A/N: Yeah, I know, I should be updating Smile, Harry!, but the sixth chapter is with my Beta and I didn't feel like working on the seventh. Sorry. Anyway, here's a cute little Teddy one-shot for you. He's so adorable! R&R, I hope you like it!
No matter how small, the eleven-year-old was easily picked out in any crowd. His brightly-colored hair allowed his godfather to keep an eye on him.
Teddy sat under an old oak tree in front of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, one that Harry remembered muddling through his homework under as a thirteen-year-old.
"Bloody hell, and I thought this tree was ancient when I was in my third year!" Harry exclaimed to let the child know that he had been discovered.
"Hiya Uncle Harry," the usually-cheerful Metamorphmagus muttered dejectedly.
"Something wrong, Ted?" Harry inquired gently, sitting beside the boy and handing him a sugar cone stuffed with blueberry chocolate chunk ice cream that dripped in sticky purple streams on to Teddy's hand.
Teddy took his time licking around the edge of the cone, gathering his muddled thoughts. He had never been too good with organizing his mind, a trait Aunt Ginny affectionately informed him that he got from his mother. They swirled and dipped and crisscrossed like Uncle Harry on a Firebolt, chasing a particularly fast Snitch. They exploded in colored light like Uncle George's fireworks, and his keen, wolfish senses (these courtesy of his father) were sent into a panicked overload that the child had no idea how to deal with. And so that was how they came out of his mouth, in a mess that needed to be sorted out verbally before he could finally get across what he was trying to say.
"It's my parents," he blurted out suddenly, and Harry's head shot up, smearing cherry walnut ice cream over his chin. He wiped at it and met Teddy's sincere gaze with the eyes of the concerned father he'd become to the little boy.
"Your parents?" he prompted when Teddy didn't continue immediately.
"Yeah. You know how you told me that when you got your wand, red and gold sparks came out of it?"
When Harry nodded, puzzled, Teddy said, "Well, when I got my wand, there were red and gold sparks at first, but then I waved it again and they were black and yellow. Don't the sparks usually reflect what House you belong in?"
"I don't know that much about wandlore, Teddy," Harry protested.
"Some master of the Elder Wand you are," his godson grumbled, and Harry barked out a startled laugh.
"Ted...what's really bothering you?" he inquired, shaking his head and nudging the boy in the ribs.
Teddy's lower lip poked out in indignation at Harry's mirth.
"Dad was in Gryffindor and Mummy was in Hufflepuff, right?"
"That's right..." Harry confirmed, his eyebrows knit in confusion.
"Well then, which House am I supposed to be in?" Teddy burst out with all the patience of a five year old being withheld candy.
Harry blinked. "What?"
"I want to...y'know...honor them both and all that, but I can't be in two Houses," he clarified, his still-chubby face scrunched up in exasperation.
Harry felt entirely lost in this territory. He had never had this problem - both his mother and father had been in the same House, and the feeling of honoring them through his Hogwarts House had never occurred to him as an issue.
"Teddy, both of your parents will be beyond proud of you wherever you end up. There are plenty of ways that you can honor them that have nothing to do with your school House. Besides, you might not be in either Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. You're certainly smart enough to be in Ravenclaw!" Harry added, ruffling Teddy's turquoise locks affectionately.
Teddy huffed. "But I don't want to be in Ravenclaw," he protested fiercely.
"Ted, you're not to worry about this. Your parents wouldn't stop loving you if you weren't in the "right" House. You'll just have to believe that you ended up in the right place for you, and honor your House and school as well as your family," Harry said firmly.
The closure of the discussion didn't take the young wizard's mind off of it. He stewed in it for a few days whenever he was alone, and by the first of September, he could hardly stand it anymore.
"What'll I do?" he whispered to Harry as his godfather lifted his trunk into the compartment with Teddy.
"You, Teddy Remus Lupin, will hold your head high, smile, and know that your parents are looking on with as much excitement and pride as they would be if they were back home waiting for your letter," Harry told him softly, pulling the boy into a hug.
Teddy's chin trembled slightly, but then he screwed his eyes shut and clenched his hands into fists, sure to hide his expression from his two younger "cousins".
"I will, Uncle Harry," he murmured.
"I know you will, Ted. Now, go say goodbye to James and Al, and give Gramma 'Dromeda and Aunt Ginny their hugs. Then get on that train and go make some new friends, yeah?"
Teddy nodded and allowed his blubbering grandmother to pull him into a fierce embrace.
"Now, you be good, young man - write to us - don't get into trouble - pay attention in class -"
"Make some trouble for us, Teddy!" James cried gleefully up at his friend - he seemed to have gotten over the severe disappointment he'd suffered when he'd realized that he wouldn't be going to Hogwarts at the same time as his beloved cousin - at least, enough to give him a few prank ideas that were far too devious for a three-year-old who'd just learned to enunciate most of his words properly.
