Always- a Hinny / Romione fanfic

Chapter Seventy

Months rushed by after the holidays; Teddy went back to school, stressed about homework and learning new things. He loved Hogwarts so much though that he didn't mind; it was home to him, but in a different way than Harry and Ginny's house was. That was home too, and Teddy supposed you could have more than one place where you felt safe and warm and welcome.

His classes got harder after the holidays though. Teddy was the smartest out of him and his friends, although he still found the lessons rough. Lizzie was okay, about the same as him, and they played off each other and studied together well. Emily was a disaster though. She never wrote down her homework, so she hardly remembered to do it, resulting in poor final grades in every class. She got all the tests and questions right in class though, which was hard for Teddy to believe, since he never, ever saw her study.

"Mom and Dad say that she's smart, she just doesn't apply herself," Lizzie said snootily once, as they were all doing potions essays late at night. Emily had taken to doing a fantastic sketch of an owl taking flight on the back of her paper instead. She was also a great artist. She had drawn a dragon on Teddy's hand once in History of Magic, and he kept on asking her to retrace it since he liked it so much.

"At least I'm more interesting than you" Emily snorted, crinkling her nose and turning her page to texture in owl's talons. "You're just average. Average grades, average looks, average-" she was silenced, since Lizzie had thrown an ink bottle at her, spilling it all over the couch (and the sleeve of Teddy's robes).

The twins and their fighting were just another thing that came with Hogwarts, or so it seemed to Teddy. They were still his friends, and they still liked each other it seemed. Once when Emily had to go to the hospital wing for the flu, Lizzie didn't sleep for two whole days, saying it didn't "feel right" without her sister.

They were all startled when the year seemed to be flying by, and the Easter holidays were fast approaching. They tried to study for tests, but couldn't end up doing so properly.

Finally, after spending almost an hour on herbology homework but not seeming to make a dent, Teddy decided to write a letter back home to Harry, as he did about twice a month. Harry wrote every week, which made Teddy both a little embarrassed and also guilty for not responding every time.

Dear Harry,

I'm definitely enjoying Hogwarts still. The classes are getting harder; it's difficult to imagine what I will have to do next year, since this is only first year! My friends Lizzie and Emily are good too, a bit chatty and fight a bit but they're still my friends. I was wondering if they could stay in the summer once? I'm sure you'd like to meet them.

How are James, Albus, and Lily? I can't wait to see you all again, and I can't wait to see how much Lily has grown in the last few months since I've seen her, and I'm sure James will want to play quidditch and Albus will want to play cards. Though I do love school, I am also looking forward to being home next month, even if it does mean Ginny's horrible cooking! (No offense, love you Ginny!)

Soon to be home,
Teddy.

He rolled up his parchment, rubbing his eyes and looking at the clock. He couldn't wait to see Victorie and the rest of his family too. Sure he'd miss Hogwarts, but he would always come back. He packed up his things and headed to bed, imagining the good times he would have at home this summer.

--

Dominique was not having a very good time at home though. Victorie was very angry about not being able to go to Hogwarts for sure, and she was taking it out on her little sister. Whenever Dominique messed up, she was quick to point it out and laugh at it. Whenever she broke something, Victorie rushed to tell her mother, Victorie pulled her sisters hair, she scratched her, messed up her room, hid her toys, told her to shut up, and it drove Dominique to the point of tears.