Here's the next installment...thanks so much for your reviews-they make me insanely happy! Hope you enjoy this next bit. There'll be just one last short chapter after this one; its really more of an epilogue, actually. So yeah. Here we go.

Chapter Four

Mad-Eye Moody and Albus Dumbledore sat opposite Remus, looking extraordinarily sober. Teddy eased himself onto the very edge of the couch next to his father, anxious. Harry's last warning, "…you're going to see just how hard he had it," tugged at the edges of his mind as he watched the scene unravel. Dumbledore placed the tips of his long fingers together and stared across at Remus, who was looking apprehensive and slightly ill.

"He betrayed them, Remus. I'm so sorry."

Remus' face creased, and he sat up a little straighter. "What? Who? Betrayed who? What are you talking about, Headmaster?"

"Sirius Black has betrayed the Potters. They were murdered late last night by Lord Voldemort."

"No…" The whisper was full of shock; what little color there was in Remus' face drained away. His hands clenched into tight fists, revealing thin scars etched on their backs. "He wouldn't. He couldn't. I know him, Headmaster. He's not the spy, I swear. There's been a mistake…"

"He was their secret keeper," Moody growled. "He betrayed them, Lupin. There's no other explanation. He'll be shipped to Azkaban within the week. Lifetime sentence."

Remus' gaze shifted back and forth from Dumbledore to Moody as if hoping one of them would disprove the other's words, but neither of them said anything else. Remus swallowed, and a great, shuddering gasp shook his entire body as he began to shake his head. "No. No. Headmaster…please…there's got to be some mistake, maybe he switched…switched without telling anyone…you've got to investigate, you've got to make absolutely sure…"

"There was no one to switch with," Moody said softly. "Peter Pettigrew is dead too. Black got to him before we could."

At this, Remus' body gave a violent start and he bent forward, groaning. "Peter…Peter too? No. NO!" He screamed, and Teddy stared at his father, shaking on the couch, eyes blank and staring at something no one else could see. Tears began to fill his eyes, and they rolled unchecked down his cheeks. Teddy knew this story; knew how Voldemort had killed Lily and James Potter, Sirius Black had gone to Azkaban, and Peter Pettigrew had joined the Death Eaters, but he had never before connected with the fact that his father had lost just as much; all four of his childhood friends.

Remus seemed to come to a sudden realization, because he jerked up, horror written clearly on his features. "And Harry? What about Harry? Please, don't tell me…"

"He survived," Dumbledore said, and a ghostly smile passed over his face. "Voldemort attempted to kill him; the curse rebounded. It's all to young Harry Potter that Voldemort is gone."

Remus didn't look particularly thrilled at this news, but he nodded just the same. "What will happen to him?"

"He'll be sent to live with his muggle relatives."
"Couldn't I…" Remus broke off at Dumbledore's sad smile. "No, I suppose I couldn't," he muttered, folding his hands under his chin. He sat very still for a moment, and then his face crumpled again and he buried his eyes in shaking fingers.

"Remus…" Dumbledore stood, but Remus shook his head again.

"Please go."

Moody stood too, gentle concern on his scarred face. "If there's anything we can do, Lupin."

"Just go."

Moody and Dumbledore stood, and Teddy had no choice but to follow them from the room. As they closed the sitting room door behind them, Teddy heard another wild, heartbroken scream and the sound of breaking glass.

--

It was snowing, and the village of Hogsmeade was full of Hogwarts students. Teddy searched the crowd for several moments before his father pushed past him in the crowd. His face was more lined now, his hair spattered with gray. His robes looked old, but clean and well cared for. Teddy followed him down the street, still feeling the shock of the last memory. His father kept glancing back over his shoulder as he walked, and Teddy found himself turning to look every time Remus did. They were being followed. Or, Remus was being followed. A tall, burly man wrapped in a thick black cloak was behind them every time Teddy looked, and he was getting closer. Teddy sped up to walk alongside Remus, but his father seemed to be slowing down.

"What are you doing, Dad?" Teddy spoke aloud before he realized he had, but of course, nobody heard.

Remus finally seemed to come to a decision, and he ducked into a narrow alley between Scrivenshafts and a small pub, turned, and waited. The man appeared at the mouth a few seconds later, hesitated when he saw Remus waiting, and then strode into the alley.

"Did you want something?" Remus asked politely, eyebrow raised, though there was an edge to his voice. The man reached up and unwound the scarf from around the lower part of his face so he could speak.

