On a sidenote, if anyone reading this is interested in reading more of my fic, I posted the first chapter of another HP fanfic, about the Hogwarts Founders! Just a warning if anyone does want to read it – I AU-ified the story a bit, and set it during the Norman invasion of England, so it is rated M for violence and other adult themes. Mirabile Dictu (yes, I have a fetish for Latin titles) is accessible from my profile…and I'll stop plugging myself now…
Alone All Along: Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it! (haha, used to be a fan…I know what you mean, I only listen to them nowadays if I'm feeling incredibly depressed:D)
HarryWhoFanatic: Thank you! I'm glad you could see it clearly – that's actually how I come up with most of my scenes: I block them out in my head like a movie to make sure it all works, and then I try to write it down. I hope you keep reading!
recklesslyconfined: Thanks for your review! I'm glad Teddy is what you picture as a blend of Remus and Tonks:)
RavenPaine: Thanks a lot!
tonks-lupin524: Thank you so much! Ooh, now I have to write as well again to get more reviews, eh? I hope I don't disappoint:)
Brinkley: Hey, I'll write you something! Seriously, I will. Give me a topic and I'll write a piece – I wish I could write all the time, but my ideas come only rarely. I wish I could publish, too, but most publishing houses don't seem to appreciate young writers (unless, like Chris Paolini, you are a child prodigy and don't even need an agent, since your parents are publishers themselves, etc.). Thanks so much for reviewing again – and send me ideas if you want me to write something, I have a lot of free time this week…yay creative time:D
The Sushi Monster: Thanks!!!
beware of trips: Thanks for your review! Here's more. :)
Jarlaxle Baenre: Wow, thank you so much! I'm incredibly flattered that you think this is one of the best on – in my opinion, the best fic I've ever seen written is Jess Pallas's Lupin series of Oblivious and Imperius. I hope you keep reading!!!
Mei fa-chan: Thanks for reviewing!
tonksrulez: Thank you! Spiky-pink-haired Aurors shall rule the world!
Laura242: Thanks so much! I hope you keep reading this fic!!
moo: Thank you!! Here's some more:)
Music Aki: Thank you so much! I'm really glad you enjoyed the story – I hope you keep reading!
kelmo: Thanks!!
ClumsyTonks: Thank you!
aryell: Happy belated birthday!! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. :D
R: Thanks so much!!
phoniex soup: Reviews definitely make me very happy – thank you!!
x.sammii.x: Better late than never! Thanks:)
Ali: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!!!
Rogue SG-1: Thanks! Here's some more. :)
lemonwedges4: Thank you!!
SPOILERS FOR BOOK 7. DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT READ DEATHLY HALLOWS.
Disclaimer: Not mine. More's the pity – I'd like a little pet Teddy…or a pet Remus… :D
Dies Veritas
Chapter 4: Trials
When Teddy's head had finally stopped reeling from the horror of his father's worst nightmare – no, not a nightmare, a cold, ruthless reality – he found himself in a small bedroom, the light of the setting sun slowly dying as it shone through flimsy curtains. Outside, the indistinct shapes of houses clustered around the one Teddy found himself in loomed out of a thin fog.
Looking around him, Teddy took in a small bed, covered with a down quilt – a bookcase, stuffed with thick volumes, and, incongruously, a child's drawing-book, the sort of thing Teddy had been given as a five-year-old to amuse himself without the benefits of magic. A somewhat threadbare carpet was spread on the floor – the bedside table held yet another book – Hogwarts: A History – and a sputtering candle.
Teddy broke off from his observations as he heard quiet steps coming towards the closed door of the room, and a small voice called out.
"No really, mum, I'm all right – really, I promise. I'll just go to bed, I'll be fine tomorrow…"
The door swung open, and ten-year old Remus Lupin walked quietly into the room. His hair was longer, falling into his eyes – he seemed skeletally thin, his elbows and knees sticking out clearly through his jeans and oversized t-shirt. Bandages were wrapped around both his wrists, stained with rusty blotches, and Teddy though he could see another through the collar of his shirt. Scars criss-crossed his face, some recent and angry red, others fading into thin white lines.
