I've decided to split this next bit in half, aren't I nice to you?

Six, part three, Grey

Teddy was walking down an extremely familiar looking street, although he couldn’t really be sure where he was. He noticed places where trees and bushes were missing, doors that were the wrong colour. The houses became more spread out the further he walked. He thought that he recognised a particular house and went to investigate. The door was open, so he walked in. In the sitting room two people were posing for a photograph. They too were very familiar. The man looked tired; his tawny hair was sprinkled liberally with grey. He was smiling widely as he hugged the woman. Teddy thought that she was beautiful; her hair was a vibrant pink. She was holding a small baby whose hair was changing colour. It was purple and then blue and now grey…

Suddenly he knew who they were, where they were. He had been given that photograph in an ornate pewter frame for his eleventh birthday. He was in his Gran’s house. She was walking into the room now, followed by a young man with red hair who was carrying a tray with tea things on it.

“Fred dear, just put it on that side table. Thank you.”

Fred? Fred Weasley? So, all these people were dead? Did that mean that he was dead too?

“Ginny, do you take sugar?”

“Just half a teaspoon please.”

Ginny. Teddy was sure that she was alive. If she was here too, then maybe he wasn’t dead after all.

“How about you George, do you take sugar?”

“Oh, no thanks Mrs Tonks. I’m sweet enough.”

George. Well, if two living people were here, then he probably wasn’t dead. That thought made Teddy feel a little bit more cheerful but there was still the fact that no one had noticed that he was in the room. What in the name of Merlin was going on?

He listened as they chatted and finished their tea. He drank in his parent’s voices, his mother’s easy jokes and his father’s hoarse laugh. Eventually Ginny, Fred and George said their goodbyes and went home. His parents and his grandmother chatted for a while longer, eventually saying goodnight and going upstairs to bed. Teddy followed his parents, as though drawn to them magnetically. In his childhood bedroom there was a double bed and a cot waiting for them. His mother lay his infant self down in the cot and crossed to a set of draws. She pulled out a small package and said “Happy Birthday Darling!”

His father laughed. “That was last month!”

“I was a bit busy being pregnant last month. Besides, I accidentally left it here.”

His father carefully opened the present. It was a beautiful silver cloak pin that that was set with moonstones which gleamed silver blue in the candlelight. Teddy recognised it; he used it to fasten his own cloak.

“It’s beautiful, thank you.” They kissed passionately and Teddy looked out of the window. The view was very much the same one that he had enjoyed as he grew up. His mother’s voice brought his attention back into the room.

“Remus, if we both die, what will happen to him?”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“It might.” She smiled sadly. “I can’t believe that I’m the one who’s being rational.”

“If that happens, then Harry and your mother will do an excellent job of raising him. He’ll know that we love him and that we died trying make the world a better place for him.”

“And if they die?”

“Then Hermione, or Molly and Arthur, or Ginny, or Kingsley or Bill and Fleur will step in. There are enough people who love our son to make sure that he’s raised properly.”

“I can’t help but worry…”

“Of course you worry, that’s what makes you a good mother. Our son is going to grow up to be a great wizard and more importantly, he’ll live to be an old man because somehow, we are going get rid of You-Know-Who.”

Teddy noticed that both his parents were surrounded by a glowing white light, their voices were becoming increasing difficult to hear, as though they were on the wireless and someone was turning them down.

“You seem very certain.”

“I am. I wasn’t before Teddy came along, but now I just know that our side is going to win. We have to…”

The light coming from his parents was blinding now and Teddy was forced to close his eyes. He couldn’t hear his parents any more. He slowly opened his eyes and realised that they were gone. He blinked rapidly; the light was still blinding him. Very slowly, the room came into focus. He seemed to be in a hospital ward of some sort. It wasn’t the one at Hogwarts, but there were similarities. The beds were neatly made, there were curtains to afford the patients privacy, tables on wheels and a large cupboard that was presumably full of potions and remedies. Teddy realised that he was completely alone. He tried to sit up, but he couldn’t. It felt as though someone had filled his body with lead, everything was just too heavy to try to move.

There was a sound at the door and a Healer walked in, a large potion bottle in one hand. It looked as though she had an upturned goldfish bowl on her head. Teddy recognised the Bubble Head charm and tried to smile but even his lips felt heavy.

Padma Patil looked down at Teddy and was surprised to see that his eyes were open. She still had no idea what was wrong with him, all the investigations had been fruitless. She had started to consider how to tell his family and friends that he was unlikely to ever recover.

“Hello Mr Lupin. How are you feeling?”

Teddy tried to say, “Heavy” but found it difficult to form the words. Instead he let out a small groan.

“Don’t worry about talking, just nod or shake your head. Are you tired?”

Teddy slowly shook his head. The more he tried to move, the more he found he could.

“Do you remember feeling ill?”

Teddy shook his head again. The last thing he could remember was eating a meal at Harry’s house.

Padma removed the Bubble Head charm. Whatever had been wrong with Teddy, she very much doubted that it was contagious. She performed a number of spells, took his pulse tested his reflexes. They were rather slow, but they were present.

“Well there are some people outside who is most anxious to see you. Do you feel up to seeing them?”

Teddy nodded slowly.

“Very well then, I’ll send them in.”

She walked out of the ward. Harry and Ron were sitting together, having a quiet conversation. They stopped talking and stood up when they saw her.

“Any change?”

“He’s awake.”

Ron let out a shaky laugh. Harry embraced Padma, lifting her off her feet and swinging her around.

“Yes, well,” she said when he finally put her down, “because it’s been six weeks, he’s very weak. It will take a while for him to get back to normal. We’ll keep him here until he’s a bit stronger, I want to monitor his progress.”

“Do you know what was wrong with him?”

She shook her head. “We may never know. The cause could have been emotional, given what you’ve told me about how he reacted to the death of his grandmother. It sounds to me as though he did not accept that she had died, rather that he ran away from the fact. Eventually your have to face the pain and the grief, and for Mr Lupin it manifested itself physically. You can go in and see him, but only for a few minutes. Try and be as calm as possible.”

Harry and Ron thanked Padma, both of them hugging her. They slipped through the door as quietly as they could.

Teddy’s hair was still grey, he still looked very pale and thin but his eyes were open. Harry and Ron sat down next to the bed.

“Alright mate? You had us worried there.”

Teddy tried to smile and found that his lips twitched at the corners. He tried to speak again, “Vvvvvv”.

Ron grinned. “Victoire? She’s at work, but I’ll go and get her if you want me to.”

Teddy nodded. Ron stood up and squeezed Teddy’s shoulder. “It’s good to have you back mate.” He slipped quietly out of the ward. Harry took Teddy’s hand, squeezing it, almost making sure that he was real.

“You’ve got to stay here a while until you are strong enough to come home. You’re going to come and stay with us until you’re completely better. No arguments. I’m responsible for you, so you’re going to do what you’re told for a change. Understand?”

Teddy nodded. Harry might have been expecting him to argue, but he could think of nowhere that he would rather go. After experiencing how intense his parent’s love really was, he wanted to be surrounded by his family.