Chapter Nine
A/N: Thanks, gimarkley2013, ClaireBear1982 and lunalovegood564, for reviewing.
That very night, Lily lay awake in her bed, still disbelieving of the choice the Sorting Hat had made. In all the times she had thought about it, never once had the girl thought she would be placed in Hufflepuff. Yet still, the more she did so now, the more she felt like she belonged.
The students of Hufflepuff, true to reputation, were extremely welcoming to her, warm and friendly, making the act of settling in much easier to complete. Teddy, also had been very friendly to her, looking out for her even before she had left the hall. Unable to help herself, Lily giggled a little at the thought of the incident earlier, when Teddy had punched a fifth year Slytherin in the face for insulting her. 'I wonder if he's actually out of McGonagall's detention yet.' the young girl thought to herself, unable to stop the slight snigger that escaped her lips as she did so. The scene the woman had caused at the end of the feast had certainly been memorable, for the majority of the school.
Her questions were answered when she heard the loud bang of a door against a solid stone wall. It seemed that the young man had returned.
Unable to fend off her curiosity, Lily rose from her bed, padding silently down to the common room. 'It seems that he may be here for a bit longer, if he carries on like this.' she thought, sighing to herself as she closed the dormitory door behind her.
The fire was still roaring in its grate, despite the late hour, tinting the common room a warm shade of amber. The firelight illuminated the figure curled up on the settee before the fire, sighing in annoyance as he watched the patterns dance around the walls.
"Teddy?" Lily questioned quietly, capturing the young man's attention. As soon as he heard her voice, Teddy turned, patting the seat beside him with a smile on his face.
"Are you alright, Lil? Why are you up this late?" the dusky blonde questioned the girl, wrapping one arm around her shoulders.
"I was still awake, and I heard you come in. I just thought I'd see if you were okay." Lily replied, leaning her head down onto the boy's shoulder. The girl was so tired by this point that she could hardly keep her head upright, but she refused to return to bed, not until she knew that the boy who was almost her brother was alright.
"I'm fine, Lil." Teddy assured her, ruffling her amber locks in an affectionate way, before he became questioning once again. "Why were you still awake?"
"I was just thinking, a little bit. About me being in Hufflepuff." the young redhead admitted, withholding the last piece of information. This did not last for long, however, as Teddy's wide eyed look caused the girl to allow her emotions to spill over. "Do you think that Mum and Dad will be disappointed in me, for not being in Gryffindor?"
"Of course they won't!" the boy exclaimed, letting a small laugh escape his throat afterwards. "They weren't disappointed with Al, and he's in Slytherin! They'll be fine, Lil. As long as you're happy with being in Hufflepuff, they'll be fine."
"Are you sure?" the young girl asked, suddenly sounding a lot younger than she had done before, like the tiny little girl he had used to play pretend Quidditch with, all those years ago.
"Of course I am." he told her, a reassuring note in his voice that brought a smile to Lily's face, as did the arrogant attitude he had retained from earlier childhood. "And when have I ever been wrong?!"
"Always." Lily commented, with a tiny laugh that brought a comical pout to the dusky blonde's face, drawing another laugh from her throat. "Although I think you might be right this time. I hope you are, anyway."
"Oh, don't worry, Lils. I am." Teddy told the girl, pulling her into a comforting embrace. They stayed like that for a long while, drawing comfort from each other as a pair of siblings would do.
Finally, the two broke apart, though still sitting close to each other, staring into the fireplace.
"It's strange, isn't it?" Lily asked her cousin, after a beat of silence. "To think that, just over twenty years ago, this whole castle was rubble on the ground. To think that Voldemort fought here, that he fought our family, and that they beat him."
Glancing up at Teddy, the young redhead suddenly saw tears surface in his eyes. It took her just a moment to realise why, and she gasped once she understood what she had done.
"Oh, Teddy, I am so sorry!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around the boy's neck. "That was so insensitive, I'm really sorry!"
"It's alright." he told the girl, albeit a little more quietly than he had spoken before. "I'm only free because they died fighting here. I'm proud that they did."
"And they're proud of what you've done." the young Potter stated in response. When Teddy scoffed at the remark, she continued, frowning at him slightly for just a moment. "Yes, you may not be the most well-behaved boy in the school, or even the most intelligent, you have looked after me for all these years. You've looked out for Rosie, Hugo, Al and James as well, and you've never let any of us get hurt. That counts for something, Teddy, something that 'Outstanding' and 'Exceeds Expectations' grades could never match up to."
For another dozen minutes after Lily's speech had ended, the two sat together in silence, ever so often glancing out of the window at the beauty of the stars in the midnight sky. It was enough for them, to sit in the comfort of their common room.
Hufflepuff may not have been what Lily was expected, but now she had finally found that it was where she belonged.
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