I wasn't expecting much for my seventeenth birthday, maybe a new broom kit, some candy from Hogsmeade, or merchandise from George's store. But I never would guess that I would get a vial of my father's memories, yet that is exactly what I got.

On the morning of my birthday I was woken by six owls tapping on the dormitory window. After about a minute of trying to tune them out and go back to sleep I gave up and let them flood into the room. They all perched on the end of my bed, sticking out their legs, each with a package attached. As I slowly awakened I recognized each owl. My godfather Harry's family owl Spock, the elderly Weasley owl by the name of Errol, a school barn owl, Pigwidgeon who is Ron and Hermione's, a huge and majestic Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes bird from George Weasley, and Tolly, my own owl who I had recently sent to my grandmother with a letter.

Deciding that I wasn't going to get back to sleep at all I started gathering the parcels from each of the birds. Of course first came Tolly because she is mine and I hadn't heard from my grandmother for a while.

My grandmother's letter was all about how proud she was of me, how proud my parents would be, how proud my grandfather would be, and about how now that I was seventeen she wouldn't have to make me cut the vegetables by hand anymore… thank Merlin for that.

Next I opened the large square package that was attached to Pigwidgeon. It turned out to be a broom kit from Ron and a stack of books from Hermione. I actually did not mind Hermione's present of books for I did like to read occasionally and she had come to recognize my reading style. I put the books and the kit in my trunk and returned to my bed.

There was a small, oddly shaped parcel and a letter on George's owl which intrigued me. I slowly detached it from the bird's leg, careful not to make it uncomfortable for I did not know it at all. I took off the wrapping on George's present to find a vial filled with a silvery and wispy substance. This gift surprised me and carefully holding the vial I opened up the letter that went with it.

Dear Teddy,

Happy birthday Lupin! You're a lot bigger than you were when we celebrated your first birthday but no matter because you are still a shorty to me.

Now, the vial that I gave you contains the memories of Remus John Lupin, your father. On the night of the battle he gave them to Fred and I to give to you at an appropriate time in case he died. I figured that your seventeenth birthday was as good a time as any (except for your wedding *cough* to Victoria *cough* but that is a bit too far away) to give you this.

Let me say that your father was a very smart, brave and noble man and that he did not wish or plan to die but that he was a great planner and cared for you immensely, he wanted to make sure that you knew him as much as anyone else, if not more.

These memories are his life, the ups, the downs, and the in betweens. Keep them safe and please enjoy them. If you have any questions all of the Weasleys, the Potters, and your grandmother, along with countless other people are here to help and answer anything.

Love,

George Weasley

Ps. you are also welcome to anything in my store as a second gift.

It took a while for it all to sink and I just sat there staring at the vial for around 15 minutes. Those swirling silvery strands were part of my father who I knew only from stories and pictures. I really couldn't believe it. Now my only problem was how to see those memories. I knew I needed a pensieve because of some of the books I had read but I had no idea how to get one or where I might find one. No being able to come up with a solution I took out a pair of socks, laid them on my dresser, and nestled the flask onto them softly. I then went to open the package and letter from my godfather, Harry.

He had given me a little brown, worn diary. When I opened it I realized that it was already opened and many of the pages had pictures in between them. As I focused in on the writing I realized that it was my father's diary from his time at Hogwarts.

I then checked Harry's letter and he confirmed my discoveries. He said that it had indeed been my father's and that the pictures had been taken by all of the marauders at various times during their Hogwarts career. He also said the same stuff about the memories as George had, apparently it had been a sort of combined theme and present for my seventeenth birthday.

I always loved Harry's presents for he was basically a father to me and I had lived with him and his wife Ginny since before they got married, they had raised me as their own along with James, Albus and Lily, their children.

Next I opened the parcel from the Weasleys. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were not as old as my grandmother but they were timeworn, I mean they were grandparents and everything and had about a million grandchildren. Even having all those grandchildren they still somehow remembered me and were always very kind, remembering my birthday and treating me the same as all their grandchildren.

They had given me something of my mum's as well as my dad's. They had given me their wedding rings. My mother's was a diamond stud on a gold band engraved with the words "accept and love differences" while my father's was a simple, heavy golden band. In their letter the Weasleys said that my parents would always watch over me and that this small part of them was something that I should have and that I should cherish forever. They also gave me the interesting fact that the heavy golden band that my father had worn contained a lock of my mother's hair; it had made their marriage even better and their vows even stronger.

I decided that I would buy a gold chain at the next Hogsmeade trip and wear the rings around my neck. I also made a note to ask headmistress McGonagall or Professor Longbottom to help me with a securing charm so that I would never lose them, which would be tragic.

Then, putting the rings in a box and tucking them into a drawer in my bedside table I turned to the final owl, a barn owl from the school. When I opened the letter I was surprised to find that it was not from Professor Longbottom, but from Headmistress McGonagall. Of course it would have been more surprising if it was from Professor Binns, seeing how McGonagall was indeed a family friend. Her letter was very interesting however. It said:

Mr. Teddy Remus Lupin,

Although a Headmistress does not normally gift a child on their birthday I think it might be useful to you to let you know that I have a pensieve in my office and that you may use it if you wish to do so.

Sincerely,

Headmistress McGonagall

P.S. I am an animagus.

Well apparently even the Headmistress had a part in my gift. I was glad that I could use a pensieve though, for I was very excited to finally be on a closer level with my dad, to actually see him in action.

Being raised by Ginny, a fashion conscious woman who taught me from a young age to look appropriate no matter what, I quickly threw on my shirt, pants and tie, taking a moment to peer into the mirror and deciding to rock some blue hair with a brown streak in the front. Being a Metamorphmagus meant that I could change my appearance at any given time, a trait inherited from my mother that was quite useful. I reached for the vial containing my father's memories, committed the password to the office to memory and then hurried into the bathroom. I brushed my teeth, put on deodorant, and rushed out down to the common room and through the portrait hole, heading for the headmistresses office.