Bright Lights - Sa16+
 

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Banner by the fabulous Cake-Chan!


Hi, this is my first fan fic, although I have 'drabbled' about Remus Lupin and for Neville and Hannah Longbottom

I own nothing you recognise, that all belongs to the lovely J K Rowling.

This fic is based post Deathly Hallows, and so it is spoiler laden from the very first paragraph.

Prologue, Bright Pink
One, Pale Silver Blue
Two, Lilac
Three, Brown
Four, Golden
Five, part one, Forest Green
Five, part two, Forest Green
Five, part three, Forest Green
Six, part one, Grey
Six, part two, Grey
Six, part three, Grey
Six, part four, Grey
Seven, part one, Red
Seven, part two, Red
Seven, part three, Red
Seven, part four, Red
Eight, part one, Black
Eight, part two, Black
Eight, part three, Black
Eight, part four, Black
Eight, part five, Black
Epilouge, White

Prologue, Bright Pink

Teddy felt that something strange was happening. Being nine months old, he couldn’t be completely sure. His room was filled with light, even though it had been very dark only moments before. What was happening?

*****

Remus looked down at his tiny son, asleep in his mother’s arms. “He’ll be a great wizard.”

Tonks smiled. “With my looks and talent how can he be anything else?”

“Let’s just hope he’s got my sense of balance then” Remus replied mildly, lifting Teddy into his arms, breathing in his intoxicating smell. Gently he placed is son into the cot, kissing his forehead and covering him with a soft blanket. Together he and Tonks tiptoed to the door. There was a sticky moment when Tonks almost fell over her own feet, but Remus managed to steady her before she woke the slumbering boy. Staring hungrily back into the room, Remus snaked his hand around his wife’s waist and hugged her tightly. “When the war is over, I think Teddy should have a brother or sister to play with."

“Oh, you do, do you?” and although he wasn’t looking at her, Remus could tell she was grinning as widely as he was.

*****

The light changed, rather than being all around him, it was focused into two small orbs next to his cot. One of them was pink and Teddy liked the colour so much his own hair turned that colour too. He reached out his fat little fists, trying to hold the light, but as he did the light faded and he started to cry with disappointment.

Great first post!
I loved how you made teddy see lights instead of the actual people. Very creative.

Thanks fawks :)

One, Pale Silver Blue

Andromeda Tonks sat in a deck chair, sipping pumpkin juice, in the garden of The Burrow, talking amiably with Molly Weasley.

“That really is lovely Andromeda, thank you. Ron’s a disaster in the kitchen. He cooked for Hermione last week and almost managed to put the poor girl in St Mungo’s! Well, if I’d have known about this new cookbook, he wouldn’t have had any problems, but you can only do so much!” She put the book down onto the small rickety table.

“Very true. I remember telling Nymphadora that if she ruined another of my pans, I would have to go the whole hog and take out shares in a dragon reserve so that I’d have plentiful supplies of blood to get them clean!”

The women laughed. At their feet a small boy with bright turquoise hair and a pale heart-shaped face sat on a picnic blanket, playing with a silver rattle. Whenever the boy shook his rattle a different sound was made, eliciting small joyful coos from its owner. Between the mooing, quacking, whizzing and popping came a hoarse laugh, followed by a lighter musical chuckle. Andromeda stiffened and looked at Teddy, but the rattle was now chugging like a steam train. Dismissing the thought that she had just heard her daughter’s laugh, she returned her attention to Molly.

“How’s George?”

“Oh, he’s… well, I can’t say that he’s better, I doubt he’ll ever be the same again, but he smiles more now. The shop is doing really well and he’s taking over what used to be Zonko’s in Hogsmead next month. He wants it to be up and running when the children go back to Hogwarts in September.”

“It’s good he has something to focus his energies on.”

Molly gave her an understanding smile. Andromeda was glad that she had Teddy to take care of. Without him she would have given up when Kingsley Shacklebolt arrived on her doorstep, his face a picture of abject misery when he should have been so happy.

The conversation moved on to Celstina Warbeck, the concert that she was rumoured to be giving in Manchester and how they might be able to procure tickets. Unnoticed by either woman, a large brown snake with dark red-brown markings that zigzagged to the tip of her tail slithered toward Teddy. She could smell them, she wanted to get away from the people, but couldn’t see another way to go. Closer and closer she came, until she was on the rug, close to the boy.

Teddy swung the rattle and sensing an attack, the adder reared, ready to strike. A pale silver blue light sudden appeared between Teddy and the adder and despite its best efforts, the snake could not sink its fangs into the little boy. It simply could not penetrate the light. Teddy began to cry as the adder hissed, its anger increasing. The light grew brighter. Andromeda looked down at her grandson to see why he was crying and let out a shriek of panic.

“Teddy!” Andromeda snatched him up and the light disappeared.

“Evanesco!” Molly waved her wand and the snake vanished. “Is he alright?”

Andromeda checked her grandson carefully for any sign the snake had bitten him. “He’s fine. Goodness that was lucky, if he hadn’t cried…” Her voice caught in her throat. She clung on to Teddy fiercely, she couldn’t lose him too. She wouldn’t. She rocked him gently, trying to calm him and herself.

“Did you see that light?”

“What light?”

“Between Teddy and the snake. It was almost like a patronus, but it can’t have been, can it?”

Molly frowned. “I doubt it. He’s too young for unintentional magic. Perhaps it was a reflection from the rattle?”

Andromeda thought that this was unlikely, but could think of no other plausible explanation. The light had seemed to act as a shield and she had never heard of such a thing.

“Maybe I imagined it.”

Teddy was still mewling; his grandmother was gripping him very tightly. Suddenly there was a loud crack and a young man with messy black hair appeared by the garden gate. He walked across to where they sat, kissed each woman lightly on the cheek and turned his attention to the crying boy.

“Are you a grumpy guts today Teddy Lupin?” Harry lifted Teddy up and stroked his face. Teddy gripped his finger tightly and hiccupped. His hair turned a mirror image of Harry’s. “Pleased to see me then?” He swung Teddy lightly through the air and soon the boy was chuckling happily again.

Harry’s brow became furrowed as Molly related the story of the snake and the light. “I’ve never heard of such a small child doing magic, let alone a patronus. I can ask Kingsley if you like, he might know.”

“Oh, there’s no need to fuss, he’s fine.” Andromeda felt slightly silly. She so dearly wanted to think that Teddy was protected that she had started to imagine things.

“Will you stay to dinner? Percy has some sort of announcement for us all.”

The group made their way inside. Andromeda stooped to pick up the discarded rattle, and as she lifted it she distinctly heard the husky laugh again. A chill ran down her spine. She shook the rattle experimentally and it clucked like a hen. She shook it again and it fizzed, beeped and honked but it did not laugh or chuckle. Molly was watching her closely now, a look of concern in her bright brown eyes. Andromeda decided not to share the fact that she was hearing things with her friend. Molly was already worried by the silver blue light; add to that the laughter of her daughter and son in law and Molly would probably be calling in the healers before Andromeda could finish her sentence.

Dinner turned into quite a party. The place was very full of Weasleys; the only people without red hair were Andromeda, Harry, Hermione, Fleur and a pretty young woman whom Andromeda had never met before. They were sitting out in the early evening air, enjoying some mead and easy conversation when Percy jumped to his feet, dragging his pretty friend with him. “Well, everyone, I’m so very pleased… I mean we are so very pleased you’re all here. Audrey and I have an announcement to make. I’ve asked her to marry me and well, she said yes.” There was applause, Molly had burst into tears and Arthur was pulling Audrey into a tight hug. Under the general cries of happiness Andromeda heard George whisper “I wonder what he’s been putting in her tea.”

It was time to go home. Andromeda went to collect Teddy from the cot that Molly had conjured in the sitting room and on her way through the kitchen she picked up her bag and the rattle.

The rattle made a light musical chuckle. Dismissing it as the product of a long day and a grieving heart, Andromeda carried on into the sitting room. She pushed the door of the darkened room open and froze. There, over the cot were two orbs of light, one pale silver blue and the other a heart breaking shade of pink. Teddy was sat the cot, staring at the lights, his hair flashing between silver blue and pink, a wide gummy smile on his face. Andromeda blinked and the lights were gone. She pressed her self against the wall, racked with sobs. This has to stop she thought to herself; I can not punish myself like this. Gathering Teddy into her arms, she kissed him lightly on the head and hurried from the room.

“Good night everyone.”

“Good night little Lupin.” Ginny kissed Teddy very sweetly on the forehead, and then noticed the tears on Andromeda’s face. Her bright brown eyes wore the same look of concern that her mother’s had only a few hours before. Hopefully making it clear that the matter was not up for discussion, Andromeda squeezed the young woman’s arm and stepped towards the fire, took a pinch of Floo powder and disappeared in a burst of green flames.

sooo sad! but i love it!
keep up the good writing PAMS

Oh thanks you two, I'll need another head deflation soon! ;)

With thanks to Mustang Sally, who chased away the nagging doubts.

Is the colour ok? or would it be easier to read in a different colour?

Two, Lilac

Ginny watched Harry with Teddy. She wasn’t sure that letting Teddy fly outside was the brightest idea that Harry had ever had, in fact she could see a serious flaw in the plan. Harry had spotted the toy broomstick in Diagon Alley the week before and couldn’t resist buying it for Teddy. He’d called it his ‘god-fatherly duty’. Sirius Black had bought Harry a broom, and Harry wanted to do the same for his own godson.

Teddy was becoming more confident on the broom and had started to speed up. He was becoming a lilac tipped blur.

“Get him to slow down Harry.”

“Oh, stop worrying, he’s fine!”

His words acted like some sort of jinx. Teddy rocketed upwards, now eight feet off the ground and out of Harry’s reach.

“How’d he manage that? It’s not supposed to go more than eighteen inches off the ground.” Harry’s voice was filled with a horrified kind of panic.

They both ran, Harry with his wand out stretched, “Acci-” but before he could summon he boy he caught his foot in a hole and fell face first into the grass, breaking his glasses and dropping his wand. Ginny jumped over him and called to Teddy in a sing-song voice “Come and get me Teddy! Come and get me Lupin”, trying to entice Teddy down again.

Teddy seemed to be having a great time; Harry could hear him giggling loudly. It must have looked quite funny, Harry on his hands and knees feeling for his wand and Ginny waving her arms around. He watched as Teddy got closer to the nearby tree. Picturing the look on Andromeda’s face as he tried to explain how her grandson had fallen out of a tree, Harry continued his increasingly frantic search for his wand.

“Ginny, where’s your wand?”

“In the kitchen!”

Teddy shot sideways into the tree with a nasty splintering noise. Pieces of the broken broom fell to the ground. Teddy was sat in the tree, still giggling as though this was the best joke he’d ever seen.

*****

Remus wasn’t sure about flying at all, especially not on a broom that seemed to be missing half its twigs. Listening carefully to Professor Wright, he had managed to kick off and get back to the ground alright, but the way that the broom had vibrated under his skinny eleven year old frame made him feel queasy.

“Right then chaps, time for another practice! Remember to keep your grip firm, I don’t want any accidents.”

Remus glanced at Lilly Evans, who looked slightly offended at being called a ‘chap’. She didn’t seem nervous about flying though. “Maybe I’m the only one thinking of sticking to the Floo Network.” he muttered miserably as he kicked off. The next thing he knew, Derek Bartholomew was shooting towards him, knocking Remus off his broom and out of the air. For a few heart stopping moments, Remus and Bartholomew were flying backwards without support. They landed with a thud in a tangled heap, Bartholomew on top, his elbow connecting with Remus’ nose. Remus felt it break, along with his collarbone and what felt like a rib. Bartholomew rolled off him and Remus sat up tentatively. He felt dizzy.

Professor Wright was shouting at Bartholomew now, as Lilly was running towards him and James and Sirius were supporting each other, roaring with laughter. He looked up at Lilly, taking a handkerchief from her.

“Don’t worry Remus, it’ll be better next time” she told him kindly, shooting a nasty look at James and Sirius, who were still laughing.

“Hmm, I hope so” he replied thickly.

*****

In the tree, Teddy wobbled. Harry still hadn’t found his wand and Ginny didn’t dare go for her own in case she needed to catch the toddler. As Teddy wobbled, Ginny could see something lilac underneath him, shimmering in the tree. She wondered if it was a balloon left over from the party they had had for Luna’s birthday.

“Will you hurry up!” she hissed at Harry, not wanting to shout in case she upset Teddy.

“I’m going as fast as I can!” he hissed back, clearly thinking the same thing.

Teddy had stopped giggling. He was starting to feel scared. Harry and Ginny looked far away and he wanted to go inside now. He wanted to look in Arthur’s pockets and find some sweets. He wanted to try and catch that orange cat again. Harry was standing up now, holding that funny stick thing that all the grownups had. Ginny was running away, were they playing a game without him? Teddy started to cry, and the pink and silver blue lights were back, he hadn’t seen them in a long time. They were bright and he felt happy when they were nearby.

Ginny swung her leg over her broom and soared up to the tree. Teddy was crying in earnest now, Ginny had made the lights go away. She pulled him onto her broom and gently descended to a graceful landing. Harry scooped his godson into a tight hug.

“How’d you manage that then mate? Eh? I think that we should keep this between us though,” he told Ginny, “Andromeda would skin me alive if she heard about it.”

“You’ve got a point. We can save his little neck, but you’d have no chance. Besides, Andromeda gets enough grey hairs from young Mr Lupin here as it is.” She tickled Teddy under the chin. “A true Marauder, aren’t you?”

Harry grinned. “Well we’ve got to keep up the Marauder spirit alive, haven’t we Teddy?” He put Teddy down and watched as he toddled unevenly towards the house. “Maybe I’ll leave the broomstick idea alone ‘til his birthday, let him master walking first.”

“Hmm, good idea” Ginny said, just as Teddy fell over.

Thanks for the comments my lovelies.
I wrote this straight after Lilac, but I've re-written and edited it quiet a lot. There is still a section that I'm not quiet happy with, but if I don't post it now, I'll drive myself crackers repeatedly editing it. The chapters are getting longer, I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Three, Brown

Teddy knew he would be in trouble if he was caught, but he didn’t really care. He ran as fast as he could through the long grass so that no-one could find him. He clambered into his den, pulling the wood panel that served as a door down behind him. Through the spy holes he had made, he could see his house and decided to keep watch for his Granny coming. She might see me if I keep my hair blue, he thought. He screwed his face up as tight as he possibly could and thought about brown things. Twigs, chocolate cake, Hermione’s hair. He picked up the dented steel kettle and looked to see what colour his hair had turned and was really pleased to see that it did look like Hermione’s. He hadn’t been able to choose his hair colour for very long, but his Granny had told him that his Mummy had been able to choose when she was five too. That made him feel special. His Mummy had been a brave person and he wanted to be brave too. That’s why he was hiding.

*****

“Nymphadora Tonks! You come here right now!”

Nymphadora looked in the mirror, saw that her hair was red and started running. She wasn’t going to get the blame this time, it wasn’t her fault! She wasn’t going to get shouted at when it was Sirius’ fault. He had told her that if she put dung bombs in Mummy’s potion it would make them smell nice. And now Mummy was shouting and Nymphadora knew it had been a joke. She ran to the bottom of the garden and hid behind the big tree. It wasn’t a great hiding place, but it did give her a chance to wipe her hands on the grass. Sirius is a big stupid bogey head, she thought, and he’d best watch out when I get a wand. She started to look around for a better place to hide when;

“Well young lady, what have you got to say for yourself?” Mummy had found her.

