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Teddy watched her carefully, a faint frown forming as he noticed the way Lily toyed with James. That was how they were meant to be — like siblings — but not everything in life turns out as it ought.
It had been quite some time since Lily Luna Potter had ceased to be a child and begun to grow into a young woman. She had inherited Harry’s quiet intensity and stubborn courage, along with Ginny’s warmth and easy charm. From her mother, too, she had inherited something she wielded with instinctive grace: her beauty.
Teddy would have said she was perfect. Small feet, always bare; long, slender legs beginning in a soft, elegant curve; a narrow waist; never too daring in dress. Yet what made her truly striking was her face — vast chocolate eyes, a pert little nose, a mischievous smile — all framed by a cascade of fire-red hair. Who in the world could fail to fall for her? Well, her brothers, of course. And that was precisely the problem. They had grown up as siblings. They were meant to be siblings.
A crushing guilt moved through him. He was betraying Ginny’s trust — Ginny, who had tucked him in as a boy and cooked his favourite meals more times than he could count. But worse still was the thought of betraying Harry, the closest thing to a father he had ever known. Harry had been the one to hold him as he wept for his parents, and later for Andromeda. Teddy was certain there was no one in the world who loved him more. And this was how he repaid him: by falling in love with his youngest daughter.
Love is bewildering — sometimes painfully so. He had dated Victoire, a lively, sweet half-Veela, but she had not been the one. Their relationship had lasted only a few months. In truth, it had ended because his thoughts had been far too often with Lily, and far too seldom with the girl he was meant to be with. And sometimes, things unfold exactly as they must.
He forced his attention back to his book when he noticed James leaving, abandoning him and the redhead alone. Out, Lily, he commanded his own mind. He continued reading about werewolves — it was fascinating. Many years ago he had learned that his father had been a werewolf, and that a trace of wolf’s blood still ran through his own veins.
“Reading about little wolves again?” That soft, teasing voice could belong to only one person.
“Lily, I doubt that if you came face to face with a fully transformed werewolf, you’d call him a little wolf,” he replied.
She smiled.
“With the Wolfsbane Potion they’re like sweet little pups. Don’t you ever wonder what your father was like when he transformed?” she asked, curiosity lighting her voice.
“I wonder what my father was like in general,” he corrected, a faintly pained twist to his mouth.
“Oh! I’m sorry. I’m so stupid,” Lily apologised at once, genuine guilt in her tone. He gave her a small smile and took her gently by the shoulders to stop her.
“Lilu, it’s nothing.”
She held his gaze steadily, honey meeting chocolate.
“What is it?” he asked, a knot tightening in his stomach. If she did not look away soon, something dangerous might happen again.
“I’m thinking two things. First, that I feel a sort of electricity run through me when you touch me—” Ted released her shoulders at once, as though the contact burned. “—and second, that you haven’t called me Lilu since the last time we kissed.” Her voice sounded softer now, almost wistful.
“The first and the last time we kissed,” he added, his throat dry.
“You don’t need to remind me. Why don’t you want to be with me? Don’t you like me?” Sometimes Ted marvelled at how swiftly Lily’s emotions could shift — from hurt to indignation in a single breath.
“It’s not that I don’t want to…” The wrong choice of words.
“So you do want to?” Ted shook his head quickly.
“We can’t, Lily. You’re my little sister.”
She rolled her eyes. “That old story again, Ted. We’re not siblings. Growing up under the same roof doesn’t make us brother and sister.”
She’s right, whispered that infuriating voice in his mind — the one that urged him towards foolish choices he might later regret.
“But your parents raised me. It would be a knife in their backs if I—” He stopped himself. “If I crossed that line with their little girl.”
She huffed dramatically. “Oh, for Merlin’s sake — a knife in their backs? That would be betraying them. This isn’t betrayal. If you love me and I love you, it isn’t betrayal. And I am not a bloody child!”
“You are to me—”
He had barely finished the sentence when her lips were on his. She kissed him with fierce certainty, the way only Lily could. He tried to pull back, but whatever self-control he possessed fled the moment her fingers tangled in his hair — brown today. Almost without thinking, his hands found her waist and drew her closer.
“Am I interrupting?”
The voice that dragged him back to reality turned his blood to ice.
“Mum, I—” Lily stepped away at once, startled.
“Lily, go to your room, please. I need a word with Ted.” Ginny’s tone left no room for argument.
“Mum, this isn’t anything bad. Teddy loves me and I love him… don’t tell him off.” Ted saw something he had not witnessed in years — fine tears slipping from the youngest redhead’s chocolate eyes.
“I’m not going to tell him off. Go upstairs.”
Lily shot him a look that made his chest tighten before she left the room.
“Ginny, I’m so sorry.” What could he possibly say? There were no excuses.
“Are you? Do you truly believe that, if you could turn back time, you would choose not to kiss Lily?”
A hollow space opened in his chest. Did he regret knowing the sweetness of her kiss? Absolutely not.
“I don’t regret it. It’s just… it’s wrong. It’s not my place to—”
To his surprise, Ginny smiled, something almost tender in her expression.
“Teddy, did Harry ever tell you how hard your mother fought to make Remus accept being with her?”
The metamorphmagus shook his head.
