Thank you Adalet, Yuka Tsukino, aurelia, and Veronica for reviewing! So sorry I've not updated in a week! I'll be hopefully updating again within the next twenty four hours!

aurelia is the best, thank you for your PM! It gave me the kick I needed to focus on getting this chapter out! And its longer than I'd thought it would be as well!

I'm much better than I was, completely back to normal, but I've been super exhausted all the time since I was ill, so with work its just been making me lose all concentration for a few days!

There's also a Sirius/OC or James/OC story I've been writing for a little while, would that be something anyone would be interested in reading? It would be slightly darker at first, but cut with the Marauder's wit so quickly becoming a happy story. It's also a story about a person going in to the story, so its been done a lot before, but...

Chapter Thirty-Four

'Here are your coffees Mister Lupin! Enjoy, and don't forget to tell me if there's anything else you wanted!' The young waitress at the fancy coffee shop Teddy's taken me to has not looked in my direction once. Even when I asked for a slice of chocolate cake and the mocha now sitting in front of me, she managed to write down my order without so much as a glance.

'Thank you,' Teddy tells her, shifting slightly in his seat. If I knew him better, I'd be tempted to think that her attention to him makes him feel a little awkward, but I can't really be sure if its that or the fact that he let me have the booth side of the table and took the uncomfortable looking wooden chair.

'That's alright! My pleasure,' she tells him, blushing down at him with a smile as if he'd just told her she was the most beautiful woman he's ever seen or something.

'Oh thank Helga!' He says, sighing dramatically as soon as she's out of earshot, finally leaving our table and heading off in the direction of the kitchen. I can't help the chuckle that escapes me at his happiness over her leaving, and he glares in response.

'Sorry, its just-' I break off as he smiles wryly at me and rolls his eyes, pretty much telling me its okay.

'You must get that all the time too eh?' He asks, looking down to see what he's doing as he reaches into his pocket and takes out his phone. This means he doesn't see the look of derision I send him, but he glances up at me in time to see the second look that passes across my face, the one of awkward acceptance.

'What? Being a famous Quidditch player and all? Nope! Just... Once or twice, but... Actually, no... Just the odd beep of a horn or guy shouting down the street at me.' I tell him in a resigned tone when he raises an eyebrow.

'That's not cool.' He tells me with a disgusted look on his face, which makes me laugh properly. 'Women shouldn't be cat called. Ever.'

'Is that you saying that as a man, or a fiancé?' I ask him with a small smile.

'Both. And also as a son, grandson, friend, and brother.' He replies, wrinkling his nose as he focuses on texting. 'Okay, everyone knows you're okay and everything, but I think... Well, judging by her text, I think Lily is pretty annoyed at me for having an argument with you, and strangely happy that you walked off?'

'She's been trying to get me to confront people and not hide from arguments for a while now. More assertive, I believe she told me, so I'm not actually too surprised.' I tell him, leaning back slightly in my chair. Oh gosh, now I remember that witch from the office, I sit up quickly again in case I begin to take on her mannerisms. 'How many people did you tell exactly?'

'Yeah, angrily storming off is pretty much her go-to move when she's arguing with James and Albus,' he tells me, before making his eyes go wide for a second almost as if realising he called it like it was and not being sure if I'd be okay with his choice of words or not. 'A-And not many, just a couple.'

'Hmm... Just a couple does not everyone make Mr Lupin... And I've been with her for quite a few of those arguments, mostly with Albus these days... But at Hogwarts the point is usually reinforced with a well placed curse before she leaves.' I tell him, blowing on my tea without lifting it from the table. My glasses steam up as I do this, and as the fog disperses, I see Teddy shaking his head and grinning at me.

'Of course she does.' Silence reigns as we stare at each other, Teddy having put his phone down on the table in favour of wrapping a hand around his coffee mug instead.

'So...' I say, extending the o as I trail off in order to create an opening to bring our conversation back to the other awkward talk we should be having.

