Maybe he'd take that back. He'd still have friends and family at school. And really, he couldn't wait to see what lay in store for them this year.

"Why's everyone gotta be tall, brown haired and white?" Vic grumbled as they pushed and shoved their way the crowded streets of downtown London.

Ted and Roy shot each other amused looks. Vic wasn't in the best moods. Twice he'd made a fool of himself by shouting "Proffessor!"and "Found ya!" to some poor unsuspecting victim that just happened to be tall, brown haired and well, white.

The boys had finally made it back to London with Q and Helena after an adventurous three weeks at the Fair. Now all they needed to do was find Ted's parents and say some final farewells. They'd chosen to met in Muggle London because Helena insisted that they should accompany the boys until they were safe; the teacher in her unwilling to let three underage boys roam free in the big city. Not to mention Ted's own mum wanted to personally thank the Muggle couple for keeping an eye on the boys while they were away.

Ted himself was feeling pretty good and he could only imagine that his friends felt the same. Vic had gotten a tan over the last few days from all his time out in the sun. He'd had plenty of time and space to let loose all his energy which would be good for when school started. Roy too seemed pleased. He'd gotten in ample practice time on his trumpet and was able to play almost anything by ear after only a few times of listening to it. Mr. Jeevas had given them all a generous and well deserved pay check which Ted had initially declined but the theater owner had insisted.

For now the small bag of galleons was left uncounted and nestled in the corner of Ted's trunk while Vic and Roy were anxious to deposit their earnings in their Gringotts vault.

"Ok. Next time you see someone. Just point and ask," Roy muttered as he scanned the area looking for Ted's parents.

Ted snickered. A few mintues ago Vic had just hugged some poor unsuspecting man silly before he realized that said man was defiantly not Teddy's father. Vic had stammered and blushed in embarrassment before Ted and Roy swooped in and saved the day by dragging him off with equally profound apologies.

Q and Helena lagged in the back and /ted made a quick check over his shoulder to make sure they were still following.

"Ugh your parents need a cellphone Ted," Vic mumbled and Ted shrugged.

"Well they said to meet at Timothy's café," he pointed out only for Vic to sigh exasperatedly.

"Do you know where that is?" he asked.

"No."

"Do your parents know you don't know?"

"No."

Vic gave him a raised eyebrow and Ted grinned back, "But I do know someone that does."

"How much further?" he asked to the man behind him. Q was helping Ted carry his trunk since he seemed much more apt to do it than Ted who would probably trip over it and kill himself.

"Just up the street," Q replied with a vague wave in front of him.

Ted give Vic a "so there!" look before jogging slightly and catching up to Roy in front of them.

Ted couldn't wait to see his parents. Sure the three weeks of independence were great but now that it was over Ted missed having his parents along. He hoped his dad was alright, he hadn't seen him upright and walking for what felt like ages. He also hoped his mum had managed to catch those bastards that had attacked their house.

But those were questions for another time as Vic gave an happy shout at having spotted the café.

Ted, abandoning all caution, made an excited dash for the door and burst through it much to several people's surprise.

Remus had been in the middle of enjoying his tea before he heard a whoop of delight and a blur practically knocked the air from his lungs.

"Hello to you too," Remus laughed, patting his son's back in greeting.

"Now you might want to change that hair color back," Remus murmured to the boy in his arms and Ted blushed.

With some mild determination his hair reverted back to its natural brown and he straighted.

"What no hug for me?" Tonks asked from across the table and Ted laughed as he ran over to hug his mother too.

"Hey professor!" Vic said happily as he bounded through the area and came to a skidding halt before Remus.

"Hello boys. How was the Fair?" Remus asked and Vic's eyes bugged as he launched into an epic tale of their time.

"Hey!" Ted interrupted, "You can't tell them I wanna tell them!"

"What? You can tell them later! He asked me!" Vic argued.

As the boys bickered Roy rolled his eyes and gave Remus a "why'd you have to ask that?" look but Remus just shrugged and patted the seat next to him.

As Roy got himself comfortable and Ted and Vic battled it out, Q and Helena had silently managed to slip into the café and deposit Ted's trunk at the foot of the table.

