FIRST OFF: THIS IS NOT A TED/JAMES STORY. I am strictly Victoire/Teddy, if you must know ;)

I'm sorry that I'm doing this, and that it's not the most original of stories, but OH MY GOD, I LOVE THESE TIME TRAVEL ONES SO MUCH. I was planning to do it so the kids go back to the Deathly Hallows, and I have started a couple of chapters of it, but I haven't got that particular book in my hands right now, therefore it wouldn't be accurate.

But I HAVE got the Order of the Phoenix, and I enjoy writing it in the Order of the Phoenix. So it's okay.

I do realise that this chapter is quite long. 17 pages, actually. Sorry for going a bit overboard with that.

I also realise that I missed out the intro on how they got in the past in the first place, but I think I'll let that unfold. Mwahahaaa!

I'm sort of writing this story when I'm in my less focused mood, and of course, 'cause its fun ;)

I'm only saying this disclaimer thing once:

I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER BY ANY STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION, BECAUSE, IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED, I AM UNFORTUNATELY NOT J.K ROWLING – WHO'S LEGEND.

So yeah. Sorry for the long description. Enjoy :)

His lungs were burning. His eyes were stinging. He felt like he was at the bottom of the pit of all things heavy. With that thought he heard moaning above him, and it answered all his questions.

'What just happened?' James's voice carried around the room with a groan. 'And why am I lying on top of you?'

'I don't know,' he grumbled, throwing the oldest Potter son to the side so he could stand. When he did, James held out a hand for him to pull with a smirk, and reluctantly he accepted his help. For a frightening moment he thought that Rose was beginning rubbing off him, because he was tempted to give him a rant about how stupid he and Fred was when they were fiddling with the time turners.

The two froze at the same thought. 'You don't think...?' James began.

'Yes,' he confirmed. 'I do.' He didn't bother to mention that James was going to painfully die by the wrath of Rose's peril.

He looked around as James muttered animatedly to himself, starting to become familiar of his surroundings. Damp green paint on the walls that look like they're on the verge of ripping, dusty cobwebs in the corners, squeaky floorboards – it was 12 Grimmauld Place, except it was undoubtedly more darker compared to the last time he came here.

'Where are the others?' Ted suddenly asked. Fear passed through them with a look they had proved to share a lot; James being overly protective for his own good and Ted being the eldest, they'd spend about half of the week worrying about their siblings and cousins. In this silence they heard muffled voices, some low and some quite high, which for him was a start to find their family – or adopted family, in Ted's case.

'Let's go,' said James, and although he was underage he got out his wand the same time Ted turned the doorknob and held out his. To their relief, nobody occupied the hallway.

James leaded the way, since he had perfected sneaking around through the years because of pranks. He truly did look like Harry when he was this determined – except for his eyes, which was a warm shade of hazel, like his mother's. When he heard some recognised voices, he quirked up an eyebrow at Ted in question.

'Don't you dare hold your wand in front of me!' Ted heard Victoire's stubborn voice yell at a gruff one, and sighed. She was far too challenging, even when her side of the argument was unreasonable.

'Victoire, shut up,' a tired Louis told her.

'Where's Teddy? And James?' a confused-sounding Lucy asked, and the look in James's eyes was murderous. For the hundredth time, Lucy had blown his cover unintentionally.

As soon she said it a loud slam of a door opening was heard from down the hall, following heavy and fast-paced footsteps coming towards them. Ted shoved James back towards the wall along with him and gripped his wand – which had belonged to his father – beside him. 'Don't do anything,' Ted told James sternly, who was about to protest when a man came around the corner. 'Expelliarmus!' Teddy yelled when a figure was in sight, and to his delight he dropped his wand, making it roll on the floor towards them.

'Ted,' James said quietly in his ear. 'Look at the wand.'

When he did, he crossed his eyebrows in confusion. It couldn't be. He looked at James, who had the same face as he wore. No ... he was dead ...

He looked at the person in question, and immediately he dropped his wand.

'Who are you?' barked a very mad Mad-Eye Moody so close in his face his nose was on the verge of touching his. All Ted was giving an impassive look.

'Don't tie my family up,' he said tiredly. 'They didn't do anything wrong. At least, most of them,' he added, giving James an unimpressed glance. 'We'll tell you everything, okay? Just... untie them.'

Moody took a step back, observing his eyes while Ted didn't dare look away from his intimidating one. After a few moments he announced, 'Untie them,' with a gruff voice. Ted let out a breath he didn't realise he was holding, and now he had a chance to see who else was in the room.

Victoire, Lily, Lucy, Molly, Dom, Roxanne, Albus, Rose, Hugo, Fred – all of which were standing up with betrayed expressions – and of course, James, who was sitting beside him – were all being released. 'I still don't agree with holding children prisoner, Alastor,' commented an extremely familiar voice – Mrs Weasley, or also known as Gran. But when he turned towards her, she was untying a very bewildered Rose as Mr Weasley – Granddad – was untying Victoire. They had less wrinkles and only had streaks of gray in their hair, and although they were kind, they didn't greet their grandchildren with any sort of knowing, loving way.

But Rose, being one of the brightest, gave James an extremely dark, dark look. 'I am SO going to kill you.'

'What? I didn't – oh,' he said, realising Rose was catching on with their prediction. 'Oh yeah, about that ...'

'Oh Merlin,' Victoire breathed as she spotted was Ted was staring at – a very oblivious Tonks and a curious Remus. Ted swallowed nervously; he regretted assuring Mad-Eye that he'd tell him everything. He honestly couldn't bear telling his deceased parents that he was, you know, their future child, since he wasn't even sure if they were interested in each other yet. Victoire gave him a concerned look.

