A/N: Please, please forgive me for abandoning this fic for so long. It went such great guns and then it basically died for six months. But I'm reviving it! See.

This chapter serves two purposes: to get my mindset back into the fic, and to set the stage for the Hallowe'en adventure I have planned for these kids. The story will take on a bit of a different style for a couple of chapters after this, but then I hope it'll get back to normal. Really I just clung on to the first plot bunny that came along in order to get the story going again.

Updates won't be frequent, but I'm hoping they'll be more frequent than the never they've been. I have big plans for this quartet, and I have no intention to abandon them completely.

Thanks for staying tuned:)

PS. If you wouldn't mind mentioning in any comments you might feel inclined to give if I'm making Winnie a bit over the top, I'd appreciate it. I need a life force in the group, and shy-girl Julia, patient Teddy and smart-kid Oliver don't quite fulfill that void. I'm just not sure if she's a bit too much life, or if I'm just being overly critical of my own work. Thaaaaank you!

Life at Hogwarts over the next month became almost normal in comparison to the exciting first few weeks. Teddy did indeed get used to his odd magnetism toward Riley, which was fortunate as they shared a dorm, and the situation had the potential to get rather awkward. Riley had taken to keeping his distance, although they were still on relatively good speaking terms; they just both felt most comfortable if they were shouting at one another from opposite sides of the come common room, and so that is what they most often did.

Teddy had received two letters from Harry on the subject. The first had come quite soon after and read only:

I'll talk to Poppy.

The second took much longer to come, and was much less direct.

She's stubborn, and actually quite good with a wand once you get her angry. Whatever she knows, she's not passing along. I'll stay on it, but I think it might be best if you (and then there was a good lot of scratching out) just get used to things. It doesn't seem to be curable. Although there have been cases before. Just stick with it. I'll let you know if anything changes.

Teddy lay this letter down on the table and frowned down at it, pressing his fingertips together pensively. "Hmm."

"Harry helpful?" Winnie asked in what she clearly seemed to think was an offhand tone through a mouthful of bacon.

"Not terribly."

Winnie leaned over and read the letter over. "I'll say." She shook her head. "I don't know how you stay so calm about this stuff, Teds. I'd be going nuts trying to find out everything I can. I mean, it's not a minor problem."

Teddy sighed and ran his hands over his face, followed by a checking over of the features to make sure everything was in its proper place. "I know. But if no one wants to tell me about it, it's probably not that important anyway. I may as well just let it go."

Oliver snorted into his pumpkin juice. "Teddy, you wouldn't let a feral dog go if you didn't know how to help it."

Julia giggled as Winnie read the letter over a second time with a frown. "Poppy mentioned it had happened before, too. Neither of them seem willing to go much into it." Winnie gasped dramatically. "Maybe you're cursed! Terminally cursed. And no one wants to say anything because... well, frankly it's hardly sensitive to just come right out and tell someone who's ill that they're simply dying."

"Winnie," Oliver said loudly. "Stop talking."

"MERLIN IT'S TRUE."

"No. You're just making an arse out of yourself. I wanted to save you that humiliation."

Winnie frowned. "You know, the more comfortable you get around here, the crankier you seem to get."

"I'm hardly cranky," Oliver stated, and it was true; he was sporting a broad grin. "I'm being witty. There's a difference."

Teddy continued to frown down at his oatmeal as Winnie and Oliver launched into their breakfast banter, something that was becoming a daily occurrence. Eventually Teddy looked up to see Julia peering over her orange juice at him. "What?" he asked.

"I... I just think that... maybe one of these former cases might be pertaining to... I mean..." Julia cleared her throat. "Maybe there's a reason Madam Pomfrey and Harry are tiptoeing around this issue."

Teddy frowned. "What do you mean?"

"It makes sense why Madam Pomfrey might not say anything. Doctor-patient confidentiality, right? But... Harry's a pretty... pretty powerful Auror, isn't he?"

"Head of the department."

"Right. So he could probably get that information out of her if he wanted to. But it still doesn't make sense why he wouldn't tell you unless... unless there was a reason why you shouldn't know."

Teddy shook his head. "That's not like Harry."

Julia looked sympathetic. "He wasn't exactly upfront about the Wolfsbane potion until you badgered him about it. Nor about how you fall ill every..." she trailed off and looked up at Teddy with a terrified expression on her face.

The comment was not lost on Teddy. He stared at Julia evenly, torn between curiosity and horror. Winnie and Oliver looked up with raised eyebrows, feeling the tension emanating from Teddy as Julia blushed and looked down at her oatmeal. "No one else was in the room for that conversation," he said in an even, low tone as the seconds ticked by.

"I... I know, I mean, I was just... coming back from the washroom, and..."

