Chapter Eleven: Exuberance (Evolution)
Opening the homework diary that Ella had insisted he maintain meticulously, Teddy noticed, overjoyed- yet a little startled- that he had very little homework for the weekend. Instead of the usual slew of essays, assignments and tests, he only had a few worksheets to complete. He had been sure that he had potions homework- after all, Ella had run up to her dormitory after class to study the material that they'd just been tested on. Teddy had actually managed to get a higher mark than Ella- something she had congratulated him upon, but hadn't seemed too thrilled.
His amazement at his lack of homework must have shown on his face (or perhaps it was his hair that gave it away- it had turned a bright shade of orange) because Lucas approached him from the other side of the common room, grinning widely.
"It's 'cause it's Quidditch weekend," he said, slouching lightly against the wide, soft arm of the sofa Teddy was sitting on. "Teachers love Quidditch, and since it's the first match of the season, they like students to enjoy themselves without worrying too much about homework and tests and whatever."
"Thank Merlin," Teddy said, becoming conscious of his hair and changing it back to its' typical turquoise shade. A couple of older Hufflepuffs whistled from the corner, and he returned their attention with a grin. "I really need a break."
"Enjoy it while you can," Lucas rolled his eyes. "The workload will increase quite a bit just before the Christmas holidays."
"Great," Teddy groaned, his excitement levels reduced. "I can't wait."
"What can't you wait for?" Alfie said, joining Teddy on the soda. "The Quidditch match tomorrow? I'm so excited- I've never seen a real Quidditch match before. I saw a football match once- my dad took me- but it was boring."
"Quidditch is great," Teddy told him. "A little overwhelming, but fantastic. You're really going to enjoy yourself."
"I hope so!" Alfie turned to Lucas. "Will you be playing tomorrow, Lucas?"
"Nah," Lucas waved his hand dismissively. "Tomorrow's Gryffindor versus Slytherin. We're playing Ravenclaw in another two weeks." His brow furrowed in worry. "They're a really good team. Macey's been pushing us like crazy- the number of practice sessions we've had is mad."
"How's Bella doing?" Alfie asked innocently. Teddy rolled his eyes- Alfie really did have a crush on Bella, even though Teddy was pretty sure he was aware that their hypothetical 'relationship' wasn't going to go anywhere. Especially since he accidentally walked in on Bella kissing Carlton Jung, another Hufflepuff fifth-year, a few days earlier. He hadn't had the heart to tell Alfie yet.
"Fine," Lucas shrugged. "She's a fabulous Seeker- catches the snitch super fast. I bet she could go pro in a few years, if she really wanted to. Gosh, I would love to play pro Quidditch for a few years, you know, tour the world and the country and everything. Travelling and seeing places…man that would be fantastic! But I'm probably not good enough."
"I'm sure you are," Teddy said graciously, although in all honesty, he'd never actually seen Lucas play and hence couldn't really pass an accurate judgment. But the accuracy of his affirmation didn't seem to matter to him; Teddy had an instinct to reassure, to make sure people felt good about themselves and their situation. He was sure that this was one of the qualities that had landed him in Hufflepuff, and he was incredibly proud of it. After all, he would rather help people feel comfortable than make them feel out of place, like Terence Gates so often did.
Terence had found out about Teddy's incident with the Quidditch post, and had taunted him about his clumsiness and apparent lack of skills on a broom ever since- shouting rude names at him every time he saw Teddy in the corridors. He'd somehow even managed to bribe the school poltergeist, Peeves, into dropping things on Teddy's head- a job Peeves took to gleefully.
Teddy had written to his godfather about Terence, asking him for advice on how to act. He hadn't dared write to his gran, who would probably fly to Hogwarts immediately and yell at Terence, or find some way of contacting his parents. Although he loved Andromeda, she had -what he had heard was- the typical temper of a Black- no matter how far she tried to distance herself from her roots.
He'd received Harry's reply that , he'd had trouble in school with a Draco Malfoy, who Teddy remembered meeting briefly at a Christmas party once. It was a similar, yet much worse situation, and Teddy couldn't help but marvel over the idea that Harry was now friendly with someone who'd once been his arch-nemesis. He wondered if one day, he'd be friends with Terence. The idea seemed strange to him, but he supposed that it could happen. Although it would be as unlikely as Ella and Daisy becoming best friends.
Sunday morning came, and Hogwarts was buzzing- more so than usual. The Great Hall was filled with students making bets on who the winning team would be, deciding which team to support and just generally gearing up for the first Quidditch game of the season.
