Edward "Ted" Tonks

@hpminorcharnet creation event: canon relationships

↳ Andromeda Black x Edward Tonks

“Oh, brilliant. A Ted Tonks encounter in the wild.” Vince said, grinning at the younger man - it still came off looking slightly like a wince, considering the fact that one eye was still screwed shut and covered by one hand, but it was as warm as possible. He hadn’t realized the person he’d unceremoniously chosen as his helper was someone he actually knew, much less liked, but that made the injury almost worth it. Handsome Hufflepuff muggleborn lad, what was there not to like?

“Can you?” Vince asked, eyebrows raising as best they could. The glimpse of clipboard had really been what caught his attention but he was more than ready to accept the idea that Ted was, perhaps, just sort of wandering about with a clipboard, because he was a bit young to be at St. Mungos actually working… he assumed. “I’ll follow you, mate. I reckon this is no big deal, honestly, but probably safer than sorry to get it waved away.”

“I’ve been great, clearly.” He laughed, side-stepping half-gracefully as another Healer came barreling down the hall, muttering about Doxy bites. Some poor fool clearly needed that professional more than he did, and he fixed Ted with a crooked smirk as they walked down the halls. “Writing for the Prophet, spending my afternoons in the hospital. Typical. How about you? I - didn’t realize you had graduated already, I must be losing my mind. Are youworking here?”

“I believe that I speak for more than a few when I say, that waving it away and coming in when it’s much worse isn’t always appreciated.” Although, it did make for much more interesting days. Vince, however, didn’t need to know that and Ted doubted that he would want an elaboration. “Plus, the sooner you get seen the faster you can go home.” Or at least that was ideally how it would go, Ted had been around enough hospitals to know better; it hadn’t been rare that a temporary friend turned out to be longer term than anticipated, depending upon the person, it wasn’t always entirely horrible. 

Looking over towards Vince, Ted found himself smiling at him. Making light of a situation had never really been a talent of his and in a way, he almost wondered if the injury Vince had come in was milder than others. But then again, how dangerous could it really be to write for the Daily Prophet? “Sounds like you’re having a party every day.” Ted joked just before stopping in front of of a room he knew had just been cleaned and was definitely on the Healers route. “Working is a bit of a stretch, I volunteer here for now. I graduate this year so not much longer until working here is an accurate description of what I’m doing.” The days of volunteer work were diminishing and with each day, Ted had found himself growing more and more eager to start his career at the hospital. As Ted opened the door into the room and turned the lights on, he found himself wishing that time would be kind to him and speed hurry along for graduation. 

 Stepping into the room, Ted found a familiar sight awaiting him and as he stepped aside to let Vince in, he smiled. “This is you. I don’t believe it’ll be long before they’re here.” Once more, Ted felt an urge to take care of whatever Vince needed done. “What hit you?” Truthfully, he expected a completely muggle answer: a ball of sorts, perhaps even a shoe but spells weren’t exactly at the top of his list. 

Andromeda smiled softly at the joke and merely nodded in agreement. Although she wouldn’t admit to it, she was sure she would be worried about N.E.W.T.s even without the professor’s constant reminders. The future was a constant nagging in the back of her mind, a worry many would tell her was unnecessary. After all, what could a pureblood Black girl have to worry about? She could flunk all of her exams and think nothing of the future and her parent’s would have it all planned out for her. As ludicrous as the idea may be, she wanted to create her own future, to make something of herself.

She can’t help but be a combination of frustrated and curious when he gives her such a vague answer to her question. She didn’t understand why she was so fascinated by Ted but she constantly felt the need to know what he was thinking and learn more about him. He had lived such a different life from her and each time he told her a story she couldn’t help but be further fascinated and drawn into his world. “What are you figuring out?” She inwardly cringed at how eager she sounded, she hadn’t even hesitated to dig further. Normally she felt so composed and sure of herself, and yet with Ted it was as though it all went out the window.

For a moment she hovered uncertainly in the clearing, unsure of how to proceed before he spoke up. Thankful for the suggestion she nodded and followed after him onto the path even as she quietly admired his profile from behind. As he turned to look back at her she offered him a smile in return, even as she tried to decide where to start her line of questions today. “Will you tell me what it was like growing up?” She wanted to know all about his childhood, but she was also unwilling to pry. She knew that there were aspects of her childhood she wouldn’t be keen to share with others and she would respect if he felt the same. “I can’t imagine what a childhood without magic would entail…” She stated, as if that was a perfectly good explanation as to why she wanted to know more about him.

