Teddy Lupin
A story of: Love
Teddy's story takes place on Christmas Eve during one of the harshest snow storms the Burrow had ever endured. The nine year old Metamorphmagus sat on an overstuffed throw pillow, staring out of the window at the racing winter night. The adults were busy fawning over the newborn Lily Luna and taking bets on when the swollen Hermione was finally going to deliver her second child.
The sounds of laughing children filled the living room as two tiny toddlers raced through the mess of adults, partaking in a game of chase. Angelina and Percy broke away from the group, attempting to wrangle the young Fred and Molly back into their beds for the night.
Teddy watched the scene in the reflection of the window. He stared as Angelina lifted her son into her arms and held him close, squeezing the boy until a fit of giggles erupted. Teddy's normally light blue eyes faded into a soft green as he watched Percy try to give an extensive lecture about proper sleeping habits to his two year old daughter. A heavy hand fell onto Teddy's shoulder. He looked up to see George Weasley staring down at him with sympathetic eyes.
"You ready for bed?" the man asked the child.
"No," Teddy answered, diverting his gaze to the floor.
George shifted nervously and glanced back at Harry, who was holding his baby daughter. Not wanting to interrupt the moment, he chose to push on himself. "It's already past ten. If you don't get some re-"
"I said no," Teddy spat out, interrupting the man. He crossed his arms and flung his body back around to face out of the window once again.
"Teddy, don't give your Uncle such attitude," came Ginny's voice from across the room.
"He isn't my Uncle," the young boy hissed, still focused on a snow covered tree in the distance. "And you're not my boss."
"Excuse me, young man?" Ginny crossed the room in three steps and had her older brother pushed out of the way so that she could stare down at Teddy. "It's time for bed. Get your pajamas on and go," she said, her voice stern and motherly.
"No!" Teddy shouted, jumping up from where he was seated. "I don't have to listen to you. You aren't my mother!" He kicked at the pillow he had been sat upon. The puff of blue went flying towards the fireplace and almost into it; only to be saved by a quick summoning charm on George's part. The young boy's hair flushed red and he gritted his teeth in frustration.
Ginny got to her knees and pressed her hands onto the child's shoulders, trying to force him to look into her eyes. "Teddy, calm down," she cooed, using her understanding voice. "I think you need to get some rest. You'll feel better after a long night's sleep."
"No, I won't!" Teddy argued, pulling himself from the woman's hold. "A long night's sleep isn't going to give me a mother. It isn't going to do anything except get rid of me. That's what you want! You just want me to go to bed so you can get rid of me!"
"Ted Remus Lupin, that is not true," Ginny spat, her entire face contorting along with the severity of her tone.
"Don't call me that," Teddy hissed as he crossed his arms again and turned his back on Ginny.
"That's your name."
"Well I hate it!" Teddy flung his arms out in anger and stomped his foot onto the floor with enough force to shoot a pain throughout his entire leg. He winced momentarily before resuming his fit. "I hate that name. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it! I hate it and I hate him!"
The sound of Teddy's yelling was bringing about more and more youngsters into the living room; all of them eager to see what was happening. A tiny blonde rubbed at her eyes and stared up towards her father, looking for some sort of answer as to Teddy's screaming. With fully red hair and sickly yellow eyes, Teddy turned around and stormed out of the living room, desperate to get away from the forming crowd. He knocked over a kitchen chair onto its back as he passed through the room and wrenched open the back door.
Icy wind bit at Teddy's face as he broke out into a run across the back yard. The cold pierced through his knitted holiday Weasley sweater and caused the child to shiver violently. His teeth banged together and made his head ache from the force. He hadn't had enough time to bother with shoes, so his socks were soon drenched through, his feet instantly numb. The boy collapsed onto the ground, throwing his hands out in front of him to break his fall.
A choking sob escaped from Teddy's throat as he hit the ground. He clambered to sit on his knees and stared down at his pulsing hands. Both palms were skinned and bleeding, but he couldn't see them. He had run too far from the house and the light was far behind him. Teddy was shrouded in darkness, shaking violently from a mixture of the cold and pain which seeped through his body. Tears froze on the boy's cheeks before they could reach his jaw to fall away; his nose became caked with chilled drippings. Desperately, he sniffled, trying to get rid of the obstruction, only to be met with more pain in his head from doing so.
The boy allowed his body to fall over, all hope of holding himself upright abandoned. His face pressed into the snow and his sobbing become louder than the fierce howling of the wind around him. Two arms wrapped tightly around Teddy's body, lifting him off the ground. His eyes were closed tightly, but he could tell that whoever was holding him was running back in the direction of the house.
The warmth of the house felt like fire against Teddy's frozen skin. He cried out in pain and clutched himself against the figure holding him. The arms tightened around his body.
"Put him by the fire!"
"No don't. He'll go into shock!"
"Uncle Haewy, what's wong with him?"
"Give him to me, I have a blanket."
"Harry, let him go, you need the fire too."
"You 'ave to let go. Put 'im on ze couch."
"He needs to be by the fire!"
"Mummy, why isn't he moving?"
"He's just tired, Fred, go with your father."
"Teddy!"
"Victoire, Dominique, go back to bed, he'll be okay."
"The clothes, get him out of the wet clothes."
Hands came from all directions, pulling and prying at Teddy's soaked outfit. He could feel his iced over jeans vanish from his body, quickly followed by his sweater. A blanket, several actually, wrapped around the his form and he felt himself being lifted once more.
Finally able to open his eyes, Teddy could see Harry carrying him over to the fireplace. The man laid the young Metamorphmagus in front of the crackling flames and rubbed his hands over the boy's arms. Teddy's hair was a deep black, his eyes the color of cold steel. He looked around the room, focusing on the worried faces of almost the entire Weasley family. He could hear Fleur in the bedroom, begging her two daughters to calm down; the sounds of the girls' panicked shrieks made Teddy's stomach turn.
The sound of soft crying met Teddy's ears, only this time it wasn't his own. He looked up into Harry's bloodshot emerald eyes and watched as they filled with tears. He could barely move from being wound so tightly in the blankets, but he managed to wiggle closer to the man and crawl up into his lap. Harry's arms wrapped around Teddy's body and he rocked him gently, whispering over and over, "Please don't ever do that again."
The rest of the room was slow to move. Bill joined his wife in the comforting of their children while Ginny knelt down behind her husband and put her arms around him. Molly collapsed into her recliner, her teary eyes watching her daughter and son-in-law as Charlie rubbed at her shoulder. George and Angelina quietly took their son's hand and led him into the kitchen for some soothing tea; they were followed by Ron and Hermione, both grateful that Rose hadn't woken from the chaos. Percy and Audrey resigned to sit on the couch in silence and make feeble attempts at drying Teddy's clothing.
Teddy pressed his face into his Godfather's chest and listened to the man whisper with his wife. The young boy's eyes fluttered closed to the soothing sound. It was then, as Teddy Lupin drifted off to sleep, he truly understood what it meant to be loved.
A Note From the Author: Thank you so much for starting this story. This entire 16 chapter piece is being written for a challenge which requests a story about each of the 16 next gen characters. The order I'm presenting them in is relevant to the way some intertwine with each other and so that there is an even spacing of Love, Lies and Loss. I really hope that you decide to follow this throughout each of the stories. There will be heart-wrenching tales as well as happy, fluffy, make you smile ones. This is the only one which features the character as a child, the rest of them will be teen and adult aged. Don't be afraid to leave a review and thank you so much! :D –Jenna