Teddy was surprised to find himself right behind Victoire in the version of Platform 9 3/4 with most of the rest of the Potter-Weasley children, since from what he'd heard, only Potters and Weasleys of school age had been sent there so far. He didn't have time to think about it, as his attention was immediately drawn by the menacing men advancing, wands drawn, on Albus's body lying on the ground. Her wand still drawn, Victoire advanced on the men and demanded, "What is going on here? Who do you think you are?" Teddy drew his own wand, ready to back her up, but he did nothing else for the moment. Realizing the value of having surprise backup, he tried to avoid calling attention to himself. Fortunately, his hair was currently its natural brown colour to make it less conspicuous among the Muggles on a day that really didn't need them paying attention to oddities.

"We are Ministry law enforcement" He said the words with an ironic, almost sarcastic emphasis "here to protect the students on their way to Hogwarts, so you had better show some respect, missy! We're here to keep an eye out for any dissidents who show their heads."

"Yeah, and we've found one," a second wizard drawled, gesturing to Albus, who was trying to sit up with legs locked straight and together.

A third rough-looking wizard said, "Wait, you don't think…this kid can't be Harry Potter, can it? I'nnt he supposed to be a 7th-year?"

"The eyes are the right color, and he's got the glasses."

Teddy thought quickly. They were apparently on Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station, but not the right one. That meant this was an elaborate hoax, an alternate universe of some kind, or they had time travelled. Also, Harry Potter was evidently considered a dissident in his 7th year, which had all sorts of bad implications. Most importantly for the time being, it would be a terrible idea for Albus to claim to be Harry Potter's son.

Glancing around to make sure nobody was looking too closely at him, Teddy used his Metamorphmagus abilities to make his hair black and change his face to the disguise he had used for years when he wanted to look more like a member of the Potter family, then adjusted it a bit so he would look a bit less like Harry than when he usually did this. He was 19, so it would be disastrous if he looked too much like Harry, even if he didn't have the scar.

The wizards were still arguing about Albus's identity, and Victoire was protesting that he wasn't Harry Potter, although she thankfully avoided identifying him. Teddy finally stepped forward. "Of course he's not Harry Potter! He's my brother, Albus Lupin. Now would you please let him up? I don't want him to miss the train. It's his first year at Hogwarts, and he's nervous enough as it is."

..

Molly Weasley stood on Platform 9 3/4, anxiously waiting for her daughter to come back from dropping her bags off and say goodbye. She tried not to worry too much, but really, there was nothing to do but worry—at least until she heard four loud pops and turned to see four Death Eaters joining their sinisterly cloaked "Ministry" brethren in surrounding three young schoolboys who looked to be in their third or fourth years at Hogwarts. The first she noticed was…Harry? The boy had jet black hair and a striking resemblance to Harry Potter, but he was much too young, he had no scar under his unruly hair, and his brown eyes were clearly visible on a face with no glasses. He had a defiant expression on his face. Next to him stood a dark and freckled boy and a slender, fair-haired boy who could almost be called "pretty." They both looked terrified, and with good reason, as one of the Death Eaters accused the black-haired boy of being Harry Potter.

"Really." Molly muttered disapprovingly, and started to walk a little closer to the scene.

"I can't be Harry Potter, I'm too young," the boy whined. It seemed to Molly that he put an odd emphasis on the first name. The fair-haired boy kicked him.

One of the Death Eaters spoke over the boy's protestations. "Arrogant Harry Potter, thinking you can just walk right up to the Hogwarts express and say the Dark Lord's name without a care in the world."

The dark-skinned boy spoke up. "Actually, that was me." The Death Eaters and the two other boys looked at him in shock. "Fred Johnson, at your service. I'm so sorry, I didn't know there would be a problem with explaining who sent all these brutes here to check for tickets." The black-haired boy seemed to be trying to whisper urgently to him, but he ignored him, shoving him away lightly.

One of the Death Eaters grabbed Fred's shoulder. "Where are your parents, boy? We need to have a talk." Indeed, as Molly looked around, there was a surprising number of young children who didn't seem to have parents with them.

"Not here. They didn't have time to come to the station today, lucky you."
"And who are your parents?" On this, the boy remained silent. The Death Eater gave a growl of frustration and turned to look at another Death Eater, his hand still firm on the boy's shoulder. "This kid's clearly not supposed to be here. I'm going to take him in and find out who he is." He twisted on the spot and Disapparated, taking the boy with him. The black-haired boy started to shout, but the fair-haired boy kicked him and grabbed his shoulder. That boy has the right idea. It's not going to do any good to draw their attention. As much as she seethed with rage, she really couldn't risk trying to do anything.

Molly didn't notice at first when four more children came through the barrier with some luggage, but then one of them who was the spitting image of Harry Potter the first time Molly saw him, was hit by a Leg-Locker Curse, and another saw Molly and came running towards her. The tiny redheaded girl couldn't possibly be old enough for Hogwarts yet. She threw her arms around Molly and buried her face in her stomach, yelling unintelligibly. Did she just say "Grandmum?" Molly was thoroughly bewildered, but her mothering instinct kicked in and she bent down to comfort the girl, hugging her back and trying to soothe her with meaningless sentences. Apparently this was the right thing to do, as the girl held her no less tightly, but Molly could still feel her relaxing a bit. She turned her attention back to the spectacle and saw a young man who looked like he could be the older brother of the Harry Potter lookalike and the other black-haired boy. Molly heard him claim the boy on the floor as his brother, Albus Lupin, and started to step forward and question him further. As far as she knew, Remus Lupin had no living magical relatives, so who were these boys supposed to be?

