AN: I will be marking chapters as New or Revised as they are added. Please let this be your final warning: graphic violence, sex, cursing. I am reminding you because I will be likely adding more of these things as I lengthen and add mire details to my chapters. This story contains a good many of triggering themes, and I would rather you not continue at all if there is any possible chance you might be offended or hurt by anything. This is simply creative fiction. I do not own any of Harry Potter.

The sky was ominous. A shelf of grey clouds clung low in the air, hiding any hints of blue sky or sunshine. The atmosphere was stiff and slow. The birds outside the clearing were loud and chirping and occasionally a squirrel or a chipmunk might run through the edge of the forest. But despite all of that, there was an eerie behaviour amongst the animals at this part of the woods. Even the animals knew about the collection of large, aggressive wolves that lived in the clearing. White wisps of smoke blew into the air from the piles of embers left over from the fires from the night before.

The spring migration was coming early to camp this year and it was in full swing. The last of the final snow of the year was melting away from the ground. Tents and cots were being unrolled as people, primarily men, flooded back in. The shelters varied from sheds and shacks that had been built for more permanent, winterized residents to lean-tos, to tents on the bare ground. They were less than a mile away from the lake. At least they were civilized to have the most basic amenities like running water. They lined up in even rows, fires scattered between the tents. Some of the lower ranking newborns didn't even have more than a canteen and a blanket and the clothes on their backs, but they were all loyal nonetheless. It was a strange sort of reunion, and it wasn't exactly a happy one. People weren't excited to be there, yet they weren't moaning and dragging their feet. This was routine. People were sleepy, drunk, and hungover, but they were very much awake now. And they were hungry for something besides the game from the woods, something more human. Voices were considerably louder now, and this raised up the annual spring anxiety was high.

Fenrir Greyback leaned down over the bed, pressing a harsh kiss against the base of the woman's neck, his hard hand caressing her throat as a reminder of his power. Her body cringed and she closed her eyes. They quietly got dressed. "It's cold this morning." He pointed out. "You should get the oven on."

"I will." Her weak voice replied.

"Hurry up." Greyback ordered. "I need to go handle some things. You can fix me food while I'm at it."

Teddy stared up at the ceiling, waiting to hear the door slam.

"Mummy?" The sleepy child's voice murmured. "Can I get up now?"

"Yes, he's gone. But you have to keep away from the window from now on. The other werewolves are hanging around." The mother warned, closing the curtain over the front window between the door and the bed. That's where she grew their plants in the winter when it was cold. She said their names were "cilantro" and "basil", which were pretty dumb names, the boy thought. As soon as she spoke, several faces below passed by the window, whooping and hollering as they saw her face. She had a reputation around here, no matter how well she hid her face. It was unusual nowadays that there wasn't a deep ache inside of her chest, not caused by any sort of physical injury, but by the stress of everyday life. Part of her wondered if her heart rate had actually increased over the past five years or if it was a fragment of her imagination.

The little boy crawled out from his hole, a small cavity created between the northwestern corner and a heavy bookcase and a child sized dresser that had been scavenged years ago. They didn't have many books or clothes, but the shelves were useful as they didn't have any sort of closet space. A toddler sized mattress was lying there for him to sleep on, and it was almost in worse condition than the other bed on the other side of the protective barrier. They were the only ones in camp to have the luxury of all of the working parts of a bathroom: a sink built into the wall (no matter how bad the pressure was, a sink was a sink), a bathtub with only cold water, and a barely functioning toilet in the corner with no means of privacy. Their "kitchen" that wrapped around the southeast corner also had a wooden stove, a sofa, a table with two chairs, a semi-cold place to store food, and a single hand-built cabinet.

The young boy bounced out onto the double bed, smiling. "Good morning, Mummy!" He beamed. He was not quite five years old, but he didn't look it. He wasn't as sickly as his mother. His brown hair wasn't as dull and brittle as hers, his pale skin didn't have as many visible veins behind it, and his deep brown eyes weren't as glossed over with pain.

