A/N: Thank you to all those who leave reviews! It's harder for me to respond to them here on FFN, especially for guest reviews, but I promise I read and cherish all the reviews I get! On another note, the next chapter (to be posted Wed, 1 June) will be from Remus and Dora's POV. You'll have to wait a little while longer to learn what happened at the Battle of Hogwarts! ;)

...

1 & 2 May 1998

Teddy stepped out of Ariana's portrait with his friends and his parents. His heart was pounding at all he'd left behind, but the new sights ahead of him brought a different sort of panic. The many Weasleys and Fleur were ushering students out of the Hog's Head; older students were helping, including all the house prefects. The queue for the Floo at the Hog's Head was filled with Ravenclaws waiting to go home; some of the younger students were crying, holding onto each other in fear.

"Apparate if you can!" shouted Aberforth, the barkeep at the Hog's Head. Teddy watched his parents nod at Aberforth, and they went out into the street to find queues at nearly all the establishments. It seemed as if every shopkeeper in Hogsmeade had opened their Floo to allow the students to escape.

A dark, stormy cloud appeared in the distance; Teddy shivered, knowing that terror was making its way to Hogwarts. He hung onto Yasmin and Eneko, and the trio ran behind Remus. Dora ran behind them, casting protective enchantments, until they were at the edge of the village.

"St. Mungo's?" said Remus, breathless. Yasmin and Eneko nodded, both looking apprehensively at Remus.

"It's okay," Teddy said boldly, stepping closer to his friends. "He's my Dad. He'll make sure you get there safely." He hugged both of them tightly, not knowing if he'd see them again, and watched as his father took each of them by the arm and vanished with a crack.

"It's our turn," said Tonks. "Side-Along Apparition?"

"I'm ready." Teddy extended his forearm for her. She glanced at it apprehensively, but took hold of it and spun on the spot. With a tightening snap, Teddy landed in front of the most wonderful place he could imagine: home.

They appeared just outside of the kissing gate that led up to the front door. Teddy wasn't sure why his mother had Apparated him outside the protective enchantments on the home; whenever Gran Apparated with him, they always landed on the front step.

"Do you see it, Teddy?" Tonks asked, keeping a short distance from him. "What color is the front door?"

"The house? Yeah! There's the front door – it's yellow." He pointed at the front door, and his mother nodded, opening the kissing gate to allow them entry. He felt the warmth and familiarity of the enchantments around him and Tonks looked a little less suspicious of him once they got to the front step. He opened the door, not needing to unlock it, as it unlocked at his touch.

Teddy stepped into his childhood home for the first time in many months. The Tonks residence was similar in some ways, but completely different to him in others. Three traveling cloaks hung on the hook next to the door; only one, he knew, was his grandmother's. The other two must have belonged to his parents, but he had never seen them before.

There were many more shoes by the door than he expected; he recognized his Gran's little boots, but not the faded loafers or the clunky, heavy boots.

His mother, Dora, came bursting through the door behind him. Her hair was a limp, mousy brown and her dark grey eyes were filled with worry. Her eyes were darting everywhere, and she had her wand drawn.

"Teddy, I need to know who's looking after AJ—" she said hurriedly.

"Dobby!" shouted Teddy, seeing the colorfully dressed elf in the living room.

"Mister Edward is here!" Dobby greeted. "Dobby is taking care of Mister Alastor!"

"Dobby, you're alive!" Teddy hugged the elf, looking him over for injuries. "How did you get here? How does Gran know you?"

"Dobby cannot be telling Mister Edward! Dobby swore to protect Mister Edward…and now, Dobby must fight!" Dobby, while looking as healthy as ever, had a fierce, determined expression on his leathery little face.

"Wait – what?" yelped Teddy. "You're going to fight?"

"The Battle of Hogwarts needs Dobby! Dobby will fight for Harry Potter!"

"B-but Dobby, you're safe!" Teddy protested, and Dobby shook his head.

