A/N: Have not written fanfiction in ages, hope you like this! Review!
The Tale of Teddy
Chapter one: Encountering Victoire
"You're going to be late!" Came his Grandmother's voice up the staircase.
"I am not!" Teddy Lupin yelled back down as he picked up a pair of worn trainers, examining them. Finally deciding against taking them, he tossed them off the right corner of his attic bedroom. He looked at his trunk remembering the first time he'd packed it, the first time he'd ventured into Diagon Alley to buy his books and supplies. Now entering his third year, he felt like a veteran of the Hogwarts experience.
"Yes, you are!" Insisted Andromeda. "It's ten o'clock, we've got to get going!"
"Okay, okay!" Teddy called down the steps. "I'm almost finished packing!"
The first time he'd done this, he'd been packed the night before and had everything stacked next to his bedroom door. He and his Grandma Tonks had appeared at the Platform a half an hour early. He'd been so embarassed. But then Mark Richards, his now best friend, had appeared only ten minutes after they had and from that moment on, they were mates.
Finally he had rounded up all his Hogwarts supplies and personal possessions into his large, brown truck that had once been his father's. He took one of the handles in his hand and began tugging it towards the door. It was too heavy. For nearly the hundreth time that summer, Teddy wished that he was able to do magic outside of school.
"Gran?" He yelled down the stairs.
"Yes, dear?"
"Could you come up and do a bit of levitation on my trunk?"
"Surely, Teddy."
Teddy meandered about the room, waiting for his gran to mount the stairs up to his bedroom. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and stopped to look. His hair was a bit darker than he liked it. Srunching up his nose and concentrating, he turned it a shade lighter, the same shade he saw on his father's hair in old photos. He left his eyes their natural shade of bluish purple and contemplated adding a few inches onto his height. He had felt short for his age ever since Mark had come to visit earlier that summer. Mark had shot up like a beanpole and Teddy felt dwarfed standing next to him.
Soon, his Grandma appeared in the doorway. "Quit dallying in front of the mirror, Teddy!" She scolded.
Teddy rolled his eyes but said nothing, remembering that Gran was up here doing him a favor.
"Wingardium Leviosa." Said his Gran, giving her wand a neat swish-and-flick motion. The trunk rose a few inches off the ground. Gran moved her wand, directing the trunk in front of her, nodded to Teddy to follow her and they began their procession down the flight of stairs.
When the reached the sitting room, Gran let the trunk down. "There, now. Are you ready to leave?"
"I think so--" Teddy broke off suddenly as a tawny owl swooped in their sitting room window.
"Oh, my word!" exclaimed Gran.
The owl dropped a square of parchment and swooped back out of the window and off into the clear, blue sky. Approaching it warily, Teddy prodded the parchment with his wand. At his prod, the parchment sprung up from the carpet and unfolded itself into a long banner. Emblazoned on the banner were the words, "Good luck in your third year! Love, Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny, Uncle Ron & Aunt Hermione."
"Oh, wasn't that nice of them?" asked Gran, placing a hand over her heart as though touched at the gesture.
Teddy smiled. He loved getting notes from his relatives, especially Harry, his godfather. "Yea, it was very nice of them."
"I'll send them a thank-you after I've gotten you off to school." said Gran, glancing at a clock on the mantle.
"Right," said Teddy and he followed his Gran and the levitating trunk out the front door.
Teddy and his Gran traveled to London the same way they had for years, in Teddy's grandfather's car. Teddy had never known his grandfather, since he had died before Teddy was born but he'd heard many stories about him and this car. Gran told him that Arthur Weasley, Uncle Ron's dad, had given grandfather this car. As they drove along the road, Teddy touched the leather seats lightly with his fingers, thinking of all the times his mother must have ridden in this same car, perhaps sitting right where he was now.
"Here we are!" Gran's voice jolted Teddy out of his musings about his mother. He looked up to see King's Cross Station outside his window.