Molly didn't get very far, as she had forgotten about the girl holding her tightly and standing in her way, and before could say anything, she was hit with a Silencio from a brown-haired 4th or 5th year girl. "I'm sorry I Charmed you, but it had to be done. I couldn't let you make a scene." Molly struggled to let go of her anger—the girl was right, after all—and focus back on the confrontation. The Death Eaters seemed to have backed down in the face of an adult, the gutless worms.

"If he's got his ticket, he'd better go and board before there is any more unpleasantness," one said conversationally as the young man helped his brother to his feet. "I don't suppose you know who these two troublemakers are?" A look of concern appeared on the young man's face.

"My other brother, James. He's always getting into trouble."

"And my brother, Louis. Come along now," said a stunning blonde girl, who seemed to be struggling to calm down and put her wand away.

"Well keep them on a tighter leash. They won't be able to get away with this sort of behavior at Hogwarts this year."

"Of course sir, I'm sorry we didn't keep a better eye on them, but Teddy and I just got a little distracted," the girl said, smiling sweetly at the young man and giving him a peck on the lips. The older black-haired boy gagged. The young redheaded girl had finally detached herself from Molly's waist, and when she saw the kiss, she cheered quietly.

"I knew it!"

"Well, run along now. The train won't wait," the Death Eater said uncomfortably. He and some of his colleagues Disapparated, while others returned to the watchful positions they had held before the disturbance. Molly breathed a sigh of relief, then immediately felt guilty. What's going to happen to that poor dark-skinned boy?

"Mum, who's this?" At the sound of Ginny's voice, Molly was swept with a wave a gratefulness that her daughter was safe at the moment, and she turned to give her a hug and a kiss goodbye, but the little redheaded girl got there first, hugging Ginny as tightly as she had hugged Molly moments earlier.

"Mummy, why did the scary men attack Al?" I definitely heard "Mummy" that time.

The brown-haired girl who had Silenced Molly pried the little girl off of Ginny, saying, "I'm sorry about that." Taking the little girl by the shoulders, she said with emphasis, "That's not your Mummy, Lily. This girl is still in school, and she's never even met you before, okay?" Molly thought it odd that a girl who looked at least 8 years old could get confused about who her Mum was, but she did look remarkably like Ginny had at that age, so maybe her Mum looked like Ginny. Molly tried to comment on the resemblance, but then she remembered that she couldn't. Tapping the brown-haired girl on the shoulder, Molly gave her a harsh glare and gestured to her throat. The girl apologized and did the counterspell, letting Molly speak again. Then she took Lily by the hand and walked off towards Teddy, leaving Molly and her daughter to stare after them.

"That was odd," Ginny stated the obvious, then turned back to her Mum. "But we don't have much time, so let's say goodbye."

..

Someone, Victoire suspected her sister, had made Lucy and Rose split off from the rest during the confrontation so they would be less conspicuous, and since it was the only place left to go, they had boarded the Hogwarts express. Victoire had never had any semblance of control over this situation, but even still she felt that control slipping further away.

"Were those…Death Eaters?" James asked with none of his usual bravado.
"I think so," Teddy confirmed. "We're back in time or something, but it's too late to avoid messing with the timeline and we're all still here, so I think we have to assume it's safe to change things."

"How do we get back?" James asked.

"I don't think we can," Albus said. "We came out on the other side of the barrier, but when we walked through we ended up here, not with Mum and Dad."
"But what are we going to do?" Victoire asked, a hint of hysteria entering her voice. "Those were Death Eaters!"

"Right now we have to try to blend in. Some of the others have gotten on the train already, so I guess the tickets still work. For our covers, I think we can all use our real first names. James, Al, and Lily will be my siblings and named Lupin, your family can be an extra branch of the Delacours, it will be harder for them to check the records from France."

"Teddy!" James tried to get Teddy's attention, but was ignored.
"And we can say we came here because I wanted to go to school in my boyfriend's country." Victoire and Teddy both blushed wildly at the word "boyfriend." Their incipient relationship had been secret until today. "But where did your families come from?"

"Maybe we're an illegitimate branch of half-bloods who stopped being homeschooled when our father died? I'll have to come up with a story and go talk to the school while the train is on its way there. We can coordinate stories with our mirrorphones. Call me as soon as you can find a free compartment."

"Will you shut up for a minute and listen to me?" James demanded.

"James, we do not have time for this!" Teddy said sternly.

"But they've got Fred!" Victoire's face went white.

"What?"

"They've got Fred!"

