Chapter 3
~~O-O~~
Harry stepped out into the brightly lit sitting room of the Tonks home. It looked exactly the same as the last time he had been there, before the war.
"Hello," he called out.
A small house elf in a white cloth stepped into the room from the kitchen. "Welcome Master Potter," she squeaked out as she bowed, "Me is Gussy."
Harry crouched down to speak to her, "Nice to meet you, Gussy. Please call me Harry."
"Master Harry, would you like something to eat or drink?"
He glanced around the empty room, "No, thank you. I would like to see Teddy and Andromeda."
"Young Master is sleeping." Gussy said as she worried her hands together, "Mistress is in her bedroom."
Nodding at the small elf, Harry could see the distress on her face, "Let her know that I popped over for a visit. She does not need to know that Kreacher notified me of the situation."
Gussy began to shake, unable to hold in her relief, "Thank you, Master Harry. Thank you."
Harry sat down on the couch and waited. The silence was eerie. After ten minutes or so, he could hear footsteps on the stairs.
He stood as Andromeda Tonks (nee Black) entered the room in a dressing gown, her long black hair pulled into a messy bun on the top of her head. Her normally pale skin was translucent, dark circles under her eyes, her high cheekbones were prominent as the rest of her face had sunken in. She walked slowly, shoulders hunched over as if she was exhausted.
"Ha..." Her voice was scratchy, so she cleared her throat and tried again, "Harry, welcome. Please have a seat." She turned and addressed the tiny elf, "Gussy, can you please make tea?"
Sitting down beside the older woman, Harry turned and took her hands in his, "Andromeda, I am sorry I haven't visited. I haven't seen you or Teddy since the memorial service."
She sniffed and wiped away a tear.
"I know this is a difficult time for you. I wanted to check on you and Teddy. How are you both doing?"
Gussy interrupted with the tea, placing it on the table before popping away. Andromeda busied herself serving. She handed Harry his cup with shaking hands. He sipped his tea and watched her make her own cup, stirring the sugar long after it had dissolved.
Andromeda took in a deep breath before she spoke, "Harry, I am going to be very honest here. I am not doing well. I need help." She held back a sob and swallowed, "I cannot take care of Teddy. I cannot take care of myself."
As tears rolled down her face, Harry put his teacup down and pulled her into an embrace. She sobbed, her body heaving, and Harry allowed himself a few tears before stopping himself. He had to be strong for Teddy.
After a few minutes, she pushed him away gently and patted her face with her handkerchief. Harry wiped a tear from his face and spoke softly, "What can I do?"
"You're just a young man. Burdened your whole life with the Dark Lord hanging over you."
"I am also a young man who knows what it's like to grow up without parents. If I can help Teddy in any way, I would like to, I want to. I need to ensure he doesn't grow up like I did." Harry realized the truth in his words as they came out, "Andromeda, I would like to have more contact with Teddy, be a part of his life."
A pop was followed by a cry; Gussy had returned to the living room with a crying baby in her thin bony arms. Teddy was about half the size of the elf that carried him.
Leaping up from his seat, Harry crossed the room in two long strides. He dropped to his knees, and smiled, "Hullo there, Teddy!"
~~O-O~~
The baby had almost doubled in size in the three months since Harry had seen him. His shock of hair was black then, today his baby fine hair was red and angry, matching his complexion as he cried harder as his godfather smiled at him.
Gussy bounced up and down on her tiny feet and summoned a bottle. Teddy's cries were interrupted by the nipple in his mouth. Harry asked Gussy if he wanted to sit down as she cradled the baby in her arms and fed him. A small chair appeared below her and she sat down, making odd sounds to Teddy. Harry thought Gussy was cooing and baby talking in her native tongue.
Stepping back, he looked at Andromeda and found that she was dazed on the couch. Her eyes focused, unseeing, at the wall. Merlin, he thought, this is as bad as Kreacher said.
Teddy finished his bottle in no time, spitting out the nipple with an audible pop. His face was curious as he looked around the room and found Harry. His hair rippled as the color change came through the red, leaving the baby with emerald green hair.
"Hi, Teddy!" Harry tried again and when the baby didn't cry, he stepped forward and knelt down by Gussy. "Hi, Little One."
Teddy's chubby arms swung up and down like he was trying to propel himself forward. Harry held out his arms and Gussy released her hold on the baby. Harry kept up a narrative of inane conversation as he walked around the sitting room with Teddy in his arms. The baby smiled as he tried to grab Harry's glasses.
Gussy disappeared, leaving him alone with Andromeda and the baby. Harry joined the older woman on the couch and Teddy babbled, waving his arms about. She turned her head and her eyes settled on the baby. Covering her mouth, she jumped up from the couch and ran from the room. The sounds of her retching in the bathroom carried through the small home.
She returned a few minutes later and apologized, "Harry, I can't do this. I can't look at him and not see my daughter. I can't look at him and know what I have lost." Steeling herself, she locked eyes with Harry, ignoring the baby directly below his chin, "I can't raise him. And I can't have poor Gussy raise him."
Nodding at her, Harry knew how she felt. He had been wrestling with the reminders of everyone he had lost. But he couldn't let Teddy be a victim of the war, of his parent's decisions, of an egomaniac's quest to rule the world. He couldn't let Teddy pay the price for others' sins. This innocent baby needed a life without neglect; he needed love and he needed a family.
Harry closed his eyes and lowered his head to Teddy's. Skimming the baby's soft hair with his nose, Harry knew what he had to do.
"Andromeda, would you allow me to raise Teddy? I would be honored to care for him and love him. And I would never keep him from you. You would always be his family, his blood."
A strangled sob escaped from her as she nodded. Dabbing her eyes, she looked at Teddy in Harry's arms, "Yes, I think that would be best."
~~O-O~~
A/N: Again, please don't judge Andromeda too harshly.
