Author's note: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling, you can tell because #transrights

Hogwarts: Assignment #10, Religious Education Task #3 Write about someone or something reappearing after being gone for a long time.

Dedication: Aya!

Warnings: Character deaths; hiding; canon-compliant child endangerment and violence (why do children save the world?)

I Know The Way Home

Make a memory

Something I could call my own

Like a wildfire

It burns through all I've known, whoa

But I know the way home

—"I Know The Way Home," Andrew Galucki

Dear Teddy,

It's silly that I'm writing these letters since I've never met you, and if you ever get them it means you'll never have met me either. But I'm Harry, your godfather. I really wasn't expecting to be your godfather. I was happy when your dad asked me, though. I thought I might have a chance.

Then I looked around me and realized that the chances were slim. I lost my own godfather before he could tell give me everything I was missing. If you get these letters, I don't suppose I'll have been much of a loss so at least there's that. Still, it means that you'll be down a godfather and maybe others who love you, if I die because it all goes wrong.

So just in case I was your last chance and I fumbled it, I'm writing to you.

Best wishes,

Harry

"How long have you had these?" Teddy asked.

Gran stood in the kitchen, scrubbing dishes as if she hadn't just given Teddy the most important present ever. The kitchen, for them, was only a corner of their living space—a repurposed barn which had been given floors, a fireplace, and access to water and salvaged furniture, though it still looked like a stable from the outside. It was all light wood, eclectic quilts, and the thickest sheets they could spare hung by magic to section off bedrooms and create some privacy.

Part of Teddy wanted to ask Gran where she'd even been hiding the pack of letters she had given him. He had spent his entire life with her, in this safehouse, kept within its walls by a healthy fear of what might happen if he stepped outside the protection of its Fidelius charm. He knew every corner of it by now.

She didn't answer; instead she simply chewed her lips as she scrubbed. She could be doing this by magic—she was a gifted witch who had taught Teddy everything he knew and maybe everything he would ever know. But Gran did things by hand to pass the time and fill their days, or to calm herself down when she was upset.

"Did my godfather give them to you?" Teddy asked.

"Don't say his name," Gran warned.

"I know not to say his name," Teddy said, rolling his eyes. There had been a taboo on his godfather's name since he had been killed. Gran had explained that there were a few key words and names that still had taboos, even if the war had all but ended fourteen years ago. It was part of what had helped the Dark Lord neutralize any remaining rebels. Teddy's last name was on the list. He had only ever seen it written, never heard it. Lupin.

Gran scrubbed a little bit harder. Teddy had a sense that he wouldn't be able to get any more information out of her today. Sometimes the war and her memories and the past and whatever life outside of this house she fantasized for them… well, it got to be all too much and Gran got quiet.

Teddy gathered his plate and stashed the letters in his sweater pocket. He brought his dishes to Gran and kissed her cheek.

"Thank you for the birthday pancakes," Teddy said.

"Leave your plate love, I'll wash up," Gran said, patting his arm.

I want you to know that I love you even if I've never met you. I know that doesn't make sense, but when I think of you I want to make this world better and safer and fair for you. Knowing that you're out there waiting for that better world makes me afraid of what will happen if I fail.

I'm having trouble writing these, honestly. They feel important. I have so much to tell you. Then again, I'm a child of war so I don't know much—and what I do know, I don't want you to need.

I feel like you deserve to know what's happening and what I'm doing that's so important that I'm away from you. All of it, not just the fragments Ron, Hermione and I told people by necessity. I'll write out the story in little pieces, while I'm on guard and in between travels, so that it's not quite so overwhelming to learn about prophecies and Horcruxes all at once.

Teddy's secret was that sometimes, he left the house.

He never left the grounds, of course. He had been able to recite a spellbook-worthy definition of a Fidelius Charm since the age of five, and could now explain the charm's technical workings, strengths, and weaknesses on demand. Sometimes Gran tested him. He knew that Aunt Narcissa's (well, Great Aunt Narcissa's) longstanding status as their Secret Keeper was the only thing keeping them hidden and he knew that even that protection had its limits. Still, he had his mother's gift and he had seen other inhabitants of Malfoy Manor through the windows frequently enough that he could change shapes and impersonate them quite well. That was one upside of window-watching, he supposed.

At any rate, today he needed some air. He needed to think about the things Harry had written.

Once Gran fell asleep, he changed his features to those of the Malfoys' gardener—a short, cheerful-looking man whose cheeks were hollow until he puffed them up to whistle as he worked. There wasn't much to do about Teddy's ill-fitting clothes. Gran and Aunt Narcissa had to be careful when smuggling food, clothes, wands, books, and other necessities into their home.

