Ten Years Later (2008) \\ The Beginning of Forever and Always \\ WICELA
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series nor everything that comes with it. The rights go to J.K. Rowling. The only thing I own is the holes in her stories that I filled with my fantasies.
Teddy Lupin hold the child in his arms. Her size was incredible. How could someone be that small? She had really fluffy orange hair. It was so incredible.
"Hey Lily Luna, I'm your big brother Teddy." He told her. He was sitting on his parents king-size bed. His mother looked at him and smiled.
"As a matter of fact, Teddy, she isn't your sister, because aunt Ginny and uncle Harry aren't your parents." It was Victoire Weasley. She was with her parents and her little sister and brother on a maternity visit. Victoire claimed to be his best friend, because he was the oldest of the family. Teddy mostly liked hanging with Victoire, but with her eight years old she was in this as-a-matter-of-fact fase where she claimed to be smarter than anyone else. If Teddy didn't want to say she was right, she used her Veela powers to convince him, but she'd used it that much that Teddy became immune.
"Well, she's my sister anyway." Teddy said. The little girl was asleep and Teddy loved watching her. Her oldest brother James was never this quiet. James cried from the early morning till the late evening and if he didn't cry, he was just annoyingly asking for attention. Luckily, James was four years now and he didn't cry that much now. James already had his first broom and everybody was convinced he would be an excellent Quidditch player. Albus, the child in the middle, was two. He was a mixture between the crying James and the quiet Lily. He was smart and a sweet kid. Teddy loved being with his little brothers and sister. However Victoire was right about the fact that they weren't his family, he felt like they were. From the beginning his parents had been clear about the fact they weren't his real parents, but for Teddy it sounded good to call them mum and dad. He knew that his parents thought it was alright if he call them Harry and Ginny, but they were such big people. How could he use their first names?
"Oh and Victoire?" Victoire looked up and Teddy grinned at her.
"You call mum and dad's friend Neville and Luna also uncle Neville and aunt Luna while they aren't family." The little blonde blushed at that and walked away.
"That was not really nice, Teddy. You suppose to be nice to girls!" His father said.
"She isn't nice either, why should I be nice to her!" Teddy said.
"That's just how it works with girls." Teddy looked back and saw his parents kissing.
"Can't you do that somewhere else, please?" He protested.
"As a matter of fact, you are in our bedroom, Teddy." His mother said laughingly.
"Don't you start too, please!" He stood up carefully and gave the baby back to his mother.
"She's lovely, Gin. It's amazing to see you two this happy!" Uncle Bill said. Aunt Fleur put Louis on the bed now Teddy was gone. He walked away from them and went downstairs where aunt Hermione was to take care of James, Albus and him.
"Where are James and Albus?" He asked, when he saw she was alone, sitting in the living room with a cup of tea.
"Sleeping in their beds." She answered. "Do you want tea?" Teddy nodded and five minutes later they were sitting together in the living room.
"Don't you want to play with Victoire?" She asked.
"Nah, she's annoying." He answered which made her laugh. For a while they just sat there. Upstairs they heard the sounds of people talking and moving.
"It's strange." Teddy said suddenly.
"What's strange?" His aunt asked.
"Well, it's just…Lily is really small and someday she will be like Victoire's size."
"Yeah, that's right. Someday she will be like Ginny!" Hermione was smiling when she thought about that.
"Do you have a photo of Rose and Hugo?" Teddy asked. He knew his aunt loved to show people pictures of them.
"Yes, yes, in my handbag!" She used a spell and her bag was on her lap.
"Where are they now?" He asked, when she was still searching.
"Ah! Got it! You were saying-…? O right, yeah Ron is babysitting." Teddy thought about the idea of his uncle Ron babysitting and burst into laughter.
"He's not that bad!" His aunt exclaimed quickly, but smiled too. She handed him the picture and there he saw the two little kids. He knew Rose was about Albus's age and Hugo was born just a few months ago. His aunt looked over his shoulder at her children and the way she looked was just so…amazing. The love for her children was so admirable and amazing. It immediately made him think of his parents. His real parents.
"Do you think they loved me?" Teddy said softly. A tear fell down his aunt's cheek.
"I-I'm sor-ry Teddy." She said.
"It's just…they're gone and that's so unbelievable. You know, it was hard for both of them. It was in time of war and your father was a werewolf and the minute Tonks - nobody ever dared called her Nymphadora, except for Moody - well, when your mother told him she was pregnant your father became really insecure. He didn't want you to be a werewolf, you know. He wanted for you the best life someone could ever wished for. He and your mother both loved you so much." Aunt Hermione's tear was only one, but Teddy's tears landed like a waterfall on his shirt. She put him in an embrace.
"I miss them sometimes, but is that right? I know I'm really lucky with mum and dad, but sometimes I wished my real parents were alive."
"Of course you miss them and that's alright! Nobody would ever say it's wrong if you miss them! You know, if you want to, we can visit their grave sometime? It might…feel you connected to them. Maybe I've some old pictures of them in a box? Harry surely has and Andromeda has loads of pictures of Tonks youth and their wedding." Teddy nodded at that.
"Thank you, aunt Hermione." He said and she hugged him once again.
"Anytime, Teddy, anytime." The sound of footsteps made Teddy panic.
"Do I look like I've cried?" His aunt laughed and used a quick spell to clean him up.
"Now you don't."
