn't point out that so was he as well as Ophelia and Persephone.

"Quite the gift."

"Yeah, but she's a terrible dancer. I still haven't figured out how someone, who can't walk a straight line, can be as stealthy as she can be." Ophelia wasn't that bad either, but Persephone typically entered a room like a hurricane.

"You live in the wizarding world then?"

"Yeah, we moved in with my aunt now though. My uncle isn't too happy about it, but our house burned down so we don't have anywhere else to go."

Minerva's expression showed her concern, and Teddy knew that she had pushed as far as she thought polite, "I'm so sorry, it is a hard thing to lose a home."

He shrugged, "I'm sorry for all the books we lost but we will manage."

She smile, "With that attitude I'm surprised you weren't sorted into Ravenclaw or Gryffindor."

He smiled back, "Nope, almost a Slytherin though."

Her smile faulted, "Oh?"

"Yeah, almost green for me, but I'm glad I'm not. I know Morwenna will be, because I think any other house would consider it cruel and unusual punishment."

"You seem very close to your sister."

"She's my best friend."

"Well, be sure to write her many letters." Minerva tapped her wand empty plate between and French toast and syrup appeared on the table, "At Six thirty you can ask for food by tapping a plate, but you will have only what is ready."

"Thank you!" Teddy exclaimed, reaching for a fork.

Apparently his enthusiasm and relief was amusing, because she almost laughed. She rose from the table, saying, "Have a wonderful first day, Mr. Lupin."

He swallowed a bite of food hard before he replied, "Thank you! Have great day too, Professor McGonagall."

By the time his classmates got to the table he had finished eating and was back to reviewing his potions textbook.

Which was good because their first class was Potions.

Severus Snape was in a foul mood. Not unusual by any means given that twelve years of teaching for the soul purpose of keeping Lily's son from unsavory fate, had boiled down to one escaped convict.

Damn Black. Severus had always hated him. And, even though he secreted believed Sirius Black to be the least likely Death Eater of any pure blood he had every met, it seemed breeding won out. Or at least insanity did.

Harry Potter was most probably dead. It had been over a week and not a single sight of him, his body, or his kidnapper.

Had Lily been alive she would have been broken.

It was with this thought looming heavy in his mind, that he began teaching his first class of the year, which was a fresh crop of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. respectful, scared, and foolish. But at least Severus wouldn't have to worry about them trying to kill each other.

He started in on his routine speech, the room riveted on each word he spoke.

"Lupin," he began. "'What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?'"

The boy who looked more like one of the Black Sisters than Remus Lupin answered easily, "The Draught of Living Death, Sir."

Unexpected, but everyone gets lucky. "'Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?'"

Again, the runt answered calmly, not the least bit nervous or uncertain, "It can be found in the stomach of a goat and it is useful against most poisons."

"'What is the difference, Lupin, between monkshood and wolfsbane?'"

At this, the boy had the nerve to smile, "Monkshood, wolfsbane, and aconite are all different names for the same plant."

Severus was annoyed, and wondered at the boy's emphasis on wolfsbane; Does he know his father is a werewolf? That would certainly be curious as it seemed Remus knew nothing of the boy. Meeting the boy's eyes, Severus's scathing response died on his tongue. Unhidden behind a pair of spectacles, Lily's eyes stared back at him.

Which was impossible, unless… but no, the boy was too young. Lily would have been dead before he was born… unless he was on the older side of his class -but no. No. Severus put all speculations aside. Green eyes weren't all that impossible, even if emerald was a shade he had only encountered twice in his travels.

"Three points to Hufflepuff, I'll be assuming the rest of you have read the text as closely."

There was a shuffle in the class. Despite giving points and no deducting them, the class was well behaved. Edward Lupin was neither smug nor a novice at potion brewing. He was the first to finish, his potion impeccable. And in typical Hufflepuff fashion, everyone benefited from his knowledge, the group easily sharing their information, though the chatter remained at a low murmur.

Severus hated to even think it, but this might just be his favorite class to pass through his classroom. If only his Slytherin and Gryffindor class could be as peaceable.

He wasn't going to hold his breath.

"I can't believe you could keep your cool!" one of the Hufflepuff girls gushed.

"Kept his cool?" another one of his classmates asked, "He is cool. Edward the Coolest."

"My name is Teddy," he corrected, "Edward is my grandfather, nobody calls me that."

"Oh, sorry," the boy said amiably, "Hey, will you help us with our homework?"

"Yeah, that would be so much fun!" a girl with sandy blonde hair interjected.

"I can help, sure," Teddy said, eager to make friends. Though even as he said it he could feel that they weren't asking to spend more time with him, they wanted a way to not have to work as hard.

When they arrived at lunch, Teddy found that the conversation around chocolate cards, and what each teacher would be like, less interesting. Quietly, he listened to their wild theories and poor bargaining attempts as he ate his food.

Next class was Transfiguration, which was the class Teddy had a natural aptitude for. He thought it sort of unfair to the rest of the class that he was able to transform his matchstick on the first try. After all, he was the only metamorphmagus and natural born animagus in the room.

The following day, charms and herbology played out much the same. His feather floated -something he hadn't really needed either the charm or his wand to accomplish, and he knew all the names of the plants Professor Sprout showed them.

They weren't half way through their week, when Teddy Lupin was declared the smartest first year. A statement that made him wish he had failed on purpose. Everyone liked him, everyone got along with him, but no one seemed to want to really get to know him. 'Smart Hufflepuff Boy' and 'Professor's Son' he heard people whisper as he passed, or sometimes things far less friendly.

So much for a fresh start. Teddy had never thought being different could feel so awful, but then he had never been alone before.

"Quite the bright mind that one has," Filius said to Remus at the head table, vaguely gesturing towards the first year Hufflepuffs.

"He's in my next class," he replied, voice tight. He had tried to speak with the boy before then, but he seemed to an uncanny skill in disappearing into a crowd. Remus refrained from approaching him during his meal, the gossip about being his son, or worse bastard son, was probably bad enough without drawing attention to it. Instead, he would be holding his probable son back after class today.

"It is rare to see a child exceed so seamlessly through the curriculum. Ms. Granger is certainly brilliant but Mr. Lupin seems to be -how do I put it, he seems to be magically strong."

"Nymphadora Tonks was quite talented," Pomona said, "she's the youngest example I can think of."

"She was the last student to be accepted into the Auror program in the last few years, wasn't she?" Remus asked.

"That's right, poor thing had trouble passing her stealth exam though," Pomona agreed.

"Hardly her fault," Minerva said. "Young Mr. Lupin reminds me of her a great deal. Though, in addition to raw power, he seems to have a bit more focus than she did. Perhaps he took after his father's studious nature?"

Remus looked away and mumbled, "I would like to know who raised him."

"His grandmother and godfather," Minerva answered.

He looked back at her, "You spoke with him? Who are they?"

"He didn't mention names, but, from what I could gather, he has a loving family. You will have to speak with him yourself," she said.

Something tight loosened inside of him, though the guilt didn't truly abate.

Teddy had sat in on a lot of his father's classes, or rather his godfather's classes. This would be the first time he saw his birth father's take on a DADA lesson.

He wasn't bad, not bad at all. But he wasn't Mapoppy. As this was a first year class it was just a lecture talk. Teddy didn't bother taking notes, as he could cite the books he was drawing from. Books Mapoppy had disregarded over five years ago.

Mapoppy's first years always learned the disarming charm on their first day of class, the irony of which was lost on no one.

If Teddy wasn't so anxious about talking to Remus he would have been unreasonably bored. It wasn't that he couldn't learn something new, it was his familiarity with the topic. The thing he liked the most about DADA classes was when they talked about magical creatures, the rest? If he wanted to know the rest he could just ask Mapoppy.

Before the bell rang, Remus asked him to stay behind after class, and Teddy's anxiety rose.

What do I tell him?

This question tormented him as the class drained of students, leaving only himself and Remus, a pool of awkward silence forming between them.

Remus coughed, clearing his throat, "Hello Edw-"

"My name is Teddy," he corrected harsher than he meant to be.

"Ah, of course, hello Teddy, I'm-"

"My birth father, I know."

"Err, yes…"

Teddy let the silence build. He was usually more sympathetic than this, but his own emotions were in turmoil. This was his birth father, this was the man who had made him. Who gave him lycanthropy, who had died before Teddy could even hope to remember him.

"So… who did you gro-"

"You mean who raised me when you left my mother pregnant?" When you came back for her, only for you both to leave me?

"I swear to you, Teddy, I didn't know your mother was pregnant."

Suddenly, Teddy felt the reverse seemed so much worse. What kind of man leaves a woman he loves when he gets her pregnant? Mapoppy wouldn't have. And Mapoppy was only seventeen when he stepped up to be my godfather. Remus was over thirty.

Teddy crossed his arms, doing the best impression of his sisters, when they were trying to get their way, that he could.

After a minute or so of sweating, Remus asked, "Who exactly is your mother?"

Teddy thought of a lot of things he could have said but settled on, "If you have to ask you don't deserve to know."

The older werewolf visibly flinched. "Teddy, I'm sorry. Twelve years ago, I'm not sure I can even tell you where I was, much less who I was with. I had just lost my friends in the war and -and I had a hard time finding work. But if I am your father, I would like to get to know you. I would like to re-meet your mother."

"You're not my father," Teddy said coldly. "My father loves me. He raised me, he stayed, he always treated me like one of his own children. I may have wanted to know you, but I don't need you. I have a real father, and one who isn't some coward like you."

Remus looked as if he had been beaten, his shoulders rounded.

Teddy instantly regretted causing such pain in another person, but he didn't know how to take it back without revealing too many of his secrets. Sure, Mapoppy said he could share as much as he wanted, but Teddy didn't trust Remus.

Teddy would rather keep the man at arms' length than be let down, again.

Remus watched the boy go.

How remarkable that I could help create a little person like that.

But along with the feeling of awe, he couldn't help thinking that drowning in the lake would have been a more pleasurable experience.

Persephone was sobbing.

Not surprising really, not when Harry saw a gash that extended from her thumb to the back of her hand.

"She squeezed the little golden glass too tight," Ophelia said over her sister's tears.

Morwenna was quiet, eyes too wide, looking at the blood in horror. The four of them, or rather, the three of them, always got into a lot of trouble, but it was rare that any of them got hurt. However, Persephone, as the youngest, often got herself scratched; less because of her plotting sisters and more because she wasn't always able to think things through.

For instance, squeezing a delicate glass teacup too tightly.

"You two best be studying when I get back," Harry said, as he bent down to scoop Persephone up in his arms. Luckily, Narcissa's study wasn't too far from the kitchen.

Persephone buried her face into his shoulder, holding her arm out like a broken wing. Her whole body shaking with sobs.

"Hush, baby girl, I've got you. I'll have you fixed up in no time," he whispered, rubbing her back with the hand not holding her to him.

Harry didn't think the wound was that bad. Glass cuts were clean, and often looked worse than they were. He turned on the faucet to cold. Taking Persephone's injured hand, gently but securely, in his, pulling the wound under the stream of water. He was proven right -in that the wound wasn't serious. When the blood washed away, barely a pink line was left behind.

Persephone let out a sound, somewhere between a scream and a whimper, at the sensation of cold water on her skin.

Had it been Teddy, Morwenna, or Ophelia, he would have simply used episkey and been done with it. But Persephone had extreme reactions to sensory input, and the stinging sensation that episkey caused could send her over the edge into an evening long tantrum if she wasn't prepared.

So, he held her hand under the stream of cold water until his own fingers felt numb and she was tugging to get away from him like a fish on a hook. Using his Holly Wand, he magicked the wound away.

She let out a squeak, cradling her hand against her chest and reburring her face against his shoulder.

"See, all over," he said soothingly, rubbing her back again. "Let's go back to check on your sisters, I'm sure they've missed you."

Persephone said nothing, her usual babbling self lost behind a sensory and emotional overload.

Harry held her small form close, as they returned to the study.

"Is she okay?" Morwenna asked the moment they re-entered the room.

"She's fine, just a little upset. How are the equations going?" he asked as he flicked his wand to both clean the area and fix the broken glass on Narcissa's desk.

"Maths are stupid," she replied tartly, glaring down at the worksheet Harry had made up for her.

"No, they are important."

"It isn't taught at Hogwarts," she parried.

"That's because it's assumed you know it from learning it in primary school or from tutors. Now, finish those pages or I will triple them."

"But Mapoppy," she whined, "I don't want to memorize the table."

"Stop whining. And you don't have to memorize it. I showed you how to break down fractions into prime numbers."

"I hate this."

"That's alright, you just need to learn it."

Morwenna stuck her tongue out at him.

He only grinned in response, as she glumly turned back to her equations. Ophelia for her part was studiously keeping her eyes down on the picture book she was reading.

"Ophelia," he intoned, "how far are you?"

"Page fifteen," she said, her voice sure of itself.

"Really?" he asked disbelievingly.

She held open the page she was on, of a frog arguing with a toad.

"Read the sentence out loud to me."

She frowned at him, her emerald eyes flashing to brown, "Why? This book is dumb."

"Ophelia," he said, not quite chidingly.

Sighing dramatically, she read the first sentence on the page, "Frog, doney with seep, did not hear what Toad said."

"Frog, drowsy with sleep, did not hear what Toad said," Harry corrected. "And you can start over from the beginning."

"Mapoppy!" she protested.

"Can you honestly tell me you read two complete pages out of fifteen?"

"Yes, I did," she declared.

He raised a brow.

She flushed, her eyes melding back to emerald, "No, but the book is still dumb."

"There are two sentences per page, if that. You can read this book, Ophelia."

"But it's boring."

"But unless you learn to read books like these then you won't be able to read the fun books," he reasoned.

"Fine," she caved, flipping back to page one.

"That's my girl," Harry said.

Persephone shifted in his arms, she peeked up at him, the question clear on her face.

"You're all my girls. Now, Persephone what would you like me to read?"

"Stellaluna," she mumbled.

Harry froze and cursed himself. He should have gone out a picked up a few of Persephone's favorite books. Stellaluna was actually Teddy's favorite and by requesting it, he knew that she was missing her big brother. The problem was that Stellaluna, like most of Persephone's favorite stories, were muggle books and there certainly would not be copies of them in the Malfoy Manor. Harry wasn't even sure if they were all published yet.

"Well, you're in luck, my little lady. Look what Mama brought back from London," Andromeda said from behind him.

Harry turned to her with more relief than Persephone probably felt.

"MAMA!" Persephone cried out, "I hurt my hand!" She flapped said small hand out towards her. "Mapoppy fixed it. Can you both read Stellaluna now?"

"Of course, baby girl," Andromeda said, laying her cloth bag down on one of the chairs as she approached them with only the Stellaluna book in her hand.

Harry hugged her with his free arm, Andromeda wrapping herself around them both, Persephone between them.

"Has anyone ever told you, you're a beautiful goddess with mysterious powers beyond comprehensions."

"You might have mentioned it a time a two." She smiled, "But I never grow tired of hearing it."

"How did you know we would need the books?" he asked.

"With this many changes? Most prominently, her big brother being away, I thought some familiar comforts were called for."

"Read, now," Persephone ordered.

Andromeda gave her a look.

"Please, Mama?" she asked.

Harry sat on the floor, the couch behind him acting as a backrest. Andromeda joined them, pressing to his side. Persephone making herself comfortable between them, as together, Andromeda and Harry opened up the new copy of Stellaluna.

On the cover page, Persephone reached out and tore the corner. In the same corner where Teddy's copy of the book had been torn from the one night he had rolled on when he fell asleep with it.

"Don't hurt the books, darling," Andromeda said reflexively but not harshly.

Persephone said nothing, only turned the page, waiting for them to start reading. Harry read the text and Andromeda read the dialogue.

Of all his children, he worried the most for Persephone. She was oddly fragile, not in will or spirit, but she had a thin skin for things outside her world. Adjusting to change and understanding other people's emotions were not easy for her. Of course, she was only six years old, but Harry had two other girls to compare her development with. He wasn't sure how well other people noticed. Andromeda had, naturally, but most people couldn't tell Ophelia and Persephone apart aside from their relative size.

Persephone laid a hand on the picture of the fruit bat being scolded by the Mama bird.

Harry paused in his reading, letting her take her fill of the illustration. A minute or so later, Persephone turned the page, her eyes scanning over the next picture as if she were a part of that world.

Morwenna sat across from them, working on her homework. Ophelia kept pausing to watch her parents read and check on Persephone.

Whatever worries Harry had about his youngest daughter were minor. Persephone would always be surrounded by family who loved her and they would always protect her. Whatever came, they could handle it.

Andromeda knocked on the door. A door to the house that eleven years ago had been hers. She was dressed in muggle spring dress, which felt unusual. Even when it was warm, like it was today, she wore layers. But she had bought the dress this morning, and there had not been much to choose from on the sales rack.

Which wouldn't be an issue soon enough, unlike Harry, she could still access her accounts freely. She was just apprehensive of doing so as Ted's name was on her account and she knew muggle divorces could be messy things.

Though, as compared to the Wizarding World, they were a bit fairer, considering she would have to have given him every knut and thing she owned if she divorced him in her own world.

Her own world. When had she reclaimed the Wizarding World and the pure blood heritage as her own?

The answer wasn't hard to find, when Narcissa walked back into my life.

Her sisters, no matter what they believed or had done, Andromeda had never been capable of resisting her love for them. She might have turned her back on them, but they were as much a part of her as her limbs. She could stop using them if she wished, she might even be able to cut them off, but she would never not feel the lack of them.

Ted opened the door, and the look he gave her would haunt her for the rest of her days.

She opened her mouth to say something but he held up a hand.

"Unless the next words you were planning to say were 'I change my mind,' I don't want to hear it."

"Ted…"

He closed the door behind him and motioned to the car, "Come on, we are going to be late."

It was the worst car journey she had ever had to sit through. She wished he had given her the address to meet him at the lawyer's office, but she supposed this punishment was just. After all, it was she who was making the divorce necessary.

"Are you going to marry Potter?" Ted asked finally.

"I don't know," she said truthfully.

"Why don't you?"

She took in a slow breath and looked out the window, watching the sunshine wink off of passing road signs. "Because Harry and I didn't get married since I couldn't see myself as an unattached woman. I was your widow."

"But now you're not. Now I'm alive and you've still chosen him."

"Yes, but I don't know how romantic Harry will find it that."

"We were married for twenty years, and you left me for him. How isn't that romantic?"

"We were viciously thrown through time, and while I might like this timeline better than the other one, Harry doesn't necessarily feel the same."

"Why wouldn't he? His godfather is alive."

"All his friends are thirteen or younger, and they will never become the people he knew. And the state of the government-" she made a sound in the back of her throat, "The second war did not improve things, by any means, but what followed after...Harry's generation; they changed the way of things."

"I thought you said the Wizarding World would never change," he said.

"I was wrong, because it did. In ways I can't even describe, it did."

"Name something."

"Draco Malfoy becomes a better potioneer than I am or Severus Snape was, and invents the cure to lycanthropy."

He gave her look, "That's impossible." Then before she could answer, "Do you know it? The recipe, I mean."

She shook her head, "No, I regret not knowing it now but no. It was like a counter-curse based in transfiguration and potions. The potion takes a year to brew, or twelve moons, and only healers were trusted to administer it. So neither I, nor Narcissa, nor Harry, have brewed, much less administered it to anyone."

"I didn't ask if your precious Potter could do it."

Her lips tightened, but she didn't rise to his anger, "You do have to be powerful to use it, but Harry isn't that good of a potioneer and he doesn't have the finesse to activate it on a living person."

"So he's not perfect," Ted said, eyes narrowed on the road.

"No one is. I believe you could administrate it, if we can rediscover it."

"You mean you plan to see me again after today."

"Ted, we have a daughter. This divorce doesn't mean we never see each other again, it doesn't even mean we stop being family, it just means we stop being lovers. It means we stop living together."

"Just," he repeated bitterly. "What would you say if I start seeing other people?"

She wished he hadn't looked at her then, because she knew her face betrayed the flash of jealousy. She didn't let it show in her voice though, "Yes, it means you can move on too."

His tawny eyes turned back to the road as the light changed, "You haven't moved on, Dromeda. You can tell yourself and him whatever you like, but you haven't moved on. You wore my ring for eleven years after I was gone, eleven years in his bed, and you still wore my ring."

"I've made my choice, Ted. And you may not have left me yet, but you did leave me first."

"And you think Potter can't leave you too? You really believe no young girl might cross his path, that he's incapable of straying?"

She sighed, "No. No, Harry would never do that to me. He would never do that to our kids."

"Like you did to Dora?"

"Nymphadora is a grown woman."

"Your little ones won't stay little forever. What do you think is going to happen when you start turning grey and Hero Potter has another twenty years of youth on his side?"

"If you are implying that a lady loses her worth as she ages than I can relieve you of your testosterone sacks, if you like? And if you are implying that Harry is the kind of man to cheat, then you should realize that isn't the type of person I'm attracted to."

"Says the woman who can't let go of the idea that I left."

"You did leave. You left because you didn't trust me to keep you safe, not because of another woman. I wish it had been another woman."

He shot her speculative look, "I always thought you would kill me if I cheated on you."

"If you cheated on me, you would have been alive when Nymphadora gave birth, I wouldn't have been alone. You might have been able to talk her out of leaving, and if you failed as I did, then you would still have been alive to be Teddy's grandfather."

"I'm still pretty sure you would have killed me."

"I love you, Ted, I could have never killed you, no matter what you did to me, I could never kill you."

He parked the car, "Andromeda, I love you. We don't have to do this. We can put this off until we are both sure. You're still the woman I married all those years ago." He took her hand in his, "Dromeda, please."

Tawny met garnet brown, and she felt love, and anger, and overwhelming sorrow. No matter how much she might still love him, she could never trust him again. Squeezing his hand in hers, she said, "I know it is possible for Harry to leave me, but I trust that he won't. When I'm in his arms, I don't fear for the future. And, although I still love you, I can't help wishing that you had been alive with me when Nymphadora died.

"I will never be able to kill you, Ted, but there are things far, far, worse than death. That I could wish that pain on you, even for a moment, is enough for me to know that what we had is broken and can never be repaired."

He held onto her hand tighter, "I'm a healer, fixing what's been broken is what I do."

"I don't need to be fixed. Someone else has already healed the parts of me that I could not live without."

He released her.

They went into the lawyer's office. The papers were signed.

Edward Tonks and Andromeda Black were no longer husband and wife.

She was fifteen years older than him now. Fifteen years.

And it had not made a whit of difference to her stamina and enthusiasm in bed. If anything, she was freer and more talented.

Lucius had been complaining about the Potters taking up residence in their home, and he had been horrified when he realized that Narcissa didn't want them to go. Ever.

It was a statement to the fact that his wife had always wanted more children, a bigger family, and her sisters back in her life, things that were not in his power to give; until now. Of course, he had tried to give her more children.

Honestly, he had never stopped trying. But it was the nature of his line that one, male, heir was all they were liable to expect.

Lucius watched his wife shiver above him, only then allowing his own release. She laid down on his chest, both of them trying to regain their breath. He stroked her back and marveled at the perfection of her.

Is she perfect, or is it what I felt for her that keeps her perfect in my mind, under my touch?

He had been a bit disturbed, and curious, as to how Potter could have been attracted to a woman twice his age. He didn't need to wonder any longer.

"I like you better this way," Narcissa murmured against his skin.

He ran his hand through her hair, "Younger?"

"Unbroken."

He paused at that, "I don't intend to fail you, wife."

She curled tighter to him and made a purring sound that made shudder, "You always did wear your pride so well."

"Funny, Potter seems to despise it."

"He likes getting a rise out of you."

"I can't seem to get one out of him."

"Don't try," she said, rolling to the side. He curled around her and she put a hand to his cheek. Their eyes met, "Don't Lucius, Harry was once tortured here, along with his friends. That isn't a fire you want to stoke."

"If he has such terrible memories of here then your wish might be out your hands."

"Not if we make the girls want to stay, not if you make Andromeda comfortable."

"What do you mean by comfortable?" he asked, wary.

"You are her brother-in-law, and no matter how much she denies it, no matter how contrary she can be, Drom is a pure blood lady. She likes our world, and you are one of the few wizards left that truly lives by that, lives up to the best of what a man could be."

"Again, I think your Potter would disagree."

"Harry is Harry. He's like water, he goes where he is most wanted, and continues where he is not."

"I do not want him here."

"I do."

"Narcissa," he sighed.

"Lucius you have been trying to fight your way back from being a Death Eater since the first war ended. You failed when the second one started. Do you truly not see the advantage to having Harry Potter as a brother-in-law? He's the heir to the Peverell line. He's the next Albus Dumbledore, he defeated the Dark Lord. Lucius, my love, he is the single most influential wizard of our time, and he belongs to our family."

"Fine, he's family, that doesn't mean he has to move in, permanently."

"Love, I have been unemployed for over twenty years, I bore you a son, I live by your rules, I've done everything you have ever asked of me-"

"And now you are asking me to invite Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, to stay in our home with his brood?"

"Yes," she said and kissed him until all his arguments, all his reasons left him.

He sighed, "Any other unreasonable requests you care to ask me, while you have me intoxicated?"

"You need to talk to Severus."

"About what?"

"You need to tell him you are no longer a Death Eater. And that if he tries to cross you I will personally torture him to death."

"Fine, I'll go tomorrow morning. Now, convince me I shouldn't regret these decisions."

She grinned, "Trust me and there will be nothing to regret." And she pulled him done to her.

He didn't have any regrets.

Harry had all his babies in bed. Andromeda was awake reading a book.

"How did it go?" he asked.

She sighed, closing the book. "Not great, but we didn't fight. Sirius is getting better by the day. Ted is going to hold onto him for another week as moving into this house might cause some issues."

"I was thinking of going to Grimmauld Place tonight, no point in letting the Horcruxes sit around."

"Lucius will be happy to have a house elf back."

"That's right, I need to stop forgetting people are still alive. I suppose... I should stop by to see Teddy as well?"

"His letter seemed like he is having a hard go of it."

"I know," he said.

"Harry, maybe you should let him fight his own battles here. He has us, he will always have us. Let him make friends in his own time."

"I think he might have an easier time if he was pushed a year above."

"You know that will only make him more of an outcast. The people who will be his true friends will meet him where he is and perhaps not in the way he expected."

He sighed, "You're right. Of course, you're right."

She gave him a look, "What?"

"Hermione."

"She's not your Hermione and if you approach her she will blow our cover."

"She's my friend, Andromeda, her being a young girl is more of a reason for me to reach out to her."

"She-"

"I know, I know she isn't, and will never be, the person I knew a few weeks ago. But the Hermione from my childhood was just as brilliant, and kind, in her own ways. The truth will come out. She deserves to know."

Andromeda gave him a long look, "You have a plan."

"Reasonable doubt is a wonderful tool."

Hermione Granger had never been so miserable as she was this year.

Harry was gone. Harry was dead.

She could hardly sleep and she had hardly any appetite, her only outlet were her classes. She was grateful for the Time Turner, because it meant that even her ability to take in information was being challenged.

She was in the back of the library when the chair beside her moved on its own accord.

"Who's there?" she asked, reaching for her wand. The Invisibility Cloak was removed, revealing a familiar bespectacled friend.

She launched herself at him, and strong arms embraced her. She pulled back, "Harry?" He was definitely Harry, only taller… older and… "Harry?" she repeated.

"You're dreaming," he said.

She frowned at him, "No, I'm not. What happened to you?"

"Evil buzzard. Some advice from the future," he started, reaching into her bag and pulling out her Time Turner, "Drop Divination and-or Muggle Studies. You like Runes better than Divination."

"What? Harry, what's going on? Everyone thinks Sirius Black killed you!"

"Sirius Black is my godfather and a good person. Peter Pettigrew was the traitor. All you need to know is that I am fine and everything else will find its way. Oh, and if Ron begins to be a poor friend, Luna Lovegood can be a very understanding person. She just takes a bit of getting used to," he said, beginning to pull the invisibility cloak back over himself.

"Harry?"

"Yes?"

"Just tell me what happened," she pleaded.

He smiled sadly at her, "I wish I could, but I don't know myself. I will let Minerva know what happened to your Time Turner. Be smart, be careful, Mione."

"Don't go!" she called as he pulled further away into the stacks. Her mind was spinning too fast. Maybe she was dreaming.

"I have to."

One second she was standing, and in the next she was back in her seat, pulling her head up from her book as Madam Pince shook her awake.

Maybe it had been a dream after all.

Grimmauld Place was even darker and grimmer than it had been in his memory. Kreature had almost clocked him with a frying pan. But, eventually, he convinced the house elf that he had a way to destroy the Locket.

Then after proceeding to destroy the Locket and the Diadem, thus earning Kreature's undying admiration, Harry told him Regulus was alive. Which earned Harry the love and devotion of yet another floppy eared, bug eyed, being of undefined magical abilities.

oOo

Harry made a pitstop to the Ministry before returning 'home' to Malfoy Manor.

The next morning Minerva found a note on her desk that read simply;

I stole Ms. Granger's time turner. Time travel is not a solution to the problem. We must all learn to deal with the cards we are dealt rather than trying to unmake the deck.

With Love,

Your Part-time Staff

When she confronted Hermione about it, she admitted to falling asleep in the library and that Time Turner had indeed been stolen.

Albus Dumbledore's morning didn't go much better when the Minister appeared in his office asking for advice. Apparently, in the night, someone had broken into the Ministry and destroyed every prophecy and time turner in the Department of Mysteries.

As mornings went, it was quite eventful.

Keynote: This story is a mystery, drama, and action. But because of the mystery, the action will be a bit delayed ;)

Ahrnberg, the beta: Fine. I get it.

AN: Pretty, pretty please with roses, and chocolates, and fairy dust, please pretty review?

Chapter 7: The Dragon Beneath

Chapter 7 - The Dragon Beneath

Severus had mixed feelings about Lucius Malfoy, on one hand, they were friends, Lucius's son was Severus's godson, and generally, Severus enjoyed Lucius's company. On the other hand, Severus was a triple agent and when the time called for it, he would stab his 'friend' in the back.

So Lucius's opening statement, in Severus's private study, nearly had the Potion Master choking on his Saturday morning tea.

"Could you repeat that?" Severus asked hoarsely.

Lucius sighed. Sounding put upon, he said, "I am switching sides and my wife has informed me that your true loyalties are against the Dark Lord."

Severus wanted to believe him, there was something defeated in the blonde's expression that didn't seem like an act, but he had been a spy far too long to give up the game that easy. "Really?" he asked drily.

"I assure you, my days as a Death Eater over, even if the Dark Lord came back this afternoon, I cannot return to his service."

The Potion Master felt his stomach lurch, what does he know? "Why not? And what makes you believe the Dark Lord will return? Black, at least to my knowledge, wasn't that trustworthy, despite what the papers assume."

"No, Regulus and Sirius were not to be trusted by the Dark Lord. It was Pettigrew."

For a heartbeat, Severus's mind stalled. "What?" he asked, "What was Pettigrew? The man's dead."

"Pettigrew was the traitor, the Potter's Secret Keeper, and he isn't dead. He killed those people to cause a scene in order to fake his own death. Sirius, as a Black, took the fall."

"That isn't possible."

"Think Severus, he never had a trial. And how many spells do you know that only leaves a finger behind? Besides, we both know how close Potter and Black were. Sirius gave up everything for that alliance."

"It was a long term plan," Severus voiced his own explanation.

Lucius huffed, "Yes, Sirius Black was well known for his 'thought out' plans. Honestly, he was about two steps from being as sane as Bellatrix, and that is to say, not at all. Do you truly believe at age eleven, he had the capability to not only think up, but to hold on to a charade that long?"

"Peter Pettigrew wasn't known for his intelligence."

"No, he was known for his cowardice and weakness. No loyalty, but always standing in the shadow of someone who could protect him."

"Some would say a very Slytherin trait."

"Slytherins, or at least true Slytherins, cast their own shadows. Pettigrew had neither the ambition nor the cunning for that."

"And yet you believe him to be the traitor?"

"I know he is."

"How?"

"Interrogation."

"You have him?"

A single nod of his white blonde head.

"Why not hand him over?"

Lucius sighed, "With Harry Potter missing, if I were to turn him in I would be under suspicion. I will not go to prison for a crime I did not commit."

Nor for the crimes you did commit, Severus thought. "Do you know where Potter is?" he asked, a sickly hope cracking open its tired lids.

"I don't know what happened to the boy."

Severus frowned, "If Sirius is innocent… Did you capture Pettigrew before-"

"Pettigrew has not harmed or kidnapped the thirteen year old boy. Veritaserum revealed that much."

"Hand him over to me and Albus will take care of him."

Lucius nodded, and reached into his pocket and pulled out a petrified rat.

"What is that?"

"Turns out Potter, Black, and Pettigrew become animagi to spend the full moon with Lupin. Explains those accursed nicknames."

Severus' eyes widened. Wormtail… it did explain a lot, however, it brought forth even more questions. "You know of Lupin's condition? And where did you find Pettigrew?"

"Where I found him, is for me to know. As for the werewolf, I assume you have him on that potion?"

"Yes, but still…"

"The job is cursed, my friend. If it kills him, it will be much of a loss."

"And if Draco-"

"I will set my wife on him."

Severus flinched internally at that idea. Never, piss off a Black Sister. "And your wife, is behind this change of... mind?"

Lucius pulled back his sleeve revealing a large patch of white scars where the Dark Mark had been. His arm looked like tree bark, the scar tissue digging deeper in some spots.

"Narcissa did this to you?"

"Yes," he said tightly.

"Why?"

"Andromeda divorced Tonks."

Severus couldn't keep the confusion off his face, his bland expression finally falling. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"She and Narcissa made up, she's living with us, for a time."

"But-"

"Severus, Andromeda has the same raw power as Bella, and as much intelligence as my wife. Andromeda never chose a side, never fought in the war."

"Are you saying she's chosen a side?"

"She's chosen to fight."

"We aren't at war."

"The Dark Lord isn't dead."

"So when he re-emerges, you will fight with the light? Under Dumbledore?"

"Merlin, no. Didn't you hear me? Andromeda is back on the field. I will stand beside my wife and my sister."

"You think they can stand against our Lord?"

"I think my chances are higher in surviving him than my chances are of surviving Narcissa."

"You overestimate them. And why did Andromeda divorce her husband? I thought it was love between them. Nymphadora is an extremely talented young witch."

"Another man, and I can't decide if I like him or hate him. I've never met a wizard… so- so domestic." He said the last word contemptuously.

"Is he a muggleborn?"

"Half blood."

"Cousin of yours?"

Lucius motioned with hand, brushing the subject aside, "Somehow or another, I'm sure. Regardless, my wife told me to tell you that if you betray us, she will personally torture you to death."

"Betray you how? You know the position I'm in. I must tell Albus what I know and if the Dark Lord rises then I will be equally persuaded to tell him."

"Come now, you are a better liar than that. Besides, what is there to tell? All you have to do to 'acquire' Pettigrew is to question Remus Lupin. He would know enough of the truth for you to have pieced it together on your own."

"Albus won't like that."

"Albus put the Boy Who Lived with muggles, who the boy felt the need to run away from. The old man's credibility is nothing."