"Helena Rodor," Helena said with a smile as she gave Ted's mum a firm handshake.

"Nymphadora Lupin," Tonks replied and Ted was shocked. Never before had he heard his mother willingly give her first name to a stranger before.

"But just call me Tonks," Tonks added, "sit down sit down can we get you anything?"

Helena sat but declined anything to eat as she dragged her socially awkward husband over to the table as well.

"You might have already met but this is my husband," Helena said and Q mumbled a hello before slipping away.

"I apologize in advance," Helena whispered as an afterthought and Tonks laughed.

"Oh no. Mine is much more of a hassle," Tonks replied, leaning over and giving Remus a kiss on the cheek.

"Yes I can imagine a hassle but surely he can't be worse than mine," Helena teased.

Ted rolled his eyes. They were doing the women's talk again and he quickly tuned them out instead focusing on his father as he waited for his turn to tell a story.

His dad looked much better than he'd left him three months before. His smile contained a warmth that Ted loved and his eyes were lively and pleased. Ted had a feeling underneath the clothes he'd be able to see the damage the bullets had done but right now his father looked younger than ever.

It was a wonder what Muggle medicine and magic could do. Maybe Muggles and wizards were more made for each other than people thought.

"How're the stitches?" Q mumbled to Remus as he sat down at the table and passed along a drink to his wife.

Remus shrugged, "I got used to them after a while. I'll be visiting your house again in a few weeks to get them removed."

Q nodded before leaning back and taking a chug out of his beer.

Remus was briefly aware that Roy had interrupted Vic's storytelling by dragging him off to get a drink from the front bar leaning the grownups to talk in peace. To be quite honest after the initial pain was dealt with the stitches hadn't really bothered him. There had been the short times when lying down had caused his breathing to hitch in pain but the doctors had given him some drugs to deal with it and once Tonks had taken him to Mungo's and he'd been prescribed with some potions the pain had stopped altogether. His shoulder also throbbed whenever he moved his arm but the pain was tolerable and three weeks later Remus was more than used to it. The only times anything really hurt now was when he lay on his chest or someone smacked him.

"I want to thank you for taking care of Ted and I," Remus started but Q shook his head to stop him from continuing.

"It's fine," the younger man mumbled but Remus wasn't done, something was bothering him.

"Out of curiosity though why did you do it?" Remus asked.

There was a pause as Q stared down at his beer.

"Interested," came the answer and Remus raised an eyebrow, "In me being…what I am?"he asked.

He guessed it would be pretty interesting to find a magic boy and a werewolf while doing some shopping in town.

"Yes. That," Q said with a small frown, "But also something else," he continued and Remus waited patiently for the other man to continue, "Your boy. Ted. He'd stand in front of a gun for you. Interested. Wanted to know if what I was seeing was real. Wanted to know why."

Remus turned this around in his head a bit. He felt an insane amount of pride and anguish explode from his chest at the thought of Ted taking a bullet for him. Pride in his son's bravery and love for him and anguish at the mere thought of it all.

"Sorry. Probably didn't make a lot of sense," Q mumbled a bit sheepishly, "Helena always said I never had a great grip on reality."

"You know it baby doll," Helena interrupted, giving her husband a kiss. She whispered something in his ear before turning back to her conversation with Tonks.

Q blinked several times once his wife had readjusted her attention before his face turned beet red and he took a chug of his beer to cover it up. Remus refrained from laughing. This man kind of reminded him a bit of himself when he was younger.

"Well? Did you find out?" Remus asked as Q finished his beer.

Q had a thoughtful look on his face as the two men turned to watch Ted and his friends chat with the bartender at the front of the café.

"Relates to love and family. Subjects that go beyond my scope of knowledge," the man answered finally and Remus shrugged.

"It's not that hard to understand. Sometimes the easiest solutions are best."

Q frowned.

"Do you have any plans for him?" the man asked instead.

Remus took a glance at Ted, happily slurping away a milkshake and chatting with his friends.

"Not really. Encourage him. Support him and make sure he doesn't crack his head open doing something stupid," Remus replied with a grin.

