Replies & Requirements
Thursday, April 9th, 2014:
Teddy walked into breakfast well-rested for the first time in weeks. The nightmares seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving him to finally sleep easier. He hasn’t even slept through classes all week. Yes, there was still Friday, but he’s remaining positive.
Besides, today was kippers day, and he’ll be damned if he’s not excited.
Walking down to his usual spot at the Hufflepuff table, he stalls for a moment to take in the room. The tables were only halfway filled at this hour, so it was more of a relaxed assembly than a suffocating crowd. Much preferred over the last-minute rush. Looking around, everything seems to look a little brighter in the morning sun, like a good starting note for what was to come.
Godric, it really is nice not having to trudge through the morning like an old ghoul.
Ugh, thinking of ghouls makes him think of the one in the attic of the Burrow, limping around with its belligerent wailing each morning. When they were kids, Victoire and him used to try to dare each other to go up and say hi, like a game of chicken. Summers with the Weasleys weren’t filled with very much excitement, so they had to find some way to pass the time. Though, they were quickly shamed by her Granny Molly when she found out, saying it’s as much a part of this family as they are, and they shouldn’t treat family that way. Wasn’t much of a comfort when Teddy would be kept awake by the banging of pipes in the middle of the night, but the two of them stopped very shortly after that.
He wonders now how that old thing is doing. He hopes it’s happy in that creaky old attic, spending all day groaning and hitting things. He also hopes it gets enough sleep these days, with the house being a lot quieter during the school year.
Sure was exhausting to be exhausted.
Finally approaching his seat, he tosses his books down on the table and gets right into making a plate. Good mornings could be traded later. Right now, he’s starving.
Halfway through his breakfast, Colin pats him on the back a few times, passive aggression peeking through the expectant look in his stare.
“Whaufh?” Teddy tries to get out through a mouth full of kippers.
“Jesus, mate, you’d think you hadn’t eaten in a week with the tunnel vision you’ve got going on this morning.” Colin teases him with a chuckle, turning back to his black coffee and looking around the table over the lip of his mug. Teddy would’ve probably dignified his teasing with a response if his mouth wasn’t full. He settles for a tasteful grunt of disapproval.
George arrives at the table just in time, joining the others with his hair still damp, sitting down with a fiery glint in his eyes. “So.” He starts. “T minus two days until the birthday bash that’s supposed to live in infamy and we’re still at square one. Any ideas?”
They all look up at him with blank stares. No matter how well-rested Teddy claimed to be, it’s still far too early to answer any open questions. George clears his throat. “Well, unlike you lot, I’ve been thinking.”
This earned a quick punch in the shoulder from Eric sitting next to him. George clears his throat, completely ignoring the food in front of him as he pulls out a crumpled piece of parchment. As he looks it over with a vague sense of curiosity, Teddy sees that it's a map of sorts. Multiple large shapes must resemble different areas of the castle, if the large label at the top saying “THE CASTLE” wasn’t enough of an indication, with bright red exes littered around the edges of the various rooms’ boundaries. It was a tad crude-looking for his taste, but with the way George was beaming down at it, Teddy wasn’t going to be the one to ruin the moment for him.
“So our issue is finding a venue, yeah? Well, we're in Hogwarts, for Christ’s sake! There’s got to be some sort of secret passage we can use to get to Hogsmeade that night. We can set up shop in a rented-out shack, promptly trash it, then clean up and get back to the castle before our good friend Henry even knows we’re gone!” He slides the map of the castle to the middle of the table, moving aside the serving plate of fish as soon as Teddy was reaching for a second helping. Rude.
Colin runs his fingers over one of the misshapen boxes of the map. “Are there even stairs on this thing or is it all just one floor?”
George continues, ignoring Colin’s comment. “I’ve been asking around among the seventh years, these exes here are all the rumors of secret passageways that include the ones talked about in Hogwarts: A History. Now, unlike you magic-born elitists, I only skimmed the damn thing. I mean, that book is so long that by the time I finished it, the party would already be over. So, if there are any secret routes that I’ve missed, please speak now or forever hold your peace.”
