Author's Note: Here you go! Another chapter very soon to make up for going so long without updating. (Yes, I know that sentence is grammatically horrible) I apologize if there is any redundancy with the letters and such between Teddy and the twins.

Chapter 10 – Teddy

Teddy's Christmas Holidays

Teddy was first of his friends to climb off the Hogwarts Express after it pulled into King's Cross Station. He quickly bid them farewell, seeing his grandmother waiting for him on the platform. Known to the world as Andromeda Tonks, Grandma Dromeda was a tall woman with light brown hair and dark, kind eyes. Teddy however was not tricked by those kind eyes and moved to tidy his hair, knowing she was a stickler for cleanliness. As he reached her, he was pulled into a tight hug that he returned eagerly. He always missed his grandmother when they were apart for long periods of time. Going off to school had, of course, been the longest he'd ever gone without seeing her.

"Hello dear," she said, brushing his hair out of his face. "How are you?"

"I'm doing famously, Grandma Dromeda."

"Alright. Let's get you home." She quickly shrunk his trunk and put it in her pocket before extending her arm for him to take. He grabbed on tightly before she spun on her heel and he felt the tight squeeze that came from apparating. As he felt the pressure release, he opened his eyes to see his childhood home. It looked much the same except with snow on the ground, which obviously had not been there when he left in September.

As they headed inside, Teddy asked, "So, what's the plan for this holiday season?"

"Well, you'll spend the first couple of days here with me of course. Then Christmas Eve will be at Potter Manor, before heading to the Burrow on Christmas morning. No honorary family is coming this year so we'll all be spending the night. And the rest of the holidays will be split between here and Potter Manor, though Molly would of course love to have you spend more time at the Burrow."

Teddy smiled at that. Grandmum Weasley loved to spoil her grandchildren and had always considered Teddy to be one of them. "I think I can manage a visit at some point between Christmas and New Year's. And aren't she and Granddad Weasley in charge of chaperoning the kids' party this year?"

"Yes. They offered so that all the parents could have a break."

And so the holidays went. Teddy spent the first couple of days at home with Grandma Dromeda. He enjoyed the calm before the storm that he knew would come at Potter Manor and the Burrow.

On the morning of Christmas Eve, as Teddy was packing his bag for the next two nights, he was surprised to hear an owl pecking at his window. Going over, he immediately recognized Lyra's bright orange owl, Fawkes. After untying the scroll of parchment from her leg, Fawkes flew off. About to read the letter, he paused in the middle of unrolling it as he heard his grandmother call up the stairs.

"You must hurry Teddy. Harry and Ginny were expecting us to be there already. And you know how the kids get when you keep them waiting."

At that last comment, Teddy remembered the mass tantrum that had been thrown the last time he'd been late getting to the Potter's. With that in mind, he quickly rolled back up the parchment and stuffed it in his bag before heading downstairs to floo to Potter Manor.

Caught up in the excitement of seeing his godfather's family again, Teddy mostly forgot about the letter he had received and spent the day playing with James, Al, and Lily. James was almost five and a wild boy that needed constant supervision. Al on the other hand was quiet most of the time, unless of course, he was around James. Despite being only three, he always tried to keep up with James and often ended up getting hurt in the process.

And then there was Lily. Not quite two but she already had everybody in the family wrapped around her little finger. No one seemed able to say no to her. And yet she was not a spoiled brat. At least, not yet. She only used her powers for the good of always being held and never having to walk anywhere on her own.

For Teddy, this meant that Christmas Eve was spent trying to wrangle James and Al while carrying Lily around piggyback style.

Late that night, after the traditional feast that Kreacher had helped Aunt Ginny make, Teddy collapsed into bed ready for sleep before remembering the letter that he had hastily stuffed in his bag that morning. Climbing out of bed, he rummaged through his bag before finding the scroll of parchment. He unrolled it and read.

Dear Teddy,

This is Leo writing but Lyra is here as well. As much as we wish this could be a simple 'how's the holidays' letter, it isn't.

While talking to our mother, she revealed something that we thought would be of interest to you. Apparently, she used to know your parents. She did not say any more than that and we did not want to question her more for fear she would close up. She rarely ever mentions anything from the past so this revelation came as a great surprise.

We, Lyra and I, were talking, and thought you may be able to help us. You said you would be spending time with the Weasleys and Potters during the holidays and we thought they might have the answers we are looking for. If you could ask for us, we would greatly appreciate it.

The first thing to ask would be if our mother was in the Order of the Phoenix. We believe she was but she has never confirmed it. We thought this could be how she met your parents. Besides finding out how she met your parents, we also thought your family might know who our father might be. She was obviously pregnant around the same time as your mother and so they might know something about any possible relationships she may have been in during that time.

Anything you can find out would be much appreciated.

Besides that, how are your holidays going?

Love,

Leo and Lyra

Upon finishing the letter, Teddy sat back in bed and began to think. This was indeed news to him. No one in his family had ever mentioned a woman with the last name of Jones when talking about his parents. Maybe though, if they only knew each other through the Order, that would make sense. After all, while they had many stories about his parents, they preferred not to talk about the war. He understood, but he would have to ask, for Leo and Lyra's sake. He could not let them down. Not when he knew how much they hated not knowing about their father.

The next day however, did not present any opportunities to ask Harry or Ginny about it. Soon after waking up, he was rushed through the fireplace to get to the Burrow for gift unwrapping.

Arriving at the Burrow, he was immediately enveloped in a tight hug from Grandmum Weasley before being swarmed by the children that had already arrived. Despite having no honorary family members around, there would still be a total of twenty seven people by the time everyone arrived, with twelve of them being under the age of ten.