Teddy stared as his father crossed the room and sat very slowly down on the bed, which creaked in protest. He could not see Remus's eyes through the small boy's heavy bangs, which seemed to have been brushed down expressly for the purpose of hiding himself away from the world.
The contemplative silence of the evening was not to last, however – Teddy's sharp ears picked out the sudden sound of a crowd of tramping feet from outside the window, and he saw that Remus had heard too – the boy's head snapped up, and his brown eyes reflected the light from the candle. Then Teddy's nose picked out a most disturbing scent – smoke, and a lot of it. Flickering lights were dancing outside the window, and Remus hesitated a moment, then stood, crossing the room cautiously towards the window – but he never reached it.
A huge crash resounded through the room, and Teddy and Remus both cried out in shock. A huge brick thudded to the wooden floor, ending its flight through the glass pane of the window. Remus fell to the ground in a shower of glass shards, shielding his head in his arms. Teddy dashed over to the window, and saw to his horror a huge crowd standing outside, and several feet below – in the small, crooked street outside, framed by the looming houses, stood several dozen cloaked figures, many of them holding lit torches. Teddy could just make out what they were shouting –
"Filthy half-breeds!" "Spawn of a Dark Creature!" "Kill it! Kill the beast!"
Teddy jumped back from the window in rage, but not before he saw several of the figures lift their wands and send jets of blazing fire towards the – wooden – cottage in which Remus was huddling on the floor. The flames quickly caught, and soon Remus was coughing fiercely as tendrils of black smoke wafted through the floorboards from below.
"Remus!" cried out a voice, and the bedroom door burst open in a cloud of smoke and racking coughs as a woman, athletically thin and dressed in Muggle jeans, rushed into the room, her dark-brown hair swinging about her face. Remus darted out from where he was crouched in the broken glass around him towards her, and Kate Lupin (my grandmother, thought Teddy with a thrill) caught him in a fierce protective embrace. A second brick crashed through the other pane of the little window, showering mother and son with another cascade of glass shards.
"Of all the times your father chooses to be away!" Kate said with false cheerfulness, almost having to yell over the din of the gathered crowd outside, who from the crashes down the stairs had now seemed to have taken to battering at the cottage's wooden door. "And me a silly Muggle," Kate continued as she held Remus's head in the crook of her shoulder, keeping him away from the smoke. She was smiling grimly, as though desperately trying to reassure herself as well as her son.
With a pang of horror, Teddy suddenly glimpsed the flames from below licking at the bedroom door, which had been left ajar when Kate dashed through it. New billows of smoke poured into the room, and both Kate and Remus started to cough fiercely, Remus doubling up in pain as the clouds of soot hit his already raw lungs.
The sudden crack! of someone Apparating into the house sent a surge of relief flooding through Teddy, as did the new voice – "Bloody hell!" he heard John Lupin cry out, his tone filled with shock at having suddenly appeared in the middle of a conflagration in his living room. Steps pounded up the stairs, and the tall shape of a man – one which Teddy had last seen battling a werewolf on a moonlit night – leapt agilely over the wall of flames and into Remus's bedroom, immediately rushing over to where Kate and Remus huddled on the floor.
The only word which Teddy could think of to describe his grandfather was 'rangy'. John Lupin was tall and lean, his limbs beneath his neatly patched robes, button-down shirt and chinos stripped of any fat or excess flesh. His face was chiseled and brown, his sandy hair – almost the exact color of his son's – hanging over into his eyes. Remus, it seemed to Teddy, had inherited John's father's hair and thin physique, but Kate's deep-brown eyes…
John held his wand tightly in one hand, and was batting at a patch of cinders which had fallen on his robes with the other, reducing them to tiny wisps of smoke. Seizing Remus around his shoulders and clasping him close to his chest, he yelled "Kate, grab hold of me!"
Kate instantly reached out and twined her arms about her husband's neck, and all three Lupins simultaneously squeezed their eyes shut. Teddy felt a sudden lurch around his middle, and suddenly felt as though he were being squeezed through a long black tunnel –
The Side-Along Apparition suddenly ended, and four bodies tumbled to the ground in a silent, grassy field, dew coating the ground and the green shoots.