Teddy takes a deep breath and leans back, wriggling his shoulders in an attempt to relax them. When he settles, he gives me a look that says that he really doesn't want to be having that talk at all, but pretty much needs to.

'We do need to talk Teddy,' I tell him in more of a resigned tone than before. Its not that I was hopeful he'd want to, but rather that I was hopeful it wasn't just me who really didn't want to have this conversation.

'I know... But even when you say it like that, it doesn't sound good.' He replies, grimacing as he rubs the back of his neck, making him look adorable.

'I'm not letting you off this, as tempting as that is to be honest...' It really is, I mean... If we didn't talk now, we could just enjoy a proper first date or something... Which makes me realise that we've not actually had a proper first date... At least, we've not had one without me running away...

'What're you thinking about?' Teddy asks me, returning his mug to the table completely drained.

'Nothing,' I respond quickly, looking down at my untouched cake.

'Sure... What is it really? About the argument?' He asks, his mouth tilting up at the side in a frown.

I pause before answering, taking a bite of my cake and closing my eyes as I make a happy noise because it tastes so good.

'This is amazing,' I tell him, smiling, which becomes a frown as I'm so confused as to why he's clearing his throat as his now black eyes dart about the room awkwardly. 'What's wrong?' Looking about, there are a lot of people here, but none seem too interested in us. My hand goes to my wand pocket casually, trying to see where a threat might be coming from.

'Nothing,' he tells me, still refusing to look at me properly as I continue to frown at him in confusion. 'Anyway, you wanted to talk about the argument?' He asks, using his fork to cut off a huge piece of his cake and then stuffing it in his mouth almost as if to ward off another question about it.

'How is it that that doesn't even look quite as disgusting as it should do?' I ask myself out loud, as he manages to keep it all within his mouth and chew as if he's only eating a small bite. 'We've only got about an hour and a half before I have to return that form.'

'Well... Its completed already, so... Wait. Why are you looking like that...? Like you might be thinking through other possibilities?' Teddy's voice gets more urgent towards the end of his sentence as he snaps straight up and then leans forward to question me.

'I'm not... I just...' I'm not entirely sure what to say. That I spent the first ten minutes as we were leaving the Ministry thinking about how to bring up the possibility of another match in case he wanted one...

'Amelie?' I look back into his eyes to see him staring at me with the most hurt expression I've seen on his face. Is it possible for your heart to physically hurt from a look? Pulling on your heartstrings has nothing on the feeling when you look at Teddy's face and he's this upset and horrified.

'Well... What if you wanted to, you know, be... Put back into the pool?' I ask, trying not to look as awkward as I feel, and- Not to give in to his face, we need to talk about our options.

'I don't. Do you...? Actually, don't answer that, I'm not sure I want to know if its a yes. Especially as I would have to say no to you.'

'What do you mean?' Great. My voice is so weirdly high, I have to clear my throat to avoid that again.

'I mean that I'm not going to let you go back in the pool as you put it. I'm-Lily would kill you.' He leans back slightly when he says his, nodding to himself as if sure he's got me dead to rights.

'Lily wouldn't kill me, and besides-'

'No, no besides - you can't marry anyone else Amelie!' He leans across the table properly now, taking the hand he'd put the ring on only hours ago and capturing my gaze in his.

'Why?' My voice breaks slightly as my eyes search his, trying to read the expression there.

'Because... Do you remember when we first met and I said a month and a half wouldn't've been long enough to get to know you? It turns out a week is all I needed to know that as much as I don't want to be forced into this, I...'

'You'd rather be forced to marry me than anyone else?' I ask, feeling my shoulders slump as I warm my other hand on my mug, realising I'm strangely grateful for that, even though I know it probably wasn't the best choice of words on his part.

'No, not even that... I... Its more than that... You know the ball last night, when we just hid and hung out for most of it? It was fun, for pretty much the first time. I didn't feel awkward or left out once... And that day when I met your parents and the two of us just chatted whilst we were being ignored you know, it-' He breaks off, grimacing and looking down at the table for a moment. His hand is shaking slightly, something I've not noticed properly since that first time we'd met.

