To Heal is to Fight

Permission had been given because Alexander Greengrass had started the year with the label of At Risk Student. The risk has of course been disrupting or disturbing his peers, but Teddy had been one of the first professors to intervene and one of the first to actually get somewhere with the troubled boy. So it carried weight that Teddy was willing to take accountability for the boy. When it was further explained that Lily Potter had played a part in the reversal of the boy’s behavior, and that she had her own interest in seeing the treatment of a werewolf as an aspiring Potioneer, the permission of the Headmaster was readily given.

Teddy had sent a letter to Khaat and Robert, explaining the situation and touching a bit on the circumstances and needed accommodations. Teddy had offered to accompany the pair to the hospital and ensure they made it into the appropriate hands. Besides, it would be good to see his family.

Teddy apparated the students to the street and then led them through the secret entrance. Teddy explained the reason for their visit as they were searched, and an orderly scurried off to find Khaat or Robert.

Teddy turned to look at Alex and Lily. “I’ll speak with them first, fill them in on everything. Sit tight.”


Lily watched Teddy hurry after the orderly, looking around at the room they found themselves in. As with most magical spaces, the people gathered were a fascinating and eclectic mix. Lily was trying to respect the privacy of the other patients, though she kept catching glimpses of a person whose skin had turned pink or a man with his hand stuck in a tea kettle that was still whistling.

And she thought Hogwarts was chaotic.

She turned to look at Alex. The two had brought their book bags. Teddy was relatively sure Alex would be released well before nightfall, but they’d brought along schoolwork just in case they found themselves waiting long. Lily had also taken advantage of the opportunity to shed her school uniform. If she was going into the belly of the beast, she may as well feel comfortable.

“You okay?” she asked Alex, checking in. He hadn’t wanted to come to the hospital but she was glad he’d changed his mind, and she wanted him to know her gratitude was real.

**

Alex's first apparition left him feeling queasy and dizzy. He took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure as he gazed at the towering building. Staying close to Teddy and Lily, they were searched and guided into a waiting room. Teddy and the orderly vanished, leaving Alex feeling uncertain. He surveyed the room cautiously, avoiding prolonged eye contact with anything. Breaking the silence, Lily remarked, "Apparition is definitely... strange." His unconvincing words barely convinced himself. “Are you?”
This was Alex's first time at St. Mungo's, and nervousness consumed him as he waited. He felt grateful to have Teddy Lupin and Lily Potter by his side, providing much-needed support. The unfamiliarity of the surroundings intensified his unease, amplifying the jarring effects of apparition.

They were short handed down in A&E today because one of their healers had come down with an embarrassing side effect to a potion he was taking. He'd broken out from head to toe in a blue pox. Robert had sent along the remedy for the blue pox, but he did not want the healer to be in the A&E department today. And another had gone into labor--4 weeks early. So they were down two healers, and that put Robert down in A&E. He arrived as soon as he could after a long and heated budget meeting, and, actually, being here in the emergency department was preferable to the budget meeting. He walked through the department, and he took notice of the patients waiting there. He saw the man with his hand stuck in the teapot, and as he passed he heard the teapot growl and saw it chomp down on the man's hand, something one of the other healers had missed. Evidently, someone else had a sentient teapot with a cheeky attitude as well. Robert went over and tapped on the side of the pot to get it's attention.

"Oi," Robert called to the teapot. "Let him go, or I'll turn you into a rubbish bin where you will spend the rest of your days collecting foul smelling kitchen leftovers." The teapot blew raspberries at him, and Robert began to cast some gibberish, knowing itwas not a spell that would work but the kettle didn't know that. It spit the man's hand out promptly. "Well done."

"How'd you do that?" the man asked Robert.

"I just let it know who's boss. A firm hand with it. That's all it needs," Robert said. "I have one that's cheeky like that. It does the trick for me."

"Much obliged," the man replied, shaking Robert's hand in gratitude. Turning around as the man took his teakettle and left, he saw Teddy there. Well, that was unusual, and Teddy seemed to be looking for someone or something. He walked up to Teddy.