Together they brought his trunk and the cage for his cat, Ginger, out of the car and onto a trolley. As they wheeled it inside, Teddy noticed the clock on the wall said ten thirty. He sighed, not too early and not too late. Calmly, trying not to attract unwanted Muggle attention, Teddy and his Gran strolled through the station until they finally came to platforms nine and ten.
"Go on, dear." prompted Gran when she thought no one was coming.
Teddy walked quickly at the wall that divided nine and ten. He glided smoothly through the solid brick and emerged on the other side, at Platform 9 and 3/4. As always, he checked to make sure Ginger was all right. When he looked up to take in the sight of the magnificent red train, he saw some familiar faces through the hustling bustling crowd of wizards and witches.
"Teddy!" called Uncle Bill. Teddy smiled and waved and wheeled his trolley over to the small family.
"'Ow are you, Teddy?" asked Auntie Fleur, kissing him on the cheek.
"I'm good," he replied. Uncle Bill clapped him on the shoulder and smiled at him.
"Hi!" chirped two small children. Teddy looked down and saw two of Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur's children, Amelie and Kenneth. Kenneth was clutching a blue blanket and Amelie had a witch doll under her arm and her thumb firmly in her mouth. Teddy smiled at them.
"Getting ready for your third year, are you?" Uncle Bill asked.
"Yup," replied Teddy.
"Pretty excited, I expect. This is Victoire's first year."
"Teddddeeeee." crooned a silky smooth female voice from behind his Auntie Fleur. She stepped to the left to reveal he daughter, Victoire. She had long, strawberry blonde hair and large, penetrating blue eyes.
Teddy gulped. "Hello, Victoire."
He hadn't seen Victoire since his first year, when she had been only nine. She seemed to have grown up a bit. She batted her eyelashes in his direction and he recoiled.
"Teddy? Oh, hello Bill, Fleur." he heard Gran call behind him. "Hello Amelie, Kenneth," she bent down and gave them each a kiss on the nose.
"Hello, Mrs. Tonks." said Bill, chuckling slightly. "It seems our little Victoire has her eye on Teddy."
Victoire's eyelashes batted in his direction again and he made a face at her.
"Oh, really," Andromeda observed. "Is she starting school already?"
"Yes, time flies, does it not?" asked Fleur. She looked fondly at Teddy. "Why, I remember when Teddy was first born. We were ze first to 'ear ze news from 'is father."
"I remember too." said Bill.
Soon, there were too many people gazing fondly at Teddy for his liking. He busied himself with checking things inside of his trunk.
"Hey!" someone called from behind them. Teddy turned to look and saw little Andy Weasley running ahead of his parents, Percy and Penelope. Penelope was holding the hand of their small daughter, Charlotte who had a book under her arm.
"Hi, Victoire." said Andy, somewhat breathlessly when he finally made it to the small crowd.
"Hmph." said Victoire, turning up her nose at the small, red-haired boy.
"What? I didn't really mean to put that frog in your lemonade and you know it!" apologized Andy.
Victoire merely said, "Hmph", again and turned toward Teddy. "How was your summer, Teddy?"
Teddy took one look at Victoire and knew she was nothing but trouble. She continued to bat her eyelashes as he replied, "Fine."
"So," said Bill. "Is it Andy's first year as well, then?"
"Yes, and he's so excited!" said Penelope, smiling at her son.
"Why can't I go, mummy?" asked Charlotte, looking up at her mother.
"Honey, I've told you, four more years and it'll be your turn."
Charlotte looked disgruntled, plopped herself down on the platform and began to read the book she had been carrying. She was soon joined by Amelie who plucked her thumb out of her mouth to ask, "What's that?"
"I've got an owl!" exclaimed Andy.
"Owls are stinky and smelly!" interjected Victoire, finally looking at her cousin. "Not like cats. You've got a cat, haven't you, Teddy?"
"Er, yeah," Teddy desperately wished Mark would hurry up and get to the platform. But Teddy knew he was liable to arrive at 10:59 and rush onto the train at high speed due to his mother's chronic lateness. Even after Mark had bought her a watch from Hogsmeade that screamed when you had missed an event, she could not be cured.