“Sirius told me…”

“Oh, you silly girl, have you forgotten what Sirius said about those Acid Pops? He told you that you’d really like them and what happened?”

“They burned a hole in my tongue.” Nymphadora frowned. She would need a really good hex to get Sirius back for that.

“Well, you’ll have to come and help me tidy up, there’s spoilt potion all over the kitchen. Next time Sirius tells you something and you think he might be fibbing, tickle him until he tells you the truth. He’s very ticklish.”

*****

Granny wanted Teddy to stay with Molly while she went away, rather than go with Harry. Well that wasn’t fair. Harry was going on an adventure and Teddy wanted to go too. He had heard Granny and Harry talking. Someone called Greyback had escaped from somewhere called Azkaban, and Harry was going to catch him. If Harry was going to catch him, then Greyback must be a bad wizard, but Teddy was brave and he knew he could help. He had run away to hide in his den so that when Granny went away, he could go and find Harry. Teddy thought it was a really good plan.

It had started to go dark and Teddy was hungry so he started looking in his bag for some chocolate to eat when he heard the grass rustling. He peered out of the spy hole again, but he couldn’t see anyone. He went back to searching for chocolate. He heard rustling noise again and lay flat on his belly to try and get a better view of who it was. He was sure it was a person, he could smell someone sweaty nearby, it was the same sort of smell that Mundungus had sometimes. Had Granny sent ‘Dung to look for him? Teddy thought about this for a little while and then he heard a very scary sound. Something big had fallen over and now it sounded like someone had hurt themselves, they were screaming very loudly. Teddy tried to remember that he was a brave boy as he squinted out into the darkness. Then he heard a noise that sounded a bit like a dog or a wolf and he didn’t feel at all brave, he wanted to be holding his Granny’s hand.

“TEDDY!”

That was Harry’s voice. Feeling very glad indeed, Teddy started to wriggle out of his den. He tried to push the wood out of the way but it wouldn’t move. He tried again, but it was stuck. He started to panic, the dog-wolf was near him, he could hear it, and he just wanted to get to Harry. He closed his eyes and pushed, but it wouldn’t move. When he opened his eyes, he understood why. The pink and silver blue lights were back, and he knew he had to stay still and quiet. He could hear what sounded like lots of people Apparating now; maybe others had come to help Harry. The lights grew brighter and he couldn’t see the darkness outside. There was loud shouting, running feet and lots of people shouting a spell that sounded a bit like

“Stupefy!”; something very heavy hit the ground nearby, making the whole den shake. There was more shouting, but it sounded happy. There were more spells, and some people Apparating again. Teddy tried to listen for the dog-wolf, but all he could here was grown-ups talking. The lights disappeared and Teddy knew that it would be ok to climb out of the den.

“TEDDY REMUS LUPIN!”

Harry was shouting. That was funny, Harry never shouted at Teddy. He didn’t get cross with Teddy very much, that was why Teddy liked him.

“You made me and Granny Andromeda very worried young man. Why did you run away? Have you been in that den all day?”

“Granny said I had to go and stay with Molly but I wanted to come and get that bad wizard with you. I came and hid in my den before it got dark.” Teddy was blinking. He wanted to cry, but he didn’t want Harry to think that he was a baby. He wanted to go catch the bad wizard.

Harry looked down at the little boy. He was filthy, had tears in his eyes and for some odd reason he looked a bit like Hermione. Harry sighed.

“That bad wizard has been caught, Teddy. Did you hear that big thud? That was him falling over. He’s been taken away. Besides, I need to know that you’re safe before I go chasing bad wizards.”

Teddy was now really disappointed. The lights had stopped him seeing the bad wizard! That really wasn’t fair. “Can I help you when I get a bit bigger?”

“We’ll see. For now I think you need to go and talk to Granny Andromeda.”

Teddy frowned. “She’s going to shout at me.”

“Well, you’ll just have to wait and see, she might not.” Harry knew that
Andromeda was beside herself, and shouting at Teddy was one of the last things that she would do tonight.

“Where’s the dog-wolf?”

“The what?” Harry was shocked. He wondered how much Teddy had seen.

“I could smell someone dirty, and then someone hurt themselves and started making loads of noise, and then there was a dog-wolf thing. I heard it.”

Harry had been waiting for the day when he would have to explain to Teddy about werewolves, his father and Greyback. He had never expected it to come so soon. He decided to wait so that Andromeda, and hopefully Hermione, could help him.

“It’s gone Teddy. We need to get you bathed and into bed. We’ll talk about it properly tomorrow.”

Teddy wrinkled his nose, as though the answer was actually a bad smell. He knew that Harry didn’t want to tell him about the dog-wolf, grownups always said they’d tell you to tomorrow when really they didn’t want to tell you at all. Teddy was just about to start complaining about not being given a good answer when he saw his Granny running towards him. He didn’t think his Granny knew how to run. She swept him into a tight hug, peppering his dirty face with kisses.

“See, I told you she wouldn’t shout.” Harry’s face became very serious. He looked into Teddy’s dark, twinkling eyes. “Do you promise never to run away again?”

Teddy nodded earnestly. “Never again!”

Thanks Paintbrush, your comments are always so encouraging :)

I've got the next one written, it needs editing. I'm not sure how long that will take, I don't like it as much as the last one. It's got necessary information, which has made it a challenge to write to keep it engaging.

I'm here. :D

And I love the Teddy stuck in a tree Chapter. :loved: And the flashback with Remus was well done. I see Sirius and James laughing like that. :lmao:

And a long chapter is never bad! :P I also loved the Tonks/Sirius part. Sirius is such a prankster. :xd: The part with Teddy and Greyback was chilling!

Loved it! :loved:

-Steph

Thanks Steph :D

Here's the next chapter, look out for a competition at the end :)

Four, Golden
“But why do I have to go? It’s going to be so boring. All he ever does is talk about his stupid plants.”

“Teddy Lupin, don’t be so rude!”

“It’s true! And it’s my birthday, I should get to choose!”

“You’re going to go to Neville’s young man, and that’s the end of it.”

Teddy didn’t understand why he had to go and see Neville. It felt very much like they were trying to keep him away from some big secret, and he wanted to be in the middle of the action for a change.

“Go get your things.” His Gran was wearing her don’t-bother-to-try-and-argue-with-me expression.

Teddy stomped off to his room, muttering rude things about his Gran and Neville under his breath. He picked up his bag, stuffed in some comics, some tatty Exploding Snap Cards and the Re-useable Hangman that George had given him for Christmas, grabbed his broom and stomped back downstairs. His Gran was standing by the fireplace holding the pot of Floo Powder. Teddy considered giving his Gran a nasty look, but since she was still frowning at him, he thought better of it. He threw a large pinch of powder into the fire, stepped in and shouted “Dale House”. He closed his eyes, feeling slightly hot and uncomfortable as he span his way through the Floo Network to Neville’s house. He stumbled out of the fire, almost tripping over his broom.

“Careful, you’ll get ash everywhere.”

“Sorry Neville.”

“Happy Birthday kiddo.”

Teddy looked round and was delighted to see Ron sitting on the sofa, drinking a cup of tea, with a large plate of what looked like Ginger Newt biscuits near him on the table. The room looked like a fussy old lady lived there, not Neville. Teddy had never understood that. Suddenly a girl with shiny blond hair burst into the room, distracting Teddy from the decoration.

“Uncle Ron! A gnome bit me!”

She stuck her leg out to show a shiny puncture wound on her calf.

“Were you chasing them again?”

Victoire nodded, grinning at Teddy. Ron took out his wand and healed her leg quickly. Sometimes Teddy didn’t know what to say to Victoire, it was almost as though she stole his voice when he looked at her.

“Is that your broom Teddy? D’you want to come and have a race?”

Teddy nodded shyly.

“Come on then.” She grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the door.

“Be quiet on your way out, you’ll wake the babies!”

They closed the door quietly behind them and Victorie rolled her eyes at Teddy. “That’s the only thing they’ve said to me all day. ‘Don’t wake the babies’. Babies are no fun, I’m glad you’re here.”

Teddy felt hot. “So Fred, Rose, James and Albus are here too?”

“Yeah. I don’t know why though. I thought we were going to Grandma Weasley’s today, but we didn’t. Uncle Ron brought us here and then said you were coming.”

It was definitely as though the grown-ups were keeping them away from something, Teddy thought. Victoire went to retrieve her broom from where she had abandoned it to chase the gnomes.

“To Scotton Farm and back?”

Victorie nodded and they kicked off together, soaring over the copse at the back of Neville’s rather grand house. Below them they could see the little village of Upper Flagley and in the distance was Knaresborough Castle. Victorie swooped in front of him, forcing him to brake. Her flying had improved since the last time they had raced and Teddy wondered if her Uncle Charlie had been teaching her. He dived five feet below her and urged his broom on, trying to overtake her and hoping that she wouldn’t notice. The wind rushed in Teddy’s ears as he saw Victorie swerve over Scotten farm and shoot back past him. Angry that he was being beaten by a girl, he turned mid air and pursued her fiercely. As he finally overtook her, she shouted “Cheater!”

As they got closer to Dale House, Teddy noticed something in the field below them. It was a huge muggle vehicle, one that Teddy had never seen before. He dived down to get a better look. It looked a little bit like something called a tractor, Teddy had seen those before. This vehicle had a big scoop that seemed to be eating all the wheat in the field. Teddy flew around the machine and saw that the stalks were being thrown out of the vehicle, and that the spiky top bits were being caught in a big tank inside the vehicle. Muggles were very clever, Teddy thought, to find a way to make a vehicle to do all those things at once.

Victoire looked around for Teddy but she couldn’t see him. In the field was a big farm vehicle and she wondered if Teddy would have gone to look at it. Granddad Weasley would have, it was ginormous! She swooped down to look for him. She spotted him, his hair was a golden wheat colour, but he was getting really close to the vehicle. Victoire didn’t like that...

Teddy could hear the vehicle, whirring and swishing, it was an oddly comforting sound. Not really thinking that the muggle who was driving the vehicle might see him on his broom, he swooped down to look at the part that was eating the wheat. There were giant blades swishing around, cutting the wheat away from the ground. Teddy inched closer to them, to get a better look, hypnotised by the movement.

Fifteen feet above him, Victoire was screaming his name, trying to make him hear her, trying to get him to move away from the blades. Something kept her high above him; she couldn’t dive down, no matter how hard she tried. Something silvery blue, like a cloud, was holding her in the air. She watched helplessly as Teddy got closer and closer to the blades.

Teddy was so close to the blades that bits of stalk were hitting him in the face. Suddenly, a vivid pink light came up into the machine with the wheat. The light enveloped Teddy, and pushed him backwards, away from the blades, away from the vehicle. Teddy was still trying to fly towards the blades, but the light was stronger than him, more determined to push him upwards. Soon he was level with Victorie and he saw how scared she looked. The lights disappeared.

“We should go back to Dale House now!” She shouted, sounding very cross.
Together they landed in the neat vegetable garden behind Dale House.

Victoire dropped her broom and punched Teddy in nose. He barely had time to realise that she had hit him before she punched him again, hitting every part of him that she could reach as hard as she could, her sharp little fists connecting with his ribs, stomach arms and legs.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow stop it!”

“That was the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen you do!” Tears were streaming down her pretty face, making it red and blotchy. “That thing could have eaten you!”

“It was a vehicle not a monster! They don’t eat people!” Victoire was still punching him, although with slightly less venom. Teddy wanted to hit back, but Harry had always told him that hitting girls was wrong.

“It had big knife teeth; a car will eat you if it’s got big knife teeth.” Victorie scowled at him. Teddy was just glad she’d stopped punching.

Teddy realised that his nose was bleeding. “Do we have to tell Ron and Neville what happened?” He didn’t fancy being in trouble on his birthday.

“We should, you did nearly get eaten.” She saw his face contract with fear and disappointment. She relented.“We can tell them you fell off your broom if you like.” Even though she was angry with him, Victorie knew that Teddy would be in lots of trouble if she told, a black eye and a nose bleed were punishment enough really.

Ron, Neville cleaned them up, and together, they Flooed everyone to The Burrow. Teddy had to go last. Ron said it was because Teddy was old enough to stay on his own. As he finally climbed out of the fire at The Burrow, he saw all the Weasleys, even Charlie, the Potters, Neville and Hannah, Kingsley, Luna, Mundungus, Hagrid and his Gran all walking around in the Weasley’s garden. “I knew something was going on.” he muttered to himself dejectedly, “I never get to do anything fun.”

He walked out of the into the garden and everyone shouted “SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”

On tables was a feast of all Teddy’s favourite foods. Sausages and colcannon, custard tarts, chips, beef casserole and dumplings, roast chicken, jelly and ice-cream, Yorkshire Puddings, roast potatoes and onion gravy. At the centre of the table was the biggest cake that Teddy had ever seen. It was decorated with Puddlemere United and Chudley Cannons players, all flying around the cake, moving in formation and scoring goals. A tiny version of Oliver Wood was making spectacular saves in front of the goal hoops.

“Happy eleventh birthday Teddy!” Ginny kissed him on the cheek. She showed him another table that was groaning with presents. “Is all that for me?” Teddy was embarrassed when he realised that he was crying. He pulled at wrapping paper tentatively, almost expecting the presents disappear as he unwrapped them. There was a broom servicing kit, a big box of Honeydukes sweets, a fanged Frisbee, a model of a Hungarian Horntail that walked up and down on his hand and snapped at his fingers, a box filled with all kinds of goodies from Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes, a new chess board, a set of Puddlemere Quidditch robes, a scarlet quill in a box with a variety of inks, a stack of comics, a wireless, a pack of deluxe exploding snap cards and a photograph of Teddy with his Mum and Dad in an ornate pewter frame.

“Thank you everyone, this is brilliant!”

“Well now, yer on’y turn eleven once yer know.”

Hagrid’s voice boomed over his shoulder. Teddy turned around and his jaw dropped. On his arm was the most beautiful barn owl that Teddy had ever seen. She had a white heart shaped face with honey and grey wing feathers.

She flew down to Teddy’s shoulder and nipped his ear affectionately.

“Sh-she’s mine? Oh thank you Hagrid!” Hagrid pulled him into a customary rib cracking hug.

Teddy thought that the party was the most fun that anyone had ever had. After they had eaten the delicious food, played party games and watched a firework display set up by George, which spelled out ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY TEDDY!” in blue and gold stars, it was time for to go home. Teddy couldn’t stop saying ‘thank you’ to everyone.

Lying in his bed, staring at his new owl who he had decided to call Moony, Teddy wondered if he ought to talk to Victoire about the lights. He had seen the pale silver blue light keeping her in the air while the pink light pushed him away from the blades of the vehicle. Had she seen them too? Surely she would have said something, wouldn’t she? Victoire was not the kind of girl would didn’t talk about things. It was something about her that was annoying, she was always talking. So maybe she couldn’t see them. He had wondered about the lights a lot, about who else might be able to see them, or if everyone had their own lights as a part of their magic. He drifted off into a happy sleep, deciding to keep his lights a secret and dreaming of flying surrounded by vivid pink and pale silver blue.



I decided to site Upper Flagley near Knaresbrough, which is in North Yorkshire on the edge of the Yorkshire dales, because of Mother Shipton. She was born in a cave near the River Nidd 1488. There is a 'petrifying well' near the cave where the waters turn things to stone. Mother Shipton (born Ursula Sontheil) was decried as a witch from being a tiny child. She made many prophecies, the most worrying of which is that the world will end when the bridge over the River Nidd has fallen down 3 times. So far it has fallen down twice.
Also, names ending in -bottom are quite common in that area, as well as in West Yorkshire and Lancashire.