He almost smiled at his father, who was studying Ted's wand, perplexed. Despite the mixed feelings that were churning in his stomach – which was, quite frankly, making him feel sick – he couldn't help but be a little amused at how little his father knew of his future.

About him being Ted's father. Not the got killed-in-a-massive-battle-against-Voldemort-and-h is-followers part.

All Albus was staring at was an unenthusiastic Snape and an entertained Albus Dumbledore. 'Don't stare,' Roxanne whispered in his ear. He just nodded but couldn't take his eye off them anyway, nor could the others now that they saw what he was looking open-mouthed at.

Severus noticed this after a few moments of uncomfortable silence. 'Do you have something to say, boy?' he said nasally. The boys just burst out laughing as the girls tried to silence them but was unable to retain a serious face in doing so.

'Oh, Severus,' Dumbledore sighed, shaking his head with a smile. 'I think it's best that you stay quiet for a while.'

'Why?'

'Because – it doesn't matter,' he dismissed. This just made them laugh harder. How could their parents bare seven whole years in Hogwarts hearing his voice?

OK, let's not answer that.

After a few moments passed a lower chuckle began to join in, which made the older ones from the clan of kids stop immediately and stare at a laughing Sirius Black, who had suddenly appeared sitting on one of the chairs. 'What?' he asked calmly before laying his eyes on James. 'James?'

'Oh, I – um ...' James stuttered. 'I am James, just... just not yours.'

'How –?' A befuddled Sirius began, but was interrupted by Dumbledore strolling around the long table and giving a reassuring smile to Ted.

'What's your name, dear boy?' he asked kindly.

'Teddy.'

'Teddy?' Tonks said, interested, from beside Hugo. He almost wanted to march out of the room and curl up in a ball, he felt so suddenly grieving. She looked at everyone's faces that were looking at her and added, 'Nevermind. Sorry, carry on.'

'Teddy, may I...?' Dumbledore said, referring to Legilimency, gesturing both of their foreheads with a finger. Ted nodded and looked into his pools of blue.

Crying. Sea. Smiles. Laughter. Tears. The tire swing. Playing with Harry and the others. Meeting Victoire in her forested garden, and the caterpillar they were determined to find. Christmas dinners. The magic and joy of opening presents. Mrs Weasley's orders to cook the turkey. Harry telling tales about his deceased parents. Snape. Dumbledore. Sirius. Fred the First. How George managed to get his ear blasted off. His curiosity with the Second Wizarding War, and being annoyed to no end when he received nearly no answers. Getting the owl from Hogwarts. Being sorted into Gryffindor. First year. Nearly setting fire George's joke shop – unintentionally, of course. Second year. Victoire being sorted into Gryffindor, and his overwhelming happiness. Third year. Trying for the Quidditch team, but didn't get in. Fourth year. The Potions accident. Fifth year. Finally being able to gain proper control of changing form. Sixth year. Seventh year. Falling in love with a certain blonde Weasley. Graduating. That not-so-secret kiss at Platform 9 and ¾ –

'That should be enough,' Dumbledore said when Ted opened his eyes to find his hands gripping on the chair so hard that his knuckles turned white. He rubbed his knuckles and gave a concerned Victoire a smile. 'They can be trusted.'

'So how'd they come here, then?' piped up a younger Bill, who, much to their amusement, raised his eyebrows at them all when his future family snickered.

'Yeah, James,' Rose said, eyeing her cousin, crossing her arms over her chest and making a unconvinced face, much like her mother's. 'How did we come here?'

'I'm not all to blame here!' he said. 'Fred joined in too!'

'What! How could – I didn't – fine,' Fred confessed. 'We were fiddling with one of those Time Turners while we were at a family gathering. We didn't exactly know at the time what it was, so –'

Louis shook his head, grinning. 'You guys are so dead.'

'We know,' James admitted quietly. He was cowering away from a fuming Rose.

'That's all very well,' Remus told them. Again, Ted's muscles clenched. He didn't like this ... at all. 'But that doesn't exactly explain who you are.'

'Ah,' Sirius said, the truth dawning on him first as he nodded. 'I get it now. That explains a lot of my queries.'

'Care to tell, Padfoot?'

'Well, isn't it obvious, Moony? Look at him,' he told his friend, who looked on a very awkward-looking James.

Remus nodded. 'I see,' he said slowly.

'You see what, exactly?' Mrs Weasley snapped impatiently.

'Oh Merlin,' Rose sighed, giving up. 'He's called James Potter, OK? We're from the future. That SHOULD be enough clues for you all.'

Silence. The Order of the Phoenix stared at James much like they were ogling at them before. Ted would've laughed at how awkward James looked if the moment weren't so serious; the prankster shifted in his seat to occupy himself despite his obsession to receive attention, fiddling with his thumbs and even stared out of the occasional window before blurting, 'Yeah, well, she's Rose Weasley.'

'JAMES! For once in your LIFE, just SHUT –' she shouted, before catching up to the game to pass the torch around and pointing at a cocoa coloured cousin with her thumb. 'She's Roxanne Weasley.'

'She's Molly Weasley,' Roxanne said immediately. Everyone in the past expected her to point at the familiar Mrs Weasley, but instead she pointed at a 12-year-old girl with shoulder-length red hair, who just gave out a huff.

'Gosh, Rose,' she said. 'I can't believe you would continue this – but eh, why not. He's Fred Weasley.'

'FRED?!' exploded Mrs Weasley, frantically looking around the sea of younger redheads. 'I thought I told you to stay in your ROOM? This is a PRIVATE MEETING –'

'He's George's,' Dominique said in a hopeful, assuring voice.

