James and Lily's wedding is like something straight out of a fairytale. The grounds of Potter Manor have been transformed into a wonderland of flowers and fairy lights made with real pixies who dart around the garden leaving trails of shimmering light in their wake. Her parents must have been working on the charmwork for weeks, because the effect is nothing short of dazzling.
The ceremony is held beneath a canopy of trailing white blossoms just before sunset, and the light from the evening sun sets Lily's hair ablaze against her beautiful white dress. She looks positively ethereal, and no one can blame James for promptly turning into a sniffling mess as soon as she'd walked down the aisle towards him.
Teddy certainly can't judge — as soon as they'd smiled at each other, she'd practically burst into happy tears and had to hide her face in Remus' shoulder.
Afterwards, everyone moves to the back garden for drinks and food and dancing, and Sirius approaches her with a little handkerchief to dry her face. She lets him wipe her tears away as though she's a child, then gives him a big watery smile. He kisses the top of her head fondly, then leads her over to James and Lily.
Lily greets them both with an enormous, beaming smile. Her baby bump is just barely visible through her wedding dress, though she keeps cupping it with her hands almost unconsciously, as though checking that it's still there. She really does look as though she's glowing — James is still staring at her in pure amazement, his mouth half open as though he really can't believe his luck.
The first thing he says to them when they approach is, "Look at my wife! Look how beautiful she looks!"
Teddy and Sirius exchange their congratulations, and hug and kiss the newly wedded couple — when James catches sight of her dress, he bursts into delighted, childlike laughter. It's a pretty sage green, and the hem has been carefully embroidered with two deer that have been enchanted to prance around the flowing petticoats at the bottom of her dress. It had taken her weeks to get the charm right, though her mother had helped with the embroidery; it's worth all of the work to see the look of pure glee on James' face.
There are so many people eagerly awaiting the chance to offer their congratulations to James and Lily, so Teddy and Sirius step aside after a couple of minutes of chatting so that they can go and get some food.
The lawn has been transformed into a dancefloor, and garden gnomes run in amongst everyone's legs, kicking at their ankles to make sure that no one starts to dance before James and Lily have had their first dance. Sirius laughs so hard that he chokes on the bread roll he's eating when one of the gnomes kicks old Elias Budgeworth so hard in the back of the knee that he goes careening to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
It's Easter break, so Teddy can see plenty of her classmates at the wedding party. Her parents seem to have sent out a blanket invitation to everyone they know — they're a Pureblood family, which means that all the other Pureblood families would have been invited too, though thanks to their blood traitor status the invite seems to have gone ignored by the majority of them. All the same, Teddy doesn't think she's ever seen her home so busy in her life. There are people she doesn't think she's ever seen before in her life, laughing and drinking and just having a genuinely wonderful time celebrating James and Lily's marriage.
Teddy and Sirius watch James and Lily's first dance from the side, sitting together on one of the pretty wrought-iron benches and blinking through their happy tears. Sirius rests his head against hers, careful not to disturb the flowers that have been woven through her hair.
"They look so happy." He murmurs to her, arm thrown around her shoulders.
"Yeah." Teddy is beaming at them. Her heart feels like it's about to burst as she watches James spin Lily, his face splitting into an enormous smile as she throws her head back and laughs at something he's said. She sighs softly as she leans into Sirius. "D'you think it'd be possible to find a relationship like that? Or are James and Lily just special?"
Sirius just hums. "They're special for sure." He says, watching them fondly. "But so are you. You'll find someone that sees that and treats you like a princess," He kisses her sweetly on the forehead, "And if they don't, me and James will just kick their arse."
"I'm sure you'll have any potential suitors shaking in their boots." She says wryly.
"That's the plan." Sirius still sounds cheerful, but his voice has taken on a rather distracted edge.
When Teddy raises her head from his shoulder, she follows his gaze over to the other side of the dancefloor. It's pretty packed full of people, so it honestly takes her a moment to spot who exactly he's looking at.
Remus is dancing with Dorcas, and the two of them are grinning at each other like excited children. When he spins her, she trips over her long petticoats and falls flat on her face, and the two of them start to howl with laughter.
Sirius watches them closely, his tongue poking out to wet his bottom lip. "Teddy," he murmurs seriously. "Do you think if I kissed Moony, he'd kiss me back? Or would it just fuck everything up?"
"Oh." Teddy blinks. Suddenly, she feels an awful lot of pressure — she's terrified that she'll say the wrong thing and mess this whole thing up, but she has to say something. Remus and Sirius have been dancing around each other for years, driving everyone positively insane. "Yeah, Sirius. I think he'd kiss you back. I think he'd gladly do more than kissing, to be honest."
"Yeah?" He perks up a bit, his eyes never leaving Remus. His face has softened, his lips parted just slightly as he watches Remus dance. "You think so?"
"Go dance with him." She nudges his shoulder with a soft smile.
He bites at his lip, and looks as though he's just on the verge of standing when he seems to change his mind and sinks back into the chair. "What, and leave you sitting all alone? I couldn't do that."
Teddy shakes her head with a sigh. "Sirius Black, you are a coward." She frowns at him. "Don't use me as an excuse. I'll occupy myself — I'll dance with Peter, or something. Where is he, anyway?"
"Dunno, haven't seen him since the ceremony." Sirius says absently. "Think he ducked out for a smoke."
He's clearly wavering again, and they both look out at the dance floor. This time, however, Teddy spots a familiar head of red hair whirling around on the dancefloor. Gideon Prewett looks like he's positively having the time of his life, throwing his head back and laughing loudly at something his dance partner has just said to him.
As if he can feel her looking his way, he turns and looks over at her — his face splits into a grin when he spots her, and he waves enthusiastically at her with the hand that's not resting on his dance partner's waist.
