Teddy Lupin was twenty-five. It was Christmas eve and his wife, Victoire, was busy baking gingerbread cookies with their daughters to give out to the neighbors come Christmas morning, its smell carried over from the kitchen to where he was sprawled comfortably on the couch.

Life
___was
______good.

It was almost midnight but his girls showed no signs of succumbing to sleep unlike him who was now on his second mug of coffee, still yawning, eyelids drooping.

He was trying very hard to stay awake but it was proving to be a losing battle; doing some push-ups in the middle of the living room just made him more tired, jolly Christmas carols only lulled him like a lullaby. He was even contemplating using toothpicks to keep his eyes open.

But soon enough, the former Hufflepuff Head Boy yielded and allowed sleep to take over.

..........
.....
...

“Teddy? Teddy, luv, wakey wakey!” He frowned at the hands that gently shook his shoulders and the unfamiliar voice that came with it then slowly peeled his eyes open.

What –

“What do you think? Do I look…Christmas-y?” The older woman – definitely not his wife – who had a realistic pair of antlers on top of her head and a red button nose asked with a bright grin. Who…? Teddy stared for all of two seconds before swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat.

He nodded. He wanted to smile at her too but he was afraid he would unnecessarily start weeping if he did because, well, this was all probably just a dream but his mother was there on Christmas and smiling at him and –

“Ah! Too spicy!” came another voice from somewhere just as his mother said, “Oh no. Let’s go see what your father came up with this time.”

Teddy got up and followed her to what presumably was the kitchen and felt his breath catch yet again for the second time in less than five minutes.

Standing next to his reindeer-shifted mother was Remus Lupin, hissing as he took the glass of water she offered him. It would have been all comical if it weren’t for the cascade of emotions that he was feeling at the moment. His parents, both of them, alive and…joking about something as trivial as an unexpectedly spicy dish.

Taking a steadying breath, Teddy gave them a watery smile. “Mum? Dad?”

“Yes, luv?” His mum.

“What is it, son?” His dad.

Teddy sighed and blinked the moisture from his eyes. “Merry Christmas.”

They were both on him in no time, Nymphadora Tonks hugging him tightly and singing “Merry Christmas dear Teddy, merry Christmas to you…” in the birthday song tune, Remus Lupin giving his hair a good ruffle as they shared a smile.

...
......
..........

“Teddy? Teddy, love, wake up.” He knew this time that it was Victoire, he didn’t need to open his eyes, he didn’t want to…yet. Sensing this, she leaned over and gave him a soft peck on his cheek, whispering, “Merry Christmas, dear Teddy.”

It really was Christmas.