Figured I should get another chapter up before a) exams start b) people start killing me and c) I can't lose this war!
It's a longer chapter so hope you guys enjoy it.
"Who would want to rob the Potters?"
That had been Teddy's first thought when Ginny had uttered that one simple sentence.
"What was taken?" Harry asked instead but Ginny only shrugged helplessly, "I don't know but the house is a mess!"
Harry muttered something under his breath before handing his sons to Molly.
"Stay here," he said to his wife before, with the air only the Head of Aurors could master, he took out his wand and looked over to the rest of the family crowding in the living room.
"Coming?"
Everyone nodded and Teddy watched mutely as one by one, Aurors and former Order members disappeared into the fireplace.
"It OK now?" Albus said, reaching for his mother's hand and Ginny gave him a small smile.
"Yes. Your dad will have things sorted out in a giffy so don't you worry," she replied, ruffling his hair softly.
"Yeah! Cause Dad's Head of Aurors!" James said proudly and Teddy realized that it wasn't who would rob the Potters. It was how.
There were certainly criminals out there who had a bone to pick with Head Auror Harry Potter but surely Harry would have had some wards up or something to prevent criminals from getting in right? It was his job!
"Well we can't just keep standing by the fireplace. Come on all of you to the kitchen," Molly said, interrupting Teddy thoughts.
"Let's go," Victoire whispered from behind Ted and he nodded, mind still busy thinking of ways to get into a warded household.
"Maybe they used house elves or some other creature that wasn't affected by the wards." Teddy thought to himself as he half listened to James describe their house upon arrival.
"There was stuff everywhere! The chairs were tipped over and paper everywhere and the drawers didn't have drawers anymore and the cupboards were all flung open. Maybe they went into my room. What if they took my action figures? They'd better not or I'll punch their bloody lights out!"
"James. I think that's quite enough," Ginny said with small frown and the child immediately sobered.
So, while some children napped on their mothers' shoulders and whispered to each other in hushed voices Teddy took Victoire's hand and lead her to the dining room.
"You think everything's gonna be alright?" Victoire asked a bit nervously and Teddy nodded firmly.
"Definitely, my parents are there, your dad and uncles are there, it'll be cleared up by tea time tomorrow," he said with a proud smile and Victoire gave a small smile back before both children were startled by the sudden roaring of the fireplace.
In a heartbeat, mothers and children were in the living room waiting to hear the news.
"It's alright. Nothing was taken. At least nothing of value," Remus said, slowly exiting the fireplace and Teddy heard several breathe a sigh of relief at the news.
"Ginny. If I can have a word with you," Remus said and Ginny nodded, handing her daughter to her mother before quickly leaving the living room.
Teddy and the rest of the room's occupants remained silent for a moment before everyone seemed to erupt into bubbling conversation.
"See! Dad can do anything!" James said, tackling a laughing Albus to the floor as the other children cheered.
The grownups however were far less ecstatic, some still seemed worried and all of them whispered amongst themselves with rather serious faces.
Teddy chose to ignore them for a moment before turning back to Victoire, "See? Told you there was nothing to worry about," he said with a smug grin and Victoire beamed at him.
"Thanks Ted."
Teddy grinned back before a hand his attention was diverted when Remus and Ginny reentered the room.
"Come on Ted. I think that's enough excitement for the day," Remus said, ushering the boy into the fireplace.
Teddy waved goodbye to Victoire before following and in an instant the Burrow's living room was gone and instead was the Lupins' familiar dining room.
Teddy didn't even have time to catch his breath before his father moved away and towards the front door.
"Dad?" he asked, perplexed when his father took out his wand and began muttering to himself.
"….Dad?" Teddy repeated hesitantly but Remus did not appear to hear him. Instead he pocketed his wand and fiddled with the doorknob a bit before nodding in apparent satisfaction.
"Dad!" Teddy shouted, flinging his arms his father.
"Can't you just tell me what's wrong?"
"What's wrong is the fact that I have less than ten minutes before full moon and your mother is staying at Harry's for a little longer so you're going to be here alone," Remus replied, looking down at his son.
