Sorry sorry sorry for the long wait for this chapter! This one took forever to write for some reason. It has actual plot (Yay!) but it is a tad angsty (insert your feeling here). I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for sticking around for so long!

I wish I could tell you that I was busy gaining ownership of the Harry Potter franchise and could not get around to updating, but I assure you the real story is anywhere near as good.


Teddy took extra special care setting the table that evening, after all, his Dad was coming over for a proper family dinner. Their table wasn't very big and was usually covered in a chaotic scattering of his Mum's paperwork. Their house was never the first choice for a large when Aunt Ginny, Gran and Grandma Molly's houses were in contention. It was, however, the perfect size for a family of three.
As far as Teddy knew, they did not have a table cloth or placemats because his Mum never bothered with them. He made do with some nice-looking tea towels instead. The paperwork had to be cleared away into a heap on the sideboard so that Teddy would have room to place so much as a teacup, much less a tea towel. He laid out his favorite plates, the white ones with blue stripes around the edges, and cutlery that more or less matched. Once he had ensured each utensil stood parallel, he stepped back to admire his work. It was plain, but pretty nice he supposed, in a mismatched patchwork sort of way. Teddy supposed they were just that sort of family. It lacked the grace that his Gran's table had, but it had some of the warmth of Grandma Molly and Aunt Ginny's. He preferred it their way. It felt more like a family.

"Since when did you turn house elf?" his Mum asked skeptically.

"Does it look nice?"

"Nice? It is so lovely I think I may keel over from shock at the sight of it. I daresay no kitchen table of mine has ever been set so well."

Teddy knew it hadn't in all of his memory at least. The most they ever ate at the table was a fast breakfast. The usually had dinner in the living room while listening to the wireless. He guessed that since it was just the two of them, place setting just wasn't much of a concern. Now that they were a proper family they could have a proper family dinner at the table. He smiled broadly at his Mum. She didn't smile back. She just chewed on her lip like she did whenever she was nervous or bored. Teddy figured it was the first one. This didn't worry Teddy. Victoire told him that girls were sometimes nervous around boys, especially if they liked them. With that in mind, Teddy thought that the lip chewing and muffled swear words as his Mum cooked that she probably did not think he could hear were, in fact, good signs. He could not remember being as excited as he was right that moment. His father would be here in just a few seconds. He ran upstairs to change, leaving his mother downstairs banging around in the kitchen.

A knock on the door called Teddy down again. He made it to the bottom of the stairs just in time to see his Mum dry her hands on a dish towel and shove it into her back pocket before answering the door. "Hi, Remus," she greeted brightly.

"Good evening, Dora," he answered, Teddy couldn't see him yet because the door was in the way. Teddy liked hearing his voice. It was even and measured. His voice made you think that everything he said was thought out and heavily considered. It was comforting. "I didn't know what to bring, so I brought wine for us and grape juice for Teddy. Molly sent me with a chocolate cake as well," he continued as he fully entered the room. His father looked less disheveled than most of the other times he had seen him. His graying sandy hair was carefully combed and his suit was pressed. He looked as well put together as the men who came to take his Mum to dinner when Aunt Ginny or Grandma Molly or Aunt Hermione thought she was lonely. Teddy took this to be a good sign. Though the men were pretty different from one another, they all had one thing in common: They wanted to impress his Mum so that she would love them. Teddy was smart and knew how these things worked.

His Mum accepted the chocolate cake carefully with two hands. "You didn't have to bring anything, but thank you. I am just going to put the cake on the table and get us some glasses."

"Is there anything I can do to help with dinner?"

His Mum shook her head. "No, thanks. It isn't anything overly complicated and Teddy took care of setting the table before you got here." She gestured to Teddy's attempt at tablescaping.

"It looks very nice, Teddy, and the food smells amazing, Dora." She nodded her thanks and bustled into the kitchen, leaving Teddy alone with his Dad. It was quiet for a moment, the only sound the banging of pots and pans that usually accompanied Tonks in the kitchen. His Dad spoke first. "So you usually help your Mum out? That is rather nice of you."

Teddy blushed slightly. "I do a bit, but Mum does a lot of it with magic. We usually just clear up together."

