Chapter Six: Dust to Dust
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.
Teddy Remus Lupin sat in Herbology, waiting patiently for the rest of his classmates to file out of the classroom. Once it was empty, he walked cautiously up to his teacher, a question etched up on his face, "Professor Longbottom," he asked.
Neville looked up, "Yes, Teddy?"
"Professor, what were my parents like?"
Neville looked a little flustered, "Oh, um, well… Your father was my Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, when I was in my third year. Taught me how to get rid of Boggarts, he did."
"Really?!"
"Yeah, he was probably the best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher I ever had."
"Wow…"
"And your mother, well, she was an Auror, amazing, she was."
"Really, an Auror?!"
"Yeah, back then when they still had them, not that you need them nowadays of course…"
Neville's next class had already started filing into the classroom.
"Thanks, Professor Longbottom!" Teddy cried and edged his way out of the classroom, past the clusters of seventh years that were seating themselves, ready for their next class.
Thank God I'm not in seventh year, Teddy thought, or I'd have classes during lunch too. He climbed the stairs to the tower where his owl, Egalus, who had been a present from his grandmother, sat perched on a windowsill. Tied to its leg was a small piece of parchment. Teddy unrolled it:
Teddy,
I'll meet you outside the Forbidden Forest at about twelve o'clock. Don't worry, you've made the right decision.
H.J. Potter
Teddy stuffed the note into the pocket of his robes and looked at his watch, which told him that he was already ten minutes late. He clambered down the stairs and found his way to the portrait hole. "Satsuma." he said, and the fat lady smiled and swung back to reveal the Gryffindor common room.
His dormitory was empty of everyone except him, to Teddy's relief. He opened the draw of his dresser and pulled out the black stone, cracked in the middle, that lay there. He turned it over three times in his hands and saw two distinct, yet indistinct figures emerge before him. "Mum, Dad…" he began. The figures matched perfectly those in the photo that lay on his desk. "I'm – I'm going to miss you."
"We will too." said the man.
"We're very proud of you." said the woman.
"We always will be, son."
Teddy clenched the Resurrection Stone. "G-Goodbye." The figures smiled, then vanished as Teddy dropped the stone into his pocket. Every time he said goodbye, it felt as if his heart was being wrenched out. The feeling had gotten worse with each time, which was almost every day since he had found the stone. But now it was time to give it back.
Teddy made his way across the grounds towards the Forbidden Forest. He walked through the cemetery, erected in memory of those whose lives had been lost during the Battle of Hogwarts. He stopped at the two graves that he knew best. N.B. Tonks and R.J. Lupin. Proud defenders of Hogwarts and the greater good.
"Ashes to ashes," Teddy whispered.
"Dust to dust." whispered a voice behind him. Harry stepped forward to stand beside Teddy. "Losing the ones that you love is hard." He said, looking at the graves in front of him. Teddy swallowed, "But saying goodbye is harder." He pulled the Resurrection Stone out of the pocket of his robes and gave it to Harry. "Can you put it somewhere safe? Where no-one will find it?"
"I will." Harry said solemnly. "You've made hard decision, Teddy, but a good one." Teddy nodded.
"And I'm sure your parents are proud of you."
"They are," he said, "I know they are."
A/N: What do you think? Well, if you do think something, could you please review and tell me your thoughts. But, please, no flaming, or I shall employ my meanest friend to flame you back. If there's something you think I should change or that you disagree with, please let me know.
I hope you've enjoyed this, it was blood, sweat and tears, plus a lot of research for me to write. - Harrleigh