He supposed he should be grateful, yet detention, no matter who it was with, was still detention. The twelve-year-old made a face as he climbed over a particularly large tree root, glancing around the Forbidden Forest. For some reason, the place never held the fear for him that it did for many others. Part of him felt like he belonged here, the same part the preferred his steak raw and growled when angered. He shook these feelings off, however, and continued to help Hagrid search the ground for mooncalf dung at the request of Professor Longbottom.
Teddy looked up at the full moon with a sigh, his heart giving a leap every time he thought he heard the howl of a wolf. He knew what his father was, and thought no less of the man that fought beside his mother so he could live a safer, better life. Sure, he wished they were still with him, almost painfully so, but he had long since given up anger toward them regarding their passing. Any connection to his father, including nights with a full moon, Teddy held dear. Hagrid knew this and the boy suspected this to be the reason the half-giant had offered to give him detention for breaking curfew rather than have Filch use any of his own means.
"Alrigh', there, Teddy?" called Hagrid through the trees, his deep voice booming despite the gentleness of his tone.
"Yeah, fine!" he called back, scanning the ground for any particular mounds of, well, crap. What in the world was he looking for? Did mooncalf leavings glow in the dark? Sparkle? Sing when you got close?
And then, he saw it. By the light of the full moon, in his musings about the appearance or special characteristics of mooncalf dung, something shimmered and caught his eye. Biting his lip and looking behind him for signs of Hagrid, the boy knelt down and sifted through the dirt and leaves to find a peculiar ring, its stone cracked down the middle of a rather unusual symbol.
"What the…" he trailed off as he inspected the peculiar piece of jewelry sitting innocently in his right hand. It could have been nothing, a useless ring tossed aside once the cheap thing broke, but something told Teddy there was more to it than that. The way it appeared, the way it felt in his hand, assured the child that it was anything but cheap and worth tossing aside so carelessly. The stone felt heavy, albeit damaged, and the band didn't bend or break, or show any sign of weakness whatsoever.
Taking another careful look around, Teddy began to turn the stone in his hand, his curiosity growing as the moonlight flickered off the surface of the split stone.
"You really shouldn't be playing with that," came a man's voice behind him, soothing and kind. However, the mere fact that another person was there, right behind him no less, startled the boy so much the ring fell from his hand and he turned his wide-eyes toward the speaker. His surprise only increased ten-fold at the realization of whom he was looking at, both of their forms not quite living, but more than just spirits or a dream. They seemed real enough, though he knew they couldn't be despite seeing them standing before his eyes. Yet, he still had to ask…
"Mum? Dad?" he felt himself barely squeak out, his eyes darting between them as they smiled and nodded. Did he fall and hit his head? Typical. Leave it to him to knock his brains out in the Forbidden Forest. "I must be going mental…"
"You're not. Well, not yet," came the sweet voice of his mother, a hint of teasing in her tone as she reached out a hand to help him off the ground. Tonks looked as she had roughly thirteen years ago, right after she had married Remus and before they had realized the life they would soon bring into the world. Her smile was bright and cheerful, her hair her favorite bubblegum pink. Remus, on the other hand, looked more worn but no less happy as he stood there before his son, beaming down at the boy who looked so like him in his natural form.
"But…but you're…you're…" Teddy tried to articulate his thoughts, but to no avail. There were simply no words as he suddenly found himself on his feet thanks to his mother, who was now brushing off his shirt.
"Dead?" Remus asked, arching an eyebrow. At Teddy's sad nod, the man gave a bittersweet smile and gently put his hand to his son's cheek. "We are. And as hard as it may be to hear it, and please understand it's hard to say it, there is no true way of coming back. There are ways to imitate life, to be a shadow or reflection of what one used to be, but it's never truly living. Do you understand?"
At his father's question, the boy just looked at him and quietly shook his head. The shock was still present in his hazel eyes, the confusion leaving him looking like a sort of stunned statue. Finally, he seemed to find his voice and argued, "But, you're here. You're right here. You have to be back because I'm talking right to you."
At this, Remus looked toward his wife and sighed. "Come, let's walk," he told his son, the boy hesitating before giving a small nod. This could be dark magic, they could be leading him toward a giant spider to get devoured whole, but this hardly mattered to him now.