"How much did you hear?" he continued in the same low tone. He felt his hair stand on end. Julia looked at Teddy with wide eyes.

"All of it," she whispered. "I'm really sorry, Teddy, I didn't mean..."

"What are you two talking about?" Winnie asked curiously, glancing at Teddy and starting slightly at the sight of him. "Geez, Ted, chill out. I've never seen you this on edge before."

Teddy glanced at Julia and finally registered how pale she was looking as she recoiled under his gaze. He forced his eyes closed and shook his head hard, forcing the brown droopy mop onto his head. "It's nothing," he muttered into his oatmeal. "Sorry."

"No, that was definitely something," Winnie pressed, staring hard at Teddy. "What conversation? When do you fall ill?"

"Winnie," Oliver said. "I think Teddy's made it pretty clear he's not keen on talking about it. Just let it drop."

Winnie turned toward Oliver and opened her mouth as though to argue, but seemed to think better of it at the last minute, settling instead for a shrug as she shoveled a piece of toast into her mouth. Oliver raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked to Teddy as though to exchange a glance, but Teddy was still downcast toward his breakfast. Oliver looked sideways at Julia, who was staring with a knitted brow at her own plate. Winnie seemed to simply refuse to comment on anything further for the meal, and responded to Oliver's questions with an indifferent shrug or an enthusiastic stuffing of her face. Oliver sighed and finished his meal in relative silence until Hagrid stumbled into the Great Hall carrying a very, very large pumpkin.

Winnie squealed. Loudly. Teddy winced and brought up a finger as though to clean out his ear.

"Hallowe'en! It's Hallowe'en! Today!" she exclaimed, dancing on the spot.

"Tomorrow," Oliver corrected automatically, smiling.

"Tomorrow!" she proclaimed with equal enthusiasm. "Oh, it'll be such fun, I can't wait for the feast."

"How you keep packing away all that food is of endless curiosity to me, Wins," Oliver grinned, happy to have vocal company back. "You're like six inches high."

Winnie gasped and tried to look scandalized. "I will have you know that I'm seven inches at least, Oliver Kirkpatrick," she scolded with a grin. "Besides, I need to build my strength. The Quidditch match against Slytherin is only two weeks away."

Oliver's grin widened as he stared off into the distance fondly. "Ah, yes. I can see it now. 'Thumbelina crushed by The Incredible Hulk: The Tragic Death of Winnifred Wood'."

"Har har. And I wish you would quit calling me that thumb thing, I have no ruddy idea what that means. And what's a Helk?"

"It's... nevermind," Oliver said as he rose from his chair. The group left the hall and sauntered toward their class, chatting merrily about Hallowe'en.

All except Teddy. Teddy was silently considering how disastrous it was that Julia knew his father had been a werewolf. Her somewhat odd behavior was now mostly explained (aside from the disappearing, but Teddy decided to set that aside for now). She has certainly recoiled when Teddy was interrogating her. The rational part of his mind was telling him that he hadn't exactly reacted kindly to the news that she knew and that she was probably just afraid he'd get angry, but the other, significantly larger portion of his brain was quite convinced that she was just generally afraid of him now. Werewolves were sketchy characters, after all. She had certainly been avoiding him when he had been acting off after he'd just gotten out of the hospital wing. Hadn't she stepped out of his reach when he'd put out an arm to comfort her? She obviously would already have known at that point... and sure, she seemed calm at all other times, but he'd just gotten over his monthly bout of the 'flu' a couple weeks ago. Maybe she thought the new moon had an effect on him, too. Maybe she thought he was really dangerous, and that's why she'd 'accidentally' let it slip in front of their friends. Maybe—

"So, Teddy, I went skinny-dipping with your godfather the other night, he's super hot," Winnie said offhandedly, flipping her hair back.

"You do realize that every time you say something like that, my skeleton tries to crawl out of my skin, right?" Teddy scowled.

"Aaah. Someone's still a Cranky Frank."

"I am not a Cranky Frank," Teddy said stubbornly, crossing his arms and pouting.

"Uh-huh. Whatever you say, Sullen Sully."

"Stop nicknaming me."

"Stop being a mope and I won't have to. What's up with you today?"

"Nothing."

"Convincing." She nodded knowingly and swept into the classroom. Oliver clapped him on the back and offered a small smile before going in after her. Teddy made to follow suit, but a hand grabbed him around the wrist.

"Can I... er, can we... talk for a second?" Julia asked meekly, but with a determined expression. Teddy held back and nodded behind her, indicating an empty classroom. It was about as close to privacy as they were going to get at Hogwarts... unless Peeves showed up.

