Generations

Teddy had been hoping that Violet might be able to come visit again over the Easter holidays, but she told him that was not a battle either she or her father was prepared to fight just now.

“My mother says you're dangerous, and a bad influence, and you're going to get me killed, or worse, expelled,” Violet said, with a perfectly deadpan expression. “And she threatened to take me out of the country and enroll me at Beauxbatons whether my father approves or not.”

She found her cousin's worried look amusing. In truth, she knew her mother would never go that far. But as she stood at King's Cross Station, she was a little concerned, because her mother's letters following news of the goblin incident had bordered on unhinged.

Dewey and Kai had already been picked up by their families. Teddy was down the platform, waiting with his godfather and grandmother. Great-Aunt Andromeda had given Violet a hug and assured her that she was going to work it out so Violet could spend at least a little time with them this summer, one way or the other. But then they moved away a discreet distance, wanting to make sure she wasn't left alone at the station, but knowing that it would only provoke her mother if she found Violet surrounded by Teddy Lupin's family.

Pansy Parkinson arrived only minutes later, and to Violet's horror and embarrassment, picked her up and squeezed her.

“I told your father Hogwarts would never be safe again!” she said. “Especially not with Gryffindors still treating deadly threats as little extracurricular adventures!” She cast a dark scowl in the direction of Harry Potter, who seemed to be absorbed in conversation with Andromeda Tonks. Teddy was less successful at pretending disinterest.

“That vile little half-breed almost got you killed!” she hissed.

“Mother!”

“I don't care if he's your cousin, Violet! I don't want you to ever go near that boy again!”

“I can hardly avoid going near him when I have two classes every day with him,” Violet replied. She was trying to keep her cool, but she could see her mother was skipping right past the process of working herself into a state, and was already there.

“Regardless!” Pansy snapped. “I don't care if he gets himself killed, but how dare that spawn of a werewolf be allowed to endanger you?” For a horrible moment Violet thought she was going to go start a row with her cousin's family, right there on the platform.

“Mother, please put me down. Can we go home, please?” she wheedled.

To her immense relief, Pansy set her down, and then, taking her firmly by the hand, led her away. Violet glanced over her shoulder, and gave Teddy a little wave. He waved back sadly.

“Why does Ms. Parkinson hate you so much?” Teddy asked.

“I suppose her life didn't go exactly the way she thought it would,” said Harry.

“But that's not your fault.”

Harry sighed. “No, but if she wants to blame me, let her. I just wish it didn't make things more difficult for you two.”

Teddy worried about Violet, but his worries faded a bit once he returned to his grandmother's house, and he was able to relax for the first time in weeks.

He was glad to be home. His grandmother fussed and doted on him more than she had since he was a baby. He was embarrassed, but a part of him almost welcomed being treated as a child again. Trying to act like he was cheerful and undaunted in the aftermath of Slipfang's attack had been draining. No one, not even his best friends, knew about his nightmares, or the fact that he did not feel brave at all when he walked through the darker areas of Hogwarts castle at night.

The week of vacation coincided with Teddy's twelfth birthday. The Weasleys invited him and his grandmother to have his birthday party at Ottery St. Catchpole. Teddy suspected this was because Aunt Molly enjoyed any excuse to have a Weasley family get-together where she could see her children and grandchildren, but he was happy enough to spend the day with his aunts and uncles and cousins, who were as much family to him as the Potters.

When his grandmother brought him to the Burrow, it was chaos, as expected. Children of all ages were running around everywhere, and Teddy could already hear Aunt Molly yelling at one Weasley offspring or another to stay out of the kitchen. He knew she loved it, loved having kids around and underfoot. He could hardly even remember anymore which of his aunts were pregnant; he just knew that every time he came to one of these large Weasley gatherings, there was likely to be a new baby.

After he went through a gauntlet of hugging, kissing aunts and uncles, Harry said, “We have a surprise for you.”

“If this was supposed to be a surprise party, you probably shouldn't have told me about it beforehand,” Teddy joked.

Harry chuckled. “Go outside.”

Puzzled, Teddy walked out into the garden, and found Dewey and Kai waiting for him.

“Oi, Teddy! I didn't know half the baby boom consisted of your cousins!” said Kai, looking around at all the toddlers and younger children playing on the lawn, chasing gnomes or each other.

“How – ?” Teddy asked, delighted, as he joined his friends.

“Mr. Potter arranged it,” Dewey said. “My parents thought it was a splendid idea, and Kai's sister brought him by.”

“Happy birthday!” Kai grinned.

The three of them sat down outside and began talking about what they'd been doing the past few days. Dewey, apparently, had mostly been at home with his parents, and though he was glad to see them, Teddy got the impression that he was thrilled to be here and hanging out with other kids. Kai had spent the first part of their vacation with his parents, but yesterday he'd gotten to visit Cho and her fiance again, and had even gone to where his future brother-in-law worked, at a Muggle bank. He was talking about Muggle things that made no sense to Dewey and Teddy, when a voice suddenly squealed, “Happy birthday, Teddy!” A girl with long blonde hair practically jumped on him from behind and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Hi, Victoire.” Teddy grinned at Kai and Dewey, a little embarrassedly, and peeled his cousin off his back and dragged her to his side to introduce her properly. “Victoire, these are my friends from school, Kai and Dewey. This is Victoire, one of my many cousins.”

Victoire pouted slightly. She didn't seem to appreciate being referred to as “one of many.” But the pout disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared, and she gave a sunny smile to the other two boys. “I'm Teddy's oldest cousin!” she emphasized.

