This is the first fanfic I've written in a really long time and the first one for Harry Potter. I hope you enjoy it! Please leave reviews-I really appreciate them, especially since it's been so long since I've written anything so I want to know what you do and don't like.
(Obvious) Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters in this story.
Teddy could feel butterflies fluttering in his stomach as he walked down the impressive stone hallway next to his father. He glanced up at the portraits on the wall and was momentarily distracted by a knight, grinning down at him. The man waved, and Teddy felt a small smile form on his face as he waved back. The next thing he knew he was on the floor.
"Teddy?" His dad said in surprise, stopping and waiting as Teddy stood back up.
"Sorry, I got distracted and I tripped," he muttered, brushing himself off.
"You really are your mother's son," Remus said, shaking his head as he attempted, and failed, to keep a smile off his face. The pair continued onwards and Teddy, his dignity slightly wounded, promised himself he'd be more careful this year. It was one thing to fall in front of his dad, but he wasn't about to embarrass himself in front of his new classmates.
They finally reached the staffroom door, and Teddy smiled at the familiar sight of the two stone gargoyles at the entrance. Although they had been repaired, if he looked carefully he could point out the spots that were damaged during the Battle of Hogwarts. But there wasn't time for that today. Teddy held his breath in anticipation as his dad opened the door and ushered him inside. He glanced around and saw an assortment of witches and wizards sitting on mismatched wooden chairs. Against the wall was the wardrobe in which a boggart had once lived. Harry loved to tell the story of Teddy's father teaching his Defence Against the Dark Arts class how to vanquish a boggart. Teddy had spent many hours in this room with his dad, but today was different. He let out his breath and waited as his father cleared his throat and gathered the attention of his audience.
"Good morning. I would like to introduce you all to my favorite new first year, Teddy Remus Lupin."
Teddy watched as the professors' faces broke into broad smiles. Of course, he had spent a large portion of his childhood at Hogwarts so he knew the entire staff, but his father had wanted to officially introduce him as their new student. Teddy knew how excited his dad was about the upcoming year—Remus had talked about his son starting at Hogwarts almost as much as Teddy did. All summer he'd been giving Teddy tips for life at Hogwarts and not-so-cryptic hints about the DADA curriculum for first years. Headmistress McGonagall stood up from her seat next to Professor Longbottom and walked up to the Lupins. She smiled at Teddy, shook his hand, and opened her mouth to speak.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said warmly. "I trust you'll do your best to keep out of trouble. Your parents were both extremely bright students but somehow managed to get into large amounts of mischief. Try to only follow their academic precedents."
Teddy nodded, and glanced up at his father, who was looking fondly at Professor McGonagall. He watched as she sat back down, and stood patiently next to his father as a stream of professors came to talk to him and shake his hand. At one point, he looked up at his dad again and saw an expression on his face that Teddy always longed to incite. Remus was always a supportive parent, but throughout Teddy's childhood there were distinct moments that he remembered looking at his father and seeing an especially intense expression of pride on his face. As he looked up at him now and saw just how proud his dad was, his heart felt as though it might burst. Remus, seeing Teddy notice him, smiled and squeezed his son's shoulder affectionately.
Later that day, Teddy walked with his father along the shore of the Great Lake. The September air was chilly and a breeze caused ripples to form on the water. In a few hours Teddy's classmates would be riding in boats across the lake, but for now he was enjoying some alone time with his dad.
"Mum wanted to come see you later but I thought maybe you'd want to hang out with your new friends instead," Remus said, breaking the silence.
"Yeah, I guess it would be weird to leave the group to go see my parents," Teddy replied, although he honestly wouldn't really mind. He knew most kids couldn't wait to get away from their parents, but his were actually fun. He loved going to Weird Sisters concerts with his mum and spending time at Hogwarts with his dad. He had to keep reminding himself that this year would be different. He was going to be a student now so he couldn't hang out in the staffroom or his dad's office.
"Are you excited for the sorting ceremony?" His dad asked, looking over at Teddy.
"Yeah, I am. I'm a little nervous, but mostly ready to finally know my house."