He scanned the faces of his friends at the table, everyone returning his look with blank expressions and shrugs. Yeah, sure, Teddy’s read it, but he’s also read over his potions book before, and he couldn’t even tell you the title with complete certainty.
“Great. Looks like we’ll be drinking in a broom cupboard at this rate.” Eric sighs in defeat.
“I’m down as long as The Violent Femmes are on the queue.” Colin pipes in, face a mix of sarcasm and genuine agreement. He’d probably love that if Teddy’s being honest. He’s the type of sort to get drunk and cry about how much he loves his friends anyway, so the close proximity would really just make that easier for him. Violent Femmes aside, there was no way Teddy would stand for a birthday in a broom cupboard. Unless this was like that muggle book with the kids and the magic cabinet, it would be far too claustrophobic.
George picks up the map with an indignant sigh, bringing it closer to his face to look over his handiwork. At this point, Teddy notices the back of the parchment is crammed with illegible scribbles from top to bottom.
Colin squints at the wrinkled page like he’s trying to decode the writing on the back. “Wait. George-is this your potions notes?”
George slams the parchment back onto the table, map side facing up. “YOU’RE MISSING THE POINT! We’ve got to look at the big picture. If you think about it, this isn’t just Teddy’s birthday. It’s our legacy.”
“I’m almost certain it's just Ted’s birthday.”
“Jesus CHRIST.”
The only thing that was able to pull his group of friends from their incessant arguing were the scores of shadows that began to dance over the table, soaring from one end to the other. They all look up, silent for the first time in what feels like forever, and watch as a league of owls flies overhead. It’s finally time for mail.
Hopefully, Harry has been able to write back in time. As much as Teddy is anxious to hear his reply, it would be nice to hear from him and the Potters. It’s been since Christmas that he’s even been able to talk to them. Maybe James will have written him, too. It’s been a bit since Teddy sent that letter to him, but he’s probably not wanted to respond without sending those 10 sickles he thinks he owes. Though the joke is quite funny, it makes him kind of sad that it could possibly be the reason James hasn’t sent a letter back. He should just lie and say that Harry gave it to him on his son’s behalf, just to clear the air. Teddy doesn’t get why he’s so stressed all of the time. For a nine-year-old, he’s always so bloody serious.
As if summoned on command, a bright white owl comes into view, bringing a smile to Teddy’s face. He knows Alvie when he sees him. The bloody thing could be picked out of a damn snowbank with how blindingly his feathers catch the light. He looks a bit closer and sees there’s something resembling an envelope clutched in his talons, the bright red seal of Harry’s office coming into view as the bird glides down towards him.
Alvie lands with a grace that could only be described as overdramatic. Teddy swears the bird is far more intelligent than any of the Potters give him credit for. Lily taught him to attack on command in just under ten minutes, which is as impressive as it is terrifying when she’s in a particularly foul mood. These days, though, he mostly just sits around waiting to be the center of attention. Always one to perform, and back at home spends all his time either begging for attention or eating his own weight in Eeylop’s treats.
The owl waddles closer to Teddy, leaning forward and rubbing the top of its head on his arm. He reaches out and strokes its head, picking up the last bit of kippers with his fingers to give in lieu of any treats.
“Yeah, hi Alvie, I missed you too.” He chuckles, letting the bird eat while he picks up the letter left forgotten on the table.
A scarlet H with various swirls and grooved details is stamped into the middle of the envelope, all framed within a perfect triangle on the seal. Unless Auntie Ginny was sending him a letter to try to convince him to try out for quidditch again, this was certainly from Harry.
His palms begin to sweat as he brings his thumb under the seal, Alvie left purposely forgotten as he very obviously scoots closer and closer to Teddy’s plate. He rips open the top flap of the envelope, unfolding the parchment inside, turning slightly so Colin could read over his shoulder.