"And yours?"

"I'm the one who brought you to the Dark Lord's attention, I'm the one who was there when that muggleborn broke your heart, and I was not blind to what you became after her death. For better, or for worse, I am your friend."

Severus stiffened in his seat.

"Relax, you are not so transparent, but I know you."

"If you believed me to be working for the other side, why do you trust me?"

"I always believed you to be working for your own side, and that I have always respect." Lucius stood, he indicated with his cane towards the rat -still frozen on the table. "Don't let that thing escape."

Severus Snape watched the pure blood go, leaving him with a mass of strings for him to spin into a delicate web.

This year was getting more arduous by the day.

Time Jumps in days per Snippet Scene

Hermione hadn't told Ron that she had seen Harry.

It might have been a dream after all.

But Hermione had never doubted the sharpness of her memory before and the name Peter Pettigrew had stuck with her. Sirius Black is a good person, and my godfather, it was Peter Pettigrew who was the traitor.

But who did this Peter betray? Sirius Black was a mass murderer. Murderer, not traitor. So she had researched it. She spent hours in the library each night (and yes she had dropped Divinations and Muggle Studies).

In an old newspaper, she found the article that shed some light on what older Harry had said. The Secret Keeper and the Fidelius Charm.

She needed to go to an adult about this. But who would believe her story wasn't crazy? No one had ever believed them before.

She would just have to prove all this herself.

"What are you thinking? This is the Slytherin table, get out of here little Puff," a sixth year chastised Teddy as he took a seat across from Astoria Greengrass.

Teddy didn't so much as acknowledge the speaker. "Hi, Astoria," he greeted, smiling.

She looked at him warily and glanced around at their audience before turning a glare on him, "Get lost, Lupy."

Teddy laughed and wondered why his sisters had never used that one. It was likely because they forgot his last name wasn't Potter.

"Were you dropped on the head when you were a baby?"

No, Teddy thought, but when I was a baby, I did escape the house and forced my dad to deal with the muggle cops, once. Out loud he said, "No, but next week we are making fertilizer tubs in Herbology."

Her face scrunched up, "So what?"

"Sooo-" he drawled, "we are in the same class and I am offering to partner with you and do all the work."

Her gaze narrowed on him, "And what do you want in return?"

"Your friendship," he said bluntly. It wasn't that he had made any enemies at Hogwarts but he hadn't made any close friends either. Despite being the same age they weren't from the same generation, and fitting in wasn't his best thing to begin with. He very much felt like Hufflepuff was the house he was meant to be in, but with the Slytherins, he might be in more familiar waters.

"You think you can just buy my friendship, Teddy Lupin?" Astoria asked caustically.

"Yep," he said cheerily.

"Is it because I'm a Slytherin."

He nodded, "Yes, and also, from the looks of it, you haven't made any close friends either."

She observed him for a long moment before holding her hand out across the table.

He shook her hand, business arrangement sealed. People liked to joke that Slytherins were super complicated and untrustworthy. They weren't, you just needed to know how to ask for a favor and what there was to ask for.

They hadn't really promised to be each other's friends, but they had offered to be allies, whether or not they became friends was dependant on the actions they took in regards to that alliance.

Tricksy but otherwise simple.

"Ron, I am not going to write your paper for you."

"But Hermione," he whined.

"No," she said, sharper yet.

"You always say that, but please, pretty pl-"

"I said no, Ron, by which I meant no."

"You're a lousy person without Harry," he grumped.

"You're not so great either."

"It really isn't a wonder you couldn't make friends until a troll made you the damsel in distress."

She slapped him, hard.

"Ooooooohh," the twins intoned from across the Gryffindor common room before descending into laughter.

Cheeks flushed, though not as vibrant as Hermione's handprint on his skin, he stood, "Fine, be that way. But know when Harry does come back he will choose me over you, he always does."

Hermione was rooted to the spot as Ron raced up to his dorm to escape his older brothers.

Harry had chosen her, hadn't he?

She bit her lip. Maybe advice on classes and the mystery of Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew wasn't the only words of wisdom Harry had given her.

Teddy had no explanation for why he hadn't seen or run into her before. No reason for forgetting that she would be here. That not only would shebe here, but that she would be younger and happier.

Luna Lovegood skipped by him in the hall.

He froze in place watching her go as he tried to do the math in his head. Luna was one of his favorite people and also one of the most solemn. A mother of two twins and married to a man who did not love her, Luna Scamander lived a life resigned.

But when she visited Mapoppy, sometimes her sorrows would recede and Teddy got to see one of the brightest people in the world light up a room,

In all the chaos, Teddy had forgotten that the person he thought the world of, would be attending Hogwarts with him before she ever crossed paths with Rolf Scamander.

It was a day as wondrous as every day before it, but today the Southern winds were blowing South and the Northern winds were blowing North. East and West were hardly speaking at all.

Today, was not simply wondrous but a wonder.

And wonder she did, until she almost missed the bushy haired girl taking a seat beside her on the windowsill that gazed upon the lake.

"Hello," the girl greeted, "I'm Hermione Granger."

"Luna Lovegood," she said.

"Nice to meet you," the girl said sounding sincere.

Luna waited for the girl to ask for something or go away. She did neither, just sat patiently, looking out the window.

Finally, Luna asked, "Why… why are you-"

"Here?" Hermione asked, "Because I wanted to get to know you-"

"Hi, Luna! Hi, Hermione!"

They both turned to look at the boy who had interrupted what might have been Luna's only shot at making a friend.

Hermione frowned at the Hufflepuff, "You're Professor Lupin's son."

"Teddy Lupin, that's me," he said grinning widely at them both.

"It must be strange to have your father be your teacher," Luna said.

For a moment Luna thought his eyes flashed to brow and his hair got messier. But then they were green and with neater curls in the next eye blink.

He shrugged, "Not really, I mean I know a lot more than my classmates because my dad and my grandmother teach like they breath. Homeschooling was not easy with them."

"Does Professor Lupin give you different prompts for your papers then?" Hermione asked.

"You mean Remus?" Teddy asked.

"You call your dad, Remus?" Hermione asked, her confusion clear in her voice.

"Um, well, that's what my family calls him at home. Before, when I was talking about my 'dad', I meant my godfather, he's a professor too, just not here. I didn't grow up with Remus, it's kind of weird to call him dad when I just met him."

"Did Professor Lupin know about you?" Hermione asked.

She was rather inquisitive, Luna noticed.

"Nope," Teddy said with a big smile that said both that he wasn't unhappy with them but that he didn't want to be asked more questions.

"That must be why he almost choked on water when your name was called," Luna said.

"You have a kid, surprise!" Teddy grinned, "I'm not too worried about him. He's just my professor. I have a family, he just happens to not be a part of it."

Hermione opened her mouth to ask more questions but Luna spoke before the boy's feelings were put in danger.

"Teddy, have you ever heard of Crumple-Horned Snorkack?"

Hermione coughed, "There's no-"

"You mean the elusive creature that is said to live in Sweden?" Teddy asked. "My Mapoppy says they can only be found at odd hours, like 7, 9, 11 at night and that they are easily frightened by roses."

"There's no proof to that," Hermione said.

"No," Teddy corrected good heartedly, "there are no books written on it, yet."

Hermione stared him down for a long moment before conceding, "Perhaps."

It wasn't just a wondrous day, it was a day of wonders, because today, of all days it was possible that Luna had not found one, but two friends.

May the wonders never cease.

Sneaking out of the Hufflepuff dorms at night was not hard. He took the secret passageway out by the Whomping Willow on four paws. He heard the sound of wood breaking in the Shrieking Shack, which had to be Remus waiting out his night under the full moon.

Teddy raced towards the forbidden forest, the smell of pine trees and rotting leaves calling him.

The familiar cry of two falcons greeted him from overhead. His guardians, as well as a small Barn Owl and a large Snowy Owl, soaring through the tree branches having as much fun as Teddy dancing in the night air.

A Week Later

Harry was washing dishes, something he had once loathed doing and now found calming. Or at least it gave him something to do while he worked through his thoughts.

He scrubbed viciously at a pot that had a stain on it.

"You know there are spells, or house elves, to do that, correct?" Andromeda asked rhetorically before she wrapped her arms around him from behind.

He hadn't heard her come in, which is why she had spoken. He paused and waited to see if she would say anything more. When she didn't, he resumed his self-imposed chore, Andromeda stayed wrapped around him.

She kissed the side of his neck and rested her face along the curve of his shoulder. Moments afterward he relaxed into her arms.

By the time the dishes were piled on the drying rack, and he reached to turn off the tap, he felt warmer and more solid. Drying his hands on a towel, he turned to face the love of his life. She loosened her grip so they could face one another and she tilted her chin for a kiss. In her heeled boots, she was taller than him.

Harry fell into that kiss, his hands exploring, and for a time, his mind was clear and free of worry. This was love, this was safety, she was home.

He would love and adore her for the rest of his days. And he was as amazed by the feeling of her in his arms today as he had been when she first reached for him over a decade ago.

"And I thought it was gross when you and Dad kissed, but this? This is definitely worse."

They broke apart, though not hurriedly, to face Andromeda's angry, teenage, daughter. Oh, how Harry was not in any way looking forward to Morwenna turning thirteen.

"Nymphadora," Andromeda said, her voice a bit strained. "You didn't tell us you would be visiting today."

Harry rolled his eyes, it was only the situation that had held Andromeda's tongue about her daughter's tone. Morwenna would have been reprimanded until bedtime for that one.

He picked the towel back up off the counter and began putting away the dishes.

"You know there are spells to do that right?" Nymphadora asked snidely.

Harry ignored her. He was not going to pick a fight with the young Auror, he had said his peace and, unless she directed her bad attitude toward his children, he could live with it.

"Cooking, the kitchen, it's his space. Why are you here so late?" Andromeda asked.

"I thought I would come to talk to my 'sisters' after work today."

"They're in bed," Harry said without turning around.

"Really?" Nymphadora asked, "But isn't that late, It is hardly nine o'clock."

"Late enough," he answered, looking over his shoulder, "when your day starts at four thirty."

Her jaw dropped, "You mean four thirty, in the morning?"

He flashed her an easy grin, "Yep."

"How do you manage?"

"There are better ways to spend one's time than sleep, my dear. Would you like to take a seat? Harry can make you some tea. He made cookies earlier today. They are quite good."

"No, thanks, but I do need you, Mum, to come home to pick Sirius, he's healthy enough to be moved now."

Harry finished putting the last dish away. He met Nymphadora's gaze which was narrowed on him, "Any news in the government."

"Pettigrew was tried. He didn't reveal either your names, or the Malfoys. He did confess to being the Secret Keeper and that he had framed Sirius for the murders."

"And?" Harry asked impatiently.

"And he was given the Dementor's Kiss."

Harry frowned, "Last night?"

"Last week."

"Why wasn't that in the papers? What about Sirius?"

She shrugged, "They're covering it up, I was only there because I was shadowing Kingsley for the day. It was a small hearing."

"But Siriu-"

"Can hardly be a free man when 'Harry Potter' is still missing? At least Sirius is a lead. What do you want them to tell people? The Boy Who Lived ran away and we have no idea what has become of him? Hardly a heroic tale and it wouldn't make the government seem competent."

"Letting a man break out of prison is hardly competent," Harry said blandly.

"Do you have a problem with our Ministry?"

He raised a brow, "Several."

Andromeda made a harsh sound, "Everyone does, now Nymphadora cut the attitude."

"Do you think it is still a good time for me to go on my errands?" Harry asked her.

She nodded, "The girls are out and Narcissa is catching up on letters and social events she has been neglecting. But I will tell her we are both leaving so she doesn't allow herself to become -distracted."

"Distracted how?" Nymphadora asked.

Harry looped an arm around Andromeda's waist and she folded seamlessly into the dip he had been aiming for. He kissed her, not obscenely, but between them, it was rare that their partings were left without a kiss.

Straightening, he twirled her into the room and disapparated.

"Is he always so dramatic?" Nymphadora asked her bitterly.

Andromeda only smiled, "I taught him that. Harry's been to more of my dance courses than you and Ted combined."

"Was he a virgin before you?"

"I thought you didn't want to know about your parents' sex life, but if you want to know details, I'm sure-"

Her daughter cut her off, "Harry isn't my parent. I don't understand how you could sleep with a teenager after-"

"Were you serious about seeing your sisters?"

Her hair flashed a nervous lilac and she answered softly, "Yes."

"Then you must let go of this feud you have against Harry. You can remain furious at me, if you wish, but Harry is not to be blamed."

"He took you away from dad!"

"No, your father pushed me away all on his own. I love him, I truly do, but I am not sure if I could have remained his wife even if I had returned in time without Harry. I am not the same woman he married. Harry, however, deserves a chance to meet and get to know his extended family."

"He is not my stepfather."

"He could be."

"He is hardly older than I am."

"Nymphadora," Andromeda sighed. "By the time Harry was your age he had defeated the Dark Lord and his followers, fought in a war, lived on the run, survived a near countless number of assassination attempts, received a Mastery in Defense Against the Dark arts, and had been a full fledged father, working part time, managing the house, political affairs, and my worthless hide. Before he was seventeen, that man had already faced more trials and hurts than most Aurors have ever see in their entire careers."

Nymphadora frowned, "He sounds too good to be real."

"You know that saying that war brings out the worst and best of people. Well, it forged the best out of him. He has his faults like everyone else, but everything he is was hard won. His relative age has little bearing on who he is."

"If I say I'll give him a chance will you promise never to kiss him again in front of me?"

"Oh no, we do that all the time. The relative age thing is relevant to his-"

Nymphadora groaned loudly, "Muuuuuuum."

"Morwenna will give you the full scoop."

"I have next weekend off."

"Perfect, they'll be expecting you. They could do with a distraction they have been down every since Teddy went to Hogwarts."

"What are they like?" Nymphadora asked. "What is Teddy like?"

Andromeda smiled as they walked down the street, "So big hearted and devious they could tear the world down and remake."

He spent all night searching, scouring the grounds, the places he knew they had to be. But they weren't where they were supposed to be.

He cursed himself for waiting so late.

He was sure that the Hufflepuff's Cup would at least be safe, until he got back to Malfoy Manor and Hedwig flew to him with the Prophet in her beak.

Harry petted his owl and opened the paper with the other. A grim suspension solidified in his gut.

"MAPOPPY!" Three small voices cried as they charged him.

Morwenna nearly knocked him over, and Persephone was nearly in tears.

"You were gone all morning! And Grandpoppy has been asleep aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall morning," Ophelia informed him.

Despite the nights' revelations, Harry smiled warmly and hugged his girls. "My apologies girls, something work related came up."

"Are you going to Hogwarts too?" Persephone asked, her worry clear in her voice.

"Not this year no, but why don't you finish your lunch and then we will all play some game boards, alright?"

Morwenna and Ophelia kissed his cheeks but Persephone clung to him. He lifted her up and walked her back to her seat, kissing the top of her head.

"Andromeda, Narcissa I need to speak with you," he said, his tone conveying some of his worries.

Both Black sisters stood, folding the napkins that had been on their laps onto the table in a mirrored motion.

"Lucius watch the girls," Narcissa instructed, as she, Andromeda, and Harry went for her study.

Lucius was left sitting at the head of the table with three emerald eyed devils smiling back him.

His grip tightened on the butt of his wand in case they tried to jump him.

"What do you mean, they're gone?" Narcissa asked, arms crossing.

"The Ring is gone," Harry stated. "I couldn't find it anywhere on the property."

"But you didn't retrieve that item yourself, how do you know where it would?" Andromeda asked.

"Dumbledore told me all those years ago, and besides that, I found where it had been. All the traps had been sprung or deactivated it. Someone else has the Horcrux and resurrection stone. The cursed ring is gone."

Narcissa tapped her foot, "What in this timeline did we change so dramatically that would cause Tommy to recollect one of his Horcruxes?"

"Not one, two," Harry corrected.

"You mean the snake?" she asked.

"No," he pulled the paper out of his back pocket, "Didn't you read the paper?"

"Your spawn were being troublesome this morning."

Andromeda was already reading the front page as her sister bantered with Harry. Her heart sank. "They broke into Bella's vault," she whispered, horrified.

"And killed the dragon guarding her vault," Harry added. "As far as I was aware, Voldy doesn't have a body yet. I don't know anyone who could have helped him achieve this unless he possessed someone powerful. Which didn't happen last time."

"Or…" Narcissa began slowly, "we weren't the only ones to be thrown back in time."

Harry threw up his hand, "How the hell are we supposed to stabilize a future if the past can be changed willy-nilly? Curse Fawkes!"

"Maybe someone found a way to jump to this timeline and Fawkes brought us here to balance it?" Andromeda suggested.

He shook his head, "There are too many variables. There is no way we could find out for sure. What do we do, investigate every missing person? Go around knocking on doors, searching for people who look a decade older than they did the day before? I am sure that question would go down well. And if it is Tom who came up from the past…" Harry shook his head again, "I can kill Tom again but I don't know how to handle this, these -paradoxes."

"What do we know for certain?" Narcissa asked.

"We have destroyed the Diadem, the Journal, the Locket, and the Horcrux that was in Harry's scar has not returned, likely burned up with his younger self," Andromeda said.

"Which leaves the weird baby-voldy, Nagini -who wasn't even a Horcrux until next year, and Hufflepuff's Cup, all of which appear to be in Tom's court," Harry said.

"As soon as he emerges, we will kill him," Narcissa said fervently.

Andromeda glared down at the picture of the dead dragon, chained until its last breath far beneath the Earth. "But it took the Dark Lord fourteen years to emerge last time."

"He isn't sane enough to remain in hiding once he has his power back."

"Unless he is putting his soul back together," Harry said, "The Horcruxes unstabilized him, but if there was a way to put them back together…"

"What ifs will get us nowhere," Andromeda snapped. "We watch, we wait, we secure our own power base. We can still handle anything that comes at us."

Harry wanted to agree with her. But he had this talk with Sirius once. The Order had thought themselves so much better off and they had been nearly whipped again by the end of the war.

But on the other hand, Andromeda was right, they were together. And Harry had far more to fight for this time around.

Beta: Argnberg, the awesome guy who puts up with my half formed ideas and my certifiable imagination.

AN: And this chapter is stepping block to next chapter that will be more fleshed out because I have characters who aren't simply healing and doing the awkward, Hi My Name Is. I am really jazzed about getting to write more Luna :D

Please, Please Review? Fill my abandoned heart with your kind words and my twisted mind with your thinking thoughts?

Chapter 8: Ruin

AN: Assume that Harry destroyed all time turners, including Hermione's. Not saying its impossible for someone to still have one or remake/reinvent them but that is not the direction of this story.

Keynote: This story is supposed to be action/adventure but a large portion of the story is character development and that slice of life feel that I enjoy reading and writing.

Beta: Ahrnberg, my awesome friend who I am very mean to.

Not really mean, more that he has a habit of teasing me. The sadist. - Ahrnberg

Chapter 8 – Ruin

They held their breath, one crouching low on four paws, another pressed into a shadowed corner, and the other two folding themselves into the curtains.

It was winner take all.

Four to three, Lucius had already been caught, mostly because he hadn't bothered to hide all that well.

The three Potter girls prowled the halls as Lucius unenthusiastically checked behind corners.

Persephone found Harry first, tackling his legs, nearly causing him to fall down the steps to the back of the kitchens.

"Caught you, Mapoppy! Now you have to find Mama!" she said gleefully.

With renewed vigor, Ophelia and Morwenna began rushing down the halls. The rule to hide and go seek tag was that for each person you caught, you had less time to find the others. They had unlimited time until they had found Uncle Luci, and Persephone had managed to find Mapoppy within the hour, but now they had forty minutes to find Mama, Aunt Cissa, and Grandpoppy Sirius.

And each person who they found had to join the search.

Mapoppy found Aunt Cissa behind a curtain. Persephone, who was riding on Mapoppy's shoulders cheered.

They had thirty minutes now.

Ten minutes later, Ophelia collided with the curtain Mama was hiding in.

They had ten minutes left to find Sirius.

"Sirius, Grandpoppy Sirius!" Persephone hollered.

Andromeda grinned at the expression on Lucius' face as all three girls began shouting for Sirius.

With one minute to spare, Morwenna cheered as she yanked on a black furry tail sticking out from behind a couch in Uncle Luci's study.

"We won!" Morwenna called.

Lucius who was on the other side of the hall groaned.

The winner got to decide the next game. Harry laughed at Lucius's despair as he lifted his daughter off his shoulders. Persephone clapped and ran with Ophelia back to the study.

No one had to ask what game they would be playing next.

The adults and the grim, scattered back throughout the manor, looking for new, better, hiding spots. They either won the next game or the rest of the afternoon would be spent hiding on the tops of bookshelves.

Teddy was as good as his word, elbow deep in dragon dung as Astoria chatted about the drama her older sister had told her about.

"What do you think about Harry Potter's disappearance?" the Slytherin girl asked suddenly. "He was in my sister's year."

Teddy shrugged, "I don't know. He lived with muggles, right?"

"Yes, which might explain why he left home but not why he didn't come back to Hogwarts."

"He's just a kid, do you think he has money?"

"He's a Potter, of course, he has money."

Teddy shrugged again, rather uncomfortable with lying to his new tentative friend. He knew exactly what had happened to Harry Potter.

"He's probably dead," Astoria said, blithely.

She missed Teddy's flinch, even knowing that his father was fine, didn't mean he liked the rumors that he had been murdered.

"Who do you think is going to win the next Quidditch game now that Gryffindor is short their seeker?" Teddy asked.

Astoria sighed, "Hufflepuff, Cedric Diggory is quick. Though Slytherin has a better team, Draco Malfoy isn't that good of a seeker."

"The new brooms are kind of an unfair advantage."

"Potter always had a new broom, that was the unfair advantage."

Teddy said nothing, his father did not need a new broom to be the best flyer around.

"Cho Chang is a decent seeker, or at least better than Malfoy, if she wasn't so shy."

"I know, she caught the snitch last match."

"Didn't win the game though, Slytherin was still way ahead," she said with a vicious grin. Astoria liked to win.

"Will you try out next year?" Teddy asked.

"Girls don't get on the Slytherin team," she said bitterly.

"But you would if you tried out. Two of the chasers are graduating."

She seemed to think about it and said slowly, "Maybe… I'll ask Daphne about it."

Teddy grinned, and the bell rang just as he was pulling off his gloves.

With a quick goodbye, he rushed back to his dorm before lunch began. He needed a shower to not smell like dragon poop when he ate. His sense of smell was too good not to.

Remus was impressed by his 'son' and saddened that the boy wouldn't let him further into his life.

It wasn't that he had never wanted to be a father, but as a werewolf, he had always stopped such wandering thoughts. He would never risk passing on what he was to a child, to an innocent.

But Teddy seemed fine. No illness, no disappearing around the full moon, no odd appetite, at least nothing that was beyond normal for a boy his age.

And yet there were questions without answers swirling around him. Who was the boy's mother? Whoever they were had to be a relative of the Malfoys, but then Remus knew there were relational ties in his own family history to them. Which meant it could be anyone.

The other question that puzzled Remus was the boy's name. Edward Remus Lupin, why would a woman whose name and face he could not recall use his first and last name. Perhaps a claim for legitimacy? A way for the boy to find his other parent if the woman died?

He shook his head, looking out the window. How his life had changed, he had come to teach at Hogwarts, a real job for the first time since his graduation, to protect his dead friend's son. But Harry was gone, and now Remus had a son of his own.

It was a cruel twist of fate.

A son that wanted nothing to do with him and a boy who was missing, beyond help or protection.

Albus was glad for one thing, that the dementors had been removed from Hogwarts. The wanted posters for Sirius Black had not been rescinded since Pettigrew's …execution.

Albus could only hope that in Sirius's madness and freedom, that he had been the one to steal Harry, and was at this very moment keeping him safe.

It was why the Aurors were still searching for Sirius Black. Innocent of the crimes he had been imprisoned for but that didn't mean after twelve years in prison had left the man's mind intact.

Harry had to be safe, he just had to be safe.

Because standing in Riddle Manor above a hollowed out husk of a creature and a broken golden cup, Albus Dumbledore could assume only one thing; their world would need a savoior.

Severus's arm was still burning, the skin around the Dark Mark was inflamed as if it had grown a rash. The cursed ink was darker, but something was very wrong with it. The lines were darker than the faded lines it had been, but instead of the color being black, the color was the deepest red, the color of dried blood.

He had no idea what it could mean. Perhaps, it meant that the Dark Lord had come back into his power, had found a body at last.

But there had been no call.

Which could mean the Dark Lord was acting on his own, but that seemed out of character for his old master. He was the type to need an audience, even if it was a fraction of his following. Perhaps he had performed a ritual that had failed or had unforeseen consequences. Perhaps.

Perhaps.

The problem with the Dark Arts was that they were forces unto themselves, and the change in his Dark Mark could be any number of things. One thing was for certain, the magic that kept him bond was evolving.

Perhaps he should ask Narcissa to remove it.

Unlike Lucius, however, he would take a potion to prevent his feeling the pain.

Luna smiled as Hermione asked her advice on Charm theory. Hermione was a peculiar girl, who sometimes had more smarts than sense, but she was Luna's very first friend. A real friend, unlike Ginny, who had only hung around her because her mother had forced them to spend time together.

No, Hermione was real, even if she could be a bit blind at times. It wasn't hard for Luna to see why the girl was in Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw. Yes, the girl liked to learn, but she was also a rhino when it came to handling an issue. When presented with a puzzle, she didn't want to puzzle it out, she wanted the answer.

It was a small distinction but an honest one.

Luna opened her mouth when he skipped into the library.

Teddy Lupin was the most interesting person she had ever met. He was almost always cheerful and when he looked at her with his bright emerald eyes, it was if he saw all of her. Perhaps he couldn't see the same things she saw but he trusted her perceptions in ways she doubted even her father did.

He caught her gaze as he walked through the stakes, his ever-present smile widening when he spotted her. She felt warmed by his acknowledgment as if the room had somehow become cozier.

Hermione looked round, following Luna's gaze.

"Oh, hi Teddy. How are you?"

"Hi, Hermione, Luna. I'm great, how are you?"

Hermione launched into her charms question.

Teddy gave her a blank look.

She glared at him, "I thought you were the smartest in your year."

"Yeah, in my year, because I reviewed the material already, that doesn't make me an expert."

"But your marks are higher than mine were."

"Hermione," Teddy sighed, pulling her charms book over to himself as he sat down at their table. "No. I have absolutely no idea what any of this is saying."

"But you're-"

"Not an expert in Charms, and you are two years ahead of me."

"But I thought you were dominating in DADA which is basically charms."

"My dad has a mastery in DADA and I think charms but most importantly; he is paranoid. So he teaches his kids more than most Aurors know. But it's all theory. I don't necessarily know how to cast those spells."

"But-"

"But," Teddy interrupted, "If you need help in Transfiguration I can help. It really is my specialty."

"And Magical Creatures," Luna added.

Teddy smiled at her, "And Magical Creatures."

"And History," Hermione said.

He made a face, "Only because my Grandmama and my Aunt Cissa are a drill sergeants about the subject."

Hermione's enthusiasm dropped, "You mean Narcissa Malfoy."

"Don't give me that look, not all Slytherins are bad, my Grandmama was one too and my dad was almost one."

"It isn't because she is a Slytherin," she said.

He gave her speculative look, "I know Draco is spoiled but he isn't all bad either."

"He has many nargles flying around his head," Luna chimed in.

Teddy nodded at her, "I think he made a deal with them to get his good looks."

Luna laughed, missing the look of adoration he gave her.

Draco was tired of Crabbe and Goyle. Tired of their thoughtless, directionless ways, but at the same time, he felt a bit nervous around Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini. He also felt stupid for feeling nervous. It was just that neither boy was impressed by his father's wealth or history and… and well, Draco didn't really know how to make friends.

He was an only child after all, and the only reason Crabb and Goyle hung around him was because he had once saved them at a formal party from having to converse with the adults. That had been a small thing of minimal effort. Talking for other people was easy, talking to people was a great deal harder.

So, Draco kept his mouth shut as he sat in the Slytherin lounge with the other two boys. Half this house was pissed at him for not catching the snitch in Ravenclaw match, Slytherin had still won, no thanks to him. But regardless, neither Theo nor Blaise seemed to give two owl feathers about Quidditch. Which unfortunately gave them less to talk about.

Blaise was calm as a cucumber, and while more irritable, Theo was just as content to let the silence stand. Draco sighed inaudibly to himself, at least he got more of his homework done in this company. Daphne Greengrass joined them a while later, and Draco relaxed into the companionable silence. No one had greeted him with open arms or praising adoration.

But he felt welcomed among them, welcomed in a way that he never thought he would be.

Sirius couldn't believe his turn of fate. Nearly thirteen years in prison, and now he was in Lucius Malfoy's home, and happier than he could ever remember being.

They weren't at war, his godson was safe, and he had a family.

Even if Regulus wasn't awake yet, family was something Sirius had never imagined himself having again after James died.

Not only was he living with his favorite cousin, but he was making amends with Narcissa. Who would have ever thought that he would be welcomed back into the Pure Blood fold? Who would ever have predicted that Sirius would ever even want that?

But he did and he was.

Time travel and all the years he had missed with Harry aside, James' son was a miracle. Powerful, self-confident, generous, and kind-hearted, he was the best of both his parents. Not to mention that Harry was perhaps one of the best parents he had ever seen. His girls were a wild, powerful lot, and reminded Sirius strongly of their mother and their two aunts, and yet, Harry handled them like a fish in water. As if there were nowhere else, nothing else he would rather be doing than raising and tending to his family.

"Sirius?" Harry asked, "You alright?"

Sirius shook himself, "Course, just lost in thought."

Harry set a mug of hot chocolate before him. Sirius's hands wrapped around it automatically, savoring the warmth and sweet smell of it, "Thanks." Chocolate and warm things were Sirius's two favorite things to drink. After years in that dank prison, he thought he would miss alcohol the most, but alcohol didn't soften his nightmares like chocolate could, didn't fill him as warm water or food did. In thirteen years, he had not had a single warm meal until Harry had rescued him off the streets.

Funny, to think that he had gone to save his godson only to find he was the one in need of saving.

"Thank you," Sirius said, not just referring to the hot coco.

Harry smiled at him, looking for all the world like James' twin brother, same height, same build, same face, but for Lily's eyes.

"You deserve it, you certainly burned enough calories running around with the girls today."

Sirius grinned, "They're great, strange to be a grandpa though."

"I talk more about you than James, so I knew there was a chance of that happening."

His grin fell, "James would be so proud of you, and Lily… I think she would have moved in with you."

Harry laughed, making Sirius's heart hurt. He had only heard a few of the stories and he was astonished by how much goodness he retained. He wasn't bitter, wasn't vengeful, if a tad overprotective of his children, Harry had escaped his childhood -if you could call it that, a man the world could be proud of.

In his place, Sirius couldn't have been so forgiving.

Andromeda glided into the room, and he watched as Harry's face brightened, his eyes softening. It was the same look James had worn anytime he saw Lily.

I wish you both were here to see this, Sirius thought. But wondered how Lily would really feel about her darling boy falling in love with someone more than twice his age. Sirius didn't have a problem with it, who was he to throw stones, his parents had been first cousins, an age gap was nothing. But Lily had been muggle raised.

"Hello cousin," Andromeda greeted, kissing his cheek before folding herself into Harry's embrace.

Andromeda was different around Harry than she had been when they were growing up. She no longer watched over her shoulder, wary of her own shadow. That edge of aggression she had always carried was as sharp as ever but no longer as jagged. Always being the most independent, even more so than Sirius had been, despite her traditional sorting, she held herself like the world had been designed for her.

It amused him to see that she was less motherly than Harry. She by no means loved her children less than Harry, but she was a Black and her love, fierce and everlasting as it was, was a distant thing. Harry's affection was like sunshine at midday, hers was like starlight at midnight.

"Sirius," Harry called.

He jolted in his seat, cursing himself for becoming lost in thought once more. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Harry shook his head, giving Andromeda a quick kiss, "I'll make rice then you need to get some sleep."

Sirius stiffened a bit, "I am not one of your kids, godson."

The wizard merely rolled his eyes and grabbed a pot from the overhead rack. It was a very Lily-esc gesture and Sirius couldn't help himself from smiling. With all of James' looks and prowess, Harry was truly his mother's son.

James would have been so proud.

Andromeda took a seat beside him, slinging an arm around his shoulders. Only then did he realize that he had hunched over his hot chocolate.

"Just let him take care of you, you will feel better for it," she said.

"Voice of experience?" he quipped.

She grinned, "There is a reason why all my babies called him 'Ma' before they tried to call for me at all."

He smiled, "And you aren't jealous about that?"

She laughed, "Are you kidding? I love wearing the figurative pants in this relationship. Far less work than wearing heels."

Narcissa entered then, picking up the conversation with ease, "It did take us a while to find shoes wide enough for him."

Harry didn't even glance at her as he said, "Don't listen to them, they're just jealous that the heels made my butt look better than theirs."

He had to duck a curse as Narcissa flicked her wrist.

Andromeda laughed, and Sirius felt suddenly transported back to his younger years when there was no outside world and his family had meant more to him than anything else. A time before James and Hogwarts.

How strange to feel this way again after he had believed he had lost everything.

That Halloween was the night of the full moon. Andromeda stayed home with the girls, and Harry flew sentry over Teddy as he frolicked in the nighttime woods. His wolf form was growing as slowly as his human form. Which sometimes surprised Harry given that at before he was a year old, Teddy had been escaping the house on four legs.

But his wolf-side still looked like a true adolescent wolf would have. Though Teddy was metamorphmagus and a natural born animagi, he could only change the color of his pelt between natural colors, suable, grey, dark grey, and reddish brown, not the magenta color he had admitted to have been trying for -at Morwenna's request, for years now.

Harry took little pleasure in his own flying this night. He hated Halloween. He still hated Halloween even if nothing bad had happened in over eleven years now. Tonight, especially grated on his nerves. Voldemort was still alive, and he wasn't with all of his family. True, he could apparate himself and his son home at a moment's notice, but not having everyone in his line of sight, tonight of all nights, disturbed him.

When the sun began to brighten the sky, not quite cresting the mountains, Harry escorted Teddy -in human form, back into Hogwarts under an invisibility cloak.

"How are you liking your first term at Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

Teddy grinned up at him, "Luna's here, Mapoppy!"

Harry laughed. Thinking that it would only be a matter of time before his son's admiration for Luna turned into something more cherished.

Teddy was still young yet, and though Harry knew he had a crush on the fair haired witch, he doubted his son was aware of his own feelings yet.

"How are classes?" he asked, knowing from Morwenna's retellings from his letters but wanting to hear his son's voice.

"Some are fun, they are getting harder now. I hate DADA though, it's all theory and I know the theory already."

Harry knew he did, he had personally made sure to it. "And your father-"

"He's not my father," Teddy snapped. "You are."

He was taken aback by his vehemence. Teddy rarely got angry. "What happened?" he coaxed. He would turn Remus' insides out if he had hurt Teddy.

"Nothing," Teddy growled.

Harry raised a brow, "As opposed to?"

Teddy gave him look, "Aunt Minnie has tried harder to get to know me than he has."

