Hey there :) So sorry about the late update again. I know... I'm incredibly slack. I don't mean to be... honestly. This is will probably be my last update in a few weeks because I am neck deep in work :( So please enjoy and review! xx

21 April 2006

Teddy was racing along through a park, chasing a flock of distraught pigeons as they cooed and fluttered their wings in contempt.

"Teddy! Don't go too far, dear," cried the woman with bubble-gum pink hair from behind him as she held her husband's hand. Teddy grinned back at her.

"Don't worry mum. I won't!" he cried back and continued to chase the pigeons.

"Let him go, Dora," said the man, kissing his wife's temple. "He'll be alright."

Just then, a shadow appeared across the sky. The couple stopped suddenly and looked up. Fear broke out onto both of their faces. The woman's bright hair turned a violent shade of red.

"Teddy!" she called out to her son. "Teddy!"

Teddy stopped and looked back at his mother. His face paled and his hair turned black.

"Mum! Look out!" he cried, running towards her. But a shadow fell from the sky. Green light burst from within the shadow. When it moved away, Teddy gasped in horror as he saw his parents' lifeless bodies crumpled on the floor. Instant rage boiled inside Teddy. His hair turned dark red and he scowled deeply.

"Leave them alone!" he roared, pointing at the shadow. Then he gulped as the shadow began to approach him. He began to retreat, but stumbled. The shadow was almost upon him. He scrunched up his face, preparing himself for the impact as the shadow pounced…

"Wake up! Up! Teddy, up!"

Teddy's golden eyes flew open and he found himself staring into the brown eyes of James. The eighteen month old grinned at him and clapped his pudgy hands together.

"Yay!" he cried. "Teddy's up!" James bounced on Teddy's torso.

It took Teddy a while to comprehend what was happening. He took a quick glance at his surroundings. He was lying in his bed at Harry's. He wasn't in a park. There was no shadow. And most importantly… his parents were nowhere to be seen. Though it should be comforting that he was only dreaming, it only made Teddy feel worse. His parents were dead. The only time he could see them would be in a dream… and they would always end up dead anyway. He scowled and pushed James off him gruffly. James slid off the bed and hit the floor. Tears welled up in his eyes and his lip began to tremble.

"Merlin!" cried Teddy and he quickly scooped up his young god-brother and ruffled his hair gently.

"Come on, James," he soothed. "Don't cry. I'm sorry." Teddy instantly turned his nose into a pig's, making James squeal with delight.

"You like that don't you?" asked Teddy. James nodded and squealed again, when Teddy suddenly grew a duck's beak.

"How'd you get out of your crib?" mused Teddy, shaking his head.

James bit his lip and gave Teddy a guilty smirk.

"You cheeky kid," Teddy chuckled. "C'mon, let's go take you downstairs."

Downstairs they found Harry, sipping a cup of coffee and reading the Daily Prophet. He looked up as his son and god-son approached and immediately put down the newspaper.

"Ahh, it's the birthday boy!" he cried happily. Teddy grinned and adjusted James on his hip.

"Birthday, birthday!" squealed James, giggling hysterically and pulling on Teddy's hair.

"Happy birthday, squirt," said Harry as he embraced Teddy and ruffled his hair. "How old are you? Six?"

Teddy rolled his eyes. "No, I'm eight!" he said proudly, puffing up his chest a little.

"Ah that's right," said Harry, chuckling. "You're a big eight year old now."

"Yep! Where's Ginny?"

"She's just having a shower. She'll come down in a minute to make you a big birthday breakfast."

Teddy grinned and sat down at the kitchen table. Ginny soon came downstairs and embraced Teddy warmly. He struggled to fit his arms around her seven-month-pregnant belly.

"Happy birthday, Teddy-bear!" she cried, kissing his hair, which had turned bright yellow.

"Thanks, Ginny."

Harry approached and handed James to Ginny before giving Teddy a present. It was from Ginny. Teddy opened it eagerly and his mouth went slack as he saw the stunning smile of Gwenog Jones beaming up at him and winking on her Firebolt. His hair went a violent shade of pink and his cheeks blushed as he gaped at her. Next to her portrait were the words:

Happy Birthday, Teddy Remus Lupin.

Love Gwenog xx

Teddy absentmindedly touched her signature, a look of awe etched upon his face. Harry chuckled as Teddy embraced Ginny again.

"Oh, Ginny!" he cried. "How – Gwenog – Merlin!" he muttered in rapture, looking from Ginny to Gwenog.

Ginny laughed and patted Teddy's back. "She was very happy to do that for her number one fan's eighth birthday. She even said that next time you come to a game, she wants to meet you in person."

Teddy's eyes grew wide. "Really? She wants to meet me?" he swooned, looking as though he was about to faint. Teddy had a huge crush on Gwenog Jones and he wasn't embarrassed to admit it. She was everything a woman should be, in Teddy's eight-year-old opinion. Beautiful and good at Quidditch.

"Thanks, Ginny," he said breathlessly. Teddy then looked expectantly at Harry. "What about your present?" he asked innocently.

Harry smiled. "My present is to do anything you want to do."

"Anything?"

Harry nodded, smirking. "Anything."

Teddy frowned and chewed on his lip as he thought about what he wanted to do. The options were endless. It was so difficult to choose.

Harry chuckled and ruffled Teddy's hair. "Don't worry squirt," he said. "You don't have to make a decision now. Have a think about it over breakfast."

xXx

Teddy picked at his bacon with his fork in disinterest. His mind kept flicking back to his dream. No… nightmare… it was more of a nightmare. And yet, despite the fear that his nightmare caused him, he couldn't help but miss it. He had seen his parents. They had talked to him, smiled at him, like they never would in reality. That same nightmare had been frequent for weeks now, and Teddy was unsure why. But he assumed it had to do with seeing his parents. If the only way to be with his true family was to suffer nightmares, he would suffer a thousand.

