Thirteen year old Teddy Lupin was happily munching on breakfast in the Great Hall, thinking about how it would be the summer holidays soon. He was really looking forward to spending time with his Godfather Harry, who was like a father figure to him.
He didn't notice as an owl winged its way over to the Headmistress or her face pale as she read the letter. The first he was aware of a problem was when the Professor tapped him gently on his shoulder and asked him to come with her and Professor Longbottom (his head of house) to her office. His heart sank, he knew she must be about to give him some bad news. He automatically thought of his elderly grandmother who he had lived with until a few years ago when he had moved in with Harry and his wife Ginny as she was unable to look after him anymore. He still visited her regularly though.
"P-professor, what's wrong? Is it Gran?" he asked the normally stern Headmistress. "No Teddy, it's not your grandmother, it's Harry" she gently said. Neville was there in an instant to catch Teddy and lower him into a chair. "H-how bad is he?" Teddy tentatively asked "We don't know yet" the Professor answered " then went on to say "Professor Longbottom is here to take you to St Mungo's now to see him, he's unconscious but they say hearing familiar voices helps". Teddy stood up and hurried towards the fireplace, Neville had moved towards the fireplace also and handed him the floo powder, waited for Teddy to go through then followed him to St Mungo's.
As Teddy walked towards the room Harry was in, he reflected that this wasn't the first time he had been to visit Harry in hospital, after all he did have a very dangerous job as an Auror. However something in the Professor's voice back at school led him to believe that this time was more serious than the others. He saw a pale faced Ron pacing up and down outside the room he had been told was his Godfather's and ran towards him. Ron seeing him opened his arms and Teddy flung himself into them. Ron held him as he cried for a while. Mrs Weasley was sat on a chair looking very pale and worried. She showed signs of recent tears and kept glancing towards the closed door to the room where Harry lay. Neville stood awkwardly to one side as pale faced as Ron and Mrs Weasley were, hoping that Harry would be OK.
"What happened?" Teddy asked after a while, Ron looked at him sadly and said "We suspected correctly where the few remaining Death Eaters headquarters were and planned a raid on it. Harry and I were a part of the team raiding them and as predicted a fight broke out. One of the Death Eaters fired an unknown curse at me as I was fighting another and I wouldn't have been able to get out of the way in time. Harry saved me; he saw what was happening and jumped in front of me, taking the curse instead. It should be me in there not him" Ron finished his tale, sunk down onto a chair and cried. "It's my fault he's in there"
"No it's not Ron, don't think that" came a new voice from the doorway of Harry's room. Teddy looked up to see Ginny, who looked a mess. She had obviously been doing a lot of crying and recently. Now Teddy was even more worried because Ginny rarely cried. "It's Harry's fault not yours, he always has to act the hero. One of the things I love most about him" she said and burst into tears once more. Mrs Weasley hurriedly stood up to comfort her. After a while they broke apart "T-thanks mum" Ginny said sniffing a little. Then she saw Teddy and rushed towards him.
"Oh Teddy" she said and enveloped him in a hug. They both started crying again for a while until Ginny said "Enough of all this blubbing, it's not going to help Harry. Come on Teddy, let's go see him". She took hold of his hand and Teddy gripped it tightly (they were both supporting each other) and entered Harry's room.
Teddy looked at Harry lying on his hospital bed, almost as pale as the sheets covering him and fought back more tears. His Godfather looked so helpless there, Teddy had always thought of him as being so strong. Ginny he noticed had sat down on a chair by Harry's bed and was holding his hand, murmuring something Teddy couldn't hear. He sat down on another chair and sat there staring at the bed unable to say anything.
After what seemed like an eternity to Teddy, the door opened and a healer came in. Healer Blythe as it said on her name badge did some checks on Harry and made some notes, shaking her head. "What have you found out?" Ginny's voice made Teddy jump. "No change I'm afraid" the healer replied "We're still trying to found out what curse he was hit by, until we do, we can't really do much except keep him comfortable". At these rather bleak words Teddy couldn't control his tears anymore. He stood up and said "NO Harry no, don't do this to me. You said you would always be there for me, I need you" then ran out of the room sobbing.
