Author's note: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the canon, world, and characters portrayed below and you can tell I'm not J.K. Rowling because #transrights

Warnings: NA

The One and Only Favour

Ever since Remus had started teaching at Hogwarts, he tried to avoid Diagon Alley in August since the shopping district was crawling with students, but he couldn't help but be proud as he walked through Diagon Alley with Teddy at his side as they fluttered from store to store. Dora had been called into work and had only managed to stall the Auror Office long enough to see Teddy buy his first wand, and they had gotten most of his other things since–robes that Remus knew he would outgrow in a matter of weeks, stacks of books, a starter potion kit…

"Professor Lupin!" a seventh year student called his way. It was Brian Macmillan and his friends, all very good Defence Against the Dark Arts students, waving wildly at him. He raised a hand to say hello but before he could successfully duck into another shop, Brain and his other students spotted Teddy.

"Professor, is that your son?" Rachel Mendel asked with a smile.

"Yes," Remus said casually, trying to make this as painless as possible for Teddy. "Teddy, this is Brian, Rachel, Eva, and Nicola. They are Hufflepuff students going into their seventh year."

"Nice to meet you," Rachel said, friendly as always. "Oh my gosh, are all those books yours? Are you starting at Hogwarts?"

"Yes," Teddy said with an unexpected shyness.

"You're going to love it," Eva promised him. "You can come sit with us if you get sorted into Hufflepuff, alright?"

"Alright," Teddy said with a small smile, cheeks happily flushed.

"Enjoy the rest of your day," Remus told his students before putting a hand on Teddy's shoulders and gently guiding him away. "I will see you all bright and early on September 2nd."

They groaned as Remus herded Teddy away.

"Is it always going to be like that?" Teddy asked him.

"What do you mean?" Remus asked.

"Is everyone always going to know me because they know you at Hogwarts?" Teddy asked.

Remus considered the question.

"Well, we have the same last name," Remus said. "Your professors, of course, will know and many other students will guess. But that doesn't mean they know you; you're still your own person."

"Right," Teddy said, muddling that over.

"When you're at school, you'll be in my class at least until your OWLS, after which you get to decide whether or not you want to keep taking Defence Against the Dark Arts," Remus said. "But I won't treat you differently than any other student, and Professor McGonagall and I have already worked out a deal so that she'll grade your work so that nobody can say favouritism has anything to do with how you do. I'll do my best to give you space, to make sure that you get to be your own person."

"But we can still talk, right?" Teddy asked–a question which surprised Remus.

"Of course we can," Remus said. "You'll find your way around the castle soon enough; you'll know where my office is and where in the library and around the castle I'm easiest to find."

"Okay, good," Teddy said.

"Has this been worrying you?" Remus asked. He felt bad for not bringing up the logistics of having a professor as a parent sooner.

"Only a little bit," Teddy said. "I'm used to you being gone when you're working, but then I always have Mum and Gran and Harry and everyone else. I'm not used to being away from Mum and not being able to talk to you."

Remus's heart glowed in that specific way that only Teddy could elicit. Then he realised where exactly in Diagon Alley he had shepherded his son to: Eeylops Owl Emporium. He used the castle owls to send messages more often than not, especially since he and Dora communicated mostly via Patronus and Two-way Mirror while he was at Hogwarts. But if Teddy was worried about being homesick and missing his mum while navigating having a professor as a father… Well, having his own owl might help make communication feel easier and more natural for him.

"Let's get you an owl, then, so you always have a way of getting in touch with both your mother and I," Remus said.

"Really?" Teddy asked, brown eyes wide. And then he frowned. "But I'm only allowed one pet, and I'm bringing the cat…"

"That's true," Remus said. Then he lowered his voice. "Why don't we say the owl is mine, then–just to get it into the castle? You and I will know that he or she will be yours."

Teddy smiled brightly.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes, but that's the one and only favour you'll be getting from me as a professor," Remus said.

Teddy beamed, and walked out of the owl emporium hugging a moon-faced barn owl's cage to his chest and babbling on about name ideas all the way until they got home.

WC: 813