Remus was the first to wake up the next day, unable to sleep longer than the sun; and unable to stay in the same room with two snoring whales, he walked out in the hopes of finding a quieter place to think, perhaps outside in the little wild garden he had spotted from his window.

The house was very quiet this early, just after dawn, and he managed to slip past easily enough and get out. The view outside was even more beautiful than he had expected. The cold sea breeze instantly cleared his mind, though he could not see the shore yet because of the tall trees in the garden blocking his path. As he walked, he began appreciating the details of the place.

There was a makeshift Quidditch field up ahead, to the right of the house, and a small shed near it, all on the house property, he assumed. In the garden, the fusion of Muggle and Magical plants created a bizarre, eye-catching scene; he could recognize lily flowers as they grew around his house too, but right beside them were bright orange Dragonfires. There did not seem to be any pattern to suggest avid herbology interest of the owners, but the shrubs and plants bloomed as though cared for diligently, and all around him was the gentle hum he had experienced in the greenhouses at Hogwarts.

For a while Remus walked towards the shore, the early morning light making the waves look treacherous. The sound of the water hitting against the rocks was comforting and helped him think on all of the things that had happened since they had unceremoniously jumped to the future. Harry and Elena Black were living proof that his best friends had been happy, at least for a little while, before the war had claimed them like the waves before him. For himself, the years did not seem to have been kind, not without his best friends. Remus had known even before he joined Hogwarts that loneliness was the constant companion to his werewolf curse. The Marauders had changed that, they had changed him, and made him part of something he had never even dreamed of, friendship. Without them, he could not imagine how he had survived.

Unbidden, the picture of the pink-haired woman came to his mind, one he had seen yesterday, and he realized that there might be one more person who had liked him at least. Shaking himself, Remus realized that the world would never accept him as long as the curse of the werewolves existed. He was forever different from them, a monster once a month and trying to maintain shreds of humanity the rest of the time. Yet, his gloomy thoughts did not bite as much as they usually did.

Whenever Remus Lupin had looked at the moon he had been scared, always frightened to remember how soon the moon would be full again, turning his life into a nightmare. He could remember his first transformation clear as day, the fear and the pain biting into every inch of his being.

"It will be over soon, son." His father's words rang in his ears all night like a mantra, yet Remus also remembered his terrified and grief-stricken face as he spoke those reassuring words, as he locked his son all alone in the room. Remus remembered screaming for his father, for his mother, to come back, and then the pain, the pain that made his screams unintelligible, until he could scream no more. He woke up in his mother's lap later, and they both had cried themselves to sleep again.

Now, Remus glanced at the sky above the sea, where the ghost of a young moon stared back at him. This time, he did not look away as soon as he could, but stared, like a curious little child he had been. No pain? No all-consuming hunger? 'The future is not so bad Mr. Lupin.' Professor McGonagall's words ran through his mind. The thought seemed too good to be true, and yet a weight seemed to be lifting off his shoulders already.

As he walked back to the house, his countenance was a little more serene and his thoughts a little more cheerful. Inside, he could hear the scurrying from the kitchen. Hoping to fix himself some breakfast, he walked in to find the kitchen empty. Confused, he looked around; he could still hear some muffled sounds. Locating the source as one of the lower cabinets in the pantry, he withdrew his wand in case the rats decided to attack him.

What he found was a little boy, no more than six years of age, tucked inside the drawer with a tin of pumpkin biscuits in his lap and one hand still inside. He had incredible blue hair. The boy startled, and his hair flickered to a bright red before resuming their previous blue color. Now Remus looked startled and stepped back.

"Who are you?" asked the little boy, after he decided that Remus was not an immediate threat to him or his biscuits.

"I'm… Zack. I'm a guest here." Remus paused, "May I ask who you are?"

"Yes," the boy replied cheekily and resumed eating his biscuits. He stopped and again, and looked at Remus before he could respond. "Will you tell them?" the little boy asked in a small but confident voice.

Remus hid a smile, his eyes still a little wide. "Tell them what?"

"Nothing," said the boy, hurriedly climbing out of the cabinet, reaching for a handful of more biscuits and closing the door behind him before he turned to face Remus.

"Why are you here?" asked the boy, placing his biscuits on the table, and trying to climb up on the chairs that were higher than his reach. Remus instinctively reached out and placed him on the chair.

