Beyond the Door

VI

"I thought as much," Teddy mumbled quietly to himself.

Dumbledore had just filled him in that it was the second of August in 1995.

Molly, who had returned after retreating into the kitchen with Arthur, warily handed Teddy a chipped teacup filled with some kind of black tea. None of them trusted him or Victoire, clearly, but at Dumbledore's insistence they untied him and allowed him to take a seat with his fiancée on the couch, but they hadn't given them back their wands quite yet.

Harry was still there, despite Molly's attempts to shoo him back upstairs, and he was staring intently at the time-travelers.

"So you say you came through a door?" Remus asked after they were settled.

Victoire nodded. "Yes, it was hidden behind a bookcase in one of the upstairs rooms."

She decided to take the liberty of answering any of Remus or Tonks' questions since both she and Teddy knew it would be difficult for him to even look at them, let alone converse with them.

Sirius looked at them skeptically. "I grew up here and I've never seen any door behind any bookcase."

"I've never seen it before either." Teddy shrugged pathetically.

"And what were you even doing in Grimmauld Place in 2021 to begin with?"

Teddy hesitated. "We were..." he trailed off, glancing at Victoire.

"You were what?" Sirius demanded. "You don't find that at all suspicious, Dumbledore?" He swung his head over to look at the old headmaster.

"I find many things quite strange, Mr. Black, but time-traveling is not one of those things."

"Are you serious?" Sirius said bluntly.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Just ask young Harry, here."

Harry looked contemplative. "That's true, I did time travel. But Hermione said that you couldn't go back farther than just a few hours."

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, if you have a Time Turner. But it seems like they did not—is that correct?" He looked at Teddy.

"Yes, sir."

"Well, I think we should go look at this door, then," Remus suggested. "But don't think I won't still have my eye on you two." He waggled a finger at Teddy and Victoire, who nodded, understanding his threat.

Tonks still had their wands in her hands, and Teddy didn't think they would give them back anytime soon.

As Teddy started toward the stairs, he stopped.

Oh Merlin.

He completely forgot that there were all those damn Potters and Weasleys (and Malfoy) upstairs in the study. That could be troublesome, especially since he knew James wouldn't be able to keep his fat mouth shut once he caught sight of his fifteen-year-old father, Harry.

"Is there a problem?" Remus asked.

He and Victoire exchanged obvious looks, something Sirius and Remus were not too pleased to see.

"No..." Victoire replied hesitantly. "Just..."

"What?" Sirius snapped. "You know what?—this is my house, and I don't need to be led around like I don't live here."

He stormed past them and up the stairs.

They heard him stamp his way up, pause, then slink back down a few steps so he could look at Teddy once more.

"What room?"

"Sirius..."

"Pardon me, Moony, for not knowing where the secret time door is."