For as long as he could remember, Teddy had been taken to Victoire's house on her birthday. For a long time there was never an actual birthday party, it was just him and Victoire, and then Dominique, playing as normal. Even odder was the fact that none of the other Weasleys were there; just Fleur, her parents and her sister, Victoire's Aunt Gabrielle. As the years passed and the number of Weasley children increased, Fleur began to organise party games and food, all in a rigorous schedule that was insistent on them all having fun. However, as he grew older, Teddy couldn't help but notice that her smile was fixed and her eyes constantly flicked to the clock on the mantelpiece, where the hand inscribed 'Bill' pointed to 'Important Business'.

When the adult Weasleys, Harry and his grandmother did eventually turn up later on in the day, laden with gifts and compliments for the birthday girl, they too had the same fixed look as Fleur, their smiles seemed slightly forced and his grandmother and Molly often looked as if they had been crying. George was never their either. Charlie would turn up all the way from Romania, but George always seemed to be busy at the shop.

And so Victoire's birthday became another of the 'great mysteries' that Teddy became accustomed to living with. There were so many times when the adults went silent as he walked into a room or their conversation rapidly changed that Teddy knew they were concealing things from him. Victoire confirmed similar experiences within her own family and so they created a notebook entitled 'The Great Mysteries', in which they would record all of the oddities that they had yet to make sense of.

They knew about the war of course and that terrible things had happened, but many of the details were rather sketchy and finding out more was proving to be a rather arduous task. Teddy was sick of hearing the words 'you're too young', but any protests to find out more fell on deaf ears. Victoire and Teddy therefore came to rely on the notebook to make note of any snippets of conversation or small discoveries, or to record the rare occasion when an adult actually bothered to tell them something. Whenever one of them had discovered something of interest, they would find the next possible opportunity to scurry away and scrutinise their findings.

Teddy had just turned nine when the mystery of Victoire's birthday was solved. It had been a stranger year than most because it was the first time that George had made an appearance with the rest of the adults. Teddy had been heading towards the kitchen to get a drink when the sound of raised voices coming from outside stopped him. Casually glancing through the window he saw Ginny and George. Why were they arguing?

"Don't you think I know this isn't what he would have wanted? I thought that I was getting better, I thought I could do it this year."

Getting better? Was George ill? Teddy suddenly felt worried. George was one of the best Weasleys to hang out with; he always had a joke to share or an exciting new invention to show off. He chanced another peek out of the window. That couldn't be right. He looked again. Was George crying? George didn't cry. He was always laughing. He owned a joke shop. Surely happy was the only emotion George was capable of? There was nothing for it. He was going to have to get Victoire.

"He's definitely crying," Victoire summarised, a few minutes later.

"About what?"

"It's got to be about whatever they do on my birthday, hasn't it? Haven't you noticed that Grandma always looks like she's been crying when she gets back?"

"I know, but how will we ever find out what it is? Shall we put something down in the notebook?"

Victoire looked straight at him, her eyes blazing. Teddy had a feeling what was going to come next. Victoire tossed her hair, in the way her mother did when she had made her mind up about something. "No. We're going to ask them." And with that she grabbed his hand and dragged him into the kitchen.

Bill, who had been chatting to Ron and Charlie, looked over to his daughter.

"You okay, princess?"

"No." Victoire's voice was firm. "There's something we need to know. Where do you go each year on my birthday?"

The three men looked at each other. Ron choked down his mouthful of Butterbeer, his eyes wide. None of them spoke. The room suddenly seemed deathly quiet and the laughs of the other children so far away.

"Well?" Victoire demanded, once again adopting her mother's tone.

Teddy suddenly felt very nervous. Surely if anyone wanted them to know what happened on the 2nd May, they would have told them already? What if Bill got mad at them? What if Ron told Harry? What if he told his grandmother?

"You...you...you don't have to tell us, not if you don't want to," he stuttered.

"Teddy!" Victorie hissed.

Bill surveyed them carefully. "It's okay. I think you're old enough to be told now. It shouldn't have to be a secret. May 2nd, your birthday Victoire, is also the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts...the day the war ended. There's a special ceremony held every year that we go to."

If Victoire was shocked by the revelation, she didn't show it. "Surely it's a happy day then?" she quizzed. "So why does everyone look so sad?"

Teddy noticed that Ron and Charlie both averted their eyes, becoming incredibly interested in their fingernails.

