I know Teddy Lupin was raised by Andromeda in canon, but I've elected to ignore that. This is a special Christmas one-shot I made. Happy Holidays!
When James was six, he asked his father the hardest question Harry would ever have to answer.
"Dad, if Grandma and Grandpa are mummy's parents, who are yours?"
Harry had pulled James into his lap and brought out the photo album Hagrid had given him so many years before. He pointed to a picture of the Marauders and Lily laughing together over cups of Butterbeer. "The woman is my mother, Lily, and the man in the glasses is my father, James."
"That's my name," James giggled.
Harry smiled slightly, "Your mother and I named you and your sister after my parents. The man with the long black hair is Sirius, my godfather and the second person for whom you were named. The last man is Remus, Teddy's father. They may have not been related to me, but they were like my uncles in all but blood and that is why we named you after Sirius."
James tilted his head, "Why didn't your parents and Uncle Sirius and Uncle Remus come for Christmas dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's?"
Harry's heart clenched painfully in his chest and there was a lump at the back of his throat he desperately tried to ignore, "They didn't come because they don't live here anymore."
"Oh," Harry's son traced the picture with his finger, brushing over the man who looked so much like him. "Where do they live now?"
"That's something for when you're older, James."
Even if the conversation the day before had been quickly forgotten by his son, it dwelled persistently in the back of Harry's mind. As he watched Albus and James play with the muggle toy soldiers Mr. Weasley had enchanted for them, he realized he couldn't keep it from them forever. James would be going to Hogwarts in a few years and soon his friends would begin asking him about his father's involvement in the war and things would spiral out of control from there. He didn't want to think of what the results of the consequential conversation might be and Harry selfishly wanted a few more years of innocent laughter and shining eyes from his children before they realized how dark and cold the world could be.
"Ginny!" Harry called over his shoulder.
A head of fiery red hair poked out from the kitchen where she was trying to feed Lily mashed carrots. "Yes?"
Harry bit his lip and stepped off the couch and headed to the kitchen. Smiling quickly at the seven-month-old sitting in her high chair at the table, Harry's face settled back into the mask of nervousness. "I want to take the kids to Godric's Hollow."
There was a small clink as Ginny set the bowl down on the counter. She wiped her hands on a towel and turned to Harry, brows furrowed. "Are you sure? I'm not saying we shouldn't go, but the boys won't understand and Lily is still too small to do more than sleep through it."
Harry smiled slightly, "I know, but James has been asking about my parents. He's six already. He'll be going to Hogwarts soon and I want him to hear the story from us rather than through the grapevine." When Ginny began to protest, Harry held up a hand, "I'm not saying we tell them the full story of the war and Voldemort now, but it's a good idea to begin easing them into it soon."
As Harry picked Lily up from her highchair and cradled her in his arms, Ginny's expression relaxed. "Alright. I've been thinking that it's been too long since we visited the graves myself. We'll go before we go to the Burrow tomorrow."
Harry hugged Ginny as tightly as he could, mindful of the small child in his arms, "What did I ever do to deserve an amazing wife such as yourself?"
Ginny just laughed and pecked him on the cheek.
oO0Oo
Godric's Hollow was deserted Christmas morning, all residents closed up inside their warm houses next to a roaring fireplace as they opened presents and spent time with family. There was no one around to hear the two loud cracking noises that meant wizards had Apparated there. A small family of six appeared in the streets, all of them bundled up in thick sweaters and woolen scarves, hats, and fuzzy mittens. Three young boys walked beside their mother while their father carried their sister. Their destination appeared to be a small, worn-looking cemetery at the end of the street across from an exploded house only they could see.
Upon seeing the house, Albus's eyes widened and he pointed with his mitten-clad hand at the ruins before them, "Da, wha's tha'?"
The four-year-old's lisp was even more evident with the added fact of the other mitten in his mouth. Teddy Lupin, while not a blood sibling of the children beside him, but a brother in every other way that it mattered, looked quickly up at the house before dropping his gaze back to Albus. The second-year Hufflepuff glanced in concern at Harry, then put a hand on Al's shoulder, "It doesn't matter, Al. It's just an old building."
Harry sent the boy a thankful smile. Though he was twelve and could easily ignore the boys, he showed his true Hufflepuff nature and always had a kind smile and a reassuring word for everyone. Despite usually keeping his hair in a vibrant blue undercut and having multiple piercings already, there was not a trace of the rebel in him as he grabbed James and Albus's hands and led them gently away from the ruins towards the cemetery.
