Teddy hovered high above St Ambrose's Quidditch pitch, keeping a sharp eye out for a telltale glint of gold in the waning afternoon light. Official practices were done until they were back from the Christmas break, but Teddy and a few of the others were missing being up in the air and had convened an informal game after their last midterm of the day and Teddy was playing Seeker against Ishikawa.
"None of your tricks now," she admonished before they'd kicked off from the field.
"Jenny, you wound me," he said, batting his eyelashes innocently as he placed a hand against his chest as if stricken by her suspicion.
"Sell your bullshit to someone else, Lupin, I'm not buying."
"That's because you're full up already," Duncan said, quickly soaring into the air to get away from her.
Flying around made Teddy think of Niyol and his crazy request to help him win the heart of his ladylove. He'd spent the days since their last rooftop meeting reading everything he could find about Coyote, hoping that he'd stumble across something that would give him the faintest idea of where to start looking for a clue to the location of Coyote's den.
He and Duncan had talked long into the night after their meeting with the thunderbird, coming up with and rejecting a dozen different courses of action. "What about using a Summoning Charm?" Duncan asked from his prone position on the floor.
"Accio Coyote's whisker?" Teddy snorted. "You heard Niyol, his den's not even on this plane. I don't know about you, but I've never heard of an inter-dimensional Summoning Charm."
"Well, you've never not heard of one either," he said, sounding put out. "We could fly all over Mt Diablo."
"It's huge. We'd be there forever."
"Yeah, and that bird doesn't seem like the patient type, does he?"
"No. Besides, we don't even know what we're looking for. The den entrance could be anything. A cave, a hole in a riverbank, a crack in a cliff …" Teddy trailed off, expertly manipulating the Rubik's Cube in his hands. "We'll have to do some reading, I guess."
"What about asking Harry?"
"No way," Teddy said quickly.
Duncan sat up and crossed his legs, looking at him curiously. "Why not?"
Teddy shrugged and put aside the puzzle. "Niyol asked me, not Harry."
"So? You asked me for help."
Shifting uncomfortably on the bed, Teddy ran his fingers through his hair. "If I told Harry about what Niyol wants, he'd probably tell me it's too dangerous and then he'd take over and be all Harry Potter about it, you know?" He avoided looking at Duncan and picked at a loose thread on the duvet. "He's been on me about applying to the Aurors."
"What? On you like how?" Duncan asked, frowning as he reached for the perfectly-solved Rubik's Cube.
"He doesn't want me to apply. We had a row after the game yesterday. He was on me about taking a gap year to figure out what I wanted to do and when I told him that I didn't want to because I'd be a year behind you in the Academy, he accused you of bullying me into applying." Teddy winced at his friend's affronted expression, remembering that awful conversation.
"He said what? That I was bullying you?"
"Well, he asked if you'd put me up to it. Like it wasn't my own idea."
"But your mom was an Auror, so why wouldn't you want to be one?"
"Yeah, and so was Harry." Teddy shook his head. "I don't get it, man. I want to help people; what's so wrong with that?" They sat in silence for several moments before Teddy glanced at the clock, wincing at the time. He stretched and got up, taking the sleeping bag out of his closet and throwing it at Duncan. "Let's get some sleep. I need you at one hundred percent to charm the librarian tomorrow."
But nothing yet, Teddy thought as his eyes swept the sky all around him. Ishikawa looked at ease on her broom as Armstrong charged for Duncan acting as Goalkeeper, Quaffle firmly under his arm. Down below he saw Mr Keller cutting the grass of the field, completely unconcerned by the teenagers zipping around overhead. Distracted, Teddy watched him moving back and forth, eyes roving over the freshly-cut grass, still a brilliant green despite the season.
Wait, what's that? Teddy thought as Mr Keller completed another row and started on the next. A pattern? Intrigued, he flew down for a closer look. Lines? No … an arrow! His gut clenched in excitement as an arrow became clear in the cut grass.
Ishikawa blasted past him on her broom, taking advantage of his distraction to make a dive for the Snitch, handily ending the game. "Face it Lupin, you'll never be better than me!" she shouted as she flew literal circles around him.
"I was just having an off day. Anytime you want to challenge me, Ishikawa!" he shouted back, heading for the field and the strange arrow.
Duncan and Kelly joined him on the ground, faces wound up in consternation. "What the hell was that, man? When I saw you flying down, I thought you'd seen it and then you just sat there like a dummy! Didn't you hear me yelling at you?"
Eyes fixed on the pattern in the grass, Teddy only nodded, letting his friend's frustration roll over him. "Sorry. I was distracted."
