"Harry, if this keeps happening, we're going to have to do something."

"I've already written to Professor McGonagall and she's made it clear that he's not going anywhere. It'll be alright, Ginny."

"This isn't fair to him," Aunt Ginny insisted. They were both whispering, but Teddy, from his perch at the top of the stairs, could hear them nonetheless. He knew what they were arguing about – what they'd been arguing about since the beginning of the summer.

"They don't think you know," Albus said, appearing at Teddy's side.

"Let's keep it that way," Teddy said sharply. Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny had been receiving letters all summer, but what they didn't know was that they were duplicates. Teddy had been getting them too, since before they'd been sent to his godparents. Al was the only one who knew, mostly because he was a nosy little git who wouldn't let Teddy have any privacy whatsoever, though Teddy had grown to appreciate sharing the secret. "Did you see the latest edition?" Teddy passed the paper to Albus without looking at either of them. He'd already read it a dozen times over, just like he'd read all the others.

"'Dear Mr. and Mrs. Potter,"' Albus read aloud. "'I am contacting you once again from a place of extreme concern, as you have not responded to any of my previous correspondences. As previously stated, I, and many others, object to the enrollment of a werewolf child at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He poses a threat to all of the students, including my own son, who will be joining the ranks this coming school year. All that I ask is that this werewolf cease attendance immediately, and be educated somewhere more appropriate for one of his kind. Please respond, Annette Cormier.' Wow."

"Piece of work, isn't she?" Teddy said, trying to let as little emotion into his voice as possible. At first, the letters were addressed to him, imploring him to drop out 'for the safety of the other children.' And when he didn't reply, this Annette Cormier starting harassing Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny. They'd hidden it well, but Teddy knew that it was eating them. Especially since they'd already had to deal with this, only six years ago.

There had been some backlash Teddy's first year at Hogwarts, despite the fact that he was only half-werewolf and his father was a war hero. Teddy supposed that some things would never change, no matter who your father – or godfather – was. It ended up being a moot point because, as he was only half-werewolf, Teddy didn't turn during the full moon. Felt a little sick, yes; got a little aggressive, sure. Maybe looked a little long in the face, but he was still very much human. People got over it pretty quickly, though Teddy had gotten a kick out of wolfing his features and roaming around during the full moon, terrorizing the first-years who didn't know better. Oddly enough, no one was put-off by the Metamorphmagus half of him, only the werewolf.

"Well the term's starting in tomorrow," Albus said. "So you won't have to worry about this much longer. And cool it," he added, green eyes travelling to Teddy's hair. "You're going red." Teddy shook his head and raked his fingers through his shaggy hair, turning it back to its customary inky blue.

"Thanks," Teddy said, fiddling with the gold hoops laced through the tip of his left ear. Aunt Ginny had gone ballistic when he'd come home with the piercings. And then she'd called his Nan. Between the two of them Teddy's hearing was shot for a week solid. "Next time," Uncle George had advised him at that Sunday's family dinner, "don't let her get on a roll. She got it from our mum. If you can stop the yelling before she picks up steam, you're in the clear." Teddy had laughed at that, and thanked him for the advice. "And I like the earrings," Uncle George had added under his breath, slipping Teddy another set of the gold hoops. "In case my sister tries to jinx them off of you."

"Come on, mate," Albus said, clapping Teddy on the shoulder and snapping him out of his reverie. "You've got to get dressed." For a moment Teddy simply looked up in confusion before he dropped his head into his hands. The preterm party. The dreaded, yearly media circus where the whole Wizarding world turned out to see the so-called "Next Generation" of witches and wizards off for the next school term. It was a nightmare. Teddy hated it. "Oh, and don't forget to round out your ears. That's how they found you last time." Teddy felt his lip curl in disgust and felt the tips of his ears tingle with magic as the tips smoothed from their customary point. He retreated back into his own room and changed into the most nondescript clothes he owned, a black T-shirt and dark-washed jeans, before standing in front of the mirror. He watched as the tall, lanky, blue-haired boy melt away, replaced with a plain-faced, stocky boy with mousy red-brown hair and a smattering of freckles across his cheeks. Teddy took the gold out of his ears and slipped the rings off of his fingers, ridding himself of anything that would make him stand out. The press would be horrific, like always, and Teddy would consider himself lucky if he made it through the day without getting his name in the paper.

"Well you look positively unextraordinary," James commented drily when Teddy joined the rest of the family at the bottom of the stairs. Aunt Ginny smiled at him, giving no hint that she'd been fuming only an hour before. Teddy had stashed his copy of the letter at the very bottom of his trunk, with the others. Thirteen of them in total, sent twice a week for over a month. Part of him wanted to burn them, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"And you look like Harry Potter's son," Teddy replied coolly. James grinned, cocksure as ever, even though it was Albus who truly took after his famous father. James loved the attention, just as much as Teddy hated it. The Potters had some powerful privacy spells in place, but the eldest Potter son still managed to slip them sometimes and give the media a run for their money. It drove Aunt Ginny to distraction.

"Teddy!" Teddy's face broke into a grin.

"Lilypad," he said, wrapping his shorter-than-usual arms around Lily's shoulders. "How do you always know that it's me?"

"Because you're the only other one in the kitchen, genius," James piped in. Lily stuck her tongue out at him and Teddy stuck up his middle finger when Lily wasn't looking.

