Note: In celebration of being offered a place at my first choice of university, I have given myself the evening off from homework! Here is the result!

Thank you to my reviewers for their kind words about this fic! You make me smile. =)

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor am I making any profit from this piece of writing.

10: Bittersweet News

Teddy sat cross-legged upon the carpet of his godfather's living room, staring at the parchment that he held in his hands.

Dear Teddy,

I would love to come and watch the Quidditch with you and your mother, only it's my turn to work weekends and so I won't be around at all on Saturday. Make sure you cheer extra loud for me, and I want to hear all about the match next time I see you.

Love

Dad

Teddy folded up the letter and shoved it into the pocket of his jeans.

"Where's Harry?" he asked Ginny Potter, who was sat upon the sofa, flicking through a Quidditch magazine. So engrossed was the red-haired witch that she merely waved a vague hand in the direction of the kitchen door. Teddy got to his feet and went in search of his godfather.

He found the wizard in question busy making a mountain of sandwiches for their lunch.

"I need you to talk some sense into my dad." the boy told the Auror flatly. "He's being a prat."

Harry paused to glance over his shoulder at the child, eyebrow raised.

"Merlin you're like your mum." he muttered, and with that he laughed.

Teddy didn't quite see what was so funny.

"He won't come to Quidditch at the weekend! He says he's working!" he complained, folding his arms across his chest and glaring at Harry until the laughter subsided.

"I know that's disappointing, Teddy, but work is work..."

"And he didn't let me go round to Bluebell cottage yesterday because he said he was out! Then before he said he couldn't pick me up and take me to the park because he'd promised to go to Molly's for tea!"

"Teddy if your dad's just having a busy week..."

"But he's lying! He's lying to me!"

"Why would he do that? Really, Teddy, your dad can't just drop everything the moment you fancy seeing him, he's a busy man..."

"But..."

"Maybe if you ask him to do something next week he'll say yes, if you give him warning he can make sure he's not busy..."

"But he's lying! I know he is!" Teddy's voice had risen to a shout and behind him the door slowly crept open. Ginny poked her head curiously into the room.

"Why would he be lying?" Harry asked again, shooting his wife a bemused look over the top of Teddy's head.

"Because Mum kissed him!" Teddy cried, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "And now...now he's freaking out about it or something!"

An strangled little squeak sounded from behind him and he glanced over his shoulder to look at Ginny, who he could have sworn had been smiling until Harry hissed:

"Ginny!"

Ginny fixed a grim expression upon her face.

"When was this, Teddy?" Harry asked, leaning back against the kitchen counter.

"Last week, when I went round for dinner."

"Right...well...well the thing is, Teddy, now that you see your dad...well he and your mum are going to see each other quite a bit. And...and well that means they're going to have to be friends, and friends...well they kiss sometimes, it's friendly, you know? Like your mum kisses me when she says bye, doesn't she? I'm sure...I'm sure that's all it was."

"It wasn't like that." Teddy insisted, much to Harry's discomfort. "They were talking and laughing together and then she sort of...kissed him. And then he backed off and told her to take me home."

"Oh Merlin..." Ginny breathed, taking a step into the room. "Harry, do you think..."

"Ginny!" Harry said again, and she immediately fell silent. "Listen, Teddy, sometimes...sometimes people do stuff, like...like what your mum did...when they don't mean it. Sometimes people get a bit caught up in the moment and they do something silly, okay? I don't want you to think that...that this means anything, your mum and dad aren't together anymore and your mum loves Tom very much. I'm sure she didn't mean to kiss your dad, she just...well she just made a mistake. Now...how about you grab those plates and take them outside for me? It's a nice day, we can eat out there."

Teddy obediently picked up the plates and shuffled towards the back door as Ginny took a few steps into the kitchen, expression still grim. Once outside Teddy hurried to crouch beneath the open window, listening carefully.

"Well..."Ginny's voice announced from back inside the house. "You know what this could mean, don't you?"

