Saturday, 18th of July, 1998.
Harry had always been sure that he would have kids; just not so bloody soon. He stared at the baby Andromeda was holding in her arms, he was sleeping against her chest. She looked at Harry like she was expecting him to say something. He scratched the back of his neck and made an uncomfortable sound. "Honestly, I'm not sure I can take care of him."
"Harry, please." She was now pleading him. "I am very stressed at the moment, and I have too many things to do and I couldn't possibly take good care of little Teddy." She sighed, before continuing. "And I haven't even recovered a little bit from all the deaths we suffered, and Dora…" she choked on her last words and looked away slightly for a moment before she looked at Harry again and tried to make a deal. "Only a few weeks. Five, or so." Somehow she thought that wasn't a lot.
"I—just… I-" he stutters, trying to make out words into a complete sentence, but seems incapable. He knows that he of all people shouldn't hesitate about doing this, he should already be settling Teddy into his home, but in all honesty; he didn't really have a real home at the moment. With the Dursley's moving back into Privet Drive, he couldn't go there. (Not that he ever would even consider it an option.) He had been staying at the Burrow since the war ended, which was just about two months ago now, and he had just a couple of days before decided to try to move into 12, Grimmauld Place.
Though it looked nothing like a place where you'd like to spend time.
"You would of course get all of Teddy's things here; his crib and toys and such." Andromeda tried again. She really needed this from him. Harry sighed, and nodded a small nod in agreement and reached out his hands to take Teddy from her.
The tiny little child was still sleeping; he seemed to be a good sleeper, to Harry's delight. He didn't even wake when he changed from one place to another. Harry made sure he was comfortable before he turned to Andromeda again. "So… is there anything I should know? About Teddy… things he likes and…"
"Not particularly. I'm sure you will figure it out." And with that, she Disapparated. Harry stared at the spot she'd been in for a long while before he sighed a long sigh again, and looked at the baby in his arms. Teddy's hair was green like grass, and he wondered if it was because of the green lawns everywhere or just simply because Teddy couldn't control his appearance yet. Harry was left to wonder about that at a later time when Andromeda appeared again, this time with a baby-blue crib and a bag filled with bulky toys. Also another bag, which Harry suspected contained nappies. He shivered as she put the bags at his feet, the crib in front of him – he wondered if she had put a Feathering Charm on it – and gave him an one-armed hug that turned out to be really, very awkward.
"I hope you find somewhere to put these, Harry." She smiled a little at him while she pulled away, and he tried to smile back to her. The muscles in his face hurt when he forced them into places they didn't want to go. "Oh well, I'll see you later." And she was gone, again. He wondered why she had left in such a hurry, without saying goodbye to Teddy; but then again the baby was too young to even really understand and she had probably hugged him senseless before she arrived at Harry's.
Harry stood in the same spot for a while; shifting his weight from one foot to another several times before he made any other kind of movement, and even that wasn't such an impressive move; he looked down at the crib in front of him and he almost put Teddy down there, in the middle of his dusty living room. He considered it for a few seconds before deciding it would be bad parenting, but then he realized that he really couldn't do anything else. Any other room in the house was covered in two extra layers of dirty and dust. He groaned before slowly lowering down the child into the baby-blue crib.
After that, he hurried into the kitchen – the cleanest room in the house, thanks to Kreacher – and to the window, where his newly purchased owl was sleeping (also named Auron, by Ginny) with his head under his wing. Harry had to write Ginny. And Ron and Hermione, of course. But Ginny first. He debated with himself if he should send three letters; one to each, or one to all the three of them. But Harry was quite sure they were all at the Burrow, so he just took one piece of parchment and wrote a few lines of distress, ordering them to come there as soon as they could and sent it away, giving Auron a cracker for waking him up, but really trying to bribe him into not destroying his hand with his beak.
Harry sat down at the kitchen table, looking unhappy as he massaged his temples and let out strange sounds that could be put in the category of 'whimpering'. He sits like that, knee-deep in misery, for only a moment longer until the three people who matters the most appears in his kitchen. Ron was in the middle of Ginny and Hermione, both of them holding onto his hands like lifelines. Hermione had obviously not Apparated them there. Harry thought this was funny, but he couldn't smile or laugh or do anything that would show them he hadn't been Stunned, since the only little thing he had moved was his head towards them when they came.
