Chapter Twenty Six

A/N: No reviewers.

Teddy breathed deeply, trying to calm himself enough to be able to think. Panic had clouded his mind, however much he told himself that there was nothing to be frightened about. 'She's still Lena, she's still your sister.'

And yet she was not.

The boy tried another step forward and was met with a low growl unlike any he had heard before. This was an animal defending its territory, not a little girl trying to avoid judgement from her brother.

"Teddy, be careful." Fred implored, his voice edged with guilt. Even asking the Gryffindor to take care was admitting he had something to take care from, admitting that Selena was dangerous when she had professed for so long that she was not. It felt like a betrayal.

Teddy held up a hand to placate the redhead, never taking his eyes off his sister. "Lena, can you hear me? Do you understand what I'm saying?"

The wolf growled again, though the sound was not as harsh as it had been the first time. There was something in that slight progress that gave Teddy the confidence to continue.

"Lena, you don't need to be afraid." he whispered, as if it were a secret that only they shared. Of course, Fred was no danger to her either, but for now, her twin brother was their best chance to convince her she was safe. "I don't want to hurt you, I just want to help. Can you let me do that?"

There was no answer. The wolf merely seemed to sway from side to side, a familiar gesture Selena herself did when she was deep in thought. Her eyes were fixed on the floorboards ahead of her, as if she wanted to pretend her brother was not present. Teddy looked over his shoulder at Fred, then, in answer to the boy's nod, he stepped forward into the wolf's line of vision.

A moment later, he was on the ground, a searing pain spreading from his chest to his shoulder. Fred had cried out in shock, asking over and over if Teddy was alright. It was only then that the boy realised Selena had attacked him.

"Teddy, we've got to restrain her." Fred stated, moving towards his best friend at a very unwise pace, considering he was approaching a cornered werewolf. There was no chance to warn the redhead before he narrowly escaped attack himself, leaping back at the final moment, his back slamming into the far wall.

"Fred, don't try it." Teddy warned, as the boy seemed to steel himself for another attempt. "You're just going to upset her more."

"Teddy, she attacked you!" Fred exclaimed in return. His raised voice elicited another low growl from the wolf across the room. "What if she does it again? I know it's Lena, but she can't control herself! We have to do something!"

"We can talk to her." Teddy suggested in return, ignoring the exasperation of the redheaded boy at his side. His shoulder ached desperately, but he ignored that as well. All he was focused on was Selena, who had shrunk back into a corner. As he searched her face, he could have sworn he saw guilt in her eyes. It was enough to encourage him to continue. "Lena, it's alright, I promise. It's all going to be alright. The sun will be coming up soon, then everything will be back to normal, and we'll have another month to figure out what we can do to help. You don't need to panic, you're safe here with us. We're not going to hurt you, we just want to help."

As she had done every time he spoke, Selena growled, but this time it sounded more like a whimper than a threat. She did not sound like a vicious beast; she just sounded like a child.

Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Teddy took a step forward, then another, then another, until he was only a couple of feet away from his sister. As he approached, she shrank even further back into the corner, as if she wished she could simply disappear through the wall. Lena watched him intently, her eyes following his every move.

"Teddy, are you sure about this?" Fred whispered. Teddy did not answer, his confident movements addressing the issue more confidently than any words could. He knelt down on the floor in front of the wolf and reached out his hand, the way one might to get a dog to trust them. It felt strange, to use such a gesture when it was really his sister in front of him, but all guilt fled from his mind when the wolf moved forwards, nuzzling her head against his palm.

"See?" Teddy asked, directing the question to Fred even though his eyes were focused on Lena. "She does recognise us. She just needed reminding."

But as Teddy ruffled the fur atop the wolf's head, his sister began to whimper, her eyes fixed on his torso. A quick glance down told him what the problem was.

"Lena, I'm not hurt." he professed, pulling apart the slit in his t-shirt to reveal the skin beneath, which was still searing red but intact. "It'll be fine in the morning, it'll barely be bruised."

Selena whimpered again and there was something in her eyes as she looked up at him that made Teddy lose all reason. Throwing caution to the wind, the boy threw his arms around the wolf's neck, holding tightly onto her, the way he always did when his sister was human. Fred yelped in shock, immediately beginning to protest that the wolf might attack him.

But she did not. Though Lena wriggled for a moment, trying to escape, Teddy held tight, and after a few seconds, she was still, content in the safety of her brother's embrace.

"Seriously?" Fred asked, his voice laced with laughter. Teddy could not imagine how he must look, sat against the wall of an abandoned classroom with a werewolf in his arms. But before long, the haze of sleep overcame him and he forgot the horrors of that night. As his vision faded to blackness, he was just a brother holding his sister.

A/N: I know this was probably a bit of a mundane chapter, but I felt like it had to be done. Hope you enjoyed anyway, and please review!