Chapter 2: The Burrow

As soon as Harry crossed the threshold of the Burrow he removed his Invisibility Cloak. He immediately saw Mrs. Weasley in her garden assisted by Fleur. In the time since Fleur and Bill's wedding, Mrs. Weasley had grown close to her daughter in law. It appeared that she came to grips with the fact that Charlie, Percy and George may in fact never marry while up until recently there was only a slight chance Ron would ever get married. Fleur for her part had done everything she could to make sure she was welcomed into the Weasley family. Harry walked over to where the two of them were in the garden since he did not see anyone else.

"Hello Mrs. Weasley, Fleur." Harry said as he got closer to the garden.

"Well, hello there Harry!" Mrs. Weasley was on her feet and at Harry before he knew what hit him. She embraced him tightly as though she hadn't seen him in years. Fleur stood and walked over to where Harry and Mrs. Weasley were hugging.

"'Ello 'Arry." She said to him in her broken English.

"Hello Fleur."

"The boys are upstairs and I believe Hermione and Ginny are in the kitchen getting dinner prepared for this evening." Mrs. Weasley said as she finally let go of Harry. "We will be in soon too; we're just cleaning up the garden a little bit."

"Thanks Mrs. Weasley, I'll let you two get back to what you were doing." Harry said as he waved good bye to both of them and walked inside the Weasley family home.

The Weasley house was a bit messy since Hermione moved in and the events of the previous year still left most a bit flustered. Their reliable old clock that showed all of the Weasley family and where they were was still hanging on the wall of the kitchen as Harry entered. Fred's name was removed from the clock while Fleur and Hermione's names were added. Fred's death came as a blow not only to the Weasleys but to Harry as well. He and George came to help fight back the Dark Lord's army of Death Eaters only for Fred to be struck down. The company they had started was still going strong and George had allowed Lee Jordan, a friend of both George and Fred from Hogwarts, to take Fred's place in the business.

Ginny and Hermione were sitting at the kitchen table while they had cast a spell to have dinner begin preparing itself. It looked as though they were already deep into planning Hermione and Ron's wedding without Ron's involvement.

"Hello Harry." Hermione said she noticed he had entered the house.

Ginny looked up having not seen Harry yet and immediately jumped out of her chair to embrace Harry.

"Hey Ginny, Hermione" Harry said as he was hugging Ginny.

"I wanted to talk to you privately for a few minutes if that is alright with you." Ginny whispered into Harry's ear.

"Sure, let's go up to your room" He replied.

"We'll be back shortly." Ginny said to Hermione as she grabbed Harry's hand and began walking toward the stairs up to her room. The Weasley home was a tall house with many floors. Ron had forever lived at the top of the house in the attic while Ginny's room was lower down. On the walls along the spiral staircase were pictures of the Weasley family members including extended family members. They reached Ginny's room, which Harry had only been in one other time. Harry anticipated that Ginny would want to talk as soon as they saw each other. Ron came to visit him about four months back and told him he had caught Ginny and Hermione talking about Harry. It seemed Ginny was hoping that they could pick up where they had left off at the end of his sixth year at Hogwarts. Now that he was returning to Hogwarts to complete his seventh and final year he was certain that Ginny would want to continue their relationship. He couldn't say that he didn't want to get back together since he had missed her deeply every day he had been away from her. He couldn't find a single reason why he shouldn't get back together with her either, since the reason they broke up was because he had to fit the Dark Lord.

When they finally reached Ginny's room, she turned and closed the door while Harry walked over to the window where he sat down. The sun was pouring into her room and as she stood in front of him it caught all of her, illuminating her in a way that Harry could hardly believe.

"I'm sure Ron has told you that I've wanted to talk to you for a while now." She started off.

"Yea, he's mentioned it once or twice." Harry replied with a smile.

"Good, then you know I want us to get back together. Hermione told me that you three had told McGonagall that you would return to Hogwarts should it remain open. Now that we've received word that it will indeed stay open and that McGonagall is going to be Headmistress I see no reason why we can't resume our relationship." She had a tone of strictness in her voice.

Harry sat for a moment taking in all that she had said. He expected everything she said, but was still a bit taken aback by it. The monster in the pit of his stomach was kicking at him to say yes and to kiss her as they had kissed the last time he was at the Burrow before Fleur and Bill's wedding.

