Night Flying –or, What's in a Name

A HariPo fanfiction

by mew-tsubaki

Disclaimer/Note: The Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling, not me sadly. But I own this fic, so HA! This is for the 100 Prompts challenge by xXKissingSinXx. Using 3, 8, 12, 18, 22, 25, 40, 41, 46, 57, 60, and 79. Enjoy and review!

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Ch.4: Confusion's Great –NOT!

"Uh… Um, gaah… Wuhh…?" Words failed me when Lily stared at me, hovering on her broom.

Okay, so let's recap: I have a) found a Dark Magic item, b) discovered that my "intruder" is Lilu, and c) just blown my cover –maybe.

"I…" I shut my mouth for fear of something crucial being spilled. I had to come up with something fast, otherwise Lily would know everything. And then how would I be able to carry out my mission? On the other hand, she'd already identified me… Maybe it was a lucky guess? Haha…ha…ha…not.

"Teddy?" she repeated. She came a little closer and drew out her wand. "Lumos!" She squinted at me. Then she grew concerned and confused. "Teddy, I know it's you. But why are you here?"

"I'm not Teddy," I lied. "My name's Dulet Dipny. I work for the couple at Honeydukes. I was hired over the summer."

"And you're out flying about Hogwarts School at this time of night?" Lily hmphed. "That's not a very good story, Teddy."

I blushed. Hey, I was trying here!! "Look, you're a student –why are you out here?"

Now she crimsoned. "I-I needed a breath of fresh air," she stated, not meeting my eyes.

My hair betrayed me and turned turquoise. "You should be inside the school, miss."

She looked back at me. "Look, I can tell it's you, Teddy, behind that obviously fake nose and chin."

My shoulders sagged. "…but how?" I finally asked, disappointed. Was my disguise really that easy to figure out?

Lily smiled. "I know you, Teddy."

Well, seeing as she knew… "Look, do not tell anyone, okay? I really don't want to have to risk your memories if I have to alter them."

That scared her a bit –not the reaction I was hoping for. "No, no I won't tell. But why-?"

I shook my head. "Please, just go back to bed."

She frowned, a sight that made my stomach flip. "I see."

"Lilu, please! Understand, okay? You know my occupation."

Her eyes widened a bit in realization. "Aur-? You mean there's something here?"

"No, no! I mean, well, maybe… NO! No, I mean no! Don't worry about it. I've got things covered. You're safe here at Hogwarts."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Uh-huh. Sure." Lily grimaced and lowered her broom. I followed her until we were both on the ground. "Teddy, you're a terrible liar, you know that?"

I reddened. "I do now."

She smiled, fighting back a giggle. "Good night, Teddy." She stood on her tiptoes and barely managed to kiss my cheek. But I reflexively bent down slightly for it anyway, so I got her kiss. YAY! Uh, I mean…cool. Yeah. It was cool. … Heh.

"'Night, Lilu." I watched her disappear into the shadows of the castle, but I searched the night sky for any more flying silhouettes. Since I didn't see any, I could only suppose she was actually in the castle.

Meaning I would have to return to my pals and come up with a veeery creative story as to whatever the hell the "unidentified flying object" was. No way was I going to tell them the truth. I didn't want Lils getting in trouble.

But what else can be mistaken for a witch flying on a broom?

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"Are you all right? Are you hurt? What was that thing outside?"

Reiya's barrage of questions only further exhausted me when I returned to Dervish and Banges to wait for Shrad to come back. I rolled my head to work out the kinks in my neck, only hearing and feeling one good pop come out of that. Damn. The kink on my right side was there to stay.

"Well?" Reiya persisted as we headed back to the utility room and spelled it safe and secure.

Good Merlin, she's nosy for a Japanese woman. Hey, I'm not stereotyping here, folks. Have you ever known a Japanese woman to be so insistent that she know everything? No, I didn't think so.

"Shrad was in such a hurry when he sent me his Patronus." Reiya brushed her hair back and tied it up with a strip of leather. "Merlin, it's wonderful to be able to not wear something pink or pastel."

