Note: Once again I will not say sorry for the cliffhanger! I will, however, say sorry for taking so long to update, I've been very busy, what with the end of college and going on holiday! But I'm now officially BACK, so updates will be relatively speedy! Thank you to my reviewers, you really do make me smile! =)

Watch out for another story set in the Blood 'ficverse that I will be posting some time soon! Requested by inuyashagirl22, Tonks takes a day off work to help out at Remus' duelling club at Hogwarts...naturally, chaos ensues! =)

If anybody else ever has any requests, feel free to ask! I have quite a long to do list right now, but chances are I'll get round to them all eventually! =)

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

6: At Auror Headquarters

"Miss Ellison, the Astronomy Tower. Mr. Eddings, the first floor. Professor Flitwick, the second floor..."

As Teddy numbly listened to the Headmistress' instructions to the assembled teachers and prefects, he reached to pick up his father's wand that had been left upon the bedside table, examining it with a sense of dread.

"...Mr. Lupin will remain here with Madam Pomfrey."

At the sound of his name, Teddy's gaze snapped up to look at Professor McGonnagall, and he rapidly shook his head.

"I want to help look..."

"Now off you go, all of you. Quickly now, he's in a very bad way!" McGonnagall continued, and Teddy felt frustration bubbling up inside of him at being ignored yet again. As the search party dispersed, Teddy pocketed the wand and folded his arms firmly across his chest.

"I want to help look for my dad!" he informed the headmistress, quite bravely he felt. "This is a big castle, the more people we have looking for him, the faster we'll find him."

McGonnagall turned to face him, expression uncharacteristically soft.

"I'm afraid I need you to wait here, Teddy." she told him. "I don't think either of your parents would forgive me if I let you go wandering around by yourself."

"Why?" Teddy asked, bemused at her words. "I walk around on my own all the time, why shouldn't I..." He trailed off into silence and drew in a sharp breath as realization struck him painfully in the chest, causing him to take a stumbling step backwards. Again, he shook his head vigorously. "You said Dad was delirious! You said he wasn't thinking straight! He's just...just wandered off...hasn't he? He hasn't...somebody hasn't..."

"I honestly don't know quite what has happened to him, Teddy." McGonnagall explained, and Teddy could not quite comprehend how her voice was so calm. "But somebody inside of the castle has already poisoned him. It is possible that he has been...taken. And that is why you must stay here with me and not go wandering the corridors. Your father would want you to stay here where I can keep an eye on you."

"You're wrong!" Teddy shouted, hair a confused mix of red and grey. "You have to be wrong! If...if somebody took him...well...well I would have woken up! He...he would have struggled..."

Her face was frighteningly grave as she reasoned:

"Your father was probably unconscious, he would not have struggled in the slightest."

"He'd wake up! And...and if somebody took him...well the Death Eaters are after me too, aren't they? I was right here! If...if they were taking him away...well why wouldn't they take me too? See! You're wrong! He's just wandered off! And I need to help find him!" And with that, before McGonnagal could say a word, he reached to wipe at the tears upon his face with a sleeve and made a run for the door, only to collide with a blur of red and almost fall flat on his back. A hand grabbed his arm to steady him.

"Careful there, Teddy." a familiar voice said, and Teddy found himself looking up at his godfather, flanked by a second familiar looking Auror.

Harry Potter and Ron Weasley exchanged a worried glance before the former informed McGonnagal:

"I got your note."

The headmistress looked surprisingly displeased by this news.

"It was addressed to Tonks." she pointed out, and Teddy froze, panicked again and the rather reluctant expression upon the Auror's face as he mumbled:

"Yeah...I know it was..."

When Harry seemed unprepared to continue, Ron admitted:

"Tonks is missing."

Under the weight of the fear that struck him like a stunning jinx, Teddy's knees instantly buckled. Harry reached to put his arms firmly around the boy, holding him upright.

"It's okay, Teddy." he whispered. "We're going to find her. The whole Auror department and half of Magical Law Enforcement's on it! Not to mention the Order all got wind of it, too. Everybody's looking, we'll find her in no time."

"Since when?" McGonnagal asked, voice a little higher than usual in surprise.

"A few days ago." Ron explained, reaching to run a hand through his red hair with a deep sigh. "Kingsley's gone ape, the whole Ministry's buzzing. Not had anything like this since Voldemort..."

"Ron!"

"...but of course it's nothing like that, really. She'll show up! Not the Head of Aurors for nothing, is she, eh Ted?" He nodded his head and offered Teddy a grin that was far too optimistic as far as the child was concerned.

"We're here to take Teddy somewhere safe." Harry explained, patting the boy comfortingly on the back. "After what's happened to Remus, Hogwarts isn't the best place for him."

"No," McGonnagal agreed with a heavy sigh. "It isn't. Well then, you best be getting along. I'll have some of his things packed and send them along behind you. Where are you taking him?"

"The Ministry." Harry supplied as he attempted to prize Teddy away from the front of his robes. "No place safer for him. Come on, Ted, I know it's difficult, but the sooner we get to the Ministry the sooner Ron and I can carry on looking for your parents..."

