Warnings:None really . This is the last update!

Chapter Eleven

Things haven't changed all that much since the last time Teddy has been to London. Maybe the Muggles have, just like their counterparts in the Middle East; their fingers are glued to their slim phones more than their partners beside them. Two years and Teddy's phone looks so outdated, he shakes his head lightly as he drops the device into his pocket.

He finds a suitable nook in an alley and Apparates to his old apartment. His feet touch the ground and he is hit with the silence of his flat and he notices how dust-free the place is. He realises that somebody had been cleaning it up after all; somebody cared enough to think that he would come home at some point.

He feels oddly tired as heavy silence weighs down on him; he feels detached, alone and far away from his family in this little flat in London. He trudges all the way to his room before falling into deep sleep.

OOooOO

Harry opens the box with shaky hands and peers inside to see it looking harmless and ordinary. But he knows the power of it, knows what it can do. The black stone is tempting, so very tempting that he has to keep the damned thing locked both with blood magic and Muggle padlocks.

Why had he taken it? Why go through all the trouble of scouring it in the forest and not tell a soul about it? Why hold on to it in the first place? Because it had given him hope. He remembers the devastated feeling when it had been just Remus beside his parents but immediately following that had been hope, hope because if Sirius was not there then surely it meant that...

And now it is time that the same stone gave hope to somebody else.

OOooOO

"Teddy's here, you know?" young Molly tells Sirius conversationally and he almost gasps. Almost.

"What?"

"I said—"

"I heard you," Sirius interrupts snappishly, unable to believe his ears that Teddy is back in England. Is it normal for his palms to suddenly turn clammy or his heart to start thudding like a caged bird?

"So, what are you gonna do about it?" she asks curiously and Sirius stares her down, sort of; the Weasley women are just too unafraid of everything. He should have thought twice before giving the girl a job but then she had needed the 'internship' and he has a reputable business. And he is just too bloody nice now.

"I am not going to do anything," Sirius tells her sternly, "we, as in everybody is going to see him one of these days and we're not going to speak of anything unnecessary. Understood?" Molly narrows her eyes.

"You can't tell me what to do," she replies and picks up the notebook in front of her, "but I think you should talk to him."

"I don't care much for what you think, Molly," Sirius snaps at her and rubs his forehead. He opens his glasses and stands up. "Take the day off after you've finished that letter." Molly looks up at him in surprise and he leaves with a smile, an attempt at apology.

"Men," he hears Molly muttering under her breath as he leaves his office for a hard drink.

OOooOO

May 2nd is a day that has become a day of celebration and parading in costumes that look like Teddy's godfather. The Wizarding world participates in it enthusiastically. However Teddy sits on his sofa gazing into nothingness, his father's diary a few feet away on the coffee table untouched in years.

He should go visit his parents' graves but the thought of seeing his father's grave drudges up bitter thoughts and memories he does not want to deal with. The doorbell rings startling him.

"Harry!" Teddy smiles at his godfather when he opens the door and pulls him into a hug. "Come on in, I was planning on dropping by at yours later. How's everyone?" Harry falls into step beside Teddy as they make their way to the living room.

"They're good. Albus has finally hit his growth spurt," he tells Teddy with a small smile but Teddy can see that something is off from the way he is shifting; his godfather never lost that habit.

"What's up?" he asks in a neutral voice and Harry runs a hand through his hair before drawing something out of his pocket. It is a small box. His brows rise.

"Harry, what's that?"

"Teddy," Harry says in a quiet voice, "this-this is something I should have given you a long time back. Something that might have saved both you and Sirius all the heartbreak. " Hearing Sirius's name is like a punch to the gut.

'Stop it, Teddy. Bloody stop it already!' Sirius is old story, a chapter of his life that he has closed.

"I don't want it," he says in a hard tone and Harry looks at him before stroking the box absent-mindedly.

"I've never told you about your dad, have I? About what he said after he died." Teddy laughs.

"That's not funny, that's just not funny at all, Harry." He turns away, bitterness rising up inside, "you might be 'Harry Potter' but even you can't talk to the dead." That just isn't possible. He expects his godfather to sigh and leave but instead he hears the click of the box being placed on the wooden coffee table and turns back to face him.

