Several days passed with very little in the ways of leads on the smuggling case. The same with Lilith's murder case, with the exception of Hermione's testimony about her attack. A testimony that had yet to be entered into the case files. Teddy kept checking to see if Harry had entered a report or had any plans to bring Hermione into the Ministry.

"When is he going to actually get some work in?" Teddy grumbled to Hasan as they passed Harry's still empty office.

"He might actually be on assignment," Hasan said. "Or maybe there is a lot he has to do to get Hermione back to normal wizard citizenship?"

"Maybe," Teddy said. "More likely Hermione is too busy giving interviews. Have you seen the Daily Prophet?"

"I've seen a lot of headlines about Hermione and the case. I'm trying not to get too caught up in the press coverage of a case I'm working."

"Yeah," Teddy sighed. Normally he agreed, but he hadn't been able to help himself to see what sort of 'narrative' Hermione had decided to control. She seemed to have going for the angle of chastising the public for returning to pre-war sentiments. She had said several times how shocked she was to see that any work that she had done in the Ministry had been completely erased in the recent years and how disheartening it was to return to see her legacy completely erased in a matter of years. With the public and papers hesitant to attack an only recently-returned war hero that they had all but memorialized, it was a tactic that seemed to be working for the time being.

Still, however important Hermione's political campaign was, she was also a key witness in an open murder investigation. Whatever was keeping Hermione and Harry, Teddy doubted it was important enough to justify putting things off this long. It had nearly been a week and the case and any leads that they might get from Hermione were growing even colder. "I'm going to talk to him," Teddy said darkly. "We need Hermione's account."

Hasan laughed. "Your funeral."

"What's he going to do?" Teddy asked with a roll of his eyes. "Kick me off the case?"

He used his lunch break to apparate to the Grimmauld House. Maybe if Ginny was home he could convince her to feed him and kill two birds with one stone.

Since he was considered part of the family, Teddy didn't bother to knock. He entered the front door and then froze when he heard raised voices. Years of experience had him turning to leave again, but he hesitated when he recognized the owners of the voices. They weren't Harry and Ginny but Harry and Hermione. Harry and Ginny were known for their explosive fights but, as long as no one interfered, made up quickly and didn't seem the worse for it. Teddy had no idea what might happen with Harry and Hermione and he had a morbid curiosity to find out.

He stole a little closer to the voices which seemed to be coming from the living room.

"I said I needed to make plans before I went back," Hermione was saying. "That doesn't mean 'please go force a position for me in the Ministry.'"

"It isn't a forced position," Harry started.

"You think I want a position because Harry Potter pulled some strings? How do you think that will look?"

"But you were good at your job."

"Yes, but I barely got them to respect me the first time. Getting a job through nepotism isn't going to do me any favors."

"Well, then what do you want me to do?"

"I don't know, Harry," Hermione said, sounding even more exasperated. "That is why I said to let me think about it."

"Okay," Harry said in a coaxing tone. "Then let's think about it."

"No!" Hermione's voice had gone up again. "There is no 'us' for this. This is my life and I don't need you to fix it for me. I may seem young to you, but I am not a child and I am certainly not your child. Give me time to find my feet and figure this timeline out. Then, when I actually want it, I'll ask for your help. Honestly, Harry, I know you are well meaning but you are still being too overprotective."

Teddy hadn't realized how close her voice was getting until she turned the corner and ran right into him. His hands automatically went up and braced her shoulders to keep her from bowling him over.

She gave a startled half-shriek and jumped away from him. Then she got a good look at him and relaxed. "Teddy! What are you doing here?"

"Er, sorry," Teddy mumbled, flexing his fingers to try to get rid of the memory of his hands so close to her chest. "I'm- I'm here about the case."

"Oh right, you're an Auror," Hermione said. She gave him a long once over that would have been more flattering if Teddy hadn't detected a distinct clinical edge to it. Then she sighed and looked away. "This is just too weird," she muttered.