Harry sighed, "You told me what you said to him. Remus isn't going to try to if he feels you don't want him to."

"Would that have stopped you from getting to know your biological son?"

"No, but Remus and I are not the same person."

"I've noticed," he grumbled.

"Teddy-"

"I don't want to hear it, Dad."

Harry's eyes widened, Teddy never took that tone with him. Morwenna sometimes did, but never Teddy.

His cheeks flushed, "Sorry, Mapoppy, I don't mean… I just, I just don't know what I want from him, or if I want anything from him at all." He switched topics then, "How are my sisters? Has Mum tried to visit?"

"Your sisters are well, pestering Lucius and Sirius. I think your Aunt Cissa likes having us around though."

"How's Grandpa Sirius?"

Harry grinned, and let his voice drop to a murmur as the entered the castle. "He is well, still recovering. Even though he loves your sisters, I think he gets a little overwhelmed at times."

"They tend to have that effect on most people. And Mum?"

"She visited once."

"And?" Teddy pressed.

"And the girls were asleep. She was supposed to visit the weekend after, but her work has truly gotten hectic. She has to redo some training."

"Stealth?" Teddy guessed.

"What else?" Harry agreed.

They reached an alcove, the sun was illuminating the pictureless, poltergeist-less, ghostless hall.

Harry knelt in front of him, "Teddy, whatever you choose to do, I'll be there for you. Stay safe. I love you."

They hugged each other, "Love you too, Mapoppy."

"It is a Sunday so get some sleep, little man."

With one last squeeze, and whispered, "Love you." Teddy slipped out from under the invisibility cloak.

Harry didn't rush out of the castle, which almost resulted in a collision with Albus Dumbledore.

It was the first time Harry had seen the older wizard alive in over a decade.

Albus didn't notice him, apparently too lost in thought to notice the breeze and slip of foot Harry created as he hopped out of his path.

Harry wanted a confrontation but contented himself with the uneasy expression on the man's face. Let him stay in the dark, in the same lack of knowledge and lack of control that he had placed Harry in all these years ago.

Harry didn't necessarily hate the old fool, but neither did he regret causing the 'Great' wizard to worry as all his plans and plots came to ruin.

AN: Oh here we are, approaching this hallowed eve, and I have only one hallowed please, please oh please, might you leave a review for this desperate, darkened soul?

Chapter 9: Andromeda's Cure

AN: To all my Wiccan, Pagan, and Witch friends out there Happy Samhain! To the rest of you, dear readers, have a wicked All Saints day and beautiful Hallowed Eve. Personally, I dressed up as a Slytherin, call out for anyone who can find a young Slytherin who wears glasses.

P.s. Mwa. Ha. Ha. to anyone who thought the last few chapters were light with not much going on. It will come to bite'cha all on the bum. Also this chapter is over 7,000, you're welcome.

WARNING: Bit of swearing.

Ahrnberg: That guy I torture who helps me sound better than I am.

Chapter 9 - Andromeda's Cure

She had finally found it! It had taken her months not only to remember the exact ingredients but to brew it as well. Unlike the lycan cure, this potion she had created herself.

She ran from Lucius's brewing room, two potions clearly marked in her hand. She found Harry in Narcissa's study, teaching the girls grammar.

"Mama!" Persephone called, eager for the distraction.

Andromeda paused to kiss her head as her youngest daughter ran to give her hug.

"Hello dear," she murmured than looked up at Harry. "I did it," she told him.

He smiled at her, "I never doubted you would."

"I'm going to go give these to Ted."

He nodded, still smiling.

Andromeda kissed Persephone's cheek and pulled back, disapparating from the manor.

She landed in Wizarding London. Only then did she look down to see if she was decent. She was, she always was, but she would stand out in the muggle world. Which was of little concern to her today.

Almost running, she made her way to St. Mungo's where the receptionist greeted her warmly. That surprised Andromeda, she thought every healer and employee would hate her here.

She became increasingly surprised as made it to Ted's wing and every healer was exceptionally kind to her. It wasn't that Andromeda had never visited Ted at work, certainly not so infrequently that his coworkers didn't know her, but then she had always attended every work party on her husband's arm. Nevertheless, Ted's coworkers loved him, this level of civility towards her was almost cruel to him. Unless they were grateful she had thrown him back onto the field.

When Ted spotted her, his face broke into smile, until it seemed he remember that she wasn't his anymore. His face hardened. His shoulders were stiff as he motioned to an empty room.

"What are you doing here?" he asked coldly once the door shut behind her.

But Andromeda had a question of her own, "Do they know?"

"Does who know what?"

She gritted her teeth, "Do your coworkers know we got a divorce."

"No," he said tightly, "they don't."

She didn't know what to say that, these people were his friends. It worried her that he hadn't confided in any of them yet. Though, if he did tell them, the whole wizarding world would have known by now. Healers were not known for their secrecy.

"What do you want, Andromeda?" he asked.

She pulled her shoulder bag forward, reaching in for the two potions. Wordlessly, she held them out to him.

Taking them in his warm hands, he looked them over, "You spelled the vials to be unbreakable."

"Like you taught me," she agreed.

"What are they? And why did you label them Alice and Frank?"

"The Longbottoms, this is the cure for the Longbottoms. I brewed and invented them myself. They worked in my time. They will work again."

He stared at her in shock, "They do what?"

"They will erase the last thirteen years of their lives. Unfortunately, they will shave off a few of their memories of their son's early months, but I couldn't risk resting their minds to the moment they broke, I don't know if the cure could help them a second time."

He blinked at her, and if she wasn't so happy with herself she might have been pissed at his disbelief in her abilities.

"It works, Ted, I swear it."

"What does it do exactly?"

"It rewinds their body and mind. They will be in their twenties again, the years and months in this place completely washed away, the youth restored. The only side effect, aside from the fact that they will never be able to recover their memories, and that they will not live longer than they would have. Their physical youth and mental youth will be restored, but if they were destined to endure until they were a hundred years than they will only sustain until then."

"So you're telling me the only side effects to this healing potion is missing memories and not gaining extra years of life along with their restored youth?"

"Yes."

"Andromeda that's…"

"Not only possible but I've done it before. Think how a memory charm works. Those memories can't be restored either. This potion goes further, the magic traces backward."

"I can't approve this."

"The hell you can't," she snapped, "You're one of the head healers."

"The Longbottoms aren't on my floor."

"So what? It's a cure Ted."

"We have to test-"

"I've tested it."

"You're not a healer," he shot back. "You're a dance teacher."

She felt like he had punched her. "You're the one who insisted on living with muggles and I never gave up brewing."

"I can't approve this."

"Why not?" she growled.

"Because I can't trust you."

She gaped at him, then she collected herself. "This isn't about you, you selfish bastard."

"I'm selfish? After what you did, you are calling me selfish?"

"Would you really deny Alice and Frank a chance at recovery? Would you really deny Neville a chance at having parents?"

Ted's cheeks flushed, "No, no. But I don't know that these works."

"Yes, you do. Because I said they would work."

He gave her a long look, "Fine, fine. Frank's mom is usually around. I'll let her decide and the healer on the floor approve it."

Augusta was indeed sitting at her son's side. She and the Head Healer, who had been in the room across from the Longbottom's, were both willing to try. Both women satisfied with Andromeda's word that they were safe and would work.

Although Augusta looked afraid to hope, her face twisted into a scowl.

She cried as she watched the lines fade from Frank's face, watched his blue eyes clear as the person he was refilled them.

He blinked, voice rough he asked, "Mother? Mother, where are we? Where's Neville?"

"Where's our baby?" were Alice's first words, her round face creasing in panic when she realized they were at St. Mungo's.

Augusta fell to her knees, holding her son's hands, sobbing.

Which caused Frank and Alice to begin demanding what had happened to their son.

"He's fine, he's fine. Neville is fine, he's healthy, he's not in danger," Ted and the other healer said over and over again.

It was Andromeda who took Alice's hand, and began the story. "The war is over," she said.

Alice clung to her, "Tell me. Tell me what happened, we wouldn't be in here if everything was alright."

So Andromeda told her what had happened, what her own older sister had done to this sweet hearted witch and her husband. Told her of Lily and James Potter's death. Told her that for last thirteen years her son had grown up without a father or a mother in the less than tender care of Frank's mother.

Andromeda finished the tale, as healer after healer reviewed the Longbottom's now perfect health and sanity. And once she finished, they requested she retell them again, and again, and again. When they finally absorbed the gravity of what had happened. When they finally believed that despite their memories and their strength they felt in their limbs, time had moved on without them, they had only one other request.

"When can we see our son?"

Minerva spilled her morning tea over the tablecloth when she opened the letter at breakfast. Augusta Longbottom had not bothered going through the Headmaster. Minerva was Assistant Headmistress and Head of Gryffindor House, Neville's House.

"Minerva," Albus began, seeing her expression, "is something wro-"

But she had already found her feet and was announcing to the hall, "My morning classes are canceled." She folded the letter in her hand.

Frank and Alice are healed. Bring Neville to St. Mungo's. It was less than a detailed letter and really didn't indicate how much of his parents' sanity had been healed, so Minerva didn't celebrate when she reached Neville's side.

"Mr. Longbottom," she said shortly, "come with me."

Neville looked up at her with wide eyes, and scrambled off the bench. "Yes, ma'am," he said shakily.

In addition to hoping that Frank and Alice were in full health, Minerva couldn't help but hope Frank was healed enough to take his mother to task over the treatment she had shown his son.

Neville had to practically run to keep up with her strides, but she didn't slow. He would thank her later for her speed.

"Um…" he began breathily, "Professor… where are we going?"

She didn't answer until they reached her office and threw some floo powder into her fire. "St. Mungo's," she said.

Neville's eyes widened, his chin shaking, and Minerva kicked herself. Naturally, he would believe the worst had happened. What in his life could he have made him optimistic about his parents' fates?

"Not all calls home are bad," she said gently.

The look he gave her was far older, far steadier than the boy she had come to know in her classes. "St. Mungo's isn't a home," he said.

"Don't worry about your classes, your trunk will be sent to your grandmother's house. We are near enough to winter break now that you will have time at home."

"My grandmother's house isn't home either," he said, stepping into the fire, saying the name of the fireplace and wing of the hospital.

Andromeda stayed until Neville got there. Stayed in hopes that she could see the good she could give back to the world.

But when she saw Neville break apart when his mother held her arms out to him, Andromeda could only see the scars and the bleeding holes that her family had left on the world.

Bella had torn this family apart. Would have murdered Neville as a baby if she had gotten her hands on him.

Andromeda let that knowledge sink in, let herself remember why she had willingly left the wizarding world all those years ago. Why she had cut Narcissa and her husband from her life. What had been lost and broken in a war that Andromeda had refused to fight in.

Ted must have seen something on her face because he reached out to her, "Andromeda?"

She turned away from him, turning her back on the reunited family.

Ted caught up to her, catching her wrist, "Andromeda wait."

She yanked her arm free.

He held up his hands in a placating manner, "I'm sorry, Dromeda. I should have never doubted you. You healed them, you saved them."

"My sister broke them."

"You are not your sister."

"Why wasn't she committed?"

He frowned at her, "What are you talking about?"

"Why wasn't Bella committed to this ward after she graduated?"

"She was san-"

"She wasn't!" Andromeda roared, "She should have been here, locked away before she hurt someone. She should have never been allowed to marry."

"Andromeda, this is a hospital, not an asylum."

"My sister didn't belong in the real world! The older she got the less stable she became."

"It was her family's job to take care of her."

Again, Andromeda felt as if he had struck her.

He realized what he said, because he backtracked, "Andromeda, it was your parents' responsibility not-"

But she had already activated the portkey back to Malfoy Manor.

Harry must have felt the energy rise, because not fifteen minutes later, he found her in their room.

She hadn't moved since arriving, staring into space, a part of her wishing she could have gone back further in time.

"Andromeda," Harry called softly.

She didn't twitch a muscle.

He stepped in front of her, careful not to touch her. "Did something go wrong with the Longbottoms?" he asked softly.

"It was my fault, I never should have left her."

"Oh Andromeda, you couldn't have saved her."

"I could have protected her."

Harry closed the space between them, cupping his hands around her face, "The woman you are today is not the person you were at sixteen. Had you stayed, you would never have had Nymphadora and you wouldn't have grown to be the same person."

"I could have stopped her."

"Or you might have been pulled into who they became."

She jerked back from him, "You think I would have become one of his pathetic followers."

"No, but Narcissa was never a Death Eater and she never prevented Lucius from becoming what he did."

"Narcissa burned his Dark Mark off," she defended.

"Yes, twenty years after he got the cursed thing. She's hardly the same person she was back then either."

"Harry, Bella is still alive."

"I know," he said gently.

"Harry, I- I-"

"I know," he said again, pulling her into his embrace.

She buried her face in his neck, refusing to cry even as her body shook.

"I know, my love, I know," he said over and over again, as he rubbed her back.

He held her together, just as he always did when she felt that she was tearing apart at the seams.

Nymphadora knew that when she saw her parents in the paper she couldn't keep avoiding her step-half family.

Healer's Wife Brews Cure for Longbottoms.

Only they weren't married which seemed to be conveniently left out of that narrative.

Nearly a week had passed since then and when Nymphadora found herself knocking on the Malfoy's overdone entrance. It was the middle of the day, and she knew her sisters would be awake.

It was Lucius himself who opened the door to her. He didn't question her, only sighed and opened the door wider, motioning her in.

"Thanks… Uncle."

"Niece," he said coldly.

Only then did she notice that his hair was braided. Not a simple braid, no, his white blonde hair had been done back with tiny braids that fed into a large French braid that rested beautifully on the back of his neck.

Nymphadora was certain he hadn't done it, but she was also having trouble picturing her snarky Aunt taking the time to braid his hair and even harder time picturing this man letting a bunch of children anywhere near his head.

But Aunt Narcissa couldn't have done this, there would have been no point, because Lucius wouldn't have left the house looking like that.

Maybe he lost a bet?

"Theyare in Narcissa's study," Lucius said, motioning down the east hall, before turning towards the opposite direction.

Nymphadora didn't have a problem finding the room, but nearly bisected herself on the side table to the side of the doorway.

"Sister!" three voices chorused joyously.

"No," Harry said firmly. "Morwenna, Ophelia, sit your butts back down. Finish your tests or I swear we will spend the next two weeks solely on fractions and decimals."

Both girls groaned, slumping in their seats.

The youngest, however, ducked under the table and stood before Nymphadora. Her little hands reaching up in a clear demand to be lifted up.

Nymphadora paused for a moment before complying.

"I'm Persephone, your youngest sister," the girl informed her.

She couldn't help but grin, "And I'm Nymphadora, your oldest sister."

Morwenna shot her a hard look, "We'll see about that."

"Eyes back on your paper, little lady," Harry chided.

It was not hard to imagine him as a professor.

Morwenna glared down at the paper and wrote in the next answer hard enough that Nymphadora wondered if she leaving marks on the table. Harry seemed to think so as well because he said, "Swallow that temper, Wenna, don't forget to show your work."

"Do you want to play a card game?" Persephone asked.

"Sure," Nymphadora answered, giving Harry a questioning look.

He nodded and motioned to a window seat on the other side of the room from the girls taking a test. Then he said, "Your mother is in the brewing room."

"I'll see her at dinner."

"You're staying?" Persephone asked excitedly.

"For the afternoon," Nymphadora answered with a small smile at her enthusiasm.

"Mapoppy-?" the middle one asked, Ophelia, she was pretty sure was her name.

"Finish your test and then you can spend time with Nymphadora."

Mum should never have been allowed to name children.

"If you two were going to have a son, what would you have named him?" she asked.

"Winslow Sirius Potter," Harry answered easily.

"Winslow?" she asked, giving him a disgusted look. "Did you even attempt to argue with her?"

"Of course not," he said smiling, "she gave me three babies in addition to allowing me to raise Teddy, that is more than I could have ever asked for."

"But the names are-"

"Beautiful, unique, and nobody else in the wizarding world has them," Morwenna snapped at her.

Nymphadora let it go, not wanting to alienate her half-sister more than she already had. She was here to try to get to know them, not insult their names.

Persephone turned out to be weirdly good at rummy for a six year old, but she wasn't overly surprised. Mum had probably had them all playing cards by the time they could sit up. It was among Nymphadora's favorite memories, playing cards on the coffee table in the living room as Dad dozed on the couch, exhausted from pulling double shifts.

Keeping an eye on Harry out of the corner of her eye, as he occasionally tapped on a question Ophelia or Morwenna had skipped a step on. His voice was soothing as he explained the importance of the step or a trick that could help them remember it.

It wasn't hard to imagine how Mum had fallen in love with this man, he wasn't a healer, not like Ted, but he was as caring, as loving. If anything Harry was more so, if only because his job was staying home and tending to his family. She doubted even if he was working at Hogwarts he would have been as drained as Dad sometimes was after a day at St. Mungo's.

An hour after her arrival, Morwenna and Ophelia finished their tests. Nymphadora ended up partnering with Persephone and Ophelia partnered with her father. Morwenna didn't need a partner, she won nearly half the rounds that afternoon.

Mum joined them an hour before dinner, taking Harry's place, Ophelia contently being switched between them.

"Where is he going?" Nymphadora asked.

"He's going to make dinner."

"Does he always cook?"

"Sometimes I help!" Persephone said.

Mum smiled, "Harry typically cooks, it isn't unheard of him to skip making a meal, usually when we have leftovers, but he likes cooking for us."

"He's weird."

"So are we," Ophelia declared, pulling a set of three out of her mother's hands and slamming them on the table.

"Come on, big sis," Persephone said, voice low, "We gotta to win this one."

"In your dreams," Morwenna hissed, glaring at Nymphadora, obviously not liking having her place as 'big sis' being usurped.

Nymphadora had a sinking feeling that if she didn't get on Morwenna's good side soon there were would be trouble down the road.

Nymphadora felt strange returning to her father's house that night. Strange because she hadn't returned with her mum, she had returned with Harry.

Deciding to knock, even though she had a key, they waited in awkward silence for her father to answer the door.

"Dora?" he asked, opening the door moments later. "Why are you knockin-" His words caught in his throat when he caught sight of who was with her.

"He's here to reinforce the wards, and show me how to do some of them," she said in a rush.

Her father gave the other man a tight nod, and stood back to let him in.

Harry coughed, "I need to do the perimeter of the property first. I just needed your permission."

Dad just glared at him, "Have at it."

Harry nodded, and turned back down the steps, Nymphadora started to follow him.

"Wait," Dad called. "How is she?"

Harry looked over his shoulder, "She is well but she remains conflicted about Bella, if that is what you are asking."

Dad nodded stiffly.

Nymphadora, "What is there to be conflicted about? The Lestranges are in prison."

Harry gave her an almost, but not quite, condescending smile. "Family is rarely a simple matter."

Her father snorted inelegantly, "No kidding." He shut the door then, harder than he needed to.

She flinched, but Harry just shrugged it off, launching into a lecture about wards that had her head spinning. So the man wasn't all good looks and father of the year materially, he was also a scary intelligent wizard.

The ward he constructed was nothing less than a work of art and though she learned much from his impromptu lecture, she wouldn't have been able to reconstruct it if she had had a month to complete it.

They didn't knock when they entered the house again. Her father was pretending to read from the Healer's Article. Harry's hushed voice seemed to fill the space as he walked her through laying wards on all the doors and windows, and then on the foundations, up through the walls. The wards he used seemed unbothered and unbothering of the electricity. Had she not been trying to keep a look out for her father's reaction to this man invading his home, she might have asked questions about it.

When Harry had finished, he almost made it out of the house before Dad stopped pretending to read.

"You believe yourself to be so much better than me?" he accused.

Harry turned to him, face passive, "No, Ted, I don't. I really don't believe that."

"But you think sleeping with my wife is acceptable?"

"She isn't your wife."

"Before you, she was."

"No," Harry said, not giving an inch as Dad approached him, "she was yours before you died."

For a moment, Nymphadora worried her father would take a swing at the Boy Who Lived. But he restrained himself. "You're not invincible either, Potter."

"I know that, I know that better than you do. But it wasn't your dying that broke what you had together. It was your lack of faith in her."

Her father all but snarled at him, "And what would you have done to keep your family safe?"

"Exactly what Andromeda would have. This is a discussion I know you've already had with her, and it's a mistake you made again since our return."

"I didn't-"

"You didn't trust her when she brought you Alice's and Frank's cure. I don't know what you think your relationship is with her anymore, but don't think you can't still harm her, because you have."

"And you don't think she's harmed me?"

"Ted, it doesn't really matter what I think. It doesn't matter that I would hate to be in your shoes or that there are times when my insecurities rise high enough to make me dread the very thought that she might have left me instead. None of that matters. She made her choices. We must live with them and each other."

"We do not have to live with each other, I never want to see your face again."

"You don't want to know your step daughters, your daughter's sisters? You don't want to get know your own grandson? Is that it, Ted? Is that really what you want?"

"Go fuck yourself."

Nymphadora couldn't restrain her gasp, she had never heard her father swear in front of her before.

"Fine, stay angry, but I'm not going anywhere and you have family that wants to know you."

Her father said nothing.

Harry left with a soft goodbye to her.

They stood together for a moment in silence, before Dad went upstairs to bed.

Nymphadora was left unsure of her place in the quiet of her father's house.

Ted would have liked to say his sorrow got better in the passing months since his divorce. But he had only grown angrier.

He picked up the bad habit of drinking after his shifts.

Not enough to get drunk, not enough to have to deal with a hangover. But enough to take off a bit of the edge when he returned to his empty home, his empty bed.

He hadn't told anyone yet, and he knew that his coworkers were getting more worried about him by the day. As his sorrow had morphed to anger, his anger was now settling into a heavy depression. He felt like his feet were heavier as he walked, the muscles in his shoulders tightening. In increments tighter and tighter, and now when he woke up, his tension was tangible, a physical sensation along his spine and shoulders.

One night, a group of his coworkers went out to an upscale bar beside the Ministry. Muggles couldn't get in. Even though they could see the storefront, they would never have the want to cross the threshold.

Ordering a glass of hard liquor he found himself tuning out the people around him. He hardly noticed when they bid him goodbye for the night. Tomorrow was his day off. Mandatory day off. And he planned to descend into a slow liquid oblivion for the night.

"You look like shit," a woman greeted as she took the stool beside his at the bar.

He looked up from his drink to meet a familiar pair of hazel eyes. He focused on her, taking in her dark auburn hair streaked with grey, and defined jaw.

"Amelia?" he asked.

It had been years since he last spoken to her. She had graduated two years before he had. But they had both been prefects in Hufflepuff.

"Ted Tonks," she said warmly, though her red lips didn't smile.

"How have you been?" he asked, fighting hard and succeeding in not slurring his words. He wasn't quite drunk yet, not yet.

"Since Hogwarts," she began, "not something we need to get into here. But of late, things have been good. Susan, my ward, has been doing well at school, aside from the drama of Harry Potter's disappearance. They were in the same year."

Ted looked away from her, taking another pull from his glass of the amber liquid. How he hated that name. He couldn't wait until the public knew the bastard was alive, so Ted could then openly curse his name. It really wouldn't make sense for him to do it now. Hell, he might be pulled into questioning for cursing the name of a thirteen year old boy who happened to be the Wizarding World's lucky star.

"What is the matter with you?" Amelia asked him.

He huffed a laugh, "You're supposed to ask, 'so how are you' not point out my appearance."

"I could, but I don't like to waste time. I saw your wife's name in the paper. You must be very proud."

He said nothing, thinking it would be childish to diminish the miracle Andromeda had wrought with his hurt feelings.

"What is wrong?" she demanded.

"Why do you care, Bones?" he asked, taking another sip. He wanted to tell her to bugger off; he wanted to ask her to stay and tell her everything.

"We were friends once," she said.

"No, we weren't," he replied, not looking at her, "I asked you out once in fifth year and you told me to go curl back up with my snake."

"You were dating Andromeda by that point."

"No, I wasn't, she was just my best friend then."

"You got her pregnant that summer."

"No, I got her pregnant at the end of her fifth year, the end of my seventh year," he retorted. He frowned into his glass, remembering the night that their sneaking around, their unshakable friendship had tipped into something else. He had never seen Andromeda as a woman, just that girl who was his secret friend. But that night, at the end of her fifth year, she had shown him differently. Showed him beauty and a type of love he had not known before her.

He hadn't really wanted to be a father then, not while entering into his healer studies, but Andromeda had made it all worth it. Even when she showed up homeless one night on his parents' doorstep saying she had dropped out of school to raise his baby.

"The sneaking around was to keep away from her sisters then," Amelia guessed, interrupting his trip down memory lane.

It wasn't a question but he nodded anyway, "And after seeing what Bellatrix became, could you blame us?"

"Andromeda's pregnancy was certainly a scandal."

"Dora was the best thing to have ever happened to us, scandal or no."

"Some mistakes are worth making, I suppose, although…" her voice trailed off.

"Although what?"

"Nothing," she said. "Nothing just a thought."

He turned to her, resting his elbow on the bar, resting his chin in his palm. With some satisfaction he watched Amelia's gaze roam over him. He might have been tipsy, but he was a healer. If he was becoming a drunk, he would be a hygienic, clean shaven one. The thought almost made him laugh, laugh at his own piteous state. "No," he said, sharper than he needed to, "I want to hear it, although what?"

She took in a deep breath and sighed, taking a sip of her own drink the bartender placed in front of her. "I think it is odd that a pure blood got pregnant."

He raised a brow, "I am a healer if you need me to explain the process to you."

She whacked his arm, "Not what I meant. But all pure blood girls know what contraceptive is, and would have had access to it."

Ted's gaze went distant, "Andromeda wanted kids, even at sixteen, she wanted a family of her own, apart from the madness in her childhood home."

"So why did you stop at one?" Amelia asked boldly.

"She knew I didn't want more, Dora was more than enough for me," he admitted.

"I always thought healers liked babies. You work in the maternity ward, don't you?"

"Sometimes, I get rotated between the babies, expecting mothers, and the dark curse wards."

"Quite the shift," she noted.

He grinned, "You have no idea how many witches giving birth fling curses around. Accidental magic, contrary to popular belief, is not confined to childhood."

"So why was your Nymphadora enough?" she asked, relentless in asking him personal questions.

"Because I liked my job, and sometimes I liked my job more than I liked coming home." It was dark truth and one he would never have admitted to Andromeda, Nymphadora, or Potter.

"Oh," Amelia said, taking another, deeper drink.

"Hard to be the father of the year when you're barely home."

"Hard to find a date when you're working long hours, too. At least you have Andromeda. I heard she bought a studio in Hogsmeade. She's going to teach dance?" she asked, obviously trying to bring the conversation out of such dark waters.

If she only knew how badly she was failing. Ted let his arm drop, he finished off his drink and ordered another.

"I think you've had enough," Amelia commented.

"The night's young," he responded.

She frowned at him, "Seriously, what's wrong with you? Are you and your wife in a fight or something."

He laughed bitterly and said with false levity, "You could say that." His fingers curling around his fresh drink. "She divorced me."

The wizards and witches around him paused for a beat or two. 'Divorce' was not something people in the wizarding world did much.

"She did what?" Amelia breathed. "Why? Anyone with eyes can see that she adores you."

He met her gaze with his tired eyes, "Not half so much as the man she left me for. And I've tried to hate him. And I do hate him, but even I can't say he's a horrid person."

"What?" she asked again, her face awash with astonishment and the stirrings of outrage.

"Andromeda Black, divorced me, for a prettier, younger man."

"How much younger?"

"Almost half her age," he said, though it was more than that, he could explain that Potter was younger than their own daughter without explaining the time travel.

The bartender poured another shot into his tumbler. "Tough break, mate," the large wizard rumbled.

"She'll come back, Ted. She'll crawl back once it sinks what she's given up."

"No," he said sadly, "She won't. She isn't coming back. He's beautiful and powerful and he has four children who love her. She isn't coming back, she's made that abundantly clear."

Amelia took his hand in hers, squeezing tightly. "Then so be it, you never needed her to be you."

No, he thought, but I didn't just lose my wife, I lost my best friend.

He clinked his glass against Amelia's, "Are you are going to leave me to drink alone after interrogating me, Madam Bones?"

She smirked, "Who am I to dismiss a healer's suggestion of healthy living?"

"Yes," he said solemnly as she lifted her glass to her lips, "spirits to keep the magic going."

She coughed, and he laughed at the glare she sent his way.

He never made it home that night, he fell into a dreamless sleep on a couch that wasn't his own.

Albus finally caught on to the oddity of Edward Lupin.

The boy was undoubtedly brilliant, but his family was large question mark, or at least who had raised him was. And in the current climate, where Tom Riddle had either offed himself in a stretch for power or succeeded, and where Harry Potter was either imprisoned somewhere or rotting dead somewhere undiscoverable, Albus was suspicious of any oddity.

Especially when Hagrid came to him one morning saying that he had seen the boy enter the Forbidden Forest under the light of the full moon. Hagrid had followed until the boy had transformed into a wolf and sprinted deeper into the trees.

A letter had gone home, which was why, Albus, Minerva, Pomona, Poppy, Remus, and young Edward were sitting in his office.

The boy had refused to answer any of their questions.

Minerva had snapped at Albus to stop pestering the boy until his guardian arrived. Pomona was all silent sympathy, Poppy was silent fury that the boy had put others at risk because he had not confided in them. Remus, Remus was pale despair, in having passed on his curse to this sweet child.

A sweet child who was having a staring contest with Albus' phoenix familiar, Fawkes.

The door opened to his office to the last person Albus had been expecting walked through, Narcissa Malfoy. Albus had heard that the boy was related to Draco but for Lady Malfoy to come on the boy's, on a werewolf's, behalf was confounding.

The boy turned to her, pointing a finger at the fire bird, "It wasn't him."

Narcissa raised a pale eyebrow at him, "How many other phoenixes do you know?"

"Phoenixes can't talk," he said definitely.

Fawkes sang prettily as if in confirmation to the boy's statement.

Pomona cleared her throat, "Mrs. Malfoy, we weren't expecting you, are you Mr. Lupin's guardian?"

"Teddy is living under my roof, so yes," Narcissa said cooly.

Albus, putting aside his confusion about the child's odd commentary about his phoenix, leaned forward, and asked, "And you're aware of his lycanthropy?"

Her expression gave nothing away as she took her seat beside, the boy. "Where's Severus?" she asked.

"He's in my house," Pomona said tightly, "Not Slytherin."

"Well, I was, and I would like more sense in the room than it currently stands."

Minerva, who was standing at Albus' shoulder, glared at her, "Quit the games, Narcissa. The students' safety has been put at risk."

"No more than what you have submitted them to, I'm sure," Narcissa said with a frosty curl of lips.

Albus could feel the power ebb around his second. Peaceably he said, "Calling Severus to this discussion is hardly a problem. He might have to begin brewing another monthly potion for our young friend here."

One of the portraits took his hint and disappeared from his frame to call on the potion master.

The boy glared at him, "We are not friends."

Narcissa smirked at the boy's apparent dislike of him.

Albus held the boy's glare, maintaining eye contact, he planned to skim his mind. Only skim because a Black might catch onto what he was doing. But Albus was distracted by the boy's eye color. A vivid emerald green, the same as Harry's, the same as Lily Evans.

How peculiar.

Severus entered then, he must have been on his way here to discuss something else because he seemed surprised to see who was in attendance.

"Narcissa," he greeted in a bland tone, only slight lifting of her name gave away his surprise at her presence. "Why are you here?"

"Hurried assumptions," she answered flatly.

"Enough of this," Poppy declared. "If you truly are a guardian of his, do you know how much danger he has put his classmates in? How much danger he has put himself in? Werewolf or no, the Forbidden Forest is no place for a child."

Narcissa gave the healer a weary once over, and drawled, "Whose to believe the boy is a werewolf?"

"He was seen transforming into a wolf," Poppy snarled.

"And since when do werewolves look like wolves?" Narcissa asked archly.

There was brief silence in the room at her implication.

Remus broke it, "Because he's my son."

Narcissa gave him a dry look, "Don't flatter yourself, his name is the only thing between the two of you that could be said to have any commonality."

Severus frowned, and pointed out, "But the boy can transform into a wolf?"

"Excellent point, Severus," Albus praised.

The boy snickered.

"You find something amusing?" he asked him.

The boy shrugged, "Just thinking that my little sister is less obvious than you are. And she's a nine year old."

"Less obvious about what?" Albus asked. He was finding himself more intrigued with this mysterious boy every time he spoke. How many people are living with the Malfoys currently?

"Less obvious about manipulating people. Professor Snape is a Slytherin, not a dog, he knows what you're doing when pat him on the back like that," the boy answered.

There was another shocked silence. Although Narcissa seemed unphased. Severus was looking at the boy as if he had never seen him before.

Minerva laughed softly, "I see why you were almost, but not quite, sorted into Slytherin."

Narcissa nodded in agreement, "He's too honest by half, however, he grew up with enough of us to catch on."

"Catch on or die," the boy said with a smile, though he didn't give the impression he was joking.

It was Severus who got them back on track, "But you can shift into a wolf?"

He looked to his… his Aunt? Second Cousin? for guidance.

She nodded, "He can."

"So he is a werewolf," Poppy snapped.

"No," she said shortly.

"Than what is he?" Pomona asked.

"A wolf shifter, and before you ask, I'm not contagious," the boy said.

"What do you mean by wolf shifter?" Poppy asked.

"I was born with the ability to shift into a wolf animagus."

They stared at him in disbelief.

It was Albus who voiced the joint sentiment, "That isn't possible."

Edward Lupin smiled at him, though it looked like more a baring of teeth, and for a moment, Albus thought the boy's emerald eyes had shifted to warm brown, but then before he could be sure the boy had shifted entirely, and the eyes that gazed back at him were amber set into a pelt of silver grey.

Everyone in the room gasped, aside from Narcissa and Severus.

Young Lupin wagged his bushy tail, yipped once before shifting back, clothes intact. He didn't look tired at all as he gazed at everyone in the room defiantly. Absurdly, in no less than thirty seconds the boy had disproved the werewolf accusation by shifting into a wolf.

"He needs to register as an animagus," Minerva asked. Albus could hear the excitement in her voice, she loved when students exceeded expectations in transfiguration, her competitiveness not as constrained to Quidditch as people liked to believe.

"He can't register until he is seventeen," Narcissa said, "And as it would be on his godfather's head, I would request that Teddy's ability stay hushed or at least unofficial in capacity."

"And who is his godfather?" Albus asked.

"Andromeda's beau," Narcissa said smoothly.

Albus felt the surprise color his face as his eyebrows shot up, "You and your sister have made amends? Why ever is she living with you?"

Narcissa smile was vicious, "Why ever would I share such a thing with you?"

Edward stood, "May I go now? I have a study group to get to."

Albus said, "No," at the same time Narcissa said, "Yes, you may."

The boy kissed his aunt's cheek and escaped out of the room before anyone could stop him.

"He still shouldn't be running around in the Forbidden Forest at night, alone," Poppy said.

"I'll pass along the message. Now, if you are all quite done wasting my time, I'll be going."

Severus offered his arm to escort her out.