"Hrrmm," Q said, looking over at the boys as well.

"You're a good father," he finally concluded and Remus felt a fond smile grow on his face

"He's a good son."

While Remus and Q talked with each other their wives were having a discussion of their own.

Twelve years ago if anyone had told Tonks she'd be chatting about children and husbands and other solely feminine things she'd have hexed them right there. But now here she was with a younger woman beside her and a husband and son across from her.

"Q seems a bit…."

"Eccentric?" Helena teased and Tonks shrugged.

"It's not a reprimand," she replied with a smile, "Thank you for looking after Teddy by the way. I hope he wasn't much trouble."

"Oh it was no trouble at all. I needed a vacation anyways. Ted's a very good boy wish I had a kid like him."

"Well it's not too late," Tonks replied slyly causing Helena to laugh. Any onlooker would have thought the two had known each other for years. There just seemed to be some connection between the two women. Perhaps it was because they both had very complicated husbands and really, they were still about the same age.

"Q doesn't want children. He's not comfortable with them," Helena replied.

"Well he seemed to have done fine with Ted," Tonks replied. Every email he had gotten from Ted always said something positive about the couple.

Helena shrugged in response, "Q's not comfortable with a lot of things, he's a paranoid conspiracy theorist that knows way too much and it freaks the hell outta me-"

"But…?" Tonks prodded and Helena gave a smirk. These women knew each other well.

"But he cares even though he doesn't show it and he's sweet even when he doesn't want to be. He goes out of his way to help others and I love him," Helena finished and Tonks gave a mock encore.

"Looks like you've got a keeper," she teased and Helena blushed.

"What about yours?" Helena asked.

"Remus? He's definitely a keeper."

"Well obviously. Any specific reason why?"

Tonks paused before a smile broke out on her face.

"He's a charmer. He treats me like a lady and he's nice to everybody. Even those bastards that look down on him because of what he is. That takes courage you know. When we met he didn't have money but he's got the brains and he can handle himself in any duel. He protects what's important to him and he's an amazing father. Really it's the same reasons as you," Tonks said with a sidelong glance at her husband.

"He's better than an 'amazing' father. Ted's going to grow up to be a fine kid and heck I teach kids. I don't say that a lot," Helena laughed.

Tonks grinned and looked over affectionately at her two boys. One talking with Q and the other making his way back to the table.

"They're a lot of work," she agreed and Helena nodded looking at her own husband.

"But they're worth it."

The rest of the week passed in a blur. Tonks and Helena had kept in touch with emails and letters while Q had almost completely dropped off the map. Teddy was relieved to see his house was completely back to normal. He and his friends had distracted themselves so that by the time the week had passed they'd totally forgotten that the house they lived in had been broken into a month before.

Before they knew it. There was only a weekend separating their summer from the first day of school.

Just in time to buy school supplies.

"Ready to go?" Remus asked as Teddy and his friends bounded down the stairs.

"To Diagon!" Vic shouted and Roy whacked him on the head to quiet him down.

They all filled into the Floo and reappeared in the Leaky Cauldron.

It was early morning but the district was still buzzing with activity as people rushed around gathering school supplies for their children or other necessities for home.

"Should we get robes first? They'll take the longest so might as well get them over with," Tonks said as they entered Diagon Alley.

"I think we should split up. I can take Roy to Flourish and Blotts and pick up all the textbooks while you have Ted and Vic's robes fitted," Remus said and Tonks nodded.

"You boys alright with that?"

"Hey if it means getting to Mrs. Weasley's house faster then let's do it," Ted said with a grin. They had been invited to spend the weekend with the Weasley's for a final farewell before the boys got shipped off to school. It would be the first time anyone had seem them since Harry's birthday party and Ted was eager to tell Victoire of his adventures.

Roy and Vic gave equal nods and Remus led Roy over to the textbooks store while Tonks led the two larger boys over to Madam Malkin's.

"When you get to be the same size as your brother, shopping's going to take so much longer," Remus grinned and Roy sighed.

"It still sucks," he grumbled, "I'm barely up to your chest….and I'm older than them!"