In the quiet of the forest, it would have be almost impossible for Ted to not have heard Andromeda’s question. Opting to not answer was only momentary and as Ted began to walk down the pathway, he began to figure out how to best answer her. Ted was more than aware of how silly it was to take time to think of how to tell her over what had been keeping his thoughts away from studies and instead on possibilities. Yet, as the crunch of snow beneath their feet filled the space between them Ted found an answer he believed would work the best. 

“I’ve been wondering about what it’s going to be like after we leave all this behind. It’ll only be a few more months after the break and then we’ll be out there with the rest of the world.” While it wasn’t an entirely honest answer, it was entirely a lie either; it was becoming more of a prominent thought as the time passed. “Do you know what you’re going to do after all of this?” Turning to look over towards Andromeda, Ted found himself wondering slightly if she would say she’d be joining him back at St. Mungo’s. 

Where his question hung in the air, waiting for an answer, Ted simply smiled at he took hers. “You know, I can’t really imagine a childhood with magic. Although, I don’t think it’ll be terribly different. I grew up mostly around my mother, in a place where the houses aren’t too close. My friends all lived around me and we spent a lot of time outside just playing with anything we could find.” Looking away from Andromeda, Ted found himself smiling more as he began to remember days and nights spent running around playing pretend. “We kind of made our own magic in a way, obviously it’s nothing like actual magic but still. It was a lot of pretending both here and in Venezuela.”

Evident by her face, Lily was impressed by the response, as few students would be upon hearing it considering most likely hadn’t a clue what a neonatal doctor or cardiologist would do. The more they began to dig into their muggle roots, the greater appreciation she gained for the discussion. It was not often Lily was able to discuss a part of her life that was just as important to her as the one filled with magic. It sparked in her an eagerness alongside a sense of comfort which only came around so often. “Merlin, that’s impressive. Together they’ve looked after so many lives. I can’t even imagine the wealth of knowledge between the two of them.” It made complete sense that Ted would follow in their footsteps in some regard.

Skeptical, Lily quickly shook her head at Ted’s conjecture on Healing. “I think it’s entirely what you make of it. Magical or muggle, there’s still a lot to be learned and developments to be made in both arena. Sure, it happens less often than it used to, but it does. And even if that’s not the case, no matter what, it’s positively impacting somebody’s life. Pretty impressive if you ask me.” Even Lily wouldn’t be able to boast much with a career as a Curse Breaker, at least not compared to a healer. She wondered at times if the choice was self serving, made to quench her constant thirst to overcome the impossible. With her talent for other categories of knowledge as well, maybe their was a better choice to be made.

“That’s the hope. Assuming that whatever I decide on decides positively on me as well.” That was the biggest caveat of the curse breaker path steeped in acclaim and exclusivity. Who knew if the years of hard work would be enough. “But yes, let’s hope for that too. I don’t see why that can’t be the case.” Lily smiled lightly over to her companion, fully believing a person like Ted should reap all the benefits that would come with notoriety, although posited he wast the sort of person that wouldn’t want it.

Watching the lizard curiously as she listened to Ted, it was a nice change of pace to hear words that so resonated with her in these trying times that still possessed in them a sense of calmness and purpose, instead of the anger and frustration that fueled many thoughts of recent. “No that makes complete sense to me.” It was a lesson she had learned harshly over the past couple of years, forgoing trust for her own sense of protection. “It still makes me want to give a source of distraction to help people ignore what they need to. Help people find that happiness. But I’m not sure how.” It was part of the duty she felt as Head Girl, a voice of the people.

As the lizard contently slithered away, hopefully to find more of its kind, Lily turned her attention back to Ted. “Every now and again, but I tend to keep my life here and life at home a bit removed. With everything that’s been going on it’s just easier. I don’t want them to worry about things they don’t know or can’t fully understand. Is that odd of me?” She felt as if there were few others that could honestly answer her on this, something which had been a silent torment for Lily.