"Dobby is a free elf! Dobby will fight for the great Harry Potter!" With a snap of his fingers, Dobby disappeared, leaving Teddy in the living room with his mother gaping at him.

"Oh, err," Teddy said awkwardly. "That's Dobby. He's a good elf. He saved Grandad."

Dora blinked several times and shook her head slightly, as if she were trying to shake off whatever confusion had just come over her. A little cry came from the cot in the living room, and she rushed to the its side. Teddy took a step back when he saw his mother pick up an orange-haired, wailing baby from the cot, feeling his heart clenching a little to see her doting on the baby.

"He needs to eat," she said, looking warily at Teddy. "You can stay here for a minute while I go up?"

"Why are you going upstairs?" asked Teddy. "The kitchen is over there." He pointed to the other side of the wall and added, "That's where Gran and I always ate."

A pained look crossed her face. "I'm breastfeeding him – I can stay here, if you'd like, but I'm not sure—"

Teddy blushed, feeling stupid for having momentarily forgotten that most other babies were breastfed by their mothers; he'd been fed differently.

"You can stay here…I'll go to the kitchen." He shuffled out of the living room and went to the kitchen, to open up a cabinet where Gran always kept biscuits. He was relieved when the biscuits were there, and took out a few of them to place on a plate, which were the same as he always remembered.

He found a cup, fixed himself a cup of tea, and sat down to enjoy his snack while his mother was busy. Despite being in the comfort of his home, eating the same biscuits he'd grown up with, and sitting at the same table he'd sat at for years, he was uncomfortable. He felt awkward, sitting alone, knowing that the mother he'd longed to meet was on the other side of the wall, but she was busy breastfeeding an infant version of himself.

He heard the door open and the thud of another set of footsteps. They didn't sound like Gran's footsteps, and they didn't come to meet him in the kitchen. The footsteps went to the living room and stayed there for a few minutes while Teddy nibbled at his second biscuit.

The footsteps moved again, and Teddy looked up to see his father, Remus, entering the kitchen.

"Hello," Remus said politely. "I brought someone with me." He pulled out Puck from his robe pocket, who launched himself away from Remus and scurried to Teddy.

"Puck! How did you get away from me?" said Teddy, once Puck climbed his way up to the table. "Were you with my friends?"

"Your friend Yasmin had him in her hair."

"You know she doesn't like that, Puck," Teddy admonished. The bowtruckle crossed its leafy arms, blew a raspberry at him, and bit off a chunk of one of his biscuits in protest. "And you don't even like biscuits!"

Teddy looked up at Remus sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Dad—" Remus flinched slightly at being called 'Dad,' worrying Teddy, but he continued, "I hope he wasn't much trouble for you."

"He didn't want to come with me at first, but Yasmin told him that he would be cut up for parts to be used in potions," Remus said, with a hint of amusement in his voice. "Is she always like that?"

"She means well…I think," replied Teddy. He sat for a moment, realizing he was talking to his father, a man he'd longed to know for his entire life, and set down his biscuit. "Do you want one?"

"I think I will." Remus fixed himself a cup of tea, reached into the cabinet, and pulled out several biscuits. He joined Teddy at the table, watching him curiously. After a moment of silence, he said, "Dora's almost done feeding AJ. She's going to bring him up to bed soon."

"Okay," replied Teddy. A long, awkward silence filled the room; for as many questions as Teddy'd had for his father, in the off-chance he ever got to meet him, or learned he'd miraculously survived, not a single one came to his mind. He was speechless, unsure of what to ask a man who was both intimately familiar and totally foreign at once.

"Why don't you tell me a little about yourself, Teddy?" asked Remus, looking every bit of uncomfortable as Teddy felt, the longer the silence continued. "You're a Hufflepuff?"

Teddy nodded enthusiastically. "The Sorting Hat said I wouldn't do well in Slytherin and I had decent brains, but wasn't right for Ravenclaw. I told the Hat I wanted to make you and mum proud, so it put me in Hufflepuff."