"Don't worry. You'll grow. I might have been shorter than you when I was your age," Remus said with a pat on the back as they approached the store.

Roy gave him a look that clearly doubted such a fact from a man that was about four heads taller than him.

Nevertheless he didn't voice these thoughts and Remus changed the conversation by asking for the booklist. They had a long day ahead of them.


It took a good few hours for the boys to get all the supplies they needed plus more. Ted and Vic got a whole bunch of stuff from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and Remus bought Roy some science books that he thought might interest the boy. Not to mention there was the candy from Sugarplum's Sweet Shop and the supplies for Fuzz, Ted's pet Puffskein. By the time they passed by Broomstix the boys, carrying their own ice creams didn't feel like asking for their own brooms.

Second graders were allowed their own brooms now but Ted didn't want to ask his parents to dish out even more money for them. After all they'd just had an all expense paid visit to the Fair and they were sure they could lend a few school brooms anyways.

The three boys had all been on the Quidditch team last year. Vic and Roy were official Seekers while Ted had been benchwarmer. It hadn't been all that exciting. Vic complained that there were too many rules which hindered his flying experience and Ted just got bored of it after a while. He'd joked that he'd gotten his dad's genes in the "indifference to Quidditch" category.

Either way all the boys much preferred to play his own relaxed game of Quidditch with friends and family because really, Roy only played because his brother wanted him to.

So. Walking by the broomsticks store without so much as a glance, Vic ran ahead babbling nonsense as Ted walked beside his father feeling rather pleased with how the day was going.

"Hey Ted!" Victoire shouted from upstairs and Ted grinned as Molly Weasley rushed out from the kitchen to give her guests a hug.

"Goodness look how much you've grown!You'll be my height in a few years!" Mrs. Weasley said, giving Teddy a fierce hug as Roy and Vic silently backed up again the closed door.

"Hello Auntie Molly," Ted said politely and Mrs. Weasley beamed at him before turning to Remus.

"And you Remus," she said almost scolding the poor man, "Shot by a bullet? I never! You wouldn't believe the state I was in when Harry told me about it. Bloody awful Muggles are," Molly said.

"Well actually it was also Muggles who saved me," Remus pointed out as the grownups made their way back to the kitchen.

Ted rolled his eyes. Why grownups loved talking in the kitchen he'd never know.

"Come on," he whispered to his friends and they quickly ran up the stairs to join up with Victoire and the rest of the family.

"So Remus tell us all about it," Arthur Weasley said in a rather serious tone and Remus refrained from rolling his eyes.

Having found a nice spot in the kitchen Arthur had practically kidnapped Remus and forced him to sit down with George and Ron at the table.

Arthur loved Muggles and their behaviors and technology. Still, it made Remus feel uncomfortable; like he was a lab rat just waiting to be dissected.

"There's really nothing much to say,"

"Other than the fact your house got broken into by Muggles," George piped up, "And you got shot and in the middle of a Muggle town and you were lucky enough that you were spotted by some doctors-,"

"Muggle doctors," Ron interrupted.

"Right Muggle doctors and you were treated using Muggle medicine. You think that's not going to interest him at all?" George asked with a grin as he pointed to his father.

Remus sighed in defeat. When you put it like that….

"See Remus. Even though the news never made it to the papers we've got you pinned," Arthur said with a grin.

"It really wasn't much. Their drugs are a bit stronger but I guess that's a good thing. And instead of drinking it they send it straight through your system with these tubes and stuff," Remus said with a shrug.

"How do they monitor your condition without diagnostic spells?" Arthur asked, intrigued.

"They've got sensors and monitors and stuff…you know. Machines. They'll stick these adhesive things all over your chest and you can see your heartbeat on a little machine. It's like a green line that goes up and down," Remus paused feeling uncomfortable from the Weasley's stare.

"So yeah. They can check your iron count and your blood and almost everything. I wasn't really paying attention," Remus said feeling that that was an acceptable excuse.

"And about the blood?" Arthur pressed.

"What about the blood?"

"Where's it coming from. Do they have blood replenishing potions as well?"

