"Um, excuse me, sir."

"What is it?"

Hadrian lifted his head up from his textbook to look behind and in the direction of the voice. A young boy, around first year, was standing at the doorway looking very nervous. Which made sense, he was being stared down by the most hated professor in school.

"Professor McGonagall sent me to get Hadrian Potter, sir."

Snape looked dissatisfied with the answer, whether it was because it involved himself or the fact someone was disturbing his class, Hadrian didn't know.

"He'll be along shortly." Snape sneered. The boy saw this as a dismissal and fled.

'Smart kid.' Hadrian thought.

"Potter!" Snape yelled, now marching in Hadrian's direction. He stopped when he was in front of Hadrian's desk.

"Clean up your area and get out."

"But, sir, what about my work?"

Hadrian didn't really care that much about his assignment, but felt like if he just left without asking, Snape would hold that against him. Hell, even asking Snape would find some way to hold that against him too.

Snape peered down at Hadrian's parchment. He didn't give it an immediate dismissal, which was a good sign in Hadrian's mind.

"I honestly doubt this would've been legible anyway, Potter. Certainly not suitable enough for grading." The greasy-haired man then vanished Hadrian's parchment and began walking around the classroom again, supervising the others.

Hadrian looked at his desk where his parchment had been. He thought he was doing a good job.

"Don't listen to him." His deskmate said. "Everyone knows you're the best at Defense."

Hadrian felt better at that. While he knew he was the best at the practical portion of classes, he always knew he was lacking in the written department. But he felt that he had made huge progress in his written assignments.

"That's probably because I've got a good study partner." He whispered.

"Oh? Really?"

"Yeah, she's been a big help. She's really smart, and very pretty too. Sometimes I can barely concentrate because I'm distracted by her good looks."

His partner smiled. "Do I know this person?"

"Maybe." Hadrian smirked. "She's pretty well known. One of the top of her year, and easily the most beautiful girl in Hogwarts."

"The most beautiful? That's high praise."

"Well, it's the truth. I tell her that all the time, but she doesn't believe me."

"Maybe because she doesn't want a big ego like yours." His partner joked.

"Nah," He dismissed, "I think it's just because she doesn't realize how beautiful she actually is. But I'll keep reminding her."

"You do that." His partner laughed. He found himself joining her.

"Potter!" Snape yelled. "Stop disturbing Miss Greengrass and get to where you need to be!"

Hadrian rolled his eyes and grabbed his bag, putting one of the straps over his shoulder.

"See you at dinner?" He asked.

Daphne nodded, writing on her own parchment. Her penmanship was much nicer than his. "You'll have to tell me about what McGonagall wants."

"I swear I did nothing this time." Hadrian held his hands up, as if that would show his innocence. "Probably…"

Daphne chuckled and lightly pushed him towards the door. "Now go, before Snape gets even more mad."

"He's always mad. Besides, he hates me."

Hadrian began walking towards the classroom but stopped and tapped Daphne on the shoulder. She turned her head to him, quizzically.

"By the way, you're the most beautiful girl in Hogwarts."

"You've already told me that today." She said with amusement.

"No, I only said I tell you that. Now I'm actually telling you." He gave her a grin, before leaving and making his way to Professor McGonagall's class.

Hadrian knocked on the door before entering the classroom. McGonagall was in the process of teaching the first years.

"You wanted to see me, Professor?" He asked.

"Yes, Mr Potter, I did. Come with me." She said, leading him to her private office.

Hadrian made his way through the classroom, smiling at the starstruck first years along the way. They looked at him as if he were Merlin himself. Which was ridiculous, Hadrian was much better looking.

McGonagall closed the door behind him and he took his seat, wrapping the strap of his bag on the seat.

McGonagall didn't sit down at her desk, instead she leaned against it in front of him and took off her glasses. She looked at him directly.

Alarm bells started going off in his head. She only took her glasses off if she was getting serious.