“Well, oldest of the Weasleys, anyway,” Teddy said, and wished that Violet had been able to come too.

“And his prettiest cousin too, I reckon,” Dewey said, grinning at the way Teddy turned red. Although Victoire was younger than any of them, neither Dewey nor Kai could help noticing that she was extraordinarily pretty. Dewey thought by the time she was old enough to go to Hogwarts, she'd already be turning heads.

Victoire's smile became radiant at that. “Thank you!” She glanced at Teddy, as if to see whether he agreed, but Teddy's expression, half amused, half embarrassed, hadn't changed. She sat down next to him, then, oblivious to the possibility that the three boys might not have wanted to include a younger girl in their conversation. Teddy seemed to take it with good humor, though, even when Victoire clutched his arm and leaned against his shoulder.

Dewey and Kai exchanged a look. They were both thinking that Victoire reminded them of someone else.

“I heard about what happened to you, Teddy,” Victoire said. “That's so horrible, what that goblin did! I hope Uncle Harry sorts them out soon! Does it still hurt?”

“No, Victoire. I'm all better.” Which wasn't entirely true, but Teddy didn't want to give Victoire more of an excuse to fuss over him.

“Mama is very worried,” Victoire said. “She says it's unconscionable that such things could happen at Hogwarts, and that the creature responsible be allowed to remain at large.” She mimicked her mother's indignant tirade almost exactly. “She wants me to go to Beauxbatons. She says such things could never happen there. But I don't want to go to Beauxbatons, Teddy! I want to go to Hogwarts!”

“I wouldn't worry about it, Victoire,” said Dewey. “I don't think Slipfang can remain at large forever, and the staff has been much more vigilant lately. There are alarms and wards everywhere.”

Teddy nodded. “I don't think even Harry in his invisibility cloak could sneak into Hogwarts now.” Of course, the heightened security had come at a price. Students, who were used to being allowed a certain amount of freedom of movement, now set off alarms or were confronted with animated suits of armor or were frozen in place by hidden charms if they went anywhere outside the prescribed common areas of the castle. This required a professor, or Filch, to come deal with the errant student personally, which was a drain on the time and patience of the staff. It had definitely put a damper on the amorous activities of older students.

“Well, I don't care if there are goblins there,” declared Victoire. “I am not afraid of goblins!”

“Oi,” said Kai, shaking his head. “Gryffindor for sure.”

“Thank you!” Victoire exclaimed, pleased. Kai and Dewey grinned at each other. Teddy looked pained. “I turn ten next month you know, Teddy,” she said, a little more shyly.

He nodded. “I know. I'm not likely to forget your birthday, Victoire.” That came out of his mouth more sharply than he'd intended, but fortunately, Victoire didn't notice, and just smiled at him. “I'm sorry I won't be able to come to your party, but we'll be back in school.” He wasn't really sorry, though. Victoire's birthday was also the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts, and his parents' deaths, and this year in particular, he thought he would have a hard time putting on a celebratory face for her.

She nodded sadly. “Oh, I wish I could go to Hogwarts this September!” She almost looked as if she were going to stamp her foot. “But Mama and Papa say I have to wait a whole 'nother year yet! It's just not fair!”

“Those are the breaks, Vicky.” Teddy grinned at her as she glared at him. He knew how much she hated that nickname. “You have to be eleven before you start your first year.”

“Unless you're Violet,” Kai said.

“Violet? I remember her.” Victoire turned to look at Kai. “She did look very young. She wasn't any taller than me.”

“Yeah, she wasn't quite eleven yet when she started school.” Kai was munching on a gingerbread cookie; he and Dewey had collected handfuls of cookies from the kitchen before coming out to the garden. Thus, he was completely oblivious to Teddy's sudden look of alarm.

Victoire sat up straight, and instantly went from flirty and playful to rapt attentiveness. “How did she do that?” she asked, and with her attention entirely focused on Kai, he didn't notice Teddy moving his hands frantically side to side and shaking his head, silently mouthing “Nonono!”

Kai shrugged. “Her family's got connections,” he said. “Her father, mostly. Guess he was able to swing an exception for her.”

“Really?” Victoire said slowly, sounding much more serious than she had seconds ago.

“But that was a special situation, completely unique!” Teddy said quickly.

“Well,” said Victoire, “if Violet's father can have an exception made for her, I don't see why Papa can't have an exception made for me.” She stood up. “After all,” she declared, “we are Weasleys!” And with a proud toss of her head, she marched off to find her parents.

Teddy buried his face in his hands and groaned, while Dewey just shook his head.

“What?” asked Kai.

“You just put the idea in her head that she can start Hogwarts a year early,” Teddy muttered, through his fingers. “Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur are not going to thank you for that!”

Inside, the adults were arranged around the kitchen table now, or seated in the living room, where they could keep an eye on the kids outside through the windows. Molly and Fleur were in the kitchen, though Ginny and Hermione both kept trying to get them to sit down. Hermione was in one of the stuffed, well-worn chairs in the living room, with Ron next to her. He was looking around and noting how much of the furniture hadn't changed since he was a boy. Arthur, Harry, Ginny, Bill, and Andromeda were at the table, Ginny with Lily in her lap. This gathering was smaller than the one at Christmas, as George and Percy had not been able to come with their families, but there were still enough Weasley children about to require multiple pairs of eyes on the lookout at all times.

“I'm glad you were able to come, Bill,” said Arthur. Bill and Fleur had come the furthest, and Bill was often tied down with his work for Gringotts.

