"Teddy, hurry up! You don't want to be late for the sixth year in a row, do you?" Teddy Lupin sighed as his grandmother's voice rang throughout the house. He threw the last of his things into his trunk and ran downstairs.

"Yeah, coming, grandmum!" he shouted on his way down. He cursed under his breath as he tripped on his own large feet and stumbled to the bottom. His grandparents looked down at him, smiling. Teddy lifted his head, shook his long hair from his eyes, and gave his granddad a crooked smile.

"Don't get into too much trouble this year, son," Robert chuckled.

"I'll try..." Teddy responded with a sparkle in his hazel eyes. He blinked suddenly, and they became bright blue. "Aw, come off it, Grandmum!" he shouted as Rose tried to smooth his chestnut hair down behind his ears. Robert took his grandson's trunk, rested his arm on Teddy's, and the family apparated to the train station. Teddy inhaled deeply, knowing his sixth year at Hogwarts was going to be the best yet. The Lupin family bade each other goodbye, and as the Hogwarts Express tooted its farewell, Teddy walked down the train cabin to find his best friends.

"Teddy!" a sweet, honey-toned voice called out excitedly. He turned to see a beautiful, strawberry-blonde girl beaming at him. Victoire Weasely, one of his best friends, was flashing him one of her famous smiles. His stomach gave a flip when he saw her stand up, for she had gotten taller and curvier over the summer. He had practically grown up with Victoire, so he knew he could never actually have feelings for her. But boy, she was sure gorgeous. Her mother, Fleur, was part veela and her ability to captivate others had been passed on to her daughter. He smiled when he saw her freckles that only came out during the summer-the same ones that her father had year-round. He looked over at his best friend Liam Fink, gazing adoringly up at Victoire. Teddy chuckled to himself, knowing Liam had had a secret crush on her since their third year together at Hogwarts. Of course, Victoire was still totally oblivious and had no idea. Teddy sat down next to Liam and elbowed him jokingly in the ribs as he was staring with his mouth open at Victoire while she was bending over to unlock her owl's cage.

"Come on, mate. It's your sixth year...you better get around to it sometime," he quietly jested when he finally caught his friend's attention.

"Yeah, you're right. But we've been friends for so long, and I don't want to screw it up. But it's like someone up there is doing it on purpose, mate! Every year we come back to Hogwarts, every year she gets more and more..." he gulped. "Man..." Teddy pushed his friend's messy-haired head to the window, knocking him sideways in his seat. They laughed while Victoire gave them scowls, all the while shaking her head in confusion. A while later, they changed into their robes and the sweet-trolley lady could be heard shouting down the train. When she reached the three friends, she gave Teddy a huge gap-toothed smile.

"How are your grandparents, love?" she inquired. Her busty figure swayed back and forth on the train and her old voice squeaked with excitement. "Your grandmum doin' alright these days? And your granddad how's he?" Teddy answered her politely, and bought his friends a box of Every Flavor Beans to halt the small talk. They laughed about their summers for what seemed like minutes until the sun went down over the green hills and the great castle could be seen. Teddy, Liam, and Victoire made their way through the crowded exit and they saw James Potter, a first year. His brown, slightly reddish head bobbed through the crowd of excited students. Teddy tapped James on his small shoulder, and when he turned around his eyes shone brightly.

"Hey, Teddy!" he said. "My dad's been talking about you! He says we should all meet up soon, the whole gang." James' fair freckles were barely visible beneath his glasses, but it was obvious to any eye that he was a Potter. Teddy smiled down at him and scuffled his wild hair.

"Yeah, you write to him and tell him that I'll see him as soon as we make it through this year. Sorry I missed you at the station!"

"Nah, it's alright. I mean you come over to our house enough, you're already a part of the Potter family." He smiled at Teddy as if he were his own older brother. "But I'll write them as soon as dinner's over."

"Alright. Hey, you'll do great this year, mate!" Teddy smiled at the eleven-year old, obviously excited to see all the wonders his father and mother had told him about his whole life. "First year is always the most fun."

"Eh, you think I'll make Gryffindor?" James asked nervously.

"Don't worry about it. Wherever you get sorted in is the best," he finished, and waved goodbye.

When the three sat down at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, Victoire put her long arm around Liam's neck and whispered something about being excited to see who this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher would be. She obviously didn't look closely at his face, because Liam's pale cheeks turned bright red and he flashed Teddy a look. Teddy smiled when he saw Hagrid, an old-time family friend, waving at him with his extremely large arms. He turned back to his friends and suddenly his heart hammered against his ribcage. To his opposite left, the dark-haired beauty he had been harboring a crush on since his fourth year was laughing with her friends. Madelyn Fink- Liam's older sister- was seventh year Gryffindor and the most beautiful thing Teddy had ever laid his eyes on. She was tall with deep green eyes and chocolate hair, like her brother. But on her, it captured Teddy's undying attention. Teddy didn't notice anything else when she was in the room. Her pale, creamy skin was completely unblemished and her long, waves shook with her laughter down her back. Madelyn had wide-set murky eyes under dark, arched brows. Her nose was tiny and perfect, her lips were always in a half-smile, and were the exact color of raspberries. Teddy felt his stomach clench and his knees weaken. When Madelyn made unexpected eye contact with him, he closed his mouth and looked away, his heart beating like mad. He looked back at her and she had the same expression on that she always did- her eyes sparkling, her brows arched in a way that lured boys in, and her smile crooked.

"OI!" he shook his head and focused on Liam. "You done staring at my sister, then?" he said, obviously frustrated.

"What? I...I don't..."

"Yeah, don't pretend. I've known for a while. You really are thick, mate. She always asks me why my 'tall friend can't stop gawking at her' and all that. You at least got to keep it a bit more subtle." Teddy feigned offense and whispered "Yeah, like you can talk! Blushing whenever Vi looks at you. So smooth." But the two instantly forgot about their girl troubles when the speech from the headmaster was over and the traditional three-course meal magically appeared on their golden plates. After dinner, Victoire, Liam, and Teddy went up to the Gryffindor common room. Making fun of the prefects like every year, they lagged behind and recited the password to the Fat Lady. "Knuckleduster," they said in unison. She swung open her frame and sang loudly to herself while all the Gryffindors muttered under their breath.