Disclaimer: I am not British nor a millionaire, so clearly, I am not JK Rowling. If I were, this would not be on this website, but rather tacked onto the end of Deathly Hallows.

Any dialogue you recognize belongs to JK Rowling and is found in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on page 514.

Title inspired by the song We Are One from Disney's The Lion King 2.

I. Harry Meets Teddy

May 7, 1998

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?"

Harry jumped at the sound of Ginny's voice. He couldn't help it. It had been five days since the battle, but he still felt on edge. He couldn't believe that Voldemort was really gone, and that he, Harry, had defeated him. After almost seven years, he no longer had to worry about the dark lord hurting anyone he loved ever again. However, that didn't mean he, as well as many others, weren't affected by the countless losses they had suffered. Healing would take time.

"No, thank you, Ginny," Harry said, taking his girlfriend's hand. "I'm just meeting my godson. Besides, you need rest. When was the last time you slept?"

"I'm fine," Ginny assured him. In truth, Ginny was not completely fine. She had just lost her brother, and was still grieving with the rest of her family. As he did for so many others, Harry felt personally responsible for Fred's death, despite how many times the Weasley's tried to reassure him that he was a hero, and there was nothing he could have done to save Fred. Harry was called a hero by everyone who saw him, but it was hard to feel like one when so many people had been lost.

"At least be with your family," Harry said. "They need you."

"We need you, too. I need you. Don't forget that." Ginny leaned forward and gently planted a kiss on Harry's cheek.

"I'll be there soon," he said to her, and Ginny nodded.

"Bring Teddy. I'm sure everyone would love to meet him."

Harry smiled slightly, and watched as her retreating form disappeared into the portrait hole of the Gryffindor common room. He then headed to Dumbledore's - or McGonagall's now - office, trying to ignore the stares of people in the Great Hall as he walked by. Most people had begun to leave him alone, realizing that he probably wanted space. For that, Harry was grateful.

The Great Hall was starting to look back to normal, thanks to the tireless efforts of countless volunteers. Dust had been swept away, and piles of rubble had disappeared, with brand new, sturdy pillars replacing them. Dozens of witches and wizards had stayed at Hogwarts over the past five days to reconstruct the ancient school, and several more had been arriving each day. Andromeda Tonks was one of those volunteers, due to arrive today via the floo network with her grandson, Edward Remus Lupin, otherwise known as Teddy, in tow.

Andromeda had sole guardianship over Teddy, as she rightfully should. She was his grandmother, and would surely take the very best care of him. Harry, on the other hand, may have defeated the darkest wizard of all time, but he was still seventeen, too young to raise a baby. Yet, seventeen was not too young to be a godfather, and he intended to be a good one.

However, part of Harry was still terrified. It was a bit ironic, really, that the Boy Who Lived, the boy who had faced dark lords, dragons, trolls, and dementors, was anxious about meeting a baby. Though Dudley had always acted like a young child while they were growing up, Harry had never had many opportunities to interact with small children, especially newborn babies who were born less than a month ago. The youngest children Harry had ever been around for more than a few minutes at a time were students in younger years at Hogwarts. He had never feed a baby, soothed it to sleep or even cradled one in his arms. What if he didn't know how to handle Teddy? What if he did something wrong? What if Andromeda decided she'd rather not have him in her grandson's life after all? What if -?

Harry paused when he found himself outside Dumbledore's - or McGonagall's now - office. He had agreed to meet Andromeda here when she arrived in the fireplace "Dumbledore," he muttered, knowing the password hadn't changed, then slipped inside when the door opened.

Not a minute later, a woman in her mid-forties showed up in the fireplace. Harry couldn't help but wince when he saw her. The first time he had seen Andromeda Tonks, he had almost attacked her due to eerie similarities between herself and her older sister, Bellatrix Lestrange. While Bellatrix's hair was black, however, Andromeda's was light brown. Her dark brown eyes were much softer, as well. Harry could see how much she differed from both her sisters.

"Good morning, Harry," Andromeda said, holding a bundle of blankets close to her chest.

"Morning, Mrs. Tonks."

"Please, call me Andromeda." There was sadness in Andromeda's eyes as she spoke, as if her surname caused her great pain. Harry understood, knowing that she had lost not only her daughter, who went by the nickname of Tonks, but also her husband, Ted, during the war.

Harry nodded, before his gaze shifted to the bundle in Andromeda's arms. "May I…"

"Of course. That's why he's here."

Harry stepped forward, and Andromeda transferred the baby to his arms. The blankets wiggled slightly, and Harry glanced down to see a tiny face tinted pink with new, smooth flesh. Teddy didn't have much hair, but the fuzz he did have was a bright lemon yellow. His eyes, currently a warm honey brown, met Harry's. Teddy wiggled in his grasp and gurgled. He sounded happy. Harry wasn't sure what happened, but gazing at his godson, he suddenly felt lighter. It was as though the baby's happiness was contagious.

"You'll be godfather?"

"M-me?"

"You, yes of course - Dora quite agrees, no one better -"

"I - yeah - blimey -"

Godfather. This beautiful baby boy was his godson.

Harry smiled at the tiny boy. "Hello, Teddy," he whispered. "I'm your godfather."

"He had red hair this morning," Andromeda said, peering over his shoulder. Her eyes were full of adoration, and while her dark irises contrasted her cousin's gray ones, Harry was reminded of the looks of love Sirius gave him. "It changes so rapidly. Just like his mother's."

"If he grows up to be anything like either of his parents, he'll be a wonderful wizard."

"Indeed," agreed Andromeda as she stroked the baby's hair.

"As I said, Teddy," Harry said softly, holding his godson close. "I'm your godfather, and I see that as a hugely important job. I wish more than anything that your parents could be here with you. I knew them, you know, and they were so brave. They loved you so much, Teddy, and your gran and I, we're going to make sure you never feel alone. I promise you'll always feel safe and loved. I promise you'll never have to suffer tragedy ever again. You won't grow up an orphan like I did. I swear it, Teddy"

Teddy gurgled in response, before blinking sleepily until he finally let his eyes close.

"Come on," Harry said to Andromeda. "Let's introduce Teddy to the rest of his family."

With his godson cradled safely in his arms, Harry finally felt like life would truly be okay. There was a lot of healing to be done, but this, he knew, was a step in the right direction.

Hello! Welcome to my collection of Harry Potter next generation one-shots. These one-shots will center around the next generation, but will occasionally cover their parents as well. Updates will likely be sporadic, as this is a side project. Updates will come when I have time and inspiration. Mainly, I'm writing this because I've developed a strong interest in the next generation, and I've really missed writing in the Harry Potter fandom, as it has been years since I've last done so. So, here I am. Please note that it has been about five years since I last read the books (I know, what's wrong with me?) so if anything is off, don't hesitate to let me know. :)

As I'm hoping J.K. Rowling will reveal what houses many of the characters are in in the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child script, I'll start out writing about when the kids are young before moving on to Hogwarts. If I do happen to write something Rowling later reveals, I'll likely change it. One-shots may or may not be connected, and they won't be chronological for the most part. I hope you enjoy them.

~ Dreamer