"By what?" Duncan asked belligerently, arms folded across his chest. Kelly looked between the two friends and Teddy gave her a reassuring smile and a roll of his eyes as if to say, "Pay him no mind, he's like this all the time."
"By that," Teddy said, pointing to the arrow in the grass.
"What's that?" Duncan asked, looking down at it and then to where it seemed to be pointing.
"An arrow."
"I can see that, dumbass. What's it there for?"
Teddy glanced at Kelly and licked his lips. "I think it's a clue."
Duncan's eyes got round and he sucked in a breath. "You think so?"
"A clue for what?" Kelly asked, looking down at the arrow in the grass. Mr Keller continued to cut the grass and Teddy looked for any other strange patterns, but didn't see any.
"It's kind of a long story," Teddy said, reluctant to tell her about the thunderbird and his request.
"A bird wants a whisker," Duncan said, making Teddy groan out loud. "What?"
"Never mind. Where do you think it's pointing to?"
Duncan squinted at the arrow and then off to the distance. "Hard to tell on the ground," he grunted. "Let's get up in the air and see what we see."
The three launched themselves into the air, hovering over the lighter green arrow pattern in the grass below. "Well, it's not pointing to Mt Diablo," Teddy observed, looking at the cloud-covered peak in the distance.
"Hmm …" Duncan lined himself up with the arrow. "It's kind of going off in that direction," he said, pointing toward the clump of administration buildings.
"Should we just fly in that direction and see what we see?" Kelly asked, surprising Teddy.
"I guess?" Teddy and Duncan shrugged and kicked off from the ground, Kelly following them as they rose into the sky. Looking down, Teddy lined himself up with the arrow and flew forward, keeping a sharp eye out for anything unusual.
"See anything?" Duncan called and Teddy shook his head as they flew over the bell tower on top of the main administration building.
"Wait, what's that over there?" Kelly shouted, pointing to the right. Teddy hovered in midair looking where she was pointing.
"The observatory?"
"Look at the weathervane. The arrow is going against the wind direction," she said, flying closer.
Teddy and Duncan followed her until they hovered right in front of it. It was made out of brass and very ornate with devices that showed not only the wind direction, but the speed, humidity, phase of the moon and outdoor temperature. Topping the whole thing was a rooster that actually crowed at sunrise and sunset. Just as she'd said, the arrow which usually indicated the wind direction was pointing in the complete opposite direction it should have been.
Duncan spun around, looking back at the direction they'd come from. "So, it's not pointing exactly where we came from, but rather more that way." He moved his outstretched arm 45 degrees, pointing toward the golden oak-studded hills behind the school.
Teddy sucked in air between his teeth and frowned. "I don't really see anything out there. What do you think?"
Kelly studied it through narrowed eyes, looking back towards the Quidditch pitch. "I think it's a triangulation."
"X marks the spot!" Duncan said triumphantly.
"Duncan, 'X' never marks the spot," Teddy said, feeling very much like Indiana Jones at the moment.
"Five dollars," Duncan retorted, holding out his hand.
Teddy slapped his palm with his. "You're on." Kelly watched their interaction with a quizzical look on her face before finally shaking her head. "It's getting dark; let's um, triangulate and see what we find?"
"I'll take the weathervane, Teddy, you do the arrow in the grass. Send up red sparks when you're ready to start."
Duncan held out his hand. "Mandrakes on three! One, two, three, Mandrakes!"
They broke apart, Duncan following Teddy to the Quidditch pitch. Hovering above the lighter green arrow in the grass once more, Teddy felt a tightening in his guts. Man, I hope this isn't some wild goose chase, he thought as he sent up a barrage of red sparks from his wand. Answering sparks went up from Kelly's position and they flew forward, Teddy enhancing his vision until he could see her on her trajectory.
Hmm, looks like we're going to end up at the bell tower? They all arrived at the same time and sat on their brooms, looking at the brown stucco tower in confusion. Teddy flew all the way around it, looking for anything unusual, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary.
"What do you reckon?" he asked Duncan. His friend balanced easily on his broom, arms folded as he stared at the tower.
"Nothing on the outside? No markings?"
"None. Kelly, you see anything?" She shook her head and Teddy sighed, feeling defeated.
"Well, let's look inside." Duncan rose easily and flew toward one of the large archways of the bell tower, landing next to the enormous cast-iron bell. Teddy and Kelly followed cautiously, squeezing into the space next to Duncan. Most of it was taken up by the bell and Teddy checked his watch to see if it was due to go off anytime soon.
