Chapter 1

"Teddy! Wake up!" a voice called. Teddy rolled over, and grumbled something incoherent. "Oi! Wake up. It's your birthday!"

Teddy sat up and rubbed sleep out of his eyes. "Happy Birthday!" shouted the voice. Teddy looked over to see Ross Dannon, his best friend, staring at him and grinning. He was holding a pillow aloft, and looked as though he would have thrown it had he not sat up.

It took a few minutes before it hit him. Teddy was now officially seventeen. He was now of-age. He smiled at the thought. Apparition and magic at home; he was already getting excited.

"You got gifts," Ross said, breaking the momentary silence. Teddy just became aware of the packages sitting at the foot of the bed. He bent down and began to rip open gifts. His grandmother had sent him a watch. It was pretty cool. It had twelve hands, and little stars revolving around the edges. Inside was a note. "Happy Birthday sweetie. I'm only hoping that coming of age knocks some sense into you. Stay out of trouble, and hopefully I won't be getting another letter from the school." Well, that was his Gran for you, always half praising, and half scolding. His other gifts included a bag of assorted Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products from Ross, a Sneakscope from James, a broom compass from Albus ("Mom suggested it when we went to Diagon Alley!" wrote an excited Albus.) and a card from Victoire. After reading the card, Teddy discreetly slipped it under his pillow. He then continued opening his gifts. From his godfather, Harry, Teddy got a…mirror. At first, Teddy was puzzled, but the gift was explained in the card that came with it.

"Teddy," the letter read, "Okay, I know the gift seems kind of odd. But let me explain. This is a two-way mirror. I have the other one. I had to dig through several shops before I found a pair. If you ever need me for anything, just shout my name into the mirror. We can use it to talk. You'll never know when this might come in handy. My godfather gave me one, and I was foolish not to use it. I only hope you're a bit wiser than I am. Harry." He examined the mirror before placing it carefully on top of his trunk.

His last present was from Harry's friend Ron Weasley. It was a book, Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches. The note read, "Teddy, you'd agree that you have about as much tact as I do. So you'd probably also agree that you need help. This book is brilliant." Teddy smiled before placing the book aside.

"Come on!" said Ross impatiently. "We'll miss breakfast!" With that Teddy pulled on his school robes, grabbed his wand off the side table, and hurried down the spiral staircase. He was just about to open the portrait hole when a group of giggly girls called out "Happy Birthday Teddy!" Teddy didn't even know who these girls were. They looked like third years, and they all giggled as one of them handed Teddy a box of peppermint toads. Teddy looked around to Ross for help, but he only grinned and shrugged. Teddy took them, muttered something sounding like a thank you, and hurried out of the common room.

Teddy was used to the attention he frequently got from girls. Teddy was tall, and rather handsome. He had inherited his mother's metamorphamagus trait, and was able to change his appearance at will. He kept his mop of hair an electric shade of blue. He had trouble deciding what color to keep his eyes, but they were currently a gray.

"I wouldn't keep those if I were you." Ross said, "There probably spiked with love potion or something." Teddy considered this, and agreeing that there was probably something other than peppermint in the peppermint toads, vanished them with a casual flick of his wand.

It was after he did this that Teddy realized he was very hungry. He had never felt so hungry before. His stomach growled threateningly. "Gosh, I'm starving." He said. Ross nodded disconcertedly. It was obvious that this news wasn't all that exciting.

The pair reached the great hall, strode past the Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin tables, and sat with their fellow Gryffindors. For breakfast, there was the usual assortment of eggs, toast, sausage, and kipper, as well as a few pitchers of pumpkin juice. Once he had sat down, Teddy promptly began filling his plate with everything in reach, including an entire plate of sausages. "Wow," said Ross looking rather concerned, but impressed, "It's like you've never seen food before or something." Teddy paid no attention to the comment, and proceeded to suck down the entire contents of the plate. But even when he finished, Teddy still felt hungry. As though he hadn't eaten anything at all. He was craving more of those sausages, but Ross grabbed his arm. "If you eat anymore, you're brooms not going to hold you up, and you'll need to stay up if we are going to crush Ravenclaw at Saturday's game."

Oh yeah, Quidditch. Teddy was a Chaser and captain of the Gryffindor team. He loved Quidditch ever since Harry had taken him to his first World Cup Match. Teddy had been seven, and he had absolutely loved the game. His excitement for the sport had not diminished since.

But even as he sat at the table, his hunger for those sausages, or any meat really, began to become more persistent. It was like a creature sat in his stomach. Growling and scratching, it wanted another sausage desperately. He craved it. It was taking every ounce of will power he had not to grab another one. But just then, Ross stood up. "Come on, we'll be late for Herbology," he said. Teddy stood up, and the hunger subsided. What had just happened? But he pushed it out of his mind as he headed outside toward the green houses.