“When Victoire found out it was Teddy's birthday, I'd have lost my status as Most Wonderful Father in the World if I hadn't brought her,” Bill said, smiling as he drank coffee from a faded orange and yellow mug. “In fact, I would probably have become the Most Awful, Cruel, and Heartless Father on Earth.”

Fleur snickered, from the kitchen. Then they watched as Victoire tackle Teddy from behind, followed by her attaching herself to him and joining the three boys.

“Oh, ma chérie,” said Fleur, shaking her head. “Teddy is a sweet boy, but I wish she were not so infatuated at such a young age.”

Bill sighed. “I suspect she'll grow out of her infatuation, once she realizes there are other fish in the sea.”

“And that she can have any fish she wants,” Ron commented. “They'll all be swimming upstream to reach her.” He grinned slightly at his older brother and his part-Veela sister-in-law, ignoring Hermione's look of mock outrage.

“Don't remind me,” Bill groaned. “I'm not looking forward to the next few years.”

“Well, Teddy's not exactly lacking in charms either,” Hermione said wryly.

“And from what I hear, Victoire's already got competition,” Harry remarked, with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Especially since he can change his looks,” said Ron. “It's kind of scary, when you think about what a teenaged boy could get up to with an ability like that. Once he becomes seriously interested in girls...”

“It would certainly have been scary if you'd had an ability like that,” Hermione snorted.

“Fortunately, I've already been through this once,” said Andromeda, sipping tea. “And there were a few years there, when Nymphadora was in her teens, once she realized she could change a lot more than her hair color...” She sighed, while Ron smirked, Hermione shook her head at Ron, and Harry and Bill looked amused. “But even in the throes of adolescence, Dora never completely lost her common sense. Which is more than I can say for Teddy, I'm afraid.”

“Now, be fair, Andromeda,” said Arthur. “I don't think Teddy's been acting any more foolish than your average eleven year-old boy.”

“There's no such thing as average when it comes to boys' foolishness!” Molly said loudly, from the kitchen.

“His heart is definitely in the right place,” said Harry. “But it worries me that he doesn't appreciate how much danger he could be putting himself into.”

“Because we were always really careful about that, weren't we?” Ron said.

Harry looked annoyed. “Ron, that's exactly what I'm talking about.”

“Look, we protect them as best we can,” said Ron, “and I'm sure Hugo and Rose will be driving us spare when the time comes.” He glanced at Hermione, who smiled slightly. She had her eye on Hugo, who was currently trying to crawl up the stairs on his own. Her hand was on her wand, ready to intervene in an instant if Hugo's stair-climbing adventure suddenly took a tumble for the worse. “But,” Ron continued, “you have to let 'em sort some things out on their own. Think how it would have been for us if adults were always popping up and telling us, 'Don't do that!'”

“Adults were always popping up and telling us 'Don't do that!',” Harry pointed out. “We just went around them like every other obstacle.”

“And are we seeing a pattern yet?” Hermione asked dryly, pointing her wand. Hugo rose into the air, waving his arms and legs and laughing with delight, a split-second after a foot had slipped and he'd been about to slide painfully back down the stairs.

“It's a bit disheartening to think of myself as an obstacle getting in Teddy's way,” Harry admitted.

“That's called parenting, darling,” said Ginny, handing Lily to him.

“And children should not be confronting goblins!” Fleur fumed, as she and Molly walked into the dining room carrying fresh-baked pies and Teddy's birthday cake. “Why 'asn't ze Ministry put an end to zees S.C.O.U.R.G.E. yet?”

Harry sighed, exchanging a look with Ron and Hermione, and then with Bill, who was sympathetic, but hid it well. “So far, S.C.O.U.R.G.E. has done nothing more than write a threatening letter. Slipfang is another matter, and it's very likely he is part of this goblin underground movement, but we have to tread carefully. The entire goblin population is watching to see how the Ministry deals with this, and if we treat goblins the way S.C.O.U.R.G.E. accuses us of treating them – which is the way we have, in the past – then we play right into their hands.”

Fleur sniffed. “Zey should know better zan to cross us! What are zey complaining about? Zey are treated very well in Britain, and in France too!”

“Considering all the riches of the wizarding world are entrusted to their vaults, we'd better treat them well,” Andromeda observed.

“Yes,” Bill nodded. “Most goblins don't want violence, but I have to tell you, Harry is right – even the bankers who work at Gringotts are sympathetic to S.C.O.U.R.G.E. If we use an iron fist in dealing with them, the repercussions might go well beyond a few riots.”

“Well, my colleagues at the Goblin Liaison Office tell me they haven't been making much progress,” Arthur said. “They consider the goblins' demands completely unreasonable.”

“As usual, we take other beings for granted until we're forced to pay attention,” said Hermione. She had brought Hugo back to her, and handed him to Ron, who began bouncing his happy, squealing son on his knee, while Hermione rose to walk over and join the adults at the kitchen table. “There hasn't been a major goblin uprising in living memory, so wizards don't think of goblins at all unless they need a moneychanger or a jeweler. And don't get me started on house-elves!”

“Yes, please don't,” said Ron, earning him a glare from his wife.

“She's already got Teddy started on house-elves,” said Harry.

“And I maintain that what he did was in fact brilliant!” said Hermione, crossing her arms across her chest and daring anyone to disagree.

There was an awkward silence, and then Arthur said, “Hermione, dear, you know we all agree with you, that house-elf slavery has to come to an end eventually.”