"We've got about fifteen minutes before it goes off at five," he said, eyes darting around the small room. "We definitely do not want to be here when it does." He looked around the floor of the tower. It didn't look like anyone got up here very often to clean and it was littered with detritus. He saw leaves, twigs, dry grass, bird feathers, dead bugs and even some owl pellets.
How will I even know what's a clue? This all looks like a bunch of crap, he thought, squatting down to paw through a pile of leaves in a corner. None of them looked unusual and several of them crumbled to dust the second he touched them. He glanced over at Kelly and saw her picking up several owl pellets, lighting the tip of her wand to get a closer look at them and he felt a surge of giddiness overtake him.
"What about in here?" Duncan said, his voice oddly muffled. Teddy glanced over to see his legs poking out from underneath the bell.
"Get out of there! What if it goes off?" Teddy said, standing up in alarm.
Duncan bent almost double and fixed him with a look. "It's not going to go off early. There might be something in here. Help me look, you wuss."
"I swear to God one of these days I'm going to knock your block off," Teddy grumbled as he scooted underneath the bell to stand next to Duncan. Kelly joined them a moment later and they all lit the tips of their wands, examining the interior of the bell for anything that might be a clue to the location of Coyote's den.
"Nothing. I told you," Teddy said after several minutes of fruitless searching.
"Keep looking. There's got to be something," Duncan insisted. "The arrows pointed us here and this bell is in the exact middle of the intersection."
"Jesus, Duncan! How many times do I have to tell you? 'X' never marks the—"
"Oh! Look at this!" Kelly exclaimed, aiming her wand light at the bell's enormous clapper. Inscribed on it was a crude representation of some sort of building.
"You think it's the clue?" Duncan asked eagerly, his voice loud in the confines of the bell.
"Thanks. Now I don't need the bell to ring to make me deaf." Teddy punched his friend in the shoulder and then dropped down on his haunches, making himself eye level with the crude drawing.
"Sorry! Jeez!" Duncan dropped down next to him, reaching a finger out to touch the image incised in the cast iron.
"Don't!" Teddy hissed, grabbing Duncan's hand and pulling it away. "We don't know if it's trapped."
"Why would it be trapped?"
"Are you telling me that you've spent the last couple of days reading about Coyote and you haven't figured out that he's the master prankster?" Teddy shook his head sadly. "You are going to be a shitty Auror."
Kelly sighed in exasperation and cast Detect Magic. Teddy held his breath, releasing it slowly when nothing around the image glowed. "What is it?" Kelly asked, squatting down next to him. She turned her head to the side and squinted. "It looks like a kid's drawing of a castle."
"How d'you figure that?" Teddy asked, looking at the drawing again. It was vaguely rectangle-shaped with what looked like blocky towers on either end and odd sideways triangles floating overhead.
"See, look," Kelly said, reaching out with a finger. "You have the main building of the castle here, and these are the towers, right?" She pointed out some lumpy bits at the top of the towers. "These are the crenelations and here are the pennants." She touched each of the triangles in turn.
"And this looks like the drawbridge," Duncan said, pointing to the upside-down U-shape in the middle of the main castle body.
"A castle. What would a castle have to do with this?" Teddy took his phone out of his back pocket and snapped several pictures of the drawing, noticing the time. "We gotta get out of here. Come on."
The three of them scooted out from under the bell and grabbed their brooms, flying quickly back to the Quidditch pitch. Teddy turned over the image of the castle in his mind. Are there any castles around here? There's a shit ton in England, but what would any of those have to do with Coyote?
Back on solid ground, they walked back to the equipment room to put their brooms away as the bell started chiming the hour. Teddy closed the door and turned to see Kelly fixing him with a glare, arms crossed. "Now, what is this a clue for? A bird wants a whisker? What are you two getting up to?" she asked in a tone that clearly said she wouldn't be satisfied until she knew everything.
Duncan looked at him with a raised eyebrow and patted him on the shoulder. "I'll let you two get on with this conversation. Let me know what you find out about that drawing." He gave them a jaunty wave and strolled off toward his locker, looking like he didn't have a care in the world.
"Well, it's kind of a long story," Teddy began, scratching the back of his neck nervously at Kelly's expression.
"I think we've got a few minutes."
"Indeed. Well, years ago, me and Harry and Ginny went on a river rafting trip down the Grand Canyon. Ginny kind of does this … thing where she usually manages to find some sort of magical creature that needs some help, right? So, there was this thunderbird …" he said, telling her about their adventure of finding Hehewuti's egg and helping it to hatch.