"You wanted to make us proud?" Remus said hoarsely. "Not…Andromeda?"

"I did, but I've wanted to meet you all term. Is it okay that I'm not a Gryffindor like you or Uncle Harry?" It was a question that had been on Teddy's mind for many years; he always wondered, having been the son of one of the infamous Gryffindor Marauders and being the godson of another very famous Gryffindor, what his father and godfather would've made of him being sorted outside of Gryffindor house.

"Of course it is. Dora was a Hufflepuff…that's a very good house to be sorted into." Remus took a bite of his biscuit and watched as Teddy, beaming, dunked his biscuit into his tea and took a bite, relieved he was off to a good start with his father. Hopefully, thought Teddy, Harry would come home alive and victorious, and he'd tell his godfather about his sorting, too.

A lighter set of footsteps was approaching. Teddy perked up, excited to see his mother again. Dora smelled faintly of baby, and had obviously been crying, troubling Teddy. Her hair was still the same limp brown, which Teddy had only seen once or twice in pictures. Gran never said much about the mousy brown hair, other than it being Nymphadora's natural hair color, leaving Teddy to wonder if there was more to the story of her brown hair than met the eye. Teddy set those thoughts aside as his mother came into the kitchen and sat next to Remus, opposite him.

"I was just asking Teddy to tell me a little about himself," said Remus. "He's a Hufflepuff."

"Good," Tonks said weakly. "Is that your bowtruckle?" She pointed to a spot underneath Teddy's lapel, where a bright green leaf stuck out.

"This is Puck," Teddy said proudly, prodding Puck to greet her. The bowtruckle stuck his head out, blew a raspberry, and tucked himself back behind the lapel. "I'm sorry, Mum—" Dora flinched too, and Teddy's face fell a little.

"Why don't you tell us how you got him?" asked Remus. He put his arm around Dora, holding her close to him, which made Teddy feel rather out of place.

He cleared his throat lightly, saying, "We were helping Professor Flitwick make wands because Mr. Ollivander was missing. Luna found the rowan wood tree and we distracted the bowtruckles so we could get the wood. Mr. Ollivander made my wand for me out of that tree." He pulled out his wand from his pocket and placed it on the table before his parents. "It's got a unicorn hair in its core that I plucked myself, too."

"If Ollivander made that wand for you, what did you have before?" asked Remus.

"Snape brought me a bunch of stolen wands, but I didn't know they were stolen," replied Teddy. "One wand worked all right for me but when Ollivander came to the Room of Requirement and asked about it he said it wasn't the right wand for me…I was actually going to use your wand, Dad."

Remus's eyes flew open and his hand twitched toward the cypress wand Teddy always thought would be his.

"On my eleventh birthday I got to try yours, Mum's, and Grandad's. Yours worked perfectly for me, Dad…Harry and Gran were so proud…I was sad when I couldn't use it but then I got this one and it's even better." Teddy ran his fingers on his rowan wand, which felt as much a part of him as his morphing did.

Tonks remained suspiciously quiet, which Teddy thought odd, until he remembered that while he was reuniting with his parents, his grandparents were risking their lives for magical Britain. A low, swooping feeling went through his stomach and he slumped forward, worried over their fates.

Remus leaned forward and put his arm on the table, as if to reach out to Teddy, but stopped short. Instead, he asked, "Teddy? Are you all right?"

"I'm worried about Gran and Grandad," Teddy replied, as his chin quivered. "Do you think they'll be okay?"

Tonks burst into tears, excusing herself, and Remus made a hasty apology to Teddy before following her out of the kitchen.

"Puck, I think this is my fault," whispered Teddy, feeling the tears welling up in his eyes. "It's my fault if they die." He swallowed the lump in his throat, but it was no use; the tears spilled over onto his cheeks. He felt as alone as he had all term, in a family he wasn't quite a part of, and in a time that didn't belong to him.