The night was cool and filled by bullfrogs and crickets. A few lights in the manor were on.

The unexpected thing was finding the little boy, Scorpius. Draco and Astoria's son—Teddy often saw them on the grounds, each holding onto a hand and swinging him as they walked. Truth be told, Teddy was a little jealous of the boy—even if now he was mostly paralyzed with fear.

"Scorpius," Teddy said. He figured that the real gardener would speak up. "What are you doing here all alone?"

"Meeting Mama to look at da stars," the little boy said, pointing upwards as if to make his point.

"I see," Teddy said. He hesitated. "Well, let me walk you to her that way you don't get into any trouble."

Scorpius nodded and surprised Teddy by taking his hand. Unexpected warmth shot through him before he snapped back to reality and to his role.

"Alright," Teddy said. "Let's go find your mother."

Scorpius nodded and Teddy let himself be led to the northern pavilion where Astoria Greengrass-Malfoy was spreading blankets on the floor and fiddling with a telescope.

"Oh, Scorpius!" she said when she saw them. "You were supposed to wait for Daddy to walk you out here, Starlight…"

"I was too excited!" Scorpius said, breaking free and running to her. She caught him and lifted him up, propping Scorpius on her hip. "Isokay, Mama. I found Lucas."

"Did you find Lucas, Starlight, or did he find you?" she asked, tapping her son's nose with her fingertip. It was a really sweet gesture and it made Teddy want to fidget and scream and run away and watch all at once. Astoria turned to Teddy. "Thank you for walking him to me, Lucas."

"It's no trouble Asto—Mrs. Malfoy, umm, Greengrass-Malfoy, ma'am," Teddy stuttered.

"I appreciate it," she said. She offered Teddy a smile before reaching into her pocket to offer him a Galleon. He hesitated, unsure about the conventions, but took it.

"You're here awfully late," Astoria asked. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes ma'am," Teddy said. "I… forgot something. In the shed. I won't be long."

"Alright," Astoria smiled. Her eyes darted towards Malfoy Manor before she put her son down. He scrambled away and towards the telescope.

Astoria turned to him and lowered her voice.

"Between you and me…" she said. "If you need something from the manor itself, please let me know. There is a meeting tonight and… well, it's best not to intrude."

Teddy looked back to the manor's glowing windows and swallowed hard. The Dark Lord himself was be on the grounds and he'd had no idea…

"You are too kind, ma'am," he said curtly. He wasn't sure if that was what gardeners did, but he bowed. "Enjoy your evening."

He took the long way home.

Prophecies are messy. If you ever hear one, don't believe it until someone triggers it and makes it true. That's what happened to me, but really it didn't have to be like this. If Voldemort had left my family alone, I wouldn't have grown up and hunted pieces of his soul. If he had gone after Neville and the Longbottoms instead... I have no idea what would have happened. But he didn't. He did what he did, and so now I'm doing what I'm doing.

"Who's this?" Teddy asked, pointing to a name in Harry's penmanship. Gran frowned when she saw it. Neville Longbottom.

"Another name you should not say out loud," Gran said.

"I'm not going to Gran, I just want to know," Teddy said.

"Another rebel," Gran said. "He fought bravely at the Last Battle."

"Is he dead too?" Teddy asked.

"The Dark Lord would like us to believe so, but some swear on their wands that they saw him escaping the violence," Gran said. "If he knows what's good for him, which he must if he's really survived, he will be out of Great Britain—or, better yet, Europe."

Teddy nodded and settled back in his seat, listening to the fireplace crackle as he read on. Well, re-read on. He had devoured Harry's letters and absolutely needed to go through them again. Still, he felt Gran's eyes on him.

"I don't like what these letters are doing to you," she finally said. She was sewing up a hole he'd torn in his jeans when he'd last climbed up to the attic to patch a hole in their roof. It was one of the only pairs of jeans that was long enough and fit him at the waist.

"What do you mean?" Teddy asked.

Gran paused her sewing to chew her lip, but only spoke again once her hands were moving again. Her words were as measured as her stitches.

"You come from a painful story," Gran said.

"And I'm learning about it," Teddy said, waving the pack of letters. He hadn't told Gran everything he'd read so far. He hadn't told Gran about the little things in the letter—what colour his Mum's hair had been when Harry had met her, what sweets Dad liked, how Mum once helped Harry and his friend Ron sneak a bottle of Firewhisky in their school trunks, how Dad taught Harry about Patronuses… or the big things, like Horcruxes.

