AU, covering a few years post-war, happier(touches of drama), it's just a quick story covering one of my favourite ideas(Harry living with Remus and Tonks) to use for post-war, plus another idea I was kicking around.
Rated M, because it's me.
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I'm sorry my other stories are kind of slow with updating. I'm trying lol
Harry went up to the Gryffindor Tower, intent on sleeping. He found, after a while, that he just couldn't. He could hear the sounds of stones thudding and cracking- possibly people had begun to clean the school up.
He wasn't sure how long he was there, just staring at nothing. As he was debating on giving up and going back down to help with anything he could, he heard the door to the dorm open but found he didn't even have the energy to look up to see who it was. He didn't need to, because they spoke a moment later.
"I haven't seen this place in years."
Harry leaned up on his elbows, grinning when he spotted Remus and Tonks standing there. Their clothes were dirty and torn in places, their hands were clasped tightly. Harry realised he didn't know when they had been reunited, because before he left the Great Hall, Remus had been talking to Kingsley and Tonks had been with Madame Pomfrey, getting cleaned up again. They both looked happy to have found each other after the chaos of the second half of the battle. Tonks looked pale, her eyes almost sunken, and looked as if she wanted nothing more than to go to sleep somewhere. Remus, on the other hand, looked nostalgic to be in this room, and almost like he was extremely well rested- which was strange, considering he generally looked as Tonks did right now, and Harry usually only saw her as the energetic one.
"You know, I almost didn't believe Neville." Remus said to Harry. "He said which dorm it was, and I just- I didn't believe him."
"This was yours?" Harry asked, and Remus nodded.
"I had that bed." Remus said, pointing to the one next to Harry's. "Sirius was in the bed you're on, James on the other side, Peter closest to the door, and Frank Longbottom on my other side. I don't suppose you were ever in the Gryffindor Tower, Dora?"
"Well, never inside it." Tonks said, smiling weakly. "I always got caught."
"Did you try to sneak into all of the common rooms, then?" Remus asked, letting go of her hand and sitting on the edge of what had been his bed.
"Only my boyfriend's. I suppose I've always had a thing for Gryffindors." Tonks answered, sitting next to him.
"How are you both, then?" Harry asked.
"Alive." Remus said.
"Thank you, by the way, Harry." Tonks said. "For the Shield Charm. I wouldn't have survived that without you."
"Yes, thank you, Harry. I wish I hadn't followed Greyback, but he was trying to flee, and I-"
Tonks took Remus' hand. "We wanted to talk to you, Harry." She said.
Harry sat up, kicking his feet over the side of the bed to face them. "I'd rather not talk about Voldemort." He said automatically, but Remus shook his head.
"We wanted to offer you something, actually." Remus said. "I know it's not the same, I know it's probably not preferable considering..." He gestured at Tonks slightly, and she raised an eyebrow. "Not anything against you, Dora, I meant Teddy-"
"We're not the same person. You do know this, yeah?" Tonks asked, and Remus smiled slightly.
"You both have the same wonderful habit of keeping me awake at night."
"Says the werewolf, who has never kept me awake. Not once." She retorted, and Remus laughed. "And you know, those nights I couldn't sleep was because your baby was practicing Quidditch or some such shite."
"Anyway, Harry, we were wondering- and I can understand if you say no- if you'd like to live with us." Remus said. "You'd have your own room, we wouldn't bother you, you could do whatever you want- it's just, it'd be a proper home. For once."
"We obviously understand if you'd prefer to go to the Burrow- I'd prefer to be there too- but we thought it'd be good for you. It'd be quiet- mostly quiet, anyway- and away from everyone. You could Floo back and forth, we're getting the house connected to the Floo Network, and once you got your Apparition License, you could do that too." Tonks said.
Harry was quiet for a moment, and then finally spoke. "I wouldn't want to be in the way."
"You wouldn't be." Remus said.
"Remus' home has three bedrooms, Harry, you won't be in the way at all- and we're planning to renovate and add an extra room anyway when my flat finally sells." Tonks said. "We just thought, if you'd like some quiet- it won't be always quiet, but we'll set up charms on our room so you won't even hear if Teddy cries-''
"And then once we have Teddy's room set up,-"
"He should be sleeping through the night by that point, so you'd rarely hear him cry. And we've looked, and if we have Teddy in the room next to us and you down the hall, there's a good chance you won't hear a thing if your door is shut."
"When did you...?" Harry began to ask.
"It's nearly three in the afternoon, we haven't been here all day." Tonks said. "I had to go feed Teddy, and we stopped by Remus' place before coming back. We just haven't stopped to clean ourselves up yet."
"I tried to get Dora to stay home, Merlin knows she needs rest after Bellatrix's last attempt on her life- and this entire night, I think- but she refused." Remus said, but he was smiling slightly. "If you're hungry, I know Andromeda's probably already making dinner. We have to stay at Andromeda's for a couple of weeks, just so I can clean up my place a bit- I haven't been there in two years- and wait for the moon to pass again but again, it is up to you, Harry."
