XII. Teddy and Lucy

Mistake

25 June 2022

Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was as suffocating as it could be on a Saturday afternoon. Teddy rubbed his forehead, deeply regretting the seventh round of Firewhisky he and his colleagues had ordered the previous evening.

In his hungover state, Teddy had almost forgotten his promise to collect James, Albus, and Lily from the station. As much as Teddy loved having Harry Potter for a godfather, it was also a pain in the arse—nobody had a better guilt trip than the Chosen One. It was impossible to sell the "because we're young" excuse to someone who'd saved the world at seventeen—

"Ouch!"

"Oh—sorry, I wasn't looking—Lucy?"

Teddy blinked down at the redhead he'd just knocked over. "Wotcher, Luce," he smiled, reaching out to help her up. "How was your first year?"

Lucy shrugged, retrieving her book from the ground and hugging it to her chest. "It was good," she mumbled, not meeting Teddy's eyes.

Teddy frowned. Lucy wasn't exactly talkative, but Teddy had never seen her so morose. "Hufflepuff treating you all right?" he asked; Lucy was the first Badger in the family since Teddy himself.

Lucy stiffened. Then, at last, she looked up—and Teddy was shocked to see her face crumple.

"I made a mistake, Teddy," Lucy whispered, eyes filling with tears.

Teddy stared. "Lucy—"

"I know it was wrong!" Lucy sobbed, burying her face in her book. "I swear, I didn't mean to peek at Susie Malone's exam—I just—couldn't remember the Severing Charm incantation, even though I studied it!"

Teddy sighed, kneeling down before her. "Luce—c'mon, don't cry—"

"Dad's going to be s-so disappointed when I tell him!" Lucy wailed. "And P-Professor Jones is going to k-kick me out of Hufflepuff—!"

"No one's going to kick you out of Hufflepuff," Teddy promised, reaching into his pocket and producing his faded black-and-yellow handkerchief. "D'you know why?"

Lucy sniffed, accepting the handkerchief. "Wh-why?"

Teddy smiled reassuringly, all thoughts of his trivial hangover gone as he met Lucy's big, young eyes, filled with fear, guilt, and innocence. "Because you told the truth."

Author's Note:

And with this chapter, this story comes to an end! I hope you all enjoyed reading about Teddy Lupin, one of my favorite symbols of goodness in the Wizarding world :)

I'm currently working on a special one-shot that I'm going to be publishing on July 25, which will mark my sixth year on this website and my fiftieth story. In the meantime, I'll be updating 'Human Spirit,' so look out for that!

Thanks again to all of you lovely readers for the support/follows/favorites/reviews!

Love,
Ari