Julia shut the door quietly behind her and immediately started babbling. "I didn't mean to let it slip, Teddy, I really didn't, they don't know anything I don't think, I dropped a couple of werewolf jokes when we were talking about Hallowe'en and they didn't respond strangely at all, and I don't care that your dad was a werewolf or that you might have some of his tendencies, I mean it makes you different, but you're so unafraid to be different that I think it kinda helps who you are, and I know werewolves are seen as dangerous but they can't all be, I mean, that's why there was is the Wolfsbane potion, to help people who don't want to hurt people at the full moon, and even if I hadn't overheard the conversation I was starting to clue in right away anyway, when I heard Madam Pomfrey mention the Wolfsbane potion and then when she actually administered it to you I figured you were probably a werewolf, but then I figured out that it wouldn't make sense if you were because I was with you all that night and you didn't transform even without the potion, you were just unconscious, and so I was in the process of figuring it out when I overheard and I'm sorry, I'm just really sorry, I promise I'll be more careful, and—"

Teddy had gotten up off the desk he had seated himself on, strode over to where Julia was still standing near the door, and wrapped her in a huge hug. Julia faltered silent and hugged him back after a moment. "Thank you," he muttered into her hair.

Julia sniffed. "For what?" she whispered incredulously.

"For not being afraid of me."

Julia broke away and shook her head. "Why would I be afraid of you? You're still Teddy. I only want to help. That's where my sentence was going before you cut me off, actually..." She took a deep breath. "I think your Riley-smelling thing is really related to your werewolfish attributes. That's why I kept asking you to talk to Harry. I thought he'd tell you, but... maybe there's more to it than I thought."

"Well, dear Julia," Teddy said fondly, quite happy to be back on good terms with his best friend, "the overactive sense of smell does tend to come with the wolfish territory."

"I don't mean just that," she insisted, shaking her head hard. "I mean more that everyone seems to be beating around the bush about something or other. They're all saying it's happened before, but they won't say who. It makes sense that it would have been..."

"My dad," Teddy finished for her, looking pensive. Actually, it did make sense. Madam Pomfrey wasn't necessarily aware that Teddy knew his father's history, and Harry was still trying to protect him from the conclusion Teddy would inevitably come to (and already had) that he was somehow turning into a werewolf. "But why?" he asked suddenly. "If my dad did have it before me, why did it happen, and why was it Riley? Or whoever it was for dad," Teddy added.

Julia smiled grimly. "You know more about werewolfishness than I do. I just know potions."

Teddy retreated into thought again. It was worthwhile finding someone who would tell him frankly what was going on. "Usually I'd go to Harry, but he's not being straightforward. All of dad's school friends were dead before he was, so that cancels them out." Julia winced at Teddy's offhand tone. "As far as I know, my grandparents on dad's side are dead. Hermione would know a bit about werewolves, but she'll likely just tell me to go ask Harry." Teddy felt his hair turn black in frustration, and he ran his hand through it.

"What about someone at the school?" Julia prompted.

"Madam Pomfrey knew the most about his werewolfishness," Teddy mused, "but she's not talking. McGonagall might have known, but I don't think she'd tell me much either."

Julia suddenly snapped her fingers. "What about Hagrid?" she asked excitedly. "He likes magical creatures, right? And he's well-acquainted with the grounds..."

Teddy nodded slowly. "If there was going to be anyone else who knew, it'd be Hagrid. Dumbledore obviously knew, but since I'm not keen to stumble into McGonagall's office to talk to a portrait... Dumbledore really trusted Hagrid too." Teddy nodded with resolve and slid off the desk. "I think I've got to go talk to him now. You'd best go on to Transfiguration, I can stand to miss a lesson..."

But Julia was shaking her head. "Can I... I mean, would it be all right if I came with you?"

Teddy frowned. "Are you sure you want to?"

Julia nodded. "I really want to help. It's... the least I can do?"

He smiled. "If you're sure. It... it might not be a pleasant visit."

"That's okay," she said with resolve, waving off his comment. "I got myself involved in this, the least I can do is help you figure things out now."

The thought Teddy had pushed to the back of his mind suddenly sprang to the forefront. "How did you overhear us?" he asked suddenly. "You disappeared beforehand. Completely. Julia-style poof."

Teddy thought he saw terror, or recognition, flash in Julia's eyes, but after an uncertain moment she looked at the floor. "I... I was coming back from the washroom..."

"I've heard that one before, Julia," he said quietly. "I think I'm not the only one hiding something here."

Julia blushed and didn't look up. "I... I just..."

"Hey, okay, no pressure," he said quietly. "I'm just concerned."

"I know," she whispered. "Someday. Someday I'll tell you, I promise. Just... not now, okay?"

"Sure, Julia." The friends slipped out of the classroom and snuck out of the castle together in silence, headed across the grounds towards Hagrid's cabin in the autumn air.