So, I came up with the idea for this story last night when I was trying to go to sleep. So I woke up this morning and spent 4 hours typing this up, looking in the books for reference, and editing.
I'm just now warning you: this fanfiction contains mentions of slash. And it's a little anti-RLNT. I love Remus, and I love Tonks, but I don't love them together.
Disclaimer: Anything you recognize, I DON'T OWN! I'm just a poor, lonely muggle who get to play with JKR's characters when she lets me.
Here it is! Hope you like.
"Grandmum?" Teddy asked, walking into the living room where his mother was sitting. Teddy sat down and smiled. He knew that this was a touchy subject for his mother, and he decided to bring it up slowly.
"Yes, Teddy?" Andromeda Tonks asked, glancing up from her book. With one glance, she knew something was up. Teddy was fidgeting. He only fidgeted when he was nervous or excited.
"Um…I just wanted to talk." Andromeda put her book down next to her and gave Teddy her full attention.
"Yes? What about?" She asked. She had a bad feeling she knew what this was about.
Teddy took a deep breath. "My parents." Teddy looked up. "But I don't just want the same stuff I've been getting my whole life. That she was a metamorphmagus and he was a werewolf and that they gave their lives so I could live."
Andromeda gave a sad smile. "I knew this was coming, and I'm ready with an answer. A real answer. But first, you must understand. Some of this might be hard for you to hear. All I ask is that you listen to me. Both of your parents were good people. But even the best of people make mistakes. They were human. Next, you must know that I don't know the whole story. I have the most important parts, but there are details that I don't know." Teddy had stopped fidgeting and was leaning forward in eager anticipation for the information he was finally getting. Andromeda took a deep breath and began.
"I'll start with your father. He was bitten by a werewolf named Fenrir Greyback when he was very small, I think around the time he was four or five. He never expected to be able to go to Hogwarts, because of his condition. But then Albus Dumbledore became headmaster, and allowed him to go. For the first time in his life, he had friends. Three boys, named James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew. They were all in Gryffindor."
"That's Harry's dad, right? And Sirius was your cousin?"
"Exactly right. The four of them were pranksters. They called themselves the Marauders. Your father was not as much of a joker as the other three, but he was the mastermind behind several legendary pranks." Andromeda laughed.
"Sometime in their second or third year, Sirius, Peter, and James figured out what Remus was. Instead of abandoning him, they decided to become animagi, so they could join him, because, you see, werewolves are only dangerous to humans, not animals. By their fifth year, they managed it. James was a…stag, I believe, Sirius was a dog, and Peter was a rat. They explored Hogwarts at night during the full moons, which was reckless and dangerous, but they didn't care. Your father was happy. Then he did something that I think he never forgave himself for."
"What?" Teddy asked.
"He fell in love." Andromeda said simply.
"What? Why was that bad?" Teddy said, confused.
"Well, he thought he was a monster. Thought he was too dangerous."
"Who was it?" Andromeda took a deep breath and let it out, staring at the floor.
"Are you sure you want to hear this?"
"Yes," Teddy answered. His dad couldn't have fallen for anyone THAT bad. Andromeda ran a hand through her hair and sighed.
"It was Sirius Black." Teddy's face went from confused to surprised at a comical rate. Andromeda would have laughed if it weren't so serious.
"WHAT?" Teddy yelled, standing up. "My dad was GAY?" Teddy flopped back down on the couch.
"Are you okay?" Andromeda asked.
"Yes, it's just a bit of a surprise." He said.
"Yes, it was for me, too. But he wasn't gay. He was bisexual. And he fell in love with his best friend. I'm not sure about the whole story here. From bits of the story I've heard and what I pieced together, this is what I think happened. It was their fifth year. They had both been drinking, and your father blurted out that he was bi and that he fancied Sirius. Sirius wanted to…experiment." Andromeda was choosing her words carefully. "So they kissed. They dated in secret, with only James and Peter knowing.
"Now this is where your mother comes into the story. I was always Sirius's favorite cousin. When I had your mother, Sirius said he would come visit as soon as possible, which ended up being the summer before their sixth year. Sirius ran away from home and went to live with the Potters. He and Remus came to visit me. I don't know where James was, but for some reason he didn't come. But anyway, they absolutely adored Dora. I went out with your grandfather one night, leaving them to babysit. When I came home, Dora was asleep, and the two boys were snogging on the couch." Andromeda chuckled at the memory.
"They told me everything, and I, like you, was a bit surprised, but I supported them. They were in love and happier than I'd ever seen them. They went on, and eventually came out to everyone. Most people took it well, but there were always those few. The few that feel the need to ruin everything for people. But, they dealt with it together, and were as close as ever.
