It was two days before September first, two days before Teddy Lupin went off to Hogwarts.

At that moment, Harry climbed up the stairs of his house and stopped in front of a door. Harry knocked on Teddy’s room. His godson had been living with him for the entire summer since Andromeda Tonks left to visit some places in Canada. Fortunately, she will come back tomorrow to see her grandson off to Hogwarts.

“Come in,” said Teddy.

Harry walked in and saw Teddy’s room in a state of upheaval. He shoved aside some clothes off of Teddy’s bed and sat there. “Need some help with packing?”

“No, I’m fine…” Teddy’s voice trailed off, his eyes glancing at “Hairy Teddy” sitting on top of his pillow.

Harry’s green eyes travelled to where Teddy’s eyes had rested. “You’re not going to take Hairy Teddy?”

“I’m eleven, not five anymore, Harry.” Teddy made a face.

“Then can I keep him?” he asked, his tone light and teasing.

Teddy gave Harry such an incredulous look that the older man chuckled. “What? Can’t an old man like me keep a teddy bear?”

A long pause followed as if Teddy was deep in his thoughts. Finally, in a thoughtful and mature manner, he said, “I think I shall take it.” He grabbed Hairy Teddy and clutched it to his chest. “Besides, I think he’d be more comfortable to hug than a pillow.”

“Good choice. I think he’d also miss your presence.” Harry reached out and ruffled Teddy’s hair up.

Instead of getting indignant at Harry’s action, Teddy just smiled softly. “Yes, he’d miss me, and so would I.”

Harry was fixing snacks in the kitchen when he felt someone tugging on the end of his shirt. He stopped and looked down to see a very unhappy Teddy Lupin. He crouched down to meet the boy’s eyes and said, “What’s wrong, Teddy? Why the sad face?”

“I can’t find me and you…”

He blinked as he tried to process what his godson was trying to tell him. “You can’t find…me or you?”

“My teddy! It’s gone bye-bye!” Teddy’s lower lips pouted out as tears began to gather in his large eyes.

“Oh! You can’t find ‘Hairy Teddy’?” Harry gave the boy a reassuring smile. “Then let me find him for you.” He stood up and took out his wand. “Accio Hairy Teddy!”

Appearing out of nowhere, the teddy bear came flying into the kitchen, and Teddy, squealing with happiness, jumped up and down as the bear landed in his opened arms. “Hairy Teddy! It’s not bye-bye anymore! It’s hi-hi again.” Teddy beamed at Harry and then wrapped his thin arms around Harry. “Thank you!”

Pleased that Teddy found his constant companion, Harry ruffled Teddy’s hair. “You’re very welcome, Teddy. I’ll do anything to make you smile. Now how about that snack I promised you?”

Andromeda Tonks brings little Teddy to visit his godfather at Grimmauld 12. The three year-old clutches onto a teddy bear in one arm and holds hand with his grandmamma with the other.

Expecting their arrival, Harry sits there, highly anticipating their weekly visits. He stands up when he sees them, and Teddy, letting go of his grandmamma, runs on his short legs and allows Harry to pick him up and hug him tightly. He swings Teddy around, making the child laugh.

They both then wave goodbye to Andromeda. “I’ll be back in a few hours. Have fun, Teddy!” She leaves them.

Once inside, Teddy says, “This bear is me and you.”

Harry raises an eyebrow. “And just how is it the both of us, Teddy?”

“Well when me and Grandmamma went to a toy store, she said I can choose one thing. So I choosed this bear, and you know what she says after?”

“No, what did she say?”

“She says that it was one ‘hairy teddy’.” Teddy flashes a wide smile at his godfather. “She said both of our names! So that means it’s me and you!”

Not sure whether to laugh or cry at the child’s innocence, Harry chooses to do the former. That simple little comment set the tone for the rest of the day for the two of them.