"Well. That was surely interesting."
"Voices?"
"What do you mean interesting? It was damn right freaky! Hearts aren't supposed to beat that fast!"
"Hurts. Can't breathe."
"Well the boy did say transforming was physically taxing."
"Pain."
"We're lucky the stitches held."
"It's warm…"
"Wonder if the fur grows back next month."
"Something's beeping…"
"It's amazing. You would have never guessed a man can turn into a giant wolf every month."
"They're talking about me…."
"He looks like the boy."
"I'm alive."
It was this simple fact out of all the other disjoined thoughts that finally forced Remus out from the thick veil of unconsciousness. He stirred a bit before opening his eyes, wincing as lights blinded him and his brows furrowed ever so slightly.
"He's awake."
A woman's voice.
"Hmm. Won't be for long," someone muttered.
The first thing Remus noticed was the muzzle wrapped firmly around his face. There was a tube stuffed down his throat. Wires were sticking out of his body and it was around there that panic kicked in.
The heart monitor went haywire.
Remus couldn't breathe.
Someone quickly placed a firm hand on his shoulder to stop him from moving.
"Hey. Relax or you're going to tear your stitches."
"Stiches?"
Someone came into his line of vision. Remus blinked several times to clear the morphine from his system. It was an older man with glasses.
"Sorry. Guess you're not used to our medicine."
In a few motions Remus found the muzzle taken off from his face and the tube in his mouth was removed. Almost instantly he gagged, realizing that there wasn't enough oxygen passing through his lungs.
"Easy now," Tot said, placing an oxygen mask on Remus instead.
"We couldn't get it to fit over your…umm…snout."
Someone snorted but Remus couldn't really figure out who it was. His vision was hazy and he had to blink several times just to focus on the man before him.
"Mhhrmm," Remus tried talking but he was too tired and the mask was restricting his mouth anyways.
He felt his head held firmly between two hands and Remus moved his eyes to once more focus on the man before him.
"Don't talk. Can you stay with us for a sec?" the doctor asked and Remus blinked quickly before managing a weak nod.
"OK good. You've been shot. Twice. One went in the shoulder. We haven't touched that yet because we thought we'd better wait for you to turn back. The other one clipped your lung and let me tell you that was a pain to sort out."
Remus listened on, a bit confused but rather soothed by the other man's un-professional tone.
It helped him relax.
"Now. You're going to need the mask for a while. I know it's uncomfortable but just bear with it. We still have to fix up your shoulder and we don't know what internal injuries happened during that transformation stage so it'd be best if we could put you to sleep again."
"Put me to sleep?"
Remus' brows furrowed once more. Only half of the usual response had he been fully awake and aware of the world circling around him. Right now he only felt numb. Waves of pain would wash over him whenever he breathed but it was weird.
He couldn't really feel his arms….or the rest of his body for that matter.
"So this is what Muggle drugs do…."
"I'm going to inject you with some sedative OK? You'll be out for a few hours." Tot continued and Remus' attention was once more re-directed.
He eyed the tip of the needle warily.
Snippets of last night floated around in his dazed head. There'd been guns. And a man and then he'd been shot. Another gunshot and Ted's reassuring voice that things would be OK. Voices. He remembered voices. They hadn't been talking to him but he remembered being carried….
These men were trying to help. They were Muggles but they meant well and Remus couldn't even move his arms yet alone call someone to take him to St. Mungos. Right now he couldn't even think of a way to do that anyways.
Slowly he nodded his consent and he watched a bit oddly as the doctor slipped the tip of the needle past his skin, injected the fluid and slowly pulled it out.
A woman's hand dabbed the little trickle of blood that resulted when the needle was removed.
Remus wished he had the sense to move his other arm and rub the goose bumps that had erupted on his skin away.
As the drugs coursed through his system Remus felt his eyesight blur even further.
"Why," he managed to mumble, "Why…doing this?"