He pushed back in the kitchen chair and went to the garden door, but struggled, not knowing where else to turn. All the Weasleys were at the Battle of Hogwarts; sudden images of any one of them dying prematurely left him struggling to see, blinded as he was by the tears that came with the knowledge that it was his fault – and his fault only – if someone other than Fred died.

He managed to turn the doorknob to go out into the garden. It was a cool, spring night and Gran's yellow daffodils were swaying gently in the breeze. He fell in a heap on the patch of grass beside the garden door and hugged his knees against his chest, crying, feeling as helpless as ever while a battle raged on at Hogwarts.

Puck snuck away from him, seeking insects in the garden for a feast, leaving Teddy to console himself.

The night was unsettlingly quiet. It seemed odd to Teddy, that everything in his Gran's garden bloomed without knowing about the horrors and destruction happening hundreds of miles away. The night was unfeeling; it didn't care about the terrified boy rocking in its stillness.

"Teddy?" Remus's hoarse voice called into the darkness. "Teddy, are you here?"

"I'm here, Dad," Teddy said, sniffling. Remus exhaled sharply and bent down, grimacing, to look at him.

"Why don't you come back inside? It might help you take your mind off of things if we do something else."

"Like what?" Teddy's voice was thick with emotion. He couldn't imagine anything that would take his mind off of the battle – or the deaths that were bound to occur – but Remus spoke anyway.

"Dora and I want to hear more about you. We'd like to get to know you."

Teddy peered at his father, who was clearly in pain from the way he was crouching to meet Teddy's eyes; he found the earnest warmth of his father's honey brown eyes soothing.

Remus groaned as he stood, and Teddy followed him back into the house, beckoning Puck to join him. They walked into the living room, where a puffy-eyed Dora was waiting for them. Three cups of tea were sitting on the coffee table, as well as the entire tin of biscuits.

"Hi, Teddy," Dora said softly. "Where do you like to sit?"

Teddy took a seat in the big yellow armchair opposite the fireplace. Dora smiled weakly and said, "That's my dad's—"

"—favorite spot, I know," finished Teddy. "Gran said so."

He plonked into the armchair, curling his feet underneath his bum, and let Puck sit on his shoulder. The bowtruckle had seemingly had his fill of garden insects, and rested happily by Teddy's ear. Remus and Tonks sat together on the matching yellow sofa, and gazed at him for a moment.

"Why don't you tell us a little more about you, Teddy?" began Remus, while glancing at Dora. "How did you get a Time Turner to bring you here? And one of these cups of tea is for you, of course."

Teddy grinned, taking a cup of tea into his hands, and dunked another biscuit into it. He then gladly told his parents about his plan to surprise Harry for his 29th birthday. They both smiled upon hearing his idea to enchant the Snitches with Uncle George's help. Luckily, they didn't ask him about why he only mentioned George and not Fred. He then told them of the way the room spun around him, and that the first person he'd revealed himself to was Rufus Scrimgeour, followed by Severus Snape.

Teddy didn't hold back when telling them about Severus Snape. He recounted how much he loathed the Headmaster – even if he was helping the war – and how he'd been repeatedly punished for trying to save his parents.

Remus and Tonks gaped at him, dumbfounded, as he told them of the time he'd tried to send a letter to Ted Tonks, which Snape intercepted, and punished him for by taking him to Malfoy Manor to meet the inhuman, murderous 'You-Know-Who' and Bellatrix Lestrange, who had pulled a knife on him.

"He did what?" Tonks stood abruptly, her eyes filled with rage Teddy had only seen in his Gran's eyes once before. "I'm going to kill that man." She moved toward the front door, but Remus stopped her.

"It doesn't matter," Teddy said matter-of-factly. "He's going to die anyway."

"I hope it's painful," Tonks hissed. "Taking you to see – even if you really weren't—" Remus cleared his throat and placed a hand on her shoulder, murmuring something into her ear. She stopped talking at once, but remained visibly upset. She snatched several biscuits from the tin and dunked them in her tea, muttering angrily underneath her breath. It amazed Teddy to see someone so like his Gran.