"What is?" Harry asked.

She quickly turned to him. "Everything, Harry," she said, still sounding exasperated.

Harry sighed. "Hermione, I know I'm not your father. I'm not trying to be your father, but we lost you for twenty years. Then you miraculously came back," -Harry smiled sadly and looked away- "and I can't help if I'm feeling overly protective."

Hermione visibly softened as Harry talked.

"Your attacker hasn't been apprehended. He seems to be killing again. When I say don't go out without protection I'm not trying to be your father. That is what I would say as an Auror to anyone in your situation."

She straightened and frowned. "That doesn't negate the other parts. You two keep buying me clothes or making me jobs or fixing my room-"

"We'll stop that," Harry said. "I'll tell Ginny too."

"But it's not really about the clothes or the job or," Hermione trailed off and rubbed her temple. "We'll talk about this later, okay Harry? I need a walk."

"Fine," Harry said, "but not by your-"

"Teddy," Hermione snapped. "You have time to be my bodyguard?"

"Er, yeah, I could do that," Teddy said.

Harry pressed his lips together and said, "Constant vigilance, Teddy."

Teddy resisted the urge to sarcastically salute in response to one of Harry's favorite catchphrases. Instead, he tried to give a serious nod so Harry didn't feel the need to lecture him on duty.

They slipped out onto the Muggle street. Teddy considered how to bring up her debriefing without it sounding rude.

"Where do you live, Teddy?" Hermione said abruptly.

"What?" he asked, his voice coming out an embarrassing octave higher than usual.

Hermione didn't seem to notice. She just threw up a muffliato charm and continued, "You are a werewolf. So how do you live? Do you have a flat?"

"Oh," Teddy said and rubbed the back of his head. "Er, actually I don't. Before Lilith and I broke up, I spent most of my time at the werewolf forest. She has a cottage there."

Hermione blinked. "Lilith is the woman who was killed?"

Teddy nodded miserably and forced himself to swallow around his dry throat. With worrying about Hermione's recovery and then her potential leads, he hadn't had as much time to think about Lilith. Especially since he wasn't technically on her case anymore. It had been sort of nice to not be constantly reminded of her death but he felt guilty at the same time. He shakily ran a hand through his hair and then shrugged.

"Oh, Teddy, I'm sorry."

Teddy's shoulders automatically hunched. "Yeah, well, that is why I want to work on her case. That way I can catch the bastard that did this."

Hermione reached up to trace the scars that trailed down the side of her face and throat. It looked like she had seen a healer about them, but they still were stark against her skin. "Yeah," she said. "I really want to catch them too."

As far as Teddy knew, there was still no way to completely remove scars from a werewolf. He wanted to tell her that scars didn't detract from her beauty. That knowing she went through and survived something like that made her more attractive. But maybe it just made her seem more reachable. Like she could make his life more bearable because she would understand it. It made him feel a little selfish so he didn't say any of that.

Instead, he asked, "So have you thought about reaching out to the werewolf pack?" Her eyebrows knit in confusion, probably at his change in topic. So he continued, "to help you figure out-" He pointed at his face where her scars were.

She automatically reached up to cover them. It was a movement that painfully reminded him of Lilith's self-consciousness around her own scars.

"No," Teddy said quickly. "Don't do that." He moved to pull her hand down and then stopped himself. At another confused look from her, he explained, "Don't act like you are ashamed of them. Would you be happy if Harry tried to hide his scar?"

"Harry does hide his scar," Hermione said with amusement. Then she said pensively, "Or he did. Do the press still make life hell for him?"

Teddy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sometimes. So that was a bad example. But what if it was just about him thinking he needed to hide it because it was a scar or that it showed he had been attacked. It would make you sad, wouldn't it?"

Hermione rubbed her fingers over the scars on her face. The movement turned from purposeful to absent as she considered him. "I suppose you would have more experience about that than most."