"Wait," Albus called, "What assurances do we have-"

"You have my assurance," Narcissa cut him off, "that if you do not leave Teddy alone I will make you rue the day you ever set eyes on him."

And with that, the two Slytherins swept out of the room.

Fawkes sang, his tone sounding as bewildered as the rest of the room's occupants felt.

AN: When I really should have been writing essays… Please, drop a review?

Chapter 10: Burned

Beta: Ahrnberg, the awesomest.

KEYNOTE: I totally deviate from cannon details. Deal with it ;)

Chapter 10 - Burned

The color was wrong. All wrong. The darkening lines should have been a good sign.

Her fellow wraiths roared in delight, whispered 'Our Lord.'

Our Lord has returned.

But her eyes had grown accustomed to the dark, and she saw, saw the lines of red and knew he was gone. Dead and gone, her Lord and Master, dead and gone.

Dead.

She saw it, felt it, tasted it.

Curling in on herself, Bellatrix lay on the thin mat on the damp stones. She ignored the food they gave her, if you could call the near inedible slime that.

She had only made it because of her purpose, her reward waited for her. But now he was dead.

She felt listless, the cold was no longer seeping into her bones, her bones were the cold. She was numb.

How long would she have to wait here before death claimed her?

The dementors seemed to have finally grown bored with her. They couldn't have her soul, and they had already taken everything else. There was nothing left to take now.

But the dementors relative distance meant for the first time in years she could think without a bombardment of scenes from the past.

"Siri!" she called out suddenly. Staggering to her feet, nearly tripping on her shackles. She fell against the wall, looking through the cracks between the stones. There were enough cracks to form a crude, small window between them. Just large enough to reach a hand through.

"Siri!" she croaked again.

Nothing.

Not even a curse in return.

"Siri! Siri! Sirius Black! Sirius Orion Black! Siri! Siri!" Bellatrix cried out over and over again.

Until someone, shouted back. "SHUT UP! He's gone, you crazy hag!"

Gone?

She fell to her knees, hardly feeling the impact against the stones.

"Gone?" she whispered to herself.

But Siri was always with her. Even after he betrayed the family, he came back. He had come back. He stayed with her.

He can't be gone. Can he?

A dim memory of a grim trotting by her cell.

Was Siri dead too? Siri and Master?

She was alone.

Days passed, nights passed. She couldn't tell the difference.

They were all gone. First Siri, though he had reluctantly returned. Then Drom with her filth, then Reggie, and Cissy…

Cissy wouldn't come to save her. Cissy changed after her spawn was born.

What was its name? Draken?

Regardless, they were gone and she was forgotten.

Forgotten.

How long until I die? She wondered. How long?

She closed her eyes and did not open them for a long, long time.

The sound of fluttering of wings drew her from a nightmare.

Though she wasn't sure if she had slept. There was no break in the nightmare, it was ongoing.

A falcon's screech nearly jolted her out of her skin.

Bellatrix looked toward her window to the sea.

A soot black falcon peered at her with one amber eye, then the other.

Bellatrix just stared at it. Crows and seagulls were the only avians that lived on this hunk of rock in the sea. But the falcon didn't dissolve into the mist of hallucination.

It rustled it's feathers and made a clicking noise.

She thought it might be asking to come in.

With more effort than seemed reasonable, she raised her hand toward the bird of prey. Her shackles loud in the little prison cell. The wind was quiet this morning.

The falcon flew from its perch and before it could flap its wings, it shifted into a woman.

A witch.

Her first sister.

Bellatrix tried to hurl herself at the traitor, tried to attack, but the most she could manage was lurching forward.

She remembered she hadn't eaten in days, possibly weeks. She had drank water because while the pain of hunger was easily shoved aside, thirst was its own type of torture.

"Oh Bella," the traitor said, taking a step toward her.

Bella could not move, but she could growl. And she did, low and threatening and-

Andromeda ignored her warning and folded herself into a seated position beside her.

"I'll kill you," Bella snarled.

Andromeda said nothing, her face giving nothing away. She gestured with her hands in looping, sweeping motions, and suddenly a silver falcon materialized.

A see-through falcon.

A patronus.

Bella sucked in a breath.

Another motion with the traitor's fingers and the room was warmer. Then another, and the cell no longer smelled like human waste.

Bella started shaking.

What was this? Has she come to save me? Has she come back?

"Bella," Andromeda breathed.

She closed her eyes against the bittersweet memories of that voice, of this traitor's once beloved and loathsome voice.

"Bella," she said again, reaching out a hand.

"Don't touch me, filth," Bella said with as much strength as she was able. The tremor in her body was uncontrollable.

Andromeda's hand paused, but then she kept reaching forw-

"NO! Don't. Touch. Me."

"I left him, Bella. I'm married to a half blood now."

Bella blinked at her, disbelieving, uncomprehending. "You came back?" she asked, hating the crack, the weakness she heard in her own voice.

A hand touched her matted hair, "I'm here Bells. Cissa and I are staying together now. Siri and Reggie too."

Unbidden, Bella let out a wail. They were dead. She was dead. They were all dead. And even in death she felt… she felt such pain.

No freedom. No escape. And they were all dea-

"Bella, shhh, Bells, shhh, I'm here. I'm here."

She jerked under the soft touch. The shackles fell from her hands and feet. The loss of their weight giving her a surge of energy she had not had before. She turned to her front and began clawing at Andromeda's robs.

Searching, searching, searching, searching! Pockets empty, wrists bare...

Where is it!?

Andromeda caught her hands in hers, "I didn't bring my wand."

"You're taking me away from here," she demanded, "You've come to take me away!"

Andromeda shook her head, squeezing her hands, "No, Bella. I'm not here to rescue you."

Bella's strength drained from her like a shit out the window. She collapsed against the warmth of her sister. The smell of clean clothes and a familiar perfume…

"Don't cry, Bella, I'm here. I'm here."

Nothing could have hurt her more.

Bella had not the strength to fight, nor the will. She waited at her sister's mercy, this sister who had come back, this sister who had not come back to save her.

Andromeda's fingers traced over her hair, and with each brush, the mattes eased, the tangles untangled themselves.

Bella gasped at the sensation of another person's fingers on her scalp. Her hands dug into the arm that held her to her sister's lap.

"Who?" she asked to distract herself from… she groaned, it felt too good, too good…

"Harry Potter."

Bella jerked.

"And before you tease, we time traveled. He's thirty, I'm fifty, and yes, that makes me the oldest sister now."

Bella huffed, then sighed when her rags were replaced with a cleaning spell and a pair of full length pajamas.

"Is he a good shag?"

"Yes."

Bella buried her face against Andromeda's skirt covered knee. "He's almost as bad as a-"

"No, Bella. Harry is everything. Everything."

"More than me?"

"You left me first."

"No."

"Yes."

"You were supposed to follow."

"You were supposed to kill him."

Bella curled herself more fully onto her sister's lap. "You were supposed to follow," she whispered again.

Andromeda rubbed her back, stroked her hair, wordless, giving more than Bella thought she would ever have again.

Time passed. A silver falcon soaring vigil around them.

"I have to go, Bella," Andromeda said after an eternity, after a moment.

"I should kill you."

Andromeda kissed her temple, "Drink this."

Bella drank the proffered potion. And was grateful when darkness took her, took her before Andromeda left, before she was left alone again.

"Hagrid, are you sure this a good idea?" Hermione asked.

"Come on, Mione," Teddy coaxed, "It's perfectly safe!"

"The hell it is," Astoria grumped.

"I'm good on the ground, thanks."

Luna hopped up onto Buckbeak's back behind Teddy without a word.

"Where's your Gryffindor spirit?" Teddy asked.

"On the ground," Hermione said firmly.

"Off you get then!" Hagrid said cheerily slapping the hippogryph on the hind.

Buckbeak bolted and with heavy wingbeats climbed into the skies.

Luna didn't scream, she laughed, even still, she held her arms tight around his middle.

Teddy loved Hogwarts.

"Has he told you anything about getting called to Dumbledore's office?" Astoria asked after Hagrid busied himself with feeding some creature or another.

"No," Hermione said frowning, "Who would have guessed a Hufflepuff would be this good at lying?"

"He isn't good at lying or else we wouldn't know he was lying," Astoria grumbled. "He has more secrets than a loyal house elf."

Hermione glared at the reference to the creatures but refrained from commenting. Astoria and she shared an odd sort of friendship, more a truce than anything else.

"He's powerful," Astoria remarked.

Hermione said nothing, a thought had occurred to her that should have occurred much sooner, "He has emerald eyes."

"What does his eye color have to do with anything?"

"Harry has emerald eyes."

"Harry Potter is dead."

"No, he isn't," she said sharply.

"Oh, really? You've seen him then?" Astoria asked caustically.

Hermione bit her lip and looked away.

"Merlin! You have seen him!"

"I didn't sa-"

"You're face did. When did you see him? Why haven't you told anybody? What happened to him?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know when you saw him?"

"No," Hermione said slowly. "I saw him a few months ago in the library?"

"And?"

"And he was older."

"What do you mean older?"

"He was an adult. Late twenties maybe."

"No way," Astoria breathed, "he time traveled…"

"He said he was from the future but… But I don't know that I didn't imagine it and it doesn't explain why he has stayed quiet for so long."

"Have you told anyone else?"

"Only you."

"Not even Luna?"

Hermione shook her head, "I'm- I don't know about Teddy. And Luna and Teddy are…"

"Smitten," Astoria agreed. "But I don't know why you're worried about Teddy. If Potter time traveled then that brings up the problem of Sirius Black."

"Harry said, or at least the man who looked and acted like Harry, said that Sirius was innocent and that it was Peter Pettigrew."

Astoria frowned, "Peter Pettigrew was murdered by Black."

"Not according to Harry. He said Sirius Black was framed."

Astoria was quiet for a long while. "Why haven't you told Teddy about this?"

"I don't know, some things just add up about him."

"Like what?"

"Like why doesn't Professor Remus Lupin know about his son whose name is Edward Remus Lupin? And why is he living with Andromeda Tonks?"

"Andromeda Black."

"What?"

"She and the healer Edwar-" Astoria stumbled over the name, "Edward Tonks… got a divorce."

Both girls exchanged a long look.

"You don't think…" Hermione began.

"No," Astoria said, shaking her head. "No, that doesn't make any sense, he can't have two fathers."

Hermione's brows pinched and then the light bulb went off, "Teddy said he lives with his grandmother, not mother."

Astoria blinked, "You mean Nymphadora Tonks. You think Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin are Teddy's parents? Granger, that doesn't make any sense. She would have had to be younger than us to be Teddy's mother."

"Not unless he's a time traveler too," Hermione whispered.

Hagrid waved to them, Buckbeak's silhouette emerging from the clouds.

"This is nuts!" Astoria whispered, "There's no way. It doesn't make any sense."

"No," Hermione agreed. "Why does Teddy have Harry's eye color? Like you said, he can't have two fathers."

Astoria watched her friends climb, weak kneed off the hippogryph. "He lives with his grandmother and godfather. Andromeda Black as Narcissa Malfoy's sister makes sense. If they are time travelers than Harry Potter makes sense as his godfather but I still think that leaves us with more questions than answers."

"Should we confront him?" Hermione asked.

A pang went through Astoria's heart. A fear that she might lose the best friend she had ever had. Did it matter where Teddy came from? Who his family was? He was her friend, and no matter what, Teddy would always be Teddy.

"No," she said finally, watching Teddy's radiant face as Luna laughed hysterically and outrageous looking like a complete loon. "We don't ask. It is none of our business. If he wants to share his secrets, he will."

"It is my business. Harry was my best friend."

Astoria began to walk forward, "And Teddy's mine."

Hermione warred with herself, her need for answers and the idea that she might lose her new friends if she pushed.

For once, she decided not to push. Astoria, Luna, and Teddy were more important to her than solving the riddle Harry had left her with.

They were all keeping an on Teddy Lupin, but for the life of him, Severus could not connect the dots.

He had kept Lucius' part in Wormtail's capture silent.

Why had Narcissa come to Teddy's defense? Why was he living with the Malfoys? Why was Andromeda living with her sister? Why had she divorced Ted for a new beau?

Why did Teddy Lupin have Lily Evans' eyes?

A week passed and Severus was no closer to a solution.

So he decided to go straight to the source.

When he knocked on the door, he expected it to be opened by a house elf.

Severus nearly Avada Kedavra-ed the man who answered the door.

James Bloody Potter, back from the grave, smiled at him.

"Hello Snape, long time no see," the dead man said warmly.

It took Severus a moment to register the green eyes and that it was… "Harry Potter?"

"Won't you come in? Tea has just been served."

"What's going on?" Severus demanded.

The stupid child -man, man-child, raised a stupid brow at him, "Isn't that obvious?"

"No, it is not obvious," Severus snarled.

"Time travel, Professor. Now, won't you come in? I don't want to let them out."

"Let what out?"

The cheeky bastard only smiled at him, and Severus' heart stopped. It was cruel that, with his stupid face and form, and cockiness, he would have Lily's smile. Cruel that beyond the grave he would ever see that expression, in just that way again.

"The children, Severus, the children."

Numbly Severus stepped into the manner, following Potter's lead to the parlor.

"Severus," greeted two pleasant voices, Narcissa and Andromeda sitting side by side on the love seat.

"Severus," Lucius greeted, a little more coldly -as was his usual. Though something on his face made Severus think that blonde was unusually relieved to see him.

"What the hell is going on?" Severus asked, as he watched Potter serve another cup of tea.

"Sugar or milk?" he asked.

Severus blinked at the boy, who was no longer a boy.

"He takes his tea black in the morning," Narcissa answered for him.

Potter nodded, then offered the tea to Severus, who took it and took a seat in one of the ornate armchairs.

Potter sat beside to Andromeda in a chair beside the love seat with his own teacup, who took his hand in hers.

Severus was lost. He saw the implication. He saw the look the couple exchanged, but he could not, absolutely could not accept what his eyes were telling him.

"Time traveler?" he asked finally.

"Harry and spawn, Andromeda, and Narcissa," Lucius said in agreement.

"Why? How?"

"We don't know," Harry said. "Fawkes visited us in the future and everyone in our house got transported back. Over-writing our younger ourselves."

"What?" Severus asked, "That doesn't- That isn't possible."

"Apparently," Andromeda said drily, "it is, because it happened."

He took that in for a moment. Then something truly extraordinary happened. Severus smiled, Harry Potter was no longer his responsibility. Albus could go turn himself. Severus was free. Sure, he would still spy on the Dark Lord if it came down to it but… but 'the one who has the power to vanquish the Dark Lord' was no longer a child.

It was a relief like no other.

He heard a scream. Severus stood and spun around, his wand out, his teacup breaking on the floor.

A girl with darkly tanned skin, dark brown curls, enough freckles to look like someone had gotten over enthusiastic with a prank, and bright emerald green eyes sprinted by him.

In her wake ran two other girls, both smaller. They nearly tripping over themselves as they gave chase. They had the same curls, although raven black, pale skin, the same ungodly amount of freckles, and emerald green eyes. They might have been twins if it wasn't for the obvious height difference. The youngest might have been five years old.

They all dove for Harry's chair, who had swiftly put down his tea as the two youngest ones collided into his legs and lap. The oldest ducked and tripped behind his chair.

A black grim trotted into the room. Tail wagging happily one moment and in the next Sirius Black, dressed properly in wizarding robes, trimmed beard, and clean hair, stood in its place. He looked a suitable heir to the Black family, and Severus was not prepared for that.

He expected the man to act hostile towards him, to be the bully he had always been, but he- nodded at him, picked some cookies off the tray on the low table and took a seat beside Lucius.

Severus had no idea what the correct response was in this situation. Not in a million years, not in his wildest nightmares could have pictured this.

"Girls," Harry said, "this is Professor Severus Snape. Professor, this is your approaching doom, Morwenna, Ophelia, and Persephone Potter."

"My doom?" Severus asked.

Narcissa smiled at him and it was Lucius who said, "They are all slated for Slytherin."

Sirius snickered, "The Black Sisters' second coming."

Severus felt the blood drain from his face as he observed the little girls peering back at him. 'The Black Sisters' second coming' with Lily's eyes, and Potter's blood running through their veins.

Any relief he felt at Harry growing up visibly unharmed dissipated.

"I think I might be retiring soon," Severus said slowly. He sat back down and flicked his wand at the broken teacup that righted itself, the mess on the carpet disappearing.

Harry grinned, "Don't worry, Morwenna has another two years before she turns eleven."

She stuck her tongue out at her father who only laughed and ruffled her hair.

"Wait," Severus said, the question that had been burning him now for months coming forth, "Why does Teddy Lupin have your eyes?"

"Because he's a metamorphmagus like his mother and little aunts. Harry raised him and Teddy took after him, he typically looks more like Harry than what you have seen. But he wanted to try a time at Hogwarts without being Harry Potter's son," Andromeda said.

"Godson," Severus corrected half in question. "He is Remus' son and-"

"My first daughter, Nymphadora Tonks," she finished for him.

Several things snapped into place at once, "That's why Narcissa came to Albus' summons."

"I swear if that man goes near Teddy again, anonymity aside, I will drive him out of Hogwarts," Harry growled.

Severus raised a brow, "You don't like him."

Andromeda laughed, "Of course not. And if Albus doesn't back off soon I will kill him."

Severus was taken aback by this and his focus returned to Harry's expression. "Why don't you like Albus?"

His eye flicked to the children.

Narcissa placed her teacup down and stood. Her pale golden curls falling free around her shoulders, she turned to the little ones, "Let's go ladies. We have some histories to go over."

The oldest groaned, "It's Saturday."

"Yes," Narcissa agreed, "And you three only get Sundays and holidays off."

Morwenna sighed, the petite girl began to walk primarily out of the room, the other two following reluctantly in her wake.

The smallest halted and turned to Severus. "Are you Draco's godfather?" she asked seriously.

"I am," Severus answered.

The girl smiled brilliantly at him.

The middle girl asked, "Professor, did you really trick Tom, protect Hogwarts, and save Mapoppy while everyone thought you were evil?"

Severus blinked, "Tom?" and wondered if Mapoppy is what they called their father. What an absurd name.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle, the Dark Lord," Harry clarified.

"Let's go, little ladies," Narcissa said again, ushering them out of the room.

"But-" the middle girl protested.

"Yes, Professor Snape did all of those things, though there are many things he hasn't done yet."

"But he did save Mapoppy's life and he's Draco's godfather?" they heard the girl's fading voice ask.

"Yes," Narcissa answered, and then they were out of earshot.

Severus was frowning, "What was that? Why do they care if I am Draco's godfather?"

"Because Harry is Teddy's godfather and Harry's godfather is Sirius. The girls' understanding of a godparent is that they are a part of the family," Andromeda clarified.

Now that the little ones were gone, Severus asked, "What happened to make you dislike Albus? Potter, you were always his favorite."

Harry's smile was bitter, "I was his favorite weapon and he raised me like pig for slaughter."

Severus shook his head, "Albus would never do anything to harm you, Potter."

Andromeda sat forward, "Riddle had a piece of his soul, a horcrux, lodged in Harry's scar. I imagine the night he tried to kill him as a baby, he was trying to use Harry's death to make a horcrux, but it backfired. Albus discovered this, he knew for years, and with the prophecy, 'neither shall live while the other survives,' he had Harry walk to his death at seventeen. Rather than try to find another solution, Albus's fix was to have the Dark Lord use another killing curse on him. Not to mention all the other dangers he allowed to happen to him over his years at Hogwarts."

Severus felt fury so strong, so instantaneously he felt light headed. How dare Albus put the boy in danger? After all that I have done to keep him safe…

"Albus is a moronic fool," Lucius said.

"He certainly plays that part well," Harry agreed.

The moment was a bit surreal for Severus. Who would have ever imagined that Lucius and Harry Potter would be on the same side of any issue?

Severus stood, "I should get back, they will wonder where I have gone if I'm not there to see the Quidditch match."

Lucius stood, placing down his cup of tea to see him out.

"Good day, Severus," Andromeda said, as Harry said, "Good day, Professor."

"Bye, Severus," Sirius said with a disconcerting amount of civility.

He nodded stiffly to them. He had more questions, but for the moment, he was having a hard time thinking, much less form coherent questions.

At the door, Severus turned to Lucius, "Are you alright with everything that has happened?"

Lucius' face went hard, "I lost eleven years with my wife, so no. However."

"However, what?" Severus snapped.

Lucius sighed running a hand over his face, "I failed, Severus. That misfortune with the book and the basilisk last year…"

"What of it?"

"I'm told that when the Dark Lord returns, he gives my son to Greyback. Draco contracted lycanthropy, and I find that there is a great deal that I can tolerate to avoid that fate for my son."

Severus understood now, and though despair filled his heart at what could have befallen Draco, he was also filled with -dare he think it, hope. If the Dark Lord came back now, Dumbledore and an army of children would not be what the Dark Lord would be contending with. And for those Death Eaters on this side of the prison walls, Lucius was more of a ring leader than a creature who had parsed his soul up into objects.

"Severus," Lucius said, drawing him from his thoughts. "You should know, Regulus is alive, we have him here."

Severus felt himself jerk. After graduating, Regulus had become a rather dear friend. Hardly a fighter, and not a shabby potioneer himself, Regulus had been the Dark Lord's scholar. His work with ancient texts and contemporary histories was remarkable, given his age. Perhaps the only reason he hadn't been considered a genius was that the wizarding world didn't value pure academia devoid of magic. Though, in Severus' opinion, a muggle wouldn't be able to survive the strain of reading some of the older rituals, where the very act of thinking through them could cause results. Like the teeth of a key against the tumblers of a lock.

"May I see him?" he asked hoarsely.

Lucius nodded, "You may, but he isn't consciousness yet and we don't know if his sanity will be intact if he ever does wake."

"What happened to him?"

Lucius explained the curse as he led him down a different hall, and Severus felt sick.

"How could we ever have followed him?"

"For family, for our culture, for power, and for our futures," Lucius said simply.

"The Dark Lord provided none of those things. And any power we accrued was his to plunder. It was all illusion, all lies."

"We were conned, and if or when we realized that, it was too late to turn back."

"No," Severus said, "it isn't too late."

"No," Lucius agreed, "not yet." He opened a door to a small room.

The curtains were mostly shut but for a line of light that illuminated the room. Severus went to the bed.

Regulus hadn't aged a day. Sitting in the chair beside the bed, Severus took his hand.

The hand was warm, the skin smooth and uncalloused. A scholar's hand.

A lesser man might have cried, but Severus was filled with too much self loathing for such a release. "What have we done to you, Regulus?"

Regulus's death had been one among many. His friend's death lost in the chaos and drama of Severus' choices, his choice that had led to Lily's death. But the soft spoken Black had been well missed in the years to follow.

Severus could have sat there all day, but he truly needed to return, he had no desire to be interrogated by the Headmaster.

He gave Regulus' hand a squeeze and released it too fast to register the hand that had squeezed back.

By Monday, Harry had decided to get ahead of the curve. The more people who started asking questions, who started piecing the puzzle together, the closer they would get to exposure. Which wasn't a terrible thing, but it would be bothersome and Teddy would face some troubles at school. Some of that trouble Harry hoped to counteract today.

With a basic glamour on his hair color -black to blonde, eye color -green to brown, and glasses -round and black to silver and rectangular, no one recognized him. Not even the goblins who would have been quick to dismiss him before he asked to please speak with Ragnok.

Ragnok saw him after a thirty minute wait.

Harry had forgotten how easy goblins could be to deal with if one remained polite and respectful in the face of their grumpy demeanor. That and if one kept to themselves that they had once raided one of the high level vaults, a process that had included using unforgivables on goblins and freeing guardian dragons. Yeah, that little factoid he was fully committed keeping to himself.

"So Mr. -" Ragnok began.

"Potter," he said, smiling, "Harry Potter."

He had the rare treat seeing the shock on a goblin's face.

Ragnok recovered quickly and said dispassionately, "Time traveler. May I inquire as to your younger self?"

"As far as I can tell, burned to ash and gone."

"So no hope in returning to your own time."

"It would seem. Do you know a lot of time travelers?"

"No, but higher ritual transports, that is outside of the effects of small scale or paradoxical records of time travelers have been recorded every five hundred years or so. We were due for one."

"I wasn't alone."

"Oh?"

"I have a godson and three daughters."

"Ah, so you are here not just to claim your vaults but your parental rights," the goblin assumed correctly.

Harry nodded.

"A simple blood test on your part, your daughters need not participate. But a signed document in your blood of their parentage and their dates of birth will do well enough as a claim once inserted into our records. Not even the ministry will be able to contest them."

"And my godson?" Harry asked.

Ragnok gave him a hard look, "The boy's name and parentage. From your tension, I will presume the boy's parents are still alive."

He nodded, "Edward Remus Lupin, Teddy for short, age eleven, son of Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks."

Ragnok tapped a finger on the table. "Ms. Tonks would have been barely a decade old if the boy was born in this time. Which disqualifies her as his guardian. If a minor is born to another minor, the babe becomes the ward of either the grandparents or godparent."

"Andromeda Black helped me raise him."

"Are you and the recently divorced Ms. Black married."

Harry was quiet for a beat. "No," he said slowly, "but we have been partners for over ten years."

"In the way of lovers and parents? The daughters you mentioned, are they hers?"

"Yes."

"You will have to be remarried for it to be recognized as a legal union in this time."

"I understand."

"As for your ward, he is attending Hogwarts, is he not?"

"He is."

"Remus Lupin is the current Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, correct?"

"Correct."

"Then in the last three months since being aware of each other, Mr. Remus Lupin has neither inquired nor tried to lay any claim on the child. As the boy is legally an orphan and we have no reason to dispute your claim as godfather and as his grandmother, the natural guardian as next of kin have been raising and financing him, Edward Remus Lupin will be documented as your legal godson."

Harry let out a sigh of relief.

"Do you plan to have more children, Mr. Potter?"

Harry let out a small laugh, "No, I am quite content with my family."

"Your girls are certainly entitled to your fortune, however, you have no male to pass on your family name."

"That's alright," Harry said easily.

"Teddy Remus Lupin would be, with your consent, eligible to take on the Potter name."

Harry frowned, "I'm not going to change my son's name."

"He needn't change it, but on file, his name would be cross listed as Edward Remus Lupin and as Teddy Lupin Potter."

"Which would be his legal name? And why include his nickname?" Harry asked.

"Does the boy sign his name Edward or Teddy?"

"Teddy, typically."

"When wizards bother to come in to go over their paperwork and accounts, we like to have all names in use on file. It helps when a signature goes through. And to answer your question from before, both would be perfectly legal, he could go by either interchangeably, or a combination of the two, if he wished. The true benefit would be that he would be the holder of your vaults in the future. Of course, if you wished to write a will to specify how your inheritance is brokered between your children, everything is yours until your death. However, aside from your will, your son would inherit it all and be responsible to distribute your legacy to your daughters. Also, your name could continue, Teddy Potter could pass on that name."

Harry was silent for a long moment. Teddy was certainly the most responsible of any of his children. Morwenna, though devoted to her sisters, might use the inheritance, as the oldest, as a hold against Ophelia and Persephone. He hated to think that any of his children would do such a thing, but Morwenna just wasn't the type to waste an advantage. That wasn't a personality trait likely to dissipate as she grew into a woman.

Teddy would never do that to his sisters. He would never do that to anyone, period. No, if Harry wanted to place trust into any one of his children, he had the most faith in Teddy being the responsible one, and that went beyond being the oldest. Even at eleven, Harry regarded Teddy's choices above Nymphadora's.

And wouldn't it be a gift, to give Teddy his name? He wouldn't have to use the surname Potter for himself or his future children, but he would have the options. And what better way to prove to him that yes, I, Harry Potter, now and forever, see you as my son, equal in my heart and regard with my biological children.

Teddy didn't doubt that now, but he wasn't a teenager yet. Things could change, and Merlin forbid, Harry could die.

"Yes, I would like Teddy to carry on my name and be my heir."

"Excellent, our laws work so much smoother within the patriarchy. Now, I will need you-"

Harry spent the next five hours in the bank going over paperwork, legal contracts, and an inventory of his vault. Andromeda was listed as a mother for all four their children, though there was a notation that biologically Andromeda was Teddy's grandmother.

In collecting a sack of galleons, after transferring back the loan they had taken from Narcissa, Harry came across a ring box.

His heart nearly stopped when he saw the two gold bands. His father's ring was white gold, inlaid with white looked like a tiny grey sapphire. It winked at him like a star. His mother's ring was yellow with a tint of rose gold, with a floral grouping of stunning diamonds.

His father's band looked elegant and understated, and though Harry was no expert, probably cost a great deal less than the ornate wedding bands of his mother's ring.

He pocketed them both.

They weighed heavy in his pocket as he did some shopping for necessities and Yule gifts for the end of next month.

After he was done, he lingered before returning home. He would miss preparation for dinner if he didn't return now. But… but, he turned back into another shop that he had been eying all afternoon.

Harry missed dinner but read dramatically from Persephone's collection of children's book. His readings gaining the complete focus of all three girls, despite Morwenna's claim that she was too old for them now.

Harry made a note to himself to reserve time for reading an older series, just-for-fun books, to Morwenna in her studies. Last year, Teddy and she had started reading out loud to one another. And Harry worried a little more each day that Morwenna was being adversely affected by her brother's absence.

Once they were all tucked in and settled for the night, Harry made a detour to Narcissa's room before returning to his own bed. Andromeda was reading in Narcissa's study so there was no rush.

Lucius seemed to think different when he answered the door with a snarl. His hair was tousled and he was completely shirtless.

Harry smirked.

"What do you want?" Lucius growled.

"To speak with Cissa."

"You can talk to her in the morning."

"I could, but I want to speak with her now."

"I hate you."

"I'm okay with that," Harry answered with a grin.

Narcissa ducked under Lucius' arm, dressed in a robe that both covered and accentuated everything, "I'll be back soon."

"I'll be waiting," Lucius said, resigned, walking back into the room and falling back on the bed, looking utterly woebegone.

Narcissa and Harry exchanged a conspiratorial grin, then went to Lucius's study a few doors down the hall.

"What's up, Potter?" Narcissa asked casually as she folded into her seat.

"I wanted your opinion, advice, or whatever," he said taking the seat beside her.

"Intrigued, tell me more," she said smiling, folding her arms over her knees. Her blonde curls free from any restraints.

Eleven years really hadn't affected her beauty in any remarkable way.

The same was certainly true of Andromeda, and she had had three babies in the last decade.

"Harry?" Narcissa questioned, the levity gone from her tone. "What is wrong? You look nervous."

"Nothing, nothing," he said quickly, "I just, I was thinking-"

"Spit it out, Potter."

He took in a breath, "If I asked Andromeda to marry me, do you think she would say yes? Do you think she would want to?"

Narcissa went deathly silent and stared at him with unfathomable icy blue eyes.

After a time, Harry began, "Narciss- Ow!"

He lurched away from her, rubbing the spot on the side of his head where she had whacked him. She had struck like a viper, and even with his reflexes, he had been caught off guard.

"You moronic numb-skull, of course, she would say yes. You don't need to ask me that. Bloody bollocks, you should not even have to ask yourself that. You know you make her happy. She bore three girls for you, she has shared your bed every night since you first came together, and she officially divorced her now alive again husband. What more do you need, idiot? A declaration?"

Harry frowned at her, "The last time I brought it up, Andromeda didn't want to remarry."

"The last time you brought it up she was still wearing his ring, and if I remember correctly that was before Morwenna was born. You must have noticed her constantly rubbing her ring finger. Andromeda likes being a married woman, and maybe it escaped you, but that ring had gone from being a memory of love for him to a symbol of devotion for you."

Sighing, he said, "I know that, and I have noticed. I sort of hate seeing her hand bare of it."

"Then what are you doing asking my advice? Go get hitched."

He grinned reaching into his pocket, "I thought most people got engaged first."

Narcissa sat up and clapped her hands, looking like a young girl, far from the stoic lady she showed most people. "You bought a ring? Good boy! Let me see it."

Harry huffed a laugh and handed her the little black velvet box.

"Oh," Narcissa breathed, her eyes widening, "oh, Harry, you truly have a woman's touch. This is beautiful."

He smiled, "Thanks. What do you think of the grey sapphire as opposed to a traditional diamond?"

The ring was centered around medium sized, wide oval cut, grey sapphire, surrounded by a ring of smaller white topaz gems and set into a band of white gold.

Narcissa smiled, "Traditional you are not, but white gold, antique gold, and rose gold are more common for witches and wizards. Yellow gold is reserved for arranged marriages as a sign of wealth rather than affection. A subtle trend that became officially unofficial, an open secret as it were."

"Your band is just silver," He remarked. It was certainly a lovely ring, but it grew tarnished every now and then. It was the one thing she wore that wasn't immaculate.

"I threw the original ring he gave me in the Hogwarts lake. I think it was his mother's," she said, waving a dismissive hand, "but Lucius' band is white gold."

"So was my father's," he pulled at a second box and third box. "I could also give her my mother's but that feels... well."

"Absolutely not," Narcissa said, having opened his mother's ring box first, "Andromeda would hate this. It is pretty and rose gold, however, aside from Andromeda having been born before your mother, this floral ring is not suitable. She wouldn't wear it."

Harry nodded, "I thought so too, but I think I want to wear my father's ring."

"That would be appropriate." Narcissa opened the last box and said, "Oh and they match! You slick devil. You didn't want my relationship advice you wanted me to double check your jewelry choices."

"And I wanted to ask her to marry me on Christmas Eve and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind babysitting?"

"Of course, Lucius will not be pleased, but I will make it up to him. Do you know where you want to propose?"

"Your gardens?"

Her grin was positively evil, "Always under appreciated in the winter. And before you say anything, I am going to decorate the gazebo. You may have a woman's touch but the gardens are my specialty."

Which was certainly true, and though Harry had never seen a spec of dust on his sister-in-law much less soil, there was no one in the country who could boast a more beautiful and elegant garden.

He smiled, "Thank you, Cissa."

She kissed his cheek, "Be happy, Harry, you deserve to enjoy this life you've built."

That night after the sheets were had been sweatied, Andromeda laid back on the bed, limbs spread, breathing deeply.

"You are certainly energetic tonight," she purred.

Harry laughed, curling a leg over her legs, and resting his head above her breast, "What is there not to be energetic about?"

"Teddy's ours," she said seriously, but with no less happiness than the moment before.

"Were you worried?"

"That Lupin might have made a fuss? Yes. That we would lose Teddy? No."

"Let me guess," Harry said, reaching for the sheet to cover them before closing his eyes. "You would have tortured the poor werewolf professor until he gave you what you wanted."

"No, I think I would have killed him."

Harry opened his eyes and raised his head to meet her gaze, "That would have hurt Teddy."

"Teddy would have never found out."

"Andromeda…"

"No, Harry, you don't understand. You haven't seen the sides of that wolf I have. He's a sweet guy, maybe, but he is very weak. His flaws not only define him, but they also crippled him."

"His lycanthrop-"

"No, Harry. I knew his family. His father was doting, and a friend of Dumbledore's. Remus had every opportunity to succeed."

"He couldn't get a job because of hi-"

"No, he tried to get jobs on merit without any connections."

"What's wrong with that?" he asked.