"It's the snake…the one that almost killed Grandad Weasley when Uncle Harry was in school. She's going to kill Snape. I reckon it's going to hurt," informed Teddy. "But he's still a double agent…I dunno. I hate him but he doesn't need to die."

"That's…very mature of you, Teddy," Remus said, through a strained voice.

Teddy shrugged and said, "Uncle Harry said something like that once. He used to hate Snape…I don't think I'm ever going to stop hating him. He's a stupid, greasy dickhead, even if he does help win the war."

Remus and Tonks shared a glance but said nothing on Teddy's language.

"How come you're not asking more about Snape?" asked Teddy. It dawned on him that they weren't surprised by the news that Snape had helped to win the war. He opened his mouth again, ready to ask for an explanation, when his mother spoke.

"Mum left a letter upstairs," Tonks said, through a strained voice. "We'll talk about it…tomorrow."

Teddy furrowed his brow, frowning. "Why tomorrow?"

"It'll be better to keep our minds off of what's happening at Hogwarts," Remus said uneasily. "Tell us more about yourself."

"Err…okay. I'm 12, I think. I don't know if time travel did anything to my age." Teddy had celebrated his last birthday on the seventh of April, but at no point had he wondered if he really had aged up to 12, or if his age had somehow changed, too.

"We can cast an Age Detection Charm on you, if you'd like," offered Remus. Teddy nodded, and Remus swished his wand in a half-arc. A number of stars appeared over Teddy's head; they counted twelve total.

"Twelve it is," concluded Remus. "What did you usually do for your birthdays?"

Teddy grinned now, glad to share something happier about his life. "Every year Gran made a triple chocolate cake – she said it was your favorite, Dad—" Remus still flinched slightly upon being called 'Dad,' but not as wildly as he had before. "—anyway, Gran always made that cake and then put lots of rainbow sprinkles on it, like you always liked, Mum."

Tonks nodded feebly and curled further into Remus.

"Gran makes a cake and Uncle Harry comes over with Auntie Ginny, James, Albus, and Lily," Teddy said absentmindedly, watching his parents' jaws drop slightly. They shared a glance, and Teddy smacked his palm to his forehead.

"Their kids. They get married! I was the page boy at their wedding," Teddy said cheerfully. "I wish I had the pictures to show you. I was about four when they got married. Uncle Ron and Auntie Hermione got married when I was six and I got to be their page boy, too, and Victoire was the flower girl."

"Victoire?" asked Remus.

"Fleur," gasped Tonks. "Bill and Fleur."

"Yeah!" Teddy said brightly, remembering one of his many Weasley friends. He missed all of his Potter and Weasley friends, even if most of them were much younger. "I miss Victoire. I hope I see her…oh. I won't see her for a long time…and she's not going to know me. None of them are going to know me." He felt the lump in his throat, but he forced himself not to cry again, as Remus and Dora shifted on the sofa, having a silent conversation with their eyes.

"What about something else? What did you like to do for fun?" Remus said gently, in an obvious attempt to change the subject.

"I like to read." At this, Remus lit up, and gestured for Teddy to elaborate. "I like all the books about magical creatures. Dragons and unicorns are my favorite, but I like bowtruckles now, too. Last year, Gran let Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny take me to Romania right after my tenth birthday to see Charlie and his dragons! It was brilliant!"

He grinned, and went into detail about each dragon he'd seen, including the ferocious Hungarian Horntail that Harry had once faced when he was in his fourth year, along with one of its babies.

"You should've seen the baby dragons! They were so big and they were only a year old!" Teddy said excitedly. "Even bigger than the Zouwu in Paris!"

Remus and Tonks cocked their heads at him, and he explained. "Gran took me to Paris on holiday in June! There's a magical zoo there and she even let us visit at the full moon."

