Five year old Teddy Lupin lay in bed. The little boy had just had dinner with his best friend Victoire, along with his Uncle Harry, and many others. Now, he was back at home with his grandmother, and Teddy Lupin had a question nagging at his mind that was even more terrifying than the monster that he was certain was under his bed. He tried to ignore the question, because he had already pondered the question many times and asked many people, but to no avail. No one would ever answer his question, even when he gave his grandmother the pouty face. He already asked his Uncle Harry. But Harry always said, "Maybe when you're older." Teddy didn't understand why, but he knew that one day he might. He paused in thinking when he knew he heard a growl coming from under the bed. He hid under the covers, petrified. When the low, menacing growl finally went away, Teddy sighed and succumbed to sleep. But his last thought, before finally giving in to Mister Sandman, plagued his dreams for the rest of the night. As he heard a wolf howling at the beautiful full moon, he closed his weary eyes and thought,
Why don't I have any parents like Vicky does?
The next morning, Teddy hopped gleefully out of bed, joyful that the scary monster from under his bed didn't devour him in his sleep. All thoughts of his unknown parents were gone from his mind as he skipped happily downstairs. The only thing Teddy thought about was the delicious smell of bacon wafting in from downstairs.
His godfather, Harry Potter, was there, cooking the bacon. His grandma was nowhere to be found, although it was likely that she was with Mrs. Weasley, with whom she was very good friends. Teddy didn't mind much, because he was very close to his godfather, who practically raised him.
As Teddy sat crunching on the tasty bacon as Harry told him funny stories, the world seemed perfect.
Until—
"Uncle Harry, where are my parents?"
Uncle Harry looked utterly taken aback by the question. Recovering from his initial shock, he said, "Well, Teddy, I think that's a tale for another day."
Teddy frowned. He hated that answer. It meant that he wasn't grown up enough yet. Why, he could tie his shoes all on his own! Surely that meant that he could know where his Mommy and Daddy were.
"But—"
"Not now, Teddy, I need to talk about it with your grandmother first."
Teddy assumed that meant yes. Happy about getting some information, he hopped away to the living room, where there was an owl tapping away with a copy of the Quibbler.
Teddy received it happily and only looked at the cover, for he was a little lad and couldn't quite read that well yet.
Teddy went off on a wizarding adventure with all his toys, but not before wondering curiously,
What in the world is a Nargle?
Meanwhile, Harry was panicking.
What should I tell him? He's only five years old! He wouldn't handle it well!
Harry fretfully paced the room as he thought.
But I can't lie to him and give him false hope! If I don't tell him, he might think that his mom and dad are coming back one day!
Finally, he decided he would let Andromeda make the decision. She would probably know what to do.
That night, Harry sat down at dinner with Andromeda, with Teddy at his house with Ginny. He didn't want the poor boy to overhear the situation.
"Alright, Harry, what's going on?" Andromeda narrowed her eyes at him. "You wouldn't do this unless you wanted to discuss something."
Harry sweated nervously. "Well, uh—it's about Teddy…."
Andromeda gestured for him to continue.
"Uh—his parents…" Harry trailed off, his hands sopping wet with sweat.
Andromeda sighed. "You want to tell Teddy about his parents, don't you?"
Harry shook his head. "I don't know what to do! He's been asking a lot lately, and I'm not sure if we should tell him or not."
Andromeda hung her head. "I know we have to tell him eventually, better now than when he's 11 and finds out about it at Hogwarts."
Harry was relieved at finding a solution, but he wasn't happy at all.
"How do you tell a five-year-old boy that his parents are dead?"
Teddy and Ginny were eating dessert at Albus' (a restaurant dedicated to war hero, Albus Dumbledore) when Teddy's young mind was bothered by another question.
"Aunt Ginny, where do babies come from?"
Ginny didn't know what to say.
"Why do you want to know, Teddy?"
"Was I born different from everyone else?"
"No, of course not, why would you think that?"
"Because everyone else has a mommy and daddy and I don't."
"Oh, Teddy," Ginny couldn't hold back her tears.
Teddy watched her, bewildered, as she sobbed right into her Lemon Drop Surprise.
I guess she didn't like the dessert, Teddy thought.
"Teddy?" Harry said cautiously the next day.
"Yeah, Uncle Harry?" Teddy said distractedly, focused on his toy.
"Do you really want to know about your parents?"
That caught the boy's attention. He ran excitedly at Harry.
"What are they like? What are their names?"
Harry smiled half-heartedly. "Your mom's name is Nymphadora Tonks, but it was changed to Nymphadora Lupin when she married your daddy."
Teddy beamed as his hair turned a vibrant turquoise.
Harry grinned, Teddy's happiness pulling him out of a dark mood. "And that's another thing! She could do what you can do! She's a Metamorphmagus too!"
Teddy smiled and said matter-of-factly, "Met-uh-morf-muh-gus."
"Right! And she is real clumsy, but your daddy loves her anyway. Your daddy's name is Remus Lupin, and he is special too. Teddy, do you know what a werewolf is?"
Teddy nodded. "Some people say they're mean and scary. But I don't think so, because you told me that they can't help being a werewolf!"
Harry nodded. "Well, your daddy is one. But don't be fooled! Your daddy is one of the nicest men I know. He really cares about you."
Teddy giggled contentedly.
"Your dad's really smart and he has three best friends, who love him so much."
Harry's grin faded from his face. "Teddy, you know the battle I told you about?"
Teddy nodded, and said with difficulty, "The one where you defeated Vole-duh-mort?"
Harry nodded. "Your parents fought in that war, which was very brave of them. Teddy, you know why Uncle George is so sad on April Fools?"
Teddy looked confused and said, "Because he lost Uncle Fred?"
Harry nodded sadly. "He died in the battle that I told you about. He bravely gave his life to help make it so that no one would have to die because of Voldemort ever again. And this is the sad point in my story, Teddy."
Teddy still didn't seem to understand.
Harry sighed and tears welled up in his eyes as he said. "Teddy, your parents died in that same war."
Realization sank in for Teddy. "You mean—" He whispered, choking back tears. "They'll never throw me a birthday party?"
Harry nodded solemnly and embraced the boy. Andromeda stood in the background sobbing.
"Teddy, don't be terribly sad, your mommy and daddy are with everyone else in Heaven,"
Teddy still wept. "Why didn't they want to be with me?"
Andromeda shook her head fervently. "Your parents love you more than everything, even now. Don't even think for a moment that they didn't!"
Harry nodded. "They died for you. So you wouldn't have to live in a world with bad guys,"
Teddy stopped wailing for a moment. "So, they're with Uncle Fred? And Hedwig? And Dobby?"
Harry smiled at the boy. "Yes, and Sirius and my mom and dad and Snape and Mad-eye and Dumbledore! They're looking down on us, and guess what, Teddy; they're proud of you and me and everyone else and they love you."
Teddy smiled. "So one day I'll see them?"
Harry nodded. "One day."
"And they know what I'm doing!"
Andromeda nodded.
"D'you think they know about that time I pulled Vicky's hair?"
Harry and Andromeda laughed.
Later that night, Teddy lay in bed, care-free.
"Why is it I'm so happy? My parents are gone." He whispered to himself.
Still, after Harry's confession, he took Teddy and most of the family to the Burrow, where all his friends and family were, and they told him stories about Uncle Harry and my parents, which cheered him up.
"Oh, bugger-off," He said to the monster under his bed as it growled.
A few minutes passed before Teddy felt his eyes fell droopy.
"Thank you for loving me," He said to the room happily before nodding off to sleep.
Teddy was unaware that he would meet his parents sooner than expected.
