First, I am sorry for the little delay, but I'm quite overwhelmed with work at university...
Another character for today: Teddy Lupin! Just to be clear, I certainly don't hate any of the HP characters, and certainly not James and Lily. I am saying this because there is a sentence / paragraph in this that could make you think otherwise.
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling, and I don't make any money out of this story.
.:.
Rating of this OS: K
Those Scars We Carry: Teddy Lupin
He doesn't remember his father, nor his mother. Of course, people tell him about them all the time, tell him how they died to make a better world for him, but it's not the same. It's not them. He's glad they died as heroes, but couldn't have they lived? Now, it's like there is a scar in his heart, something missing.
Andromeda looks after him and loves him like a mother, and he considers her as family, but she isn't his mother. He knows he's inherited Nymphadora's Metamorphmagus ability, and he colours his hair pink when he thinks about her. Just her favourite hair colour. It makes him feel closer to her.
Harry tells him he has the eyes of his father. And he feels happy, because now he knows at least one thing about him, something more than the war hero thing. It's bitter though. Every time he looks in the mirror, it's as if his eyes are haunted.
When he's old enough, Harry tells him his father's last words, and when he hears the "I hope he will understand", tears are suddenly shimmering in his eyes. Because he does understand, and that doesn't make it better at all.
When Harry asks him if he's okay, he just nods and swallows back his tears.
"Do you want to know how I did it?" Harry asks him.
It's visible on his face that he thinks he shouldn't talk to him about this yet, but he does anyway. And Teddy asks him, "How you did what?"
"How I dealt with the death of my parents."
He frowns when he remembers. Lily and James Potter, so famous for sacrificing themselves for their son… Far more famous than his parents anyway. He's sure in a few years, only their closest friends and their family will remember the names of Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks.
He shakes his head to gather his thoughts and answers, "You don't have to tell me."
"I went to the cemetery in Godric's Hollow on Christmas. It's where my parents are buried. I was with Hermione, and I think this is the moment when I forgave them for dying and leaving me behind."
When Teddy leaves for Hogwarts, a few weeks later, he's not as miserable as he was before. He knows what he has to do now.
It's May 2, 2020. He stands in front of the graves of his parents, alone in the cemetery, except for Victoire Weasley who stands by his side.
It's not the first time he has come here, but today is different. Today, Victoire is with him. She has helped him a lot over the years. Probably more than Andromeda ever did. She was, and still is, in a way, too stricken with grief over the loss of her daughter, even after all these years.
He kneels down in the grass and grieves, just like he always do. And Victoire stays by his side the entire time, a hand light on his shoulder and the other in his hair, soothing him silently.
When he stands up, he knows he was right to bring his fiancée with him. He will come here every year, with her if she still wants to, and with time, he'll get better.
I hope you liked this! I really enjoyed writing this, but I'm still not sure about it…