Ahh, yes, I know. After Lord knows how long, I have taken fingers to keyboard and fixed my most grievous errors. You know, I'm usually quite on top of these sorts of things, but somehow Teddy's age slipped under the radar. So I fixed it, I fixed it! I also fixed a couple of other things, but nothing major. Sorry for the long wait. I thought I'd uploaded this before I left for school, but only just realized that I hadn't! o.O So I'm SO sorry for the wait, if any is still waiting. I'm helpless. Sorry, everyone.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip. For if I did, I would not be writing fanfiction. I'd be rolling in the dough in my mansion with a big vault and a diving board like Scrooge McDuck! (Who I don't own either, sadly.)
Storytime
"Thanks so much, again Harry! You have no idea how much your helping."
Andromeda Tonks handed the twenty-year-old wizard a slip of parchment.
"That's the address and phone number of the hotel. Now if you two need anything at all—"
"Andromeda, calm down," Harry said with a laugh, "I've got everything under control. It's not like this is my first time babysitting Teddy. We'll have loads of fun together, right Ted?"
The three year old looked up from beside Harry with a grin and nodded. Andromeda swept a black traveling cloak around her shoulders and fixed its pewter clasps closed. She bent down and looked little Teddy Lupin in the eye.
"You be good for Harry now," she said before smiling and opening her arms wide, "Now give Gran a big hug. I love you, Teddy Bear."
"I wuv you, too, Gwan."
She kissed the top of his head and he jumped into her arms, hugging her tightly.
"I'll be back in the morning. We can have blueberry muffins and pancakes, yeah?"
Teddy grinned widely and nodded his head ecstatically.
"I'll see you in the morning. Thanks again, Harry, especially on such short notice."
"Again, it's nothing. I love watching Teddy. Anyway, Ginny's out at Fleur's with Hermione. Something about girls only," he said with a grin.
"Alright. I'll probably be home at about nine tomorrow morning. You two have fun."
With a hug, she strode out the door and signaled for the Knight Bus. Harry and Teddy stood in the foyer staring at each other for a few moments.
And staring.
And staring.
And staring.
Until Harry pulled a face, making Teddy burst into laughter. Harry bent down, scooping the giggling boy up and softly tossing him into the air. The airborne child burst into another set of giggles as they set off to play.
Harry Potter sat in the queen size bed of Andromeda Tonks's guest bedroom, reading a muggle novel Hermione had recently given him. Teddy had gone to bed earlier, tired out after playing with Harry. Just as Harry was getting to the end of the novel, he heard a noise. Looking up from his book, he saw a tuft of brown hair peeking through the door.
"Teddy, what's wrong?"
Pushing the door open, he stepped into the room. He hugged his stuffed wolf Moony to his body tightly.
"I had a bad dream," he said quietly, "Can I stay in here with you?"
Harry smiled and put his book down on the bedside table. He pulled the bed covers down a bit and patted the bed next to him. Teddy smiled through a teary face and hopped up on the bed, snuggling in next to his godfather. Harry hugged him close.
"Now, do you want to tell me about your dream?"
Teddy sniffed loudly, sapphire eyes brimming with tears. Harry hugged the little boy close.
"Oh now, Teddy, it's okay."
"I-I dr-dreamed that bad men c-came and t-took Gran away. S-she never came back, l-like mummy and d-daddy."
"It's okay, Teddy. You're gran's just fine. She'll be back in the morning. And you know that your mummy and daddy love you very much. They're always with us, even if we can't see them."
Watching his godson smile weakly, Harry knew what to do.
"You know what Teddy. Why don't I tell you a story? Would you like that?"
He nodded fervently, cuddling closer to Harry.
"Okay, where to start?" Harry asked tapping his chin with his finger
"The beginning?" Teddy ventured cautiously.
Harry slapped his for head dramatically. "Of course! Thank you, Teddy."
This made Teddy giggle softly.
"Okay, now. Once upon a time, there was a very beautiful, but very clumsy princess named Dora. Now Dora was the fairest princess in the kingdom of Phoenicia. Everyone loved her. She was a very good fighter. She could hold off the best of the knights in the kingdom. Her parents desperately wanted her to get married. Dora had different ideas, however. You see there was an evil man who had started to take over the kingdom. Dora desperately wanted to help in the fighting. However, her parents forbade her from going as well as anyone from helping her to go.
"Dora on the other hand had a plan in the works. What her parents didn't know was that she could change her appearance at will, just like you Teddy. So, one night, she changed herself to look like one of her father's knights. Taking some food from the kitchen and dressing in a knight's armor, she snuck into the stables and rode away on one of the horses. She rode for sometime, before stopping and changing her appearance. Now instead of flowing raven hair, she had short brown hair and a beard. She used a small forest pool as a looking glass and changed her appearance to that of a man's before continuing on.
"She soon reached the headquarters of the Phoenician army, reporting for duty under the name of Hector. She fought bravely in each battle and returned to her tent each night. What she did not know was that each day she was watched very carefully by one of the men in the army's camp. One night after supper, this young knight caught Dora alone. John was a handsome young man, but he had very mysterious scars. John had known Dora very well and could tell that Hector was really Dora in disguise. She begged John not to reveal her. John agreed, but only if she would meet and talk with him each night as they had when they were both still living at the castle. Dora agreed and each night the two met under the light of the moon.
"One night, John did not come and Dora found herself fraught with worry. The next few nights were the same. She did not see him during the day. When she asked the captain, he would only say that John would be fine. The next night, when John showed himself, Dora demanded an explanation. John was ashamed at first and would not look at her. Eventually, he explained that he had been cursed as a child. When the moon was round and full, he would turn into the form of a wolf. He would still think as a human but his outer appearance would be that of the savage wolf that many people hunted. Dora hugged John fiercely. You see, Teddy, Dora had slowly but surely fallen in love with John. She vowed that she would always love him no matter what happened between them.
"Over the next year, the two grew closer. Eventually, Dora revealed herself. However, rather than giving her over to her father, the captain let her stay on, because she was the best fighter in the kingdom. One day, a fierce battle loomed and many knew that it would decide the outcome of the war. John and Dora fought fiercely, but lost their lives in the battle. However, their kingdom triumphed. When the war was over, the king and queen revealed to the people the story of John and Dora's love. Before they died, John and Dora married quietly and had a son, whom they named Theodore after the king."
"Wasn't that a lovely story, Teddy?" Harry said looking down to find his godson asleep next to him. Harry smiled down at the little boy who seemed quite peaceful now. Harry tucked him in and kissed Teddy's head softly, before turning out the light. Harry stared out the window at the full moon and smiled.
"Hey, guys. We're taking good care of him."
Harry removed his glasses, before placing them on the night table next. Shutting the lamp off, godfather and godson lay in the queen size bed together and slipped slowly into peaceful dreams of good times ahead. And quite nearby, but still a ways away, two shadowy figures watched.
"I don't think we could've made a better decision, Dora."
"Yes, 'John', our baby's doing great," she said with a giggle, smiling at him. She bent down and kissed Teddy's head gingerly.
"I love you, darling," she whispered. A gentle smile graced Teddy's sleeping face as he snuggled into the bed covers.
"Thank you so much, Harry. You're doing great," he whispered, before turning to his companion, "Home?"
"Home," she sighed, giving Teddy and Harry one last wistful look.