The Meeting

Summary: Post-DH. Harry goes to meet his godson Teddy for the first time.

A/N-- Strictly a one-shot, as I have no idea what I would write for a second chapter.

Oh, and I have no idea what the Tonks home really looks like, so I just made up something.

I own NOTHING.

I hope you like it!

Harry Potter woke up one Saturday morning, rubbing his eyes as he yawned. He sat up in bed and blindly stretched out his right hand, feeling around for the glasses on the nightstand. Once he found them he put them on and saw the wall calendar opposite him. This particular Saturday was circled in red ink. In the center, scrawled in Harry's sloppy handwriting, was: "Tea w/ Mrs. T--11:00." He glanced at the alarm clock beside him; it told him it was 8:53. Sighing, he decided to get up and get ready.

He swung his feet over the edge of the bed and pushed himself up. He was surprised he did not see Ron still snoozing in the next bed, seeing as Ron somehow always managed to sleep until at least 10:30. Of course, the last few months it was a feat if Ron slept all the way through the night without a dream about the war. In fact, if anybody in the Burrow, Harry included, could sleep without one of those nightmares, it was a good night. He had been living with the Weasleys since the war ended six months before.

Six months. It seemed unreal to Harry that it had been six whole months that horrible day. Each detail was still carved so clearly in his mind, it was as if it all happened a week ago. He could still see the destruction of the Hogwarts campus, the screams of grief and agony, his last stand against Voldemort. But what stuck with Harry the most was the images of the lifeless bodies of people he knew, people he loved. He thought of Fred (it was hard not to staying with the Weasleys), and of Remus and Tonks. . .

Harry had to stop himself right there. He felt his throat tighten and hot tears prickling in his eyes. He thought briefly of sending an owl to Andromeda Tonks and telling her that he couldn't come after all. He had done so the last four times they planned it, and she always understood. However, he knew he couldn't keep putting it off. Meeting his godson for the first time was never going to be as easy as it should have been.

Harry managed to get himself under control and went to his side of the closet, pulling out a pair of blue jeans and a gray tee shirt. He got dressed quickly and pulled on his socks and sneakers. Harry left the bedroom and went down to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Once he had done that, he continued down the hall towards the stairs.

He was almost to the stairs when he heard Ron's voice coming from a nearby bedroom. Harry glanced toward the half open door. It was the tw--George's room. Harry still had to catch and correct himself on that. Even after six months, it was hard. Harry could hear Ron murmuring words of comfort to his older brother and just barely heard George's muffled crying. Feeling like an intruder on this private moment, Harry pressed on and went downstairs.

"Good morning, dear," Mrs. Weasley greeted as Harry walked into the unusually empty kitchen. He figured people must still be sleeping, or just went outside somewhere. Mr. Weasley was most likely at work.

"Morning, Mrs. Weasley."

"Come sit down and have some breakfast before you go see Andromeda."

"Thank you, but I'm not very hungry right now."

In fact, Harry felt rather sick, but he would never tell Mrs. Weasley that. She would just fuss over him, and he did not want to be fussed over now.

Mrs. Weasley frowned when he declined the breakfast offer.

"You really should eat. . ."

"Mrs. Tonks will probably have some food ready. I'll eat then, I promise," Harry said.

"Well, alright. . .tell her I said hello."

"I will. See you later, Mrs. Weasley."

With that, Harry walked out the Burrow door.

Harry could have easily Apparated to Mrs. Tonks' home and been there quickly. However, seeing as he was still anxious about the meeting and he had some time before he had to be there, he decided to walk a while in the direction of his destination.

This October day was nice; the sun was shining, there were fluffy white clouds in the sky, and there was a brisk breeze that ruffled the leaves of all the trees. A day like this should be enjoyed, but Harry just couldn't seem to concentrate of the beauty of it. The thoughts about the war from this morning were coming back to him. Yes, Voldemort and his followers had been defeated, but yet, everything just seemed so damn unfair. The Weasley family, the greatest family Harry ever knew, was suffering and they didn't deserve it. Fred did not deserve to die. But then again, who really did deserve to die? Colin Creevey didn't, nor did Mad-Eye Moody (even though he died prior to the war), nor did Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks.

'This was not how it was supposed to end,' Harry thought bitterly.

Of course, Harry always it could have happened. They all did. It was just incredibly hard to accept it.

After a while of walking, Harry mentally shook himself from his thoughts and glanced at his watch. It told him that it was ten-forty-eight. Only having twelve minutes before he was supposed to arrive at Mrs. Tonks' home, he stopped walking. He stood still for a brief moment 'Destination. Determination. Deliberation,' flickered at the back of Harry's mind and with a loud pop!, he was gone.

When Harry next appeared, he was at the walkway of Mrs. Tonks' home. It was really a very cheerful looking home. There was a little white gate in front of the house and a gravel path leading up to the porch. On either side of the gravel walkway was a lush, well-manicured, green lawn. The house itself was white like the gate and there were light blue shutters covering the windows. Beneath the windows on the first level were little garden boxes, filled with different types of colorful plants and flowers. Harry walked up the concrete steps of the porch, noticing the porch swing that was there. He took a deep breath and took the brass door knocker and gave it a few good taps against the door. Just a few moments later, the door swung open and Mrs. Tonks stood before him. She smiled warmly, holding the door open as she stood aside.