"That's where you're wrong, Teddy," Harry says in a patient tone, "that's what I thought until...never mind. I didn't want to give this to you, it's so tempting, Teddy." He looks down at the box with a heavy stare full of sad ache. "I think about taking it out, just once, one more time to see them, but I don't." He looks at Teddy straight in the eye and he feels the speech leave him because Harry does not look like somebody joking about this.

"That's..."

"Just, promise me you won't get too caught up in it," Harry tells him fiercely and Teddy nods as his godfather leaves and he is left standing in the afternoon light with a small box that holds a forbidden artifact. His curiosity pulls his hands towards the little black box and he finds himself opening the lid with a whispered Alohomora.

He takes out the black stone with engravings on it and turns to see all of it in his hand.

Nothing happens for a second and then he feels the atmosphere around him changing, something magical, unfamiliar and out of habit a non-verbalProtego is already cast. He has to blink a few times to steady himself as he looks in front of him.

"Dad…?" Teddy's voice trails off as he stares at the pale apparition in his living room—in his bloody house! The ghost—or whatever it is smiles benignly and tilts his head slightly.

"Teddy," he says. His voice is mellow, not like Sirius's; it has a soothing cadence to it, the kind which is perfect for reading bedtime stories. Teddy cannot help staring, his throat has closed up and all he can do is take the image of his father in—his old-fashioned sweater, his light hair and his eyes just like his.

"I'm crazy, I've gone mad," Teddy whispers as he turns away, his heart kicking up a notch and palms sweating suddenly. What the hell has Harry given to him?

"You aren't, actually," the apparition—his father, Remus Lupin—tells him and Teddy looks back at him, still looking harmless. "I suppose Harry hasn't explained anything about the Resurrection Stone." Teddy can barely manage to reply.

"He hasn't," he says anyway and falls back on to the sofa behind him as his legs give out, "you're dead," he looks up to confirm. Remus smiles sadly at him.

"I am," he affirms and Teddy rubs his face.

"Fuck me," he says without thinking and is surprised when Remus chuckles in that melodious tone.

"I doubt Sirius would appreciate it much—or any of us would—but Padfoot is a bit of a possessive dog."

When Teddy thinks of his mother, there is more of a sweet but sad ache, knowing that she had fought for this world and that he will never see her beautiful face. It is different with his father though. He closes his eyes to stop the flow of tears; somehow even in death, his father has always managed to soothe him, hurt him, intrude in his life and make him feel so strongly that it almost feels like he has been really watching over him.

"I'm so proud of you, Teddy," the apparition whispers and Teddy stares at the beaming smile, "you've always been so strong, despite everything."

"You've been watching over me?" Teddy asks in a low voice, to preserve the quiet and receives a nod. "It's so unfair," he says to his father before he can stop himself, "you had them—both of them—Mum...Sirius."

"And you," the thing—his father says and Teddy shakes his head.

"Didn't matter, you still went and died to save Sirius," he replies without looking at the ghost-thing as the bitter feelings surface up.

"I didn't die for him, Teddy. I did it because I love you and there was no other choice," he replies hoarsely,

"No," Teddy says shakily, "how can you possibly say that when you don't even know me? When you went and killed yourself for another man without even-without even thinking about me...not even once." Vaguely Teddy realises that without meaning to he has just poured out every bitter thought and word that he has repressed deep inside.

"Fuck you and your lies," he says when Remus does not say anything, "nothing but a ghost, you're not even real." Something flickers in Remus's features then.

"And do you honestly believe that I would not be real if I could? That I would not be here, with you if it was in my hands? If I could—"

"You wouldn't change a thing," Teddy says harshly. "You'd still have gone and sacrificed yourself for Sirius." He looks at the apparition challengingly who remains silent. Teddy makes a disgusted noise.

"Then there is nothing more to talk about, is there?" He steps forward to place the stone back where the god dammed thing came from.

"Teddy, I am sorry," Remus says and the only reason Teddy looks up at him is because of the raw angst in his voice.

"Sorry for what?" he asks calmly, one hand hovering above the box even as the other held on to the stone tightly.

"Sorry that I never got to see you grow up," Remus tells him, "sorry that I wasn't there in your most difficult times, that you never had a mother, that you - that you've had to become a werewolf because of me." Teddy moves his hand away from the box as he witnesses his father's apparition closing his eyes against what can only be tears.

"Aren't you sorry that I didn't have a father?" Teddy asks him and Remus looks at him with a cynical smile.

"Are you? Nobody wants a werewolf for a father, Teddy. And if I had been alive, you would have come to hate me for passing my curse onto you."