'George's?' Mr Weasley said. 'What do you –?'

'We're all related to most of you,' Rose said impatiently.

'Should we just introduce ourselves without a heated argument?' Hugo said, silencing his sister. It took all Ted had in him not to refuse.

It wasn't that Ted was ashamed of his parents. He was proud of them, to die for a better future like that. But he didn't want to interrupt any build-up of relationship of any sort between them, or build any of his own with them; it'd make the goodbyes harder.

They were war heroes. And what was he?

A teacher-in-training at a school called Hogwarts.

Learning how to teach about stupid LOVE POTIONS AND WHAT-NOT.

Before he could fix the measures of the introductions, Snape said, 'You must tell us your parents, age, house and name. Full name.'

'Why?' Lily asked him. For a few moments Snape paused in astonishment, and only Ted knew why; Lily looked identical to her dead grandmother, who Severus had loved. He knew this because Harry had unintentionally blurted this out once when Ted was young. The Potter had inherited her mother's looks but her father's eyes – surely Snape's downfall. 'Why can't we just tell you our names?'

'Because... err...'

'TEN POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR!' Fred imitated, and everyone broke up into laughter, apart from Severus who looked unimpressed and an annoyed Rose.

'Don't laugh!' she scowled. 'No, it's rude! We're not here to stay, until we, um, figure a way out of here, but –'

'Yeah, Rose, remember? No heated arguments,' James teased, who received a punch on the arm as Rose went to sit down beside him. The others, apart from Ted and James who were already seated, sat down on one of the chairs while the Order gathered around the table standing up. Lucy toddled over to ask with an adorable look to sit on Teddy's lap, who he gladly agreed to. He needed someone to cling on to and take responsibility for, to occupy himself from his worries.

Yep. And that's how Teddy Lupin worked, folks.

'Who's first?' Dumbledore said as Victoire took her seat next to Ted's other side, clapping his hands and rubbing them. He was clearly excited.

'I might as well, since you know me already,' James said, standing up. 'I'm James Sirius Potter –'

'OH YES,' Sirius said, pumping his fist in the air and nodding. 'GO HARRY!'

'Padfoot, I mean this in the kindest way possible – shut up,' Remus said, patting his friend on the shoulder.

'Yeah, McGonagall says that it's not particularly reassuring to be called after two Marauders,' he said. Remus and Sirius laughed. 'I'm sixteen, and I'm Gryffindor.'

'This just gets better and better,' Sirius muttered to Remus, who just shook his head and tried to hide an amused smirk.

'Parents?' Snape said.

'You know what? I'll let Albus tell you that.'

'Albus?' Everyone turned to Dumbledore. His eyes twinkled as he shook his head and nodded his head at a red-faced Harry Potter clone, without the glasses.

'Yeah, thanks James,' he said, rolling his eyes. 'I'm Albus – well, Al – Severus Potter –'

'BEFORE,' Victoire shouted over the buzz of arguments, shooting up from her seat to her cousin's defence, 'you start, we know more things than most of you do. We know all of you better than you probably know each other, if you're in our lives or not.'

Ted smiled at her adoringly. She always was good at words and was always somehow heard, even when her voice was quiet. So that's why everyone from the past just stared at her as he gave her a squeeze of her hand with his.

Snape turned paler than he already was. 'Everything? Even –'

'Yes, Severus,' Ted said, knowing what he was meaning. Of course, he was thinking about Lily Evans, and Harry. Since he was the only one out of the kids who knew the most secret of details about his life, he had to answer. It was his determined need to know things that made Harry give in to his pleads. 'Even that.'

'At least he does,' Lily added. 'Dad says I'm not old enough yet to know the exact details but –'

'Lily, stop,' Hugo whispered and she stopped abruptly. Lily wasn't one to ramble like Rose, but she'd start to if she thought it'd make her look better than she actually was. Not in an arrogant way like James – it was just something she had grown to do, with the high expectations and all.

Ted smiled. Despite Lily's feistiness, she did open up to him at times. He was just someone all the kids seem to fall back on when their parents were away at work. It was reasonable, really. He was a trained teacher, and he was going to start teaching at Hogwarts the next year.

It was Bill who spoke first from the adults. 'Well that's cool,' he said to his future daughter with a grin. Victoire grinned the identical grin back, Mrs Weasley raising an eyebrow quizzically at the exchange.

'... and I'm twelve,' Albus continued after a few moments of silence. 'Obviously I'm Gryffindor –'

'Shush, Sirius.'

'And, um, my parents are Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley ...?' he said, scrunching up his nose as if preparing himself for the hundreds of questions to fire at him. Unfortunately, there was.

'Harry has TWO kids?'

'Wotcher, Albus! See, I knew Ginny and Harry were made for each other! How long did it take for them to get together? Oh, and give me three Galleons, please, Molly.'

'HARRY MADE CHILDREN WITH GINNY?!'

'Oh, Arthur, Harry's going to be a part of our family! They are married, aren't they?'

'Have I killed Harry yet?!'

'HEY,' Victoire silenced everyone at Bill's second and last question, standing up. 'You're not exactly clean either. Dad.'

Immediately, Bill face whitened as Victoire continued, 'I'm the 19-year-old graduated Gryffindor, Victoire Weasley.'

'Victoire?' Tonks said. 'Isn't that French?'

'Why, yes it is, thank you,' Victoire said humorously, grinning at her father's face, which was now even paler than before, his eyes wider.

'French, Bill?' Mrs Weasley said.

'Shut it, Mum,' he said.

'I'm the first of the Weasley's next generation, you know,' she continued. 'I look a lot like my mum. I'm one of the few Weasleys who hasn't got the red hair.'

