The Secrets of the Map

A New Love

    The next few days, it was like he had the plague. No one spoke to him, or acknowledged when he entered the room. If someone noticed his presence too near to their own, they jumped in surprise and nervously scuttled away. This was what he was afraid of...why he had kept silent on the topic for four years.
    But there was nothing he could do about it now.
    Plus there was that nagging realization about how McGonagall had the Marauder's Map now.  Even if he was glad that professionals were now using the map to track down the werewolf, he couldn't help admitting to himself that it would have been nice to keep it. He also regretted not asking her if he could keep it over the summer or something. While it wouldn't be of much use, he still strangely missed the map, as if it could lead him to a connection with a father he never knew.
    At least Heather kept him too busy with Quidditch tryout information to think too much of either problem. "Remember they start at 5 sharp, right after last period on the field," she reminded him for the millionth time as he hung another ad in the Common Room. "On Thursday. And they can't wear school robes, and no open-toed shoes."
    Teddy tried not to look too exasperated as he patiently nodded along, deciding not to point out that he could easily read the poster in front of him. "Right. And only third years and up, right?"
    "Yeah, unless there's a second-year prodigy or something," she admitted, collapsing into the nearest couch. Her blond ponytail was a mess, and bags sagged under her eyes. Despite her nagging and worrying, Heather was one of the few people who would still talk to him normally.
   "I think we can take a break for now," Teddy decided after assessing her. "You look dead on your feet."
    "Yeah, Alejandro said he'll buy me a coffin if I don't make it," she said with a tired, yet humored smile.
    Teddy joined her on the couch-he hadn't realized how tired his legs were until they finally stopped supporting him. As he sank into the soft, silky cushions, he wasn't sure if he could ever get up again. "You aren't just nervous about posters, are you?"
   Heather avoided his gaze, proving his point. "Heather, you're one of the best Chasers we have. You're going to do great, just like last year. Why else would Victory put you on this committee thing?"
    Heather pushes a strand of hair away from her face. "It's not just that. I mean...you know how stressed I get, right?"
    Teddy refrained from saying that the word could easily be her middle name. "Yeah."
    "Well...this is our Fifth year. It's supposed to be the hardest yet, especially with the OWL's coming up and I don't know if I'm going to be able to keep up with Quidditch and school, you know?" She scrunched her eyes tight, her hand on her forehead. "I don't want to quit the team either, but maybe I'll have to if I really need more time to catch up, especially with the OWL's coming up-"
"Heather," Teddy said sternly. "You're not going to fail, okay?"
She exhaled slowly, giving him a wary look. "How do you know that?"
"Because..." he tried to find the right words to explain. "Because not all stress is bad. Some of it motivates you in a good way, you know? It pushes you to keep moving...like in a game, when you really want to win. If anyone can balance both and still get a good score, it's going to be you."
He wasn't sure at first if his small speech had made sense, but she was already smiling shyly. "Really?"
"Really. And I'm not the only one who thinks that, either." He could have just stopped it there, but for some reason he felt he had to give his friend some credit. "Actually, Tom noticed that first," he admitted. "He said that you could tackle any problem with it." Teddy couldn't help feeling proud for remembering that word for word.
Heather froze as she gaped at him. "Really?"
"Yeah, really." Now that Teddy thought about it, Tom had always been the most observant of Heather, pointing out little details like that.
     Slowly, she smiled in satisfaction, her blue eyes lighting up. Teddy realized with some shock that when she smiled like that, Heather was...pretty. If she was his type, he might even call her beautiful, but not because he was attracted to her. She was just a beautiful person in general, always laughing and helping others. "You're a great friend, you know that?" She said, and Teddy did his best to shrug nonchalantly, embarrassed by the praise.
    When a few seconds of silence passed, she leaned in closer to ask in a low, amused voice, "So what's up with you and Victoire?"
    Blimey, Victoire. She was there yesterday, she saw the whole thing. Teddy had been avoiding her all week. Not because he didn't want to see her, but because if he did he'd want to sink into a corner as fast as possible.
Serves him right, thinking he ever had a chance with her. "What do you mean?"
     She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Don't insult me with that. Everyone knows."
     "Oh." He hopes his cheeks weren't as warm as they felt. "Um, we've been talking lately I guess, but I haven't, like, asked her out or anything." For some reason, talking to a girl about this felt kind of uncomfortable.
    "Why not?" She pressed, frowning. "You already seem comfortable snogging each other-"
     "Merlin's pants, did James tell everyone about that?" He demanded in disbelief. If so, he was gonna kill that kid...
      "Wait, you didn't snog?"
      "Well, technically yeah...but it's not what you think!" He added hastily before explaining the situation.
       Heather's eyes grew wide. "Oh."
       "Yeah." He wasn't sure what else to say after that.
       "Are you...are you sure she used you?" She fumbled, and for some reason she looked as hesitant as he did.
   He stared at her. "What did she tell you?"
   "Nothing!" She insisted. "Well, nothing directly at least..."
   "Heather."
   "Why don't you ask her out?" She added. "I mean, she already likes talking to you..."
    "I can't."
    She raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"
    "She could hear me."
    A strained sigh of exasperation escaped through her nose. "You're hopeless." she pinched the bridge of her nose, and to didn't say anything. Teddy was wondering if she was trying to restrain from hitting him. Then, to his surprise, her shoulders began to shake, her lips pulling back to hide a smile.
