Teddy and the Marauders

forty-eight

Chapter 48

Gathered around the dining table of Grimmauld place, sat many a Weasley, Harry, Hermione, Sirius, Remus, and the two time travelers. Tonks had promised to show, but had bailed on the call from her boss at the Aurors department of the ministry.

Tensions ran high with the two people unknown to all but three, but it was soon broken as Fred started shamelessly flirting with Victoire. Vic kept stealing glances at Teddy, begging him with her eyes to step in, but he seemed to be having too much of a good time watching the exchange.

"So you see?" Fred said to a point that Vic hadn't quite heard.

"Why yes sure." Vic mumbled staring at her plate.

"So you agree?" Fred said hopefully "You too think we should date." She almost chocked on her food. Teddy started laughing but quickly sobered up after a glare from Vic.

"Fred, though I may not look it, I am many years your senior."

"What's three odd years?" Fred waved his hand. George was obviously enjoying his twin's rejection. Bill, who Vic wasn't quite sure if he quite remembered her, outright laughed. "What are you laughing at Bilius?" Fred snapped at him.

"Oh, nothing." Bill said innocently "I know Victoire from years long ago. She graduated Hogwarts when I was just finishing my first year." Fred made a face.

"Can't be true." Fred insisted

"Well if you don't care about Vic's age, how about the fact that she's married?" Sirius pipped up. Vic spat some of her pumpkin juice down her shirt. Teddy was still thoroughly enjoying this.

"Who's the lucky guy Vic?" He jeered. Victoire rolled her eyes.

"You're really attacking me with this same thing?" She glared playfully at Sirius "Why not tell that to Ted? He's the one I'm supposedly married to."

"I'm confused." Fred's gaze flicked between Ted and Vic.

"I'm dating Teddy, and have been since, oh, 1977?" She looked to Teddy for confirmation who nodded. "Sirius seems to think we need to get married, but we have both." She glared at Teddy "decided to wait until our families can be there."

"One" Teddy coughed into his hand.

"I beg your pardon?" Hermione Granger asked from beside him.

"Oh nothing" he replied, playing innocent

"No, I'm sure I heard you say something. One." Teddy could feel Victoire's gaze across the table.

"Nothing, I assure you I meant nothing of it."

"What does he mean?" Hermione, persistent as ever, turned to Sirius. Remus answered instead.

"He's reffering to Victoire's use Families plural." He said "Teddy's an orphan." Harry perked up slightly "However, Victoire used the plural form because Teddy believes in blood over love." Remus looked at Teddy who had gone bright red, or rather, his hair had. Several of the kids blinked slightly, but knowing Nymphadora they didn't question how, just wow. They didn't end up asking the questions at the time because of their fascination with the current conversation.

"Blood over love?" Hermione repeated.

"That's just how I put it." Remus said. "Simply reffering to how Teddy has a Godfather who raised him, but Teddy still holds onto his parent being his only family."

"No," Teddy mumbled weakly "Gram was my family to."

"Then forgive me," Remus smiled quickly "but my point still stands." He exchanged a glance with Sirius "I have a distinct memory of the year after we graduated, Vic was feeling homesick for her parents in France, and Sirius had quite a fight with Teddy of how he really felt the same homesickness, he just chose to bury it."

"I agree with Victoire." Harry said. He quickly blushed when Victoire, who when they had last spoken had burst our into tears, looked over to him. "Family has nothing to do with who your related to by blood but by those who help you and care for you." Molly leaned over and pinched his cheek lovingly.

"We consider Harry family." Molly said "Hermione too. And Remus and Sirius."

"I bet rather reluctantly for the latter." Vic gave a fake sympathetic frown to Molly who just chuckled. Victoire turned back to Teddy. "Might I remind you of certain family members of yours who aren't very nice." She said lightly "Such as, oh I don't know, a certain great aunt of yours?"

"Who's his Aunt?" Ronald Weasley asked "If she's half as bad as Great Aunt Muriel, I can't understand not wanting to own her as family." This comment earned him a smack upside the head from both parents.

"Ron, I can assure you she's much worse." Teddy said gravely "She's a death eater who permantly disabled friends of ours." Teddy stood up from his chair. "Molly, the food was wonderful, but if you'll all excuse me please."

He stalked out of the room and found himself in the living room that Sirius and Vic had talked in earlier. He walked around the room and his hand trailed all the little trinket type things dotted around the room. He stopped in front of the large black family tapestry. He quickly spotted his grandmother's name, burned out of the heavy fabric. Underneath was nothing more than a smug of charcoal black. Teddy moved his hand over the spot Andromeda's name used to be. Wind began to swirl around him. He stood back from the wall and staggered in surprise. What was happening? The dust kicked up a great amount of dust, but as soon as it cleared, he could once again see the tapestry. Immediately, his eyes laid upon Andromeda once more, only this time, she wasn't burnt and smudged out. Underneath her, there was also Teddy's mother with a small annotation of his father, before underneath, laid the name Teddy Lupin.

Before he could stop himself, he screamed.

(A/N: hey everyone. So on Sunday (just under a week) I will be moving. I don't know how much I'll be able to write chapters, I still have nome prewritten because I've just gotten ahead on chapter, but I don't know how many more I'll be able to write to get me over the moving days. I should be fine but just a fair warning if I don't. You'll still have as regular updates as I can. -Jul)