What Remains

The rain had Teddy soaked to the bone in seconds, large drops dripping from the dark strands of hair that fell into his face, hopefully hiding his expression. His smile felt foreign on his face, but Draco would not notice that if Teddy covered himself with hair. And it was a lot warmer underneath long curtains of hair.

"Ted, what in the name of Merlin have you done to your hair this time?" Draco asked as he opened the door, his voice drowned by the roaring thunder and the pelting rain.

Thunder reminded Teddy of Victoire. He remembered the way she gasped whenever the foreboding crackles of thunder rolled across the sky, the way she flung her arms around his neck because of the sudden need of closeness, and the way she kissed him to shut him up, when he teased her about fearing thunderstorms.

"Ted, shorten that nest you call hair and tell me what you want," Draco said, and Teddy finally looked up. He did not change the length but shoved the wet hair out of his face, so that he was able to meet Draco's questioning look. "What do you…" Draco paused and raised his eyebrows, leaning against the frame of the door as he eyed Teddy. "Are those for me?"

Teddy frowned and looked down, snorting as he noticed that he was still holding the bunch of roses he had bought for Victoire. But apparently Victoire did not want his roses anymore. Teddy wished that the rain covered his tears.

"Victoire broke up with me," Teddy said barely audible, ignoring Draco's snort. "Can I come in?" He looked pleadingly at his cousin, who shifted his gaze skyward, waiting for the next lightning that lit up the almost black sky.

"Why don't you ask Potter if you can come in?" Draco asked, focusing his eyes on Teddy again. "You always use Potter's shoulder to cry on. He's your godfather. You don't even have to ask for permission to enter his house."

"I can't," Teddy managed to say, his voice shaking badly. "I can't… They'll all hate me. I mean… I'm not part of the family and Victoire told them… They don't want me anymore…"

Draco frowned at him. "What could she tell the Weasleys so that they start to hate you? I can't think of anything," he said, placing a hand on Teddy's shoulder. "Shorten your hair so that you don't drip on the carpet."

Teddy nodded, changing back to his usually short hair, but they stayed dark brown although he tried to turn them bright blue. Draco did not say anything about that, probably not even noticing Teddy's unsuccessful attempt. He remained silent as he lead the way into the living room and motioned Teddy to sit down in front of the fireplace.

Teddy remembered how he had shared the warmth of the fireplace with Victoire, dancing light illuminating her blond hair and dark shadows eclipsing her stunning smile. He felt tears prickling in the corners of his eyes and unnoticeably wiped them away, watching Draco who leaned closer to the fire and examined the dying embers, magically giving the fire new life.

Draco was an absolutely gorgeous man. Teddy had always admired the perfect combed pale-blond hair, fruitlessly trying to copy it since he was four years old. He liked the way Draco talked and continuously stayed calm, not gesturing wildly or losing control – so very different from the loud and cheerful Weasleys.

Teddy swallowed and shifted his gaze away as long as Draco was unaware that his cousin was staring at him again.

"So, tell me what happened," Draco said and sat down next to Teddy, casting a spell that dried Teddy before he pulled the roses out of Teddy's still shaking hands. Carelessly, Draco threw them on the table as if they meant nothing.

Teddy shrugged. "We broke up. She doesn't want me anymore." He wanted to bury his face in a pillow, but Draco sat on the only one that looked fluffy enough to comfort him. "With Victoire I lost my whole family."

Draco blinked as Teddy glanced at him. "That's not true, Ted," he said and flashed Teddy a smile that was warmer than the long fingers that gripped Teddy's hand tightly. "That bunch of Weasels loves you, with or without that wannabe French girl."

Teddy pulled his eyes away from Draco's grey eyes, trying hard to resist the urge to look back into the unusually sparkling irises. "You don't know her," he said, staring at Draco's hand that covered his own. He remembered Draco holding his hand as he was a little boy; and he remembered Victoire holding his hand as they walked along the beach outside of Shell Cottage. "She can make them believe that I'm a bloody bastard. That I… forced her to do all those… things…"

"Things?" Draco patted his hand, but stiffened as Teddy rested his temple on his shoulder. "Ted, you're a little close to talk about the things I suppose you want to talk about."

"I didn't force her to do anything. Not even holding hands… But maybe that's what she wanted, because apparently she's bored of me." Teddy wrapped his fingers around Draco's, forcing him to hold hands for just a little longer. "She's out of my league, and she realised that she's wasting her time. I mean, I cannot blame her for that, but she doesn't have to blackmail me into staying away from her… and her family… Oh, I knew it was a mistake to start a relationship with a Weasley. If I lose one, I lose all of them…"

"Well, that should be a reminder that you are not allowed to touch Scorpius," Draco sighed and rubbed Teddy on the back as he was doing when he was comforting his son.

Teddy's voice was muffled because he buried his face in the curve of Draco's neck, inhaling the familiar scent of summer rain. "I would never touch Scorpius."

"I know that, Ted," Draco said, and he was probably rolling his eyes.

Teddy pulled his fingers away from Draco's and balled his hand into a fist. "I know that you know that, Draco. That's the reason why I'm here, but…" Looking back at Draco was not as good an idea as Teddy had thought because the slightly parted lips put him off. "I…"

Draco blinked as Teddy raised his hand, closing the soft mouth with his fingers. A full mouth felt so much better without lip gloss on it, and Teddy wondered how it would taste to kiss lips that were not covered in a sticky paste. Would he be reminded of Victoire if he kissed Draco?

His fingers vibrated with excitement as he traced them over the fine curving lines of Draco's lips, but as Teddy cupped Draco's cheek and leaned closer, his cousin turned his head away. Teddy knew that he should be embarrassed now, blushing deeply and leaving as fast as he could, but he could not move as he noticed the colour he had brought into Draco's cheeks.

"Teddy, don't do this," Draco said in a whisper.

The last time he had said 'Teddy' seemed so long ago that he could barely remember it. The sound of Draco's voice saying his name was like a jolt, like the spike of lightning that split the sky in two.

"Why?" Teddy asked, closing the distance between them and pressing himself against Draco's body. He enjoyed the closeness for the second it existed and mourned after it for the rest of his life.

"Because the Weasleys will definitely hate you if you become closer to me than you already are," Draco said, turning on the spot and moving back to the fireplace. "Please, leave now." He crossed his arms behind his back and stared into the flames, ignoring that Teddy stood up and paced around him.

"I have nowhere else to go," Teddy said, stopping at Draco's side. "You're everything I have."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Ted," Draco said, turning his head again to look at Teddy. "But then you don't have anything." The corners of his mouths twitched upwards. "You know where the door is."

Teddy stared at Draco in disbelief, slowly turning around and once again feeling tears prickling in his eyes. He hurried out of the living room and straight towards the front door, bumping right into Scorpius, who nearly slumped to the ground. Teddy caught his wrist just in the right moment.

"Oh… Thank you, Teddy," Scorpius said, blushing deeply. "I didn't see you coming… I'm sorry." He smiled shyly, grey eyes meeting Teddy's and reminding him of the way Draco used to look at him before he did every possible thing wrong.

"Scorpius, can we talk?" Teddy asked, grabbing Scorpius' hand and leading him towards the stairs. Scorpius' small fingers reminded Teddy of Draco's hand covering his own, feeling warm like a flame that seared his flesh. "You're the only one I can ask…"