"You've gotta tell us evwything," little two-year-old Albus whispered earnestly from where he toddled at Ginny's side, his green eyes wide and glazed with the effort to hide his sadness that Teddy was "gonna leave for a long time!" as he'd put it mournfully to his mother the day before.
"Go down to Hagrid's when you have time, he'll want to see you," Harry called to Teddy. "Don't duel anyone, don't let anyone toss you around, and choose your friends wisely -"
"Stay out of Peeves' way, remember you promised Victoire you'd write to her, and don't go looking for trouble," a heavily-pregnant Ginny added as Teddy kissed her cheek with the sweet smile he saved only for his favorite aunt. "And if anyone tries to bully you, remember that incantation I taught you, okay?"
"Mucus Ad Nauseam," he chanted confidently and with a slight smirk reminiscent of his Uncle George.
"Gin! You taught him the Bat-Bogey Hex?" Harry cried with an incredulous look at his wife.
"Yes, I did, and he's going to be fabulous at it. It's a powerful hex, Ted, it takes a real powerful Witch or Wizard to cast it well," she added with a wink at the boy.
"Conceited much?" Harry muttered teasingly, turning away to hide a grin.
Teddy giggled and gave his Aunt a swift kiss on the cheek, saying, "Bye Aunt Gin, bye baby!" to her and his unborn cousin.
After a last round of goodbyes, warning, hugs, and reminders, Teddy clambered into the train and Harry closed the door of the compartment, backing away.
As the Hogwarts Express coughed up steam and choked out a warning whistle, Harry caught Teddy's eye and called, "Chin up!" just as the train ground to life and began its journey to Scotland.
It took a lot to render Teddy Lupin speechless, but Hogwarts Castle was doing a fair job of it. The walls of silvery stone were even grander than any of his family could have described. The translucent ghosts that floated lazily through the Entrance Hall, arguing about the resident Poltergeist were just the right amounts of both comic and eerie. And the Great Hall - oh, the Great Hall!
Candles suspended in mid-air glowed ethereally and the torches that lined the walls illuminated everything cheerfully - except, perhaps, the Slytherin table, which didn't look like much of anything could make it cheerful.
Led by Professor Flitwick, the diminutive Charms teacher and Deputy Headmaster under Headmistress McGonagall, the new batch of first years were shuffled into an untidy line at the front of the room, each small face appearing more terrified and awe-filled than the next.
"Welcome, first years!" Flitwick squeaked. "Now, I will read your names off. When you are called, you will step up to be Sorted!"
The way his voice went up at the end of each sentence made the Professor sound overly-excited. Or perhaps he really was, it was hard to tell if he was bouncing as he walked or simply trying to keep up with the stampede of eleven-year-olds, all at least a head taller than him.
As the Sorting began with "Branch, Anthony" (who was deemed a Ravenclaw within seconds), Teddy turned to the sandy-haired, wide-eyed boy just behind him, who on the train had introduced himself as Sean O'Sullivan in a heavy Irish lilt that made Teddy smile.
"What House d'you want to be in?" he asked, surprised it hadn't come up earlier in their conversations - it was usually one of the basics: What's your name? Where are you from? Do you have siblings? Did your family fight in the war against Voldemort? What House do you want to be Sorted into? But somehow, this crucial point had been ignored in light of debates about Quidditch teams.
"I dunno - I s'pose Gryffindor wouldn't be bad, but none of them seem horrible. Except maybe that lot," he added, wrinkling his freckled nose at the Slytherins.
Teddy sniggered and scrunched up his own nose so that it looked like that of a girl at the Snakes' table with an almost piggish face.
Sean struggled to hide his laughter as Teddy hastily turned his face back to normal as a girl ahead of them in line shot them a nasty look.
Sean had, to Teddy's delight, found the Metamorphmagus ability that Teddy had inherited from his mother "bloody awesome!", rather than freakish and weird as the young boy had been concerned he would.
"Lupin, Theodore!" Flitwick called out, and Teddy remembered to be nervous again.
His lunch seemed to have transformed into hundreds of Snitches as he settled on the old three-legged stool with the air of a man marching to his execution.
Chin up! Uncle Harry's voice echoed and he held his head high as the Sorting Hat slipped over his eyes.
Well now! A Lupin, eh? Wasn't sure if I'd see another one of you...
'Er, hello,'Teddy thought hesitantly.
Hello, the Hat replied, with as much cheek as a Hat could muster. Now then, what shall I do with you?