His parents were obviously confused, and he scoffed at them. "To see mooncalves! They only come out at night, and when the moon is full, they make patterns in the fields – don't you know that?" They shook their heads and he added, "They look really funny, almost like fat unicorns, but they don't have fur or the horn. Then there was the Zouwu…if you shake a little feather with a bell, it's just like a normal cat!"

Teddy exhausted himself after a while; his parents looked genuinely interested in hearing him speak about the magical creatures, and he was pleased to tell them all he knew. He wanted to show them that he was a bright, clever boy, and even told them about his good marks at school, so that they'd know he was working hard. They nodded, said kind, supportive things when he mentioned his marks or one of his better essays, and he even showed them some of the spells he'd learned.

He thought his heart would burst from happiness when he showed them some of the more advanced spells he'd learned – especially the Locking and Silencing Charms – and they told him how impressed they were that he could cast them so easily.

"Just wait until I show you the potions I can make by myself!" Teddy said eagerly. "I can make Pain Relief Potion, Sleeping Draught, and Strengthening Solution – no problem! I'm really good at those."

Remus glanced up at the clock behind Teddy, and had another silent conversation with Dora. He turned back to Teddy and said, "You know, Teddy, I think we're out of Sleeping Draught, but we should have all the ingredients. Why don't you show us what you can do?"

Teddy grinned, delighted to have the opportunity to show his parents how much he'd learned. He led them into the kitchen and found the cabinet with Gran's cauldron. He set it up on the counter, just as he'd seen his Gran do many times, and went to the cupboard to fetch his ingredients.

He could hear his parents murmuring to each other while he was collecting ingredients in the cupboard; he hoped they were talking about him, and about how well he was doing. He was thrilled to have the opportunity to show off, and he carried his ingredients back to the counter carefully. He knew he'd inherited some of his mother's clumsiness, but he wasn't ready to show them that just yet.

Teddy focused all his efforts on cutting the ingredients just right, placing them in the cauldron, and he even earned a whispered "wow" from his mother when he produced the fire under the cauldron. He'd never been so proud of himself.

The potion turned into the textbook-perfect, pale blue shade, and he grinned up at his parents to show them.

"See? I told you I could do it!" said Teddy. "Do you want me to make Pain Relief Potion too?"

"No, we've got plenty of that," replied Remus. Teddy's face fell slightly; it was a more complicated potion, and he was hoping to show his parents he could make that one, too.

"On second thought," Tonks interjected, "why don't you make more? It doesn't hurt to have it on hand."

Before Teddy could ladle out the Sleeping Draught, he heard the sound of a baby crying.

"What's that—"

"AJ," said Remus, gazing curiously at Teddy, as AJ's cries grew louder. "You heard him too?"

"I've got good hearing." Teddy shrugged, and Tonks slipped out of the kitchen to attend to the crying infant. He heard her stomp upstairs, and then noted the sudden silence which meant she'd figured out what the baby needed.

Teddy ladled the Sleeping Draught into vials, concentrating carefully on ensuring that none of it spilled. Once he was satisfied, he ran the cauldron under clean water and set to work on the next potion.

"Which one of your classes do you like best, Teddy?"

"They're all good, except Muggle Studies and Dark Arts."

"You mean Defense Against the Dark Arts, don't you?"

"Nope. One of the Carrows teaches Dark Arts. It's terrible. They make the seventh years practice curses on us."

"What?" Remus yelped, frightening Teddy enough that half his ingredients fell to the floor. Remus went to his side, helping him pick up the fallen ingredients, and apologized profusely for the outburst.

"It's okay, Dad." Teddy couldn't help but smile whenever he called Remus 'Dad,' even if his father wasn't used to the term. Remus stood back against the other side of the counter, with his hand over his chin.

"Did they really do that to you? Were you hurt?"

"No. Everyone thought I was Snape's kid so they didn't do anything to me, even when I volunteered."

"You volunteered?" Remus gaped at him in openmouthed horror. "Why would you—"

"I didn't want the others getting hurt. Carrow was going to make Neville do it but he didn't want to, and I thought if I volunteered, maybe the others wouldn't hate me so much. They did anyway 'cause of Snape."