Sirius must follow her gaze, because he hooks his chin over her shoulder and frowns. "Don't even think about it."
"What?" Teddy asks defensively, shrugging him off.
"Gid Prewett goes through girls faster than I do." Sirius says, poking at her cheek to make sure that she's listening to him. "If he's anything like his brother then he's probably a great snogger, but it's just not worth it-"
"Oh, fuck off! We're friends!" Teddy turn and shoves at his head irritably. "Honestly, it's none of your business, anyway!" She folds her arms and turns back to look out at the dancers, but then promptly whirls back around to look at him. "Hang on, you and Fabian Prewett-?!"
"Teddy!" The sound of her name has both Sirius and Teddy looking around to see Gideon Prewett grinning at her as he pushes his way through the crowd. He comes to a stop in front of their chairs and holds out a hand to her. "What're you doing sitting off to the side? Come on, come dance."
"Er-" Teddy begins to protest, but he catches a hold of one of her hands and hauls her to her feet.
It's only then that he seems to notice Sirius, and he does a barely noticeable double take before directing a grin at him, too. "Alright, Sirius? Almost didn't realise it was you for a second there! Guess I'm just so used to seeing your brother around-"
Teddy snatches at Gideon's arm and pinches him hard before he can finish that sentence.
"We're all in a lot of classes together." She says quickly to Sirius, who's frowning. In fact, he looks a little offended that he's being told that he looks similar to Regulus. Teddy pushes at Gideon's arm, and lets him take her hand to tug her towards the dancefloor.
Before they disappear into the crowd, Teddy turns back to Sirius and jerks her head towards Remus. "Go dance with him!"
Sirius rolls his eyes, but grins back at her anyway.
"Alright, alright! Bossy!" He hisses back, pushing himself up to his feet and brushing off his dress shirt. His gaze is fixed unerringly on Remus as he steps towards him, although he pauses and turns back to glare at Gideon before they can disappear into the crowd. "Keep your hands to yourself, Prewett!"
Gideon just starts to laugh, teeth flashing in the low light. "Oh, Teddy's not interested in me. She-"
"Okay, let's go." Teddy grabs his arm and hauls him away before he can say anything incriminating.
The crowd swallows them up — there's so many people on the dancefloor that Teddy loses sight of everyone she knows within seconds. She gets one last glimpse of Sirius as he makes his way towards Remus before another couple spins passed her and blocks her view.
"Arsehole!" Teddy smacks at Gideon's arm. "What exactly were you planning on telling him?"
Gideon completely ignores her thumping his arm, and instead takes a hold of her waist and spins her. "Oh, don't worry, Ted! I wasn't going to tell him anything. It's too much fun watching it all play out, I'm not going to ruin it."
"Generous of you." She says drily, draping her arms casually over his shoulders. They're not dancing so much as just twirling in a circle, but dancing didn't really seem to be Gideon's aim at all.
"Your parents really did invite all sorts to this wedding!" He says cheerfully, twirling her around so exuberantly she nearly falls over. "But I just had to get to you first — I wanted to see his face, and then I wanted to see your face. You both just have the best reactions."
"What are you talking about?"
"Teddy, my dear friend," He tugs her close all of a sudden, grinning wide and reckless. "With all the affection in the world, you really are slow sometimes."
Teddy makes a face, offended. "Oi, what the hell is that supposed to mean-"
"Oop, here we go!" Gideon is still grinning, but this time his gaze is fixed somewhere over her shoulder. "I've been waiting for this since I first realised he was here-"
"What-?" Teddy starts to turn her head, but then Gideon's hands splay over her back as he holds her close to him and he turns them both to the side so that they can both look in the same direction.
The loose curls, the stately nose, the pale eyes, the soft mouth. For a split-second, she thinks it's Sirius stepping towards them. Then her brain catches up, and her stomach drops like a lead weight.
"It's Regulus Black!" Gideon snickers, as though she hadn't noticed that herself. He looks utterly delighted with this new turn of events, and he keeps looking eagerly between them so that he can catch all of their reactions.
Teddy's sure that her face must be absolutely comical — her eyes are wide and shocked as she stares at Regulus, absolutely thunderstruck by his presence.
"What the fuck are you doing here!" She hisses, dropping her arms from Gideon's shoulders and darting a look around the garden to see if anyone else has noticed him.
Gideon doesn't let go of her, however. She wonders if he's enjoying the way that Regulus' eyes drop down to his arms around her waist, because he pulls her a little closer as Regulus' brow draws into a frown.
"I was invited." He says, as if it's that simple. Of course, most Pureblood families would have been invited, but any of the blood-purist families absolutely would not have been expected to show up.
He turns to Gideon and gives him a rather forced smile. It seems as though he's genuinely attempting to be polite and friendly, but his eyes are narrowed and his gaze is severe as he clearly eyes up the lack of space between them.
"Mind if I step in, Prewett?"
Gideon grins, as though his politeness is just impossibly amusing. "Sure, pal." He says cheerfully, finally relinquishing his grip on Teddy and stepping away from her. "Try not to piss her off again, yeah?"
"Gid-!" Teddy hisses, but Gideon ducks away before she can stop him, giggling the whole time. The two of them are left alone in the middle of the crowded dancefloor, the dancers buffeting against them like waves.
For a long moment, they just stand and stare at each other. It feels a bit like a dream — Regulus is entirely out of place amongst her family and friends celebrating James and Lily's wedding, but he's dressed for the occasion in a neat dress shirt and a pale green waistcoat embroidered with twisting vines, his dark hair curling neatly around his ears.
