I feel that this chapter has been anticipated since Third year. I hope you enjoy it.

This chapter contains flashbacks.

Detention continued the night after, and Teddie sat in complete silence with Harry and Umbridge, the only sound was the scratching of two quills. The pain in Teddie's hand continued to get worse with each word she wrote, but she refused to let Umbridge have the satisfaction of seeing her in pain.

After being dismissed the first night, Harry had stuck around outside the Defense classroom after, waiting for Teddie. He always waited down the hall a bit, as it seemed if Umbridge thought he was outside, she would keep Teddie back longer.

That night, when Teddie left the office, she smiled weakly at Harry and fell into step beside him as they walked back to the first available staircase that would take Teddie down to the Entrance Hall and him up to the seventh floor.

"How's your hand?" Harry asked.

Teddie showed him the words cut into her skin. "How's yours?" she asked.

Harry shrugged. "How are you healing it?" he asked.

"I run it under cold water every night before bed," said Teddie. "It always used to work when I fell down while growing up. Sometimes, someone in the street would use antiseptic spray or drops and then cover it with a plaster, but I don't really have those readily available."

"Have you told your friends?" Harry asked.

"Have you?"

He laughed and Teddie smiled.

They bid one another goodnight, and headed back to their respective Common Rooms

Just like the first night, Theo, Daphne, and Blaise were still awake when Teddie reached the Common Room. Instinctively, Teddie pulled her sleeve down to cover her hand and curled up beside Theo on the couch.

"How did it go tonight?" Blaise asked.

Teddie shrugged. "Did my lines, talked to Harry and then came back here," she answered. "How's the homework going?"

"We have plotted a few points for you to follow in the classes we share," said Daphne, sliding a few pieces of parchment across the coffee table. "It should get you part way through your essays, especially Potions and Transfiguration."

Teddie smiled and looked over the notes.

"I started on our Ancient Runes," said Theo. "You can just add your part beneath and we'll get the rest of Hermione tomorrow."

Teddie nodded.

"I finished labelling your Care of Magical Creatures sketch, too," said Blaise, happily passing back the picture. "You never mentioned being able to draw before."

Teddie blushed. "Yeah, if you call stick figures 'drawing'," she laughed.

"Well, it's a good thing we only had to draw a stick figure this time," Daphne teased.

They laughed quietly.

Teddie sighed and pulled her Potions book out of her bag and took a notebook and quill from her pencil case. "I'm going to start on my Potions essay, you guys can go to bed, if you like," she said. She mostly wanted to be alone so that they wouldn't see the scars on the back of her hand, given they would be hard to hide while writing.

"I still got some Transfiguration to finish," said Daphne. "I'll stay up, if you don't mind?"

Teddie hesitated. If she said she did mind then her friends would know something was wrong, but she also didn't want them to see her hand, she had convinced herself that they couldn't do anything to heal her, so why worry them by letting them see it?

"Ted?" Blaise asked.

"Sorry," said Teddie, looking up. She shook her head. "No. No, of course I don't mind. I, uh, I just have to use the bathroom. I'll be right back."

She left, leaving her friends to share a look of concern and confusion.

~X~

Detention with Umbridge lasted up until Friday evening, by the end of which Teddie was ready to see the back of the Defense classroom until her next lesson with the old toad. Silently, she walked the path back to the common room, her hand aching and her head spinning as she thought back on the events that had happened.

She and Harry had arrived for detention at the same time. They didn't have much to say to one another and only offered small, brief smiles. He did tell her that Ron had found out about his hand, but she remained silent seeing as she still refused to tell her friends.

After that, the detention went as it normally did. They sat in silence, Umbridge perched on the edge of her desk before the two students, them at their desks scribbling out lines that she believed they deserved, it wasn't until Umbridge examined Harry's hand did anything peculiar happen.

Teddie looked up, startled, as Harry wrenched his hand out of Umbridge's grip. She furrowed her brow, watching the pair of them stare at one another for what felt like forever, before Umbridge grinned.

"Yes, it hurts, doesn't it?" Umbridge said, softly.

Harry didn't say anything. His chest rose and fell heavily, and the look of panic on his face was enough to make Teddie concerned about what he was thinking.

"Well, I think I've made my point, Mr. Potter. You may go."

Teddie watched Harry stride out of the class, and then looked up as Umbridge's shadow fell over her. "Well, Miss Green, shall we check if you've learned your lesson?" she asked, holding out her hand.

Only Daphne was awake when Teddie returned to the common room. She was scratching away at her parchment when Teddie sat opposite her, and only looked up when Teddie hissed.