"You were willing to have a seventh year cast the Cruciatus Curse on you so your classmates wouldn't think poorly of you?"

"Err…yes?" Teddy said, unsure.

Remus gasped and put his hand over his mouth. He wouldn't take his eyes off of Teddy, which unnerved him a little and prompted him to speak again.

"No one would be my friend…no one trusted me. I thought that maybe if I got tortured instead of Aoife or Miles they'd like me, but it didn't work."

"Remus? What's wrong?" Tonks came back to the kitchen, eyeing Teddy warily. "What happened?"

"I told Dad that I volunteered to take the Cruciatus Curse for my classmates—"

"—you did what?" Tonks shrieked, interrupting him. Teddy recoiled; his mother was really very similar to his Gran when she was angry. "Why would you do such a thing?"

"So they'd like me, but it didn't work. Aoife and Miles still hate me. It's okay, though, because Yasmin and Eneko are my friends now, even if they might not come back for second year. Maybe I'll make friends with the new first years instead."

"You don't have to do something like that to make friends or get people to like you," said Tonks. "There are other ways of making friends."

"I guess," said Teddy, shrugging. All his friends before Hogwarts were the Weasley grandchildren, or the children of the Potters' many friends. Then again, he thought, as he chopped up more ingredients for the Pain Relief Potion, none of them ever thought he was the child of a Death Eater who happened to kill Dumbledore.

"How did you make friends with Yasmin and Eneko? They seemed nice," asked Tonks. "You didn't have to take a Torture Curse for them, did you?"

"No, but I did have to bug Yasmin for weeks…I had to practically beg her to talk to me." Teddy placed a few of the freshly chopped herbs into the cauldron and turned it thrice, until it reached the next stage of brewing. The murky concoction was clearing up spectacularly, to his delight.

"Why did you have to do that?" said Remus, breaking his strange silence. "She didn't like you?"

Teddy winced. He told them about one of the full moons he'd had, in which he heard and saw Yasmin at the infirmary. After weeks of badgering her, he'd finally been able to get her to talk to him.

"I know it's stupid," said Teddy, sprinkling powdered ginger root into the cauldron. "But it wasn't so bad once I made friends with Eneko. I helped him with his Wiggenweld Potion. He was supposed to be at Beauxbatons but his mum's sick, and that's why she's at St. Mungo's. Once I was friends with Eneko, she talked to me and then we were all friends."

"If it hadn't been for Eneko, though," began Tonks. "You and—"

"—I was going to wait till the next full moon," replied Teddy. He described January's full moon, in which he'd offered her steak tartare after cornering her in the morning, and she'd reluctantly agreed to meet with him for dinner at the next full moon.

"She probably felt bad for me because I told her my only friends were Puck and sometimes Hagrid," admitted Teddy, while turning the ladle three more times, counterclockwise. "But then I helped Eneko and she became our friend. She's kind of cranky and bossy sometimes but she's my friend now."

He peered into the cauldron, and the potion was finally a pearlescent, shimmery white. It was also textbook-perfect, and he took a spoonful to show his parents.

"See? It's perfect!" Teddy grinned and set the spoon down, ready to divide the cauldron's contents into more vials. He glanced up at his parents, who were watching him with the same, inscrutable expression. "Mum? Dad? What's wrong? Have I done something wrong?"

"No, you haven't," said Remus. "You're remarkably similar to us both, which is…frankly, it's astounding."

Teddy frowned at his father. "Why? Is that bad?"

"No, it's not…it's hard to explain." Remus gestured to Tonks, urging her to say something. She bit one of her nails, but shook her head. Remus arched an eyebrow at her and sighed. "Maybe it will be easier in the morning when we've had some rest." He checked his wristwatch, grimacing. "Speaking of which…it's almost one o'clock in the morning."

"No wonder," yawned Teddy. "I'm tired."

