The Letters From Them

Dear Teddy,

My darling son, I hope you never read this letter. I hope I return from where I am about to go alive and well and able to spend many long years with you. But if this does not happen, please know how very much I love you. You and your exciting, tough, hilarious Mummy have given me more happiness than I knew possible. There are few reasons why I would willingly risk missing out on being your father, enjoying your company, having fun with you, helping you learn, watching you grow into the marvellous man I know you will be, and showing you every day how much I love you. But the duty to make the world a better place for you to grow up in is, I think, good enough reason. I am doing this for you. One day I hope you will understand and I beg your forgiveness.

Know that whatever you choose to do I am proud. I support you and believe in you. And above all I love you. I love you so much, my wonderful son.

Always,

Dad

Teddy,

I can't write beautifully like Daddy, but I agree with everything he said. I love you I love you. I hope I get to come home to you very soon. If I don't then I'm really sorry. Grandma and Daddy will look after you so be a good boy for them. Well, maybe not too good, they both need keeping on their toes.

We're pretty sure that you are a Metamorphmagus. You're welcome, kid. So I hope you enjoy it and have fun with it. It's nice to be able to make people laugh. You have my permission to use it to get into trouble. I hope you're also like your Dad in some way too, because he's fantastic. And your Grandad. You've got both their names and if you're anything like either of them you're going to be a total knock-out. I should probably tell you some important advice and stuff but my mind's gone blank. Watch out for Wrackspurt. Work hard. Carry Essence of Dittany on you for emergencies/falling over. Be nice to people. De-gnoming is better done manually than with magic.

You make me really happy. I hope we get more time together. You're the best little guy. I'm so proud of you.

Love you forever,

Mum

Xxxxx xxx xxx kisses times a million

PLEASE STAY SAFE

Teddy wanted to have the page framed on his bedroom wall but Granny wouldn't let him.

"It'll lose its meaning then, it'll just be something you see when you wake up," she explained.

"No, it won't," Teddy protested forlornly, but he could tell in Granny's tone that this was an argument she wasn't losing.

"We'll keep it in this drawer here," she announced. She folded the page carefully back in its envelope and shut the envelope inside the drawer.

"Tell me how they wrote it again," Teddy pleaded. He liked stories about his parents going to die.

Granny lifted him onto his bed and sat down beside him. "Your Dad realised he had to go to fight so he got his quill out and wrote you a letter. Then he gave you to your Mum and told her to take you to stay with me so that you'd both be safe. Then your Dad gave you a hug-"

"-a big one," Teddy interrupted.

"The biggest hug ever, because he knew he might not be able to do it again," Granny nodded, "He gave you one huge hug to make up for all the others he couldn't give you,"

"And then Daddy Flooed into the fire,"

"Good lad, that's right. Mummy and you came to me but Mummy wanted to fight. She wanted so much to be with you but she knew she had to help her friends fight the bad people,"

"To make the world better for me," Teddy recited.

"Yes. So she opened Daddy's letter and added her bit. And then she went to Hogwarts to join your Dad,"

"But she gave me a big hug too,"

"Lots of hugs and kisses and love," Andromeda nodded. The reality had been completely different. The reality had been Nymphadora appearing in the fireplace clutching the baby and trembling. It had been her choking out to Andromeda what was going on. It had been her pacing, muttering, chewing her sleeves, squeezing Teddy too tight until Andromeda had taken him off her. It had been Nymphadora tearing open the envelope, reading Remus' letter and snarling, "Bastard. Why's he got to be so bloody poetic?".

"Don't read what he's written" Andromeda scolds.

"But I need to add to it," says Nymphadora, "I'm going with him,"

Andromeda freezes. "You can't," she says, voice suddenly hoarse. No. No no, she can't go, she won't.

"Yes I can, and I have to," Nymphadora insists.

"You don't know what's happening, you could get yourself killed," Andromeda snaps. Silly girl, she's talking nonsense. She's panicked about Remus and it's making her think of daft ideas.

"So could you, so could any of us, any day. Harry needs help. This is it, Mum. This is when we fight back,"

"You've fought enough," Andromeda says firmly. She's worked an Auror for four years, part of the Order for three and been nearly killed by Andromeda's sister twice. Nymphadora has played her part.

"There's no such thing, not until this is over. All my friends are there, my husband-"

"What about your son? He's barely four weeks old, he needs you,"

"Yeah, he needs me to stand up for him,"

"He needs you to be his Mummy!" Andromeda shouts. Her brain is whirring and she's starting to shake, too. Nymphadora has always been wilful but this is not the time or place. She cannot be part of this battle. She cannot leave her child.

"I hope I can be, Merlin, I hope I can be tomorrow, or whenever this ends. Look after him for me, Mum. Tell him how proud we are of him,"

"Nymphadora-" Andromeda pleads. Her voice is getting more hysterical, more like her big sister's.

"I've made my choice, and you know what it is because you made the same one, didn't you? With Dad,"

Dad. Andromeda's husband. Her beautiful Ted. His death still hasn't sunk in- how can it when Andromeda hasn't seen his body? It's as if he'll walk back through the door any minute laughing at her for believing his silly joke. One of the last things he'd said to her before he'd gone on the run was to make Andromeda swear to look after their daughter and the baby. Andromeda has to keep her promise.