"Is it your hand?" Daphne asked.

Teddie glanced down at her sleeve and then looked back at her friend. "What do you mean?" she asked, reaching over to pull the sleeve down.

"Come off it, Ted," said Daphne, going back to her essay. "We've all noticed how you keep your hand hidden when you return, and, after you went to bed last night, I went into the bathroom."

Teddie swallowed. She was always careful in cleaning up any trace of smeared blood from the wash basin and made sure to dispose of any paper towels so no one would know she was bleeding.

"Did you know there is a spell you can use that traces even a speck of blood?" Daphne asked. "My mum used to use it on me and Astoria when we were growing up, she used it once on my dad, too. He tried to hide that he had been injured while on a case, and she was not happy."

Teddie licked her lips.

"What is that woman making you do, Teddie?" Daphne asked, meeting her friends gaze.

"Lines," Teddie replied.

"So why are you bleeding?"

Teddie shook her head and reached for her bookbag, "It doesn't matter," she mumbled.

"It does matter, Teddie!" Daphne exclaimed. She reached across the table, seized Teddie's arm and pulled back the sleeve, revealing the deep cuts in the back of her hand. "This is torture!"

Teddie wrenched her arm back. "I said it was nothing!" she protested.

Daphne stared at her friend. "She's making you use a blood quill," she said. "It's the only thing that can cause this kind of damage. If you told a Professor or even the Headmaster, she'd be out of here by tomorrow."

"We both know that's not true," Teddie whispered. "Besides, I don't want to cause a scene and give her the satisfaction of knowing she has gotten to me."

Daphne cocked her head to the side. "Are you serious right now?" she asked. "Since when did you let your pride dictate what you do? This isn't like Quirrell's unhealthy obsession with you, or Moody's for that matter. If this were anyone else, you'd been telling them to go to Snape."

Teddie grimaced. She couldn't go to Snape. She still wasn't talking to him, and she didn't want their first talk in weeks to be her complaining about another teacher.

"Teddie, are you listening to me?" Daphne asked.

"I'm fine, Daphne," said Teddie. "I don't need to cause a scene about this, okay? I'll deal with it. Besides, tonight was the last of my detentions. I don't need to see her again."

Daphne stared at Teddie and then sighed. "Then you should know that Theo is upset with you," she said. "I mean, he's upset in general, but he's more upset that you've kept this a secret from us, him, for almost a week."

"Wait, what?" Teddie asked, cocking her head to the side. "I get why he is upset with me, but what else has happened?"

"Montague called a team meeting tonight," said Daphne. "They have tryouts next weekend."

Teddie felt her stomach sink. "Tryouts? I thought only Chaser positions were needed to be filled?" she asked.

"Nope. Montague, it seems, is doing a full team reboot," said Daphne. "All positions are available."

"All positions?" Teddie yelped.

Daphne nodded.

Teddie sighed and glanced at her watch.

"He's probably asleep," said Daphne.

Teddie nodded, absentmindedly. "I can't focus now," she said, tossing her belongings back into her bag. "I'm going to bed. Are you coming?"

"I'm almost done," said Daphne. "You go on. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

~X~

When Teddie awoke the next morning, she noticed two things – one, her pillow was moving, and two, it was also breathing. She froze, her eyes the only things moving as she scanned the still dark room for any signs of where she was.

Then, she remembered…

"What are you doing here?" Theo whispered, sitting up as Teddie sat on the bottom of his bed. He pulled the curtains closed around them and cast the Muffliato charm to prevent them from being overheard.

Teddie reached forward and wound her arms around him. Instinctively, Theo pulled her to him and hugged her tightly.

"Daphne confronted you, then, huh?" Theo asked.

Teddie nodded.

"You're our best friend, Ted," said Theo. "Did you honestly think you could keep it from us indefinitely?"

Teddie didn't reply. She kept looking down, sliding her fingers around the buttons of his pajamas.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

Teddie shrugged.

"You're going to have to do better than that."

Finally meeting his gaze, Teddie sighed. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Theo swallowed as he stared at her through the darkness. He couldn't make out any of her features, but he didn't need to. He knew what she looked like; had done since the minute he had set eyes on her on the Platform at Kings Cross Station four years ago.

Her small face framed down to her chin with long red hair, her green eyes that had hints of brown in the irises. How soft her skin was when she held his hand in comfort or support, the way her hair smelled when she lay against his shoulder.

She was, to him, perfect, and, despite what people thought, she was his. His best friend, his first confidant, his first love. His everything.