    Unfortunately, her laughter was contagious. "What?" Teddy asked defensively, but couldn't help smiling when she suddenly started laughing, almost sobbing. "What?"
   In response she threw a pillow at him, and the two were so busy laughing that he barely heard the door to the Common Room open. When he finally glanced to see who it was, his laughter immediately ceased. In front of him stood Tom, with the strangest look of anguish in his brown eyes as he looked at both of them.
              ****
     Slowly, too slowly, he put the pieces together. How Tom had always noticed things about Heather before the others. Why he hardly ever talked to her, yet always wanted to be around her. The way he smiled at her on the train ride. How close she and Teddy we're sitting on the couch...
    His head spinning, he barely had time to react as he and Tom stared at each other. Tom, one of his closest friends, now a friend whom he barely knew. Ignorance...he had to feign ignorance. "Tom, are you okay?"
    He didn't respond, which Tom couldn't blame him for, and instead walked over to the stairs. Heather finally appeared to have noticed the cease in laughter from Teddy and glanced at Tom in concern. "Is he..."
   "Give me a sec," he muttered, hopping off the couch and following Tom up to the room. To his surprise, Tom didn't try to slam the door in his face, and instead sat down on the yellow bedspread and stared directly in front of him. Slowly, Teddy joined him, feeling like the world's biggest git.
    For a few seconds, neither said a word. Then... "I thought you liked Victoire," Tom muttered distantly.
    "I still do," Teddy promised, trying to seem sincere. "Tom, we were just friends down there. Nothing happened."
    "Then why were you laughing?" He asked sharply, staring at Teddy with a hurt, betrayed look in his eyes.
     "We...we were talking about Victoire, actually," he admitted, anxiously trying to get the words out right. "She-Heather- asked me why I didn't ask her out already, and I said it was because she could hear me." He almost winced at how non-funny it sounded now. "It was funnier in the moment-we're both just sleep-deprived..."
    Slowly, the tension in Tom's shoulders began to ease. "You didn't-"
   "No," Teddy denied firmly. "She's nice, but not my type. Why didn't you tell me, mate?"
     He shrugged miserably. "Dunno. I guess I never thought it could be real."
    "I should've noticed," Teddy muttered, more to himself than Tom. "I mean, you knew about Victoire and me, and I didn't tell you anything."
    "That's because your hair turned into a stop sign," he objected, smirking slightly but not unkindly. "And you snogged her."
    Teddy gave up trying to explain. "Did James tell everybody?"
    "Mostly," Tom admitted, smiling. "But we kinda figured that something bad happened when neither of you made another move." His expression turned serious as he glanced downstairs. "Do you think she knows?"
"Maybe," Teddy admitted. "But you know, I bet she's say yes if you asked."
Tom raised an eyebrow, his mouth quirking into a smile. "But she could hear me," he quoted sarcastically, and Teddy shoved him, grinning.
Tom shoved him back. "Alright, Fine. I'll ask her if you ask Victoire. Deal?"
His heart hammered at the very thought. "Why do I have to go first?"
"Because I said so." Teddy must have looked terrified because Tom eventually caved. "Fine, you don't have to ask first. But if one of us asks, then the other has to as well."
"Fine," Teddy agreed, feeling slightly relieved. As much as he wanted to support Tom, he couldn't promise he'd have the guts to work up the courage to talk to her anytime soon.
"How are you doing, anyway?" Tom asked. "With the whole truth coming out and all."
Of course he would see right through him. Tom didn't miss anything. "I can't say I'm relieved, but I kind of guessed how it would go."
"You know it's not your fault, right?" Tom asked in concern. Teddy cautiously glanced at his face, which had furrowed brows and a pursed mouth. As much as he wanted to reassure him, he couldn't hold back any more trust from his friends. They were all he had left.
"It's not knowing that's the problem," he admitted. "It's like a gut feeling...you just feel deep down that it was you, and no matter what you try to think or what others say...it still feels the same."
Tom didn't reply at first, which Teddy was grateful for. Then... "Well, at least they know you didn't hurt Ben, then." 
     "Who?"
      "Ben. The first year who got bit."
      "Oh." Once again, he felt like he deserved another world's-biggest-git trophy. "Right. Is he okay?"
     "No idea. They got him to St. Mungos, so we can only hope."
     "Do they believe me, then? That I'm not a werewolf?"
      Tom shrugged. "Most of them do, but there's a few conspirators out there. James has done a good job of convincing most of the Gryffindors, and our House is pretty divided. As far as I know the Ravenclaws never suspected you, but the Slytherins are naturally suspicious."
     Oh God-Al. Al was a Slytherin now. He knew Teddy wasn't a werewolf, right? But even if he did, what if his friends convinced him otherwise?
    Teddy shoved the thought away. Of course Al knew, and if he was convinced otherwise that was on him. "Sounds about right. Thanks for letting me know."
   "Anytime." He stretched, evidently more relaxed. "Think I'd better get started on Slughorn's essay. Have you started it?"
   For once, schoolwork had been the least of Teddy's worries. "No. Hey, have they had any leads on the werewolf?"
   Tom shrugged. "There's been a few rumors, but I doubt any of them are true. Most think they ran off into the Forbidden Forest, but Henri keeps saying that it's still in the castle-he's probably just trying to scare people." Suddenly Henri stopped mid-stretch and slowly lowered his arms. "Oh, and have you heard about Filch?"
     Immediately, Teddy's suspicions rose. "No-what about him?"
     "He went missing yesterday. And he left Mrs. Norris."