Written for Round 6 of the Quidditch League Fanfiction competition. My prompt was that my character should write a letter to people they barely knew. My additional prompts were (word)lonesome, (quote) "I always find it more difficult to say the things I mean than the things I don't" – W. Somerset Maughan and (emotion)happiness.

Teddy Lupin sighed, sitting at the small, cluttered desk in the empty dormitory. The letter he had received from Harry was lying next to the blank parchment which he had placed in front of him the moment he had sat down. He glanced over at it, his mouth set in a tight line, showing his indecision about the matter at hand. That was why he had chosen to wait until the dorm was empty before he did anything- he didn't want to feel his friends' stares as he decided what to do, it would only rush him into doing something that he would possibly later regret. He didn't know how long he just sat at that desk, contemplating while he stared at the almost unreadable scribble that was his godfather's handwriting. Finally, his movements still hesitant and uncertain, he picked up his quill from where he'd left it in his ink pot, scraping off the extra ink on the side of the small ink bottle as he thought about what he was actually going to write.

Dear Mum and Dad

Harry said that it would be a good idea to write to you. I'm about to leave Hogwarts, and he said that because you couldn't be here physically, I should write a letter to you, to entertain the versions of you that are here in spirit. Of course, he didn't word it like that, but that was the gist of what he meant. I thought...well, to be honest with you I thought it was a bad idea, not that I said that to Harry - he's only trying to do what he thinks is best for me and I appreciate it. But I'm doing it whether I think it's a good idea or not. In the hope that maybe my more pessimistic side is wrong.

I'm happy, mostly. I've got an amazing girlfriend, - Victoire Weasley, you'd love her. Apparently she's as feisty as mum - my family is great... but sometimes I feel like something is wrong. Like I'm missing something. And I know it's you. I'm proud of you, of what you did. Harry explained everything to me eventually. I understand what you did, why you did it...but I miss you. I feel like it's selfish, wanting you here, but I can't help it. Sometimes I just feel so lonely and I know it's irrational. Like I said, amazing girlfriend and family, it doesn't make sense for me to be lonely. But there are things I wish you were here for. Maybe that's where the lonely feeling comes from. From not having you here, even for the simple things. Like family dinners and arguments and for seeing me off to Hogwarts...

I know ghosts are real. Spirits can remain. And as much as my pessimistic side likes to argue with it, I'd like to think you are both here. Just as silent, invisible ghosts. I hope you heard the prayers I used to send you every night when I was younger. Writing this feels a lot easier than those prayers did. Then again, sometimes it's hard to say the things you really mean. It's easier to write them or sing them or whatever.

Merlin, I better stop talking - well, writing, but you get what I mean - like that. I'll start crying and then you will definitely not be able to read this letter. Damn ink smudges.

Victoire. I'll talk about her - she always makes the tears go away. She's so beautiful - I'd do anything just to see her smile or hear her laugh. And she's funny. Incredibly smart too. She knows how to argue like a champ as well - always stubborn, even if she's just making stuff up as she goes along to make her argument work. I wouldn't have her any other way though. I don't think I'd be the way I am now without Vic. I've dated other girls, but... none of them made me feel like this. It's safe to say I love her. I think she loves me too - at least I hope she does. We haven't said it yet though. I think it'll probably happen soon. It's hard not to just blurt it out sometimes. Maybe that's a sign that I really should just say something. I wish I could ask you.

Dad...Harry told me that you were a werewolf, that you were worried I'd become one too. If it gives you peace of mind, I'm not - I'm a metamorphmagus like mum - but even if I was, I wouldn't mind. You were a werewolf and you got by just fine. Better than fine, considering how many other werewolves have acted throughout history. I'm glad you found mum too, someone to make you realize you aren't the monster you were painting yourself as. Also, if you guys hadn't gotten together, then I wouldn't be here...and that would be a bit rubbish...

I know I've said I wish a couple of times in this letter. I wish for a lot of things. Most of all, I wish I knew you better. Strangely enough, I've never wished that you didn't do what you did. I guess I know that if you hadn't fought then this life would be worse than I could ever imagine. But I wish I knew more. Harry doesn't know as much as either of us wish he did, neither do the Weasleys... they've all told me as much as they can, but... I want to know what you were like when you were my age. What you did, why you did it, whether or not you regret anything... all the things that Harry can't tell me. Gran has told me a lot about mum though, so that helps. I still want to know more though, since kids never tell their parents everything and I know her stories will probably have been slightly altered so I wouldn't get any ideas - I get into enough trouble, pulling pranks, as it is. Apparently I got that from both of you. I have no idea how I ever became a prefect. I still think McGonagall was mental for ever giving me that badge.

I should probably go now; I've got a date with Vic tonight. Dinner in the Room of Requirement - thank Merlin for Harry telling me the existence of that. I don't think I would've been able to survive the past seven years without it. I love you and miss you.

Your son,

Teddy Lupin

Teddy put down his quill, reading the letter over as the ink dried. He swallowed thickly, blinking back tears as he rolled up the parchment and tied it with a spare piece of string. He picked up that and the letter from Harry, stowing them in his trunk before he left to go meet Victoire. He made a mental promise to leave the letter the next time he visited his parents' grave.