Teddy,
First off, I’m very sorry to hear about these nightmares you’ve been having. I know from experience that they can be a real pain when at school. Second, I wanted to say sorry for my late reply, things have been a little busy at the Auror’s office.
I have to admit, I’m not really the best with these kind of things. Whenever my nightmares were especially horrible, I always had someone to help me through them. Honestly, I never even really had any idea what my dreams meant until I talked to Sirius or Hermione about them.
Overall, I don’t think they should be much to worry about. There’s no signs of anything seemingly malicious on the horizon, so don’t go around worrying you’re the new chosen one, alright?
These could very well be just some harmless nightmares. Not completely harmless, I know, since you’ve probably lost a good amount of sleep these last few weeks, but see Madame Pomfrey if they get too severe. She has some potions in that cupboard of hers that could even give a dragon a good night’s rest.
Try not to stress yourself out these next few days. After all, no one should worry on their birthday, of all days. I never really got to celebrate mine at Hogwarts, so I encourage you to take advantage of what I couldn’t and try your absolute best to ignore all that for now. Just focus on celebrating turning 16 with your friends. Hogwarts was some of the best years of my life, so I’d hate for you to pass up any opportunity to make the best of it.
Speaking of, there should be a package coming around for you just in time for what I expect is going to be a great birthday.
As far as Lily goes, she’s really taking the phrase “it takes a village” to heart. Last week, she vanished into thin air halfway through lunch, only to show up with a barking mad Mrs. Dundy ten minutes later, yapping about her popping up in the middle of her garden. Apparently, she squashed two “prize-winners” in the process. I think I apologized enough that day to last the whole year.
Hope everything with school is going great for you, kiddo. We all miss you lots, so come visit as soon as you can, yeah? Everyone has been asking for you, even Mr. Parsel next door was wondering when you’ll be back to help with his turnips (which I can always find an excuse to get you out of so you aren’t spending your whole summer pulling weeds).
Don't be a stranger, and try not to stress yourself out too much in the next few days. Wouldn’t want wrinkles before you can even get the trace off you, would you? We love you and write whenever you can.
Love,
Harry
P.S. Told James about the sickles. He got red as an apple and stormed up to his room. Ginny thought he was just sulking, but when I looked in to check on him, he’d rallied up all the loose change from his room and was counting it on the floor. Don’t give him too hard a time. He really looks up to you. He’ll probably never give you a moment to breathe once he gets to Hogwarts in a couple years.
Ok, well, not as bad as he expected. Some part of his brain kept jabbing him, making him think that maybe this whole thing was similar to the nightmares Harry used to have. Credit where credit’s due, but Teddy really doesn’t think he’s ready to lead a third wizarding war right now. That would really mess with his studying time for NEWTs.
He sighs and takes out a small scrap of parchment from his bag.
“Hey Colin, could I borrow your self-inking quill for a sec?”
“Yes, but if you break it, so help me Merlin.” Colin reaches into his own bag and retrieves a rather expensive-looking quill, passing it over to Teddy with a warning look in his eyes.
Teddy takes it gratefully and scribbles down a quick note to send back with Alvie.
Will do. Love you lot too. See you soon.
- Ted
He ties it to Alvie’s leg with a spare bit of twine from Harry’s letter, stroking the owl on the top of his head one last time.
“Alright, you’ve had more than enough food to get you back to Godric’s Hollow. See you in a couple of months, you old bag of feathers.”
With a flourish, Alvie flys up, soaring over the tables in the Great Hall in a few figure 8’s before disappearing out of the high window he came from.
“Well? Anything juicy from the Potter house?” Eric asks, slathering the last of the toast on his plate with perhaps a tad too much jam for Teddy’s taste.
Teddy and Colin share a quick look. “Nothing much. Family stuff.”
