Hey! I'm so sorry, you guys...I thought I would have this chapter out a lot sooner than it ended up happening. I ended up only writing this today...being quite bored, if anything. Too un-tired to sleep, too tired to do anything else...I suppose fanfiction resides somewhere in between.

But anyway, thanks to those who reviewed last chapter: Support Moony, Nymphadora Andromeda Lupin, LOGIN PASSWORD, Original Dinner Plate, I-am-the-Wolf, strawberry moors, st-potter, Bloody Phantom, emLILYEVANS, and PureAwesomeness13, as well as anonymous reviewers beetlejuice and kana117. You guys are all awesome - I've gotten more reviews for this story per chapter than I ever have before, so I have definite hopes for this story, and I know how it's going to end up for sure now. :)

This, I've decided, is dedicated to PureAwesomeness13, who read and reviewed all my Harry Potter stories within a day. She's (as maybe you can tell by her username) a very awesome person. :)

So here's chapter three!

xXxXxXx

Previously in When Things Were Different…

"Stupefy!"

"In the name of Merlin!" Teddy yelped, dodging the hex. Maybe he didn't have his wand, but…hey, he wasn't training to be an Auror for nothing, was he?

The curse was hurled towards him again, only for him to dodge it.

"Impedimenta!" was the one that came next, and it hit the younger man squarely in the chest.

Everything slowed down…even Teddy's thoughts, for a mere moment. He couldn't take another step without it being ten times the effort, and as his head looked upwards, he only heard the Stunning Spell being uttered in his direction once more before he slumped to the ground and hit his head on something hard.

His last coherent thought was, Oh, hell, before all faded into darkness.

xXxXxXx

"He's got to be a Death Eater."

"No, Remus, he's not."

Teddy barely registered the quiet argument, feeling a warm hand on his forehead. He wanted to open his eyes, but he forced himself to keep them shut. Without giving any sign that he was awake, the nineteen-year-old Auror in training tried to recall what had happened.

I'm…bloody fucking hell, I'm in the past.

He managed to keep his groan silent, but he couldn't tell if the expression on his face had changed.

"Then what the hell is he doing here?"

So someone else had a temper as well. Teddy would have smirked if it were any other circumstance…but this was – quite obviously, as his parents were debating whether he was a Death Eater – not the right time.

"A Death Eater couldn't have gotten through the enchantments."

"No one should've been able to get through the enchantments, Dora," came the hoarse response.

The woman's voice – at least, Teddy had assumed it was a woman's – let out an exasperated sigh and stroked the seemingly unconscious boy's forehead, then moving her hand down to his neck as if to feel for his pulse. Teddy knew his heart was thudding traitorously in his chest, but the gentle hands seemed to pay it no mind. There was silence for what seemed like an eternity, and when her voice spoke again, it was much quieter.

"Remus, look at him," her voice came, and unless Teddy was very mistaken, it sounded like she was close to tears. "He looks so much like you."

The man, Remus, took a few steps forward, and after a few seconds let out a half-hearted scoff, and unsteadily replied, "That's…not possible. I've always been…I couldn't have…"

The woman sighed, and if Teddy knew anything about Nymphadora Tonks, she was rolling her eyes. "You're older than me by thirteen years," she said quietly…as if she wanted above all else for this boy to be her son. "I know…and I've always understood that there were women in your past…and – "

But the young man's eyes shot open, effectively ending what had promised very early on to be an awkward conversation. His blue irises scanned the room…it looked very much like the home he was familiar with…minus the photos of him and Andromeda, Harry, and the Weasleys…and, of course, the special area of the sitting room dedicated to the war heroes, Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin. But, quite obviously, there was no reason for a memorial when the heroes in question were alive and well. Not for the first time that evening, Teddy would have smirked if the situation had not been so dire.

