When Hermione awoke in her bed, she had no distinct knowledge of how she had come to reside there. She checked the time, believing the greying light in her room to be the pre-dawn hours she recollected spending with Severus in her living room, only to discover that it was early evening. She had slept all day, something that last occurred the day Harry found her in the library of Grimmauld strung out and exhausted. Hermione stood from her bed, stretching to bring about proper blood flow, and began reviewing her previous evening's events and company.

Hermione busied herself with preparations for a hot shower, thinking of how comfortable the conversations with Severus had been. He had always been intelligent, and Hermione found she liked having an equal to discuss the finer elements of healing and potion making with. She was surprised by his candor at times and respected his quiet support when a difficult topic would arise. He never pressed her to discuss anything she was unwilling to do so, but she sensed that he would be a formidable pillar of strength should she choose to unpack her baggage with him. As she stepped into the spray, she knew that the entirety of the night had not resided in his realm of comfort, but she felt a stirring affection for how much he tried to remain open and honest with her-especially when she could tell she had pushed his boundaries. She shampooed and recalled how his whole body tensed when she had gently placed her hand on his forearm. It was as if his whole body was preparing to flee through the fireplace, but she felt as he forced himself to relax and attempt to find acceptance in her physical reassurance. It hadn't lasted long, but Hermione appreciated his efforts as she shut off the shower and prepared to dress.

Her thoughts stayed with Severus as she made her way to the living room and was gleefully surprised to find everything in its rightful place and the dishes from the night before cleaned and stacked on her kitchen counter. How out of it was I at the end of the night? She wondered as she sat down at the dining table. Hermione marveled at the unexpected kindness he had shown her: moving her to her bed, cleaning the dishes, and righting the living space. She shook her head and reached for the stacks of newspapers and correspondence in front of her.

—xx—

It was nearing eleven when Hermione's floo activated. "Hermione? Are you home? Please, I need your help."

Hermione rushed back to the living room from her small office off the hall. As she approached the floo she could see the worried face of Andromeda Tonks searching through flat for her. "I'm here Andromeda. Is everything alright? What can I do?"

"It's Teddy," Andromeda replied. "He's ill, and I'm hesitant to take him to St. Mungo's because of the outbreak. Can you please come through and have a look at him? He's never been this sick before, and I've exhausted all of my ideas."

"Of course," Hermione replied, grabbing her travel mediwitch kit off the entry table. "Step back, please, I'm coming through."

When Hermione exited Andromeda's fireplace she was immediately on edge. Andromeda practically pounced on her, grabbing her hand and leading her down the hall towards Teddy's room. She could hear the small child at the door, he was coughing and whimpering as it seemed to be preventing his ability to sleep, he was coiled in on himself in the center of his bed and his brow was wet with sweat. "Andy, I'd like to examine him while you tell me about his symptoms, is that alright?"

Andromeda dropped to Teddy's side and spoke soft words to the boy. He opened his eyes and looked at his grandmother then to Hermione. Andromeda nodded and stepped back to allow Hermione access. "Hi, Teddy. I'm going to take a look at you and then I'm going to help you feel better."

The boy's eyes welled with the tears of a toddler that couldn't explain what was going on with their body; the tears that expressed pain, fear, and the need for comfort. Hermione placed her hand on his forehead and gently cupped his cheek. She removed her wand and began casting diagnostic spells as she looked to Andromeda, waiting for the older witch to explain the timeline of symptoms. "He woke up late and groggy, which is unlike Teddy," Andromeda began. "He refused his breakfast and had a general lethargy throughout much of the morning. I noted that he had a small fever by lunch, and the coughing began around then too. He would only have a little bread and broth at lunch and refused to sleep unless I was with him. It seemed like the beginnings of a cold, so I gave him the usual potions to manage his symptoms. But he just has been steadily getting worse, and now he is complaining of his body hurting. I don't know if he means his muscles, or his bones. The fever has only increased as the day has gone on, and I just became really worried when he hasn't been able to sleep."

