YAAAY for Teddy Lupin. I love this boy.
Teddy Lupin
1) His first memory is of crying. In the beginning, that's all his grandmum did. Cry. He couldn't make out any words, just sobs. He had been a quiet baby, because his grandmum seemed to steal all of his tears.
When he was older, he told Harry he didn't want to go back home, he wanted to live with him, because all his grandmum did was cry. Harry gave him a solemn look, bent down and took him into the next room. That's the first time Harry ever told him about his parents. Ginny told him he was too young- Harry disagreed (they actually got into a fight about it- Teddy pretended he didn't hear). So Harry told him, and he didn't hold it against his grandmother anymore when she cried.
2) The first time he stopped calling Harry 'Uncle Harry' was the morning of his 11th birthday. He hadn't intentionally meant to do it- that hadn't been in his goal when he woke up in the morning. But it just seemed to fit with the whole, growing up thing. That was the year he was going to get his letter from Hogwarts- the year he would be leaving for the first time. That was the year Harry finally filled him in on everything that had happened with his parents, filling in all the holes left by the countless 'when you're older' Harry had told him. That was the year Teddy Lupin grew up. So when he came downstairs and saw Harry, he ran up and gave him a hug (he had contemplated a handshake, but he thought that was too formal) and said, 'hi Harry,' and then turned away to the big breakfast his grandmum had made him.
He tells himself it was because it smelled so good, but the truth was he didn't want to see the look of hurt that crossed Harry's face when he said that.
3) That same year of his eleventh birthday, he went through a phase when he wanted everyone to call him 'Ted' instead of 'Teddy'. Everyone went along with it, because they figured it was just a phase. It wasn't until after Victoire came back from France with her family that he was able to tell her to call him Ted, and when he did, she burst out laughing and refused to do so. After that he never really pushed for it anymore.
4) Victoire was always his best friend. One of the worst things about leaving for Hogwarts was leaving her behind, watching her run after the train and craning his head so much to try and see her it left a kink in his neck for days. She was always his best friend. But there were a few months in his third year, her first, when they stopped talking. When he ignored her completely, because at that point, he had his friends at Hogwarts, and how cool was it, really, to be a thirteen year old metamorphmagus hanging around with an eleven year old? So he didn't talk to her for four months until one day one of his friends caught him staring at her and told him his hair was red. That was when he realised she was his best friend, and she could never be replaced.
5) But still, it wasn't until his seventh year that he finally realised he was in love with her. Sure, he had known he had a little crush on her, but he hadn't told a soul that, except for Ginny. But while everyone was partying back at the castle, he was sitting in the grounds with Victoire, just watching the lake, listening to her try to stop the tears. It was then that he realised it wasn't leaving Hogwarts that was making him so sad- it was leaving Victoire.
6) You can always tell what he's feeling or who he's thinking of by his hair. It changes of its own accord most times, and because of that Teddy is as see through as Nearly Headless Nick. When he's happy, so happy he might just explode, its bubblegum pink .When he's thinking of his mum, its electric blue, and when he's thinking about his dad it's the same sandy colour his dad's hair had been. When he's thinking about his godfather, its jet black, and when he's thinking about the Weasley's its fire red. Victoire used to mock him ridiculously for it.
7) He was close to all of the Weasley's, but of all of them he was most distant with Rose. He didn't know why- he had just never had much contact with her. While the Potter children all adored him and Victoire's siblings, well, of course he was close to them, Rose and him had never been close, even though her little brother idolized him (he had always felt awkward, being idolized). So it was a big surprise when, seeing her in the backyard of Molly's house one day, he had asked her 'what's up' (to be polite, you know) and she had promptly started telling him everything. Everything, but most importantly, Scorpius. She made him promise not to tell, and he swore he wouldn't. She wasn't asking for advice, and he didn't have any to give- she just needed someone to listen. And he was there.
8) The day before he left for Hogwarts, Harry presented him with the Marauder's Map. He told him the story of how he got, that his dad and Harry's dad, not to mention Sirius and Wormtail (Harry didn't speak much about Wormtail) had made it together. He then told him that as the son of a Marauder, he was expected to cause trouble- just not enough so that his grandmum was called. Harry also told him that he couldn't tell anyone he had given the map to Teddy, especially Ginny, Hermione or Andromeda. Teddy agreed.
At the end of his seventh year, he gave it back to Harry. Not because he didn't want it anymore- he would have loved to have it. But because it was Harry's, rightfully, he felt. It was Harry's only link to his family, his real family (not that the Weasley's weren't his family. Teddy just understood that no one really could replace your parents). While Teddy had his grandmum, his Aunt Cissy (who had reconciled with Andromeda shortly after the war), Harry had only the map.
9) He was really close with his Aunt Cissy, and with Draco. In fact, he even invited them to his birthday one day, which turned out to be pretty awkward, and from that point on he had a private celebration with them. He didn't see why everyone was always so tense around them. But the last time he saw Draco before he left for Hogwarts, Draco told him everything. He said it was because Teddy might hear things about him at school, and he wanted to be the first one to tell Teddy.
But even though Draco had done all of those terrible things, he didn't mind. Because lots of people had done stupid things. It wasn't like everyone in his family was perfect. So he forgave Draco, and the first time he ever heard anything bad about the Malfoy name at school, he yelled loudly at the person who had said it and got detention.
10) But Harry is still his favourite. Not because he's his godfather, or because he's the greatest godfather in the world. But because Harry's been where he is. Harry's been orphaned, been left not knowing his parents. Harry's the only one who can really understand that sometimes, he misses them so much it hurts. And then sometimes, he's angry at them, so angry for leaving. Harry is the only one who listens when he yells, who can understand that he loves his grandmum, so much, but she isn't his mom. Harry is the only one who understands, completely. And he is so grateful for it.
