Teddy and the Marauders

forty-two

Chapter 42

More time passed. The summer was ending.

The group received letters back. James, Sirius, Alice, and Teddy, had all been accepted for Auror training. Remus and Peter had sadly been rejected. Peter soon recovered and took a job as a desk clerk for the Ministry. Remus had taken a job as a janitor for the Three Broomsticks. His lycanthropy had unfortunately limited his job opportunities. Victoire had been accepted to train as a healer at St. Mungo's. Marlene had taken a secretary job for the Minister himself. Lily had been offered several Ministry jobs but had settled on becoming an Obliviator.

The usual three year training for becoming and Auror and four year training for becoming a Healer had both been shortened to a single year due to the desperate need for either profession.

In September of 1778, Victoire had another breakdown. Teddy cried along with her.

"A year!" She cried "It's been a bloody year since we've seen them. I miss Maman so much and dad with his endless facts about the pyramids. And all the cousins! James finished his first year. Albus and Rose would be starting Hogwarts in a year. They would be giddy but at the same time moaning to their mums about how they wanted to go now. What have we accomplished by staying, Teddy? We tried saving two people so far, but they might be ended up worse! Marlene has been a pit of despair since her parents passed and she just isn't herself. Dorcas, well we didn't even try save her. Chasity died and now she who knows where doing who knows what and no one can look for her because of the bloody war. Honestly, we've only made things worse by being here."

"Vic, calm down. You know we can change things." Teddy reassured her.

"Can we though?" Victoire challenged "all the theories of time travel either state that time might change slightly but the end result be the same or time will right itself and nothing come to be even if I murdered everyone right now."

"Vic, dont talk like that. Nothing will change if you keep thinking that we can't."

"But Teddy, you're not getting what I'm saying. What if we mess everything up, we could make it so Voldemort never dies."

The words hung between them. Eventually, Teddy stood up from the table where they were seated. He leaned over and kissed Victoire's cheek.

"It'll poison your mind if you dwell on it." Teddy said quietly "We made a choice. We could change our minds, but we made a promise to everyone." Teddy turned and stalked out of the room.

Victoire went over everything Teddy said. With much reluctance, she had to agree. Teddy was right. They had a choice to out their plan, but they had made a promise to their friends.

Eventually, Victoire left the table too. Unlike Teddy, she didn't go and join the others. She made a beeline upstairs and fell into her bed. She was fast asleep within seconds.

*******

Teddy was sitting with James and Sirius. Lily was also there, sitting beside James.

"She's just homesick." Teddy tried to explain to them. "And having second thoughts."

"About what?" Sirius asked, clueless.

"Staying here. Not going home. Believing we actually can change time."

"Is she that miserable?" Lily asked carefully "but you don't seem so sad."

"Victoire left more in 2015 than I did." Teddy shrugged "Her parents, her siblings, her aunts and uncles, her cousins. I didnt really have much apart from her."

"But they were your family too." Lily prodded "you said as much yourself earlier in the year."

"Well sure." Teddy shrugged. "Of course. I live em all to bits, but it's a bit different when it's your blood. All my blood passed away. Gram was the last one and with her gone, I haven't got anything left in that department."

"Well I think that's bull shite." Sirius announced "Blood means nothing. Family doesn't mean blood. I'm a perfect example of that. I think you miss them terribly, you just don't want to admit it to yourself because then you'll be exactly where Vic is."

Teddy didn't know what to say. Sirius... was he right? Teddy had do admit to himself that he was. It was time he take up a side project.

Now, where did Vic put all those papers on the matter of time travel...

(A/N: holà! A second update today. I've written some more chapters so you get another one in honor of that. These next couple of chapters get a little boring in my opinion but it gets better. I promise. -Jul)