"Good morning, Darling." She smiled back, walking over to him, her arms wrapping him up in a suffocating hug as she planted kisses all over his head. She was already dressed in a heavy sweater and a pair of jeans. He laughed, his voice muffled by her chest. "I missed you!"

"But you didn't leave!" He shook his head. "You were in bed all night."

"I know, but I waited all night to see you." She sighed, kissing his head again, but lingering with her lips pressed against his forehead before pulling back.

"Then why didn't you make Mister Greyback leave?" He whined.

"I can't." His mother remarked bluntly. She got to her feet and began straightening up the sheets and covers on the bed. They were old and ratty and far from the original white that they were meant to be. "You know I can't. And get off that. You know better." There was a towel spread out, but she quickly snatched it up from off the bed and folded it in on itself, laying it across the foot of the bed.

"Sorry." He said quietly. She quickly kissed him again. "Mummy!" He grumbled, scrunching up his nose and wiping away her kisses with his sleeve.

Her arms squeezed him up again. "Teddy, do you know how much I love you?"

"Lots?" Her asked, smothered by her chest. She didn't have much of a bosom anymore; his ear could hear the calm thumping of her heart against her ribcage and feel the ridges of her sternum. Maybe she needed a vitamin, to make her big and strong, just like he did, he thought.

She shook her head and looked down at him, a small grin on her lips. "I took all the love that I could feel, all the love in the whole wide world, and I give it to you. There's not a thing in this world I love at all, except you."

Teddy thought for a moment. "Even chocolate cake?"

"Even chocolate cake." She smiled. She withdrew from him, ruffling his hair. "Come on, it's time for breakfast. What do you say?"

"What are we having?"

She looked a paper taped on the old fashioned icebox. "Thursday... bagels, yes?" They didn't have many options when it came to food. Porridge or bagels, and dry cereal as an emergency backup.

The boy pursed his lips. "Can we have them warm?"

"Of course we can." She assured. "And since it's grocery day next week, we get..."

"Orange juice!" He exclaimed. Teddy scurried across the small room to the table in one of the two chairs and plopped down. There had once been three chairs, but his mother broke apart the third one (manually, since her wand had been broken), using half as firewood for the oven and the other half as weaponry that had long since been lost. She didn't regret the decision. If they ever had a "guest" that stayed for a meal, he'd have to be on the floor and that was that. She didn't care if she had to chop up the sofa too to keep him off of it, she didn't want any part of that vile man on her furniture. Though as alluring as her fantasy was, she knew this wasn't really her home. She could lose it all in moments. These things were earned slowly over time as the occasion called for them.

"Orange juice?" She mimicked, grabbing a single glass from the cupboard.

"Do we have to share now, too?"

"Unfortunately." His mother sighed. "With all the people around, we have to."

"Why?"

"Water conservation is important because we don't want to run out of water. Or the Mister'll get mad." She rolled her eyes. "It means we have to use as little as possible, even if it's stupid, because... we will run out of things faster. He won't bring us as much money, or as much food because other people need money and food."

"Why?"

"Because other people deserve stuff like water and food, too."

"But why can't he bring more to everyone?"

"He hates us being happy, I suppose," She rolled her eyes. "Or he only wants us to have so much water, I dunno." She replied in a tired voice as she set the glass across from the boy. "Do you want butter?"

"Yes please." The boy took a drink of the juice, watching his mother try and charm the bagel to be warm with her hands. She scraped up the last of the butter container for only a sliver of actual butter. "Are you going to kick his butt?"

She avoided his eye. "You know, it's finally getting warmer outside. Maybe in a few weeks, we can go for longer walks."

"Does this mean we won't need to wear coats anymore? Since it's warmer outside?"