'I know what you mean,' I tell him, realising that I do. He looks up and hits me full on with one of his angled looks, but I hardly even notice... I mean, I notice of course, but I push down the breathless feeling and focus on replying to him. 'Its better to have someone than to be alone.'

'No.' He tells me, 'Its better to have you than be with pretty much anyone else.'

Sigh.

Don't giggle or blush, it'll ruin it! But try to tell him you feel the same!

'I'm going to be hopeful and take your silenc-'

'I feel the same way.' I DID IT! 'I know what you mean, its... When I'm with you, I don't tend to feel quite so... No, that's a lie... I feel relaxed when I'm with you, not just at home, but... Happy, you know?' I ask him quietly, looking our hands reaching across the table.

'What d'you mean?' Teddy asks, still focusing on intertwining our fingers, nudging my ring round so that it sits perfectly.

'I mean... I... The more I get to know you, the more I'm glad that this is happening.' I frown down at our hands as I think about how lonely I've been for such a long time, and how its not just about him being charismatic or attractive or anything, its... He's my friend now. As weird as that sounds, I feel like we're friends... In a different way to the other friendships I've had, because we've got something to face together.

'I'm hoping you don't mean you're glad we're having to get married within three months...' He tells me, and my eyes return to his, ready to defend myself, until I see that he's smiling. 'Wait until we're living together, and you'll realise how boring and tired I am all the time during the season.'

'Well... I have been wondering what you do with your days, if you didn't have practice on Sunday, I'd wonder how you stay in shape.' I joke, smiling down as he fiddles with the ring some more. 'And besides, if we're doing this, I'll need to be hitting the books all the time to pass anything.' I reply, smiling back at him.

'Argh, first you insult my commitment to my job, and now I'm wondering if I've given you the right room if you're admitting to being violent against books.' He says, sarcasm evident in his voice.

'You know what I mean!' I say, my face breaking out into an involuntary embarrassed smile as I try to protest.

'What d'you mean by having to hit the books to pass anything?' He asks quietly after a second's silence.

'If we're going to be married- you know what I mean... If we're going to be married and live together, I have to move into seventh year as soon as I get back to Hogwarts in order to take my NEWTs this year.'

'What?! Why?' Teddy asks with a horrified expression as he drops my hand like its burned him.

'I'm not sure, but its probably something to do with them wanting married couples to only be concentrating on each other or something... Because you're older, we'll also have to be...' I trail off, feeling my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. Teddy tilts his head to the side and frowns slightly as I tug my sleeves over my hands, his eyes worried. 'We have to share a bed because you're over a certain age or something.' I finish, looking down at my hands as I fiddle with my fork awkwardly.

'Yes.' Teddy says, the anger in his voice mixed with resignation. 'I read that bit in the law earlier.' He seems not to want to elaborate further, and thinking over what the witch had said in the office earlier about where my possible alternative would come from, I feel like its bad enough that I should tell him.

'If we... If we didn't get married, they'd take someone who was turning 17 by the end of January and make him marry me instead.' I try to make him hear the fact that I don't actually want that to happen in the tone I use, as I concentrate on mashing a little piece of my cake up.

I don't hear anything from Teddy's side of the table for a little while, and when I look up, I see he's got his phone pressed to his ear and a thunderous expression on his face.

'Harry. The Burrow. Now.' Is all he says before he hangs up the phone and pulls his wallet out of his inside jacket pocket.

'What's going on?' I ask, and his eyes flick up to mine. I feel the worry in my expression, and his seems to melt from anger to something more apologetic for a moment before his face returns to its former state. The roots of his hair are turning a darker red than I've seen before, and as my eyes widen, he visibly winces and they're back to the old colour.

Its as if his anger is making him slightly lose control over his abilities.

'We're going to have to go see Harry.' Is all he tells me before he looks up and catches the eye of the waitress quickly to come and bring our bill.