An appreciative smile lined Ted’s lips as he simply nodded in agreement. Where his father liked to keep talk of work at work, his grandfather had been the kind to share without being asked. “A lot of what they use to say would go over my head as a kid but I kind of get it now.” While a part of Ted wished and knew that he would never fully understand what his father meant with certain explanation or terms, he also knew that it would be the other way around. Healing and muggle medicine were only the same until they were different. The differences would keep them apart but only just. 

Lifting a hand to touch one of the many plants thriving within the greenhouse, Ted found himself wondering just how different things would be once they entered into the careers they picked out. How different would it be from what they expected? While he had the luxury of being around Healers, how much of what he experienced was common? As question after question seemed to yell at him, Ted found Lily’s words bringing him back to the momentary safety of Hogwarts. “ You’re right, it is what I make of it. I guess you can say that I’ll still be a student for the rest of my career.” He joked knowing well that new techniques would come out during his lifetime and it would be up to him to figure them out. Healing was ever changing and while other careers developed slowly with time, his would change rapidly. Or at least that was what he imagined.

Challenges had always caught Ted’s attention and it was entirely plausible that the hardships with medicine had been what appealed to him. Or perhaps, it was something entirely different. “Lily, I don’t think there’s a career path that wouldn’t agree with you. Honestly, you’re pretty brilliant.” The compliment was gifted as reassurance to whatever choice the other had made; it would be a secret that Ted imagined Lily would only let people in on when she wanted to. “Although if it doesn’t work out then they’re missing out on someone quite talented.” It was only then that Ted moved away from the plant and instead he returned his full attention to Lily. 

“I don’t think we’re meant to do that for them, Lily.” While his words could have been seen as harsh, Ted made sure that his tone conveyed that he hadn’t meant to sound rude. “What I mean is, trying to bring someone happiness could go terribly wrong. People start to rely on others for that feeling instead of figuring out how to make it on their own, I mean look at us. What would he have been like if someone made our happiness?” With a shrug, Ted welcomed silence to stand between them while he tossed a glance towards the actual classroom portion of the greenhouse with slight curiosity. “When you can make your own happiness is when you really become unstoppable... in someway anyway.” A smile lined his lips as he once more turned to look at Lily.  

“No, I completely understand what you mean.” They were both living in two different worlds that had their handfuls of commonalities but in the end, they were two different worlds. “It’s hard to explain things that go on here to people that don’t see it or get it. I use to want to share everything with my parents but then it just started getting harder. Maybe you understand....” At least he hoped she understood. “You’re not alone though, I think a lot of us do that... especially now.” Ted knew he didn’t have to elaborate on what he meant, the prejudice against muggles and muggleborns had been growing; in a way, they were saving their parents and friends from worrying. Or at least, that’s how Ted justified keeping them in the dark. 

Ted Tonks x Andromeda Black

Andromeda knew she would have to go home soon, after all it wouldn’t do for her to be late to the party celebrating her sister’s engagement. She had used the excuse of needing a new dress to slip out of the manor for the day, and she had been thankful when no one had asked to join her. She needed some time to herself, and time to process her thoughts. She had thought time home during the holidays would be precisely what she needed to clear her mind and put herself back on course. Instead she found herself once more worrying over the future and what would happen when she left Hogwarts.

Diagon Alley had provided a good distraction from her thoughts as she busied herself with mindless shopping. Her first stop had been to find a dress for the party and then to have it tailored for the nights events. Once it was taken care of she wandered aimlessly in and out of shops, buying little trinkets that caught her eye and stocking up on necessary items she would take back to school with her. She was thankful that with the crowds of people, very few had stopped her to speak about her sister’s announcement. She blended seamlessly into the crowd of shoppers and while a few stopped to offer her congratulations she thanked them before hurrying off once more.

Her last stop had been Flourish and Botts, the quiet bookshop doing wonders to ease her worry and wild thoughts. It wasn’t long before she found herself lost among the bookshelves, fingers wandering over dusty old spines and pulling out the ones that sparked her interest. The only thing that broke her from her reverie was the grumbling of her stomach that alerted her to the need for food. So she bought the few books she had found for herself before wandering towards the bakery.

She hadn’t been paying much attention to her surroundings as she surveyed the sweet in front of her. There was indecision on her face as she eyed the shelves and tried to pick one treat to tide her over until she went home. As she knocked into someone she turned to apologize at the same time they did before she turned to find Ted.

