Tom managed not to grin as he stared down the man they'd caught in their rooms. The corpulent creature reeked of urine and couldn't manage to lift his bulk from their floors. The odd tracery of enlarged cat bites on his body told a tale all its own. He was sweating and his eyes darted around from person to person. There were no friendly faces, but every time his eyes landed on Tom he paled a bit. He was looking rather ghost like at the moment.

"He was inside our wards, sir." Neville stared solemnly at Dumbledore. "He was not admitted. He has neither our permission nor any feasible reason to be within our wards."

"Students can not lock teachers out of their dormitories." Albus smiled at the boy patronizingly. "It would be too dangerous."

"We have no wards that block you or any head of house. We submit to regular inspections." Millicent squeezed her hands in front of her. "You gave us permission to put up the wards because we had no portrait. We have had every head of house tramp through our rooms without notice. We've put up with invasive searches that are not done in the regular dormitories. This was not a search. This was an invasion of our privacy."

"You refuse to live within the confines of your sorted houses." Dumbledore's benevolent act slipped a bit as his voice developed an edge. "You have no right to privacy in these rooms."

"Perhaps, if the rules were codified?" Tom looked up and made sure to look interested and caring. It wouldn't do for the others to see how much he longed to kill the wastrel. "Then we would be sure of our expectations."

"This is not a recognized house." Dumbledore straightened up taking on his authoritarian aspect.

"The school recognizes us." Luna tilted her head and blinked slowly. "You can not refute that."

"The school is a magical building with the barest sensibility." Dumbledore frowned. "The position of headmaster exists for a reason. My judgement is required."

"It would be easier for us all if they were openly acknowledged as a house." Professor Flitwick smiled up at the children. "The charm work on these wards is truly remarkable. They are designed to open for approved individuals seeking entrance for a legitimate reason."

"I wonder why they trapped the professor here." Tom tilted his head. "Was he not here on your orders?"

Dumbledore glared at him, making no effort to conceal his animosity behind a grandfatherly mien. Keeping his own look of curiosity in place required no effort. He'd learned to conceal his emotions early on in life.

"I asked him to check in on your group." Dumbledore managed to form a pained version of concern on his face, but his hands were fisted in the folds of his robes. "I suppose he overstepped his bounds unintentionally."

"I suppose accidents happen." Greg paced over to the bookcase. "Master Snape is here. Perhaps, you could explain it to him."

"He would be able to soothe our parents' concerns." Luna smiled in her distracted way as she turned a small crystal around in her hand repeatedly. "My father trusts him."

"I believe he is far too busy with Miss Granger to deal with this." Dumbledore sighed. "You can not expect him to come running."

"No. Severus doesn't much care for running." A tall man with an interesting array of telling scars stepped into their quarters. "He has me for that."

"Master Lupin." Neville grinned widely at the man. "I was sure you'd be with Hermione."

"I watched our girl, so Severus could rest his weary head." He grinned and mussed the tall boy's hair. "He's back with her, so here I am. You needn't worry so. She's tough. She'll come through this with nothing more than a few scars."

"What's a few scars?" The group chimed from around the room in an obviously conditioned response. They trusted this man.

"I think I need to be introduced to someone." The man nodded toward Tom. "It's always best to observe the niceties."

Neville blushed at the gentle rebuke. This man was clearly valued by the group. He decided to remove Neville's discomfort.

"It's this sorry business, I'm afraid." He reached out his hand toward the man. "I'm Tom Riddle, sir."

"Remus Lupin." The quick flash of amber in his eyes was quite revealing. A werewolf. "I teach this lot defense during vacations."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Lupin." Tom nodded. "I wish it was under better circumstances."

"As do I." Remus stepped fully into the room, and Pettigrew whimpered.

"Ah, Wormtail." The werewolf flashed his teeth in a mimicry of a smile. "Still sneaking about?"

"Moony, I wasn't doing anything wrong." The man squealed and tried to back up. "I promise."

Remus cocked his head, and took a deep breath. The disgusted wrinkle of his nose was a bit theatrical, but It managed to draw Dumbledore out of his calm. The older wizard stepped in front of his toady.

