He'll Wait

It is Christmas Eve, and Teddy is excited. Presents wrapped in reds and blues and silvers and greens and golds lay under the Christmas tree, and Teddy has to crane his neck to see the slightly-crooked star from where it brushes the roof. And there's always Grandma Molly's wondrous feast to look forward to.

Teddy's excited for another reason, too. He turned ten this year, and he can, for the very first time, accompany his godfather to the Ministry's Yule Ball.

A lot of people have already asked him how he can be enthusiastic about the event that's always more about politicking and less about celebrations and bores even the adults to death. Each time, he smiles widely, a mischievous glint in his brown eyes, and hops away without answering.

Teddy Lupin has a mission to accomplish today, one he's already been setting the groundwork for, and the first and most difficult task would be to get Uncle Harry away from Aunt Ginny and Grandma Droma. After that — well, the two women are not wrong when they say his godfather can't say 'no' to Teddy, ever.

It is three hours and a million complaints about uncomfortable robes later that Teddy is finally, finally, holding his godfather's hand, ready to Apparate away to the Ministry.

Teddy is ashamed to admit it takes him a whole hour to corner his godfather; he should have thought of the male restroom before.

He's lucky, though, that it is near to where the lifts are — it'll just save him walking across the Ministry Atrium, where the ball is being held, again.

"Okay, Teddy, what did you bring me here for?" Harry asks as soon as the door shuts behind them.

"Er..." Teddy waves his hand around, "I needed to pee."

Harry laughs, and Teddy stares at his shoes. "You're not fooling me, Teddy. So, what's this all about?"

"Uhm..." Teddy coughs, not able to get the words out. He changes tactics, deciding to go by a less direct method. "Remember you told me that Aunt Ginny had known since she was nine that—"

"Ah," Harry interrupts, "that was why you had been asking me stories about all of the family?"

Though still embarrassed, Teddy can't help but revel in his smartness, and gives Harry a cheeky smile. "So, can we go to the room, and you can perform the spell, please?"

Harry grows serious, and Teddy's worried because Harry never gets serious around him. His godfather crouches down a little so their eyes are at the same level and says, "Edward, soulmates are a serious business. For one, maybe it isn't you but your soulmate who the spell reveals the other half to." Teddy thinks he would be a tad disappointed if his soulmate's name was not revealed to him, but he wouldn't really be that upset. He doesn't say anything, though, and lets Harry continue. "Second, if it does show you who they are, are you sure you will be able to carry the weight of knowing? Worrying all the time if they will even accept you?"

Teddy nods. This is something he has thought through. He knows from all the stories how hard his mother had to try before his father accepted her. He knows his Aunt Ginny had to wait so long before she got together with Uncle Harry.

He knows in his heart that he can be just as stubborn as his two mothers — the one who has raised him, and the one who he never met.

"I won't refuse you, Teddy," Uncle Harry speaks again, and Teddy is startled for a second, "if you still want to go there. I'm sure both Ginny and Andy will say you're too young, but if you're really sure, I don't think they should stop you." Harry puts a hand on his shoulder and gives him a small smile. "Just, think this through. If you need more time, I'll bring you back here whenever you're sure."

For a minute, Teddy wonders if he should say no. But no, he's already been thinking about it, and if he can't be sure about whether he even wants to know about his soulmate, how can he be sure he will be able to wait for them, like his aunt and his mum had? Teddy decides he's going to take the chance.

"I'm sure I want to know now." He doesn't falter once when he says that, and he thinks that's what causes Harry to take his hand and lead him down to the Department of Mysteries — to the room of Love.

The walk to there isn't too long, but Teddy is aware of every two steps he takes for Harry's one. He thinks his heart's pounding so loud it is echoing in the hall, though if Harry can hear it, he doesn't say anything.

Teddy tightens his hold around Harry's hand as they walk further. He doesn't know where the room exactly is, but it's like he can feel it drawing near.

And after countless hallways — Teddy thinks there was a rotating room thing where an Unspeakable joined him and his uncle, but he isn't really paying attention — they finally reach the double doors, a heavy lock barring entrance.

The one minute that it takes for the Unspeakable to open the lock and remove it stretches too long, and Uncle Harry asked again if he was sure. Teddy's almost sure he nodded in reply, but the doors are now open. The doors are now open, and Teddy's legs have jammed, and all he can do is stare, stare, stare.

There's Uncle Harry's hand on his shoulder again, and Teddy moves forward in a trance until he's finally in front of the scroll which may show to whom the his soul belongs in the next few minutes.

"Teddy," Uncle Harry's voice pierces through the buzzing in his ears, "you have to repeat after the Unspeakable."

He fumbles more than once when he says those words: alterum dimidium revelare animae meae, and he doesn't even care, because the scroll is unfurling in front of him, and it glows gold as the letters in blood-red start forming, one at a time.

Teddy can't bear it. He shuts his eyes, then peeks one open, and a name is now sitting in front of him.

Victoire Weasley

He knows there's only one Victoire 'no middle name' Weasley in the world the scroll is referring to, and never before had Teddy thought that the little girl he's been playmates with for as long as he can remember is the person meant for him, but he knows now that his smile is as big now as it can be.

"So," Harry asks, and Teddy shakes himself out of the memories of all the times spent with Victoire de-gnoming the garden in summers and making snow-angels in winters, "did the scroll show you the name?"

Teddy nods, remembering that Harry can't see the name. "C-can I not tell you now?" he asks, shuffling his feet.

Harry crouches down again and tilts Teddy's chin up. "Of course, you can take as long as you want. And just so you know, son, I'm proud of you." And Harry smiles, and Teddy is smiling, too, because now he knows who he's meant to be with, and he promises himself he will always wait for Victoire, however long it takes.

And the next day, if Teddy gives her a part of his slice of the cake when she's eaten all of hers, well, no one's watching, and he's done that just because he's her best friend.

Beta'ed by Ari347. Thank you so much, Ari! :)

Word Count: 1267

Prompts used:

For Hogwarts Romance Awareness Challenge, Day 1

• Write about someone casting a spell to find their soulmate.
• (Event) Yule Ball

For 50 AU's Challenge

• Soulmate AU

For The Houses Competition (G, Short)

• Taking a Chance [Action]

Note: alterum dimidium revelare animae meae translates to 'reveal the other half of my soul.' Credit: Google Translate :P