"I know exactly what it means." Harry replied, sounding far less amused than his wife by far. "It means I'm going to bloody kill Tonks! That's what it means!"

"Oh come on, Harry!" Ginny cried, and Teddy peered through the window to glimpse her beaming face. "Don't you try and tell me that you wouldn't be dancing round the house in triumph like the rest of us if they got back together!"

"I never said I wouldn't." Harry reasoned as he carefully levitated the tray of sandwiches towards the back door. "I just thinks she deserves a curse or two for landing me in such an awkward conversation with Teddy. You didn't help, you know! Grinning away like a Cheshire Kneazle! Besides it was just a kiss, Ginny, and Remus didn't react all that well. And then there's Tom..."

"Tom's not good for her."

"Well Tonks doesn't think that, does she? Merlin, you are so like Molly! Keep your voice down, anyway, Teddy could hear you and before we know it it'll be Tonks killing me and not the other way round."

The back door began to open and Teddy hastily straightened up, narrowly avoiding smacking his head on the window ledge.

Teddy arrived home later that afternoon and, after spotting his mother and Tom curled up on the sofa together, listening to the wireless, headed straight for his bedroom.

Within minutes the soft hum of the wireless downstairs ceased and he heard footsteps on the stairs. There came a soft knock upon his door.

"Teddy, love?"

The boy's gaze dropped from the ceiling he had been aimlessly staring at.

"Yeah?"

Tonks pushed the door open and came to perch on the end of the bed, smiling brightly.

"Guess what!" she challenged as he regarded her cheerful expression warily.

"What, Mum?"

She leaned forward, pleased with herself as she announced:

"I've owled your dad today, asking if you can go stay with him next week. All week! And guess what?"

Teddy simply stared at her, mouth falling open slightly in surprise.

"He said yes! He's going to take time off work and everything! Harry's going to come and take you over. Pretty cool, huh?"

Teddy stifled the explosion of excitement that rushed through him, resisting the urge to bounce up and down on the bed, he didn't want to make his mother jump.

"That's...amazing!" he declared, and then he couldn't help but clap his hands together in excitement.

"Yeah, it is, isn't it? That means you won't have to sit around at Gran's all week whilst Tom and I are away."

The excitement vanished.

"You and Tom are going away?" Teddy tried to hide the disappointment from his voice.

"Yep. We're borrowing Gran's cottage up in the Lakes."

"Why?"

"Why?" Tonks chuckled. "Well why not? It'll be nice to have some time to ourselves, Tom reckons we should go hiking. That'll make everybody laugh, won't it? Just imagine me going hiking!"

Teddy could not quite bring himself to laugh properly. Luckily she didn't seem to notice for she reached to ruffle his hair as she got to her feet, telling him:

"Anyway, you make sure you've put all these clothes in the wash, else you'll be off to your dad's house in your pajamas."

And with that she left the room, a spring in her step.

That evening Teddy sat in the living room and hid behind a book, snatching glances at the couple upon the sofa, scowling at their closeness and sighing to hear of Tom's repeated comments about how nice it would be to get away from it all.

"Just think," the intruder said, arms wrapped firmly around Tonks' waist as she leaned back against him, her legs sprawled across the rest of the sofa. "It'll be perfect." He pressed a firm kiss to the back of her pale blonde head before his chin came to rest upon her shoulder. "Just the two of us. Just you and me."

And that was the whole point of this little holiday, Teddy realized miserably. Every mention of Teddy's father, from anyone at all, seemed to irritate Tom. Then annoy him. Then infuriate him.

And then there was the touching. Constantly. The hand on Tonks' shoulder if he passed her in the kitchen, the way he always clung to her hand whenever they were out, the way his fingers were constantly fiddling with her hair when they sat together, how he put his arms tightly around her as if to stop her escape.

Tom was becoming more paranoid, more possessive. And he wanted Tonks away from here. Away from home. And away Remus.

And for the love of Merlin, Teddy thought furiously as Tonks shifted further back against the intruder's side, it was about time his mother realized, too.