I laughed at that bit of normalcy. Reiya was more cut-out for the Dragon Plains than Madame Puddifoot's, but that's where the Auror Office had placed her, nonetheless. I had yet to see Rei in there; I couldn't imagine her in a frilly waitress outfit with the color pallet of a box of Valentine or Easter candy.

"I worry every time I see that black bear…," she muttered, referring to Shrad's Patronus.

I nodded, absolutely understanding. It felt like every time we saw his Patronus, something went wrong. When we'd first seen it the first year of Auror training, we'd found him trapped by a group of Death Eaters. (Don't worry; we got our mentors and all fought them off.) The second time, Shrad had protected a length of Diagon Alley from a poisonous potion some arse had accidentally dropped and Shrad had breathed a little bit in. The third time, Shrad had been visiting Azkaban to learn more of the ropes there and saw that one cell had been empty –a cell that wasn't supposed to be empty. The fourth time –ah, you get it. The point is that Shrad's a danger magnet and his Patronus is the ultimate Ill Omen.

"So? What was it outside?" Reiya asked, getting back to her original subject.

I rolled my eyes. "I thought it could've been someone. I guess I really worried Shrad. But it was just a thestral."

"Oh…" Reiya trailed off. She knew why I could see them and it wasn't because of my parents. I could see them for the same reason she and Shrad could. Let me just say that the Underdogs used to be a quad, not a trio. I won't further comment on that, either.

I hugged her shoulders. "Don't worry about it, Rei. Thestrals are kinda a good sign. At least it wasn't someone."

She nodded, but her onyx eyes were dulled.

For once, I was thankful that she was lost in her thoughts. If she were really paying attention, I'm sure I would've been outed as a liar. Or maybe… Maybe only Lily really could read me that well.

Whoa.

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When Shrad returned, it was the middle of the night –or morning, depending on how you looked at it. I was the first to hear his heavy footsteps outside Dervish and Banges and Reiya emerged from Puddifoot's quickly after. Shrad looked very weary.

I knit my brow in concern. "And the verdict is…?"

"Definitely dangerous."

"I could've told you that. Anything useful?"

Shrad shook his head. "Not really. Weasley said the department would have to really look into this. He also said we're to stay here. Our objective has changed a bit, too."

Reiya's eyes widened. "What?"

He shook his hands. "No, no, I don't mean anything serious! I just mean that we have something extra to do. Besides being on the lookout, we're also now the school's guards. If we see anything wrong, we have standing orders to act."

"Oh," she answered, taking in a big breath.

I scratched my head. "So nothing's changed then?"

He looked at me like I was stupid. "Everything's changed, Ted. It means that things are a lot worse than we thought. They actually put us here thinking it would just be a precautionary measure."

My face drained of all color. "Wait. Even our bosses didn't expect anything to happen?"

Shrad shrugged. "Looks like Hogwarts is a battleground once again."

Aw, bloody hell. I just pray that no one else is lost.

And as I think that, Lily's concerned expression pops back into my mind. Oh, right. WHAT THE HELL WAS SHE DOING FLYING AROUND AT NIGHT??!!

My head hurts. I can't keep up with all these different little plotlines!!!!

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Ooh, my head hurts, too, Teddy! Sorry for the long wait, everyone! But I appreciate the support, and so does LilTed! Thanks so much for all the reviews and favs and alerts! See, this story is just taking me wherever it goes, so I have no idea what's gonna happen next (…well…I kinda do.) Anyway, I'm really enjoying this fic and I have no intentions of stopping anytime soon –TRUST ME ON THAT!

As an aside… Anyone who likes challenges should check out my topic the Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges forum. The topic is "Valentine's Day Comes Year-Round" and is a Prompt Challenge to us quotes. Go check it out! Some people have and I've posted a bunch of entries, too! I hope you enjoy it!

Lastly… REVIEW THIS CHAPTER! Lily/Teddy wants you to –siriusly!!!

-mew-tsubaki

Thank you, Morghen, for being a great Beta as always! :D