Bill looked up from his feet and studied her properly. Silvery blonde hair, blue eyes, and beautiful looks. 'Oh Merlin,' he groaned in recognition, and everyone laughed.

''S okay, Dad,' she said, and he flinched at his new name. This made the future kids snigger. 'You only got two other children.'

'I do?'

'Yep,' Louis answered, standing up. He took a deep breath, saying it all at once: 'Louis Weasley, Ravenclaw, thirteen, Bill Weasley's and –'

'You know what? Let's keep that a secret,' Dom told everyone with a smirk. She didn't bother to stand up when she said, 'I'm Dominique, Dom for short, Weasley. Fifteen, and I'm Slytherin.'

The whole room fell quiet. All Teddy was bracing himself for was Dom and Rose's outbursts – Dom for being the Slytherin in question, and Rose for being in the presence of a judgemental family.

'OK, you guys obviously still have prejudices against Slytherin still,' Dom started, surprisingly calmly. 'But let me tell you why –'

'You're in Slytherin?' Sirius asked. 'But you're a Weasley!'

'Do you think I haven't been told this before?' she told him coolly, not even afraid to stare at him in the eyes as she spoke, gradually standing over the Black. 'Everyone's given me the "But-You're-A-Weasley" speech. In fact, all of you have given me this speech. Especially a certain Cannon fan.'

Rose shot Sirius a distasteful gaze throughout the whole of this.

'Slytherins used to and most often are pegged as being the bad guys,' she explained. 'But we're not. Not ... not anymore. Dad told me that I'm there because I just cannot give up. It's just not possible. This does NOT mean that I'm heartless, this does NOT mean I'm rich and snobby and a female version of a particular Malfoy that I refuse to mention.' She glared at even more at Sirius, whose face turned red in shame. 'You're, like, thirty-years-old.' James sniggered at her careful wording. 'Freaking GROW UP, dear PADFOOT, because I am NOT going to be moving houses anytime SOON.'

'Who knew Dominique Weasley would be telling my namesake off,' James muttered under his breath loud enough for everyone to hear. Those not under the Slytherin's glare laughed.

'Are we on good terms now?' Dom sighed, returning to her usual normal self. 'I don't like being like Rose. Eugh.'

'Hey!' Rose said automatically as Dom shuddered.

Bill coughed awkwardly. 'Yeah, okay. Yeah, I-I'm okay with that.'

The three siblings took their seats again when Lily piped up. 'I think my introduction ran a little late,' she said as she stood herself on the chair. 'I'm Lily Luna Potter.'

'I knew it,' Sirius said with a sad smile. 'Harry would have been an idiot not to call you that.'

'She looks like her, too,' Remus commented quietly.

Lily spotted Snape staring at her, but ignored him. 'Yeah, I'm not allowed to go to Hogwarts yet, 'cause I'm nine. But Mum's told me all about it. And I've even read the Map.'

'What map?' Molly asked as an eyebrow rose. 'I didn't know you were going abroad.'

She sighed dramatically, missing the joke. 'I'm not going abroad,' she said exasperatingly. 'James let me read it when he forgot to pack it in his suitcase last year. It has moving names and everything. Ugh, I should've brought it, you should see it –'

'I have it,' James said suddenly, fumbling around in his pocket before holding out a small, folded piece of parchment. When he finally unfolded it all, he got out his wand and said, 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.'

'Good,' Sirius breathed. 'He hasn't lost it.'

'Why would Daddy lose it?' Lily said defensively. 'It was one of the most precious things he owned, before someone nicked it from his desk –'

'Dad's probably upstairs, you know,' Albus said with a smirk, knowing he got his way to silence them both. He always was the peacemaker, being in the middle – it was moments like this when he got awarded for his hard work.

'That reminds me!' Mrs Weasley shrieked. 'They'd been waiting in their room for a full hour now! I'll get them down, I'll only be a minute –'

She went to move, but loud protests burst from the kids. 'I am getting them,' Mrs Weasley said sternly, turning back to the direction of the door and stomping determinedly up the steps.

'Ginny and Harry are going to get a bit of a surprise,' Tonks said with an amused glint in her eyes. 'You guys just have to do your introductions again!'

'No,' Albus said as if this was the obvious mutual feeling of his siblings, but when he saw them smirking, he shook his head. 'NO, we're NOT going to do this, okay? Isn't Mum, like, trying to get over her fangirling phrase? It'll be really uncomfortable for her.'

'Deserves it for making me feel uncomfortable when in the presence of girls around her,' James said.

'Yeah, and for not letting me ride my broom yet,' Lily said in a tone that was frighteningly similar to that of Lily Evans's. The adults gave each other knowing glances, except for Tonks who laughed.

Ted managed to catch the eye of Dumbledore, who arched his eyebrows slightly and quirked up the corner of his mouth in a half-smile. It was like he understood Teddy, and wanted to know how he was feeling. He did get a peek at his memories, so maybe that was why.

But Ted had a nagging feeling that it wasn't just that, and that the guy knew more than he let show. His teaching skills kicked in and quirked up an eyebrow at him, but he just gave him a wink and asked, 'What do you children like to do, then?'

'I'm not a kid!' Lucy said for the first time in the particular meeting. Everyone but Ted seemed to have forgotten she was there.

'You're only three,' Molly pointed out tiredly. She'd obviously derived the bossy, know-it-all part of her personality from Percy. 'You're not exactly old.'

'Molly, please,' Victoire told her. 'Be nice to your sister. She's three, she doesn't know any better.'