"A lot of people died that day," Bill said calmly, "including lots of our friends and our brother Fred." His eyes flicked to a picture that hung on the kitchen wall, in which six red headed boys pushed and shoved each other, all seeming determined not to stand next to their sister."That's why everyone, especially George, finds it such a difficult day."

Teddy found the idea of a battle incredibly hard to imagine. He couldn't understand why people needed to be fighting or would want to kill each other. Surely Fred wasn't that old, how could he end up being dead? There again, his parents weren't old either. He thought of the clipped phrase his grandmother used when she spoke about them; 'they died in the war'.

"Is that when my parents died too?" he asked quietly.

An odd look passed between Bill and Charlie.

"Yes," Charlie's voice croaked. "They fought so hard, so bravely, but there were just so many death eaters...I'm sorry Teddy."

Teddy felt Charlie's large, strong hand squeeze his shoulder before he walked from the room.

"What are death eaters?" piped up Victoire.

Teddy tried to ignore the hollow feeling inside of him and listen to Bill's reply, but all he could think about were the two people whose photos stared down at him from the walls at home. For the first time he imagined their bodies lying motionless on the floor as jets of light shot above them. They weren't old enough to die. Why did they have to go and fight in a battle? Why didn't they stay at home with him? He thought about Victoire and how she would arrive at the Burrow held tightly in Bill's arms, how Fleur would fuss over her and whisper in her ear, making her giggle and how she would pull Dominique and Louis close and read them a story. He felt a stab of jealousy then, that they had parents that loved them, parents that came home and were there to tuck them in at night, to tell them they loved them. They were a family, a proper family. Why did his parents have to go and die in a battle? Why didn't they stay to love him instead?

That evening, Teddy's grandmother seemed to hug him tighter than normal before he went up to bed.

"I know what Bill told you today," she said quietly, still not quite letting him go. "Is there anything else you want to know?"

Teddy looked into her dark eyes, which were full of concern. He had thought of little else but his parents ever since the conversation a few hours ago. Now he was safe in his grandmother's arms he felt as if he could let his guard down; he didn't have to be brave like he did in front of Victoire. His bottom lip started to wobble and a single tear fell down his cheek. "Why did they go to fight and leave me? Why didn't they stay with me instead?"

"Oh, Teddy." His grandmother pulled him even closer and kissed his head softly. "They never wanted to leave you. They wanted to make the world a safe place for you to grow up in. So many terrible things were happening, every day we dreaded hearing the next piece of bad news. They knew they couldn't bring up a child in a world like that. Your parents believed that the world could be a better place and were strong and brave enough to do something about it. They never wanted to go and leave you Teddy and they desperately wanted to return home to you...they would have given anything to return home to you...but it wasn't meant to be."

She ran her fingers lovingly through his hair and carefully studied his face, before leading him to the window and pointing to the stars that were starting to appear in the sky.

"Don't ever think they're not looking down on you Teddy. They are out there somewhere, with your grandfather and Sirius, and they are all so proud of you, of what a beautiful boy you have grown up to be."

Teddy stared fiercely at the stars, keeping his eyes wide to stop the tears that threatened to flow. His grandmother had taught him to recognise the familiar patterns were appearing in the sky and silently he recited the names she had given to them. Ursa major. Ursa minor. Cassiopeia.

He thought back to what Bill had said earlier. The 2nd of May was the day that the war had ended. His parents, and so many others, had made the world a better place. Bad things didn't happen anymore because of what they did.

"I want today, Victoire's birthday, to be a happy day...to be a day when we think about how life got better," Teddy said, pulling his grandmother close again and snuggling in her robes. "It did get better, didn't it? I don't want to grow up feeling sad."

Teddy wasn't old enough to notice the signs of a lifetime's anguish hidden behind his grandmother's eyes, but he recognised the truthfulness and relief in her words as she whispered back to him. "You make everything better, Teddy."

A/N: I hope it doesn't seem too odd that Bill ended up telling Teddy about the Battle of Hogwarts. In my headcannon there would have been lots of conversations amongst the adults about what, how and when to tell the children and I can see them agreeing that it was better to address the questions as they were asked, rather than the sitting them down for a proper talk about it.

This fic will cover a number of moments as Teddy grows up, discovering his past and finding out who he really is.

Disclaimer: Teddy Lupin and the magical world all belong to J.K. Rowling.