Teddy slung the last trunk onto the floor and sprawled on his bed. Merlin, moving was a hassle, but hopefully he wouldn't have to do it anymore for quite some time. He was ready to settle for a bit and the location was brilliant, especially considering it catered to wizards, so there wouldn't be a taboo on using magic like the last two places he had lived.
Still, living among Muggles had been a learning experience and it had been to his benefit. Now he was back and ready to make a name for himself, one that would do his godfather and grandmother proud.
Robin appeared in the doorway holding a box of noodles that he poked at with a pair of wooden chopsticks. "I brought takeaway. Figured you wouldn't feel like cooking yet."
Teddy groaned. "You're a peach, Robbie. But I'm too tired to even fetch it."
Robin obligingly Levitated a second box to Teddy, who found the strength to sit up and poke through into the curry scented meat and veg chunks. He wasn't sure he would have the energy to chew, but once he put a bite into his mouth the flavours woke him up enough to down the rest.
"Thanks for helping, Robbie."
His friend slumped to the floor, using a wall for a backrest. Teddy had limited furnishings. A bed, three trunks, a tiny round table, and two folding chairs. The table and chairs were mimicking a dining set in the other room.
"No problem, T. You're helping me move next month, remember?" Robin's grin was borderline evil, but Teddy couldn't even bitch because Robin had spent the entire weekend helping him shrink and pack items before moving them from his old flat in Brighton to his new place in Wandsworth, plus a quick trip to his grandmother's to collect some old things he'd left there.
"Yeah. Great reminder. You staying?"
Robin groaned. "Much as I hate to Disapparate when I'm this tired, I hate sleeping on the ruddy floor even more."
"Public Floo is downstairs."
Robin considered it and then nodded. "Right. Good idea." He pulled his legs beneath him and got to his feet. "Night, then."
"Night. And thanks again."
Robin let himself out and Teddy stirred long enough to Vanish the empty cartons and kick off his jeans. He climbed between the sheets and was asleep before he could decide whether his new pillow was crap or not.
ooOoo
A loud banging roused Teddy from his blissful sleep. He fumbled for his wand, half-sitting up in a panic, disoriented and alarmed. His wand was nowhere to be found and after a moment he remembered where he was.
The banging came from the wall beyond his headboard. A very rhythmic thumping sound was accompanied by what sounded like feminine cries of bliss.
"Oh fucking great," Teddy muttered. "Loud neighbours."
He sprawled back over his pillow and tried to drift off, but the pounding sounds were too loud and annoying, even though the woman's shouts were somewhat entertaining. He couldn't quite make out her words, but she seemed quite vocal.
Teddy yawned and then scowled after a particularly loud thump sent half a stack of unbalanced books tumbling to the ground. "That's it!"
He got to his knees on the bed and balled up his fist before hammering loudly on the wall. "Quiet down in there! Some of us are trying to sleep and it's bloody…" He searched again for his wand to cast a Lumos, but then continued lamely, "…early!"
The noise ceased immediately and Teddy nodded, satisfied, and tucked himself back into bed once more. He had nearly drifted off to sleep when it started up again, louder than before. Fucking hell. His new neighbours were tosspots. That figured. He would have to talk to the manager tomorrow and hopefully move to a new flat elsewhere in the building. Either that or he might have to deal with neighbourly enmity for months to come. Both prospects were less than pleasing in the middle of the night.
He pulled his pillow over his head and tried to go back to sleep.
ooOoo
Teddy had to rise early the next morning in order to attend to his job. Concentrating was difficult and he found himself yawning several times during the day. He petulantly blamed his neighbours for keeping him up half the night with their vigorous sexual escapades. The fact that he hadn't been laid in what seemed eternity made it even worse.
His day was longer than expected, which always seemed to happen when one was exhausted and simply wanted it to be over. By the time he arrived home, he was knackered and he knew he didn't have the energy to see the manager about changing flats. He could only hope his rambunctious neighbours did not have a daily sex regimen.
To his surprise, there was a note on his door, held with a Sticking Charm. He pulled it away and examined the folded bit of parchment. There was no inscription. He slipped a finger into the fold to open it, but before he could do so, the door next to his opened, ostensibly to disclose one of his rude neighbours.
His jaw gaped nearly to the floor at the sight that met his eyes.
