You might remember this story: It's currently in the process of being re-vamped, simply because I wanted this project to be better than it used to be. I was thankful of the positivity it received, but I felt it could be so much better.
Enjoy x
London was slightly chilly that September 1st. Teddy stood at the entrance of the King's Cross station, hand resting nonchalantly on the handle of his trunk, as people bustled about around him.
The teenager didn't stand out from the crowd in any way. With his blue hair flying in every direction possible, black beat-up leather jacket and ripped skinny jeans, he was just another young man in a crowd of hipsters, businesspeople and punks going about their day. No one could tell that there was a wand hidden in the inside pocket of that jacket, or that the trunk with the thousand and one stickers all over its surface contained books of spells, potions ingredients like bat wings and unicorn hair and long black robes that were still the standard uniform for students attending a school called Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.
People just assumed the black and yellow patch with a badger in the middle stitched on the front of his black backpack was just another obscure band. The young man looked a bit melancholy as he stood there alone.
Twenty to eleven. The train would depart sooner than later, but he stood there for another moment. He'd never felt more apprehensive about returning to Hogwarts for another year.
For the Wizarding World, Edward 'Teddy' Remus Lupin was the son of Nymphadora Tonks, ex Auror and Metamorphmagus, and Remus Lupin, Werewolf and ex Hogwarts Professor of the Defence Against the Dark Arts. Both were members of the Order of the Phoenix and are, to this day, considered two of the greatest war heroes the Wizarding World has ever seen.
He never got the chance to meet either of them. They died tragically during the Final Battle of Hogwarts in the Second Wizarding War on May 2nd, 1998. The same year he was born.
He looked down by his side, almost expecting to see her there. But she wasn't. His grandmother's body was buried in the same cemetery his parents were buried in, between her daughter and her late husband. She had slipped away quietly in her sleep last June. Old age, the Healers who had seen to her said. She wasn't here to see her grandson off to his final year in Hogwarts. She wouldn't be there to see him graduate.
He had refused Harry's offer to go with them. And Ron's. And Bill's. And everyone's. He had turned away from Victoire's hurt and betrayed expression when he told her father that he preferred to be on his own and he wouldn't be able to join them for their trip to Paris that summer, either. Not that he hadn't expected her to be a little bit disappointed, but he wasn't expecting the silent treatment or the complete lack of sympathy from her. There was no love lost between Andromeda Tonks and Victoire Weasley, but he at least expected her to be understanding of the pain he was in.
He was now completely alone in the world.
Steeling himself, he began to haul his trunk easily. He casually walked through the wall between the platforms 9 and 10. The platform was already filling with people and the noise was growing in decibel more and more every second. Couples apparated with their children and their baggage at every corner. The time had gone ten to eleven. He lifted his things easily into the train. He tried to squeeze down the painful feeling of loneliness that washed over him as he watched families from the windows.
He drew the drapes once he got settled in a compartment at the front of the train and shrugged off his jacket, intent on changing into his robes before the prefects got here. He was just about to pull his shirt over his head when he heard a subtle cough just behind him. He turned, startled.
There was a girl standing there.
His first thought was her hair. They were a vivid orange, almost the same shade of ginger the Weasley clan sported. But hers resembled flames, dancing on her head. It was short. Boyishly short. For a second he thought of Victoire's long silky strands that fell all the way down to the small of her back, silvery gold and beautiful. Feminine.
This girl, however, was a far cry from the soft femininity of Victoire. Her face was oval shaped, with a sharp jawline and defined cheekbones. There was a faint dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose and the top of her cheeks that had flushed a lovely shade of pink. Her hazel eyes were watching him. She had them lined boldly with black and her lashes were coated with mascara. Her jeans were a dark green and she wore a simple shirt underneath a red leather jacket, brand new and smooth. He looked at her feet, surprised to see a pair of dark dragon skin boots with golden buckles at the ankles.
"Can I help you?" he managed to say once he got over the initial shock of her.
"I just thought you'd like a bit of a warning that you weren't alone before you started to strip" her lips curled in a teasing smile. "But, by all means, go ahead"
She plopped herself down in one of the seats, dumping a black backpack next to her.
"Do you mind?" he said, mildly irritated.
"Don't worry, pretty boy, I'm not looking at you" she said, barely looking up at him from where she had pulled the drape back to look out at the platform. "Nothing interesting anyway"
Irritated and a little bit offended, he decided to put off dressing for later.
