BreakingUpIsHardToDo by Luvscharlie

Warnings: Age disparity, infidelity, wicked thoughts

A/N: Originally written for the 2011 teddy_fest on Live Journal where the prompt was the song lyrics listed below from Follow Me by Uncle Kracker. Thank you to Lunalovepotter for the beta work.

I'm not worried 'bout that ring you wear
Cause as long as no one knows then nobody can care.
You're feelin' guilty and I'm well aware
But you don't look ashamed and baby I'm not scared…
- Follow Me by Uncle Kracker

It wasn't supposed to be this way. And oh, how I'm ashamed; almost ashamed enough to quit. Almost. If I wasn't so lonely, what with Harry gone all the time in his Ministerial duties (He's been Minister now for about four years and the masses adore him; who wouldn't? He's Harry Potter.), and the kids—well the kids are clingy and needy, but that's not the kind of attention I crave right now. I'm far weaker than I like to pretend. To the public I'm Ginny Weasley-Potter, happily married, ex-Quidditch star, mother of three, woman with the still bangin' body even at "her age" (I might be exaggerating a little, but it is my story so cut me some slack, yeah?), and an absolute angel to take in that sweet, orphaned child. The public doesn't often get it right, do they? They rarely have, and not much has changed over the many years in that regard.

Teddy Lupin came to live with us two years ago, when he was fifteen years old, after his maternal grandmother passed on, and I've raised him as if he were my own ever since. Of course, it's not as sordid as all that. I mean, he wasn't, by any means, a baby when he arrived into my care. He was a teenager, all smart mouth and rebelliousness. Not really thatsordid. Really. The line has always been clearly drawn. He wasn't my son; I wasn't his mother. Well, the line was clear until I went about with my eraser scratching out the parts that didn't suit me and making it very easy to cross over into inappropriate territory with my handsome young ward. The fact that I'm a horrible person isn't lost on me, so go putting your judgemental little looks back in your pockets; I get it; I'm a bitch. I'm a horrible, predatory, no good bitch. A bitch who happens to be having the most amazing orgasms of her life, so the name-calling hurts a little less, but still.

There's something to be said for a youth's eagerness to please, to not only learn how to do things, but to learn them with masterful precision. That was my Teddy. He was a quick study, so eager to give me everything that I was missing from my frequently absent husband. Please don't think I'm attempting to shift any of my culpability in this whole mess onto Harry's poor, oblivious shoulders. I'm not. This one—this one's all mine; I'll be travelling to Hell alone.

But all good things, including mind-blowing orgasms, must end.

I knew I had to bring this thing to a close when Teddy used the L-word. That's the problem with relationships like this. When life's left you a little weathered, the young still have stars in their eyes and love in their hearts. They love too freely and break too easily. And you get to be the one to shatter their hearts. I wasn't good at shattering; I was more a fix-it and make it all better a girl, a bit of a coddler even. I blame my mother for that.

After two months of fucking him in broom cupboards and being fucked over counters and even in my marriage bed when my husband was away on a Ministerial trip, it was time to end it all. And it would have been so much easier if dear Teddy wasn't looking at me with those sad blue eyes of his; he knew something was wrong when I said those dreaded words: "We need to talk."

I took young Teddy by the hand and led him to the kitchen table, where we had cavorted shamelessly only days before while the children were away at their Aunt Hermione's, and motioned that he should sit down in the chair. I stood. There seemed some absurd advantage to being the one standing. "Teddy, we need to talk." The words of doom left my mouth and I watched his face to see those first signs of heartbreak.

"So it's time then? It's over?" he asked.

My heart near broke; he was so astute for one so young. Though, to my surprise, there was a note of excitement in his words. Maybe he was tired of sneaking around and betraying Harry, just as I was. Despite his declared love for me, maybe he knew this was coming and had decided to be a man about it. Perhaps my young lover was growing up at a far greater speed than I had realised.

"You're finally going to end it with Harry then? Now we can finally be together. It's about time, Gin."

Or maybe he wasn't thinking any of those things. Did I mention the resiliency of the young? I hope I was never like this; so optimistic, so starry-eyed, so fucking annoying. It was like talking to a wall.

"Teddy, no, you don't understand." I tried to explain, but he bounced from his chair and wrapped me in his strong arms and spun me around. My back may never be the same. I'm sure I heard things pop that are not meant to be popping. Girls his own age probably have far stronger spines.

And then, before I could regroup and gather my thoughts, he was kissing me. He was all tongue and teeth and far more saliva than was necessary; he lacked finesse, but he made up for it with exuberance and I couldn't stop myself from responding in like kind. There's something about being kissed in a way that makes the world spin which leaves a girl a little breathless, you know? And breathless girls don't often protest.

Despite my world going all tilty-swirly, I did my best to regain my equilibrium. Kissing him back wasn't what I was meant to be doing, so I managed to get my hands between us and give his chest a good, hard shove to create a little bit of distance between his hard body and my less-firm one. Aging fucking blows, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You don't get wise; your mistakes just look far stupider because you were old enough to know better and you no longer have the recklessness of youth to blame for the foolish choices you make.

"It's okay, babe," Teddy whispered. The kids are all outside practising Quidditch. Besides, we can tell them soon. I mean Jamie knows, I'm sure, but—"

"What did you tell him?" I demanded with a stomp of my foot.