"Well why not?" Came the reply, "I may be a bit old but I can handle a few operations…although I must say yours has been the most peculiar one I've had in all my fifty years as a doctor."
"But….I'm…"
Remus took a few deep breaths as he struggled against the sedative coursing through his body.
"Mmm…Not human," he managed as the world around him slowly dissolved into a blurry mass of shapes and color.
"Oh really? Try telling your son that," came the casual reply and Remus snapped awake with a start.
Or at least he tried to.
"Ted," he mumbled, mostly to himself.
He turned his head a bit to the side and found his son curled up asleep on the sofa across the room. Blue haired head nestled softly in a big fluffy pillow.
"He's tired but he's perfectly fine otherwise," the doctor said.
Remus practically drank in the image of his son. Still alive and unharmed after everything that had happened last night and he gave a soft sigh of relief before he closed his eyes and let the pull of the drugs overtake him.
"Where's my family? If you've so much as touched a hair on their head I'll curse you into oblivion!"
Ted woke up groggily at the sound of furious footsteps pounding down the hall.
The door was flown open before he even had a clue what was going on.
Instinctively Ted buried his head underneath the blankets a bit to ward off the noise.
"Shh. You'll wake the whole neighborhood up," a voice whispered. It was deep yet…familiar…
The room was silent enough for a moment that Ted had almost drifted back to sleep.
Muttering and whispers filled the room but Ted was tired and he didn't really feel like opening his eyes to figure out what was going on.
He only managed to wake up when a delicate kiss was placed on his forehead and a voice whispered.
"Thank Merlin you're alright."
"Mum?" he mumbled a bit groggily, getting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"What're you doing here?" he asked, yawning.
Tonks didn't say anything. Instead she reached over and gave Teddy the biggest hug of his life.
A bit surprised Ted wormed his face in his mother's shoulder, breathing in her scent and letting a feeling of safety and comfort wash over him.
"Mm alright," he mumbled before he looked up to the other men in the room.
Harry was standing by the door while Kinglsey Shacklebolt stood by Remus watching the heart monitor with the faintest of frowns.
So that was the voice from earlier. Ted knew it sounded familiar.
"What're you doing here?" he asked.
Everyone turned back to face him.
"Well let's just say when your mom went home she went utterly ballistic," Harry mumbled softly and Ted held onto his mom just a bit tighter.
"We got the rest of the Aurors in. We tried to see if there was a connection between my house's break in and yours. Then we got an owl from your friends with the email you sent. You'd be surprised what Muggle Internet can do. They had a picture of this house and everything so it was simple enough to apparate here. They'll be coming soon. Your friends that is," Harry said as an afterthought.
"But why are you here?" Ted asked, pointing to the Minister of Magic.
Kinglsey frowned, "My two best Aurors have been robbed; their houses ransacked. One of my best friends and his son is missing. There have been sightings of a werewolf not too far away. Aurors and everyone are working overtime. I figured I should pitch in and offer some help," he replied with a frown.
"We've sent everyone from the Order a notice to be cautious but we still don't know what these men are looking for. They might not even be after the Order," Harry continued, also with a frown.
"How's Ginny and the kids?"
"They're staying at the Burrow. At least until tomorrow."
Teddy nodded before realizing that his mother hadn't said anything in a really long time.
"Mum? Are you OK?" he asked softly and Tonks looked up to face Ted head on.
Teddy didn't like seeing his mother cry.
"I thought I'd lost you," Tonks said, moving out of Ted's embrace and reaching to wipe the tears from her face.
"I'm OK mum," he repeated reassuringly.
"And the guys who saved us. They're doctors. They said dad's going to be OK too," Teddy continued firmly and Tonks gave a weak smile.
"This isn't a suitable arrangement for him," Shacklebolt said with a frown, once more staring at the tubing and the wires attached to Remus' prone body. Ted watched the oxygen mask fogging up every time his father breathed before clearing quickly.