Louis elaborated, "He said He Who Must Not Be Named's name and activated the Taboo, and then he mouthed off to them and they took him away. I think he was winding them up on purpose so they wouldn't pay attention to how much James looks like his dad." They were all silent for a moment, minds whirling with thoughts, before Victoire decided,

"There's nothing we can do about that right now. We need to figure out what to do with everyone else and get on the train before it leaves. What are we going to do for the other cover stories?"
"Maybe Molly, Lucy, and Rose could be Weasleys?" Louis suggested. "Grandmum and Grandad are always saying how there were too many Weasleys to keep track of even before we were all born."

"That might work. Of course, I'll need to get fake documents for everyone, and figure out what happened to Fred."

"You'll also need to watch Lily and Hugo," Molly said, walking up with them. "They're still too young for Hogwarts, remember?"
"Damn!"
"Watch your language!" Lily said in a credible imitation of her mum's tone. Teddy smiled at the familiar admonishment.

"Sorry, Lils. Okay, Lily and Hugo come here, I'll get you home. The rest of you had better get on that train." Victoire pulled Teddy into a tight hug, and he could feel her shaking with nerves and stress.

"Be careful!"
"Don't worry, I'll figure something out," Teddy said, trying to put on a brave face. "You are a strong, wonderful girl, don't you forget it. Now you have to be strong for all our cousins and siblings, can you do that? For me?" Victoire took a few deep breaths and pulled herself together.

"You come back to me, Teddy Lupin. There better be more where that snog came from earlier."

"Believe me, there are." Teddy smiled and they leaned in closer, but before they could kiss, James called out,

"Ewww, not again! Come on!" He tugged on Victoire's hand and pulled her away.

"Goodbye! Call me!"
"Goodbye!"

"Goodbye!" Hugo and Lily added their voices and waved. As soon as they had boarded, Teddy turned to walk away, still holding the young ones' hands.

"Why are we leaving? The train hasn't left yet!" Lily complained.

"I'm sorry, but we've really got a lot to do, and I want to get out of here." Hugo, gripping Teddy's hand like a vice as he looked around at the sinister dark-cloaked figures watching the platform, clearly agreed. "But I need to figure out where to go."

"You said you would take us home," Hugo said.

"Yes, but your parents don't live in your house yet. But…I'm pretty sure nobody's living in Lily's home right now. You two ready for Side-Along?"
"Ugh, I hate Apparating," Lily complained.

"Sorry, but it's the only way we have to travel, since your car won't be in the parking lot in this time. Hold on."

..

When Teddy had just gone off to Hogwarts and James was turning five and starting primary school, the Potters had moved from Grimmauld Place in London to Drakeshaugh, a country home in the forest in the far north of England. Nobody had owned it for many years previously, so as Teddy had hoped, it was empty when they arrived. Queasy, the two kids sat down for a bit to keep from throwing up. Then Hugo asked, "Are Rose and everyone else going to be okay?"

"Don't worry, I'll make sure they're alright. I know a couple of them have mirrorphones, so they can stay in touch. But right now we need to find you somewhere safe to stay so I can go help them."

"It's not fair!" Lily pouted, but before she could work herself into a rant about being left out, Hugo spoke up with delight,

"Can we go to Grandmum and Grandpa Granger's?"

"No, Hugo. They're in Australia right now, actually."

"Oh, I remember they went there! Dad said the people in Australia are upside-down, but Mum said that's not how gravity works on a spherical planet."

Teddy continued talking, at this point just thinking out loud. "The Burrow's probably being watched, and so is Gran's house, Grimmauld Place, and Shell Cottage. All of the Ministry safe houses are owned by Death Eaters, Diagon Alley's definitely not safe, none of my friends' families would know me and I don't want to put them in danger anyway…"

Lily had an idea when she heard the word "friends." "Can we go to Lintzgarth? I wanna see Annie." When the Potters moved into Drakeshaugh eight years ago, they quickly became friends with a neighboring family: Mike and Jacqui Charlton and their two children: Henry, who was James's age and his best friend before Hogwarts, and Annie, who was between Albus and Lily. The Charltons and the Potters had babysat each other's children numerous times.

Hugo assumed a haughty expression and retorted, "We can't see Annie, we're back in time. She's not even born yet." But Teddy thought, staying with Muggles isn't a terrible idea. If only I knew of more Muggles from this time.

"I don't think the Charltons live there yet," Teddy observed. I could probably find Michael Charlton with that located spell they taught us a few weeks ago at the Auror Academy, but I'll never find Jacqui without knowing her last name. I wonder if they're dating yet. "Do you think Mr. Charlton would have been willing to watch you (he'd learned to stop using the word "babysit" several years back after Lily blew up a drinking glass in a fit of pique) when he was my age?" Teddy had started at Hogwarts the year the Potters moved to Drakeshaugh, so he didn't know the Charltons nearly as well as his god-siblings.

Lily pulled a face, thinking. "I don't know. Probably. Mrs. Charlton says he never stopped being a kid himself."
"That's what Mum said about Dad!" Hugo said. Teddy thought, And if Uncle Ron wasn't being chased across the country by Death Eaters right now, I'd trust him to watch them. Might be worth a shot.

A/N: Drakeshaugh and the Charltons are from Northumbrian's excellent fanfic Strangers at Drakeshaugh and others.