"Oh, good," she said. "I see you got my note. I meant to tell you in person, but you've been gone all day." Her chocolate-coloured eyes appraised him as she stepped forward and plucked the paper from his nerveless fingers. "But now that I've got a look at you, I need to revise it a bit."
She flipped open the parchment and tapped it with her wand before closing the note and handing it back. Teddy swallowed as he took it. Her lips curved in a flirtatious smile and then she turned and disappeared back into her flat. The door shut behind her, leaving Teddy to stare at it for long moments, trying to process the astounding fact that his new neighbour was none other than Pansy Parkinson, his childhood crush.
Eventually, he roused himself, opened the door to his flat, and made it inside. He sprawled on one of the folding chairs and flipped open the note, trying to choke down the butterflies in his stomach.
Do not knock on my bedroom wall and interrupt my sexual gratification again unless you are willing to take the place of my current paramour. And if you are, knock three times… if you think you have the stamina.
Teddy read the words six times. Merlin. If you think you have the stamina.
He pushed himself to his feet and readied himself for bed. Exhausted though he was, he lay on the mattress and stared at the ceiling, wondering if she now slept on the other side of the wall. He wondered what she wore to bed. If anything. Only last night, she had been… Fuck, some extraordinarily lucky man had been banging her into the wall, causing her to utter those sounds, noises Teddy had heard only in his fevered dreams. He felt a spike of jealousy that hadn't plagued him in years. He wondered what had happened to the blond man she had entertained at Hogwarts on the night she had unwittingly crushed Teddy's heart. Current paramour, she had said, which seemed to deny the presence of anyone permanent in her life.
Bloody hell, how could she stay so amazingly attractive after all this time? She looked exactly as she had when Teddy had first laid eyes on her. The same curves, the dark hair cut in an attractive bob, the same liquid chocolate eyes… Teddy swallowed hard and realised he would have to stay well away from her allure. It would be far too easy to fall prey to her charms and he knew it would only end in heartbreak. His own.
His resolve lasted two days.
ooOoo
Teddy opened the door to the knock and was surprised to see Pansy's lovely face.
"Hello, darling neighbour. I am making margaritas and have apparently run out of salt. Might you have some I can borrow?" she asked. Her eyes slid over him in a manner that made his blood feel twenty degrees warmer.
"Yeah," he said. "Um… hold on."
He turned and walked to the kitchen area, which was visible from the doorway, since his flat contained only two rooms plus a tiny bathroom. She stepped inside as he opened a cabinet and located the box of salt. He frowned as he wondered what to pour it into, since the only dishes he'd managed to unpack were two plates, a set of glasses, and a drawer full of utensils.
He glanced over to see her in the centre of the living room, looking around in amusement. "Are you planning to acquire more furnishings, or do you prefer the Spartan look?" she asked.
Teddy flushed, knowing his domicile most likely seemed the worst sort of bachelor flat. "Of course," he said, rather more sharply than intended. "I need to find a couch and some decent sitting chairs. I have artwork… somewhere."
She nodded. "Good to know. I was afraid you might be the monkish type." As she spoke, she sauntered closer. She wore a tight black skirt that wasn't really terribly short, falling to just above her knees, but combined with the green silk top she wore, it seemed far sexier than it was. Or perhaps Teddy was just channelling his old feelings of teenaged lust.
Pansy plucked the box out of his hands. "I'll just use what I need and bring the rest back, hmmm?"
"Yeah, okay," Teddy said, nearly choking on her nearness and, oh Merlin, her perfume. The familiar scent, more than anything previously, brought back a rush of emotion that made his knees feel weak. His heart clenched as he realised he was utterly fucked. He would have to move away. Preferably to a different continent.
Helplessly, he watched her hips sway as she made her way back to the door, where she paused. "Would you like to come over for a drink? I have empanadas, which is why margaritas were a necessity."
Teddy nodded, even though more intelligent portions of his brain were screaming that it was a very, very bad idea. He felt like an automaton as he followed her.
It was a worse idea than he had imagined. Her flat was tastefully furnished in rich dark wood and patterned shades of green. Teddy stopped short at the sight of a man lounging on the sofa. He gave Teddy a questioning stare over the rim of his glass while sipping at the greenish liquid. The man wasn't blond, even though Teddy was too mortified at seeing him there at all to feel any sort of relief.
"Con," Pansy's voice was chastising, "You were supposed to wait for the salt."
"Are you the salt boy?" the man asked. Teddy thought he looked something like a panther. Sleek, dark, and somewhat dangerous.
