Written for Battlefield (Characters: Rose Weasley, Teddy Lupin – Prompts: (word) dead, (emotion) grief, (word) waiting), Divination (Write about a character experiencing death - a loved one, a friend, a pet, an enemy - and how they learn from the encounter with mortality.)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Harry Potter.

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It had been nearly a week since the funeral of Andromeda Tonks and no one had heard from Teddy Lupin since. The twenty two year old had pretty much vanished. A desperate search had followed soon afterwards, but no sign of the twenty two year old had come up. To say that the family was in a panic was an understatement. It was a frenzy.

Every time an owl arrived Rose prayed that it would be carrying the news that Teddy had returned. Despite her waiting, news of this sort had yet to come. So when she caught sight of the grey owl heading towards the house, she tried not to get her hopes up to high.

The owl had nearly shattered the kitchen window as it tried to bust into the house. Her mother had been frantic as she opened the panels, and the owl soared in. Rose recognized it quickly as Scorpius' owl, Lear. The bird perched on the edge of the table in an arrogant fashion, and offered up its letter. She recognized the scribbled text and felt a weight lift from her chest as she read what was written.

Rose didn't explain to her parents as she scrambled from the dining room table and towards the Floo. She called out that she would return and barely caught her father's hasty request for her to slow down and explain. She threw the powder and was transported from her home and to another.

Stepping from the fireplace, she barely got a chance to catch her barring in the Malfoy front room before Scorpius appeared. He had a worried look in his eye.

"Where is he?" Rose asked, not even bothering to greet her friend.

Scorpius didn't seem to mind the lack of greeting as he motioned for her to follow. "He showed up last night. Dad has been trying to get him to talk most of the morning."

"How's that going?"

"Not very well. He's real messed up, which is understandable, Aunt Andy was basically his mother. But it can't be healthy to bottle up like this. He won't even tell us where he's been this last week. He just showed up, asked if he could crash here, and went straight to the guest room. This is the first time he's been out of that room since then."

They came to the back door. The fifteen year olds looked through the glass door. Outside, seated on a patch of grass, was Teddy. He had his back to them, his gaze directed up towards the sky. Even from behind, Rose could see the sagging of the man's shoulder. He was slumped into himself. His hair was a deep shade of brown, and curled – his natural hair. It wasn't a good sign.

"Mum and dad are really worried," Scorpius spoke. "They got ahold of Mr. Potter a couple hours ago, but even he can't get him to talk."

"Where is Uncle Harry and your parents?"

"Kitchen," Scorpius answered. "They're trying to figure out what to do. Which is why I decided to get a hold of you. You are the closest to him. I figured if anyone can get him to talk, it'll be you."

Rose turned to look at Teddy once more. He had yet to move. He seemed frozen in that seated position. It was disturbing. Rose didn't think she'd ever seen him this stationary before. She slide the glass door open, and stepped into the afternoon air. She left Scorpius standing in the doorway as she crossed the grass. Teddy either didn't notice her, or was just ignoring her.

"Hey," Rose said, standing next to him. Teddy didn't move, just kept starring up at the sky. He seemed to be waiting for something, but she didn't know what.

Rose took a seat next to him on the grass. She drew her legs close to her, and wrapped her arms around them. Just being next to her cousin was enough for her to sense the waves of emotion that was stirring inside of him.

"Do you want to talk?" Rose prompted.

"No."

Rose should have been disconcerted with the response, but the fact that he had answered at all was a good sign. Turning her gaze to the sky, she tried to search for whatever he was looking at. All she saw were clouds, white fluffy clouds.

"It's a nice day out," Rose spoke slowly, hoping to draw him out of himself. Teddy didn't respond this time, but the girl wasn't going to quit here. "Was surprised it was so warm today. It's been so cold recently. A little heat is welcomed."

"Rose," Teddy turned to look at her. His eyes were brown and full of pain. There was the presence of tears in the corner of his eyes, and dry tracks running along his tan cheeks. "Can you just shut up? Please."

His words took Rose back for a moment. She hadn't expected him to be so quick to silence her. He never spoke to her like this. It was strange seeing Teddy in this kind of manner. He was normally so cheerful and giddy. She'd never seen him in this kind of pain. It scared her a bit.