Ginny sighed and looking at Healer Blythe said "He's only thirteen you know, you could have been a little less blunt" then stood up to see where Teddy had gone. When she entered the waiting room she saw Ron with Hermione (who had come as soon as she could from work) but no Teddy. She looked at Ron and Hermione but before she could say anything Hermione said "Molly is with him Gin, it's OK. She will make sure he's alright. Now go back in there and reassure Harry that he will be". Ginny nodded and walked back into Harry's room sat beside him once more and held his hand again. "Teddy will be OK Harry" Ginny said reassuringly "He's just had a big shock that's all, he loves you very much, as do I".
Meanwhile Teddy had run past Mrs Weasley, Ron and Hermione in floods of tears making them immediately fear the worst. However Mrs Weasley had an inkling it may just be shock (knowing how close Harry and Teddy are) and after reassuring Ron and Hermione that he must still be alive as Ginny hadn't told them otherwise, she set off to look for Teddy.
She didn't have far to go, she found him on a bench underneath a tree clutching his knees to him and sobbing. Neither of them said anything for quite some time, Mrs Weasley simply held Teddy as he cried. Eventually Teddy's tears subsided and he said in a small voice "I yelled at Harry. The healer said some stuff and I yelled at him. I'm so scared though, he can't die I need him" Mrs Weasley hugged him and said "Oh Teddy, first of all don't be sorry for shouting at Harry, I don't think he will mind and if anything knowing Harry he probably preferred it to all the crying we've been doing around him, he never has been comfortable around crying people!" Teddy laughed weakly at her comment, knowing this to be true and hugged her again. "Also Teddy, Harry is strong. He will fight this and pull through, you and I both know he will". "But what if he doesn't?" Teddy asked "Harry is pretty much all I have left, he is my family. Gran can't look after me anymore, what if he dies? I'll be all on my own" at these words Teddy dissolved into tears again and Mrs Weasley sat there comforting him.
Once Teddy's tears had abated Mrs Weasley said "Now then Teddy, you know Harry will be fine. The healers will find out what curse he was hit with and successfully treat him, however if the worst comes to the worst and Harry does d-". Her words were interrupted as Teddy yelled "DON'T SAY IT!" "OK Teddy I won't, but understand this" Mrs Weasley said gently "You are a part of our family, you have been since you were born and we will look after you, you're not alone" this was too much for Teddy who hugged her tightly and buried his face in her, crying again.
After a while Teddy stopped crying again. Mrs Weasley asked him if he was ready to return, he nodded so she took his hand and led him back to Harry's room. He walked in and hugged Ginny tightly. "I'm sorry for running off on you Ginny" he said "That's OK my Teddy-bear" Ginny said Teddy smiled weakly at the old nickname Harry had given him and releasing Ginny walked over to the other side of Harry's bed, held his hand and said "I'm sorry to you too Harry, I shouldn't have run off like that, I was in shock but I'm OK now and I'm not going anywhere".
For two weeks, both Ginny and Teddy sat by Harry's bed refusing to move except to eat some food. Even then they took it in turns so that one of them was always with Harry. Ginny also went to The Burrow twice a day briefly to check up on their children James, Albus and Lily. Lily was too young to understand what was going on but Albus knew something was wrong and James was old enough to realise it was serious. James wanted to visit Harry but Ginny wouldn't allow it because the other two would want to come too and she didn't feel they would be able to cope.
One afternoon, Teddy was sat alone in the room with Harry while Ginny ate lunch with her mum just outside the room. Teddy was holding Harry's hand and had fallen asleep when he felt a soft squeeze on his hand. He awoke with a start and looked at Harry but his eyes were still closed. "Harry?" he said, Harry squeezed his hand again. "Can you hear me?" he asked and again his hand was squeezed. "I'm going to get Ginny" Teddy said excitedly and ran out of the room. "GINNY!" he yelled "Come quickly" Ginny who had been picking listlessly at her food paled and jumped up "What is it Teddy, what's happened?" she said. Teddy realising his mistake hastened to reassure a panicking Ginny and together they ran back into Harry's room.
Ginny held Harry's hand and said "Harry, can you hear me?" to her delight Harry squeezed her hand too. "YES!" Ginny yelled and promptly burst into tears of joy. Teddy rolled his eyes and said "We need a code for communication Harry, how's this? You squeeze once for yes and twice for no?" Harry squeezed his hand once and Teddy grinned. "I bet you're really fed up with all this crying now aren't you Harry!" Harry squeezed his hand once (predictably) and Teddy laughed. He noticed also that the squeezes to his hand from Harry were getting stronger which pleased him.
