The Story of Teddy Lupin

Chapter 11: Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

Even though the boys made up on the train they still weren't completely back to normal. They never mentioned the game and rarely talked about quidditch when it came to their teams or Neil's dad's team. Which didn't leave them much to talk about quidditch wise. And with there only being two more games left that school year the boys were constantly practicing. So this left them with homework to discuss and not much else. This went on until Ravenclaw's game against Slytherin in February. The day before the game they were doing homework in the library like always when Teddy looked up and put his quill down. After a minute the others noticed he wasn't working anymore. Lee nudged him, "what's up?"

"Good luck tomorrow Neil. Not that you need it. The Slytherin chasers will be lucky if they make a single goal. But still, good luck." With that he picked his quill up and continued his homework. Lee looked between them worried about Neil's response. He was grateful when Neil said, "thanks Teddy," and smiled before continuing his own work. This seemed to break the rest of the tension.

The next morning Teddy and Lee were the first ones down to the quidditch pitch. And they had managed to get their hands on a couple Ravenclaw scarves to show their support. They cheered on Neil and his team with the rest of the Ravenclaws. The Gryffindors were mostly cheering on Slytherin since Ravenclaw had beat them. It was a short game. When the Slytherin chasers managed to get the quaffle they still couldn't get it past Neil. And Ravenclaw's seeker was almost as good as Harry had been when he was in school. So he caught the snitch about 30 minutes into the game.

After the game everyone went back to the Ravenclaw common room to celebrate their win (and Teddy and Lee joined them like last time). This time though Teddy and Lee made it back to their common room before curfew. When they were getting in their beds that night Lee whispered, "if we beat Gryffindor we win the House Cup."

"Yeah."

"If we lose by 50 points Ravenclaw wins the House Cup."

"I know."

"Do you think Neil knows?"

"Yep."

"Is this gonna cause problems again?"

"I hope not."

"Me too."

They didn't say anything else about it that night, just tried to go to sleep.

The next weekend they went to see Hagrid. When they got there Jr. jumped on them and licked them all over while Hagrid made tea. Once they all sat down at the table Jr. settled himfels next to Teddy with his head in Teddy's lap. They told Hagrid all about school and quidditch. And Hagrid said he had seen Harry in Hogsmeade recently. "Saw him last week I think it was. Yeh. He was walkin down the street and stopped ter say hi. Said he was meetin George and Ron at a building they was lookin at fer their business."

Teddy nodded, "yeah, Harry said something about how George was wanting to open a Weasley's Wizard Weezes store in Hogsmeade. I didn't know they had found a place though."

"Guess so. I though Ron was an auror though?"

"He is. But after the war he helped George with the store. Stayed on for a few years before he went to work with Harry. He's still a partner though. Maybe 20% owner. Like Harry."

"Ah. Well I invited him to come by fer tea after. Said ter bring Ron and George and that I'd send you an owl ter join us. But he had ter get back ter work right after. Said he'd come by early fer your next quidditch game and have tea with me though."

"Cool."

They stayed for a bit longer before heading back up to the school to finish their homework.

March came and went pretty quickly and uneventfully. And with the start of April came somewhat warmer weather. Everyone longed to be outside instead of in class, making quidditch practice for Teddy and Lee even more enjoyable than it already was. It also caused Neil to come out and watch their practice since it was an excuse to be outside instead of in the stuffy library. Teddy and Lee were happy to have him there since the awkwardness had finally fully passed (and they didn't have to worry about Neil using anything he saw to his advantage).

So at the last practice of the season Neil went down with Teddy and Lee and sat in the stands doing "homework". Really looking like he was doing homework because he needed to be, but he was too enthralled by the practice going on. He watched the entire two hour practice without getting a single bit of homework done. When the team landed and filed back into the locker room he gathered his things and went to meet them.

As they were walking back up to the castle Neil blurted, "you guys were doing great out there. If you play like that against Gryffindor you'll definitely win." All of this was said to his shoes.

Teddy grinned and said "thanks mate".

"And you've really improved Lee. You're just as good as the rest of the chasers for sure, if not better."

"Thanks Neil."

They walked the rest of the way to the library in silence. Once there they pulled out their homework and got straight to work. They worked hard for about ten minutes before breaking into discussion about quidditch. It was like Neil's compliments had broken through the recent barrier. It was good for their friendship, but bad for their studies. Teddy was extremely glad Hermione had already sent him a study schedule for this years exams.

The second week of April brought the final quidditch game of the year. Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff. Neil was the only Ravenclaw actually cheering for Hufflepuff. It was one thing to hope his team beat Hufflepuff (that was only natural), but to hope Gryffindor won (even if it meant his house could win the Quidditch Cup) was just mean. He sincerely hoped his best friends played well.

Harry, Ginny, James, Al, Andromeda, Bill, Victoire, Charlie, Percy, George, Angelina, Ron, Hermione, Molly and Arthur all came to watch Teddy in his final match of the season. Cho, Carl, and Mae were also there hoping to see Lee play.

As the match started everyone was excited. It was a slow game though because the teams were pretty evenly matched. When it came to games like this it really just came down to which Seeker saw the snitch first. Harry and Charlie knew this all too well from their time as seekers. Charlie ended up watching for the snitch more than he watched the actual game, but Harry made himself focus on Teddy. Ginny was in a right state as well, biting her nails, staring daggers at the chasers, pacing, muttering suggestions under her breath. George noticed this and decided to try to deflect the tension seeing as the game had only be going on for about 30 minutes so far.