His chest, now covered in bandages, rose up and down rhythmically in time to the small hiss of the machine.
Around his right ring finger a grey plastic clip had been placed, leading to the heart monitor where the soothing, constant sound of his father's heartbeat could be heard throughout the room.
Two separate needles were taped on Remus' right forearm as well. They both led to separate fluid bags. One of them was a clear, water-like substance, tinted just the slightest sheen of green. Antibiotics most likely. The other held fluid of a slightly morbid variety. It was deep red in color and Ted looked away awkwardly at the sight of it. Someone else's blood was running through his dad's veins….
"Are you going to take him to Mungo's?" Ted asked at last and all three adults frowned.
"I don't think it'd be good to move him yet…." Teddy said a bit nervously when no one spoke.
"I agree…" Shacklebolt said before looking over at Tonks.
Tonks sighed, looking despairingly at the sight of her husband still lying on a blanket on the Muggle operation table. A thick blanket covered his body from the middle of his chest down and his head rested in a cushioned pillow. She looked at the machines and the wires and the tubes with a frown. She then took in the blood and the needles resting on the nearby table. Ted had a feeling that his mother wanted nothing more than to rip all the wires and foreign materials out of her husband and take him home with her.
But she couldn't do that….
"What's the diagnosis?" she asked at last, turning to the door.
Ted looked confused at first before the door opened slowly, revealing Q leaning casually against the doorframe, hands stuffed in deep pockets.
"Shot. Twice. Hit his shoulder. Clipped his lung. Operated on him when he changed back. Finished less than two hours ago. Machine might be the only thing keeping him breathing for now. Will move him when he's more stable."
Q said this so bluntly that Ted fully expected his mother to rage at him.
Instead, to his surprise she merely sighed in defeat.
"Can he stay?" she asked, and Q gave a single nod.
"Can they both stay?"
Another nod.
Ted looked up at his mum with confusion in his eyes.
"Mum?" he asked.
Tonks closed her eyes as if willing herself to gain composure. Then she sighed and kneeled down in front of Ted.
"You stay here and look after your father OK? We're going to get to the bottom of this. When we're done sorting things out I'll come back for you."
"Promise?" Ted asked and his mother gave a determined nod.
Ted nodded back in return. He would stay. He didn't want to leave his father alone and the same could be said about him. He didn't want to go back home where it was no longer safe and if he went with his mother he would only get in the way.
"Vic and Roy should be here in the next few hours. They've agreed to take you to the Fair with them. It might be safer if you're away from here for a while. If you need anything just write or send me an email alright? I'll have that thing all figured out in a few days."
Ted nodded again with a small smile.
"Such a good boy," Tonks breathed, reaching and giving Teddy another hug.
Ted hugged her back and reached to give his mother a kiss on the cheek.
"Now go back to sleep. It's still much too early for you to be up," Tonks said getting up and giving her son a kiss before moving over to Remus.
"And you. Don't you dare go dying on me Remus Lupin," she hissed before reaching down and giving her husband a kiss as well.
Remus continued to lie there unmoving but Tonks didn't seem to notice as she strode out of the room with one more goodbye to her son.
Harry and Kingsley said their own farewells before they too left the room and Harry closed the door behind them.
Ted sat there, watching his father breathe in and out for a moment before he jumped into action, running up to the closed door and pressing his ear against it.
"Sorry for the uhh cursing into oblivion thing," Ted heard Tonks mumble.
"Understandable," was Q's simple response.
"So they can really stay? They won't get in the way?"
"Can stay. On vacation so nothing to get in the way of."
"Thank you-"
"But…."
"Oh for the love of Merlin you Muggles are all the same," Tonks muttered.
"No obliviators," Q's voice was firm and Ted could image his piercing green eyes narrow only slightly as he said this.
"How'd you know about the obliviators?" Harry's voice was bordering on suspicious.
A rustle of fabric. Ted figured Q had given a shrug of some sort.
"I do my homework."