For a brief moment surprise flashed across her face and she didn’t miss the same look on his face. For a moment she considered whether it was safe for her to be talking to him out in the open, but then she shook it off. There was no real need to worry about being seen, the rest of her family was far too busy preparing for the festivities at the manor. “Hi…” She smiled shyly, unsure of herself for a moment.

The tension is quickly broken by his question and she can’t help when she laughs in response, shaking her head at the thought of her mother cooking. Then she realized his question was serious, of course she hadn’t considered that in other families it was normal for mothers to cook. Her laughter died off and she shook her head, a smile on her lips. “No, my mother doesn’t cook.”

“I was actually just trying to decide on a treat for myself. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until I came in here.” She explained with a sheepish smile. It was refreshing to not have the first words out of his mouth be a congratulations about the family announcement. “Does your mom like to cook?”

Moments where Ted would realize just how different his upbringing to Andromeda’s came and went so frequently that he had begun to regard them as friends. It would have been silly for him to believe that they had childhoods that mirrored each other in one way or another and yet, he found himself believing just that as he waited for her response. The laugh, a speedy signal that he had encountered another difference, told him he had been wrong and he smiled at Andromeda. “I see.” It was simple and contained that he did in fact understand.

For the smallest of moments, Ted found himself wanting to question her slightly on what it was like for her growing up. Simple differences gave him glimpses into what he could only imagine her life to have been like before Hogwarts and possibly what it could be after they graduate. Yet, he kept his questions to himself knowing better than to dare question her while they were out in such a public location. After all, they were friends in secret and while that was momentarily enough, there were rules that needed to be followed. 

Stolen moments with Andromeda had readied him for the question to be returned to him and when it was, he smiled and simply nodded. “Yeah, she does. Actually she use to be a baker before she met my father and moved here.” Simple answers weren’t the ones he was use to giving Andromeda and while he knew that oversharing with her had become a habit, it wasn’t one he saw himself curving. “Actually, she pretends to get upset when we ask to go out and eat.” At this, Ted found himself chuckling slightly. 

Perhaps, that should have been the end of the conversation. It should have been seen as more than enough to have simply exchanged those words and to leave with a promise of catching up when they returned to school; to hide away while recounting the events of a holiday that he imagined was completely different for both of them. Yet, he found himself to be slightly selfish and with a quick glance towards the pastries behind her, Ted found himself voicing a question before properly thinking it though: “which one is your favorite?” Moving to her side and motioning towards the pastries housed behind glass, Ted made sure Andromeda knew what it was he was speaking on. 

As plain a question as it was, it was a way to get to know her better without prying into sensitive subjects. Only then, as he looked back towards her, did the possibility of Andromeda being with her sisters dawn on Ted. “Wait, sorry are you here with your sisters? I don’t mean to keep you from them.” He both apologized and inquired. It would be a lie to say that he wasn’t hoping she would tell him her sisters weren’t with her and yet, it was lie Ted was avidly telling himself. 

“I think you’re probably right. I think that’s the way it should be though that these walls the idea of Hogwarts always is a safe haven. No matter how dark the world gets.” Alice shook her head because she hated that she was even thinking about these things or saying them. She knew, first hand though from so many angles how things were changing and it broke her heart. She didn’t know where they had gone so awry that all of this was happening, but she was beginning to suspect the path back wasn’t going to be short or smooth. She didn’t need to share those fears though. She smoothed her face offering Ted an easy smile the last thing she wanted to do was leave here and leave her friends concerned in her wake.

“Your secret is safe with me. It would be terrible for them to know how fond you are of breathing.”  Alice joked shaking her head as she made a face “I’m not sure if the rules still apply to me. I suppose I assume curfew doesn’t, but–I hadn’t contemplated it really. Perhaps I should break some and see if I can manage to get myself thrown out. Though that would probably have to be something beyond extreme. I’d definitely have to enlist help.” She tapped her chin thoughtfully as if it were actually a possibility. “Perhaps the next time. I’ll lure them into thinking I’m an excellent guest teacher and then next time BAM!” She laughed a little shaking her head. “Oh I suspect that Flitwick would put all of us in training to shame. I’ve always loved Charms, but even still I find how simple it seems when he does magic incredible. Moody would probably love to have his skills though I fear the poor students of Hogwarts would be getting the short end with me. I would feel terrible assigning the number of essays I remember writing for Charms. I’d probably cringe and apologize every time I handed out an assignment or be one of those teachers that try and convince you it’s fun lesson when you already have six other essays to do and at that point nothing is fun.”