"This is my new neighbour," Pansy said. She blinked for a moment and then stared at him. Teddy realized she had no memory of him at all and had no idea about his name, not that she'd had much luck remembering it back at Hogwarts.
"Teddy," he supplied.
"Teddy," she repeated. "Teddy, this is Con. Short for Conner." She paused. "Or is it Conrad?"
The man shot her a look of disgust. "It's Connelly."
She smirked and poured a generous amount of tequila into a pitcher of juice. "Oh, that's right. How silly of me to have forgotten."
Teddy felt slightly better hearing that. At least he wasn't the only one to suffer Pansy's inability to recall names.
She blended the pitcher with a flick of her wand and then poured Teddy's salt onto a plate before wetting the rims of two hefty glasses and dipping them in the salt. Another snap of her wand sent the liquid spiralling into the glasses from the pitcher without spilling a drop.
"Empanada?" she asked, handing Teddy a glass and nodding her head toward a tray of pastries on the counter.
Teddy took a gulp and then shook his head, far too nervous to eat. Pansy smiled at him and then said, "Have a seat, Teddy." She motioned in the direction of the couch where Connelly sat. Thankfully, there were several chairs in the room, so Teddy settled for seating himself in the one farthest from Connelly.
"You the one banged on the wall a couple days ago?" Connelly asked. His voice had a bit of a brogue to it. Teddy pegged him for Scottish.
Teddy flushed and nodded. "Yeah, I was moving all day. Tired," he said lamely.
Pansy sat down in another chair, not next to Connelly, Teddy noted. She drew her legs up under herself, a movement that caused her skirt to expose quite a lot of her smooth thighs. Teddy looked around the flat and buried his face in his glass. His eyes narrowed and he realised the place had to be magically enlarged, since it looked three times bigger than his flat, and yet took up the same space from the outside. He wondered if she was skilled enough to perform such magic herself, or if she had contracted outsiders to do it.
"Pans gets a bit wild in the sack," Connelly said and chuckled.
Teddy looked at her, to find her gaze locked on him instead of Connelly. Her expression was thoughtful. "You look familiar to me. What's your last name, Teddy?"
Teddy swallowed his mouthful of lime-laden alcohol and licked the salt from his upper lip. "Lupin. Teddy Lupin."
Pansy inhaled sharply. "Lupin," she breathed. "That's it! You are Professor Lupin's son! From Hogwarts!"
Teddy nodded. "Remus Lupin was my father. He died in the war just after I was born. Did you… know him?" He hated the hopeful way his voice lilted, as it always did when he mentioned his parents. It was stupid to be so desperate for any titbit of information about them, but for him it had always been that way.
She took a long drink and seemed to study him. Teddy could practically see the calculation behind her eyes. He wondered at it, but before he could ask, Connelly barked a laugh. "If he had a cock, she probably knew him."
Since Teddy was watching her closely, he saw her eyes narrow and flash with something that could only be anger. Her knuckles whitened around the glass she held for an instant and then she showed her teeth in what would pass for a smile to anyone that had not studied her every nuance for weeks the way Teddy had. He was almost astounded how quickly her mannerisms had come back to him.
"Conner, don't make me toss you out on your penniless arse. Your mummy will not take you back in after your last transgression, remember?" Pansy's voice had a teasing lilt, but there was steel beneath it.
Teddy's gaze shifted to Connelly, whose face tightened into a mask of petulance. Teddy felt a moment of distaste, wondering what on earth she saw in him. Connelly's mouth worked and Pansy turned a glare on him. Teddy felt like cheering; he had seen her stare down high-ranking wizards with that look. A panther-faced nobody had zero chance against it.
Teddy gulped the rest of his drink and stood up. "I should go," he said.
Pansy nodded. She rose and set her still-full glass on the table before walking him to the door. "Thanks for stopping by, Teddy. I'll bring your salt back, later."
Teddy forced a smile and then shot a look at Connelly, as if to ask, Why him?
She seemed to understand, and chuckled. "Goodnight, Teddy." The tone of dismissal was impossible to misread and Teddy quickly exited and walked back to his flat. Once inside, he leaned against the door and let his suppressed emotions wash over him. Merlin, how could she think of him as anything but a child when she obviously preferred obnoxious, uncouth idiots? He sighed. It didn't change the fact that he wanted her.
~TBC~