Author's Note- This is my first Lily/Teddy actual multi chapter story! I'm very excited. Please, drop a review. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Public Be Damned
"The public be damned!"- William Henry Vanderbilt
In the summer of 2025, Harry Potter's daughter began her internship in the renowned Spell Library in the Ministry of Magic.
She was a bright girl, but lacked motivation, and was content to settle for average grades. Many people, including that dreadful Caroline Edgecombe whispered that it was merely because of her father's connections that Lily secured the internship many other students had striven for. They said it was because Teddy Lupin was a family friend of the Potters, that he obviously showed bias in the selection. She certainly hadn't earned it through her own merit, dozens of the rejected applicants grumbled.
In this slow, uneventful summer, lacking much to report, the wizarding media seized upon this "scandal" and "obvious slight to others". Every morning when he arrived at work, Teddy Lupin was accosted by eager young cub reporters looking to make their big break and seasoned journalists alike. Nearly all of them clutching an acid-green quill, they pleaded with him to explain his "reason for cheating dozens of young, deserving students out of their chance to make it in the Ministry".
On the morning of the third day, Teddy, a man who liked his privacy, was seriously considering requesting the Apparition Office for a permit to Apparate directly into his office. But then he heard a reporter mutter to his green quill, "Half-Werewolf Ministry Worker Teddy Lupin shows his Dark side as he tries to shamelessly worm his way into Harry Potter's good graces with no regard whatsoever for Intern Hiring Law thirty-four B, which states…"
As the man continued speaking, Teddy thought two things:
1. That was, without a doubt, one of the longest sentences he had ever heard, and
2. He had had enough.
All he wanted to do was work in the Spell Library in peace, without incessantly receiving Howlers and requests for statements.
Wheeling around, he stood, looked the group of reporters in the eye, and swallowed slightly. In addition to liking his privacy, Teddy also suffered from shyness. Most times, he merely wanted to blend in. It was only when he was wholly relaxed, such as when he was working (up until now), or with family and a few close friends, that he used his Metamorphmagic skills to color his hair vibrant hues. Right now, he was doing his very best to blend in, with mousy brown hair and muddy brown eyes.
"Excuse me," he muttered, but the reporters didn't hear. Teddy sighed and drew his wand. Some of the more skittish reporters noticed then, and jumped, a short girl squeaked. He could already see the headlines- Half-Werewolf Draws Wand on Reporters. They never forgot to mention that he was part-werewolf, despite the fact that the only wolfish qualities he showed were restlessness at the full moon and a liking for rare meat.
Once he moved the wand to his throat, they visibly relaxed, relieved expressions on their faces. He toyed with the idea of raising the wand again, just to see their reactions, but quickly discarded the impulse. Strange- he was a very quiet man, leaving his pranking, joking days at Hogwarts, along with his last girlfriend. Yes, he hadn't had a girlfriend since Hogwarts much to the chagrin of James, who, last time Teddy had seen him, seemed to be running on pure hormones.
Pointing the wand at his throat, he said, "Sonorus," and felt his vocal cords adjusting to the spell.
"Excuse me," he said again to the reporters and this time they all looked at him, hurriedly getting out fresh parchment and sucking on the ends of their acid green quills.
"It has come to my attention," he said, and his voice echoed in the wide hallway where he was standing, just outside the Spell Library, and his adjoining office.
"It has come to my attention," he said again, Merlin, he knew he was in for it when Robert read about this in the Evening Prophet. His flatmate, Robert Longbottom, he could already picture, laughing at him in the way that only best friends can. He knew his words sounded pompous, but it was the only thing his anxious mind could produce.
Snap out of it, Lupin he thought, as multiple bulbs flashed in his face.
"It has come to my attention," he started for the third time, "that many people are questioning my pick for the internship. They are whispering about my motives. I have a confession to make. I did have an ulterior motive in mind when I selected Lily Potter for the position."
They gasped as one, and the bottle green quills shot across the hovering bits of parchment.
"My ulterior motive," he said dramatically, giving in to that spirited sort of impulse he had grown used to ignoring- mischief. "was selecting an intern who could assist me with the difficult task of running the Spell Library and carrying out its many duties involved."
The reporters, who had all worked themselves up into a fever pitch, rolled their eyes. Some of the younger reporters put their equipment away and left in a huff, feeling cheated out of their front-page story.
"Lily Potter's application was unlike the others in that she showed imagination and a flexibility that is needed when working with spells. She displayed proper determination and resourcefulness in the practical bit of the applicant process."
He sighed inwardly, remembering that fiasco. Teddy had asked the applicants to find a list of spells. The files were in different positions all over the library, and many of the applicants had rushed to the card catalog. Painstakingly, they sifted through, looking up the spells by name, use, and creator.
Lily had remained seated, her green eyes twinkling as she watched her classmates ransack Teddy's precious shelves in their search.
She laughed, and raising her wand, summoned each file calmly, reading off the list in a merry tone. The files landed neatly next to her.
After seeing files strewn across the floor, Teddy lectured the careless applicants. He had debated to himself long and hard that night, thinking about the implications and complexities that would be raised by picking a girl who was practically related to him. He had to conclude, however, that her ingenuity would be very helpful in his work. Especially when they were collecting. Collecting could be dangerous at times, and he would need a capable, inventive assistant like her.
He jerked out of his thoughts and realized that the reporters had left. How long had he been standing there thinking about Lily? He shook his head at his folly. Sure, it had been entertaining, talking to the reporters but it was time to be serious and work.
Teddy, after obtaining N.E.W.T.s in every subject, had immediately set his sights on the Ministry, and had been working there for several years now.
However, many other employer shad been courting him. George Weasley pressed him for months, going from flattery "We need your wit and spirit at the shop, dear Teddy," to full-on bribery, "200 Galleons a month, plus benefits," to begging "Please, Teddy, in the name of all that is holey…"
But he had to send his regrets to each possible employer- he had his sights set on the Spell Division. The prospect of maintaining and updating the largest Spell Library in the world, well, for lack of a better word, bewitched him. It wasn't just boring librarian work, as most of his friends seemed to think.
There was Collecting, which Teddy considered one of the best aspects of the job. Traveling to exotic locales to collect new and obscure spells…well, it certainly beat a desk job.
Unfortunately, on one of his most recent excursions, he had obtained a Dark injury to his left leg (long story short- some Ministries for Magic weren't...keen on sharing arcane knowledge.)
When he returned quickly to England, he went straight to St. Mungo's, but the leg was already contaminated. The Healers had managed to contain and treat it, but he walked with a stiffness that often became a limp, especially when he was tired.
He was very self-conscious about his slight limp and spent some time every night massaging it in an attempt to loosen the rigid muscles. It helped some in that his leg rarely hurt, but it didn't banish the almost-limp as he had hoped it might, so he continued the ritual mainly to prevent pain.
In the past two months since it had happened, he had grown used to the minor handicap but he had to admit- he needed someone completely capable to assist him in the endeavors that required more finesse. And that was how Teddy Lupin, half-werewolf, came to hire Lily Potter, mediocre student.
He hoped he wouldn't regret his decision.