"I'm sure it'll be fine. Any house is good, of course, and chances are you'll end up in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. I know Mum will be pleased if you follow in her footsteps; she's been dressing you in her House colors practically since the day you were born."
Teddy smiled as he pictured his mother in her Hufflepuff scarf, watching them leave that morning.
"I'll send her an owl as soon as I know," he said. "Don't tell her first, I want her to hear it from me."
"Okay," Remus said, smiling at Teddy. He reached over and put his arm around his son. "I just want you to know how proud I am of you," he said. "You're a smart boy and I know you're going to thrive at Hogwarts. Your mum and I both look forward to seeing what you do in the future." He squeezed Teddy tighter and leaned down to kiss the top of his head.
Teddy jolted awake. His eyes moved frantically around the room as he tried to remember where he was. Suddenly, it all came rushing back. He was at Harry's house and both of his parents were dead. Everything he knew about the staffroom at Hogwarts was from spending time there with Neville, not his dad. Even though he couldn't remember a time when his parents were alive, he had such vivid dreams about them that it sometimes came as a shock when he awoke and realized he was an orphan. Teddy glanced at the clock on his bedside table. 4:23 A.M. He sighed, and turned over in bed, willing himself to fall back asleep. Today was his first day at Hogwarts, and he really didn't want to be exhausted. He tossed and turned in bed, thinking about the dream he had just had. He wondered if his parents were proud of him, wherever they were. He wished he could owl them as soon as he learned his house and keep them updated on his life at Hogwarts throughout the year. Instead, he had to hope that they were looking down on him from an afterlife and watching him grow up.
"Teddy!" Harry called, once again yanking Teddy back from his sleep. He was glad he'd had a dreamless sleep the second time—his dreams about his parents, though they were wonderful while they lasted, just made him sadder after he woke up.
"It's time to get up!" Harry continued, and Teddy heard footsteps on the stairs. "Hey Teddy, are you awake?" Harry said, knocking on Teddy's door. Teddy moaned in reply. He was definitely feeling the effects of his disrupted night of sleep. Harry opened the door and walked into the room.
"It's time to get up, Teddy. Ginny made a special breakfast for your last day and I want you to be able to enjoy it before it's time to go."
Teddy flipped towards the wall and pulled the covers over his head. He heard Harry walk towards him and felt the bed sag as he sat down.
"Come on, you don't want to miss the train," Harry said, pulling the covers back.
"I'm tired," Teddy moaned.
"Did you have trouble sleeping?"
Teddy hesitated. He knew if anyone would understand his situation it was Harry, but he still felt uncomfortable talking about his feelings, especially when it came to his parents. "Yeah," he said softly, still facing the wall. "I had a dream about my first day of school."
"Were you naked in front of everyone?" Harry asked, laughing at his own joke.
"My dad was there." Teddy felt tears fill his eyes, and he tried his best to blink them away.
Harry instantly stopped laughing. "Oh," he said, and then cleared his throat awkwardly. He placed his hand on Teddy's arm and pulled gently, urging Teddy to turn and face him. Teddy rolled over and looked up at Harry. His eyes were still wet, but he tried his best to ignore his embarrassment.
"I know it's hard," Harry said quietly. "I wish your parents could be here to see you off. They would be so proud of you."
Teddy felt a few tears run down his cheeks, but he still managed a small smile. "You think so?" He asked, although he knew how Harry would respond.
"I know so," his godfather replied. "Now come on, your father would definitely not want you to be late."
Teddy laughed and wiped away his tears, before sitting up in bed and leaning against Harry. He knew that his entire life would be full of moments like this—his parents were going to miss every milestone: first day of school, graduation, first job, his wedding—the list went on. And it wasn't going to get any easier; it definitely hadn't in the first eleven years. But he couldn't even express how grateful he was that his parents had left him with Harry. They might not have been there for much of his life, but they'd been smart enough to leave him with the one person who could truly understand what he was going through.
Harry ruffled Teddy's hair and stood up. "You better hurry if you want to eat breakfast. I'll see you downstairs."
Teddy watched Harry leave and then quickly got dressed. He was nervous, and still a little sad, but he was mostly excited. He'd been looking forward to Hogwarts for years and now it was finally time.
Thanks for reading! Again, please review!