"Nothing, if you want to work minimum wage for the rest of your life. Connections, recommendations, the world, the wizarding world in particular runs on a currency of who you know and what your background is. He was so afraid of being outed as a werewolf that he never took an opportunity offered that might risk his friends' reputation at risk."

"That doesn't sound so bad," he said lightly.

"He was a coward, I don't care how noble it sounds. He should have risen to the occasion. If he had been fired because of prejudices than that doesn't reflect on anyone but the management. Had he tried and failed... That's what he was worried about. Always running from mistakes before their made."

"I still don't see the justification for murdering him and lying to Teddy about it."

"If that bastard had tried to take my son away with him, put my son in danger because he finally decided to try manning up, I would have killed. Because as sure as I know you love me, I know Remus would fail Teddy when it counted most. And what he put Nymphadora through… I couldn't bear for our son to ever feel like he was less important than a coward's pride or fears."

Harry wrapped his arms around her, "He's ours, Andromeda. Our son, and nobody will take him from us."

He kissed her then, kissed her until she forgot the man who had not only abandoned her daughter but their baby-boy as well. Harry pulled out of the kiss and they shifted so that it was Andromeda curling into his embrace. They held each other in dark. They lived in an odd paradox where the loss of the things that had broken them most thoroughly, had directly resulted in their greatest happinesses.

Remus had come back, but even in his staying, he had been more hindrance than protection. And then he had led Nymphadora to her death, leaving Teddy behind.

Teddy, who was the spark that had reignited Harry and Andromeda's will to live.

Some say the love between lovers burns the hottest -and perhaps it did, but it was the love of a parent for their child that burned the deepest.

AN: Yeah, more complex relational emotions! Please, please, please review for this one? When I start getting in deep I am not sure how much of the content people are enjoying. Also in addition to the response on this chapter what would y'all think about a one shot of Narcissa and Lucius' engagement in relation to this story?

Chapter 11: Morwenna Lilianne Potter

Chapter 11 - Morwenna Lilianne Potter

The gardens were cold.

She was cold.

She was alone.

She was free.

Sliding under the bushes, she knew not what she was looking for.

She didn't expect to be found.

She didn't expect to be welcomed.

The days of home and hope were far behind.

But there they three were.

You can stay with us, but you have to hide from him. He can hear you too.

Winter was coming fast. And there was little choice in turning down this warm place with kind hands and pleasant talk.

It wasn't her home, but it was a home.

And she was welcomed.

She would not betray this gift, and unlike all those times before she was free to make that choice. Even if she had to hide, it was her choice to hide.

Freedom.

Warmth.

What more could I wish for? What more could possibly be given to one such as me?

"Left, right, half-step, right arm extended, twist, lift," Andromeda instructed, leading him through the dance.

Harry, of course, knew this dance, but her studio would be opening next week and she was nervous because word had spread fast that Andromeda Black had not only divorced her muggleborn husband but was single.

She wasn't single, and Harry truly wanted to light the Prophet publishing house on fire. It wasn't that he believed anything would happen, nor did he believe that Andromeda would, even for a moment, consider another man. But now that he had decided to propose, he wanted to be married.

He wanted to be her husband and he wanted the world to know that Andromeda Black had chosen him.

But he wasn't going to rush things now, he had waited eleven years, he could certainly make it the end of the month.

"Harry," she snapped. "Are you paying attention?"

His eyes softened on her, he touched his forehead to hers, and repeated the steps more swiftly. He didn't lift her, he spun her fast out then back into himself, leaving her off balanced. She caught herself on his chest, leaning against him, the dance halted, he claimed a kiss before she could protest or chastise him.

Once his lips touched hers there was no protesting.

Pounding footsteps had them both turned to the door.

Persephone entered the room crying while Ophelia looked pissed behind her.

"What's wrong?" Harry and Andromeda asked in unison.

"She bloody well left without us," Ophelia huffed.

"Who left?" Harry asked, ignoring the cursing, his mind already spinning. He knew 'who.'

Persephone ran at him, but it was Andromeda who caught her in her arms.

"Who else? Wenna," Ophelia answered with as much cold haughtiness as her Aunt Cissa.

Lucius entered moments letter, he looked panicked. "She took my wand," he gasped.

Harry could have punched him, in fact, he could have done much more to the blonde ex-Death Eater, but he knew that whatever Narcissa and Andromeda came up with would be far worse.

"Fool," Harry breathed. He apparated before he could even come up with a way for Morwenna to have gotten there. She had a wand, he knew where she would have gone.

Teddy wasn't positive he was being followed. There was no sound, no glimpse of shadow, or shimmer of light to give her away.

But one of the hallway windows was open, and he caught her scent on the breeze.

He turned, "Mo-?" He didn't finish the sentence before he found himself in a broom closet with a sister that was none too pleased with him.

Astoria was not having a particularly good evening. Her dimwitted housemates were on about her not having found people of her 'own kind' to befriend.

Which was nonsense because Teddy was definitely Draco's cousin. Mrs. Malfoy had come on his behalf after all. They were living together. No, Hufflepuff or not, Teddy was an honorary Slytherin.

An excuse that didn't extend to her Loony Raven, nor Harry Potter's mudblood Gryffindor girlfriend.

Had Daphne not been her older sister, Astoria strongly suspected that her classmates would have gone beyond whispered insults by now.

She nearly bit the head off of the person who tapped her shoulder.

Turning she was confronted with a pair of luminous eyes, ones far too close.

"Lun-" Astoria began, leaning back.

"Teddy's missing!" the blonde said in a hushed voice. She looked panicked.

"What!?" Astoria exploded, turning in her seat to look across to the other side of the room where Teddy sat in clear view loading food onto his plate.

Astoria's housemates sniggered.

Flushed, she turned back to the airhead, "Luna, if this is some kind of j-"

"That isn't him, Storia, that isn't Teddy."

The other Slytherins laughed a little more openly.

Astoria glared at them and grabbed Luna's hand, leading her away from the snakes. "Come on, we can just talk to him."

"No, Storia. It isn't him, I don't know who that is but it's not him and whoever that is- is- is."

Astoria halted, and turned sharply to face the girl, who wasn't psychic, wasn't altogether sane, and wasn't in -any stretch of the imagination, unintelligent. "Is what?" she asked seriously.

Luna shook her head, her silver curls falling around her shoulders. "Is someone to be afraid of," she said softly, almost inaudibly.

Astoria turned, changing their course to the Gryffindor table. She pushed a babbling boy down the bench away from Hermione, pulling Luna down to sit with her.

Hermione looked up with surprise. They didn't eat at each other's tables, despite being friends, Teddy was the only one who would actually sit at a table that wasn't his own.

"Luna thinks Teddy is missing," Astoria stated.

Hermione and several other heads turned to look at the boy in question who was quietly eating his food. Hermione frowned and a few of the Gryffindors chuckled good naturedly.

"Why would you think that, Luna?" she asked, kindly and curiously.

Hermione liked Luna as much as Astoria did, but the Raven could be quite the riddle at times, Teddy was the only one who could keep up a conversation with her without getting lost.

"Hey, little Slytherin, get back to your own table, you're not welcome here," Ronald Weasley called at her a few seats down.

Astoria just bared his teeth at him.

It was Hermione who called back, "Shut your face, Ron. She and Luna are welcome here."

"A snake and a loon, you have terrible taste in friends," he sneered at her.

"The only terrible friend I ever had was you," Hermione shot back.

"I'm telling you it, it isn't him," Luna interjected more firmly.

Hermione shot her look then faced Teddy and waved energetically at him. It was something Luna and Teddy did across a room to each other.

They looked like morons, but it was harmless, and though Astoria would never say it out loud, a bit endearing.

But Teddy didn't wave back, in fact, he didn't even seem to realize Hermione was trying to catch his attention.

The thing about Teddy was that there was no one in the school more observant. Astoria was convinced he could hear a pin drop across a room, and he always kept an eye on his surroundings. The moment Astoria and Luna sat next to Hermione, he should have been over here with them.

An uneasy feeling filled Astoria's gut.

She and Hermione exchanged a look when suddenly, the doors to the Great Hall slammed open. A breeze swept through the room as if the night sky above them was more than just a magical illusion.

"Morwenna Lilianne Potter!" roared a male voice into the room.

Astoria flinched at the anger in that voice, as did many of the others. The need to cower was shameful, yet understandable as a darkly clad wizard prowled into the silent hall.

His raven black hair shifted and his black robes rippled in a wind of his own magic's making.

The hall's occupants sat stunned as the wizard made a beeline toward the Hufflepuff table, straight to the Teddy Lupin who wasn't, in fact, Teddy Lupin.

The older wizard's skin was pale, he wore round glasses, his eyes were a vivid green, and on his forehead, there was a white scar in the shape of a lightning bolt.

It took her mind a moment to catch up.

"I told you," Luna said under her breath.

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in!?" Harry Merlin-Damned Potter boomed at the not-Teddy.

Not-Teddy stood to face the angry Harry-Frikin'-Potter without an inkling of fear on his face. He put his hands on his hips and waited, chinned raised, the absolute picture of arrogant difference.

It wasn't a look that really looked good on the always sweet, always happy, Teddy Lupin that Astoria had grown to know.

Harry-Stinkin'-Potter began to lay into Not-Teddy with the disapproving desperation of a parent who has just caught their child doing something extraordinarily stupid. Whoever the Not-Teddy was, Astoria pitied him.

"How many times have I told you how dangerous Hogwarts is, little lady?"

Little lady? Astoria wondered, maybe time travel had broken the man-who-doesn't-stay-dead's mind?

The professors, or at least the heads of houses and the Headmaster were making their way down from the head table.

"You let Teddy come," Not-Teddy reasoned, her voice unapologetic.

"Teddy is of age! You are not your brother and you are not old enough to be here!"

"I am too! I'm powerful enough to be here, Mapoppy!" she who was still wearing Teddy's face roared back.

"It must be poly-potion," Hermione whispered.

He twisted his hand and a black, silver handled wand flew to his hand, which he slipped into an inner robe pocket. "If you were of age and had stolen Uncle Lucius's wand you would have been expelled, Morwenna Lilianne. When we get hom-"

"You'll what!?" the girl exclaimed, "You already took away my best friend!"

"Morwenna," Harry sighed, and he looked old, like a man who had seen the world burn and had to sift through the ashes.

That's when Teddy-Actually-Lupin stormed into the room, missing his outer robe and tie. "MORWENNA LILIANNE!" he bellowed. He was in the false-Teddy's face in a moment, the argument rising between them rapidly and not entirely in English.

The false-Teddy's dark brown hair grew longer, the height dwindling to a figure far more petite, and her skin darkening to a nut brown tan as if she had spent every day of her life in the sun.

She wasn't yelling back at her brother -because they had to be related, in English. No, Astoria was pretty certain she was hissing at him in Parseltongue. Which Teddy seemed to have no problem understanding.

Their voices rose, and then as if the evening wasn't bizarre enough, Teddy's brown hair turned a violent shade of fluorescent orange.

His sister's hair turned a shade of red so bright it seemed to glow.

Then, in addition to the yelling/hissing match, they seemed to also be having a battle in colors, their eyes flashing colors that were not human, their hair looking as if the rainbow had exploded, and odd colored shapes blowing across their skins.

They were metamorphmegi.

"Enough," Harry-Time-Traveling-Potter said, his voice ringing through the room, though he didn't yell. It was a voice that she'd only heard McGonagall pull off, that supreme professor voice of either be quiet or you will regret it voice.

Astoria didn't know what he would have said next because the Headmaster sent a red stunner at his head.

Harry Still-Can't-Believe-He's-Not-Dead Potter, half turned, throwing out a hand in protection.

Which was foolish, because a hand could not stop a spell… only it did.

A wandlessly cast, cylinder shaped, blue shield caught the beam of red, held it suspended for a breathless moment than crushed in a crackling array of sparks. All the ire he had entered the Great Hall with seemed to find a new target.

"What do you think you are doing?" he asked, glaring at the Headmaster.

"Yo-" Dumbledore began.

The Golden Boy cut him off, "You can't fire stunners around the students. I would be surprised if even half of the seventh years know how to call up a halfway decent shield charm."

"You shouldn't-" the Headmaster tried again.

"No, you should know better. If I had used a basic mirror charm your stunner could have rebounded onto any of them. Not every eleven year old, or twelve year old for that matter, are strong enough to take a fully powered stunner, you old fool."

The silence in the room was absolute.

Not only was Harry Potter alive, and a frightening adult wizard, he had just lectured the Headmaster of the school, as if Albus Dumbledore were a misbehaving schoolboy.

Astoria had always been inclined to dislike the golden boy on the principle that he was a self-righteous, arrogant, Gryffindor, no matter what Hermione said about him. But now? Well, she would be rethinking things. They all would be.

The other professors were gaping at him just as much as the students, except for Professor Snape, who looked smug.

Astoria suspected strongly that he had been in the loop.

Which wasn't that weird if the girl had stolen 'Uncle' Lucius' -presumably, Lucius Malfoy's wand.

"Harry?" it was McGonagall who broke the silence.

Something in his face seemed to soften, "Hello Minerva."

"Harry, my bo-" the Headmaster began.

"Albus," he said flatly, "if you call me 'boy' I'm going to take your wand and snap it."

"Not even you, b-"

"Mr. Potter, perhaps you should take your daughter home," it was Professor Snape who interceded.

Astoria narrowed her gaze on him.

Yes, it was true that Harry Potter seemed scary, what with the wind show and the display of wandless magic. But wandless magic wasn't unheard of, simply hard to teach. And the wind could be as much a show of unstable power or as an overflow of power.

No, the Slytherin Head of House knew something the rest of them didn't because it looked like, at least to her, Professor Snape had just saved Dumbledore, or perhaps, he had saved the rest of them from the crossfire.

Potter nodded at Professor Snape and bent down to pick up his -now human hued, daughter who did not protest being lifted into her father's arms.

"Teddy, do you want to come with me now?" he asked looking down at his godson.

Teddy shrugged, "I'll see you at the station on Friday. It's only two days. Love you, Dad… Morwenna."

She stuck her tongue out at him, a gesture he returned, only his tongue was blue.

At least the mystery of Teddy's green eyes was solved. He was a metamorphmagus. Astoria wondered what other secrets he had been keeping.

He was from the future, it was likely he wasn't even aware of how many secrets he had. If she had been him, she would have taken the earlier vacation.

Potter turned back to the Headmaster, "I warn you Albus, and I will warn you only once. You will stay away from my children, you will not interfere with their lives, you will not use and manipulate them as you did to me. Hear me, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, if you do not steer clear of them, then I swear, by all that is that is light and dark, on every star in the sky, that I will ruin you."

He looked at them then, or rather he looked at Hermione. He gave her a wink, and then with a resounding CRACK;

Harry Potter disapparated from the Great Hall.

Harry was furious, he brought Morwenna to one of the back rooms so that Ophelia and Persephone would not overhear.

Morwenna waited for his lecture, hands on hips, defiant, and not the least bit aware of the heart attacks she had nearly induced in him.

"I'm disappointed in you, Morwenna," he said evenly.

Her pride slipped, her shoulders rounding a bit, but her tone was self-righteous, "I'm more powerful than Teddy will ever be."

"You think power is everything?" Harry asked. "I defeated the Dark Lord on a fluke of magic. I won because of his arrogance and predictability. But spell for spell, he could have whipped the floor with me."

She frowned up at him, "But you're the most powerful wizard ever. Everyone calls you the next Albus Dumbledore."

"Yes, and where is Albus Dumbledore now?" he asked.

A calculating look crossed her face, "Hogwarts."

"Yes, Hogwarts, where you ran off to without permission or protection."

"No one would dare hurt me."

Harry knelt in front of her so that they were at eye level, "Morwenna, you are a Potter, you are my daughter, there are many, many people who might wish you harm."

"I'm not in danger, you would protect me."

He sighed, "And how can I protect you if I don't know where you are? If I can't reach you? I may be good, but I can't be everywhere at once."

She raised her chin, "I can still take care of myself."

"No, Morwenna, you can't."

"You think Teddy can and I am more powerful than him."

"No, I worry about Teddy all the time. He cannot protect himself against everything or everyone at Hogwarts. However, I trust that he would tell me if something was amiss and I trust that he would ask the right people for help in a crisis. Teddy listens to my stories."

"I listen."

"Morwenna Lilianne, you bullied your brother into breeding a Basilisk."

"I wouldn't have let myself get bullied," she argued.

Harry shook his head, "Even now, daughter, you don't see how that could have gone terribly wrong. One accidental look and you could have died. Teddy could have died."

"That's not true, I know better now, I'm older, and my magic-"

"You are not old enough, and I still have two years with you at home to convince you that magic is not a game. It isn't even a tool. It is a living, breathing weapon, that can be honed to create, just as surely as it can be used to destroy.

"You think magic is all about the firework shows, the impressiveness of it, the usefulness of it to get you what want when you want it. I know you. And though I know you love your brother and want to be with him, you are just as interested in as learning spells to outshine him. But magic isn't a talent show, just as with a flick of your wrist, you can make a table float, someone else can flick their wrist and end your life."

She glared at him, "No one-"

"It happened to me my first year at Hogwarts. I can't tell you all the times I almost died, with not a single adult was around to help. You are grounded for a month."

"I don't care."

"You will care when you're scrubbing the dishes every day after your studies."

She pouted at him.

"Morwenna, you have no idea the danger you put yourself in today. Not only that, but you put the rest of us in danger as well."

"No, I didn't."

"What would have happened if the professors had tried taking you away from me? They might have used you to get at me. The Ministry might show up at our door even now and try to take you, your sisters, and Teddy, away from us."

"You won't let that happen."

"Of course not, but do you truly want strangers to tell Persephone she has to leave us?"

Morwenna's face flushed with anger, "If they try I'll-"

"I'll take care of it. But you know even the idea of it would upset her. And know this, when your brother comes back he will not be happy with you."

"He'll forgive me for shoving him in the closet, it wasn't like I stunned him or anything."

"And do you think he will be so quick to forgive you for causing the entire school to hound him for questions about me, his family, and the future?"

She crossed her arms, "Teddy doesn't like telling lies."

"True, but he will not thank you for taking the chance and the choice to tell his friends the truth for himself."

"I'm his friend."

Harry stood, "Don't be selfish, Morwenna. Rona was the only friend Teddy had outside of the family because she was basically a part of the family. Yet even Verona Weasley was more your friend than Teddy's. You will always be his sister, but he deserves the chance to be his own person, outside of being your partner in crime."

"That's not fair!" she protested.

"No, depriving your brother the opportunity to make friends is not fair," he said, "Now, I have to get to the Ministry and clean up the mess you've made." It was harsh, maybe too harsh. But she wasn't hearing him, and Harry feared what might happen if she ran again, or if the little ones followed her lead.

He hated being in this timeline. It was hard enough to raise his danger prone children in their own time and place, but here?

There were so many variables to contest with.

He bent to kiss her cheek, then left her in the room to think their discussion over, Andromeda was waiting alone in the hall.

They exchanged a long look.

"The rest are in the parlor," she said before slipping into the room to talk to their daughter.

Harry went to the parlor, and gave Lucius back his wand. Neither said a word nothing, the humiliation of losing his wand to a nine year old was its own punishment.

"How much trouble is she in?" Ophelia asked.

"Plenty," Harry answered.

"Dumbledore is going to show up on the doorstep any moment," Sirius noted a little uneasily.

Harry couldn't imagine the thoughts going through his head. Yes, Sirius wanted to be here, that didn't mean explaining himself to his old boss and to the rest of the old Order of the Phoenix would be any easier.

Harry turned to Lucius, "Whatever you do, don't let him in the manor. The wards I put up will be more than enough to keep him from entering, as long as you don't welcome him."

The blonde raised a brow at him, "That shall not be a hardship,"

"We will sue him if he tries breaking through," Narcissa added.

Harry looked to his youngest, "And that means staying inside for the day and perhaps tomorrow. Do not go outside."

They nodded, Persephone clutching Ophelia's hand like a lifeline.

"Where are you going?" Narcissa asked.

"The Department of Magical Law Enforcement, I would like to claim the reward for finding myself."

"Ha ha," she said drily.

Harry disapparated to London. He found a back alley and shifted into his falcon form. He looked like a falcon, but he didn't stand out too much among the owls delivering outside packages to the various offices.

He found an alcove out of sight of people on the correct floor, and shifted back.

Casually, he walked up to Amelia Bones' office and knocked.

The conversation in the room halted, and a voice called, "Come in."

Harry opened the door and was pleased to see not only Amelia but Kingsley Shacklebolt as well.

Leaning against the doorframe, Harry said with a smirk, "So, I hear you're looking for Harry Potter."

Ahrnberg: Sassy Potter is the best Potter.

AN: My plot has a lot more to it the further in I go, thanks for hanging in for the fun stuff. Please, please, with all the leftover candy and chocolates, and horrid and wondrous Christmas carols, review?

Chapter 12: Teddy Lupin Potter

AN: Holy monkey-feathers! The Crimes of Grindelwald was a superb movie, I had a blast and I consider all of it cannon. JKR really pulled out her story and characters to perfection for this one. It is fine if you disagree, but that movie is why I wrote this chapter in my limited free time :D

BETA: Ahrnberg, that continually awesome dude who makes these chapters acceptable to post. Who also had the deciding vote on what many of the reviewers frequently requested from this story. Wishes granted ;)

Chapter 12 - Teddy Lupin Potter

The silence after Mapoppy left was stunning, and the cacophony that arose from the chaos after made Teddy flinch. The high ceilings rebounded the sound and it wasn't just loud, it was near deafening to his sensitive hearing.

The Headmaster turned on him and started demanding answers. Or at least that's what he thought the old wizard was saying. Teddy's eyes widened as he realized he truly couldn't hear. Just a dull ringing as if he were underwater, only the pressure didn't just muffle sounds, it hurt.

It took a lot of control not to raise his hands to his ears, if his sisters had taught him anything, it was never to show weakness in a fight. He pulled his wand and backed away, or tried to, from the people crowding around him. He wanted to shift and run, but turning into a wolf might cause a panic and the last thing he needed was more sound, more rumours.

Dumbledore kept talking and Teddy could only shake his head. Pomona stepped in front of him, and he could have hugged her. She went toe to toe with the Headmaster as Cedric stepped up to Teddy's side, placing a hand on his shoulder and began leading him through the students.

They got out of the way for the Hufflepuff Prefect, it was kind of hard not to respect the charismatic Cedric. The moment they passed the double doors, Teddy ran. No one could catch him on two feet, or four for that matter. He regretted not saying thank you to Cedric but he needed away, and he needed away now.

He had no idea when he would be able to forgive Morwenna for this.

Not to be out done, Albus also disapparated out of the Great Hall.

Hermione gritted her teeth, that wasn't supposed to be possible.

"Where did you think he went?" Astoria asked as they pushed their way through the crowd.

"I have a good guess," Hermione said, taking hold of Luna's hand and shoved through a group Gryffindors meandering in front of them.

When they made it to the hall, Hermione led them up and up.

Teddy was sitting in corner of the owlery, his little barn owl, Wendy Bird, was hooting on his shoulder. He didn't see them come in, his face pressed into his knees.

Luna touched his bird free shoulder gently, he flinched away from her, his emerald eyes too big as they stared up at her. She sank to the floor, putting an arm around his back. When Hermione got closer she saw that his face was streaked with tears, she mirrored Luna on his other side and Wendy Bird hopped on top Teddy's head. Astoria used a cleaning spell and a warming spell on the space around them before sitting down beside Hermione.

They all sat in silence for a long time.

Astoria finally broke it, saying, "So you're a Potter. That explains a lot. Your sister is a bit nuts though."

Teddy sniffed a laugh, "Yeah, she is, all my sisters are, really. Sorry for not telling you guys about my family, I just… I just wanted to be liked being me, you know? And not having to explain everyone's futures."

Hermione smiled, "We won't push."

"Speak for yourself," Astoria said, "How old is your sister? She stole Mr. Malfoy's wand, broke into Hogwarts, and snuck up on you -which should be impossible, and she also trapped you in a closet?"

"She's nine, and Morwenna knows everything about me. If she really wanted to she can get the best of me, which she did. Brat."

"Brat?" Hermione asked, "Teddy, your sister is crazy."

He shrugged, "Crazy is in the eye of the beholder. Honestly, Harry Potter is our dad and Andromeda Black is her mum and my grandmother, and trust me, if you think my sister was a little much you've never seen my Grandmama lose her temper."

"The Blacks do have a reputation," Astoria said. "Guess that explains a lot about you too."

Teddy huffed a laugh.

Luna brushed her fingers over his ear. "Are you okay?" she asked softly.

He gave her a small smile, "I couldn't hear, that's never happened before."

Hermione frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Teddy has really good hearing," Luna answered.

"How many secrets do you have?" Astoria asked.

He grinned, "More than you, Greengrass. And you can ask your questions, Hermione."

"Harry fell in love with Andromeda Tonks? Isn't she Nymphadora's mother? She must be much older than him."

"Twenty something years. They started living together after the war because of me. Both my parents died in the war."

"Wait, what war?" Astoria asked.

"Voldemort comes back."

"How old was Harry when the war ended?" Hermione asked as Astoria gaped at him.

"My father killed Voldemort when he was seventeen. The war was three-ish years long. A lot of kids fought and died here, my parents died at the Battle of Hogwarts trying to defend the students."

"How old were you?" Luna asked.

"A few months old."

"I'm sorry," she said softly, "Coming here must have been the first time you met your father."

Teddy shrugged, "Meeting Remus went better than meeting my mother. But then Grandmama was breaking up with my Grandfather at the time so… I guess I shouldn't blame her. But it doesn't really matter, Harry is my father, at least he's the only one I need. I don't need Remus or Nymphadora."

"So let me get this straight, Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, beats the Dark Lord when he was seventeen-" Astoria began.

Hermione coughed, "Harry beat Voldemort twice in the last two years."

Astoria waved it away, "Seventeen, he wins a war, then he goes to live with a widow and helps her raise a baby. And falls in love with the widow, who happens to be one of the three Black Sisters, one of the most feared witches in Hogwarts' recent history?"

Teddy nodded, "Yeah, though my dad did more than help. He took care of both of us. Grandmama wasn't… she had a hard time after the war. Aunt Cissa says she wasn't really okay until after Ophelia was born."

"But seventeen is really young to raise a baby," Hermione said.

"My Grandmama was sixteen when she had my mother, Nymphadora."

"Yeah, but-"

"But what?" Teddy challenged.

Hermione felt herself flush, "He's…"

"A guy? And guys can't raise kids on their own, can they?"

"I didn't say that."

"But you were thinking it."

She sighed, "Teddy, I'm sorry. It is just weird to think my best friend, who last year was thirteen, could -in just a few short years, win a war and become a dad. It's just a lot."

He echoed her sigh, "I'm sorry, too. I know this is a lot to take in. It's just that everyone always wants my dad to be something he's not. He likes babies, kids, and teaching. He likes baking and cooking and dancing. He is a powerful wizard and he can be as studious as the best of them, but as good as he is at magic, he is best at being our dad."

"He couldn't control your sister," Astoria chimed in.

Teddy laughed at that, "No one could control my sisters. And if anyone else tried to 'parent' them, they probably either be dead or have blown up half of Britain by now."

"They can't be that bad," Luna noted.

He grinned, "You're only saying that because I'm not much better."

"Teddy Lupin Potter," Astoria declared, leaning forward over Hermione's lap to look him in the eye, "You are the most innocent person ever."

He snorted, "I helped my sister breed a Basilisk, burn down Malfoy Manor with Ashwinders, and started a riot in both Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley. And don't get me started on Mr. Dumbledore's chickens. My father still will not let me live down him having to build a chicken coop behind the Hogshead."

All three girls stared at him.

"Many, many secrets," Luna said sagely, then laughed wildly as if she had just caught up to the joke.

Albus was vibrating with energy, his mind spinning.

Harry Potter was a man, a fully fledged wizard.

With enough power to wandlessly catch and crush his spell as well as apparate in and out of Hogwarts.

And what was more, he didn't trust Albus anymore. He was living with the Malfoys. Had he switched sides? Had Tom gotten too him? Turned him against the Light?

He arrived at Malfoy Manor, knocking on the door in such a way that no one in the manor would be unable to hear it.

Lucius opened the door, his expression bland. "What do you want?"

"I need to see Harry."

"Potter is not here," he drawled.

"I don't have time for this," Albus muttered and made to push through the space Lucius had left between himself and the open door.

Only Albus couldn't push through the threshold, the wards weren't just strong, it was like walking into a brick wall. Solid and absolutely no give.

Lucius' smirk was insufferable.

Albus brought out his wand, given time he could unwind any ward but when time was in short supply, there were other ways.

The Elder Wand's spell didn't make so much as a ripple, the wards absorbing the energy like a feather in a field of down. Albus tried again, this time aiming for the side of the door. Most people only warded the exits, and the Malfoys were arrogant enough to believe no one would try knocking down their walls to get in.

His spell rebounded and he was knocked off his feet, off the steps.

Lucius' smirk was nearly a full out grin at this point.

Albus sat, stunned and breathless. He hadn't encountered wards like that-

"Give Flitwick my regards, he trained Potter well," Lucius said before slamming the door shut.

Albus closed his eyes and swallowed a groan.

Filius Flitwick.

A great man, a great wizard to be sure. But he was not one of Albus' people, and his skills in warding were… were a credit to Hogwarts. And if he had trained Harry… well, it explained how he was able to apparate out of the Great Hall.

Getting slowly to his feet, Albus decided to go to the ministry, to get ahead of the rumours as much as possible.

He was a bit late.

Kingsley was astounded at the figure standing before him. "James?" he asked before his mind caught up to what the figure had said.

Green eyes, not hazel. Harry Potter. Time travel. Merde.

"Time travel," Amelia began, getting her wits around her before he could, "is illegal, Mr. Potter."

Harry motioned with his hand, asking to come into the room, Amelia nodded. And he shut the door behind him. "It wasn't by choice and it wasn't by time turner which is the only 'illegal' route for time travel."

"There isn't another route," Amelia said.

"So you know of a time turner that can transport at least seven people back in time and burn up their younger selves without creating a time paradox that un-writes their existence?"

"What happened?" Kingsley asked.

Harry told them.

"Wait," Amelia interrupted, "Andromeda Tonks, the mother of your children is Andromeda Tonks?"

Kingsley gave her a sharp look, an age difference was hardly something to be outraged by in pureblood society.

"Yes," Harry answered easily. "But she got a divorce, it is Andromeda Black."

"Because of you. She divorced Ted for you?"

He nodded, "Ted left and died in our timeline, by the time I moved in to help raise my godson, Andromeda was a widow."

Kingsley could not read nor understand the expression on Amelia's expression.

Harry continued his summary and why he had kept himself hidden. Kingsley couldn't blame him, his son would have a hard time after this scandal and being a public figure, people were not likely to leave the Potters be.

When he finished his story, Harry said, "I want Sirius and Regulus cleared of all charges, publically."

"You're children may not be-"

"My children are mine, the goblins took care of the heritage business, something the ministry has no way or authority to interfere with."

That was a threat and a sore issue no one would push without causing a riot. Pureblood families were already bitter, and had been bitter since Grindelwald. It was one thing to fight over an orphan's rights, it was quite another to try and remove custody of a child from a pureblood family made up of Blacks, Potters, and Malfoys.

The very notion of all three of those families united under the same roof spelled trouble. The Malfoys had the money, the Potters had the popularity, and the Blacks had the fear of wizarding world in their palms.

Kingsley could only hope that Harry had converted them rather than the other way around. If the reincarnation of James Potter was the next Dark Lord, they were all royally screwed.

"We can do that," Amelia said. "Fudge stopped us from repealing our wanted posters because you had not shown up yet."

Harry rolled his eyes, "I suppose I should speak with him before leaving today."

"He will want you in front of the cameras," Kingsley said.

"Too bad, they can take pictures of my back side when I leave. And I would just love to see what Lucius and Narcissa would do to the 'news' if they tried camping out on their lawn."

Amelia shuddered.

Kingsley could relate; they would be pulling bodies off the grass.

Someone knocked on the shut door and came in without waiting, Frank Longbottom came in reading a folder. When he looked up he exclaimed, "James!"

Harry stood, "Sorry, Harry Potter actually."

Frank blinked at him, then laughed, "There have been too many changes lately, glad to see Alice and I aren't the only ones out of time."

Harry grinned and they shook hands.

"Well this folder is useless," Frank said, tossing it in a bin to the side of Amelia's desk.

"Back to work already?" Harry asked him.

Frank quirked a lip at him, "Don't think I'm not going to ask for an explanation, but I would hardly call it 'already.' I have been out of work for over twelve years, or so they tell me. Besides, they just have me doing paperwork."

"How's Neville?" Harry asked.

"He's…" Frank stopped. "He doesn't believe we're real. That this will last. It's like he's waiting for the other shoe to drop. My mother is not helping."

"You should come over to dinner one night. I think if Neville sees some more unexplainable things he may get more used to the idea. Andromeda will be glad to see you."

"You know Andromeda?" Frank asked, face brightening.

Harry nodded, "We have been together for eleven years, we have little ones of our own."

"Alice and I would be glad to accept."

Kingsley cleared his throat, "As well and good as this is, maybe we should move along to planning how to break this news 'Potter Lives' to the public."

Harry shrugged, "My oldest daughter already broke that news, but I suppose we should see the minister before he has a coronary and Kingsley loses his job as his bodyguard."

"I'm not his bodyguard," Kingsley rumbled.

"Not yet."

That was not a pleasant thought.

"Before we go though, I would like to register as an animagus."

Harry was less than pleased to see Dolores Umbridge sitting comfortably at Fudge's side, as the Minister blabbered on.

His mood was not improved by Albus's appearance.

Harry let them talk, let them plan, and plot as if he were still the child they could speak for.

"Mr. Potter," Fudge finally addressed him, "you will-"

Harry interrupted, "I will not. I am going back home. I was only here as a pleasantry."

Fudge sputtered.

It was Albus who tried to coax, "Your family-"

"How's Aberforth?" Harry asked.

"Excuse me?" Albus asked, looking wrong footed.

"You speak of family, how's yours? How is Aberforth?"

The old man gave him a strange look, and answered slowly, "He's fine."

"Really?" Harry asked unable to hide his lips from twitching upward. It was clear by Albus' hesitation that he wouldn't know if his brother was fine or not. "How's his new girl, Cindy?"

"Aberforth has a girlfriend?" Amelia asked.

Albus looked just as stupefied.

"No," Harry said, smiling. "But I know that in my time that Cindy was under twelve years old which means, Mindy must have had her recently."

"He has a daughter?" Amelia asked sounding almost outraged.

Albus looked like he had just swallowed an owl turd.

Harry laughed, "No, Mindy, Cindy, Lindy, and Rodger are goats."

There was a brief silence and the look of shock on Albus' face faded to anger. Knowing the names of Aberforth's goats wasn't as important as knowing about his love life -which he didn't have, but knowing his pets was more than Albus knew. It showed that Harry knew more about the man's brother than he did.

"Fascinating," Umbridge said with a sickly amount of honey. "What about the illegal time travel."

