Chapter 21

- Tower of Fire -

Teddy followed his father, Tonks, Mr and Mrs Weasley to the door and onto the small crooked front porch. Everyone else was upstairs and now that the Christmas festivities were over all the adults were on edge. Teddy wished he could go with his father and his girlfriend but, as expected, Remus and Tonks were constantly on the move and weren't staying in one place for longer than a few weeks.

This meant there was no way they could continue completing missions for the Order and take care of Teddy. Adulthood couldn't come fast enough! One more year though.

"It was delicious, Molly, really." Tonks said kindly and softly. Teddy walked further out onto the porch where his father was standing oddly quiet. He sat firmly on the front step, glancing up at his father. But Remus was staring out into the endless marshy wheat fields, he craned his neck, trying to get a better look at something. Teddy followed his gaze but saw nothing, yet the hairs on the back of his neck raised in suspicion.

"Are you sure you won't stay?" Mrs Weasley asked, standing beside her husband in the doorway to the tall makeshift house Mr Weasley had made himself. Teddy gripped onto the wooden stair only releasing his grip when he got a splinter.

Tonk shook her head, glancing once at Remus. "No, we should go. The first night of the cycle's always the worst." She said the last part in a whisper, but Remus didn't seem to notice.

"Dad?" Teddy murmured.

Mr Weasley had also caught on to Remus' strange behaviour. "Remus?"

The tall, shaggy haired man didn't respond. Tonks stood closer beside him. "Sweetheart." Remus leaned forward, staring into the distance. Teddy followed his eyeline once again but then just looked at the stars. There was one star that'd particularly gotten his attention, a large one burning near the horizon. His eyes squinted. Was it just him or was the star getting bigger?

Sure enough, the star was get closer and closer. Then it hit the ground, a great ball of fire that spread in and uneven circle around the Burrow. They were trapped and Teddy nearly slipped off the stair he was seated on.

Remus' eyes expanded in fear as the great blaze of fire made a vicious fiery wall around the Burrow.

The wheat suddenly parted as a great cloud of black smoke arose from within it. Teddy had seen that form of transportation many times before, during the fight at the Ministry the year before. The smoke transformed into a familiar infamous witch, Bellatrix Lestrange. His godfather's murderer.

Teddy jumped on to his feet so quick that he felt almost dizzy. His hand fumbled into his jumper pocket, trying to pull out his wand. Beside him his father was doing to same. Bellatrix grinned, a malicious grin, and ran towards her wall of flames. The flames parted and she ran away into the darkness.

Teddy grunted as someone pushed past him, running after Bellatrix.

"Harry, no!" Mr Weasley cried.

Harry passed through the opening easily. Teddy gripped his wand dashing after him. "Teddy!" His father's voice yelled from behind him.

"Remus!" Tonks shrieked.

But it was too late, Teddy had raced through the flames and was on the other side. He stopped just before entering the maze of produce that was taller than even him. He looked over his shoulder. On either side of the opening the flame had turned into two humungous snakes. They coiled, extending long fiery fangs and hissing at Remus and Tonks.

Teddy could see his father shouting but couldn't hear a single word he said over the roaring of the fire. He'd never heard a more dreadful sound. Suddenly, something jumped through the flames, barely missing getting burnt. Ginny landed on the other side, a long fluffy bathrobe over her pyjama's.

"Come on!" She yelled, running into the tall wheat after Harry and Bellatrix.

"Teddy, stay there!" Remus shouted from the other side of the fiery wall. But either Teddy couldn't hear him or he wasn't listening cause he and Ginny were soon gone from sight. "Teddy, stop!"

Teddy struggled to keep an eye on Ginny as he ran, the wheat whipped at his face painfully and the soft, muddy ground kept on tripping him. He came to a stop as his shoes sunk deep into the mud. With a frustrated growl his yanked his feet out of the marsh, abandoned his footwear and continued barefoot.

But Ginny was gone and he had no idea where she'd gone, or where he even was. "Ginny! Harry!" He cried out. The sound of crickets was his only reply. He was out of breath, lost and could see next to nothing in the pitch blackness. He'd been in a similar situation once before, in his fourth year after he'd witnessed Barty Crouch's death.