I whip my cloak from the back of the chair as I stand and spin it around to settle over my shoulders. Teddy seems not to be waiting for niceties to be exchanged, and drops an entire galleon on the top of the little dish as he grabs his coat and shrugs into it.

The waitress seems a little disgruntled about the fact that he throws her a quick thank you as he looks at the back of the receipt. He makes an annoyed noise before sliding his chair in and looking to me to see if I'm ready to come. When I take my first step, he holds a hand out and grabs mine.

I just have enough time to catch a look at the receipt before he hauls me out of the shop. The waitress had written her name and address on the back of it, the perfect directions for an owl.

Is it bad that I feel a tad triumphant at the look of confusion and awkwardness on her face?

Probably not right?

'Why did you call us all here so bloody urgently?' Ron asks, obviously pretending to be more disgruntled than he really is, what with the grin he's having to dampen.

'Ignore Ronald, he's disgustingly happy that we had to duck out of the cake tasting with the Malfoys.' Hermione says with a side glare at her husband who's ears seem to turn a little red as he looks down at the floor.

'Well... If I'm honest... I only really wanted Harry or Ginny, but its cool, you'll do too.' Teddy tells them, grinning as he ducks when Hermione pretends to throw something at his head.

We're currently sitting in what I can only describe as... THE COOLEST HOUSE EVER. So Lily's told me before that her grandparents' house is pretty cool, but I had no idea it would be like this. From the outside, it looks like lots of different rooms all piled on top of each other like wooden bricks you'd play with as a child, the magic managing to hold them all in place.

Its a treasure trove of the sort of magical objects you tend to dream of owning when you're young and don't know magic exists...

Who'm I kidding? Even when you know about magic they're awesome. Its set out in an older way, like the kind of houses I love, and it just feels cozy. Lily's grandma bustled out of the door to greet us when we arrived, rearranging her thick shawl around her shoulders and tutting happily at Teddy for turning up without owling first. She gathered me up into a hug when we were introduced, and I couldn't stop grinning even when Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione arrived a couple of minutes later.

'Amelie?' Teddy asks, turning to look at me. It makes me jump for a moment as I snap out of my thoughts. I stare at him for a second, nonplussed about what I'm meant to be saying.

'Erm...' Teddy mouths something which looks like the form, and I smile my thanks at him even though he's the one who put me on the spot. 'Erm... So... I went the the Ministry today?' I break off, trying to clear my throat so that my voice doesn't continue to be quite as squeaky as the end of that sentence sounded, focusing on the four people sitting across from us.

'And?' I feel my hands tense slightly at the prompt by Hermione, and take a deep breath.

'And... The witch in the... Office told me that she was angry because at least... Five people a day are coming to see her about getting out of-'

'No, the other bit,' Teddy cuts across me as Ginny's eyebrows raise immediately, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione make interested noises.

'Oh... She a-also said that I'd have to move into seventh year when I go back if I was going to marry Teddy-?'

'No, still the other bit,' Teddy interrupts again, amidst the shocked gasps. Hermione's face looks like she's horrified at the notion of having such a short amount of time to study for NEWTs, and I have to agree with that right now. Its a ridiculously short amount of time, and if I pass any of them, it'll be through hard work and sheer luck.

'That we'd have to share a room because you're so old?' I ask him simply, grimacing at him in an attempt to get him to prompt me and help me work out which bit he wants me to tell them. Hands clap to mouths as they attempt not to laugh, and Teddy glares at me, presumably for the comment on his age.

'No. And I'm not old. No, the other bit.'

'Erm... That my... Only other choices would be Azkaban... Or to marry someone who's going to be seventeen by the end of January?!' I say, getting louder at the end of my sentence, encouraged that I'm on the right track by his nodding.

'I have problems with all of those things.' Ginny says, frowning with both pity and anger in her eyes.

'So do the rest of us.' Ron says, sounding a little bitter before beginning to mumble something under his breath that gets a chuckle from Harry and a slap around the back of his head from Hermione. He looks suitably chastised after this, and apologises for something the rest of us don't understand.

