Teddy groaned as he shuffled through the halls of Hogwarts. He had stayed in the library until Madam Pince all but pushed him out the door. He glanced down at his watch and winced. It was well past midnight and if he was caught outside the dorms at this hour it didn't matter that his 'father' was Harry Potter, he was definitely going to get detention.
He hurried down the hall and passed the kitchens. He walked by the large painting of the fruit bowl and scurried up to the barrel pile. With a quick rhythmic knock to the appropriate barrel the door opened and he stumbled through.
He manoeuvred through the sloping corridor lit by softly burning torches and emerged in the common room. A roaring fire was burning healthily to the right and the familiar smell of burning wood flooded his nostrils.
Teddy looked over towards the fireplace and frowned slightly when he saw the couches were occupied by sleeping first years.
He loosened his black tie as he quietly walked over and gently shook away the first boy.
"Hey" he whispered as the boy blearily blinked up at him, "Whatcha fellas doing down here?"
The boy looked around and saw his friends on the surrounding couches, "Maddison was home sick, thought this would make her feel better" he said and pointed towards the red-head in the corner of the couch.
Teddy just nodded. He remembered clearly his first year at Hogwarts. It had taken a couple weeks for it to truly set in but the feeling came rushing in like a tidal wave when it did, the aching loneliness that he felt being so far away from his family. It had then taken him another week to even admit it to his friends and was surprised that they were missing home as well.
"Alright" Teddy whispered and stood up from his crouched position.
Teddy tousled the boy's hair and headed towards the ascending staircase that led towards the boys dormitory. He slowly moved up the staircase all the way up to the year seven dorms. He entered and gently dropped his bag on his bed. He then walked over to the closet in the corner of the room and pulled out five blankets. He then turned around and walked back down towards the common room.
Teddy then methodically shook out each blanket and gently draped each one over the first years. When he reached the final boy, the one he had woken up to, he noticed that the boy was still awake.
"Don't want you guys to get cold down here. Trust me, the fire can only do so much. It's mainly an esthetic" Teddy whispered and winked.
He tucked the boy in and gave him a pat on the shoulder.
When he turned around to head to bed he heard a soft voice whisper, "Thanks, Ted"
He turned his head and looked over his shoulder, "No problem, Roger"
Teddy finally made it to bed and fell face first into the soft bedding, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Word Count: 516
Challenges:
'More than a name': 1. Teddy Lupin
'December prompt Challenge': 30. Blankets