Hadrian started racking his brain about what he'd done the past week. There was nothing that could've got him into trouble. He was following a pretty usual routine lately. Go to class, eat meals in the Great Hall, study and do assignments in the library, plan out quidditch practice. He would occasionally visit an abandoned classroom with Daphne, but they were very careful not to get caught. And they hadn't done anything beyond making out.

Unless…

She couldn't be talking about Halloween right? That was months ago, no one should know about it and even if McGonagall did, she wouldn't have waited this long to talk about it. And it was just him she called, not Daphne. But that may be because Daphne wasn't in Gryffindor.

No, that couldn't be it. He hoped it wasn't it.

Was she going to discuss quidditch? He was doing a good job as captain. Gryffindor hadn't lost a match yet. And his grades were good so there was no need to worry about his new position being a _ to his grades. So it couldn't be something academic.

Was it about one of his friends? Back in third year she would occasionally ask him how Hermione was doing. But that was when the girl was using a time turner to attend all her classes because she had chosen to take everything. It was plain to see to everyone that as the year progressed Hermione was unravelling.

But he didn't think it was about Hermione this time. She was still in the top of their year, and he and the rest of their friends made sure to make her relax and take a break from her constant studying. She was much more laid back then she had been three years ago.

Could it be about Neville? His godbrother had struggled his first couple years at Hogwarts but that was down to his own low self-esteem and the fact he was using his father's wand, which wasn't fully compatible with him.

The saying "the wand chooses the wizard" was very literal. A witch or wizard can't just use any wand and expect it to work. They needed their own wand which was 100 percent compatible with them. There were cases of wizards successfully using the wands of others, but that was when the wand was either made with similar material or it belonged to a family member. Like a sibling or parent.

There was a theory that if two people were soul bonded then they would be allowed to use the other's wand without any problems. But since soul bonds were very rare this theory couldn't be tested.

Neville's previous wand belonged to his father, Frank Longbottom. Neville's grandmother had given it to him, hoping it would help him become more like his father. But the truth was Neville wasn't his father.

During Yule break in fourth year, with some prompting from a letter sent by McGonagall, Neville was given his own wand. Ever since then Neville's practical work had improved dramatically. He was now one of the first few to get any incantation right.

So he didn't think it was about Neville, but then what could it be?

There was no one else in Gryffindor he was really best friends with. He was good friends with Katie Bell but they mainly talked about quidditch and about things relating to the team and upcoming games. He was on good terms with Dean Thomas, but he wouldn't say they were close.

He and Seamus hadn't really recovered from Seamus' rant against him last year. Hadrian wasn't stressing about this, Seamus was a loud mouth who talked more than he could walk.

He didn't interact with Padma Patil, Lavender Brown or Fay Dunbar. Besides when he had to for classes.

Fay kept to herself and he didn't see a reason to approach her. Padma and Lavender were gossip girls, so he stayed clear of them. Lavender was also dating Ron, so that was another reason to avoid her.

Wait, could it be about Ron?

There's no way McGonagall would bring him here during the middle of Defense class to talk about someone he had a very public falling out with.

Everyone knew he and Ron weren't friends anymore. He was cordial with the redhead at best and that was only because Hadrian was friends with Ron's other siblings.

He and Bill always got along well. And he was in business with Fred and George. He technically owned 20 percent of their joke shop.

If this was about Ron, why not just get Ginny? It also couldn't be about her. They weren't close either. He didn't hold any strong feelings towards her, she was just his friends' younger sister. There was also the fact she had a huge crush on him and was openly jealous of his girlfriend. So, yeah…

"I've just had a patronus call from Lord Black." McGonagall informed him, finally quenching his burning curiosity.

"Sirius?" Hadrian asked, puzzled at what his godfather could want. "What did he want?"

"He wanted me to let you leave Hogwarts for a few hours because Miss Tonks- or should I say Mrs Lupin, has just gone into labor."

Hadrian's jaw dropped. Dora was giving birth? Now?!

"What!?" Hadrian shouted, jumping out of his seat.

McGonagall gave him a look, but didn't seem to really be reprimanding him.

