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"Well, hel-lo there!" He spun about on the spot, hand shooting out to capture the other boy's fingers in his. "Hufflepuff Head Boy Edward Remus Lupin at your service." He flashed a brilliant smile and winked. "Call me Teddy."
The boy in question, a Sixth Year with brilliant green eyes, seemed both confused and enchanted- just the way Teddy liked them.
"Will you stop that?" his companion asked. The dark skinned Fifth Year with the curly red hair, known as none other than Fred Weasley the Second, was standing with his arms crossed looking very disapproving.
Teddy turned to him with a hurt look. "I'm just saying hello!"
"You don't say 'just' hello. You don't just anything!" Freddy stepped forward and uncoupled Teddy's hand from the Sixth Year and firmly put Teddy's hand inside his own pocket.
Teddy grinned. "Freddy, are you finally ready to get frisky?"
The Weasley boy rolled his eyes and took a step back. He gave a well-meaning look to the Sixth Year. "Just... Just run."
Then he took hold of Teddy's shoulders and steered him in the opposite direction. The Head Boy's hair changed from bright blue to bright fuchsia as he cast another wink over his shoulder at the dumbstruck teen. Finally, he succumbed to following Freddy willingly.
"And I know I've been saying it my whole life, but I'll say it again- it's Fred. Just Fred. And if it were 'Freddie' it would be with an 'ie' not a 'y.'"
"How can you tell I say it with a 'y?'" Teddy demanded. A group of giggling Ravenclaws passed by and he flashed another grin. "Ladies." They burst into blushes and more giggles.
Freddy rolled his eyes again. It was impossible not to do so when travelling with Teddy Lupin. He flirted with everything. "It's the way you say it. And will you stop that!"
"It's just-!"
"Just hello! Yes, I've got it, but it's not, so until you learn how to just say a proper 'hello,' stop it altogether!" Freddy huffed.
Teddy disengaged himself from Freddy's hands with a rarely seen frown. "What is your problem today? I know this is our normal thing, but you seem agitated."
"I'm just-" Freddy pursed his lips, refusing to look Teddy in the eye. The Head Boy knew that look. Freddy was trying to find a reasonable explanation that would pass for the truth. "My O.W.L.s are this week and I'm not prepared. My homework load is staggering."
"Are you jealous?" Teddy asked.
Freddy's eyes jumped to meet his gaze, wide with shock and his ears turning burgundy. "What? What on earth would prompt a question-?!"
"I'm just asking! It's all right. Your cousin might be cross, but it's not a bad thing." Victoire had made no secret about wanting to tie the young metamorphmagus down over the course of the last year. He had thought about it, sure, but Teddy wasn't quite done living yet. He didn't want to settle down, he wanted to explore. It would do the girl some good to do so herself.
Freddy's eyes blazed now. "What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded.
Suddenly the Black twins appeared, stopping their conversation cold. Siria and Regulus Black were Fifth Years with Freddy; Siri being a Hufflepuff like Teddy and Reg in Gryffindor. They were both also Metamorphmagi, taking after their mother like he had. Despite the two year difference, Teddy had always been close with them for that very reason. Today, they each had their hair split with house colors.
Teddy had almost forgotten that the Gryffindor/Hufflepuff match was this weekend.
"Reg, Siri, can I get back to you? I'm in the middle of something..." Having known Teddy so closely for so long, they were immune to his charms, so he didn't bother.
"We just wanted to let you know that we're having a party for you tonight," Siri said, positively brimming with excitement.
"A party? Why?" he asked.
"For your graduation," Reg replied, grinning. "We know Uncle Harry and your grandmum are going to throw you a proper one over the hols, but we thought we'd have an actual fun one to send you off."
"It's also an excuse for most of us to blow off steam while the exams are finishing up, so no getting out of it," Siri said before Teddy could protest. "We've got to go. The Transfiguration exam starts soon and then we're done! Come on, Freddy, we're going to be late!"
The twins started down the hall with Freddy quickly following. "It's Fred!"
"Wait, Freddy!" Teddy called.
"FRED!"
Teddy had no time to stop him as they left and he stood in the hall a little confused. What did this mean? And how was he going to deal with it?
~*~
As he made his way to the Room of Requirement, Teddy was still going through the events of that morning in his head. He wasn't so dense that he couldn't figure it out and, truth be told, he was ashamed of not seeing it earlier. But he had always flirted and Freddy had always been there to scold him. It was their way. When had it changed? Why had he been so blind to it? Most importantly... How did he feel about Freddy?
Despite the party being for him, it was in full swing when he walked in. He didn't mind, though. He preferred it when people enjoyed themselves. He didn't always have to be the center of attention. It didn't last long, though, as suddenly both Siri and Victoire had him by either arm and were hauling him up to a small stage-like area at the front of the crowd. Cheers erupted and Teddy took it in full stride, flashing his winning smile across the small sea of familiar faces.
"Here he is, ladies and gentlemen," Siri gushed, sounding like some sort of game announcer. "The handsome, the talented, the flirtatious, Edward! Remus! Lupin!"
