It was the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year. Teddy had broken off from his friends and was walking alone on the street behind the shops. –I want to do some exploring on my own,†he’d told them, but the truth was that he needed some space to mull over things. At school, he had homework, Prefect duties and his friends’ company to keep him occupied. Hogsmeade, on the other hand, provided him solitude; everyone had their own stuff to do.
Whistling a song by Keane, he strode along the less-crowded part of the wizarding village. Teddy was troubled. Ever since Professor Beacon had sauntered into Hogwarts, his life seemed to have got both complicated and excited. Initially, it had been the mystery surrounding her that mesmerised him. Now, it was the possibility of her sharing a history with his father that he had little access to. For no one who’d known Remus as a friend from that era of his life was alive. What Teddy was aware of, he heard from people who heard it from others. If Professor Beacon had dated Sirius, she could give him the glimpse of his father’s youth he desperately craved. Sirius and his father had been very close friends. They’d been part of the infamous Marauders.
And yet, Teddy felt it’d be crass to ambush her after class and pester her to share her past. It couldn’t have been pretty, could it, considering how the Marauders’ friendship ended? What would be the best way to make his request? How did one approach such a subject? The professor was quite funny and friendly, but she made it a point to maintain a distance between herself and the students. Teddy couldn’t imagine a scenario where he just walked up to her, said, –So--uh--Professor, I reckon you dated my dad’s old friend, Sirius, yeah?†and she received his opener with kindness. She was more likely to turn him into a slice of pizza, or something like that.
He’d reached the backside of the Three Broomsticks. He stopped walking, and whistling, and sighed heavily. Should he let it go?
–You stopped whistling that song at the best part, you know,†someone said from above. –This can’t be the end of everything. So, why don’t we go, somewhere only we--â€
Professor Beacon stopped singing at the same moment Teddy looked up and saw her poking her head out of a window.
–Prof-Professor?†he stammered.
–Uhm.†She hesitated, and then said, –I had no idea it was you, Lupin.â€
–D’you live here?†he asked her, finally understanding something. –Is that why you don’t eat Hogwarts?â€
–Er. Yes.â€
Why had everybody assumed she lived in Trelawney’s old quarters? –I’m sorry,†he said uncertainly. –I--I didn’t mean to intrude or anything. I mean,†he coloured, feeling guilty without knowing why, –I wasn’t stalking you or anything like that.â€
To his relief, she merely snorted. –Boy, you need to open a dictionary and check the definition of the word –stalkâ€. You haven’t stalked anybody until you learn how to use the Internet and check people’s profiles on Facebook--oh, never mind.†She waved a hand. –I don’t expect you’d know what I’m on about.â€
–Erm. I take Muggle Studies. We studied the internet last year. But, yeah, I don’t know what a –facebook†is supposed to be.â€
They were both silent for a while after Teddy’s response. This is so weird, he thought. This conversation was the last thing he’d expected to happen in his Hogsmeade trip. He assumed that leaving with a polite goodbye would be the correct way to proceed, but his legs seemed unwilling to move.
–Why are you all alone?†she asked him.
–I just fancied a quiet walk.â€
–Because Hogwarts doesn’t have grounds for that sort of thing?â€
–Er.â€
She smiled. –Your hair’s pink.â€
Teddy flushed. –Yeah, it’s got a bit out of control I like your colour,†he said in the same breath. –Actually,†he sighed. –Actually, it reminds me a bit of my mum.â€
The smile disappeared from her face. Once more, silence descended upon them. Just as Teddy started to say goodbye, thinking it best to end the awkwardness then and there, she cleared her throat and said, –Why don’t you come up for Butterbeer?â€
–Sure!†he said at once, making her beam. –I’d love that.â€
She opened the back door for him with her wand. Teddy took the stairs, nervous and hopeful. He wasn’t sure if he’d get an opportunity to bring up Sirius, but this was a good start. She was waiting for him at the landing of the second floor. Today, she had on a green T-shirt and white pyjama bottoms with owls printed all over them. –Come on in,†she said, leading him inside. –Welcome to Calendora Dean Beacon’s heavenly abode.â€
The place was an utter mess. Clothes hung all over the sofa in the corner. There was a sock dangling from the top of the cupboard, which was ajar, a pair of dark denim jeans peeked out. Books were strewn on the carpet, and on the bed. The study desk, on the other hand, was cluttered with an assortment of photo-frames.