His companion was eerily quiet. When she turned her head, he got a view of her right profile. Her nose curved slightly downward, but not unappealingly. In general, she was a very pretty girl. He couldn't decipher her house; there were no indicators on her clothes. She must've been half-blood or muggleborn. Pure-blood wizards and witches still shunned muggle items and clothing, even though after the War they had become more common.
"You are staring, pretty boy" she commented lightly. "Eye-contact for more than five seconds indicates either a desire to murder or shag the other person, so which is it?"
Blushing. The burn on his cheeks couldn't be anything else. A giggle trickled out of her painted cherry lips. She was laughing at his embarrassment.
"I'm sorry" she said with a softer smile, turning to face him. "Excuse my lack of brain-to-mouth filter. I'm Jenna Blake. Seventh year, Hufflepuff. I'm the Head Girl"
"I'm -"
"The infamous Teddy Lupin, prefect, fellow Hufflepuff, professor Longbottom's star student in Herbology, Captain and Chaser of the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team, now Head Boy" her smile widened just slightly. "I know"
"You seem to be in an advantage in this situation, then" Teddy found himself frowning.
Hufflepuff? He had never seen her. Of that, he was sure.
"You seem confused" she remarked, crossing her legs at the ankles. "You might remember a chubbier, blonder version of me. With round glasses, probably. I just got my parents to let the Healers try those spells on my vision. It worked. Couldn't be happier, actually"
Chubbier. Blond. Round glasses. He raked his mind to remember if he had seen a girl. Tried to remember the name…
"The librarian intern?" he questioned incredulously.
"The one and only" she rolled her eyes, but her smile betrayed her mirth. "Madame Pince is not going to be around for long. I figured I could pick up after she retires"
"You don't look-"
"The librarian type?" she nodded. "Not anymore"
He leaned back against his seat and studied her more carefully. She didn't seem to be bothered by the scrutiny. There was a line of four silver studs on each ear. Light caught on the shiny surfaces. A metallic spike hung from each ear at the lobe. There was a lacy black thing wrapped around her throat with a small sun pendant hanging in the hollow of her neck, drawing attention to her defined collarbones. The blouse she was tight at the chest, but loose around her lower abdomen. There were patches sewn on her jeans, probably muggle bands, and a white A in a white circle on black background on her upper thigh.
"You look… different" he finally said.
"Yeah, well, had to go through a few changes. I finally got the guts to give myself the changes I wanted" she shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "Mama will tell you it's puberty 2.0 making me act out"
"Fuck that" he said impulsively.
Her eyebrows arched and she grinned. Perfectly straight white teeth.
"Well, hello" she giggled. "It's been a while since I've heard that word uttered in Hogwarts. Tsk, tsk, Mr. Head Boy. And I thought you were some sort of role-model"
"Fuck that" he chuckled. "Just because I'm Head Boy that doesn't mean I don't cuss. Everybody does"
Jenna laughed with her entire body and face. She threw her head back and let out a boisterous, loud laugh, shoulders shaking. Any initial discomfort he felt in her presence was evaporated. Cleared. There was something about her care-free, world-may-care attitude that put him at ease. After that, banter came easily. They were interrupted only by the Prefects arriving. After instructing them on their rounds and sending the first pair off to go around the train, he moved to the seat next to her.
She had a wry, sarcastic sense of humour that matched well with his temperament. She talked about music, books, something muggle that she called TV shows, food. Everything that came to mind, she talked about. Hours went by. Until, eventually, they had to stop and get ready for their arrival at the Hogsmeade train station.
"Oh, shit, is that the time?" Jenna exclaimed. "I really, really need to put on my robes. We'll be arriving shortly"
She got up, winking and picked up her backpack.
"I'll see you after dinner. McGonagall set up that meeting thingy" she reminded him on her way to the door.
"Or maybe you'll see me at dinner. Since, you know, we sit at the same table for every meal" Teddy couldn't help but tease her.
"Shut up, Lupin" she said with an eye roll.
In a whirl of fiery hair and red leather, she left him all alone in the compartment. While in the process of removing his shirt, he found himself smiling. And thinking that he wouldn't have minded if she were there to watch him undress that time.
Reviews are very much welcome and if you enjoyed this first chapter, stay tuned for the next one.