"Soon." He enjoyed watching her cook and do chores. She was by far the prettiest person he had ever seen in his life. She wasn't dirty or wrinkled or mean looking. She was just Mummy. Her teeth were fairly straight and not black with rot, and her skin wasn't scarred up or sunburnt or diseased. Her hair wasn't matted either. She had smooth, short brown hair like his, though hers fell into her eyes around haircut time and was long enough to pull back in a tiny stub behind her head. She had scars on her ears in several places. Legend had it that she had once had petal pieces put in her ears, but after one of the was ripped out and left a nasty cut, she got rid of them all. She also appeared to have many names, but to him, she was always just Mummy to him. In her last life, people always called her by her last name, by Tonks, but nowadays even her name, her own identity was meaningless. "Not just yet, but soon." She plated the two bagels, opting for the dry, stale one for herself. "Okie dokie." He replied,

"We need to work on out list." Tonks announced, bringing breakfast to the table with a piece of paper and her pen.

"More orange juice." The boy declared. "And-"

"Hang on-" She chuckled, scribbling some things down. "Mister wanted canned beans, and he asked for greens this time." The way she said his name was always bitter, almost sarcastic.

"What are greens?"

"It's like... soggy, leafy vegetables, but it's sort of good." Her eyebrows furrowed. "You know what greens are, silly. You've had some vegetables."

"Why does he ask for greens if they're soggy, instead of something good, like sweets?"

"He doesn't like sweet things." She mumbled. "And he only asks for food he doesn't get on raids. He said he wanted chicken, and I think we've got some potatoes that are still good, but some canned fruit would be nice. Do you like pineapple or-"

"Why do they go on raids?"

His mother didn't look up from her list. "To get supplies. Do you like pineapple or-"

"Why does Mister Greyback want to hurt people when he goes? Why can't you just get supplies?"

"Because he's the worst person in the whole wide world." She huffed, not exactly restraining herself. They both knew he was a bad person, they just couldn't say it to his face. "Do you prefer pineapple or pears?"

"I like pears." He announced. "Why can't you buy all the supplies?"

"Because we don't have enough money."

"Why not?"

"Because no one here has jobs."

"What does a job do?"

"Jobs make you money. No one here gets jobs."

"Why?"

"Because... the people here believe in hurting people to get their way instead of being good people and getting what they earn and what they deserve. They're entitled."

"Why don't you have a job? Are you entitled?"

"No." Tonks knew her son meant well, with all his boyish foolishness, but the words stung her a bit. "Because he says I can't work."

He nodded solemnly. "Are you going to get back at him one day?"

"No, Teddy, he'll just hurt me real bad." She told him. Her voice trailed off to a point where she was really only talking to herself. "Paper products for me, canned pears, chicken, canned collard greens, soap, orange juice, eggs, milk... what am I forgetting? Let's see, we have flour, oil, sugar for baking... potatoes, and baking soda... salt and pepper... cereal may be close, but we'll make it to next month... Maybe some soup, if we have enough money left over."

"Mummy, do we need vitamins?"

"Oh, damn." She crossed over to the bed, pulling something out from the inside of the mattress. It was a small bottle of pills. She popped one in her mouth and swallowed dry, before putting the cotton back in place and putting the bottle inside the mattress. She sat down on the bed, bouncing the springs to see if the sound was muffled enough to keep the pills from rattling. "We do need some more, yes. Thanks for reminding me."

"What will Mister Greyback do if he finds your vitamins?" The boy asked curiously. "Why is it so important to hide them?"

"He'll hurt me even worse." His mother sighed. There was a separate plastic bottle on the shelf, which she dug out two vitamin gummies for her son, who chewed them up quietly. "Butter? Maybe we'll play it safe and go ahead and get butter." She mumbled to herself.

"Can we get candy this time?" He inquired, carefully eyeing the bottle of gummies.

"Not this month. We need vinegar more. That's what I was thinking."

"Why do we need vinegar?" He asked in an angry voice.

"To clean with."

"But vinegar is smelly and chocolate is good!" He shouted at her.

"Teddy, we have a budget." She replied sternly. He stayed quiet. "Don't you remember the rules?"

"Always listen to Mummy, always stay close to Mummy, don't talk to strangers, and don't take food from strangers." He recited with much irritation.

"Very good." Tonks nodded, finishing her last few bites of half of her dry bagel. She tried to subtly slide the other half into his plate. "Now, once you're done with breakfast, I need to go run some outside errands."