"I have the feeling you two have thought of every reason why I should." Harry said. "I just don't want to be a bother."
"How about this? If you're a bother, we'll kick you out." Tonks offered.
Harry nodded after a minute. "I suppose it'd be nice, and if you'll tell me if I'm in the way..."
"Good, because we already got your rucksack from Hermione, and Molly's going to gather all of your things at the Burrow." Tonks said. "However, Molly would like us to remind you, you are welcome at the Burrow any time. I think it's her way of saying if you get tired of us, you can go there instead."
The house seemed brighter than Harry remembered it. Perhaps it was only because the sun was up, perhaps it was because the people in it weren't pale with worry and he wasn't busy running from Voldemort.
There were pictures- he noticed all of them were Muggle pictures- he hadn't seen during his very short visit, and some he knew couldn't have even been there- including Tonks and her father by a Christmas tree, where Tonks was very clearly pregnant- and it made Harry wonder if a lot of people on the run had made it home for Christmas.
"Dora, is that you?" A voice called from the kitchen. "Who did you say you'd be bringing home?"
"Yes, Mum, and I brought Voldemort home!" Tonks called as she headed for the stairs.
"Dean was here too." Remus said, following Harry's gaze as Tonks disappeared upstairs. "They only came for the day, but it was good. For everyone. I escorted Dean to visit his family, so they knew he was still safe. And considering what happened later, it's good everyone got that chance to see each other."
The kitchen door opened, and Andromeda stepped through. "Remus, please tell my daughter that her sarcasm is not any answer to my security questions." Andromeda said. "Oh, Harry dear, I hear you had an interesting night."
"Interesting is one way to describe it." Harry said, and Andromeda stepped forward, surprising him by hugging him.
"Thank you, for stepping between Dora and You-Know-Who, I couldn't handle it if I lost her too." Andromeda said quietly. "And Merlin knows that girl loves finding trouble." She added as she stepped back. "Isn't that right, Remus?"
Remus ducked his head slightly, smiling. "I suppose I could agree." Remus said. "I'll show Harry his room, and I think we'd all like showers, Dora's probably already in the shower."
Andromeda nodded. "Just leave your clothes in the hamper, Harry, I'll mend them if I'm able. I already know Dora wants the sweater she's wearing mended, she likes it too much, so I can try to fix all of your clothes. And knowing Dora, she'll fall asleep after she showers, Remus might take a while to come back downstairs, so you come when you're ready. I'll make tea."
Harry nodded and followed Remus upstairs, and Remus led him down the hall.
"Andromeda is good at mending clothes, she altered a lot of clothes for Dora in the last few months. Dora refused to let us risk our safety just to get her clothes as she got bigger."
"Did you stay in hiding most of the year, then?"
Remus nodded. "I was the only one who really left, Andromeda didn't want to be misidentified as Bellatrix and Dora just stopped wanting to go anywhere after we had a run in with Death Eaters in November. I only left for Potterwatch, we always made sure Dora stayed here and I was the Secret Keeper. If they found the broadcast, I wouldn't be able to tell where she was, you can't torture the information out of a Secret Keeper." Remus explained as they walked down the hall. "But mostly, I was here."
Remus opened a door to a small room. "Andromeda's next to us, and Dora still hasn't agreed to let Teddy sleep in a room of his own yet, so this room has remained empty. It was Ted's office, but he said we could take over it before he left, said he rarely used it anyway."
"I was sorry to hear about that." Harry said, following Remus into the room. "That he had died."
Remus nodded slowly. "It was a tough loss for Dora."
The room was partially painted a colour that almost reminded Harry of the peach shade that had been on the walls of his bedroom at the Dursleys, but somehow he didn't mind it so much here, and a desk had been shoved against a bookcase, while a sofa sat against the other wall.
"The sofa pulls out, and I just never finished the walls, apparently I chose the wrong colour anyway. We both thought it would be a girl, for some reason." Remus explained. "Like we said, it'll only be for a week or two, but it's not uncomfortable. I, uh, I slept in here for nearly three weeks after I came back."
"Tonks wasn't forgiving, then?" Harry asked.
"No, no, she was. There was just a little misunderstanding. She thought I was mad at her, I thought she was still upset, turns out she was just being quiet because she felt like rubbish every moment of the day- it was a very awkward conversation when we finally confronted each other."
"Only made more awkward when I got sick, and our conversation was interrupted." Tonks said from the doorway, and Remus' face lit up. Harry turned to see Tonks holding a baby with shocking blue hair. "I figured you'd like to meet your godson, Harry."