Once everyone had arrived, the gift distribution began. While Teddy was not a greedy boy, he did enjoy the large numbers of presents that one got when part of such a large family. Amongst his pile that he readily tore into in a very Weasley fashion was his favorite present every year. This year, his Weasley jumper was a vibrant Gryffindor scarlet with a gold T on the front.

While there was nothing scheduled for between gift unwrapping and Christmas dinner, Teddy was still never with a free moment. He loved all his cousins dearly but they were very good at monopolizing his time and making sure he did not have a moment alone with any of the adults of the family.

Christmas dinner was hectic as usual with the room and table magically extended to fit all twenty seven of them for the meal.

By the end of the night, Teddy had given up hope of being able to ask any questions that day but decided he would just have to get up a little early the next morning in the hopes that he would be able catch some adults up earlier before all the children finally rolled out of bed.

The next morning, Teddy woke early and quietly snuck out of the room he was sharing with James, Al, Fred, and Louis. When he reached the kitchen, he found Granddad Weasley and Harry nursing cups of tea as they talked quietly.

Harry was the first to notice Teddy standing in the doorway. "Teddy!" He exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing up so early? We were expecting all the kids to be in bed for another couple of hours."

"Err. I actually needed to talk to you."

Harry looked surprised at Teddy's hesitance. "You know you can talk to me about anything."

Granddad Weasley also spoke up, saying, "If you'd like me to leave, I can."

Teddy was quick to reply, "Actually, I think you could help me too."

"Alright then. What can we help you with?"

Teddy began, "You know my friends, Leo and Lyra?"

Harry answered, "Yes. You've mentioned them in your letters. Twins aren't they?"

"Yeah. Err. They were hoping you'd be able to answer some questions for them."

Granddad was surprised. "What kind of questions?"

"Well. Their mum doesn't ever really talk about the past or their father. They don't even know his name. But the other day, she mentioned that she used to know my parents."

Harry's eyebrows shot up. "Who is their mother?"

"Her name is Hestia Jones. They think she might have been a member of the Order of the Phoenix."

Granddad was the one to answer this time. "Oh yes, she was. She joined right out of Hogwarts during the First Wizarding War. She survived of course, unlike many in the first Order and joined back up when it was restarted during the Second War. I was never close to her but I assume that is how she met your parents."

Harry continued. "I think I only really interacted with her once. She was one of the Order members who took my aunt, uncle, and cousin to safety near the end of the War. And I don't remember ever seeing her pregnant, although she must have been, around the same time as your mum."

At that last comment, Granddad spoke up again. "Me neither. I don't remember her ever even mentioning any men in her life."

Teddy was a bit disappointed at that. "So you have no idea who their father might be?"

Harry and Granddad exchanged a glance before both shaking their head in the negative.

After a moment of thought, Harry spoke up again. "It really doesn't come as a surprise to me though. Like we've said, neither of us was very close to her and a relationship is not something you would want broadcast during that time. It's one thing with your parents, who were both Order members, but if their father wasn't… even the smallest hint of an association with the Order could have led to your death back then."

Teddy sighed. "Well, thanks anyway. It's more than they knew before, I think, and they'll be grateful. I'll go write them now with the information before the rest of the kids wake up and swarm me again." He smiled at the thought of that. He really did enjoy spending time with his cousins. Even if they weren't really his cousins.

Teddy headed home with Grandma Dromeda that night and was able to enjoy the peace and quiet again. The rest of his holidays consisted of spending time with Grandma Dromeda, the Potters, and he even manage to squeeze in another visit to the Burrow.

Then came the final big event of the holidays. New Year's Eve.

Every year, the kids had their own party. The way the adults described it, it was so they wouldn't be bored at the adult party. Teddy however was still under the impression that it was just mass babysitting as one or two adults always stayed to "supervise". This year, it was the grandparents' turn so Granddad and Grandmum Weasley would be the ones staying with the children at Potter Manor for the party.

The kids' party always included the honoraries as well as the official family members, which this year meant seventeen kids besides Teddy, ranging from Hugo, who was only 18 months old, to Victoire, who was 9.

Teddy was happy to hear that besides the traditional Weasley Wizarding Wheezes firework display, courtesy of Uncle George, they were going to have access to the indoor pool.

Teddy's favorite part of the night though, had nothing to do with the party and everything to do with a certain girl.

Part way through the night, Vic approached Teddy with a small box in her hands. "Hi Teddy."

Teddy looked up at her and smiled. "Hi Vic. What's that you've got there?"

She hesitated before saying in a bit of a rush, "I, err, wanted to give you a special Christmas present but it was so chaotic at the Burrow and I haven't seen you since and so this was my only other chance before you go back to school and I wanted to give it to you in person."

When she paused to take a breath, Teddy cut in. "Me too." He pulled out a box from his pocket and handed it to her.

She took it as she passed him the box she'd been holding and opened it to find a necklace inside. The pendant was a small teddy bear in the exact turquoise shade that Teddy normally kept his hair. She gazed at it in awe before looking back at Teddy.

"So you won't forget me while I'm away at school."

She gave him a brilliant smile. "I could never forget you. Now open mine."

He opened the box she had given him to find a miniature quaffle inside.

"It's for your bedside table. I didn't think you'd want to wear it as a necklace after all. It's so you remember that I may be completely horrible at Quidditch, but I'll always be willing to throw a quaffle around with you, if you ask."

Teddy couldn't help laughing a bit at that. She really was a horrible Quidditch player. "Thank you. I'll see it every night before I go to bed and think of you."

And so Teddy's Christmas holiday had its high points, but sadly had to end on the low point of leaving Victoire behind as he again went back to school with his friends.

Author's Note: So, I don't think there's any new information to help with the guessing, but they're still welcome. And of course, even if you don't have a guess, PLEASE REVIEW!