"Merlin no, they feed blood to you through those tubes again. The blood's from people all over the world who donated."

"People donate their own blood…" Arthur said incredulously.

"Well. Not all of it," Remus pointed out, "Just a bit. And it lots of people donate then that's enough."

"So wait," Ron interrupted, "You're walking around with someone else's blood running through your veins?"

"Well," Remus paused, "Yeah I guess…..It's not generally as weird as it sounds," he added.

"Well it sounds pretty bloody weird to me," Ron mumbled.

Arthur on the other hand was fascinated.

"And how're the stitches?" he asked.

Remus shrugged, "They're alright. They'll be out before the next full moon."

"May I see them?"

Remus positively gapped at him and threw a pleading look to Tonks and Molly by the stove who were having conversations of their own.

Tonks only smiled back at him, oblivious to his dilemma.

"Didn't you get stitches yourself?" Remus asked instead and Arthur nodded.

"Yes but you see I wasn't the most practiced with them and Molly threw a fit. It'd be nice to see what an experienced Muggle does with them. Speaking of which. Why didn't Tonks object so much to your treatment?"

Remus paused to think about that before Tonks spoke up from the stove.

"It's either a stitched up werewolf or a dead werewolf," she started, making her way towards the group at the table.

"And quite frankly I preferred the first option," she finished, giving Remus a kiss as he blushed awkwardly.

"Well that sounds about right," Arthur nodded and Remus was almost relieved that the subject had been changed….

"Now about those stitches…"

Remus fought a groan and tossed another pleading look over to Tonks.

She smiled back at him and gave him another kiss instead.

"You're on your own Lupin," she whispered with a seductive voice and laughed at the horrified look he gave her.


"So wait. You opened the door without even checking who it was?" Victoire asked and Ted looked down at his lap, ashamed.

Victoire had cornered Ted and his friends as soon as they'd gone up the stairs.

She'd pushed them into one of the many bedrooms and insisted that Ted tell everyone exactly what happened.

Roy and Vic were interested too. They'd only heard a summarized version of it through Ted's email and they'd been too busy with the fair to bother asking.

"I thought it was mum," Ted replied meekly.

"Why would your mum use the front door?"

"Look I don't know! It was late and I wasn't thinking right ok?" Ted shouted.

"Ok. We got it. Just continue with the story," Vic said, hoping to establish peace so that the rest of the story could be heard.

"So yeah. We had a bit of a fight and then the guy drops something. It's like this tooth with a tiny little emblem on it."

"What kind of tooth?" Roy interrupted and Ted shrugged.

"I dunno. Sharp but thin. It was kinda small but there was something scratched onto it. I didn't really get to see what it was. Why? Remind you of something?" he asked and Roy shook his head.

"No but it might with some research."

Ted nodded before continuing on with his story. Victoire seemed rather fascinated at the prospect of Q who she regarded as some sort of knight in shining armor.

"Come on Ted. Secretive guy, no name, carries a gun around, knows about magic? That's like the most amazing fairy tale ever!" Victoire said excitedly but Roy seemed to pick out something else.

"Backtrack. You said you were angry at the people holding you down and then suddenly you managed to push them away?" Roy asked and Ted rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Yeah. It's wandless, non verbal magic I know. I've been thinking about it myself. It's happened before. When I got really upset or angry or something my parents said I'd have random bursts of magic when I was really little."

"Seriously?" Vic said, suddenly interested.

"Yeah. My uncle Sirius says it's because both my parents are really good at magic," Ted said with a shrug, "Still. It hasn't happened since I was a kid and that's normal since babies can't control their magic."

"Then how come all kids can't do it?" Vic asked and Ted shrugged.

"How should I know? Maybe once we start becoming more aware of who we are and what magic is, we start controlling our magic better. Now continuing with the story," Ted stressed impatiently.

Everyone else shut up for a bit as Ted talked about the Rodors and eventually he reached the part where Q had taken he and Vic back to his house.

"Which reminds me. We met Neville there. He said he might become a teacher since he says the whole Auror business isn't really his thing," Teddy added.