They're much brighter colours than he normally wears and he looks more handsome than ever, though he's undeniably paler and thinner than usual. The last time they had spoken had been the week before, when Teddy had been shouting at him to leave her alone and go shag Dorothy Blishwick outside of the Gryffindor common room — the memory makes her flush, embarrassed.
"Dance with me." Regulus says at last, breaking the strained silence. He doesn't even wait for her to answer before reaching out and pulling her close to him by her waist.
"Oi!" She snaps, her hands shooting up to catch herself on his chest. "Where are your manners?"
"Please." He murmurs belatedly, beginning to slowly smile as he ducks his head down closer to her.
"No." She says stubbornly, trying to push him away. Admittedly, she doesn't try particularly hard — his hands are large and warm on her waist, and his chest is firm and wide beneath her hands. Her fingers curl into his shirt without conscious thought. "What are you doing here?"
"How could I miss it?" He drawls. One of his hands leaves her waist so that he can take one of her hands and intertwine their fingers, pulling her into a mock-waltz.
"What, are you looking for wedding ideas of your own?" Teddy bites out, furious. "If you've brought Carrow to this, I swear to-"
"I'm not an idiot, darling." He cuts her off before twirling her in a sharp, sudden movement that she's utterly unprepared for. Right as she completes the turn, he pulls her right back into his chest and loops his other arm around her to keep her close. "It's my future brother-in-law's wedding. I'm here by myself, and I'll be on my best behaviour."
Teddy stares uncomprehendingly at him. "Excuse me?"
"This isn't a proposal." Regulus says seriously. His thumb strokes over the bodice at her waist, and he spins them in a little circle — it's dizzying, which isn't improving Teddy's grasp on the conversation. "When it comes time for that, I'll do it right and I'll do it properly. This is just me speaking it into existence."
"Marriage-? Us?!" Teddy hisses. "Have you lost your mind?"
He just hums, and the hand on her waist dips lower and strokes over the swell of her ass. "You've always seemed to have that effect on me."
"Your hand is supposed to stay on my waist." She points out, eyes narrowed and severe. The music swells as the song changes, though Regulus doesn't change their slow, steady pace as he steps the two of them in delicate circles.
"Sorry." He says insincerely, a grin growing over his face as she snatches at his arm and hauls it up higher on her back.
"No, you're not."
"No, I'm not." He agrees, before twirling her in yet another elaborate circle. It seems like he just likes to watch her get annoyed at him. Or maybe he's just enjoying the opportunity to look her up and down all over as she twirls.
"Spin me one more time and I'm going to get sick all over your pretty suit." Teddy threatens, scowling at him as he pulls her closer yet again.
Regulus grins, his teeth gleaming in the low light of the dancefloor.
"You think it's pretty? I was hoping I guessed your favourite colour. I see it matches your pretty dress." His gaze tracks over her body, his eyes lighting up as if the thought of them matching was simply the most delightful thing. He exhales softly, before murmuring, "I know I've said it before, but you really do look good in green."
It's not a particularly revealing dress, but he eyes her up hungrily as though she's laid out bare in front of him. The heat in his gaze sends a shiver down Teddy's spine, and he clearly feels it because he presses even closer. Teddy doesn't have the willpower to push him away — his big warm hands on her waist are familiar and gentle, and he holds her like she's something precious. It's a marked change from their usual frantic groping of each other, and she finds herself responding to it by going a little limp in his arms.
A couple goes spinning passed the two of them, and it takes Teddy a second to realise it's Gideon and Mary — they're both grinning wildly at them, clearly impossibly amused by the predicament Teddy has suddenly found herself in.
"Looking cozy, you two!" Mary calls, giggling. She's obviously a little tipsy, but she seems to be having the time of her life as Gideon whirls her around.
Teddy scowls at her, but Regulus just laughs quietly and draws Teddy closer with a proprietary hand on her lower back as they spin away from them. Despite his chuckles, Teddy doesn't miss the dark look he sends towards Gideon.
It doesn't come as much of a surprise when he ducks his head to murmur in her ear. "You and 'Gid' seem to have gotten close."
"Jealous?" Teddy asks, tilting her head mockingly. It's a ridiculous notion — she's known the Prewetts from they were all children, and she doesn't have the slightest inclination of romantic attraction towards him, but she likes watching the way Regulus' eyes go dark when he's feeling possessive.
"He doesn't have anything on me, darling." He says with a cocky, toothy smile. "I'm not worried about him."
"There's more chance of me ending up with him at the end of the night than you." She says with a frown — his overconfidence is beginning to get on her nerves. When his hands clench tight on her waist, her eyebrows raise slowly. "What? Didn't like that?"
"You know," He gives her a wry, crooked smile, "It's oddly satisfying to know that he won't be able to make you feel half as good as I did. Ever." His smile turns into a smirk, and he bends forward so that he's murmuring in her ear. "The memory of you moaning beneath me in my bed has gotten me through many difficult nights, you know."
Teddy scowls and tries to pull away, but he holds onto her tight and doesn't let go. "What is wrong with you?" She snaps, irritated.
"You, darling." He sighs. "Always you."
A red flush is beginning to creep up her neck and over her cheeks — she can feel the prickling heat of it. In an effort to cover it up, she says, "I hate it when you call me that."
"Little liar." He whispers in her ear, sounding stupidly fond. "I've missed holding you, you know. And kissing you. And fucking you, of course. I've even missed you frowning at me."
Fucking hell, he's bold tonight. Teddy leans back so that she can scowl full force into his face. "If James or Sirius see you here, they'll go mad."
"There it is." He whispers with a little smile, reaching up to brush the pad of his thumb over the crease in her brow. He doesn't seem in the least bit concerned about standing in the midst of a wedding party that he is almost certainly not welcome in. "They'll just have to get used to having me around, love, because I don't plan on going anywhere."
