A/N: So, a new story.

NO, ZOEY! You're crying. Because I always start stories and it takes me forever to finish them, or I don't at all?

WELL. You'll be happy and surprised to learn that this time (baby, I'll be bulletproof-sorry about that) I've finished the whole story! Yes, it's already finished. However, if you have any suggestions I can always change up chapters before I post them. It's no problem.

I'll try to post chapters 2 times a week, once a week at the least.

This is a Teddy/James story. Slightly Al/Scorpius. So please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not, I repeat, do not, own Harry Potter in any way.

James, 2019, Fourth Year

Oh.

It suddenly felt as if something had just clicked in James' mind, and now he understood everything. He felt as though he'd been hit over the head with a hammer. Lily was staring at him with a look of utter concern on her face.

Well, now he knew why, two years ago, he'd reacted so violently to the sight of his bloody cousin (his blond, perky, pretty, female cousin) snogging Teddy Lupin in the train station. He'd shouted the first thing that came to mind (anything to get them apart, really)- "What're you doing?"

And they'd separated with a nasty popping noise rather like a suction cup breaking seal with a wet surface, and Teddy had told him he was "seeing her off" (seeing her off, my arse, James thought darkly), and then he'd told James to go away and resumed his previous activity.

James had kicked quite a few things on his way over to his parents, so he could rat them out.

Of course, he should have known that they'd be absolutely delighted that Teddy Lupin was snogging Victoire Weasley, the bloody traitors.

Well.

And he knocked his forehead against the window.

He'd be fifteen in eleven days, and Teddy was twenty and so most definitely too old for him.

But still-

No, James told his head, firmly. Shut up and stop thinking like that.

He knocked his head again.

How in the hell could he feel that way about a bloke who'd read him bedtime stories, who'd played pick-up Quidditch with him, who'd helped potty-train him, for Merlin's sake?

Lily nudged him. "Knut for your thoughts."

She was insufferably annoying, even for a first year, and James had the strangest urge to go find Al, who was at least close to his own age.

Friends, right. He had those.

He slid the compartment door open, avoiding her gaze. Lily happened to have the best puppy-dog eyes, and they'd always worked on her older brothers. "Go make friends with some other ickle firsties," he said hurriedly to her, without turning around. "Maybe they'll be in the same house as you." then he quickly slammed the door and made his getaway before she could follow him.

He tripped, panting, into his friends' compartment.

Fred, Lorcan, Lysander, and Miles looked up.

"Oi," Fred said, helping him up, "I was beginning to wonder where you'd got off to, mate."

Lorcan grinned. "Sander and I were placing bets, you see. I had three galleons on you snogging that Irish bird what eyed you up all last year."

James forced a smile. "Sorry, mate. You're out of luck. I was trying to coax Lily to get out of her compartment and talk to some other first years. Eventually I just ditched her."

Miles clicked his tongue. "And to think, you could have been having it on with some bird."

His mind tripped into a heady whirl. Lorcan, Lysander, and Miles were all good looking. And they weren't related to him, and they were his age.

So why not one of them? Why Teddy?

"What's got your broomstick in a knot?" asked Lysander, sitting back down in a seat.

"Nothing. Just thinking about being fourth years."

Identical grins split both Lorcan and Lysander's faces, and Miles rubbed his hands together. "Right. Well, Fred and I have these ideas. We thought we could give Hogsmeade a scare- haunt the Shrieking Shack again. Do you think Teddy could get us in? Him being Remus Lupin's son and all..."

At the mention of Teddy's name, James jumped and stared at the two of them.

"Merlin's pants, James, what IS it with you?"

"Nothing!" James squeaked. "Nothing."

"You're acting like you just robbed Gringotts!" Lorcan and Fred exchanged a grin. "So, did you?"

"Leave it, Lorcan," James said, folding his arms. At the moment, he couldn't for the life of him remember why the other four boys were his best friends, other than the fact that one of them was related to him and the twins were as close to related as they could be without actually being family.

He tuned out while the other boys, sensing tension, filled each other in on the summer shenanigans he'd missed while fooling around all summer with Al, Rose, Fred, and... Teddy.

His heart fluttered as the shock of turquoise hair, the earring, the warm brown eyes- all floated through his mind.

He closed his eyes, and resigned himself to a particularly long fall semester while waiting for the winter holiday.