They cheered again, the loudest and clearest coming from his own beloved 'Puffs. The girls jumped down to stand in the crowd, beaming at him.
Teddy laughed without a shred of nervousness showing through. Someone called for a speech and soon others joined in. He didn't want to give a speech, he just wanted to find Freddy. He began anyway, taking the opportunity to carefully scan the faces. He thought that curly hair would be easier to spot.
"Well, now, settle down. I know I'm sexy, but you must learn to behave." He grinned as they chuckled. "Look at all you beautiful people out there, you're absolutely fantastic! Every single one of you!" More cheers. "I've had a lot of fun at my stay here in Hogwarts and I... I'm a little sad to see it go. I've tried to get as much enjoyment out of my youth as entirely possible. Live it up in memory of my parents. One who didn't have much of a childhood outside these walls because of his condition, and the other... Well, my mother was very young when she passed."
Teddy swallowed hard as he noticed the room had gone very silent. He didn't talk about his parents often. He offered up another smile.
"You lot don't have to look so down. Their lives should be celebrated! They loved one another and they fought for my future and yours and they died for what they believed in and it was not in vain. My dad, I know, had a really hard time because he was different. Mum was different, too, but she was different like me- in a cool and widely accepted manner. My dad had it pretty rough except for his friends, and he lost most of them early on. I never thought that was fair."
Teddy had finally found him, standing in the back corner, looking at the ground. The Head Boy put his hands in his pockets and kept talking.
"I've spent a lot of my time here messing around. I want people to be happy and I like making them happy. I know I've built up quite the reputation because I flirt a lot, but I like making people feel good. I like making them feel included. Hogwarts is a family. Whether you're a Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor or a Slytherin. We're all a little piece of the same family and we all deserve to feel like we belong here." He grinned again. "Who better to do so than than one of Helga's finest, eh? She took the lot of us the others didn't want and she accepted us. Just like I accept all of you for who you are, what you are."
He kept his gaze locked on Freddy. Suddenly, his heart was thumping as the Fifth Year finally looked up. "I suppose," he said very quietly, the smile almost slipping from his face, "in my crusade to make everyone feel included... I forgot to pay attention to the very special people in my life. Make sure they knew... What they mean to me. Mum probably wouldn't approve."
He gave a short laugh and ran a hand through his purple hair. "Sorry, I'm not usually so sentimental. I'm trying to say I love you all and I'm going to miss you. So let's celebrate, yeah? Round of shots, on me!"
The cheers erupted again and just like that, the somber mood had passed. Teddy was allowed to step down and join the party. Carefully, he made his way toward the back of the room where he had seen Freddy. It was slow going- everyone wanted to congratulate him, hug him, slap him on the back, kiss him on the cheek. Finally, he broke through and thankfully, Freddy was still there, waiting. He leaned against the wall, long legs stretched in front of him, hands in his pockets, brown skin steadily growing a red blush. He had put on a ridiculous pair of sun glasses, hiding his eyes from Teddy.
"Hello," Teddy said with a smirk. He shoved his own hands back into his pockets. "What did I say just now?"
"Sounded like 'hello' to me," Freddy replied.
"But it's never just hello."
Freddy grinned and they stood in silence for a long moment. Finally Teddy asked, "Why didn't you ever say anything?"
His smile faded. "You were always so..." He gestured helplessly with his hands before returning them to his pockets with a shrug. His eyes dropped once again. "I didn't think... I mean, it wouldn't have made any difference."
"Freddie..."
He looked up, bottom lip pulled into his mouth. Teddy smiled at him, reaching over to pull off the younger boy's sun glasses. He liked those pretty brown eyes.
"With an 'ie.'"
He chuckled.
"Let me make something clear. Right now." Teddy reached out and pulled one of Freddie's hands from his pocket to hold in his own. "I know the image I made for myself. But that's all it is, an image. I don't care what people think. And I wasn't lying up there- I like to make people feel special. Everyone deserves to feel special. I don't sleep around and... Honestly, I've never looked for something serious. I think of all the times I flirted in front of you and I feel rotten. I never knew it was hurting you. I never realized..."
He stopped with a sigh, not sure how to continue. As he ran his free hand through his hair, Freddie was looking down at their joined hands. Carefully, he laced their fingers together as if trying on the feel of it. The simple gesture sent tingles of electricity up Teddy's arm. He found himself staring at Freddie's lips, never having really appreciated their fullness or how they curved so perfectly, almost like a pout.
Teddy licked his lips. "I just-"
"Would you just shut up for once and let me-"
The next thing Teddy knew, Freddie's lips were on his and he didn't even hesitate before he began to kiss him back. A burning desire pooled in his stomach and his free arm found itself around his friend's waist, pulling him closer.
He pulled back before the kiss could go any deeper, grinning like an idiot. He wasn't even aware of what was going on around him or the cat calls from his fellow classmates. All he could see were Freddie's big brown eyes.
"Hello," Freddie said with a laugh.
Teddy kissed him again. It was never just hello.