For fanficsunderthestairs' 1,000 followers challenge. Prompt: Teddy Lupin finds something of his father's in the attic.
Stars twinkled far away in the dark sky, swirling and moving slowly across the night; as isolated and mysterious as the distant planets and incandescent bodies they actually are. Teddy Lupin exhaled, his breath condensing slightly in the cool air as he gazed upwards, flicking his fringe (which at the moment was a light sandy brown colour) out of his eyes. It was three in the morning on the sixth of August and he'd been unable to sleep. After hours spent tossing and turning in his bed, sleep coming in fitful bouts, he'd eventually given up trying. He had wandered over to his bedroom window but the view of the sky had been mostly blocked by the sprawling branches of the oak tree outside, so he had quietly sneaked up to the attic, being careful not to wake his grandmother in the process.
The shadows of the attic were illuminated only by the dim light seeping through the skylight at the far end of the room and Teddy lit his wand, using the small sphere of light to better navigate the path across the makeshift floor. Planks of wood had been stretched across the beams serving the double purpose of providing floor space on which to rest old boxes and worn trunks and also preventing any clumsy-footed person from accidentally putting their foot through the ceiling of the room below. The uneven planks clattered quietly as he put his weight on them, the musty smell of dust motes invaded his nostrils and he fought the instinct to sneeze as he walked further into the room, walking around stacks of dusty books, furniture and crates. Reaching the skylight Teddy gazed upwards through it and, pulling over an old chair to stand on, cast a quick spell to vanish the glass in the frame.
The air was brisk and damp; it had rained earlier that day and the fresh smell was still heavy in the air. Teddy extinguished his wand and placed it into the pocket of his pyjama trousers so he could rest his arms on the roof tiles, goosebumps appearing along his skin and raising the hair on his arms as he marvelled at the beauty of the stars. How long he stood there, craning his head back as he observed the silent stars, he didn't know. The moon, almost at its very fullest was mostly hidden behind a cloud, only a sliver peeking out and betraying its hiding place. Small snippets of information learned in Astronomy classes raced through his brain but he didn't pay them much thought, content to stare in wonderment at the heavens.
As he shifted his weight slightly the chair gave way, the worn legs refusing to carry him any longer and collapsing on the floor with a clatter that sounded more like a sigh. Teddy was thrown from the chair and landed on a pile of cardboard boxes in the dusty corner of the attic. The boxes luckily muffled his fall as they were squashed and ripped apart and as the dust flew up into his nose, Teddy automatically sneezed. For a moment he remained absolutely immobile, waiting for the yells of his grandmother to signify her rude awakening. However when no such sounds came, he climbed out of the pile of boxes and silently cursed whilst rubbing a bashed elbow and tenderly feeling his ribs which had taken the brunt of the fall. He threw an angry glance at the treacherous chair lying in a bedraggled heap a few feet away. In his vague memories of his few trips into the attic he never remembered venturing into this corner; in fact, he didn't think this corner had ever been touched in his life and had instead been forgotten about for sixteen years. Annoyed, Teddy pulled out his wand and ignited it once more as he searched in the deformed box on top of the pile looking for the hard object which was to blame for his injuries.
The box appeared to contain neatly folded clothes- mostly robes but a few muggle suits as well. The clothes were shabby but clean, despite the smell of must and mothballs that emanated from them and Teddy suspected that these were not the cause of his bruised elbow and chest. He dug deeper into the box and uncovered an old briefcase at the bottom of it. Teddy pulled it out and inspected it. It was made from an old, dark brown leather and was battered at the corners. The handle rattled slightly as he inspected the clasp; with a small gasp he saw the peeling initials underneath reading 'R. J. L.'. Remus John Lupin. His father.
Teddy had never met his father, despite being told all about him by his grandmother and godfather. He knew his father had been a werewolf and had fought in the First and Second Wizarding Wars, had even held the First Class Order of Merlin medal that had been awarded to him after his death but this was different. This was something that he had found all by himself, without being told about it or relying on another source of information. This was proof that his father had been an actual, living person who didn't just exist in photographs and he was the one who had found it. Slowly, relishing every moment, Teddy flipped the latch of the briefcase and lifted the lid. He raised his wand so as to better see the contents of the case and eagerly rummaged through them: he found a series of handwritten journals bound together with an elastic band, his father's wand which was made from a light brown wood, intricately carved at the handle, an old Gryffindor tie and a folded piece of yellowed paper. With one hand, Teddy picked up the last item and unfolded it. It wasn't a piece of paper like he had first thought but a photograph. It was a wizarding photograph of four Hogwarts students- going by the condition of the photograph and the dated uniforms Teddy assumed it was taken some forty years previously. With a rush of pleasure Teddy recognised his father, at a similar age to Teddy, standing on the left of the group next to a figure who bore a striking resemblance to Harry and who Teddy knew to be James Potter senior. Teddy recognised the other two people as Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew: his father's two other school friends smiling out of the picture.
Placing the photograph to one side, he ran his hands across the collection of journals and, balancing his wand in the crook of the briefcase lid, slid one out of the elastic band and opened it. The paper was smooth and crinkled under his touch. With a small jolt, he realised he was looking at his father's handwriting for the first time in his life. Teddy settled into a more comfortable position and began to read the small, neat lettering. Minutes seeped into hours as the young wizard read late into the night, his eyes dully aching in the wandlight as the night grew older and dawn slowly began to creep across the sky.
It was there that Andromeda found him the next morning, after seeing his bed empty and searching the house, curled up fast asleep amongst the dusty boxes of the attic.