“But Teddy's stunt, well-intentioned though it may have been, didn't do anything to bring that about,” said Harry. “Those poor elves he 'liberated' for a weekend were probably miserable, and couldn't wait to get back to work.”

“Yes,” Hermione agreed, a trifle impatiently. “I'm not fourteen anymore, Harry. I'm well aware that we can't simply free them en masse, even if I could get the entire wizarding world to agree that we should.”

In fact, Hermione had spent years researching the origin and nature of house-elf servitude. Through her work in the Ministry, she was now the foremost expert on the ancient binding magic that enslaved house-elves, almost the entire race, to the will of wizards, and she had been publicly advocating on their behalf since immediately after the war against Voldemort had ended.

And Ron and Harry, though they frequently played devil's advocate, supported her completely, and she knew they did. But they had heard this speech many times.

The fire in her eyes slowly dimmed, as resignation replaced irritation. “But even those who are sympathetic always say that, Arthur,” she sighed. “Eventually. Someday. When the time is right. When we can get everyone to agree. When we've figured out some other way to give meaning to the lives of beings who know no other life. But we're never going to get there as long as wizards are perfectly comfortable with the status quo. We can sit around a kitchen table and agree that it's very unfortunate that house-elves are enslaved, and meanwhile they're still doing the cooking and cleaning and laundry at Hogwarts, and everyone at Hogwarts is quite happy with the way things are. At least Teddy may have planted a seed in some of their minds. It will be a little bit harder for them to take the house-elves for granted.”

“Really?” Ron said slowly. “When Teddy and his friends go back to Hogwarts, how often do you reckon they'll think about the fact that elves are still cooking and cleaning and doing their laundry for them?”

Hermione gave Ron a narrow look, but the look he gave her in return was understanding and affectionate, and not contrary at all. He understood her, he really did. He might not be quite as passionate on the subject as she was, but he always supported her in her efforts, especially when she felt the most hopeless and frustrated. He feared she might be expecting a little too much out of twelve year-olds, though – perhaps because she had never quite been a normal twelve year-old.

Harry cleared his throat. “You're absolutely right, Hermione, that wizards don't like to change the status quo when they're comfortable with it. And that's what I'm afraid is about to bite us again. Because the goblins aren't happy with the status quo, and they've been patient for a very long time.”

“I hope we can all agree that we shouldn't be encouraging Teddy to tackle these problems,” said Andromeda. “Literally or figuratively.”

“Well, I certainly hope he's learned his lesson about chasing after intruders,” Harry said, with a shudder. He still remembered how very pale Teddy had looked, the night he went to see him immediately after Slipfang's attack. “But I don't think he's done with giving us cause to worry.” Harry sounded almost proud in spite of himself.

Just then, Victoire burst into the house. “Mama, Papa, guess what Teddy and his friends told me?” she exclaimed eagerly, running into the kitchen, almost glowing with excitement. “I can too start Hogwarts before I turn eleven!”

Everyone stared at the exuberant girl, and then Bill and Fleur looked at each other.

“We will talk about zees later, ma chérie,” said Fleur, giving her daughter a kiss on the forehead. “Why don't you call Teddy and all ze other children in so we can all enjoy wishing him a happy birthday toge'zair?” And as Victoire bounced back out of the kitchen, Fleur's expression darkened, suddenly showing a side of her Veela heritage that wasn't often on display.

“At this rate, he might not celebrate another!” Ron quipped. But no one laughed. Teddy had come very close to not celebrating this one... and Fleur really did look pretty scary.

Several days later, Teddy was reunited with his friends once again at King's Cross Station. The past few days had been mostly pleasant, though his grandmother had shifted rapidly from doting to nagging, warning him to behave himself, pay more attention to his studies, and stop pushing school rules just to see how much he could get away with. Though she never quite said so, he knew she wanted him to stop his D.A. activities – she spoke of his “crusading” and the “first-year pranks” he and his friends had been up to in a dismissive, disapproving tone. She layered a bit of guilt on top of that, as she examined his healing scars, and asked him how he'd feel if it had been Violet who had been injured. Andromeda Tonks knew better than to forbid him outright from further acts of civil disobedience, but she managed to make him feel as if he were a very foolish but lucky boy who was endangering his friends and keeping his poor grandmother up late at night worrying about him.

On top of that, Victoire had been utterly crushed when her parents made it clear that under no circumstances was she going to start Hogwarts a year early. Somehow, that had become Teddy's fault, so Victoire wasn't speaking to him when he left. He thought that might not necessarily be a bad thing, and then chided himself for being so uncharitable.

Kai was carrying a larger trunk than he'd left school with. Teddy looked at it curiously. “You have a birthday too?” he asked. He'd received quite a few presents, and had had to leave some of them at his grandmother's house.

“Not 'til next month,” said Kai. He grinned. “But I picked up a few things for our next protest.”

Dewey eyed the trunk uneasily. “Nothing that's going to shoot fire, I hope.”

“Did you pack one of those computer things?” Teddy asked.

“Well, that would be rather pointless, bringing a computer somewhere where there's no electricity, wouldn't it?” Kai said, as if he were pointing out the obvious. He enjoyed being an “expert” on something his friends knew almost nothing about, though Dewey suspected, from watching Gilbert and Edgar and Simon when Kai showed off his expertise, that half the time Kai didn't know what he was talking about where Muggle items were concerned.

The three of them pushed their way onto the Hogwarts Express and claimed a compartment for themselves, while watching out the window for Violet's arrival. They knew waiting on the platform for her might be a bad idea – her mother wouldn't like seeing them. But as the minutes went by, they began to get worried. The train would be leaving soon, and still there was no sign of Violet.