After a while of 'communicating' with Harry, Ginny noticed the squeezes were getting softer and she asked "Are you getting tired now Harry?" he squeezed her hand twice and she frowned "Stop lying to me Harry James Potter, you need your rest. Now answer me truthfully this time, do you need to sleep now?" Harry squeezed her hand once and she said "Thank you for being honest this time Harry, get some rest. One of us will still be here, we're not going anywhere" Teddy nodded his agreement then realised Harry couldn't see that said "Go back to sleep Harry, you obviously need it" they both felt Harry's grip slacken and knew he was resting once more.
When Harry roused himself again Ginny was at The Burrow and Healer Blythe was in the room doing the usual checks. Teddy felt Harry's hand twitch and suspected he was awake once more. "Healer Blythe, my Godfather is now awake (sort of) and he is able to communicate with Ginny and I by squeezing our hands. Once means yes and twice means no, does this mean he is getting better?" Teddy smiled as he felt Harry's hand squeeze his once, he knew how Harry felt about hospitals "Sorry Harry but I'd rather hear the answer from an expert" he said grinning. "I'm afraid my Godfather doesn't like hospitals much Healer Blythe" Teddy said in explanation.
Healer Blythe looked quite excited that Harry was seemingly more aware of his surroundings and took hold of his other hand "Mr Potter are you in any sort of pain at the moment?" she asked. Harry squeezed her hand twice "Well that's good" she said Teddy relaxed at this "I'm glad you're not in pain, I just wish you would wake up properly now!" Healer Blythe then asked "Do you know what curse hit you Mr Potter?" Harry squeezed her hand twice and she sighed in disappointment. "Back to the drawing board then; do you know if any of the other Aurors around you saw the curse?" Harry didn't respond immediately and Healer Blythe looked like she was about to leave but then he squeezed gently as if he was hesitant "You're not sure are you Harry?" Teddy said and felt Harry squeeze his hand a little stronger than before. Healer Blythe raced out of the room "I think she's gone to contact the Auror's office now, I would guess that she wants memories from the other Aurors on duty" Teddy said "Hopefully they will FINALLY discover the curse and be able to treat you" he felt Harry's hand squeeze his once in agreement and smiled.
Healer Blythe managed to find an Auror who had indeed witnessed the curse that hit Harry and after viewing Auror Smith's memories they were finally able to treat him. Nearly six weeks after the accident he finally opened his eyes; both Ginny and Teddy were there when he did and were overjoyed.
"HARRY" Teddy yelled and Harry winced "Oops sorry Harry, too loud?" Teddy said "Indoor voice Teddy" Harry croaked then smiled as Teddy blushed, Harry used to say that to him when he was younger. A still blushing Teddy hugged Harry as best he could with him lying on a bed.
"Ginny?" Harry croaked, Ginny hadn't spoken yet and had tears flowing down her face "Don't you EVER do that to us again Harry James Potter" Ginny finally said "We were so worried about you, did you know that for a while they couldn't get your heart started? You DIED Harry". Teddy's face paled "Y-you never told me that part Ginny" he said then hit Harry, not hard but it was hard enough.
"Guess I deserved that" Harry said wincing again "Ginny, Teddy I'm so sorry. There wasn't time to think about my actions at the time. I saw the curse coming towards Ron, saw he hadn't seen it and instinctively dived in front of him, my best friend and brother. I'm so sorry the both of you".
"Harry you're all I've got left" Teddy said "Gran can't look after me anymore. I thought you were going to die" Teddy dissolved into tears again despite having promised himself no more tears. "Teddy come here" Harry said softly and opened his arms. Teddy ran to him and hugged him again. Harry gently wiped away Teddy's tears and said "I can't promise anything Teddy because you know I have a very dangerous job, but I can say I don't intend to go anywhere any time soon, I love you my little Teddy bear" "I love you too Harry" Teddy said.
Another four weeks later, after what felt like an age to Harry, he was finally released from the hospital to be cared for at home by Ginny. Teddy had missed the end of term but he didn't care. Harry was a little concerned at first until Ron pointed out that he too had missed a fair amount of school and it didn't do him any harm. Harry had to laugh that he had been hospitalised in June, it seemed even out of school that month was doomed for him. He gradually got stronger again and threatened to return to work soon promising to take greater care when he did.
All was well again in the Potter household.