Note: And here we are: the final chapter! This story has over 200 reviews, which is utterly amazing and makes me smile! Thank you so much to everybody who has read and reviewed this story! When I started writing it I had absolutely no idea it would be so popular! XD

So...since we are at the end, I would love to know what you liked best about it – best chapter, best lines, best OCs, that sort of thing!

There will certainly be a sequel to this story, you will recognise it by the name! I do however plan on completing...or at least updating...The Dark Creature's Child first. I have not come up with a plot yet, so if anybody has any scenarios they would like to see...well do let me know! XD

This note is almost as long as the chapter! I don't know why it ended up so short...sorry...

Well...I'll stop babbling and just wrap this up now...

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor am I making any profit from this piece of writing. I do, however, own Caroline "Carrie" Winters, her family, as well as Cleopatra "Cleo" Clancy and her family.

23: Restoration

Carrie Winters felt somewhat light headed as she found herself being shuffled over the threshold of her neighbors' house. She was vaguely aware of hurried footsteps dashing down the hallway, and a loud voice cried:

"Bloody hell...!"

As Mrs. Lupin eased Carrie through the living room door and deposited her in the armchair, Cleo appeared in the doorway, an empty mug clutched in both hands.

"Is she okay?"

"She's fine. Everybody's fine." Mrs. Lupin announced, attempting to straighten up, only to find that Carrie was clutching hold of the front of her coat. "It's alright, Carrie love, you're perfectly safe now."

"What are we going to...to tell...people?" Carrie whispered worriedly, and she felt Teddy's mother reach to give her a brief hug.

"Don't you worry about that." she whispered back. "I'm ace at cover stories..."

"What the hell happened to her?" Cleo cried, eyes wide as saucers as she watched Carrie reluctantly relinquish her hold upon the pink haired woman's coat.

"It's a long story." Mrs. Lupin said simply, and despite her unease, Carrie wanted to snigger. "Come on, Cleo, Remus can take you home..." she hurriedly headed back out into the hallway, reaching to shoo Cleo out after her, only for Carrie to hear Cleo announce:

"Wow...what the hell happened to HIM?"

"Oh Mer..." Mrs. Lupin caught herself just in time, deciding: "Scrap that idea, eh? I'll take you home."

"Is he having a STROKE or something...?" Cleo's voice asked, excited rather than worried, and Carrie heard Mrs. Lupin give a stiff chuckle.

"Nah...he just likes to pull funny faces...Remus, go and sit down...TED? Come and help Dad!"

Carrie heard Teddy's pounding steps upon the stairs as he called:

"I'm coming, I was just using the toi...oh..."

The front door shut with a bang and quite suddenly the house was very quiet. Carrie wondered quite what she was going to tell Cleo about the night's events, though she supposed Mrs. Lupin would make some sort of story up, she seemed to be quite used to doing so. Carrie turned at the sound of soft footsteps, there were a few murmured voices before a turquoise blur bolted into the room, and before Carrie could so much as blink, she felt a pair of arms being flung around her.

"Carrie, I was SO WORRIED!" Teddy cried as he hugged the girl fiercely, his face buried in her shoulder. "I thought...I don't even know what I thought...!"

Carrie tried to reach and hug him back, only her arms felt much too heavy.

"Let her breath, Teddy." Mr. Lupin's voice suggested quietly, and when Teddy drew back from her, Carrie saw the werewolf walking slowly towards the sofa.

Or limping, rather...

For it seemed that it was no longer just Mr. Lupin's arm that was going limp. The spell's effects seemed to be gradually spreading, his right shoulder was slumped, right leg dragging as he walked, and when he turned to smile at the two children only half of his face seemed to move.

"You stay put a while, Carrie." he told the muggle girl kindly. "That spell will wear off soon enough, I'm sure."

Carrie bit her lip, she felt rather guilty about his own injury, it was rather her fault, after all.

"Thank you for rescuing me, Mr. Lupin." she mumbled a little shyly as she peered up at him through her puffy eyes. "I knew I could rely on you both." She felt a little frustrated that he seemed somewhat underwhelmed by her gratitude, she wanted him to realise just how grateful and sincere she was being, but he merely smiled a little and murmured:

"You're very welcome, Carrie."

Maybe war heroes were far too used to saving people to truly appreciate just how good they were, the child mused.

Carrie wondered what he would think of her if she admitted to him that Mrs. Lupin's words back at the Goyle's house had made her feel rather warm and fuzzy inside despite the tense situation.

You give us our kid, and we'll give you yours...

Our kid. Carrie rather liked the idea of that. She liked the idea of being part of this family, whether she could truly fit in or not. She would like a second set of parents, of sorts, and another brother. Part of her supposed she ought feel awful for admitting to herself that she simply preferred Teddy's family to her own, but she wasn't entirely sure that she really cared enough to feel that way.

"You look...sort of funny." Teddy told his father as he watched him slump down onto the sofa with a heavy sigh.

"I can assure you, Theodore," Mr. Lupin said dryly, gaze upon the ceiling. "Being cursed by Ursula Goyle is not even remotely funny..."

"Mum says she's a loony."

"Loony or not, she is an exceptionally powerful wi...sh..." the werewolf trailed off as his jaw gave a twitch and Carrie bit her lip at the sight of his entire face seemingly sagging.

Teddy's eyes widened worriedly before he muttered:

"Crazy bitch...!"

"Thee...dur!"

"But she is!"

"I don' cur..."

"I think you should wait and let Mum tell me off. You just sound silly, Dad, it's not very authoritative..."

"Fur loff o' Murwin..."

"No...no, Dad, that's just nonsense..."

"Yur muffer ish goin' to be unprethed..."

"I didn't get that, either."

As the partially unintelligible debate broke out between father and son, Carrie allowed her eyes to drift closed, soaking up the warm, cosy atmosphere of the Lupins' living room.

It was over. It was all over...

At the sound of a soft hissing noise, Carrie's eyes snapped open and she found that a series of shining, silvery letters appeared to be writing themselves in thin air just in front of where Mr. Lupin sat.

WAIT UNTIL YOUR MOTHER COMES HOME THEODORE, the letters proclaimed.

And as the magical letters slowly faded away into thin air, Carrie Winters found herself smiling broadly.

It was all over, she thought with a contented sigh, and no matter how traumatic she had found the events of that evening, she did not regret her meddling in the slightest.

It was not long before the front door creaking signaled Mrs. Lupin's return from walking Cleo home, and the rest of her family halted their squabbling, Teddy turning to look as she walked into the room.

The pink haired witch took a long look at the state of her husband sitting slumped upon the sofa, before shaking her head with a sigh.

"Crazy bitch!" she grumbled under her breath, before turning to head back out into the hallway and towards the kitchen.

Mr. Lupin audibly groaned as Teddy let out a shout of laughter, and Carrie's grin widened as she shifted to get more comfortable in her chair.

No, she would not have had things any other way, no matter how much trouble she had gotten into. It had been worth while, the Goyles had been caught, and the perfect little world that she had discovered on that fateful summer day was close to restoration.

And Caroline Winters had never been more glad of anything than her inclusion into that world. She smiled at the stroke of luck that had lead her to meet the Lupins.

Finish.