"You're learning it too quickly," Gran said.

"How do you know? You've read these?" Teddy asked.

"No," Gran said. "They were charmed so only you would be able to read them. But you aren't the first curious child or troublemaker I've raised."

Gran turned back to her sewing.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Teddy said. He looked up and squared his chin. "And why don't you tell me more about the Last Battle? Since he couldn't write about it himself. I can handle it."

"You're wrong."

"I'm always wrong," Teddy said. "According to you."

"Teddy..." Gran said.

"In the books I read, when kids are in trouble, they get their full names yelled at them," he said.

"That's enough," Gran said. "Do you want to hear about the Last Battle, Teddy? Do you? Your parents died before the first ceasefire, and while their bodies were being picked up from the battlefield, your godfather tried to give himself up to stop the fighting in the woods. The first curse that hit him failed to kill him. By some strange turn of faith that even the strongest Felix Felicis would struggle to recreate, your Aunt Narcissa was sent to see if he was alive. Your godfather told her that her son was still alive and asked her to take those letters from his pocket. By some miracle, she managed it. And then the miracles ended and your godfather died and the Battle of Hogwarts became the Last Battle. Had your godfather not granted your aunt that last mercy he never owed her, she would not have hidden us."

Teddy's blood froze in his veins. This, he had never heard.

"What do you take from this story?" Gran asked, as if this was one of their lessons.

"Kindness," Teddy said, finally. "That doing what's right is always returned."

"Duty," Gran said. "People have duties to one another and you and I are surviving because of those. And so we will do our duty and stay here, stay quiet, and let the past rest so that you have a future."

Her voice cracked on that word, future, and Teddy felt like he might break too. What kind of future did he have here, in hiding?

Gran took a deep breath to steady herself.

"I gave you those letters because you turned fourteens. You were meant to be old enough, mature enough, to read them. Don't make me regret my decision."

One of the things Harry had given Teddy wasn't a letter at all. At first, Teddy hadn't noticed—it was just a blank piece of parchment with a note clipped to it. It blended in with all the other scraps Harry had salvaged to write on.

"Your father returned this to me when he stopped being my teacher and therefore responsible for the trouble I got into. He made it, along with my dad and their friends. Tap your wand and say 'I solemnly swear to it that you're up to no good.' 'Mischief managed' will close it back up. Like your dad, I take no responsibility for the trouble you get into but hope to hear all about it."

Teddy fell in love with the Marauder's Map right away. He'd always known he'd never go to Hogwarts, and though he loved his lessons with Gran, the layout of the castle blew his mind. He wondered which students were the same age as him. What house would he be in? What class would he be best at if Gran wasn't shaping the curriculum to his interests and needs and the skills she wanted him to have in an emergency? Would he like his professors? Would they like him? Watching the map was like watching a meteor shower or a firework display—he knew what it would look like and could anticipate the shapes and colours of the map, but it was fresh and anew every time he looked at it.

Until the middle of the night one day, when Neville Longbottom, followed by Seamus Finnegan, Ginny Weasley, and Hannah Abbott appeared on the seventh floor of the castle.

Teddy solemnly swore, they appeared out of nowhere. Eyes wide, he watched them go down to the kitchen, to the potions laboratory, back to the seventh floor… and vanish.

When he asked, Gran said that it was impossible to Apparate on Hogwarts' grounds.

Borrowing the gardener's likeness again, Teddy stepped out in broad daylight. He had never done this before, but today was an opportunity he had never seen before. Scorpius Malfoy was playing outside while Gran was asleep in her rocking chair—exhausted from a night of arthritis pain and poor sleep. He grabbed Gran's watering can, as if a prop made this less mad, and went to see Scorpius.

"Hello Scorpius," Teddy said, heart beating in his throat. Harry's words were swirling in his head. The snake was there when he was reborn and it's always with him in my dreams. It's a symbol of his heritage as Slytherin's Heir. The snake's one. I feel it, just like I feel that the answers are in Hogwarts.

When Scorpius grinned, Teddy saw that his two front teeth were missing—leaving him with an adorable smile.

"What are you up to?" Teddy asked.

"Mama said to put seeds in bird feeder," Scorpius said.

"Well done," Teddy said. "Say, Scorpius, I was wondering if you could help me with something. Like a…" He tried to think of things from his childhood that Scorpius might possibly know. "It's like a scavenger hunt, when you have to find a list of things."