"Seems kind of weird to be wearing yellow and cheering for Hufflepuff after all those years of hoping to beat them doesn't it?"

Ginny glanced at him before saying, "the day Teddy became a Hufflepuff we all became Hufflepuffs. When Fred and Roxanne get sorted you'll be cheering for whichever house they end up in too. Even if it's not Gryffindor."

"I know that's why we're doing it Gin, I was just saying it seems a bit odd is all. Especially since they're playing against Gryffindor. But mainly I was trying to make you calm down and stop looking like a crazy woman that talks to herself."

"Well, I would yell the suggestions to them if I thought they could hear me."

"You could always magnify your voice."

"McGonagall told me she would throw me out herself if she heard my voice being projected across the pitch shouting instructions," Ginny mumbled.

This of course caused George to burst into a fit of laughter. Ginny in turn glared at him and returned to her pacing.

The score went back and forth for two hours before the seekers ever made a move. Then suddenly the Gryffindor Seeker shot off after something. Charlie pointed the snitch out to Harry, to their dismay the kid seemed to have actually seen it. He was so focused on the snitch though that he didn't notice he was flying straight towards Hufflepuff Chaser Morgan Montgomery. She tried to swerve out of the way at the last second but it was too late. The two collided midair and while the seeker barely managed to stay on his broom, Morgan didn't. She had had possession of the quaffle and therefore didn't have both hands on her broom. This combined with the force of hitting the other player made her loose what little grip she had and she fell from her broom. Her teammates tried to catch her but none of them were close enough or fast enough. Thankfully Professor McGonagall was able to slow her down so much that it was like she was gently laid on the ground like a small child being put to bed. The Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors all landed around her and Professor McGonagall, Neville, and Madam Pomfrey rushed onto the pitch. After a few moments Madam Pomfrey was able to wake her and assess her injuries. She would be fine, but she could not play the rest of the game and needed to be taken to the hospital wing.

Things were not looking good for the Hufflepuffs, but in the chaos the snitch had zoomed off and neither seeker could see it. This also meant Lee was going to play the rest of the game. They got a 5 minute break to ready themselves and then they had to be back up in the air. It took the entire 5 minutes for Teddy to calm Lee down enough so he could actually get on his broom. Once they were in the air and playing though Lee really started to get into the game. After he scored his first goal his confidence soared, making him play so much better.

The game went on for another hour before the snitch reappeared. This time being seen first by the Hufflepuff Seeker, Ava Walsh. She shot off after it weaving through the other players like a pro. Harry and Charlie were impressed. Especially when she dove after the snitch that was now so low you could reach it while standing on the pitch. She managed to pull up just in the nick of time and grab the snitch all in one fluid movement. The crowd cheered and the team landed around her hugging and screaming. Professor McGonagall made her way onto the pitch to present the Quidditch Cup. Allison took it with a huge smile on her face and held it high in the air. Then the friends and families started to swarm them, pulling each member of the team into tight hugs and clapping them on their backs.

When Harry, Ginny and the rest of the family finally made it to Teddy he had already been congratulated what seemed like a hundred times. But that didn't make him any less happy to see his family. Harry was the first one to reach him and he wrapped Teddy into a bone-crushing hug, followed by a hug and kiss on his head from Ginny and then his Gran. The rest of the Weaslys hugged him or patted him on the back. Until Molly got to him anyways. She hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. As much as he thought it was embarrassing for people to see him getting kissed when he was just a few days shy of 13, he knew it was just something mums and grandmums did. And besides, when he looked around to see if anyone had seen he saw Lee's mum giving him a kiss Andrew Smith's mum kissing him. And if Andrew Smith, a 7th year, can be kissed by his mum in public then Teddy could handle getting kissed by Molly, Ginny, and his Gran.

When things started to finally die down the Weasleys started to leave. Molly and Arthur took James and Al with them since they were going to have to go pick Lily up when they left anyways. This left Harry, Ginny, and Andromeda to walk back up to the school with Teddy before he went to celebrate with his house. While they were walking Harry put his arm around Teddy and said, "Gin and I want to come up and see you next week on your birthday. Would you be okay with that?"

"Yeah, sure. When?"

Ginny looked his way, "well, we thought we could come up after your last class and stay through supper."

"Okay. Cool. You too Gran?"

"I thought I would if you didn't mind."

"Of course not."

They walked in silence for a few minutes before Teddy spoke again.

"So, does this mean you'll bring me a cake?"

The three adults laughed before Andromeda answered, "Of course Teddy. What kind do you want this year?"

"Hmm. How about chocolate with yellow icing?"

"I think I can handle that."

"Thanks Gran."

The rest of their walk was spent chatting about the game. When they got to the castle they decided to use the fireplace in the staff lounge to floo to the Burrow. They asked Minerva and she said yes of course. So they told Teddy again how proud they were of him and told him goodnight before going into the lounge. Teddy then went to his dormitory to join his team in celebrating their win.

A/N: I know its been a long time since I posted a new chapter. Sorry. I started a new job and it has taken me a while to get used to the new schedule. I'm hoping that now I'll be able to start posting regularly again though. Hope everyone likes the new chapter.