:DCompetition:D
Q: What is the name of the vehicle that Teddy almost flies into?
The first two people to PM me with the correct answer get to name a character in the next chapter.

Congratualtions to Lupinfangirlx, who has correctly answered the question above! She has claimed one character name, meaning that there is one left!

Congratulations to Paintbrush who had claimed the second name.

Now everyone sing!

I got a brand new Combine Harvester
An' I'll give you the key
Come on now let's get together
In perfect harmony
I got twenty acres
An' you got forty-three
Now I got a brand new combine harvester
An' I'll give you the key...

Just me? What do you mean you've never heard of The Wurzels?

(A friend pointed out that they were harvesting in April, to which I can only say, ummm... errrr... global warming?)

There's a lot going on in this chapter and the second half is proving to be tricky so I'm giving you part one to be going on with. Also, my laptop is playing up and so I'm posting this before it gets eaten. If my laptop goes down again I'll have to send it away to be mended and so my next post could take a while. Feedback is always appreciated.

Anyway, back to Teddy....




Five, part one, Forest Green

Teddy climbed onto the Hogwarts Express, found compartment and leaned out of the window to wave to Hagrid.

“See yer for Harry’s birthday in a few weeks!”

“Bye Hagrid!”

When he could no longer see Hagrid or Hogsmeade, he pulled the window up and flopped into a seat.

“So, what are you going to do this summer Ted?” Keith Moore was looking at him expecting a Marauderish answer.

“I’m not sure. It’s Harry’s birthday soon and I’ve got some Quidditch tickets that Gran got me for my birthday.”

“That’s it?” Keith sounded disappointed.

“Well… I did quite fancy going to Lupin Cottage.”

“Where?”

“Lupin Cottage. It’s the place that belonged to my grandparents. My Dad grew up there. I’ve only ever seen photos, and Gran doesn’t really know anything about it or my other grandparents. They died before my Dad met my Mum.”

“Who owns it now?”

“Actually, I do.”

Keith’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“You own it and you’ve never been? Is anyone living there?”

“Yeah, Gran rented it out just after the war. So many people had lost so much and it made no sense to have it sitting there empty. The same family still lives there. The Richards, I think.”

“Wow, a man of means eh? You’d never guess from the state of those jeans.”

“What’s up with ‘em?”

“Mate, the holes have got holes. You’re in serious danger of mooning someone! And that hair, I mean, forest green? It looks like a cheap dye job. ”

Teddy laughed and they passed the rest of the journey with easy banter, games of Exploding Snap and Wizard’s Chess. As the train pulled into King’s Cross, Teddy lifted Moony’s cage down from the rack and he and Keith made their way along the corridor of the train, dragging their trunks behind them.

“Floo me if you want some company when you go to Lupin Cottage.”

“Will do. Are you coming to Harry’s party?”

“Me? At Harry Potter’s birthday party?”

“You say it like it’s a huge deal. Victoire will be there.” Teddy wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“She’s thirteen, don’t be foul!” Keith was blushing. “But yeah, if it’s ok, I’ll come to the party.”

“’Course it’ll be alright, Harry’s cool.”

Teddy and Keith climbed down from the train, both looking for their families. Keith’s mother ran forwards and hugged him tightly. He tried to fight her off; Teddy heard snatches of what Keith was saying, “…get a grip… such an embarrassment…” Teddy could have stood all the embarrassment in the world for a welcome like that from his mother. He looked around and saw his Gran standing back from the crowd, waiting for him. She was impeccably dressed in what she told him was a Channel suit, whatever that meant. She looked very much like a Muggle anyway, which Teddy took to mean they were going home on the Muggle train.

“Hello darling, have you had a good term? How were the exams?” She kissed him on the cheek.

“It was alright, we won the Quidditch cup, flattened Slytherin in the final, took the house cup too.” He grinned lazily. His Gran may not have been a typical Slytherin, but she still hated to hear that they had lost anything, especially to Gryffindor.

“And the exams?”

“Well they were exams, I think they went ok. I did my best, and we’ll know in a few weeks, won’t we?”

“Very true. Let’s get going, I’ll carry the cage.”

Teddy shouted his goodbyes and followed his Gran through the barrier and into the Muggle station. The journey home was uneventful, apart from the ticket inspector’s reaction to Moony. He strongly objected to having an owl on his train, he seemed to think that she would make a mess on the floor. It was only when Andromeda insisted that she had checked the regulations and having an owl on board was fine that the man moved away from them, muttering under his breath.

At few days later, in the garden pruning the Flutterby bushes, Teddy thought seriously about visiting Lupin cottage. He knew that he had lived there with his parents before the Battle of Hogwarts, but being so small he had no memory of it. He had tried so many to find a memory by staring at photographs of himself with his parents but they never came. The only thing he could remember was laughter, a light musical chuckle and a hoarse laugh, although Teddy often wondered if he really did remember that or whether he was so desperate to remember something that he had invented it. His Gran and the others had told him a lot about his parents over the years and he had developed a sketchy understanding of what they were like. The desire to see his first home had been growing for a while and now it was almost like having stomach ache. After putting the clippings on the compost heap, Teddy headed inside. His Gran was busying making a cup of tea.

“Thank you for doing that darling, you’re so much better at it than me.”
Teddy smiled. He knew that what his Gran had said wasn’t actually true, she was an excellent Herbologist. He often thought that she was trying to remind him how glad she felt that he was around by seeming to need him to do practical things she could manage very well on her own.

“Gran? What can you tell me about Lupin Cottage?”

She considered him over the rim of her tea cup. “Nothing that I haven’t told you before. Why do you ask?”

Teddy took a deep breath. “I want to go there.”

Andromeda put her cup down slowly. “Well, I can’t say that I’m surprised. I’ve been waiting for you to ask for years.”

Teddy sighed, the relief etched on his face.

“You didn’t think I’d be upset did you darling?”

“Well, to be honest, yes. I know that you didn’t always like Dad and that he was a bit of a… ”

She raised her eyebrows.

“I think the polite version of Ron’s phrase is, ‘total idiot’. Hermione said that he was scared and didn’t act rationally.”

“Just this once I am tempted to agree with Ron.” Andromeda sniffed. “It’s important that you know about both of them. Just remember darling, you are not just the sum total of where you come from. You are an individual too.” Teddy frowned, not really understanding what his Gran meant. “If Sirius or I were just the product of our parents, if we didn’t think as individuals, then we would have been like them.”

“Crazy?”

“Yes, to be blunt about it. If we had chosen to buy into their pureblood lunacy, then I wouldn’t have married your Grandfather nor had your Mother and as a consequence I wouldn’t have you. And Sirius…” She sighed sadly.

“Well he probably would have joined the Death Eaters, like poor Regulus.”

The pair lapsed into a contemplative silence. Eventually Andromeda said “I’ll owl the Richards to explain.” As she stood up, Teddy thought he saw her wipe her eyes. He knew all about his mother’s ancestors, the Blacks and the Tonks but nothing about the Lupins. He had grown up hearing stories about the Marauders, how important friendship and loyalty had been to his Dad, but it somehow didn’t feel like enough.

*****

BANG!

CRASH!

THUD!

Remus woke up, convinced that someone was attacking the cottage. He grabbed his wand and sprang out bed, running to the bedroom door. “Dora!” he hissed “Where are you?”

“I’m here. What’ve you got your wand out for?”

“I thought someone was trying to blast the door off its hinges.” He looked around. Now that the panic was over he could see that several pieces of furniture had been moved. “Please tell me you levitated those.”

“Well, I tried but I think my hormones are interfering with my magic, so I shifted them the muggle way.”

“You lifted my Grandmother’s teak dresser on your own? And it’s still in one piece?”

She looked hurt. Hastily Remus tried to repair the damage. “Don’t get me wrong, I hate the thing. It’s ugly. And apparently indestructible. An ashwinder once laid fifteen eggs underneath it and it didn’t catch fire.

Besides, it’s you I care about. I don’t want you to hurt yourself or the baby. Anyway, what was wrong with where everything was before?”

“I don’t know. I woke up a couple of hours ago with this burning desire to organise everything. Get it clean and tidy.”

Remus nodded. “Hmm. Just two questions: Who are you, and what have you done with my wife?”

She slapped him gently on the arm “I know it’s a bit of a departure for me, Mr Neat and Ordered. I think it’s called nesting, getting ready for the baby.”

“That makes sense really, there’s not much longer to wait is there?” He rubbed her bump. “And then we’ll get to meet you, Little Lupin. Just promise me one thing, no more heavy lifting.” He looked at her seriously.

“Yes sir!” she giggled. “I’ll bet the kids were all scared of you, Professor.”

“Oh yes, especially after they found out I get hairier once a month. Now, I insist that you go back to bed and rest. I’ll bring you breakfast.”

He turned away to find what she done with the pots and pans when she seized him by the wrist and pulled him into a passionate kiss. Surprised but delighted, he returned it. Her lips, smell and taste were a heady mix and when they eventually broke apart Remus felt dizzy.

“Not that I object at all, but what was that for?”

“Because… I wanted to. Do I need a reason?”

He grinned. “No, no, you don’t need a reason. Just… promise you’ll never stop surprising me.”

It was Tonks’ turn to grin.

*****

A few days after their conversation about Lupin Cottage, an owl brought the news that Teddy had been hoping for. The Richards were more than happy for him to come and look at Lupin Cottage. They had found and stored some of his father’s old things and their daughter Amelia, who apparently was Teddy’s age, would be more than happy to show him around the surrounding area. Teddy couldn’t think which house she might be in. He didn’t actually recognise the name Amelia Richards at all.




Lupinfangirlx named Amelia Richards and Paintbrush named Keith Moore.

Ok, so this chapter might end up being three times longer than I intended, but that just means more Teddy so that's ok. Let me know what you think.

Five part two; Forest Green
The night before he was due to visit Lupin cottage, Teddy took a pinch of Floo Powder, threw it in the fire and shouted Keith’s address into the emerald flames. The sensation of his head spinning around while his body stayed still was one that Teddy doubted he would ever get used to, no matter how many times he did it. A tidy kitchen came into view and he saw a cup shatter at the feet of someone wearing fluffy purple slippers.

“Oh Teddy! You gave me a shock!”

“Sorry Mrs Moore. I was just wondering if Keith was around.”

“Yes dear, I’ll just get him.”

She bustled off and Keith appeared a few minutes later. Teddy noticed that his friend had grown again. He would be taller than Teddy by a good few inches now. Keith raked his hand through his auburn hair and grinned.

“Alright mate?”

“Great thanks, are you up for coming to Lupin Cottage tomorrow?”

“Does it have to be tomorrow?” Keith was frowning. “It’s my Dad’s birthday tomorrow; we’re having a big family meal. I’ve got to help all day.” A knot twisted somewhere in Teddy’s stomach, but he tried to ignore it.

“Yeah, it kind of does, the daughter of the family is going to show me around. She’s supposed to be our age, but I don’t know her. She’s called Amelia Richards, d’you know her?”

“I don’t think so.” A sudden grin spread over Keith’s freckly face. “You’ll probably have more fun without me, a nice young lady to entertain you.”

“You, my friend, have a one track mind, and it’s the dirt track.” They both laughed. “Well, are you coming to Harry’s party?”

“I’ll have to ask but I think they’ll let me, since it’s good old HP.” Despite his attempt at nonchalance, Keith still seemed intimidated by the idea.

“Alright then, well it’s the 31st. Floo to mine for about 5 o’clock. You definitely don’t want to miss some of the stuff George has got planned. See you later.”

“Alright, see you later mate.”

Teddy pulled his head out of the fire, accidentally inhaling quiet a lot of ash. Coughing and spluttering, he made his way into the kitchen for a drink of water, hoping that it might help. He sat down at the table, brooding over where he was going the following day. He was going to see Lupin Cottage, finally and that made him feel… uneasy. There was a danger that it would be nothing like he had imagined it. There was also the issue of the cellar. Would the girl find it strange that he wanted to see it? Would she ask why it was there? Teddy stared at his hands. Hermione had told him that they were very like his father’s, long and slender. Teddy had looked closely at photographs after she had told that, but he couldn’t tell. He snapped himself out of his reverie, remembering Keith’s comment about Amelia Richards. He realised that he was actually quite looking forward to meeting her, if only to work out why he didn’t already know who she was.

*****

Laying on the grass under the beech tree, Sirius was trying to spot Aurelia Schubert in a large group of girls who were walking at the side of the lake.

“They’re all her friends, so she’s got to be with them.”

Remus turned the page in his book, trying to ignore him. His right hand reached out for the large bar of chocolate he had left on the top of his bag. It was gone. He looked up and saw Sirius unceremoniously stuff the last piece into his mouth.

“I sincerely hope that you’ve got more chocolate about your person.”

“Y’know what Moony? Verbosity is not always a sign of intelligence.”

“In your case, I agree with that sentiment.”

Something distracted Sirius. “There she is!” He wiped his mouth, shook his head so that his hair fell gracefully away from his face and stretched out in an almost lion like fashion. Remus and James exchanged a glance and fought back their laughter. Aurelia swept past them imperiously, taking absolutely no notice of Sirius at all. When she was out of earshot, James and Remus burst out laughing.

Sirius frowned. “I don’t see what’s so funny.”

James recovered enough to answer.“Oh come on mate. The only reason you’re after her is because she’s not interested!”

“Well that’s just… I mean… completely…”

“True?”

“Well Moony, I’m sorry if I haven’t got someone as captivating as Esther Seygal throwing themselves at me.”

Remus blushed and tried to hide behind his book. “Yes, well the less said about that the better, I think.”

Esther had spent weeks avoiding Remus, it seemed she could barely bring herself to look at him. Then one afternoon, Sirius had dragged him into an empty classroom where, to his amazement, Esther was waiting for him. She had launched herself at him, covering him in kisses. Completely dumbfounded, he had thanked her and left. After that she went back to avoiding him.

“Girls are not Moony’s forte.” The other two were laughing at him now.

*****

At eleven o’clock the following morning, Teddy stepped out of the fireplace in the kitchen of Lupin Cottage. Coughing slightly as he straightened due to the ash, he looked around and saw shelves crammed with bottles of jams, pickles, marmalades and other ingredients for cooking and potions. A Belfast sink stood next to a butcher’s block with a heavily scrubbed work surface. A black range stood next to the fire place he had emerged from, making him think that at some point the cottage had belonged to Muggles. A small table with four chairs sat by the window. On it there was a fresh vase of wildflowers.

A quiet voice said, “Hello.”

Teddy jumped backwards in surprise, almost falling into the fire. In the doorway stood a girl his age with long wavy black hair and the most intensely blue eyes Teddy had ever seen. She definitely didn’t attend Hogwarts; he would have remembered her. He gaped at her, unable to think of a single thing to say.

“You’re either Teddy Lupin, or you need to explain why you’re in our kitchen” she said with a wry smile.

“I’m… I’m Teddy” he stuttered, desperately trying to force his brain to work normally. “Are you Amelia?”

“That’s right. My parents are at work, but they said to show you around, there’s loads of your stuff in the cellar. Do you want to down there and have a look?”

“NO!” She looked shocked, and Teddy couldn’t have explained why he shouted, he suddenly had no desire what so ever to go down into the cellar that had restrained his father on a monthly basis for the majority of his life.

“Umm, sorry, it’s just such a nice day I thought you could show me around the village first.”