"So then a few days ago, Niyol, that's Hehewuti's son, came to me and said he wanted to mate this other thunderbird, but she was insisting on one of Coyote's whiskers and he thinks I can help him get it," Teddy said, the look of amazement on her face giving him a little thrill in his gut.
"When you say Coyote, you mean the Coyote, right? The father of the five tribes, the trickster the … god?"
"Yeah. That's the one."
"I see." She was quiet for several moments and Teddy had a sudden fear that she was going to back out of going to the dance with him on account of him being utterly barking mad. His fears were allayed when she looked at him with a wide smile and his heart began to beat faster. "Well, I'll say one thing for you; you sure do keep things interesting."
"There you are. I've been looking all over for you. You ready to go?" Harry said as he came down the walkway, tie loosened and his bag slung over his shoulder.
"Oh, Marianne's! Yeah, let me get my bag." He looked back at Kelly, wanting to take her hand, but feeling self-conscious about touching her with Harry standing right there, so he waved instead. "Gotta go. Ginny's torturing me with dress robe shopping tonight."
"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow, then." She shot a quick glance at Harry and went up on her tiptoes, putting her mouth next to his ear. "My dress is emerald green."
Teddy nearly swooned at the feeling of her hot breath washing over his ear and the rush of his Metamorphmagus ability blew through him as his hair changed color. Looking up at his fringe, he saw his hair was a brilliant green and he grinned at Kelly. "Got it," he said, avoiding looking at his godfather as she squeezed his arm and headed off to her own locker.
Out of the corner of his eye, Teddy saw Harry's wide grin and he felt a hot flush travel down his entire body. "Not a single word," he admonished before stalking off to collect his things.
"Hmm, something about those just don't look right," Ginny said. She was standing with her weight balanced back on one leg, eyes narrowed as she looked Teddy up and down.
"They don't look right because I'm wearing them," he said, spreading his arms wide, huge swathes of fabric falling to either side of him.
"Oh, pish, you're not the problem. Turn around, I'm not satisfied with how those hang on you." Teddy dutifully turned around, listening to Ginny hum discontentedly behind him. "No, not those. Back in you go."
"These are the twentieth set of robes you've had me put on," Teddy groused as he disappeared back into the changing cubicle.
"They are not, but if you keep complaining we'll go through twenty sets," Ginny threatened. As he was changing, he heard her talk quietly with the hovering saleswitch, asking about different fabrics, saying things like 'all-season' and 'sturdy'.
"How're you holding up, mate?" Harry asked, sticking his head through the curtain.
"All right," Teddy said, letting the heavy, suffocating fabric fall to the plush carpet. Getting robes at Marianne's certainly was an experience, he'd learned. They'd been greeted with iced cucumber water and shown to what the saleswitch called "the east salon". He found that he didn't overmuch care for the cucumber water, but being able to try on robes under Ginny's scrutiny without a bunch of complaining boys and exasperated mums around was priceless.
"Here, these are the ones Gin wants to see next." Harry handed him a jumble of fabric and Teddy groaned as he tried to make heads or tails out of it.
"What about you?" Teddy shoved his arm into a sleeve, scowling at his godfather.
"I'm already sorted. Only had to try on two sets."
"So now you're going to sit on your arse and drink fancy water while I continue this torture." Teddy settled the robes on his shoulders and looked at his reflection in the mirror, blowing his fringe out of his eyes with an annoyed breath.
Harry stepped into the cubicle with him, adjusting the drape of the yards and yards of fabric. "It's a tough job, yeah?" he said, grinning at him. He took a step back and nodded. "I think we've got the light at the end of the tunnel here."
Taking a deep breath, Teddy exited the cubicle and stood in front of Ginny, looking at her hopefully, relieved to see a pleased smile light up her face. "Yes, this fabric is much better on his frame. Not quite so stodgy," she remarked to the saleswitch.
"Yes, this fabric has a much lighter hand than your traditional woolen, but it's still practical enough for winter events," the saleswitch said, walking around Teddy and making pulls and yanks to adjust. Teddy glared at Harry as he lounged on the sofa, legs out in front of him as he sipped from a fresh glass of cucumber water.
"All right. And no problem with extra for letting out?" Ginny asked, making Teddy feel like he wasn't even standing there right in front of her.
"No problem at all. Would you like to see some vests now?"
"Yes, please. You said emerald green, right?" Ginny asked, almost as if she'd just realized he was actually there.
"Uh, yeah," Teddy said, feeling a tingle as he thought of getting to see Kelly in her dress when he picked her up to go to the dance.