"You don't have to worry about me," Teddy said with a pout but he let his father go anyways, "And technically I'm not alone. You'll still be here."
He watched his father give a shrug before opening the door to the basement.
"Be good. No junk food and don't go to bed too late," Remus informed before shutting the door behind him.
Which left Teddy feeling suddenly alone…
With a sigh Teddy switched on the wireless letting soft music flow into the suddenly silent house.
"We need a TV," Teddy muttered to himself before settling himself down in front of the laptop.
A quick check on his email showed that Roy and Vic had arrived at their destination. Vic had apparently been train sick half the way but both brothers had hoped Ted had had fun at the party.
"Oh boy do I have a story for them!"
And with a rather excited grin Teddy began to type his first ever email.
Teddy was by no means a fast typer and it took almost an hour to finish what he wanted to say. In the end it was more like he was writing a book rather than an email but he sent it anyways and waited anxiously for a reply.
To pass the time he figured he might as well watch a movie. Vic had introduced him to a series. Each movie had everything Teddy wanted, cool Muggle gadgets, chase scenes, explosions, guns, fights, everything, and it was even centered in Britain. It was all about the secret service and a man who beat up bad guys and always won. Teddy wished he was that guy. What was his name? Oh yeah. Bond. James Bond.
Teddy grinned to himself. That was how life should be. Justice would prevail and all the bad guys would be locked up.
Knock knock knock.
Teddy sighed, "I'll go to bed soon Dad!" he shouted without looking up from the screen.
Knock knock knock.
"After this movie! Promise!" Teddy replied before his voice was cut off.
Knock knock knock
It was only after Teddy had turned around towards the hall that housed the door to the basement did he notice that the knocking was actually coming from the front door.
"Shit," he muttered, pausing the video. Trust his mother to forget her keys today of all days.
Socked feet slipping on the varnished wooden floor, Ted gracefully slid up to the door and flung it open without a second thought, a sigh half formed for his mother's forgetfulness.
And it was only then that he realized that his mother would have used to Floo to come back from Harry's….
"Good evening," A deep voice drawled, "Are your parents home young man?"
Teddy stared at the man before him, a feeling of dread slowly surfacing from the pit of his belly.
Teddy had looked up to James Bond for a few months now. He thought of Bond as a hero; as someone special. He could take down men twice his size; he used his brains and his brawn and above all never forgot to be a gentleman.
Bond knew how to take his martinis and dress sharp and the man standing before Ted on the Lupin's doorstep seemed to know that too. Black blazer on top of crisp white dress shirt and even the shoes were shiny. A shiny chain hung from his neck before disappearing into his shirt and Teddy had a sneaking suspicion this man was armed.
"Umm. My dad's home but he's sick. Why don't you come back later?" Ted said with a nervous smile. He suddenly had a respect for Goldfinger and all those other Bond villains. Ted was having a hard time just keeping his voice straight.
He tried to close the door but the man in the suit held up a hand, keeping the door from closing.
"Well then we'd like to ask you a few questions," the man continued, pushing the door back open and taking a rather menacing step into the house.
Ted quickly backed up.
"We? Who's we? And what did I do? Is this about the game?"
Questions filtered through Ted's head surged on by fear.
"My mom should be home soon. Why don't you ask her instead?" Ted said, slowly backing further and further into the house.
He whished his dad wasn't locked up in the basement…
"I'm afraid we can't do that," the man said and before Teddy could even his arm shot out and grabbed Ted's wrist.
"And we'd appreciate it if you could come with us," the man drawled and Teddy felt panic grip him. Every instinct told him to run and was that thumping noise his heart or something else? He struggled feebly to get away from the man but he had an iron like grip on his wrist and soon he was pulled face to face with the man.
The thumping sound became harder.
"Now be a good boy-"
"Let me go!" Ted shouted rather desperately, swinging his free arm with all his might.
The man easily dodged the flailing limb but Teddy just managed to nick his neck. His fingers instinctively closed around the first thing it touched and Ted was quick to jerk his arm away before it could be grabbed.