As Teddy looked away from her and back towards the sky, Rose realized just how lament he was. She didn't fault him for this pain. After all, his grandmother, the woman who had raised him, was now dead. She tried to think of the pain that would come with the loss of a parent. Just the thought of it alone brought a tightness to her throat. She could barely begin to understand the sheer amount of pain he must be feeling.

She didn't speak again, deciding to not prompt him and allow him to start the conversation. They sat there for what she imaged to be a near ten minutes. After all that silence, Teddy finally sighed and looked at her.

"I'm sure you have better things to do than sit out here with me."

"Not really," Rose replied with a shrug. "Didn't have any plans today. And you need me."

"Contrary to what you all believe, I don't need someone to sit and hold my hand. I'm fine," Teddy said. It was clearly a lie, they both knew it. "You don't have to sit with me. So just go. And while you're at it, tell Uncle Draco and Harry that they don't need to worry."

"You disappeared for a week," Rose said. "You can't think that we're just going to let you wander off. You need us. I can't imagine what you must be feeling, but you shouldn't be feeling it alone."

"You're right," Teddy spoke harshly, "you can't image what I'm feeling."

"Then explain it to me."

"You wouldn't understand." Teddy was speaking with a rough tone, but he was speaking and that was more than anyone else had gotten from him. "So why should I even bother trying?"

Rose didn't have an answer for him. She looked away, watching the clouds passing by in a lazy motion. A different approached was needed.

"When Grandpa Granger died, it hurt so much." Rose waited for a sign of Teddy's attention. She didn't get that sign but knew he was listening. "I'd known him all my life and I never imagined him dying. I figured he'd live on forever and when he didn't, I didn't want to believe it."

"There's a difference. He didn't raise you." A spark of blue danced through Teddy's brown eyes. "She was more than just a grandmother. She raised me. Took care of me. Loved me like her own. She was like my mother. And now I've lost her as well. She was the only family I still had."

"That's not true." Rose reached forward, grabbing his hand. Thankfully, he didn't pull away. "You still have us. You have so many people who care about you. You have family with the Weasleys, the Potters, the Malfoys… we are all your family. We love you, Teddy. You have to know that right?"

Teddy only looked away.

"I know you miss her. I know you weren't ready to let her go. None of us were. But sadly, we don't get a chose in the matter."

This got a small smile from Teddy. "When did you get so smart?"

"I always have been," Rose replied. "After all, I was top of my class for the last four years. I plan on fifth year being the same way."

"I wouldn't get so confident," again a ghost of a smile on Teddy's lips, "Scorp has been studying this summer. Your boyfriend might finally catch up with those last few points."

"I doubt it." Rose laughed softly, pleased with the decline of tension in the air. "And he's not my boyfriend. We're just really good friends."

"Not the way he talks. The boy is head over heels for you." Teddy looked at her fully now, a frown taking to his lips. "How do you always manage to do that?"

"Do what?" Rose asked, batting her lashes in innocence.

"You know what. Getting me to talk."

"It's a talent," Rose said. "I get it from my mother."

"Whatever." Teddy's eyes rolled, but the smile tugged at his lip for a second. It vanished though, and his shoulders sagged once more.

"You don't have to completely open up right now, but you need to know that we are all here for you. We love you, Teddy, and whatever you need, we're here for you. You don't have to run from us."

"I know. I just… I needed time to myself."

"If time is what you need, than take some time. Just, don't vanish on us like that. We were all so scared."

Teddy reached out, drawing her close to her. Rose allowed herself to lean into his side, savoring the fact that he'd opened up and embraced her.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I knew I worried you guys, I just couldn't look at everything. It reminded me that she was gone. I couldn't take it. Not much of a Gryffindor am I?"

"Even a Gryffindor needs to let down the walls every once in a while."

"Point." A soft chuckle touched at his chest. "You know for a Slytherin, you're kind of insightful."

"I'm going to ignore that little insult to my house." Rose smiled at him. A moment of laughter was shared between them. Once the sound left the air though, the air grew a little heavier. Burying herself a bit more into Teddy's side, she wrapped her arms around his waist. "I really did miss you."

"I missed you to." Teddy said. "And I promise I won't run off like that again."

"Good." Rose replied, burying herself deeper into his side. "Because it's not the same when you're gone."

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