"Well, er um. I don't disagree with you Ginny." He finally said after a few moments of silence.

Ginny smiled and immediately leaped into Harry's lamp and began to kiss him just as she had done a year ago.

"I knew you'd say yes!" She said to him between kisses.

"So, why haven't you two started setting up the table?" Harry asked.

"Oh, we're not eating in the house tonight. Mum and dad invited over a number of people to celebrate the reopening of Hogwarts." Ginny said getting off his lap. "I should probably get back down there to see if Hermione needs any more help. The guys are upstairs in Ron's room."

"Thanks. I guess I'll see you in a bit then?" Harry said as Ginny was opening the door.

Harry walked up the remaining flights of stairs before reaching Ron's room at the very top of the house. He could hear the voices of George and Bill coming from inside his room and it seemed they were talking to him about the wedding. Instead of going in right away Harry decided to stay outside the room and sit on the steps. Since they'd be eating outside, it meant that a lot of people were coming to dinner. This made Harry a bit uncomfortable since a lot of people, even those within the Order, still wanted to congratulate him on his victory over Voldemort. It made him uncomfortable every time someone wanted to bring up how he had overcome the Dark Lord single handily. He couldn't get over the fact that too many people had to lose their lives while Harry attempted to take down Voldemort. He was most heartbroken that Fred, Remus and Tonks all died at the hands of various Death Eaters. Harry finally decided he could wait no longer. He stood up and walked into Ron's room and immediately all three of the Weasley brothers turned and stared at him.

"About time you got here, Harry." Ron said a bit miffed that he had waited until almost three in the afternoon to come into his room.

"I've been here for about an hour and a half already. Ginny wanted to speak to me when I got here." Harry responded quickly.

"So how did the little witch do in wrapping you back up under her spell?" George asked with a grin on his face.

"You can probably answer that one for yourself, George." Bill said on Harry's behalf. "Nonetheless, Fleur and I took bets before we got here as to how long it'd take Ginny and Harry to get back together."

Ron looked happy that they were now all ganging up on Harry. Harry could only guess that they had been badgering Ron relentlessly about the wedding since he and Hermione announced their engagement to the family.

"So, Ginny said that there are a lot of people coming over tonight. You guys in on who is coming?" Harry said trying to change the subject quickly.

"Oh yea, no mum and dad have been pretty tight lipped about who was coming over for the celebration." Ron replied for his brothers who were still laughing.

For the next few minutes they continued to talk until they heard the familiar sounds of Mrs. Weasley walking up the stairs to retrieve her three sons and Harry to help set up for the dinner. Harry felt anxious over this; he much rather have stayed in the room than to go downstairs where he would have to speak with people as they came over the barrier.

As Harry was thinking of ways to get out of having to help the door opened and Mrs. Weasley stood in the doorway.

"Ron, George, and Bill you three need to get downstairs and put up the tent for dinner tonight." She said in a low voice that made it appear she was willing to ask rather than order her three sons to help out. Harry felt a sigh of relief that he wasn't directed to go downstairs and help and as the three of them got up and walked out of the room Mrs. Weasley did not follow.

"Harry, dear, you have someone here to see you." She said pleasantly.

Harry felt dread at the idea someone was there to see him. This is exactly why he hadn't left number 12 Grimmauld Place in months.

"Er-" was all he could get out.

"Your Godson his here and his Grandmother has brought him. She is who would like to speak to you. Now get downstairs." She said in a much stricter voice.

As Harry stood up to obey the orders he had been given there was dread already washing over him. He hadn't seen Teddy, ever. Immediately he remembered when he was asked to be the Godfather to Remus and Tonks's son. He felt horrible at the immediate thought of the dead bodies of Teddy's father and mother. Remus had offered to join Harry, Ron and Hermione before Harry shamed Remus to return to his wife and son. He had always enjoyed Tonks, though he barely had gotten to know her in the short times they were around each other. He had met Andromeda and Ted Tonks only once on the night he had been whisked away from his Aunt and Uncle's house. Andromeda resembled her sister Bellatrix so much that Harry was taken aback the moment they met. Andromeda, however, was much nicer than either of her two sisters. He knew eventually he'd have to meet with her and Teddy, after all in the Wizard community to be a Godfather or Godmother was a significant honor but also a tremendous responsibility.