"My family and I were basically kidnapped," Harry said.

"How do we know that?" she asked him, her beady eyes drilling holes into him.

Fudge, surprisingly, came to his defense, "We know that because they haven't caused a time paradox, whatever this is isn't something we have enough information about, we can hardly put them in prison for it. How many children did you say you had again?"

"Four," Harry said.

"Three," Umbridge corrected.

"Four," he affirmed, "Teddy is legally mine and he is my heir."

"That's impossible."

"The paperwork, the records, and will have been sealed," Harry said in a tone that could not be mistaken for anything else but a warning.

"His name would have had to be legally changed if there are other surviving family members who bear your name," Umbridge argued, ignoring the warning.

"Legally, Edward Remus Lupin is Teddy Lupin Potter. He is mine. I have three daughters, and as this a patriarchal inheritance, there is no other Potters who could fight for my title."

"So you will give your godson prevalence over your daughters?" Albus asked, a lilt to his voice.

"I have a will that ensures the security and comfort of all my children, but I trust Teddy to protect his sisters, to be the most sensible. My vaults are his, my name is his if he wants it. And, as heir to a pureblood line, you cannot stop him."

That shut Umbridge up, if she pushed and Harry claimed his name, in all that entailed, it would be trouble for them. Fudge's next question confirmed that fear.

"And your… partner is Andromeda Black? Your family is currently living with the Malfoys?"

"Yes, and yes," he said simply.

"Well," Fudge said. "You may go. But I would prefer if you spoke to the papers after consulting-"

"The papers can print whatever they like. Merlin knows, they will whether I speak to them or not, and I'd rather they spin their tales without having my account to twist to their narrative. However, Sirius and Regulus' names will be cleared."

"Regulus was never accused of a crime, only declared dead."

"He isn't dead, and both will be in the clear."

"Whose side are you on?" Fudge asked abruptly.

Harry stood, knowing that though he might not have been the tallest figure in the room, his aura, as Andromeda called, gave him an air of authority that could not be easily dismissed. "My own, now if you'll excuse me, I best be returning home."

"Who do you work for?" Umbridge asked before Harry turned.

"Minerva McGonagall, or at least I did."

"As what?" she asked.

"I worked part-time at Hogwarts. I have been teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts for the last ten years."

"No one works part-time at Hogwarts," Albus said.

"I did, and to my knowledge, no one else on staff had four children under the age of eleven."

"It is the mother's job to watch them," Albus said.

Harry laughed, "Andromeda, or their Aunt Narcissa, did watch them when I was teaching classes. A few hours during the morning and early afternoon, however, Andromeda ran her own business in the evenings."

"Whore," Umbridge hissed.

Harry very nearly cursed the bitch, but caught himself before lashing out.

It was Fudge who reigned her in, "Dolores, watch your tongue. I had heard that Ms. Black had bought property in Hogsmeade and redid the building as a dance studio."

Stiffly Harry nodded, "Yes, now I will be on my way." He left before anyone could voice another question. He thought it likely the circumstances hadn't fully sunk in yet or there would have been more questions about the future.

Through the closed door, Harry could hear Fudge berating Umbitch, "He's a pureblood-"

"Half-blood," she snapped.

"His mother may not have been a pure blooded but she was a witch. The name Potter is as old as any and if he is involved with the Blacks and the Malfoys… there's no telling what that boy is cable of."

Harry shook his head, and moved on, they still thought he was a boy.

Wouldn't they be in for a surprise?

Before he left, he stopped in to see Arthur, thinking it was nice to be ahead of the rumours for once.

"Knock-knock," Harry said at the entrance to Arthur's small office.

Arthur looked up, his face switching from confused to shocked, and then to a blinding grin, "Harry? Harry, is that really you?"

"In the flesh," he agreed.

Arthur got up and pulled Harry into a tight embrace, "What happened to you?"

"Time travel, and a series of events that would take several books to get through. But the highlights are, I'm alive and well, and I have four children of my own."

If it were possible, Arthur's face grew even brighter. "You must come over for dinner, you and your family."

Harry shook his head, "I would be honored, but I think it would be best if I left the family at home."

"Why?" Arthur asked, frowning, "I know Molly-"

"Molly has disapproved of most if not all of my life choices. My son might come with me, but I suspect my girls would just try to cause trouble."

"Why?"

Harry shrugged, "They like Bill, Charlie, and the twins, but seeing as they are strangers now… I think it is best for everyone's sanity if it is just Teddy and me who accept your invitation."

Arthur shook his head, "Why wouldn't Molly approve? She loves you."

"Arthur, you haven't approved of everything I've done either."

He smiled, "I can't imagine anything you would do that makes me anything but proud."

"I'm currently living with the Malfoys."

Arthur's smile instantly vanished, "Why in Merlin's name would you have anything to do with that family?"

"Andromeda Black is the mother of my children."

"Andromeda? But she's… she's my age. We were in the same year at Hogwarts."

"I am aware."

"She's older than your mother."

"Also, aware."

"But-"

"Arthur, I really need to be getting home, you know where to send an owl if you would still like for me to come to dinner, or if you would rather have a cup of tea some time in London."

"Harry, I-"

Harry patted his shoulder, "See you around, give Bill and Charlie a hello for me." He left the way he came in, shifting on the spot, large white wings carrying him through an opened window a large barn owl was entering in from.

In the days leading up to winter break, Teddy was hounded endlessly by questions.

He didn't try to answer any of them and the older Hufflepuffs took it upon themselves to escort him between classes, which was both was kind and humiliating.

Aside from seeing Astoria in their shared classes, he wasn't able to spend time with his friends. Luna waved to him at meals, but there seemed to always be a crowd between them. Teddy could only hope that things would calm down after the break.

Harry was not surprised to find Remus Lupin waiting for him in the Malfoy's greeting room the day before break.

"Remus," Harry said, reaching to shake the man's hand.

"Harry," he said in return, shaking the proffered hand, "Merlin, but you do look like your father, except for the eyes."

"Except for my mother's eyes," Harry agreed. "Did you come to talk to me, or did you want to see Sirius?"

"Um, you, and I need to talk to you. It is strange to think of Sirius living with a family like-" he cut himself off. "There is a lot of strange going around."

"Indeed," Harry smiled. "Come there is a sitting room this way that my girls won't barge in on."

"You have more than one daughter?"

"Yes, aside from Morwenna, who you had the misfortune to see in action, there are my daughters Ophelia and Persephone as well."

"Morwenna certainly seems a handful."

"She's the oldest, and the ringleader, but Ophelia and Persephone are young still. Give them time and I'm certain the Black Sisters rap sheets will be put to shame by the deeds of the Potter Sisters."

"You sound proud."

"Not everything my daughters gets into is harmful to the public's safety. They might just create something wonderful one day."

They took their seats, and Remus asked, "And Teddy?"

"Teddy is already well on his way to making the world a better place."

"You think so?"

"Is he not in a friend group that consists of a student from every house?"

"They are not popular students. Teddy is well liked, but he has no close friends in his own house."

"And I believe, at least before this week, he had no enemies either."

Remus frowned, "He is my son, Harry."

"Biologically," he said evenly.

"Legally also, I think, despite the time travel."

Harry opened his mouth to say something but Andromeda had entered the room and had heard the last thing he said.

"Andromed-" Harry began.

But she already had Remus by the collar, awkwardly, at least for him, pressed back into the high backed chair, Andromeda's wand at his jugular.

"No, my flea-bitten mongrel, he is not yours, he is mine, he is Harry's, legally or otherwise, Teddy is ours, not yours."

Harry got to his feet slowly and approached her other side, careful to stay in her line of sight. He saw both the startled panic on Remus' face, and the edge of cruelty in Andromeda's normally warm gaze.

Harry had faced Bellatrix Lestrange in battle, but after years of living with Andromeda, he wasn't certain the Black in Azkaban was the most dangerous. Yes, Bella was the least sane, but Andromeda… it was only lack of interest that kept her from playing on the field of world domination.

Remus must have seen something in her eyes too because he held very still.

"Andromeda," Harry called softly, trying to draw her back into herself. He didn't want anyone to see her out of control, he didn't want anyone to see her power slip its leash. He wasn't sure if there were laws surrounding it or not, but accidental magic at thirteen had been impressive, accidental magic into your fifties? "Andromeda, he hasn't done anything, let him go."

"He'll take our son," she ground out in a voice so low her words were barely discernible.

"He gave us our son."

"He's trying to take him away from us."

"Where could Remus possible take Teddy? He doesn't have a house, neither does Nymphadora for that matter. Neither of them has the means to take care of Teddy. Besides that, our son has a wand now, he wouldn't stay anywhere he didn't want to be."

Her grip on Remus' collar loosened.

He took a visible breath, only to have Andromeda jab her wand into his neck. She didn't break the skin or permanently injure his windpipe, but he would likely have a bruise in a few hours, "If I ever hear you, even for a moment, so much as insinuate that Teddy belongs anywhere but with us, I will make you disappear. And if you even look in Nymphadora's direction I will curse you in such a way that 'siring' another child will be nye on impossible."

She shoved him, his head thunked against the wood of the chair back. As graceful as leopard, she stepped back into Harry, who wrapped his arms around her.

Remus looked at them as they were monsters, freaks.

Harry buried his face into her shoulder and the wild tangles of her hair. She smelled of wind and damp stone. His arms tightened around her, and he knew immediately what had set her on edge.

He wouldn't tell her she couldn't continue to visit her sister, but they would be discussing the toll it took on her, not only the flight there, and the proximity of dementors but the emotional toll. He felt as if she were losing little pieces of herself every time she went to the prison. As if the good memories she had of her sister were being replaced with guilt and rage.

Harry wasn't sure of what to say to Remus, the look on his face said he was waiting for Harry to defend him, recant what Andromeda had threatened.

Harry wouldn't, for Teddy he would reshape the continent for his purposes if that's what it took.

Sirius saved them.

"Moony!" the hound dog enthused coming into the room like a breath of fresh air, or a tornado, with Sirius sometimes it was both. He wrapped the bedraggled werewolf in a bone crushing hug. "How are you? What have you been up to for the last decade? Can you believe you have a son? Can you believe Harry? James and Lily would be so proud, don't you think?"

Remus blinked at his old friend, "Um… proud?"

"Yes, proud. Come silly Moony, you haven't met the girls yet have you? Terrifying little things. You'll see your son was in good hands, anyone who can raise these three should be promoted in -something. Good choice of godfathers. Better than James' pick for sure. What's Teddy like in classes? I haven't had much time to get to know him myself but Harry and Morwenna talk about him all the time. Good kid. He sounds like he is like Lily. Funny to see her eyes all around. Sometimes it's scary-" Sirius babbled on as he led the shell shocked werewolf out of the room.

Harry sighed, it wasn't going to be one of Sirius' better days. They might have to slip something into his drink to ensure he slept through the night. Sometimes, in a house with so many of the Black family in residence, it was a bit like running a nut house.

Andromeda pressed back into him further, letting him hold more of her weight. "I'm sorry," she murmured.

He kissed her cheek, "There is nothing to be sorry for, love."

She turned in his arms, keeping their lower bodies tight, and pulling back just far enough that she could press her forehead to his. In her heeled boots, she was a few inches taller than him. Harry was on the shorter end of average height for a man, she was on the taller side of average for a woman.

Sometimes he wondered what he'd done to deserve her, to have this woman, this family in his life. Some might say it was karma balancing out the crap he had to deal with in his younger years, but whatever bad had been in his life was well outweighed by the bounty he had in his life now.

"Harry?" she began, frowning at his expression.

He kissed her. By the stars above, he loved her.

"I'm sorry," she said again once they parted.

He cupped her face, "For what?"

"For losing control."

He kissed her nose, "Dromeda, you have nothing to apologize for. If I had suppressed my magic as you had for years, my powers would be just as unwieldy."

"You have more control, Harry, than I ever did."

He shook his head, "I never dabbled in the Dark Arts, but I felt their allure. I felt the kind of freedom it offered when I lived through Tom's eyes. Now that I'm older, I wonder why he stuck so consistently with the unforgivables." He shook his head, "When he deviated, when he used those other spells, that… that was addictive. And you used those when you were still at Hogwarts, before you had even gotten your OWLs."

"That is what it meant to be a Black. And they are addictive. All of us were using them before we got to Hogwarts. Sirius slipped one day and used a curse on Regulus when he was aiming for his mother. I don't think he ever forgave himself for it. I think that moment when Reggie hit the floor, is what caused him to turn his back on the family."

"Did you and your sisters use them on each other?"

"Of course, not the permanent ones… typically. You've seen some of my scars."

He slid a hand down hip, "Andromeda, love, I've seen all your scars."

She smiled at him, raised her hand to run her thumb over his lightning bolt scar. "As I've seen yours."

They didn't just mean the physical ones. And that's what their love was, something so precious and vital that they could lay their shame and hurts bare and never be turned away, never belittled for the suffering they had earned and overcame.

Narcissa entered the room then, holding a crying Persephone. Harry was at her side in instant, taking his youngest into his arms.

"What happened?" Andromeda demanded, a sharp edge to her voice.

Clearly, her mood from earlier had yet to pass.

Narcissa gave an exasperated sigh, "Ophelia picked a fight with Morwenna which turned into a screaming match and well…" she waved a hand at the sobbing child.

Loud noises, Harry thought, that and the girls almost never fight with Morwenna. Ophelia tended to be most like Narcissa, whose temper ran cold rather than hot, but that didn't mean that when her ice went up against Morwenna's fire there weren't casualties.

"I thought Morwenna was supposed to be studying," Harry remarked.

"Lucius has her filing papers. She tried ripping one and it attacked her. She started ranting and Ophelia got fed up with her whining."

"And now?"

"Both of them are doing filing," Narcissa answered.

"You know they are going to rearrange his papers so he is never able to find anything ever again?" he said, stroking Persephone's shoulder as she quietly cried into his shoulder.

"Lucius doesn't, but I do. I have a spell on the cabinets that reverts them back to their original order. After dinner, Morwenna can reorder them on her own and if she messes with them then she will be having extra history lessons with me."

Morwenna hated history. Actually, Morwenna hated just about any study that didn't help her build her future spellwork. They had a running bet that on entering Hogwarts, Potions and Herbology would be her worst classes and Transfiguration, DADA, and Charms would be among her best. Unlike Teddy -who disregarding his homeschool advantage, had a natural aptitude for Herbology as well as Transfiguration. He was decent at potions but he didn't have the passion for it that Andromeda or Draco had.

"I'll take her, Harry." Andromeda took Persephone into her arms, "Come here little one, let's go take a nap, we can read Stellaluna."

"Do you need to spar?" he asked, knowing that her dark mood from earlier usually needed a release of power.

But she shook her head, kissing Persephone's temple, "No, I'm feeling drained more than anything else. I think a nap will be good enough."

"I'll bring up some hot chocolate."

"What has been your obsession with making hot chocolate?" Narcissa asked.

Harry gave Andromeda a look. "You haven't told her," he said flatly.

"She doesn't need to know," Dromeda snapped, causing Persephone who had quieted to begin to shiver.

He raised a brow, not the least intimated by the glare sent his way.

"Tell me what?" Narcissa demanded.

Andromeda just continued to glare daggers at Harry, so he answered, "Dromeda has been visiting your sister."

Narcissa frowned, "Visiting? What is that supposed to mean, Bella is in Azkuba-" she caught onto how Andromeda could have managed it in seconds, "What are you thinking?"

"She won't hurt me."

Narcissa shook her head, "You didn't see her face when she learned you weren't coming back. Andromeda you-"

"I came back, Cissa. I am not wasting my second chance. She's a criminal, but she's also my sister. I will not fail her again." And with that, she left the room.

Leaving Harry and Narcissa to exchange looks.

Nothing was ever dull in their lives.

Andromeda wasn't feeling much better the next day, still exhausted and abnormally emotional.

Harry went to pick Teddy and Draco up from the Hogwarts Express. Clearly, no one had expected him to show because there was no press hounding them. Hermione and Luna accompanied Teddy to greet him.

Harry hugged his son first before giving Hermione a one armed hug. "How was the first half of term?" he asked them.

"Wonderous," Luna said a little dreamily.

"I missed you," Hermione said as Teddy said, "I am ready for a break."

"And I think we best be going before we are pounced on," Harry agreed, "Have wonderous holiday ladies."

They waved at him, as he took Teddy's hand. Hermione looked sad and Luna looked… well she looked like Luna with her lopsided smile, large luminous eyes, and radish earrings. Though Harry noted, she looked much happier now than he had remembered her being in their future.

Draco approached him reluctantly when he realized his parents really weren't going to show up this time. They had sent several letters in advance to let him know that either Andromeda or Harry would be taking him home. Lucius had business planned for the day and Narcissa had taken to ensuring Morwenna stayed focused on her studies as a personal challenge.

"Can we go now?" Draco asked, sounding both sour and depressed.

Harry gripped both boys shoulders, mouthed a goodbye to the girls, and apparated to the outskirts of the Malfoy property. Draco ran ahead, but Teddy dragged behind, in no rush to get back to the Manor.

Harry matched his son's pace. "How bad?" he asked.

Teddy sighed, "I thought being famous was hard in the future but being a known time traveler is the worst. A part of me just wants to shout, half you die because your own feuding, but I don't want to start a panic and it would lead to more questions anyway."

"I'm sorry, son."

Teddy sighed twice more as if unable to get a good breath. "Remus asked me to stay after class again."

Harry stiffened and restrained himself from prying.

"He wanted to confirm Nymphadora was my mother and he…"

"He what?"

Teddy stopped in his tracks, and kicked at the gravel. "He said if I ever needed anything I could ask him for help."

Harry waited.

He looked up then, meeting his father's gaze, "I didn't say anything. I just asked if that was all and if I could leave."

"Teddy, I'm not sure wh-"

"I don't want to be his son! I don't want to ask him for anything! I don't want him to be family, I don't want his name, I don't want him! I don't even know why. He isn't a bad person or a bad teacher or a bad wizard. But he isn't you and I just- I just don't want anyone to think they have the right to say I don't belong with you, with this family, my family. I'm Harry Potter's son, not some guy I barely know, who barely has the guts to talk to me much less get know me!"

His eyes were dark brown, like Andromeda's, his cheeks flushed. Harry knelt on one knee so they were at eye level. "Teddy you will always be my son. You will always belong with Andromeda and me, we will always be your family."

Teddy shook his head, "You don't know what the rumours are like. Most of them are stupid, but apparently, the Lupins are a pureblood family and people are saying that time travel is illegal and the Ministry-"

"I went to the goblins, Teddy. You are legally my son. The 'adoption' is official. No one could take you away from me, no one. I even made you my legal heir. The Potter name is yours if you want it. You can be Edward Remus Lupin or Teddy Lupin Potter, but no matter what you choose to go by, you will always be my son."

Harry would never forget that look on Teddy's face. His eyes lighting from chocolate brown to emerald green, his face soft with amazement and wonder. Teddy launched into his arms, Harry wrapping his arms around him.

"I love you, Mapoppy."

Harry hugged him back, "I love you too, son."

AN: Thank you all so much for reading! I know there is a lot OC going on but as this is my proto-novel I hope you come to enjoy this next generation addition. Pretty, pretty please won't you review?

Chapter 13: The Days of December

Updates: You can suspect once a month or so for chapter updates, I have a life and very little free time. However, I am committed to this story and the plot line just got extended to fifth year. Meaning we are only 1/5 of the way through this story. It is impossible for me to post or write any faster than I am, stop asking me to hurry up. And to those who thought the 7,000 word chapters are short, go write your own damned stories. I am dyslexic and a slow writer. This is a fun hobby of mine and not something I will ever be paid for. Please respect the time and effort it takes to publish these. It is far easier to just talk about these ideas with Ahrnberg than writing those ideas down in a shareable format.

Beta: Ahrnberg, my awesome-sauce friend who lets me take up far too much his time babbling about the voices in my head. Well, your voices mesh really really well with my voices, so don't worry about it! (Though I'm fairly certain they're planning something behind our backs.)

Chapter 13 - The Days of December

Early breakfast saw the staff table half full, Headmaster, Deputy Headmistress, all the Heads of House, the healer, the groundskeeper, the fortune teller, and the Muggle Studies professor. Of those seated only four did not receive a letter. A white owl flew first to Minerva then to Severus then working her way down the line to Filius, Hagrid, and finally to Poppy, before flying off.

"That's Harry's owl," Albus remarked.

"It's an invitation from Harry for dinner," Minerva said, rereading the letter several times over.

"Mine is from Lucius," Severus said smoothly.

Minerva shot her young friend a look, but his expression was at ease. His ever present scowl absent as it had been for weeks now. For weeks, complaints about the Slytherin Head of House had been at a minimal. He still wasn't a well liked professor, but the number of active complaints had decreased, and the steady occurrence of lost points was no longer steady. Severus seemed to reserve point taking for incidents when crimes were clear and stupidity unignorable.

He was like a different person, well not completely, but he was less on edge, less prickly.

"He says I trained him," Filius spoke up, "he received his Mastery in Charms under me. Should have known he would be like his mother. I wish I could have seen him progress."

It was early enough that none of the students were in the Great Hall for breakfast, it was, after all, the first day of break.

"He's an animagus," Minerva noted. "You don't know that he wasn't like his father in the way of aptitudes."

"Being an animagus is not the same thing as mastery," Filius disagreed. "Besides, if he was teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts before he was twenty, he likely had a Mastery there as well. Which is also a Charms based field."

Minerva pursed her lips, he was likely right, although Albus was equally good at both Transfiguration and Charms.

"I hear his wards are also quite remarkable," Severus spoke up, surprising Minerva. "Isn't that right, Albus?"

They all looked at the Headmaster, who sipped his tea, ignoring Severus's remark.

For a moment, Minerva could have sworn she saw a smile play on the corner of Severus' lips, it was gone in an instant, however.

"Lucius said it was a credit to Filius' teachings for Potter to create such formidable wards," Severus tried again. "Something you discovered first-" he deliberated over the next word, "hand."

They were all focused in on Albus now.

It was Minerva who pushed, "What happened?"

If it wasn't for his beard she would be sure that his cheeks went pink, "I tried the Malfoys' wards, they were as Severus says, formidable."

But there was something they were leaving out, that much was as clear as the smirk crossing Severus' expression.

"Lucius says you were thrown off the steps on your butt," he said, every bit the Head of Slytherin House, delighting in the chaos and the weakness that Albus had revealed.

There was a silent breath held around the table, and it was Filius who broke it, "What spell did you try."

Albus sighed and said, "Fundamenta Consummavi."

Filius looked shocked, "And that didn't work."

"Would it have worked on your wards?"

Filius shook his head, "No, but that spell cast by you would have torn down nearly everything that I didn't spend at least an hour on. Where did you strike?"

"An expanse of wall between two windows," Albus said tightly.

Filius ran a hand over his face, "That either took him hours or…"

"Or what?" Pomona asked, leaning forward in her seat.

"Or it took him an hour and he had enough concentration and power to imbue the entire perimeter of the house. But I would have to see the property myself to be sure."

"You can't really think he is that powerful," Pomona said.

Severus shook his head, "I think Albus and possibly Andromeda are his only equals in power."

They all looked at him, and Minerva asked, "And why would you say that?"

"Because I've seen him sparring with Andromeda and Narcissa. Sirius Black couldn't keep up with him at all."

That, surprised Minerva, though she supposed it shouldn't have. She had taught all three Black sisters, and none of them had ever attempted to reach their full potential, and still, each one had managed to be head of their respective years. Sirius had not been the most studious student either and also had been among the top of his year but he had tried, at least in part. The Black Sisters had only ever cracked a book for their OWLs and NEWTs. Although she had a suspicion that Bellatrix had threatened the protectors for her OWLs to get out of the written exams.

"Have you sparred with him?" Albus asked.

Severus shook his head, "I was your spy, Albus, that boy was your soldier. I can't even tell if he enjoys Defense Against the Dark Arts. I suspect he likes Charms more, but the way he trains..." Severus closed his eyes, "He trains like a man who thinks if he does not it will mean his death."

The first student dragged themselves into the hall at the point.

Subduing what the staff could discuss.

"And why should that stop you from trying your hand in a friendly spar with the boy," Albus asked, his voice pitched low.

"You are not hearing me, Albus, that boy is a weapon, a force of nature. It isn't hard to see that he is the Dark Lord's equal. I don't need cross spells with him to understand that."

"You could tell he was Tom's equal by just watching him spar?"

"Think whatever you like of me, of him, but I warn you to tread carefully around that family, unlike you and Tom, Harry Potter is not alone."

Minerva watched the battle of wills clashing between the Potions Master and the Headmaster. It seemed to her Harry wasn't the only one Albus should be careful of.

Severus had been alone for a long time, one foot in the light and one in the dark. The perfect spy, a triple agent, someone who was loyal to everyone and no one. Torn between hating the Boy Who Lived and working towards his doom all the while doing damnedest to keep the boy alive.

A boy who had been the son of the woman he loved and the man he hated most.

Albus had used Severus, his faith in the young Slytherin more of a burden than an honour. But the game had changed, Severus' friends, Lucius, Narcissa, Andromeda, and rumour had it Regulus, were on the same side as Harry Potter. For the first time, Severus did not have to choose between light and dark.

Minerva knew Harry, he would never be a dark lord, perhaps he might be indifferent to some plights, but he would never be a dark wizard. Severus, despite his past, was the same.

Albus soon realized that he would lose not only Harry if he tried to control those around him as he often did. Minerva knew she could get sucked into Albus' charismatic reasoning, he was right more often than not so it always seemed like the best choice to follow his lead.

Filius had disagreed with her often about what he considered to be blind loyalty. Well, if she had ever needed a wakeup call to Albus' imperfections it was seeing how Harry and Severus reacted to him now. Two people who had time and time again been placed at the mercy of the Headmaster's choices.

Harry had said that she was the better Headmistress, he had given his loyalty to her. Now Severus was openly challenging him.

Minerva exchanged a look with Filius and she saw that same knowledge in his eyes.

Albus was not a bad man, but he had perhaps more faults than he would like to admit to.

Teddy thought that being home would be a relief, and it was, but being mad at Morwenna was exhausting.

He had always been older than his years, or at least that what his parents told him, and he probably could have avoided a lot of Morwenna's schemes if he hadn't been so wrapped up in making her happy, in being a part of the world she imagined.

But for all of her power and intelligence, Morwenna was immature, and it had never sunk in the danger she put herself and others in. She didn't understand that the chaos she left in her wake caused distress for people.

It wasn't that she didn't care, no matter what people said about her, she wasn't crazy and she wasn't evil. She was just full of herself.

And in Teddy's opinion, she wasn't as bad as Draco. Teddy understood now, after months of seeing him around school why he and his father had not got along growing up.

Teddy considered himself very lucky and very well loved, but none of them had ever been spoiled as much as Aunt Cissa and Uncle Luci had spoiled Draco.

But Morwenna was stubborn and admitting she was at fault was not something she did often, believing she was at fault she did even less.

She was Teddy's closest friend and confidant, but Teddy had other friends now, people he didn't have to take care of or make sure they didn't bring the roof down on their heads. And it was with that in mind that Teddy spent a great deal of energy avoiding her, not talking to her, and leaving any room she occupied. Which during the day wasn't that hard because Aunt Cissa had her memorizing family histories, a long and arduous history that he, himself, would rather help Charlie shovel dragon done than sit through.

Morwenna hated history more than any of them.

"You'll have to sit with me at dinner," she had said after tracking him done at lunch.

Teddy had skipped dinner that night.

Morwenna was furious. Sitting through Aunt Cissa's lectures were agonizing, and more so because she couldn't retain what she was saying long enough to spit it back at her.

So Aunt Cissa repeated herself over and over again, tirelessly, endlessly.

And that wasn't the worst of it. The worst, the absolute worst was Teddy refusing to talk to her. He refused to so much as look at her, and he left any room she was in. He hadn't responded to any of the letters she had sent in the last week. Wendy Bird and Draco's owl, Thorin had stayed dutifully at Hogwarts and Hedwig had refused to come to her.

Now, right in this very moment, Morwenna was staring holes into the empty chair across from her. Teddy's seat, empty.

Teddy had never missed a meal in his whole life. And yet no one remarked on his absent. Even Ohli and Percy refrained from remarking. They all knew why he wasn't there, and it wasn't because he wasn't hungry. Teddy was almost always hungry.

No, he wasn't here because of her.

Her throat felt uncomfortably tight, her stomach in knots. She couldn't remember Teddy ever being mad at her.

"Eat, Morwenna," Mapoppy told. "Don't waste food."

It was Mapoppy's rule. Don't waste food. It had been drilled into them, and if they couldn't finish the meal they would have the leftovers the next night. It wasn't something she had ever questioned until they moved in with Aunt Cissa. The manor was a different place than their smaller house in Hogsmeade, a house that was no longer theirs. But living in this place, where everything in every room was expensive, where there were house-elves to clean and cook if Mapoppy hadn't taken over the kitchen. She didn't understand why wasting food was such a big deal.

She had never thought of being rich, but apparently, Mapoppy was as rich as Uncle Luci. So she had asked.

Her father's answer had made her hate the Dursleys. No story about the Dursleys was ever good but the answer, "My children will never waste a bite of food nor will they eat in excess. My cousin was fed so much he became sick, and I was fed so little that there were nights I could not sleep for want of a meal."

Morwenna couldn't understand that. Why would anyone feed one son too much and starve the other son? No one else she knew would ever do that. Morwenna knew there were evil people in the world, but she couldn't comprehend someone being evil towards their own family.

She ate her dinner, even though the food tasted like ashes on her tongue.

After dinner, she went to Teddy's room and knocked on his door.

No response.

She knocked again.

Still, he did not respond

"Teddy, I know you're in there."

Nothing.

She slammed her fist against the door, "Open up," she demanded.

Still, nothing.

"I'm sorry," she said, "Is that what you want to hear? I'm sorry, okay. I'm sorry."

He didn't come to the door, didn't acknowledge she was there.

She waited for what felt like a long time. Her throat getting tighter by the minute, her heart growing heavier in her chest.

"Teddy, I'm sorry," she whispered, knowing he could hear her. Teddy could hear anything, even through a closed door.

She waited and waited, resting her hand on the wood of the door, "You can't avoid me forever."

He said nothing, and a fear filled her chest, that maybe he could. That maybe he wouldn't forgive her this time.

She couldn't understand why. Yes, she had shoved him into a closest and spelled the sleeves of his shirt to the backs of his pants so he would have either had to somehow reach his own wand or rip his clothes to get out. It hadn't taken him very long to get his wand, she had only been in the Great Hall six minutes before Mapoppy had shown up.

She didn't understand why Teddy had been so mad, they had done worse to each other growing up, getting locked in a closet was a somewhat normal occurrence.

She didn't understand.

But she did understand that everyone was upset with her, especially Teddy.

"I'm sorry," she said again, but she knew it was likely that Teddy knew that she didn't know what she was really apologizing for. He knew everything there was to know about her.

He was her best friend.

Morwenna stayed at the door longer than Teddy would have thought she would have the patience for.

He didn't cave, he would not cave this time. And she made it really hard. He could hear the remorse in her voice, but if he forgave her now she would just do something else equally as thoughtless and selfish. He wouldn't always be around to protect her, she needed to start thinking for herself and realize her actions could get people hurt.

And hurting someone's feelings could just as bad as risking their lives.

In his wolf form, Teddy was curled under the mound of pillows at the head of the bed. He hadn't dared shift at Hogwarts except for those nights under the full moon. Yes, the teachers knew, but he didn't want to spend the next seven years of his life having to prove he was a was an animagus of sorts, rather than an infected werewolf.

Also, there was the fact that Remus would lose his job if a lot of people connected them. Not that Remus could keep the job, Mapoppy had said he had yet to break the DADA curse and it would take him a few hours at Hogwarts over a few months to do so.

Something that seemed unlike with how Mapoppy had spoke to the the Headmaster. That was a relationship Teddy did not understand at all.

Teddy waited an hour after Morwenna had left before shifting back to his human self and sneaking down to the kitchens.

Mapoppy was washing dishes, and he pointed to the counter the moment Teddy walked in. He climbed up on the bar stool and found a warm plate of food waiting for him. He managed a quick, "Thanks," before stuffing his face.

Teddy finished eating before Mapoppy finished washing the dishes. Dragging a footstool out from a corner of the room, Teddy began to help drying the clean dishes and putting them away.

"How bad?" Mapoppy asked.

Teddy sighed, "It got so loud after you left I couldn't hear. I couldn't hear anything!" And he didn't realize until that moment how upset he still was about that.

Mapoppy stilled, looking at him, "Were you hurt?"

Teddy shook his head, "It did hurt but I was fine after some time away. I didn't know I could lose my hearing."

"Hmm," his father mused, "perhaps we can find a spell or earplugs to dampen sound for times you know the sounds will get too loud."

And that was Mapoppy, reasonable, caring, and just the best dad ever.

"Remus seemed upset. I don't think he likes that you were the one to raise me."

Mapoppy shrugged, "He came here to talk to me about you. I don't think he knows what he wants. He's been alone for much of his life."

"He abandoned me. He took my mother into battle and left me."

"I will not tell you it was the right thing to do, Teddy, but I can't say I wouldn't have chosen to fight to. I was there that day, after all."

"Because you had to be," he argued, "you're the one Riddle was after. And besides, you didn't die."

Mapoppy sighed and turned off the tap. Facing him, one hip pressed into the counter, he said, "I did die that day Teddy. And I didn't even go out fighting. I walked to my death and never raised my wand against the Dark Lord."

He put down the dish he had been drying, "No, you killed the Dark Lord."

"I did, but not before I let him strike me with another killing curse."

Teddy shook his head, he had heard those rumours, but there were a lot of rumours and the stories he and his sisters like the most had to do with Magical Creatures, the basilisk, the spiders, the dragons, the sphinx, and the break in at Gringotts. The Battle of Hogwarts wasn't something anyone talked about much.

A lot of people, children, had died and it had broken more families and lives in Britain than any single event in recent history. There wasn't anyone who didn't personally know someone who had been touched by that tragedy.

It was one reason Teddy was grateful they were in the past, grateful the people around him were innocent of that suffering.

"Tom Riddle got into some rather dark magic and my mother got into some very arcane blood wards. In order for the Dark Lord to be defeated, he needed to be the one who broke both his own curse and my mother's ward. He tried to use my death when I was baby to fuel his curse and my mother had given her life to prevent that."

Teddy frowned, "But why would you have to die to bre-" his voice cut off, as the logic connect, a vague theory that even the concept made his skin crawl. "In order to break death magic you need more death, don't you?"

"The simple answer, yes. Though now that I'm older, I'm not convinced that was the only solution, there were other things that should have been tried, before Dumbledore set me up to myrter myself for the Greater Good."

Teddy felt his face twist in disgust. Everyone it seemed, except the Slytherins and his family, spoke highly of Albus Dumbledore. Well his family, the Slytherins, and Aberforth. But he hadn't really understood until now why his Grandmama would hate him so very, very much. He thought it was because his birth parents had been in the Order of the Phoenix, but now he realized it might just be because Albus Dumbledore wasn't a good person.