"As your head of house, I hereby grant you permission to leave the school and be excused from classes for the rest of the day. Due to a family matter." She gave him a small smirk. That's the most he usually saw out of her.

Hadrian smiled at her. "Thank you, Professor."

"You may use my floo to get to the hospital." She told him.

Hadrian nodded gratefully and began walking towards her fireplace, but stopped midstep.

"Professor." He said.

"Yes, Mr Potter?"

"I was in Defense class and was in the middle of writing a summary of the chapter we're currently reading when I got called here." He told her. "Professor Snape vanished my work. When he dismissed me."

McGonagall let out a tired sigh, pinching her nose. She was really getting tired of Snape's prejudices and petty grudges. Why Albus had employed him she would never know. Once composing herself she picked up her glasses from her desk and put them back on.

"I will speak with Professor Snape about your assignment, Mr Potter. Don't worry about that. I dare say you have bigger things to worry about now."

Hadrian's smile returned. "You're the best, Professor."

He grabbed the floor powder and said out loud and clearly his destination.

"St. Mungo's Hospital."

And threw the power into the fireplace, where a large green fire now roared.

"Potter." McGonagall said.

Hadrian turned to her.

"Give my best to the new parents." She said with another small smile, this one more gentle.

Hadrian smiled. "Will do." He gave a thumbs up and walked into the flames.

Hadrian stumbled as he was pushed out of the floo. He grabbed the handle of a chair to stabilise himself. He looked around making sure no one saw him and cleared his throat. Coast was clear.

He still hadn't gotten the handle of exiting the floo. Even after all this time.

The floo had taken him to the waiting area, he walked up to the reception desk where a nurse was sitting behind the counter. She seemed to be concentrating on writing something, he hoped she hadn't seen his arrival earlier.

"Excuse me," he said, trying to get her attention. The nurse raised her head and gave a kind smile.

"Yes? Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for a Nymphadora Lupin. I was told she was here."

The nurse opened a book and ran her finger down a list of names, before stopping at one.

"Ah, yes, she's in room 0509." The nurse informed him. "It's on the upper floors."

"Thank you."

Hadrian jogged up the stairs until he found a sign which indicated he was on the right floor. He began walking the hallways reading the room numbers as he went. He was also keeping an eye out for Sirius or Remus, since he doubted they would be in the room with Dora when she gave birth. Well, Remus might, but he also didn't think the man had it in him to be in the same room as Dora with the mood she was probably in.

His hunting paid off as he spotted his godfather sitting in a chair in a hallway.

"Sirius!" He yelled, jogging up to him.

Sirius turned his head once he heard Hadrian's voice.

"Hadrian, thank Merlin. McGonagall let you go." He stood up from his chair and pulled his godson into a quick side hug.

"How's Dora? Remus?"

"Remus is a bundle of nerves. I haven't seen anyone this nervous since your father when Lily was giving birth." Sirius chuckled.

"When we made fun of him for it he told us that one day we'd understand and it wouldn't be so funny. And that he'd be there to say he told us so."

Hadrian smiled. "Well, it might not be the same, but he told you so."

Sirius laughed and patted Hadrian on the shoulder. "I think Remus would agree."

"And Dora? Is everything ok?"

"The healers haven't said anything." Sirius shrugged. "I'm taking that as a good thing."

Hadrian nodded and he sat down with his godfather. The two waited for a healer to come and give them any news.

"Why don't I hear anything?" Hadrian asked.

"Oh, that's because they have noise cancelling charms on the room. Don't want to disturb the other patients with the cries of a pregnant woman."

"I wondered why this place was so quiet."

Hadrian didn't have much experience being in hospitals but from what he knew they were usually noisy and hectic. But here everything seemed calm.

Sirius seemed to sense his thoughts.

"We're on the upper floors. This is where the higher paying patients go. So it's a lot more pleasant."

"How did Dora get here?" Hadrian asked.