"And before you think of running off after you have spoken to her, you should know there are a lot of people coming over tonight who want a word with you. We have therefore placed a charm on our property that prevents you from leaving until everyone who told us they needed to speak to you has." Mrs. Weasley said as she left Ron's room ahead of Harry. Harry mumbled something under his breath so as not to offend Mrs. Weasley, but he continued following her out of the room and down the stairs.

"She is in the kitchen, Harry. I have asked Hermione and Ginny to go outside and help Fleur finish the garden while I help the boys set up the tent. You three will not be bothered by anyone." She said as they reached the end of the stairs and headed outside while Harry went toward the kitchen. He could already feel his nerves attacking him; what if he was a horrible Godfather, what if Teddy hated him, what had he gotten himself into?

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley" Harry shouted as she left the house with a wave.

He walked into the kitchen and saw Mrs. Tonks sitting at the table with Teddy next to her. Where had time gone? It was only a year ago that Teddy was born and now he was sitting up on his own and eating food. It was as though Harry really had no business caring for such an amazing child.

"Er-Hello Mrs. Tonks." Harry said as he was through the doorway.

"Oh, well hello there, Harry." She said in response.

"This is Teddy, I presume?"

"Yes, this is your Godson. He has been asking all about you all summer so far. He has been anxious to meet you." She answered.

"I'm sorry I haven't been around much…"

"It is ok, Harry. With all that happened I never expected you to spend all your time in the Wizard world. I knew you would hide away in your home." She said politely. "But regardless, you are here now and we have some things we really do need to discuss."

Harry sat down on the seat across from Mrs. Tonks and next to Teddy. Teddy was looking at Harry and smiling, he instantly recognized him.

"As you know, you are Teddy's Godfather. My sweet baby girl and her husband decided that you would be the best person for that job. And as you also know, as Witches and Wizards we take this role of Godparent very seriously. In the event the child is left parentless and no blood relative is able to take the child, it is up to the Godparent to do so." She began, "I have been caring for Teddy since his parents untimely deaths, however I am old and feel I am unable to properly care for my grandson."

"You want me to take him, to raise him?" He asked hesitantly already knowing what she was going to say.

"Yes, I think it is best for Teddy if you were to raise him." His worst fears were coming out of Mrs. Tonks's mouth.

"You know that I will be returning to Hogwarts in the fall to complete my education?" He asked, hoping she would reconsider her decision.

"I do, and I have already spoken with Minerva about it. She has said that Teddy is more than welcome at Hogwarts." She smiled as she defeated Harry's best argument. Unfortunately he had been made all too aware of the consequences of what it meant to be a Godparent. Professor McGonagall told him that if a blood relative was unable to care for an orphan child, the Godparent was obligated to take custody.

"My daughter left a letter for you. I am going to go outside and help Molly finish what needs to be done for this evening. Take some time and get to know your Godson; I will come over tomorrow with him and help you set up a room." She got up from her chair and handed Harry the letter. She kissed Teddy on the forehead and walked out the door to where Mrs. Weasley was directing George and Bill to set up the tent.

With trepidation Harry opened the letter left for him by Tonks:

Dear Harry,

It is probably cheesy to say this, but, if you are reading this then it means I am already dead. Well, not just me but Remus as well. Let me first begin by telling you why Remus and I decided to name you Godfather of our dear son Teddy. With the death of Sirius, Remus has felt that the last connection to his life is through you and me. Without us he feels he would fall into his werewolf nature and never return. In the very short time that I have known you, I have learned that if there were anyone I would be willing to trust whole heartedly with my life it would be you. For these reasons, Remus and I decided you would make the best Godfather for Teddy.

My father is already dead as I write you this letter. It is becoming ever more evident that there will be a battle between the Order of the Phoenix and the Dark Lord's Death Eaters. The outcome of this battle, I do not know. But I do know that my sweet mother is in no condition to take care of and raise Teddy. With both her sisters engaged in the Dark Lord's bidding, and her loving husband dead, she is a frail woman. It is there for my wishes that if Remus and I should die, that you be given custody over Teddy. I have but a few requests from you, Harry. First, do not let him forget us. Second, he is a Metamorphmagus as was evident to me as soon as I had given birth to him. He may very well be the last Metamorphmagus or the only one he shall ever meet in his life time. I know what this is like, and I do not want my son to go through such a life. I have done research and found three books that I believe could help someone become a Metamorphmagus. I have left them at Sirius's house, now yours. You can find them in the library across from Regulus's old room. Do not let Teddy grow up as the only Metamorphmagus he knows.

