albus severus potter, you were named after two men who taught me how difficult it is to distinguish between good and evil, because every human being has the capacity for both inside themselves. i spent my life idolizing one and vilifying the other, but it wasn’t until i was older that i realized the enormity of the choices they were forced to make and the guilt and regret they carried with them their whole lives. they were both like me, ambitious and stubborn and lost, but they devoted their whole lives to protecting me, and i’ll forever be grateful for that. without them, you would never have been born, and if there’s one thing i want you to remember, it’s that you are always capable of selflessness and bravery, even when it seems impossible, because they were. they were not perfect people, but they were stronger than i ever knew, and they taught me that the choices you make, however small, however misguided, matter. they matter after you’re gone. they matter to the world you want to change, and making the right choice after you’ve made the wrong one, hard as it is, is how we grow. so remember that. be brave, albus severus. you don’t have to be a gryffindor to know what that means.