“I suppose that’s true...” Although it was an agreement in every way, a moment of silence following after exposed the doubts hiding within his words. He knew Hogwarts needed to appear to be safe and it made sense for the Professors to want to keep it that way, yet he found himself wondering it that was correct. The smile that lingered on Ted’s lips only served to give away his hesitation in completely agreeing with Alice and yet, he pretended that it was the type of smile that was expected. These were dark times and no matter how much he believed that the seventh years needed to be made aware of how bad things were, Ted believed that wasn’t something that needed to be spoke of at the moment. Least of all with someone that was training to combat those that made the world dangerous. 

“I knew I could trust you.” He joked and as he chuckled, a sense of ease washed over Ted. For a moment, he almost forgot they were simply stealing time between classes, “I don’t think Flitch will care too much about you already being a graduate if he caught you out of bed. He’s probably wondering how many of you will test the rules tonight.” Ted continued to joke although he took a step back from Alice as he did so. “I’m going to have to agree with you about Flitwick, I mean have you seen him when he’s in a particularly nasty mood?” He question before taking another step back, “mind if we go for a walk? There’s still a decent amount of time before the lesson has to start. Also I think if you’d make a pretty good teacher. You did help me out when I needed it after all.” He reassured her although Ted doubted he needed to let her know that. 

2k make me choose edits:

It was probably pretty lucky that Vince managed to apparate successfully into the designated apparition-cum-waiting room of St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, considering how stressed he was that his left eye had completely, painfully swollen shut.

Then again, Vince was a lucky kind of guy, and he’d had to apparate there enough that maybe he hardly needed a clear mind to get there anymore.

It wasn’t really the worst injury he’d ever sustained, not by a long shot. He’d run into far too many close calls in ambush duels and general scrapes as a member of the Order for it to rank terribly high; considering a nose broken many times over, a concussion here or there, a Stupefy he couldn’t shake off until he got a full 16 hours of sleep. It had just been shocking, was the thing, and unexpected as he’d carefully poked around the (apparently, well-hexed) house of a high up Ministry official earlier that day.

He could have gone straight to Headquarters where someone could have fixed him up, sure, but he wasn’t in the mood to get yelled at by Moody (or laughed, then yelled, at by Gretchen) for not even thinking to cast a few anti-hex charms around the perimeter before doing his prowling. It simply didn’t feel like a fun time for him, not while his eye was stinging.

“‘scuse me, yeah, hi.” Vince said to the first person he found who looked vaguely like they belonged to the hospital, back turned to him, tapping on their shoulder as politely as he could manage. Vince’s other hand was currently cupping the swollen eye in question, his brows furrowed so there’d be no question as to what he’d be referring to. Through it all he had a smile - albeit a pained one - on his face, as if amused, as always, by the hand fate had dealt him for the day. “Any chance someone could help me out with this? It, uh, hurts.”

The need to help was gratefully accompanied by the yearn to check in on old patients he knew were longer term occupants. In a way they were friends, although he doubted they actually would have wanted his attention were they able to get up and leave. Yet, that didn’t mean he was simply a visitor. It had been unusually busy and Ted had found himself running smaller errands for the Healers, though they were hardly ever exciting it was a way for him to wonder and still learn — that is if one could really call taking a clipboard back to administration a learning moment. 

It wasn’t odd in any way for someone to ask him for help and the fact that he could vaguely recognize the voice of the person that spoke to him urged him to turn towards the other. A smile came upon his lips as he came face to face with someone he had looked up to, but then again he hadn’t been the only to look up to Vince. “Hey, uh I can get you into a room but that’s about it.” In a way, it was a lie. Ted knew that he had a good grasp on healing and had been allowed to practice while Madame Pomfrey supervised while he was at Hogwarts but St. Mungo’s was different.

