Hey you guys! I finished Deathly Hallows and as soon as I learned about Teddy, I was extremely intrigued. I spent monday brainstorming ideas and then I started writing this. I'm really excited because I don't know of any other Teddy Lupin fics yet, so there's a chance I might be the first person!

Okay, this doesn't have a lot of JK Rowling's famous unseen plot twists, but as my loyal readers know, that's not really my foray. My strengths lie in writing love stories. :) Although this chapter is hardly romantic, it's really more of a 'laying the foundations' chapter.

So I hope everyone will enjoy it! Let me know how you like it!

Prologue

"Oh, Ted," Andromeda swooned, grinning at her grandson. "Don't you look handsome?"

"Gram…" Teddy grumbled, though he didn't really mind her sighs and weepy goodbyes, as evident by his only partially embarrassed smile.

"Cut her some slack, Teddy," Ginny cut in, smiling at him and ruffling his bright blue hair. "You are quite the looker."

"Thanks," he muttered, returning their smiles.

"Blimey," Harry said to Teddy. "Why so shy? I've never heard you be so quiet in your entire life."

"I don't know anyone, Harry," Teddy said softly to his godfather, glancing around at all the other children, all of whom seemed to have a million friends already, while he knew no one.

"You know me!" James piped up excitedly, grabbing at Teddy's left leg and latching on around his lower thigh. "You can take me with you!"

"Me 'oo!" shouted Albus, grinning as he threw himself on Teddy's other leg, latching on at his knee.

"Ah, ah, ah," Harry tisked, detaching James and Albus from Teddy's appendages. "You two have to stay with us."

"Aw…" Albus groaned, crossing his arms over his chest indignantly.

"Why?" James whined, looking up at Harry.

"Because you have to stay home and help me with Al," Ginny said to James, setting her hand on his head. James still did not abandon his pout, but the answer seemed to satisfy him. "And you, my cheeky monkey," Ginny said, directing this comment to Albus, "I will simply miss you too much to let you go."

"Mummy!" Albus moaned, clasping his little hands together in a desperate plea, staring up at his mother with sad puppy eyes.

"If you go, you're gonna miss Mummy having her baby," Harry warned him. Albus gasped, then clung to his mother's side with the tenacity of a blood-sucking leech.

"Sowwee, Teddy," Albus said, his voice muffled as his head was pressed up against Ginny's side.

"S'okay," Teddy laughed.

Just then, Harry's watch beeped at him.

"Only five minutes," he read off. "Okay, let's say our goodbyes. Our real goodbyes."

"Good luck, Ted," Ginny said, quickly corralling him into a hug. "Not that you need it, but still. Promise you'll write us?"

"Of course," Teddy assured her. Though Ginny wasn't technically related to him, Teddy had come to think of her as a surrogate mother, just as Harry was a sort of surrogate father.

"We love you, Teddy!" both James and Albus declared, rushing up to Teddy after Ginny had stepped back. He kneeled down to give them each a proper hug. Just like with Ginny and Harry, James and Albus and even the new baby were definitely part of his family; for all intents and purposes, they were his younger brothers and potential sister or brother.

"I love you too," Teddy said, ruffling both their hair, although there was very little change, as both the boys had inherited James's untidy hair. "You be good for your Mum, both of you! I'll see you at Christmas."

"Your room will be ready for you as soon as you get off for break," Ginny said, prying the boys off of Teddy. Teddy lived with Harry and Ginny, and so that Andromeda could be close to him, they had let her move in.

Then his grandmother came up to him and gave him a hug as well. He knew would miss them all terribly, his grandmother most of all, as she was the only link he had left to his mother. She smelt of peppermint and her flowery soap, and Teddy took a deep whiff, enjoying it for when she wouldn't be around at school.

"Goodbye, darling," she said, getting teary-eyed. She simply gazed at him for a few moments, memorizing his face. "Goodness, you look so much like Dora… course, there's plenty of your father, but just remind me of her so…" She offered a watery grin, and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"I'll make them proud, Gram," Teddy assured her, speaking so low that only she would hear it.

"Oh my dear boy," she smiled, tears rolling down her cheek. "You already have."

He gave her one last hug and murmured, "I love you, Gram," in her ear.

"I'll help you get your things on board," Harry said once Teddy and Andromeda had finished saying goodbye, grabbing his trunk. "Here, Ted, grab Samson's cage and your book bag and I'll get your trunk."

"Bye, guys," Teddy said to them all. There was a general murmur of farewell and then the two of them brought all of his things and set them on the train.

"Thanks, Harry," Teddy said, smiling unsurely.

"Ted, don't worry about a thing," Harry insisted, recognizing his expression immediately. "You will love Hogwarts."

"What if I don't understand the classes?" Teddy asked, looking down at his trainers.

"They aren't terribly difficult, and you're a smart lad," Harry assured him. "You'll catch on."

"What if the teachers are psycho?"

"That's completely inevitable, Ted."

"How can I get to the kitchens after hours without getting caught?"