“Okay, well, it’s a good job we’re both in Muggle gear, we’re the only wizards for miles around. Your hair might attract some funny looks though, they’re very traditional ‘round here. How long has it been green?”

“Oh, only about three hours. Hang on.” He screwed up his face and his short, spiky green hair became collar length, soft tawny curls. It was Amelia’s turn to gape. Teddy grinned. “I take it you’ve never met a Metamorohmagus then?”

“No, I can’t say that I have. Could you choose any appearance you wanted?”

Teddy nodded. “Shall we go?”

Amelia led him through a neat parlour that was filled with books. In one corner was the ugliest dresser that Teddy had ever seen.

“Most of the books and furniture are yours, including that teak monstrosity. There’s a sort of concealed panel in it, but Dad can’t get it open.”

“Really? I don’t know any thing about that.” Teddy said uncertainly, wondering if there was something hidden in there. Swiftly changing the subject he said, “I always knew Dad was well read, I didn’t realise that he’d been planning on opening a library.” Amelia smiled.

They walked out into the blazing summer sunshine. The small garden was filled with lupins, save for a vegetable patch and a greenhouse, through the window of which Teddy could see bright pink Puffapods and a Flutterby Bush. He turned to look at the cottage and saw that it was a wooden framed building with a thatched roof, just as it had been in the photographs. Teddy sighed with relief; it was real. Amelia led him down the path and into the lane. She explained that the village was small and Muggle life seemed to be centred around the church and the pub. There was a post office combined with a small shop.

“I don’t even know which county we’re in.”

Amelia laughed lightly. “We’re in Warwickshire. The woods over there are part of what is left of the Forest of Arden.”

“Shakespeare country then?” Teddy was trying to sound knowledgeable. She nodded. “Which school do you go to then? You’re not at Hogwarts with me.”

“I’m a Beauxbatons girl.” She said with a small smile. “My mother is French and insisted that I go there. It’s fine most of the time.”

They walked into the woods in a comfortable silence. Teddy began to imagine his father as a small boy, playing games in the woods, building dens and climbing trees. A thought occurred to him and it stopped him in his tracks; was this where his father had been mauled by Greyback? His eyes searched the trees, looking for signs of damage.

Amelia looked at Teddy, confused by his sudden change of mood. He had been so relaxed a moment ago and now he looked frantic. He was nervously glancing at all the trees, as though he was expecting something to attack them.

“Teddy, what’s wrong?” He didn’t seem to have heard her, but was still staring around searching for something. Amelia reached out and touched Teddy’s arm. He span around and grabbed her by the shoulders, his eyes now completely wild. “Where… he’s…” He seemed completely breathless, panicked, totally different to the charming, affable boy he had been just moments before.

“Teddy, breathe, you’re okay, it’s just you and me, you’re alright.” She didn’t know what had upset Teddy but it was clear that it was serious. She didn’t know much about him and the sudden change made her feel uneasy, especially since he was gripping her shoulders so tightly.

“Teddy, look at me, concentrate on me, breathe, you’re okay, nothing is going to happen.” Amelia didn’t really know what she was saying; she didn’t know that things would be okay, she just wanted him to calm down and talk to her. At that moment, things felt far from ok.

Finished! Wow Jools. Just wow. That's all I can say really! You write Teddy greatly! I can't wait to see the next chapter! I wonder what Teddy will tell her!

-Steph

I had a really scary laptop moment when I was editing this, so I'm posting it before it gets wiped. This chapter is, to my mind, the scariest yet and so I'd advise proceeding with caution. If you don't like scary, don't read it. It's also the longest part I've written so far.

Five, part three, Forest Green
He looked around, desperately trying to see where Greyback was. He had been the stuff of Teddy’s nightmares since he was five and Harry, Hermione and his Gran had explained what his father had been and why. He had never told anyone about the dreams where he saw his father, a small skinny boy with tawny brown hair being attacked by a werewolf, a dog-wolf, slashing him across the stomach with its vast claws, biting at his legs, tossing him aside like a rag doll and leaving him for dead. And now through the forest green gloom, Greyback was prowling, waiting for Teddy and his mother…

But the person in front of him was not is mother, her eyes were all wrong. She was talking to him, saying his name, telling him to breathe. He was gripping her shoulders, his nails biting into her skin through her thin shirt. He realised that his chest was heaving and suddenly he was gulping in lungfuls of air, he could smell her sweet scent. He realised that he was still gripping he tightly and let go, his head spinning. She caught him by the waist and guided him towards an old tree stump. Her touch was reassuring, and as she pulled away when he sat down he started to panic again, thinking that she was abandoning him. She knelt down in front of him and started to speak again. He tried to focus on her voice, rather than the whine of panic in his mind.

“…happened? Are you alright Teddy? Can you hear me?” She looked concerned and frightened.

“Yeah, sorry, umm… not sure what happened there… I need a drink…” He knew he was lying and from the look on her face so did the girl. None the less, she looked around carefully and then waved her wand.

“The Statute…”

“Oh, knickers to the Statue, no-one can see us.” She passed him a glass and without looking he threw back the drink. Seconds later he was coughing, as rather than the water he had expected, what he could only think must be Firewhisky burned his throat. He managed a weak “Thanks”. It would definitely be a very long time before he tried that again.

“So, are you going to tell me or am I going to have to guess?”

Teddy gave her an appraising look. Something about this girl told him that he could trust her. Taking a deep breath he began.

“What do you know about my father?”

“Nothing, other than he was called Lupin, like the cottage.”

“Right, okay. Have you heard about the Order of the Phoenix?” She nodded. Teddy realised that this was going to be a long conversation, but it was soothing to talk to her and as he felt stronger, they walked deeper into the wood. He told her about his father being attacked, being ostracised because of it, finding friends, finding his mother but not thinking he was good enough for her, both of them dying in the Battle of Hogwarts. When he reached the story about almost being attacked by Greyback himself, she grabbed his arm in shock, her eyes wide. He slipped his hand into hers, lacing their fingers together.

“Well, there’s no wonder you freaked out a bit, anyone would. I won’t tell anyone, it’s no-one else’s business.”

Teddy was grateful for that. “I’m not a miserable person. I could be, but my parents didn’t die for me to be miserable.”

“I can see that about you. Why else would your hair have been so vibrantly green?” He laughed.

They had walked quiet far into the wood now, and very little light was breaking through the canopy of the trees. Neither of them had mentioned the fact that they were still holding hands. He looked at her, thinking again how pretty she was when she started to pull away from him, but gripped his hand tighter. Something was wrong.

“TEDDY!” She was falling, the woodland floor had disappeared beneath her feet and she was dragging him with her. He grabbed her upper arm, trying to pull her back but he lost his footing and they were both falling down a steep slope. Teddy hit a rock and felt his arm break. As they skidded and rolled down the slope, Teddy tried to get a glimpse at what was waiting for them at the bottom and a thrill of fear shot down his spine: water. They were heading for some sort of lake. With his broken arm he tried to find his wand in his pocket but it was impossible, they were falling too fast. He looked at Amelia, her face was scraped and bleeding, her arms were bruised, and she looked terrified. She clung to Teddy desperately but as they hit the water, the shock forced them to let go. The water was cold, much colder than Teddy had expected and now knives of ice were stabbing at him, he tried to strike out with his legs and break the surface of the water, but his legs were tangled. Thinking of Grindylows, Teddy fumbled again for his wand and watched in horror as it slipped through his fingers and out of view. He reached down to free his legs and realised that there was no breath left in his lungs. He felt his throat close and for the second time that afternoon he couldn’t breathe. Was this what it was like to drown? Lights popped before his eyes and his head felt like it was going to explode. He could no longer co-ordinate his arms and legs and he started to sink. As green water weeds clouded his vision, everything went dark…


*****

Remus was singing softly,

“Go to sleep, my Teddy Bear,
Close your little button eyes,
And let me smooth your hair.
It feels so soft and silky that,
I'd love to cuddle down by you,

Go to sleep, my darling Teddy Bear.
Golden slumbers kiss your eyes;
Smiles await you when you rise.
Sleep, Teddy Bear,
Do not cry,
And I will sing you lullabies.

Cares you know not,
Therefore sleep,
While over you a watch I'll keep.
Sleep, Teddy Bear,
Do not cry,
And I will sing you lullabies.”

The tiny boy in his arms was fighting sleep, staring back at Remus as though trying to memorise his face. Dora had gone to sleep hours earlier, exhausted by the boy who wouldn’t sleep. The song wasn’t working, neither was rocking nor a bottle. It was very dark now, and Remus saw that it was a clear night, all the stars were twinkling.

“Come on Teddy, come and meet a friend of mine…”

Remus took his son outside to look at the constellation of Sirius.

*****

Amelia broke through the surface of the water, gasping. She looked around, expecting to see Teddy, but there was no-one there. She took a deep breath and dived. She saw him, he seemed to be sinking. She swam towards him and saw that his feet were tangled in water weeds. The water irritated her eyes and she blinked rapidly. When she opened them, Teddy was surrounded by pink and blue light. It was swirling around him and some how when she reached him, there were no water weeds. Lungs burning, she hooked him under the arms and kicked out for the surface. He wasn’t responding to her touch. Is he unconscious? Is he dead? He couldn’t be. Somehow she dragged him to the bank and almost collapsed in the reed beds. He wasn’t breathing. “Rennervate!” The spell wasn’t working, Amelia was panicking, what was it that Muggles did?

Teddy could feel lips on his own, not kissing but blowing air into him. He spluttered and the lips disappeared, someone was rolling him onto his side. What had happened? Why was he wet? Who did the lips belong to? Who had been singing? Teddy stopped thinking, his head hurt. His arm was sore as well, and quite an odd shape. He looked up and saw a worried face, as wet as he was, staring at him. Was her name Amelia?

“Talk to me Teddy.”

“Okay.” Him speaking seemed to soothe her. Gingerly he sat up, protecting his arm. He looked at the opposite bank of the lake and saw the disturbed ground where they had fallen down.

“Are you ok? Have you broken anything?” He looked up at her, taking in her rapidly swelling eye and bleeding cheek.

“Just bumps and cuts. I’m fine.”

“You dragged me out?” She nodded. Great, he would never live that down, a petite little thing like her had pulled him out of the water. He had to have the best part of a foot on her in height. “Thanks, again.”

“No, I should have been watching where we were going rather than thinking about-” She stopped mid sentence, blushing furiously.

Teddy grinned, despite the pain in his arm. “I was thinking about it too.”

They grinned stupidly at each other for a long moment, before standing up.

“Oh Merlin! My wand!” Teddy started to feel his pockets with one hand, despite the fact he knew that it was gone, just another twig at the bottom of the lake now. Reaching across into the carpenter’s pocket of his jeans he was bewildered to find it there.

“I thought I’d dropped it.”

“It’s holding your breath for so long, it does funny things to your brain. I thought I could see pink and blue lights swirling all around you.”

Teddy hid his shock with a coughing fit. So other people could see them. He decided not to correct Amelia. Of all the things he’d told her today, pink and blue lights that retrieved wands from the bottom of lakes and freed your feet from water weeds would definitely convince her he was a few shrivelfigs short of a potion.

Carefully supporting each other, they made their way through the wood back to Lupin Cottage. Teddy’s arm was very painful by the time they reached the cottage. Luckily, Amelia’s mother had arrived home early and she took charge. She dried them out, healed their injuries and set off making vegetable soup. Teddy and Amelia sat at the kitchen table, now avoiding what had seemed so easy to say in the woods. Teddy was just about to reach out and take her hand again, when her mother brought the soup to the table. As they eat, Teddy had a wonderful idea.

“Mrs Richards, would it be ok for Amelia to come to Harry Potter’s birthday party next week?”

Mrs Richards dropped her spoon. Amelia looked shocked.

“I just wanted to thank her for dragging me out of the lake today.”

“You know ‘Arry Potter?”

“He’s my Godfather.”

“Oh well, if ‘ee says it is alright, I can’t see why not.”

After the soup was finished Teddy realised that it was past time for him to leave. He thanked Mrs Richards and promised that his Gran would contact her again about the party. He wanted to say a private goodbye to Amelia, but since that wasn’t possible, he shook her hand. His skin tingled where he touched her and it was with regret that he disappeared into the emerald flames once again.

A week later, in his kitchen, Teddy explained almost everything that had happened at Lupin Cottage to Keith. Keith looked at Teddy in disbelief.

“You mean to tell me you had to be rescued by the damsel in distress? You do know it’s supposed to be the other way around, don’t you? It always happens to you, doesn’t it? You clumsy great ar-”

“Hello Keith.” Almost getting caught swearing in Andromeda Tonks’ house was an uncomfortable position to be in. Keith squirmed and then thought that politely brazening it out was the only way to try and recover the situation.

“He-hello Mrs Tonks, are you looking forward to the party?”

“Oh yes. As soon as Amelia gets here we’ll set off.”

Later, in the darkness of The Burrow’s orchard, Teddy finally pulled Amelia into the kiss he had been imagining since they had said good bye. This kiss was different to the chaste pecks he had shared with Hogwarts girls. It was a passionate embrace. She tasted of treacle tart and custard, and smelled of apples. The kiss became more heated and he pulled her to him, holding her waist. He had to bend over slightly to be able to kiss her. Without warning she stumbled backwards, dragging him with her. They fell into the grass laughing.

Teddy sighed. “That kiss was worth almost drowning for.”






I was listening to Kate Rusby when I was writing, so I thought I'd best acknowledge it. I love her!

Ahh like I said on MSN, the last line was so cute. This chapter was intense!!! I loved it! ^_^ Can't wait for more Hannah!

Thanks Sally,:glomp: I really value your opinion :yes:

aww, i love the latest chapter! that song is so cute, and very funny how teddy is clumsy as well :D

Thanks Lupinfangirlx, I'm glad you liked the lullaby. I'm glad someone is reading!

Thanks hermione'sclone! It's always good to know that someone is reading and I'm glad that you're enjoying it.

The banner was by Cake-Chan and I love it! When he first did it I was writing and I kept stopping to stare at it! It is exactly what I asked him to do, the man's a genius!

I'm only on the first chapter so far but good stuff, indeed.

Thanks Antwone, I'm glad you like it!