Another thing that Q knew that he shouldn't.
The voices were getting further away and Ted frowned before risking a chance at opening the living room door.
Thankfully there was a mirror across the hall and he could just make out the group of adults by the front door by its reflection.
"What's your name?" That was Kinglsey's voice.
Q tilted his head slightly to the side.
"Don't have one."
"What do you mean you don't have one? There has to be something people call you," Harry replied, even more suspicious.
"Go by 'Q'" The later announced, reaching for his fedora on the hook by the front door.
"Q? As in the letter? For what? Quincy? Quentin?"
"Quartermaster."
There was a small smirk on Q's face as he said this before he placed the fedora on his head and walked out the door.
While the Aurors gave each other confused glances Ted's eyes had widened and he took several steps back before tripping over his own feet and falling to the floor.
"Bloody hell. You've got to be kidding me!"
"Let's get going. I'll send a note to the Obliviators."
"You're not actually going to believe him are you?" Harry asked and Kingsley shrugged.
"They helped one of us in our time of need. The least we can do is let them keep their memory of it."
"So. What's a Quartermaster?" Tonks asked, eyeing the open doorway suspiciously.
"You don't want to know," Kingsley muttered before he gave a nod to the two Aurors and dissaparated with a soft pop.
Harry and Tonks looked at each other before Harry gave a sigh.
"What a birthday huh?"
Tonks gave him a soft smile before they too disappeared from the doorway leaving Ted alone with his thoughts.
He didn't stay thinking for long though.
As soon as his mum and godfather were gone he rushed through the door, pulled on his shoes and ran out to the porch.
Q was outside in his car with all its doors open, no doubt trying to scrape away the werewolf blood that was contaminating his back seats.
Ted figured it was just past 5 in the morning and the early summer sun was just peeking though the horizon.
Leaping down the small flights of stairs, Ted ran over to the man and glared at him.
"You work for the Secret Service," it wasn't a question. Ted knew and his tone was accusing and meant to be.
Q looked up from his position hunched over a bucket of soapy water to the blue haired boy frowning down at him.
"Yes," he replied, before turning his attention back to the water.
Teddy felt oddly pleased that the man hadn't denied it or outright avoided the question but he switched back to frowning at the man who had moved to scrub away at his car.
"So that's how you about magic and Muggles and werewolves and all that stuff?" Ted asked and Q gave a silent nod.
It felt oddly surreal. Ted loved movies. He'd seen almost all the Bond movies and they'd always showed Q as the inventor; the innovative thinker that always supplied Bond with his gadgets. He was supposed to be old, wise yet witty and head of the fictional research and development division of the British Secret Service.
This Q was different. So different. This Q was anti-social, said as few words as possible and didn't even seem to take pride in his work. This Q was all wrong.
"James Bond isn't real Ted," he reminded himself. All stories were based on some sort of truth. Ted just had to figure out what.
"So…head of research and development?"
"Mrmm."
Ted took that as a yes.
"MI5?"
"MI6."
"I thought that was for foreign intelligence."
"Wizard communities of Europe are all the same. We work under the Joint Intelligence Committee. Everyone has the same information one way or another."
Q went back to the bucket to rinse out his towel.
Ted frowned again and moved over to lean against the side of the car.
"How'd you guys find out?"
"Didn't."
Ted looked confused for the briefest of moments before he said the only logical explanation.
"You were told."
Q remained silent and for a second Ted thought he'd asked too much.
So he waited. Q would tell him eventually. He'd noticed that when asked a direct question he would always answer it eventually whether it be in riddles of the straight out truth.
"Your minister has been contacting my minister since the 1920s. Maybe before that," the man started and Teddy nodded. He knew the Muggle Prime Minister and the Minister of Magic had to be in good standing with the other to help keep magic a secret to other Muggles.
"Ministers don't do anything. They tell others what to do. Your Minister tells my minister to cover up for some magic. My minister nods and leaves it at that. He doesn't do anything."
