Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Harry Potter; that would be J.K. Rowling. I do thank her though for allowing me and others to dabble and play with the fantastic world she created.
Credit: I would just like to take a moment to thank DarkQuartz for being my awesome beta.
This story is also being published on Hogwarts Extreme
"Teddy!" Tonks called while bustling about the kitchen cooking breakfast "There is a letter for you!" Suddenly, thundering steps were heard coming down the stairs and an exuberant orange-haired boy charged into the kitchen.
"Is it my Hogwarts letter?" He asked with an apprehensive look on his face. He had been waiting for this day to come ever since he had first heard stories from his pop, Uncle Ron, and his Godfather Harry.
"Only one way to find out." She replied with an amused smile while handing him the parchment envelope with emerald green ink.
His hands trembled with excitement and nervous anticipation as he cracked open the wax seal. He knew that he had magical abilities, it was evident with his metamorphmagus ability. However, he had still been nervous about getting a letter ever since he had turned 11 in April. His mind had been throwing around questions such as: what if his metamorphmagus abilities weren't enough? and What if the abilities he inherited from his mother were the only magical abilities he had?
Those were the thoughts that had plagued the young boy. The thoughts growing more and more pressing as his 11th birthday came and went.
"It is! It is!" He shouted as his hair changed to green out of excitement and quickly hugged his mum before jumping around the dining room table to poor owl who had delivered his post was soo startled that he flew off with an indignant chirp.
His siblings cried out from the table where they were already eating their pancakes,"How come we didn't get one?" Addy and Hope whined at the same time.
"Where's mine?" Sirius, the youngest, asked dejectedly, seeming to forget he had a bite of pancake partway to his mouth.
"You will all get one when you're eleven," Tonks soothed to her younger kids as she finished setting out the sausages and eggs.
Hope and Addy looked at each other with anguished expressions then groaned out "Three more years!" as if that day would never come.
Trying not to laugh, Tonks replied, "Yes, in three more years. Now finish your breakfast before it gets cold."
With a dramatic sigh the girls continued eating their breakfast. Sirius seemed to come back to himself, flushed when he realized his fork was in mid-air, and hastily shoved the food into his mouth.
"When can we go get my wand?" Teddy eagerly asked as he sat down at the table.
"We'll all go out to Diagon Alley as soon as your father gets home from the school. He went over there to plan lessons and get things in order for the new school year," she said with a laugh as she sat down to join them. Little did the children know, but Tonks and Remus had planned the trip a week ago when Remus came home with the news that the letters would be going out."I suggest you eat something before then or you won't have enough energy to go shopping."
The day seemed to last forever for Teddy who kept wistfully looking at the Castle in the distance. Thankfully, his mother provided a distraction by calling him up to the attic to go through the old textbooks from when Remus and her were in school, just to see if any of them were on his list.
"Wow, mum! It doesn't even look like you opened A History of Magic."
"Well….ehm….then this copy should be in great condition for you," Tonks quickly excused while handing the book to her son. "I may have just...um.. borrowed notes from a friend to keep up with the class."
"Is it really that boring?" implored the young wizard while he perused the nearly new book.
"Well, it wasn't my favorite subject, but you never know. You may love History of Magic so just try and keep an open mind," she informed brightly while looking at her son, then changed the subject. " What's next?"
The boy put the book down next to him then looked at his school list. "A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration. Do I still need to take Transfiguration being that I'm a metamorphmagus?" Teddy asked hopefully.
"Oh yes, yes you do. It's a lot more than human transfigurations. I nearly failed it because I thought the same thing you did." she rummaged in the trunk for a bit.
"Here is your father's copy of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration. It will be much more helpful than mine since he took better notes."
"Thanks mum!" He said brightly while placing the book on top of his History of Magic book. Looking down at his list Teddy made a check-mark by both textbooks and dutifully read the next one out for her. "The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1."
"Ah, yes, a very useful book. That one teaches you Alohomora which unlocks doors, " she confided with a wink. Pulling out a well used book, she handed it to her son."This may look battered, but there are notes you will find to be very helpful."
"Really, mum? What doors did you find that needed unlocking?" the incredulous youth asked.
"Oh, never you mind. What's next on your list?"
Knowing she wasn't going to elaborate further, Teddy looked at the list and resignedly read off the next one. "One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi."
"For Herbology, which is a fascinating subject I might add, you'll be taught by Professor Longbottom who you've met at your Godfather's parties." She continued looking through the books and pulled out another. "Here's another one that will help, too. Your father kept excellent notes in the margins in this one also."
Teddy thanked her as he took the book then began paging through it. "Wow! Pop was really detailed!"
"Yeah, that would be our dear Head Boy. So which book is next?"
