"Alright, you lot, listen up!" George yelled from the center of the clearing where all of the Weasley and Potter children gathered with Teddy, Zach, Gretchen, and Mary. "Let's go over the rules just to be sure everyone understands them." James raised his hand and started hopping up and down. George sighed deeply. "Yea?" James grinned cheekily at him.
"We all know the rules, why do we need to hear them again?" James snickered as George gave him another sigh and a scowl.
"Because you lot tend to IGNORE the rules, and we have more people are teams than we typically play with." George counted the heads of the children standing around him. "Oi, Ted, thought you said these teams were even?" Teddy glanced around, mentally counting people himself. He cursed under his breath.
"Can't count today, mate?" Zach said with a snort. Teddy shot him a look.
"I mean, we can always play man-down since we are so much bigger than them..." Teddy was cut off abruptly by Albus.
"Are you mental? Roxy and Fred are practically professionally trained! James too! We are NOT playing man-down!" Teddy mulled this over, looking from Zach to Albus to Dominique, who was gently swinging the beater's bat that Roxy had supplied her with.
"Who else can we get to play with us, then?"
"Me." Teddy spun around and almost landed flat on his butt on the cold ground. Victoire was standing only a few feet behind him, mittened hands clutching a broomstick, a look of sheer determination on her face. Dominique started laughing.
"And you call me mad? You don't even know how to fly that thing, let alone how to catch a quaffle!" she doubled over laughing, her sister scowling. She continued to scowl at her as she threw her left leg over the broom and kicked off from the ground. She rose about 6 feet off the ground and gently set herself to circling her now-gaping little sister.
"But...how?" she said quietly. Victoire gave a sly smile.
"Do you think the only thing I did was study the dragons with Uncle Charlie over the summer? He was quidditch captain while at school. I, too, can fly sister mine." Teddy and the others watched as she circled her sister once more, then gently touched down to the ground beside George. She looked up at him expectantly. "You were saying? The rules?" George blinked, then let out a laugh.
"Blimey, you are exactly like Bill." Victoire raised an eyebrow at him, but he continued. "Alright you know how it is. No one flies above the trees. The bludger is enchanted to stay below, and we are not using a snitch, so no seekers. Play clean, no body checking and no loose bats, Roxanne." George stared pointedly at his daughter, who was pointing her bat menacingly at Albus, who stuck his tongue out at her. "First team to fifty points wins. Any questions?" he looked around the group. "Good. Captains, shake hands." Teddy stepped forward just as James swaggered forward himself. He proceeded to trip over his own snow boot and barely caught himself. Teddy rolled his eyes with a smirk as he grasped James' hand.
"You're going down, Lupin." He whispered. Teddy let out a bark of a laugh.
"I've been flying with Ginny a lot longer than you, Potter. Watch yourself."
"True, but you also can't stay on a stationary broom for more than a minute." Teddy gaped at James as he rushed back to his team. He turned back toward Teddy with a wicked grin on his face. Teddy glowered at him as he stepped back and mounted his own broom.
"Brooms in the air." George said, lifting the quaffle above his head. 10 brooms popped into the air. Teddy soared back to the hoop on their end of the field, a wooden one that was about 6 feet from the group and 3 feet in diameter. He turned back around and looked down the field to see Rose had taken up the position of keeper for their team. George gave a sharp blow on his whistle and threw the quaffle into the air, followed almost immediately by a bright blue bludger. A blur of sliver flashed in front of his vision and it took him a moment before he realized it was Victoire who had shot across in front of him and was now pelting down the field toward the opposite goal, quaffle under her arm. She threw it hard and it just barely missed the tips of Rose's fingers as it soared into the hoop. Zach made a whooping sound from the other side of the field as James and Fred swore loudly. Teddy punched the air as well.
