He looked over the crowd of people, feeling a kind of detachment from their obvious and voluble joy. The newly graduated class of now-former Hogwarts students were being congratulated and cried over by their parents and grandparents and siblings and assorted other relatives.
Harry, Ginny, and Grandma were waiting for him outside, but it didn't feel the same. It didn't feel the same as having his dad pound his back, nearly knocking him to the floor with the force of his enthusiasm. It wasn't the same as his mum throwing her arms around his neck, almost strangling him in her exuberance and drowning him in her happy tears. It wasn't the same.
"Teddy, do you want to say 'hello'?"
"Huh? Say 'hello'? To who?"
A sad sort of chuckle.
"Say 'hello' to your mum and dad."
"Oh! Where?!"
"Here."
"But—but, there's no one here but you and me, Uncle Harry."
A long pause.
"Someone very wise told me once that no one who really loves us really leaves us. They're always here with us."
"Huh?... I don't understand, Uncle Harry."
"This is where your mum and dad are buried, Teddy. They loved you so much."
He took a deep breath and let it out shakily. The crowd was quietly murmuring in the background, waiting for the big moment.
Harry clapped him on the shoulder and let his hand linger, offering silent support.
He looked at him and smiled gratefully, hoping that his face didn't show how ready he was to throw up from nerves.
He turned to look at the front row, where Gabrielle and the other Delacours and Weasleys were sitting. They beamed happily at him when they caught him looking, and he smiled briefly before glancing away.
Harry was here by his side. In a moment, he would sit where parents of the groom would normally be seated, where Ginny was already waiting. As much he loved Harry, was grateful to him and Ginny, it didn't feel the same. His dad should be here, smiling manfully at him, pretending that he wasn't about to cry. His mum should be here, crying unashamedly into her handkerchief, wailing about her baby boy. It wasn't the same.
"Mum, Dad, sorry I haven't been here in a while. We've been traveling around Europe for the last three years for my job."
"Dad, daddy, dad! Lookie!"
A sad sort of chuckle.
"What do you have there, kiddo? Oh, a butterfly! Be careful there, son, don't hurt it."
"Nu-huh, I won't, daddy!"
"Okay, okay, I trust you."
"Dad, daddy, who are you talking to?"
"I'm talking to your grandpa and grandma."
"But—but, aren't grandpère and grandmère in Lyon?"
"These are your grandpa Remus and grandma Tonks. Do you want to say 'hello'?"
"Oh, oh! Hâllo, grandpère Remus et grandmère Tonks!"
A long pause.
"They would've loved you so much, kiddo. So much."