Sirius had a sly smirk. "I wasn't going to let my cousin give birth on the lower floors like some commoner. She's a Black. Only the best for a Black."

Hadrian chuckled, shaking his head. "You're really enjoying that lordship, huh?"

"You have no idea."

Eventually, after more waiting, a healer stepped out of the room. Sirius and Hadrian stood up.

"Lord Black," the healer began addressing Sirius, "Everything went smoothly. Mrs Lupin and the baby are fine."

Both Hadrian and Sirius let out a sigh of relief.

"Can we see her?" Hadrian asked.

The healer seemed hesitant to answer, but was cut off by Sirius.

"This boy," he gestured to Hadrian, "Is like that girl's brother. He's family."

The healer nodded and moved out the way of both men.

Hadrian rushed forward and opened the door. On the other side laying on a bed drenched in sweat and holding a little bundle covered in a white towel was Dora. She looked utterly tired, but at the same time she looked the happiest Hadrian had ever seen her. The smile on her face was so wide Hadrian was worried she might hurt herself.

Remus was kneeling next to her holding her hand and telling her she did a good job. He was also smiling and was tenderly looking at the bundle in his wife's arms.

Hadrian and Sirius walked into the room, drawing the attention of the new parents.

"Hey, you two" Dora greeted.

"Dora, how are you?" Sirius asked.

"Ok. I never want to do that again."

Sirius chuckled. "All the mothers I know say that, then the next thing they know they have more kids, and are back here again."

Dora laughed. "Well I mean it." She looked over at her husband. "You're not getting anywhere near me now, understand? I'll have you sleep out in the yard like a good wolf."

Remus chuckled. "Whatever you say, love."

Hadrian's attention turned to the bundle in Dora's arms. She noticed and grinned.

"Meet Teddy Remus Lupin. Teddy, this is your uncle Sirius," She looked over at Sirius who smiled back at her and looked at the newborn.

"And this is Harry, your godfather."

Hadrian let out a shocked gasp. Him? They wanted him to be the godfather? This must've been a mistake. She must have meant to say Sirius.

"Godfather?" Hadrian asked.

"Of course, who else would it be?"

Hadrian was having a hard time processing this. They chose him?

"But- are you sure?" He asked.

"We are." Remus answered. Hadrian turned to look at him and saw the man had a smile on his face.

"We know that if anything were to happen to us, you'd look after Teddy." Dora added.

"Of course." Hadrian said on instinct.

Sirius clapped him on the shoulder. "You'll do great, pup."

"You don't want it to be you?" Hadrian asked.

Sirius shook his head with a smile. "I've already got that position with someone else."

Hadrian smiled back at his godfather.

The four spent the next few minutes staring at Teddy with idle chit-chat. Mainly Sirius playfully teasing Remus.

"Do you want to hold him?" Dora asked Hadrian.

"What? Me? Hold him?"

Hadrian was incredibly nervous. He had never held a baby before. Have him fight a basilisk, sure. Kill a dragon? Done. Fight Voldemort in the Ministry of Magic? Easy. Hold a baby…?

"Come on." Dora coaxed him.

He slowly walked over and held his arms out, Dora placed her son in his arms and properly placed them in the correct position.

He moved back and looked down at the newborn. He had never seen a baby up close before. Were they all this cute or was that just Teddy? Was his godfather bias already affecting him?

Teddy's eyelids began to open for the first time, revealing the same grey-blue eyes as his mother.

Hadrian held back a gasp. Those eyes, they were so… pure. They had an innocence to them Hadrian had never seen before. They hadn't seen the horrors he had, they hadn't experienced the hardships of the world yet. They were filled with pure untainted innocence.

At that moment, Hadrian made a vow. He vowed to himself that he would make sure Teddy's eyes never lost that innocence. That he would fight his hardest so that Teddy and all the children born from now on, would never have to go through what he and everyone else in the world had. That they would live in a world free of the pain and sorrow that currently inhabited this world.

And to do that he needed to kill Voldemort.

