Never Let Go by majestic_ginny
Chapter Notes:
Not JKR! And once again, my f-listers rock.
Teddy Lupin had wanted to be an Auror ever since he could remember.
As he grew up, he had seen his godfather capture what he had termed "baddies". Harry Potter had been a hero, a shining beacon of light for everyone in times of need. Teddy had always dreamt about following in his footsteps. And he had finally achieved his goal, after countless hours of rigorous training and studying till the crack of dawn.
What he hadn't envisioned were the piles upon piles of boring paperwork.
Teddy dropped his quill and slumped. The day hadn't even started and every inch of his desk was covered with stacks of files from Aurors who needed their works filed and compiled, only to be stored away in some dusty old dungeon. Teddy's job was simple: read the latest cases and decide what was important. Then he'd compile them in a file and throw the rest of the unnecessary details into the rubbish bin. It was very easy, really. Too easy.
Sometimes, when the rest of the trainees were busy on other cases, Harry would take Teddy on smaller assignments to take notes and learn how fieldwork was like. Harry would do most of the poking around and ask Teddy about his opinions. He would then analyze Teddy's ideas, tell him where he was going wrong and where he was right, and then he would explain how the case really was. Together, they would then solve the case. In Teddy's opinion, he learned far more in the investigations with Harry than he ever did by studying hundreds of case files.
But today was not one of those days, much to his annoyance. He was stuck in the filing cabinet all by himself, surrounded by musty shelves and creaky drawers… and the cooling charm was not working, either.
Great, he thought irritably. Just my bloody luck.
He needed fresh air, he thought. Closing the file he was working on, he grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and headed out of the door.
Harry, he knew, wasn't working on any case at the time. Wondering if his godfather was up for a chat, Teddy made his way past the crowd of Aurors towards the door of Harry's office. Some of the Aurors would look up and wave and Teddy would happily wave back. Others, though, often ignored him. And one of them was the surly and rather old Williamson, who would look at him and wrinkle his brows in what was ill-disguised disgust. Teddy absolutely loathed the man.
Williamson's main problem was that Teddy's father was a werewolf, and he had tried countless times to convince Percy Weasley that Teddy was not to be trusted. Percy, however, would turn a deaf ear to his words, for he had liked Remus Lupin and refused to judge him for his condition. Harry didn't like Williamson either, but there was nothing he could do; Williamson was a senior Auror and had a high case closure rate. Harry couldn't possibly kick him out just because he was biased against someone. Until Williamson retired (and that was still around a year away) they were stuck with him.
Shaking his head, Teddy knocked on Harry's door.
"Come in!"
Teddy turned the doorknob and entered. Harry's office had a bureaucratic look about it, and yet it looked rather homely. The wooden floorboards gleamed brightly as though recently polished, and the walls were covered with shelves stacked full of books and case files. Though Teddy was sure Harry hardly ever went through them, they were a bit haphazardly stacked; Teddy had a sneaky feeling Harry did that just so it seemed he was a busy person. In front of a rectangular wooden table were two chairs for guests, and despite of their formal look they were very comfortable. Behind the table on a revolving wooden chair sat Harry, his back to the door, poring over a long piece of parchment whose bottom had disappeared from view. Harry's emerald green cloak hung from the back of the chair.
"Harry, do you have a moment?"
Harry turned, and on seeing Teddy his eyes lit up. He grinned and placed the top of the parchment on the table, which fell down immediately due to the weight of the rest of the parchment pulling it down. "Teddy, I haven't seen you in a while," he said, ignoring the paper on the floor. "What brings you here?"
"Just popped by to see how you were doing," he replied, walking over to the desk. Harry motioned for him to have a seat, which he gladly took. "I took a break."
"It's a good thing you dropped by," Harry said, taking off his glasses and polishing them with the hem of his robes. He looked exhausted. "It's been a hectic day. The international desk has a new lead on the man running the Hallmark case."