Teddy can't quite stifle the mildly hysterical giggle that bubbles out of her throat. "Oh my god," She whispers, staring up at him. "You really have lost your mind."
Regulus just laughs quietly. One of his hands is still on her waist, but the other one cups the back of her neck as his thumb strokes over her throat. Teddy's desire to fight is rapidly draining out of her — it's been so long since they've touched each other that she's willing to revel in these scraps of physical contact, even in the middle of James' wedding. Regulus' eyes are overbright in his pale face, and his cheekbones are even more prominent than usual. He looks stressed, and he's clutching her close to him like he's afraid that someone is about to physically rip her away from him.
He presses a gentle kiss to the side of her jaw. "Maybe." He breathes. "I just want to make it indelibly clear that I want you, and I want you for a long time. This is a beautiful wedding, isn't it?" The change of subject is a little bizarre; he tilts his head back and gazes up at the glowing pixies that are dancing overhead. "Is it a family tradition to get married on the grounds of your family estate? I've always wanted to get married by the sea, but it's up to you, of course."
"You already have a fiancée, dickhead." Teddy points out. Despite herself, she's amused by his persistence. "Or have you forgotten?"
"How could I forget when you're so insistent on reminding me?" He asks with a little eyeroll, though he doesn't really look as bothered by the reminder as she had expected. While the mere thought of Alecto Carrow is enough to sour Teddy's mood, Regulus seems content not to think about her at all. "I told you, I'm going to fix things."
"Yes, you've mentioned that." She gives him her own eyeroll, adding an extra sarcastic flourish in an attempt to outdo him. "You haven't actually told me what that means, though."
"You don't have to worry about it." He rests his chin on top her head, though he's careful not to disturb the flowers woven into her hair. His fingers drift over the bare skin of her back where the dress cuts off, and she shivers a little and presses unthinkingly into his touch. "You don't have to worry about Alecto, or Blishwick, or any of it. I'm going to sort everything out as best I can, okay?"
"Regulus," Teddy says, tilting her head up to try and get a glimpse of his face — his hair is falling around both of their faces, obscuring her vision of the rest of the room and creating a sense of intimacy between the two of them. It feels like they're the only two on the dancefloor, despite the crush of dancers around them. "Why are you really here?"
He takes a deep breath, his face still pressed into her hair. "I wanted to see you." He murmurs, finger skating over her back. "Besides, I know that today is important for you and your family. Since I intend on being part of your family in the future, I figured I should be here too."
"Merlin," Teddy sighs in aggravation, but she's not able to hide the stupid smile that's beginning to creep over her face. She hates herself a little for finding his idiocy so endearing. "You're still on about that, are you?"
He spins her again, face brightening in a grin as he watches her the long layers of her dress flare around her feet, the enchanted embroidered deer dancing around the hem.
"I sure am." He says happily, pulling her back into him and wrapping both arms around her back. "You're not ready yet, that's fine. But I'm going to marry you one day. That's a promise. I can wait until you're ready."
"You are absolutely delusional." Teddy says, shaking her head. She can't stop smiling — she thinks this might be the stupidest argument she's ever had. "We were shagging for a couple of months — we don't even really know each other!"
"I'm allergic to parsnips." He says. "They make me break out in hives."
"I- what?"
"You've just learned something new about me." Regulus grins. The music has changed to something a little bit more upbeat, but he just loops his arms around her waist and rocks her from side to side. "It's your turn."
Teddy bites her lower lip, but it doesn't do anything to dull her smile. "My mum put me and James in a Muggle primary school when we were little." She says quietly, playing along. "I threw up in Maths when I was six and it caused a chain reaction of tiny children vomiting all around the classroom. I was so humiliated I refused to ever go back."
He laughs quietly, his eyes crinkling around the corners as he nods. Teddy thinks for a moment that he might capitalise on the moment to tease her about that little confession, but instead he pushes on with one of his own. "I'm a little bit afraid of Hinkypunks. Always have been, can't explain it."
"I hate spiders."
"The texture of raw carrots makes me feel like crawling out of my skin."
"Sometimes when I'm concentrating, I frown so hard that I give myself headaches."
"I've noticed that." Regulus smiles faintly as he runs a thumb over her forehead. Her skin is clear and creaseless, but he presses his thumb into the space between her eyebrows where her frown usually sits. "I had a speech impediment until I was nine. I couldn't pronounce the letter 'R'. Sirius was the only one who never made fun of me, not even once."
"I really love thunderstorms." Teddy closes her eyes as Regulus strokes over her forehead and down her nose. "And the smell of rain."
"I miss my brother." Regulus whispers, running his thumb lightly over her cheekbones. "But I don't know how to talk to him anymore."
"I worry sometimes that I'm a terrible person whenever I lose my temper."
"I've fancied you since we were twelve years old." He says, his smile turning wry. "Your brother pushed you into the Black Lake one day when you were arguing, and when you climbed out of the water you hexed him so that his toenails grew so fast and long that they burst right through his shoes. You looked absolutely ridiculous — you were soaking wet and furious, and kept waving your wand around like a mad woman. You looked like a drowned rat, and I thought you were the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen in my life."
Teddy swallows thickly. The mood between them has changed; they've gone from playful to heartfelt, and the way that Regulus is looking at her now has her breath catching in her chest. There's not a single trace of dishonesty or mockery in his face, no matter how hard Teddy searches for it.
When she just keeps blinking at him like a startled owl, Regulus decides to keep going.