He repeated the trick from earlier, grinning when the saleswitch looked impressed and hurried off to find vests in the appropriate color. While she was away, Teddy felt his stomach start grumbling. "Are we eating after this?"
"God, I hope so," Harry said from the sofa. "What do you want?"
"Mexican," Teddy said without hesitation. "That place in the Mission with the good chips."
"I think that can be arranged," Ginny said, smiling warmly at him. "We can pick up James from Sarah and Archimedes afterwards."
"Okay, let's see how these do," the saleswitch said, returning with several vests over her arm. The promise of food made this last bit bearable and soon Ginny was conversing with the saleswitch, making the final arrangements for pickup of the robes and two waistcoats, one a somber midnight-blue and the other the prescribed emerald green.
Teddy shrugged on his jacket and waited in the lobby with Harry while Ginny continued to chat with the saleswitch. "So," Harry asked, "need any dance lessons?"
"From you? No thanks."
"Hey now, Gin and I used to go to dance clubs pretty often," Harry said, sounding just a little defensive.
"Yeah? When was that? When was the last time you two went out to a club?" Teddy asked, tilting his head back and looking at him.
"Well, it was just …" Harry said, brows drawing down in a frown, "… erm …"
"Are you telling me that the only dance club you've been to in the last however many years has been St Ambrose's all-purpose room?" Teddy tried to keep a straight face but failed and couldn't stop the laughter bubbling out of him as he watched Harry's expression cycle from speculation to consternation and then finally resignation.
"All ready?" Ginny asked, finally tearing herself away from the saleswitch. "What's so funny?"
"Harry was, uh, offering me dance lessons," Teddy said, trying to calm his giggles.
"Oh, he was, was he?" she asked, arching an eyebrow at her husband who was still looking discomfited. "I'll give you a brush up course. I'm the much better dancer." She raised her arms over her head and bumped her hip against Teddy's, making him break out in another round of laughter.
"That's enough, you two," Harry grumbled, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets.
"Ooh, someone's hangry. Shall we?" Ginny held her hand out and Teddy took it in his, momentarily surprised at how small her hand was in his now.
"Let's be gone from this place," he said haughtily, leading the way to the ornate double-doors, sweeping past Harry with his nose high in the air.
A few minutes later they were seated in a cozy booth in their favorite Mexican place in the Mission, Teddy blissfully crunching his way through the first bowl of tortilla chips. Their waiter brought their drinks, setting a blended margarita down in front of Harry and two jamaicas in front of Teddy and Ginny. "No margarita?" Teddy asked after a long, satisfying slurp.
"Someone has to make sure everyone gets home in one piece," she said with an air of superiority.
"Come on, it'd take far more than just one margarita for me to splinch myself or anyone else," Harry said, licking foam from his upper lip. "Did I ever tell you about that one time I had to do a quickie extraction from the Pyrenees? We had an Auror take a bad curse wound and I was already in France, so they sent me to get him out."
Teddy had forgotten all about the chip in his hand as he listened, eyes wide. "So then what happened?"
Harry shrugged and took another swallow of his drink. "I got him out. The original plan was to take him to a safe house outside of Paris, but I got word that it had been compromised, so I brought him back to London."
"All the way back to London from … Spain?" Teddy remembered the chip in his hand and shoved it in his mouth, chewing furiously.
"Well, I dunno, could have been in France? Andorra? It's so weird up there in those mountains."
"But intercontinental Apparation. That's heavy duty. Duncan's dad said the furthest he's Apparated himself alone was Chicago and you did it with another person." Teddy shook his head and took another long slurp of jamaica. "I can't wait to learn stuff like that and really see what I can do."
"Well, I was taking a pretty big chance with that and I wasn't a hundred percent sure if it would turn out all right," Harry said.
"But you're Harry Potter. You had to know it'd work out," Teddy insisted. "You've done things that most only dream of. Taking down the worst Dark Lord, killing a Basilisk—"
"Watching friends die," Harry said quietly, eyes fixed on Teddy. "It's not all glory and adventure. Bad things happen to people you care about."
Teddy opened his mouth to argue when Ginny laid her hand on top of his. "Well, I'm going to have the enchiladas, how about you?" she said brightly, giving Harry a warning look.
Sighing, Teddy lowered his eyes to his menu even though he'd already decided on the smothered burrito. He knew there would be no more talk about Aurors—adventures or dangers—tonight. He listened as Harry and Ginny talked about the upcoming Christmas holiday, sorting out gifts for the multitudes of Weasleys.
