Alright. Here's the deal.
Anastasia recently hit Broadway with the most BEAUTIFUL SOUNDTRACK. Even if you don't go buy the entire soundtrack, look up Close The Door. PLEASE. That's what this is based on.
While you're at it, look up A Crowd of Thousands and In My Dreams. They have nothing to do with this story, they're just really good. Actually, the soundtrack is only an hour and ten minutes, just try the entire thing?
Also forgive any mistakes, i'm not feeling my best today but oh well. I think i edited it well enough hahaha
It had been twenty years since her daughter and son in law had been killed in the battle of Hogwarts, nineteen since her grandson had vanished in the middle of the night from his godfather's home. She had waited, searched, done everything she could. Between her and Harry's Gringotts vaults, there had been a large reward for any information, a very large reward for his safe return.
After ten years, on Teddy's eleventh birthday, Harry escorted her to Hogwarts, both hoping to hear the same thing- an owl had found Teddy to deliver the letter. Instead Minverva had handed Andromeda the undelivered letter with an apology.
Two days later, Andromeda finally held a funeral for her grandson. There was no body, and Andromeda couldn't bring herself to even have an empty coffin, so she just made sure there was a stone, next to his parents, next to his grandfather.
She had spent the next years focusing on everything but her lost family, until his twentieth birthday, when owls began arriving. People began claiming they knew him, began claiming they were him, began claiming they knew where he was. Andromeda would find out by noon that Harry received the same letters and they were at the Ministry together by noon the next day, in his office, facing the first of ten people who had shown up that day.
Hours later, and Andromeda was destroyed. She couldn't handle it, each person being a false lead was just like losing him all over, just like seeing Harry's pale and panicked face telling her that Teddy was gone all over again...
She just couldn't do it. No more, she decided. Teddy was dead. He was with his parents, he was with his grandfather. Dead and gone.
"Tell them I'm done." Andromeda said, wiping tears from her cheeks as the ninth person left. "No more, I can't do this. My Teddy is gone, Harry, he's been gone for nineteen years and we need to accept that."
Harry nodded, his jaw clenched, his eyes stinging. The fact this was happening now, nineteen years after Teddy's disappearance made it even more painful, how could they possibly move on if people continued to remind them?
Harry turned, walking from his office. Why had all of these young men shown up, now, claiming to be the dead Lupin son? What could possibly be gained from claiming this? Harry and Andromeda had stopped offering the money years ago, there was just no profit from claiming such a thing, unless it was simply for the fame of being the lost godson of the Chosen One...
Ten people had shown up that day, claiming they knew what had happened to the Lupin boy, that they had known him, that they were him... and Andromeda turned each one away with simple questions they answered wrong. If they didn't know Teddy was a Metamorphmagus or a half werewolf, they didn't know him, or they weren't him. Harry walked towards where one last person sat.
"Andromeda is done, you can leave." He said, firmly.
The young man looked up, frowning. "I can't leave, I need to see her." He said. "Please-"
"No. Andromeda is done seeing people." Harry said, standing straighter and staring at the man. He couldn't help but notice the man seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place him.
The man looked hurt, almost deflated as he stared at Harry. "You don't understand." He said quietly, reaching into the pocket of his robe. "I have this."
From his pocket, the man pulled out a small and very worn stuffed wolf. Harry gasped, the shock hitting him like a wave of cold water.
"Where did you get that?" Harry demanded. He knew this stuffed wolf, he had bought it for Teddy right before the first time he met Teddy, it had disappeared the night Teddy had. He had even had Teddy's proper initials sewn into the left ear.
"I've had it my entire life." The man explained. "I saw the article when I was young, saying it belonged to her grandson. I lived in an orphanage most of my life, so I thought maybe... at the very least, she should have it back. If it's the same one, anyway, I mean, it has the E.L in the left ear..."
"What's your name?"
"Edward, but I suppose everyone's said that today, huh?"
"Yes, they have, actually." Harry said.
"I can also- I don't know if it means anything, but..." Edward began, and then he shut his eyes, concentrating and his hair became blue. He opened his eyes and looked at Harry. "I'm a Metamorphmagus if that helps."
Harry stared. No, it couldn't be. It had been a lie they had tricked themselves into believing. Teddy Lupin was dead, he had to be dead.
"What- uh- what do you actually look like?" Harry found himself asking. "When I walked up to you, was that you? Completely you?"
"No." Edward said. "I morph myself to look more like my adopted parents."
"You had adopted parents?"
"While I was in school, yes." Edward said. "I went to Beauxbatons, I was raised in an orphanage in France, except for my school years- orphans who are in school are placed with families."
"You were raised in France?" Harry asked. "Your English is very good, then-"
"My parents weren't French." Edward explained. "They taught me English during the summers, I moved out here when I was done school and just never dropped the morph I had picked up around them."
"Can I ask you what you really look like, then?"
Edward nodded, closing his eyes concentrating again. His features shifted slightly, and Harry was shocked to find himself staring at a much younger Remus Lupin.
This had to be a trick. It just couldn't be true.
"Now, for another crazy question." Harry asked.
"Anything."
"Would you care if I looked at your memories- or a specific one?" Harry asked.
"If they'll help you."
Harry nodded, gesturing for him to follow him. They walked towards Harry's office, and Harry led him inside, closing the door quietly behind him. Andromeda looked up, confused.
"Harry, I said-" She began, but broke off when she looked at the man with Harry. Her eyes were wide as she studied Edward.
"Edward, if I may?" Harry asked, raising his wand.
"Do whatever you must."
Harry pressed his wand against Edward's temple, extracting the memory of the date of Teddy's kidnapping. If it was Teddy, it'd be a very blurry, very hard to see version of it- and if it wasn't, it simply wouldn't be anything. He walked over to the pensieve he had gotten a few years ago, dropping the memory in. He leaned over, submerging himself in a memory from 1999.
The room was blurry, as Harry expected. Any baby near a year old wouldn't remember details, but Harry could tell this was his house. He remembered this room. He watched as a figure straightened up from the crib, and realised it was himself, which meant the baby was Teddy.
That meant... after all these years, Teddy was alive.
He watched as his younger self left, knowing he'd be going down the hall, he'd be asleep in a few minutes- something he'd regret for years- and then it would happen. He waited, watching his watch as the minutes ticked by and then heard the window slide open. Had they really only come to kidnap Teddy Lupin and not kill Harry? He couldn't see who it was, only a figure in black, but he figured he wouldn't be able to because Teddy wouldn't know the person. The figure in black scooped Teddy up surprisingly gently, Teddy's fist clutching the stuffed wolf by its ear, and then the figure slipped passed the older Harry and they were gone- out of the window, gone from sight.
Harry found himself back in his office, Andromeda watching him, but he looked at Edward before speaking.
"I'm so sorry." Harry said. "It was my fault that night, Teddy."
Andromeda looked confused for a moment, and then Harry's words sunk in and she burst into tears, throwing her arms around Edward. "Oh, my boy! My Teddy!" She sobbed.
Teddy hugged her back, his hair shifting to a blue almost unconsciously as he smiled against her shoulder, the stuffed wolf still clutched in one of his hands.