AN: Hi everyone! As you can see, I've finally got around to publishing what will become my first ever intended multi-chapter fic (although it will probably only be about five chapters long, it's still the first time I've really planned to have anything that was longer than one chapter). I would also like to apologise for the confusion about this story that I inadvertantly caused with my last fstory Of Sleeping and Sofas, where I mentioned that I had started writing this- some readers took that to mean that I had published the first chapter, which, looking back, I realise that I did mistakenly imply. Anyway, I think that's it for now, so enjoy, and please review!
Harry yawned as he knocked on the front door of the pristine suburban house. Ever since the Battle of Hogwarts a month ago, he had been spending most of his time helping to repair some of the physical war damage all over the country until he started Auror training in September. Today, he'd been helping to build war memorials for each of the wizarding villages in the country, but progress was slow when journalists kept interrupting to try and interview him about the past year. For a while he'd tried disillusioning himself before starting work each day, but it made working as a team so difficult that he gave up and resigned himself to the continual intrusions. He tried to force a polite smile onto his face as Andromeda Tonks opened the door, but he knew that it wouldn't do much good- Andromeda had spent last month suffering from depression, and it wasn't difficult to see why- she had never really had a chance to mourn her husband, and her daughter and son-in-law had recently been taken from her in one night. Having to care for a baby who was barely two months old hadn't helped things, either.
When Harry knocked on the door to visit his godson, it was originally part of an agreement between Harry and Andromeda- every day, Harry would watch over Teddy for a few hours, so that Andromeda could supposedly sleep uninterrupted for bit. To Harry, though, she looked so exhausted that he didn't think that a few short hours would be enough time.
"Umm, Mrs Tonks- Andromeda?"
"Yes, Harry?"
"Shall I- did you want me to take Teddy back to the Burrow for the night? I was just thinking that you might want to sleep without Teddy crying every few hours." He didn't realise that, even without Teddy crying, Andromeda hadn't slept properly in months.
"Harry, that's very sweet of you, but are you sure that you'll be able to cope? You're barely 18"
"I've looked after Teddy before, but if I start to have any problems then I'll ask Mrs Weasley to give me a hand. These past months have taken a lot out of everyone, and I think that you deserve a break from it all"
"Alright. But Harry- look after him, please. He's all I've got left now, and I couldn't bear to lose him"
Harry nodded, unable to speak. He'd been to Remus and Tonks' funeral a few weeks ago, and he remembered how Andromeda had barely been able to stand. She'd sat crying for hours in front of their shared grave, clutching Teddy to her chest, and only left when Molly had gently led her to the Burrow for hot sweet tea and biscuits. The Weasleys had taken her in as an honorary family member after that, but it didn't take away the fact that Andromeda had lost all of her family through both the war and the pure-blood supremacy that started it.
With a wave of his wand, Harry had packed up most of Teddy's baby stuff and shrunk it into a small package, which he slipped into his pocket. He picked up Teddy and disapparated away to the Burrow.
A few hours later, most of Teddy's stuff had been returned to Harry's pocket when it became clear that his crib was the only item that would fit in the small space in his half of the room that he now shared with Ron. He had cast a silencing charm around his side of the room, hoping that it would be enough to avoid waking any of the Weasley family. Harry was now pacing up and down, trying to get Teddy to fall asleep, but judging by the fact that his hair was still a bright turquoise, this would probably take a while.
"Ow" he muttered. He had stubbed his toe on what further inspection revealed to be an old Arithmancy textbook, and, he reasoned, it could only be here because Hermione had decided to leave it behind a year ago when they were planning the Horcrux hunt, probably because it was only a third-year textbook. Still holding on to Teddy with one arm, he put the book down on the bed and sat down, figuring that if Teddy wasn't going to fall asleep then he may as well do something while he was waiting. Opening the book, it was then that he noticed a strange, almost glittering dust caught up in the pages. Making sure that he was holding on to Teddy so he couldn't roll off of the bed, he reached out to examine the dust further, but as soon as his fingers touched the page, he felt the room spinning rapidly away from him, eventually disappearing away from him in a manner that was, to Harry, completely unrecognisable.
"If that is all, then I now declare this meeting drawn to a close" Albus' voice rang out across the gloomy kitchen of 12 Grimmauld Place, cutting through the confused and sleepy fog that had fallen down on the Order members.
"Thank you Albus. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go and call the children to dinner. Arthur, dear, can you get the pies out of the oven please?"
Within a few short minutes, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Fred, George and Ginny were downstairs, and a delicious feast prepared by Molly was on the table.
"Well, as the meeting is over, I'm going to go back to the-". Much to his annoyance, Snape wasn't able to finish his sentence thanks to the sudden arrival of a scruffy-haired boy in the kitchen.
AN(2): Sorry about the short chapter, my lovely readers, but I wanted to have the "reveal" in a seperate chapter. I'm afraid that I can't promise when the next chapter will be here as I'm supposed to be revising for my exams (emphasis on the "supposed"). I will try to get something published within the next few weeks though (although reviews motivate me to type!) Thanks for reading!