“Her mother was threatening to take her out of the country,” Teddy said, chewing on his lip.

“I don't reckon her father would like that much,” said Dewey.

“Might not stop her,” Teddy replied somberly. He remembered that angry, spiteful look Violet's mother had given him and Harry, as if she were enraged by their very presence near her daughter.

“There she is!” said Kai, pointing. And they all breathed a sigh of relief. Violet was walking with her mother, and almost unconsciously, Teddy, Dewey, and Kai all sat back in their seats so they wouldn't be so visible through the window. But they still watched, as Pansy Parkinson turned to face Violet, and seemed to be speaking to her very seriously. Violet was expressionless, and stood completely still. She nodded slightly, a couple of times, and barely reacted at all when her mother bent over to give her a light kiss on the cheek. Pansy turned and stared at the train, and Teddy knew, somehow, that she was looking for him. He shrank back and actually slid lower in his seat.

Then Violet boarded the train. It was several minutes before she appeared at the door to their compartment, and she almost seemed to hesitate before she opened it and stepped inside.

“Violet!” Kai grinned.

“Hello, Violet,” said Dewey.

“How was your vacation?” Teddy asked, smiling at his cousin but feeling a little uneasy.

“Fabulous,” she said tersely. She set her small suitcase under the nearest seat, sat down, and opened a book.

The three boys looked at each other.

“Well, it's nice to see you again, too,” said Kai.

“Hello, I'm Dewey. Have we been introduced?” Dewey asked.

Violet sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. “I'm just not feeling very talkative,” she said slowly.

She knew she should have just sat with Nagaeena and Bernice and Decima, who were all cooing over Nagaeena's gorgeous new pet owl. She wouldn't put it past her mother to spy through the windows of the train before it left, and have another excoriating letter waiting for her on arrival at Hogwarts. Maybe even a Howler.

Teddy and Dewey and Kai all exchanged looks, and then nodded.

“All right, Violet,” Teddy said soberly. And for the first part of the trip, the boys talked amongst themselves, only occasionally casting worried looks at Violet. After the dessert trolley came by, and they all bought some snacks, Kai took out bags of Muggle junk food to pass around, and Violet hesitantly tried a candy bar.

“I don't see what makes it so special,” she said, chewing on the chocolate and caramel and coconut concoction. “Wizard sweets are just as good.”

“These are kind of tasty. A bit odd. Spongy,” said Dewey, as he stared at the two halves of a golden yellow pastry filled with white cream.

“What makes 'em special is Muggles make 'em by the millions!” said Kai. “They don't need a spell or a cauldron or house-elves to make great heaping piles of them! Muggles practically live on this stuff!”

“There must be a lot of fat Muggles,” Teddy muttered. He grimaced. “These aren't so good. Do Muggles really like stale potato sticks?”

Kai had packed several boxes full of french fries. He tried one, and made a face. “Cho's fiance told me they never go bad 'cause of the way they're fried.”

“Think maybe he was having you on?” suggested Dewey.

“Anyway, I brought a lot of candy, and even better, have a look at these!” Kai fished some brightly colored pamphlets out of his luggage, and passed them around. “They're called comic books. Genuine Muggle entertainment!”

Dewey and Teddy began flipping through the pages, enthralled, while Violet inspected one, and frowned a little at the man on the cover dressed in what looked like pajamas with a cape. “Do Muggles dress like this?” she asked.

“No, Violet! Crikey, they're fictional characters!”

She shook her head, as she continued paging through the comic book. “Why do all these fictional characters wear underwear in public?” She looked at Teddy and Dewey, and rolled her eyes. They were practically giggling at pictures of a half-naked woman wearing a mask. “Your naughty picture books are going to be confiscated as soon as a professor sees them,” she said.

“They're not naughty!” Kai protested. He pointed at the improbably-endowed woman the boys were ogling. “She's a superhero!”

Violet just gave him a blank stare.

“Anyway,” Kai went on, “I'm going to pass them out at our next D.A. meeting, and we can distribute them all over the school, then. The professors can't confiscate all of them.”

“Unless they conduct a search of our rooms tonight,” Violet said in a flat tone. “Like they did when we came back from Christmas vacation. But I'm sure it would never occur to them to do that, with all the D.A. troublemakers returning from holiday.”

The boys' eyes went wide as Violet's words sank in. Clearly this had not occurred to them.

Violet sighed, and pulled her suitcase out from under her seat. “Here,” she said. “Hide your comic books in here.”

Kai eyed Violet's little traveling case. It was barely larger than a purse. “They won't all fit in there,” he said.

“Just because you think Muggles are so charming, don't act like you're as ignorant as a Muggle-born!” she snapped. “You have heard of wizard spaces?” She opened her case, and the boys saw that there was what seemed to be a full-sized closet within.

“Brilliant!” said Teddy. “That must have cost a princely knut or two.”

Violet shrugged.

“But your case might get searched too,” Kai pointed out.

“Unless I open it just so, it will only reveal a much smaller compartment, with my traveling clothes.” said Violet.

Shaking their heads in admiration, Kai and Dewey and Teddy all carefully stacked up the comic books – Kai had stuffed so many into his trunk that it nearly outweighed him, and he was only able to drag it on wheels – and put them into Violet's suitcase. When she snapped it shut and put it back under her seat, it was practically weightless.

Teddy grinned. “This is why we need Slytherins in the D.A.”