"Cool. Maybe he'll be my teacher when I go to Hogwarts!" Victoire said, bouncing up and down a bit in excitement. She liked Neville. Whenever he came over he was nice to her and treated her like a lady. He even gave her little treats just to please her and Victoire liked the thought of Neville being her teacher in a few years.

"So yeah. Then we went to the Fair-"

"And now it's my turn to tell the story!" Vic interrupted and Ted opened his mouth to argue before sighing and giving a resigned shrug. He'd done enough talking.

"But wait!" Victoire said, "What'd the Muggles steal?"

And Teddy suddenly felt a sinking feeling in the bottom of his stomach.

"Oh shit," he muttered, "They took the cloak."

"The cloak?" Victoire asked and Teddy nodded.

"At the beginning of summer Harry lent me his invisibility cloak and they stole it. Shit. I totally forgot about it. I have to tell Harry," Ted said, groaning as he lay down on the bed.

"What would Muggles want with an invisibility cloak?" Victoire asked and Ted shrugged.

"I dunno. To steal something? There's so much stuff Muggles could do with invisibility," he muttered.

"Are you going to tell Harry?" Victoire asked and Ted groaned again.

"I have to. It'd explain so much. I totally forgot about it. I told my dad a while ago but I don't think he's told anyone yet," Ted said and he got off his bed. He might as well get over it.

"We're coming too!" Vic said, getting off the bed and Roy gave Victoire a hand up.

Together the four children spend through the house and popped their head into the kitchen.

"Where'd everyone go?" Vic asked and Hermione and Ginny looked up from their position at the table.

"If you're looking for your parents they just went upstairs to the master bed room," Hermione told them and the group thanked her before hustling out.

"Come now Remus. I just want some pictures. I'll do greatly for my research."

"What research could you possibly be doing Arthur?"

As Remus' rather uneasy voice penetrated through the closed bedroom door Teddy paused in his opening of the door to glance curiously at his friends.

"Goodness Remus. How is it that even after a whole decade you still haven't managed to gain a single pound?"

"Not now Molly."

Vic gave a shrug before reaching over and opening the door himself.

The kids peered anxiously into the room.

Molly was standing by the side of the door staring disapprovingly at the scene before them.

Tonks and Harry were busy laughing in the corner as George and Ron seemed to be in the process of forcefully ripping off poor Remus' shirt.

"Just a picture now. Really it'll be fine," Arthur repeated from his position by the bed as if the whole scene was entirely normal.

"Arthur. I believe there is a Muggle condition called obsessive compulsive. You might want to look into it," Remus growled as he tried to struggle out of the Weasley's grasp but they had him pinned.

And that was when someone noticed that the room wasn't as private as they thought it was.

Teddy burned with embarrassment as all seven pairs of eyes turned slowly to him and his friends.

"So," Vic said, breaking the suddenly tense silence, "is this where someone stutters 'uhh. We can explain'?"

Roy dug an elbow into his brother's side but Tonks took this as a perfect opportunity. With a flick of her wand at her husband his shirt seemed to magically disappear and the room was roaring with activity once more.

"Dora!"

"Whoa!"

"Yes that's right. Perfect angle. By Merlin's beard Molly look at the work on that one!"

"What am I a trophy case?" Remus shouted and Tonks dissolved into peals of laughter once more.

Teddy and his friends gave each other a wry grin before rushing to the bed and tackling the poor werewolf down once more.

"Teddy?" Remus said, feeling the weight of his son gently on his stomach as Vic and Roy grabbed both arms.

"What? I want to see too," Teddy said with a pout.

"There's really nothing to see," Remus told him but Teddy ignored him. Instead he carefully undid the bandage over his father's chest with a somewhat child like need to explore and discover.

When the gauze was slowly stripped away Ted was left looking at a large, stitched line that ran down his father's chest.

"Why's it so big?" Ted asked, frowning slightly. He always thought bullets were small.

"Well they had make it big so they could get to it," Remus said, shifting uncomfortably.

"Does it hurt?" Teddy asked instead, running his finger down the line. The stitching looked neat and tidy. There wasn't any blood to Teddy's relief; just wire and a big, red, jagged line.

