// so - I realize that, because of their 10 year age gap, that Teddy was not present for most of Lily’s teen years.
He was gone from 23 to 26 approximately, so a few months longer than 3 years. So he missed her birthdays from 13-16ish. &&, being honest, Teddy barely kept up with his family back home. he did owl every few months - he sent gifts on birthdays ( sometimes the holidays too, if he had the money ), but it was a time of very low contact with everyone.
&&, when Teddy returns, he has to readjust. I think he did make clear, however, in one of his early letters to the Potter household that his decision to leave had nothing to do with anyone but him. It was no one’s fault - no one drove him away or anything like that, but he needed time on his own. He still loved everyone dearly and promised to owl occasionally. It was a nice letter, but short. It didn’t entirely sound like Teddy - like he had written and rewritten the letter a few times before sending it off.
Teddy sent a similar letter to his Nan. Teddy told Andromeda that he loved her, but he reflected on their life together. She was his Mum, Dad, and Nan all in one. She raised him the best she could, and he understood how that was hard on her sometimes ( though he admitted that he probably didn’t know the extent to which it was difficult ). He told her that he loved her more than anyone in the world; Teddy promised that he would come back, but Teddy was more open with the depth of his depression with her, I think. He admitted that he felt like he was drowning && that this was his only chance to breathe again.
Teddy asked Drom to still be there when he came back. She received a letter every birthday, && it didn’t matter if Teddy barely had money for food - he bought her little trinkets throughout the year, from the places he visited, && sent them to her. it served as both a record of his travels && a way to keep her from pinpointing where exactly he was, because he was all over the place and so were his gifts.
Teddy’s letter to Andromeda was more open, too, and sounded more like him. He didn’t have to rewrite it.