“You're the best, Vi,” Kai agreed.

“Mmm,” Violet said, casting a scowl at Kai, but otherwise saying nothing as she returned to her book.

Violet's warning to the contrary, there was no search of the returning students' belongings, though Teddy thought that Hagrid and Professor Longbottom were studying each student who filed through the gates back into the castle with unusual scrutiny, and would not have been surprised to learn they were using some sort of spell to detect forbidden items. If so, though, the spell must not have detected Muggle items, as no one was intercepted on their way in.

The Daily Prophet had finally mentioned, in a back-page story, rumors of a goblin infiltrating Hogwarts and getting into a scuffle with some students. Rumors that could not be confirmed, since the Headmistress and Hogwarts staff refused to answer reporters' questions, citing the need to protect the privacy of underage students.

“Well, that's thoughtful of them,” said Teddy at breakfast. He knew that everyone who had a child at Hogwarts, or who knew someone who did, had already heard about Slipfang and Teddy Lupin. He was glad that the Daily Prophet hadn't published his name again, though.

“They probably don't want to get people up in arms about goblins,” said Colin.

“If you hadn't been so pants at fighting 'em, we might all have gotten our wands back!” said Alfred.

All the younger Gryffindors stared at him. “Are you nuts?” Colin exclaimed. “Teddy almost got killed! Why don't you go fight a goblin?”

“Thanks, Colin,” said Teddy gratefully. “But I really wouldn't recommend anyone fight goblins.” He gave Alfred a disapproving look. “Haven't seen you at the last few D.A. meetings,” he said, lowering his voice.

Alfred looked away. Teddy shook his head.

“Teddy, are we going to meet this Friday?” asked Chloe.

Teddy nodded. “Did you have something you plan to show us?” he asked, bemused.

She just smiled at him.

All of the Muggle-borns were looking smug that week, and by Friday, even Anthony and Nero were curious. Alfred Cattermole and Christopher Tilney were back, along with a second-year Slytherin boy named Walter Greeves. There were some other new faces as well. Teddy saw Irene Baker, a Muggle-born fourth-year from Hufflepuff, and Hannah Holmes, the third-year Gryffindor Seeker, had brought her Ravenclaw boyfriend, Peter Honeybourne. The first-years were still more numerous than the older kids, but clearly this was no longer a firsties club

“This has to be the worst-kept 'secret' in Hogwarts' history,” said Kai.

Teddy nodded. The Room of Requirement had expanded and was a bit larger than it had been at the previous gatherings of the D.A. He still wasn't quite sure what to make of the staff's lack of action. By now he was quite certain that virtually the entire school knew about the D.A.'s Friday meetings. He wondered if Professor Longbottom was just curious to find out what they were going to do next.

The Muggle-borns were unloading bags and boxes full of toys, games, books, and posters, as well as more “candy bars” and “potato chips” and other “junk food.” Kai's comic books were proving quite popular. All of the magically-raised children were intrigued at this unfamiliar look at Muggle culture, and the things Muggle kids entertained themselves with.

Edgar had gathered a group of curious students around a table, where he was showing off books about some sort of magical game played using oddly-shaped dice and “character sheets.”

“Is this supposed to be a dragon?” scoffed Nero, flipping through one of Edgar's books. “Dragons don't look like that! And 'genius intelligence'?” He laughed out loud. “My grandfather trained dragons for the Italian Ministry of Magic, and he says they're the dumbest beasts you can imagine!”

“Muggles don't know very much about magic,” Anthony agreed, looking at another rulebook” “How come none of these wizards are holding wands? And why are all the witches practically starkers?”

Across the room, there was laughter, as Peter Honeybourne's feet went out from under him, sending a curved plank on wheels flying across the room.

“No way Muggles can actually keep their balance on that thing without magic!” the Ravenclaw Seeker said sourly, as Hannah helped him back to his feet.

“Sure they can,” said Simon, and he hopped on the board, and to everyone's amazement, began pushing himself in circles around the room, spinning and wheeling and practically dancing on the wheeled contrivance. Dewey was less amazed by his roommate's skill at balancing himself on the Muggle “skateboard” than he was by the way Simon was grinning and looking thoroughly pleased with himself, so unlike his usual quiet, reserved self.

“Used to have nothing else to do after school but hang around the car park and watch the older kids,” he explained, when he caught Dewey staring at him.

“Hey!” Edgar exclaimed suddenly, so loudly that he startled the kids near him. “Do you think the Room of Requirement could become a skate park? That would be bloody brilliant!”

The Room of Requirement was becoming pandemonium, but in a good way, Teddy thought. Some of the other girls were gathered around a mirror, with a table full of cosmetics, while Chloe showed off her new mobile phone. It was a pretty shiny red color, and she was waxing on and on about all of its features and the brilliant things it could do, but she was having a hard time convincing the skeptics, although Guy Blake had drifted over to examine it.

“If you get caught again, you'll get worse than lines,” said Edgar.

Chloe smiled, and waved her wand over her phone. It turned into an earring.

“And yet you could barely do a Color Change Charm,” snorted Bernice.

“What are you doing, Violet?” Teddy asked, as he found his cousin prying open her traveling case and trying to pull something out of it.

“Trying to pull something out of my traveling case,” she replied, looking at him in that way that made him feel perfectly idiotic.

“Right.” It looked like she had her hands on a wheel. He helped her squeeze it through the narrow opening of her case, and found it was attached to a metal frame of some sort. As the two of them continued pulling it out, which was no easy feat, other kids gathered around.