The excitement hadn't escaped the teachers either. Teddy noticed that Professor Longbottom and Professor Slughorn were sitting at opposite ends of the long staff table, wearing bright robes mirroring the hue of their own respective houses. Professor McGonagall too had exchanged her usual black and olive robes for scarlet ones.
Ella noticed this too. "Shouldn't Professor McGongall be neutral?" she inquired, thoughtfully, pushing her glasses up her nose as she pulled out a chair at the first-year table. "I mean, she is the Headmistress."
"Nah," Teddy said dismissively. "My godfather told me- she was a Gryffindor, back when she was at Hogwarts. Apparently, she played for the Quidditch team, and in her final year, suffered quite a nasty fall. I can't really remember the details- but I'm pretty sure she broke a couple bones. Anyway, it was due to a Slytherin foul, so ever since then, she's had this raging desire to make sure they're crushed on the playing field."
Alfie stretched his face and nodded, interested. "That's pretty awesome. Is your grandfather friends with Professor McGonagall?"
"Godfather," Teddy corrected. "And no- she was his head of house when he was at Hogwarts. He was in Gryffindor." Teddy had noticed that he'd become a lot more open with information regarding his background. He didn't keep everything locked up anymore, every little fact guarded like a precious jewel. Of course, he didn't want to divulge everything just yet, but Ella's positive reaction had given him more confidence.
"Professor McGongall was head of Gryffindor before Professor Longbottom?" Alfie asked, reaching for an apple. "Wow, that's a change."
Teddy chuckled. "Yeah, I suppose it is."
"Hey- you three!" Michael Goshawk leaned over the table and waved at Teddy, Ella and Alfie. He was wearing a bright green hat, and several Slytherin scarves. "Aren't you excited? Who're you supporting?" He gave them a knowing wink, as if to suggest that they must be supporting Slytherin. Teddy hesitated slightly- he'd been thinking of supporting Gryffindor. After all, his father had been one. But then again, his grandmother had been a Slytherin- she would certainly be quite hurt if he didn't cheer for her team.
Screwing up his nose, Teddy morphed his hair so that it was coloured with long stripes of green and red. "I'm supporting both teams," he grinned back at Michael.
Michael raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure that's cheating Teddy," he said, earnestly. "You've got to choose one."
"Just say Slytherin," Alfie muttered in Teddy's ear. "It doesn't really matter if you want to or not. Plus, your hair looks like Christmas right now- not really a good look for you."
Teddy crinkled his nose again, and changed his hair to a deep emerald. He wished there was a mirror around; green had never been his best colour, and every time he decided to give it a try, he always had to make sure it was exactly the right shade. Ella, however, seemed to like how it looked, and gave him a thumbs up. "I guess I'll support Slytherin then," Teddy smiled at Michael. At least gran'll be happy.
"Oh brilliant," Michael beamed. "You two'll be supporting us too, then?"
Alfie nodded, while Ella looked a little miffed. "It might just be the wording of that statement, Michael," she said haughtily. "But are you implying that we're reliant on Teddy to determine what we do?" She raised a single eyebrow questioningly, and inclined her head to the side, all the while maintaining a fierce expression on her face.
"I wasn't implying that at all Ella," Michael replied diplomatically. "I'm sorry if you felt that way."
Ella nodded steadfastly. "Thank you for your apology."
Alfie rolled his eyes at Teddy. Lately, Ella had been a little touchier than normal. Teddy wondered if it had something to do with the fact that he'd recently gotten a higher mark than her at a potions quiz, but he didn't think it was. After all, it was just one, measly potions quiz. It couldn't possibly mean that much to Ella, could it? She certainly hadn't mentioned it to him if it did.
Still, as they began to move out of the Great Hall and towards the Quidditch pitch, Teddy noticed Ella's potions textbook sticking out of the shoulder bag she was carrying. It had several sheets of paper stuck in it and was filled with bookmarks, as if she'd been studying it intensively. He tried to dismiss it- after all, Ella was always concerned about her studies. It was only natural that she'd carry her books around everywhere she went.
Or so he hoped.
Thanks to the tales of Hogwarts that he'd heard from his family, Teddy was under the impression that during Quidditch matches, students were expected to sit with the other members of their houses. Apparently, this was not the case anymore. Thinking about it, he realized that he should have probably seen it coming; the Hogwarts he attended was, in certain ways, very different to the Hogwarts that his grandmother and godfather had known. No longer were students segregated according to house- instead, they were encouraged to mingle with one another and accept one another. What good, after all, was a society that refused to embrace difference?