"We'll have you sleep in Andromeda's room, I think," Remus said, as Tonks nodded.

"Why can't I…never mind." Teddy sighed deeply. His room wouldn't be available, as it was currently occupied by AJ. The third bedroom was probably occupied by his parents, which left only his Gran's room or the sofa downstairs.

"You don't have any other clothes, do you?" asked Remus, and Teddy shook his head.

"All my things are still at Hogwarts. It wasn't much, anyway. Snape only got me plain black shirts and trousers, but Dobby made me lots of colorful jumpers." Teddy smiled to himself, thinking of the many jumpers he'd gotten from the cheery house elf.

"You're not much smaller than I am," said Tonks. "You can wear some of my old things."

Remus helped Teddy put everything away in the kitchen while Tonks took some of her clothes for Teddy to sleep in. When Teddy and his father were done in the kitchen, they went upstairs, passing by both Teddy's bedroom and his parents' bedroom. He was led to his Gran's bedroom, which smelled just like he remembered it. It was a light, floral, familiar scent that brought back memories of being a frightened little boy. He would run to her in the night whenever there were storms, nightmares, or both. No one made him feel safe like his Gran did.

A worn pair of sleeping trousers and a Weird Sisters t-shirt awaited him on the bed, along with a snoozing Puck. Tonks was nowhere to be seen, confusing Teddy, but Remus appeared unsurprised by her absence. Perhaps, thought Teddy, she was feeding AJ again, leading him to wonder how many times a baby needed feeding.

"Why don't you change in the loo?" suggested Remus. "When you're done, I can adjust your clothes to make sure they're not too big on you."

"Okay!" Teddy said brightly. "Thanks, Dad!" Remus didn't flinch this time, to Teddy's immense relief, so he took the clothes and went off to the loo to change.

The loo was filled with more things than he'd ever seen before – cosmetics, men's products, and baby things covered the counter. Teddy hadn't realized how neat Gran had been, until he saw what the house looked like with more than just the two of them to occupy it. He relieved himself, changed his clothes, and went back into Gran's room. Remus sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for him.

"Ah, yes. Just as I suspected, the clothes are a little too big for you. I hope you don't mind if I adjust them, so you're not swimming in them anymore," Remus said, pointing his wand at him. He cast a nonverbal charm, and the sleeping trousers shrunk down to fit Teddy better, as did the Weird Sisters t-shirt. Remus gazed up at Teddy for another long moment.

"It really is remarkable how much you look like me, if this is your natural face," Remus said pensively. "Other than your hair, that is."

Teddy closed his eyes, relaxing his features further; his turquoise hair shrunk back into his skull, and morphed to the sandy brown he'd been born with, but formed it in the short, messy way his father currently sported.

"Remarkable," murmured Remus. "You look just like I did at your age, but without…" He gestured to some of the scars on his face, wincing. Teddy didn't mind the scars on his father's face. He'd grown so used to them, seeing them in all of the remaining pictures he had. He simply couldn't imagine a Remus Lupin without his scars.

"But then you wouldn't be my Dad, if you didn't have them," Teddy said quietly.

Remus gazed at him. "You're right. I wouldn't." He stood from the bed, and strode toward the door.

Teddy was left by the side of the bed, tugging softly at the covers.

"Hey, Dad?"

"Yes, Teddy?"

Teddy's heart was in his throat, his palms slightly clammy, and his pulse racing. He felt a little foolish, but he wasn't ready to go to bed just yet.

"Umm, could I have a hug, please?" Teddy said, averting his gaze. "It's okay if you don't want to—"

Remus's arms were around Teddy before he could finish his sentence. He buried his face into his father's shabby jumper, inhaling his scent, surprised that his throat felt a little scratchy.

"Goodnight, Teddy," said Remus, his voice thick with emotion. "Sleep well."

"Thanks, Dad. I love you…tell Mum I love her too, okay?"

Remus could only nod, and he left Teddy, filled with warmth from his father's embrace, to fall asleep and await news in the morning.