Standard Disclaimer Applies!

Becoming Moony: Teddy

"Shit!" came the startled voice of seventeen-year-old Teddy Lupin. He blinked tiredly at the mound of boxes that had come tumbling down from their resting place to sit at his knees.

"Teddy? Are you okay?" Teddy turned as Harry stepped through the door.

"I'm fine. Why do you and Aunt Ginny have so much junk up here? It's going to attack the children one day and then you'll be sorry." Harry laughed as he pushed a couple of the boxes aside.

"It's just things we've never done anything with. I was supposed to clean it out three weeks ago, but I procrastinated."

"Naw, really?"

Teddy ducked as Uncle Harry's hand came flying up behind him, barely missing the swat to the back of his head. The two men scurried to put away the boxes before Ginny returned. The boxes were cleaned up and stacked neatly before either noticed the large brown trunk that looked as though it had seen far better days.

"What's this?" said Teddy, crouching down next to the trunk. Harry got a very sad look on his face before he answered.

"That was your dad's school trunk. I had forgotten that I had it."

"Oh," mumbled Teddy, "What's in it?"

Harry shrugged, "I don't know. I've never opened it. It had your name on it when I got it though."

"Can I open it?" asked Teddy, excitement in his eyes. Harry smiled and nodded.

"Let's move it downstairs and you can open it in better light. Before we do let's finish cleaning this mess up, okay?"

"Do I have to?" Teddy cowered as Harry gave him the look of doom. He mumbled a quick 'never mind' and picked up another box, giving his godfather a cheeky look.

The two got the rest of the mess cleared away and the attic swept in record time. Both were desperate to see what was in Remus Lupin's school trunk.

/page break/

The lid creaked open with agonizing slowness. It was even more frustrating in the fact that it wouldn't move any faster without falling off its hinges. The whole process was quite maddening.

The lid fell back with a thump and a cloud of dust. Harry and Teddy fell back, but still got a face full of dust. They coughed painfully and moved back to look in the enigma. What they found wasn't what they expected. For all the weight they had expected a huge pile of scholarly books, what they got was far better.

Under a pile of school robes and a pair of tight looking leather trousers lay pages of parchment, each covered in Remus's handwriting. Several old looking paperbacks were stacked neatly around a stack of photos wrapped in a gold bow tie. A worn looking blue sweater lay piled beside it looking worse for the wear. There were many more treasures waiting to be found, but a flash of white caught Teddy's attention. A small white envelope lay on top of it all, the word "Teddy" written in Remus's curly script.

Teddy unfolded the letter with trembling fingers. He had never met his parents, but he had heard plenty about how wonderful and vivacious his mother had been. She was all Grandma could talk about. Strangely, whenever he mentioned Remus he was met with a stony face and a "go ask Harry". Harry wasn't too keen on speaking about his father either, he claimed that he hadn't known Remus that well and didn't feel comfortable speaking too much about him.

Teddy, if you're reading this then I have passed on. I never intended on leaving you like I have. If I had had my way I would have spent long years with you before showing you what is in this trunk. I never wanted to leave you either, Harry. I wish I could have taken care of you the way your parents wanted me to.

Inside this trunk lays my history, the way I want it to be told. Some of the secrets that this trunk holds you may not want to hear. Hell, Harry may not want to hear it either. I want you to hear me out, Teddy. No matter what you see or find, I want you to know that I did and do love you, always. Some of the things in my past weren't ever supposed to be brought up, but I feel that you have the right to know.

Please listen, Teddy. Listen and learn. Keep your mind wide open and think of the possibilities, don't let anyone influence you, not even your grandmother. I love you and am always thinking about you.

Remus John Lupin

Teddy handed the letter to Harry and reached into the trunk, ready to discover his father's secrets.

"Are you sure you're ready for this, Teddy. It will probably contain things you might not want to know."

"He's my dad, Harry. I don't care if he's done some horrible things! I want to know about him and no one will tell me about him. I'll find out on my own."

Harry sighed, "Your dad was very private. He doesn't want too many people to know."