"It doesn't hurt," Remus said, wondering why Teddy seemed to care so much.

"You'll get better right?"

Remus paused, noticing the little pleading note his son's voice had taken. He looked into Ted's eyes and found what he was looking for: guilt, shame and a small hint of fear and worry.

He sighed before forcing his arms out of their confinement and sitting up.

"It wasn't your fault Teddy. There's no need to worry," Remus said seriously but Teddy's face took on a sad look as he hugged his father.

One hand traced the stitching on his father's shoulder as he muttered, "It still feels like it."

"He gets this from you you know," Tonks scolded, deciding to join in and Remus gave her a wry grin.

"Now no mopping around like your father. You've got two days until school starts and we're going to make the most of it," Tonks told her son who smiled.

"Now wasn't there something you wanted to tell us?"

Ted's smile vanished.

"Well. Not all of you. More just Harry…and maybe you mum," Ted said nervously.

"Is this about the Cloak?" Harry interrupted and all eyes turned their attention to the Head of Aurors still in the corner.

"How did you-?" Teddy said before throwing a look at his father.

"You told them already?"

Remus shrugged in confirmation.

"And you're not angry?" Ted asked and Harry took a seat at the bed.

"Why would I be angry?" Harry asked and Ted shrugged.

"Well- Well I lost a family heirloom. Something you got from your dad," Ted said quietly.

"Yes but I didn't lose a godson and a very good friend of mine," Harry pointed out, "and I think my old man would have preferred it that way too," he finished with a smile.

Teddy looked at his godfather with a strange sense of awe. He still felt guilty, he didn't think he'd ever stop but at least he had his parent's and godparent's forgiveness.

"Plus it makes me feel like it's my fault," Harry said with a frown, "If I hadn't given you the cloak you would have been clean out of the way."

"It's not your fault," Teddy told him. After all it was him who'd begged to use it.

"Still. What would Muggles want with an Invisibility Cloak?" Victoire asked from the door.

Harry shrugged, "We've been doing some digging. There's a possibility that they're Muggles for hire and someone told them to steal the Cloak….someone magical that is."

"But still. What's so special about the Cloak?" Victoire pressed and Harry smiled fondly.

"Well. This is a good time as any for a story," he mused as he patted the bed for Victoire to come by and perch at the edge.

"Legend has it that the Cloak's one of the Deathly Hallows. Along with the Elder Wand and the Resurrection Stone they're all three very powerful magical objects created by Death himself," Harry started and Victoire frowned.

"That's dumb. Death isn't a person. It's a…a thing," she pointed out and Harry nodded.

"Yes well remember it's just a legend."

"But it's true," Vic interrupted from the bed, "That's how everyone says you beat Voldemort," he pointed out and Harry shrugged.

"Well. Even I'm not sure how I beat Voldemort," he joked.

"But didn't you become the Master of Death? The person who managed to possess the three artifact thingies?"

Harry laughed, "I see someone likes to read the paper."

Vic blushed, "Yeah well, blame him," Vic said, indicating Roy who was sitting up against the headboard of the bed, fiddling with his Rubik's Cube.

"Yes well. The truth is I never became the Master of Death. By the time I'd gained control of the Elder Wand I'd already dropped the Resurrection Stone in the Forbidden Forest."

"You dropped it in the Forest?" Vic exclaimed looking at Harry like he was crazy.

"Yes. I'd thought I was going off to die. I wouldn't need it again and I doubted anyone else after me would," Harry replied.

"So in a nutshell the Deathly Hallows didn't help you at all with your match against Voldemort," Teddy finally interrupted.

Harry paused to gaze thoughtfully at the ceiling.

"Well the Cloak helped us all lots throughout the years and the Stone revived my parents. They gave me strength and courage that helped me a lot during the battle. I don't think I would have managed it all if it wasn't for their encouragement," Harry said rather wistfully.

"And the Wand?" Ted asked again only for Harry to shrug.

"To me the point of the wand was to obtain it but not use it. Dumbledore believed that if the wand was used for good it'd eventually become attached to those of good instead of evil. I figured that if the owner of the wand were to die of natural causes then the whole chain would just stop."