Whatever the hell his hand had been snagged on came loose sending a peculiar looking ornament falling to the floor.
There was a short tense silence as both Ted and the man stared at the object.
It was a tooth. Fairly small yet long and sharp thus making it in no way a human tooth and was that a cross carved on its side? There was writing on that cross.
The thumping was getting faster.
Ted naturally bent down to reach for it only for a strong hand to suddenly grab the back of his shirt and slam him into the nearby wall.
"Don't touch that," the man snarled and Ted flinched away as the man let go of him and he sank to the floor.
He watched the man reach to pick up his necklace and took the brief window of opportunity he had.
In one fluid motion he'd picked himself up from the floor and made a dash for the open door.
"Stop!" The man commanded but Teddy dodged the arm reaching to grab him and bolted.
"Get him!"
Ted didn't even have time to wonder who the man was talking to before his foot found its way out of the door….
And straight into the arms of someone else.
"What the-? Hey! Let me go!" Teddy shouted, thrashing around in the other man's arms. This man was skinnier than the previous one but he too was dressed in a suit as if he was a part of the Secret Service.
"Are they a part of the Secret Service? Are they Muggles? Wizards wouldn't dress like that."
"Dad!" Ted cried in one last desperate plea for help.
And he should have known that should he ask he would receive for in that instant came a sound of splintering wood and creaking hinges as the basement door flew across the width of the hall.
Everyone's attention was drawn to it, staring as amongst the wreckage a huge wolf came charging straight for Ted.
The man holding Ted gave a startled shout and released Ted who fell to the floor.
For a split second Ted just lay there, registering alarmed shouts, howls and growls as his father took a running leap right on the back of the man, sending them both tumbling to the ground.
Then there was a bark. It was a warning.
"Run!"
And Ted kicked himself into action. His hands blindly found leverage as he hoisted himself up and turned.
The man behind him had a shock of surprise and fear at the sight of the werewolf but Teddy didn't find time to mock him for his feet were taking him away from everything as he ran through the house and towards the door leading to the backyard.
Something in the house crashed. Teddy vaguely suspected it was his mother's vase by the front door. Another sound followed soon after and this one made Teddy jump and turn his head in alarm. The crack of a gun was loud enough to drown out the rest of the scuffle and it sent Teddy back into a state of panic.
They had guns. Not even dad could dodge a bullet. What did they want with him? Wasn't this all a bit much over a simple video game?
Something at the back of Teddy's mind was starting to think that this wasn't just about a game….
Another shot rang out.
"Hold him down!" someone shouted.
"I can't!"
Teddy squeezed his eyes shut before forcing himself to move. His dad would be fine. He'd just get in the way if he went back. And with that thought he wrenched the back door open and ran outside.
The Lupin household was not by any means a large house but it was well away from the rest of the Muggles. It sat at the edge of a forest that ran for miles, far out in the countryside where the howls of a rampaging werewolf would never be heard. There were plenty of trees and animals and Ted had developed a pretty good mental map of the area.
Ted made himself scarce, leaping through the small hedge of bushes and into the forest. Fueled by fear Ted ran until his heart was pounding and his legs felt weak. He found a hollow tree trunk and ducked under it, drawing up his legs and shutting his eyes, trying to calm his erratic breathing.
A twig cracked from behind him and Teddy's eyes snapped open. There was something behind him; outside the log and Ted clamped a hand over his mouth to stifle his breathing.
There was a small whine. Like a puppy.
Relief flooded through Ted as he gave a rather hysterical laugh and at the end of the trunk appeared a pair of rather concerned yellow eyes.
"Bloody hell dad! You scared the shit outta me!" Teddy said, crawling out of the trunk and giving his father a giant hug.
Remus gave a small frown at his son's use of language but he didn't think it showed much in his current state. He shook himself out of Ted's grasp and gave him a scrutinizing look.
"I'm ok," Teddy said with a nod and Remus sighed in relief before dropping a few objects to the ground.
"Shoes? ….and my coat?" Teddy asked, raising an eyebrow. He figured only his dad would bother with shoes and a jacket at a time like this.
With a sigh he quickly put them on before he found himself being pushed back towards the log.
"Wait. Where're you going?" Ted asked him grabbing onto his father's tail as he turned.
The werewolf gave a whine but turned and softly pushed Ted back into the log with his head.
"You're not going back are you?" Teddy asked a bit fearfully and his father gave another whine.
"He's worried about mom," Ted thought and he reluctantly let go.
Remus nudged him softly once more.
"Alright alright I'm going," Teddy said, ducking down and crawling back into the hollow trunk.
His father gave him a look that clearly said "Don't move," before he disappeared back into the trees leaving Teddy alone in the forest.
"Come back soon dad," Teddy whispered to no one in particular.
"This is crazy," Remus thought to himself as he ran through the forest.
He remembered just a few minutes ago he'd been warm and cozy in his bed in the basement only for his peaceful slumber to be interrupted by the ring of a doorbell.
No one was expected to visit and surely no one that couldn't take the Floo. Curiosity and suspicion had gotten the better of him and he climbed the steps of the basement to lean his ear against the door.
His acute hearing had picked up Teddy opening the door and the stammer in his voice had been evident when he spoke.
This wasn't good. Not with what had just happened at Harry's place just a few hours ago.
With a growl Remus ran to fetch his wand by the bed and holding it firmly between his teeth he tried to undo the many spells and locks on the door.
After a while he spat the wand out in frustration, backed up a few steps and rammed his shoulder into the door.
A series of thuds echoed throughout the house but it was only when Remus heard his son's desperate cry for help that he found the extra strength in him to bust the door right off its hinges.
He hadn't had much time to feel proud of his accomplishment. A quick sweep up the corridor saw three pairs of eyes staring at him in shock and surprise.
One set of eyes stood out to him the most and protective rage fueled him as he dashed past the first man and tackled his son's captor to the ground.
Mayhem had ensured after that but his son had left by then and for that he was thankful. It was hard resisting the urge to use his teeth but the positive thing about a werewolf was that he was capable of standing on both four legs and two.
The shelf by the front door had fallen when he'd thrown a man into it and he'd vaguely had the thought that he would repair Dora's favourite vase later.
He had been rather surprised when he'd noticed more men were rushing over to the door from a parked car outside but he was grimly certain he could keep them all occupied until Teddy had the time to escape.
The problem was he was not expecting all the men in his house to suddenly pull guns on him.
Remus was more connected to the Muggle world than most people but that still didn't mean he had ever seen a gun before let alone get shot at by one. If it wasn't for canine reflex he'd probably be in a quite a lot of pain right now.
And the gun also raised the question. Were these men Muggles? They had surely looked shocked to see a werewolf come bursting through the door and their weapons, means of transportation and clothing suggested that yes. They were Muggles.
But what would Muggles want with them?
Another shot was fired.
Remus had fled.
Now as he circled his own house he felt like a criminal. He wasn't supposed to be outside and surely Tonks would go crazy if she found her house a wreck and her boys gone.
So, keeping close to the tree line he watched his house from afar.
There were no lights on but his senses told him that the men were still somewhere close by.
He wouldn't leave his wife out to defend against herself. Surely when she got home from Harry's she would be expecting some rest and relaxation and Remus didn't like the idea that she would indeed have her guard down as she floo'ed right into the middle of armed men stalking the house.
He was getting restless. Should he wait for her or go back to Ted? How long were these men going to be here? Were they even in the house?
No noise. No lights and his nose couldn't pick up anything. It was probably safe by now. Surely the men had either gotten what they were looking for or had given chase after the two of them.
He waited a few more agonizing seconds before giving up. With a growl Remus rose back onto his feet and ran the length of the backyard skidding to a halt by the back door.
It was hard opening the door but he managed it and snuck inside.
The first thing he noticed was the man leaning casually against the wall directly opposite from the door.
"Shit!"
A shot echoed throughout the house.
Teddy was getting fidgety and why was it so cold? It was summer dammit!