"Ummm…" he distractedly stated as he set the book on top of the growing stack beside him. Looking back at his list he began to add checks next to the ones he had gotten already. Finally he stated "Magical Drafts and Potions."
"Yes, potions is a very very useful branch of magic. Make sure you study hard," the bubblegum pink haired witch lectured while rummaging in the chest of books. "Here we are, my old potions book. It's still in pretty good shape, too. There are some notes that you may find helpful."
Reaching out for the book Teddy replied "Did you need to make a lot of potions in your work as an Auror?"
"I had to make some potions - mostly antidotes, but more importantly was identifying potions." reminisced Tonks. "You definitely don't want to mistake a poison for say pumpkin juice."
Teddy cringed at the thought.
"Let's continue with your texts, shall we. What's left?"
He looked at his list for a bit then stated "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection."
"Ah yes, you will need both of those texts for your father's class. Here you are, these copies are in good condition yet and have some useful notes as well." the mother replied while handing her son two books.
"Thanks mum! I'm looking forward to this class. Pop always has such interesting stories about it." Teddy replied while taking the books and adding them to the stack.
"He sure does." His mum nodded. "Now, let's see about finding you a trunk." She looked around the attic. "This one will do. It's still in great condition. She took out her wand and pointed it at the trunk while saying Scourgify. "There you go. All cleaned out. Why don't you add your books and I'll help you carry it down to your room."
After getting everything settled into his room Teddy was surprised to learn that it wasn't yet noon when he looked at his watch. He thought it had taken longer to go through the books in the attic and now he was left with at least six more hours to fill. To try and distract himself he played two-a-side quidditch with his siblings, re-organized his wizard card collection, and played wizards chess with the twins - he was very good at it and neither of them would play against him alone so he had to allow them to team-up or they refused to play at all.
Finally, after supper it was time to go. Using the floo network they traveled to the Leaky Cauldron, "Hello Mrs. Longbottom", and made their way to the one and only Diagon Alley.
"Teddy slow down! We will get to Ollivanders and all the other shops in due time." Remus green haired boy was beside himself with excitement and was running ahead of his parents and siblings while looking around as if he had never been there before.
"Okay" he said with an embarrassed look on his face as he sulkily walked back towards his parents as his hair turned bright red.
Passing by the sweet shop the little family turned into Potage's Cauldron Shop.
"Alright Teddy, what do you need from this store?" Remus asked.
Teddy - whose hair had gone back to his favorite shade of turquoise - pulled the now well creased and smudged list out of his pocket and read "1 cauldron, pewter, standard size 2" then looked up and his pop. "Where do I find one of those?"
"Let's look at these" his pop said as he led the boy away from the solid gold cauldron the youngster had been eyeing up. Leading him over to the pewter cauldrons, they selected a pewter one of the correct size and paid the cheery shop attendant 15 Galleons for it.
"Mum, can we get our Hogwarts things today too? Then we won't have to get them later and we'll be all ready to go." Hope asked while looking at the cauldrons with Addy. "If you think about it, it makes a lot of sense and saves a trip." the ever logical twin added while gazing at her mother with a pleading expression.
Tonks laughed while keeping a tight hold on Sirius so he wouldn't knock over the stack of silver cauldrons. "No, we will make a special trip for the two of you, just like we are doing for Teddy, when your letters arrive."
"We're all set here." Remus announced while turning away from the counter. "Next stop, Madam Malkin's." Looking to Tonks he continued with "Why don't you take the younger ones for an ice cream while I take Teddy to get fitted for his robes?"
"Ice cream!" Hope, Addy, and Sirius all shouted at once. "Can we please?" Sirius begged no longer interested in the shiny cauldrons.
"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea" She said while opening the door and ushering the children out into the bustling street.
"Aww man...why can't I have some ice cream?" Teddy exclaimed.
"Because you're getting a new wand and robes" his pop whispered to the boy as they walked down the street to Madam Malkin's "Besides, when we're all done, we'll stop and get some ice cream too."
The robe fittings didn't take as long as Teddy had thought they would. When the witch was done making adjustments Remus paid for the robes as well as the pointed hat, cloak, and pack of name tags that he had found in the store. Then he led the excited lad to the end of the street to Ollivanders.
"Finally a real magic wand like you have pop!" Teddy effused while walking into the sparsely lit shop. There were a few candles behind the counter, a chair in the corner, but otherwise the shop was full of shelves that were stacked with narrow boxes. From in the back a soft voice was barely heard to say "I'll be with you in a moment." From amongst one of the shelves a tall white haired wizard with pale silvery eyes emerged "You must be young Edward Lupin". It was stated as a fact, not asked.
"Yes, this is my son Teddy." the beaming father introduced.