"I chose my family," she chokes out. She gave up everything for Ted, for Nymphadora. Everything.

"So am I," says Nymphadora sadly, "But in a different way,"

Andromeda snaps. "No, you're not, you're being foolish. You've done enough for them, and I'm not letting you leave your month-old son to-

"Mum," Nymphadora whispers, "Please don't make this harder than it already is,"

"WHAT ABOUT ME?!" Andromeda yells, "What about me? I've lost your Dad, I can't lose you as well,"

"You've got him," says Nymphadora, coming over to her to stroke the baby's back, "You've got Teddy,"

"I'm begging you. Please, please. Not you as well. Not you,"

Tears seep from Andromeda's eyes. Not her, not her. She can't lose her husband and her daughter. Not her, anybody but her. Andromeda's shout has woken Teddy, and now he's started to cry.

"Mum, I'm sorry, I have to. If I can get Bellatrix-"

"She's nearly killed you twice already!"

Nymphadora looks up at her. "Third time lucky for me," she says. Her voice is toneless.

"Your hubris will be the death of you. Do you honestly think-"

"What choice do I have? They've already got Dad, they'll be after you and Remus and Teddy next. I'm his mother, I've got to protect him,"

No no no. Please no, Andromeda thinks, please don't go. Please, not you, not you. But her voice is lost in tears and terror, and she cannot get the words out.

"I'm protecting you too, and Remus if I can find him there," Nymphadora continues over the sound of her howling baby, "And if I can't, if you see him again before I do, tell him…tell him I love him and that I think he always knew I'd make this choice. And tell him that he was worth it. That's really important, you have to tell him that, Mum. 'You were worth it'- do you promise?"

"I- yes, alright," Andromeda promises, because there's no point arguing about that when she has to persuade Nymphadora to stay, "But listen, can't you-"

"No. I can't, Mum, I really can't,"

Nymphadora's crying too, and Teddy's wails are getting louder and Andromeda can hardly see for tears. This is not happening, this cannot happen. Ted could talk sense into their reckless daughter. Ted would give her his lop-sided smile and say gently, "Don't be a muppet, Dora". Ted would put his arms around Andromeda, tell a daft joke and make everything alright.

Ted isn't here.

Nymphadora opens the envelope again, grabs a pen from the mantelpiece and starts writing. Andromeda stands there, holding the wriggling, mewling baby, the only person more helpless than her. She shushes him for something to do, and watches as Nymphadora brushes tears from her cheek while she scribbles on the page. Andromeda wipes her own eyes and takes three deep breaths, like she used to when her sisters wound her up. Calm down, calm down. Remus is always calm and composed. Had Nymphadora begged him to stay when he'd left? If that why she wants to go, because she wants to be with her husband? But as besotted as Nymphadora is with him, he can't be the only reason. If this really is the final day of the war, then….no. No. There is no reason good enough for her to go. Never.

"Keep him safe," Nymphadora says, looking up from the table. Then she mutters to herself, "Shit, did I write that down?"

She re-opens the envelope, scribbles a few more words at the bottom of the page, shoves the paper back into the envelope and thrusts it at Andromeda.

"Keep him safe, Mum, please keep him safe,"

"How am I supposed to do that without you? Without your Dad?" Andromeda wails.

Nymphadora smiles lop-sidedly. Ted's smile. "Mum, come on. You don't need us to look after you,"

"Your baby needs you to look after him!". What if they both get themselves killed and Andromeda's left to raise him on her own? She can't possibly…he's four weeks old, she can't, Nymphadora can't leave him…

"I know, I know," Nymphadora nods sadly, "Mum, can I hold him? I need to say goodbye,"

"Granny, why are you crying?"

He was six years old now. Looked a lot like his Dad but he'd inherited the Black eyes, darling Ted's lop-sided smile and Nymphadora's penchant for multicoloured hair. He liked it turquoise or yellow or Weasley ginger. Sometimes he morphed it pink and when he did and Andromeda glanced at him she sometimes thought it was Nymphadora, ending this silly hiding game and come home to them. And then Teddy would turn around look at her with Remus' face and the moment would shatter. He sometimes said that he missed his Mummy and Daddy, and he got uncomfortable walking into a room full of families, but Andromeda reckoned that he didn't really understand it yet. She knew it would get worse as he grew older.

"Granny! I don't like it when you cry!"

Teddy was gazing up at her with her own eyes, looking worried. Hastily, Andromeda brushed the tears from her face, and ruffled Teddy's hair. "Sorry, sweetheart,"

"Why are you crying?" he asked. His voice had a permanent rasp to it, like Remus' had.

"I miss your Mummy," Andromeda told him.

"Oh," Teddy said and sucked his finger, "Me too. But you have me and I have you, Granny, so we're fine,"

He took his finger out of his mouth and her a gap-toothed Ted smile. Sweet boy. Nymphadora would have had so much fun with him. They would have adored each other.

"Yes, we are," Andromeda agreed, lying.

"Mmm," he nodded, bouncing on his toes, "Can we go to the park now?"

He loved the park, and had already stuffed his feet into his trainers. Teddy grabbed Andromeda's hand and pulled her towards the door. Towards the outside. The world. To life.

Andromeda followed.