Harry glanced at them, but waited to follow for a few minutes. Instead, he and Ginny faced the house, the memorial rippling to life before them. Harry took in the graffiti on the base of the statue. When he'd first came here, back when he'd been hunting Horcruxes, there had only been engravings about the first time he'd vanquished Voldemort. They'd moved him in a way nothing else had. It had suddenly become very real that he and his parents had had a more profound impact on the Wizarding community than they ever realized. When he had first come here, the engravings had been sixteen years old. Now, newer carvings were littered amongst the old ones. They thanks him for ending the Second Wizarding War, despite Harry's protests that it really hadn't been his doing, and wished him luck wherever life took him after. Some of them had clearly been written by his supporters during the time he had dropped off the grid to look for Horcruxes. They announced the craver's allegiance to Harry and their wishes for his success, wherever he was. In all the times he'd been back here, he'd never noticed the additional messages written into the memorial and he swallowed quickly, turning away from the ruined house lest he start crying.
A soft hand came to rest on his shoulder and Ginny glanced at him, smiling softly as the couple followed their boys down the street. The snow crunched quietly under their feet, sparkling in the sunlight like glittering silver jewels. Ginny folded the blanket around Lily more tightly and silently cast a small warming charm around the infant.
"Harry?"
The man in question stopped beside Teddy and bent down on one knee before the boy, ignoring the wet snow that seeped through his jeans where they made contact with the ground, "What's up, Teddy?"
Looking down at the frozen ground and lightly pushing the snow around with his boot, Teddy sniffled, "Can-can we visit my mom and dad too?"
Harry pulled him into a tight embrace, "Of course we can. They're right beside my mom and dad and Sirius anyways. We would have gone to them no matter what. I would never not let you see your parents on Christmas."
Teddy sniffled again and wiped his eyes with the back of his mittened hand. Nodding his thanks, the blue-haired boy rejoined the group making their way through the cemetery. Harry followed him and fell into step behind Ginny and Albus. The short trek through the snowy graveyard brought back memories of the first time he'd been here. He could remember being seventeen and seeing his parent's final resting place for the first time and how emotional it had been. Even now, twelve years later, nothing had changed. Harry ran his hand along the grave of Ignotus Peverell as they passed, silently thanking his ancestor.
Finally, the graves grew less clustered together and a small space opened up to reveal three graves set side by side. Harry stopped at the foot of the stone slabs and took out his wand.
"Da', wha'e doing h're?"
Albus was still chewing on his mitten and Harry felt the corners of his mouth twitch up in response. Instead of answering Albus, he addressed James, "Do you remember when you asked me where your other grandparents live?"
James nodded and clutched Ginny's pant leg, curling into her warmth.
"Well," Harry continued slowly, picking the best words to explain what was going to come next, "This is where they are now. Teddy's parents and my godfather are also here."
Both James and Albus looked at Teddy, but the other boy didn't notice them. He was too busy staring at his mother and father's graves. Ginny whispered a few words to the small rebel and took her boys out of the way. Harry walked over to Teddy and took his hand, placing it on his own over the top of his wand. Together, they drew a circle in the air as Harry silently enchanted the spell, summoning a small Christmas wreath and letting it fall just below the fateful words.
Remus John Lupin
B. 1960 D. 1998
Nymphadora Tonks
B. 1972 D. 1998
Tale as old as time. Song as old as rhyme. Beauty and the Beast.
The quote had been Andromeda's idea. She said it had been Tonk's favourite Muggle movie when she was younger and had always told her mother that she would marry the Beast one day. Harry found it an amusing coincidence that she married a man who thought himself a beast yet Tonk's could only see the human inside him.
Harry felt Teddy lean against his chest, wanting physical contact but unwilling to look away from his parents' graves. Instead of moving, Harry just turned slightly to Sirius's grave.
Sirius Orion Black
B. 1960 D. 1996
What's life without a little risk?
Harry drew another wreath in the air and watched it settle silently in the snow. Every time he read Sirius's epitaph, he could almost hear his godfather's laughter echoing in the air. If any one sentence embodied Sirius, that was it.
The last wreath, Harry almost couldn't bear to conjure. His hand shook and his wand trembled when he looked upon his parents' grave.
James Charlus Potter
B. 1960 D. 1989
Lily Potter
B. 1960 D. 1989
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is Death.
A lump formed in the back of Harry's throat and his vision became blurry with tears he refused to let fall. Suddenly, there was a soft thud in the snow and he wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his jacket to see a beautiful wreath laying at the foot of his parents' headstone. Ginny slipped her wand back into her pocket and cradled Lily with one arm, coming to stand beside Harry.
"Thank you," Harry whispered.
Ginny said nothing but smiled softly back at him and slipped her hand into his. He wrapped his other arm around Teddy's shoulders as James and Albus stood in front of them, silent for once in their lives. The six of them remained standing there in the dawn of the early morning, snow falling down around them and their faces illuminated only by the rising sun peeking over the horizon. Three generations of Marauders, together at Christmas once more.