You have all my and Remus's love. Please share it with our son.

-Tonks.

Harry reread the letter a million times to make sure he had read it correctly. Tonks wanted him to raise her son, but not only that but to attempt to learn to become a Metamorphmagus. He was feeling sick now, sicker than he had felt the whole time had been at the Weasley's. How was anyone expecting him to raise a child? Let alone do as Tonks had asked. He was looking at Teddy now and began to see his future and all Harry could see was despair. He wished that someone would come and pinch him and he would awake to find that Remus and Tonks had survived Voldemort's assault on Hogwarts. Had he not been stupid enough to return to Hogwarts and all the D.A. to alert others to his whereabouts, then Tonks and Remus never would have gone to the school that night; they would still be alive. Harry was still staring at Teddy who was smiling and laughing thinking that Harry was playing a game with him when he heard the door slam behind him. He dropped the letter and immediately snapped out of his trance.

"Are you ok, Harry?" Ginny's voice sounded from behind him. She walked up to his chair and knelt down to pick up the letter. Harry could tell by the length of time she remained on her knees that she was reading the letter.

"Um, wow." Was all she could muster.

"Yea. Tonks thinks that I'm some great and wonderful wizard who can raise a child by myself and also learn to become a Metamorphmagus; I couldn't even grasp Occlumency until last year." Harry responded, anger was in his voice.

"You won't be raising him alone. You have me and Hermione and Ron to help you." She assured him. She wrapped her arms around Harry's neck and gave him a reassuring hug and kiss on the head.

"Um, thanks Ginny. I really appreciate that; you will make a great mother." He said.

"Well, as much as I would love to sit and here all about how great a mother I'll be to your Godson, Mum sent me in here to tell you the second of your three guests have arrived." She stood up and patted Harry on the head before walking outside. There wasn't an immediate close of the door as the next person walked into the house and into the kitchen where Harry was sitting with Teddy.

"Hello Mr. Potter." The familiar voice of Narcissa Malfoy sounded from behind him.

"Er, hello Mrs. Malfoy." He responded as she moved around him and sat down next to her great nephew.

"Well, well aren't you looking like a big boy" She said in the kind of voice you use to speak to a child as she addressed Teddy.

"I assume that my sister has told you of her decision?" She turned to Harry.

"Yes ma'am."

"I wanted to speak to you to clear the air; do you mind if I call you Harry?" She asked.

"I guess not." He responded.

"Good, and you may call me Narcissa. I wanted to thank you for saving the life of my son, Draco, last year during the fight. He told me that you risk your life to save his while you were trying to bring down the Dark Lord. I believe he now owes you two life debts? I would like the privilege of taking one of those life debts off of him. If it were not for you my life would have ended, even if it had only been at the cost of losing my lovely son." She said to him before stopping and letting him respond.

"Well, um. I don't know what to say. I can't say that I have ever really thought much of your son, as he has probably told you." He responded after a few seconds. "But despite how we get along, or how I have gotten along with your husband in the past, you always seem to have treated me better."

"I can assure you, Harry, that Draco will no longer treat you as he once did. I realized long ago, long before the Dark Lord returned, that we had made a grave mistake. I want you to know that I have pledged my allegiance solely to you. I thank you for the chance to talk." She said as she stood up and reached out her hand to shake Harry's. Harry responded by standing and putting out his own hand; she shook his hand and left the house quickly so as not to allow him a chance at responding.

Harry watched as Narcissa Malfoy left the house and went to help with the preparations outside. He did not see Draco or Mr. Malfoy outside and presumed that she had come alone. Before he sat back down he saw Ginny coming back inside the house.

