We Are Family
-Teddy and James-
(*)(*)(*)
Trouble is a Friend
-August 2011
He frowned as he stared at the blank foot and a half of parchment, biting the tip of his quill and trying to concentrate on his homework. As usual, he was having trouble focusing on his holiday homework. Then again, he considered himself lucky to have not already covered his parchment in inkblots, knocked over his inkpot, or somehow managed to fall out of his chair.
As strange as those blessings were, Teddy was thankful for them, especially since his metamorphmagus abilities had'nt been the only thing he had inherited from his mother. He had also gotten her penchant for tripping over thin air.
Yes, thought thirteen-year-old Teddy Lupin with a wry smile, not causing a mess did indeed count as satisfactory progress when it came to sitting still and doing homework. Therefore, despite not having written a single word save for his name, he concluded that he had done quite enough for one day.
As always, such meritorious achievements deserved a significant award – and the only fitting prize he could think of was the leftover casserole from last night. His adoptive mother's cooking was could always be considered a treat – it was tantalising, delicious and quite literally any other synonym that one could think off to describe gourmet food.
Teddy only realised that something was very wrong after he had begun loping his way down the stairs. There was something fundamental missing from his home – something that he kicked himself for not comprehending sooner.
The house was quiet . . . much too quiet considering there was supposed to be a seven-year-old on the premises.
He cursed himself under his breath, using a slew of cusses that he was sure would have Harry in hysterics and lead to Ginny grounding him for a week, before pushing aside the thoughts of food and going in search of his godbrother.
Perhaps it had been a mistake telling his godparents that he could manage babysitting and his homework perfectly well that morning. James was not Albus, quiet and well-behaved, and nor was he little Lily, sweet and in the midst of her terrible toddler phase. No . . . James was pure evil, he reckoned, considering that the kid could single-handedly raise more havoc in an hour than was safe for their universe and its continuity.
Teddy loved his godbrother, there was no doubt about it, he just frankly found having three siblings exhausting and was thus thankful that Albus and Lily were visiting the Burrow. James though . . . oh Teddy just had to have been stuck with the Lord of Pranks whilst his godparents were at work.
Too soon, the reason for the eerie silence was explained. Teddy stood frozen in the playroom doorway, jaw hanging open as he took in the unbridled chaos of the room. The walls were stained a dozen colours, splotches of paint drying upon every available surface as the wind whistled through a nearby hole in the wall. A shred of plastic, transparent and crinkled, waved at her over the hole with a few loose strands of tape and Teddy realised he was looking at a makeshift window.
How had he not heard a hole being knocked into the brick wall?
More importantly, how had James – who was incidentally sitting in the middle of the room and colouring serenely – managed to break through in the first place. Accidental magic was powerful and could account for a lot but it was just that, accidental. Teddy seriously doubted that his godbrother had 'accidently' blown a minor hole in the wall.
He bit back a yelp as he stepped into the room, the carpet squelching wetly under his bare toes and he realised with a looming sense of horror that the room had been flooded.
Once again, it was impossible to discern how exactly the boy with the red dinosaur t-shirt and blue crayon had been able to flood the entire playroom when as far as Teddy knew, there was no plumbing anywhere remotely near.
"James," he gasped, eyes widening at the sight of the gaping pit in the corner of the room that he was pretty sure, had once been the location of the craft cabinet. Now, the glitter and googly eyes had been added to the fresh pain on the walls, giving the room the look of a space that had been designed by a drunken three-year-old.
Somehow, Teddy was sure that Lily would have had better taste had she been the one to pull a James.
The boy looked up at the sound of his name, grinning wildly as he sighted his big brother. A large part of Teddy wished that James wouldn't give him those huge smiles whenever he walked into the room . . . it made being in charge and playing the role of disciplinarian that much harder. He knew how much the younger boy idolised him; he just yearned for a time when he wouldn't be affected by those puppy-dog eyes that could let James get away with murder.
Judging by the state of the playroom, Teddy wouldn't be surprised to find a body buried somewhere in the debris.
"What have you done?"
"Mummy was talking about wishing she had the time to fix up the playroom because of Witch Weekly," the boy explained with all the innocence of a child, "so I had time and I decided to do it for her."
"I don't think this was what she had in mind," stammered Teddy, bending over to inspect a few scorch marks across the carpet. How James had managed to both soak the carpet and burn it, he would never know. To be perfectly honest with himself, he wasn't sure he wanted to.
When it came to the Potter children and their mishaps, it was always best not to know too much so you couldn't be called to testify against them.
"How did you even manage to get all of this done?" Teddy asked when James pouted, sulkily turning back to his colouring. A few chips of dust and wood flaked down from the ceiling, and the metamorphmagus frowned worriedly at the source of the disturbance.
He wouldn't put it past his godbrother to bring the entire ceiling caving down around them by accident. James was too much of a Gryffindor . . . brash and bold and sometimes just a little bit bonkers.
"With this," muttered James, digging up a long, splintered stick from underneath the growing pile of discarded crayons. Teddy's eyes widened in horror at the sight, eleven inches of mahogany and unicorn hair . . . ruined.
His wand.
His brother had destroyed the room using his wand and he hadn't even noticed.
What
The
HELL!
"JAMES!" Teddy yelled, "what did Dad tell you about using our wands?" The boy quailed underneath his big brother's glare, lower lip trembling as he handed over the wand – tufts of unicorn hair sticking to his fingers – his glasses threatening to fall off his nose as he received the worst scolding Teddy had ever dealt out.
Maybe he had inherited a few teacher genes from his father in addition to his werewolf genes.
"I'm sowwi, Teddy," sniffled James, tears welling in the corners of his eyes, his voice thick with emotion, "I was owly tryna help."
Teddy caught himself at the sight of the tears and walked over to the table, dropping to his knees besides James and soaking his jeans in the process. He wondered how James could manage to sit here in these conditions and find them perfectly normal, when the squishy carpets were enough to make him squirm.
"I know, Jamie," he sighed, "but you did do a number on this room. You really shouldn't be taking our wands. You could have really hurt yourself, baby brother."
"I'm not a baby," protested James, obviously absorbing only that part of the conversation.
"You're behaving like one," pointed out Teddy, causing the younger boy to fall silent instantly. Then quickly, James threw his arms around him, sobbing into his shoulder and nearly bowling him over with the force of the impact.
"Please don't tell mum and dad," James pleaded, "please, please, please. I don't want to get in trouble again this week."
Teddy paused, patting the child on his back whilst he debated what he needed to do. On one hand, James did deserve whatever Ginny would mete out as his punishment. Then again, he was supposed to have been watching the kid whilst their parents – biological in one case, adoptive in another – had gone off the work. Who really was the one at fault in this situation?
The sound of the floo roaring to life caused them both to freeze, the sound of their mother's voice filtering up the stairs sending daggers of panic up their spines. Teddy stared at his useless wand, wondering if it would work well enough to cast a reparo charm before Ginny got up the stairs.
"Boys? Are you i– What in Merlin's name happened?" Ginny clutched at her chest in the doorway, her face rapidly reddening as she emulated Nana Molly.
"My wand backfired," lied Teddy, poking James to make sure he didn't squeal, "it was me."
(*)(*)(*)
A/N: Thoughts?
Prompt: Trouble
-Also Written for the Fill the Calendar Challenge (December 27: Write exactly 1536 words)-