Teddy had briefly heard about that one. A Dark Wizard had been making deals with various businessmen around the country, and every single wizard who had signed a deal with him turned up dead, with their vaults mysteriously wiped clean. The legal documents all showed signs of very dark magic, though none of it could be traced back to the caster.
"Is he going to attack businesses abroad?"
Harry nodded. "Dawson tells me about a new business that's suddenly popped up in Egypt. It's making a deal with the biggest flying carpet company. What do you think we should do?"
"Me?" Teddy sputtered, surprised. "But this is a major case, Harry! I think you should -"
"I have theories," Harry interrupted, smiling grimly. "Tell me your opinion."
"Well," Teddy said, frowning. "Maybe talk to that company and somehow bring him to England, where you have the jurisdic-"
A sudden whooshing noise cut him off. A second ago, the fire had turned emerald green, and a letter had popped out of the fire and landed on Harry's desk.
Harry curiously picked up the letter and looked at the name inscribed. "It's Ginny," he said, smiling. He unfolded the paper and scanned through it. "Probably wants to know when I'll -"
Harry froze.
"Harry?" Teddy could sense something was terribly wrong. Harry stared at the letter, his eyes wide with horror, his mouth gaping open. For a second, Teddy feared for the worst. What if someone -
He snatched the letter from Harry, who had gone numb with shock. His heart beating wildly, Teddy read through the letter.
In an instant, all his fears came true.
Teddy stood in the corridor in front of Lucy’s room, unable to process what was happening. The entire family was herded together, some silently weeping, others stone-faced and disbelieving. In the middle of Lucy’s room was Percy’s hunched figure, sobbing beside the still form of his eldest daughter. The once strong and proud Minister was pitifully crumpled up, completely shattered. Beside him sat Audrey, and it killed Teddy to see her staring wide-eyed into vacant space. Somehow it was even worse than Percy’s tortured howls.
His mind flashed back on the note.
Come to Percy’s house quickly. Lucy’s dead. -- Ginny.
Lucy was dead.
His rebellious, annoyingly smart cousin was gone.
A lump formed in his throat. He wouldn't cry. He didn't want to break down. Lucy wouldn't have wanted anyone to grieve over her death - she would have wanted them all to be strong and accept it.
He spotted Victoire on of the chairs in the corridor, one hand on her forehead, her elbow resting on her knees. Her silvery blonde curls were in tangles. She was very distressed, Teddy knew, for she had often told him that Lucy had been her favourite younger cousin. They were so similar: both of them were perfectionists and overachievers, and often spent hours talking together. Victoire had adored her very, very much.
Teddy shuffled over to her and put a hand on her shoulders. "Hey," he murmured.
Victoire looked up. She was a mess, indeed. "Hey," she sniffed, dabbing at her bloodshot eyes with the back of her hand. "When did you get here?"
"Just now. I came in with Harry."
"Is he going to investigate?" she asked.
Teddy looked over at Harry, who was muttering darkly to George and one of the Aurors who had accompanied them there. Every now and then Harry would sneak a glance at Percy. "I think so."
Victoire bit her lip. "They're suspecting foul play, you know."
A chill ran through his spine. "Murder?"
Victoire nodded. "Powerful men like Uncle Percy have a lot of enemies."
"Harry'll find him," Teddy said firmly. "If anyone can, it's Harry."
They both looked on as Harry slowly walked over to Percy. The moment Percy saw Harry, he threw himself towards him, sobbing, if possible, harder. Harry himself looked so tortured, and it seemed as though it took him all his effort not to become a wreck himself. He pursed his lips tightly, gently patting his brother-in-law, while a tear rolled down his cheek. Teddy had never seen Harry this emotional before. As an Auror, Harry always tried his best not to become emotional even in the toughest of cases. The only time Teddy had seen Harry close to breaking down was when the case was about a little girl who had been thrown off the roof after being hit with a Killing Curse. The girl had been Lily's age then, and upon seeing the mangled body, Harry had to step outside for some air. He was as white as sheet, his eyes haunted, and Teddy knew Harry had been wondering about what would have happened had it been Lily instead of that girl.