“When Tonks met your father, it was love at first sight. I suspect Remus fell just as quickly. Your mother wasn’t exactly conventional — always changing her hair, charging headlong into life.” Ted smiled faintly. “And your father was gentle, responsible, quiet. When they realised their feelings were mutual, Tonks thought the obvious solution was to be together. But your father refused. He loved her too much to risk hurting her with his lycanthropy. And he was much older.”
“Much older?” Ted asked, startled. Harry had never mentioned that.
“Not scandalously so, but thirteen years older. And Tonks was Sirius’s niece — his best friend’s little girl. Remus felt he was corrupting her. Every time she tried to be with him, he’d say, ‘I mustn’t’, ‘I don’t deserve her’, ‘It isn’t right’. You can’t imagine how much they both suffered.”
Ted lowered his head.
“When did they finally get together?”
Ginny sighed softly. “I don’t know every detail. I only know they loved each other too much to stay apart. However fiercely they argued over Remus’s doubts, they always found their way back. They loved each other more than anything in the world — except you.” Ted felt his eyes sting. “If you and Lily love each other, there’s nothing wrong in being together, darling.” She brushed a comforting hand over his back.
“But what if it goes wrong?” he asked quietly.
“If it does, you’ll hurt for a while, and then you’ll heal. And afterwards you’ll still be yourselves. Ted, you can’t deny yourself the best things in life just because they might end badly.”
He swallowed. One last fear remained.
“And Harry?”
Ginny smiled. “Harry will be cross at first. He still sees Lily as his baby. But when he sees she’s happy with you, he won’t mind. And I’ll help persuade him.”
“So…?” Ted prompted.
Ginny let out a slow breath.
“You have my blessing,” she declared with playful solemnity. “Go and find Lily — she’s probably having a tantrum of epic proportions.”
Ted smiled and turned towards the stairs.
“Ted — James and Albus have gone to Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes with George. You’ll have some peace.”
He let out a relieved breath. He would have a few hours with Lily. The house was empty save for Ginny — and he knew she would not interrupt. She had endured quite enough interruptions in her own courting days with Harry.
He climbed the stairs with a restless urgency, his heart lodged somewhere in his throat. Reaching Lily’s bedroom door, he knocked.
“I don’t want to talk to anyone!” Lily’s shout nearly made him retreat. Anyone means anyone, he thought. Perhaps she did not wish to see him either. For heaven’s sake, Ted, don’t be a coward, he told himself, and for once obeyed the voice within.
“Lily, it’s me.” His voice came out slightly unsteady.
“Teddy?” The door opened. He caught a glimpse inside — clothes and books strewn everywhere. “What happened?” A hollow ache spread through him when he noticed her reddened eyes.
“May I come in?”
She nodded, confused, and he stepped into the redhead’s storm-ravaged room.
“Has there been a hurricane in here?” he asked gently.
She shook her head, embarrassed.
“I’m sorry. I ask you to treat me like an adult, but then I throw childish fits and drag you into trouble. But whatever my parents say, I want to be with you… we could run away together.”
He silenced her with a kiss — the first time he had kissed her with certainty rather than hesitation. He wrapped his arms around her waist and let her cling to him. When they drew apart slowly, she looked up at him, puzzled.
“Does that mean we’re running away?” she asked.
He laughed softly. “No. It means Ginny has told me we can be together — and she’ll handle Harry.”
Lily gave a delighted squeal before flinging herself at him and kissing him again, arms and legs wrapped around him in unrestrained joy. It was clumsy, breathless, full of pent-up feeling. He staggered backwards and they tumbled onto the bed.
“Sorry — did I hurt you?” he asked quickly.
She shook her head, smiling.
“No, love… may I call you that?”
He nodded, brushing his nose lightly against her freckled one.
“Teddy… it’s just the two of us.”
He looked at her, slightly startled.
“Oh, come on,” she said, teasing. “You’re older than me. You and Victoire must have—”
His hair flushed red along with his cheeks.
“Lilu, I don’t know if this is right—” She rolled her eyes.
“Do you need my mum’s permission as well?” she teased. “Teddy, are we together?” she asked, holding his gaze.
“Yes. At least, I want us to be.” She smiled.
“What do couples who are alone together usually do?” She kissed him slowly, feeling the lips of her newly claimed boyfriend. “I’ve felt something for you for years, Ted. I’m not ready for sex yet, but I need to have you as close as I possibly can.”
He smiled before kissing her again, his hand moving gently over her back.
Ted felt the warmth and closeness of his little redhead against him, watching her as though spellbound; every inch of her seemed impossibly beautiful.
“Are you happy, you little whirlwind?” Ted asked tenderly, brushing his thumb along her cheek.
“It almost feels too lovely to be real,” she sighed, pressing a soft kiss to the metamorphmagus’s chest, where his heart was beating.
“I love you, little one.”
She huffed. “You’re never going to stop treating me like a child, are you?”
He laughed softly. “You’ll always be my little one. That doesn’t mean I see you as a child — it just means you’re short.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Your hair’s blue,” she murmured quietly, careful not to disturb the dreamlike hush around them.
“Yes. It changes with my emotions.”
She smiled. “And what does blue mean?”
“It means I’m happy.”
She kissed him again.
“For the record, I love you too, Teddy.”