"I don't think it works like that," Roy suddenly interrupted causing all the occupants in the room to look at him.

"The wand's been a part of history for generations. I'm sure at least once someone's lost it or died of natural causes. There has to be something that keeps the chain going."

"Like maybe after a while the wand picks a new owner?" Teddy asked Roy who only shrugged.

"Who knows?" the boy muttered.

"Whatever the case," Harry interrupted holding up a hand, "I put it in a place that no one will ever find so that should be the end of it."

Ted frowned. Whenever the grownups said "that should be the end of it" that was always never the case but what should he know?

"So you're not a Master of Death?" Victoire asked and Harry laughed.

"Nope. Sorry. I don't think there's ever been a Master of Death," Harry told her.

Ted grinned at Victoire's disappointed look. It was for the best really. Who knew what a Master of Death would be able to accomplish? For Ted, who was still squeamish around blood, he didn't think it was profession he'd get into any time soon.

"So. To come full circle. Professor Lupin's going to be ok. Harry Potter isn't the Master of Death. The Elder Wand is who knows where. The Ressurection Stone is somewhere in the Forbidden Forest never to be seen again. The invisibility Cloak is missing and everyone's blaming themselves. What is this a guilt fest?" Vic suddenly exclaimed out loud and everyone turned back to the boy on the bed.

"Come on Ted. We've got like a hundred things to do. School's starting in two days!" Vic exclaimed, grabbing Teddy and hauling him off the bed.

"We've got food to eat and Quidditch to play. Come on Victoire," Vic said eagerly as he dragged his friends out the door.

"See you later professor," Roy said as he too hustled out.

Remus smiled faintly as the kids ran out of the room before his face turned into a frown and he lay back down on the bed.

There was a short silence as he looked up at the ceiling for a while, fully aware that all the remaining people in the room were staring at him.

"We're not doing that again," he muttered.

"Oh come now Remus. We went to the beach just two years ago," Molly said as Tonks helped her husband reapply his bandages.

"And we're all practically family. I bet the brothers think of you more as a father than a teacher," Arthur pointed out and Remus sighed.

"Still. Never again."


The next two days passed smoothly. Vic amazed the younger children with his flying abilities and Roy was nagged constantly to show off his own abilities although every attempt was unsuccessful.

The boy much preferred to play with his Rubik's cube on the backyard patio and watch his friends and brother chase themselves silly.

They'd played Quidditch, soccer, tag, hide and seek. They helped Molly bake and listened intently to George's stories about his own Hogwarts days. The days were short and the nights even shorter and by the time it was over they'd tried rather unsuccessfully to do anything and everything.

Several times Teddy caught Roy teaching a fascinated Arthur Weasley about his Gameboy which he'd received for Christmas last year. It'd been charmed to work everywhere, technological restricting magic be damned, and Ted and Vic laughed when Mr. Weasley snatched it up to show to his wife with the most amazed voice a grownup could manage.

Roy was also spending a lot of time with the introverted Victoire, showing her science books and his trumpet. Vic was already starting to make jokes that the two were a couple earning a blush from Victoire and a smack on the head from his brother.

Really though Ted was just happy to have his friends and family around with him and when the day finally came and he found himself boarding the Hogwarts Express he wished that summer had never ended.

"Well that's that," Vic said with a sigh as the train rounded the bend and they'd all gotten themselves settled.

"Now I can't wait to get to Hogwarts," he said, bouncing up and down in his seat slightly.

Ted grinned.

Maybe he'd take that back. He'd still have friends and family at school. And really, he couldn't wait to see what lay in store for them this year.


Longest, fluffiest frickin chapter ever o.0 But hey they're finally back to school. :P

If you've made it this far I need your help! I need a name. Full name. Last name. Good for a teacher *nudge nudge wink wink* XD

So. Make a review with a name or names that you like. The best name will be used in the next chapter and for the rest of the story.

PS: since all my names are taken from other forms of media I'll pay more attention to those that do the same but post where the name is from (eg: if the name is from an anime. Post the anime as well.)