"I wonder where George is," mused Percy, glancing at his watch. "He'll be late if he doesn't show up soon."
Teddy realized, this was a big day for most of the Weasley clan. Three of their youngest were beginning at Hogwarts. Percy's Andy, Bill's Victoire and George's Fred. Fred had been named after the twin that George had lost.
Teddy glanced into his cat carrier and then back at the wall, willing Mark to come bursting through it, but he did not. The next pair to come out onto the platform was Molly and Arthur Weasley.
"Hello! Hello all!" called Molly, striding towards them to take her place in the group, followed by her husband. "Teddy, dear, how are you?"
Teddy smiled, it had occurred to them that Molly considered it her duty to be a mother figure to him since all he had was Gran. Harry had said she'd done the same thing to him. "I'm all right."
"Good, very good." She turned to each of her sons and kissed them in turn. Then she looked to her grandchildren. "Is everyone ready for Hogwarts?"
"Yes!" came the loud answer from both Andy and Victoire. Victoire seemed to want to outdo Andy in loudness.
"Here comes the cavalry!" called someone from behind them and Teddy turned with the rest of them to see yet another Weasley coming out of the wall.
"George!" cried Molly, running forward to hug her son. Teddy always felt sad when he saw George and his wife, Verity. Gran had told him that George's twin had been killed in the same battle his father and mother had been killed in. Did naming his son after Fred help him feel better? Maybe Teddy should have named his cat after his father or mother.He wondered, sometimes, if it hurt more to lose a twin or both your parents.
"Hi, everyone!" called Fred, coming into the circle of children.
"Hey, everyone!" called another boy with red hair who had been following Fred.
"Oh, stop following me already, Willie! I told you can't come until you're eleven!" cried Fred.
"You're not the boss of me!" replied Willie.
"Boys, let's give it a rest," said George, looking as though this had been going on ever since they had left the house.
"Hey, Fred!" said Andy, looking excited at the arrival of his cousin. Teddy wished there were more children closer to his age. It was even worse when he'd been eleven and they had all been a mere nine years old.
At ten minutes to eleven, Molly suggested they all start looking for compartments or at least hauling their belongings onto the train. Bill, Percy and George carried the trunks of their respective children and George returned to the group to help Teddy as he struggled with his heavy load.
After he'd gotten his trunk into an empty compartment, Teddy returned to the platform to wait for Mark and to be buried beneath a sea of hugs and kisses from his various relatives. Teddy supposed he was lucky, just like Harry had been. The Weasleys were a very loving family and were more than willing to take one more child under their wing. He was greatful for them.
Gran said goodbye to him last. "Have a good term, Teddy. I'll write to you if you want. And you can come home for Christmas, of course. Bring Mark, if you like."
"Thanks, Gran. I'll miss you."
"It's only a few months until Christmas," said Gran. She put up a brave face but Teddy knew she didn't like it when he was gone, when the house was so quiet.
"I'll see you then, I promise." said Teddy, giving his Gran a strong hug.
"Teddy!" someone called, infiltrating his goodbyes.
Teddy looked up to see Mark running towards him and his mother close behind looking frazzled.
"Hey, Mark. How are you."
"Fine," said Mark, smoothing down his black hair. "Thought we wouldn't make it, didn't ya?"
"Yes," replied Teddy truthfully. Mark laughed.
"Hello, Andromeda." said Kathleen Richards, Mark's mum.
"Good morning, Kathleen." said Gran politely. Teddy always thought that Gran somewhat disapproved of Mark's mum, she was a single mother and was always late so that made her untrustworthy.
Before the two women had to exchange more pleasantries, the loud whistle of the Hogwarts Express resounded through the platform. Everywhere around him, children embraced their parents and said their goodbyes. Teddy hugged his Gran who he thought was just as good as any of the parents around him and he and Mark made their way to the train.