"For the safety of Hogsmeade residents, I am to follow you until you leave the village."

"What? Do you have a warrant?" Remus looked taken-aback, but the surprise left his demeanor quickly. "You're from the ministry?"


The man nodded. "Auror Oswald Parkin."

"I've had nothing to do with the werewolf attacks outside London."

"We can't be sure of that."

Remus nodded jerkily and smiled; Teddy could tell it was false, but he wasn't sure the Auror could. "Very well, then. I won't be here much longer."

"It's for the resident's safety."

"I'm aware of that."

The Auror did not look apologetic, but stood aside for Remus to pass out of the alley first. Teddy followed his father, anger bubbling in the pit of his stomach. As they reentered the street, a snowball pelted out of the crowd and thwacked Remus in the side of the head. He reeled, gasping with the cold, and whirled to face his assailant. Another snowball from behind him hit him in the small of the back, accompanied by a derisive, "We don't want werewolves here!"

Remus was wiping at his face, stony, when another arched out of the now nervous crowd and splattered down his neck. In the next instant, a barrage of snow and insults was flung at him from all directions; Teddy yelled in fury, but there was nothing he could do. He looked around for the Auror; Parkin was standing well out of the way, not participating but not offering to help. As Teddy watched and listened in helpless rage, a small smile twitched at the corner of the Auror's mouth. Remus was backing into the alley again, covered in snow but back straight and head held high. A snowball struck his jaw and a shallow gash appeared in his cheek, but he did not acknowledge it. He disapparated.

--

Teddy was standing, still seething, in what he guessed was Remus' front room; it was small, and cluttered without being messy. His father was just ushering Dumbledore into the room, looking faintly bemused. He was even older now; his hair was streaked with gray and his still young face was more lined.

Dumbledore took a seat on the couch and Remus sat opposite him in a threadbare armchair. "How are you, Headmaster?"

"Well, considering," Dumbledore said. He gave a theatrical sigh and waved a hand vaguely in the air. "Once again, I am in need of a Defense against the Dark Arts Professor."

"I read about your last in the Daily Prophet," Remus said with a small smile. "Will he recover?"

"Unlikely," Dumbledore said. "Pity, really. But it can't be helped, and so we move on. To you. I would very much like you to teach this next year, Remus."

Teddy laughed out loud at his father's look of blatant shock. "Headmaster, I…I'm flattered, really, but I couldn't…I can't. You know I can't."

"I think it's more a matter of that you won't, Remus," Dumbledore said. His light blue eyes twinkled knowingly as he watched the younger man across the room. "You are an excellent wizard, and I am sure an excellent teacher. Your best subject was Defense, was it not?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I can…I could teach, Headmaster. I believe I could." There was something akin to despair lurking in the corners of Remus' expression now. "I would love to. But I can't. Not with my condition. It would be far too dangerous."

"You have heard of the Wolfsbane potion?"

Remus nodded, and a faint blush tinged his pale skin. "Of course. But I've never been able to afford it."

"Understandable," Dumbledore nodded. "But I would consider it part of your salary. Severus Snape is more than able of brewing it, and I will ask him if he is willing."

A brief look of skepticism passed across Remus' face, but he shrugged faintly. "I don't know, Headmaster. It seems risky. Very risky. I don't trust myself…"

"But I trust you, Remus." Dumbledore stood. Remus looked startled at the abruptness of the movement, but stood as well. "Think about it. I will contact you tomorrow morning. Term starts the first of September. Good day."

Dumbledore swished out of the room and Remus stared after him, a bemused smile growing on his face.

--

The next few memories were all Harry's, and they blurred together in Teddy's mind. They flowed together smoothly, evenly, chronicling the events of Remus teaching at Hogwarts.

Teddy saw Harry meeting Remus on the train, watched with pride as his father dispelled the dementor with apparent ease…

Watched as Remus taught a class full of students how to dispel a boggart…laughed as Remus laughed at the sight of Snape in a dress and handbag…

Watched as Remus taught Harry a patronus against his boggart, proud of the way Remus was able to withstand the influence of the dementor…

Watched as Remus encouraged, guided, and helped the struggling students in his classes, beamed as the students greeted their teacher with enthusiasm in the halls…

Watched as Remus rescued Harry from Severus Snape and confiscated what Teddy recognized as his own Marauders Map…

Watched as Remus, drawn and pale, spoke about his childhood in the Shrieking Shack, and then transformed under the gentle glow of the full moon…

Watched as Remus resigned and said his last goodbyes to Harry, leaving Hogwarts simply because of what he was…

And then, during a change in memories, Harry's voice issued from the darkness. "Here's what you've been waiting for, Ted…Remus and your mother."

