Note: I estimate that there will be around 3 more chapters until I finish this fic! I am now free from college! So updates should come nice a quickly!
Here is a twist that randomly popped into my head. Please don't hate me for it until the next chapter!
Thank you so much to my reviewers, you really do make my day!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor am I making any profit from this piece of writing.
11: I Love You
"Promise you'll owl me!"
"'Course I will, love."
"Every day!"
"Yep, every day, I promise!"
Teddy gave his mother one last firm hug before she gave him a firm push in the direction of the door, where Harry stood waiting for him.
"Go on, if you leave Harry waiting much longer he'll be late for work." Tonks warned, shooting Harry a grateful look over the top of Teddy's head.
"Bye Mum!" Teddy called as he followed Harry out into the front garden.
Harry wished Tonks a good holiday. Teddy did nothing of the sort.
"I know why you're here." the boy told the black haired Auror darkly once the door had been closed behind them. "It's so Mum doesn't have to show up at Dad's house and be really awkward around him."
As they rounded the corner, Harry shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his robes.
"That's daft, Teddy," he assured his godson warily. "I fancied popping over to see your dad, that's all. I've not seen him for a while now."
"No, that's daft, Harry. If you wanted to go see my dad you would do it some time when you aren't supposed to be at the Ministry. Not today."
Harry audibly sighed.
"Look, Teddy," he said as they came to a halt at the apparation point. "Why don't you just focus on having a really great week with your dad? Just think, all the time you'll have to...ask questions, or go out places or just be together. That's going to be pretty cool, isn't it? Forget what happened the other day, just be glad your mum's going to have a nice week and so are you. Okay?"
Reluctantly, Teddy nodded his head, eyes upon his shoes. And with that Harry grasped hold of his arm and they disappeared with a crack.
When Remus opened the door to them some minutes later, he appeared to be midway through a conversation and gestured for them to come in with a vague hand gesture.
"I told Glenn all about it last week." he was saying, as Teddy and Harry shuffled through the doorway. "In fact I owled him. Twice."
"Yeah..." a female voice said, and Teddy looked up to see a woman sat upon the sofa. "But I don't think he gives a damn."
As Remus muttered irritably under his breath, the woman sat up a little straighter in her chair. She had long, dark hair and a pale, somewhat sickly complexion, heavy-lidded eyes watching the werewolf as he began to pace up and down the room.
"He says you're on a warning already." she said, carefully polished fingernails tapping upon her knee absentmindedly. "I reckon he's just mad he had to cover the day of your trial. Anyway, he says he'll let you have four days, no more."
"He said a week was fine."
"He lied." The woman gave an apologetic shrug. "Sorry, Remus. What can I say? Our boss is a bastard." Her eyes came to rest upon the newcomers, and she looked more apologetic still.
Remus paused in his pacing to offer her a pleading look.
"Maggie..." he began, only for her to shake her head vigorously.
"Don't even think about it!" she told him, pulling a face when he continued nevertheless.
"Will you cover for me? Just for three days?"
"Just for three days?! That's ages, Remus!"
"I covered two of your shifts last week."
"Yes but...but three days in a row....?!"
"I'll make it worth your while."
Maggie halted in her complaining, a amused smile touching her lips.
"Will you now?" she said, getting to her feet and eying him disbelievingly. "And what could you possible do that would make three days stuck in an office with Glenn worth my while?"
Remus' brow creased as he attempted to come up with an impressive answer.
"Ha!" Maggie cried, stride forward so that she could point an accusing finger at him. "You don't know!"
"You can pick." he decided quickly, and Teddy frowned at the grin that spread across Maggie's face as she leant towards him and warned:
"You're going to regret that!" And with that she practically skipped over the the sofa and snatched up her handbag. Teddy watched her reach inside and draw out an odd looking little box, holding it out for Remus to see triumphantly.
"You know what this is, don't you?" she said, grinning broadly.
As Remus sighed heavily, Teddy offered Harry a questioning look and the Auror supplied:
"That's a muggle camera."
"Go on then!" Maggie demanded, pressing a button and causing the camera to make a strange whirring noise. A little green light appeared on top of it. "You know what to do!"
"We're not going over this again." Remus told her stubbornly, folding his arms firmly across his chest.
"Yes we are!" Maggie insisted, brandishing the camera in an almost threatening manner. "I've got fifty galleons riding on this bet, if I win that's over a hundred galleons in my pocket! Now go on!"
"Have you ever considered the possibility that you might lose?" Remus asked her, but she waved an impatient hand at him.
"Just do it!"
"If I do...you'll cover my shifts?"
"Yep! So go on, show me the bite! Fifty galleons says it's bigger than mine and Glenn's!"
There was a sizable pause as Remus considered her proposal, before reaching to grasp the hem of his jumper and pull it up over his head.
"Do you have any idea how childish this is?" he asked, voice muffled by the material as he pulled the garment off.
"If I win, we can go out for dinner." Maggie offered, only to let out a loud whistle of surprise. "That's a winner!" she declared excitedly, rushing forward to get a closer look. "That's a winner, right there!"
Teddy simply stared. The flesh upon Remus' right set of ribs was stained a fragile, withered pink, framing a deep, angry looking scar that looked hideously like a set of fang marks. As Maggie set about snapping photographs on the muggle contraption, the boy felt his stomach clench uncomfortably.
After a brief moment Remus hastily pulled the jumper firmly back on, only for the witch to let out a odd squeal of excitement.
"Yes!" she cried, launching herself at him and throwing her arms around his neck. "You've just won me a load of gold! Do you have any idea how good it's going to be to see the look on Glenn's face? Oh I love you!"
"I was supposed to be at work five minutes ago." Remus reminded her, rolling his eyes as she pressed a firm kiss to his cheek, grip upon him iron-like. "So hurry up, Mags, or Glenn might just sack me."
"I mean it, I actually love you, Remus, you're utterly amazing..."
"I'm not utterly amazing, I'm just horribly scarred. Now for the love of Merlin, go to work!"
She offered him one last fleeting grin before releasing him and practically skipping to the door, pausing as she pulled it open, her expression suddenly sobering.
"I'm being serious, you know." she called back, reaching to brush the hair from her eyes. "You really are amazing, and I really do love you."
"I'd say the same to you," Remus told her, eyebrow raised. "Except I might just love you far less and think you are far from amazing if you manage to lose me my job."
"Alright, I'm going!" Maggie cried, grinning once again, and with that she hurried out the door, letting it swing shut behind her.
Teddy was only vaguely aware of his father finally offering him and Harry a proper greeting, the boy shuffled forward to take Maggie's place upon the sofa.
What in Merlin's name, he thought numbly, had just happened? Who was Maggie? Remus had never mention her before, and what the bloody hell had they been talking about? I love you...?
Harry hadn't seemed very surprised by the whole scene. Did he know all about this...secret relationship? Or was it even secret if Remus had allowed them to just walk in as he had done? What had happened to careful introductions, too, like the time he had met Tom for the first time?
I LOVE you....?!
Since when?! And how?! It had been a mere week since Remus had admitted that he still loved Tonks. Had he changed his mind? In just a week?
As both Remus and Harry wandered into the kitchen, chatting about something that Teddy could not even seem to hear from being so absorbed by his thoughts, the boy felt a sudden fierce urge to burst into tears.