"With this," Harry said, reaching into his jacket to retrieve a folded-up old cloak. He gazed at it nostalgically for a moment—Teddy had the rather stupid thought that Harry felt as though he owed his life to it—and then handed it to Teddy.

"What's this?" Teddy asked, feeling the silky material in his fingers.

"My Invisibility Cloak," Harry told him, beaming at it.

"No way," Teddy said, gazing at it with wide eyes, his mouth hanging agape. "Harry, I can't—"

"Yeah you can," Harry said, not allowing him to attempt to give it back. "Oh, and this is for you too." He reached into his jacket again and pulled out a piece of tattered, yellowed old parchment, handing it to Teddy as well. "The Marauder's Map."

"And it is…?"

"A map of Hogwarts. You can see every passage, every floor, every room and every person in Hogwarts at all times. And the most exciting part?" Harry pointed to the names listed atop the front page.

"Messers Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs…" Teddy read off, then looked up at Harry. "Who are they?"

"Prongs was my dad," Harry said, "Padfoot was Sirius, we don't really care about Wormtail, and Mooney was your dad."

"No joke?" he asked excitedly.

"No joke," Harry confirmed, glad that Teddy liked the map so much. "Your dad gave it to me in my third year, ironically after he'd confiscated it from me. Me and Gin think you ought to have it."

"Really?" Teddy asked, his face lighting up.

"Yeah," Harry said, nodding. "The only thing we ask in that you pass it on to James once you graduate."

"Of course," Teddy agreed enthusiastically.

"Anymore irrational questions?" Harry asked good-naturedly.

"Sorry…" Teddy sighed, grinning. "I'm just nervous."

"I know," Harry said, "that's what's so hard to wrap my mind around. You're Teddy Lupin! Fearless conqueror of air and land! I remember when you were a toddler, you used to turn round the neighborhood in your nappy and charm the pants off all the neighbors. Just last week you were chatting up that new neighbor girl and seeing how far off the ground you'd have to be to jump off your broom and still be able to summon it before you hit the ground. All I can say is it's a damn good thing that they make Self-summoning brooms nowadays, otherwise you'd be dead."

"I know, I know," Teddy sighed, kicking the floor. "I just… how am I supposed to make any friends with my… you know." Teddy widened his eyes, trying to signal to Harry what he meant.

"Ted, you've got it under control," Harry assured him. "You have the lunar calendar, and we'll remind you in our letters when the full moon is coming. Then when it does, just go up to the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey will help you out. And don't worry about making friends, you are an awesome kid and you'll make friends in no time."

Just then, the warning whistle blared, signaling that there was only a minute till the train would pull away from Platform 9 ¾.

"I gotta go," Harry said, hopping of the train. "But word to the wise: a great way to make friends is to go sit with someone who's alone in a compartment. And try for another First Year, you can always tell them because they're not wearing the uniform yet." Harry waved a hand at Teddy's clothes which were also street clothes—a t-shirt, slim jeans and a pair of trainers.

"Alright, thanks," Teddy said, suddenly beginning to feel very alone, even though Harry was still standing right in front of him.

"Teddy, relax!" Harry said, smiling. "Trust me, Hogwarts has a strange way of making you feel remarkably at home."

He had barely finished the word 'home' before the Hogwarts Express began to chug to life.

"You'll be great, Teddy!" Harry called, stepping back by Ginny, the boys and Andromeda.

"Be good!" Andromeda shouted, waving as tears glistened in her eyes.

"Have fun!" Ginny yelled, smiling proudly.

"Not too much!" Andromeda added, the motherly tone all too evident in her voice.

Teddy waved to them until the Hogwarts Express had turned a corner, leaving Platform 9 ¾ out of sight but far from out of mind.

He figured it would probably be a good idea to attempt to use Harry's advice, seeing as he couldn't stand in the hallway for the rest of the day. He grabbed the handle on his trunk, readjusted his grip on Samson's—his Great Horned Owl's—cage and set off down the hallway.

As Teddy trudged down the aisle way with his fellow classmates hustling and bustling up and down it as well, there seemed to be an infinite amount of empty compartments. Teddy knew that the birth rate from the year he was born and the couple of years previous were notoriously low, seeing as Voldemort had been running about and no one had wanted to bring a child into the world, but he suspected that the reason there seemed to be so many free compartments was because he wanted so badly to enter one and simply sit alone. But he knew Harry was right; if he was ever gonna meet some friends he'd have to suck it up and do it.

Almost as if by divine intervention, the next compartment he came to was entirely empty save for small, rather gangly girl about his age, with bluish eyes, somewhat stylish black-rimmed glasses, and honey-colored hair. Plus, she was wearing street clothes—a swishy skirt, combat boots, a hooded t-shirt and headphones as big as earmuffs—and as Harry had said, that usually signaled a First Year. She seemed innocuous enough, kind and even intriguing. Weird in a good way, like himself. Teddy figured he probably wouldn't find a better prospect for a friend, so he slid the door open a bit.

