Note: Here we are again! Thank you to everybody who has reviewed! I hope you enjoy this chapter! I am not sure when I will update next...it could be a while! So, enjoy it while you can! =)

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor am I making any money from this piece of writing.

7: Acceptance

Carrie Winters dropped down onto the sofa in her neighbors' living room, before looking up and staring at the boy stood in front of her, bewildered.

"I have...questions." she announced after a sizable pause.

For the first time since he had watched his father disappear out of the front door, Teddy Lupin grinned.

"I bet you do!" he cried, clapping his hands together in amusement.

"This isn't funny, Teddy." Carrie told him, folding her arms firmly across her chest. "At least...I don't think your dad thinks it is."

"On days like this Dad doesn't think anything is funny..."

"I don't mean that sort of funny!"

At Carrie's snapping, Teddy seemingly sobered. He dropped down onto the carpet, crossing his legs and folding his hands into his lap, fixing her with an expectant look.

"Right..." Carrie sat straighter and attempted to order her thoughts, deciding to start from the beginning of the whole bizarre sequence. "So...so that thing you're dad had...the stick thing...?"

"It's a wand." Teddy supplied, smiling at her widening eyes.

"Right...so...wizards and witches use wands to do...magic?"

"Most of them, yes. Some of them can do it without a wand, or without speaking. But that's tricky."

"Right. And...what's the Ministry?"

"The Ministry of Magic. It's our government. My Mum works there," Teddy grinned again, chest swelling somewhat proudly as he said: "She's an Auror." At Carrie's blank expression he added: "That's a dark wizard catcher, to you."

"Like the wizard police or something?"

"That would be Magical Law Enforcement...the Aurors do the more dangerous stuff."

"Like the army?"

"Sort of."

"Okay...so...what's an Obliviator? It sounds scary." Carrie attempted to keep her expression neutral, her tone light-hearted. She didn't want Teddy to know that this particular question had her feeling bordering on afraid. She wondered if Mr. Lupin had considered just what his conversation with Teddy would do to her nerves. She suspected not.

"The Obliviator Squad are there to make sure muggles don't find out about us. They modify their memories to make them forget stuff."

The casual way in which Teddy delivered this frightening fact only served to alarm Carrie more than ever.

"M...modify their memories?"

"Yeah, it's just a spell, doesn't hurt or anything. The muggles wake up and think something completely different happened, they don't remember a thing. It's pretty clever..."

"That's what's going to happen to me? I'm going to...to have my brain...magicked into...into thinking I never met you? They'll mess with my head? What if...what if they do it wrong, what if I forget everything...?"

"Well that's why we have trained Obliviators to do it." Teddy explained, seemingly oblivious to her complete mortification. "They're dead good at it, it doesn't go wrong too often..."

"Too often?"

"...I mean Dad could do it, or Mum, but they aren't really meant to, only the experts are allowed. Can't just have people obliviating random muggles left right and center! Don't worry though, Mum and Dad know quite a few people at the Ministry, not to mention the Minster for Magic. If Dad gets hold of him in time the Obliviators won't show up, you won't forget anything."

Despite this reassurance, Carrie did not feel much better, in fact she was starting to feel a little sick. Until then she had not really considered the possibility that magic could do such dangerous, intimidating things. She had been all too keen on the image of a white rabbit being pulled out of a hat...

I've been sat around a kitchen table, she thought numbly, eating sandwiches with some people who could...who could...

Who could what? If they can alter a person's memory, who knows what else they are capable of!

As she leaned back in her chair and drew her feet up onto the sofa, hugging her knees to her chest, Carrie supposed that if the Lupins had wanted to do something ghastly to her they probably would have done so by now, there had certainly been plenty of opportunities for them, and they had always been so nice to her...

Forget it and move on, she told herself, drawing in a deep breath and moving onto her next question.

"Your dad just disappeared into thin air..."

"That's called apparation. It's a way of transportation, it's quite difficult to get the hang of so you have to pass a test."

"Like driving?"

"I guess."

"And...what did you mean he might splinch himself?"

"That's what happens when you do it wrong; you might leave part of you behind by accident..."

"Leave part of you behind? Like...like being cut in half or something?"

