Chapter 12

Remus spent the next couple minutes scouring the house for any thick blankets or little cushions for Teddy and Albus to sleep on while the boys stayed in the kitchen and looked around in an awkward silence.

This was almost like Teddy's home in the future, and Albus actually lived here in the future, and seeing it old and grimy was just something neither of them were used to.

Albus saw both of his parents as teenagers; that was scarring. The fact was, both Teddy and Albus wanted to be home. Albus wanted to be able to run up to his dad to ask for him tell some stories about Hogwarts, and then he could run to James to look at the funny moving map James had previously nicked from one of his father's drawers.

Teddy just didn't want to go through the pain of knowing he wouldn't be able to see Remus again. He always wanted to know his parents, but now he realized that ignorance is bliss. He understood before that they gave their lives to a great cause, but now that he knew his father's laugh and heard his dad talk, he could never see him as just a hero antmore, he would see him as a father. It would be harder to leave him now, and he wanted to rip that goodbye off like a band aid and pretend the scar didn't exist.

Remus came back into the room with cushions and blankets stacked in his arms, he dropped them down on the ground and mumbled something about Sirius refusing to help him, then he looked up and smiled.

"Well here we go! It might not be the most comfortable thing, but it's efficient enough." Remus said while looking at the boys with kind eyes.

"No, it's perfect." Teddy replied quickly.

"I figured you might not want to be down here by yourselves, so I brought a couple extra blankets for me. Is that ok?" Remus asked.

"Yes! Definitely! We could use extra company." Teddy exclaimed eagerly.

Remus smiled and laid out all the blankets with some help from Teddy. Albus apparently wanted to give the little family some space as he laid down and drifted off into a deep sleep. Remus and Teddy laid out the final blanket and stood looking at each other until Remus shakily came forward and hugged his son.

Teddy stood like a wooden board in shock, but he his mind suddenly snapped back on and he hugged his father back. He never knew what it felt like to be embraced by a father. He laid his head on his dad's shoulder and held back the tears threatening to fall; he finally had a dad, and he was going to have to lose him all over again. Remus was fighting back the same urge to cry because he knew he would never be able to hug his son like this in the future, and it hurt him. He actually had a kid, a feat he never dreamed possible, and he took the risk of inflicting his disease on a poor child, and when the child turned out to be perfect, he left him. It was a terrible horror story.

The two embraced for a while longer then pulled apart and Remus said, "I want to know everything about you. Do you have a girlfriend? What house were you in? Who do you live with? I want to know what your favorite color is." Remus rambled until Teddy cut him off.

"I want to know more about you too! I've heard great stories from all the adults in my time, but I think you could explain everything the best."

"Seems we both want to find out everything while we can." Remus replied with a sad smile.

"Yeah, so we might as well get started now."

The two talked all night and fell asleep sitting at the kitchen table with their heads propped up on their hands. Teddy's hair had turned to his normal sandy brown shade, and while Remus' face was scarred and his hair was graying, they still looked like father and son.

I'm thinking the next chapter Snape might have to come and meet our favorite nine year old!

Thanks for reading! I'll try to get another update sometime soon

~Meeks