Written by my big, Empress Empoleon, for the Big/Little competition, week two.

"It's always easier to say good-bye when you know it's just a prelude to hello." -Maureen Johnson.

Teddy didn't want to leave James.

True, they were only two years apart, and he would come home for the holidays, but that was still two years in school without him, and being without James was like living without air.

James was his best friend. He had always been around from an early ag"e, and he was the only one who understood him. Teddy wouldn't last a minute in Hogwarts, all cold and alone and friendless.

How could he say goodbye?

"Lucky," James groaned for the thousandth time as Teddy pulled his trunk along the platform. "It's not fair that you get to go to Hogwarts without me."

"It's not like I want to," Teddy reminded him. "I'll be all alone. I won't know anyone."

James sighed, stopping in front of him to look him in the eye. "Look, mate: I'm going to miss you. But that doesn't mean you're allowed to waste your time missing me."

Teddy gulped, looking the boy head-on. James had no idea, did he?

"You'll be home for Christmas, and you'll write letters," James continued. Teddy focused on the floor, the train, the people; anyone but James.

"Plus, I'll be there in two years!" James exclaimed. "I will be there, so this goodbye is really only like a pre-hello!"

Teddy chuckled, patting James on the head. "If you say so." James always knew how to cheer him up.

A slight frown crossed his face. Who would be the sunshine on his rainy day now?

James sighed, a brief bittersweet look crossing his face. "Remember that you've got a big heart, and there's lots of space in your heart. You can make room for other people, can't you?"

Teddy shook his head, his voice not working. "You're enough to fill me up."

"Stupid Teddy. Don't you know I love you too?" A quick peck on the cheek, and he was gone, weaving through crowds and out of sight.

Teddy sighed, smiling softly and running a hand through his hair, his fingers brushing over the spot where James's lips had been a second ago. He wasn't sure whether James loved him like cousins should, or how Teddy loved him, but, wasn't any love from James good enough?

He set off toward the train, still smiling. James might have been the owner of his heart, but he could always accommodate a few more people.