The idea hadn't truly sunk in, not until then. He had seen the picture of Teddy, but that had just been a picture. Remus had asked him, but that had just been words. Even Ron offhandedly mentioning that Bill had said Tonks was getting big, those had just been words. This was actual, breathing proof that he had a godson.
"Do you want to hold him?" Tonks asked.
"Is that wise?" Remus asked slowly.
"I have faith in Harry." Tonks shot back.
"It's not Harry I'm talking about." Remus said patiently.
"Perhaps he won't." Tonks said, stepping towards Harry.
"Won't what?" Harry asked cautiously, as he took Teddy and allowed Tonks to position his arms.
"Teddy sometimes cries when other people hold him, that's all." Tonks said.
"I wonder why that might be, Dora. You hardly hold him." Remus said with a grin. "It can't possibly be because he's so familiar with you-"
"To be fair, I think we're used to being near each other at this point, considering we were pretty darn close for nine months." Tonks said. "But look, he isn't crying, Remus."
Tonks stepped back, and Harry finally looked down at Teddy. He was tiny and incredibly light, but somehow, the tiny baby still held resemblance to his parents. As Teddy looked at Harry, his eyes shifted from purple to the same green as Harry's, and his dark hair shifted to a light brown.
"We think he tries to copy, but still gets some of it wrong." Tonks said. "Or he only copies one trait at a time."
"You know, Remus, when you came to Shell Cottage, you said something I have to disagree with." Harry said, looking at Remus.
"And what was that?" Remus asked.
"He doesn't look very much like Tonks at all."
"I told you." Tonks said smugly.
"There's resemblance to your side-" Remus argued.
"Well, of course there is. How could there not be? The Black family genes take over everything- except, in this case, I suppose the Lupin genes were simply more dominant." Tonks asked. "However, you heard it from the Chosen One himself, he doesn't look like me."
"I said not very much like you." Harry said, feeling a genuine smile cross his face. "It'll become more obvious when he's older, yeah?"
"It does." Remus said. "At first, you didn't resemble James as much as you do now, or did when you first met me."
"The eyes are always a big difference, though." Tonks commented. "It's good he didn't cry with you, he was very upset with Kingsley. However, I need to finally take a bath. You'll put Teddy down, love?" Remus nodded. "Harry, there are towels in the bathroom in the hall."
Remus nodded, taking Teddy from Harry and following Tonks from the room, pausing at the door. "If you go downstairs and neither of us is there yet, try mentioning her garden. Andromeda loves talking about it."
"I'll be quick." He said, pressing a kiss to her damp hair and stepping into the bathroom. Tonks smiled slightly, walking over to the dresser and pulling out one of his tshirts. She had refused to buy maternity clothes, because had seemed like a silly thing to risk her and the baby's- or even her Mum's and Remus'- safety for, so she had worn some of Remus' shirts and borrowed any maternity clothes Molly or Andromeda still had- which Andromeda had had to alter slightly.
And unfortunately, she wasn't quite ready to wear most of her old clothes yet and after the baby was born, usually just wore Remus' tshirts and a pair of his pajama bottoms that he rarely wore(actually, she was sure he didn't wear them because she had been borrowing them since very early in their marriage). The only exception had been the battle, when she had taken one of Remus' sweaters and a pair of maternity pants she had given up on wearing somewhere around her fifth month.
She pulled a tshirt over her head, dropping the towel she had been holding around herself onto the dresser. She felt ashamed for a moment that she hated the sight of her stretch marks so much that she actively sought ways to hide them for herself and from Remus, despite the fact Remus could easily end up talking for nearly three minutes straight about how much he loved them. And now, there were the horrible new scars from the battle.
She grabbed the pants she usually wore, pulling them on quickly. She sat on the edge of the bed, the exhaustion beginning to set in now that they were home and had showered. She had been tired before the battle, of course, but this was complete exhaustion. She figured she should go downstairs, poor Harry would have to deal with her mother alone if he had already finished showering and was down there, and she figured he had dealt with enough of her family in the last twenty four hours.
She could hear the shower running, and sat quietly, watching Teddy sleep. She really didn't want to go downstairs yet, she just felt too tired. Tonks figured she'd wait for Remus, because then she could make him carry Teddy down(Teddy always woke up when she lifted him, but never when Remus did). She lay down on her side, listening to the shower, her eyelids feeling heavy.
A while later, she realised she must have fallen asleep, because she woke up to Remus pulling the blanket over her.
"How does your Mum know us so well?" Remus asked quietly, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "I'll take Teddy with me, let you rest."
She smiled slightly. "I love you. Wake me if he's hungry?"
"I love you too." Remus said, straightening up and walking over to pick up Teddy. She let her eyes close again, falling asleep before Remus even left the room.
I had some issues with this chapter, I wrote it on mobile but when I saved it(and I made sure it saved), and then when I went on browser, it was gone. So I lost some details I had written, unfortunately. I hope I caught them all.