"I'm a guest here," replied Remus. "And who are you?"

"I'm Teddy." The boy replied, paying a great deal of attention to his biscuits.

"Well, Teddy, why are you here?"

"I got hungry when I woke up; Grandmother says never to eat sweets when hungry. But they taste best when I am hungry."

Remus hid a smile, and asked, "That is good advice though... Your grandmother is here, then?"

"She said she had some important work to do. But I know that she is going to visit her friend in France, I heard her talking to Harry about it. It's because she doesn't want me to know that she will be having sweets there too. France has a lot of sweets, she told me herself."

Now Remus smiled, delighted. Little Teddy did not think he was little, and he was finding it adorable. "But of course, you know what is really going on, don't you?"

"Of course," replied Teddy, sitting up straight and jutting his tiny chin out. "I'm no longer a baby, I'm six."

Remus held back a laugh. "Oh my, that's big indeed."

"I even know magic now. Wanna see?"

"I really do."

Remus watched as the little boy swallowed the mouthful of biscuits and got ready. He closed his eyes, scrunched up his nose and fisted his little hands in concentration. His companion watched in fascination as the boy's appearance flickered and settled on a different one. He was sporting light brown hair, light brown eyes, and a long face and nose. With a start, Remus realized that that is what he must be looking like right now. Just to be sure, he checked his reflection in one of the gleaming kitchen cabinets and saw a very similar face to Teddy's staring back. He looked again at Teddy, his fascination with the little human growing.

"That is incredible!" He exclaimed.

Little Teddy beamed with pride, sitting up straighter if possible. "Grandmother says that when I am all grown up, I will be just like my mum, and control my magic like this," and he made a sad attempt at snapping his fingers.

Remus smiled slightly, "That is amazing Teddy… You are very very special, you know that, right?" And he meant it, Metamorphmagi were rare as it is, even more so was one that could control their appearance at six years of age.

"Thankyou mister," replied Teddy, smiling at him in a proud sort of way. He then proceeded to finish his make-shift meal slowly, his appearance returning to normal blue hair as Remus watched him. The boy began talking as he ate, explaining how he was always getting in trouble with his grandmother for scaring her by shifting his appearance, and how Harry always laughed at it and taught him to ride a broomstick.

"I can ride very fast now, but Harry wouldn't let me ride outside the garden, and never when Grandmother is around, or we would get a shrieking," Teddy said as he jumped off the chair unsteadily and straightened himself up.

"Where are you going?" Remus asked curiously, standing up himself.

"I'm going to bed now," replied the boy, a yawn overtaking him as if to prove a point. Remus followed the boy out of the kitchen, and into the foyer leading to the stairs. Only the pictures on the foyer wall were moving about in the empty hall. Teddy stopped, so did Remus, looking over to where the boy pointed out a picture to him. It was the same picture that James was staring at yesterday, with a small baby being chased by all the adults in the frame, ruining the family photo that was obviously planned.

"That baby is me," Teddy exclaimed. "Harry said they could not get a good picture with me running everywhere."

Remus smiled; the picture made more sense now. "You were quite a mischievous baby then."

"Everyone says I was adorable," replied Teddy, puffing out his cheeks and turning to face him. Remus gave a dramatic reaction and boy giggled. "Come here," he said, pulling at Remus's hand unexpectedly, leading him closer to the wall. "See up there? That's my mum and dad."

Remus looked and startled. It was the very picture that had fascinated and captured him yesterday. He could see his future-self staring back at him, smiling, standing behind a woman with bright pink hair. At first, he could not process what it implied, little Teddy pointing to a picture of him and the lady. When it did, Remus gasped, suddenly feeling unsteady on his feet.

"Teddy!" a female voice rang out from above them, and his little companion startled.

"I think I'm caught," Teddy whispered to him urgently. "Bye!" he said and ran towards the stairs.

The boy was halfway up already when Remus regained his senses and turned back, taking two large strides to reach the stairs. "Wait," he called out. Teddy looked back from the top of the stairs to Remus at the bottom.

"Teddy," asked Remus very softly, "may I know your full name?"

Teddy furrowed his little eyebrows at him.

"Edward Remus Lupin," at last he answered, and then ran away.

Remus Lupin stayed still for a long time.

A/N: Hello friends! So this chapter is a little short, a lot late, and hopefully some sweet.