It took Teddy a few moments to catch his breath, and so he lay still, arms and legs outstretched on the ground, looking up at a night sky covered in stars far brighter than what he normally saw from his London flat. Everything was unnaturally quiet, only the vague shadow of a distant cow lowing breaking out every several seconds.
Then he heard Remus cough, and the sound of someone weeping quietly. He sat up slowly, his muscles protesting at being slammed into the hard ground beneath him, and looked round, his eyes searching frantically for the shapes of his family members.
John was half-sitting up, obviously having been the cushion for the landing of his wife and son. He supported himself on one hand, his legs trapped beneath Kate, who had one arm still around his neck. Her face was buried in his shoulder as she cried, and John murmured words of reassurance in her ear, kissing her forehead. Remus was clasped close to both of them under Kate's other arm. He still coughed occasionally, looking pale and sick as he gazed worriedly up at his parents, almost – Teddy blanched at the thought – as though he was looking for a sign that they would not be angry with him – as though the little boy, blame- and guilt-less, thought the events of the evening had been entirely his fault.
John seemed to have caught sight of his son's guilt-stricken face, and he sat up further, freeing his hand from underneath him so he could take Remus's arm and draw him close, laying his chin on top of Remus's head. "Thank Merlin you're safe," he whispered, pressing a kiss into his son's hair.
Teddy watched as Remus's tense body seemed to relax instantly as his father whispered those words, and his eyes slipped shut in peaceful relief. Kate, smiling through her tears, curved her arm around both her husband and son, rocking all three of them gently back and forth.
The memory faded into dark mist.
Once again, the memories cleared to a bedroom, but this one was much smaller, more cramped. Remus, looking just a little bit older than the previous memory, was kneeling on the floor, stuffing several shirts and books into a canvas bag, which looked as though it would fall apart at any moment.
Looking curiously at his father, who was moving cautiously as though to make sure he didn't make any noise, Teddy moved over to a large, filthy window on one side of the room and looked out. He was once again in a two-story wooden house, but this one stood on its own on the edge of a field, surrounded by a small garden. Beyond lay a forest, the leaves of the trees thick and heavy with summer.
A small thud from behind Teddy made him turn. Remus fastened his bag shut, having to force the materiel somewhat to get it to close around its bulky contents. Taking a long look around him, Remus sighed and stood, picking up the bag with some effort.
To say that Teddy was astonished when Remus calmly dropped the canvas bag out the window, then clambered onto the windowsill and jumped headlong after it, would have been the understatement of the century. Teddy leapt to the window with a shout of horror – a shout he realized no one would hear – he stared down the two-story drop and Remus's tumbling form. The bag thudded to earth, and a moment later, so did Remus – or at least, Remus would have, had he not suddenly twisted in the air and landed on his hands and knees with nothing more than a small puff of dust and absolutely no sound whatsoever. Teddy gaped as his father slowly picked himself up, with only tiny scratches where there should have been broken bones. Evidently, Teddy mused, some physical aspects of the werewolf were apparent even in its human form – but from the look on the young Remus's face as he made his way silently to the edge of the small garden, the canvas bag over his shoulder, these abilities were not considered a boon.
Teddy made his way quickly down the stairs of the rickety house, almost falling in a ragged gap in the wooden staircase. Kate was sitting at a tiny kitchen table, running her thin hands tiredly through her graying hair. John was nowhere in sight as Teddy ran through the open doorway and trotted around to the side of the house. Neither of Remus's parents seemed to have realized that there son had just taken a walk into thin air, but Teddy was coming to suspect that that was what the young boy had wanted.
Remus was standing at the far edge of the garden, partly obscured by wildly-growing bushes. The canvas bag was dangling from his hand as he looked back at his home, his pale face distorted with an odd mix of sorrow and childish determination. After a long minute, the boy shook himself as though to clear his mind of all thought and hoisted the bag back over his shoulder, turning and tramping quickly into the undergrowth behind Rose Cottage, vanishing quickly into the great trees of the nearby forest. Teddy followed.