Just then, his Mum came in with a tureen of soup gripped firmly in her hands. She took small, slow steps so that the soup did not slosh over the sides, but a small misstep over the threshold between the caused a bit splattered on the floor. His Mum froze; his Dad jumped up to help but she shook her head and started moving forward again once the soup had stopped moving so much. "Teddy, why don't you go get the bowls off the counter?"

Teddy went to the kitchen to retrieve the bowls that his Mum had stacked on the counter. Unfortunately, Teddy forgot to look out for the small puddle of soup and felt his feet go out from under him and he landed solidly on his bum before he could even try to catch himself. His cheeks burned red in embarrassment. At least he had kept hold of the bowls. He scurried to his feet quickly. "Are you okay?" his parents both asked, half out of their seats.

Teddy nodded his head jerkily. "I'm fine. Didn't even hurt."

His Mum laughed awkwardly. "That's my boy. You can see he gets that from me, though I probably would have broken the bowls and ended up slicing my arm open on ceramic shards."

"I think that did actually happen once. Molly made such a fuss that you were banned from kitchen duty."

His Mum smiled fondly. "That's right. It wasn't much of a concern because I had already been banned from actually cooking after I burned boiled eggs. Luckily for Teddy's sake my domestic abilities have improved considerably."

His Dad laughed and Teddy joined in. He was actually glad that he had fallen down if it got his parents reminiscing. They all took their seats around the table and his Mum ladled out helpings of soup. It was Teddy's favorite, beef and barley. His Dad took a spoonful and hummed his approval. "This is great, Dora."

The corner of her mouth turned up in a smile. "Thanks, but I can't take all the credit. It is Molly's recipe. I finally got it from her since Teddy loves it so much. I get a lot of practice making this one."

"They do say practice makes perfect," his Dad smiled. The ice between them seemed well and truly broken. His Mum and Dad threw meaningful looks at each other throughout dinner when they thought Teddy was not looking. All and all, Teddy had never been so glad to fall over.

After dinner they all sat around the living room with bowls of cake and vanilla ice cream. Teddy thought everything was going well, so he was a bit surprised when his Dad cleared his throat after a meaningful look from his Mum. "Teddy, your Mum and I have been wanting to talk to you about something."

He set aside his dessert bowl, and the others followed suit. Surely he was not talking about them getting together already? That was even sooner than even Teddy dared hope.

His Mum coughed quietly. "You know your father and I never officially divorced even though we separated before you were born?"

Teddy nodded and looked between both of his parent's faces. Neither of them were smiling. His father sat on the edge of his chair with his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped before him. His Mum sat next to him on the sofa with her legs and arms crossed. She idly chewed on the corner of her thumbnail like she did when she was nervous. A chill ran up his spine that had nothing to do with the ice cream.

"Teddy," his Dad said slowly, "Your Mum and I have decided that it would be the best for all of us if we went through with the divorce."

Never in his life had Teddy felt more blind sighted. He sat there on the sofa with his jaw hanging open. His Mum reached over to him and put her hand on his knee. He pushed her away and jumped to his feet. "No!" he shouted, "You can't be!" He started crying and felt terribly childish for crying even though he was almost eleven years old.

"Please, Teddy," his Mum pleaded, "Let's sit down and talk about this. I promise it won't change anything. It's just legal stuff. Nothing is going to change. Remus?" She turned to his Dad desperately for support.

"That's right, Teddy," he said, "You can still come see me whenever you want. I still want to be your Dad. Your mom and me getting a divorce doesn't change that one bit."

"B… but… we won't be a proper family," Teddy cried. His Mum reached out for him, but he pulled away. "You probably told him to do it!" He shouted, "You never told me about him! You never wanted me to see him!"

"Teddy, I.. it wasn't like that at all," she stuttered, starting to cry herself.

His Dad stood to put a consoling hand on her shoulder. "Don't talk to you mother like that! It was a decision we made together." He said with a quiet calm that was as close to anger as Teddy had ever seen him.

Teddy shook his head and backed away. His crying increased in strength until he turned and ran for the stairs, not wanting his father to see him sobbing. His mother heaved a deep, weepy sigh. "Well," she sniffed, "That went well." Teddy slammed his door behind himself.


Thanks so much for reading! I am nervous about how Teddy came across and that breaking the news of the divorce was too abrupt. The way I see it Teddy is seeing exactly what he wants to see and misinterpreting the signs, so he is really shaken up by the news. I hope it came across that way!

Please please review and let me know what you think! I try to answer all reviews!