It dawned on him that they looked like they were mother and father of the group, being older and giving knowing looks at the others. He grinned, glancing at Victoire's silver ring at the same time she was. He could picture actually having a family with her, growing crimpled, gnarled and cranky with her until the very end.

She looked at him and mirrored his expression. They hadn't told anyone about their night before they travelled back, and it amused them to keep it a secret. Of course, his godfather Harry knew; it was the only person Ted could confide his problems with besides from Victoire, and Harry gave him his mother's engagement ring, a little teary-eyed to Teddy's surprise.

Victoire mouthed to him, Speak to you later, to which he replied with a nod.

'Me and Molly are big on reading books,' Rose started. Everyone else amongst her cousins and sibling groaned outwardly. 'Especially Muggle ones. They are so much more imaginative, so much more fun to read than the boring Hogwarts: A History or whatever else my mum reads. Really, you should give it a try – Hunger Games, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit ... Luce, d'you remember The Gruffalo? You –'

'We're sort of a sport family,' James cut in. Sirius and some others leaned forward. 'Really big on Quidditch, apart from these two, and a certain aunt.'

Rose snorted. 'At least our brain capacity can at least handle other things other than a silly game.'

'It's not "silly"!' Lily defended. 'Mum played for the Holyhead team – d'you call that silly?'

'Ginny plays Quidditch professionally?' Arthur asked, pride overcoming his features. Lily nodded enthusiastically.

'She writes for the Daily Prophet ever since she had James, though,' Al answered.

'No,' Molly said, ignoring her grandfather – but not snottily; in a more getting-back-to-the-subject way. 'It's good that she achieved her dream and all. I just... don't see what the point in it is,' she reasoned, shrugging.

'Vic plays professionally as well, you know,' Louis said.

Bill leaned on the table in eagerness. 'Really? Who for?'

'Puddlemere,' Victoire answered. 'I only just got in, so I'm on the Reserved Team.'

'She's good, too!' Lucy said excitedly. 'She goes really fast!'

'Anyway, my mum has perfectly good reasons to disagree with Quidditch,' Rose said, holding her head high and ignoring Lucy's disappointed drop of her shoulders. Like her mother, she wouldn't give up until her opinion was heard so many times that people gave up on theirs and had to agree. But, despite her efforts, the Potter/Weasley clan were never the ones to give up.

'No she doesn't,' Fred scoffed.

'Fred, she does!'

'Rose, she doesn't,' James mimicked.

'Yes, she does!'

'No she doesn't, Rose,' Hugo said tiredly.

'Yes she does!'

'It's a reason to just wind up your dad,' Victoire breathed, her cheekbone resting on a palm. 'I don't think it's anything seri–'

Just then, Mrs Weasley burst open the door with her kids following curiously behind her. The future generation just stared at them in utter awe and disbelief, while their parents just studied all of them. Unsurprisingly, Harry's eyes lingered on James, Albus and Lily, who either looked like himself or his deceased parents, as Lily gave out a miniscule squeak in surprise. Rose gave out a blush that matched the colour of her wild hair when Hermione looked at her, trying to figure her out.

'Why, George, it's our third twin!' Fred said, gesturing at his slightly tanned future nephew, smiling. Ted glanced knowingly at George's kids, who were struggling to keep their grins plastered on their faces. It was hard to see their currently dead uncle being alive when it had caused so much pain for their father.

'No, it's not, Fred, dear,' Mrs Weasley assured. 'At least, I don't think so,' she added, throwing the fore-mentioned grandson a questioning look.

'Who are they?' Harry asked. As if on cue, Albus, James and Lily burst out laughing. Some of their cousins joined in after studying their hysterical behaviour and noticing how different he looked.

'He's not even my age yet!' James howled. 'And-and he's smaller than me!'

'H-his voice!' Lily said in-between gasps.

'James, shush!' Dom laughed, mocking Rose. 'We're trying to answer his question!'

'Oi!' Ginny snapped, to which the three instantly was silenced, and blushed at Harry's attention.

Hugo sniggered, voicing everyone's thought, 'That's weird.'

'What's weird?' Hermione asked. 'What's going on?'

'Many things are classed as weird, Miss Granger,' Dumbledore explained. 'Weirdly enough, these children –'

'I'm not a child!'

'Shush, Luce.'

'These children are from the future,' he continued, 'and play significant parts in your lives. You see, it has been proven that many of these may be your upcoming children.'

'We were in the middle of introductions, actually,' Remus said lightly like he was asking about the weather, ignoring the astonished faces they were giving him. 'Shall we start again?'

'This is going to be a good show,' Sirius muttered.

'Let's do it randomly,' Tonks said excitingly. 'So the ones who got left out last time don't feel like they have an advantage. I'll pick first, shall I?' Dumbledore nodded. For a fleeting moment Ted thought she was going to say him, but she pointed at Lucy instead.

Meanwhile, Lucy was looking around the room, not noticing the attention until Ted nudged her, amused. 'You need to tell them about yourself, Luce,' he chuckled quietly in her ear.

'Me?' she asked.

'Yeah,' he said excitedly, letting go of Victoire's hand and wrapping his arms around the girl. She looked at him funnily as his eyes turned into a light shade of pink, her favourite colour, and she giggled. 'Just about you.'

'Okay.' She took a deep breath. 'I'm Lucy Weasley. I'm three years old, nearly four. And I like to play dolls, but I don't like those creepy ones. They scare me,' she added, and everyone nodded understandingly as Harry, Hermione, Ron, the twins and Ginny took their seats. 'And I don't like my hair. The colour brown is really boring.'

Roxanne nodded, relating to it to some extent. She had wild curls with tints of red, and always complained about how it was unmanageable; often she would talk to Hermione and Rose, who had turned out to be very understanding.