"Yes, it's pretty messy! That's what happened a few years back, you see. Harry sent a note to say Mum had landed herself in St. Mungo's...that's our hospital, by the way...so Dad dragged himself out of bed to go over there to see if she was okay, only he was dead ill at the time and he managed to splinch himself when he apparated. Dead gruesome, it was! Took them ages to sort him out, he was in the hospital longer than Mum was! Mum went utterly ballistic, she said if he ever attempts anything like that again when he's ill she'll hospitalize him permanently!"

Carrie had absolutely no idea what to say or think about this little story; it was quite a hard thing to imagine and quite frankly she was not sure she really wanted to. The idea of severed limbs littering the Lupins' driveway made her feel more than a little nauseous, she she decided to move swiftly on.

"When you said wizards don't like you living around them...does that mean there are like...wizard places? Just for wizards?"

"There are a few, yes, but most places have muggles as well as wizards."

"How come wizards don't want you living around them? Is it because you're different, like you said before?"

Teddy reached to pick at fibres in the carpet, eyes downcast.

"They don't mind Mum and me." he mumbled, frowning deeply. "It's Dad they don't like."

"I can't imagine anybody not liking your dad, he's really nice! Why don't they like him?"

"Oh for all sorts of reasons. They're scared of him, for one..."

"Scared of him?" Carrie chuckled at the mere thought. She was sure that she had never met anybody more approachable and less threatening than Mr. Lupin. Of course she did feel a little apprehensive given what Teddy had been telling her about the potential of magic; but surely that would only concern...muggles, surely wizards and witches would not feel that way. "That's ridiculous!" the girl exclaimed, slapping a hand down upon the arm of the sofa.

"It is a bit." Teddy muttered, sounding strangely uncertain, and Carrie was just about to elaborate on why she thought the notion was so silly when they heard the sound of the front door opening. Teddy immediately leapt to his feet, Carrie scrambled off of the sofa, and they ran to the hallway.

Mrs. Lupin was heading for the kitchen, carrying a large cardboard box somewhat awkwardly under one arm. As she passed them a disgusting, overpowering smell engulfed Carrie's nostrils and she reached to clamp a hand to her mouth, just in case it made her gag.

"Do you have any idea how disgusting that is, Mum?" Teddy wanted to know as his mother dumped the box upon the kitchen table and headed to rinse her hands in the sink. Before she could reply, the boy added: "Carrie's here."

Mrs. Lupin glanced over her shoulder at the two children who had come to a halt in the doorway, smiling cheerfully.

"Hi Carrie! How're you today?" she greeted as she snatched up a tea towel with which to dry her hands.

"I'm very well thank you, Mrs. Lupin." Carrie answered automatically, and Teddy's mother's eyes came to rest upon her son as she abandoned the tea towel and headed back towards the hallway.

"Made Dad that cup of tea, did you?" she asked him as the two children stepped aside to let her pass them.

"Yes Mum."

"Great, love. Where is he?"

Carrie and Teddy watched her stick her head round the sitting room door and, upon finding it empty, head for the staircase.

"He's gone out." Teddy finally admitted once she was halfway up the stairs.

"Mm, fresh air will do him good." Mrs. Lupin said approvingly, turning to head back down again, only to come to an abrupt halt upon the last step when Teddy announced:

"He's apparated to the Ministry."

As a crowded mix of emotions from panic to astonishment fought to imprint themselves upon Mrs. Lupin's face that was fast contorting in what Carrie thought was an alarmingly furious expression, the muggle wondered which the witch was finding more terrible to deal with: the fact that her son had just spouted a loud of wizard talk in front of a supposedly clueless muggle, or the fact that her husband had done something so completely and utterly reckless. Mrs. Lupin seemingly forced herself into at least a degree of composure before asking in a voice that seemed an octave higher than it ought be:

"And why would he have done that, love?"

There was a long pause as Teddy took a deep breath, ready for a second parent's fury, before explaining:

"Because he wants to get hold of Kingsley or one of the others to stop the Obliviators showing up and modifying Carrie's memory, because she saw my hair change colour...and I told her about us being magical."

There was a soft thump as Mrs. Lupin dropped down to sit upon the stairs, burying her face in her hands.

"I knew it!" Carrie heard her hiss furiously to herself into the palms of her hands. "We should have moved to the bloody Outer Hebrides!"

"It's okay, Mum, Carrie won't tell anybody, will you Carrie?"