“As far as my memory serves, you swore that you would introduce me to Harry years ago, and he probably still doesn’t even know my name! The least you could do is bestow all of the jaw-dropping gossip the two of you share in your ever-so-secretive letters.” Eric raises his chin dramatically, purposefully looking down at his toast with a scornful expression.
“You will, you will. Merlin, Jiang, I didn’t take you to be a man so easily enthralled by the idea of celebrity.”
“Well, he did win the whole bloody war! That’s insane! I just want to meet the man to thank for bringing down old You-Know-Who.”
“You do know he’s dead, right? You can say his name, it’s not like there’s still a taboo on it. Either way, he was seventeen! He never led leagues of men into battle or stormed a damn Death Eater fortress. He was a kid, not much older than we are. Honestly, he’s just a man. A man who just happened to be the Chosen One.”
“But he’s still the Chosen One! You have to admit how fucking cool that sounds! If I had that title, you lot would never hear the end of it.”
“No, we wouldn’t,” Colin sighs over the last few sips of his coffee.
“If I promise you can visit over the summer, can we please stop talking about it?” Teddy begs.
“You have yourself a deal!” Eric shakes his hand from across the table, making him think that he’s maybe taking this whole thing too seriously. “See, how difficult was that?”
“Now back to what’s important, our Hogsmeade rendezvous,” George says with an obvious gesture to his homemade map of the castle. Teddy’s confused as to why he didn’t just label the school map they were given in their first year. Knowing him, he probably lost it long ago. Now that he mentions it, though, Teddy isn’t quite sure where his own map is either. Would sure be useful to have one right about now. Then they wouldn’t be stuck planning an entire birthday party with just a colouring page and a can-do attitude.
“And rendezvous where exactly? The Shrieking Shack?” Colin rebuttals.
George's face switches to a puzzled expression as he pauses. Teddy can practically see him weighing out the pros and cons in that cluttered head of his.
“...could we do that?”
“Better question is should we do that? Place is so rotted that you could fall through the floors, break a limb, and catch dragonpox just in the first five minutes of stepping through the door!”
“While I have no idea what that last one is, you do have a point, mate.”
“Always do.” Colin replies in a sing-song voice.
“Alright, so new plan.” Teddy says in an attempt to stop this conversation from going in yet another bloody circle. “We all do one last good think about it and get together at lunch to talk about maybe resorting to commuting all the way to Hogsmeade. Let me be clear, though, that literally any other option would be preferred.”
Colin pats his friend on the back, picking up his books on the table and standing up from his seat on the bench. “Sounds good, Ted. Besides, we’ve got potions in 10. The earlier we get there, the farther we can sit away from that Crowley kid that always blows shit up.”
They all murmur their agreement and start to get up for class. All of them except Eric, who is still giving the map another once-over, tongue sticking out the side of his mouth in concentration as he reads over the bright red exes with his pointer finger.
“You lot go ahead, I think I may bunk off today. You know, more important matters to attend to and whatnot. Also, any excuse to miss double potions is a good one in my eyes.”
Teddy gives him a small laugh. “Alright, I’ll bring you your homework after class, yeah?”
“Cheers. I’m gonna see exactly how many of these passageways are viable.”
Eric’s very funny that way. He can bunk off as many classes as he wants, finish all his assignments at breakfast (something he has recently gotten down to a science), and still pass his exams with flying colors. It’s quite amazing to witness, actually. However reckless and ridiculous his friends pretend to be, they can certainly afford it with the downright stellar marks they always end the year with. Even George, save transfiguration (and a few others), takes class a lot more seriously than any who didn’t know him would expect. Teddy almost envies them with how well they can handle their academics. It’s not like he’s inept, it’s just that his mind sort of works differently in that respect. Sometimes, he’ll decide to do an essay ahead of time and spend two hours staring at a piece of parchment, only moving to redip his quill when the ink dries. It’s like he can’t bring himself to do something like school until the deadline is staring him straight in the face. It’s made it so he can do things pretty quickly on a time crunch, but something always seems to fall through the cracks.