"When my parents arranged the engagement to Alecto, my friends wanted to hurt you. They knew I'd been looking at you, and I think they wanted to... dissuade me from getting any notions. Evan managed to convince them it would be funnier to dangle you in front of me, knowing that I could never really have you. It was just cruel enough for it to appeal to them, without having to physically harm you. I went along with it because I didn't really think there was any alternative — I couldn't see a way out of it. And to be honest, I don't know if it was the best or worst decision I've ever made."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I never actually thought that you'd let me-" He breaks off and swallows, before sighing and tracing his fingers over the back of her neck. "I always sort of thought that you'd kick me right in the balls if I ever so much as looked at you, never mind if I made a move on you. Did you know that you're quite fucking intimidating?"
Teddy just rolls her eyes, before squinting at him with a frown. "You were so rude to me at the beginning of the year. It didn't seem like you liked me then."
"I was an arsehole." Regulus agrees with a sigh. His thumb brushes over the side of her throat. "My mother and father had just arranged my betrothal to Alecto, and I was so angry at everything and everyone. Whenever you were in front of me, I- I just-" He lets out a slow, frustrated breath as he tries to gather his thoughts into something coherent. "I had wanted you so badly for so long, and then all of a sudden you were in front of me and I had no idea how to talk to you. I was engaged to a girl I didn't even like, my parents had decided to pledge our family's allegiance to a homicidal megalomaniac, and it felt like my entire life was just falling apart. Even if you did deign to even look at me, I didn't think it would be possible for anything to ever work out between us."
Teddy just bites at her lip — it's certainly a lot to take in all at once. "And yet here you are."
"Yes," He breathes, pressing his forehead against her temple. "I'm here to apologise. I'm not- Apologies were not commonplace in my house growing up, so I'm not sure if I'm going about it the right way. I'm sorry, Teddy. For the beginning of the year, for my harsh words, for Christmas. You didn't deserve any of it. I was- I wanted you so much, and the enormity of my desire terrified me. Alecto and Amycus wanted to hurt you to punish me, to discourage me from looking your way again. When Evan suggested that they dangle you in front of me instead, to teach me a lesson about what I could and couldn't have, I... well. I should have said no. But I was so selfish. The thought of being with you in any capacity, even if it wasn't real, wasn't something that I could bring myself to turn down. I should have known you'd unravel me, though."
Once again, Regulus takes a deep breath and then draws back so that he's gazing into her eyes again. "I never wanted to hurt you, and for that I am so sorry. But the time that I spent with you isn't something I could ever bring myself to regret."
Teddy chews at her bottom lip and exhales heavily through her nose in a weak attempt to regulate her breathing — she hates it, but she thinks her knees have actually gone weak thanks to the way he's looking at her. Tentatively, she wraps her arms around his shoulders as he rocks her side to side.
"You really want to have this conversation right here? In the middle of all these drunk dancing idiots?" She asks, arching a brow. It's true that most of these drunk dancing idiots are her friends and family, but it's nothing short of miraculous that no one has noticed her with Regulus so far. She doesn't want to sit around and wait for someone to spot them, especially during a conversation like this.
"Honestly, I didn't think I'd get this far." He confesses with a deprecating sort of smile. "I thought the only way I'd get to talk to you would be in the middle of a crowd where you couldn't hex me. In fact, I didn't even think I'd be able to get in your front gate."
"How did you get in?"
"Your mother let me in." He says, and glances over to the edge of the dancefloor. Her mother is nowhere in sight, but her father is sat in a chair and bouncing a foot cheerfully along to the music. When he catches them both looking at him, he gives them a subtle, knowing wink before turning back and pretending he hadn't seen them. "You have really nice parents, you know."
"Yeah," Teddy says, a little mortified at the fact that her parents both know exactly what's going on right now, and bewildered that they're apparently content to allow it to play out. "I do. But my family is also nosey, and I'm not about to have this conversation where they can see us, fucking hell."
With that, Teddy steps back from him and pushes his hands away from her. He reaches after her almost unconsciously, but she just grabs one of his arms and leads him off the dancefloor.
Thankfully, they don't bump into anyone on their way through the crowd (although Teddy can see Mary nudging Gideon and pointing at them with an enormous grin from across the garden). Regulus doesn't even ask where they're going — he twists his hand around so that their fingers are intertwined and they're holding hands, and he seems perfectly content to follow unquestioningly after her.
They're almost at the back door to the house when she spots James laughing with her mother by the bar that's been set up. He almost spots them, but Euphemia points at something out on the dancefloor and James turns to look out at the dancing crowd.
As soon as his attention has been drawn away, her mum looks back to Teddy and sends her a meaningful, cautioning look. When Teddy flushes red in response, Euphemia's face breaks out in an amused smile. She's pale and thin, still recovering from a bout of sickness that's been plaguing her for the last month, but the wedding seems to have injected a new sense of life into her.
"Merlin, this is so embarrassing." Teddy grumbles, changing her course to avoid James and instead pulling Regulus around the side of the house towards the towering shrubbery. There's a wrought-iron bench beneath a wisteria tree, and the draping branches and blossoms and leaves offer some privacy. They stop just short of the bench, standing beside one of the hydrangea bushes.
"Might be my fault." Regulus murmurs. He clearly finds the whole thing funny, but he's doing his best to keep his face straight. "We were talking, when she invited me in. She wanted to know what my intentions with you were."
"Merlin, what did you say?"
"The truth." He says simply, shrugging as he takes a step closer to her. He doesn't seem willing to put up with any sort of distance between them at all. "I told her I made a mistake, and that I was doing everything I could to make things right."
Teddy chews on the inside of her cheek thoughtfully as she watches him from under her eyelashes. Slowly, she starts to smile. "I see. Why don't you tell me again about how much you fancy me?"
Regulus laughs, breathy with surprise. "What, are you getting a big head?"