He blew on his hands and rubbed them together. Now he was thankful that his dad had the sense to get him his jacket and shoes before leaving.
"Where are you dad?" Ted muttered to himself quietly as he peeked outside the trunk in the hopes of seeing the figure of a large grey wolf coming towards him.
A part of him marveled at the irony but it was quickly refreshed with hope as he heard barking.
"Finally!"
And then he saw the light. And the sounds of footsteps that were much too loud and unsteady to be those of a werewolf.
Never before had Teddy's heart soared and plummeted in such a short period of time.
"Shit shit shit. Gotta go. Gotta go," Teddy mumbled as he noticed the lights moving closer and closer to his area.
The men were shouting something. Teddy didn't know what. It sounded like it was from a different language and Teddy paid it no mind.
Instead he ran out from underneath the cover of the hollow tree and ran further into the forest.
His eyes had long since adjusted to the full moon's light gleaming down in the forest and he tried his best to stay as quiet as possible as he ran further in.
To be quite honest Ted had no clue where he was going. He couldn't go back home and he didn't even know where this "forest" ended. Would it take him straight into a safe, crowded area where other people would be sure to help or did this place stretch on forever like the Forbidden Forest in Hogwarts?
Ted didn't know. Ted didn't care. He had to get away.
Away from the lights, the voices and the barking dogs. No doubt they were following his scent. His best bet was to walk in water. Scent got washed away in water but he'd never once found any stream or pond in this area.
"Ok. Calm down Ted. Relax. Get to a tree. Yeah. They can't reach you if you're high up."
Ted nodded to himself, finding an easy to climb tree before him and running up to it. If he could get up to the top the dogs couldn't reach him and the men couldn't shoot at something they couldn't see right?
He tested the weight of the closest branch with his foot before hoisting himself up.
It was relatively easy the first few branches but the sound of barking dogs getting louder and louder made Teddy freeze. He looked down. He wasn't high enough and panic gripped him when he realized: "what was stopping the men from climbing up after him."
The barking was getting louder.
Teddy blindly lifted his foot up to rest it on another branch, eyes glued to the lights getting closer and closer by the forest floor.
CRACK!
And Teddy was falling. The branch he'd been standing on hadn't been able to hold his weight and before Teddy had any clue what was going on he'd landed on his back with a heavy thud.
Men burst from the treeline and Ted shielded his eyes from the light for a moment.
"Run," his brain screamed at him and in that split second he'd scrambled up onto his legs and bolted.
Teddy didn't get far though for the dogs were on him in a split second. One grabbed him by the pants leg sending Teddy tumbling to the ground.
He turned and kicked it away only for another dog to take a running leap for his face.
He held his arms up, waiting for the blow before the dogs seemed to freeze.
Teddy froze too. Anticipating an attack that never came for it was right at that instant that a giant wolf leaped over the dogs, grabbed Ted by the back of his shirt and carried him away.
"Dad!" Teddy cried out in relief. He shielded his face in his arms as they jumped through a series of hedges; branches and leaves scratching him as they went.
A shot rang out and Teddy gave a shout of alarm as the tree beside them seemed to chip off by an invisible force.
"This is crazy!" Ted thought to himself as Remus hastily changed direction. Teddy reached up and held onto his father's head as they ran; fearful of what might happen should his jacket suddenly rip.
His jacket was dragon skin but it couldn't stop a bullet could it?
"Where are we going?" Teddy asked but he doubted his father could hear him as more shots rang out from behind them.
"Not even dad can outrun a bullet," Teddy thought grimly as he tucked his legs up more to prevent them from dragging on the ground as they ran.
They burst through a line of trees.
Three men standing by a car looked at them.
"Shit!" Both Lupins thought as they ran back into the forest.
More shots. More shouts. Teddy was watching numbly as they passed tree after tree; bush after bush. It was all starting to look like green blurs around him.
He hoped his dad knew where they were going. Were they just running blindly; going farther and farther into the never ending forest? How did they know they weren't just running in circles?