That being said, there is no way he can afford to miss double potions today, if only out of fear of forgetting the homework for next class in its entirety. Besides, Eric should be just fine exploring the castle on his own, as long as he isn’t caught where he shouldn’t be.
On second thought, he’s definitely going to be caught where he shouldn’t be.
While Eric stays behind, they walk towards the dungeons shoulder to shoulder. Though Teddy keeps raking through his limited memory of Hogwarts: A History for anything useful, he comes up blank the whole way to the potions classroom.
Professor Slughorn, docile and frail as ever, stands beside his desk, welcoming the class in. His wavering voice resounds throughout the stone walls of the dungeon, echoing across the quiet classroom as he beckons in the steady stream of fifth-years. “Alright class, Take your seats! We’ve got a lot to cover in terms of the wit-sharpening potion we began last week. Fascinating subject! Although, let it be known, not even the greatest of potions masters in history could make one strong enough to sharpen what was not already there in the first place, yes? Isn’t that right, Mr. Dumas?”
“-Sorry?” George questions, attention being torn away from Slytherin Tilly Grayn whom he was sharing his desk with.
“R-Right. Best to pay attention…” Slughorn warbles on, outlining base ingredients and their rather extensive lists of magical properties.
Teddy takes his seat at a bench next to Colin, content to just copy his notes as class went on. Slughorn was far too dull to catch his attention for very long. For now, back to his solitary brainstorming.
***
By the end of class, Teddy begins to realize that the logistics of his birthday celebration were a bit of a nightmare. As necessary as they were, he must admit he’s made the concept of throwing a party a tad more difficult with his stipulations.
It took almost a week for his friends to stand still enough to even agree on the conditions for what was now deemed the “Birthday Party of the Century”, which Teddy finds rich since they don’t even have a theme yet. Just a thought, but why would they even press so hard for a themed party if they couldn’t even decide on a color scheme? Every time Eric held swatches in front of his face with a “goldenrod and obsidian or honey and slate?”, Teddy had to try very hard not to roll his eyes and walk away. His expectations are set decently low for this party. It could be just him and his friends sharing a bottle of firewhiskey in the dungeons, as long as the music is alright. Yet, they’ve pulled out full-on chalkboards (which were very kindly and involuntarily donated by Professor Flitwick from his charms classroom), mapping out what looked to him to be absolute nonsense.
They don’t even have a place to host the party, due to condition one stating that the Hufflepuff common room was strictly off limits, if only to avoid further losing battles with Head Boy Henry Caligula.
George had fought tooth and nail to have this amendment overturned, but if Teddy was anything, it was stubborn to a fault.
He sat them all down in their dorm room last night and made them listen to the rather masterfully crafted stipulations he and Colin had brainstormed the night before.
First and foremost, anyone stepping foot in the Hufflepuff common room with intentions to rage was to be promptly hit with a particularly nasty knockback jinx, promptly disqualifying them from said raging and generally sentencing them to have a rather lame night.
Secondly, there would be absolutely no balloons. They were already banned from Hogwarts grounds ever since Colin enchanted the ones set up for the house cup to explode rainbow ink second year, but Teddy did not want to take any chances of his birthday becoming a multi-colored blood bath. Also, balloons were tacky, like seriously? They’re all wizards who can make fireworks dance and paintings sing but they need to have balls of air just floating around for no reason?
And lastly, which may be the most important of all, there will be no underclassmen added to the invite list. Of course, there will be an exception made for Victoire–she’s practically an upperclassman anyways. Sure, they haven’t even shown him the invite list yet, but that condition was all pretty unanimous. This should go without saying, but it's hard to have a party with a bunch of kids running around bumping into shit. They always end up breaking something, and they’d probably bring balloons with them. Also, having them anywhere near alcohol just feels wrong on several different levels.