"Teddy? Are you alright?" asked Harry, looking at his god-son with concern.

"Hmm…" grunted Teddy, refusing to let Harry see the emotion in his eyes. He kept a conscious effort to maintain his turquoise hair, for he didn't want to show weakness by his hair changing again.

"What do you want to do today, squirt? Remember, I said we can do anything."

Teddy sighed. He knew exactly what he wanted to ask Harry, but he couldn't make himself say it. How would it make Harry feel? He had been in the war. He surely wouldn't want to tarnish his happy life with Ginny and James by resurfacing those horrific memories. But Teddy knew what he wanted. He had to see them.

"Harry…" Teddy began quietly, still refusing to look up from his plate of bacon, fried eggs and sausages. "I want to see my parents."

The room fell silent. Teddy knew that Harry and Ginny were exchanging worried glances but he didn't care. Even James was silent, sensing the shift in the atmosphere.

"I'm going to take James upstairs for a bath," announced Ginny and she swiftly left the room, planting a kiss on Teddy's head.

"Teddy," said Harry softly, rising and sitting beside the eight-year-old. "Your parents are –"

"– dead… I know. I know you can't bring people back from the dead. But it's my birthday. I want to see them for my birthday."

Tears dripped down the end of Teddy's nose and he wiped them away, sniffing loudly. Harry put his arm around his shoulders.

"It's okay to cry," said Harry comfortingly. "I know exactly how you feel."

For the first time since breakfast, Teddy looked up at Harry, his golden eyes swimming with tears that rushed down his cheeks.

"You know what. I think we can go and visit your parents today. I think they would like that."

Harry kissed Teddy's hair and helped him up. "Go and get dressed, then meet me back here."

Teddy nodded and disappeared up to his room. He wasn't sure how to react. He knew he should feel sad but he couldn't help but feel excited. He was dressed in an instant and hurtled down the stairs towards Harry.

"Let's go!" he cried and pulled Harry by the hand out of the door and into the street.

"Hold on, squirt," said Harry. "We're going to Apparate and you haven't done that before."

Teddy gripped Harry's hand tightly and felt himself turn on the spot. It was the weirdest sensation, as though he was being squeezed through a tiny hole. His insides churned and his head was spinning and then, suddenly, he was on the ground again.

"Woah!" mumbled Teddy and swayed on the spot with his eyes wide.

"You alright?"

"That. Was. Awesome!" Teddy fist-pumped the air and pranced around happily.

Harry laughed. "Good job. Most people vomit the first time."

They had Apparated into the Ministry Memorial Cemetery, which had been built in honour of the Second Wizarding War by Minister Kingsley. All those who had given their lives in the war had been given a place in this grave. Teddy didn't realise the memorial cemetery was so large. It was discerning to think that hundreds of lives had been lost in the battle almost eight years ago. Then he realised, this was where his parents were.

Harry took hold of Teddy's hand and together, they solemnly walked through the rows of tombstones. As they passed, Teddy noticed familiar names of people that Harry knew: Fred Weasley, Lavender Brown, Colin Creevey and his grandfather, Ted Tonks, whom he was named after. But it was seeing his parents' grave that made Teddy realise the gravity of the war. Their tombstones were side by side, reading:

Remus Lupin 1960-1998

Nymphadora Lupin (nee, Tonks) 1973-1998

Gave their lives in the Second Wizarding War

"Courage is not the absence of fear but rather that something else is more important than fear."

Teddy stared at their grave for a while, unable to move. It was as though his brain had suddenly been filled with Wrackspurts and made him unable to think clearly. His eyes began to cloud with tears that spilled freely down his cheeks. He reached out his hand and traced the names of his parents engraved in the stone. Harry's hand tightened on his god-son's shoulder as Teddy knelt in front of the grave and stared at the stone. This was the closest he had ever come to his parents. Their bodies were below Teddy...

"Mum... dad..." Teddy whispered softly. "I know you probably can't hear me... " he sniffed and rubbed his eyes. "It's just my birthday, that's all. And I thought you might want to see me... I miss you. I think about you all the time. Do you ever think about me?"

Teddy began to sob, his chest heaving with his heavy breaths as he choked back tears.

"How could you do this to me?" he asked in a strangled voice, his fists clenching into balls. "How could you just leave me here? Didn't you love me at all?" His voice began to rise as all the emotion he had kept inside him came pouring out. "You could have stayed behind. Harry would have defeated Voldemort anyway! We could have been a real family! And what about Grandmama? She lost grandpa, she didn't want to lose you as well!"

It was then that Teddy completely broke down. He slunk to the floor and balled his hands in the grass. Harry watched while tears streamed down his face and his heart broke at his godson's reaction. He couldn't blame the child. He missed his family. He and Ginny had tried to provide as best a family they could for him, but it was nothing like his own – Harry knew this better than anyone. Harry caught Teddy in a hug, joining him on the ground.

Once Teddy's sobs began to quieten, Harry murmured Teddy's name and he looked up at his godfather.

"You know why they died, Teddy?"

Teddy shook his head as more tears rolled down his cheek.

"Because they loved you. They died to make this world a better place for you." Harry paused, obviously struggling to get through his speech and make his godson understand. "It was for you, Teddy."

Teddy buried his head in Harry's chest and began to cry again. After a while, he looked back at his parent's grave and whispered, "I love you too."

Sniff... sniff :'( I actually cried when I wrote this. Is that a little lame? I don't care. I love that kid so much. I wish I had a Teddy :'( he's just so adorable. If you love Teddy as much as I do, then please please please review :) xx