Curiosity poked at Ted as he looked at Vince’s eye and though he wanted to question what it was that he had been hit with, a part of him told him to hold off just for the moment. “Come on, there’s a healer doing rounds this way and she’s pretty good about getting easier cases seen and out during this time of year.” As he spoke Ted motioned for the other to follow him. “So, uh, how have you been?”

Andromeda had waved off her friends as they all bundled themselves up and prepared for a day in Hogsmeade. It was the perfect day, the sky was a crystal clear blue and the sun shone down on the fresh snow that lay on the ground. They all had their lists of little trinkets and sweets they had every intention of getting for their family and sweethearts. She had a list of her own, but today she had other plans that had left her stomach knotted with nerves. If anyone were to ask, she insisted that she needed to stay in and finish a paper for Potions before she received a failing grade. She had waited until they had all headed out before she bundled herself up and made her way out to the spot she knew she would find her company for the day. She had every intention of catching up with her friends later in the afternoon, however if she didn’t she could use the excuse that her paper had taken longer than expected.

She had been anxious all day, a mix of emotions and thoughts plaguing her mind as she had counted down the hours. She was excited to see Ted, an odd friendship that had bloomed at St. Mungos, and one that try as she might she couldn’t seem to let go of. She enjoyed his company, had found it somehow easier to be herself and talk to him about things she wouldn’t dare say to her family. Yet there was also a fear of what may happen were her sisters or friends to ever find out. She had no doubt it would get back to her parents and she could already imagine their disgruntled features as they had a discussion with her about the proper sort of company. A mudblood Hufflepuff boy certainly wasn’t part of that group.

It was with that thought in mind that she was careful about her tracks in the snow, taking care to erase any evidence as she followed the familiar path into the trees. She stopped as she spotted him, and for a quiet moment she watched the birds before they turned back into branches, a soft smile on her lips. She wandered closer as she finally turned her attention back to him. “Hi..” She breathed as she pulled her cloak closer around her. It was always like this initially, the hesitation and the uncertainty that one of these days she would ruin everything with what she said or that he would realize how foolish it was to spend time with a Black. “Busy.” She admitted. “I feel like there is so much to do before holiday. Not to mention NEWTs hanging on the horizon. I’ll manage though.” She wasn’t one to complain, nor did she want to talk much about herself. It was typical for most of their time to be spent with her asking questions about his life, and she was thankful he didn’t seem to mind or ask her why. “And you? Things alright?”

With a lingering smile, Ted simply stayed silent as he listened to Andromeda. There wasn’t a particular answer he was waiting for or hoping to hear, a change he imagined wasn’t usual for someone so high up on the list of pureblood students. But that was all speculation and for the smallest moment, Ted reminded himself that assumptions were hardly ever right and whispers in the halls were far less credible when they came from people that had possibly never spoken to the girl in front of her.

“Ah, N.E.W.T.s, honestly I’ve started to believe the Professors would have a break-down if any one of us forgot about them for a second.” He joked as he took a step towards Andromeda, though he stopped before getting to close to her. “I’ve been alright, just figuring a few things out.” In comparison to hers, his answer was vague and served to hide that fact that she was one of the people he was still trying to figure out. “Although I’ll be honest, I can’t wait for the break to start and to not have to worry about an exam or essay for the following week. I might remember what life is like by the time we come back.”

“Perhaps there are just more fields now than there used to be. That’s true of muggle science and technology, and for wizards as well. There’s progress over time so maybe, the discrete categories did once work as their own entities, but now, with all the fundamentals covered, we’re a generation that wants more.” Lily shrugged, musing on the topic longer than she expected, but a conversation mate willing to talk it over fostered an eagerness in her, the near reverie only disrupted by the lizard once more. “Lizard in a library is as cool a party trick as any.”

“Really? That’s brilliant, Ted.” Their shared roots brought an extra glow to her appreciation of his career path, even now finding simple joy in relating back to her upbringing without laborious explanations or worry at being chastised. “What sort of doctors are there?” It could be that Ted grew up hearing stories of gruesome wounds, or even tales of lost patients, or perhaps simple day to day life of a local physician. Healers and doctors, they all specialized in something at the end of the day.