(I feel a bit like Pollyanna with all this gladness)

Ok, so I had another night were sleep eluded me completely, so here's the next chapter. Something happens later in this chapter that some of you may not like. All I can say is that it's Mustang Sally's fault, I was chatting to her when the decision was reached! ;)

Six, part one, Grey

From her perch by the window, Moony could see her master tossing and turning in his bed. His usually vibrant hair was grey and sweat was pouring down his face. She became agitated, hooting and clicking her beak, but he didn’t wake up. She swooped across the room, landing on his bare chest and hopped up to his shoulder, nipping his ear in an effort to wake him. Her master rolled over and she took flight, perching on the bedstead, watching over him.

~~~

“Have you seen Teddy this week?” Harry was leaning against Hermione’s desk while she read the latest update from Azkaban.

“No, I haven’t. He was supposed to be in the meeting this morning but he didn’t turn up.”

Harry frowned. Teddy was usually very punctual and always sent his apologies if he couldn’t attend a meeting. He was like Remus in that respect.

“D’you think he tied one on last night? It wouldn’t be the first time; he’s twenty four after all. I remember drinking…”

Harry’s remembrance of a drunken night out with Ron and George was cut short by the irritated expression on Hermione’s face.

“No, I don’t think that he ‘tied one on’. He knew how important that meeting was this morning. If we are to stand any chance of stopping The Movement before they gather any more support we need all hands on deck. Teddy knows that. When was the last time you saw him?”

“Friday, he came for supper.”

“So that’s five days. Go and find Victoire, see if she’s seen him. If not we’ll go to Lupin Cottage and see if he’s there.”

“Yes boss.” Harry said, with a little mock salute.

Hermione sighed and went back to the report. She was worried, it just wasn’t like Teddy to be out of touch for so long, let alone miss a meeting.

*****

“Mum, please stop fussing, it’ll be fine, Fred and George are going to be with me. I can Apparate, I’ll be okay.”

Molly frowned. She did not want Ginny to go and help evacuate Remus and Tonks from Lupin Cottage. If the intelligence was right and Dolohov was intent on killing Remus, Molly didn’t want any of them to go.

“Molly, we’ll take care of her, she’s an able fighter, she’s proved herself.”Ginny flushed with pride at Kingsley’s words. He believed in her abilities to look after herself, at least.

“Well, I’m not happy, and at the first sign of trouble you are to Apparate back to here, do you promise?”

Ginny agreed, with no intention of keeping that promise. A Weasley leave her friends behind to fight? Never!

Kingsley showed them the addresses of Lupin Cottage and Andromeda’s house, throwing the parchment into the fire afterwards. They set off into the night, Ginny’s stomach churning with anticipation and nerves. For the first time in weeks she was going to do something to resist Voldemort. The very thought made her heart sing.

The group popped into view at the end of the lane. Ginny saw a wooden frame cottage, surrounded by a slightly messy garden. Remus was waiting at the door, wearing his travelling coat. “He raised his wand to Kingsley and asked “The last joke Sirius told?”

“The one about the Minister and the Veela? I think Ginny is a little young for that one Remus.” Remus lowered his wand. As they walked up the path he gave them a grim smile of welcome and led them into the kitchen. Ginny could see some suitcases and a few of rucksacks. Tonks was sat at the table, cradling a tiny baby with turquoise hair.

“Right, I think we should get out of here straight away. Grab a bag and we’ll Apparate at the boundary.”

Ginny, Fred and George all took a rucksack and pulled them on to their backs. Remus and Kingsley both took a suitcase and Tonks brought Teddy. They trouped back down the path and on Kingsley word, they stepped through the boundary, turned on the spot and disappeared.

Andromeda was waiting for them at the door, just as Remus had been. She threw it open and marched to the boundary, wand aloft. Pointing it in her daughter’s face, she cried “What did Sirius Black do to you when you were five years old?”

“He gave me an Acid Pop and it burned a hole in my tongue.”

Andromeda threw her arms around her daughter briefly and then dragged her up the garden path and into the house. The others followed.

“There’s no wonder you don’t like Acid Pops Tonks!” Kingsley was chuckling. “I need to go, but I’ll stop at The Burrow, tell your mother you’re ok, give you some time.”

“Thanks Kingsley.” He left in a whirl of robes.

Tonks had settled on the settee, still clinging to Teddy. Ginny settled next to her while Andromeda showed the men where to put the luggage.

Ginny looked down into Teddy’s face. “He’s gorgeous Tonks” she whispered.

Tonks smiled widely. “Thanks, I like to think so. I never really thought about being a mum until I had him and now… I’m totally besotted with him. The way that you love your children, it’s different to any other kind of love. It’s irrevocable, complete and brilliant.” She kissed Teddy and then chortled. “Irrevocable? Being married to Remus has expanded my vocabulary! And to think, if Remus hadn’t come to his senses Teddy wouldn’t be here. Do you think he looks like Remus?” She said, turning her attention back to her slumbering son.

“I think he looks like both of you, in different ways. He’s going to be very handsome when he grows up.”

The others had returned. Andromeda, Fred and George were busy in the kitchen. Remus leaned up against the door frame, looking at the young women cooing over his son. He announced his presence with a small cough.

“Ginny, could you take a photograph of the three of us? We don’t have a family portrait yet.”

They arranged themselves on the settee, Tonks holding Teddy, Remus with his arms wrapped around them both and Ginny took the photo.

Looking at them and how happy they were, Ginny gave a wry smile at the thought that all their love could have come to nothing if Remus had continued to be so stubborn. Lifting the camera to take a second photograph she said to Tonks “Y’know, these Lupin men, they're heart breakers.”

*****

Harry ran back into Hermione’s office.

“Victoire hasn’t seen or heard from him since Thursday.”

“Right, let’s go.”

Hermione grabbed her wand, and they ran down the corridor to the Auror office. Harry shouted for Ron and the three of them bolted for the lifts. People stared at them as they thundered through the Atrium towards the fireplace. Throwing Floo powder in to the flames, one by one they shouted
“Lupin Cottage”.

Harry span out of the fireplace first. He only just had time to register how untidy the kitchen and parlour were when Hermione and then Ron had joined him.

“Teddy? Are you here mate?”

They heard a distraught hoot from Teddy’s bedroom. Hermione pulled open the door and gasped. There on the bed was Teddy, naked to the waist, deathly pale, his hair grey. There was a strong smell of vomit and urine.

“Harry, you stay with him, we’ll go get a Healer.”

Hermione and Ron dashed for the door and Harry to his godson’s side. When he touched Teddy’s skin, he was shocked by how clammy and cold he was. “Teddy, mate, can you hear me? Come on mate, wake up, wake up…”

OH NO!! whats wrong with teddy :(
but the family portrait so soo cute! :D
PAMS!! :D

I can't tell you that! It would spoil the rest of the chapter!;)

I must admit, I rather liked that family portait flash back too.

WOOOOO I finally caught up!

You're an AWEOME writer and you do Teddy fantastically :D And I like the cliffhanger at the end of your last update...*subscribes*

Keep on writing!

Hooray! My Legilimens Drabble Stalker has arrived! :P

I hope you didn't read them all in one go though, because that would make you my Brightly Lit Legilimens Drabble Stalker, and I haven't got the energy to be typing that all the time! ;)

Seriously though I'm glad you liked it :D

Someone needs to tell Paintbrush to bring her head deflating stick!

Right, I've written this five different ways so if you hate it, don't tell me. I think this is the best version.

Six, part two, Grey

“What do you mean, I can’t see him?” Victoire demanded. “I’m family; I’m going to be his wife!”

She turned her left hand over, showing Healer Patil her engagement ring.

Padma smiled kindly “Miss Weasley, no-one is allowed to see Mr Lupin until we can determine what is causing his current condition. The quarantine is to ensure that if the cause is contagious, it does not spread.”

“Well, how in the name of Merlin are you going in there?”

“We are taking precautions, but I cannot allow you to do the same.” She had pre-empted Victoire’s next demand. “Now, I need to get back to Mr Lupin”. She walked away from the group, casting a bubble head charm and then unlocking the door of the ward. Victoire turn to Harry, her hands in her hair, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks.

“Oh, come here.” Ginny pulled her into a tight hug. “Teddy’s a fighter, he comes from a family of fighters, he’s going to come through this, he’ll be ok. To Harry, the words sounded rather empty as he recalled the family of fighters Teddy came from and how young they had all been when they died. Even the most recent, Andromeda, had only been in her late sixties when she had passed away a year earlier, which was hardly old for a muggle, let alone a witch. A surge of bitterness rose up in Harry’s throat. He saw Sirius laughing as he fell through the veil, Ted showing him where the portkey was, Tonks with blond hair at the wedding, Remus toasting the birth of his son, Andromeda green from dragon pox and now Teddy, limp and grey…

“Harry, he’s going to be fine. Stop thinking like that.”

Harry looked up at his wife. “When did you become a Legilimens?”

She laughed mirthlessly. “I don’t need to read your mind; I can just look at your face.”

*****

“John! John, quick! Remus is hurt!”

He was aware of his Mummy shouting, but he couldn’t be hurt because nothing was hurting. He must be dreaming, yes that’s what must be happening. He'd had a brilliant day and now he was dreaming. That must be right. Brain Young had shown Remus where he wanted to build a den in the woods and they had spent the day finding lots of big branches to build it from. They were going back tomorrow to finish it. It had been dark but Brain had a torch so they had been able to find their way home. They had thought that they could here something following them but they had got all the way to the end of the lane before they had heard the growling. Brain had run away and then…

“John, would you hurry up, I think he’s dying!” His Mummy was screaming now and Remus knew it was real, he could feel his legs and his belly hurting. He could feel something warm and wet all over him, like he’d split gravy or custard. Whatever it was, there was lots of it. Feet were running now and he could hear his Daddy swearing, that was funny, Daddy had always said swearing was rude. Big hands lifted him up and now he felt like he was flying. They were in the fireplace, it was warm and tickly. Then there were bright lights and screams and then comfortable blackness…

Remus woke up and everything was hurting. His legs and his belly felt stiff and sore. He opened his eyes and saw that he wasn’t at home.

“Mummy?” His voice sounded funny. He swallowed and realised that his mouth was very dry. “Daddy?”

“I’m here darling. I’m here.” He felt his Mummy squeeze his hand.

“Where am I? Am I poorly?”

“You’re in the hospital darling, you’ve been poorly but you’re going to get better.” Her voice sounded all wrong, like she was fibbing.

“Oh. Well, can Granddad Lupin come and read me stories? That will help me get better, I think.”

“When we get home darling, when we get home.”

*****

“Mum!” Victoire ran down the corridor, blonde hair flying out behind her. Fleur and Bill walked towards them and, after embracing their sobbing daughter, listened to a full recount of everything that had happened to Teddy.

“’Ee should never ‘ave moved into Lupin Cottage alone.” Fleur’s pronouncement was made in a throatier voice than usual and Harry was not surprised to see that she was fighting back the tears.

“He wanted to feel close to his parents, and I think we can all understand why.” Although Teddy had lived with Harry and Ginny briefly when he was nineteen, he had moved home when Andromeda had suffered a nasty accident with a back firing charm. She had been permanently weakened and had been unable to fight off the dragon pox. Harry knew that Teddy blamed himself. He had rented out her house and moved into Lupin Cottage as soon as the Richards family had moved to France, refusing several offers from Ginny, Hermione and Kingsley of alternative accommodation.

Padma Patil was walking up the corridor towards them, her face inscrutable.

Harry’s heart began to pound in his throat. He was sure that she was coming to tell them that Teddy had died.

“We still don’t know what is wrong with Mr Lupin.”

Relief flooded through Harry and he almost didn’t hear Bill’s question.

“…have you ruled out?”

“Almost everything. We’ve contacted Healers all over the world, just in case it’s something exotic that we don’t recognise. It’s a highly unusual case; he has a number of seemingly unconnected symptoms. There is a team from the ministry at Mr Lupin’s home as we speak, trying to detect any possible trace of toxins or poisons. All we can do now is wait. If Mr Lupin is anything like his father then I’m sure that he will fight whatever this is.”

Harry thanked her and Padma walked away, catching up with a Healer who was carrying what looked like letters.

“I say we take shifts, we may not be able to sit with him, but someone should be here.” Bill’s suggestion was a good one and Harry volunteered to stay with Victoire. They sat together outside the ward; she slipped her hand into his and leaned her head on his arm just as she had when she was a tired little girl who wanted a bedtime story. Harry just hoped that this time there would be a happy ending.

*head explodes*

*stalks*

I wanna know what's wrong with Teddy! *flails* :D Good post! I loved it, as usual. Keep em coming!

ooohh you so nasty to teddy :(
but i loved it and was probably the best of the 5 :D
PAMS! :)

Thanks for the feedback :glomp:

I've said it before, I'm a rotten egg! ;) I think I'm becoming a bit of an angst queen.

The next chapter is underway!

I've decided to split this next bit in half, aren't I nice to you?

Six, part three, Grey

Teddy was walking down an extremely familiar looking street, although he couldn’t really be sure where he was. He noticed places where trees and bushes were missing, doors that were the wrong colour. The houses became more spread out the further he walked. He thought that he recognised a particular house and went to investigate. The door was open, so he walked in. In the sitting room two people were posing for a photograph. They too were very familiar. The man looked tired; his tawny hair was sprinkled liberally with grey. He was smiling widely as he hugged the woman. Teddy thought that she was beautiful; her hair was a vibrant pink. She was holding a small baby whose hair was changing colour. It was purple and then blue and now grey…

Suddenly he knew who they were, where they were. He had been given that photograph in an ornate pewter frame for his eleventh birthday. He was in his Gran’s house. She was walking into the room now, followed by a young man with red hair who was carrying a tray with tea things on it.

“Fred dear, just put it on that side table. Thank you.”

Fred? Fred Weasley? So, all these people were dead? Did that mean that he was dead too?

“Ginny, do you take sugar?”

“Just half a teaspoon please.”

Ginny. Teddy was sure that she was alive. If she was here too, then maybe he wasn’t dead after all.

“How about you George, do you take sugar?”

“Oh, no thanks Mrs Tonks. I’m sweet enough.”

George. Well, if two living people were here, then he probably wasn’t dead. That thought made Teddy feel a little bit more cheerful but there was still the fact that no one had noticed that he was in the room. What in the name of Merlin was going on?

He listened as they chatted and finished their tea. He drank in his parent’s voices, his mother’s easy jokes and his father’s hoarse laugh. Eventually Ginny, Fred and George said their goodbyes and went home. His parents and his grandmother chatted for a while longer, eventually saying goodnight and going upstairs to bed. Teddy followed his parents, as though drawn to them magnetically. In his childhood bedroom there was a double bed and a cot waiting for them. His mother lay his infant self down in the cot and crossed to a set of draws. She pulled out a small package and said “Happy Birthday Darling!”

His father laughed. “That was last month!”

“I was a bit busy being pregnant last month. Besides, I accidentally left it here.”

His father carefully opened the present. It was a beautiful silver cloak pin that that was set with moonstones which gleamed silver blue in the candlelight. Teddy recognised it; he used it to fasten his own cloak.

“It’s beautiful, thank you.” They kissed passionately and Teddy looked out of the window. The view was very much the same one that he had enjoyed as he grew up. His mother’s voice brought his attention back into the room.

“Remus, if we both die, what will happen to him?”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“It might.” She smiled sadly. “I can’t believe that I’m the one who’s being rational.”

“If that happens, then Harry and your mother will do an excellent job of raising him. He’ll know that we love him and that we died trying make the world a better place for him.”

“And if they die?”

“Then Hermione, or Molly and Arthur, or Ginny, or Kingsley or Bill and Fleur will step in. There are enough people who love our son to make sure that he’s raised properly.”

“I can’t help but worry…”

“Of course you worry, that’s what makes you a good mother. Our son is going to grow up to be a great wizard and more importantly, he’ll live to be an old man because somehow, we are going get rid of You-Know-Who.”

Teddy noticed that both his parents were surrounded by a glowing white light, their voices were becoming increasing difficult to hear, as though they were on the wireless and someone was turning them down.

“You seem very certain.”

“I am. I wasn’t before Teddy came along, but now I just know that our side is going to win. We have to…”

The light coming from his parents was blinding now and Teddy was forced to close his eyes. He couldn’t hear his parents any more. He slowly opened his eyes and realised that they were gone. He blinked rapidly; the light was still blinding him. Very slowly, the room came into focus. He seemed to be in a hospital ward of some sort. It wasn’t the one at Hogwarts, but there were similarities. The beds were neatly made, there were curtains to afford the patients privacy, tables on wheels and a large cupboard that was presumably full of potions and remedies. Teddy realised that he was completely alone. He tried to sit up, but he couldn’t. It felt as though someone had filled his body with lead, everything was just too heavy to try to move.

There was a sound at the door and a Healer walked in, a large potion bottle in one hand. It looked as though she had an upturned goldfish bowl on her head. Teddy recognised the Bubble Head charm and tried to smile but even his lips felt heavy.

Padma Patil looked down at Teddy and was surprised to see that his eyes were open. She still had no idea what was wrong with him, all the investigations had been fruitless. She had started to consider how to tell his family and friends that he was unlikely to ever recover.

“Hello Mr Lupin. How are you feeling?”

Teddy tried to say, “Heavy” but found it difficult to form the words. Instead he let out a small groan.

“Don’t worry about talking, just nod or shake your head. Are you tired?”

Teddy slowly shook his head. The more he tried to move, the more he found he could.

“Do you remember feeling ill?”

Teddy shook his head again. The last thing he could remember was eating a meal at Harry’s house.

Padma removed the Bubble Head charm. Whatever had been wrong with Teddy, she very much doubted that it was contagious. She performed a number of spells, took his pulse tested his reflexes. They were rather slow, but they were present.

“Well there are some people outside who is most anxious to see you. Do you feel up to seeing them?”

Teddy nodded slowly.

“Very well then, I’ll send them in.”

She walked out of the ward. Harry and Ron were sitting together, having a quiet conversation. They stopped talking and stood up when they saw her.

“Any change?”

“He’s awake.”

Ron let out a shaky laugh. Harry embraced Padma, lifting her off her feet and swinging her around.

“Yes, well,” she said when he finally put her down, “because it’s been six weeks, he’s very weak. It will take a while for him to get back to normal. We’ll keep him here until he’s a bit stronger, I want to monitor his progress.”

“Do you know what was wrong with him?”

She shook her head. “We may never know. The cause could have been emotional, given what you’ve told me about how he reacted to the death of his grandmother. It sounds to me as though he did not accept that she had died, rather that he ran away from the fact. Eventually your have to face the pain and the grief, and for Mr Lupin it manifested itself physically. You can go in and see him, but only for a few minutes. Try and be as calm as possible.”

Harry and Ron thanked Padma, both of them hugging her. They slipped through the door as quietly as they could.

Teddy’s hair was still grey, he still looked very pale and thin but his eyes were open. Harry and Ron sat down next to the bed.

“Alright mate? You had us worried there.”

Teddy tried to smile and found that his lips twitched at the corners. He tried to speak again, “Vvvvvv”.

Ron grinned. “Victoire? She’s at work, but I’ll go and get her if you want me to.”

Teddy nodded. Ron stood up and squeezed Teddy’s shoulder. “It’s good to have you back mate.” He slipped quietly out of the ward. Harry took Teddy’s hand, squeezing it, almost making sure that he was real.

“You’ve got to stay here a while until you are strong enough to come home. You’re going to come and stay with us until you’re completely better. No arguments. I’m responsible for you, so you’re going to do what you’re told for a change. Understand?”

Teddy nodded. Harry might have been expecting him to argue, but he could think of nowhere that he would rather go. After experiencing how intense his parent’s love really was, he wanted to be surrounded by his family.

Thanks. The next bit is still fermenting in my brain.

More Paintbrush Drabbles? *goes to stalk*

awww surrounded by his family, how cute :)
but what's wrong with teddy?? u certainly are a bad egg ;)
can't wait for the next chapter :D

When Andromeda died, rather than face it and grieve, he went into denial. He bottled up all his emotions and in the end that made him very ill.

Something very similar happened to someone I used to work with.

Thanks, that really made me grin. I hope you like the next part as much...

D.A. Forever, thank you! You pointed out the little things that I hoped people were picking up on. I edit each one about three times to make sure that it isn't too obvious.

I'm also referencing my own drabbles about Remus. That's where the constellation bit came from (number 92). I liked some of those ideas so much that I used them again. Either that or I'm lazy, you choose.

I'm sorry I made you tear up, but sort of glad too. I'm just finishing the last part of Six, which some will like and others won't.

Ohhhhhh very nice chapter ^_^ The whole scene with Lupin and Tonks and all the others was so sweet :D Keep it up!

Thanks Gracie :glomp:

This is for Steph, because she helped me decide the first bit, it has her man in it and it's a bit... well you'll see. I watched The English Patient last night, blame it on that ;)


Six, part four, Grey

Eight weeks later, Teddy was sat in Harry’s garden in Godric’s Hollow. The house had been rebuilt after the second war and Harry had lived there ever since. Lilly was enjoying being his nurse, bossing him around and fussing over him. She had tucked a blanket around his knees because he had been feeling cold. Now she was bringing him a cup of tea. He had asked for coffee, but she had refused on the grounds that coffee might “over excite” him.

“There you go. Victoire is coming to see you this afternoon.”

“Oh, is she? That’ll be… lovely.” He tried to sound enthusiastic, but he couldn’t. During his convalescence, Teddy had thought a lot about Victoire. He remembered the how his parents had looked at each other, the way that they had spoken to each other and it had brought him clarity of thought, allowing him to come to a decision. He just didn’t think that it would be a popular decision.

Lilly was chattering away, telling Teddy about her exams and how the new astronomy Professor wasn’t as nice as Professor Sinistra.

“Well, Professor Sinistra is a one-off; you’ll never have another teacher like her. I’m sure that Professor Schofield is well qualified. How’s Neville?”

Lilly’s answer was interrupted by the appearance of Victoire at the kitchen door. Lilly jumped up, ran over to her cousin and hugged her, gave Teddy a grin and a wave and disappeared into the kitchen. Victoire kissed Teddy on the cheek, her strong perfume filled his nostrils, causing him to cough and gag.

“Is that a new perfume?”

“Yes, don’t you like it?”

“It’s a bit strong, that’s all.”

“Oh. How are you today?”

“I’m alright, I’d be better if I was allowed to have a cup off coffee, but Lilly’s in charge so I’ve got no chance.” He tried to smile, but his lips were not co-operating.

“Right. Would you like me to smuggle some out for you?”

“No, no. I wouldn’t want to get you in trouble with Lilly. She’s like Ginny when she’s cross, scary.”

The conversation was stiff and formal somehow, as though they had argued. Teddy took a deep breath.

“Vic, I need to say something, and I need you to listen.”

She nodded, waiting for him to continue.

“I’ve had a lot of time to think recently. When I was unconscious, I had a weird experience. It was like being inside a memory. I was listening to my Mum and Dad talking and I could see how much they loved each other. It made me think about a lot of things, but especially about you and me. You deserve someone who’s completely devoted to you, who will love you to the bottom of their soul and that, well, that’s…”

“Not you.” Her voice was steady, but cold. “I’ve been waiting for you to say that. I’ve known you all my life Teddy Lupin, did you think I hadn’t noticed how different you’ve been since you came out of St.Mungo’s? At first I could put it down to you being ill but I was kidding myself. You’ve been pushing me away for ages, ever since Andromeda died. It’s like you were expecting me to leave you, so you pushed me away first and to save yourself the heartache. That was tough but since you’ve been ill, you’ve been so far away and I can’t reach you, no matter what I try.” She looked down at her hands and slid her engagement ring off her finger. “Here,” she put the ring in his hand, “I can’t keep that. Do what you want with it.” She stood up and walked away, not looking back.

Teddy sat in the garden for a long time, thinking about what he had just done. He was sure it was right thing. The feelings that he had for Victoire were a pale imitation of real love, he was certain about that.

Ginny appeared at the kitchen door.

“Are you ready to come in? I’ve made sausages and colcannon, just the way you like it.”

“Sounds great.”

Ginny helped Teddy to stand up and supported him as they walked back towards the house. “When you were a baby I told your mother that you were so handsome, you’d be a heartbreaker when you grew up. It looks like I was right, doesn’t it?” Ginny’s voice was light, she wasn’t scolding him but Teddy felt his cheeks flush.

“I know it puts you in a difficult position and I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt her but isn’t it better for me to be honest now than to let things get any further, to get married and then have to tell her that I don’t love her. That would be just awful.”

Ginny nodded in agreement. “You are more like your Dad than I think you could ever realise.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“Most of the time.”