Michael, Teddy, Alfie and Ella clambered up a watchtower that was robed in the Slytherin green and silver. They managed to get pretty good seats, right at the front, perfect for catching all the action. Teddy had been sure that the senior students would have grabbed those positions for themselves, but instead, the Ravenclaw and Slytherin sixth-years who had been occupying the forward seats had graciously moved further back to make room for the first years. When Teddy had thanked them, they'd waved off his apology.
"It's nothing," a Ravenclaw girl said. "It's kind of an unofficial Hogwarts tradition. We've seen tons of inter-house matches, so it's alright if for one of them, we don't get great seats. This is your first match. It's special. You guys deserve the best view possible."
"That's so logical," Ella said, nodding her head slowly. Teddy and Alfie shot her look. "And so…kind of you! Thank you very much," she smiled.
"Isn't Terence going to be sitting with you too?" Alfie asked innocently, as they shuffled into the row. Teddy groaned inwardly- he should remembered that Michael and Terence were close friends. The last thing he wanted was to sit with Terence Gates and listen to his idiotic jabs all through his first Quidditch match.
Hence, he was incredibly relieved when Michael shook his head. "Nah, Terence isn't joining us," he replied, a hint of dejection in his voice. "He…um…isn't really talking to me right now."
Good for you, Teddy thought.
"He, um, doesn't want to be around me during the match. You know, because I'm in Slytherin and he's a Gryffindor, and he gets a little…well…competitive."
Imagine that.
"Oh, that's…unfortunate," Ella said, trying her best to look sympathetic. Teddy noticed that she wasn't exactly the best actress around.
"I don't think it's that unfortunate," a quiet voice came from behind them. Michael whipped around.
"Mat? What are you doing here?"
"I thought I'd come sit with you," Matilda looked a little hurt at Michael's outburst. Teddy waved at her, smiling, trying to lift her mood. Instead, Daisy Shipkins, who was standing next to her, waved back, smiling. "Is that a problem?"
"No, no of course not," Michael mumbled. "Please, sit."
Daisy and Matilda took seats behind them. "I suppose you're supporting Slytherin then," Matilda said.
"Yeah," Alfie replied. "Are you?"
Daisy snorted. "I'll support anyone who I think can beat Hufflepuff, when they finally get around to playing."
"Sorry?" Teddy was sure he'd heard her wrong. "Did you just say you'll support anyone who can beat Hufflepuff?"
"Yeah," Daisy nodded, looking completely and utterly unaffected. "Why, is there a problem?" She looked innocently at everyone's shocked faces.
"You're in Hufflepuff," Ella said bluntly.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I have to like our Quidditch team, Anderson," Daisy snapped back. "Honestly, they're losers, all of them. I bet we're not going to win a single match."
"She wouldn't be saying that if her sister was on the team," Alfie whispered to Teddy, who nodded in agreement.
"Sorry?" Daisy asked sharply.
"Er, nothing," Alfie stuttered. "I was…um…just saying to Teddy here how…um…unfortunate it is that your…er…sister didn't…um…make the team. You…um…know we were all rooting for her. Yeah!" he laughed shakily.
Daisy smiled. "Yes, it was awfully unfortunate. But that Macey Longstone is supposed to be awfully biased anyway. She'll learn her lesson when we fail."
Ella opened her mouth to say something, but Teddy placed a hand on her arm. "There's no point in arguing," he told her, a little louder than he had intended.
"Yes, Anderson, listen to Teddy," Daisy said smugly.
Ella shot Teddy a look, and took a deep breath in. "Let's all sit and watch the match, shall we? Look, it's starting."
Sure enough, the match commentator- a fourth-year Hufflepuff named Melanie Swan- had picked up the loud speaker and was excitedly shouting the names of the players as they swished out into the air, streaks of scarlet and emerald. Teddy cheered along with everyone.
The action began as soon as Madame Hooch threw the Quaffle up into the air and blew her whistle loudly, the shrill sound filling the wide, empty air. Immediately, the Gryffindor and Slytherin Chasers lunged for the brick red ball. It went from person to person, flying through the air so fast that Teddy could barely keep up. Within twenty seconds, Slytherin had scored the first ten points.
The Slytherin Chasers worked with such nimbleness and teamwork that the Gryffindor Keeper just couldn't keep up. However, splendid play by the Gryffindor Beaters managed to keep them in the game. Alfie was shocked when he saw one of the Slytherins tumble to the ground after being knocked off his broom by a Bludger. "That can't be allowed! Foul! Foul!"