The phone in his pocket buzzed the pattern he'd set for Duncan, but he ignored it. He knew if he took it out that it would immediately be confiscated and he didn't need Harry or Ginny to "accidentally" read any of the messages about castles, thunderbirds or coyotes.
After what seemed like ages, their dinners came and Teddy was relieved that he could pay attention to something else at last as he plowed through his burrito. He was halfway through when Harry set down his knife and fork and took a long drink of water. Teddy watched, chewing more slowly as he cleared his throat, suddenly worried that he'd somehow figured out their half-baked plans to find Coyote's den and was about to tell him off.
"Gin and I have a bit of an announcement," Harry said, taking Ginny's hand. "Well, more like two, I guess." He paused for a moment and grinned at Ginny. "Gin's pregnant and we're putting the condo up for sale."
Teddy swallowed his mouthful and looked back at them, eyes darting between Ginny's excited face and Harry's hopeful one. "Oh, wow. Wow," he said, completely taken by surprise at both pieces of news. They'd never said anything to him about it, but he knew that getting James had taken some work and he hoped this one had been a bit easier. "Why sell the condo?"
"Well, there's going to be another person in the house before too long. James is becoming more mobile and we'd like him to have a nice garden to go out and play in," Ginny said effusively, eyes alight with the possibilities.
"I'll be moving out, though, and into the Academy barracks," Teddy said around another mouthful of delicious carne asada burrito.
"Or university," Harry said.
"Yes, you'll be graduating and then moving on to whatever you decide next," Ginny said smoothly, interrupting whatever Harry had been about to say. She put her hand on Teddy's arm, squeezing lightly. "But that doesn't mean you won't have a place with us. Wherever we are will always be your home and there will always be a place for you in it."
Her sincere words warmed Teddy's heart and he felt a little bit of his apprehension fade. "So you haven't been waiting for me to graduate just so you can turn my room into another nursery?" he asked, a smile lifting the corner of his mouth. "When is this new one appearing on the scene?"
Ginny glanced at Harry and then focused back on Teddy. "Should be sometime in June."
"Are you going to miss my graduation because you're giving birth?"
"Sweetheart, I wouldn't miss your graduation for anything. You know that." Teddy looked back at Ginny, seeing the care for him in her eyes and he swallowed past a lump in his throat, covering it up with a long drink of jamaica. He looked at Harry, giving him a cheeky grin and a thumbs up, getting a raised eyebrow in return.
They continued dinner, chatting companionably, Teddy's phone continuing to buzz away. Get a clue, Duncan! Teddy thought, wishing he dared take it out at the dinner table. Groaning, Ginny pushed away from the table, patting the barely-there curve of her incipient belly. "Harry, do you think you could manage collecting James from Sarah and Archimedes?"
"Of course. All right?" Harry asked, looking at her with concern.
"Yes, fine. I just ate too much and I want to walk a bit of it off. Teddy will come with me, won't you?" she said, giving him a brilliant smile.
"I would be honored to escort my lady through these streets of San Francisco," Teddy intoned with exaggerated gravitas as he helped her out of her seat.
Outside of the restaurant they waved goodbye to Harry as they headed off down Mission toward Market. It was a clear night and very cold, the full moon riding high in the sky and Teddy looked up at it, thinking of his father as he so often did on nights like this.
"Penny for your thoughts," Ginny said quietly, breaking his reverie.
"Oh, I hardly think that they're worth all that much."
"You might be surprised."
Teddy glanced at her, glad to see that she wasn't even looking at him and sighed. "I dunno. It's the full moon, isn't it?"
"You thinking of your dad?"
"And Mum. What they were like. What they would think of me," he said, leaving one thought unvoiced. Why did they have me if they were just going to die?
"They were wonderful people," Ginny said, taking his hand and squeezing hard. "And they would be very proud of you."
"What made them wonderful?" he asked, feeling that same old hunger to know rising up inside.
"Which one?"
"Dad," Teddy said, eyes fixed on the moon shining so brightly.
"Oh, well, let's see," Ginny said, falling quiet for a moment and he sensed she was marshaling her thoughts. "You know he was our Defense teacher, coming right after the disaster that was Gilderoy Lockhart, so he was quite a breath of fresh air! That was my second year, so he was really my first experience with a Defense professor that was actually competent and knew what he was talking about."
"And he was teaching at Hogwarts because of Sirius Black, right? The ministry was worried that Sirius would go after Harry?"
"Correct. Of course, they were completely wrong about Sirius as we found out later, but your father was prepared to defend Harry against someone who had once been one of his very best friends in the whole world. Has Harry ever told you how they met the very first time?" Ginny asked, looking up at him.