For several minutes, Teddy trailed his father through several glades and crossing a few rugged paths, passing through dappled beams of noontime light shining brightly through the leafy cover, all the time heading further and further away from the cottage. Teddy was sure now – Remus was running, running away from home – but why on earth would he –
His thoughts were cut short as a crack echoed through the glade they were passing through, sounding exactly like the sound of someone Apparating. In a flash of movement, Remus bounded up a nearby tree trunk, hauling the bag up with him and disappearing into the branches. Teddy turned around sharply, scanning the trees for danger.
"Hello, young Remus," a quiet, firm voice called from the opposite side of the tree. There was silence for a moment, and Teddy took the opportunity to edge around the tree trunk, peering to see who it was who somehow knew his father's name.
His jaw promptly dropped.
Sitting on a wide rock at the tree's base, clad in deep purple robes and his blue eyes twinkling in the summer sun, was Albus Dumbledore, as alive and magnificent as he was in his portrait at Hogwarts – a portrait which Teddy, being the great prankster of his class, had had several opportunities to scrutinize during his frequent trips to the Headmistress's office.
There was another moment of quiet. Then the leaves above Teddy rustled, and out popped Remus's head, the expression on his face every bit as shocked and surprised as Teddy was sure his own was. The rest of Remus slowly followed as he disentangled himself from the leaves and branches around him and made his way carefully down the tree trunk, leaving his bag of books and clothes tucked away out of sight above him. As he reached the ground, Dumbledore smiled at him kindly, taking out a small bag from his robes. "Would you like a lemon drop?"
Remus stared for a moment, his mouth half-open, then blinked and mumbled, "No thank you, sir."
Dumbledore sighed. "No one ever does," he said sorrowfully. "Ah well." He popped one of the sugary sweets in his mouth, leaving Remus to regard him as one would an exotic, brightly-colored animal – with amazement, awe, and not a little bit of fear.
"You're Professor Dumbledore," Remus suddenly burst out.
"Yes, last time I looked," Dumbledore said genially.
The two stayed quiet for a moment, staring at each other. Then Dumbledore spoke, and it seemed to Teddy that Remus had almost jumped out of his skin. "May I ask where you are going?" the professor asked kindly.
Remus swallowed nervously. His eyes looked at a point beyond Dumbledore's shoulder. Teddy thought he looked guilty.
"Away, sir."
"Do your parents know where you are?"
Remus seemed to shrink within his clothes, and his face lost what little color it had. "No, sir."
"Ah," Dumbledore replied, inscrutable as legend had him.
Remus looked down at the leaves beneath his feet, and when he spoke next Teddy barely heard his tiny whisper. "I'm a danger to them."
"How so?" Dumbledore said, as though asking the time of day.
Remus's head sunk, if it was possible, even lower. "I'm a werewolf, sir."
"I know."
"People hate me."
"I know that too – much to my dismay, in fact."
"They hurt my parents while they're trying to hurt me."
"A regrettable side effect, but only to be expected."
Remus's head snapped up angrily, and Teddy was no less infuriated at the former Hogwarts Headmaster. How could he sit there smiling and sucking on his blasted lemon drop, pretending this was nothing? "Side effect, sir?" Remus asked incredulously.
"Indeed," Dumbledore said, keeping his kind smile. "You are not at fault for what happened to you, Remus, nor are you responsible for the burden your parents carry."
"It – it's not good for them," Remus said somewhat wildly, his eyes darting in confusion around Dumbledore's face. "They don't need me, they'd be better off without me – "
"Have you ever asked them if they'd be better off without you?" Dumbledore asked softly.
Remus was silent.
"No," Dumbledore said softly. "You haven't. Because you know what their answer will be, don't you?"
Remus mutely nodded his head.
"And yet you want to leave them anyway."
Lupin's head snapped up. "Of course I don't want to!! It's just – better," he finished lamely.