"Can I help?"

"Not today."

Teddy stared at the bathtub thoughtfully. "Is it still bath day?"

"Yes sir, it is." She smiled, handing him his plate, and wiping the crumbs off her own plate with a dirty rag that sat on the oven.

He smiled. Bath day was his one of his favourite days, though he didn't much care to help with the laundry. "I like bath day." The boy told her.

"I know you do." She chuckled. "Come here, do you want to mark the day off?" He eagerly walked over to her, letting her lift him up to cross the day out with pen on the small calendar hanging above the oven. "Do you know what today is?" She asked as she set him back down.

"Thursday?"

"But what day is it?"

"March?"

"March what?"

"March... March-Thursday?"

"What does the number say?"

"One-fifty."

"No." His mother could keep herself from laughing. "What's the first number?"

"One."

"And the second?"

"Five."

"So what does that make? Do you know?"

"Six?"

"No, don't add them. What's five after ten? The one in front means ten's there, you just can't see it. So ten plus five."

"Fifty?"

"Not quite."

"Fifty!" He shouted defensively. "Fo'teen, fifty, sixteen!"

"Fifteen." She correctly lightly.

"Oh!" Teddy smiled. "And tomorrow is sixteen and then seventeen and then eighteen and then nineteen and then-" He couldn't think.

"Twenty." His mother told him. "You've got a birthday coming up. Maybe for your birthday, I can get you a school book. Something useful."

"When's my birthday?"

"A month and three days." She sighed, beginning to tidy up the dishes from the night before. She knew every single dish that they had used in the past day yet an extra dirty plate and fork found its way into the mess. She hated for knowing exactly who had gone through their food. Tonks slipped her ring off her ring finger and her eyes were locked onto it. It was her "pretty ring" as Teddy called it, a small ring with a single diamond on it, that she always wore on her fourth finger.

"Dishes is for bedtime, Mummy." The little boy said.

"I know, but I forgot last night." She was distracted by something, which she could only try and cover up by cleaning. Looking at the calendar stirred up another painful memory. It wasn't a memory she purposefully blocked out or hated, it wasn't a memory she tried to avoid, it was just a memory she didn't have time to think about nowadays.

"Silly Mummy."

"Silly Mummy." Tonks repeated. "At least there's less to do later."

"Are you okay Mummy?

"I am." She said quietly. "I just... forgot something and happened to remember it again."

"What did you remember Mummy?"

"Someone's birthday. Someone else, someone you don't know." She shook her head. "You don't know him."

"Who is it?" Teddy inquired.

"No one. I should've just kept my mouth shut."

"Who is it?"

"I said no one." She told him sternly.

"Who's no one?" He mocked.

Then Tonks started crying. They weren't big, loud tears, but she couldn't stop them from coming out. He didn't know if it was his fault or not, and if they were good or bad tears. He didn't say anything for a while, hoping his mother would, but she didn't, so he showed himself to time out. Time out meant sitting in his bed until Mummy said he could come out. This was somehow supposed to be different from bedtime. He had to crawl back in his put the dresser and bookshelf in front of his bed so he couldn't see her bed, which she said was for "his own good", whatever that meant.

Her footsteps paced around the room, her nose sniffling until her tears finally stopped. "Teddy?" Her voice was still sad. "You're not in trouble. Come here, love." She collapsed onto her knees as the weight of her thoughts weighed her down.

Teddy got off his mattress. "Yes, Mummy. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you sad." He crawled up into her lap, giving her a hug.

"It's okay." She told him. "It's just that..." She shook her head. "You won't understand."

"Won't understand what?" He asked. "I'm big! I'm very big, I understand a lot."

"You are." His mother laughed, wiping away her tears. Her wedding ring was being turned over and over between her fingers. "You're so big. You're growing up so fast."

"What's wrong, Mum?" He prodded. "Who did you remember?"

