Patrick Stump and the Flying Car Brigade

Chapter 34

Chapter 34

"Patrick, I need some help," I heard a high-pitched voice say to me one day in the Hufflepuff Common Room. I turned around and saw Teddy Lupin with his school uniform and jet black hair. I wasn't busy at that moment, so I figured that I would see what I could do.

"What do you need help with, Teddy?" I asked him.

"Charms," he said, picking up his copy of The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 1. "I'm having so much trouble with the Mending Charm."

"I can help you," I said. "Let's go to the library." Teddy followed me downstairs and into the Hogwarts library. Madam Pince kept a watchful eye on us as I led him into the Charms section. "I think you just need some practice," I told Teddy. I took a copy of Achievements in Charming and tore off a page. "Try casting the spell to repair this."

All of a sudden, Madam Pince ran over to us. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" she screamed at me. "Fix that!" I quickly cast a Mending Charm on the book, and then looked back up at Madam Pince, who was still scowling at me. "You'd better go home, Mr Stump. Fifty points from Hufflepuff and three weeks of detention for vandalising school property."

"Hey guys," Professor Lester said as he walked into the room.

"Hi Professor Lester," I said. "Madam Pince just took fifty points from Hufflepuff because I ripped this book so Teddy could practise his Charms."

"Fifty points just for picking up things they shouldn't read?" Professor Lester said. "That's a little harsh."

"This young man tried to deface my precious book!" Madam Pince exclaimed.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I won't do it again."

"Apologies are useless!" Madam Pince shouted. "What you did is unforgivable! I'm being lenient on you!"

"Calm down," Professor Lester said. "How about we take twenty five points from Hufflepuff and give him a week of detention? We'll also send an owl to his parents to let him know what happened."

"What about the other boy?" Madam Pince asked. "He knew what Stump was doing, and didn't do anything to stop him."

"We'll take away another five points from Hufflepuff," Professor Lester said.

"We should send an owl to his parents too," Madam Pince argued. "They should know that their son allowed another student to desecrate school property."

"My parents are dead," Teddy said. "I live with my grandmother."

"Then we'll send an owl to your grandmother," Madam Pince said. "Now get up and go! I never want to see either of you in the library again!"

Both of us left and went back into the common room. "I'm sorry about your parents," I said.

"It's okay," Teddy said. "They died in the Battle of Hogwarts when I was a baby. I never got to know them, but I hear stories about them all the time. They seemed like they were cool. They were in the Order of the Phoenix."

"Really?" I asked.

Teddy nodded. "My mum was a Metamorphmagus like me. She was an Auror for a while before she married my dad. Dad was the Defence Against The Dark Arts professor here, and both of them were very active in the Order. Dad even earned the Order of Merlin, First Class, but it was after he died." He reached into the pocket of his robes, and pulled out a golden medallion with a green ribbon. "This is his medal. It's all I have from him." Teddy's eyes began to water. "They're never coming home," he said as the tears fell.

"It's okay, Teddy," I said as I gave him a hug. "Don't be afraid to walk this world alone."

"I just wish that I could talk to them one last time," Teddy said. "They probably wouldn't even recognise me now, but I miss missing them now and then."

"I'm sure they miss you too, wherever they are now," I told him.

"I talked to that ghost boy once," Teddy said. "The one in Slytherin."

"Mikey?" I said.

"I think that's his name," Teddy said. "He said that death comes for you in the form of a black parade."

"He's a ghost," I said. "He's never truly experienced death."

"You have a good point, but he's gotten closer than any of the rest of us," Teddy argued.

"Do you want to hear a secret, Teddy?" I asked. He nodded. "I know somewhere where you could talk to your parents."

"Really?" he asked. "How?"

"There's a mirror in the empty classroom next to the Divination room," I told him. "It shows you strange visions, and I think it's enchanted."

"Is it that black magic on Mulholland Drive that Brendon keeps talking about?" Teddy asked.

I shook my head. "It's different," I said. "Besides, we are nowhere near Los Angeles. The mirror also lets you speak to the dead. I've had a few conversations with a bloke named Sirius Black."

"My grandmother told me about him," Teddy said. "He was in the Order of the Phoenix too, and he was one of my dad's best friends. He died before I was born though."

"I'll let you speak to him," I said. "Maybe we can even find your parents too. I'm still not entirely sure how it all works."

"Let's do it," Teddy said. "I've always wanted to talk to my parents, and now I'll be able to!"

"You have to keep it a secret though," I said. "I don't know if the professors know about this yet."

"I will, but your secret's still out," Teddy said.

"Follow me," I said. I left the Hufflepuff Common Room once again, taking the Marauder's Map with me. I tapped my wand on it and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The map came to life, and we followed it to the North Tower. Both of us ascended the staircase until we found the Divination classroom. I cautiously opened the door to the empty classroom next door, and Teddy entered the room. A piece of me wondered if this was the best idea, but I reminded myself that this was a good thing. It would reconnect Teddy with parents, and even though they were dead and gone, he could carry on.