'I have a big sister called Molly,' Lucy continued, 'and, uh... what else, Teddy?' She turned her head expectantly at Ted, who laughed at her innocence.

Molly rolled her eyes. 'Our parents are Percy and Audrey Weasley.'

'She's Percy's?' Ron said, surprised. 'But she's too cute!'

'He comes back eventually,' Ted assured them. Mrs Weasley beamed, her shoulders dropping, relieved.

'I'm Molly, by the way, named after you,' Molly chirped, giving a winning smile at her grandmother. 'I'm twelve, from Hufflepuff.'

'Why Hufflepuff?' Ron asked a little too loudly, not noticing Dom's defensive glare.

'Bad move, mate,' Sirius muttered.

'Not all of us are that ... confident, if you will, as the others in the family are,' she explained with a kind smile. 'Besides, Hufflepuffs rule.'

'YEAH!' Tonks agreed, grinning, leaning across the table to give her a high-five. Everyone laughed.

'On the contrary, why don't you pick the next, Mr Weasley?' Dumbledore told him.

'Okay,' he said, pointing at a very baffled-looking Hugo.

'Oh, jeez,' Albus said in his hand. 'This is awkward.'

'Why is it –?' Ginny started, but the answer dawned on her before she said anything else, and laughed out-right.

'What?' Ron said, annoyed.

Hermione looked at the boy. Bushy brown hair, blue eyes, tall, freckly ... 'Oh my goodness!' she gasped. Even Ginny looked startled at her sudden outburst, obviously not going as far as to find out who the mother was. 'You're – he – it's just – OH MY GOD ...'

'Haha!' Ginny said, whilst her brothers (especially Ron) and family were staring at her wildly. 'This is priceless!'

'You'll see in a minute,' James muttered so only Teddy could hear, and Ted grinned at how awkward he was feeling.

'What is?' Harry asked, but Hermione was too flabbergasted to even speak a single word.

'Wow,' George said.

'She's finally quiet,' his twin murmured.

'It's still rare now,' Hugo said absent-mindedly, and Hermione choked.

'I think,' Dumbledore said, 'for the rest of the people in this room, may I ask – who are your parents?'

'I'm Hugo Weasley,' he started, blue meeting blue from across the table. 'It may become a shock to you, and please don't kill me, but, err ... hey Dad.'

Ron stared at him, wide eyed at the boy, who had taken a sudden interest in his shoes. 'You're my son?' he asked, but came out more as, 'Oh're y on?'

His brothers seemed to catch on to Hermione's outburst, since they started to snigger. 'Shut UP,' Hermione snapped. 'It's not HIS fault –'

'Oh yes it is,' Fred – from the future – said, nodding. After this, nobody could withdraw anymore and erupted in laughter, besides from a very puzzled Ron, a flabbergasted Hermione and an embarrassed Hugo.

'What makes it so funny?' Ron defended. 'Nobody laughed when Lucy said anything –'

'Sorry to break it to you, dear Uncle,' James said. 'But Hermione is your wife.'

'FF-WHAT?!' Ron was standing up outrageously as if it was James's fault it happened in the first place. 'BLOODY HELL!'

'Hey, I'm just stating facts.'

'If it makes you feel any better,' Dom said, 'Hugo's a Gryffindor.'

'I think you're missing the point here!' Hermione shrieked, blushing furiously. 'I – him – just ... WHAT!'

'Molly,' Tonks turned to Mrs Weasley, holding out a hand with a grin. 'I think you'll find that's another three Galleons.'

'Right, stop!' Rose said suddenly, standing up. 'I'll put you two out of your confounded misery; I'm Rose Weasley, your eldest and only daughter. I'm a Ravenclaw. I have both your hair mixed, as you can see.' She turned her head so they could see the thick singular braid that trailed down until the very bottom of her neck. 'It's NOT nice, okay? So thanks for that. Also, can I say that I am really sorry for breaking your china set in the future, Mum, but just so you know Hugo is the clumsy one –'

'I am NOT –'

' – and I'm sorry for stealing most of your books, but what can you really do when you love them so much? Have to say, though, Lord of the Rings is my favourite, 'cause I mean, really,' she rolled her eyes. 'Gandalf is an epic genius. No offence, Dumbledore, sir.'

Dumbledore just shrugged, but Harry covered his laugh with a cough when he realised his headmaster was pretty offended.

'Quidditch really isn't my area of expertise, but I love potions. Especially the Polyjuice, that one is truly astonishing –'

'Rose,' Louis said. 'They needed an introduction, not you life story.'

'No, no,' Hermione said, a small smile spreading across her face while Ron was still trying to comprehend the information. 'It's ... nice. Thank you, Rose.'

Rose smiled back just as brightly as she and her brother sat back down. 'I'll choose next,' Ginny volunteered. It made Mrs Weasley smile at how relaxed her daughter was with these people in the room. 'What about you?'

Roxanne grinned. 'Okay. This is going to be hilarious,' she said, nudging her brother. 'I'm the oh-so-legendary fourteen-year-old Gryffindor –'

'She's so modest,' James gushed.

She rolled her eyes. 'OK. I'm Roxanne. Hate the name Roxy, so don't even try. My dad's George.'

'Really?' Fred the First said, intrigued. 'Who may be the lucky woman?'

'Angelina Johnson.'

'But I'M dating her!' he said, shocked.

'Well, obviously I'm the better of us two,' George boasted mockingly. His twin just took it in his stride and laughed.

'I'm Fred,' Fred II told them, 'the Second. It's dead confusing now that there are two Freds,' he lied (with no pun intended), not bearing to tell them the truth. Luckily, thanks to his pranks with James, he had perfected the art of lying convincingly. 'I'm a sixth-year Gryffindor.'