"You know the drill, kiddo," Teddy whispered, kneeling down next to her. Lily was just barely eleven and small for her age, and starting school tomorrow. "No finding me when I'm disguised. Remember last time?" Lily giggled before casting her eyes downward. The last time they'd been ambushed by paparazzi, Teddy had almost gotten away clean, until Lily had run up to him while he was trying to blend in.

"If you ask me, that bloke looked better with a black eye," Uncle Harry said, coming up behind them. "But let's try not to throw any punches this time, alright?"

"No promises."

"Teddy, behave," Aunt Ginny said, chucking him under the chin. "Or I'm jinxing you to one spot for the whole party." Teddy believed her. Uncle Harry loved nothing so much as telling the story of how Aunt Ginny had hexed a fellow journalist, a gossip columnist – some woman named Skinner…Skitter? Something like that – to keep her from writing about Harry's work in the Auror office. There had been some debate on the…morality of that decision, but Aunt Hermione had pulled some strings in her own office, and Aunt Ginny was let off with a warning.

"I'd prefer if I didn't have to go to the party," Teddy muttered under his breath. No one replied; either they hadn't heard or they were ignoring him. Teddy knew that it was useless to argue, and besides, Gran Weasley would pitch a fit if he didn't show. The best thing he could do was just simply wait it out. Lily slipped her arm through his and Teddy smiled down at her, withholding a sigh. Let's get this over with.

"You look like you're having a grand time." Teddy looked up suddenly, quickly stowing his wand away. A wand that he'd been shooting very illegal sparks out of just a moment before. Teddy wasn't seventeen yet, but there were enough overage wizards around that the Trace on him would be rendered virtually useless. Besides, the party was dead boring. Teddy needed something to pass the time until he could get out of there.

"Professor Longbottom," he said, shaking Neville Longbottom's hand.

"Neville, please. I'm not 'Professor' until tomorrow." Teddy was grateful that he didn't mention Teddy's use of underage magic.

"Neville then," Teddy said amiably. He'd always liked the Herbology professor; he'd always been kind to Teddy. "How'd you know it was me?"

"You've got your dad's look, even when you're hiding," Neville said. "He was one of my favorite teachers, my third year. Brilliant, he was." Teddy mumbled something under his breath, suddenly very interested in his shoelaces. "Anyway," Neville continued, oblivious to Teddy's discomfort, "it's come to my attention that you're no longer on my roster. Care to explain?"

"Er…" Teddy stammered out. "Sorry. I was never any good at Herbology…and I'm taking advanced Transfiguration courses."

"Ah," Neville said, nodding. "That makes sense, you being a Metamorphmagus and all. Well, you're welcome to visit anytime, and I hope you do. I'll miss you in my class."

"Thanks Prof – Neville." Teddy said before he stiffened, feeling an arm wind through his.

"Excusez-moi, professeur," a familiar, very unwelcome voice said sweetly. "Do you mind if I borrow Teddy for a moment?"

"Not at all," Neville said graciously. "And may I say, Miss Weasley, I am very pleased to see that you'll be pursuing a NEWT in my class."

"My mère always said that I had a green thumb," Victoire said, smiling. Teddy fought the urge to roll his eyes as Neville walked away, leaving him with Victoire. "You should smile," she said conversationally. "Disguised or not, the whole world knows that scowl, loup garcon."

"Keep your voice down," Teddy snapped.

"No one's listening to me," Victoire said with a cavalier toss of her white-gold hair. "Besides, you look exceptionally plain today." She paused, studying him. "Except for the eyes. Feeling wolfish, Teddy?"

"Come off it," Teddy said, rolling his perfectly ordinary-looking eyes at her.

"See for yourself," Victoire said, passing him a compact mirror. Of course she'd have one on her. Teddy didn't know anyone who liked looking at herself half as much as Victoire did. He snapped the mirror open, preparing a biting remark, when he saw that his eyes had Shifted, glowing gold like they only did during a full moon.

"Shite," Teddy swore, pulling up his sleeve and allowing his tattoo to reappear. He'd been so preoccupied lately that he'd forgotten to check. The moon inked onto the inside of his wrist was magicked to change with the phases of the real moon, so Teddy would always be prepared. And yet somehow he'd still let it slip his mind.

"Full moon's tomorrow, huh?" Victoire said, looking inordinately pleased with herself for springing it on him. Teddy pulled his sleeve back down and focused on turning his eyes back to a normal color, ignoring her altogether. "That'll make for an interesting start of term. Do try not to eat any first years, won't you?" Teddy growled something indecipherable and thrust the compact back at her. Victoire smiled beatifically at him once more before sashaying off, no doubt to flirt with the dozens of social climbers who showed up at the party every year. The eldest of Bill and Fleur's children was never without a boyfriend, though the poor blokes didn't ever seem last very long.

Teddy shook his head, clearing her out of his mind. Victoire was a vicious pain in his arse, but he had bigger things to worry about. Like keeping it together tomorrow. Teddy shuffled towards the crowd that had gathered in a ring around his godfather, catching the back end of Harry's speech.

"A toast!" Harry declared. "To the incoming first years! May they enjoy their very first term, and may the year go smoothly." Teddy snorted. A smooth term? At Hogwarts? Not likely.