"Okay, Harry you better have a bloody good reason for forcing us to come here, at eight o'clock in the morning, on a Saturday!" Ron said angrily as he let go of his sisters' hand, but held onto Hermione's like it was the last thing he'll every touch.
"I do." Harry sighed. And, with perfect timing, they heard a small cough from the living room and not long after that a soft cry. Teddy was awake.
"Teddy!" Both Hermione and Ginny burst out, and they both went to the next room to see if they were right. Ron followed pretty soon and Harry thought they may need him to come and explain why on earth Teddy's crib was in his house at all.
When he reached the others, he was already too late to grab Teddy from the crib because Hermione had already done it. She and Ginny were cooing over the baby, and Teddy didn't seem unhappy about it so Harry didn't really worry. He just looked at them while Teddy grabbed a fistful of Ginny's fiery red hair when she leaned over him; Ginny smiled even wider.
"Oh he is so darling!" Hermione said, cradling the child. "But Harry, why is he here, and why are all of his things here?"
"Er…" Harry felt like he had when Andromeda came over with Teddy. Awkward and out of words. "Well, he's staying with me for a few weeks. Andromeda needs to take care of some things and cope over Tonks and Lupin and Ted… I don't think she has had any time to… y'know…" searching for the right words, he felt stupid and wanted to sink though the floor. Suddenly he saw just the reason why he needed to have Teddy for a while.
"Move on from them." Ginny finished for him. "She hasn't had any time to grieve and move on. But we have, you have, so we can take very good care of him."
Harry really just thought that she was stating the obvious, but he didn't comment. He was careful for what he said to the women there right now, because he needed them to help him to take care of his Godson. "Yeah…"
"Oh, this will be so much fun!" Exclaimed Hermione, and gave the child to Ginny's waiting arms. Harry was not so sure he understood what she meant, so he said nothing. But of course, being Hermione, she immediately saw that the he was confused and she giggled - very unHermione - and smiled warmly at Harry. "It will be fun to take care of him. How long are you supposed to have him exactly? Do you know?"
"Andromeda said five weeks, but it may be more. But I don't think it'll be less, 'cause, I mean, she actually lost her husband and daughter in this war. Though Ted didn't die in the war itself, but - "
"Harry," Ginny broke off him before he began to ramble. "We understand." She was gingerly stroking Teddy's hair when Ron finally said something,
"So, we're moving in, then?"
Somehow this got everyone to laugh very badly, and Teddy got very confused towards what was going on around him, but he didn't care much and leaned onto Ginny's chest.
"Well, I was going to ask you, but I guess I don't have to after all." Harry smiled, being cut off by his own laughter every other word. He also had no idea why he found this so hilarious.
But Hermione's smiled faded after a moment of cheerfulness, and she said, remembering "But I can't, Harry. I need to go to Australia and find my parents before I go back to Hogwarts!" She looked heartbroken for this reason, and Harry felt the same for a moment. It surely wouldn't be the same without Hermione there. But then he noticed something he hadn't known in her word, and Ron looked equally surprised when he said,
"You're going back to Hogwarts?"
She shifted uncomfortably where she was standing before she tried to defend herself, "I was going to tell you! And you guys know I won't be happy if I don't get my NEWTs!"
They both understood. They did. "But when were you gonna tell us, then?"
Hermione got more and more uncomfortable. She didn't answer at all; she just made a grimace towards them, probably a try to a smile. But she failed, miserably. She head twitched.
"Do you really have to go away, Hermione? Can't you wait a year or so before you leave to get them back?" Asked Ron, who seemed very inclined to persuade her to stay. Harry decided to leave it to Ron, he himself would only loyally agree with him sometimes, when he thought it was needed. He knew that they needed Hermione. He knew that Ron needed Hermione even more. So there he was, hoping against his (might as well be) sisters' happiness. What a terrible person he is. Harry looks over at Ginny, who's kind of uncomfortable in this conversation, and he suspects that she knew all along that Hermione would come with her back to Hogwarts.
But then again, there was yet something for Ginny to not know about Hermione.
"Harry, Ron…" Hermione said, her voice was filled with something that sounded like regret. "I was going to tell you, but I was going to wait. And I have to go. You know that."
"Yeah, we understand."
Harry looked at the sleepy Teddy in Ginny's arms. He knew he was the one who had to take care of him, and he was going to be a great Godfather.
Meh. Terrible ending. Hope next chapter will be better.
/Kajsa and Anna