If he closed his eyes he could still remember wandering for hours through the Dark Forest, searching for his father and friends, to warn them. But now was not the time to remembering such things. Suddenly he heard something. A faint cackling.

"I killed Sirius Black! I killed Sirius Black!"

His body responded before he'd even recognised who the voice belonged to. The mud sank between his toes disgustingly and he trip, hissing as a stick scratched above his heel. Suddenly the ground underneath him became wet and he was soon wading through thigh high water. He came to a stop, turning around, looking in ever direction.

But he could neither hear nor see anything. The only sound was the loud splashing of water he was causing. His jeans were soaked and stained with mud be he didn't care, the cut above his heel stung but he'd felt worse. "Harry!" He cried.

Crack!

He spun around, his wand hand hanging at his side. He could see movement. "Harry?" He whispered loudly. His heart was thumping so loud he wouldn't be surprised if it could be heard from miles away. He stared at the figure that was too tall to be Harry. The stranger let out a low growl and revealed his face from the shadows.

Teddy stumbled backwards at the sight of the grubby man. "You're... You're Fenrir Greyback." His voice cracked as the fellow Werewolf's lip curled upwards, revealing purposively sharpened canines. "Stupefy!" He shot the spell, but Fenrir easily deflected it. The large man, who resembled that of a wild wolf more than he did a man, looked him up and down with bloodshot eyes.

"Let me guess." His voice was unsurprisingly low and scratchy. "You're Lupin's boy. I heard he had a son." Teddy continued to back away, but Fenrir followed him, occasionally speeding up as if to tease him. "Got really on edge when I asked him about you." Teddy remembered how his father had spent months trying to convince the London Werewolf pack into joining Dumbledore's army.

Fenrir was a tall, square shouldered and muscular brute, dressed in a long heavy fur coat, his hair wild and matted. The monster smirked, looking the shorter, more slender half-Werewolf. "I'd expected more than... this!" He snarled. "Tesdon Lupin, the one Werewolf with the ability most of us would kill for. But you're disgrace. You're nothing but a child!"

"Teenager, actually." He was finally able to muster the strength to fire another spell. Fenrir blocked it. Teddy heard Anna's words, 'If you don't relax and stay in your right state of mind you'll hesitate. And that's what you do Teddy, you hesitate.' ring in his head like a broken record. He took a long breath, relaxing his stiff shoulders and spreading his stance wide. He could feel the difference, and he quickly acted on it.

A red light shot out of his wand tip with a loud crack. Fenrir blocked again but long ropes had then coiled out of Teddy's wand, wrapped around his feet and tripping him over. Teddy pointed his wand firmly, his mouth open as he breathed heavily, struggling to keep a strong stance in the high water.

Fenrir looked up at him and burst into a large dark mist, disappearing into the fields around them.

"Teddy." Harry and Ginny appeared behind him and he jumped in fright. Teddy didn't say anything, he could still feel someone's eyes watching him from the shadows around them. With a silent nod the three stood back to back, wands extended. Suddenly, Remus' voice rung out from somewhere in the distance. "Teddy!"

Occasionally, Teddy would see movement from within the golden fields, but once he blinked whoever was there was gone. Suddenly, they all began to shoot spells randomly in ever direction. Teddy had no idea who had started it, but like a chain reaction he'd joined in. White light lit up their frightened faces. Teddy let out a tiny yelp as the wheat in front of him parted and two figures ran towards them. He pointed his wand defensively but stopped when he saw it was only his father and Tonks.

The two joined into the kill circle and the spells suddenly ceased as Mr Weasley also appeared. There was a wind-like noise and two shadowy clouds shot up and disappeared into the night air. Everyone looked up, wands pointed to the sky. Suddenly, the two Death Eater's misty forms appeared in the distance, shooting right through the Burrow which exploded.

"Molly." Mr Weasley gasped, running back to his burning home. The rest followed him until they were out of the marshy farmland and standing among the whole Weasley family. Mrs Weasley was standing closest to her ruined home.

The windows were shattered and all that could be seen of the insides were flames. The Burrow had always been a sort of safe haven to everyone, a home away from home. Now Teddy watched as it burned, like a glorious tower of fire.