Well, uh, hey there, guys! It's not like I've been gone for a really long time or anything...right? Maybe a month or so...ha, ha...
But seriously, I've been busy. Have any of you been able to stop by the Wizarding World of Harry Potter? Because it's amazing. I went a few weeks ago...and...wow, let me just say that it's fantastic. It's like...the Harry Potter world becoming real. I absolutely love it.
Anyway, this chapter skips about eleven years so I can get on with the more interesting stuff. I hope it doesn't get too confusing or anything.
-HARRY POTTER-
Previously in Second Chances…
"When there are horrors in your past…horrors you want to keep hidden away from people…yet you want to be close to them…what do you do?"
I smiled gently. "Miss Weasley, is it?"
Harry stared.
"I would say that you have to trust her. She will never have experienced the pain you went through…but that doesn't mean you have to keep it hidden," I said, shifting Teddy in one arm so I could place a hand on the young man's shoulder. "Share as much as you can…she's stronger than you think she is."
"Personal experience?"
I nodded. "Dora tried for about two years to convince me that she really didn't care about my condition at all…that she loved me for the person I was," I answered after a moment in thought. "Look where we are now."
Harry smiled, looking down at Teddy again.
"Mrs. Weasley wanted me to invite you to supper tonight," he said. "Will we see you?" I nodded with a smile.
"Of course." He gave me a curt nod and Disapparated.
-HARRY POTTER-
Hogsmeade Village
Two Months Later
"Remus!" Hearing my wife's frantic voice from downstairs, I hurriedly straightened my brown robes and took one unsatisfied glance in the mirror before rushing down. "The train's arrived, you have to go!" I let her straighten my tie and help me into my traveling cloak before she kissed me. It was slow and enthralling, and I found my eyes closing, for a second at the very least.
"I'll see you tonight," I promised. Dora gave me a bright smile and as I closed the door to our new home, I Apparated to the edge of the Forbidden Forest and crossed the border that told me I was now on the Hogwarts grounds. I beamed up at the castle that held so many of my memories…memories of a life I'd almost forgotten. A life that I'd left behind when James and Lily were killed. But the repairs were well under way…almost complete…and Voldemort would soon be a fading memory in the minds of those old enough to remember. And a scar in the minds of those whose lives had been affected by his regime. As I identified myself as a legitimate professor, I smiled as I saw the large form of Rubeus Hagrid heading for the entry hall.
As soon as he noticed me, he waved me over. "Hello there, Professor Lupin!" he said cheerfully.
"Good evening, Hagrid," I answered, unable to stop the smile spreading across my face at the simple acknowledgement that I once again had a job…that I could finally be a true member of society and support my family. "Ready for a new year?"
"As ready 's ever," he said. "Now that Harry's gone an' defeated You-Know-Who, our old prejudices are gone."
I thought about that for a moment. Old prejudices. I was a werewolf…yet I had a job. A good job…a steady job. And it was one I loved. Yes…things were definitely changing, and for once in my life, change was good.
"Yep," I agreed. But not before the logic in my mind added," Hopefully it stays."
"It will," said Hagrid, and I couldn't help but to believe him…to feel confident myself. Hagrid was much older than I, so of course he knew what he was talking about, right? I opened the side door to the Great Hall, and we entered as the students began filing in from the main staircase, where I knew the first years were anxiously waiting to be Sorted.
"How are they this year, Hagrid?"
"Oh, same 's usual, I suppose," was his answer. He raised his bushy eyebrows at my inquiry. "Jittery, excited, nervous…"
I chuckled. "In eleven years…" I muttered to myself, imagining an eleven-year-old version of my turquoise-haired little boy staring apprehensively at the Sorting Hat that was to determine his fate.
"Yer son, Remus?"
I nodded silently and allowed Hagrid a small smile, and the next thing he said gave me another flicker of confidence.
"Yer the best teacher; I remember when you taught Harry," Hagrid said thoughtfully. He looked down at me with his beetle-black eyes and his mouth crinkled into a kind smile. "Distraught, he was, when yeh left."
I felt my face flushing, so I simply said "Thank you," and went on to explain that I wasn't too sure if Teddy would enjoy having his father as a teacher. But as I said it, my eyes twinkled with the true mind of a Marauder, and I remembered with a pang that I was the only one left. But…there will always be a next generation of pranksters. Fred and George Weasley were after us. Who would take the role of the Marauders in this new, Voldemort-free age?
With those thoughts, we took our seats at the staff table, and I grinned slightly at the first years (nervous and jittery, as Hagrid had said) that were lining up in front of the old, tattered, Sorting Hat.
I saw the tall figure of Minerva McGonagall holding a list of names, preparing to read them off. I leaned back, relaxing, and readying myself for the Sorting…
-HARRY POTTER-
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Eleven Years Later
I craned my neck as the first year students filed into the Great Hall, instantly catching sight of my son's turquoise hair. I noticed some of the older students staring, and smiled as Teddy ignored them. Or perhaps didn't notice.
He must have been nervous enough, I supposed.
As they lined up by the Sorting Hat, Neville Longbottom gave him a glance, which I assumed was a silent message for him to morph his hair to a natural colour. Teddy's eyes found mine, and he gave me a shifty grin, almost to ask permission for the outrageous colour that he so preferred. I slightly raised my eyebrows, and he pouted, changing his hair colour to the shade that mine was (minus the grey), and the style to one that I recognized as the simple cut I had when I was young. My heart warmed. Was I a fool, all those years ago, thinking that he could ever be ashamed of me? His eyes, like mine, were piqued with curiosity as he stared at Neville, who was now holding the list of names.
