Part Two.
It is sitting in the living room of Grimmauld Place, watching a number of supposed grown-ups offer wide eyed, exaggerated smiles to a tiny baby, that Ron suddenly does not feel as old as he thinks he should.
Not for the first time since his little sister and best friend began discussing baby-proofing, feeding schedules and the general rearing of another very tiny, very dependent human being, he feels far too young.
The trouble with being best friends with The Chosen One is that sometimes Ron has felt that he was launched into adulthood very quickly. He has sacrificed himself in a game of dangerous, life-sized wizard chess, walked freely into a colony of acromantula, followed Harry into the Chamber of Secrets to save his sister, he has stood up to a dangerous Azkaban escapee, been poisoned, destroyed Horcruxes and watched family and friends die before his eyes, all before his nineteenth birthday.
Now, he's a qualified Auror, he catches dark wizards, for Merlin's sake- but he does not feel grown up enough to even consider looking after a baby.
The baby is three weeks old, and Ron has already met his nephew, but everyone has been invited round to Grimmauld Place today because it is the first time Teddy will see the baby. Everyone seems to think it will be good for Teddy to have another child around. Ron remembers when they said this before Victoire was born, but they saw little of each other, and by the time Victoire was old enough to play with Teddy, Dominique had already been born.
Ron can see Teddy sitting cautiously in the armchair beside the fireplace. He is carefully studying something resting open in his lap. He looks up and frowns a little at the gathering of people cooing over the baby, but he nods politely when his Grandmother asks him whether he is okay.
Teddy is far too polite. His manners at the dinner table are impeccable- he has been taught to use his cutlery correctly, his Grandmother scolds him should his elbow find its way onto the table during mealtimes, he knows to cut bread rolls at breakfast and break them open at dinner, he places his knife and fork together when he has finished his meal. He is courteous, he never forgets to ask 'how are you?' and to say please and thank you, he does not ignore people if they speak to him. He removes his shoes before entering someone's house, he helps his Grandmother when she asks for it and he tidies up after himself. He is not boisterous or loud like some children can be. They have often joked that Teddy skipped childhood altogether, and arrived in the world a ready-made adult. Sometimes he will turn up for tea at Ron's parents' house, dressed in a sweater vest or cardigan, his hair neatly parted, and inform them that, 'oh, it is rather chilly out there!'. Sometimes he will refer to things using names he has obviously heard his Grandmother use. He has had to grow up quickly, though, and as his Grandmother is his primary guardian it is difficult for him to be a child. Even now, when he does not fully understand why his parents aren't around, Teddy does not smile very much.
Ron guesses he has about as much interest in the baby as Teddy. It has been the only topic of conversation between everyone for months, and even Hermione has mentioned it more times than Ron cares to remember. He whispers something to Andromeda, before taking Teddy's hand and leading him outside- once Teddy has collected his discarded shoes from beside the fire- where they spin quickly on the spot, disappearing, and leaving Grimmauld Place, the rest of the family, and especially the baby, behind.
They arrive in a sunny field, with a lake at the very end, and great trees casting shade along the grass. They blink, the sudden shafts of light stinging their eyes, not yet accustomed after the sudden apparition. Many people are lying below the tree's branches, out of the sun.
"Ron!" Teddy whispers shrilly at him. "My hair!" The little boy points to his head, which is completely hat-less.
"It's okay. This is a wizard park!" He reassures Teddy.
He leads him down a well walked gravel path, along the edge of the field. A large number of witches and wizards are gathered around a small wooden hut with a pointed roof, precariously leaning a little to one side, at the end of the path. It is an ice-cream hut, selling all sorts of wondrous flavours- candyfloss, pumpkin, marshmellow, marmalade, earwax, a Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans flavoured ice-cream which Ron could never work out.
As the two wait in line, Ron catches Teddy's hair slowly changing to a deep tomato red colour. It almost matches Ron's, and he wonders if it is intentional. His hair colour is something Teddy can change easily, even if he finds it difficult to keep it the chosen colour, but sometimes his eyes changes as well, and freckles appear across his cheeks, but they are far less noticeable.
He lets Teddy choose his own flavour. Teddy marvels at the fact Ron always seems to have spare sickles in his pockets, and the two accept their ice-cream cones from the seller and sit upon a small corner of the grass nearby, and enjoy the dying sun of the late-afternoon. It is not too hot anymore and it makes for a pleasant atmosphere.
The ice-cream cone seems so much larger in Teddy's small hands, and Ron remembers when he would be brought here along with the rest of his siblings, often by his parents, but sometimes by Bill or Charlie when they were old enough, when his father was busy at work and his mother was busy with baby Ginny.
"What did you think of James?" Ron asks Teddy.
"He seems a bit… boring." Teddy admits, and Ron laughs.
"Yeah, I guess he does." He agrees. "What were you reading earlier?"
"The Quidditch Keeper's Lunch." Teddy recalls in one quick sentence.
"I've read that!" Ron remembers. "Merlin, that's a classic! Did you like it?"
Teddy nods enthusiastically and takes another bite of his ice-cream.
"My favourite part is the bit where Hamish the Kneazle is put in the basket to protect the lunch from the Augurey!"
"I didn't read that far. I didn't get to finish it."
"Oh, well, I'm sure Harry will let you borrow it some time."
"Hmm." Teddy murmurs.
"Where did you read to?"
Teddy tells Ron about the beginning of the book which he did manage to read, and Ron fills him in quickly on the book's ending, his story soon becoming much more elaborate and eccentric than the original. He guesses that Teddy suspects this, especially as Ron reaches the part with the dragon, which is slayed by a mysterious new character by the name of Ron. If he does have his suspicions however, Teddy does not disturb Ron, and by the end Ron rather suspects his version to be far superior to the one in the book.
He reaches the end of his epic tale, only to see that Teddy has lost interest and returned to contently eating his ice-cream. Ron, a little too adept at the Confundus charm, takes hold of his wand in his pocket and quietly casts the spell on an oblivious Teddy. Before Teddy realises, his nose has been dunked forward, and a mess of ice-cream is smothered on the end. His eyes open wide in shock.
Ron can't help but laugh. He's not sure whether he should be laughing at the little boy's misfortune, but the shocked look on his face is far too funny. "What did you do that for?" Ron teases, through breaths of laughter.
But Teddy, always far too clever for his age, spies Ron's hand upon his wand. "Hey!" He cries indignantly before, rather unexpectedly, he grins, an extremely toothy smile spreading across his ice-cream covered face. He begins to giggle, and Ron points his wand at Teddy's face, the ice-cream disappearing. And Ron can't say what it is- maybe it is just that Teddy's smile, so very rare, is so damn contagious- that he finds himself smiling too. Teddy is still laughing as he goes back to eating his ice-cream, which is beginning to melt down the cone and all over his hand, and for the first time, Ron thinks he looks like any other six year old boy.