'I promise you, Teddy,' Hadrian thought, 'I'm gonna make a world where you'll be safe, and you'll never have to know the pain me and your family have gone through. You'll live in a world where Voldemort and people like him are nothing but a fairy tale.'

Hadrian was going to keep that promise. He had to. He was Teddy's godfather after all.

Nymphadora "call me Tonks" Lupin was feeling extremely nervous when her parents entered her hospital room.

Ever since she had told her parents of her plans to marry Remus their relationship had been strained. They hadn't spoken in months. Her parents hadn't even been present for the wedding. Which to be fair was a pretty small and private affair. Only Sirius, Harry, Kingsley, and a couple others from the Order had been there. And it was done without trying to draw too much attention. She and Remus didn't need a whole big celebration. They just needed their close friends and family.

She felt her husband squeeze her hand as he sat on a chair to her right. He rubbed circles on her knuckles to calm her down. She smiled at his gesture.

Even though she was no longer the little girl living with her parents, Nymphadora still felt a bit of trepidation when in the same room with her mother. Especially when they were on opposite sides.

Her mother, Andromeda Tonks was a Black. She was Sirius's older cousin by four years, and was his favorite. Considering his other cousins consisted of Bellatrix Lestrange, known Death Eater and devoted follower of Voldemort and Narcissa Malfoy, mother of Draco Malfoy and wife of Lucius Malfoy, she didn't have much competition. But Sirius always said she was the nicest to him growing up and she was the only one to rebel against her family's beliefs on blood status.

Nymphadora's father, Ted Tonks was a muggleborn wizard. He had been the reason the Blacks had banished her mother and struck her from the family tapestry. Andromeda had refuted her family's belief that they were superior simply because of their blood status. This decision saw her elope with Ted in her final year at Hogwarts and move in with his parents.

Currently Andromeda worked as a lawyer for the Ministry and Ted worked in a muggle car shop, repairing broken vehicles. They both weren't too pleased when Nymphadora had made her decision about becoming an auror but had supported her nonetheless. That's how they always were. Even if they didn't fully agree with the choices their daughter made, they still supported her as best they could. Until recently.

She had sent a letter to her parents informing them of her pregnancy, but hadn't received a reply back. So Dora assumed they didn't want anything to do with her or the baby.

But after getting some well deserved rest, she awoke to Remus informing her that he had told her parents about the birth of their son and he had received a reply back saying they would be visiting.

Which led them to now.

"Mom. Dad." Dora tensely greeted.

"Dora, how are you?" Her father greeted, he gave a small smile. Her mother hadn't said a word. She just stared at her with a blank yet stern face.

Her mother was an occlumens, like all Blacks, so she was good at hiding her true emotions from others.

"Fine." Nymphadora answered. "Isn't there something you'd like to say to my husband?" She gestured to Remus.

"Oh, yes," Ted said rather awkwardly, "Hello, Remus."

"Ted." Remus nodded. "Andromeda."

Andromeda didn't acknowledge his greeting.

A tense atmosphere filled the room. So palpable it could be cut with a cutting curse.

Both the women in the room had entered into a staring contest of sorts. Neither one of them willing to show the other a hint of giving in.

It was times like this that made Ted wonder how he survived as long as he did in the Tonks household.

Eventually, Nymphadora turned to her husband, feeling the silence had gone on long enough. She was also seeking the type of comfort that only one person could provide.

"Remus, can you get him?" She asked her husband, still holding her mother's gaze.

Remus stood from his chair and walked over to a crib at the other side of the room. The room they were in wasn't that large so it wasn't very far away. Despite being on a higher floor with better accommodations, the size of the room stayed the same as the lower ones.

Remus picked up his son who had been wrapped in a new towel, this one was white with light blue lines.

He walked over to his wife's bedside and handed her the baby. Dora took her son and instantly felt a smile appear as soon as she saw his cute little face. His eyes were closed so she assumed he was sleeping, but newborn babies tended to have their eyes closed most of the time due to light sensitivity.

"This is our son. Your grandson." She told her parents.