Maybe he was biased, but Teddy was the son of the best Defense Against the Dark Arts professor Britain had ever seen and Harry Potter would never put a child in danger. Mapoppy would never put the fate of the world on a child's shoulders.

"But you knew you would be okay, right? Dumbledore knew you wouldn't die, right?"

"Whether he knew or not it was not something he should have ever asked of a child," Grandmama said as she came into the kitchen.

Teddy turned to look at her, she looked angry at the very thought of it, and he thought it would be a very bad idea to have his Grandmama and the Headmaster in the same room together.

"A child?" Mapoppy asked, clearly trying to lighten the mood, "You seduced me a year later."

Grandmama's lips quirked, she had a temper but she never seemed to be able to stay mad at Mapoppy very long. "It wasn't all that difficult."

"I'm told robbing cradles typically isn't difficult," he joked.

Teddy ducked out between them as Grandmama half threw, half slapped Mapoppy with a spell.

Mapoppy hunched over laughing, as water dripped to the floor. Grandmama had hit him with what amounted to a water balloon.

"You are insufferable," Grandmama growled at him.

Teddy couldn't help but giggle, they all knew she didn't mean that.

Mapoppy wrapped her in a hug, she pushed at him, "Let me. Go away, you're soaked."

"Your fault," he said with a grin and leaned in to kiss her.

Which was Teddy's cue to leave. "Goodnight, Mapoppy, Grandmama," he called as he skipped out of the kitchen.

"Goodnight, Teddy," they chorused.

He was almost out of ear shot before he heard their lips meet. Sometimes having your parents so in love with each other was embarrassing.

But if it really was embarrassing, then it was an embarrassment Teddy could live with.

The house was very clean. She had to go deep, deep into old tunnels to find the rats. After she found a meal she would wind her way back to the warm closest and the oversized hatbox she was coming to think of as home. She was careful to go unseen, to stay quiet unless the little ones said it was safe to speak.

The little ones had given her such a gift in the company, in their shelter. They would never know what it meant to her. She would do anything for them.

Anything.

Draco was starting to wish had stayed at school. He had half enjoyed and half hated the attention being Harry Potter's… nephew, had granted him.

He didn't have many answers for them.

Harry Potter was almost thirty, he was committed with a woman who was twenty something years older than him.

A woman who happened to be Draco's estranged aunt who had been cast out of the family because she had married a mudblood.

Only now she was with Harry Potter, a half blood, in some people's estimation a pureblood, and she was thick a thieves with his mother, who had also time traveled.

Oh, and in addition to Teddy Lupin being Harry's grandson, Harry and Aunt Andromeda had three daughters.

Three little green eyed demons who Draco now found himself having to share both his parents with.

The first week had been dreadful. Mother spent most of her time punishing Morwenna with History lessons.

Draco thought that was a bit extreme. He knew his family history to make his father proud, but he had zero interest in it otherwise.

Harry was fricking everywhere. He cooked their meals. He. Cooked. And not only was he expected to eat what he made but he regretted to say it was actually good. Better than the house-elves could manage, which seemed absurd because the house-elves cooked by the time they could walk.

It made him mad, and he wasn't even sure why it made him mad. All he knew was that everything he had come to believe about the Boy Who Lived was false and his goody-two-shoes was beloved by everyone, well, aside from Father, thank Merlin.

"Why do you cook?" Draco asked Harry one day.

He had slept in late and he was the last at the table as Potter gathered up the plates.

"Because I like making things, I like taking care of my family, knowing they are fed and healthy."

"Where did you learn to cook?"

"My aunt had me cooking breakfast by the time I could stand. Got some really bad burns when she set me at the stove with a flimsy step stool. But nothing teaches you quicker than a grease burn."

Draco wrinkled his nose, "They treated you like a house-elf?"

"Yep. I hated summers, I remember thinking if they could only see the Great Harry Potter now, while pulling weeds under the noon-day sun covered head to toe in dirt."

"Why would they do that?"

"Because I was a freak one of their kind. They hated me for what I was, for what my parents had been. I wasn't even allowed to use the word 'magic.' Not even when baiting my cousin trying to get him to use the 'magic word.'"

"Please?" Draco guessed.

"My uncle nearly threw the dinner table at me for that one."

"Muggles are awful."

Harry chuckled.

"What's funny? You think it's funny that your muggle family hated you because of what you are?"

His smile grew, "You know I disliked you from the moment I met you in that shop. You sounded just like my relatives, and you were as spoiled as my cousin."

"I am nothing like your muggle relatives," Draco snarled.

"No? How is your distaste for half bloods, muggleborns, and blood traitors any different than the muggles' distaste of magic? They judged me on what I had been born with and what my parents were, just as you judge everyone around you based on what they were born with and what their parents were. One day you will learn, Draco, that a person's worth is not dependant on what they are but who they are. And who a person is might surprise you if you take the time to get to know them."

"You sound like a blood traitor."

"And you sound like a spoiled brat."

"If I'm a brat then so are your daughters."

"Probably, but I think the lessons my daughters need to learn are different from the ones you need to."

Draco glared at him, "I don't want you here."

He nodded, "I'm sorry you feel that way, but know that I don't feel the same. We became closer after the war. I did come to see you as nephew."

Draco frowned, "We were the same age."

"Technically, but by the time you got your mastery in potions, your aunt was pregnant with my second daughter."

"Congrats, you were a teenage dad. Yeah for you, that doesn't mean anything."

"Four years from now, do you see yourself being a father?"

Draco flushed, "No, did you?"

"No, but the time I was your age, I knew how to cook for myself, work, and had chosen to run away from my relatives. If it wasn't for Albus and the minister, I would have chosen to be homeless."

"Why didn't you try run away again?"

"Because it was made clear to me that if I didn't stay with the Dursleys I wouldn't be able to finish school and that I would likely be murdered if I tried making it on my own."

Draco looked down at his hands, he really hadn't thought about it like that. That being famous, being the one to have defeated the Dark Lord meant people would have actually been trying to kill him. He'd seen a few of those attempts, but Potter had always made it out okay, seemed to always to get rewarded for the stupid, dangerous stuff he did.

It prompted Draco to ask, "Last year… did-" He took a deep breath. "Last year, with the Basilisk, was Father trying to kill you?"

"I don't think Luci was trying to kill me with the Basilisk, though it almost succeeded. I think he was just trying to get rid of the cursed object before the manor was searched. I don't think he knew quite how much chaos it would cause, but I do know he didn't care who got hurt along the way, so long as it wasn't you."

"He gave it to the Weasley girl. Father would have been responsible for her death," Draco said softly.

"Don't think your mother didn't get him back for that when she found out what he had done."

"But he-" he pushed his hair back, "it was only luck that kept anyone from dying last year. Dumb luck."

"Hermione was using a mirror, it was more than dumb luck in that instance."

Draco met Harry's green gaze, emerald to pale grey, "Is my father a murderer."

"Your father was a Death Eater," Harry said solemnly.

"But did you ever see him- you know- did he…" he couldn't bring himself to finish the question.

"Last year, after I tricked your father into freeing your house elf, Dobby, he threw a killing curse at me, or tried to. If it wasn't for Dobby, I might have died that day outside of the Headmaster's office."

Draco looked horrified, "But you were my age. We are just kids! You were just a dumb kid!"

"Draco," Harry said, tone gentle, "I was never just a kid, from the day the Dark Lord marked me as an obstacle to his power, I ceased being a child. After my parents were murdered there was no one left who treated me like one. I was a symbol, a fable, a weapon to be passed around. I am not saying it excuses what your father tried to do, or what any of them did on any side. But I was never a child. The mistakes I made always seemed to have life or death consequences."

"That isn't fair."

Harry's smile was soft and sad, "Would you like any dessert?"

The change in topic was jarring, and it made him realize that on top of everything else Harry Potter was or wasn't, he was humble.

Draco didn't understand him at all. "No, thanks for dinner," he said, getting out of his seat and leaving the room before the Boy Who Lived gave him anymore life changing revolutions to deal with.

He passed by his father's study on his way to bed, and he paused at the sound of little girls giggling. He peaked in and found his father reading a book on the floor beside the fire. His back was to the sofa where the two youngest Potters, Ophelia and Persephone, were braiding his long blonde hair.

His father should have looked ridiculous, but he didn't. He looked calm, peaceful even, and as proud as ever. He would have never let Draco get away with that type of behaviour. But then he wasn't a girl, and Father had never said a word against all the silly things Mother and he had got into when he was much younger.

Draco didn't know how to relate this version of his father, the one who let children of his enemy play with his hair, and the version of his father that was a pureblood lord capable of murdering kids to complete his goals.

Was he a good father? To Draco, the answer was; always.

Was he a good husband? Judging by how much his mother loved him, yes.

Was he a good person? Looking at him, sitting on the floor in his home, surrounded by family, and with Harry Potter's words still ringing through his mind, the answer was, regrettably, I don't know.

Draco backed away from the door and continued on toward his room. He had his head down and ended up walking into his mother.

She caught him a hug. "What's wrong, love?" she asked, kissing the top of his head.

He hugged her back, his mother was the best person in the world, with her, he was always safe, "Nothing," he mumbled.

She ran her hand through his hair and kiss his head again. "I love you," she said, just as she always did.

"Love you, too. Goodnight, Mother," he said pulling away from her.

"Goodnight, baby."

Once he got to his room, he slid fell back on his bed. He wondered if his mother was capable of killing children too.

It wasn't a comfortable thought.

That night he had a nightmare that his father pointed a wand out at him. Draco didn't raise his wand in defense, there wouldn't have been a point anyway. The light that shot toward him was green. His mother stood by her father's side unmoving, not leaping to his defense.

The nightmare replied over and over again, and in his mind's eye, Dobby the House Elf laughed at him the entire night.

Teddy was depressed, he was sure that all his sisters could tell. He loved Ophelia and Persephone but staying away from Morwenna when they were living under the same roof was… it was like he had cut off his right and left arm.

He missed her but he refused to give in.

Morwenna was getting more desperate by the day to win him back, which meant that he spent more and more time in his room. She knew better than to barge in, Teddy never locked his door, and if he did, there was a good reason for it.

Some lines even she knew not to cross.

He spent many hours writing to Hermione, Luna, and Astoria. For Hermione's letters, he ended up having to hand them off to Mapoppy. She tended to ask questions he hadn't even thought to ask, and some he didn't know if he really wanted answers to.

One night Teddy was poking at a scope of chocolate ice cream as he watched his father do the dishes. Teddy didn't mind doing chores. He liked baking more than cooking, but he didn't fully understand why his father did so without magic.

"Mapoppy, do you think I should forgive Morwenna? I feel like I don't even know why I'm mad at her anymore."

"You'll remember once you go back to school."

"I miss her. I didn't miss her this much when I was at Hogwarts, but now…" He sighed and stabbed at a scope of chocolate.

Mapoppy turned to him, "I don't like seeing you upset but may I make a request?"

Teddy looked up, a question written on his face, "Sure."

"Morwenna's month of being grounded ends on Friday. Just hold out until Friday. I swear, you not speaking to her is the greatest punishment any of us could have devised."

Teddy, smirked, then laughed, "Friday. I'll talk to her on Friday. I can't believe I'm the greatest punishment."

Mapoppy ruffled his hair, "Not you, son, the lack of you."

Dreams, such sweet dreams, his body felt… heavy. He never wanted to leave.

Dreams, dreaming, sleep, sweet, sweet dreams, sleeping.

If he could sleep, he could die. He could rest.

He was tired of resting, tired of dreaming.

He wanted some living before he got to dying.

He wondered if he remembered how to open his eyes.

He was distracted by another dream.

When the dream of swimming with his brother and cousins in the ocean receded, he felt something.

A warm hand in his.

A warm voice called to him softly, "Regulus."

He remembered.

His eyes snapped open.

He was stunned by the sight of the ceiling.

Four poster bed.

He was in a four poster bed.

He turned to where he thought he heard a voice.

Black hair, black eyes, pale skin; a familiar face.

"Severus," he said aloud.

Aloud. Out loud.

He spoke.

He smiled, really smiled and said the word aloud again, he spoke, "Severus."

He was so pleased, giddy, elated.

He was awake. He was alive. He was not going to die alone as part of the stone.

He closed his eyes, "Severus." It took a lot of energy to be awake.

He fell back into another dream.

Poppy came to see Regulus at Severus' urging. He was fine. In perfect health.

At least physically. Each day he got a little better a speaking, sitting up, eating. And each and everyday someone told him to take it is, Severus mainly.

But not three days after first waking up, Lucius found him slumped over the desk beside the bed with a copy of A History of Magic. The book had been written in. Almost every page had been written in. Entire lines crossed out, the margins overflowing with cramped, yet neat, handwriting. The index had been ripped out altogether and it looked as if Regulus had begun to rewrite the entire book, several sections added by carets into the index.

On one sheet of parchment leaning against the wall on the back of the table was written in large, ragged letters as it was the first thing he had attempted to get out:

I CAN READ AND I CAN WRITE.

There were a lot of people in the Malfoy Manor and it should have changed the level of chaos the Potter Family experienced on a daily basis, but it really didn't.

Uncle Regulus was new and a bit batty even by Potter standards, but it wasn't altogether that out of ordinary, at least their version of it. Even less so after the time travel.

Teddy knocked on Morwenna's door.

He heard three 'ssshhhh' and a faint hissing.

That wasn't a good sign. Teddy couldn't speak Parseltongue himself, but he could understand it. And he did not recognize that low serpentine hiss.

Morwenna opened the door and looked both shocked and relieved beyond measure to see him standing there.

"'Shhhh,'" Teddy began, "is not a great way to convince people you're staying out of trouble."

She didn't say anything, just stared at him.

He sighed, "I came to forgive you, for blowing our cover and have the entirety of Hogwarts and wizarding world asking about us."

She squealed -Morwenna never squealed, and rushed him. She hugged him so tight he was afraid she might crack his ribs.

She pulled him into her room, shutting the door behind him.

"I'm so, so sorry," she said, almost on the edge of tears, "I'll never do it again."

He smiled pulling back from her, "I know, you can only be outed as a time travel once."

"I did not mean to make you sad, you were so sad, I'm sorry."

He shook his head, "You're forgiven. Now tell me, who were you shushing and where are Ohli and Percy?"

"You heard them?" Morwenna asked.

"Of course I heard them. You don't think I don't know what the three of you sound like shushing?" He went right to the closet and pulled open the door, two pale guilty faces looked up at him, one freckles one without. "What are you three hiding?"

"Nothing," all three choursed.

Teddy turned to glare at Morwenna, her tan skin the only thing that kept them looking like triplets. "I just forgave you, do you really want to be lying to me right now?"

"You have to promise not to tell Mapoppy."

"Morwenna," he warned.

"You have to promise."

He turned back to the closest, he pulled his wand, and said, "Lumous." He pushed his two smaller sisters aside, revealing an overly large hat box.

No one, at least in this house, would ever wear a hat that big.

"What's in the box?"

"She isn't dangerous to us, Teddy," Persephone said, clinging to his wand arm.

Teddy shot Ophelia a look, of any of his sisters, Ohli had the most sense. She nodded, "Swear on Merlin's shaggy beard, she won't hurt us."

"You have to promise you won't tell Mapoppy," Morwenna said, wrapping herself around his back.

Ophelia took his spare hand, "She needs us, Teddy."

Teddy flicked his wand and the lid of box flipped up. His breath caught in his throat. He'd heard the stories, he knew exactly who was in the box.

She hissed at him, I mean them no harm, I swear it to you, young Hearer.

"Please, please, please, Teddy?" Morwenna begged. "She needs us. Promise you won't tell."

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeasse?" Persephone sang.

He sighed, thinking there must be some achievement badge for being uncommonly stupid and reckless. Or maybe it was just the price of being a Potter.

"Fine, I promise."

His sisters nearly squeezed the life out of him.

Thank you, Nagini hissed.

AN: Two chapters, two days of writing, review please? Pleeeeeeeeeeeasse?

Chapter 14: The Lights of Eve

AN: Short chapter and this will be the last update for this fic for a while. I will finish it, but again, slooow updates. I think I need to spend more time with my paint brushes than my overworked keyboard.

Future Plans: This story will complete itself within the fifth book. But I am planning several shorts on the future of the next gen grown up. They are adorable and fluffy (aside from when the Potter Sisters are tormenting people), and I'm already in love with my characters.

M rated fic of the Black Sisters' past that fits this fic is up if you're interested: Even Villians Fall in Love.

Chapter 14 - The Lights of Eve

Narcissa laughed, utterly, completely delighted.

"Shut your yap," Andromeda snapped.

Narcissa shook her head, her blonde curls falling around her shoulders freely. They were both in nightgowns in Narcissa and Lucius' suit. Harry was putting the kids to bed and Lucius was playing chess with Draco.

"What are your stupendously awful names for this round?"

Andromeda whapped her with a pillow, "I didn't plan this! I haven't had my moon cycle in eleven months! I should have been safe."

"Menopause doesn't start until twelve, one more moon cycle and you-"

Andromeda tackled her to the comforter, she knew exactly where her sister's tickle spots were.

"Alright! I give, I give!" Narcissa said, struggling to curl around her middle.

Andromeda rolled to her back, looking up at the ceiling, "What am I going to do?"

"You are going to have another one of Harry's beautiful babies. Now, what names have you concocted?"

"Celena Narcissa Potter or Winslow Sirius Potter."

Narcissa hugged her, "You will raise them here, won't you? All of them?"

She stroked her younger sisters soft hair, the gold catching in the candle light. Andromeda sighed, "Draco wasn't enough, was he."

Narcissa pressed her face to her sister middle, "He is enough. But I always wanted a bigger family, we both did."

"We will stay, Cissa. Harry seems more content than I thought he would be given his history here. The children love it, but you mustin' spoil them."

"I will try," Cissa said with little to no sincerity, she stroked her sister still flat stomach, "When are you going to tell him?"

"In another month or two, I want to be sure. My menopause truly is right around the corner. This will be my last baby."

"You said that the last time."

"I mean it this time. I love all my babies, but five pregnancies are enough."

"What do you think this one will be like?"

Andromeda's fingers laced with her sister's, "I hope this one takes after Harry this time. My daughters are too much like us."

"You children are going to rule the world one day."

"Or burn it down."

"Whichever they decide to do," Cissa said, "this world likely deserves it."

"No one deserves to be faced with Potters," Lucius said, entering the room.

"Debatable, Luci," Andromeda chimed, not bothering to sit up as Lucius stripped out of his outer robes.

He laid down beside them, in a pair of slacks, his undershirt, and no shoes. "If I ask you to leave, you will just stay longer, correct?" he drawled.

"Yes," Andromeda and Narcissa said in unison.

Lucius sighed and rolled onto his side, placing an arm around both Black sisters, Andromeda in the middle, his hand rested on his wife's back. "Are you having another one?" he asked, the placement of their hands not escaping his notice.

Andromeda closed her eyes, "Yes."

"What silly names did you concoct this time?"

"I will curse you."

Cissa laughed.

Minerva was not sure what she was expecting when she arrived at Malfoy Manor with Filius, Poppy, Severus, and Hagrid at her side.

But she certainly wasn't expecting Lucius to greet them, he wasn't warm about it, but he was completely civil.

"Aunt Minnie! Uncle Filius! Hagrid!" Three voices chorused, as they ran into the greeting room.

Minerva was struck by their stunning emerald green eyes, and that they all looked like younger versions of Bellatrix and Andromeda Black. Although Morwenna, the oldest had tan skinned as if she liked to bake in the sun, it was very noticeable when one had her sisters beside her for comparison.

"Hello," she greeted them.

Teddy took charge, "Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, Snape, and Hagrid, these are my sisters; Morwenna, Ophelia, and Persephone Potter."

All the Potter children resembled one another, the same curly brown or black hair, the delicate futures, and a smattering of freckles.

Hagrid's deep laugh filled the room, "And are you young ladies as much trouble as your father?"

"Or as dangerous as your mother?" Minerva muttered.

The girls only smiled up at them, not even the youngest could pull off an innocent smile.

"As devious as their mother and as trouble seeking as their father," Lucius said in passing.

They were led to a large dining room with a wall of windows that overlooked the grounds. It was a cold room in winter and it felt too large for a family of three in Minerva's mind.

But of course, the Malfoys were no longer a family of three. Four Potter children found their seats as Sirius and Regulus Black entered the room.

Minerva embraced them both, "It is good to see you."

Sirius barked a laugh, "I missed you, Minnie."

Regulus flushed a little, "I missed you, and everything. I missed everything. Hello Professor Flitwick. Madame Pomfrey. Severus."

There was no time for further greetings as Narcissa and Andromeda entered, a new round of greetings started up.

It was an odd mix of people, Minerva thought, but somehow, they made a fitting group. Draco looked a little lost, sitting beside Teddy, but Minerva thought it would be a good thing for him to have siblings.

The boy had few friends, a loving family would do wonders to his character.

Harry came in last, his cheeks a bit flushed, his emerald eyes bright. He seemed to be perfectly in his element. As if the people around him were all he wanted or needed.

The food was exquisite, and she said as much, all the professors -barring Severus, did.

Harry grinned and Narcissa said, "The house-elves are about ready to mutiny."

"Dobby already did," Teddy pointed out.

Lady Malfoy glared at him.

"How are the house-elves having a mutiny?" Hagrid asked, "This meal is wonderous."

Andromeda placed a hand on Harry's where it rested on the table, "Harry is quite wondrous."

It took them a moment, before Poppy asked, "You cooked all this?"

He nodded, "I made dessert too, whenever you are ready."

"I'm ready!" Persephone declared.

"You will finish your carrots, young lady."

She pouted at him before stabbing her fork into the little orange mound left on her plate.

Minerva couldn't quite wrap her head around everything that was happening, the chains of conversations flowing around her. She couldn't gauge the varying degrees of sanity and morality around her. But one thing was for certain.

The members of this family could conquer Britain by accident.

That Christmas Eve, Nymphadora asked her father's permission to spend it with her mother.

The fact that she felt she had to ask broke Ted's heart. He did not want his bitterness to ruin the relationship his daughter had with her mother, and he would be ashamed if the reason Dora felt she should stay was because of his ill mood.

So he had smiled and told her, of course, she should spend Christmas with her mother, sisters, and son.

Ted had not the gusto to say he would like to join. Perhaps it made him weak, but he couldn't watch his ex-wife in the arms of another man, not on Christmas. At least not on the first Christmas he had had since he was seventeen without her.

He planned to work through the night, but his shift manager had sent him packing.

He sat in his empty house, looking at the clock on the wall, wondering if he should go visit his parents. He hadn't told them about the divorce yet. Andromeda didn't walk the neighborhood much so he doubted the neighbors had even realized yet what had happened. They had gone through London for the paperwork, their own town hall was in the loop yet.

Ted was preparing himself mentally to go to his parents and face the almost certain venomous comments about Andromeda. I told you she was trouble. That snake. You never should have gone near a girl like that, much less have touched her.

A knock on his door brought him out of his dark musings. When he opened the door he found Amelia, with her niece Susan bundled up in winter coats. Susan held out a package to him.

"Merry Christmas Eve," she said, her smile obscured by her scarf.

"Merry Christmas Eve," he greeted, accepting the package.

"They're cookies, they aren't very good but the frosting and chocolate chips are alright."

"Susan," Amelia chided.

"I'm sure they're good, no one can ruin sugar after all," he said peaceably.

"Don't be so sure," Susan warned.

"Susan," Amelia said again, exasperated.

"Won't you both come in. I have a fire going, you can warm up."

"Thank you!" Susan said, not hesitating for a moment in entering the house, placing herself right between the fire and the tree. "I love your tree, Mr. Tonks!"

"Please, call me Ted, Susan. And Dora decorated the tree."

"She has a good sense of color."

"That she does."

Amelia stepped in close to kiss his cheek and give him a hug.

He hugged her back, tightly. "I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't get you two a gift."

She entered the house and took off her fuzzy scarf, "You took the cookies, that is gift enough."

"She's not joking," Susan called.

Ted grinned, "You can both stay for the night if you like, I don't have any plans."

"Yes, please," Susan and Amelia said in relieved unison.

He felt his smile waver a bit, he worried-

Amelia caught his thought before he had finished it, "Holidays are hard without family."

Ted nodded his understanding, "You will always be welcome here."

Lucius, Narcissa, Sirius, Regulus, Nymphadora, Draco, Teddy, Morwenna, Ophelia, and Persephone were playing wizarding monopoly, that involved a board that experienced natural disasters, had miniature houses, and miniature goblins that would come after your fools gold.

Regulus and Persephone had teamed up, their joint crazy was kicking everyone else's butt, well, except for Narcissa who was hoarding money like a miser and somehow managing to cheat her husband on every round.

"Harry," Andromeda protested as he led her out into the gardens. "Why are we missing out on Christmas Eve?"

Not that she minded alone time with him, but it was a family holiday. Besides if they were going to sneak off, she would have much preferred one of the bedrooms as opposed the snowy outdoors.

"Look around you, Andromeda, just look."

And she did, and one crunching step after another into the fresh snow drove all protests from her mind.

The night was cool, the breeze was fresh and soothing to her flushed skin. The gardens felt vast in the quiet hush beneath the stars. Harry led her forward and there was something about the way he looked at her... His emerald eyes brighter than the specks of starlight that winked down on them.

The inky indigo of the sky seemed to merge with the treeline, the snow was a sparkling white in the moonlight filtered through a veil of blue.

Harry's hand was warm in hers, and Andromeda found herself grateful, grateful for this life, this family, this man.

This man who had pulled her from the ashes when she thought all was lost.

Harry kept glancing at her as if she would disappear, as if she were some snowflake fairy to be blown away by a silent gust of a winter wind.

But Harry was the wind, it was to his music that she danced. The deeper they got into the gardens the more she realized that Cissa had quite outdone herself.

White Witch Roses were in full bloom, their petals looking as soft as down, and as they got closer to the gazebo, lights like captured stars glowed as if in reflection of the heavens above them.

"You look so beautiful," Harry breathed.

Andromeda turned from the roses to meet his gaze. "Not as handsome as you, my love." And she meant that, from his wild raven black hair, his emerald eyes, his fair skin, and to utterly delectable slender waist, he was beautiful.

He shook his eyes, "You are radiant, your eyes are richer than chocolate. You- I don't have the words."

She smiled, "I love you."

His returning smile melted her heart, "I love you, too."

The gazebo was lit as well, though the floating lights were warmer, fending of the night and bringing color back to the world like candlelight.

Music started up from some invisible source, the song was…

Andromeda laughed and held out her arms to him, he caught her hand, her waist, and took the first steps back, easily taking lead in the dance.

She had taught him well.

"Do you remember that night?"

"Seducing you, Harry Potter, was the evilest most wonderful thing I have ever done in my life."

He pressed his forehead to hers, "Andromeda, you are the woman I love and I would not change a thing."

They danced for what felt like hours, for what felt like heartbeats. When the last song finished, Harry stepped away from her at arm's length. She made to step forward, she wasn't ready for this night to pass.

He dropped to a knee in front of her, and she felt her heart tumble in her chest.

The look on his face was humbling, so vulnerable, so awe-filled. Over a decade of sharing a life together and he still looked at her like that.

Sometimes she thought her love for him was so great it would break her. But she was never afraid, could never be afraid of him. He was her safe harbor.

He pulled a small black box from his robes, and offered the elegantly crafted ring out to her. "Andromeda Black," he began. "Will you marry me?"

She did not hesitate. "Yes," she answered, "of course, yes."

He picked her up around her thighs and hips, spinning her in circles around the gazebo. And though it was still beautiful darkness around them, she felt as she was standing in a room lit by the morning sun. There were tears in his eyes, as he laughed in relief. She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him for all that he was worth.

When he slipped his ring on her finger, all was right with the world. Andromeda was exactly where she wanted to be, in the arms of the man who knew every jagged edge of her, and against every odd, he loved her still.

And more than anything else she felt loved.

AN: A short for the holidays. Merry Christmas Eve my lovelies!

Chapter 15: New Year

KEYNOTE: Percy, not Fred died in Harry's timeline. He tells his first joke, then bam! Why? Because that's how I get through rereading the seventh book without things on fire.

Chapter 15 - New Year

New Year's Eve, Andromeda took Harry ring shopping. They found a band that matched hers, inlaid with two small emeralds around a brown garnet. It was not nearly as eye catching as her ring, but it was careful enough to remind them of their children.

After Andromeda slipped the ring on his finger, they left the shop for Gringotts. They had been together for so long that a wedding seemed unnecessary.

"Would you like to go out to lunch, Mrs. Potter?" Harry asked her as they stepped into the streets.

Her returning smile stretched her cheeks. She hadn't known, she hadn't known how much she had wanted this, to be his in all things.

She was no one's mistress, no one's widow, she was Andromeda Potter.

"Spoil me, husband," she instructed.

He flashed a grin as they walked through the streets, arm and arm, chins raised, and dark robes rippling in the wind.

No one harassed them, but they did stop and stare at Harry Potter, at Andromeda Black, together.

From the smug look on Harry's face, she was pretty sure it was the first time, off the Quidditch pitch, he was pleased to have people whispering about him, staring at him, at them.

There was nothing in her heart but joy, she felt as if she could begin singing and dancing down the street as if they had emerged from a musical.

But she restrained herself, sweeping through the streets on the arm of the most powerful wizard in the country, just as every Pure Blood lady dreamed of while growing up.

If only her parents could see her now, her heart gave a little twinge. Her father would have loved Harry.

Harry was deliriously happy, and he showed his wife just how happy he was that night as he spread her lush body out on the sheets. She seemed to gain some weight, surprising considering how much she had been training for her studio, but he wasn't complaining, her breasts had only become more plentiful.

He was kissing his way down her body, when she put a hand on his shoulder. "Harry, stop a moment."

He looked up at her, lips hovering just above-

Andromeda let out a shaking breath, "Stop, or you'll make me forget how to speak."

He grinned and raised off his knees before stretching out on top of her, holding some of his weight on his elbows, he wrapped his nude body around hers. He nuzzled her cheek, "Yes?"

Her hands swept up the back of his body, gently trailing her nails over the muscles of his back. It was his turn to let out a shaky breath.

"I need to see your face," she said.

He let out a little huff and took more of his weight on his elbows, which pressed lower parts of him tighter to the front of lower parts of her.

She grinned at him, pushing his glasses up from where they had slipped down the bridge of his nose, before snapping her fingers so the candles around them burned brighter.

He blinked at the additional light, but smiled more broadly as he could see her features, the hue of her eyes, more clearly.

Before he could come up with anything witty or seductive to say she said, "I'm pregnant."

He stilled, his mind going blank.

"Harry?"

He opened his mouth, then shut it, thinking he had imagined what she had just said, he babbled "Um, I thought, you said Persephone… and you haven't had your cycle in a year… I thought…"

She smiled, running a hand through his hair, "I thought so too, but when I went off protection, apparently my body decided we weren't quite done yet."

"You're pregnant?" he asked, awe entering his voice, "You're really pregnant?"

She cupped his face between her hands, "Yes, I really am."

He felt the tears even as he felt his smile overcome him.

He bent and caught her lips with his. "I love you, Andromeda, I love you."

"I love you too," she breathed.

He reached between their bodies, and yes indeed, she had the beginnings of a baby bump.

Her hand found his, for a moment they touched that new promise of life together, but then she brought his hand up higher. "Harry," she said, arching her body up toward him.

They didn't do a lot of talking after that.

Harry knocked on the Weasley's door, Teddy at his side. The day after tomorrow, Teddy would be returning to Hogwarts, and depending on how this evening went, tonight might be the last time they visited the burrow.

Harry was a little disappointed how Ron and Hermione's friendship had dissolved, though he wasn't sorry that they wouldn't be romantically together.

That hadn't worked out well.

The door opened and Molly Weasley all but squealed at his presence.

"Oh, come in, come in!" she said.

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley," he greeted warmly, bending a bit to accept a kiss on his cheek.

"Everyone!" she called over her shoulder, "Harry's here!"

"Mrs. Weasl-"

She tsked, "Molly now, dear. You're much too old and much too dear to us to be calling me that now."

Harry grinned, "Molly, this is my eldest, Teddy."

She shook his hand, "It is a pleasure to meet you. Where are the rest? Arthur said you had three girls."

Teddy grinned, "They stayed at home for national security."

Mrs. Weasley frowned at him in confusion.

Harry put a hand on his son's shoulder, "Maybe at another time, I feared the girls might be a bad influence on the twins."

Teddy's grin grew as he fought not to laugh as they entered the warm house.

It seemed that all the Weasleys were here. Teddy immediately gravitated toward Bill and Charlie.

Arthur and the twins were grinning at Harry while Ron and Ginny looked warier. Ron seemed hurt that Harry hadn't come to see him sooner.

Molly had them all sit down for dinner and Harry was praying that she and he weren't headed for another blowout fight.

The Molly Weasley of his time had not been pleased when Harry had broken up with Ginny to raise his orphaned godson, and possibly less pleased when his relationship with his godson's widowed grandmother evolved into creating a larger family. Mrs. Weasley and Andromeda had not gotten on well, to put it mildly.

But Harry now had four -five, he smiled to himself, children with Andromeda. He was older and married. Wholly unsuitable for Ginny for innumerable reasons, hopefully, it would be enough to stay in Mrs. Weasley's good graces.

Teddy was chatting about dragons with Charlie before anyone could start hounding Harry with questions. Charlie seemed to be delighted with his scope of knowledge on Magical Creatures.

"So Harry," Mrs. Weasley began, "How do you like being a father?"

"It is the very best thing to ever happen to me. My family is my life."

"Teddy is Professor Lupin's son though," Ron blurted.

And it was Teddy who answered, "My parents died before I could sit up. I am a Potter."

Arthur jumped in as Ron's face went red in embarrassment, "And your daughters, what are their names?"

"Morwenna, Ophelia, and Persephone."

"Cool names," George said.

Molly and Ginny seemed to disagree, judging by their pinched brows.

"Why didn't you bring them?" Charlie asked.

Harry shrugged, "They can be a handful, and I wouldn't want to impose."

"Never," Molly said, "You are always welcome here."

As if he couldn't help himself, Arthur asked, "Have you found a place of your own yet?"

Harry shook his head, "We will be staying with the Malfoys indefinitely."

There was a rather tense silence, and Ron asked, "But why?"

"My wife and her sister are rather close. And after being reunited, Narcissa has decided she's had enough of a quiet life. Lucius isn't pleased, but my girls are winning him over."

Teddy flashed him a smile, Lucius walked around his manor with his hair braided. Doubtless that in the spring he would have flowers interwoven in his fair locks.

The Weasleys weren't smiling at all and Arthur asked, "And you like- um, living with them?"

Harry shrugged, "They are my family, I am much closer to Narcissa than Lucius, but you can't have one without the other."

"He's evil," Arthur spat.

Harry inclined his head, "I don't condone his past, Arthur, but his crimes are not his wife's, nor his son's."

"So you're defending Draco now?" Ron accused.

Harry met Ron's gaze very directly, "Your hatred for Slytherins is no different than the Malfoys dislike of muggles."

"It is very different," Ron declared, "I judge them on their actions. I have real reasons to dislike them."