~~~

Teddy stood in the lift, giddy with the excitement of being back at work. It had been six months since he had fallen ill and he had been desperate to come back for the last three. The lift announced that it had reached Level Two and he walk into the familiar corridor. He opened the door of the Auror Headquarters to see them all waiting for him. The entire staff of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement seemed to be packed in there, along with some friends from other departments. Kingsley strode across the office and grasped his hand, shaking it vigorously. “I’m glad you’re back boy, we’ve all missed you.”

Teddy was stunned by the warmth of the welcome. “Thanks everybody.” He made an effort to try and at least say hello to everyone before Kingsley called out. “That’s enough now everyone, he’s come back to work, not to socialise.” People began to make their way out, some of them waving to Teddy. Keith made the motion for “let’s have a drink later” as he made his way back to Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. Teddy nodded, giving him a thumbs up.

Harry walked over to him. “You’re on office only duties for the next few weeks, Hermione’s instructions. We’ve got a new recruit who needs training up in our methods. She’s from the French Ministry; she’s got plenty of experience, so it won’t be like training a school leaver. She’s waiting for you by your desk.” He clapped Teddy on the shoulder and walked into his own office. Teddy walked around the half height wall that made up one side of his work space. A young woman was sat at his desk, her long black hair neatly plaited. She seemed to be looking at the photographs and newspaper clippings that he had pinned to the wall. She turned round and Teddy saw a familiar pair of intensely blue eyes.

“Amelia?”

She smiled widely. “One and the same. How are you Teddy?”

“Better for seeing you! So you’re my trainee?”

“I suppose I am yes.”

They spent the next few months getting to know each other again, both at work and in private. Teddy was so glad to have her back in his life, he was totally refreshed and re-energised by her that he felt like he had never been ill. Eventually she was given her own cases and they didn’t work as closely. Teddy felt bereft of her company and daft for feeling that way, she was only on the other side of the cubicle wall after all. He wanted to be fifteen again, when kissing her had been so easy. He wanted to ask her if she had thought of him at all. They had written to each other for a few years and visited each other during the holidays, spending intense hours together, talking and exploring each other, but just after he left Hogwarts the letters tailed off. Teddy had thrown himself whole heartedly into his Auror training and it would seem that Amelia had done the same. He wanted to ask her if she had loved anyone but he was afraid of what the answer might be. Sometimes he found himself staring at her when he should have been listening during meetings. He knew that eventually he would have to say something or do something because if he didn’t, she would find someone else.

*****

Sirius was angry. He was banging the cups, plates, teapot, cafetiere and kettle around and muttering under his breath as he prepared drinks for the evening meeting. On and on he went, picking things up only to put them back down again, the rage he was feeling negating any ability to concentrate. Eventually he slammed a cup down too hard and broke it. A stream of violent swearing followed from Sirius.

“You did learn something from your mother then.”

Remus was leaning against the doorframe. “Should I ask or do you just want me to let you get on with it?” He flicked his wand and repaired the cup.

“Snape!” Sirius spat the potion master’s name, “You know that the slimy, greasy turncoat is going to be giving Harry Occlumency lessons. I’m sure that he’s going to use it as an excuse to torture Harry. Why on earth Dumbledore can’t do it himself I don’t know. If Harry hadn’t got in the way yesterday I would have plastered his brain all over the wall.”

“Well, it’s a good job that Harry was here to get in the way then. I’ve told you a thousand times that you shouldn’t let him get under your skin. We’re not sixteen anymore Padfoot, you need to control your emotions a little better than you are at the moment.”

“Oh you’re very good at that aren’t you Moony?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well we both know that there’s a little Nymph desperate to get to know the big, bad wolf.”

Remus flushed.

“Oh-ho! I see, she already has! Let me think, it’s one of two things. Either she doesn’t meet your lofty expectations or she’s told you that she’s got feelings you. That’s why you’re being so cold with her.”

At these words Remus felt his own anger flare. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I think I do Remus. You’ve become so icy with her I’m surprised that the poor girl hasn’t got frostbite. She’s the best thing that could happen to you, but she wants more than a fling and you can’t handle it. You’re really pathetic.”

There was a loud bang and Sirius was blasted off his feet. He hit the dresser with a sickening crunch of ribs.

“Don’t talk about things you don’t understand Sirius. You may have stopped at sixteen, but the rest of us kept growing.”

“Oh mother of Merlin, you love her.” Sirius was tentatively trying to stand, but breathing was difficult. His own anger was dissipating slightly, returning to the tight ball of resentment that constantly sat in his stomach. They glared at each other for several long minutes, both panting as though they had been running. When Remus finally answered Sirius his voice was measured and calm again.

“What does that matter? Nothing can happen, it can’t go anywhere! Can you imagine the technicolour cubs? They’d be outcasts. I can’t do that to her.” His anger had subsided, leaving a tide of self loathing in the pit of his stomach. He walked across the kitchen and healed Sirius ribs. “Just keep it to yourself. She’ll move on, find someone else.”

“Whatever you say old man, whatever you say.”

Later at the meeting, Sirius watched as Remus and Tonks steadily avoided having direct eye contact. He also noticed that they were both stealing glances at each other. He doubted that either of them would move on, their feelings for each other were so strong Sirius could almost smell them.

*****

“Ted, you’ve been pushing those potatoes around your plate for ten minuets. Are you going to eat them?”

“No, I’m not hungry.”

Amelia looked at him quizzically. It had been his idea to have lunch in the Leaky Cauldron, rather than eat in the Ministry.

“Can you remember the first time we met?”

“I’ll never forget it, you almost died.”

“Yeah, well, the second time then. At Harry’s party.”

“Oh. Yes, I remember.” She remembered that party, kissing Teddy in the orchard and the fireworks that had exploded in her chest.

“Well, what I was wondering was, well, if you still felt like that.”

“How long have you been wondering that?”

“Ever since I saw you sat at my desk on your first day.”

She smiled. “I’m glad it wasn’t just me then.”

He reached out across the table and took her hand. “Amelia, will you, could you, be mine?”

She smiled. “I’ve always been yours. No-one else has ever made me feel the way that you do.”

Teddy’s heart swelled. This was it. This was love.

no other way to describe this but
AAAAWWWW :loved:
so cute, glad teddy is better but poor Victoire
great chapter :)

Thanks Lupinfangirlx and don't worry about Victoire, she'll be fine. She saw it coming. What did you think of the Remus flashback? Any good?

adorable! how he couldn't deny he loved Tonks, and how he got mad at the confrontation, i thought you caught sirius's charcter really well, good decription after remus cast the spell! twas great! :D

You cried? Oh I'm sorry! I wanted to tug at some heartstrings but I didn't mean to make anyone cry :glomp: Blame it on The English Patient, all that angst!

I'm glad you both liked the flashback, I had to rewrite it a few times before I was happy with it. I was worried about having Remus attack Sirius, but I thnk it works :)

Aww poor Victorie. But I SO had a feeling that Amelia was going to make a comeback somewhere :xd:

I liked it ^_^ And the flashback was awesome--you portrayed Sirius and Lupin perfectly! I loved this line :xd:

I was like HAHAHA after I read that :lmao:

I liked that as well Lissy! And the bit with Lilly and Ginny.

I also slipped my mother in there, I wonder if anyone can spot her.

I really am glad people liked the flash back. I thought that you might not like Sirius and Remus having an arguement but even the best of friends have disagreements. And with those two, you just know that Sirius would go too far eventually.

Hey, don't worry about it! I was crying about something else from before so i was already emotional. And anyways, it shows that your writing is really good! The Remus attacking Sirius part really does work! It shows that Remus likes Tonks as well but doesn't want to admit it for some reason. Well, sort of.