"Yah!" Scorpius said, grinning again. Teddy nearly felt bad but he couldn't back down. This stunt was absolute madness and there was no way he would be able to attempt it again.

"I was wondering if you had seen a snake somewhere around here," Teddy said. He swallowed hard and his stomach sank to his feet when Scorpius grinned and nodded.

"Gran?" Teddy asked one night, after he had thrown another log on the fire to tide them through the night.

"Yes, dear?" Gran asked.

"What would happen to me if something happened to you?" Teddy asked.

"Oh, sweetheart," Gran said. "I know I'm old and my health is acting up, but try not to worry."

"But what if?" Teddy asked. "I need to know. Just like you taught me how to Apparate in case of emergencies. These… these letters, they're teaching me to be prepared. To have a plan."

"Well, your Aunt Narcissa would take care of you," Gran said. "And if not… well, your parents had friends. Not every member of the Order of the Phoenix was captured at the Last Battle. There's a couple, I think they're French—the wife definitely is… I did not know them well... Regardless, they work as smugglers, out of The Hog's Head, a shady pub in Hogsmeade. Rebels, defactors, young Muggleborn children, students, half-breeds… they smuggle them to France."

"If something happened to you I should go there?" Teddy checked.

"I think so, sweetheart," Gran said. "But don't worry about that."

"What will you do?" Teddy asked. "If something happened to me?"

"Nothing will happen to you." Gran insisted.

"Gran…" Teddy said.

"Well, if something happened to you I wouldn't have any reason to stay here where the Fidelius Charm protects you," Gran said. "I would try to leave England as well. Perhaps I would go back to London, where your grandfather had family."

"Okay," Teddy said. He felt somewhat reassured.

Teddy had never been in Malfoy Manor before. He wished that he had an equivalent of the Marauders Map, tucked into his knapsack, guiding him. But he couldn't look unsure. He had made himself look like Amycus Carrow, who taught at Hogwarts and was often pictured in The Prophet, giving Teddy a chance to get to know his face and practise the disguise. Carrow would know how to get to the place where the Death Eaters met, though Teddy was going off a six-year-old's instructions at the moment.

He heard the meeting before he could actually pick out words, sounds, and voices. Part of him wanted to run away, because it wasn't too late to do that yet. But Harry's letters were tucked in his knapsack too, though he'd practically memorized them. Being a Gryffindor didn't teach me much about being brave, I just had to be. I didn't choose my life and I wouldn't have chosen it, either. But I didn't have a choice. I had to do the right thing—for my friends, for the family I had left, and now for you.

He reached into his knapsack and took a deep breath before pulling out the disgusting chunk of meat he'd gotten from the Malfoys' house elf.

He dropped it on the floor and waited, hoping that it would work.

Then, from the meeting room, a snake slithered out. It was bigger than Teddy could have imagined, and if it had teeth…

He ducked into a perpendicular hall and peeked around the corner as the snake slithered towards its meal. His veins were full of fire and his stomach became a rock quarry. He had never wanted to do something more and he had never wanted to do something less, but he raised his wand and pointed it to the snake.

"Avada Kedavra," he said.

Teddy hadn't expected the spell to be as powerful as it was. When his wand blasted a green jet, he stumbled to the ground. He fell on his wrist badly and shouted in shock, which immediately drew attention.

Death Eaters emerged while Teddy was too shocked to move. He had done it. He had cast a curse and he had killed… Merlin's Beard, he had killed something. He had killed a living thing and—and a Horcrux and…

Voldemort himself emerged—pale, terrifying, barely human, just like Harry had described him…

He roared.

"An imposter," he told his Death Eaters. "Get him!"

The first spell that hit Teddy sent him tumbling back, and when he lost his concentration he dropped the disguise and revealed himself.

Tufty blue hair. Freckles on his cheeks. A chipped tooth. Left ear slightly lower than the right. Chocolate brown eyes. Spindly limbs.

"A Metamorphmagus," one of the Death Eaters gasped.

Someone cackled. When Teddy saw her, he was shocked at how much she looked like Gran—until he saw how mean she appeared and how proudly she wore her Dark Mark. If Gran had aged like an oak, strong and grounded and proud, this witch had curled up into herself and rotted like an ill apple tree. He could guess who she was; the great aunt he had never been allowed to meet, Bellatrix.

"My, my. Where have you been gone for so long? It's itty, bitty Teddy Lupin," she cackled.

"That's the first time I've heard my name out loud," Teddy blurted.

And then he Apparated; away from Malfoy Manor and to the Hog's Head.