"Maybe I'm just trying to rewrite the context of everything that's happened this year." She says, tilting her head and blinking up at him with wide eyes. It's an expression she used to use as a child on her father when she really wanted something, but she doesn't really expect it to have any particular effect on Regulus.
When he smiles at her and sinks down to his knees, it takes her completely by surprise. She blinks down at him, startled.
"Teddy Potter," He says grandly, laying his hands on the outside of her thighs over her dress. "I absolutely fancy the arse off of you. You are spiteful, stubborn, short-tempered, violent, and occasionally dim-witted, and I've never been attracted to anyone so much in my life. Honestly, I think there might be something wrong with me."
His hands creep under the voluminous skirts of her dress and brush her calves, before beginning to trace their way up the back of her legs. Teddy allows the contact, biting back a smile as he gazes up at her from the ground.
"What are you doing?" She asks, amused, as he pushes her skirts up further so that he can press a kiss to her leg just over her knee.
"I thought we established before that you liked it when men got on their knees for you." He says, his voice muffled by the combination of his mouth against her thigh and the ruffles of her skirts falling over his head.
"Did we?" Teddy asks, smile growing. "Because from here, it looks like it's you that's enjoying this."
He laughs, a throaty chuckle that vibrates against the inside of her leg where his mouth is pressed. "Well, I'm not going to deny that, sweetheart." He says, before pressing a messy kiss higher up on her inner thigh. "But it's only proper to get down on my knees when I'm begging you to forgive me, isn't it?"
"Is that what this is?" Teddy asks. Her breath hitches when she feels his fingers tracing over the crotch of her knickers, and her eyes flutter shut as he presses a kiss right in between her legs. "You begging?"
"Yes," He says quietly, his breath ghosting over her pussy as he pulls her knickers to the side and presses several messy kisses there in quick succession. "I'm sorry. I was a coward, and I didn't stand up for you like I should have." He presses one more lingering kiss against her clit, and makes a soft noise when Teddy presses eagerly into his mouth. "That won't ever happen again, I swear it."
"Uh huh." Teddy sighs — in all honesty, she's not listening to him particularly closely, distracted by the feeling of his mouth pressed up between her legs. It's been entirely too long since she's felt his hands and mouth on her like this, and she feels like she's about to melt in his grasp.
"I genuinely don't think I've ever wanted to hurt anyone more than I wanted to hurt Bagman that night of the party. I wanted to cut his hands right off, and I promise that I'm not usually a violent person. Maybe it's because all those things he said were things I'd thought myself at one point or another."
"Your friends drugged him-!" Teddy begins, absently indignant, but Regulus keeps talking anyway.
"And whenever I see you with Prewett-" He cuts himself off and pulls back so that she can see his face peeking out from under her dress, "Are you two friends? Will you be annoyed if I threaten to physically harm him?"
"Probably, yeah." Teddy laughs quietly, her eyes closed as she tilts her head back. His mouth is positively driving her to distraction.
"Right, I'm not going to finish that sentence then." He mumbles, kissing the junction of her thigh and hip and then returning his mouth to her clit.
"As much as I'm enjoying you on your knees," Teddy says, her voice breathless and a little rough with arousal. "I want to kiss you now."
Regulus springs to his feet so quickly that he nearly loses his balance, but he manages to keep on his feet as he lurches forward and scoops Teddy up into his arms. She bounces up on her toes and buries her hands into his curls, disrupting his neat hairstyle as she pulls him down so she can kiss him hard. He reacts exactly as she'd hoped he would — he groans softly and desperately as his arms wrap around her lower back, pulling her in close and kissing her so enthusiastically that he almost lifts her clean off her feet.
"Fuck," He whimpers, his hands roaming from her back to her chest so he can run his fingers over her tits through the bodice of her dress. He breaks away from her mouth only momentarily so that he can bend his head and press several quick kisses along the swell of her breasts where they're almost spilling out over the top of her dress. "I've missed this."
Teddy just laughs, low and gasping, before unclenching her fingers from his hair and running them along his jaw. She cups his face and pulls his head back up so she can kiss him hard again. "Touch me."
Her breathy plea earns her an eager 'yes' from Regulus, and he holds her steady with one arm around her waist as his other hikes her dress up, pushing her knickers down as quickly as possible. Their gentle touches from earlier have evolved into frantic, eager groping, and Teddy closes her eyes and sighs out a quiet moan on her next exhale as Regulus' long, slender fingers dip inside of her. Her quiet reactions only spur Regulus on, and he gives an answering moan as he rocks against her, grinding the hardness between his own legs against her thigh.
A branch snaps just beyond the foliage they're hidden behind, and Teddy jerks away from Regulus and turns her head towards the sound. It's utterly instinctual, but she plants two hands on Regulus' chest and shoves him hard — he stumbles back, startled, and falls backwards into the hydrangea bush behind him.
Just in time, too, because no sooner has Regulus disappeared into the shrubbery than Sirius and Remus round the corner, grinning and laughing quietly together. Their clothes are rumpled and their faces are flushed, and even Sirius' usually artfully styled hair is in disarray. They're so lost in each other that it takes them a moment to even realise that Teddy is there; they're even holding hands.
It's Remus that notices her first, and he slows to a stop and blinks in surprise. "Oh, Teddy!"
"Hi!" Teddy says, forcing a smile. Her voice is hoarse and she's struggling to surreptitiously straighten her dress from where Regulus had hitched it up around her waist. "What- um, what are you doing here?"
"What are you doing here?"
"Needed a break." Teddy says, trying to sound upbeat and unaffected. She's sure her face is burning red. "Too crowded. You?"
"Looking for somewhere a little more private." Sirius says with a leering, delighted grin. His lips are swollen and bright red, and he's definitely tipsy judging by the way he's leaning against Remus. He leans closer to Teddy to say in a stage whisper, "Merlin, I thought I was a good kisser!"
