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“Where are they?” Remus asks as he paces back and forth in the living room of the Weasley’s home. It’s the day of the big family gathering, and there’s one guest Remus and his wife have been anticipating.
“They’ll be here soon, Remus. It’s still early in the day,” Molly tries to assure him.
“Look, we’ve been waiting a long time for this moment, Molly,” Remus grumbles, glancing out the window. He looks over when his wife walks beside him, placing a comforting hand on his back.
“Relax, darling. Like Molly said, they’ll be here soon. We have to be patient,” Tonks says softly.
“Are you sure you two want to do this?” Molly asks, stepping closer to them. “There’s no going back once you do this. Teddy is grown now, but a lot has changed since you last saw your son.”
“We know the risks. There’s a chance he will be upset, and he will have every right. But, we swore that we wouldn’t introduce ourselves to him until he was eighteen, and he’s eighteen now. He’s grown up, and we think it’s time. I don’t want to live another day without knowing my son,” Remus says.
As the day goes on, more people arrive at the Weasley’s burrow. Remus and Tonks grow impatient.
Finally, Teddy arrives at the burrow with his boyfriend, the son of Harry Potter. They two been the talk of the town for the past couple of months after coming out to the wizarding world. They’ve been on every headline, and it doesn’t help that James is one of the wizarding world’s best newest Quidditch player.
“Merlin’s beard! It’s raining bloody cats and dogs out there!” Teddy exclaims as he and James walk into the burrow. He shakes his head, trying to get rid of his now wet hair. He looks over at James and grins when he sees how ridiculous his boyfriend looks with his wet hair. “You’re soaked.”
“And you’re not?” James retorts, reaching over to flick Teddy’s ear.
Teddy scowls at James, and looks over when he hears someone shout James’ name, and sees the two youngest Potter kids running over to greet James. Teddy laughs, and takes a step back out of the way, allowing his boyfriend to reunite with his younger siblings.
“Alright, you heathens. Off ,” James says, gently pushing the two away.
“But we haven’t seen you in months!” Albus whines.
“Well I’m here now, aren’t I?” James retorts, sticking his tongue out at Albus.
“Goodness. Leave them alone, James. You know how they get,”
James looks up and smiles when he sees his mother. He walks over to her and pulls her in for a hug. “Good to see you again, mum. Keeping everybody in line?”
“It’s what I do best,” Ginny replies. She pulls away and looks over at Teddy. “Teddy, hello dear.”
“Hello, Mrs. Potter. Thanks for letting me join today,”
Ginny waves him off. “You’re part of the family now too. Please, call me, Ginny. Which, speaking of. Teddy, there’s uh, there’s some people here that I’d like to introduce you too,”
Teddy blinks. “Me?” He asks, and he glances over at James with worry.
“Don’t look at me. I don’t know anything about this,” James says instantly, shaking his head.
Teddy frowns, and he follows Ginny into the living room. He blinks when he sees a man and a woman standing by the couch. Then, Teddy recognizes them, and his eyes widen as soon as he realizes.
“Teddy,” the woman speaks first, stepping forward.
“No,” Teddy spits out, shaking his head. “No, no. No. We are not doing this.”
“Teddy?” James asks, frowning slightly at his boyfriend.
“We’re not doing this,” Teddy repeats, before turning around and storming out of the house.
James’ eyes widen as he watches Teddy leave. “Teddy-!”
“James, don’t. Let him have his space,” Ginny warns before James can go after him.
James turns to look at his mother. “What do you mean? What’s going on?” He asks. He looks over at Teddy’s parents. “Who are you people? How do you know Teddy?”
“I don’t suppose Teddy has shown you any family photos, has he?” Tonks asks, remaining calm.
“No, how could he? His parents are-” James stops, and he stares at them. “You’re not… oh, bloody hell.”
Remus chuckles softly. “You really are like your father,”
“That’s an understatement,” Ginny agrees, nodding. “James, these are Teddy’s parents. They didn’t die. They were seriously injured in the war, and it took a long time for them to recover. By the time they were able to get back on their feet, Teddy was older. They had their own plan for how they wanted this all to go. They knew the risks, and it’s understandable that Teddy reacted the way he did.”
