Chapter 1

Teddy had always thought that the adults acted rather odd on Vicky's birthday, and today was even worse than usual. He had arrived with Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry and baby James early in the morning, admiring all of Vicky's pretty presents and frowning at the obviously fake smiles plastered on the adults' faces. The morning had been spent in a strange sort of tense silence. He and Victoire had tested out all of her new toys and played with Dominique and Louis until they got bored. Still, Teddy hadn't dared question why the adults would keep darting out of the room stifling sobs, returning hours later with red rimmed eyes and dangerously short tempers. Aunt Ginny and Aunt Hermione, who were both heavily pregnant, were especially bad.

Lunch was just strange. Normally it never went more than five minutes without someone cracking a joke or telling a story, but today they were in almost complete silence. Uncle George (who could always be relied upon to brighten the mood) didn't even smile and his hands were shaking.

After lunch, the adults vanished into the living room and Teddy and Victoire followed, intending to play their usual game of finding someone who would watch over them as they played (this was clearly stated in the Weasley's rules that they should be supervised if they wanted to go outside, which they did). Usually, it took them a few minutes but someone would crack, but today no one seemed to be willing at all.

They asked Uncle Harry first. He always liked playing with them and they liked his company, but he shook his head and insisted that he was too tired. Teddy grabbed Victoire's hand and they continued on. Aunt Ginny and Aunt Hermione were excused because they were pregnant, and Aunt Ginny had the added excuse of having to look after a one year old James, whilst Angelina had to look after Fred. Uncle George had vanished off somewhere and Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey had gone home because Aunt Audrey felt sick. Victoire's parents had gone home too, because her sister Dominique was getting fussy and Louis had the early symptoms of dragon pox, which, Victoire grumbled, would mean he would get all the attention for at least a week.

In the end they gave up and went upstairs, intending on looking in Aunt Hermione's room. She had gotten sick of Uncle Ron (who was currently on an Auror mission) pampering her constantly and had temporarily moved in with Grandma Molly and Grandpa Arthur until further notice. Whilst Teddy found this highly entertaining (especially since Uncle Ron and Aunt 'Mione were always bickering) he also knew that her job meant she was constantly bringing unusual artifacts home with her and Teddy longed to study them closer and figure out how they worked.

He went first, because he was taller than Vic and could reach the handle. She had scowled at him when she told her that, but he knew she wasn't really mad at him. The room was submerged in brilliant late afternoon sunshine and Teddy blinked several times before his eyes adjusted. The room, which retained the usual cream walls and wooden floors all the spare bedrooms shared, was painfully tidy. Hermione had colour coordinated her wardrobe and a freshly ironed outfit was perfectly folded over the back of the white wicker chair beneath the window. Several books sat on the bedside table and Teddy picked up the top one, flicking it open to a random page and beginning to read. He immediately slammed it shut and replaced it when he realised it was a pregnancy book detailing the stages of labor.

He stared at her locked suitcase for a moment before Vic shoved him aside and picked at it with a hairpin, grinning proudly as it clicked open without protest. She winked at him and Teddy scowled, realising Uncle Dursley's six year old daughter, Michaela Dursley, had probably taught her when they'd visited (he'd gone to stay at his grandmother Andromeda, or Gromeda as they called her) last February. The suitcase was equally as organized as the rest of the room, with a main compartment for clothes and several smaller compartments that Teddy just knew would be full of unusual items. He was about to open one, when he noticed Vic trying to put on a sparkly necklace.

"Here" He murmured, taking the necklace and fumbling with the clasp. He frowned. It was small, and he was well-known for his butter fingers. He wasn't particularly surprised then, when the necklace slipped from his hands. He was surprised when the quiet tinkling that indicated the glass had shattered was immediately followed with glittery gold dust billowing out of the small trinket like a nuclear mushroom. He coughed and rubbed his eyes, which strung slightly, surprised to find that he was suddenly very sleepy. Besides him, Vic yawned and said something, but Teddy's head was too foggy with sleep to hear her properly. Not particularly caring about comfort, he slumped against the wall, meaning only to close his eyes for a second…