The day was moving way too slowly in Teddy's opinion. Now, Teddy wasn't a seer by any stretch of the imagination, but he knew that tonight was going to change everything. Everyone was finally going to be happy.

Of course he knew what happy was. Sure, he knew what it felt like. He remembered being happy when he was younger. He knew what it looked like on his dad's face. He even knew what it looked like on Scorp's face, but he was ready to see what genuine happiness looked like on his own face again.

Teddy was much like his Remus when it came to his education, he loved to learn, but he was more like his mother when it came to how he treated that knowledge. Harry had always told him that he was a Hufflepuff because his mom was, but he knew the truth. He was a Hufflepuff because he cared about loyalty. He cared about the dedication his dad was making to keep them together to make him feel like he had a full family. When the Malfoy's cut themselves off from him he knew that if nothing else those traits were the most important.

He took a deep breath and plastered a smile onto his face. He was going to be ready for anything. He sat through class idly tapping his foot before he noticed a piece of folded parchment launch itself onto his desk. It was in the shape of a kitten and he knew who it was without looking up. He looked down at the animated note and rolled his eyes.

You okay?

Teddy took a deep breath and looked over at the desk where the small kitten had come from. Elle Hathor. She was a beater and captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team so she could come off a bit strong. He supposed she was beautiful, but her appearance changed every few days. He shrugged at that thought. His did too, although he still looked like himself for the most part. He nodded at her then turned back to face the professor.

When class was over Teddy almost tripped over his robes as he rushed down the hall. Finally. Class was over. How can professors have so much to go over the first week? I need a nap. A nice long-

"Hey, Ted!" He sighed then turned around slowly once the hall had cleared a bit.

"Oh, hi Elle." He gave her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes and stuck his hands in his pockets breezily.

"Did you like my note?" She asked her voice a light twinkle as she bounced easily on the balls of her feet. Today she was tan and kind of thin which was a lot different from her usual thicker or more pale demeanors. Her hair which was tied in a long blonde ponytail yesterday was now in a choppy brown french braid with a feather intwined. Her nose was less pointed. Her lips slightly more pouty. Her eyes were a warm brown with small specks of gold. Teddy decided to focus on her eyes, because even as he looked at the rest of her he noticed she was constantly changing.

"Can you not control that?" He asked bluntly, before realizing what he said could be taken rudely. "Uh, sorry..."

"Control wha-Oh! You mean the changing thing?" She said laughing.

"Yeah. The 'changing thing'." Teddy used his hands to make air quotes as he said it.

"Not really, no," she smiled at him. "It's an odd story I guess. I can tell you on the way to the library." He looked at her skeptically and she shoved him playfully. "C'mon. You know you want to." She said, singing the last bit. He gave her a real smile and nodded.

"Okay, sure."

"So," she started as they made their trek through the castle. "My mum was a squib and she married this muggle guy popped out a few kids. They divorced or something and she met my dad. He was an auror for minor ministry cases. Anyway when my mum was pregnant with me some guy recognized my dad from a case and shot at him with a bunch of curses."

"Is he okay?"

"Oh yeah, he's fine. He's a badass that works in the record office at the ministry now. Doesn't want to 'put his family in danger again' or anything," she smiled at Teddy while doing air quotes around that part of her sentence. "Anyway, one of the curses hits my mum. It was a beauty curse known as Pulcritudo Timios that the guy thought was supposed to make her the opposite of what my father wanted. I think the guy was just an idiot though, because the translation literally means like honest beauty, I think. The spell didn't affect her at all though, since she was pregnant with me she had this type of magic immunity or whatever. Little fetus me sucked up most of the magic from the blow."

When they got to the library, Teddy opened the door for both of them to walk through and they got a table in the back where they could talk and he decided maybe she wasn't such a bad study partner. She did seem pretty cool.

"Then what?" He asked pulling out his notes from Arithmancy. His course load was pretty large this year.

"Well I absorbed the bulk of the magic so when I was born the curse took its toll on me. There's not a counter curse or a cure, but there are amulets or necklaces, that can show my true self. I can see it if I look in the mirror hard enough, what I really look like, I mean." Elle pulled out her own notes from Divination and asked to borrow a quill.

"So what does the spell do, exactly?" Teddy asked while digging in his bag for one she could borrow.

"Well it shows everyone whatever they want to see. Nothing too specific. It shows whatever people think is the most beautiful to them. That's why I change so much, cause everyone has different beauty standards." She conjured a mirror and looked at herself. "This is actually really close to what I really look like. My ears are a bit pointier." She poked at her ears and Teddy tilted his head in thought.

