Harry Potter and the New Marauders (A Harry Potter Fanfiction)

Teacher, Auror, Godfather

II

Teacher, Auror, Godfather

The remainder of that spring and the following summer were indeed a busy one for Harry, as well as for everyone who had volunteered to help with the repairs to the Hogwarts castle. Their first priority had been the roof and windows, though, since the weather could not be counted upon to remain clear and sunny, and no one was up to tampering with the weather using magic.

In addition to his helping with repairs, however, Harry’s off-time was totally consumed by Teddy. Grandma Andromeda, as Harry and his friends had begun referring to her (much to her delight), was not one to sit by and play with the baby while everyone else worked. As a member of Slytherin House, she was oddly almost Hufflepuff-like in her zeal to do something constructive. Harry, however, thought that most of her “duties” revolved around conspiratorial whispers with Professor McGonagall and disappearing for long periods of time with her! This left Harry not only with baby Teddy, but with the nagging feeling that he was being set up.

Harry thought that it might have something to do with the fact that Andromeda had come right out and told them all in the Gryffindor common room that night that Teddy had not only inherited his mother’s Metamorphmagus abilities, but his father’s Werewolf nature as well.

This didn’t surprise Harry, though, as he’d amazingly remembered from Professor Snape’s surprise essay during his Third Year that the offspring of natural (born that way) werewolves were always werewolves as well, and that converted (or bitten) werewolves SOMETIMES passed on their affliction to offspring, who MIGHT pass it on to their own. This prompted Harry to take a day off to begin his studies, and what he found in the library was disturbing.

Remus Lupin had not been a natural born werewolf, Harry knew, so he concentrated on converted ones. From what he could tell, those bitten in childhood, mainly before puberty, were highly likely to pass on the werewolf affliction to their children. Those converted after puberty showed a lower rate of having werewolf offspring, although the percentage still wasn’t in their favor. Harry wondered if this was what had once led Professor Lupin to say, “Our kind don’t breed.” Yet Lupin had gone on to father a child, and the more he thought about baby Teddy, the more Harry decided that he didn’t blame him for it. Remus Lupin has been willing to gamble on the outcome, and probably thought he’d be around to help if it turned out bad.

Then a footnote caught his attention:

“While fully realized adult werewolves are virtually immortal AND indestructible, converted, as well as naturally born werewolf children (puppies), usually do NOT survive infancy or early childhood. The trauma of the monthly change seems to lead to other physical and psychological defects, which are usually the cause of death. Conversion at an early age, records show, usually proves fatal for children by age three (3). The mortality rate for natural born werewolf children is much higher, however.”

Harry’s heart sank. Was Teddy only looking at three years of life then?

“Not if I have anything to say about it!” He swore.

And so Harry had gathered his close friends and gone to see Andromeda and Teddy.

“It’s very traumatic,” Andromeda explained. “And it’s horribly painful. He screams and cries, but in the end, when it’s done, he’ll sleep for a few hours and then I end up with the most adorable little puppy. He’s got a full coat of fur now, and his eyes are open, too! Most of the time he just sleeps through the night, though. Thank heavens we’re over the syringe-feeding stage!”

“So as an infant, Teddy seems to be on scale with normal canine puppies, then?” Hermione had asked.

“Precisely, and he’s a very good-tempered little puppy, too, when he’s awake.” Andromeda explained. “I don’t think they get mean and wild until they get older, and I can’t help but wonder if that has something to do with how they’re raised?”