Carrie shook her head definitely. Besides, she thought to herself as Mrs. Lupin's hands came to rest in her lap, who would ever believe her?

It was at that moment that she noticed that Mrs. Lupin's hair was a vibrant shade of red.

Had it been like that earlier? Surely not, Carrie would have remembered...

"Well I hope not," the witch said, her gaze upon the girl somewhat piercing. "Because if she does it'll be bye bye Auror Department and hello Wizengamot Official Inquiry..."

"She won't tell!" Teddy insisted, just as there came a muffled, odd popping noise from somewhere outside and Mrs. Lupin got to her feet and went to fling the front door open. The two children followed, glancing round her, only to find the driveway empty.

A long few minutes later two figures stumbled around the corner, one propped up by an arm around the other's shoulder. As a rather odd looking blacked haired young man wearing a set of scarlet robes...yes, Carrie confirmed, robes...half dragged Mr. Lupin towards the door, Carrie heard Mrs. Lupin sigh heavily.

"Well this certainly brings back memories...REMUS LUPIN, YOU BLOODY IDIOT...!"

"Keep your voice down, Dora, half the street will hear you." Mr. Lupin called as the other man ducked free of his arm and took a step backwards, gesturing to Teddy's father somewhat elaborately.

"Crisis averted and back in one piece!" he announced with a grin as Mrs. Lupin stormed out of the door towards them. "Honestly, Tonks, give the man some credit, he's not a complete moron!"

Mrs. Lupin shot the man a withering look before throwing her arms tightly around her husband, muttering something into the folds of his cloak as he patted her comfortingly upon the back.

"It's fine, I went to Kingsley's office..." he began, only for the other man to interject:

"Actually Remus I think, technically, you fell into Kingsley's office..."

"Technically, Harry, that's the same thing, and technically, Dora, I didn't pass out so you can't scold me..."

"I think you'll find I can."

"...and I told him what's happened and he sent about a dozen memos off to the Obliviators announcing that he was holding some sort of staff meeting..."

"Ha!"

"...he says he'll have the whole incident covered over by tea time."

Mrs. Lupin drew back from her husband, positively grinning.

"Merlin, I love Kingsley!" She declared, clapping her hands together in relief. She stepped sideways to give Harry a one armed hug, giving Mr. Lupin a sharp tap on the shoulder as she hissed: "Now for the love of Merlin, Remus, go and lie down!"

Mr. Lupin rolled his eyes at her, but she had already turned back to give Harry a proper hug asking cheerfully:

"How're Ginny and the kids?"

It was strange, Carrie mused, to watch them strike up a conversation about something so normal, and yet she was reassured by the mundane nature of the chat that ensued as Mr. Lupin left the other two and headed for the house. As he reached the front step, Teddy launched himself over the threshold, throwing his arms around his father, positively beaming.

"You did it!" the boy cried excitedly, and his father smiled faintly and murmured:

"Of course I did."

Carrie watched Mr. Lupin disentangle himself from his son and, once she had stepped aside, head for the living room. As he disappeared through the doorway, Carrie quite suddenly found herself with a question. She turned to walk purposefully to the living room, suddenly sure that she no longer needed to feel shy.

Mr. Lupin had already sat down upon the sofa and was in the process of reaching for a book.

"Why?"

At the sound of her voice he looked up at her, his face was a rather lifeless shade of grey and yet his eyes were warm and bright. For a moment she was distracted from her question as she mused once again that there was surely no way that anybody could find him frightening.

"Why did you stop them?" she asked, taking a step further towards him. "Why would you do that? It's risky for you, having me know what you are. Why didn't you just let the Obliviators deal with me? Or why didn't you just...just zap my brain the moment you found out?"

"To be honest, I don't really do a great deal of brain zapping, myself." he smiled, resting the book that he had retrieved upon his knees. At her expectant stare he told her: "I did what I did, Carrie, because you're a nice, well mannered young lady and I am glad that my son has made friends with you. I would like him to grow up to be an open minded and accepting person, and he won't end up that way if I tell him to steer clear of muggles and only mix with people of his own kind. We have boundaries enough in life without people throwing up a few extra ones."

And so it was that Caroline Winters was accepted into the weird and wonderful world of wizards; and she knew at that very moment, as Mr. Lupin offered her one last smile before opening his book and beginning to read, that her life would never be the same again.