Douglas's gaze fixed on his face, and countless fragments of memory came flooding in.
He saw it.
He was a genuine Hufflepuff, four years ahead of Douglas.
A few freckles dotted his face, and his smile was a little shy.
In the kitchen, he praised Douglas's cooking in amazement.
The scene shifted.
Young Terry had joined the Ministry of Magic, only to encounter fangs beneath the moonlight one night while on assignment.
He saw the terror in Terry's eyes after he was bitten.
He saw his colleagues' evasive looks and the cold dismissal notice from his superior.
He saw the door his family shut and the curtains his friends drew.
He saw Terry huddled in a corner of the Leaky Cauldron, listening to the gossip of the wizards around him... Each utterance of "monster" and "dangerous creature" pierced that Hufflepuff heart until it was riddled with holes.
Bit by bit, his convictions were worn through.
Then Greyback found him.
That monster offered him no sympathy, but gave him a twisted place to belong.
He offered him no cure, but gave him a reason to vent his rage.
"They fear you," Greyback's voice rang in his ears. "Then make them fear you more. Power is the only thing you can be loyal to."
Loyalty.
The word had been given a different meaning.
He saw Terry's hesitation and struggle, until finally, after wizard children pelted him with stones yet again, the light in his eyes went out for good.
He gave his loyalty to a new pack.
His tenacity was no longer used to endure, but to inflict violence.
Douglas saw the reluctance in his eyes and his trembling the first time he struck.
Then came the numbness of the second time.
The practiced ease of the third.
Until, in the end,