"On the train, I thought?"
"Yes, on the train. Dementors had been sent to look for Sirius on the Hogwarts Express and, well, you know how they affect Harry. Your father came to his aid without hesitation even though they'd never formally met. That's the kind of man your father was. He'd do anything for the ones he loved and even though he didn't know Harry, he loved him because he was all that was left of Lily and James." Ginny squeezed his hand again and Teddy felt his heart thumping hard in his chest as they strolled along.
And I'm all that's left of Mum and Dad. "What about Mum?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
"She was one-of-a-kind," Ginny said, her voice warm with memories. "There was that summer we were all cooped up at number twelve and this was back when it wasn't nearly as nice as it is now. Mum was determined to clean that place within an inch of our lives."
"I thought Kreacher was there, taking care of the place?"
"Oh, he was there, but he wasn't taking care of it. Kreacher was quite a bit different then. He'd had a very hard time of it and Sirius wasn't the best person to be around." They walked quietly for a few moments before she spoke again. "Anyway, it was just the worst summer ever, but your mum could always make it seem better. She was the one that brought Harry from his aunt and uncle's to Dumbledore so he could be brought to number twelve. Harry said that she nearly broke all of his aunt's knickknacks getting him and his trunk out of the house."
"Yeah, I've heard that she wasn't the most graceful," Teddy said, envisioning his mum as he'd seen her in pictures. Young, full of life and tripping all over the place.
"When she was dueling though, it was a completely different thing. It was almost as if a different part of her brain switched on and she became a different person. I saw her fighting at the Department of Mysteries and I had a hard time recognizing her as the person that made us laugh at the dinner table by making faces!"
"Did she ever talk about why she wanted to be an Auror?" Teddy asked hesitantly.
Ginny shook her head. "Not that I ever heard. Oh! Why didn't I think of this before? You know who you should talk to? Charlie! He was at school with her and I'm sure he must have a few stories for you," she said, sounding excited at the prospect. "We'll talk to him at Christmas, all right?"
"Yeah, all right," he said, thinking about what sorts of questions he'd ask Charlie about his mother. He'd always found the second Weasley son a bit intimidating for all of his easy affability, giving off an "I'd rather be hanging out with dragons" sort of vibe when forced to be around large groups of people. "Ginny, can I ask you a question?"
"Of course, love. Ask me anything you want."
Teddy took a deep breath, gathering up his courage. "What do you think of me being an Auror?"
Ginny didn't answer right away and he was torn between relief that she hadn't immediately blown up at him and worry that she was winding up for a good shout. "Well, I think Harry's right that it's an extremely dangerous profession."
"But—" he began, interrupted when she held up her finger.
"And I think that you are a very smart, talented person and you can do anything you want in the world." She stopped walking and turned to face him. "But I understand why you would want to try to be one."
"But Harry …"
"Harry doesn't have especially good memories of his time in the department, mostly because of his baggage. The department were exploiting him, trying to wring every last drop they could out of 'Famous Harry Potter'. I guess they figured he'd killed the Dark Lord, so he could do practically anything and sent him out on the most dangerous assignments." Ginny sighed and started walking again. "He's just afraid of the same thing happening to you."
"I'm not famous. I'm nobody," Teddy said, shoving his hand in his jacket pockets. His phone was buzzing again and he itched to take it out and read the messages Duncan had been sending him all evening.
"You're a Metamorphmagus, love. I know you know how rare that is and I know that there's only one other Metamorphmagus Auror in the entire country." She looked at him, expression serious. "Put yourself in Archimedes's place. You've got this trained Auror who can literally be anyone. What would you do?"
Teddy thought as they continued to walk, visions of James Bond cloak-and-dagger filling his head. Shaken, not stirred. Beautiful women, exotic places, fast cars … getting shot at, stabbed, cursed … "But Mum did it."
"Yes, she did." They walked quietly, Teddy continuing to contemplate what she'd said about the Aurors and his usefulness to them when he saw a brightly-patterned blanket out of the corner of his eye. Reminded of the strange man he'd almost knocked over the other day, he turned his head, but didn't see it in the jumble of sleepers bundled up against the chill of the night.
As they passed close, Teddy surreptitiously took out his wand, casting a silent Scourgify at a bundle of blankets. Ginny squeezed his hand and smiled up at him. "Your father would have done the same thing," she said proudly and he felt his cheeks flush with heat at being caught.
"Um, would you talk to Harry for me? About the Aurors? I don't think I could without it turning into a complete row."