Now, with the rules being taken under oath (a chocolate frog oath no less, so he knows his friends mean business), they just had one small issue. With two days until the big day, no one could find a room big enough to be suitable yet hidden away enough to hold a party in.
Honestly, though, Teddy has no idea how big this party is even going to be, so how on Earth is he supposed to help find a room that can hold any number of drunken teenagers that end up coming? He asked Eric how many people he had invited so far yesterday and his only reply was “yes”. Doesn’t really bode well, does it?
Now, walking back from the dungeons after an exceptionally grueling lecture from good-old Slughorn, he’s starting to fear that they may have to rent out a cell down here after all.
He hung back for a bit, letting his friends race ahead to catch a good seat in the Great Hall. He needed a second to clear his head. Potions often had that effect on him.
At least it’s lunch now, though. Hearing Victoire ramble on about last-minute decor ideas over a cornish pasty would be just what he needed to make it through the rest of his classes today.
In terms of the party, he’s decided that his friends can just work out all of those pesky details. He’s found there’s never been a problem he and his mates can’t fix with a little resourcefulness and a tad more stupidity. It’s truly a talent. He’s surprised half of them aren’t bloody Slytherins for all the times they’ve slithered out of messes they’ve made.
The corridors were unusually quiet at this hour. With most kids rushing to lunch or catching the beginnings of spring in the courtyard, it was refreshing not having to constantly push and maneuver through the post-class rush. Now, it was just the stragglers. A couple flirting on a bench, two first years chasing each other down the corridor, this is what it must have felt like at the beginning of Hogwarts, when the classes were barely filled and the houses had yet to earn their reputations. It’s quite nice, he thinks.
He walks up the stairs at a slower pace, deciding to take in the quiet for a second. Constantly being surrounded by his closest friends was brilliant and all, but it was nice to catch his breath alone for a moment here and there.
The calm demeanor of the corridor was quickly scared away by the sound of quick footfalls running towards him. Yup. Moment over. It was nice while it lasted, he guesses. As the sounds of a pair of shoes hitting the stone floors grow louder, Teddy wonders what could possibly be so dire that someone had to find themselves sprinting to the dungeons at lunch hour.
“TED TED TED TED TED TED TED!”
Eric suddenly slides out from the turn of the corner ahead of him, running too fast to turn in time. He quickly shifts his feet in an attempt to pivot and promptly glides right into the opposite wall, slamming his shoulder into the bricks.
“AH FUCK.”
He looks up quickly and spots the boy he’s so evidently looking for, his eyes instantly lighting up in a way Teddy’s never seen before. Eric quickly runs over, grabbing his friend by the shoulders, practically shaking with how manically filled with energy he seems to be. Did he take too many pep-up potions again? Merlin, when is he going to learn that anything remotely resembling caffeine will most certainly not work in his favor in the long run?
“For Godric’s sake SPIT IT OUT, JIANG!” Teddy gets out through what feels like his friend trying to give him proper motion sickness.
“Guess. Fucking. What.” Eric breaks into a huge, toothy smile, eyes still wide with crazed excitement.
“I mean I wouldn’t have to guess if you just bloody t-”
“NO TIME! You have to come with me NOW!”
At this, he grabs Teddy’s hand and hurls him down the hallway, practically sprinting on the way to whatever the hell has gotten him in this wild of a state.
They run for much longer than Teddy would expect or enjoy, clearing corridor after corridor, barely even giving him enough time to make out the paintings on the wall. They all seem to jump as they race by, giving the occasional “slow down!” or “NO running in the hallways!”
Yet, as they run, Teddy can’t help but break into the same smile that still plasters Eric’s face. He’s starting to work up a sweat, but he also realized that he doesn’t really care right now. His friend’s joy was always so contagious, right now making him genuinely excited to see what’s awaiting them. He picks up the pace, racing side by side with Eric still hand-in-hand. Is this about his birthday? Did he find the holy grail? Is there a dragon in the castle? Whatever it is, he can’t fight the laugh that bursts out as they narrowly dodge a group of third years, the piles of parchment in their hands flying into the air as they jump in surprise.
