((Would Christmas break work? Like maybe right before or after Christmas, and then she went back to school?))
Teddy didn't do too good a job at hiding the look of surprise on his face when she rattled off the page numbers, and his frown only grew more twisted as each page did, in fact, yield a space for a signature. All of it continued to point to the desensitization of a girl who, probably more than most, desperately needed to retain her capacity to identify a rotten situation. Not because he believed any of that dribble about dark parents creating dark children, but because he knew what it was like to grow up without a parent. And it certainly did not leave much room for fuzzy, warm feelings.
There was absolutely no way he was going to be able to read through all of this. If he were more concerned about the Ministry's ability to monitor the finer points of the contract, or if he were less willing to give, he probably would have put the signing on hold and asked for a lawyer. From what he saw, however, the Ministry was going to be involved as little as possible, so he couldn't imagine any clause that would complicate his life anymore than fostering a teenager would already.
This, ladies and gentleman, is why Teddy wasn't a Ravenclaw.
Her joke caused the corner of his mouth to twitch upwards into a hesitant smirk. At least she was able to joke about it, he supposed, rather than wallow. And it did indicate she was at least aware of the injustice in her treatment, even if she was resigned to it. He didn't have it in him to further the joke, however, and he just kept on signing. However, a joke did present itself in her next statement and he grinned, tilting his head to look at her. "I imagine they're wrong more often than not."
She was thoughtful girl, that much was becoming clear from her gentle musings, turning her poor situation into an opportunity to consider the greater meanings. She had questions that he had no semblance of answers for, but she relieved him of the burden of coming up with an answer before he had even thought of a way to stall.
He was sure she wanted to leave much more than he did, which was quite a feat in and of itself. He had just signed the last page, and Eloise entered right at the end of Florence's question, which he supposed was a good enough button. The paperwork was handed off, a terse good bye given, and Teddy took Florence's arm to apparate the pair of them to his house.
He felt nervous, as though his humble little home would not be enough for the blonde. They walked through the kitchen, Teddy assuring her that she could help herself to food and drink and that he liked to stock the fridge at the farmer's market on Saturdays. A whine and a scratch from outside was her preliminary introduction to Lily's dog, who was certainly excited to have more company in the home. He explained that he wasn't here often, now that he worked at Hogwarts, but would definitely be back for the summer holidays which, he supposed, was really the only time she needed the supervision anyway.
They finally reached her room on the second floor, decorated in light purple, traces of Lily left in a pair of abandoned sneakers, and a shelf full of books she had not taken with her. The desk was stocked with stationary, a small tell placed across from the bed, the curtains drawn to let light in from outside. He turned to Florence and said, "We can change it however you'd like. We can get some paint and find something less... lilac. If you'd like."
by 