Silence fell on the little glade. For several moments, Teddy could do nothing more than stare. He had shut his eyes during the memory of Remus being bitten, of Remus transforming for the first time – and he realized then that he had absolutely no idea what his father had suffered. That an eleven-year-old boy had consciously decided to run away from home – and from a loving family, one that had endured shame and attacks from others for him, the fact that the little boy felt he was a danger, that he was a monster – Teddy was torn between twisted happiness that he was not as cursed and overwhelming, deep shame that he thought his father was 'cursed' in the first place. He was brought back to himself when he heard Remus's feet shuffling nervously in the leaves on the forest floor, and a bird sang above the group, unaware of the tension below.
"You may be wondering why I'm here, young Remus," Dumbledore said suddenly – making sure, it seemed to Teddy at least, to keep his voice clear and kind.
"Yessir," Remus said quietly, still staring at his feet as though afraid he would be punished if he looked at Dumbledore again.
Dumbledore sucked on his lemon drop, seeming to consider a moment, then abruptly reached into his robes and held out a thick parchment envelope. Teddy's heart leapt as he recognized the heavy black seal. Remus reached out and took it, scrutinized the address, written in bottle-green ink – Remus J. Lupin, A treetop in the woods, Cornwall, England – and then turned it over, revealing the entwined lion, snake, badger, and eagle. The little werewolf's jaw promptly dropped, and remained that way for several long, silent seconds.
"You – you've got to be joking," Remus finally choked out, trying to keep his tone steady – but Teddy heard how his father's voice seemed to rise several notes, as though suppressing a great wave of emotion, of hope –
"I can assure you I am not," Dumbledore said lightly.
Remus gaped at the smiling headmaster. "I – I can't go to school, I've never been able to go to a Muggle one – there's no way, people would know, and I'd miss class – "
"The arrangements have already been made, Mr. Lupin," Dumbledore interrupted, his blue eyes twinkling merrily. "A passageway has been established which leads off of school grounds to the place where you will transform. All the teachers have been informed, and all of them eventually agreed to teach you. A veritable arsenal of potions has been specially ordered by Madam Pomfrey, our school nurse, for your use before and after the transformations. Secrecy might be a problem, but I have no doubt that discretion will triumph." Dumbledore's smile widened. "All that remains, dear boy, is for you to agree to come."
Remus, Teddy saw, seemed very close to dropping the envelope, standing slack-jawed and wide-eyed. "You – " Remus gulped. "You did all that – for me?"
"Naturally," said Dumbledore instantly. "The Ministry was a bit more difficult to convince, but as you will not be on school grounds during your transformations they have no legal ground for any kind of protest."
Remus, Teddy saw suddenly, was flushed – whether with fear or ecstatic happiness he couldn't tell. "Why?" Remus whispered.
Dumbledore's smile softened from something slightly manic to real concern and fondness. "Why not, little Remus?" he replied, just as quietly.
Teddy was getting used to waiting through long pauses in the memories – but this one, at least, was worth the wait. Remus's face broke out, for what seemed to be the first time, in a wide, completely genuine smile, his eyes shining with happiness. The only other time he had seen his father smile, Teddy realized with a pang of grief, was in the photographs he had at home when he was holding either Teddy himself or his mother Dora…
Dumbledore had noticed the change in Remus's expression. "I'll take that as a yes, then," the old professor said cheerfully, standing up and tucking the bag of lemon drops back inside his robes. "Now then – Accio!" the bag of clothes and books soared out of the tree into Dumbledore's hands. Remus's face was suddenly stricken with guilt – Dumbledore saw that too, and another murmured spell shrank the bag to the size of a thimble, which fit easily into the pocket of Remus's jeans.
"They do not need to know, do they?" Dumbledore said gently. "Let's be off."
They walked in silence for several minutes, Remus in his excitement easily keeping up with Dumbledore's long strides. Teddy could see that each was subtly glancing at the other – Remus at Dumbledore with almost hero worship, Dumbledore at Remus with an appraising, slightly impressed glance – Teddy was sure, as Rose Cottage came into view through the trees, that Dumbledore had seen the titles of the scholarly tomes hidden away in Remus's canvas bag.
