Disclaimer: I own Laini, but nobody else.

This was written for the Ring Around the Boy/Girlfriend challenge. My first pairing is TeddyOC (there will be five) with the prompt 'road'.


Teddy Lupin was not happy at the moment.

At any other time, on any other day, he probably could have won an award for World's Happiest Orphan. But not today. Today, he was really, truly annoyed.

The reason for his annoyance was his absolute nuisance (Aunt Ginny had used those words to describe her multitude of tantrum-throwing nieces and nephews, so Teddy thought it was appropriate to use here) of a brand-new godbrother—James Sirius Potter.

James was, as far as Teddy could tell, the very definition of an 'absolute nuisance'. He was red-faced, constantly crying and shrieking, always demanding attention, and, worst of all, he smelled.

And with Harry and Ginny completely focused on taking care of their new bundle of joy, Teddy was left to sit gloomily at the edge of the road and wonder when on Earth James Sirius Potter was going to shut up already.

A car zoomed past him, a fancy, souped-up new model, and Teddy glared at it, grateful for something physical he could direct his annoyance to. Unfortunately, he picked the wrong car—this one had an opened door and a young girl clambering out before he could fully turn his patented six-year-old Glare of Annoyance ™ on it.

"Hello," she said cheerfully, bouncing to her feet and waving to the woman behind the wheel—her mother, Teddy presumed. "Is this the Daybell house?"

"Huh?" Teddy stood up and peered curiously at her, distracted from his irritation. She was a few years older than him, and remarkably cheerful, even for a little girl. Her sunflower blond curls reminded him rather of Victoire, or a brown-eyed version of his best friend, anyway. "Who are you?"

The girl tilted her head and examined him with her big, bright eyes, and Teddy remembered just in time to will his hair a normal, neutral brown, the way Harry had trained him to do if he ever came in contact with a muggle.

"I'm Laini Parsins," she greeted brightly, extending her hand. "Who are you?"

"Teddy Lupin," he answered, a bit hesitantly, and shook her hand. "And, no, this isn't the Daybell house. This is the Potter house."

"Oh," Laini seemed disappointed, but she perked up quickly. "Do you know where the Daybells are, then?"

"No," Teddy said, shrugging. "Sorry. I don't live here. I'm just visiting my godfather today."

"Cool!" she beamed, then frowned. "Is that a baby crying I hear?"

Teddy rolled his eyes. "That's probably my godbrother. His name is James and he's an absolute noo—news—nuisance!" he said vehemently, blushing at his stumble over the word.

"Babies usually are," Laini said sagely, nodding her head as if she knew exactly what he was going through. "Let me guess—you're annoyed because your godparents are paying more attention to the baby?"

"No!" Teddy protested. "Well, maybe a little," he admitted at her skeptical look. "But also because he smells. Bad!"

Laini giggled. "All babies do. I bet you did, once."

Teddy made a face. "Well, yeah, but I bet I didn't scream as much as he does."

As if on cue, James let out another earsplitting shriek, and both Teddy and Laini winced at the volume of his wails.

"Probably not," she agreed. "I don't think anybody can scream as much as that."

"Yeah," Teddy huffed, plopping back down on his corner by the road. "He's real good at that."

"'Really good', you mean," she corrected absently.

Teddy frowned at the correction of his grammar. "Yeah, sure."

"Well," Laini said, sitting down beside him. "I think you could use some cheering up. Do you want to play a game?"

He eyed her suspiciously. "Don't you have to find the Daybells, or whatever?"

She shrugged. "It can wait. I have all day. Come on—truth or dare? Never have I ever?"

"Never have I ever? What on Earth is that?" he demanded, perplexed.

Laini giggled. "It's really fun! Come on!"

She spread her hands out, palms face down, but before she could explain the game, a car honked as it drove up next to the two kids.

"Oh, that must be the Daybells!" Laini cried, hopping to her feet. "I know that car!"

Teddy looked at the giant blue van clunking along the road towards them. "Yeah, I would know that car, too," he agreed with as much sarcasm as a six-year-old could muster. "Well, bye, then."

Laini turned back to him, a wide, toothy grin on her face. "Thanks for making this fun, Teddy!" she said.

Before he could say anything or even comprehend what she was doing, Laini reached forward, braced her hands on his arms, and pressed her lips to his.

The kiss, if you could call it that, was short, sweet, and blessedly quick. Laini pulled back, still beaming, and bounced into the car to squeal in delight at the appearance of another girl inside the van. Teddy was left standing by the road as the car drew away, having just experienced his first kiss with a girl he didn't even know.

"That was awful," he decided, speaking out loud despite the lack of any listening ear. Then, with all the dignity he had left, he stood up and walked back home to his godfather and Ginny and his (still just as annoying, from the sounds of the wails) godbrother.

"Hey, there, kiddo," Harry greeted when Teddy reentered the house. "Had a fun time sulking?"

Teddy stuck his tongue out at his godfather. "Fantastic. I even met a girl."

"Oh, really?" Harry raised an eyebrow, looking highly amused. "What was her name?"

"Laini," Teddy said, grabbing a glass of water that had been left out and gulping it down. "She was very nice."

"I'm sure," Harry said, nodding as if he knew what his godson was talking about. "What did you talk about?"

Teddy sent an annoyed glare up the stairs, where James had burst into a fresh set of sobs and Ginny was busily trying to calm him down. "How much babies suck!" he declared loudly and stomped off.

"Huh," Harry snorted, watching Teddy leave for the backyard. "Wonder if he'll meet another 'very nice' young girl out there."


Author's Notes: Yay for another multichapter? Haha, I hope you guys enjoyed this, even with the OC (I admit, I'm not too fond of them either, but, well, it is a challenge)! Please review if you did! Coming up next is TeddyRoxanne =)

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Thank you!