"I know. That's why only you and I will ever know about this trunk. You'll hold onto it for me, right?"

"Of course. Now then, let's uncover some secrets." Teddy and Harry settled themselves on the floor and began to dig.

/page break/

Teddy looked down at the photos on his bed. He couldn't believe some of the things he had uncovered in that trunk. Was this really true? Or just an elaborate prank designed by Uncles Fred and George? If it was a joke it sure wasn't funny, Harry had actually cried when some of the things were revealed. Teddy felt like crying himself, his father was not what he had expected. Nor what he truly wanted. He had wanted the father everyone claimed he had been: brave, loyal, and totally in love with his mother. What he got was a cheating, ruined, GAY man! This was not what he wanted!

Teddy didn't think Harry was that much better off than him. He had a secretive godfather! Of course, Sirius Black may have had a better excuse for his oddities. Inbreeding, Azkaban induced insanity, things like that tended to screw with your head. Remus Lupin didn't have anything like that. Sure he was a werewolf, but that wasn't really a big deal.

He glared at the photos once more before swiping them off with a wave of his hand. Remus Lupin's life fluttered to the ground in swirling circles. Teddy buried his head in his knees and tried desperately not to cry. He couldn't seem to put his vision of his father together with the actuality. It hurt, a lot.

"Teddy?" Harry stepped into the room, gazing sadly at the many photos that littered the blue rug.

"What?"

"I want you to know that this doesn't change who Remus was. He was a great man and would have been an even greater father. So what if he had some quirks, everyone does, don't they?"

"I hardly think that being "in love" with my grandmother's cousin and not caring one bit about my mother counts as a "quirk". I really don't."

"Remus did care about your mother. He just didn't love her the way he loved Sirius. I'm about as shocked as you are, but I realize that things are never as they seem. You should know that better than anyone. Here, I found this journal in the bottom. I think you should read it. It might give you more insight to who Remus was." Harry tossed a black, leather bound notebook onto the bed before bending to amass the pictures. He shuffled them lightly, placing most of them on the dresser. He took one and put in just beside Teddy's fingers and left.

Teddy picked up the photo and looked at it. It was a photo of his father, Sirius Black, and Harry's parents. Harry was being balanced between the four of them, wiggling and giggling. They all looked so happy. Shame was that Teddy knew what had happened to them all. He flipped the journal open and let the words of his father wash over him.

/page break/

Three hours and twelve hundred pages later Teddy thought that he had a better understanding of who Remus had been. It wasn't that Remus hadn't wanted his mother or him; it was that he hadn't had a choice in the end.

Teddy trudged downstairs and found Harry in the living room. Harry was gently running a Gryffindor scarf through his fingers, a black "S.B" sewn into the end. Teddy had forgotten that Harry had gone through as much as he had, maybe more. Harry had actually known Remus; it must have been a shock for him as well.

"Harry."

"Hmm?"

"You're right. It wasn't that my dad was a bad person he just had some differences. Right?" Harry smiled at the teen that had curled up against his side.

"Right. Your dad was great. He really was, he just had a lot of hardships in his life and dealt with them in a different way. He didn't want to hurt you. He just wanted you to be old enough to understand his choices before he told you. It didn't quite end up the way he wanted, but I think he would be proud of you. No matter what you thought of him."

Teddy nodded, miserable. He had jumped to so many conclusions and he was glad his dad wasn't around to see it. He was ashamed of himself. He was always talking about how differences were good for culture and the first time he encountered it, he went berserk!

Harry slung an arm around the miserable boy and prayed for patience. He knew Teddy hadn't quite gotten it through his head, but would get through it in the end.

/page break/

Harry slipped inside of Teddy's temporary bedroom, intending to make sure the distraught teen was okay. What he saw made him smile. Teddy was curled up under his navy blue duvet, sound asleep. Next to his head was a photo: a younger Remus and Sirius were grinning up at him, their arms curled around the other. In Teddy's arms was a beaten and battered stuffed animal. Its black eyes were drooping and the brown fur was matted but there was no mistaking the wolf named Moon.

A/N: There you go! Dang I'm getting these out at the speed of light!