"Mr. Lupin, you have no business here." He pulled his body up to its tallest. "I will not have you intimidating my staff."

"Good." Remus glanced down at the filthy man on the floor. "I'd much rather take him apart piece by piece in a duel. Consider yourself challenged, Peter. Your headmaster doesn't hold my leash anymore."

"I'm sorry." Pettigrew tossed himself at his feet. "I offer my deepest apologies for all the crap things I've done to you."

"I could care less what you've done to me." Remus shook his head slightly. "But Hermione and these kids, they're part of my pack. You've hurt them for the last time."

"I can not permit you to challenge my employees, Mr. Lupin. It's unseemly." Dumbledore patted the top of Pettigrew's head. "He is a wizard in good standing. He can not lower himself to battle a beast."

"He will fight me or he will run." Remus looked directly into the headmaster's eyes. "Either way he's done hurting me and mine."

"He's harmed you in the past?" Tom tilted his head. "And gone unpunished?"

"Yes." Remus looked at him clearly picking up on his satisfaction.

"When did Hogwarts stop teaching the laws and rituals of magical honor?" Tom looked at Dumbledore and cocked a brow. "He can't run. He will have to face Master Lupin. His previous debts of honor will force him or eat his magic. It would be a shame to see him turned into a squib."

Lily watched James and Sirius stride toward her across the courtyard. They looked brash and stupid. Their wide grins irked her. Her son was suffering. He'd hurt another student. Frequently, if the girl's friends were to be believed. The situation was dire, but there they were grinning like buffoons.

She wanted to hex them so badly.

"Could you two, please, pick up the pace." She glared at James as they drew near. "Remus arrived, and he's not been a voice of reason. Severus won't leave the girl alone. The students sit with her during their free periods, but Severus or Remus are always there."

"Dumbledore isn't going to punish our son for a mistake. I'll take the slap on the wrist for teaching him the spell." James patted her shoulder gently. "This will all be forgotten in the blink of an eye."

"The Board of Governors has been called to session." Lily stepped away from her husband's touch. "This won't be forgotten."

"The girl's a nobody." Sirius frowned. "How is she garnering all this attention?"

"The witch in question is brilliant. She already holds patents on spells. The centaurs allow her to visit with them. The elves adore her. I think she's been learning mermish. Her parents may be muggles, but Severus and Remus have all but adopted her. Hermione Granger may not have a pureblood family at her back, but don't assume that makes her weak."

"She's the bird Neville hangs about with, right?" Sirius grinned. "We'll have a word with Neville, and he'll talk her down."

Lily rolled her eyes. If Harry's future wasn't at risk, she'd let them flounder about, but their gormless idiocy did her no good now.

"Neville won't even try." Lily sighed. "Not for you, not for his parents, not for his grandmother. He is a loyal friend and a kind lad. You can't just smooth this over."

"We can, and we will." James grabbed her wrist and pulled her between them. "Dumbledore will help us."

"Well, who will help him?" Lily yanked her arm free of his grasp.

Severus watched as Tom stroked Hermione's hair. The boy's devotion to her was obvious as long as the privacy screen was in place. They would make a powerful pair.

In the distant future.

In the very, distant future.

Remus actually approved the boy. Dark, but not given over to it. Polite, but menacing. They were apt enough descriptors.

"I was on that road." Tom frowned. "The one that leads to being like Dumbledore. He's beyond caring about the right and wrong of a situation, beyond seeing the cost of his ambitions. He would have succeeded in turning dark. I was on the verge of it."

"As was I." Severus shrugged. "I think he wants to create a new Grindelwald. May the gods and goddesses help us if he ever succeeds."

"What saved you?" Tom looked up at him with curiosity.

"Friendship and love." Severus couldn't help but smile. "Black and Potter, they were going to use Remus as a weapon, but their plan didn't quite work. Remus and I wound up together, scared and clinging to the familiar. It was, in a way, my salvation."

"I found her." Tom stroked her arm lightly making sure to leave her sleeping. "Dumbledore always used to preach about love being the answer, but he doesn't see it."

"It's hard to identify something if you've never known it." Severus rested a hand on Tom's shoulder. "He might understand the concept, but he is incapable of truly knowing what it is to love."