Teddy was vaguely aware of Harry's hands upon his shoulders, guiding him out of the Hospital Wing and down the corridor.

"This is all wrong." he whimpered, scuffing his shoes upon the stone floor as he went. "Everything's wrong, I don't need to go anywhere, I need to help find Dad, I...I need my dad...to look after me..."

"We're going to find him, Teddy, I promise. Don't worry, he'll be fine."

"He's...he's really sick...and...and Mum..."

"It's going to be okay."

"They could...could die...Dad's really sick and...and the Death Eaters..."

"Your dad, Teddy, is as tough as dragon hide boots, and if a bunch of former Death Eaters reckon your mum will let them walk all over her, they've got another thing coming."

Despite Harry's reassurances, Teddy continued to stutter and sob as they walked to the nearest teacher's office and flooed to the Ministry. By the time they had began to make their way across the highly polished floor of the Atrium, Teddy's tears appeared to have exhausted him somewhat and he fell into silence, tears still cascading freely down his face.

He barely recalled their trip in the elevator and their short walk to Auror Headquarters. He was too busy remembering just how pale Remus' face had been the night before, how cold his skin had felt to touch when Teddy had held his hand, and the desperate whispers that had filled the classroom...

Help me...somebody help me...

Such fear, such terror, so unlike his father, Teddy thought. Remus wasn't supposed to be afraid of anything. He was always so calm, so utterly fearless...

Help me...

The doors to Auror Headquarters were pushed open and Teddy found himself pushed inside, straight into chaos. The office was a hive of activity, at the desk closest to the door a couple of Aurors were busy examining a huge map, jabbing fingers at it and having a rapid conversation that Teddy could not quite make out over the noise of the office at large. At the back of the office a large group of Aurors were busy staring at a huge piece of paper that had been tacked to the wall, upon which was drawn some sort of time line. Yet another Auror was stood pointing at different points upon the line with her wand as she addressed the rest, tapping the wall with emphasis and causing the others to mumble amongst themselves. At another desk, a witch was bent low over a thick folder full of documents, flipping through pages as she skimmed through the information searchingly. Paper memos streaked above the peoples' heads at lightning speed, the sight made Teddy feel a little dizzy.

Harry's hand left Teddy's shoulder as a blonde haired Auror sidled up to them, looking more than a little flustered.

"Any news?" Ron asked from over Harry's shoulder, and the blonde wizard shook his head.

"Not really, the leads have dried up again, so we're just going over the events again, see if we missed anything."

Harry reached into the pocket of his robes and drew out a scrap of paper, holding it out to the man.

"Heard of him?" he asked, as Teddy attempted to get a glimpse of what was written upon it.

"Mortimer Flint..." the other Auror squinted down at the name with a frown. "Don't think so, no..."

"Well look him up." Harry instructed, hand back upon Teddy's shoulder. "New Potions Master at Hogwarts and all of a sudden the Defense Professor gets poisoned and both disappear from the castle? Sounds a bit obvious if you ask me. Come on, Teddy."

"Flint's disappeared too?" Teddy asked as he was led towards the door at the opposite end of the room. "How'd you know that?"

"Ron and I went to find him before we collected you, what with your dad getting poisoned. Couldn't find him anywhere. McGonnagal's going to kick herself." They reached the door and Harry motioned Teddy into the next room. "Now you wait here for a bit, okay? Don't worry, Ted, we'll have your mum and dad back before you know it."

And with that, Harry closed the door firmly behind the boy, and Teddy found himself all alone. He turned to look around the room, feeling somewhat calmed by the sudden silence. There had to be some form of silencing charm on the door, he mused.

Bookcases full of files lined the side walls and a vast framed picture dominated the back wall behind the large wooden desk. The members of the second Order of the Phoenix waved enthusiastically at him from inside their frame, but Teddy did not so much as smile back. He wandered forward to sink into the large chair behind the desk, only to find himself staring at a framed photograph out of which his ten year old self and his parents smiled at him.

Teddy closed his eyes. And he remained that way, sat silently in his mother's office for some half an hour until the peaceful atmosphere was finally disturbed.

At the sound of a odd whooshing sound, Teddy's eyes snapped open and he looked up searchingly for the source of the noise. High above him, he caught sight of what appeared to be a small hole in the ceiling, and just as he was beginning to wonder exactly why it was there, a letter came shooting out of it, coming to land upon the desk in front of him with a soft thwack.

Glancing at the closed door, Teddy hesitated only briefly before leaning forward to look at the envelope.

Teddy Remus Lupin

Head of Aurors' Office

Auror Headquarters

The Ministry of Magic

London

Teddy reached with a trembling hand to pick up the letter, and carefully reached to pull open the envelope. Inside he found a grubby piece of paper, upon which was scrawled a brief message in barely coherent handwriting. It began:

We have your parents.

If you want to see them alive ever again, I suggest you follow these instructions. Exactly.