'So they're bringing more people into this. Widening the net for whatever's being planned...' Harry says thoughtfully, staring into the distance. 'Okay, I'll look into it when I go in tomorrow,' he tells the group a moment later.

'And I'll go through the law more in detail. I'd thought the copy on parchment was the only one we had to look at, but if that witch is telling you about those loopholes, or getting you to agree to other things that I've not read... I think I'll need to find out more.' Hermione tells the group, nodding to herself. 'I don't suppose you have any documentation do you?'

'I do actually,' I tell her, reaching into my pocket to remove the form from earlier. Pulling it out to pass it to her, I realise there's a small number near the bottom that I hadn't noticed before. A timer, counting down with only thirty-four minutes left on it.

'Ah perfect, could I borrow this for a couple of days to do some research?' She asks, and I realise with a jolt what the timer is about. Oh Merlin, this isn't good.

'I... Erm... I could let you have a picture of it, but... Not the original.' When she looks at me in confusion, I continue on. 'I... Have to give that back within two hours, and there're only thirty-four minutes left.' I tell her, grimacing when her horrified look returns and she scans the page, noticing the timer and bringing the parchment closer to her face as if she could turn the clock back just by glaring at it.

'They're having you make a life changing decision in less than two hours?' Hermione asks, barely containing the anger in her voice.

'Bloody hell, that's barmy!' Ron says, more shocked than angry... Okay, I looked at his face, and he's definitely angry.

'And did this witch say anything else?' Harry asks, encouragingly.

'She... Said that she thought I should chose someone else? But that was just because if Teddy was younger, we wouldn't have to share a bed because we'd be governed by the laws of the school... That's why I'd be moving into seventh year, to avoid those rules I guess...'

'Oh dear god. You mean she tried to encourage you to make a choice based on-' Hermione's shocked response gets cut off by Harry.

'Okay, we'll look into it,' he tells me, sharing a quick look with his two best friends, pulling a camera from his pocket and taking a picture of the form in Hermione's hands before she gives it back to me.

'You two'd better scarper then, go give that form back to that old hag at the Office, an-'

'RONALD!' Hermione snaps at him, making us all feel a little uncomfortable for a moment before she adds in a much more calm voice, 'Amelie said absolutely nothing about her age.' The small group of us burst out laughing, her remarks breaking any tension.

'Should we say anything?' Teddy asks, looking between the four of them and me.

'No. Act normally, and don't say anything. I know it sounds silly, but it'll be for the best in the long run,' Harry tells Teddy, leaning over the table to give him the kind of squeeze on the shoulder that I've seen him give Albus and James when giving them pep talks.

'Okay, but I want to be kept in the loop. Our lives are being changed, we need to know what's going on.' Teddy warns Harry, giving him a look as if to suggest that we've not been before, which makes Harry shift around awkwardly.

'Why does he remind me so much of Remus right now?' Ginny asks as Hermione and Harry look him up and down, smiling.

'Its because he's acting like him.' Ron grumbles to his younger sister, who laughs up at Teddy, an almost wistful expression in her eyes.

'I didn't think it would take you this long to decide.' The witch says when I enter her small office at the sound of her summons to hand the form back to her. She doesn't even bother looking up to say this, barely flicking me a glance.

'She had to get me to sign.' Teddy tells her in a dry tone, which makes her look up in shock.

'Oh! Yes, of course she did!' She says, her chair scraping on the floor as she stands up quickly to reach across the table and shake his hand. For his part, Teddy looks like he'd rather do anything in the world other than touch her, but leans forward to return the gesture when I jab an elbow in his side discreetly. 'And I must say, that last dive in the match against Puddlemere United last season? I cried.'

'Thank you,' he tells her with a charming smile, and its only the way that he runs a hand through his now blue hair that I can tell he's not completely at ease.