"Remus Lupin" The shop owner said with a smile. "I remember when you came in here for your wand; 10¼ inches long, made of cypress, pliable, and containing a single unicorn hair - nearly gored me when I plucked it too. Do you still have the wand?"
Lupin extracted his wand from amidst his robes and showed it to the delighted shopkeeper. "Yes I do, and it has served me well."
"Now let's see about getting this youngster a wand, shall we?" Ollivander declared as he brought over a small stack of wands. "Which is your wand arm Teddy?
"My right, sir." advised Teddy.
"Alright, just hold out your arm then and I'll get some measurements." As he said this he started taking measurements though he didn't appear to be writing anything down. He just kept talking. "No two wands are the same just as no two wizards or creatures are the same. Always, always remember that the wand chooses the wizard. Let's try this oak, phoenix tail feather, 9 inches, nice and flexible." As he handed the wand to Teddy the measuring tape that had been taking measurements on its own rolled up and landed with a soft thump on the floor.
Teddy took the wand, waved it, and the candle flame behind the counter suddenly whooshed and became a pillar of flame. The startled youth jumped and dropped the wand on the counter while Lupin removed his wand pointed it at the flame and said Reducio which put an abrupt halt on the pillar of flame. The candle was in poor condition, however, it was quite melted. Remus muttered Reparo which caused the wax to form once again into a proper candle.
"Thank you Mr. Lupin" Mr. Ollivander said with appreciation while looking at Remus. "You have no idea how many times that has happened. I have placed charms and wards around the shop precisely for that reason."
"I'm soo sorry Mr. Ollivander! I didn't mean to do that." the magenta-haired boy spluttered.
"Not to worry. I know you didn't do it on purpose." Mr Ollivander reassured. "These things happen while searching for the right wand. Wands can be quite temperamental. That's why we must find the wand that is searching for you. Why don't you give this one a try - Ebony, dragon heartstring, 7¾ inches, quite whippy."
No sooner had the boy held the wand and raised it was Mr. Ollivander there to snatch it out of his hands. "No, no, no! That'll never do."
"Beechwood, unicorn hair, 11¼ inches, rigid." Teddy held the wand in his hands this time for maybe a half a second before once again it was taken away. "Another tricky customer. Not to worry, not to worry! I have never failed in finding the right wand." Ollivander said quite cheerily as he brought more boxes up from the shelves in the back.
They were there for another quarter of an hour trying wands before the right one came along. Then with a shouts of joy "Aha! I knew the right wand would come along" from Ollivander, and "Well done Teddy!" from Remus they paid the 7 Galleons and made their way to the ice cream parlor to join the rest of the family.
"Mum, mum, mum! Look at this!" Teddy exclaimed as he ran over to the table while excitedly pulling out a long thin box. With his eyes shining and his hair a brilliant green, he pulled a long dark colored wand reverently out of the box. "Made of rowan with with a single hair from the tail of a unicorn, 12½ inches long, and slightly springy" he stated proudly while his siblings stood gawking at it.
"It's a magnificent wand that you should be quite proud of, Teddy." Tonks concluded while admiring the wand.
"I quite agree with your mother. However, would you kindly grab one of these cones before it melts all over." Remus said while chuckling.
Walking along the street eating their ice cream, father and son enjoyed the hustle and bustle of all the shoppers. The twins of course weren't interested in that, and just wanted to run around. While Sirius wanted to play with everything in sight. He was running from one shop to the other while Tonks was chasing after him keeping him from any real trouble.
"Let's hit up Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment for the telescope and scales." Teddy announced while pointing to the store next to Gringotts.
Remus held the door for Tonks as she finally corralled the younger children inside the dimly lit store. It was filled with scales, telescopes, phials, star and moon charts, and globes of the stars and moon.
"Can I get this globe of the moon?" Teddy asked as he held it in his hands.
"Is it on your list?" Tonks countered with a question of her own.
"No" he said dejectedly while putting the globe back down. "It says I need a set of glass phials, 1 brass telescope, and a set of brass scales."
"Then that is what we shall get." Remus stated matter of factly while guiding the youth away from the globes and towards the necessary equipment. Shortly thereafter Remus paid for Teddy's supplies and the young family left the shop.
"One stop left, the Apothecary for potion ingredients." Remus said as he led the family down the bustling street. Opening the door to the shop the family was immediately assaulted by a slew of horrendous smells. They quickly bought the ingredients needed and left, glad to be back in the bustling street if only to be clear of the smells.
"That should be everything on your list. In a fortnight you'll be enjoying the feast in the Great Hall."
Thank you for continuing to read my story. I hope you are enjoying it!
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To the Reviewer who tried to guess my occupation: No, I am not a counselor for people who do drugs and alcohol. :P