Chapter 4 It's in the Blood
Someone had been here.
Teddy rested his hands on his hips as he surveyed his office. It appeared undisturbed, but he knew otherwise. He took in a deep breath and there it was. Someone he had never smelled before. A girl, or woman, if he wasn't mistaken. She smelled of iris root and linseed oil. Hmm. And sweat. She had been nervous.
How had she gotten in? All the teachers at Hogwarts had enchanted locks on their office doors. Students learned Alohamora early in their Charms class, so a locked door wasn't secure. Teddy updated his door lock enchantments every week because students at Hogwarts were crafty little buggers. He knew what they were capable of, especially since he had once been a student himself.
He pulled out his squeaky desk chair, and disturbing his space as little as possible, sat with hands on his knees, closed his eyes, and let his instincts take over. Being half werewolf had its advantages but he rarely used them. He never needed it before. He breathed deep, not thinking, and allowed his baser nature to take control.
He scented her everywhere in the room. Everywhere she had been, everything she had touched became a swirl of colors. The oils from her hands left a brilliant pink glow, her touch of magic a deep purple. She had been very thorough. She had gone through his desk and its drawers, his bookshelves, and the coats he had hanging on the hooks by the door. One, in particular, glowed with a magnificent magenta.
He jumped from his chair in a crouch, nostrils flaring, and loped to the jacket. Moving like a wolf, he buried his face into the jacket. The same jacket he had worn into the forest the night before and ran his nose over the material sniffing all the while. The scent was strong, more heavily saturated here than anywhere else in the room. He had begun to admire his stalker but now was severely disappointed. Obviously, she was interested in the stone. She was the one whose presence he had felt in the Forbidden Forest last night. She must have discovered his secret and had been following for some time. Now she knew he had found the stone, but she focused her search on his jacket? What kind of idiot would have left such a discovery in his coat pocket?
But what kind of idiot was he? He had gone directly to his office last night and was going to do exactly what his stalker thought he would do, hide the stone in his office. But his parents had been adamant he get rid of it. They knew it was a danger and needed to be destroyed. He thought he had been overly cautious when he took it with him last night, but heeding his parent's warning, he put the stone in a soft leather pouch he hung around his neck. He touched his chest to find the pouch safely resting over his heart and sighed.
He sniffed. There was more. Crouching again and breathing deep, he loped over to his bookshelf and found a glowing strand of hair on the floor. He bent down and picked it up. The fine strand was a foot long, light blonde or white. He smiled. Potions weren't his best subject, but any wizard worth his salt could have a Polyjuice potion on simmer.