Well, here we are folks. This one has been a challenge, I was verging on writers block and it almost went off on a very weird and boring tangent, but I reigned it in! Let me know what you think, I know you're reading it ;)

Plus, I put chapter links on the first post, I know some people find them helpful.

Seven, part one, Red

Teddy was sat at his desk, reading a report on The Movement. It was worrying; all the indications had been that they were beaten and dismantled more than ten years previously. Teddy had been at the battle, he had seen his wife take on the leader, known only as Morgana. She had supposedly taken the name of the enemy of Merlin to mark herself out as formidable. The group that she founded, The Movement for the Advancement of Wizardkind, promoted the old prejudices of both Grindelwald and Voldemort. They had swept through Europe, gathering followers and metering out punishments to those who would not join their cause. They had operated in secret at first, but as their ranks were swelled, they became less cautious and moved into the open. They made an attempt to take over the French Ministry of Magic. Almost all of their Agents had been in Paris when the attack came. Fortunately, a web of well placed spies had warned the French Ministry, who had appealed to other nations for help. Along with other ministry volunteers, the Auror department had gone to join the fight. During the battle, Amelia had come face to face with Morgana. The duel had been breathtaking, the air had sung with the spells that flew between them, the marble beneath their feet cracking as though struck by lightening. Teddy had been facing a masked Agent himself when he heard a terrible scream. Amelia’s face was bleeding and Morgana was cackling with laughter. His wife’s grip on her wand never faltered and she used the distraction of Morgana’s own laughter against her, hitting her in the chest with a spell. For a reason that was never fully understood, Amelia’s stunner had stopped the witches’ heart and she was dead before she hit the ground.

Killing her had tortured Amelia ever since. She had said, over and over again, that killing was not the reason she had become an Auror. She came back to work in the department, but not straight away. She had said that she didn’t trust herself. Teddy had even suggested that she consider transferring to another department within the Ministry. It seemed to be this suggestion that brought her back to work. Smiling at the memory, Teddy wondered if any other woman was as stubborn as his wife.

“Lupin!” Harry’s voice carried across the department. Teddy stood up and made his way into Harry’s office. The walls were filled with photographs, maps, plans and reports. There were a few leather armchairs and sitting in one of them, next to Harry’s enormous desk was Keith Moore.

“Right then, I need the two of you to go and move the occupants out of the safe house. Moore, I need you to remove their memories of the last six months completely. Give them this Befuddlement Draft” he handed over a large bottle “and take them to St. Mungo’s, the Healers will be expecting you. They will be told that they have had an accident and have been unconscious for a long time.”

“Sir, can I ask what it is that these two know?”

Harry gave Keith a long appraising look, as though trying to make a decision. Finally he said, “Morgana had a daughter. Hardly anyone knew, including the girl herself. A Movement Agent took it on himself to tell her. She was devastated, and it’s unclear what happened next but the Agent is dead. She is at risk while ever she knows, mainly at her own hands. She’s incredibly unstable. As I understand it she’s tried to take her own life twice. Save for the occupants of the safe house, only a few people know, you two, me, Hermione Weasley and some high level French Ministry officials. It stays that way. The French ministry have gone to a lot of trouble to make sure that this is suppressed.” Harry’s tone was firm. “Moore, you’re the best Obliviator that we’ve got, so I’m relying on you to wipe the girl’s memory.”

“How old is she sir?”

“Fourteen. She’s accompanied by Susan Bones at the moment. I need you to wipe her memory too.”

Keith’s eyebrows shot towards his hair in shock. He looked deeply uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry sir, but she’s my superior, she trained me… I can’t… She’ll be able to tell, she’d kill…”

“She asked for her memory to be wiped. She is more concerned with keeping the child safe.”

Teddy could tell that Keith still had misgivings. “Are you going to have us wiped too?” he asked Harry pointedly.

“That’s up to you. This information will make you a target, but so do you jobs. You must never tell anyone, including your wives.”

They both nodded grimly.

“Moore, do you know where the safe house is?” Keith shook his head. Harry told him the address and wished them good luck. Teddy and Keith gathered their travelling cloaks and made their way down to the Atrium.

“Ted, mate, is the pillar box red hair a good idea? Considering where we’re going and everything?”

“Good point” Teddy screwed up his face and turned his hair a grey flecked tawny brown. Together they turned on the spot and disappeared.

There were two faint pops as they instantly re-appeared in a rather anonymous London square. There was a scruffy patch of grass which had houses on all four sides. It had not changed very much in the last thirty five years, the houses were still grimy, windows were still broken here and there, doors still had peeling paint and as far as the Muggles were concerned, Number Twelve did not exist.

*****

Remus was trying to read in his room. The room had the same faded grandeur that the rest of the house had, with green and silver silk hangings over the ornately craved bed and a beautiful mahogany desk in one corner, where Remus was now sitting. He had spent a week here, using the books that the Black family had amassed over the centuries to try and find some information for Dumbledore. He wasn’t having much luck and this, coupled with the fact that the portrait of Sirius’ mother seemed to be screaming and cursing every five minutes, had left him feeling deeply irritated. After ten whole minutes of calm, there was a loud crash and she was off again.

“Blood traitor’s brat! Be gone from my house! Shame of flesh, get out of my -”

“Oh shut up you stupid old cow!” A young voice that Remus didn’t recognise was giving as good as it got.

“Foul abomination!”

“Oh, look who’s talking you old banshee!”

Remus chuckled. He stood up and went to the balustrade, leaning over to see who was trading insults with the formidable Mrs Black. He was surprised to see a tall woman with dark hair standing with Sirius, berating the painting. She looked as though she could have been Minerva McGonagall’s sister and her voice just didn’t seem to suit her.

As the meeting was due to start in less than an hour, Remus abandoned his fruitless search and set off to join Sirius and his guest in the kitchen. He made his way down stairs, pausing to pick up the troll’s foot umbrella stand that had caused Sirius’ mother to bellow. He entered the kitchen to find Sirius and the woman talking quickly as he made coffee.

“There you are Remus! I thought that you weren’t going to come down at all.”

“Hello, how’ve you been?” asked the woman, smiling in a very familiar way, as though she was an old acquaintance who Remus had lost touch with.

“Great, thanks.” Remus felt a little awkward as Sirius and the woman exchanged amused glances.

“You’ve not got a clue who I am, have you?” She seemed to find his confusion funny.

“None.”

She screwed up her face, as though she was concentrating, and her features began to change. She became shorter, younger and her hair turned from dark brown to vivid pink.

“Merlin’s beard! Nymphadora?”

“I prefer Tonks, but yes.”

He was struck by how beautiful she had become. The last time he had seen her, she was a child throwing snowballs at his head.

“How are you? What are you doing now? Are you here to join the Order?”

The string of questions tumbled out breathlessly; he had a burning desire to know everything about her.

“Well, I’m fine thanks, I’m an Auror and yes, I’m here to join the cause.” She smiled at him and he found that he was completely captivated.

Sirius presented them both with a cup of coffee. More order members began to arrive and they settled around the kitchen. It wasn’t really big enough for the meeting, but the rest of the house was too dangerous. Hestia Jones had cornered Remus, dragging him away from Tonks and was chattering in his ear about not having seen him in years. After Dumbledore arrived and the meeting was called to order, Remus found that his attention was divided between the discussions of priorities and strategies and Tonks. More than once he realised just in time that someone was speaking directly to him. When their eyes met, he felt a charge surge through him and his body tingled. The rational part of his mind seemed to be completely absent, he couldn’t understand it. What was it about this young woman that had so ensnared his senses?

*****

The interior of Number 12, Grimmauld Place was radically different. The house would be totally unrecognisable to anyone who had been in the Order of the Phoenix. A Ministry team had completely decontaminated it and Filius Flitwick had broken the Permanent Sticking Charms on the portrait of Mrs Black and her precious family tree. It was decorated quiet neutrally now and felt almost like a guest house.

Teddy and Keith stepped through the front door and felt the cold breeze that was gusting through the house. The old building was totally silent.

“This is really wrong.” Teddy’s voice was tense. “There should be…” He fell silent as Keith grabbed his arm. They crept through the hall, wands gripped tightly. When they reached the foot of the stairs, a voice rang out behind them from the drawing room.

“Stay where you are and put your wands on the ground or I will kill the girl.”

i love how you do flashback to Tonks and Lupin....
v.cute :xd:
hhhmm...they removed Mrs black and are back there..
DUN DUNN DUNNNN :xd:

Thanks Lupinfangirlx ;) You're nearly always first to comment, I love that:glomp:

I always had this idea that he fell for her first and then got scared and stupid about it when she fell for him in return, that's what I was aiming for.

I had to get rid of Mrs Black, spiteful old harridon that she was. I have this mental image of Harry stunning her painting and then throwing it on the fire.

Haha! That would have been so funny! I'm glad you got rid of her! Didn't like her too much! I love the flashback! Remus is so lovestruck! I like Harry's comment about Teddy's hair! I couldn't help smiling - even in the seriousness of the situation! OMG! First Grindelwald, then Voldemort, now Morgana! Honestly, don't these people realise that they're doomed?! Poor Amelia! Glad she's ok. And she's Teddy's wife! *claps whilst jumping up and down* Great post! Loved it! Can't wait for more!
Kita

I nearly put it in, but it was a bit of a tangent.

I'm enjoying those flashbacks loads! And it's very odd you said lovestruck, I had Remus thinking that, but then I thought it would be better if he couldn't work it out!

I'm so glad that you like it! Have you noticed what kind of hair he keeps choosing?

*New Reader*
I love this ff. I wonder who is behind them?????
*Sammy*

Hello Sammy! Thanks for reading and commenting I'm really glad that you like it :)


but I can't tell you who is behind them!

“Blood traitor’s brat! Be gone from my house! Shame of flesh, get out of my -”

“Oh shut up you stupid old cow!” A young voice that Remus didn’t recognise was giving as good as it got.

“Foul abomination!”

“Oh, look who’s talking you old banshee!”

Remus chuckled. He stood up and went to the balustrade, leaning over to see who was trading insults with the formidable Mrs Black.



I laughed so much at that!
Hey! I'm not a new reader but I've not commented on your FanFic before, so I guess I'm a new commenter?

Anyway, this FanFic is really good. Like, stupidly good =)
Your style of writing is unique, in the way that you flick between the present and the past, but it's a good type of unique (Y)
Excellent storyline, and I'm so glad that Teddy and Amelia got married!

Please add more when you can :glomp:
-Amy xx

Thanks Amy that's a lovely comment! :glomp: I liked writing that bit:)

I've got some of the next bit already written, but I don't know when it will be up.

I'm glad people like Amelia, I was slightly worried about having them be married.

I had a flash of inspiration so here's the next installment. Let me know what you think.

Seven, part two, Red
Teddy felt a chill run down his spine. He knew that voice, but it couldn’t be true, it just couldn’t. Slowly he turned, still clutching his wand but pointing it at the ground. In the doorway of the drawing room was a teenaged year old girl. He could see a wand pointed at her throat. Her eyes were brimful of tears but she was giving Teddy a burning look. Slowly, she edged out of the room and Teddy saw a large hand clenching her shoulder.

“Wands on the ground gentlemen. I will not tell you again.”

Teddy could now see the man who was issuing the threats. His icy glare was disturbingly familiar, but Teddy had seen the man die, so how was it that he was stood in the hall of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, with his wand at the throat of an innocent child?

*****

Remus ran, trying to keep up with Dora’s impressive pace. At five months pregnant, she could still run faster than him. The Death Eaters had been following them for a fortnight and had chosen the day after full moon to attack, expecting Remus to be weak. He realised too late that they had run into a dead end. They were trapped. Remus only just managed to block the spells raining in on them. They traded spells with the Death Eaters, the air cracking with light.

“You have to Apparate!”

“But what about the baby?”

“We’re both going to be dead in a minute if we don’t go! You first!”

He aimed a stunner at Dolohov and it hit him in the face. He fell backwards into Travers, knocking him off his feet. Travers struggled underneath Dolohov, who seemed to be pinning him to the floor. Two more masked Death Eaters stepped over them, taking their place in the fight, firing off green jets of light. They missed Remus and Tonks by inches. The wall behind them was becoming chipped; bricks were cracking as spells hit them. It seemed that either the Death Eaters would kill them, or the wall would fall on them.

“Those are Killing Curses Dora! Apparate now, please!” Remus tried to keep his mind focused on defending his wife and child, his family, but already there was a whine of panic in his mind. He could not stand to loose his family.

There was a cackle of mad laughter that seemed to cut through Remus’ heart. Bellatrix. She was striding towards them, unmasked.

“Go now Dora! Please! For me!”

Remus knew that Bellatrix wanted to kill Dora because she had married him. The woman was a complete maniac, but she was also a powerful witch who was merciless in pursuit of her quarry.

“Please darling, go now.” It seemed that the tenderness in Remus’ plea coupled with the fact that he usually only called her darling in private made Tonks realise how serious he was. Concentrating hard, so as not to splinch either of them, she gripped her swollen belly protectively and turned quickly on the spot and disappeared.

“Werewolf!” Dolohov had been revived by Travers and they now stood side by side with Bellatrix and the others. “Your shame is never ending! You are guilty and you will die Werewolf! We will make it so! And we will take your woman too!”

Remus shot more stunners at the Death Eaters and Apparated. As he turned on the spot he saw five jets of light heading in his direction.

*****

“Your quarrel isn’t with the girl, just let her go.” Teddy’s tone was resolute and even but his heart was hammering in his chest, pumping the adrenaline around his body. He had not relinquished his wand.

“Put your wands down” The man hissed the command at Teddy, and a tear ran down the girl’s cheek. His grip on her shoulder increased and she winced, but did not try to shrug him off.

Keith asked “Where is Susan?” and the girl began to cry in earnest. “What have you done to her?”

“PUT YOUR WANDS DOWN NOW!” That was the voice Teddy remembered, bellowing orders across the French Ministry at Movement Agents. Teddy had believed Emil Nequam to be dead for ten years and yet here he was, threatening to kill the daughter of his leader. Teddy was desperately trying to think of a way to keep his wand and save the girl. The last thing he wanted to do was to put his wand down. Nequam had issued the order four times without harming the girl. Did he know who she was?

“Let her go Emil. You’re scaring her.” Nequam slackened his grip on her shoulder, but didn’t lower his wand.

“You’re in no place to make demands Cub.” His eyes glittered with malice. “Shall I tell her who her rescuer is? The filthy offspring of a lycan? Maybe you’ll eat her, save me the bother of killing her myself.”

The girl’s eyes filled with horror. She looked from Teddy to Keith desperately. She was no longer crying but she was clearly terrified.

“Yes, my father was a werewolf, but I’m not. Let the girl go. I’m sure you don’t really want to hurt her Emil.”

“How does she know she can trust you? You might be lying.” Nequam seemed to have forgotten his edict; Teddy and Keith were still tightly grasping their wands.

“Well, I’m not pointing my wand at her face for a start.”

Nequam snorted. “This is getting us nowhere! Put down your wands, or she dies.”

“I don’t think you’ll hurt her. You know who she is, or you wouldn’t have gone to the considerable lengths it must have taken to get in here. How did you do that?” Teddy knew that Nequam wouldn’t be able to resist boasting about how he had got past the Fidelius Charm and in to the safe house.

Nequam gave a nasty laugh. “Your Ministry really needs to teach its staff how to recognise when a person has been Imperiused. I had one of your transport people connect this place to the Floo Network just long enough for me to get in. It was ridiculously simple.”