Q finally turned to look at Ted.
"We do," he said with a shrug.
"Went from there. Think we don't notice that resources are used up at a rate that shouldn't be possible for our recorded population? When a Muggle born gets their acceptance letter at eleven years they're pulled out of school and disappear. Communities live in areas that should be uninhabited. Areas of land can't be built on. People are making money without getting jobs. Children are being educated without going to school. Parents are listed as educators but they didn't go to school. Buildings are built with no purpose and haven't been shut down. Reports of strange sightings and magical creatures come in every day. It's the 21st century. Can't just ignore it anymore. Threatens national security."
Ted stared at the man. Never had he realized that the Wizarding community wasn't as secret as it was meant to be. He never thought what the government might know of their existence. Sure he knew the Prime Minister had connections but he never realized the rest of the government did as well. It was odd, thinking of how obvious it must be to enter their society.
"So. You think we're a threat?" Ted asked.
"Magic is only believed as a myth because we Muggles make it so. Without our protection your community would shut down and that threatens our nation's economy. Two lifestyles clash. Can escalate to civil war."
"We can take care of ourselves! We don't need Muggles. We've got magic!" Teddy argued.
Q sighed, chucking his cloth in the bucket before turning to face Ted straight on.
"No. Can't. Wizards don't change. They don't evolve."
"Yes we do!" Ted protested but Q continued.
"Your people have been living the same lifestyle for decades. Almost half your populace doesn't even use electricity. More than three quarters don't know how to take trains, buses, airplanes, cars. You write with quills by candlelight. You listen to the radio. You use messenger birds as communication. No one understands science. By now your community has fallen so far behind on technology that it would be almost impossible to catch up. If you don't know how to use a pen do you think you can handle yourselves on your own?"
Ted opened his mouth to retort only to shut it again.
It was true. The Wizarding community was behind. He hadn't known what a computer was until he was eleven. They didn't own a phone or a car or even a television. Obliviators were only the tip of the iceberg. They wouldn't be able to catch everyone. Especially now that information could travel so fast across the globe. Wizard society wouldn't survive if it wasn't for governmental protection forcing others to turn a blind eye. It was all strangely justified and Ted felt like the world he had known wasn't as perfect as he had thought it to be.
"So the whole government knows?"
Q tilted his head to look at the boy.
"Only select few. Others possibly yes. Possibly no."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Q sighed again, "Everyone is related to a witch or wizard to some extent. Older families are more likely to be aware. Probability of a magical child is higher. Others believe but do not know. Can't always be certain."
Ted frowned again. This was complicated.
"So. Those guys that broke into my house. They weren't working for you?"
A snort was torn from the other man; half strangled as if it wasn't a normal sound.
Both of them looked surprised for the briefest of seconds before Q shook his head.
"Ends don't justify the means. Can get information on you without breaking and entering."
"But do you know who did it?"
"Hrmm. Ideas yes. But no link. No motive. Countless possibilities. Can't be certain."
Ted sighed in defeat. There wasn't a point in going further.
Need help?" he asked, changing the subject and walking over to the bucket and looking down at the soapy water tinged red.
"Hrmm. Should be sleeping."
Ted sighed again, "Fine fine. I'm going. Thanks by the way."
Q titled his head to the side and Ted could only assume it was in confusion.
With a grin he explained.
"I've never heard you talk so much in one go."
"Hrmm," was the only answer he received but as Ted left to go back inside the house he didn't feel this mystery man was so bad after all.
You guys knew that the James Bond references in the previous chapters had to be for something right? :P Also, I have no clue how the secret service works. I don't know if there's a 'Q' in real life. Nor do I know if he's head of research and development (is there even a branch called that?). Anyways I just made a whole bunch of that stuff up lol.
I just realized this is gonna be a long story. The school year hasn't even started yet o.o
And yes. I'm gonna fail my exams. But that's OK.
Reviews appreciated!