They both break through the swell of papers in the air, no time to stop and apologize. Teddy looks over in time to see Eric grab a quill out of the cloud of chaos they created, tucking it behind his ear as they round another corner.
Once again, they’re too fast to turn properly, crashing into each other against the wall and falling to the floor in a fit of laughter.
Eric stands back up as quickly as they fell, grabbing the end of his friend's sleeve and pulling him back up from the ground.
“Come on, Ted, we’re almost there!”
“Ok, but where is there?!”
“You’ll see!”
They round one more corner and come to a sudden stop, out of breath and still high on adrenaline. They take a few seconds in silence, the only sound in the corridor being the heavy rhythm of their breathing as they try to recuperate.
Eric turns back to his friend, taking hold of his shoulders once again and keeping determined eye contact.
“Now. You want a party, right?”
“Yeah- Merlin I’m winded.”
“Come on, focus, Ted! Do you want a party? You need a party, right?”
“I mean, strictly speaking, I wouldn’t say I need it-”
“Just shut up and work with me! Now, close your eyes and think of the best party venue ever. It can be whatever you want! A bloody ballroom, if you wish!”
“Umm. Ok?”
He closes his eyes and thinks about how he would want his birthday to look. If there are gonna be a lot of people going, it should probably be a bit bigger than the common. Maybe tall ceilings, like the great hall. They always carry sound so well and no one can deny they look fucking awesome. Hm, what else? Oh, maybe a fountain for drinks, like they have at those posh weddings. Witches’ brew coming out of a fountain would honestly be a dream. A stage would be cool too, so they could have a live band or something of that sort.
He keeps thinking, ticking things off a list in his head as they come. A solid place to dance. Some tables for when you just want to sit and chat. Plenty of decorations and colors, something to really give life to the room.
Teddy has no idea why he’s thinking this through so thoroughly, but he finds that he’s rather enjoying it.
“Alright don’t take too long, we don't want to miss lunch.” Eric pats him on the shoulder to bring him back to the present.
“Alright, alright, I’ve got it. Now what?”
“Now, just think about it like you’d give anything to have it. Like you need that party specifically.”
“I don’t really understand why though-”
“Just trust me!”
He starts repeating Eric’s words in his head. He needs those tables, he needs those decorations, he needs that stage. He rambles on and on, going over that same list he made just a moment ago.
Eventually, he starts hearing a dragging sound, like the slow grinding of stone. It starts out soft, but grows and grows until he can feel it rumble in his chest. He opens his eyes and sees Eric, face glowing in awe as he looks at the wall over on Teddy’s right.
Turning to see what his friend is looking at, he sees a set of glorious, intricately detailed doors, vines and engravings running up its face. He had never seen doors like these at Hogwarts before in his life. This wasn’t here before, was it?
Teddy walks up to the doors and slides his hands along the dark mahogany of the wood paneling. As soon as he makes contact, a goldenrod yellow bleeds out from where the wood meets his fingertips, spreading across the door, the vines, the engravings, until it looks completely different.
He steps away to get the full view of the doorway in front of him, taking it in in its entirety.
The etchings seem to perpetually shift and swirl, forming different shapes. A badger, a birthday cake, a chalice filled to the brim, a glorious bonfire, until they all seem to melt back together, laying themselves across both doors in thick, looped lettering.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TEDDY
Teddy could barely speak, too shocked to even open his mouth. It’s gorgeous. Eric put his hands on both of his shoulders, edging him closer to the door.
“Go on then. Open it.”
He grabs the large golden handles and pushes, the mountainous doors giving way easily as they smoothly slide open.