"I can't make any promises, but I'm sure I can have a conversation with him."
"Don't let him know I asked you, though," he said, smiling when she zipped her lips shut and threw away the key.
They were on a quiet stretch of Gough when Ginny patted her belly. "I think we've walked far enough, don't you?"
"Yeah. Thanks, Ginny."
"Anytime, love." She reached for his hand and frowned a little. "I hope James is hungry," she said as she held on to his hand tightly, preparing to Apparate them home.
"Ugh, I did not need to know that."
"Did you and Teddy have a nice chat?" Harry asked quietly as Ginny rocked with James in the antique rocking chair, stroking his temple as he nursed.
"We did. Thanks for collecting our boy," she said, giving him a smile that made his heart speed up.
"No problem. Sarah said he did just fine." Harry groaned as he sat down on the floor, resting his back against Ginny's legs.
"Tired?" she asked, running her fingers through his thick hair.
"Yeah. Watching Teddy try on robes is exhausting." He closed his eyes, enjoying the soothing feeling of her fingers against his scalp in the dim room. "Was he all right?"
"I think our announcement made him think of Remus and Tonks again. Wanted to talk about them."
"I thought he would. What did he ask this time?"
"Oh, the usual. What they were like. He asked if Tonks had ever said what made her want to be an Auror and I said I didn't know but that he should talk to Charlie at Christmas. I'd clean forgot that they were year mates." Harry felt her shifting James to her other breast, quietly encouraging him to latch on. He loved these times of quiet conversation with her while she nursed James, the sweet milky scent of the baby sparking something primal in him.
"Full moon tonight."
"Yeah, I think that was part of it." They sat quietly, Harry listening as the baby slowed down his furious pace. Ginny whispered quietly to him as she shifted him around for burping.
Harry turned around to watch, resting his chin on her knee and she finally looked at him. "What?" she asked, patting the baby's back.
"When was the last time we went out to a club?"
"What? A club?" Ginny frowned as she rubbed James on the back. "Hm, well, I went out with Ben before he went down to LA last year … but you and I? It's been a while, hasn't it?" James let out a loud belch and she congratulated him heartily, handing him to Harry so she could do up her front.
"Let's go then, you and me. We'll go out, listen to music that's too damn loud and dance our arses off," he said, holding his son's warm body close to his. "Wouldn't that be grand?" he asked James, rubbing his nose against the baby's.
"Here I am, milk blotches all on my front and sick up on my shoulder and you're asking me out to a dance club?" She handily Vanished the aforementioned stains and folded the burping cloth neatly. "Besides, aren't we going to a dance soon?" She stood up and took the sleepy baby from Harry, settling him in his cot.
"Yeah, but that's a school dance and we'll have to behave ourselves," Harry said, pressing up against her back and putting his hands on her hips. She arched back against his body and turned her head to kiss him. "I want to dance with you in a place where I'm not a teacher," he whispered against her lips.
"And where I'm not a teacher's wife? I like the sound of that." Ginny ground her bottom against his crotch, sending his blood pressure skyrocketing.
Fastening his lips on her neck and sucking lightly, Harry groaned as he felt his erection spring to life. "Let's go to bed," he exhaled, entertaining the thought of simply picking her up and running off with her.
"Teddy," she murmured, "phone."
"Blasted rules," Harry grunted.
"Your rules," she countered, turning in his grasp to nip at his neck.
"Too noble for my own good," he agreed, taking a step back from her. Her eyes shone in the dim light of the nursery, red hair just a bit mussed and he bit back another groan. "Five minutes, all right?"
"What if I need longer than that to get ready?" she challenged with a raised eyebrow.
"Too bad. Five minutes is what you're getting," he growled, smacking her on her bottom and making her squeak.
She sidled smoothly past him, evading his grab as he tried to pull her in for another kiss. "See you in five, then," she said, casting him a look over her shoulder that nearly set his trousers on fire and he swallowed a gulp of air.
In seconds, he was outside of Teddy's door, knocking gently. "Teddy, bedtime, yeah?" He heard muffled conversation as his godson said his goodbyes to what was probably Duncan before opening the door.
"Here you go," he said, handing him the phone.
"How's Duncan?" Harry asked, leaning against the doorframe.
"Fine. We were talking about Ms Okefor's midterm this week. About the Native American legends, mostly." Teddy shrugged, hands in his jeans pockets and Harry nodded.
"All right. Well, see you in the morning. Don't stay up too late."
A smile curled the corner of Teddy's mouth and he lifted an eyebrow. "Same to you."