"Mum! Dad!" Remus yelled happily as he broke from Dumbledore's side and ran towards the cottage. Kate and John quickly appeared in the doorway, darting glances around them until they made out the figure of Remus coming towards them. "I'm in Hogwarts! Dad, Professor Dumbledore said I could go, I can go!"
Kate said "Professor Dumbledore?" at the exact moment that John cried "Blimey!", both their voices filled with surprise and joy as Remus dashed up to them and threw himself into Kate's waiting arms.
"A very good afternoon to you, Mrs. Lupin. Ah, and young John," the arriving Dumbledore said jovially, looking fondly over the little family tableau. "I still remember that lark of yours with the Stinksap exploding out of the teachers' bowls of pea soup – I must admit, compared to that the pranks at Hogwarts recently have been of a rather tepid nature. Perhaps your son will once again raise the standard, eh?" he finished, winking at Remus.
"Pardon?" Remus said, sounding shocked and not a little curious as he stared in amazement at his father from his mother's strong embrace. "Dad, what's he – "
"Now now, Albus," John said quickly as he enthusiastically shook the headmaster's hand, grinning madly – Teddy was delighted to see a faint blush spreading over his grandfather's cheekbones. "Don't corrupt the lad before he's even been sorted…"
The joyful scene dissolved into a patchwork of images, swirling around Teddy in a strange maelstrom – glimpses of Diagon Alley, filled with splashes of color and sound in all shades, shapes and sizes – Gringott's, where the door to Vault 1287 was slowly swinging open to reveal a tiny pile of dusty silver and gold – a pile of new books standing on the floor in Remus's ramshackle room, another sitting perched on Remus's lap as he sat on his floor surrounded by his trunk, robes, parchment, and quills…
The memories finally cleared and solidified, and Teddy found himself in very familiar surroundings – the stone walls were slightly less dingy, the concrete floor cleaner, but the Hogwarts Express was exactly the same. Families rushed here and there as steam billowed from the engine, little children and taller young adults clambering into compartments, chasing each other round the platform, and sending sparks into the air in celebration of a new license to cast spells on each other.
A few feet away stood the only people Teddy was concerned about – Remus was already dressed in his school robes, and Kate's eyes were shining as she smoothed his hair – Remus, like every other boy his age, tried to twist away, protesting at being mothered over in public. John was just finishing hauling Remus's stuffed trunk into the train, a somewhat dilapidated suitcase with the shining new letters R. J. Lupin stamped on the corner. His task complete, John returned to his family and clapped Remus proudly on the shoulder.
"On you get, son," he said kindly, smiling softly. "Make sure you write, or I'll come up there and beat your news out of you, understand?"
Remus laughed, and the sound made Teddy's head feel light. "All right, dad, I will. And I'll make sure to tell you about the – arrangements."
"Right," Kate said. A tear streaked down her cheek. Remus stared at it uncomfortably until Kate leaned forward and kissed her son on the cheek, pushing his gently towards the train. "Go on, then."
Remus turned with a grin and jumped onto the train, which was already starting to move slowly, picking up speed. Teddy had a job of catching up to it, but eventually managed to launch himself in through one of the open carriage doors, just in time to see Remus pause at the door to a compartment at the very end of a train. His smile had vanished and he seemed pale and nervous.
"Er – d'you mind if I sit in here? Everywhere else seems to be full," he said quietly. Teddy forced his way through the crowd of students to the open compartment, and caught sight of two dark-haired boys sitting on either side of the compartment's window, their heads close together as though they had been whispering. Both wore identical roguish grins. Teddy's breath caught in his throat.
He almost started forward in recognition, pulling himself back a moment later when he realized that this Harry Potter's eyes were hazel, not green. James Potter's hair, glasses, and thin frame looked exactly like old newspaper photos Teddy had seen of his godfather Harry, but the impish grin was something new. Sirius Black's hair was longer, falling into his eyes with impunity, and Teddy could see, even at eleven years old, how the little boy would grow into the daredevil charmer Harry had told him bedtime stories about when he was young.
The two pranksters looked at each other, then shrugged almost simultaneously. "Sure," James drawled. "No problem – come in."
