Legal Disclaimer: I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

Warning: This work may be offensive to some readers. It also mentioned canon human right violations and canon-typical bad opinions. Feel free to back out if need be.

Author's Note: Reminder to all readers that if you don't like or agree with the characterizations I use, you are free to leave without wasting either of our time by commenting.

Submitting Info:
Stacked with: Hogwarts 2.0 (T02); RAVEN (2024); MC4A (Sp-Yr7)
Individual Challenges: Red Instead; Condiment Shelf; Willy Shook Here (Y); Major; Heroic Shadow; Royal; Ginger; Hogwarts MC [x4]; Magical MC [x5]; Ministry MC; Sandbox (Y); Cinematic; Gamer; Reader; Feathers & Such; Small Fry [x2]; Dreamers [x2]; Tossed Chum; Nonhuman MC [x2]; Shifter MC [x2]; LEO MC; Ethnic & Present [x3]; Neurodivergent [x2]; Rian-Russo Inversion [x5]; Rowl in Her Grave; Short Jog; Bucket Listing; Eating Cake (Y); Outer Limit; Two Cakes (Y); Salt Wrench; Claimed; Ship Sails; Bi Bi Bi; Zed Era; Finders; Hold the Mayo; Young Again; Rainbow Connection
Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw
Assignment: Term 02-07
Subject [Task (Prompt)]: Swimming Lessons [Task#2 (someone who is overwhelmed)]
Other Hogwarts Challenges: Gather [Bonus 12 (Rogue)](Doing Something Illegal); Case [Demiguise](Teddy Lupin/Dialogue); Web (Harry & Teddy)[List (Extra Prompt)]; Library [New Moon](Keeping Secrets)
RAVEN Challenges: A&B [03](Arguing/Debating); Traits [99](Youthful); Colors [29](Fire Engine Red); Items [87](Tee Shirt); Settings [88](Tense)
Other MC4A Challenges: Ship (Heroic Shadow)[Sp-ShWk1 (Animal Transformation)]; Chim [Onyx](Pumpkin; "Bonfire Hearts" - James Blunt; Race Bent; Protection; Turned Left Instead AU; Mother); Hunt [Sp WD (Jewish; Autism); Sp Con (Medication); Sp Items (Dress/Skirt; Boots)]
Representation(s): Desi & Autistic Harry Potter/Blaise Zabini; Jewish Andromeda Black Tonks & Teddy Lupin; Harry Raises Teddy; Autistic & Werewolf Teddy; Werewolf Blaise; LEO Hermione Granger; Post-War; Chim Song Prompt
Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: Found Family; Nontraditional; Sneeze Weasel; Bee Haven; Peddling Pots; Second Verse (Bechdel Test; Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; White Dress); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Pear-Shaped; Pocky Pockets; Wabi Sabi); Demo 1p (Younger You; Muck & Slime) [x2]; Demo 2p (No Touchy; Hot Stuff; Stitchin' Time; Strange Potatoes; Tootsies) [x6]
Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges: T3 (Tether); SN (Rail; Intercept); Once (Moses Supposes; Santa Fe)
Space Address (Prompt): SpB [5E (Button)]; TrB [1D (Animal Transformation)]
Word Count: 1743 words

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Transformative Secrets
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"This could only happen to Harry," Hermione said as she observed the pair sleeping on a thick cushion in the observation room.

It had taken a worrying amount of sedatives to take down the large wolf currently curled around the tiny boy that had been a grown-adult man just earlier that day. Then again, the wolf had also been a man. The attack on the two had been rather unexpected, as had the resulting transformation of both Harry and Zabini. Trying to separate the two had been an exercise in futility, causing tiny Harry to panic and cling even more to the ferociously growling wolf that seemed determined to take chunks out of anyone who came near. It had been challenging enough to get them contained in an observation room in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement precinct in Godric's Hollow.

Seeing the child and beast left together like this certainly wasn't doing anything good for Hermione's nerves. Who knew what kind of nefarious plot this was? The Zabinis might not have been Death Eaters or even sympathizers, but they had certainly not been quiet about their distaste for Dumbledore and his followers. And there was Harry, tiny and vulnerable, locked in with the huge animal that had previously been Blaise Zabini. It was enough to make Hermione crave a cup of tea like a damsel in a period drama.

Just then there was a loud commotion in the hallway outside the room. Before Hermione could get to the door to see what was going on, the door into the observation room opened. A tiny form with aquamarine hair barreled into the room and headed straight towards the pile of boy and wolf. Hermione's heart leaped in her throat even as she headed towards the fire engine red button near the window.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Ms. Granger," Andromeda stated as she stepped into the room. Her black robes had starbursts embroidered along every edge in violet and silver thread. The gorgeous stitch-work did nothing to lessen the severe sternness that the woman carried about her like it was a cloak. "You are in quite a bit of trouble already. Better to not add any more charges." She tisked sharply when Hermione opened her mouth to argue. "I advise you to not say anything without your counsel present."

"Why are you here, Andromeda?" Hermione couldn't help the sharpness that edged into her tone. Unease always made her edges cut deeper. "You have no authority to be here at all, and now you're putting both Teddy and Harry at risk."

In the years since the war had ended, the witch had withdrawn from the other Order members. Hermione had tried to make what excuses she could. Raising her grandson had to be exhausting, after all, even with Harry living with them to help. Then it had become increasing obvious that Teddy had issues beyond not being able to control his metamorphing. His senses were definitely sharper than the human norm and just as definitely influenced by the phase of the moon as was his mood. Teddy had all of the hallmarks of inheriting his father's lycanthropy, even if he had yet to manifest the transformation aspect of it.

