The Godson

☆~Another Letter, and Longing~☆

After Nick left and we had completed cleaning up, Gran and I sat in the lawn, looking at the stars.

“Tonks loved to make bonfires here, with your Grandpa. The fun they had with the Incendio charm and the marshmellows which sprayed cream all over me, when I warned them about doing magic in the open!” She said, with a faraway smile. “Never cared much about rules.”

I smiled too, trying to visualize Mom making jets of red appear from her wand and roasting mellows.

“Gran.”

“Hmm?”

“Tell me about Dad.”

She sighed. “I didn’t know him long enough, Teddy. But, I know he loved your Mom.”

I waited.

“At first, we were a bit wary of our daughter marrying a werewolf. Then, we met him. He was a brave man. Bit quiet, I reckon. But, nice. Edward liked him a lot.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t get to spend much time with him. Your parents got married at a time when things were darker than the night. Then, they had you."

I nodded.

“Come Teddy, it’s time for bed”, she said, gently tugging me. “Harry’s owl came earlier this evening. You are going to Diagon Alley with him tomorrow.”

My face lit up at once.

“And, guess what, you’ll be travelling by floo powder”, she added. “On your own.”

I was excited beyond words. Diagon Alley with Uncle Harry and floo powder on my own! That was enough to send me running up the stairs, so I could jump on my bed and write a letter to Nick.

As expected, Pip was in. He was sitting on the sill and cuddling himself.

“Pip!” I cried. “I’m going to Diagon Alley tomorrow. Uncle Harry is taking me. Isn’t that amazing?” His big, round eyes became attentive at once. He hooted obediently.

I was about to sit at my desk and start writing when my eyes fell on something.

At first, I thought that it was just a spare bit of parchment that I had left under the table carelessly. However, when I bent down to pick it up, I noticed a faint glow around it. A glow which kept changing from red to green, then to blue, settled on pink, then restarted its cycle again.

I stopped. Gran had always warned me about things like this, jinxed and unknown, and the dangers they posed. But, this didn’t look cursed. It looked quite harmless.

Then, I heard the faint whisper from it. “Pick me up, child! Pick me up.” The voice was gentle and soothing, and the curiousity too hard to resist. I picked it up.

My hand felt the warmth of the glow and wrapped around the parchment. Since, nothing happened to me, I assumed that it wasn’t cursed. I started reading.

Dear Teddy,

The first time I looked into your eyes, I saw your father’s brown eyes reflected on mine; and I knew straightaway that you are a blessing.

If you are reading this letter, it must be your eleventh birth day and I must be dead. You have received your Hogwarts letter. It’s a day you ought to remember all your life- your first walk in, through those doors.

It’s such a pity that I’m not there to hug you myself and buy you your first wand, but know this: I’m incredibly proud of you and I’m so sorry I couldn’t spend more time with you.

Today, I must leave. Your father needs me by his side more than you do, dear. Moreover, the school needs us all.

If I return victorious, this letter will burn itself (I know a fair few tricks with Incendio). If I don’t, it will find its way to you on this day.

A wonderful world awaits you, Ted. Be a great wizard, but above all, be a good wizard.

With lots of love,

Mum.

I was dumbstruck. My heart filled with a familiar longing. A longing to know my parents better.

But here it was: the very last thing my mother had held before leaving me. It still felt warm and on bringing it closer, I smelt lavender shampoo.

I gently kept it into the Memory jar Nick had given me. I felt a sudden urge to go downstairs and look at Mum’s picture.

While I was tiptoeing down the stairs, I heard a soft sniffing sound. Before I was down in the hall, I saw her. 

Gran was sitting on the couch, looking older than ever, gently weeping and staring at their picture. She seemed to be talking to herself. Then, my eyes fell on something white and silvery, sitting by her feet. It was shining with brilliance, beyond any magic I had seen in these eleven years of life.

A pure silver unicorn.

It seemed to be cheering her up. Since her back was towards me, she didn’t see me standing there. I thought it best not to intrude on her privacy, and went back to my room.

Before I went to bed, my eyes fell on the mirror. I saw a reflection of a much younger me, staring with hope. Perhaps a hope to have a father with whom he could make his first tree house, a mother who would teach him bonfires.