'I'm afraid we've got to go,' I tell her with a false smile plastered on my face as Teddy nods gratefully at me, his smile finally genuine, if more subdued than before.

'Yeah, we have that... We've got to buy-' Teddy looks at me with wide eyes, asking for help as he runs digs himself into a hole to back up my lie.

'My wedding dress?' I ask, eyes growing wide to match his as I realise he's not meant to see it until the wedding day. 'Erm... You know, muggle tradition...' I trail off with a nervous chuckle, and she frowns at me for a moment before her face clears again and she turns to address Teddy.

'Of course, muggleborns and their odd traditions.' She says, dropping back into her seat with a small huff, clearly disappointed.

'I'll be sure to send you a couple of comp tickets for the next match we play, its always lovely to meet a fan.' Teddy adds, almost reluctantly, and her smile returns.

'Thank you so much, you needn't do that for me, I was just doing my job.' She simpers at him, removing her glasses and flicking her hair slightly over her shoulder. Teddy doesn't reply, just flashes her another charming smile which doesn't quite reach his eyes and turns to leave. He clears the doorway first, so its only me who gets hit as the door slams shut on me again, throwing me into his arms.

'Why did you say you'd send her tickets?' I ask him, frowning as he helps me adjust my cloak.

'Because. If she's that excited to meet me... How would she notice any one looking through her stuff if Harry Potter comes to give her the tickets?' He asks, grinning triumphantly at me.

'And if she doesn't like Harry?' I ask, trying to stop myself from grinning at his sudden master plan.

'Well of course his wife would be visiting him to have lunch.' He replies, tucking me under his arm and leaning in to whisper conspiratorially into my ear.

'The wife that used to play on the Holyhead Harpies? Well, Mr Lupin... I do declare you're an evil genius!' I tell him in a truly ridiculously awful southern accent, which has him laughing as we pass the reception desk once more.

'I'm truly hurt that you doubted it!' He tells me as we join the rather long queue for the lift.

'Which reminds me, I thought you said there was always a long queue for the Marriage Registration Office?' I ask him, raising my eyebrows as I cross my arms against his blatant exaggeration.

'There is.' He replies gravely, turning me around to look at the opposite side of the reception area, where people are packed around a sign which magically changes its number as I watch, calling another couple into one of the rooms down the hall. 'They're just not coming for that office.'

'Which offices are they going to?' I ask as a couple comes out of one of the rooms, the man with a look of shock on his face as the woman cries.

'All sorts... They'll be here to marry muggles, or they want to marry someone else, because they don't get on, because there's abuse, because they're the wrong gender... Some because of family tensions, others to talk to someone about what's going on because they can't talk at home... Others because they're werewo-'

'Okay, I get it.' I cut across him sadly, looking at the young woman now sitting on her own, crying into her tissue.

'That's Melinda Hassock. She wants to get reassigned because her future husband doesn't make as much money as her father does so she'll have a slightly different life to the one she's used to.' Teddy tells me, looking at the same woman, his tone bitter.

'What? Someone could think like that?' I ask him, looking up. He searches my eyes for a minute before smiling gently at me.

'Yeah, she could. Her parents are purebloods... They're quite rich, and... Well...' He doesn't need to finish his thought, I understand exactly what he means. 'Hey, Am... If I lost my job tomorrow and had nothing but our house left, you'd still be happy, wouldn't you?' Not a proper question, more like a statement if anything, but I reply anyway.

'As happy as I could be with you.' I say dryly, stepping into the lift, grinning as he catches my eye and glares. 'And besides, we're magic. We don't even need your house, we could live anywhere and make it like a TARDIS. Or, I could sell this ring and make us an absolute fortune.'

'Be serious, would you?' He asks as the lift lurches and we hold on tightly.

'Well... If you didn't have anything, you'd still be you wouldn't you?' I ask him, and am rewarded by Teddy's face breaking out into a gigantic grin.

'Thank you.'

I've said this before and never actually done it, but this time I have to do it! The next chapter will take us through Friday and on to Saturday probably, and James' wedding!