“I know what that is,” said Kai. “It's a bicycle!”

“Very good,” Violet said, giving him a patronizing look.

“What are you going to do with a bicycle?” asked a curious Irene Baker. “Ride it through the hallways?”

“I was thinking there must be something magical you can do with it,” Violet said. “I'm donating it to the cause.”

“Looks a little big for you,” said Colin, and the other kids snickered.

“How did you get it?” asked Teddy. He was impressed. Not least by the fact that Violet had been able to get it into her case in the first place. As they stood the bicycle up, it gleamed under the lamps of the Room of Requirement, all silvery chrome and smelling of oil and rubber.

“There's a new Muggle imports store in Diagon Alley,” said Violet. “I went shopping there when I told my mother I was going to get an ice cream.”

“I've been there,” said Guy. He whistled as he examined the bicycle. “Everything there is horribly expensive – there isn't much of a market for Muggle items yet, and everything has to go through a dozen different offices at the Ministry.”

Violet shrugged. “I told them to send the bill to my father.”

Teddy looked askance at her. “Your father is going to get a bill for some expensive Muggle toy? Isn't he going to be... angry?”

“Oh yes,” said Violet. “Furious.” She sounded almost cheerful.

“We could animate it,” said Guy. “Make it fly.”

“Making a flying bicycle is likely to get you into trouble with the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office,” said Irene.

“Bet Peeves would love playing with it,” suggested Edgar.

“Peeves will hang it from a chandelier,” snorted Walter Greeves.

Everyone debated what to do with Violet's odd acquisition, which turned into a discussion of what to do with all of the Muggle artifacts. As Teddy had feared, the older kids tended to talk over the first-years, but he and Dewey and Kai insisted on speaking up and being heard, and by the end of the evening, comic books, magazines, games, toys, junk food, footballs and tennis racquets, skateboards and ballpoint pens, dolls and cosmetics, and even an old typewriter, were distributed among thirty-three D.A. members.

“Hey!” Teddy yelled. “Remember, the point of this isn't just to have fun playing with Muggle toys! It's to show everyone that there's nothing wrong with them, and the rules against –” His voice was drowned out by Hannah and Peter laughing at some “relationship test” in a magazine, and Guy trying to talk Chloe into letting him experiment with her mobile phone, and Anthony and Nero howling in laughter as Stephen tried unsuccessfully to roll out the door on a skateboard.

“Don't worry, mate,” said Dewey, clapping him on the back. “This protest has taken on a life of its own, I think.”

“I'm kind of afraid of that,” Teddy said.

“Fancy stuffing your bicycle back into your case?” Kai asked Violet.

She wrinkled her nose. She did not not, in fact, fancy doing that. The first time had been awful enough. Those handlebars were a pain.

“We can leave it here, I reckon,” said Teddy.

“Maybe you should practice your shrinking charms,” Chloe said lightly, as she exited. She gave Teddy a little wave, while Violet glowered at her.

Comic books, magazines, fantasy and science fiction novels, games, candy bars and bags of sweets, and toys of all sorts were soon littering the common rooms of all four houses. Some teachers weren't quite sure what to make of the pens and pencils and colored markers that students began producing during class. After a few of them were confiscated, the House Heads announced (following a conference with the Headmistress) that it was up to individual teachers whether Muggle writing implements would be permitted in their classrooms.

The teachers spent the next week struggling to deal with the sudden influx of Muggle artifacts. The older and more hidebound members of the staff, like Professor Wolfram and Professor Sinistra, confiscated any unfamiliar item they saw. Professor Peasegood actually seemed pleased. She and Professor Philandros, who taught Muggle Studies, were the ones the other teachers consulted with when they confiscated yet another object they didn't recognize.

Predictably, there were detentions. Simon's skateboard was taken away, and he cost Hufflepuff twenty-five points, when he tried riding it down the stairs and almost flattened Professor Flitwick. Some teachers didn't appreciate Kai's comic books at all, and several girls were lectured about their makeup.

Movie posters lined the corridors the last week in April, stirring curiosity even among the teachers.

“The Muggles made a movie about Dumbledore?” Teddy asked, walking down a first floor corridor with Kai after History of Magic.

“That's not Dumbledore. Muggles don't know who Dumbledore was,” said Kai, taking the same know-it-all tone he always did when speaking about Muggles. They paused to look at the life-sized portrait of a wizard with a long white beard and a staff. “That's Randolph! They made a movie about him fighting a Dark Lord in ancient times over a magic ring. I think it's historical, but they got all the details wrong, of course.”

“I've never heard of him,” said Teddy. “It's kind of creepy, the way Muggle pictures just stare at you without moving, isn't it?”

“Mr. Lupin,” said an adult voice from down the hall, and Kai and Teddy turned, a little guiltily, to face Professor Longbottom.

“We didn't put these up, Professor!” said Kai defensively.

Longbottom snorted. “Filch might have conniptions, but I'm not worried about them.” He waved a hand dismissively at all the movie posters lining the hallway. “I do, however, wish to speak to Teddy about something else.” He stood, waiting, until Teddy nodded to Kai and followed his house head upstairs to his office.

It had been raining heavily for the past week, but in Professor Longbottom's office, spring was in full bloom – literally. There was an explosion of color and flowery scents as soon as he opened the door, and Teddy had to watch where he stepped, as some of Longbottom's plants were more aggressive than others. A bright yellow flower with many sharp, tiny teeth leaned out of its pot and tried to nip Teddy's ear as he sat down.