Ted looked at his grandson with wide eyes. The emotion palpable within them.

"What-what's his name?" He asked.

Dora smiled, looking forward to his reaction. "Teddy. Teddy Remus Lupin."

"Teddy…?" Ted's eyes began to well up. He wiped them quickly with his sleeve, trying to maintain his composure.

"You… You really named him after me?" He asked.

"It was actually Remus' idea." Dora told him, smiling up at her husband.

Ted looked at Remus shocked at this information.

"Really?"

Remus gave a sheepish nod.

"Thank you, Remus. Truly."

Nymphadora was pleased with her father's reaction but her mother still hadn't said anything. She had kneeled down closer to her grandson perhaps to get a better look at him.

Dora wondered what her mother's first thoughts would be. Would she be disappointed? Ashamed? Angry?

Her answer came. Andromeda gently placed the back of her hand on Teddy's cheek and began rubbing it.

"He's absolutely precious."

Dora couldn't help the relief she felt. Her mother now seemed to be letting her feelings out and she could see the love in her mother's eyes. The same love she had shown Dora her whole life.

Andromeda kept rubbing her grandson's cheek and Nymphadora had no reason to stop her. She was happy that both her parents seemed to love their grandson. Maybe she could use this to mend bridges.

"Do you know if he's like you?" Andromeda asked.

Nymphadora knew she was referring to her Metamorphmagus abilities.

"We don't. It's too early to tell."

Nymphadora knew that since Teddy was her son there was a high probability of him being a Metamorphmagus like her. In fact his chances of being one were much greater than hers were, since he was a direct blood descendent of hers. But there was also a high chance of him inheriting his father's abilities too.

"There's a good chance he is, being my son. But there's also the chance that he is…" Dora trailed off looking at her husband. Her message to her parents clear.

She fixed them with a hard look. "If that's a problem with you, then you can both get out now. I won't have my son being treated differently because of who or what he is."

"Nymphadora Tonks, how dare you!" Her mother exclaimed, standing up at full height.

"How could you possibly think I would ever be that prejudiced? I'm not like the rest of my family. I would never turn my back on family because they were different from me!"

Dora smiled smugly at her mother. She looked over at her husband. "Really? Even if they were so different they had a relationship with someone you didn't agree with? Sounds kinda familiar doesn't it?"

Andromeda opened her mouth to respond but closed it shortly after as she contemplated her daughter's question.

Ted placed a hand on his wife's back and grabbed one of her hands.

"You have to admit, Andi, we've been kind of hypocritical lately." He tried to say as gently as he could.

Andromeda didn't like it, but knew her husband was right.

"What made you cave so easily?" She asked.

Ted smiled and looked over at Teddy.

"What can I say? I want to get to know my grandson."

Andromeda followed his gaze and smiled too. She let out a loud sigh.

"Alright."

Her husband let go of her and extended his hand across the bed to Remus.

"Welcome to the family."

Remus gripped his hand and shook it with a grateful smile. "Thank you, Ted."

"Hey, us guys need to stick together to handle women from the House of Black."

"Agreed. I don't know how I've managed her or Sirius for this long."

"Ooo, tough."

"Hey!" Both women admonished.

The men shared a laugh and eventually the women joined them.

Remus shared a brief exchange with Andromeda where he mouthed his thanks only for her to respond with a nod. It was the most he was going to get so he took it.

"We've chosen Harry as Teddy's godfather." Nymphadora informed her parents.

"The Potter boy?" Andromeda questioned. "Are you sure? He is rather young."

Dora looked down at her son with a smile and bounced him lightly. "Harry's as good as my little brother. He'll look after Teddy."

"Well, it's your decision." Andromeda said. "I look forward to getting to know the boy better. Between you and Sirius he has a lot to live up to."

"And he'll meet it. And then some." Dora smiled widely at her mother. Andromeda returned it with a smirk of her own.

He'd not know it until he was told years later by his godfather, but Teddy Lupin had brought his family back together by just being born.