"I used to spend a lot of time with Bill and Fleur," he allowed. "And Fleur is right. Anyone who thinks your scars diminish your worth doesn't deserve the ground you walk on," Teddy said firmly.

She glanced at him in surprise.

"You got those scars because you were in the field hunting down a dangerous killer." He ignored her sound of protest and continued, "If anyone is judgemental about them, then they are shallow fucks whose opinions aren't worth anything."

Hermione snorted a little but her smile was warm as she said, "Thanks, Teddy."

Her face was a little distant as if she was thinking about something. Teddy wouldn't be surprised if she still wasn't convinced. He had never successfully convinced Lilith that her scars didn't detract from her either. It probably had something to do with women being more harshly judged for their looks than men in most areas. Maybe Hermione was worried it would hurt her chances in running for Minister of Magic.

"Most of the people in the pack don't bother hiding their scars when they are in the werewolf forest," Teddy told her. "If you ever get tired of people being stupid about them" -he again gestured at her face- "you could spend some time there." That was one of the things he appreciated about it. The fact that people didn't bother to try to hide much about themselves there. Maybe most of the people there didn't like him, but at least he knew where he stood.

She appeared to consider this. "Is that where you are staying, then? With the werewolf pack in the werewolf forest?"

Teddy nodded and reinforced their privacy charms. "I was looking into Muggle options for getting my own flat," he said, stupidly wanting Hermione to know he was at least trying to get his life together. "But then I was dating Lilith and after our break up I wasn't really in the right mindset..." He trailed off not wanting to explain and at her nod it didn't seem he had to. "It's been even worse after her death," he added lamely, kicking at a loose rock on the sidewalk. The past month he had just gone home to his grandmother's house or the clubhouse and crashed after a workout and dinner. He hadn't had much energy for anything else.

Hermione placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and he spared her a weak smile. "Do you like living at the werewolf forest?" Hermione asked.

He grimmaced. It hadn't been great since his break up with Lilith. However, that reminded of something that she should know if she was considering it. "You should know that several of the men in the werewolf pack can be fairly misogynistic. Lilith and Kamya lived together, but I don't think either of them would have been comfortable being completely on their own." He thought of how Lilith had been alone the morning of her murder. Where had Kamya been? And where was Kamya living now? The cottage had still been warded off as a crime scene.

"Teddy?"

"Hm? Oh, just. Given all that, maybe you should consider Muggle housing too."

Hermione nodded. "I suppose no wizard landlord would want a werewolf tenant, even if she used to be a war hero."

"Muggle housing is probably the better option if you don't want to deal with prejudice and exorbitant security deposits. But the Aurors are going to want you to have protection."

Hermione made a noncommittal noise. "You said that you were here about the case? Do you think you are close to solving the case?"

"Oh, yeah," Teddy said, reminded of why he was there in the first place. "I'm actually here to get a copy of Harry's interview with you."

Hermione frowned. "Oh, well. We haven't done an official one."

Teddy barely resisted the urge to ask 'what the fuck?' Instead he forcefully breathed through his nose as he thought. "Okay, well, we'd really appreciate your help on this case. Do you think you could do one with Hasan, my Auror partner?"

"Er, if you think it would help," she said.

"Great, when would be a good time to come in?" he asked.

She considered this. "I don't think I have anything pressing this afternoon. Once we go back and tell Harry I'm leaving I don't see any problem with leaving right now."

Teddy again only bit back the urge to say 'what the fuck' because why were Harry and Hermione being so cavalier about this? He would have thought that two of the people on the original case would have cared a little more than that. However, no matter what Hasan said to the contrary, Teddy could sometimes exercise tact. So he didn't say anything except to thank her for her willingness. Then he escorted Hermione back to number twelve.

...

A/N: I spend a lot more time on AO3 these days so if you are interested in more regular updates you might check that out. Anyway... enjoy!