'Please, Mr. Hat, I don't know what to do!'
And why not, Theodore?
'Well, I'd like to be in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff -'
- And you'd certainly fit well in either! -
'- But I don't want to only honor one of my parents!'
Silence filled the darkened inside of the Hat for a moment, and then it did the last thing Teddy would've expected - it chuckled. It's laughter reverberated in Teddy's mind as the poor boy sat dumbstruck, waiting for his fate to be decided by the amused magical object.
Why, you dear boy! And how many times have I said it - Hogwarts stands united. Why anyone would value one trait above the others is beyond me. You see - the bravery of Gryffindor is nothing without the cunning of Slytherin, which is nothing without the intelligence of Ravenclaw, which is nothing without the integrity and hard work of Hufflepuff. That is why the Founders Four chose to work together. By being in one House, you will not be dishonoring the other parent, child.
'You sound like my godfather Harry.'
I quite liked your godfather, the Hat replied cheerfully, but what of you? Now...you've got quite the mind, though I seem to think you'd be rather unhappy in Ravenclaw House. As for Slytherin, you simply haven't got the subtlety. (At this, Teddy suppressed a giggle of both glee at being spared from the House of Snakes and ruefulness at the Hat's reiteration of something that both his Aunt Ginny and his Gramma assured him of over and over again.) Gryffindor - you've certainly got the courage for it! And Hufflepuff...now...Helga would've loved you. Hand-picked you, I reckon. She and Godric would've had a bit of a quarrel over you, if I'm not mistaken.
'So what'll it be?'Teddy couldn't help inquiring.
Hmm...I think you'll do well in... "HUFFLEPUFF!" the Hat declared, the last part being shouted for the benefit of the entire Hall.
The Hat was lifted off his head, ruffling his turquoise hair. Sliding off the stool, he shuffled to the table filled with a sea of yellow and black.
"Welcome to Hufflepuff!" a jovial-looking ghost greeted heartily as Teddy settled in a seat by him.
As Sean's name was called, Teddy crossed his fingers in the folds of his robes. It was only seconds before he was chosen for Gryffindor. Sean waved to him from the Lion's table, grinning. Teddy smiled back, relieved - the Houses didn't matter, and he got to keep his Irish friend.
McGonagall's speech was given, the platters of food appeared, and hands and voices crossed over the table to reach for them. Teddy ducked his head and turned his hair the light brown of his father's.
Sorry, Daddy. I love you both.
Dear Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny, James-Siri, Al-Sev (and the baby if she ever reads this when she's older),
Hogwarts is as amazing as you described it, Uncle Harry and Aunt Gin! It's enormous, and the staircases move around and my new friend Sean keeps getting stuck in the trick step! I think he's doing it on purpose now. You'd like him, Jamie.
The Sorting Hat took ages to place me. We had a really interesting conversation, though. He said I'd do really well in Hufflepuff or Gryffindor, but in the end I was placed in Hufflepuff like Mum.
I remembered what you said, Uncle Harry, about being able to honor them in whatever House I was put in, so I've been keeping my hair like Dad's was in those pictures, and I've found the passage under the Whomping Willow and explored the Shrieking Shack - Sean and I didn't get caught, either! (He's in Gryffindor, so of course he wanted to come along. The Marauders are Gryffindor legends! Also, he found out that you're my Godfather, Uncle Harry, and he wonders if you could send him an autograph. He thinks you're real brave! And he said Aunt Gin is pretty, but I told him never to say that in front of you, Uncle Harry.)
To Al,
You won't believe it when you finally come! It's too bad I'll have graduated by then. But I'll tell you everything I find so you're prepared.
To Jamie,
I'll play pranks on the Slytherins, but no one else. I can't prank my own House, and Gryffindor pranks scare me. And Ravenclaws are too smart; I don't want to get on their bad side! But most of the Slytherins are so nasty that they deserve it!
To Gramma 'Dromeda,
I'm having loads of fun, and I've made lots of new friends. Classes are really hard, but most of them are pretty interesting. Don't worry about me.
Oh, and thanks for the sweets you sent! I love Honeydukes chocolate! Is it true my Dad did too?
Anyway, I can't wait to see you for the Christmas Hols! Say hi to Aunt Fleur and Uncle Bill and Vic, and Aunt 'Mione and Uncle Ron and Rosie, and Gramma Molly and Grandpa Arthur and everyone else.
Love,
Teddy
Thanks to Readergirl99 for the correct incantation for the Bat-Bogey Hex. (It's from Pottermore...silly me, should've checked there. :P)
A/N: So, how did you like it? If you want, I'll write a story about Teddy and Victoire, and maybe one about Lily's birth from Teddy's point of view.