"As soon as they left school, they joined the Order of the Phoenix. That's when everything started to go downhill. There was a spy in the Order. The two best friends-turned-lovers turned against each other. That's what war does to you. They each thought the other was the spy and not to be trusted. They broke up. Sirius started to date a woman who was in Gryffindor with him at school. Her name was Marlene McKinnon. She went missing a few weeks before Harry's parents were killed. As it turns out, neither Sirius nor Remus was a spy. It was Peter Pettigrew, but no one knew this. Peter framed Sirius for the deaths of James and Lily Potter, 12 muggles on a street, and Peter Pettigrew himself. Sirius was thrown in Azkaban. Remus wrote Sirius one time while he was in Azkaban, and that was to inform him that the bodies of Marlene McKinnon and her family were found. They were all dead.
"Remus started dating Mary McDonald, but she, too, was murdered. One of the last murders, actually, that my dear sister Bellatrix performed before she went to Azkaban." There was a deep hatred in Andromeda's voice that Teddy had never heard before.
Thirteen years went by. I kept in contact with your father a bit. We wrote letters occasionally. He had pulled himself together, but he was always hurting on the inside. Neither one of us could believe that Sirius had done such a thing. But he did, or so we thought.
"Now I'm going to switch stories for a bit. Your mother. Well, your mother was clumsy, random, weird, and almost always cheerful. She had a better childhood, I think, than your father did. People loved her. She was very nice and could make friends with anyone. It was no surprise to me when she was sorted into Hufflepuff at Hogwarts. It also wasn't a surprise for me when she made a best friend on her very first day there. It was Charlie Weasley. Usually, on the first day of Hogwarts, people stick to their own houses when trying to make friends. She, of course, had to break this tradition and find her best friend in a Gryffindor. They hung out all the time. By the end of first year, Charlie knew her better than she knew herself. They were inseparable through out Hogwarts.
"But, like the friendship of Sirius and Remus, the friendship of Charlie and Dora turned into love. They started dating. I knew that was going to happen all along. They were just too perfect for each other."
"What happened?" Teddy had been quiet through most of the story, but had to speak up for this. If they were so perfect for each other, then something must've happened to break them up.
"Charlie loved dragons. He liked a bit of adventure. So when Hogwarts was over, he moved to Romania so he could work with them. Dora was training to be an Auror and couldn't move with him. They tried to keep their relationship going, long-distance, but it didn't work and they parted as friends. Your mother was so unhappy and she lost her metamorphmagus power for a brief period of time.
"Now, back to Sirius and Remus. Twelve years after Sirius was thrown in Azkaban, he figured out how to escape. He knew he was innocent and that helped him to keep his mind. He managed to turn into a dog and slip through the bars. Your father was working at Hogwarts as a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He was Harry's favorite teacher. At the end of the year, Remus and Sirius reunited. Sirius explained about how he was framed, and they caught Peter, who had been living as Ron Weasley's rat. It was the full moon, though, and Remus transformed, giving Peter a great chance to run away. Sirius still had to stay hidden, though."
"What good did breaking out of Azkaban do? Everyone still thought he was guilty and they didn't catch Peter!"
"Yes, but now his friends knew he was innocent. More importantly, Albus Dumbledore knew he was innocent. And they knew that Voldemort now had a faithful follower. They knew that it was only a matter of time before Voldemort came back. Plus, he was out of the grasp of the dementors." Andromeda shuddered, but went back to her story.
"Sirius stayed on the run for a year, and he didn't to see Remus or Harry that much. Dumbledore sent me an owl telling me that he was alive and innocent. Your father was trying to find a job, unsuccessfully, I might add. No one wants to hire a werewolf. Then Voldemort came back. They started up the Order again, and used Sirius's house as headquarters. They offered to let me join the Order. I don't really know why I didn't. I guess it was the Slytherin in me. I was afraid. I did go to the Grimmauld Place house sometimes, though. Remus couldn't afford his rent anymore and moved in with Sirius. They started dating again, and just like last time, they kept it a secret. But I knew. I could tell. They were happier than they had been in years, a happiness that only comes from loving someone so unconditionally. But the happiness couldn't last. It was wartime. Sirius was still on the run from the Ministry. Remus was being sent on top-secret, dangerous missions for months at a time. And the Black family house is just a depressing place to live.
"Your mother started to get over Charlie. He sent her an owl telling her that he joined the Order of the Phoenix and thought that she should, too. Dora joined right away. After the first meeting, she came back here and confided in me that she had completely gotten over Charlie. But now, she had fallen head-over-heels for a werewolf in the Order named Remus Lupin. Hearing that, and knowing of his relationship with Sirius, I tried to discourage the crush, telling her that she would only get hurt, without revealing that Remus loved someone else. She thought I didn't like him because he was a werewolf. She didn't know that I knew him. It lead to a couple of arguments between us.
"It continued for a year. Dora nursed the crush, and Remus and Sirius never told anyone of their relationship." Andromeda suddenly looked much older than she was.
"And then Sirius died." Teddy finished quietly. He was listening to the story intently.