"Hello, Harry. Come in," she said.

"Hello, Mrs. Tonks," Harry said, stepping into the inviting home.

"Andromeda, dear. You can just call me Andromeda."

She was still smiling as she said this, but it looked a bit off---a bit sad. Harry wondered if she had stopped wanting to be called Mrs. Tonks since Mr. Tonks was not here anymore either.

'He shouldn't have died, either,' Harry thought to himself.

"Mrs. Weasley says hello, by the way," Harry said.

Andromeda nodded, shutting the front door again.

"Tell her I say hello as well when you see her again. Now, enough standing in the doorway. Let's go sit in the living room and have some tea, shall we?"

"Right, of course."

Harry followed her into the living room, which looked just as cheerful as the outside of the house. The colors were vibrant shades of yellows, greens, pinks, and blues; a few house plants stood in the corners near the windows. Pictures decorated the walls, shelves, and the mantel above the fireplace. Harry sat down in an over-stuffed green armchair as Andromeda sat on the matching couch. He looked at the coffee table which had a plateful of sandwiches, cookies, and other snacks as well as a teapot and two cups with saucers.

"Help yourself to whatever you like," she said as she poured herself and Harry a cup of tea.

"Thank you," Harry said as he took a chocolate chip cookie off a plate. He took a few little bites and sat there quietly. Andromeda sipped her tea, studying Harry. "Is something wrong?"

"No, not at all, dear. You know, to be perfectly honest, I wasn't sure you would come today. I half-expected poor Errol to come crashing into my window," Andromeda said with a little laugh.

"To be perfectly honest myself, I almost didn't."

They sat there in silence for a few moments before Andromeda spoke again.

"I know it's hard, Harry...it's been very hard on everybody, I'm afraid. We've all lost at least one person we loved." Harry saw Andromeda's eyes begin to shine with tears, but her voice remained very calm and steady. "Merlin, I've lost three...and I do count Remus in the ones I loved...he was a good man...even if he did get spooked when it came to Nymphadora. He came back, that was what was important..." She took a deep breath and took a tissue from the box on the table beside her. She dabbed her eyes with it before continuing. "I seem to have gone a tad bit off track...the point I was trying to make was...even though we both lost people, we have somebody in common that is still here and I know you will love him as much as I do when you meet him. Would you like me to bring Teddy downstairs now?"

Harry hesitated for a moment, but nodded. Andromeda smiled a little and got up from the couch. A minute later she disappeared up the staircase. While Harry waited, he took a sip of the hot tea, which relaxed him a bit. A few moments later, Andromeda came back downstairs, holding eight-month old Teddy in her arms.

Teddy was wearing blue pants and a white tee-shirt, but his feet were bare. He had a big smile on his little chubby face and his hair was half neon green and half bright blue. Harry grinned at the sight of it. Definitely his mother's hair. Before Harry could think too much about Tonks, Andromeda was sitting on the couch again with Teddy on her lap. She turned a bit so that they were facing Harry more.

"Teddy, this is your godfather, Harry. Can you say hello to Harry?" she said, smiling down at her grandson. Teddy looked at Harry curiously for a moment and babbled, stretching out his arms towards Harry. "I think he likes you already. Would you like to hold him?"

Harry nodded, leaning over to take Teddy from Andromeda. He set Teddy on his lap, facing him. Teddy looked up at Harry and his blue eyes locked on Harry's green ones. Those were without a doubt Remus's eyes. Harry's eyes started to fill with tears again; it was killing him that Teddy would never know his parents, like he never knew his. Harry couldn't help but feel guilty about it. Not only did he get to spend time with Remus and Tonks, the time Teddy would never have, he felt it was his fault. It was his fault that Andromeda lost her daughter and her husband. It was his fault that so many people were grieving. A small part of him knew he was being ridiculous; it wasn't his fault, not entirely anyway. Yet he couldn't help it.

Harry's thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he felt his glasses being snatched off his face. He looked down, a bit surprised and gave a watery laugh when he noticed Teddy was playing with his glasses. Holding Teddy with one hand on his back, Harry used his free hand to wipe his eyes.

"Hey, kid, I need those. I can't see without them," he said as he took his glasses back from Teddy. He slipped his glasses back on and Teddy continued to babble, about what Andromeda and Harry would never know. However, it made them both smile. Harry put his hands under Teddy's arms and lifted him up closer to him. Teddy planted a big open mouthed kiss on Harry's cheek and he laughed. "Thanks, Teddy."

Andromeda got up from the couch and disappeared into the hallway for a brief moment, returning with a camera.

"I can't pass up this picture," she said, getting the camera set up. She held it eye level, focusing on Teddy and Harry. "Smile!"

Harry looked towards the camera and smiled and Teddy reached for Harry's glasses again as the camera flash went off.

"Well that will be one for the albums," Harry laughed.

Andromeda laughed too, setting the camera on a shelf out of Teddy's reach. "I'll make you a copy of that picture when I get it developed."

"Thanks."

"I could have it developed and ready for you next weekend...if you would like to come over again and visit."

"Of course. Not even giants could keep me away," Harry said and kissed his godson on the top of his multi-colored head.