Hermione had completed her diagnostic spells, listening to Andromeda describe Teddy's symptoms. She pulled small potion bottles from her mediwitch bag and coaxed Teddy to sip them slowly. She waved her wand over his bed, charming the linens to stay dry despite his sweat and adjust to his body temperature while he slept. She added a second layered charm that would alert her if his temperature rose too high or he awoke again throughout the night. Hermione watched her pseudo-nephew finish his potions, collect his small stuffed wolf and curl up back onto his pillows, sleep claiming him before he had finished adjusting his position. Hermione gestured to Andromeda to return to the living room before she spoke. "It would appear that Teddy had caught scrofungulus. It's a little unusual as we haven't had any information at the hospital that it's going around right now, but with the Dragon Pox outbreak it's possible that we just haven't had many people come in reporting these symptoms. I've given him a fever reducer, a cough suppressant, a mild sleep potion, and something to ease the aches. This is much like any common flu, Andy, it just tends to flare up faster and can make little ones more uncomfortable than adults. You did everything right by him, and in a couple of days he should start to feel much better. Have you ever had exposure to this?"

Andromeda looked considerably relieved. "I had it one summer as a teenager."

"That's good," Hermione said. "It is highly contagious, but as you've already had it once before you shouldn't be at much risk. And, if by chance, you begin to experience symptoms they should be mild."

Andromeda sat in a chair, rubbing her forehead and exhaling a breath. "Thank you, Hermione. It's rare that I feel out of my depth in taking care of Teddy, but I couldn't listen to his whimpers without my heart breaking. I wasn't sure who else to call."

"It's quite alright," Hermione sat in the other chair. "You know how much Teddy means to me, I'm happy to help. And Teddy will be fine from this, he really will."

Andromeda nodded and looked more closely at Hermione at the phrasing she had used. Hermione straightened her back and inhaled. "What are you afraid to tell me, Hermione?"

"Andy," she began slowly. Hermione licked her lips and inhaled again as she tried to choose her next words carefully. "Has Teddy been showing any unusual behaviors lately?"

"Unusual, how? What do you mean? Is something wrong with Teddy?"

Hermione closed her eyes before fixing her stare on Andromeda. "How is he with the full moon?"

Andromeda covered her gaping mouth with her hand. Concern and disbelief colored her expression as she searched Hermione's face for a sign-any sign. "You don't think…he's never shown any symptoms like his father did. Hermione, please, tell me what you are thinking."

"Most of Teddy's symptoms align to scrofungulus, but some of Teddy's symptoms are more closely associated with the fringe properties of lycanthropy." Hermione reached her had to grasp Andromeda's. "I'm not saying he is a werewolf, but his diagnostics came back…unusual, for a four-year-old boy."

Andromeda nodded at Hermione to continue. "Even with a fever, Teddy runs at a much higher core body temperature than what is even considered to be in the normal range. The muscle aches are almost a perfect replica of what Remus used to experience. And you've mentioned to Harry that Teddy gets run down with enough frequency that I've noted it-it runs parallel to the moon calendar."

"So, what does that mean, Hermione?"

"I don't know, Andy. There has never been anyone like Teddy before." Hermione withdrew her hand and sat back in her chair. "There's not any documentation on the human child of a werewolf. Much less one of a werewolf and metamorphmagus. But I'd like to keep a closer watch on Teddy and track his symptoms more closely once he recovers. Is that alright?"

Andromeda nodded again. "Hermione, what will happen to him? How do you explain to a child that he could become a mon-"

"He would not be a monster!" Hermione's voice was laced with venom. "Remus Lupin was a man and a werewolf, and he was one of the best people I ever knew. He was never a monster-I would know, I stood in front of him as he transformed under the power of the curse. Don't ever say that a werewolf is a monster in my presence, Andromeda. I mean it."

"You're right, Hermione," Andromeda had the decency to look ashamed for her verbal misstep. "Remus was not a monster, and Teddy wouldn't be either. I'm sorry."

Hermione stood, suddenly needing to be anywhere else. She placed three more small potion bottles in Andromeda's hands. "I charmed Teddy's sheets to alert you should he wake again. The potions I gave him should keep him comfortable through lunch tomorrow. Give him these at that time and try to let him sleep as much as possible. If he doesn't improve in 48 hours, contact me again."

Hermione stepped to the floo, only nodding an acknowledgement at Andromeda's parting words. She needed to research Teddy's developments, and she found herself wanting to discuss all of it with the one person that had ensured she learned about werewolves to begin with: Severus.


A/N: Love it? Like it? Leave a comment, favorite, or follow. Thanks for all of the continued support! -Archer