Proxy Keeper (Canbaddles- Puddlemere part of the trio) by Chaser Three- Slice of Life no other prompts
-Write a family fic for Opposite Day Challenge: Your challenge is to write a family fluff story, meaning basically a story full of family cuteness between siblings, sibling to parents, etc etc, using any generation of Potter. Okay I really hope this counts since that Teddy is a Potter-Lupin but if not then I shall write another story it's no big deal.
I don't own Harry Potter.
Christmas was the best time of year, in Teddy's opinion.
That was the time of year when Uncle Charlie came home from Romania, all the children at Hogwarts came back to the Burrow and talked to the ones still waiting for their chance to go, and even Uncle Ron put away his hate of Slytherins and his possessiveness of Rose (Well… sort of) and allowed Scorpius Malfoy to sit next to his only daughter. Of course, only after Rose threatened to elope with Scorpius and never speak to him again when Ron had refused to allow her to see Scorpius during the whole dinner a few years previous, but still, Uncle Ron cooperated, and that was enough.
Maybe the Potter-Lupin enjoyed Christmas because of the food, the time spent in all of his family's company when they were all shoved around the table with lots of laughter, chatter, and cheer. The amusement of watching Fred and James fire off a firecracker and scaring Grandmother Molly, Dominique and Roxanne giggling together happily at something James had said, Albus and Louis, having a debate with Victorie and Lucy while Scorpius and Rose watched- it made the boy smile and grin and made each holiday something to remember and treasure.
Sometimes, at the end of the night- way past the children's bed time and the young ones sleepily devouring the Butterbeer handed out around midnight, Teddy found himself separate from the family.
They all had their parents with them, they were blood related and happily could make fun of one another without it being scolded (too much) and they knew exactly where they belonged in the Weasley-Potter food chain.
Teddy, a Potter-Lupin? Not so much.
Even Uncle Harry, who was like his dad, although he tried very hard to include the metamorphagous in all the conversations and always was his father to him, sometimes couldn't help the turquoise haired boy to allow his 'cousins' to include him. It made Teddy happy he had such a caring father and mother, but not being considered one of the family…
"Teddy, you're thinking too hard again."
"Ehhhhhhh!" Teddy nearly fell from his spot on the willow tree, had it not been Hugo's fast reflexes with a wand. "Ahhh, thank you Hu- wait a second, I thought you weren't allowed to use magic during the summer?" the Lupin looked suspiciously at the red head, who blushed and sheathed his wand.
"I, er, kind of forgot. I was helping you not get hurt, surely they would understand that." Hugo's bright brown eyes shined with amusement as he tried to climb up the tree to where Teddy was sitting. "Erg, how troublesome." Hugo finally was able to sit on the tall and sturdy branch with Teddy, and the two were silent for a few moments as they watched the sparks from the fireworks Fred and James had set off. The December air was chilly and bit into Teddy's thin jacket like swarms of icy bees, and the older boy shivered slightly before relaxing.
"Why are you out here, Hugo?"
The younger boy didn't turn his head, instead staring up at the moon with wide eyes. "You were thinking too much. Every year you come out here to think and I was always wondering what you were thinking about. You know you have me, Rose, Dom, and all the others. Why don't you spend time inside and out of the cold?"
Teddy shook his head. "You wouldn't understand, Hugo."
The redhead turned to look at Teddy with blank eyes. "Try me."
Teddy refused for the first hour, but once it became apparent around 2 AM on Boxing Day (surely the parents would wonder where they were, wouldn't they?) that Hugo wasn't moving until Teddy talked, did the multi-coloured haired boy crack and say, "I don't belong."
Hugo listened silently as all of Teddy's fears and observations flow out, the redhead not minding as the moon slowly starting setting and the sun rising as the hours passed around the two in their tree. Sometimes Teddy would slow down and Hugo would quietly ask a question or two, but for the most part Hugo didn't say anything and Teddy appreciated it.
"You worry about how we feel about you." Hugo said as he kicked his legs back and forth to help circulation flow through them. "But I know for certain that everyone loves you and spends time with you. You're our family, Teddy; you've been part of this family longer than any other one of us and we all have no idea what we would do without you."
Teddy lifted his head and smiled, but it was a fake grin that made Hugo flinch. "You're just saying that to make me feel better."
"No, I'm not! You're what everyone wants to be! Everyone loves you- we have no idea what we would do without you, Teddy! You're our family, you might technically not be blood related but you're definitely our family and you're adopted into our family so therefore you're our family so stop beating yourself down!"
Teddy blinked at the flushed boy who was trying to take in deep breaths, and smiled warmly as he patted Hugo on the back. "D-Do you really think so?"
The redhead nodded, still a little flushed. "Definitely- ask anyone."
Teddy laughed sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck, purple eyes closing and his dark hair turning to a familiar Weasley red. "Hahaha, sorry about that, Hugo. I guess my fears were stupid."
"You're fears aren't stupid, what's stupid is that you believed that you weren't a part of our family." Hugo pouted before trying to scout himself off the branch. "Now let's get down from here, my butt's gone numb and I'm afraid how Mum and Grandma will react once they realized we spent the whole night outside… Good thing it was pretty warm huh? No snow?"
Teddy smiled as he jumped down after Hugo, his larger footsteps making imprints next to the younger Hufflepuff's. "Mmm, yeah."
Teddy felt happier than he had ever been before at that time, and didn't even stop grinning when Aunt Ginny came out and berated the boys for staying out before offering them hot chocolate.
It was a good day, and Teddy couldn't wait to spend it with his family.
Christmas was definitely the best time of year.