Chapter One:

Oops!

Teddy's POV

Talk about ringing in the New Year. I definitely set a standard for stupidity for 2027.

I was moping with a bottle of firewhisky and a carton of fags, intent on getting myself righteously pissed and spending the evening passed out in my living room. Self-loathing was my specialty, and the fact that I had just found out through the Daily Prophet that my ex-fiancé was in fact, engaged to my twit of a best friend gave me the perfect reason to indulge myself.

I had ignored the floo several times that evening, and had a pile of unopened letters sitting on my coffee table that had been unceremoniously dropped by nearly a dozen owls. The only letter I had even considered opening was the one with the familiar, curvy script of Victoire Weasley herself. But alas, I threw it on the fire instead. Oops.

I knew my anger wasn't exactly justifiable. True, she left me for him, but I had dealt as many deathblows to our relationship in the past (see buxom blonde Auror pal Sylvia). Problem was, Daniel was there to pick up the pieces while I was at the pub with the blokes, drowning my sorrows with pints and busty women.

Daniel had made it perfectly clear what he thought of my actions (I still had the scar from his damned right hook on my chin to prove it), and truth be told I agreed with the bloke. I was in fact, behaving like a right twat towards someone who had only ever loved me. But the thing was, the closer we got to actually setting a date for the wedding and closing the deal, the louder an alarm went off in my head telling me to run away. And so of course, I ran. And I hurt her. More than once.

So all in all, I can't fault her for moving on to someone who actually was there for her. I knew that they both deserved this. But that doesn't mean I was ready to see the headlines "Famous Curse-Breakers Daughter Ditches Half-Breed Auror for Ministry Big-Wig" (and no, that wasn't exactly what the headline said, but after reading the article it might as well have). Ten years we spent together, Victoire and I, and while the last two were quite miserable, I did love her. And the fact that Daniel Hollysworth, my best friend since first year, was going to make her his wife hurt a hell of a lot more than I thought it would.

So that's how I ended up on my couch that evening swigging on a bottle and smoking up a chimney, instead of in the warmth of the Burrow bringing in 2027 with the rest of the people I loved. In all actuality, I was perfectly content in my solitude and feeling particularly sorry myself when a loud knock jerked me from my reverie. How annoying.

I figured if I ignored it and took another swig from my quickly disappearing firewhisky, they might take the hint and go away. But instead the knocks became louder and more insistent followed by a familiar, and quite agitated voice on the other side.

"TEDDY LUPIN! If you don't open this bloody door, you can say good-bye to your bits and hello to life as a eunuch!"

How poetic. There was only one particular person I knew that was capable of such a clever threat. So I picked up my wand and lazily flicked it towards my front door, which immediately flew open, bringing with it a cold gust of hair and a particularly annoyed red-head with a large basketful of biscuits in her arms.

"Lily Luna Potter, if only your mother could hear you speak." I said as she marched over to me, dropping the large basket of baked good in my lap with an audible "oomph".

"What were you going to do? Let me freeze out there?" she snapped, plopping herself down in the armchair next to me. "And here I am, coming to check on you out of the goodness of my own heart."

"Oh please, I know Molly sent you, don't insult my intelligence."

"Same difference," Lily said with a roll of her eyes, "and pardon me if I fail to see an intelligent male in my presence, the overwhelming stench of alcohol is clouding my vision. I think I'm getting drunk off the fumes."

"Snarky aren't we? Well lucky you, less calories that way I'm sure." I said with a smirk, taking another swig of fire whisky. "Why'd he send you over? To make sure I hadn't offed myself yet?"

"Enough with the self-pity Ted, everyone is worried about you. You could at least have responded to my Dad's letter," she said, gesturing towards the large pile of mail sitting in front of me. "And look what you've done to poor Grandmum, she practically baked herself out of house and home for your sorry arse."

Very true. There were probably 70 of my favorite scones in the basket Lily brought, which I had unceremoniously dropped on the floor. We all knew that when Molly worried, she headed straight to the kitchen.

"We all know this has to be rough, but you can't shut everyone out like this! It's not like you didn't see this coming…" She reached over for the bottle of firewhisky, and I couldn't help but stare incredulously as she took an impressive gulp. My, my, someone has grown up.

"But enough about that nonsense," she continued as she set the bottle back on the table and tossed her hair behind her shoulders, "I got ditched tonight, by a Finnegan no less which is quite embarrassing, so I'm not here to listen to any sob stories. I'm here to drown my own sorrows with a fellow embarrassment."

"How sweet Lils. But you know Harry would kill me if he knew I was letting you drink that," I mumbled, "and since when did you have a boyfriend?"

"Well I wouldn't expect someone as self-obsessed as you to have noticed but I am nearly a year out of Hogwarts, and I haven't been living in a convent." She snapped, jerking the firewhisky bottle out of my hand as I was bringing it to my lips, and therefore spilling a great deal down my white t-shirt, before taking another gulp. She proceeded to slam the bottle down and storm angrily into my kitchen. Bugger, that woman had a temper.

And that wasn't what I meant. It was just I had never really given much thought to Lily as anything other than a starry-eyed girl with bows in her hair. Sure, I had noticed that she had grown into an attractive…hell a bloody gorgeous woman over the past few years. But she was still always Lily to me, the littlest Potter. But as I watched her stomp off and begin rummaging through my cupboards for god knows what, it was like a light switched on. Maybe it was the booze, but I saw her differently…

Her hair, which she usually wore straight, was long and wavy that evening reaching nearly to her waist. She was wearing a rather short, sleeveless gold dress, which I found rather impractical for the weather, and that showed-off a great deal of her porcelain skin. At that moment I couldn't help but stare, letting my eyes roam over her shapely legs, slim waist, and up to her rather larger…STOP!

I grabbed the firewhisky and started to chug, ignoring the burning sensation in my throat. I was a sick, sick man. This was Lily Potter that I was undressing with my eyes, the woman was practically my little sister. My very YOUNG little sister. Young as in barely legal, not even twenty, little sister. Such sinful thoughts were really not appropriate, and I only missed Victoire…really. Truly.

I continued to reassure myself when she sauntered back into the room, plopping herself down next to me with a bottle of Vodka and a glass of pumpkin juice in hand.

"Buckle up Lupin, this is going to be a bumpy ride," she said, as she proceeded to drink in a way that would make her brother James proud. Of course, a gentleman never lets a lady drink alone, and I proceeded to join her. Only to drink away my sorrows…and my sinful thoughts…

It didn't work. Well, at least drinking away my sinful thoughts didn't. I mean really, I'm nearly thirty; you think by now that I would have figured out firewhisky and sinful thoughts are never a good combination. Women are right; men truly are idiots.

Because see, a few hours and a generous portion of boozing later, I would wake up with that particular red head next to me…and that particularly appealing gold dress on the floor.

Oops.

Authors Note:

Yes, this title is cliché. And overused. And of course, one of the greatest movies of all time that this story has nothing to do with. But from the beginning, it has been the first line in my notes and I couldn't get it out of my head. So it will have to do, or else the fan fiction muses may not be so kind to me.

This is my first attempt at a chaptered fic that I actually am going to MAKE myself finish. I'm a one-shot kind of gal, because honestly I have severe commitment issues.

So hope you enjoyed, let me know what you thought! Thanks for reading!

Cynthia