The two people staring at him happened to be the most mismatched couple Teddy had ever seen. Not like him and Victoire –hell, he and Victoire had almost seemed like they were born for each other. But what did his parents have in common, exactly? He studied them in silence…so shocked at his current revelation to realize what it actually meant to have them in front of him…living and breathing. Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin (he figured they must have been married at this point) was a woman with a small frame, short pink hair, and a stomach that protruded from the evening robe that she was wearing. This struck Teddy as odd…how many people would ever see their mother – their dead mother, nonetheless – pregnant with themselves? She seemed bursting with energy and happiness and youth. On the other hand, Remus Lupin was a tall man with graying light brown hair (the exact shade of Teddy's natural colour, he noted, minus the grey), broad shoulders, and an extremely confused as well as wary expression. He was wearing a threadbare jumper over a thin shirt and pants that were obviously wearing down. This man, he recognized, was the one who had Stunned him before.

His eyes caught sight of Remus fingering his wand, and Teddy couldn't help but to smile softly at the devotion his father had already shown towards his family.

"You don't have to worry," he said quietly, surprising himself with a hoarseness that reminded himself of the voice his father had used, not ten minutes ago. Teddy ran his fingers through his hair, which was probably the easiest way for him to check what colour his hair was, and found, to his relief, that it was brown. His natural brown. At least he wouldn't get any funny questions about his hair. For now, he reminded himself. Things can only stay simple for so long, I suppose…right? "I'm not a Death Eater."

Remus immediately frowned. "How do we know that?" was his first, most harsh question. And he turned to his wife. "Dora, I don't – " Teddy coughed purposely, and once they turned to look at him, he rolled up his left sleeve, revealing nothing but bare skin.

"I don't have the Dark Mark," he said, his voice quieter than he could've ever imagined it being. "I don't believe in what he stands for."

They both stared at the young man who couldn't have been more than twenty, and Nymphadora moved to sit beside him on the couch. "I don't want to believe you're one of them, like my superstitious husband over there," were the first words out of her mouth, and she smirked at him playfully, earning only a glare that probably meant, "This isn't the right time."

So that's were I got that from, Teddy mused.

"But?" He'd known from too many past experiences that the tone she was using would never work too well for the receiver.

"I don't think we can believe you without any proof," she said, giving him what could be called the equivalent of an encouraging smile.

"I…" His voice dry, Teddy swallowed, not sure what to say without giving away too much. "Er…I don't know how I got here…exactly. I was at work…and then there was this bloody wind…and some strange light. And I dropped my wand there…and I don't know," he finally confessed.

"Where do you work?" That question came from Remus, who had dropped his hand to his side, but was still studying the mysterious young man with a caution that would have made the Auror legend, Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody proud.

With a second's thought, Teddy realized that his parents had known Moody on a very personal basis. That explains so much, he thought with an inward chuckle.

"Constant vigilance," he muttered under his breath, grinning to himself.

"What's that, boy?"

Alarmed, Teddy's face flushed when he noticed that he had said those words aloud. "Nothing," he mumbled embarrassedly, instantly morphing away the blush he knew was spreading across his pale face. "I…er…well, I work at the Ministry."

"The Ministry?" Remus asked, outraged, his eyes alight with fury.

"Not your Ministry!" the younger man shot back hotly, only realizing the damage he had done when it was too late to take it back.

He groaned to himself as the two adults stared at him, as if demanding an explanation.

Bloody hell…what now?

xXxXxXx

So a little cliffhanger there...I realized that I wrote three pages...handwritten, which turned out to be much longer when I typed it. So if that's anything to go by, I have the next chapter written, essentially, it just needs to be improved, which I will get on quite soon.

But I hope I'm not moving too quickly for anyone...that's my utmost fear with this story...to end it too quickly. And also, I'm sorry if I didn't reply to any reviews. I always promise myself I will, but fanfiction was doing something screwy, and I couldn't reply via email, which threw me off a bit. That's just really annoying, because I know I replied to some, but probably not to all, because I couldn't remember which ones I replied to...oh well.

On a happier note, I got my tickets for Deathly Hallows Part 2...that final trailer reduced me to silence. Can't wait for the fifteenth! Also, thoughts on Pottermore?

You guys are all brilliant, and always remember to keep writing!

TRL (Ted Lupin)