"Fancy meeting you here," Robert said with a smile. "Are you lost?"

Teddy spotted Robert before his uncle saw him, and had the pleasure to watch the skilled Healer and leader in action. He didn’t exactly spring into action, just diligently extended his expertise outwards to those around him, and Teddy couldn’t help but wonder if this was what his father had looked like when he was in his element.

Teddy smiled back, reaching out for a handshake and hug–it really had been too long. The school year had robbed Teddy of all of his free time. “Yes and no. Lost more in a metaphorical sense.”

He glanced back at Lily and Alex, who looked so small in the whirl of the hospital, before looking back at Robert. “I sent a note ahead, maybe Khaat got it. There was, uh, an incident.”

Werewolves were both a familiar topic among the Lupins, and a sense of pain. You would never find a stronger group of advocates, and yet they perhaps knew better than anyone the suffering the curse wrought on those afflicted with it. They championed the idea that a werewolf deserved a normal life while understanding innately that there life would always be a bit more complicated.

“That student over there was attacked by a werewolf on the grounds last night,” Teddy said, his voice low. Last thing he needed was the rumors to hit the Daily Prophet before the Greengrasses could even be made aware. “It’s already awful as is but a bit complicated. Attempts to contact the student’s family this year has gone unanswered. The Matron did her work with the immediate wounds but, of course, there’s a lot more that goes into a werewolf bite than clearing the tooth marks.”

Teddy paused, stealing another glance back at the two. “He only came in because Lily offered to stay with him. The Headmaster would prefer if they could both be back tonight, but if you’re busy, that’s understandable, of course. I just want to make sure he gets the help he needs.”


“You get used to it… Kind of,” she said, in regards to the apparition.

Lily found the whole situation surreal. This was an experience she had purposefully skipped out on in her fourth year, and here she was pushing Alexander into it. Merlin, Robert and Khaat didn’t even know she’d been turned into a werewolf, and they’d known her for her entire life. To think they’d know Alex’s secret and not hers…

It made her all the more determined to keep the secret for life. And to ensure Alex got the care she’d made her peace with never getting.

But when Alex asked if she was okay, she just gave him a small, but firm, nod.

Lily's words resonated with Alexander, and he responded with a subtle nod. The sheer number of people present in the room overwhelmed him, and he shifted uncomfortably, feeling like an outsider in this unfamiliar environment. His voice barely above a whisper, he voiced his thoughts, "There are so many people here."

Seeking reassurance, he turned his gaze towards Lily, his face reflecting fear and uncertainty. "Do you have any idea what they're going to do to us here?" he asked, his vulnerability laid bare. In that moment, Lily's presence provided a much-needed anchor, a familiar face amidst the sea of strangers, helping him navigate through the bewildering swirl of emotions and uncertainties.

"I'll do my best. Let me look at him, and then we can talk," Robert said. He walked over to where Lily was sitting with a lad who couldn't have been more anxious if he'd worked at it. Robert couldn't blame him. Being attacked by a werewolf was traumatizing enough, and heaven only knew what else the young man had on his plate beside that.

He didn't see Teddy or Lily very often, but he was glad they'd brought this newest werewolf to him. Robert did not believe the old myth that lycanthropy was a curse. It wasn't a curse. Curse, indeed--utter balderdash. Tt was an illness. It had as legitimate a medical origin as any other contagion. Those who were ill deserved top notch treatment and nonincriminating lifestyle options--to not be pigeonholed into being seen as the scourge of the wizarding world and to not have to live with people running away because they were afraid. Remus had deserved to not live the dark chapters that Robert had witnessed Remus suffer through. Robert desperately wanted change across the whole of the wizarding world.

This student had a chance to have a much better life than Remus had ever had--if he wanted it. The mere fact that he had a choice at all about what sort of a life he wanted was far more than Remus had ever, ever had.

"Hello, Lily," Robert said to her, meeting her with the calm steady tone he usually had. "I understand your friend needs a plaster or two. Introduce me, would you? And then, let's find a more private place to tend to it, shall we?"