"Thanks," Remus said quietly, entering the compartment and sitting as far away from the two boys as he could without seeming rude. Sirius and James, after a few furtive glances in Remus's direction, bent close together again and resumed their whispering. Teddy look the opportunity to seat himself next to his father, watching how Remus's eyes frequently passed over the other two boys with a longing expression.
As the train began to pick up speed, the quiet was shattered as the compartment door suddenly slammed open, making all three boys within jump. A small, panting, fat boy practically fell in, followed by three young boys in dark robes. Two were slightly pudgy and menacing-looking, while the third was short, skinny, and endowed with quite phenomenally greasy hair. Teddy, James and Sirius looked up, and immediately burst out laughing – for the greasy-haired boy was also sporting an outstanding mustache, which seemed to be growing longer and curlier by the moment. Remus frowned slightly.
"You dirty little swine!" the greasy boy shouted at the fat one, who had taken to cringing and sobbing with fear on one of the seats. "Look what you've done!"
"I-it wasn't m-my fault!" the fat boy wailed. "M-my w-wand b-backfired, honestly, I s-swear I d-didn't mean t-to – "
The greasy-haired and mustached boy glared at Sirius and James, who by this time were prostrate with laughter. "Think it's funny do you, you morons?" he hissed.
James and Sirius were instantly on their feet at the insult. Remus got to his feet too, more slowly, and Teddy saw with surprise that his father was clutching his wand tightly – so tightly, in fact, that his knuckles were turning white. But there was no time to dwell on this, as the furious greasy boy raised his wand –
"Rictusempra!"
"Expelliarmus!"
James and Sirius ducked as a green spell shot from the greasy boy's wand and passed mere inches over their heads. Remus's red spell shot from his wand with a strength which marveled Teddy – he hadn't learned the Disarming Charm until his Fourth year at Hogwarts. The Expelliarmus knocked the wand straight out of the greasy boy's hand, quickly followed by Remus's next charm – "Aguamenti!"
A thick stream of water shot forward and drenched not only the greasy boy, but his two companions, and all three of them stumbled backwards, slipping on their suddenly soaking robes and howling as the water splashed into their eyes. As one, they toppled back through the doorway to the compartment, and Remus, trembling slightly, walked forward and slid it shut. Total silence suddenly fell on the four boys within.
"Brilliant," James finally breathed.
"Wicked!" Sirius yelled joyfully, letting out a whoop of triumph. Remus flushed, apparently embarrassed of the praise.
"What's your name?" James demanded.
"Remus Lupin."
"James Potter," James beamed. "And this is – "
"Sirius Black, prankster extraordinaire, at your service," Sirius said grandly, flourishing his arms. Teddy couldn't prevent a chuckle from escaping him at his antics. He turned to the fat boy, who was still quivering in place at the other end of the compartment. "Who're you, then?"
"P-Peter P-Pettigrew," the boy squeaked, his eyes wide as they flicked between the two dark-haired boys and Remus's wand, as though Remus would suddenly turn around and hex him, too.
"Well then," James said cheerfully. "Anyone for chocolate frogs?"
Teddy watched Remus's eyes light up with a tender expression of hope and cautious happiness. And then a dreadful wave of emotion swept through him as he remembered the fates of the four careless lads clustering around James's package of wriggling frogs, swapping cards and laughing over Uric the Oddball's nose-picking – all four dead, one a traitor, one a wrongly-convicted killer, one murdered, another tortured by the past and his own body and mind…
And Teddy, despite the charming scene before him, found it very hard to be happy.
A/N: Oof, my longest chapter yet. Hope y'all enjoyed it! Sorry if it seems like I'm being biased towards Lupin in these memories, but I'm trying to keep to the timeline and Remus is fourteen years older than Tonks…so, yeah. Review please!!! You know you want to, and I have cookies:D
Hmm. Someone beta-ing on Mugglenet fanfiction has just rejected the prologue of this story on the grounds that the plot is 'unbelievable'. Um, it's called fantasy, ppl. And it's called fanfiction. I have to say, I'm rather miffed…ha. This mod, whoever they are, spelled Tonks's name wrong. I feel a bit better now.