"Uncle Harry! Uncle Harry Harry Harry!"
Harry Potter had been enjoying his evening with a good issue of Quidditch Weekly before a blue-haired cannonball rocketed into him, yelling excitedly and clutching something. Harry sighed and put the magazine down, then lifted seven year old Teddy onto his lap.
"Hey Teddy Bear," He said, tickling his tummy. Teddy squealed with laughter, his hair turning bright yellow. "Don't call me Teddy Bear!" He shrieked, and Harry was hit with a momentary wave of nostalgia. How many times had he heard that phrase before? Harry chuckled and stopped. "What's up, Teddy?" He asked. The boy grinned and showed his uncle what he was holding. It was a photograph, one Harry knew all too well.
"I found this in our attic, and I wanted to know who all the people are and when I asked Grandma, she told me to ask you. And then she looked all sad." Harry examined the picture. It was the one of the original Order of the Phoenix. Sirius had shown it to him once, and pointed out all the people. Harry still remembered each one. How could he forget all those people who had given their lives to helping bring down Lord Voldemort?
He smiled at Teddy. "Well, this is a picture of a bunch of people who were in a secret organization." He said. "Like spies? Undercover spies?" Harry grimaced. "I guess, but they were good spies. Very good people who fought bad people. Do you want me to tell you what their names are?" Teddy nodded eagerly.
"This is Alastor Moody. He was a great fighter and wizard." Harry said, remembering the night he had died. Then he put his finger on Hagrid's huge figure. "Hagrid!" Teddy exclaimed. "I didn't know Hagrid was a spy. He's too big to be one, isn't he? He wouldn't be very… err… stealthy. But don't tell him I said that." Harry chortled. "These are Uncle Neville's parents," He said next. "Frank and Alice. They… um… died in St. Mungo's a few years ago." Teddy nodded solemnly. "And Albus Dumbledore. Greatest wizard of his age and best Hogwarts headmaster." He said. Teddy was hanging on to his every word now.
"This is Sirius Black, my godfather." He said. Teddy looked surprised. "Just like how you're my godfather?" He asked. Harry nodded. "Yeah, he was a pretty reckless godfather." Teddy smiled at this. "You're pretty reckless too, Uncle Harry. Nobody would dare make Aunt Ginny mad, but you did it!" Harry choked out a laugh, trying to stop himself from tearing up.
"And… uh… my parents. James and Lily." He said. Teddy nodded. He knew a bit about Harry's parents, but not the details. He patted Harry's arm soothingly. Harry bit back a chuckle at this, as much as he wanted to cry. He had gotten to the worst part.
"Um… this is Remus Lupin. You know him, right?" Teddy laughed. "Of course I do, Uncle Harry. He's my dad!" he looked at the picture closer. "I wish I could meet him," Teddy said. "And mum." Harry felt tears at his eyelashes, then decided that he couldn't afford to cry in front of his own godson.
"I know how you feel, Teddy Bear. My parents died when I was barely a year old too." Teddy bit his lip and nodded. "A wise man once said that the ones we love never truly leave us." Harry continued. Teddy smiled. "That's a good thing to think about."
And Harry swore he felt the ghosts of James, Lily, Remus and Tonks watching over them at that moment. He smiled a little, and saw Teddy do the same. He felt them too.