Alex put into words the very thing that was most disorienting to her. In the hospital wing, they’d been the only two students, but the hospital was teeming with patients in need. She felt exposed, as though they were somehow more on display.

She had pushed him to coming here. She needed to remember that.

“Everyone is worried about their own issues,” she said reassuring. “We’re just a blip.”

But part of being a Potter was that anonymity wasn’t guaranteed. Maybe this was all a bad idea.

She glanced up and spotted Teddy speaking with Robert, and she felt a trickle of relief. She bumped Alex’s arm and nodded her chin in their direction as Robert began to approach. “Hopefully they’ll move us somewhere soon.”

Robert addressed her, and she smiled. She had never been as close with them all as Remus, but she and the man both shared an interest in Potionmaking, the very interest that had brought Alex and her together. She hadn’t even considered that coincidence, and hoped that would help put Alex at ease.

She nodded. “This is Alexander Greengrass. Alex, this is Robert Lupin.” She didn’t add he was also Teddy’s uncle, figuring Alex could piece together there was some relation.. It was all a bit complicated, him being their professor and all. Honestly, this was all a bit complicated anyway.

The allure of privacy was strong, so she nodded, her eyes a bit more earnest than she’d usually allow.

As they made their way towards Teddy engaged in conversation with an older man, Alexander couldn't shake off his growing anxiety. The rhythmic thumping of his heart accelerated, echoing the apprehension pulsating within him. Observing their easy camaraderie, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of confusion. The dynamics of such comfort between the three eluded him.

Summoning his courage, Alexander greeted the man with a hesitant voice, his faltering words betraying his unease. "Hello, sir," he managed to utter. The frustration welled up within him, despising the wavering tone of his own voice. Nonetheless, the prospect of privacy and the refuge it promised remained alluring, providing a glimmer of solace amidst his inner turmoil.

"Hello, Alex," Robert smiled. "Call me Robert. As much as I like the work here, sometimes these crowded hallways can feel a bit like a pain in the butt. Let's go find someplace a good deal quieter, shall we? Come with me."

He led them down the hallway, through the worst of the chaos, and he went past it a room or two to a much quieter room.

"This should work for now, I should think," Robert told them. "Come in." Robert had insisted some of these rooms be redone in dramatically calmer tones, with less sterile surroundings. Although he had picked this room randomly, it was painted a much calmer, warmer cocoa color, like a mug of hot chocolate. There were some tranquil landscapes on the walls. The hospital bed here looked very much like any other twin bed someone might find in their own home, and the chairs were comfortable.

"We actually have half a dozen of these rooms," Robert told them. "It's a bit of an odd idea on my part, I suppose. When I first started to work here, people were saying we couldn't give good care if we looked so old. So we modernized, and then we supposedly were too sterile. So this is an attempt to bridge the gap. I wanted to see if we could strike a proper balance, if we could provide the top notch care that people deserve to have but in a far less harsh atmosphere. Anyway, please, sit down. And, Alex tell me what happened and show me the wound if you please."

Alexander nodded, acknowledging the man's preference for how he should be addressed. "That would be nice," he replied quietly, following him down the hallway. He cast occasional glances over his shoulder to ensure Lily and Teddy were still trailing behind.

Eventually, they reached the designated room chosen by Robert. As Alexander entered, the door swung shut, sealing off any lingering traces of comfort he had experienced. He took in the surroundings, noting that the decor provided a surprisingly cozy ambiance compared to what he had initially pictured.

Taking a seat on the edge of the bed in the room's center, Alexander winced slightly as he adjusted his position, exposing his injured arm. He began to explain the events that led to his current predicament. "I sneaked out into the forest just before sundown," he started, his voice tinged with a mix of remorse and anxiety. "Unaware that it was the night of the full moon, I walked amidst the serenity of the trees. But then, I felt its presence. Something was watching me, lurking in the shadows. It stalked me as I made my way back towards the edge of the forest, back towards the grounds. As I neared the lake, it pounced, sinking its teeth into my arm," he recounted, the memories vivid in his mind.