"Good one Vic!" he yelled. She swung herself around on her broom, beaming. Teddy's breath caught in his throat. Her cheeks were pink from the cold and her smile was radiant. He'd never seen anything like it. A loud crack just off to his left brought him back to his position as Dominique had just sent the bludger sailing toward her younger brother. He shook his head and turned his attention back to the game, at least mostly. The kids in the air were so focused on their game that they didn't notice the other red-haired adult enter the clearing followed closely by a petite girl in a long violet traveling cloak. The man was stalky, broad shouldered, but a bit shorter than George. He gave George a back-slapping hug and introduced his companion. Teddy had just glanced down at them for the first time when a girl shrieked.
"Uncle Charlie!" Victoire was pelting toward the ground in a flash, landing roughly and not stopping until she slammed straight into the newcomer's chest in a hug. Everyone else looked around confused for a moment and one by one noticed the intruder. Everyone descended to the ground, landed, and dismounted. As they approached, Teddy heard George talking to his older brother.
"Mum's going to be in a right state when she sees you. Two long-lost Weasley boys in the same day? She's going to go mental." Charlie laughed with a deep, booming laugh. His cheek bore an angry red burn and a scar could be seen near the back of his neck. The men and woman started back toward the house, leaving all of the children to stare at one another. Rose spoke first.
"Well, lets go! Gramma Molly is going to be so thrilled to see Uncle Charlie. What a wonderful Christmas!" She started running through the small thicket of trees that separated the clearing from the Burrow. The others started running after her, leaving Teddy with Zach, Gretchen, and Mary.
"Uncle Charlie?" Gretchen repeated, confused.
"He's the second oldest, behind Bill." Teddy stated. "He lives on a dragon reserve in Romania, doesn't make it home much." Teddy was staring off through the trees, mind lost in thought. As if his confusion had spoken its mind, Mary asked the question he was pondering.
"Who was that with him? His wife?"
"I'm not sure who she is," Teddy said, starting towards the trees. The other three followed. "As far as I know, Charlie isn't married, or seeing anyone. Let's go find out." Teddy broke into a run, the others scrambling to follow. As he entered the back door of the Burrow, he saw all the other kids scattered around the kitchen and sitting room, watching Charlie and the woman with him. Mrs. Weasley wasn't there yet, but Ginny was beaming at her brother. Bill and Ron were sitting at the table with cups of coffee, apparently caught off guard by his arrival as well. George was just starting to speak as the door closed behind the four of them.
"So, you didn't tell me who your friend here is?" He said, nodding towards the woman. She, too, had scratches and small scars around her face and neck. Charlie had just finished hanging his cloak and walked up and lifted her cloak from her shoulders. As she unfastened it from her shoulders and he took it, she was revealed to be just as short as Charlie, but much more petite, and with a very swollen belly. Everyone was silent for a moment, then Ginny started laughing.
"Mum's going to kill you, you know that. Don't come around for 4 years and when you do it's to tell her..."
"Tell me what?" Silence fell immediately as Mrs. Weasley bustled into the kitchen, an apron around her waist, wand sticking out of the pocket. She stopped and put her hands on her hips, scanning over the many faces in her kitchen. When her eyes passed over Charlie, she quickly did a double take and let out a scream of delight.
"Charlie! Oh, all of my boys home at last!" She threw her arms around Charlie's shoulders and proceeded to kiss every inch of his face as he tried desperately to pry her off him. Once he finally succeeded in pushing her back, her eyes finally noticed the young woman standing beside him, then down to her swollen belly. Her eyes widened in shock and her mouth fell open. Teddy glanced over and saw Ginny and Ron biting their knuckles to suppress laughter. George and Bill were watching the scene, as were all the children around the space. Charlie put and arm around the woman's shoulders, pulling her against his side. Her face was red, and Teddy noticed just then that she hadn't spoken a word.
"This," Charlie said loudly, "is Anna. My wife. And we are having a baby." Silence.
YOU ARE READING
The Halfwolf (Year 1)
FanfictionTeddy Lupin is left in the care of his grandmother after the death of both his parents during the Battle of Hogwarts. He's finally starting his first year at Hogwarts. What sort of surprises await him as he starts his own marauding adventures?
