Teddy met them the summer it rained.

It was the July after he had turned nine. For weeks, he had stayed inside with his grandmother all day long, doing things like reading, drawing, and painting to fill up time. A lot of time he just lay around and thought. He thought about normal things nine year old boys think about like broomsticks and Quidditch teams, but he also thought about things like what a minute in time felt like for a stinkbug. In the evenings, after eating supper and watching a Muggle sitcom from his late grandfather’s television, Teddy would go to his room at the top of the house and read a book until he fell asleep

That night in particular, though, something was different. After dinner, Teddy asked his grandmother if he could go outside for a while. Her heart shaped face creased with worry. He knew that Andromeda didn’t want to let him out of her sight. She had lost almost all her family in the war, and he was all she had left. “Teddy, darling, it’s almost dark,” she said, drying off a plate. “Can’t you go out tomorrow?”

She never told him what to do or not to do. She merely suggested what she thought was best.

Teddy shrugged and turned on the TV, but he couldn’t pay attention to his favorite sitcom, so he said a quick goodnight to his grandmother and went upstairs to his bedroom. The walls were pale blue, and there was no furniture, except a bed with a red quilt, in the center of the room. Under the bed there were plastic boxes containing all of Teddy’s things. He had a box for clothes, a box for toys, and a box for books. His bedroom was completely clean except for an unused pair of yellow wellington boots by the door.

After changing into his pyjamas and brushing his teeth, Teddy lay in bed with a book until his grandmother came into the room. Andromeda’s once dark hair was now entirely silver, and she wore a pair of angular reading glasses perched on her nose. Her eyes were the same as they had ever been, though, as large, brown, and beautiful. That was how Teddy had been wearing his eyes for years now, matching his Gran’s.

She ran her hand through his messy, turquoise hair. “Teddy,” she said. “Teddy Remus Lupin, do you know how much I love you?” This was their nightly tradition.

“How much?” Teddy chorused like he did every night.

“I love you more than the stars love the moon. I love you more than birds love the sky. I love you more than plants love soil.”

“I love you more than that, Gran,” Teddy laughed.

“Good night, love.” Andromeda turned out the light as she left the room.

He couldn’t sleep. So instead, Teddy lay in bed thinking. He thought about the Chudley Cannons and why in the world Ron liked them. He thought about how calm Albus seemed next to his brother James. He thought about Hogwarts and what house he would get into.

Just as Teddy was about to fall asleep, he heard a noise outside. At first he thought it was thunder, but as he replayed the sound in his head,out a storm. It wasn’t a bang, really,but more of a crack. There was someone, or something, behind his house.

He listened closer. He could still hear it. Teddy suddenly had an urge to go and see for himself what was making the noise, which was quite unlike him. He tended to wait until things like these just showed themselves, but tonight was different. He leapt out of bed, careful not to wake Gran, and tip-toed to the door. With a sudden burst of inspiration, he pulled on his new rubber boots.

As Teddy raced through the hall, he paused only momentarily to look out the window. The droplets of water clinging to the glass were illuminated by the crescent moon outside. Teddy was careful not to slam the door as he walked out into the light rain.

He kept his face down, concentrating on the muddy footprints imbedded in the dirt. He traveled quite a way like that, until he saw the tracks end. He slowly lifted his eyes, and got a shock. In front of Teddy’s eyes, were were a pair of yellow wellington boots exactly like his own. He looked up to see the owner of the boots. A girl, who looked about his age, was standing in front of him. She was wearing plaid shorts that were barely visible underneath a large, black band tour tee shirt. Her hair was light brown and her eyes were a pale blue. Teddy took a few steps to be next to her.

“Look,” the girl said, pointing in front of them. Teddy looked. There, in front of him, was a deep blue river that he had never known existed. The raindrops were causing ripples on the surface.

As Teddy looked, there was a rustling from the bushes behind him. Out came a girl with short blonde hair wearing yellow rubber boots. “Hello,” she murmured, standing next to the brunette. The girl, who had pointed out the river to Teddy, did the same to the other girl. Then the brunette took both of their hands. As soon as they were linked, the clouds above opened up, exposing the moon. The crescent moon shone on the river as all three children clung to one another. It could have been hours, minutes, or seconds, but the next thing they knew the rain had started back up again.

The girl on Teddy’s left fingered her plaid shorts and began awkwardly, “My name is Rianne.”

The blonde smiled widely at her, exposing crooked teeth. “I’m Skye,” she said. “I live over by the shopping center. That was some wicked magic, huh?”

Rianne frowned. “I don’t believe in magic,” she said. “My dad told me not to. After all, if there were such a thing as magic, my mum and dad would still be together.”

Now, Teddy intervened. “What do you mean, no such thing as magic? Of course there’s such a thing as magic! After all, we’re witches and wizards.”

“You know, you really aren’t supposed to say things like that to Muggles!” Skye exclaimed. “Anyway, what’s your name?”

“Teddy,” the boy muttered. “And why not? It’s what we are, aren’t we?”

The girl with the brown hair looked from Teddy to Skye and back again. “What are you talking about? And what’s a Muggle?”

“Well,” said Skye pointedly. “It was nice meeting both of you. Have a nice night!” She turned around and left the clearing in a flash of yellow boots.

Teddy stood there, looking at Rianne for a few moments, before giving her a nod and walking back through the bushes. As she left, he saw her kneel down on the riverbank and dip her fingers into the water. He then heard her mutter the word “Muggle” before Teddy picked up speed and ran away.

Time went by. The seasons passed. Teddy went about his normal schedule, reading, watching television, and behaving for his grandmother. He put the encounter in the rain deep in the back of his mind. It was as if he had never met the two girls in the yellow boots.

---

“Teddy, you’re going to learn so much at Hogwarts. I’m sure, when you come back to visit us during winter break, you’ll know more magic than me!” Harry, Teddy’s godfather, told him. Teddy smiled.

“I hope so,” he said. Platform 9 ¾ was rattling with excitement and noise, and Teddy had to strain to hear Harry. His grandmother was standing next his godfather with both pride and sadness on her face.

“Teddy,” she said as her eyes filled with tears. “Teddy Remus Lupin. The house is going to be so quiet without you. Promise you’ll write to your old Gran?”

The boy with the blue hair gave her a hug. “You know I will.”

“You had better get on the train, Ted,” Harry said, handing him the cage of his new owl, August.

After one last hug, Teddy lugged his trunk up the stairs. When he found a compartment with no people inside, he tucked his trunk away and sat down with one of his new spellbooks.

As he felt the train start to move, he heard footsteps and voices coming from in front of him. He lifted his head slowly. A small, brunette girl stood in front of him, clutching a wicker basket to her chest. “Hi Teddy,” she said.

A girl with much lighter hair stepped out from behind the door stepped into the room. “Do you remember us?”