"Oh yeah, I know." Teddy agrees with a nervous laugh. She's trying very, very hard not to sneak a look at where Regulus is laying on the ground in the foliage of her mother's hydrangea bush, and she can only pray that the others don't notice him. Luckily, Sirius seems entirely dazed and entranced by Remus, so it seems like his power of perception has been entirely thrown out the window.
Sirius pauses, blinking. "You know?"
"What? Oh." Teddy freezes, startled at the realisation of what she nearly just admitted. "I mean, erm. I've, er, I've heard that he's a good kisser. From, erm, Mary."
"Mary?" Sirius turns to look at Remus, surprised. "You've snogged Mary?"
Remus is looking at her in mild disbelief. "Apparently." He drawls, giving her a look that makes it clear she'll be hearing about this little lie later on. She just grimaces at him.
"You never fucking told me that!" Sirius says, though he's grinning as though impressed. His chest is plastered to the side of Remus' arm, and he tugs lightly on his hand. "Sorry to be rude, Ted, but since this spot is taken, we'll find somewhere else. We've got quite a bit of time to make up for, you know."
Teddy returns his grin with one of her own, amused as he winks at her. They both look genuinely delighted, cheeks flushed and hair lightly ruffled. "Have fun, you two. Be safe."
"Actually, I'll catch up with you in a minute." Remus murmurs, pressing a soft kiss to Sirius' lips. He grins when he pulls back and Sirius tries to follow him. "I just want to talk to Teddy for a second. I'll follow you."
"Okay." Sirius says — it seems like he'd do just about anything Remus asked in that moment as he stares at him with a dopey grin. He looks amused as he squeezes Remus' hand one last time and steps back. "You two are such gossips."
Neither of them even bother to argue that point as Sirius ducks under the trailing wisteria flowers and returns to the party — it's probably true, after all. As soon as Sirius is out of earshot, Remus turns back around and raises his eyebrows at Teddy. She just grins at him. "You're having a good night, then."
"Looks like I'm not the only one." Remus pushes his hands in his pockets and tilts his head with a grin of his own. His eyes trail from her to the hydrangea shrub and then lower, to where Regulus' shoes are quite obviously sticking out of the bush by Teddy's feet.
Before Teddy can stop him, Regulus sits up and pokes his head out of the foliage. There are leaves and petals in his hair, and yet he still manages to look as elegant as ever. "Hello, Lupin."
Remus looks as though he can't figure out whether to laugh or not. "Hello, Regulus. Dare I ask what you're doing down there?"
"Probably best you don't." Regulus sounds positively cheerful as he hauls himself to his feet. He doesn't make any attempt to cover up the tent in his trousers — in fact, he seems completely unembarrassed by it. Teddy, on the other hand, flushes hard in mortification. "Teddy pushed me into the bush."
"Sounds like something she'd do."
"Okay, alright," Teddy says hastily, scowling. She wonders if this is how Regulus felt when she was joking around with Rosier. She turns to Remus and blinks pleadingly at him. "Don't tell James?"
"Obviously." He rolls his eyes, though he's still smiling. "Merlin. You're going to have to tell him sometime, you know. How did he even get in?"
"Mum let him in."
"I think she likes me." Regulus slings an arm around Teddy's shoulder in a move that's unnecessarily possessive. He's smiling proudly. "Practically got the seal of approval and everything."
Both Teddy and Remus stare at him wordlessly for a moment before turning and sharing a look between each other. They're both thinking the same thing — even after years of not speaking to each other, the Black brothers were still stupidly alike.
"Well, I'll leave you to it then. I'd better catch up with Sirius before he comes looking to see what's taking me so long." Remus says with a near irrepressible smile, though it slips just slightly when he looks back to Regulus. "By the way, if you ever make Teddy cry again, you won't even live long enough to regret it. And that's a promise."
"Remus!" Teddy complains, mortified. She really doesn't need him posturing like a third big brother right now — the last thing she needs is for Regulus to take offence and start squaring up to him.
No such thing happens, however. Regulus' arm tightens around Teddy's shoulders, but all he says is "Of course. I'll treat her well." without a leer or anything. Teddy is actually almost impressed with him.
"I think she deserves better than you, obviously." Remus says casually, with the air of simply commenting on the weather. "But I think that's probably a conversation for another day. Besides, I suspect you already know that, and I have no doubt that she wouldn't have allowed you anywhere near her if you hadn't made a fairly convincing attempt at an apology."
With that, Remus looks between them one more time with a small smile before ducking out from under the canopy of branches and blossoms and leaving them alone yet again. Teddy turns back to Regulus, blushing slightly, in the hopes of getting right back to where they had left off, but she finds that he's busy frowning at the spot that Remus had just been standing in.
"I made you cry?" He asks all of a sudden, his face crumpled into a frown.
"Er-" Teddy pauses, confused. She had cried when the whole thing had gone down, but only at night when no one could hear or see her. It's a little bit mortifying that Remus apparently knew, but she puts it down to his enhanced senses. "Yes, I suppose. It's embarrassing, let's pretend he never said that."
"I won't hurt you like that again." Regulus says in a low whisper, before pulling her into his arms and pressing his face into her hair. The whisper seems to be directed more at himself than her, so she doesn't even know if it's worth replying to it. She just lets him hold her, and rests her cheek against his chest as she relaxes into his arms.
A beat passes like that where he just holds her, but then he leans back a little so that he can peer down at her. "Don't think I didn't catch that little kissing comment, either. I'm not as dense as Sirius. So, do you have something to tell me?"
Teddy can't quite hold back the laugh that bubbles out of her — of course Regulus would catch that, and of course he'd get all weird about it. She takes a deep breath and shrugs; she supposes it would have to come out sometime. "We had a bit of a thing last year."
