The Moonraker

A-World-Of-My-Imagination

A/N: Sorry this took so long, you guys! Life got a bit crazy for a while there.

Chapter Three - News, Natasha, and Running

Teddy quietly let himself through the back door, closing it softly behind him. It was still rather early – his morning-person father would probably still be in bed. The boy entered the kitchen in search of something to eat, famished and exhausted from being up most of the night. On the table, he found a hastily scrawled note from Harry.

Teddy: I had to go to town, there's been a fire and I'm going to help with cleanup. I'll have to go into work straight after. Lunch is in the refrigerator. Remember – don't leave the house, don't answer the door, and don't pick up the phone. And don't forget to text me. I'll be home around four. -Dad

The boy yawned and rummaged through the cupboards to locate the bagels. It didn't take him long to find one, and he turned to the television while pouring a glass of juice to see if anything was on about the fire. If his dad realized Teddy had run into the flames, or even left the house without telling him, he'd be grounded until he was fifty. No, Teddy decided, it's better to keep quiet about it all.

"-and there have been reports of a large wolf rescuing people trapped in their homes during the fire. Here we have a video taken by a local resident on her camera phone. It's a bit grainy, but you can see the wolf carrying two children out of a burning house. Some have asked what this animal was doing so close to the town, fearful for the safety of their children, while others have expressed gratitude that the wolf saved so many people. Several have claimed that the wolf communicated with them and made strange things happen with its mind. Theories have been passed around that the wolf is the town's guardian spirit, and reports are beginning to come in from those who claim to have seen the wolf before. Still, the questions remains – why did the wolf do this? Could this small London suburb really have a guardian spirit? Will we be seeing the wolf again? Next, we go to-"

Teddy shut off the telly and swore. Harry was at the fire cleanup now – had he heard tell of the "mysterious wolf" already? He was dead, totally and completely dead. Nothing could save him now. Even if his dad didn't hear anything, he watched the news – and made Teddy do so as well – every night, insisting that it was important to know what was going on in the world. He was bound to watch it that night, and the fire and the so-called "guardian spirit" would likely be a local feature.

The alarm on his phone dinged, reminding him to text Harry. Play it cool, play it cool.

Kinda feel like going to the zoo later. How bad was the fire? -TP

We can do that, just remember to eat an apple for lunch. It was bad, but no fatalities. Weird reports of a large animal, be extra careful today. Might have been a wizard. –HP

Will do. –TP

The boy ended the text conversation quickly and shut his phone. He'd gotten a few extra hours, at least, and unless the news station procured some better footage Harry likely wouldn't recognize him when he watched the report.

Teddy leaned back on the couch and shut his eyes. Last night had been…strange. The adrenalin hadn't entirely worn off his system, the run-in with danger still coursing through his veins, and his mind was going a million miles a minute. The wolf had taken over the night before; his heart had started racing and it hadn't been a conscious decision, on Teddy's part. Not really. All the calming techniques Harry had researched and helped him learn had been out the window as soon as he'd heard the child's scream. Yet…the wolf hadn't done anything bad. In fact, it had saved lives. The wolf had surrendered to a balance to save its pack, and Teddy had taken the reins presented to him. For the first time, the wolf hadn't been feral and fearful – it had been determined, yet gentle and resourceful. It had used what it needed to get its job done, and apparently that had included sharing control with Teddy.

What did it mean? Had it been a one-off sort of thing or would the wolf continue to share control? Teddy sighed and shook off his musings. He was exhausted and had a terrible headache, a feeling in his head and his gut and under his skin that something bad was coming. Something really bad. Probably Dad's reaction when he finds out, the boy decided and plopped across the couch for a nap. His alarm was set to remind him to text Harry, he'd been up all night, and he was tired. Teddy Potter was going to take a nap, age be damned. He put his head back against the couch's arm and closed his eyes.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Teddy rolled over and fell off the couch. His alarm was blaring and he had several texts from Harry. He quickly shut off the alarm and assured his dad that yes, he was fine, no, no one had kidnapped him, and he really hoped there would be yaks at the zoo.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Who would be knocking? It was rare that anyone made the trek to come visit from the town, and even less likely that day since everyone was trying to help with the aftermath of the fire. Any wizards that wanted to visit would have sent a message through the floo asking to be let through.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Teddy got up off the floor and tried to ignore his pounding heart. Harry always told him he had to be careful, that bad people could be after him, but Teddy had never listened to him properly. The man was always going on about Teddy's "unbelievable Gryffindor stupidity for a Slytherin" and now he would pay for it. Had someone seen him at the town? Had they followed him home and now he would be kidnapped, just like when he was a kid?

The boy tried to ignore the fact that his wand was upstairs on his bedside table and cautiously approached the door to look through the peephole. There was a woman on the porch, standing impatiently. There was something dangerous about her, an edge that hinted she was someone to be feared.