"That's not true," Teddy says as he straightens and looks at Remus directly, "I would have taken any father over none any day. I would have-" he breaks off when he realises that he has tears running down his cheeks. He swipes at them angrily.

"I couldn't let you grow up in a world like ours, Teddy," Remus tells him, his own voice breaking, "everyday was war and death of the people we cared about. I couldn't do that to you. I had to fight so you wouldn't be living in fear every day, so you could have the life you deserve. "Teddy knows all of this, he has heard it all and deep down, he knows that the diary has tainted his beliefs of his father. Suddenly he feels drained and he sits down.

"I just wish you didn't have to die…either of you," Teddy says finally as he swallows, every memory without his parents crashing down on him-his birthdays, his first day of school, his first broom-ride, his first Quidditch victory, that time in fifth year when he had begun noticing boys and wondering if there was something wrong with him; the list is just too long.

"I know," Remus agrees, "but it would have happened. Trading for Sirius's life was a chance, Teddy. I'm glad that he got to live, I can't be sorry about that."

"I—" Teddy bites his lip, "—are you glad that Sirius and I—we—"

"Found each other?" Remus asks and Teddy nods. Remus smiles, "Yes, yes I am, Teddy. I always worried about him you know, more than anybody else. Sirius can be so fragile sometimes." Teddy frowns in a petulant manner.

"You worried about Sirius more than anybody else?" he repeats Remus's words and is surprised to see a quirky smile on the pale face.

"I don't have to worry about you anymore do I? Harry and the others have done a great job, I'm glad you have them. But Sirius; he needs the love, Teddy. You, Harry, everybody."

"I don't think he needs my love all that much," Teddy admits glumly. "'Not a long time', he said," he tells his father, "you've had what—seven years? Or twenty? I guess it never stopped for either of you." He tightens his arms around himself as he feels his father's gaze on him, "I can't compete with that, dad. I just can't. "

Teddy knows he sounds probably desperate but it is just the two of them. He knows Sirius cares or at least used to but God, he just...still loves him so much.

Look at you; so young and stupidly romantic.

"Sirius has a big heart, Teddy," his father tells him and Teddy stares in awe when the apparition sits down beside him, his ethereal form so warm. "It is possible for him to love you just as much as you do him." Teddy mulls it over in his head.

"You really think so?" he asks, "d 'you really think he could ever love me the way he loves you?" Remus smiles at him and places a pearly hand on the side of his face.

"If not as much, maybe more so," he says, honesty laced in his voice, "you're not me, but you give him a reason to live. I think that counts for something, don't you?" It feels like an epiphany; all this time he has been comparing him and Sirius to his father and Sirius when they weren't even the same thing.

"What if he doesn't want me anymore?" Teddy asks, openly nervous but Remus looks calm.

"Then you'll find a way to make things work out, won't you? You said you love him," he adds in a tone that Teddy will not go against.

"I do! That's why I'm going to get him back," Teddy says fiercely and looks into his father's eyes that are twinkling. Maybe if Sirius sees him…

"Do you—"

"No," his father shakes his head, "the dead have no place here, Teddy. I'm going to have to go. Sirius is yours now. Take care of him, Teddy," he adds in a heartfelt tone. Teddy can feel the tears in the corners of his eyes as he retrieves the box and grips the stone tightly.

'Did you love mum?'It is on the tip of his tongue but he doesn't end up asking, not wanting to know the answer. So many questions mill around in his head but he settles on one that has been haunting him for as long as he can remember.

"One last time, tell me. You really do love me, don't you, dad?" He sees his own tears reflected in his father's eyes.

"Of course I do."

"More than anything in the world?" Teddy can't help asking childishly.

"More than anything," Remus repeats as tears fall down his cheeks and then—

"Even more than Sirius?" Teddy bites his lip as the stone digs imprints into his palm.

"More than Sirius," his father tells him and Teddy nods, stepping forward to have his hand run through his father's apparition. He draws back his hand and looks down at the box before releasing the stone.

He stands alone in his house; the sound of the world surrounding him once more and Teddy allows himself to cry.

OOooOO

Sirius stares at the graves in front of him, feet rooted to the spot. He should go before someone comes to pay their respects. Teddy will come here; no doubt about it and they should not see each other until it becomes inevitable.