Teddy's heart skipped a beat and his fists clenched spasmodically at his sides. His breath hitched, and a grin spread across his face. What he had been waiting for indeed.

He was standing in the deserted hallway of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, still seething. The front door clicked behind him and he turned, waiting, as the knob turned and the door swung open. His father entered, shut the door quietly behind him, and tapped the locks with his wand. They rattled and clanked, sealing the door shut again. Remus turned and walked quickly and quietly down the hall to the very end, where a soft murmur of voices could be heard. He opened the door and slipped inside; Teddy barely made it through after him. The kitchen was full of people; they waved or smiled at Remus as he sat down at the end next to—Teddy's heart pounded—a young, cheerful looking witch with short, spiky, purple hair. He walked as if in a dream to stand behind her, staring down at her with a sudden lump in his throat. His mother.

"Wotcher," she said to Remus, and stuck out a small hand to shake his. Remus looked faintly surprised at the exuberance of her greeting, but shook her hand with a smile.

"Evening."

"Tonks."

Remus' eyebrows creased. "Pardon me?"
"My name," Teddy's mother explained, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to be called Tonks. "My name is Tonks."

"Oh. Remus Lupin."

Tonks cocked her head at him and her eyes narrowed. Remus' face tightened. "Are you…Kingsley was saying we have a resident werewolf. That would be you?"

"That's right."


Tonks flashed him a pert smile. "Well, I'm the resident Metamorphmagus. And Tonks is just a surname. You looked a little confused. I'm new to this whole Order thing…how long have you been?"

Remus raised an eyebrow. "You're not bothered with my condition?"


Tonks shrugged. "A little. But that's not manners, is it? I'm sure you're a very kind person for ninety-eight percent of the time." She turned with a sort of bounce to face Dumbledore, who had just stood, leaving Remus to blink, nonplussed but grateful, at the back of her spiked head.

--

The next few memories passed much as the Hogwarts ones had. His mother and father escorting Harry from Privet Drive to Grimmauld Place…his mother and father sitting in on an Order meeting…his mother and father saying goodbye before Remus left on a mission…their first date…their first argument…the fight in the Ministry of Magic…the night following that Remus spent with her in St. Mungo's…his father's rejection of her, and her depression…the night after Dumbledore died…their first kiss…their wedding day…a blush of embarrassment as his mother told his father that she was pregnant…Remus leaving for several weeks…the conflict with Harry at Grimmauld Place…Remus returning, Dora slapping him across the face…

And then it all slowed down to a crawl as Teddy appeared on the grounds at Hogwarts. The noise was immediate, and the constant flashes of light and cries of pain and surprise told him that he was in the middle of a battle. Judging by what he had already seen, it was the scene of his parents' deaths. He felt an overwhelming sense of grief as he found them, fighting together, knowing that he was about to lose them. He watched them hungrily, drinking in the sight of them working in synchronization, his father precise and graceful, his mother quick and sporadic.

Teddy somehow knew just when it was about to happen; his mother, distracted for a split second by a stray spell, stumbled. The green light hit her square in the chest, and she toppled like a limp rag doll, wand spinning out of her hand to disappear into the darkness. Teddy cried out, but his own voice was lost by the agonized scream of his father; Teddy felt tears spring to his eyes as Remus twisted, desperate, to see his wife lying spread-eagled on the ground before another Killing Curse hit him in the side and he too crumpled.

Charlie Weasley appeared out of nowhere to continue the duel with Antonin Dolohov and Teddy knew by the tears staining his cheeks that he had seen the whole thing. Teddy walked slowly forward, grateful that Harry was granting him this extra bit of time, and knelt down at his parent's sides. They had fallen only a few feet apart, hands outstretched as if reaching for one another. They both looked peaceful in death, still and silent as the battle raged around them. Teddy felt the hot tears streaming down his cheeks as he gazed at them both, and he suddenly wanted to be gone, to leave; he didn't want to remember them like this, dead. He wanted them alive, wanted them back with him…even as he reached the point of hysteria, the scene swirled around him and his parents vanished.

Review? :) Sorry I ended on such a terrible note, but you know. Had to end somewhere.