"Teddy Potter?" She looked straight at the peephole, like she knew he was there. "My name is Natasha Romanoff. I'm with S.H.I.E.L.D. and I'm here at the request of your father. Please open the door."

The teen paused for a moment, then opened the door.

The woman walked in the door and into the kitchen. "You know, there really are people after you. If I were one of them, you'd be dead."

"Are you one of them?"

"No, obviously. Just thought you should know."

Teddy leaned against the side of the doorframe leading into the kitchen and looked the woman strangely. "Why are you here?"

"I told you, S.H.I.E.L.D. Your father's concerned."

"Of course he is, he's always 'concerned'," Teddy sighed.

"He has good reason to be. I'm just here to drop off information for your move to New York and your father's contract with us."

"Wait, New York?" Teddy stood straight. "Who said anything about New York?"

"He didn't tell you? I'll leave that to him, then. I really need to get going, there's another situation I need to deal with. Thank you, Mr. Potter. Make sure your father gets this USB."

The woman walked back out the door and was gone.

I just realized - you're a bit of a xenophobe. –TP

Or just crazy. –HP

Teddy tossed down his phone on the couch and tried to sort out his thoughts. S.H.I.E.L.D.? New York? Harry hadn't so much as mentioned moving; he always discussed things with Teddy before he did them, why hadn't he this time? Had he though the boy would put up a fight?

The teen paced back and forth and ran his fingers through his hair, which was frantically changing from color to color. He'd lived in their house near London for most of his life, he didn't want to move away! Why was his dad such a control freak, why was he so paranoid? He couldn't just put his whole life on hold because his dad thought he was still in danger from something that happened years ago. He was old enough to take care of himself, it wouldn't be like when he was little; if there was – and he doubted it – some danger, then Teddy could handle it. He had before, when he was eight and the pair of wizards had tried to grab him. Teddy's fear had bubbled up and he'd turned, slashing and howling and fighting to get away. The wolf had taken over completely, and both men had been admitted to St. Mungo's long-term ward. They hadn't become werewolves, thankfully – for all the progress in werewolf rights that had been made, Teddy still would've been thrown in Azkaban for life. As it was, Harry had had to call in a lot of favours and pay a hefty fine.

Teddy whirled around and went to the window. He was going stir crazy, and he'd not even been home from Hogwarts a day. Every summer, every break, he was forced to stay inside while Harry was at work – there was only so much time one could spend on the computer. Last night, when he'd gone out to save those people, was the first time he'd ever felt truly free, really alive. The adrenaline pulsing through his veins had lit his blood on fire, and he wanted it again. He needed it again.

The boy stalked over to the door and swung it open wide. The woman and her car were long gone, and all he could see was the vast expanse before him. The main road was half a kilometer down from the house, and the house was surrounded by undeveloped land, with trees that stood tall and a river that wound its way around the property. Farther back there was a larger house, the Potter mansion, though it was hidden by a thick covering of trees. Harry and Teddy lived in one of the servant's homes from centuries ago – it was still plenty large and far better for the pair of them than the near-castle with hundreds of rooms.

The cool breeze teased along Teddy's rainbow-colored locks, tempting him to come outside. He hesitated, then saw a fox running free along the river bank. He just wanted to go outside, have a little freedom, to not be locked inside all the time. What could be so wrong with that?

Quickly, the teen checked his watch and noted that Harry wouldn't be home for several hours yet. He could rig his phone to send the proper texts to his dad at the right time, it wouldn't be that difficult and he could just go outside for a bit.

Before he could change his mind, Teddy set up the texts and left his phone on one of the chairs on the porch. He paused before he took the last step onto the paved ground, then steeled his mind and took off running.

He'd always loved the feeling of racing through the air, feet pounding against the ground. Harry had been nervous about letting his son around the grounds unsupervised, though, so he had bought him a treadmill and only let him run outside when the man went with him. Harry hadn't understood the difference, but it was clear to Teddy – the liberating feeling of going somewhere, anywhere, couldn't be replicated on the treadmill or found when keeping pace with someone else. This type of running was wild, free; he could lose himself as his feet hit the ground and just forget the world.

Somewhere along the way, in midstride, the wolf took over and Teddy started pounding forward on four paws rather than two feet. He barely noticed the difference; the wolf was satisfied to just be running, and Teddy was glad enough to be outside that he didn't pay any attention, since he still had majority control.

It must have been hours later when he finally pulled to a stop outside his house. He fell on the ground, exhausted, and changed back before he'd even fully realized he'd changed at all. After a few moments, he hauled himself back up the porch to take a shower.

As the door swung shut behind the boy, the figure in black looked on once more, then raised a walkie-talkie to speak quietly into it. "The target's identity has been confirmed. We move in tomorrow night."

A loud crack echoed through the air and the figure was gone.