Teddie shifted in Theo's lap and set herself back on the bottom of his bed. "Daphne told me about Montague," she said.

"Oh," said Theo, looking down. He had been doing his best to not think about that. He didn't want to consider the possibility that he could lose his position as Slytherin seeker, but Montague was captain, and he we well within his right to pick a new candidate.

"Are you nervous that Malfoy will try and buy the position again?"

Theo shrugged in the darkness. "We don't know what Montague will do," he said. "Marcus said no to Malfoy because, in his words, I was the better player."

"And you'll be the better player this time," said Teddie. "Malfoy plays dirty, we all know that."

"Yeah, but, what if…" Theo cut off.

Teddie sighed. "What if you do get the position this time before of me?" she asked.

Theo felt tears prick his eyes. He hadn't wanted to say it, but he would've been lying if he had said he wasn't thinking it. Slytherin had once believed that Marcus had given him the Seeker position because he was best friends with Teddie, would they really let him keep it if it meant Teddie being on their side?

He wanted to say no, but he couldn't. It sounded like something a Slytherin would do, and now that the truth was out, they weren't completely sure who was on Teddie's side for her, and who was only there because of her heritage.

Teddie wasn't sure what had happened after the Quidditch conversation, she barely remembered falling asleep. Raising her head, she smiled as Theo's face loomed into view. He was still asleep, his dirty blonde hair sweeping into his eyes. The same eyes that she had become used to seeing when she was upset, scared, or just needed a bit of reassurance.

Theo had been her first friend at Hogwarts. She could still remember meeting him and his mother at Kings Cross Station, them helping her onto the platform. At the time, Theo had been rather distant, and she couldn't blame him. She wasn't everyone's cup of tea, she still wasn't, but at eleven years old she was loud and always on the move.

Not that much had changed – well, except for the loudness – she was still on the move, and her opinionated nature had just gotten worse over the course of her time in the Wizarding world, she was still willing to stand up for the underdog, and for herself. Speaking out against people and injustices that she believed were wrong.

But the one thing that hadn't changed was him. Theo. Her first friend, her best friend. Next to Mason, of course, Theo was the only thing that she cared more about in the world. She had taken Theo into her life, into her home, she had promised herself that, if there was one thing that she could change in the wizarding world, it was to give the boy who had befriended her a happy life.

She had just never expected him to change her life in return.

Over the years, Teddie had had many feelings for people – Daphne, Blaise, Astoria, Adrian and Derrick had become like siblings to her. She'd gone from being an older sister, to also being a younger sister. Then, there was Marcus, at first she had harbored deep feelings for him, even to the point where she considered him as a potential romantic partner, but their friendship had dwindled to a more platonic one, especially when Marcus' mother considered Teddie her unofficial adopted daughter.

But Theo had always been her number one. He had always been with her. Always in her head, and forever in her heart. Their friendship had grown exceptionally over the last five years, they had become closer than best friends, and while Teddie had been afraid to admit it before, she wasn't now.

She loved Theo. Loved him as more than a friend, more than a brother. She loved him as someone she could imagine spending the rest of her life with, someone she could build a life with. She wasn't sure if he felt the same, and she wasn't about to force him to love her if he didn't, she was simply happy to have him in her life.

Teddie cast her eyes away as Theo shifted beneath her. He groaned and his eyes open. He looked down and smiled briefly, his arms circling Teddie and drawing her to him.

"Good morning," Theo said.

Teddie smiled and looked back up. "Good morning," she said. "What time is it?"

Theo shook his head and checked his watch. His eyes widening as he realised it was already past nine. "Shit," he swore.

Thankfully, it was a Saturday, but they now had the problem of Teddie getting out of the dormitory if the others were awake.

"Maybe they've already gone to breakfast?" Teddie suggested, reaching for the curtains.

Theo stopped her, "Crabbe and Goyle usually lay in," he said. "Malfoy and Blaise have probably gone, but I'm not 100%."

"Then what do we do?" Teddie asked. "I can't stay in here indefinitely."

"Let me check," said Theo, sliding open the curtains on the left side of the bed and climbing out. He was gone less than a second when the curtains on the right were pulled open.

The dormitory was empty – well, sort of. Crabbe and Goyle's curtains were still pulled closed and Teddie could hear them snoring from behind the emerald lace, Blaise's bed was empty, and so was Malfoy's.

"Malfoy's just gone into the bathroom," said Theo. "If you go now, he won't see you."

Teddie nodded, kissed Theo's cheek and then dashed out of the room.