"It's not a foul Alfie," Ella replied calmly. "That's allowed in Quidditch."
"You can just casually knock someone off their broom?"
"Yup," Teddy said, patting Alfie on the back reassuringly. "Happens all the time. Although usually, your team's Beaters are around to prevent it from occurring. They'll send the Bludger straight back to the opposing team."
"Don't people break bones though?" Alfie said, still looking horribly shocked.
"Yeah," Ella said. "But it's a lot easier to repair broken bones in the Wizarding World than it is in the Muggle world."
"Why don't they share their remedies?"
Ella snorted. "Oh yes, that would go down well."
"Shush you guys," Michael said emphatically. "Look- Gryffindor's scored. Oh no! They're catching up!"
Sure enough, Gryffindor had managed to drive the Quaffle through the Slytherin hoops. The score now stood at 40 to Gryffindor and 50 to Slytherin.
"I hope they don't win," Michael mumbled. "Terence'll never shut up about it."
Teddy rolled his eyes. Terence seemed like the type who would gloat about anything and everything, the type who would desperately attempt to find some way to exert his superiority. His thoughts drifted back to the trophy room, to the elegant golden cup with Edward Gates engraved upon its' shiny surface. He wondered why Terence had been so ashamed, had shut up so quickly instead of gloating about how a member of his family had been given an award for Special Services to Hogwarts.
He noticed Kayla Gates sitting in a nearby tower with some other third-year girls. He watched her as she laughed and joked with them, applauding excitedly and cheering loudly every time the Slytherins scored a goal or nearly knocked someone off their broom. She seemed so different to Terence, who never seemed to smile genuinely, or laugh with his friends. Come to think of it, Teddy rarely saw Terence with anyone other than Michael. He seemed to keep to himself, while exerting his presence; an oxymoronic situation that Teddy just couldn't figure out.
Terence Gates was a mystery to him. While he wanted to find out more, he also wanted to leave it alone. After all, there really was no point- was there? Terence just hated him- it was the way things were, and Teddy was pretty sure that there was no changing that. He'd tried to make friends, but Terence hadn't been willing. He should just forget all about him.
He was brought back to reality, out of the misty world of his thoughts, when the Slytherin Seeker suddenly took a steep dive, the Gryffindor Seeker in hot pursuit. "They've seen the Snitch!" Melanie shouted above the roaring of the crowd. Teddy craned his neck to see the action- the Slytherin Seeker was now stretching out his right hand, while using his left to dodge the Gryffindor Seeker. Slowly, his fingers encapsulated what was no more than a blur of golden light to Teddy.
The crowd erupted.
"The snitch has been caught!" Melanie yelled. "Slytherin wins!"
It looked as if Michael had gotten his wish after all.
The next Thursday found Teddy lying on a sofa in the common room, completing an astronomy worksheet. Alfie and Ella had offered to help Professor Slughorn with sorting out the ingredients in the potions cupboard, and were busy lifting cans of frogs legs and other odd substances, leaving him alone in the common room. He wished that they weren't caught up- he was having trouble with some of the calculations.
"Need help?" Teddy looked up to see a smiling Ralph Lewis above him, holding a book. "You look a little bewildered."
Although his first instinct was to be wary, Teddy ignored it. It had been a while since he'd last caught Ralph staring at him from across the room, and had been a good three weeks since the odd encounter at Slughorn's party. Here he was, offering his help, and Teddy really did need it. "Yeah," he sat up, swinging his legs off the sofa, and shuffling over to make room for Ralph. "Yeah, if you don't mind. Astronomy homework. I'm having a little trouble making calculations for where Aries will be located next month."
"Not an issue," Ralph sat down next to him and peered over at the worksheet. "Wow, this is some advanced stuff. I don't think Sinsitra did this with us when we were first-years."
"New curriculum," Teddy replied simply.
"Oh yeah, I'd heard they'd made some changes. Didn't think they could do that much to astronomy though," Ralph smiled.
"Apparently, they can," Teddy laughed. "I'm dreading the exam- I used to love astronomy, until it became difficult."
"The practical's not that bad- hey, do you have a quill?" Teddy handed Ralph his eagle feather. "Thanks. Anyway, the practical's not bad- as long as you're one of those people who can work at night. The theory's a little harder, but it should be okay."
"I hope so," Teddy mumbled.
"Nah, you'll be fine," Ralph reassured him. "Plus, if you're really stuck the night before, you could always just morph into one of the teachers and go check out the papers."
Teddy's eyes widened in shock. "I…I would never do that. I mean, I probably could, but I never would."
Ralph chuckled. "Of course you wouldn't. I'm not promoting it either- I'd never do it. I'm just saying that you could if you wanted to, yeah?"
"Yeah," Teddy said, a little uncomfortably. "I guess."
"How does that work anyway?" Ralph asked, scribbling something on Teddy's paper. "Oh- you need to evaluate the position of the sun and moon first- that'll help you understand where the stars should be."
"How does what work? The morphing?"
"Yeah- is it like polyjuice potion? You know, the potion where you can transform into another person for an hour or so."
"Kind of," Teddy replied tentatively. "Not exactly though. You can transform into another person, and for longer periods than an hour, but you need to know what they look like and recall their appearance from memory."
"So if I asked you to transform into me right now, would you be able to?"
Teddy looked at Ralph's face. He had slightly floppy blonde hair, bright, yet small green eyes, a thin, tall nose with a pointed end and thin lips. His cheekbones were clearly defined- his pale skin pulled over them like a blanket. Teddy scrunched up his nose and felt his features morph into new ones. It felt as if he was a long stick of modeling clay, as if a child was rolling him out and pushing him back together.
"How's that?" he said when he was done. He couldn't tell exactly how he looked without a mirror, but from the shock and amazement on Ralph's face, he could surmise that he'd done a pretty okay job.
"Yeah," Ralph managed, the quill hanging loosely from his fingers. "Yeah, that's pretty impressive alright."
Teddy shook the features back to his own. "I'm getting better- I could never control it properly when I was a kid. I still can't really control my hair- but I'm getting there."
"I'd say you're doing quite well," Ralph said graciously. "Man, what I wouldn't give to be able to do all of that. It'd be fantastic- you could go pretty much anywhere you want and no one'd ever know it's you."
"Some people can still recognize me though," Teddy admitted. "My gran's always been able to tell that it's me, even if I'm morphed. I tried it once- I was staying at my best friend's place over the summer, and I morphed into her dad. I went downstairs and I didn't even open my mouth, but my gran knew it was me."
Ralph's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Can anyone here recognize you even when you're morphed?"
Teddy shook his head. "I don't think so, but I'm not sure. I haven't really done a full-on morph here." He was lying of course- but he wasn't about to admit to Ralph that he once wandered around the school at night resembling Professor Longbottom. Especially since it might dredge up memories of Ralph's little midnight visit to the Restricted Section of the library- something Teddy was curious about, but didn't want to ask about. He didn't see any way he'd be able to integrate that into a conversation. Hi Ralph, how are you? By the way, why were you in the restricted section about a month ago at midnight? Anyway, see you in the common room later! Bye!
Yeah, that wouldn't go down very well. His curiosity would have to be left unsatisfied. He'd have to satiate himself with solving his astronomy worksheet for now.
"Are you sure he doesn't mind us coming?" Ella asked for the thousandth time as they made their way across the paved Hogwarts courtyard on an unusually warm Friday afternoon after classes.
"I'm sure Ella," Teddy said, a little irritated at having to repeat himself so many times. "Hagrid said I could bring friends, so I'm bringing you and Alfie. He'll be fine with it."
"That's very nice of him," Ella beamed. "After all, we don't really know him."
"He's lovely," Teddy assured her.
"He's the big giant guy who met us at the platform, yeah?" Alfie confirmed.
Teddy nodded. "But don't call him a giant- he doesn't like it."
"I thought you said he was half-giant."
"Yeah, but the Wizarding World has a little bit of a stigma against giants. Best you don't bring up his heritage. Also, I hope you guys aren't scared of dogs."
"I love dogs!" Ella exclaimed at the same time that Alfie said, "it depends on how big they are."
Teddy laughed. "Fang's quite big, but he's a sweetheart, I promise."
"Fang!?" Alfie looked terrified. "The dog's name is Fang!?"
They approached Hagrid's little thatched hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Teddy noticed Alfie casting cautious looks in the direction of the Forest- he still wasn't quite over the incident in which he'd found himself lost on a broom above the sprawling expanse.
Teddy rapped on the wooden door to the hut. It flung open almost immediately.
"Teddy! Good teh see yeh, good teh see yeh," the large man clapped Teddy on the back forcefully. Teddy struggled to retain his balance, clutching onto Hagrid's arm to prevent himself from falling over.
"Great to see you too, Hagrid!" he said. "Thanks for inviting us for tea!"
"Not a problem, not a' all!" Hagrid replied in his deep, gruff and yet incredibly warm voice. "These'd be yer frien's then, eh Teddy?"
"Pleased to meet you again, Professor Hagrid," Ella held out her hand politely. "I'm Ella Anderson."
"Lovely teh meet yeh," Hagrid returned Ella's handshake with much vigour. "An' please, call me Hagrid."
"I'm Alfie," Alfie said, a little shakily, waving awkwardly.
"Nice teh meet yeh then Alfie," Hagrid replied, grinning. "Well, come in then! All of yeh! Don' min' Fang- he won't hur' a soul, he won'. Now let me find yeh summat teh eat and pu' the kettle on. Make yerselfs comfortable!" He gestured to a wooden table with four rickety chairs. Teddy, Alfie and Ella sat down.
"Is there anything I can do to help Hagrid?" Ella asked. Teddy immediately felt bad- Andromeda always urged him to ask if there was anything he could do to help when he visited other people's houses.
"Oh no, don' yeh worry yerself Ella, I'll be fine, jus' fine," he replied amiably. "Thank yeh fer asking though."
Alfie was regarding Fang with explicit apprehension. "N-nice doggie," he stuttered as the large boarhound gazed up at him.
"Oh stop being so silly Alfie," Teddy dismissed him. "Fang! Come here boy!" The dog plodded over to Teddy and put his head on his lap. Teddy stroked his short, coarse fur absentmindedly.
"Fang really likes yeh Teddy," Hagrid handed out steaming mugs of light tea. "I haven' seen 'im take so well teh someone tha' isn' me fer a while now."
"He's absolutely adorable," Ella said, watching Fang. "Where did you get him, Hagrid?"
"I've 'ad 'im fer a while now," Hagrid said proudly. "Foun' 'im as a puppy, lost in the Forbidden Forest. Scared as a mouse, Fang was, so I rescued 'im, like any decen' person would do. He's bin livin' here ever since."
"I've always wanted to adopt a dog," Ella said, a little sadly. "But my parents would never let me. Too much fur on the carpets, they said." She took a sip of her tea.
Teddy clasped the mug in his hands, the warmth filling every crevice of his body. He took a tiny sip- it was awfully hot and almost burned his throat. He was incredibly surprised when Hagrid took a large gulp of his own tea, amazed that he was able to escape a serious burn.
Hagrid surprised them with a large chocolate cake with a thick layer of messy frosting. "Baked it meself," he said as he cut it up, heaping generous slices of the cake onto Alfie, Ella and Teddy's plates. Teddy was amazed to see Ella devour the pastry- she usually ate light, healthy food and very rarely took to the sugary fare that he and Alfie loved.
"It's amazing, Hagrid," Alfie said, taking a bite. "You ought to teach the House Elves how to make this!" Teddy agreed- the cake was soft and airy (a huge contrast to the rock cakes he'd bitten into the first time he'd visited Hagrid during the full moon), and the icing had just the right consistency and level of sweetness.
Hagrid blushed. "Thank yeh Alfie, means a lot." He sat down next to Teddy and took a large slice of cake for himself. "Yer godfather used teh bring his friends here all the time," he told Teddy. "I'd be glad teh get teh know yours." He smiled at Alfie and Ella who smiled back.
"Well," Teddy said. "I'll let them introduce themselves."
They had only intended to stay for about an hour. But by the time they found themselves walking out of Hagrid's hut, it was already seven PM and they were expected in the Great Hall for dinner- even though Teddy felt as if he couldn't eat another bite, he was so stuffed.
Ella was muttering something about homework that she had to finish and Alfie was holding his stomach, moaning about how he'd eaten too much chocolate cake. But all of them agreed- there was no doubt in their minds that it had been a wonderful evening.
A/N: A bit of a filler chapter really, but I do hope you guys enjoyed it! Again, it was written quite quickly and there may be a few grammatical/formatting errors, so please- if you find any, don't hesitate to message me informing me! I'll make sure to fix them right away.
Anyway, a big HELLO to all my new readers and thank you so much! I'm so amazed at the response that this story has gotten & seeing all your favourites, follows and reviews always makes my day! Also, if you have any questions about anything- from the meanings of chapter titles, to characterization, to little confusing bits about plot points, please please please either pop them in a review or message me! I'll get back to you ASAP (: Also a question from me to you- would you find it helpful if I included dates at the beginning of each chapter, so you can figure out exactly when everything is happening? xx