–Wow!†he exclaimed.
–Don’t expect me to apologise for it,†she sniggered, clearing out the sofa with a jab of her wand.
–Nope. My mum’s old room is exactly like this. Gran and I think she put some sort of a permanent disorganisation hex on it, because it returns to the same old state no matter how often we clean it.â€
She said nothing as she shut the cupboard. Her back was turned on him.
–Sorry. I go on about my mum, don’t I?†he said anxiously.
–It’s all right,†she said, and he was relieved to see her smiling again as she turned round to face him. –Sit down on the sofa, wee lad. I’m gonna go downstairs and get us those Butterbeers.â€
But Teddy didn’t sit down on the sofa. His attention was caught by the photographs on the table. They were like Muggle pictures; the subjects didn’t move. It wasn’t, however, their Muggleness that had pulled him towards them. They were the most bizarre collection of photographs he’d ever come across.
One of them featured Professor Beacon, looking half-mad. She had her trademark pink hair and wore a black T-shirt with a green –W†on the front. Her eyes were red globes; her mouth was open in a silent scream; her fists seemed to be shaking. Another was of a troll with a bow-tie on his head. The third featured Crollega Dawson and her –awesome†boobs almost spilling over. (Teddy didn’t blush any longer, since he was used to the cleavage by now.) The fourth was of a wild-looking witch with a crazy amount of light brown hair. The fifth was of a nice, decent looking woman in denim shorts, standing next to a man in some sort of Muggle superhero costume. (He recognised it because Harry had taken him to his cousin’s place once. Dudley owned a large collection of Muggle comics, and a lot of them had a guy in this superhero costume on the covers. Teddy thought he was called –Man-Bat†or something like that.) The sixth, however, showed a man with a balding head and a moustache. His attire hinted he was from the sixteenth century or thereabouts.
–What do you think?†Professor Beacon asked, startling Teddy. He hadn’t heard her coming up.
–They’re ... difficult to fit into a single category,†he said, accepting a Butterbeer from her. –Thanks.â€
–Shall I tell you who they are?â€
–Yes, please.â€
–Well, the first is me. Friend of mine took it when I was a bit--uhm--pissed, and raging at vile Muggle shows about fishing. They have these soul-sucking TV specials on extreme fishing. Imagine that.â€
Teddy imagined. –Yeah. Can’t think why anybody would want to watch that.â€
–Yep. The second’s a female troll. Her name’s Crollolol. She--er--used to annoy people on the internet.â€
–Sorry?†Teddy coughed. –A troll that uses the internet?â€
–Uh huh.â€
–Cool!â€
–You know the third. The fourth one is a witch called Caroleadora. Defeated an army of Inferi at a Wales village in 1991 and disappeared.â€
–Oh.â€
–The fifth’s a published writer in the Muggle world. Her name sounds too normal, so I won’t bore you with the information. That one was shot during her final tour in the United States. The sixth,†she broke into a giggle, –is a famous dramatist and poet in the Muggle world. Active during the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries. He’s known as Shakespeare to most people, although a few conspiracy theorists insist his true name is Crollalanza.â€
She switched attention to her Butterbeer after that, letting Teddy absorb everything she’d just told him. –They are all ... you?†he asked quietly.