When Victoire Weasley was at home with her parents, she was thinking about family. She hated the fact Teddy had been right about aunt Luna and uncle Neville. It was just when James talked about them, he said that and she'd copied him that simple. Same with uncle Lee. From now on, she just called them Neville, Luna and Lee. She was still wondering about Teddy himself. He wasn't family and yet he still ate like every day at uncle Harry's house and every weekend with theirs.
"Why does uncle Harry and aunt Ginny treat Teddy like he's their own son? As far as I know, he isn't their son and the only family he has is his gran Andromeda. Why doesn't Teddy have parents? Real parents?" Her mother and father gave each other a look. A look they always shared when Victoire asked about the past. She knew there had been a war and much had happened, but there weren't any details. Her parents didn't talk about it that much, certainly with Dominique and Louis in the room. But they were five and three years old, way too young to hear this kind of stuff. She was eight, old enough, wasn't she? She was old enough to go to weddings and maternity visits and wear the most beautiful clothes in the world. If she could do that without the stupid and annoying things Dom did when she had to wear a dress, she was grown up enough to hear those stories? Hogwarts was only four years away and she needed to know those stories before then!
"'Oney, Teddy 'as got parents, but zey…" Her mother started.
"Teddy's father was a good friend of Harry's father. When Harry was a young kid, his parents were killed and when Teddy's father and Harry finally met, they became friends too. Teddy was born in time of war and his father asked Harry of he wanted to be Teddy's godfather. So when Teddy's parents were born in the war, he made a deal with Teddy's grandmother and they decided to raise the child together. So that's why Harry and Ginny treat Teddy like their own son, because Harry knows what it is to grow up without your parents." Victoire blinked at her father. Uncle Harry? Her uncle Harry? His parents…were dead? Yeah of course she wondered why Mr. and Mrs. Potter never came to their house, but she always thought they would step by later. Was it the very same uncle Harry as the one she knew? He didn't look like that or behave like that.
"Is that…uncle Harry?" Her father smiled at her.
"Yes and you know, when you're eleven and you attend Hogwarts, there will be a day where teachers will tell you about it. During the History of Magic lessons, for example. Vic, the reason why people are staring at you, at us, at all of us, is because we're famous. You wear the "Weasley"-name and the Weasley's had a big part in the war. We all lost people in the war. We lost for example your uncle Fred." Uncle Fred? Victoire almost laughed at that.
"No, Fred isn't my uncle!" She said, but her father didn't laugh with her.
"Your cousin Fred owes his name to your uncle George's twin brother Fred."
"Uncle George had a twin brother? You…had twins as younger brothers?"
"Yes, I had. Fred died in the war and I think a part of George will never heal again, although Angelina did a great job healing him. But look, Vic, you will hear about it in the lessons at school. You will see children staring at you at school, but know this: you're our little and beautiful girl and we love you. You're perfect, just the way you are. Don't let people messing with your head, because they think you're not perfect in their eyes."
"Daddy?" She asked. It was the last thing she wanted to ask. She was tired and surprised by everything. It was so strange to hear all this and to know that most of her cousins didn't now that already.
"Yes, my darling?"
"So you won't be…angry when I don't end up in Gryffindor?" Her father laughed.
"Sweetheart, you will attend Hogwarts in four years from now, you don't have to worry about that already! But of course we won't be angry." Victoire looked at her mother, who looked vulnerable and quiet after what her father told her. Her mother never talked about the war or something like that.
"Sleep well, darling." Her mother said and she gave her a kiss on her head.
"Don't worry about what your father told you." Victoire smiled and walked to her bedroom. On the ground she found a picture, which had fell of her wall due to the wind. It was a picture of them, last Christmas. It was not only family, but it included everyone. Teddy and his gran. Grandma and Grandpa Delacour. Aunt Gabrielle with one of her temporary boyfriends. Lee Jordan, his wife Katie Jordan-Bell and their kids Godric - who had the same age as Fred and Roxanne, Louis and James - and Helga - who had the same age as Rose, Albus and Lucy (both of them were named after two founders of Hogwarts, Victoire knew). Neville Longbottem, his wife Hannah Longbottem-Abbott and their kids Alice - same age as Fred and Roxanne, Louis, James and Godric - and Frank - same age as Rose, Albus, Lucy and Helga. Rolf Scamander, his wife Luna Scamander-Lovegood and their kids Lorcan and Lysander - same age as Hugo and Lily. Mr. Lovegood, who was Luna's father. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, who were aunt Angelina's parents. Mr. and Mrs. Granger, who were aunt Hermione's parents. Victoire had never thought about it like that, but uncle Harry's parents were never there. She always had thought they celebrated it in some other way, because she thought they were muggles. Their Christmas was always the biggest celebration she knew. All those people she saw standing there who weren't her family, were already a bunch of people, let alone when you counted her "real" family with them. Being alone was really hard for a Weasley. However her family was this big, not everyone had someone with the same age. Victoire felt like the only one who didn't had someone. Nobody would be alone when they went to Hogwarts. Even Dom would have Molly, however she didn't like that idea - Dom really hated Molly and Louis would have a bunch of kids. It was like all the parents had a timer for giving birth to their children and used the timer only after her birth. And Teddy's. Victoire blinked once and than once again. Teddy was older than her and she'd known him like forever. He had one year to go and then he would attend Hogwarts, leaving her alone for thee years. That would be unbearable! He was her best friend! He was really funny and he always tried to cheer her up by changing his looks. He was her best friend and when he would go to Hogwarts he would meet so many other people and then he wouldn't want to be her best friend! Well, she just had to make this year the best year of his life so he wouldn't dare to do that to her!