“You purposefully didn’t tell him that you were alive?” James asks. “That’s…” He scoffs, shaking his head. “I’m going to go find Teddy.” He turns, and also exits the house.
“Are you alright?” Molly asks, walking over to Remus and Tonks. “I know…”
“We knew there was a chance he would react like that,” Tonks says, nodding. “He needs time.”
“James will talk to him,” Ginny says softly.
“James seems like a lovely boy,” Remus adds, looking over at Ginny. “I’m glad Teddy was able to find someone like him to settle down with. They seem… good together.”
“James is wonderful, and so is Teddy. You’ve seen them in the headlines. They’re changing the world,” Ginny says, a proud smile on her face. “Harry and I couldn’t be prouder.”
“That’s right,”
Ginny looks up, and smiles as Harry walks behind her.
Eventually, James finds Teddy out in the woods, sitting on a rock near the water. He sighs softly, before walking over to his boyfriend. “Hey,” he says, before placing a hand on Teddy’s arm.
“I’m not going back in there,” Teddy mumbles, not looking at James.
“I wasn’t going to force you to,” James whispers. “I mean, I can’t blame you for reacting the way you did. They’ve been alive this whole time, and you never knew. I’m sure they had their reasons but…”
“I thought they were dead!” Teddy shouts, finally looking at James. “Everyone told me that they died, and so that’s what I knew my whole life. But, they’re not dead at all. My parents are inside that fucking house. Looking quite alive and well!” He takes a deep breath as tears begin to form in his eyes.
“I know,” James whispers, pulling Teddy close to him and squeezing him gently. “I know, love. No one is going to blame you if you don’t want to meet them right now. It’s a lot for anyone to take in,”
Teddy sighs, burying his face in James’ chest. “You think I should talk to them?”
“I think you should,” James confirms, nodding. “But, only when you’re ready. They’ll understand.”
Teddy looks up at James. “Can we go home?” He asks. “I- I know it’s a family gathering, and we- we’ve been looking forward to this for months, but I can’t… I don’t wanna be here right now,”
James nods instantly. “Yeah, we can go. Of course we can go. Let me say goodbye first?”
“Yeah,” Teddy whispers, and he leans over to kiss James once. “Thank you. For just… being you.”
James chuckles, and kisses Teddy once more, before holding his hand out, and he smiles when Teddy instantly takes it. The two walk back to the house in silence.
Before James can go back inside, Teddy pulls him back.
“I’m not ready to talk to my parents yet. But, I’ll write to them. Eventually. Can you tell them? I’m not… fuck. I’m not mad. I promise I’m not. I just need time. A lot of time. You know, to think?”
“Teds, of course I’ll tell them, and I’m sure they’ll understand,” James says. He kisses Teddy’s cheek, before letting go and walking back inside the house. He takes a deep breath when he gets inside, and he sees various family members scattered around the house, catching up with each other. He spots Teddy’s parents still in the living room. His father is whispering words of comfort to his mother. James hesitates, before walking over to the couple. “Uh, hello?”
They both look over at him instantly. “Oh, you’re back?”
“Shortly. Teddy and I are heading home. He needs time to… take everything in. He wants you to know that he’ll write to you when he’s ready to talk. I’ll make sure he writes to you,” James says.
“Oh, thank you. I was afraid that…”
“Teddy’s not mad. He’s just… shocked. Anyone would be,” James says. “But, I’ve got to say goodbye to my family. It’s wonderful to meet you…?”
“Remus,” Remus tells him. “This is my wife, Nymphadora, but she’s always gone by Tonks.”
“Lovely to meet you. I’m sure we’ll see each other soon,” James says, giving them a polite smile, before going off to find his parents. It doesn’t take long before he finds them in the kitchen.
“You’re going to ruin the pie!” Ginny scolds as Harry messes with the pie.