'It's hard to believe, since he's so mature and responsible,' Dom added sarcastically.

'Nah, really, I'm honoured,' Fred told his twin, his hand on his heart.

'I'll pick,' Mrs Weasley announced, rolling her eyes at the two. 'Just for the purposes to remind the others ...' She pointed at Victoire, who was clearly the most confident of the three.

'I'm Victoire Weasley,' she repeated. 'I'm nineteen, use-to-be Gryffindor, and I look more like my mum than my dad.'

'Figures,' Ron shrugged.

'My dad's Bill,' she said, who scratched the back of his head uncomfortably. 'And I've got a brother and sister, Louis –' she gestured at her brother, who waved, 'and Dominique.'

'Very formal, Vic,' Dom commented but smiled anyway.

'You've got a ring,' Hermione noticed. 'Are you –?'

'Yeah, but –'

'You're ENGAGED?!' Rose screeched before anyone else could jump in. 'You're nineteen –'

'You're twelve, but you still seem pretty interested in Scorpius,' Ted argued, Victoire nodding in agreement as Rose blushed, taking a sudden interest in her dolly shoes.

'Are you pregnant?' Louis asked.

'OH MY GOD, YOU'RE PREGNANT?!' Rose screeched.

'NO! Rose, I'm not freaking PREGNANT,' Vic countered equally as loudly. The more immature ones in the room – AKA Ron, Louis, the twins, Fred, Roxanne, Fred II, Dom, Sirius, Tonks, Lily, James and to Victoire's surprise, Ted – couldn't keep themselves from laughing.

'Okay, okay, fine,' Louis. 'You're not pregnant. But just in case you are –'

'LOUIS!'

'Who got down on one knee, then?' Dom asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

'Oh, um ...' Victoire was turning bright red, turning to Hermione. 'Thanks A LOT, Aunt 'Mione. Really, you have to notice now when you didn't even say a single word before!'

'C'mon, Vic!' Lily cheered. 'You can tell us!'

'Yeah, we won't tell anyone,' James said with a mischievous grin.

'Please do,' Bill said sternly, crossing his arms around his chest.

Teddy couldn't take it anymore. 'I did,' he said.

'I KNEW IT!' Albus beamed. 'It was inevitable!'

Roxanne was grinning at the Metamorphagus in what seemed in victory. 'I knew it, from the MOMENT you gave her flowers on her fifth birthday, that you guys would marry someday!'

'Yeah, along with the predicament that you guys will have fourteen babies, three of which would be conjoined triplets,' James said.

'And that you'd get divorced,' Fred added.

'AND THEN YOU'LL REALISE HOW MUCH OF AN ARSE YOU BOTH WERE, AND THEN GET REUNITED ON A BEACH WITH YOUR HAIR GOING ALL OVER THE PLACE AND JOGGING REALLY, REALLY SLOW LIKE ON THOSE MUGGLE MOVIES,' Roxanne corrected loudly. 'AND THEN YOU'LL GET MARRIED AGAIN.'

'With another fourteen babies.'

'BEAUTIFUL fourteen babies.'

Victoire, being too shocked at her cousins to interrupt, found her voice. 'I'm not having fourteen bloody babies!'

'OH YES YOU ARE, MISSY.' Roxanne attempted to stare her down, but failed and laughed.

While everyone else was bubbling with joy, Victoire and Ted was cringing to see what Bill's reaction was. But all he did was give a shrug. 'I still don't know anything bad about you,' he said. The two let out a breath of air and gave each other a relieved smile. Moody scoffed, muttering, 'Constant vigilance.'

Lily, noticing the subject about to appear, blurted, 'I'm Lily Luna Potter.' She squeezed shut her eyes so she wouldn't see her parent's faces. 'I'm nine, and I want to be like my mum to play Quidditch.'

'Except she doesn't let you,' Albus muttered.

In an instant, she opened her eyes to face her brother, not daring to even glance at her father, who was staring at the table, wide-eyed and speechless. 'I only have to wait a couple of weeks, Al!' she argued. 'Not long until my birthday, is it? The 28th of –'

'Why doesn't she let you?' Ginny asked. The three just stared at her, bewildered, as everyone laughed. Snape's lips curled upwards into a sort-of smile, although it mostly went unnoticed.

'I don't know,' she shrugged, pretending to be clueless.

Albus shook his head. 'She has a terrible mother,' he acted. Although he wasn't the Prankster Potter, it didn't mean he couldn't have fun. 'Very cruel, she is. Doesn't even let her set foot on a Quidditch pitch ...'

'She scares away every single living creature set foot on human earth,' James joined in. 'Honestly, it's a miracle how poor Lily-Billy has managed to stay with the monster for this long ...'

'It's pure torture,' Lily smirked. 'And now she doesn't let me ride a broom!'

'I think she feeds on dead corpses at night,' Fred II said. 'The other day I saw a lifeless Uncle Harry in the cupboard ... unlucky old man ...'

'I don't know what he saw in her,' Albus sighed, shaking his head. 'It's a hard life Lily leads.'

'Oh c'mon,' Rose said, though she was trying to bite back a laugh. 'Don't tease her.'

'But it's true!' Lily argued.

'Yeah,' chimed James. 'Have you seen her in a bikini?'

Clear horror was written all over Bill's face, but Ginny rolled her eyes, ignoring her brother's expression, sitting up and leaning on the table. 'So why doesn't she let you?' she repeated.

Lily wanted to stop the teasing so she could see the reaction – Ted could see it in her eyes. 'You tell me,' she scoffed. Certainly, Lily had Ginny's flare, since an average nine year-old would never be quite as sassy.

