Letter 1
Teddy Lupin loved his parents. Seeing as they died not even a year after he was born, he didn’t know them very well, but everyone who had (for example; his godfather, Harry Potter) said that his mother and father had been a noble and kind witch and wizard. Many times, his aforementioned godfather had told him the story of the night little Teddy was born. How his father had thrown open the door, shouting over that night’s storm that his wife had had the baby. Many times, Professors had told him of the night his parents died, fighting valiantly against the Dark Lord and his army. In this crazy world, there were two things he knew for certain, his parents loved him, and they loved each other.
It was Teddy’s second year at Hogwarts, his favourite place in the world. It was early December, and with the Christmas holiday approaching, everyone was in an amiable mood. Even the stern Headmistress, Professor McGonagall, was rumoured to be letting delinquents off the hook in honour of the holiday. Teddy knew this was true, because he himself was one of the young offenders. He wasn’t a bad kid, he just found himself in the offices of some teachers surprisingly often. Like right now, for instance.
McGonagall sighed. “Mr. Lupin. Do you know why you’re here? Well- I suppose you don’t. Mr. Delbridge has informed me that his friend, Mr. Patrickson has been acting odd. Very odd. I only thought that you might have some- insight- into why this may be.”
Teddy quickly weighed the pros and cons of confessing to impersonating his fellow student, and decided that this wasn’t the worst thing he’d done this week.
“I-I’m sorry, Professor. It’s just that in Defence Against the Dark Arts, he was saying something about werewolves-”
“Oh, Mr. Lupin. I suppose it wasn’t so bad. The former heads-” she gestured to the paintings behind her desk “-are always telling me to lighten up. You are dismissed.”
Teddy sprung up from the large chair facing the desk, and was halfway to the door before the Professor called out to him.
“Wait! And one last thing.”
“What, Professor?”
“A Christmas gift of sorts. From your father.”
From his father? Something like this had never happened before. The closest thing to a gift from his parents he’d ever received was his parent’s life-savings, which were, to be honest, nothing to get excited about.
“At the Battle of Hogwarts, right before it really started, he- your father- came to me and said, ‘if I don’t survive, give this to Teddy once he reaches second-year.’ I suppose the second year was the year his friends discovered his secret.” With that, she produced a package, about the size of a shoe-box, perhaps wider, from in a drawer.
Teddy took it eagerly from her wizened hands, and skipped out of the room.
☾
That night, in the Hufflepuff common room, he opened the box. He’d thought about it all day, after getting it from McGonagall that morning, but as he truly got closer to the coveted moment, he began to feel nervous.
‘What could my dad’s secret be?’ he thought to himself ‘The only secret I ever knew my dad had was his lycanthropy. Though, I guess that’s how secrets work. People aren’t supposed to know you even have them.’
Teddy closed his eyes for a second, calming himself. The box smelled of old parchment, and old sour butterbeer stains. He lifted the lid, the smell intensified, and for good reason. It was filled with hundreds of sheets of parchment, each scrawled with the same neat, albeit cramped handwriting. Teddy’s heart skipped in his chest as he realised it was his father’s hand.
There was a smaller note resting on the top of the pile. Throw in, scrawled hurriedly as a last thought. It read-
Dear Teddy.
This is your father. Never thought I’d say that, never thought you’d exist. Not that I don’t love you- honestly, you’re the best thing my life has amounted to. If you’re reading this, I guess I’m dead. I hope I died doing something worth it, and I hope your childhood’s been good, I’m almost glad I didn’t raise you. I knew I’d botch it somehow. I’m not fit to raise a kid. Anyway, I’m rambling. I’ve given Minerva this to give to you because you deserve to know the truth about me. I don’t know what people have told you about your mother and I, but I doubt it’s better than what I can. So here. In the form of some things I wrote in the moment. Please take this well.
-Your father, Remus John Lupin.
How odd. It seemed that Teddy’s father hadn’t quite been a proud man. He’d said he wasn’t fit to raise a kid. Had he even wanted Teddy? On the other hand, he had said that Teddy was “the best thing that his life had amounted to. And McGonagall had said that the note had been written just before the Battle of Hogwarts. Everyone’s spirits must’ve been low.
Teddy took a breath to stabilise his nerves. He assured himself that the note really amounted to nothing. It had just maundered on, with no real direction or true point. Teddy set the note on the bit of rug beside where he was sitting, and focused on the next piece of writing. This one was much older, and dated September third, 1971. It seemed to be a letter home from Remus’s first year at Hogwarts.
Dear Mum + Dad.
I arrived here safely, and the train ride was nice. I sat with three other boys, two of whom were quite pleasant. There was a boy named James, who was rather funny, if a little tricky. Another boy, Peter, was quieter than James, and polite. He bought some candy from a little witch with a cart, and shared. The last boy was called Sirius (who names their kid Sirius?!). And I think he was rather a conceited, arrogant, git. He struts about, primping and preening, looking down his nose at you, and sort of picking on the nervous kids on the train (he can smell fear?). What’s worse, everyone seems to think he’s rather a laugh! Me and all the other boys from the train have been sorted into the same house, Gryffindor, and we share a dormitory room. The Sirius guy is very loud, in class he calls out the answers before anyone can think. AND he’s always right!! Other than that, the food’s great and the classes are fun, so don’t worry about me.
Remus John Lupin
“Oi- Lupin! There you are!” A tall, dark, Hufflepuff strode into the room, and Teddy hastily shoved the parchment back into the box, and stuffed it under a nearby armchair. The mysterious, problematic, boy called Sirius would have to wait.