"Yes. In the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. In the Death Room, specifically. By my dearest sister Bellatrix," Once again, Teddy heard a loathing in her voice that she saved for when she was talking about her sister. "It was time for Sirius to go. He hated life here. He hated sitting around doing nothing while everyone else got to risk their lives helping to fight Voldemort. He had a troubled life. He never quite got over the dementors in Azkaban. He was miserable."
"How did my dad take it?" Teddy asked.
"Better than I thought he would. He understood that Sirius was probably happier wherever he was and that they would be reunited at some point. But he was still very upset. He had to leave Grimmauld Place and he came to stay with me. I heard him cry himself to sleep. Many times we would just sit there and hold each other. We were probably two of the people who cared for Sirius the most.
"Now, your mother saw how depressed your father was. With Sirius's death, I think she realized that she could be dead at any moment. So she decided to tell him of her crush. She never knew about Sirius and Remus being together. She just thought they were very close friends. But she told Remus of her love a couple weeks after Sirius died. He told her he was too old, too poor, too dangerous. But she loved him anyway. Over a year, he grew to love her and finally they started dating and got married a month later. They did love each other, don't get me wrong, but not as much as she loved Charlie and he loved Sirius. After a while, Dora got pregnant. With you." Andromeda hesitated. She knew that this part of the story would be hardest for Teddy to hear.
"Yes? What happened?" Teddy encouraged. He hadn't heard much about his parents, and now he was learning more than he ever could've hoped.
"He left."
"Dad left mum?" Teddy said quietly.
"Yes. He hated himself. He was fathering a child who very well could've been a werewolf like himself. He couldn't stand the idea of passing on his condition to an innocent child. He went to Harry and asked to go with them on their journey. They had an argument. I don't know what Harry said, but a week later, he was back."
"What did mum do while dad was gone?"
Andromeda sighed. "She came here. Charlie Weasley heard what had happened and came to comfort her. Apparently, he still harbored feelings for her. They had an affair. But, don't blame your mother. Don't blame your father either. They did love each other, but they were human. They made mistakes." Teddy nodded.
"Life was terrible after that. Your granddad had to go on the run. He was caught and killed. I was tortured for the whereabouts of Harry Potter. I didn't know, but even if I had, I wouldn't have told them. But life went on. Dora had you and we found out that you were a metamorphmagus, but weren't a werewolf. Remus reconciled with Harry.
"Then, there was the Battle of Hogwarts. We all knew it was coming. Harry was getting closer and closer to vanquishing Voldemort. Remus got a message that said there would be a fight. He told Dora to stay with me while he fought. Well, Dora wasn't going to take that. She wanted to fight, too. So, despite my objections, she left you here and went off to fight.
"Remus was battling Dolohov. He managed to bring down a couple of Death Eaters, but eventually, Dolohov got the better of him. And he was gone.
"Your mother was dueling her aunt Bellatrix. One minute she was there, then, she was gone." For the first time in the whole story, Andromeda let a single tear fall from her eye. "And Bellatrix laughed. She killed her only niece, and laughed." She gave a dry sob. "Who would've thought that my own sister would be responsible for the deaths of those closest to me?" She let the tears fall for a minute. Teddy could feel his eyes watering as well. She pulled herself together to finish the story.
"I apparated over to Arabella Figg's house and left you there. Then I went to Hogwarts. I saw the bodies of my daughter and son-in-law and cried. The war resumed. I still wish to this day that I had been the one to finish my sister off, but I couldn't do it. I was too grief-stricken. Molly Weasley killed her. The moment she was falling, I saw her look at me. I swear, for one second, I thought I saw a glimpse of remorse, but then it was gone.
"Harry defeated Voldemort. My husband, sister, cousins, daughter, son-in-law, and countless friends were lost in the war. I decided to raise you. And somewhere up in heaven, you have a mum and a dad who are watching you and are so proud. Some day in the far off future, you'll meet them there, and they can tell you this story for themselves." Andromeda finished.
Teddy sat there quietly. He was completely speechless. "Thank you, Grandmum."
"You're welcome, dear," Andromeda said, wiping her eyes dry.
Somewhere up in heaven, two men were holding hands and smiling. Next to them, a woman with pink hair was holding her father and crying happy tears.
All was well.
Ah. That was sad. Well, now. You know the drill...review! Tell me what you think! Now, I must go read my summer reading that I've been procrastinating on. Because, once again, September 1st is nearing and I have yet to recieve my apology letter from Hogwarts saying that there was a mistake and I should've been let into Hogwarts five years ago and if I would like, I could start Hogwarts this year as a first year. But *sigh*, it hasn't come yet. So I must read my summer reading for muggle school. :'(
I'll leave you with a fun fact: This year on September 1st, everyone will gather at Kings Cross Station to say goodbye to Teddy Lupin as he goes off to his first year of Hogwarts.