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Chapter 24-Teddy
I emerged from the Great Hall after the last of my O.W.L.s both exhausted and elated.
The rest of my friends were all laughing and jumping around like five year olds. "We made it, Teddy!" my closest mate Karl said as he patted/pounded me on the back.
"I know!" I said, feeling his contagious excitement. "Now we just need to worry about whether or not we did well." Everyone laughed, though I was only half joking. Grandma Andromeda would kill me if I didn't scrape at least five OWLs.
"Teddy!" Fred cried, running over to us. "Meet me in the Room of Requirement at seven tonight." he explained, much to the confusion of my other friends. There's an advantage to being related to one of the greatest pranksters Hogwarts has ever known-both Fred and I had grown up knowing everything there is to know about the castle.
"Sure thing." I replied, watching him sprint back over to James. They were seated on a low stone bench near the Forbidden Forest, tossing breadcrumbs in the direction of the trees. I shook my head ruefully. I'd kind of deserted the kids over the past couple of weeks as I'd been studying like crazy, so I figured I owed them some time.
"What's the 'Room of Requirement?" Karl asked.
I shrugged. "It's a cooler name than 'Gryffindor common room, don't you think?"
My friends still had plenty of time to find the Room for themselves.
When I opened the door that night at seven on the dot, the Room of Requirement was extremely dark. For a moment, I was afraid that I'd gotten the time wrong. "Hello?" I called, groping in the blackness for a candle. "Fred?"
Just then, a glass chandelier burst into flames above my head, illuminating all the Weasleys and Potter, along with Scorpius, Lysander, and Lorcan. Since the adventure, they'd become part of the family and hung out with us whenever we had free time or our schedules overlapped. "SURPRISE! CONGRATULATIONS, TEDDY!" they yelled at the top of their lungs.
I took in the Room. It had really outdone itself this time. Framed portraits of me hung from the walls, and little fireworks were popping above our heads. Their sparks spelled out words and phrases like YOU DID IT and WE LOVE YOU, TEDDY! To top it all off, a gigantic chocolate cake and around twenty bottles of butterbeer were stacked on top of a groaning wooden table surrounded by chairs. "This is awesome!" I enthused.
"Knew you'd find it that way." James said. He grabbed one of my arms and Fred grabbed the other, steering me to an overstuffed red armchair at the head of the table. One by one, the others settled in around us.
For a couple hours, everyone simply ate, drank, and discussed their summer plans. I promised the twins I'd play some Quidditch with them, as they were both eager to be on the House team: Lysander as a Beater and Lorcan as a Seeker.
Just then, a mini food fight exploded at the foot of the table. Fred and James had gotten into an argument over some little thing. I'd like to say that I acted the part of a mature and responsible teenager and told them both to settle down. However, we were all hyped up on sugar and soda and were soon all locked in fierce combat. I nailed Roxanne with a well-placed piece of cake to the head, but Dom got my back and left a stain that won't come out for weeks. By the time 9:00 rolled around, we were all exhausted and covered in chocolate.
"We've still got time to shower." I said, glancing at the clock. "Follow me."
Since I was a prefect, the prefects' bathroom was open for my use-and occasionally for my guests. The girls bathed first, then the boys. We almost missed curfew because I got into a big splash fight with Albus, Fred, and Scorpius, but eventually we all assembled back in the Room of Requirement to survey the huge mess we'd made. We had completely trashed the Room. There was chocolate everywhere. It covered the walls, ceiling, and even the floor.
"I'll clean up. You guys go ahead." I ignored groans of protest, especially since Lily and Hugo looked about ready to fall asleep on their feet.
Dom hugged me as she headed back to her common room. "Thanks for everything, Teddy."
"Of course. Hey, Dom…maybe we could do something this summer, just the two of us."
"No Vic?"
"Nope. No Vic. We can do whatever you'd like. I think I might've accidentally left you out a little bit this year, and I apologize. I hope you can forgive me."
"Of course I can. You're the best, Teddy."
I cracked a smile. "I know. You'd better hurry. You wouldn't want to get a detention this close to the end of the school year, would you?"
She shook her head and ran out the door, laughing.
Which left me with the mess.
"Scourgify." I said, pointing my wand at the ceiling. The chocolate disappeared, making everything appear clean and sparkling once more. There was nothing there to suggest that we'd just been privy to one of the wildest parties the Room of Requirement had ever seen.
"I see you don't need help after all." Vic was standing in the doorway, her eyes dancing merrily.
"Nope. I have it under control. Did you know that you have some chocolate on your nose?" I walked over to her and gingerly wiped it off with one finger.
She smiled. "Thanks. Do you mind if we talk?" On cue, a red velvet couch appeared in the corner of the room. Surprised, I pulled the door closed and took a seat next to her.
"Sure. So, what do you want to talk about? Is it school? Friends?"
"Not exactly. I want to talk about…your father." She purposefully avoided my eyes, twirling a strand of light blonde hair around her index finger.
Immediately, all the happiness I'd been feeling evaporated into thin air. "What about him?"
"Do you know how he died?"
"Of course I do. He died in the Final Battle-"
"Defending the school and fighting for the side of good. Where were you that day?"
"I was…with Grandma Andromeda."
"Exactly. How could you, a small baby, have prevented his death?"
"I don't know, but I could have done something. There's always something we can do."
"Not always. Teddy, your parents loved you very much, and I know that they were very sad to leave you so soon, but they knew you'd be strong enough to move on. They wouldn't want you to dwell on the past-especially a past you can't remember."
"But I had Dolohov at my mercy. I could have killed him. I could have made him suffer."
"Just like he made you and Dom suffer? Why would you want to sink to his level?"
"Revenge."
"You know that your parents wouldn't have wanted their only son to become a murderer-even for the best of causes. They're so proud of you for what you did-and so am I." Instinctively, I leaned in and we…kissed. My heart was beating loudly, so loudly that I was sure the whole school could hear it. For a moment, everything was pure bliss.
Eventually, I broke up the kiss, though I didn't want to. "You should get going. It's way past curfew."
"I know." She started to walk away, but paused in the middle of the room, biting her lip nervously. "Will you be all right, Teddy? I'm sorry if I upset you or anything-"
"On the contrary, Vic. You really helped. Thank you. And yes, I'll be fine."
She gave me one last smile and left, closing the door softly behind her. We were acting normally to each other. You'd think nothing had changed between us. You'd think that tomorrow morning we'd wake up the same people that we were today.
Which wasn't true, of course.
Everything had changed, in a profound way.
I was seeing stars during my prefect duty that night. I was supposed to be patrolling the corridor outside the library, but I just couldn't focus.
"Who's the lucky girl?" Eddy Perkins asked. He was the prefect who shared duties with me on Friday nights: a tall and lanky Ravenclaw.
"What do you mean?" I replied.
"I know what that look means. Who'd you snog?"
"Victoire Weasley."
"I've seen her around. She's quite a looker. Was it your first time?"
"Yeah."
"The best and the worst. You love it, but you also go crazy wanting more."
I nodded. "Had a lot of experience with that yourself, have you?"
"Let's just say I'm a veteran. Your secret is safe with me, Lupin."
"Thanks."
I knew I'd never be the same again.