"A thing?" Regulus presses, his hands wandering around her waist so that his fingers can wind into her dress. "What sort of a thing? Like, just a kissing thing?"
"No." Teddy bites back another laugh — she doesn't think he'd appreciate it right now. "Not just a kissing thing."
Regulus stares down at her for a long moment. He looks as though he had just been slapped. After a long moment of thunderstruck silence, his face crumples and he groans. "The werewolf has fucked my brother and my future wife? What the fuck?"
"I'm not your-" Teddy begins, before giving up. There's probably no point in pursuing that avenue of argument anyway, because she genuinely doesn't think she'd win that fight. "What, did you think that you were my first?"
"No," Regulus sighs, "I never presumed myself to be that lucky." His little pout transforms into a grin all of a sudden. "Besides, it was delightfully clear that you knew what you were doing."
Teddy slaps his arm, irritated, before deciding to focus on his earlier statement again just to annoy him. "I don't think Remus has actually fucked your brother just yet, by the way. Although, I'm guessing that's what they're on their way to do now."
Regulus tilts his head back and groans even louder, his face scrunched up in disgust. "I can't believe this. What the fuck." He complains, before a thought occurs to him and he brings the full weight of his attention back to her. "Was he any good?"
"Oh yes." Teddy nods, just to be a dick. "Very good. It's funny, though — he asked me the exact same thing about you."
"Oh?" His hands tighten around her waist, though his expression doesn't change. "And what did you say? I can only presume you told him that I was the best you ever had and that I had you squirting all over my bed, hm?"
"Actually, I told him that you weren't able to get it up at all. Very disappointing altogether, really."
"You're such an arsehole." Regulus breaks out into a grin. He leans down and presses a sweet, messy kiss to her lips, before murmuring against her mouth, "I have no idea why I like you so much."
"You certainly seem to enjoy making things difficult for yourself." Teddy says, grinning as he trails kisses along her jawline. "Besides, you have no room to be jealous considering the amount of people you've shagged."
"Is that your way of saying that you're jealous of those girls?"
"Fat chance." Teddy rolls her eyes, before winding her arms around his neck and pressing the entire length of her body up against his. "Can we get back to what we were doing, please?"
Regulus closes his eyes for a moment and seems to be mustering up his strength, before he leans down and kisses her far too briefly. He pulls back and smiles at the frown that's beginning to grow on her face. "I'm not going to fuck you in the garden during your brother's wedding."
"Why not?" Teddy demands, slightly offended.
"Because I want to do this right." He tucks a piece of her hair behind her ear, and his fingers linger by the side of her neck. "The next time I have you, I want to have you properly, somewhere that we can take our time. I want it to be special."
It's a sweet thought, but Teddy is wet and horny and can't stop herself from pouting. This is just typical. "You've been fucking me for months even though you're engaged to another woman, but now you want to be a gentleman?"
"That's exactly the reason why I want to be a gentleman right now." He steps back, and Teddy realises that he's actually not going to continue. "I want to show you that I'm being serious about this."
Teddy stares at him, hovering between feeling flattered and frustrated, before heaving a big sigh. "Fine." She grumbles, reaching to straighten out her dress. "But you owe me."
"I will only be too delighted to make it up to you." He says with a growing smile, reaching out to take her hand. He brings it up to his face so that he can press a soft kiss to her knuckles. "I'd better go now, though. I don't think it would be a good idea to run into your brother and ruin the day."
There's no point in protesting that, because it's true. Teddy just nods, and watches as he slowly releases her hand and steps back. "Thanks for coming." She says. It doesn't seem like the right thing to say, but it's the only thing she can think of.
He just looks at her with a strange, soft expression on his face. It's not like any look she's ever seen on him before, and she doesn't know what to make of it at all. "I'll see you at school."
"Yeah." Teddy whispers. "Okay."
She watches him duck out from under the canopy of leaves, and waits a couple of moments before following him. By the time she steps back into the party, the only thing she can spot of him is his back as he disappears out the garden gate.
She watches him go for a long minute, and catches the exact moment that he turns to look back at her. Even from this distance, she can spot the little smile on his face when he sees her.
Still blushing a little, she seeks out her mother. Euphemia is sitting on a chair at the edge of the dancefloor, watching James make an utter fool out of himself as he attempts to serenade both Lily and her baby bump. Their mum looks amused and impossibly soft, staring at the two of them with so much love in her eyes it's almost painful to see. When Teddy thumps down into the chair next to her, she turns that gaze on her.
"Hello, darling." Her mother murmurs. She's wan and weak-looking, traces of her illness still lingering in the deep lines in her face, but she reaches out to stroke a hand over Teddy's hair with familiar fingers.
"Hi, mum." Teddy says. She's biting her lip, trying to figure out how the hell to bring up Regulus.
As it turns out, she doesn't have to. Euphemia glances at her out of the corner of her eye and bites her own lip to stifle a smile. "He's very polite." Her mother comments. "And very handsome."
Teddy groans, embarrassed, and leans over to bury her face in her mum's shoulder. "Yeah," she confesses, her face safely hidden. "He is, isn't he?"
"Does he make you happy?"
"Yeah." Teddy says slowly, thinking of his slow hands and sweet smiles and messy kisses. She thinks of her favourite chocolate and elaborate displays of colourful flowers, and the way his hands cling to her as though he can't bear to let her go. "I suppose he does."
They don't say anymore after that. Teddy can feel her mum sneaking little smiles in her direction, though she can't even bring herself to be embarrassed. Her mother's implicit, unspoken approval sinks into her chest like a warm weight, and they sit together and smile as they watch James and Lily on the happiest night of their lives.