“So what? You can always use magic to-”
“Harry James Potter. This pie was made with love by hand, and you will not be corrupting it with magic. You can wait for pie just like everybody else,” Ginny warns, and she glances over and sees James standing there with a grin on his face. “Oh, James. I didn’t hear you come in!”
“Didn’t expect you to when you’re yelling at dad,” James laughs. “Anyways. Uh, Teddy and I…”
“You’re leaving?” Ginny asks, frowning at her oldest son.
“Sorry, mum. I- We were both really looking forward to seeing everybody, but Teddy needs some time, and I want to be there for him. I promise we’ll make it up to you,” James apologizes.
“That’s alright dear, we understood,” Ginny says, before gently pulling James into a warm hug. “Teddy needs someone to be there for him at a time like this. Take care of him, and yourself.”
“You’ll come back to visit soon?” Harry asks, gently squeezing James’ shoulder when Ginny pulls away from the hug. “We hardly get to see you two these days. Too busy being famous.”
“Oh, shut up. We are not,” James says, rolling his eyes. “We’ll come back soon. I’ll make sure of it.”
“You’re leaving?”
James turns around when he hears another voice, and sees Albus standing behind him. “Oh, Al. Unfortunately, we are leaving,”
“But you just got here!”
“I’m sure you heard what happened Al, and I’ve got to take Teddy home. I’ll come back soon, alright?”
Albus pouts, before nodding. “Okay. As long as you promise,”
“Of course I promise. When have I ever broken one of my promises?” James asks, grinning. “Now, where’s Lily at? She’ll be mad if I leave without saying goodbye to her.”
“Uncle Ron is teaching her and Hugo how to play Wizard's Chess,” Albus says, grabbing James and leading the way to where their younger sister is sitting with their Uncle Ron and other family members.
It takes longer for James to say goodbye to everyone once everyone knows that he’s leaving.
Teddy is leaning against the house when James finally steps out from the house.
“Jesus, it took you long enough. I thought you were never going to make it out of there,” Teddy says.
“Okay, I’m sorry . I have a pretty fucking large family and everybody wanted to say goodbye to me, sheesh,” James retorts, poking Teddy in the side. “Are you ready to go, Teds?”
“Yeah,” Teddy breathes, nodding. “Please, let’s get out of here.”
James nods, giving Teddy one last reassuring smile before grabbing a hold of them and apparating them home to their apartment. Once they’re home, Teddy is much more relaxed, though James can tell that he’s definitely thinking about everything that’s happened in the past hour.
James decides to give Teddy as much space and time that he needs.
When a month passes, and Teddy hasn’t mentioned his parents again, James can’t help but be curious, and he’s only reminded of the situation because his mother has written to him about it.
“Hey Teds,” James greets when he gets home from Quidditch practice with his team. He finds Teddy in the kitchen. There’s paper surrounding him on the table, crumpled up pieces of paper too. “Hey, what’s going on?” He walks over and hugs his boyfriend from behind. “Are you writing a letter?”
“My parents,” Teddy admits. “I know you think I’ve forgotten, or that I’m trying to avoid it, but I’m not.”
James slowly lets go of Teddy, though he stays close by his side. “No, I… I just didn’t want to bother you about it. I know it’s still way too soon, and you deserve all the time in the world to think about it all. I mean, I was going to ask, but only because my mum has started asking me about it through her letters,”
Teddy nods. “I’m just struggling about what to say. I do want to meet them in person but, I…”
“Okay, so we can work on this together,” James says, jumping up onto the stool beside Teddy.
“We?” Teddy asks, blinking as he looks over at James.
“Yeah, we,” James repeats, reaching over to grab the letter from Teddy. “We’re in this together, Teds, okay? That’s what good boyfriends do for each other, especially when they’re in a family crisis.”
“I wouldn’t call it a family crisis,” Teddy mumbles.
“Unless, of course, you don’t want my help. I would understand,” James says.
“No, no. I… help would be greatly appreciated. I- thank you,” Teddy whispers, looking up at James with a shy smile, and he can’t help but roll his eyes when James gives him one of his signature grins.