He was twenty-three and a novice auror. He followed the dark haired form of the man he had come to see as a father through the winding corridors of Pendramwnwgl Castle, deep in the magical Gwraidd Forest, the forest loaded with centaurs who would detect an escapee in a second. His godfather had asked him here, providing very few details.

The older man kept quiet until he reached what seemed to be a stone wall and then muttered a spell Teddy couldn't quite catch, causing the gray stone to become translucent. The young metamorphmagus reached out his hand and was met by the familiar smooth coolness of laid stone. He opened his mouth to ask what spell that was but then saw the occupant of the room. Her hair was long and dark with silver and blue tips, a dye job grown out, leaving only the natural dark brown to come in its place. She was sleeping and difficult to see, but he was surprised by how much she resembled his gran, Andromeda.

"Why are her hands bound to the bed?" he asked, almost surprising himself with the concern that crept into his voice, this was the child of the Dark Lord, the person responsible for the death of so many people he loved, "Surely she can't do anyone harm with no magic?" Harry had explained to him earlier on his arrival that many of the rooms of what had once been a magnificent castle were equipped with magic suppressing rooms, he assumed this was one of them.

Harry shook his dark head, now laced with the occasional gray strand, a sad look crossing his face, "She can still do herself harm. She's tried to kill herself four times since she was brought here."

Teddy paused and looked in at the sad creature, asleep, tied to the bed. She almost looked peaceful, he thought, but only for a moment. Then he remembered the horrible things she and hers have done and thought she didn't deserve peace. But who was he to decide that. He certainly didn't want that decision on his conscious.

Without looking away from the girls sleeping form, he asked, "So why am I here?"

"It has been decided that total memory removal will be the best course of action in her case." Harry responded, his voice entirely free of emotion.

Teddy swung his gaze at his companion for the first time since their arrival. He searched his face for some hint that he was joking or mistaken but from the hardness of his voice and intensity which he looked at the young woman, Teddy realized it would be foolish to believe that to be the case. The complete removal of memories was a dangerous thing. Hiding them away, deep within the recesses of the mind was one thing, but actually removing them. All of them. That was another thing entirely. It would take time and delicate spell work. He should know, he had spent his first three years out of Hogwarts writing and researching his thesis on the history of memory magic and the practices and consequences of obliviation. He spent more time than he would have liked holed up in the Department of Mysteries.

Harry looked pointedly at the young man he saw as his first son, who promptly threw up his arms and said, "You're mad, sure I've studied obliviation and catalogued a few memories, but you can't expect me to do this! Harry, please!"

"You have the knowledge-and more importantly Teddy, you have the time. This is a grueling process, from what I've read in your paper. Perhaps Hermione or I could do this, yes, but we don't have the technical knowledge or the time that this-this endeavor, requires. It must be done right, and by someone I trust. You will see the memories, too, remember.

"This is happening," he thought with a feeling a deep sense of dismay. He would be trapped in this infernal forest, away from Victoire for, for months all because Harry bloody trusted him. He could feel the tips of his hair begin to turn red with frustration. He tried his best to turn it back to his natural light brown, attempting to maintain an air of composure.

"Say something, Ted, please" Harry nearly whispered.

"It seems I don't have a choice, do I?" Teddy responded, still angry that this was being asked of him.