As the focus was diverted to her, Lily was quick to bath her answer in mystery. “Oh, I have a few things on my mind, but I don’t want to jinx anything. I think the only proper answer is I haven’t a clue yet.” For everything else in her life that was, for the most part, quite planned out, this bit of her future involved many variables that needed to fall into place. Her marks come the end of the year would be incredibly important if her aspirations to become a curse breaker were to come to fruition.

“No, please, optimism is exactly the sort of thing we all need right now.” With a huff at herself for the lack of this spirits she had been feeling recently, Lily shook her head. “Generally I think I feel the same way as you, but then I find myself slipping.” She picked her brain for an example, but Ted had presented her with one already. “You say the students will find a way to be happy right? What if that’s something you have to fight for, if it’s not something that can just happen?” Waving her head with another shake of the head, she preemptively stopped a frenzy. “Sorry, I just get all wrapped up in my head about it, end up in a tizzy.”

As the warmth from the greenhouse washed over them when they stepped in, Lily’s arms fell to her side instead of wrapped against her chest to protect from the castle chill. Even her chuckle to Ted warmed Lily up a touch more, enough to brave any conversation of Petunia. “We used to. Sometimes we still do, but less so.” A surprisingly accurate, albeit short summary. “It’ll definitely make the family dynamic more interesting.” Except for what sounded like a pleasant holiday, Ted’s recollection of home mirrored her own. “That’s just about the same thing I say about Cokeworth.” It was never somewhere she was eager to go back to. “I always wish I could take my family to Diagon Alley for the holidays. I visit myself, but they’d love the spectacle of it.”

A simple nod was all Ted gave in agreement with Lily, truth could be found in her words and as they walked, Ted simply allowed his thoughts to drift off towards the possible new studies that had only developed recently. Curiosity would always push for progress and a part of him liked to believe that it was the curiosity of his particular year that brought out newer programs in the school — egotistical in nature but still completely a nice thought. 

Lost in thought, at times Ted found it hard to separate himself from the possibilities and questions that so often found themselves yearning to be voiced. However, the mention of his family and a curiosity over them had always been a surefire way to draw him out. “My grandfather worked as a Neonatal doctor while my father is a Cardiologist.” The smile that adorned Ted’s lips as he spoke of his father and grandfather was similar to the one he wore during childhood when the answer was much simpler but still as intriguing. While he would have gone into more of an explanation into what each field entailed, there was no need with Lily; or at least, he imagined that there would be no need to explain. “It’s definitely not as impressive as them but being a Healer has it’s own surprising set of challenges and not just on the patient side either.” 

It would have been a lie if Ted didn’t admit to himself that he had believed healing to be a straightforward, it was a reality he had believed was true and only realized otherwise the first year of his own volunteer service. Hearing what was happening with other patients before he and the other volunteers were allowed in wasn’t hard, in fact it had been almost too easy to integrate himself into conversations he shouldn’t have been included in. It was in those stolen conversations that Ted learned healing wasn’t as simple as it appeared when compared to muggle medical practices. 

Where others would have possibly pushed for a hint at what Lily had decided on, Ted knew better. “I’m sure you’ll do well at whatever you decide to go into after Hogwarts, Lily. Maybe our paths will cross one day and we’ll be well noted individuals in what we go into.” It was wishful thinking on his part and yet, Ted knew that he hoped it would hold true — while notoriety didn’t play an actual role into his career choice, it would be nice but not entirely pursued.

Unusual was the word Ted would have used to describe the warmer feeling the greenhouses gave him, in a way it reminded him of the comfort found within the walls of the Hufflepuff common room. Unusual wouldn’t be the word he’d use in his later years but it was one he imaged others would think of if they could feel or recognize the feeling of warmth the transparent buildings contained. Almost as if it were in agreement, the lizard in his hands began to move faster, as though it knew it was going home and had grown anxious with all the waiting it still seemed to do. 

“Happiness is the hardest to maintain when things appear to be the worst but bad moments are temporary. You could say the happier moments are also temporary but we fight for those, whether or not we know we are is another thing. I know that once the newer student see the happy moments Hogwarts has waiting for them, they’ll figure out how to get there. I’m not sure if that made sense or if this will make sense but sometimes ignoring a bully is the best you can do, it takes away their power to steal your happy moments.” It was with these words that Ted opened his hand and watched as the lizard crawled off of his hand and onto a possibly familiar plant.   

please come home.