–You’re the first person to draw that conclusion.â€
–Well, it’s sort of obvious,†he said. –Or is that because they’re all in the same place?â€
–Mmm.â€
–Wait.†Teddy gaped at her. –Does this also mean you travelled back in time?â€
She chortled. –Yes. It’s not quite as great as people make it out to be.â€
Teddy continued staring at her for a few more seconds, and then asked, –But why? Why all the disguises?â€
–I had to go into hiding,†she told him. She didn’t elaborate, but noticing Teddy waiting, she bit her lips and acquiesced. –The Death Eaters were after me. These people here, in the photographs, are avatars chosen at random. That’s what did the trick, you see. Sure, the names do give away a bit, and yet, why would you connect a sixteenth century dramatist with an internet troll?â€
Teddy nodded. –You don’t mind telling me all this,†he remarked, putting down the empty bottle of Butterbeer on the desk and facing her.
–I know whose son you are,†she said.
He held his breath. This was it, his golden opportunity.
–Teddy,†she began, –I--â€
–You dated Sirius Black, didn’t you?†he blurted out.
–Wha-yeah,†she said. –Yeah, I did.†A look of relief spread over her face. –Who told you?â€
Relieved to find himself still in human form, and not as a slice of pizza as he’d feared, Teddy told her about the photograph taken at James Potter’s wedding. She was grinning now. –The Marauders,†she said wistfully.
–You knew them.â€
–I could write a book on their antics,†she said with a snort. –I was three years below them in school. Hufflepuff house. They may have been in Gryffindor, but everybody knew them. I didn’t get together with Sirius until he’d left, though. I was sixteen. He was nineteen, already in the Order. We met at my cousin’s flat. It was my last two weeks of the summer. We met again the next year, and he took me as his date to James and Lily’s wedding.â€
As though reading his mind, she said, –Yes, I met your father, too. At school, I had a crush on him.†She laughed. –Eh, I’m a bit of a scarlet woman. Oops!†Teddy shook his head. –He was quite popular,†she continued. –I think it had something to do with his calm, quiet and yet confident nature. He was rather mysterious, unlike the three others, though I’m sure his Prefect badge didn’t do much to hold him or his friends back when it came to pranks. After school, though, he’d changed a bit.â€
She stopped, perhaps thinking the topic wouldn’t be pleasant to Teddy’s ears any longer, but he urged her to go on. –I’ll be honest with you, Teddy. Things were rough for him. He couldn’t get a job, and I don’t think he liked his Order assignments a lot. Not that they ever discussed all that in front of me, but it was easy to tell. He always looked harassed whenever we crossed paths.â€
Teddy swallowed.
–He still hung on, though, Teddy, and that’s why I respected him. He was braver than a lot of people I knew, including his friends. He didn’t grumble or make a fuss. And he was kind to everyone.â€
–Thanks,†Teddy murmured. He wondered if she’s say she was sorry he never got to know him, which others before her had done. Instead, she gathered herself and said, quite bluntly, –Now off you go back to your friends. And, Teddy, please don’t discuss any of this with anyone.â€
Teddy promised he wouldn’t, and he kept his promise. In the next few classes, though, she began to ignore him. She didn’t do it in an obvious manner; if he had any queries, she responded in her usual candid fashion. Yet, she refused to meet his eye at any other moment. He felt an immense urge to apologise, but was unsure if that would make things worse. On the last class before the Christmas holidays, he resolved to do it anyway. To his dismay, she’d cancelled the class.
–I wonder what’s wrong,†he said for the hundredth time to Fatima. They were on the train, returning home for Christmas, and she was too engrossed with her copy of the Prophet to pay him attention. –Whoa!†she said. –This Lockhart guy is something, huh?â€
–Who?â€
–Him!†She shoved the paper into his face. –Lost his memory in a freak accident at Hogwarts. He taught Defence. Remembered everything a few months ago and has a new book out.â€
Teddy straightened out the paper and read the article. –Interview with the Inferi,†he said aloud when he’d finished. Handing Fatima her paper back, he said, –That’s a bit of a stupid title.â€
–But defeating three dozen Inferi all on his own!†Fatima said emphatically. –Just think of how much energy that would take. I wonder which spell he used to conjure the fire...â€
Teddy wasn’t listening. He’d already returned to musing about Professor Beacon’s enigmatic ways