"My husband." Tonks swallowed the knot in her throat. "Sometimes... when people are really in love, they decide to sign a piece of paper that says they're going to love each other forever. So they live together and sometimes they have babies... If it's a man, he becomes the husband, and the woman becomes a wife. And... a long long long time ago, I signed a paper and got married. And it's tradition to give your wife a ring. And that's what this is."

Teddy got frustrated. "You said you found it."

"I know." She said, looking at her hand. "But it was a gift."

"Then why did you lie?"

"To protect you, Teddy."

"But lying is bad." He remarked.

"I know, but I'm allowed to lie. Only sometimes. If I have to." She told him.

"You're not married. You can't be married, you live here with me and Mister Greyback-" Teddy told her.

"I didn't used to. And... I'm not married to... to Mister... Greyback." She snapped at him. "You know, I didn't always live here. I used to live in the real world. I used to have my own Mummy and Daddy, and a husband, and I used to live in a big house with several rooms. Before I got taken here."

"And then I got zapp-ed into your belly by a magic spell and you had me!" Teddy exclaimed. "That's what you said happened!"

"I-" She froze up. "Yes, that is what I said happened."

"What's wrong?" He looked more concerned. "Did you lie about that too?"

"I... not exactly. It's just... complicated." Tonks tried to laugh it off. "Babies are complicated." She said quickly, running her fingers through fingers. "Forget it, love. Hey, let's get you a bath and I'm going to go get some more wood for the fireplace, okay? If you get the water, I can warm it up with my magic."

"Yes, ma'am!" Teddy loved bath time, but he didn't like the part where he was actually supposed to get into the bath. Instead he turned the bath water on and went and bounced around on the bed, then onto the sofa, then the floor. He tried going the other way, but it didn't work well, he he just cycled through bounces. He got so distracted trying to play a game where he didn't touch the ground that he didn't notice the overfilling bathtub until it was much too overfilled, splashing and sloshing all over the wooden floor. He froze in place, staring at the chaos in panic and uncertainty of what to do.

The door came slamming open. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" A man's voice boomed. Teddy shrieked, falling down on the bed. The man was towering and furious looking.

"Mummy!" He screamed, cowering back to the head of the bed. He looked across the room where water was overflowing from the bathtub, and spilling all over the floor. "MUMMY!"

"Teddy!" Tonks came running up the front steps. He scrambled across the bed to her, but she refused to pick him up. Nearly slipping and falling, she pushed herself in between the man and her son. "He's a boy! He didn't know better!" She shouted at the man.

"I thought your job was to fucking watch him!" The man yelled. Teddy was shaking in fear at him. "I hear water running, so I glance in the window and that's what I see? How ungrateful are you, that you let this stupid little shit run around, wasting my water?"

"It was an accident! He didn't mean it!" She stood up angrily to him.

"Well maybe he needs to learn to fucking behave! Maybe if you knew how to be a mother!" There was a loud noise and she drew back with a wince. She was crying real tears now, and they weren't stopping. Greyback continued to shout over her tears until they were both incomprehensible. "Shut up! Just shut up! Do you ever actually think? You don't, do you? Do you? No, you just go ahead and open your mouth, you stupid bitch! You're lucky I even give you food to eat!"

Teddy curled up on the pillows, crying silently into his mother's pillow in fear until the yelling drowned out. The scary man had left, and she didn't say anything. Tonks didn't know what to do either, but she went to try to shut off and clean up the water.

"Mummy?" He sobbed.

"Yes darling?"

"Am I a stupid little... little shit?" Teddy knew he wasn't meant to curse, but he wasn't really saying it.

"No, you're not." She said quietly. "He's being.. he's a butthole."

He tilted his head up to her. "Mummy?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"I peed some." He said shyly. Sure enough, his pants were wet. "I didn't mean to. I got scared."

"Hey, it's okay." She said softly, walking over to the bed, and cradling him in her arms. There was a big red mark on the side of her face. They approached the bathtub which was no longer flooding. "It's okay, love. He isn't going to hurt you. He won't hurt you."

"Promise?" He asked as she sat him down and began stripping off his clothes.

Tonks kissed his cheek. "I promise, love."