He turns away, the ache in his back making him feel far more ancient than he has a right to. Teddy can do so much better than him—with all his baggage and burdens. His footsteps freeze however when the wind picks up and a familiar scent hits him. He panics slightly before composing himself; he will just exchange pleasantries and leave.

"I thought you'd be here," is the first thing Teddy says to him in two years. Two bloody long years and Sirius finally looks at him. His heart stutters for a second at how good-looking Teddy is; maturity looks wonderful on him.

"Hello to you too, Teddy," Sirius replies, trying for easy conversation as he continues staring at the young man and his body begins remembering things from their time together. He clears his throat, "I was just leaving, this place is all yours." He steps around Teddy, careful not to touch him as he shoves his hands in his pockets. He is almost successful in making an easy exit when Teddy places a hand on his shoulder and he almost shivers.

"Sirius," Teddy says in a soft but commanding tone. He almost flinches when he sees Sirius's dull grey eyes. "You aren't leaving, not without hearing me out." Sirius turns to face him but continues looking at a spot on his shoulder; Merlin, it is just so hard to not hold the other man.

"I love you," Teddy says in a determined voice and Sirius's gaze snaps to his face, "I thought I could try to do something about it but—" he takes a deep breath, "—I'm not going to, I'm not running away from this—us." He steps into Sirius's personal space and places a hand on Sirius's chest.

"Ted—"

"We were good, Sirius," Teddy interrupts, "I don't know why you tried so hard to end things between us but you have to stop. This isn't just about you. Give this a chance. Please." Sirius shivers this time from the sheer amount of emotion coursing through him at Teddy's insistence; his resolve is crumbling away faster than a train.

"I'm damaged, Teddy," he says finally, "too old for you—"

"That's what my mum said to dad. Don't try that with me, Sirius," Teddy says fiercely as he takes hold of Sirius's face in both his hands, "if our age gap was a problem, we wouldn't have been together in the first place." He rubs the side of Sirius's face with its stubble, gaze softening, "What we had…it was everything, Sirius. For me, it was." Sirius finds himself holding Teddy's hand and pulling it away from his face to thread their fingers together.

"It meant a lot to me too, Teddy," Sirius admits and Teddy smiles. Sirius waits a second and then pushes him away with a heavy gaze, his eyes shining. Teddy looks confused for a second but Sirius speaks up before he can.

"I'll always love him, Teddy; a part of me will always love Remus," he says softly but in a tone that leaves no room for argument and Teddy closes his eyes once before replying.

"I know," he says and his voice breaks. Sirius's words do hurt, so much that his palms curl into themselves. "But I want you, just as you are. I'm not my dad but I just—" His nails dig into his palms and before Sirius can stop himself he takes hold of Teddy by his blazer and just holds him in place.

"I don't want you to be Moony. You—" he pulls Teddy closer to him and reaches up with one hand to stroke his bottom lip, "—you're extraordinary, you know that, right?" Sirius leans in and presses a soft kiss to his lips and Teddy shivers from the contact, "I've been a fool, an absolute idiot—"

"You're only realising it now?" Teddy manages to whisper as his heart races in hopeful bursts but Sirius keeps talking as if he cannot stop the flow of his words.

"—I love you, Ted. I've loved you since— I don't even know when but I should have stopped you—"

"Sirius, it's okay—"

"No! It's not; I shouldn't have been such a berk about it and instead admitted that I was already head over heels for you." Sirius is panting by the time he finishes and apparently he too feels like Teddy because they both lean forward and meet halfway.

Everything falls into place and Teddy sighs as Sirius's familiar lips find his and he reaches around to grip Sirius's hair tight in his hand to make sure that they don't part. Not again.
He feels a hint of tongue against the seam of his lips and complies but Sirius pulls away, breathlessly, life back in his eyes.

"Not here," he says softly and Teddy blinks before his surroundings dawn on him.

"Yeah, let's…wait a second," he says quietly as he turns back to face the three graves. Sirius squeezes his hand and he returns it before facing his father's grave. Sirius leaves to give him space.

"Dad," Teddy starts and there is so much to say but he can't settle on any one so he kneels in front of it and places a hand on the headstone and whispers two words.

"Thank you." His throat closes up and then he turns back to join Sirius at the gate.

"Alright?" the older man asks him and Teddy nods, slipping his hand in his.

"Yeah, never been better." They will find a way to make it work.

AN: Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing this. This is the you guys like it! :)