Teddy hoped that wasn't the case as they ran up a hill.
Another shot rang out. Louder and cleared than all the others and it nicked Remus in the shoulder.
Teddy gave a shout of alarm as his father tripped from the force of the blow and both of them tumbled down the rest of the hill.
And it was then that Teddy's "never-ending forest" suddenly ended.
It felt like he was flying.
As the "hill" turned out to be a cliff, Remus failed to stop in time before both Lupins were sent falling down to the road below.
Teddy landed more or less on his feet, only rolling slightly to try to lessen the blow to his legs.
But it didn't really help much for a split second later the breath was knocked out of him as an over 200 pound werewolf suddenly landed right on top of him.
It took a few seconds for Ted to regain his breath as Remus hastily got off his son and looked down at him with a worried expression.
He gave a tentative lick to Ted's face as a sort of apology and it was then that a very high, very feminine scream echoed throughout the area.
Ted and Remus jolted slightly at the sound.
"A wolf! A wolf! Oh God! Someone help that boy!"
Teddy whipped his head to the source of a noise.
A women by the side of the road was screaming her head off, hands cupped around her mouth and grocery bags spilled on the floor.
"Someone! Someone! Help! It's a wolf!" The lady cried and Ted leapt to his feet as Remus slowly backed up.
"Wait!" Ted shouted but it was too late as lights were turning on in the houses nearby and men rushed out.
"Hurry! Come quick it's attacking the boy!"
In a few moments Remus and Teddy were surrounded.
"Wait!" Teddy cried again only to be grabbed by strong arms pulling him away.
"Dad!" Ted cried and his father reached up and bit down on the end of Ted's jacket. He'd worked so hard to keep his son safe. He wasn't going to lose him to some random Muggles he didn't know.
"Let go you beast!" A man shouted, striking Remus in the face with a shovel. Remus winced at the blow but he held on regardless.
Panicked shouts muffled out Teddy's shouts to stop and after a few more shovels and sticks to the face Remus was starting to see stars.
"OUT OF THE WAY!"
Everyone paused to look at the man coming towards them and Ted's eyes widened. A strong looking man was coming towards them dressed in overalls and boots. He had a fierce, angry look on his face and many people moved aside quickly to let him through.
It was only when he was close enough that Ted noticed the awfully large shotgun gripped tightly in the man's hand.
"Wait!" Ted shouted, fear gripping at his chest like a vice. The man didn't seem to hear him as he stared at the werewolf who had let go of Ted to growl at the intruder.
"Don't growl! Run!" Ted though desperately as strong arms lifted him up as if he were a rag doll.
"Wait! Let me go!" Teddy said, thrashing in the arms that held him.
"Easy boy. It'll be alright," someone said by his ear but Ted didn't even turn his head to look at him. It wasn't going to be alright. Not if that man in the overalls kept pointing that blasted gun at his father.
"Stop!" Ted shouted, reaching over and biting the hand that held him.
"Ow! Hey! Cut that out! We're trying to save you!" someone shouted but Ted growled low in the throat.
"Save me my ass! Let me go!" Ted cried. He watched the man cock his gun with agonizing precision.
"STOP IT!" Ted shouted. Anger and fear burned within him and something snapped.
His magic surged outwards, slamming into all those around him in waves. It was as if an invisible force had expanded out from him like a supernova. Whatever had happened, Teddy didn't care. As people were blasted right off their feet they lost their grip on Ted and he took off running.
He watched as the man flawlessly nestled the butt of the gun on his shoulder and took aim.
The man pulled the trigger.
Teddy planted himself before the bullet and the target.
Something tackled him violently to the floor.
BANG!
It turns out Ted was right. Not even his dad could dodge a bullet and as he lay on the cold sidewalk for what felt like an eternity he was terrified to realize that his hands were soaked in blood.
People were shouting but Teddy was too dazed to figure out who. He caught snippets.
"The boy!"
"Stay back! It's still alive!"
BANG!
And the cliffhanger wars continue.
Thanks to everyone who made it this far and are kind enough to leave a review :)