It was Sirius who got it first. 'You are terrible children,' he chuckling.

She grinned, delivering the bombshell: 'I just needed to catch some revenge on my mum.'

Harry turned to Ginny in utter disbelief, as her face turned as red as her hair. 'HOW THE TABLES HAVE TURNED,' speculated Fred II in a low voice, and everyone was laughing louder.

'HARRY!' Ron said outrageously. 'You – my sister – it's – n- NO!'

'Oh, stop it, Ronald,' Hermione scowled. 'It's not like you went over your boundaries.'

'GO MUM!' cheered Hugo a bit over-enthusiastically, making his mother flinch at the new name but smile all the same.

'So,' Remus said after everyone died down. 'Only one left.' He turned his amber gaze onto Teddy, who almost wanted to just ... collapse and die, basically. Yeah, that sounded much better than to say, "Hey, how you doin'? I'm Teddy Lupin, and I'm your son. Oh, and by the way, Nymphadora Tonks is my mother. And you both are dead."

Honestly, how was he a Gryffindor? He was cowering away at something he hadn't even started.

'I'm Ted,' he said plainly, trying everything he had in him not to show his anxiety. 'I'm twenty, and I uh ... teach at Hogwarts next year.'

'Really?' Dumbledore said, interested. He didn't go into his thoughts as far as that. 'What do you teach?'

'Defence Against the Dark Arts,' he answered, thankful for the distraction. 'I have to teach about all of you guys.'

'Doing what?' Mad-Eye asked gruffly.

'LOADS of stuff,' James answered. 'I mean, you lot are BADASS.'

'Like, someone in this room kills the darkest lord in all eternity,' Al said, letting out a cough. 'No names, Harry.'

'And someone in this room made a joke about being holy when he had his ear blasted off,' Roxanne smirked at her dad, who fingered his ear nervously.

'And someone in this room shows Bellatrix Lestrange up by refusing to say anything,' Rose said proudly, looking at the ceiling to avoid curious gazes. 'But that's it. Let's stop telling you stuff about the future.'

'When Ted told us about the job we all thought it was weird,' Hugo commented, as soon as he blurted it out Ted could tell he wanted to face-palm himself.

'Why?' Remus said.

'My father,' Ted told him, his face expressionless. 'He taught D.A.D.A once –'

'– but he retired,' Victoire interrupted quickly. 'At a nice old age, very peaceful ... told us the job wasn't really for him in the first place –'

Despite the seriousness of the situation, he laughed. 'Yes it was.'

'No it wasn't.'

'It was the perfect job!'

'No it wasn't,' Rose backed up Vic sternly, though everyone could see it was to cover up a false story.

'Wait, what?' Albus said in an offended high pitch. He coughed and said in a too-low tone, 'I mean, it was. I'd have loved to be taught by him.'

'Yeah!' Lilly agreed with a proud nod. 'He'd be awesome.'

'Who is he?' Sirius said, an eyebrow raised. 'You lot talk like he's a god.'

'He is!' Roxanne started with an enthusiastic grin, but received a slap with the back of a hand on the arm by her brother. 'Just saying ...'

At this, Ted had enough. He stood up, setting Lucy aside him, and coughed for everyone's attention. He began to acknowledge how McGonagall would have felt in the summer teacher's meeting when all the eyes focused on him. 'I'm a Metamorphagus,' he clarified, not stopping for the questions. 'So I'm just going to show you who my parents are, alright?'

'Ted, no, they're not ready yet –' Victoire protested, but he already felt himself morphing. Closing his eyes, he willed his pointed turquoise to change into a thick brown, and his eyes to his normal shade of amber. His lips remained the same; his signature smirk was what drove Vic up the wall, and thankfully it was naturally his.

He heard gasps and murmurs and a disbelieving "no", and he hated it. He'd always loved attention, but he didn't like the way people thought he wasn't real. He should've expected this. A 34 werewolf and a 20-year-old Metamorphagus having a son weren't exactly the normal pair. Perfect, but not normal.

He felt a hand grip his by his side, and opened his eyes down at little Lucy. She looked up at him, concerned, and he couldn't help but smile at her. 'I know this is a shock to most of you,' he said quietly, not focusing on any one besides the floor and Luce. He knew that even most of the future clan of Weasleys/Potters never even saw his true form, except from Harry and Victoire. 'But it's okay. I'm not a werewolf. I just get a little cranky once a month.'

Willing himself to look up, he studied everyone's faces. Vic was giving him a reassuring smile. James stared at him, open-mouthed. Louis was looking as if he could get used to the look. Dom's face was expressionless, as was Albus's and Hugo's and Snape's. Lily bit her lip regretfully like it was her fault he was in the situation. Rose's would've been priceless given the different circumstance. Molly's was sympathetic.

Tonks looked as if she couldn't figure out whether he was a good thing or a bad thing, making a knot tie in his stomach. Ron clearly didn't know what to make of the situation. Hermione's eyebrows were slightly crossed in thought. Harry looked at him as if he had three heads. With that, he refocused his vision back to the table, not able to look at anyone else.

'Can I go to the toilet, please?' Lucy asked him innocently. A proud flare bubbled in his stomach as he refocused on the little girl. Although she was only three, she seemed to ask a lot of questions to get to know people and gain a lot of knowledge about what times she wasn't supposed to talk, what times she had to comfort, what times she needed to say something silly to make the room a bit lighter. Now, Ted realised, she knew when she needed to bail Ted out.

'Of course.'

'I can show her the toilet –' Molly started, but he was already out of the room, dragging a rather sheepish Lucy out of the door.