Keith shifted slightly behind Teddy. Unseen by Nequam, who was too busy with self-aggrandisement, he traced a long line on Teddy’s back, starting at his shoulders. He then traced a series of letters; U G G I S N. Then he traced the number three. Teddy flexed his right hand.

“Impressive. So Emil what do you want? You must be here for a reason.”

“I want Hermia!”

“You’ve spent the last fifteen minutes threatening to kill her. What do you want with her?”

“She will take her mother’s place at the head of The Movement. I have spent twelve years searching for her.”

Tears were now flowing freely down the girl’s face. She shook her head. “I won’t go with you! You might as well kill me! I’ll never be like her, never!”

“You will embrace your destiny! You are a powerful witch, just like your mother.” Nequam span her around and shook her. Teddy and Keith took their chance. Teddy wrenched the girl from Nequam’s grasp and pulled her to the floor. Keith sent three Stunners at Nequam. All three hit him and he fell backwards in to the drawing room, hitting the highly polished floor with a loud thud. Keith walked to him and dragged him further into the room, pointed his wand at his lifeless form and muttered “Petrificus Totalus”. Nequam became rigid. Teddy relaxed his grip on Hermia and they both sat up.

“You’d best send Harry a message, let him know what’s happening. He might want to come and see for himself.” Teddy nodded in agreement and gave his wand a flick. Something silver shot out of his wand and disappeared. Teddy turned his attention to the girl. She looked pale, her sleek raven hair was in disarray and her eyes were red rimmed.

“Where’s Susan?”

The girl started to cry again. “She’s in the kitchen.”

“Stay there.” Teddy stood up and made his way down the stairs to the cavernous kitchen. He wondered about his job and how long he could stand up to one psychological drama after another. Shaking his head, he pushed open the door. “Susan?” There was no reply. He stepped into the room, realising immediately that it was a mistake.


Confession time! Those of you who have read my Remus drabbles may recognise the start of the flashback because it is a drabble ;) I liked it and it seemed to fit, so I expanded it.

A non-SS friend who is reading this challenged me to put four lines from her favourite song, Drama! by Erasure in this chapter. I managed two, but they are for her to spot :P

Ooooo i loved it. But who's in the kitchen??? 1st to post!!!
*Sammy*

I can't tell you that!

I'm having fun with this, I can't believe it's nearly over!

YAY another chapter :D
OHHH DUN DUNN DUNNN
lol, it seemed familiar but it fits so well..
back from the dead? hhmmm...
and ohhh the kitchen...*jumps happily*
can't wait to read more :glomp:
PAMS!! (< fun word) :xd:

Lupinfangirlx - It did fit, didn't it? I've been making references to the others all the way through - did you see get the one with Remus' werewolf bite? No-one commented on that, so maybe it was rubbish :(

Kita, there are only so many ways that I can be cruel to Teddy! Don't worry, there's the rest of Seven and Eight to go and then there's the Epilouge, so there is plenty left to go. I thought that I'd best warn you so you could get used to the idea.


SPOILERS

I don't know how to do that hiding thing so you have been warned! If you highlight the secton below you'll be able to see them.

Hopefully you, like Teddy, are questioning if he saw Nequam die or was it someone else??? I'm trying to stick to JKR's rules, so people can't come back from the dead...

by the way, in latin Emil means rival and Nequam means lazy or dishonest. I think he's proved he's not lazy...

The girl is alive. That doesn't mean that she's ok.

LOL, no they sort of intertwine brilliantly :D
i shall have to re-read the drabbles *opens tab*
....
in your previous post wen he first saw Tonks thats like the other drabble...72.VEX..and explaining how he got bitten :xd:
they all rock! and i shall now take great care to highlight any more i find ;) *yay for this post* PAMS! much love :glomp:

The view count on those is over 2300! I couldn't believe my eyes! I feel all loved :D

Oh good! You noticed. I actually edited that first meeting so that it was more like Vex ;)

*runs off to write as she's had a good idea*

OMG!!!! what happens in the kitchen?????????
pleeeease post more soon, i can't take the suspence:hairpull:

Shell xxx

The power cable for my laptop has died! That means the whole thing has to go to the repair service, and it could be three weeks before the next update. It gave me a small shock just now!:cry:

I'm really sorry everyone!

aww, hope your laptop gets fixed soon :)
*runs too join tent, i brought marshmallows to roast on a camp fire *
we shall have fun camping out! :xd:

Ok, I'm on a borrowed laptop which is actually more broken than mine (oh the irony) so I will be around but not updating. I have written some stuff out long hand, which has actually made a nice change. so give me a wave or a hello because I will need some encouragement to type it up, as that bit of the process usually gives me a monster headache.

Having said that, I'll be away from Saturday til Tuesday anyway. I'll have some time on the train to write though

*waves frantically* and hello!
woo for both, your devoted fan-base are camping,
were like groupies :xd:
encoragemnt...hhmm..well we love the story! (proof is in the tent)
so have sum icre-cream whilst typing it shall be more enjoyable :P
or you could join the tent started by hermionesclone and we could go (metaphorically speaking) camping! must dash but hope typing isn't too bad! think of the glomps you shall revieve once finished! lol :)

Ice-cream? Oooh! I am lucky to have such lovely groupies :yes:

Well, I shall have no-one to talk to on the train Paintbrush, so I'll have no distractions other than watching for my station.

Seriously though, I doubt I'll be able to do much in the way of updates on this laptop, it's a tiny bit scary.

Oh you can do it. I love this story and can't wait for the next post! Hang in there!
*Sammy*

Wow, I'm I glad I left you some spoilers to be going on with! It is highly unlikely that you'll be getting an update whilst I have to use a laptop that sounds like a distressed hairdryer! Mine may be old but at least it has all it's keys/own screen.

(I shouldn't be so ungreatful, my friend is saving my rear end!)

Ok, just a little note to say that I'm home, but won't be around as there's too much drama in my RL to be thinking about Teddy. Poor Teddy.

Having said that while I was travelling I did manage to finish Seven and make a start on Eight. I love Seven, but hate Eight so far, but that could be that Eight will be the last chapter before the epilouge.

I'll see you all when things get back to what I like to think of as normal. I'm hoping that will be sooner rather than later but I'm not sure.

Thanks for sticking with Teddy and me. :glomp:

Ok, so I sent all the dramatic people home and couldn't concentrate on what I was supposed to be doing, so my fingers got busy and typed up a bit of Teddy. I've got a monster headache now, so I hope that you like it.

Seven, part three, Red

“Hermia, come through here please.”

Keith called out to the girl, hoping that his voice sounded kind. She appeared in the doorway, eyes on the ground, shivering.

“It’s okay; you don’t have to look at him. This will all be over soon.”

She looked up at him and an odd, leering grin twisted her pretty face.

“Are you alright?”

“Oh, I’m fine,” she replied, her leer becoming wider. She reached inside her robes and began to pull out a wand. “I’m just fine.”

Her features began to bubble and melt...

~

Teddy took another step into the basement kitchen. The room was filled with an odd odour; a mixture of iron and sweat. In front of him, bound to a chair, slumped to one side, unconscious, was the pale form of Susan Bones. Blood was flowing from a deep gash above her eye, running down her face and pooling in her lap. Next to her was a teenage girl, also bound and apparently unconscious. Pointing their wands at both of them were two of the most deadly Agents that Morgana had ever had. Powerful, highly skilled and identical the Eastman twins had escaped the Battle of the French Ministry and had spent the following decade terrorising wizards right across Europe, always evading capture.

“Ha! I knew it would be you, Cub! How fantastic! Our father saw yours die and now we will kill you! The world will be in balance. No more multicoloured Cub!” Tyr Eastman laughed heartily. His thin frame and cold eyes had not changed since Teddy had last seen him, although he looked much older, as if the intervening decade had been hard on him and his brother.

“What have you done to them?” Teddy kept his voice steely, knowing that the best way to keep everyone alive was to keep the Eastman brothers talking.

“The girl is simply stunned.” Quirinus was speaking now; his voice was softer and somehow more calculating than his brother’s. “The woman, well who was I to stop my brother enjoying himself? She is, of course, alive.”

Teddy recognised that he should have been relieved, but his instincts and training had taken over and would not allow the relief to course through his veins alongside the adrenaline that was flooding his body. A muffled thump came from above them. Teddy knew that Keith was more than capable of defending himself, but he wasn’t sure who Keith was up against. Nequam had been incapacitated, but if the Eastman’s were working with Nequam, then Keith’s opponent would be highly skilled too.

“So, since we’re all here, tell me what the point of all this is?”

Tyr laughed again. “The point? THE POINT? The child is the point! Don’t you people realise just how powerful she is? She is the product of the union of two of the greatest magical minds this world has ever seen”

It was Teddy’s turn to laugh. “The product of magical minds? You make her sound like some sort of invention, like a self-spelling wand or,” Teddy grinned at the thought, “a cheese cauldron.”

“She will be the new rallying point for all wizards with proper pride!” Tyr was striding towards Teddy his eyes were wild, his nostrils flared, “She will be a call to arms for all those wizards who are sick from the stench of you and your kind, you who think yourselves to rule over us!”

“The only sick thing about you two are your minds! They’ve been twisted by the ideologies of a weak woman who thought that what ran through her veins was gold, not blood!”

Quirinus was moving now, away from the women. Teddy saw, over Tyr’s shoulder, that as soon as Quirinus had passed her, the girl’s head had sprung up. Her eyes were wide but not with fear. Teddy inclined his head a little and gave his wand the most imperceptible flick possible.

“Don’t you dare speak of her that way! Filthy half-breed!”

“When is it going to penetrate those dense skulls of yours that I don’t care what you choose to call me? I am extremely proud of my parents. They were brave, they fought scum like you over and over again until they lost their lives doing so. If you had even an ounce of their courage, you wouldn’t need all that rubbish about purity of blood!”

“Us? Have their courage?” Quirinus’ voice was now a dangerous hiss, “I have courage enough to kill, young Cub. I have courage enough to give punishment where it is well deserved. That is something that you will be able to find out from your dear wife when you and she are reunited.”

“You’re a liar; you’ve never been near my wife.”

An icy thrill of fear shot through Teddy. Tyr let out a humourless howl of laughter. “We both have.”

*****

Tonks Apparated to The Burrow, hoping that Remus would do the same. It wasn’t safe to go back home, to Lupin Cottage, where there were no others to help them. She couldn’t face going there anyway. She hurried over the boundary and inside the safety of the Fidelius Charm.

“Molly! Arthur! Bill!” She shouted desperately, “Please, someone!”

The backdoor opened with a bang. Bill emerged, pointing his wand at her.

“It’s me, Nymphadora Lupin, I hate my first name, I’m married to Remus John Lupin and when I was twelve you snogged me in your broom shed because Charlie dared you to.”

“Alright,” Bill lowered his wand, “keep your voice down, Fleur might hear you. What’s going on?”

Tonks suddenly felt dizzy and swayed on the spot. Bill caught her before she could fall and guided her into the kitchen. Molly fussed around Tonks, unfastening her cloak and steering her into a chair.

“We were ambushed. I had to go to St. Mungo’s and we were ambushed on the way home.”

“Where’s Remus?”

“He pleaded with me to Apparate. He made me come first. He’s still there.”

Molly cast an anxious look at Bill.

“Mum, can you make a cup of tea while I go wait for Lupin?”

He strode out into the garden again. The two women fell into an uneasy silence. Molly brought the large teapot to the table and then busied herself with the milk jug and a plate of biscuits. It was only when she returned to the table for a second time that she exclaimed.

“My dear! You’re bleeding!”

Molly picked up her wand and started to heal the cut on Tonks' temple.

“Thanks, it must have been all the bits of brick that were flying about.”

“Who was it dear?”

“Bellatrix, Dolohov, Travers and two others that I didn’t recognise.”

Suddenly there was a loud crack outside. Tonks sprang to her feet and ran out of the door, wand pointed at Remus.

“What did you say to me this morning when I broke the blue cup?”

“I told you that you really ought to try and destroy that wretched dresser of you want to break something that belonged to my grandmother.”

Tonks flung her arms around him, peppering his face and neck with kisses, tears finally running down her cheeks.

“Are you alright though Dora? Is the baby alright?”

By way of an answer she took his hand and placed it on her bump. She watched his face closely as his eyes widened with surprise.

“How long..?” He looked astonished. It wasn’t a definite kick but it was a definite something, as though his wife had huge butterflies trapped in her stomach.

“Since we started running. He or she is reminding me to fight as hard as I can.”

He pulled her into his arms again.

“I love you both, so much. I couldn’t stand it if I lost you.”

*****

Hermia watched as the twins advanced on the man they had called Cub through her lashes. Luckily her hair had fallen in her face, so she had dared to open her eyes slightly. The stunner had missed her; she could smell burnt wood from the spot where it had grazed the chair. She had slumped sideways, pretending that the spell had hit its mark. She had felt someone rip hairs from her head; they must have been adding them to Polyjuice Potion. She watched carefully as the second man advanced on the tawny haired ‘cub’. As soon as he was past her, she lifted her head and looked at the new man. He caught her eye and tilted his head towards the staircase. Suddenly, the ropes that held her became loose and she shucked them off. The three men were arguing loudly now and under the cover of their voices she crept out of the room, towards the stairs. Coming down them was another new man. Very tall and freckly with red hair, this man held his finger to his lips. He crept past her, into the kitchen.


I have to recommend The Tale of Two by princess of *hp*. In fact shame on me for not having done so sooner!

Oooo that was great!! I can't wait for more!!
*Sammy*
PS if you want you can check out my story The Love of My Life in the romance section.

Thanks and I will do :)

AWWW, but DUN DUNN DUNNN!
his wife! ohh u bad egg...! ;)
and the flash back, lol, she snogges bill! that mad me laugh so much, and the comment abou the blur cup! :D loved it! woo!
PAMS :glomp: :)

I'm such a bad egg, I'm starting to smell. No-one seems to want to sit near me... ;)

I'm glad you like it, but the next bit is even better...

Great post, loved it. the flash back was brill. Bill is so cute, worried Fleur would hear that he snogged Tonks : )
PAMS

Shell xxx

Thanks Shell :)

It all gets resolved in the next part, that's all I'm saying :shifty:

I thought that bit was nesscessary really, to get them back safe. The kicking bit was inspired by my friend who was on her own the first time her baby kicked and phoned me when I was writing. :) Almost cried? I'm not doing it right ;)

The red haired man? :shifty:

I love naming baddies! If you resisted the spoilers, go back and look now for more on Nequam. I chose to name the twins after ancient gods. Quirinus is the Sabine god of war and Tyr is a Norse god of combat, he's the son of Odin. I went to school with a bully who's surname was Eastman, I just couldn't resist it!

:blush: Thank you, I'm just glad that you are enjoying it so much, and don't worry about not replying sooner, I'm glad that you reply at all, I always look forward to your comments, they always make me smile :)

I've just had a look and Teddy has now had over 1000 views! :faint:

Ooh! Can't wait for next post, now!

I just found it really, really sweet! Your writing is brilliant! I'm just way too emotional!

I think i know who he is! I just need the next post to make sure!

:lol: That's so funny! Good choice of names! Especially the Eastman person! He shouldn't feel too happy now!

You're welcome! I'm enjoying it a lot! Aw! I'm glad my comments make you smile! I look forward to your posts, which always make me jump up and down whilst clapping. :blush: Yay! :woot: Over 1000! Go Teddy! Go HannahLongbottom!
Kita

Kita, you make me :blush:, you really do! :glomp: