Okay, I'm sorry! I tried, I really did, but I couldn't wait to get this chapter out, especially as its so linked to the last one! FireFlysandBrokenDreams, after I read your review and I had this right here, I decided I had to post!

Chapter Twenty

I vaguely notice my hair being pushed back from my face, and a voice calling my name. A thud which sounds almost like a car door being closed almost rouses me and then nothing before I feel cold air on my arms and attempt to shift back into the warmth I felt a moment before.

Something warm and hard wraps around me under the shoulders and behind the knees, and then I'm weightless. I struggle slightly against it until a gentle voice shushes me and I'm out again.

I wake up on a sofa. Not one I recognise, but one which is more comfortable than any I've laid on before, even than those at Hogwarts. Moving my body slightly, the feeling of a warm blanket over me and the fact that tall as I am, I don't reach the end of the sofa with my feet registers in my mind.

My senses return slowly, and I realise I'm warm and there's a fire in the grate crackling softly. Sitting up, I can smell something delicious coming from another room, along with singing.

Really amazing singing. I decide to follow the voice and the smell, and make my way slowly through the long darkened hallway and into the bright room ahead.

As I get closer, I can see it's dark outside as well as in, and Teddy is singing to himself whilst stirring something on the hob. Leaning against the door frame, I'm unwilling to have him stop as I gaze around the room.

Albus wasn't exaggerating when he told us that Teddy's house is amazing. The kitchen is more than large enough to house a large heavy oak table in the middle able to seat ten easily. There are floor to ceiling cupboards on the right, and the left wall holds the large range and additional storage. It looks like the more lived in section of the room, with four stools against the island behind where Teddy is standing.

The flagstone floor blends in with the oak cabinets, shiny appliances and deep butler sink which matches the walls and ceilings, a soft white. Not stark, but not cream either, just a calm white. The counters look like they're a dark granite and the only splashes of bright colour comes from the plates and mugs set out on the island, which are blue and purple.

It looks like a complete blend of old and new, and seems to fit him to a T.

As I lean my head against the door as well, I notice that Teddy is wearing a thick dark blue jumper now which still seems to mould itself to him, with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows.

I'm taking in the windows opposite which hold more seating in the form of a long oak bench to match the table and the Welsh dresser placed against the wall beside it, when the singing comes to an abrupt end, and I almost blush when I look back over to him to see Teddy looking at me from his position by the oven.

'Just in time, I was going to come try to wake you up for dinner,' he says, seeming completely at ease with his surroundings.

'Sorry,' I mumble, almost too quietly to be heard in the large room.

'For what?' he asks, moving a saucepan over to the island before grabbing a tea towel and leaning over to open the oven.

'Sleeping?' I reply, wincing slightly at the gravel like tone to my voice.

Teddy just laughs as he places an oven dish on the rack next to the saucepan.

'You do realise how ridiculous it is to apologise for something so normal right?' he asks as I shuffle forward, not quite sure what to do with myself.

'What time is it?' Teddy glances up at the wall behind me and I turn, seeing the large clock surrounded by pictures of his family and friends.

'About six thirty, you were only asleep for about three hours in all,' he tells me, smiling over the counter and gesturing to the seat opposite him with the purple plate and mug in front. 'Tea?'

'I'd love some, thank you,' at this he picks up a kettle I hadn't noticed from the side and goes to fill it with water in the sink.

'Anyway, it's good you slept...' he says hesitantly, pursing his lips slightly and frowning before he sighs and pops the kettle back to boil.

'What d'you mean?'

Teddy looks like he doesn't want to reply for a moment before he wipes a hand across his forehead and rubs his temples with his thumb and forefinger, taking a deep breath.

'There was an owl waiting for me when we got in... From Lily.' he says gently, dropping his hand. A feeling of dread passes through me.

'What... Um... What did she say?'

'She told me that she was staying from Friday afternoon evening to Sunday, and then...' he pauses for a moment before sighing. 'Am, she told me about what happened the other morning with Dominique.'

There's silence in the kitchen for a few moments as he looks at me and I try to avoid his gaze by fiddling with my knife and fork. The kettle makes me jump when it clicks off, and he almost goes to speak before sighing again and turning to grab it. He summons the teabags, sugar, and milk, pouring the water in with the teabags first before adding the rest.

'Yeah...' I begin, half smiling awkwardly when he slides my tea over with the sugar and a spoon. I add some and continue as I'm stirring. 'yeah, it was... It was nothing. Just a dorm prank.' it doesn't even sound believable to my own ears.

'Throwing someone down the stairs at six in the morning isn't a prank Am.'

I'm silent as he takes the plate from in front of me and the blue one beside it, and begins to use a fish slice to pick up sections of what I can now see is either cottage or shepherd's pie. He adds some vegetables from the pot beside it and places both plates back.

'It was nothing, really.' I say in a small voice, picking up my fork and prodding the crispy top layer of potato from the pie.

'She also told me about the lies she's been spreading about you, the same ones which managed to make it into the Daily Prophet. And added to the suspect stay in the Hospital Wing...' There's a slightly bitter edge to his tone as he says this. 'It was her, wasn't it?'

I don't reply, taking a bite and savouring the deliciousness that floods my taste buds. Ginny wasn't exaggerating about his cooking skills either.

'Amelie, I can't do anything to help if you don't let me.' Teddy settles onto his stool with a resigned tone to his voice now.

'I know.' I say, abandoning my attempt at deflecting. 'But what can you do? What can anyone do? She doesn't like me, and that's that. She never has, and she never will. I accepted that fact a long time ago, and I've only got a year and a half left to go, then I can ignore her forever.' I say quietly, pulling my mug towards me and warming my hands on it.

'Apart from family gatherings. Or your wedding which she was going to probably be invited to, or to parties, or on any occasion when you're both... Merlin. Okay, Amelie, there's no way you can avoid her forever!' Teddy sounds frustrated, and when I look at him, he's not touched his food, and he's running a hand through his hair.

'I know, okay? I know, but... Teddy, what am I meant to do? I don't know what I'm meant to do okay? Please don't make this into an argument...' I trail off, my eyes returning to the tea in front of me as they begin to blur with unshed tears. I can hear a sigh beside me, and then his stool scraping the floor as he moves it closer.

Teddy wraps his arms around me and pulls me into a hug, my side pressed against his chest. He murmurs about how he needs to stop making me cry into my hair and apologises.

'I'm sorry Am... Please don't cry, I'm sorry. I'm not going to press you about this, but you need to know I'm here for you, and that you're not alone in this any more.' his tone hardens towards the end, and I wonder just how much Lily's letter told him about the past month.

I settle into the hug for a few moments before pulling back and wiping my eyes slightly. I believe him when he tells me this. It's sad how surprised that makes me.

'Sorry.'

'You need to stop saying sorry for things you can't help.' Teddy says with a small, sad smile.

'So do you,' I say, which has his smile grow slightly on one side. It doesn't reach his eyes.

'I guess that's something we'll work on together eh?'

Dinner is the most delicious thing I've tasted in a while, and considering the house elves cook my food at Hogwarts, that's really saying something. Teddy laughs when I tell him this, and says that his Nan taught him, explaining that it was something they used to do together when he was home.

It turns out that the oak furniture which dominates his kitchen is from his grandmother's house, and she gave it to him when he moved out, sometime before she died. I don't want to prod about how it happened, but the picture he paints is of a younger grandmother, one who by muggle let alone magical standards should have had years left with him.

By the end of the meal, my plate is pushed away, and I'm leaning my chin on my hand, elbow propped up on the counter listening to him recount a story about when he was seven and nearly set the kitchen alight trying to make her breakfast on bed on mother's day.

'- she fixed everything with a flick of her wand, and just stood there laughing for ages, leaving me staring at her with my face covered in soot and my pyjamas covered in burns!' Teddy finishes his tale with a laugh and a wistful expression on his face.

'You must really miss her.' I say gently, and he looks at me with such a sad look that I feel my eyes well up with tears.

'Yeah.' he begins, and has to gulp when his voice breaks saying that one word. 'Yeah, everyday. She was all I had of mum, you know? Sometimes when I'd do something silly, or fall over the coat rack in the hall, she'd tell me how much I reminded her of mu-' he can't continue, his voice showing just how hard he's trying to fight back the tears, and it's my turn to comfort him.

I stand up from my stool and slide my arms around his neck. He buries his head against my neck and holds onto my waist so tightly for a moment that it makes me think he's holding onto a lifeline.

We stay like this for a couple of minutes, listening to each other's breathing, and it only occurs to me when he gives me one last squeeze and pulls away that I shouldn't feel as at home as I do with him. Not only knowing him a short while.

'Merlin, that's not how that's meant to go!' he laughs quietly, before sighing. 'I'm meant to be all manly and cool around you according to Lils, not break down like an idiot at the first mention of my parents!' Teddy stands up to pick up the plates and take them to the sink, mumbling under his breath that he never really cries in front of anyone, and then I do feel awkward. 'Lets change the subject, eh?'

'Why do you do so much the muggle way?' I ask, nodding after he grabs the mugs and gestures with them, asking silently if I want another cup with a raised eyebrow.

'Dunno really...' he says, popping them down on the counter with a thunk and flicking the button on the kettle again. 'I guess... I guess because of Molly and Arthur, you know, the Weasley grandparents?' I nod, 'Yeah, them and Harry. A bit of Nan as well though now I think about it.'

Teddy breaks off to make the tea, adding the sugar and milk like I like it into my mug, then motioning with his mug to follow him. 'The TV is 'cause of her. She said that granddad had left her with an addiction to muggle soap operas. The car thing is all Harry though, sometimes he used to take me with the kids when they'd do muggle type things, and when you live in a muggle neighbourhood like we're in now, it's always better to have a car. Makes you look more normal if you can have a very obvious thing to take out once in a while. I know not everyone has one, but if you just park it on the drive and then hide it before going out, they tend not to notice that you're not quite normal, you know?' he takes my smile to mean I understand, but it's more to do with the way he's talking. Not as if he's explaining something to me that I should know, but as if we're just chatting about the weather rather than how to look normal as a wizard.

We stop in front of the wall of pictures in frames. Not all of them are moving, some are still ones of him and the Potters at different muggle places. I can't help but laugh at one where he's got what looks like a three year old Lily on his shoulders, James and Albus pouting jealously up at her from beside him as she grins at the camera.

'I love that one! Ginny was so scared she'd fall with them trying to pull her down to get a turn. Harry had to do major damage control, said it was worse than work!' this has us both laughing for a while, before he sobers up enough to point, still grinning, at a picture of him as a boy and a lady who looks to be in her late forties or early fifties laughing and waving at us. It's a moving one, and as I watch, she tries to wipe flour off his cheek, only to make the smudge worse and leave them leaning against the frame to hold themselves up as they giggle.

'That's Nan.' he says, affectionately. 'She was trying to teach me to bake. It... Yeah, lets just say it didn't go that we'll, and leave it at that eh?'

'She looks lovely,' I tell him, looking at another picture of them reading a book together, a young Teddy looking like he's trying very hard to read it to her, and her trying not to laugh as he gazes up at her with a sweet expression as if to ask if he got it right or not.

'She was, so lovely! Merlin save you from her temper, but she could never stay mad at me, so I got away with everything! When I told her I was going to join the Chudley Cannons, she screamed and ran off, shoving her head in the fire to go tell all her friends about it instead of congratulating me or anything. Before I knew it, she was reaching in and handing me all these different presents from them!' Teddy leans against the wall and laughs at this memory. 'I reckon she'd like you, you know? Especially since you're not a Hufflepuff.

'She sent me a howler on my second day to complain about how much like my mum I was, before it started playing congratulations and spurting out chocolate! I think she wanted me to get my house from Dad really. I got my brains from him though, so she was happy enough!'

Teddy shakes his head, as if to clear it, and then smiles down at me. I don't know if it's on purpose or by accident, but his eyes are his own, the grey and silver glittering as he talks about being like his parents.

'Fancy the tour? I'm probably boring you, rambling on as much as I have!' I shake my head quickly.

'No! I love your stories!' I tell him, grinning as he smiles and takes a gulp of his tea. This makes me remember my own mug, and I take a much smaller sip. I'm honestly still not sure how he can drink the scalding liquid so quickly after its been brewed.

'I should show you the house first still, it's getting late and you still don't know where anything is!'

Teddy waves me forward with a small bow and I laugh as we begin to move into the hallway.

'As you've no doubt noticed, that was the kitchen,' he tells me in a mock serious voice.

'Really?!' I say, pretending to be shocked. 'I had no idea! Are you sure? I think I might need another glance just to be sure.' Dipping my head back in through the door and pretending to glance about, I turn towards him again with my mouth open and my eyes wide. 'What d'you know? You were right! Amazing!'

He smirks at my sarcasm and gives me a quick kiss on the cheek which makes me feel like blushing and looking down at my socks.

'Unless you were blind, yes it was and you know it woman! Now, this is the hallway.' I raise my eyebrows at him before he goes on, 'the cupboard under the stairs, or as Harry likes to call it, home,' he laughs and continues on before I can question him about that, 'to the left we have the downstairs loo, to the right the stairs and the dining room, although that's never really used... Over here on the left we have the lounge which you must've noticed when you woke up...' Teddy shows me all the rooms downstairs, and points out a door which leads to the basement. He tells me he'll show that to me in the morning when it'll feel less like a horror film.

His house is truly beautiful. Everything seems so... So Teddy really. It's not too bright, all the colours blending well together, and its large, much larger than mine, but not so grand that it seems too spacious and cold. He points out the odd picture frame as we pass and by the time we finish our tea we're nearly done with the tour of this level of the house. His lounge is pretty big, and his tele is larger than my parents' one at home.

'- And this is the broom cupboard. Or as I like to call it, the chocolate box.' Teddy stops in front of a small door which is painted the same warm tone of cream as the rest of the hall, and I would have passed had he not pointed it out to me. He presses his hand to the door knob, and the words 'Welcome Teddy and Amelie' scrawl in large looped calligraphy across the wall before it slides backwards and melts away to reveal the room beyond.

'Its a room.' I state, looking at the large space in front of me in awe.

'Its a cupboard!' he complains half heartedly, before turning and staring at my expression, his face melting into a slight smile, his eyes gentle.

'A room.' I breathe, unable to completely tear my eyes away from the stacks and stacks of chocolate, Bertie Botts' Every Flavoured Beans, lollipops, candy canes, sugar mice, strawberry laces which are knotting and unknotting themselves, and every other sweet imaginable.

'Just don't go too mad with it,' he says, propping himself against the doorway and leaning in to grab a huge bar of Honeydukes Finest Chocolate and throwing it to me before taking one for himself as well. 'And don't let Lily in here on the weekend without supervision. Last time, she managed to eat so much she was sick.' he says, shuddering slightly.

I look down at the chocolate and feel an uncontrollable grin take over my face, making my cheeks ache immediately from the size of it, and look up to see Teddy grinning at me with an odd expression in his eyes.

'You mean you'll let me in here?' I ask, eyes wide, still grinning and not even a little embarrassed as it comes out in a breathless awestruck tone.

Teddy's response is to lean down and kiss me slowly. When he pulls back, I can feel my eyes are more glassed over, and he says 'I mean I'm giving you joint entry. You're now one of two people allowed to open it. The other is me.' I practically jump up and down, and that voice in my head that told me to kiss him at Nell's is back.

I throw myself into his arms, leaning up on my tiptoes to close the gap between us, and kiss him deeply. When I pull back, this time it's his turn to be shocked, and his eyes remain closed for a few seconds before he releases me.

'Merlin, if I'd known it was that easy to make you happy, i'd've saved a ton of money,' he says in a surprised tone, before his eyes grow large and he clears his throat loudly as I'd he'd said something he hadn't meant to. Before I can ask what he means, he ducks away to grab my satchel, shouldering it before telling me he'll show me my room.

I try not to act as awkward as I feel when we begin to climb the stairs, but when we get to the first floor, I'm twisting my hands in the sleeves of my jumper.

Teddy seems completely relaxed as we reach the top, pointing down the hallway to the right which has three doors coming off it.

'The door at the end is mine, if you need anything or anything happens, the one closest on the right is a bathroom, and on the left a spare bedroom.' he turns and begins to walk to the right, and I follow him. 'This is another spare.' Teddy opens the door to a huge room complete with double bed, wardrobe and chest of drawers, the next he shows me is painted in a soft coffee colour, another spare. He shows me the bathroom that's to be for my use whilst I'm staying next.

'And this one is yours.' Teddy tells me, leaning over as he opens the door for me.

Wow.

Just wow.

The walls are covered with a beautiful wallpaper. Cream and warm red, the motif seems like something from a painting rather than anything I'd imagine would be on my bedroom walls, much too lovely for me to think could ever be mine.

Directly in front of the door, a good few steps away is a small table with two wing backed armchairs sitting one on either side. The bed to the left is a large four poster not unlike the ones at Hogwarts, the curtains a cream and red to match the walls. I have a large wardrobe and what looks like a flat lidded trunk sits at the bottom of the bed with two cushions sitting atop it.

The crowning glory is the window seat. The curtains are drawn back still, and I can see that when closed, they'd make a cocoon of the seat, and thoughts of sitting there in the afternoon reading with them closed next to me and the view of the countryside flood my mind.

Below the seat, there are a couple of shelves built in which already hold a multitude of books, and I realise that the entire wall above and around the window is a gigantic built in bookcase full to bursting with all different titles, muggle and magical alike. They're crammed in, many lying on their sides on top of rows due to the sheer number of them present.

'-ay goodnight and leave you to it?' I register Teddy's voice and realise I've missed half of what he's been saying as I stared at the room. Turning around, I see him drop my bag on the floor a lot more carefully than he had done with Albus and Daphne's bags earlier on today. He's hovering on the threshold, obviously unwilling to step inside but seemingly worried about something.

'Do you like it? It's usually my reading room, but I figured it's the nicest one, and you'll be far enough away from the others if they come to stay that you won't be disturbed... If you don't, or don't want to be around so many books, you could have any of the others, it's up to you.' Teddy says this without appearing to take a breath, but smiles when I just shake my head grinning and reply.

'This is the most incredible room I've ever seen. Thank you so much for letting me stay here.'

'Of course! I hoped you might like it!' He says, obviously relieved, and claps his hands once, rocking back on his heels, and saying 'well like I said, you can get settled and everything, and if you want to just go to sleep, do, but I'll be up for a bit longer sorting through wedding invitations and fixing some stuff in my play book whilst a film plays if you wanted to come down after you've unpacked, otherwise I'll say goodnight now.' he says, smiling and nodding to himself quickly before backing out of the doorway and heading back downstairs as he stuffs his hands into his pockets.

I close the door calmly and pick up my bag, making my way to the middle of the room, before tossing it and the slab of chocolate onto the bed and doing a Lily like move of squealing quietly to myself whilst bouncing up and down on the balls of my feet and pressing my hands to my mouth.

This is by far the coolest room I've ever been in in my life. And it's mine!