Before I realized it, my heart started to pound with the anxiety Teddy must have been feeling. What house would my son be in? What would define him? Would he be a hard-working Hufflepuff like his mother and grandfather before him? Would he take after me instead, becoming a Gryffindor as he had wished? Would he take after his Black genes, and land in Slytherin? Or…would be break the streak completely and end up in Ravenclaw? I swallowed as Neville began to read.
"Adams, Claire!"
A scared-looking blond girl shakily stepped up to the hat and placed it on her head.
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Alden, Charles!" A haughty-looking black-haired boy stepped forward, and I instantly knew what house he would belong in, just from the expression on his face. I nearly grimaced at the prejudice, but I'd experienced it along with anyone else, hadn't I?
"SLYTHERIN!" He strode over to the wave of green and silver, as confident as he could be, having gotten his wish.
"Anderson, Benjamin," a boy with pale orange hair, became the first new Gryffindor. I smiled, as the Gryffindors already at the table clapped. I noticed Teddy's envious look, and found myself hoping that he would get his wish. After that, "Boulstridge, Mark," became a Slytherin.
"Campbell, Amelia," "Chapman, Lydia," and "Chilcott, Allison," all became Gryffindors, and allowed for the loudest applause I'd ever heard. Three Gryffindor girls in a row? That was simply amazing.
"Daniels, Emma," became a Hufflepuff, and almost ran off, still wearing the Sorting Hat. Next came a rather calm girl with dark hair, with the name "Davies, Rachel." She became a Ravenclaw, leading me to wonder if she was a relation of one of my old students, Roger Davies.
"Edeson, James," a scared, brown-haired boy, became a Ravenclaw, and "Edwards, Nathan," was quickly declared a Hufflepuff. The next two, "Federline, Sarah," and "Foster, Laura," became Ravenclaws.
Two girls whose names I didn't listen to became Slytherins, and the third became a Gryffindor named "Griffiths, Hannah."
I swallowed. Four more letters, and it would be Teddy's turn.
"Harcourt, Catherine," went to Ravenclaw, and a small, dirty-blond girl, "Harris, Esmé," sat on the stool for over a full minute before her house was finally determined.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
As "Jackson, Garth," made his way to the Slytherin table, and the Hat was busy sorting "Kinlan, Luke," I focused in on Teddy. Most of the colour had drained from his face, his blue eyes wide, staring at the hat with utmost fear, and yet, reverence. A faint smile appeared on my face.
"Lee, David!"
A dark-skinned boy confidently walked up to the hat and was sorted into Hufflepuff. The next name to be called had to be…
"Lupin, Theodore!"
I leaned forward, smiling slightly, not caring that most of the staff had turned to me in curiosity, or that the students were whispering amongst themselves, no doubt that their "Defense professor's son had come to Hogwarts." My boy's eyes met mine, and I nodded assuredly as he stepped forward warily. I could almost see his knees shaking, but he held his ground, as I knew he would. He slid onto the stool as he placed the hat on his head, his hands gripping the edges tightly. Ten seconds…twenty…thirty…
"GRYFFINDOR!"
A wide grin broke out on my face, as I clapped along with the rest of the Gryffindors, almost not realizing that I was sitting up at the staff table, and not with the rest of the students, simply clapping for James and Peter, as I had all those years ago.
Once Teddy had been welcomed by the Prefects, he looked back at me, his smile almost identical to mine. He'd done it. He'd become a Gryffindor, as he had always wanted. He'd finally be able to prove himself, when so much of his childhood had been guarded. He would finally be regarded as an equal by those who thought less of him, simply because he was my son. I simply gave him a thumbs-up and he grinned, looking back to the rest of the Sorting.
A boy named "Lynch, Conor," had joined the Gryffindor table, sitting next to Teddy, and soon, "Moore, Grayson," had taken a seat on my son's other side. There were about ten more jittery first years to be Sorted, and I sat back, relaxed. Minerva gave me a sideways smile from her seat, grasping my right hand as Hagrid gripped my left. More sooner than not, I lost feeling in my left arm.
The Sorting continued, finishing with "Wilson, Alec," becoming a Ravenclaw.
Minerva stood up, and I could see four other Gryffindor first-years, including the newly sorted "Taylor, William," who looked as if he would rather be anywhere but where he was. I frowned slightly, but did not dwell on the disturbing thoughts that had appeared in my mind.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!" the Headmistress said with her usual calming and firm voice. "First years should not that the Dark Forest is strictly forbidden to all students. Mr. Filch has asked me to remind you that all products from 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes' are banned." Teddy smiled guiltily, and I frowned, wondering if Dora had searched his trunk before he carried everything up to the castle. But after another moment, I remembered how James and Sirius had been as first years, and suddenly I couldn't fault Teddy for a simple bit of Mischief Making.
He does have Sirius's blood, after all, I realized as an afterthought.
"Let the feast begin!"
-HARRY POTTER-
Oh no...what could the newly-Sorted Gryffindor son of Remus and Dora possibly get up to? Much more than you think... :D
Please drop me a line and tell me how I did...once again, I'm concerned that Remus is out of character. But maybe he's just excited for his son. And I'm sorry that a lot of this is just the Sorting, which was somewhat dull to write, and I know I didn't write the song, just because I really didn't feel like writing one, and I didn't feel like asking anyone to write one for me.
A shoutout to Where's Alice, a constant supporter of my nerdy-ness and one of my best friends. She's really been there through everything. :)
That's it, until next time. I hope it won't be as long of a gap until I post once more.