It seemed like he'd only gotten to the castle last week, but in reality, it had been almost seven years ago. He'd gone from being a cute kid to a gangly and slightly awkward-looking adolescent to... well, now. He was still getting used to having to shave every day to keep his face smooth, and there were definitely a lot more girls giggling when he walked by them than there ever had been before.
Right now, what Teddy really wanted was to be alone. He'd gotten more career advice in the past month than he wanted or knew what to do with, most of it aimed at convincing him to join the Aurors.
The Aurors were very noble. It was a very important job. It just wasn't a job that Teddy particularly wanted to do, even though he knew that he'd gotten the necessary marks in his NEWTs, which he'd finished two days earlier.
So Teddy went to the same place he went whenever he wanted to be alone: the Forbidden Forest.
His godfather had let something slip once. It was a little slip, something that no one else would have noticed, but the subject of the slip was more important to Teddy than it was to anyone else, so he did.
His godfather had told him that Teddy's father was sorry he couldn't be there for him.
It was the way it had been phrased – not that he would have been sorry, or that Harry was sure that he was sorry. It had been stated as fact.
As if Harry had talked to his father after his father had already died.
However Harry had managed it, Teddy wished that he'd been able to, too. He wished he could hear what his father and mother would say about the decision he had to make.
He got to a small clearing and sat down on the ground. As he stretched his arms out behind him, he felt a small stone beneath his fingers.
He picked it up.
"I wish you were here." His voice was so soft it was barely audible. He turned the stone over in his hands as he thought. "I wish I knew what to do."
He heard an unfamiliar voice behind him. "Oh, Teddy."
He snatched his wand from where it lay a few inches from his outstretched right hand and scrambled up, stone still clasped tightly in his left hand. A woman was standing a few feet behind him; her hands were clasped in front of her, and she was watching him carefully.
She wasn't quite right. He could see that right away. She wasn't quite – well, human. The breeze that rippled through the trees had no effect on her, and as she took a step forward, the twigs beneath her foot didn't snap. But she wasn't exactly a ghost, either.
He also would have known her anywhere.
"Mum?" he croaked.
She smiled and glanced over her shoulder. "Remus," she called, her voice high and clear.
Teddy stared at the forest as his father emerged from behind the trees. Like his wife, he wasn't quite right – neither living nor a ghost.
Teddy knew his face, too. There was even a well-worn picture of them in his pocket right now, and it felt like it was burning a hole through it.
"How?" His voice was barely above a whisper.
His parents exchanged a glance. "The forest has its own magic," his father said at last.
This seemed rather insufficient for Teddy, but they didn't elaborate, and after a moment, he decided that they either didn't know or (more likely) couldn't tell him.
His father took another step or two closer to him and bent down. "What's wrong?"
Teddy drew his knees up to his chest. His heart was still pounding - he wanted to reach out to touch his father, but he was afraid of what he'd find if he did. "I just finished my NEWTs, and I don't know what to do." He drew his knees up to his chest. "Everyone wants me to be an Auror, but... I don't want to. Sorry," he said quickly, glancing at his mother.
She smiled. "You don't have to be an Auror just because I was - or just because your godfather is."
"Is he pressuring-" His father started to ask.
"No!" Teddy said quickly. "No, he said I just need to do what I feel is right." His father's mouth curled upward, and Teddy said, "I thought you'd want me to be."
"No," his mother said. "No." She plopped down onto the ground next to him. "So tell me, what do you want?"
"I..." He glanced between them. "I don't know. I talked to Bill Weasley about Gringotts over Christmas."
"Curse-Breaking?" His mother's face broke into a wide smile. It was disconcerting; he was looking at his smile on another person's face. "Oh, I always wanted to do that."
"Really?" She nodded, still beaming, and he looked at his father.
"Do what makes you happy," his father said. "That's all that matters."
"Be a Curse-Breaker," his mother put in. His father glanced at her, and she stuck her tongue out at him. "Oh, Remus. It's all right to have an opinion, you know."
The look on his father's face made Teddy burst out laughing. His mother sat back, looking quite pleased with herself.
"I can't believe you're here," he said.
"Well, we are, so ask us anything you want."
He leaned forward. The questions were already starting the cascade through his thoughts. This would probably be the only time that he would ever be able to talk to his parents, and he wanted to make it count.