It was Teddy who spoke up then, "It is wrong to hate anyone based on how they were born or sorted. But it isn't entirely baseless for wizarding families to dislike muggles. That doesn't excuse hate crimes, but-"

"Harry, what exactly have you been teaching your children?" Arthur asked, disapproval dripping off his every word. "I don't know how you could let your family be around the Malfoys."

Teddy spoke again, "My father taught all of us to treat everyone with respect. And you don't know what my Uncle Lucius went through in the war. People change."

"And do you know how your Uncle Lucius treated muggleborns in the war of my time?" Arthur asked him.

Teddy looked at the older wizard with a stoic expression and asked in turn, "Do you know what my father's muggle guardians did to him? Do you know what the muggles would do to all of us if the Statue of Secrets was raised?"

This seemed to be a debate Arthur was not expecting to have with an eleven year old boy. Certainly, it wouldn't have been the choice defence Draco would have used to defend his father.

Arthur opened his mouth to argue, but Harry had had enough. "She lied to the Dark Lord in order to spare my life."

They all looked at him and Molly asked, "What?"

"In the future," Harry said putting down his fork, crossing his arms. "Voldemort came back. And he had me, the Wizarding World was his to claim. But Narcissa Malfoy spared my life. If it hadn't been for the Malfoys, Voldemort would have won, and I would be dead."

They all stared at him, and it was Bill who said, "Well, that's that then. Are the Malfoys a light family then?"

Harry snorted, "No, but I doubt they are after world domination any longer. My daughters on the other hand, well, I'm doing my best to convince them that rebuilding the world is a more worthy and difficult challenge."

Molly smiled, "I thought the same when Charlie and the twins were younger."

"Bet they didn't start a riot in Knockturn Alley," Teddy muttered as he popped a green bean into his mouth.

They all looked at him and Fred asked delightedly, "You let your kids into Knockturn Alley?"

Harry grinned, "No, that was the last day you two babysitted for us. Morwenna decided to release every magical creature trapped in one of the shops. It being a less than respectable establishment, it had creatures that your average witch or wizard was not prepared to face on a pleasant afternoon. The riot spread into Diagon Alley."

"You don't sound upset," Bill noted.

Harry shrugged, "I was able to get Morwenna and Teddy to safety quickly enough. The rest was sort of fun."

"It was worth the grounding," Teddy declared, "You're so cool when you use your powers to fight back multiple opponents. The Aurors couldn't keep up with you."

"What career did you choose," Molly asked.

"I taught Defense Against the Dark Arts part time."

"Did you break the curse?" the twins asked together.

"Killing Voldemort breaks it. Speaking of which, Bill, I was wondering if one day you might take a look at the castle to see if there isn't another way to break it?"

Bill nodded, "I would be happy to."

"So he isn't dead then?" Ron asked.

Harry shook his head, "Most of him is, but- the timeline has been altered so greatly. I can't truly tell you what will happen. Lucius has been pushing his cycle and connections at the ministry. If he does arise again, he won't have the support he had there."

"Did you say part-time?" Molly asked, forestalling Arthur's distasteful look.

Harry nodded picking back up his fork, "Andromeda ran her dance studio in the evenings. I mainly worked mornings at Hogwarts."

"So you split child care, or did Narcissa help her sister?"

Here it comes, Harry thought. "I did most of the childcare. Andromeda did some homeschooling, but I was the one responsible for keeping their limbs attached and their bellies fed."

"Why would she have kids if she didn't want to raise them herself?" Molly asked briskly.

Harry raised a brow at her, then looked at Arthur, "I don't know. Arthur, perhaps you could explain to us why you wanted kids?"

Charlie coughed, understanding the jab, and Percy looked outraged at the implication, the others merely looked between their parents.

Teddy reached for seconds.

"Well, I wanted a family, but I'm not very good at the cooking, or, um, well, Molly is a very good mother."

Teddy grinned at Harry who winked at him.

"Isn't Andromeda Tonks twice your age?" Ginny asked, speaking for the first.

"Yes," he said shortly.

"Why?" she asked him.

"Because Andromeda Potter was born before me," Harry explained blandly.

Ginny glared at him, her temper quickly outweighing her shyness of him, "I meant why choose her? You could have had anyone you wanted."

"I wanted her."

"Why?" she asked again.

And Harry was pretty sure Molly would have chastised her daughter if she hadn't wanted to ask the same questions.

He sighed, "For more reasons than I have time to explain. Suffice it to say, we fell in love."

Ginny looked down at her plate, stabbing at the vegetables.

Molly said, "She is very lucky to have you, Harry."

Harry smiled, "No Molly, I'm the lucky one."

Teddy didn't think Mrs. Weasley's cooking was quite as good as Mapoppy's but her cooking was perhaps better than house elves cooking at Hogwarts.

Teddy sat on the couch between the twins as Bill regaled them with a story about a curse he had undone in Egypt, the twins throwing in odd comments about what they had seen on their trip over the summer.

Teddy watched out of the corner of his eye as Ron spoke with Mapoppy. Teddy didn't like Ron, and his whining pleas for Mapoppy's confidence grated on his nerves.

But Mapoppy was patience with his young friend, and when they parted, Ron didn't look happy but he didn't look mad either.

"Ready to go home kiddo?" Mapoppy asked even as the twins bemoaned his words.

He rolled his eyes at their antics, "You two will see him soon enough."

When they left, Teddy declared, "That went well."

"Do you think they are ready to meet the ladies?"

Teddy paused, mulling it over, "Maybe let it all sink in. Bill, Charlie, and the twins didn't change much."

"What do you think of Percy?"

He frowned, "He's kind of annoying. But I'm glad he's alive, the Weasleys, these Weasleys that is, are lighter, than the people I knew, more than just being younger that is."

Harry nodded, "I like this world, we'll make have to make sure it doesn't burn down."

He held out his hand and Teddy took it. They disapparated back home.

Nymphadora couldn't bring herself to say anything negative to her mother. Her newly-wed mother.

She looked so happy, she seemed to glow from an inner light.

It was easier too, now that Dad was officially dating Amelia Bones. Susan Bones was a sweet girl.

It was all very odd. Growing up she had been an only child, a metamorphmagus in a muggle neighbourhood. She hadn't had friends, not with her abilities or her strange name. Children her own age had laughed at her constantly, for being different and her habitually tripping over things. She had been alone for so long until she went to Hogwarts.

She had become the class clown and no one had ever taken her seriously. She had friends but no one close.

So no friends, just her family limited to her father, her mother, and grandparents.

But now?

Now she had a career, friends like Kingsley, a son, a step-father, three half-sisters, an aunt, three uncles, a cousin, and whatever it was that Amelia and Susan might be to her.

And strangely, with all these new people, it was like she was getting to know her parents in ways she had never known them before.

To begin with, her mother was a completely different person. Gone was the demur and proper housewife, Andromeda Potter, was a force of nature. Nymphadora hadn't seen her touch a dish, or perform any charms of domestic nature, there was no sock folding in this house.

What she had seen was her mother duel with her husband and sister, leaving Nymphadora to feel like Mad-Eye Moody was a joke to the power of the Blacks and Harry Potter.

Nymphadora could feel her mother's magic entering into a room, and it made her a little dizzy to think what it must have taken to hide that power from her and Dad. What it must have been like to live in the muggle world for over twenty years suppressing that much magic.

She felt rather guilty to think of her part in that, all those times she had dismissed her mother as being 'just a mom.' Her mother ran her own business, sure it wasn't open yet, but apparently, it had been for ten years.

It was only slightly gratifying to learn that her sisters were as ill suited to dancing as she was. Teddy on the other hand?

Teddy could go on point, and he had been in a few performances as nature spirits or something with professional muggle troops.

His werewolf genetics seemed to balance the metamorphmagus nature nicely.

She had a son.

It was such a weird thing. Though he was more of a brother, she certainly wasn't prepared to raise a child. But the fact remained, this brilliant boy was someone she had brought into this world, someone she had created.

And he was the most incredible person she had ever met. Kind, funny, patient, and intelligent in a way that went beyond his years.

He acted more like a mature sixteen year old than eleven year old.

"Are you going to keep staring at me or are you going to pick a card?" he asked.

Dragging her from her thoughts, her hair turned pink, and she glared at his responding grin.

She had never met another metamorphmagus, and now she knew four. Four of them who had grown up together and learned from each other. She was still trying to decipher their code. Because they definitely had one, quick flashes of colours, spots on different spots on their skin, and their control?

Not having anyone to learn from it had taken her till the end of Hogwarts to be able to hold any one form long. And her natural was ever changing. The others seemed to only lose control of their eye colour -which depending on their mood, was either emerald green or garnet brown.

She picked up a card and discarded another. They were playing rummy and she had no doubt she would lose, again. This would be the last time she saw him until spring break.

"Do you like being an Auror?" Teddy asked, picking up a line of cards from the discard pile and putting down a rather unhelpful three of spades.

"I love it. It's, well- it's exciting, and it feels good to help people. Growing up I wanted to be a healer like my Dad, but my brewing skills are dismal and I'm too klutzy to be trusted around delicate patients."

He grinned, "My sisters won't be healers either. I mean, maybe Ophelia, but I think she would get bored with people."

"Do you like having so many siblings?" she asked, they were in bed now.

"I do, I think I would be very lonely without them. We're all famous in our time, you know. The Great Harry Potter, and my being part metamorphmagus, part werewolf. I wasn't normal, not even for a wizard. I was kind of happy, although it was hard to keep so many secrets, to go to Hogwarts without people knowing. That's over now. I guess, now it's being the son of the Boy Who Lived and being from the future."

"I'm sorry Remus and I died," she said softly, "I know I would have liked to be there to watch you grow up."

Teddy nodded, "Sometimes." He shuffled the cards in his hands, "I hated you for leaving. I hated Grandpa too, for leaving." He looked up at her, searching her face, "But if you hadn't died, hadn't made Mapoppy my godfather, then I wouldn't be his son, then I wouldn't be the person that I am. I wouldn't have my sisters. I like who I am, I like my life. Does that make me a terrible person?"

She heard the complete question in her mind, Does it make me a terrible person that I'm glad my parents died? That you died?

Nymphadora wasn't hurt by that question. She was in her twenties and watching her parents get a divorce had damn broken her heart. She couldn't imagine a world in which she had siblings and adoring parents, only to be ripped away from their home and someone asking her if she wished she had different parents and for her siblings to not exist.

"No," she answered, "No, Teddy, you're not a bad person for loving your family, for loving them enough that you wouldn't wish it any different. Just know, that had I been able to raise you, I would have loved you just as fiercely as my mother loves you."

"You wouldn't have a better mother than my father," he stated boldly, as he placed down three matching sets.

"I can't deny he is rather wonderful," she said a bit bitterly. She really wanted to deny it, but Harry Potter was one of a kind. He had all the power of Albus Dumbledore and his greatest ambition was making his family happy. He also had better cooking skills than a house elf.

Who could compete with that?

"You call my mother grandmama," Nymphadora said lightly.

"Morwenna is too young to remember what Grandmama was like before Ophelia was born."

"What was she like?"

"Broken," he stated, frowning down at his hand.

A chill went up Nymphadora's spine. It was one thing to hear that her mother had not handled her death well, it was quite another to have it stated so coldly by a child.

"In what way?" she asked.

Teddy looked up at her, and there were shadows in his eyes, "She had a lot of nightmares and she lost control of her magic every few weeks or so. Mapoppy was always there to bring her back, but it was hard for her. I call her Grandmama because, as much as I love her and she me, she was more distant when I was little. More like a workaholic father, I guess."

"But she had a job, Harry left you and Morwenna alone with her, and they were together. I mean they couldn't have fallen in love if she hadn't been -complete." Nymphadora realized that she was probably talking above and beyond what was appropriate to speak of with an eleven year old.

"She wasn't so broken she couldn't function, but she did have bad days. Grandmama could always hold out until Mapoppy got home. As for them falling in love? My father isn't normal. He didn't have a good childhood and he was basically a child soldier during his school years. I know the age thing bugs most people, but I don't know anyone in his age group, aside from maybe Aunt Hermione, who could have been able to understand him."

"And why didn't he marry her? They were friends weren't they?"

"They were the best of friends. Ophelia's middle name is Hermione. But I don't think they meshed well for romance. Grandmama and Mapoppy can be kind of gross, which seems to be important for a relationship."

Nymphadora really hoped he was simply referring to the way his parents kissed and held each other -with clothes on. But she didn't have the nerve to ask.

Teddy laid down the rest of his hand.

"A sound victory," she said, tipping an imaginary hat to him.

He bowed back, but his grin was interrupted by a wide yawn.

"Get some sleep, you have a train to catch in the morning," she said, scooping up the cards.

He stood with a graceful stretch that showed how thoroughly her mother had corrupted him. He gave her a kiss on the cheek, "Night, Nym."

All the little ones called her Nym, worse than Dora, better than Nymphadora, and she had stopped protesting. "Goodnight, Teddy."

He turned to leave, but paused, looking back at her with tawny brown eyes, "I'm glad, you know? That we time travelled, that I get to know you. I'm glad you're alive."

Her smile felt strained, her heart aching for him, "Me too."

She sat staring at the fire for a long time. She didn't know how much time had passed when Lucius Malfoy, her uncle, sat down beside her.

She tensed, it was impossible not to be on guard around him. He was a freaking Death Eater.

"We have a large family now," he stated, watching the fire. His white hair seemed to reflect the firelight like a secondary light source in the dark room.

"We were family before they showed up," she said harshly.

"Your father-"

"Is a better man than you will ever be," she cut him off. "A better wizard."

Lucius paused before repeating, "Your father is in a respectable profession. This world always needs more healers."

She wondered if that was the nicest thing he could think to say about her father. Wondered if it was the nicest thing he had ever said about a muggleborn.

"What do you want?" she asked defensively.

He turned pale eyes to her, cold even in the firelight.

He gave her the creeps.

"My wife, your aunt, has decreed that the Potters will be living with us, indefinitely."

She wanted to laugh, she really did, the way he said it made it sound like a prison sentence.

"So," he drawled, "I'm taking it upon myself to get to know the in-laws and my nieces. I think I am going to need all the peace I can manage."

"How do you feel about my mother having another baby?"

Lucius was quiet for such a breath of time she wondered if he had heard the question. But finally, he said, "My line is cursed. One son. One son and no more. No girls, either. My wife wanted more children, and I could not provide. How can I begrudge her wanting her family close? At having the chance to help raise more children?"

Nymphadora didn't answer the rhetorical question, and felt herself soften at the sadness and regret she heard in his voice. Unable to stop herself, she asked, "Are you alright?"

Again, she wondered if he would answer and then he said abruptly, "My son is gay."

The way he stated it, he might have said 'the milk is in the fridge.' Being gay wasn't something bad in the Wizarding World, but it had become semi-problematic for Pure Blood lines who wanted their lines to continue. If Draco married a man, barring finding a surrogate, it would be the end of the Malfoy line.

It was at this point she smelt the liquor on him, as he took a drink from the tumbler in his hand.

"I'm a fool," he said, and Nymphadora didn't think he was talking to her as he gazed into the flickering flames.

"It could be worse," she offered.

His eyes closed and he tilted his head back, his long hair falling over the back of the couch. And yes, Nymphadora could understand, at least for his physical appearance, why her aunt had chosen him.

"It was worse," he said softly, "and it was entirely my fault." His eyes opened and he asked, "How does one be what they are not? Everything fell to ruin because of what I am, but I do not know how to be other than I am."

"I don't know," she said uncomfortably. Clearly, Lucius was having a moment, and she didn't feel that she was qualified to be here.

He seemed to think different, because he turned to look at her with those freakishly pale eyes. "My son is afraid of me. I don't know what he heard, or what questions he asked, but he is afraid of me. I taught him to believe that he was the best, that our family the ideal. And he believed, he looked at me as if I could do no wrong, always. Even when I didn't deserve that faith. But now?"

She saw his hand shake, the amber liquid licking the sides of the glass, but his bland expression did not change.

"Now he looks at me as if I woul-" he cut himself off, and he blinked. It was too dark to be sure but she thought he might be blinking back tears. "I would never hurt him. Not my son. Not willingly. Not on purpose."

She wondered who he was trying to convince.

"You have a son now," he said.

She bit her lip, and it was her turn to be quiet. Perhaps he was drunk, perhaps he wouldn't remember this in the morning, so she ventured to share, "And my son said he was glad I had died so that my mother and Harry Potter could be his parents instead."

Lucius looked back up at the ceiling, "We can't blame them. It's who they are. And they are children."

And because they were children what they felt was a reality of sorts.

"I know why they love him."

"Love who?" she asked.

"Harry Potter."

She waited, and waited. She tucked her legs up on the couch, before she could bring herself to ask, "Why do they love him?"

"Because he is selfless."

She turned her gaze back to flames.

His aristocratic voice continued on, "Endlessly, impossibly selfless. As if the world had carved out every bit of him that cared about self-preservation. As if he has known everything he has ever loved to be stolen from him. His every dream shattered. And instead of leaving him bitter and broken, it made him powerful and kind. I see it, every time he looks at one of his children, even the way he looks at Draco. As if he would carve out his beating heart for them to smile the next day."

Lucius's voice softened, and she had to strain to hear him, "People like him shouldn't exist. They are fairy tales, not real people, not someone you are ever supposed to meet, to know."

"We can't begrudge them," Nymphadora said to the fire. "We can't begrudge them the happiness they've found, the happiness they fight for."

Lucius rose to his feet, raising his glass, he said, "That we should all aspire to be the people our children believe us to be." He drained the glass, "Or need us to be." Then he staggered out of the room.

She stood as well, slipping on her shoes. The winter air hit her like a bucket of ice water. She blamed the wind for the tears that escaped from her. She couldn't be crying, there was absolutely nothing for her to cry about.

AN: Reactions, comments, or musings, please?

Chapter 16: Persephone Luna Potter

Nagini update: Yep, she is still in the house, and no, the adults have not discovered her yet.

WARNING: Lots of swearing in this chapter.

Chapter 16 - Persephone Luna Potter

Albus could barely concentrate on the meeting. His mind was restless.

Harry had time travelled.

Harry had defeated Tom.

Harry had married Andromeda Black, a witch two decades his senior, and had three children, raised four, with her.

Harry was out of his influence now, Severus had slipped his leash, and the Potter children?

Albus might have been the most powerful wizard of their age, but the Potters weren't from his age, and with their titles, powers, connections, and the chance he might drive Harry further away… he could not afford to push.

But he burned to know what more the future held.

Where was Tom now? Did they know?

"Where is Karkaroff?" Olympe demanded.

"He isn't coming," Severus said with a long-suffering sigh.

"Why not?" she asked.

"His message said there was some trouble with his students. A few parents were involved and he couldn't make it out."

"All our discussions must wait then," she said, "Or we will have to have them again."

"Hardly," Cornelius said, "Different countries, different laws, we would have had to talk to you individual at some point. How many horses did you say you were bringing over the border?"

And so their meeting dragged on, Albus hardly able to pretend to care.

Teddy spent his first two weeks dodging questions and hiding in his room. Which sucked big time as none of his three friends were in his house.

He saw Astoria in a few of his classes, but they weren't able to talk because anytime Teddy opened his mouth everyone stopped to listen.

Listen to the Time Traveller.

Teddy didn't have the heart to yell at them all, Astoria had tried, but they had all ignored her. Luna seemed to be getting bullied worse than ever, and Hermione…

They were hounding her almost as badly as they were him.

In other words, the first two weeks were bad. Really, really bad.

Finally having enough, Teddy wrote home to his godfather asking for help.

He wasn't quite sure what Mapoppy would do, but deep in his bones, he knew it would be effective.

Harry was headed up the stairs to tell everyone lunch was ready when his heart stopped at the sight of her.

His wife, his beautiful, beautiful wife, stood barefoot on top of the marble steps and her body…

Gone were the lush curves and her ever-growing baby bump. Her dark eyes were sunken, her cheekbones sharp under her sallow skin.

He tried to say her name, but only a croak came out.

Is this an illusion or a curse?

He took the steps two at a time and approached her. She hunched away from him as he neared. He slowed, carefully outstretching a hand toward her.

She looked at him as if she expected him to beat her, like she was some feral animal who had never seen a human before and was convinced bigger meant meaner. She held very still under his touch. He ran that hand down her sleeved arm, but it wasn't until he cupped her face with his other hand, until his skin met hers, did he realize his mistake.

Her eyes were too dark, too heavy-lidded, and her hair was darker, sleeker, than Andromeda's.

He should stun her, he should kill her. She watched him, waiting for him to do it, allowing him the opportunity to hurt her if he wished.

Harry tilted Bellatrix's head down so he could lay a soft kiss to her brow.

She let out a long sigh as his spell caught her, a sleeping charm he had learned for Persephone. He lifted Bellatrix, his sister-in-law, into his arms as her body went slack, a puppet with cut strings. She smelled like Andromeda's conditioner as if she had just had a shower.

"Harry."

He spun, looking up the left stairway Andromeda hesitated on. Guilt and worry showed across her face.

"What did you do?" he asked, voice low.

"Harry-"

"She can't be here, Andromeda."

"You don't understand, Harry, she's mine again," she pleaded as she came down the steps.

"You think she isn't dangerous? I saw what she did the last time she escaped."

"She won't-"

"The hell she won't. She isn't yours, she is a Lestrange and she was put in prison for a reason."

Andromeda shook her head, "She doesn't belong there."

"The Longbottoms-"

"I healed the Longbottoms! The world turned its back on us. There was no one to protect my sisters and I-"

Harry leaned closer to her, Bellatrix held between them, "Did the world turn its back on you, or did you turn your back on them? You were the one who didn't protect your sisters."

Pain flashed through her eyes, swallowed by anger.

Good, Harry thought, we can be angry together.

"How dare-"

"How dare you put our children in danger!" Harry roared. "Are you so desperate to rewrite the past that you've chosen your sisters over our little ones? What the bloody hell are you thinking!?" He jostled the woman in his arms, "Given the chance she would kill us all with a smile."

"She wouldn't-"

"Her actions were as bad as Voldemort's!"

"She's mine! Harry, she's mine, I've been working with her for months. We are her family. She will love you, she would never hurt our babies. You don't know the-"

"No," Harry snarled, "No, I know the mad witch who killed my godfather with a laugh, who tortured my best friend. Tortured her in this house!"

Andromeda reached out to him and he stepped back from her. Her brown eyes swam, "It will be different this time. The cuffs on her wrists and ankles are fueled by her power keep her from using her magic. They can't be taken off until she dies. Bella needs me, she needs help, she has always needed help. She belongs in St. Mungo's not prison. I can take care-"

"Can you?" he snapped. "Restricting her power doesn't stop her from wielding a knife. How are you going to keep her hidden? How are you going to keep her away from my children?"

"I dug up a curse, the Aurors are burying what they think is her body today. I bound Bella to this property with the cuffs, she will be under permanent house arrest. And she isn't a danger to our children."

Harry had never, ever, ever, felt like striking out at Andromeda before. But it was not love in his heart as he looked at her now, it was fury, fury and fear.

He trembled with it. He knew Andromeda wasn't the sanest person in the world, frankly, neither was he, but this was going too far.

"Andromeda, no, she can't stay here. She cannot be allowed near our children."

"You aren't listening to me, she's chang-"

"Listening!?" he repeated. "Listening? I wasn't fucking listening to you? You didn't fucking tell me you were going to do this! And you didn't tell me because you knew, knew, this was a senseless idea. You knew she was too dangerous! If you really believed this was the right decision you would have told me."

Andromeda motioned toward him, "Then you take her back."

"Excuse me?" he asked, his tone sounding like a threat.

Her voice was a challenge, "If you think it is the 'right' thing to do, then you take her back."

You bitch, he thought but did not say aloud. Andromeda knew how much he hated that place, how despite their world's need for a prison, how he thought that the dementors for the prisoners, kissed or otherwise, was a fate worse than death.

He looked down at the woman in her arms. In sleep, her resemblance to Andromeda was uncanny, and Bellatrix's sanity…

What if it had been Persephone?

His youngest daughter was not stable nor was she an independent thinker. She was impressionable in the extreme and her ability to cope with change, with pain-

What if Bellatrix had been like that when she was young?

What would have become of Persephone had she been raised in a home with curality and hatred? What if she had been the oldest and alone for years until her sisters could have been able to help her? What if she had been given to a man who liked to torture, then given to a dark lord who cared for nothing and no one but himself?

Persephone would not have survived it, not intact.

Harry knew Bellatrix, knew her from the stories Narcissa and Andromeda had confided to him. She had not been evil, but Bella had always been broken and when Andromeda had left with Ted, the same not as her wedding to Lestrange…

Could Harry bring her back to Azkaban? Could he submit this broken soul to a sentence of torture until death?

No. Damn Andromeda, but he couldn't do it, he couldn't be the one to make that choice.

"Where are you going?" Andromeda asked.

"I am putting her to bed," he said without looking back as he climbed the stairs. Bella was frightfully light in his arms.

He heard Andromeda's sigh of relief and knew without seeing that she had reached out toward him again.

"Don't touch me," he spat. He agreed that Azkaban was an unjust fate, but he still thought the idea of her being allowed near his children was unacceptable.

Andromeda followed him to one of the spare bedrooms and pulled back the covers for him to lay her down in.

"Where are you going?" Andromeda asked as he turned his back on them.

"I am taking the girls out. We will be home late. Don't wait up," he said and shut the door between them.

Narcissa was attempting to get Morwenna to identify the characters in a book she had just finished while nudging Ophelia to read Fantastic Beasts as she had gone endlessly about how childish she thought her picture books were.

Meanwhile, Persephone was color coding the library. This was harmless, as Narcissa had spelled the entire shelvings to a reset point. Morwenna had taught her the necessity of such a spell when she had one day reordered everything by the second letter and third letter of every second word in the title of the book, and if there was only one word in the title, she would sort the book by the third letter every by every seventh shelf.

That had been revenge for making her redo her math homework from the previous year.

The little brat.

Narcissa couldn't lie though, she loved them, she loved having them here. Their chaos broke through the monotony of the years before them. The years of quiet and properness, of waiting for Lucius to give her something to do, of trying to raise Draco in the old way without the pain from their own families.

Lucius and she had failed Draco in the end. In the end, no one had hurt him more than they had. They had allowed Voldemort into his home, made the wrong friends and likewise, directed Draco down the wrong path as well.

Of course, Draco wasn't exactly liking having his world turned upside down. And Lucius was… depressed.

Narcissa couldn't quite decide what had them so upset. It was more than the Potters, that much was plain.

"Morwenna, I know you read it, tell me something you thought about it?"

The tanned girl with her bright green eyes, gave her a baleful look as if to say, You don't want to know what I thought about the book.

Narcissa opened her mother to chastise the stubborn little monster, she was her mother incarnite, when Harry stormed into the room.

His power road the air, and Narcissa stood up at once. He didn't greet her, or look at her even, he went straight for Persephone. He picked her up, the youngest Potter immediately wrapped her arms around her father's neck, resting her head on his shoulder while petting his hair.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Narcissa asked as Ophelia ran to hug him around the legs.

His eyes flicked toward her, glowing dimly from within from his power. "Go ask your sisters." He held a hand out toward Morwenna.

She skipped to his side, utterly unafraid of his anger, he wasn't angry at them after all. Morwenna asked, "Where are we going?"

"To the zoo, then out to lunch, shopping, and then out for dinner. We won't be back until late." And the moment his hand wrapped around hers, Harry disapparated.

Leaving Narcissa blinking at the suddenly empty room, Harry had never interrupted one her lessons before.

And then what he said sunk in.

Sisters.

She ran out of the room. She passed Lucius' study and then backtracked.

He was sitting at his desk reading the paper, he looked up at her, his grey eyes soft, "Narcissa," he started gently. He stood, walking around his desk to her. He took her hand and his, "there's something you need to know."

Her thoughts were spinning, she was thinking, No, Andromeda couldn't have been that stupid. She wouldn't. She is pregnant, she would not risk-

"Bellatrix died last night."

Narcissa closed her eyes, clinging to her husband's hands like a lifeline.

Fuck.

Lucius tried to pull her into an embrace, but she resisted. Unsheathing her wand, she led him down the hall.

"Narcissa?" he asked.

She went straight to the guest bedroom furthest from them the children's room. And she opened the door, asking the question, "You daft bitch, what were you thinking?"

Andromeda sat at the foot of the bed, Bellatrix was blinking awake, her clean hair spread over the pillow.

"Merlin…" Lucius breathed behind his wife.

"It's alright," Andromeda sighed.

"Your husband seemed to disagree with you. He took the kids."

"Potter left? For good? So much for the honeymoon period."

Narcissa gave Lucius a scornful look at the hopeful note in his voice. "He's pissed, but he would never leave, not for good," she said, before turning back to her sisters, "But maybe he should after this spectacular screw up."

Andromeda glared at her, "I didn't screw up, it isn't as if I accidentally freed her from Azkaban."

Bella sat up, blinking at them. She looked thin and like she hadn't seen the sun in a hundred years, but she looked better than she should have, better than Sirius had looked at any rate.

"Cissy?" she asked.

And Narcissa's heart cracked a little. She was crazy, a monster, but Narcissa had mourned her passing.

Andromeda patted the blankets above Bella's leg, "Yes, Narcissa, and Lucius, you remember them don't you?"

Bella observed Lucius cooly, "The peacock."

Despite herself, Narcissa's lips twitched at the old joke as Lucius glared at her.

Just then they heard a loud cheer from down the hall, and then pounding feet as someone ran while shouting, "I did it! I did it!"

Regulus burst into the room -Narcissa and Lucius stepping to the side as one, holding a large stack of papers like a trophy. "I did it!" he announced triumphantly.

He waited, seeming to think they should be rejoicing at this news.

"You did what?" Lucius asked blandly.

Regulus held out the pages and looked at him as if he were daft for not understanding.

More pounding feet, and Sirius appeared behind his brother, "What's going on? What's with all the shouting this morning?" Then he caught sight of who was on the bed, "Bellatrix? What the hell?"

Regulus looked round, seeming to notice his third cousin for the first time, "Bella!" He approached and flopped onto the bed beside her, Bella scooting over to make room for him. He laid the papers down on her lap. "I finished writing a new history book. The one we used in school was all wrong. Very misleading. But before I went in the wall I did a lot studying from others, and I had a long time to think about it. And now I have put it on paper! It's outside of my head now!"

Bellatrix looked at him the way she had when they were all children, put upon, but unable to shove him away from her. "What do you want me to do with it?" she asked, caustically, her voice coherent.

"Read it?" Regulus asked her hopefully, his bottom lip pouting a bit, as if he too had never grown up.

Bella sighed dramatically, but flipped over the title page, gently resting it on Regulus' lap, and began to read.

Regulus laid a kiss on her cheek, "Thanks, Bella."

Bella didn't answer, but she did lean closer to him, and he wrapped in an arm around her in a half hug, resting his head on her shoulder like he had when they were small enough to not understand that there was a world and life outside the walls of Grimmauld Place.

Sirius said what Narcissa and likely Lucius, were thinking: "Seriously, what the hell?"

Harry was pretty sure the zoo staff would have kicked them out if they could have found a legitimate reason.

Unfortunately for them, children hissing at snakes wasn't against the rules. Harry was pretty sure the one guy in the corner remembered him from -what was for them, three summers ago. His eyes were flicking between Harry -an adult version of a child who had stood and spoken to the very serpent behind him.

Harry had cast a spell on all the glass enclosure so that sound could penetrate them. He would reverse it once they left, but it was currently a gloomy, cold, rainy day, and they were the only family who had ventured to the zoo this early in the morning.

"Brazil is a very far trip from here, meu amigo," Harry hissed under his breath, as he heard Persephone ask a viper if it liked its water warm or cold.

"It was still worth the excitement, they don't treat me as they used to. I am not some stupid serpent now. They call me cursed."

"And this is something you like?" He asked the boa.

"I heard them talk about returning to me to the wild, they were not sure if I could catch prey on my own."

Harry looked at the snake, "And what do you think?"

The snake flicked its tongue, "I think they might be right. My world is small, but I am well fed. And I am entertained with their fear. I am the cursed one."

"I am happy for you then."

"Valeu, meu amigo."

Morwenna let a harsh sound and began debating loudly enough with a cobra that the zoo staff finally felt like the could step in and ask them to go.

Harry smiled at them, "Of course, sir, must'n fuel the children's imaginations. I did hear rumours about children becoming a part of the exhibit in the reptarium here."

The man paled but glared at him, seeming to decide that Harry was indeed somehow related to the child from said incident.

They did leave, Ophelia and Morwenna sharing what information and stories they had gleaned from the reptiles. Persephone clung to him like a monkey, hugging the stuffed snake he had bought for her.

"Oh, look at that bird," Ophelia said, pointing at the distant tree.

It was a hawk of some sort, and Morwenna said, "It isn't Mama. Mapoppy, why didn't Mama come today too?"

"What bird?" Persephone complained.

Ophelia pointed again, "That one, on the top branch."

"Where?" Persephone asked again, straining in Harry's arms to look around.

He gently turned her head, "Do you see it? It's in the tallest tree."

"Right there!" Ophelia said, exasperated. "You never see anything."

Harry's heart clenched at that phrasing. He stopped walking and he looked closer at his youngest. Surely he hadn't missed-

"I can't see it!" Persephone cried, growing more and more upset as she was missing something everyone else saw.

Harry pulled off his glasses and handed them to Persephone, "Try these," he said. He squinted and could make out her placing the too big frames on her nose. She squinted up at the sky.

"I see it, Ohli! I see it!" She waved at the sky, "Hi birdy!"

Harry felt as if someone had just punched him. How had he not noticed Persephone needed prescription glasses?

Truthfully, he had never taken any of his children to an eye-doctor before. Metamorphmegi could change any body part, any feature. If any of Andromeda's descendants had been born with poor eyesight, they could have altered their own version.

But of all of them, Persephone did have the least amount of control, the least understanding of her own powers. And it wasn't even being the youngest, at her age, Morwenna had been bounds ahead, Teddy unquestionably more so.

But Persephone wasn't as powerful as her siblings and she didn't have their control.

Persephone shoved his glasses back at him, breaking his thoughts, "Mapoppy, your glasses hurt my eyes."

He sighed, that at least was a good sign, it meant her eyesight wasn't as bad as his, though how he was supposed to know if his daughter was close to being blind or just as klutzy as her other metemorphmegi siblings was beyond him.

"How would you like to get a pair of your own?"

"Will they hurt?"

"No, they won't hurt. They'll be just for you."

She grinned up at him, "I want mine to look just like yours."

He smiled down at her, "Of course, my dear."

"I do not want glasses," Morwenna announced.

Ophelia rolled her eyes, "You don't need them, fool."

"Be nice," Harry said as he walked his daughters -much to the zookeepers' relief, out of the zoo.

That night they got home late, and Harry enlarged Persephone's bed. Morwenna and Ophelia slept to either side of him.

Persephone slept on his chest, her new round glasses resolutely on her face.

It just went to show him how little he knew what the future had to offer them. But as long as he could keep them safe, keep them together, they would make it through.

Somehow.

Portuguese Translation provided by Nauze18, because Spanish is not a Brasilian national language: Muito Obrigado, meu amigo.

AN: Please comment with your thoughts and reactions?