"Mum said you should bring Teddy and come outside. Your last guest won't be speaking to you until later tonight. I think it is my dad, but I'm not sure." She said with a smile as she held the door open for Harry and Teddy. Harry picked Teddy up out of his chair and immediately Teddy put his arms around Harry's neck. His appearance changed; the blonde hair he had when Harry entered the kitchen had changed to black and untidy as Harry's.

"He looks just like you." Ginny mentioned with a smile as Harry walked past. She reached up and gave both of them a kiss.

"How many people have you told?" Harry said, smiling at Ginny.

"Oh, you know, just everyone I know." She responded happily.

The rest of the afternoon went by quickly and uneventfully. Harry spent most of the time getting to know Teddy and hanging out with Ginny. Mrs. Weasley made sure everything was ready well before Charlie, Percy and Mr. Weasley got there. Ron and Hermione were walking around the house while Bill and Fleur went inside. Harry spent some of the time thinking of what Mr. Weasley would have to talk to Harry about, if indeed the last person who needed to speak to him was Mr. Weasley. Just as the sun was going down behind the horizon, both Percy and Mr. Weasley walked across the barrier with their guest: Kingsley Shacklebolt. Kingsley had been appointed interim Minister of Magic after Voldemort was defeated. Shortly after that he was officially named Minister of Magic and proceeded to fill the Ministry with Order members. It had been Kingsley who had sent letter after letter to Harry all summer trying to convince him to join the Ministry.

"Hello Harry." Kingsley said as they approached where he was sitting with Ginny and Teddy. "It is nice to see such a lovely young family." He was slightly laughing.

"Oh, hello there Harry, Ginny, and can't forget Teddy." Mr. Weasley said as he followed Kingsley.

"Hello Minister, Mr. Weasley." Harry responded.

"It is Kingsley to you Harry, just like all of my other friends." Kingsley responded before walking over to Mrs. Weasley.

"Harry, might I have a moment with you alone?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"Of course." As Harry followed Mr. Weasley to the side of the house.

"As you are aware, I had Molly put a charm on the house so that you couldn't leave before everyone who needed to speak to you had their chance. I am the last of those who need to, so I hope you will stay for dinner once we are done here." Mr. Weasley had a serious tone in his voice.

"First, let me congratulate you on reestablishing your relationship with my daughter. I hope that you know if you should ever feel inclined to ask for my daughter's hand in marriage you have Molly and my full support."

"Er, thank you Mr. Weasley." Harry responded.

"Secondly, I don't want to alarm you but as you know many former Death Eaters fled England for Albania after the Dark Lord died. We have been receiving intelligence that they may be gathering to respond to what happened. We also think that Voldemort may have been training a protégé to take his place in the event something like this happened. We do not know if these reports are accurate, but we tend to believe that the Death Eaters may still want to revenge Voldemort's death. As for the rumors of a protégé, we do not have any solid evidence. I didn't want to frighten you, but I felt you should be aware. Please do not let this news affect your decisions." He finally finished seeing that Harry was upset over the news.

"Thank you Mr. Weasley. I will keep this information in mind and will continue about my life as usual until a clear danger presents itself here in England." Harry had a stone cold look on his face as he spoke to Mr. Weasley. Harry had no intentions of giving up Ginny or Teddy ever again and did not want to back down from his promise to Professor McGonagall. Until the Death Eaters returned, or this protégé was deemed real there was no reason for Harry to do anything he thought.

Harry resolved to stay for dinner and until everyone else had left. By 9PM Narcissa and Andromeda had left, Teddy was asleep as Andromeda took him home for the last time. She told Harry she would be at his place by noon the next day to begin setting things up. She asked Ginny if she would be there to assist. Narcissa pulled Harry aside and again assured him that she and her family were behind him. Bill and Fleur apparated home less than an hour later and Charlie followed. Percy was living at home still but went to bed fairly early to be at work the next morning. Kingsley left last while Ron and Hermione went inside to spend time together. Finally Harry was ready to leave as it was just him, Ginny and Mr. Weasley at the table. Harry had asked Mr. Weasley more about the information he had received about the Death Eaters. After assuring Harry that he would be the first to know if any of these loyal followers of Voldemort returned, Harry thanked Mr. Weasley for having him over and then kissed Ginny. She told him to expect her around 10 the next morning. Harry threw on his Invisibility Cloak and walked out of the barrier to apparate back to number 12 Grimmauld Place.