Hermione was sympathetic. Of course, she was. She was not like most of the Weasleys who felt that Teddy should be added to the Werewolf Registry as a precaution. That thing was barbaric, and a part of her would always be deeply shocked that Dumbledore had designed it. But the boy still needed to learn how to behave normally. Giving into his demands and catering to his whims would not help in the long run.

Harry had stopped bringing Teddy around for the weekly family dinner that Molly hosted at the Burrow. Then he had stopped coming himself. As if that wasn't enough, he had also stopped meeting up with her and Ron for lunch (which only made it even harder to accidentally have Ginny be there as well). Next thing any of them had realized, it had been almost six months since any of them had seen Harry in person and longer still since they had seen Teddy or Andromeda.

Honestly, Hermione had been a bit surprised that Harry had agreed to meet her at all. They had barely entered the public square near the graveyard where the elder Potters had been buried when Hermione had spotted Zabini lingering near the decorative pond opposite the pub. She had just been about to suggest that they go somewhere else when the attack had happened. It had ended almost as soon as it had started, with the masked figures dropping some kind of potion vials that had released huge clouds of pumpkin orange smoke. Only a few people had been caught in the fumes at all, and only two had been transformed.

That had been just before tea time yesterday. It was now mid-morning. Up until Teddy's unorthodox entrance, the only person who had been able to even enter the observation room without setting off Zabini's furious growling had Justin Finch-Fletchley. The healer hadn't been able to get close enough to thoroughly access either of them. He had also not be able to get either of them to eat or drink anything the department had arranged.

(Hermione resolutely did not think about the healer had paled when he had read the results of his quick spell to check for potions in the contents of the dinner tray the ministry was providing. The spell had revealed the sleeping and calming potions, of course, even if it wasn't strictly the done thing to give potions without the imbiber's knowledge outside of medical necessity. Justin had looked like he was going to pass out when she had told him that they weren't contacting Andromeda or Claudia Zabini. The former Hufflepuff had then raised both his hands and said "don't tell anyone I was here" before rushing out of the precinct like a pack of wild hounds were nipping at his heels.)

She glanced back to the one-way glass that separated this room from the observation room that held two boys and a giant wolf that looked even more like a nightmare now that he was awake again. Harry was dressed only in the royal purple tee shirt that he had been wearing as an adult. Somewhere along the way, his other clothing had gotten lost, including his shoes and glasses. Teddy had on a similarly colored tee shirt and khaki shorts with lime green hiking boots. The way that he was chattering to Harry without any fear of the wolf lounging nearby was extra worrisome.

How could Andromeda stand to be in here while her grandson was in such a dangerous situation?

"You will find that you're the one with no authority here," Andromeda said with a tone cool enough to refreeze the icecaps. "You should have informed me immediately when you took Harry into custody. At the very least, you should have informed me as soon as it became clear that the change was not reversing on its own."

"Why would anyone contact you?" Hermione asked, honestly confounded about why Andromeda felt that she had any legal ground to make her threats. "Just because Harry is staying with you to help take care of Teddy—"

There was a sharp tapping on the one-way glass. Teddy had his face pressed against the glass with his hands cupped around his forehead. There was no way that he could see through it but he was definitely giving it his best shot.

"Can we take Tante Harry and Uncle Blaise home now?" Teddy called from the other room. Harry was squinting at him over the furry shoulders of the wolf. "Tante Harry says they didn't get breakfast or dinner or tea or anything." He knocked again on the glass. "Bubbie? Can you hear me?"

"You seem to have a few misconceptions, Ms. Granger," Andromeda said even as she crossed to the window. She gave it a single rap with a backwards wave of her elegantly curled knuckles. Inside the observation room, Teddy cheered and ran back to the other boy. He clambered over the wolf without a thought of the potential danger. "There are too many to unravel entirely, but I will start with the simplest one. As the oldest surviving member of the House of Black, I should be contacted any time the Lord of the House becomes incapacitated in any way. Even if you were unaware of Harry's investiture, as someone who would have reasonably been expecting them home by a certain time, I should have been informed. Just a common courtesy to prevent worry, you understand."

"We had to keep this secret for Harry's protection—" Hermione cut herself off as she realized what Andromeda had just said. "Wait. Why would you be expecting them home?"

"Blaise has lived with use for the last three months," Andromeda answered with an amused tilt to her lips. "It's to help both he and Teddy get accustomed to each other before Blaise and Harry bond."

"Bond?" Hermione scoffed. "Harry wouldn't want to do something so barbaric. He doesn't buy into any of that pure-blood nonsense."

"Hmm," Andromeda said neutrally. Her gray eyes twinkled with humor, as if she was listening to a joke that she already knew the punchline to. She tapped a finger against her lips thoughtfully. "Perhaps that is why he did not have you on the invitation list. I had wondered why he seemed to be keeping it a secret from your group."

Teddy showed up at the door to the room. Harry was sitting on Blaise's shoulders like Blaise was a horse instead of a wolf. Teddy's aquamarine hair had gotten speckled with teal and magenta. The whole look clashed horribly with the royal purple of the boy's tee shirt and lime green of his boots.

"Bubbie?" Teddy questioned. Andromeda gave him an indulgent smile. That same smile was distinctly sharper when she aimed it at Hermione. A shiver of fear worked its way down her spine.

"I'll be taking the boys with me," Andromeda declared. Hermione nodded mutely. No amount of stubborn bravery could overcome the instinctive need to not draw attention from a dangerous predator. The Black witch had only one parting piece of advice. "I would look into getting legal representation, Ms. Granger. You are going to need it very soon."