"Do you mind if I share the compartment with you?" Teddy asked, poking his head in. She did not seem to notice, as she continued to stare out the train window with a thoughtful look plastered on her face, and after a moment Teddy realized it was because the music coming through her headphones was too loud for her to hear properly. He stepped into the compartment and lightly tapped her on the shoulder.

The instant his finger met her shoulder, she jumped up, startled to the nth degree. The reaction resembled some scene from a melodrama, only Teddy was somehow sure it was entirely genuine. This vast overreaction even caused Teddy to jump out of his skin, his heart sent racing.

"Goodness, you scared me," the girl said once she realized Teddy wasn't a serial killer or a gone-mad ex-Death Eater on a killing rampage, putting her hand her chest.

"You scared me too," Teddy said, letting out a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself.

"What do you have to be scared of?" the girl asked, straightening her glasses, which had shifted during her overreaction. If anyone else had used her tone, they might've been seen as rude, haughty even, but something about her made Teddy believe otherwise. "I don't see anyone sneaking up on you. Or are you simply scared of oddballs armed with combat boots and headphones?"

She said it with a good-natured smile upon her face. Teddy liked her smile; it seemed very honest and real, nothing about it forced or fake.

"No, I'm afraid of girls in glasses with crazy reactions," Teddy said, returning the smile. She let out a giggle, but not a giggle like those brainless halfwits who took pride in flipping their hair and finding their perfect shade of lip gloss from a quiz in Witch Weekly. It was more like a cute little laugh, a burst of melodious sound.

"I'm sorry," she sighed with a smile, pulling her headphones off her ears so they rested at her neck. "I scare easily."

"Really," Teddy said sarcastically, laughing a bit. "D'you mind if I share the compartment?"

"No other friends to sit with?" she asked sympathetically.

"Um... no, but if you'd rather alone, I can leave…" Teddy muttered sheepishly, scooting back towards the door.

"No, don't go!" she said desperately, grabbing his arm. "I'm sorry again, I'm afraid I don't have a lot of tact. Or any, really. But honestly, if you really don't have any friends, please stay. I haven't got any either."

"Well, I don't have any here," Teddy said, sitting down on the seat opposite of her.

"Same," she said. "But I don't see how you don't have any friends. I mean," she leaned forward and waved her hand at his hair, "you've have wicked blue hair, mate! It's bloody fantastic!"

"Your hair's cool too, though," Teddy said truthfully. For the most part it was normal, the warm honey tone and the straight texture, but she had thick, full fringe that cut right above her eyes. It wasn't a particularly trendy cut, but it suited her face and personality to perfection.

"Oh please," she said, shrugging off the comment. "I'm blonde with bangs, you can find that by the dozen here. So did you dye it, or what?"

"Oh, my hair?" Teddy said, his hand jumping to it almost involuntarily. "I didn't dye it, my mum was a Metamorph and now I am too."

"Nice," the girl said, missing his accidental slip. "So what's your name?"

"Teddy Lupin," he said.

"Ah, Cassandra Devereaux," she said, extending her hand out for him to shake. "Cass, actually." They shook hands and then sat there for a moment. "So, are you the oldest, middle, youngest or only?"

"Child, right?" Teddy asked, and Cass nodded. "Only."

"Aw, too bad," Cass said, tilting her head.

"I'm guessing you're not," he commented.

"Nope," she said, shaking her head. "I am the oldest of six."

"Six?" he asked incredulously, his mouth hanging agape.

"Yup," she said, raising her eye brows. "My parents were pretty hippie-ish and weren't big into birth control." She looked like was going to continue for a moment, but instead embarked on a new topic. "So what about your parents? Not into big families?"

"Uh…" Teddy stammered. He always dreaded questions people asked him about his parents. He wasn't ashamed—far from it—but if he lied about them he'd feel badly, but if he told the truth, he'd be peppered with "I'm sorry"s and pity. "They… died. A couple months after I was born."

He looked down, fidgeting with his fingers. He furtively glanced at Cass, expecting to see shock and pity playing across her face.

But there seemed to be none. She did—however—look like she wanted to say something, but couldn't figure out what.

"Listen, Teddy, I lost my mum too," she said, leaning forward, propping herself up with her elbows on her knees. "When she gave birth to my younger sisters, there was some… complication or something. And my dad loved her so much and was so devastated by it that he followed within a year. So I know what you're feeling, I suppose. I know what it's like for people to look at me like I'm some grieving basket case." She paused for a second. "So I won't say I'm sorry or that it's terrible because we already know that both are true. I'll listen if you wanna talk, but you don't have to."

Teddy looked at her for a moment, scarcely believing that she was real.

"For someone who doesn't have any tact, that was pretty well said," Teddy managed to say, offering a small smile.

"Yeah, well," she said with a big smile, "I never said I didn't have my moments."

Sorry, couldn't think of a better way to end it, I just wrote it and I was like, hey that's not bad!

Please review! I really, REALLY wanna know how you guys like it. Even if you hate it, tell me! Flames are accepted, but not exactly welcomed. If you don't like it, then just tell me what was bad about it, not that it sucked terribly.

A new chapter will be up soon!

mmb