It’s exactly as he had pictured in his head. No, it’s somehow better. Decor in warm, bright tones covers almost every inch of the dark walls. Streamers and tapestries of reds and oranges and yellows hang down from the tall ceilings that tower over them, all emblazoned with messages of happy birthdays and well wishes. The center of the room is marked with a glorious fountain, multi-colored liquids streaming in and out through a complex, spiraling array of clear pipes. The tables are set with rows and rows of goblets, all ready for the taking. Even the stage is like he pictured, set with a microphone at the end of the slightly-raised floors.
Looking straight up, he sees the same enchantment on the ceiling that graces the Great Hall. The only difference is there were no stars or candles or night skies, but instead a view of a bright, sunny day. The whole room seems to be lit up by the sun itself, shadowed just barely by the occasional cloud. The light blue looks as if it stretches on for miles. It’s magnificent.
Teddy walks over to the table of cups, picking one up and walking over to the fountain, wanting to just test something. If this worked, he might actually faint from excitement.
He approaches the center fountain, placing his cup under one of the many valves that surround the tall base. As soon as he turns the knob, a bright, almost sickly green liquid pours into his goblet, wisps of smoke spilling over the lip.
“It’s fucking Witches’ Brew.” He says.
“Great Godric, mate! You’ve got one hell of an imagination, that much’s for sure.” Eric says as he gazes around the room in awe, his voice echoing slightly off the walls. He slowly walks over to Teddy, grabbing the cup out of his friend's hand and taking a drink.
His face twists up in disgust. “Ugh. I don’t know how you handle all that sweet stuff, Ted.”
“Oh come on! It’s delicious! Either way, it sure as hell beats firewhiskey.”
“Yeah, but not by much.”
Teddy shoves Eric’s shoulder and laughs, taking his cup back. If his friends don’t want any, that’s perfectly fine. That just means more for him.
“Eric… is this room what I think it is?”
“I’d be fairly concerned if you didn’t already know, considering Harry practically put this place back on the metaphorical map. Then again, neither of us are really Ravenclaws, are we?”
He pauses and does a grand gesture, spreading both arms wide to emphasize the sheer size of the room. “Welcome to the elusive Room of Requirement! Or, as it will soon be known as, the battleground for the greatest party Hogwarts has EVER SEEN.”
“How did you even find this place?”
Eric flashes another grin and puffs out his chest, pride practically spilling out of his voice. “A great wizard never reveals his secrets.”
“The muggle phrase is that a great magician never reveals his secrets, so I don’t think you’re under oath in that regard,” Teddy replies back.
“Oh, well, in that case, I have literally no idea. I was walking around trying to find one of those secret passages and thought ‘fuck, I really need to find a place to hold Ted’s party, and then you can probably guess the rest. Only thing was I could’ve sworn my version of your birthday party had a lot more traps...”
Teddy freezes, turning his bed back to his friend like a double take. “Traps? For a birthday party?”
Eric shrugs, no sign of a joke or sarcasm evident on his face. “Yeah, I was kinda going for a ‘last one standing gets to eat the cake’ sort of thing in my head.”
“Thank Godric you let me think one up this time, then.”
Eric smiles at Teddy one last time, throwing his arm over his friend’s shoulder and walking them to the door. “I think we ought to go and tell the others that they can stop checking that stupid map George made. I mean, honestly, how were we gonna get a load of drunk witches and wizards back and forth to Hogsmeade anyways.”
“That’s the beauty of George Dumas. Knowing him, he could very well have half of the booze in the Shrieking Shack by now.”
“We better hurry up and tell him then…” Eric paused, his expression dropping into something else Teddy can’t quite place. Eric stands in place, looking over at his friend with a taunting question in his eyes. Oh no.
“For Merlin’s sake, if you try to race me again-”
It was too late. Teddy can’t even get the rest of the sentence out before he’s shoved backward, Eric dashing ahead with a loud cackle. He’s barely even given time to land as he scrambles up to race after his friend.
“Just because it’s your birthday doesn’t mean I’ll let you win!” Eric calls back to him, keeping a lightning-fast pace as he bolts towards the large doors marking the exit.