"I think you would look really nice with pointed ears. Like a nymph or a fairy." He smiled shyly, but before he even finished speaking her ears had already began reshaping themselves.

Elle, who had been staring in the mirror, noticed the change then looked up at Teddy and smiled huge before wrapping him in a hug only to let go, blushing. "Sorry, I'm a hugger."

He shook his head smiling and blushing as well. "No big deal, what was that about?"

"This is the first time I've looked like myself without having to wear the necklace my Nana gave me. It's supposed to capture all the magic from the curse, but it captures stray magic too and sometimes it gets too heavy. Not to mention I have to work extra hard to reign in any loose magic. It gets kinda tiresome, you know?" Teddy nodded at her, but he couldn't stop blushing, because the only thing he was thinking was how beautiful she was and how this is what she really looked like and how she was practically perfect for him, down to the light sprinkling of freckles across her face.

----8----

Teddy ran up the stairs that led to the tower that held Ravenclaw's common room. He had to be to his Dad's office by 7 and he forgot to tell Scorp! It was after 6:30 now. He stood outside of Ravenclaw's portrait and started knocking before it looked down at him tiredly.

"Unlike the rest of the houses, I do not require a password. You must only answer one of my riddles." The portrait seemed to be that of a young girl in peasant's clothing with a bow tied in her dark blonde hair. Teddy sighed but realized he didn't have time to waste.

"Well," he asked. "What is your riddle?"

"I am lighter than a feather, but even the strongest of men cannot hold me for longer than a minute. What am I?"

Teddy paced back and forth in front of the picture frame. I should know this. He scolded himself as he continued wearing into the floor.

"It's your breath," said a voice behind him tiredly. He turned around and smiled at the small blonde who seemed to have been standing there for almost as long as he had.

"Welcome Home, young one," responded the portrait as she opened and Scorpius stepped in, holding the door for Teddy to follow him.

"What's going on?" asked Scorpius after he placed his things by one of the many study tables in his common room and motioning over to a royal blue couch for he and Teddy to sit.

"Family dinner at 7. Pops said I could invite you, but I got held up studying in the library."

"Yeah, I know you and your friend kept giggling while I was trying to read," said Scorpius with a slight scowl on his face.

"Is something wrong, bro?" Asked Teddy shrinking back at Scorp's previous tone.

"Nothing major. I'm not used to being around so many people, yet. It makes me irritable. It's very draining when your-"

"Brain seems to move quicker than everybody else's?" Teddy asked, finishing his sentence. "It gets better. You're gonna have to learn to slow down some of your words and stuff sometimes, you know don't speak too fast. Try to set a pace in your head. It works better that way."

Scorpius gave him the look of awe he used to when they were younger and he told him how much he loved books and how other kids didn't like him much either. It was a look of gratitude. A look that said Thanks for understanding, no one understands.

"What were you saying about dinner?" Said Scorpius happily changing the subject.

"Oh yeah! That's what I'm here for. Family dinner at 7 in Pops office. We do it once a week so we can still have family time and stuff. He said I could invite you." He cast a tempus and cursed himself. "C'mon Scorp, we have less than 5 minutes to get there." He pulled on the smaller boy, forcing him from the couch before rushing over to the door with the pale blonde in tow.

They burst into the room just as the clock began chiming for the new hour and right before the floo lit up in green allowing a nervous looking Draco Malfoy to emerge.

Teddy choked back a sob and released Scorpius' hand in order to throw himself at Draco. He wrapped the older blonde in a hug forcing himself not to cry.

Draco's arms wrapped themselves instinctively around Teddy and he bent his head down to whisper into his other son's ear.

"I'm so sorry, Teddy."

Okay, so maybe he did cry.
~~~<~>~~~

hey futher muckers

happy friday, loves
new chapter + new oc

who loves Elle? I doooo
gahhh

so if you hadn't noticed, her name and appearance and stuff is based on a mix of Rick Riordan's potrayal of Aphrodite/Venus (Goddess of love, beauty, sex...) & his character Piper McLean,

In his series he always shows Aphrodite as being an ever changing goddess based on different beliefs in beauty and I feel like this works best for  Elle's character here.

Her character just came to me as well as her background

Her name literally means lovely fairy or something which I thought fit her very well. Not to mention her last name is that of the Egyptian Goddess of beauty (the one that most closely resembles the beliefs of Aphrodite)

ANYWAYYYYYY

hope you guys enjoyed this chapter

love y'all

-- angel janeé xoxo 💋