ALBUS POTTER
And The Forbidden Tower
Based on the characters, places and ideas of J.K. Rowling
-Chapter One-
Teddy's Trouble
It was the last week of summer; the sunset was a beautiful mixture of orange and purple, spread across the dark blue sky. A few stars were already visible, and a young man was walking down a side street in a Muggle subdivision.
The young man's twentieth birthday had been two weeks before; he'd celebrated it with his family and friends. He wore a dark hoodie with a silver crescent moon on the back, and the hood up. This looked odd, seeing as it was still warm summer weather.
He wore fairly tight jeans that had deliberate tears for style; his Converse All-Stars were the final touch that made him look completely like a Muggle. The hoodie was zipped up halfway; beneath it, a black t-shirt with the band logo for the Weird Sisters could be seen. In the front pocket of the hoodie, the young man's wand was kept.
He had an adventurous, handsome face-- but his eyes had a look of tiredness to them. On his chin he had a small bit of turquoise beard, which matched his turquoise hair.
Teddy Lupin had, in his left pocket, a golden wedding ring with a small ruby set on top. He'd bought it in Diagon Alley that very day. He was planning on giving it to his girlfriend, Victoire Weasley. He would then propose to her.
Teddy was on duty on this fine night; he had been promoted in the ranks of Auror over the passed summer. He was undercover in this small, suburban Muggle town. He was supposed to head through this quiet neighbourhood and make sure everything was as it should be. Apparently, an eccentric old witch who was enchanting Muggle pots and pans to attack pedestrians resided here. As long as he didn't see anything out of the ordinary by eight o'clock, Teddy could return to the Ministry.
Then he would be off duty. He sighed, thinking of Victoire; his grandmother, Andromeda, had raised him; it was her alone who knew that Teddy would be proposing.
He checked the digital watch on his wrist, the one that Arthur Weasley had given to him when he was a little boy-- it had fascinated both of them, and still, to this day, Teddy found use in what most of the other Weasley's called rubbish.
It was a quarter to eight. Teddy was practically itching to see Victoire; she had graduated from Hogwarts, and was now eighteen years old. She and Teddy lived together on an island a few miles from Shell Cottage, where Victoire had grown up with her family.
Teddy stopped walking, and looked around. He was back where he'd started, at the top of Havenburg Avenue. It was now ten to eight.
"That'll do for tonight," he said briskly, hoping his godfather, Harry Potter, wouldn't give him trouble for leaving early. As he prepared to Apparate, someone spoke to him.
"Excuse me, sir," said a tall man in a dark business suit. "Could I bother you for the time?"
Teddy glanced down at his watch-- a bad mistake.
"It's ten to--"
CRACK!
Teddy was lying on his back in the ditch in front of a house. Tying him up with ropes from his wand, the wizard in Muggle clothes grinned evilly, and Apparated with Teddy from the spot.
Hours passed. It was now a cool, clear night. At around eleven o'clock, two loud pops, five seconds apart could be heard faintly. Standing under the last street light on the corner of Havenburg Avenue were two wizards.
Both were tall men, one with black hair and glasses, and the other with red hair. The one with the glasses had a faint scar on his forehead; both wizards wore travel cloaks.
"You search that end of the subdivision," said Harry, "And I'll search this end. He's got to be somewhere around here. It's not like Teddy to just leave duty and not let us know."
Ron reached into his pocket and pulled out a Deluminator, the one he'd received from Albus Dumbledore. He clicked it once, and started stealing the light from each street lamp up the avenue.
Finally, he clicked the Deluminator shut and pocketed it. "Meet back here in ten minutes," he said. Harry nodded. "Ok."
They departed, but neither of them found any trace of Teddy. Ron even asked the old witch who'd been bewitching pots and pans; she hadn't been visited by any wizards all day.
"Where in Merlin's beard is he?" Asked Harry. "I'm starting to get really worried…"
Ron pinched the bridge of his nose. "Come on," he said finally. "Let's check back in with the Ministry."
Harry sighed. "But Kingsley said he'd send his Patronus with word if Teddy showed up. Do you see a great silver lynx?"
They stood in silence for a moment, while Ron clicked the Deluminator and shot the orbs of light back into each street light. "Sorry," muttered Harry. "It's just really stressful. You're right; let's go back to the Ministry."
They each Apparated from the street, and by morning the Sunday issue of the Daily Prophet had Teddy's smiling face on the front, and the headline 'AUROR MISSING WHILE ON DUTY'.