Teddy took a step back. "What? Me? Nothing! I mean, it's just Jamie's no dumb arse. Any fool could see you're in love with me, just like I'm in love with you. Besides he's been snogging Mary Sue Jones in the cupboard at Hogwarts for a year now. He told me so."

Trying to block the area of 'too much information' regarding my eldest child from my brain—I'd deal with that later, and he'd suffer the dreaded "talk". I sighed deeply, partly in relief that Teddy hadn't told my son my shameful secret, and partly in exasperation. I was going to have to spell this out in a way that wasn't going to spare Teddy's feelings. Being harsh wasn't one of my strong points; I could stand firm… but the promise of those toe-curling orgasms crumbled my resolve more than a little.

"Teddy," I began.

"Yeah, babe?"

"Stop that. Don't call me that."

"Okay, love."

I stepped forward and put my hand over his mouth. "You, shush. I need to talk to you, and you need to listen."

"Mmm—frmm—mmm," came a muffled reply from beneath my hand.

I withdrew my fingers from his lips. "Honestly, I said shush! Why don't you ever listen to me?"

"Okay, I'll be quiet, but you're standing on my foot. And OWWWWW!"

We both looked down. I was wearing sharp heels and one of them was digging right into the top of his bare foot. Embarrassed, I took a step back and Teddy fell onto one of the kitchen chairs clutching his injured toes.

"Erm, sorry about that."

Teddy glared.

I continued on. This had to be done; it had to be ended, and I had to be tough.

"Ow, Gin, that really hurt."

"I'm sorr—" He was rubbing his foot when he said it, and my maternal side almost caved in. I swallowed it down with the rest of my word. I needed to brush up on how to be a tough girl. I was better at this when I was younger. I broke my share of hearts, and I did it with a spring in my step and a song in my heart. Okay, that's probably a little on the dramatic side, but I was trying to bulk up my confidence and get this done. "I'm notsorry." See, that was a good way to open this up. "I had to get your attention; you need to listen to me."

"And that required the drawing of blood? Fuck, Ginny, I've only got two feet to walk around on. I'm going to need them both."

"I have your attention, don't I?"

"You always have my attention, love. Looking at you is a treat, babe."

I had reached the end of patience. "Stop it, this instant. No more love. No more babe. No more anything."

"What about Gin?"

"Not that either!" He had me so flustered I didn't even know what I was saying. "No, no. Gin is okay. You can call me that."

"Okay, love."

I growled and considered choking the life from him. It was a mistake, the growling.

"I love it when you growl. Did you know you do that when you come?" Teddy's voice was low and sexy.

"Oh my God! I do not!" I was on edge… and a little self-conscious. "Do I?" I squeaked out the question.

"Oh, baby, you do, and it's so hot. I could almost come in my pants when I think of that sound you make when my cock is exploding inside you."

I felt myself blushing. "Really?" I was embarrassed to hear myself titter like a teenager. "I mean, no. No, no, no. I do not. You stop getting me off track. I have important things to say here, young man."

"Grrrr," Teddy growled. "When you say young man like that, I want to put a paddle in your hand and climb across your lap and drop my pants and—"

My pulse was racing from the images he was placing in my mind, and the temperature in my kitchen was growing uncomfortably warm. The thought of spanking him in such a manner had crossed my dirty mind more than once in the past several months. His bum was so fit and the thought of bringing my hand down on that perfectly round arse—a puddle was forming in my knickers.

My defences were weakening. "I love my husband," I blurted out. There, it was out and we could end this. Teddy would realise I loved Harry and not him and—

"Harry's an ace guy. Everyone loves Harry. I love Harry too. Maybe we should tell him about us and see if he wants to join in, or maybe he's man enough to step aside and let true love prevail."

I slapped a hand over my face in woe-is-me fashion. A bit dramatic, but I thought it was justified. "You are impossible."

"I'm impossibly horny."

"You're impossibly ridiculous. Please tell me that line has never got you into a girl's knickers, or I'm going to lose respect for my gender."

Teddy grinned. "Is that a clever way of asking how many girls I've fucked? Jealous?"

"Oh dear Merlin, you clueless, brainless boy. I'm trying to end this with you, and you're just not listening."

"I'm listening," the frustrating git said. "I'm hearing every word you're notsaying. You love me."

"Oh. My. God. You obnoxious, cocky little prat."

Ten minutes later, I was in bed with him, rolling about and doing things—unconscionable things that only slags should be doing with men not their husbands, while my children's voices could be heard through the window, as they zipped about on brooms around the house in pursuit of a Golden Snitch. Thank Merlin, they were not the Seeker their father was.

That night at dinner, I still hadn't ended things with Teddy and my husband had actually got away from the office in time to join us.

"Tell me these trips are going to end soon," I said, as I passed Harry the mushy peas. I hoped I was sending a better message to Teddy with this conversation. Perhaps he'd have to listen if Harry was present. Besides, the direct approach didn't work; I had nothing to lose by trying subtlety.

"I have some good news," Harry said with a smile. "I've finally put my foot down and told them I wasn't going anywhere else for a month. I don't care if all of wizard-kind collapses in my absence. I've saved the world once. It's somebody else's turn." He turned to our sweet daughter and tugged a pigtail. "Hear that, Lily girl? Daddy's going to be home for a while. I'll be here to tuck you in at night."

And my beautiful, sweet, innocent child looked at her father with adoration. "If you're going to be home, Daddy, where's Teddy going to sleep?"

Oh, fuck.