Teddy looked away. None of the Weasley children could bear to look at Lucy. He quickly did a head count. Frowning, he did it again. "Where are Molly, Dom and James?" he asked Victoire. "Are they okay? They shouldn't be roaming off, what if -"
"Calm down," she cut across him, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Molly and Dom are upstairs. Molly refused to come down. She can't believe that..." she trailed off, glancing towards Lucy.
"And James?"
She shrugged. "He came in, all wild eyed and shaken up. And then he saw Lucy and just ran out of the house."
Teddy stood up. "See you in a bit," he whispered to Victoire.
She grasped his hand. "Where are you going?"
"To see Lucy."
"No, don't," she said quickly, her eyes tearing. "It's - it's horrible. She's been so badly disfigured, Teddy. It scared the hell out of me."
"Victoire, how bad can it be? Don't worry, I've seen worse pictures. I'll handle it.
She still looked doubtful, but let go of his hand anyway. Giving her a weak smile, he made his way into the bubbly room, which was in stark contrast with the setting. Dolls and stuffed toys were put neatly around the room, grouped together according to size or colour. The bed sheets were crumpled up, and Teddy knew Lucy would have a fit if she could have seen it. He felt a knot in his stomach thinking about her, alive and happy. He walked slowly towards Lucy's still form, afraid of what he'd see there, wondering what on earth had had Victoire so shaken up.
He hadn't expected the scene to be so mortifying.
Almost all of Lucy's body was covered in tiny blisters. Tiny red spots dotted her skin and her face. Her hands were scrunched together, her knuckles white, her nails digging into her palms. A thin band of light traced the shape of her body, presumably drawn by the Aurors. Her body laid there, twisted and crumpled up, as though she was having a violent seizure. Her eyes had been closed, but her expression was that of intense pain, and her mouth was open in a silent scream.
Rigor mortis. Her body had already hardened. She would have to be buried that way.
He clutched the bed for support, his legs feeling weak. No wonder Victoire had been so shaken up. It was terrifying to see.
Audrey sat beside him, staring hard at Lucy's mangled figure, and Teddy was at a loss as to how she could see her daughter in that condition. Her face was expressionless, her eyes hardened and her jaws set. Her hand rested delicately on Lucy's thigh, as though she were afraid she'd hurt her. And yet she said nothing; she simply sat there, looking into her daughter's face, unmoving.
Teddy walked away, quickly as he could, not wanting to intrude on something that felt so personal.
"Teddy?"
He turned. It was Ginny.
"Have you talked to Harry?" she asked, her voice firm and strong, her eyes hard. Teddy admired her ability to stay resolved even in such a situation.
"No," he answered. "We came as quickly as possible; I haven't spoken a word to him about this. Do you think someone killed her?"
"Yes," she replied without hesitation. "And so do the others. I don't believe she would have committed suicide, and this doesn't seem like a natural death."
Teddy didn’t reply. Who would want to kill Lucy?
Harry spotted the duo and walked up to them, wrapping an arm around Ginny, who rested her head on his shoulder. Looking at Teddy he said, "It's a murder."
Even though he knew it was coming, the confirmation chilled him to the core. Here was proof that someone had wanted Lucy dead - that someone hated her so much to have her killed.
Ginny looked up. "You've confirmed it?"
Harry nodded grimly. Somehow, Teddy sensed there was more to the story.
"And?" Ginny pressed on.
Harry hesitated. "Well, um... she was..."
"What?"
Harry bit his lip and looked away, obviously contemplating on how to break the news. Teddy raised an eyebrow. What could this be about?
"What is it, Harry?" Ginny prodded her husband.
"Well," Harry said, taking off his glasses and wiping them as slowly as he could. He then took a deep breath, put them back on slowly and turned to Ginny. "Shewaspregnant."
"What?"
"Ginny..." Harry looked tortured. "Lucy was pregnant."
Chapter Endnotes:
Dun dun dunn! :D How do you think that was? Review please!