“The D.A. has been very busy,” said Professor Longbottom.

Teddy said nothing.

Longbottom pulled something out of a drawer and set it on his desk. It was a plastic green monster of some sort, standing on its hind legs, looking vaguely like a cross between a gorilla and a dragon. Longbottom tapped it with his wand, and it suddenly lurched forward awkwardly, waving its arms stiffly, and roared with a strange, high-pitched sound, like a teakettle. The sound trailed off and died, as the toy wobbled to a halt.

“Apparently it needs something called a battery, which dies quickly in a magical environment,” Longbottom said, by way of explanation. “I confiscated this from Mr. Hargrave and Mr. Zirkle, who discovered they could power it for a few seconds at a time with their wands.”

“It doesn't look very dangerous,” said Teddy.

Longbottom smiled. “No, it isn't. But they had it marching through the venomous tentacula during Herbology class. When I heard them talking about using an Enlargement Charm and making it breathe fire, I decided it would be prudent to confiscate it.” He sat down and gave Teddy a bemused look. “Many of these Muggle things seem quite popular, even with students who have no interest in Muggle Studies.”

“Ballpoint pens are brilliant!” said Teddy. “They beat non-magical quills any day. I don't understand why teachers try to keep harmless stuff like that out of school.”

Longbottom regarded Teddy thoughtfully for a few moments. “Most of these items have not been confiscated, except when they've disrupted class,” he pointed out, and Teddy realized that this was true. He paused, and held his tongue.

“Filch, of course, is furious about all these posters of Muggle entertainment plastered along the hallways,” Longbottom went on. “And whoever put that Hunchback of Notre Dame poster on his office door was being quite unkind. But while the prohibition against, umm, electronical, devices, is still in effect, things like ballpoint pens and 'comic books' have never been forbidden, strictly speaking.” He poked the plastic Muggle toy again with his wand, and it responded with another tinny screech. “Voldemort didn't create the bias against allowing Muggle culture to infiltrate the wizarding world. That has existed for generations. He merely turned those prejudices into a pogrom.” He set his wand down and looked at Teddy again. “Those prejudices are slowly losing their grip, but what you're doing, Teddy, is quite bold... and, I think, a good thing. I'm not sure it couldn't be done in a more decorous fashion, but you are helping bring about a change that is long overdue.” And as Teddy stared at him in surprise, Longbottom said, “Would it surprise you to learn that Professor Llewellyn feels the same way?”

Teddy gaped. “Er, yes.”

Longbottom chuckled. “Not that she exactly approves of what the D.A. is doing, but surely you've noticed that for such an unfair, unjust Headmistress, she's declined to crack down on you as heavily as she could.”

Teddy frowned. “She hasn't rescinded the Zero Toleration Policy yet. Or brought back all the expelled students.”

Longbottom sighed. “Just because you have some legitimate grievances doesn't mean you're going to force the Headmistress to run the school the way you'd like. However, I am telling you this because I have a request. There is something that concerns me, and Professor Llewellyn.”

“What's that?” Teddy asked cautiously.

“The twelfth anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts is coming up,” said Longbottom seriously. “And I believe there will be even more survivors attending than were at the tenth anniversary... because you, the children of those survivors, are now starting to attend Hogwarts. Harry and Ginny are coming, of course, and I don't know exactly how many others, but there will be quite a few alumni here.”

Teddy knew that Harry went to the anniversary every year. They'd almost brought him to the tenth anniversary, but he would have been the only child there, and his grandmother didn't want him to be the focus of the event, with everyone speaking in hushed whispers about the poor orphan and his brave parents. He just looked at Professor Longbottom, waiting for him to explain what this had to do with him and the D.A.

“Every year,” Longbottom continued, “There is a memorial service, and the entire school is assembled for it. That's always a bit difficult. There are always a few students who have family that died during the war – on both sides. But as you know, many of your fellow firsties weren't even born yet when the Battle of Hogwarts took place. That has great significance to many survivors.”

“Right.” Teddy nodded slowly, his expression very solemn.

Longbottom leaned forward. “It would very... upsetting, and disappointing, if there were any protests that disrupted the decorum of this event.”

Teddy blinked. “You think the D.A. would do something during the memorial service?”

“Perhaps not to disrupt the ceremony itself,” Longbottom said. “But it does occur to me that some might think that when many adults are visiting the school is a good time to stage another protest, and I don't think pranks like painting hallways pink or putting up Muggle movie posters or littering the castle with toys would be appreciated during this time.”

Teddy frowned. He would never have dreamed of doing anything disrespectful on the anniversary of his parents' deaths. “I don't think anyone plans to do that,” he said. “But I really don't run the D.A., Professor. I can't order anyone to do something or not do something.”

Longbottom smiled. “Perhaps not. But I think you have a lot more influence than you know, Teddy. Just keep what I said in mind.” His expression grew more serious. “How are you feeling about this? You're not the only one who was orphaned by the war, but I know you've had more attention put on you than most.”

Teddy thought quietly for a few moments, then said, “I don't think it's as bad for me as it is for some others, Professor. Even some whose parents are still alive.” He thought about the Cattermoles, still impoverished and bitter, the McCormacks, still traumatized and grief-stricken, Albus Alderton, still angry, and the Montagues and Selwyns and Bodes, living with the legacies of what their parents had done. And Violet, whose feelings he could never decipher.

Longbottom nodded. “I expect it will be a difficult time for many. It always is for me. But I choose to celebrate the living, while remembering the dead. And you and your generation, you are the ones who give us cause for celebration.”